Chapter One - Run Through the Light
One year later…
The muted sounds of explosions, gunfire and the scream of tortured metal filtered through the thick stone walls of the palace as Shadow raced up the stairs and down the corridors. The once pristine halls were littered with glass and assorted debris, most of the windows had been shattered and the beautiful hand-made wallpaper was scratched and scorched from the impact of swords and laser fire.
Likewise, Shadow's charcoal-grey uniform jacket was also torn and battered, splattered with oil and smoke stains; the usually neat maroon trim and white braiding had been mostly burnt or torn away. His sword, a beautifully made straight-edge sabre, was still clutched in his hand, its blade covered in scratches and nicks from striking unyielding metal armour, engine grease still smeared across the surface.
From outside, a shrill whistling noise sounded, growing steadily louder. With a curse, Shadow threw himself hastily to the ground and covered his head just as a missile hit the wall just behind him, shaking the floor with a colossal detonation and showering the area with dust and stone fragments.
"I have to get to the Queen," He grunted, levering himself up. He quickly dusted himself down and continued his headlong sprint towards where the Queen and her children were hiding; wishing fervently that he had exchanged his formal boots for his far more practical air-skates as he made his was to the well-protected chamber deep inside the palace.
"Your Majesty," He called once he was inside. The Queen was sat with her three infant children on a divan in one corner, cuddling them close to her, her face looking drawn and fearful in the dim lamp-light.
"Shadow?" She asked, her brow creasing with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I've been better," He muttered, then shook his head, "That's not important right now, Your Majesty. We need to get you and the children out of the Palace, now."
A look of pain crossed her face, "Is it going so badly, then?" In this windowless room, she would have no idea how the battle was going, save for feeling the vibrations caused by the explosions as they rumbled through the walls and floor.
Shadow felt his hand clamp tightly around his sword hilt, "Yes, my Queen," He forced his voice to remain steady and not display the seething anger he felt, "There are just too many robots, every time we take one down, two more line up to take its place. The palace will be overrun very soon."
Aleena set the children down and stood up, walking over to a large metal-bound wooden chest in the corner, she pulled out a large draw-string sack and began to rapidly fill it with several useful items they would need.
Shadow sheathed his sword and took a moment to check over the children. They seemed remarkably peaceful considering the mayhem all around them, only Sonia was fussing slightly, sniffling and hiccupping, her eyes slightly wet with recently-shed tears. Manic was sleeping, sleeping with the complete abandon of the young. Sonic was looking up at him, obsidian eyes wide with curiosity. Shadow gently reached out to tuck his blanket more firmly around him and Sonic caught his finger, gurgling happily as his own chubby fingers curled around Shadow's gloved hand.
"Shadow," Aleena called him and Shadow carefully disengaged himself from the infant's tenacious grip to see what she wanted.
She held out a pair of objects to him, and as he took them he could see that they were similar in design to his air-skates, but sleeker, more compact and, unlike his plain white air-skates, were coloured in vibrant shades of red, gold, black and white.
"They're called 'jet-shoes'," Aleena said, "I had them made for you. They should enhance your speed over rough terrain."
"Thank you, your Majesty," He breathed as he admired them.
"There's one other thing," She said, reaching into the chest again and pulling out a small metal box about the size of her fist. With a flick, she opened it and Shadow couldn't help but gasp at what he saw was inside it. Reverently, he reached up to take it, feeling the gentle radiance of the perfect jewel in the box as its light played across his hands and torso.
"We'll stand a better chance if we split up," Queen Aleena said then in a business-like tone, slinging the sack full of supplies over one shoulder, "You might want to change, the uniform is a little distinctive," Then she turned back to her babies. Shadow saw a lot of the starch go out of her spine as she touched one tender hand to Manic's innocent sleeping face, "Do you remember the plan?" She asked softly.
"Yes, your Majesty," He said as he slipped off his boots and replaced them with the jet shoes. He had to admit that they looked good, and felt very comfortable. Then he shrugged off his tattered uniform jacket, leaving him in just his shoes, white gloves and the gold cuffs clamped around his wrists, shimmering slightly in the erratic light.
"Here," Aleena said, holding out the blanket-wrapped bundle that contained the dozing form of the eldest prince, a look of obscure pain deep in her eyes.
"Your Majesty…" Shadow said, taken aback. Aleena shook her head,
"No more formalities. From now on, you can call me Aleena,"
He looked up at her, his carmine eyes full of uncertainty, "Aleena…" He whispered, "I can't…"
She pushed the precious bundle into his arms, and again Shadow caught Sonic's sleepy, coal-dark gaze.
"Please…" Aleena said, her voice cracking. Shadow closed his eyes, realising that he would likely never know what this was costing his queen, to say good-bye to her own children.
Finally, Shadow nodded and took a step back, bowing to his queen as best he could with the infant in his arms.
"Good luck, Shadow."
"You too." He said. Taking the shining green jewel she had given him from its box. Baby Sonic stared up at the glowing Chaos Emerald with abject fascination as Shadow raised it into the air. Red eyes narrowed in concentration as he intoned words he hadn't spoken in over forty years.
"Chaos…CONTROL!"
In a flash of bright golden light, Sonic and Shadow were gone.
Nodding in satisfaction, Aleena turns to pull on a simple dark cloak and picked up her other two children. Punching a hidden switch, a well-hidden trap door groaned ponderously open. Blinking away her tears, she kissed her two remaining babies and descended into the cold darkness of the tunnel below the palace.
----
In a dark, deserted alleyway somewhere in Downtown Metropolis, the dingy streets were briefly lit by a vivid golden flare of light. When the light had faded, the previously empty alley was now occupied by the lean figure of the former First Knight of the Realm and the former Crown Prince of Mobius.
Shadow looked around quickly, noting the streets nearby were silent and deserted and the skies above were beginning to turn dark. Nodding in satisfaction, Shadow padded noiselessly through the quiet side streets until he reached the house he had been told about.
Gently, he placed his precious burden down on the front step and gazed into the infant's eyes.
"Sonic," He said gravely, "I have to leave you for awhile, now, but I promise I will watch over you whenever I can." Ruby eyes locked with obsidian, the child's eyes were wide and he was beginning to sniffle and fuss. Shadow closed his eyes, alone as he was, in a strange place without his Mother. Shadow could hardly blame the infant hedgehog for that. He knelt down, touching the child's face gently.
"I am sorry, little one," He said softly, "But I promise that if you ever need me, all you have to do is call for me and I will come to you, no matter how far away I am."
Feeling an almost physical ache in his chest, he stood, turned, and ghosted off into the gathering twilight, the only sounds marking his passage the soft 'swish-swish' of his jet-shoes.
Crown Prince Sonic looked around in confusion. He was getting cold! Where was soft-warm Mother-voice? Or squeaky Nanny-feathers? And where was the red-black-fur, the one with the nice voice and the gentle hands? Where had they all gone?
The infant prince began to whimper, and then to cry in earnest, feeling lost, bereft and cold.
When the couple who owned the house opened the door, they found a squalling blue hedgehog infant who kept crying out the same pair of syllables over and over again.
"Sha-dah! Sha-dah!"
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To be Continued in 'Night Vision'
