Ahhh, the last chapter. My favorite.

Disclaimer: I do not now Sonic the hedgehog or other relating characters.

Chapter Seventeen: The Truth

"Sonic!" Amy cried out as soon as the blue hedgehog was on the shore, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a spine-shattering hug. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Ames…can't…breathe!"

"I just missed you so much!" The pink hedgehog refused to release her grip on Sonic.

Using all his remaining strength, Sonic was finally able to pull away, gasping for air. "You saw me earlier! We already went through this!"

Meanwhile, Shadow was only now climbing out of the ocean water, having not panicked at the sight of it and used his super-speed abilities to get to land as soon as his feet could touch something solid.

As soon as he was out, Rouge threw a towel over his shoulders.

"Emerald Resort?" Shadow asked, noticing the logo on the towel. Had Rouge really raided their linen closet?

Grabbing one end of the towel, Rouge threw it over Shadow's face playfully. "I'm sure they won't mind if the two hedgehogs who just saved their lives and their home planet borrowed a couple of towels." She threw the other towel in her arm to Amy who insisted of toweling Sonic off herself.

"Job well done, Gentlemen." Topaz congratulated as she approached the group of mobians. "We have Eggman in custody and he's on his way to Station Square prison as we speak."

"Oh yeah," Sonic spoke up as Amy dried the quills on his head, "We were supposed to tell you, the president is in the Station Square bank headquarters building."

"I'll send some agents to pick him up; it'll be one less thing on my to-do list."

"Speaking of to-do lists," Rouge said quietly to Shadow, "I think you and Sonic are long overdue for a chat."

Shadow sighed, knowing he could not possible put it off any longer at this point. "I suppose you're right."

"You and Sonic stay here and rest. You've earned it." Rouge said louder this time, so everyone in the group could here. "I'll take Scourge and go with Topaz to retrieve the president." She turned away from Shadow to the others. "The rest of you should go on up to the Mystic Ruins. With the train line down, who knows how many civilians got stranded there." Knowing Shadow had an increased sense of hearing, she quickly muttered under her breath "Don't mess this up, Shadow."

Sonic and Shadow stood at the beach, watching as the group dispersed. Once they were gone, Shadow put his arm on Sonic's shoulder and directed him towards the sand. "Come on, Sonic. Let's sit down. We need to talk."

"What is it? Are you finally going to tell me what you couldn't tell me on the ARK?" Sonic seated himself down on the sand and wrapped the towel around his shoulders.

"Yes, but first, I want you to read these." Shadow drew out the few pages from Gerald's journal he had. "I'll explain everything after that."

The both of them sat there for a while in complete silence on the sand as Sonic read through the papers multiple times.

After what felt like an eternity to Shadow, Sonic finally looked up from the journal pages and spoke. "So we're brothers, huh?"

"Yes."

"Did you know this when you and Scourge kidnapped me?" Sonic's voice held absolutely no trace of his happy-go-lucky nature.

"No, I only found out after, and I'm sorry-" Shadow stopped when he saw Sonic hold his hand up.

"Did you ever get the rest of the journal pages?"

"No. They were most likely destroyed along with the ARK."

"And you're okay with that?" Sonic knew how long Shadow had spent trying to find the pieces to his past. How could he have let it go so easily?

Shadow was silent for a moment as he gained his composure. "I've spent so much time trying to learn the truth about what happened fifty years ago, about why I couldn't remember much that I couldn't see what was in front of me. Even when I learned you were my brother, I left you up on the ARK and put you at risk all so I could selfishly fulfill that goal. It wasn't until Eggman strapped that bomb onto you that I realized what was really important. I was fighting so hard for a chance to remember the family I had in the past that I was going to lose the family I had in the present. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize this. I'm sorry you had to go through this whole ordeal. I'm sorry I left you to be Eggman's prisoner for so long, but I swear, I'll do whatever it takes to right this. You're my only family, Sonic. I'm not going to lose you."

Sonic gave Shadow a small smile. "I guess this explains why I can't remember anything before my parents found me in the mountains all those years ago." He had never really been 'alive' before he was three. "I'm still confused though. If we were both ejected from the ARK fifty years ago, how did we end up on two completely different planets in different dimensions?"

"Rouge and I did some research up there and here's what we pieced together. G.U.N. had said Maria ejected two pods towards earth, but only one was ever recovered."

