To whom it may concern, NO! I do NOT want to buy your commissions! If you are inspired and draw something GREAT! If I want a commission, I will reach out to YOU! If you leave a spam message in my reviews, you WILL be blocked and reported! THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!

Chapter 1: Tokyo Drift

Shadow stared up at the giant screen above him in bewilderment and an unfamiliar voice passed through his lips.

"Is that… me?"

Until now he thought he understood what was going on. The monster had brought him and several others to an empty White Space, and within that void were remnants of his journeys throughout time both past and seemingly future (or so he assumed for the ones he did not yet recognize) that he had to travel through to achieve his goals.

This, however, made no sense. This city, while similar to some he'd been to, was not one he'd seen before. And while he would previously assume that meant he was in a location set in his future, that did not explain what he was seeing now.

If the recording of him on the screen was correct, and a quick glance down proved that it was, then stepping through that strange golden ring in the white void had left Shadow in a different body.

It wasn't like the changes of one of his Doom Powers (in fact, he couldn't feel even an inkling of those strange abilities he'd been becoming adjusted to). He was still a hedgehog, still recognizable as himself.

But he was suddenly… fluffier!

Perhaps… this was another dimension? Had the monster's destruction reached that far?

If he goes back to the White Space like this he would have to avoid Sonic if he doesn't want to endure his inevitable teasing. Or knock his annoying rival into this place as well so he was forced to suffer the same transformation.

… Maria would probably like it though. That just might make it worth it.

As he stood there, a GUN helicopter swooped overhead and his eyes narrowed. If he wanted answers, GUN would have them.

He took off after the chopper, but he'd only shot through a few blocks before a loud explosion behind him stopped him in his tracks.

He turned around to see the large intersection he'd initially landed in was now engulfed in flames, and another GUN helicopter hovered just above as three figures descended from the aircraft towards the inferno.

Feeling that whatever was happening was important, Shadow shot back to his initial landing site, and Chaos Controlled up to one of the skyscrapers surrounding it to take a look.

The scene before him was a familiar one. He himself had played it out years ago.

A young fluffy Sonic, a fluffy Knuckles, and an especially fluffy Tails were standing in the intersection, with a fluffy Shadow glaring down at them from atop a wreckage that was identical to his current appearance.

"Um, excuse me! Why do you look like me?" Sonic shouted up at the other Shadow.

"I don't look like you! You look like me! Why do you look like me?" Shadow's Counterpart called back.

"You know what, I'll ask the questions, New Hedgehog! Who are you?! Why do you look like me?!" Sonic demanded.

Even more things familiar, this was his and Sonic's first meeting. But it was still not the same. For one thing, neither hedgehog was calling the other a Faker, only questioning their resemblance.

For another, Shadow had been holding a Chaos Emerald when he and Sonic first met and had been resolute of himself and his goals to a degree Rouge later teased as being 'dramatic'. This new Shadow below him just looked unsure, confused, and fairly irritated with no emerald in sight.

And finally, Sonic had been alone when they confronted each other which is what allowed GUN to capture and blame him for Shadow's crimes, but this one had Tails and Knuckles already at his side, and given he saw them arrive by GUN chopper, it was unlikely the organization was making that mistake.

(Also, his Counterpart was right, he was created fifty years before Sonic. He came first. Sonic looked like him, not the other way around.)

Things were different, but still, if the events here played out like the ones in his own world, then this new Shadow was set to make a terrible mistake.

It was possible Shadow couldn't change his own past (though Chaos knows with this time anomaly he's going to try), but maybe, just maybe, he could intervene in this Shadow's future.

Just as Knuckles lost his patience and moved to attack with his counterpart meeting him head-on, Shadow quickly used Chaos Control to appear between between the echidna and Ultimate Lifeform and caught both their fists in mid-air.

"Enough!" he said, tossing the two away from each other and landing between them.

His counterpart, taken completely by surprise, was thrown back so he flipped and landed at the base of the wreckage he'd been previously standing on, and Knuckles was caught by Sonic and Tails before he could hit the ground.

"There's two!" squawked Sonic in disbelief.

