Chapter Text
When Shadow opened his eyes, he expected to see his sister. Instead, he saw an inky black sky glittering with stars. Was this the afterlife? Floating in the void of space? But he wasn’t floating at all.
Then he felt it. The pain of the impact. This was no afterlife… he had survived.
Gravity suddenly became stronger as he tried to sit up. His head throbbed and spun. Burning pain tingled throughout his body and a weight in his chest caused his breaths to come out ragged. Every breath hurt. Upon attempting to take a deep breath, a coughing fit broke out. A mix of ash and mucus forced its way out of his lungs and onto the ground. He shuddered at the feeling and regained control of his breathing. In the darkness, his night vision allowed him to see just enough to tell that he was in the woods somewhere. Broken, charred trees splayed out around the edge of the impact crater. The smell of smoke and singed quills still lingered in the air.
How long had he been laying there?
He looked down at his hands. Both gloves were still intact but covered in soot. The gold rings that usually clasped around his wrists were missing.
Right… he took them off in space.
He had never gone very long without them. They were designed for him early on at the base and he only took them off for a few hours for testing purposes. He was relieved to see rings around his ankles and shoes still on his feet.
What now? He was completely alone in the middle of nowhere.
His throat felt like fire. He needed water, but where could he find it? A wave of nausea washed over him and he prepared to vomit but nothing ever came up.
Why?
Why am I still alive?
He pushed himself off of the ground with shaky limbs. As soon as his vision stopped spinning, he started stumbling out of the crater. Shadow began walking. Slowly and staggered. Each step felt heavy and sent pain throughout his legs and back. He walked for what felt like hours, keeping watch for wild animals or worse - humans.
The sounds of insects calling out in the dark was something he had only heard once… on the roof of the base with Maria. His ears remained alert even though the noise level was overwhelming.
The trickling of running water caught his attention. A small flowing stream sparkled In the breaking light of dawn. He scrambled to the water’s edge and knelt down to scoop cool water into his mouth with his hands. It soothed his sore throat and brought relief that he desperately needed. He was glad no one could see him in this state - drinking water out of the creek like an animal.
He was not an animal. Not in the earth sense. He knew he was some kind of alien hedgehog but he certainly wasn't an uncivilized pet. Maria saw him as her best friend and adopted brother while everyone else saw him as a dangerous monster. He was not a monster either. Or a freak. Or evil. He was just Shadow. That's all he had ever been.
Shadow set out again looking for some place to hide. If GUN was searching for him, he couldn't stay out in the open. He had no idea how to survive in the wild. They never trained him for that. Everything he needed had been given to him at the base.
He came across a large outcropping of rock that appeared to open up at the base. A peek inside revealed a small cave about six feet tall and ten feet deep. Plenty of room for a small creature to take shelter from the elements. Luckily, no occupants took up residence there. The stone floor of the cave offered little comfort. Shadow curled up in a tight ball at the very back and tried to get some rest.
It was afternoon when Shadow awoke. The sun, directly overhead, illuminated the cave but the temperature inside remained cool. He uncurled and sat up slowly. Pain still gripped his body but he could breathe deeper and his joints weren't as stiff. He carefully stretched out his arms and legs and yawned. What now? He couldn't wander around in daylight.
He settled on watching the outside through the entrance of his cave. It was quiet. Birdsong sounded distant outside the stone walls of the hideout. He felt like he could doze off again. He sat with his knees pulled to his chest with his head resting on his arms. He closed his eyes. For now, everything seemed calm. There was no longer anyone to tell him it’s time for the next test. No one to order him to run around the track to have chaos energy collected. And no one to monitor his every breath.
For the first time that he could remember, he felt free… but freedom cost him everything so how could he be happy?
He thought about all that had happened after he woke up from stasis. Taking out GUN soldiers, tearing up the streets of Tokyo, and meeting other aliens who wanted to stop him. The blue hedgehog tried to approach peacefully but his red friend attacked. He never wanted to fight. He hated fighting. He wanted to disappear into the night to process what happened 50 years prior. To rest for even five minutes without being pursued. The accident felt fresh as if it happened the previous day. Unfortunately GUN would never let him have that time to grieve. Shadow was government property that they tried to hide. Far too dangerous to be walking the earth.
Where had they got that idea? He never showed aggression toward the scientists. He didn't even speak until Maria showed up. Shadow was always fearful of the tests conducted on him to study his chaos energy. He never knew what they would do next. Injections and blood draws were the worst. They even vaccinated him for rabies. He wouldn’t dare bite anyone. He complied with everything they wanted and barely even looked anyone in the eyes.
