(Shadow's POV)
One eye was dark and mossy The other made of magic.
Even through her closed eyelids, I could see the light pooling beneath her lashes and beading down her face in lime embers. Like tears, except on fire. Her nose, while smashed against mine, tightened up instantly. She was grimacing. It was hard to tell if it was Chaos hurdling her into unpleasantness, or my own mouth that caused such a negative reaction. I couldn't be bothered enough to care.
"Mmm...Sh...Sha..."
She tried to speak, but I didn't let her finish. Nothing could be said. Not now. I only pressed into her harder.
Our faces fastened like a circuit to an outlet. A connection was being made. Sparks were flying, quite literally, and bordering our faces in a carousel of stars. My heart was racing, my energy boiling madly. I pushed myself deeper into our kiss and hoped by some miracle that she would respond in a similar fashion.
My thoughts became a typhoon when she actually opened her mouth just a little, allowing my tongue the slightest bit of entrance. A peek. I pressed the muscle against her lower lip and felt the electricity bite it back. The current became stronger, and so did she.
A wiry lobe of Chaos formed a cavern in place of where the bullet had been in her shoulder. The beams brightened from an olive color until they were white, and the auditory particles bundled tightly around each other, latching onto the walls of the narrow wound. They compressed together until they began to shrink in tiny beads. The hole was closing. She was healing.
My roaming eyes finally fell shut, and I wrapped both arms around my hostage and pressed my mouth against hers with as much weight as I could without hurting her. This was a real, true kiss. A total contrast from the first time. It felt right.
I presented in her every personal emotion I had ever kept shoved away. I showed her my infatuation, my fondness, my assurance that what I felt was not something I was accustomed to, but also something I was no longer ashamed to admit and practice openly. Even if for just one time. One last time.
My heart fluttered when her hands found my back and held onto it with just the smallest inkling of shy affection, before she inevitably pulled away and broke our linking mouths.
She opened her eyes. The altered one was shining as if fixed in sunlight even with the soupy darkness and smoke hanging overhead. She released several rapid breaths, her hands falling away. She'd gotten her heat back, her consciousness back. She was stunned. Nothing short of raw surprise.
"Shadow." My name drifted into the air and out towards the henna skies, like a curse having not been uttered in a thousand years. She said it once, my name, and then again in a whisper as if to solidify that she had crossed back over into reality, and that this itself was not a hallucination or a dream or a toeing of the threshold between life and death.
I nodded in return, and greeted with a, "Rachel, I'm here," as kindly as I possibly could.
I knew what was about to come next. We wanted to smile...at the absurdity of our actions, and the relief that everything had so far worked in our favor. But any possible festivity was immediately grayed. My ear twitched at the sound of a gun cocking. I turned my head.
Abraham Tower was now on his feet, trembling, eyes distant and confused. To my surprise, there was no rage in his expression. The only thing to suggest that he was pissed on every level humanely possible was the way his gun now pointed at me and his finger hovered against the trigger. He seemed to forget for a moment that Rachel was still in my arms. Otherwise it didn't make sense for him to aim a weapon in my direction that nearly ended her life just moments ago.
"Get away from her," the Commander said slowly, hotly, his voice a furnace a hatred.
I didn't need to be told twice. Something about his demeanor warned me not to test his patience. I obliged by tearing away from the teenage girl, and the Chaos Emerald, unraveling our limbs and side-stepping so that I was further away from her and felt the edge of the building lingering near my ankles.
(Rachel's POV)
Dizzy wasn't the right word to describe how I felt. It was only the introductory word that preceded a long paragraph of flowered adjectives. I'd been caught in another hurricane of Chaos; my organs were all bombarded by foreign wavelengths. And on top of that I'd lost a lot of blood, even if the bullet wound had been healed completely. I felt like my vision had flipped. Turning my head left sent my surroundings careening to the right. My eye was burning. All sounds came out with a slight delay. Shadow's heat separated from me and I was lost, feeling around for his presence and only met with emptiness. I saw my grandfather's arm smear upward, and noticed the gun bobbing back and forth in black pixels. I grabbed a handful of hair and tugged, aggravated, nervous.
"No...grandpa, wait!" I yelled, my voice holding perfect clarity even when my head did not. Just as I thought, my mouth moved, but the actual sound that came from it didn't register until a few seconds later. Grandfather looked towards me, his body suddenly becoming different colors and hues. His hair was blue, his skin orange, then yellow and purple, transitioning feverishly. Patterns were snaking through his features, but I was able to still see a somber frown, and his wide eyes that ghosted through the spectrum at different rates, each separate colors just how they were naturally.
I tried to crawl to my feet. My fingers raked the ground but I only tripped. Groaned.
My lips twisted to form more words, and only after they ceased and I struggled to stand once again did I hear my own self shout desperately, "I won't let you kill him!"
Just then, the Chaos Emerald in Shadow's grasp began illuminating a soft green. It rattled slightly before jetting from his hands and soaring upwards and out of sight. Like a reverse shooting star.
From where it disappeared, something above the clouds started to glow, sending the underbelly into indigo shadows. A beam of light broke through, and a glaring comet came shooting straight for us. We all watched in awe as the light grew brighter the closer it got, until it was riding along the edge of the building, glowing like a sprite from the heavens. I had to squint. It was very much like staring into the sun and seeing the flickering form of a hedgehog bleed through, with two burning, orange irises lolling every which way. What?
The sight printed purple matter all throughout my eyes. But I could see it was Sonic. He was yellow. He was made of light and gold.
...And I repeat...What?
I thought I might have been mistaken. It seemed plausible that this was another symptom of my slow recovery. Hallucinating...Sonic. But after clawing desperately to what remained of my normal vision, I saw that I wasn't wrong. It was in fact the hero my planet knew so well.
The formerly blue hedgehog had been reincarnated into something magnificent. His quills had risen upright, his body sparkled like a gemstone set ablaze. He didn't seem to notice me or my grandfather, and if he did, I hadn't managed to catch it. His luminescent hand left the comfort of his aura and thrust itself towards Shadow, who only stared back, absolutely dumbfounded.
"Shadow, there isn't much time!" Sonic shouted over the whirring of his energy. "Come with me! I need your help right now!"
