Chapter Text
Sonic sinks halfway to his knees. He pushes the heels of his paws into his ears, trying to block out the sound of the alarms. The grating noise still manages to infiltrate his mind. They tear at his awareness, making it difficult for him to think. His senses start to weaken as a result. His vision is blurring, and his flesh is trembling. He can’t hear anything other than the high-pitched wailing. He does, however, taste iron on his tongue, sharp and hot. He must have bit his tongue or cheek when the alarms roared to life. Or maybe Shadow injured him more than Sonic thought and this is a consequence of that. Sonic dares not consider it since he knows he won’t be able to solve that problem. The one he needs to handle now is shutting off the damn speakers before he feels blood trickling from his ear canals.
Before Sonic can start crashing into every possible wall to take them out, the ringing sound decreases in volume. It does not completely go away, of course, but it’s at a level where Sonic can lower his paws from his ears. When he does, he recognizes that there’s another sound mixing with the alarms. It is filled with static and hardly legible due to the age of the speaker system, but Sonic can at least determine that it’s a voice. Someone is talking. Sonic hopes they aren’t saying anything important.
They probably were because the room suddenly starts trembling all around him. Sonic pitches to the side. He nearly falls off the bridge he’s standing on. As he’s shifting his body weight to make sure he doesn’t fall, he looks around the area. All the walls and windows are shaking. Everyone—him, Tails, Amy, Knuckles—are shaking, too. Sonic gets the distinct feeling that this shaking isn’t confined to one room. The entire ARK must be experiencing this. Sonic doesn’t understand why, but he knows that it can’t be anything good. Solid, safe structures don’t do this, after all.
“What’s that… that vibration?!” Knuckles growls. Sonic’s eyes snap to him. The echidna’s fists are spread out on either side of him. Although everything is shaking—including Sonic’s own vision—Knuckles seems to be the most stable one of them all. This contrast is made apparent
Sonic has a snarky comment loaded on his tongue. It fades when his senses finally pick up on something he should have known about far earlier. Sonic’s eyes snap upward. In the darkness, he sees two rings of teal. Sonic narrows his eyes, nodding his chin toward the rafters. “Somebody’s here.”
The teal rings are irises, and they belong to a bat. Sonic knows this because she flies down to land on the ground in front of him and Knuckles. Sonic tenses, remembering her both from Amy’s recollections and as someone who followed them at one point. He also thinks Knuckles has trouble with her which might explain the echidna’s hardened eyes. “You…? You haven’t given up yet?!”
“It’s all over for us…” The bat says solemnly, shaking her head. It’s hard to confirm, but Sonic believes he sees pain and despair in her eyes. She isn’t lying to them right now, no matter how much she wishes she were.
“What do you mean?” Knuckles demands. He throws his arm to the side. It is enough to pull her attention away from her own misery and toward him.
“I just received a message from my boss… The Space Colony ARK is currently approaching Earth at a high velocity. It probably… will impact Earth,” The bat explains. She turns the phone she was holding to show the hedgehog and echidna. Knuckles leans forward. Sonic doesn’t even bother. With everything faintly trembling as much as it is, he knows he won’t be able to read whatever’s on her phone.
There’s a dinging noise. Sonic whirls around. The other two’s attention follows him. They approach a machine that was left in the room. There’s a screen hanging on the machine. Sonic didn’t think it could turn on, but now the screen is displaying the face of a human. It is an old man with a bald head and plenty of snowy white facial hair. His eyes are covered in thick goggles, but his body language and bowed head make it clear that he’s lost in the throes of heavy emotion.
“What’s on that screen?” Knuckles questions.
Sonic, unfortunately, knows the answer to that question. “Dr. Gerald Robotnik…”
There is one picture of the good doctor that has survived on Earth. It is in Abraham’s possession. He showed it to Sonic, Amy, and Tails one time. It was an accident, but the team never forgot. They compiled all the information they could glean from their interactions with Abraham about Gerald, the ARK, and everything else that happened that fateful day almost fifty years ago. The commander likely knew they were doing this, but he never prevented them. Maybe a part of him wished that more people knew, that he wasn’t the only one who carried the memories of all those who died in his heart.
In a flash of speed, Sonic appears right in front of the console. He stares up at the screen. He feels Tails shift closer behind him. The poor kit is probably still startled by the fact that Sonic didn’t die when Eggman sent him out of the ARK. Sonic wishes he could comfort his brother, but if what Rouge said was right, he needs to make sure Tails—and everyone else—doesn’t die first.
