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midnightshard06 · 2 months ago

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My Past and Your Future

Summary: After a week of planning the time comes for Shadow and Sonic to visit the other world. Things go well enough, just as planned really, until something odd happens which throws everything off and Shadow ends up having to discuss something he thought he'd left in the past at this point. The Black Arms.

Warnings: Mild dissociation (kinda)

Word Count: ~8300 words

You can check it out on ao3 here if you prefer.

"You're sure you're capable of handling this?" Shadow asked as he handed over his communicator to Rouge.

The bat rolled her eyes as she took it. "You've only made sure I was for the past week." Rouge shook her head but there was a fond smile on her face. "I'll be sure the other you is fine, and if big blue's counterpart comes here too I can handle it." She waved him off. "Besides I have Omega for back up if I need it."

"I wouldn't consider Omega a good person to look after children." Shadow gave her a flat look.

"At the very least he'll be a nice distraction." Rouge winked before her expression changed to something more serious. "You're sure this is a good idea? Don't get me wrong I'm glad I got more of a heads up this time..." She gave him an accusatory look. "But are you sure?"

Shadow sighed as he glanced over at where Sonic was having some sort of conversation with Omega. "I'm sure." He looked back at Rouge. "As much as I don't want to admit it, Sonic is probably right. Our worlds are connected for a reason. I intend to find out exactly why."

"You big softie." Rouge gave him a knowing look. "Don't need to hide it from me that you actually like those kids."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Shadow crossed his arms and looked away.

"I'm sure you don't." Rouge pat him on the arm. "Now get going before you're late."

Shadow waved as he walked over to Sonic. "Ready?" He pulled the ring out of his quills.

"Yep!" Sonic grinned.

With a deep breath Shadow visualized the house he'd been in last time. Through their planning throughout the week it had been deemed best for them to come straight to the house. Less other people would see them that way. Apparently there was still a fair bit of news about his appearance out there. Best to not add any more fuel to that fire if he could help it since folks like them weren't commonplace on the planet. The town of Green Hills was a safe place though. Everyone was well aware of Sonic and the others' presence.

Once Shadow was confident with his visual he tossed the ring. On the other side was the same house he'd been in before and through the ring he could see the alternate versions of Team Sonic watching them with varying degrees of excitement. Though Shadow's gaze was drawn to the fourth person there. His own alternate self. The two of them locked eyes and Shadow couldn't help but see his younger self in the other hedgehog. There was almost something... lighter about him. There was still loss there but it seemed like perhaps he hadn't been through quite as much as Shadow. Not yet. He hoped it stayed that way.

Shadow offered him a nod, one which was returned. With all the planning that had occurred in the previous week the two of them hadn't got the chance to speak with the chat the other Tails had set up. Though Shadow also felt as if a face to face conversation would be more appropriate. If they could figure out how to exist in the same world that is. He had a few ideas but nothing he was really ready to test yet. Soon. Maybe.

"We going?" Sonic tapped Shadow's arm.

"Yes." Shadow sent the other hedgehog an annoyed look before walking to the ring. With one last look at his counterpart he stepped through. Just like before the transition was smooth, but noticeably his counterpart was no longer there. As he turned back to look through the ring he spotted him shaking his head and blinking a disoriented look from his eyes.

"Fascinating" Tails trailed off. "It was instantaneous the moment you walked through. Our Shadow just vanished and reappeared on the other side."

"We'll have to see what's causing it another time." Shadow turned away from the ring. "This is what we planned for anyway."

"Alright, I'm coming through." Sonic warned from the other side of the ring. Shadow kept his eyes on the other Sonic who was watching the ring with interest. Time to see if what happened to Shadow's own counterpart would happen to Sonic's.

As his Sonic stepped through... nothing happened to the other Sonic. The smaller hedgehog blinked and looked down at himself briefly. "So do we think it just takes longer for me or..?" The other Sonic asked before glancing at Tails.

The fox was frowning in confusion. "No. If it was going to happen to you it should have just happened the same way it did Shadow. Theoretically." He tilted his head and Shadow dutifully ignored the sound his Sonic made at that. "Something about the Shadows just... don't let them exist in the same universe."

"Interesting." Shadow crossed his arms and turned back to the ring portal which was slowly closing. "Take good care of him Rouge." The bat gave him a salute and the portal closed.

Before Shadow could grab the ring, Tails tapped him on the arm. "Any chance I could look at that while you're here? It seems like it might have gained some unique properties after we gave it to you. I'll give it right back once you're ready to head home of course."

Shadow looked the fox up and down. Perhaps it would be beneficial for someone like Tails to look at it. "Very well." Shadow nodded and gestured to the ring. Tails grinned and picked it up.

"So we meet face to face..." The smaller Sonic was sizing up Shadow's Sonic. Ugh they were going to need to figure out how to refer to each other or this would get annoying. "Ready to eat my dust?" He grinned.

"I would say that..." His Sonic grinned right back. "If it wasn't going to be the other way around."

