Sweet Dreams

Emergency! Emergency! Death Egg energy systems are low! Emergency! Emergency! Death Egg cannot sustain flight! Emergency! Emergency! Death Egg's altitude is dropping at an alarming rate! Emergency! Emergency! Rocket engines have suffered a malfunction! Escape is advisable!

"Ugh..."

The hedgehog's hand curled inward a bit, as if he were clawing at the floor. His body roared with pain, but a bearable pain. It wasn't the body destroying pain of having his bones break, or bleeding out over the floor to death. Strangely, he could move his limbs, as if they weren't shattered to pieces after getting crushed like he was.

His red eyes opened, lining the area around him. An alarm was blaring, and a red light constantly shined in time with said alarm. Not only that, but the entire area was shaking violently. He could hear explosions echo all around him, though he wasn't sure how close it was. He didn't parse this information together as fast as he should have however, and continued to writhe in pain on the floor.

Until metal fell in front of him. The black and red hedgehog got to to his hands and knees, while this pain continued to quake throughout his body. He looked down to the ground, where finding under his body, two golden rings. His inhibitor rings. He snatched them up quickly and slid them around his wrists, sealing the energy he was leaking. Then he looked up.

Shadow the hedgehog. Couldn't remember anything. Seriously, how did he get here? The last thing he could recall was being crushed by Robotnik. Then how was he here, on the ground, perfectly fine, body and bones in tact? Shouldn't have been as flat as a pancake right now? And where was Dr. Robotnik and his Egg Emperor at anyway?

Shadow turned around, where his question was answered. Not even a few yards away from him, the mighty Egg Emperor laid on the ground, heavily damaged with a large hole through its chest. Shadow stared through said hole, where he could see straight through it. His eyes traveled to his hands next, where he opened and closed them. Did he cause that? He sure as hell didn't remember doing such a thing. He'd definitely remember ripping through something made of pure Megatal.

"What the...?" Shadow mumbled as he walked forward, staring at the Egg Emperor among other things.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Each sound-off echoed in time with a fiery inferno that would erupt behind the Egg Emperor. And said blaze was heading Shadow's way. He started walking backwards, then turned, then began running. The fire was chasing him, forcing the Black Wind to run faster. He skated at high-speeds, though the explosions sounding off all around the Death Egg continued to hound his actions. He started skating faster, with this glowing yellow aura funneling around his body. Outrunning fire isn't something anyone can do, and now Shadow himself was realizing this. The Death Egg's explosions were still chasing him, and getting faster as well. He continued running down this hallway, not knowing where it would lead him, but praying it would help him escape.

Shadow's eyes eventually fell upon a window. He didn't decrease his speed; in fact he increased them. Roaring, the hedgehog rushed through the fire and broke through the window's glass. He felt space's weightlessness take him, before the fires from Death Egg's explosion pushed him even further away. It also dazed him.

He hovered through the vacuum of space briefly, slightly unconscious, barely able to move, and impossible to make his way around. One mistake and he could be flying straight into space. But instead, the planet began pulling him in. Being on the edge of space itself, the Earth still held considerable pull on him. He began falling, faster and faster, still barely alive to the world around him. He stared skyward, to the heaven's above, watching as space escaped him. He could see the Death Egg, riddled with explosions, drift off through the sky into the distance. He reached out for it.

…

Rouge stood on the edge of Emerald Hill Zone, her eyes on the skies above. It was bright day, and yet she could see a star falling in the blue skies. All around here, there stood other mobians and creatures. Those who recognized her knew she was in league with the Black Wind, and knew they old her their gratitude. But she didn't care.

"What's going on, Miss Rouge?" a blue bird asked as she gently descended upon her wing.

"I don't know, Flicky," Rouge answered somewhat solemnly, watching the star fall into the planet's atmosphere.

BOOM.

Said star suddenly detonated, flashing brightly and causing everyone to cover their eyes. Its horrendous shine plaid on for what felt like forever before finally dying it. Rouge and everyone else stared to the skies after the explosion, noticing the star had faded away. The bat stood there for a few more seconds, before running to the Tornado.

She jumped into its cockpit, her fingers flipping switches and turning the engines on. The engine howled, the propeller twirled, the jet engine ignited, and with a gentle push, the bat was on her way. She used the hills of Emerald Hill Zone to help propel her skyward, where she began flying to where the star once fell. She roared into the skies, determination on her face, hands grinding into the controls of her plane. Her eyes lined the skies closely, picking out anything that looked out of place. All she saw were metal fragments falling to the earth however, and not what she really searched for.

