This is a rewritten version of my first story, which I had not updated in over a year, and I sincerely apologize for that. I have a better idea of the plot I have planned out for this story, so hopefully it will be better than before. Also, please understand that I have another story that I'm working on, so I don't know how often I'll be able to update this one. Just know that I haven't forgotten about this story, and that I will finish it someday.

And a quick reminder: This is a father/son story between Shadow and Sonic, and in this story Shadow is NOT immortal.

I own nothing! All these characters belong to their respective owners.

A Shadow's Companion V2

Chapter 1- I'm No Hero

He never recalled falling asleep. At least he thought he had been sleeping, since he didn't know what else to call it. One moment there had been nothing, then the next he was hearing noises and his eyes had just snapped open, as if awakening from a deep trance. His vision was blurry at first, but gradually he could begin to make out the forms and shapes of objects as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights that surrounded him. He instantly noticed that he was some kind of containment unit, and that he appeared to be in some high tech, military room.

More like a prison, he thought sourly.

Movement out of the corner of his eye brought him out of his inner musings, and he was surprised to see a very . . . odd looking man walking up towards his container. The human stroked his orange mustache absentmindedly as he studied him behind his dark glasses, and he felt his fur suddenly stand up as he gazed at the man warily, waiting to see what he would do next. The human's red jacket fluttered slightly when the man lifted his arm to push one of the many buttons that were located on the lock of his containment pod, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously when the glass door to his small prison suddenly opened with a soft hiss.

The human might have freed him from whatever he had been contained in, but he wasn't stupid. This human, especially one that he didn't know, more than likely wanted something in return, something from him to be more precise. Although, he couldn't quite say that he didn't know this man, since he was having a hard time remembering things at the moment. His mind was still rather foggy, and all he could recall were blurry images and the face of a young girl with blonde hair . . . He also had to admit, when he concentrated really hard, that there was something sort of familiar about this human.

"This is my grandfather's legacy?"

His sensitive ears easily heard the human's barely audible words as he stepped out of his containment pod, and he turned to face the man fully, while mentally preparing for anything.

"Who are you?" He asked, his deep voice echoing slightly off of the metal walls.

"I am Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik." Eggman replied in a calculated tone, still staring at him in wonder.

He felt his heart skip a beat at the word 'Robotnik', and all of a sudden his memories came rushing back at him, along with an incurable feeling of rage. His fists clenched together tightly, and if he hadn't been wearing gloves there was no doubt in his mind that his palms would've been cut open by now. He bit his lip and fought back a growl, and the urge to suddenly hit something, hard. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down, and promised himself that he would mourn later, but before he could do that he had to find out what happened. The rage that he felt inside himself however, was a different story. He highly doubted that it would ever go away.

"And you are?" The human persisted.

"Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow stated coldly, his red eyes burning into Eggman's.

The man didn't seemed unfazed by the hedgehog's glare, instead he just grinned diabolically. "Aha, so I've found you at last! You're the military's top secret weapon."

At this, Shadow frowned. He never recalled being some 'secret weapon'. All his life he had been told by Prof. Gerald, and Maria that he had been created for medical science, an Ultimate Life Form that could help cure people of fatal diseases back on Earth. People like Maria. Plus, he didn't like the idea of being called a weapon. It made him seem more like an object than an actual person.

"What do you want, doctor?" Shadow questioned, crossing his arm, scowl firmly in place.

"To conquer the world, of course," Eggman replied easily, as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet, "and with your powers at my disposal nothing will stand in my way!"

Shadow almost wanted to point out that he hadn't actually agreed on helping the odd man with his scheme, but kept his mouth shut when a sudden thought occurred to him.

Why not use this to your advantage? Exploit this opportunity to unleash your revenge on those humans for what they did!

The hedgehog paused, considering these words, while a part of him-the shattered, moral side of him-wondered where those thoughts had come from. He had never thought of something so . . . evil before, but his inner anger for those responsible for the death of his only friend quickly pushed his hesitations aside, and for the first time in his life he let his emotions get the best of him. His mind made up, Shadow gave Eggman a cold smirk, and the doctor felt a chill go down his spine when he saw the pure hatred in the hedgehog's red eyes.

"Your wish is my command, Master."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Eggman said with a sly grin, forgetting what he had seen in the Ultimate Life Form's eyes. The man then continued to babble on about his empire, and the untold riches that they would poses when he-uh, they- became rulers of Earth. Shadow just tuned out the eccentric human's ranting, not seeing the point in listening when there wouldn't be a planet left to conquer once he was finished with it.

