#the fact that Shadow is sitting next to Sonic...

[the-brucest-fan]

BABEYYYYYS 😍😍😍

And they even took Shadow with them!!

[damnfeelings09]

The way I loved you - Shadow's version

*A.N: sorry, I got lost reading some ff

"He is sensible and so incredible And all my single friends are jealous."

"Look at these beautiful flowers!" said Amy. "You have to tell me your secret, Sonic isn't the most romantic guy, ya' know" You were sitting in the living room of your apartment; it was small but cozy. There were plants in every corner, and despite the little time you had to settle in, you felt comfortable in this new house.

"And it's like, I couldn't ask for anything better," you said with a shy smile.

"That's fabulous! I'm so happy you gave yourself this chance... you know, since..."

"I know, I feel good, but I want to take it slow."

"And I feel perfectly fine."

When Amy left, you let yourself fall back onto your bed, in fact you didn't really feel fine. You missed him, you missed every moment. You couldn't blame Amy, you were too good at hiding your feelings. Only someone who knew you perfectly would notice you weren’t... happy. Actually, you didn't feel anything at all.

"... And it's 2 a.m., and I'm cursing your name. So in love that you act insane, and that's the way I loved you."

Every night, just before closing your eyes to sleep, you could feel his breath, his presence hadn't left you for a second in the last three months. Even though you didn't see him anymore, it was as if his memory was buried in your mind, like his image was tattooed on your heart, a mark you couldn't erase, one you didn’t want to erase. It hadn't been long since you met Dylan. He was actually nice, you'd bumped into him at the cafeteria, and he accidentally spilled your latte. After a thousand apologies, he offered to buy you a new one. You’d been hanging out three times, counting today, but when you told your friends about it, they were more than happy to see you back in the game.

"He respects my space, and never makes me wait, and he calls exactly when he says he will."

You checked your latest messages. Dylan had written "Goodnight and have fun, beautiful," after you mentioned you wouldn’t see him and would instead spend time with the girls.

"He's charming and endearing, and I'm comfortable."

"I'm comfortable," you said aloud, but when you were alone, hundreds of memories haunted you. Memories of when you had been so happy, loved like you never thought possible, cried, and suffered, but you did it all by his side. There he was again, always occupying your thoughts. At 2 p.m., when you had lunch, and again at 2 a.m., when you woke up startled by nightmares where you lost him over and over. You turned your phone back on, scrolling down to the bottom of your messages, and found his conversation. You read again the last message he had sent you: "I'll be late," with the date on the day you decided to move on with your life without him.

"He caused all of this. So… why do I feel like this?" you thought. You couldn't stop looking at the screen, hoping, wishing there was something more, that he had done something more. Suddenly, his status changed, he was online, and dots began to appear on the screen. He was typing. After three months of silence, he had finally reached out to you… your heart raced so fast you felt like it would burst out of your chest. The excitement, anxiety, fear, and anger were trying to take control of your body all at once. But when the dots disappeared, and his status went offline again, everything collapsed.

"Breaking down and coming undone, it's a rollercoaster kind of rush. And I never knew I could feel that much, and that's the way I loved you."

The next morning, you bumped into Dylan on your way to work. You talked about the weather, your outing with the girls, and his job. Dylan loved his job as an IT agent for GUN and loved to talk endlessly, something you weren’t used to. You limited yourself to nodding and smiling while he told you about the latest update he'd made to the criminal profiles platform at GUN.

"He can´t see the smile I'm faking and my heart's not breaking 'cause I'm not feeling anything at all."

As you walked through the GUN facilities and passed by the training center, memories flooded your mind. This time, you both had fought, but you didn't quite remember why...

You walked out of the training center, both fists clenched until your claws dug into your palms. You were upset, he hadn't respected the agreement to let you work, and his only defense had been, "You're not strong enough for this task, sorry." Once again, underestimating your abilities, even though, thanks to your effort, the last two missions you'd worked on together had gone wonderfully, and your colleagues praised your persistence. Of course, he was the team captain, and you didn’t expect different treatment just because you were his girlfriend; you simply expected him to start noticing your potential.

"And you were wild and crazy. Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated. Got away by some mistake and now..."

"Stupid hedgehog," you muttered under your breath as the raindrops began to soak your body. The wind soon picked up, and what started as a small breeze had turned into a storm. You had to turn back, or you'd end up sick, and they'd send you home. Just as you were about to go back, you heard someone calling your name. It was him, standing a few meters away, his dark fur soaked, and every quill dripping. His chest fur, once fluffy, now seemed flat due to the water.

"If you're here to scold me again, keep it to yourself. I was about to go back." In a second, the hedgehog was right in front of you.

"I'm sorry," you heard him murmur. "Don’t disappear like that again." Something in his voice made your wall of anger break. There, in the rain, with his face drenched and his red eyes, now dimmed, just inches from yours, made him look so... vulnerable. "No… I didn’t mean that you can’t do it, it’s just that… thinking of you, alone, out there… no, no..." he stammered, looking away. You had never seen him like this. You were so used to his strong, disciplined personality. Worry was not a word you associated with him, but now you realized he was worried about you.

"Hey," you said, gently caressing his face. "It's okay, I’m here, and I’ll be fine because I’ll have the best captain to guide me" you smiled at him.

"The best captain?" he asked, his crimson eyes regaining their sparkle as he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course! Sonic doesn’t do things as badly as you think, and... we have you too," you joked, earning a snort from him. You smiled as he closed the distance between you, pulling you into an embrace. The surprise was evident in your eyes. You knew he hated public displays of affection, especially at work. He didn't want people thinking there was favoritism towards you. He tightened his embrace as he felt your body shivering because of the cold, moving his face close to yours placing a soft kiss that contained everything he couldn't express.

"I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain and It's 2 a.m., and I'm cursing your name. I'm so in love that I acted insane, and that's the way I loved you."

"Hey! Moon!" someone called, snapping you out of your thoughts. As you returned to the present, you found yourself staring at the training center. Dylan had his hand in front of your face, trying to get your attention. "Where did you go?"

"Ah... it's nothing," you said, scratching the back of your head, your cheeks still flushed from the memory. "See you later, Dylan." You walked towards the main offices, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone else and trying to avoid running into him. When you reached the elevator, you heard a ring—a new notification. You quickly pulled out your phone and found a message. It was a simple interaction, just 3 words put together, but it was enoght to make your heart begin to beat again, as if waking up from a deep sleep.

Shadow: Hey

"Never knew I could feel that much and that's the way I loved you."

[sugarplumkneecaps]

Memories (Shadow x Reader)

Pairing: Shadow the Hedgehog x Reader (gender neutral) → Can be read as platonic or romantic Word Count: 3.4k T/W: loss, mentions of death (previous to story) Summary: It's New Year's Eve and life has been quite peaceful for the last few months following Dr. Eggman's defeat (again). You work up the courage to invite Shadow over, but he seems to be a bit distracted...

SQUEEE- the marker squealed as another day was crossed off the paper calendar hung on the wall in the hallway. The end of the year had come much sooner than Shadow expected. It felt as though most of his days blurred together, the mundane routine turning his concept of time on its head. At one point in his life, he had longed for the same sense of normalcy that Rouge had mentioned long ago. But this? This was torturous. He replaced the cap of the pen and hung it back up with the calendar before moving into the kitchen of his apartment with a great deal of reluctance. He had yet to go grocery shopping, making his usual routine of finding breakfast somewhat more adventurous than he had the energy for this morning.

Rouge had urged for him to rent the apartment and get his current job following their efforts to put a stop to Robotnik’s world ending plans. “I think you are long overdue for a taste of normal life Shadow,” Rouge had cooed at him.

He scoffed at the memory, taking in the view of his living space as he exited the kitchen with a sad bagel topped with cream cheese (making a mental note to stop by the corner store to grab something to fill him up a bit). His apartment wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t anything grand either. His living room could fit a single, plush couch across from a TV, record player, and his plant. The walls were lined with records that were regularly rotated out every week. He had direct access to his small breakfast nook and kitchen due to the open layout, which he enjoyed. It allowed for him to sit and enjoy his music as he ate or cooked. The hallway led to his room, office, and bathroom, all neat and tidy in their own respective manners. It was comfortable for him, mostly due to never expecting any real company over.

The size of it also meant that rent was cheap, which was good as all of his paycheck from the cafe only had to go towards every day living expenses (at the behest of a certain bat, once again, advising him to save his payout from their more intensive work). Shadow couldn’t deny the merit of her words; the higher paying work had slowed down significantly. Preventing world domination for the upteenth time seemed to discourage others from another attempt too soon.

Shadow finished his breakfast and headed toward the front door, slipping on his shoes before starting his commute to work which was only a short walk from his place. He let out a long sigh as he locked the front door behind him, nearly running into you as he turned toward the stairwell.

“Oh! Uh- Sorry, Shadow. I didn’t see you there,” you stuttered, embarrassment dripping from each word. You had been neighbors for a few months now, excited and yet intimidated by the proximity you had with him. It was simply chance that you two had even met in the first place, what with Infinite sparing you and the events that followed; you had somehow become an integral part of Sonic and his cohorts’ plan to bring Dr. Eggman to a halt. But the fact that Shadow not only worked with you at the local cafe but had also moved in next door to you so soon after felt too good to be true.

“All good. See you at work,” his voice somewhat hushed and low before he continued on his way. Burying his hands in his pockets, his steps covered an impressive distance in only a few minutes, Shadow’s mind wandering. He had also taken note of you - your impressive feats to aid them in their world saving efforts all the way down to your also somewhat mundane ritualistic activities. You both worked behind the counter at the cafe; him focusing more on brewing orders while you handled customers. He was always curious how you managed it with a smile on your face most days; the idea of switching spots with you was enough to make him shudder, shaking his head in effort to rid himself of the idea.

“Oh Shadow, people aren’t all bad!” Maria’s voice echoed. Shadow stopped dead in his tracks, the sudden flashback startling him. Why would he remember that now, of all times and places?

You weren’t too far behind Shadow, but you swore he glided to work effortlessly even without his air shoes. It wasn’t until he paused that you were able to catch up with him, letting out a small chuckle as you bumped shoulders with him lightly. This seemed to pull him out of his daze.

“C’mon, spacey, we don’t want to be late. I still owe you a breakfast sandwich for yesterday!”

“Wait- what? What are you talking about?”

You turned to look at the dark hedgehog, a smile creeping on your lips, “you saved me from that older gentleman, remember? He was making all sorts of comments-“

Shadow let out a “tch-“ sound before furrowing his eyebrows further, “Oh. You don’t owe me anything for that. You seemed uncomfortable.” His pace picked up a bit, causing you to need to start into a light jog to keep pace with him.

“I mean- yeah. He was being a bit creepy.” You huffed out a breath, once again embarrassed only this time by how winded keeping up with Shadow made you. “Hey, could you slow down a bit? We aren’t running that late or anything.”

Shadow eyed you from the side, smirking slightly before slowing his pace, “well, lucky for you, we’re here.” He motioned toward the building in front of you both, windows lining the outside to reveal the dark seating area of the cafe. You let out an exaggerated huff in an effort to make light of your winded state before digging in your bag for the keys to the front door. After wrestling with the key for a moment, you were able to unlock the building and begin setting up to open.

“Hey Shadow, I’ve been meaning to ask, how do you like your coffee?”

Shadow paused for a moment while he removed the chairs from atop their respective tables, pushing them in and moving on to the next methodically, “black, which I’m sure you probably could’ve guessed.”

“Ah- right. My bad. That does seem too fitting to not be obvious, huh?” you laughed shyly, starting the brew and selecting a breakfast sandwich to heat up for your counterpart. Man, you’re really going 3 for 3 this morning, huh? Your head hung low before rolling your shoulders back. This is your last chance to invite him, don’t screw it up!

The oven chimed as an indicator that Shadow’s sandwich was done, encouraging you to work up a bit of courage to not only present the seemingly unnecessary gesture but to also address him. You plated the sandwich and placed it on the table Shadow had just cleared off.

“Your breakfast, my good sir!” you bowed dramatically, getting a strained chuckle in response from Shadow. Clearing your throat, you figured now was as good a time as any, “I wanted to ask you something.”

Shadow sat in the chair in front of the sandwich, thankful that he wouldn’t have to resort to the corner store option, “hmm?”

You waited a moment to see if his gaze would meet yours, only to realize after a few bites in that your gesture maybe wasn’t as unwanted as he made it seem. “Well, see, I am going to be having a few people over later tonight to celebrate New Years. Rouge, Silver, maybe a few others, and uhm-“ you gulped, your mouth dry as your original, short invitation started to take a turn for the worse. “And... you? If you’d like to come?” Your ears drooped a tiny bit, your body subconsciously preparing for the inevitable rejection you were sure you would face.

Much to your surprise though, Shadow paused his chewing to look at you, “Yeah. I could stop by.” He continued to eat, completely unfazed by your shock at his response.

“Really?? That’s great! I mean- that’s, uhm, yeah! The party starts at 8PM!”

Shadow said nothing, which you took in stride, practically twirling as you went to grab him a coffee.

The work day somehow dragged on and yet also was over before either of you knew it. Shadow was appreciative of the routine of brewing the coffee, cleaning the machine, collecting dishware, and starting over as it allowed him to shut his brain off. It seemed to be determined to pull the rug out from under him today considering his flashback earlier. Memories of Maria weren’t unwelcome by any means, but Shadow recognized his emotional responses to them weren’t necessarily appropriate at work. He could have contemplated the reason behind their resurgence, but he simply chalked it up to his recent living situation changes, unwilling to dig deeper than that. Although, he might not have been too far off.

Rouge wasn’t the only one Shadow had heard speak of normalcy longingly; Maria’s illness was better managed whilst in the care of her grandfather, but that didn’t mean she got to experience much of a normal childhood as other kids her age did. She was at the mercy of her grandfather’s schedule and her small living quarters. “I know it seems silly,” she would say softly, “but sometimes I miss going to school. I miss riding the bus. I miss running through flower fields and my parents yelling for me when the street lights came on.” These concepts had meant very little to Shadow at the time, but as life had settled around him, he couldn’t help but wish he could show Maria that he was trying to live each day with her in mind.

