Work Text:
They were still finding pieces of Shadow’s past, even after all these years. Redacted files in GUN’s archive department. Memories deep within Shadow’s subconscious. And fragments of the Black Comet scattered across the face of the earth.
This particular shard rose above the forest that it had landed in, and its edges blended in with the volcanic terrain in the distance. The rhythmic clang of metal on rock echoed as Shadow strode ahead of Rouge. He never waited for her and Omega; he always forced them to keep up. How could he wait, after all, when there was a piece of his past right there, casting a literal shadow over him?
Even so, Rouge put two gloved fingers to her lips and let off a piercing whistle. ‘Shadow! Cool your jets!’ She grabbed one of the handrails on Omega’s shoulder and hauled him forward, over the jagged rocks and twisted vines. He could always blast a path through the forest, but they were trying not to attract attention.
Shadow’s ears pricked up, and he ground to a halt. The edge of his shoe carved a deep gash in the obsidian underfoot. He tapped his foot, glaring at her.
Rouge let Omega go and landed with a flutter of her wings. The two of them rejoined Shadow, and she glared back at him as they fell into step with each other. ‘That chunk of rock isn’t going anywhere –‘
He rounded on her – glinting fangs, hackles raised, full of hurt and anger – and snarled, ‘And I want it gone!’
Rouge swiftly stepped back, and Omega’s head rotated in Shadow’s direction. The robot’s lenses flashed, but he said nothing. It wasn’t that Rouge thought Shadow would do more than just yell – far from it. But she still had the common sense to stay outside the “blast radius”. She’d seen Shadow like this before, and he was the one who always warned her to stay away.
Shadow’s eyes flickered. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but he kept walking, clumsily resting his hands on his hips as though he’d tried to shove them into pockets that he didn’t have.
‘Keep an eye on him,’ Rouge muttered.
Omega didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to. He always heard everything they said, and her instructions were nothing new. He’d been created to “keep an eye” on Shadow, after all, regardless of how he felt about it.
Rouge folded her arms, walking in silence. She didn’t need to worry about Shadow overhearing her… because he never listened. It was so hard to talk over top of the ghosts of his past, over top of his doubts and worries, over top of the voices that told him it was never “enough”…
She glimpsed an array of wet glimmers through the trees, and Shadow lunged forward, scorching the earth with his shoes’ thrusters and disappearing from sight. The blast rang in her ears, and she swore, diving after him with sharp sweeps of her wings. Omega’s footfalls shook the forest floor, breaking tree roots and cracking rocks, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to keep up with Shadow. Neither of them were. If Omega was their strength, and she was their wings, then Shadow was their speed. Yet despite how fast he ran, he still couldn’t outrun his past.
Rouge shot into a desolate clearing, and Omega crashed through the undergrowth, only a few steps behind. The shard of the Black Comet loomed over them. It was hardening, calcifying, but the blackened, veined flesh still pulsed faintly. Cadaveric spasm, livor mortis, rigor mortis – clinical words that meant nothing in the face of an undying, cosmic legacy.
Time seemed to slow, and Shadow’s feet left the ground with a blast of fire that scorched the earth. In the same instant – blink and you’d miss it – his fist connected with the misshapen monolith before him. A spiderweb of cracks whorled out, and the shard burst into pieces that rained down like a meteor shower.
Omega swiftly stepped in front of Rouge, holding one hand to shield her as the debris rained down. The gaps in his fingers framed Shadow’s figure as he floated above the vast swathe of destruction, borne aloft by the flames beneath his feet. He looked so small from where she stood. So alone.
The last of the fragments fell around them, and Rouge stepped out from beneath Omega’s hand, cautiously picking her way through the debris as Shadow descended. The scent of singed fur assaulted her nose, and wisps of smoke swirled around his inhibitor rings.
‘Shadow.’ Rouge reached out, but he wasn’t listening. Of course he wasn’t. He was scanning the debris, stalking through it, searching for who knows what. She made a grab for his arm, but he stopped dead in his tracks.