Since he released me from my prison, I suppose that I could spare his life, Shadow mused stoically, but he couldn't deny the fact that he probably wouldn't be as kind if the man's last name wasn't Robotnik. And, Maria . . . I promise you revenge.

Fate, however, had something different in mind.

Three days had passed since his release from suspended animation, and so far everything was going according to plan. They were currently in the space colony, ARK, where Shadow had lived for most of his life with Maria, and he and Dr. Eggman had successfully snatched six of the seven Chaos Emeralds to power up the ARK's ultimate weapon, the Eclipse Cannon, which had the destructive power to eliminate planets. The fact that Prof. Gerald had created such a device made Shadow question if the professor had been lying to him when he said that he had only been created for medical science, but he discarded those thought when he realized that he didn't care either way. It wasn't like anyone else would care either. Everyone he had ever known had died fifty years ago.

"Just one more Chaos Emerald and the world will be mine!" Eggman cackled gleefully, rubbing his hands together eagerly as he stepped inside the central control room. "Tell me, Shadow, where is the last emerald located?"

The hedgehog glanced down at one of the many computers that covered the control room, and began searching for the remaining emerald's particular energy signature. He easily spotted the six Chaos Emeralds that they already contained grouped together on the screen, but he blinked when he saw the seventh energy signal. Unlike the other emeralds, this one was moving, and it seemed to be getting closer.

"Doctor," Shadow notified the man, his voice flat.

"Yes, what is it?" The human grumbled as he approached the screen. His eyebrows rose from behind his glasses when he realized what he was seeing. "It's-it's coming right for us, but how?!"

"Sir!" Both Shadow and Eggman turned at the sound of the robotic voice, and saw one of the evil doctor's robots running towards them as it entered the control room.

"What now, Decoe!" Eggman growled out impatiently, annoyed by the clumsy machine's interruption.

"There's a spacecraft approaching the ARK, and its coming in very fast!" The tall, golden colored robot replied hastily.

"WHAT?!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes, and crossed his arms, wondering who could possibly be stupid enough to come here. His thoughts were interrupted though, when the space colony suddenly jerked, causing Eggman to fall flat on his backside, and the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the building. A moment later the sirens began to go off, and Shadow had to push back a chilling sense of déjà vu when the flashing, red lights brought back memories of him running down the corridors with Maria, G.U.N agents not far behind.

"Decoe, bring up the security cameras!" Eggman roared as he stood up. "I want to know exactly what's going on!"

"Y-yes, sir!" The robot replied, and quickly began working on bringing up the live video feed to the main computer. The poor robot needn't have bothered, because not even twenty seconds later the door to the control room was blasted off of its hinges, and it hit the metal floor with a loud clang. Shadow immediately got into a defensive position, knowing that there was going to be fight very soon, while Eggman merely grabbed Decoe by his mechanical arms, and placed him in front as shield.

"Well, well, well," came a confident voice, "So this is where you've been hiding, Eggman. I have to say, it had gotten so quiet back on Earth that I was beginning to think that you've finally thrown in the towel."

"As if I would ever give up on conquering this world, you miserable rodent," Eggman grumbled irritably as his adversary stepped inside the large chamber, along with several others, and Shadow studied them closely.

A cobalt, blue hedgehog, probably just a couple years older than himself, wearing a brown cowboy hat, stood at the very front, and he gave the doctor a smug grin, as if had already won the battle before it had even begun. His auburn eyes flickered across the partially destroyed control room, no doubt searching for any signs of surprise attacks or other threats, but when his gaze landed on Shadow, the blue hedgehog frowned in confusion, clearly taken aback by his appearance.

"Getting Mobians to do your dirty work now, Ivo?" The intruder remarked snidely, while shuffling his feet. "What's wrong; robots not working out for ya anymore?"

"Something like that." Eggman said replied.

"Who cares!" One of the assailants, a young, red echidna, yelled from behind the blue hedgehog. "Robots or no robots we're still going to beat this guy like we always do!"

"Knuckles," the older hedgehog hissed warningly.

Knuckles looked up at his leader in confusion. "B-but, Jules . . ."

