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thespectral-wolf · 9 months ago

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An Enigma in Shadows: Epilogue - Left Unsaid

A thousand thanks to @w0lp3rtinger for beta reading and helping out with the writing.

As the title says, this is an epilogue to my comic, which if you haven't read yet, you can find the first page here.

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“Amy, please, let me help” Sonic pleaded to her for what felt like the fiftieth time this week.

Amy chose to ignore him and instead focused on making sure she packed everything she needed for today’s search. Almost three weeks had passed since Shadow left abruptly after her friends’ intervention. Fourteen days of her hoping the hedgehog would return so they could set things straight. Six days since she decided to find his residence herself and maybe, just maybe make it up to him. She took another look at her map to see where she would continue. Only four hundred square kilometers of jungle to search through. She let out an audible sigh.

Sonic waited behind her, arms crossed and one foot tapping rhythmically, betraying his otherwise patient expression. She turned her head slightly.

“I don’t think I want your idea of help.”

Sonic groaned.“Look, I know I messed up-”

“That’s an understatement.”

Sonic let go of his irritation with a huff. He continued, “I do want to make it up to you, Amy. At least don’t go into the jungle alone again!”

Amy turned around to look him in the eye.

“Okay, fine! Let’s say I consider taking your offer. How do you intend to help me with this?”

The tension left Sonic’s body, the look of relief spread across his face. “Finally! Thank you!” he exclaimed, and before Amy could say anything, he stepped closer and continued, “You know, I often take a morning jog around the island. Maybe I’ve seen the place you’re looking for.”

Amy snorted, “Yeah, because you look at the places you pass by during your mach-one ‘jogs’.”

Sonic mocked a hurt expression at the accusation.

“Come on now, I do appreciate the sights. Besides, I should mention that I have an impeccable visual memory,” he leaned on the table, arms crossed and looked his usual smug self. Amy normally liked his cockiness — not that she would ever admit that — but this time, she found it irritating.

“Go on,” he continued, “Test me. Describe the place we're looking for,” and gestured to her map with his head.

“Okay then,” she recalled what the part of the jungle looked like to her best ability. It wasn’t hard, even after so many weeks. The initial shock of Shadow’s living situation embedded the details of the place in her mind. The small incline Shadow used for sleeping, the little camp that was rather civil despite the roughness. The storm shelter that was probably a long abandoned property, repurposed by the black hedgehog, hidden carefully from curious eyes. She even surprised herself by remembering where the two places lay relative to each other. Sonic did not say a word throughout all of that, only nodding a few times.

“So,” Amy spread her arms expectantly, “any ideas, Mr. Know-It-All?”

“I’m not sure about that shelter, but a small cave in a clearing facing north…” Sonic murmured, as he looked at the wall, eyes darting about. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “Yeah, I think I know where that is!”

Amy blinked, “Really? Just like that?!”

“Yup! Pretty impressive, huh?” Sonic smirked.

She wasn’t going to be convinced so easily, “Okay then, can you show me where it is on the map?”

Sonic glanced at the item in question, and gave her an amused smile, “You know reading maps is not my strong suit.”

Why wasn’t she surprised…

“Well, thanks for nothing, I guess…” she was ready to pack up and leave.

“Buuut,” he leaned into her line of sight, “I can still take you there.”

“I’m not letting you carry me there, Sonic,” any other day, the idea would’ve excited her, but she was still bitter over his actions.

He shrugged.

“I could take you on the Blue Force One, too. Tails just upgraded the offroad mode.”

“Isn’t the Blue Force One only for one person?” she raised an eyebrow.

Sonic looked away and rubbed his nose.

“It can fit two… if you hold on close,” he murmured.

“Ugh!” Amy threw her hands up and turned her back on him. For one, because she couldn’t hide her flushed face, and she felt ashamed that even when she’s supposed to be super mad at him, he could get this reaction out of her. And another, she couldn’t believe Sonic is still playing around like that.

“Hey, I’m just teasing!” Sonic held up his arms, and gave his most apologetic smile. The glare he earned from her then melted that smile off right away. After a moment of silence, he spoke up in a softer voice, “C’mon, Amy. You trust me, don’t you?”

She wanted to say no. Sonic betrayed her trust when he still went out of his way to spy on her and Shadow and got himself and the others involved. But also, he was one of her closest friends. Even if he hurt her, she couldn’t stay mad at him forever. And she knew he was genuinely sorry. She rubbed her eyes.

“Fine, but when we get there, you hang back, okay? The last thing I want is you and Shadow get into a fight.”

“You know it’s usually him who initiates them, right?” Amy glowered at him for that, and he immediately put his hands up defensively. “Right, no fisticuffs, got it.”

The ride was… unusually silent. She sat behind Sonic, trying to hold on to him in a way that wasn’t too uncomfortable for either of them. She didn’t see Sonic’s face, but as he drove at a reasonable pace on the uneven trail, the tension in his body told her he was focused on the task.

At one point, he slowed to a halt, turning off the engine.

“We gotta go on foot from here. I love this thing, but it can’t tear through the foliage… yet,” Sonic explained as he got out.

“Just don’t run off, okay?” Amy grumbled.

“Hey, I can walk if I want,” Sonic turned around to face her, walking backwards very fast.

“Are you sure you’re walking?”

“This is walking for me,” Sonic joked, then turned around and started to jog.

