Chapter Text
Mystic Jungle
It was night. It was so dark that the slightly moonlight barely casted a shadow. And yet, a shadow moved through the woods. Not just any shadow. This shadow was also known as the Ultimate Life Form – Shadow the Hedgehog.
He was traveling north of the Mystic Jungle, searching for further clues about Eggman's activities. He had been here some time ago, but back then, a group of mercenaries had, shall we say, tried tieding him up, allowing the Doctor to escape.
"Hmm. There must be something here, something I've overlooked. What's the Doctor up to? I have to find out," he muttered to himself. He searched, but he didn't know what for. But seek and ye shall find. And Shadow found something, or rather, someone. There was someone lying there. Shadow almost tripped over the person, managing to brake just in time.
"What the, who…?"
He knelt down and checked if the person still had a pulse.
… … … thump … … … thump … … …
“Weak, but vital signs detected… good,” he sighed.
The person was lying with their head on the ground. Shadow slowly turned them over. It was a rabbit. A female snowrabbit. Or was it? Her fur was white, except for her legs and arms, and she also had subtle black marbling on her face. The white dress she wore, dirty and torn. Also wearing only one high heel, the other one she must have lost. She had long, white rabbit ears that hung limply from her body. Her fringe was also black. It looked as if a visible infection had taken hold and eventually died out silently.
“How inconvenient. I have to get on with my business. But… I can’t leave her here in this condition“, Shadow thought. Another thought occurred to him. Could she have something to do with Dr. Eggman? She looked like a failed research subject that has been discarded. That would certainly fit the doctor’s appearance. A specimen. Like he was. Shadow took out his communicator.
"Oh wow, look who’s callin’ after disappearing after our little get together. Do you miss me, hun?“ It was Rouge.
“Quit your yapping and listen. I am north of Mystic Jungle and…“
“What? Again? We already searched every corner of this damned place and got everything that was left. And it was a waste of time. I don’t have to tell you that the Doc is not so dumb as you may like to think, like still leaving important stuff there, do I? Honestly, we have more important things to do, like taking care of Omega and..“
“COULD YOU PLEASE BE QUIT AND LISTEN FOR ONCE, WOMAN?“, Shadow yelled, totally annoyed.
“Jeez ok, calm down handsome. Tell me what you got, hm?“
“I found an unidentifiable Person, a rabbit. Could be associated with the Doctor. She is unconscious, weak pulse, looks like she’s been discarded“, Shadow listed.
“Or maybe she is on the run“, Rouge added. “I never knew you where the type of guy for picking up girls, hun.“
“Rouge! COULD you please be serious for once? For Chaos sake“, Shadow balled his fist. He was losing his patience, that little he got.
“You‘re asking a lot of me today, that will cost. But ok, I understand. Why don’t you bring her in. I‘m with our lovely friends in the City, near Park Avenue, you know where. When she’s associated with Eggman, we should take care of her. Maybe she has some useful information“, she spoke, more seriously than before, but still in her way of speaking.
„Hrmm.. Fine, see you there“, Shadow murmured, ending the call.
He put his communicator back in his quills, looking at the girl in his arms. He felt sorry for her. She was unconscious, yes, but somehow, she also looked like she was in pain, trapped in her own nightmares, living the hell she had been living over and over again..
Like he did, like he still does, over and over again…
He scooped her up, adjusting and securing the rabbit in his arms. He didn’t like the situation, but even when he has his misunderstood cold manners and behaviours, inside Shadow was everything but a cold person. But the body of this rabbit was cold.. very cold.
She needed treatment immediately.
The City – near Park Avenue
It was still night, maybe past 12 am, the moon shining among the stars. Shadow stopped at a townhouse near Park Avenue. It had three floors and also three basements. The exterior wall was paved with red bricks, the windows with white frames. Shadow stood at the entrance door, heavely sighing. Then he knocked, with his heels, still carring the rabbit.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
……
Knock! Knock!
“COMING! Jeez..“
The door opened aggressively. There she stood, red dress, red shoes with white stripes, golden bracelets each wrist, pink fur.
„Oh my, Shadow! It‘s so good to see you! Where were yo... Oh my goodness Shadow, who is this person? Is, is she alright? She looks bad! Where did you fin..“
„Rose.. can I please enter first?“ Shadow softly huffed, adjusting the rabbit in his arms. „She needs treatment. Quick. After that, I will then report to you shortly.“
„I am so sorry, of course Shadow, come in. Poor girl. Take her to the first basement, there is our infirmary“, the pink hedgehog gesturing both, black hedgehog and white, black rabbit into the house.
