Note: This Epilogue was posted simultaneously with Part 7, so don't forget to go back and read that first!

Epilogue: To Defeat a Hedgehog

Several Years Later

In front of a great gothic castle with tall spires, surrounded by a grim garden of unkempt hedges and decaying black trees, a banner is planted into the ground. Though seemingly hung upside-down, it bears the unmistakable symbol of Shadow and the Black Arms.

Someone steps slowly through the halls of the castle, each step echoing loudly as he proceeds towards a single object that lies on the ground. Shadow the hedgehog bends down to pick it up. The back of his hand is covered by a red extension of his far more elaborate wrist cuff, hiding the spot where he once made a cut.

He slowly lifts the thin sheet of paper up to his face. On the paper, an elaborately-embossed border frames a simple handwritten message.

Dear Shadow,

I'll get straight to the point. If you want to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog, come to my evil lair at 11:00 A.M. tomorrow. There will be soft drinks and fine cheeses to snack on. It won't be complete without you!

XOXO,

Dr. Eggman

Shadow glares down at the paper silently, showing little emotion. It seems, over the years, his burning rage has simmered to a cold apathy. His spikes, like Sonic's, have grown messy and unkempt, with several individual quills out of place.

Suddenly, Shadow crushes the paper in one hand. He growls with a sneer, "What does that fool think he's doing? I thought I scared him out of this nonsense."

He slowly unclenches his hand to look down at the crumpled piece of paper. "Still…if there's a chance…even a small one…I can endure his presence for that."

—–—

Later the next day

Sonic leaps onto the windshield of Eggman's Eggmobile, glaring him straight in the eye. "Call off your goons, or I'll smash you into next week."

Eggman, apparently having lost some weight and gained some upper body strength, now wears a completely different jacket, decorated with many buttons, and a yellow section folded over the front. He manages to answer with a straight face, "I'm busy next week. I-I mean, I can reschedule, but I–" He is suddenly cut off as a red streak blasts by, taking Sonic with it.

Sonic lands in a crouch, looking up to the shoulder of a massive, hulking red and yellow robot, where Shadow stands with arms crossed.

Shadow looks straight to Eggman from his perch. "Pathetic. Even with all this help, you still couldn't defeat Sonic."

Sonic wastes no time with words, leaping into action at full speed. Shadow wears a smirk as he leaps down in turn. The two spinning hedgehogs collide in the middle, each bouncing off and skidding across the ground on their feet. They stare each other down for just a moment.

Wearing a giddy smile, Eggman marvels, "It's happening… Shadow has joined Team Eggman! I'm geeking out here!" He excitedly flies his craft closer to Shadow.

"Hmph." Shadow strikes at the bottom of Eggman's craft, knocking him out of sight before running straight back in for Sonic.

The two collide in balls once again, this time bounding straight upwards to strike each other in the air. At impressive speeds, they weave around each other in the air and along the ground, trying to strike from any possible angle, neither ever landing any clear hit on the other.

Eggman tries to follow them as closely as he can, though he's nowhere close to keeping up. "Need any help, Shadow? O-okay, y-you've got this one. Oh, heh heh, just missed ya. A-allow me to, uh-o-okay, just, uh, tag me in when you're ready."

Shadow slides into standing position just in front of Eggman. "Out of the way, you buffoon!"

That distraction is enough for Sonic to speed in with a Spin Attack, knocking Shadow headlong through the wall of an old wooden hut.

Shadow stands in the dust and rubble with a growl. He becomes surrounded with a crimson aura. In an instant, he dashes back at Sonic, landing a solid uppercut to his chin that sends him flying upwards. Shadow leaps up after him.

Eggman weaves his way through some of his own flying robots, still trying to follow the fight. "'Scuse me, I'm with Shadow."

Shadow grabs Sonic in the air, pulling them both headfirst back towards the ground. Sonic manages push off at the last moment, landing on his feet in front of a very odd-looking wooden bookcase that sits outside. A moment later, Shadow lands directly on top of it, flattening it to the ground.

Addressing Shadow directly for the first time, Sonic cries, "Hey! We worked all day on that!"

Shadow spits back the very same words used to hurt him so long ago. "Your shoddy craftsmanship brings shame on all hedgehog kind. And for that, you shall perish." With a quick Chaos Control, Shadow appears in front of Sonic, striking with an uppercut once again.

Before Sonic can ever react, Shadow is already there above him, delivering a roundhouse kick that sends him hurtling back towards the ground. Sonic slams into the earth hard enough to leave a large crater in the ground, throwing a cloud of dust up into the air.

Shadow stands on the edge of the crater staring down at Sonic with his usual cold expression. Eggman flies up beside him. "We did it! Sonic was defeated by Team Eggman!" He pulls out a large, old-fashioned camera, putting his other arm around Shadow's shoulders. "Victory selfie!"

Shadow reacts habitually, turning his face away from the camera, just as he did in a photo that was taken of him long ago. Still, the bright flash produced as the camera snaps its photo is enough to blind him. He holds an arm up to his eyes with a grunt of pain.

Sonic quickly jumps to his feet in the moment provided, dashing at Shadow with an uppercut of his own. Shadow tumbles back along the ground. He props himself up with both hands, turning to Eggman with a glare of malice. "You fool! I had him just where I wanted him!"

Sounding more amused than apologetic, Eggman responds, "Sooooorry. Heh, that one's on me, Shadow. Forgot to turn off the flash." He holds out the camera for Shadow to see. "Pic looks great, though, if it's any consolation."

Shadow rises to his feet. "Enough! How's a guy supposed to destroy his foes with dolts like you wandering around!?" He turns back to look to Sonic. "We'll fight again soon, Sonic. But next time, on my terms." With that, he disappears in a blue flash.

Sonic's friends run in from all sides of the village, their own foes defeated. Tails, Amy, and Knuckles are all there, as well as someone new, a Badger with a wild appearance. While Amy wears a new outfit, something is completely different about Knuckles. He still wears the white bandages around his immensely swollen, muscular arms. Though his head isn't much different, his body has grown inhumanly large. It seems he's put a lot of effort into becoming strong enough.

The friends share a five-way fist bump, all cheering, "Yeah!"

Amy congratulates, "Great job, everybody!"

Knuckles, with a slow voice that now seems to come inherently with a permanent hint of confusion, comments, "We may not be able to build a bookcase, but we sure as heck can clobber some creeps."

Sonic looks past them, to Eggman. "Speaking of which…" The other turn to follow his gaze.

Eggman backs up his craft slowly. "Now guys, l-let's not point fingers about 'who's to blame' for this…little scuffle…"

Sonic and friends all run in to attack. Eggman can be heard shouting, "No!"

—–—

A great storm rages outside of Shadow's castle, intense wind blowing a downpour of rain against the outside walls.

Shadow slams the side of his fist into the castle wall inside, hard enough to spread large cracks in every direction. He stands there for several moments, hand pressed against the newly-damaged wall, trying to control his breathing. Water starts to seep through the cracks. In his other hand, Shadow holds something. The Doom's Eye trinket. He clenches it tighter. "I haven't forgotten, father. I…haven't…" He suddenly drops to his knees, unable to say anything more.

The harsh rain continues to pour ceaselessly outside.

"I am Shadow…the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Life Form, born to rule all. But everything I've ever had has been taken away from me. Sonic is only the beginning. Soon, I will take my revenge on this whole pathetic universe! This is WHO I AM!"

The End

April Fools! It was a Sonic Boom prequel the entire time!