Chapter Text
Future historian. I'm sorry. I have written these letters to you as a mere construction of my vanity. It was wrong of me to imagine you into being. I know the truth now. This world has no future. You do not exist. This text will now serve as my confession to no one.
Otulissa and Ivo have joined October and Maria in the graveyard of my failures. In a curse that only the almighty could have bestowed upon me as punishment for my hubris, my captors brought me to Shadow. King Hastewing and Lancelot worked tirelessly to find him Her, and in a twist of horrid irony, Lancelot's heir was in his old home all along. Now, after the pieces have fallen away and this ungrateful world has now betrayed its protectors for the final time, the monsters who struck the final blow return to their puppet and demand of him a boon.
They will weaponize Shadow.
If I refuse they will kill me and get some other damned soul to violate the boy girl I've created.
I ask you, future historian. Maria. Ivo. Otulissa. Forgive me. I will weaponize Shadow, but not for them. I will turn him her into the answer to their evil. The replacement Nocturne I created shall be the Nocturne's final vengeance. My family will be avenged!
Shadow, blessed girl. I have had such precious few moments with you since our reunion. You blessed me with your honest truth, and so now I bless you with mine. They are not all unworthy of the gift of life. Find those who you can trust. Gather them to the ARK. Once the earth is purged, take your chosen survivors to the stars, along with my last gift, that awaits you on Maria's bed. You will realize the dream I never could. I love you, Shadow.
Goodbye.
Shade the Echidna placed the book back on the table, her head was still swimming from the beating she had received as punishment. She had no idea what the old man was talking about in this journal. "That is it? Candle died for a book of one old man's delusional fantasies? You can not tell me that this is helpful to our cause in any way, Inquisitor." She turned to her commanding officer. He was an older male Echidna in fancier armor than she herself wore. His coat was the same orange as hers. His eyes the same pink.
They bore enough similarities that she suspected Inquisitor Ix to be her father, but despite her weak, selfish desire for such a connection, their clan placed no emphasis on such things. He turned to her with a glare that made her flinch. Her head still ached deeply from the kiss of his boot. It was her own fault for making the mistake of calling Candle her brother, for shedding tears of shameful weakness at his death. She would never be so weak again.
"Of course, you would fail to see the value of this, Shade. I will explain simply, Watcher. Shadow is primed to destroy the earth, our glorious King's traitorous Granddaughter will be compelled to oppose her."
"And this book can be used to exploit Shadow…" Shade followed his logic.
"Exactly. The fact that you are capable of understanding this is why I have selected you for this mission. Despite your weakness, this is a mission of subtlety. A trait your fellow Watchers can, at times, lack."
"Did your connection at G.U.N. tell you where they were keeping her before he died? That would make this much simpler."
"Unfortunately, the Third Talon was cautious enough to protect his assets, if not his throat. However, Otulissa has been seaching for her for a long time, and our spies in her little 'Emeraldville' have discovered her efforts to rescue her. With her daughter missing, she's distracted, and I see the perfect opportunity to turn this to our advantage. I have devised a plan simple enough even you cannot ruin it.
You will go to Emeraldville. Ingratiate yourself to her Majesty, and bring her this." Inquisitor Ix tore a page from the book. The image on the page was a child's drawing of an air skate diagram, the blueprint was of remarkable quality, despite being written in crayon. It was signed MARIA in blocky childish text. "It will be enough to convince her of your veracity, but useless to her, devise whatever story feels appropriate to ensure she trusts you. Do whatever it takes to join the mission to rescue Shadow. When you do, ensure that you are the first to reach her, then bring her here with your recall marker. I will handle the rest." His voice was calm and clear. His instructions absolute. As Inquisitor he was the King's Second Talon.
With the King's passing, the First Talon's betrayal, and the Third and Fourth Talon's deaths, only Inquisitor Ix and Battlekukku Fukurokov, the Fifth Talon remained as loyal servants. His word as Second Talon was as close to that of their God as was possible.
She snapped a silent salute and walked out of the tent. It was a short walk down the hills of Phantom Island towards the barracks to pack. She stopped in the canteen to acquire a pack of mealworm bars and ate two of them while staring at the hazy, iridescent blur that their Veil of Night cast over the sun. The King's magic truly was beautiful, even after his death. She held up her cameo and offered thanks to him for blessing her with his power and protection.
……..
It was a week later when the newly founded Emeraldville appeared in the window of the train. The ride had been uncomfortable and strange. Shadow warp was much speedier, but she had to leave a trail for her cover. Her civvies itched and left her defenseless. A light blue vest and jean shorts were all that stood between her and the world. Her armored boots, whose comforting clank had made her feel powerful from a young age were swapped out for 'converse'. Something about the place made her constantly dizzy since she left the base, the ache would not go away. Perhaps it was the absence of the king's endless darkness that obscured the sky.
