Archive of Our Own ^beta

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i. angels

"Well aren't they little angels?"

It came out as more of a quiet statement than a question, not at all pompous as he'd planned it to sound.

The older scientist continued to stand quietly besides the cribs lined up in a neat row, taking up a small portion of the otherwise large, carpeted room. A book case towered from across the room, filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes, a multitude of toys peeking out from a box to his right that would've otherwise matched the bright colors of the room.

A lone rocking chair stood to the side.

The lines on his face only creased further at the reminder, making him look older than he felt.

"So these are my niece and nephews." Eggman gave a deep sigh, the moonlight reflecting off his spectacles and giving him a more somber glow.

Carefully placing a gloved hand on one of the cribs, a slight frown made his way to his lips, at war on what to feel. One life had been sacrificed for theirs, and while logically it should sound reasonable, it still didn't help that even as he watched the sleeping babes rest for the night, he didn't feel a single ounce of remorse for thinking it hadn't felt like a fair deal.

He came here looking for closure, he admitted to himself sardonically, but instead he only felt...incomplete.

But there was nothing else he could do besides stare, as if willing for some sort of epiphany to manifest itself from the small bundles of life and tell him why she wasn't here anymore.

As he proceeded to exit the room, he stopped for a moment upon noticing that the small figure that still stood with his arms crossed, shoulders still remaining taut and demeanor on the defensive side. It was obvious he'd been watched the entire time, the hedgehog more than likely ready to strike from behind at one wrong move despite the obvious signs that the grim situation was weighing heavily on even his shoulders, but at that moment the older male didn't care much to lay a sarcastic remark.

For once in his life, the scientist felt pity for the creature. Maybe even empathy, but he couldn't show it; years of seeing the red-striped anthropomorphous as an enemy had hardened him too much, and no cousin of his, dead or alive, could've ever changed that.

Matching his gaze, the, once again, solely living Robotnik muttered gravelly, a strange sort of understanding passing between them, "You take care of them, Shadow", before heading down the empty corridor and leaving the silent home without another word.

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ii. hunger

He watched quietly, waiting.

It was a little before midnight, and despite the heavy doses of sleep hitting him harder the longer he stared at the tall wooden door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mysterious being that fought of his family's hunger by bringing them food every night, he was determined to see it through. If his mother refused to tell him by making up excuses for him and his siblings, then that was fine with him—he'd find out a different way.

One, he realized, that was a lot harder than he'd been expecting.

He internally groaned, gazing at the door for a while until his eyes began to droop, to the point where it was nearly impossible to even keep them open for more than a couple of seconds at a time.

No! He thought stubbornly, slamming his fist onto the carpet. He'd spent too much time waiting patiently for their night visitor to stop now. Not when he was so close...

So far, he squinted at the kitchen from behind him where the stove's clock lay, he'd been awake for almost five hours, just a little past four in the morning. If it hadn't been for the movie being too long, and his mother forgetting to keep track of the time, it would've been more difficult to stay up than it already was.

But now, his heart sunk with understanding, at the rate he was going, his body wouldn't make it. Still, the boy tried for a while longer, staying quite all the while and tapping his fingers along the soft flooring of the entrance. But when what felt like hours was only ten minutes, according to the clock, even he knew it was over.

So with a reluctant, frustrated whimper the boy curled beside the fluffy maroon carpet in front of the door. It didn't take long for him to start dozing off, relaxing almost immediately once he'd stop fighting against his body's need to rest. In moments he was asleep, numb to any outside sensations even if he'd initially felt cold without his favorite blanket and warm bed.

Too numb to even realize that the door had opened, paused for a few moments as the figure stood silently, more than surprised to see the small boy almost passed out on the soft carpet, quietly assessing the situation before closing the door behind gently, crimson irises still watching as the young boy's chest rose and fell with each soft breath.

Arms came down to pick up the young boy, gentle in their hold and for a moment the child stirred, blinking slowly and revealing a matching set of eyes.

"Dad...?" He whispered sleepily, the pull of slumber too strong for his weak and inexperienced body, eyes shutting to a close as the warm body, familiar in it's embrace, continued to hold him, leading him down the hallway.

