Chapter Text
Sonic continued to speed over the landscape. The only variations that he noticed were mountainous regions and some desert areas. Other than that, all he saw was dehydrated dirt, rocks, and sand. It was horrible. There was absolutely nothing to occupy his mind as he ran. He didn’t have any other words to describe the empty landscape. He exhausted his whole vocabulary.
He ran silently, boredly scanning the horizon. The excitement of being in the future died away pretty quickly when there was nothing to do. He was just bored out of his mind.
He took a break next to a hill, he wouldn’t call it a mountain or anything. Hill was a pretty generous term. He leaned against a large rock. He looked up at the gloomy sky and groaned, “What am I doing here? I thought I was brought here for a reason, but there’s literally nothing here.” He kicked at the ground, dust blossoming into the air. “I need some kind of sign, some direction or something.”
Whatever great being brought him here, Chaos maybe, he didn’t know, didn’t respond.
He sighed and began walking again.
He realized that throughout his travels, he never encountered water. No food or water, huh? Sonic really needed to see how these sapients were living underground. They must have some sort of system going on down there.
After another hour of aimless walking, he heard something.
“It’s mine! Hands off, bolthead!”
“Finally!” Sonic exclaimed. He took off towards the voice.
Once Sonic crested the hill, following the voice, he found a tan sapient in a tug of war match with a robot. The robot was a clean golden color that shone in the dim light. A deep green glowed in the crevices of the machine, advertising its power source. It was sleek with no sharp edges, clearly well made. Tails would have loved to tinker with it.
Sonic didn’t have to guess to know that this was one of the bots to be wary of. Still, it didn’t look very strong. The sapient struggling with it was small and thin, like many of the other residents of the future. Maybe no one could stand up to the bots because they lacked the power and collective desire to fight back.
Well, Sonic was no stranger to fighting back.
“Leave him alone!” He yelled at the bot before leaping into the fray.
The sapient looked up at him in surprise before shrieking with fear. He let go of the small bag that he was trying to pull away from the robot and ran off.
“Wait!” Sonic called out after him. “I’m here to help you!”
But he was already gone.
If Sonic didn’t know any better, then he’d assume that the small sapient had super speed just like him. He theorized that the tan coloring of his fur made it easier for him to blend into the surroundings. Doesn’t matter what he did now, the kid was gone.
Nevertheless, he was there for a reason.
“OBJECTIVE COMPLETE.” The robot said, voice smooth and ambiguous. It held up the bag. “RETURNING TO BASE.”
“Oh, no you don’t!” Sonic spin-dashed the robot, picking up momentum to bash through its metal chassis.
He slammed into the robot, ready to tear through it.
But the anticipated feeling of crushing metal didn’t happen. Instead, as he spun, he could almost feel his quills bending under the pressure.
Sonic pushed out his legs to springboard off the robot.
He tumbled to a halt and rolled his shoulder, wincing at the unpleasant feeling of bent quills. “What the…?”
The robot turned to him. “NEW ENEMY ACQUIRED.” Without another word, it flew at Sonic, powered by jets on its feet.
Sonic couldn’t help the exclamation of surprise at the speed of the robot.
He was barely able to dodge the assault by throwing himself into the dirt. He quickly rolled himself onto his feet and turned back to face the bot. The bag was clutched tightly in one fist. Sonic had a feeling that there was something important in it. It called to him. Sonic knew that he needed whatever was in that bag. It probably pertained to the reason he was here.
“I’m gonna need that bag.” Sonic said, pointing to the robot. “Hand it over.”
“NEGATIVE.” The robot answered. Then it shot forward towards him.
Sonic decided to meet it head on, racing forward and bracing himself for a sudden hit.
It was strong.
One hit sent Sonic flying backwards, tumbling on the dusty ground. He lay there for a moment, feeling winded. He seemed to have misjudged the robot. It may look slim and dainty, but something about that metal was unnatural. It was strong and thick, but somehow it didn’t hinder the machine’s movement speed. The supposed weak points would’ve been the joints, but the metal seemed to cover said joints. It didn’t hold the properties of any metal he knew about.
Again, Tails would’ve loved to study the robot.
With a groan, Sonic rolled over to his hands and knees, looking back at the robot, studying it for any weaknesses.
The bot seemed simple. A humanoid figure mimicking some aspects of sapients. It had a design of a muzzle and almost ear-like protrusions. Its head was kind of shaped like a curved teardrop, most likely to keep it aerodynamic. Its feet had rockets on the bottom with a large glowing sphere as the heel. Its eyes were a simple electronic display, similar to an electronic billboard. Green glowing channels run throughout its body, running down the midline of the chest to its abdomen. The most eye-catching part of the bot was the swirling ball within its belly. It looked like its power source as all the green channels were connected back to the source. The power source was encased in some type of clear material, displaying the source for all to see.
