Chapter Six – Brotherhood
Knuckles carried Max back to the family home to sleep it off, as the clean up job was started, including repairing the massive hole in the side of Angel Island. Everyone was still stunned by the day's events, and the girls just wouldn't stop talking about it. But for the parents, it was the arrival of Sukko that had blown their minds the most, as Tails filled them in with what Max had told him about his family earlier. But he frowned.
"But when he was telling me, there was a significant definite note of fright on his voice. Like he was telling me out of duty, rather then choice, because of my friendship with Sonic. Even though his family was hidden from Eggman, for their own safety, they are still hidden from the world, and I got the strong impression, they very much wanted to stay that way." He heaved. They all looked at each other. Tails, Rouge, Shadow and Knuckles. They all nodded. They were saying nothing, determined to keep it among themselves. Whatever happened, the family was safe with them. They owed that to Sonic at least. But Rouge frowned.
"But why? What are they hiding from, if it goes beyond Eggman?" She wondered. They all shrugged, having no idea, but Shadow frowned.
"I don't know, but I do understand. G.U.N. and the Mobian Authorities. They will kill Violet if they find her, and I think the family fears them in the same way. Why still hide otherwise?" He hissed. But Rouge growled, getting rather angered by the thought.
"Over what?" She spat, but Shadow just shrugged.
"I have no idea, but I suspect Sukko's at the heart of it." He smirked. A Blue Hedgehog. Almost certainly. But Tails gulped and hard.
"But when Max said that Sonic and Sukko were identical. I didn't believe him." He stammered, somewhat guilty. Shadow was deep in thought.
"I wonder." He heaved. But Rouge rounded on him.
"What?" She hissed. But Shadow just frowned.
"The Hero of Mobius?" He paused. "One Blue Hedgehog or two?" He asked. Everyone eye's widened. But Shadow just smirked. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did work together to create the Hero. As you said, Tails, the brother is the King of Stealth, a master of trickery and misdirection. Hence, no one knows he exists. To take his brother's shoes to achieve a certain goal and no one knowing, not even us, is entirely plausible." He hissed, but Knuckles frowned.
"Then why not take the mantel entirely when Sonic died?" He asked, but Shadow just sniggered.
"Because that's not his style. I could see that in his demeanour, his Chaos Aura. He is the Blue Blur's exact opposite, a powerful Psychic, cool and calm. Strong, silent and deadly, is how he works. I serious doubt he could maintain Sonic's super hyperactive persona for long. Besides, why should be? He's his own person, in his own right." He spat. But Knuckles just roared in frustration.
"Then if he's so powerful, then why did he let Sonic die?" He growled. Both Rouge and Shadow objected but it was Tails who got there first. He cried.
"I don't think he did." He squealed, to immediate silence. He sniffed. "I could see it in Sukko's eyes. Huge amounts of pain. I think he tried to save him, gave absolutely everything he had, but ultimately..." He stammered, letting the sentence hang. Rouge sighed.
"It wasn't enough." She heaved, as they felt the loss, all over again. But this time it felt so much worse, now that there was family involved. Rouge sniffed. "Now I understand why Sukko's so illusive." She cried, but Tails just rounded on her.
"Hey, wouldn't you be if your brother died. I get the impression that's how he deals with trauma. Besides as Max said, he has three daughters, as well as himself, and most likely, a job. We might see him again, we might not, but it definitely will be on his terms, not ours. He very much wants Max to take the mantel of Hero now, supporting him in any way he can, if even his son doesn't know it." He giggled. But Knuckles frowned.
"But what possible job could the brother of the Hero of Mobius do?" He wondered. They all looked at each other, utterly clueless. Each occupation seemed as unlikely as the last, as they began listing them, and in the end, they gave up. They had no idea.
Tails, mainly because of Max, decided to permanently relocate his family from Mystic Ruins to Angel Island, with his wife and daughter, Amber, soon everyone was helping out. He built a new workshop there. Knuckles has a large empty building he could use, not far from the main family house, and soon Tails got to work. Soon, the new but massive workshop / airplane hanger was up and running and the Fox was delighted with it. But it took days to clean up Angel Island and almost a week before Max finally came round. He was immediately pounced on again by the girls, who were delighted to see that he was fine. Pearl grinned.
"Berry Boy, you alright?" She beamed. But Max just giggled from his bed.