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iii. horses

It'd been a simple comment, a passing one really that she felt they all could've walked away from.

But she knew when he halted them from walking any further, the hand interlocked with her own having separated as he snarled at them through clenched fangs, that he wasn't going to let it slide as easily. Insulting him was one thing—but Maria was considered sacred; untouchable. They'd truly struck a nerve that not even that Faker could ever hope to reach.

It seemed that they knew it too, because the large gang of horses had already turned around towards them, taunting in their words and grinning widely at her companion's obvious displeasure, inwardly seething at the slight to his mate.

Realizing what this would lead up to, the young woman took a step forward in an attempt to pacify her deadly silent companion, saying in a rushed whisper, "Shadow, don't—"

But he'd already taken off, and she shielded her eyes from the dust that swirled around her, wincing at the sounds of the the biker gang members' cries of pain and cursed shouts. The blonde swore she heard the sound of motorcycle engines revving close by, followed soon after by more battle cries before a series of quick explosion silenced it permanently.

'I think you're taking this a little too far for a comment.' Maria sweat-dropped, feeling sympathetic for the anthros who wouldn't be able to stand up from this for at least a good week. It wasn't long until the pressure surrounding the parking lot seized, and after a moment of debate, blinked open her eyes only to immediately lose temporary use of her sight by a familiar gloved hand.

Despite her attempt not to, she was touched by his action. He hadn't wanted her to see what he'd done to them; although she could feel him practically glowing with pride, he knew that she wouldn't find the sight before her as pleasant to look at.

"Shadow..." Maria pouted in disapproval, but the hedgehog had already taken her hand again with his other one, leading her past the fallen, unconscious bodies and towards the entrance of the bright circus, ignoring the looks of surprise that were shot at them by onlookers as he muttered about "those damn horses" and their lack of civility under his breath on the way there.

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iv. candy wrapper

"I hope you learned your lesson again, Maria," the girl in question only ducked her head in embarrassment, clasping at the edges over her bed with shaking hands, avoiding the exasperated look on she knew was on the elder's face. After so many years, it seemed the girl was still convinced that she could hide the small treats from him when she thought he wasn't looking...it was already that time of year back on Earth, Halloween, and while he knew some of the other scientists took sympathy on her for always missing out by bringing candy from below, it seemed they always seemed to do more harm than good.

For the fifth year in a row, she was bedridden with both high blood sugar and an intense stomach ache that would leave her sick for at least a good week. If he hadn't looked deeply into the situation (aka, finding the candy wrappers hidden discreetly at the bottom her trash can), he wasn't sure what would've become of his dear granddaughter.

While the Professor wanted to spend the next few hours tending to her, he unfortunately needed to complete some tests by tomorrow's deadline, leaving him no room for any free time of his own. Damn GUN and their outlandishly ridiculous last-minute deadlines.

Shaking his head, Gerald called out as he made his way out the door, "Watch over her, Shadow. Make sure that she doesn't escape for any more of those terribly unhealthy sweets."

Shadow nodded in response, and with that the door automatically shut with a quiet whoosh, leaving only him and Maria.

Immediately, the atmosphere grew awkward.

It had already been three months since Shadow had been first activated, and while she'd seen the mysterious hedgehog many times, whether it be when she accompanied her grandfather or when she'd see him around the hallways walking behind another scientist, they'd never really talked-talked. Any conversation Maria had tried making—she'd lost count of how many a long time ago—the hedgehog would only respond to her with slight head movements or just ignore her, never really giving her a real response.

She'd been hurt the first few times, unsure of the origins of his standoffish attitude towards her, but had eventually accepted with a heavy heart that maybe they just weren't meant to be friends like she'd originally hoped, back when she first saw him in his capsule.

It wasn't like she was someone important...she was merely just a relative of his creator, not at all gifted with an intelligent mind and served no benefit to him whatsoever. He didn't need friends.

By then the silence was deafening, the only sound being the beeping of her heartbeat on the monitor and her soft breaths. Shadow still sat beside her, but he didn't say a word, only looked at the brightly teal-painted wall in front him. It was like he wasn't even there.

