Shadow felt another wave of anxiety overcome him as his Chaos Control placed him and the blue hedgehog just a couple of steps away from the home that the hero shared with his two-tailed brother. He didn't know what the reaction to his unceremonious return would be- no doubt it would be far from joyous.
Sonic pulled his hand away from the black and red hedgehog's, glancing back at him just long enough to check how he was doing.
"If you're worried, I could go in there and do a gut check before you walk in."
"...Sure."
The hero nodded, walking a few steps backward before spinning around and approaching the door.
Just as he was about to touch the handle, the front door flew open, swinging back on its hinges to bounce against the wall behind it. Without missing a beat, Rouge strode out the door, pushing past Sonic and making a beeline straight for the Ultimate Lifeform. Her eyes remained squarely trained on him, brow furrowed and mouth scowling as she sauntered up to him, pulling her arm back and landing an open-palmed slap right on his muzzle.
The loud smack practically echoed across the hills, Sonic himself flinching from the harshness of the blow. Shadow's head was thrown to the side, motionless as he kept his eyes pointed down and away from the bat.
"You... you fucking jerk!" She yelled, her commanding voice even louder than the blow she landed. "How could you just leave me like that?! I spent months having to re-learn how to walk- do you even have the slightest idea how much pain I was in? If it weren't for Blue over there, I would have been completely alone thanks to you!"
Shadow clenched his eyes shut, another wave of guilt crashing on top of him as his former partner ranted at him with righteous fury.
There was nothing he could say- no excuse or defense that would have justified his actions. She was completely right. If he was in her position, he had no doubt she would have stuck by him the whole way through.
And instead, he ran away.
He felt himself flinch as Rouge grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I was so worried about you, you big idiot!" She chided, pulling away so he could look back at her. "If something's bothering you, you can just talk to us. We're here for you. So don't just up and disappear on us again, okay?"
"...I'm sorry." He muttered, unable to look her directly in the eyes.
She sighed, patting him on the shoulder.
"It's fine, really." She reassured him. "I got it all out of my system now. I'm more than happy to move on, as long as you don't pull another stunt like this again. We good?"
"...Yeah." He nodded slightly, emotional exhaustion still leaving his words void of feeling.
She looked back at Sonic, her expression concerned as she wordlessly looked to him for answers. He simply shrugged.
"Alright. Let's go ahead and get you inside. I doubt he'd outright admit it, but I'm sure Omega wants to see you too."
Meeting the other two occupants of the house as he was dragged in was significantly less eventful. Tails, clearly still unsure of how to address the black and red hedgehog, opted to simply smile and nod. Omega walked up to him, optical sensors rapidly focusing on various parts of the Ultimate Lifeform's body to ascertain his condition.
"YOU APPEAR TO HAVE SUSTAINED MINIMAL INJURIES." He reported.
"...There wasn't a lot that could hurt me out there." Shadow replied, looking away.
"GOOD." Omega hummed.
The hedgehog felt a hand grasp his shoulder. He turned his head to see that it belonged to his rival.
"Why don't you take a seat, Shadow?" Sonic smiled, tilting his head towards the couch. "We've got a lot to talk about now that you're back."
He nodded in response, slinking over to the sofa and wedging himself into the corner of the cushions and armrest.
The blue hedgehog cast him a concerned glance, but ultimately had his attention pulled away as Rouge spoke up.
"Well, now that the hard part is out of the way- all we have to do is perform the simple act of sabotaging the efforts of the largest military organization in the world!" She closed the front door, leaning against it as she looked towards her former partner. "How much has Sonic told you about what GUN's been up to?"
"Enough."
"Then I won't waste time rehashing everything." She nodded. "They haven't made any big moves, but... I've heard from some of my internal contacts that they aren't going to let this go. It'll only be a matter of time."
"The nerve of these people..." Sonic spat, foot tapping against the ground as he leaned against the wall. "It's not right! Why are they trying to punish the person who saved them?"
"You know why." Came Shadow's response, arms folded in his lap as he looked down at the floor below him.
"It's still not-"
" Well , regardless of their reasoning..." Rouge cut the hedgehog off, shaking her head. "We still need to figure out what we do moving forward. GUN hasn't made it public yet, so we have some time to bide our options."
"...What if we went public first?" Tails suggested, rubbing his chin with his thumb. "If we made a big fuss about it in the media, it could drum up enough public support to make them back off."
"We'd have a big chance of that backfiring." The treasure hunter shook her head. "Public opinion is... mixed at best, realistically speaking. But we shouldn't-"
"BASED ON PREVIOUS DATA, SHADOW'S PRESENCE ELICITS A NEGATIVE RESPONSE FROM CIVILIANS IN APPROXIMATELY FORTY-SIX PERCENT OF HIS PUBLIC OUTINGS DURING TIMES OF NON-CRISIS." Omega corroborated. "THIS FIGURE RISES TO SEVENTY-THREE PERCENT WHEN LIMITED TO WESTOPOLIS."
The bat shot a glare at the robot.
