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Chapter Text

An electric blast went through Sonic's body. It was so strong that even Shadow was able to feel the painful energy in his body where his hand was touching him. Shadow lowered his gaze, his face barely hiding signs of uncertainty about the instantly made decision.

His hands moved fast, picking Sonic up in a sort of forced embrace.

"I never knew you were a hugger."

Sonic didn't budge at what could've been seen as a sudden display of affection from Shadow, simply resting his head on his shoulder. He knew all too well that his black counterpart would do something like this in times of emergency only. Still, feeling his friend's warm fur against his growingly cold body was reassuring.

"Do you want me to save you or not?"

Shadow's tone was firm, but his hands involuntarily squeezed Sonic's shoulder, bringing him even closer to his body.

The blue hedgehog has opened his mouth to answer, but one more energy crack has gone through his body, and this time it was too much to take in, making him go completely limp.

Shadow frowned, his face turning determined to save Sonic. His once-bright, deep blue fur was almost fully see-through, and it was getting worse with each energy crack, which was now hurting Shadow as well.

He didn't lose another moment, pushing away from the shattered pieces around him so hard that his legs began to hurt from all the strain.

One more energy blast. One more shattered piece behind.

Shadow looked up, the green light of their own world finally shining close enough. Getting as close to his top speed as he only could with Sonic in his hands, he made a final go for it, pushing away from the ground with so much power that he swore he heard it shatter even more.

A beautiful trail of black and red moved through the space, right to the portal of the original Green Hills. The blue trail, once the brightest one, was so weak that an unknowing eye would think its dim light to be a mere trick of the light.

The owner of the so-called red and black trail, however, knew that it was neither a trick of the light nor a hallucination. It was a life on the verge of death. Mere moments away from its saving, yet mere moments away from disappearing as well.

They entered the portal with a big flash of light, like a family member welcoming you home.

While consumed by the brightness, heartbeats away from blacking out and making everything go back to normal, Shadow prayed that they made it in time.
Because for a second, just for a split moment, he felt Sonic disappear from his embrace.

Shadow’s eyes haltingly flared open, his hand slowly going up to cover his face from the bright light. He let out a silent grunt, sitting up and looking around. Green Hills were normal again, saturated colors hurting his eyes almost to the same degree as the sunlight. Birds were flying around, one even sitting close to Shadow's leg, probably wondering what the ultimate lifeform was doing here, lying on the ground in the middle of the day.

His head was pulsating with numb pain, making it hard to concentrate. Still, lowering his hand and scaring the bird away, a couple of thoughts ran through his mind. He's home. He's alive. He and Sonic...

Shadow went numb.

Sonic.

Jumping onto his legs, which was a bad idea because the world started spinning so hard he thought he'd fall back down, Shadow's eyes began to rapidly look around, absorbing the surroundings. But no matter how hard he looked through the blurred lenses of what his eyes had become, the blue hedgehog was nowhere to be found.

Where's Sonic?

Wasn't he supposed to wake up next to Shadow? They entered the portal together, didn't they?

Shadow's breathing was shallow, his chest going up and down as his head spun around in a desperate search.

Didn't they?

Taking a shaky breath, Shadow ran his hands through his quills. He has to calm down. Obviously, it wasn't the moment he thought it was. To make everything go back to normal, they had to go back to before Sonic shattered the Prism. Shadow's head jerked up, his frown deepening as he looked at the mountain where it all began. If he's correct, Sonic and his friends were supposed to be there.

Swiftly stretching his shoulders, he got ready to take off, hoping to run into Sonic on his way up there.

However, skating through the island, he saw no signs of his acquaintance, even though having him run around, leaving the blue trail of energy behind, was all too common for such sunny days. Sonic's absence was painfully obvious.

Keeping up his pace, it took Shadow mere seconds to get to the top of the mountain, passing what was left of Eggman's machines on his way there. Getting closer to the entrance, Shadow heard lively voices talking. His tension began to subside. Jumping onto the top of the rock that was half-blocking the entry to the Prism cave, he looked down.

To find everyone standing right there around the Prism.

Everyone, but Sonic.

Shadow stopped, frozen in place, unlike his brain, which was frantically trying to find an explanation. To his disappointment, however, no decent thoughts were finding their way to his head, making the already present knot between his brows deepen some more.

Rouge was the first to sense his presence, her ear flickering to pick up his shallow berating. She turned her head, tilting it with a sly smirk on her face.

"My, oh my, look who's here. Didn't expect you to show up, Shadow," she rested a hand on her hips, fully facing him, her wings gently flapping a few times. Once the words left her lips, everyone else turned to look at their guest as well, following Rouge's gaze.

"Shadow?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here?" His voice was stern, even though Shadow knew he didn't mean any harm. Not that he would try to harm him anyway. He and Knuckles had a relationship built around mutual respect towards each other, so seeing them fight became quite a rare sight in recent times.

Amy stepped closer, picking up on Shadow's nervousness. "It's not like you to look for our company without a reason," she crossed her gaze with Tails, who just shrugged and shook his head. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, what happened?" the fox added, his tails calmly moving behind his back.

Shadow took a deep breath, jumping down and into the cave. His eyes glazed around the opening they were in, swiftly brushing past the Prism that was pulsing with a rainbow of lights. He rushed past the others, taking the Prism into his hands and into some kind of safety. Hiding it in his quills, he turned to face the crowd that was patiently waiting for an answer.

"Ask Sonic instead," he said, his voice raspy from being silent for all this time. "He should be the one to explain everything. It was his fault after all," Shadow looked around again, hoping to see the blue blur pop up behind a wall. Unfortunately, Sonic didn't. "Where is he anyway?"

The others exchanged glances before facing Shadow once again.

"What are you talking about?" Rouge's smirk turned into a confused grimace.

Shadow shook his head. "It's too much to explain, I'm not going to waste my time on it," his gravelly voice echoed off the walls of the cave. "Where's Sonic?"

Amy stepped forward, placing a hand on Rouge's shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure she meant to ask-"

"Who are you talking about?" Knuckles decided that taking a soft approach to this issue was a waste of time, interrupting Amy and directly stating the question.
Amy closed her mouth and shook her head, visibly irritated but at the same time not bothered enough to talk back.

Upon hearing these words, Shadow's gaze locked on Knuckles. His normal frown was gone, and one could even think that there was a hint of disturbance in his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice strained, trying to keep calm.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "He means, darling, that we have no idea who this 'Sonic' you're talking about is," she crossed her arms, watching as Shadow turned to face her.

An unpleasant silence fell between them. Shadow moved his gaze to everyone else, then looked back at Rouge. "Is this some kind of a sick joke?" His low voice was filled with now audible anger mixed with confusion. "I have no time for this," he grunted.

"Shadow, we don't know anyone with this name," Amy rested her hand on her hammer, her eyes carefully examining Shadow's face. "Are you sure we know him?"

"I'm not sure I've ever heard this name," Tails mumbled under his breath, holding his chin in his hand. Knuckles nodded, agreeing with his friend. "Neither have I."

Something in Shadow's chest tightened, making him feel sick. It didn't look like they were joking. He wasn't even sure that they'd agree to this in the first place; Shadow wasn't exactly known for liking jokes. And Tails saying that he's never heard Sonic's name, even though Sonic has been his role model for years? That was wrong. Everything here was wrong.

Shadow felt the fur on his hands stand up. He shook his head.

"This is wrong," his voice was quiet, shaky against his own will. He grabbed his head in his hands, leaning forward and frantically thinking.

"Shadow? Is everything alright?" Amy reached out her hand, stopping it right before touching his shoulder. Rouge, Knuckles, and Tails also came closer, adding to the suffocating pressure Shadow was feeling.

"What happened to that 'Sonic'? Why are you looking for him?" Knuckles' voice was steady, not at all worried at Shadow's sudden collapse.

"We can help look for him, if you want?" Tails added, nodding slightly.

Their voices were echoing off the surrounding walls, adding to all the roaming thoughts Shadow had inside his head. He needed some time alone. Straightening his back, the hedgehog turned to leave, not caring to explain himself. He shouldn't waste any time on them. Pushing away from the ground, he jumped out of the cave, sliding down the mountain with his air shoes. He heard Rouge call out his name, but no one tried to pursue him. It would've been in vain anyway, since the only person who was able to keep up with him was currently missing.

Once this thought crossed Shadow's mind, he failed to keep his balance, tumbling down, the momentum sending him rolling across the dirt. Pain shot through him, each roll counting every bone in his body. Stopping after meters of plowed land right on the cliff edge and a full mouth of dirt, he rolled onto his back, spitting everything out and gulping for air. A couple of seconds went by with Shadow merely trying to get himself together, staring up into the sky, where the clouds were following the wind's guide. He slowly sat up, his eyes locking onto the sea he was about to fall in. The breeze was calm, its delicate touch brushing Shadow's skin. Unlike his mind, the surroundings he found himself in were eerily calm. Nobody seemed to understand that something was incredibly wrong.

Summoning all his strength, Shadow forced himself to admit it.

Earlier, he didn't imagine it.

Sonic was truly gone.

Chapter Text

Opening his eyes, he found himself all alone. With no one and nothing around, he could barely see his own stretched hands before him. He didn't feel anything. Anything but this weird, tugging thing in his chest, but he had no idea what it could've been. He had no idea about anything. Was there anything? He didn't know. Because no matter how hard he looked, he saw nothing but impenetrable, all-consuming darkness.

Shadow tore his gaze away from the sea. Taking a long, yet shallow breath, the hedgehog picked himself up, shaking off dirt and soil from his dark fur. His body felt stiff, unwilling to move, although all the thoughts in his head were running wild.

It didn't work. Their plan to get to Green Hills safely failed. But how come everything fell into place? Missing a part, yes, but Sonic's absence didn't seem to affect the world at all. At least the world of others, since Shadow, somehow, still remembered his blue acquaintance.

He frowned, feeling the heart in his chest beating faster. Panic was never a feeling he appreciated, so he made sure to suppress it every time it tried to surface. Even as the ultimate lifeform, Shadow needed his head empty to come to a coherent conclusion.

Sonic is gone. They didn't get to the portal on time.

He bit his lip.

All of the memories of Sonic got wiped out. No one knows he once existed.

No one but Shadow.

His gaze slowly met the horizon, which was colored in all the shades of orange and pink, ready to let the sun in for its night's rest.

Why didn't Shadow forget?

The hedgehog shook his head. It didn't matter why. It mattered how. Still remembering Sonic meant that he did exist, and could mean that he still exists somewhere. He just has to find out where.

Shadow ran a hand through his quills, the fur hard to the touch, when his fingers brushed over something.

The Prism.

Getting it out, he narrowed his eyes, gazing at the colorful light it emitted. He has only now realized how small it was compared to when he first saw it; it never crossed his mind, and no one in the cave seemed to question the size as well. It must've changed when they entered the portal.

Brushing the Prism with his finger, Shadow sank deeper into his thoughts, just as the sun sank deeper into the sea, painting the sky dark blue. The night was young, offering him a well-deserved rest, but the hedgehog just remained in his head. Looking at the Prism for the last time, he placed it back into his quills. He had no time to lose.

The only one who made out enough sense out of the Prism was beyond Shadow's reach, separated by different dimensions. But he still had someone similar, a young genius, and probably the only fox smart enough to help him.

Tails.

Even if he won't know the whole story, maybe he'll be able to make the Prism work, giving the hedgehog a chance to find Nine. If Sonic disappeared before getting to their world, Nine could be the only one who's familiar with the Shatterverse enough to help. Not to mention, he was the one to give the instructions to get to Green Hills as fast as possible, meaning he could've had a bigger idea of what could happen if they didn't make it in time.  

Well, at least Shadow had a plan now. Sort of.

