Saturday, December 11th, 2:16pm, Mobotropolis Towers
Shadow always had good balance. Even before he learned how to manipulate Chaos, he could stand on the unlikeliest of structures with ease. The only thing that stopped him from pursuing truly reckless perches had been a healthy respect for gravity.
Now that the threat of plummeting to the hard, unforgiving concrete below has been rendered a non-issue, Shadow is free to sit where he pleases. Right now, where he pleases is the upper spire of the Mobotropolis Towers, the only place in the city that allows him a panoramic view of the doctor's perimeter. According to Rouge, Sonic and the others are taking the Emeralds out of the city today, but Shadow sees the robots patrolling the city limits from his perch. This far away they look like toys, but up close? The tracks they leave are large enough to contain football fields. How Robotnik managed to hide them from the world for so long, Shadow will never know. Each of the titanic creations is outfitted with anti-tank artillery that's able to be launched at supersonic speeds; one of them alone could level an entire town in seconds, and even the full force of G.U.N. would struggle to contain them. Their only weakness is how long it takes them to travel anywhere.
And Sonic is expecting to just fly right past them without being shot down. The idea would be laughable if not for the chilling knowledge that, regardless of Rouge's assurances to the contrary, Amy will be with them. Shadow knows how stubborn his girlfriend is; knows how she hates to be left behind. So he sits, waiting, tenser than he has ever been, watching to see if they can even come close to making it.
Hoping that they will.
As the hours pass, Shadow's anxiety rises. Where are they? What's taking so long? Aren't they eager to get this over with?
The sun has started setting when he finally hears the distinct sound of a jet drawing near. It passes over him, approaching the city limits. The closest robot pauses in its plodding path to take aim at the aircraft. Shadow watches with baited breath as the automaton fires. The missiles arc towards the jet and Shadow is unable to tear his gaze away. And then the sky shatters. All the air rushes up, there's a deafening roar, and the jet holding Shadow's last remaining friends seems to stretch out impossibly long for a second. The missiles crash into each other where the jet was, and the sky settles back into place.
"What—" Shadow can't help but start, about to express his astonishment to the ether, but instead of talking to himself, he pulls out his Emerald—the green one, the first one they found—and uses it to return to the lair.
Robotnik is laughing at one of his monitors when Shadow arrives. In lieu of an actual greeting, the scientist says, "I wasn't expecting some kids to grasp light-speed travel! Or, near enough at any rate. Oh my, things just got interesting." The genuine mirth on his face is a not something Shadow's seen before, and it's more than a little off-putting.
"Interesting, Doctor?"
"Amusing, entertaining, exciting," he replies drolly, as if Shadow is too dumb to grasp the word. Shadow grits his teeth and clenches his fists to keep from striking out. "My opinion of these kids has gone up considerably, and my curiosity is piqued."
The words 'that's not what I meant and you know it' dance at the back of Shadow's tongue, but he refuses to be baited. Instead he says, "What now?"
"Isn't it obvious? Your little friends are lost. We should find them and bring them home."
Shadow rolls his eyes at the faux concern in Robotnik's voice. "We don't know if they're there yet, and if they see the slightest hint of us being there ahead of them, they can repeat their little escape attempt."
"And that concerns us why? You're the ultimate lifeform, the most powerful weapon ever created. With all seven Emeralds at our disposal we can do anything, and there is nothing in the world that can stop us. You can take out their wings long before they spot us."
Green eyes fill Shadow's mind. If there's even the slightest chance of her being there, and Shadow cannot shake the certainty that she will be, then he'll need to play his cards right. Even without a full fleet of G.U.N. agents present, he needs to be careful. Sonic has been practising with the Emeralds too, after all, and they're expecting Shadow and Robotnik to follow. Expecting a fight to break out. Shadow hasn't even told the scientist about the handful of agents they've brought with them, or the ambush. If it weren't for Amy he wouldn't give them time to set up, but...
"No. Better to wait until morning, when they've had a chance to let escape go to their heads."
