Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

~17~

-Our Story's Never Ending-

I stifle a pained whimper as I unintentionally shift in my lying potion along the slick ground. A haggard breath enters my lungs as hot red liquid drips into my eyes, forcing me to squeeze them closed. Seconds pass, and I expect another slash, another break, another—

"S-Sonic?" The sound is like a salvo in a quiet room, causing me to recoil, my ears far more used to my screams or pleas, his laughs and—

"Sonic? Oh, dear god, what have I done?" His tone is caked with sickness, disbelief… torment.

My body, broken and covered in bloody shame, can do nothing but shudder in the reprieve I've been given. "S-Shadow?" My thoughts are running a lot slower than normal, so the feeling of his body distancing itself from mine is a blessing and a curse.

His dark form comes into my field of vision as he backs away towards the exit. I can hardly see, my vision blurred in blood and tears, but the smearing of my body's fluids on his is hard to miss, as well as the distinct crystalline tears that travel down his muzzle. "Shads, are y-you really back?"

He visibly retreats as if I've slapped him. Funny, seeing as I can barely move an inch. "How can you be so calm? After I—after I committed such atrocities!" he all but screams in horror as he moves his hands to grip his head so tightly, I'm positive he's trying to physically force the images from his mind.

"You're b-back… no matter what's been done, or how much you hurt me while you weren't in control… as long as you're back, I'll feel this way," I explain sluggishly so as to not agitate my copious wounds.

He shakes his head as his defeated eyes finally open to stare at me, a decision beginning to form in their depths. "That's the problem, Sonic. I'm not back. I can feel it… creeping up. No matter what happens, whether I'm me right now or… that sick monster from before, our connection is too deep, too strong. I'll always want you, hedgehog. I'll always want you!" he exclaims, almost hysterical as his need for me becomes nearly overwhelming.

"I promised to protect you and I failed! Time and time again. I-I need to fix myself, Sonic." He stares brokenly into my eyes, hopeless tears falling from his eyes one after the other. "Get rid of this corruption… which is why I must leave."

The silence is almost deafening, and by some miracle my heart hadn't stopped before from all the things he put me through, but just those words… surely it'll stop now. "Don't do this, Shadow. I can help you. J-just let me in. Please." I don't even yell, for I can scarcely even whisper, my lips barely finding the will to move at the crushing reality of his words.

He moves back hastily, his hand banging against the wall behind him a few times before finally locating the green button that'll allow him exit…

"I love you… just remember that. I love you."

The door closes, and I'm left dirtied and broken, destroyed, on the hidden lab's floor.

He's gone.

He's gone.

He's—

"SHADOW, COME BACK!" The cry pierces the air as my heart staggers and then escalates in my chest. My frazzled eyes search my room, seeking my ebony mate, only to see morning light seeping in from the open window, a usual sight to see. Lying back down with a heavy sigh, I realize it was just a dream, one I'm prone to get every so often.

I turn to look over at the empty side of my bed just as the sound of childish laughter emits from the handy baby monitor Tails built me. I guess I didn't wake up early enough to go for my usual morning run. Maybe I can take Shade with me for a short one instead? I ponder while getting out of the plush bed and head to the bathroom to freshen up quickly before placing on my iconic running shoes. I turn to the nightstand as I lean down and place my lips on the cold glass image resting there. "Morning, Shadow…" Staring at it for a little while longer, I manage to turn and find my way to Shade's room alongside mine.

Soft morning rays stream down from above, casting the room in a soft glow. Toys of different sorts lie about on the floor here and there, due to Shade's and my lack of strict cleanliness, although I've been trying to keep on top of it. The beautiful rocker Amy helped pick out sits in the right corner of the room, but the main attraction is standing in his crib with a big smile on his face.

"Good morning, Shade!" I greet as I walk closer to pick him up, holding his light weight against my hip.

"'Morning, Mommy!" The chibiness of his voice is adorable to my ears.