A Death Leech slithered from a crevice. The moment its gaze landed on Shadow, its pupil shrank, and its eye spasmed as though it were trying to escape from its own socket. It shrieked and scrambled backwards, flailing violently.
Rouge’s brow creased. None of them had made a move to attack it… so why was it so terrified? ‘Shadow –’
Shadow was staring at it, and his pupils were mere pinpricks. The Black Arms were a hivemind. They shared thoughts, goals… and emotions. Shadow might not truly be one of them, but he shared their blood. Whatever was scaring Shadow, it was terrifying this wretched creature. He let out a harsh growl and stepped forward, but for once, Omega was faster. He raised his fist, primed his rotary canon, and fired until the Death Leech was a mere splatter of acid.
Shadow jolted, as though an umbilical cord between him and the creature had been severed. His shoulders were heaving, and Rouge held his upper arms to steady him. She wanted to ask him what he was so afraid of, but she didn’t need to. She could see it in his eyes. She could see it in the tension in his jaw. She could see it in the way that his claws dug into his palms.
‘How many more?’ Shadow whispered. He looked up at her and said, ‘It’s bad enough that my memories are returning, and now literal pieces of my past are coming back to haunt me too. How many more times do I have to do this?’
‘As many times as it takes,’ Rouge said quietly. ‘But you don’t have to do it alone.’
Omega observed the two of them for a moment. Then he awkwardly placed a hand on Shadow’s head, nearly slicing his ear with one clawed finger. ‘I estimate that 83% of the comet’s debris has been obliterated. You are on target to complete your objective in the near future.’
‘“We”, not “you”,’ Rouge said pointedly. ‘And “our”, not “your”.’
‘This isn’t your fight,’ Shadow muttered, shrugging free from her grip and removing Omega’s hand from his head.
‘You’re a part of the team. Besides, GUN wants this dealt with just as much as you do.’
‘No, they don’t!’ Shadow snapped. ‘They just want to mitigate future threats. I want to tear down these godforsaken monuments to my predecessors – our goals are not the same!’
‘But they’re similar.’ Rouge looked around with regret, thinking that the fragments of the comet looked like broken jewels. ‘You both want to erase every last trace of the Black Arms, don’t you?’
‘But I can’t,’ Shadow said, and it sounded like the words had ripped straight out of his chest. He held one hand to his head – to his star-like quills, red markings, and eyes full of anger – and said, ‘As long as I’m alive, there will always be a “trace”… and I can’t die.’
Rouge watched him in silence. Her ears twitched and dipped, raising and lowering as she wrestled with her words. She’d never been very good at knowing what to say.
But then Omega grabbed Shadow by the shoulder and shook him, causing inhibitor rings to clatter against armour plates. ‘Cease this. If you believe that you must destroy yourself to complete your objectives, then you are playing into the enemy’s hands.’
‘But –’
‘Be silent. I was created to keep you in check. I will help you destroy your past; I will not help you destroy yourself.’
‘You’re still going to follow Eggman’s orders?’ Shadow muttered. ‘I thought you wanted to kill him.'
Omega turned, raising one hand as though he wanted to send Shadow flying across the clearing. But he resisted the urge and lowered his hand again. ’Those orders are now my own prerogative.’ He scanned the wreckage all around them, and his lenses glittered. ‘We are wasting time here. Let us move out.’
Shadow slowly materialised a Chaos Emerald in his hands. The tension in his shoulders was as clear as day, and he exhaled heavily. ‘Fine.’
‘Fine?’ Rouge teased. ‘We’re providing you with our undying loyalty, and all you can say is “fine”?’
‘Don’t talk to me about “undying”,’ Shadow shot back. But the stiffness in his posture eased, and he was no longer looking at the destruction that surrounded them. He was listening… and she could only hope that he could hear how much they cared about him.