Chapter 7: Future and Past
~The ends and beginnings~
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The black hedgehog raced down the corridor, his feet skimming an inch above the floor. This was it now: the moment he would prove himself and finally fulfil his promise to Maria. After all the hurt and confusion, he felt strangely calm, collected. He had been angry before, although it had been anger without any proper focus. He had not understood, still did not understand everything, only that he was not at peace with himself. Now he had 'cooled off', as that blue hedgehog would have put it, he was ready to complete his task.
To start with, he would have to destroy the main generator. It would stop the ARK from moving, and it would also stop something else from happening. If what he thought was there escaped ... Well, he would just have to get there before it did, and beat it fair and square. He just hoped that none of the others were trying to do anything with it. They, unlike him, did not know how to shut it down, and would end up releasing it rather than destroying it.
It even had to be kept in a special room, different from that of the rest of the ARK, in the same way that dangerous maniacs were kept in padded cells. The floor was not metal in there, but stone, a crazy-paving of tiles, an oddement in the gleaming steel of the space station. Given that the creatue could absorb energy from metal, though, even bonding with it if the need arose, this had been a necessary precaution. He doubted they had trusted it even then.
Shadow was nearly there now. He could not hear any voices yet, so he relaxed a little. Good, they had not tried to do anything with it. It was going to be all right.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream reverberated around the area. "No," he hissed between his teeth, as he heard a vicious snarl follow it. They had released it. "The fools!"
He burst into the chamber. Although he had not been there since his return, the room had remained as he remembered it. The floor with its tiles, and the central mosaic of the creature that the room contatined; the decorated walls and ceiling that made it look as though you had stepped back in time. It was Greek, almost; certainly that had been an inspiration for the architects. Despite its grandeur, though, he had never liked it. Neither had Maria. It was as if the evil contained there had spread out to the four walls that housed it.
Even as his memories flooded back, his eyes took in what had happened. The opaline hedgehog who had seen hanging around with Sonic was there, crouching over the blue hedgehog. Sonic himself was lying unconscious on the floor, bleeding from a vicious gash to his head.
Standing over them, snarling deep within its throat, was a massive lizard creature: the It of which Shadow thought. Mainly brown in colour, though with a dark grey underbelly, its appearence made a formidable sight. The creature was most certainly not a living animal, judging by the machine parts that covered its head, body, and limbs. For eyes it had strange, drill like parts that stuck out of the side of its head. In the centre of its forehead were a huge set of bolts, connected together by some thick green wiring. On its body there were a series of peculiar circular objects that looked like vents, or portholes even. All in all, it was one of the ugliest creatures ever to be seen by a sane Mobian.
As it advanced on the two hedgehogs, it opened its large mouth, giving another terrifying roar, flexing its muscular limbs, as if waking from a deep sleep. 'Which it has,' thought Shadow. 'One which it should never have come out of.'
If he did not do something, and do it quickly, Sonic and that other hedgehog were going to die. It seemed a perfect opening to his newly remembered vow of saving lives.
"Hey, Biolizard," he called, at the top of his lungs. "Over here." It swung its great head round, snarling at the sight of him. "That's right; it's me. Well, are you going to come and get me, or do I have to go and smash your life-support first?"
It snarled again, a note of worry creeping into its voice this time, and charged at him. Well, even if his memories were fake, like Rouge said, at least they came in handy for something. Shadow smiled, confidently. Now it knew that he knew its weakness, it would be anxious. In his experience, anxiety just made people more careless than they would have been in the first place.
Now, it was time for action.
To the side, Sonic raised his head, blinking at the scene before him. The opaline hedgehog had wiped away the blood from his eyes as best she could without hurting him. Luckily for Sonic, the blow the Biolizard had struck him was mostly superficial. "What's going on?" he demanded, blearily.
Samantha glanced down at him in surprise, then back at the fight. "At least you weren't hurt too badly. Oh, and don't worry about that Biolizard: Shadow's got it all under control."
"Shadow's helping us?" Sonic groaned, slipping back into a dazed sleep. "That settles it. I really am still dreaming."
***
Rouge bounded from one rock to another, her movements made slow and graceful by the lack of gravity. She had grabbed one of the space suits on the way out, doubting that the protective bubble of energy around the ARK would save her if she went out too far.
Some feet away, Knuckles was also making a path, using the stepping stones provided. The rocks were debris from when the space station had shed its disguise that were still floating about it. The echidna needed no space suit, as his talisman sufficed, not only allowing him to breathe in space, but also to move at his normal speed. It seemed that the normal space rules of gravity did not apply where it was concerned.