Worst of all was the fact that everyone kept staring at her, starting at the station in sunset city and continuing on the train. After a few hours on the train her desire to smoke a cigarette, a common comfort of home, was met with looks of horror by other passengers, and a stern talking to from an old rabbit woman with a loud rabbit brat who felt that 'a pretty young lady shouldn't poison herself'. She would bear these indignities and more for the cause. She grit her teeth as she got off the train. She quickly ate a mealworm bar and re-lit her earlier cigarette as she walked.
The former castle grounds sprawled away from her in a massive emerald pattern. The small town rose from its center. Her walk towards that center was uneventful. Did the Betrayer Queen not know she was being hunted? Watched? Or was she just so sure of her invulnerability?
No guards greeted her as she approached the royal abode. It was a small house. Two floors. Moderate, unblinded windows, through which she could see a dining room table, a kitchen, and no guards, not even a gizzoid. It looked like only two people lived there. The royal family was purportedly numerous, and growing. Where were the royal children?
She stood at the door with a smile. It felt weird on her face, scowling was the typical expected expression among her clan. The Inquisitor told her that a smile is a picture of a thousand words, or something like that, which meant she should turn her lips up as she waited for them to answer the door. The rabbit from earlier approached her cautiously, with the same trepidation one might approach flighty prey. Ironic, for a rabbit.
"Young lady? May I ask, politely, are you an Echidna?" The rabbit said. Ah. Perfect. An opportunity to build rapport.
"Yes, Ma'am. I heard that Prince Nocturne was as well and I wanted to meet him. I-…I've been alone for a long time." She feigned emotional distress as instructed.
"Oh." The rabbit bit her lip. "Oh dear." She walked over to the door rapidly and opened it. "Mary! I need you!" She called into the house as she ran inside.
A moment later she ran back out with a yellow fox, who she recognized as Queen Mary Nocturne from her briefing, in tow. "That's her. Her neck." The rabbit pointed at her and whispered.
The fox looked her up and down. She didn't focus on hiding spots for weapons, although her laser gauntlet was hidden as the clasp on her belt, instead looking over her chest, her shoulders, and her neck. She saw something there that made her squint. The gaze made Shade nervous from the scrutiny.
"Good afternoon, young lady. My name is Rosemary. What's your name?" She asked delicately.
"S-shade, Ma'am…"
"Would you like to come inside? That bruise on your neck looks painful, and I'm a doctor, I can help." She sounded very concerned and genuine.
This wasn't the script. What bruise? She was suddenly very stressed. The thought crossed her mind that she needed a cigarette, which was ironic, since she had a lit one hanging out of her mouth. "Um… my name is Shade. I'm from a city. I… yes. I would like to come inside." Her nerves spiked as she spoke to the queen consort. Intelligence indicated she was a genius and always knew more than she let on.
"How long have you been smoking? You look like you're maybe fourteen, fifteen?" The rabbit asked gently as she ushered her inside.
"I've been smoking since I became an adult. Isn't it normal?" She was sat down in a chair as the fox put on a plastic glove and gently pressed into her neck. Shade hissed involuntary as the hurt spot on her neck was pressed. Oh, that injury. These soft women would never understand why it was necessary. This suffering gave her strength.
"Oh, honey, no-…" the Queen Consort stiffened up as she examined Shade more closely. "Nilla, get my crash kit, blue bag, red tag. She's got internal bleeding. I need to drain it, quickly. Shade, I need you trust me for a moment. This is going to hurt, but if I don't do this, you could die." The fox sat her down firmly, but gently.
The rabbit returned with a large blue cloth bag. The fox pulled a large needle in a plastic case from it. Shade hadn't said a word, instead gawking at the massive needle.
They were interrupted when a Bat in a tube top and jeans swung into the room, she was carrying a big plastic bag in one hand and a usb drive shaped like a heart. "~Oh, Mommy!~ The princess of fashion is back from Empire City! I brought baby gifts… and Intel!" The bat sniffed the air. "Oh. Who's the ashtray? And uh, why the needle?" She pointed at Shade with a slight frown.
"Rouge, sweetie, Perfect timing. She's got severe internal bleeding. Hold her down, if you would be so kind." The doctor asked. "She looks like she's about to bolt."
The bat shrugged. "Eh, Sure."
Shade kicked over the chair as she scrambled away. They were going to kill her with that needle! This was wrong! Everything was wrong! They had made her! She had to flee! Her heart thundered in her chest, and her head swam as she scrambled out the door.