Sonic didn’t know if the display was a flaw in its design or a trap. He could target the belly and hope to break it, but if it was as hard as the rest of its body, then he’ll have to try something else.
“Not much of a talker, are ya?” Sonic taunted the bot. He hopped to his feet and took a fighting stance. He swiped a thumb under his nose. The robot took up a similar fighting stance, not any pose that Sonic recognized, but enough to know that the machine favored its fists. “Alright, here I come!”
With that, they clashed within a second.
Sonic was right, the bot fought primarily with its fists, throwing punches and trying to grab him.
Sonic threw a few punches to get the robot to read his moves, before he threw himself down, hands gripping the dirt as he swung his legs around to kick at the bot. The impact jarred his bones, rattling his ribcage, but it seemed to do the trick by staggering the machine.
The golden bot stumbled back, arms windmilling. This left its center unguarded and Sonic knew that he couldn’t let up. He sped forward to gain momentum and at the last moment, he spun and roundhouse kicked the bot’s abdomen. He gritted his teeth at the rattle in his center, but he continued on, grabbing the metal shoulders and kneeing the bot’s stomach over and over again with as much speed as he could muster until he felt the slightest crack in the bot’s core.
A metal hand grabbed a handful of his quills and, with incredible strength, spun around and threw him.
He grunted as he hit the dirt for a third time that day, filling his mouth with the crumbling, bitter soil. He spat out the dirt and turned around. “Alright, I’ve had enough of you.”
Sonic pushed himself up and charged once more. There was a hairline fissure in the clear material encasing the robot’s core. All that work for a small crack. Man, whatever that clear container was, it definitely wasn’t glass or plastic!
If Sonic could build up speed and spin-dash the abdomen once more, he’s certain that he could get it to rupture.
He just needed to run.
Sonic grinned at him. “How ‘bout a race?”
He took off running, picking a path that was the most mountainous. The roar of jets and a quick glance back confirmed that the robot was following him, almost matching his speed. It reminded him of Metal Sonic honestly.
The bot kept trying to get a cheap shot in, boosting himself next to Sonic then trying to throw a punch. Everytime Sonic avoided a punch, the bot would fall back, working to reach him again.
He scanned the surrounding area, looking for a hill or large rock. If he couldn’t get enough momentum by just running, he’ll use gravity to his advantage.
The bot kept up with him fairly well, until Sonic finally put on a burst of speed, circling and heading up a hill. He widened the distance between them to the point where at certain points the hill was between the two of them.
Perfect.
The moment the bot disappeared from view, Sonic ran straight up the hill. Once he hit the top, he launched himself upwards. As he came down, he targeted the robot.
“Gotcha!”
Instead of spin-dashing, he stomped his foot out.
His aim was true.
His right foot slammed into the source casing, shattering the glass-like layer, and carrying through the glowing green sphere.
With that, the sphere popped! and the bot immediately powered off, rag-dolling and carrying them both down the hill. Sonic grunted as rocks and robot parts jabbed and poked his soft tissue all the way down. He was going to have some mean bruises after this.
Once they both hit the bottom, Sonic lay there for a moment, trying to catch his breath. His leg was still tangled through the midsection of the robot.
He groaned aloud, forcing himself to sit up. “That required wayy too much effort.” His right knee throbbed painfully. He really hoped that he didn’t break anything. He couldn’t afford to have an injury in this wasteland. He pulled his leg from the robot, moving slowly. “Ugh, it might’ve been better if I spin-dashed.” He got to his feet, gingerly putting weight on his tender leg.
Yeah, he’s going to be having some issues with his leg. His knee was already bruised.
Sonic sighed. “I should check that bag then.” He reached over and picked up the discarded bag from the ground. Opening it up, his eyes widened.
A purple Chaos Emerald sat innocently within the bag.
Sonic pulled the Emerald out carefully, inspecting it. It glowed with the same power as he was used to. It was definitely a Chaos Emerald and not a carbon copy.
Sonic grinned. “Well, one down, six to go!”
Sonic left the remains of the robot, continuing his trek across the landscape. His progress was hindered by his bruised knee. It was slowly beginning to swell.
He was a little frustrated at his current predicament. If he was just going to wander the wasteland until he stumbled upon another Chaos Emerald, then he was going to be here for a good while.
He plopped himself down on the nearest rock. He hissed as he stretched out his leg, inspecting his knee. It was dark purple and horribly tender. It wasn’t broken, but it may have been caused by the initial impact of him breaking the robot’s core.
He needs to be more careful.
“TARGET ACQUIRED.” Sonic’s head snapped up. “RETRIEVE PACKAGE.”
Oh shit .
Four of those same robots were speeding towards him.
It took way too long to beat one of them, and now there are four? Plus he screwed up his knee.
He was majorly fucked.
He stepped back as the robots surrounded him. “Hey, guys!” Sonic greeted them with a wave. The Chaos Emerald was tucked away into his quills. “What brings you guys to this part of the… wasteland?”