"That was the pod you were in, right?"

"Right. The reason your pod was never found was because Maria had not ejected it towards earth like we had originally thought, she had sent it through the portal to Mobius long before I had found her during the attack."

"You guys had a portal to Mobius?" Sonic asked. He never recalled seeing a portal while on the ARK, but then again, he was restricted to only a few parts of the space station.

"It was more of a dimensional transporter; we just called it a portal. It was part of the ground-breaking research Gerald was doing at the time and it was also how he got the genetic material to make us, or at least the half that isn't from Black Doom. It's also how Eggman got to Mobius. You never found it strange he was the only human in your entire world?"

"Not really. We kind of just assumed he was a mutated ape or something."

"I knew Eggman when he was still young on the ARK. He was only a few years older than Maria. He was working with his grandfather, Gerald, to discover interdimensional transportation. He would use the transporter to venture into your world to see what it was like, what was different, and conduct various experiments for Gerald. Unfortunately, the transporter has to be programmed to open from earth; it cannot be opened from Mobius. When G.U.N. attacked, Eggman was on Mobius. With no one to open the portal for him, he was trapped in your dimension. You can fill in the rest of the story."

There was another pause as Sonic processed this new information.

"Oh gosh." Sonic said as a strange look came over his face.

"What is it?" Shadow asked, wondering what could have caused that reaction in his younger brother.

"This means I'm half alien!"

"What's so bad about that? I'm half alien too and that's never seemed to bother you."

"That's because it's your body, not mine! What do my insides look like? I'm not going to grow tentacles out of my back or a third arm, or something, am I?" Sonic asked in a panicked tone.

Shadow could have just rolled his eyes at the question. "If you haven't grown any extra parts at this point, I doubt you'll be growing them any time soon. As for your insides, Eggman already cut you open and had a look, it looks like a normal hedgehog's, but if you insist, I can cut you open myself so you can have a look."

"No thanks, I'll take your word for it. But does this mean I'm immortal?"

"Yes. You won't be getting any older than you are now."

The two were silent for several minutes after that as they watched the sun set from their spots on the beach.

Sonic was amazed, confused, and frightened by the news of his immortality all at the same time. He would never have to worry about aging and not being able to run anymore, but what about his friends? They would continue to age and eventually die. Someday, he was going to have to bury Tails.

"How do you think Tails is going to talk the news?" Shadow spoke up, noticing the worried look on Sonic's face. He knew the young fox was very close to Sonic. The kit had never had to share the blue hedgehog's attention with anyone else before and now he was going to come waltzing into the scene.

"It's probably going to be hard for him at first, for all of us, but we'll get through this." Sonic calmed his self and held up his fist to Shadow, indicated he wanted a fist bump. "As a family."

Shadow gave a genuine smile and raised his own fist, bumping Sonic's.

3 Months Later

Sonic climbed out of the back of the fighter plane as he finished putting away the last of their supplies. He shut the hatch of the cargo space and slid down from the plane, landing on the runway beside Shadow and Rouge. "Tails, come on!" He shouted towards the workshop. They were all ready to go except for the kit who had been working on some project inside.

"Are you guys sure you don't want me to tag along?" Rouge asked the two hedgehogs.

"Nah," Sonic responded. "It'll be easy; the three of us can handle it on our own." The mission itself was simple. All they had to do was fly around the world and clean up all the leftover robots from Eggman's attempt to blow up the world, but the real reason he insisted on it being only him, Shadow, and Tails was so that the three of them could get some time to bond as brothers.

Shadow had been right about his original suspicion of how Tails would handle the news. When they had sat him down to explain it to him, he had actually taken it surprisingly well. The real struggle began when it came to interacting with him.

Even when Shadow was around previously, he never spoke with Tails besides some small talk or a basic greeting, he was usually with Sonic. But now, he was around all the time. When Tails wanted to do something with Sonic, the blue speedster would always call Shadow and invite him to join them.

It took a while, but eventually Tails warmed up to him. The two spent a good amount of time with each other as Shadow had offered to help Tails build an even better version of the Tornado from scratch.

As they worked on the project, Tails progressed from just giving Shadow instructions, to making more small talk, to having actual conversations with him, to finally reaching the point where he was glad to see the black and red hedgehog.