From the video, Gerald speaks with a strained voice as if he’s been screaming for a long time or hasn’t been given water. It was likely both, looking at him chained to a chair and the floor. “This is a death sentence for every human being on Earth. If my calculations are correct, the Space Colony ARK will impact the Earth in twenty-seven minutes and fifty-three seconds. All of you will be destroyed, along with your beloved planet Earth. I plan to give you a taste of my revenge, once all the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. Once I initiate this program, it cannot be disabled. All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me... will feel my loss and despair!”
Sonic curses under his breath. Despite electing to do it in another language, Tails still shoots him a look from the corner of his eyes. Sonic doesn’t acknowledge this, but he probably will later if he remembers. For now, he’s going over plans in his mind. They have less than half an hour to make sure that the ARK doesn’t crash into Earth. The reason it’s crashing is because of chaos energy which is notoriously difficult to manage. Gerald wasn’t entirely wrong about this being impossible to disable. Sonic will have to find a way regardless.
“Is there anything else you want to say?” Another voice echoes from the video. Sonic doesn’t recognize it personally, but the cadence reminds him of a military agent. Paired with the familiar background behind Gerald, Sonic doesn’t need to guess which military is the one that has Gerald chained up.
Gerald murmurs a soft, “No…”
The G.U.N. soldier’s voice turns. They are no longer speaking to Gerald, but rather someone—or a group—to one side of them. “Ready!”
“Oh… Oh no…” Amy whispers beside Sonic. He winces at the same time as her. They both know what that means. It’s a firing squad, G.U.N.’s preferred method of execution (at least, it was that way before and after Sonic’s time as a cleaner since he was their favorite at one point). Amy stumbles forward, catching herself on the edge of the console in front of and below the screen. The paralyzing agent that was holding her in place earlier must still partially be in her system.
Gerald laughs very slightly, hiding it in the depths of his words, “I plan to give you a taste of my revenge—”
With those words, the ARK shivers another time. Sonic grabs onto Amy to keep her from falling. Tails hurries to her other side. Sonic doesn’t bother looking behind him to see how the others are faring, but he hears Knuckles state the obvious. “Hey, the vibration's getting worse.
If Sonic did turn around, perhaps he would have noticed Dr. Ivo Robotnik stepping inside the room before he heard the man’s voice. “Professor Gerald Robotnik! One of the greatest scientific minds in the world, and my grandfather!”
What a shame Gerald and Ivo have to be related. Then again, it makes sense. A desire to destroy the world must run in their veins.
“What?! I knew you were behind all this! Stop it right now, or else—”
Eggman interrupts Knuckles before the echidna can finish. “I'd have done this a long time ago if I had the chance.”
Sonic glances over his shoulder. Although Sonic cannot see Eggman’s eyes, he knows the moment when the two make eye contact. “What do you mean?”
Eggman exhales sharply out his nose which makes a whistling noise since his nose is so pronounced. “You're pretty persistent for a hedgehog, aren't you? You're still alive, huh?”
Sonic laughs. “Heh, just letting Knuckles pilot the shuttle all the way over here was more dangerous than you could ever be!”
Eggman continues glaring at Sonic even as he steps further into the room. He hands a computer zip disk to the bat. She turns it over in her hands. “What’s this?”
Eggman sounds awfully proud of himself when he answers. “This is my grandfather's diary.”
Knuckles steps out of the bat’s way as she makes her way to the terminal by the wall. As she puts the disk inside, Sonic and Tails help Amy shuffle back to give the bat space. The roseate hedgehog glares at the bat with a profound ferocity, but she doesn’t do anything against the bat. For the moment, they all listen to the bat read what’s found on the disk, Gerald’s diary. “I don't quite know what happened, or what went wrong. Was it a mistake to create the Ultimate Life Form? I thought it would be something that would benefit mankind... But then the military guards landed on the Colony that day. They were sent to destroy the research project that I had been working on. My colleagues at the research facility, my granddaughter Maria, I hope you are all safe.”
At this point, the speakers begin to join the bat. They have mimicked Gerald’s voice. It personalizes the diary, but it also makes it infinitely creepier. “The colony was completely shut down, probably to prevent the prototype from falling into the wrong hands.”