“TARGET HAS OFFLINED ALLY. TARGET MUST BE DESTROYED.” One of them said, “PACKAGE MUST BE RETRIEVED.”
“Ah,” Sonic vocalized, swaying from side to side. “Now what makes you think I was the one who disabled him? Additionally, what makes you think that I have said package?” He could only think to distract them, but he hardly had a plan.
“ALLY HAD TRANSMITTED DISTRESS SIGNAL. MEMORIES UPLOADED UPON CORE DESTRUCTION.” Another robot answered to his left, stepping closer.
Sonic took a step back. “Hah, that could’ve been… another blue hedgehog that looks exactly like me?” His argument was fraying. He can’t say anything to get them off his trail. They somehow obtained the memories of the robot that he destroyed. He didn’t know what his next move should be.
“ENGAGE.” Another bot commanded.
Sonic stepped back again, his knee protesting. He fell back, landing on his backside.
Ah man. He couldn’t go like this! He had to get home!
He tried to brace himself, flinching back at their sudden movement.
Before anything happened, there was suddenly the sound of shattering.
He blinked his eyes open quickly at the sound.
There was a figure in a thick cloak with their fist buried within the face of one of the robots. It powered off instantly. They jumped up on the bot’s shoulders and leaped off it, twisting in the air and slamming a foot into the face of the next bot, breaking in the eye display. The mech offlined and fell back.
“TARGET CHANGED.” One of the remaining bots said before charging the figure.
The cloaked stranger didn’t hesitate to match the bot for speed and strength. They blocked all of the bots' hits and were still able to land a few of their own. They fell to the ground and swiped a leg, knocking out the metal legs from under it. Once it hit the ground, the stranger straddled the robot and rammed a clenched fist into the robot’s eyes over and over again, effectively breaking the eyes and the central processing unit within the head. It powered off as well.
The last robot lunged at the cloaked figure, wrapping its arms around them.
Immediately, Sonic’s savior threw their head backwards and slammed it into the bot’s face, cracking the eye display.
The robot staggered backwards, hands flying to its face.
“PREPARING CORE UPLOA-zzzt!”
The stranger shoved a fist into its face, effectively shutting off. When they pulled their hand back, a green Chaos Emerald was clenched in their hand.
Sonic took a moment to stare at the scene, in awe of the quick and brutal takedown by the person.
The figure was clothed in a dirty, worn out cloak that blended into the surroundings. The edges of the apparel were ragged and ripped. They stared down at the Chaos Emerald gripped in their gloves.
“Thanks!” Sonic directed at his savior, slowly rising to his feet. “I was so sure that I was gonna end up robot chow!” The figure didn’t respond, simply turning away from him. “Hey, what’s your name?” Sonic continued, trying to get a response. “What’s going on here anyway? Why is everything so desolate? And what’s up with those robots?”
The figure then sighed. A sound that sparked recognition in Sonic’s brain.
“Do I know you?” The blue hedgehog asked, stepping closer.
The cloaked person turned to him, and in the dim light, Sonic could just barely make out his facial features. “Sonic,” he said tiredly, “Why are you here?”
“Shadow!” Sonic gasped. He limped quickly to his side. “Oh, man, am I glad to see you! I don’t know what’s going on! I just appeared here and some kid told me it was the year 6024!”
Shadow stared at him with half-lidded eyes, almost no emotion in his face. “It’s because it is 6024.” He replied.
Sonic’s brain accepted the statement coming from a friend. He knew he was sent to the future, he had plenty of evidence from that Veeshi Colony, but he supposed with nothing but himself wandering around, it was hard to really internalize his situation. Shadow was here somehow, and he confirmed their situation.
The dark hedgehog didn’t seem to pay him any mind as he pulled a burlap bag from his waist and plopped the green Chaos Emerald into it.
He turned and began walking in a seemingly random direction.
“Hey, wait up!” Sonic called out, attempting to job after him. “Where ya going? Are you collecting the Chaos Emeralds too?”
“There’s rain coming.” Shadow replied, monotone. “We need shelter. You know this.”
Sonic frowned. Did he know this? He didn’t think so, or else he wouldn’t be asking. The sky was still dark and full of smog, he didn’t know if it was day or night! How did Shadow know that rain was coming?
Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on the obvious problem. “Well, what’s your plan to get the Chaos Emeralds? Do you have a way of tracking them?”
“Yes.”
Sonic waited for him to elaborate.
He didn’t.
“...And how will you do that?” Sonic prodded.
“Let the bots find the emeralds first, then take it from them.” Shadow said flatly.
“Huh? I don’t feel like that’s safe!” Sonic exclaimed. “You’re gonna let them get the emeralds?”
Shadow began collecting sticks, sticks that Sonic hadn’t noticed before. He watched the other hedgehog dig a hand into the dirt, pulling out the thin objects and stacking them into the crook of his arm. The wood seemed discolored and warped, suspiciously placed with no trees in sight. “Yes.”