Though Sonic had pushed him to move in with them at the workshop, Shadow declined, choosing to stay with Rouge at her club. Though he wanted to be close to his family, he only chose not to do so for Tails, to help make the transition easier for him. The kit may have been a genius, but that didn't change the fact he was still a child and this would be a major change for him. He needed time to adjust.

Shadow did come by the workshop everyday though. If his day was open, he usually spent the whole day with Sonic and Tails, but if he had a mission, thanks to his new job with G.U.N., he would stay for only a couple of hours.

3 Months Ago

"You've caused an extensive amount of damage, Shadow." The president spoke to Sonic and Shadow, who were seated directly across from him. "It's going to cost millions to rebuild G.U.N. headquarters and re-establish national database, not to mention how much it's going to cost to send a new communications satellite into orbit."

"To be fair, Mr. President." Sonic interrupted. "The last one wasn't really his doing."

"It doesn't matter; we're still looking at damages in the millions."

Shadow remained silent, not wanting to say something he knew he would end up regretting later. He didn't need yet another person reminding him of his poor life choices.

"But there is a way for you to repay this massive debt." The president took on a sly tone.

Shadow already knew what he wanted, but begrudgingly responded anyways. "How?"

"Join G.U.N. I'd be a fool not to hire the man who was able to take down an army of my top men and women."

Shadow knew the president had been trying to get him to join G.U.N. for a very long time. Every now and then Rouge would bring it to his attention, but he would always turn it down. If there was one thing Shadow hated, it was being told what to do. Sonic was the only person whom he allowed to boss him around, and even then, the blue hedgehog only did it jokingly.

"What's his other option?" Sonic spoke up, knowing Shadow wasn't going to at all for the meeting.

"Incarceration for life on Prison Island."

Shadow snorted. What kind of a threat was that? The president said it himself; Shadow was able to take down an entire base of the top men and women of the army. How exactly were they planning on keeping him contained? Unlike Sonic, he knew how to swim, so the fact the prison was underwater meant nothing to him.

"What do you say, Shads?" Sonic asked as he leaned back in his chair, balancing it on its two back feet.

"It doesn't really look like I have much of a choice, do I?" Though the threat was meaningless, Shadow knew he really did have no other choice. If he wanted to stay with his brothers and friends freely without having to hide or meet in secret, he would have to get his whole mess wiped clean from the records.

"Excellent!" The president didn't bother to hide his excitement. "You'll be working with Agent Rouge. Welcome to the team!"

Shadow had to admit, the job wasn't so bad. It gave him something to do in the day besides get mixed up in whatever shenanigans Sonic had gotten himself into. And Rouge was really excited about it, so there was that.

"You can take Scourge if you want." Rouge offered.

"Your dishwasher?" Sonic chuckled. "But then who would do all your cleaning?"

After the whole ordeal with saving the planet, Rouge had convinced, or forcefully beaten depending on how you look at it, Scourge into working for her to repay the cost of all the damage he had to the Club Rouge while she was on the ARK.

Sonic had made it a point to drop by the club at least once a week just to bother Scourge. He had also developed the habit of using Shadow's G.U.N. issued cell phone to call the club in hopes of having Scourge answer so he could make ridiculous requests, such as demanding to have pizza delivered to the workshop and then demanding to speak to the owner due to the poor customer service he was receiving. Scourge just usually hung up on Sonic, but on a slower day, he might chat it up with him until Rouge came yelling at him to get back to work.

"If you insist." Rouge said.

"Yo, Tails, Come on already!" Sonic left Rouge and Shadow to run into the workshop. If left alone, Tails would stay in there until his project was complete. Who knew how long that could take.

"Take care, Shadow." Rouge gave Shadow a playful punch. "I'll keep your room clean while you're gone."

"What would I ever do without you, Rouge?" Shadow joked to the bat.

The two looked over when they heard a commotion coming from the workshop. The door burst open as Sonic dragged Tails out by his arm.

"Hold on, Sonic, I just need a few more hours and the project will be done!" Tails said as he was pulled towards the Tornado.

"Your project will be waiting for you when we get home. We're already behind schedule." Sonic gave Tails a boost so he wouldn't have to fly to reach the plane.

A bit upset at having been interrupted, Tails climbed into the cockpit with a frown.

