Author's note: Many, many high-fives to E-Rank and Noonui, who have been loyal reviewers. I bow to thee. (But seriously, thank you.)

Update 5/12/21: AAAHHH amazing fanart! E-Rank did another beautifully detailed picture for the end of this chapter on DA (www dot deviantart dot com / whatisthisdefiance / art / Zenith-Ch-8-Subtlety-879310966). Thank you thank you thank you!

Chapter 8: No Place like Home

It took a lot of convincing to get Sonic to the plane. Not by Shadow, of course, because Sonic wouldn't have listened to that antisocial dunce anyways.

No; he had to convince himself, which had been no easy feat. Tails was no longer in the facility, nor was the red Chaos Emerald. He had searched every single level of the abandoned station to prove it to himself, too.

But it didn't change the fact that it still felt wrong to just up and leave minus his brother, who had literally been standing next to him a little over an hour ago.

After Shadow's weird suggestion of going back to Angel Island, Sonic hemmed and hawed over it for a little longer (less because he was thinking about it, and more because he wanted extra time to try and contact Tails through his communicator).

When that epically failed, he eventually had to (seriously) consider the idea.

Surprisingly, Shadow was being somewhat understanding. More than Sonic would ever give him credit for, at least. Besides a few snide comments on both their parts, Shadow kept his short fuse unlit for a solid fifteen minutes and waited. Right about when his rival looked like he was about to become a rocket himself, though, was when Sonic finally declared, "All right, let's go."

He had zero faith that Shadow could successfully use a broken Master Emerald to Chaos Control them to the ARK. But there wasn't a spaceship anywhere in the base (not anymore, anyways), G.U.N. supposedly didn't have one, and unless the two wanted to go knocking on NASA's door, that didn't leave a lot of other options.

If (or more accurately, when) Shadow managed to combust himself into Chaos confetti, well—then Sonic supposed a little visit to the government space administration wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.

So the two hedgehogs left Eggman's hidden base via the same elevator that had taken them down. (Granted, Eggman and/or G.U.N. didn't account for oxygen-dependent creatures going through these accessways, as they inevitably got reburied in sand as they made their way back up and through the forcefield. In retrospect, finding a more civilized method of exiting the facility may have behooved them.)

Thankfully, the sandstorm had long since passed, and the trio-turned-duo were able to use their speed to jump out of the less volatile sandpit and retrace their path to the Tornado.

Another few agonizing minutes were wasted convincing Shadow that the biplane had originally belonged to Sonic and—"As a matter of fact, yes,"—the hero did actually know how to pilot, before they boarded and took off out of Sand Ocean.

So far, it was going … well enough.

"You are rocking."

"I am not rocking."

"There should not be this much turbulence at this altitude."

It had been a while since Sonic actually flew the Tornado, but—"Would you knock it off already?! I know what I'm doing, believe it or not!"

"I do not believe it."

Sonic gritted his teeth. "Fine. Be my guest and pilot the plane yourself." To add to his threat, he let go of the yoke, the plane instantly jerking from the oncoming wind stream.

Shadow gripped one of the wing struts to steady himself on the lower level, but remained silent.

The blue hedgehog nodded to himself in satisfaction. "That's more like it."

Levelling the biplane again, Sonic basked in the peace for all of three seconds before:

"Do you know where we are going?"

"I swear to—yes, I know where we're going. Tails set the coordinates when we went there the first time and—being a giant floating island and all, it doesn't exactly move that fast."

"It's been hours."

The urge to smack his head against the console grew. "It also tells me which direction the island was heading, but—by all means—please come and verify for yourself."

The surrounding wind masked most of it, but Sonic swore he heard a harrumph from his companion. "We do not have time for mistakes."

A sudden wave of anger washed over Sonic. "A little late for that, don't you think?" he snapped.

The two hedgehogs shared a sharp glance with one another, the atmosphere dangerously dipping. Shadow eventually turned away, however, and smartly did not reply.