"Dammit, Shadow," Rouge cursed, feeling desperate, "Where are you? Where are you?"

She looked over the edge of the Tornado, where something caught her eye. A small black object among the steel ones, falling just as fast. She turned the Tornado and pointed it down, now speeding up to catch up with the object. Upon further inspection, she could see the red stripes and jet black fur, among other things. She flew through the fallen debris of the Death Egg, aiming for the hedgehog as she dodged metal pieces and rubble.

"SHADOW!" Rouge shouted from the Tornado, trying to jostle the unconscious hedgehog, "SHADOW!"

"Rouge..." he mumbled, her voice getting to him through all the wind.

His eyes opened, only to close. Then they opened again, only to close again. Then they shot open like lightning, and stayed open. He stared to the endless blue and white skies beneath him, immediately operating at 100% capacity as his adrenaline spiked.

"What the!? How'd I get here!?" he shouted.

If he didn't do something fast, he'd was going to die. He could hear a certain plane howl behind him, making him look over his shoulder. The Tornado rushed behind him, with Rouge reaching out with her hand. Shadow reached out as well, as the bat got closer and closer.

But then Rouge's eyes grew wide, and her hand pulled away. Shadow didn't understand why, until he looked at his own hand. His black fur was turning a golden-yellow. Said golden shine took his entire body, turning the once black hedgehog a shimmering yellow.

KERPOW!

"WHAT THEEEEEEEEEE!?" his voice roared over the winds as he was suddenly catapulted far away.

Rouge stared at the sight with eyes wide, confused by what she just saw. Shadow turned yellow – much like a star – then rocketed across the skies in a golden-yellow streak. It was something she had never seen before. Pressing on the gas of the Tornado, she pulled up and flew toward Shadow, her jet engine working at maximum output.

The Black Wind hurtled through the skies at speeds to fast to quantify. It's not like he could fly naturally; his air shoes could only help him hover at most. But right now, he was flying. Only for said power to die out. Shadow turned black and immediately began falling, with no control over himself or his actions. He slammed into the green grass of Emerald Hill Zone, uprooting dirt and rubble as he bounced from the sudden impact. And, yeah, it hurt like hell.

Then he turned yellow again, and shot off once more. He flew toward another hill, turned back to black, then slammed the edge of the hill. He once again bounced off the grassy knoll, howled in pain, turned golden-yellow, then shot off once more like a rocket. This time, slamming into a hill's side.

Rouge flew over Emerald Hill Zone in search of her friend, before seeing the destruction carved into the earth. She flew down toward the destruction, sliding down onto the hills gently as she searched for her friend. Her eyes eventually fell upon a hill, where seeing it made her break out into uncontrollably laughter.

Shadow was in the hill, upside down, smoldering hot, stuck to the hill like a gum to a wall.

"Ow..." he grumbled, before falling off and landing face first into the grass beneath.

Rouge leaped out of the Tornado, then walked over to the hedgehog who laid on the ground, smiling as she watched him roll to his back. He opened his eyes eventually, where his first sight back on earth was a certain white-furred bat smiling down upon him.

"Hello, Shadow honey," she said as she reached down with her hands, "Had a nice time in space?"

"Don't patronize me, Rouge," he retorted as he grabbed her hand, a smile on his face, "I don't feel like it right now."

He stood at her sight, and in unison they stared to the skies. The metallic shards of the Death Egg were being burned up in the planets atmosphere, appearing like daytime shooting stars. Or maybe even like fireworks, and its only appropriate the the provider of these fireworks was the doctor himself.

As Shadow and Rouge climbed the hills to stand on the very top, there was such celebration behind them. It were as if all of West Side Island gave a collective breath of relief, for all zones were now freed from Robotnik's evil control. The animals played, families were reunited with one another, and Badnik factories were shut down for good.

But all wasn't well. There were a few loose ends to tie up. Rouge looked at Shadow as he grew serious. Stepping back, she watched as the hedgehog hunched down. One by one, the seven Chaos Emeralds appeared around his body in a ring. Green, red, blue, light-blue, yellow, silver, and purple all appeared around the hedgehog. He began glowing bright, turning that golden-yellow color again.

"Chaos..." he mumbled, before throwing out his limbs and exclaiming, "CONTROL!"

Much like South Island before, a golden wave spread from Shadow's body onto the entire island of West Side. Each and every zone was bathed in a fantastic light, as all Badniks were simultaneously deactivated or destroyed. Any robian cursed to be roboticized by the doctor was too cleansed of this, becoming regular mobians once again. And the many factories he forged were all shut down, ready to be claimed by age and nature once more.