Robotnik tuts. "Shadow, what is this really about?" Shadow swallows. If he discovers the ambush, the scientist will push for a counter ambush. Shadow could make something up, but it would likely be seen through immediately. The truth, then.
"I don't want my girlfriend getting caught in the crossfire."
Robotnik snorts at that. "Which one?" Shadow falters, and all he can do is stare uselessly until the scientist prompts him again. "The Prisoner, or the Pager?"
Shadow makes an effort to swallow his mounting apprehension. "I don't follow," he tries, earning a hearty guffaw.
"Oh, I think you do. I'll admit, your little show in the hallway had me fooled, but did you really think I wouldn't catch on eventually?" Shadow opens his mouth to say something, anything that will get the spotlight off of Amy, but the panic gripping his heart makes words impossible. Luckily, Robotnik hasn't finished speaking. "Oh Shadow, I'm not angry. Disappointed in your lack of trust, maybe, but I get it. You're young, you have needs, and she really is quite pretty. If it weren't for your willingness to smite her, I'd have been worried at the secrecy. Still, I thought you'd said she's Sonic's girl?"
Shadow swallows, but he can work with this. His reputation can't really plunge any further, after all. "Was, and likely still is," he replies. "I just wanted to see if Perfect Sonic's perfect girlfriend was as unfailingly loyal as she claimed." Robotnik raises an eyebrow, and Shadow isn't sure if he can keep slandering Amy, even if only by insinuation.
"Does Pager know about your infidelity?" the scientist asks, and Shadow barely keeps from letting out a relieved sigh.
"Of course not," he replies as flippantly as he can manage. "Do you really think she'd continue to spy on the others for me if she did?"
Robotnik snorts. "I suppose not. As long as we're on the same page." The two exist in silence for a moment, before Robotnik lets out a sigh. "Fine, have it your way. We'll give the kids a night to relax, but we attack at dawn."
Shadow nods. "Understood," he says, before turning to go. But of course, the scientist isn't done with him quite yet.
"One more thing?" Shadow waits, expectant as a trained dog awaiting its master's command. "This is your last chance, Shadow. Any more secrets and I will be forced to terminate you."
"I'd like to see you try," Shadow scoffs. Robotnik's eyes narrow.
"Don't test me, boy." There's a tense minute where the two lock eyes, neither willing to back down, before the doctor waves Shadow off. "You're dismissed."
...
Saturday, December 11th, 4:31pm, Above Station Square
Sonic fidgets in his seat. He hates sitting still; hates it more when he doesn't have the option to get up and move. If the jet had less people on it he could pace, but... he scans the crowd instead. In a perfect world it would just be him going to fight 'Buttnik and Shadow, but it isn't. Can't be, really; Tails is the only one who knows how to operate his cobbled together, Chaos-powered warp engine, and Knuckles is confident that he's the only one who can activate the Master Emerald—and even if he isn't, that's not exactly a risk they can afford to take. So Sonic accepts them. G.U.N. coming along as an ambush grates, but it ultimately makes sense; they can keep Tails and Knuckles safe while Sonic handles Shadow.
If that was it, Sonic would have been fine. Except, Rouge insisted on coming too, in case Shadow pages her with last minute information, and Aziza wanted one last chance to talk Shadow out of his current path—and how could Sonic deny her anything after she spent hours consoling him when he didn't deserve it?
But then there's Amy. Of course she's here. There is absolutely no good reason for her to be with them, but she'd bullied her way onto the jet at the last minute, kicking up such a fuss that it hadn't been worth it to argue with her. So now the jet is crowded beyond reasonable capacity, and the only reason it's maintaining lift at all is because of the Chaos Emeralds.