"I know what you want, little guy. You want breakfast!" I tell him with excitement as I begin to mosey out of his room to the dining room, placing him in his notably navy high chair.

"Yes, please!" He claps in excitement with furry obsidian hands.

"Okie-dokie! What would you like?" I ask while moving into the kitchen, silver appliances on every counter. "Cereal or oatmeal?" Sadly my cooking skills have yet to improve over the last two years, but I experiment every once in a while. Just not with Shade's food.

"Oa… oat-meel" He stresses the word with the cutest expression, and I can't fight the urge to kiss his cheek for the effort.

"Oatmeal it is." As I prepare the instant meal, I let my mind wander to how drastically life changed once Shadow made the decision to disappear from my life altogether.

Tails found me not too long after Shadow departed, and I was immediately rushed to the hospital. The doctors said I was barely hanging on by a thread, and there was a slim chance that I would every fully recover back to my supersonic running days.

My brother was twisted with guilt and grief, no matter how many times I told him it wasn't his fault and that I would never blame him. In an unexpected twist of events, Knuckles showed up and literally hauled me out of the building without so much as an explanation against the protest of the doctors. Our friends, especially Amy, nearly threatened to tear him a new one if he didn't bring me back, but he continued on until I was placed in front of the Master Emerald.

I'd long since passed out from the agony of being moved so soon after being emitted to the hospital, but my friends explained that Knuckles asked for the Master's help, and I was given a second chance, essentially. I couldn't thank him enough. If I'd lost my ability to run as well as just having lost Shadow, I'm unsure as to how I would've went on.

Of course, the civility between us almost completely disappeared when, right after, he went and destroyed the Chaos Signature tracker to dash my chances of finding Shadow. I still attempted to search, but with little luck and Shade needing me, I reluctantly began to abstain from the near-crippling demand that I find him.

I became a single "mom" from then on. Shade deserved to at least have one parent remain in his life. I learned quickly to keep my hope that Shadow would one day walk through the front door in the back of my mind, so that I could still enjoy life and be a good mother to Shade.

"Mommy?" The little voice brings me out of my musings, and I quickly grab the bowl of by now cooling porridge in order to place it and a spoon before him.

"Thank you."

I smile in pride at teaching him so well. The others were doubtful that without a more, uh, sophisticated mind around Shade would end up poorly mannered, but I'm thoroughly proving them wrong.

"You're welcome," I respond as I open the cool refrigerator in order to grab a few leftover chili dogs. Even at twenty-three, my love for them hasn't wavered. After heating them, I sit at the dining table across from my son, wolfing the things down as I watch him haphazardly spoon mouthfuls of blueberry oatmeal into his mouth, his little feet kicking lightly when he accidentally smears some across his cheeks.

I chuckle lightly at the sight, noting that he's still a little sloppy, but he's getting better. Definitely better.

"All done!" he declares with a face lightly coated in sweet-tasting oatmeal.

Placing my dish in the sink, I pick up his bowl and do the same, my right hand grasping a soft cloth to dampen it in order to clean his face. Holding his tiny visage gently as he squints and squirms slightly at my gentle rubbing, I say in an agreeing tone, "Yes, you are."

Afterwards I bring him to the living room, placing him briefly on my lap in order to put his tiny special-made shoes upon his feet. Just looking at them brings a wistful sigh to my lips. It was a few months back, in January perhaps, when Shade showed signs of being more comfortable with running. I became curious with the idea of if he could in fact run as fast as his parents. So… I took him to Tails' place.

The look on my bro's face when he discovered the reason for our visit was priceless.

"Sonic! He's two! Why would you even ask such a thing?" Tails demands, incredulous.

"Well, I know I was running around and driving people nuts when I was a kid, so I just wanted to find out if Shade had that ability too."

Although my usually logical brother continued to show doubt, he had led me down to the workshop and surprised me with a small pair of shoes identical to mine. Simply put, he was prepared for my way of thinking. Excited, I'd placed the shoes on little Shade and hoped to see him blazing around the room. Of course, I knew he wouldn't immediately be as fast as Shadow or me, but still, speeds beyond that of a child his age were what I was expecting.

