Chapter Text
It was Sunday’s fault that Shadow hadn’t woken up.
2 weeks had passed since the disastrous rescue. At first, the Astral Express crew thought Shadow needed some time to recover since it was a physical and emotional ordeal for him. When they reached the fourth day without any signs of Shadow’s awakening, they started to worry.
Hyacine reassured them many times that there was nothing physically wrong with Shadow. All his injuries were fully healed, courtesy of his accelerated regeneration and the Sky Titan’s healing. At least, they didn’t need to worry about Shadow’s sustenance. Mr. Yang informed them that Shadow could subsist on his internal Chaos Energy as well as the additional energy from the Chaos Emeralds.
Black Swan was cooperating with the Twilight Courtyard to rehabilitate the other victims of the Memosnatcher. Since their memory lightbulbs remained intact, the transfer process was painless and smooth, unlike Shadow’s transfer. The real hard work started with consoling the victims over their muddled memories and refreshed grief.
When Black Swan tried her powers on Shadow, she couldn’t sense anything amiss from him. All his memories were supposed to settle inside the hedgehog’s mind, and nothing should prevent him from waking up. Black Swan predicted that Shadow would be in slumber for a long time. The so-called prediction didn’t stop the Nameless from trying to find a way to help their fellow passenger.
Dan Heng stuck himself inside the Astral Express archives, scouring through Remembrance-related logs for any clues on memory restoration. He even reached out to Bailu for her medical input on the case. Welt joined the Archivist in his research to lighten the load when he noticed the Vidyadhara was struggling.
Himeko contacted Madam Herta for her assistance. However, the Genius was acting difficult to reach. Her messages implied that she was slightly miffed from Mr. Yang’s attempt to protect Shadow’s secret. The Navigator worked around that setback by going directly to Asta for any research material about the Remembrance and memory recovery. The scientist delivered the papers promptly. The massive folder came with a message from Asta, saying that her superior would come around eventually.
March 7th and Caelus, the two like-minded companions, decided to make a scrapbook about Shadow. The hedgehog had shared his past with them both, so they attempted to compile a record. March said it was for the worst-case scenario if Shadow lost his memories when he eventually would wake up. The grey-haired Trailblazer, with the help of Mem, recalled the main events in Shadow’s life; before and after he arrived on the train. Meanwhile, March collected pictures from the rest of the crew, gradually building a partial biography of Shadow’s time on the Astral Express. The duo kept it to themselves, not comfortable sharing Shadow’s past with others without the hedgehog’s knowledge.
What did Sunday, the one Mr. Yang said was best in mental healing, contribute to the effort?
Whatever he did was not enough to atone for his sin. Sunday was the one to put Shadow to sleep in the first place. During that desperate moment, it was a good idea. At least, compared to re-extracting the unstable memories into a new vessel. Since then, the Halovian disparaged himself over his wrong choice.
Every day, Sunday would confirm multiple times that his command to sleep had been removed from Shadow’s psyche. His tuning yielded nothing more about Shadow’s condition. The melody of Shadow’s soul was still and quiet to a disturbing degree. At least, the almost complete silence was league better than the heart-wrenching cries of the hedgehog’s soul when a lifetime of memories was brutally forced back to its origin.
During late nights when he couldn’t find solace in sleep, he prayed to Xipe the Harmony for guidance and salvation on Shadow’s behalf. At his most desperate, he softly sang the hymns of the Order, a bad habit that the Halovian couldn’t get rid of his being.
Had Sunday condemned Shadow into an eternal dream? Had he committed the same sin from before? Had he not changed after vowing to change for the better?
He would have fallen into a spiral of despair, if not for the ever-kind Astral Express crew pulling him out of his self-incrimination.
Mem insisted that she was the one who instructed him to put Shadow to sleep. It was a choice made when there were no better options, other than leaving Shadow conscious when relieving his memories, especially the painful ones.