"...It's really that bad?" Sonic asked, incredulity in his voice.
Rouge nodded, sighting as she shook her head and stopped trying to avoid the subject. "That's also why allowing Shadow to stand trial is out of the question. I've heard talk that they want the trial to be held in Westopolis as well. They'll throw the book at him if they get the chance."
The black and red hedgehog suddenly pushed himself out of his seat, the conversation cutting short as he gritted his teeth.
"I'm going to head out." He said to no one in particular, walking over to the door.
The bat raised her eyebrow, refusing to move off of the door and let the hedgehog leave.
"...I'll be back later. I promise." He offered, glancing at her eyes just for a moment before looking away.
She sighed, stepping aside and gesturing towards the door handle.
"Don't keep us waiting for long, yeah?"
Shadow nodded, opening the door and bolting out before anyone else could say anything. Rouge watched as the trail of orange light he left behind traced along the hillside.
"I'll keep an eye on him." Sonic announced, pushing himself off of the wall. "Just to make sure he's safe. I'm not good with this kind of stuff anyway."
Before anyone could object, he sped out the door, following the trail of light his rival left with his own.
Chasing after Shadow was a little frustrating, to be honest. They were almost completely matched by speed, and so Sonic found himself only chasing Shadow's light trail, the actual body of the rival somewhere out of sight beyond the horizon. Still, it was enough to track his location, so long as he never stopped to smell the roses.
It was only after a few minutes of running that the light trail eventually disappeared, telling Sonic that the other hedgehog had slowed down. He paused for a moment, scanning the environment until he saw what he was looking for.
Shadow was sitting on the edge of a grassy cliff overlooking, head pointed downwards and evidently focused on... something. It was hard to tell from this distance. Sonic began to approach at a relaxed pace, clasping his hands behind his head as he strolled to re-greet his partner.
The black and red hedgehog paid him no mind. It was only as Sonic neared him and glanced over his shoulder that the hybrid's preoccupation was evident.
He was jotting notes down in a small, brown leather bound booklet, pen effortlessly scribbling away as he kept his eyes pointed down. His feet swayed back and forth, heels lightly bouncing against the cliff face as he slowly filled in the page.
Sonic bent over, letting his quills droop down just slightly enough that he could be sure they entered Shadow's field of vision.
"Something on your mind?" He asked, bending his knees as he laid down on the grass next to his friend.
"Nope." The other hedgehog replied, continuing his writing. "Just recording the day's events."
"So, like... a diary?"
Shadow shook his head, sighing as he continued. "Nothing of the sort. It's just a factual recounting of what happened. It's not for personal feelings, it's... so if I lose my memories, I have something to fall back on."
Sonic's mind flashed back to his conversation with Rouge about his journal.
"...Can I see it?" He mindlessly asked.
His eyes widened as his hand slammed over his mouth. Shoot! That was way too inappropriate to ask, especially-
His thoughts ground to a halt as a gloved hand entered his own field of vision, grasping the book in question. Shadow was calmly staring at him, watching intently as his rival slowly raised his hand and took the journal. He opened it to the first page, eyes tracing over the stilted cursive as he read the text.
Your name is Shadow the Hedgehog. You are also known as the Ultimate Lifeform.
Some time ago you were created on the Space Colony ARK. You were meant to bring hope to the planet below. You promised your beloved sister Maria this. No matter what happens, you must always keep this promise.
Sonic thumbed through more of the pages, skimming over the parts he had already learned from firsthand experience.
It wasn't long before he came across a lovingly rendered drawing of a young human girl. Her eyes were drawn to look directly at the observer, her smile warm and tender and full of hope.
"Shads..." The blue hedgehog felt the air rush out of his lungs in awe. "I didn't know you could draw this well- she looks so..."
Sonic looked back, watching as Shadow's head quickly snapped towards the ocean, his back muscles tensing as he waited for the other hedgehog to finish his words.
"...she looks like someone I would have liked to meet." He finished. "You've got some real talent here."
"I just wanted her to look just as she does in my memory, that's all." The black and red hybrid muttered, keeping his eyes trained on the waves crashing against the rocks far below.
Sonic glanced back at the journal, thumbing through more of the pages. There was an image of Gerald Robotnik, but it seemed completely devoid of the same emotion present in his daughter's image. Though, it probably wasn't all that surprising that Shadow found his relationship with his creator to be... complicated, at best.
He continued going through the pages, seeing the renditions of many familiar faces looking back at him. Eggman looked as imposing and devious as usual. Amy looked- well, innocent and determined. Sonic could practically feel Rouge's confidence oozing off the pages, and Omega's ruthless thirst for revenge in the drawing of him mowing down a horde of Badniks while she made off with a stolen gem nearby.
Sonic paused for a moment as he found an image of himself. He was crouched slightly, hand held outward as if reaching to help someone up. His own smile was bright and radiant, eyes closed to emphasize the emotion. Flipping through the pages, he found other familiar faces- Vector, Espio, Charmy, to name a few. Knuckles had been featured strong and headstrong as usual. But dotted in between them were more images of Sonic. Some featured him running, smiling as he looked at someone else not in view. Others showed him sitting back, laughing vigorously at some kind of joke or comedic event elsewhere. Another showed him quiet and pensive, staring out on the top of a hill as if contemplating where to go next.
