Who Are You?

Silver stopped and lowered Sonic to the side of an apartment complex. It looked rather lousy. "This is where I live," Silver stated. On second thought, it actually looked pretty nice. "Somebody's waiting for you inside!"

Somebody? Who could that be? As Sonic walked into the doorway and into the entrance smelling of smoke, his mind wandered. He thought of… who exactly it could be. Perhaps, Sonja Pico and Buck? It was wishful thinking, he decided. There was no way.

No way at all.

"This is my room," Silver said when they reached room 206. He unlocked the door and formally gestured for Sonic to go in. "Sorry, I just moved in. It's a little… well, you'll see."

"Can't be worse than my place," Sonic replied. He opened the door, and saw none other than Shadow the Hedgehog… sitting on a couch. Yep, something was up. Whenever Shadow came into the mix, there was definitely something happening. Maybe that would be good for Sonic. Maybe, just maybe, an adventure would help him get his mind off things, if only for a little while. He paid no mind to Silver running off to another room.

"So you're finally here," Shadow muttered. "Took you long enough, slowpoke."

"Nice to see you too…" Sonic snarked. "Faker!" Shadow smirked. Sonic dashed over and took a seat on the grey couch. It was uncomfortable, made a strange sound when sat upon, and was caked in stains, tears… and burns? Sonic tried to find a comfortable spot, but was given no reward for his efforts. So he just settled where he was. "Never took you as one to… sit?"

Shadow looked at him, irked. Maybe even a little offended. Sonic had to admit, it did sound pretty stupid out loud. "I have my downtime too," Shadow mumbled. He stretched out his legs onto the coffee table and put his arms behind his head, relaxing. He sunk into the sofa. As if it was the most comfy one he'd ever been in. But soon, he got up. "But that's enough of that."

Shadow turned to Sonic. "Sonic, I saw what happened back in Green Hill," Shadow stated. This caught Sonic off guard.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked. "Are you saying you were---?"

"There? Yes," Shadow replied. "I'm more places than you think, Sonic."

"Ominous."

"Yeah, a little," Shadow sighed. "But that is of unimportance right now. Sonic. You lost some people. Some very important people."

"Yeah…" Sonic sighed. "I did…"

Shadow placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know how it feels. I too, lost someone very important to me."

Sonic thought of the girl he saw in that video on the Black Comet, when Black Doom and his Black Arms had attacked Earth. Shadow never confided in him much, but looking up some previously blacklisted files regarding Space Colony ARK… That girl was named Maria Robotnik. She was Eggman's cousin, and she was shot non-fatally, yet bled out while she sent Shadow to Earth, where he was discovered and sent to Prison Island.

So, was this supposed to make him feel better? Really, it was making him feel worse. "Shadow, agh… I'm sorry, I---" Sonic started.

Shadow scowled. "I know my own troubles well. You, however, look like you are attempting to avoid your problems. Imagine, if you will… an opportunity to regain those you lost. Defy the cruel hands of fate, whilst turning back the hands of time."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked.

"Follow me."

Sonic followed Shadow in a blur to another room in Silver's apartment. It was… a bathroom? Then, Sonic noticed what looked like a crooked portal frame in the tub. He thought it looked like a smaller version of the portal frame they used to get back from Chris' world. But there was no portal. Just an empty frame only visible when the bathroom light crackled to life.

"A portal?" Sonic asked. "Where does it go?"

"We made it to take us back," Shadow muttered. He held a fist to his chest. "To when and where we lost the people most important to us. In isolated time periods, so that something we do in a time period before the one we go to next doesn't have any effect, adverse or otherwise. However, when it comes time to come back to the present, it will all matter."

"You mean I can---?" Sonic asked, smiling weakly. He reached for the portal. His face was a mixture of happiness and wonder, but mostly longing. He didn't mind how stupid he looked, though he was well aware.

"No. Don't directly interact with anyone there. That would cause an anomaly unlike any other," Shadow said, shutting Sonic down. Sonic's expression faltered and he retracted his arm. "You have to find a middle ground, you have to be subtle and careful if you want both your loved ones and timeline to go on." Sonic looked at him, newfound hope in his eyes. He could save Sonja, Pico and Buck! Shadow smiled. He pulled a digital watch-like device out, and held it over to Sonic and Silver.

"Put this on. It goes on like a watch, and loads data to the portal," Shadow said. There looked to be pre-written data on it, as on the screen was a section labeled Shadow, with the contents of the section being Maria Robotnik.

Silver put the watch on, and his name, and Blaze's name appeared in a similar fashion to Shadow and Maria respectively with a small electronic BEEP. Figures. He handed it to Sonic. Sonic put it on…

… And the screen overflowed with names, some of which Sonic didn't even recognize. There was a frantic beeping. He nearly jumped back. He instinctively put his finger to the screen and scrolled up when the names stopped loading, as if it were a phone or the Miles Electric. All these names didn't even fit the screen. It started with names Sonic did recognize at the bottom. Buck, Pico, Sonja Orglace, Rookie, Chip, Elise, Chris, Emerl… Even Shadow and Eggman for some reason! But then it turned to names who he had no idea belonged to. Rachel, Jojo, Ozzy, Pretzel Lady, Donut Lord, Longclaw. To name a few.

Shadow looked over at the watch angrily, and then to Sonic. He now looked confused, maybe even a little hurt. "Sonic…" Shadow mumbled.

"Um… what?" Sonic asked. He took a step back.

"How many people have you lost?" Shadow asked. "With this revelation, we may only have enough power in the portal to bring us all to each time period once." Sonic felt his heart sink.

"That's not fair! I… don't know who half these people are!" Sonic whined. "It must be busted." He kept hitting refresh at supersonic speeds. But the names didn't go away.

"Sonic, stop…" Shadow advised. "These are here for a reason." He looked to Silver. Silver shrugged.

"It's best we start now," Shadow said. He powered on the portal, and a blue vortex showed up in the hole. "C'mon, let's go." Shadow took the watch device and jumped into the portal, followed by Silver.

Sonic stuck around. This could actually be his chance to fix things. He just needed to do everything Shadow said. This could be dangerous, he realized. The weight of the situation, and the danger it brought, weighed down on Sonic. Sonic hesitated. Was this really what he wanted…?

… Of course it was. If there was the slightest chance he could get these people back… he had to do it no matter the danger.

He jumped in.