Sorry for the late update. I was stuck for an ending at first. But I'm hoping that now I've spent some time thinking of a good ending, that you'll like it! This is the last chapter, ok?
"I've come to free you," Shadow said.
Sonic stared at Shadow for a moment, before he spoke, a brow raised.
"Why?" he asked. Shadow pulled out a key, and placed it into the keyhole in the door.
"Because… Those two infants need real parents. The doctor will never be able to rightly raise the two, and probably put them in the hands of one of his robots. They need real, living parents," Shadow admitted, as he opened the cage door. Sonic walked out of the cage and looped an arm around the dark hedgehog's shoulder.
"Thanks Shad!" Sonic said to him with a smile. Shadow only ignored the blue hedgehog's friendly gesture and shrugged his arm off his shoulder. Tails walked out of the cage a moment later and smiled at Shadow. The hedgehog nodded to the fox kit in reply and then looked to Ruby and Knuckles to see their reaction. Ruby was looking down at her husband, but then she glanced at him and curled her lip into a small, half smile. Knuckles was propping himself up with his elbows, but unlike everyone else, he seemed to be eyeing him suspiciously. Shadow looked away, his ears now flattened against his head.
"Thank you Shadow," Ruby said quietly to him a moment later. One of his ears pricked back up and turned towards the sound, but he did not look back at them. "Let's just go get the infants and get out of here," he said, before walking over to the door to keep watch.
"That's going to be kind of hard. I can't move my legs, they're still numb," Knuckles replied, looking down at his limp feet.
"And you're in no condition to run anyways," Tails added. "You've lost a lot of blood from the surgery; if you weren't numb, you'd be too weak to walk anyways."
"I could take Knuckles out of here while you guys go find Eggman," Sonic offered, stepping up to the echidna. Tails looked up to his best friend with an almost shocked expression.
"Really Sonic? You'd pass up a perfectly good opportunity to beat Eggman's butt?" the fox questioned. Sonic smiled back.
"This is Knux and Ruby's fight, not mine," he replied. "And besides, I'm the only one who could get Knuckles out of here fast enough. Shads needs to be with you guys because he knows his way around the place," Sonic added. Shadow looked back upon mentioning of his name and he nodded in agreement, but Knuckles seemed disappointed.
"There's no way I'm letting you go by yourself!" he said, looking up to Ruby.
"I won't be by myself," Ruby replied, "I've got Shadow and Tails with me!" She walked up to him and crouched down. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about," she said, before kissing his cheek. Knuckles' eyes rolled down to the ground, and although he wasn't quite ready to trust the black hedgehog and didn't like the idea of his wife being with him, he muttered "Alright" and the three ran for the exit.
"We'll meet you outside the base," Sonic shouted after them, before they left.
"Alright Knux, let's get you out of here," Sonic said, bringing the echidna's eyes to his companion. Sonic knelt down next to the injured and still bleeding echidna and carefully lifted him into his arms.
"Careful, I may be numb, but it's still- OUCH!" Knuckles cried, wincing when his waist bent slightly and cause a wave of pain to flow through his body.
"Sorry," Sonic whispered, "But keep it down, you want to get spotted?" he asked, and he started running, careful not to jerk his injured friend around too much.
Shadow, Ruby, and Tails ran through the narrow hallways. Shadow took the lead, for he knew where to look, while the mother and the fox followed behind.
"Where are we going?" Ruby asked Shadow.
"The doctor would be in one of two places; the roboticizer room, or the infirmary, depending on where he headed to first," Shadow replied. "The infirmary is right down there, I'll check it out first," he said. Shadow turned a sharp corner down a hallway and slowed to a walk, as they approached a door that was halfway opened. Shadow looked back to the other two and signaled them to stay quiet.
"I'll go in first. If it's safe, I'll call you," he whispered to them, and he walked inside.
