After that battle in the village, everyone evacuated to find somewhere safer. The members of the village's Resistance were split up and sent where needed. Miranda, Heather, and I were ironically sent back to the city. Miranda, of course, stayed with the medical division and Heather joined a communications unit. As for me, well, I ended up volunteering for the midnight recon unit. It was a suitable position for me. After all, it required me to stay out of sight as much as possible, I'd had stealth training from Rouge-senpai, and I was quite proficient with a grappling wire. My acrobatic abilities came in handy too, which I passed off as the result of years of training.

Best of all, the position allowed me to be alone. I didn't want to be around others. Most either treated me rudely or at best, would pick up on how much I was struggling with this whole situation. I was frequently having nightmares about Infinite, so it was best that I slept during the day when nobody was around. It wasn't his current form that was causing my bad dreams though, it was my sense of familiarity with his past self. What was our connection?

I got the feeling that it somehow had something to do with the day my parents died, but my memories of the event were... scrambled. Or rather, my whole brain had been scrambled for the last 5 months or so; ever since Oniisan first encountered that Defense Squad Jackal in the jungle. Oniisan had sensed it at the time, but had blocked it out for his own safety. When I saw the Squad that day, I blacked out-which was weird since I was in the middle of a mind merge with my brother-and didn't come to until Oniisan was approached by Infinite. I reestablished the link just as Oniisan had finished walloping Infinite. At that point, Infinite's face was not visible. He was covering his right eye with one hand; I get the feeling that it had been injured when Oniisan had beat him to a pulp, since the mask he now wore covered it completely.

Ever since that day, I'd been unable to recall the events of my parents' death. My memories about that time had always been a little fuzzy to begin with. I mostly remembered my parents, Miranda, Heather, and my own actions. However, now I couldn't even remember that much. It was as if the memory had been erased somehow. Trying to recover it only resulted in headaches, or worse. However, I hadn't experienced anything strange when Oniisan encountered Infinite two months later.

At that time, he seemed so different that I guess it didn't trigger any sort of... response. His entire demeanor was unnerving, but I didn't have any trouble logging his appearance or words into my memory. In fact, the only thing that I did conclude from that day was that Infinite had always been a power-crazed lunatic and only claimed to become the way he was because of my brother. I get the feeling that sooner or later, he would've discovered how relatively powerless he was in comparison to some other people I could mention and become Eggman's lab rat on his own accord either way. Oniisan just happened to be the one who had given him that reality check and while he had been unnecessarily harsh, I don't think his words would've made any real difference either way.

It was a simple fact: Infinite had thought that he was strong, and when my brother took him down in less than five seconds, it made him realize how outclassed he was. Honestly, the fact that he'd thought he could take on the guy who had taken on an entire army of aliens single-handedly and taken out his squad just shows how delusional the guy was. It was only a matter of time before someone like that snapped completely.

Of course, he had snapped and now he was terrorizing the whole planet with his merciless attacks and heartless nature. The civilians were confused and afraid. Even most of the soldiers would go into a panicked frenzy whenever he showed up. When it comes right down to it, I think the world could handle all the robots and whatnot; Infinite was the real problem.

I had my first real encounter with him about four months into the war, when he attacked my unit shortly after I'd gotten up for the day. I was not a combat soldier, and the sights and sounds of the battle were a terrifying reminder of my parents' death, so I'd hidden behind a small pile of rubble while Infinite took out the entire platoon, taunting us all the while. I looked up in surprise when somebody's Wispon landed next to me. Trembling, I picked it up and stood to face Infinite, who wasn't the least bit daunted.

"I can taste your terror, child." He told me as I desperately tried to steady my hands, "All that anxiety and doubt... it's delicious." With that said, the monster shot a ball of energy, purposely aiming at the ground in front of me in order to knock me off my feet. I grunted as I fell backwards and he continued taunting me, "Give in to your fear. Flee, screaming, and I'll let you live." He laughed and I struggled to contain my tears. My only hope of survival was to give up? No... that wasn't true. I was an ultimate lifeform, he couldn't kill me that easily. Even so, there was nothing I could do against this guy. I did as I was told, getting to my feet and fleeing from the scene-from my own mind.

The next two months were rough. I didn't return to the Resistance within the city. I was too scared of witnessing a repeat of that slaughtering. Besides, I was utterly useless; it was probably best if I just disappeared...

That's not to say I did nothing though. There two things that I knew I could do. First, I continued working on my analysis of the power that Infinite wielded. The fact that I didn't have my notebook on hand was unimportant. I had an eidetic memory, so I remembered everything that I'd written in there. I found an abandoned building to hide out in and continued my work, scrawling my calculations on the walls since I had nothing else to use.

