Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622


~12~

-Hidden No Longer-

When I finally come to—I hadn't even realized I'd lost consciousness—it's to the sound of rumblings and clicks. Actually, they sound pretty annoyed, oddly enough. Urgh, I have half a mind to tear off your arms and feed it to your innards if you don't shut up! I sit up, observing my sprawled position on the cell floor with irritation—Why do I end up on the floor so often?—my vibrant red eyes seek the disturbance that pulled me from my slumber.

Tall and lumbering, resembling that of the one I granted an excruciating death to, it lurks there with its maw wide and threatening, awaiting something.

Seeing it has my attention, it makes more of those sounds, as if trying to communicate with me. Chuckling sardonically, I ask in a very crude manner, "What is it, you big oaf? You wanna tell me something?"

Just seeing it causes my blood to boil in anticipation, an image of its blood splattering across the walls, its high-pitched screeches sickening to others but oh-so delicious to my ears. I stand gingerly, my shoes scraping against the ground as I move closer to the bars, wanting to make the vision come true. Needing it—

"Now, Shadow, there's no need to let bloodlust take over you. Not yet, at least," a familiar deep and rasping voice intones; a flip seems to switch in my mind so abruptly that I realize with a jolt how quickly I'd sunk into my ruthless side, simply allowed it to take hold with no protests whatsoever.

What in the fuc—?

"Shadow, there are some things I wish for you to do." With each syllable spoken, things become clearer and less rattled, allowing me think in a more level-headed manner.

I turn a sharp eye in his direction, understanding now clear in my mind. "Do something for you? You're far more idiotic than I once assumed. I may be your 'prisoner,' but rest assured: I'm no errand boy. Whatever tampering you've done to my system won't change that," I bite out in the end.

He seems highly unpleased with my words, the frown lining his visage a sure sign of this. "You seem to have forgotten something: I have possession of your son. One utterance from me, and my children will—let's just say—have a delicious appetizer."

I seal my lips at this, much to the bastard's smug enjoyment. Patting the creature's shoulder, who promptly begins to open my dank chamber, Black Doom begins to speak in that self-righteous tone he so dearly loves. "It's good to see the bloodlust thrive deep inside you, like all of my children; although, it won't do for you to take it out on them. We are all family, after all, Shadow," he comments while making a gesture for me to follow him out of my solitary cell.

I eye the beast holding the gate open warily before exiting, starting to take note of any possible escape routes and the potential location of my son. "I do not have this bloodlust. I simply enjoy a good battle," I respond as we finally exit my isolated hall into one much wider with halls branching off to the sides. He could be anywhere…

"Really? So you've never taken enjoyment from the execution of another? Never… thirsted for their spilled blood in battle?"

My posture stiffens from its already tight position as his words resonate within. "I… I—no. I've never wanted to drink someone's blood." My words sound flimsy even to my ears. "Like I said before, I only enjoy a good battle."

"Ah, but I never mentioned having a desire to drink one's blood." The smugness in his gleaming red eyes is incorrigible, and I realize as I play his words back through my mind that it was all a trick, a twisting of the words to get me to reveal what he knew all along.

My fists tighten as I think of the subtle desire for my mate's blood. It's not insatiable, but the feeling is still there, simply because Black Doom's tainted blood runs through my veins. I'm more like this creep than I ever imagined, and that alone terrifies me. Am I a… monster?

Schooling my emotions behind an indifferent mask, I turn back to Doom, who seems to be awaiting some emotional lash-out from me. Sorry to disappoint. "Where exactly are we? And where are we going?"

Clearly dissatisfied by my calm demeanor, he goes along with my topic change for now, probably planning some other way to psyche me out in the meantime. "We are on my ship, The Black Comet. The cloaking device makes it appear like any other comet, making it easy to travel unnoticed and without hindrance," he answers quite proudly.

"Yeah, until someone wants to shoot you out of the sky when you get too close," I mutter under my breath, apparently loud enough for him to hear, as his red eyes turn to me with a glare.

"As for where we're going, a planet I've discovered has a sublime set of supplies. We do need to be ready for our next… invasion," he tells me simply.

I grimace at this but nod slowly, letting my eyes trail over the various creatures wandering the halls in what seem like set paths. It's almost kind of creepy how mechanical they all seem. "What about my son? Have you fed him yet? He has his mother's stomach…" I add absentmindedly, suddenly realizing with gut-wrenching worry how scared Sonic must be. I was so busy trying to figure out a way to escape and how to get our son back that I hadn't put much thought into what Sonic's probably been up to.