The bat stops reading, letting the speaker’s mimicry of Gerald finish the report. “The ARK was shut down under the premise that there had been an accident. I found Maria's name among those who died when the ARK was shut down. She meant everything to me! And I couldn't bear the thought that she died because of my research. I lost everything! I had nothing more to live for! I went insane!! All I could think about was to avenge her! Somehow, someway, I got scared as I no longer was able to control my thoughts. All I could think about was that I wanted it all to end. Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my project; Shadow. I designed its mind to be perfect, pure... I will leave everything to him. If you wish, release and awaken it to the world.”
The speaker shuts off, marking the end. Silence permeates the room for a long moment. The bat taps her fingers along the frame, repeating the words, “If you wish to fill the world with destruction..." She turns to Eggman. “Oh, so that's why you released Shadow from the base!”
“The core of the Eclipse Cannon is now highly reactive and explosive. This is because the energy of the Chaos Emeralds is overpowering it. If the colony collides with Earth, it will shatter into pieces like my grandfather predicted!” Eggman sets a hand over his chest. His voice is oddly affectionate when he calls out, “That mad scientist!”
“I’m so tired of mad scientists,” Amy snarls.
Sonic agrees with her. Tails probably does, too, but he’s a little more pragmatic when he calls out, “We have to stop the Space Colony, now!”
“The Space Colony ARK's position may have shifted due to the amount of energy given off by the Emeralds. We have to stop the energy!” Eggman explains. Sonic arches a brow at him. Well, Eggman’s aim has always been world domination. It’s hard to dominate a world that doesn’t exist.
“But... how?” Tails murmurs. He removes his arm from Amy’s side to bring them both in front of them. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. He stares at the ground with an intensity that means he isn’t really looking at the floor. He’s flipping through every possibility he can think of.
The bat (Sonic really has to learn her name) snaps her fingers. “Hmm, that's it. There is a way to stop the energy!” She turns toward Knuckles. “We have to use your Emerald! You're the one who told me that the Master Emerald has the power to stop the Chaos Emeralds!”
“That's right,” Knuckles responds. He brings out the Master Emerald. Unlike everything else, it remains steady even when the ARK is shaking. Even the beams of green light shooting off from every facet are steady. Chaos energy doing what chaos energy does—being an absolute mystery just for the sake of it. “If I use this, I just might be able to stop the Chaos Emeralds!”
“The reaction of the Chaos Emeralds is moving toward the Cannon's Core! It may be too late!” Tails warns.
Eggman shakes his head. “There still may be time left. If we pull together, we might be able to get to the shortcut that leads to the core!”
“And this is where I come in. I’m the world’s fastest hedgehog,” Sonic smirks. The others nod in agreement. They gather together under Eggman’s words to plan out their route.
Sonic turns to Amy. She’s able to stand on her own now, but he can tell the poison is still thrumming through her veins. She’ll be a liability if she comes with them. Sonic can’t just tell her that, though, because she’ll take it the wrong way. Thankfully, his final word reminds him of someone else, and this is a job that only Amy can do.
Sonic grabs the back of her neck. He doesn’t squeeze, just holds. It not only attracts Amy’s attention, but also tells her that what Sonic is saying is important since they always do this when they need to share vital information. Quietly, Sonic tells her. “I don’t know where Shadow is, but he must still be on the ARK. I couldn’t tell you what’s on his mind or what he actually wants. But I know that you can figure it out. And hopefully, you can get him to work with us. Just that good ole’ kindness of yours, yeah? Do you think you can do it?”
Amy grabs the back of his neck with paw while the other one curls around the wrist holding her own. Determination blooms as beautifully as a flower in her peridot green irises. “I’ve got this. Thank you, Sonic.”
“We’ll be thanking you soon enough.”
With that, the two split apart. Sonic goes to the control room with the others. Amy searches for Shadow. When they meet up again, hopefully it won’t be to say their final goodbyes.
Shadow is not difficult to find. Amy doesn’t know if it’s because of coincidence, the fact that he’s bad at hiding, or her latent abilities to sense people (she’s still figuring out the details). She doesn’t need to know, though. Right now, with the world in peril and the lives of everyone she cares about on the line, the important part is that Amy did find him. There is nothing between them except for air, and Amy can use that in order to reach his heart through her words.
“Shadow.”
The ebony hedgehog stands at the far end of the room. He stares out of a curving window with an apathetic expression and lifeless eyes. Amy stares at him for a long moment. The silence stretches on toward infinity. Shadow refuses to acknowledge her. Amy takes a deep breath, actively deciding not to grow upset. She needs to remain calm if she wants Shadow to listen to her. Although she doesn’t know him well, she gets the feeling that he would appreciate it far more than an emotional outburst.