For added flavor, the island became far more beautiful. Flowers sprouted from the ground, as if life had been breathed back into the region. When it was all said and done, the seven Chaos Emeralds vanished. Shadow powered back down from that golden glow, turning black and red once more.

"Book ends..." Shadow said as he nearly fell over, instead landing into Rouge's arms, "Few... Rouge..."

"Yes, Shadow?" the bat asked as she held him.

"I need a vacation..."

"Well," she said with a giggle, "I know of a place..." her lips descended near his ear, "Rumor has it... there's a floating island..."

…

Many heroes bask in the limelight of their victory. They mingle with their subordinates who worship the ground they walk on, and they may even party with them. Most heroes adore the lives they live as heroes. As those idols people look up to. Those idols people rely upon for victory.

But the Black Wind was no such hero. When those who wished to thank him for his help came to do so, he'd pull back into the shadows. He'd vanish, disappear, make his way back home. He didn't save the world because it would get him recognized, but he did it because it was simply the right thing to do. Injustices needed to be punished, that's how he felt. And when said punishment was dealt, he'd return from wince he came.

"Oh! Hi, Shadow honey!"

She was a purple-blue hedgehog. Green eyes, blonde turf of hair on her head, wearing a purple dress. Clearly older than the hedgehog who walked in to see her. She smiled at him with warmth and love, before reaching down and ruffling his black quills with her hand. Even though he didn't show it, he reciprocated her love.

"Hi mom," the Black Wind replied, somewhat exhausted, as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Jules! Shadow's home!" the blue hedgehog called into her home.

"What was that Bernie?" said hedgehog answered from somewhere else inside, before walking out from a hall.

He was another blue hedgehog, one with greying-brown hair flowing from his head. He was wearing a red jacket and red boots, and appeared to have been working hard that day. When he walked out of the room, he yawned a bit then dropped the wrench in his hand upon a table, then gained this smile that could melt anyone's heart.

"Ah! Shadow m'boy! Came home to see ya parents?" Jules said as he crossed his arms.

He walked up to the black and red hedgehog then patted him on the shoulder, only to see someone else poke her head into the building behind his son. His smile didn't diminish, though it did change in size. His eyes slid down into a half glare, while he looked at the bat.

"Ah... hello Miss Rouge," he said as he snaked his way to her side, "And how's my son's friend doing this fine evening?"

"Hello, Mr. Jules," Rouge replied with a her usual wiles.

"Oh..." Bernie grumbled, arms crossed as she looked at the bat with her usual eyes of disdain, "If it isn't Rouge the bat..." she grumbled, "So... what were you and my son doing over this week?"

"I have a mind of what happened," Jules said with a chuckle before making his way to the living room's recliner chair, "Ah... that's the stuff..." he groaned as he leaned back in it.

"I'm tired," Shadow said as he rubbed his head with a yawn, "I'm going to go to sleep..."

"But, wait, Shadow," Rouge said as she called out to him while he walked up his home's stairs, "What about me? How am I gonna get home?"

"I won't be sleeping for long," Shadow claimed as he yawned again, "When I wake up, I'll get you home as fast as I can..." he scratched the nape of his neck, "I just really need to get some rest. Make yourself at home, Rouge..."

He made his way upstairs and vanished soon after, with Rouge hearing a door open, close, and a bed being pressed down. Eyes falling back down into the living room, she stared at Shadow's parents. Jules laid in his recliner chair, green eyes on the small TV before him, not really paying attention to the baseball game currently being played. Bernie herself sighed and made way for her own chair oppose to Jules. She sat down and grabbed a few knitting materials, where she began to nonchalantly sow something together. A Chao flew from the areas kitchen and sat on her shoulder; she rubbed it, then went back to sowing.

It was all very awkward, honestly. Rouge herself sat down in a chair on the opposite side of them; Shadow's chair. Both Jules and Bernie looked up at her as she did so, only to return to their own devices. Rouge felt very small in their presence. She lost most of that sultry allure of hers, and became more timid around them. She pulled in her knees, coughed a bit to break the tension, then slid her hands together.

"Mind telling me what you and my son were doing, Rouge?" Bernie asked finally, head turning to stare at the bat, "I haven't seen him so tired in quite some time."

"Oh... we went to West Side Island," the bat said nonchalantly.

"You did?" Jules replied, "Hm... Chuck's been tryin' to get in contact with someone on West Side for some time now... he was beginning to worry..."

