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sylvana-the-tsarina · 11 months ago

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To Find One's Soulmate

“Souls.”

The single word shattered the silence in the study, bringing both relief to a question that incited countless late nights, and horror as the understanding dawned on her, explaining everything about Janet’s life in the last ten years.

She got up and drifted over to the mirror, studying herself anew. Over those years, her hair had lightened to look more red than brown, her freckles had nearly disappeared, her features had sharpened somewhat, and magic fluttered around the edges of her form, giving her an otherworldly aura. Still looked human, yes, but at this point her bearing served to confirm the rumours surrounding her — Janet O’Neill, the mysterious, graceful, Fey-gifted mage.

“So this,” she whispered to herself in the mirror, eyeing her slightly pointed ears with her now-standard lack of expression, “is what a human with a Fey’s soul looks like.”

It explained so much.

This was why she felt something was wrong about her; why she felt like she was missing something and had too much simultaneously. She, her soul, was the friendly warm kind, one that would want to smile and laugh and cry often. His, on the other hand, was a quiet one, and a scared one, so that she often felt her face was too stiff, but to him this would have been normal. Ideal, even.

And now she also understood why his soul was afraid to show emotion. It had taken her too long to realise it, but he was a kind one among the Fey, so it was no wonder he would want to keep himself safe from them in this way. Her heart ached to think of the experiences this soul must have had growing up to be so so afraid of opening up to anyone.

Ten years, and Janet had told no one of her fears or discomfort. It felt too frightening a prospect, and now she knew why.

Why her personality had an abrupt change even though her memories were untouched, what exactly had happened in that ritual, why she suddenly gained magic that felt uncomfortable to use, why her dreams sometimes showed experiences and thoughts she’d never had before… all of that was explained.

The one thing that wasn’t explained was why the Fey Queen had done this in the first place.

Why sacrifice her son’s soul for a human’s? Even if Janet’s encounter with them the first time had left a favourable imprint, this went beyond what she deserved. Nothing Janet did could have justified gaining a Fey’s soul, so it must have been for Tamlin.

A punishment, then. A human’s soul could not have been a reward; the Queen certainly should have known that the lack of magic and displaced soul would cause incredible discomfort.

What had he done? What could he have done, at seven years of age? Was it something in his control? Was he aware he was being punished? How binding was that ritual?

The frustration was enough to incite sedate pacing, taking Janet from one side of the room to the other, as thoughts like these plagued her. Eventually, her mind and her feet slowed as she came to a conclusion.

She would need to find him. There was no other way to get out of this.

But how was she to do such a thing? The fey didn’t live in the forest bordering her bucolic hamlet; those woods functioned as sort of a gateway to their realm lying beyond. Janet had only met them all those years ago because the Fey Queen had, for reasons best known to herself, decided to come out and take a stroll. Attempting to enter their home (if it could be called that) would be a perfectly idiotic idea, even carrying the fae soul she kept safe with her. Not to mention that Janet could not predict whether Tamlin would be there, and if he was, then what state she should find him in.

Janet let out a brief controlled sigh, and then made her way to their library, intent on reading every journal and storybook their collection had on the Fey.

Giving up now was not an option.

-------

The light creaking caused by the wayward root shifting so as not to trip him was quite possibly the most beautiful sound Tamlin had ever heard.

He smiled at the tree, the motion slightly less draining than it usually was, then let his hand lightly graze the trunk of it in thanks. The magic sparked, allowing him to feel the sweet warmth that passed between the two of them. It was indeed a sweet warmth: one that comforted him despite his constant pyretic temperature; one that brought a sense of gladness to his heart.

Two months of this, and he still basked in it. Still couldn’t imagine getting tired of it. It was as precious and wonderful to him as the first time he felt that connection several months ago: an event he had no trouble recalling as though it had happened just the day before.

Rain had fallen that day, he remembered, leaving the forest damp and alive, the air filled with petrichor. The rain was the reason Tamlin had been out in the forest at all — a handy excuse for giving himself peace and solitude. Perhaps it was cold while it fell and left cold in its aftermath, but it soothed him to wander in the faint mists as he had been doing then.

And it was during this wandering that he found the child.

It was a small thing, about the same size he had been at the time of the ritual; a little boy with bright green eyes and bright gold hair and an expression of bright curiosity to match.

His presence in the forest was concerning to Tamlin. Fey adored bright little children, and had he ventured just a bit further, he would have found himself swept into the Heart and serving as a plaything, subject to every one of their whims… until they eventually bored of him and sent him back.

So Tamlin lightly dropped from a tree in front of the child, smiling softly to calm the startlement indicated by the thing’s gasp and wide eyes. Gently, he kneeled down and reached out a hand to brush away the child’s hair, letting the magic’s influence comfort him as it did Tamlin himself.

“Greetings, little one. Would you happen to be lost?”

“Ah- I- hello!” Even his voice was bright, enthusiastic and warm. “No, I’m not lost. Or, I wasn’t lost. I really wasn’t, promise. But then I- I tripped a bit and turned around and- and the tree wasn’t there anymore.”

Ah. Tamlin lightly tilted his head, still smiling softly. Either the child had been clumsy and truly lost his way, or the Fey were out again already. There were equal chances for either possibility, but just in case it was the latter…

“Let’s go find the tree again, shall we?”

A quick nod and the child easily placed his little hand into the pale one Tamlin had extended. Gently they walked together for a time, those bright eyes watching the fey in silence before their owner eventually spoke up again.

“What are you?”

“One of many inhabitants belonging to the forest.”