“Shadow, we need your help. I don’t know if you saw Gerald’s video, but the ARK is hurtling toward the planet below. Everyone on Earth is going to be killed. Everyone on this ARK, including you, is going to die” Amy explains. She stops a few feet away from Shadow. She turns her entire body toward him. She devotes all her attention to him in this way. She does not look at the shaking walls or the stars in the void or even the planet she’s called home for so long.
Shadow refuses to do the same. In fact, he closes his eyes, allowing nothing in his field of vision. “It’s all going according to plan. There’s no reason for me to help them.”
“I know that’s not true. We have a plan to stop this, and if you help us, our success rate will be that much greater,” Amy says, offering her paw to Shadow. His eyes flutter open just enough to glance at her glove. His eyes pin onto the space where the white fabric meets the gray of her jacket. Amy continues. “I heard what the professor said. He thinks all people are selfish and cruel; that it’s in their very nature to hurt others. But that isn’t true. There are some humans who aren’t selfish and cruel. They help others in every way they can. You’ve met humans like that. I’ve met them, too, because most people are good. They do their best, and they try not to give up on their wishes. They find reasons to be happy. That’s why I’ve chosen to protect them. That’s why everyone on this ARK has. And that’s why you should, too. Almost all of them don’t even know about the ARK. The one who does know cares more than anything, and he wants to help you. That’s why Sonic, Tails, and I were assigned this mission.”
Amy doesn’t mention that her team wasn’t officially assigned. Abraham just nudged them all in the right direction. The consequences for their actions are going to be awful if they manage to pull off the whole saving the world thing.
Amy steps forward. She continues to hold her paw out. Shadow’s eyelids lift entirely. When they lock eyes, Amy’s voice is clear and unwavering, filled to the brim with all the confidence and determination she’s earned and developed over the years. “If nothing else, give the people on Earth a chance. Shadow, I beg you, please do it for them. Do it for the humans you knew were kind. And do it for yourself. Don’t let the professor turn you into a weapon when you were made to be so much greater.”
Those words, ironically, are similar to the one she told Sonic, a long time ago. He, too, considered himself G.U.N.’s weapon. He was fine with it. At least, he thought he was, but Amy has proof in her memories that perhaps he never was, all because her words made a breakthrough.
Something similar happens this time. Shadow’s eyes widen. He stares at his reflection in the glass. When his fingers trace the surface, Amy suspects he isn’t looking at himself or what’s on the other side of the glass. He’s watching a memory unfold. He speaks under his breath, face completely twisting because of the past. “That’s what I’ve promised her… I must keep that promise… That’s what Maria wished for…”
Maria. The reason Abraham holds so much guilt, the reason Gerald wanted to destroy the world, and now, the reason Shadow wants to save it. Amy really wishes she could have met this girl doomed by fate.
A tear slips down Shadow’s face. Amy’s expression crumples with compassion and concern. She shuffles that much closer, lowering herself just enough to look into Shadow’s eyes. She doesn’t need to say anything. Shadow’s wipes the tear away quickly, letting his face harden. He turns around, marching toward the door. “I gotta go now. I have to keep my promise to Maria.” Shadow pauses at the door. He glances back at her. “...and you.”
With that, he sprints away. Amy huffs. She flops onto her rear end. She leans her head against the glass. She continues turning her head until she can see Earth. Her body feels better without her using it, but her mind endlessly races forward, as quick as Sonic (or Shadow, she supposes). Amy is proud of her success. She only hopes that she’ll get to feel this pride for a long time instead of being ruthlessly ended by the ARK’s collision course.
Amy sinks further down. She lets her eyes close. The next dozen minutes or so are going to be the longest in her life, aren’t they?
Shadow slows down into a steady walk as he enters the core. The other two—Knuckles and Sonic—are already standing inside the room. The former doesn’t look any different, but Sonic’s jacket has gone missing since the last time Shadow saw him (Good, Shadow thinks. Sonic looks much better without G.U.N. insignia branding him). The two Mobians are standing in front of the Biolizard, a creature Shadow is intimately familiar with. They were both products of the same project. They were both abandoned even when they should’ve been put out of their misery.
“Leave this one to me.” Shadow prepares himself for a battle against the prototype that failed to become the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow steps between Knuckles and Sonic. The echidna blanches with surprise. Sonic’s lips rise into a smirk, a touch more happy than it has any right to be.