"Yeeeeaaaaaaaah," the bat said as she scratched the back of her head, "We kinda ran into trouble while we were there..."

"And what trouble might that be?" Bernie inquired, eyebrow raised.

"The kind of trouble that deals with an evil doctor..."

The two hedgehogs stopped immediately, where their eyes fell on the bat together. They stared at her long and hard, before Jules began shaking his head. He went back to watching the TV, and Bernie went back to sowing. Neither said said a word. Until Jules asked,

"Did he get'em?"

"Yeah... he got'em..."

"Good..."

They grew silent again, even while Jules gave an uneasy sigh. Rouge on the other hand realized something; she was sitting in the room with her partner's parents. Anything she asked of Shadow pertaining to his past would be swatted away without a moments hesitation. But with Jules and Bernie, maybe he could ask something and get answers. Real answers.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," her goes, "But... there's a lot of things Shadow doesn't tell me. A lot of things dealing with... well..."

"Why he's a black and red hedgehog and why we're both blue... or purple-blue in Bernie's case?" Jules inquired, before getting a swatting hand from his wife.

"Jules, no," she said, "Shadow should tell her if he wants to."

"No, no, I know my son," Jules claimed as he slid forward on his recliner chair, "Rouge... how would you feel if I told you Shadow – my son – is from space..."

"From space?" Rouge said with a smirk, "Yeah right; you have to be kidding me!"

But neither Jules nor Bernie lost the serious visage on their faces. They stared at Rouge who tried to hand-wave it off, only to come to the realization that they weren't playing. She grew somewhat wide-eyed as she pulled back in her chair, thinking about what they said. If Shadow were some sort of alien, it would make a lot of sense. After all, his powers weren't normal. He was either an extraterrestrial, or a demon from hell.

But she just couldn't accept that. Accept the fact that her friend wasn't from this world. She laughed again and waved her hand as she shook her head, then stared up to the two with one eyebrow raised.

"No way," she stated, "Shadow can't be from space..."

"We don't know if Shadow's from space or not," Bernie stated, glaring at Jules for his statement, "We honestly don't know where Shadow's from. We just think he's from space..." she sighed as she stopped sowing, instead gazing down to her lap, "Don't say this, okay? Shadow doesn't know this... he doesn't know he's not our child though... he's too smart to think I gave birth to him..." she teared up a bit, but wiped it away, "Too smart..."

"Why do you say that?" Rouge asked, feeling the emotion in the woman's voice.

"Bernie's bar-"

"Jules! Shut up!" Bernie shouted at him as he froze up in place, "Don't finish that!"

"Okay, okay..." he said as he sighed, "Sorry... dear... I didn't mean to hurt you like that..."

"Huh... Rouge," Bernie grumbled, "We found Shadow. More specifically, Jules and his brother Charles did... Chuck had this stupid idea of his and asked Jules to help him out in it. Chuck wanted to build a dinner and got all the equipment and machinery necessary. Jules went with him to start on the dig sight before any of the heavier machinery came. It didn't take them too long..."

"We dug for little more than a hours to get everything ready," Jules suddenly said, "When I hit something... something metal. I thought it was a pipe, but..."

…

DINK!

"Hey! Chuck! I hit something!" Jules shouted as he gazed down with his shovel, "I think it's a pipe or... somethin..."

"It ain't no pipe," a blue hedgehog with a growing mustache replied as he walked up, "They're are no pipes this far out of Green Hill Zone!"

"Well," DINK! "I'm hittin' somethin' here! And if it ain't no pipe, then I'd like to know what the hell it is!"

"Darnit, Jules," Chuck said as he walked up beside his brother, "Give me that shovel! You're probably hittin' a rock or..." DINK! "Somethin'...?"

"Toldya!"

"Dig around it... c'mon, give me a hand..."

We dug around that area for a good while, both wondering what we were getting ourselves into. I must've heard Chuck say 'It's gotta be a rock' like seven hundred times... until we got all that dirt and gravel out of the way and found something else...

"Uh... Chuck... this ain't no rock..."

They both stared down to it together, as a piece of rusted metal jutted out at them. Jules got down on one knee and began swatting away the dust, as he noticed words sticking out at him.

"Space... Colony... Ark?" the hedgehog said in confusion, "Chuck, you keep up to date with this science crap... what's a Space Colony Ark?"

"I don't know..." he remarked as he looked at the machine, "Looks like one of those Soviet satellites if you hear me..."

"C'mon... let's see what's going on in here..."