“That doesn’t answer anything; there’s so many of them! Which one are you?”

Tamlin’s soft smile took on a faintly amused shade. “Why not take a guess?”

“Hm-mm.” The boy’s cheeks puffed out, his eyebrows furrowing. “Well, you can’t be a fey. I thought you were, at first, but-”

“But?”

“-but you’re too nice. You don’t feel like a fey.”

That elicited a little laugh. Ah, what a comment. It brought him such mixed feelings, feelings that washed over him the same way the rain had earlier that day: harsh and refreshing all at once. Undoubtedly there was some pain in knowing he would not be recognised as what he truly was (that is, if he counted as one anymore), but there was also no doubt that a part of him, perhaps the spiteful part of him, was pleased knowing he would not be counted among their number.

There was a reply on the tip of his tongue that never came, for it was just then that the presence of an aforementioned them pricked his magical senses.

“We must go, little one. I hope you will pardon my impertinence.”

And so the child was gathered into his arms and lifted up, his bright gold hair bouncing around his face as Tamlin nipped through the forest, swift and light. They came to a stop only when Tamlin’s not-so-pointed ears and borrowed magic could no longer discern any unwanted companions. Still, he held onto the boy, his gaze travelling over their surroundings, just to be sure.

“What happened?” The child sounded a little breathless, his face flushed with excitement. Looking at him, the snowy fey suddenly felt the urge to hold him a little closer, and perhaps nuzzle into his soft hair. The influence of Janet’s soul, no doubt. If there was anything he knew about her from all these years, it was that she had been a warm person.

He leaned his head forward until his forehead rested on the child’s, marvelling at the sense of comfort that gave him. By the way the boy’s eyes fluttered shut, it was obvious he felt the same, his hands loosening their grip on Tamlin’s shirt.

“Nothing you must worry about, little one. Only remember that the forest is full of inhabitants, and not all of them friendly.”

The child made a little noise in response, which he decided to take as an affirmative. He lifted his head again to survey their surroundings once more, the magic catching on a particular tree. A trace of fey magic and a trace of the child. Luck, it seemed, had brought his wild sprint to exactly the place he needed to be.

“Is this your tree, little one?”

The boy looked as well, his bright green eyes lighting up even further in recognition. “Yes! That’s the tree, and-” He twisted a little in Tamlin’s hold, craning his neck to look further. “-and there’s the path with the mushrooms!”

“Then this is where we part.”

Tamlin was not expecting the way the boy’s eyes would snap back to him, the light of them doused by his disappointment. “You’re not- you’re not coming with me?”

That disappointment also showed in the way he reluctantly let go of the fey as Tamlin knelt down and released him, suddenly feeling equally as reluctant. That expression— it was almost enough to make his heart ache.

“It is not my place.”

“Then… will I see you again?”

He tilted his head slightly, smiling gently. “For your own safety, little one, I should hope not. You do not belong there, and I do not belong here.”

“So this is… goodbye?”

“It is.”

Oh dear. Oh no. The child looked on the verge of tears. That wasn’t good. If he started crying now, then Tamlin surely would too, and that was not a safe thing to do in the forest.

“Hey.” It was a human word, a human way of saying it, but Tamlin let it slip from his mouth naturally as he laid a hand on the boy’s cheek. “There is no need for sorrow. You will be home soon.”

“I-I know, but-” He blinked hard, bringing a hand up to dash at his eyes. His little bright voice was now husky and quiet with the effort to keep from crying. “I don’t want to say goodbye to a friend.”

A friend.

There was silence for a moment as Tamlin too struggled to keep from crying. It was quite difficult, even as used to fighting tears as he was. He exhaled, closed his eyes, and once more rested his forehead against the child’s, trusting the magic to calm them both. It did seem to work, as the boy’s breathing slowed to a comfortable rate before he spoke up again.

“If- if we’re going to say goodbye, you should at least know my name. Maybe one day you can use it to come find me, and-”

The child’s eager words were stopped by Tamlin’s fingers delicately alighting on his mouth. He kept his expression as gentle as he could, disliking how he had to keep disappointing this little thing.

“Ah-ah-ah. One’s name is one’s treasure, little one. Share it with no one of the forest, for none in the forest deserve that trust.”

“Not even you?”

“Not even me.”

How he would miss those bright eyes, even knowing them for so short a spell. A sigh escaped him as he dropped his hands from the boy’s face and gracefully rose from his kneeling position, those eyes watching him carefully as he did.

“I’ve figured it out.”

“Oh? What have you figured out, little one?”

“What you are. You’re too nice to be a fey, and you’re too real to be a ghost. So you must be a guardian spirit. I’m right, aren’t I?”

A slow, genuine smile spread across Tamlin’s face. There was such a look of conviction on the child, as if he was sure without a doubt that he had got it right.

Guardian spirit. Guardian spirit, hm?

“Yes. You’re right. Well done.”

Lies, though they were no longer impossible for him, were nevertheless extremely uncomfortable. This one, however… this one did not hurt, did not prickle. Hm… a matter to ponder another time.

The boy beamed up at him, though it was short-lived at the reminder of their imminent parting. A brief pause, and then he hastily rummaged through his pockets and pulled something out, then took one of Tamlin’s hands and pressed the item into it.

“Then this is my thank you gift. For guarding me.”

It was on his mind to refuse it (on account of him not having done anything worth such a gesture), but one look at the child’s expectant expression was quite enough to discard that thought.

Instead, he lifted his closed hand up to his heart and held the boy’s gaze. “I shall treasure it.”