“I knew she could do it,” Sonic says. His voice echoes with so much pride that Shadow pauses to look at him. Obviously, the ‘she’ in question would be that roseate hedgehog (Amy? Isn’t that what Rouge and Ivo called her?). She is part of Sonic’s team. Shadow knew this already, and she confirmed it herself when they were talking. But, the obviousness dissipates when Shadow meets Sonic’s eyes. Those emerald irises are filled with pride, but now it feels more directed toward Shadow. This is supported by Sonic’s voice when he quietly adds, “I knew you could do it.”
Shadow doesn’t understand why Sonic is proud of him. This confusion gives way to anger, and Shadow uses that as fuel for his fight. He tears his gaze away from Sonic. He faces down the Biolizard in front of him. “I’ll take care of this while you run to get the Chaos Emeralds!”
As blobs of color in Shadow’s peripheral vision, Sonic and Knuckles run ahead to where the Chaos Emeralds are feeding into the ARK’s various mechanisms. Shadow lets them do what they need to do. In the meantime, he distracts the Biolizard by fighting the oversized reptile. While Shadow does not struggle or falter, the Biolizard proves itself as a potential version of the Ultimate Lifeform with its power and resilience.
The fight is stopped by an explosion of energy. Shadow crashes onto one knee, gripping his chest. The energy inside of him settles from its frenzied state. The Biolizard is not as composed. It releases a long screech filled with both wrath and pain. Shadow readies himself to take the opportune moment to strike, but the Biolizard suddenly disappears in a flash of white. Shadow blinks. His mind continues reeling even as his body forces him onto the shrine platform beside Knuckles and Sonic.
Once he’s there, all he can manage is to whisper, “Is that what… Chaos Control is?”
Shadow doesn’t get an answer from Knuckles or Sonic. Instead, the ARK itself answers Shadow by increasing the shaking. Sonic grabs onto Knuckles’ shoulder, eyes searching the room all around them. Shadow stares at the last place the Biolizard was. Knuckles looks between the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds. “We stopped the Chaos Emeralds; why is the Space Colony still on a crash course toward Earth?!”
Shadow has a few guesses. One of them is proven right when Ivo’s voice pours out of the speakers, “The Prototype is still alive! He's controlling the Space Colony as it is falling to Earth! He has become one with the Space Colony and is determined to keep it on its collision course!”
Sonic drops his paw from Knuckles’ shoulder. His eyes roam across the Chaos Emerald. Their chromatic glows reflect in his eyes, and though each one is a different color, Sonic’s irises begin to bleed with a deep red. Shadow is left speechless by the familiarity—not just to himself but to the mural Gerald once showed him. Sonic doesn’t seem to realize. He instead reaches a paw to touch Shadow’s shoulder, gripping tightly. There is no fear in his soul just as there is no voice in his throat. He doesn’t need to say anything, though. Shadow understands.
“Sonic…” Knuckles says warningly. Sonic silences his friend with a look. Knuckles exhales, stepping away from the hedgehogs. Sonic’s eyes come back to Shadow. He lets go of the Ultimate Lifeform’s shoulder. He shuffles a half-step, remaining closer than he should be allowed to. Shadow doesn’t request space, though. He instead mirrors Sonic’s actions by spreading his arms out. He grasps onto the energy in the air all around him. He pulls at the threads, creating a platinum cloak for himself. This cloak merges with his very flesh when the Chaos Emeralds begin spinning around Sonic and Shadow. Their feet lift off the ground. The higher they rise, the brighter the light covering them becomes. Soon, they are two stars shooting through the ARK and reappearing outside to face off against the Finalhazard.
It isn’t just limitless power that fills Shadow’s body. There are the tingling not-quite voices that whisper of a thousand—no, a million wishes. More than that. It is the very will of Earth, of every single individual—human, Mobian, robotic, organic, everyone. It is all of their hopes and dreams braided together to create an earnest desire to survive. They want to live. They want the people they love and care about to live. This is not the end they want to meet. The Chaos Emeralds resonate with all these combined wishes, turning them into power for Shadow and Sonic to use.
More than that, their wishes also resonate with the emeralds. Sonic’s voice is the clearest among the thrumming crowd. He, like everyone, has a wish to survive, and he has the tenacity to make that wish come true himself. There are other wishes, however, that echo beneath the main one. Shadow can’t hear them when he isn’t focusing, but they remain present. They’re rather simple wishes, really. Mundane and even pathetic. Sonic wants a chilidog right now (whatever that is). He wants to make sure Amy is okay. He wants to have a long talk with Tails. He wants to tease Knuckles. He wants to learn ‘that bat’s’ name.
