True Bravery

She was so little. So defenseless. So afraid. Lost and confused in the forest, but with no memory of getting there. Surrounded by malevolent robots.

She would've met a unspeakable fate had he not appeared.

A black-and-red hedgehog who bore a strong resemblance to her mother. He had told her to hide, then swiftly did away with the robots who had endangered her. He carried her in his arms as he took her home, telling her to close her eyes, and when they opened again, she would be back home safe.

So, she happily fell asleep in his embrace.

"Shadow, I've seen you before." Dawn said. It was almost fully dark now. "Not in real life, in a dream. It was years ago and I'd nearly forgotten it, but it just now came back to me."

"And I was in it?" Shadow asked. "Even though we hadn't met each other yet?"

"I know. It's weird." Dawn said. "It was back when I was really little. I was lost in the forest outside Hedgehog Village, it was dark and I was scared. Then a bunch of Eggman's robots found me. This was long before I learned to fight, so I was helpless.

"But then you showed up and saved me. You destroyed all the robots and took me home. For a long time afterwards, I wondered if you were real. Now, after meeting you and everying we've been through together, I think my dreams were showing me the future."

"Huh. I don't usually interpet dreams that way, Dawn, but I think you're right about that." Shadow said. "I still don't know what drove me to watch over you, but after all the times we've shared and all the things I've learned from you, I see now that I made the right decision."

They smiled at each other, a comforting warmth rising in them. Shadow resisted the temptation to take Dawn's hand.

Night had completely fallen when they arrived at the canyon. They came to the burned remains of the hut Dawn spent the night in, but there was no sign of the fake Sonic and Knuckles. They walked on for five more minutes when Dawn suddenly stopped. She knelt down and placed her hand on the ground, and she could feel vibrations that were slowly growing more intense. The loud sound of a fissure suddenly rang out.

"Shadow, jump!" Dawn exclaimed. The two of them jumped out of the way of a shock wave created by the fake Knuckles' ground pound. He approached them from the front, pounding his fists together.

"Well, well, well." The fake Sonic stomped over to them from behind in his mech suit. "Look who finally decided to stop running. It's time to face your punishment, Dawn."

"Don't kid yourself." Dawn said. "You're not my mom, he's not my dad. You're both just fake versions of my parents manifesting in my greatest fears. I ran from you because I was scared, confused, and alone, now I'm none of those. Shadow and I are finally back together, and we're going to defeat the two of you, escape from this world, and return to my real loved ones."

The fake Sonic looked annoyed. "You really think having your partner here will help you escape punishment after how you acted?" He readied himself for battle. "But if you're really foolish enough, then fine. You asked for this."

Dawn and Shadow dodged the emergy blasts Sonic fired at them. Knuckles tried to grab Dawn, but she ducked and swept his legs out from beneath him. She attempted to punch him, but Knuckles caught her incoming fist and shoved her to the ground, forcefully pressing her face into the earth. Shadow kicked Knuckles in the face, but the moment Dawn was freed, Sonic charged toward her, the blades of his mech suit wielded. Before he could swipe them, Dawn grabbed the suit's left arm and, with some effort, ripped it off and batted at the legs, making Sonic fall. She attempted to pull him out of the suit.

Sonic growled. "You little brat!" he said angrily. He grabbed Dawn with his remaining mech arm and threw her off of him and into Shadow-they landed in a plie with her on top of him. Knuckles grabbed and locked her in his arms, but Shadow jumped onto him and placed him in a headlock. As the echidna struggled, his hold on Dawn slowly loosened, and once she was free, she landed a powerful punch in between his eyes. Shadow slid off of him as he staggered back, stunned by the blow, and his blank eyes turned back to purple before closing.

He fell backwards into the canyon, hitting a stone ledge and disolving when he hit the ground. A window briefly opened up above the water, revealing the hill the real Knuckles used to sleep at.

"Knuckles! No!" Sonic ran up and looked helplessly after the echidna, then turned to Dawn and Shadow in a rage. "You're in big trouble now!"

He began charging a powerful canon, but in his anger, he forgot that it left him completely vulnerable. Shadow spindashed him off his feet, and Dawn did a ground pound, massive chunks of earth falling into the canyon. But before they could take Sonic with them, he pounced Dawn and pinned her to the ground, the mech suit's fingers curling tightly around her.

"You have been absolutely awful, Dawn." he said darkly. "You opposed your friends, your father, and me, your dearest mother. I don't know what's gotten into you, but that's unacceptable."