Sonic was at a loss. That was so not a ‘Shadow Plan.’ Shadow would be the first to charge for the emeralds! He’d want to get to them before the bots did! “But- But- I thought you need to get to them first?”
“That’s a waste of energy.”
“What if they get the emerald and use it before you could get there?” Sonic argued. He had no idea what robots would want with Chaos Emeralds.
“They won’t.”
“How do you know?” He pressed, growing frustrated. He was happy to see a familiar face in an unknown place, but Shadow wasn’t making any sense! Why was he so calm about this?
“I just do.” Shadow replied tiredly, as if arguing with a petulant child.
Sonic didn’t feel like this was a very productive conversation. Trying to get an answer from the other hedgehog felt like pulling teeth. Difficult and too much effort.
They walked for some time, Sonic trailing behind the dark hedgehog due to his injury. Shadow didn’t seem to notice, or he just didn’t care. The air was silent between them. Sonic had so many questions for the other, but he didn’t want to ask them for fear of annoying Shadow. He already looked to be in a shitty mood, but not like Shadow’s normal, broody moods. It was more flat, no emotion, and he had an aura of ‘everything out of your mouth is stupid so stop talking.’
Shadow eventually led him to a cave on the underside of a rocky ridge after gathering what seemed like a sufficient amount of firewood to him. Firesticks maybe, they weren’t big enough to constitute as wood. He didn’t once offer Sonic any to carry.
He walked in the cave and dumped the sticks on the ground. He fell to the floor and uncaringly scraped them into a pile. He snapped his fingers a few times until a spark ignited on his pointer finger. He used it to light the wood.
“Cool trick.” Sonic commented, finding a seat across the fire from him. He hadn’t ever seen him do that before.
Shadow hummed in response.
It was quiet.
And the silence was slowly suffocating him.
There wasn’t even any wind outside to alleviate his suffering.
Sonic felt fairly uncomfortable watching Shadow. The other hedgehog didn’t even move. He just stared into the fire, like he wasn’t even there.
“So…” Sonic started, inspecting his swollen knee. “Where’s the rain?”
“On its way.”
“Okayyy…” He drawled out. “How did you know it was coming?”
“I could smell it.”
Sonic took a big whiff of the air, coughing as the breath scorched the back of his throat. “I don’t… smell any rain.” He managed to say. He didn’t smell that clean, damp scent in the air. In fact, he couldn’t smell much of anything in this putrid wasteland.
“You can’t really differentiate the smell of smoke from acid rain.” Shadow explained as if this was common information, not lifting his gaze from the flames.
“Acid- Acid rain?!” Sonic spluttered. The hell happened to this place?
“Yes.”
“It rains acid here?”
“Yes.” He repeated, in the same uninterested tone. “You should know this.”
“Should I?” Sonic asked incredulously. Why did he keep saying that? Sonic didn’t know anything about this place!
Shadow didn’t answer. Instead, he looked into the dying flames and poked at it, coaxing the fire back to life… with his bare fingers.
Sonic yelped and reached forward, stuck in a half aborted move. “ Shadow what the fuck? ”
The red striped hedgehog didn’t react even as his finger blistered and the outer layer of skin burnt away. White bone poked through.
“Oh chaos, ” Sonic’s hand slapped over his mouth as nausea scrambled his brain at the sight.
Shadow drew his finger back, slowly. He inspected his hand with mild interest, the only emotion other than boredom that Sonic has seen on his face since arriving here.
“You- we- we gotta run water over it,” Sonic stammered, almost at a loss for words. He was ready to scramble around looking for some water source. “We n-need to keep it moist. So it can… heal?”
Shadow didn’t move from his position.
Sonic watched with morbid fascination as the flesh grew from burnt black to healthy pink in a matter of seconds. The skin and fur took a minute, but slowly grew over the injury, encasing everything within.
That was so gross.
Shadow tsked in what almost seemed like disappointment.
The cave fell silent once again.
Sonic hugged himself, feeling a chill up his spine even as he didn’t feel cold.
The way Shadow was acting didn’t sit right with him. Like an upset stomach that was uncomfortable but didn’t hurt. He didn’t… He didn’t like it. He didn’t like the way his friend was acting. He didn’t like being here.
As the dark hedgehog had predicted, it began raining outside, the burning smell became stronger.
It reminded him of Shadow’s finger and the smell of burning flesh.
“Why are you here, Sonic?” Shadow suddenly asked, still not meeting his eyes. The first question out of his mouth.
“Oh,” Sonic forced a shaky grin. “I think I’m here to help you get the Chaos Emeralds back and kick some bad guy butt.” At least, he put that theory together once he noticed Shadow with the green Emerald.
Shadow hummed. “I don’t need help.”
“Aw, c’mon, Shads, we all need some help now and then!”
“I don’t.”
