Moonrise

Hi all. Welcome to this new long fic. Here, I'm going to tackle a concept that is totally my own: no game port or game sequel, just an original story, with new OC, new powers, ... I hope you'll like it.

WARNING: from this prologue, there are quite hard, sad and violent scenes, worthy in my opinion of a good rank T. So you're warned!

Chapter 0 : One end … and a New beginning

The space ... This big empty space. Not a living being, not an object, not a sound over thousands, millions of kilometers. Nothing could reach him here, and that's what made this place so serene for him. Even in the room where Shadow was located, the only livable oasis in the midst of this immensity, there was not a single living being, he felt safe there. Finally, safety would be a big word: indeed, with these immeasurable powers, he would crush any GUN machine or any other threat without any difficulty, especially since Sonic and Eggman died, self-destructing in their last fight. No, let's say it's the only place where he feels... quiet. Far from all those protocols and annoying humans who allow themselves to give him orders to him, the ultimate life form; far from all these humans and Mobian, who either judges him or cheers him as a hero since Sonic's disappearance, and even for some before. This station where he was born, since his abandonment, is the only haven of peace for the hedgehog, who finally finds himself alone, far from the responsibilities and troubles of his earthly life, but also closer to the joys that his past life gave him, at his very beginning, 50 years ago, when he lived with his creator Gerald Robotnik and his granddaughter Maria, both sadly dead for 50 years.

He stood on like that, on the bridge of the ARK, daydreaming and looking at the stars, immersed in these memories. But he knew that unfortunately he was standing here for the last time, because in a few hours this station would be destroyed, and with his own hands. The GUN had indeed requested after Eggman's death that everything related to him or his family be destroyed, including their creation. Thus, Metal Sonic had been completely dismantled, and Shadow would also have been killed if Sonic had not intervened just before he died. He stated before he died that he was sure earth would be safe, since shadow remained to protect it. Thanks to these few words, hundreds of voices had been raised against the "dismantling" of Shadow, and he could stay alive, and for that he would be eternally grateful to him. He dodged a small smile, now thinking back to his now-defunct former rival.

« Shadow ?! »

Shadow was interrupted in his thoughts by a distant but powerful cry. A fluttering voice, but clearly marked by concern. Usually, He would have put himself on his guard, ready to intervene, but there he did nothing about it, for he knew to whom this voice belonged, and a great feeling of annoyance appear on his face. The voice sounds again in the hallway, this time closer

"Shadow, where are you?"

"I can't be alone for 5 minutes!" he said, before heading to the door of the room.

Just as he was about to reach it, a small yellow fox appeared in the door. he had the particularity to have two tails instead of one. As soon as he saw Shadow, he began to smile.

"Ah, you're there Shadow, I was looking for you everywhere."

"I know Tails," the hedgehog replied, "Why didn't you think I thought I was?"

At these words, Tails' smile fell, as did his ears, two tails, and head.

"Oh, sorry Shadow," Tails began, in a weak and hesitant voice, "I didn't know you wanted to be alone."

Shadow felt in this voice a real regret, but also a touch of sadness, probably due to the fact that Shadow was trying to avoid him. For a split second, Shadow felt like a knot in his stomach, a feeling of guilt that was beginning to gnaw at him. But he chased it away as quickly as it had arrived, remembering that he had never asked for the kitsune to be in the game, he had invited himself. Shadow then resumed his usual harsh expression and, without saying a word, walked through the door and headed for the generator room, without paying attention to Tails.

"Well, we have work to do! Come on, let's hurl!" Shadow launched, in a disapproving tone.

At these words, Tails began to follow him and his face became even sadder and guilty, which again did not flinch Shadow, who continued to walk at a fast pace, whom Tails had difficulty following while walking. Shadow felt guilty again, recalling the pain Tails had experienced on the day of Sonic's death.

Shadow, Tails, Sonic and Knuckles had just infiltrated one of Eggman's bases in order to foil one of these plans, as always. As always, they had crossed the corridors destroying all the robots. They had as always reached Eggman's control room to disable the procedure for launching a missile, directed at Spagonia this time, and as always they had succeeded. But this time, something was going to change.

