Okay, I don't usually make messages at the beginning of these chapters but I thought this might be something to say. So chapter 1 was accidentally uploaded sooner than intended (because I deleted eight chapters and didn't realize it would update those and I didn't want you guys reading the old crappy chapter 1 and getting a bad impression so...sorry for those who saw it before!) For those who read it before, the new chapter 1 was uploaded only a few hours after I realized what had happened. It was updated on May 14 so if you saw it after that...you should be good! Anyways, that should be all. Enjoy the show!
C:C:
Metallic skates moved along barren grounds as Shadow sped through the abandoned rail yard resting just beyond the outskirts of Soleanna. His eyes were creased in deep thought as all his mind could be focused on were the past few days. Reflecting on events such as the Solaris Project, the future of this world, and of course, Mephiles. So much happening in one place, a place he had so conveniently been placed in at this specific time.
He began to slow down his pace for both the precaution of losing concentration and to better pull his thoughts together. He came to a steady walking pace and started to wonder where Rouge could be at this point. Was she safe, or was she once again getting herself into trouble? He couldn't hold the smirk that crossed his muzzle as he knew that the latter option was far more probable.
Still, the past few days were what haunted his thoughts. Some of it made sense, but other bits just didn't. For one, how could man create a god? He knew that he himself was proof enough of artificial life, but his creation had required help. Help that had not even been found on this planet. Yet here were this group of humans, only less than forty years after he was created, and they created gods? It just didn't seem right to him...
"Sonic!"
Shadow froze in mid-step, and his ear swiveled in the direction of the scream. It was a woman's scream, one powerful but incredibly high in pitch. He turned his head to the side, catching sight of none other than Sonic the Hedgehog himself standing protectively in front of a human girl. Shadow's eyes narrowed, instantly recognizing the girl from the portrait resting under Eggman's base. Why was Sonic with the princess of Soleanna? Let alone here of all places?!
He watched the scene down below with calculative eyes. Sonic was apparently protecting the princess of Soleanna, arms widespread as he glared at the supposed opponent. The opponent being in the form of an almost pure white hedgehog wearing some sort of black armor and five upstanding quills. This new hedgehog seemed to have small pieces of wood and metal orbiting his body as he stood parallel to Sonic. It raised more questions than answering any, and he wondered if maybe this newcomer was a worked for Mephiles. It wouldn't surprise him, with all that had happened, he could hardly think that his copy could achieve this all on his own.
Shadow's eyes creased when his ear twitched once again, catching the soft hum of a motor. Instantly, he knew who it was. "Doctor." The word ghosted over his lips as he turned his gaze up to the sky. He had turned just in time to see Dr. Eggman's ship coming down silently to the small trio below. The next moment, the princess was snatched up with the aid of two mechanical arms and flown away before Sonic even registered what had happened. Shadow would have reacted himself, had the strike not had been so seemingly quick and been closer. Just as soon as Eggman had her, he was off again, his laughter ringing through the air.
"Elise!" Sonic cried, desperation in his voice, as he made a run after the princess when he was suddenly frozen in place. He was stuck mid-step, both feet off the ground before his body straightened like a stick and moved back to where he had been. Shadow narrowed his eyes, immediately taking notice of the aqua blue aura surrounding the azure hedgehog. Deciding he had seen enough, he took a step back, before running forward and jumping off the cliff's edge using his air shoes to boost him up. The travel down was exhilarating with the wind blowing through his quills. He landed between the two fighting hedgehogs, his metal shoes scraping against the gravel, sending sparks spraying.
The white hedgehog seemed to have been shocked when Shadow had come down and had taken a defensive step back. Shadow heard a thud from behind and assumed that Sonic had been released. He hardly had the chance to check if his suspicion was proven correct or not. Turning your back on an enemy was an abysmal decision. Shadow's eyes narrowed into a glare as he shifted in his stance but remained silent.
The white hedgehog growled and stepped forward, clenching his fist in anger. "Mephiles? Why are you getting in my way? I thought you wanted this."
It would seem his theory was proven right after all. Shadow rose to his full height, just barely towering over the other with a harsh glare, "I am not Mephiles. I am Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Lifeform."
