Chapter Text
『⩇6 :⩇⩇ AM』
♪ Can you see all of me? Walk into my mystery~
Step inside and hold on for dear life~ ♪
Shadow cracked his eyes open as the blaring alarm shattered the quiet of his bedroom. He groaned softly, the obnoxious noise grating against his sensitive ears and rudely ripping him away from a deep, dreamless sleep.
But an alarm meant it was time to get up, and Shadow was nothing if not disciplined. Eyes still half-glued shut, he blindly fumbled for his nightstand, his fingers finally finding the snooze button and slamming it down to kill the racket.
Dragging himself out of bed, he trudged into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. He stared at his half-awake reflection in the mirror, letting out a self-deprecating half-grin. "Wow, you look like shit, Shadow."
He cranked the faucet, splashing freezing water over his muzzle to wake himself up before attacking his teeth. As he brushed, his mind drifted to last night’s dive bar escapade. His post-mission routine was a classic: hit up that sketchy back-alley joint he favored whenever he craved a drink, down an utterly unreasonable amount of booze, and drag himself home to pass out.
Not that he could actually get drunk—perks of being the Ultimate Lifeform—but he dug the vibe of the empty joint. The bartender always spun vintage vinyl records that perfectly matched Shadow's moody tastes. Plus, the drinks had a unique, biting kick to them, and honestly, Shadow preferred drinking over eating any day. (For a biologically flawless weapon like him, food was merely an option, not a necessity; he could go days without a single bite and be totally fine.)
As long as he had premium coffee beans or something with a sharp, unique sensation on his tongue, he could somewhat tolerate this whole "living" thing.
It’s what Maria wanted, right? For him to enjoy life on Earth and protect humanity. Even if he couldn't care less about—and actively disliked—the human race, he’d keep playing the guardian angel. For her.
Bathroom routine finished, he added the final touches: snapping his pristine white gloves into place, adjusting his inhibitor rings with a sharp metallic clink, and spritzing on some cologne and quill mist before slicking his quills back flawlessly. Looking razor sharp, he finally stepped out of his room.
The instant his door opened, the droning voice of a TV news anchor bombarded him. Shadow’s ruby eyes darted toward the noise, finding the local weather guy rattling off the day's humidity index while Omega stood there, casually staring at the screen like a heavily armed couch potato.
"...and with that, I can proudly declare that we have officially entered summer—"
Omega abruptly killed the power to the TV the moment he registered the sound of Shadow's door clicking shut, his robotic head swiveling to acknowledge the hedgehog. Shadow glanced toward the balcony, spotting Rouge gossiping animatedly on her phone. She caught his eye, flashing a bright grin and throwing up a hand in greeting without missing a beat in her conversation. Omega clanked his way into the dining room as the two teammates exchanged their silent pleasantries.
Shadow let out a long sigh at the bat's overly dramatic wave. Reading her lips, he saw her ask: You're up?
Shadow offered a noncommittal shrug. He had zero desire to get roped into a chat when she clearly had no intention of hanging up her call, so he turned his back on her, sauntering toward the front door to grab his shoes.
Clicking his Air Shoes securely into place, he yanked the door open. He was already halfway into the hall when Rouge yelled out, "Don't forget about tonight, Shadow! You'd better be there, okay?!"
He slammed the door shut, completely blowing off whatever the hell she was rambling about. Go where? What was even happening tonight?
Whatever it was, he had zero plans to look at his roommates' faces for the rest of the day. He’d barely survived that agonizingly long mission with them, and he fully intended to spend his day off escaping Rouge’s relentless chatter and Omega’s booming declarations. He desperately needed to recharge his social battery.
Riding the elevator down and stepping out of the apartment complex, he accidentally bumped into a Mobian capybara. She instantly panicked as her grocery bag tipped, spilling bright red tomatoes all over the pavement. "I-I'm so sorry!" she stammered, frantically bowing in apology.
Shadow clicked his tongue in mild annoyance, watching the flustered capybara scramble to gather her runaway produce. He was just about to walk away when he spotted a human teenager bombing down the hill on roller skates, totally out of control. "Move! Move!" the kid shrieked, waving his arms frantically with a face full of obnoxious panic.