"Remember Tom and Maddie said 'don't do anything near the house which could damage it in any way'." Tails reminded the group.

"We have a designated battleground for the two of you." Knuckles nodded. "A route that was approved of already."

"And this time I won't overshoot the goal." The other Sonic rubbed the back of his head.

"Before we do anything." Shadow cleared his throat. "I believe we should come up with a way to refer to each other other than our names. At the very least the Sonics and myself. As well as my counterpart at some point."

"That would be a good idea yeah..." Tails nodded his head slowly. "It's bound to get confusing eventually."

"Well if we're going for nicknames you can call me Blue Justice." The other Sonic grinned as he placed a hand on his chest.

"I had a different suggestion." Shadow kept a straight face. "You have a last name I believe? I think that would be easier."

"What if me and Knuckles need to go by other names?" Tails tilted his head.

"Probably won't be an issue for a while." Sonic waved the fox off. "Those two are off doing their own thing for a while."

"Well I guess going by Wachowski works too." Wachowski shrugged. "Even if Blue Justice does sound cooler."

"What of you then?" Knuckles gestured to Sonic.

"I mean... I guess I can just stick with Sonic for now." Sonic shrugged. "Only two of us and I don't happen to have a last name like the little dude so..."

Knuckles stared at Sonic for a bit before nodding. "Very well." The echidna turned to look at Shadow. "What about you and your counterpart?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "When necessary I suppose you can refer to me as Terios. Though it seems unnecessary to do that on this occasion."

"Terios huh?" Sonic snorted. "Where'd that name come from?"

There was no way Shadow was about to admit that the name was something he'd used when Maria had coerced him into playing superheroes with her a few times on the Ark, because "all superheroes need different names to hide their identity", so he simply settled on brushing off the question. "None of your business blue hedgehog."

Tails nodded. "Now that we have that sorted..." His eyes trailed over to Wachowski.

"Get ready to lose." Wachowski put a fist against his palm. There was a very familiar competitive look in his eyes.

Sonic mirrored the expression perfectly. "Bring it on."

"Better lead us to the spot you have ready before the two of them try to start things here." Shadow looked over at Tails and Knuckles.

The echidna nodded. "Onwards to your field of battle hedgehogs!" He herded the two of them out of the house. Well, this should prove interesting.

"So how are you feeling hun?" Rouge started to lead Shadow towards the house.

"Alright." Shadow admittedly felt somewhat awkward in the bat's presence. The last time he'd seen her face to face he'd attacked her. People around him after waking up seemed to have an odd habit of forgiving him for doing that though.

"Injuries healing up well?" Rouge asked, holding the door open. The house was just about the same as it was last time. It perhaps felt a bit more recently used.

"As expected." Shadow's eyes were drawn to the photos of this world's Sonic and Tails together as he followed Rouge into the living room. Several other photos included people he didn't know, but they were people like him, Sonic, and the others. A few had Knuckles, though he did look somewhat different to the one Shadow had grown used to. In every picture they seemed happy. Well at the very least Sonic did, but for the most part there were smiling faces all around. There were a large variety of backgrounds to the photos as well. They must travel a lot. His gaze stopped on a picture of this world's Sonic and Shadow's counterpart. His counterpart looked like he'd rather not be in the picture at all, but Sonic had a massive smile on his face. Shadow couldn't help but wonder what had been happening when the picture was taken. Clearly his counterpart had been caught off guard and if he looked closely enough the two hedgehogs seemed to be scuffed up somewhat. Soot or perhaps just dirt covering their fur and quills in places. Yet despite that Sonic was grinning. Seemed about right.

Finally he looked away from the pictures. It was... odd to have a glimpse into the life of alternate versions of themselves yet this was perhaps becoming his new normal. What a strange position he'd found himself in.

The bat hadn't said anything for a while, so Shadow looked around to see where she was. Rouge was sitting on the couch looking through some sort of magazine. She looked up at him and rose a brow. "Something you need?"

"I... suppose not." Shadow's ear twitched as he heard the heavy footfalls of the robot, Omega he believed, enter the room.

Rouge's look softened some. "I'm just giving you space. I know my Shadow enjoys his time to himself." There was something unreadable in her expression for a moment. "I figured you could use some quiet after being in a house with those three for so long." A smirk made its way onto her face.

"IF YOU WERE NOT INJURED I WOULD REQUEST A SPAR." Omega spoke up, sort of startling Shadow. "OUR SHADOW PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT CHALLENGE TO KEEP ME SHARP FOR DESTROYING EGGMAN'S INFERIOR UNITS. I AM INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW YOU WOULD KEEP UP AFTER OUR LAST ENCOUNTER."

"Maybe when the kid is feeling better." Rouge gave Omega a tired look.

"You both seem... oddly at ease with this whole situation." Shadow hummed.

"When you have proximity to Sonic and his friends for any length of time you start to get desensitized to odd things." Rouge shrugged. "Besides, I'm used to dealing with Shadow and I have to say so far you're a lot more agreeable than him." She chuckled to herself.

