Well, what do you know? My 20th story on FanFiction, and just before the 2 year "anniversary" of my profile. So, what other way to celebrate other than writing something about my favorite character, who's not only my avatar on the site, but also kind of kickstarted this little passtime of mine?

I never thought I will write a "Sonic Boom" fic that fast, but the situation called for it and here I am; writing a head cannon to this "Alternate Universe/Not Reboot". I was watching the "Rise of Lyric" cutscenes(Because I don't have a Wii U) and I was suprised, and very disappointed, when Shadow just appeared out of nowhere without any explaination to who he is and what's his deal. So I came up with this little idea, because the game sure ain't explaining his character, might as well make up something of my own.

Before anyone complains about it from the title, I KNOW SONIC AND SHADOW ARE NOT REALLY BROTHERS! WHAT YOU ARE READING HERE IS A HEADCANNON! NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS. Also, this has nothing to do with "Shattered Crystal", which is in a cannon of its own I think.

Man, this was long. Hope you will enjoy reading this and please leave a review if you have something to say!

Thanks to daisygirl101 for betaing this!

It was late into the night when disaster had struck. It was late into the night when a family was broken. It was late into the night when our story began.

A family of hedgehogs consisted of two adult parents and two kids. One kid was a 4-year-old black hedgehog with bits of red in his quills and a great amount of white chest fur, while the other was a new born- all blue, with some peach coloring in his belly. All of the family members were sleeping peacefully that same clear and unassuming night.

Then it happened, without any warning, the house caught on fire. The cause of the fire was unknown, but it was enough to wake the two parents up and causing them to rush to their children's aid. The father quickly woke the older hedgehog up while the mother took the baby in her hands.

"Come on, Shadow!" the father addressed the black hedgehog, who started to smell the burning wood and smoke surrounding the area as he slowly woke up. "The house is on fire, son! We have to get out of here!"

Shadow didn't argue as he quickly got out of his bed and ran as fast as he could, which was pretty fast as he was born with super speed. Many considered this ability of his a combination of his father's great athletic skills, which showed in his impressive stamina, and his mother's fast actions and quick thinking. It was always assumed that the baby hedgehog would possess the same skill as his older brother. But as of now, it was still a mystery. Right now, the baby was cuddled in his mother's arms, the fire not bothering his peaceful dreams.

Once the family escaped the burning house, the mother gave Shadow her youngest son. "Here, Shadow. Protect him," she told him.

"What… Why? Where are you going?" Shadow asked, not knowing what was going on or what was about to happen.

"We are going to try and stop this fire," the father answered his son before he dropped to his knee in order to look into Shadow's eyes. "Shadow, in case we won't make it, we want you to promise us you will take care of your little brother. Help him grow; we are counting on you," he said.

"But… but you will make it, right?" he asked as tears started forming in his eyes while he was holding his sleeping brother close to him.

"We sure hope, son," their mother said as she leaned to kiss Shadow on his check and the baby hedgehog's forehead.

"Right now, get out of here. We don't want you to get hurt," their father said before Shadow nodded at his parents and ran away with his brother in his hands.

Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, but there was no sign of the two hedgehogs after their attempt to stop the fire that burned down their house. The curious Shadow eventually returned home, his baby brother still sleeping, to find there was no home left. Where a house once stood was now a pile of burned ashes, and there was no sign of his parents anywhere. The only thing that was left was the hedgehogs' father's brown scarf, caught on a scorched piece of wood.

One would think a 4-year-old wouldn't understand where his parents disappeared to under those circumstances, but Shadow understood well enough what his parents' fate was. He used to think that his parents were strong hedgehogs. Based on the stories his father told him every night, how could both of them lose to something as pathetic as a fire when they dealt with such great dangers in the past? As the tears started to fall from his eyes, Shadow noticed his brother awoke with a soft yawn.