The New Year creeping up on him was maybe too much of a reminder that he hadn’t done that great of a job to really appreciate the peace he had recently found. All he could hope for is that the party tonight would not be something he would regret agreeing to. I’ll make a promise to Maria that I will do better in the coming year.

You stared at your reflection for far too long. Clothes were strewn about your bed, all rejected options for tonight’s celebration. “You don’t need to overdo it!” you said to yourself, gripping the jeans in your hands. “Just wear the stupid jeans and find a comfy sweater. This isn’t meant to be some crazy thing.”

A knock on your door indicated that you didn’t have time to continue to bemoan over your lackluster wardrobe any longer. Throwing on the clothes in hand and quickly fluffing your hair, you made your way to the front door to greet your first guest. To your surprise, Shadow greeted you with a bottle of champaign.

“Hope this is okay,” he said, looking you over subtly. He was dressed in a pair of dark slacks, a turtleneck sweater, and a nice blazer. You could feel the dread set in once again before mentally shaking yourself out of it, “yes! This is fine! Thank you, you really didn’t have to bring anything.” You welcomed him inside and placed the champaign on the kitchen counter before turning to pull refreshments from the pantry and fridge.

Shadow stood next to the door as he watched you move about your apartment, removing his blazer and placing it in the crook of his arm. Your own apartment wasn’t much different than his, the layout the same, but flipped. It seemed much more suitable to host guests than his own, he noted, as he moved across the living room to where you were at in the kitchen. He hung his blazer along the back of one of the dining room chairs before holding his hands out to you. By this point, you were struggling to move the punch bowl, having filled it prematurely and realizing you would have to move the full thing to its proper place. Shadow’s outstretched arms took you by surprise but you did not refuse the help. You gingerly placed the bowl into Shadow’s arms, “thanks- uhm, you can set it on the bar counter next to the cups.”

He nodded and placed the bowl with ease, something you were quite jealous of. His otherworldly strength was quite useful while you two worked together, as he did a majority of the heavy lifting when food shipments arrived. Of course the simple task of moving the punch bowl would be easy for him. You laughed at yourself quietly at the thought and quickly turned away to continue setup.

It did not take long for the other fantastic mobians to join you both, the space of your apartment quickly filling with sounds of chatter and laughter. As the festivities kicked off, you began to notice that Shadow wasn’t really interacting with anyone (except for Rouge every now and again when she would seek him out). You had made a mental note to check in with him, but were quickly swept away to host.

You had never quite pulled something like this off, and the constant interaction was quickly draining your own social battery. Chaos, if I’m feeling this way I can only imagine how Shadow is doing. The thought prompted a quick scan of the apartment, but Shadow was nowhere to be seen. Your brows creased with concern, hoping he hadn’t left without saying anything. However, your search would need to wait as you felt an intense need to step outside for a bit of fresh air. You checked in with Tails, asking for him to keep an eye on things while you stepped out, to which he smiled at you and told you not to worry.

One of your favorite parts about this apartment was access to a private balcony. It wasn’t anything impressive but it made for a nice getaway when you needed it. You pulled on the door, struggling as it stuck to the doorway before prying it open and prompting Shadow to turn around to face you.

“Oh- sorry! I didn’t mean to, uhm-“ you gulped, startled by his presence. Why was talking to him always so nerve-wracking? “I just needed some fresh air.”

You watched as Shadow shifted over to allow some space to join him, “be my guest.”

Struggling again to close the door behind you, you moved next to him to rest your arms on the railing. Your eyes gravitated toward the sky, catching sporadic flashes of light from fireworks far off in the distance. The cool night air was a refreshing contrast from the sudden stuffiness in your small apartment and almost immediately your body relaxed. It was only at that point that you were able to take a deep breath and really released the subconscious tension you held in your shoulders since everyone arrived.

“Quite the turnout, huh?” you offered, shifting your gaze to Shadow.

He stood unmoving, his eyes now fixated on the sky above him. The stars lit up their dark backdrop, competing only with the bursts of fireworks every now and again. Shadow hadn’t seen the night sky like this in what felt like a lifetime. He had his own balcony but rarely ever used it, having forgotten it was there for the most part. In his solitude, he had very little reason to occupy the space.

The silence between you two and his unbroken focus on the sky brought you to look up again. This moment was not unwelcome nor awkward like you feared it might be. You felt a wave of comfort wash over you as you listened to the muffled sounds of your friends indoors alongside the chirping of crickets and popping of fireworks.

Shadow finally acknowledged his lack of a response to you, shifting slightly and clearing his throat, “I wonder if Maria had gotten to experience a New Years like this.” Taken aback by this vulnerability, you turned to Shadow again.

Maria. That was a familiar name in regards to the dark hedgehog. You knew she was the only friend he had before he was captured by GUN, having suffered a horrendous fate at the organization’s hand. You contemplated if she was the reason for his more prominent standoffish behavior tonight.

“This place reminds you of her, doesn’t it?” The words came out as hardly anything more than whisper, your effort to come across as tender shining through.

You watched as Shadow winced, moving his hands to interlock his fingers. “Not just this place.” He took a deep breath, as if calculating how much he wanted to divulge to you. “Everything and everywhere does...”

His voice was low and barely audible in comparison to the world around you. Shadow had been carrying the weight of Maria’s death with him through life, a feeling you could only imagine. His ears drooped slightly as his gaze shifted downward to his hands. He studied their shape, taking note of his inhibitor rings and the creases along his fingers, trying to remember what Maria’s felt like. With another small breath, he continued, “memories of her are in everything.”

To say you were stunned would be the understatement of the century. You took in the scene of Shadow, arms resting on the railing in front of him, the fingers of one of his hands tracing the other, his demeanor sad and sincere. You placed your hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. His eyes lifted to meet your own, his gaze years away as tears pooled and fell along his cheek. You smiled at him, pulling him gently toward you.

He hesitated at first before accepting your embrace. You held each other there for a moment, searching for the right words to say in response to his. Everything seemed to come up short, in your mind, sounding way too cheesy and cliche to truly convey your desire to comfort Shadow. Against your better judgment, you pulled away to look at him.

“I think... that’s how you help keep their memory alive. You carry them with you in some capacity. You associate certain things in life to them, and you cherish those things more than you would have otherwise.”

You paused, searching his expression in an effort to ensure you weren’t overstepping. He stared back at you, his usual scowl nowhere to be seen, his expression softer than you had seen before.

“Maybe it also helps us live life to the fullest and not take things for granted.”

He nodded slowly, your words sinking in as he stepped out of your arms to look at the sky again.

“She would have wanted me to enjoy life,” he said thoughtfully. Shadow took a deep breath before looking at you once again, a timid smile playing on his lips. “Thank you.”

You returned his smile in kind, imprinting this moment to memory for you to cherish always. After a brief pause, you offered your hand to him, “what do you say we go back in?”

He looked down at your hand and nodded, wiping the tears from his face and giving the night sky another glance. Shadow would have to remember to spruce up his own balcony to enjoy the stars.

Your fingers intertwined with his as you started to head back inside; the backdoor being of no issue for Shadow (of course) to pull open and close shut with ease. He let go of your hand after giving it a light squeeze and moved through the group to find Rouge of his own accord, smiling back at you. Sonic approached you, taking note of the interaction, “wow, never thought that guy could actually smile! You sure we don’t have a SUPER faker among us?”

Your elbow jabbed into Sonic’s arm playfully as you laughed and shook your head.

As midnight approached, you all gathered around the TV in the living room and counted down the New Year. Shadow closed his eyes, allowing Rouge to shake him as she joined the others in celebrating. His eyes opened and rested their gaze on you, watching as you cheered alongside everyone. It was then that he decided; he was going to make sure he did everything he could to appreciate his newfound friends and peaceful existence, just the way he hoped Maria would have wanted him to.

[youcancallmeemma]

Ya'll... I just watched the new Sonic movie (Sonic 3) and I have to say... I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Me ranting about it after the cut!!

SONIC 3 SPOILERS!!

1) Okay, so, first of all. The movie was amazing. I felt so giddy and excited when I was sitting in the movie theate, just waiting for the next thing to happen.

2) I had to hold back my tears when Tom got brutally punched by Shadow, mainly at hoe Sonic reacted at that... poor boy thought he lost another parent:( I didn't want to cry in front of of my brothers. (They would've bullied me bc they always do)

2) Maria was sososososo pretty!!! I really wished that we could've seen more of the sibling dynamic between her and Shadow, but I honestly loved the relationship they had.

4) My boy Tails should've had more screen time though...💔 Along with knuckles...💔 (I understand they already had enough going on in the movie, and I think if they did what I wanted, it probably would've made the movie uncomfortably cramped)

5) TAILS LOOKED SO CUTE WITH THE HELMET ON IN THE HELECOPTER ATVTHE BEGINNING OMG⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ I mentally agreed with Agent Stone when he said Tails was adorable, because he is.

6) Honestly, kinda wished Stone and Tails built up a friendship between them. Would've been fun to see them interact more! (Again, same thing I said earlier in nr.4)

7) I actually thought about this before seeing the movie. If I remembered correctly, the movie is based of Sonic adventure 2 (I believe) And Amy Rose was the one who comforted Shadow and got him to turn from evil to good? (I THINK. I SAW A PLAY THROUGH LIKE 10 YEARS AGO, DON'T YELL AT ME😭) So, I wondered how the would go about this. Honestly, the fact that Sonic comforted Shadow was a little odd to me, but what Sonic said was sweet. Since this is the movies we're talking about, it's on brand that Sonic was comforting him, since basically every single live action Sonic movie has him comforting SOMEBODY. Honestly, I liked it.

8) And... THE WAY MR. OLD REBOTNIC (can't remember name💔) GOT KILLED!?!?!? WHAT!?!? YOU'RE TELLING ME HE FOT STABBED IN THE BUTT BY A SUPER POWERED ALIEN HEDGEHOG QUIL, GOT LUNCHED UP, AND GOT INCINERATED BY A DAMN SHEILD!?!? Woah. Imagine telling other people how you died and someone says THIS to you??? My one brother quite literally looked at me like this when that happened: "😧" (my other brother laughed his arse off)

9) And the final message Robotnic gave Stone?? Omg, you can NOT tell me they didn't have SOMETHING going on over there....

10) Finally, the end credit scene... METAL SONIC AND AMY???? ARAGARAGATSGA!!!! Sigh, Why must I wait for the 4th movie to come out... 😔 (PLEASE GIVE REVERSE SONAMY IN THE NEW MOVJE OLEASE PLEASE PLEAS PLEASE PLEA) Also, when Amy revealed herself a little boy (who had a Sonic CAPE mind you) yelled out "IT'S AMY!!!" He might be a bigger fan then me chat... (I forgot my Tails plush 😔)

11) Fun mini fact about me, I'm not much of a Shadow fan (Don't come at me) so I've never been too interested in him. However, the movie got me much more interested in him, and Shadow is now up there with the others. (Also made me feel much more for the poor boy :<)

12) Overall, the movie was literally the best one I have seen in a WHILE. Even though the movie had a lot going on, I still felt immersed in the story the whole way through. Character development was was amazing, Sonic crashing out was SO COOL??? Tails and Knuckles trying to stop him was just as amazing. Tails looking like a scared kid while Sonic and Knuckles were disagreeing tugged SO HARD onto my heart strings💔 I really recommend the movie, it was a great watch. I do however recommend watching the first two movies before watching the third one.

PLEASE DONT COME AT ME!!!

I am simply a teenage girl who's a little obsessed with the STH franchise and movies.

Also, I am not a proper movie critic. Please don't take this stuff too seriously 🙏🙏 Like I said, I'm simply a teenage girl who likes Sonic.

[heroictoonz]

How Sweet That Taste of Remembrance

Ships: Past Lancelot/Sonic, Past Sally/Sonic (mentioned, not focused), Sonadow

Warnings: N/A

AO3 L!nk in the Comments!

Sonic had written the letter more times than he could count. Practicing his words over and over as he tried to find what to say and how to say it. How was he supposed to even write something like this?

How did he tell his husband in the past that he was suddenly shot forward into a future where he and everyone they knew were long gone? How did he explain his eventual decision to stay…

It was a lot. A lot of emotions and nowhere near enough words. Too many words and none of them were what he needed.

It took him months to write the letter. That part didn’t really stress him out. If his plan worked, he could leave it for Lance the very morning the knight would have woken up to an empty bed.

An empty bed… Sonic’s bed had also been empty.

Sonic was never one for serious relationships. He could count on his hand how many he’d had and with those same fingers how long they’d lasted. In a lot of cases it was a mutual understanding when they ended. Sonic was just too much for a lot of people.

Sally had always kept up with him in a way few could. She was a lot like Lance, if he was honest. They both grounded him, kept him from floating off into the clouds, never to be seen again. He saw the same spark in their eyes when Sonic would banter with them, doing or saying something just to get a rise. Even when it worked, both of them were eager to snap back with something just as strong. Worthy opponents in both wit and strength.

Neither of them took it to heart when Sonic ran off for days on end. Neither of them questioned when he came back, needing help brushing the leaves and flowers and twigs from his spines. Both of them set him free knowing he would come back to them. Just as well as both of them would stake his feet to the ground when they knew he needed it.

He always knew he had a type but this was starting to get ridiculous. Especially when he started to recognize his most recent target of affections. Of course, there were a few key points that made him a bit more uncomfortable about it all.

Shadow was also a lot like Lance.

Not just in personality as Sally was but in physicality as well. Of course they weren’t the exact same.

Shadow’s fur was a darker, almost night black where Lance was closer to a smokey grey. Shadow like the dark of his name sake, Lance like the metal of his. Their stripes were similar, both a nice red, though Lance’s were thinner. Their eyes were also both red but Shadow’s were bright and alien while Lance’s were a deep burgundy. And Shadow was alien. Very alien. Not in any way Sonic disliked. There was this otherworldly beauty to the details of Shadow’s features that made him stick out in their own way. His eyes shined brighter than normal. His claws and fingers just a bit longer.

They were similar but not exact. Sometimes Sonic wondered if there was a chance the hedgehog DNA used was from Lance’s bloodline. If that would somehow explain the similarities.