Outside the windows the city perimeter is rapidly approaching, deadly titanic guards included. Inside the plane, everyone copes in their own way. Knuckles and Amy speak in hushed tones about the Master Emerald, Tails checks the console and makes rapid inputs while his G.U.N. assigned co-pilot stares uselessly, and Rouge is... hitting on the female G.U.N. agent from the night of Amy's rescue? Sonic pulls a face; if it was ever further from the time—
"Brace yourselves!" Tails calls out, halting all conversations in their tracks. Sonic looks out the window again and sees a cluster of rockets flying toward them. They're about to hit when he's slammed into the back of his seat, held in place by the pressure of a thousand mountains. The seat lurches and starts to rip out of the flooring, but before it can finish the process, everything is thrown forward as if brakes were suddenly applied. Sonic collapses forward, struck by a nasty sense of vertigo and something resembling whiplash. For a minute, all he can do is breathe deeply and try not to vomit, but eventually he composes himself enough to remember the key to motion sickness, and he slowly lifts his head to take in whatever steady horizon awaits him outside the nearest window. Instead of ocean and city he sees forest and mountain spreading out before them, and past that, farmland.
"We made it," he breathes, and just like that, whatever spell was keeping everyone subdued is broken. Cheers erupt around Sonic, but he doesn't join in. Something inside him feels... off. As the others celebrate, Sonic is ashamed to realize that, for a moment there, he hadn't actually believed they could make it.
His heart is still racing from the Chaos-powered jump when he realizes why he feels so off. For days he's felt Sonia declining, but now? Nothing. Just like when Manic died, there's a newfound emptiness inside his heart, where before there was an ever-present warmth that flickered like a second pulse.
Sonic swallows. For the first time in his life he feels completely and utterly alone, and with that feeling comes understanding: No matter what happens, nothing will ever go back to how it was.
...
Sunday, December 12th, 3:54am, Shadow's suite
Familiar metal walls are boxing Shadow in, but he keeps running. Maria can't outpace the G.U.N. agents on her own, after all. A glance over his shoulder reveals familiar green eyes and pink hair. A distant voice tells him that this is wrong, that he should be seeing blue eyes and blond hair, but he's too worried about getting her to safety to pay it any mind. He follows the familiar path toward the central chamber, to the escape pod. Surely they'll make it this time.
This time?
He shakes off the déjà vu as they reach their destination. Shadow's heart soars as he steps into the centre of the room and gives Amy's hand a squeeze. Except, he isn't holding it anymore. The glass tube slams down and Shadow's heart lurches. He turns, and a damp hallway stretches out behind him. Manic stands at a control panel outside the escape pad.
"Please," Maria's voice entreats from Manic's lips as he sags against the control panel. "Do it for me."
A robot with 'G.U.N.' emblazoned on its breastplate emerges from the gloomy corridor and takes aim at Manic.
"For all the people," Maria's voice continues, even as Shadow begins shouting to get Manic's attention, but the escape pod has already made its first lurch through the bottom of the room, "who live on that planet—"
Whatever else Manic says is drowned out by the sound of a dozen robots firing on him, and the last thing Shadow sees is Manic falling to the ground. For the third time in under a week, Shadow falls through space only to land in his bed in Robotnik's lair. He doesn't cry out this time, doesn't even gasp. His dreams have been fuzzy ever since Angel Island, though the inconsistencies rarely register until after. Maria, Manic, Amy; they all blur together. Earlier in the week, he'd run out of Robotnik's lair with Maria while G.U.N. agents wearing his face riddled Amy with their bullets. Only, sometimes Maria was Amy, and sometimes Shadow was Manic, and sometimes they were running towards the bullets instead of away from them. Some nights, he dreams of tutoring and spin the bottle and late night confessions instead of corridors and death and running, but those dreams are arguably worse. Even if they didn't leave him feeling guilty and hollow and unfaithful, it feels like sacrilege to dream of kissing the dead.
Shadow waits for his pulse to slow down, for his body to remember that it isn't falling any more than it was kissing Amy over the finer points of History last night. That she'd had green hair and dark eyes half the time is no more relevant than Maria having pink hair and jade eyes, and Shadow refuses to even touch on those topics until after he has the Emeralds. Amy is his partner, Maria was a sister to him, and Manic... he should have seen Manic's value before leading him to his death. But none of that matters anymore, nor can it until he's... what? Avenged someone he doesn't even remember?
