Cf96: Kind of a sequel. It's really low in development, so I don't know if I'll even finish it. ^^;
SonicSonic54321: I'm sure Shadow will be just fine. :)
werewolf lover99: Already done, and happy birthday to your sister!
. . .
So yeah, I think this is possibly my favorite chapter, if only for the Sonic and Shadow dynamic. I just had a lot of fun with it, but in the end, it's just a fanfiction. :)
Chapter 26: The Last Remaining Purpose
~A Pair of Shooting Stars~
Our landing on the Black Comet was a little abrupt, considering we didn't warp anywhere near the ground. We fell upon entry, but luckily there was no river of gunk around…or a creature living in it.
"Okay Tails, we're on the comet!" Sonic exclaimed into his communicator, after staggering back to his feet.
"Excellent," the fox replied on the other end, sounding pleased. "We're on our way right now, and we'll be there in no time! Just get your hands on that Chaos Emerald, and we'll be home free!"
"Roger!" Sonic called again, disconnecting. "Hear that, Shadow? This'll be a piece of cake!"
"A piece of cake, huh…?" I murmured, turning away from him and staring into the depths of the Black Comet.
"…it'll be more like a Final Haunt to me."
Final Haunt-
It was Sonic's first time on the comet, and considering we had warped into the deepest recessions of the space rock, there were quite a few interesting sights. In fact, with the way Sonic was hopping around, you'd think we were tourists or something… I was just about to reprimand him for his behavior when he stepped next to me and gave me a no-nonsense look.
"Well Shadow, it looks like we've reached the climax of our little game…time to make the big boss man responsible for this invasion step up and pay!"
"…not necessarily the words I would've chosen, but I agree. Let's get down to business."
"Yeah!" Sonic whooped, throwing his hand into the air. I just stood and stared at it. When I didn't immediately respond to the gesture, he gave me a quizzical look. "Well, don't leave me hanging!"
I was so lost.
"…what is it you want me to do?"
Sonic looked faint. "Have you never heard of a high five? All you have to do is slap my hand and we cheer and stuff!"
"No thanks- sounds juvenile."
"Ugh, and you call me the indignant one," Sonic huffed, pulling his hand away like I had burned it or something. I scowled and marched off.
"I call you 'ignorant', not 'indignant', moron…"
Sonic just shrugged like it didn't matter to him and forged into one of the Black Comet's many vast tunnels. Just like before, they had a luminescent glow about them, but since we were deeper inside the comet, there was also a pungent odor in the air, and I wondered if it was partially toxic at all-
"Woo hoo!" bellowed Sonic, running up the walls and doing spirals around the entirety of the tunnel. I groaned loudly, activated my skates, and made an attempt to keep up with him.
I can't even monologue to myself…
When we left the tunnel, we found ourselves in a curved path, surrounded by high walls with bridges that crisscrossed above. On some of those bridges happened to be Black Warriors, with some of them shooting at us and others leaping down to attack directly. Sonic noticed them instantly and went to attack the ones on the ground.
"They're trying to get us!" he yelled. I took out my rifle and rolled my eyes.
"You don't say. I thought they were just overenthusiastic about us being here and wanted to serve us tea."
As I blasted the ones on the bridge, Sonic broke out of a spin dash to glower at me.
"Your sarcasm goes overboard sometimes, you know."
I ignored his comment and turned the rifle in his direction, making him flinch. When I fired it, he fell to the ground dramatically while the large alien that was about to knock him out took the bullet.
"Sorry, that alien behind you was about to kill you while you were oblivious; didn't mean to scare you."
Sonic grumbled something and returned to fighting, leaping up and upper cutting a Black Warrior with a spin dash. Once I'd cleared all the bridges of foes, I put away the rifle and joined Sonic in the action on the ground. He was currently taking on a pack of three, leaving another three available to attack him from behind. I skid over to them and leapt up, striking the trio with a simultaneous kick.
That certainly got their attention, causing the three to whirl around on me and advance with their fists held high. I cringed for a moment, taking time to think about how to counterstrike, but there was never a need for that.
"Ready? GO!"
I glanced behind the aliens to see Sonic rapidly charging light, then for him to shoot off the ground and strike all three in a single hit, leaving behind a blazing streak of light. He uncurled in the air and posed, then landed standoffishly on the ground.
"Showoff," I sneered, but Sonic just wagged a finger at me.
"It's not showing off if it's the minimum of what I can do!"
And there was absolutely not a trace of an ego in THAT sentence…
"Whatever; at least we've subdued the aliens for now, but they'll be back," I stated, hurrying along. "Let's cover some ground before they strike again."
"Ugh, you really ruin the experience when you talk like that," Sonic complained, trotting uncomfortably behind me. "Leave a little surprise in your life, man…"
"I don't want any more surprises," I muttered disconsolately, intent on keeping moving. "I just want to know everything I need to know so I can move on with my life…"
Sonic had slowed down behind me. When I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, I looked over my shoulder to see him looking back at me incredulously.
"Shadow…have you ever thought that maybe…you know everything you need to?"
I turned to completely face him, folding my arms.
"There you go again, Sonic. Why are you so against me getting my memories back? You certainly know more about them than I do!"
