Return to Robotropolis

Sonic's Promise

Shortly after they had returned to their time, Shadow left to take care of some 'personal business'. Sonic received some intel from Cyrus and Trevor that Eggman put Sonia and Manic on a train that was going to crash/explode. He had successfully rescued them and was now carrying them back to Mobotropolis.
"I knew it... I knew you'd return! You had to!" Sonia exclaimed. Sonic gasped as he saw an incoming attack and jumped to avoid it. He gently set his siblings down and looked at the source of the attack: King Jules.
"...You again," Sonic said somewhat bitterly.
"This time there will be no more interruptions! The Iblis Trigger... must die!" Jules growled, pointing at Sonic. Sonic glared defiantly, ready to fight his father again.
"Sonic..." Sonia and Manic whimpered. Jules fired an energy blast, which Sonic dodged by rolling out of the way. Jules then grabbed Sonic in a electrokinetic hold, paralyzing him. Sonia and Manic watched helplessly.
"So how was your little walk, Your Majesties?" Eggman came up behind them in his Eggmobile, grabbed them with its two hands, and flew away. The two screamed as they were carried away.
"Sonia! Manic!" Sonic yelled. He tried to go after them, but Jules strengthened his electrokinetic hold on him with a scoff.
"It's time to end this!" Jules growled. He moved to deliver the final blow, but-
Having seen all this, and his protective big brother instincts kicking in, Shadow leapt down, landing in-between the two cobalt hedgehogs, forcing Jules to jump back to avoid being landed on. Sonic collapsed as Jules' electrokinetic hold on him was dropped.
"Who?!" Jules exclaimed, shocked and confused.
Shadow looked up, his ruby eyes meeting Jules' chestnut ones.
"Mephiles! Why are you getting in my way?!" Jules snarled. Shadow stood up, glaring at the king.
"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow corrected, crossing his arms over his chest. Jules glared back at the ebony hedgehog, annoyed with being stopped. Shadow looked over his shoulder at Sonic.
"Thanks, Shads," Sonic thanked him, giving a thumbs up. Shadow smiled and gave an acknowledging nod.
Sonic took off after Eggman and his siblings. Shadow looked back at Jules, glaring again. The two got ready to fight.
After a long battle, the two hedgehogs were both breathing hard. Jules yelled angrily as he raised his fist and attempted to punch Shadow.
Shadow pulled out his red Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!" He slowed time down and roundhouse-kicked Jules in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
Jules partially got back up and glared at Shadow. "Y-you..." he growled.
"Don't bother," Shadow scoffed. "With a Chaos Emerald's power, I control time and space. You can't break free."
"I won't give up! It all depends on me! Can't lose... Not when I'm so close!" Jules stated, getting to his feet. Shadow now understood where Sonic's stubbornness came from. "I won't let anyone get in my way! I'll change the present and save the world!"
Shadow shook his head in disappointment and disapproval. "Mephiles isn't trying to help you create a better future... He's trying to eliminate the past and the Royal Hedgehogs," he explained.
"What? What are you talking about?" Jules asked. Shadow gave Jules a bitter look of disgust.
"You should be ashamed of yourself. Trying to kill your own son..." Shadow scolded.
"What are you talking about?" Jules asked indignantly.
"Surely you haven't failed to notice Sonic's resemblance to you?" Shadow sneered, making fun of Jules' ignorance. Jules thought it over, and he looked horrified as he realized what Shadow was saying.
"You mean... Sonic is my oldest son? And Mephiles tried to make me kill him...?" Jules asked, horrified. Shadow snickered, amused by Jules' reaction.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better catch up and make sure Faker doesn't hurt himself," Shadow said, turning around. He skated after Sonic.

Sonia and Manic were standing on the edge of the Eggmobile.
"Now stop it," Eggman scolded. "You have nowhere to go."
"We would rather die than be your prisoners again!" Manic spat.
"Hmph! So what are you going to do, Your Majesties?" Eggman asked, shrugging questioningly. "Do you plan to jump?" He pointed down at the ground for emphasis.
The hedgehogs anxiously looked down at the ground, which was several stories down. They didn't want to die, but they didn't want to be Eggman's prisoners again. Sonic was running on the ground, trying to get to them in time.
"Farewell," Sonia dismissed. She and Manic leaned back and fell over the edge of the Eggmobile, plummeting towards the ground, leaving Eggman stunned.
"Huh?!" Eggman exclaimed. Sonic arrived just in time, allowing himself to slide. He caught his siblings in his arms just before they hit the ground.
"Sonic!" Sonia and Manic exclaimed happily.
Eggman growled. "You won't get away that easily!" He sent the Egg-Genesis after them, which Sonic quickly destroyed. During the battle, Shadow showed up to help, making defeating the machine even easier.