Refocusing on the skies ahead, Sonic let out another long breath, his anger slowly dissipating with it. Unfortunately, worry decided to settle into its place. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, stealing another glimpse at his rival to see that he had decided to keep any additional critiquing to himself. For now, anyways.

The rest of the trip was quiet.

"Voila, the one and only floating island, straight ahead."

Shadow was not blind, and also stood in front of Sonic on the biplane, but chose not to remark on the sarcastic statement, much less Angel Island's obvious presence materializing through the heavy clouds of dawn. The temperature had dropped steadily throughout the evening during their trip, but a few wayward sunshine rays had already begun to warm the early morning air.

Sonic piloted the Tornado down into the same fields they had landed less than a day before, bouncing far more erratically than the fox child had managed.

Shadow again refrained himself from commenting, and Sonic deftly ignored his amateur landing to loudly ask, "So what's the plan?"

The faker jumped out of the cockpit just as Shadow stepped down to the grassy floor, zipping up next to him. He casually linked his arms behind his head, stretching side-to-side, and waited expectantly for Shadow to respond.

Rather than answering, the black hedgehog opted to stretch his own muscles by running. He darted through the fields and made it to the Master Emerald in a couple seconds, Sonic annoyingly hot on his trail.

The big jewel seemed to be exactly how they left it, toppled on its side and cracks still lining the surface. Chaos energy oozed out of the fissures, creating a green eerie fog around the stone floor it rested upon.

Shadow considered his options as he watched it, hands at his sides clenching into uneasy fists.

"Soooo … you're just gonna touch it and hope for the best?"

Sonic's voice was grating, and somehow worse by interrupting Shadow's mental preparation. The short answer to his question was a regrettable yes, but he would never give the faker that kind of gratification.

"We should at least lower the island, first."

That did give Shadow pause. "What?"

Sonic shrugged. "Well, if we use the M.E. to Chaos Control to the ARK, it comes with us, which means the island isn't gonna have the power to float anymore."

To add to that explanation, Sonic brought his fist down with a whistle, mimicking the sound of an explosion as his hand opened up.

Shadow shot him a deadpanned look. He did suppose a stopped clock was still right twice a day. Or an idiotic blue hedgehog, in this case. Considering the information, he nodded.

"Very well. Do it."

"Uh, what?" Sonic barkingly laughed. "Why in the Chaos Cola would you think I know how to do that?"

Shadow stared at him. "You are a Guardian, are you not?"

"No..?" He had clearly meant it as a fact, but the long trail at the end turned it into a question. "Knuckles is the Guardian."

Shadow was beginning to understand how very little Sonic knew of the power he regularly controlled, and alarming wasn't quite the right word for the feeling that settled into his gut. "Those who can wield Chaos energy into a Super State are, by definition, Guardians."

Defiantly, Sonic crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that make you a Guardian, too?"

"No. I am the Ultimate Lifeform."

"You are unbelievable, is what you are."

"Perhaps I can assist?"

The third speaker came from behind Sonic, and the blue hedgehog acted accordingly.

"AAAHHH!"

Jumping about three feet in the air and simultaneously somersaulting, Sonic landed behind Shadow in a defensive position. Shadow, meanwhile, arched an eye ridge at the young newcomer.

"What the—Tikal?!" Sonic exclaimed.

The orange echidna (wasn't Knuckles the only echidna alive?) respectfully bowed to both hedgehogs. "Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog." She paused as she studied Shadow. "And Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform."

His raised brow lowered into a suspicious frown, even while Sonic whined, "Please don't feed into his ego."

Tikal smiled lightly at them, teal eyes jumping between the two hedgehogs as her hands remained lightly clasped in front of her, patiently waiting. The pure Chaos energy that exuded from her presence was unlike anything Shadow had ever sensed. Compounded with the fact that her body seemed to be ever-so-slightly translucent—and her clothing more appropriate for an ancient culture—Shadow was coming to a fast conclusion regarding her state of being.