No doubt everyone knows about our absence by now. They're probably trying to think of a way to rescue us. I sigh fretfully as I think, My blue hedgehog, do not worry. We'll make it back to you just fine. My inner worries swell up for a moment, and I add, I… I promise to tell you everything. Everything about me this time, so that you can truly decide whether you wish to be with me or not.

Pulling me from my heavy thoughts, the alien leader responds to my inquiry. "Replicating this… mi-lk as you call it was a, eh, process." The word is still foreign on his tongue. "Once discovering the chemical makeup of it, it all became a matter of producing it properly. It is indeed beneficial to have our synthesizer. Now," he states while gesturing to the room in front of us, the apparent place we've been headed to all along, "it's time we tested your true abilities, correct?"

~XxoOoxX~

After watching Cosmo and Amy leave and return to the house in intervals carrying bags of supplies, I decided it was about time to see what plan had been established. The house, far warmer than the cold that began to settle into my bones, is thriving with pent-up energy. Rouge and Knuckles are in the living room digging through the boxes Tails and Cosmo left out for Christmas decorating. The two are bickering over what type of ornaments should be placed upon the tall green tree, Rouge clearly winning by the frustrated pout on Knuckles' visage.

I turn my eyes away from the scene, the image of how it could've been with Shads and Shade here flitting in my mind for the briefest of moments. Walking towards the downward flight of stairs, I see Scourge leaning casually against the banister, seeming to not have a care in the world. Keeping my eyes straight, I brush past him and finally enter the workshop to see Tails bent over a device, goggles in place to prevent sparks from harming him as he works vigorously.

"Hey, Tails," I speak softly so that he doesn't jump and accidentally break something.

He pauses, his twin tails stilling in their casual movement, before he sets his instruments down and lifts up his goggles while turning to face me. "Hey, bro… what's up?" His smile is tight and his blue eyes worried, as if this conversation was something that's been eating at his mind.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what the game plan was? Sorry I wasn't here earlier. I just needed a moment…" I admit while looking down. I shake my head sharply and look up with regained focus. No use drowning in my failure; I'm determined to help out in any way possible to make getting Shadow and Shade back a reality.

"That's okay—we understand. As for the game plan… we're going to take the Blue Typhoon out into space and go after those Black Arms, of course," he says with a small smirk.

I feel excitement and hope fill my veins at those words. Another journey through space? Way past cool! We'll get you guys back in no time! With life flooding back into my voice in a massive wave, it's suddenly a lot harder to keep myself still. "Really? When do we leave? What can I do to make things go faster?"

His face drains of all color, and I suddenly understand why he seemed to dread having a conversation with me before. "It's not going to be soon, is it?"

"Just a few days," he says hastily. "I just have to get the Chaos Emerald detector's frequency changed over to Chaos Signatures and test it out so that we find Shadow." He's practically pleading with me, as if I'll go off on him or something because of the delay.

I sigh warily, feeling rather disappointed, but I would never blame my brother for this. "I'm not mad or anything, Tails. Don't stress out about it. You do what you have to do, and I'll… I'll go back to Hill Top to get the Chaos Emeralds. We'll need them for sure." All the energy gone from my system, I reach over to squeeze his shoulder in reassurance, then turn to leave.

"But, Sonic! It's getting late. Shouldn't you rest and eat something?" he calls out gingerly.

"I'll grab something before I go. Besides, if I leave now I'll get there by morning, and I'll just rest when I get home, I guess. I want to sleep…"

with his scent, I finish mentally, feeling foolish for such a need.

"Well, okay. I'll get this done soon, Sonic."

I nod slowly on my way up and out, paying no mind to the Mobians that occupy the house. Just as my hand moves to grab the knob, the door swings open, revealing Cosmo and Amy with more armfuls of supplies. Their eyes widen, and forest green lands on me, taking this as a chance to get a response from me.

"Hey, Sonic! Where are you headed off to? It's getting late…"

The room seems to silence, the bustle from before stilling as everything seems to await my answer. Feeling unusually on the spot, even for me, I answer as casually as I can, wanting the feeling of being under a microscope to disappear. "I'm heading home to get the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. I know Rouge keeps the two we lent her with her at all times." I cut my eyes in her direction to see her giving me a knowing smirk in answer. "And Tails definitely has his that we gave him, so the last four I need to bring here. I'll just sleep when I get home. No need to worry."

"Well, if you say so…" she says hesitantly as I move to exit.

As I pass Cosmo, I feel her hand rest on my shoulder for a moment, cold from the weather outside, but the gesture is warm all the same. I have friends who'll be here for me no matter what. Closing my eyes for composure, I disappear with the wind, vanishing in the twilight evening.

~XxX~

I'd attempted to grab hold of that unusual power from before in order to reach Hill Top Zone faster, but no matter how hard I searched, or deep I felt, I simply couldn't grasp it. Going beyond the sound barrier still helped me reach my home Zone just as the Mobians began milling about their morning business, so I wasn't too perturbed.