"It's Max." He smiled. "But yeah, I'm fine. I just crashed after exerting all that power. I just needed sleep, that's all. It's cool." He shrugged. But Scarlet just gasped.
"How did you even do that?" She desperately wondered. With all three girls, looking at him, including Violet, Max heaved, and decided to tell them the truth. He sighed.
"Sonic's my Uncle." He admitted. All three girls just stared at him. But Pearl just gasped.
"Sonic?" She stammered. "As in 'the' Sonic? Sonic the Hedgehog, Hero of Mobius." She gulped. Max nodded. Scarlet jumped in utter joy.
"Oh my Chaos. Our parents fought along side him the war against Eggman." She beamed. But Max again nodded.
"Yes, I know who they are." He smiled. But Violet just round on him. She frowned.
"So what was he like? Our parents have told us stories." She wondered. But Max looked at her. The stunning black Hedgehog seriously pulled at his heartstrings again. She was beautiful, but he gulped. He could definitely see her father in her eyes.
"Your Shadow's daughter." He declared. Violet nodded, but she growled. She was stood by the door, and folded her arms.
"Answer the question." She hissed, rather coldly, unimpressed. Max whimpered, rather scared. This girl may have been beautiful, but not to be messed with. He gulped.
"I can't tell you very much, to be honest. He died when I was just five years old, so I never saw him out fighting on the battlefield. At the time, it just wasn't safe. What you saw here on Angel Island was just pure instinct. I'm not entire sure how I even did it. I just had a hunch and went for it. But when Uncle Sonic did come to visit me during the war, which, to be honest, wasn't very often, he'd tell me stories of his adventures." He admitted. The girls were very disheartened until Max offered to recount on of his Uncle's stories back to them. It was a favourite of his, as he told it almost word-for-word exactly as Sonic had told it him. There was excitement, danger and adventure, and of course the Hero of Mobius won in the end but it was a extremely close call.
There was silence when Max had finished. That story, from the Blue Blur himself, along with Max's incredible skills, and with what they had all witnessed, yes, all three girls believed him. Even Violet who had been very sceptical at the beginning, now believed, and immediately she lowered her guard, and getting rather excited was keen to get to know Max more. But the Purple Hedgehog couldn't answer a lot of their questions, especially about Sonic. He threw up his hands. He heaved.
"Hey, please stop. I don't know the answers to what your asking." He admitted. "But if you want to know who the 'real' Sonic The Hedgehog was, then talk to my Dad. They were brothers." He beamed. He got silence. Pearl gulped.
"What, for real?" She stammered. But Max nodded. They all looked at each other. Sonic never told the world he even had a brother. But Violet grinned.
"Will we get see him?" She wondered. But Mac deeply sighed.
"Yeah, eventually, if I stick around here long enough." He smiled. "He comes to find me on a occasionally basis." He admitted. But Pearl pointed straight at him.
"Then your staying." She squealed. But Scarlet just growled and hard.
"Er, that's for my Dad to decide. Angel Island is still his island." She hissed. But Violet just looked up. She smiled.
"Well, why don't we go and ask him." She shrugged. Suddenly, she looked through the window, then she turned to Max "I can see Aunt Rouge bringing you, your breakfast. Let's leave you in peace for a while." She smiled, and immediately it was agreed, and soon girls were gone and finally Max was alone. He looked around, making doubly sure. But unable to contain his excitement he called for the one person who meant the absolute world to him.
His father.
"Dad?" He squealed. "Dad?" He called. Suddenly, bright white Orbs appearing near the ceiling as a large ball of pale blue light appeared to have teleported straight into the room, and then descend down towards Max, who threw his arms out for it, in pure and utter delight. As soon it reached him, Max hugged it with every ounce of his being, purring hard. Then the voice came, emanated from the very ball of light itself. It giggled.
"Whoa. Max? Hey, what gives?" He smiled. But Max just purred.
"Daddy." He sniffed. But Sukko sighed, feeling the fear on his son. Fighting Neo Metal Sonic really had seriously shook his son up, despite winning. He beamed.