The other thing was that I started tracking down that fake Shadow and taking him down. I'm not sure exactly what he was... some kind of solid hologram perhaps? It didn't matter. It seemed to have all of Oniisan's powers, but it totally lacked his brain. I'd spent plenty of time sparring with my brother and I knew all of his moves; fighting a copy who tended to disappear after a few good hits was a cakewalk. I wasn't sure how much information Eggman was able to gather through this thing though, so I made a point of always concealing my appearance whenever I picked a fight with it. That was pretty often actually. As soon as Eggman-or Infinite, or whoever was making these things-realized the copy had been destroyed, another would appear. However, taking them down in secret like this at least provided a little bit of relief for the Resistance and the general populace. If nothing else, it would buy them a few hours of not being terrorized by what they believed to actually be my brother.

The fact that those things looked like my brother was enough to cause unease. Since most people were unaware of its true nature, they believed that my brother, who had sworn to protect them and whom they had trusted to do so, was now one of the ones terrorizing them. That made me angry and I honestly wasn't sure what Oniisan was doing that prevented him from coming to put an end to this charade of Eggman's. All the same, there wasn't much I could do about my brother's absence, so I just kept taking down the copies in secret and working on my analysis for the next two months; all the while wishing that I could do more than just that.

Then things started to change when I ran into Tails-chan one night. The young fox had finally located Omega, but it was too dark at the moment to work on repairing him. Still... It was best if I avoided letting him see who I was, so I pulled up my hood around my quills and carefully approached him.

"You... you're Tails-chan right?"

"Huh?" Tails turned and looked at me, "Hey, I know you! You're that girl who helped me out back in that village!" The only explanation for his recognizing me was that I was wearing the same outfit, because I'd hidden my features then too. Well that, and I was probably the only person in the world who addressed him as "Tails-chan."

"Yeah." I replied as I looked at the machine next to him, "I see you found Omega."

"Huh?" Tails-chan asked while turning to look at my friend, "Yeah, but I haven't had a chance to start the repairs yet."

I nodded in understanding, "What are you doing up so late anyway? A child like you should be hiding somewhere and sleeping right now."

"I would if I could." Tails-chan muttered.

I nodded in understanding. "Nightmares, huh?" Tails-chan looked at me in surprise and I continued, "I saw my parents being killed when I was young, so I kinda understand..."

"Oh..." Tails-chan said, "Yeah... I still can't believe that he's... But I'm trying anyway. I don't think I can fight right now, but at least I can help Omega, just like you said. That's what... that's what Sonic would want... for us all to do what we can."

I nodded quietly, "Good luck, Tails-chan..." I said softly before walking off.

I eventually returned to the place where I was hiding out for the night and hid myself in the shadows. Although I wasn't supposed to, I reached out to my brother.

"Oniisan, kikoeru?"

"Sabana? Nani wo shite? Omae ni tashikani renraku shinai de'to itta hazu da."

"Hai... demo, daijoubu." I assured him, "Ima, watashi wa hitorigiri da. Darenimo watashi wo mienai."

"Hitorigiri?" He asked, "Dou iu imi? Riishisutansu to inai naze da?"

"My squad was wiped out by Infinite two months ago. He spared me for his own sick entertainment." I explained as I switched to English, "I haven't been able to go back since then. What's the point? I'm totally useless on the battlefield, and the thought of watching my comrades perish while I am helpless to stop it is too much. So I've just been surviving on my own. It's easier to stay hidden that way." There was no way I was about to tell him about my solo escapades against his copy. He'd be furious if he knew I was doing that, even while concealing my features.
I heard my brother sigh, 'And what of Miranda and Heather? Aren't you worried about them? Do they even know you're alive?'

'Hai. I left a note in Nigokunese at my squad base before I left. Miranda's in the medical division and Heather works in communication. Neither of them ever go out into the field. They'll be fine. But I... I'm scared too be close to them right now." I hugged my knees to my chest, "I feel like I really have crumbled without you to support me..." Oniisan sighed again, but he didn't block me out, so I continued, "I saw Omega today."

"He's alive?" My brother asked in surprise.

"...Not exactly. He's not functioning, but he seems to be more or less in one piece." I told him, "I saw Tails-chan too. He said he's gonna try to fix Omega. He said that that's all he can do for right now."

"Sou ka..." Oniisan said thoughtfully, "Sabana, I want you to go join up with the main group at Resistance Headquarters."

"E? Doushite?" I asked in confusion, "If I'm of no use here, I certainly won't be there..." Not so long as I couldn't reveal my true abilities anyway.

