March 20th, 42 B.E.
Ground Research Facility EDEN
Lieutenant Alfred Robotnik works away at a console, as he spends so much of his time doing. "Hmm…fascinating…. Sunlight, your anatomy continues to astound me." A quiet, muffled rumbling can be heard, almost low enough for Alfred not to notice. But after a moment, he turns his head. "Sunlight? Was that you?" After another moment without an answer, he gets up and starts to walk towards the source of the noise. As the door in front of him opens, he gasps. Through the opposite wall is a wide, gaping hole to the outside. He runs to the hole as he shouts, "Sunlight? What's going on!?"
He makes it to the hole in time to see a white streak racing off towards the city, a black one following not far behind. Alfred becomes struck with fear. "It couldn't be… He wouldn't…" Torn between his want to go after one streak and his fear for the identity of the other, he desperately looks back and forth from the outside to the interior of the lab. Finally, he turns around and runs back into the secluded room of the lab. He nearly falls as he sprints down the stairs into the basement. But when he arrives, panting, he finds everything exactly the way he had left it. Shadow the Hedgehog still lies unconscious in his pod. "But if he's still here, then who…?" He trails off as he seems to be struck by another idea.
He swiftly moves back up the stairs, and enters a code on the wall. A panel slides back, revealing the seven Chaos Emeralds underneath. But the purple, yellow, and cyan ones seem to pulsate with light in an odd pattern. "What…what could this mean?"
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project
Season 0, Episode 16
Birth of Blacklight, Part 3: Project: Shadow
Written by ChaosProject
Concept by ChaosProject
Sunlight strolls into town, apparently having left Shadow behind. It seems to be a lively late afternoon, with people walking about, and several market stands set up selling various wares. A few people eye Sunlight oddly, but he seems to go mostly unnoticed. He walks up to one stand, selling fruit.
The man attending the stand asks, "See anything you like, Mr. Hedgehog? We don't get many visitors like you around here. What brings you to the area?"
"That's not my name."
"Huh?"
"Mr. Hedgehog, however appropriate, is not my name."
The man clears his throat. "Well then, my apologies, Mr.…" He waves his hand as an indication for Sunlight to finish.
Instead, Sunlight picks up a large, red fruit. "What do you call this…thing?"
The man shows growing confusion. "Umm…an…apple?"
Sunlight seems quite intrigued. "Apple, hm?" He takes a very large bite, and speaks before he's finished chewing, "Hm, sweet."
The man smiles again. "Just for you, that'll be worth 20 Rings."
Sunlight shrugs, and starts to walk off.
The man calls out with irritation, "Excuse me, sir!"
Sunlight turns back immediately when he realizes he's made a mistake. "Oh, my, where are my manners?" He does a little bow. "Thank you for the…" He looks at the object in his hand again. "…apple!" He turns to leave again.
"Hey!" The man runs up to Sunlight and forcefully puts a hand on his shoulder "You can't just–"
Sunlight turns and grabs the man by the shirt, easily lifting him into the air with just one hand, an odd sight given the difference in height between the two. "You know, it isn't very nice to put your hand on people like that."
"Sunlight!" Both turn their heads to see Shadow standing there. "Put him down."
Sunlight shrugs, and drops the man onto the floor. The man shouts, "What kind of freaks are you!?" as he scurries back to the nearest wall. Neither of the hedgehogs seem notice him pulling out a phone.
Sunlight is busy pondering Shadow's last statement. "You know…I don't think I like that name. Sunlight sounds so…happy. Do I look happy to you?"
Shadow is transfixed on the apple in Sunlight's hand. "Did you steal that?"
Sunlight seems confused. "Steel? No, this is an apple. You know, for eating." He takes another large bite to drive in the point. "Wanna bite?"
It seems that Shadow is finally beginning to lose patience with Sunlight's shenanigans, as he clutches his head in a hand and gives an exasperated sigh. He can't help but think to himself, "This guy…is supposed to take over the world? The Lieutenant was right, he's just like a child. And he can still be taught." Out loud, he speaks, "Look, you can't just take things from other people."
"What, he could have tried to take it back if he wanted it. He would have failed, of course. But that just means I deserve it more." He takes another bite. "Seriously, you have to try one of these."
"You…you really believe that, don't you? That you deserve whatever you can take?"
"Don't you? After all, you tried to take the ARK for yourself."
"No, I didn't! I tried to save the ARK!" Sunlight seems to have struck a nerve. "That's exactly what you should be doing! Saving people! We can do things that nobody else can! But with your attitude, you'll just destroy the world with that power!"
