This is the second part of the sad ending. The next two chapters are the happy ending.

Chapter 13: A Hero Laid to Rest

Sally called a meeting with the other Freedom Fighters to announce the news. She does her best to put on a strong face in front of the others.

"It saddens me to have to announce to all of you that our friend and fellow Freedom Fighter Shadow succumbed to his injuries last night. We will hold a funeral for him today and inter him in Knothole's cemetery. Rotor, would you be able to make a casket for him?"

"Of course."

"Bunnie, you and Dulcy are the strongest ones we have. Would you be willing to help lower him into the grave?"

"Sure, sugah."

"Sonic, you can dig faster than any of us could with a shovel. Could you create the burial plot?"

Sonic didn't say anything, he just nodded his head.

"Rotor, can you come with me so you know how... how large to make the casket?"

Her voice broke a little. Tails ran up to Sally and asked, "What about me, Aunt Sally? What should I do to help?"

"Oh Tails, honey, you don't have to do anything."

"But I wanna! Shadow was my friend too! I wanna do something for him!"

"Okay, why don't you go into the forest and find some really nice flowers?"

Once all preparations had been made, Rotor worked for a few hours on a casket. He went to retrieve Shadow's body, but Sonic offered to do it.

"You sure? You don't have to."

"I want to."

Sonic carried Shadow to the casket, tears running down his face the entire time. He gingerly placed Shadow into the freshly-carved casket and folded his friend's hands over his chest. Tails and Bunnie tucked flowers into the casket around Shadow's body, and Sonic worked on digging a grave. Once everything was in order, the Freedom Fighters held a funeral for their fallen teammate so that he could be laid to rest. Sally gave a eulogy.

"Shadow told me he had a rough beginning in his life, having been created for good and then misused for evil. But using his free will, he chose to stray from evil and to not be a force of destruction. He saved Sonic's life, and he gave his own protecting mine. He may not have seen himself as one, but Shadow was truly a hero. He is a perfect example of someone being born into darkness and choosing to turn to the light. It's only on the darkest nights that the stars shine the brightest, and nobody will shine brighter than Shadow."

Sonic also shared a few words.

"Me and Shadow had a rough start – we were definitely NOT friends. Even when I warmed up to him, he still didn't like me. But I knew he was a good guy and deserved a chance, and I'm happy the princess saw it in her heart to welcome him into Knothole to be one of us. I'm sorry he had to lose his life to the likes of Robotnik, but it's a risk all of us take doing what we do and I'm happy he found a new purpose here, even if it was only for a little while. He changed so much since he got here, and he told me last night just how happy it made him to be part of our family in Knothole. He saved me and Sally, but I think in a way, we saved him too."

Tails walked up to the casket with a book in hand. He gently placed the book among the flowers. "This is my favorite book. I wish I could have showed it to you, but I hope you get to read it wherever you are now. I won't spoil the endings."

Once the casket was closed, rope was fitted around each end. Dulcy held one rope and Bunnie held the other in her robot arm, and the two of them slowly lowered the casket into the ground. Sonic turned and looked away because he didn't want his last memory of Shadow being his burial. Everyone picked up a shovel and helped fill the plot together, nary a dry eye among them.

Sally noticed Sonic seemed to be having a hard time and she pulled him aside. "Sonic, you don't have to do this."

Sonic jammed his shovel into the ground. "Would you all stop treatin' me like a baby?! Yeah, it's hard dealin' with Shadow dying, but quit actin' like I'm some kinda kid you have to protect from the truth!"

Sally and Bunnie stopped and talked to him.

"We're sorry, sugah. We didn't mean to make ya mad. We just care about ya."

"We know how hard you're taking all this, and we just wanted to try to make it a little easier for you to deal with."

Sonic softened up a little and hugged both of them.

"You guys are the best."

A bouquet of flowers was left atop the freshly dug earth covering Shadow's final resting place. After the burial, Rotor got to work on a grave marker to place in front of the site. Sonic walked off to be alone, and upon his return, he passed by Antoine, who was watching Sally in the graveyard, knelt over Shadow's grave. He wasn't exactly brokenhearted over his comrade's passing.

"Hmph. Good riddance to bad rubbeesh, I say! Eet eez bad enough the princess is choosing that blue fuel over someone like me, but then she likes zis intruder as well also?! Ze trash, he took itself out, I think. Robotnik's leetle vermin did not have any place belonging here!"

Antoine turned around to leave and ran face first into Sonic, who was not the least bit pleased with what he had overheard.

"Oh, Sonic Hedgehog! What a nice day we are to be having today, no?"

Sonic grabbed Antoine by his coat and put a clenched fist right beside his face. "That's my friend you're badmouthin', you worthless piece of crap! I don't care if you didn't like Shadow, but if I ever catch you talkin' about him like that again, you'll be chokin' on your own teeth! Get it, Ant?"

"Oui, oui, I am getting it!"

Sonic shoved Antoine to the ground and stepped over him. He then went to check on Sally and knelt down beside her. Sally wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"It's my fault he's gone. I should have been the one to get killed, not him."

Sonic lifted her chin and turned her head so he could look in her eyes. "Sal, if there was ever a time I needed you to listen to me, it's right now."

She stayed silent, but gave him her full attention.

"What happened to Shadow wasn't your fault, okay? You didn't force him to stand there and get shot. He wasn't your bodyguard. He saw you were about to get hurt and he chose to protect you. He wasn't stupid – I'm sure he knew he could get hurt, or worse. If any of the rest of us saw that happening, we would've all done the same thing. You didn't deserve to get shot and neither did he, but he made a choice."

Sally sniffled and held Sonic's hand as they both said goodbye one more time. Sonic was also wearing Shadow's gloves, and would continue to do so to honor his fallen friend.

Once it was completed and placed over his grave, Shadow's gravestone read:
Here lies Shadow
Friend and Freedom Fighter
Born a weapon, died a hero

END

Author's Notes: If you stuck it out to the end, thank you for taking time to read! It's been a while since I wrote a story and even longer since I wrote a Sonic story. It was nice to flex those muscles again! This story's beginnings came about after I binged Sonic SatAM, and I guess it mixed with my excitement for the new Sonic X Shadow Generations game and just kind of grew from there.

Also, I will be releasing a Shadow-centric Christmas story in December! I know, right? TWO stories one right after the other is crazy for me. But I got bit by the writing bug this year, I guess. Please sign up for alerts if you're interested in the Christmas story! It will be out before the 25th!