Shadow took another second to gather himself, the result of his recent fall still lingering close by in the form of dull pain in the body, before haltingly taking off, gradually increasing his speed. Moving through Green Hills, he watched the moon rise high up in the sky. Weird. The sun sat just a minute ago, how come it's already so deep in the night? Shaking his head, Shadow decided to think about it later. He had places to be.

Knowing Tails, he could be up for hours, even overstaying for the whole night in the workshop, finding the company of his creations quite soothing. The black hedgehog, unlike his blue counterpart, was never a frequent guest at Tails' house. To be completely honest, he and the fox never had much in common at all, only interacting when the situation demanded it, or their friends.

Just like Shadow thought, upon arriving at the workshop, he was greeted by a warm light coming from the windows, coloring the grass beneath yellow. He stopped a couple of meters away from the door, frowning at his own decision to come here. Admitting that he needed help with saving the most annoying person in his life was hard enough, but asking a kid for help was on another level. Shadow shook his head, chasing away the nagging thoughts. Right now wasn't the time to dwell on his feeling of self-independence.

Behind the door, the hedgehog could hear all sorts of mechanical noises, indicating that, despite the nighttime, Tails was pretty busy. Shadow raised his hand, which immediately froze just moments away from the door. Coming to terms with his next steps, he sighed, finally knocking, the action making a quiet but distinct sound. Right as he placed his knuckles on the wood for the third time, the noises inside the workshop stopped, changing to the sound of footsteps that were getting closer and closer. Shadow took a step back right before the door swung open, almost hitting him in the face.

Tails stood in the opening, holding a strange tool in his hand, the purpose of which was only known to him. The fox's mouth was agape, his face painted with obvious shock mixed with confusion, the person standing in front of him was definitely not the one he expected to see. Shadow narrowed his eyes at the fox, red pupils glowing, reflecting the bright light. Tails had to look up at him, gulping at the sight of his visitor. "S-Shadow? What are you doing here?"

His voice, raspy from staying silent to concentrate on the machinery, was carrying notes of uncertainty, and perhaps even nervousness. The hedgehog was bigger, faster, and stronger, and some of their particular interactions in the past were not, let's say, very pleasant.

Mostly for Tails, that is.

However, Shadow did not come here to look for trouble. Clenching his jaw, he sucked in air through his teeth, forcing the words out.

"I need your help."

Baffled by the sentence that left Shadow's lips, Tails' jaw almost hit the floor. He blinked a couple of times before closing his mouth, eyebrows knitting together in bewilderment. A minute passed before he spoke again.

"You need my help?"

Shadow closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't make me repeat myself, Tails," he grunted, trying his best to keep calm, which was harder than expected. Not because of Tails, no; he was just trying to understand the situation, just like any sane person would.

"Right, sorry," the fox mumbled as an answer, stepping away from the door. "Why don't you, uh, come in first?"

The hedgehog nodded, carefully stepping inside. Behind him, Tails closed the door. "Erm... Would you like..." he looked around, trying to find anything suitable for giving to Shadow. "Uh, some water?.." his young voice went an octave higher, probably thinking that offering simple water to the ultimate life form wasn't the best idea.

Shadow couldn't blame him for not offering anything else. Lying his eyes on the mess around, he immediately understood that finding anything in the workshop wasn't an easy task. No matter where the hedgehog looked, all he could see were various tools, instruments, mechanical devices, and stray parts that had found temporary shelter on the floor. A large table lit by two hanging lamps stood in the middle of the room, covered with even more junk, the value of which only the young fox could recognize. Shadow figured that it was something he'd been working on just minutes ago.

"Sorry for interrupting your... creating process," his lips twisted slightly as he shook his head at a glass Tails offered him.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," the fox smiled meekly, placing the glass away and scratching the back of his head. "I’m just trying to see if I can recalibrate the structural feedback loop so it can maintain equilibrium without external correction."

The room fell into an awkward silence. To follow Tails' train of thought was a hard task on its own, but once he started talking about his machines, even Shadow was barely able to keep up. Tails, clearly realizing that his spontaneous visitor was not up for this exact talk, hastened to change the subject. "A-anyway," stuttering, he fidgeted with his fingers. "What happened? Does it have anything to do with that, uh, 'Sonic' you mentioned, by any chance?"

Upon hearing how different Sonic's name sounded on his best friend's lips now, alien and unknown, Shadow's face took on a stern, almost violent expression. This was a reminder that everything was real.
Thankfully, closing his eyes to calm down, he was able to silently nod, a flicking ear now being the only sign of any dissatisfaction he might've had.

Tails tapped his chin with a finger. After a couple of silent seconds, his eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands in excitement. "Do you want me to build a tracking device!?"

Shadow looked up at him, clearly confused as to why he was so excited about tracking someone. "What? No, I..."

Unfortunately, Tails didn't let him finish the thought. "Wait, since you don't know where he is, I won't be able to put a tracker on him and actually track him..."

"Tails."

"...Unless you have some sort of an object that's connected to his energy trail, then I could build something to pick that trail up and find his location..."

"Tails."

"...I actually already have something I could use as a base, I'll just have to do some energy readings to make sure it works..."

"Tails!" 

Shadow's harsh voice cut through all the blabbering, the fangs showing from the grim expression his face took, his hands at his sides, claws ready to strike in irritation.

The fox flinched, taking a hesitant step back. Seeing how his form scared the kid, Shadow pressed his palms together beneath his chin, exhaling through clenched teeth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice." Trying to keep the said voice calm and reserved, as well as his face, the hedgehog held out his hands in a reassuring manner. "I just... really don't have time for all this."

Tails gulped and took a few quick breaths before talking. "N-no, I-I'm sorry, I get carried away sometimes," He gave Shadow a feeble smile, before calmly nodding a couple of times. "I guess I'll hear you out first."

Shadow's gaze locked on Tails for a couple of seconds. "Thanks."

Judging from what Shadow knew about the fox he's been looking on, explaining what he wants from the Prism to him would not be the hardest part of the task. Getting it out of his quills, Shadow placed it on the nearest table, pushing all the junk to the side. Just like before, it was softly glowing, emitting a rainbow of lights.

"I need to make this thing... work," he said slowly, still not sure about the word's choice.

To be honest, he wasn't even sure why he wanted to make it work. Sure, if the Prism could open the portals to other worlds, he could try to find Nine, but there was no confirmation that he even remembered Shadow. The hedgehog, however, didn't really have a choice. Leaving the Prism to Tails for him to figure it out could work, but if Nine does remember something, it will save Shadow such precious time.

"The Prism, huh?" Tails carefully took it in his hand to examine, turning it around. "You mean you want to use its energy?" He asked without tearing his gaze away. Shadow's nose wrinkled as he crossed his arms on his chest. "Something like that." He thought for a second before adding specific details for some clarity: "It should be able to open portals to different worlds."

Narrowing his eyes, expecting any type of reaction from Tails about hearing that other worlds do exist, he definitely didn't expect... nothing. The fox merely nodded, carefully listening while continuing to examine the Prism.

"It can definitely do that," He said, not paying attention to slightly baffled Shadow. "But to tear the fabric of time and space, you'll need a lot of energy. And I mean a lot," Tails faced his guest to emphasize the last sentence. Catching up on the expression that was still present on Shadow's face, he frowned. "Are you okay?"

Now, it was Shadow's turn to observe his acquaintance. "Yes. I just thought that you, of all people, would be more interested in the fact that there are other worlds and what I have to do with traveling there," he said, making Tails fully turn and face him.

"Well, the second part is not really my business, and the first one? Please, I've known it for years," he chuckled and waved his hand, as if knowing about the existence of other worlds was common knowledge. "The Universe is endless and constantly expanding, so expecting that there are no other worlds is actually not very smart. After all, all of us are just protons, neutrons, and electrons arranged in specific orders, so according to the cosmic repetition hypothesis, the possibility of the same combination occurring billions of light years away from us is not at all impossible, which means not only there are other worlds, but there are possibly also countless versions of ourselves, living their lives, having friends, making decisions. Well, that is if we talk about 'other worlds' like in level one multiverse, and..." He shut his mouth close, realizing that he had gotten carried away again, and Shadow was probably not waiting for another big talk that wasn't connected to the Prism. Tails slowly turned to face him with a self-disappointed grimace. "Sorry... I really should stop doing this."

Placing his hands on his hips and taking a deep breath, the hedgehog shook his head, realizing that just letting Tails finish was the safest option for his mental state; scaring him again would definitely not make things go faster.

"It's alright. But I'd appreciate it if you looked into the Prism right now, instead of thinking about the multiverse." To be honest, it was Shadow's mistake that Tails got carried away, but none of them decided to voice it.

The hedgehog gazed at the Prism in the fox's hands, making his own gaze follow.

"Oh, right," he frowned, thinking. "Well, as I said, to tear the fabric of space, you'll need a lot of power. So I'll have to do its energy reading first, and it can take a couple of hours," he rubbed his chin. "I can bring it to you tomorrow if you want?"

"No."

Tails' kind offer was refused quite harshly; however, he just nodded, growing more familiar with Shadow's roughness.

"Well, then you can just wait here until I'm done." Taking the Prism, he moved to the large table, pushing everything on it down to the floor. "Why don't you get some rest? You can use the couch. Just throw everything on the floor, I'll deal with it later anyway." He pointed at a pile of garbage in the corner, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a sofa with a nice layer of metal junk.

Shadow scoffed, crossing his arms once again, clearly insulted by the implication that he might need rest. "Do you think I can't handle a couple of hours of waiting?"

The fox reached out his hands, waving them hastily, as his eyes widened. "No, I didn't mean it like that!" He bit his lip and scratched the back of his head. "It's just... It's late, and energy reading is a pretty long and notorious process, so I'll really need some concentration, and since you're trying to travel to another world, you might want to get some rest, and I'll just w-wake you up once I'm done. If you want. Only if you want." His lips twisted in a soft smile.

Shadow sighed, finding logic in Tails' words, which wasn't all that surprising. "Fine, I'll lie down for a while. But you have to tell me right once you're done," he grunted, hating to admit that he needed rest in front of someone. 

Tails nodded, finally turning to the table and sitting down to take care of the Prism.

Shadow frowned, the dialogue between them obviously came to a stop for a couple of hours. He went to the couch, not bothering with all the junk, just like Tails said. Throwing it all down and making much more noise than he thought he would, the hedgehog turned to look at Tails, who, however, didn't even flinch at the sound. Clearly, the Prism had his full attention. Shadow made a small note to properly thank him once it's all over.

He laid down, only now realizing how tired he was. The day's been harsh on him, and even though the whole "Win over Nine and get back home" thing happened only half a day ago, it felt much, much longer than that.

Tails started to use a tool that was making a soft, metal buzzing sound, working as a white noise and soothing Shadow's messy mind.

The workshop was peaceful, the lights glowing their soft, yellow light. The night outside the windows was cloudless, stars shining in the sky.

Strangely, just lying here, having someone helping him, made Shadow feel like he wasn't alone in his quest to find Sonic.

Even if he was the only one to even remember him.

Letting these thoughts consume his mind, he finally fell into a dreamless, deep sleep.

Shadow blinked, opening his eyes. Then blinked again. Did he really open them? It was so dark that he had no idea if his eyes were truly agape. He grunted, sitting up.

"Tails? Are you done already?" His voice, quiet and rough, cut through the darkness like a knife.

However, the voice he heard in response did not belong to the young fox.

"Who's there?"

Sounding so familiar, the hedgehog couldn't believe his ears, hastily looking around.

There, through the darkness, he was able to make out the silhouette of the voice's owner, making his body freeze completely.

Just a couple of meters ahead, Shadow saw blue fur, so clear against the black that was surrounding them.