The boy nodded, then went over to the path that would take him home, and away from Tamlin. He paused there, hesitating, then suddenly rushed back to Tamlin and threw his arms around him in a tight hug. It stunned Tamlin, but he did manage to hug the child back.

“Goodbye, guardian spirit.”

“Goodbye, little friend.”

And this time when he went to the path, he smiled his bright smile back at Tamlin, giving him one final, enthusiastic wave before disappearing around the bend.

The guardian spirit slowly exhaled, his shoulders relaxing.

Well. He hadn’t expected to have his heart stolen and then broken that day, that was for sure.

There was a warmth in his hand, but that couldn’t have his attention just then. His eyes closed on a silent inhale, then he turned to face the other side of the clearing, a charming, friendly smile etched on his face.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

She glided forward then, one of them, though which one she was he didn’t quite care to know. It had only been a short while since she appeared, though it certainly wasn’t short enough for her to not have noticed the bright little boy. Her eyes sharpened on him, as did her returning smile.

“Ah, snow-born. As genial as ever. It is a true pity that your geniality does not extend to the idea of sharing. Must you be so selfish?”

“Apologies, iridescence. I was simply considering the laws.”

“The laws are carvings on rotting bark. Following them does nothing; invoking them does nothing.”

“If one had no mind, perhaps.”

It was a mistake to say that, a mistake to let his smile go a bit lopsided, as made evident by her ever-sharper smile and lifting chin. She took a step towards him, her voice going dangerously soft.

“Perhaps indeed. Perhaps one ought to be careful, then, of letting words slip without thought.”

He closed his eyes, still smiling, resigning himself to the punishment he would no doubt receive. Soon his attention was caught again, however, his eyes snapping open, both of the fey in the clearing stunned.

Stunned because the woods had moved, the undergrowth shifting in response to the menacing magic dripping from her fingers, an invisible barrier forming between the two.

Protecting Tamlin.

It was with a scowl that she swept away, her pride refusing to allow her to acknowledge that barrier. It was with a smile that Tamlin watched her go, his mind reeling from the experience.

And once he was safe, the woods settled again.

There was a warmth in his hand.

Tamlin uncurled his fingers and gazed at the little, misshapen acorn resting cheerfully on his palm, the faintest afterglow of bright magic around it.

It was easily the most beautiful thing the snowy fey had ever seen.

It was still just as beautiful when he took it out again to gaze at it, months later. Often he pondered its impact on his life, often and deeply, and it did not take him too long at all to figure out the secret behind its magic.

Laughably, the little boy himself had given Tamlin the answer himself when he’d called the snowy fey a guardian spirit.

For that was what Tamlin found himself to be now. It wasn’t true until this acorn came into his possession (not completely true, anyway), but now his slowly strengthening connection to the forest couldn’t be denied. A connection that had always been there, actually, though he’d never noticed it before.

Always been there, for, as it turned out, the forest was Janet’s.

Her magic, her soul… it was this that began the connection. Then the little boy’s gift, his offering, had simply added to it. Added to the magic, expanded it, curled it around so much more than the guardian spirit’s being, so that he could feel and reach out just a bit further.

Funny how all of Tamlin’s magic came from humans; bright, warm, loving humans. They were the polar opposite of his life in the Heart, whose name felt a mockery every time he thought or uttered it. Heart? How ridiculous. Those fey had no such thing, their desires and games a pale imitation of the home these humans created with their laughs.

Perhaps Tamlin was never meant to be a fey, after all. Perhaps, had his life been of a wholly different kind, he’d have been part of that home, that family, those humans. Perhaps, even now, he’d have liked to befriend them.

Pity, then, that it was not an option he would allow himself to take. A true pity indeed, that instead of seeking them out, he would have to drive them all away.

A sigh escaped his lips as he tucked the acorn away and carefully adjusted his expression to the friendly menace that was unique to the fey. The magic swirled around him, assisting him in forming the aura he required.

Time to act, then.

-------

The burgh was wild with whispers and buzz when Janet finally exited the library that day, taking her quite by surprise. Though gossip and chatter were hardly a novel event, the level of excitement she faced indicated that something had happened.

Sifting through the hubbub and trying to figure out what had happened, though, was no easy endeavour. It took her a while of walking around and piecing together what she heard, but eventually she was able to figure out the outline of the event.

Apparently, a mysterious fey in the woods had appeared before Hunter Raibeart and declared that the woods now belonged to him; any human that wished to enter must bring an iron ring to leave behind as an offering to him, else have their heart carved out by the fey himself.

An interesting turn of events.

She was pondering this when her thoughts were interrupted by Lileas’ voice, who had come to her in hopes of discussing this with the mage.

“Oh, it’s so frightening to think of, Janet! That some Fey in the woods would carve out our hearts… and in our own woods at that!”

Unlike many other girls in the burgh, who now giggled and joked to each other about a handsome fey within reach, Lileas was sensible and level-headed, with a propensity to disapprovingly break up any nonsense. This trait of hers had Janet take to her kindly, and the two of them were rather good friends, even in the face of Janet’s cold demeanour.

“Only if you defy his terms,” Janet reminded her. Then, “Was he not described as having a friendly smile? He may have been jesting then, perhaps.”

“Perhaps, Janet, perhaps — but I wouldn’t take my chances. From what I’ve heard, he sounds highly untrustworthy.”

“Oh? Why, what have you heard?”

