I Am...All of Me

Undecided Path

This is a fan made prologue of Shadow's story in Sonic 06. As always, please tell me what you think and if you have any requests!

Third Person POV 

      It's been two years since the Black Arms invasion and their leader, Black Doom, was defeated by Shadow the Hedgehog. Things had been going steady after those few weeks. Cities were repaired. Families reunited. Homes rebuilt. But for Shadow, it left him without a purpose. His birthplace on the Ark was now more like a tomb of recovered, and not all pleasant, memories, and he had just killed the only blood family he had in order to protect the world he had promised to protect.

     As he wandered down an empty alleyway, he began to think more about that promise he made to his dying friend. He had sacrificed his thirst for vengeance, his distaste for humanity, even his life so that her wish could become true. But now that his purpose had been fulfilled, what did that mean for him in the present? What was he supposed to live for now that he permanently set aside the past? 

    The sight of a familiar club came into view as he exited the alley, and he decided he had the time to check up on a friend, distracting himself from his rather morbid train of thought. At the moment, the place was closed, but he knew she was still inside. As he stepped in through the door, a familiar white bat caught his eye from behind the counter. 

    "Well, hello, handsome," she greeted suavely, "It's been a while since I've seen you around here." 

    "I was in the neighborhood," he replied curtly with a small shrug. She grinned and poured them both a cold water. Neither of them drank for their own reasons. Shadow himself was not affected by the drink, due to his high metabolism and other factors, but he never wanted to mess with the stuff anyways. And Rouge always said that she preferred to keep her senses sharp.

     "So," she began, "What are you up to nowadays? It's been a long time since I've seen you outside of work." 

    He took a long first sip of his drink before answering, "Nothing much actually, besides running a few extra missions here and there. What about you?"

    "Wow, Shadow the Hedgehog actually asked how I was doing," she grinned in mock surprise, "What is this world coming to? In all honesty though, things have slowed down a bit for me too, until the sun goes down. The night life is always in the fast lane around here, hun." 

    Shadow hmphed in acknowledgment. He could believe that statement. As soon as sunset hit, the entire city was full of mobians and humans alike looking for anything to do during the night, but mostly to enjoy a few hours at Club Rouge, run by the feminine agent he was currently sitting beside. For an expert jewel thief and field operative, she was very good at legitimate business.

    Rouge traced a finger around the border of her cup as she stared into it, not willing to make eye contact with him with what she was about to ask.

    "It's been a long time since everything happened, Shadow. I've barely seen you since the invasion two years ago unless it was on a mission. Is there anything you wanna share with your favorite bat?" she questioned politely but ended with a different tone to cover up some of her sincerity. The sable hedgehog shook his head and finished his drink. 

    "Everything if fine, Rouge. You don't have to worry about me. I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, remember?" 

    Now she knew something wasn't right. If it had been a long time since they hung out socially, then it had been ages since he had pulled the "Ultimate Lifeform" card on her, of all people. She knew he didn't tell her all of what had gone on with him during those few intense weeks, but she didn't understand why he dodged the question whenever she brought it up.