Shadow snatched the capybara by her arm and yanked her out of the collision course just in the nick of time. Sadly, her tomatoes weren't as lucky, getting brutally squashed into pulp under the kid's runaway wheels.
"What a jerk," Shadow muttered under his breath. He glanced down at the trembling Mobian. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay. Thank you so much for saving me, sir," she squeaked. Clutching her tragic, half-empty bag of surviving tomatoes, she sprinted into the apartment complex without looking back, clearly mourning her ruined groceries.
Shadow just shook his head. Firing up the thrusters on his Air Shoes, he glided off effortlessly, leaving the pulpy mess behind. He cruised smoothly through the bustling streets of Central City, eventually veering toward the city limits to take in the rolling hills, until he finally rolled into a lively local park. He usually liked to chill here, staring out at the calm lake and the goofy little swan paddleboats bobbing on the water.
Seeking a tranquil spot to appreciate the surroundings, Shadow’s sensitive ears picked up the sharp sound of a child’s crying. Following the noise, he discovered a little girl distressed over a vibrant balloon caught in the upper branches of an oak tree. In a flash, Shadow blurred over to the trunk, scaled it in a split second, snatched the string, and landed back on the grass without breaking a sweat. He handed it out to her, and the waterworks stopped instantly.
She grabbed the balloon with a massive, beaming smile. "Thank you, mister!" she cheered, clutching the string for dear life.
"Don't let go this time," he told her flatly.
The little girl hopped up and down, her twin-tails bouncing cheerfully. Reaching into her little pocket, she shoved a small package toward him. "Here, have some cookies!"
"Er... you don't need to—" Shadow started, but she forcefully jammed the wrapped cookies into his hands before skipping away into the crowd. Shadow stood there for a moment, gazing absently at the sweet treat in his gloved hand as her tiny figure disappeared from view. Stowing the snack safely in his quills, he glided out of the park.
He was laying down some serious speed on the open road when a jarring flash of azure caught his peripheral vision.This blue blur easily kept pace with him, accompanied by that annoyingly upbeat voice and inescapable presence.
"Hey, Shads! Saw you playing the good Samaritan back there."
"Do not speak to me, hedgehog," Shadow practically growled.
"Prickly as ever. But seriously, I just wanted to give you some props for the good deed," Sonic said, dripping with sass. "Usually, you're so aggressive with kids, y'know?"
"Oh? And what makes you think that?" Shadow rolled his eyes, keeping his gaze dead ahead as he skated, not even bothering to glance at the nuisance on his right.
"Well... you’ve kinda beaten up a lot of kids during your whole vigilante crusade. Not to mention Tails. You're always targeting the poor guy."
Shadow shook his head in sheer disgust. "I am not a vigilante. If anyone fits that ridiculous description, it's you."
"Hey, I’m a bonafide hero! Always there to save the day! Not like a certain edgy hedgehog who won’t even give me the time of day or look at me!"
Shadow finally snapped his head toward Sonic, immediately met with a cocky, toothy grin from the blue speedster.
"Finally, you look—"
WHAM.
Sonic abruptly vanished from Shadow's side, completely wiped out by his own high-speed distraction. Shadow ground to a halt, reversing his skates to find Sonic groaning on the pavement, having brutally introduced himself to a fire hydrant.
"Heh. Maybe try looking where you're going next time," Shadow smirked, basking in the petty victory.
Sonic clutched his bruised stomach, heavily leaning one hand on the metal hydrant as he struggled to stand. "How about... urgh... you actually help a guy out, instead of just standing there doing that weirdass staring thing you do?" he grumbled.
"I'm busy."
With that, Shadow turned his back and blasted off, his Air Shoes roaring to life. He chuckled darkly to himself as he sped away, highly amused by the idiotic look on Sonic’s face when he slammed into that hydrant. But just as he thought he’d ditched the annoyance for good, another blur caught his eye—this time on his left. Sonic was back in action, pacing him step for step.
"How about a race, Shads?" Sonic challenged. "Whoever loses gotta do whatever the winner says."
