Too quiet for Shadow’s liking.

Neo had already taken Maya to her first day at her new school, and Shadow was left waiting in a silence that felt heavier than usual. He paced. He sat. He stood again. He checked the window, then the door, then the window again.

Neo returned from the kitchen with a steaming cup of tea. “Here,” he said, handing it carefully to Shadow. “This should help you relax.”

Shadow accepted it with a softened expression. “You’re the sweetest, Neo.”

Neo sat beside him, leaning in to take Shadow’s hands in his metallic ones. He lifted one hand and placed a gentle kiss on Shadow’s knuckles, warm circuitry humming quietly beneath his touch.

Then—

BANG BANG BANG.

Someone pounded on the door. Aggressive. Urgent.

Shadow stiffened. “Here we go…” he muttered, placing the tea down before going to the door.

He opened it—

—and froze.

Standing in the doorway was Maria.

Shadow’s breath stopped. His body jolted backward on instinct, and before he could even think—

SLAM.

He shut the door.

“H-Husband!?” Shadow shouted toward Neo, his voice cracking. “I think I’m hallucinating!!”

Tears streamed down his face before he even realized he was crying.

The door opened behind him—not by his hand—and Sonic gently turned Shadow around, guiding him to look again.

Maria kneeled down in front of him, slowly, cautiously.

“Shadow…” she whispered.

She reached for his hand.

Shadow flinched hard, his whole body trembling as if his instincts were screaming run, but his feet refused to move.

His mind spiraled.

This wasn’t possible.

The last time he saw Maria… she had been shot in the back, dying in his arms.

Her blood on the floor of the ARK.

Her last words begging him to protect humanity.

Her smile fading.

And the last time he saw her after death was only in mirrors—hallucinations—until Neo had replaced that phantom with his presence, his steadiness, his comfort.

So this—this—couldn’t be real.

“You’ve really grown, Shadow…” Maria said gently. Her voice was soft, warm, painfully familiar.

“Maria…?” His voice broke. Tears streamed down his muzzle uncontrollably.

But before she could respond—

Shadow collapsed.

He fell to his knees and let out a raw, agonized scream, the kind that tore out from deep inside old wounds.

And as his emotions broke loose—

Everyone except Neo was hit by a sudden vision.

The walls vanished.

The world twisted.

And suddenly they were seeing the ARK—

Maria’s death—through Shadow’s eyes.

Her scream.

The gunshot.

The sickening thud of her body hitting the floor as she shielded him.

His helplessness.

His horror.

His rage.

The vision ended as abruptly as it started.

When they blinked back to reality, Neo was already holding Shadow bridal-style—like the day they married—Shadow trembling against his chest.

“This position stabilizes him during emotional overload,” Neo explained calmly, stroking Shadow’s cheek. “He requires physical affection. Primarily… kissing.”

Sonic snorted. “Holding Shadow like your bride?”

Neo nodded earnestly. “Indeed.”

---

Four Hours Later

After a long explanation—Sonic revealing that they had cloned Maria using methods similar to Project Shadow—things got chaotic fast. Neo had to literally restrain Shadow from trying to strangle Sonic. Maria jumped in, assuring Shadow that Sonic hadn’t put her through anything like the ARK’s horrific testing.

“Well… except for one needle. Just once,” Maria admitted sheepishly.

Shadow froze.

“That needle…” Shadow muttered. “I felt it. Last night.”

Neo’s optics widened. “The danger sense.”

Shadow didn’t respond. His expression said enough.

Now calmer—mostly—Shadow gave Maria a tour of the house while Neo went to pick Maya up from school.

---

Later

Maya climbed into Neo’s arms, proudly holding up a crayon drawing labeled:

“My Family.”

Neo chuckled under his breath. He had specifically told Maya to pretend they were a regular family at her new school, and so she labeled the picture:

“Daddy” over Neo Metal Sonic

“Mommy” over Shadow

Neo tried—hard—not to laugh.

When they arrived home, Maya launched herself into Shadow’s arms. Shadow picked her up effortlessly, lifting her high.

“Maria,” he said warmly, “this is my daughter, Maya. She’s named after you. And she’s already heard stories about her Aunt Maria.”

Maria’s eyes lit up. She leaned forward, offering her hand.

“Awww, hi there, cutie! Can you say ‘Maria’?”

Maya lifted her little hands and signed it clearly: Maria.

“She’s saying your name,” Shadow explained softly. “She can’t speak.”

Maria nodded gently. “She’s adorable. She gets her cuteness from you.”

Shadow smirked proudly. “Of course she does. But the eyes—those are from her father, Neo.”

Neo snapped a picture of them and pinned it to the fridge right next to Maya’s family drawing.

Maria tilted her head. “Shadow… how did you even get her?”

Shadow blinked. “I gave birth to her. Didn’t ‘get’ her.” He paused. “Still had to pay for the birth, though.”

Maria’s jaw dropped. “B-but you’re a boy! Boys can’t do that!”

Shadow sighed long and dramatically. “Oh Chaos… I have a story to tell you.”

He crossed his arms.

“First… I need to explain what a darkling is.”

“A what!?” Maria yelped.

Shadow rubbed his temples.

“This is going to take a while.”