"Sonna koto nai darou." Oniisan replied, "You've survived these past two months on your own. If you're strong enough to do that, you can certainly be of use to the main group. Besides, I heard how you stopped that invasion in the village a few months back.'

"Huh? Are wa amari..."

"Are wa sugokatta." Oniisan interrupted me, "You put an end to that attack with a single shot. Even I have never done such at thing. You're much more capable than you give yourself credit for."

"Sonna koto nai yo..."

"Do you remember 'Shooting Star'?"

'Huh? That was a song Oneesan recorded for you, to encourage you, right? What about it?'

'I loaded it onto your music player. Take a listen.'

Hesitantly, I took out my music player and set it to the song in question. The song my brother had mentioned began to play. I had never really heard it before, but he must've felt I would need to hear it someday.

When you ask, "Where do I go?"
It seems you are on your own
Inside of yourself
There is a strength that's hidden
When it seems you can't go on
When it seems you're out of time
Just know that you can
Cause you're always a winner

"I don't understand."

I told my brother, "This song was made for you. Just listen."

What is it you want to do?
Because you can do it
You illuminate the world
You shine so brightly
Endless possibilities
Are inside of your heart
Oh, oh, oh, oh...
You're like a shooting star

"Don't forget who you are." Oniisan told me, "You are my sister, the second ultimate life form. You are capable of so much more than you realize. Omae wa hikaru sabana."

I sighed. "Hikaru". That had become Oniisan's nickname for me. It meant "to shine". Naturally he only used it when we were alone or speaking telepathically. Still, the usage of it showed his sincerity.

"Kimi ni shinjiteru." He continued, "Jibun wo shinjite."

"Hai... ganbatte miru." I replied uncertainly.

"Get some sleep." He told me, "I'll make arrangements for your transfer. Contact me when you wake up and I'll give you instructions on where to go."

"Un. Wakatteru. Oyasumi." I replied.

"Oyasumi, Hikaru."

I smiled softly at Oniisan's parting words and tried to settle in for the night.

When I awoke the next day, Oniisan instructed me on where to meet up with Knuckles, the leader of the Resistance. I didn't bother asking how he had managed to arrange this when he wasn't even in contact with the Resistance to my knowledge. There was only a 50/50 chance he would've told me anyway.

My journey took me from the city to the meadows of Green Hill. Only the members of the head group knew the location of HQ, so I was supposed to meet with Knuckles in this zone. The morning air in Green Hill felt crisp and fresh and I was enjoying the morning run, even if I had to go relatively slow, I stopped out on the edge of the cliff and looked out over the relatively untouched zone in front of me. I remembered Oniisan's words and the song from the night before. Returning to the enjoyment of my run, I started singing the melody, but with different words.

"When I'm sad and I am scared, I know that I should just 'try'. Because the whole world is right here in my own hands. I'm flying higher now. There's no way I can give up. I'll push through all my doubts and I will let myself shine. Oh, Oh oh, Oh oh, Oh oh... I can achieve all of my dreams. Live the life that's meant for me. I'll illuminate the world. I will shine brighter still. Endless possibilities Are inside of my heart. Oh, oh, oh... I'm like a shooting star...! Oh, oh. Like a shooting star...! Oh, oh. I'm like a shooting star."

That's what I wanted to be. I wanted to become a shooting star that everyone in this world could hang their wishes on.

Finally got around to finishing the edits for this.

Edit 03/25/22: I remembered that I was supposed to translate the song back into English in order to generate new lyrics. Oops!fixed it now.

Also, here is a translation of all the Japanese used in this chapter.

Oniisan, kikoeru? : Older brother, can you hear me?

Sabana? Nani wo shite? Omae ni tashikani renraku shinai de to itta hazu da. : Savannah? What are you doing? I'm certain I told you not to contact me.

Hai... demo, daijoubu. : Yes… but it's okay.

Ima, watashi wa hitorigiri da. Darenimo watashi wo mienai. : Right now, I'm on my own. Nobody can see me.

Hitorigiri? : On your own?

Dou iu imi? Riishisutansu to inai naze da? : What do you mean? Why are you not with the Resistance?

Sou ka… : Is that so…?

E? Doushite? : Huh? Why?

Sonna koto nai darou. : I don't think that's true

Are wa amari… : That wasn't really…

Are wa sugokatta. : That was impressive

Sonna koto nai yo… : It's nothing like that…

Omae wa hikaru sabana. : You are the shining silk flower.

Kimi ni shinjiteru. : I believe in you.

Jibun wo shinjite. : Believe in yourself.

Hai… ganbatte miru. : Yes… I'll try my best.

Un. Wakatteru. Oyasumi. : Yeah. I understand. Good night.

Oyasumi, Hikaru. : Good night, Hikaru