The four of them were in the control room, now completely dead after Tails viruses it. The four friends laughed together, finally at least three of them. For the fourth remained of ice in his corner, as usual. Sonic decided to approach him:

"Bah then Shadow," Sonic said, "don't you celebrate this victory?"

Shadow turned to Sonic, his eyes full of reproach and his arms crossed.

"How can you rejoice while Eggman is still free! We beat him this time, but he will come back!".

Unsurprisingly, Shadow saw that Sonic's expression did not change at all, on the contrary, he was more confident than ever. He put one hand on Shadow's shoulder and raised his thumb in front of him from the other, a big smile on his lips.

"And then we'll beat him again, and one day, we will stop him, I'm confident."

Suddenly, Shadow got upset. He gritted his teeth, unhooked his arms, and punched Sonic in the face, which sent him waltzing at the other end of the room, to everyone's surprise. Tails rushed to Sonic, while Knuckles headed towards Shadow, still angry.

"Are you nuts ?!" Screamed Knuckles, mad with rage, "What took you!"

Shadow turned to Knuckles, his eyes full of fury.

"I'm doing very well!" He replied, "It is you who do not seem to understand! You seem to take it all for a game, but it's very serious. Eggman is a psychopath, who will do everything, I mean EVERYTHING, to conquer this planet. One day, he may be farting as he almost did on the ARK when I woke up and maybe will destroy us all!"

Knuckles was going to answer, but it was another voice that took over, Tails' voice, which surprisingly was very calm.

"No Knuckles, he's right. From the outside, we may seem to take all this lightly, but you must know Shadow that deep down, we think like you. We know that Eggman is a dangerous criminal, a madman who will not hesitate to destroy us all, as long as he does not risk anything. We see today's battle as a victory, but also as a defeat, like you. But us, we hide it, we try to remain optimistic, because we are the heroes of this world for many people, and as such we must carry hope, and it is not by languishing about our defeats that we will get there."

Shadow seemed to have calmed down slightly, seeming to both captivate and surprised by Tails' speech. However, he still replied in a serious and vindictive tone.

"Hope is good, but false hope is horrible. You have to wake up: it's a miracle that with the number of times you've let him go, we're not all dead or under his control."

Everyone remained silent, seemingly unable to find a way to respond to this. They were aware that as time progressed, the greater the risk that Eggman would crack is, especially with the number of defeats he had suffered. Even Sonic, now recovered of the punch, and usually the most optimistic, does not say a word. After a few minutes, he got up, which drew attention to him, and seemed to mean something.

"Shadow …"

But he was interrupted by the sound of an explosion that broke the door and sent the four companions to fly to the other end of the room, sounded by the shock of their fall. The first to stand up was Shadow. He straightened up with difficulty, holding his head so much pain and buzzing in his ears were important. His vision was still blurred, and the thick cloud of smoke did not help. But the voice that rose from silence immediately made Shadow, and all the others, fully regained their spirits.

"No! How is that possible! How could you beat me, AGAIN!".

The smoke had now dissipated enough to see Eggman's figure standing near the door, looking at his pirated computer. What struck Shadow in the first was this spark in the doctor's eyes, that hysterical glow, the same as in his voice, which chilled Shadow's blood, and it would seem that everyone felt it, given the suspicious and slightly worried expression of his companions. Even Sonic did not respond to Eggman, as usual, so much the shock was important.

"IT'S NOT POSSIBLE! YOU ALWAYS BEAT ME! I AM THE SMARTEST BEING ON THIS PLANET, AND EVEN MY MOST INGENIOUS PLANS, YOU THWART THEM! YOU ARE A BUNCH OF WOODLICE COMPARED TO ME, AND I ALWAYS LOSE! BESIDES ..."

Everyone was now frozen by such a fit of rage and madness on the part of the Doctor. They had never seen him like that.

"I'M GOING TO DO WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE A LONG TIME AGO: ELIMINATE THE INFECTION!"