It was Sonic, standing right in front of him.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Sonic's eyes were locked on his sudden visitor, full of confusion, fear, and yet something that seemed to be relief. He looked around, his gaze darting about, trying to catch hold of something in the darkness, yet finding nothing but a person in front of him. "What am I doing here? Where are we? What's any of this?"

Feeling the rise of panic in his voice, Shadow hurriedly stepped closer, breaking away from the shock. He reached out his hands, wanting to grab Sonic by the shoulders, to tell him that it's alright, he's fine, but his body treacherously refused to obey, and the words would not come out of his mouth. On the contrary, it seemed that the distance between the two hedgehogs began to increase, filling with darkness instead.

"Wait," Sonic exhaled, his brows frowning. Shadow frowned as well, now the voice of his blue counterpart sounded muffled and unclear.

"Don't go, please!"

The world around started to spin, hurting Shadow's head, which was now full of rapid thoughts.

"Wait!"

And then the darkness consumed him once again.

He reached out his hand, trying to grab the only comfort he had. But it was too late. It was swallowed by the shadows, leaving him all alone again.

Looking down at his trembling hands, his eyes filled with dismay.

"Who am I?"

Chapter Text

"...Shadow..."

A soft voice made its way through the darkness, brushing over Shadow's mind.

"...Shadow."

He grunted, trying his best to awake.

"...Shadow!"

Flashing his eyes wide open, the hedgehog sat up with a gasp, bumping head to head with Tails. With a loud 'Ow!' and a thump, he landed right onto the pile of junk Shadow threw down earlier.

"Ouch..." The fox got back up, rubbing his bruised head. He turned to Shadow, confusion painted all over his face. His visitor, however, was as hurt, rubbing his forehead with a low grunt, which gave a sign that it wasn't intentional.

"Sorry I startled you," Tails moved his hands to rub a now reddish spot on his back, both of his tails messily wagging behind. Usually, they would cushion the fall, but this time even their fluffy fur did not help against the hard metal scattered on the floor. Perhaps he should think about a deep cleaning, although he very much disliked the idea of messing with his meticulously organized chaos.

Shadow merely shook his head, frowning at the dull pain. He wasn't even sure it was Tails who woke him up. And the dream he just had? So bizarre. This pitch darkness...

Realization struck his mind.

Sonic.

Jumping onto his legs, Shadow grabbed his head.

That was not a dream. It couldn't have been! It felt too real to be just a play of his mind. But then, what was it?

The hedgehog grunted, claws digging into his fur. The headache was getting stronger, and his earlier collision was not the reason. He tried to take a step, stumbling right into Tails, who carefully gripped his arm, making sure he wouldn't fall.

"Shadow? Are you alright?" His voice was filled with worry, and after a couple of seconds of no response, he set the hedgehog back onto the couch. "What's wrong, are you feeling okay?" His hands were still firmly gripping Shadow's arm, but he didn't seem to mind the physical contact. In fact, it seemed like the hedgehog hardly understood what was going on, and to be honest, it wasn't far from the truth. His head was buzzing with nonsensical ideas, chest constantly moving up and down, eyes darting across the room, yet finding nothing to grab onto.

Stepping away, Tails looked around the room, trying to find something that could help. He got back in a minute, holding the same glass of water he'd offered a couple of hours ago. This time, however, Shadow accepted it, taking big, long sips. His messy breathing began to subside, finally establishing the usual order of air supply to his head. He gripped the glass, nearly breaking it, giving the fox a slight nod.

Tails got on the couch and sat next to him, his short legs dangling in the air. Carefully observing the hedgehog, he bit his lip, unsure. "I have some news, but you'll need to calm down first."

"I'm fine," Shadow's rough voice was even lower than usual, making Tails even more unsure. However, he didn't want to end up on the ultimate life form's bad side, so it's not like he had a choice.

"If you say so," the fox jumped off the couch, his tails briefly brushing over the soft surface. He went to the table, grabbing a pair of dark goggles, and throwing them to Shadow. Met with an arched eyebrow, he just shrugged. "Trust me, you really want to wear them."

Both of them managed to get the goggles on their faces, looking quite weird. The opinion on their looks, however, disappeared from the hedgehog's head as soon as Tails lifted a big, metal lid of the table, letting a flash of rainbow light fill the workshop. It was so bright that even with special equipment, Shadow still narrowed his eyes, covering them with a hand. For a moment, it seemed like all of the shadows in the room were consumed by this flare, leaving nothing but light.

Closing the lid back, Tails sighed and turned to face his guest, and even though he was in goggles, it was obvious that he was frowning.

"Well," Tails exhaled, "there's been, uh, a really strong energy blast, and now it's kind of impossible to even look at it without my protective equipment." With a strained smile, he patted the lid a couple of times.

"What?" Shadow's voice was quiet, filled with confusion. He got off the goggles, locking his gaze on Tails.

The fox sighed, putting his equipment on the table as well. Their eyes were safe with the Prism under the lid, yet somehow he really wished they still had them hidden; what can he say, eye contact was definitely not one of his specialties.

"Yeah, so I don't think you'll be able to carry it around in your quills anymore," he chuckled, "not unless you want to look like a light bulb. Or dissolve in a random energy outburst, taking half the planet with you."

"What?" The hedgehog sized him with a puzzlement look and took a step closer, the joke part of such a strong statement obviously getting past his ears. "Will it go back to normal? Can you stabilize it?"

Tails scratched the back of his head. His tails were messily swishing behind, unintentionally sweeping the dust and random screws on the floor. "I'm not really sure to be honest..." He rubbed his eyes. "It's such a strong energy radiation."

Shadow's head twitched, his voice changing into a low, threatening grunt. His posture changed, leaning forward, body naturally moving closer to the ground, as if the words were about to make him go violent.

"What do you mean you're not sure?"

The fox gulped, clearly picking up on all of the sudden changes. Backing up, he bumped into the table behind him, grabbing its edge as if this piece of wood could protect him.

"W-well, since I don't know what made the energy level spike go up so high, the reason could be anything, which means it could stay like this for hours, or days, or weeks..."

"What!?"

The question cut through the blabbering, making Tails flinch. This subtle movement was enough for Shadow to mentally slap himself.

This wasn't Sonic, or Knuckles, or Amy, who were able to fight him, even if with a struggle. Tails was just a smart kid who hated being left behind, but without his creations, he had no chance against Shadow.

He had to take a grip of himself, otherwise he was risking both scarring the kid and scaring the only person capable of helping him away. Standing straight up, he was about to apologize. (Which would be the third time this night, and that's three times too many for his liking.)

The fox, however, seemed to try and stand his ground, much to his visitor's surprise. Pushing away from the table, he threw his hands in the air, slightly raising his tone.

"Look, I don't know! It's been like this for ten minutes or something, I need more time to observe it!" His voice treacherously cracked in the middle of the sentence, showing that this daring bravado was just a facade.

Shadow took a deep breath and merely shook his head. The memory of that blasting light from the Prism was still lingering in the air, and if you really tried, you could even hear a soft buzzing sound coming from under the metal lit.

He didn't care. The Prism was his only chance to get to Sonic, and no amount of bright, rainbow light or possible planet destruction was going to stop him.

"Whatever. I'll use it anyway."

Tails' eyes widened, and he swung both his hands in front of Shadow's face.

"You can't! It can easily tear our world apart, or blind you!" He shook his head frantically, stumbling over the words. "I-I'm lucky I was wearing my goggles when it happened! If not for them, I'd probably temporarily lose my sight, if not forever! And it's literally the smallest bad thing it can do!"

A tense silence fell between them. The fox was clearly worried about him, but saving Sonic was the most important thing at the moment. Without him, this world was wrong.

"I don't care," Shadow sighed after a short moment. His voice became quiet, flat, as his gaze met the floor. "And I have no choice. I have to do it."

Tails looked at him, silent. He bit his lip, burying his hands in the fur on his muzzle.

Sometimes the fox wondered whether the adults around him were too narrow-minded or if he was too smart for his own good. Whatever it was, he believed that the exact adult (well, almost) that was standing in front of him was not in the right mental state for this conversation. Tails could see the unsettling storm behind his eyes, meaning that there was no way he wouldn't use the Prism. Truth be told, somewhere in the back of his head, he already knew that, which, however, meant that he had to compromise and make sure he wouldn't blind himself or any other unlucky creature that could cross his way, or even better, destroy the whole planet.

Taking a deep breath, he slightly nodded.

"There's just no changing your mind." A meek smile appeared on his face. "This Sonic must really mean a lot to you, huh?"

Shadow's ear flickered as he crossed his arms. Denying it would be useless, since he just admitted he was ready to tear their planet apart to get to him, but admitting it out loud? He frowned, scoffing, a grimace of feeling torn painted all over his face. The kid was getting too personal, yet his eyes showed no malicious intent. Clearly, he just wanted to know the reason why Shadow was doing all that. It's not like the ultimate life form could be seen going around asking for help every day, or risking it all for someone.

Sighing, he dropped his arms. Even though Tails didn't say the answer was necessary, it was obvious he wanted to hear it. And to be honest, the hedgehog was just grateful that instead of throwing him from the workshop for all the trouble (and a couple of angry outbursts), he just asked some questions, even if they were stupid, annoying, and absolutely unnecessary.

Through clenched teeth, Shadow managed to force the words out. They sounded rough and dry, but he was satisfied anyway; wording affection was also something he wasn't known for, so having him talk instead of destroying the workshop was a good sign. Yet, he was definitely beginning to think of setting this whole place on fire.

"He does. So, please, Tails. I really need the Prism."

A moment went by with Tails just observing his guest. It is serious, huh.

"Fine." He flickered both his ears. "I... I'll see what I can do. But it will take some time!" He pointed a finger at Shadow.

The hedgehog paid no attention to this accusing move.

"How much?"

"I don't know. At least a couple of hours." A simple shrug of the shoulders. "I'll have to make sure that the Prism won't collapse in your own hands, you know."

Shadow obediently agreed, simply nodding at Tails' words. A couple of hours of waiting is a small price for their world's conditional safety.

Nodding back at him, the fox pointed at the sofa behind.

"Well then, I guess you can go back to the couch. Wanna sleep some more?"

Shadow shook his head. "I'm fine. How long was I out anyway?"

Tails tapped two fingers on his chin. "Around three or four hours, I guess, and then I had to wake you up."

One more nod, then a familiar awkward silence. Clearing his throat, the hedgehog tried to find something to do with his hands that ended up pointing at the Prism.

"Is there anything I can help you with?

"Not really. Just try to stay quiet, that'll be enough." The fox chuckled, getting his equipment ready. "Oh, and don't forget the goggles. Just in case."

Sitting back at the table, Tails was about to immerse himself in the Prism once more when Shadow called him.

"Tails?"

He turned back, looking at him. "Yes?"

One more moment went by in silence, but then Shadow managed to speak.

"Thank you."

The words were quiet, but honest, making a smile appear on the fox's face.

"Sure thing."

Lying on the couch, Shadow's eyes were inspecting every crack in the workshop's roof.

His mind, however, was busy with thoughts.

He's never seen the Prism do... that. Such a powerful energy outburst was not something that could just happen, and the dots in his mind were slowly connecting.

The Prism was connected to Sonic.

This was the only logical explanation he managed to come up with, his rampant mind giving away the lack of sleep.

The Sonic he saw was real, and Shadow's presence led to the Prism's sudden change of state. But how? Why did Shadow end up wherever there was, but Tails, who was in close contact with the Prism, didn't even notice anything but the burst? Did it happen because of his chaos energy? Did the Prism connect to it?

Whatever the reason was, stabilizing the Prism was a priority, which, thankfully, Shadow had figured out at least for now, seeing how enthusiastic Tails was at his table.