Shadow's Counterpart was also clearly shocked by this turn of events. "I don't understand-"

"Why do you look like me?!" both Sonic and Shadow's Counterpart shouted in unison.

Shadow ignored their question, his eyes focused on his Counterpart. "You need to stop," he told him.

"What?" Shadow's Counterpart demanded as he bristled, and his eyes flashed and glowed as sparks of rose-gold lightning flickered through his quills.

"You need to stop!" Shadow said again, firmly. "This is not what Maria would have wanted. Do you truly not remember her wish?"

Shadow's Counterpart looked like he'd been slapped. "Maria?" Then his eyes narrowed, and the lightning flickered once again. "How do you know about her? Who are you?"

Shadow showed no reaction, but internally he took note of the display of power. Not something he could do without releasing his inhibitor rings or when using his Doom Powers. But it was clearly not them, as those were accompanied by inky darkness, not crackling light. Either the other Shadow's rings were faulty, or he somehow had more energy within him than the rings could contain.

"Uh, we'd also like to know that!" Sonic cut in behind him.

"I too wish to know the name of the opponent I will beat into submission," Knuckles added confidently as if he hadn't been swatted like a fly only seconds ago.

"Shh, guys," hissed Tails, showing that he at least had some sense.

Shadow ignored them, and kept his focus on his counterpart, who was now literally glowing as he glared at him.

But before he could say anything else, a light above them caught everyone's attention.

Shadow looked up, expecting to see another helicopter, but instead, he once again saw the same portal ring that had brought him to this world, the white void still visible beyond it.

More concerningly, the portal seemed to be closing.

Shadow was out of time, he could only hope his brief intervention would be enough to change fate. So without another word, he raced straight up the nearest building for the ring.

"Where are you going? Answer me!" shouted Shadow's Counterpart, and behind him, Shadow could see more gold lightning and hear an echo of his own air shoes as the other Ultimate Lifeform no doubt attempted to follow.

And from the shouts and the crackle of red and blue lightning like the one Shadow's Counterpart had displayed, no doubt Team Sonic was not far behind.

Shadow leaped through the portal and landed once again in the white void, expecting the portal to close now that he was beyond it.

He was not expecting it to stay open long enough for not only his counterpart to dart through, but for Team Sonic to also stumble in at the very last second, crashing into Shadow's Counterpart who'd been too stunned by their new surroundings to react in time. His Counterpart was unfortunately dogpiled on by a hyperactive hedgehog, a heavy echidna, and a fox carrying more equipment on him than his size would have you believe.

Unsurprisingly, it was Sonic who recovered his voice first as they untangled themselves. "Uh, where are we? And who forgot to pay the animators?" he asked, staring around at the White Space in bewilderment, before his eyes falling on both Shadows. "Huh, you know in the light it's easier to tell you two apart."

Shadow glanced down at himself to see he was back to his usual sleekness and was now somewhat taller than his fluffier counterpart. His counterpart along with Team Sonic had all remained the same and had not shifted forms to match the versions he knew.

Putting that observation aside, Shadow shrugged his shoulders carelessly, and said, "I don't know why my form changed while in your world, but you are not the versions of yourselves I'm familiar with either."

That threw the four of them off for a moment before Sonic gasped and bounced in excitement. "Oh, oh, I get it! It's the Spider-Verse! This is like a Spider-Verse thing!"

Shadow had no idea what a 'Spiderverse thing' was and clearly neither did his counterpart, but understanding immediately bloomed across Tails and Knuckles' faces.

"I see, so that's why that ring had different readings than the ones we normally use. It wasn't just going to a different planet, it was going to an entirely different dimension. Cool! I didn't know rings went that far," Tails said, pulling out one of his electronics and holding it up to show off its readings.

"I must find my counterpart immediately!" Knuckles said eagerly. "Long have I yearned for a worthy opponent in combat, and who could be more worthy than myself."

Well, at least they seemed to have some grasp of the concept, unlike Shadow's Counterpart, who just looked confused and was clearly growing more irritated by the second.