However, even in these thoughts, Sonic concluded that his mourning was still ongoing and any relationship he might want to pursue with Shadow would need to be at a later date. Instead, he kept rewriting his letter.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have the words to say, in fact quite the opposite, he had plenty of words to say. Years worth of words to say. But this letter was too important, his emotions too strong. What was put in there would be the last not just Lance but anyone from that time would probably ever hear of him. It was why he was sitting and giving much longer pause to what was going into it.

He decided even if he wasn’t done with the letter, he would go ahead and get its delivery set up. After all, he didn’t see Silver all that often.

Sonic made sure that the next time Silver was in their neck of the woods that he pull the other to the side and officially ask him for help.

“You said you needed to ask me something?” Silver questioned with a light tilt of his head.

Sonic was leaning against the wall with a nonchalance that was pretty common for him. He gave a nod and a hum. “I, uh, well I need a favor,” he started with.

“A favor?” Silver questioned in return. “What kinda favor?”

Sonic chewed on the inside of his lip in thought. He hadn’t really thought about how he would go about asking without having to explain way more than he wanted to.

“There’s this… letter I need sent out.”

Silver frowned and crossed his arms. “I’m not a post office, Sonic,” he bit.

Sonic groaned and let his head fall against the wall behind him. “It’s a time travel thing, Silver.”

“Oh,” Silver muttered, dropping his arms back to his side. “Wait, you need to time travel mail a letter?”

The speedster sighed and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Somethin’ like that,” he mumbled. “Listen, I really can’t explain it all but… I need you to go into the past and put down a letter for someone. Could you do that for me?”

Silver’s frown kept as he looked at Sonic before looking down at his own feet. His hands found his hips as he gave a soft sound of frustrated consideration. “I dunno… Sending a letter back in time like that could cause major disruptions to the timeline.”

“What if—” Sonic hesitated with his next words. He needed to convince Silver to do this without telling him the whole story. But the first thought he had to do just that he really didn’t like. “What if I let you read the letter before you take it? You can decide if it’s gonna cause a problem or not.”

Silver looked back up at him with a questioning brow. “Why is this so important to you?”

“It… it just is,” Sonic mumbled. “Listen, Silv, I really can’t get into the details you kinda just gotta trust me with this one, okay?”

Silver’s frown didn’t really let up but his shoulders dropped just a hair and his eyes turned back towards the ground. When he finally did look back up at Sonic, it was with a drawn-out sigh. “I can read it first?”

Sonic nodded.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

***

Sonic had forgotten about the letter.

‘Forgotten’ was a strong word. More like put it on the back burner. Every word he wrote felt like not enough and every paragraph was too much. He wasn’t really sure what to do. He decided that continuously stressing over it wasn’t gonna help either way. Silver had already agreed to take the letter when it was done and it could be dropped off the very morning Sonic disappeared so there wasn’t really that much of a time crunch. It just had to happen… eventually.

Eventually didn’t come as life continued to pass by. It was actually a while before Sonic even looked at the letter again. By then he had actually started dating Shadow.

They’d finally stopped dancing around each other and actually talked about their feelings. Since then things had been great. There wasn’t much of a honeymoon phase for them; they just weren’t that kinda people. They were happy to just keep being as they always were just with some added romance in the mix.

However, it was only a little under a year into their relationship before their first real hitch. Shadow learned about Lance.

Sonic had gotten sick right after the new year and was very lucky to have a loving and attentive boyfriend during the time. However, the fever that had plagued him caused his mind to cloud and any thought almost completely lost to static.

When Shadow had come up to him during one of these moments, in his lack of clarity, Sonic had for some reason confused him for Lance. Even to the point of calling him the wrong name.

He’d tried to wave it off as being delusional from his fever, but even he could tell that his lie was only making Shadow more anxious. The anxiety had clearly hit its peak when Shadow cornered him, trying to force him into telling the truth of the mysterious ‘Lance’.

But Sonic couldn’t say. He couldn’t find the words or even the heart to try and tell the story again. The fear of not being believed returned to him. The feelings he had let lie in the past coming back to haunt him. It was all just too much.

Sonic snapped at Shadow before running off.

That was when he picked the letter back up. He remembered having left it in his junk of a house and dug it out. He made his way off with it to Solaria. Somewhere far off that hopefully Shadow or anyone else wouldn’t think to look for him.

He sat with the letter under a tree that had just begun to start budding again in the early year. He read over what he had last written with a sigh. He remembered why he’d stopped writing it for a bit. The words had just stopped working properly. The letter was like alphabet soup to his addled mind. He doubted he would actually be able to work on it in such a state.

Sonic put it to the side and laid back against the grass. He thought about Lance and the kingdom. About all his friends he’d made and then had to leave behind. He wondered how their lives ended up. He knew the fate of the Grand Kingdom, lost to war and to time after the peak of his rule. There was nothing left but ruins.

The very ruins that when Sonic found himself back in his own time he ran to and dug through. He hardly even knew what he was looking for at the time. Maybe Caliburn? Some evidence of the knights? Maybe even something to prove that it hadn’t all been some wild dream the whole time…

He knew it couldn’t have been a dream. No matter how long he was left questioning it, there was just no way it could have been a dream. There was no way that whole part of his life he’d lived was just a figment of his imagination.

He picked the note up again and looked over it.

Maybe it was time to tell someone.

He thought about if Shadow would even believe him or not, but in all truth, he wasn’t sure it mattered anymore. If anyone would understand the emotional impact of losing a home and a family so suddenly, it was Shadow. Maybe he wouldn’t believe him, but Sonic trusted Shadow to not make fun of him or try to call him a liar.

There was no doubt in Sonic’s mind that if he told Shadow the truth that the other would listen. Maybe that was all that really mattered. Not someone to believe him, but for someone to genuinely listen to him.

So Sonic found Shadow.

He wasn’t expecting to find him at that old trailer. Shadow must have been looking for him anywhere he could think, even though Sonic himself hadn’t been to his and Tails’ old childhood squat in many years.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter as he ran up to face Shadow.

The conversation had gone well. Sonic didn’t explain nearly as much as he was planning to, the words just kept getting stuck somewhere inside him, but he explained enough to ease Shadow’s fears and to feel more at ease in himself as well.

And Shadow had believed him. Honestly and truly believed him. It was better than he had hoped by far. When they went home Sonic found a comfortable spot snuggled up against Shadow on his couch to calm down from the rush of emotions. He also thought about the letter.

After he’d left Shadow’s house Sonic pulled out the letter once more. He reread what he had and then grabbed a fresh paper and started again. Finally, he finished the letter. With a clear mind and a fresh heart he wrote down what would be the last words he would give to that part of his life.

***

When Sonic handed Silver the letter the other gave a raised eye ridge. “What’s this?” he asked.

“That letter I need you to deliver, remember?”

Recognition flashed on Silver’s face. “That was so long ago,” he sighed. “I’d forgotten…” He looked down at the letter and back at Sonic. There was clear hesitation in his expression.

Sonic waved a hand at him. “Go on,” he sighed. “Read it. Make sure it’s up to your time traveler standards.”

The look of hesitation didn’t leave but Silver flipped open the letter. His face changed the second his eyes landed on the page. He looked back up at Sonic but the blue hedgehog was keeping his own eyes to the side. Silver didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued to read.

After a moment he closed it again and sighed. “There’s nothing about the future in this, at least nothing that could cause a problem,” he finally said.

Sonic looked up at him. “So you’ll send it?”

Silver frowned but gave a nod. “I’ll need the exact date and place but… yeah. I can send it. It’s just… what is this all about, Sonic?”

Sonic met his eyes. He saw so many emotions he wasn’t even sure what to make of half of them. He ran a hand over the back of his neck before giving Silver a tired smile. “I’ll tell ya over a chili dog someday. Just not today, okay?”

That gave Silver pause but he nodded all the same.

***

Lancelot woke up to the lack of soft blue fur under his arm. It wasn’t that uncommon that Sonic would rise before him. Probably out with Gawain or Percival for a morning spar. Or even with the blacksmith just “hanging out” as he’d described it.

He raised from their bed and stretched out his arms, throwing a hand through his quills with a sigh. He’d gotten up to reach for his armor and start his day, but was quick to notice a folded paper with his name scrawled on it resting just atop the desk.

He walked to it and flipped it open to read.

My dearest Lancelot,

I know this letter will find you more confused than anything else, and I’m sorry for that. I guess even Merlina’s spells have a time limit on them. I found a way to get this letter to you as soon as possible. I wanted you to know that I’m safe and alive, but that I am gone.

I found myself waking up back in my own time, the life I held before I found myself in your hands. I do not believe there is any real way for me to come back to you without knowing the sort of magic Merlina practiced. And even if there was, it is with a heavy heart that I admit I have decided it’s best I stay here. It hurts to leave you, but The Grand Kingdom was not my time or my home. It needed me and I took care of it in those moments, but my home needs me too. The people and planet I left behind have always leaned on me and I can’t abandon them.

Leaving the kingdom without a king will have repercussions, I know. But I also know that it’s nothing you and the others can’t handle. I trust you all to find the right person to lead you and take the kingdom into prosperity. The history books tell of many great years for the kingdom to come and I know you will all prosper without me.

Tell the others of this letter. Tell them that I am safe and that their memories will be with me forever. Tell them that I wish them all the best and that the years our lives crossed paths were just as beautiful and important to me as any other.

The same goes to you.

Lancelot, my knight, you will stay close to my heart for the rest of my days. I don’t know what comes after in this life, but if you see me, know that you will always be a part of me. No matter who I meet and who I lay with in the future, I will always love you now as I did then. And please, do the same. Remember me, but do not let my loss end you. Keep moving forward, my love. Continue to live and to learn and thrive in your life and your time.

With Love,

Sonic

Lancelot held the letter to his chest and fell to his knees in tears.

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 2

Notes: Had to write Chapter 2 because I don’t have writer’s block and you never know when that’ll hit! Getting it out while I can. So expect updates pretty consistently the next day or so. Then it may change to weekly. We’ll see. I’m not great at planning ashdjfkfoekdl. Anyway. This chapter is fun!

Summary: Shadow wakes up… again?? And this time he’s wanting Sonic?? WhAt Is HaPpEnInG?!

Chapter Select: Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Support my Ao3!

Start:

Shadow woke with a jolt.

Ruby eyes were wide and aware, flickering about with an almost wild intent as he breathes heavily. A single word gasping from his lips—

“Sonic!”

But his panic quickly takes a turn to a more lost mentality, confusion leaking into worried eyes as he takes in his environment..

He’s.. in a medical room of some sort. Which is actually quite triggering for him to just wake up in without explanation, but he tries to overlook that for now. He has bigger worries to address.

Is he in a hospital?? No-… no, this doesn’t look the same as a hospital room. Nor does it have the same sterile yet musty smell to it hospitals tend to.

His eyes quickly find a camera in the upper, left corner of the room. He’s being watched.

Looking down at himself, he has a bandage wrapped around his torso.

Right. He had been hit..

But it should be worse than this.. right??

He frowns a bit at his state, the adrenaline slowly seeping out of him now as he’s filled with exhaustion. Tired. He’s so very tired.

He groans a bit and raises a hand to his head, shaking it a bit before moving to try and push himself off the medical bed, “I gotta get out of here..”

Moving to scoot a foot off the bed and try to stand, a nurse enters the room and is quickly aware he’s awake now.

The blonde woman’s brown eyes grow wide, quickly shifting to try and halt him but stopping herself before she actually touches him.

“Woah! Easy, Shadow, you don’t need to be standing right now—“

“W—Where am I???” Shadow asks, pausing only a moment at how wobbly his legs feel before steadying himself a bit and looking at her more clearly.

She adjusts her glasses, her hair tied into a lose bun and her neat, white coat open to show her stethoscope, “You’re at GUN HQ. We found you in the tree line outside the objective and brought you here. You were pretty out of it, wouldn’t wake up—“

“GUN HQ???” Shadow questions with a furrow of his brow. Then his face grows more suspicious, more on-guard, “Why have you brought me here?? Where’s my team??”

The woman blinks, “Uhh… your-.. team? Oh! Um— Rouge is currently in a debriefing with Commander Tower. Omega is being polished and repaired after his last deployment—“

“Ome— what??? Who— no, not them,” Shadow groans in frustration, his patience dwindling but a sharp pain in his head stops him from saying much else. He grunts and holds his head again, stumbling back to sit on the bed as he tries to stop the growing migraine.

“Agent Shadow, you need to rest. Your chaos readings have been off the charts and varying constantly. Your body seems to have taken quite the hit from performing artificial chaos control,” she’s now gently pushing him to lay back down, Shadow reluctantly moving as she prompts since he feels like he could black out again any second. “I’ll inform Agent Rouge you’re awake, and she’ll be here soon.

“Agent Shadow..?” Shadow groans with his eyes squinting open, his brows furrowed questioningly at the woman, “I-… thank you, but I need to talk to Sonic.. is he here too??”

The woman blinks, her own expression growing perplexed, “I-.. no, I don’t believe so. He generally tries to avoid GUN..”

“Does he know I’m here??” Shadow asks with a knit in his brow.

“I assume so, yes.”

“Then he’ll come..,” Shadow says simply as if it’s just a fact.

The woman quirks a brow at him, looking down at her clipboard in hand before back to him, “…Right. I’ll update Rouge on your status and be back with some food for you soon.”

Shadow watches the nurse leave the room, frowning a bit as he hears her mutter something along the lines of getting Shadow ‘a head CT’ to a male nurse outside the room.

He sighs and leans his head back into the pillow, eyes shutting again with knitted brows at the ache in his head.

Why was he at GUN??? Where was Sonic?? Had the mission ended with them being split up?? It had to have, or Sonic would be here. He certainly wouldn’t let Shadow be here at GUN alone like this..

It was difficult not to panic. Not to lose his grip and snap at people. But this wasn’t their fault. That poor nurse didn’t know what GUN had done to him. She hadn’t participated in any of Project Shadow or the aftermath of it. She was simply doing her job.

He could really go for a drink of water..

The door opens again, Shadow’s eyes opening to look and see Rouge the Bat quickly approaching with a smirk, though her gaze seemed worried.

Why was she so worried???

“Hey Gramps, you decide to wake up from your nap??” she teased, moving to perch herself on the chair next to his bed.

Shadow just looks at her with a quirk of his brow before shrugging and, “I suppose..”