He glanced down. The rock he was on seemed to be drifting away from the others. Darn, and he could only jump his normal distance, too. He looked about for the closest rock, then gathered his strength. It was quite a distance away, but he still managed the leap. From there it was an easy hop to another rock, then another, and another, until he was back near the space station again. Now, to find that generator.
Well, if he wanted to find it quickly, the best plan was to look for it while on the ARK itself. That way, he would not keep drifting away from it, either. A quick jump got him onto the surface of the space station.
Looking about, he tried to find something that looked even vaguely relevant to his purpose. Nothing obvious or sticking out. Well, that made sense. You would not want one of your generators knocked off by a stray meteorite. So, it would have to be something flat, something set into the station's surface. Something, in fact, like what he was standing on.
"Rouge!" he called, then remembered that she would not be able to hear him. Maybe he should have put on a spacesuit after all - at least they would have been able to talk via comlink then. He had not, though, so he was forced to wave until she noticed him and came floating over.
She pointed down at the generator, as if to say: "Is that it?" He nodded. She made a 'Get on with it then' gesture. Knuckles drew back his fist, then smashed it down as hard as he could. It went right into the machinery; he had to pull hard to release it again. When he did so, he noticed that it was bleeding, and his glove was torn. Still, at least they had done what they set out to do.
Together, they made their way to the nearest airlock, relieved at finishing their end of the job.
***
The Biolizard hit the place where Shadow had been a moment ago, whipping its ugly head round to see where the black hedgehog had gone. Unwittingly using the same attack that Sonic had done before on the EggGolem, Shadow kicked it hard in the face. It gave a cry of fury, trying to bite him. Too late: the hedgehog had gone again. Whatever it did, however much it tried, Shadow was always too fast for it. It longed for an easier target.
Almost as if in answer to its prayers, two pairs of people burst into the room from different sides. One pair was Robotnik and Tails; the other Amy and Pip. The Biolizard had its back to the two in walkers, so it did not see them. However, it saw the other two, and snarled with pleasure. They did not look so tough as the black hedgehog.
As usual, Amy ignored all other dangers, focusing instead on Sonic. "Oh, Sonic, you're hurt!" she shrieked, rushing across to him. The Biolizard pounced. Only just in time, Pip yanked the pink hedgehog back out of danger. Now, though, they were trapped, the Biolizard blocking them into a corner.
The robot glanced calmly at Amy. "Now, all you have to do is not let go of my hand." The other nodded, gulping. It dove its head down towards them, hoping to crush them into the wall. At the last second Pip leapt, dragging Amy with her. She then proceeded to run up the Biolizard's head, along its back, jumping off at the tail.
Furious not only at being cheated of its victims, but also at the humiliation, it spun round, only to be faced with Shadow again.
In the corner, Sonic was just standing up as the four joined them. Samantha smiled at Pip. "Thank you for saving my little sister."
The bat shrugged. "Don't mention it. Ever again, preferably."
"Sonic, we knocked out the generator," Tails told him, eager to please his hero. "We blew it up with missiles and everything. Oh," he added, seeing the cut. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just tried to spindash the generator, that's all. Nobody told me that the thing was alive and was going to try and hit me back."
"You mean that's the generator?" Robotnik looked intrigued.
"Sure is. I doubt it will be for long, though, the way Shadow's going at it."
"Should we help?"
"Yes," said a voice that did not belong to any of the six. "You can help us. Down here," it added, helpfully.
The looked down. There was a small drop of about three feet to a ledge below. Sitting there were the three chao: Riot, Heat, and Saudin. "We think we know how to stop it," continued Heat. "Or at least, Riot and I do. Saudin's still recovering. Where's Knuckles? We need him."
"Still shutting off the generator, I expect. Why?"
"Because the generators are important, but not so important as the Chaos Emeralds. We need to get those out, so that the ARK will lose most of its power. The only problem is, with everything going haywire, the emeralds are welded in there. We need something that can cut them out. You know how diamonds are supposedly the hardest surface, and you can cut through things like glass with them? We think, although we're not sure, that the shards of the Master Emerald will be able to cut them out of the machine."
They stared at the chao for a moment. "Tch, where is that echidna when you need him?" muttered Sonic. He paused. "You know, according to the law of coincidences, he should have turned up when I said that."
Knuckles's voice spoke next to his ear. "Give me a chance to get across the room first then, why don't you?" He glanced back at the battling hedgehog and Biolizard. "It's not easy, either, with that thing on the rampage. Where did it come from?"
"It's the main generator. We don't have time to go into detail on that, though, so let's get going. We've got to use pieces of your Master Emerald to cut out the Chaos Emeralds from the Eclipse Cannon. You have still got them, haven't you?" he asked, anxiously.