Mr. Yang invited him to late-night talks when Sunday couldn’t sleep. They discussed possible leads on Shadow’s condition while drinking warm soothing tea. The man’s tempered resilience was inspiring. A reminder to Sunday that despite everything, there was still hope.
One morning, Himeko convinced Sunday to help out with the rehabilitation sessions at the Twilight Courtyard. There, he stepped into the familiar role of Bronze Melodia, listening to the suffering of the victims. However, this time he could offer more than empty platitudes with the help of Miss Hyacine. As a professional therapist, she shared with him helpful tips to better refine his approach. The session brought him into the proximity of Black Swan, who was eager to swap notes with someone more familiar with memoria. At the end of the day, Sunday left with several new avenues of thought in mind and a sense of accomplishment in helping others in need. He continued his visits to the Twilight Courtyard, much to Miss Hyacine’s delight.
Dan Heng came to him after he was ‘gently’ kicked out of the Archives by Pom Pom for almost overworking himself. At Mr. Yang’s suggestion, Dan Heng and Sunday spent time getting an adequate amount of food and rest, which Sunday realized he had been lacking. In the quiet solace of their room, Sunday and Dan Heng sat together and went through the latter’s research notes saved on his phone.
Caelus and March took a break from their scrapbook-making time by dragging the introverted duo to explore Okhema. When asked about their progress, they sheepishly shared that although they got all the right materials, they were struggling with the arrangement. Sunday and Dan Heng, both used to organize information in the Archives, provided their own advice. Well, as much as they could without touching the content of the scrapbook.
Despite their busy efforts, the Astral Express crew never forgot to take turns to watch Shadow. Miss Hyacine suggested that they could talk to Shadow about their day. Since his brain and physical senses were perfectly functional, he should be able to pick up their voices. It could help Shadow feel less alone.
One night, it was Sunday’s turn. He performed his usual tuning, disappointed over the same results. He stared at the red Chaos Emerald hovering by Shadow’s side. Caelus had been begging the gem for help but there was no response. It did nothing but glow.
Sunday couldn’t help but think that maybe the Chaos Emeralds had something to do with Shadow’s prolonged slumber?
A notification from the Astral Express Family chat jolted him out of his contemplation. Himeko informed the crew that Madam Herta finally agreed to lend her assistance on the condition that they brought Shadow to the Space Station. Caelus and March objected, on the account of Shadow’s history with unpredictable ‘mad scientists’.
Himeko eventually managed to convince them, saying that they had exhausted most of their options as of now. She reassured them that they would closely monitor Herta to ensure nothing untoward happened to Shadow. If anything went wrong, the crew had her permission to do whatever it took to protect Shadow.
Sunday sighed. He too had reservations about placing Shadow in such an environment. However, he accepted Himeko’s argument and hoped a new direction would lead to new progress.
Heaviness weighed on his eyelids. The Halovian covered his yawn, stretching his arms and ear wings to wring out some alertness to stay awake a while longer.
He watched over Shadow’s sleeping form, hoping that the hedgehog had nothing but sweet dreams. The Harmony Pathstrider was tempted to send another prayer to Xipe but decided to do something different. An old childhood comfort.
Sunday hummed a lullaby; the same one he hummed to little Robin when they were kids. His sister had difficulty sleeping after the destruction of their planet and not even the Dreammaster’s newly provided room could comfort her enough. She always asked him to hum their mother’s lullaby and never failed to stay conscious for long.
Late into the night, Sunday eventually closed his eyes.
Sunday was falling.
Howling winds rushed past him as he stared up at the wide empty sky.
No Robin reached out to him. No sister with wings so strong it would carry both of them. No embrace, gentle and forgiving, for a disgraceful sinner like him.
Ah, he was dreaming.
That thought overrode his initial panic. This particular nightmare was a common occurrence. He knew that he would inevitably crash against the hard pavement.
