I'll Keep You Safe (Sonadow)

Epilogue

A/N: I heard some say it wasn't that sad. So here we go.

********

As the years passed, the team still grieved the loss of their hero. The twin tailed fox made sure to always go to their grave and clean it up and talk to his best friend, leaving a fresh chili dog atop his tomb stone believing one day he'd come back and it would be gone.

Even though Sage's powers were sealed by the bracelet the fox made, the team was still very careful and would sometimes not trust to go see each other. They were afraid that one day Eggman would be back, and just when the world needed them most, they would fail them because they were too busy fighting. Some still blamed Sage for the loss of the prince. If they had not been fighting, they would have won the battle.

The ebony one was no different than them, as much as he tried to tell himself that it was not Sage's fault, it was always hard to look at her. He went on for years, trying to hide how he truly felt, raising her like his own because he had made a promise. He told himself that if he let her go, then he would have lost Sonic for nothing. So he kept on every day faking on a smile and making sure she was happy. He was miserable. 

"Dad?" Sage snapped her fingers in front of Shadow as she noticed he was spacing out. Something he had been doing for years now. 12 years had passed since the hero passed, 12 long years of raising someone who reminded Shadow of the death of his loved one.

"Yes?" The ebony hedgehog shook his head and drank some of his coffee as he looked at his nearly 14 year old daughter.

"We need to talk." She said sternly. They had been fighting for weeks, the best weeks of Shadow's life since he lost Sonic. She would keep herself locked in her room and would not speak to him.

"About what?" Shadow raised a brow. His heart had been broken for so long. He barely had the energy to fake anything anymore.

"I am tired of being here. You don't care about me. No one does." She said as she crossed her arms and stared down at her adoptive father.

"What are you talking about?" Shadow stood up once he noticed she had a backpack full of clothes. "Where do you even think you're going. You're a kid."

"Away from here. Away from you. And you can't lie to me, I destroyed that stupid bracelet weeks ago to see how you truly felt about me. You've ignored me, you've raised your voice at me, you've raised your hand at me, didn't hit me but the idea was there, wasn't it?" The cat spoke, her voice breaking as she now had tears in her eyes.

"No. Sage. You don't understand." Her father tried to get her to stop. He loved her, but it hurt too deep to even look at her. He never truly healed from losing the one he lost. He never meant to hurt her, and he didn't want to lose someone else. He had mixed feelings about this, it was true he blamed her, it was true he was at peace when they would fight and he wouldn't see her but he still cared about her. He needed her around. No matter how many times he thought about abandoning her, he knew he would never be able to do that because he really loved her.

"You blame me for his death!" She shouted. "You blamed me that Sonic died, but it's not my fault! I am tired of hearing people whisper around me those same words over and over again." She growled and took steps back before Shadow could stop her. "But it wasn't my fault." She smirked. "It was yours, wasn't it?"

"What?" The hedgehog froze in his steps when she turned the blame to him. His eyes widened as she spoke, tears streaming down his muzzle without even realizing. She was enhancing his emotions. She set him up.

"It was your fault, Shadow! You saw how injured he was. You saw Metal Sonic grab him, and yet you froze. If you would have just ended Metal in that moment, if you hadn't been fighting with Rouge and Knuckles, then Sonic would still be here." She laughed. "You're pathetic."

"No." Shadow's voice broke as he shook his head, then growled. "Stop this!" He snapped at her. He couldn't break away from her powers, feeling hatred, anger, sadness all at once. He fell to his knees.

"I've been practicing." She looked at her hand. "It's so easy for someone to lose control, isn't it?" She kicked Shadow while he was down, making him gasp for air and fall to his side.

"Sage. Please." He couldn't lose her too. He couldn't lose her. He had promised Sonic and himself he would always keep her safe and make sure she was happy. He saved her life because he loved her because he was his daughter. Because no matter how much pain he was in, he loved her with all his heart. She took a step towards the door, but Shadow stood up and grabbed her wrist. "You're not going anywhere." His hands were shaking. He couldn't lose yet another one he cared about.

"But I am." Sage smiled at him then kicked him. "Why should I stay here? Come on, Shadow. You're not as strong as you used to. You lost yourself when you lost him." She laughed again. "It's too bad. You'll never be able to stop me."

"Where are you going?" Shadow managed to ask as he tried to reach for her again.

"Where I belong. Working with Eggman." She smirked. "I do want to thank you for all the lessons, all your tricks, showing me all your weaknesses and everyone else's too. I'll make sure to put everything to good use when I am fighting against you." She grabbed the doorknob. "Goodbye, Shadow. Next time I see you, one of us will be meeting Sonic. Make sure you tell him how all of this was your fault."

Shadow watched as she left. He couldn't bring himself to stop her anymore. His heart broke yet again, something he didn't think was possible. He lost another her too, all because he couldn't get his feelings under control. This was the third time he had lost someone, but this time it was different because he knew he'd have to fight her someday.

He knew he'd have to kill his own daughter.

******
A/N: Yeah I don't think it's sad enough but at least I didn't go through with killing the character that I had set was going to die to make things worse. Will I ever continue this? I'm not sure.

KwaiiMelody I'm sorry for making you think this would be a happy future where she'd have a partner or something. Yes I read all your comments. They make me laugh. Thank you for that.