"I'm here, Max." He heaved. Sukko, as a Doctor, was on a break. Upon hearing his son's calls, he'd left the Emergency Room, and gone to a nearby closet, in the hospital, to talk to him via an extremely powerful distance cast of Magic. No knew he had Magic and Sukko very much wanted to keep it that way. He'd forbidden his children to speak of it, because even in this time of peace, it could still get them all killed. They could speak of anything else they wanted about the family, just not the Magic, which Max didn't with Tails. Chaos Sorcery was highly illegal, and still carried the death penality for all Sorcerers and their families, because of corruption. Sukko had been extensively training Sapphire, who inherited the power from him. To teach her the way of the Sorcerer. The way of stealth. To use her powers and not get caught. Her father had never been caught and neither had her grandmother. She died by a Robotnik's hand, for something entirely unrelated. Not for Chaos Sorcery.
However, this type of cast he regularly did with Max, hence his son's reaction to it. Sukko knew that he didn't have to be physically in the room, to be there for his son. But as Max just kept cuddling his ball of light, his son just wasn't interested in talking. Sukko realised that it was something else. So using powerful Magic to check the coast was clear at both ends, Sukko dropped the cast, the large ball of light vanishing, to much whimpering from Max. Suddenly, the Sorcerer himself, exploded into hundreds of bright white Orbs, that all descended upwards, teleporting the Blue Hedgehog away, and right into the arms, of his squealing son, who now realised what happening. He bounced in utter joy, as his father, in person, teleported straight to his bedside. He immediately got jumped on, and cuddled to death, but Sukko couldn't have cared less.
That battle was tough. He knew it, and Max handled it like an absolute professional. He was so proud, and if his son wanted to just cuddle him like a little five year boy, Sukko was going to let him. He sat on the bed in the white coat, and stethoscope around his neck, the professional, highly trained Doctor that he was, I.D. Badge around his neck, with his little boy on his lap, the utterly perfect moment. But the Sorcerer got a little caught up within that moment, and wasn't watching his surroundings, as Rouge inadvertently walks in on them. She squealed as she puts a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, sorry." She gasped, but then she stared at Sukko. She blinked. "Doctor?" She stammered. That wasn't one of the occupations they had thought of. But Sukko just giggled and nodded, as he let his son go, standing up, still leaving him on the bed. He coolly and extremely calmly made for the door, walking past Rouge. He seen the four of them before. Tails, Rouge, Shadow and Knuckles. He knew exactly who they all were. But now as parents themselves, he felt like he could trust them more.
Rouge had no idea how he was getting on and off the Angel Island but right now, as she looked deep into his emerald-green eyes and thought she saw his brother behind them, she didn't really care. He smirked at her. His voice sounded so uncannily like Sonic, you would have thought the Blue Blur himself was in the room. He winked.
"Don't mind me, I'm only visiting." He heaved, as Rouge just blinked at him, again, in silence. Then he looked back at Max and then again at her, and the breakfast she'd brought for him. He smiled.
"Thank you." He beamed. Rouge nodded. She understood. She was looking after his boy. She grinned.
"Your welcome." She smiled. He then walked past her and in another blink of an eye, he was gone. Rouge desperately looked around. Sukko had just vanished into thin air again. She gulped.
"Hey, where did he go?" She gasped. But Max just giggled.
"Don't worry. Dad does that. He's the King of Stealth." He beamed, proudly. But Rouge rounded on him, giggling hard.
"Oh, you lucky boy. He's gorgeous." She grinned. She couldn't think a higher compliment to give to Sukko. A Doctor, no less. She was stunned, as Max nodding hard, eating his breakfast. He absolutely adored his father, but when Rouge told the others that Sukko was a Doctor, they struggled to believe her. Tails frowned.
"That's a very public job for someone like Sukko to do. Lot's of people move in and out of a hospital daily." He heaved, but Shadow smirked.
"But you said, he is the King of Stealth. With his heritage, he have be a master of hiding in plain sight. How else does no one on Mobius knows who he is? If he was skilled enough, he could potentially treat someone as a Doctor, and them not make the connection between himself and Sonic. It's possible." He smirked. But Knuckles just whistled.
"Wow, he's good." He sighed. But Shadow just nodded in agreement.
"Very." He hissed. But Rouge growled.
"Well, Max is staying. Sukko trusts us with him." She spat. Suddenly, everyone turned to Knuckles. Angel Island was still his island, but he immediately beamed.
"After what that kid did to save the place, sure. Plus the girls have just asked me the same thing. They told me about Max's heritage, but I said that I already knew, which was why I was saying yes." He laughed.
Everyone agreed.
Over the coming months, Max enjoyed life on Angel Island, but Sukko didn't abandon him there. Every so often, a random palette, piled high with food and supplies for Max, would just suddenly appear, out of nowhere, on the island. Sukko didn't expect them to pay for the boy, even though Shadow had more then enough money, and would have happily have done it.