Maria looked down at her blanket, biting the inside of her cheek in guilt. She wanted to apologize for demoting him to a simple aid for a stupid girl that had been too wrapped up in eating candy that she'd lost control and hospitalized herself in the process. The reality of the situation made her cheeks burn further in shame.

But how should she say it? Was there a way she could tell him without being more of a bother than she already was? Would he accept it?

Would he even care? Her hand crushed the white sheets beneath her palms, taking in a deep, shaking breath. I'm so sorry, Shadow—

"Next time be a little more careful."

Maria's eyes widened slowly, quickly turning towards the hedgehog beside her, mouth agape.

Shadow had spoken to her?

But he had already looked away, deep in thought as she usually saw him. If she hadn't spotted the way his eyes fought to look away from her gaze, she would've thought she had imagined the whole thing up. But the fact that he had said those words to her, with a gentleness she didn't know he possessed...

A lump suddenly formed in her throat. And just when she was having second-thoughts on befriending the silent experiment, thinking that maybe she was a bother for him...

"T-th..." Shadow turned back to her, surprised to see that she had tears welling up in her eyes, struggling to formulate her words. A friend! She had a friend! With a choked sob, but a smile that stretch to both sides of her cheeks it hurt, she whispered happily, hope blossoming in her chest, "Thank you, Shadow."

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v. time

"You've ever fallen in love, Shadow?"

It takes him a full minute to digest the question, not only because the question is unexpected, but because his mind wanders on the notion even human themselves haven't yet figured out.

Love.

It's not a definition that comes to mind, not at first. He's been programmed with over thousands of words in all sorts of languages, and he can easily find at least a various amount of definitions for the word "love". It should've been a natural for him to just throw out one of them, enough to give an answer to the Faker so that he doesn't ask again...an image, however, takes its place.

He doesn't want to remember, reminisce like this with anyone else. But he does, and instead he sits, leans back a bit and watches.

A girl with silky blonde hair and bright sapphire irises, standing patiently beside him with that familiar smile on her face. A smile so bright, he would've fought anything to keep it on her sickly face, make her happy. Beautiful in every sense of the word. She is everything and nothing to him, a forever and now a never...she's an anomaly that stands out more than anything strange in this world.

He sees her wrap her arms around his neck, her long lashes blinking up to meet his eyes as her lips move to form five familiar syllables.

I love you, Shadow.

For a moment he's captured a vision of what could've been; a time where love would've been sufficient for them both.

A definition is one thing, that he understands, but experiencing it is another.

But he doesn't say a word, not at first, only continues to watch as the two small hedgehogs, miniatures of both the Faker and his pink bride, play around the sandbox, squealing as they threw sand and tossed around to create a bigger mess than the children before them.

"Yes." The ebony hedgehog finally answered, crossing his arms. His face was void of any emotion, his companion notices, but his eyes...

Sonic waited for a few moments, but when his rival didn't elaborate any further, the former merely responded with an accepting hum, nodding his head as he turned back to watch his young as they played with a carelessness he's always wanted them to have.

Maybe one day Shadow would reveal more.

But for now, Sonic wouldn't pressure him, instead enjoy the simple answer for what it was.

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vi. to do

Her eyes scanned him, every inch of fur from the tip of his quills to the soles of shoes, still awestruck with the way he carried himself with such resolve, his fur shimmering with bright, warm chaos energy and his eyes gleaming in the light of it all. She'd thought by this time she'd be over it by now, but even taking a breath was proving difficult for her as he floated down for a quick moment, at eye level with her.

She was brought out of her thoughts when gloved fingers caressed the back of her bare hands, a question lingering in his wary gaze. Will you be alright without me?

She smiled, though shook her head at how even when the entire population was in danger, she would always come first to him. After all, she laughed quietly to herself, he had more important things to do than worry about her well-being. Squeezing his hands one more time before releasing, Maria took a small step back as she whispered softly, enough so that only he could hear her. "Go save us, Shadow."

At her words Shadow gave a confident nod, smirking in the slightest as he slowly rose from the ground; in an instant he took off beside Sonic and Silver, the three uniting to create a dazzling light that shone through the dark clouds.