A Quick Announcement:

Now that update 3 of Sonic Frontiers has been released, I would just like to acknowledge that for any future readers, this fanfiction takes place after the Original Ending (which I will refer to as the "Fallen Star Ending"), rather than the True Ending (which I will refer to as the "Rising Horizon Ending"). Thank you!

So these are the Starfall Islands.

Shadow regarded the grassy terrain through narrowed eyes. He crossed his arms, shielding himself against the faint breeze that danced by his quills, a solemn breath unlike the gleeful gait of gale Sonic usually produced. Beside him, Amy was scanning the grassy plains of Kronos Island, her expression an assortment of emotions: longing, grief, and love, to name a few. Shadow recalled that this had been the island which Amy had been stranded on, as well as the island that had given Sonic his cyber corruption.

To think that something so dangerous had once lingered here...

The islands—or rather Kronos Island for this matter—did not appear to be as disfigured as Shadow thought they were. The island was covered in mystifying greenery, with moonlit waterfalls and sloping cliffs that seemed to reach for the skies, as if to claim the blue overhead as one with the earth. Beyond the horizon, he could see a tall, isolated tower, along with a floating mechanical pyramid of some sort, interrupting the field of clouds with its shadows. Beneath it lay a small artificial island shaped like a spider's web, looking as if it were made from the melted tears of obsidian.

It's...beautiful. Maria would have loved this place. Sonic would have no doubt explored the entire island at least once. The island resembled an adventurer's dream, and he could imagine Sonic running through the vast flower fields, his quills dancing with light as the sun dipped into the great ocean beyond. He knew that the hedgehog favoured great fields and forests, and Shadow was certain if not for the urgency of having to save his friends, Sonic would have taken his time to enjoy the views that the island had to offer.

Amy caught his eye and gave him a sad smile. "This land is the home of the Koco," she murmured softly. "Memories of the ancient people who lived here. They persisted through war, and yet..." She trailed off, a sigh of sorrow escaping her lips. "I tried so hard to help the Koco. If only I could have helped Sonic while I had the chance... If only I had realized he was suffering..."

Her voice was laced heavily with guilt, and Shadow couldn't help but feel a prickle of anger toward Sonic. He was always hiding his own pain, but in doing so, he was harming those closest to him by burdening them with worry and grief.

You're an idiot, Sonic. But the insult didn't feel as satisfying as Shadow would have thought. It was undeserved, and after witnessing Sonic's current predicament, Shadow felt only sympathy for the hedgehog. The anger which had flickered within him soon died out, paving a path of steady determination instead.

"We'll bring him back," Shadow reassured Amy quietly, and Amy blinked, looking up at him in surprise. He offered her a gentle smile. "After all, isn't that why we're here?"

"Well, if we can trust him," Knuckles sniffed, glaring at the Eggman through crossed arms. The doctor was inspecting one of the many computers he had propped up, stroking his mustache slowly. Behind him was a small mobile mechanical tent of sorts, to which they were currently using to house Sonic. Eggman's head snapped up as he regarded the echidna, his attention briefly leaving the monitor.

"You know, not everything I do includes you idiots. I have a life outside of combating anthropomorphic nuisances such as yourselves, you know," he grumbled. "Besides, even your genius freak agreed with me. So why don't you focus your lack of intelligence somewhere else—I'll lose some of my brilliance just conversing with you."

Knuckles let out a deep throated growl. He took a step forward, brandishing his gloves, and Shadow thought he saw Eggman falter for a moment, his features paling slightly. "I don't trust you. Not one bit," snarled Knuckles. "You won't fool me ever again, nor will I let you fool anyone else. When this is all over, Sonic won't be the one you'll have to watch out for: it'll be me. So you better start deciding whether or not you want to continue antagonizing us, because I assure you, I don't hold back."

Tails took a step forward before Eggman could rebuke back at the echidna. "Guys," he said sharply, and Knuckles whirled on him. Tails frowned, furrowing his brow. "Now's not the time for this. We all need to work together, even if some of us—fine, all of us—don't enjoy this alliance. But remember that it's only temporary, so let's make it last while we can, all right?"

Shadow could tell Tails hated working with Eggman as much as Knuckles did—if possible, even more so. Perhaps it was due to their rivalling intellects, or just prior events muddling its way into the fox's judgement (after all, next to Sonic, Tails had the most experience foiling his schemes, despite his young age)—eitherway, he had a look of deep discomfort plastered on his face, as if he expected the doctor to turn on him at any second. Which is fair, Shadow admitted. He probably would, if not for the stakes of this mission.

Eggman scoffed, turning away wordlessly.

