Dudes! The story isn't over yet I still have one more chapter to write :D lol This one took me ages so appreciate it whole u can lol
Also dont forget to check out the pics i put in my profile! I put Kelly's fanart in there too

Chapter 25

3 hours later

"So this is the Time Absorber 2000…" Tails said in wonder, examining the gun.
"Is there anyway you can set it to my time?" Shadow asked.

"Of course! There's bound to be some sort of setter on here. Just have to figure out where. It shouldn't take me long. You best go get ready to leave. I'll get you when I'm ready." Tails said.

"Leave?" came Ray's voice from behind Tails.

Shadow blinked, not noticing that Ray was there.

"You're leaving?" Ray asked, his voice a slighter higher pitch than usual.
"Yes. I'm sorry Ray but I have to go."

He walked up to his son.

"I may have stopped Eggman in this period of history, but in my time he's still around. I have to go back and stop him from doing any of the things he did before now."

Ray looked down.

"I'll…I'll go fix this up then." Tails said and hurried off to his hut, avoiding the awkwardness.

"I can understand that" Ray said. "But I haven't seen you in 15 years…all my life I was told that you were dead but when I saw you in the forest 4 weeks ago, I knew who you were right away. I may not have shown it much, but I was so happy to have you around…"

He swallowed, trying to hide his tears.

"…but now I'll be without you again…" he finished.

Shadow knelt down, only a little, to Ray's height.

"I was happy to see you too Ray. I was so glad to see how independent and brave you'd grown to be. The reason I wasn't able to be with you was Eggman. He sent me through time and space and it took 15 years before I was finally sent here. If I go back, I'll be able to stop him from ever doing that…"

Just then Tails hurried back with the Time Absorber.

"I've done it Shadow! Wasn't so hard to figure out after all!" he said.

Shadow stood up and looked over at Tails.

"Can you go and get the others? Tell them I'm going…I would like to say goodbye before I go."

Tails nodded and ran off again. Shadow turned back to Ray.

"I have some time before Tails will have told everybody about the news. Come with me." He said.

Together, the two hedgehogs walked towards the tallest of the trees that stood in the forest. They climbed up it and sat on the sturdiest branch.

The time was getting to early evening and the sky was turning into a bright mix of orange and a golden yellow.

The hedgehogs sat and watched the sky, no one of them saying anything as they both took in the tranquillity of it all.

…

About an hour later, everyone had gathered to say their goodbyes to Shadow. Shadow individually said goodbye to the closer of his friends; Knuckles and Tails first.

He then came to Amy, who was beginning to cry once again.

"I look forward to seeing you again…" he said.

Amy blinked, a little confused, but understood what he meant.

"I'll obviously look a lot better then!" she joked.

Shadow chuckled. He then moved on to Ray.

The two had, technically, already said their farewells but, without saying anything, Ray leapt into his father's arms and they embraced. Shadow could hear Ray cry a little and smiled at him as they broke apart.

"Ray, I want you to promise me something." He said.

Ray blinked.

"Since your Uncle Sonic has passed on and I'm about to go that leaves you in charge. Promise me to protect everyone here, be the hero."

"But…I'll never be as good a hero as you. Or Uncle Sonic for that matter…" Ray replied.
"No one can ever be as good as Sonic, I know that I will never be, but that doesn't mean you can't be a hero." Shadow answered.

Ray smiled and nodded.
Shadow stood up and looked over at Tails.

"OK Tails…" he said.

Tails nodded and pushed a few buttons on the gun.

"I've set it to send you back to the day you disappeared…the day Eggman took over."

Shadow nodded.

"Go for it…" he said.

Tails held up the gun and, almost hesitating, fired it at Shadow. Shadow clenched his fists, beginning to feel the same rushing feeling as he did when Eggman shot him before.

Ray sighed as he saw his father disappear in a flash of purple light.

"I won't forget you Dad…I know we'll see each other again, just in another time…" he thought.

As Shadow disappeared, Tails put the gun to the ground and stomped his foot on it. The gun smashed into pieces.

"There…now no more damage can be done…" he said.
…

What felt like a few seconds later, Shadowcould feelhimself fall onto a concrete floor. He groaned and rubbed his face, which had been battered in the landing.

"Whoa! Enjoy your trip there Shadow?" came a voice.

Shadow gasped and quickly looked up. He saw Sonic standing above him, folding his arms. He looked a lot younger now; back to his normal self.

