Chapter Text
30 seconds.
It only took 30 seconds for the world famous speedster to be wiped off the face of earth.
And all Shadow could do was watch.
Watch as his rival, his friend, his first… was blown to bits. The various pieces of blue fur and quills scattered across the battlefield, littering the ground in Sonic's memory. Shadow continued to stare ahead at the gore, the only thing left of the blue blur was a mangled corpse that barely resembled any sort of being. Shadow felt his stomach turn, the lunch he’d eaten previously threatening to return. The perpetrators' voice was the only thing that kept it down.
“Well then. My work here is done.” They glanced at Shadow, still pathetically kneeling before the body. They looked over the ebony hedgehog, seeing as he wasn’t attempting to get up at all, they decided to push their luck.
“If only you’d been faster.” They hummed before disappearing in a flash of bright orange.
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Sonic's funeral was attended by what seemed like everyone, even Eggman. It was surprising, yet expected. The two had been more civil towards each other within the last decade, with Ivo getting older and Sonic having a family to care for.
His family… His wife, Amy Rose, and two children, with one on the way. He’d never be able to meet them now. Amy was standing next to the picture, with her two children, she thanked each person who wandered over to give their condolences. Tails and Knuckles were seated next to them, the fox holding Sonic's eldest daughter, Chili, in his lap. She was only 7, and her brother, Ollie, was 5. He was holding onto some flowers Amy had given to him so he and Chili could put them next to their fathers picture later in the service.
The service was held in a gorgeous field, mostly due to how much room was needed for the guests, and because Sonic would be laid to rest beneath a willow tree he frequently napped at. Although there was no body to be buried, they would set a small box filled with a few of his belongings into the ground then bury them. Ollie had pointed out it was “Like a time capsule” to which everyone had chuckled and nodded.
Shadow was standing in the front row next to Rouge and a few others he barely recognized. He almost hadn’t shown up, but Rouge had managed to convince him, as per usual.
He was silent the whole service, staring at the ground with his arms crossed so as to not have anyone see the guilt in his eyes. If only he had been faster, the words from the malefactor had been repeating in his mind for days.
“If only you’d been faster…”
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It had been 4 months since Sonic's death, everyone seemed to have moved on in one way or another. It's as if once they had buried the box, Sonic was gone. As if everyone had to accept the truth… They should. Sonic was dead, and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. Sure they could cry, curse god, etcetera… but everyone chose to pretend that it was okay, that it was okay Sonic was dead and gone.
“It’s what Sonic would have wanted.” They’d say.
But they were wrong.
Shadow knew better, Shadow had been there to see the fear in his final moments as the beam struck. As he misjudged the speed of the ray and was hit. He was there to hear his brief gasp as the energy overtook his body, and abolished it in an instant.
Amy struggled taking care of 3 kids on her own, Tails found ways to keep himself busy, to keep his mind off his dead brother. Even Eggman wasn’t in the mood for anything. No planning, no plotting… no reason to. As Shadow saw everyone's reactions to Sonic’s permanent absence, the guilt grew and grew. One thing was certain, It was his fault for failing… for being too slow.
The scene replayed in his mind every night.
30 seconds. That's all he needed. 30 seconds to save Sonic.
… It was that simple. 30 seconds was all he needed. He couldn’t rewind time…
But he knew something that could.