They dug out the rest of the dirt around the area, revealing more machine and then glass. The sight of the glass definitely made them pull back, as they realized they were getting into something weird. They continued digging and digging, pulling out more and more of this machine until...

"Dear God..." Jules murmured as they revealed most of the machine.

Inside of this capsule – as it appeared to be – was a hedgehog. A black and red hedgehog, wearing a weird space suit with the words 'PROJECT SHADOW' written upon it. He was silent, still, unmoving, appearing to be dead. Jules reached down and dusted off some more of the dirt covering the glass, before pulling back.

"Oh... oh man..." Chuck mumbled as he walked back, "What do we do now?"

"What do we do now?" Jules replied as he faced his brother, "We leave that... thing! Right here! Clearly its something one of those humans sent, and we ain't got no business messin' with it! So leave it the hell alone, and... Chuck, what are you doin'!?"

"C'mon, help me get this to your truck," his brother asked as he began pulling on the capsule's front end.

"To my truck!?" Jules replied, hands in his hair, "What are you talkin' about? Charles! Charles!"

"Either help me or get quiet, Jules!"

"Ah... darnit..."

They both began pulling on the machine, realizing it was far heavier than they originally believed. It took both of them just to drag it to the car, and all of their strength to lift it to the truck's lift. When dropping it on the red vehicle, the truck bounced a bit from the incredible size. Then Chuck draped a blanket over the majority of the machine, while Jules got into the driver's seat.

"Oh man!" Jules said as he peeled away from the location, heading straight for home, "Now what, Charles!? Now freaking what!? We take this... thing back to my house and bury it again!?"

"No, no," his brother said, "Just shut up and stop freaking out over there, Jules!"

"Stop freaking out!?" he roared back, "We have a freaking alien in a tube in my truck! And you tell me to stop freaking out!? Boy what is wrong with you!?" he looked forward to the roads, "I can't even believe you talked me into doing this!? You... YOU!"

Bernie walked out of her home with her hand on her neck, cracking the bones inside. Just in time to see her husband driving the family trunk wildly.

"Oh great..." she groaned, "Now I have to deal with drunken Jules again..."

You did not say that...

Oh yes I did...

I did not drive home drunk that often! Woman! You need to stop spreadin' lies! Darnit... anyway...

"Bernie! Open the barn doors!" Jules shouted from the window as he stopped the truck outside his barn.

"Why?" she replied as she began tugging on the barn's door.

"JUST DO IT!"

She rose an eyebrow at his body language and voice, realizing Jules was being serious. Too serious; if this were one of his drunken moments, he was acting too clear and sober. She did as she was told and opened the barn doors, while Jules drove the truck inside in reverse. Parking the the truck, he quickly got out the vehicle and ran to the barn's doors. Closing them shut, he made sure to lock them with good chains.

"Jules... what's going on?" Bernie asked, noticing her husband's dire actions. How he paced the floor, how he constantly spoke to himself, how he generally darted around like a chicken with its head cut off, "JULES!"

"What!?"

"Calm down!"

"Easier said than done, Bernie," he replied as he walked back to his truck, "Guess what me and Chuck found at his stupid dinner's dig spot!"

"What might that be?" she inquired, eyebrow raised.

"Bernie, don't hate me for this," Chuck himself said as he removed the sheet covering the pod they found.

She walked to the truck's lift, her eyes lining its metallic hull. She immediately covered her mouth from the situation, stunned by what she was seeing. Looking at the machine, she stared at the black and red hedgehog who laid inside the capsule.

"Is he...?" she asked as she reached out for it.

"Bernie! Don't you dare touch that!" Jules commanded, before grabbing his brother by the collar, "Now, Chuck, I love you. I've helped you out on a lot of things, even joined the army with ya, but this! This!? This is faaaaaar out of my – BERNIE! DON'T TOUCH THAT! - comfort zone! Now you better figure out what we do with this thing or so help me Go-"

PPPSSSSSSSHHHHHHTTTT!

"Oops..."

Bernie pulled her hand back, stunned by what she just did. She only pressed the side of the machine, not realizing her hand pressed upon a button. She pulled her hand back as she stared up to the capsule, watching as smoke flowed from slots on the side. Said smoke flowed through out the area, covering everyone. Bernie continued staring to the capsule even as her vision was blinded by the smog.

But then, in it all, she saw a shadow approach her. She stepped back, as the fog in her immediate area began to dissipate. The shadow revealed itself to be that black and red hedgehog. Standing in the capsule, eyes closed, body slumped over.