Shadow turned his attention to Sonic and gave him a brief nod. Understanding, Sonic gave a thumbs-up in return, mouthing the word "thanks" and took off running. Shadow turned back to the white hedgehog who now seemed unsure of what he was to do now. His hands clenched and unclenched, their amber eyes never once wavering. Shadow took this as an opportunity.
He looked this new threat up and down, as he did with all his opponents. This hedgehog appeared to be young, possibly around 16 or 17. The black armor he was wearing bore an eerie resemblance towards to the ones used by the G.U.N. soldiers but much stronger. Squinting, he could have sworn he saw the emblem of the G.U.N. marking scratched off from the suit. The most considerable difference being the glowing blue marks on the palms of his hands. He had to admit, that was an odd design choice...
"Get out of my way."
Shadow's mind snapped back to the kid before him, who had gone from uneasiness to boldness in a matter of seconds. Shadow scoffed and shifted his stance once again, "And if I don't?"
The teen growled and got down in his own fighting stance, "I am Silver the Hedgehog, and I've come too far to back down now. So either get out of my way, or you will face the consequences."
At that threat, Shadow struggled to keep a straight face, the twinge of a smile inching onto his face, "You believe you can defeat the Ultimate Life Form? Well, I'll admit, you sound like every other being who has fallen at my hands."
Silver growled, and his hands began to glow a bright blue. As they did, boxes came flying at his body and began to orbit it. As they did, he began to hover only a few inches above the ground as the same aura encased him. "I'm not letting anything get in my way. Step aside, and you don't have to get hurt."
Shadow scoffed at the display but still remained in his position, "I don't know why you're working for Mephiles. What do you even have to gain from this?"
Silver's fists clenched, the boxes under his control cracking along with the action, "What do I have to gain? What do I have to gain?! How about the complete salvation of the future?!"
For once since this conversation had started, Shadow faltered. He had seen the future, a world of nothing but fiery chaos with a creature with god-like strength. The future was in a state nearly uninhabitable, he hadn't seen any life apart from the living creatures of lava. So if that were the case then…
"You're nothing but Mephiles's puppet," Shadow voiced his conclusion. A new story began to click into his head piece by piece until he had a full explanation for what was happening. "What has he told you? That killing the hedgehog will fix everything?"
Silver's teeth gritted, the boxes cracking a bit more from pressure, "That hedgehog is the Iblis Trigger. He is the reason for what has happened to my world. So, for its safety, he must die…" he paused, his eyes narrowing but his body relaxing. "You know that...don't you?"
"Some bits," Shadow answered truthfully. "But I can easily tell that Mephiles has been feeding you nothing but lies. What about him makes you think he is at all trustworthy?"
"Nothing. But he's the best I've got," Silver responded, voice surprisingly even. As he stepped forward. "What can possibly be a worse future than what there is now?"
Shadow would argue but had to remind himself that this Silver had no doubt live his entire life in suffering. Desperate times brought desperate measures, which obviously was not an exception for this one. He sighed, "I have no doubts Mephiles has no good intentions. Whatever he is making you do, you need to stop. Mephiles is not the man you think he is."
"And you're any better?" Silver shouted back, flinging one of his held boxes at Shadow. The ebony hedgehog dodged out of the way, the box shattering upon impact. Shadow whipped towards his opponent, ruby red eyes alight with rage.
"I know who you are," Silver continued, the boxes' and wood's orbit growing faster. "I know what G.U.N. had to do to you. I have no reason to trust you."
"And yet you trust the man who looks exactly like me?" Shadow shot back, a bitter smirk on his face. "Either you're in denial, or you're an idiot."
There was a long pause, Silver's guard being let down for a brief moment. It was the twitch of an eye that gave any warning towards what would come next. With no hesitation, all collected ammo went hurling towards the ebony hedgehog. Shadow's eyes went wide, and he jumped out of the way for the first few but was inevitably struck by most of them. He fell to the earth, groaning as every box made contact with his already aching body. With gritted teeth, he muttered "Chaos Control" and disappeared from his vulnerable state and behind his opponent. Where he had been was now blanketed with splintered wood and broken metal.
"I am not an idiot!" Silver screamed, rounding on his enemy, his eyes ablaze with pure anger and power. "If you're so set on stopping me, then why don't you?!"
Shadow groaned and shook his head, wincing when he felt the pounding of a headache. Even still, a smirk grew on his face. Though he had made his best effort to diffuse the situation, it would seem that there would be a battle after all. Without another word spoken from him, he drew back a hand, collecting chaos energy within his palm and creating his trademarked Chaos Spear. For however long this battle may last, he would make sure that he would win.
