Maria's age is said to be twelve in Sonic X, but I've made her fifteen for angst-related reasons.

This chapter is also one of my favorites. I hope you like it, too.


Shadow smoothed back his quills as he observed the stronghold he was in. It was larger than he had envisioned, due to lack of information, but that was nothing new. He had made enough heists despite not being able to access classified records and information to be used to going with the flow when it mattered. He took a moment to stretch his arms and legs as he made a more careful look around.

To most others, this would be a daunting endeavour, especially when there was a time limit, but to Shadow? Just another day.

The thought made him grin.

A crackle of static sounded from his earpiece as Rouge's voice filtered through on the shared channel. "I'm in position, Doctor," she droned, and Shadow grimaced at her eternal monotone. In addition to being a thief and a killjoy 一 she was so quiet and dismissive when he was telling her about Sonic! 一 was she also a soulless robot?

...Actually, that would explain a few things…

"Tell me when."

"There's been an unexpected delay on my end," Eggman replied. "There's no more time to waste! Set the timer for 15 minutes, and make sure you find that damn fourth Chaos Emerald before the dynamite goes off! Shadow, get on with your mission right away!"

"Five minutes should be plenty," he replied flippantly, readying himself for a high-speed heist. "Here I go!"

As he dashed inside, tracker in hand, Eggman gave him one more push. "Shadow, you've got to find the Chaos Emeralds before the military finds you!"

"Aww, are you worried about me, Doctor?" Shadow crooned, his eyes focusing on the first pinging light on the radar. "Don't be. I have this all under control."

"You had better!" came the last annoyed comment until the static crackled again and the line went dead. Good. Shadow needed to concentrate on the task at hand, and oh… how eager he was to have those beautiful jewels in his grasp!

He started scaling a wall, grinning as the pinging from the radar grew louder and more insistent. This mission would be a piece of cake!


Rouge the Bat darted through the forest, wings spread wide as she flew. She concentrated, trying to focus on chaos energy signatures. She felt three behind her 一 the emeralds in the military compound 一 and one more somewhere in front of her, though it was harder to pinpoint.

She knew time was of the essence. She doubted something as powerful as the Chaos Emeralds could be destroyed by an explosion, but all the same, coming back to find them in the wreckage left behind sounded like an unpleasant chore. It would be either buried in seawater, or corpses, and frankly, Rouge wanted nothing to do with either.

Not to mention, there was an aspect of pride to it as well. She was the Ultimate Lifeform. She couldn't afford to be the only one to fail her task, especially if Shadow was going to rub it in her face, and she was certain he was.

She frowned. Shadow, despite only having been a part of the team for a couple of hours, had already managed to find ways to get under her skin and irritate her even when he wasn't around. He was cocky, self-absorbed, loud-mouthed, oblivious, and carried that obnoxious air of incredible overcompensation that most fifteen-year-olds had.

Fifteen-year-olds like…

A stab of pain went through Rouge's heart, and she dipped in the sky before righting herself again, glaring ahead. No. No. The last thing she needed was to even remotely compare him to her.

Young… Afraid… Feeling alone, even when surrounded… Putting on a brave face because it was better than hiding and crying, screaming out because the feeling of the world having abandoned her was sometimes too great, only to be found hours later by Rouge, who hugged her and reminded her that it was okay, that she was there for her, she would always be there for her, forever, I promise you Maria, I'll make everything better just don't cry like that anymore-

"Stop!"

She said it aloud, firmly, making sure she heard herself and came back down to earth, to reality. Maria was gone. She was doing this for her. And Shadow… she couldn't assume to know anything about him, about loneliness or fear or trying to pretend that the world didn't feel like an attack at every turn.

She needed to find the emerald. That was all.

The energy was getting stronger and stronger, and soon Rouge's ear picked up the sound of an engine rumbling. She landed on a tree branch and looked down, and sure enough, there was an armored truck making its way toward the compound.

It seemed as though this emerald was newly-acquired.

As she swooped down, still on edge from the memories that had bubbled up during her travels, Rouge thought that it was just as well that the government never saw their newest prize, and she prepared to unleash hell upon the poor unfortunate soldiers who were unlucky enough to be the ones to guard it.


Rouge wiped the last traces of blood off of the navy blue Chaos Emerald before letting go of the guard's shirt and letting them fall to the ground. She took off without a second glance back; if they weren't all dead already, the explosion would surely finish the job. Either way, she didn't care. They would have died anyhow once her plan came to fruition. Them, and the rest of the world.

She didn't care about them. Not when Maria's promise for vengeance still rested in her heart.