“Well, we gotta stop them.” Sonic said, mildly irritated. “I’m helping you whether you like it or not. We can’t just let the Chaos Emeralds fall into the wrong hands.”
“It’s all the same.” Shadow murmured.
Sonic frowned. “What?” He seemed to be asking that a lot. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s the same song and dance, Sonic!” Shadow suddenly yelled, jumping to his feet and clutching the burlap bag with Chaos Emeralds in a hand. Sonic snapped his mouth shut, not because of the outburst, but because there was a tiredness, a bone-deep exhaustion in his voice that he’s never heard before. “Over and over and over and over again, like some fucked up song stuck in your head! Someone’s always trying to steal the emeralds! To rule the world! To destroy their enemies! To enslave humanity! I’m tired of it!” He threw the bag to the ground, four emeralds tumbling out of it. “These damn emeralds are always causing problems!” He hissed, eyes narrowed. “I wish it’d just stop .”
Sonic came to a halt. “Shadow…”
“I’ve stopped countless disasters, averted numerous world-ending events, it just never stops.” He turned to Sonic, eyes alight with a feverish glow. Sonic, for the first time, saw him. Really looked at him. There were dark bags hanging under his eyes like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep in days. There was a prominent nick in his left ear. His quills were all askew, looking like they were in desperate need of a prolonged brushing session. A scar started on the left side of his rib cage and circled to his abdomen. Sonic swallowed, trying to imagine the type of wound it had to be to scar the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow’s right knee was swathed in a thick layer of bandages that were no longer white - if they had ever been white to begin with. His shoes were tearing apart at the seams, held together only by crusty tape and willpower. His inhibitor rings were no longer gold, just plain metal, scratched and dirty.
This wasn’t the Shadow Sonic knew in his own time. This Shadow was worn down, tired, barely keeping it together.
His throat was dry. “What… what happened?” To you, was left unasked.
Shadow turned away. “Time.” He spat bitterly.
Sonic’s mouth was pulled into a frown. He did some quick math in his head and realized that he jumped 4,000 years into the future, absolutely surpassing Silver’s time.
“It’s always time. The enemy of us all.” The dark hedgehog laughed, an ugly, almost mad sound. Sonic decided that he didn’t like it. “Even me.” Shadow stood over the spilled bag of Chaos Emeralds, face twisted. “The Ultimate Lifeform. I used to take such pride in that title. Little did I know the endless torment that it would subject me to.”
“Shadow… what happened?” Sonic quietly repeated. He never thought of it like that. The ‘Ultimate Lifeform’ was a title that was thrown around constantly. He realized that Shadow had mentioned being immortal, but just in passing, as if it wasn’t a big deal. To his regret, he realized that he didn’t see it as a big deal before. It was just something that was part of his abilities and many times they just laughed it off. He never realized that yes, Shadow would still be here after everyone was gone, a thought that instantly sombered him.
The hedgehog’s ruby eyes seemed unfocused. “I watched everyone die.” He said. “I watched their children die. I watched their children’s children die. I’ve watched cities grow, I’ve watched them fall. I watched the world change around me. Pollution in the air, the water, the very dirt. I’ve watched humans and sapients touch the stars and traverse planets.” Suddenly his voice grew loud, disgusted. “All the while I’ve stayed the same! I’ve never changed! Not how I look, not how I feel!” He whipped around to Sonic, staring him down. “So many times I’ve wanted to end it all! To escape this wretched plane of existence before everything around me changed once more! To tear off my skin that refuses to wrinkle! To remove the air from my very lungs that continue to breathe this toxic atmosphere! Persisting despite the chemicals that continue to burn my throat with every inhale!” His hands - clawed - came up to grip at his head. “I want to end this agonizing curse on my existence! I want to-” his voice choked off, eyes glistening in the firelight. “I want to rest … I feel like my mind is slowly being undone… held together by memories of my first friends…” His eyes dragged over to Sonic, focusing on him. “Why else do I keep seeing you?”
Sonic flinched. With how Shadow was acting earlier, he just assumed that he was good at concealing his feelings. He never envisioned that the other hedgehog would see him as a spoiled byproduct of a deteriorating mind.
Sonic sealed his lips, unsure of how to respond.
Shadow sagged with a sigh. “Yeah, I don’t know either.” He collapsed back to the floor and resumed his previous position of staring blankly into the fire.
Sonic wrapped his arms around himself, listening to the rain outside. Somehow the rain was also quiet.
The rain continued on for a while.
The silence was cold between them, despite the small fire. Sonic could consciously feel the emerald pressing into the back of his skull. Shadow’s bag of Chaos Emeralds, the most powerful gems in the universe, sat discarded and ignored on the floor. Shadow made no move to pick them back up.
He fiddled with his fingers for a moment before Sonic looked up and asked meekly, “what happened to your leg?” He eyed the knee that looked like it had seen better days. It mirrored his own injury.