Shadow wants to laugh. Here, in the privacy of his rooms, in the middle of the night, he can admit that the path he's chosen is a rocky one at best. In the morning, he will be taking Robotnik to the Mystic Ruins where Sonic and G.U.N. are setting up an ambush. With all seven Emeralds united, he will gain unlimited power. But then what? Robotnik still hasn't given him that list, and even if he wanted to give up on avenging Maria, he can't. He saw the hatred in Sonic's eyes during their last interaction. That bridge has been well and truly burned.
He closes his eyes and Maria's blood splatters across the backs of his eyelids. Manic's corpse hits a dirty, smelly floor. Amy stands by his side as he readies a Chaos Spear. No, Shadow will have his revenge. First on G.U.N., then on Dr. Robotnik. And then, after, if the pure force of seven Chaos Emeralds singing their reality altering song in his veins doesn't burn him out of existence, then he can apologize. He can take Sonic to Manic's grave, he can beg Aleena's forgiveness, he can thank Rouge for sticking by him even when he hasn't deserved it. He can tell Aziza that she will always be his mother, no matter what. He can finally tell Amy that, yes, he loves her too.
Shadow holds tight to these thoughts of a nebulous 'After' as he drifts off to sleep; cradles them in his heart as something delicate and precious. When he wakes again, the sun is rising and he feels oddly light. He doesn't try to fall back asleep, doesn't even waste time lingering in bed. It's the dawn of a new day, and as soon as he has the Emeralds, he can stop living a lie, stop pretending to be something he isn't.
It's odd, Shadow thinks. Last night when he'd been considering today and what would come after, he hadn't actually believed there would be an after, but now with the rising sun comes serenity and faith that all will be right by the end of the day. He gets up and dresses, brushes his teeth and his hair, then heads to meet with Robotnik.
As usual, the scientist is in his control room. Shadow idly wonders if the man ever sleeps.
"Ah, Shadow," Robotnik greets.
"Doctor," Shadow replies, and his newfound inner peace lends a certain civility to his tone that had been lacking in all prior interactions. "Do you have the list?"
Dr. Robotnik gives Shadow a considering look. "Eager, aren't we?"
"Today's the day this all becomes worth it. Once I've taken Sonic's Emeralds, we can take out each and every person on that list, and after that, you will have the world."
The scientist blinks at that. "What makes you think I want the world?"
Shadow rolls his eyes. "Please, you and I both know that avenging Maria was never anything more to you than the lure with which you could buy me. So, you have me. Give me today, and I will serve this filthy planet to you on a silver fucking platter." The lies slip off his tongue easier than ever. Righteousness coils through his guts and he knows that the end justifies the means. Today he makes everything right.
"And then what?" Robotnik asks, and Shadow shrugs.
"And then I never want to see you again."
Robotnik tuts. "So callous. But, I suppose it can't be helped. What need have weapons for paltry things such as manners and loyalty?"
Normally, being referred to as a weapon stings as it reminds Shadow that he hurts everyone around him, but not today. "Precisely," he replies as the thought floats on by.
Again, that considering look crosses Robotnik's features, but whatever he thinks of this new attitude he keeps to himself. "Fine, have things your way. After you have your revenge, take out what's left of G.U.N. for me, then you're free to leave."
"Just like that?"
"Of course. With G.U.N. out of the way, and the Chaos Emeralds at my command, I have no need of you."
Shadow bristles a little at that. Does the scientist really think he's stupid enough to leave with no Emeralds? "I'll be taking the Emeralds," he corrects, and Robotnik laughs.
"Uh, no. I need them to power my robots."
Shadow considers this. It doesn't really matter what they agree on in the end, but he can't give in too easily. "I'm not leaving without some way to protect myself," he argues. "Besides, I did all the work in gathering them. As far as I'm concerned, they're mine."