“You took a pretty nasty hit from what I saw,” she says, nodding her head towards his bandaged torso, “You hurtin’?”

He pauses to address himself a moment, moving a hand to rest on his chest over the bandages and moving ever so slightly before grunting a quiet, “A bit.. nothing I can’t handle.”

“Yeah, yeah, Ultimate Lifeform and what not,” she winks. Shadow looks at her with slight offense but decides to let it go..

“…Why are you here??”

Rouge pauses at that, raising a brow at him and tilting her head with a little chuckle, “To.. check on my friend?”

“We’re not friends..,” Shadow mutters, but there’s not mirth behind it. Just honest evaluation. They’re not close.

Rouge blinks. “…Well whatever you wanna refer to us as, Grumps, I’m the closest thing you’ve got to an emergency contact, so I have to be here regardless.”

Shadow frowns at her a bit and looks perplexed, “You’re my emergency contact???”

“Well duh,” Rouge huffs as if she’s now growing a bit impatient with Shadow’s obliviousness, “Did you hit your head?? They didn’t inform me of any concussions—“

“Why are you my emergency contact??? Why not Sonic??” Shadow asks with a little knit in his brow.

“…Sonic?? As in.. Big Blue??” Rouge asks with a sarcastic drawl, an amused huff coming from her, “Oh-… you’re joking.”

“Do I look amused??” Shadow asks with a tilt of his head.

Rouge leans back in her chair, taking a moment to ponder Shadow. Question him mentally with her gaze. She keeps a calm and collected look.. but Shadow sees the worry in her gaze even if she tries to hide it.

He doesn’t understand why she’s caring so much about him??

“…Last I saw Sonic, he was pretty beat from his trip to Starfall Islands,” she says with a shrug, “He’s been taking it easy. With Eggman being quiet as of late and his friends gone off on their own, he’s got a lot of free time.”

Shadow stares at Rouge like she has two heads.

“…Huh??”

Rouge groans a bit, rolling her eyes as she leans forward in her chair again to rest her elbows on the side of his bed, “Why do you wanna know about Sonic?? Was he there?? Did you see him on your assignment?? Is there something more going on here you haven’t told me??”

Shadow’s brows knit at that, frowning at the bat with even more confusion, “I—what?? No?? I-..my head hurts..” he groans and moves his head into his hands again, squeezing it between his palms as if that’ll somehow stop the throbbing.

Rouge frowns at this, sighing and standing from her chair as she moves her own hand to gently press to his forehead. “Don’t strain yourself too much..,” she leans down and presses a kiss to the top of his head which definitely throws Shadow off, but he ignores it. “I’m gonna go talk to the doctor and see about getting your head looked at.. don’t pout while I’m gone.”

She smirks and winks at him before turning to waltz right out of the room.

He watches her go, looking very confused and unsettled.

He looks back to the camera in the corner.

Then down to his bandages.

Then he looks up at the ceiling and sighs heavy.

He wishes Sonic would hurry up and get here..

[wildxenomorph]

Ok so I saw sonic the hedgehog 3 last night and I want spill my thoughts

SPOILERS BELOW

I really liked that Shadow was explicitly described and portrayed as a kid—he’s Sonic’s age (minus the 50 years in stasis, where he clearly didn’t age physically or mentally)… he was manipulated by Peepaw Robotnik, he was a hurt child that was used by the govt and later someone he considered something akin to family………

Anyway that scene of sonic and shadow sitting on the moon… ahh damn it makes me tear up to think about

Also I like that sonic isn’t perfect—I like that he decides he needs the use the master emerald, he goes back on his promise with knuckles and tails and is ready to actively fight his friends to get to it, both to stop the evildoers and to get revenge for his/their father… he leaves his team after promising they would always work together, and he realizes that what he’s doing is wrong, realized that killing shadow wouldn’t make Tom better, it wouldn’t reverse what happened, and it would only make him regret taking a life

And seeing that compassion, that ability to make a difficult choice, even in emotional turmoil, has such a profound effect on shadow, because suddenly he’s seeing someone going through something similar to him, who begins responding like him before… not. He sees an option, a path, that previously wasn’t even considered—forgiveness, moving on… etc

I also like that knuckles calls sonic out when they square up over the master emerald. He explicitly tells Sonic that he’s in no mental state to make such a drastic decision, but he trusts Sonic enough that he lets him get the emerald anyway, and despite not agreeing with his choice he still turns up with tails to help out at the end.

I really hope that shadow is not just dead now, though, because clearly they plan to continue this film series (metal Sonic and Amy seem to be coming next, based on the after credits scene)… I’d like to see shadow pulled into Sonic’s funky little family with two parent humans, a dog, and a handful of mutant alien animals…

Let shadow learn how to have a family again, to move on, to honor and remember Maria but live a fulfilling life because it would’ve made her happy to see him happy

Also let him get some mfing therapy

Oh, also, I really appreciate that they used the super shadow coloring from sonic adventure 2, where shadow is more of a silver-gold rather than the bright yellow-gold of sonic (shadow’s coloring is way more like Sonic’s in the shadow the hedgehog game, and I kind of hate it)

Really my only complaint: about the film, besides them not hinting at or showing shadow surviving (please don’t kill my blorbo) {Edit; I have since seen a second end credit scene that I missed—thank you to everyone for sharing!! My boy lives!!!), is the fact that Rouge is just not around… which like, she absolutely wasn’t necessary, plenty of characters are/were omitted but I feel like with the pattern of introducing characters in pairs (Tails and Knuckles in 2, Metal Sonic and Amy in presumably 4), it’s weird that Shadow didn’t have some other character introduced in the same movie… Rouge could have helped with the infiltration of G.U.N., for example… but again she’s not necessary and it doesn’t really take away from the movie.

Final complaint is the G.U.N. lady, her name escapes me… the one who acted as essentially a secondary antagonist and was trying to secure the weapon keys. Tom gets the key from her by impersonating the other G.U.N. guy who died, and that’s the last we see of her!! Feels unresolved imo (though I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her again in 4, perhaps accusing Sonic of crimes committed by metal, maybe leading to a similar city escape-framed by lookalike situation that happens in adventure 2 with Sonic and shadow)…

Oh and last thing: I do think the movie spent a bit too much time on the Robotnik’s… it could’ve used a bit more shadow screen time imo…

And those are my unorganized thoughts fkejjdjndidkejs fun movie def recommend watching it

[moderator-monnie]

Aftermath And Familiarity. (part 1)

Curse Of The Hedgehog/Coth Au Co Owned With @sonicexelle-junkary

Knuckles was on Angel Island currently just leaning against one of the pillers, relaxing after everything that has happened recently, but his relaxation wouldn't be able to last for long because soon his sunlight was blocked by a looming shadow covering him and a large area around him.

Knuckles sighed heavily before slowly opening his eyes to see Zepperaith's head above him staring down. The echidna warrior felt a little tense, considering this 'god' was the reason for all recent events, but even Knuckles could tell by now when someone was remorseful about their actions and he knew the god was in fact genuinely sorry, so he begrudgingly decided to give the dreamer a chance.

"What do you want, Dreamer?"

Zepperaith continued to stare for a few moments, getting lost in his thoughts and knuckles genuine beauty; it made him a tad flustered before he decided to sit down next to the emerald and slowly rubbed at his own cheek. He took a deep breath and then proceeded to reply to the Echidna and start speaking.

"My apology, my fair warrior. I simply lost myself for a few seconds looking at you once more; your so much like someone I once knew... In more ways than you might know, but even despite that, I know you aren't him. He's gone, and I've fully accepted that finally, honestly, I think I can appreciate you for just being you. Because if I am being honest, you are a fine man yourself."

Knuckles blushed a little and grumbled, crossing his arms as he sat up and looked away from the god. He was not used to anyone talking to him like this, besides Sonic, but that was just Sonic being annoying; it didn't mean anything; it couldn't, right? Knuckles was always confused about his feelings towards Sonic, but right now that didn't matter.

He looked thoughtful for a moment to soak in the Dreamers words, and soon it reminded him of something he wanted to ask, so he took a deep breath and sighed.

"I am aware of some new things from my tribe thanks to you, which I'm thankful for. But I don't know much about Monolith; I think you said his name was; apparently we're related according to you? like a descendent so like. Can you maybe tell me about him?"

Zepperaith took a deep pause before slowly staring up at the sky and watching the sun's careful movements. He could never stay for too long in the waking world without a host but the warrior; no Knuckles deserved to know all about Monolith and so much more, so he shrank down his physical form to still being taller than Knuckles but at a more manageable size, soon leaning against the nearby pillar close to Knuckles one. 

"Okay, where do you want me to start?"

Knuckles looked a tad surprised to see him suddenly change size like that, but honestly, it did make talking to the god far easier; he took just a moment to think before staring at Angel Island and around its beauty, a sight he never got sick of.

"I want you to start at the beginning, please."

Zepperaith took a moment to look at his knuckles before simply nodding his head, and he took a deep breath. 

"Okay, I can do that; I'll get through as much as I can."

The Dreamer then began to start right at the beginning of how he met Monolith and his tribe.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 61: What I'm Here For

''I don't care what you're thinking as you turn to me. 'Cause what I have in my two hands is enough to set me free (set me free). I could fight the feeling to resist it over time. But when it's just too much to take, you sneak up from behind. Is it me, you say, you're looking for? Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for)!''

– What I'm Made Of (Shadow Remix) by Sonic Heroes (Zarkator Cover, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Theme of Neo Metal Sonic)

xXxXxXx

Sonic took a deep breath, smiling contently as he stretched on the tree branch he was lying on and feeling the warm rays of the sun warming his body in patches as the tree crown partially obscured the light. He was in Heizeru Park, him and his friends having returned home a couple of days ago, and he had to admit that, while their little adventure in the Surya Empire was quite exciting, he was genuinely happy to be back in Starpoint Area, and more importantly, on solid land. Despite the fatigue he felt due to the jet lag, he immediately ran off the moment they landed at the airport near Neos City, rushing into freedom. It appeared that none of his teammates minded it, as they were also tired and happy to be back home, and when Sonic crashed on the couch again, he woke up the next day in his bedroom, realizing Lucas carried him over when he was completely knocked out.

The next day, they met up with Omega, who bitterly recounted how nothing had happened in the past few days and got really annoyed when he talked about Metal Sonic rejecting a battle with him. Sonic had to admit that it was a bit strange to see the normally headstrong robot go through such a range of emotions, but considering how he was disappointed that he couldn't get to destroy any Eggman robots – even more when Silver innocently mentioned they came across robots during their adventure – it wasn't really surprising. At least Touka managed to comfort him by patting him on the back in a compassionate manner and promising they'll call him immediately if Eggman decided to attack them. Her promise did manage to cheer him up.

Nevertheless, it appeared that Eggman, or Metal Sonic and Ferra for that matter, have taken note of Team Neos' return, as no attack had happened, which was fine with the rest of the team. They just wanted to have a day off when they could relax. Sonic had the same mindset, except the time he needed to relax was much shorter, so he bounced back almost immediately and was ready for another adventure. However, it appeared that none of his friends could match his energy, let alone were ready to get back into action and preferred to just have a quiet day.

Well, save for one.

''I wonder why Metal Sonic was so insistent on fighting me,'' Sonic said, seemingly talking to no one.

''I could think of a few reasons, but considering how Metal Sonic views you, none of them are particularly flattering,'' Shadow responded in a calm and matter-of-fact, but slightly deadpan tone, causing Sonic to snort in amusement, well aware what he meant. He glanced below, taking note of Shadow sitting below the branch Sonic was lying on, and reading a novel he had downloaded on his AR Visor while Sonic was taking a nap. Sonic knew that, to anyone alse, Shadow sounded rather contemptous, if not outright rude, but to him, this was just another snarky remark typical for his rival.

After all, they were still navigating through their new dynamic, trying to figure out how to interact with each other. They actually had one of their usual battles just earlier, albeit with an added condition. It wasn't really a rule they had set up, but more of a silent agreement that happened naturally when during the battle, one of them would win by pinning the other down and then promptly kiss the loser. The first time it happened, both were caught a little off guard, as they were still feeling a strong surge of adrenaline, as well as affection for each other, but one glance was enough for them to agree that this was something they both wanted, as it made things even more exciting for both.

That, and Sonic loved seeing the normally guarded and careful Shadow acting more on impulse.

Sonic hummed for a moment, reminding himself that being openly affectionate, especially in a romantic sense, was still new to both of them, and they exploring the situation within a space they were comfortable with. He had to admit that it also felt a little ironic, maybe even comical, that even though they knew exactly how they felt about each other, they would at times act as if they had no clue why they had the sudden urge to just kiss. This would lead to them trying to suppress whatever they felt in the moment and act like nothing happened. It couldn't be helped, but that didn't prevent the loser of the battle from feeling annoyed, especially when he was in mood for some affection while his partner was flustered by the whole thing.

Rest assured, Sonic was already silently plotting his revenge on Shadow denying him that affection, especially after seeing his rival staring at him with a smug grin after pinning him down on the ground.

''Well, my assumption is that Metal just wants to have another go at proving himself to be the real Sonic,'' Sonic replied, crossing his arms behind his back and leaning against the tree. ''That won't work, because we all know there is only one Sonic in existence.''

''I agree. After all, one Faker is already enough for me to deal with,'' Shadow replied in a deadpan tone, but the corners of his lips curved slightly upwards. Sonic rose an eyebrow, Shadow's comment leaving him wondering. Then, he smirked.

''Right, which is why you chose me as your boyfriend,'' Sonic said in a snarky tone, leaping off the branch and leaning against the tree, his arms folded as he gave Shadow a smug look. ''After all, there is no one who could replicate my unique and irresistible charm and handsome looks.''

Shadow rolled his eyes, trying to morph the earlier smirk into a frown. He was well aware where this was going as he closed the holographic screen and stood up, facing Sonic. He had to admit that he was getting a little bored and Sonic was clearly up for another challenge, so he was fine with engaging in some pre-battle banter.

''Don't get too arrogant, Hedgehog, else-''

Before Shadow could even finish his sentence, he was caught off guard by Sonic as the cupped his muzzle and pulled him into a warm and longing kiss. He could feel fluttering in his chest, which turned into a flaring sensation when Shadow returned the kiss, even pulling him closer by wrapping his arm around Sonic's waist. Sonic couldn't help but chuckle softly when he saw Shadow's expression after they broke off the kiss. His tan muzzle was tinted red, and it was clear that he was flustered by this, but at the same time, he managed to keep this serious and unamused look on his expression, growing more and more irritated when Sonic laughed louder and louder.