And if Shadow knew himself, he would be losing his patience in three… two… one…

"ENOUGH!" his counterpart shouted at the three more colorful newcomers, before turning his furious eyes on Shadow. "You will give me answers! Who are you? Where have you taken me? What did you mean about Maria's wish?"

Team Sonic shrank back from his outburst, but Shadow stared down his counterpart, unfazed, before his mouth quirked into a smirk as an idea occurred to him.

Well, he had wanted to change his counterpart's fate, and if they were here anyway…

"Why don't you come ask her yourself," Shadow said cryptically, and that is all the warning he gave before shooting away at top speed.

His counterpart snarled in outrage and gave chase, but it quickly became clear that he did not have access to any Doom Powers, as all it took was a few uses of Doom Surf to get enough distance that he wouldn't be able to catch up, but could still follow behind, with Team Sonic once again undoubtedly at his heels (all while shouting out the plot of some movie they'd all seen to explain what a 'Spiderverse' was to his counterpart as they went, which was doing nothing to improve his counterpart's mood).

Looks like the blue leech was already latching on, and once he did, if he was anything like the Sonic he knew, then he'd never let go.

Shadow almost pitied his counterpart.

Almost.

This was turning out to be one heck of a birthday, or B-Earthday as his family had called it.

One second they were getting ready to make smores at the campfire, the next he was being recruited by GUN to save Tokyo.

He gets an awesome party with his family and he gets to be a hero, best day ever, right?

But then they landed in Tokyo and things got… weird.

First, the big threat they were supposed to fight turned out to be another hedgehog. Another hedgehog that looked way too much like him to be a coincidence. GUN didn't clone him, did they?

Then, just when it looked like they were about to throw down with him (thanks Knuckles), another new hedgehog showed up, this one identical to the first. Really making the cloning thing look plausible here.

Then they chased the second new hedgehog through a portal into a blank white void with various structures dotted around it. He'd never seen a place so empty.

Then New Hedgehog #2 implied this was a multiverse thing, which, if Sonic got to meet another version of himself like New Hedgehog #1 was doing, he would be thrilled. It would be like when he used his speed to make afterimage playmates, only not totally sad. They'd be instant besties, right?

New Hedgehog #1 sure didn't think so, as his counterpart said some cryptic stuff that left him outraged and then skated off, making them all chase him again.

Also, it seems New Hedgehog #1 wasn't a movie fan, as he'd never seen any of the Spider-Man movies, which should count as a crime, in Sonic's opinion.

He also didn't appear to appreciate Sonic using the Spider-Verse movies as a reference to explain the idea of a multiverse, which, rude, but maybe he just wasn't a fan of spoilers.

After a particularly spiteful glare, Sonic backed off and slowed his speed so he could run alongside Knuckles and Tails instead. "Wow, even with alternate dimensions involved, he is definitely not a version of me."

Knuckles snorted as he ran. "I could have told you that. These new two hedgehogs are much more impressive than the hedgehog I fought previously."

"Dude, I am right here," Sonic protested.

"Well, the version of him who led us here was talking about someone he clearly cares about. He seemed upset," Tails pointed out.

"Yeah, Maria, right? Something about granting a wish," Sonic agreed, remembering the stricken look on New Hedgehog #1's face when #2 said that name.

"We get wishes granted? That is a very worthy goal to achieve. I know exactly what I would wish for," Knuckles said.

"I don't think it was that kind of wish, Knuckles," Tails said. "The way he said it implied that this was some kind of last wish."

"Last wish?" asked Knuckles, confused.

"What someone wants you to do for them after they die," Sonic explained grimly. "Like, Longclaw's last wish for me was that I never stop running."

Knuckles glanced down at Sonic's speeding feet, and said, "I see you are fulfilling the owl's last wish well. As I have fulfilled my tribe's last wish by finding the Master Emerald, and becoming the greatest warrior in the galaxy."

Sonic spared his big brother a small smile. "Yeah buddy, we're doing good."

Ahead of them New Hedgehog #1 suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, making the recently dubbed Team Sonic screech to a halt as well so as not to crash into him again (if they did, he, might actually kill them this time).

That stricken look was back on #1`s face, and he whispered a breathless, "Maria?"

