Chapter Text
The elevator groaned as it descended into the earth, each shuddering clank echoing through the steel shaft like the heartbeat of something long dead. I clutched my hammer tighter against my chest, the faint hum of the energy anomaly prickling at the back of my neck. The silence was oppressive only broken by Rouge’s idle hum and Sonic’s tapping impatiently against the wall.
“Creepy place,” Kuckles muttered.
“That’s what happens when you build labs under mountains,” Rouge replied casually, though I caught the sharp edge in her eyes. She was just as uneasy as the rest of us.
I glanced across the elevator, eyes locking on Sonic. His arms were folded, expression calm, but I knew him better than that, there was a tension in his stance, a readiness for danger. Shadow stood just behind him, their shoulders nearly touching, and for some reason, that closeness burned in my chest.
They were married. Married.
Even now, years after their wedding, I couldn’t quite bring myself to accept it. I told myself I was happy for him, that he’d found someone who could keep up with him, who could stand at his side as an equal. But deep down, that familiar ache hadn’t gone away. I still dreamed about his smile sometimes. Still wondered what could’ve been.
The elevator shuddered to a halt, and the heavy doors creaked open to reveal the facility’s chamber’s. Dust hung in the air, catching in the beam of Tails’s handheld scanner.
“Energy readings are spiking down here,” Tails murmured, adjusting his goggles. “Definitely the source of the anomaly.”
“Then let’s move,” Shadow ordered, stepping forward with his usual cold authority.
We fanned out as we entered the main corridor. The air was stale, metallic, tinged with something chemical that made me wrinkle my nose. Rusted doors lined the hallway, some broken, some locked. The flickering lights overhead that barely held power.
It felt like a tomb.
We pressed deeper, combing through ruined laboratories and collapsed storage rooms. Papers littered the floors, their words faded and stained. Rouge knelt, flipping through some of the less-damaged ones.
“Research logs,” she said, wings twitching. “Genetics, energy manipulation, chaos theory…” She trailed off, frowning at the last page. “And something about…a subject?”
My ears perked. “Subject?”
Rouge didn’t answer. Instead, she passed the page to Shadow. His crimson eyes scanned it quickly, narrowing. Sonic moved closer to read over his shoulder, his hand grabbing onto Shadows.
“They weren’t just studying chaos energy,” Shadow finally said, his voice low. “They were… trying to channel it into a living vessel.”
Tails’s twin tails stilled mid-sway. “That’s…That’s dangerous. If they tried to infuse chaos power directly into a person, the results would be catastrophic.”
“Or effective,” Rouge said grimly.
The chill in the air deepened, and I hugged myself, suddenly aware of how silent the halls had become.
It was Knuckles who found the alcove. A heavy blast door, half-buried under debris, still hummed faintly with power. It took all of his strength, and a quick chaos spear from Shadow, to force it open.
The stench hit us first. Stale, chemical, and something older… something rotten.
We stepped into the darkness, our lights sweeping across shattered consoles and broken glass. In the center of the room stood a row of containment pods, most shattered, some scorched. But one remained intact.
My heart skipped.
It was an old tube, cloudy with condensation. Inside, curled in a fetal position, was a baby. A hedgehog. Their fur was pale, their breathing shallow but steady. They couldn’t have been older than a week or so.
“Oh my god…” I whispered.
Tails scrambled forward, scanning the pod. His voice shook. “They’re alive. In stasis, but alive.”
For a long moment, none of us moved. The weight of it was suffocating, the baby, the failed experiments, the knowledge of what horrors must’ve happened here.
Then Sonic stepped forward. His gloved hand pressed against the glass, his face uncharacteristically solemn.
“We can’t leave them here,” he said softly.
Shadow moved beside him, his expression unreadable. But his silence said enough. He agreed.
Freeing the baby was delicate work. Tails directed the process, with Rouge and Knuckles keeping watch. I stayed back, clutching my hammer so tightly my knuckles ached. My chest felt like it was splitting in two, part at the horror of what had been done here, part longing as I watched Sonic and Shadow kneel beside the pod, waiting for the baby to stir.
When the capsule hissed open, mist spilled out onto the floor. The baby gasped, coughing weakly as air filled their lungs.
Sonic caught them instantly, cradling the small form in his arms. His voice softened in a way I’d never heard before. “Hey there, little one. You’re safe now.”
The newborn blinked briefly up at him, then at Shadow, who knelt close. Their tiny fingers reached out, brushing Shadow’s arm as though drawn instinctively.
Something unspoken passed between Sonic and Shadow, in that moment a decision was made.
Shadow rested a hand gently on the infant's check. “We’ll take care of them.”
And just like that, it was decided.
We left the facility in silence. The air outside felt fresher, freer, but I couldn’t shake the heaviness in my chest.
Sonic carried the child carefully, as though they were the most precious thing in the world. Shadow walked beside him, ever the guardian. Knuckles, Rouge, and Tails followed close, speaking in hushed tones about what to do next.
I trailed at the back, my heart aching with every step.
I should’ve been happy. Sonic had found something beautiful in the darkness, a family, a purpose beyond fighting. Shadow had softened in a way I never thought possible. The baby would be loved, cherished, and protected.
But deep down, that old wound throbbed. Sonic had chosen Shadow. And now, together, they’d chosen this little one. There was no space left for me.
That night, when we stopped to rest, I sat apart from the others. The stars glittered above, cold and distant. My hands trembled in my lap.
I could still hear Sonic’s voice, tender and warm, as he soothed the babe now named Stellar. I could still see the way his smile lit up when she clung to his chest. That smile used to be mine, the one that sent my heart racing, that made me believe in happily-ever-afters.
Tears pricked my eyes. I wiped them just as quickly, not wanting anyone to see.
“You’re quiet tonight.” Rouge’s voice broke the silence as she settled beside me, her wing brushing my shoulder.
I forced a smile. “Just…thinking.”
“About him?” she asked, no judgment in her tone.
I swallowed hard, then nodded.
Rouge sighed softly. “Amy…you have to let him go. He’s happy. And maybe, just maybe, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”
I knew she was right. I hated that she was right.
My gaze drifted back to the fire, where Sonic and Shadow sat side by side, Stellar nestled safely between them. Sonic laughed at something Tails said, and the sound was warm, alive, full of love.
My heart broke all over again. Maybe Rouge was right. Maybe this was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. To them.
And maybe, one day, it would be my turn to find that kind of love.