"AGREED." Omega chimed in. "SHADOW IS A COMPETENT ALLY BUT AT TIMES IS AN UNPREDICTABLE FORCE."

"We put up with him anyway though. What are friends for right?" Rouge winked at Shadow before going back to looking through the magazine.

It felt good to know that his alternate self had people that were close to him. People he could trust. Friends. There was still something he wanted, no, needed to ask though. "Can I ask a question?" His voice came out far more hesitant than he'd intended.

"Of course." Rogue nodded.

"The first time we swapped..." Shadow hesitated. It shouldn't be this hard to ask right? He'd seen the two of them alive and clearly not in any sort of G.U.N. facility. Something was different here and even if they weren't the people he knew it would be nice to see them. Well... at the very least Maria. His feelings on the professor felt rather messy at the moment. "I appreciate you agreeing to watch me." He changed gears for a moment. "I was wondering though about... his..." He gestured helplessly. Why was it so hard to just say her name out loud?

Rouge was giving him a puzzled look before finally understanding came onto her face. Shadow mentally slumped in relief. That relief was short lived though as a look that seemed like pity replaced it. "Why don't you sit down hun? I'm sure your legs are hurting." Admittedly they were starting to sting a little so he obliged and joined her on the couch she was on. "He lost them too." Rouge looked him right in the eye once he was settled. "When we saw you that first time we were going through a... bit of a weird one. Time was being messed with and the two of them ended up being pulled from the past to our present." She hesitated. "Temporarily. Once Shadow beat the monster that was keeping the place stable they were sent back to their own time."

Shadow felt his chest grow cold. All this time he'd assumed his counterpart hadn't lost his sister like he had. Yet the thought of his counterpart not only having to lose her once, especially if it had been anything like it had been for him, but losing her twice hurt more deeply than he expected. He'd relived the moment he lost Maria on repeat for 50 years in stasis, yet he wasn't sure he would have been able to lose her again while he was awake. Not if he'd gotten to see and feel her again for real. "I see." Shadow looked away. "How did he lose her the first time?" The question sort of slipped out, but he needed to know just how alike he and his counterpart were. If they'd experienced the same thing beyond just loss.

"A raid on the Ark." Rouge's voice was solemn. "Apparently G.U.N. wasn't too happy with how things were going up there and decided to seize Project Shadow and destroy all other evidence of his existence." Her face grew grim. "That included anyone who knew about him. From what Shadow has told me he tried to escape with her. Soldiers caught up but she managed to send him down to earth. She was one of the several casualties from the raid."

Shadow took in all the information and turned it over in his brain. The way certain things were worded had him interested but it was hard to breakdown the wording when a blanket of grief had settled over him. He'd never slowed down to properly grieve the loss of Maria. Not that he'd had much time after waking up. ...had his counterpart grieved? Either time? Somehow it felt invasive to ask the bat about that. He certainly wouldn't want someone to ask something like that about him to someone else. He shut his eyes and let his mind sort of go blank. He was thankful that Rouge didn't try to push him right now, instead leaving him alone to stew in his thoughts for a while. Right now wasn't the right time to let grief overcome him. Clearly he needed to address it but he was far too tired right now. Instead he focused on the sounds in the room. The flipping of magazine pages. The tick of a clock. Various mechanical sounds from Omega. It was grounding and soothing in a way. He'd need to talk to his counterpart soon. There was clearly a lot they needed to talk about.

"Rules are simple other me." Wachowski held up a finger. "One, first one to the goal is the winner." He held up a second finger. "Two, there are no other rules."

"Sounds good." Sonic started to stretch. "Where's the goal?"

"Here." Tails turned around the small device in his hands and pointed to a spot on the map that was on the screen. Shadow watched as Sonic scrutinized the map, taking glances out at the surrounding landscape. Clearly he was plotting a route in his head. Sonic's expression was oddly focused and Shadow got the feeling that Wachowski's confidence was going to be his downfall. If there was one thing Shadow was confident about when it came to his rival, it was how competitive he could get. Suddenly he wished he'd brought popcorn.

"Alright." Sonic nodded, focused look still on his face. "I'm ready."

"Your Sonic is rather focused." Knuckles hummed as Tails got the two blue hedgehogs to line up on a starting line. "I fear my brother will learn a lesson today."

"Sadly that will only inflate Sonic's ego further." Shadow sighed. "But I think you're right."

"Ok. On your marks... get set..." Tails held a flag aloft. Both Sonics were watching it with laser focus. "Go!" The fox had barely swung the flag down before the Sonics were off. "Wow." Tails blinked. "They weren't holding back."

"Both are striving to prove their worth and uphold their titles." Knuckles walked up to Tails. "When a warrior has something to protect they will often fight all the harder."

Shadow watched the two blue blurs vanish from sight before he turned to Knuckles and Tails. "Shall we head to the goal to see who arrives first?"

"How are we supposed to beat them there?" Tails tilted his head in question.

A small smile tugged at Shadow's face as he pulled out the emerald he'd brought with him. "Easily."