“You see, he’s said to be incredibly pale; Raibeart said he looked like he was made of snow. That sounds perfectly unnatural to me — what is he, a fey or a ghost? And his smile was friendly, maybe, but he gave his terms while languidly studying a hunter’s knife!” She shuddered a bit. “Oh, Janet, just envision it! A boy like a ghost leaning against a tree and studying a blade while threatening you with a smile… it gives me chills to think o- Dear me, Janet! Are you quite alright? You’ve gone all pale!”

Janet had utterly stilled as everything Lileas said clicked into place in her mind. A fae with a snowy white appearance and a friendly smile… it couldn’t be…

“Lily?” she whispered, her voice almost hoarse in the sudden grip of fierce hope that blazed somewhere in her heart.

“What’s wrong?” Lileas asked, hovering over her friend in concern. “Do you need-”

“That fey. Did he ever give a name?”

“Well, yes, but you know how the Fey are about names. It’s probably just a false-”

“What was it?” Janet asked, her desperation enough for her eyes to turn pleading. “What name did he give?”

Now Lileas really looked concerned, but she didn’t push it, instead answering with a simple, “Lin. He called himself Lin.”

It took every ounce of willpower she had just then to not wobble or faint from the sheer astonishment of that revelation.

He’s here. He’s- He’s right- right here.

The boy-Fey, the person she knew most in the world, not because they were bosom friends, but because she had been taking care of his kind, gentle, tired soul for the past decade. The one who was, undoubtedly, facing the same loss and struggle she was: feeling off in her own body, watching herself fade, wondering how much of her thoughts were real and her own; and yet never, never, blaming the other for the position they were in.

She needed to see him. As soon as she possibly could.

“I just realised something,” she said, her cloak billowing behind her as she whirled around and began gliding in the direction of her study, all shock replaced by determination. “Tell Father an urgent matter has come up and I am not to be disturbed.”

Her friend knew her well enough not to press the issue, instead nodding after her disappearing figure and turning to make her way to relay the message.

None dared question the fey-gifted mage, after all.

(Especially when she showed more emotion than a block of ice).

-------

The forest didn’t like her.

Or perhaps it was conflicted? She wasn’t particularly sure, she decided, staring at the knotted roots with her arms folded. Well, whichever was the case, she had already made up her mind to come in, so it would just have to let her.

It seemed to pick up on her thoughts, the roots giving way with something like a sigh. Janet could have sworn the trees were eyeing her suspiciously still, but she nodded her thanks and glided forward. The air was cool and crisp, the floor littered with leaves that crunched beneath her feet.

Ah, this brought back memories. Many a time she had frolicked through these parts when she was much younger… until that fateful meeting. Perhaps she would not have been so terrified then if the boy-fey had been there, like he had been in the hall later… perhaps his calm presence would have made the idea of coming here again bearable… like the thought of his presence here was doing now.

Tamlin, or Lin, as he called himself now. What was he like now? What was he doing? Where was he?

He was in a tree (as he was wont to be) while Janet was thinking these thoughts, reminiscing on his encounter with that huntsman. Regret and relief passed through him by turns, though he wasn’t allowed to stew in it, interrupted as he was by the forest informing him of a fey creature in the woods.

Tamlin sighed in aggravation and dropped down from his branch, unamused at the prospect of having to deal with them yet again. Mother and the rest hadn’t been pleased upon finding he had some power of his own, and though they mostly left him be, some enjoyed visiting to heckle him and watch his responses.

Today he would not humour them. He was already feeling low, and his patience would not last this noon.

And so it was an aura of warning that met Janet soon after, one that caused her to ready her own magic in response as she turned to warily face the source of it. She had prepared herself for danger, and she knew she could very well handle it.

“I am afraid my reception to guests is closed this fine day, irides-”

Two breaths caught simultaneously as their eyes met and lit with recognition. The guardian spirit’s polite expression dropped in favour of utter shock, and the mage gave no hint of her own startlement beyond stilling completely. They stared at each other in silence for a prolonged moment, each hardly willing to believe this was real.

Then, slowly, hesitantly, she gave him a soft smile. “I am… so glad to see you again, Tamlin.”

It nearly broke him to hear that, his breath catching again as he squeezed his eyes shut to prevent himself from crying. It was so… so familiar and so wrong to see that smile on her, to hear that tone of voice. How pale she had become! How cold and sharp-featured… how so unlike herself and so like him.

He took in a shaky breath and then stepped forward, giving her a warm, welcoming smile in return. “And I am… overjoyed, as well, Janet.”

And the sight of her smile on the now-warm boy-Fey was enough to bring her to tears in return, the water silently sliding down her face for the first time in ten long years.

#and the second chapter is now complete!#this means I no longer have any old work to go back on #what awaits me for the next three chapters are blank pages #which both excites and frightens me #anyway enjoy #my post #silva writes #soul swapped #<- the name of the story btw!

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solalunar-eclipse · 1 year ago

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Sonic Boom - S3E15

Chapter title: Schrödinger's Hedgehog, Part 4

Summary: Mighton and Bolts appear with grave news: their sensors have picked up an incredibly dangerous weapon nearby. However, the one thing they fail to make clear is that their idea of "weapon" and Team Sonic's are…very different, to say the least.

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Sonic sped through the forest, springing over roots and bushes with ease, the speed bringing a big smile to his face. Running without a care in the world was one of his favorite things to do. It always brought him joy, and in this moment, he felt as though nothing could possibly sour his mood—

—and then he slammed directly into someone, sending both himself and the stranger tumbling across the forest floor.

Once the world had (mostly) stopped spinning, Sonic righted himself, only to be met with an equally disoriented Sticks.

“I found you! Finally!” they cried, jumping to their feet. “You’re almost as difficult to get hold of as me, you know that?”