The echidna grinned. "Don't worry, I don't often lose things three times in a row. Okay, show me what I need to cut out, and I'll try my best."
"Over here," said Heat, bounding along the floor until he reached the control bank. "They're in those bumps where the metal has welded over. And I'd hurry if I were you. We don't have long until impact."
"Fine." He handed out the shards to the others, only hesitating slightly when it came to Rouge and Robotnik, and they set to work. The metal cut smoothly, with astounding ease. In minutes, the Chaos Emeralds were free, set in a little pile on the floor. Knuckles hastily collected the shards back in.
Meanwhile, on the raised part above, Shadow had finally succeeded in knocking the Biolizard into a sprawled position on its back. In the few precious seconds he had before it got up, he launched into a spindash, smashing the fragile centrepiece of the creature's stomach. It screamed in agony, lashing out at Shadow. Its life-source had been broken; it did not very long to live. This time, as the hedgehog was recovering from his finishing move, he did not have time to dodge the blow. He fell on the floor next to it, scrabbling to get up.
Hearing the death throes of the Biolizard, the others peered over the edge of the ledge, Sonic starting to climb back up. A moment later, though, they all flung themselves back down, as the explosion happened, spreading a thick, billowing, acrid smoke over the area. At almost the same instant, they thought they heard a cry of Chaos Control, in a voice that was not the black hedgehog's.
"Shadow!" yelled Rouge, anxiously, about to clamber up.
Knuckles pulled her back down. "No! You don't know whether or not it's safe yet."
"Poor Shadow," whispered Amy, sniffling. "He died trying to save us all." Her big sister hugged her comfortingly.
A warning beep brought them running back to the control bank. They would have to grieve for Shadow later: they did not know yet if they were out of danger. Sonic glanced at the screen. "That looks bad," he said flatly.
"It is bad," said Riot. "That Biolizard's not dead yet. It must have been it we heard doing Chaos Control. Now it's gone and merged with the space station, and from the looks of it, it's going to keep us on a collision course with Mobius."
"So you mean that shutting off the generators did no good at all?" groaned the blue hedgehog. "Aw, man."
"We've still got the Chaos Emeralds, though," Pip pointed out. "Can't we do something with them that will stop it?"
"Hey, I could go Super, and try to stop it that way," suggested Sonic, eyes glittering. "I bet that thing ain't so tough that it can stand up to the might of Super Sonic."
"Fine," said a cool voice. "But if you go Super, then I go Super as well." Shadow stood on the platform above them, cradling the stunned Saudin in his hands.
They stared at him in disbelief. "You're still alive?" exclaimed Rouge. "After that?"
He shrugged. "I appear to be. Where are the emeralds?"
"Here," said Heat, pointing with one chao paw. "Will you both be able to become Super at the same time? I've never heard of more than one person doing it at any one time before."
"It can be done, although the power will be split between the two, and they will not be as strong as they would have been when using them on their own. However, two is better strategy-wise. One to distract, the other to attack. Are you ready for this, Sonic?"
It was the first time he had called him by name. The blue hedgehog grinned. "As ready as I'll ever be, Shads. Let's go for it."
The others tossed the emeralds across to them. They clinked as they touched together, orbiting about their heads, transforming into spiralling balls of light that circled the two hedgehogs. The two closed their eyes as the power throbbed through them, becoming a part of their very bodies.
None of the others could watch them, the light was so bright, and were forced to turn their heads away, as even with their eyes shut it still blazed behind their eyelids.
Sonic's normally blue colouring became its familiar Super-charged fluorescent yellow, his spikes standing on end. As he opened his eyes, the irises had changed from calm green to a burning red. Shadow's new colouring was slightly subtler than Sonic's: a creamy, almost golden white, still with his red stripes. His eyes having already been crimson, did not change.
They radiated a glowing power.
They glanced across at each other, almost smiling. "There's your miracle, Rouge," Shadow called across to the white bat. She smiled back. He turned to the other Super form. "Now, Sonic."
Together, the two held up their hands. The words "Chaos Control!" echoed about the room.
"Good luck," called Amy, though she was already too late for them to hear her.
***
The two hedgehogs appeared in space, a few feet apart. They both stared at the transformation of the ARK. Even though they had known what to expect, it still stunned them. The Biolizard had indeed merged with the space station, which had become a strange combination of the two. It had the Biolizard's head though, so at least it would be easier to make out what they were up against.
It spotted them, and gave a great growling laugh. Apart from when it had said 'Chaos Control', it was the first time that they had heard it speak. "Still trying to stop me, little creatures?" it mocked them. "You will not get far. I am now more powerful than ever before."