As she landed in a new tree, she tapped at her headset, tuning in to the private channel between her and Ivo. "I've secured my emerald," she said. "Preparing to return to the ARK."

"Magnificent, Rouge!" he praised, and Rouge almost felt good about it. No doubt because of the man's resemblance to her grandfa- to Professor Robotnik.

...She was getting too soft.

"I'm already on the outskirts of the island," he informed her. "Once Shadow is ready, we will leave together and transport back up."

"I might be able to transport you both, myself," she remarked, holding the emerald up in her hand, "with the power of Chaos Control."

"If we get to the point of needing that, I will tell you," Ivo replied. "In the meantime, start making your way off of the island, there's hardly ten minutes left!"

As the line spewed static and disengaged, Rouge held up the emerald, preparing to leave…

...until she sensed something new. An unexpected fifth chaos energy spike, back toward the compound. Rouge frowned, looking into the distance, puzzling over this new development.

Wasn't there also one last emerald to find?

It was unlikely, Rouge figured, that the final Chaos Emerald would have also appeared on the island, but it wasn't something she could afford to disregard. Gripping the blue Chaos Emerald in her hand, she summoned all of her concentration and warped to the new signature.

Yet, once she made it to the place it was supposed to be, it had already moved far beyond where she appeared.

Confused, she tried once more, only to get the same result. She tried a third time, just in case, and it happened again as she found herself steadily moving away from the compound, following this strange fifth energy signature across the island.

She decided to try a new tactic. She did one final Chaos Control to somewhere beyond the signature, and put the emerald away once she sensed it approaching her. Now all she had to do was-

"Rouge? I've got a small problem…"

Shadow's voice sounded in her ear and made her pause. He sounded… defeated…

"I can't believe that I'm trapped inside this locked safe with the Chaos Emeralds! I guess I won't be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore… And there's not much time left, but I was wondering… if you would help me?"

Rouge frowned. Shadow had failed? Was all his bravado truly just that? Only bravado?

She knew being disappointed was a correct response to this situation, but she couldn't explain to herself why she felt as incredibly disappointed as she did.

"Of course you're not answering, I don't even know why I bothered calling you. You're probably off doing whatever, being cool and great and… Fuck it, I'll just-"

The line went dead, taking Shadow's pained voice with it, and Rouge was reminded once more of Maria, and she had heard that tone of voice before, the hopelessness, the upset and the brokenness and…

And…

"Damn it," Rouge whispered, fingers clenching around the emerald as her heart gave in. She couldn't do it. She couldn't let another fifteen-year-old kid just die. Not when she could do something about it.

Shadow was obnoxious and self-absorbed and had ridiculous delusions of grandeur, and Rouge was not going to let him die.

Rouge focused her energy on her emerald one more time, prepared to warp over to the safe to rescue her teammate, but then the sound of leaves rustling and footsteps hitting the ground distracted her, and the chaos energy signature that she had been tracking grew stronger… and then there was someone else in the clearing in front of her, looking at her in surprise and confusion.

A speedy blue hedgehog. Rouge's eyes widened.

Of all times to run into Sonic, it had to be now.

Of all times to find someone whose chaos energy flowed as strong as her own, it had to be now!

"Hey, is that a Chaos Emerald?" he asked, pointing at her hand, and instead of replying, Rouge aimed a kick at his arm, which the hedgehog only narrowly dodged.

"Hey!" he protested. "What's the big idea?"

"Don't take it personally," Rouge responded, leaping forward for a second attack as Sonic dodged again. "I'm just following orders."

"Whose orders?" he asked, dashing behind her and rushing forth, but it was Rouge's turn to retaliate, spinning around and kicking Sonic into a tree.

"None of your business." She gripped the emerald again. "Now if you don't mind, I've got to find Shadow and-"

"Shadow?" Sonic echoed, sounding surprised. "I thought I heard Amy mention him… Wait! Does that mean…?" The hedgehog jumped to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at her. "You're working for Eggman?!"

Rouge had no idea how he managed to deduce any of that, but with the minutes counting down, she couldn't afford to ask. "You're very astute," she praised. "Too bad that will give you no advantages over me."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic taunted. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, I don't need any advantages against the likes of you!"

Ordinarily, Rouge wouldn't bother giving an answer, but there was something about the way the hedgehog spoke… upbeat and teasing and bright… it made her want to banter, in the same way she used to with…

"Then I guess you don't know who I am," Rouge responded, pushing back the pang of sadness that came back yet again. "I'm Rouge the Bat… the Ultimate Lifeform!" With that, she Chaos Controlled beside Sonic, aiming a punch at his gut which he somehow managed to get out of the way of. "And you should absolutely be afraid of me!"

