Chapter Text
The familiar hum of the fluorescent lights greeted Shadow as he briskly stepped through the hallways of the Ark. He was en route to the classroom, a normal occurrence now. When the Professor had first told him to join Maria in her lessons, he had been highly confused, not understanding why precious time that could be spent conducting research on him to find a cure for her illness should be spent on teaching him geography or long division.
At his initial hesitation, the man had insisted that education was the most important thing above all else, meaning that setting certain days aside for Shadow’s was a necessity. He went on about how it had shown him so much he would have otherwise never been exposed to, how it had given him the means to provide for his children, who he now happily witnessed following in his footsteps, and how much fulfillment teaching had given him. All things Shadow did not understand, but they all sounded very important. However, if there was one thing the hedgehog did understand, it was following directions, and so he maintained a perfect attendance.
Even if he lacked interest in absorbing the material, seeing Maria’s face light up during lessons more than made up for it. Though she tried to hide it, Shadow could detect the sadness within her as she explained how weird having a class this small apparently was, gesturing to the empty spaces of the room that despite said emptiness, carried a weight. Every day she was so attentive and eager, and the teacher would frequently praise both her kindness and intelligence. Shadow knew that when the researchers were able to cure her and she could return to Earth, she would do great things.
The third student, however, tended to dampen his experience. He was the only other child on the Ark, a small little boy with one blue eye and one green that Shadow would catch himself glancing at, then quickly avert his gaze when he inevitably felt the hedgehog’s staring and looked back at him with something Shadow couldn’t quite identify, but that sent a strange feeling to his stomach regardless. Maria got along with him fine–she got along with everyone–but no matter what Shadow did, the boy did not seem to like him. However, that would never stop him from fulfilling his duties. Most of it was nice, and it quickly became a part of his routine.
On the subject of routines…the hedgehog was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed how unusually empty the hallways were today. Typically, researchers were briskly walking past, or huddled in small groups, talking amongst themselves. There had been the occasional days where groups of them traveled back to Earth to update the government on their findings, but there would always be some of them still around. Still, the best course of action was to proceed to the classroom as usual, even if the hallways were…unusually winding…and shouldn’t he have arrived by now?
Shadow’s worries lessened slightly when he at last reached the classroom door. He pressed the button, watching as it slid open at an impossibly slow pace. Suddenly feeling like his legs were made of lead, he willed himself to step inside, the hum of the fluorescent lights twisting from comforting to irritating. Red eyes scanned the room, searching and failing to find any familiar faces. Maria, the teacher, that other kid…the room was deserted, thick layers of dust coating the desks and bookshelves. The room itself had caved in, distorting its shape and littering the ordinarily clear floor with obstacles.
Carefully maneuvering himself, Shadow made his way to the desk he always sat in (because it was where Maria also sat), noticing a book left open on it. He examined its pages, disturbed as the letters failed to form words he could understand, he flipped through, searching, searching, searching–until a flash of brilliant blue pulled his attention away. It was the globe that sat on the edge of the desk as always, but it was bizarrely stuck in a perpetual spin, an azure blur that hurt his head to keep looking at.
Inexplicably, he was drawn to it, reminded of a science lesson where they observed how magnets were always attracted to or repelled each other based on their polarities. Decided characteristics with decided outcomes.
Tentatively, he raised his hand towards it, and it promptly reached a standstill before his glove could so much as graze the surface. He did a double take because–
The world was all wrong. The continents mixed up, not where he remembered them, the topographical details made no sense as he ran his hand over them, and yet, when he looked back at the unreadable book from before, it was open to a perfectly matching drawn map of the Earth.
The hum of the fluorescent lights was KILLING HIM–
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“Shadow…Shadow! Wake up, whatever it is, it’s only a dream…”
Scarlet orbs emerged from darkness as the hedgehog in question snapped open his eyes in a cold sweat. The voice was familiar…grounding. Sure enough, as he followed the sound his gaze landed on a girl with wide blue eyes. Blue like the Earth that she would look at so longingly, that she placed her endless hope in…that might not be the same anymore? His musings were interrupted when she smiled at him and squeezed the hand he just noticed she was holding.
“I’m glad you’re awake. It seems like you were having a nasty dream though,” Maria spoke to him, her smile morphing into a frown.
“I agree, and I agree again,” another voice chimed in from across the room; older, but with the same kindness. The Professor. He began walking over towards the other two.