''Are you serious?!'' Shadow suddenly shouted at him angrily, but that didn't stop Sonic's heartful laughter. The azure hedgehog was well aware that Shadow was just angry because he was caught off guard like this. Shadow then scoffed, folding his arms, trying to regain his composture. Sonic's laughter finally died down and he grinned.

''Not so smug now, are we?'' Sonic replied, with Shadow understanding why Sonic did this, and sighed in defeat.

''I suppose you're satisfied now,'' Shadow responded. Sonic gave him a simple and innocent smile.

''You know, I'm not the only charming and irresistible and handsome hedgehog here, so I just had to find a way to make that clear,'' Sonic told him in a sincere tone.

He could see Shadow's eyes widen slightly, and a tint of red spread across his tan muzzle once again, his expression softening and a shy smile forming on his lips. Sonic considered this to be a victory, feeling quite proud of himself to be one of the handful people capable of making Shadow smile sincerely. He also had to admit that he absolutely adored the way Shadow looked at him, well aware that those kinds of gazes were reserved only for him and he cherished them dearly.

''You are worth all of the trouble, regardless of how difficult things get,'' Shadow told him.

Sonic beamed at him, a sense of joy swelling in his chest and he leaned closer, the familiar scent of lavender filling the air as he intertwined his fingers with Shadow's… only for their ears to twitch when they heard people cry for help, causing both of them to snap out of their current state.

''I guess this is what you call 'impeccable timing','' Sonic said in a slightly dry tone, the sense of joy he felt earlier vanishing instantly. However, he quickly bounced back to his usual chipper mood, and winked at Shadow. ''Wanna bet that Eggman is causing trouble again?''

''That is the most logical answer in this situation,'' Shadow replied, with the two immediately rushing towards where they heard the cries for help.

They ended up on the other side of Heizeru Park, where they saw people running away from Egg Pawns. Sonic smirked, quickly rushing towards them and crushing an Egg Pawn with his spin attack, while Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at another. Sonic then followed his attack by a spin-dashing right into the Egg Pawn that sneaked up behind Shadow.

''Is it just me, or is trashing those Badniks getting a bit too easy?'' Sonic said, ignorant to the fact that an Egg Pawn was creeping up on him. However, Shadow did, spin-dashing into the Egg Pawn and ripping the cords out for good measure. Shadow frowned, staring back at Sonic.

''You were saying?'' Shadow asked in a deadpan tone. Sonic just gave him a sheepish look, with the two quickly finishing off the rest of the Egg Pawns. They then looked around, with this area of the park being mostly empty due to everyone running off the moment they saw the Badniks, leaving both of them with an eerie feeling.

''Say, isn't this Eggman's cue to appear and throw an even bigger robot at us?'' Sonic asked, staring at the remnants of the Egg Pawns.

''I agree. The Doctor would've done much more than this if he actually wanted to do some damage,'' Shadow replied. Sonic hummed in thought.

''Maybe this was supposed to be our 'Welcome Home Committe','' Sonic suggested, grinning, while Shadow rose an eyebrow as the azure hedgehog crossed his arms behind his head. ''From what we know about Omega's encounter with Metal Sonic and Ferra, the two probably told Eggman that we were gone, and now he's aware that we're back.''

''If that's the Doctor's idea of welcoming us back, then we should remain alert,'' Shadow replied, folding his arms across his chest, his expression now serious. Sonic shrugged.

''Well, it's Eggman. I don't think he'll do something without broadcasting it all over city, so we will be alerted one way or another.'' Sonic gave Shadow a carefree look.

''This wasn't what I… Never mind,'' Shadow sighed, shaking his head and realizing that he shouldn't argue with Sonic over this, as he knew better, and decided to act instead. ''Do you want to sweep the city for any Badnik activity?''

Sonic nodded confidently. ''Of course I want to. If we come across any, we'll keep score of who destroys more.''

With that said, both rushed off, not even noticing Ferra gazing at them from a distance.

xXx

''Thank you for helping us out,'' Vector said as he, Espio and Charmy entered the Taylor Workshop, with Vector carrying a bag.

''No problem,'' Tails replied, welcoming them inside the workshop. ''You know that you can always ask us for help.''

''Right, so what we can do for you? You told us that you have been investigating something,'' Warren said.

''Yeah,'' Vector replied, him and Espio sitting down on the couch, while Charmy decided to buzz around, looking at Tails' and Warren's inventions. ''We had to investigate several disappearances of ARNavs, which led us to some kind of underground fighting ring.''

''What?!'' Tails and Warren were stunned by this revelation.

''The kidnapped ARNavs have been put into a battle against robots which were built to look more like a chimera than anything we have seen,'' Espio added in clarification. Vector then patted the bag he had brought along.

''We managed to scrap the robots, and when we asked the guy where he even got the robots, he told us he was supplied by someone named Mr. Grip. We looked into him, but-'' Vector was suddenly cut off by Charmy who flew right between him and Tails and Warren.

''He doesn't exist! It's a fake name!'' Charmy said. ''That's why we brought all the robot parts to you!''

''I see. You want us to identify where those robot parts came from,'' Tails said.

''If you can. The trail on the supplier went cold, so this is all that we have,'' Vector replied, with Tails pointing to the nearby work table.

''Put it over there,'' he said, reaching for the bag after Vector put it on the table, him and Warren examining each piece carefully. Both of them furrowed a brow after placing all the parts on the table and sorting them out, with the detectives observing the two.

''Have you found something?'' Espio asked curiously.

''Well, we would need a bit more time, but these parts look really familiar,'' Warren replied, picking up a piece, then pointed at a CPU. ''This is actually a CPU used by Eggman for his Badniks. I've seen this type in the Egg Pawns.''

''So, Eggman is Mr. Grip?'' Charmy asked, completely shocked by this reveal.

''I have my doubts about this,'' Vector suddenly said. ''Why would Eggman supply some random criminal with his own technology? That doesn't sound like him.''

''I agree, especially when you consider that these parts belonged to the Buddy Bots the Tamago Corporation had created a while ago,'' Tails said, drawing everyone's attention. He then pointed at one pile. ''In fact, a lot of these parts seem to have damage that was fixed hastily.'' He frowned. ''It's pretty shoddy work.''

''In other words, those parts aren't new?'' Espio asked, with Tails shaking his head. Vector hummed in thought.

''In conclusion, Eggman isn't supplying any of his own tech to outsiders, but instead, someone is stealing scrapped Badnik parts and selling them to others. Not only that, but they also made the effort to steal Tamago Corporation tech as well,'' Vector said.

''Didn't the Tamago Corporation clean up and recalled all of the Buddy Bots?'' Espio asked.

''They did, but it is possible that they missed some of them. The Buddy Bots were scattered all over Neos City,'' Vector pointed out.

''Vector is right,'' Tails said, adding, ''And that's not even counting the Buddy Bots we personally destroyed. Anyone could've picked them up and taken them away.''

''I suppose we would go and ask at the Tamago Corporation to see whether they have any records of stolen Buddy Bots,'' Espio suggested.

''That sounds like a good plan!'' Charmy chimed in.

''There is something that bothers me,''  Vector suddenly said, surprising everyone. ''Why would they just steal robots from Eggman and the Tamago Corporation? I assume there are other companies who manufucture robots.''

''Maybe it's because it's easy to steal from Eggman, since he always leaves his Badniks lying around?'' Charmy suggested.

''I think there is another reason for why they would specifically steal those from Eggman and the Tamago Corporation,'' Warren said, drawing their attention. ''Both of them are known to produce robots of the highest quality. The Tamago Corporation has, in fact, a monopoly on this, both hardware and software that is being used by almost everyone. As for Eggman, we already know that, while we are more than able to trash his robots, if someone else confronted them, they would have a lot of difficulty.'' He then turned to the patched remains of the Badnik. ''Even if the repairs were shoddy, you can tell that the robot was made by someone who values good quality and in better hands, it would've been restored to its original form.'' Warren then noticed the moment of silence, realizing everyone as staring at him and gave the group a confused look. ''What's wrong?''

''You sounded like you're praising Eggman for his work,'' Vector pointed out. Warren gave them a sheepish look.

''Well, he may be our enemy, but that doesn't mean that I cannot appreciate his work in the robotics industry,'' Warren replied, scratching the back of his head. ''My grandfather had told me that he had rivals in his field of work, and while some didn't hide their own jealousy of his work, he still would praise them for their accomplishments.'' His expression then changed to a confident one, and he fist-pumped. ''After all, an engineer should take pride in their creations and learn from and appreciate the creations of others. The only reason society has advanced so far is because we built on the creations of our predecessors.''

He then paused, glancing around and noticing the stunned look everyone gave him, only to feel a little embarrassed, realizing he got carried away by his speech. Tails then gave him a wide smile.

''I agree,'' he said, with Warren just smiling in response.

xXx

Silver was sitting on a bench at the botanical garden, reading the message he had gotten from Blaze, feeling quite happy about it, his heart warm. They had agreed to remain in contact and message regularly about anything that happened in their lives, especially since both Blaze and Sana wanted to get more involved, even if they lived in a different country and had their own duties to attend to.

''Anything new?'' Makoto asked, approaching Silver.

''Blaze said that they found another AR Field and plan on investigating it. She believes it might be another Sol Emerald,'' Silver replied.

''Sounds to me like they're going to have another adventure,'' Makoto said, humming in thought. ''I wonder why the Sol Emeralds actually remained in comparison to the Chaos Emeralds.''

''I don't know, and neither does Blaze, but she told me that she feels as if she'd find the answer if she gathers all of them,'' Silver replied, closing the holographic screen and getting on his feet. He gave Makoto a confident look. ''While she is busy with the Sol Emeralds, I will keep my part of the promise and protect the future from any kind of danger.''

Makoto was about to respond, when suddenly, both of them heard people shouting. They quickly ran towards the source of the noise, only to spot Egg Pawns marching towards the main building. Upon seeing this, Silver gave Makoto an anxious look. ''I hope I didn't just jinx us.''

''Don't worry. At this point, we should just get used to Dr. Eggman attacking us for whatever reason,'' Makoto assured them. Silver nodded, with both rushing towards the Egg Pawns, which suddenly found themselves lifted and crushed by a wave of cyan energy. It was a small group, but Makoto did scan around for any stragglers, only to spot Ferra standing nearby, staring at them. He had no idea why, but he felt a sudden chill due to just how intense her gaze was. Despite being well aware that Metal Sonic was also probably nearby, he still decided to confront her.

''Ferra, why are you attacking us?'' Makoto asked, stepping towards her. Ferra seemingly ignored the question, as well as the trashed Egg Pawns, and walked up to them instead, with Makoto and Silver giving her a suspicious look.

''It was rude of you and your friends to leave without telling me anything,'' Ferra told him, folding her arms as she stood before the two. Makoto and Silver gave her confused looks.

''No offense, but why should we tell you anything about where we're going?'' Makoto asked. Ferra tilted her head.

''It would be a courtesy, but I suppose this is something I should've expected from Sonic,'' Ferra said, turning to Silver and suddenly grabbing his arm, leaving both Makoto and Silver stunned. She smirked. ''Nevertheless, I can still take what I want with no resistance.''

''Let go!'' Silver shouted, ripping his arm out of Ferra's grip. He felt chills flowing down his spine when he saw her ominous gaze. She looked as if she had just accomplished something. Ferra then turned on her heel and walked away.

''Hey, where are you going?'' Makoto shouted after her, but she ignored the two. Makoto turned to Silver, who placed his hand on his other arm, suddenly feeling cold. ''Silver, are you okay?''

''I-I don't know. This was really weird,'' Silver replied, his voice a mix of shock and confusion. He felt as if someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.

xXx

''This place definitely doesn't look like a water deity rampaged through it… Oh, hey, Big!'' Minami lifted her hand to wave at the purple cat and his frog companion, who was sitting on the bank of Cosmo River, fishing as usual. Big waved back at Minami and Amy, who were accompanied by Cream and Cheese, with Cream holding a small flower crown.

The four had decided to visit the area that had been destroyed by Perfect Chaos, as per Cream's request. She had talked about how it was unfair that Gamma was destroyed by Perfect Chaos and how she wanted to thank him properly for the sacrifice, so she made a flower crown and asked Amy and Minami to accompany her and Cheese to the area. The group noted how, while the streets have been cleaned from the debris, there were still many destroyed buildings and it would take a while before they could complete any repairs. The group then joined Big and Froggy at the riverbank, staring into the water.

''Even though I know that this wasn't where Mr. Gamma sacrificed himself, I still think it is the best place to do this,'' Cream said, with her friends nodding in acknowledgement. She then turned towards the river, closing her eyes. ''I know that you were a robot created by Dr. Eggman and that you were supposed to be very mean to us. However, you showed your kind side, and I will always be thankful for your help. I hope you'll rest easy.'' She then threw the flower crown into the water, then took a deep breath and turned to Cheese, Amy and Minami. ''I'm done now.''

''Chao, chao?'' Cheese flew up to Cream, giving the rabbit a worried look.

''Don't worry Cheese, I'm fine,'' Cream said, clapsing her hands. ''I actually feel a little better now.''

''You know, I'm sure that Gamma would've appreciated your speech and the flower crown,'' Amy told her. Cream smiled in response, only to sniffle and wipe her eyes, blinking away the signs of tears. She then felt Amy patting her head, comforting her.

''If you want, we could go and…'' Before Minami could even finish her sentence, they were met by a sudden blast of energy. Even Big got on his feet, brandishing the fishing pole as if it was some kind of weapon. Fortunately, the blast didn't hit anyone, but it drew their attention, with the group realizing that Egg Pawns were walking towards them. Minami groaned in annoyance. ''You've got to be kidding me!''

xXx

Sonic was standing on top of a street light pole, keeping himself balanced surprisingly easily and looking around for any sign of trouble. However, all he saw was the usual hustle and bustle of the streets in Sentoraru. Feeling slightly disappointed, he climbed down the pole and just shrugged when Shadow turned to him. ''I didn't see anything.''