My neck grew limp, causing my head to tilt. What in the world was he talking about?
Shadow gave no response. He instead looked away from the glowing doppelganger before him and glanced to me. My insides melted.
For the first time since I'd met him, I saw a trace of something in Shadow's eyes I'd never seen before. Fear. I almost gasped at how strange it was.
What did he have to be afraid of? I wracked my brain for answers, but everything had been wiped clean and left as a blank canvas. Nothing plausible would register.
I knew that whatever Sonic was intending, whatever exciting peril he was desperate to hurl the Ultimate Life Form into despite their politics or previous altercations, I was eager to watch the two of them join together and flee away from here. I was drunken off Chaos and the high from sharing Shadow's kiss. I wasn't able to protect Shadow myself, not that I could have soberly and with proper mind traction. That didn't turn out so well the first time.
He needed to get away from here. Fast. I wanted all guns away from him. I wanted him to shed his vulnerability, to share Sonic's apparent invincibility.
My knees shuddered once, and I felt faint. I nodded to Shadow, urging him to follow Sonic.
Even if he didn't like him.
Even if he tried to kill him before.
They needed each other now in the worst way. They needed to be away from here. I'd be left alone, but to me it was worth the sacrifice.
When he didn't budge, I nodded again, feeling tears scorch my eyes.
Please, Shadow.
Just go.
Now.
(Shadow's POV)
She doesn't understand. If I merge with with all seven Chaos Emeralds and hoist my power to such severity...I'll lose her.
I'll lose you, Rachel. Everything about you that I've held inside me for so long will burst forth and then cease to exist. I'll forget we ever encountered one another, that our paths ever crossed, puppeteered by Chaos itself. Our experiences will be washed away. Your face will be swallowed by black. Forever.
This isn't what I wanted. I don't want to do this again. But now I don't have a choice in the matter.
I brought this on myself.
If only I could spin the universe backwards and re-map every chapter written along the way. I doomed myself from the beginning. I should never have gone looking for Eggman, or Chaos Emeralds. I should have gone looking for you, Rachel. Had I known. It's what I needed all along. You were what I needed.
My fists knotted and I glared at her, teeth clenching. My barricades were crumbling. I wanted to collapse.
There's nothing I can do to change this, and I hate it. I hate not having that control. I want it. I want her.
Before I could process the sudden stinging in my eyes, I locked my hand with Sonic's and felt the air around us turn into a vast, swirling umbrella of heat and alien energy. From my body, my skull, pulsated the purest form of Chaos I could harness, my black fur transitioning to a pale gold like I was a lantern being brought to life.
I cast my eyes toward her. I knew I shouldn't have. I was grappling desperately onto her image. Her body was cast in yellow. She was smiling.
Sonic then pulled me towards the ocean. The whole way, the farther I got from her, the more I lost myself.
My apparatuses were on the brink of combustion.
(Rachel's POV)
I was finally beginning to feel like myself again. My whole body, previously submerged in Hellfire, and black, and black Hellfire, was finally one again with the world it knew so well. I was still dizzy and slow, but it was reassuring to know that I could even feel these things at all. I wasn't irreversibly damaged. At least, not as far as I could tell. It was the most relief I'd felt in all the years I'd been alive. I could've wept when I was finally able to stand on two feet and watch the lingering paths that the two airborne hedgehogs had left in their wake.
The thrill of humanity was tugged short once I met glances with my own grandfather. He stood erect, cloaked by nightly smoke, the whites of his eyes bearing a thick border around jade and amber irises. My stomach threatened to fall straight out my ass. So many phantom thoughts encripted on just a single face. I almost found myself on my knees again.
I wanted to slap myself when I said possibly the worst, most cliche thing I could've come up with in that moment.
"...I can explain."
Oh, can you, Rachel? Well, lah dee fucking dah! At least we have you to count on, then!
"I-I mean, I can explain some things..." I corrected myself quickly, burning with embarrassment. I was back-peddling. I don't think I could've said much else to bury my hole even deeper. He'd watched me and Shadow lock lips. But it wasn't what he thought it was. Was it?
It turned out not to matter at all, because my grandfather stopped me by holding a rigid palm in the air. I was caught off guard. His stature came off as eerily calm.
"Don't push yourself," he instructed grimly, the gun no longer present. I noticed his hand beginning to shake, as if fighting gravity was a sort of gnawing task. "I don't want you to feel burdened by all that's happened. I'm happy to see you alive, Rachel. It's all that matters to me. But still, I..."
He cut himself short and turned to face the direction that Sonic and Shadow had soared towards. His voice soured. "I hate Shadow for what he's done. This is low, even for a monster like him. Just thinking of all the evil he's committed thus far makes me see red. I've underestimated him and the lengths he'll go to terrorize whatever unfortunate planet he encounters, and the people he comes into contact with. He's made it personal in ways I didn't think he was capable of."
His words were, for the most part, just apparitions colored darkly but otherwise completely transparent to me. I'd heard him say all this before, with different words. And yet the word monster triggered something inside. It was something old me would've allowed, but new me wouldn't accept lying down. I felt defensive. I started to get angry again, and the only thing subduing it was my weakness from awakening.
"Grandpa, before you make any crazy assumptions, you should listen to me. Just this once. And then you will never have to again."
He was listening; that much was evident. But he wouldn't look at me. I paused for a moment and waited to see if he'd ever do so out of respect, but when his glare remained cast across the architecture of a nearly abandoned Station Square, I sighed, arms pulled to my chest, and squinted my eyes with frustration.
"Shadow is not a monster. Far, far from it. What he did here...what I did here...it was meant to help me. He saved my life. Without him, I'd be dead right now. And that accounts for more than just tonight. You really should know that."
Before I could prepare myself, the old man had stormed toward me and was now towering overhead, looming forth, face twisted to unrecognizable, gargoyle-esque proportions. His outraged eyes settled on mine from above, two white hot saucers. My teeth threatened to chatter.
"Exactly what happened after he snatched you away?! Because clearly there's some details I might've missed. You haven't opened up to anyone about what happened while you were captured...and now's your chance! What did he do to you?! Why is this even remotely acceptable behavior for either of you?! Do you feel something for that hedgehog? Do you?!"