Back there, Sonic didn't seem to remember him. He didn't seem to remember anything, trapped somewhere by Prism. And with the endless Universe soon to be at his disposal, Shadow began to question his plan once again.

If Sonic's connected to the Prism, it means that he exists and is somewhere, so finding him must be easier.

If Sonic's connected to the Prism, any interference with its energy field could lead to his annihilation.

Digging his claws into his head, it cost Shadow a great effort to stay silent. His every move could end in failure. Still, he needs Nine, so taking the risk by messing with the Prism was the only choice.

A couple of hours went by, but this time he made sure to stay awake. Another energy outburst was not what he needed right now. Covering his face with his hand, Shadow sighed.

Tails has been busy with the Prism for hours, but at least he said that goggles weren't needed anymore an hour or so ago, meaning that the blinding light was a problem he managed to stop. Well, the only thing left was making sure the world doesn't collapse on itself. Nice.

Right as Shadow thought about it, Tails happily called him over.

Frowning, Shadow approached the table. The easy part was over.

Sitting at the edge of the cliff, one leg hanging down with the other supporting the elbow, Shadow's concerned gaze brushed over the sea.

"Maximum power can open portals." 

A salty breeze softly caressed his cheeks.

"Too much power can tear the whole fabric of reality. You must be careful."

Breathing in, he filled his lungs with the cold air of the leaving night, looking at the first rays of the sun.

"I don't know how many portals it can create before something goes wrong. Could be one. Could be a million."

"Will something go wrong?"

"Yes. With such a strong and unstable energy source, something will."

Running a hand through his quills, Shadow looked down.

"What do I do when it happens?"

"You come back to our world. The Prism will find its way to restore the balance we're messing with, but you'd better stay out of the way."

Taking a shaky breath, the hedgehog bit his lip. He knows.

Shadow hid his face in the palms of his head. This whole situation has been getting worse each time he gets more information. Now, he wasn't even sure using the Prism was a good idea. One mistake, and he won't even be there to find Sonic, and neither will the planet. Like Tails said, an energy source so strong can wipe them all out if he isn't careful.

"If it's so dangerous, why are you giving it to me this easily?"

"Whatever you're searching for beyond our world, you won't overpower the Prism. Once the imbalance is too much, it will collapse back on itself, bringing everything back."

Shadow looked at the device Tails gave him. It was a simple metal, tube-like container with the Prism inside, welded on both sides. It wouldn't help if something went wrong, but it was enough to contain its energy for now. The fox also added a long strap, so that the container could be worn over the shoulder. Like he said, it's better to always have it under control instead of in the quills.

Using a switch on its side, Shadow could focus the energy on one point, creating the portals. Too little would just cause an explosion; too much would destroy his chances of finding Sonic. Tails marked all possible positions of the switch, but the hedgehog knew that he could never be sure.

Will Sonic still... still be if the Prism collapses? Will Shadow disappear as well if he doesn't make it back in time? Too many questions with no answers. Grunting, Shadow's claws dug into his head, causing pain that he didn't even notice.

"Darling, I doubt that scarring yourself will help with whatever you're worrying about."

A wily voice reached his ears. Lowering his hands, Shadow turned to look at his sudden guest. There, with both hands on her hips, was Rouge, her wings slightly shining in the rising sun's light.

The hedgehog sighed, his guard lowering at the sight of an old friend. "Rouge."

She smirked, coming closer and sitting next to him.

"You've been acting strange since we saw you yesterday in the cave," She leaned back, supporting herself with her hands. Her legs slowly swung over the edge. "What's going on?"

Shadow gazed at her, scoffing. Rouge and he were close friends, but he doubted that telling her would be a good idea. He didn't even tell Tails, at least not the whole story, and he wasn't sure that he believed him.

"I doubt you'll believe me," he turned to her.

She turned to face him as well, eyes shining from the sun.

"Try me. Who knows, maybe you'll feel better after saying it out loud," she shrugged, putting a hand on Shadow's shoulder.

Fifteen minutes and one long explanation after, Shadow finally stopped talking. He let out most of the details of his whole adventure in the Shatterverse, but now Rouge knew that he was ready to risk his own existence for an annoying prick nobody even remembered. She was lying on her back, her gaze lazily following the clouds in the sky.

Once he stopped talking, the bat sat back up, tilting her head.

"So, you're planning to use this pretty baby to travel beyond our world?" The Prism container sat calmly in her hand as she turned it around to have a better look.

Shadow frowned. Rouge's skills of stealing were impressive, but he had no time for it.

She smiled, noticing his face. "Calm down, I'm just messing with you." Giving the container back, she watched Shadow wear it over his shoulder. "But if we're being serious, I really hope that you know what you're doing. Playing with such power is not a great idea."

Rouge stood up, flapping her wings a couple of times, her short shadow falling onto the grass. Holding onto her reached hand, Shadow followed her example, finally stepping away from the edge. "I guess I'll try to stay alive and make sure our world doesn't disappear."

The bat approvingly nodded, opening her mouth to say something. The words, however, never left her lips, as she stared somewhere in confusion.

"Rouge? What's wrong?" Letting her hand go, the hedgehog waved in front of her face, trying to grab her attention. "Are you alright?"

"Shadow, darling," She calmly began, looking back at him with the same expression. "How long have we been talking?"

Arching his eyebrow, he grimaced. "Do you really think I have time for this?"

The bat suddenly grabbed onto his shoulders, sounding rather serious. "How long?"

Pushing her away, Shadow threw up his hands. "I don't know, half an hour? Why does it even matter!?"

Ignoring his question, she pointed at the bright blue sky.

"Then how come it's already noon?"

Following her finger, Shadow's eyes met the sun that was right above them. The knot between his eyebrows tightened.

Rouge stood beside him, her arms crossed.

"Whatever happened when that Sonic disappeared seems to have affected our world more than you think."

Standing on the plateau at the very top of the highest mountain, Shadow looked at Green Hills, which stretched out below. The wind blew directly into his face, but it was the safest place to open the portal. Rouge stood a few steps away; she refused to stay below, saying that if something went wrong, he might need help. The sun, which remained high in the sky, reflected off her wings, which fluttered lightly in the wind.

"Save someone, don't die, and don't destroy the entire universe. Sounds like a perfect task the ultimate life form can get burdened with." She smiled, though the smile carried nothing but unease. "I really hope this Sonic of yours is worth it."

Taking a deep breath, Shadow turned the switch on the metal container. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then they heard a sound, like an echoing sound of splitting boulders. Covering their ears, Shadow and Rouge stared at the bright tear that had begun forming in the air in front of them. It was barely their size, yet so bright that Shadow had to cover his eyes. The portal was buzzing with energy, cracking with thin arcs of electricity that flickered across the surface.

The wind grew stronger, almost causing Rouge and Shadow to lose their balance.

As soon as the main sound stopped, leaving only the cracking noises, the hedgehog straightened up, his feet digging into the hard surface. The portal was ready, and the longer it was open, the worse.

Not wasting time, Shadow turned to Rouge and squeezed the strap of the container in his hand.

"He is."

And jumped into the portal, completely engulfed by light.

Chapter Text

"Come on, Shadow, let's go!" Sonic grabbed his arm, pulling. "Everyone's already waiting!"

Shadow scoffed, trying to get his arm back from the blue blur's hold. "Exactly. Why would I want to come?"

The said blur sighed, letting his grip loosen, allowing Shadow to use the moment and get his hand away.

Sonic's nose crinkled, mouth twisting with annoyance. "You know, it's a good idea to relax from time to time. Maybe to have fun, even!" He covered his lips with a hand, letting out a painfully fake cough: "Not that you know what that is."

Shadow's ear flickered as he bared his fangs, grunting. "I heard you, and I know what fun is."

Sonic, not at all minding being heard, happily grinned and grabbed his hand once more. "Great, then let's go have some!"

Not waiting for an answer, he pulled the black hedgehog along with him, even though his unhappy expression suggested that it was a bad idea. But since Sonic didn't feel any resistance from him, - well, except for the palm that was honestly too stiff for it to be normal, - he decided to let it slide, just like the recent comment.

It was nighttime, and the dark sky was dotted with bright stars. The two hedgehogs' hands were still intertwined, but neither of them had any intention of letting go. Sonic -because he was afraid that Shadow would change his mind and go back, and Shadow, because he was scared of the same thing. But to be honest, he was too busy trying to keep his cool, his held hand slowly getting more and more relaxed from sudden warmth. Any thoughts of escaping were smitten away by loud reminders in his head that the ultimate life form does not require physical contact, and that his body was being weird.

It was oddly unusual for these two to just walk together, but there was something about it that Shadow found himself enjoying. Once they were far enough from his place, however, the blue hedgehog turned to him with a sly smirk playing on his lips.

"Now you'll look stupid if you just turn and go back, so you kinda have no choice but to go with me."

Shadow scoffed, frowned, and pulled his hand back. "I doubt I will ever be able to look as stupid as you." He crossed his arms, finally regaining control over his own head.

Sonic raised his hands in defeat, but there was a playful look on his face. "Whatever you say, buddy, but it's still going to look kind of weird, you know." He placed a hand on his hip and, with a tilt of his head, lazily pointed behind his back. "Unless you want that, how about just sticking with me for a while?"

His emerald eyes were reflecting the moonlight, making them shine. A devilish smile tugged on his mouth, and they both knew Shadow wouldn't refuse.

As if to confirm this, even if unintentionally, the black hedgehog jerked his head, almost baring his teeth, and quickly took a few steps in the indicated direction, pushing Sonic away with his shoulder. "Shut up."

The blue blur chuckled, quickly following his counterpart. He quickly gained speed, cutting through the fields and leaving a blue trail behind, too bright against the scene of the deep night. A second later, Shadow picked up his pace, skating right behind.

"You up for a little race, Shads?" Sonic's eyes glanced in the light as he turned his head, shouting over the wind in their ears.

Shadow scoffed, skating ahead. "If you call your inevitable loss a race."

"O-ho," the blue hedgehog chuckled, a competitive grin exposing his teeth. "It's on now!"

Running through the hills and fields, the 'race' soon became nothing but pushing (coming mostly from Shadow) and laughter (coming only from Sonic), turning into a fast, living mass of hands and legs. Their trails intertwined, leaving bright patterns on the grass. Wherever Sonic was leading them was clearly behind now, but none of the hedgehogs cared; distance was relative when you were the fastest creatures in the universe.

However, they had to stop once Sonic missed a turn and didn't notice a cliff edge. Seeing as he was moments away from tumbling down the hard rocks, Shadow grabbed his arm and pulled back, accidentally using too much power and sending the blue blur sliding through the grass. With a muffled 'Ouch', Sonic stopped only after a couple of meters, tearing the grass. He raised himself on his elbows, shaking the dirt from his muzzle, which had a rather incomprehensible expression on it.

Still, if Shadow were to guess, it was annoyance, acceptance, and disappointment mixed all together.

"You know," the hedgehog coughed, sitting up, "I was about to thank you for kind of helping me, but I'm not sure it was better than if I just fell down that edge." He smoothed his quills, shaking off grass and soil at the same time. "Which means I don't owe you anything." 

Shadow, finding himself unable to answer, - because that was somewhat true, - just stood there with a frown and a slightly agape mouth. Coming closer, his hand reached out before he even noticed. Grabbing Sonic by his forearm and easily lifting him, he put the blue hedgehog back on his feet. This time, the action was careful and gentle, which wasn't an apology he should've said, but still enough for Sonic to briefly thank him.

"Thanks. But you have to stop trying to kill me every time you get the chance, bud." The blue blur joked, patting his savior's (well, almost) shoulder.

His gaze brushed over Shadow's, eyes squinting from a slight smile. Just like Sonic's own face before, he had an incomprehensible expression of his own, which was actually not so incomprehensible to be honest, since it was obviously a bit of guilt mixed with confusion.