"I'm not in the mood for your games," Shadow shot back.
But Sonic didn't even bother listening, rocketing ahead and leaving Shadow to grind his teeth in pure irritation.
Alright. If that’s how you want it, Faker, he muttered internally.
Igniting his thrusters to the max, Shadow boosted forward, tearing down the asphalt to catch the blue blur.
──── ⌛︎ ────
After a balls-to-the-wall race with insane difficulty—one that left even Shadow gasping for air—he finally crossed the makeshift finish line. They had wound up at the breezy coastline of Green Hill Zone, miles away from where their high-speed turf war had begun. Shadow was practically drenched in sweat after they traveled the longest route ever. The blistering summer heat was merciless, and with his pitch-black fur absorbing every damn ray of sunlight, he was undeniably at a massive disadvantage.
"Are you brewing up excuses for your loss in that edgy head of yours~?" Sonic sang out, flashing a shit-eating grin. The blue blur wasn't even winded and practically strutted in front of him with an obnoxious, triumphant little victory dance.
"It was a hair-thin win, Faker. I—hah—was seconds away from crushing you," Shadow panted, still trying to wrangle his runaway breathing under control.
"Just admit it, Shads. When it comes to stamina, I’m the undisputed champ." The blue speedster pointed a cocky thumb at himself, flashing that insufferable grin that earned a low, guttural growl from Shadow.
"You just inhale a disgusting amount of calories, giving you an excess of energy to burn," Shadow retorted. He finally gave out, plopping down onto the lush grass and leaning back on his hands.
His ruby eyes locked onto the crashing ocean waves ahead, the blinding glare of the setting sun casting weird, wavering mirages over the water. Way too damn bright, he thought bitterly.
Sonic followed suit, dropping onto the grass right next to him. His gloved hand almost—almost—brushed against Shadow's. Shadow instantly yanked his hand away, making damn sure no contact happened. He cemented his perpetual, icy scowl onto his muzzle, shifting his weight to put a comfortable cushion of personal space between them. From the corner of his eye, he watched Sonic staring out at the endless blue horizon.
"It's been a hot minute since we raced, man. I was actually starting to miss it," Sonic said. He suddenly whipped his head toward Shadow, making the dark hedgehog awkwardly avert his gaze, pretending he totally hadn't been sneaking glances at the blue idiot.
"I didn't miss it at all," Shadow snapped back, lacing his words with as much venom as he could muster.
"Haha, you say that, but you still took the bait, and you were totally grinning while we were neck-and-neck! Just admit you had a blast, buddy." Sonic slapped him hard on the shoulder, causing Shadow’s eyes to blow wide with sheer, homicidal irritation. Sonic quickly mouthed a silent 'sorry' upon catching the death glare.
A comfortable silence settled, thick and warm like a sun-baked blanket, punctuated by the rhythmic whoosh and crash of waves meeting the shore. A gentle, salty sea breeze whispered past, ruffling the soft fur of Shadow and the coarse quills along his back, carrying the faint, briny scent of the ocean.
Shadow drew his knees up, and folded his arms, resting his cheek on the cool, smooth leather of his gloves. His eyes, sharp and focused, traced the shifting patterns of golden sand under the vibrant green of the grassy cliff. Suddenly, the peaceful quiet, like a fragile bubble, burst with the sharp, familiar voice of Sonic, perfectly pitched to needle Shadow.
"You're coming later, right?"
Shadow slowly turned his head, his temple pressing into the glove. Shadow aimed a grumpy, sidelong glare, sharp as a lightning strike, at Sonic. The blue hedgehog sat there, relaxed and expectant, a stark contrast to Shadow's coiled tension.
"Meaning?" Shadow grunted, sounding rough.
"Oh, c'mon! To my birthday party!" Sonic shot back, his voice pitching up a notch.
"Your birthday party?"
"Yep," Sonic nodded eagerly. "Didn't Rouge tell you? Or did you just totally blank on the date?"
Shadow frowned, tapping his communicator watch and glaring at the neon digits displaying the date. Suddenly, it clicked. That’s what Rouge was screeching about before he left the apartment. Sonic's birthday bash...