Wachowski grinned to himself. His counterpart was already nowhere to be seen. Guess all that big talk had been for nothing. A little disappointing but hey, at least he could now claim the title of fastest creature in the multiverse . Yeah. That had a nice ring to it. As he jumped over a ridge and gained some air he couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction. Maybe he should slow down a bit. Give the other him a chance? Nah. As he hit the ground he poured on more speed. It'd feel more satisfying to really crush the other Sonic.

His ear twitched as he felt a rush of air blow past him. Not something that was made by him and there was nothing else that really could have caused it except for... His eyes widened as suddenly there his counterpart was in front of him, running backwards . "Really?" Wachowski gave Sonic an unimpressed look. "And just where did you come from? I've been crushing you this entire race!"

Sonic grinned knowingly. "A hedgehog has his secrets." He turned around to be running properly. "See you at the finish line!" With that he shot ahead, much to Wachowski confusion.

"Oh there is no way I'm losing now." Wachowski poured on the speed and managed to catch up to be side by side with Sonic. "What weird tricks are you using!?" He pointed an accusatory finger at Sonic.

"Nothing that doesn't come natural!" Sonic sounded smug but his gaze remained focused on the road ahead. "Gotta be on my a game if I'm gonna beat you with your home field advantage!" He suddenly peeled off. Wachowski blinked in confusion until his attention was brought skyward. There was the other Sonic, seemingly flying through the air. It wasn't flying though. Wachowski had flown when using the Master Emerald. This just looked like he'd flung himself into the air with his speed and was just riding it out until gravity pulled him back down. That might explain things. If he was avoiding all the obstacles that Wachowski was still weaving around he'd be covering the ground much faster. Even if Wachowski knew this forest like the back of his hand.

Well jokes on him Wachowski knew where he would land, plus it wasn't like he couldn't do that too... right? Yeah of course he could! He narrowed his eyes as he rushed towards where Sonic should land. Thankfully he was right and he got there barely after the other hedgehog had touched down. "Not bad kid!" Sonic grinned, but there was something sharp, competitive to it. "Really giving me a run for my money here."

"I'm not the fastest thing alive for nothing." Wachowski put on a confident grin. "Soon to be fastest creature in the multiverse once I embarrass you in this race."

"Quite a title you're going for." Sonic looked thoughtful. "You said there's no other rules besides the winner is the one who gets to the goal first right?"

Wachowski gave him an odd look. "Uuuh yeah?"

"Great." Sonic's competitive look was back in full force. "Sorry bout this then." He rushed ahead, some sort of trail following him as he looped around a tree.

"You really think some sparky trail is gonna scare m-" Wachowski started but he was cut off as the tree cracked once a full circle was made around it. He had to desperately swerve out of the way as it fell. What the heck!? By the time he recovered from the forced redirect he couldn't see the other Sonic. Oh there was no way... He rushed straight towards the goal and he was shocked to see the other Sonic already there. He'd lost!?

"Better luck next time kid." Sonic gave him a cocky grin.

Now the look alone Wachowski miiiiiight have been able to handle. Sure it certainly bruised his pride a little but he could live. What rubbed salt in the wound was the fact that both Tails and Knuckles were looking at the other hedgehog with looks of interest and respect respectively. At least Shadow was just shaking his head at the whole scene, but if Wachowski looked close enough there was amusement on his face. If he had any consolation prize about this whole thing it was that his Shadow wasn't here to see it.

"You fought well brother." Knuckles put a hand on his chest. "But you have been bested this time."

"Gee, thanks for reminding me Knux." Wachowski frowned.

"I think what Knuckles is trying to say is that you did really well Sonic." Tails grinned at him.

"You weren't very far behind him." Shadow gestured to Sonic as he walked up to his side. "Consider this a learning experience and improve for next time."

"I was going ea-" Sonic was cut off in the middle of his sentence by Shadow elbowing him. Wachowski winced in sympathy as his counterpart doubled over for a moment. "Ahem I mean ." Sonic's face still looked pained but he was standing up straight now. "There's a lot I can teach you too kid. I'd be willing to bet that a good deal of what I can you you'd be capable of." His smile was reassuring.

"What I wanna know is what that weird sparkle trail was that down a whole tree like it was nothing." Wachowski pointed a finger at Sonic. "Next time we're setting more rules."

"Ah." Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Don't think you'll be able to replicate that one. A little leftover thing from my adventure on the Starfall Islands. The cyloop." He held up one finger and once again the trail started to follow him as he ran. He made a quick loop around a rock and the thing was pulverized once the circle was completed.

"That's... new." Shadow was the first to comment. There was a contemplative look on his face.

“I have several questions.” Wachowski frowned. “Mostly though what the Starfall Islands are and why did visiting there give you weird sparkle trail powers?”

“Ancient technology.” Sonic said casually like that made any sense at all as an explanation.

"A formattable ability." Knuckles hummed. "How practical is it in combat?"