Shadow followed Amy through the house, to the stairs down to the basements. He looked at her, at Amy, from behind. From all of his.. friends, he liked her the most. He remembered the time on ARK, when she remembered him of his true promise to.. Maria. And to Amy herself. He also thought about the time helping her finding Cream on the Cryptic Castle. And being together at the Hot Honey Concert. The interactions with Amy were.. pleasant in his point of view. Maybe more than pleasant.
In the infirmary, Amy led Shadow to one of the free beds. He carefully layed the rabbit in it, covering her with the sheets. Amy smiled. Even if everyone of her friends were often agitated by Shadow, she seemed to see in him things the others won‘t see – the good heart he has. Even by such small gestures.
„What a sweet lookin‘ rabbit, even with those black marks? It somehow doesn‘t look like it was originally a part of her.“ From the shadows of the corner, a white bat appeared.
„Rouge! Since when were you here? Did some of the boys let you in?“, Amy grinned to the bat, not really surprised. It‘s Rouge, stealth is her thing.
„What do you think of me my dear? I‘m a strong independent woman, I can make entrance for my own,“ Rouge smirked. „So you broke into the house, could have just knocked“, Amy said, having both hands on her hips and looking sceptical at the bat.
„You didn’t tell them that I was coming. So I assume you didn’t resume anything? It explains Rose being surprised by our guest“, Shadow growled, hands crossed.
„Urgh, darling you sound like I have so much infos to share and holding them up purposely. I just wanted to see for myself, what present you brought us here.“ Rouge waved with her right hand like it was no big deal.
„First! This poor girl needs treatment. Shadow, you are trained in medical assistance. Can you help me with creating an access point for a catheter, so she can get an infusion“, Amy said while getting everything ready. „Hm.“ Shadow nodded and helped Amy, without complaining. Rouge watched from where she was standing, not even thinking of helping.
In that moment, three people walked in from the second basement below. Red, yellow, blue.
„Wow Ames, you didn‘t told me you were throwing a party in here. Are we invited?“, the blue one grinned at the pink hedgehog.
„Sonic! Good to see you, are you finished? You three were long in Tails basement“, Amy responded eagerly at the blue hedgehog.
„A party? With whom? Shadow and Rouge? Here? Sounds more like a funeral“, the red one bawled.
„Oh Knuckie, as if you would know how to throw a party, but I can show you, if you would let me.“ Rouge waved him an air kiss.
„Hmpf.“ Knuckles cheeks reddened a little, him looking away.
„We did analyse the data Rouge collected for us, but as aspected, the core information is strongly encrypted. I am still trying to figure out how it is connected with the infused data in Omegas software, I never saw such technology in my life“, the little yellow one lectured.
„Don‘t worry pal! If someone can do it, then it‘s you Tails!“ Sonic putting his right arm around the fox’s shoulder and with the other raising his thumb up. „So Ames, could you maaaybe explain who this new guest is? Already sleeping, while the party is just about to start.“
„You have to ask Shadow, hun, it‘s his +1“, Rouge meddled in. „I think know that we are all here, the opportunity for explanations could not be better, don’t y’all think?“
Shadow, who said nothing the whole time, helping Amy with the medical assistance, looked up at the assembled crew. Finishing his task, he stood up, crossed his arms and started to explain. Where he found her, how her condition was, what his thought are, that she may be connected with the Doctor. Everyone listened and when the Doctors name was mentioned, everyone frowned.
While the crew is discussing, the air seemed to shift. And Shadow seemed to feel the shift first, holding his breath, tensing up. Then, the lights started to flicker. Lightly. He turned to the rabbit. Her ears and eyes twitching sumbly. Soft growling from her mouth. But it grew. The twitching intensified. The flicking of light got stronger. The air started to feel static.
Then – some glass bottles on a cupboard started to crack. „What is happening?“ Amy was the first to break the silence. Red little static sparks started to dance around the rabbit. Everyone was looking at her. Before someone could say something or even panicked, Shadow grabbed Amy, making distance from the bed. The air growing heavier and heavier, statically more loaded.
„Rose, do you have a sedative here? We need it. Now.“ „What? I mean, yes!“ Amy run to the big medicine cabinet, getting a little glass bottle and a syringe, handing both to Shadow. He wasted no time. He positioned the syringe in the little bottle, the pale liquid, flowing in. Then he administered the substance via the catheter. Nearly a minute passed, but the minute felt like eternity. But it worked. Slowly, the tension in the room calmed, the restless rabbit calmed. The sparks disappeared.
Silence.
……
„Ok, that was.. weird“, Rouge stepped forward to the bed. „Your fast intervene saved us Shadow, I guess“, she added.