Sonic slowly stepped around him to see what had caught him by surprise and saw New Hedgehog #2 standing just ahead of them next to a young blonde girl in blue.

The blonde girl (most likely Maria) glanced back and forth between Hedgehogs #1 and #2 before a smile lit up her face. "Shadow! There's two of you!" she said to New Hedgehog #2 like this was the best thing she'd ever seen.

She then turned to New Hedgehog #1 and said, "Hi, Shadow, I-"

But that was all she got to say before New Hedgehog #1 (Shadow #1?) burst forward and threw his arms around the girl's waist in a desperate hug.

The girl looked down at him startled, but Shadow #2 didn't seem all that surprised as they watched Shadow #1 cling to the girl in tears like he expected her to vanish in an instant.

And given the discussion of last wishes… maybe he did.

Sonic took a step forward to try and help, but Shadow #2 stepped between them and shook his head, and the newly named Team Sonic understood the unsaid message.

Answers could wait. He needed a moment.

Nothing had made sense since the moment he woke up from his stasis.

Or rather, nothing had made sense since that terrible day fifty years ago when Maria had died.

Except now here she was, alive and whole, and Shadow didn't know what was up or down, or why there was a second him, or why that annoying blue hedgehog look-alike kept following him around.

But right now, black could be white, and wrong could be right for all Shadow cares. He had Maria back, that was all that mattered.

For her part, Maria seemed surprised by his sudden display of affection but quickly recovered and hugged him back, humming the song she used to strum on her guitar all those nights when it was just the two of them in the blanket fort in her room.

Finally, the concept of words returned to Shadow, and he pulled back to say, "But- I- How-? There was- The explosion- How are you here?" he struggled to say.

"This place is a space outside of time," said the hedgehog who looked almost identical to him aside from a few key differences like his fur being flat and lacking volume and his eyes being so close together they almost appeared to be merged into one. "We were brought here by a monster who is able to tear holes throughout history, and it brought fragments of the past and possibly the future here for reasons I do not yet know."

"That explains why this place looks like something out of the Matrix," the blue hedgehog remarked annoyingly.

Shadow's Double gave him a look for interrupting but continued. "I thought the damage it caused was only connected to our world, but then I found myself in yours. It seems the creature can tear through not only time but dimensions as well."

Shadow felt something in him shrivel up and die as he realized what his double was saying. "Then… you're not my Maria," he said, trying to pull back.

As he did that, the differences he'd been blind to before became clear. Small details like how her clothes were more old-fashioned than what his Maria favored. Or how her blond hair had bangs framing her face where the Maria he knew kept hers long and straight. Or how her voice was higher and softer when she spoke, and the beauty mark was missing from below her lips.

This was a Maria who wasn't killed. One who's Shadow saved her. Unlike him, who had failed to keep her safe. But she wasn't his Maria.

But this new Maria refused to let him go and hugged him tighter. "I may not be the Maria you know. But I'm still me, and I still care about you. I'm sorry it sounds like your Maria got hurt, but I just know that we both love you very, very much."

Shadow froze, caught somewhere between euphoria and heartbreak, but he couldn't help but melt into the hug.

Not his Maria, but still Maria. The only person he could trust to give him the answer he'd so desperately wanted since the moment he awoke from stasis.

"I-I was- they put me in stasis for fifty years!" Shadow admitted, pressing his forehead into her chest. "I only just got out. I- You're gone, Maria! You and the Professor! Everything is gone, and… I don't know what to do!"

He looked up into the familiar blue eyes that he thought he'd never see again, and begged, "Please, what do I do?"

Maria looked at him, sad and resigned for a long moment before becoming determined. She reached up to cup his cheeks in her hands, looking him directly in the eyes as she said, "Live."

Shadow blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I want you to live, Shadow," said Maria. "I want you to see the beauty of the world like we always said we would. I want you to try lots of yummy foods. I want you to make friends who care about you. I want, more than anything, for you to be happy. And I know your me would have wanted that too."

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut to avoid shedding any more tears. How could he be happy if she was gone? He didn't want to disappoint her, but it didn't feel like the searing pain from her loss could fade.

