Work Text:
“Shadow.”
He was trying. By Chaos, he was trying so hard to listen to her.
It was hard to pull his eyes away from her wings, tattered with age, and her wrinkles, much more prominent than they had been before.
She didn’t have much time left.
She knew it.
He knew it.
“Shadow,” Rouge said again.
“Yes. Yes, I-I’m listening.” He replied.
Rouge gave him that knowing look. “No you’re not. I’ve known you long enough, Shadow the Hedgehog. You’re not listening to me. So tell me what’s on your mind.”
“It’s nothing.”
She frowned.
Shadow dipped his head, avoiding her gaze.
“I’m just… thinking.”
“About?”
“...Time.”
Rouge closed her eyes.
Shadow knew that she knew what he was talking about.
They’ve avoided this conversation for years, but…
They lost Sonic last year already.
A month ago, Knuckles went too.
It was hard.
Shadow could tell that they were waning.
His races with Sonic became… easier as the hedgehog began to slow down. His blue fur began to gray with age.
He knew Sonic was racing against time. He just chose to ignore it.
Until the speedy hero lost his life fighting for the planet once more.
Shadow was there when that happened, but he didn’t get to say goodbye. He had to contain the threat before it got way too out of hand and by the time he succeeded…
Sonic was gone.
His friends were able to say goodbye, but Shadow couldn’t.
It was Amy who approached him after.
“Sonic said that he wants a rematch when you see him again.” She told him with tears in her eyes.
Shadow felt numb. He didn’t believe in an afterlife, not like everyone else. He was raised by a scientist. He was created by a scientist in a lab. He wasn’t one to believe in faith.
But he nodded anyway.
Last month, Knuckles contacted him for help when some greedy bastards were stealing the Master Emerald.
Shadow was never one to leave friends hanging.
He went to help him.
But he couldn’t save him.
It was his fault. His fault.
Of course, Rouge didn’t blame him.
Rouge never blamed him for the death of her husband.
Amy never blamed him for the death of her’s either.
But he couldn’t help but feel guilty nonetheless.
He wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t good enough.
“I know this conversation is long overdue, Shadow.” Rouge says, fixing her teal eyes on him.
Rouge’s body may have become dull over the years, but her eyes remained as sharp as ever.
“But you’ve always known that you’d outlive us all.”
Because he’s the Ultimate Lifeform. He doesn’t grow up, he doesn’t age.
“...Yes.”
“Shadow, look at me, please.” Rouge pleaded.
He can’t. If he does, then he has to accept that time has affected her. Affected them all.
He looks up at her anyway.
She smiles.
“Talk to me, Shadow.”
He feels sick.
“H-How can I continue?” He asks her. He’s long past the point of hiding his feelings from her. He breathes deeply, asking quietly. “How do I keep going without you all?
“What is there to live for?”
Rouge sighs sadly. “There’s many things to live for, Shadow.”
“Like what?”
Rouge hums softly. “Like the grass beneath your feet. Like the fresh air you breathe. Like beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Perfect views.” She bats her eyelids cheekily, “Like pretty gemstones.”
Shadow musters up an amused huff at her poor attempt at humor.
“Like the people you meet, Shadow. The people you meet and get to know. You can live for them if you wish.” Her voice becomes more serious as she leans forward. “But most of all, Shadow, you can live for yourself. ”
His breath catches in his throat.
“For so long, you’ve lived for other people, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you’ve always lived holding onto others.” Her eyes softened. “You can live for life. You can live for just being alive.”
“Live for life?”
“Yes. You can live for the fact that you’re still alive. That there’s still grass and trees and a sunrise and sunset.
“You can enjoy life and live for just being alive.”
Rouge died within the year.
He didn’t understand what she meant when she told him.
As she lay on her deathbed, she smiled and told him once more.
Live for life.
The second time he lost his sister.
He took those words to heart.
He internalized it.
It became his mantra.
He was with Amy when it was her turn.
He promised to look after her children.
He was with Tails when it happened.
He promised that Tails had nothing to worry about.
He visited Eggman once his time came.
The crazy old man lived for so long and gave up his plans for world domination once he realized he could no longer carry out what he wanted to do.
He lived a peaceful life after that.
Ivo Robotnik surprisingly had no regrets.
Shadow promised him that he would live his life with no regrets.
From there, Shadow made sure to be present when the people he knew passed on.
He each promised them something.
He lived on the side of life.
He learned to live for the inhabitants of the planet, the people he both knows and doesn’t.
Most importantly, he learned to live for himself.
He learned to enjoy life.
He traveled all over the world, he memorized every inch of the beautiful land.
In one case, he traveled to different worlds, different realms.
He even explored space at one point, but as he lived the majority of his early life in space, it didn’t take long for him to wish for the blue, cloudy sky above him and the soft green ground below him.
He was there when both humans and sapients alike were sent out to colonize the stars.
The world around him changed, but he didn’t.
He always stayed the same.
His body never showed signs of age and it never felt weighed down by time.
Everyday he felt the same.
Always the same.
But his eyes changed.
He noticed in the mirror that his eyes tended to look different.
He kept track of all his friends’ descendents. He watched them, protected them, and told them stories of their ancestors.
With his help, they constructed a statue of Sonic the Hedgehog, the Savior of Mobius along with an ongoing memorial which listed the names of those who helped avert countless disasters.
Beside many of their names were their birth dates and death dates.
Shadow just had a creation date.
He didn’t visit the memorial as often as he should’ve.