He remained placid, other than his fists suddenly curling up and his mouth twitching. It was then that I realize that maybe this was the moment I could finally draw out whatever he was hiding from me…
"Shadow, I'm just trying to say…what if you lost your memories for a reason?" he asked, and I had to admit, I was a little astonished. "Like…what if what happened to you was so traumatic that your mind made you forget…?"
I stared at Sonic for the longest time, reading the sincerity and concern in his eyes. He wasn't telling me all this just to make things more difficult for me or anything- he was honestly trying to warn me about something.
I walked toward him, watching as his body relaxed a little with every step I took. By the time I reached him, I could stare him in the eye, and he was smiling sadly at me.
"Sonic," I said as seriously as I could manage, trying to get it across to him that this was a very important question. "…what is it that's making you feel so strongly about all this?"
His weak smile disappeared as he hung his head and sighed in defeat.
"I figured you were gonna ask that…guess I can't avoid it anymore."
Sonic started walking on, motioning me to follow. I did immediately, waiting for him to begin his spiel. He was staring forward the whole time, as if afraid to make eye contact with me. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence surrounded by the melancholic atmosphere of the comet…Sonic spoke.
"…what you're about to hear is only known by two other people in the world," Sonic began, and I wondered if he was being dramatic on purpose. "One of them being Tails, and one of them being myself…"
He took a deep breath and braced himself.
"Shadow…the reason no one knows anything about my past…is that I don't even know anything about it, due to the fact that I-" his voice caught in his throat, biting his lip, but he forced himself to go on. "…it's because I have no memories of my first ten years of life."
Holy cow.
I found myself struck utterly speechless. He just glanced back at me for a quick second and shrugged slightly. "…what?! Sonic, why haven't you told anyone before?"
He kept staring straight ahead, eyes falling shut. "No one ever asked…and besides, no one really needs to know, now do they? And if everyone knew, they'd just start worrying about me…I never really wanted to worry about it myself."
"But…but…five years without knowing…? I could barely last three months," I mused, still stunned. Sonic shrugged, and his nonchalance about the whole situation was bugging me a bit.
"Well, at first, I didn't even know. My earliest memory is me waking up in Green Hill Zone one day, with nothing but my shoes and the original Tornado to my name. I instantly made friends with some of the local animals there, and a couple months after that was when Eggman- I guess he was still Robotnik then- launched his first attack. I never really had the time or the motivation to wonder how I ended up where I did- I just kinda assumed that's where my life started."
Seeing as I was still flabbergasted, he continued filling me in.
"If you're wondering how I finally found out, I was twelve. I had hurt myself something awful after my first confrontation with Metal Sonic, and Tails had no choice but to take me to a hospital. They asked me questions about my past, but when I came up with nothing, they took a thousand tests and did a bunch of research on me…"
His face melted into a scowl just from recalling it, narrowing his eyes distastefully.
"They told me that I didn't even originate from Green Hill Zone; that I was definitely a native resident of Christmas Island. Somehow, I had ended up on a completely different island -I assume I took the Tornado- and records of any family that I had couldn't be traced." His scowl grew deeper, his fangs starting to protrude. "The theories about me went rampant, saying things like I'm actually royalty and I have siblings somewhere, or that I'm responsible for Eggman being the way he is, or that I'm just some inexplicable freak of nature…or some twisted combination of all the above…"
"…and I take it that's why you never wanted to find out for sure," I said quietly. Sonic just frowned.
"That's part of it, I guess. But later on, Tails explained to me that I must've repressed my memories- and it's some kinda defense mechanism people use when under extreme stress. Whatever happened to me must've been so horrible that I blocked it out completely…but why a whole decade of my life?"
He sounded sad as he asked the question, and I couldn't blame him. Sure, I'd lost memories of my whole life, but five years ago, that was pretty much the same for Sonic. I could relate to that much.
"Then you came back from the dead with your own memories wiped, and you've been relentlessly trying to get them back ever since…but seeing what it was doing to you…it made me think; if I had tried to get my own memories back, would I go to extreme lengths to do so?"
"I doubt it," I stated, finally finding a place to inject my opinion. "After all, I ended up mixed up with aliens, space scientists, and some kind of conspiracy…I'm sure your life story is far simpler."
"Heh." Sonic smiled for the first time in the conversation. "Thanks, but…it's highly unlikely it's that sugar coated. I mean, I repressed my own memories- my amnesia is my own fault; I naturally can't remember why I did it, but I know it was a last defense against something awful. The real reason I never wanted to know is because I was afraid of what I was getting into…"
His head sunk again.
"…and if I did know, I fear that it would change who I am…" A dry smile crossed his face as he glanced at me. "Heh heh, if that happened, I'd probably brood around like you or something."
I don't "brood" around…! …much.
Our footsteps and voices reverberated all throughout the emptiness of the comet, as if signify the importance of what was going down. I had just learned that great hero Sonic the Hedgehog only had a conscious memory of his last five years of life…and I was the third person in the world to find out. He thought it must've been really important for me to know, considering that even the likes of Knuckles and Amy weren't even aware of his condition…
"Sorry to get all melancholic on ya; you asked the question," Sonic stated, snapping me out of my thoughts. "But you know? It's really not all bad. After all…I wouldn't be who I am today."