"Very." Sonic grinned. "It's far from the only trick I picked up on the islands." He wiggled his fingers with a grin. "Learned a lot of useful stuff there actually."

"I wish to see these skills in combat one day." Knuckles nodded. "That day is not today. However." His gaze shifted to Shadow. "I do wish to test your skills if you find a spar agreeable?"

Wachowski looked between the two with interest, crushing defeat and questions forgotten for now. Now this could be interesting and maybe just maybe Knuckles could win a point for Team Wachowski here. "I'm open to it." Shadow took a step closer to Knuckles. "I remember you saying you wanted to test my strength the last time I was here."

Sonic tapped his chin with a finger but said nothing. Wachowski wondered what he was thinking. "Then our field of battle will be here." Knuckles seemed excited. "Hold nothing back hedgehog."

"Well maybe you both need to hold a little back." Tails chuckled nervously. "Tom and Maddie won't be too happy if anyone gets seriously hurt."

Knuckles hummed. "Very well. I do not wish to upset them. A more friendly spar then, trying to avoid injury as best we can?" He rose a brow and held out a hand for Shadow to shake.

Before Wachowski could warn him about Knuckles' handshakes the other hedgehog had already taken Knuckles' hand. Oddly there was no crunching of bones which was typical for a Knuckles handshake. Even the echidna looked mildly impressed. "Agreed." Shadow said simply.

The two separated and got into ready stances. Wachowski watched as Tails scampered over to him and the other Sonic. "So who do you think is gonna win?" Wachowski asked as the two stared each other down.

"Hard to tell..." Tails hummed. "I mean our Shadow did beat all three of us when we first encountered him so..."

"Beat all of you huh?" Sonic glanced at them briefly. "Guy must be strong." Wachowski appreciated that Sonic didn’t at all imply that they were weak by any means. His Shadow must be pretty strong too then.

"Very." Tails said, sounding tired. "We thought Shadow had broken Knuckles wrist for a little bit there..."

Sonic winced. "Yikes."

Shadow apparently decided to take the first move. Eyes flashing for a moment and dark energy of some kind forming around him before he rushed forward smacking Knuckles into the air and sending him back down the Earth. All three of them on the sideline sucked in a sharp breath of sympathy. Well... you couldn't win them all, but they'd all wait to see how things turned out.

Shadow suddenly felt a jolt run through his body and much to his annoyance he fell off the couch before he could catch himself. Rouge was there instantly. "What happened?" Her voice was laced with concern. Though he wasn't sure how to answer her at the moment. Something about his body felt wrong. He looked down at his shaking hand, but despite how it felt it looked normal. Something was watching him that wasn't the two other occupants of the room. What was it? Where was it? It was a faint feeling but it was there all the same. It made his skin crawl and he fought the urge to scratch at his own skin to see if it would get the feeling to stop. The feeling reminded him of how he felt when the scientists would look at him. Study him. Mentally pick apart his very being with every small move he made. He'd always hated those looks. Whatever this was felt like it was peering beyond him. Into his very soul maybe. He wanted it to stop.

Rouge's voice managed to cut through the haze some. "Omega! Get him outside. I'm getting in contact with the others!" She sounded somewhat frantic.

Suddenly he felt cool metal all around him. He tried to focus on it and not the all consuming feeling of being watched. Picked apart. It was only mildly successful. There was a humming in the back of his mind. It felt like mental static. It became increasingly hard to focus on anything. Then there was a commotion around him, so many voices. None of which he could place right now. "Back up!" A voice sharply cut through the haze in his mind. It carried weight, authority. "Give him space." The voice growled. "Crowding him won't help." Other voices chimed in, much more subdued. They still weren't clear though. Why was only the one voice clear?

"Sonic." The voice was there again. "Get me the emerald you have on hand. I want to try something." There was a burst of wind and some more talking. Shadow just tried to reach out for the voice. Not physically but mentally maybe. Anything he could do to understand what was going on. He mentally brushed against something and the thing brushed back with a hint of surprise. The connection seemed to drive back the odd thing watching him, if only a little. There was even a faint echo of surprise from whatever it was as well. "Alright." The voice sounded a little unsure. "Hand him to me." There were other voices, this time far louder. They seemed to reject the idea for some reason. "What harm is there?" The voice sounded annoyed. "If I don't manage to stabilize us with the emeralds we'll just swap places again." The other voices dropped significantly in volume and he felt himself being passed over to the person the voice belonged to presumably.

Once he left cold metal arms everything seemed to snap into focus instantly. The static in his head, gone. The feeling of being watched, gone. He looked up groggily at the person who was holding him now. It was his counterpart, who admittedly looked rather awkward about the whole arrangement. "Is he ok?" Sonic, his Sonic, tentatively asked.

"I believe so." The other Shadow hummed. "His eyes are clear now." There was a well hidden look of worry on his face as he looked over Shadow.

"Great." His Sonic sighed. "What happened though!?"

"He just suddenly fell off the couch." That was Rouge. "Wasn't responding to me when I tried to check on him and his quills were sparking so I had Omega bring him outside and got in touch with you all."

