Shadow the Hedgehog skated down the grassy plains of green hills fast towards Eggman's island base. He found himself on the trail, trying to find out who was impersonating the late Ivo Robotnik after the ultimate demise of Eggman and what seemed to be the end of the war that had been going off and on for what felt like forever.
The world was finally at peace. With Sonic alive, most, if not all, villains feared even to try to take over Mobius. They all knew that Sonic would stop them. This era of peace finally had fallen upon Mobius.
All until the anniversary of Eggman's death. A town was suddenly swarming with badniks and various robots. Sonic was the first on the scene to stop these robots almost as swiftly as they appeared. Shadow had heard about the attack from his intercom. Rumors began to spread about Eggman faking his death, but Shadow, Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the gang all knew better. Shadow recalled how Sonic was the last to see Eggman's body before it was lowered into the grave.
Shadow had always wondered why Sonic kept the doctor alive. He wondered if there was more to The Doctor and Sonic's rivalry than the two of them led on. Shadow knew that Eggman, after being defeated, would sometimes show up at Sonic's place with a goofy look on his face, and they would watch movies and just hang out. The first time this happened. Shadow felt confused, but it became routine for Eggman to show up after defeat. Shadow would spy on Sonic from the comfort of his place of residence. He would never let the world know that he lived in Sonic's attic. This was his biggest secret. Not even Sonic himself knew.
Shadow thought back to the funeral as he skated toward Eggman's base. He could remember Sonic's face in full detail. The sadness radiating off of the usually happy-go-lucky hedgehog was unnerving. Shadow had never seen Sonic's face like that. Not once. It reminded him of Mar- No, he shouldn't be dwelling in the past at this moment. He needed to find out what was going on. He shook his head, trying to get his mind off the traumatic moment creeping up on him once again.
As he approached the entrance to the island base. Shadow stopped in front of the door. This was dumb. Eggman was dead. It could have been a sudden malfunction that the robots activated themselves. He placed his hand on the door and shook his head. "I shouldn't be here," he spoke low. Turning to leave, he looked back at the door once more. His ears went back as he heard a large explosion inside the base. He could hear a laugh behind the door. What the hell? He thought to himself. Someone was inside of the doctor's base and making a ruckus. Shadow stared at the door. Who would be that stupid that they would intrude on the doctor's base, full of badniks and unstable projects? He opened the door and walked in.
Shadow held his arms as he walked through the dark halls towards the light. He went through his mind of who could be the intruder. Rouge? No, that laugh did not sound like Rouge. It sounded more like a man's laughter. It was familiar. As Shadow entered the light, he looked around the room. The monitors were all on; the systems were up. This was odd. Something was amiss. Smoke was rising from the next room over. Shadow was guessing this was where the laughter was coming from. He approached the room. There were badnik pieces scattered across the floor. Freshly dismantled, and in the middle of the room stood no other than "Sonic… what are you doing here?"
Sonic tensed up. He looked over at Shadow, kicking a badnik piece to the wall. His eyes darted around the room; Shadow could tell Sonic was nervous about something. Sonic spoke in a shaky tone. "Shadow, a, uh, what are you doing here?" He asked. Shadow raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what was going on. He walked over to Sonic, looking him dead in his eyes. "I should be asking you that." Sonic stepped back, hiding his left hand behind his back. He chuckled nervously. "I was just… looking for, you know." he tripped over his words as if he couldn't find what to say. Shadow looked around at the mess. "You understand that it is dangerous to be here, right Sonic?" he crossed his arms and shook his head. Sonic was always such a reckless idiot.
However, Shadow felt curious about what Sonic had hidden behind his back. Was it an embarrassing photo? "I am guessing that you found what you are looking for? Come on, let's get out of here," he spoke low. "The Doctor's bots will deactivate and rust with time." Sonic looked around the room before looking into Shadow's eyes. He kept his left hand hidden. "You go ahead, Shadow. I will be right there." Shadow held his arms. He shook his head before remembering he needed to find out who was taking control of Eggman's badniks. He glanced at Sonic. Sonic wouldn't. Sonic was always the kind of narcissistic, free-spirited hero. "Sonic, have you seen anyone else around here?" he asked. Maybe Sonic would at least know something about the culprit. Sonic shook his head, looking at the ceiling." No, I have not seen anyone else around. Why?" he asked.