Poor kid, completely oblivious to what happened, and he will never know his parents outside of a few stories about them. Shadow looked at the baby hedgehog in his arms as his parents' words from last night played in his mind.

'We want you to take care of your little brother.'

The words echoed in his head as he picked up the brown scarf that lay on the ground near where their home once stood.

Shadow closed his eyes for a few seconds before he addressed his brother. "I will protect you, Sonic. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

A few years later…

Shadow was getting impatient. Sonic should have been back by now. It had been a few weeks since he left and it was dangerous out there. True, his younger brother was now fifteen, but that didn't mean he couldn't find danger. In fact, he seemed to enjoy danger, whether he was ready for it or not.

After that terrible night a few years back, Shadow has become very protective of his brother, despite him being annoying him to no end. While Shadow still suffered from the same loss that haunted him since childhood, Sonic didn't seem to really care. Shadow assumed this had something to do with Sonic not really knowing their parents, but there was a line as to how much you could push something and hide behind silly jokes and fake pride. Someone who lost his parents, whether he knew them or not, couldn't be a wise-cracker who speaks sarcasm as a second language forever.

Shadow promised that he would make Sonic a stronger person so that he could defend himself when the time comes. Shadow has had to fend for them both over the years, protecting Sonic from any harm that came their way and making sure both could live a proper life. But Shadow believed that Sonic also needed to fight for himself, an idea the younger hedgehog seemed to support when it was brought up to him.

When Sonic was nine, Shadow started training him in battle. While Sonic got hurt a lot thanks to Shadow's 'no mercy' method of training, he never gave up. He always looked up to Shadow as a hero because of the many times Shadow stood up for him while things got rough, and he knew that these training sessions were crucial to his survival. And it had actually sounded fun to Sonic in the beginning. Shadow would mention every once in a while that their father was a weak hedgehog, and that both Sonic and he would be stronger than what their father was. When Sonic started training, Shadow put their father's scarf around Sonic's neck.

"Right now, you are as weak as father was. When you prove to me that you are strong enough, I will take it off of you." Those were the words that kicked off Sonic's training, followed by an unhealthy amount of punches and kicks.

Because of Sonic's strong will, Shadow never went easy on his younger brother. He kicked him, punched him, pushed him to the ground, and threw him all around. It was hard for Shadow to do at first, but then he realized this was the best way to care for Sonic, or so he thought. The black hedgehog would never let Sonic meet any new locals and make friends. Shadow also never hung out with him other than training. It was just the cave they lived in, training, and food. If they wanted to be strong, they must survive without distractions.

Over the years, the amount of bandages on Sonic's body kept growing and growing. From his legs to his arms, he was almost covered with those things from all the training and beating he went through. Yet, Sonic didn't mind; he would never give up and he would be strong and make his older brother proud.

At least, that's what he thought back then. After a few years of training, Sonic started going through what Shadow could only assume was a 'rebellious teen' phase. He would disobey Shadow a lot more, he started to develop a sharp tongue towards his brother, often mimicking him or making jokes at his expense, and he just started to run everywhere whenever he got the chance.

While Shadow still held the incredible speed he was gifted with at birth, he wouldn't use it much, if at all. Sonic, on the other hand, used it for almost everything. At the beginning, Shadow didn't mind. Sonic had even developed an attack using his speed where he would crawl into a ball and move incredibly fast for a few seconds, resulting in damage for whatever stood in its path. But when Sonic's curiosity grew and he wanted to see more of the world they lived in, he started using it to run away from their cave often, disobeying Shadow in the process.

Of course, while Shadow considered this running away, Sonic mostly referred to his outing as 'letting off steam', something Shadow wasn't happy with, especially when Sonic told him that he met friends. Shadow believed everything Sonic needed was Shadow himself and his training. There was no need for the rest of the world. At the beginning, there were no arguments; but as the years went on and Sonic wanted to leave the cave, he started talking back to Shadow. Their opinions often clashed and not a single training session went by without a fight.

