Chapter Eight – Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

It was somewhere past 3am when Sleet and Dingo were summoned into Robotnik's command centre. Even at this late hour the complex was busy with robots scurrying to and fro on various tasks. Sleet led the way through the dark metal corridors, Dingo trailing reluctantly behind him. Ever since the incident eight years ago, Dingo had been fiercely reluctant to enter Robotnik's technological lair, even though he still relied on the Machine Lord's technology to keep his nanotech-infused body functioning. For that reason – among others - the two bounty hunters were inextricably bound to the Dictator's will.

"Ah, Gentlemen, do come in." Robotnik said in false geniality as they walked in.

"Lord Robotnik." Sleet greeted the dictator politely, bowing. He could sense Dingo behind him performing his usual graceless half-bow, trying to use Sleet's slender body as cover from Robotnik's searching gaze, despite his huge bulk making that a near-impossible feat.

"I have a little job for you." Robotnik said, the evenness of his tone only just concealing a towering anger, his eyes burning with dreadful focus.

"Yes, my lord?" Sleet asked, even disgusting himself at how servile his voice sounded.

Robotnik swivelled his throne-like control chair to face a large screen and pressed a button, gesturing as he did so, "Observe."

Sleet watched. At first, it looked like a simple raid on a subversive event in a relatively rural area, but the bounty hunter quickly realised it was more than just a simple rally, it was a rock concert – a rock concert performed by those thrice-damned triplets, the Sonic Underground!

Sleet ground his teeth with frustration. He and Dingo had been given the job to catch the royal trio almost a year ago, but despite all their plans and efforts, had come no closer to catching the three pests. Sleet tensed, then. Was all this an elaborate way of leading up to another 'punishment' for them? For him? He struggled not to shiver.

Then something new entered the picture. There was a flash of light that blinded the camera for a moment, but when it faded another figure was stood there, a sword held in one hand as the other was extended towards one of the triplets – probably Sonic, judging by the shoes. It was somewhat hard to tell through the poor lighting and the faint haze of smoke, but this new figure also looked like a hedgehog, far darker in colouring than the royal triplets.

A terrible suspicion dawned and Sleet's eyes went back over the picture to look at the sword, noticing this time that the blade was held in the figure's left hand.

Sleet froze as the rest of the footage played out – there wasn't much else. Another few seconds of fighting and then the dark figure turned, oval eyes red as burning coals fixed directly on the camera. There was a brief flash, then nothing but static.

"Well, Gentleman?" Robotnik asked his voice taking a dangerous edge as he fixed his stare directly on Sleet.

The bounty hunter opened his mouth, but nothing came out except an odd squeaking noise. The memory of that encounter with those same burning red eyes and the bright silver blade he had faced eight years ago washed over him. He hurriedly cleared his throat and tried again, "Lord Robotnik, is… is that who I think it is?"

Robotnik's eyes narrowed, "Yes." He growled, "Shadow the Hedgehog – who is meant to be the LATE Sir Shadow the Hedgehog!" His voice rose to a shout, accompanied by the crunching of metal as his fist crashed down on the chair arm with enough force to bend the metal like a cheap tin can. He glared at Sleet and Dingo, "My robots may have failed me in this, but I will NOT accept a failure from you this time!"

"What do you want us to do, my lord?" Sleet asked, trying to keep the terror off his face. Robotnik's face scrunched up into an expression of raw fury.

"FIND THEM! Find them, separate them, capture them, kill them all if you have to! Whatever it takes!"

"Yes, my lord." He bowed, beginning to back out of the chamber.

"Don't you dare fail me in this, Sleet," Robotnik snarled, "Those royal vermin cannot be allowed to join forces with that fake hedgehog! He could ruin all my plans." His voice suddenly dropped to an icy whisper, "And you wouldn't want that, now would you?" He asked quietly, his eyes drifting to the remote control on Sleet's belt – the one that controlled Dingo's nanotech transformation.

It was on Sleet's mind to ask what Robotnik meant by 'fake hedgehog', but thankfully for his health, fear held his tongue. Instead he merely replied, "No, my lord." even as he grabbed hold of Dingo and high-tailed it out of the command centre as fast as he could.