He had no idea why he had such destructive abilities, but he had no intention of ever using them for harm. Yet, he was treated like a ticking time bomb.
He just wanted to know about his past before he came to earth in the meteorite.
He looked like the other hedgehog. Sonic. Did he come from the same home planet? Maybe the others were born on earth. He could have been too, but nothing explained the meteorite. What was his purpose now? To wander the earth aimlessly forever? To be alone?
Would he be seen as a hero for saving the earth with Sonic? Probably not. No one knew of his existence except GUN. No one would mourn him. The other aliens surely forgot about him by now. If they were even alive.
His stomach groaned, breaking the silence. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until then. A metallic taste sat on his tongue, adding to the gnawing empty feeling. His last meal was made by Agent Stone on the crab. The Doctor’s assistant had been surprisingly good at helping Shadow transition back into eating and drinking normally after having all bodily functions paused for half a century. At first he refused to eat, claiming food wasn't important when there was revenge to be had. That was until he smelled Stone's cooking. Eating distracted him from his emotional turmoil at least for a little while and helped him think more clearly.
Maybe he could look for Stone. Surely he would share his food again. But maybe Stone didn't want him around. Maybe he was meant to be alone.
**********
Shadow left the cave at twilight. The setting sun painted the sky a vibrant coral hue, signaling the tradeoff of birdsong for insect calls. The black hedgehog felt comfort in these strange creatures. He could not see where they hid, but their music made the forest feel alive in the fading light.
His ears pointed forward toward the direction of the stream he found earlier. As he walked he listened carefully for the trickle of water and potential threats. His heavy shoes crunched old leaves and undergrowth with each step. The canopy of trees loomed overhead, obscuring the dim lighting from above. He reached the stream rather quickly, thanking who or whatever had led him there. He scooped up more water into his hands, drinking as much as he could to dull the ache in his stomach and wash away the awful taste in his mouth. He wished he had a container to store extra water in case he wandered too far away.
He continued walking.
Stars began to dot the night sky. A faint glow of white up ahead caught his eye. As he approached he came to the edge of a cliff overlooking a small town. Streetlights hummed and illuminated the paths between each building. Someone would spot him if he just walked right into town. He decided to sneak along the edge of town where the light couldn’t reach.
He continued down a neighborhood road, lurking in the shadows. Only the glow from dim porchlights and drawn curtains casted light into the grassy yards of clustered homes. The faint scent of cooking hit his nose, giving him a slight bit of hope. He followed the scent to a two-storey home with a large wooden staircase leading up to the front door. He silently snuck around the perimeter of the yard, searching for… he wasn’t sure. It’s not like he could just walk into the house and ask the owner for a seat at the table. What was he thinking?
He spotted a slightly open door on a separate structure next to the main house. It was dark and filled with boxes and tools he hadn’t seen before. Metal shoes clicked across the concrete floor as he inspected the inside of the building. His feet were sore and his legs felt weak from hours of walking in the forest. Normally that would not phase him, but without his inhibitor rings his energy drained far too fast. He wasn’t able to recharge after expending everything he had on the eclipse cannon without those rings.
Chaos energy served as a backup generator for sustaining his life if he were to be severely injured or without resources for extended periods. That’s what the scientists said. He gathered that implied he could survive extreme conditions and still be able to fight or do whatever the scientists wanted him to, whether they took care of him or not. Thankfully, the professor did not allow them to test that theory. The professor saw Shadow as a child and stepped in to make sure he was being treated well during the tests. Sometimes the professor wasn’t there…
He was still alive, even with such low levels of chaos energy, so it seemed to be true. He needed his inhibitor rings back if he could find them.
I can’t stay long, but I need to rest
He sat down on an old, tattered bean bag chair in a far corner of the room. Maria had a bean bag chair too.
Don’t fall asleep… I can’t.
As much as he tried to fight it, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. His body begged for rest. His eyes stung as he tried to keep them open and his vision blurred. He lost his battle with sleep and slumped back into the chair.
**********
The garage door swung open with a bang and a voice called out “I’ll get your toolbox, Dad!”
Shadow woke with a gasp at the sudden noise paired with morning light shining in from the windows. His quills bristled in response.
He locked eyes with the source of the noise and froze.
What?
How?!
A pair of emerald eyes stared back at him in utter disbelief.
“Shadow?!”