Shadow the Hedgehog: The Just and the Fallen

Epilogue

REMNANTS OF PRISON ISLAND—6:00…

Sonic was lying on his stomach. Rapid eye movement could be detected, as well as finger twitches. Even though he was unaware of it, Sonic was asleep.

"Shadow…" he whispered painfully.

After all the intensity that had taken place, he deserved to rest a while. The stress of trying to save Shadow was taxing—both physically and emotionally, and with that came saving the world from the Space Colony that had threatened to destroy the Earth. The latter was mostly Shadow's doing, and Sonic was trying to play a significant role in it. Shadow did put Sonic's mind at ease when he placed the ARK back into its original orbit; in reciprocal to that, however, Shadow's life had to be sacrificed.

Sonic moaned a little. His brows furrowed and his hands clenched into fists. As he motioned to sit, his joints were a bit stiff, so his knees and elbows popped quietly.

"Ow…" he moaned drowsily, caressing his head. He peeped his eyes open, only for his vision to be blurry and uneven. He shut his eyes, feeling the ground for clarity, but it was no longer barren and dry with ash. It felt soft and healthy of grass, of life. He felt around some more, his vision becoming clearer. His fingers motioned over the grass, feeling the blades and some dewiness. Then, he opened his eyes. They looked downward over his shoulder at something that his hand ran over. He plucked it from the ground.

"A flower?" he wondered, holding the blossom in front of his face. He blinked. He searched his surroundings, only to see that he was still on the island and that it was still intact. He stood from the ground, the flower still in between his fingers and thumb. He looked up at the sky. The clouds had regained their gray, overcast complexion and formations.

"Chaos Halcyon…" Sonic murmured softly. "It wasn't meant to destroy, like Chaos Ultima was. It was meant to heal and to give life…"

A zephyr blew past, and reflexively Sonic held onto the flower between his fingers.

"He gave his own life… to save billions more. Shadow…"

Sonic walked toward the edge to see the beautifully clear, calm, deep-blue ocean. As he went, he shut his eyes for a moment; when he opened them, he spotted a large shard of crystal drifting across his vision. The shard glowed a magnificent array of colors, similar to opal, which made Sonic reminisce.

Sonic had stopped and glowered sadly at the shard. "Shadow…"

The shard then started to shine, brighter and brighter. Suddenly, Sonic's mind was engulfed by the past, as well as Shadow's memories.

From fifty years before.

Sonic found himself standing in a dark room, twin sliding doors swishing closed behind him. He peered through the darkness: there were a couple of laboratory specialists beside him, pecking at keyboards. One was a red-haired woman with large, round glasses that reflected the lighted screen on the console. The other was male, slightly taller than his colleague, and had blond hair and sky-blue eyes that were monitoring the touch-screen computer tablet attentively. He seemed to be talking to the woman pecking at the keyboard.

Sonic stepped further inside to see a portly male specialist of Asian descent scuffling past him from behind. As he did so, his rectangular-framed glasses flashed with reflected light; that had Sonic blinking. A little ways ahead, there was another pair of specialists who seemed to be standing in front of a large tube of clear liquid. Sonic crept toward them, his ears homing in on their discussion.

"…turned out to be a compelling success, Harris," said another portly, yet older gentleman. The woman standing next to him turned and smiled down at him. "Just as we planned. Just look at him."

Sonic did just that, and was viewing Shadow in a dormant, infancy-like stage. He was the dark silhouette that floated in the tube. He remained semiconscious there, quiet and still.

"Shadow," Sonic whispered.

"He's perfect, just perfect."

"It's truly a godsend to have him in real life," the dark-skinned woman called "Harris" replied. She pressed a gentle hand against the glass tube, her smiling blue eyes gazed dreamily.

"You certainly have vision, Laura, I'll give you that. I'm very grateful to have you on this team. I'm sure your mother is very proud of you right now."