"Afraid?" Sonic retorted, confidence exuding from his entire being, confidence so genuine that it threw Rouge for a loop at just how different he was from Shadow and Maria. "I'm the fastest thing alive! I don't need to be afraid of anything!"

And with that, he spin-dashed toward her, and instinctively, Rouge balled herself up and rocketed forward as well, the two of them colliding in the air with a loud crack and landing several feet apart.

Rouge recovered immediately. "I have to hand it to you," she admitted. "It's impressive that you're able to go so fast without the help of an emerald. Or special shoes like Shadow's."

Sonic grinned at that. "I have to hand it to you, too. That was a pretty neat trick you did earlier! Just appearing like that out of nowhere."

And even though it was a better plan to just keep her mouth shut, to incapacitate this hedgehog and finish her mission, there was something about him, something about his bright demeanor, about his genuineness, about his presence… Rouge was intrigued by him, someone who held a power within him that she always thought her own, and yet seemed freed by it instead of constrained by what should have been… and she answered him.

"That was Chaos Control, something I am able to do with the help of a Chaos Emerald." Then, after just a second of hesitation, she felt herself soften even more and told him, "I'm sure you can do it as well. Your chaos energy is almost as strong as mine."

"You don't say?" Sonic grinned at her, earlier hostility momentarily forgotten, and it was… nice. "I'll have to try it myself one day!"

Rouge knew there was no 'one day'. Soon enough the world would be destroyed, and more than likely, Sonic would be destroyed with it. The thought hurt her, and she cursed herself for getting so soft so quickly. She had to remember what she was here for. Who she was doing this for.

...But to meet someone who was even just a little bit like her was…

"Shadow! Rouge!"

Eggman's voice rang out from her headset, loud enough for Sonic to hear, and the hedgehog's cheerful demeanor shifted to tense in an instant, and Rouge found herself clenching her jaw as the doctor continued.

"What are you doing? Hurry and get back here, right now, before the island blows up with you on it!"

Green eyes widened in horror. "Blows up?!" Sonic cried, and Rouge knew the time for fighting was over.

"Go! Now!" she ordered, leaping away from him and holding her emerald aloft. "If you are the fastest thing alive, then get out of here." She glanced at the timer she had set for herself and snarled. "You have a minute and a half to live, and I have to get to Shadow before…"

"Shadow's in trouble?" Sonic sounded concerned, and the unexpectedness of it distracted Rouge for a few seconds, enough time for him to keep talking. "Go rescue him. He's… a good person, underneath it all. And as for me, I've got some friends of my own to rescue!"

Friends...

Rouge had no time to correct him, but was there really anything to correct? Had she really, in the middle of trying to close herself off, trying to destroy everything around her, become attached to Shadow? Had she befriended Sonic, despite attacking him?

What was wrong with her?

Yet even when she asked herself that question, it sounded wrong. New thoughts and feelings were bubbling to the surface: concern of her own, over Shadow's well-being. Curiosity, over just who Sonic the Hedgehog was. Regret that she hadn't really listened to Shadow's rambling about Sonic… Perhaps she might have learned a thing or two more, hidden inside all the information that she had prematurely assumed useless.

"We'll finish this next time, Hedgehog," she declared, feeling a pit in her stomach at the lie. There would be no next time, and she knew it. Concentrating, and aware that Sonic hadn't run away just yet, she clutched the emerald and bellowed, "Chaos Control!"

As she warped away, she could imagine the look of amazement on Sonic's face, and tried to feel anything aside from remorse.


Shadow hated a lot of things. He hated getting ambushed by a flying drone and getting shot at by missiles. He hated having to run around in circles, avoiding attacks when there was no escape route. He hated ultimately being captured because at the end of the day, he was fast, not powerful.

Without his shoes, he wasn't even fast.

He hated being locked up, holding his final treasures in his hands and finding no solace in them for the first time in his life. He hated calling for help, and he hated his pleas falling on deaf ears.

He hated being alone.

He hated being expendable.

He hated that there was still nobody in the world who was willing to save him.

As he clutched the emeralds to his chest and felt hot, angry tears began to spill down his cheeks, he hated himself, too. Shadow the Hedgehog… he was smart, good-looking, resourceful, successful… but unloved, and the crushing knowledge that he would die that way made him begin to silently sob.

"Shadow!"

He gasped, eyes blinking out tears as he hardly dared believe his ears. Was that…?