C:C:
Car horns blared from the busy street, angry shouts from impatient passengers being passed back and forth. Questions along the lines of "what's going on?" "What's the hold-up?" or the ever occasional "my child is going to die!" were thrown continuously back and forth. Had they paused to listen, the message of the sudden attack may have been heard. Unfortunately, that was not the reality, and the insults and car horns continued to blare from the ever-growing mass of cars.
The officers stationed in this area were doing their best to guide traffic and keep people at bay but were beginning to struggle. While situations like this would have been easy to maintain in places such as Station Square or Soleanna, Westopolis was unused to these sort of unforeseen events. The worst this city had ever experienced had become nothing more than a memory left nine years in the past. The stationed men could only endure the angry people and just pray that the situation would be contained soon.
Just as a few more cars were guided through the narrow piece of road now available, a bright flash of light illuminated the crowded street. There were shouts of surprise and some of the slow-moving vehicles swerved in an attempt not to hit anything. From behind, questions began to spread about what had happened, their voices filled more with exasperation. And though their answer did come, it was quickly lost among the sea of sounds and noises.
Shadow's ear twitched at the sudden change in noise. The transition from somewhat quiet to angry and impatient shouts grating on his nerves. He had somehow managed to chaos control into the middle of the very street being held up, which meant a lot of noise. It didn't help that he knew exactly what was the cause for all of this, and his status among G.U.N. only increased the racket around him. As soon as he had appeared, questions were immediately thrown at him. He should have answered, tried to give clarity to the situation. But he didn't. Instead, he readjusted the unconscious hedgehog in his arms and continued on his way towards the sidewalk, ignoring everyone and thing that tried to speak with him. Some people wisely gave up on trying to talk to him, others continued to shout his way with possibly every insult they could think of. He didn't care.
He stepped onto the sidewalk and began to make his way towards the apartment complex he had been staying in after he had established residence in Westopolis. He sometimes found it ironic that the city he had once watched die was now his new home. The apartment building was an okay place with a good guy running the site. Shadow himself wasn't disturbed often, not since that one guy kept blasting heavy metal music and Shadow came knocking on his door. Ever since he had never been bothered.
"Oh, hello, Shadow! Didn't expect you here so early."
As soon as Shadow had stepped through the doors of his "home," his attention was instantly grabbed by the sound of a voice. A voice that, over the years, had grown all too familiar. His attention immediately went to the middle-aged ox standing right across from him. He was holding a book in his hands, a pleasant smile that looked far too unnatural on his face as he spoke. Mike the ox was the name this Mobian went by and was also the one running the place. He was rather good as a landlord, kind of pushy and nosy, but otherwise tame.
"Hello, Mike," Shadow nodded, continuing his walk towards the stairs. He didn't want to have to deal with questions so soon. Silver was still bleeding from his arm, and the last thing he needed was for that blood to get on the carpeted floor. He didn't look back, even when Mike tried to further continue the conversation.
He fell into a sort of rhythm as he went up one stair after another, climbing higher and higher until he reached the top floor of the five-story building. Despite the current year and date, the building could hardly manage to afford an elevator it would seem. If only his Chaos Control ability could be more on point, but that always seemed to be a difficulty when it came to longer distances.
When he stepped onto the fifth floor, he couldn't help but release a quick sigh of relief. His door was in sight, and after a long overdue fight, he found himself growing tired. The flight of stairs hadn't done much to help with the drowsiness. If anything, he just wanted to collapse in his bed and possibly die. Once more, he began walking, passing by all the other stained doors with a straight face. Even if no one else was here, he refused to let any show of weakness show. So focused was he that his facial expression remained constant even when one of those stained doors went flying open, and an opossum shoved his head out the doorway. Shadow took a step back in defense, his cold red eyes meeting the wild green irises that focused in on Shadow.
"What's that you got there?" Asked the opossum almost immediately, a crooked grin etched onto his face. As if to clarify, his eyes descended down upon the hedgehog still unconscious in the ebony's arms. Instinctively, Shadow's grip tightened.