The Ultimate Lifeform heaved. Becoming a parent had changed him so much. He still the arrogant, hard hitting, battle hardened, swear monger, but nowadays, he did with both style and compassion. He smirked, going through his memories of the Blue Blur. Shadow did treat him very badly, but truthfully, he just couldn't stand his constant hyperactivity. It drove him mad.
His nephew, however, was so different. The exact same Chaos Powers were there, but Max's interpretations of them, contrasted hard. He still got giggling and hyperactive, but with Max, it never lasted, and a few hours later, he was cool and calm again, normal if anything. Sonic would stay permanently hyper for days, weeks even, and very few people could actually handle it. Tails could, to name one.
Shadow sighed, he actually liked Max. He made his smile. A reflection of his father. He shuddered. Sukko. But talk about going from one utter extreme to the other. Silent, quiet and deadly, was an understatement. He seen the Blue Hedgehog on the Angel Island several times, since Max moved here, and never saw him coming, let alone leave.
Sukko was so crafty that he caught his own son completely off his guard. Max, with the three girls, Violet, Scarlet and Pearl were all out in the woods of Angel Island. Max and Violet were have speed contests and Scarlet and Pearls were rather noisily spectating. Violet had all the exact same Chaos Powers and abilities as her father, but they were no where near as strong, but there they were far more delicate, nimble and highly manoeuvrable. Max had the intense straight line speed, but Violet, who couldn't run as fast, despite having Super-Speed, could turn far tighter then he could. So racing in the woods, levelled out the playing field. The dense trees prevented Max from putting his foot down the accelerator and gave Violet the advantage. Regardless, multiply races always gave a different winner. It got rather unpredictable, and for everyone, rather fun.
Now lunchtime, having been at it all morning, the last race was over and everyone was now hungry. Max was panting.
"I'm done." He heaved. Violet herself, out of breath, also agreed. Ten races, winning five each. A tie. They nodded. Yeah, they'll take that. But Max wasn't looking behind him, as someone snuck up behind him and pinched him, very hard, either side of his waist. He hissed, smirked hard.
"Peak a boo!" He appeared directly behind him, his long black coat swaying in the wind. Max screamed and jumped a mile. So much as he goes flying off high in the air, spinning backwards, well above the trees, and goes some significant distance behind them, landing with an enormous crash, groaning hard. Sukko giggled, as he looked down at the three girls, whom had won his son's heart, now rather keen to meet them. They were completely and utterly ogling him. He giggled. He knew why. He was the Hero of Mobius. He grinned at them, folding his arms. He may as well get to the point. He eyed them, smirking.
"Don't worry. Sonikku couldn't land those things either." He sniggered. But still they just stared as finally Max wobbled back through the woods and collapsed into his father's arms, panting. He heaved.
"Dad." He growled. "Please don't do that. That crash was rather painful." He hissed. But Sukko just grinned.
"Well. You did go over a hundred feet, straight backwards." He sniggered. But Max groaned.
"Dad, your making me sound bad." He whined, indicating the girls, who all just giggled. But Sukko, just raised an eyebrow. He smirked.
"Oh, really. Well, the last time I played 'Peak a boo', with your Uncle, he jumped so badly, that he went two hundred and forty seven feet, straight backwards. That crash was also epic." He grinned. "Your not that bad." He added. Everyone just stared at Sukko. Pearl gasped.
"Are you really Sonic's brother?" She stammered. Sukko, put Max down and rounded on her, and all three girls backed away slightly. He nodded.
"My name's Sukko, and your Rouge's girl." He hissed. The Bat nodded.
"Yes, and this is Scarlet." Indicating the Echidna. "And Violet." Turning around to the Black Hedgehog behind her. Sukko turned to look at them.
"Knuckles?" He asked. Scarlet nodded, and then at Violet. Sukko beamed. "Stripes's girl." He sniggered. But Violet just hissed, unimpressed.
"I wouldn't call him that, if I were you." She spat, but Sukko just walked right up to her. He was taller then her and very much loomed over her. She gulped and hard, feeling the hugely immense Chaos Power on him. He growled.
"I can handle it." He hissed coldly, of which Violet immediately nodded. Yes, he could, certainly against her father. Her head fell. She sniffed.
"Yes. Sorry. Sir." She gulped, very respectfully. But Sukko just smiled, wondering away from Violet, to lean against a nearby tree. He nodded.