"Now that's just unreasonable. You wouldn't have found half of them if it weren't for me, and my robots could have gotten them just as easily as you did. They're mine. But, I'm feeling generous. You can have...," he pauses for dramatic effect, "one."
Shadow's lips pull back in a snarl. "Worms would starve on your so-called generosity," he spits.
Robotnik meets his eyes with a level look. "You're leaving, you seek the Emeralds not for conquest but for protection. Surely the ultimate lifeform only needs one Emerald to stay safe."
"Two."
"One."
Shadow growls and the two lock eyes for several seconds before he allows himself to look away, seemingly defeated. "We can revisit this later," he grumbles, and Robotnik snorts.
"Of course. But, now that that issue is shelved, we really should be heading out."
...
Teleporting two people and a small squad of robotic soldiers several hundred kilometres into unfamiliar territory is no easy task, even with four Emeralds to fuel it, and Shadow nearly collapses when he and the doctor appear in the Mystic Ruins, which is unfortunate because G.U.N. is ready and waiting for them. Immediately all hell breaks loose, but Shadow can't just lay down and give up, not when his Emeralds are reacting to the others.
"Shadow, what is the meaning of this?" Robotnik demands, barely able to raise a deflection shield on his weird, egg-shaped vehicle before the bullets hit.
"It's a trap," Shadow snarls, hoping the irritation gets mistaken for surprise instead of the panic it is. He wasn't expecting to come into things so drained, and he wonders if willingly walking into a trap is a mistake until he catches a flash of pink up in the ruins, far past combat lines.
As soldiers and robots clash, Shadow focuses on shielding himself. Chaos crackles through the air. With all seven Emeralds so close, reality feels... slippery. He pinpoints the remaining three up in the ruin with Amy, and curses his lack of forethought. Of course she'd be with his goal. Still, he can get the gems without hurting anyone. With all the Chaos sparking around him he's already starting to feel refreshed, and it's easier than ever to snap from one place to the next. In a heartbeat he's passed the combat, and something solid smashes into his face.
"Not so fast, Shadow," Sonic snarls. An aura of pure energy surrounds him, visible to Shadow through the same sense that allows him to 'feel' the Emeralds. The energy twists and writhes, as if opposed to Sonic's inexpert handling of it. Shadow reaches out, takes hold of the Chaos around his rival and twists it to his bidding. An influx of power rushes through him, and with it, he Chaos Controls his way right into the ruin, earning a series of shrieks from the occupants.
The room is cavernous, and at the centre is an altar with a massive green Emerald on it. Knuckles is leaning against the gem, his forehead resting on it while he mutters something, seemingly unaware of the world around him. Floating around them are Sonic's Emeralds, and Shadow's waste no time in freeing themselves from his pockets and joining the others.
Shadow takes a step toward the altar, but is halted by Amy throwing herself between him and his goal. "Shadow, please. You don't have to do this!" she cries, but he's come too far to stop now.
"Step aside, Amelia. I won't fight you."
She shakes her head. "Absolutely not," she replies, spreading her arms as if to physically stop him. "You must know that Robotnik is bad. Join us and we can stop him together."
For a moment Shadow hesitates, but Maria's blood splatters inside his skull and he knows that he can't. "Amy, please. Let me have this. After I get the Emeralds and avenge Maria, I promise you... after that, we can take the doctor down."
To his surprise, Amy actually wavers.
"Habibi," an achingly familiar voice calls from the edge of the room. Shadow turns to see Aziza standing in an alcove he'd previously not noticed. She holds her arms up for him and his will wavers.
"Mum," he replies, and he's ashamed of the way his voice breaks.
"Don't listen to him!" Sonic shouts from the doorway, and Shadow whirls to see Sonic running towards them, fist raised. Reflexively, Shadow reaches for the power of the Emeralds. To his surprise it comes easier and faster than ever before. Whatever that larger Emerald is, it seems to be empowering the smaller ones. It takes less effort to snap out of Sonic's way than it takes to breathe. Shadow raises his own fist in retaliation but, much to his shock, Sonic blocks it almost faster than Shadow can see.