I was at a loss for words. When I didn't respond, the man grabbed my shoulders and shook me. The world spun faster. "He kissed you, Rachel! Tell me, is this the first time something like this happened?! Has he done that to you before?!"
So many questions, some that not even I could answer. Now I wanted to cry. Oh, how I wanted to cry so badly. But it wouldn't have helped my case at all.
"Well, did he?!"
I bowed my head in shame. I could feel myself shrinking. I had never wanted anyone to find out about what happened with us.
"Yes...I-It happened once before, but-"
"And what did you do about it?!" the Commander demanded an explanation.
"I punched him in the head. But that's not the point!"
Finally, he released me and paced to another end of the building with fingers gnarling through his white hair. "I don't believe this. It's Chaos that did this to you. It was Chaos from the very beginning! It has to be my fault in some way. It always is!"
He whirled around, bearing a crazed expression. "Rachel, you can't for a moment think that hedgehog finds you special! He doesn't know what special is! This has nothing to do with love. It's science! Pure, raw, unforgiving science. I know it's hard for a young girl to understand, but that's the way it is! It would have the very same effect if I were to kiss him myself! It means...virtually...nothing!"
"Grandpa, please. All I wanted was for you to listen, and you can't even do that?"
"So he has done this before. If you 'punched him in the head,' it means you didn't initiate it. You didn't want it to happen. But he did. He gave in to his rudimentary desires. He's enslaved by the very power that brought him to life. Nothing more than an immortal bent by his own insanity!"
"Alright!" I prompted. "That's enough! I'm sick of you talking this way!"
"He'll stop at nothing until the world around him-"
"I want you to stop!"
"-Burns at his feet!"
Without warning, the sound of a gunshot whipped the air before dying down in static echoes. Commander Tower was silenced. Seconds dragged by until I was able to draw any sort of connection and realize what I'd heard, and what was happening. Slowly, a gasp fell from my mouth like molasses.
Abraham Tower stood now, still, except for the red pouring from the front of his thigh like a waterfall. The dark green of his uniform was blackened by his own blood. He stumbled a bit before falling. I would've shrieked if surprise hadn't robbed me of my voice entirely.
I whirled around to find Dr. Eggman standing atop the building, red pistol pointed forth, a ribbon of smoke ghosting through the air before it became nothing. He wasn't grinning, but rather lazily smirking as he dropped the weapon to his side and shook his head as if in scolding.
"My my, so much racket. Some might forget he's nothing more than a frail, sick old man. what with the way he's carrying on up here."
I was quivering. "E-Eggma..." I rasped, unable to finish. His attention snapped to me and a devilish smile broke through.
"Oh, good to see you again, Rachel Tower. What a play on words that this would have eventually become our setting. Heh. Get it? Tower? You're probably not in the mood for jokes."
My eyes widened when he moved the barrel over so that it was aiming at me.
"How about we try this again? And this time with no lovesick rodents to ruin our fun."
And before I could say anything in retaliation, the building we stood upon began to shake.
(Shadow's POV)
My thoughts were loud enough to form echoes. My path was beginning to stagger while Sonic led the way, urging me to go further before I went completely dead-weight.
"Remember, we only have until midnight!" he said, his own voice almost lost beneath the choir of Chaos energy. "That gives us three minutes tops! It's important we fix this before it's too late!"
When I didn't answer right away, the planet's hero looked back and growled lowly. "Shadow? Don't you know what to do?"
I was too busy gripping onto angst-ridden memories to respond to him straight away. I heard him, but remained silent. We reached the beach in record time, and shared the sky as space to hover above Eggman's ticking time bomb. Sonic, with judging eyes quickly shook his attention away from me and geared it instead towards the weapon in question. When he idled, it became clear that we was incredibly unsure about what to do next.
So with all the strength I could pull forth in my moment of turmoil, I scrunched my eyes shut before reopening them, huffing once and taking in the air stained with ammunition.
"Let's go under."
Sonic said nothing as I grabbed his hand and catapulted the both of us into the ocean. I could feel the splash behind us creating mountains. Beneath the surface of the water everything was muffled, wavering, and incredibly dark. It was helpful that we were producing our own light.
Sonic and I both held our mouths shut, occasionally pushing bubbles through our noses. Other than that, we relied solely on body language to set the hurried plan into motion. The azure hero, whom was usually hydrophobic, had eons of confidence now with his invincibility. He nodded towards me, and I directed him towards a shaft at the base of the bomb, dawdling right above the pale sand.
I pointed with a single stern finger, and he obliged to my silent order by prying the steel open like it were paper. Inside the bomb was a maze of wires all immune to H2O.
His eyes shot back to me, and said what he could not. What the hell do I need to do?
I understood why he kept restraint. One wrong move and the whole of Station Square would be obliterated.
I drifted closer to him, pointing inside and making motions with my fingers. I traced a finger tip along a slivered wire without actually tugging it loose, and then made a quick swiping motion.
Go inside. Don't touch anything.
Sonic's eyes widened to full capacity. Go inside?!
He almost resisted my shoving him into the hull, before he remembered that trusting me was all he could do right now.
The blue hedgehog slipped the rest of himself inside while I followed after. It was incredibly claustrophobic, fighting a mess of cords while underwater. We noted several lights and buttons within the hollow bomb, and one screen specifically caught our attention unanimously.
00:00:30
00:00:29
00:00:28
Sonic released a gasp in one fluttering bubble. He turned to me, ready for the next order.
But I was already removing my inhibitor rings. One by one, they fell away, reflecting various blue and red pinpricks of light before sinking slowly into the mangled wires.
I felt a new sense awakening, my power veered into catastrophic proportions. As my aura brightened, I took Sonic's hands into my own, meeting his orange eyes.
He understood immediately what I wanted. With a stern nod, the two of us shut our eyes and yelled, as loudly and clearly as we could in the depths of the ocean...
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
(Rachel's POV)
As I fought to maintain my balance, I looked all around me for the source of the sudden movement. The building was quaking, almost shaking on its foundation. I stepped this way and that, teetering in one spot while my grandfather lay bleeding not far from me.