Not wanting his counterpart to deal with emotions that were clearly too much to process, the blue hedgehog rolled his eyes with a cocky grin, switching the topic. "Not like you'd ever succeed anyway."

Scoffing, Shadow crossed his arms, taking the bait. "You're only alive because killing you would be a waste of my time."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sonic winked, placing both hands on his hips.

He looked up at the night sky, thinking. A soft breeze was rushing through his fur, which was light blue under the moonlight. "We'd better get going, otherwise we might miss it."

Shadow, taking his eyes off the blue hedgehog for just a moment to look at the starry sky, raised an eyebrow. "Miss what? Where are we even going?"

"That's a surprise," Sonic turned his head to smile at him. "And I wouldn't want to spoil it, would I?"

Slowly opening his eyes, the hedgehog took a short, shaky breath. His gaze flattered, unwillingly falling into the abyss that flowed around.

Shadow was lying on one of the shattered pieces, drifting through the endless void. His body felt weird, perhaps reacting to such a sudden change in the surroundings. Grunting, his hand haltingly touched his head, sending a wave of pain from the touch. He must've hit his head while transitioning to the Shatterverse, which would explain him passing out. Sitting up, he took a good look at the Prism container; it hadn't changed, meaning that his first travel between the worlds went without the going-wrong part.

The portal behind Shadow was gone, leaving him wondering how long he had been out. He stood up, stretching his neck from all the lying around. The dream he just had was still lingering in his mind, leaving a bittersweet taste in his mouth. But this time, the hedgehog was sure it was nothing more than a memory from before, and he had no time to reminisce on the past when the future was at stake.

Looking around, Shadow noticed that the Green Hills Shatterspace was relatively close, emitting soft green light, making it stand out against the black void. He glared at it, a line appearing between his eyebrows. Just yesterday, he was here, carrying Sonic to safety... or at least trying. However, the point they used for entrance before was sealed, meaning that the Prism sliced the time and space to make the portal he came from.

He clenched his fists, sucking air - or whatever it was filling the Shatterverse - through his teeth.

Was it his fault? They would've made it on time if he were faster.

It wouldn't have happened if he had managed to stop Sonic from touching the Prism in the first place.

The shattered piece Shadow was standing on softly collided with another one, making his nose crinkle; he loved having stable ground under his feet, and his ground being a floating rock was a bit distracting. He scoffed.

At least it got him out of his head.

Combing his quills with a swift move of his hand, the hedgehog let his gaze wander, searching for entrances to other Shatterspaces. Their light pierced through the darkness, reflecting off the debris that continued to move through the void. The red and purple light caught his attention almost immediately, leaving only two options on his hands.

The search for Nine has officially begun.

Shadow frowned. The fact that he was able to narrow down the number of possible places to look for Nine was already good, but with such an unstable force as the Prism, every decision had to be weighed as carefully as possible. Each portal could be the last, and the less he used them, the better.

Still, after a minute of total silence, he decided to go with the New Yoke City, a dystopian world Shadow had the pleasure of never seeing.

But as they say, there's a first time for everything.

Before the Grim, Nine was living there, and as far as Shadow knew, the Prism got them all back to before Sonic had shattered it, meaning that the fox still had to be in his own world.

Pushing off from the shard, Shadow leaped into the void, leaving a red trail behind him. Using Chaos Emerald would have been a quicker solution, but he didn't dare risk unleashing another powerful force, since it could trigger the Prism. Jumping from one fragment to another, he moved through the darkness toward the bright red light of another dimension.

Nine was his last hope. If that fox didn't remember him, it would mean that this whole venture would be a waste of time and a foolish risk. Or maybe it already had been. Maybe it would have been better to tell Tails and ask for his help. He has already dealt with the Prism, so why not go further?

No. That would require the whole story, and the hedgehog had no idea how he would react to the news of his brother's oblivion and disappearance. Besides, it was Nine who modified the Prism in the first place, and if he did it once, he would do it again.

And if necessary, Shadow will force him to.

With these thoughts hovering around his head, Shadow arrived at the New Yoke Gateway. Similar to the entrance to Green Hills, it was sealed, making his grip on the metal container tighten. Just like on the mountain top, he took a deep breath and turned the switch. A couple of seconds went by, but then he saw it. A big, unstable, and moving split began forming in front of him, right on the side of the main portal, followed by a horrendous sound. It was cracking with energy, and arcs of electricity flickered around, seemingly ready to hurt anyone who came too close.

Moments before entering, Shadow tried to grip the reality; losing consciousness meant losing time. Scoffing once more, he took a leap of faith, jumping into the portal.

This time, however, plummeting from the red sky, he was well awake. Turning into a ball of black and red fur, he landed somewhere in the New Yoke City, crashing into the concrete around. He brushed the dirt off his fur, looking around with a frown. The colors of this world were heavy on the eyes, bright reddish sky contrasting with dark buildings and yellow light on the streets. Shadow had no idea what time of day it was; he wasn't even sure there was a sun to check. And strange as it may seem, there was no one around, although the black hedgehog was sure that he had fallen somewhere near the city center, judging by the appearance of the streets, metal houses, and roads stretching high above him.

Shadow carefully scanned the surroundings, his ears picking up fighting sounds amongst all the empty street's silence. Tilting his head, he wondered if following the noise would be a good idea. Nine did originate from this world, but back when they first met, he didn't strike Shadow as a big-fan-of-crowds type. But just standing was useless, and fighting meant people who could answer questions.

Skating through the streets and alleys, he noticed a huge, orange building farther away. In the form of an egg and with a familiar logo, he instantly realized that it was the Robotniks' base, the Chaos Council headquarters. His nose wrinkled as his mouth twisted in disgust. The idea of being in a world with five Eggmen was pretty annoying.

Finally, turning on one of the endless corners, he saw the source of the sounds. It was a wide street that had become the scene of a major battle: various robots - reminiscent of the creations of the doctor from Shadow's own world - were attacking a group of rebels who were desperately trying to fight back. The street was littered with debris, the remains of broken robots, and wounded participants, whom other rebels were trying to carry away from the fighting. The air was filled with the smell of explosions, metal, shouts of commands, and pain. Looking up, the hedgehog barely managed to jump aside before a piece of a destroyed robot fell where he had been standing.

Realizing that he ended up between the two sides, Shadow stepped back into the darkness of the alley he had emerged from. He didn't want to get involved, but helping the rebels could work in his favor. Also, destroying Eggman's robots was never a bad idea.

Stepping back, the hedgehog jumped up onto the nearest building. He gazed at the sky, looking for a target. Thankfully, with just a moment passing by, he noticed a couple of bots flying by, ready to attack. Pushing away from the building, he curled up in a ball, taking them all out and sending them falling onto the street. With more robots coming, he took them all out, soon realizing that without any Prism shards, the Eggmens' minions were not that hard for him to deal with.

Moving to the ground, he disposed of the rest. The rebels have been watching him for a few minutes already, aware with their weapons ready, but not yet hostile.

Once the street was nothing more but a pile of metal bodies, Shadow turned to face them. One of the rebels, a mouse with grey fur and a dirty uniform, just like the rest of the members, stepped forward, chest out to seem bigger, but the hedgehog could see fear on his face.

"Who are you, and what is your business here?"

Scoffing, Shadow crossed his arms. "Is this how you thank your savior? I should've let these pieces of junk just end you all."

"I-I don't know who you are, but state your business or leave!" He stuttered, eyes darting around. Clearly, this wasn't the rebels' leader.

Everyone behind him was holding a weapon of a kind, but Shadow estimated that taking them out wouldn't take more than seven seconds if he was gentle, and two if he wasn't. Unfortunately, if they attempted to fight him, he'd still need them to be alive to answer his questions.

"Listen, I'm not here to talk with you or anyone from this pathetic group." Taking a step closer and making the mouse slightly tremble, the hedgehog bared his fangs, his voice morphing into a low growl. "Take me to your leader, or I'll force you to."

He was about to add that doing it the hard way wasn't the best option for them, but another rebel cut in.

"She isn't here. We're just a scouting group, and we got into an ambush," Another mouse stepped forward as well. However, it was obvious that she was much more experienced; therefore, Shadow's attention instantly switched to her as he took a couple of steps towards her. Unlike her comrade, she didn't flinch, holding his gaze.

"Then where is she?" The hedgehog tilted his head.

"Mia, what are you doing!? Don't tell him anything!" The first mouse grabbed his head, clearly panicking. Mia, - which Shadow was pretty sure was her name, - however, quickly barked at him, annoyed: "Shut it already, will you? Whatever his business is, he just saved our lives. The least we can do is answer a couple of questions."

Shadow was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't that he often had people with brains around.

Mostly because the one who was almost always by his side was Sonic, who clearly lacked the said organ.

"I'm looking for someone. If the rebels are getting any help they can get, there's a chance your leader knows him." He crossed his arms, eyes focused on the mouse in front of him.

Mia frowned, carefully examining him. "Like I said, answering a couple of questions is the only thing you'll get for now," she placed a hand on a weird-looking device on her hip. Shadow wasn't sure what that was, but he doubted their weaponry would be able to take him down if they weren't even able to deal with the bots.

Rolling his eyes, he scoffed, feeling like the sudden spark of moving somewhere had just been splashed by a whole bucket of water.

Suddenly, his ears picked up a sound, and the source was getting closer very fast. Turning his head, the hedgehog noticed a cloud of black dots moving through the sky in their direction. More bots were coming, and he realized that they were just wasting precious minutes for escaping on this useless conversation.

Mia reacted first, turning to the rest of the rebels and slicing her hand through the air. "We have to leave, now!"

But before anyone could even react to her order, one of the robots that was already close enough launched a rocket right at them. Hitting the ground, it exploded meters away from the group, sending them all tumbling down from the shock wave.

Shadow fell onto his side, rolling a couple of times before stopping. The hard asphalt of the street scraped his skin in some places, leaving slightly stinging wounds. He growled; Eggman was making his life worse even in another world.

The hedgehog's gaze was blurry, and a loud buzzing sound was not leaving his ears. Most of the rebels were knocked unconscious, lying on the ground. The luckier ones were shooting the robots or getting their friends to safety, but it was clear they were in a big need of help again. Standing up, Shadow turned to face the bots, ready to destroy some more. However, once he was ready to take off, he heard a stern voice behind him.

"Don't you move."

Cutting through all the noise was a stern voice, and that wasn't a request; it was an order. Trying to see past the smoke from now constant explosions, Shadow squinted his eyes, coughing from all the dust in the air.

"You threaten my troops, waste their escaping time on blabbering, and now you want to run? Not a chance."

Before him, emerging from the dusty fog, was no other but Rouge herself.

Chapter Text

Emerging from the fog, Rouge subdued him with a look that clearly accepted nothing but direct obedience. Her wings were closed behind her back, occasionally swaying the dust with soft flapping. She was wearing a similar uniform to that of the rebels, but had a peaked cap with a badge and slightly better chest equipment, which resembled some form of armor.

Shadow mentally smacked himself. Of course, the rebels' leader was Rouge!

He mentally smacked himself again.

This wasn't Rouge. Not... not the one he knew. Rouge in his world was agile, quick, intelligent, and somewhat cunning. She always knew what she was doing and had a plan, even if sometimes it was too much. Just as she said, she gets things done, even if others don't necessarily like her methods.

But here, she was a different person. Shaped by the war, she hardened, and from what Shadow saw before, she wasn't the one to mess with.

Confirming his thoughts, the bat spoke, voice harsh and stern. "Answer when I talk to you."

Shadow frowned. Back home, Rouge was one of the only people who could actually talk back to him without fear, but this bat didn't even know she was talking to the ultimate life form, and he didn't know if telling her was a good idea.