For a long time, he had E-123 Omega as his last friend. The faithful robot went everywhere with him. He never faltered, he showed no signs of age. His chassis could be cleaned and any damage could be mended.
Until one day, his central processing unit was damaged beyond repair.
Shadow was too late to save him.
Omega’s backup memory was not compatible with the new technology.
His body was too old, too out of date to be reconstructed.
Shadow had to acknowledge that it was time to let go.
Omega left nothing but one decaying recording:
“Live for yourself, Shadow the Hedgehog.”
And so he kept going.
He kept going and met Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat again.
He could no longer refer to them as being “from the future” because they referred to him as being “from the past.”
He was there when they met their ends as well.
And so he kept going.
He made new friends, and new enemies. He learned to love and to let go.
He was forever grateful that Gerald blessed him with an impeccable memory because he never forgot a face.
He could name everyone he ever met.
He could name where each of them died.
He saved the world from countless ruined futures and he saved the people from themselves.
Where there was danger, there was Shadow the Hedgehog, fighting tooth and nail to preserve the peace.
To live for life.
That wasn’t to say he didn’t have his low points.
There were many years in his long life where he didn’t have friends, he didn’t have family.
He wandered the land by himself. He didn’t talk to anyone.
He disappeared into himself.
He tried to end it but remembered their words.
Shadow always returned.
Where there was danger, he came running. Fully prepared to protect.
He lived.
He knew everything about Earth. He knew everything about the people.
Until one day…
He was the one to fall.
As a last ditch effort to save the planet, he used the Chaos Emeralds to go super and to destroy a hostile alien vessel, intent on using the people as fuel by destroying everything.
He succeeded and Earth was safe once more.
Shadow, however, knew he wasn’t coming back from this.
There he lay, surrounded by both new and old faces. Some were crying and some had soft smiles.
The descendants of his original friends, so far down the generational line that they barely resembled their ancestors, comforted him as he passed.
“Rest.” They had said, “You’ve done enough. Rest and be at peace.”
So he did.
He wasn’t worried about them. His time has long passed. He fought enough for the Earth. His powers never failed him, but as technology advanced, he was needed less and less.
But the people never forgot him.
He was always called to the frontlines.
He became the keeper of secrets.
He knew how to disappear without a trace.
He was the most knowledgeable hedgehog on the Earth.
But now…
He reached his end.
He felt himself drift away for the final time.
It was no different than falling asleep.
He wondered where he would end up. He wasn’t religious. He didn’t believe in a faith.
He was created and raised by a scientist.
He believed that was it.
“Shadow.”
“Shadow.”
“Get up, Shadow!”
He heard voices.
Voices he hadn’t heard in too long of a time.
Ruby eyes blinked open and were assaulted by bright sunlight, and yet it didn't hurt.
Sitting up, he found himself surrounded by the multiple people he met throughout his life.
Everyone was so happy to see him.
“Heya, Shads! Long time no see!” A speedy blue hedgehog, smiling wildly at him, was back in his prime. “I hope you remember that you owe me a race!”
“Sonic.” He couldn’t help greeting his rival turned friend. He hasn’t said his name in centuries.
“You sure took your time getting here!” A white bat stepped forward, giving him that knowing look.
A look that he hasn’t seen in so long.
“R-Rouge.” He choked out, overwhelmed with seeing his self-proclaimed sister.
She opened her arms. “Well? Get over here!”
He scrambled to his feet and dashed into her arms, engulfing himself within her embrace.
Everyone was there to greet him. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, hell, even Eggman was there! Behind them stood their children and their children’s children.
It was finally over.
There was no need to hide.
Tears built up in his eyes and he sobbed into Rouge’s shoulder. “I-I missed all of you so much.” He managed to say around the lump in his throat.
“I know, I know, hon.” Rouge soothed him, running a hand through his quills. “We were there with you the whole time.”
“Yeah, Shadow! You did some seriously heroic stuff out there!” Sonic agreed, giving him his iconic thumbs up.
The rest of the group chimed in with their own agreements and affirmations.
“All right, all right, gang!” Rouge called out over their voices. “He’s a little overwhelmed right now, so why don’t you guys give him some space?
“I think there’s someone in particular he would like to see right now, dontcha think?” She winked at the rest of the group, and they gave her that same knowing smile.
“What do you mean?” Shadow asked her, wiping away at his face.
“I think you know who.”
“Shadow!”
A light, young feminine voice shouted out for him.
A voice he hasn’t heard in centuries.
The voice that started it all.
Shadow moved away from Rouge.
“M-Maria?!”
A young girl, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes was racing towards him. Her skin glowed with life and there was no sign of sickness in her at all. She smiled so widely at him and- oh that smile.
Any semblance of rationale went out the window.
“Maria!”
Shadow raced towards her, tears bursting out of his eyes once more.
And there it was.
He was in her arms once again.
He’d almost forgotten the feeling.
“M-Maria…” He whimpered, gloved hands grabbing at her light blue dress.
“Oh, my little Shadow.” She whispered to him. His sister squeezed him against her, and Shadow felt the warmth of her body. She took his face into her hands and used her thumbs to wipe away his tears. She laughed as matching tears of happiness fell down her own cheeks.
“I-I did it.” He croaked, “I fulfilled m-my promise to you.”
Maria giggled. “You did. You really did. I’m so so proud of you, Shadow. You did so well.” She kissed him lightly on his forehead.
And finally, after centuries of hard work, of pain and misery, of living and loving…
Shadow laughed.
He smiled and he laughed heartily.
Because he was safe.
Because he finished his long journey.
Because he was home at last.