"Shadow, are you there?" the voice demanded, louder this time, and Shadow's jaw went slack.

"R… Rouge?" he whimpered, hardly loud enough to be heard, but then footsteps made a beeline for him, and there she was, rushing toward him with a mad, focused glint in her eye.

"Chaos…"

Her hand reached out, and even though it was too late, there was only seconds left before everything blew up, Shadow got to his feet, shifting the emeralds to one arm so that he could reach back.

He wasn't going to die alone… Someone had come back for him, even in the face of futility…

More tears spilled down his cheeks, and her hand grasped his.

"...Control!"

The next thing he knew, Shadow felt the world around him compress and elongate. He felt weightless, and then heavier than he'd ever been before, and then everything returned to normal in an instant and his feet were back on solid ground. Shadow's eyes roved back and forth in absolute disbelief.

They were on the ARK.

They were alive.

Rouge had saved him.

"What the fuck?" he whispered, a new round of tears springing to his eyes as he felt her hand leave his, and the bat walked over to the window, looking down at the world. "What the fuck?"

Shadow the Hedgehog needed a moment.


From so high up, it was hard to see the island exploding, but Rouge's eyes were perfect. She saw the tiny sparks of orange flare up in the endless blue ocean. Her finger tapped at her headset, and she gave Ivo a quick update, apologizing for the lack of communication, attributing it to having been too focused on her tasks. The doctor expressed some degree of relief and satisfaction at so many successes, but Rouge's mind and heart wasn't in the plan at that moment.

She wondered if Sonic was okay. If he had saved his friends, and whether he knew that it didn't matter in the end.

She remembered Shadow's eyes, filled with tears of despair and a look of incredulity at her help.

She thought of Maria, smiling brightly like Sonic, bawling with untold fury and terror like Shadow, covered in bloodstains as her shaking hands tugged down the lever and…

Are you proud of me, or disappointed? Rouge wondered, resting her hand against the glass. I saved someone, but it wasn't you. I saved someone when I promised you revenge, but… I couldn't leave him behind. I couldn't do it, Maria…

"Why'd you do it?"

Shadow was standing behind her, and when Rouge turned to face him, she saw his eyes, red and puffy from crying and covered in smudged blue eyeliner. She saw his arms, gripping at three emeralds, more pieces to the puzzle that she was struggling to solve. She saw his face, angry and confused and grateful and so, so young.

"Did you just come back for the emeralds?" he demanded. "That's it, isn't it? It was just easy to carry me back because I was holding them, right?"

She could have lied. Said 'yes' and severed this bond before it began to take shape, made the inevitable easier for herself, but in the wake of everything that had happened, all the dilemmas and the stresses and uncertainties, Rouge wanted to be selfish.

"I needed the emeralds, I can't deny that. But… I don't want you to die, Shadow."

"Why?" His voice sounded desperate, and Rouge remembered how he broke at compliments, at validation, and a thought came to her, another horrendously selfish thought that might bond him to her forever if she acted on it. "Why not?"

Rouge closed her eyes, bracing herself. "I couldn't let another one die," she said, and even that felt like revealing too much.

"What the hell does that even mean?!" Shadow sounded so frustrated, so confused, so lost and yet so close to an answer…

So Rouge caved, deciding to answer it for him. She walked up to him, raising a hand, and, too far gone to even consider hesitating, awkwardly ruffled the spines on top of Shadow's head. Teal eyes grew wide, and Shadow gaped at her, not moving a muscle. Rouge cleared her throat, embarrassed but certain, and said, "You did a good job. I'm… proud of you."

There was a loud clatter as Shadow's arms fell to his sides in shock and the emeralds tumbled to the ground. Almost immediately, Shadow caught himself, scrambling to pick the gems back up, and Rouge knew that she had cemented something between them.

She only hoped that she never had to regret it.

Rouge turned back to the window as Shadow scuffled around behind her, looking back down at the island and remembering her run-in with Sonic. She wondered if, in another time or place, in another world entirely, she could have bonded with him as well.

"I saw Sonic in the forest," she remarked, and the sudden silence told her that Shadow had ceased moving.

"O-Oh?" he asked, absolutely failing to sound nonchalant. "That's cool."

Rouge recalled the way Shadow had talked about the other hedgehog at length. It wasn't a stretch to assume that he thought highly of Sonic.

So she told him the truth. "He seemed concerned about you when I mentioned you. Called you a good person."

A second loud clatter told her that Shadow had dropped the emeralds again.


Next chapter: Rouge tries to adjust to being a sibling of sorts again, and Eggman targets the moon.