"Sooo?" Sonic pressed, leaning in with wide, pleading emerald eyes like a kid begging for candy.
"No."
"What?! What do you mean, no?"
"I mean no. You want to hear it in Spanish? No." Shadow rolled his eyes so hard it hurt. He straightened his posture and immediately got to his feet, dusting off his legs.
"Oh, c'mon, Faker! Why are you so fiercely allergic to my birthday party? Literally everyone is gonna be there, how could you not show up?!"
"Oh, not everyone. Silver won't be there."
"The guy is from the freakin' future! I have zero way to contact him! You're literally standing right here!"
"Lame excuse, don't you think?" Shadow deadpanned.
Sonic scrambled up, trying to block Shadow's path and force eye contact. "It is not lame! If Silver wanted to, he could just time-travel to this exact date. But he's a busy guy, so I’m not gonna force him."
"I am also busy."
"No, you are not! I already asked Rouge and Omega. They said you have zero missions coming up and you're on official leave. You are a free man."
"This is coercion," Shadow muttered. He tried to brush past the blue nuisance, but Sonic just blurred right back in front of him.
"C'mon, Shad! Just come. It’ll be a blast. Think of it as a prime opportunity to actually socialize!" Sonic pleaded, his hands reaching out to grab Shadow's upper arms. The ebony hedgehog jolted, thoroughly startled by the sudden grip. "Stop acting all dark and broody like Batman and come hang out with your friends!"
Shadow stared at Sonic, utterly unimpressed. With a sharp jerk of his arms, he broke Sonic's hold, forcing the blue hedgehog to step back.
"Excuse me. Are we friends? Because as I recall, the only reason you're in my vicinity is because you annoyingly refuse to leave." He shoved a flat palm forward to keep Sonic at bay. "So, I’m pretty sure no one at that party is my friend. They are your friends."
"My friends are your friends too!" Sonic argued, stubborn as a mule. "Besides, Rouge is gonna be there! She's your friend, right?"
"She is just my coworker, slash roommate, slash teammate. That's it," Shadow clarified coldly. "I don't have any friends. The only friend I ever had is dead."
At that heavy drop, all the cheeky humor drained from Sonic's face, instantly replaced by deep, regretful sympathy.
"Shadow, I didn't mean—" but Shadow's gloved hand clamped tightly over Sonic's muzzle, slashing off his apology. Shadow leaned in close, teeth bared in a vicious snarl, his ruby eyes practically freezing Sonic in place with an icy glare.
"So get the fuck outta here. Do you understand?" Shadow hissed. Sonic gave a slow, reluctant nod against the glove. Only then did Shadow snatch his hand back. He turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving the blue hero standing alone on the cliffside, shoulders slumped and head dipped in defeat. When Shadow finally bothered to glance back over his shoulder, Sonic was gone.
Good riddance.
Firing up his Air Shoes, Shadow blasted away.
The rest of the day unfolded precisely as he'd hoped. Shadow visited a quiet downtown cafe, where he ordered a scalding hot espresso. He then settled into a corner booth, losing himself in a new library book.
As dusk began to paint the sky in shades of bruised purple and orange, he left the cafe and made his way to his usual nighttime spot. This was a high vantage point offering a dual vista: the sprawling city lights below and a clear view of the stars above. He lay flat in a meadow brimming with white wildflowers, the scene perfectly encapsulating the lazy, humid essence of a summer night.
Shadow plopped down amidst the fragrant blossoms, absorbing the neon grid of the city before tilting his head back. However, the sky was not littered with stars as he had anticipated. Instead, it was an ugly, murky black, choked by thick storm clouds. It was a damn shame, as he had been eagerly anticipating the quiet serenity of the cosmos. The moon itself was completely obscured, plunging the entire cliffside into an unnervingly deep, pitch-black darkness.
The atmosphere felt entirely wrong, too.
The air was heavy, and unnervingly silent—a creepy, suffocating stillness that made his gut twist. Despite his hyper-sensitive hearing, he couldn't discern a single sound. His ruby eyes flickered between the distant, blurry city lights and his immediate surroundings: a dense, rustling bush to his left, and a foreboding, pitch-black tree line to his right.