This time, Sunday preferred to not experience that kind of pain. The kindness of the Nameless taught him that atonement didn’t equal self-inflicted pain. Sunday may not have perfect wings like his beloved sister, but he still can try to fly.
Exhaling a sigh, he waved his hand. Several of his Echoes flew into existence. Together, they combined into a big enough form to carry him on their back, catching him from his descent.
They landed on the rooftop of a nearby building. Once his feet were safely planted on solid ground, the one Echo dispersed into their preferred multiple Echoes. Some of them helped tidied his windswept hair and crooked scarf. Sunday smiled to himself as he recalled March and Caelus calling them his Oomfs. The adoring sentiment he could from them was enough for him to let them be.
Once his Echoes were done, Sunday turned his attention toward the reason why he chose to land here. There was an iron door, emanating a black and red aura with the occasional gold lightning.
Sunday sighed. It had been a while since he last dreamwalked.
It was a surprise discovery during his early days with the Astral Express. During his numerous nightmares, Sunday accidentally entered the crew’s dreams. Imagine his shock when he walked into Caelus’s dream to see him getting married to a golden trash can. Sunday wasted no time to jump back into his own dreamscape, jolting himself awake.
Initially, everyone thought it was a subconscious matter. Sunday had left them a peculiar impression from being their obstinate opponent turned fellow passenger. After a week of Sunday’s cameos inside their dreams, Welt planned an intervention to figure things out together.
Sunday was ready for them to kick him out of the Astral Express. He invaded the privacy of their dreams without their consent. After his profuse apology to the crew, Welt and Himeko asked him several questions. It turned out that the Halovian gained the ability to dreamwalk outside the Penacony dreamscape. Dan Heng hypothesized that it was a combined side effect from his near ascension into an aeon and his instinctual desire to escape his nightmares. The latter point was enough to induce shame in himself until the Nameless collectively agreed, in Caelus’s choice of words: “Nightmares suck so we get you, Sunny.”
Welt chimed in, stating that any ability can be practised and controlled. March also added her input, suggesting they had some rules regarding Sunday’s dreamwalking.
The mention of rules eased something in Sunday’s soul. Firstly, they agreed that if Sunday accidentally entered their dreams, he must alert them before leaving. He must also keep quiet about what he had seen unless the crew approached the matter first. Lastly, like Mr. Yang said, he needed to practice.
Caelus volunteered to be the first target practice and Welt second. Dan Heng, March and even Himeko were reluctant to allow Sunday into their dreams. Sunday understood their hesitation and reassured them that he wouldn’t take offence from their distrust. It took a while. After some bizarre dreams on Caelus’s side and steady guidance from Mr Yang, Sunday managed to control his newfound ability to prevent accidentally invading other’s dreams via a dream door. With it, he could alert the dream owner of his presence and receive their permission to enter, similar to real-life etiquette. During the rare few times he dreamwalked with the crew’s permission, he helped them out with their nightmares or enjoyed lucid dreaming with them.
Now, Sunday stood in front of Shadow’s dream door, weighing his options. On one side, he wanted to respect Shadow’s privacy. The Halovian never got to tell Shadow about his ability since Sunday rarely used it. On the other, this new route could be a clue to solve the mystery of Shadow’s coma.
Sunday knocked on the door, half expecting no response from the other side. To his surprise, the deceptively heavy-looking door easily swung open from his gentle knock. Even through the gap, his Harmonic senses detected a chaotic turmoil coming from beyond the entrance to Shadow’s dream.
Sunday didn’t know what to expect but Trailblazing taught him that the unknown was both a potential danger and an opportunity.
“You changed, haven’t you, Sunny of the Astral Express?” Wonweek chimed in, his inner voice clearer in Sunday's Dreamscape.
“Hopefully for the better,” the Halovian couldn’t help but reply. “But this isn’t about me. It’s about Shadow.”