"Are you deaf or just dense? Answer." An explosion hit a couple of meters next to her, but she just covered herself with a wing, hiding from the dust, eyes fixed on the hedgehog. "Who are you?"

"Do you really think it's the best time for this talk?" He swayed his hand around. "If I were you, I'd go help those pathetic losers you call your scouting group, unless you want them all dead."

Rebel Rouge grimaced, but it was true. The bots were still coming, and without anyone to help them in the air, it was a lost cause. She scoffed, spreading her wings. "Don't think I'm done with you." And took flight, kicking up dust around her.

Once she was in the sky, Shadow saw why she was the rebel leader. While the hedgehog himself relied more on brute force, she moved between the robots, delivering precise, calculated strikes that sent them crashing down in a heap of scrap metal. This gave the rebels a moment to catch their breath - they readjusted their positions, ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with their leader, who continued to clear the sky. Upon a closer look, however, it was clear that her actions were mostly in vain.

Coming from the headquarters Shadow saw earlier was a dark cloud that had no end; more and more robots were coming their way. Even with both Rouge and Shadow fighting, they wouldn't be able to destroy them all.

"Something's wrong." The bat landed next to him, her chest rising and falling rapidly because of heavy breathing. "There shouldn't be that many of them after a small scouting squad."

"What, I'm suddenly worthy of your observations?" Shadow arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "What do you expect me to do, help?"

Rouge stood up, measuring him with a disapproving gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry, you just looked like you'd be able to take a couple of them out, but I guess it would be too much."

The hedgehog's eye twitched. She was obviously playing with his ego, and the worst thing was that it was working. Shadow hated being called weak, even if it wasn't serious.

What was serious, however, was the fact that his ego was obvious to someone he had met five minutes ago. But he decided to think about it later; self-improvement was on his list right after saving Sonic.

"So what, you're going to help me or not?" The bat's wings flapped a couple of times, getting impatient. The robot cloud was getting closer, and they barely had any choice.

"You have to leave," Shadow said, his gaze focused on the sky.

"Obviously, genius," Rouge scoffed. "I need my troops out of here safely. We'll give them some time to escape."

The hedgehog looked at her skeptically. "And why would I waste my time on that?"

And at that moment, he finally saw a resemblance to Rouge from his world: Rebel Rouge, with a sly smirk tugging on her lips, placed a hand on her hip, casually checking her nails. And even though she was supposed to look bizarre, striking a casual pose in the midst of a fight, she actually looked like she belonged in this chaos.

"Well, I heard you're looking for a friend. Maybe I could help." Her lashes lazily fluttered, casting a shadow on her bright turquoise eyes.

Shadow, clenching his fists, growled. Somehow, finding Sonic required much more help than he expected.

"Fine. But break your word, and I'll destroy this whole rebellion."

"You're not in a position to threaten me, hedgehog." The bat's eyes squinted at him, all the cockiness gone, replaced with her usual seriousness. "Either you help, or get stuck searching for that friend yourself.".

The said hedgehog really didn't have much of a choice, but he hated being told so. Scoffing, he didn't reply, just turning to face the bots.

"Now that's the answer I like." Rouge stood next to him, looking up. "We need at least a couple of minutes. They'll block the exit, and then we'll escape, too."

Shadow tilted his head, arching an eyebrow. "Your last sentence is contradicting itself." Not that he'd need a special escape way, but for the leader of the rebellion, she didn't make a lot of sense.

She gazed at him, smirking. "Bold of you to assume I only have one escape plan ready."

Well, that explained it.

What it didn't explain, however, was that Rouge's other plan involved him being carried by her while they escaped, which, if he knew, he'd never agree to in the first place. But escaping via flying was the best choice, and unfortunately, Shadow, even while being the ultimate life form, wasn't really flyable.

Their best choice soon turned useless, since a new wave of robots just got on their tail. But Rouge, even with additional weight on her hands, was quick enough to leave a gap between them.

"Relax, hedgehog, you're all tense." The bat was holding him under his arms, quickly going higher and higher.

"There are bots right behind us, and we won't be able to lose them if you're holding me. And I could've followed you to any point by simply running." The black hedgehog screamed, trying to be louder than the wind in their ears. He looked down at the street that was now nothing but piles of metal garbage and explosion marks. The rebels escaped via an underground tunnel (That was hidden well enough for Shadow to miss it completely), which they then blew up.

A couple of the robots sent rockets after them, but with a soft swing of ger wings, Rouge was quick to dodge them. Most of the bots were now just waiting for them to land, following right behind; whoever was operating them clearly knew that she couldn't fly forever.

"We'll get picked up by my guys, but landing the helicopter would be too dangerous with these bots on our tail."

Shadow frowned. They were now too high for any helicopters, yet Rouge wasn't stopping.

"I'm pretty sure helicopters can't fly up this high, and I'm goddamn sure these robots are not going to just give up on us," he growled, starting to feel quite uncomfortable. Usually, he'd just teleport himself down, but with the Prism being unstable, he'd have to plummet straight down if something went wrong. Sure, he could land on one of the bots and use it to go down smoother, but he'd much rather just have the ground back under his legs.

"You're right," Rouge loudly said back, tightening her grip on his arms. "Usual helicopters can't. And neither can these bots."

Looking back down, Shadow realized that the robots were indeed slowing down.

"The altitude is the problem, and the higher we go, the harder it is for those stupid junks of metal."

The hedgehog noticed that it was getting harder for them all; his ears were starting to hurt, and he wondered how much pressure Rouge was feeling.

However, it was worth it; the bots, slowly but surely, were malfunctioning. One by one, their engines, with a loud noise, were exploding, plummeting down.

"It's working," Shadow screamed, his eyes getting a bit wider with amusement. That was definitely one hell of a plan, but he decided to question it later.

"Of course it is." The bat murmured under her breath, finally slowing down. She was breathing heavily, but her grip was still tight, and her wings continued to get them higher.

Once the last bot went falling down, the hedgehog's ears, even through the pain, caught the sound of a helicopter. He looked up and saw the machine; it was hovering in one place, and he noticed that the door was open, with a rebel looking out.

The clouds were now beneath them, and Shadow frowned, wondering how they got this helicopter to fly this high up. It was quite big, yet the sound was surprisingly easy on the ears.

Rouge made a final dash, flying straight for the open door. The rebel grabbed her and Shadow, getting them both inside the cabin. The bat immediately fell onto the seat, taking a moment to catch her breath, and the hedgehog sat near her. Not necessarily because he wanted to - there were no other seats left. The cabin was full of junk, metal utensils, and other stuff.

"Glad you made it safe here, ma'am!" The rebel saluted her, standing straight up.

"All right, Sergeant, easy. Tell the pilot to direct the helicopter to the Entrance A." Even with uneven breath, her order was clear and precise, and the rebel immediately nodded and left to notify the pilot.

Shadow crossed his arms.

"If this is your usual escape plan, I'm afraid you're not that good of a leader." He grunted, still feeling the humiliation of being carried by someone.

"I usually don't have anyone to carry with me, just so you know it." Rouge scoffed, smoothing her fur.

"Can't you just outfly them?" He raised an eyebrow.

She chuckled. "When I'm alone? Yes. But not with a grumpy hedgehog on my arms."

The said hedgehog pinched his nose bridge and sighed. He was regretting it all, but it's not like he had much of a choice. Letting a snarky comment go, he decided to change the topic.

"How did you get this thing to fly this high up anyway?" Shadow looked out of the illuminator behind his back. The city was far down below them, and the helicopter was casting a shadow on occasional reddish clouds.

"As if I'll tell you all of our secrets."

"I thought I made it clear that I'm not with Eggman."

"Which doesn't necessarily make you our ally."

The hedgehog rolled his eyes. He wanted to say how pathetic this was, but since it was actually a nice argument, he just stayed silent.

The helicopter started to move, its engine barely making a sound. The rebel didn't come back from the pilot's cabin, so Shadow and Rouge had the little space that was left between the mess all to themselves. Finally, the bat decided to speak up.

"So, your friend. Who are they?" She crossed her legs, her eyes lazily following the hedgehog nearby. "I can't guarantee that I know them, but I'll keep my promise and help in any way I can."

Shadow's finger brushed the Prism container, occasionally going past the switch. "His name is Nine. He's a two-tailed fox."

Rouge squinted her eyes; her ear flickered after hearing the name, but she stayed silent.

The hedgehog turned to face her, his black fur glowing in the red light that was coming through the illuminator. He lowered his head, frowning. His next question didn't need an answer, since thanks to her reaction, they now both knew she did. "Do you know him?"

She sighed. It seemed that she was thinking whether answering this question would be good for the future of the rebellion, since Shadow's motives were still unclear, but even if she tried to lie, he wouldn't believe her anyway. So she nodded, swiftly gesturing toward the cabin.

"Well, believe it or not, but you're sitting in his creation."

After about half an hour of flight, the helicopter finally began to land outside the city on a low building in the middle of an abandoned field with scrap metal. Its appearance was so pitiful that Shadow wondered if this building could even withstand the landing of such a machine. However, as he looked at it, the upper part of the roof opened with a terrible creak, revealing a metal platform with a landing sign painted in yellow, worn paint.

The helicopter landed surprisingly softly, and Rouge, rising from her seat, opened the door with a single movement as soon as the engine stopped. She nodded to the hedgehog to follow her and jumped onto the platform, stretching her wings. A cold wind blew through her fur, but she ignored it, watching as Shadow jumped out. Immediately after him, the rebel finally left the cockpit.

"Sergeant, get us down," the bat commanded.

"Yes, ma'am."

He reached for the talkie-walkie, muttered a few words, and put the device back.

Rouge tilted her head towards Shadow, smirking at him. When he opened his mouth to ask why, the platform under them trembled and started lowering.

The walls of the building inside turned out to be metal, and as soon as the platform descended low enough, the roof above them closed again, leaving everyone in complete darkness. But it didn't last long, because the two sides of the tunnel they were descending were equipped with lights that cast a bright, slightly bluish light, causing long shadows to dance on the walls.

Just like the landing, the movement of the platform was surprisingly smooth, followed by a soft noise of the lowering mechanism. Shadow looked around the shaft, but there was nothing except for the light bulbs and additional ventilation openings covered with metal grids. He crossed his hands as the rebel got back inside the helicopter to take something.

Coming over, Rouge pointed her chin at the Prism container that was resting on his hip.

"It will take a minute or two to get down, so you might as well tell me what that beauty does."

The hedgehog raised an eyebrow, huffing.

"No."

The bat shrugged. "Fine, keep it to yourself."

With a flap of her wings, she flew over to the helicopter, going inside and leaving Shadow all alone on the platform. The buzzing of the mechanism was very soothing, but he was getting more and more agitated because of the long wait. Yet at the same time, it was a moment to collect his thoughts.

He shook his head and ran his hands through his quills, taking a deep breath.

This whole trip to New Yoke had been made for one purpose only, and if Nine didn't remember him, it meant he would have to persuade him to help. That could be a problem, because if the fox worked for the rebels, time was not on their side, and Shadow doubted that Rouge would allow him to distract their chief inventor, or whatever he was in the rebellion. Plus, he wasn't the best at asking for help.

The hedgehog put his hand on the container and squeezed the cold metal.

Rouge and the rebel guy got out of the helicopter a minute later, just when the platform came to a stop right before closed metal doors.

The bat nodded to the sergeant and then turned to face Shadow with a smirk, gesturing towards the now-opened gates.

"Welcome to the rebellion."

A long corridor stretched out before him, with rebels walking in different directions. It was full of doors that constantly opened and closed, letting various members of the group in and out. Each member was busy with something - some were carrying materials, some were cleaning weapons in the corner, and some were simply running from one room to another for reasons unknown to him.