"I'll give you a call when we stop for the night." Shadow said to Rouge before he jumped into the backseat of the plane.

"Bye, boys." Rouge waved as she watched the trees in front of the workshop lower themselves and split apart, revealing a runway.

The engine fired up and within seconds, the three brothers were in the air.

"Here! Right here! This is perfect; we'll set up camp here for the night!" Sonic announced confidently. There was absolutely nowhere else he would rather rest for the night.

"Sonic, this is an empty field." Tails pointed out. "We're in the middle of nowhere." He had no idea why, but Sonic had insisted they find lodgings somewhere outside of the main city they had arrived in. After flying to the far outskirts of the city, he had told him to land in the field.

"It's the great outdoors! Just smell that fresh air!" They had already cleared they southern city of robots. Sonic didn't see why they should spend any more time cooped up in there if they didn't have to.

"Shadow, didn't G.U.N. say they would cover the cost of any mission expenses, including hotel rooms?" Tails asked the black and red hedgehog.

"Yes, they did." G.U.N. had also issued him a black credit card, one without any limits or restrictions to cover any costs which may arise. The commander said to not shy away from using it and to get whatever they needed.

"Come on, guys. Don't be like that!" Sonic pleaded with them. "You can rough it up in the wilderness for one night."

"Well," Tails reasoned aloud to mostly himself. "We're going to be travelling for a few months, so-"

"Great!" Sonic cut him off with a slap on the back. "I'll get the sleeping bags!"

As soon as he was sure Tails and Sonic were asleep, Shadow quietly pulled the cover of his sleeping bag off himself and climbed out.

As an ultimate life form, he never really needed to sleep anyways. He had offered to be the lookout, but Sonic brushed him off, telling him to enjoy sleep and not worry so much.

He walked away from the campsite, stopping when he was out of hearing range of the two sleeping mobians as not to wake them up. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Rouge's direct line at the club.

"Why hello there, handsome." Rouge answered after a few rings, already knowing who it was.

"Hello, Rouge." Shadow answered in a much less playful tone. He forgot how Rouge could be on the phone.

"How did it go today?" Rouge asked right away.

"We got most, if not all, the robots in the city. Whatever stragglers remain I'm sure the local police force can handle on their own. How are things going at the club?"

"Pretty good actually. I've got Scourge patrolling the floor."

"Why?" Shadow asked, concerned. The only time he ever patrolled the casino floor for Rouge was when there was a suspicion person on site or if they were moving a large amount of money. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's going fine." She assured him. "I'm just doing it for good business. People actually come to see him."

"He's not that exciting." Shadow scoffed.

"I couldn't agree more, but you know how these humans are. Anything different from what they're used do is just absolutely fascinating. They always see Sonic, they occasionally see you, but they never see Scourge. He's not one for attention, so they'll come to see him and while they're here they spend money. Scourge repays his debt and I get good business. It's a win-win scenario. But enough about me, how are the younger brothers? Where are you guys right now?"

"In the middle of some field right now. Tails tried to talk Sonic into a hotel, but he wouldn't have it. As much as it kills me, I think Sonic is still a little scarred from his time on the ARK. Tails tells me Sonic gets up in the middle of the night to go for runs. You've seen him when he comes and visits me at Club Rouge. The first thing he does is open all the windows and he leaves the door wide open. I think he might be claustrophobic to some degree now."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said wasn't expecting some form of repercussion from his stay up there." It may have been harsh, but Rouge knew it was the truth. "He was kidnapped, had an extremely invasive surgery performed on his against his will, had a bomb strapped to him, and still had to save the world at the end of the whole thing. That much stress is bound to have an effect, even on someone as strong as Sonic, but you don't have to worry about him. It's that same strength that's going to help him get through this. That and you and Tails."

"You're not going to give me that family is everything lecture, are you?" Shadow said with a laugh.

"Not anymore, but you know-"

"I know, I know," Shadow cut her off. "We'll get through it together. As a family."

THE END

Why am I so corny?

I can't begin to tell you guys how much fun I had writing this story!

I never expected it to be this popular, or that so many people would review. I'm grateful to each and every one of you.

I'll be taking the Law School Admission Test in two weeks, and university starts again for me on Thursday, so I don't think I'll be writing fics again for a while, but I hope you'll stick around and read some of my other work.

Review please! Just one last time.