After a deep breath, Sunday stepped past the threshold.
When Shadow opened his eyes, he knew everything was wrong.
He was back in his and Maria’s pillow fort. The fairy lights were dim, not bright as they should have been. The pillow underneath his arms was rubbing against his fur in the wrong way. Maria was practising her guitar in front of him. However, he couldn’t hear the familiar haunting notes of an unfinished song.
Shadow didn’t know how he ended up in this inaccurate replay of his memories. The last thing he could recall was going to sleep in this very fort. The hedgehog tried to push his mind to remember more but only received a painful headache.
His groan halted the movement of Maria’s playing. She was saying something to him. Her tone was gentle and concerned. Yet, her words were muffled like she was underwater. Shadow looked up to see her face, hoping it could somehow set things right.
“Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look. DON’T LOOK!DONT’LOOKDON’TLOOK!”
The door burst open.
Instead of the Professor, there stood a strange man. His outfit was an elaborate one, far different from the white coats the scientists wore. Half of his coat was blue while the other half was white. There was a weird circular object behind his head and a pair of feathers sprouted from his neck.
Those features tickled something from his memories.
“Why do you have wings behind your ears? I have never seen a human having those features before.”
“That’s because I’m a Halovian. Our main characteristics are our wings and the halo behind our heads. Both are considered as symbols of our affiliation with the Harmony.”
“Sunday?” Shadow asked.
The Halovian’s shoulder relaxed slightly. “Oh good, I finally found you. I would love to explain more, but we need to leave now. I could only pause this dream for only a few moments.”
“This dream? I’m dreaming?”Shadow turned back to see Maria was gone. For reasons unknown, the dread he felt before had disappeared at the sight.
Sunday nodded before he winced. His ear wings flapped in agitation. After taking a deep breath, the Halovian held out his gloved hand. “Take my hand. I can guide our way out of here.”
Shadow found it was easy, too easy to take Sunday’s hand. Somewhere inside his heart, he knew he didn’t belong in this caricature of his past.
Sunday led Shadow in the opposite direction of Shadow’s past escape. The hedgehog thought they were heading to the energy extraction area but there were too many corners than he remembered. When they stopped at a crossroads between the labs and the cafeteria, Sunday recited some sort of prayer. With a wave of his hand, little golden beings manifested around them before flying into a new corridor that just appeared out of nowhere.
“We are almost close. Shadow, get ready to teleport or use your air shoes. Just in case we may need to fly to our exit.”
“Fly? What?”
Suddenly, the whole military base began to shake; the tremors caused Sunday to stumble. Shadow helped him up.
“This distorted Memory Bubble is unstable. If we don’t leave on time, we will be stuck here for a while before the memory loops back. I will explain to you once we are in a safer place.”
They turned to a corner where an iron door with a bright red glow was waiting at the end.
Suddenly, the corridor in front of them began to darken. The floor underneath their feet crumbled and dropped into an unknown abyss.
Before gravity dragged them down, Shadow teleported them to the door. Sunday turned the knob, and they stumbled through the entrance.
They landed in the middle of an empty crossroads pelted by heavy rain. Blinking through the watery curtain, Shadow recognized the bright neon lights and towering buildings.
“I’m back in Shibuya?”
“More accurately, your memory of this Shibuya place. We can’t stay here for long. This Memory Bubble is also unstable. I need to find a new exit, but the rain is too heavy for my tuning. Shadow, if you don’t mind, can I remove the rain?”
For a second, Shadow thought he was talking to Caelus. However, as far as he could barely remember, Sunday wasn’t the type to mess around. Plus, ever since he joined the Astral Express, he discovered multiple times that the universe was more bizarre than he expected.
“Ok, Sunday. But how are you going to do that?”
“Just watch.”
The Harmony pathstrider opened his tome and lifted his hand toward the sky.
After a flash of golden light, the raindrops floated back to the dark clouds above. Even the water from his fur moved upwards, drying Shadow in the process.