Ring... ring...
The shrill chirp of his communicator made him flinch. He glared down at the glowing screen: Rouge. That damn bat.
Her timing was impeccable, totally catching him off guard. He immediately swiped to ignore the call, already knowing exactly what she was going to nag him about. After denying her five times in a row, a text finally popped up:
"Are you seriously going to pull this crap, hon? You’re totally going back on your word! You said yesterday you’d come, and now you’re MIA. I’m going to wait here until you show your prickly face, so get over here, Shadow! Come to Sonic’s birthday party! Try playing nice with our birthday boy for once. Get here! I’m waiting."
Shadow powered off the screen with a completely deadpan expression. Why was Rouge so hellbent on dragging him there? It’s not like his presence would magically elevate the mood. If anything, he'd bet his life savings that the bash would become the most depressing, awkward party in history the second a mood-killer like him walked through the door.
No matter what those two said, he wasn't going. And seriously, why were they expecting Shadow the Hedgehog—the guy who visibly despised social gatherings—to show up to a birthday rave? Absolutely ridiculous.
A sudden rustle from the bushes sent Shadow's triangular ears twitching. He swore on his life there was something lurking behind that foliage; his hearing never lied.
"Who's there?!" Shadow barked, squaring up to face the shadowed shrubs. Thanks to his killer night vision, he could easily see the leaves violently shaking again. Whatever it was, it was massive, thrashing around so hard the bush looked ready to uproot.
He dropped into a combat stance. He had to stay frosty; this could be a hostile. Whether it was rogue Badniks or some woodland creature on steroids, he wasn't taking any chances.
Shadow crept forward, left arm extended, silencing his footsteps with trained precision. The second his fingertips brushed the damp leaves, he violently ripped the branches apart to ambush the lurker—only to watch a fat, terrified squirrel bolt into the darkness. Just a fucking squirrel.
He let go of the branches with an annoyed huff. But the absolute second his guard dropped, a heavy, mechanical presence materialized right behind him. An eerie, blood-red light washed over his back, casting a long, ominous silhouette of his quills against the dirt. Oh... shit.
A frantic BEEP-BEEP triggered his reflexes. Shadow used Chaos Snap, blinking out of existence a microsecond before a barrage of missiles obliterated the patch of grass he’d just been standing on. Reappearing mid-air, he finally got a good look at his attackers. Pouring out from the pitch-black tree line were hundreds of glowing crimson eyes.
Drones.
A downright terrifying swarm of them appeared, and they looked weird as hell. The drones, shaped like oversized baseballs and as large as his torso, were incredibly numerous. Worse still, the smooth metallic spheres split open seamlessly, revealing heavy artillery hidden inside. A merciless hailstorm of machine-gun fire ripped through the air, tracking Shadow's every move as he desperately dodged their laser-guided scans.
Shadow tore into the swarm, attempting to pick them off one by one. He boosted at blinding speeds on his Air Shoes, throwing brutal haymakers, but the drones' armor proved ridiculously tough—nothing like the flimsy scrap-metal bots he was used to busting. Therefore, he had to change tactics and began baiting the machines into shooting each other. He would stand dead in their crosshairs and Chaos Snap away the exact millisecond they fired, letting their own friendly fire do the heavy lifting.
As he fought, his mind raced, wondering who the hell was orchestrating this. Was it Dr. Eggman? It made the most sense, as launching an army of robots was the doc's signature move, and the overwhelming numbers perfectly matched an average Badnik deployment.
But these things didn't look like animals, nor did they sport Eggman's flashy, colorful aesthetic. They were ruthlessly minimalist: sterile white, spherical hulls sporting a single, ominous red camera-lens eye that whirred and clicked as it locked onto him. The assault was massive and completely unpredictable. It was like they were actively downloading and adapting to his combat style in real-time. Shadow was seriously struggling to stay afloat against hundreds of them, his usual offensive patterns rendered entirely useless.