"Okay, that's enough." Shadow quickly got up, snatching the book out of the prone hedgehog's hands.
"Wha- Hey!" He yelped, annoyed as he jumped up to his feet. The other hedgehog hastily put the book away, face flushed as he kept his head tilted just out of sight.
Biting back his complaints, Sonic stretched his limbs, peering back towards the rolling grassy plains broken up by swathes of trees.
"You know..." He trailed off, smiling as he nudged Shadow's back with his shoulder. "It's the perfect weather for a race. How about it?"
"...Sure." Came the reply.
"Alright, where do you want to go? We can see who gets to the top of the mountain, or if you want, we can make our way over to Apotos."
The black and red hedgehog shrugged. "That's up to you."
"Come on, Shads, you take your pick."
Shadow only shrugged, shaking his head. "Whatever's good for you is good for me."
Sonic felt his mouth open, only for his words to freeze up. Something wasn't quite right; he could feel a sense of unease build in his gut. And Shadow still wasn't looking back at him either.
"Hey..." He felt his voice soften. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Shadow nodded, turning to look across the grassy expanse. "Where do you want to go?"
"...Let's go to Apotos." The blue hedgehog relented, huffing as he crouched down into a runner's start position. "Have you been before?"
"Nope."
"Oh, you're going to love it!"
"Is there any way we could convince the president?" Tails asked.
"It could be worth a shot but doing so would also implicate me and Omega in leaking confidential government secrets." Rouge shrugged. "You guys aren't supposed to know Shadow is wanted, after all. And personally, I don't feel like being tried for Treason."
"No, I get it." The two-tailed fox muttered. After a moment, he clenched his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration as his next words left through clenched teeth.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... do you have anything we could blackmail him with?"
"No, and to be honest he comes across as the type of guy who would double down if we tried. He was born in Westopolis, after all." She absentmindedly looked at her fingernails, before smirking and looking back at the young genius. "But hey, I'm proud of you for even suggesting that. Big Blue's gonna be so dismayed once he finds out you're turning into a bad boy."
"I- I am not!" He protested, genuine distress in his voice. "I'm just thinking of all the possibilities. And don't tell him that- it's not very nice!"
"No, but it would be funny." She chuckled. "Don't worry, kid. Your secret's safe with me."
"It's not-" Tails sighed, putting his face in his hands and grunting in frustration as he leaned back into the couch cushions. "Oh, forget it. I'm all out of ideas anyway."
"I don't think there's anything we can do right now." Rouge shrugged, taking a seat on the arm of one of the nearby chairs, next to Omega. "But I think at the very least, Sonic's on the right track."
"Huh?"
"Sonic's basically the biggest public figure in the world, and probably the most well-liked one too. Saving the world multiple times a year tends to do that." The treasure hunter rationalized. "I don't think GUN would mount an attack if Sonic was around- if they got caught fighting Sonic again, it would be a huge international scandal."
"Then... what? Sonic and Shadow are gonna have to be handcuffed together?"
"Well, I'm sure you could do in a pinch." Rouge joked. "But as long as one of you two stick around, he'll have that protection at least. Better than nothing."
"Yeah... I guess you're right." Tails shrugged, eyes wandering as he pondered the situation. "In the meantime, I need to ask you two about accommodations. We... don't exactly have a reliable income stream, I built a program on my computer that can do some light day trading, but it isn't... great..."
"ROUGE IS THE OWNER OF A NIGHTCLUB WITH A FIXED-ODDS CASINO." Omega immediately informed the fox.
"Hey!" Rouge shouted, smacking the robot in the back of the head. "They are not rigged, it's just 'high risk high reward!' Perfectly legal!"
Tails looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Tails, sweetie, you don't need to worry about us. We can afford our own place to live. But if you've got any jobs for us, we'll be happy to put the work in."
"AFFIRMATIVE." The robot added, turning his head to face the fox again. "I WILL ASSIST WITH ANY OF YOUR WORKSHOP TASKS AS NEEDED, AS WELL."
The young fox cast a worried look at the robot, then back to Rouge. The bat looked genuinely lost for words at the robot's insistence.
"Well, I don't know if I have anything right now..." Tails trailed off, a little off put by the E-Series machine's insistence. "But I'm sure it won't be long until I find something that I need help with heavy lifting or ultra-precise handling. I'll let you know once I do."
"GOOD."
"I'm guessing Shadow will be staying here, then." Tails quickly changed the subject. "I'll go get a set of sheets out so he can sleep on the couch- Oh!"
The fox quickly pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts.
"I should call Sonic to let him know about what's going on. The others should probably know, too. Knuckles will probably say he's busy guarding the Master Emerald, but I'm sure Amy would be really mad if she wasn't able to help in some way."