The dark hedgehog looked down at his appendage, expression unreadable. “Bad injury that didn’t heal right.”
“Oh.”
He elaborated without further prompting. “Shattered my kneecap and couldn’t set it back into place fast enough.” He sounded distant when he explained.
Sonic’s expression fell. “Oh.”
The blue hedgehog never thought about that either. About Shadow’s advanced healing factor. He always assumed that he’d always be okay, he’d always end up perfectly fine after any altercation, but he never thought about how his bones don’t just reset themselves.
Man, Sonic didn’t think about a lot of things.
“And your…” He didn’t know how to ask. “I thought you didn’t… scar?”
Shadow was silent for a moment, unmoving. A hand moved to his left side, tracing the line where the fur didn’t grow back. “I was… protecting someone. I took the hit and it nearly split me in two.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Well, it did.”
“Chaos, Shadow,” Sonic gaped. “That’s- shit. That’s horrible.”
The dark hedgehog shrugged. “I healed in a matter of weeks. All that was left was this scar to remind me of my failure.”
Failure? “Did… did they live?” Sonic couldn’t help but ask quietly.
Shadow fell silent once more.
Sonic was slightly glad to not get an answer for that.
He cleared his throat loudly, trying to clear the air with the action. “Um, well, as I mentioned before, I think I’m here to help you collect the Chaos Emeralds. There may be a way to get me home using the Emeralds. Probably with some good ol’ fashioned Chaos Control to send me back to 2024?”
Shadow looked up at him. “Sure.”
“Could you tell me a bit about the future?” Sonic continued. “What happened to everything? Why do people live underground? What’s with the robots and the… the Vapor?”
Shadow stared at him. “You really don’t know?” He finally asked.
“Absolutely no clue, man.” Sonic admitted, as he’s been saying over and over throughout the day. Shadow seemed to be convinced that Sonic was just a figment of his imagination, he just had to prove to him that he really was from the past.
The Ultimate Lifeform pressed his lips together, studying him. He glanced out the entrance of the cave and stood up.
Sonic blinked at the sudden change. “Shadow?”
Shadow scooped up the bag of emeralds, shoving the spilt gems back into the fabric. He attached the bag to his belt under his cloak. “I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s move.”
“Move?” Sonic asked, confused. “But isn’t it raining-?” He looked outside.
The rain had stopped.
“Is it safe to go out so soon after the acid rain?” Sonic had to ask, getting to his own feet. His knee throbbed, but he ignored it. The ground had to be wet with acid. He wouldn’t be looking forward to burnt feet on top of his knee.
“The soil absorbs the acid and neutralizes it. An attempt to make the Earth more habitable.” Shadow explained, heading to the entrance. Sonic hurried after him. “It happened maybe a thousand years ago. There was a push for space colonies because the Earth was dying. The acid rain was due to such extensive air pollution and not regulating harmful chemicals from advanced factories.” They stepped outside the cave and sure enough, there was no rain, nothing changed. The ground wasn’t even wet. “Once the rain started coming down, that was the end. Crops died, animals died, buildings and homes corroded away. The only solution was to send out ships to colonize other planets. They used terraforming tools to make other planets more habitable.
“As you can imagine, there were limited seats in each launch.” Shadow’s voice grew… tired. “World’s governments lived in a space station, like Space Colony ARK. They controlled the world from above, always looking down on them. They charged millions and millions of dollars for a seat to escape this dying planet. Those who couldn’t afford to leave stayed on Earth and tried to make due.” He heaved a sigh. He seemed to know where he was going as he began walking. “After some time, those left behind got a hold of a terraforming machine. They attempted to reset Earth, rebuild the ozone layer, stop the acid rain, depollute the water, and the like.
“But that’s not how Terraformers work. They analyze the world and its atmosphere and follow a predetermined formula of habitation. It changes the world as little as possible to support life while making sure that we have the technology to adapt to any hardships.” Shadow paused, Sonic almost bumping into him. He looked up at the cloudy sky and turned to the right, changing direction. What was he seeing that Sonic couldn’t see? “Now the Terraformer had changed the world to support life, just like everyone hoped, but not in the way they wanted. It didn’t rebuild the ozone layer, but it pumped the atmosphere so full of an alien gas that there’s a permanent layer of smog in the sky. This alien gas, called Asorigen, absorbs a majority of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun, completely replacing the deteriorating ozone layer. The downside was that asorigen is a compound gas composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and asorn. In order to create the layer, it absorbed all the surface water and evaporated it. Oceans, seas, lakes, all gone.
“Then instead of stopping the acid rain, the Terraformer injected a neutralizing agent into the soil. The acid gets neutralized and turned into water, contributing to the underground water supply. This event was considered a failure though, many naturalists referred to it as a molestation of the natural world. Officially, however, it was labeled the Great Terraforming Incident of 4236.”
“Subtle,” Sonic commented. “So how do people live underground then? What do they eat?”