“I apologize for not paying you attention sooner. A spike in your heart rate was detected, so we came rushing over, and though it appeared to merely be caused by a nightmare, I still thought I should examine your other vitals to be certain it was nothing else.”
“A nightmare…?” Shadow questioned. He had experienced dreams before, and he knew a nightmare was a scary or distressing type of dream based on what he had heard from those around him, but he didn’t really know what they meant. He only remembered small fragments of his dreams, and even then they were unremarkable. Until now, that is.
“Yes, my boy, it was clear based on your aforementioned heart rate and reaction upon waking. I understand your confusion, however. You have only been alive for a few months, and it, fortunately I may add, has been so far stable. It makes sense that only as you experience more days and your brain accrues more material, that you might experience a nightmare. In fact, I expected it to take longer for this to happen,” the Professor explained.
A look of understanding quickly flashed across Maria’s face.
“Shadow, whenever I have a nightmare, it always helps me to talk about it with someone else. I’m not saying you have to, but if it feels like it’d help you too to talk about any of it, I’d be happy to listen. Grandfather too!”
Said hedgehog considered her words, casting his gaze downwards where it landed on his lap. He noted the many irregular folds of the blanket and sheets. Did he really thrash around that much in his sleep?
“Well, it…” He racked his mind for the right words, willing the strange knot in his chest to loosen. “It started out completely normal. I was on my way to the classroom, but it was so…empty. Everyone was gone, but I figured it was just something I wasn’t involved in, and class would still be in session. But then…the classroom was just as empty…”
Shadow’s initial momentum ended as he trailed off, getting to the most difficult to describe part. Maria and the Professor were clearly extending their patience for him, so he didn’t want to waste their time. Some of the details he didn’t feel up to describing, not even really knowing how. Maria had said it was okay if he didn’t want to talk about it all, so maybe just skipping to the end was enough. He did want to get that part off his chest.
The ebony hedgehog began to speak again, his voice coming out annoyingly small.
“I sat down at our desk, but I couldn’t make out anything in the book in front of me. Then I noticed the globe, but that too, was unrecognizable.”
He fidgeted with the blanket.
“I’m aware it was just a dream, but…I want to go check on the classroom now.”
Before Shadow could properly wallow in his embarrassment, Maria quickly responded.
“Let’s go over right now then!”
Still holding his hand, she stood up and started towards the classroom, bringing the slightly shocked hedgehog along. The Professor followed them. The usual researchers inhabiting the hallways was a comforting sight. Shadow watched as Maria exchanged greetings and smiles with them.
He was truly relieved when the door slid open to reveal an intact and familiar classroom, with a globe that depicted the Earth he knew. The girl only now let go of his hand, walking over to it.
“See? Same old classroom, same old globe!” She announced cheerfully.
“And Shadow,” the Professor now began, “there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed about here. Getting what happens in a dream mixed up with reality is not a matter of intelligence or any other metric.”
“Once, I woke up with the memory of my wife eating the leftover deviled eggs that I had made clear were mine. I was so fiercely upset with her, much to her confusion. It was only when I stepped out of bed and went to the fridge to prepare my breakfast that I realized it was just a dream!”
All three laughed.
“Speaking of breakfast, after that little adrenaline rush from before, I’m feeling famished. I’ll be in the cafeteria if you need me!” The man then exited the room.
Maria, however, remained transfixed by the globe.
“It’s not the same as looking out on the actual Earth, but I love being able to see it up close like this.”
Shadow joined her at the desk, observing the way she ran her fingers over the raised mountainous regions.
“I know it’s strange, but…it all seems bigger to me like this, because you can see all the different countries, and the forms the oceans and land take in detail. From afar it looks like a big blue marble, but it actually has so many different things to offer.”
“As nice as it is here, I wish I could have had more time before I had to leave.”
The hedgehog didn’t quite know how to respond. For him, he had only ever experienced Earth second-hand through representations like the globe, photos in textbooks, or snippets from conversations between researchers during slow moments of tests. Maria’s health came first, but he did want to see it for himself.
“When you’re cured, we’ll go anywhere you want. I…also want to see all it has to offer, but I’ll wait as long as it takes.”
Maria smiled at his words, but curiously, her eyes failed to match the expression.
“Thank you, Shadow. You know, with your speed, I’m sure you could travel the world over several times!”
The hedgehog gave a small smile in return, “I suppose I could…no need to rush though. It will be waiting for us,” he then responded, the nightmare from earlier now feeling far away.
Maria’s grin widened.
“You’re right! It’ll be there.”