Sonic frowned. “Uh, I really doubt that, but anyway…why were you looking for me, exactly?”

“Oh! Right! Those two robots with the weird accents landed near my house and said they were ‘on a mission of the utmost importance’. I couldn’t get them to tell me what it was, though, but I figured you’d be able to. I woulda gotten Tails, but he’s cooped up in his lab with Shadow.”

“That sounds exactly like Tails.” Sonic snickered. “Alright, let’s get back to your house and see what Mighton and Bolts are up to this time.”

He grabbed Sticks’s arm and pulled them alongside him all the way back to their house, where his Roboken friends’ ship sat. Just outside it, Bolts was fiddling with a device that had a long antenna sticking out of it, while Mighton hovered beside him and offered mostly unhelpful advice.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Sonic asked, strolling over with his hands laced behind his head. “Not another robot overlord, right?”

“Sonic.” Mighton stood at attention at the sight of the hero. “Thankfully, this is not to do with a robot overlord. However, we are currently on an extremely dangerous mission to secure a machine that we believe has been discovered somewhere near your village. Its signal appeared only a couple of days ago, but this technology is unspeakably deadly and could threaten the lives of everyone on the island if it is allowed to remain out in the open and unguarded.”

The hedgehog’s eyes widened at that. “Geez, that sounds…bad. Really bad. Uh, you guys wouldn’t happen to know where exactly this machine of yours is? Like, somewhere more specific than ‘this area’?”

With a completely straight face, Mighton replied, “We don’t have a single clue.”

Sonic let out a long, tired sigh.

[The intro sequence is back to normal again! This time, Shadow actively participates in it along with everyone else, albeit with much rolling of eyes and smirking.]

[There is no villain reveal in this episode, once again, and so Dr. Eggman is introduced like an ordinary character (and yes, he would like everyone to know that he is still one of the main characters of the show, whether or not he appears in this specific episode).]

[The intro then continues on, before ending with the title of this week’s episode.]

Once Bolts had fixed his machine, the four set off towards the general area of the village. Sonic darted ahead of everyone else on occasion and then tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for them to catch up, clearly wanting to resolve the danger so that he could go back to his usual fun activities. As they drew closer to the town, however, Bolts frowned at the device and let out a hum that made everyone else stop.

“Oh, this thing better not be broken again!” Sonic complained, visibly drooping at the thought.

“No, it’s not that.” the smaller robot explained gravely. “I have simply pinpointed a more precise area for the signal, and it does not appear to be in the village after all.”

“That’s good, ain’t it? So why’re you looking so serious?” Sticks asked.

“Because it is located in the lab of his younger brother.” Bolts said, looking directly at Sonic.

Moments later, the four of them had vanished in a flash of blue as Sonic dragged them all along to Tails’s workshop. Bursting through the doors, he yelled, “Tails! Hold up!”

The young engineer, who had just been about to take a wrench to…some unidentifiable pile of scrap metal…paused and glanced over at the doorway. “Hey Sonic, what’s up?” he asked casually.

“Is something wrong?” Shadow asked, studying the hero curiously from his seat on the edge of the table.

“Guys, Mighton and Bolts are here, and—”

“—you are in possession of some extremely dangerous technology, old friend.” Mighton proclaimed, stepping alongside Sonic. “Please back away from the table immediately. It must be neutralized at once.”

Immediately, Tails skittered away from the table, eyeing it nervously. “Oh no! I-I swear, I didn’t know!”

Bolts gave him a kind look. “Don’t worry, that was never in any doubt. It is very difficult to spot unless you know what you’re looking for, after all.”

Mighton walked towards the table where Shadow still sat, the latter frowning down at the materials (and steadfastly avoiding the eyes of the two robots). “I’m sure there’s nothing dangerous in here…I checked very carefully.” he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the taller of the two robots gave him a hard stare. “Well, you would say that, wouldn’t you?” he asked.

“What?” Shadow asked, bewildered.

“Hang on, what are you—” Sonic began, but he didn’t even get to finish his sentence before—

—Mighton smacked something onto the side of Shadow’s neck and the android fell lifelessly to the floor.

“Whoa, wait!” Tails cried, jumping back against the wall. But even that was nothing compared to Sonic’s reaction.

“What did you just do?” the hedgehog barked, his eyes narrowing.

Bolts darted over to Mighton’s side uneasily. “We…we neutralized the threat, just like we told you.”

“And now, it will be put into storage so that it cannot cause any further harm.” Mighton finished, pressing a button on his wrist. Suddenly, Shadow was encased in an oblong green container, which began to float next to the two conscious robots.

“It?!” Sonic growled. “What the heck, guys? Shadow’s our friend!”

“I understand how you might have thought that,” Bolts began, nervously tapping some keys on his device, “but it is not what it seems. It is actually an android, designed to mimic—”

“But we already know that!” Tails interjected, glancing worriedly over at his incensed brother. “He’s not a danger to us!”

“You know of its true nature, and yet you did not deactivate it?” Mighton asked, sounding genuinely bewildered. “I thought you were a person of logic.”

“We can discuss this later,” Bolts reminded his companion. “Right now, we need to get the weapon into storage.”

And before anyone could respond, the two robots rocketed out the door with Shadow in tow. Moments later, the sound of an ascending airship reached their ears, and Sonic and Tails dashed outside to see Mighton and Bolts’s ship flying off towards Roboken.

“We’ve gotta go after them, Tails!” Sonic cried, his hands curled tightly into fists.