Shadow took this small moment to observe the two remaining intruders that have yet to say a word. To Jules's left there was another hedgehog with violet colored fur, a female, and she looked to be about the same age as her blue companion. Beside her there was a male, brown fox, which also appeared to around the same age as the other two hedgehogs, so it would seem that the echidna was the youngest out the small group. But unlike her three male companions, the female's gaze seemed to bug Shadow the most. Her emerald, green eyes held no malice towards him as she stared at his darker form in puzzlement, like a mother trying to understand why her child had done something wrong, and it made him feel . . . almost guilty.

"If we are done talking, there is a world that need's conquering, and it has my name on it!" Eggman declared. The human then pointed towards the four Mobians, and yelled, "Shadow, destroy those pesky Freedom Fighters!"

"As you wish, doctor," Shadow replied, as he moved to stand between the human and the four Mobians. He gave the trespassers a cold smirk. "Who's first?"

Jules narrowed his eyes. "Amadeus, Bernie, I need you two to go stop Eggman's cannon. If you have to, you the Chaos Emerald we found, and once all seven are gathered they'll scatter and disappear all over again. Knuckles, I need you to keep his robots busy."

Knuckles smirked, and pounded his fists together. "It'll be my pleasure."

"But what about you, Jules?" The violet hedgehog, Bernie, asked in concern.

"I'll take care of him." Jules replied, jerking his thumb towards Shadow.

The black and red hedgehog rolled his eyes. He was the Ultimate Life Form for a reason. No one could beat him, and besides, there was no way that he going to let some idiot ruin his plans for revenge. That was a promise.

"He'll be fine, Bernie." Amadeus reassured the female. Grabbing her hand, the fox gently dragged her away from their leader, and the two swiftly took off after Eggman as the human tried to make his escape towards the weapons room. Knuckles quickly followed after them when he spotted several SWAT-bots in their direction, and a few seconds later the sound of fists tearing through metal could be heard.

Once they were alone, Shadow decided that he would make the first move. Before his opponent could blink, he swiftly dashed across the room, and landed a hard left-hook on the blue hedgehog's jaw. The force of the blow caused the older male to skid backwards, but he managed to stay on his feet, which slightly impressed Shadow. Not many could remain standing after taking a hit like that.

Jules gingerly rubbed his jaw, and winced when he touched something sore, but he still gathered up the energy to give the black hedgehog a challenging smirk. "You're fast."

"Obviously," Shadow said coolly, rolling his eyes at the statement. He was caught off guard though, when a white, gloved fist suddenly appeared in front of his face, and he barely managed to get out the way before it landed with his super speed. Once he was a relatively safe distance away, Shadow glanced at the blue hedgehog in surprise.

"I'm pretty fast myself." Jules elaborated, though, he seemed out of breath.

"But not as fast as me." Shadow concluded. "And it seems that you can only use your speed sparingly over shot distances."

Jules frowned, annoyed that his secret had been found out so easily. "You seem like a pretty smart guy, Shadow. Why's someone like you working for Eggman? What did he promise to give you for helping him?"

"He didn't promise me anything. All I want is revenge for what those humans did to me!" Shadow snapped back as he swung his right fist at Jules's head.

The blue hedgehog ducked under the blow, and quickly kicked out his feet, knocking Shadow off balance. "Listen to me, kid. Revenge isn't the way to go. I don't know what the humans did to you, but wiping out an entire planet won't make you feel better."

"And how do you know that?!" Shadow growled, once he had regained his balance.

"Because I've been in your shoes before," Jules replied.

The black and red hedgehog scoffed disbelievingly. "I highly doubt that."

"Believe me. My parents we killed before my very eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the one responsible, but I learned from a very special friend that killing them won't make me or you happy."

Happy.

That word made Shadow pause in his next attack, and he could feel Jules staring at him questionably when he lowered his arms; for some reason that word resonated deep within him, but he didn't know why, and a memory, one that he longed to forget, suddenly bubbled to the surface. He was no longer in the control room fighting Jules, instead he was sealed inside an escape pod, and right next to the controls was Maria. The poor girl was leaning weakly against the machine, and the flashing red lights did little to hide how pale her face was.

"Shadow," the blonde haired girl began, while staring at him softly with her innocent blue eyes, "I beg of you. Please, do it for me . . . for all those people living on that planet . . . give them a chance to be happy. I know you can do it. That's the reason why you brought into this world."