He stepped ahead of me and flashed his trademark grin, of which I hated to admit that I was actually starting to get used to.
"For only having five years of conscious memory, I think I've done an all right job of living, wouldn't you say?"
I had to nod at that. "Yeah…you're definitely doing a better job than I am."
I had no idea how far or how long we had walked, but the inner mazes of the comet seemed endless. I hoped we weren't getting lost as we carried the conversation, but…well, I literally did ask for it.
"…sorry I made you spill all that," I murmured under my breath. Sonic just waved it off.
"No, don't give me all that. Besides, I think it's far overdue for me to tell someone new…" he proceeded to wink at me. "I just won't dwell on it."
Sonic motioned to me hurry up before dashing farther down the tunnel, whisking away like his heavy words had left no burden on him. I followed at a slightly slower pace.
Despite the fact I had said very little, I could still feel the weight.
. . .
It wasn't too much longer when the backup arrived, in the form of a whole squad of Black Arms in every shape and size. Sonic jumped on the opportunity and whistled.
"Woo, look what the cat dragged in! I guess they're sending in the best of the best here, aren't they? Let's smash 'em up!"
"It looks like the only way forward can be accessed by going up…" I realized, tracing the path that the aliens had come from. Sonic hadn't really heard me, jumping into the fray with quills flailing, and as I didn't want to get reprimanded for accidentally shooting him, I joined in with nothing but my fists as well.
Claws and fists whirled around in every direction, and I was so busy dodging the mass of aliens that I couldn't find an opportunity to counterstrike. It wasn't until something grabbed my shoulder and yanked me back did I have an opportunity to punch.
"OW! Dude, watch where you're swinging those things!"
I grimaced and lifted Sonic up off the ground.
"Er, sorry. But what are you thinking!?"
"There's way too many of them for us to handle one on one!" he exclaimed, glancing mischievously at me. "Feel like whipping up a cyclone?"
"If it's the fastest way," I complied, beginning to run around the perimeter of the alien group. Sonic followed behind me, the both of us gaining speed by the passing second. Eventually we blended into a black and blue cyclone, whipping up a wind big enough to shake the entire comet. I felt the ground quake below us as the horde of aliens rose into the air. Sonic let out a cheer at some point, jumping out of the cyclone and clapping his hands. In that moment, the miniature typhoon dissipated, whipping all the aliens upward and away, causing them to land in a pile just off the path.
"Let's go!" Sonic beckoned to me, and I hurried after him. "They've been injured, but they probably won't stay down for long…!"
"No need to tell me twice," I insisted.
With the way up cleared, Sonic and I ran up the path, eyeing the pile of aliens we left behind. Some of them were starting to remove themselves from the pile but the rapid spinning was definitely going to leave them discombobulated for a while, giving us the perfect opportunity to slip away.
"The only thing is…I have no idea where to find Black Doom," Sonic stated, simply following the path. "There's a chance we're going the wrong way…"
"I think I do," I stated. "The Chaos Emeralds are faintly reacting to the last one's presence. Maybe that could lead us."
"Yeah, there we go!" Sonic exclaimed, tapping something onto his communicator. "Tails did upload a map onto our communicators…and by the looks of it, I think Black Doom is in the middle of the comet."
I gave Sonic a blank look. "And you didn't think to check that convenient map earlier…"
"I thought I could get by with instinct…!"
This guy…
In any case, the path we were following stuck closely to the walls of the comet, spiraling upward only at a slight incline.
"This way!" I suddenly called, spotting a few Black Hawks floating up above. Their flight formation made for a perfect shortcut for Sonic and I, so we homed in on them and worked our way onto the upper levels. Ahead there was a hallway of some sort, except that there was no floor.
"You can probably Jump Dash between the walls and perform a Triangle Jump!" Sonic exclaimed. I gave him a look.
"If you were going to suggest anything at all, couldn't you have just told me to Triangle Jump?"
"…uh, yeah." Sonic looked confused. "I dunno what possessed me to say that. Carry on, I guess…"
…anyway, we ricocheted over the floorless hallway and crossed the gap, still on the hunt for the way to the center of the comet. Sonic's recent 'helpful advice' had apparently thrown us both for a loop, but I wasn't about to let that distract me.
Especially since more aliens decided to show up.
"Heh, time to have some fun!" Sonic exclaimed when he spotted the advancing crowd of Black Arms. He backed up next to me and raised his fists. "As we learned previously, it's probably not a good idea to take on these guys on our lonesome…"
"Should we catch them in a cyclone again?" I suggested.
"We could try, but maybe we should give the move a name-"
"How about we actually perform it, maybe?"
"All right, all right…!
The crowd of black aliens grew exponentially, some of them literally crawling out of the walls of the comet to attempt to defend their home.
Unfortunately for them, Sonic and I were doing the same.
We both collapsed to the ground in ball form, spin dashing around the area at a furious pace. There were more than there were last time, making it harder to round them all up, but we eventually managed to round them in the middle of the area.
Incidentally, we had to move so fast to do so that we created a lot of friction, and I could feel some sort of electric charge in the air. Before either of us could figure out what was going on, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by an electric force field sphere, and also hovering in the air.