The corridor was brightly lit and large enough for the three of them to move through at the same time, but the rebel who met them nodded to Rouge and disappeared through one of the doors, which closed automatically behind him.

On either side, the hedgehog saw transparent glass that revealed what was happening inside. Rebels in special suits were testing chemical weapons on the right, and on the left, behind the same glass, he saw robots that looked suspiciously similar to the ones they had fought earlier.

Rouge caught his gaze.

"Nine is working on reprogramming them for the rebels." The robot behind the glass threw one of the scientists across the room, and the other two immediately used some type of tool to turn it off with a shock wave. The bat tilted her head with a grimace. "It's, uh... a work in progress."

Shadow looked at her with squinted eyes. "That's a lot of important information to give someone you don't trust."

Scoffing, Rouge nodded at a rebel who was going by. "Let's say knowing Nine gives you a bit of a trusting potential in my eyes." She entered a bigger door on the left, and the hedgehog followed. "How do you know him anyway?" She took some papers from another rebel in a white robe and protective glasses.

"It's a long story." The hedgehog muttered. "But he helped me once, and I hope he'll do it again."

The bat handed the papers to someone going by, and they took them with no questions. "Well, let's hope he agrees; otherwise, I'll have to escort you out."

They never stopped walking, and Rouge was constantly giving short orders, nodding to others or grabbing different documents to check, while still navigating the long corridors with dozens of different doors. Shadow, being a big fan of privacy and social distance, was getting more and more uncomfortable around so many other people. Nonetheless, he appreciated the help.

"You really are going out of your way to help me." He looked at the bat that stopped before a door to enter a code on the side panel.

"Maybe it didn't seem like much to you," she pressed her big finger to the screen, "but thanks to you, my people made it out without major casualties." The red light above turned green, opening the door and letting them both in. "So it's the least I can do. Plus, if you stay, I might use your help." She winked at him, moving forward.

Shadow, not even noticing, softened his gaze. Moments like these always made him appreciate Rouge's friendship, even if this wasn't his Rouge.

The bat finally stopped in the middle of the wide corridor, in front of the iron white door. She put her hand on her hip and pointed to the door with the other. "He's in his workshop. I'll take you there, but I won't stay for long."

The hedgehog nodded, and after Rouge entered one more code, they entered.

The workshop was a large room, and to Shadow's (slight) surprise, the interior was not much different from Tails' workshop in Green Hills back home: various devices, scrap metal, and different tools were scattered everywhere, and in the corners of the room stood half-assembled robots, which the hedgehog had seen in the testing rooms on his way here. He made a mental note not to turn his back on them.

And in the middle of all this mess, with his back to them, sat Nine himself.

His two real tails, softly swooshing around, were surrounded by seven metal ones that he used as a seat. He was working on something at his desk and didn't hear the door open because of all the sounds around. He was bobbing his head to the sound of the welding machine, like its noise was music to his ears. Rouge gently nudged Shadow on the shoulder and then pointed at the door. He nodded, and the bat left, giving him a supportive smile before disappearing from view.

The noise of the welding machine stopped right as the metal door closed behind the hedgehog, and Nine, tiredly sighing, put it away. His hand reached for a pencil to take notes, but it froze as soon as the fox heard his unexpected guest:

"Long time no see, Nine."

Nine turned around so fast that a couple of metal tools fell from the table. His eyes were wide open in surprise, and his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something but couldn't utter a word, which made him look like a fish that had been thrown out of the water. Shadow grimaced; well, here it was, the moment of truth. His body tensed as he clenched his fists, waiting for the reaction.

Finally, getting control over his body, Nine stood up from his tails, taking a step closer.

"Shadow? What are you doing here!?"

The hedgehog let out a sigh of relief, leaning forward slightly as soon as his body relaxed. Nine remembered him, and that meant that all this time wasn't wasted. That meant he had a real chance of saving Sonic.

Straightening up, he placed a hand on the Prism container and braced himself for whatever would happen next.

"I need your help."

"Let me get this straight," Nine rubbed his temples, frowning.

It's been almost an hour since Shadow appeared before him, and all this time, Shadow was trying to explain what had happened. They were sitting on the floor of his workshop, amongst all the junk. Unlike Tails' place, there were no sofas here, as Nine used his own metal tails as a seat.

The hedgehog tried to shorten the story without leaving out all of the important details, and not surprisingly, Nine was pretty quick to understand the situation, even though Shadow was a bit surprised that he didn't question him at all. But to be honest, believing it after traveling between different dimensions and going back in time probably wasn't that hard.

"There was this... Sonic guy, and he disappeared because you didn't get back home on time. But you're the only one who remembers him, and you think he's connected to the Prism, which is in this metal container that another me made in your world." He pointed at the Prism container that Shadow put between them on the floor.

"Yes."

The fox covered his face, rubbing his eyes. "So the guy who made sure you all won't hurt me disappeared because of my mess." His voice was quiet. "And I don't even remember him."

The hedgehog frowned. Nine definitely should be feeling guilty, but right now, he needed him to be focused on saving Sonic, since technically it was his mess in the first place. So he placed his hand on the container and moved it closer to the fox.

"You can feel upset and guilty all you want," he looked Nine in the eyes. "But I need you to help me save him first."

He sighed, looking at the container. "You're right."

Standing up with it in his hand, Nine rubbed his chin. His tails twitched nervously behind him as he walked back to the table.

"You said that time behaved strangely in your world after you returned, right?" The fox pushed aside the project he had been working on. The papers with notes slowly fell to the floor, landing with a soft rustle.

Shadow nodded. "It wasn't going like it was supposed to."

The fox nodded back at him, even though his attention was on the metal container before him.

"I'll help. But I don't think we have a lot of time."

A couple of the next hours have been a total mess. Nine had Shadow sit on a stool right in the middle of the room, and he had wires connected to his head. They were coming from a big metal box that had been made to seal the Prism container inside. The switch on the container was now connected to the box, and even though it was turned off, Nine said he would have to turn it all the way up. The hedgehog warned him about Tails' words, but the fox assured him that he knew what he was doing.

Shadow didn't believe him.

"You said the Prism acted up when you fell asleep and saw Sonic in there," he was pressing some buttons on the big metal box. "We'll try to recreate it. I'll use the electric shock waves to stimulate your brain, and by connecting it right to the Prism, we'll have more chances to recreate that." He stopped, rubbing his head. "I think."

The hedgehog blinked in understanding, because he was forbidden to move so as not to disturb the delicate balance of wires on his head. He put his hands on his legs and watched as Nine connected a few more wires to the device, which this time were connected to what he thought were information-gathering machines. Their lights flashed in different colors and had screens with various numbers and indicators. Shadow wasn't sure what they meant, but he guessed that they would measure the activity of both his brain and Prism itself.

The fox turned to one of the screens and made a few notes on a dirty piece of paper, then tucked the pencil behind his ear. His metal tails made a distinct sound as they struck the floor with every movement, which then echoed throughout the room.

Taking a deep breath, he finally turned back to Shadow.

"I think we're ready. But I have to warn you."

The hedgehog's eyebrows knotted as he clenched his jaw, but he said nothing, which gave the fox the signal to continue.

"Just like that Tails of yours said, the Prism is unstable. Using it could, well, kill us all." He bit his lip, realizing how harsh that sounded. "Or end badly, let's say. For you, for me, for both of us, and our whole universe. I think."

Shadow slowly blinked and finally spoke, trying to move his jaw as little as possible. "Do we have another option?"

Nine shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No. If Sonic is connected to the Prism, we have no other way."

The hedgehog slightly tilted his head, making Nine's face grimace in concern for the wires. "I'm not sure how he's connected to the Prism."

Nine shrugged. "I figured that out."

"And you can find him?"

"This... we'll have to figure out together."

And he pressed the switch all the way up.

In a few seconds, muffled sounds began to emanate from the metal box, very similar to those Shadow heard when he opened the portals.

Suddenly, he felt pain in the places where the wires were connected to his head. At first, it was just an unpleasant sensation, but as the sound increased, so did the pain, which now felt like electric shocks. He gritted his teeth but did not move, digging his claws into his legs. The noise coming from the Prism got so loud that the metal box began to shake. The screens connected to it began to emit a beeping sound, adding to the cacophony, and their lights flashed red incessantly.

Nine moved swiftly between the monitors, watching the data and changing various parameters.

"It's working!"

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again; his vision began to blur, and the room in front of him became hazy. He tried to focus on the fox's face in front of him, but failed, sinking into darkness and then emerging again. Trying to take a breath, he realized that his body was barely able to follow the command, leaving him gasping for air.

And in the end, the pain became too strong to fight, and the hedgehog finally lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

Running up the bluff, Sonic grabbed Shadow's arm right before the downhill, signaling for him to stop. "We're here!"

Irritated, he shook off his hand and squinted as he looked down the hill. In the moonlight, he saw familiar figures, but the purpose of their gathering was still remaining a mystery. "Why?"

The blue blur thoughtfully pursed his lips, pretending to consider whether to respond, but both hedgehogs knew perfectly well that he would keep this secret until the very end. Grunting, Shadow went past him, shoving him aside for the second time in the evening.

"You're just wasting my time."

"We'll see what you say once it starts, buddy."

Running down the hill, the hedgehogs unintentionally alerted everyone to their presence with their trails, which stretched among the grass. Stopping next to the crowd, Shadow started looking around, while Sonic just waved at everyone.

"Sonic! You really managed to bring Shadow along with you? What a day," Rouge softly landed in front of the two hedgehogs, assessing them with a sly glance. "We didn't think you'd make it in time."

The black hedgehog, ignoring her, observed the surroundings. They were on a downhill, with a couple of blankets stretched on the ground, and picnic baskets all around.

Picnic baskets. Blankets.

They dragged him out to a picnic under the stars.

Shadow's face grimaced with indignation. Agreeing to go with Sonic was already pathetic enough, but going on a picnic? He'd rather starve alone, at home, with pride.

Sonic, noticing his counterpart's face, opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the others.

"Hey boys!" Amy came closer, leaving her hammer in the grass near one of the blankets. She was never the fastest one, but sometimes Shadow wondered how quickly she could actually go if she dropped the massive weights that her bracelets were. "I'm glad you made it here, Shadow! We really wanted you to come," a soft smile bloomed on her face as the night breeze brushed through her quills. Somehow, her joyful look made Shadow even angrier.

"This gathering is pathetic and humiliating. If you wanted to get on my nerves, congratulations, you succeeded." He growled, crossing his arms.

Tails and Knuckles, who had just gotten closer, shared a look. "I-it's nice to see you too, Shadow," the fox sheepishly smiled, twisting his hands. When the black hedgehog shot him a hateful glare, however, he froze, instantly switching his focus onto Sonic. "We brought chillidogs!"

"Which wasn't a surprising choice, coming from him," Knuckles chuckled, making the blue blur roll his eyes.

"Come on everybody, can't a guy have his favorite?" He spread his arms, looking hopefully for support from any of his friends and even glaring at Shadow, even though he'd be the last person to say anything supportive.

"Do you eat anything else? At least sometimes?" Rouge placed both hands on her hips, smirking, her white fur shimmered silver in the moonlight. Amy shook her head, sensing a senseless dialogue. They knew the answer all too well.

"Why would I? They're so good!" Sonic's face was filled with confusion, as if eating something besides chillidogs was the dumbest idea ever.

"Forget it," Amy waved her hands in the air, closing the topic. Too bad, since Shadow was about to say a word or two about raw coffee beans, and no waving could ever stop him.

"Literally everything is better than those chillidogs," he scoffed. Well, maybe he wasn't exactly talking about raw coffee, but it was still in the 'everything' column somewhere there.