"Ugh..." he grumbled before falling forward, where he landed into her awaiting arms.

The purple-blue hedgehog remained frozen, unsure of what she should do. Slowly moving her head as to not agitate the hedgehog in her arms, she stared at her husband and brother-in-law. Both Jules and Chuck gazed back, neither moving, neither knowing what to say. Jules eventually gave her specific commands with hand gestures and subtle lips movements. All of which said 'Put him down'.

But Bernie didn't. She stared down to to the hedgehog in her arms, holding him close in her arms. He felt so weak in her hold. He was a young thing. Only a child. If she could say what his age was, she'd say around fourteen. She tugged on him a bit to see if he were still alive. The groan he gave before showed life still flowed in his veins, albeit weak life.

"Jules..." Bernie said as she looked at her husband, "We need to get him to a bed..."

…

"And he hasn't learned how to get off of that bed yet," Jules said smugly, "He even has his own home, but he still comes back here to sleep. Free loader..."

He gave a hard yawn as he turned the channel, instead flipping it to tennis. All the while, Bernie shook her head it annoyance toward her husband. Her eyes eventually traveled to an engorged Rouge, who listened to the story deeply. But it appeared to be over as neither side continued.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what happened next?" Rouge asked.

"I think you've heard enough, Rouge," Bernie said as she finished knitting what appeared to be a knit cap, "I don't want to tell all of Shadow's secrets here," she shifted her Chao from her shoulder to her lap instead, "It's not in our place to tell you these things... especially considering the fact that we haven't told Shadow this yet..."

"How couldn't you have told Shadow this yet?" Rouge asked as she leaned forward a bit more.

"Because we don't know what Shadow is," Bernie stated, looking at the bat in her eyes, "We don't know if he's mobian or... if he's something else... I've never heard of this 'Space Colony Ark' before or this 'Project Shadow' either... but I do know one thing. Shadow is our son. He's our son. And I don't care if he's some science project gone wrong, or the son of some alien demon or whatever... I wouldn't give him up for the world."

"Wait," Jules then interjected, "I thought we agreed that if Shadow was the son of some alien demon, we'd give him up to her biological father to save the planet."

"Shut up Jules..."

"Eeeyaaaaaahh..." Shadow's voice groaned from upstairs, making Jules look up briefly.

"Well, looks like Maurice woke up."

"Maurice...?" Rouge repeated, confused by his statement, "What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean what am I talking about?" Jules asked as he looked at her, "Maurice. That's Shadow's name."

"What?" Rouge replied, completely flabbergasted, "What are you talking about?"

"Maurice is Shadow's name, Rouge. His real name. What, do you honestly believe we'd name our son 'Shadow'? We named him that because his suit said Shadow on it when we found him... what..." he cocked his head and smirked, "You've spent all this time with Shadow and never knew his real name was Maurice? My boy's really good at keeping secrets!"

"What secrets?" Shadow inquired as he walked down the stairs of his parents home, yawning a bit before crossing his arms.

"Nothing, Shadow," Bernie said as she walked up to him, "I think you should head on home. Jules and I have already had dinner, so don't expect me to cook you up anything."

"It's okay," Shadow answered as he walked past his mother to Rouge, "I have a date to make anyway. C'mon Rouge, let me take you home..."

"Of course... Maurice..."

Shadow came to a sudden stop at the door when she said that name. Hearing her giggle caused him to glare at her. It was a powerful glare, one he had given to Dr. Robotnik many times before. But to Rouge, she found it so endearing.

"Don't... ever... call me that again..." he snarled at her as he pushed the door open.

"Sure thing... Maurice..."

"Urrrr! Get in the Tornado!"

"What's wrong, Maurice!? You don't like your name!?" she laughed as she followed him out of the home and too the red biplane which was parked outside the hedgehog's small home.

While the two walked toward the plane and Rouge laughed at him, Bernie watched them from her doorway. She shook her head at the sight then posed in a 'why do I bother' like way, before turning to face her husband.

"Of all the girls on the planet, why did he have to choose her? Seriously, Jules, what does he see in her?"

"If you can't see what my son sees in her, then Bernie you need to get your eyes checked..."

She gave a hard snarl at him, before closing the door shut.

…

Ma-Ri-A... Maria... E-Series Model M Ver. 3.2.2. Maria Robotnik corrupted. Loading E-Series Model M Ver. 3.2.1.

