Hi my name is Something W1tty, and I still get emo over a 17-year-old (dear god I'm old) game for children.
The lizard shot out another beam at Sonic. It missed him by centimeters, but even at the speed he was going, the bright light singed the fur on his muzzle and left a bothersome splotch of color in the corner of his vision.
He didn't let it keep him from weaving between the fleshy orbs the creature had surrounded itself with. Aiming at the abscess that had opened up in its leathery skin, he sped up to ram into it and closed his eyes to brace for impact. The piercing cry the lizard released told him he'd made his mark.
He pushed himself off of the creature's skin, focusing his energy on moving backward, away from the lightshow of lasers it was sure to shoot off. Red eyes glanced to where the wound had been, confirming that it had healed over. No new patches of skin had opened up on the side he'd taken to attacking. The weakened area must've been somewhere on Shadow's end now.
It seemed to be the same wound, the result of the destroyed life support system, no matter where it appeared on the creature's body, implying that it was somehow moving the abscess to different areas on its body. In the same pattern, no less. There was no accounting for intelligence, he supposed.
"Shadow," he glanced over to the other hedgehog as he called out to alert him. But he did a double take. He could've sworn he spotted Shadow's fur blink back to its original color. His continued staring revealed the fact that his streaked counterpart's shoulders were weighed down, his eyes wide and bleary.
But Shadow replied with an "I see it", and the heat blossoming on Sonic's back, along with the debris still stuck to the Ark catching fire, pulled him from his pondering.
He was forced to put more effort into fighting back against the Earth's pull. It made any sort of sudden movement more difficult, and he was nearly struck by one of the flesh-balls the lizard sent after him.
He thought he heard Shadow grunt, either in exertion or pain, but it was drowned out by another scream from the massive creature. One that was longer and shriller than its other cries. Ending in a gurgling rasp, it might've invoked sympathy, had not all known life been at stake.
The lizard stilled. Now lifeless, its husk released its hold on the Ark, and it was pulled in by the Earth's gravity. Still well within sight, it was engulfed in flames somewhere far above the Atlantic Ocean.
Sonic's lips split into a triumphant grin. As short-lived as it was.
Static erupted from his walkie-talkie, and Amy's shrill voice cut in over the buzzing to tell him that the colony (as well as him and Shadow) were still being pulled towards the Earth. But he could see for himself how bits of the Ark's outer shell were still breaking off or bursting into flames. He could feel the heat intensify on his back, spreading to surround him. He could hear Shadow's labored breathing.
Turning his eyes to the other hedgehog, he knew for sure this time that he'd seen Shadow's cream-colored super form flash to black. Shadow's limbs were shaking now, too.
"Shadow, are you okay?" Sonic's voice was laden with urgent concern. Of course, Shadow obviously wasn't okay. And in hindsight, Sonic wasn't sure what good it even was to ask. What would he have done if Shadow had said no?
Shadow didn't even answer him, however. "I must destroy all the evil the Professor has created," he spoke absently, as if addressing no one, and stared out at the black space beyond.
Sonic's brows pinched together in a frown. But with the space colony hurtling towards the Earth, he didn't have time to worry. They needed to get the Ark back into orbit. They'd have to use—
"We need to use Chaos Control," Shadow beat him to it.
Ignoring the brief urge to make some remark about that being obvious, Sonic nodded. "C'mon," he flew toward the Ark, Shadow beside him. Through an unspoken understanding, they started forming a sphere of Chaos energy between them.
They flew at an incomprehensible speed, stars a blur of white lines beyond them. The Ark falling towards them wasn't much slower. What was a span of merely a few seconds held enough tension for hours. The possibility that this might not even work, the reality that one or both of them could lose their super forms and fall, wasn't lost on Sonic.
The energy they held reached its peak. Eyes on the Ark, thoughts on those below and inside, they hurled the orb at the colony, "Chaos Control!"
