Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfiction. Constructive criticism only please.
All the Stars
(A Shadow the Hedgehog fanfic)
Chapter one: Anything but a normal day
No matter where he looked, all he saw was darkness…a golden hedgehog hovering next to him in the vacuum of space…summoning a flash of light to save the world from the space station…falling to the ground, hearing the atmosphere burn his quills as he fell…a thin smile on his lips as he acknowledged death…yet death eluded him…An annoying beep filling his ears… Shadow opened his eyes, the alarm clock of the run-down abandoned house he now called home, blaring in his ears. Reaching over, he flicked off the alarm, plunging the ancient house once more into blessed silence. His eyes flickered shut, but he rose from the decrepit couch he had fallen asleep on, his artificially created skin repelling any ticks or fleas that may have been in the old cushions. He stepped outside, raising an eyebrow and the blue blur named Sonic being chased by a slightly slower pink blur. Amy Rose, helplessly infatuated with the cerulean hero. Shadow ran a hand through his vermilion-striped quills, teasing out some knots.
Dropping his hand once more to his side, he ran down to an old forest, deep within, to a small clearing, the first place he landed on earth. Crouching down, he looked over the various wildflowers budding, his face a mask of neutrality.
"Hey Shads! Help!" Shadow turned to see Sonic take off, followed almost immediately by a hot pink smudge. Rolling his eyes, he was about to leave, when something caught his eye.
A small metallic handgun was laying on the ground. Shadow vividly remembered the times he's used firearms, all of them in self-defence. Stooping to pick up the handgun, the drone of machinery reaches his ears. Standing, he tried to pinpoint the noise, while slipping the handgun into his quills.
"Dr. Robotnik?" Shadow muttered to himself. "Or Metal Sonic?" He takes off and maximum speed, finding a massive warship in the sky hovering above Station Square, painted black with Eggman's logo on the side. It turned to broadside Station Square, and Shadow noticed that the colour scheme was still off. Eggman generally preferred red and yellow, but this ship was all black. Sonic and Amy had stopped fooling around and started trying to get people to safety. G.U.N. personnel and artillery were moving in to defend Station Square.
"Hey Shads!" Turning his head, Shadow's eyes fell upon the blue hedgehog. "C'mon, we gotta take this thing out!"
"Agreed," Shadow's gravely voice was met with a grin from Sonic. The black blur jumped atop the barrel of an artillery cannon, trying to get a better look at the ship. As he looked, doors opened on the side of the ship. Like floodgates opening, instead of water pouring from the new opening, it was airborne droids. Sonic sped up a building and leapt, Spin-Dashing off of the flying robots.
Shadow followed suit, launching himself off the barrel of the artillery cannon, curling into a ball and slamming against the first flying droid he encountered, gradually making his way up to the ship, Sonic slightly ahead of him. As Sonic landed on the ship, followed swiftly by Shadow, a metallic clanking sound filled the now empty docking bay from a dark hallway.
As the two hedgehogs pivot towards the noise, flashes of gunfire spit towards them, and the two hedgehogs dive in opposite directions. A large metal robot, with dual machine guns steps into the dim light, aiming one gun at each hedgehog. Sonic struggled to his feet, momentarily dazed by the sudden need to dodge bullets, and Shadow pulled out the handgun he was storing in his quills. Firing twice, one bullet to each of the metallic joints that created an artificial knee for the robot, causing the robot to fall to it's now damaged knees. Sonic and Shadow both Spin-Dashed the robot in the chest, and the eyes of the droid flickered and died. Shadow turned to Sonic, both of them wiping oil from their fur.
"You reckon Egghead's got more of those?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know," Shadow replied smoothly. "Considering it only took two 9 millimetre bullets and a couple Spin-Dashes, I doubt that this particular model of robot is reliable for protection." Shadow turned to the downed robot and pried one of the machine guns off of its arm, along with a string of ammunition.
"Don't look so surprised, Sonic. If it's more than just the doctor here, I'd rather be prepared for it."
"You know I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those," Sonic replied.
"Yes, I know. That's why I didn't toss you a gun." Shadow stated before turning and walking towards the darkened hallway the now defeated droid had come from.
Clicks echoed through the deathly silent ship as Shadow's air shoes struck the metal floor. Sonic followed close behind, peering into the darkness as Shadow aimed his machine gun into the shadowed corridor. Sonic felt a line of sweat run down his back as the oppressive heat of the ship began to take its toll on him. As the two hedgehogs began perspiring, the sound of footsteps, heavy and plentiful, were coming right towards them.