"Maria!" Shadow cried, as his only friend pressed the escape button, but before he was fully shot off into space he heard her say one final goodbye.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow clenched his fists as the memory faded, and he stared at the floor as a wave of guilt suddenly washed over him. His previous anger, that had been fueling his motivation to destroy the human race, slowly wilted away, as if it had never existed, and in its place a feeling of self-loathing emerged. No words could describe how terrible he felt at that moment. At a loss on what he should do, he looked up to gaze at Jules's confused face, hoping that the older hedgehog could provide some answers.

That's what I promised her, and I must keep that promise, Shadow silently swore as he slowly walked up to Jules. He stopped a couple feet in front of the blue hedgehog, and hesitantly said, "You're . . . you're right, revenge won't make me feel better, but . . . but what do I do now?"

At this Jules smiled. "Well, for starters you can help me stop Eggman."

Shadow considered the other Mobian's words, and after a moment of thought, he nodded. "Alright, I'll help you."

The trip back to Earth was a silent one, not that Shadow minded, he always did enjoy the quietness, but there was definitely a certain tenseness among the spacecraft's other occupants. He could feel four different pairs of eyes staring at him as he gazed outside one of the ship's windows, watching the space colony ARK growing smaller and smaller every passing minute, and he briefly glanced over his shoulder to give them a warning glare. They immediately looked away, suddenly finding the floor very interesting, that is, everyone except for Jules. The blue hedgehog merely gave him a small smile as he strolled right on up next to him.

"You know," Jules began casually as he leaned against the wall, "you're a pretty cool kid, Shadow, whenever you're not hell bent on destroying the planet that is."

Shadow simply grunted in response, not even bothering to remove his gaze from the window.

Jules took this as an invitation to continue. "My friends and I were talking a few minutes ago, and we were wondering if you'd like to join us, as a Freedom Fighter."

With a frown, the black hedgehog turned to give Jules a confused look. "Why?"

The blue Mobian blinked, "Pardon?"

"Why would you ask me to join you?" Shadow elaborated. His gaze then fell downcast, and he stared guiltily at his hands, ashamed. "You saw what I did, what I was about to do. Who's to say that I won't do it again? So why are you asking me to join you?"

"Funny, that's exactly what I said." Shadow's sensitive ears heard Knuckles mutter from where he sat at the front of the spacecraft. The young echidna yelped in pain, though, when Amadeus wacked the teen upside the head with his tail.

"The fact that you didn't is why I'm asking." Jules answered seriously, his auburn eyes meeting Shadow's ruby ones. "You realized that what you were about to do was wrong, and you helped us stop Eggman from obliterating an entire planet." The blue hedgehog smiled. "That makes you A-Okay in my book."

Shadow shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm not a hero. Today could've easily ended very differently, with one less planet in the universe."

"But it didn't," Jules said persistently, "and you don't have to be a hero to do the right thing, Shadow."

"But . . . what if I do something wrong?" Normally Shadow didn't like admitting his inner fears to anyone, not even Maria, but something about this carefree hedgehog made him feel that it was okay, just this one time.

"Then we'll be right there to help you." Holding out his hand, the blue Mobian gave the black hedgehog a reassuring smile. "So what do ya say?"

Shadow stared at the older hedgehog's hand uncertainly, but when he saw the encouraging nod from Bernie, along with Amadeus, over Jules's shoulder, the black hedgehog slowly shook the offered appendage with own hand. Jules grinned, and Bernie's bright green eyes danced happily at the scene as their leader swung a friendly arm over Shadow's shoulder.

"Welcome to the team, kid!"

Ears twitching in annoyance, Shadow muttered, "I'm not a kid."

"Oh, yeah," Jules began smugly, "how old are you?"

The black hedgehog frowned, wondering how he should answer that question. It wasn't like he had been born after all, not to mention that he had been sleeping for over fifty years. The joys of being the Ultimate Life Form he supposed, but he did remember Prof. Gerald mentioning something about him being equivalent to that of an adolescent of sixteen years.

"Sixteen," Shadow eventually replied.

"Ha, would do ya know, he's the same age as you, Knuckles!" The blue Mobian hollered over his shoulder towards the front of the ship, where he knew the red echidna was sitting.

"Terrific," Knuckles grumbled sarcastically, and both Bernie and Amadeus sent him a scolding look in return.

"Anyways," Jules continued, releasing Shadow from his one arm 'hug', "you're still younger than me, so that makes you a kid, kid."