"I appreciate you trying to make sure my brother's place stays intact while he's gone." That was the other Sonic, there was a hint of amusement in his voice but it sounded forced.

"I felt like I was being watched." Shadow spoke up quietly. His counterpart's ear twitched as he looked down. The others were talking so he didn't think they were listening intently enough to hear him. "My body felt... wrong and I couldn't think clearly."

His counterpart's face fell ever so slightly. "Are you at all familiar with the Black Arms?" His voice was tentative, and just as soft.

The Black Arms? He didn't think he'd ever hear the name before, but something in the back of his mind perked up in recognition. "Maybe? Something about the term seems familiar but I don't remember ever hearing it before."

The other Shadow sighed and set him down on the ground. Thankfully even though the physical connection between them was broken the odd feelings didn't come back. "I'm not sure how long the emeralds are going to be able to keep us stable in the same universe but... perhaps I should tell you about them. That way you might be a little less blindsided than I was. Of course I can't speak for what they're like in your universe but some information is better than none."

Shadow took a deep breath. "Right. Let's talk then."

Shadow sighed in relief at finally being able to get his younger counterpart away from the group. Everyone had been panicking to different degrees even after Shadow had helped him. The younger ones’ especially. Well perhaps it wasn’t fair to say all of the younger ones. It had mostly been Wachowski but still. Even if it was entirely overwhelming for both of them at the moment he was glad to see that the others clearly cared about his counterpart. They’d all immediately jumped to wanting to help Shadow’s counterpart when they’d received the message from Rouge that something was wrong. Despite his thought that the trio were a bit immature they’d shown they could focus when it counted.

Though he was starting to feel the strain from using the two emeralds on hand to keep both himself and his counterpart stable in the same universe and would like to get this conversation over with before he couldn't maintain whatever this was anymore. Whatever force didn't want to allow the two to exist in the same universe was fighting back and making this whole thing much harder. He was thankful the emeralds were working at all, but this talk needed to be quick. "I wish we could have a more drawn out discussion, but unfortunately time isn't a luxury we have at the moment." Shadow sighed. His counterpart nodded.

The younger hedgehog had been rather quiet. Likely still disoriented from... well clearly something related to the Black Arms. The kid had even accidentally reached out to him through the hivemind. Shadow wasn't going to say it out loud but having anything prod that, even if it was completely benign, had been unnerving. The last time he'd felt anything related to the Black Arms, Black Doom had been trying to take him over. Of course he made sure to remain calm for the kid's sake.

"The Black Arms... are a race of aliens that intended to take over earth." Shadow started. "Their leader Black Doom made a pact with my creator, Professor Gerald, and I was made with their DNA. Black Doom came to earth 50 years later and told me to get him the Chaos Emeralds. Gerald's end of the deal." He frowned as his counterpart's face scrunched up in confusion. "I defeated them." He held his tongue about the genocide of the entire race for now. "Black Doom messed with my head. Tried to get me to submit to him." He shook himself off as if shaking off the phantom feeling of losing control of his body. Even if it had been brief.

His counterpart looked down. "And now you think that maybe these Black Arms are coming in my universe?"

"It's possible." Shadow wished he had better answers. All he had was speculation based on his own experience though. "What you felt could be them... establishing a connection. Though I admit nothing like that happened to me until they’d actually arrived." Besides, the connection had come about when his counterpart wasn’t even in his native universe. The whole situation was odd to say the least, but there wasn’t enough information yet to figure out exactly what was happening. All Shadow knew is that his own Black Arms and Black Doom were gone. He’d made sure of that… multiple times.

"I wasn't... created like you though." The other Shadow's face scrunched up with some sort of unreadable expression. "The scientists told me I came down to Earth in a meteor, but I don't know anything about where I came from."

Shadow frowned. That was... different. His counterpart hadn't been created like Shadow had? It was an odd thing to think about honestly. A version of him that was a natural born creature... He shook his head. Now wasn't the time. "Well I can't speak on where you came from, but I know they're involved simply based on what’s happening now. To what degree they are and what they want I don't know. I suspect it's nothing good though."

"What should I do then?" His counterpart looked so vulnerable in that moment and Shadow barely kept his face neutral at the sight. It was almost as if he could see his own fears and doubts reflected in a face so much like his own.

"Rely on your... friends." Shadow glanced back to where the others were no doubt still milling about. "In the end they came to my aid, even if I hadn't really shown my willingness to accept their help."

"Are people going to get hurt?" His counterpart looked down.

Shadow wished he could tell him no, that everything would be fine but that would just be setting him up to fail. He wanted to make sure his counterpart was prepared, but he had to toe the line between preparing him and comforting him. ...he was well out of his depth right now. "Unfortunately." Shadow finally settled on. "The Black Arms are... not ones to be reasoned with. They likely want to conquer earth. That's what mine wanted at least."

His counterpart squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. When he looked back up at Shadow there was a determined look on his face. "How did you stop them?"