Shadow thought about the possibility that the robots that attacked the town could have just been programming in Eggman's system, which had them activated once Eggman was no longer around. He took a breath. "Never mind. I will go break the late Doctor's main computer and we can-" Sonic's eyes widened. "No! Shadow, let's just leave this place as it is now. We don't need to shut anything down." Shadow's ears twitched. What was that outburst all of a sudden about? "Sonic, you are not making sense. Don't you want to end all of this? The world can finally be free of the threat of him. You can finally take a break from saving the world." Sonic's eye ticked. "Let's just go and leave this place as we found it." he insisted.
Shadow shook his head. He started walking towards the central room. Sonic cringed. He tapped his middle finger to the palm of his hand. The door in front of Shadow closed. Shadow tensed up at the door sliding closed in front of his face. He turned around, looking at Sonic. "Sonic, are you sure you have not seen anyone else here? That could not have been a coincidence that the door just locked in front of me," he spoke seriously. Sonic looked into Shadow's eyes. "Well, since the path is blocked. Why don't we just get out of here?" Shadow glanced down at Sonic's hidden hand. "Alright, we can leave for now. First, I want to know what you are hiding, Sonic." Sonic tilted his head. "I am not hiding anything, Shadow; you know me. When do I hide anything?" Shadow gleaned at Sonic's hidden hand; he could spot a glint of gold peeking out from behind Sonic's back. "Then show me your hand, Sonic." Sonic looked to the side. He chuckled nervously as he tapped a finger to his palm; the door behind him opened as he blurred out. Shadow froze for a moment.
Now, that was not a coincidence. He sped after Sonic. "Sonic! Get back here!" he yelled. Sonic turned a corner, entering the central hub. He tapped his fingers to a part of the touchpad on his glove, locking the door behind him and a few others. Shadow turned the corner, almost slamming face-first into the door. He slammed his fist on the door. "Sonic! What are you doing!? What is going on with you?" Shadow could not believe what he was witnessing. Shadow was almost in disbelief. "Open the door!" he exclaimed.
Sonic knew that he was screwed. That his secret was out. He held his arms, thinking about what he should do. Could he trust Shadow with this? He sure didn't trust Tails to keep this secret. He knew that Tails would disapprove and beg Sonic to stop. He knew all his friends would abandon him if they knew the truth, but Shadow? Shadow had always been morally grey. Maybe it was alright to tell him. Sonic looked over at Metal Sonic, which he had been working on fixing for the last month. His ears went down as he walked over to the large chair, picking up his other glove. He took his white glove off, placing the modified control glove on. He glanced over into the egg-shaped mirror before walking to the door. He tapped his finger to his glove, opening the door. He stood in front of Shadow. "Sorry, Shadow," he spoke in a lower tone.
Sonic hated to admit it, but the look on Shadow's face was priceless. It was the look of puzzlement. The moment that Shadow pieced it together, his ears went back. "Sonic, are you telling me that you are the one who sent those badniks to that town?" Sonic looked around, making sure nobody else was around. He then nodded. "Yes, I was." Shadow shook his head. "That does not make sense: you, Sonic. You sent Badniks to attack a town and then saved it? Did someone put you up to this? Are you being blackmailed? This is not you…" Sonic turned around. He chuckled softly. "Honestly, Shadow. I started doing this to cope with losing Eggman, and I just wanted to be the hero again. The idea that I am no longer needed to save the world kills me." Shadow stepped forward. He looked at the modified gloves. Looking closer, he could see what looked like circuitry next to Sonic's eye. How long had Sonic been doing this? "So, what? Is this your last time saving the day? You saved the day. There are no more enemies." Sonic walked over to the computer. He hopped onto Eggman's chair, moving his hand on the ball mouse to spin the chair around. "Who says it was the last time?" Shadow stepped forward. "You are not being serious. Sonic, you had your last hurrah. Come on, let's go home,"
Sonic side-eyed Shadow. He looked dissatisfied. "Shadow, either you will keep this secret or not. I would rather not have you be against me. Come on, let's have some fun. I will even make sure that you can save the day sometime." Shadow walked over to Sonic, knowing he could probably stop Sonic if he went too far. Maybe coping like this would not be too bad. He thought back to the robot attack on the town. Nobody got hurt; it was more of a fear factor and the people's excitement when Sonic saved the day. Shadow placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder softly. "I will keep this secret then; I admit I want to know how this all started." Sonic smiled; he spun the chair around. The circuitry next to his eye glittered in the light. "Well, it is quite the story. Let me start from the beginning."