Shadow scowled. He was already growing tired of his new nickname. His sour expression faded, though, when Bernie joined him and Jules by the window, her emerald eyes twinkling in amusement, and she gave him a soft smile as she gently leaned against the blue hedgehog's taller form.

"I hope my husband isn't giving you a hard time, Shadow." She said warmly, and Shadow decided that he liked the way her voice sounded. It was soft and gentle, like how a mother or an older sister would sound when comforting their child or younger sibling. He had a feeling that Maria would've liked this female hedgehog.

"Me? Giving the kid a hard time? You wound me, Bernie. You know I'm better than that." Jules tried to say in a serious tone, but the large grin on his face gave him away.

The violet hedgehog playfully jabbed her husband in ribs, and disbelievingly replied, "Right." She then returned her attention back towards Shadow, extended her hand, and smiled. "Welcome to the Freedom fighters, Shadow, I hope that we can become great friends."

The black hedgehog placed his larger hand over Bernie's smaller one, and the two shook hands, and for the first time in a long time Shadow smiled.

Ten years later

Green Hill was a small town located at the bottom of a valley in South Island, and was known for its grassy plains, forests, and lakes. The weather was practically always perfect, and the residents were very courteous and friendly. All in all, it was peaceful place, and for as long as the town had been standing there hadn't been any kind of trouble to ever hit the small community.

Which was Shadow didn't understand why he was here in the first place.

The black hedgehog was currently in the main plaza, the usual hang out for most of Green Hill's occupants, and he was leaning against the side of a nearby building as his red eyes studied the light crowds of people that passed by. Every once and while someone would have the courage to meet his gaze, and perhaps try to have a conversation with him once they realized who he was, but Shadow's intimidating aura would quickly scare them off, if his glare didn't at first. With an irritated sigh, the black hedgehog glanced down at the electronic device in his right hand, and his frown morphed into a scowl when he saw that it still hadn't picked up anything on the scanner. Muttering under his breath, Shadow opened the communicator located on his wrist, and the face of a young fox appeared on the screen.

"Are you sure this is the place, Tails?" Shadow questioned the younger Freedom Fighter.

Tails sighed, and reassuringly replied, "Yes, Shadow, Green Hill is where Rouge said that Eggman was headed."

The hedgehog raised a doubtful eyebrow, and briefly glanced up to observe the tranquil town. "But there's nothing here." He growled out, emphasizing the last two words.

"Apparently Eggman thinks differently." The young fox said with a shrug of his shoulders, ignoring his friend's semi-harsh tone. He was by far used to Shadow's grumpy moods. "According to Rouge, Eggman detected some kind of energy source the other day that reacted with the Chaos Emerald he possesses, and that he traced it back to Green Hill. Has the scanner picked up anything yet?"

"No, because there is nothing here," Shadow repeated in a matter-of-fact tone. He was almost one hundred percent certain now that Rouge had made a mistake, which didn't surprise him considering how much the female bat liked to mess around. She had never taken anything seriously, and would probably never will.

"Maybe you would find something if you actually went and talked to people instead of scaring them off." Tails remarked with a teasing grin, knowing how anti-social the black hedgehog was.

Shadow frowned at the fox's words, and in response he snapped his communicator shut, effectively bringing their conversation to close. He loved Tails like a little brother, but sometimes he thought the kid knew him just a little too well. That or he had been spending too much time with Knuckles. But as much as he hated to admit it, though, the techno brat had a point.

After letting out a long-suffering sigh, Shadow stepped away from the building he had been leaning against, and walked out into the plaza. With no real destination in mind, the hedgehog began wandering off in a random direction, while carefully keeping an ear out in case he heard something unusual mentioned by the town's occupants. He roamed about for a while, dodging kids as they ran past him in the street as they played and adults when they weren't paying attention to where they were going, but still nothing showed up on his scanner. Shadow was about to call it quits and ring up Tails again, but before he could, his red eyes spotted a tavern just across the road, the perfect place for information. It may have been past midday, but there would definitely still be people inside, so with his new heading in mind, the black hedgehog began walking towards the building, eager to find some clues on why Eggman was coming here.

"Hey, get back here you little brat!"

Shadow paused at the sound of the loud, angry voice, and turned just in time to see a blue figure suddenly run into him. His years of fighting experience, however, prevented Shadow from being knocked over. Not that it mattered, since whatever had run into him hardly weighed anything, and it ended up falling backwards from the unexpected collision. Slightly irritated by being caught off guard, and rudely interrupted in his search, Shadow glanced down to see what had almost knocked him over, while mentally preparing to chew that person out in the process. The lecture died on his lips almost instantly, though, when he saw that it was just a kid.