I'm jogging through the more populated area, heading in the direction of the nestled log cabin, when I realize the stares I'm receiving. They're not the common adoring fan stare—these are looks of disfavor, which causes me pause.

I run a little slower to see that yes, I'm receiving the "evil eye" from a lot of Mobians around, and they all seem to have something in common: a newspaper in hand. Quickly making my way to a stand, I snatch one up and stare in disbelief at the front page.

Sonic Not The Hero We Thought He Was!

"Sonic was nowhere to be found when the aliens first invaded Hill Top Zone yesterday at around noon, letting helpless Mobians become victimized to their attacks. Later he could be seen running from the Zone in frightened tears after the alien invasion. Is this what truly lies under the skin of our supposed hero? Is Mobius really safe with him as our protector?"

My hands are shaking in suppressed rage at the sight of these words. You've got to be kidding me! I look up at the owner of the newsstand, a brown mongoose wrapped thoroughly for winter, and give him a glare worthy of my mate. "Are you one of the impressionable fools who believes this garbage?"

He seems to waver under my stare, my simmering words causing him to struggle in response. "I-I don't know. I just, uh—"

"You people know nothing of what went on yesterday! My mate and son were kidnapped by those aliens, you jerk-offs! Of course I was in tears! But I wasn't running away, as you guys so elegantly put it. I was heading back to Emerald Hill to enlist help in my friends so that we could go into space after the monsters!" I exclaim, slamming the newspaper down on the wooden stand, my hand fisting it slightly as my muscles flex in ire.

"B-baby? Wh-what… we—we didn't—" he attempts feebly before I lay into him some more.

"Of course you didn't! I didn't exactly go public with it, especially with how overprotective my mate can be. Maybe he was right. If you guys can turn on me so easily with just this"—I gesture to the line of newspapers displaying the same crude message—"then telling the world about my son really wouldn't have been a good idea."

I turn abruptly and leave the mongoose flabbergasted, missing his confused utterance of "He?" as he hastily starts to pull down his slew of newspapers, a startled gasp escaping his lips as he notices the one I was grasping is burnt slightly.

I march through the white snow, just wanting to get home and away from all the drama the world seems to present. Looking ahead as solitude begins to set in, I see the lone cabin, which brings me a small amount of comfort.

Opening the door as soon as I reach it, I close the opening, leaving the cold air behind me. Everything is exactly how I left it, Shade's bottle left on the hardwood table, the fireplace no longer lit, as it was close to going out before I left… just barren and empty.

I unravel the crimson scarf from my neck and place it on the coat stand by the door, ignoring the missing jacket and scarf that also hold residence there. I move further into the house to my room shared with Shadow. The midnight-colored duvet is perfectly made—Shadow is such a nitpicker about making the bed after we get up—the lights off and the curtains slightly open, as Shadow likes to look at the sky sometimes if he can't sleep.

I turn on the bedside lamp, tinging the room in a yellowish hue. My red-and-white shoes hardly make a sound as I move to the rarely used closet where Shadow placed the case containing the Chaos Emeralds. The door opens, revealing a mostly empty closet, only a few articles of clothing Rouge insisted we take held here. At the very top shelf is where the silver case lies.

I arch an eyebrow and begin to stand on my tippy-toes, trying to reach the high case. My fingers just barely graze it, and I give a frustrated huff as I try to stand taller in order to grasp it. "Damn you, Shadow, and your specially made shoes that give you even more height over me than you already have," I mutter without any real heat as I stand as high as I can and finally grasp it. Score!

Of course, pulling back such a large case while being so improperly balanced causes me to lose my balance. My heart jumps as I stumble back, my spine connecting painfully with the wall closest to the closet as I clutch the case to my chest. It takes me a moment to assess that I'm not as hurt as I thought I would be before I move away from the wall, my heart rate beginning to settle as I let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one."

Click.

"Wha—?" I turn to see what that sound could've come from and spy a piece of the wood from the wall lying plainly on the floor, a dark square hole cut neatly where it was covering. I sit the case down gingerly and walk over to the opening, curious as to why it's there and, more importantly, how it got there.

Once I stick my hand in innocently, my palm closes around something interestingly shaped, and I pull it out to see just what it is. Sleek, silver, and deadly, the gun rests in my hand as easily as it did on the day I tried to use it against Eggman.

I nearly drop it in my surprise, this being the absolute last thing I expected to see in our house. I thrust it back into the hole and replace the wood over it, not wanting to relive my darkest moments again, my feet staggering back on their own, landing me on the springing bed unceremoniously. "Why is that here? Shadow . . . why did you keep it?" I lie back in the bed, curling into his scent as it begins to envelop me. "What's going on?"