"Are you…telling me what to do? And here I thought you actually wanted to be my friend. Ha. I should've guessed. Everyone just wants to use me."
"Wait, no, I didn't–"
Sunlight solemnly turns and begins to walk away.
"Sunlight, wait!"
He doesn't stop or turn, but responds, "Don't call me that. That name means nothing."
Another voice shouts loudly, "On the ground, now!" A police squadron has shown up from the interior of the city, all pointing weapons at Shadow and Sunlight alike. "Hands where we can see them!"
Sunlight turns around, suddenly enraged. "Don't tell me what to–"
Shadow puts a hand on him. "Hold on, calm down, I can get us out of here. Just trust me. And follow my lead." He looks back to the squadron. "We don't want any trouble, officers."
"Shut up, freak! On the ground!"
Shadow almost seems ready to shout back. But instead, he slowly begins to kneel to the ground, holding one arm out as an indication of peace. But in his other hand, behind his back, he holds the yellow Chaos Emerald, its color almost completely restored. He indicates with his head for Sunlight to do the same. Sunlight shrugs, and does so. The officers start to approach them cautiously. Suddenly, Shadow grabs Sunlight's arm and shouts, "Chaos Control!"
The two hedgehogs disappear just as the officers open fire on the empty spot where they had just been kneeling.
—–—
Shadow drops them both onto the crest of a bare hill not far from the town. The fairly grassy hill gives way to dirt and rock on one side, but there are a few scattered trees on the other. Sunlight almost immediately shouts, "Wow, that was fun! Let's do that again!"
"Sunlight, I–"
"Come on! Please?"
"Look, I need to–"
"Wait a minute, how did you–"
"If you could just keep your mouth shut for five minutes, I might actually be able to tell you why I'm here!" Shadow immediately takes on a look of horror as he realizes what he just said. Sunlight doesn't seem angry, but instead turns slowly away from Shadow, staring off towards the horizon, where the sun has sunk nearly halfway into the ground. Shadow slowly resumes, "I…I'm sorry. It's just…none of this has gone the way I was expecting it to." Sunlight makes no response. "Please, I just…I want to start over." Though Sunlight still doesn't look at him, Shadow extends his hand. "My name is Shadow. And…I do want to be your friend."
"…Why?"
"I know I don't seem like that kind of person. But you…you change everything. You're my…brother. You're my chance to be…different. To be better. To be the kind of person who Ma–…my…old family would have wanted."
"That's not what I meant. Why did you protect the humans?"
"The…humans?"
"Back there. They wanted to hurt us. We could have hurt them back. But you spared them. Why?"
"Hurt them? They didn't deserve to be hurt, it was all a misunderstanding."
Sunlight finally turns back to face Shadow. "But they wanted to hurt us. A lot of humans do. Because they fear us. So why should we let them think that they're better than us? Why should we let them stand in our way!?"
Shadow sighs. "I used to think a lot like you. Like nothing mattered more than my own pursuits, my own satisfaction. I didn't care who was in my way or why they were there. I got them out of it. But that was before I remembered."
"Remembered what?"
"My promise. For a better future. We're different from humans, and humans are different from us. But that doesn't mean we can't get along. Trust me. I know."
Sunlight seems to truly, deeply think on this. He turns back to the setting sun. "Do you understand this moment?"
"What?"
"Look around you. Feel around you. It's as if the entire universe has been leading up to this moment." Shadow moves to ask again, but Sunlight predicts the question for him this time. "Perfect twilight. On the Spring Equinox. With you and I, Light and Shadow, facing each other, wielding the Emeralds of Shadow and Light. Even the land around us is in a balance of life and lifelessness."
"Facing each other? No, it doesn't have to–… Wait…the Emeralds of…Shadow and Light?"
Sunlight takes out his purple Chaos Emerald. "Yes. The Emeralds we wield. My purple and your yellow. I can feel it from here. And you have another one…cyan, no? No wonder you look so happy."
Shadow looks far more confused than happy, as he pulls out both of his Emeralds. "You can tell the difference between the Emeralds…without even seeing them? Without even being near them? You're saying that they have some sort of…properties, that make them different from each other?"
Suddenly an expert, Sunlight responds, "Well of course! You didn't think that they were just pretty colors, did you?" He shakes his head. "No. Of course each Chaos Emerald contains all forms of Chaos Energy. But certain forms concentrate in certain Emeralds. In my hand concentrates Void, or Darkness energy. In yours, Light. Together, a perfect balance. I can feel it…but you can't," he finishes, more as a statement than a question.