And he didn't think it ever would.

Shadow was quickly learning he and his counterpart were more different than he'd anticipated.

Things like implying Maria died in an explosion, though with the clear disdain he's shown for GUN back in his world, they were still undoubtedly to blame. Despite that, it didn't seem Professor Gerald had altered his memories in pursuit of vengeance like the professor had done to him. His Counterpart clearly had no plans for vengeance, or at least not yet.

(And likely not ever if Maria has her way.)

But the more blatant differences were in his actions. The fluffier Ultimate Lifeform was far more emotional than Shadow had ever allowed himself to be. His outbursts of anger, his uncertainty, and his tearful embrace of Maria all proved that (though that last one was understandable if he had only just awakened and the memory of her death was still fresh and raw). It seemed almost as if this version of him was younger and by some miracle, he still retained a small bit of something Shadow hadn't had in years.

Innocence.

Shadow sighed to himself. It seemed his counterpart was still soft in more ways than on the outside.

Speaking of soft…

"Soooo, from one hedgehog to another, who does your highlights?" Sonic spoke up, no doubt attempting to break the tension, but doing so in the most annoying way possible as always.

Still, Shadow was surprised he managed to keep quiet even this long.

His Counterpart let out an annoyed groan hearing his question and wiped away what was left of his tears as he pulled away from Maria. "The more you talk, the harder I want to hit you," he growled.

Shadow snorted. He knew that feeling all too well. "Get used to it," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Believe me, he never stops."

"He does not," agreed Knuckles, and Tails looked like he also agreed, but didn't want to say it.

Despite the insults, it seemed that Sonic was able to read something between the lines of Shadow's words. "Wait, do you mean? Did you just imply- Are you and other me friends?" he gasped out excitedly.

Maria's head snapped up to look at him, her eyes wide, and in her lap, his counterpart looked absolutely horrified.

Shadow sighed tiredly. His instinctive answer to that question would be to say 'No,' but that was not entirely true and would leave Maria disappointed. He did not want to go into details about his and his world's Sonic's complicated balance of mutual respect and bitter rivalry with each other.

As he mulled over how to answer, he made the mistake of looking up to see Maria looking incredibly happy for him and a Sonic who was looking at him with stars in his eyes (far different from the more familiar cocky smirk his Counterpart always sported). "... I was invited to his birthday party," he finally acquiesced.

It was all worth it to see Maria's expression of delight that he'd seemingly made friends. He wouldn't call them that, but there was no harm in letting her think so.

His Counterpart, however, looked disgusted. "But did you go?"

Another hard thing to answer. If it was his choice, he likely wouldn't have gone. However, he did owe Rouge a favor. "... I likely would have made a brief appearance if I hadn't been brought to this place," he admitted if only to avoid Rouge never letting him hear the end of it.

Sonic beamed. "Oh my gosh, it's his B-Earthday today? Mine too!"

Maria squealed in delight. "Shadow, you have friends! That's wonderful!" She then jumped to her feet, turned her attention to Team Sonic, and excitedly asked, "My name is Maria. It's so nice to meet Shadow's friends. Well, versions of them. What are your names?"

"I'm Sonic!" said Sonic, matching her joyful energy.

"I am Knuckles the Echidna, the greatest warrior the galaxy has ever seen," said Knuckles proudly.

"My name is Miles, but everyone calls me Tails, you can probably see why," Tails said with a flick of his tails. "It's really nice to meet you."

Maria's smile was radiant as she greeted them. "It's so nice to meet you. Please take care of Shadow for me."

That seemed to be the last straw for Shadow's Counterpart. "No! We are not friends!" he protested vehemently. "I would never be friends with GUN agents!"

Shadow… decided to keep silent over the fact he was now working for GUN and was in fact friends with one of their agents.

Sonic, meanwhile, just stared at him incredulously. "Dude, we do not work for GUN!" he said as if finding the idea insulting.

Shadow's Counterpart snarled. "Don't lie to me. I saw you come from one of their helicopters."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean we work for them! They're the ones who crashed my B-Earthday party to ask us to stop some disaster going on in Tokyo. We agreed to help because it sounded cool, and in the hopes that they would leave us alone afterward. Honestly, I was expecting to have to fight a kaiju. They told us literally nothing about you."