The kid was a small, cobalt blue hedgehog, and he looked to be about six or seven years old. The child was sitting on the ground from where he had fallen after he had bumped into Shadow, and was gently rubbing his forehead with one of his gloved hands. The black hedgehog noticed that in the kid's other hand was a loaf of bread, which was somehow undamaged from the collision. Shadow's red eyes then looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and saw what appeared to be a baker running towards them and he didn't seem happy. Huh, and here he thought that Green Hill never had any sort trouble.

The kid must've heard the baker approaching as well, because the next moment his eyes snapped wide open in fear, and Shadow was taken aback by how vividly green they were, since he could only recall one person with those exact same eyes. The young hedgehog quickly scrambled to his feet, and seeing that he had nowhere else to go, he swiftly hid behind Shadow's taller form, much to the older male's surprise.

"Hey, kid, what do you think-"

"-Aha, I've caught up to you at last, you little troublemaker!" The baker, who was an orange cat, exclaimed when he stopped in front of Shadow, cutting off the black hedgehog's sentence. The feline glared at the child hiding behind Shadow's legs, and the kid took a frightened step back at the cat's furious tone. "Thought you could get away from me didn't you?"

"Excuse me," Shadow interrupted, drawing the baker's attention away from the huddled form behind his back, "but what seems to be the problem here?"

The orange cat paused for a second as he took in the black hedgehog's appearance, not recognizing him a resident of Green Hill, but eventually replied, "That brat stole from my bakery just a few minutes ago, and I plan on getting my bread back, so if you would please step aside, stranger, I'll take the little imp off your hands."

Shadow glanced down at the kid hiding behind him, while silently contemplating the baker's words. The child must've felt the older hedgehog staring at him, because he looked up to meet Shadow's gaze, and The Ultimate Life form felt his resolve crumble slightly when he saw the pleading message in those bright, green eyes. He sighed in defeat, while mentally cursing Tails for making him go soft. Why do children always have to have big, innocent eyes?

Reaching back to dig through the knapsack that Shadow carried over his shoulders, the black hedgehog pulled out a few loose coins from the bag, and tossed them over towards the angry feline. Surprised by the unexpected action, the cat fumbled to catch the shiny objects, and he stared at the money in his hands with wide eyes, completely stupefied.

"There, that should cover the piece of bread that the kid stole." Shadow rationalized. "Now leave the kid alone."

"B-but you can't just-"

"-I said leave the kid alone." The black hedgehog replied, but this time it was an order, and he narrowed his red eyes at the obviously miffed baker.

"Fine," the orange cat hissed as his tail flicked angrily behind him, and after sending the small, blue hedgehog behind Shadow's back a glare, the feline reluctantly walked away.

"Um, thank you, mister." A young voice said softly, once the cat was out of earshot, and Shadow glanced down towards the younger hedgehog, who was now standing by his side instead of hiding behind him.

"Maybe you should think before you steal, kid." Shadow advised, and without another word he turned on his heel and resumed walking towards the tavern, having nothing else to say.

"H-hey, mister, wait up!" The young hedgehog yelled after him, and the sound of small feet hitting the ground alerted the Ultimate Life Form that the kid was following him.

Shadow sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

"Don't you have parents that are probably looking for you, kid?" The older hedgehog asked once that child had caught up to him.

At this, the blue hedgehog's eyes fell downcast, and his ears dropped slightly. "I, uh, don't have any parents."

"Sorry," Shadow apologized after a short pause, feeling a little bit guilty for bringing the subject up.

"S'alright, I never knew them anyway," the child said with a small shrug of his thin shoulders. He then took a bite out of his bread, and after he swallowed the young Mobian looked up at Shadow's taller form, his green eyes filled with wonder, and smiled. "My name's Sonic, what's yours?"

Shadow's red eye briefly gazed down at Sonic, and then looked back up a second later. "Shadow," he merely replied.

"I've never seen you around here before, Mr. Shadow, are you new?" Sonic asked curiously.

"Look, kid," The black hedgehog began as he came to a halt in front of the tavern, and he turned around to fully face the child, "I am very busy at the moment, so why don't you go play with the other children."