He wants to show Shadow around Earth. He wants to have another race—one with no stakes other than their pride. He wants to reintroduce Shadow and ‘the commander.’ He wants to make sure that Shadow doesn’t believe what Gerald said in that video.
Sonic meets Shadow’s eyes. In the void of space, when they are both as bright as stars and facing off against a literal space station controlled by Project Shadow’s prototype, Sonic smiles at Shadow. The platinum hedgehog doesn’t know which of his wishes the Chaos Emeralds are sounding off in Sonic’s head, but he knows from those crimson eyes (the color of fire and autumn leaves, not blood like Shadow’s eyes) that Sonic is listening to Shadow’s heart.
Shadow turns away first. They don’t have time for this. He looks toward the Space Colony ARK. It hurtles toward Earth, covered in fire. The Finalhazard throws its head around, attracting attention to itself. Shadow’s fingers close into fists. He notices Sonic perform similar actions in his peripheral. Without another word, they fly towards the ARK to stop its descent and the creature causing it.
Channeling the all seven Chaos emeralds—going super, as it’s often simplified to—is always an ordeal. It’s an experience as much as it is an action. Golden lava pours directly into Sonic’s veins. It replaces his blood with an ichor so bright that it envelops his entire form in blinding light. It burns with the ferocity of the sun, melting his bones and searing his flesh. The components of his body are replaced with willpower itself. It is more than determination: it is the very ability to conquer and change fate that overflows from him. He is a sufficient enough container for it, but he knows that he’s losing pieces of himself—his aspirations, his convictions, even his identity—starts to flow out of him, replaced with the peculiar sentience of the Chaos Emeralds and whatever they’re able to transmute from the planet.
Sonic, however, will never reject their power when he decides that it’s necessary. Right now, it is necessary. He and Shadow might have stopped the Finalhazard, but Earth’s gravity has already latched on the ARK. It will continue hurtling downward. Sonic needed the Chaos Emeralds’ blessings to fight the Finalhazard, and he needs it now to keep the planet from succumbing to destruction.
Sonic flies toward the bottom of the ARK. He pushes his paws into it. Although the metal should burn him in an instant, the Chaos Emeralds provide a barrier around his body—including his gloves—that protects him. Unfortunately, this means that his physical strength hasn’t been enhanced as much as it could be. It isn’t enough for him to push the ARK back into rotation around the planet, at least. Even with Shadow’s assistantence, they are only able to slow. They cannot stop it nor can they reverse the descension.
An idea shoots through Sonic’s head like an arrow. It isn’t his idea; this is Shadow’s idea. The golden hedgehog turns toward the companion right beside him. Shadow’s focus is entirely on the ARK. He isn’t going to listen to Sonic’s arguments. Even if Sonic wanted to, though, they don’t have time to. It’s frustrating, but it has to be. Sonic will deal with the backlash against his body.
Sonic closes his eyes. He pushes with all his strength. A feminine voice echoes in his mind, though he knows that she isn’t talking to him. Sonic can only hope that his voice can reach the platinum hedgehog, too. “Now, Shadow!”
At the same time, the both of them shout, “Chaos Control!” In that instant, they shove the power of the Chaos Emeralds outward, from their bodies into the Space Colony ARK. Time and space contort all around them. It obeys their command. It only takes a second in a miniscule area compared to the rest of the universe, but they’re able to cram both infinity and eternity in the palm of their paws. Once it snaps, the ARK is no longer pushing against them. It has returned to its orbit, following alongside the moon.
Sonic heaves. He folds inward, pulling his limbs as close to his chest as possible. It hurts. This is what he gets for manipulating reality, he supposes. But pain is good. It’s good because it means he isn’t dead. Sonic is alive. The Chaos Emeralds continue to burn inside of him, lending him their power for a short while longer. They are protecting him from the same fatality they sentenced him to. Sonic isn’t going to be grateful, but he will marinate in their glow for a while longer.
I did it.
Sonic’s lips pull into a smile. He uncurls his body to tell Shadow that they did it together. He only sees darkness. Sonic tilts his head even more. He sees stars and the ARK. Then, his vision is cast down to Earth. A small dot of black starts falling downward. Sonic’s eyes widen. That’s Shadow. He’s losing the blessing of the Chaos Emeralds. He’s too close to the planet. Gravity has grabbed onto him in much the same way it did with the ARK. Although Earth isn’t in danger, Sonic still can’t help but feel like a whole world will end when Shadow burns up the atmosphere and hits the surface.