…What the hell?
Sonic, naturally, went along with the turn of events, cheering and hollering as we spun around the force field like an atom or something. The horde of aliens within were really confused, but not for much longer, because a sudden eruption took place within the sphere. It took out all the aliens easily, but it also sent Sonic and I flying, with Sonic landing uncomfortably on a rock and me being hurled over the edge of the upper floor.
Somehow, Sonic gathered his bearings fast enough to upright himself, push off the rock, grab the edge of the comet, and latch onto my wrist.
"Gotcha!"
When I happened to pull myself together, I glanced down, only to find myself dangling above a pool of that horrendous goo, and I was pretty sure that the creature was swimming around in it, looking for some revenge from last time.
Thankfully, Sonic managed to single handedly pull me up, proceeding to roll over and pant. I sat up and grabbed my head, looking at the giant ashen mark where we had somehow managed to blow up the aliens…
"What…happened?!"
"I have…no idea…" huffed Sonic, until he sprung into the air with a fist raised. "…but it was AWESOME! Woo hoo, let's do it again, right after we name it!"
He struck a thinking pose as I smacked my forehead.
"The stunt almost got us killed and you still want to name it…"
"Hmm, let's see…we were in the air and kinda looked like an atom…" Sonic rambled, completely ignoring me. "…and that electricity struck hard…"
I sat on the ground and folded my arms. "No rush here, Sonic. Not like the world is on the brink of destruction or anything; there's plenty of time to solve this issue."
Sonic's fist slammed into his palm. "All right, got it! We'll call it Atomic Strike! Brilliant, if I do say so myself…really strikes fear into the enemies, eh?"
"Sure," I grumbled, standing back up and activating my jet shoes. I floated a bit off the ground as I motioned to Sonic. "Can we just go now?"
"All right…are you sure you don't want to make another new move? Maybe Revolver Slam or something-"
"No, Sonic."
Sulking, Sonic plodded a little less enthusiastically behind me, grumbling to himself.
"Fine…I'll ask Knuckles, then."
. . .
After finally getting Sonic's focus back in the right place, we climbed to the next level of the comet, where we found another descending and fluorescent hallway. Sonic had seen it before I did and hopped down, calling up to me afterward.
"Yo, let's try going down here!"
Sonic did have a sixth sense for these things, so I leapt off the cliff and hovered after him. He was very excited to be headed down the path, because the path itself curled into a double loop, and Sonic wasted no time in bolting away from me, creating a blue stripe in the middle of the loops as he ran straight through them.
"Yahoo! Feeling good!"
I traveled through the loops with a little less vigor, but I did know we had to be closing in on the center of the comet. Black Doom would be waiting for me…and I didn't want to think of what he'd possibly do to me, or to Sonic. Would he try to get me to join his side again? Would he try to attack me again? And how would he respond when I managed to take the final Chaos Emerald from him…
He still had that hold over me though…and as long as he had that, he had me.
I knew Black Doom had wanted me on this comet, since as soon as the comet itself crossed my mind again, that painful tug on my mind had reverberated in my head as a sign of some sort. He probably wanted us to think we had an edge on him, only to find that we had walked straight into a trap…
Otherwise he would've never even let us use Chaos Control.
"Careful, Shadow; it's dangerous up ahead," Sonic called back to me, pulling me away from my dwelling. He gestured to an upcoming corridor that was full of lasers. "Better watch your step, unless there's some way to shut off those lasers-"
"Hmph, just watch this."
Sonic stepped to the side as I ran ahead, running toward the lasers at high speed. I did some impressive jumps, flips, and spins, navigating my way through the lasers without any hassle. On the other side, I turned the hazard off, allowing Sonic to wall jump over without too many problems. When he landed beside me, he just gawked.
"Whoa…where'd you learn those moves, Shadow?"
"I picked up a few things from Espio before rendezvousing with you," I explained, ending it at that. Sonic surprisingly didn't pry anymore, either. Thus, I went to go hit another switch, but Sonic suddenly became animated and tackled me to the ground.
"Don't touch that!" he yelped, nearly crushing my spine. "If you had hit that, it would've sealed off the path we need to follow!"
"And you needed to tackle me…WHY?!"
"Sorry, I'm susceptible to adrenaline," Sonic hummed, leaping off of me and helping me up. Now that I had a crushed pancreas, I sluggishly carried on, with Sonic skipping behind me like nothing had happened.
How this guy was so complicated, I'd never know…
We headed down the path that I was apparently prepared to seal off, and I asked Sonic how he was so sure that we were supposed to go this way. He simply rolled back his glove cuff and showed his communicator, creating a holographic projection of the Black Comet itself.
"Tails is feeding information to my watch, updating the map with every new little bit found. I keep checking it while you're not looking."
"What all exactly do these watches do…?"
"Everything!" Sonic cheered, then looked sheepish. "…well, except tell time. He had to cut something."
So can it still be called a watch…?
"Anyway, we're losing ground. I think we need to pick up some speed," I stated seriously. Sonic looked thrilled at the idea.
"All right! Now we're talking!"
I called on the six Chaos Emeralds in my quills, smirking darkly at him.