His observations were grounded to a halt when Sonic elbowed him. Shadow scowled fiercely at the faker when he smirked and commented, "You know, it's not polite to stare." To Tikal he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was called by the Master Emerald to help sustain this form." Her eyes traveled to its pulsing, fractured existence behind them, Shadow and Sonic following her gaze.

"Some form," Sonic snorted, then paused. "Wait, were you here when Knuckles disappeared?" When he turned towards her, he saw her troubled expression and darted over before she could answer. "What happened? Where is he?"

"I do not know." Sonic's shoulders sagged at that. "He was the one who did this, however," she added, indicating the Master Emerald's current condition.

"Can you repair it?"

"No," she firmly answered. "It cannot be whole without its missing piece."

"Great, back to square one," Sonic muttered to himself.

"Why do you wish to lower the island?"

"The Chaos Emeralds have been taken," Shadow stated.

"Along with our friends," Sonic added. "Knuckles, Rouge … Tails. He—" he sighed, hands coming up to briefly rub his snout. "Long story short, we think they're on the ARK."

Tikal tilted her head. "This does not answer the question."

"We need the Master Emerald for Chaos Control," Shadow succinctly clarified.

The troubled expression lining the young echidna's features deepened. "I see." She was silent for only a moment, before shaking her head. "I can't let you do that."

That got Sonic's attention. "What? Why?"

"Knuckles saved the Master Emerald by placing it in an unstable state. He did not wish for it to be moved."

"We don't have any other options, Tikal." Sonic walked up to her, even as she turned away from the hedgehogs and kept her head bowed. "Whatever is happening, it's happening fast. We don't have a ship, and we don't have a Chaos Emerald."

He let out a long, spent breath. Tikal remained facing away from them, forcing his gaze to fall to Shadow.

"This is it," Sonic concluded.

"I'm sorry. I—I can't."

Shadow's fists tightened determinedly. "Then I guess we will be doing this our way."

"Shadow—" Sonic started apprehensively, the black hedgehog ignoring him as he walked up to the Master Emerald.

"Stop!" Tikal warned, hand outstretched at him.

His own hand was centimeters from the jewel, and in an instant Shadow felt a blast of Chaos energy send him flying backwards. He skidded, then rolled along the grassy knoll, far beyond the stone platform he'd been standing on moments prior.

Tikal was hovering in front of him, her physical body nearly gone, and a pink ethereal mist outlining her. She was oddly blinking in and out of existence as Shadow pulled himself to his feet and into a fighting stance.

She shook her head, holding her hands out in a placating gesture. "Please," she insisted, "it will kill you."

Sonic was instantly next to them, warily glancing between the two and obviously torn on what to do.

"Step aside," Shadow threatened, teeth bared.

"Wait—!"

Tikal lowered herself to the ground, one hand out and stopping Sonic's exclamation. Teal eyes met red, and Shadow felt his fists loosen at seeing her resignation.

As Chaos energy returned to her form, Tikal's pink essence faded, and she began to look like a living creature again. She murmured something in another language, eyes momentarily closing before nodding once.

"I will help you."

The Master Emerald's pulsing had dimmed, thanks to Tikal's continual repeated mantra in the old echidna dialect. Sonic heard clips of what sounded like the prayer he was familiar with her reciting, but it was clear this chant was different.

It was hard to gauge whether the fog was lifting due to the rising sun, or by the lowering altitude of the island. When the entire earth below them decided to shake, however, Sonic was pressed to believe the latter. Another, subdued rattle caused the hero to sidestep for balance, but the ground stilled shortly after.

Tikal was silent, then, floating in the air and eyes slowly opening. She lowered herself to a standing position, nodding to both hedgehogs.

Shadow stood next to her, and Sonic was beside him. He wasn't entirely sure what it was he was supposed to be doing—if anything—but Tikal had yet to direct either of them, besides to follow her back to the Master Emerald.