Sonic's head, to everyone's surprise, moved in slow-motion, turning to face the black hedgehog. His mouth was agape and his eyes wide open, like he had just heard the most offensive thing ever imaginable. Pointing a finger of accusation, he managed to say a few words: "You take it back right now!"

"No way." A corner of his lips tugged in a cocky grin, which still looked like a snarl.

Grabbing his chest, Sonic gasped for air, leaning onto Knuckles. "His cruel words... are hurting me..." The echidna sighed, patting his shoulder. "You'll get over it."

Gasping again, the blue hedgehog dramatically pushed away. "Never!"

"You want a chilidog now, Sonic?" Rouge pointed at the open basket on the ground next to the blankets.

"Don't mind if I do!" Immediately getting over his broken feelings, he joined Amy and Tails, who were slowly moving back.

"I told him he'll get over it," Knuckles shook his head, following them. He was clearly tired, but Shadow wasn't sure if it was because Sonic was acting stupid or because they all were out in the middle of the night.

"You know how he is, come on," Rouge flapped her wings, getting in the air. Turning her head, she looked at Shadow, who was standing still. "Come on, stop being a drama king," she crossed her arms. "You're already here, aren't you?"

The black hedgehog frowned even more, his jaw clenching. "This is pathetic."

"Gosh, Shadow, just sit your butt on a blanket and look at the stars, how hard is that?" The bat landed back next to him, placing her hands on her hips. "If you haven't noticed, we've been waiting for you two this whole time."

He crossed his arms and hunched over, as if trying to distance himself from the whole thing. "I'm not a fan of parties, Rouge, and I'm sure you know it," hissing through his clenched teeth, he focused his gaze on her.

"And that's exactly why we decided to have a picnic, darling."

Grimacing at his sly friend, Shadow mimicked her. "A picnic, yeah, how sweet!" He turned his back to the others, looking away. "Why would I even go on a picnic with all of them? It's not like we're friends."

Rouge frowned, and that was not only unusual but also a bad sign. Actually, every expression on her face was a bad sign; you never knew what she was planning. The frown, however, disappeared almost immediately as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Whatever you say, sweety, but at least try to have some fun." She flapped her wings again, this time soaring a bit higher and right above him, winking. "I'm sure you'll manage with a bit of help."

Looking at her with an arched eyebrow, his head followed her, turning back, face to face with Sonic.

Not really, to be honest, but anything less than two meters was already too close for him.

"Is everything okay?" The blue blur tilted his head, slightly worried that Shadow was still so agitated. He knew that getting him out was a risky idea, but he didn't want him to miss out. "Look, I'm sorry I dragged you here," carefully taking his hand, Sonic smiled. "But I really want you to see it."

"To see what? You eating? This is ridiculous. I should've stayed home," pulling his arm back, Shadow was surprised when Sonic grabbed him with his other hand as well.

"No, of course not!" An awkward silence fell between them. Realizing that he's basically holding Shadow hostage, the hedgehog stiffly laughed, quickly putting his hands away. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away there."

Shadow's ear flickered, his face didn't change its annoyed grimace. Inside his head, however, the alarm 'you-are-being-weird' was going off again. He ran his hand over his quills without looking up. The blue hedgehog stood quietly, waiting for the result of his actions, although if Shadow had wanted to disappear, he would already have been long gone by now.

A minute passed before he spoke again. "Why are we here then?"

Sonic's eyes lit up. That's it, that was the moment when he knew Shadow was staying for the night, and he couldn't help but feel this weird sensation of warmth in his chest. Must've been the chillidog he just inhaled in two bites three minutes ago.

Connecting a warm feeling in his chest to the chillidog in his stomach was one hell of a long shot, but you should never underestimate Sonic and his ability to come up with an excuse.

Pointing both index fingers at the black hedgehog, he finally explained what was going on. "I know you'll probably think it's stupid, but a week ago, Tails said there's going to be a meteor shower here," he waited a second to make sure that Shadow understood it wasn't just a picnic. "And we decided it'd be cool to hang out and look at it ourselves. But since you'd never agree to this, I had to kind of... I dunno, lure you here?.." Stopping himself, the blue blur pressed a finger to his lips, genuinely thinking this time. "I mean. It's not like I said we're not going anywhere, so you had to know that you were being lured. Lured." He looked up at Shadow, who was so furious from all the blabbering he was about to throw hands, but didn't even notice, too confused to think straight. "Is this how you say this? I mean, was I really luring you? More like asking to come with me with no additional information, but hey, you decided to follow on your own will..."

Before he could go on, Shadow snapped, covering Sonic's mouth with his hand.

"Shut up, I got it!" Loudly grunting, he shook his head, a baffled look blooming on his face. "You're insufferable!"

Scratching at his cheek, the blue hedgehog meekly nodded his head, waiting for his counterpart to take his hand back. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Mostly from you and Eggman. Hey, I wonder what he's doing tonight!"

"Can your attention stay on one thing longer than five seconds?" Shadow squinted his eyes, as if getting a better look would help him understand what was going on in Sonic's head.

A cocky smirk tugged at his lips. "Don't be jealous, Shads, I'm all yours tonight."

"That was not funny." His legs suddenly got weaker. That was definitely from the lack of proper sleep.

Shadow, just like Sonic, was a master of excuses.

Taking a step back, the black hedgehog glanced over Sonic's shoulder at the others. The two blankets were pretty close to each other, and unless one of them wanted to lie on the grass, - which they did almost every day, but oh well, he guessed a picnic without blankets wasn't really a picnic - they'd have to lie on top of the others.

"There's not enough space for us." He mentioned, not at all surprised at this ill consideration.

Sonic followed his gaze, slightly nodding. "Yeah, our blanket is a bit farther away." He pointed left, where Shadow noticed one more piece of fabric on the grass.

"'Our' blanket?"

Two hedgehogs met each other's gaze, standing quietly under the starry sky. In the background, they could hear snippets of their friends' conversations, but their attention was focused solely on each other. Their eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and Shadow caught himself thinking that Sonic's were the most beautiful shade of green he had ever seen.

Definitely the lack of sleep.

The blue blur just shrugged. "I thought we could share the space, you know, like all friends do."

"We're not friends." The black hedgehog scoffed, looking displeased with such an accusation.

"And you say I'm the insufferable one." Playfully scoffing back at him, Sonic crossed his arms. "Come on, let's go sit down."

Once again regretting that he had agreed to this, Shadow simply followed Sonic silently, passing by the others' blankets. Rouge and Amy were sitting together, and when he passed them, while Amy was busy gazing at the sky, the bat winked at him, tilting her head slightly. Grinning at her, the hedgehog didn't have time to say anything before Sonic grabbed his forearm and pulled him along. As they walked away, Shadow's ear flickered, catching a faint laugh behind him. She will definitely remember this.

They also passed Knuckles, who was stretched out on the second blanket, but he was too busy listening to Tails, who had decided to initiate him into the secrets of the universe. One might think that the words were passing by his ears, but the occasional "Uh-huh" and "Mhm" were a sign that even though the echidna's gaze was fixed on the stars, he was still listening. The young fox was always happy to share his thoughts and observations, so his tails swished happily behind him as he sat nearby.

Once the hedgehogs reached their blanket, Sonic plopped down, sighing happily. Their food basket was at his side, and Shadow picked up a faint scent of coffee.

"Come, lie down! It will start any minute now," the blue blur patted a place next to him, moving slightly aside. "Have you ever seen a meteor shower?"

Shadow carefully sat down, keeping a distance between them. His pose, unlike Sonic's, who was sprawled out on the blanket, leaning on his elbows, was stiff, as if his limbs had suddenly lost the ability to move properly.

"No. I don't think I have."

A silent moment passed by, and he could see a hint of surprise in the blue hedgehog's eyes, but he then turned away, covering his mouth. "I see."

Shadow frowned, leaning backwards. "What kind of reaction is that?"

Sonic shrugged. "Nothing! Just a normal reaction."

His voice was still muffled by the hand he was holding at his lips, and Shadow scoffed, crossing his arms.

"It's clearly not. You're being weird."

"No, I'm not."

"Either you tell me, or I'm leaving."

Sonic turned his head back, arching an eyebrow. "Dude, really?" But seeing that his counterpart wasn't joking, judging by his displeased grimace and willingness to get up, he caught Shadow's hand, pulling him back. "Sheesh, okay, okay, don't go!" He sighed, brushing a hand over his quills. A pair of glowing red eyes focused on him, yet somehow he wasn't able to focus at all. "It's just... You know. Cool that you'll get to see it with me for the first time." Corners of his lips lifted in a smile.

Shadow didn't answer. His usual mood, that was often just dissatisfaction, annoyance or anger, softened, unleashing emotions he wasn't sure he knew. His frown lightened, finally making him look somewhat approachable.

Sonic didn't look, even though he wanted to. He knew how hard and odd it was for Shadow to show anything besides constant fury, and he didn't want to spoil the moment.

Thankfully, it didn't last too long, since they both heard Amy.

"Look, guys! It's starting!"

The night sky, once dark and lit only by the moon and stars, was now torn apart by dozens of falling meteors. They left behind bright trails that painted patterns across the darkness; some burned white, others flared gold or deep violet before vanishing into the void. There were so many of them it seemed as though someone was endlessly launching multicolored fireworks - each flaring for a second before fading, only to begin again - while their radiant light fell over Green Hills like a rainbow. The world seemed to hold its breath, with only the breeze softly whooshing in the silence. Mist curled over the grass, glowing faintly in the meteor light.

Amy was the first one to break the silence with a quiet 'Wow', and everyone followed. Soon, the chatter filled the hill; everyone had something to say about such beauty, and the falling stars were now followed by mesmerized shouts and cheers. The hedgehogs, sitting a bit farther away, stayed silent. Their eyes were locked on the skies, mouths agape from witnessing such an enchanting natural phenomenon. Shadow was completely immersed in the falling stars; the world around suddenly didn't matter, like nothing but the burning sky existed.

That was until Sonic gently nudged him on the shoulder.

"It's nice to see something like this with a friend, isn't it?" The blue blur tilted his head, lazily switching the point of his gaze to Shadow.

The black hedgehog merely continued watching the sky, slightly frowning. "I already told you. We're not friends."

Now, it was Sonic's time to frown, but he just shrugged, turning his head away. "Whatever. I still know you like me."

Shadow's head snapped at those words, his body fully turning to face the hedgehog. He looked absolutely appalled, barely able to hold himself from beating the hell out of that blue muzzle. "What? No I don't!"

Sonic shook his head, leaning back onto his elbows. "Come on, of course you do!"

The black hedgehog crossed his arms, closing his eyes. Taking a couple of deep breaths would've helped, but somehow his heart, that was now beating too loudly for it to be normal, was up his throat, making it way too difficult. "This is pathetic. I don't like anyone."

Upon hearing it, Sonic sat back up, turning to face him. His eyes were serious, just like the tone of his voice when he leaned in to ask:

"Don't you think I'm a bit more than 'anyone' to you by now?"

The world, so dark yet colorful, suddenly became quiet. All the noise disappeared, like it was just them under the starry sky. Their eyes were locked on each other, reflecting the light of the falling stars. The question hung in the air, and both hedgehogs knew that no matter how much they wanted an honest answer, it was impossible. Shadow felt their fingers touch lightly as he dug his claws into the blanket. Even through his gloves, he was sure he would tear the fabric, leaving holes.

Finally, he turned away, breaking eye contact. "No."

Sonic, to no one's surprise, just playfully scoffed, not taking it personally. He leaned backwards, restoring the distance between the two.

"Fine, whatever. Just don't forget to make a wish."

And they plunged into silence, quietly watching the meteor shower.

But just moments after, Shadow caught his gaze on Sonic, as if something was drawing his eyes. However, the blue hedgehog was too focused to notice.

And this time, just this once, Shadow didn't look away.

He didn't wish for anything that night.