Shadow quickly realizes that this fight will be nothing like their previous fights. Not only is Sonic clearly playing for keeps this time, he's also ready for Shadow, able to keep up with Chaos powered punches, kicks, and dodges. When Shadow freezes time, Sonic still moves with him. Sonic kicks and it strikes true, doubling Shadow over. He lashes out with a Chaos Spear, and Sonic rolls out of the energy's path. Instead of shooting Chaos Spears of his own, Sonic manipulates the energy into boosting his jumps, allowing him to hover for a moment after jumping, and occasionally even jump off the air itself in what can only be described as a double jump. Sometimes, Sonic jumps off the air directly at Shadow. And so Shadow draws in more and more Chaos, until nothing feels real anymore, until his wrists start to burn, until all at once, the energy stops. One moment Shadow is manipulating the very essence of the universe as easy as breathing, the next he's struggling to keep his footing as he searches in vain for an energy source that isn't there.
And then it's back, surging impossibly strong, arcing from the large Emerald over his head directly into Sonic. Sonic starts floating, a glow forming within him and spreading outwards until it encompasses him, his skin and hair taking on a golden tone, like liquid metal. With a strangled cry, Shadow throws himself at Sonic, joining him in the pillar of Chaos. Sonic's eyes open, glowing as red as Shadow's ever have, before the colours start leeching out of him. Shadow grapples with his rival, willing the energy into himself, but Sonic fights back. The glow ripples, spreading to Shadow's hands and up his own arms, colouring all but the angry red Chaos streaks as golden as Sonic. As the energy fluctuates between them, a power like nothing he's ever felt before infuses him. Shadow's awareness of reality melts away until all that's left is him and Sonic and power. The first thing Shadow notices when reality re-orients itself is the Chaos Emeralds, all grey and foggy, lying uselessly on the ground. The second thing he notices is that gravity no longer holds any sway over him. Next to him, Sonic seems to be experiencing the same realization. They lock eyes again, and Sonic lunges.
Moving like this is different. Before, Shadow was constrained by the limitations of flesh, but now he has complete freedom. Rather than wasting precious milliseconds moving limbs one muscle at a time to dodge, Shadow simply thinks about moving and it happens. As quick as thought, Shadow dodges and Sonic pursues. And then, when the rhythm becomes familiar, quicker. Moving purely by instinct they clash, hitting each other with fists and feet as often as blasts of pure energy. Their attacks send each other flying, but the ruined chamber around them stops them from going too far.
And so Shadow punches Sonic toward the door, causing the other teen to crash out of the ruin, directly into an active battlefield. Shadow follows him.
Robotnik directs his small force of robots with a precision that any general would envy while Sonic and Shadow battle in the sky above.
Sonic drives Shadow into the ground with enough force to create a small crater.
"Stop it," Amy shouts in slow motion, running down the ruined staircase. Before she can get close, Shadow launches back into the air and charges Sonic again. They crash, they fight, one of them goes flying, they repeat. Shadow knows he could draw in even more energy, enough to wipe Sonic off this world like rain off a windshield, but every time he tries it, the pain in his wrists flares, burning his insides. It's like trying to resurrect Manic all over again.
They continue to fight.
When Shadow crashes into the ground at Amy's feet, he can't tell if seconds have passed since they started, or hours. All he knows is that the energy fuelling him is starting to wane. He looks up to see a large blast of energy nearly at him, too large and too close for him to dodge even with Chaos-enhanced movements. Amy saw it coming before Shadow even hit the ground, though, and as he looks up she's there, throwing herself between him and certain death at the last possible second. A wave of horror incapacitates him as the blast smashes into her, so hard that it throws her against him with enough force to drive him further into the earth.
Sorry for the delay in posting, I had a very hard time with this chapter and actually wound up writing it twice before I was happy with it. But, I've finished the next chapter AND the epilogue, so next week this fic will be done! Thank you to everyone who has seen this through!