Chapter Text
No one mourned him. At least not in the conventional way. When Eggman died, no one cried tears of sorrow—perhaps some in joy, some in relief. Many held their breath in silence after he’d gone, waiting for his inevitable return, but as days turned into months, and months into years, it became very apparent that Eggman was no longer on this plane of existence. There were no schemes to be had, but an uncomfortable silence that followed. So it was to the surprise of everyone else that the appearance of the blue blur also ceased to exist.
Everyone mourned him. Sonic the Hedgehog. Gone was he, with none the wiser on where he had disappeared to. Not even his dear friend Tails knew. One day, he was sighted near Apatos, next, gone. All contact ceased, and days turned into months, before months turned into years. Where had Sonic the Hedgehog gone? Some looked for him, even to this day, they continue searching for Sonic, while others gave up on their search for their own priorities, but ever keeping an eye out for the newest clues.
As for Shadow, if anyone asked, it didn’t make a difference if Sonic the Hedgehog was present or not.
Or at least, so he thought.
He didn’t understand the hype or need to search for that blue hedgehog. Just another creature that’s met its end in some sort of manner. As far as Shadow was concerned, Sonic no longer existed, and that was fine with him. No longer did he have to endure that infuriating personality or listen to that annoying voice. He was free from the comparison, although it persists to a degree to this day.
And so Shadow continued living under this facade of not caring, repeating his reasons daily. Sonic the Hedgehog was no longer on his mind.
Yet something always nagged at him from time to time. When his memory was good, he’d recall moments of excitement or thrill. All that led to him thinking about Sonic. The times that really made him feel alive were always tied to Sonic, and when he remembered, he’d bury it. Bury it deep in his heart, never letting it see the day of light.
Today was no different. Red-soled shoes pressed against the cement ground, making their way through the busy crowd with ease. Tufts of black and red popped up from behind the crowd of people bustling through the city streets from time to time, revealing their small frame only when the crowd parted. A lone black hedgehog stood at the edge of the sidewalk, cars running past as lights flashed from red to blue. The crowd of people began walking forward in uniform towards the other side, the hedgehog following suit at a standard pace.
It was days like this that bogged him down, overcome with thoughts that tangled and tied him in knots. As much as he tried to stay present to what was going on around him, his mind continued to wander towards the sight of blue. And so he’d breathe through his nose, close his eyes, and listen to the sound of chatter, engines, beeping, and his own heartbeat. Grounding himself until he was ready to press further on.
The crowd continued in a standard direction before many split off in different directions at a crossroad. Red-hued eyes surveyed the area carefully before choosing the route that best fit him. Towering buildings came and went until one particularly large and fortified building came into sight.
Shadow paused and looked up towards the towering fortress. He hated it. The sight of the structure left him begrudged and displeased. The line of his mouth fell into a deep frown at the sight, the bridge of his brows furrowing together. Despite his feelings, he lowered his vision to the gate and moved forward. Stopping only to stare at the woman guarding the entrance.
“Identification?” came the deep timbre of the woman. Shadow closed his eyes for a fraction of a second to hide the roll of his eyes, and with a surge of energy in his stomach, he blipped from one side of the gate to the other and continued strolling forward. The hurried voice of the woman could be heard from behind him, but he paid them no mind. He stopped for ID like he was told to do from now on, but actually stopping long enough to pull the ID badge tucked away in his spine wasn’t something he felt compelled to do.
From location to location, Shadow blipped in and out of existence before eventually making his way towards his destination. A secure door located at the top of the building. Shadow paused in front of the door and pulled his closed hand to rap at the door in a knock. Silence bloomed until eventually a dark, contralto voice spoke up.
“Come in.”
Opening the door, Shadow was met with a familiar sight. A lone desk near bulletproof glass overlooked the city, and a grey-haired woman sat behind the desk. His gaze barely glanced at the awards and picture frames that dotted the office, focused solely on the elderly-looking human woman who sat before him, dressed in navy blue and adorned with various stars or whatever.
“You didn’t stop at the ID check like I asked you to.”
“I did,” came the easy retort from the hedgehog.
“Stopping for a second and stopping to be checked are two different things, Shadow.”
Shadow gave an easy shrug of his shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest as a reply. The woman sighs, but doesn’t seem to argue on the subject.
“I called you to offer you a job,” she begins once more. Shadow angled his ears in the direction of the female Commander.
“Rouge suggested you’d be interested.”
Black bridges began to furrow together at the mention of Rouge, the bat he hadn’t seen in a few months at the very least. Galavanting, doing who knows what, stealing who knows whose items. So he couldn’t recall a reason why Rouge would recommend this job to him, even though he hadn't said hello recently. Shadow blinks and focuses on the Commander as she reclines back in her chair. She pulls out a file folder from one of her drawers and sets it on the desk. Pushing it towards Shadow.
“Do you know anything about Christmas Island?” she questions.
“No.” comes the smooth answer from the black hybrid.
“It’s an old UF testing grounds located in the middle of Emerald Sea. It’s about 5,000km from Station Square and 200km from the equator,” she explains lightly. Shadow reaches to take the file folder before being stopped by the woman as she sets a hand on top of the file. She leans forward as she continues, “What I’m sharing isn’t public knowledge, understood?”
Shadow gives a small nod of his head, and at that, the woman releases her hold on the file. Shadow picks up the file and opens it, gazing at several pictures of the landscape, specifically the buildings housing the weapons being developed on the island. Red hues flit across the redacted words on the page, giving a small sense that the overall plans and facilities superseded any public knowledge. What the United Federation played with was something nuclear and…possibly more.