She sprinted into the town and caught someplace to hide. The bat girl flew out after her a moment later, catching up to her in seconds. "Hold on, Ashtray, my Mama says you're in danger! You're bleeding internally! Just calm down! We can-" Shade interrupted her by hitting her in the face with a handful of mud, then she turned her path quickly while the bat was distracted. "Of all the filthy!RUDE!" The bat screeched at her as she got away.
She found a house with a weird shape and an unlocked door and slid herself inside. The building looked a bit like a fox head, with bright yellow paint for fur and windows for eyes. Hopefully no one would notice her here.
She kept an eye out of the front door window as she waited for the search to settle. Her chest heaved, and felt strangely cold. Her every nerve burned with fear.
Then she heard a noise. A loud crunch and the rustle of a bag. Followed by, "Hmm… Eggman's new schematics are so weird .. what is this Egg Viper even for? Why would a battlemech even need poison fangs? Maybe I can convince him to stop wasting resources on that and get him to reconsider my transforming plane idea. I mean come on, it's way cooler for our royal air force to use planes that turn into battlemechs." A young boy muttered in the next room as he periodically crunched down a peppermint and replaced it.
Shade attempted to step back, but bumped a table. The boy snapped to attention and pulled a blaster from the table. He slowly walked out the room while keeping his gun ready. Shade had already found a hiding spot in a cabinet. "Hello? I'm armed… please come out of hiding?"
The front door opened. A distraction, perfect for an escape. Shade barreled out of her hiding spot and straight past a pale Red Hedgehog in a military uniform, shoulder checking her as she went. "Miles- oof! Hey kid! Get back here!" The woman called as she gave chase. She wasn't nearly as fast as the bat.
Shade was sprinting again. The edge of town was the city of Grand Metropolis. She had to reach it and vanish into the dense cluster of skyscrapers. Her legs pumped like pistons even as she felt progressively more like jelly. By the King's grace, she needed another cigarette. She struggled to light one as she ran, eventually getting it lit right as she tripped and dropped her whole box into a pond. She kept running.
The gate was once the castle walls of the old castle Nocturne and retained the two entrance structure it had possessed. She could see it in the distance. Her vision was starting to blur and she couldn't catch her breath. "Just have to reach it. Just get out…" Everything was spinning. She collapsed to her hands and knees just before the gate.
"Whoa! Do you need help, miss…?" A male voice called to her as he ran over from the other side of the gate.He pulled her to her feet only for her to collapse again. She caught eyes with him as she leaned back in his arms, suddenly unable to even feel her body.
He was a red echidna, she knew him instantly as Knuckles Nocturne. He was mesmerizing in his handsomeness. If she could stare into his purple eyes forever she'd die happy. He smelled like grapes and sweat. Everything was spinning as he looked down at her with genuine concern and shock. It made her feel warm inside in such an unfamiliar.
"Miss? Stay awake. Come on… you're the first echidna I've seen since I was five. Don't die on me." He scowled as he scooped her up bridal style and took off into flight. His scowl was a beautiful thing to be her last sight.
…………
She dreamt of Knuckles in a thousand shifting ways. His muscles. His kindness. He was so close to her and his warm breath took every thought. There was so much heat it almost hurt. She had always rejected the day, but he overwhelmed her with his brilliant rays of sunlight.
Her eyes fluttered open. He was sitting by her side with his eyes glowing. His palm was on her hip and gently radiating energy into her. She looked around. She was in some sort of medical room. The fox from earlier was standing on the other side, checking the contents of a mysterious bag of liquid they were putting in her.
She could feel panic rising in her throat again.
"What are you doing to me!?" She struggled, but found herself so weak she couldn't rise from her bed. He gently pressed down on her shoulder.
"Shade. You're ok. It's been five days.My mother saved your life. You were bleeding internally all over, even inside your head, and all the running away you did made it worse. Who did that to you?" The prince had a gentle hand laid over hers. Her mind was torn with hate for the Knuckles clan and… some sensation in her guts that his touch inspired. Why did his earnest, kind gaze make her feel ashamed? How dare the heir to pachacamac and the traitor queen be so divine.
"I… don't want to talk about it…" she couldn't tell them it was a punishment. She had shown weakness. She should be beyond such things. She was a fully marked watcher of the Nocturnus clan! Her sigil had been laid on her brow by the King Undying himself. She would be the last watcher blessed by him... the thought of it made her ill. Her trembling need for a cigarette made her feel worse.
"I should apologize to you, Shade." The prince gripped her hand gently. "Do you know what a soul bond is?"