Only he hadn't reached them. He ran around to my encouragement but seemed frustrated at his lack of progress, as if he knew what he should be able to achieve. I'd felt a little disappointed at the time but decided that maybe it was a little too early to test his abilities. I was about to take the little toddler with me to go when Tails had stopped me with a wary smile.

"Sonic, wait… why don't we try these shoes?" The shoes he offered are the ones Shade wears now, modeled after his father's. Shadow is still a touchy subject among my friends, with Knuckles and Amy being completely against him; Rouge, Scourge, and Cosmo being on his side; and Tails just wanting my happiness.

When Shade adorned the air-shoes, jet-shoes, I never really asked the specifics; I could feel his Chaos energy begin to fluctuate erratically as the skates seemed to help him understand what he was supposed to do. Before my eyes he began blazing around like a natural, the perfect replica of his father.

Sitting him down in the royal blue-with-white-and-black shoes he jumps up and down in excitement for a moment before pointing to the front door. "Outside! Outside!"

With a soft smile I look towards the drawn blinds of the living room window to see gloomy clouds gathering in the once-beautiful sky. Turning back to the overexcited child, I have a hard time delivering the news. "Well, kiddo, it looks like it's going to rain…"

He looks at me, positively downtrodden. "But promise?"

My ears fold as I remember what I told him the day before about taking him to the shopping district so that he could pick out a new toy for being so good the week prior. "Well… okay."

"Yay!"

"But…"

"Uh-oh," he responds cutely.

Sweeping him up in a hug while laughing, I begin to walk towards the coat stand where I grab a very thin jacket meant for rain and place it on him. "It's nothing bad. You just have to stay bundled up in case it rains. I don't want you to get sick."

"You?" He looks at my completely uncovered form as I bend down to pick up an umbrella.

Opening the front door and closing it behind us as I place him on the ground, I begin to explain while he walks excitedly next to me. "I'll be fine. Plus we have this nice umbrella."

The weather is pleasant this early spring as we walk the worn path through the tall pine trees towards the market area. People are ambling about, turning curious eyes towards me but, most notably, my son.

I kind of regret telling that newsstand guy the truth about my reasons for being seen running about in Hill Top Zone in such a state. Of course, he was just trying to clear my name, but in doing so he caused the press to go wild. When I eventually returned to Hill Top—and even a bit before—Mobians were asking questions. Who was my mate? Was he the illustrious black hedgehog? What did it feel like to be a male and carry a baby?

Rolling my eyes in remembrance of how long it took for most of the gossip and curiosity to die down, I feel an annoyance that just because I'm the world hero I get harassed about being a "submissive" while the others out there get no such recognition. Shadow would've had a field day had he been here.

Looking at his son who he'd be so proud of right now, I grab Shade's little hand as we reach the shopping area and exhale heavily. You should be here right now.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Expecting to see him pointing at something he's decided on getting rashly—taking after me in that sense—I feel my heart screech to a halt and then attempt to caper out of my chest at the hedgehog he's pointing at.

"Shadow…"

He's standing in the center of the stalls with an air of indifference, yet the soft confusion that lies deep within his crimson orbs is something he wouldn't be able to hide from me. I breathe in shakily as I observe his form, noting the subtle change in his physique, his muscle definition, his overall allure. I thought that saying about the absence makes the heart grow fonder wouldn't be so true, until this very moment, that is, as I watch my Chaos Bound gaze around in search of something.

"Mommy, let's go!" Shade exclaims while attempting to pull me in Shadow's direction. I'm surprised he still remembers Shadow, although it does help that I tend to show him a picture of the mysterious hedgehog every night at bedtime, promising that his daddy loves him too…

I allow the small hedgehog to pull me along; the straining of my heart as we get closer and closer unfortunately makes it hard for me to put one foot in front of the other. When we're about a yard away, Shadow's eyes lock on us like a target, and I remember that he was affected by those gems, and I have Shade with me right now. Quickly scanning his body again, I realize something. The blue glow is gone. Did he find a way to remove them? Is he really back to normal?