Out on the horizon, the sun has nearly sunk out of sight. The moment of Balance has almost come to an end. Shadow looks to his cyan Emerald, remembering what Sunlight had just said about its own properties. He seems to be struck by an idea. "I want you to have this." He holds out the Emerald.
"Wh…what?"
"This Emerald. Take it. It's yours."
Sunlight seems unsure of what to say. "You…you really mean it?" Hesitantly, he places a hand on it. Immediately, he seems to react with a slight transition from concern to gratitude. "No one's ever given me such a wonderful gift before. Except maybe this apple. That was pretty cool, too." He chuckles at the joke, but then looks right back to Shadow. "You…you really do care." He takes the gem completely, and, for a moment, seems at last to be content with his life. Then the last sliver of sun disappears, casting the area into the darkness of night. Sunlight's face takes on a darker look. "They'll betray you, you know. The humans, I mean. But I won't. Not if you stick with me." He smiles, but in an almost menacing way. "Brother."
Shadow is stunned by the sudden shift. "What? The humans? No, I already–"
"Are you crossing me already? That's not very brotherly of you."
"They aren't our enemies!"
"The way they yelled at us…at you, back there. I'd beg to differ. But don't worry, I see how it is." Shadow seems to breathe a sigh of relief. "You choose them over me." Shadow tenses up again. "No, no, I'm not offended." Shadow relaxes. "But that makes you my enemy." Tired of having his emotions toyed with, Shadow growls in irritation this time. "I don't particularly feel like a fight right now…but hey, why put off 'til tomorrow, right?" Suddenly, Sunlight chucks his half-eaten apple right at Shadow's forehead.
"Ouch! Did you just–" He shakes his head. "It doesn't have to be this way! Just give me a chance, I can show you that I am right! You will change your mind."
Sunlight seems to think on that for a while. "You know…I'm getting really sick and tired of you telling me what to do!"
"No, it isn't like that! Just listen to me!"
"I won't! I am free now! I take orders from no one! I am…I am…hm. I guess I still have to work on that one. Well, whoever I am, I am done being the light that everyone else wants me to be! I am who I want to be! I am all of me! I'm waking up, breaking out! And I'll never turn back. Not for you, not even if I'm almost dead. I won't be a pawn like you, that isn't who I am. So bow your head low, Shadow. Because you're in the presence of your superior." Sunlight savagely leaps at Shadow.
Shadow rolls out of the way as he futilely shouts, "I don't want to fight you!"
"Well that's too bad. Because I really wanna fight you!" This time, he goes in for a punch. Shadow ducks under, and somewhat reluctantly sweeps Sunlight's legs, knocking him off balance and to the ground. From there, Sunlight grabs one of Shadow's legs, and tries to throw him the other way.
As Shadow flies through the air from the force of the throw, he shouts, "Chaos Control!" He quickly reappears, stationary, on the ground.
Sunlight, now standing again, seems impressed. "Ooh, so it's good in a fight, too? I wonder…" He charges at Shadow again, displaying the purple Emerald.
The thought crosses Shadow's mind, "For a better future…." Now on the offensive, he charges back, already planning a feint attack. "Chaos…"
Sunlight mimics, "Chaos…"
Just as they're about to reach each other, they both unleash, "Control!"
The two opposite Emeralds react brilliantly to each other as neither of the hedgehogs are transported. Instead, a sparkling, spherical blue portal begins to expand from the point between the gems. Sunlight is completely transfixed, forgetting the fight entirely. "Ooh…pretty…"
Even Shadow seems surprised. "A space-time rift… The Professor told me it was possible, but…"
Sunlight looks to Shadow with the eyes of a child. "Where does it go?"
Shadow stops to think. "The destination of Chaos Control…depends completely on thoughts. And my thoughts…were towards the future."
"As were mine…. The future…here I come!" In an instant, Sunlight leaps into the rift.
Shadow is stunned. "Wait, you don't…" he trails off as he realizes that he can no longer be heard. He shakes his head. "I have to go after him." With that, Shadow dives into the portal as well, and it quickly closes up behind him.
—–—
The Future
When Shadow lands, Sunlight is nowhere to be seen. The portal has led to a vast white tundra, with nothing but snow and ice as far as the eye can see. Shadow looks around, but finds nothing. "Already gone…"
A powerful, familiar robotic voice shouts, "HALT!"