If this really was Eggman's handiwork, then bravo—Shadow might actually have to compliment the mad doctor on this psychotic upgrade to his Egg Pawns.
Dammit. I really should’ve brought a Chaos Emerald.
Shadow frantically scanned the battlefield. There were still at least thirty of the bastards left, and he was already huffing fumes. His sleek fur was caked with dirt, and his body had numerous bruises and battering. One drone had fired some kind of heavy plasma cannon earlier; he’d managed to dodge a direct hit, but the shockwave alone had blasted him into the dirt and pinned him down. Right now, his only thought was survival.
How the hell was he supposed to shake off a squad explicitly programmed to assassinate him?
Because if he kept fighting a battle of attrition, Shadow would, without a doubt, die.
"Who the hell is controlling these things?!" he roared, aggressively wiping a streak of warm blood from his cheek where a bullet had grazed him. "Are you hiding behind a screen somewhere, Doctor?!" Predictably, the drones offered zero banter—only the terrifying, high-pitched whine of energy weapons charging up for the kill.
This was bad. Really bad. Shadow was going to have to blow his entire tank, going all-in on one desperate play. It was a massive gamble: chain-spamming Chaos Snap strictly for evasion, hoarding every last drop of his remaining stamina for a full-scale Chaos Blast. And he had to make absolutely sure this ultimate attack wiped out the rest of the swarm.
He initiated the perilous plan, vanishing precisely where the drones couldn't see him and pushing the dispersed bots into a dense group. He ricocheted wildly across the meadow—snap, appear, disappear, appear—ping-ponging around them without throwing a single punch or kick. It was all about preserving that raw, explosive Chaos energy.
Once he was dead certain the drones were bunched up in the kill zone, Shadow snapped high into the cloudy sky. Throwing his arms wide, he unleashed the devastating nuke he’d been bottling up. "Chaos BLAST!"
A blinding dome of crimson energy erupted over the meadow. The intense light seared Shadow’s eyes, and the ground beneath him buckled violently. A thunderous roar ripped through the air, and nearby trees groaned and splintered as the earth tore them from their roots.
As the thick, acrid smoke smelling sharply of ozone and burnt earth slowly dissipated, a hazy crimson tinge lingered in the air. Shadow was on his hands and knees, his lungs burning as he desperately gasped for thin, smoke-filled air. He watched the last fizzling sparks of his red energy crackle and die on the scorched dirt.
The meadow looked like a graveyard of shattered, smoking white metal. Its sharp edges glinted dully, and sparking circuitry emitted a faint, high-pitched whine.
Phew... The crazy plan worked. He’d wiped the floor with them.
But right now, Shadow felt completely drained. A bone-deep exhaustion settled over him, and it made him feel hollowed out, as if his very life force had sucked him dry. His knees wobbled so violently that he could barely stand upright; the trembling in his limbs was a constant, unsettling vibration. He wiped a streak of black soot off his muzzle. He forced his heavy, trembling legs to drag him forward, one agonizing step at a time.
He needed to hit up Rouge. He desperately needed an evac. Or maybe he should dial Omega? Rouge was definitely busy getting wasted at that annoying hedgehog's party, so the odds of her picking up were slim to none. Shadow tapped his communicator, routing the call straight to Omega.
The line clicked, instantly connecting to the towering bot’s booming robotic voice. "HELLO, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG. WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME AT THIS HOUR?"
"Omega—" Shadow groaned, his voice raspy and weak. "Can you... come pick me up."
"YOU SOUND LIKE SHIT. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT LOCATION?"
"Just track my coordinates... get here ASAP," Shadow choked out.
But completely unbeknownst to him, a single, heavily damaged drone silently booted back up. It hovered into the air, locking its glowing red lens dead onto the back of his head. Shadow's ears twitched as he finally sensed it, but his exhausted body was just too damn slow. He whipped his head around, only to feel a searing, high-velocity impact smash straight into his forehead. The brutal force blasted him backward, his body hitting the dirt with a sickening, wet thud.
And then everything faded to black.
.
.
♪ Can you see all of me? Walk into my mystery~
Step inside and hold on for dear life~ ♪