Ruined. All of his plans were ruined. But how? The West Side Island operation was full-proof. Full-proof. He should've succeeded. He should have crushed Shadow the hedgehog under his foot like a bug. In fact, he did crush Shadow the hedgehog under his foot like a bug! Then how!? How!? How did he fail!? How was his perfect plan a spectacular failure?

How...?

The door to the Egg Emperor suddenly flew open, as a foot struck it from behind. It fell down into the ruined scrap heap of the area, mixing in with the destruction. Shortly after, a portly man fell from the door way, landing on the hard ground with a painful THUD!

He writhed in pain upon the floor, grasping as his back and chest. He could barely stand, but with the help of his cane, he was able to do so. He leaned upon his fallen Egg Emperor for support, then gazed around his masterpiece. The Death Egg, humbly destroyed like it was nothing. The crowned gym of his eye, worked upon for years, gone just like that. So too the Chaos Emerald, which helped provide the power and energy to create such a thing.

"Hah... I can't believe it..." Robotnik groaned, "How...? HOW!?" he grunted and covered his face with his hands, then laid flat on the ground, "How...? URRRGGGH! DAMN YOU SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU!"

"Doctor..."

His eyes opened and he looked up. Hovering just above him was a blue light. A hologram. Said hologram took the form of a blonde woman in formal business attire.

"M... Ma... Maria?" he answered as he looked up to her, watching her smile back down upon him.

Robotnik struggled to his feet after seeing her, standing on his knees as she smiled down upon him. He eventually found the energy to stand, all the while the holographic woman looked him up and down. Her face turned into one of unhappiness, only to transform into a smile again.

"You're hurt, Ivo," she said, "But I've already sent the few remaining First-Aid Badniks we have on the Death Egg here to help you."

"Maria, where are we?" Robotnik asked as he got to his feet, using the cane to keep himself balanced.

"We've landed in water," Maria stated as she looked around to the sunlight gazing through the hull of the room's ceiling, "It cushioned our fall from space, which is why we're still alive right now."

"We've landed in water?" Robotnik repeated as he looked around too, "The ocean? Which ocean?"

"Not the ocean," Maria said, making Robotnik look at her with an inquisitive eye, "We've landed in a lake somewhere..."

"What lake is big enough to hold the Death Egg?" Robotnik inquired, "Maria, what zone have we fallen in?"

"Negative..." Maria answered, making the doctor pull back, "We haven't landed in a lake that shows up in my systems. It's not within any of my databanks, anyway... give me a second..."

Maria lifted her arm, causing the arm of the Egg Emperor to rise as well. With a simple swipe of her arm, she caused the arm to fly into the wall, destroying it and creating a hole. As Maria stated, they had landed in a lake, for land was visible from their spot. As well as a large mountain with snow covered peaks.

"Maria..." Robotnik mumbled, "Where are we?"

Angel Island

Maverick Talks!

Yeah! Whooo! Here we go! The end of this story right here! The end you may ask? Yeah! The end, like, for realz!

For realz!

But, yeah, this is it; the end of The Conquest of West Side Island. A surprisingly short story (by my standards) which was a heck a fun to write! I mean, I'm being honest; it was super fun to write this story. Even now, with me writing it, I can't help but to think about the future. This is story - which started out as a simple side project mind you - went on to become the focus for quite some time now. I just couldn't wait to start writing this story, which is strange. It's been a while since I've written a Sonic fanfic, because I've been focusing on Pokemon ones for so long. But for my returned to my Sonic fandom, it felt so great! And it wasn't anything explosion; no story with multiple characters, multiple storylines, among other things, just a story about Shadow and Rouge adventuring through West Side Island to defeat Dr. Robotnik. And it felt soooooo goooooood! Even now, I can't believe how fun it felt to write this story. But now I digress...

I wanted to thank you all. All my reviewers, my favoriters, and followers, all of you who helped push me on to make this story. I swear, I mean... I just love it. I often feel weird when posting a new story, wondering if it'll be received well or not. I often hope it will, but I won't know until its all over, right? But all of your reviews showed me that, yeah, my idea of Shadow and Rouge in Sonic 2 (which it essentially is) is an idea people can get behind. It wasn't anything explosive, but it was a simple idea twist that helps me building something new out of an old tale. That's how I feel, anyway.

And... man... God... thanks, just thanks. I had fun writing it, and I'm happy you all had fun reading it.

But before we end this story, let me share some trivia for it. Yeah, like a little bonus, right?