Ruby and Tails stood, pressed against the wall and breathing heavily from fatigue, waiting in near-silence for a signal from Shadow. A moment later, a growl and a crash was heard that broke the silence and startled the two of them. As soon as the sound came, it was gone, and footsteps were heard, heading towards the door. Ruby's back tensed, and she stood alert and ready for whoever or whatever was going to show its ugly face once it stepped out from the door. The steps stopped for a moment, pausing at the door knob, and then the door was swung open. Ruby and Tails simultaneously gasped and flinched, ready to attack if necessary, but it turned out to be Shadow, and they relaxed their posture.
"It's safe, come in," Shadow said before walking back inside the room, with the other two following behind him. When Ruby saw a wooden cradle in the corner of the room, her heart leapt for joy and she ran straight to the bed and peered inside. Safely nestled in their own blanket, the two babies were sound asleep inside, and Ruby let out a deep breath of relief.
"Oh thank God!" Ruby whispered, as she reached down and brushed a hand gently against one of the baby's warm, pink cheeks.
After seeing the babies were ok, Tails' attention began to stray, and he walked towards the door. "What was that crash we heard before?" he quietly asked, but he was quickly answered when he saw the pile of remains of a smashed robot lying near the door. "Oh… I guess it was that," Tails muttered, and he knelt down to look at the parts.
"The robot was probably assigned to take care of the infants," Shadow replied from behind Tails, causing the young fox to flinch and look up at the hedgehog behind him. "It probably wasn't armed or anything, but better safe than sorry," Shadow continued. Tails just looked at the hedgehog for a few moments, thinking over his statement before he said it.
"Y'know, you're the only reason these babies are still alive right now. Thank you Shadow," he said with a warm smile. Shadow looked to the little fox for a moment, before he began to feel a strange feeling in his chest, and he looked down and walked out the door and leaned against the wall. He couldn't quite describe this feeling he had, and he hadn't felt it in quite awhile either.
"You don't have to be embarrassed," Tails said, walking out the door to be with Shadow. After seeing the dark hedgehog's reaction to what he said, he worried that he may have gone too far with what he said; Shadow was not normally a "touchy-feely" kind of guy. "Y-You're a hero. That's nothing to be ashamed of," Tails clarified, placing a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. Shadow didn't look to him when he spoke.
"I feel like my heart is being torn open," he said quietly, looking down at the ground.
"Oh no, are you hurt?" Tails asked fearfully.
"No," Shadow quickly replied, stopping Tails from continuing. Shadow turned his head to look at the fox. "No," he repeated, "It feels… good." He looked forward again and huffed, shaking his head slightly. "I haven't felt this way in a very long time… not since I last saw Maria," he said in nearly a whisper. Tails felt a lump forming in his throat. He remembered Shadow murmuring something about Maria several times before, she must've been someone important to him. He wanted to ask, but feared it was too sensitive of a topic, and he just remained quiet.
After a moment of silence, the fox's hand still resting on Shadow's shoulder, Ruby emerged from the room with the two naked, slumbering babies in her arms.
"Are we ready to go?" she said to the two guys. Tails' hand slid back to his side, and he turned to face Ruby.
"Yeah, let's get out of here as soon as possible," Tails said.
"I'm about ready to pound that egghead's face in so far!" Ruby sneered with a grin. That was when Shadow spoke up.
"It's probably best if we didn't," he said, turning to face them. "We're lucky he wasn't with the infants, so to prevent any further complications, I highly suggest we just sneak out without making a big scene, and deal with the Doctor another day," he suggested. Ruby sighed disappointedly.
"I guess you're right," she admitted. "We should just get these two to safety right now," she said, looking down at the babies in her arms.
"How're we going to get out of here then?" Tails asked, looking to Shadow for an answer. Without a reply, Shadow began running. Suspecting that he was headed to the exit, Ruby handed one of the babies to Tails for easier carrying, and the two took off after him.
The three animals ran down the strangely silent paths, the only sound being their tapping feet on the metal floors. Tails looked down at the baby he held, when he heard a small whimper. The baby's eyes were flicking open slightly. Fearful that the baby might wake up and start to cry, thus alerting Eggman of their escape, Tails hummed a lullaby and brought one of his tails up and curled it around the baby, who hugged onto it for warmth. That seemed to have done the trick, and the baby fell into a silent slumber again.