Dr. Eggman's eyes channeled from one side to the next, his mustache twitching.
"Just as I suspected..." he said quietly. "This place has just about reached its expiration as a standing brick."
Finally, my focus snapped back to him. "What did you do?!"
The mad scientist chortled to himself, passing the gun from one hand to the next in a dance of mockery. "Absolutely nothing. I'd actually place the blame on Sonic this time. It was his jets that shot this building in the first place."
When it was clear how puzzled I was, he elaborated with, "This building that we're standing on is damaged. Quite significantly."
Another shudder. My breathing rate tripled as I stepped around, watching the floor and waiting for it to collapse beneath me.
"I wouldn't count on it to stay up much longer."
And suddenly, it all clicked. I had to get my grandfather down from here. Sneaking a quick glance, I found him rolling weakly in place, groaning, and swallowed hard.
Dr. Eggman hummed to himself. "I'll tell you what."
I averted back to him. This I had to hear.
"I know this whole using a gun thing is in incredibly poor taste, but after a pair of hedgehogs completely ruined my plans," his smile twitched. "I've run out of options, and I'm becoming a desperate man. This is all I'm left with.
So how about this: I'll save your grandpa if you accept your execution."
My heart sank. Accept my execution? Did he mean...let myself be killed? By him?
My questions were answered when he beckoned me.
"Get over here."
I couldn't believe it. After all this, the one thing Eggman still wanted above most everything else was me dead. Whether it was to fuck with Shadow, or my grandfather, I couldn't tell. But I knew it had little to do with our own personal differences. I was a catalyst. Simple as that.
Before I could really process my own doom, I'd already started to step towards him.
"No, Rachel!" my grandfather shouted. I winced at the sound of my name. He'd lost me once tonight, and he was going to lose me again. This time forever.
I didn't want to die, but I couldn't live with myself if my grandfather didn't make it. His blood would be on my hands.
I walked toward him, remembering everything life had ever offered me and how it all led up to this. This really was the end.
I dismissed my calmness for shock, or possibly denial.
In a few moments it wouldn't matter either way.
(Shadow's POV)
The pair of us materialized, along with the Supernova Cannon, somewhere far beyond the atmosphere. Earth's horizon was bending at the edges, a thin line of it glowing blue. I watched from within the bomb before taking Sonic into my smoldering grip and tearing both of us out into the open. The last sight I caught of the timer showed it nearing its close.
00:00:05
00:00:04
The barrel of the cannon was pointed upright, towards a sea of stars. Sonic and I bolted as far away from it as possible as it hung suspended in space.
"Glad you came through, Shadow," Sonic admitted to himself as he watched with intrigue. "How did you know what to do?"
He probably assumed my next answer would be a revelation about my elaborate scheme to thwart Eggman, and how I had succeeded in overthrowing his plot through betrayal and trickery. But given my time and nuanced thoughts, there was only one thing I could say. The truth.
"I didn't."
The Supernova Cannon show forth a beam of raw, white energy that disappeared into oblivion, before blowing up with spectacular destruction. Debris shot forward, barely missing Sonic and I as it disintegrated in embers back towards the planet.
What Dr. Eggman hadn't foreseen was the power of his own contraption. Not even it could withstand its strength. The cannon had been doomed from the start.
I smirked to myself, collecting my inhibitor rings as they floated nearby. I clamped them back over my wrists and breathed deeply.
It's a good thing I never helped him.
My rival and I shared a glance of mutual satisfaction, nodding once before straying away and hurdling back to Earth and pinpointing ourselves to the city.
It was an odd feeling, victory. I had been something of a stranger to it for so long now. There were small bursts here and there, but not the overwhelming mass that I was feeling now.
I'd won.
Happy New Years.
But celebration would have to be cut short soon. I needed to reach Rachel immediately, and share with her a little more of my time. Because that's what I was running out of.
Time.
(Rachel's POV)
When I was directly in front of him, Eggman pointed the gun straight to my head. I could've turned away and let him bury the bullet in the back of my skull like a real execution. But the thought of seeing my grandfather's horror-stricken face in my final moments convinced me that it was a terrible idea.
With a deep breath, I came to terms with my fate. The chills were rolling off me. I shut my eyes and waited.
"Any last words?"
Those four syllables electrified me, and sent my conscience into a screaming panic. My eyes flew open, my mind grasping for the only words I could come up with. They were accompanied by the swift movement of my arm soaring forward. In those few milliseconds, I thought about just how much I hated Dr. Eggman, and it caused me to glow red.
"Chaos..."
Oh, how I hated him so.
"BLAST!"
The sound was quick. One second I had my hand thrust towards him, evading the gun and hovering above his chest, and the next a tight compression of energy released through my palm and burst at him like lava.
My ears were ringing. All I could do was watch the Doctor stumble back, his facial hair wind-blown and bits of his clothing seared by fire, before he completely toppled off the building, firing once at the sky before he'd descended out of view.
Quickly, I stepped into the space where he once was and watched his body fall several meters. The thought of witnessing him hit the pavement both scared me but excited me greatly.
I felt another emotion entirely when his hovercraft sped into view and caught him mid-fall with its available cushioning. Behind him, Decoe and Bocoe were panicking over what might have been their deceased creator, as he was lying unconsciously in the navigator's seat. Bocoe reached over him, grabbed hold of a control and piloted the three of them far out of sight, stealing a glance with me that said absolutely nothing.
They were gone. From Earth, maybe not. But they had fled Station Square. Hopefully for good.
I was burning hot. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. My whole body felt like one giant ember. I silently thanked Shadow for indirectly kissing power into my very soul.
Through my peripheral, I noticed flames raining from the sky in eerie silence.
My hearing returned. A bell was tolling.
Midnight.
It was now midnight.
Slowly, as if in a trance, I neared the edge while staring towards the heavens. Small pieces of shimmering metal rained from the clouds, illuminated by scarlet and gold.
Two colors that immediately snapped me back to my senses.
"Grandpa!"
Without a shred of grace, I stumbled my way back to my grandfather. He lay now in pooling red. His eyes were closed, so I shook him more roughly than I meant to.
The old man grimaced.