“You’re right, we do.” Tails said, steel beginning to enter the young engineer’s voice. “But first, we need to call up our friends.”

[Scene cuts to all five heroes riding on Tails’s plane. Knuckles is in the back seat, Amy and Sticks have each taken a wing, and Sonic is standing on the struts at the bottom.]

“What I don’t get is, why did Mighton and Bolts only come for Shadow now?” Knuckles asked.

“I dunno…they said something about his signal only appearing a couple days ago, which is weird, because he’s been around for years!” Sonic frowned, clearly struggling with that himself.

Tails thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers suddenly (and yes, that did mean he was flying the plane one-handed for a moment). “That’s when the wiring on Shadow’s crystal was dislodged! Maybe it has something to do with that? It could’ve changed his energy signature enough to catch the attention of Mighton and Bolts!”

“We can talk about this later—right now, we’ve got something else to deal with!” Amy exclaimed, pointing off in the distance to where Roboken floated. She squinted at the city for a moment, eyeing the various airships that patrolled its borders. “The question is, how are five of us on a bright yellow plane going to get into a city that’s notorious for its security?”

“Last time, we used one of their own ships, but I don’t know if we can get them to come after us again.” Sonic called up to her.

“Plus, this plane can’t take the kind of fancy flying we’d need with all five of us on board!” Tails added.

“If you’re on a hunt, always go for the soft underbelly!” Sticks yelled, shaking a fist in the general direction of Roboken.

“I’m sorry, what?” Amy said, slightly taken aback.

“Wait…wait, that’s actually not a bad idea!” Tails exclaimed. “The underside is the only part of the city that isn’t transparent, and they don’t have ships down there, so they won’t be able to see us coming!”

The engineer frowned, adjusting a few dials on his plane as he shifted into position. “Okay, just warning you guys now, my scanner’s picking up a few cameras on the metal plating. I’m gonna send out a quick localized EMP to knock them out, then we’re going to have to fly straight up so nobody notices us. Hang on tight!”

The other four barely had any time to adjust their grip before the plane shot into a dive, using the clouds as cover to keep from being spotted. Once Tails’s GPS informed him that he was in the correct position, he slammed the EMP button and pulled back on the yoke, dragging his beloved aircraft completely vertical as they blasted towards the city.

…but they’d forgotten that there was no opening on the underside.

[cue a close-up of all five’s eyes widening, before Sonic suddenly seems to think of something.]

“Amy! Hit me with your hammer!” Sonic yelled, flipping himself onto the top of the biplane’s wing. As he revved up a spindash, the pink hedgehog pulled out her signature hammer and whacked him as hard as she could, sending him flying into the bottom of Roboken.

He smashed straight through a piece of metal paneling, knocking it entirely loose and leaving a hole just wide enough for Tails to zip into the maze of pipes underneath the city and grapple his plane onto the nearest surface. Carefully, the entire team climbed out of the aircraft, taking care not to let each other slip. They weren’t about to have more than one friend in peril today.

Once they’d all gotten their feet on solid ground, Tails began to fiddle with one of his many devices, keeping his voice as low as possible. “Shadow’s energy crystal has a very specific frequency. That’s how Mighton and Bolts found him…but we can use it to track him down as well! If I can just pinpoint the location of that frequency, then we should be able to find him and make sure he’s okay!”

“Sonic and I will keep watch.” Amy said, a determined set to her face. “You just focus on finding him, okay?”

Immediately, the engineer got to work, while Knuckles and Sticks guarded him. Meanwhile, the two hedgehogs went to stand a little farther down the hall, ostensibly keeping an eye out for any robots that might be approaching.

Sonic shifted from foot to foot, fiddling with one of the bandages on his wrist. The silence felt so heavy he could hardly stand it, and so he said the first thing that came to mind.

“They’d better not have hurt him.” It was an embarrassing thing to say, but true nonetheless.

To his surprise, instead of making a comment that sounded more like a motivational quote than anything, Amy simply nodded in agreement. “If anyone has, they’d better hope their metal’s stronger than my hammer.”

Sonic looked away briefly, not at all to hide the small smile he most definitely didn’t have on his face. “Man, if I went back in time and told myself I’d be trying to help my broodiest rival, I never would’ve believed it.”

“I definitely wouldn’t have believed it either. You, helping people? Never!” she shot back, smirking at him. “Sonic the Hedgehog, local hero, rescuing someone from danger? It’s unimaginable!”

“Hey! You know what I meant!” he complained, rolling his eyes.

“Would you two quit with the banter already?” Sticks called out to them both, making the two hedgehogs’ quills spike up in surprise. “Tails just found where they’re keeping Shadow!”

Sonic was back with the group in an instant, Amy not far behind. “Really? Great job, bud!” he said, giving Tails a quick pat on the back. “So, where’re we headed?”

The engineer studied his device for a moment, before pointing off to his left. “That way. I have a pretty good idea of how to get there, but my maps are a little patchy this deep into Roboken, so I can’t be a hundred percent sure.”

“Eh, ninety percent’s good enough for me.” Sonic shrugged and began to walk off, spurring the rest of the team into action. Carefully, the five of them crept through the halls, for once actually not stepping on any conveniently creaky paneling or running into anything. It was almost impressive how well they were doing, really…

…until they ran into a giant chasm where the path should’ve been.

Tails glared at his device. “Come on! I thought it might be a little inaccurate, but this is just ridiculous!”

“And this is why GPS is evil and paper maps are better.” Sticks commented sagely, glancing towards the camera.

“Can’t you just fly us all across, Tails?” Amy asked him.

