Chapter Text
Tears streamed from those red eyes, the tiny red and black hedgehog shaking as he rested curled up against his human caretakers, Maria and Gerald, as he watched his entire village burning. People ran and screamed, houses burning to the ground, the stars in the night sky hidden from vie by the thick, suffocating plumes of smoke as the entire village is slowly destroyed. He nearly cries out in fear as a member of the Gunner Clan, selfish, controlling brutes who believe they're protecting the land from evil, walks by their hiding place, searching for more life to snuff out. Maria covers his mouth and comforts him with head petting and kisses, though she too is shaking.
They were here under the belief that some new, dangerous being had come to be born here, one that would be able to disrupt the natural order of the entire pantheon, and wipe out all the gods in one go. And so they believed it was their duty to protect the heavens, and destroy this heathenish bastard child before they could grow too powerful, and set to wiping the entire area of all life, as efficiently and brutally as possible. Of course, being such a large group of humans, many of them took great pleasure in doing this, rather then simply considering it a duty, as were the ones currently hunting him and his little family now. They kept quiet and still, for as long as they could, in the hope that they could wait out the hunting party, and possibly escape to one of the larger cities afterwards, where the clan wouldn't dare try to expand their genocide in fear of the military might of the united cities.
And it almost looked like they would get away with it, hiding in this old rubble silently... until a particularly perceptive member of the Gunners took note of the hollows entrance, and began approaching their hiding place. Shadow's eyes widened, and he squirmed in fear, terrified for the lives of his family, though Maria calmed him once more, petting his head... and slowly moving the little hedgehog out of her lap, and into a small nook of the rubble, where he wouldn't be seen.
"Stay here, and stay quiet, alright? Hey, look at me... no tears alright my little Shadow? Everything will be alright, someday, I promise. Just stay strong for big sis, and cover your ears. And once everything is clear, get to safety... Get to safety and live your life, grow up, become strong, for me, alright little Shadow?" The sickly, blonde human girl, calmly spoke to him, smiling the entire time... until the slab of rubble that kept them hidden was moved away, at which point she and her grandfather sat up straight, and no longer payed attention to his existence, to make sure they wouldn't be suspicious of the trembling child hidden deeper in the hiding place.
The raider who noticed their spot grinned maliciously, wiping his blade clean of fresh blood, and had them dragged away from their place, and away from Shadow. He wanted to scream and cry out for them, but he stayed silent, covering his ears and shutting his eyes tight. It did not keep him from hearing their cries and bloody gurgles as their throats were cut... and then the silence that came after.
He stayed there for hours, even long after the clan had moved on, covering his head and trembling the entire time. Only when the rain began to fall, did he finally come out... to find that everything he'd ever known was gone. The buildings were smoldering rubble, the surrounding lands were trampled into the dirt, and the people... nothing but a pile of burnt corpses in the middle of town. Tears streamed from his eyes once more, mixed with the tearful rain of Tikal, God of Night's Rain and Sorrow, who had been watching this brutal, horrid act that had befallen these people. She'd wished she could have stopped this, but she was limited in her ability to interact with the mortal world. Though, she could do little things.
A flash of lightning drew his eyes, as his form heaved and shook from crying, and he noticed a small, blue ribbon upon the ground, fallen from Maria's hair when she'd been taken. He stared at it for a moment, before taking it, and carefully tying it around his wrist, his tears slowing, and his sobs calming down. Once finished, he gently ran his thumb across the ribbon, and told himself mentally that he needed to stay strong for her... he needed to live for her...
Another flash of lightning drew his attention, leading his eyes to the nearby forest. He would easily be able to make his way through there, hidden from the clan, and reach safety. He took one last look at the village behind him, and then took off into a sprint, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. Tikal, keeping watch over him, did her best to make the storm as violent as possible, to keep him hidden as he raced to the city, and lead him along the way.
It would be years before he found out what she'd done from him, through a rare conversation he'd have with her through prayer at her statue. He swore that someday, he would make it up to her in any way he could, but she denied it, saying that it was the least she could do after she was unable to save his village and family...
Little did she know, however, was that he was already planning something...
He was now a full grown man. Tall (for a hedgehog), broad shouldered, handsome... and brooding. He'd emotionally closed himself off after that incident, wishing to never grow attached to anyone ever again. He'd felt weak, worthless, and blamed himself for not being able to help his village in it's time of need, so he'd joined the army of the United Cities, and quickly grew through the ranks. He'd hoped that he could eventually get into a position where he could convince the higher ups to allow him to mobilize an army upon the Gunner Clan before they laid waste to any more people's lives and villages... but was unable to climb the ranks fast enough before his deadline approached.
That deadline being the Time of Harmony, in which the gods would descend to earth to live as mortals once more, and the heavens would take care of themselves for the time being, until they inevitable returned to the skies to take up the duty once more. Ever since his conversation with Tikal all those years ago, he'd made a promise to himself to make her happy again, once she came to the earth.