“That is a lie, and you know that!” Amy shouted, keeping up with his speed. She could hear Sonic’s laugh in front of her. She shook her head. He can’t take things seriously, can he?

They trudged through the forest for quite some time before the plant life started to thin. Amy squinted at the sudden brightness, but when her eyes adjusted, she loudly exclaimed:

“Yeah, this is it!” Amy couldn’t hide her surprise when she looked around. It was definitely the cave where Shadow was staying in during their time working together, although it was strange to see it in daylight.

Sonic kicked a pebble and looked as nonchalant as always. “And if you accepted my help earlier, you would’ve saved a lot of time.”

She ignored his comment, and instead approached the incline. She had to be cautious. Shadow avoided confrontation last time, but it could’ve been because he was taken by surprise. She didn’t know how the other hedgehog would react if she approached him uninvited.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but once she could see, she had noticed that the cave was completely empty, the only thing indicating that someone was here were the rocks and charcoal making up the firepit. Everything else — the old sleeping bag, the dirty rags that covered the log used for sitting, the various tools, even the empty food cans — were gone. He has left. She should have expected this, yet disappointment still washed over her. There might still be a chance though…

She dashed out of the cave, and went in the direction of the shelter. Sonic, who was leaning against a tree the whole time, hurried to follow. She didn’t say a word.

She ground to a stop when she saw that the shelter’s door was torn off from its hinges and tossed to the side. It also looked like as if the earth collapsed where the rest of the shelter should be. She felt a tightness in her chest, but pushed past it and went for the entrance.

The ladder was missing, so she jumped down. Using her communicator’s in-built flashlight, she took a better look at the scene. The place caved in, leaving nothing but rubble and dirt. She cautiously moved some of the debris. She could see the remains of what used to be the shelf, but on a closer look, all the knick-knacks Shadow had there weren’t in the rubble.

That meant he took them.

So he must’ve destroyed it on purpose.

She just stood there, staring at the ruins where barely a month ago she was spending entire nights awake trying to solve a mystery. Trying to help someone…

She absentmindedly hovered a hand to her cheek, feeling the freshly healed skin.

“Yo, Amy, all good?” Sonic shouted in from above, snapping Amy out of her thoughts.

“Yes, it’s fine,” she told him. She walked back and climbed out with the aid of her hammer.

“No sign of him,” she dusted herself off, and looked away into the thick of the forest.

“Do you want to try tomorrow?” he asked as they made their way back to the clearing.

“No… I don’t think we’re going to meet him here,” she looked off in the distance. “Just give me a sec, okay?”

Amy entered the small cave again and fished out an item: Shadow’s glove sealed in an airtight bag. Ideally, she would have given it to Shadow in person or at the very least leave it for him. But was he coming back here? Or will this place be vacant forever? A part of her wanted to resume the search, but the island was large, and Shadow would continue to elude them until he decided to be found.

If he ever decided he wanted to be found…

She finally made the decision and put the glove down on a flat rock where the elements hopefully won’t disturb it. She left, only taking one more glance back at the now empty place before going home.

~*~

It took several days before a figure appeared in the cave again. His heavy boots dug into the clay floor as he took in his surroundings. After he felt he was in the clear, he approached the item placed so clearly out in the open, it might as well be a bait for a trap.

His instincts screamed that it was, but a small part of him said that he doesn’t have to be wary. That it will be okay.

It was strange how easy he listened to that small voice.

He picked up the bag containing the glove, and after making another quick check that nobody was watching him, he practically scrambled to put it on.

Something inside touched his fingers, making him freeze. Slowly he pulled out what appeared to be a neatly folded piece of paper. He stared at it for a short moment before his fist closed with such force that were it not for the glove, his claws would have dug into his palm for sure. With the same rush of energy, he was ready to throw the crumpled note away as far as he could.

Something in the back of his mind stopped him, that little voice again, and his fist hung high in the air frozen mid-swing.

He let out a shaky breath, lowered his hand and stared at the little paper. Seconds stretched on, he could hear nothing but blood rushing in his ear, the buzz so loud it was almost drowning out his thoughts. Choppy breaths evened out, every long intake of air bringing in the smell of damp clay and moss. A faint memory of bamboo and scented candles and freshly cooked pasta tried to wriggle itself back to the forefront of his mind. Finally, he neatly straightened it and started to unfold it, the curiosity to find out what was inside finally taking over him. He read its contents. And read it again. And again. The wrinkles of his brow deepened more and more at his puzzlement. He turned it over, but found the rest of the paper empty. He read it again, taking in each word, like it was a riddle.

“You forgot it at my place. I figured you’d want it back. I did wash it though, I hope you don’t mind.”

That was all of it. He was expecting an overly sentimental message about making amends and the importance of friendship and something about Amy’s door being always open to him… yet this here was as plain as it could get. It baffled him. And yes, he did mind the smell of the detergent.

It was pointless to keep the message. But he did not throw it away. Instead, he folded it back and pushed it inside his glove so it sat between the fabric and his hand in a way that wasn’t too bothersome. Shadow turned tail and left the cave with a thought that felt so dangerous: what would it mean to him if he left a bridge unburned?

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #shadow the hedgehog #sonic (the character)#boom!amy #boom!sonic #boom!shadow #fanfic #sonic fanfiction #my works #SB: an enigma in shadows

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