Shadow stared at Sonic for a moment, then looked away and exhaled through his teeth. 'I don't need your help.'

Sonic shrugged and walked off. A nearby Goal Plate spun as he walked past it. As soon as the sign stopped spinning, replacing Dr Eggman's face with his own, he leaned against it and grinned. 'Really? Because you look like you're going to keel over.'

Shadow shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. He withdrew the Chaos Emerald and stiffened. '… Damn it.' The gem was dull and lifeless, robbed of its magical shine. He'd overused it yet again. And no wonder – he'd teleported so many times that he'd ended up on the other side of the world. He swayed on his feet, and the thrusters in his shoes misfired.

Sonic looked alarmed, and before Shadow could blink, his rival stood before him, holding out one hand. Shadow recoiled and stepped back. The sun shone down on them, outlining Sonic with a brilliant glow.

Sometimes, when he saw Sonic, he saw a solar eclipse. He saw the light of someone he used to love cascading over the person here with him in the present. Other times, it felt like Sonic was the sun itself – blazing with eternal light that shone on everyone around him.

There was an expression about the brightest flames being the ones that burned the fastest.

In seven billion years, the sun would burn out. And after seven billion years, he would still be at the beginning of an endless life. How many decades did he have left with the people he cared about? How many hours? How many minutes?

'Hey, Shads?'

He remembered how he used to think that it was a good thing that Sonic's eyes were green. For all Sonic's faults, at least he wasn't another blue-eyed reminder of who Shadow had lost in the past.

But Sonic's eyes weren't just green. They were reflective, like the green glass of the containment unit that Shadow had been suspended in for decades. They were luminous, like the viridescent aurora borealis that Maria showed him from the Ark. They were faceted, like the green Chaos Emerald he found himself relying on time and time again.

'Hey, Shadow?'

'Don't die,' Shadow whispered.

Sonic blinked several times. 'I wasn't planning on it.' He locked his hands together behind his head. 'It would kinda screw up the whole "saving the world" gig I've got going on. But seriously, are you good?'

Shadow stared at him. His hand twitched, and he could feel his anger beginning to rise. 'It's been a long week.'

'No kidding. We only fought the Time Eater a few days ago.' Sonic leaned forward and smirked. 'Though when I say "we", I mean myself and myself – I didn't see you rushing in to lend a hand.'

Shadow clenched his fist and looked away. 'You didn't need me.'

Sonic was a force of nature. He wasn't bound by anything, whether it be morality or physics. He was a tornado, a typhoon, a hurricane – wreaking untold destruction in the name of freedom. The only people he spared were his friends – who could take shelter in the eye of the storm.

In his mind's eye, he could still see Sonic standing in front of the Time Eater – a vibrant, golden flame flickering beneath the darkness of an unimaginable cosmic horror.

Sonic started tapping his foot, and he checked his wrist even though he wasn't wearing a watch. Shadow crossed his arms, watching him, and his brow creased.

Of all the things Shadow could have asked Gerald in White Space, there was one thing that he regretted not asking. After reading the Professor's journal, he'd learned about Gerald's interest in the echidna civilisation's archaeology. He also knew that there was a prophetic mural on Angel Island that depicted a golden hedgehog fighting Robotnik. To this day, Shadow still didn't know who the subject of the mural truly was or what Gerald's intentions had been.

Shadow began to tap his fingers on his forearm. When he had been on the brink of death fighting Devil Doom during the Black Arms invasion, Eggman had relented and told Shadow that he was the real Ultimate Life Form – not a fake, not an android, and not a clone. However, despite what he would like to believe, a Robotnik's word was anything but trustworthy.

Was Shadow really the true Ultimate Life Form? Or was he just a pale imitation crafted in someone else's image – a crude, premature attempt to fulfil a prophecy – an artificial creation who could do no more spit in the face of a god?

Shadow twisted, faster than light and sound, and kicked Sonic so hard that he disappeared, smashing through and shattering the loop-de-loop that he had pointed out only moments ago. A moment later, Shadow heard another crash and saw a cloud of dust rising in the far distance.

In an instant, Shadow reappeared above Sonic and stood over him. He narrowed his eyes. 'I let you win.'

Sonic groaned and coughed, holding up one arm to shield himself. 'W-What?'

'I let you win in White Space because otherwise, it wouldn't have been a fair fight.'

Recognition dawned on Sonic's face, and he rolled his eyes. 'Sure, sure. Listen, if you're that upset about losing, then you could have asked me for a rematch –'

Shadow slammed one foot down beside Sonic's head, rocket thrusters blazing. 'You've shattered entire dimensions because of your inability to listen,' Shadow hissed. 'Have you learned nothing since then?'