''That still doesn't mean that the Doctor isn't up to something,'' Shadow told him in a matter-of-fact tone. ''It doesn't make sense for him to just send his Badniks after us without any given reason.''

''I know…'' Sonic muttered, only to snort in amusement. ''This kinda feels like we're trying to solve a puzzle.''

''I suppose you could call it that,'' Shadow replied. He then beckoned Sonic to follow him, as they still had a lot of searching to do. They had just gone through one part of Sentoraru, and Neos City was huge, so it would take some time until they came across anything.

That is also why he felt quite suspicious when they came across Ferra after taking a shortcut through a narrow side alley. Sonic, on the other hand, was more surprised than suspicious.

''Oh, hey, Ferra!'' he said in a chipper tone. Even though the teenage girl was technically an enemy, he didn't feel any hostility towards her and was fine with greeting her in a casual manner. Shadow, however, remained on guard, his quills bristling as he felt that there was something off, especially when he saw the look Ferra gave them… or rather, the look she gave Sonic. Even if it wasn't directed towards him, Shadow could feel a chill creeping up his spine and turned to Sonic, who seemed to also feel unsettled.

''I finally found you,'' Ferra muttered, only to suddenly charge towards the two, startling both Sonic and Shadow, and managing to grab their arms.

''What are you doing?!'' Shadow growled, ripping his arm out of Ferra's grip and pushing her away, with her letting go off both him and Sonic, stumbling back. Instead of answering, Ferra just gave them a smirk, with the two hedgehogs wondering what was wrong with her. Before they could do anything, their environment suddenly changed, but their attention was still on Ferra.

''It was just a matter of time until we met again, my loathsome copy,'' she said, and to Sonic and Shadow's horror, she started to melt into a silver liquid, morphing into another, quite familiar shape.

''Metal Sonic?!'' Sonic exclaimed, stunned by what had happened. Shadow, on the other hand, immediately took a battle stance. ''But, how?''

''You will learn soon enough,'' Metal Sonic replied, only for Sonic to suddenly interrupt him.

''Wait, since when can you speak?'' he asked, only for Metal Sonic to shoot him a glare.

''That is what you're focusing on?'' Metal Sonic was a little disappointed.

''Well, yeah… I mean, you never talk, so this came as a bit of a shock to me,'' Sonic said, not noticing Shadow rolling his eyes and clearly sharing Metal Sonic's sentiment of where Sonic's priorities were. Sonic then smirked. ''But, that means that we can finally throw in some proper banter during our fights.''

''It is quite baffling how you can be so oblivious to your situation,'' Metal Sonic told Sonic, then glanced at Shadow when the dark hedgehog gave a sharp nod, apparently agreeing with the robot hedgehog. Metal Sonic turned back to his counterpart. ''Fortunately, this is something you won't have to worry about anymore. We will have our battle soon enough and then, I will prove my superiority!''

To Sonic and Shadow's surprise, Metal Sonic suddenly vanished, leaving them within an AR Field that resembled a coastal archipelago filled with ancient temples. Shadow's eyes narrowed as he turned to Sonic.

''We need to escape this AR Field and go after Metal Sonic,'' he said.

''I know, but, how do we get out of here? There doesn't appear to be an exit,'' Sonic said. Both hedgehogs looked around the AR Field, noting its size.

''We'll either find it or make an exit of our own,'' Shadow said. ''Keep up with me.''

Sonic nodded, him and Shadow dashing along the coastline.

xXx

Lucas was on his hoverboard, speeding down Eas and going towards Sentoraru. Despite wanting to have a quiet day, he jumped into action right after he got messages from Makoto, Minami and Touka, who was at the Solar Stadium, telling him about the Badniks that suddenly appeared in the city. Lucas sent Sonic a message, but the cobalt hedgehog didn't respond at all. This caused Lucas to worry, as he sensed that this wasn't an ordinary attack. He stepped on the accelerator, the speed of the hoverboard increasing, with the wind whistling in his ears. He did get a messages from Warren, Tails and Team Chaotix, as well as Lily and Knuckles, that they would meat up en route. He also knew that Minami and Amy were at Cosmo River with Cream, Cheese, Big and Froggy, while Touka was in Sentoraru, having left Solar Stadium after she got help from Omega and Rouge.

From the information he got, the attacks were rather unfocused, but always close to where Team Neos or their allies were. He had figured that Dr. Eggman was probably targeting them, a sentiment his friends echoed, but there was something that was bothering him. He didn't understand why Sonic wasn't responding to his calls, and from what Touka had told him, she couldn't reach Shadow either. It as possible that the two were in trouble, but Lucas believed that they could handle themselves. Nevertheless, this didn't stop him from worrying.

I hope you're okay, Sonic.

xXx

Ferra was sitting on top of a small building, staring ahead at the streets below and waiting patiently for someone to appear. It didn't take this person long, revealing himself to be Metal Sonic. Ferra smiled knowingly.

''I thought you'd take the opportunity to destroy Sonic and Shadow,'' Ferra told him. Metal Sonic gazed at his hand.

''I have all of their data, but I don't know whether that will be sufficient enough,'' Metal Sonic told her. ''I might need more power.''

''I see…'' Ferra muttered, feeling a little concerned. ''But, would more power be enough?'' Metal Sonic gave her a surprised look, with Ferra's eyes narrowing. ''They don't know yet what you're capable of, but I'm certain that they'll figure it out soon. We have two options here – either go full out on them, or keep the stakes low and test your current abilities.''

Metal Sonic lowered his head, silent for a moment. He gave no answer.

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[skaruresonic]

Being a Cream fan is suffering. The writers aren't hiding that they don't like her. Hello Advanced 2 anyone???

I can imagine.

She's milked for both humor and angst. In most cases, the fact that it's Cream specifically who is suffering/the butt of the joke is the intended takeaway behind the humor or angst.

People try to rationalize such moments as "she's just a child," forgetting that Cream is also her own person and has a personality beyond the expected behavior of children her age. Shunting her into the box of Child(tm) and leaving it at that is like reducing Amy to Girl(tm). Or Shadow to his Black Arms blood. You're not wrong to say those elements factor in, per se, but you are being overreductive by focusing only on those isolated elements of their characters when they're not overall terribly important.

Apologies for the self-indulgence here, but before we proceed to talk about IDW 66 and 67's B-side story, I'd like to bring up Cream's chapter in my visual novel as a counterexample:

In a nutshell: OaS is a slice-of-life where Sonic goes about a normal Sunday, visiting his friends and helping them through their problems, alongside some funny shenanigans. He spends about half the game spending time with Knuckles, Amy, and Cream, respectively.

Chapter three sees his relationship with Cream evolve from friends to Big Bro-Lil Sis(tm) as he endeavors to look out for her the best he can and listen to her little kid problems. Math is hard. :<

You'll notice in the conversation Sonic and Cream have after they sit down to eat their carnival food - about halfway through the video - that "lol Cream's just a dumb kid" is the exact attitude I was trying to avoid.

On the contrary: I wanted to respect her agency while also emphasizing that her status as a child is something worth respect on its own. Just because her problems may seem trivial from an adult perspective don't mean they aren't real to her, and I hope I've portrayed it so that Sonic gives her the respect she deserves.

The gist behind the chapter's more humorous moments isn't to point and laugh at Cream, but rather make light of the awkwardness of Sonic navigating being a big brother figure.

That's why stuff like Cream spouting waterfalls really rubs me the wrong way. Folks will argue "she's a child" while neglecting the important nuance that it's not typical of Cream to wail like a toddler in the games... As well as the other important nuance that if it had been Games!Cream in IDW!Cream's place, Rough and Tumble would be ground into paste before the roast finished.

The only punchline here is "Isn't it funny how Cream tried so hard to do right by her mother and some bully destroyed her work in an instant? LOL and then Vanilla went mama bear on them." When you drill down to the core of the underlying idea, you'll find it's just... meanspirited. The book is making fun of the fact that Cream is suffering what is, in her eyes, a humiliating failure.

It's not humor generated by Cream's personality, or the mood whiplash incurred by beating up bad guys one moment and tending to the roast the next, or inviting the bad guys to dinner after giving them a thorough ass-whooping, or anything like that.

How much better would it have been if, instead, following the food fight, we cut to Vanilla returning home to find an immaculate dinner table and two very twitchy skunk boys playing maid in fear of the goddess of destruction's wrath? Cream cheerily greets her mother while Rough and Tumble trip over themselves putting Vanilla's groceries away. Meanwhile Cheese and Chocola give them the evil eye. Vanilla is confused as G-merl pulls out her chair for her, but in no position to protest.

Imagine how amusing that could have been! Nope. The book has to point and laugh at Cream in a "ha ha bitch you thought" kind of way. Can't join in on the laugh track if we have any love for Cream ourselves.

To borrow the stans' logic, it's actually pretty fucked-up that you're meant to laugh at a child for crying in such a situation. At best, you're made to feel sorry for her, but given how the scene is framed to be absurd, it's probably a safer bet to say you're intended to laugh.

That's before we remember Cream doesn't sob buckets in the games. It took being kidnapped, taken to Eggman's creepy robot depot and watching Emerl gleefully tear Phi robots apart for her to sniffle quietly.

Sniffle. Not wail like a toddler. Because the games have this thing called "a sense of decorum," you see. xP

People contend that Cream's a pacifist based on her refusal to engage in Battle until Emerl gets hurt (and then they conveniently ignore how she stepped up and kicked some ass; rip), which overlooks the context that she was probably sick of fighting after having been forced to spar against Emerl and Amy to the point of exhaustion.

---

P.S. IDW!Vanilla wishes she was half as scary as OaS!Vanilla. Yeah, I said it xP

[myymi]

if im not too late with the drabbles;

tails has a really bad nightmare about westside (parent abandonment or another traumatic incident) and he goes to his big bro sonic for some emotional support and cuddles

feel free to ignore this if they arent open :)

word count-1369

ao3

--------------------

He’s tired of running.

He’s tired of being chased.

But he doesn’t want to get hurt, so he keeps running despite how out of breath he was.

That is, until a figure steps out in front of him, causing him to skid to a stop.

Their head was a blurry mess, which he assumes is because of the tears in his eyes.

Somewhere in his mind he knows the real reason, but he doesn’t get much chance to think on it when more blurry figures surround him.

The forest scenery he’d been running through started morphing into other things. The village, the beach, other clearings around the island, until everything went black.

Everything but those damn figures.

They approached him, causing him to shrink down. He couldn’t do anything. They were blocking any chance of running, and everyone knows he’s far too weak to fight back.

His breathing quickened even more as he curled into him, biting down sobs as he prayed to some God out there to protect him despite knowing nobody would do anything for him.

He was a deformed freak. Why would someone save him?

One of the figures grabbed him, and then everything disappeared.

He was trapped in an endless void as voices bounced around the air, insults worse than anything you could think of thrown at him from every angle.

He just had to take it.

Covering his ears did nothing to drown it out.

A few voices were more prominent than the others. He recognized them.

How could he not, when they were laughing about how much better their life was now that he was no longer a part of it?

The voices eventually merged into one, the sentence being repeated over and over.

It started as some random one he’d heard years ago, then morphed into those of his ex-family’s. His older brother, mother, hell even his father despite the fact he hadn’t heard his voice since he was one year old.

It didn’t stop changing.

It eventually morphed into his new family.

First, Shadow.

Next, Rouge.

Vector, Cream, Silver, Espio, Charmy.

Amy then Knuckles. Until, finally..

It was Sonic.

“Why would anyone want a freak like you in their family?”

–

Tails’ eyes shot open, breathing uneven and he felt his fur sticking to his skin in the most uncomfortable ways possible due to all the sweat.

His quick breaths slowed as he looked around, recognizing his bedroom.

He was fine.

No one was chasing him.

With a groan, the fox pushed himself into a sitting position. He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes, pausing when he felt the trail of tears on his muzzle.

He swallowed dryly, suddenly feeling very dehydrated. He glanced at his digital clock as he pulled his blanket off to the side, not caring about neatening it. He had to wash it and his sheets anyway because of all the sweat.

3:37 AM.

Tails wiped away his tears as he exited his room, socked feet taking careful steps on instinct to avoid all the creaky planks.

He hated the noise they made. He really needed to fix it.

The kit used the wall for support as he descended down the stairs. He took a deep breath as he made his way to the kitchen.

He stopped in the living room.

Sonic was on his couch, sprawled out in a way that could not be comfortable in any way. Drool spilled from the corner of the hedgehog’s mouth, snores louder than most of the fox’s machinery filled the air.

Tails wanted to roll his eyes at the scene. It wasn’t unusual for Sonic to crash at his place unexpectedly–he did have a key–but did he always have to use the couch? He had a bedroom of his own for this specific reason.

But the fox’s breath felt caught in his throat at the sight of the older, his nightmare flooding his brain full force.

“Why would anyone want a freak like you in their family?”

His ears pressed against his head as new tears piled in the corner of his eyes. He swiped at them, but more immediately took their place.

His breathing started picking up pace and, before he knew it, he was in front of Sonic, his ungloved paw hovering above the hedgehog’s shoulder.

He forced his body to freeze, biting his inner cheek.

Tails is 8 years old now. He shouldn’t be running to his big brother because of a bad dream. He’s old enough to deal with these on his own.

But no matter how hard his mind begs his body to leave the teen be, it’s a losing battle.

His hand makes contact with the hedgehog’s shoulder, shaking it as softly as he can to tell the other he’s not a threat.

“Why would anyone want a freak like you in their family?”

With a grunt, Sonic’s eyes slowly opened as he looked up to see who woke him. Tails immediately regrets it, the teen looks exhausted.

That exhaustion seemed to disappear when Sonic saw the tears welled up in the younger’s eyes.

“You okay?” His voice was groggy, still catching up to the rest of his body being awake. The little fox shook his head as the teen sat up.

“C’mere, kid.” Sonic gave him a sympathetic smile as he opened his arms, inviting the kit to lay on him. Tears finally spilled over as Tails crawled into his hero’s arms.

Sonic shushed the younger, his left hand petting the kit’s head as his right held him close. The kid buried his head into the older’s neck, hiding his tears.