"Sonic and Knuckles are waiting for us outside the base, remember?" Ruby quietly reminded them.
"How much longer?" Tails asked, growing tired from carrying a heavy baby while running.
"There's an exit right near here," Shadow said.
But suddenly, Shadow skidded to a halt, and the other two nearly slammed into his back. Standing in the way of the exit, there had to be at least 50 robots standing in the way, and each one had their weapons ready and aimed at the animals.
"Oh ho ho!" a familiar laugh came over the loudspeaker. Ruby growled angrily and looked up at the ceiling. "Very clever you three, very clever indeed!" Eggman's voice proclaimed. "Who would've thought Shadow the hedgehog would decide to become noble! Lucky for me, I always have my exits barricaded," Eggman's voice sneered.
"Let us out! Don't make us fight you!" Ruby shouted angrily. "It'd be a real shame if you lost your old robots along with the ones you had plans for!"
Eggman laughed again, then replied. "Oh, don't worry my dear. I will let you out," he said, a hint of fake sympathy in his voice. "It's just that, my exits have a small toll fee; I'll let you out of my base, once you're roboticized!" he threatened, and the robots began to advance. Tails leaned against Ruby fearfully, and Shadow stood frozen in his spot in front of them. Ruby covered her baby's body with her arms in a protective manner, and her ears flattened against her head.
"Don't worry Tails, nothing's going to happen to us," she whispered to the scared kit, and she looped an arm around his waist into a tight side hug.
Eggman's laughter echoed through the ceiling as the robots continued to clank closer to them, and the twins began to wake from the loud sounds. The one in Tails' arms, the lighter sleeper, awoke first and began to wail. Shadow was paralyzed in thought for a moment, as the robots grew dangerously close to him, their weapons ready for fire.
Ruby and Tails were huddled together with their eyes clenched shut, the crying babies in the center to protect them, and Tails' tails wrapped around each other for safety. But suddenly, Ruby felt something grab her by the hand, and she opened her eyes. Shadow stood next to her, squeezing her hand in his tight, and in the other, he held a green chaos emerald.
"Shadow, what are you doing?" Ruby asked, catching Tails' attention as well.
"Take Tails' hand," Shadow commanded to her. Ruby obeyed without question, and suddenly, they both felt a tingling sensation in their limbs. As the robots circled around them, the three of them, and the two babies, all disappeared in a burst of green light.
Shadow, Ruby, Tails, and the twins all reappeared outside the base, standing knee-high in the freezing-cold snow. Ruby was hoping this wasn't just a dream, as she looked around at the white-covered trees and open woods.
"Th-That was chaos control!" Tails exclaimed, and Ruby looked back at the fox. "Wow! So that's what that feels like!" They both looked to Shadow, who looked a little less than ok. The dark hedgehog swayed on his feet, and he looked about ready to pass out. Tails quickly handed off the baby to Ruby, and he came up to Shadow and steadied him.
"You ok Shads?" he asked. Shadow nodded and put a hand to his head.
"Yeah," he said, no louder than a whisper. "The more people I take with me in chaos control, the more energy it takes out of me," he explained.
Ruby bounced the two babies in her arms gently, trying to calm the still upset babies. Now, the bitter cold wind was blowing against their naked and thin-furred bodies, and Ruby feared they'd get sick… or worse. "Don't worry. You've made it this far, I'm not about to lose you now," she whispered to the twins, nuzzling her nose into their cold faces. She then turned to the two guys.
"We have to get the twins out of the cold, or they might die," she told them. After reviving from his weak legs, Shadow nodded and walked up to Ruby.
"My chaos powers emit a small amount of warmth, leaving me with a higher body temperature. Give them to me, I can keep them warm longer than you can," he explained. Hesitantly, Ruby allowed Shadow to take one, then the other, and he held them against his chest fur. The babies immediately quieted their whimpering and nuzzled into his warm fur.