"It'll take a lot of power to activate a Chaos Control like this-" Sonic opened his mouth. "-and it's a different one than what you're used to. You have a lot to learn about Chaos Abilities."
Apparently so did I, since I could apparently shoot spears out of my hands…
I started glowing blue again –"Hey! You're almost my shade!"- right before I drew on my more positive energy.
"Behold…the ultimate power!"
I grabbed Sonic's wrist as the Chaos Control warped space around us, sending us propelling through the comet at a breakneck pace, soaring over terrain far faster than we ever could have on foot, even with Sonic's natural ability.
"I've got to learn how to do this…!" I heard Sonic cry over the sound of the wind. I smirked a bit at that, racing through the comet in hopes of reaching our destination soon.
. . .
My Chaos Control certainly couldn't last forever, but when we finally stopped, it was in an area that was darker and danker than previously. I wasn't even sure if we had moved up or down, but one thing was for sure- there was no going back.
"Dude, that was sweet!" chirped Sonic, even his sharp cobalt fur hard to see in the darkness. I wondered if he could still see me… "Hey, you've gotta teach me that sometime!"
"Eh…maybe," I replied. "Um…let's head toward that light over there."
"Good idea!" Sonic agreed, running ahead. "Black Doom's gotta be in that direction!"
I was quick to follow him, but just as soon as I reached the entrance, he came running back out.
"Ambuuuush!" he wailed, sprinting away with his hands in the air. I just gaped at him.
"What the heck?! Why are you so excitable all of a sudden?! More importantly, why are you running from a fight?"
The sound of gunshots came from beyond the lit hall.
Well, that explained why he was running away…
Groaning, I grabbed my rifle, held it over my shoulder, and proceeded to march straight into the battlefield.
"I suppose it's time to fight fire with fire…gunfire, that is."
Now it was Sonic's turn to groan.
"You call that a one-liner? It's either gotta be really cheesy or incredibly unique- you're doing it wrong!"
"Who made you an expert on one-liners?!" I huffed. "You just ruined my dramatic entrance!"
"Well sorry, but friends don't let friends walk into battle with terrible pre-battle banter, okay?"
I thought you just walked in and beat things up in battle. Guess I really was doing it wrong.
Sonic looked deadly serious about how to proceed into battle, so he gave me an "I got this" look and marched into the warzone first. I held my face in my palm while I trudged after him, rifle still in hand.
He entered the area with such a dramatic flair that every Black Arms member in the room stopped what they were doing and gave him their full attention.
"Sup, everyone! I see you're all gathered to party, because we've got the fireworks!"
He then put on the dumbest happy look he could muster and pointed in my direction.
I just stood slackjawed.
"You could've at least told me you were going to give me a damn cue…!"
"I wanted it to be spontaneous!"
The Black Arms raised their weapons, and I rolled my eyes and got down on my knee, baring my fangs.
"Oh, screw this. You aliens are about to realize that you were born to DIE!"
Sonic hit his forehead. "Dang it! Why didn't I think of that one…?"
I really hoped he was acting intolerable on purpose.
This was probably confirmed when he winked at me, whisking himself out of the way as alien gunfire started to go off. I retaliated on the spot, firing powerful shots anywhere I could and taking out a dozen warriors at a time. I had no idea where Sonic had vanished off to, but I just hope he wasn't getting stuck in the crosshairs somewhere.
My concerns were unnecessary, as the blue idiot had somehow managed to get behind the horde and completely overhaul them with a huge gust of slightly blue wind, with him leaping over the pile of aliens and sticking a landing next to me, looking pretty proud of himself.
"There are so many wind jokes I could use ri-"
"Please, spare me," I deadpanned, sniping the aliens and making sure that they were down for the count with no chance of getting back up again. After one too many rounds, though, Sonic put his hand on the gun and lowered it slightly.
"…okay, Shadow, they're down now. You can put it away."
…I obliged with a nod to save time. He studied me quietly before shaking his head.
"Sheesh, you're getting addicted to that thing. How does it not run out of ammo?"
"It was specially crafted by Black Doom himself, with me in mind, apparently," I explained with a dark smirk. "When we gain an audience with him though, it'll be his biggest mistake…"
Sonic caught on to what I was saying and scratched the back of his head. "Ah…I see where you're going with this. It's a little dark for my tastes, but I guess the situation calls for it…"
"There's a reason no one ever wants to go into the darkness," I stated, putting the rifle away. "…but sometimes, that's the only way to go."
I headed out the second exit of the room, with Sonic glancing at the ground and contemplating my words.
. . .
"Okay, I spy…something black and red."
"Black Arms."
"No."
"Black Comet?"
"Nope! Guess again!"
"That trail of slime over t-"
"Getting closer…!"
"I swear it better not be me again-!"
Sonic grinned at me sheepishly; I punched him in the shoulder. As he quietly writhed in pain, I couldn't help but wonder how much longer it would be until we reached Black Doom's inner sanctum, or wherever he was…we'd just been walking down a narrow and dim tunnel, and Sonic felt the need to constantly break the silence with what he referred to as "ice breakers".
"What's your favorite food?" Sonic asked after a while, hands folded behind his head. I just glared ahead.