"That's none of your concern," Shadow responded coolly, returning his path down the hall. He did everything he could to block out the nuisance of the opossum, if only for the sole sake of not ending the Mobian's life on the spot. To his great surprise, the unhealthy looking creature retreated back into his room, horse laugh echoing the halls as the door was once more shut. Shadow groaned, hoping above all things that that would be the last of the interactions for the day.
He came to his door and reached into his coat pocket, drawing out a rusted, silver ring consisting of three keys only. With the white hedgehog still held in both arms, it was a struggle to align the metal key with the lock. But once lined up, he shoved it in perhaps a little too roughly but for all he cared it was in. Unlocking his room door, he pushed himself in and shoved the world out with a loud bang.
He didn't bother locking the door, instead casually tossing his keys onto the kitchen counter and taking in the atmosphere of the place he had come to call home. The main room was somewhat spacious, with minimal furniture aside from the coffee table and the large, bright red couch at the end of the living area. The room was a mess in colors, something Shadow hadn't minded in the past. The carpeted floor was an odd shade of light purple, the walls holding the room together with a vibrant orange. Still, it was home, and he was hardly going to complain about a roof over his head. Even if the bright scarlet couch was mostly his doing…
Making a decision, he walked over towards the couch and set Silver down on the plush cushions. Though the lounge had been bought from a pawn shop of sorts, it was still in decent condition. Shadow himself didn't use it much either leaving the piece of furniture in an almost unused condition.
Shadow sighed and looked over Silver's still sleeping form. Now that he had better light, he could see the severity of the wounds. From what could tell, there appeared to be nothing worse than the large gash on his upper arm. Deciding that would be his first task to tackle, he hurried into the kitchen, grabbing the small, but heavily stocked, first aid kit he kept in the cupboard. When he returned to the sofa, he began work.
He started with cleaning the wound, washing up the dried blood that had soaked into the white fur. Shadow worked to try and clear what blood he could without causing any more damage to the arm, but it was hardly as practical as he may have wished. Sighing, he relinquished, knowing Silver would just have to live with stained fur until they could properly get him bathed.
He followed the rest of the steps with practiced hands. From cleaning the wound and putting the finishing touches as he wrapped up the gash with fresh gauze. Shadow drew back, pleased with the work he had done and was just about to pack up when he heard a moan. Looking back at Silver, he had the chance to just get the glimpse of a discomforted face as the white hedgehog curled into himself, clutching his stomach as he did. It was instead a pitiful sight, and Shadow would have ignored it if one thought hadn't come to mind. He hadn't bothered to check under the clothes his guest was wearing. Though there had been no signs of blemish, he still didn't want any internal bleeding. Sighing, he reached over to push up the shirt to check for damage there when a hand shot out and snatched his arm out of the air.
Shadow froze in place, eyes wide as he comprehended what had just happened. His eyes were locked on the hand that now held his own and, following the limb, found that it connected to the very being he was caring for. His red eyes met with bright amber ones, the amber orbs never once blinking as they remained locked.
Shadow didn't know why, but he let the intense staring contest continue. Perhaps to humor his guest? He wasn't even sure about that. What he was sure was that Silver's grip had undoubtedly developed since the last time they had met and his current size said nothing about his strength. So he remained there, sitting just on the edge of the couch and just waiting to see what would happen. His decision seemed to have paid off when his wrist was released, and Silver's hand returned to hugging his stomach.
"Thanks," Shadow bit out, sarcasm heavy in his voice. He turned back to his kit, snapping the latches back on supposing he wouldn't be able to check for wounds under the clothing. Hopefully, the kid wouldn't die overnight.
He stood up to return the kit to where he had found it, all the while Silver never speaking a word. His eyes just followed him around the room, something Shadow could certainly sense even when his back was turned entirely. This causing him to slam the cupboard shut a little too hard as he whirled on his foot and once more made direct eye contact with the white hedgehog.
"What?" he snapped out, glaring at Silver with a fierce gaze. The response was exactly what he expected with a surprised look soon followed by the diversion of eyes. Shadow was not dealing with that tonight. He marched over towards Silver, who had now gone to staring at the couch,
"If you have something to say, then say it," he spoke firmly, wanting precisely what he said to get across. It was one thing for someone to say something about him, it was another for them to hold back information on him. Silver remained unmoving, and Shadow briefly wondered if the hedgehog was attempting to play dead. He was going to repeat his command, this time with a little more force when a weak voice beat him to it.
