This is my first Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction, so please don't hate meI took inspiration from another story similar to this, only that in that one Sonic could talk with Shadow, Maria, etc.

Ah yeah, sorry for any grammar error, English is not my native language.

Enjoy!

Sonic rushed inside the Workshop, tripping on his feet in the process.

Tails sighed. He know he was not going to change, he was always fast and hating slowness. Sonic was just like this.

"hey Tails" said hedgehog said, grinning as he stare at his brother from his upside-down position.

"hey" answered Tails, collecting the Chaos Emeralds Sonic throws onto the table before falling down.

"what is this and why you need the chaos emeralds anyway?" he asked brushing himself off. "well" started Tails before weeping his hands clean on a rag. "basically you can travel back in time" "Cool. Is it ready? Which year you will end?" he started saying, jumping in excitement.

"calm down!" he laughed "Yes, it's ready but someone need to try it. And second, I don't know perfectly where and when it will land, but you will see all the most important moments of what is happening."

Sonic rushed inside the Workshop, tripping on his feet in the process.

Tails sighed. He know he was not going to change, he was always fast and hating slowness. Sonic was just like this.

"hey Tails" said hedgehog said, grinning as he stare at his brother from his upside-down position.

"hey" answered Tails, collecting the Chaos Emeralds Sonic throws onto the table before falling down.

"what is this and why you need the chaos emeralds anyway?" he asked brushing himself off. "well" started Tails before weeping his hands clean on a rag. "basically you can travel back in time" "Cool. Is it ready? Which year you will end?" he started saying, jumping in excitement.

"calm down!" he laughed "Yes, it's ready but someone need to try it. And second, I don't know perfectly where and when it will land, but you will see all the most important moments of what is happening."

Sonic jumped on the platform at the center of the machine. "I'm ready!" he grinned, showing a thumb up at the boy. The machine started working and soon Sonic was engulfed in white blinding light, so he quickly put his hands over his eyes.

When he reopen them he find himself in a dark metal corridor with a lot of metal doors on the sides. He know that place! It was the Colony space station, the ARK, a place he and Shadow, his black and red frenemy had stopped from colliding to the Earth a few months before. He shuddered at the thought.

Shadow never considered Sonic a friend and he was always so cold and not willingly to talk. Rouge, Shadow's best friend, told them it was because of something happened in his past and they just shrugged their shoulders, not worrying.

Shadow, Sonic thought, was actually born on the ARK! So maybe...

Wait! Does this mean I'm in Shadow's past? he thought, feeling excited and worried at the same time. If Shadow was going to find this, he could already feel his destiny.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming fast towards him. He turned around just in time to see two children running quickly in his direction. One of the two was a young-looking Shadow. He was shorter and... He was smiling? It was weird, but he was surely Shadow. The other one was a young little girl. Her hair was blond and parted into two pigtails and her eyes were blue. The two were almost of the same height, the girl slightly taller. She was running holding Shadow's little hand. He closed his eyes, ready to brace himself at the coming impact but the only thing he felt was wind throughout his body. His eyes snapped open as he realize what happened: the two children passed like he was not there.

He called out Shadow's name but the boy just keeps running and giggling at his little friend.

He realize it was just like a film: he could just watch what was happening, he couldn't interacted with them in any way.

Shrugging, he decided to follow the two.

They were now standing into a kitchen, looking up at a high shelve.

"I can't reach!" the girl said frowning. "neither do I" mumbled Shadow. The girl than smiled. "I have an idea!"

She quickly got behind Shadow, picking him up. "Maria, on the left" the girl, Maria, quickly moved to the left and finally Shadow put his hands on a cookie jar. Beaming, the two children ran through the corridors, Sonic jogging behind them, and quickly hid in a room. They giggled, started eating them. Sonic watched the scene with a small warm smile. He couldn't believe that child was Shadow. He was determined to find what happened to the once happy child. Was something involving the girl, Maria? He never mentioned her, even if they did look pretty close.

He then watched an old man, who was incredibly similar to Eggman, approach the kids and, with a warm smile, he scoped up them, taking them to a room with two beds and tucked them in, before kissing their foreheads.

The white light blinded him again. When he opened his eyes he was in a big decorated room. At the centre a tall Christmas tree was full of bright lights. Under it there was some presents.

"Grandfather! Quick! Let's open the presents!" Sonic watched as Maria rushed to the tree, dragging a panicked old man and a slightly scared Shadow.