Remembering the map he'd used to get them here, Sonic supposed that Angel Island was far enough out in the ocean to be undiscovered, at least for a day or two. With the Master Emerald going with them (and the Chaos Emeralds missing), there wouldn't exactly be a lot to plunder, should an intruder make landfall.

He could already hear Knuckles arguing with him inside his head, though, telling him that was hogwash and listing the numerous reasons why the island was in danger for being lowered and unguarded.

A groan escaped the hedgehog. Knuckles was definitely going to kill him for this.

"Pay attention, Faker."

Sonic's eyes snapped over to Shadow. Tikal apparently was levitating again, already chanting something different than what had been used to lower the island. The hero rolled his eyes but listened in.

The language Tikal used was brusque in nature, and yet flowed effortlessly as she spoke it, eyes closed and palms up. He had not heard Knuckles speak the native tongue before, at least not at this length. Sonic idly wondered if it mattered how it was said versus what was said.

After a second verse, the previous mist of Chaos energy seeping from the giant gem started to lessen, and while the cracks still glowed intensely, they admittedly appeared less daunting.

"Shadow," she called, both hedgehogs peering up at her. "Remove your inhibitor rings."

Sonic's eyebrows raised concernedly, but Shadow did not argue. He unclasped both of them, holding the metal rings in one hand. Thankfully, the world didn't suddenly explode, but Shadow did look a trite uncomfortable once they'd been removed.

"Sonic," she said next, with only him glancing at her this time. "Put the inhibitor rings on."

"Say what now?"

"Do it," Shadow grunted, not even bothering to open his eyes. He thrusted the bracelets in his direction.

A uncertain hum left his lips, but Sonic ultimately grabbed the rings, clamping them on each of his wrists. It took a few seconds before the weight of the world decided to slump on his shoulders, and a painful moan escaped as he fell to his knees.

"What—what are they—"

"Shadow, now!"

Sonic could barely glimpse up as Shadow grabbed his shoulder. The black hedgehog's teeth were clenched tightly together, but he brought his free hand forward and grunted out, "Chaos Control!" the moment he touched the Master Emerald.

Sparks of green lightning cascaded across both hedgehogs. The heaviness on Sonic was immediately displaced with a huge influx of energy—stronger than what a Super State entailed—and went from a rush to overwhelming in an instant.

Sonic tried to scream, but couldn't. His voice was gone, and even as the world turned blindingly white, all he could hear was Tikal's echo of, "Good luck."

"Professor!"

Gerald Robotnik blearily looked up from his desk, artificial computer light illuminating the stacks of opened books lining its surface.

Shadow growled as he approached the older human. "What did you do to her?"

The professor sighed, unperturbed by the hedgehog's anger. His focus returned to the digital screen. "Shadow, good evening."

"She could barely walk!" he continued. "She's in no condition to be a science experiment—"

"Shadow—"

"—for your research! This is what I was made for, is it not?"

"Yes, but the energy is—"

"Then use me to test the transfer!"

"—a part of you! We've already determined that a medium cannot be used—"

"Maria is unable to withstand —"

"We have no choice!" he yelled, silencing the argument. Taking a deep breath, he solemnly stated, "She's dying, Shadow."

Shadow shook his head. "That is why we are here, in space. The effects are lessened—"

"As she ages, her immune system worsens," he interrupted without effort. "This disease…" he trailed, his voice hitching, "she will not live through the next year unless we do something."

Gerald's focus remained fixated on his computer screen, unwilling to look Shadow in the eyes. Shadow's own frown fell to the floor, his previous thoughts muddled from the professor's confession.

"What is this energy?" Shadow eventually asked, the question booming in the large room, despite keeping his voice low. His eyes travelled to the inhibitor rings adorned to his wrists. "She said it was a part of me."

There was a long bout of silence, before Shadow looked up and saw that Gerald had turned towards him. "It is infinite energy made finite."

"Isn't that what Chaos energy is?"

"Yes and no."

Irritation rose to the surface from the vague response, his mind replaying the conversation he had with Maria. "But she said it wasn't Chaos. That … it is a shadow of Chaos energy."