"It was an honor… working with you, Professor." She giggled softly. She smoothed her fingers over the glass viewing directly over Shadow's face, as if to caress his cheek. "He was our vision, Professor, my mother's and mine. We wanted a person like him to be in this world. And now, he's here."

Sonic blinked up at her. Then, he focused down to the floor, his thoughts seeming to form a clear picture. 'She really did love him…' he thought solemnly.

"Going by the sketches you drew of him, I'd say he was," the Professor spoke again; Sonic looked back up.

Laura nodded slowly, gazing admiringly into Shadow's sleeping face. She continued to caress the section of glass where Shadow's face was. "Shadow…"

Sonic could see the happiness shining in Laura's eyes. He reached out to touch the glass, but the room instantly shifted…

Sonic then found himself in the doorway of an observatory. He walked down a step and stood aside from the same scientists he'd seen from the last sequence, except one. He looked further inside to see the other specialists watching through a window, with pleased expressions on their faces. He blinked.

"Seems like she'll be used to this for a long while," said the young, blue-eyed, male scientist to the elder professor. On his arm was a little, white cloak. The redhead woman and Asian man turned and nodded to him in assent. "She's attached to him already, Professor."

The Professor nodded; the tall blond resumed observing the woman from before. Sonic came to the entrance of that other room and saw her. This time, he gawked, seeing her under full light. 'She is pretty,' Sonic said in his mind automatically. 'Whoa…!'

She looked so nurturing and kind. Her hair slightly flipped and was ebony-black and of medium length. Her cocoa-brown skin shimmered with health in the light, as did her sapphire eyes. She was caressing something.

Or, someone.

Shadow slept, curled in a fetal position, peacefully as the woman smoothed out his cheek. His calm breathing pleased the woman, telling her that he was in superb health and that the oxygen was safe for him to breathe. She smiled down at him.

He was perfect in every way.

Sonic just watched how comfortable the dark-skinned woman was, just stroking the hedgehog there. He blinked. Before realizing it, the area around him was turning white…

Sonic returned to his body. He opened his eyes, and recaptured the crystal shard that was slipping from his palm. He blinked a little.

"Whoa. Flashbacks?" Sonic asked, partially to himself and partially to the crystal shard. Its opalescent glow seemed ever so familiar.

The image of Shadow's smiling face impeded his thoughts for a moment. "Of Shadow's past, I guess? Shadow's origin… on the ARK. With… those people?" He blinked down at the shining sliver and blinked a little peculiarly.

Then, his mind was teleported back again fifty years.

Sonic peeked around a tall tree and saw that same woman again, with Shadow sleeping in her arms; she was asleep as well. He blinked curiously.

He saw the woman's eyes open slowly, and crystal clear sapphires checked on Shadow. The little hedgehog was cuddled up close to her, head against her bosom. She caressed the fur on his back, in between his back quills. She smiled sweetly as she listened to Shadow's soft snoring.

"Shadow…?" the woman called him gently, shaking his back with her hand.

The shaking roused Shadow out of his sleep, and half-dazed ruby eyes searched their surroundings. He felt the human warmth that was her bosom and sat up, rubbing him eyes.

Sonic blinked again, watching the woman lift Shadow gently and cradle him in her arms. His head nuzzled her neck, his little body balled into a fetal position within her harmless hold. She smoothed out the fur on his back, and started to walk away.

"Hey, hold on!" Sonic's voice echoed.

And yet, he could not be heard. His environment changed again.

He found himself in pursuit of them, only now in a long hallway. Next to him were panes and panes of airtight Plexiglas, viewing the Earth and millions of stars, including the sun in the distance.

Sonic slowed to a walk. "Whoa…!"

"Miss Laura?" a little voice came from up ahead.

That woman was holding Shadow, and she looked down at him with kind eyes. She smiled.

"Yes?"

"May I sleep in your room? I like your room; it's comfortable, and it has an actual bed…"

She then giggled understandingly. "Yes, you may. You can easily tell you're not like humans, can't you? A growing hedgehog like you needs fifteen hours of sleep at the most…"

As biologists began to pass them by, more began to bulk up in the hallway. Laura set Shadow down on his feet and resumed walking. Biologists waved at them and raved over Shadow. They were very impressed by him, on how well he turned out.