And that deadline was today. The sky is dark, as the sun had yet to break over the horizon, but the plaza of the city was packed full of people, ready to welcome their gods to the world once again, and make their time here as pleasant as could be. Holy Guards took their places along the main part of the plaza, where the statues of the gods resided, all of which would transform into mortal forms once the rays of the sun touched them. He was one of those guards, standing at the forefront of the statues, to greet them into the world. Now, most people see this dark, broody hedgehog as angry, sarcastic, and totally unbefitting of someone to welcome these beings to the world. But anyone who really knew him knew he was perfect for the job.
Underneath it all, he was kind, courteous, polite, and had a heart of gold that put everyone else's to shame. Though he had no smile to offer them, he would be a perfect host for them, and especially to the young echidna god of the night rains, who's constant, sorrowful tears made every rainfall in the night beautiful, calming, and utterly loved. |
Shadow the Hedgehog stood there, at attention in his silver armor, unmoving as the sun slowly rose up, casting light upon the mountains... and then upon the tallest of buildings... and then the temples tallest pillars... before finally touching the statues themselves. Finally, when the light touched every last statue, it began. The stars shone bright in the sky, even through the daytime light, the wind blew and wrapped leaves around each statue, the plants grew brighter in color, and rustled excitedly in the air, and the statues began to glow and crack, bits of stone flaking off of them, as the gods finally came home.
It took but a minute, for each and every one of them to come out of their stone casing, and step forwards, eyes wide with amazement and wonder at the festivities that had been prepared for them. The love and care that had been put forwards for their arrival, the light, hushed cheering that was quickly quieted by the guard... and then each of them laid their eyes upon Shadow.
His eyes, intense, red, and almost glaring, looked out across each of them, as silence reigned through the plaza, as he studied each and every one of them, looking for the echidna that he could almost consider his friend... and upon finding her, he cleared his throat and spoke in a deep, calm tone.
"....Welcome home"
His words were simple, short, and delivered promptly... but they were filled with heart, love, and care, to any who knew what too look for in his voice, and each and every god could feel it in his words. They began to cheer, and cry, and laugh, running forwards into the crowd to meet friends they'd made through prayers, family that they'd watched over for a thousand years, and strangers that they could get to know in their month of life. Shadow gave a simple, soft smile as he watched this, before laying his eyes upon the lonely echidna, who had no one to be here for her, and stepped forwards to meet her. She look up into his eyes, slightly shorter then him, as he stood before her, slowly removing his helmet.
"Hello shadow... nice to finally meet you" She said with a soft smile, to which he responded with a hug, surprising her.
"Hello Tikal... thank you for everything you've done for me" He said quietly, giving the young girl the first embrace she'd had in a millenia, and after some stunned silence, she returned the hug, and cried.
A month later, it was time. It was getting late, and once the last of the sunlight disappeared beneath the horizon, decisions would have to be made. Many of the pantheon had made their decision already, thanks to a group of young mortals who had agreed to take their place, proud and full of energy. Crying, laughing, and hugging came as they said their goodbyes, ready to take their place in the skies and tend to their newfound duties.
Tikal had found herself a family, a small group of her clan that she'd thought were wiped out. One of which was a young echidna who was planning to join her in the sky, as a god of Battle, Honor, and the artifacts of the world. He stood beside her, proud and beaming with excitement, ready to take the mantle from his predecessor, who'd found himself a husband in the month he'd been here. Though, sadness still radiated from Tikal. Being such a minor god, she'd not had many followers, and as such, no one had planned to take her place, so she could finally live her own life... as far as she knew.
Shadow took his place amongst the guards once more, looking to the sides at his fellow guards, giving each of them a knowing nod, his plan ready to be sprung. The night was quickly approaching, and the new gods started taking their places in front of the crumbled statues, ready to take their places. Tikal was the last to approach, unwilling to part from the embrace of her new, temporary mother figure, who looked up at shadow, giving him a soft, knowing smile.
At last, the sun disappeared, and the bases of the statues glowed in a brilliant radiance, ready to accept the new mortals in their place once again, and soon they started to fill up, stone creeping up their features slowly. It was then that Tikal finally let go of the older echidna woman, and turned to go embrace her place in the sky once more..... or at least attempted to. Strong, loving arms wrapped around the millennia old teen girl, holding her in place. Confusion crossed her face as she looked up at Shadow, who gave her a soft smile, and then turned away, approaching her spot.
"W- Shadow, no! You can't! Please, you have so much to live for!" She cried out, tears falling out of her eyes as she tried to squirm out of her new mothers arms, eventually breaking free, only to run into the line of guards you held her at bay, refusing to look at their comrade. Shadow stood before the platform of his new resting place, hesitant for but a moment, and then stepped onto it, turning to face the teenage girl.
"And you have more to live for.... Thank you for what you did for me Tikal... please, be good for your mother, and don't forget me" He spoke as the stone slowly crept up his legs, a soft, almost unseeable smile upon his face as he went still, and took his place in the heavens.