“It varies from colony to colony.” Shadow answered. “Some colonies can farm underground. Those settled down next to underground rivers and streams can grow certain crops. You wouldn’t recognize any of the crops grown today. Anything from your time had been selectively bred out of existence or they met their end from the acid rain. The only one that vaguely resembles anything from your time are caventoes. They look like… potatoes, but are a light green color. They’re starchy but taste like broccoli. Caventoes are the most common crop for many colonies because they’re hardy and have a 98% growth success rate. Their extract can be combined with citric acid to produce a light source.
Shadow sniffed. “Anyway, other colonies dig for wild roots and fruit, they commonly call this scuffing.” Sonic connected that word back to the first sapient he met in Veeshi Colony, the 28 year old that looked 13. No wonder they were all digging. “Trees grow underground, serving as pillars and helping keep the tunnels from caving in. They don’t have leaves, but some of these trees can produce fruit. The fruit are produced on the end of the tree branches, which are also underground.”
“Wait, so the whole tree is underground?” Sonic clarified.
“Yes.”
“So what do the trees eat? If there’s no sun, then they can’t photosynthesize?” It didn’t feel like he was on Earth anymore. It felt like some alien planet.
In a way, maybe it was.
“They don’t photosynthesize anymore. They don’t have leaves.” Shadow confirmed. “The trees get all their nutrients from any waste products. People dump food scraps, biodegradable products,” he shrugged, “urine and feces.”
Sonic scrunched up his nose. “Ugh.”
“Their fruit orchards double as their cemetery.” Shadow continued on. “They bury their dead by the roots of the trees to serve as nutrition. Their funerals are a big event.”
Sonic found that to be really resourceful… but also gross. He didn’t think he could eat fruit from a tree that had a dead person under it. “Okayy,” and yet he was curious. “What does the fruit taste like?”
Shadow glanced at him. “They’re called rheez fruit. They taste like… sweet and sour chicken.”
Sonic frowned immediately. “Sorry, what?”
“In some colonies, it’s their only source of food. I’ve been told that the fruit has a meaty taste with the texture of sapapple.”
“Sap- what?”
“Ah,” Shadow closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “Pineapple.”
“Oh.” It’s been 4,000 years, of course some things are going to slip Shadow’s mind. Minor details, he had to guess. Shadow seemed to remember everything else. “So another thing that’s been bugging me is, how can people tell when it’s night or day? When I was at a colony, everyone went inside at the same time. They all seemed to know that it was night, but the sky didn’t change.”
Shadow hummed at this. “Everyone has a microchip that transmits the exact time and date into their mind. They’re all connected to the same server. The naturalists who refuse to have a microchip read the land. As night falls, the wind picks up and it gets cooler. Not to mention the scent of asorigen fades a little.”
Sonic squints. “And what does asorigen even smell like?”
“Rheez liquor.”
He couldn’t even pretend to know what that smells like. He accepted the answer nonetheless. “Oh, okay.”
As they kept walking, Sonic’s knee began to throb even more. He didn’t want to complain, but man, he may need a break.
“Hey, Shads, you mind giving me a little break?” Sonic slowed. “I don’t mean to slow you down or anything, but my knee is acting up.”
Shadow looked back, glancing down at Sonic’s knee. It was purple, swollen, and painful. Shadow tsk-ed and turned to him. “Sit down.” Sonic plopped back with a hiss. Shadow prodded the swollen joint. “How did you manage this?”
“Those robots from earlier.” Sonic explained with a wince. “I destroyed one of them by smashing its core, but the impact was harder than I expected.”
Shadow sighed. “Idiot. Those Khaosbots are manufactured from alien metals not found on earth. The casing of the core is made from crystals found on Pluto - stronger than anything found here.” He huffed, pulling a cloth from his belt and beginning to wrap Sonic’s knee. “Their weak spots are their eyes. It’s basically just a computer screen. Breaking that will give you access to their CPU, effectively shutting it off without needing to touch the power source. Once the core is damaged, all the memories and visual recordings are uploaded onto the Khaosbot network.” He looked up at him. “That’s why we don’t touch the cores. It instantly signals for reinforcements upon damage.”
Sonic pouted. “I didn’t know that.” Shadow hummed. He tied the cloth really tight around his knee, making Sonic gasp in surprise. “Ow! Hey!”
“Sorry.” Shadow said, reaching into his belt again. “You may have hemarthrosis. You need to elevate your leg and keep a cold unit on it. I tied the bandage tight to help compress it.” He pulled a tiny strip from his belt, it was the size of a piece of gum. He pulled the object from both edges, stretching it out. He wrapped it around his knee.
“Well, we don’t have time to sit around and wait for my knee to heal.” Sonic pointed out. “We gotta find those Chaos Emeralds!” The tiny piece of gum thing on his knee began to cool, acting as an icepack. He paused, staring at it in awe.