"The world is a dangerous place, Sonic. You aren't strong enough to make it out there," Shadow would always tell him.

"How do you know, exactly? All you do is rot in this cave," Sonic responded one day. "From what I've seen, the world is pretty awesome and nothing I can't handle; it even has some nice animals out there."

"You mean the fox freak with the two tails and that big red idiot you keep hanging out with for some reason?" Shadow asked.

"Hey! Don't call my friends that!"

"Friends?" Shadow reacted with laughter. "You don't need friends. They do nothing but hold you back and cause you troubles."

"That's a lie!" Sonic argued. "The only reason you think this is because you don't have friends of your own, because you are so certain that you are better than everybody else!"

"I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's the truth. Friends are nothing but a distraction from the goal. And if you keep hanging out with these worthless freaks, you won't go anywhere in your life and they will make you weaker than what you are now," Shadow replied coldly.

Sonic felt like he had heard enough about Shadow's hatred towards his friends, who had done nothing bad to Shadow to deserve such treatment. Shadow never even officially met Sonic's friends. He'd only caught sight of them a few times when Sonic walked back home with them. In a moment of rage, Sonic kicked Shadow in the back, sending him flying through the cave they were living in.

Shadow was surprised by the attack. Sonic never attacked him outside of training. It was true that they would fight sometimes, but it was never Sonic who started it. When the black hedgehog looked at his younger brother again, he saw the hatred in Sonic's eyes. That definitely didn't excuse the attack in Shadow's opinion. "You want to learn like this? Fine by me," Shadow said before he rushed at Sonic, sending countless punches towards his chest at a fast pace.

The blue hedgehog fell to his knees from the pain he was suffering. He did manage to look up in order to see Shadow looking at him with an angry look. "You dare to attack me? After all I've done for you?" he asked as Sonic also dropped to his hands on the floor. "After all the caring I did for you, all the training I put you through to make you a strong hedgehog… and you turn your back on me to stand up for that useless bunch you call friends." Sonic could feel the blood coursing through his body. "Pathetic."

That last word was it. Sonic curled from his position into a ball of blue light and just rolled around in place for a few seconds. Then, with a motion so fast that even Shadow was surprised by it, he rammed into his brother's head until he bounced off the cave's ceiling back towards the floor and rolled right into Shadow's back. Sonic never used this attack he had invented for more than a few seconds, but something kept him going this time. Whatever it was, it served as a great power source for the young hedgehog because for the first time ever, he was giving Shadow a run for his money.

The black hedgehog didn't even know how to react. Sonic just kept going at him without stopping. Shadow knew he and Sonic were fast but this surpassed any top speed they have ever achieved.

Eventually, Shadow couldn't help it and he fell to the ground, beaten by his 'weak' younger brother. Sonic stopped rolling and looked at the lying figure in front of him. "How's that for being weak?" Sonic asked. "All these years, I suffered because of your training, but I kept going so that I could be as great as you. I did everything in my power to make you proud… but it never satisfied you," Sonic spoke through his heavy breathing. "Am I strong enough now, Shadow? Because it looks like I did a number on you right now, oh great big brother." He managed a smirk when Shadow started to show some senses of recovery.

Shadow looked at Sonic with a look of shock and anger. He wanted to say something, but couldn't. When Sonic walked back to the cave entrance, Shadow still hadn't spoken a word regarding what just happened.

"I'm leaving," Sonic eventually said. "I think my training is over, now that the so called master has been defeated." The blue hedgehog stood by the entrance. He looked at the rain that just started falling, as if the sky had heard their argument and was trying to cool the tension, before he looked back at Shadow. "Don't look for me. I'll be with my weak friends. And I'm keeping dad's scarf, if you don't mind. I've grown attached to it." And with those last words, the younger sibling was no longer there.