The group of hedgehogs stopped so Sonia and Manic could catch their breath.
"That was a gutsy move back there," Sonic said, pointing with his thumb in the direction they came from.
"Well, we were desperate... and, um... we just had to get away," Manic explained.
"We owe you a lot, Sonic," Sonia said.
"Uh..." Sonic said. He chuckled nervously.
"You too, Shadow," Manic added. Shadow just scoffed. Sonic turned to see a large hoard of Egg Gunners flying towards their direction.
"We'll head into the jungle!" Sonic said.
Sonia nodded. "Okay!" Sonic carried Sonia while Shadow carried Manic.
Shadow sighed with irritation. "I did not sign up for this," he grumbled under his breath, which only Sonic heard, thanks to his enhanced hearing.
Sonic chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Shadow..." he apologized quietly. They then took off into the jungle to escape the Egg Gunners.

Deep within the forest, Sonic, with Sonia in his arms, and Shadow, with Manic in his arms, were running through the lush jungle.
"Hmm... It looks like we've lost them," Sonia remarked.
"Shadow and I'll settle things here. Sonia, Manic, you guys should go back to the castle.
"Okay..." Sonia and Manic said at the same time. Sonic noticed the disappointment in their voices and decided to make a detour. He gestured with his head to Shadow for him to follow, then made a sharp turn to the right, Shadow following.
"Sonic?" Sonia asked, confused. They came to a stop by a lake surrounded by green grass and numerous trees. Sonia, Manic, and even Shadow were awestruck by the beauty of their surroundings.
"It's so beautiful! I've never seen so many flowers before!" Manic said, completely awestruck.
"Sonic?" Sonia asked. Sonic turned his head to look at her, while Shadow picked a particularly beautiful flower and sniffed it. "Have you visited many wonderful places before?"
"Yeah!" Sonic answered, crossing his arms and turning to look at another tree. "This is actually one of my favorite spots."
"So, you come here often?" Shadow asked, looking up from his flower. Sonic nodded.
"Once you defeat Eggman... you'll leave, won't you?" Sonia asked. After a brief pause, contemplating, Sonic turned to face her, then nodded. "Though I've been frightened many times, I've also enjoyed this adventure. It allowed me to be something other than a princess. I was able to be myself... a girl."
"It sounds like being royalty isn't that easy," Shadow noted.
"It isn't sometimes, but we love this country," Manic answered.
"Everyone in the castle, the children, all our citizens really..." Sonia continued Manic's statement. "The same love our father and mother have..."
They had a flashback of King Jules and Queen Aleena sitting on their thrones, gently stroking a slightly younger Sonia and Manic's foreheads, respectively.
"Don't cry, my children. Become strong rulers who don't cry no matter what happens," Aleena said.
They snapped back to reality.
"And so, we do our best to protect our country," Manic finished.
"I understand everything our parents said to us now. Sonic, if you leave here to go on another adventure... Remember this place," Sonia requested.
"Definitely," Sonic assured. Sonia suddenly strayed away with an offended gasp-like grunt. "Sis?" Sonic asked, concerned.
"I'm fine... Sorry," Sonia said. Sonic didn't believe her, but decided not to say anything. 'I mustn't cry... I can't...' Sonia thought. She quickly hugged Sonic before she could cry, taking him off-guard.
"Sonia... smile," Sonic reassured, gently stroking her back to comfort her. "I can always come back to visit." After Sonia pulled herself together, Sonic and Shadow escorted her and Manic back to Mobotropolis.

As they were about to go their separate ways again, Sonic stopped Shadow. "Wait, Shadow."
Shadow stopped and turned to look at the cobalt hedgehog. "Hmm?"
"Remember how Mephiles said that the world would betray you?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Shadow asked.
"Even if the world turns against you, I promise, no matter what, I'll never turn against you," Sonic promised.
Shadow's eyes got soft and shiny again. "Thank you..." Sonic smiled and gave a nod. "Actually, can I hang out with you for a while? I don't really have anything to do," Shadow said.
"I don't see why not," Sonic answered. The two hedgehogs left the city together to get to know each other better.