Gerald smiled at that, though it was melancholy. He stood up out of his chair and approached Shadow. "Chaos energy is all around us, and has been for eons. The Chaos Emeralds can hold vast amounts of this power, but they are not truly infinite. With enough power, they too can be drained.

"But you, Shadow—you are infinite in your Chaos energy."

"How?"

"How else? By pulling Chaos energy from infinity."

"What—"

"From space and time," he clarified. His voice was resolute when he added, "That is why you are the Ultimate Lifeform."

One of Shadow's hands found its way to an inhibitor ring. He studied it intently, twisting it around his wrist. "Then why did it not work for Maria?"

Gerald's melancholy smile became pained. "There are very few individuals that can harbor Chaos power. Even fewer who can wield it." He paused, stepping away from Shadow and up to a large window along the edge of the room. The planet was not in view from their location, and only the vast nothingness of space could be seen.

"Infinite Chaos—the true bearing of immortality—comes with a price, it seems," Gerald said quietly. "One that Maria nor I can pay."

Shadow followed, standing next to his creator. Guilt inexplicably rose, realizing he was exactly what Gerald Robotnik had intended to create. What the government had wanted him to create.

And yet, he was still a failure.

Something slapped him across the face.

Shadow gasped for air, the stinging on his cheek minute compared to the heavy weight that seemed to be tearing apart every single one of his muscles. The surrounding environment was dismal and blurry, but one prominent shape materialized in front of him.

"—ow—he—me?"

"What?" he roughly asked, his hand absently coming to the side of his aching head.

"Oh sweet chilidogs, you're alive!"

"Stop. Yelling," he complained, eyes blinking heavily to clear the blurriness. He felt hands on his back helping him sit up and shrugged them off. "Are we on the ARK?"

"If the window to my right showing Mobius in full glory is any indication, then yes." Shadow blinked some more, Sonic finally coming into view and staring worriedly at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

His brow arched. "You don't look—"

"I'm fine," he insisted. His hand fell from his head to emphasize his point, and in the process noticed a familiar weight on his wrist. He glanced down and saw the inhibitor rings were refastened. "Did you put these on?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. First off, those things felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each when I wore them." His rival stood up as Shadow did the same, albeit Shadow's movements required a lot more effort than he was willing to admit. "But after we got here, you passed out and I think I could feel that fake energy—"

"Negative," he corrected.

"—whatever, negative energy going into—er, well, you." Sonic's hand scratched behind one of his ears nervously. "So I put them back on to see if it would stop, and it did. I think." He was still studying Shadow weirdly. "…Did it?"

"Yes," he simply confirmed, before hesitating and adding, "thanks."

Both of Sonic's brows rose at that. "Sure. Um, I do have some questions though—"

"No."

"All righty then," he replied without missing a beat. Hands resting on his waist, he looked around. "So … do you know where we are on the ARK?"

"Storage compartment."

"Good call, because uh, well—" he pointed, and Shadow begrudgingly followed the finger to see the giant Master Emerald—cracks and all—laying next to them. "Yeah. Is there a tarp or something around here, at least?" Sonic added, searching the dilapidated, ransacked area. "Knux is really gonna kill me," he grumbled to himself.

Not finding anything remotely useful, Sonic took a few empty boxes and crates and stacked them around the giant emerald, being careful not to touch it. The fact that the gem pulsed a green glow and seeped supernatural mist made the entire attempt ludicrous, but Shadow didn't comment. While the idiot was preoccupied, it gave him the opportunity to recover. He shook his muscles out as he slowly walked around the room, being careful to not cause unnecessary noise.

"Are you sure you're all right? That was a pretty wicked Chaos Control—"

"Yes," Shadow cut him off annoyedly, leaving no room for argument. He hadn't realized that Sonic had started watching him again and mentally pushed away the last of the side effects. He walked up to the doorway, motioning Sonic to follow. "Let's go."