This story was born from a simple place; Sonic Hacks. I've always been a fan of Sonic hacks, specifically ones that let me play old Sonic games with another character. Like Mighty in Sonic 1, or Shadow in Sonic 1, something along those lines. But when it came to Sonic 2, there weren't many hacks that changed the character. Well, change it to someone I like, anyway. So, one day, I decided to make it myself. I started making a Sonic 2 Hack with Shadow in Sonic 2. I replaced Sonic with Shadow, and worked on replacing Tails with Rouge. And as I did so, this story popped up in my head. I figured if I can make it as a game, can I make it as a story? And so this story was born. Born from a project I made.

My favorite part about this story is simply the dynamic between Shadow and Rouge. Their partnership is so different compared to the partnership between Sonic and Tails. Shadow and Rouge are so deadly, so skilled, so mercenary like in their missions, while Sonic and Tails are like bros. They adventure like its fun, unlike Shadow and Rouge, who adventure like its business. Though Rouge's sexy ways and her 'pleasure before business' motto differs from Shadow's serious demeanor and his 'business, then business, and business' motto. I really had fun trying to recreate this, especially when Shadow becomes less robotic-like, and more warm. More humane. Or would it be Mobiane? Yeah, ignore that...

So what about Sonic or Tails? Like, where are they during this story? Well, I can answer this question; Tails exists. And while he may be a fan of Shadow in this universe, he never had the opportunity to run into Shadow in this universe like he does with Sonic in regular canon. Unfortunately, Rouge beat him to the punch. But what about Sonic? Jules and Bernadette Hedgehog - Sonic's parents - treat Shadow like he's their son, and there is no mention of Sonic anywhere. Welp, Sonic simply doesn't exist here. Before Jules was cut off by Bernie in this chapter, he was going to tell Rouge that Bernie's barren. It's simply impossible for her to have children, which is why Sonic doesn't exist. This is why she treats Shadow with so much love, and doesn't question his origins; you can say she's replaced Sonic with Shadow. After all, she can't have children. To help lighten the blow of not having Sonic for all of you, I kinda wrote Jules to be comedic like Sonic. Though you might not be able to tell with the very rare screen time Jules gets.

In this story, I wrote Dr. Robotnik as being for more cruel and demented, not to mention serious and intelligent. I was half aiming for Classic Robotnik from the old Sonic show, mixed with my own interpretation of Robotnik for this universe. He's a business man, so I enjoyed writing him in this brown suit, red tie, white undershirt, and red eyes. Those red eyes are mainly because I thought about classic Robotnik.

But what of Maria? She's like the main upstart in this story. What is she doing here? She's so out of place compared to everyone else (not that anything is really in place). Let me shed some light on this situation; a lot of you thought Maria's hologram was Maria roboticized. But that's not true. Maria isn't a roboticized Maria, she's nothing more than a simple AI. Once encoded with the thoughts and feelings of the real Maria, who's dead. Granted, this in itself comes up up with a lot of stories. How does AI Maria know about Shadow and remember things about the Ark if she's not the 'real' Maria? Has Dr. Robotnik already been to Space Colony Ark in this story? And what about that room Dr. Robotnik visited when he he needed to reprogram Maria with a new software update? In that casket, was it the real Maria?

Guess we won't know all the answers now. Yeah, I'm kinda a jerk, ain't I?

By the by, every move Shadow and Rouge performed in this story is 100% real. Believe me; I had to do some research to learn a lot of these moves. They were pulled directly from Sonic games. Like Sonic Battle or Sonic Riders. That's where Chaos Ball comes from, though it acts more like Roaming Chaos when I sit here and think about it. Man, I'm nerding out over all you, ain't I?

Well now, is that all I have to say? I think it is, really. I mean, I could go on and on about some other random stuff, but I won't right now. I do want to reiterate that I had so much fun writing this, and I love that you all love this story. Seriously, thanks a lot. Thanks for reading, it gives me the energy to keep writing. Or else my mind would explode from all the thoughts in my head.

Speaking of explosions, I think I won't be using so much onomatopoeia in my coming stories. Seriously, using them made me feel so extremely childish. They would work in a comic book, but not so much here. Man...

So... that's it you guys... thanks for everything. I... yeah... thanks... And, before we depart, go ahead and tell me what 'Shadow replaces Sonic' story I should do next. Should I continue on to Sonic 3 and Knuckles? Or should I do something completely different? I'll leave it up to you all.

But, here's where we depart. Good night you all - or if its morning for you, good morning. And God bless.

By the by, this chapter is named after the ending song to Sonic 2. Yeah, the one that got remixed in Sonic 06. Love that song; the Akon mix is my faves.

Maverick Kay Prime