"Hey, it's fine." He leered. "But you might want to curb attitude a little, and read the situation first, before you speak." He advised. But Violet sniffed, almost in tears, but Sukko just grinned. "Hey, it's alright. Your young, and still learning, but your doing very well. Neither I, Sonikku, or your parents had that privilege. We were all thrown headlong into an almighty war, ruthlessly young, and we just had to do the best we could, with what we had." He admitted. "Hence the super strong Chaos Powers. They had to be, just to survive." He added. Violet nodded. She was extremely glad not to be growing up during the war. She could have handled it, like her father, but that fact that now she didn't have to, she was extremely grateful. Finally, she smiled. But Sukko winked. "Well, that's better." He giggled.
Suddenly, the girls names were being called for lunch. Sukko smirked.
"Sounds like you have go. I'll be seeing you." He hissed, and with that, in the blink of a eye, he vanished into thin air, to much giggling from Max, as the girls gasped. He grinned.
"Bye, Dad." He beamed, then he looked at the girls and smiled. "Don't worry, he does that. You'll see him again." He added, and with giggling all round, they all disappeared for lunch.
Shadow had also got to talk to the mighty King of Stealth. He was extremely keen to ask him about what happened to his brother. Sukko somehow successfully managing to sneak right up on him. Shadow could a person's Chaos Aura, as a halo around their person, so being invisible didn't hide you, and yet the Blue Hedgehog still got the jump on the Ultimate Lifeform. He smirked.
"Looking for me?" He hissed, right in his ear, reading his mind, as Shadow leant alone against a tree, causing the Black Hedgehog to jump right out of his skin. Sukko got swore at and hard, causing him to slightly giggle. He'd seen the Blue Hedgehog scare Rouge witless, much to his amusement, now he, himself, had just been had, leaving him panting rather hard. He growled.
"You need a friggin' bell." He hissed. But Sukko just smirked, as he stood there in the deep shadows, his long black coat making him almost invisible. Shadow looked into his eyes. Super cool, ruthlessly calm, utterly motionless, the Blue Hedgehog was next to impossible to read. He heaved, now somewhat embarrassed. "Please don't tell the others that..." He gulped, but Sukko cut across him. His smirk broadening.
"I caught you." He nodded. "They won't hear it from me." He sniggered. But Shadow gulped, suddenly feeling very guilty about how horrendously he treated Sonic, but Sukko just held up his hand, his Telepathy instantly telling him that. He sighed. "Don't." He sighed. "Sonikku was a total and utter handful. His hyperactivity horrendous. The fact that he pushed you to the end of the tither, is not that surprising. He did it with everyone. The fact that you still stood by his side, regardless, is what I find more incredible." He admitted. But Shadow heaved.
"If his friends found him impossible, how did you deal with it?" He wondered, looking at Sukko. He just sighed.
"My infinite patients to his infinite stamina, I didn't have much of a choice, to be honest. I'm a sprinter, but Sonikku was a marathon runner. I couldn't go as fast, but could hit harder with my Chaos Powers, specialising on one-hit-wonders, then crashing, but he could just go on, for days and days." He giggled. Shadow nodded. He'd seen that for himself, desperately wondering how he did it. He had infinite stamina, but Sonic's was just off the charts. Sukko looked down. "The fight against Eggman was for the long haul, and Sonikku knew it, and when we realised what was needed to be done in the end, it was tough, but Sonikku still did it anyway." He beamed, so unbelievably proud, it really showed. Shadow gasped.
"Wait, he knew?" He gulped. "But I just thought.." He stammered, but Sukko just cut across him. He sniffed.
"That Sonikku just got himself killed out of pure stupidity?" He asked. Shadow nodded. For ten years, he believed that. Sukko shook his head. "No. My abilities as a Psychic allowed me read a situation far beyond the normal, and when I realised what was needed, what fate had in store for us, I just couldn't believe it. I tried everything in my power to try and change it but there was nothing I could do." He cried, and sudden tears starting rolling down his face. "Eggman's permanent defeat was only going to happen one way and one way only. Sonikku's self-sacrifice, him taking the Human down with him. Yes, he knew, but did it anyway." He whimpered. Shadow jaw dropped, him going absolutely white. He has no idea. He put his hand over his mouth. Sukko looked at him. "I tried to save him afterwards. I'm a Doctor, I perform C.P.R. for a living in the hospital. I could have revived him but he stopped me. He'd had enough. We shared a Psychic Link, and with his death, it was severing, threatening to take me with it. I too was dying, as I tried to use my power to save myself but failed. None of my children know this, but Sonikku outright gave me his lifeforce to restore the Psychic Link. It saved my life. He said I had children and he was done with the world. He saved it, he was satisfied, he wanted out. So I let him go." He heaved. Shadow stared. Sukko smiled. "It caused his entire body to explode into light and dust, into the eternal ether." He sighed. "Sorry, Stripes, but you buried an empty coffin, I'm afraid." He added.