"Where do you think Sonic and Knuckles are?" Tails asked, shielding his eyes from the wind, as he looked out into the snow to try and look for the two of them.
"You don't think they didn't get out, do you?" Ruby asked nervously. Shadow walked forward a few steps.
"Knowing the blue faker, he and your husband have probably already made it out and are waiting for us," he said. "Our best bet is to walk towards town and hope to run into them there."
The sun beamed down on them as they walked through the deep snow, it being the only source of warmth in the chilly January afternoon. The three walked in the snow for a short while, before the babies began to whimper again. Shadow's body heat, just like everyone else's, was beginning to drop as well.
"Wh-where could the b-boys be?" Ruby murmured through chattering teeth. But just then, a familiar voice called out from the distance. They squinted to see who it was, and found there were two figures walking towards them. Ruby gasped as they came closer into their view, and a smile grew on her face.
"Knuckles!" she exclaimed happily, and she ran towards the two figures in the distance, tears forming in her eyes. Ruby and Knuckles embraced, and the tears in Ruby's eyes began to fall. "I was so worried!" she cried. "I feared you two didn't make it out alive!" Sonic chuckled next to them, and replied.
"It's sad to see you doubt me so much," he said with a smirk. Ruby wasn't even really listening though.
"Oh my God… Oh, thank God!" she cried. She took her head from her husband's chest and looked him in the eyes for a second before she realized. "Y-You're standing now!" she cried. Knuckles smiled at her and laughed slightly as he spoke.
"Yeah, the numbness went away a little while ago," he said. "It's still quite painful, but at least I can walk on my own." He then ran a hand through Ruby's hair and then kissed her.
Tails and Shadow caught up with the rest of them, and they slowed to a stop. Sonic came to Tails and hugged him, happy to see he was ok. All the while, Shadow watched everyone else as they hugged and welcomed each other's presence, his free hand gently stroking the two kits' backs. He could feel a wet layer of drool on his chest fur from the babies resting their faces in it, but at this point, what did it really matter?
Knuckles looked behind Ruby to Shadow, holding his two babies close to his chest. Ruby also looked, and then turned back to him and hugged him again.
"It's alright, they're both safe," she said quietly to him, and then she let go. She walked up to Shadow, who held out one of the infants to her. "Shadow saved both of their lives," Ruby continued, as she properly laid the baby on its back in her arms. Knuckles slowly walked up to Shadow, and the dark hedgehog handed Knuckles the other baby carefully. Everyone else crowded around the two of them to look at the
Knuckles was surprised at how heavy it was, and he looked down at the little guy and smiled. This was the first time he'd gotten the chance to see the babies.
He huffed ever-so-softly. "It's a boy," he said quietly.
The baby had peach fuzz-thin red fur, the same shade as his, and dark brown eyes like his mother. He had small ears on top of his rather large, spineless head, and there was a light brown spot of fur that circled around his left eye. The little infant looked up at his father with wide little eyes, and he made little squealing sounds through a mouthful of his own fingers.
"This one's also a boy," Ruby replied, looking up at her husband with a warm smile. The other baby looked just like the one Knuckles held.
"Identical twin boys, phew, what a handful!" Sonic commented with a big smile. "Let's hope they're more like their mother than their father," he said to Tails, who giggled.
"So, what do you want to name them?" Tails asked Ruby and Knuckles. Ruby looked to Knuckles, who gave a small nod, and Ruby looked back down at Tails.
"We were talking it over for awhile, and one of the boy names we liked was Jackson," she said, and she looked down at the baby she held. "So I think this one's going to be named Jackson," she told them, and she looked up at everyone with a smile.
"And as for the other one," Knuckles started, looking down at the little boy in his arms. He paused for a moment before he continued. "These two wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Shadow," he said, looking up at the hedgehog still standing in front of him. "Therefore, I think we should name him after you, if that's ok," he said, giving Shadow a half-smile.
Shadow was completely surprised by this action; they wanted to name their baby after him? His heart began to pound quicker, and he found his lip quivering ever-so-slightly. Finally, Shadow took in a weary breath and spoke.