"It's lying," hissed Shadow. "It's dying. Even now its life is ebbing away. It won't die soon enough to save the planet though, not without a little assistance."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!"
The Biolizard laughed again. "That's right, come and meet your doom, little hedgehog."
"Sonic, wait!"
The yellow hedgehog skidded to a halt in mid-air. "What?" he demanded, peevishly. "There's no point in hanging around. Look, he's laughing at us again."
"Do you care what he thinks? Come on Sonic, you know better than that. We need a strategy if we're going to beat him in time." Reluctantly, the other nodded. "Right. Take it in turns to distract him, then go for his underbelly again. That's his weak spot."
"That's it?"
"I said we needed a strategy, not a whole step by step routine. We don't have time for that. Now come on. I'll play as bait first."
Sonic nodded, watching as the cream hedgehog swept off towards the Biolizard. Shadow did not have to go far, though, as it was almost on top of them, it was moving so quickly. He just hoped that they would have enough time; they were dangerously close to the atmosphere as it was.
Right, the creature seemed preoccupied enough. It was his turn for action. Diving down, underneath the creature, he looked about for the point Shadow had been talking about. There it was; only partially healed over after the other hedgehog's attack. He homed in on it at top speed, giving it a glancing blow. However, it seemed to do the trick. The Biolizard lashed about as if it agony, Sonic only just avoiding its thrashing limbs.
He flew backwards into space, away from the creature, noticing just how hot it was becoming. Shadow joined him a moment later. Sonic noticed how tired he was looking. He was about to ask him if he was all right, but the cream hedgehog waved him on.
"Go on, it's your turn now. Hurry up; we don't have much time."
The yellow hedgehog nodded, swooping towards the Biolizard. "Hey, ugly, want me to ram you again?"
Snarling, it snapped its jaws at him. Unfortunately, this time it was wiser to their plan. As Shadow shot underneath it, and Sonic goaded it on, it lashed its tail round as hard as it could, cannoning the white hedgehog away from it. Normally, Sonic was sure that Shadow would be able to have avoided the tail. He was beginning to suspect that the explosion had hurt him more than he was letting on.
He hurried over to the other hedgehog, who was looking dazed, but alive. When he saw Sonic, though, his eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing? Forget about me for now, go and finish off that Biolizard. There's hardly any time left."
Looking behind him, Sonic saw that he was right. They were almost at the atmosphere of the planet. The power of the Chaos Emeralds protected him from most of the heat, though he could still feel it burning into his back.
So, he only had one chance left. "Better make it a good one, then," he whispered to himself.
Without warning, he shot towards the Biolizard, picking up speed as he went along. The creature looked at him, surprised for a moment, then grinned, opening its jaws. However, this was just what Sonic wanted. He shot into its mouth, into the interior of its body. Complex mechanisms were everywhere; machinery that he did not even pretend to understand. Luckily, he did not need to.
The Biolizard screamed, sending the yellow hedgehog flying from its mouth. Explosions were coming from its body, ripping it apart from the inside out. In an attempt to save itself, it uncoupled from the ARK: its final mistake. One moment there was the ARK, its old shape once more, the Biolizard spinning around in its final contortions next to it. The next, the ARK was unchanged, though at its side there was only an expanding fireball where the Biolizard had been.
The two hedgehogs laughed aloud, giving each other high fives. "That was amazing," the white hedgehog told Sonic, smiling a genuine smile of goodwill.
"Come on, I couldn't have done it without you, Shads. You were great too. Hey, I bet the others will be celebrating like crazy when we get back there. We'll be the heroic two who saved the planet from destruction."
They both grinned, each thinking how much they had underestimated the other. Sonic flung his arm around Shadow's back. "Let's go back, eh?"
"Sure." He added, teasingly: "Dude."
The yellow hedgehog laughed. "Okay then. On the count of three. Chaos Control!" They shouted the last two words together, still laughing. After a moment or two, their laughter died away. "Chaos ... Control?" Sonic repeated, but more hesitantly.
Sonic and Shadow exchanged looks. "They're ... they're not working," Sonic murmured, shaking his head. "Look at them: they're fading. Dying." He looked back up to the space station far above them, then down at the planet below. "Like we're going to be soon." They were falling now, down towards Mobius, where they would be burnt alive on entry. The yellow hedgehog felt hopeless. Here they were, having beaten their seemingly all-powerful adversary, saving the planet from destruction, and they were going to die. He ground his teeth together, narrowing his eyes. "At least we'll die like heroes, I guess."