She was looking older than in the first memory, and she was at least a head taller than Shadow. Shadow himself was more older-looking.

"Maria, please, don't hurt yorself!" he said patiently.

Sonic watched as the party went by, he even saw Shadow and Maria dancing happily.

A man who was dressed in green approach. "Mr. Robotnik, mind if I make a family photo of you?" he asked, showing a camera.

"Sure!" he said, sitting down into a chair, Maria sited onto his left leg. "Shadow? Are you not coming?" she asked confused. "He said only family" said the hedgehog confused. Dr. Robotnik smiled. "Well, you are a part of the family" the hedgehog walked not so convinced toward him, yelping lightly when Gerald pull him on his leg just like Maria. He then laughed, as his arms tightened onto the man's back. The bright flash of the camera blinded Sonic, making him go into another memory.

Something have happened. It was impossible that the once so happy child was now like that.

He found himself into the same bedroom of the first memory.

On one bed were both Shadow and Maria. Shadow was holding tightly the covers of the bed.

"and then the woman's opens the door and-" she quickly tackled the poor boy into a Amy Rose like hug, the poor Shadow letting out a frightened shout, followed by Maria's laughing. Shadow smacked her playfully on the headas they laughed. Maria gets on her own bed. "Good night Shadow, I love you" she said laying down, with a sweet smile. He smiled too. "Good night Maria, I love you too"

Sonic smiled too, he was feeling a lot of different emotions. Maria and Shadow relationship was so much his and Tails's. They were always together, always.

He smiled sadly as the light appeared again.

He found himself into Robotnik's laboratory. He saw the training Shadow was doing. He was amazed at how strong and fast Shadow was.

The black hedgehog was watching down with a pained expression. "Shadow, son" Robotnik said, getting on his knee to have a better look of his face. "I'm just an experiment..." Shadow mumbled in a heart breaking tone. Sonic whimpered lightly, feeling sad for him. "Shadow, you know I'm proud of you, right? You're like, no, hell, you are my son!" he shouted, hitting his fist onto his chest. Shadow nodded slightly, not fully convinced. The doctor weep away his tears. "Let's go, I'm sure Maria's waiting for us" he smiled at the smile forming onto his son's face.

Then the familiar light came, signaling Sonic he was going into another memory.

He was standing into the room with the view of the planet Earth. He was amazed at the sight. Shadow and Maria were sitting there, Maria's head onto Shadow's lap. "I love you Shadow, your my best friend!" she whispered. "I love you too Maria, you're my best friend too" he answered.

Maria pulled Shadow into a hug, the hedgehog quickly hugged back.

They stayed quiet for a while. "We're gonna to the Earth together, right Shadow?" she asked. "Yeah. We'll always stay together" "Promise?" "Promise." They smile lightly, sleep falling over them.

Sonic then found himself into another memory. This was different though.

There was soldiers running around with their guns aimed.

Their agents of G.U.N. Sonic though in fear.

He then spotted Shadow running through the metal corridors, dragging Maria behind him.

They reached a room full of weird capsule and they stop to take their breath. "I'm scared" whispered Maria, tightly gripping his lil brother's hand.

"Me too" answered Shadow, gripping back her hand. Soon the soldiers broke down the door. Shadow and Maria backed up into a corner. Maria showed Shadow into one of the capsule, after a last kiss on the forehead and a last hug.

Shadow started bumping his hands onto the glass, calling desperately his sister name but the cabin was sealed.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog"

The last thing that Shadow saw before falling down to the earth was Maria's sweet smile, followed by the sound of a gunshot, and then the girl who was more like a sister to her falling down before his eyes.

Maria, I've failed you...

Sonic was trembling.

This was the reason. The reason why Shadow was like that. He saw his only friend dying in front of him, with him unable to save her.

When Sonic woke up he was in his bed, with Tails looking worryingly at him. Looking behind, he gasped. Shadow, the adult Shadow, was standing there.

"Faker-"

"I'm sorry"

"What?"

"I saw what happened to... To Maria"

Shadow froze.

"I told him everything" Tails said quietly. "But believe, Shadow, I didn't know he was going to get into your memories."

"It's... It's not really a problem" said Shadow with his ears folded.

"Shadow, you know she would be very happy of what you have done right? And Doctor Robotnik would be really proud of you? You were family after all" Sonic said, reaching out for the other hedgehog. Shadow sighed and nodded.

Maria, professor... I hope to have make you happy...

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