“Uh, well…I can definitely try…” he said, utterly lacking any kind of confidence whatsoever.

“What my dear buddy pal friend Tails here is trying to say,” Sonic cut in abruptly, “is that he gets tired if he has to carry too many people at once. Or really quickly one after the other. Or even if it’s just one person but it takes a while—”

“I think we get it, thanks, Sonic!” Tails cried, trying unsuccessfully to push the (incredibly self-satisfied) hero out of the way.

“Well then, how many of us can you carry, Tails?” Amy said gently.

“I could probably get you and Sticks across fast enough if I really tried, and I might be able to do Sonic, too, but…Knuckles…”

“Yeah?” the echidna asked, seeming genuinely curious.

“You’re just too strong! Muscle mass—it’s really dense, and you’re already the tallest person here. I won’t be able to do it!” Tails exclaimed, real distress on his face.

“Oh, that’s okay! I know how to glide across.” Knuckles said encouragingly. “Don’t worry about me!”

Everybody stared at him, speechless.

“You know how to what?” Amy cried.

“Since when?” Sonic added.

Tails managed to scrape his jaw off the floor enough to ask, “And why didn’t you say anything before?”

Knuckles shrugged. “It never came up.”

The entire team stared at him in silence for a moment, wearing identical expressions of disbelief, no less.

“Okay…I guess that means we’re all set?” Sticks asked, once they’d finally recovered.

“I think Tails just has to get Amy and Sticks across.” Sonic said. “I can run on walls—which was established previously, by the way.” he finished quickly, just in case his team decided to round on him next.

The fox looked much more relieved at that, smiling. “Well, if that’s all I have to do, then this shouldn’t take long at all!”

He was absolutely right. While Sticks did flail around a little the first time they were picked up, they eventually managed to get used to flight just enough to get across (although they made it clear that they would not like to repeat the experience if at all possible). Amy, on the other hand, was a very good passenger, and Tails wound up being rather glad he’d taken her across second.

Meanwhile, Sonic had, of course, zipped across the wall in ten seconds flat. Then, he did it a few times more just for the fun of it, until Amy told him off lightly for distracting Tails while he was flying. And Knuckles? He climbed up one wall, then leapt off it and glided diagonally across to the other wall, repeating the process in a sort of zigzag pattern until he made it to the other side of the chasm.

“How do you even glide?” Tails asked once he’d set Amy down, seeming more bewildered if anything now that Knuckles had demonstrated his skills.

The echidna, however, simply shrugged. “I don’t know, nobody taught me! I just sort of…learned how, I guess?”

“Oh man, now I have two friends to study! This is great!” The engineer beamed, clearly delighted at the prospect of more projects to fill up his spare time.

“Yes, but maybe let’s focus on finding Shadow first?” Amy prompted, at which point Tails whipped out his device again.

“Oh yeah, right!” he exclaimed. “Shadow should be…about four doors down on the left. We’re almost there!”

The five heroes rushed down the hallway, and it took Tails less than a minute to unlock the door. As it slid open, everyone held their breath, waiting to see what state Shadow might be in.

Inside the room, an array of weapons lined the walls—everything from guns to swords (and even a few gun-swords), as well as several unrecognizable pieces of technology were present. There were even parts of a mech like the one Sonic owned stored on some shelves. The heroes snuck past it all warily, everybody seeming far too overwhelmed by the circumstances to start any of their usual snappy banter.

And then, at the very back, there was Shadow. He was held inside a large tank, slumped at the bottom. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t moving in the slightest. All of the little involuntary movements that marked something as being alive…none of them were there.

Before any of them could react, Sonic had spin-dashed the tank once, then twice, then a third time, until it finally shattered under the force of his whirling quills. Moments later, he’d pulled Shadow’s lifeless body out of the way of the shattered glass, settling him carefully in front of Tails.

“You can fix him, right?” the hero asked, his face turned carefully away from the camera and his voice oddly flat.

Tails fiddled with the gadget in his hands. “I’ll do my best.” he said quietly, already kneeling down next to his friend and connecting his tablet to Shadow’s systems.

“We’ll keep an eye out for you, Tails!” Knuckles punched his fists together, and then set about barricading the door to the room so that nobody else could get in. Sticks soon pitched in, while Amy watched over Tails’s progress nervously and Sonic zipped around the room in an effort to keep from going completely stir-crazy.

After a few tense minutes, where the team went absolutely silent anytime they heard footsteps in the halls, Tails finally sighed, drawing everyone’s attention. “I’ve done everything I can do…now we just have to start him up and see what happens.”

As he pressed a few buttons on his touchscreen, Amy silently stood up and walked over to Sonic, taking his hand. For once, he took it back. Sticks moved to Amy’s other side and put a hand on her shoulder, and Knuckles did the same thing with Sonic, both of them supporting their friends with their presence.

Slowly, Shadow’s fingers twitched. His face shifted slightly.

And then he shot bolt upright, his eyes glazed and distant. As he glanced around, his eyes slid directly over the team, not seeming to register their presence at all. “No…not here! I—I escaped!” he muttered to himself, and Sonic jumped into action.

“Shadow! Hey, Shadow, it’s me!” he cried, stepping into his friend’s field of vision and waving his arms over his head. “We’re gonna get you out of here, okay?”

“…Sonic?” Shadow hesitated, his eyes beginning to focus, and looked around. “Everyone? What are you…how did you get here? Why are you here? Wait—where is here?”

“Got here on Tails’s plane, here to save you from the Roboken jerks who think they can keep you in some dumb storage room,” Sonic explained, his energy fading in favor of venom on the last two words. “And ‘here’ is a room somewhere in the underground of Roboken.”