"While I do get hungry, I don't have an immediate need for it, let alone a specific one of choice. Food is food, and I eat whatever is placed is front of me."
"Ugh…!" Sonic wailed, rolling his eyes. "All these uninteresting answers…!"
He heaved a sigh; I just kept scanning the area in case there was a branching path or something. Sonic knew he was losing the conversation rapidly, so he turned to me and flashed a grin that seemed extra bright in the dark.
"All right, pouty pants, if you don't want to be asked questions…then you ask me something."
I was about to rebuke his use of "pouty pants", but I stopped, trying to think of what question I could've possibly asked him. I had already pried out his darkest secret from him- the fact that he was missing a whole decade of his life in his memories- so what else could I have possibly asked? Even I would've felt a bit guilty if I asked him something that revealed more darkness in his heart…things that he probably kept from even Tails…
So I attempted a light question.
"Sonic, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to see the world…why?"
Sonic didn't miss a beat. "Why not? I believe everyone should see the world in its entirety at least once in their lives."
He spread his arms and shrugged.
"I mean, it's our home for crying out loud, and the majority doesn't even know what it all looks like, other than where they live, and maybe a few exotic places that they take a vacation to…they stay in one little spot for all their lives, wasting away in their corner of the planet…"
I glanced over to him, and he was beaming at his own wanderlust thoughts.
"But I don't want to be like that. One day, I'll see every single place on the planet…! But for a smaller goal, I'll at least visit every continent first. Then maybe every country, then every zone-"
"Sonic," I interrupted, staring at the ground. "If you're so passionate about this…then why haven't you gone on a world adventure or whatever before? After all, I know you travel a lot already…so you're telling me you've never seen the whole world already?"
Sonic looked placidly thoughtful for a moment. "Huh. No one's ever asked that before…but, no; honestly, I haven't. Even if I leave for travel, it's only to find one new place to roam, not several…"
Even in the dark, I could see his eyes soften a bit.
"I love having the freedom to travel, the freedom to run, the freedom to see the world more than anything else…but I never stay away from my friends for more than two weeks at a time. They need me as much as I need to run, and we just…understand that we need time together and time apart, and in the end it works out fine…"
I tried not to make it obvious, but I couldn't help but question his sudden strange behavior. He was speaking about all he appreciated in the world, and yet there was the thinnest veil of nervousness in his voice, and he was grabbing one arm with the opposite hand…
Good gracious, what was he hiding this time…?
I was debating on whether or not to dig deeper this time, until I realized the contradiction in what he had said. I hit him with my red gaze- he knew he was busted and bit his lip.
"So, never gone for more than two weeks, eh?" I began, and Sonic grimaced. I swore he was silently praying with such a look on his face. "Then what was with the five month gap between when I disappeared and when Metal attacked?"
Sonic's pupils shrunk from the pressure, refusing to gift me with a look. "I'd never been away for Tails for so long…I kept in touch, but…I couldn't go back until I was ready…or until duty called me back, which it did…"
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"But at the same time, when I was finally reunited with Tails and Knuckles, I was so ready for an adventure with just the three of us that I nearly got them killed back on the Final Fortress…" He started shaking, and I had no idea what to expect from him next, so I wisely didn't comment. "I don't know if I'd ever be okay if I'd lost more friends because of my fault again…especially my closest ones…"
…did he just say again?
"What do you mean again?" I started slowly, and he swallowed. "…and why exactly did you leave for a longer time than usual?"
Sonic knew he was cornered again, and he squirmed uncomfortably before mumbling something utterly coherent.
Seriously, it was along the lines of something Big would utter.
"Didn't quite catch that."
He susurrated gain.
"Sonic, if you don't want to tell me, just say so and I'll-"
"I left for five months because I blamed myself for your disappearance!" he suddenly shouted, falling to his knees with his eyes looking hysteric. I paused, proceeding to whisk myself around as he looked completely out of sorts- the least composed I'd ever seen him.
"Why would you feel that way…?"
"I know you don't remember, but we were fighting the Finalhazard…" Sonic explained, speaking rather hastily and staring ahead with a crazed look in his eyes. "We were beating it, sure…but there was no way we were going to do it soon enough. We were running out of time, and we had to get the ARK back in its orbit or at least stop its plunge…"
He turned to me and smiled sadly.
"And that's how we got the idea to use Chaos Control…the only problem was, I was still incredibly new at the technique, and I wasn't strong enough to really contribute. Then you took off your inhibitor rings and started talking about how I was about to lose you…"
Watching Sonic recount the memories was almost psychically painful, since it was clearly something that had bothered him to the core, and I was probably the only person who knew about this…and worse, I'd been the one to cause it.
"And just before it was too late, we activated Chaos Control, but the ARK kept getting closer and closer, and the next thing I knew…" his voice hitched, and he covered his mouth simply out of embarrassment. "…you smiled at me and shoved me out of the way. I went tumbling, so I couldn't really see well, but you'd managed to warp the ARK back into orbit, but I think it knocked you out just before, sending you flying down to the planet as it warped in that blinding flash of light…and all that you left behind was the inhibitor ring, which I gave to Rouge."
He shook his head, now frowning deeply.
