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Sonic met Shadow for the very first time… but it wasn’t when G.U.N was chasing down Sonic, mistaking one for the other. It never happened in the pitch-black of night. In fact, it was what most people called the White Space. Right now, Classic Sonic was lazing over a palm tree, thrown together in a living diorama, not realizing that he would meet the hedgehog of his future dreams… and just what he needed in this moment.
A long time ago, way back when, I was snoozing around… the White Space…. as my new friends called it, sleeping in the comfiest tree I had ever napped in. The way the leaf creaked under me when I settled in all nice and cozy… that sound was practically a built-in hedgehog charmer. This place must be a dream… or I thought it should be.
Earlier, I was running through Green Hill, as I do every morning, when a giant smoky demon came up and gobbled me and my friend, Tails! Instant darkness… that strange feeling… I thought I might’ve hit my head or something, and that Tails happened to be having the same dream as me.
It was my first working theory.
Right now, Tails and a future version of himself, were working on figuring out just what exactly had brought us here and why. Our most recent conclusion, time travel… which seemed obvious by now. My older, faster and perhaps… a little bit… more… handsome… self was walking around here, looking for another portal to jump in.
It looked like it wasn’t my turn just yet, so I turned in for another nap… but those future friends of mine were pretty loud… in my head. Whenever I met one of my friends of the future, they always kept mentioning something about me I thought wasn’t really worth noting. My perfectly round body. I couldn’t really help it. I’m still a growing hedgehog after all… but it still kind of… ate at me somehow.
I couldn’t get comfortable, getting kind of paranoid that my shape had something to do with it. I kept tossing and turning, sometimes I might take a look and see if my new shape had come in… but no. I laid back, staring up at the white ceiling, deciding that maybe I just didn’t want to sleep. Then… I heard something interesting. That other me was talking to a new future friend of mine… but they looked very different from the rest.
“You’re still not done yet?”
“Y’know these things take time, Shadow.”
Shadow.
To me, it was obvious why he had that name. Black fur and quills, except for that white on his chest, the red stripes and his brown muzzle. I thought he looked so cool! Like a living paint job on the most radical motorcycle I’d ever seen! I found this hedgehog very interesting indeed.
It looked like my future self was over this aura of cool though. He casually looked up at another portal, not paying any attention to him at all! It looked like it led to a space station straight out of a sci-fi film. Instantly, I was hooked. I quietly hopped over to get a better look, hanging on the edge of the living slice of city, my round body… making it hard to get comfortable.
That other me tossed the yellow Chaos Emerald casually. Juggling with one hand, the other on his hip. A true hedgehog of confidence. He asked, “How ‘bout a race?”
Shadow scoffed at that other me, giving me second-hand embarrassment. How could I talk to that so casually?! My heart wouldn’t stop beating from all the way up here.
“If your friends complain about being stuck on ice for who knows how long… just make sure they know that was your fault.”
That cocky grin… another hedgehog of confidence. That other me rolled his eyes at that comment. “Is that a ‘yes’?”
Shadow said nothing, only standing by the portal. I knew why. He said that this mistake wouldn’t be his fault, so… clearly… he wouldn’t be the one to make the first mistake of stepping through that portal. That other me hopped through though, and quick as a flash, Shadow hopped after and stole the Chaos Emerald in one fell swoop.
The two hedgehogs disappeared.
My eyes grew wide at this sight. Of course, I was pretty interested to see what my speed would eventually evolve into, but this other guy was a whole new world of cool! My red shoes became that typical figure eight, I hopped through the portal and followed them.
What I saw next, I couldn’t wait to see for real.
I was, in fact, in space, not exactly new… but that other me and Shadow raced over a metal circuit, etched with plates and wires that led deep into a floating base. I saw that other me kicking meteors into Shadow. Shadow shot them right back without a single flinch! My future self would gain on him and snatch the Emerald from his hands. Shadow would flash forward as if that action were only a thing of the past.
I watched from afar, inspiration taking over me! Once again, excitement at what the future had for me, made me want to move my feet. I watched my future self’s movements carefully. Dodging with only a quills breadth of a second to react, but most importantly…
I saw speed.
I could do that.
Speed was my middle name!
A meteor drifted close by me. I thought I would try another… homing attack…? I think that’s what he called it. I crouched on the ground and made my feet spin, trying to adjust my weight against the solar winds. Of course, I would keep an eye out for meteor pebbles, cast away from the friendly competition… but in the back of my mind, I felt that if I just put a little bit more juice into it, I could split this rock into pieces. Just like he did.