"Your hands are burning hot...Rachel..."
I sighed heavily with relief, my eyes threatening to brim with tears.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
His hair was tussled and he looked a bit dirty. It became more apparent as the clouds continued parting, revealing a moon that would be full under regular circumstances. White light gave me a chance to see his wound, and what I discovered was still leaking freshly.
"You shouldn't be sorry, Rachel."
And then, reality slapped both of us with its backhand. The building shook violently once again. I realized right then that we were out of options. I may have evaded death a bit longer by blasting Eggman away with my temporary power, but what could I do now?
I then had an epiphany. There was only one more thing to try. Quickly, I clutched my grandfather's hand and concentrated hard on a new setting.
"Chaos Control!"
My eyes were squinted shut, my skin scorching his with its fading abilities. I assumed right away that the process must be delayed, because we weren't moving whatsoever.
I was starting to pant when my grandfather nearly broke me of my concentration.
"Rachel...it's over."
"No!" I shouted, aware of my own stubbornness. I gave it another shot.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
"Sweetheart. You're worn out," Grandpa explained. "Or maybe you can't do it yourself. You don't have the Chaos Emerald. It's not going to happen."
I squeezed my other palm into a knot, as if trying to engulf any last of Chaos' dwelling power and manually force it back through my veins. But no matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I put everything I had left into making this final attempt, we went no where. The building shook again.
Tears were finally starting to pour over. I tended to my grandfather, holding still as I could while he cupped a hand over my cheek.
"Rachel, listen to me."
My face lifted. I knew what came next. We needed to say our apologies, and our goodbyes to one another.
"If you turn around you'll find there's another building behind you."
Shell-shocked. I shook my head. Languages weren't registering. All I heard were garbled sounds, warped by my own hysteria.
"If you jump to it, you should be okay."
Then I understood his implication, and jolted in place.
"No."
"You have to go now."
"No."
"It's the only way you can survive this. I'm an old man, I'm already not meant to be around much longer. I wouldn't mind leaving the world in such a poetic way."
"NO!" I screamed, my face reddening before becoming stained with tears. "I'm not going to leave you here! I won't abandon you!"
"Rachel...It's not abandoning me. It's realizing my wish. I want to see Maria, anyway."
"Maria..." the name sent chills down my spine.
Finally, the building started to give way. It swayed more and more, bits crumbling off the sides. I looked around frantically, feeling my grandfather's hand leave and retreat to his own body. It amazed me how at ease he was.
"Do you remember the story I told you nine years ago?"
Of course I remembered. Dare I say it kickstarted this entire adventure. My pulse throbbed mercilessly as I nodded, accidentally releasing a sob.
And then, he cracked a smile, bringing with it the fluctuating grooves of his wrinkles.
"Don't."
I was silenced instantly. I realized what he was saying, and my mouth fell open.
He didn't have time to say sorry for anything, or maybe he didn't want to. That one word was enough to change everything about my world and his. The weight of it was heavier than the universe. I couldn't save him. He knew this. He accepted it. And he accepted that of all the great things he'd accomplished, that the story was one thing he did that was completely and utterly wrong.
One detail did stand out to me though.
Family mattered more to him than anything.
He said nothing further, even when I dawdled patiently. A single tear fell from his green eye. He smiled brighter.
Go.
"I love you, Grandpa. I do. I do," I choked, rising hesitantly as the building trembled one final time before caving.
I knew that if I spent too much time trying to immortalize his face in my mind, I would lose my own. With tear-filled eyes, I bolted to the other side of the roof, watching the Earth beneath me grow closer.
The structure tilted ahead, allowing me the advantage of leaping to a neighboring tower before it fell apart like dust.
The sound was loud and almost endless. I lay atop a completely different building, bruised, battered, exhausted, with nothing but a few stray pieces of concrete left to accompany me.
I curled up in a ball and wept.
Hard.
It was over.
But not in the way I wanted.
(Shadow's POV)
"You know, Shadow, I really didn't give you the benefit of the doubt."
I rolled my eyes at his obnoxious compliment, only looking ahead of me. But of course, my refusal to conversate wasn't enough to keep him from carrying on by himself.
"Here I was, thinking that you were the enemy. And in a way, you were. Oh boy, you were."
Zip it, hedgehog before I find the zipper myself.
"I think you've done more than just redeem yourself though," I could hear the grin in his voice, and it nauseated me. "You're a hero now, Shadow!"
Yeah right...hero.
"That means you're almost as cool as me!"
My irises panned to him, presenting something far from anger, but also far from friendliness.
Both he and I were still in our Super forms. I knew that it wouldn't last much longer. The moment he broke away from Chaos' bindings, I would as well. So I made a request I wasn't entirely sure I deserved.
"Sonic..."
The blue hedgehog looked over, curious.
"I have one thing to ask of you..."
It was difficult saying anything to him now that we maintained eye contact. I broke away, hissing at my own cowardice before continuing. "Don't release yourself from Chaos just yet. I want to be the one to initiate it."
"Shadow," Sonic's brow furrowed. "I get where you're going with this. I know you might have things you'd like to do first, but we can't be that far apart while in these forms anyway. We're sharing power."
"We can go far enough."
Sonic said nothing. I finally turned to glare at him again, and found that he looked utterly stunned. Definitely unsure of what to say next.
"I just need to have that control. I'm not trying anything devious."
I was fairly sure Sonic knew in his heart the focus of my intentions. He might not have been certain why it paralleled to being powered by Chaos, but he knew better than to question it. My agenda had Rachel written all over it, which was something I treasured wholeheartedly for the time I had left with it.
"Okay, Shadow," he smiled softly. "I trust you."
Crash. Wave of relief washing all over. I would have thanked him if my dignity hadn't been in locked away such rigid quarters.
By the time we reached this agreement, the pair of us were flying above Station Square, far from the ground but not from some of the buildings. I examined my surroundings, locating the place where Rachel and Commander Tower had been.
Every sense in my body turned to static when I found there was no longer anything left of it. Only a thick cloud of dust remained, like a ghost, while the rest had been reduced to rubble piling into empty streets.
"No..."
I was panicking. We'd only been gone a few minutes. How could this have happened.