~XxoOoxX~

The door slams shut behind me with a decisive bang, letting me in on my folly. I wasn't very concerned with the hulking goon who flanked me from behind; if need be he could be taken out with little effort. My concern was Black Doom, the being who holds the very life of my son in his devious hands. I should never have walked into the room first—it was what he wanted, after all—but with the threat of Shade's life at stake, I played by the rules… for now, at least.

My attention is in front of me as white blaring lights illuminate the once pitch-black area. Smooth metal plating lines the floor, ceiling, and walls with a line of windows off to the top left in order for observation. The room, football field-size in length, is familiar, hauntingly so. "I've been here before…" I say breathlessly, feeling my mind begin to swim. "GUN's training arena," I conclude as I trail my eyes up to the windows where Doom is most assuredly residing.

"This technology… GUN received it from you somehow! Some of the worst moments of my existence have been because of you!" I accuse brazenly as my mind desperately tries to figure out where all the connections end. Would I be who I am today if it weren't for him? Would I be a better person? Someone worthy…?

"Yes, I thought it would be best to leave them with something to help make you stronger. It wouldn't do if, when the time came, you wouldn't be ready to help me, Shadow. It's also good that these dimwitted humans are so greedy. They took the anonymous blueprints without question," he responds over the speaker, his already loud voice booming around the room.

"I'll make you pay. Mark my words," I mutter, darker than a black curse.

"We shall see who here actually holds the cards, Shadow. Now, you seem to be forgetting what I said earlier about testing your true power. Your aim is to get to the end of the room to your goal without collapsing. Commence." His usual condescending attitude is absent in his words. In its place is dead seriousness.

Being on the highest alert possible, memories of those times with GUN still fresh in mind, I walk forward through the temporarily safe trap, waiting for anything to pop up. Something does dredge itself up eventually, only it's something I'd long since chosen to forget.

Click, click, click.

As my shoes touch the ground, bringing me ever so closer across the room, I recall briefly my first Friday with GUN…

"Project. We've got a new assignment for you," I was addressed sternly as we proceeded down the sterile halls.

"And what is that?" I ask innocently, still somewhat new to the world and to the training I'd been forced through so far.

"Elimination."

"What?" My response is staggered, as I was shoved into a room identical to the one I reside in currently.

"Murder, assassination, killing—whatever you want to call it. Your first victim: Jimmy Gurlugavich. Responsible for the murders of dozens of children in the most gruesome of ways."

I look in front of me, frightened at this, to see an average-looking kind of guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, garbed in an orange jumpsuit. When his eyes land on me, I can finally see what is wrong with the situation: there is a deep sense of wrong there that I can't seem to stomach.

Stumbling backwards on feet that aren't nearly as nimble as they will be in time, I blindly reach back for a doorknob of some kind, only to come up empty. The only way out is to have the door opened from the outside.

"Y-you can't make me do this!" I yell frantically as the man before me takes a slow stand to his bare pale feet.

"Oh, yes we can. You wouldn't want your precious Maria to get sent back to Earth, now would you?" he threatens smugly. "I'd do something if I were you, Project. The guy is a murderer, like you yourself will become soon… First things first: Always keep your focus on the target."

His words ring in my mind blaringly, and I let my crimson eyes steady themselves on the approaching human male, so much taller than me.

"Next: Subdue the target in a way that he cannot cause you harm." He deals out steps like they're simple items on a grocery list.

Jimmy, a foot's distance away from my cowering form, makes a move to grab me, only I duck and dive between his legs, quickly moving to turn so that my feet connect with the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground. My body, smaller in stature, pounces on him and twists his arms so that any struggled movement results in his pain, something GUN taught me well.

The man in orange grunts and yells obscenities as my heart pounds away in my chest. I think it's over. I've done what they wanted, right?

"Good job, Project," I'm praised patronizingly. "Now finish him."

With a strangled gasp, I focus on the present and realize my feet managed to get me halfway there. My hand comes up to rub at my head in vain, as the memory fades, my breathing far from even and my head far from clear. I seldom think of that memory for many reasons, the main being my hatred for how I was forced to do such a thing, to change so drastically.

My breathing increases slightly as I delve into my power, wanting to reach this "goal" so that I can leave this horrid place faster. Heat dances at the base of my skates as I use the familiar Chaos inside me. It still feels tainted somehow, but that doesn't stop me from moving faster regardless. Nothing can stop me from leaving this place.

Nothing except the hauntingly beautiful blue hedgehog who suddenly stands before me.


I really hope you all loved this chapter as much as I did!