The kid's face fell slightly, a little bit hurt by the older hedgehog's words, and he glanced over his shoulder to stare at some of the neighborhood children that were playing in the street not that far away from where they were standing. Sonic bit his lip. They looked like where having a lot of fun, but he was still hesitant to go. If he went over there and played with them, he might get a little carried away and blow his secret.

"Um, I think I'll go explore the woods instead." Sonic decided, somewhat tentatively, as removed his gaze away from the other children. He gave Shadow a grateful smile, and reached out grab the black hedgehog's hand for a goodbye handshake. "Thanks again for helping me out, Mr. Shadow."

The moment Sonic's fingertips brushed Shadow's, though, a sudden, powerful feeling of Chaos energy surged through the older hedgehog, making him feel as if he had just been electrocuted. From within his knapsack, he could feel the Chaos Emerald that he brought with him suddenly hum with power, and Shadow was certain that, even though he couldn't see it, the ancient gem was glowing. The sensation only lasted for a second, however, and as Sonic let go of the black hedgehog's hand, Shadow could only stand there like an idiot, still reeling from the amount of Chaos energy the kid had leaked out from just that one simple touch.

"See you later, Mr. Shadow!" Sonic cried out in farewell, waving as he jogged out into the plaza.

Shadow just blinked, and stared at the kid in amazement as he wandered off. The black hedgehog had never met someone before who had so much natural Chaos energy coursing through them, and to the point where even the Chaos Emeralds reacted to it. For years, Shadow had always thought that the emeralds would respond to his touch only, but that was to be expected, since he had been created to harness their power, but for someone to actually be born with the gift . . . it was practically unheard of.

Slowly, Shadow opened his communicator, and called Tails. After a few moments, the fox's face once again appeared on the screen, and he gave the black hedgehog a puzzled look when he saw his friend's baffled expression.

"Uh, you okay, Shadow?" Tails asked, unsure if he should be concerned or not, considering that this was Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form, he simply didn't do baffled.

"I think I found your energy source, Tails." The hedgehog replied slowly, still in a daze. He didn't even need to check the scanner to know that he was right.

"You did?" The fox's blue eyes brightened, and his ears perked up. "What was it?"

"That's the thing, it wasn't an object. It was a kid." Shadow explained, and Tails' stared at his friend in shock.

"No way," was all the younger Freedom Fighter could say. Then a thought occurred to the fox, and he frowned. "Uh, this may actually be a problem."

"Why?" Shadow inquired warily, not liking the tone in his friend's voice.

"Well you see Knuckles and Amy left to delay Dr. Eggman so that you would have more time to search for the energy source, but if it's a kid then we can't just take him, that's kidnapping!" Tails exclaimed, looking worried and unsure about what they should do. "And Knuckles and Amy can only hold off Eggman for so long before he'll eventually reach Green Hill."

"That's what you're worried about?" The black hedgehog said incredulously. "Personally, I'm more concerned about what Eggman wants with the kid, then being charged with kidnapping, especially if it's for his own safety."

"But what about his parents?" The fox said uncertainly.

"Sonic told me that he has no parents." Shadow informed his friend, and Tails blinked, his previous misgivings fading.

"Oh," was Tails' sheepish response, and he awkwardly cleared his throat, "well then, I guess you can go ahead and bring him here."

Shadow nodded, and closed his communicator, but when he looked up to find Sonic, he was stunned to see that the kid was nowhere in sight. The black hedgehog just stood there for moment. He could've sworn that Sonic had been in the plaza just a few minutes ago, so where could the younger hedgehog have gone so quickly?

"Um, I think I'll go explore the woods instead."

The Ultimate Life Form sighed when he recalled the child's words, and he gazed over the rooftops of the nearby buildings to stare at the forest behind them. It would seem that he'd have to hiking through the woods to search for a kid that he had just met.

Wonderful.

The woods were a magnificent place; this Sonic had realized a long time ago. When it was just him, surrounded by the beauty of nature, away from the criticizing eyes of his hometown, the blue hedgehog had quickly discovered that he could fully be himself under the shelter of the trees. He would run through the forest without a care in the care in the world, and leave nothing but a blue streak behind him as he took off at breakneck speeds. It was during these cherished moments that Sonic felt truly at home, and that he was free do as he pleased, just like the wind.

But, for the first time in his life, Sonic didn't feel like running, which was strange, because he always jumped at the chance to unleash his incredible speed, especially after what he had achieved the other day with his abilities, so why did he feel so down?