Shadow gulped and hard as Sukko walked away slightly. He heaved and yet again, with a blink of eye, he was gone. Shadow smirked, seriously impressed, but he was left with a lot to think about. He felt a huge burden being lifted off his shoulders. The Blue Blur's death was indeed 'not' his fault. Finally, he believed. Suddenly, he felt tears fall down his face.
He wronged the Blue Blur, so badly. Truthfully, he barely knew him. Sonic hid away so much during the fight against Eggman. His family, his impending sacrifice. He knew and say nothing. Shadow heaved. How did that not break Sonic? Maybe it did. Was that why he was so hyperactive? The anxiety? Shadow shuddered. That thought made him feel even worse, but that was the curse of hindsight, it was showing him now, he could have done better. He sniffed. He didn't know. No one did. What could he have done? Change who he was? Shadow spat. No. But regardless, after all these years and now as a parent, he was being forgiven.
Then he just outright smirked.
Stripes? He liked that, a lot. Opposite the nickname that Sonic called him, 'Shads', it was quite harsh, but Shadow didn't care. It was who said it, that mattered. Sukko had grown on him, hugely and Shadow wished he'd got to know him sooner. But with the war on, and very young children. That just wasn't possible. Shadow growled. He was determined to make and mends, but he was getting the very distinctively impression that there was seriously far more the mighty brother of the Hero of Mobius then he was letting on.
Shadow stared at the point where Sukko vanished from. Then his eyes narrowed as he concentrated the stare further. There was a shimmer ahead of him, that was rapidly disappearing, a Chaos Aura slowly melting away. But it's slightly cracked, somewhat misted appearance had an air of familiarity about it, as Shadow suddenly gasped, gulping hard.
"You can teleport." He hissed. Well, that explained how Sukko was getting on and off the island, but as Shadow stared further, the vanishing Chaos Aura distinctive shimmer, was heavily hinted at something else. That the teleportation had being done behind some sort of cloak. Finally, the Chaos Aura disappeared. Shadow thought.
"A cloak?" He hissed. The fact that Sukko could vanish into thin air, heavily suggested what it could be.
Invisibility.
Shadow squealed, in utter horror, as he finally realised the real truth of what was going on. The real reason why the family hid. Magic.
Sukko was the Sorcerer.
Only one being, Shadow ever knew of, had Invisibility. During the war against Eggman, the Sorcerer was a person who plagued the land. He was a very powerful individual indeed. He was an unknown male Hedgehog who dressed a long black coat. Absolutely no one knew who he was. The Sorcerer was incredibly illusive. He had Chaos Sorcery. Magic. This Chaos Power was highly illegal and anyone caught practicing it would be immediately put to death. Magic was highly corruptive. Turning absolutely anyone the purest of evil. The Chaos Darkness completely ruling all. So much so, that it was outright banned, centuries ago. That was when, what was simply known as the Purge began, where any and all Magic users, mainly Sorcerers were slaughtered on sight, including all their families. It was brutal, but such was the fear surrounding the power.
Then it was believed that for years, all Magic was gone, purged until the Sorcerer showed himself. A true born Sorcerer, the very last of his kind and now people were very frightened. Because of this, the Sorcerer became the most feared person in the world, and there was a very high price-tag on his head. But he'd never been caught. Something Shadow was determined to do. But the Sorcerer's power was immense and it had caught Shadow completely off his guard, several times.
Shadow spent years chasing him, but ultimately he was never found. Vanishing into the either. The Ultimate Lifeform just smirked, looking into the direction of Sukko's last known location, finally making the connection. Thinking about it, all of the pieces of the puzzle of Sonic and his family finally fell into place, and it explained everything. Why the family were, they way they were, and why Sonic acted the way he did during the war. Shadow's smirk then broadened.
"Gotcha."