They had come to the Starfall Islands upon Eggman's proposition. While he investigated the Starfall Islands before Sonic's arrival, he'd noticed that Cyberspace, the digital dimension that overtook much of the ancient creations of the islands, were constructed from the memories of the Ancients, a long lost civilation of intelligent beings from beyond their world. He continued to add that, while he'd been stuck in Cyberspace, he'd carefully noted Sonic's activities and achievements through Sage, and was aware of the hedgehog's unique ability to easily escape Cyberspace. He concluded his speech with the reasoning that since Cyberspace was meant to hold the memories of those long forgotten, Sonic's memories may have been uploaded into the network, along with Sage's own.

So that was their current mission: find as many Cyberspace portals as they could, get in, get out, and upload all the data recovered into the Eggnet, where they could then transfer the lost memories over to the fallen hedgehog and AI.

The plan made sense, Shadow had to admit, but it still unsettled him to know that they were handing over precious information to the mad scientist. Would Eggman really uphold his end of the bargain? He was untrustworthy, they all knew. When Knuckles and Amy first heard of the plan to work with the doctor, they were immediately horrified—which, in Shadow's eyes, was a justified reaction.

But hope was hope, even if it resembled little more than a dying star. If there was anything they could do to get Sonic back, after everything he had done for them—for the world—they'd accomplish it in a heartbeat, a thousand times over.

Tails summoned them all close to him with a quick sweep of his tails. Shadow, Amy, and Knuckles gathered around the young fox. "So, here's a quick run through of the plan. Amy and Knuckles will each take turns watching over Sonic: Since we're on Kronos, Amy can guide us to the location of the Cyberspace portals, since she knows the island the best." Amy nodded, and Tails continued. "Shadow will be entering the portals, as Cyberspace should still be constructed with Sonic's memory in mind, and therefore should have the highest chances out of any of us in terms of getting out. In the meantime, I'll be helping out Eggman, and"—he added in a lower tone—"making sure he doesn't plan on betraying us."

"I heard that," Eggman grunted sourly.

"You'd better," Knuckles retorted. "It's a warning."

Tails ignored Eggman, and instead turned to look at the others. "Any objections?"

Amy raised a hand. Tails nodded, and when she spoke, her voice was filled with uncertainty.

"Are we sure about sending Shadow into Cyberspace?" she asked, playing anxiously with her quills. "I mean, we all know what it's capable of, right? What's to say Shadow won't get lost? And how are we sure Cyberspace won't take on the form of Shadow's own memories, rather than Sonic's? Is it safe for him to go in there?"

Tails sighed. "I've been thinking that over, too," he admitted. He stole a glance at Shadow. "But it's the only chance we've got at bringing Sonic back."

"I'll be fine," Shadow told them. "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, after all. I'll be able to handle Cyberspace." Eggman said Sonic hardly had any trouble entering from portal to portal. If he could do it, how hard can it be?

"Besides," Knuckles said, "Eggman mentioned that he knows of a way to get him out of Cyberspace, if he were to ever get stuck."

"Oh, and now you trust me."

"Only because I'll be watching you!"

"I'm afraid that won't do anything to solidify your case, judging your countless failures as the Master Emerald's guardian."

"Okay, I think that settles it," Tails said hurriedly before Knuckles could process the doctor's insult. "Amy, Shadow, we entrust you with Cyberspace. I'll—er, I'll try to see to it that Eggman and Knuckles don't declare another war on each other."

"Good luck," Amy said to Tails. Whispering, she added, "You can tame him with grapes, you know. It doesn't completely fix his mood, but it at least helps settle him down." She bumped him with her elbow playfully.

Tails smiled tiredly up at her. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." He turned to Shadow, and Shadow's breath caught in his throat. His blue eyes were wide with desperation, brimming with the emotions of a silent plea.

"Please, Shadow," he called softly. "Please help me save my brother."

Shadow took a deep breath. What was with him and promises?

First Maria, then Sonic, and now...

"I promise to you, Tails," Shadow said, staring down at the fox, "that I will do everything in my power to bring Sonic back to his senses." He softened as Tails' eyes began to fill with unspilled tears—a look he'd seen too often on himself. "Whatever it takes."

"That was nice of you to make that promise to Tails."

"Don't mention it." Shadow kept his eyes trained ahead. He could feel Amy's gaze lingering on him, as warm as the afternoon sun.

"I mean it. Tails is... Well, he's young. Sonic is the only family he has left."

"I'd have thought you were something of a sister figure to him."

A bird squawked over their heads, nothing but a white blur in the sky as they whisked past, their feet thrumming along the ground. They weren't running as fast as Shadow would have liked, but he supposed it would have to do—Amy wasn't quite as fast as him or Sonic.