"Oh, he's precious," one female specialist complimented. "And he turned out ever so perfectly. Great job, Laura."

"Thank you. He did turn out perfectly, didn't he?"

Shadow stepped behind Laura, looking away and clasping onto her hand. They both giggled at his stoic bashfulness.

"Oh, he's so adorable, Laura!"

She smiled down at Shadow assuredly.

But then, something within Sonic was piqued. A strange aura of safety suddenly filled him with peace and tranquility.

"Okay…?" Sonic blinked curiously. "This feels—weird, but calming. Shadow…?"

Shadow smiled in return up at Laura.

"His smile mirrors hers," Sonic continued to follow them silently. He saw them clasp hands tenderly, as if they were mother and child. "This must be how Shadow always felt whenever she used to smile at him like that. I'm beginning to see how they were so close, and why Shadow would be so loyal to humans. It was all based on that emotion, whether it be trust, comfort… or love…"

"My power is completely drained… and my body cannot sustain this form for very much longer. That Chaos Control took the last of my Energy, and now… I can rest."

…

"Sonic, I… cannot go home with you."

"Why, Shadow? What's wrong?"

"I'm… losing more power by the minute… I won't last much longer."

"But…? What if I transferred some of my Chaos Energy to you? Wouldn't that—?"

"That's what I'm doing… for you."

…

"I know this is for the greater good, but isn't there a better way, where your life doesn't get thrown away?"

"…I'm doing this… to save billions more."

Shadow's words haunted every crevice of Sonic's thoughts. They made Sonic regret every single moment that he wasted attempting to save Shadow's life. Guilt plagued him as he roamed through the halls within Shadow's memory.

"Shadow…!"

"You're safe with me…" came Laura's voice right then.

Sonic froze as an instant flashback flickered into his sight: the Project: Shadow symbol appeared. Then another: Pen sketches of Shadow…inside of a journal, Laura's journal. Laura, fast asleep, sitting at her desk, just having finished Shadow's smiling face.

More just kept coming: A small blonde girl with smiling eyes hugging a huge teddy bear, grinning, within a picture frame. Gerald's team of specialists crowded around a small bed, with a lump the size of a small human underneath the white sheets, with everyone crying. The white sheets flared, and turned into a white cloak, which was blown away from around Shadow's shoulders.

"Shadow!"

"I promise," Laura said softly.

Sonic stilled for an instant and hastily shut his eyes. More flashbacks of Shadow's memories blazed through Sonic's vision like wildfire. Images of bloodshed, blazing bullets, and consequent death leered Sonic's fright into their trap. He could see the anguish and the pain through Shadow's own eyes, only for them to intensify the horror.

He and Laura were racing through the corridor, hastily trying to escape the gunshots that blasted lethal thunder. Several bodies were scattered all over the passageways. Blood that was spewed, smeared, sprayed, and slopped against the walls and floor made them crimson. The ferocious reality of it all overwhelmed Sonic. Familiar corpses filled the halls with their sanguine stench. They were desperate to escape, desperate to live. More blood, Laura's blood made its appearance, and Sonic could feel nothing but sheer terror.

All that could be recalled was that feeling, and the gunshots, and the blood. And all that could be heard was a scream.

"Miss Laura!" …

"Mother!"

"Shadow…"

Sonic managed to return, seeing Professors Roderich, Celton, and Tomohiro crowding around Shadow and Laura comfortingly. Tears continued to stream down Laura's cheeks. One of her tears fell into Shadow's, that were pooling at the edges of his eyes. It streamed down his cheek, that special tear. To Shadow it felt like a culmination of all of the professors' love into one specific symbol of togetherness.

Sonic could only look on at their final moments together alive.

"Shadow…" A teardrop strolled down his cheek as well. He lowered his head, and the teardrop fell.