“D’ya have a bad dream, bud?” The teen asked quietly, his head leaning against the fox’s as he gently rocked them.Tails’ head bobbed ever so slightly, hands gripping the hedgehog with a strength you wouldn’t expect an eight year old to possess.

Sonic hummed, letting the kit know he heard him as he continued the slow rocks and gentle pets. He kept it up until the sobs quieted, the death grip on his back easing as the younger pulled away.

The hedgehog frowned at the sight of his brother’s face. It was obvious he had been crying even before waking the teen up, his eyes were too red and his fur was a complete mess.

“Wanna talk?” The older asked, using the hand that was petting the fox to wipe away his tears.

“I-It–” Tails shook his head and leaned into the touch, “It was just.. Bad memories. Westside.” The kit tried not to talk too much, his throat feeling scratchy. He needed some water, but he didn’t want to get up.

“Again?” Sonic frowned. The fox had been having a lot of nightmares about Westside recently.

“I-I know, I’m sorry.” The boy bit his lip, suddenly thinking that this was a terrible idea.

“No, don’t apologize, li’l bro. Not your fault.” The teen pulled the younger into another hug, feeling how much he was shaking.

“Still. I-It’s childish to run to you every time.” Tails grumbled, but he didn’t pull away from the hug. He cuddled into his hero, his namesakes providing them warmth as they curled around.

“Nothin’ wrong with being childish. Or needing help.” Sonic shook his head. He had to break the kit free from that thought process, but he just couldn’t figure out how to do it.

The fox didn’t respond, just closed his eyes as he worked on evening out his breath.

The teen hummed as he moved to lay back down, pulling the cover over the two of them without releasing his hold on his little brother.

“Get some sleep, buddy.” Sonic whispered as he scratched the spot behind Tails’ ears to help ease him. “We can deal with it in the morning.”

The fox nodded as he shifted slightly to be more comfortable, mumbling a quiet goodnight to the older.

The hug paired with the gentle petting made it easy for the kid to fall asleep. He was out within a few seconds.

Sonic sighed, pressing his forehead against the younger’s.

He just wishes there was something he could do to make the nightmares leave his little brother alone.

[drplantboss]

On Shadow working for G.U.N. and “Never Turn Back”

I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing the fact that Shadow works for G.U.N. at the time of Sonic ‘06. Most people have the argument that “G.U.N. is the organization that killed Maria!” Their logic is that he shouldn’t be willing to work for the organization that killed his best friend. I have a few problems with that take. 

The first is that it fundamentally isn’t the same organization. It’s been 50+ years since that happened, and the current head honcho of G.U.N. is someone who was also personally traumatized by Maria’s death. While the Commander and Shadow had their differences in Shadow the Hedgehog, that was mostly over a misunderstanding and those events aren’t even solidly canon. I personally perceive the first 10 endings of ShTH05 and the events that lead to them as all hypotheticals; only the final “true” ending actually happened. In that case, they may have never actually confronted each other initially. 

The other reason is because of what the entire arc Shadow underwent in his titular game achieved. Shadow learns not to dwell on the past. He learns that he needs to keep moving forward, and never turn back. This is not a covert theme, either; the ending theme of ShTH05 is literally the track “Never Turn Back” by Crush 40. It happens to be my favorite Sonic vocal track because this song just fits Shadow’s ending so perfectly here (plus it’s a banger). I recommend you listen to it yourself, but I’ll mention the relevant lyrics here. Let’s go through the first verses.

It's been a long, rough road

And I'm finally here

I move an inch forward

Feels like a year

Everything I feel seems so unreal

Is it true?

Is it true?

I take one step forward

And two steps back

Got a hundred thousand pounds

Sitting on my back

Up, down, all around

Don't know quite what to do

To get through

Shadow is burdened not just by the title of “Ultimate Lifeform” but also by his promise to Maria. All of this, combined with the fact that he only just rediscovered who and what he is, and the sledgehammer to the head that would be finding out you are a biological weapon and a tool that has been used to nefarious ends on multiple occasions would certainly feel like a hundred thousand pounds sitting on your back. This section signifies Shadow struggling with that responsibility — but he’s taking it on. He will help people, he will keep his promise to Maria, he will be the Ultimate Lifeform.

I guess I'm moving all right and I'm on my way

Facing every moment day by day

Take a chance, slip on by, got no time to answer why

Head straight, head straight

What will I become if I don't look back

Give myself a reason for this and that

I can learn, no U-turns, I will stay right here where I'm at, where I'm at

Shadow is starting to overcome some of that pressure. There’s still doubts as he makes the decision to keep moving forward without looking back — he asks, “What will I become if I don’t look back; give myself a reason for this and that.” He very quickly reaffirms the commitment in the next line, but it does show some doubt. At the end of the day, his past still defines who he is. His promise to Maria, his responsibility as a forceful individual still drive him forward and compel him to do the right thing. But the other aspects of his past he is choosing to leave behind.

Well I'm on my way

On my way

On my way

On my way

Here I am,

Made it to the end of you

Never had a chance while I'm around

No! No!

No, no, no, no!

Well, now I'll never turn back,

I'll never turn that way

No matter how life tries to face me

I'll turn the other way

Now and then,

My head starts to spin,

But I'll never turn back again

No! No!

From this moment on,

I am moving on,

And I'll never turn back

Again

The chorus is Shadow’s promise: a promise to himself, to Maria, and to the world. He will never turn back to the weaponized hatred that Gerald programmed into him. He will never turn back to the alien domination of a doomed species. He will never return to thinking he could be an android subservient to Dr. Eggman. From this moment on, he’s moving on. 

Shadow’s entire character in Sonic ‘06 is an affirmation of the development he underwent in his own game. Shadow has a static arc in ‘06; he doesn’t really change at all over the course of the game. However, in that iconic scene you’ve probably heard everyone and their mother talk about, he puts forward the exact attitude I’m talking about here.

“If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have.” Keep moving forward, never turn back.

Shadow views G.U.N. as a viable method of carrying out his goals — helping people — at the time of ‘06. 

I think this makes sense. If the organization has been reformed since the days of the raid on the ARK, then it’s probably one of the best resources for Shadow to use. Additionally, from within the organization he is far more aware of what they are doing, giving him advance warning if something nefarious is going on within such a powerful paramilitary establishment. 

By letting go of his hatred, he can work for the organization that killed Maria. After all, he saved the whole world when he was originally intent on wiping out humanity. If he can do that, I think he can probably work with an organization that only recently changed its mind about him. 

[clowning-raven-fanfics]

Emerald Promise: Chapter 2

Sonic's POV

"Tailsss," I spin around in the chair next to him, kicking my feet up on the counter. "Hey, buddyy."

"Yes, Sonic?" He doesn't even glance up, totally focused on whatever gizmo he's working on. Classic Tails. Always tinkering, always light-years ahead of the rest of us. Honestly, sometimes I wish I had even half his focus.

Last time we were out collecting rings, I got distracted by some fancy-looking laser lights and smashed face-first into a pillar.

Good times.

"What're you working on?"

He snorts softly, like he's amused I even asked. "You really wanna know? Sure it won't fry your brain?"

"Wow, rude," I elbow him lightly. "EXCuSE me for not having an IQ of a million."

"Sonic, it's not-"

"Yeah, yeah, just spill already. C'mon, I've been sittin' here for hours."

"It's been... twenty minutes," he says with a small sigh, finally pointing to some shiny circular component in front of him. "See this? It's going to be an advanced battery-super efficient, super lightweight. Once I work out the last bug, it'll power just about anything."

"A battery, huh? Riveting stuff, bud. Here I thought you were building a teleportation chair or, like, a chili-dog racer or something actually cool."

Tails smirks. "Battery not good enough for Sonic the Hedgehog? Shocking."

I laugh softly, shaking my head. I'm kidding, of course. I'm proud of Tails and everything he builds, even if I don't always get it. I know this battery is probably going to change lives-or at least power some epicc machine.

I try to sit still and keep him company. He deserves the quiet to focus, and I want to be here for him. But sitting still? Definitely not my thing. After a while, I can't take it anymore. I spin in my chair a few times before hopping up to wander around the workshop.

Tails doesn't stop me, but I can feel his eyes flick toward me every so often, like he's half-expecting me to do something dumb.

Pff like I need babysitti-

"Shoot!" I accidentally knock over a stack of parts, sending them clattering to the floor.

"Sonic!" Tails yelps, whipping around to see the mess. "Those were organized for a reason!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" I crouch down to help, but he waves me off with a sigh.

"It's fine, I've got it. Just-be careful, okay?" His voice is sharper than usual, but it softens quickly. "You don't have to go or anything. Just... maybe sit still for once?"

For once.

I rub the back of my head, forcing a small laugh. "Yeah, well, you know me. Sitting still isn't really my thing." I give him a big, cheerful grin as I head for the door. "I'll get outta your fur. See ya later, buddy!"

By the time I'm a mile away, the grin's long gone.

It's better this way. Better if I'm not there to mess something else up.

"Ugh..." I sigh, letting my face relax into something more honest.

There's this tightness in my chest, like a weight pressing down. I don't know what to call it, but I know how to make it stop.

Running.

When I'm running, everything blurs. It's like I've got my own little world, one where nothing can catch me. Nothing can hurt me. No one can keep up.

So I take off.

Maybe if I keep running, I'll leave the feeling behind too. Maybe this time, I'll outrun it for good.

--------------------------

Shadow's POV

He really let me out of the room.

At first, I didn't believe it, waiting for the mockery to hit. I thought the second I caught a glimpse of the outside, I'd be shoved back. But it didn't happen. The door stayed open, and I stepped through, as the commander stayed silent.

I imagine he was not overjoyed by the fact I was about to walk around his grounds. GUN grounds. People who I resent ever since that day, ever since they came and ruined Maria's home. My home. The place where I was needed. Maria needed me, and I didn't mind all the tests, even when they hurt.

I knew it was all to find a cure. That was what I was created for, after all. Maybe if GUN didn't attack, that purpose would have been fulfilled. Maria could finally see the Earth, like she always wanted, without her sickness holding her back.

My teeth ground together, and I forced the thoughts down. Showing weakness could jeopardize everything. I couldn't afford that. Maria is still out there, and I will find her. I will save her.

"Don't mistake this for friendliness. You will be kept an eye on," the commander's voice cut through the fog overtaking my mind.

"Hmph." I stepped forward, ignoring him completely. I needed to look around, see the layout, see the threats. And about that mission... when would they deign to share the details with me?

The commander left, no doubt heading to his office. I stayed on my path, walking down the corridor.

The halls were pretty lifeless, sterile. As they were on ARK. Well, unless Maria had something to do with it. Her room was decorated with all sorts of things. I shouldn't think about this-just focus.

The other agents gave me a wide berth as I walked. I could feel their stares. Some looked at me with fear, like I might lunge at them at any moment. Others with disgust, muttering under their breath or sneering as if I couldn't hear them.

"Robotnik's hybrid freak."

Their looks reminded me of the researchers who assisted Professor. They too would give me such eyes, and I wouldn't understand why at first. But after some time... I came to know why. I am just a monster.

I sighed and decided to ignore everyone as I walked through the facility. Judging by the way some of them stiffened when I passed, I'd bet the commander gave them strict orders not to engage me directly. A few of them looked like they'd shoot me on sight.

You love doing that, don't you, GUN?

I clenched my jaw and kept walking, but my mind wouldn't let it go. The memories clawed at the edges of my thoughts, threatening to drag me down. I needed to focus, to push it aside, but the harder I tried, the more it crept in.

Stop thinking about it.

I gritted my teeth.

Stop. Just...

My breathing hitched, unsteady. My fists tightened at my sides as I came to a stop, willing the rising heat in my chest to go away.

Am I seriously about to cry?

I froze, the thought jolting me. I haven't cried since they pulled me out of cryo. Not once. I can't afford to. Not until she's safe.

Feelings won't help her. Emotions won't save her.

I exhaled slowly, steadying myself.

I can't let them get in the way. Maria's depending on me.

She's all I have.

[cattyanon]

I don't think I've talked about this Sonic Prime AU I have so I'm going to talk about it rn since it's on my mind.

Okay, so you know how in season 2 episode 1 Shadow steals Sonic's tech to try and go into a different Shatterspace but Sonic remembers what he said about the Prism Energy he had and chases him down? And how there was shown to be a time difference in New Yoke where Sonic had only been in Boscage for a day but when he went back he learnt it's been much longer?

Well what if Sonic didn't remember? And what if the time difference inside the yellow Shatterspace/Ghost Hill was a big one? >:)

What happens is that Shadow just barely manages to save himself from falling into the Void, takes a small break, thinks about what to do next, and eventually relents that he'll need Sonic's help in order to restore the Paradox Prism. So he goes back and looks for Sonic and finds him sitting down with his back facing Shadow surrounded by their ghostly friends with glowing stripes that look like the ones his gloves and shoes had when he had with the limiters.

When Shadow calls his name he looks back at him with shock and says "Shadow...? I-Is that really you?" in such real sounding disbelief it confuses him. Then Sonic starts acting erratically while talking to Shadow and saying things that don't make any sense from his perspective. Couple that with his odd appearance and the fact he could somehow change the pitch of his voice, Shadow thinks he's some kind of entity that replaced Sonic for a little while.

A small fight ensues and eventually concludes with Shadow believing it's the real Sonic and Sonic processing the fact that for Shadow it really had been minutes and scared of what everybody would think of him in his current state.

And as a side note, the reason for his weird new powers (like being able to change the pitch of his voice) and appearance is due to all the time he spent in the Shatterspace without the limiters to help properly rein in all his Prism Energy. Basically without the limiters and no knowledge on how to control the Prism Energy it eventually builds up to the point it starts leaking out and adapts to the Shatterspace he's in- which is also why he doesn't die of starvation or dehydration.

Edit: Fic for this is out!!

[livewireprojects]

Old Sonic sketches(Plus extras)

Found some old sketches I had on DA & wanted to show them. Some sketches have the date I scanned them in the corner of the image because the date changes if I edit them & I had to edit them cause they're all bmp files along with needing editing to be darkened. It's there to show how old they are & cause I found it interesting, if the image doesn't have the date I'll list mention a date that's mentioned in the DA post or something related. Not all the images are in order of date.