"Leave her alone!" came Shadow's voice. He rushed to help Dawn, but Sonic knocked him away. He stumbled over the cliff, but managed to grab on and now hung several hundreds of feet above the ground. Dawn was pinned again before she could help him.

"Any last words before you face your punishment, young lady?" Sonic asked.

Dawn looked the repulsive being that resembled her mother in the eyes and said with cold anger, "You are not, and never will be, my mother." She spindashed, ripping the hand that had trapped her to shreads, then kicked Sonic off of her. Shadow recovered in time to see Dawn beating Sonic closer towards the edge of the cliff. With a cry of rage and defiance, Dawn rushed forward and jammed her knuckle spikes into Sonic's chest. No blood leaked from the punctures, and Sonic wasn't in any visible pain, he only seemed distraught.

"Oh." was all he said before he collapsed into the canyon.

Dawn almost fell with him, but Shadow caught her and pulled her back onto solid ground. She held him close to her as they watch the fake Sonic plummet to the ground. The mech suit broke apart when it landed, but the hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. He had probably desolved into nothing like the fake Knuckles had.

And then the world around them faded into obscurity.

Dawn's eyes fluttered open to early morning light. She was lying on a bed in a small wooden cottage, and she could feel someone holding her hand. She turned to her right to see Shadow waking up beside her. They sat up and hugged each other tight.

"Shadow." Dawn said happily, tears leaking through her closed eyes.

"Dawn." Shadow returned with just as much happiness. He brushed the tears from her face when they seperated.

"We did it." she said. "We're back home."

"You are, without a doubt, the bravest girl I've ever known." Shadow said faithfully.

Dawn's communicator rang, and she immediately answered it, eager to speak to her parents and friends again. "Hi, Mom." she said.

"Dawn!" Sonic exclaimed happily. Dawn and Shadow could hear him crying tears of joy, and his daughter almost cried again herself. She was finally talking to her mother again, her real, kind, caring mother. "You're safe! Oh, thank goodness! Thank goodness!" It took several minutes for Sonic to compose himself. "What happened? Why haven't you been answering our calls?"

Shadow felt guilty. Since he made the decision to watch over Dawn, and failed to save her from entering the nightmare world, he felt as though he were to blame for what she went through. He was fully prepared to speak up and take responsibility, but Dawn knew what he was thinking and stopped him.

"Eggman put me and Shadow through something emotionally hard on the both of us." she said. "I know you've been worried, Mom, but we really don't want to talk about it."

As much as Sonic wanted to know more details, if it was that bad, then he decided not to pry farther. "Well, whatever the case, I'm so glad you're safe, sweetie. But if you run into Eggman, make him pay for what he did, okay?"

"Oh, trust me, Mom. The next time we see him, we'll make him regret ever messing with us." Dawn said with her familiar carving for excitement. "I love you. Give my love to Dad and the others."

"Of course I will, hun, and I love you, too. Stay safe." Sonic hung up.

"You didn't have to do that, Dawn." Shadow said. "It was my fault that you went through all that. I was ready to take reponsibility for it."

"Shadow, neither of us could've known that Metal Sonic carried the serum, or that I was about to fall down that pit." Dawn said. "Don't blame yourself for something you couldn't see coming." She took his hand. "Besides, you've always been there to protect me. I felt like it was my turn to give that protection back."

Shadow looked at Dawn with gratitude, but he didn't realize he was leaning in towards her when she backed up a little bit. He thought he could see a faint trace of blush on her cheeks.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

The question brought Shadow back to himself. "For about a day." he said.

"Aw, man, I missed a whole day of my journey." Dawn said. "Well, let's not waste any more time and get back out there."

"Are you sure, Dawn?" Shadow asked. "After what you've been through, you really want to keep going?"

"We're not in the nightmare world anymore, Shadow. We're in our real world, where it's safer. And I won't pass on another day to test my abilities, especially when I have you to go it with me. You'll still join me, right?"

Shadow smiled. "Of course. Shall we get going, then?"

Sonic found Knuckles in Amy's living room. He threw his arms around his husband and pressed his lips to the echidna's. After his initial surprise, Knuckles kissed Sonic back.

"She's safe, Knuckles!" Sonic exclaimed. "Dawn finally answered my call! She's safe!"

"Really?! She finally answered? She's okay?" Knuckles happily picked his husband up and spun him around, the two of them laughing with joy. Tails, Amy, and Sticks walked in just then.

"Whoa! What's all this about, guys?" Tails said.

"Dawn answered!" Sonic said. "She's okay!"

All of Team Sonic celebrated finally receiving word from Dawn, now knowing that she was safe, and no longer having to worry about their friend and daughter.