--

The Sonic Underground van trundled along down the poorly-paved road towards Starlight City. Manic was in the driver's seat, Sonia next to him with a map spread across her knees as she provided directions through the badly-lit streets.

Sonic and Shadow sat in the back, staring at one another. Red eyes regarded black as Sonic shifted uncomfortably, searching for something to say.

"So… uh... your real name is Shadow, right?"

Shadow inclined his head in confirmation. Sonic frowned,

"'So… what was with all the 'Maestro' business then, huh?"

Shadow shrugged, "You needed something to call me, and I couldn't reveal my real name to you. Maestro means 'master' or 'teacher' in music and fencing, so it seemed… apt."

Sonic frowned, "I don't get it - why couldn't you tell me your real name?"

"It wasn't time."

"Time? Time for what? Gettin' old? C'mon, Maestro…"

"Sonic…" Shadow sighed, "Your Mother has a plan. She and the Oracle," his hands curled up involuntarily into fists, "She wouldn't even tell me everything. My job was purely to help protect you and help you where I could. All I know is that timing is the key. Queen Aleena is waiting for something, and if she is waiting, then so must I."

Sonic glared at him, frustration in his eyes, "If you wanted to help me, why not just join the Freedom Fighters?"

"Because I am meant to be a secret weapon. No one besides you and Aleena knows I survived the attack on the palace fifteen years ago. I've taken another name, hid in plain sight all this time, waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Sonic cried, "What's different now? Why are you here, Shadow?"

A strange shiver ran through Shadow's body at the sound for Sonic using his given name for the first time. He firmly controlled the sensation and looked Sonic straight in the eyes.

"Sonic, if I joined you - if I joined the Freedom Fighters, then all it would take is for one person to talk to Robotnik and it would be over. All of the Queen's plans, the prophecy, everything."

"The Freedom Fighters wouldn't tell Ro-butt-nik anythin'!" Sonic protested.

Shadow shook his head, "Really? None of them have families or friends that he could threaten? All it would take is one weak link, one unprotected moment."

Sonic attempted to retort, but just looked away.

"Look, I didn't want it this wa-" Shadow began.

"Then why are you here anyways?" Sonic interjected.

Shadow closed his eyes "You called me; I had to answer."

Sonic was about to question what he meant, when a loud bang brought the hedgehog's attention to the front of the van.

The engine sputtered, causing the van's frame to shudder violently and lurch sideways and it slowly juddered to a stop. By now, clouds of black smoke were pouring from the engine bay, obscuring the entirety of the windshield.

"Whoa! What happened, Manic?" Sonic called, alarmed.

Manic pulled open the door and jumped down, walking over to the engine bay, futilely attempting to fan away the smoke with his hand as he did so, coughing as he nonetheless breathed in some of the noxious black cloud. He pulled open the hood, peering at the engine, which was still billowing smoke.

"Dunno, bro," Manic called back through the open door, "Too dark to see out here, but somethin' is definitely busted."

"Hold on, Manic," Sonia called, grabbing something from the glove box, "I'll bring a torch."

Sonic, impatience written all over his posture, followed them both outside, Shadow trailing not far behind him.

The night air was cool but not cold, the dark sky speckled with stars and the crescent moon, veiled by a thin wisp of cloud. The gravel road crunched under their feet as they all crowded around the front of the van to survey the damage. Shadow could only peer blankly at the oil-stained bits of metal inside the engine bay, since he knew nothing of mechanical engineering and so it just looked like a random hodge-podge of bits of metal to him.

Sonia shone the torch over the bay, and even Shadow could see the scorch marks that certainly shouldn't be there. Manic whistled in amazement, "Oh maaaan. This sure ain't gonna be easy to fix."

Sonic sighed, "Great. How long is it gonna take?"

"I dunno, bro," Manic replied, pulling a screwdriver out from his belt pouch and leaning over the engine bay as Sonia positioned the torch beam so the green hedgehog could see what he was doing, "But it's probably gonna take a while.".

Manic started tinkering with the various parts, an expression of intense concentration on his face as he leaned over the engine. Sonic stood back, keeping out of the way. But after a few moments Shadow saw the growing signs of impatience in Sonic's body language as Sonic stood, crossing then uncrossing his arms, tapping his foot and starting to pace restlessly.