That was the last time Shadow had seen Sonic. He never came back, even though Shadow was sure he would. Shadow's impatience with his brother rose after those few weeks passed. After their last conversation and fight, the black hedgehog preferred to say he had nothing to do with Sonic… but his parents' words always kept bugging him.

'We want you to take care of your little brother.'

Eventually, Shadow gave in to his dead parents' request and one morning, he was off to look for Sonic. Shadow ran across all the forests and structures filling the world he lived in. Looking for Sonic proved to be tougher than he thought it was going to be. There were no signs of the blue hedgehog anywhere, but Shadow didn't stop looking. He would find his brother. He wasn't weak.

Before the black hedgehog even realized it, darkness filled the sky and night fell. For the first time in years, Shadow had to sleep somewhere other than the cave he considered home. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but at that moment, he did feel weak. No parents, his little brother rebelled against him, and he had put himself completely out of his comfort zone while trying to fulfill a wish made by his dead parents. Even if he never would say it out loud, he felt like he should be wearing the scarf now, not Sonic.

The next morning Shadow felt a bit off, as he was woken from his sleep by a loud mechanic sound. His senses weren't all awake yet, so he couldn't figure out what the thing exactly was other than bad news.

However, there was one thing he did hear that he would recognize anywhere at any time. "Seriously, Eggman? You still think you can take us down?" That voice, it was Sonic!

Shadow pushed out of the bush he was standing behind to reveal an open area at the bottom of the mountain. He recognized Sonic, who still wore the bandages and scarf, and noticed he was facing a rather large blue and yellow round robot with two massive legs that could crush anyone and anything standing beneath them and two projectile hands. The robot was controlled by an overweight human with red clothes and a brown mustache that really stood out that sat where the robot's head should be.

Alongside Sonic stood the orange two-tailed fox with the goggles and buff red echidna that Shadow recognized, but there was also a pink female hedgehog holding a hammer and dressed in red clothes that he had never seen before.

"I'm not thinking, Sonic. I know I can take you down!" Eggman yelled before he ordered the robot to charge in for an attack using wheels that were built inside its legs in order to move.

All four friends have dodged the attack, two of them evading to each side. The echidna was the first to recover and charge at the robot, but was hurt when the robot quickly spun in his direction and knocked him into the air with a strong blow. Once the echidna landed, the robot grabbed him and launched the hand holding him in the direction of the pink hedgehog and grabbed her as well.

With two of the four friends caught, Sonic and the fox found themselves in a situation they didn't know how to get out of. The fox quickly spun his two tails, propelling him into the sky as he flew towards the robot with what appeared to be bombs in his hands. He threw the bombs at the robot but their small size didn't seem to even faze the large metallic invention.

"You really think your tiny bombs can stop my robot?" the human teased as he sent the robot's other arm after the fox. The arm punched him, knocking him out of the air before the fox was caught in the same arm as the other two friends.

Sonic started to get a bit stressed. He needed to destroy the robot without hurting his friends. And to add to his problems, a new robot appeared in the area. This one looked exactly like Sonic, only robotic.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Eggman laughed. "Like my new creation? I built him after our last fight a few days ago. I call him… Metal Sonic!"

"If you think this faker is going to stop me, think again!" Sonic said with some confidence before he rolled into his ball form and, after a bit of a wind up, zoomed all around the area. While getting to the incredible speed he achieved the last time he used this attack, Sonic tried to aim at the arm holding his friends first. Saving them was his top priority. Once he reached the speed he wanted and headed to the arm, Metal Sonic stopped him with a swipe that sent Sonic to the ground.

Shadow kept watching from afar as the fight went on. Sonic was doing well in terms of surviving attacks, but not in terms of making this fight end with a victory. Shadow noticed Sonic wasn't focusing on the fight with the robots, but more on saving his friends from the giant robot's clutches.

Shadow knew what he had to do. He had to save his brother.