The white Chaos-charged hedgehog looked into space. If Sonic had been looking closely enough, he might have seen the single teardrop fall from his eye. Shadow had realised for the very first time that he loved being alive. At one time he had lived only to bring vengeance upon those who had slain Maria, but now ... "I don't want to go," he whispered, his words lost instantly in the vacuum of space. Shadow squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain in his head. He wanted to experience life, in a way that he had never had a chance to. He wanted, most of all to be loved, to have friends. He wanted Maria. He wanted Rouge. Rouge? Where had that thought come from? Now that he had had it though, it seemed strangely ... right. Even so, he doubted that she liked him, not after that argument.
He sighed to himself. Did anyone want him? He doubted it. Nobody would ever miss him, not since Maria had died. Sonic, on the other hand, was cared for, and would be sorely missed. His eyes snapped open. He had made his final decision: there was no going back.
"Sonic?"
The other looked at him, putting on a brave smile. "Yeah?"
"I think that ... if we use the Chaos Emeralds separately, one after the other, then there'll be enough power. It's only if we both try to use them at once that there's a problem." Seeing the light of hope kindling in the other's eye, he knew that he had made the right choice.
"You think so? Okay then, you go first. I'll hold fort here."
Shadow almost snapped his response. "No!" Calming himself, he added: "I mean, no, you go first. I don't want that pink hedgehog trying to hug me again by mistake. If you go first then she can get it over and done with and out of her system."
Any other reason, and Sonic might have been suspicious. Shadow had chosen well. "Okay, I'll go first," he told him, grinning. Then, a vague sense of unpinned doubt seeping into his mind, he added: "You will be able to follow me, won't you?"
The white hedgehog nodded encouragingly. "Certainly, you go along and I'll come after."
Sonic nodded once, then outstretched his hands. "Chaos control!" he yelled, then vanished.
Shadow watched him go. Without the Emeralds, he was swiftly reverting back to his normal black colouring. "Farewell Sonic," he murmured. Drifting towards the ozone layer, the heat was already pricking his body, a horrible burning sensation creeping through his very soul. He grimaced, though he did not cry out. He had promised himself that he would not.
No one cared for him any more. Nobody had ever really cared for him but Maria. Now he was going to join her. "You were right, Sonic. I am going to die like a hero." In the inky blackness in front of him, he thought he could see her smiling at him, holding out her hand. His own hand shook as he raised it, reaching out to touch hers. "I did what you wanted me to," he whispered. "Now we'll be together again, for always and always. I don't belong here. I never have." There was a brief spark, then nothing more.
***
Rouge looked at Sonic. "Where's Shadow?"
Sonic glanced behind him. "Oh, he's coming, he just got me to Chaos Control first, in case he was mugged by Amy." Rouge stared pointedly at the Chaos Emeralds in his hands. Slowly, Sonic followed her gaze. "Oh drat."
As one, they all rushed to the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the white Super hedgehog. There was no sign of him anywhere, only Mobius, the twinkling stars and the inky blackness of space.
Tears rolled uncontrolled down Sonic's face as he rested his head on the cool glass, banging his fists against it repeatedly until he lost motivation. "So stupid," he snapped through his sobs. "How could I be so stupid? If he got me to take all the emeralds then there's no way he can Chaos Control."
Samantha reached out, clasping both of his fists between her own hands, looking deep into his eyes. "Sonic, I know that I knew Shadow probably the least well out of all of us, but I still don't think he'd want you to grieve him. He did what he did so that he would be remembered, though not in that way."
"He ... he said that he wanted to make everyone happy," Amy supplied, stammering.
Her sister gratefully acknowledged her. "Exactly. There was nothing that you could have done to make things turn out any differently, even if you'd known. His mind was made up, he was just trying to make it easier on himself and you. Life is a gift, and he gave his for yours. Accept his gift, Sonic. He's accomplished what he set out to do."
As if trapped in slow motion, he nodded.
There was silence for a while in the room. Not having wanted to be the one to break it, thinking that he would sound unconcerned, Knuckles spoke.
"I'm sorry guys, but I've really got to get back to the Floating Island. If I don't, it's going to fall out of the sky, probably killing a lot of people at the same time."
Sonic smiled slightly, looking only half-awake. "Don't worry about it, Knux. We understand."
The echidna moved to go, but Rouge stopped him, laying a hand upon his shoulder. Knuckles winced, though luckily the bat could not see his expression. He turned, folding his arms, the picture of sulky resignation.
"What?" he demanded.
"I just wanted to know something," she said, peaceably. He inclined his head ever so slightly, his consent to her asking. "You know the shards of the Master Emerald?" He repeated his minute nod. One of the others, he was not sure who, sniggered. Knuckles glowered, his face flushing a deep red. Rouge pretended not to notice. "How do they detect the other pieces?"
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked, brusquely.