The pain fades in an instant. Adrenaline courses through him, just as deadly as unbounded chaos energy. Sonic lets himself drop. He turns in the air, angling toward the falling body. Sonic reaches his paws out, ready to grasp onto any part of Shadow he can get his fingers around. He manages to grab onto his inhibitor ring, fit snugly over his wrist. He forces the power inside of his body to activate. He begins pulling upward. He can feel the wind slamming into him like a thousand Piko Piko hammers. Some even slice him open, letting crimson blood mar his golden fur. He refuses to let anything heal. He prioritizes all the energy inside of him on strength and flight—on resistance.
Sonic’s eyes were forced into a squint, but he can see Shadow’s expression. Those ruby eyes shimmer with so many emotions. And in the end, Shadow lets his eyes fall shut. He smiles—almost kindly—and reaches a paw up to touch his inhibitor ring. Two words echo through the bond established between them, thank you, before it snaps. In the same second, Shadow opens his inhibitor ring. Because of how hard he was trying to pull Shadow up, Sonic is slingshotted upward. His body spins over and over. No matter how disorientated he is, he squeezes the inhibitor ring and does what he can to stabilize his position. He only manages when he’s right underneath the ARK.
Sonic immediately looks at the planet below. White clouds swirl over a blue ocean and green continents. The reds and golds of the sun start to silhouette the top of the planet. There’s no dot of black and red. The light has swallowed the shadow, ripping it asunder so thoroughly that it feels as if it never exacted in the first place.
“Damnit!” Sonic shouts. He throws his fist to the side. It collides with the metallic base of the ARK. More than that, it creates a major dent in the metal. It crumples around the edges as if it were no more than paper. Sonic turns to look at the destruction. He sees his own figure poorly reflected in the frosted edges—a demon of fire and ichor. Sonic’s anger deserts him. All he’s left with is a hollow ache and more pain than he even knows what to do with.
Sonic gracelessly drags himself upward in the air. He finds an entrance to the ARK. Once he’s stepped inside, he immediately whispers, “Leave me alone.”
There’s a thrum of energy through his body. It is questioning, perhaps, utilizing the limited sentience of the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic answers with a scowl. He doesn’t want to deal with them anymore. All they’ve caused him is pain, and now—now, they’re causing him misery. Because they should have saved Shadow. They should have granted Sonic’s wish to save Shadow. But they didn’t. They decided that Shadow’s lack of will—his acceptance of his own death—was somehow greater.
Having received their answer, the Chaos Emeralds leave his body. They spin around him for a few seconds longer. His ears twitch at their melodic sound, almost bell-like in nature, they produce. The Chaos Emeralds fly upward, disobeying the laws of space to appear anywhere in the world. They’ve likely scattered themselves, too, because gods forbid they stay together as a unit like they are inclined to act like.
Sonic doesn’t care. They leave, and he’s alone, just as he asked. Blood splashes onto the floor. A few come from the cuts. A lot comes from his nostrils. Sonic watches the puddle form between his shoes. At least he’s covered in his own blood this time. At least he wasn’t the one to kill Shadow. At least he can blame anything else—the Chaos Emeralds, gravity, Shadow’s own emotional state—for what happened. He isn’t a weapon who fulfilled their directives, just a failure.
Sonic lifts his head. He is surrounded by the dim lights of the ARK’s interior and the rusting metal. Dust clings so thickly in the air that Sonic can hardly breathe. His pain continues to pulsate in different places around his body. His emotions, thankfully, are distant. The anger and frustration are gone. They will return, though, as will a deep, unfathomable sorrow and guilt. For now, all he has is a grief that feels closer to emptiness.
Though, perhaps, he has more than his grief for company. Sonic looks down at his paw. He’s still holding the inhibitor ring as if Shadow were still wearing it. Sonic forces his fingers open. The ring hangs. Sonic is almost surprised it didn’t dent. The metal, however, remains pristine. It reflects the light like twinkling stars. It reflects Sonic’s melancholic green eyes.
Sonic’s arm drops back to his side. His muscles, bones, and blood all scream at different frequencies. He ignores their howls, letting them echo endlessly in his blank mind. His only thought is that he has to return to the others. He has to share the news, and they have to get back to Earth. He can do that much. He can save them. His teammates, at least.