Yes. "No." Her voice was hoarse. Soul bound to the last of the Knuckles clan? He was handsome, sure. She would sooner kill herself than continue the vile lineage of Pachamac.
"It's a union by which two, or more, people are joined at the soul. It's a method of spiritual union our people are capable of, and I, as a Nocturne, am uniquely prone to. I… accidentally bound your soul. I'm sorry. If you don't want to be bound like this, we can break it. Contrary to popular belief it isn't that-." He explained gently but was cut off by the Queen Consort.
"Ahem. Actually, Knuckles, it takes witchblood ink. And with Nicole free and the extractor destroyed, we would have to kill a witch, such as my aunt, my niece, or myself to make more." The doctor said with a frown. "I'm sorry, son, but for our purposes, it's quite permanent." She patted him gently on the shoulder.
"Oh. I… wasn't aware of that." Knuckles deflated.
"Mary! I-I need you!" A voice called as a door slammed open in the hallway. The fox sighed.
"I asked for this. I built myself a hospital. I get to run it." she muttered under her breath as she ran out of the room to greet the voice.
A moment later there was sobbing. "I-I c-can't find her! That lead was a trap… and they shot at me with this!" A woman's voice broke into loud weeping.
"No!... Come on, love. Something's happened while you were out."
A moment later the fox re-entered the room with an owl in tow. The Owl, in fact. The Queen didn't look like a terrifying demigod of living lightning and elemental death. She looked like a heartbroken woman whose child was lost. She was weeping as she clutched a glowing blue vial. Her golden armor was badly burned and damaged like she was fresh from a battle, an arm of the armor was torn like the arm had been severed, but the feathers beneath had no mark.
Her face looked so much like the one she had kept an icon of. The resemblance to the eternal King was uncanny. Though he would never let tears be shown. The sight made Shade's gut twist, it was almost perverse in its wrongness. This was the very act that had signified a betrayal of her clan's values, yet her Queen engaged in it right in front of her. Truly the traitor queen's depravity was nigh boundless.
"Longclaw, let me introduce Ms. Shade the Echidna. She had a severe subdural hematoma, and other injuries all over. Knuckles caught her before she got hurt. And…" The fox trailed off.
"I… soul bound her." Knuckles spoke up rubbing his neck anxiously. The owl looked between them, then cracked a smile.
"Oh. I see. Knux, dear, may we speak for a moment, in private?" She gently ushered the prince away.
The doctor sat beside her and gently held her hand once they left the room. "I know all this magic stuff can be scary. I'm soul bound to Longclaw myself. I know the Nocturnes can be kind of a lot sometimes. If you ever need someone to talk to, I know exactly how it gets."
She nodded, if only to make the conversation end. The door opened again. It was the rabbit from earlier. "Where's Longclaw? Did she find anything?"
The doctor sighed and looked at the rabbit sadly. She shook her head. The rabbit scowled and left the room. The click of her heels was lost in the cacophony of a loud shout from the next room over.
"BASTARDS! WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL THEM ALL! YOU SAID YOU WOULD PROTECT US! WHY SPARE THEM AND NOT…" Knuckles shouted from the next room. The whole building shook for a moment as he punched the wall.
"I promise he isn't some rage monster, Shade. His sister has been missing for a month. We're all rather upset about it…"
"I… know what that is like. My brother died recently. He got killed by thugs in black armor and facemasks. We found this weird book. I only got away with a single page. In my bag. I heard on the television that the Queen was looking for someone called Maria. Well the page was signed by her." She gestured to where it sat on an end table.
"What?" The fox perked up as she walked over to the bag. She found the page gently folded next to an unopened pack of cigarettes. She held it up and gasped. "Claws!" She vanished from the room in a yellow blur.
The Queen teleported into the room a moment later. She clutched the page desperately as she crowded into Shade's personal space. "My father spent decades looking for this journal. Where did you find it?!" She shouted with a desperate passion.
"Claws. Back off! You may be queen but this is my hospital and she is my patient! No one will interrogate my patients. If Chaos himself wants to get his watery butt into this room he'll get the same answer!" The Queen was shoved off of Shade.
"It's…. I'm sorry, Shade. My daughter is missing. The same people who took Sonic also took Shadow and Maria. Any thing you remember from the book will be helpful in finding them."
"Candle had it. He tried to hand it to me before he… He-" She was… not. Going. To. Cry. Candle the Echidna was a loyal and dedicated watcher who died in service to the memory of the eternal King. It was a good death. He should be celebrated. Traitorous tears pricked at her eyes. She couldn't let them see. Not again. She pressed her face against the pillow, but the side that faced away from felt wet as her failures as a watcher shone clear for all to see.