"Rachel!"
When I inched just a few feet closer, I noticed a tiny splotch on another building close by. A very human-esque splotch. It was cradling itself. Instantly the tension in my shoulders rolled away. I knew it was Rachel, and she was in one piece.
But Tower was no where to be seen.
"Check the city for injured survivors," I instructed Sonic quietly. Surprisingly, he obliged almost instantly and disappeared from my side.
I went alone to tend to what once was my captive.
(Rachel's POV)
By the time I'd stopped crying, there was a puddle accumulating next to my head. The side of my face, as well as handfuls of my hair were rendered soggy. I sniffled quietly to myself, eyes open and staring out towards the ocean before lifting up to the moon. A chill of winter blew over me, and I shivered.
I hadn't anticipated anything to happen so quickly, hence my confusion when a source of heat began creeping up on me from behind. It brought with it magnificent light. My eyes darted to the ground, where I could see my own shadow distorting beneath the stimulation's mercy.
What could it have been? Maria, again? My grandfather's spirit come back to say everything that he still needed to say?
I felt myself being turned over so that I was facing the sky. The electric sensation immediately gave away the hand's owner. Shadow looked back at me, his red eyes prominent against glowing silver fur.
The moment our gazes connected, his expression changed from that of concern to something much more fragile. He bent forward, his face almost grazing mine, as he carefully slipped his hands under my body and hoisted me into his arms. The Ultimate Life Form was cradling me now.
I was a bit taken aback when he said nothing, and instead flew away from the building with me in tow. I lay limply against him, warmed and comforted by his aura. There was nothing left in me to make exclamations, or ask questions. I couldn't even find the motivation to tell him about Eggman, and how I defeated him through Chaos. Once the feeling of weightlessness reached me, I draped an arm behind his neck and clamped onto him tightly.
We began moving gently through the sky. I knew Shadow was capable of greater speeds, but he seemed to know better than to challenge me in my state.
My eyes fell shut, and I breathed deeply, listening to the small sounds beneath us. None of them sounded like people.
When I opened my eyes to see again, I found that we were beyond Station Square, and instead in a wooded area. Sparsely wooded, given the urban location, but still a wide contrast to the concrete jungle we'd freed ourselves from.
Shadow set me upon a sheet of grass, feet first, and slowly released me to see if I could stand. I wobbled a bit, held to him for balance, but eventually I found myself upright and stable. He took a step back, and I followed in his manner. We both spent a long time just looking at the other.
The hedgehog had many questions, but I doubted he knew how to ask any of them. Just thinking of them now distressed me, hearing him say them might have ruined our final moment together.
I stilled, my eyebrows slanting. Was this our final moment?
"Rachel..." the hedgehog breathed, his energy whirring.
"This is the last time we'll ever see each other."
Well I guess that's my answer.
I couldn't control myself. I ran at him with the force of several men and tackled him to the ground in a ferocious hug. He lay now with me atop him while I bawled uncontrollably. My dignity was in shambles, but at this point I didn't give much of a shit.
Shadow's hands maneuvered to my back, where he gently rubbed and traced circles with his soft, almost ticklish fingertips. If he was a teenage girl, he might have understood my reaction a bit better. But at least I knew he understood at all, even if it was just a tiny inkling.
When I finally regained myself, I pulled away, holding myself up by my hands on the dirt and stared back at him with tear-filled eyes. I then backed off completely, sheepishly, beginning to feel embarrassed for behaving so childishly.
I ceased all movement when Shadow actually brought me back into his arms, returning my affection with an equally strong embrace. My face molded against the crook of his shoulder, twisted with sadness.
"You're going to forget me. aren't you?"
It wasn't a question. It was the truth. Shadow tensed before sighing and pulling me even closer into him.
"How would you know that?"
"You're going to live forever..." I breathed, starting to cry again. "A lot of things happen in forever. But I..."
I remembered my own mortality, and came to the realization that I, unlike him, would not be around for an eternity. Whatever time I had left to live, I would never again go a day without his name and face crossing my mind at least twice.
"I won't ever forget you."
It came out dramatic and overly emotional, but it was how I felt, and I couldn't undermine it no matter how badly I wanted to. Shadow responded by bringing his face back so that we could stare at each other again. A few seconds of silence passed. Either Shadow was unsure of what to say, because he knew I was right, or he figured having a moment of quiet would be better than having both of us reduced to sobbing messes.
He lifted his hand to my face, wiping away a single tear with his thumb. It burned in the best way imaginable.
His fingers grazed to my chin, the energy springing at my nerves. He carefully pulled it down so that he could bend forward and plant a kiss against my forehead.
My eyes squeezed shut, as I fought hard not to ruin everything with any distinctive cry.
"I love you."
And then, I relaxed a bit. Everything suddenly made sense.
After hearing the hedgehog say so many terrible things to me, most of them provoked by my own hatred...after fighting against him and swearing him my arch nemesis...after expressing our separate disdain for the other in different ways while being scattered across the cosmos...
Those three words, said in such a calm, genuine way, made me aware of something inevitable.
I wanted this all along and never stopped to realize it. For as long as I would live, everything exciting would pale in comparison to what me and the hedgehog had shared.
I'd been crouched, his head hovering above mine, when he carefully laid me back so that my spine fell against Earth like it were a pillow.
"Just relax..."
"Shadow..." I sighed, tears seeping down the sides of my face. "I don't want to lose you just yet."
"Relax..."
I tried protesting harder, but I felt myself being lulled into slumber. I lay flat across the ground.
He whispered now, his lights dying. His fur was fading to black.
"Relax..."
I lay there for another solid minute, my eyes not doing so much as cracking to see if Shadow was still there. I could sense his presence through heat and light alone. Even in the dead of winter, it comforted me. He wasn't going anywhere. Not yet. That would change in due time.
I wanted to spend more time speaking with him. Understanding him a bit better, and letting him understand me. We deserved it more than anything.
But alas, sleep claimed me.
And that was the last I ever saw of Shadow.
"Grandpa?"
"Yes...Rachel? What is it?"
...
"You told me a story last night about someone who's really bad. Someone who hurt you. It made me very angry."