"What I said. Where's the tracking device in them? Or do they just do it by themselves?" He stared, not comprehending, and she rolled her eyes. "How do the shards find the other shards? Are they alive somehow?"
The echidna turned away, looking thoughtful. It was a while before he replied, as if he was trying to think of a way to phrase his answer. "There is a legend among the echidnas," he pronounced slowly. "A series of legends, actually. About a Guardian - one of my ancestors - who was one of the greatest echidnas who ever lived. Her father was murdered as he tried to save her, when she was about as old as we are now. After that, she had a long series of adventures, far too many to tell now, and probably more than I even know of. Anyway, to cut a long story short, she came back to the Island. Something happened, and she was combined with the Master Emerald."
Rouge shrugged. "Interesting folklore, but what has that got to do with the Master Emerald being a-" She stopped in mid sentence.
Knuckles nodded. "It is my belief that that story is true, and that she is trapped in there to this very day. This isn't the first time that I have heard somebody suggesting that the Master Emerald is alive. Perhaps it is."
"What was her name?"
"Echo."
"Oh." Sensing that he was feeling awkward, she turned to go. She had hoped that she had at last got someone who would talk to her, but obviously not. Maybe she would go back to those turtles after all; at least they were happy to see her. However, someone blocked her path.
"Not so fast," said Pip, arms folded. "You can't leave without telling me exactly what kind of creature you are, because it's been bugging me the whole time. You are definitely not a bat, and I should know."
Sonic joined in. "Yeah, I'd been wondering that, too." The others nodded, agreeing, even those who had not particularly noticed.
"I know," said Heat, quietly. "It would be very hard for anything even vaguely cat-like not to recognise one on sight."
The 'bat' sighed. "Okay, okay. I suppose it's not going to be such a drastic thing after all of this." Like a conjuror producing a rabbit out of a hat, she whipped out a long rodent tail. The others stared. "I'm a mouse, and a spy. Once though, I crossed this bunch of drug-dealers in my line of work. They weren't too happy about it, neither. I had to change my appearance, and fast. I'd earned a fair amount of money, so I decided to go one step further than just a new set of clothes. I got these." She flexed her wings. "The very latest in bio-technology. I need the trousers, too, to hide me tail. And do you know, only one person has ever recognised me as who I used to be."
"Told you," said Heat, still quietly.
Knuckles shook his head. "That's ... pretty impressive."
"I'll say," agreed Sonic.
Hearing this, Amy quickly asked: "Say, do you know if they do them for hedgehogs as well?"
Rouge laughed. She was enjoying the attention. These people weren't so bad after all. "I'm sure they do, honey, though they'll cost you a bomb, or at least a kidney."
"Hey, big people," called Heat. "Before you all start going, look over here."
They looked to where he was pointed with one paw. There sat Saudin, blinking as if coming out of a deep sleep. At least, they thought he was Saudin, for he had changed from his previous appearance, if he was.
He was still a hedgehog chao, with the red stripes down his back, but his main colour had changed to an ebony white, his eye-colour reversed into black. His little spikes were sticking upwards, and he had a small red star-cross on his chest. A large pair of golden wings were folded behind his back, the feathers crumpled like those of a fledgling. Altogether, he looked very much like Super Shadow, give or take a few differences. The biggest change in the eyes of the chao, though, was that he no longer had a spiked life-force sphere, but a blue halo.
He looked up at them all, wide-eyed, then smiled shyly. "Hello," he said.
"He was Shadow's chao," Amy said, watching him in astonishment. "Shadow's love and kindness must have changed him from a dark chao to an angel chao."
"Yeuch," said Heat, loudly.
Samantha bent over the chao. "Hello, little fella. I've never seen that happen before, you know. Not a change, and especially not as late on as that." She looked straight at Sonic. "I think he's going to need a new master, now, don't you?"
"I guess I'll look after him for now, then." The blue hedgehog attempted to look nonchalant and uninterested.
"Sorry guys, but I'm really going to have to say goodbye for now," Knuckles told them, agitatedly. "I really can't afford to leave my island alone for a moment longer."
They all joined in on the farewells, even Robotnik, as the echidna activated the space transporter and vanished. "I guess I ought to be leaving, too," Rouge mumbled, turning to go.
"Great, I'll go with you," said Pip, brightly.
"You sure?" She looked surprised.
"Of course. C'mon Heat, let's get going." Having heard most of the mouse's conversations with Shadow, she could only guess how she must be feeling, which was why she thought it was a good idea to go with her. She could at least try to cheer Rouge up a bit. "See you, everyone."