I let myself fly, spinning so fast, I looked like that usual blue blur. I jumped… and tried to surge forward like my future self might, but I couldn’t get the hang of it. I felt myself slowing down… probably because I was too heavy.
I hit the meteor, but it didn’t split. I got stuck, laying on top of it as it continued to drift away from safety. I tried to find a way out, but all I saw was another meteor heading my way! I jumped off just as the rocks hit… and now was heading into space.
If that time traveling monster hadn’t mysteriously taken away my ability to speak, I might have called for help. Luckily for me, a knight in shining armor, or glittering Chaos energy, would save me. The black hedgehog, Chaos Emerald in hand, had teleported to me.
With only one Chaos Emerald!
I thought I might faint!
Shadow’s eyes met mine, and I suddenly felt kind of embarrassed. Curled up into a ball, underneath his arm, wasn’t how I initially wanted to get this guy’s attention. Noticing that from an outsider’s perspective, I probably looked like a beach ball… didn’t really make things better.
We both landed safely back onto the metal circuit, and he placed me onto the ground. I found myself trying to hide… something, but all I could really do was back away. The other me had caught up to us.
“What are you doin’ here?”
Shadow looked down at me.
I waited for the ribbing about my size or shape again.
“You know this hedgehog?” Shadow asked. A nice change of pace.
The other me didn’t answer this question. I think I knew why. We seemed to have a sort of… twin-sense… or maybe it was just the collective minds of two really fast hedgehogs, thinking at break-neck speeds.
I assume that Shadow never mentioned anything about meeting a tinier version of his rival during this fight. Would it mess up space-time, or was this space in time the only thing that could be affected?
Either way, I probably wasn’t supposed to be here.
Shadow still wondered about me. “Could he be some sort of time anomaly…?” He mumbled. “But why only you?”
“Who knows?” The other me said, picking me up off of the ground. “Let me just deal with ‘im.” The other me hopped into an unseen portal. We were back in the White Space. The other me pulled me away from that portal. “Look, I’m you, and you’re me… so I kinda… get what you’re feelin’ right now… but we got a job t’ do.”
I was plopped onto the ground. I turned up my nose at that other me. What made him think he had the right to tell me, Sonic the Hedgehog, what to do? He was me after all, so he would have to know just how much it made me want to ignore him.
“Hey, don’t give me that…” that other me chuckled. “You can talk to ‘im later.”
That wink… it made me feel like he was clearly talking about himself. My brow furrowed just a little bit more. He didn’t seem to care.
“Besides…” he added, “Shadow’s a bit… prickly.” He mumbled out. “He probably wants some time to himself. He always does… actually.” That other me kicked the ground awkwardly. “I didn’t see ‘im at my birthday party, so I’m not sure why he’s even here.”
Birthday party…?
Shadow hopped out of the portal. “I found my way back.” He said. “With none of your help.”
“I thought the giant, magic portal was pretty obvious.”
Shadow rolled his pretty red eyes. He glanced at me, making my pulse spike, a lot more than a deadly drop might. He bent down, his eyes peering curiously. I did my best not to look away, or show fear… but he noticed my cheeks burning with each second. What was he looking at? Was there something he saw in me? Hopefully not my round shape… again.
“This is clearly some… younger form of you.” He said. “What happened to the color in your eyes? They’re different.”
“I’m not sure.” That other me mumbled. “Knuckles said it might have t’ do with me messin’ with the Chaos Emeralds.”
“Hm…” Shadow hummed, making my chest shake. “I like it.” He said. “Not quite as flashy.”
“Flashy?”
Once my heart would stop racing at that compliment, I made a note to myself. Get black eye-contacts. I wanted to look my best in the future!
While I was lost in plans for my new contact lenses, that other me picked me up again, taking me to the next living city we had to free. “We got work t’ do.” He whispered. “But… before this… I was havin’ a real big shindig with all o’ my friends. Maybe you can stop by… before ya go back?”
I nodded my head, doing my best impression of a hedgehog not spiritually bouncing off the walls. Unfortunately, I agreed that I needed to go back to my own timeline. Later, I would make my move. I had won the hearts of… no Mobians so far… except for that pink one that wouldn’t stop following me.
That’s it! All I had to do… was what I knew worked on me. A cute face… maybe that shy look… I wasn’t really doing it on purpose earlier, but it looked like it was working. I bet I looked cute! Did Shadow like cute things? I guess I’ll learn later.
That other me placed me in front of a new portal, still stark white. I saw… orcas. “Whole lotta water in this one!” He called back to me. “Good luck!”