“You’re always so impatient.” Shadow scolded him. “Always in a rush. We can wait a few hours for your knee.” He then turned and sat on the ground next to him. “Besides the cooling unit has healing gel and an analgesic in it for pain and to speed up the healing process. Shouldn’t take more than 3 hours.”
Sonic sighed. Well, they may be here for a while longer.
“Why don’t you tell me about those Khaosbots.” Sonic said instead, digging for more information. “Why are they everywhere and why are they patrolling at night?”
“The Khaosbots are from Khaos City.” He began. He pulled his knee to his chest and rested an arm on it. “They were created as the defenders of the city, the police, if you will. Khaos City is the place you think of when you think of the future. It is the futuristic city that people from your time dreamed of. Flying cars, robots catering to your every whim. Concrete and metal everywhere. Except it is only within the city, not anywhere else. Central City became Khaos City. Well, it became Khaos City in 5990, before that it was called something else. The Khaosbots are also relatively new. They were manufactured in 5996. Eventually they started being sent out into the Wasteland, looking for something. Probably these Chaos Emeralds. In their search for the Chaos Emeralds, they come across colonies and they tend to wreak havoc. Wastelanders and naturalists hate K-bots alike. For different reasons of course, but it’s something they both agree on.”
“What do you think about them?” Sonic asked.
“I don’t care.” Shadow responded. “They’re just another nuisance in a long line of problems. I don’t bother them, they don’t bother me. However, if they’re in my way, I dispose of them.”
Sonic hummed at his answer. “So where does the Vapor come into play?”
Shadow took a deep breath. “The Vapor. It’s been around for centuries. It went by many different names over the years. The Darkness, the Maw, Deconstructor, and more. People began calling it the Vapor quite recently. Mentions of the Vapor started a few years after the Great Terraforming Incident. Many people tried studying it, but there weren't enough resources put into studying the earth anymore. All the grants and research money went to studying other planets and colony issues. I took it upon myself to investigate this.”
“I heard that it went around eating things, is that true?”
“In a way.” Shadow answered. “It’s linked to the Great Terraforming Incident. It was a delayed effect in making the earth habitable. There was an issue with uncontained chemical spills and nonbiodegradable trash everywhere. The Vapor is a living gaseous entity that travels around, ‘eating’ harmful substances that are destroying the earth.”
Sonic wasn’t expecting that. “Oh wow, that’s actually pretty cool.”
Shadow nodded. “There was a time when I followed the Vapor around for days on end. I’m not sure how long I tracked it, but it went everywhere. Never once did I see it hurt another living being. Scared them half to death, sure, but they didn’t directly affect anyone.”
“Huh,” Sonic mumbled. The Earth in 2024 could do with something like that. If they had the Vapor, then maybe this future could be prevented. “And do you have a microchip like everyone else?” He couldn’t imagine having some brain surgery to implant something in his head. Sounded like something out of a science fiction movie.
“No.” Shadow answered instantly. “Not only do I refuse to have someone rummaging around in my brain, but my immune system wouldn’t allow it. It would destroy the chip an hour after implantation.”
After that, they fell silent. Sonic was satisfied to have answers to his questions.
They sat there for about an hour, and Sonic really wanted to get moving. Shadow was being surprisingly nice during their travels. He expected Shadow to be all ‘go go go’ and get the Emerald as fast as possible. But he supposed that the other hedgehog could change in his millenia of being alive.
“Alright, we’ve rested enough.” Sonic said, getting to his feet. “I think my knee’s all better.” Lie. It was still swollen, less so now, but still swollen.
Shadow gave him a disapproving look. “I almost forgot how insufferable you are.” He sighed and stood up. “We can keep moving anyway.”
The landscape never changed, but there were hills and valleys to move over.
They continued on and on until Sonic’s stomach growled.
“Ah, you wouldn’t happen to have food on you, would ya Shadow?” The blue hedgehog asked sheepishly.
Shadow huffed. “No.”
“Could we… I dunno, get food from somewhere?” Sonic pressed. It was hard to tell how much time had passed here with the never changing sky. “I gotta refuel.”
“We’re almost there.”
Sonic frowned. “Almost where?”
“Our next stopping point.” Shadow responded, not looking back at him.
Of course he was being intentionally vague. That’s just who he was.
That answer shut Sonic up long enough to reach the destination. They walked for another 20 minutes until they crested a ridge.
Before Sonic could ask any questions, he paused, mouth falling open at the sight.
There was a flat plateau of land that was surrounded on all sides by ridges. Stone ruins were scattered everywhere. All the structures were bound by some invisible outline, keeping within a large indiscernible circle.
“We want to get there by nightfall.” Shadow said, picking his way down the decline.
“Wait, what is this place?” Sonic hurried after him, copying his footsteps slowly and gingerly, aware of his handicap.
“Welcome to Angel Island. What remains of it, anyway.”
“What?”