I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters.

Bad Dreams

He was falling. Tumbling. Things passed by him. Clocks, faces, doors, windows. They were twisting, distorting, and spiraling around him as they passed. He got the feeling of being in some kind of tunnel. And there was light. Streaks of bright white lights shot past him, streaks of light blue going in the other direction. His head began to spin, and he felt like he might vomit. And then he was staring at himself. Literally. He was standing, bent forward and swaying dangerously, his stomach rolling violently. And there, on the ground before him, was himself. The other him was covered in blood, and had bullet holes through most of his torso and his face, eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face. And all around him were other people, faces he thought he recognized, staring between him and his dead doppelganger in confusion.

"Shadow?" a blue hedgehog asked. "How...How are you...What's going on?"

"I...I'm...Where...am I?" he asked, staggering to the side before collapsing beside his doppelganger.

Someone shouted in surprise, kneeling beside him, and he saw the blue hedgehog again, hearing his name again.

"Who...are you...people?" he asked, as darkness began to close in on him again, the blue hedgehog seeming to be backing away. "Where are you...going? Don't...leave me here...please."

Then, the darkness claimed him.

Shadow sat bolt upright, gasping for breath over and over, his lungs burning and seeming incapable of getting enough air. He clutched at his chest with one hand, and looked around the room, eyes wide with surprise. Slowly, he managed to calm himself, laying back down and resting his arm over his eyes.

"Damn it," Shadow growled. "That dream again. After all this time, I'd have thought I'd..."

He sighed, forcing himself back to sleep, only for his alarm to go off an hour later. He shut it off quickly getting ready for the day and putting on his shoes and gloves. Then, he left his home, running to the G.U.N. headquarters. Barely three steps into the room, Rouge met him with a smirk.

"You're here early," Rogue said. "Something bothering you?"

"Right now, you are," Shadow grunted, walking away from her, toward where several metal detectors were set up.

"You had the dream again, didn't you?" Rouge asked.

Shadow stopped, then sighed. "That obvious?"

"Every time you have it, you're in an especially foul mood, and you're here early," Rouge said.

"I see," Shadow said, continuing to walk. "I'll have to run slower from now on." He passed through the metal detector, which immediately went off, the guards glancing at him. "Air shoes, gold rings..." he paused, "hip and knee replacements."

The guard nodded, accepting his lie. Shadow pretended it wasn't. His shoes and rings didn't set off the sensors. And he hadn't had any joins replaced. He held a hand to his torso as he walked. He hated being what he was. He shouldn't be what he was. He knew it. And yet...

Shadow groaned, stirring and looking around, seeing the others that had been around him and his doppelganger all around him now, though he was strapped to a metal table.

"What's going on?" Shadow asked. "What are...who are you all? What do you want from me?"

The others all looked around at each other before a fox with two tails stepped forward nervously. "What...are you?"

"What are you taking about?" Shadow asked. "I'm a hedgehog."

The fox reached up, undoing one of the straps, this one holding Shadow's head from being lifted, and Shadow instantly lifted it, following the fox's line of sight down to his body. His brow furrowed in confusion. He didn't see anything wrong with his body. His fir was a bit dirty and messy, but it wasn't missing anywhere, his skin wasn't marked by any injuries or deformities, and the seams connecting his body's segments weren't damaged at all. He looked to the fox in confusion.

"What?" Shadow asked.

"You're...not a hedgehog, are you?" the fox asked. "Not really. You...you're an android. Right?"

"An android?" Shadow asked.

"You're not a real animal," the blue hedgehog spoke up. "Your body is segmented like a robot, but we're not like you. We have organic bodies. See?" He held out his arms. "No seams."

Shadow stared at him, then took in the others. He was right. But then, if Shadow wasn't a Hedgehog, what was he? Wasn't it normal to be segmented? Hadn't he always been?

"I'm...not a Hedgehog?" Shadow asked.

"I scanned your body as well," the fox said. "Your skeleton...it's partly mechanical. But it's not like anything I've seen. It's like...some kind of metal that's also organic. Like a sort of living metal. And your body is the same."

"I'm...I've...always been like this," Shadow said. "What about...the other me?"

"That one...that one was our friend," a white bat said, stepping forward, her body covered by a low-cut shirt and shorts. "He was organic, like us, but he died in a fight before we could finish it."

Shadow set his head back down, staring at the ceiling. "But I'm..."

He felt his eyes began to sting. He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember anything. Who was he? What was he? Where was he from?

"What...am I?" Shadow asked, voice frail and cracking.

"We don't know," the fox said. "But, if you're willing to be patient, and work with us, we can help you find out."

Shadow nodded.

"I'm Tails," the fox said.

"Sonic," the blue hedgehog said.

"I'm Rouge," the bat introduced herself. "The last Shadow's partner."

"Amy," a small pink hedgehog said.

"Knuckles," a red echidna with a pair of spikes off of each of his hands where his knuckles shout be grunted.

"Silver," a grey-furred hedgehog said.

"I am designated E-123 Omega," a red robot with black highlights and yellow on top of its head said.

"I'm Shadow the...I'm...Shadow...just Shadow," Shadow said, turning his head to stare at the ceiling again, tears beginning to fall again.

Patience, as it turned out, was not one of his strong suits. He had run out within about a week, and began to actively try to avoid the others as much as he could. They weren't his friends. The looks they gave him told him that much. He wasn't their Shadow. He was the thing that was trying to replace him. He was the monster. The freak. The thing to be ostracized. Only Rouge tried to be friendly toward him, but even then she wasn't always successful. She usually ended up annoying him even more than the others. Even more than Sonic, who was the bane of his existence.

"Seriously, Shadow, are you alright?" Rouge asked.

"I'm fine," Shadow growled. "I just...I just need some time to...finish waking up."

Rouge sighed, stepping in front of him, catching him by the shoulders. "You know I'm here to help, right? Whatever you need."

"Right now, I just need you to leave me alone," Shadow said, brushing her hands off and walking to the stairs, then pausing. "But...thank you. I really do appreciate it."

Rouge smiled and nodded, Shadow streaking up the stairs in a blur, heading to the training room where Omega was always more than happy to help Shadow keep his combat skills up.

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