This was once SierLeAn's story, but I have adopted it from the author and have full permission to publish it. We have already discussed about the story between us and I will try to keep this as close as possible to SierLeAn's thought-out plotline, as promised.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog or any character involved in this story unless it is an OC.

Chapter 1 – Their Beginnings

Sonic

He ran through the halls of his mansion-slash-vacation home, searching for someone; his siblings, his parents, hell, even the snooty maid would do, just so he could confirm that someone was alive.

And if that person was alive, then the others just had to be. He could barely remember what had gone wrong - all he could remember was searching for his mother before there were the sounds of screams and water rushing rapidly into the building.

He knew it was a bad idea to put the mansion so close to the ocean, especially in an area known for its rough weather that tended to make the sea look as if it was trying to swallow the land in one gulp.

He also knew that it was that stupid War Dictator Julian Robotnik who had suggested the vacation. It was his fault that his family might be-

'NO!' he thought, refuting that possibility with all of his heart. 'They're perfectly fine! Everyone's probably outside already and I'm worrying over nothing…'

Something deep inside him told him otherwise…

He came to a sudden stop when he reached the doors of the family room. He could hear the sound of swishing water inside, but he threw caution to the wind and yanked the door open. Immediately, a wave of water rushed out and knocked him down, filling his mouth and nose.

Coughing and sputtering, he sat up, shaking his head to get rid of the water clogging his nose and mouth. With that done, he opened his eyes and froze. In front of him was the body of his big sister Sonia, the forever-annoying sister that he would not replace for anything.

And said body was not moving.

The blue hedgehog knelt at her side, pushing her onto her back. He searched for a pulse or a breath, but to his horror, there was nothing. In a panic, he tried CPR like his mother insisted on teaching him. He even tried mouth-to-mouth, pushing the thoughts of disgust to the furthest corner of his mind – he was trying to save his sister for gods' sake – but nothing worked.

'No… NO! SONIA, PLEASE WAKE UP!' he pleaded, his mouth moving to form the words, but no sound came out. He wanted to scream, shout, anything, but he could not get the words out.

However, even if he got his voice out, he knew inside that it was no use. Sonia was gone…for good.

He slowly got up, tears trailing down his peach-furred cheeks. He knew he was too late, as much as he wanted to fiercely deny it. Now, he could only try to find the others, then give her a proper burial, one that they had all wanted and deserved.

Taking a shaky breath, he hesitated for a brief moment before entering the family room and immediately regretting it.

His older brother, Manic, was sprawled out near the fireplace, his mother was lying half off the couch and his father was slumped at the wall near the small wine rack. All of them were completely still like Sonia.

The youngest of the family stared in horror, not noticing that he started hyperventilating, that he had collapsed to his knees or that his streams of tears had turned into waterfalls. All he could see were his family, lying dead around the room.

Among the confusion and grief clouding his mind, there was just one thought that seemed to be from another entity, but also him at the same time.

"It's all Robotnik's fault. HE killed them. HE WILL PAY!'

When Sonic was finally able to stop crying, it was when he heard the frantic calls outside. Someone had finally been able to get to the house, most likely the royal guard. He could hear their footsteps rapidly approaching the family room.

Not a moment later, a handful of guards barged into the room, calling out for the royal family. They abruptly stopped when they saw the family lying still in various parts of the room and the only survivor kneeling on the ground with a tear-soaked muzzle.

Among the ones to come was Sonic's own uncle, Sir Charles, King Jules' brother. Upon seeing Sonic, he immediately shooed the guards away and ran to his nephew's side, bringing the ten-year-old into a comforting embrace.

"W-Why U-uncle Ch-Chuck?" the smaller hedgehog asked as he buried his face into his uncle's uniform.

The older hedgehog sighed. "I don't know why Sonic…" he murmured, stroking Sonic's back in an attempt to comfort the distraught hedgehog. "I don't know why…"

Later, his family had finally been removed and taken to get ready for the funeral, one that would be very private with only family friends. Sonic had insisted harshly on the matter and even told them that in his parents' will, it was written that all family members, including the children, would be granted a small funeral with only close friends attending the event.

And Sonic silently vowed to make the funeral peaceful. If any fakes tried to enter, he would personally see to their departure.

He told this to some reporters and snotty aristocrats and when his seriousness was questioned, he just bared his teeth in a growl and flexed his razor sharp quills. It was very convincing, no matter his young age.

Things went down the drain after the funeral was held.

Sonic hated Julian Robotnik at first sight. The man never did anything bad, but Sonic always sensed the fake tone in his voice, how his smile always told of secrets that no one would be happy about knowing, and how his red-on-black eyes glowed with malicious intent.

But now, Sonic hated him even more.