That seemed to throw his counterpart for a loop. "... You don't work for GUN?" he asked hesitantly.

Team Sonic exchanged a glance, before Tails spoke up, "To tell the truth, we don't even like them all that much. They put me in a cage!"

Maria gasped. "That's awful."

"Yeah," Tails agreed, sounding indignant. "And I was hurt too. Sonic was trying to get me medical attention, but they were more interested in locking us both up."

Knuckles nodded and added his own two cents. "I too hold no affection to the agents of G-U-N. As I was training my apprentice in the art of glorious battle, two of their agents attempted to capture me and sell me and my quills on the black market."

"They've been after me for years!" Sonic exclaimed in exasperation. "They're the ones who set Eggman on my tail! And our aunt still hasn't forgiven me for getting her catfished so her whole wedding turned out to be a trap for GUN to catch me."

Knuckles snorted. "Hmph, I find her lingering grudge ridiculous, considering that she still chose to marry the fishy cat-man anyway, regardless of his deceitful motivations to woo her in the first place."

Tails giggled. "Though not without her kicking his butt and a lot of groveling on his part. And she had me get footage of all of it to make sure she wins every argument they have for the rest of their lives." He then winked at Maria and stage-whispered, "I'm her favorite."

Maria, who'd been looking horrified at their stories, had to muffle a giggle at that.

Sonic rolled his eyes affectionately and ruffled Tails' bangs. "So, yeah, We do technically have an uncle that works for them," he admitted. "But considering our dad said he'd shoot him and our mom promised to neuter him if he or any other GUN agent ever even looks at any of us funny, safe to say he's not around much. That and, you know, Aunt Rachel still hates most of us except Tails and Maddie. Only Cousin Jojo really visits."

"And since Tom's a cop and Maddie's a vet, they can follow through on their threats too," said Tails proudly.

"The Lord of Doughnuts and the Lady of Pretzels are formidable foes when their progeny are in danger. I am honored to receive their protection," added Knuckles, and Sonic and Tails nodded in agreement.

Shadow's Counterpart searched the three of their faces for any dishonesty, before his shoulders untensed in a minute way that only Shadow and most likely Maria would notice.

Shadow, meanwhile, was processing the information he'd just learned. Yet another set of differences between their worlds. Not only did they claim to have parents and extended family, but the three implied they were all brothers. And while his world's Sonic had raised Tails, Shadow was fairly sure Knuckles was not included in their brotherly dynamic, despite being a very close friend to both. The echidna's ever-present duties as the Guardian of the Master Emerald always acted as a barrier against allowing the three that kind of relationship. What could have happened in their world to be so different?

Interesting, but not important. Shadow had better things to inquire about. Such as, "You say GUN sent Dr. Eggman after you?" he asked.

Sonic blinked at him, taken off guard at the question. "Well, yeah. He used to work for them. But when he went psycho trying to kill me, so they washed their hands of him. Legally, he never existed."

Shadow was certain the Dr. Eggman of his world had never worked for GUN, but he would be hacking a lot of databases once he got back just to be sure. "I see, and where is the doctor now?" he asked.

Team Sonic exchanged a glance.

"He's dead," admitted Tails.

"The hedgehog harnessed the incredible power of the Emerald and defeated the Man of Eggs, crushing him within his own hubris, and the giant metal monstrosity he created," explained Knuckles.

Shadow scoffed. As if he hadn't seen the same thing happen over and over again. "He's not dead, only biding his time," he said with certainty.

Clearly his words once again threw Sonic for a loop. "Wait, what? But I crushed him with a giant mech while in Super Saiyan God Mode!" he protested.

Shadow shrugged. "As has my world's Sonic multiple times. He'll be back."

Sonic groaned and slumped. "Great, so my nemesis is the freaking Terminator."

"Who's Eggman? And What's a Terminator?" asked Maria.

"Eggman is a nuisance, don't worry about him," Shadow replied, not about to tell her what a stain the doctor had made on her family name.