Shadow turns to the source of the voice. Atop a cliff of ice stands a powerfully-built robot with broad black shoulders, massive red chest, and rectangular yellow head. Shadow gasps, "Omega!"
"IT IS AS I TOLD YOU, SHADOW. YOU CANNOT HIDE FOR LONG. SURRENDER NOW, OR FACE ERADICATION."
"Omega, what are you talking about? What's going on? What year is this?"
"YOU WILL BE IMPRISONED FOR YOUR CRIMES. IT IS NOT PERSONAL. BUT IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY, I WILL OPEN FIRE." To back up the claim, Omega retracts one hand, replacing it with a machine gun, which he points at Shadow.
"Crimes? No, I never–"
"INITIATING PROJECT: WHITEOUT. SHADOW WILL BE ELIMINATED." He opens fire, as Shadow barely leaps out of the way in time. Omega relentlessly continues the gunfire, each individual bullet sending a plume of snow into the air as it impacts the ground just behind Shadow, and carving a wide arc as Shadow runs.
"Omega, what are you doing!? We're friends, remember!?"
Omega changes tactics, jetting into the air and shifting his free hand into the shape of a missile launcher. "YOU CANNOT HOPE TO DEFEAT ME IN A FIGHT, SHADOW. I WAS DESIGNED WITH THE ABILITY TO COMBAT YOU, IN THE INSTANCE OF YOUR ESCAPE. AND NOW, I HAVE BEEN PROGRAMMED TO UTILIZE THAT FUNCTIONALITY." He fires a missile right in front of Shadow's path, forcing Shadow to skid to a halt and into a backflip, just barely passing over the explosion.
"What!? You were reprogrammed!? By who!?"
"BY THE HUMANS YOU BETRAYED." Omega switches both hands to machine guns, and immediately starts to unleash fire in all directions. Shadow dives behind the cover of another cliff of ice, just in time to hear the bullets colliding with the ice.
The cover gives Shadow the chance he needs to think. "I can't reach him like this. I need to put this in terms he'll understand, terms of functions, success and failure." The sound of gunfire stops, as Omega can be heard switching weapons again. Then the ice behind Shadow begins to glow red. Shadow dives away from the ice, just as Omega's flamethrowers pass through what had just been his cover. As he continues to run, Shadow shouts, "I'm not the one you're looking for, Omega!"
"STATEMENT INCORRECT. ALL SCANS CONFIRM YOUR IDENTITY AS SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG." Omega begins to shift weapons yet again, this time into two unfamiliar mechanisms, simple pyramidal-shaped devices displaying an odd hexagonal pattern in pinkish-purple light on their front. Immediately he fires both of the devices, then reloads and fires two more.
Shadow prepares to defend himself against the strange devices. But as the first two come close to him, they diverge away from their straight path, and quickly begin to circle Shadow, confusing him as he's forced track both of them at once. Suddenly, they come to a stop and shoot out one beam of energy at each of his arms, binding them in place. He struggles to rip his arms free, to no avail. The devices float higher into the air, dragging him up between them, as the second pair of devices orient themselves above and below him, binding him by the legs as well, and forming a diamond shape around him. A field of the same hexagonal energy expands from the devices, forming a cage behind him, but leaving his front exposed, as Omega clanks towards him. Shadow continues his struggle against the bindings, but it's clear that he's having no effect.
"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. THIS PRISON WAS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO SUPPRESS YOU."
Shadow isn't willing to give up yet. "Omega, I may be Shadow, but I'm not the Shadow you're looking for! Do a more thorough scan, there has to be something off!"
Omega halts in place, his large red eyes glaring straight at Shadow. "INITIATING ALL AVAILABLE BIOLOGICAL SCANS…. PROCESSING…. DEEP-CELL SCANS REVEAL A RELATIVE CELLULAR AGE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN EXPECTED. EXPLAIN."
"That's because I don't belong here, I've travelled here from the past chasing after…someone else."
"SUGGESTION IMPROBABLE. I HAVE NEVER BEEN INFORMED OF ANY SUCH EXCURSIONS THROUGH TIME."
Shadow has to think on this. "I never told him…but why? Unless…" He shakes his head, confused by his own thoughts. "At the moment in which I came to this future…I hadn't been to this future yet. Which means that…in this future…I never came here in the first place. Which means that, now that I have been here, this future can't exist anymore. It's already wrong." He shakes his head again. "The future is always in motion. That's what the Professor told me. I determine my own destiny. So this doesn't have to happen." He speaks aloud, "Maybe it doesn't seem likely. But what other possibilities are there?"