All I had to do was make it through this time traveling thing, and then… I had to woo that hedgehog!
As usual, me and that other me went from portal to portal and met more of my future friends. Some were a bit more polite, but still the odd comment about my body would appear. I was starting to have real mixed feelings about my ‘friends’. Which felt weird. They were my friends, right? During that final showdown though, they would all say, “You can do this, Sonic!”… but… I wasn’t sure if they were talking about me.
After me annd that other me defeated the Time Eater, everyone appeared at that party the other me talked about. Everyone started relaxing and talking, but I snuck away to practice. I felt like I wasn’t really pulling my own weight back there, so I trained as well as I could, trying out that homing attack again.
Sweaty, dirty, and a little bit sore, something told me to work up the courage to try in front of the others… but I wanted to show Shadow first. He seemed nice. Like that cool kid you might look up to down the road… exactly what I wanted to be. I watched from the shadows, looking for my target, which I knew was uncharacteristic of me. Why couldn’t I jump in and dive like I always did? Why did it matter how cool I was? Obviously, every time I woke up one of my future friends… they didn’t really have a lot to say about me. Nothing great. At all. I’m short, I wasn’t what they were expecting… I was a little bit more round… I guess… I could probably lose a few pounds… or something. Maybe lay off the chili dogs…
Just…
There wasn’t anything else to say?
Except for Shadow. He said… I didn’t look flashy… but he clearly meant it in a good way. I had to go see him!
Right when I was just starting to feel like I could talk to Shadow… I bumped into him. Not the best first impression. Again. I expected an angry growl, but he hadn’t noticed me yet, on account of my size, so quicker than quick, I took out a flower I picked, and gave him the cutest, sweetest look I could muster. Really, it wasn’t that hard. I just had to look up at him, and my cheeks would be just as pink as that hedgehog that wouldn’t stop followin’ me.
Shadow was clearly taken by surprise. No doubt dazzled by the charms I was slowly starting to believe I had lost. “Is this… for me?” He said. Of course it was! It looked like the me of the future, wasn’t treating this guy how he deserved. “Thank… you?” He said, clearly as if this were a rarity for him.
Nowadays it breaks my heart to wonder what caused that reaction, but back then, I was practically on cloud nine! It worked! And then… that other me showed up.
“Sorry…” he apologized… for me! “I guess mini-me over here didn’t realize ya didn’t want t’ be bothered.” He pressed his hands into my back and tried to push me away. I forced my feet into the ground to make him stop. I guess I had gotten used to not talking. I gave him the meanest, dirtiest look I could, secretly hoping that hedgehog behind us would see how great I was at intimidation.
That other me… it looked like he realized what was happening. He forgot about my… date. For lack of a better term. Before he could apologize to me… that deep voice whispered, “that’s fine.” Still, before I could lose another chance, I reached out, and grabbed his arm, and I peeled out, zooming away to a more quiet place… but I tripped over pretty quickly.
Earlier… I started feeling a little self-conscious.
I know!
The horror!
The great Sonic the Hedgehog… was worried… that he wasn’t cool. That other me… he always did that thing where he shot forward, directly onto the nearest badnik. It almost looked like he was flying! I tried… and I tried… over and over again… but I just couldn’t get the hang of it. One of those times, I think I might’ve hurt somethin’. My ankle felt like it was on fire. My quills felt sore too.
Shadow stood up, after being unceremoniously dragged to the ground by me. He dusted himself off. I guess I was just in the mood for copying others that day. I tried to stand tall, too, but I had to fall down. Something was wrong with my foot. I guess that little run I did was the last straw.
I held onto my foot, keeping it away from the ground. Shadow bent down in front of me, and then quickly those rosy cheeks came back. He stared at me for a while. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, or thinking, but he looked down at my feet, and I flinched my bad foot away, expecting him to touch it. He gave a heavy sigh, sat me up straight, and then he took off my shoe, and my sock. Despite my silenced voice, I gasped in shock at the swelling on my ankle.
Shadow held my foot up, looking at it carefully. He tested my toes, curling and uncurling them. He tested my foot, moving it around and another quiet gasp came out. I put my hand over my mouth to shut me up. He just seemed to be the kind of hedgehog that liked quiet.
Shadow rolled his eyes at me and disappeared off. I wasn’t sure why he would, so I looked for a way I could stand. The moment he heard grass rustle, he sharply turned around and said, “Don’t move.” So I sat myself back down, and stayed put.