If only.
Amy holds Sonic’s jacket in her arms. She presses it right against her chest so tightly that she feels her heartbeat even through the fabric. She stares at the screen attached to the wall. It is showing surveillance from planet Earth, any place that Tails could hack when he was still over here. It flips between them all randomly. Every single one, however, shows people partying. They are cheering and laughing and dancing in the streets because of how happy they are to have lived. Distinctions like species, race, nationality, gender—all of them are momentarily forgotten as the planet’s survival is celebrated.
Amy should be celebrating, too. She certainly wants to. Their revelry is infectious, and the relief about her life no longer being in danger makes her want to jump up and down until she’s exhausted. Her feet remain rooted to the floor, however, and her eyes are pinned to the screen. It’s only because Sonic and Shadow aren’t back yet. Amy doesn’t want to do anything prematurely. She knows how the Chaos Emeralds affect Sonic (even if he won’t admit it), and she has no idea what Shadow must be going through.
Amy’s ears twitch. The door opens on the other side of the room. She turns to find Sonic stepping into the room. He looks… fine. His eyes are a little hazy, but his body seems to be in good condition. Upon closer inspection, it is damp in some places from water rather than sweat, and she can see traces of crusted blood that didn’t end up getting scrubbed off. Amy bites the inside of her cheek. It must have been bad if Sonic went through the effort of cleaning himself—of hiding just how injured he was/still is.
Sonic is also alone. He holds onto a ring; Amy fears she knows who the owner is. He walks right up to Rouge. Amy feels a flare of anger at the sight of the bat, but her concern swallows any emotion she could feel for herself. Sonic and Rouge have a short conversation. Amy approaches slowly, straining her ears to hear them speak. “Do you really think… that the professor created him, Shadow, to carry out the revenge on all those who live here on Earth?”
Sonic faces away from Rouge, also putting his back to Amy. She still hears his voice, though, and she has a good idea what his eyes are going to look like. “He was what he was. A brave and heroic hedgehog, who gave his life to save this planet. Shadow the Hedgehog…”
Sonic hands the inhibitor ring to Rouge. She takes it carefully. She holds it in both of her hands. Quietly, she murmurs, “I guess you’re right…”
Rouge turns. For a few seconds, she and Amy make eye contact. Rouge’s lips part to speak. Amy shakes her head. Amy’s own revenge (if she does decide to take it) can wait. Amy knows that Shadow was important to both Rouge and Sonic. Despite it being in different ways, they are both hurting right now. Amy hopes Rouge can handle herself because Amy knows Sonic won’t be able to for himself. Understanding rises in her teal eyes. Rouge nods, giving Amy a half-smile before going to talk to Knuckles.
Amy takes Rouge’s place. She moves Sonic’s jacket around his shoulders. He lifts his eyes to meet her gaze. Amy smiles at him. She reaches her paw back to brush against his quills. They are messy. She grabs onto the golden band around her own wrist. “Do you want me to pull them back?”
Sonic shakes his head. “It’s fine. We should go back to base.”
Amy nods. She looks around the room. Everyone else is starting to leave. Knuckles and Rouge are still talking. Tails is engaged with Eggman about some topic, likely Gerald or something they’ve seen on the ARK. Amy and Sonic join them as the next duo. Before they can cross the threshold, though, Amy reaches out to grab the back of Sonic’s neck. He looks at her with alert eyes. Amy smiles at him. “I’m here for you, no matter what.”
Instead of returning the gesture, Sonic sets his forehead against her shoulder. He exhales raggedly, letting a small fraction of the pain he feels leak into his voice. “I know.”
Amy closes her eyes. When they get back, she is forcing Sonic to that safehouse. He’s going to take a vacation whether he likes it or not. She’ll probably make Tails stay with him, too, just so they can comfort each other. Amy, on the other hand, will deal with G.U.N. personally, accepting whatever punishment they’re going to give.
Sonic lifts his head. He doesn’t look pained or sad when he smiles at her. Amy huffs, wishing Sonic could be more honest. Then again, maybe having a mental breakdown here and now wouldn’t be the best decision. Amy will permit that much, but they are going to be working through this in a healthy way soon enough.
Amy turns. She starts walking out of the room. When she makes it to the hallway, she realizes Sonic isn’t beside her. She looks over her shoulder. Sonic stands at the threshold of the room. He stares back with a haunted look in his eyes. With a half-smile, he declares, “Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.”