"I-I think that'd be just fine," he said, before he gave the slightest of smiles to the echidna.
"Jackson and Shadow… it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Tails said, looking to Sonic. The blue hedgehog nodded in reply and ruffled his bro's bangs.
"Have fun trying to tell those two apart now!" Sonic said to the mother and father with a small laugh.
"But suddenly, a loud crash was heard, and everyone looked up to find a tree falling, caused by a giant robot. There were a multitude of these giant robots coming in from all sides of the forest. We were walled in, robots on all corners, and they were coming closer and closer with every loud, clanking footstep. Your mother and I held you two tightly in our arms, ready to fight," Knuckles narrated, as he sat on the floor next to his two sons. "It looked like it there was no way out for us! Eggman had us trapped on all sides and we were all weak, cold, and tired!" he continued.
Both of the twins were now at the age of 5 years, and they listened intently to the amazing tale. Shadow Jr. gasped and brought his hands to his mouth in shock.
"What did you do daddy?" he exclaimed.
"Well, we were all huddled together, the robots all around us and closing in fast, when suddenly, Shadow the hedgehog brought out his chaos emerald and handed it to Sonic," Knuckles explained. "With the leftover amount of chaos energy Shadow had in his body, and the chaos emerald in Sonic's hand, it gave the two hedgehogs enough power to destroy every single one of the robots in just one shot!" he said. "After all of the robots were defeated, we headed home. And we lived happily ever after, the end!" Knuckles finished, poking Shadow in the nose. Shadow giggled happily and rocked back and forth on his butt.
As the two boys grew older, they became less identical, which was a good thing for the parents. For now at least, Jackson was the taller of the two, and he liked reading and science, while Shadow was a daddy's boy; he wanted to grow up to be a fighter just like Knuckles was. Both boys grew dreadlock spines, like both their parents had, but Shadow had long, shaggy bangs while Jackson kept his hair clean-cut.
Shadow stood up and came up to his dad and touched the purple pearl around his dad's neck. "So, all this happened cuz of this pearl?" he asked. Knuckles nodded.
"That's exactly how it all happened," he replied.
"Wow! Is that a real story daddy?" Shadow asked curiously.
"O'course it isn't!" Jackson commented, sitting up after he was lying down on the floor earlier. "This is a fake story daddy made up to tell before bedtime. That cou'n't happen, it's against the laws of nature, right mommy?" he asked, looking up to Ruby, who sat in the couch above the three boys and was listening to the story as she folded laundry.
"Don't be so sure Jack, not everything can be explained by science," Knuckles said as he lifted Shadow onto his lap and gestured Jackson to come on too. Jackson walked up to his dad and sat on his lap as well, then looked to his mom.
"You don' actually b'leve the story's real, right mommy?" Jackson asked his mom. Ruby looked down at her sons and smiled.
"Why yes, I do actually," she said, setting down a t-shirt and standing up.
"I believe it too!" Shadow said with a smile, looking proudly between his dad and his mom.
"That's good," Knuckles said, lifting the two boys up with him as he stood up, and he placed them on their feet. "…Because your mommy and I have some important news to tell you," he continued, as he looped an arm around his wife's waist and fingered at the pearl necklace around his neck.
"What is it? Is it a surprise?" Shadow and Jackson both asked eagerly, and they began to jump excitedly in their spots.
"I guess you could say it's a surprise," Ruby said, her eyes trailing to Knuckles before she nuzzled her face into his chest. "You tell them," she whispered to her husband, who nodded in agreement.
Knuckles knelt down by his sons, one hand still on the pearl necklace.
"What if I told you you're going to have a new baby sister?" Knuckles asked with a smile on his face, and he placed a hand on his belly, where it bulged ever-so-slightly outward from the sweatshirt he wore.
Well, that's the end! I hope you liked it, and didn't find it to weird or anything like that! :)
I might, and only might make a sequel to this, if I can find the time or the muse. And if I don't, then sorry! Bye now!