One thing I knew for certain, and something that other me taught me, was that I could not sit still, and apparently, I might not grow out of it. I shifted my weight, wincing at my foot. I stretched my leg, wincing at my foot. I tapped my foot… and you can guess what happened next. Shadow returned to me holding a roll of bandages. It looked like he somewhat guessed what had happened while he was gone. “Hold still.” He told me. “This time, I think you should listen.”
I rolled my eyes and held still like he asked. He held up my foot, wrapped the bandages around my arch, and around my ankle. It still hurt, so I shut my eyes and held onto the grass. Eventually, he put my foot on the ground. I was shocked to feel something real cold, making me shiver. I opened my eyes. Shadow had gathered up ice from the cooler and wrapped it in a cloth for my foot. I took in a long look of the image in front of me. Just like the cool guy I thought he was… tending to the needy… he placed my hand on the ice and said, “Keep this here.” I was so lost in those words, I didn’t realize what he was doing.
While I was focused on that ice, Shadow circled around behind me, and shoved his hand in my back. A chill went up through my quills, and I almost screamed… before I realized I suddenly felt a lot better. Turns out, a twig was stuck back there. I tried to turn to see what else might be there.
Shadow turned my head back around. “Focus on your foot.” He said, and he put his hands in my quills again. I saw a pretty big pile of leaves sticks starting to grow… and some patches of dirt. How did I miss all of that? Shadow gasped, and whipped his hand around. One of his fingers got stuck on my quills? Did I move again? Just in case, I sat down as well as I could and focused real hard on my foot.
Shadow continued working on my quills. The sound of those old ones snapping away was almost therapeutic, the feeling of his hands pushing through them to straighten them out made me a bit sleepy. Despite the fact that the other me warned me about Shadow’s stoic attitude… he started talking to me. “I know what you’re doing,” he sighed handsomely… “and it’s not going to work.”
My heart stopped. He figured me out! And apparently… wasn’t really into it. I was starting to feel a bit awkward. Most folks probably wouldn’t feel the need to impress their friends, just to get them to say something else. While Shadow plucked out my old quills, my hands found their way around my round body again, tracing that bare part. That other me had that too… but it wasn’t a literal circle.
Shadow stopped his work, but it didn’t pull my attention away. I didn’t know exactly why I looked like this. I was always running, but I guess I’m always hungry, too... why does growing up have to feel so awkward?!
While I wasn’t paying attention, Shadow sat in front of me. “I heard… what those idiots said to you…” he said, “don’t take it personally.’’
How couldn’t I? It was the first thing they saw! A part of me wondered if they saw anything else; if they could see anything else. During that final battle, they all came and cheered… for him.
Shadow walked away again. I didn’t mind being alone, but it wasn’t for long. Even though I had my head in my knees, hiding my body, I still felt him messing around with my quills. How much gunk did I get stuck in there? With all of that fussing, I even started falling asleep again.
After a while, Shadow tapped my head. I looked up and saw a hand mirror, pointing straight at me. He looked away, almost kinda embarrassed. I glanced in the mirror and saw me… but looking a lot different. I quickly took the mirror, not really thinking about how rude it was, but I just had to look.
I saw a whole lot of flowers. Like the one I picked for him. He weaved them in my quills! It looked kinda… pretty. Maybe too flashy? I looked up at Shadow, wondering why he would do that.
“You’re… pretty cool… too.” Shadow sighed. He didn’t have to make it seem like he was pulling teeth. “The others… don’t think about how that stuff can affect you.”
Affect me…? I guess it kinda did. I’ve never thought that much about… myself, o-or like this… at all, really.
Shadow rubbed the back of his own quills. “Sonic… well, you… in the future… he seems to not care about stuff like that anymore… but I know you’re going through a sensitive time.”
Sensitive? I didn’t really like that word. Back home, I would dive into pitch-black pits like it was nothing, Robotnik would swing a wrecking ball over my head, and the only thing I had to worry about was losing my pocket change. Some might even call me, the Iron Hedgehog. The Hedgehog With a Heart of Gold, and a Soul of Steel… but somehow, this was the closest thing to an uphill battle I ever had to deal with.
I thought now might be a good time to ask… how do you do it? Shadow looked like he was the same age, and just as well-sculpted as that other me. I couldn’t imagine him going through an awkward phase, but stuff like this is for everyone, right? I opened up my mouth… and nothing came out again. I was furious. That Time Eater thing was gone. What was wrong with me? I still tried my best to ask, how did you get outta this mess?
Somehow, he got the memo. “Just… focus on being you for the time being.” He told me. “Sonic right now… you have a long way to go before you become that… and I rather like you right now.”
My eyes sparkled at those words. Really?