"You Ok there? What did ya trip on, a rock?" he asked.

Shadow looked around and realised he was back on the promenade, just outside the hospital. He sighed with relief.

"Back to normal…thank god!" he thought.
"Hellooo? Earth to Shadow?"
"Uhh…sorry. Yeh, must have been a pebble or something…" Shadow replied and stood up.

"It's great to see you again, Sonic." He said, beginning to walk with the blue hedgehog.

"Again? Wait, you mean you're glad I stayed to wait for you right?"
"Oh yeah. Sure that's it!"
"Ha! I knew you had a soft spot in there somewhere, Shadow!"

Shadow sighed. His mind then clicked, remembering what he was supposed to do.

"Sonic, I have to tell you something. Eggman's gonna arrive here any minute. We have to…"
"Huh? Eggman? He's not shown his face since the ARK incident!" Said Sonic, jumping onto the beach.

"I know but…"

Just then the ground began to shake. Shadow leapt onto the sand and pushed Sonic away from the opening cracks emerging in the ground.
"Whoa!" Sonic yelled as he was pushed into the sand.
The two hedgehogs looked up and, sure enough, there was Eggman's digger.

"Hey! How did you know…?" Sonic asked.
"It's a long story…We have to get him now!" Shadow replied.

He conjured up a powerful Chaos Spear attack and, before Eggman could even open the door of his digger, he fired them.

"CHAOS SPEAR!" he yelled, throwing the powerful spears at the digger.

Eggman began to open the door.

"WHAA!" he yelled as he saw the incoming spears.

The digger exploded on impact.

Sonic still lay on the sand, completely taken aback by what was going on.
Smoke arose from the digger. Sonic stood up.

"Shadow…did you just kill Eggman!" he asked, sounding rather stupid.
"It isn't over just yet…" Shadow replied.

Sure enough, Eggman emerged from the smoke, coughing and holding a large gun.

"The Time Absorber!" Shadow thought.

"Damn you hedgehogs! You don't even let me have a word in do you!" Eggman yelled.

Shadow ignored this remark and turned to Sonic.

"Sonic we can't let him fire that gun at us. It'll send us through time!"
"What!"
"Just get that gun off of him will you? I'll then destroy it."

"Alright…" said Sonic, a little confused.

He stepped forward.

"I dunno why you're here, Egg-Head. But you're not gonna do any damage, I'll make sur of it!" He yelled.

He leapt at Eggman, with high speed and quickly rolled himself into a ball. He launched at Eggman and hit him in the chest. Eggman was thrust backward and hit the wall, separating the beach from the promenade; the wall that Sonic had been thrown into before.
Eggman dropped the Time Absorber, which rolled a few feet away.

Shadow walked over it and stood above it, his foot raised.
Eggman lay rather unconscious on the ground so Shadow would have no interference problem in destroying the gun.

He stomped his foot on the Time Absorber. It smashed and lay in bits on the sand. He smirked and turned to the unconscious Eggman.

"The trouble you caused me, because of that thing! You would not believe how much I've wanted to do that!" Shadow sneered.

Just then police sirens could be heard in the distance. The two hedgehogs blinked and looked up to see about 3 police cars screech to a halt on the promenade.
Officers rushed out of the car and jumped onto the beach. The CI walked over to Sonic and Shadow.

"We received a call about some kind of disturbance here. You two know what's been happening?" he asked suspiciously.

Before either of them could answer one of the officers called out.

"Sarge! Look it's Doctor Robotnik!" he cried.
"That's what the disturbance was about, sir. Eggman picked a fight with us." Sonic said.

"He's been on our Most Wanted List for a wile now. Don't worry hedgehog, we can take it from here." The CI said.

"All right men! Arrest him!" he yelled to his officers.

Eggman began to come around just as handcuffs were snapped around his wrists.

"…What…? Hey! What the-? Let go of me! How dare you!" he yelled and began to struggle.
But the officers bundled him in their police car and drove away, sirens blaring.

"He'll be locked up for a good long while…finally!" The CI said.
"Alright men let's call the fire department and get them to sort out this wreckage!"

HE turned to Sonic and Shadow.

"You've done it again Sonic!" he said.
"Actually, if it weren't for Shadow…" (he gave Shadow a friendly punch to the shoulder) "I'd never of known Eggman was even coming!"

Shadow rubbed his shoulder.

"Whatever…" he muttered, smiling.