"I destroyed their leader." Shadow started. "They operate on a hivemind. Without Black Doom, or whoever it happens to be in your world, the others won't have direction. They lack individuality." He looked away. "I also used the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the comet they came to the planet in." He looked back up. No getting around letting that bit of information slip he guessed.

"We might have a slight problem." His counterpart winced. "Our Eclipse Cannon blew up."

Shadow sucked in a sharp breath. That could be... problematic but it was also likely his counterpart's Professor Gerald had no idea about the Black Arms and as such wouldn't have made the cannon to destroy them in the first place. There would probably be another way. Hopefully. "You take things as they come then." He eventually settled on saying. The strain he was feeling was starting to get to the point where he couldn't handle it. He wasn't sure which one of the two of them would get sent where when he couldn't maintain it anymore, but he wasn’t keen to find out. "We'll do what we can to help."

His counterpart looked like he wanted to ask more but based on the way the other hedgehog held his tongue, Shadow guessed his struggle was evident on his face. "We'll keep you informed with what's going on." His counterpart eventually said.

"Good." Shadow gestured back to where the others were. "I need to get you back. I'll see if I can gather some more information for you to look over after this." He led his counterpart back towards the others. Wachowski and his friends all perked up at the sight of the two of them remerging. Meanwhile, both Sonic and Rouge looked between the two of them with thinly veiled concern. "I'm sending you all back for now." Shadow internally winced at how strained his voice sounded as he fished the ring out of his quills. Once he had it, he tossed it out trying to envision the house. Thankfully the ring flared to life with no issues.

"What's going on though?" Wachowski asked, glancing between the two of them nervously.

"I'm sure Shads will explain later. One of them." Sonic hummed as he herded Wachowski towards the ring. "Right now we need to get you all back as we try and figure out our next move ok?"

Wachowski didn't look happy but he didn't resist as Sonic nudged him through the ring. "Fine." He sighed. "But you two will tell us if something happens right?"

"Course." Sonic grinned. "We're in this one together."

With one last glance Shadow's counterpart went through the ring. All the strain seemed to leave Shadow abruptly and he couldn't help but sigh in relief. He grabbed one of the emeralds and regarded it. "Maybe with more of the Chaos Emeralds it would be easier to keep us stable."

"We can go hunt them down if you think so." Sonic tapped his chin. "If something big is going down having them around might not be the worst thing anyway."

"Wait those are your Chaos Emeralds?" Tails blinked in surprise. "They're so big!"

"Are yours... not?" Sonic tilted his head.

"The emeralds are much smaller." Knuckles hummed. "Your emeralds seem more comparable to the size of the Master Emerald, though still smaller than it. It seems your emeralds are separate from it as well."

"While interesting, I believe we have other things to focus on for the time being." Shadow cleared his throat. "Like I told my counterpart I'll see what relevant information I can gather for you."

"And we'll go looking for our emeralds. I suggest you do the same. Just to get a jump on things." Sonic nodded.

"The Master Emerald is already in our possession." Knuckles nodded. "The emeralds will be ready should we need them. Though we would prefer to not rely on them if it is not necessary."

Before Sonic could say anything, Shadow jumped in. "As long as you know where they are and have access to them should you need them it's fine. We'll talk with you later." He waved them off.

"Best of luck in your quest." Knuckles waved as he walked through the ring.

"We'll be in touch." Tails wrung his hands nervously as he walked through.

A moment later the ring closed and Shadow retrieved it. He sighed heavily. "Well, things were getting a little too calm around here anyway." Sonic spoke up, a tint of amusement in his voice. It did sound sort of forced though.

Shadow felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Rouge. "You ok?" She watched him closely. Seeing if he was going to lie or not probably.

"I've been better." Shadow gently shrugged her hand off. "Never thought I'd have to deal with the Black Arms twice. Let alone three times."

"I knew you cared about those kids." Rouge looked smug.

"Not a word." Shadow pushed her away. "I need you to get together whatever information you can about the Black Arms. I'm sure G.U.N. still keeps a record of them around."

"Consider it already done handsome." Rouge winked.

"WILL I GET TO DESTROY THEM MYSELF THIS TIME?" Omega turned to look at Shadow.

"The possibility exists." Shadow sighed.

"I FIND THIS AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER FOR NOW." Omega flexed his hands.

"Great." Shadow rubbed his temples. "Stay here for now Omega. Don’t let any harm come to the fox’s home. Rouge, information. Me and Sonic will track down the remaining emeralds." He side eyed her. "I don't suppose you have any leads?"

"I'll forward what I've got to your communicator." Rouge flared her wings. "I'll see you boys later. I've got some files to... borrow." With that she took off.

"Guess we're going on a little road trip then." Sonic elbowed Shadow. "I'll go get Tails' emerald radar. That should make things smoother."

Shadow bat at Sonic's arm. The other hedgehog chuckled before he sped off. Things would work out. They would. He’d come out on top of every other confrontation with the Black Arms. This time would be no different.