"If only I had been more adept at Chaos Control…then you wouldn't have pushed me, we would've warped the ARK in time, and you wouldn't have disappeared…" Sonic continued. "After we went home, I couldn't face anyone. They were all so sad, and I had to stay strong, because they were all looking to me for comfort…but how could I comfort them when I was the cause of their sadness?"
XxX
Finally…the recollection of what happened to me before losing my memories came back to me. Sonic's confession had helped me to remember…
I remembered…that just as the Finalhazard was on its last ropes, we had exchanged a look and a confirmatory nod before flying straight into the Finalhazard, doing the last blow, and believing we had secured the safety of the planet. With hardly any life to sustain itself on, the Finalhazard went limp, dangling from the side of the ARK. In celebration, the two of us slapped a high five.
"Did you really think you had a chance?" scoffed Sonic confidently.
"Hmph, I knew you were nothing but a pathetic prototype…" I grumbled as well, referring to the no longer active Finalhazard.
After our small celebration, we turned back to look at the ARK, except that it had drifted too close to the planet, and now the planet's gravity itself was causing the ARK to still fall.
"You're stopping right here!" Sonic suddenly shouted, freezing in place and trying to propel the ARK away from the planet, and by the way his hands were positioned, I knew he was going to try to warp it back into place.
But there was no way he could do it alone…even with my help, would we still be successful…?
I growled, fearing that the promise I owed to Maria may not be fulfilled after all…thus, I took the same position as Sonic and roared with determination.
"No way that's getting through!"
As we made our last stand, I recalled everyone giving us their support from the rapidly descending ARK, cheering us on right to the bitter end…
"You can do it, Sonic!" Tails called first, giving as much support as he could.
"Give it all you've got, Shadow!" Eggman exclaimed.
"If you fail, the entire planet will be destroyed!" added Rouge.
"Tough it out, you guys!" Knuckles growled encouragingly.
"You can do it!" cried Amy. "We know you can!"
"Shadow…they need you Shadow…" Maria's voice echoed in my head, and just hearing the melodic sound of her voice caused my eyes to widen and shimmer. "Shadow I beg of you…"
"Maria…" I breathed, feeling tears grow at the corner of my eyes.
"…give them a chance to be happy…" she echoed to me one last time, her encouragement parting me by giving me the strength to do what I knew I needed to do…
My awestruck look morphed into one of acceptance as I glanced at Sonic, wondering if he was having any second thoughts about what he was about to do. "Are you still confident about this?"
"I never lose my confidence," Sonic chuckled. I was sure he was aware that there was no way he was to survive by going through with it, but he either ignored it completely or covered it up for my sake. I respected his will power immensely, and all that he was willing to do for the planet he loved…even if it meant he himself would never see it again.
In a way, he was the embodiment of what Maria had wanted…
Thus, I couldn't help but smile lightly myself.
"I know you were supporting me, but I'll be losing you before long…" I whispered under my breath. He'd heard me, whisking his head around to glance at me. His eyes were so full of life, and the same could be said about his spirit…if things were going to turn out the way I had predicted them, I knew I'd better tell Sonic what I needed to say here and now.
"Sonic, I believe I'm not the Ultimate Life form…" I began, trailing slowly. The Ultimate Life Form shouldn't be someone who sought to destroy the world…it should be someone that loved the planet they lived on through and through; someone who was selfless when it really counted…
"To be perfectly honest…I think it's you!"
Sonic stared at me quizzically, the meaning behind my words completely going over his head. "What are you talking about?"
I shook my head, hoping that sometime after this was over, he'd understand what I had meant. But there was no more time to explain anything- I took a firm grip on my gold bracelets and grimaced resolutely.
"All this time...I was wrong about Maria's wishes, which to me, was the biggest mistake I've ever made. This is the only way to make sure what's done is right!"
I removed both from my wrists, and the two around my ankles burst off when my true power was unleashed. I could feel the Chaos Energy within me grow to the max, pure power pulsing through my veins.
Sonic just gave a surprised sort of laugh.
"Looks like you went from revenge-bent vigilante to a true hero..."
"Sonic, you and your friends have taught me..." My voice seemed to be on the verge of cracking. "...you can't hang onto the edge of tomorrow because of the works of yesterday. Keep moving forward..."
"Hold on to what if- that's how you live and learn..." Sonic replied, still smiling. I was too, but it was now an empty sort of smile; nowhere not as bright as Sonic's. Sonic noticed this and nudged me slightly, giving me a thumbs up. "What's the matter Shads? We're going to save the world! Perk up!"
I remembered backing away silently, my aura shining even brighter than ever before. I had refused to answer, though I knew very well knew what was bound to happen. So, I turned him back to the urgency of the situation.
"Hurry Sonic, time is running out! You know what we've got to do! You ready?"
Sonic also backed away, charging up as much of his own power as he could. "You bet! Here we go!"
"CHAOS-" "-CONTROL!"
We both started screaming, pushing ourselves to our very limit to create a Chaos Control big enough to warp the entire ARK. In my turmoil, I looked over to Sonic, who even in his Super Form was struggling to keep the Chaos Control stable.
How could I expect him to exhaust himself when even he himself knew he wasn't strong enough to do this…and yet he was forging on anyway?