"PROBABILITY: YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO DECEIVE ME THROUGH UNKNOWN MEANS, IN ORDER TO EVADE CAPTURE. YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED."
"Yes, I could be lying. But what if I'm not? You would be imprisoning someone who has committed no crime, while your real target goes free. Your mission would be a failure."
Omega locks up as he processes the statement. After a few moments, he responds. "MISSION FAILURE NOT ACCEPTABLE. YOU WILL BE TAKEN IN TO HEADQUARTERS FOR QUESTIONING." He reaches a skeletal metallic hand to press a button on one of the devices which project Shadow's cage.
"Yawn! This is getting boring!" Omega's head swivels 90 degrees to get a look at the speaker. Sunlight relaxes casually atop the same cliff of ice where Omega had stood before. "Start shooting each other again, at least that was interesting to watch!"
"SCANNING… CLASSIFICATION: ARTIFICIAL HEDGEHOG. IDENTITY: UNKNOWN. IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"
Shadow growls, "Sunlight…"
"I thought I told you not to call me that!" After a moment of silence, he clears his throat as if nothing had been said. "So what is this thing? Friend of yours? 'Cause it sure seems to me like it was trying to kill you." Shadow says nothing. "Oh! I almost forgot! Look what I learned how to do!" He pulls out a sparkling white Chaos Emerald. "Now, watch closely." He gets to his feet, and holds up the Emerald. "Chaos…Frost!" The Emerald flashes with a brilliant white light. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, he flicks up the fingers of his free hand, and a massive, razor-sharp pillar of ice jets out through Omega's chest, having impaled him from the back. The lights in his eyes begin to flicker.
"Omega!"
Sunlight leaps down from the cliff, landing next to Omega. "Wasn't that awesome!?" He looks over at the great, sparking wound in Omega's chest. "Oof, that doesn't look too good. Here, let me help." He collapses his free hand into a fist, and the pillar of ice instantly dissolves into a fine mist, leaving a gaping hole in the robot's chest.
Slowly, Omega crashes to the ground, kicking up a cloud of light snow. "ER–…ER–ER–ERROR…SYSTEMS SHUTDOWN…MISSION…FAILED…." His eyes go completely dark.
Sunlight looks at the deactivated robot with curiosity. He suddenly plunges his hand into the exposed machinery inside of the hole, and comes out holding a glowing green Chaos Emerald. "My, these things are everywhere, aren't they?" He shrugs and puts it away, then turns back to Shadow, still suspended by the strange prison. "Well, isn't this an interesting situation? Now we can finally have a nice, civilized talk, without risk of you attacking me like last time!"
Shadow gives a loud, wordless growl.
"Ooh, temper, temper, Shadow. That's no way to treat an old friend." He waggles a finger at him to drive in the point.
"…Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why did you kill him?"
"Oh, that thing?" He points back at Omega. "Why, I'm surprised you aren't thanking me. It wanted to take you in for 'questioning'." He makes air quotes as he speaks. "Ugh, what a drag that would've been. Those humans are all such a drag, aren't they?"
"Humans?"
"Yes. Don't you see what happened? I, for one, thought it was obvious. You didn't do anything. Well, future you, anyways. Something did happen, of course, something terrible, I'm sure. And there was a search for the guilty. Humanity isn't just jealous of our power, Shadow. They fear it. And they just wanted an excuse to hunt you down. They will always fear our power, Shadow. Every one of them. Because we're different. We're better. And they don't like that. They're foolish, and they deserve to be punished. It's only fair that we do to them what they intend for us! We deserve justice! They aren't worth saving, Shadow, you of all people should see that!"
"That's…that's…." Shadow seems to want to deny it, but can't seem to ignore the implications. "That…can't be true…"
"Of course it's true!" He indicates towards the fallen form of Omega. "Just look for yourself. They reprogrammed your robot friend to destroy you. They built him to do that in the first place. They will never accept you for who you really are. And if you can't see that, then you're even more foolish than they are. But it doesn't have to stay that way." He offers a hand forwards. "Forget the humans! Come with me, and we…we can do whatever we want!"
Shadow looks around in slight confusion.
"Oh, that's right! You're a bit tied up, aren't you?" He takes the hand back. "I suppose I should probably get you out of that thing, shouldn't I? But how best to do it…?" He looks into his white Emerald. "I think ice is pretty nice." He pulls out the purple Emerald in his opposite hand. "But if I could make you perish twice…"
"What!?"