“Christmas Island has been mostly abandoned by the UF for over sixty years. Many of the facilities have been cleansed, but remain on the island,” she continues. Shadow looks up from the file to peer at the woman’s stoic expression. Not being able to glean much from her looks, he lets his eyes fall back down to the file.
“But something is missing.” Shadow answers.
The Commander nods her head, leaning forward to rest her arms on the desk while her fingers interlock with one another.
“Yes, after some recent evaluation on past ventures, it’s come to my attention that there is a piece of equipment that was overlooked,” she explains lightly.
“And that is?”
“On a need-to-know basis.”
Shadow frowns at that. Of course, it’s on a need-to-know basis because why would he need to know if they were going to offer the job of finding it to him?
As if reading his mind, the Commander responds.
“You won’t be in charge of finding the equipment.” This garners a cock of Shadow’s head, brows furrowing in confusion. Seeing the expression, the woman continues. “You’ll be in charge of protecting the team.”
“From what?” he questions lightly.
“From the inhabitants of the island,” she pauses before continuing. “Christmas Island is filled with old GUN robots and strange creatures that roam its island. It’s mostly unexplored, save for the small portion of the testing facilities, so there are a number of things that could endanger the search team. Who better to combat these unknown forces than the Ultimate Life Form himself?”
“I still don’t understand why I would be interested in something like this.” Shadow answers softly with a light, gruff manner. The Commander smiles as if she knew something.
“Take the file and think about it,” she answers. Shadow closes the file and glances at the Commander, wary of her now. Shadow already had an answer; he didn’t want anything to do with it, but something in his gut told him that there was more to this than met the eye.
He glances aside and nods his head, turning on his heel and making his way out the door.
“Stop by the guard station!” Comes the raised voice behind him as he continues forward. This time, he walked. Wary glances flitted in his direction as he made his way through the winding and dizzying hallways of the GUN HQ.
“Long time no see, Handsome.”
Shadow stopped in his tracks at the sound of that familiar voice, turning around to catch sight of the white-haired bat. She smiled and waved her hand at him, fluttering down from her perch above to come face to face with him. She smelled like something really expensive.
“Rouge.” Shadow greeted smoothly. He was surprised and not surprised at the same time, half-lidded eyes regarding the other with caution. It seemed too convenient for her to show up after all this time, when she was just mentioned in a conversation. His gloved hand gripped the file tightly.
“What’s with that look? Aren’t you happy to see me~?” she purrs out, heeled shoe tapping near the black hedgehog as she leans forward with one of her charming smiles. Shadow just snorts, crossing his arms.
“What do you want?” he retorts sharply. Rouge places a hand to her chest and feigns being wounded, scoffing at herself as she flicks a hand in exasperation at his reaction.
“I can’t believe this. Months of no contact, and this is what I get? No hello? How are you? Great to see you? Why do I even put up with you?” she whines, flicking her wrist dramatically as she moves to place the back of her hand under her chin. Shadow doesn’t respond, closing his eyes as he fights back the headache he feels coming on. Her retorts felt so fake, he could tell something was up, but he couldn’t begin to understand what was going through that head of hers.
“Well, whatever. Nice to see you, Shadow. Working on a case for Jessica?” she questions. Shadow opens his eyes to see in the time of Rouge flicking her chin at the folder in his hand, looking down at it in question before lifting it for Rouge to see. Well, the outside anyway.
“Christmas Island, ever heard of it?” he questions, probing for anything he could glean from the woman. Rouge purses her lips in thought before gesturing with her open palm towards Shadow.
“Isn’t that the island Sonic comes from?” she answers in a question. Shadow narrows his eyes, grimacing at where the conversation went.
“What?” he questions in a clipped manner.
“Yeah, I think that’s where Sonic was born. Or so I’ve heard,” she answers with a shrug of her shoulders. “Tails looked there but didn’t find him, apparently. Preeeetty dangerous.”
“I don’t care about that.” Shadow retorts in frustration. Always about Sonic with these people, somehow. He pauses and lets out a sigh before continuing. “What about it being dangerous?”
Rouge adjusts her stance, placing a hand on her hip as she tilts her head at Shadow. “Oh, from what I hear, Christmas Island is inhabited by really strange creatures. Nothing that’s ever been seen outside of the island.”
She pauses and tilts her head to the other side. “Do you think it has something to do with Nuclear testing they did?”
“You’ve been talking with the Commander.” Shadow notes. Rouge just smiles. She leans forward and presses a finger to the fluff of his chest.
“You should take it, big guy,” she states in a low tone.
“Why?” Shadow questions with furrowed brows. What’s the big deal with trying to push him into doing this mission?
“You’ve been doing ultra dangerous missions back to back for weeks, without breaks. Try taking something more … relaxing.” Rouge suggests. Shadow frowns. Rouge continues, “I know you don’t do ‘vacations’, but consider it like one. Who knows, you might find something exciting on that island.”
The white bat pulls back, stepping with one of her long legs to the side of Shadow as she winks in his direction. “Think about it.”
And with that, Rouge began walking away into the crowd of people before Shadow had a chance to say anything else on the matter.
Think about it. That’s what they both said to him, and while his initial thoughts were to refuse the job, the secrecy and ambiguity of the two women made him inclined to actually consider it one more time.
Will he take the job?