The energized sphere expanded and shifted around the colony. It flickered and faded, and Sonic's stomach dropped.
But the colony vanished. It reappeared a safe distance away, back in orbit. Mere seconds later, the walkie-talkie buzzed to life again, a cacophony of voices cheering from the other end. A smile was ready to spread across his features, but it was stalled by the realization of the absence at his side.
"Shadow?" his confused tone was clipped by the discovery below him.
Cream-colored fur having darkened to an off-grey, the other hedgehog's eyes were wide but unfocused, his arms and legs limp as he was pulled down towards the Earth. He was falling. Shadow was falling!
With the relief of having saved both the Earth and the Ark in his system, it took a moment to hit Sonic. But he sprang to action. Bolting after Shadow's shrinking form, he reached out for the other hedgehog, "Shadow!"
Shadow's only reaction was to settle his dulled eyes on Sonic's. Sonic managed to wrap his hand around his wrist, but he made no effort to save himself, letting his body be pulled towards the atmosphere.
"Shadow, grab on!" Yet the darker hedgehog did nothing, didn't even blink.
Sonic called Shadow's name again, yet with no response. Weariness invaded the corners of his thoughts and senses. Weakness was sinking into his bones, and he knew his time in his super form was wearing thin. But maybe he could manage one last Chaos Control back to the Ark. Maybe he could manage to save Shadow, even as unresponsive as he was.
Whatever outcome he might've achieved, however, Sonic wasn't fast enough.
Shadow yanked his arm back. He pulled his wrist from Sonic's grasp, the hero only managing to keep a hold of Shadow's ring cuff as it slipped down his wrist and off of his hand.
"Shadow!" It was pointless. The Earth's gravity pulled him far from reach within seconds.
Sonic's eyes were wide. He caught a split second of Shadow's fur turning black, of flames bursting to life around him, but with exhaustion threatening to put him in the same position, Sonic turned to face the Ark and headed back for it.
He didn't think about the scream he might have heard. Blinking, he tried to ignore the image branded to the backs of his eyelids, of Shadow silhouetted by fire. The other hedgehog's last words played through his mind, the fact that he'd pulled his arm away. Part of him was tempted to mull over it, but another, wiser part instinctually knew that was a bad idea.
It was after he'd returned (safe and alive unlike…), and had given Rouge the ring that it truly washed over him. Shadow had died. He'd died, and right in front of Sonic. He'd slipped into the grip of death not more than a foot from Sonic's side. The hero had been there, and Shadow had died anyway.
He could've been faster. Even if just by a couple seconds. He very well could've saved him, even with all the destruction he had caused. He hadn't deserved to die. Sonic wondered if he'd subconsciously let him fall, let him burn.
But he'd had a hold of Shadow, and the other hedgehog had torn that hold away.
"Sonic," it was Amy, her voice pitched with concern, "what's the matter?"
He tore his eyes from his absent staring down at the Earth. "Oh," he turned to flash her his signature grin, "it's nothing." The smile didn't quite light up his eyes like it usually did.
The tiny detail wasn't lost on Amy, and her features began to pull down into a worried frown.
"C'mon," he started, pouring just that little extra ounce of energy into his voice and smile. Amy could be annoying, but he didn't want her sad or worried, especially not about him. "Let's go home, to the planet as cool and blue as me!" The planet that would no longer be there, if not for the help of someone who could no longer see it.
That seemed to appease Amy. She smiled back, and nodded, "yeah, let's go home." She turned to join the rest of the group, who were now filing out of the observatory and into the main corridor.
Following quite a ways behind them all, green eyes scanned over the menagerie of different features, and Sonic's wide, toothy grin settled into a smaller, genuine smile. They were all right. The Earth was saved, and a new day would come. A twinge of guilt flickered through the relief, but Sonic made a decision to be grateful. His friends were all safe, and so was the planet they all called home.
The Ark's doors released a hiss as they opened. He took a moment to remain in the doorway, casting a look back over his shoulder.
"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."