“That’s impressive,” Shadow remarked.
That earned a small smile from Sunday. His ear wings fluttered from the compliment.
“Most impossible things can happen in a dream. Now, for the more difficult part.”
Sunday lifted his hand again but this time he was bathed under a brighter shower of golden light.
“O triple-faced soul, guide us to safe passage under YOUR Light.” His words echoed throughout the streets. The golden beings appeared again. After a quick spin around Sunday, they flew high, heading to a nearby skyscraper.
“Let’s follow the Echoes. Hopefully, the next door would lead us to a stable Memory Bubble.”
Before Shadow could teleport them to the top of the skyscraper, the air around them began to distort. Out of nowhere, a group of GUN soldiers marched forward, all heavily armed.
“What are they doing here?” the hedgehog growled.
Sunday frowned. “I believe they are the side effect of the memory distortion. I don’t think we have enough time to dispatch them—”
After a few flashes of red and gold lightning, the enemy dissipated into grey specks of dust. The hedgehog reappeared with a smug look on his face.
Sunday shook his head, a rueful smile on his lips. “Of course, with your powers, time is not an issue.”
Taking Sunday’s hand, Shadow teleported them to the rooftop of the skyscraper. There stood 2 doors. One was the iron door with its red glow. The other was new. The top part was also made from iron, but the bottom was pure white wood with a gilded frame that shone brightly.
Sunday breathed out in relief. “Finally, a Mutual Memory, one where our memories overlap. It should be more stable, and we finally could have a breather.”
The door opened to the Astral Express’s Party Car. The dim lighting indicated the memory was set to the train’s nighttime.
After the door shut behind them, a strong tremor shook the car. The empty air began to twist and turn in front of them.
Shadow prepared himself for another fight but froze at the sight of blonde hair and a blue dress.
“DONTLOOKDONTLOOKDONTLOOK!”
His vision was immediately blocked by a dual-toned coat. An intense blazing light began to radiate from Sunday’s halo.
“Shadoww…”
The voice called out to him, multiple pitches melded into one grating sound.
“Reveal thyself unto me, as is customary – All creatures endowed with eyes bear souls of equal worth.”
Unlike his previous prayers and chants, this was a command. The firm undisputable tone left no room for disobedience. The floor trembled from the force of Sunday’s words.
There was a searing flare of light followed by an ear-grating shriek.
The Party Car shuddered one last time and all was silent.
Sunday turned around, revealing an additional 2 pairs of wings surrounding his head. The hedgehog also realized that the Halovian had slightly levitated off the floor.
“Are you alright, Shadow?” Sunday asked, his voice now normal as he floated back to the ground. His extra wings were folded before they disappeared. Only the usual pair remained.
Shadow ignored the question. The dread from before returned in full force. “Was that Maria? Why did she sound like that? What did you do?” Shadow stared directly into Sunday’s blue and yellow eyes. “What happened to me?”
“It’s a long story, Shadow.” Sunday gestured to the lounge corner, where Shadow usually occupied to stargaze. “Let’s take a seat first.”
Shadow felt numb after hearing Sunday’s explanation. He looked out the window, hoping the sea of stars outside would soothe the hollowness in his heart.
Even that didn’t work. The space beyond the window was full of Shadow’s Memory Bubbles. All were distorted due to the Memosnatcher.
A sudden bout of exhaustion began to envelop his body. Shadow was so tired.
“All I had left of Maria are my memories of her. What should I believe if I can’t trust my memories?” Shadow turned back to face Sunday whose pitiful looks reminded Shadow of Blue’s expression on the Moon. “I even hurt you and the rest of the Astral Express. What’s the use of being powerful if I keep harming those around me?”
Sunday leaned forward. “Shadow, I must insist that the battle was not your fault. The Memosnatcher meddled with your mind and will for her own benefit. Thus, the blame fell upon her. As for your distorted memories, I believe there is a way to restore them.”