"I guess I am. But he shares a special bond with Sonic—the type of bond you can't replace." Amy finished with a waver in her voice, as if she wanted to continue, but stopped. Shadow understood what she was getting at.

"I know," he murmured quietly, pain stabbing his heart. He embraced it with open arms. I won't forget. Never again. "Bonds like that don't ever disappear, do they?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" Amy began, but Shadow shook his head, cutting off her apology.

"It's... It's fine. It helps remind me what I'm fighting for."

They lapsed into silence. They could both feel the urgency of the situation, like a hound of wolves breathing down their necks. It hovered as an eternal presence, forcing discomfort with every thought.

"What was it like?" he asked after a while. Amy blinked at him, and he continued. "Cyberspace. None of you seem to be very fond of it."

Amy shivered, her spines bristling. "Oh, it was horrible. Maybe it was because of Sage, or the unstable nature of the islands at the time... But Cyberspace was like a culmination of every single terrible moment of your life, packaged into a nightmare you couldn't escape. You knew it wasn't real, but that's what made it worse."

"I...see."

Catching Shadow's worried expression, Amy quickly added, "But you should be fine. Sonic's the one who activated the Cyberspace portals on the island before you, so you won't have to see anything from your memories. It'll be easier to escape, since it won't affect you directly, like it did for us."

Shadow nodded. He fell back, thinking. Does that mean I'll be witnessing Sonic's memories? He'd never stopped to think about it before, but he realized with a pang that Sonic's past was pretty much unknown—the blue hedgehog had never once brought up anything from his own past, only previous adventures that riled him up now and then. It can't have been that bad, if he was able to escape Cyberspace, Shadow reasoned thoughtfully, and he relaxed, his fur settling down into a smooth arc. This may be even easier than I thought.

"We should be nearing the first Cyberspace portal." Amy's voice snapped him back to attention. He straightened, scanning the area. He caught the distant sound of the ocean waves, crashing against the cliff face like the great wing of an eagle.

"How many did you say there were?"

"If I remember correctly... somewhere around six or seven, I think? But Tails said the networks on Kronos are all connected, so we should be fine with entering just the first one Sonic activated." Amy perked, and she pointed in front of her. "There it is!"

Shadow followed her finger and his gaze landed on a large, throne-like structure made of stone, with glittering blue lights pulsing through the cracks like a leaking dam, casting a foreign glow on the moss scaling around the portal. As he neared the Cyberspace portal, he thought he could hear the faint whispers of multiple voices, an orchestra built from memories. He paused, regarding it carefully, trying to keep his quills from bristling. It was unsettling just standing near it—he couldn't imagine Sonic willingly entering Cyberspace by himself.

But he did it for his friends, Shadow thought, glancing up at the flickering light of the portal. He didn't care whether or not he would be lost to the islands forever. All he wanted to do was to save his friends, which would have only been possible if he entered Cyberspace by his own volition.

Shadow reached under his glove and activated the communicator given to him prior by Tails. "We're here," he informed. "Is everything ready at your end?"

There was a slight pause before he was answered. "Yes, we're all ready over here. Remember, Shadow: Get in, get out. Make it quick. Amy will be waiting for you on the other side—just keep in mind that you'll be exiting from the last Cyberspace portal Sonic activated, just as you're entering the first. And make sure not to linger for a second longer than you have to." Shadow could hear the worry brimming in Tails' voice, a feeling of trepidation regarding his safety and the possibility of being locked away in Cyberspace. But beneath it all, he could detect the faintest trace of hope, a hidden layer of excitement burrowed beneath caution.

This was their only chance at saving Sonic.

"I understand."

He wasn't about to mess it up—not when there was so much at stake.

Shadow stole a glance at Amy. The pink hedgehog shot him an encouraging smile, her eyes shining with trust. Shadow returned her smile with a small, brief one of his own, before he turned back to the Cyberspace portal. Ignoring his uneasiness, Shadow placed a careful hand on the portal entrance—just as Amy had described to him earlier how Sonic had entered Cyberspace.

Shadow closed his eyes as a tingling sensation ran up his arm, sending a shivering chill throughout his body. Breathe. He could hear the whispers clearly now, but they spoke in a foreign tongue he could not understand. Their voices wrapped around him, almost as if they were guiding him into the digital realm, their spirits mingling with his own like a warm blanket of serenity. He took a deep breath, standing firm even as the world around him dropped away into an endless abyss, the calls of nature dissipating into a static silence akin to that of a broken computer, his body a new avatar for Cyberspace to swallow and feed on.