When there's a foot between us, Shade attempts to break my hold on his hand in order to get to the older hedgehog. "Daddy!"

My face flushes in embarrassment as I sweep the little hedgehog off his feet into my arms and finally allow my gaze to hold that of my missing mate's. Just as deep and mystifying as I last remembered them, his eyes watch us curiously and with a hint of… frustration?

"Shadow?" I question uncertainly, wanting him to be the one to start off the conversation. I need to understand where his mind is right now, why he decided to come back… before I can finally collapse in his arms, where I rightfully belong.

His eyes travel between Shade and me in concentration for a moment before finding relief in the darkening sky. "I apologize. I don't really remember much…" he trails off slowly as his eyes leave the sky to gaze at my countenance as it slowly crumbles and shatters.

"Wh-what?" It's not true. He's mistaken. My eyes land on his perfectly un-tampered-with Inhibitor Rings, and Tails' explanation from years prior comes back in startling clarity. Irrevocable damage to his memories.

"Where have you been?" I demand in a barbed whisper, pulling Shade to my chest in a warm hug, his reaching arm moving to lie on my chest as he listens to words he barely understands.

Shadow raises his hand and places it on my lower back as he guides us out of the crowded market, the heat of his palm almost certainly burning straight to my nerves. When we're far enough away from prying eyes and listening ears, he takes his hand away, freeing me from his warm touch, letting me breathe smoothly again.

"I was… somewhere cold, freezing. I remember feelings of sorrow and fury, a turmoil that nearly drove me insane… if I somehow wasn't already," he begins as his eyes once again move to stare at the oncoming rain.

The soft tug of the fur along my chest has me glancing down at Shade, who seems to be studying the differences between Shadow and me with curious emerald eyes; the probing gaze he has for Shadow lets me know just how much he'd like to get to know him.

"I was beginning to grow weak there with no food and… Chaos energy."

I notice his right hand run along the smooth expanse of his left Ring. The way he said Chaos energy sounds as if he just learned about it recently, which very well may be true.

"So I left and moved to a less intense climate, but it was still cold in its temperament. This is where I met a Mobian, a male walrus. He offered me food and a place to stay, but I refused his hospitality, not wishing to stay with another. He was persistent, though, and continued to offer me food every day even though, if I recall, I threatened to tear out his spine and feed it to him."

Wincing, I pet Shade's back, happy that he's too young to really understand. "Okay, so this guy… you became friends?" I ask, curious of this mysterious character.

"Acquaintances. It turns out he's a gifted engineer, and when I finally permitted him to get close enough, he discovered my Inhibitor Rings and their clear malfunction. He told me he'd create a new set, but it would take time and most likely my memories, although he did say the loss could be temporary," Shadow informs me with a slight glance.

Eyes filling with hope, I swallow my nerves and hold Shade closer—realizing this is the first time he's ever been this patient—before asking the simplest question, "Why?"

"You."

"Me?" I counter, unconvinced of the possibility.

He turns to fully face me head on, and I see a flickering flame deep within his eyes, trying desperately to reignite. The same one that represents his love, his passion for me…

"Yes, you. I would tell him of this blue hedgehog that polluted my mind from the very beginning, prior to his removal of my Inhibitors, and even after the event took place. You are the constant, he told me. If I were to find you . . ." he trails off as he hesitantly, unsure of himself, places his warm palm on my cheek. "Then I could most likely regain everything."

I open my mouth to respond, words practically tripping over my tongue in a haste to be heard when I see a little hand reach out and touch Shadow's.

"Daddy?"

Shadow's ears twitch as he acknowledges the voice, and his eyes train on the little boy in my arms. He tentatively moves to rub his hand along the fur on our son's head.