"So you only got this page… You said Candle. A moment ago. A sibling?" The Queen asked gently, placing a hand over hers and fixing her with an intense gaze. Tears pricked the Queen's eyes too.
"Yes, Your Majesty. He hatched on the same day and we trai- traveled together all our lives. We don't know who our parents were." She explained her story as much as she could. That last part was only technically a lie.
"I'm so sorry for your loss. Do you know what Echidna clan you might be from?" The Queen's backed away and paced while chewing a feather. "Your markings look reminiscent of the Knuckles clan… but that's simply impossible. The Ayr clan died out three hundred years ago… the Polaris clan was lost with Northstar island… no... Could you possibly be from the Nocturnus?" The Queen's eyes went wide.
With that the Queen had said aloud the truth. Surely, a Nocturnus infiltrator would be treated harshly, not to mention it would constitute a failure of her mission. "I don't know anything about clans. We were just a couple of lost puggles in a city." Please, believe me. If She carried an icon of His Eternal Majesty she'd be rubbing it for luck. She had left her cameo of his visage in the Quartmaster's care when she turned in her armor.
"No, no. It only makes sense. The Nocturnus clan was highly mysterious and isolationist. They were also enslaved by Verse. People fled his rule all the time, but seldom got far. If some poor echidna woman tried to escape while fertilized, laid your eggs, and then had to hide when the clockwork corps came for her, it could explain your origin. Though it does imply… KNUX!" She called out to her son.
He re-entered the room scowling. "Yes, Mother?" His own cheeks were stained with tears.
"I have reason to believe Shade here is of the Nocturnus clan. Which might imply that the Nocturnus clan lives. Heolstor was their Patriarch, if you recall. They are your very distant relations. A myriad in between you, mind, but still. If Verse kept them recently enough to produce a couple of stray fifteen year olds…"
Shade was deeply frightened by the Owl's extrapolation. She was one degree off from catching her. Her only defense was that she would have no reason to believe the Nocturnus her enemy.
"Alright, love. That's enough stressing the girl. Go home. Shower. Sleep." The doctor gently kissed the Queen, and held her face as she spoke. "I know Knux is mad, and he has reason to be. But I am proud of you for sparing those goons. Sonic will be as well. I'll see you for breakfast." She turned to the prince. "Knuckles. Visiting hours ended four hours ago. You go get cleaned up and fed as well." The fox ushered everyone out of the room. She sat down at the side of the bed, and gently spoke. "Typically. Shade. I like to explain the procedures I had to do, so my patients can understand what's happened to them. Would you like to know?"
"Prince Knuckles said there was bleeding inside my head?" Shade asked quietly.
"Yes. There's a layer of protective cushioning around the brain called the dural layer. You were beaten so badly there were several internal ruptures, in it and across your other blood vessels. Your brain was being crushed by the cushion as it filled with blood. Your carotid artery was experiencing similar distress."
Shade scowled. She was beaten as punishment for her weakness. How could she be so weak that a simple punishment nearly killed her? The Inquisitor would punish her again when he learned of this.
"Your constant smoking and running away exacerbated matters. I had to identify, drain, and stitch, each of the nine ruptures you suffered. You were under the knife for six hours."
"I must've been a hard patient for you. I've never heard of those injuries."
"I have treated injuries like that before, actually. There was something strange about yours, however. Typically, in assault victims, they experience strain on their joints, damage to their claws, quills, and similar. We call those injuries 'struggle signs'. When people are beaten, they fight back and it leaves visible signs on their body. You didn't exhibit those signs. Please. What happened?" The doctor asked gently.
"Nothing… stop asking."
"Shade. Let me reiterate. You are a minor and you were beaten half to death and didn't fight back. If you don't tell me who did it, I will be obliged to have law enforcement investigate. Please don't make me do that."
"Nothing. Happened. Please drop it… Your Majesty." She added the last line hastily, Titles Are Important, after all.
"Whoever you're protecting doesn't deserve your protection." The doctor got up with a sigh. "Good night, Miss Shade. Nurse Babble will be by in a half hour, to check your vitals and bring you dinner. If you need anything sooner, hit the button on your bed. I'll be just down the hall with my other patients." The doctor left, hanging a clipboard on the wall, and changing her gloves, as she went.
And with that Shade the Echidna was alone in a hospital room. The doctor was a fool. This injury was her own fault for showing weakness. Her clansmen were tough with her because a weak member is a danger to the clan. How dare she accuse them of 'not deserving her protection'?
She still had a mission to fulfill. This petty kindness, this soul bond? Nothing would deter her success.