Sonic stared at his reflection in the water, and let out despondent sigh from where he sat on the edge of nearby pond, confused. This was one of his favorite spots in the forest, and the young hedgehog liked to come here whenever he needed to think, and he definitely needed to think. The pond's crystal clear water had a soothing effect on his mind, which helped him gather his thoughts more clearly, but his mind kept drifting off towards the black hedgehog that he had met about an hour ago.

He was nice to me, Sonic thought softly, still marveling over the encounter. The older Mobian, or Mr. Shadow, as Sonic liked to call him, had saved him from that jerk, Mr. Sawyer, the baker, and Mr. Shadow had even paid for the bread he had stolen. That practically made him the kid's hero!

The young hedgehog's eyes fell downcast when he thought back to his small theft from the bakery, ashamed of his actions. It's not like he wanted to steal, but the orphanage he stayed at wasn't the best, so . . . he had to do something! That or starve through the night, and considering Sonic's high metabolism due to his super speed, it made going to bed hungry even worse. He knew that the old lady that cared for them at the orphanage meant well, but she was just too poor to provide them everything that they needed.

I wonder if Mr. Shadow will still be here tomorrow. Sonic mused, deciding to think of something else, but then he shook his head, his green eyes sad. Probably not, he did say that he was busy. I just wish-

The sound of a twig snapping behind him brought the blue hedgehog out of his thoughts, and that was when he noticed how ominously quiet the forest had become. Suddenly feeling a little bit uneasy, Sonic gazed at his surrounding warily as he tried to figure out what had made the small noise, and his ears shifted, trying to pick up anything that sounded unusual. He let out a frightened yelp and jumped to his feet when something came crashing through the trees several yards away to his left, and the child slowly backed up against the nearest tree, his legs shaking in fear, when the thing started floating towards him.

Come on legs, move! Sonic frantically urged his petrified limbs, but they were planted firmly to the ground, and the young hedgehog could only watch in terror as what appeared to be a robot came up closer towards his quivering form. The robot was sleek, and round, almost shaped like an upside down egg, and its metal plating was a dark grey color. Two red lights blinked where the face was located, which Sonic assumed where the eyes, and it quickly scanned the small Mobian, causing the child's already fast heartbeat to pound even faster.

"Target, acquired," the robot said in a mechanical voice. It lifted up one of its metal arms, and aimed what seemed like a grappling hook, but with a net, at Sonic, "Initiating capture for Dr. Eggman."

Somebody, please, Sonic thought desperately, as he gazed up at the robot in fear, help me!

"Chaos Spear!"

Suddenly, a bright bolt of lightning appeared, and it pierced through the robot's arm, severing it from the machine's mechanical body. A moment later, a dark figure landed in front of Sonic, and the child's green eyes lit up when he recognized his rescuer.

"Mr. Shadow!" Sonic cried out ecstatically, already feeling a lot safer with the older hedgehog around.

"You're lucky I found you just in time, kid." Shadow muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the partially damaged robot. "It took me forever to find you."

Sonic stared at the older hedgehog with wide eyes. "You . . . you were looking for me?" He whispered quietly so that no one would hear him. The kid was stunned. No one had ever come looking for him before.

"Scanning new life form, obtaining new orders," the robot suddenly announced, gaining both Shadow's and Sonic's attention, "destroy Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow scowled, and grumbled, "I don't have time for this."

Grabbing Sonic's wrist, the black hedgehog ignored the sudden surge of Chaos energy from the kid, and pulled out the Chaos Emerald that had been residing in his knapsack. Beside him, Sonic just stared at the red gem with awe-filled eyes as the older hedgehog lifted the Chaos Emerald above his head, and silently watched as the powerful object began to glow.

"Chaos Control!"

There was a magnificent flash of bright light, and then everything disappeared.

So there's the first chapter, hope you guys liked it, and the beginning is a sort of mini-prologue I guess, if anyone's confused about that. More 'flashbacks' about Shadow's past will appear later on in the story, but for now it's supposed to be a little bit vague, and I hope that I presented it that way correctly.

As for the characters Jules, Bernie, and Amadeus they all appear in the comics(and yes, Jules did wear a cowboy hat), for those of you who don't know, and most of you guys can probably guess who they are already.

Also, for the robot at the very end, I based it to look like Eve off of Wall-e, so just picture her, but you know . . . more evil looking.