"Hi there, little one…" he whispers gently as he watches the little hedgehog intently as if concentrating… and then I hear something astounding: "You can't have shade without shadow."

My inhale is sharp as we lock eyes again, and a barely-there smile crosses his tan muzzle as he lifts Shade from my arms and cradles him in a soft hug.

I can barely fathom his words; all I can achieve is a "How?"

"You… just being around you fills me with an indescribable need. I can't explain it. I just know that I need it. I need you," he tells me seriously as our son plays happily with the fluffy white fur on Shadow's chest.

Not even attempting to speak at first, I finally end up nodding quickly before I make a choice. "You can have me. You always have, but you have to promise me something, and you have to keep it, Shadow."

He stares at me with eyes that say he'll give me the world as long as I let him keep me, which makes it suddenly harder to inhale. "Anything."

"There was something I actually wanted to talk to you about before, uh… before you disappeared," I begin somewhat unsteadily. "I understand that you have darker tendencies—you wouldn't be my Chaos opposite if that weren't the case—but that doesn't make you a bad person, Shadow. I think that's what was really eating at you before," I explain softly as I lift a hand to caress his cheek gently as a troubled expression appears upon his face.

"If you'd only talked to me about it, maybe none of this would have happened. Don't take that the wrong way—I'd never blame you. I just want honesty between us from now on, okay? You have to promise to trust me completely, to never keep things from me, and to not ever give up on me again," I demand with serious emerald eyes as I stare at him unflinchingly. "That's what it felt like before when you left, like you'd given up on everything we'd worked towards and dreamed of ever having. I don't ever want to feel like that again.

"Do you understand?" He has to recognize that I'm serious about this.

He absorbs my words wholeheartedly as he holds our son and studies me critically. When he finally does speak, it's with the utmost sincerity. "I promise. And I… won't ever give up on you again."

Those words sever the restraints I somehow held as I finally allow myself to bask in the peace of his presence and move into his arm as it opens to hold me next to our son. "So you're ready to jump into my life again as well? I have a few friends who are out for your head on a silver platter and a few who will welcome you back with open arms. As a matter of fact, we planned a sort of 'reunion' for tomorrow. Just in time, huh?" I tell him teasingly but mostly with a happiness I never thought I'd fully feel again.

We begin to stroll slowly in the direction of our cabin home while he responds in good nature, "As long as I have you, I can handle anything."

Wow… I feel myself waver in steps and decided to instead rely on my crimson-streaked mate to keep me going. I nestle my face into his shoulder just as I feel a cold splash of water pelt my fur. With quick thinking I pull the umbrella from the crook of my elbow and open it over us right before the light rain truly begins. Looking up into Shadow's luminescent red eyes, I feel my face flush as I murmur something out of curiosity, "My name's Sonic in case… in case you didn't remember."

He pulls me closer and purrs into my ear, causing the flush on my cheeks to burn brighter. "Sonic… What a magnificent name for perfection."

He definitely hasn't lost his charm… I think in a daze before the soft giggles from Shade cause me to turn in his direction.

"Mommy's face red!"

I open my mouth and then seal my lips tight before Shadow adds his two cents: "Yes, it is. I think he looks even more beautiful this way."

"Shads!" I protest over the sound of light rain hitting the umbrella and pattering all along the ground. He simply gives a rumbling chuckle as the cabin comes into view with my guidance.

A winning smile adorns my face as we draw nearer, the thought that even if things spin way out of control between Shadow and I, we'll always find our way back to each other.

We're Chaos Bound. Meant to be.

And even if life isn't perfect, pretty much a complicated mess of things, as long as I have my imperfectly perfect Shadow to go through it with, we'll turn it in to our own chaotic adventure.

So we finally reach an end! Thanks so much for sticking with this until this point guys! Each and every one of you, all of your support has meant so much! Just thank you!

I just wanted to let you all know that I don't know when I'll make another Sonadow story. But thanks for supporting the one's I have made thus far. I don't know how far I would have gotten without the support :)