„What were those sparks? Does she maybe possesses some kind of Chaos energy? But it seems like she can’t control it, especially in her condition she is now“, Tails trying to figure out what happened, stepping in.
„Well, some people are naturally gifted with Chaos energy, but there are few. But somehow, it sensed different, I can‘t exactly explain, but it doesn‘t really felt like the typically one connected through Chaos or the Chaos Emeralds“, Knuckels mumbled.
Shadow frowned, looking at the rabbit. Even when the mystery still lingered, he knew exactly how difficult this situation could become, remembering and connecting his own situation.
Control. Power. Devastation. The unknown.
„Well, it was a long day, why don’t we all rest first and see how it goes? I think the person who can tell us the most is her, so we have to wait and hope that she soon will wake up, telling us her story.“ Amy putting her hand on the rabbits forehead, looking for any sign of fever, but instead she felt „..cold.“ She picked a second sheet from an other bed, coverering her so she hopefully warm up eventually.
„I will look after her. I know you guys have much other stuff to do. We still need to figure out what Eggman plans and I have a bad feeling.“ Amy’s intuitions were always highly prescient regarding future eventualities.
„I will stay with you, for the time being. We don’t know what power she holds, or even if she is friend or foe. I have questions..“, Shadow pointed out.
„We all have Shads. But well, I guess I don’t have to worry to much if you stay here and have an eye on the situation.“ The blue hedgehog now walking to the stairs up, followed by Knuckles.
„I will go back down, research on the Omega case and, I think, if it is ok, want to take a sample of our patient. Maybe I can see through, what is happening to her,“ Tails said while approaching the rabbit. After taking his share, the fox went downstairs, back to his lab.
„Well, guess the party is over then. I will also take my leave, don’t miss me to much, ok?“ The bat walking gracefully in the direction where Sonic and Knuckles went, leaving Shadow, Amy and the rabbit girl alone.
„You should sleep, Rose. I will watch, so you don’t have to worry. You look tired,“ Shadow spoke gently, leaning on the wall near the bed, arms crossed, eyes closed.
„Well, I don’t think I can sleep right now, so I will keep an eye on her too.“ Amy got a chair, positioned it near the bed and sat down. „Suit yourself,“ Shadow murmured, arms still crossed, eyes still shut.
So, the two of them being there, watching over the mysterious girl, thinking to themselves what kind of person she may be and what truth she holds close.
……
„….snooor……zzzzzz…….SnooooooooR…..zzzzzzz….“
Shadow looked up with one eye. „So much to she can’t sleep right now,“ Shadow chuckled to himself. He went to another bed, picking up the sheet laying there, walking up to the pink hedgehog and wrapping her up. „…hmmm…zzzz….“
Then he placed himself back to the wall, where he once leaned, crossing his arms, closing his eyes, listening to the sound of breathing. And snoring.
The sound of the waves was calm. Gently washing over the shore, over her feet. It felt good. The silver moon and the shiny stars reflecting on the water. The wind blowing softly in her long ears.
There she stood. The little snowrabbit. Her white fur shining in the moonlight. She looked to the horizon. Then up next to her. There he stood. Also gazing at the horizon.
He was.. he.. how did he looked? She saw him, but also couldn’t. What is his fur colour? What animal was he? Even the colour of his eyes were empty. She didn’t flinched or backed up, just starring at this person. She could tell he was a male, but nothing more.
The person took her hands. „Don’t leave me. Please.“ The rabbit tilted her head. She didn’t know who he was. Still, she felt guilty. But about what? She wanted to say something, but the voice was cut. Everything was cut. Everything went black.
………
Then, a red light shone above her. It was.. threateningly red. She pinched her eyes, slowly opening them. She looked down. She wasn’t a little rabbit anymore, now she was more grown. She looked around. Everything was black, except for the place she stood. She felt it. Anxiety. She started to run. Faster. More urgently. The light above her following her. The air cold.
Then a loop grabbed her ankle. She fell, hard. She looked at her left ankle, trying to break free, but more of those tendrils trapped her, first slowly up down along her left leg, then her right arm.
Those tendrils felt cold. Ice cold. She tried to scream. But nothing was heard. The places, where the tendrils touched, dyed her beautiful white fur black. It hurt. It hurt and it was cold.
Now, both her legs and both her arms trapped, the fur there dyed in a swallowing black, she lied there. She stopped trying to scream, she knew no one will come. No one.
Why should someone come? And who would? Him? The person she left.
Another red light appeared in front of her. She could see someone. Again, a shadowed person, resemblance of him, who stood with her on the shore. Begging her not to leave.