"Ah yes, I remember that. I'm surprised you remember it too."
"Of course I do! It was such a sad story, and even you just saying the bad guy's name will give me heebie jeebies! So don't say it."
"Hahaha. Rachel, I understand. Why do you bring it up now, though? You should be getting ready to go home. Your parents are waiting outside."
...
"I know. I was thinking about everything you said...about him being a monster."
"Right."
"I wondered: How come your friend Maria played with a monster?"
...
"It wasn't clear at that time just how dangerous he really was."
"I'm sure it wasn't. Because a monster lives in all of us, and his just didn't have claws yet."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying everyone has a monster inside them. Mama told me that a long time ago."
...
"Your mother is absolutely right. But you must also keep in mind that it does not ever excuse their actions. If we forgave all monsters, the world would be an evil place."
"I know. I don't think all monsters should get to say sorry."
"Exactly."
"But-"
...
"But?"
"Maybe if there's a monster in everyone, there's an angel hidden in there too."
"...An angel?"
"Yeah! And for some people the angel and monster inside them are fighting."
"What are you saying, Rachel? That Shadow the Hedgehog has an angel in him?"
...
"You said the name!"
"I'm sorry. It just slipped out.
"Well no, I don't think that. I think his angel fell."
"Do you think it can get back up?"
...
"I don't know."
"Well I don't, either."
"After all..."
"Hm?"
...
"It's not easy learning how to fly again."
White.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was white.
The first sound I heard was idle beeping not far from me.
Although I was not bound, I found it difficult to move. My body was incredibly tired, and the cot I lay upon was too inviting with its comfort for me to willingly disperse from.
The only thing that fidgeted was my eyelids, and in no time my neck started to do the same.
"You're awake!"
Slowly, I lolled my head over towards the feminine voice that my attention targeted, and found my mother rising from a chair. She wore an ear-splitting smile. To her right was my father, who did the same, grasping onto her shoulder as they hurried to my side.
"Mom...Dad..."
They both exchanged glances of immense relief before looming over me.
"It's so good to see you moving. How are you, sweetie?"
I smiled back, genuinely, picking myself up a bit so that I could sit. "I'm fine, I-"
Gently, my mother grabbed my arm and eased me before I could try and clamber out of the bed. I looked to the other arm when I felt something restricting it, and noticed an IV needle plunged into a vein.
"Wait. I'm in the hospital?"
"Yes. Yes you are, in fact."
My mother knelt down and kissed me on the cheek, causing me to sigh through my nose. I'd underestimated how much I missed her.
"And you're going to be okay?"
Sure, but despite being okay, everything was still immensely foggy. I used my free hand to rub the side of my head while Mother retreated to the doorway. "You have some friends here that would like to see you. Now isn't a bad time, is it?"
I smiled sheepishly, worried less about how I felt and more about how I looked at the moment. It must've been ugly, but it was less crippling and more a nuisance dawdling in the back of my head.
"Not really."
Without missing a beat, the older woman giggled to herself before opening the door and beckoning unseen visitors towards her.
"She's up, everyone! Come see!"
I'm not sure who I was expecting to walk into the room, but when Sonic, then Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Travis, and Emma filed through the door like it were a party, I began questioning what kind of drugs the staff had put me on.
"Woah..."
In everyone's hands were ornate balloons that sparkled beneath the fluorescent lighting, all adorned in reassuring messages that urged me towards speedy recovery. However, unlike the others, Sonic and Tails were holding flower bouquets, yellow and blue, respectively, that they set on a nearby table where Amy and Knuckles gathered to place a stack of Get Well Soon cards.
Travis successfully ruined the intimate moment by blowing through a tiny horn sprinkled with different colors.
"Happy New Years, sis!"
Emma elbowed him immediately. "Wow. Way to have the worst timing ever."
My pursed lips began to tremble while I fought back unnecessarily loud laughter. But in the end, I lost the battle, and ended up chuckling out loud while a few others joined my chorus. "I really, really missed you guys."
Emma and Travis took each other's hands and hurried to my bedside, the latter tying a balloon around my wrist with careful precision. The end result was a loose and twisted ribbon, but it sufficed just fine. "We missed you too," the pair said simultaneously.
I grinned before admitting shyly, "I missed all of you..." my eyes danced from one face to the next. "And I can't wait to be home."
Suddenly, both of my parents shot each other worried glances.
"...About that...uh..."
A vision of my house going up in smoke plagued me instantly. It probably wasn't far from reality, either. I realized the problem before another word was said, and stopped them dead in their tracks.
"What I meant was...I can't wait to be uh...in a room with you guys again. A room that's not...this one...heh..."
"Smooth," Travis stated with half-lidded eyes.
The moment was insanely sweet and satisfying in more ways than I could ever fathom. It may not have been the most ideal of situations, but it might have still been the happiest and most rewarding moment of my life. However, the more I remembered my recent past through short flashbacks the more my expression grayed. I thought of Shadow, Eggman, and my grandfather. My mood instantly soured.
"How did I get here, anyway?"
From the corner of the room, Sonic parted through his friends and held a hand up.
"I brought you here last night, to make sure you were okay."
I bit my tongue to keep me from asking anything more. With people listening, it would've been a bad move.
"Guys..." I stared everyone down individually, and in a rather awkward fashion. "I'm sorry but...is it alright if I talk with Sonic alone right quick?"
At first, nobody moved, but soon enough they all showed that they understood by carefully heading for the door.
"We'll be right outside," Mom said, ushering the twins out while Dad followed behind. She blew a kiss my way.
Amy and Tails grinned and waved weakly, while Knuckles simply smiled in acknowledgement.
"Get well soon!" Amy called.
And then, they were all gone. The door slammed, leaving Sonic and I alone.
He didn't say anything right away. He took sudden interest in the linings of his gloves, before he took a seat in the chair my mom had been in previously and scooted it closer to the bed. I noticed the screen monitoring my heartbeat began forming pixelated mountains. Hiding my nervousness was impossible.
"Where did you find me?"
Sonic's gaze was so intense I had to keep myself from looking away. He quit fiddling with his hands and gave me his full attention. "Outside the city in a small forest area."
I remembered that. "Was Shadow still with me?"