Sonia threw him an irritated glance, at which point Shadow decided his best option was to take action and distract Sonic before one or both of his siblings decided to commit fratricide.

Shadow leaned over and tapped Sonic lightly on the shoulder. "Would you like to go for a run?"

Sonic's face lit up like a lamp, "Sure!"

Shadow turned and coasted off, turning off the road and onto the large expanse of grassland which was only sparsely broken by tall, spindly trees or odd-shaped rocks. He could sense Sonic behind him and wondered for a moment why the blue speedster didn't pull up alongside him, knowing that Sonic's speed was at least equal to his own before he realised – it was too dark for Sonic to see out here, so he was using the fiery red glow of Shadow's jet shoes as a beacon to guide him across the slightly uneven terrain. Shadow smiled and sped up a little, wanting to push Sonic just slightly.

After racing for a few minutes and cutting a complex, twisting path across the grasslands, Shadow slid to a halt at the base of a large rock which stuck up incongruously from the grasslands like the spire of a church. Sonic was with him an instant later, his white teeth reflecting the starlight as he grinned.

"That was awesome, Maestro. I know you were fast with a sword, I sure didn't know you were that fast on your feet, too!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow wondering if Sonic truly knew what his super-speed meant.

"You've met others who have speed like yours?" Shadow asked carefully.

"Nope!" Sonic replied cheerfully, "You're the first. But, hey, I knew you weren't like other people when I first met you."

"You… did?" Shadow asked, feeling a prickle of alarm. Sonic couldn't possibly know, could he? About them? He felt a confused spark of anger and worry start to light up inside him as he wondered just how much to Oracle had told him.

"Sure," Sonic replied, jumping up onto one of the rocky outcroppings and settling himself down, "Guess all that training at court and stuff has gotta count for somethin', huh?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Shadow agreed amiably, relaxing now.

"So, what was it like?" Sonic asked, leaning back against his rock.

"What was what like?"

"Ah, c'mon. Being at court; all the servants, living in the palace… Mom." Sonic said, looking up at the stars, "You know all about that stuff, I don't. So fill me in – what was it like?"

Shadow closed his eyes as he called long-suppressed memories to mind. The reminder of all that he had lost stung sharply, but he ignored that flash of sorrow - for Sonic had never even know the things he had lost, had grown up in hostile territory without his parents to guide him. He deserved to know.

"It was… formal. The fine gowns and suits. The guards always wore pristine uniforms; everything was always clean, in its place. There were always people around - guards, servants, ladies-in-waiting, courtiers, advisors everywhere. It was never quiet. There was always something going on and since I was the Queen's bodyguard, I had to attend - formal dinners, military parades, medal presentations, the balls and dances…"

"Dances?" Sonic interrupted again, "You danced?"

Shadow nodded, a faint smile on his face, "I was effectively a member of the court. It was expected."

Sonic laughed, "Somehow, Maestro, I'm havin' trouble imagining you dancing."

Shadow gave him a sly, sidelong glance, "You realise that if you win your fight against Robotnik and take your place on the throne, it will be expected of you, also."

The look that crossed Sonic's face then was completely priceless. The expression of mingled worry, horror and even a small amount of hope created such a picture that Shadow couldn't help but grin.

Eventually, Sonic hung his head and sighed, "Oh man… I guess that apart from Sonia, we ain't really prepared for all this royalty stuff, huh?"

Reaching up, Shadow placed a gentle hand on Sonic's shoulder, "Don't worry," He said softly, "I can teach you."

Sonic looked down at him, "Yeah?"

"Yes," Shadow affirmed, "Come down here and I'll show you."

With a curious tilt of his head, Sonic sat up and jumped down in front of Shadow. Shadow shifted so they were face-to-face, close enough that Shadow could feel Sonic's breath brush against his muzzle, he saw Sonic shift restlessly and smiled.

"Relax," He said in a low tone, "You can't dance properly if you tense up."

Sonic's answering grin had a trace of nervousness to it as Shadow reached up to grasp hold of Sonic's hand, Shadow felt Sonic jump slightly as his gloved hand slid over to rest on Sonic's hip, feeling the sleek, toned muscles tense and flex, "Relax," Shadow murmured again, "I'll lead for now, you just watch me and feel how it works."