“Really.” Shadow said.
Could he read my thoughts?
“Do you want to go back?”
I did, but first I had to give him something. He was kinda big compared to me, but I tried to give him a hug. I wasn’t expecting his fur to be that soft, and his chest fur was even fluffier. It smelled… like a coffee shop. Knowing me, I have no business being around those places, but that other me somehow managed to meet him, so maybe I had nothing to worry about? A tiny bit of his fur tickled my nose, and I sneezed away from him, disturbing the flowers in my quills. Ironically, I think I might’ve have been allergic. After that one sneeze, a chain reaction started. I couldn’t stop!
Shadow pressed his finger up to my nose… I held my breath… and it stopped. I cautiously breathed a sigh of relief. I was very grateful. For everything! He really did bring up my spirits. My foot was still a little sore though. “Keep off of that for a few weeks.” He told me. “After that… you can practice as much as you’d like to.”
It looked like my portal home was here, so I gave another cautious goodbye hug, and ran to say the other polite farewells.
After a while, the portal home came for Classic Sonic. Him and his buddy Tails hopped straight through. As Classic Sonic disappeared, almost the moment the portal closed, Modern Sonic could definitely feel a new memory or two rushing through, time travel was a very complicated mess. One thing that intrigued him, something he felt wasn’t there before, on the night he first saw Shadow, there was a loud thought ringing in his mind, beyond just how mysterious this hedgehog was.
Why didn’t I wear my black eye-contacts today?!
He was sure that by the time he would come home, he would find a pair hidden somewhere.
There was also something else. He wondered what his younger self was up to, now he knew for sure. He just so happened to spot Shadow disappearing away from his birthday party. Quickly, he overtook him. “Shadow… wait.” His friends were off somewhere else, saying their goodbyes, so they wouldn’t see this awkward interaction. With his face as pink as that hedgehog who wouldn’t stop following him. He said, “Th-thanks…”
Shadow looked shyly away. It seemed he understood what Sonic was talking about. “Did it help?” He asked.
If his memories had anything to say about it, “yeah.”
He had to admit that in the past, he had struggled with that halfway point to a full-fledged hedgehog. When he had first seen Classic Sonic, believing that he must be a reflection in a mirror, he couldn’t help a bit of a test, surprised to find his stomach as flat as it usually was. He did remember seeing a hint of disappointment in that younger version of himself. For just a moment.
“How did ya know… what t’ say?” Sonic asked.
“I… wasn’t sure… really.” Shadow said. “After a recent… event… I felt the need to step in.” Shadow was born, already fully formed. He never had to deal with the growing pains, and practically spent every moment of his life believing that he was the greatest hedgehog to have ever lived… there was a moment recently that humbled him a bit.
While he was investigating for another adventure, he happened to come across Cream, crying and hiding behind a bush. It seemed like some of her peers had poked fun at a similar scenario. Shadow hardly knew what to do then, but sitting down and weaving flower crowns seemed to have helped dry her tears away. He took his flower crown, placed it on her head, called her a magnificent queen, and those tears disappeared.
He started noticing the signs. “I was worried it might happen again.” Shadow mumbled, so he took action. “It still worked?”
Sonic nodded his head. That moment he spent with Shadow in the woods, dressing up his quills… he didn’t realize that getting prettied up could turn a bad mood around so quickly. His chest still felt warm at the thought… he still couldn’t remember exactly why he was upset though. He remembered being told that those new guys were his friends… but… it didn’t feel like that…
“Mr. Sonic!” Cream cried. In her hands was a beautiful flower crown. “Here.” She said.
Sonic kneeled down and bowed his head. “Is this for me?”
Cream nodded her head. “That big scary monster blew away my first present, so I made this one really special!”
Sonic gave Cream a big hug, pulling her up into the air, and into his arms. “Thanks! I think this might be the best present today by far!”
Cream giggled happily. “Make sure you thank everyone else, too. Okay?”
“Sure thing!”
Cream saw Shadow and her face instantly lit up. Sonic handed her over. Shadow awkwardly carried her, but it didn’t matter that much. Cream had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. “Thank you, Mr. Shadow.”
“You’re welcome…” Shadow mumbled. Feeling awkward, he placed Cream on the floor. He stepped away tentatively, unsure about his exit.
Almost as if to break the spell, Cream took Sonic’s hand and pulled him away, waving goodbye to Shadow. Shadow took the chance, and skated away, bringing Sonic back to this moment. He felt an odd itch between his ear, before a sneeze erupted from his snout. A flurry of flower petals fell from his head.
Still probably allergic.