"Terminator's a movie about a killer robot," added Sonic, he then deepened his voice and put on a thick accent. "I'll be back."

As they continued to chat, Shadow glanced up at the Black Moon, which was growing darker and uglier with every new power he'd gotten. He saw the eyes set into its rings swiveling in their sockets, searching for something, and he didn't doubt it was him they were seeking.

Shadow glanced at Maria and the rest, knowing if he was idle here too long Black Doom may send his monsters after her again. He still needed to be stopped.

"Watch after Maria," he told his counterpart and Team Sonic, interrupting their conversation. "I have business to take care of elsewhere."

Shadow's Counterpart narrowed his eyes and asked, "What kind of business?"

"Is it the fighting kind of business?" asked Knuckles.

"Most likely," Shadow admitted.

"Then I would like to come with you into the heat of battle," Knuckles said eagerly.

"I'll come too!" Sonic volunteered.

"And me!" agreed Tails.

Shadow's Counterpart didn't say anything, but it was clear he would likely follow as well to get answers.

The last thing Shadow wanted was any of them following him, Team Sonic would only slow him down, but he especially did not want his younger, inexperienced counterpart to tag along. If Black Doom's ominous promises were true, then his counterpart was likely just as much a target as he was. Better to make sure the alien despot's attention remained on him alone.

Fortunately, at that moment, the time monster that had brought him to the White Space swooped overhead with a snarl before vanishing into a portal it tore into thin air. Everyone ducked for cover at the sight of it, with both Shadows jumping in front of Maria for her protection.

"And leave an innocent girl on her own?" Shadow asked once it was gone, making the four newcomers freeze. He turned to continue walking away. "I can handle this on my own. All you need to do is keep her safe in the meantime."

"Shadow, be careful," Maria called after him.

Shadow spared her one last nod before he activated his air shoes and shot away.

A/N This story came from the combination of the Sonic x Shadow Generations DLC and the movie coming out. It was an idea picking at my brain before seeing the movie, but after I saw it I just had to write it. Basically, I wondered what would happen if instead of chasing after the GUN helicopter in the DLC, Game Shadow had instead seen his movie counterpart and Sonic. This story came as a result. I'll try to post every other Friday on weeks I don't post Learned Past and Doomed Repetition, and hopefully, this will help me keep my other fic on track for what weeks I post too.

Anywho, about this chapter.

When I first saw the movie and how Movie Team Sonic and Shadow's first meeting went, I had to wonder a few what-ifs. What if they'd not arrived in a GUN helicopter? What if they'd tried talking more before Knuckles tried to pick a fight? Would a chance for them to just talk and understand each other have made a difference? Given their actions in previous movies and the Knuckles show (I know those guys were rogue agents, but Knuckles doesn't know that), Team Sonic isn't really the biggest GUN fan. If they'd had a chance to hear Shadow's side of the story from the start, they might have flipped sides real quick. Especially since at that point, Movie Shadow wasn't planning to destroy the world. He didn't want that until he reunited with Professor Robotnik, and the creep convinced him it was the best way to make his pain go away. There was a moment there in Tokyo where Shadow could have been convinced otherwise, and I wanted to explore it.

As I said, even before I saw the movie, when I saw where the DLC dropped Game Shadow, I had to wonder if he'd stuck around at that intersection, he might have seen the movie crew doing their first meeting. Given Game Shadow knows what happens after that first meeting, I wondered if he would have intervened, and how would that look? What I came up with was him trying to give a vague warning then leave, but the movie crew weren't about to let them do that. Now Game Shadow has to deal with them. At least Maria is happy to meet them.

Game Shadow: Says things in a way that implies he and Sonic are friends just to make Maria happy.

Movie Sonic: Takes this and runs with it. He and Movie Shadow will be best friends whether Movie Shadow likes it or not.

POVs Game Shadow, to Movie Sonic, to Movie Shadow, then Game Shadow

Nicknames

Game Shadow- New Hedgehog #2, Shadow #2, Shadow's Double

Movie Shadow- Shadow's Counterpart, New Hedgehog #1, Shadow #1