"Alright. What's going on?" Sonic immediately turned to Shadow once the ring portal closed.

Shadow internally sighed. There was going to be a lot of talking tonight wasn't there? "Whoa whoa what's going on?" Tom walked into the room, looking between them all with a mix of concern and confusion. "I thought you were hanging out with the others today?"

"Something weird happened with Shadow." Tails wrung his hands. "Terios, what the other Shadow said we should call him, seemed to help and know what was going on."

"We're... going to have a problem soon. If what my counterpart said is to be believed." Shadow averted his eyes for a moment. Based on how his counterpart had looked during their conversation he did fully believe him.

"I'll go get Maddie and we'll meet you all in the living room ok?" Tom nodded as he put a hand on Sonic and Tails' shoulders. After a moment he left the room.

Shadow silently padded into the living room. Honestly his head was still swimming and he could feel whatever it was in the back of his mind. It was keeping its distance for now though. It was... wary maybe? Whatever his counterpart had done was keeping it manageable at least. He just hoped it lasted. "Are you alright hedgehog?" Knuckles was suddenly there at his side. The echidna's face was hard to read, but there seemed to be a bit of concern there.

"That will depend entirely on how whatever happens next goes." Shadow's ear twitched.

"Whatever comes you will not be alone." Knuckles put a hand on his shoulder. It was far gentler than Shadow was expecting. "We will be ready and we will take care of things together."

It didn't take much longer for everyone to assemble themselves in the room. The two human occupants were doing their best to get everyone calm as Shadow stood stock still in front of them. At some point Knuckles slipped away from his side to join the others. "Okay honey." Maddie smiled reassuringly at Shadow once everyone was settled. "What's going on?"

Shadow sighed. "When I was in the other world something odd happened. There was a sort of... fog in my mind. I felt a presence." He shook his head to shake away the phantom feeling. "I couldn't think clearly at all. At least until... Terios was there. He did something, cleared my head." He sighed. "After that he told me briefly about a race called the Black Arms. He was... made with their DNA and they attempted to invade his Earth. They were stopped. He's worried that the same is happening here now though."

"Wait." Sonic held up a hand. "Other you was made? Cause Walters said you came from a meteor right?"

Shadow nodded. "Correct. We... didn't have much time to chat about that."

"Terios and the other Sonic advised we gather our Chaos Emeralds and keep them nearby." Knuckles hummed. "These Black Arms must be a worthy threat if they advised such power be on standby."

"They said they were going to gather their emeralds too..." Tails put a hand on his chin. "I have so many questions not only about their emeralds but what would happen if two sets of Chaos Emeralds were in the same world in the first place."

"Well..." Tom glanced over at Maddie. "This certainly sounds big. Guess it's a good thing we'll have help from some people with experience in this oddly specific circumstance."

"We?" Shadow scrunched his face up.

"Course." Tom smiled as he threw his good arm around Maddie. "We'll help however we can."

"Maybe a bit more out of the direct line of fire this time though." Maddie pat Tom's shoulder gently.

"If they try to mess with Earth we'll just boot them back to where they came from." Sonic put a fist in his palm. "Besides if other you could do it, there's no way we can't."

Shadow nodded despite feeling unsure about the whole thing. Part of him was... excited to find out more about where he'd come from but he couldn't help but feel angry at himself for feeling that. If the Black Arms here were anything like they were in Terios' world then them coming to Earth was a bad thing. Another sudden thought had his blood running cold. G.U.N. would no doubt notice whatever was to come. Would they try to recapture him? Would Sonic and his family get hurt in the crossfire? There was no way he'd let them put him back in the tube, but he also didn't want the Wachowski's to get hurt because of him again. "Terios said he'd see what other information he could get me on the Black Arms as well." Shadow took a deep breath and forced himself out of his thoughts.

"I doubt whatever information they have over there will be 100% accurate here but it'll still be useful to have." Tails' namesakes twitched.

"Having some heads up is better than none." Tom nodded. "Every other time things have just happened."

"Do we have any idea of how long we have?" Maddie looked between everyone.

"Not yet." Shadow shook his head. "It's all... speculation at the moment. Based on my counterpart's own experiences."

"Well. We'll just make sure we're ready for whenever it happens then." Maddie nodded.

"Together." Sonic held out his fist towards Shadow. Shadow tilted his head in confusion. He... wasn't sure what Sonic wanted. "It's a power bump." Sonic grinned. "It means an unbreakable promise."

"It is true." Knuckles nodded. "Me, the fox, and the hedgehog used a power bump to seal our vow to protect the Master Emerald." He put his fist next to Sonic's.

"Yeah!" Tails quickly jumped up and put his own fist on the other side of Sonic's hand.

Shadow slowly put his fist into the mix so it touched all three of the others. Well he'd been told to rely on his friends, so despite all his reservations he'd do just that. At least for now.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic au #sonic fandom #shadow the hedgehog #sonic movie 3 #sonic movie #sonic movie 3 spoilers #shadow swap au #fanfiction

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