More goodbyes. When they had finished, Sonic turned to Robotnik with a glint in his eye. "Okay, you're going first now, Eggman, just to make sure you don't stay behind and try to mess things up." He glanced down at the Chaos Emeralds. "I don't know that you can now these are broken, but I'm not giving you any chances."
"What do you take me for?" asked the human, hurt.
"A lot of things that I wouldn't say in front of Tails and Amy. Now hurry up and get going." Grumbling, Robotnik left.
Sonic held Saudin close to his chest, and looked around at his friends. "Let's go home," he said.
***
Samantha shook Sonic hard by the shoulder, and he sat up, groaning. "What is it?" he mumbled.
"Come on, you've got to get up. You've got visitors, and then the presentation ceremony's taking place in a couple of hours, you know."
Sonic groaned again, sitting up blearily. "What presentation ceremony?"
The opaline hedgehog grinned down at him. "You're all been given medals to commemorate your bravery at saving the planet. Megabucks is going to be giving them out, too." She looked impressed at this piece of information. Sonic, on the other hand, was too tired to be excited much by anything.
"Who's all?" he asked, trying to display some signs of enthusiasm for the other's benefit.
"Well, you, Knux, and Tails. Knuckles has only just got back. He managed to get to the Floating Island before it went down, though he said it was a kinda close thing."
"What about you? Aren't you getting a medal?"
She blushed a little. "I hardly did anything. Amy did more than I did, and she's not getting a medal either."
"Thank goodness," he muttered, though too quietly for Sam to hear. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He rolled off the settee that he had been using as an improputue bed, standing up. When they had arrived the previous night, they had been far too tired to make it back to the hotel or, in Knuckles's case, the Floating Island. For this reason, Samantha had generously allowed them to "bunk down" at her place for the night.
"So, who are the visitors?"
She counted on her fingers. "Well, they're a curious bunch, really. There's a gryffin - I think -, a tiger, a hedgehog and an echidna. They say that they know you."
Sonic looked bemused. "If I do, I can't think of who they are. Oh well, I'd better go and see what they want, anyhow."
He hurried through to the next room, where Sam had said the visitors were waiting for him. "Sonic, you forgot your shoes," the opaline hedgehog called after him. He looked down at his feet, then up at the strangers.
"Er, hi," he said, embarrassed. They were indeed the animals named, though he did not know any of them, save for one. "Tikal!"
"Hello, Sonic," she said, smiling at him. "We've just come to congratulate you on your courage. We won't be stopping long."
The blue hedgehog waved a hand, trying to understand the situation. He was still not fully certain that he was awake yet. "Wait, how did you get here? I mean, you live in a totally different time from us."
"These people brought me here, because they needed my help. They are Sabre-" The tiger bowed. "-Krasyetta, that's the gryffin, and this is Manic. Your, er, brother."
"My brother? But Spark's my brother." Sonic sighed. "This is way too early in the morning for me."
"It's two o'clock in the afternoon," Sabre informed him, looking distinctly amused. "Allow me to explain about Manic. He is your brother, it's true, only not in this universe. Don't worry about it for now."
Manic winked at him. "Don't feel pressurised: you can be as worried as you like. Anyway, we just came to explain one thing to you before we go. Since you won, we felt that you deserved to know why Shadow kept having his visions." Sonic tried to remember if he had known that Shadow had been having visions. "We were doing it, or rather Tikal was, so that we could assure the safe course of history. If he hadn't helped you all, and done the things he did, it would all have turned out much, much worse. Believe me, I saw it. Oh, and we hired this person to help us. Some robot bat."
Sonic thought about this for a moment. The last part was something he thought he could grasp. "You mean Pip?"
"That's the one."
Saborian nodded. "I doubt she'd thank you if you let on you knew, though. She doesn't seem to like admitting to any heroics."
"I think we ought to go now," Tikal said, having been watching the blue hedgehog's increasingly perplexed anxiously. "Otherwise we'll end up confusing him too much."
Manic folded his arms. "I can't see why. I mean, we've met this dimension Sonic before, haven't we? How come he doesn't recognise us?"
Sabre rolled his eyes. "Come on Manic, I've explained it to you before." They started walking out of the door. The golden echidna gave Sonic an 'I'm sorry about all this look' and followed them out. The tiger's voice drifted away as they disappeared into the distance. "So you see, it's our past, but his future."
Running on automatic, Sonic went back into the other room. Samantha looked curiously at him. "What did they want?"
He sighed. "I don't know. I really don't. You don't happen to have any coffee about, do you? I don't think I'm going to be able to keep awake through this presentation thing otherwise."
***
It was half past seven in the evening. Sonic, Tails, Samantha and Amy were walking through the park, wrapped up thickly in warm clothes. Saudin, Clove and Riot were with them, playing happily among the leaves that had been cleared to the side of the path. No matter what happened, chao were always just chao, deep down.