Just after his parents' death, the war lord had sent a broadcast over the whole kingdom and put on an over-dramatic show about how awful it was to lose the royal family; how they would be dearly missed. He never once mentioned the fact that Sonic had survived – probably trying to get the people to believe that he was dead with the others.

Then, the man nominated himself as the new ruler, and as soon as he did, the streets were swarming with large imposing robots. They captured anyone who resisted Robotnik's rule and put fear into others to ensure that there would be no rebels. The resisters were sent to a machine that changed their very DNA and took their will, morphing the once living, breathing, feeling beings into metal husks. With such threats made real, everyone was forced to surrender to the madman.

After that, news spread of the similar defeat of the Acorn Kingdom; Mobotropolis' sister city ruled by King Maximillian Acorn. Robotnik had yet to rule any other major kingdoms, but by then, he pretty much ruled the world. And with the kingdoms he conquered, he took anyone strong or important enough to stand a chance against him prisoner.

That included Sir Charles, Sonic's uncle and the last of his family.

That was also the last straw for the ten-year-old. With his mind clouded with rage and grief, he went into the city and destroyed as much of Robotnik's stuff as he could before running far from the former Mobotropolis, now Robotropolis. He did not even notice it when he ran across the ocean, breaking the sound barrier and coming across a small island.

He finally collapsed in a small forest and passed out from the stress and tiredness, oblivious to the color of his fur and eyes as they returned to their original vibrant cobalt and bright emerald, having darkened to navy blue and forest green in his fit of rage.

Shadow

Fifty years ago on the Space Colony ARK

'Damn it! Of all the times we have to get lost, it has to be now!' Shadow thought with a growl as he and Maria raced through the metal halls of the ARK. They had been in the lab, giving Maria the final dose for her cure, when the alarms blared and the sounds of gunshots and screams echoed through the doors.

The professor had told the two to find the escape pods while he saved all the research on a disk and destroyed the originals so that no one could take them. He told them that he would meet them there, but in the frenzy, the two had gotten lost and were slowed down by Maria's still-weak body.

"Shadow!" Maria suddenly called out. The black-and-red hedgehog turned his head slightly to look at her. "The dorms are over there! The escape pods are at the end of the hall!"

Nodding in acknowledgement, Shadow turned the corner where the bedrooms were located, and sure enough, the room with the escape pods were right at the end of the hall. However, the scene in front of the room stopped them in their tracks.

Gerald had already gotten there, but so had a few of the soldiers. One of them had Gerald at gun-point. The sight made Shadow let out a feral cry as he jumped into the fray.

Bullets flew at the black-and-red hedgehog, but Shadow dodged them with his speed and knocked down the soldiers with a few swift kicks. He did not kill them though; the Kintobors had taught him better.

A feminine cry of pain drew his attention away and a soldier knocked him down in his haste to escape. The hedgehog returned the favor and turned towards the scream. One of the soldiers had managed to clip Maria's side, knocking down the weak girl.

Rushing over, the hedgehog helped the girl up and rushed over to one of the escape pods, quickly followed by Gerald after he set the launch sequence. Shadow held Maria tightly against him as the pod's hatch closed, shielding her as if the soldiers appearing in the doorway could still get her.

When the pod launched, he curled around her as much as he could, feeling Gerald do the same to the both of them. They braced themselves as the container shook violently, sailing through space and quickly entering Earth's atmosphere.

As the pod fell to Earth, a mechanical voice sounded, "Cryostasis initiated. Emergency landing codes activated."

They all knew what that meant; they were going to be put into suspended animation – a safety protocol – and the pod was going to land in an area Gerald had preset for emergencies. Only the professor knew where the places were and he had not saved them on any kind of hard-drive; he had them all in his memory so that no one would know about the locations.

"Shadow, I'm scared…"

Crimson eyes peered into soft blue. Shadow did not say a word. He merely held her closer and hummed a lullaby she once sang for him when he was a pup, fresh out of the test tube for a lack of better words.

As their world went dark, the three knew they would be alright, because they had each other.

Alex: And that's that.

Sonic: YOU FREAKING KILLED MY WHOLE FAMILY AND TOOK AWAY THE ONLY FAMILY MEMBER I HAVE LEFT!

Alex: It's not me who did it; it is Julian Robotnik, so blame him, not me.

Sonic: YOU are the one who wrote it!

Alex: Again, not me. This is SierLeAn's idea. I just adopted it with full permission. Don't worry; I will make it up in other fanfictions I write about you. In addition to that, I give you this paper that proclaims that whoever signs it will have rights to a ten-year supply of chili dogs.

Sonic: I'LL TAKE IT! *Grabs the paper and rushes out in a blue blur* Chili dogs, HERE I COME!

Shadow: *Sighs* Idiot Faker.

Alex: Oh shut up. You should understand him; he is now experiencing what you have in your original plot. He's going to be a bit negative for a while... Anyway, please review! I will be happy to know your opinions about my stories.