'I mean, we did erase that timeline –' Shadow drew back his fist, and Sonic froze, holding up his hands. 'C-Can we talk about this?'

Shadow narrowed his eyes. '"Talk"? When it truly matters, you don't use words – you just act. If you wanted to, you would already be on your feet by now, so don't insult me by pretending otherwise.'

'Fair enough, but –' Sonic coughed again, and his gloved hand came away from his mouth stained with faint traces of blood. He still managed to force a grin. 'I thought like you might need someone to talk to.'

The only sound was the hiss of the flames swirling beneath Shadow's shoes.

Shadow lifted his foot and stepped back. He turned away and began to walk off. 'Then you thought wrong.'

'Shadow.' Sonic's voice was urgent, and it came from directly behind him. Shadow whirled around and lashed out, but Sonic blocked his fist with his arm. The impact jarred Shadow to the bone. Sonic stepped behind him again, and Shadow pivoted, yelling, 'Get the hell out of my blindspot –'

'Shadow, what happened to you?'

Shadow stopped. He blinked, then looked over his shoulder. He exhaled through his teeth. 'It doesn't concern you.'

'You have a gaping void shaped like a four-pointed diamond between your shoulder blades. It should concern someone – if not me, then you.'

'Tch.' Shadow glanced over his shoulder again and resisted the urge to claw at his back.

One of the benefits of being the Ultimate Life Form was that he had a healing factor. He had yet to encounter an injury he couldn't survive, and every scar he'd received had always melted away over time. But he'd used the Doom Wings over and over again, constantly reopening the same wound. Every time he had used his wings, veins and bones burst from between his shoulder blades, deepening the surrounding scar tissue. He thought the injury would have healed by now – or at least become less visible. He could only assume that the shadows cast by the quills on his back had helped hide the scars from view.

'Not all of us enjoyed our time in White Space, Sonic.'

He turned and walked away, withdrawing the Chaos Emerald again. It had barely begun to regain its lustre. He resisted the urge to throw it away and reduce it to a glittering pinprick in the sky.

Chaos Snap didn't need as much effort as Chaos Control. It didn't even need an emerald – it let you teleport short distances regardless. But he'd travelled so far that he must have used up his own energy reserves and begun unconsciously draining the emerald of its power. He'd woven a light trail from one side of the world to the other, guided by his fractured subconscious. The only reason he wasn't still travelling through the aether was because he'd recognised a familiar face.

Sonic caught up to him and walked by his side. 'Did something happen?'

'I'm not going to reminisce about White Space with you,' Shadow snapped. 'And stop following me.'

'That's not what I meant. And you clearly forgot that you even had that scar, so …' Sonic crossed his arms behind his head and kept walking beside him. 'Something else must have happened, or you wouldn't be here.'

Shadow didn't answer.

'Is Rouge all right?'

'Yes.'

'Is Omega all right?'

'Yes.'

'Is –'

'I don't have a laundry list of friends like you do. You can stop.'

'Come on, buddy. You have friends.'

'I do not.'

'Then what about Omega and Rouge?'

'I have people I care about. How they wish to interpret that is up to them.'

'Don't you think that's kinda harsh?'

'I say that to protect them,' Shadow snarled. He turned on his heel and began to walk in the opposite direction. 'I don't want anyone to be targeted because of their connection to me. You, of all people, should understand that concept.'

'… I guess.'

'For Chaos' sake, will you stop following me?'

Sonic spread his hands and shrugged. 'Your body language is screaming, "I have unresolved issues that I need to discuss", so no – I don't think I will.'

Shadow kicked one shoe against the ground, and his thrusters ignited. He began to skate. 'Damn you to hell.'

'Pushing that ESRB E10 rating, aren't we?' Sonic sped up and raised an eyebrow. 'That aside, are you really trying to run away from someone who can run faster than the speed of sound?'

Shadow skated faster. 'I'm trying to physically leave the conversation –'

Before he could blink, Sonic reappeared on his other side. 'If you don't want to talk to me, then just Chaos Control out of here.'

'I would, but I don't have a functioning Chaos Emerald.'

Sonic held out a hand. 'Want me to take a look at it?'

Shadow glared at him. 'You've already taken one Chaos Emerald from me this week. I'll be damned if I let you have another.'

'I needed it to defeat the Time Eater –'

'And I needed it to defeat Black Doom!' Shadow snapped.

Sonic screeched to a halt. For once in his life, he was motionless. 'What? Black Doom? Shadow … I thought he was already dead?'

To be continued ...