knuckles prime

Past sorrows final

shadows ears lowered in sadness

the dark hedgehog didn't mean to eavesdrop

but the entire team sonic cast was acting odd all night

the faker and his brother kept staring at the crimson guardian with so much.... pity?

it was just odd

sonic was never one to show condolences with echidna, they would always banter with one another

and even so, shadow deemed the guardian with higher respect than to give such looks

yes gullible at times and sure he defiantly had a temper on him

the being proved worthy of his title

he gave anything and everything of himself into his duties, both as a guardian of the master emerald but also a protector for his friends

taking the physical pain so they didn't have to and never once accepted praise on his part

but he also suffered mental pain too

they both did

losing the ones that raised them and being sent forth to carry out promises that they didn't know the true meaning of until it was too late

regardless of his past, he was one of the purest souls he had come close to,

he did all in the name of good and no matter how bad the opponent he was willing to give them a second chance

many saw this as foolish, shadow included at first

but soon it became a trait shadow came to admire deeply

those eyes screamed such emotions of justice, passion and so much more

but as shadow spied on the conversation of the echidna's traumatic past

there was no telling what those eyes were thinking

they were blank, a dark abyss of pain and anguish filled memories

tears leaking out of those orbs, a strong sign of how much it deeply hurt him

the echidna was a proud and strong creature, never one to cry and shadow never thought he needed to be protected

but as those tears continued to drop shadow had to do all he could to hold himself back

a wave of protectiveness instinct almost drowning him, burning his lungs with the guilt he hadn't felt in so long

shadow tried to walk away, he couldn't let the echidna see him like this, he had to compose himself before meeting head-on

which seemed sooner than he predicted

footsteps broke shadow out of his trance, seemed the trio were finished and were beginning to rejoin the party

"chaos control" Shadow whispered before he was found out, teleporting himself away and appearing outside of the house

Shadow allowed himself to breathe, to calm himself down

that was his plan at least before the front door opened

looking to his right he saw the last figure he wanted to see at that moment

"I'll catch up with you guys later, just going to have some fresh air" Knuckles voice stated as he walked out of the house

the relaxed face shadow had seen on knuckles face as he was talking to his friends suddenly dropped to an extremely serious one as he shut the door

leaving only the guardian and the ultimate life form

the echidna was one of the very few figures that caused shadow to become a little wary when their face becomes stern

"what were you doing spying on us shadow?" Knuckles began, calmly but dangerously, coming closer to the fences where shadow was currently leaning on

"how do you know I was spying on you?" Shadow asked with the same level of calmness

it was a stupid question, but sometimes when you have no answer or an answer you would rather die than reveal, the best thing to do is answer a question with a question

"don't play dumb with me, you know I can detect chaos energy, and I felt it constantly when I was with sonic and tails, especially when we were leaving, I knew it had to be you, but I have to ask as it seems unlike you to stick your noes in such personal problems" Knuckles huffed as he crossed his arms, doing his best to stay calm and not yell, as that would alert the others, and the guardian wanted this just to be between him and the dark hedgehog

"very well, to answer your question I was suspicious of you and your teammate's behaviour" Shadow stated and sighed with fake boredom

but the honesty brought the echidna to a halt

it wasn't easy to extract the truth out of the dark hedgehog after all

but he shook it off to continue with the conversation

"didn't think you cared for him so much shadow" Knuckles joked before he received a clobber to his head

"ow! what was that for?!" Knuckles asked angrily, meeting the hedgehogs stern gaze whilst holding his head

"it was not him that my concerns lay" Shadow growled, appalled that the guardian would think he'd care that much for his faker

but knuckles wasn't going to let him go that easy

for the previous attack, the red echidna jumped at him and tackled shadow to the ground for revenge

"then who? me?! because if so then I don't need your sympathy!" Knuckles growled

Shadow simply looked up to the guardian as he pinned himself down to the grassy floor

"your right, but....for once, I am not in control of my own emotions" Shadow admitted as he looked into those angry passionate eyes, fighting with the angel wasn't going to solve this problem, so Shadow simply sighed and calmed himself down

"what do you mean by that?" Knuckles asked with confusion, not believing the dark hedgehog was giving up so easily

"We are one of the same guardian....we both have lost so much and must uphold the legacy that is much easier said than done, we do this alone with no hope of others feeling our pain....but hearing your story.....I can't help but feel connected to you" Shadow admitted shamefully

both were quiet for a long time until knuckles finally broke the silence with a low sad chuckle. finally sitting up and helping shadow to sit up with him

"it can be lonely can't it...you never would wish it on anyone you knew...but, having someone who kinda shares the knowledge of this type of pain...it's selfishly comforting" Knuckles admitted sadly, looking away

Shadow simply nodded, finding himself sitting next to the echidna that their arms were touching

it was unusual but nice

the two suddenly turned their attention to the sky, a shooting star catching their attention

"Does this pain ever stop?" Shadow simply asked whilst being memorized by the beautiful night's display

"There are days where I've distracted myself enough...but it never truly leaves, but...sometimes that's good...because-" Knuckles began to explain, also being captivated by the spectacular show before shadow finished the sentence

"It shows that you'll never forget them, or where you come from"

Knuckles looked to the dark hedgehog who also turned to the guardian

both shared a sad smile of understanding before the two continued to watch the stars fly across the sky, happy to share the experience

and for once, never be truly alone as they held hands on the emerald green grass