"You look different," Silver muttered, voice so hoarse and coughing afterward. Finally, his amber eyes came to look up at Shadow, the orbs glimmering from something Shadow could only identify as fear and uncertainty. The ebony hedgehog let himself relax, coming to the satisfying conclusion that there was no ill thoughts towards him and turned away. Once more he headed for the kitchen, only this time grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it with tap water. He returned the glass towards where Silver was, setting it down only to help readjust the white hedgehog into a more accessible position.
"Eight years does that," Shadow responded, though there was hardly any humor in his voice. When he touched Silver to adjust him, the white hedgehog flinched only to go rigid, his yellow eyes going wide and observing Shadow. The ebony hedgehog hardly cared, pushing Silver into place before taking the glass and basically shoving it into his hands. Silver's response was a blink of confusion as he stared at the water being offered to him, but made no attempts to take it. Just a blank stare into a cup of water.
"I-it's been eight years?" Silver's voice finally came out, sounding so horribly broken. Shadow couldn't take it, practically pushing the glass of water to the younger's lips. Thankfully for him, it was accepted, half the glass being downed before it was pushed away. It was enough it seemed, Silver's eyes showing more of a determination, a weak one but it was there.
"That c-can't be right. I-I mean...it can be right, but–" he cut himself off, his mind deciding to stare at his hands was the best way to handle this. Shadow only sighed, placing the glass on the table and taking a seat next to the ivory hedgehog. He wasn't at all good with this comfort thing, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. He put a hand on Silver's shoulder, drawing the youthful eyes of his guest.
"Well, that seems to be the case here. Is there something wrong with that?" Shadow asked, immediately getting to one the question that had been pressing on him ever since they had found Silver. The others he would save for a better time, but for now, he would take advantage of this situation.
That was at least the want of Shadow's which was quickly cast away when Silver shook his head, a small smile growing on his face, "No. No, it's great actually. C-can I have that glass again?"
Shadow frowned but complied with the request anyway, handing the lukewarm water to the other hedgehog. "Judging by your previous reaction that doesn't seem to be the case."
Silver's ear twitched, a sign he was listening as he gulped down the rest of the water, exhaling deeply when all of it was gone. He held the glass between two hands still, rubbing the side of the cup with a gloved thumb as he responded, "It's been eight years since you last saw me. It's just...I was kind of shooting for an earlier time, y'know?"
"How earlier?"
Silver shrugged, moving forward to deposit the glass of water onto the table before addressing his host once more. "I don't know...a month or so after Soleanna? But this is okay too."
Shadow's eyes only narrowed in suspicion. None of this seemed right to him. He wanted to press for more answers, to learn more of what the real purpose of this Mobian being here in the first place was. But, as if he could read his mind, Silver undoubtedly feigned a yawn as he began to readjust himself in his seat, face contorting with pain as he did so.
"I think I'm going to get some more rest. We can talk more in the morning, okay?" Silver asked hopefully, eyes shining with evident worry.
Shadow's first instinct was to say no. To take this opportunity and milk every little bit of it that he could. But his common sense won the battle with the reminder that Silver was still hurt and needed all the rest he could get. No matter what his wants may be, he wasn't going to let a hurting man stay conscious more than he needed. Nodding his head, the ebony hedgehog stood from his seat and walked to the light switch that rested by the front door. His finger hovered just over it, weight steadily being applied when he turned to Silver with a threatening glare in his eyes.
"We will continue this in the morning, yes?" he asked, voice cold and unwavering. Silver's response was a satisfying nod of the shake and a weak "of course." Pleased with the answer, Shadow flipped the lights off and made his way to his own room, leaving the door cracked in case anything were to happen in the central area. He took a moment to prepare for the night, taking care of teeth and quills and settled into bed with a book in hand. With noise coming from the other room, he gave himself the chance to let his guard down as he opened the book to the page he had last left off.
C:C:
Hiya, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm back to writing this (after almost two years of hiatus) and I'm super excited for it. This story, that once was only going to be a stand alone, has now turned into AU series which I have spent far too much time focused on. So, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Three Realms series! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do and I wish you a good day. Ciao!
Feel free to leave reviews and let me know what you think so far. Reviews are very much welcomed ^-^
Also, a huge thank you to my friend Seer of Dreams who helped edit this chapter!