In the spur of the moment, just before the ARK closed in on us, I completely turned to Sonic, who in turn glanced at me. He smiled through his pain, and I'll admit- back then, it nearly broke my heart.
So I smiled back, and I shoved him away from the ARK's course, refusing to look back at him and focusing on making sure the ARK did not break through the planet's atmosphere.
The ARK was absorbed by the massive teleporting ability our combined efforts had unleashed, the entire space station being absorbed in a brilliant light before vanishing and reappearing back where it belonged, safe in its original orbit.
The world…was finally safe! The cheers could be heard from all around the world…they were all saved because of us. As I toppled out of the sky, I saw that one of my inhibitor rings had slipped away from my person, drifting in the nothingness of space. Sonic was above me, looking around and wondering where I had gone, before glancing down and seeing me falling. I think he looked either panicked, disappointed, or proud, but I would never know for sure because that's when my eyes drooped, and I felt myself slipping away… but I was content while doing so.
"Maria…this is what you wanted right? This is my promise I made to you…"
And with that, I fell unconscious, and whenever I had hit the ground, I must've lost my memories…
But I still didn't know why I had survived.
XxX
"There's no way that was your fault," I stated quietly. "I obviously knew the consequences, and I had to do what I could to save the world, and I didn't want to take you down with me…right?"
"Probably," Sonic murmured, turning away. "But I wasted five months running away from the truth, and when I finally buckled down and pulled myself together…you came back, and I had been so relieved, but I didn't anticipate the loss of your memories."
He stood back up, quickly brushing his hand across his eyes.
"…I've been looking for you these past three months, you know. Omega said you have been set on a path to finding yourself, waiting for that opportunity…and I was trying to find you so I could help. But Black Doom showed up, and you went all psychopathic!"
I nonchalantly glanced at the ground. That had only just been yesterday…
Sonic looked at me directly now, still frowning. "I was scared that I'd really lost you, but I never gave up believing in you. I knew you'd find yourself eventually, although everyone else lost hope at one point or another, but we all just wanted to help you."
He heaved a sigh as I tore my gaze from the ground again. How Sonic managed from time to time again to be so irritable, and then turn around and have an insightful side still blew my mind… He stood calmly, not sure how to feel after spilling everything to me. The events surrounding me must've shaken him up more than I thought, but then again, to go through what he did was a one in an infinite chance…so who was to say how he was supposed to feel?
He and all his friends…they all really did want to help me, even before Black Doom had arrived. I'd pushed them away, claiming I could do everything myself…but when had that ever been true? My memories were just as fragmented as Eggman's data, but in the pieces that I had, there was always someone with me, someone giving guidance (whether good or bad) …but the choices?
They really were all mine.
"Shadow?" Sonic asked quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry…about the stuff I said about how you shouldn't get your memories back before. Just because avoiding stuff like that worked for me doesn't mean it was going to work for you…'sides, you're really dedicated to getting them back, and it was wrong of me to stand in the way…"
I folded my arms and gave him a nod. "Well, now that I understand the reasons behind your actions, it's easier for me to pass a forgiving judgment…"
"I know…" Sonic trailed, glancing down. "I just wanted to apologize for making more trouble than I usually do…I know I'm not your favorite person, but you saved my life in such extreme circumstances…I would've been content knowing I'd died a hero, but you were even more noble than me that day, making sure one hero was left behind to defend the planet from future turmoil…"
He looked back up again, smiling this time. It looked much better than a frown on his face.
"I know you don't like me very much, but I'll never be able to repay you for your sacrifice…" he held out his hand, still smiling lightly. "…the most I can do is only offer up my friendship. You were meant to do only good, no matter what the Commander or Black Doom or Eggman or whoever says…"
Knuckles had been right- no one had been more affected by my disappearance than the last person anyone expected…
No one had been affected more than Sonic, whether he had shown it before or not.
I stared at Sonic's hand for the longest time in the darkness of the comet, letting us fall into silence just for a moment. His spiel had probably been a weight off his chest, but I'd never know…it was just that, for me, knowing the extents he'd go for me finally made me realize just how wrong I'd been before, and if it wasn't for the efforts of his friends, the world might've already been destroyed…
At last, I took Sonic's hand and shook it, and he grinned at me.
"All right, with our consciences clear, let's hurry the heck up and get on outta here, what do you say?" Sonic asked, his exuberance returning back to his voice. I could only nod in retaliation.
"Yeah…but wait, Sonic," I began, halting him in mid step. He whirled around with one foot, cocking his head at me.
"Yes…?"
"Thank you…" I trailed with complete sincerity. "…for never giving up on me."
Because, admittedly at some points these last two days, I had even given up on myself.
Sonic smirked and hopped next to me, slugging me in the arm.
"Hey, no friend of mine gets left behind…" he winked. "At least, certainly not anymore, if I can help it."
With that, we were more than ready to head off and face Black Doom, and like a pair of shooting stars, we ran on ahead at our full speeds, streaking blue and black against the backdrop of the comet…
And just maybe, somebody somewhere was making a wish that we'd succeed.
Next time... Shadow and Sonic finally get the chance to take down Black Doom and get the final Emerald at long last, but unfortunately, not everything is as it seems...