The presentation ceremony had gone off reasonably well, Sonic managing to stay awake for the whole event, despite what he had said. Knuckles had arrived for the ceremony, departing immediately after. They guessed that he was eager to go back to his island for a while after leaving it for so long.
The three heroes all had shiny new medals, and, as a surprise bonus, Samantha had been given a grant to help her run her chao garden. The only thing that spoiled it a little was what had happened when Sonic had got his medal. Unable to be restrained any longer, Amy had broken free and had rushed up onto the stage, hugging Sonic in front of the whole crowd. He still was not sure if he had forgiven her yet.
A tall figure came hurrying towards them, also well wrapped up. They stood aside to let them pass. Instead, though, they stopped next to them. "Please," she said, for it was a feminine voice. "Could I speak with Sonic for a moment?"
Sonic stared. "Alice?" She nodded, smiling at him. He glanced back at the others. "Sorry guys, I won't be long."
"It's okay. We'll be over there." Samantha pointed to the swings that had been set up in a corner of the park. They walked away towards them, laughing amongst themselves.
The human sat down on a bench, motioning for Sonic to sit beside her. "So," she said as he seated himself. "You must want to know all about Shadow."
"How do you know anything about Shadow?" he blurted out. "Did you find some information in G.U.N. headquarters before they blew?" She shook her head, smiling, then let her hood drop. He stared at her. "You're that girl. That one who Shadow mentioned, and the one that was ..." He stopped again. "But he said you were killed."
She sighed. "I am not Maria. At least, not the one you take me for. She did die on ARK, although not as long ago as Shadow thought. She was not quite as young, either. He remembered her as a girl, when in actual fact she was 21, to the day. The G.U.N. troops stormed the space station, killing everybody they found. A complete massacre." She looked disgusted. "Only one person who was there at the time was left alive, and that was me. I was 2, I think. Just little still. A soldier took pity on me, and left me where I was. Later on, when my father heard of the news and came to find us, I was the only person left."
"Then ... then you're Maria's daughter?" He struggled to understand.
"Yes." She smiled at him. "I am. I told you that my name is Alice Airam. That is not quite true. I suppose it was a foolish choice, even if I was on the spot. Airam is my name, only back to front, and Alice is my middle name. Maria Alice Kydrey. Daughter to Maria Robotnik, a murdered mother."
"How come Shadow misremembered all that then? I mean, it must have been twenty years ago, right? Did G.U.N. do something to his memory?"
"Ah. You see, Shadow could not remember the true story, because he was never actually there. After the massacre on ARK, my great-grandfather bought one of the Perfect Androids from its creator, one named Kaiser. Kaiser was Shadow, Sonic. Gerald programmed him with false memories in the hope that one day he would be revenged for my mother's death. It drove him mad in the end, you know," she added, sadly.
Sonic was silent. It was a lot to take in. Even the simple things, like the Perfect Androids having been around for over twenty years surprised him. That would make Citras a lot older than he had thought. Well, would have made him, if he was still alive.
"It was me who gave you the fake Chaos Emerald," Maria continued. "It was not made as a fake, actually, but as a training emerald for the Ultimate Lifeform: the Biolizard. From what my father said, that ugly thing always gave my mother the creeps."
The blue hedgehog grinned a little. "I can see why. It's sad though, really. Shadow always thought he was the Ultimate Lifeform."
"And the important thing was, he died still thinking it." She looked rueful. "I tried to speak to him once, you know. He thought I was just a ghost. I decided then that I had no right to try challenging his beliefs. Not when he has done so much for us all."
"I'll never forget him."
She smiled again. "Neither will I. I'll leave you now Sonic. You have a lot to think over. And look; your friends are calling to you. You'd better go and join them."
"Thanks Maria," he told her seriously. "If you ever want to come, you'll be welcome in Knothole."
"It would be a pleasure. Goodbye for now, Sonic the hedgehog."
"G'bye!" He raced across the grass to meet his friends, who were waving to him to hurry up. As he reached them, the orange fox grabbed him by the arm.
"Look," Tails cried, pointing. "Look at all the celebrations."
Sonic smiled slightly, looking up at the night sky. He had not noticed before, he had been so engrossed in his conversation with Maria.
He looked up. If he squinted, he could see the pattern of stars that made up the constellation of the Hedgehog. Fireworks exploded with brilliant multi-coloured sparks around it, lighting up the dark with their beauty. Sonic could not help thinking that the Hedgehog looked like Shadow. His eyes met those of the hedgehog of the heavens.
"The people are happy," he whispered.
The End