"Yes."
A knot formed in my throat, and I swallowed it back.
"Where did he go?"
Finally, Sonic's eyes escaped mine and he scanned random things around the room. "I'm not sure where he is on the planet now, but I know he doesn't intend to stay for much longer."
The feeling of a sinking heart was brutal. Shadow was going to leave Earth, and there was nothing I could say or do to prevent it from happening. "Is he coming back?"
I couldn't help but bombard the hedgehog with questions that kept popping out the slot like gumballs. An explosion was creeping up on me. I couldn't melt down. Not here. Not in front of everyone.
"I honestly can't say for sure."
No, was what he was trying to say. But he knew better than to tell me that now and cause upset. I slumped back a little, inhaling.
"Did you find my grandpa?"
"Yes. I did."
His tone only solidified what I already knew. Grandpa was dead. But knowing that the body had been recovered, that someone actually saw him in his aftermath, made my stomach curdle. Sonic's head tilted to the side, as if his energy was lacking.
"His funeral is a few days from now. You think you can make it?"
"I know I can..." my legs twitched beneath the white hospital sheets. The rippling on the surface was almost hypnotic.
"What I don't know is what I'm supposed to do now."
Sonic was ready to interject when I shot my head up and glared at him.
"I'm not the same person I once was...so what can I do about it now? Do I give myself to scientists to prod at? Do I get a therapist? Do I go back to school and pretend it never happened? What about people confronting me? What if I have an episode? What if I hurt someone accidentally?"
Another barrage. I knew Sonic wouldn't have any efficient responses, but hearing my own turmoil said aloud was relieving in a strange way.
"You can do whatever you want to, Rachel. You're free now. That's what's most important."
I clutched the front of my shirt, feeling my heart beat beneath pale knuckles. Am I?
"Also, there's something I need to give you."
As he crossed the room, he explained himself further, "I didn't think doing it in front of your family would work the way I wanted it to, so I decided to wait until we had a moment like this." Sonic reached inside the thick, azure bouquet he'd delivered prior and dove his hand in between the stems. From them, he scooped out a green Chaos Emerald. I couldn't help but gasp.
He then approached me once again and placed it in my lap lovingly, tucking it against my stomach. I slowly placed a single hand over it, feeling every crevice.
"Shadow wanted you to have it."
My eyes fluttered.
"He said, if anyone deserves it, it's you. 'It's been you all along.' I'm not sure what he meant by that, though."
I smiled, for I knew what he meant. I wanted to thank Sonic, but instead I remained quiet, at a loss for words and too busy toying with the Emerald like it were my child.
Sonic nodded once, stepping away and formally dismissing himself. "I'm going to go check on the others. If you need anything, just holler."
Before he was completely out of the room, he turned and smiled.
"It really is good to have you back."
Then he was gone.
Alone with my own thoughts, I was silent, still, stone-faced while turning the Chaos Emerald over and over, wanting to see every part of it while engraving its makeup into my brain. Eventually, my eyes became distant, my memories fazing me one by one in discombobulated fashion.
I started laughing.
So hard that the sound cancelled out and all I'd been reduced to was a shaking form. I took a loud breath and released another, this one slightly louder before the vocals were cut altogether. My head was thrown back.
When I went to take another breath, the sound that followed was not laughter. It was a sob.
I was crying.
Even harder than I'd been laughing.
It was also silent.
My hands left the Emerald and instead reached forward and curled around my legs, bringing them forward so I could bury my face in between my knees. I was wracking, panting, angry that my own selfish desires had gone unanswered.
To meditate, I started to hum. A song with a rocky melody, but it would have to do.
Shadow would forget me, if he hadn't already. Everything that happened between us would disappear in smoke, especially when I refused to share with anyone the story that mattered so much to me on deep, intimate levels. He'd live another thousand years without my name so much as ghosting through his mind, while I would carry this with me for the rest of my days.
It was unfair.
I hated it.
I loved him.
The beeping started to slow as I calmed myself, the music smoothing out. My head turned over towards a window sheathed by red curtains. I knew beyond them, somewhere in the world, Shadow was alive. And soon, he'd be outside the world. Alive. Forever.
I would be here.
Forever.
Remembering him.
Forever.
We were never meant for it to come this far. We were meant to always be enemies. We were never supposed to fall for one another.
But we did.
It ended catastrophically.
That monster. That angel.
He would follow me forever.
Just like a shadow.
Exactly like a shadow.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
(Shadow's POV)
Above the rooftop, I sat with my legs swinging from the edge. A wind blew, tussling my quills, and I took a deep breath. A snow had begun to fall, the flakes clinging to my body in tiny sprites.
The girl's shadow perfectly displayed her emotions like a puppet from behind the curtain. One second, her mouth was open, her neck hung back as she laughed, before melting forward as she became a giant, quivering blob of black.
She was crying now.
And then I heard her voice moving like a ribbon with the world, producing a mesmerizing sound. I smirked to myself.
She would be okay.
I finally stood, turned on my heel and headed for another building. I was ready to challenge the city's mappings and charge my way out of here. I intended to never look back.
The moon glowed from overhead, plump, but only half so. I shot it a wary glance, smiling to myself before taking my first few steps.
Before I made a leap, I sighed once more and paused, idling in place.
The weather held still when my voice broke it in two.
"I'll never forget you either, Rachel."
Chaos had shown me its mercy. I didn't lose anything in the process of becoming myself again. Certain emotions were subdued, but everything else was just as vibrant as ever, and I had no other desire than to keep it that way for as long as I lived.
I knew better than to anchor myself to her. If I kept coming back, if I kept rekindling any sort of flame between us, it'd be impossible for her to move forward with me as a constant burden. I wanted to communicate this terribly so that she would understand, but it'd only make coping harder for both of us. I'd long left my mark. Something once shaped so jaggedly had softened at the edges. It was her turn to live on as a regular human girl, and my turn to trek the universe in search of a newer purpose.
So it was goodbye.
...For now.
And with that, I disappeared into the night, far away from her. She grew smaller and smaller behind me until she was nothing. It was bittersweet.
I knew in my heart that my words were true.
It was a promise I'd spend forever keeping.
The End