A spark of hope flickered but Shadow didn’t dare to fan it into life.
“How?”
“Do you remember Mem, Caelus’s pink companion?” Shadow nodded. “She is blessed with the power of Remembrance, enabling her to reveal the truth in memories. I can bring her here into your dream with my Dreamwalking ability. When we find the source of the distortion and use Mem’s powers to dispel it, your memories would be able to return to normal. I also believe after your memories are restored, only then you can wake up in the real world.”
“How do you figure that out?” Shadow crossed his arms, trying to temper the rising hope within him.
Sunday pulled out the red Chaos Emerald. “This gem appeared when I first entered your Dreamscape. It revealed to me that this chaotic dream exists to protect you and your mind. The flexible nature of the dream prevented your psyche from fully breaking underneath the scrambled memories.”
The Chaos Emerald hovered toward Shadow and like the others, inserted itself within him. Shadow breathed out as warm Chaos Energy enveloped him.
(Hello. Real. Safe. True.)
A small tentative smile bloomed on Shadow’s lips. “Thank you, Sunday for helping me.”
Sunday smiled in return, putting his hand on his chest. “It’s the duty of fellow Trailblazers to help each other through the joys and perils of our journey.”
“You could just say ‘You are welcome’, you know?”
The Halovian chuckled. “Caelus did tell me that I ‘yap’ too much. You are welcome, Shadow.”
Suddenly, Sunday’s form flickered, and Shadow could clearly see the red cushioned seat behind Sunday.
Shadow frowned. “What’s going on?”
Sunday pulled up two hands in a comforting gesture. “No need to worry. It’s a sign that I would wake up soon. A few things I must remind you before I go. Listen carefully.”
Shadow nodded, his ears straightened in full attention.
“Firstly, since this is your dream, you can control almost anything here, like I did with the rain. Secondly, anything that you think didn’t belong in a memory is certainly a distortion. The best way to deal with them is by destroying them like you did with the guards. Lastly, and this is the most important one; if you sense the presence of the Maria imposter, do not engage with her and certainly do not look at her face.”
“Why?”
Sunday put one hand behind his back. “It’s the reason why I had such difficulty finding you in the first place. I’m uncertain of the reason but the face was a trigger to you. Each time you gaze upon her face, you are immediately pulled into a different Memory Bubble in a state of great distress. If it’s not for that music—"
Sunday began to fade. “My time is running out. Stay safe, Shadow. I swear that I and the Astral Express will do our best to save you and your memories.”
Before Shadow could say anything, Sunday disappeared into thin air. The Party Car felt bigger and more silent without the other Trailblazer.
“If I can do anything in a dream, then I should be able to do this.” Shadow recalled a tune he used to listen to when he spent his time in the Party Car.
After a while, music filled the air, alleviating the lonely night in the Party Car.
“Birds are born with no shackles
Then, what fetters my fate?”
Sunday returned to the waking world with a gasp.
His ear wings instinctually covered his eyes from the bright sunlight.
Oh, he overslept.
“Sunday, are you okay?” asked Mr. Yang whose hand was outstretched toward Sunday’s shoulder. The man must be in the middle of an attempt to wake Sunday up.
The Halovian took note of his condition, taking a few calming breaths to settle his nerves. He told Shadow his plan, but he didn’t manage to share everything with the hedgehog. There were gaps in the details but this time, he was not working alone.
Sunday turned to face Mr. Yang, the one he trusted the most.
“I’m fine, Mr. Yang. Last night I dreamwalked into Shadow’s dream. I believe I have an idea of how to help Shadow. I appreciate it if you would provide some input before I suggest this idea to the rest.”
“Of course. I’m all ears Sunday,” Mr. Yang replied as he took a seat. His demeanour was alert and attentive to Sunday’s words.
“Firstly, we need to return to Penacony.”