Sonic kept trying to get past Metal Sonic, who stood in his way each time the hedgehog tried to avoid him, but the robot just didn't give up. Eventually, it seemed as if Metal Sonic got tired of the hedgehog he was modeled after. Metal Sonic charged at him with an incredible speed and grabbed him by the neck. Sonic struggled to get out of the grasp he was held in and destroy the robot. He suddenly felt the grip loosen and the robot take damage.

Sonic, now loose from his robot counter-part's grab, noticed Shadow fighting Metal Sonic. The blue hedgehog didn't question the presence of his brother out of nowhere as he charged his ball form again, freed his friends, destroyed the large robot with his fast attack which caused Eggman to retreat and managed to alert Shadow just in time before he dashed right through Metal Sonic, causing it to break.

Sonic stopped his spinning shortly after hitting his metallic version. "Are you guys okay?" He turned to ask his three friends after he got up from the harsh ground. All of his friends nodded at him with a smile. After that, Sonic turned his head to see Shadow dusting himself off from the fight.

"Glad you decided to help out, Shadow," he called to his brother, smiling at him when Shadow turned his head to look at him.

"Hmph," was the first word that came out of his mouth. "Now you see how much trouble these guys are?" he asked while pointing at Sonic's friends. "Come home, forget about them and accept the fact that they are weakening you instead of empowering you."

Sonic was, at the moment, in a loss for words. "I can't believe you," he eventually said. "First you come to help us out and a second later you are the old grumpy and annoying you again."

"The 'grumpy and annoying' self just saved your butt, little brother."

"Big deal," Sonic shrugged that comment off. "We could have taken them down even without you."

"Don't try to make yourself look good, Sonic. Your friends know how much of a loser you are. Don't try to show off in front of them now. I also see you still have the scarf. Figures you would keep the symbol of your weakness wherever you go," Shadow continued to taunt, making Sonic angrier and angrier by the second. But before Sonic did something hasty that wouldn't solve anything, he relaxed.

"You know what? Forget it," Sonic told his brother before turning to his group of friends. "Come on, guys. Let's get out of here." He motioned for his friends to follow him. Before all four completely disappeared from Shadow's eyesight, Sonic spoke a few final words to him. "When you feel like talking, like the strong hero that you are, come find me."

And with those words, Sonic joined his friends as they left the clearing, leaving Shadow behind again. He didn't care for his older brother anymore after this, and if the next time they met would be anything like this time, Sonic would probably show no remorse.

Sonic still wore the scarf to respect the parents he never knew. He valued the piece of brown cloth since it was the only this left of his parents. If it was truly to be worn by the weak, Shadow should have worn it by now. Deep down, Shadow knew he was the one that should be wearing the scarf. But he would never admit it to himself.

A few more weeks passed since that encounter, and the two brothers hadn't spoken nor seen each other again since then. Sonic couldn't take Shadow's massive ego and vendetta against his friends while Shadow couldn't stand Sonic's easy going trust in anyone and his friendly spirit to anyone but himself.

One day though, when Shadow was travelling along the woods near his cave, he heard voices. When he checked out the source of the noise, he noticed Sonic and his three friends heading inside a temple and locking themselves in, so that they could escape that metallic Sonic and the old man from that other day.

Shadow just looked from where he stood. He couldn't care less now about Sonic, but if one day the two brothers met again, Shadow decided he would confront his younger sibling about the events.

And if that day will lead to violence, so be it.

THE END

That was... interesting to write... mostly because I had no idea which direction I should take this. I settled for a more dramatic tone than what's in the cartoon(Which I think is great, if we are on the subject) because it just felt better for this idea.

I tried my best to make sure this fits with the game, a not so simple task because there is nothing there about Shadow, but I think I managed and am happy with how this turned out. Hope you liked it as well!

Another special thanks to daisygirl101 for betaing this!

Thanks for reading and please leave a feedback if you want to say something. Good, bad, I accept it all.