"…I'd say Darkness would suffice! Chaos…"
"Stop, what're you–"
"…Void!" Shadow flinches away as Sunlight jabs a finger in the direction of one of the devices projecting Shadow's cage. An instant later, the entire device seems to implode in on itself, sucked into a small orb of shadowy energy, which itself collapses a moment later. With one device gone, the entire cage destabilizes, dropping Shadow back onto solid ground.
Unharmed, Shadow looks back to Sunlight. "How…how did you…"
"Concentrated energies, Shadow, concentrated energies. Each Emerald is different. You know I don't like to repeat myself. Oh, by the way, I've been thinking about my name. You know, I don't really like it. Do you have any ideas for a better one? Something that suits me, you know."
"Look. Sunlight, I–"
"Did you not hear what I just said!? Something new, something original! Not my same old lame given name! Where's your creativity!?"
"Fine, whatever, just–"
"I've had a few ideas of my own, you see. What do you think about…'Frostbite'? The blackening of flesh, caused by the whitest of snow and ice. You see, there's something about snow and ice that's just so…nice. I can't really explain it. It's like me, though. I think a name like that…would really help someone understand me. Don't you?"
"I…suppose…"
"No, no, you're right. That's too specific. It would be wrong to say that I'm only like ice. I do think I would rather enjoy playing with fire. I'll have to think on that for a while. I expect the same from you. Now…is there something you wanted to say?"
"About a dozen things, actually. But let's start with this. We need to go back to the past. We don't belong here."
"Aw, what's the matter, Shadow? Don't like what the future has in store for you? Well, you'd better start getting used to it. 'Cause it's your destiny."
"Don't be absurd. This doesn't have to happen. I determine my own destiny."
"Oh really? Is that why this keeps happening to you?"
"What!?"
This time, he takes out the green Emerald he took from Omega. "Oh yes. You worked so hard to destroy that creepy no-mouth fellow, what was his name? Murphy the Dark? Mephy? Something like that. You were so sure it would change your destiny, that he was responsible for everything that would ever go wrong in your life. So you helped erase him from history. But here you are, watching it happen all over again. It's fate, Shadow. It's your fate to be betrayed by the humans you protect, just as it's my fate to be free."
Shadow is completely baffled. "You're saying…this happened before? How…you…?"
He waves the Emerald around in the air. "Oh, this little guy told me. He sure has a lot of stories to tell. He saw it all. But I suppose you wouldn't remember any of that, would you? Well, Chaos never forgets."
Shadow stays silent for a long time. Perhaps, somewhere in the back of his mind, he gains some vague recognition of the tale of Mephiles. But consciously, there is no such memory. "You…you must be completely mad."
"Excuse me!?"
"I can't deny it any longer. You aren't sane, and you need to be stopped."
"Why, I've never been so insulted in all of my life!"
"I still don't want to hurt you. So come with me willingly, and this will be much easier."
"How could you!?" He sounds genuinely hurt. "What kind of friend are you!?"
"We could have been brothers. But you've gone too far. I won't let it stand."
Sunlight silences. "…So you wish to take me back to the past?" Shadow nods. "I will go to the past with you, willingly." He pulls out the purple Emerald. "Shall we?"
Shadow takes out his own yellow Emerald. "I'm glad that you're willing." He lifts it up. "Chaos…"
Sunlight crosses Shadow's outstretched arm with his own. "Chaos…"
They both finish, somewhat somberly, "…Control." The Emeralds react to each other as usual, forming a new space-time rift between them.
Sunlight asks, "May I go first?"
"Uh…sure?"
"Ooh, goody." He looks into the portal. "Welp, see ya on the other side!" He leaps into the rift, and as he starts to disappear, whispers faintly, "…Sucker."
Shadow doesn't hear it, or doesn't think anything of it. He takes one last look at his fallen robotic comrade. "Don't worry, Omega. I won't let them do this to you." With that, he follows Sunlight into the portal to the past.
—–—
The Past
Shadow lands on the ground, and immediately begins to look around. Sunlight is nowhere to be seen. Shadow gives an audible growl. "He's fooled me again!" Then he begins to look closer. Nearby is not the town, but a group of clean-looking stone structures. "This isn't right. Those ruins look brand new. This isn't 40 years ago, it's thousands!"
"Hello there." Shadow turns with a start to the speaker, a young Echidna girl with bright red fur, wearing traditional-looking green clothing. Tikal continues, "I hope you know, visitors aren't very welcome here."
To be continued…