"Uh, sure, okay." Sonic muttered uncertainly.

Sonic couldn't see Shadow properly in the darkness, all he could make out was the dull glow of his peculiar shoes, his white gloves that seemed almost incandescent in the moonlight and his fiery red eyes. For some reason, instead of making him feel clumsy and uncertain, the darkness around them just made him more aware of… everything else. The feeling of Shadow's smooth, strong muscles through the fine coat of dark fur as Shadow positioned Sonic's hand on his shoulder, he could smell Shadow's strange but pleasantly spicy scent, hear every breath and even the soft creaking of the leather and polymer on his and Shadow's shoes.

And even through his gloves he could feel a strange, subtle prickle of… something. It felt almost like pins and needles and it happened every time he came into contact with Shadow. That, more than anything else in his current situation was making his palms sweat and his mouth go dry.

Shadow started to gently sway them from side to side, humming a soft tune under his breath. Shadow began to move them both, indicating to Sonic which way to step with the subtle motions of his fingers against his hand and lower back, moving them both into an elegant and deceptively simple rhythm that Sonic surprised himself by managing to pick it up pretty quickly. Sonic could still feel the vibration of Shadow's soft, low humming through his fingers as Shadow skilfully slowed and then stopped their dance.

"See?" Shadow murmured quietly, then, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" The low smooth voice unexpectedly brought Goosebumps out all over Sonic's skin making the deposed Prince extremely grateful that his fur and quills were hiding this very odd reaction.

"No… I guess not." Sonic replied, trying to tear his gaze away from Shadow's, but strangely powerless to do so, held captive by the power of that gaze and the sight of the moonlight as it highlighted his black quills, making him look like an ethereal spirit of the night.

They stood in complete silence for a moment, eyes locked, their hands still clasped in that same dancing pose as the moonlight streamed down, the only sound was Sonic's breathing as he suddenly seemed desperate to catch his breath.

A whistle sounded over the grasslands and Sonic's head whipped around towards the source of the noise, the spell completely broken.

"That was Manic," Sonic said, his voice suddenly sounding unnaturally loud after the stillness and peace, "I guess he's fixed up the van."

"Yes, maybe so." Shadow agreed, releasing Sonic's hand and stepping away, leaving Sonic feeling weirdly cold, but he still turned and managed to grin at the other hedgehog.

"Let's head back, huh?"

Shadow lead the way back to the van to find Manic stood in front of it with a slightly disgruntled expression on his face - about the closest the laid-back hedgehog ever got to looking truly angry.

"'Sup, Bro?" Sonic asked, skidding to a halt in front of Manic, "Can't ya fix it?"

Manic raised a hand and rocked it from side to side, "Kinda, but it won't get us very far. Maybe just to the next town," he grimaced, "Right now all that's holding it together is duct tape and a pair of Sonia's stockings."

Sonic winced, "Way too much info there, Manic."

Sonia smacked him on the arm, and Sonic reacted like he had been struck with a lump hammer, pretending to fall dramatically to the ground with a fatal injury, wailing in supposed pain.

Sonia rolled her eyes at her brother's antics, "Knock it off, Sonic." She turned to Manic, "The next town is Sunset Hill – it's only a few miles away. Can we make it that far?"

Manic shrugged, "We ain't got much choice, sis. Hopefully Sunset Hill will have a mechanic we can hire to get it fixed up – not much else I can do with it."

She nodded calmly, "Sunset Hill is pretty big, we should be able to find something. So let's pack up and get going. Try not to give us too many bumps, Manic."

"No kidding." Manic muttered as he climbed back into the van.

Shadow stopped by the rear door, opening it and gesturing for Sonic to enter. Sonic flashed him a small, nervous grin as he also climbed up inside.

The van started up with a choking, spluttering sound. It juddered unevenly as it set off along the badly-paved gravel road towards Sunset Hill.

Sonic grabbed hold of the metal frame of his bunk bed as the van shuddered violently, "That sure doesn't sound healthy." Sonic almost shouted over the loud burbling of the engine.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "I just don't seem to have much luck with transport lately." He muttered.

To be Continued in Chapter Nine – Two of a Kind