Shadow stared at him. “You…you all…came here to free me? From—from—”

“What did I tell you?” Amy interrupted, giving him a kind smile. “We’re not letting anyone mistreat you or lock you away ever again.”

The android hesitated, looking around the room once more. He shrank in on himself slightly, eyes flickering at the sight of the impenetrable metal walls…and then he looked over at his friends, who had risked their longer-standing friendships with the people of Roboken just to save him.

…his friends.

“Thank you.” he said softly, giving them a small, but genuine smile.

Sonic threw an arm around his shoulders, and Knuckles did the same from the other side. “We’re just glad you’re okay.” the echidna said, nodding sagely.

The other three looked like they were about to crowd in as well—when the door suddenly shook as someone tried to open it from the other side. The barricades held, but that just made the robot on the other side of the door yell for help, making everyone freeze.

Tails looked around on his device for a moment, before grimacing at what he saw. “There’s a lot of robots headed this way…including Mighton and Bolts.”

Shadow bared his teeth slightly, making Sonic and Knuckles step protectively in front of him. “We’re not gonna make the same mistake twice, Shads.” Sonic said firmly.

The door rattled once. Then again. But before the robots could try anything else, Amy shoved all of the barricades to one side and then opened the door, hammer in hand. Standing outside it were Mighton, Bolts, the five robot clones, and several other citizens of Roboken.

“…I feel like I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am.” Bolts said, sounding rather startled anyway.

“Heroes.” Mighton began, stepping closer to the room. “You have saved Roboken, and for that, you are always welcome here. But while we do not have many laws, stealing is absolutely prohibited.”

“You can’t steal a person!” Sonic barked. “That’s not how that works!”

“Wait, hang on, you were keeping a person in here?” Robot!Sonic asked. “Mighton, I thought you said you were going on a mission to find a weapon!”

“That’s what they told our Sonic and Tails, too—and then they knocked Shadow here out and kidnapped him.” Sticks explained, her eyes narrowed.

“What?! Not cool, man!” Robot!Knuckles cried.

“You must understand, Project: Shadow was designed primarily to be a fighting machine, not a person.” Bolts cut in, attempting to explain. “It is a relic from a long-finished war that is no longer necessary.”

“Yeah, and you’re all relics from a dead civilization!” Tails snapped suddenly, making everyone jump. “The people who made you have been gone for ages—are you saying that every single one of you is doing exactly the same things as you were back then?”

All of the non-clone robots shifted uncomfortably, suddenly unwilling to meet the heroes’ eyes. “Not…as such…” Mighton admitted.

“Exactly! And neither is Shadow!” Amy insisted, stepping forward. “He was made with the same mental matrix as all of you, so it doesn’t matter what he was meant to do, what matters is what he wants to do!”

“What does he want to do, then?” Bolts asked genuinely.

Shadow looked up at that, looking the smaller robot in the eyes. The android flinched, but refused to break his stare. “I want to live with my…my friends. I want to help them protect their ridiculous village, and watch their stupid shenanigans, and I don’t want to have to watch my back nonstop thinking that you all are planning to abduct me again and lock me up.” he said. His voice wavered slightly as he spoke, but the presence of his five friends seemed to ground him.

Mighton and Bolts glanced at each other for a moment, and then the former nodded. “Spoken like a true hero, and a true friend of these five too. Very well, you may leave…but we will require permission to come and check in every once in a while to see how you are faring, living among the villagers.”

Shadow sighed. “If that is the price I must pay for my freedom, then I suppose I can pay it. But rest assured, you will only find your trips to be for nothing.”

Sonic put his hand on the android’s shoulder reassuringly. “C’mon, Shadow, don’t worry about them for now. Let’s get you outta here first, and we’ll deal with this later, okay?”

The six heroes left the room, and thankfully, nobody made a move to stop them. As they went, Robot!Tails called out. “Do you guys mind if we visit sometime? Just to, you know, get to know your cool robot friend…” He grinned sheepishly.

Shadow glanced back, the faintest, tiniest hint of a smile on his face at the clone’s familiar enthusiasm. “Yes, I suppose you may. Sometime.”

And with that, the six headed back to Tails’s plane, and flew away from Roboken. It was only once they’d touched down outside the engineer’s workshop that Shadow seemed to truly relax, his shoulders slumping.

He stared off into space for long enough that Amy called out to him, worried. “Shadow? What’s wrong?”

“I could have been trapped in there forever…again…” he said softly, wrapping his arms around himself.

“But you weren’t!” Sonic interjected loudly, shaking Shadow out of his reverie. “That’s what matters, and now Tails can build you something that’ll keep them from using that weird gadget on you again—right, Tails?”

“I’ll get on it A-S-A-P!” the fox promised.

Shadow smiled again, but it was still faint. “I appreciate it. Before you do that, though…I still have yet to try that new game you told me about. Tomatopotomus Borders, was it?”

“They just released a new DLC for that!” Sonic exclaimed, suddenly beaming with genuine excitement. “You’ve gotta play it!”

“I think…I think I would like that.” Shadow said.

And with that, the six friends walked inside together.

#sonic boom #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #sticks the badger #sonic boom: ancient secrets #sol's fanfiction #and with this we've finally completed the second of shadow's two arcs!#i wasn't sure if i'd ever get to share this story #but i'm happy that i was able to do just that :)#not only that but now...we only have 5 chapters left #we're in the home stretch folks!#hope you all enjoyed :D #and as always thanks for reading!!

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