"Shadow… no…"

Both Kazrafel and Sutranel had arrived to deliver Shadow to Heaven. They released Shadow quietly and allowed him to wander through the Pearly Gates. His eyes peered through and smiled.

There, waiting for him, were the four professors he knew so well.

And Laura smiled most beautifully.

"Mother…!" Shadow's eyes sparkled innocently. "Mother!"

Laura knelt down and allowed Shadow into her arms. She held him close, as Shadow held onto her. Their embrace was a special kind, a reminiscent kind. One that Shadow had missed so much when he was alive. But, he was now feeling that recognizable love he had been longing for.

Laura was right about that place: it was magical, and there was no pain, suffering, or dismay. Just peace, and solace, and happiness reigned, just like Laura said.

And Shadow was looking forward to it.

"Your friends will miss you, won't they, Shadow?" Irene asked, kneeling down as well, along with Allen and Tsumura.

"Yes, they will…" Shadow snuggled closer to Laura. "Just like I've missed all of you."

"…Without her, he probably would've never been here. Or even alive."

Sonic returned to his physical body, back to reality, back on Earth. He was still clasping the crystal shard in his hand. He furrowed his brows a little.

"The GUN saw him as a threat," Sonic continued…

The sun was coming up, and Tails had just finished painting the Sonic Monsoon II emblem on the new fighter jet. He stood back and smiled proudly, giggling boyishly.

'Sonic's never going to believe this one!'

Knuckles meditated in front of the Master Emerald Altar with the grand gemstone glittering brilliantly behind him. The Chaos Emeralds were there as well. The feisty red echidna smirked a little, and looked up at the morning sky.

"…But those people that were with him… saw him as a gift. That's what Laura saw in him." …

The Chaotix Detectives were watching the rebuilding of Radical Highway. Vector was fairly upset about losing the reward money: crocodile tears poured out, with a hanky at his eyes and bawled regretfully. Charmy had a sweat drop falling from his temple, while Espio quietly analyzed the sky.

"Just a little bundle of pride and joy, like a baby… like a son." …

Amy and Cream and Cheese were back home in the Twilight Babylon complex. Cream and Cheese were watching television, while Amy stood on her bedroom balcony, watching the clouds roll by.

Sonic remembered when Shadow and Laura were both asleep against the tree.

"He was modeled after her own heart, her own image. That's why their smiles looked so much alike…and why he kept calling her 'Mother.' I can see the connection, now…"

Sonic recounted on all of the events that had happened half a century ago and pieced everything together so intricately as if it could be a quilt. By the time he figured it all out, it was a huge, complex blanket full of different stitches, of links and reasons. And amazingly enough, Sonic had it all figured out; that made him blink a little.

But then, he sighed, closing his eyes again. "The GUN had been at that case for fifty years already, and that's why that evil general, Anelixe, was able to control Shadow: she was a mirror image of Laura, except maniacal and aggressive." He growled. "Shadow…! He wasn't created to harm anyone!"

Shadow's face appeared in his mind, from the time they had first met to the last. Shadow's crystalline form faded from his mind.

Rouge the Bat resumed her position in the GUNFF, but now, with the new advancement in ranking, at the President's covert right hand. Her Chaos Emerald-sized diamond was given to her as promised, and she kept the prize on her mantle.

Despite the failure she felt from the mission in her heart.

"I never would have thought," she began to ponder. "That such a huge incident like this would leave… such a huge hole within me."

The diamond glittered absently as Rouge took to the sky.

"Let this be the ultimate power…"

"Chaos Halcyon," Sonic finished softly. He relaxed.

He suddenly remembered their kiss.

He looked down at the shard's brilliant, opalescent glow in his palm, blushing softly. Then, he smiled. He looked up toward the brightening sky, the clouds parting to allow rays of morning light to shine upon the sea, as well as Sonic. As Sonic's eyes glimmered hopeful emerald, he gazed at the leisurely arising sun.

"You're in a better place now, Shadow," Sonic said. "Just like you wanted… right?"

Owari.