The image on the left was posted November 8, 2012 while the one on the right is from August 27, 2013

These were some wedding sketches I drew with the one on the right being a pic I made for a teacher I had in high school.(Graduated 2014) The pic on the left was a Sonadow & Silvaze wedding with Tails catching Sonic's bouquet while Cosmo(who was revived at some point) giggles.(tfw When you might end up marrying next thanks to a moment at your older brother's wedding & your girlfriend knows too)

Shadow & Sonic's rings(on the wrist) was inspired by a comic by Segamew on DA were Shadow used one of his inhibitor rings to propose to Sonic.(Fun fact at the time I didn't know what his rings did past the fact Shadow wore them, I only learned about the reason recently) I use a different idea for mobian wedding items now.

I find it semi funny(semi cause it looks cringy) that when I posted this to DA I was like "I'm using Shadonic instead of Sonadow so fuck you" to be honest this came from past Naruto shipping were ship names go by who is tops. I've gotten over it by now but if I'm not using ship names I still put the top first.

This was drawn in 2015

The top images are Monoko from Yume Nikki & Sonic as nightmarens from the NiGHTS series. I might redraw/redesign these one day but dunno. The little mini doodles between them are an old design for my self-insert Sonicsona & Monoko next to me. I don't know the context for them.

At the bottom is Reala(nightmaren this time instead of my OC Reala the hedgehog), Jackle & my nightmaren OC Halldis dressed up. Next to them is Pinkie Pie semi Rayman style.(By that I mean floaty limbs)

The one on the left is cropped cause you don't really need to see my old Raymesis/Dark Rayman(Who is turned over a new leaf, also thought they were the same person back then) x Rayman stuff. Funny enough two images were edited into this from the cropped side cause they're semi related.

Left image:(Added in mini pics at the bottom of list)

Left to right, top of page to bottom of page

Rayman Sonic that I didn't put much effort in past hair & outfit

Rayman as a seedrian, this was made before learning that male seedrian look very different from the girls. He's a plum plant from the Rayman series.

Normal Rayman waving

Rayman!Sonic sitting down

An attempt to draw mini Rayman & Rayman!Sonic flying using their hair. Rayman obviously with helicoptor bangs, Sonic flapping like he's a bat/bird.

Right image:

Left to right, top page then middle page then bottom page

Older Rayman with kids

Rayman!Shadow & Rayman!Sonic, these are their old designs with Shadow's being inspired by Kanda from D.Grayman's hair & mitarashiarts's past design for gijinka Shadow. I guess I gave him Raymesis style eyes given how I drew them.

Rayman!Sonic in a Rayman version of Sonic after being blinded by Eggman(context my version of Sonic at some point in the future was blinded by Eggman)

Rayman!Sonic wandering around & hiding that he's Sonic & injured

A scene of old design Shadow finding Sonic after he was heavily injured & almost drowned in Rayman style

Random doodle of Sonic in a random art style

An old prototype design idea for revived Cosmo, two versions of her as a plant based deer. I ended up going with a plant based chipmunk in the end.(With help from a friend when I mentioned some suggestions)

I don't fully remember the context behind the pic on the left I just know it was a scrapped idea. I think the idea was Silver visiting the past as a kid & helping Sonic after the reboot or after the reboot in Sonic 06 he was born in the past & made friends with Sonic.(The middle pic is meant to be them before the re-boot) I'm guessing this was before the paper towel comic I made.

The right image is meant to be Sonic walking with his siblings as they unknowingly pass by the spirit of Tikal with a bunch of Chao(plus Sonadow chao) & Chip. Sonic notices him & Chip waves to his future friend. From what I understand the idea is Chip some how got a chance to see Sonic in the past after the events of Sonic Unleashed.(Likely way on DA I named this "Meeting again before I knew you") No idea how Sonic can see them without his glasses on since Underground Sonic is blind without them. According to DA this image didn't need much fixing up.

Here's a pic I drew on one of my folders for school(2011 was my first year of high school)

I had to grayscale this because the folder is yellow & it'd look stupid

Left to right

-Sonic as a young child with his adopted dad after they decided to go frog hunting for the first time

-The idea behind this was Sonic returning to where he grew up before going to live with Uncle Chuck after helping his siblings & mom rebuild the kingdom after defeating Robotnik. I think the idea was that Sonic still met/took in Tails at some point cause there was an idea of Tails bringing Amy, Shadow & the others to meet his older brother.

Version 1 was meant to be Sonic having become more like he use to be before the trauma of losing his adopted parents & losing his confidence thanks to bullying(for being different) & the stress of the war. He's happily being Sonic in the woods he was raised in. Version 2 is just Sonic as I depicted him at the end of Sonic Underground were he has gained confidence but is still slightly timid & very sweet.(No idea why it says "Southern bell-ish" I'm guessing this was the only description I could think of)

-Sonic dressed in his adopted mom's outfit

-Sonic before losing his adopted parents & being taken in by his uncle. Sonic was a happy & energetic, he loves exploring the woods & learning to play music. He's a kid that hasn't fully learned that the world is full of things to fear despite knowing the dangers of going too close to areas everyone knows is Robotnik's territory.(I guess think of Robin from the game The Path were she didn't realize it's dangerous to fall out of a shopping cart nor jump on a werewolf)

The poor kid is in for many horrors when he made the poor choice of hunting for frogs near one of Robotnik's bases.

Posted to DA May 28, 2014

Classic Rayman as a puffball, Sonic as a puffball & anime Kirby as whatever Rayman is

Posted to DA June 24, 2019

Why I can't draw Sonic's eyes like they're meant to look

Adding another pic last minute, this is an old sketch dump of Sonic & his siblings from my old Sonic stuff that went on to lead to my Lost Prince AU

Left to right

Top:

The sight Uncle Chuck saw when he got home. Thanks to having enough of the bullying while struggling to deal with losing his adopted parents Sonic chopped his hair/quills off to look more normal.

Sonia fixing Sonic's hair while Manic finds it funny she used a bowl to cut Sonic's hair

Sonic meeting his siblings for the first time as they hide somewhere after managing to run into each other. Moments later they're told what they're meant to be doing.

Middle:

Sonic amazed, I think this was inspired by Ojamajo Doremi/Magical Doremi some how

Old design modern Sonic holding plushies I use to give him when he was a kid, lion & lamb plushies, I don't remember the context I think this was when he was living with his dad

Sonic laying on the ground with the plush dolls

Another old design modern Sonic

Bottom:

The triplets managing to sleep in a proper bed after some traveling

[south-sea]

Sentimentality

Shadow's found it in himself to confront old memories head-on. For better or for worse, Metal as a result finds he's beginning to understand this weird thing called sentiment that organic beings tend to have.

~1,767 words

-

From the moment he walks in, Metal Sonic knows that Shadow, although not immediately seen, should be home.

Visible from inside the front door is the kitchen area, which is empty. The ajar restroom, which Shadow biologically does not need. And the den, their usual haunt, which is also empty.

Shadow is not due for, or has not attended to, any sort of impromptu mission. On the kitchen table, there are no handwritten notes. In Metal's communication log, there are no text messages. Shadow has been, and put him through, too much to know better than to leave the premises when expecting company, even for just a walk, without a trace.

The pair of shoes left beneath the step leading up into the main house area are, in themselves, evidence enough that Shadow is still present and unharmed. There are no signs of a scuffle, no scratches in the floor, no broken panels, not even the empty table and chair in the kitchen are out of place.

Metal's calm gaze lifts farther inward. That leaves the space behind the partition leading upstairs, if not somewhere upstairs itself. 

In the nearly two years Metal has lived with him, Shadow's tendency to disappear somewhere upstairs has been in decline, and by now, has altogether evaporated. Unless, in the exceedingly rare case that Shadow prefers an actual bed to sleep in, or his own shower to wash off in, or brief periods in which he is collecting an outfit, he stays downstairs.

Metal considers, as he begins his trek toward the way up, how there sits a writing desk in an office upstairs. A space that Shadow used to frequent, preferring to tend to his scrapbook and other research materials or records there. These days, Shadow does not bother, instead comfortable enough and in fact preferring Metal's company when writing or preparing photos or generally anything else. If he were busy with any of those things, he would no doubt be downstairs.

Odd. But then organic beings are, themselves, inherently odd. There exists in them a tendency to be so painfully sentimental over items and memories that they adamantly hold onto them for years, or look back on them and cry.

Metal has seen it. He is not sure he understands. Downstairs, he has a collection of his own things, but he cannot ascribe to them the same level of nostalgia or fondness or attachment. He keeps them because they are his, because they have been given to him, and beyond weapons or tools or rockets shortly demolished by his loathsome copy, even two years later, the idea of truly owning something just to own it without an obvious purpose is still novel.

When Metal arrives to the second story, Shadow is still nowhere to be seen. The office room is dark and empty, the bedroom is tidy and neat, but clearly lacking any trace of sleeping not-hedgehogs. The bathroom up here, too, is unoccupied and unneeded, but the doorway next to it, usually closed and with no light leaking out from underneath it, is open.

Faint sounds of general movement can be heard from its direction. That room was previously empty of anything, Metal notes, as he turns a course toward it. Empty of even furniture, much less any reason for his housemate to be doing anything inside of it. Barely the size of a closet, it serves no purpose than to remain empty, its use overwritten by a simple dresser closet stationed elsewhere in the main bedroom.

As Metal approaches as carefully as he is able without startling him, Shadow's head turns to see him in the doorway. His gloves are off, the fur of his cheeks is tousled as if recently damp. That is, for obvious reasons, never a good sign.

At first, Metal suspects pain. Perhaps he was moving things into storage, overexerted himself, and has only recently found the strength in him again to stand. That is, from Metal's perspective, illogical. If that had been the case, why would Shadow have not sent a distress signal? Why would he have not requested help?

And then he looks up.

The room is no longer purposeless in any sense of the word. Metal's gaze passes over countless new things: a bookshelf, already home to brittle and yellowed books and notebooks and sketch pads. A cushion and handful of stuffed animals—two different seal pups, notably—and an old polaroid camera with its strap neatly arranged around it so that it may avoid wayward quills catching and knocking it out of place. A tiny green threadbare blanket folded atop a somehow more pristine white hospital blanket, a locket, a box of crayons. And photos—countless photos he cannot even begin to individually identify, all of a smaller, rounder, fuzzier Shadow and his blonde-haired companion, pinned up and carefully sorted.

All things recovered from the ARK. All things he has, technically, seen before, save for the photos, but never so up close, never seen arranged in their own place with such deliberate care.

The look in Shadow's eyes when Metal's lowers to meet them expectantly is one of apology and only minor embarrassment. "I finally found it in myself to set this up," he says in barely above a whisper. "I thought she needed her own room."

Metal did not understand it the night these items were brought to him, and he does not understand it now. He does not understand why items or memories would make someone weep so openly as they had made Shadow that night, or why they would need to be arranged in such a way, or why arranging them at all would seemingly make someone cry again. If they are painful, why would he want to keep or have them back? If they are painful, why would he want to see them at all?

He thinks back to a time, to a mission of faded importance by now, where Shadow had gone missing—one of a few times. One where Shadow had been separated from the main party, where they had been forced to find only traces of him and hold onto only vague hopes he had still been out there somewhere, alive. He thinks back on the broken quills he had collected from bloody ice, and how he had kept them. Just in case. Just in case they had been the only thing ever left of his charge, his everything.

Maybe he does understand.

There are tears in Shadow's eyes again. He tries to smile at him, but the sniffle makes his expression waver. Metal knows that look. His charge, his everything, is less than two seconds from losing those tears down his already still-damp cheeks, and three or four seconds away from trying to say something to brush it off.

He holds a hand up to stop him before he can even try.

Shadow, placated, forgoes the need to apologize or excuse himself or generally speak at all. Instead he turns and closes the gap between them, takes the sides of Metal's hand in both his own paws, and brings his forehead down to rest in his palm. In the few moments he stays like this, he collects himself. Two seconds pass without Metal detecting more tears. Four seconds pass without Shadow attempting to shakily pretend he's fine or admit the exact opposite.

Ten seconds, and Shadow finally stands back up, withdrawing one of his paws to brush back his cheek fur. "I think she would have liked you," he tells him.

Metal knows the name Maria Robotnik, and he knows her connection to his own creator more than to Shadow. He knows, on a basic level, what their connection had been, but he has never asked, and Shadow rarely ever speaks about her for more than a few seconds. All too often Shadow shuts the topic down even if he is the one who had originally brought it up, avoids it, evades the point of no return where the threat of tears would otherwise be a guarantee.

In this room, this tiny memorial tucked away in the most private corner of the house, it is inescapable. It is deliberate, raw, surrounding them from all sides.

Metal tries not to wonder if, in some other time, it would have been only a handful of broken quills to occupy this room. Would he regret not having physical photos to pin up in the same way? Would he rely on Shadow's own scrapbook? Would he play the hours and hours and hours of recordings of their time together on endless repeat? Would he back that data up once, three times, stash it away in a desperate attempt to protect it from corruption or degradation or being lost?

His attention snaps back to Shadow when he hears him speak again, feels him pull away to point toward one of the many photos displayed on the wall or in pristine new frames or still held in the heavy album not yet fully sorted through.

Added to Metal's hours upon hours of recordings are new ones attributed to Shadow's profile. As Shadow tells him for minutes, and then even more minutes, of their time together as children, Metal forms a profile labelled Maria. He learns of her in more words than Shadow has ever given about her previously, about her aspirations, her demeanor, her love of the unusual and the fantastical, her stories, their stories.

He listens, and he understands. Shadow is his own charge. Maria had been Shadow's. They had been, like the two of them are now, inseparable. A pair of a different dynamic than the two of them share now, but bonded to an equal degree.

The more that Shadow speaks, the more strength seems to return to him. Gone are the watery eyes and wavering voice, replaced instead with a shine and an almost childlike enthusiasm for days visitable only in memory and faded photos.

He hopes he never has to find out what a memorial room of his own might look like. Hopes he never has to find out what it might feel like to go between incapacitated with grief and empowered by the love that feeds it. Hopes, for the first time, that Shadow is never forced to make a second room like this, filled with metal plating and scrapped joints and bare circuitry.

He listens, and understands, that love is more than just a desire to protect his charge's physical comfort and existence. It does, or should, extend to maintaining his own safety, to protect his charge from the grief of losing him, too.