At these words, he went to the console controlling the reactors of the base. The 4 mobians then became livid, having guessed what he was going to do. Sonic and Shadow, in a synchronized motion, began to run towards the Doctor, but came up against a protective shield, which unfolded just as they were about to pass, knocking them out. Tails and Knuckles watched the scene tetanusly, as the doctor laughed.

"AHAHAHAHAHAH! YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL! NOTHING WILL STOP ME FROM DOING WHAT I WANT, NOTHING!"

"But, doctor!" Managed to articulate with difficulty the little fox, terrorized, "if you do that, you'll die too!"

"NO, BECAUSE NOTHING CAN REACH THE GREAT DOCTOR ROBOTNIK, I AM INVINCIBLE!"

That's it. We were there. The day Shadow feared the most: Eggman was completely crazy, and nothing could stop him anymore. Shadow was preparing for the end, like all his companions, who looked at the ground, helpless. But, in the midst of silence, a new voice rose, full of determination.

"You're wrong Eggman, and I'll prove to you that it was your last mistake."

Eggman did not pay attention to these words, and Sonic turned to his friends, incredulous.

"But Sonic," Knuckles began, surprised, "you're going crazy too or what? You can see that nothing can be done."

"No, there is still a way."

At these words, Sonic pulled out of his fur the seven chaos emeralds, which began to spin around him. Almost simultaneously, Shadow and Tails understood what he was getting at. They both ran to Sonic. Tails began to cry while Shadow had lost his usual closed air and spoke with genuine concern.

"Sonic!" Screaming Tails, "You can't do that!"

"That's the only way," Sonic replied.

Tails cried more strongly, while Knuckles approached, still not understanding.

"But I don't understand how emeralds can help us?"

Tails tried to speak, but he was crying too much to articulate anything intelligible, Shadow then took the hand.

"He will use the power of Super Sonic to create a barrier around the base that will absorb the energy of the explosion."

"But doing that, he is forced to ..."

"Yes," Shadow resumed, "He's going to have to stay here to hold the shield and take the energy of the shock."

Everyone was speechless, looking at Sonic, who had completed his transformation, eyes empty, but aware that it was the only way. Shadow eventually breaks the silence.

"So let me at least help you, we may have a chance to escape if the twice of us do it"

Sonic then nodded negatively.

"No, you have to stay with others. Mobius needs a defender, and only you who can controls the chaos and is able to protect it from all threats... without wanting to offend you guys"

Shadow turned to Tails and Knuckles, who between two sobs, sketched a little laugh.

"No, it's true that we're not as strong as you", says Tails, "We could never have beaten Biolizard or Solaris alone".

Knuckles nodded to these words.

"But YOU can still protect us!" Screamed Tails, "we're going to find another way, we can..."

"No Tails," Knuckles interrupted, "I think he's right."

Tails, defeated and aware of the reality of the situation, resigned himself and began to cry again.

Super Sonic leaned over to Tails and put his hand on his shoulder, which had the effect of stopping tails' crying, who straightened his head.

"Tails, don't cry, I don't want you to be sad. We knew that that day might come one day. I want you to remain the cheerful and motivated little fox you've always been. Be strong as when Cosmo died. And then, the new Defender of Mobius may need a partner."

He then turned to Shadow, who, far from being delighted by the idea, resigned himself to accepting the situation. Super Sonic smiles back and turns to Tails, who had stopped crying.

"So, you promise me to be strong?"

Tails dried his last tears and responded positively in a determined tone. He then turned to Knuckles. He reached out his hand to her.

"Partner, it was an honor to team up with you. Without you, I would have been in a bad position so many times. I hope you will continue to help Shadow as you did with me."

Knuckles shook his hand and answered, repressing a sob.

"Yes, I promise you. It was also an honor."

Super Sonic laughs a little at the sight of Knuckles.

"What do I see? The great Knuckles is crying?"

Knuckles quickly wiped away his tears with his huge fists, and resumed a serious, but also amused, face.

"No. Me, crying?! Never!"

He hit Super Sonic's shoulder, who laughed, as did Tails. Then, Super Sonic turns to Shadow, still shocked and worried.

"And you Shadow, I count on you to take over. For years, you have been helping me, but now the fate of the whole planet rests on your shoulders."

