A/N: Hello there! This is Clino with their first story here. I'm pretty much a rookie in both writing and Sonic's world concepts since I don't play games (I really suck at gaming), but I'd give a try and throw this piece of whatever-it-is into Internet haha... The vocabulary might be a bit messed up since I'm not a native English speaker, but I'm trying my best. Anyways hope you'll enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or any other characters except my OCs, all rights reserved to SEGA
Ships: Sonamy for sure, maybe a bit of Shadouge, Silvaze and/or Knuckles x Julie-Su
Prologue: Dull Shatter
It was a year ago, a rainy night without any thunder or lightning. But the dullness and heavy rain did not stop two silhouettes moving in the woods outside Westopolis.
The larger figure was faster, he ran ahead and was leading the smaller figure, which was covered in an oversized hooded cloak and was moving slower. The rain was becoming heavier, soaking the grass under their feet and creating puddles and puddles of water. Suddenly, the smaller figure slipped and fell. A crisp cracking sound came out from his cloak. The small figure tried to stand up at once but failed with sounds of something heavy falling down on the ground and crackles.
"My leg..." The little one mumbled, looked up to the large figure that stopped a few meters ahead of him, confusion and fear written in his eyes. "I'm sorry, sir...I-"
I don't think I can make it
"-Come on." The large figure interrupted, came back and squatted down. He gently and quickly picked the little one up, checked if anything was left on the ground, then stood up and went on moving. "I can't leave you here and let them catch you. You cannot go back to that lab again."
The little one looked down into what he was holding in his arms - a left leg covered in fur, scars and some kind of unknown crystal. The cross section was not fleshy and blood-dripping, but much more like a fracture surface of mineral crystal.
"I...I don't know how to thank you, sir." The little one whispered as he looked up again to the larger figure, who was carrying him and still moving in a high speed. "You are fast, strong, and-"
"I know. Now just be quiet and hold on." The larger figure interrupted again.
"We don't want them to find us." He added, trying not to sound angry or impatient. "Just wait until we-"
A sudden strong light was flashed down from above. Hovering sounds of helicopters surrounded them.
"Damn it!" The larger figure cursed with a hiss. "Only if I had that damn 4th chaos emerald with me..."
More lights were on them, sounds became louder, and winds created by hovering were tearing their cloaks. The larger figure tried to use his ability - unstable energy gathered around his empty hand, which was oddly covered in a layer of melted golden metal. He eventually managed to form the energy into spears of light and threw them to the direction of a helicopter. The spears hit and blew up the airfoils, smoke and fire soon appeared as the copter was forced to land. Troops of full-armed soldiers got out and started to chase behind them. Guns were starting to fire.
The sound of weapons scared the little one. He shook and huddled into the larger figure's arms. At this moment, the larger figure started to talk: "Kid, do you still have some of that red fruit?"
"I..." The little one hesitated. He was able to read through his companion's mind - he wanted it to gain power, which was what they both urgently need in order to get the hell out of here.
But the fruit was alien. A single touch would be lethal to anyone. And he did not even know how to use this raw fruit, although he was constantly injected with the extract of this fruit, along with a mixture of other chemicals.
"...I don't." He lied, after a few seconds of silence.
The large figure glanced at him, a sense of hurt by distrust and fury appeared, but faded away fast. He didn't say anything more but focused on running and checking the surroundings. Suddenly, he stopped and disappeared with a flash.
They appeared on a strong tree branch, only a few kilometers away from where they disappeared. The large figure tsk in disdain and put the little one down. He pointed behind the little one, there was a tree hole on the trunk. "Get in and stay there." He took off his own cloak and handed it to the little one. "There's a tracker in the pocket. If I don't return after dawn, activate it. It's easy to use and I don't think it'd bother to figure out. Still, I hope I'll come back and pick you up soon."
He watched the little one crawled into the hole and covered himself with the cloak.
"But sir, what am I going to do after the activation?" The little one asked. He already found the tracker and grasped it tightly in his palms.
"Just wait. Someone with the same tracker will find you soon." The larger figure - which without the cloak now, was a black hedgehog with melted golden metal covered his hands and shoes - said so, and jumped down the tree, disappeared into the woods in a blink.
The little one curled up himself into a ball, covered himself with the cloaks. He had no name, no parents, no friends and no knowledge of the "outside", which was forbidden for him to reach. All he knew was he had a heavy body that had crystals grew out from time to time, and a little still-developing ability to read one's mind.
There were always robots surrounding at him, doing all kinds of their works they called "experiments", and it made him hurt from time to time.
He thought he was a hedgehog, a living creature that was different from the robots and the people in white who occasionally visited him.
And then one day, an elder black hedgehog broke in this building he was in and carried him away. He was so glad to finally meet something that both talked and being warm and fluffy. He found a similar feeling on this black hedgehog and was able to trust him without any suspicion. He did not know why, but just did. He did not know his name, but somehow believed the name was Shadow - maybe it was the mind reading stuff he had.
He addressed him as "sir", which was taught by the people in white, for a "polite appellation". And now this "sir" was away, in order to get him out, far away and never ever back to the building where he was raised and experimented on again.
The little one held himself tighter, with nervousness and stress, with coldness and fear, he slowly fell into a quiet shallow sleep.
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Not after a while, the little one was awakened by noise and light. At first thought, he wanted to jump up in joy, thinking all was finally over and "sir" was picking him up, but then his mind quickly sank with despair, as he somehow saw through the tree trunk - there were people with masks and white loose clothes, carrying a transparent solid cage with straps inside, approaching where he hid.
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Shadow the Hedgehog slowly regained consciousness after coldness and pain over his whole body. He opened his eyes and found himself tied up and sunk under water. Wounds of shots had already clotted, and he felt a replenishment of strength.
"Chaos control..." He meditated, putting his last hope on his ability, and finally succeeded to disappear in a flash. The ability only brought him above the water, as he fell heavily on a reef at the seashore. He looked down on his left wrist. On there a small piece of crystal shard was half buried into the melted inhibitor ring or whatever the layer that was left behind. The crystal was becoming dimmer. In a second, a crack appeared on it, and its color faded like sand blown away by wind.
Shadow suddenly felt something he hadn't been caught to for decades. The same feeling that blasted him that day he lost Maria.
He covered his right hand on the left wrist, and managed to collect the shattered pieces, the only thing that little kid had left him. He hated to admit, but now he really needed help. Help from those who had knowledge of crystals, history and technology.