But this time, he didn’t beg. He didn’t see her. He looked at something in his hands, holding it up. What was it? A stone? It shone red. Threateningly red. The rabbit looked at the stone. Then at him. Then at herself. She didn’t understand anything, but one thing she knew, only in this moment. In her eyes, this was her fault.
„I‘m sorry,“ she mumbled. He looked to her. Walking up to her. Tilting his head.
„Are you really? You shall be forgiven. In exchange for what I need.“ The tendrils suddenly statically charged. Red sparks started to show, first weakly. Then.
„AAAAAAARRRRGGHHHHHHHH!!“
Eyes snapped wide open. Light blue eyes scanning hastily the vicinity but couldn’t catch anything right.
She felt trapped. Still trapped. She tried to get up, using all her strength so fight against the force who trapped her down.
„STOP!“, she screamed. One arm broke free, she wielded it violently around her. She knocked something over, something that also ripped something from her right arm. It hurt. „PLEASE STOP!“, she cried, tears falling, streaming down her cheeks, still not catching what was around her. Little red sparks starting to circulate around her.
„Calm down, please! We want to help you!“ „Damn, she is strong! Echidna, come here, I need assistance!“ „Right on it.“ „What was that scream? I heard it in my lab, it sounded awful! What is happening?“
So many voices. But, not his voice. He was gone.
„She wont calm down! We need to fix her.“ „I could knock her out.“ „Stop it Knuckles, this is not funny!“ „Wait, I got something, it will calm her down!“
Then a sting. „It will take effect immediately, hopefully.“ And it did. She calmed down. The sparks vanishing. There she lied. Eyes still blurry. The pain subtle but not threatening like before. She just stared at the ceiling absendminded. Tears still falling slowly down each side.
………
„We still need to fix her, she is to unpredictable,“ Shadow huffed, still holding her down. „I don’t like the idea of fixing her.. but before she hurts herself..,“ Amy went to a locker on the otherside of the room, getting restraining gear out of it. „It is only till she regains her selfcontrol.“ Shadow stated. Together, they fixed her on the bed. Just a precautionary measure.
„I will check her.“ Tails, standing near the bed, after injecting her the tranquilizer. He took out a little flashlight, checking her eyes. „Her pupils are not constricting. This could have various causes, but in my opinion, it is due to the shock and stress she is experiencing.“
Putting his flashlight back, he checked her pulse, putting two fingers on her wrist below her right thumb. Thirty seconds, multiplied with two. „180 bpm. That’s high. But I think it‘s getting lower. It would be better when we get the pulse below 100. We should keep an eye on that.“
Amy picked up the catheter, which the rabbit earlier knocked over. Fixing it back on her arm. „I really feel sorry for her. She must have been through hell, reacting like that. I hope that she stabilises again and is able to communicate with us,“ she sighed.
„We will see. She still needs rest. She woke up roughly and it looks like in her mind, she is still somewhere else. She needs time,“ Knuckles firmly said, crossing his arms. „Affirmativ“, Shadow added.
„Ok, I know what she needs when she comes back! I will make her something to eat. Something to digest easy“, Amy declared, raising her arm up. „You guys must also be hungry. I will start right now, so please, can someone take my place here?“
„I will“, Shadow stated. „Great! I can always count on you Shadow!“, she giggled. Shadow looking away, still with his stoic firm face and a fuzzy feeling.
„I still need to check her data, but I’m also still occupied with Omegas software interference. But as soon as I find something, I will get it to y’all.“ Tails went back to his basement below.
„Well, I need to go back to Angel Island. But I will come back, after my routine check. See you later.“ Knuckles moving upstairs, waving in farewell.
„Then I also will get started. If you need anything Shadow, I’m upstairs in the kitchen.“ Amy followed the Echidna.
Shadow now left alone with the rabbit. He leaned back on his wall place near the bed, looking at her. She was now back to sleep. Not unconscious, just sleeping.
Many things went through his head. Especially the energy shift, which is obviously induced by her emotional outbreak. It reminded him strongly of himself, but still, it was something else. Not like his power.
He needed to know more details, but as long as she still was in this state, there was nothing else he could do but wait.
Wait for her.
Wait for her to explain.
Wait for what the future has uphold.
Age of the heroes:
OC Snowrabbit - 20
Infinite - 23
Shadow - 60 somewhat on paper - physically 24
Sonic - 22
Tails -17
Amy - 20
Knuckles - 25
Rouge - 26
Vector - 30
Espio - 25
Charmy - 17
Mighty - 22
Ray - 18
Cream - 16
Vanilla - 36
Dr. Eggman - 50