Shadow would usually have responded to this request negatively, hating to be given orders. But this time, realizing the importance of the situation, he contented himself with acquiescing. Super Sonic then reached out to him, which Shadow simply fixed.

"It has been an honour to fight with you, whether with or against us."

Shadow couldn't help but sketch a smile at these words. He, in turn, reached out his hand.

"You weren't too bad as a rival either, in any case, you were the least pitiful"

"I don't believe it!", Super Sonic told Tails and Knuckles, "Shadow has a sense of humor! We have to tell everyone! "

Shadow turned to them in turn, and pointed to Sonic's two friends, with a mix of fun and seriousness on his face.

"If you do that, you're dead!"

All burst out laughing, even Shadow this time. But after a few seconds, an alarm sounds. All the lights went out and they were replaced by an intermittent red glow. A countdown was displayed on the giant screen of the room, presenting a countdown of 30 seconds.

"THAT'S IT!" screamed Eggman, "IT'S THE END FOR ALL OF YOU!"

The four companions looked at each other for the last time.

"Well, it's time ... farewell friends."

He glanced at Shadow, to make him understand to shelter them all. Shadow took the hands of Tails and Knuckles, and all of them gave Sonic one last look.

"Also tell Amy that I love her."

Super Sonic then turned and took off towards the ceiling to pierce it. Tails then began to cry, yelling at Sonic to come back, while Shadow focused.

"Chaos Control!".

The three friends disappeared in a large flash, to find themselves on an island several kilometers away, on the edge of a cliff, the island of Eggman enthroned in the distance. This one was surrounded by a large half-sphere produced by Super Sonic. A large explosion took place inside the shield, but it held out. At least, for a few minutes, because it eventually gave way, and the explosion spread outside, fortunately weaker than the original, but powerful enough that the three friends were destabilized by the blast of the explosion. Eggman was no more, but so was Sonic.

All his memories, which Shadow had been trying to get out of his memory for a month now, remained in his head, so what it must have been for Tails. But even though he understood Tails' pain, he didn't even understand why him, a kid, had to cling to him like that. For a month, he had been following him everywhere and was only putting obstacles in his way. Even though he was doing his best, he was still a kid and, according to him, had no place here with him. And he hoped that by ignoring him, he would eventually let it go, but it was getting worse and worse. He would have to end up talking to Tails about it. But for now, the mission remained the most important, and Shadow's real concern. When he emerged from his daydreams, he realized that they had reached the generators' room. He went inside, without saying a single word, and let Tails look for the self-destruction command. For this, at least, he was useful: his knowledge of technology spared Shadow the effort of research, and destroying this station was beyond his strength. After a few minutes, he heard a voice rising from the back of the room, hesitant.

"Sha ... Shadow?", Began Tails, cautious, "I found the button"

With his speed, Shadow joined him in a split second, and the two companions were now standing in front of the self-destruction button, the one that would seal the fate of the ARK, the only house Shadow never has. They both stayed for a few minutes in front of the button, Shadow recalling the memories he had there, while Tails left him to his meditation. Then, Shadow finally breaks the silence, the voice always serious and cold, but imbued with a little repressed sadness.

"Well, go Tails, let's finish this quickly."

Tails turned to Shadow, then to the button and he pressed it. Alarms then sounded throughout the ARK, accompanied by intermittent red light and first vibrations. Shadow looked around one last time, full of nostalgia, before catching Tails' hand.

"Well, let's not hang around here"

He then concentrated closing his eyes.

"Chaos Control !"

But strangely, nothing happened. Shouted, Shadow reopened his eyes and looked at Tails, equally incredulous. He closed his eyes, and re-concentrated.

"CHAOS CONTROL !"

But still nothing.

"CHAOS CONTROL !"

Still nothing.

Shadow reopened his eyes and looked at Tails, who was petrified, and fear gripped Shadow's heart for the first time: they were both stuck on a sinking ship, with no way to escape.

I hope this chapter has you more. Don't worry, I talked about an OC, and everything will happen in the next chapter. I just wanted to contextualize a little bit here. Feel free to leave some review. I'll be back in a few days!