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Description
Decided to go into a little more depth with this AU via profiles of the characters in play. First off, Shadow!

Pre-Merhog Backstory: Shadow's story starts very similar to canon: He was created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik aboard Space Colony Ark and befriended Maria; however, when he was only the equivalent of 5 years old, the government attacked the colony, killing Maria and most aboard, and taking Shadow away. He was placed in stasis and locked away, but in this timeline, it was not Eggman that freed him, but the GUN Commander himself.

Commander Jackson Turrett was a fellow survivor of the attack, who as he grew up, wondered what happened to the little experiment and also sought to change the world by changing the very thing that had destroyed his: The military. He worked his butt off to reach higher and higher in the ranks, until he finally reached the top, and that was when he uncovered the secret of Project: Shadow. He freed the hedgehog, who was still a child thanks to the deep stasis, and though it was a rough patch to go through, took Shadow in and sought to help him work through his grief as he once had. For this, Shadow grew up in the Turrett home as one of his own, and was a far less angsty and revenge-driven person.

Shadow grew up, and went to school with other kids "his own age." It was here that he met Sonic and his crew of friends, though the two never really became friends themselves through their childhood. He and Rouge met through mutual friends at school as well and dated for a little while, before both came to the conclusion that it just wasn't meant to be and broke up on friendly terms, with Rouge remaining one of his closest friends. He later on moved out on his own and took a small outpost job for GUN in the town of Windmill Isle. He remains bitter about his earliest years and what happened, but has since come to understand that there is nothing that could bring his loved ones back or change the events of the past, so he does his best to live life as peacefully as he can. Still, he rarely uses his Chaos powers, as they remind him of his old life.

When Dr. Eggman began attacking Windmill Isle, Shadow remained out of the fight even though he knew his tie to the man's family. It was only when Eggman himself learned of Shadow's origins and tried to recruit him for revenge that Shadow truly confronted him at all, and it was only to let him know that he was a poor excuse of a Robotnik and his grandfather would be ashamed of his actions. After that, he helped Sonic with a few random raids here and there, but the most part avoided getting involved in the drama.

Post-Merhog Story: It was during one of these random raids that Shadow and Sonic came face to face with the Aquaritum Amulet, and its power transformed them. Once his brain had processed what had happened, Shadow was quite curious about what these new forms could provide, and began regularly going to the shore to swim early in the morning. He was the first to locate any other merhogs, and out of the two, is usually the leader.

Not long after really getting acquainted with the merhog clans, Shadow found himself the guardian of several merhog children, either by defending them from rival clans or the newly uncovered poachers. Deciding to continue the cycle Tower had done for him, he made it his responsibility to protect these young lives and help them make new lives after tragedy. He managed to get into the Nightlighter Chief's good graces, and eventually became one of his most dedicated members of court and dignitaries, despite living on the surface. He is currently living in Windmill Isle with his two foster children, and two adopted children.

Merhog Tribe: Shadow is a Nightlighter, which are a type of merhog with long tails, hook-shaped flukes, and various spots and stripes that glow and flash as a means of communicating emotion and silent messages to one another. Their territory covers two major sections off the western coast of Normer (North America basically) While not possessing the largest territory, they are currently the most numerous, traveling in large family pods, but ultimately led by a central chief and his court.
Because he is not a born Nightlighter (whose body/markings are all variants of the same color), Shadow stands out amongst the others, though at times it comes to his advantage.

Despite having deep relational bonds within their own pods, they aren't the most welcoming to strangers, and thus any orphaned pups are left on their own with no other families taking them in; there are exceptions of course, like Shadow, and those that do have the title of Protector added to their name. This hesitance to even care for their own kind is something the current chief is looking to change.

Nightlighters are also renowned for being able to summon other sea creatures to their aid. The deeper one goes into the trenches, the less sapient the sea life becomes. Only experienced and deep-voiced Nightlighters can summon those from the very bottom.

Because of their large numbers, it is not uncommon for them to bump heads with their more aggressive neighbors, the Coral Clan.

Description
Decided to go into a little more depth with this AU via profiles of the characters in play. First off, Shadow!

Pre-Merhog Backstory: Shadow's story starts very similar to canon: He was created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik aboard Space Colony Ark and befriended Maria; however, when he was only the equivalent of 5 years old, the government attacked the colony, killing Maria and most aboard, and taking Shadow away. He was placed in stasis and locked away, but in this timeline, it was not Eggman that freed him, but the GUN Commander himself.

Commander Jackson Turrett was a fellow survivor of the attack, who as he grew up, wondered what happened to the little experiment and also sought to change the world by changing the very thing that had destroyed his: The military. He worked his butt off to reach higher and higher in the ranks, until he finally reached the top, and that was when he uncovered the secret of Project: Shadow. He freed the hedgehog, who was still a child thanks to the deep stasis, and though it was a rough patch to go through, took Shadow in and sought to help him work through his grief as he once had. For this, Shadow grew up in the Turrett home as one of his own, and was a far less angsty and revenge-driven person.

Shadow grew up, and went to school with other kids "his own age." It was here that he met Sonic and his crew of friends, though the two never really became friends themselves through their childhood. He and Rouge met through mutual friends at school as well and dated for a little while, before both came to the conclusion that it just wasn't meant to be and broke up on friendly terms, with Rouge remaining one of his closest friends. He later on moved out on his own and took a small outpost job for GUN in the town of Windmill Isle. He remains bitter about his earliest years and what happened, but has since come to understand that there is nothing that could bring his loved ones back or change the events of the past, so he does his best to live life as peacefully as he can. Still, he rarely uses his Chaos powers, as they remind him of his old life.

When Dr. Eggman began attacking Windmill Isle, Shadow remained out of the fight even though he knew his tie to the man's family. It was only when Eggman himself learned of Shadow's origins and tried to recruit him for revenge that Shadow truly confronted him at all, and it was only to let him know that he was a poor excuse of a Robotnik and his grandfather would be ashamed of his actions. After that, he helped Sonic with a few random raids here and there, but the most part avoided getting involved in the drama.

Post-Merhog Story: It was during one of these random raids that Shadow and Sonic came face to face with the Aquaritum Amulet, and its power transformed them. Once his brain had processed what had happened, Shadow was quite curious about what these new forms could provide, and began regularly going to the shore to swim early in the morning. He was the first to locate any other merhogs, and out of the two, is usually the leader.

Not long after really getting acquainted with the merhog clans, Shadow found himself the guardian of several merhog children, either by defending them from rival clans or the newly uncovered poachers. Deciding to continue the cycle Tower had done for him, he made it his responsibility to protect these young lives and help them make new lives after tragedy. He managed to get into the Nightlighter Chief's good graces, and eventually became one of his most dedicated members of court and dignitaries, despite living on the surface. He is currently living in Windmill Isle with his two foster children, and two adopted children.

Merhog Tribe: Shadow is a Nightlighter, which are a type of merhog with long tails, hook-shaped flukes, and various spots and stripes that glow and flash as a means of communicating emotion and silent messages to one another. Their territory covers two major sections off the western coast of Normer (North America basically) While not possessing the largest territory, they are currently the most numerous, traveling in large family pods, but ultimately led by a central chief and his court.
Because he is not a born Nightlighter (whose body/markings are all variants of the same color), Shadow stands out amongst the others, though at times it comes to his advantage.

Despite having deep relational bonds within their own pods, they aren't the most welcoming to strangers, and thus any orphaned pups are left on their own with no other families taking them in; there are exceptions of course, like Shadow, and those that do have the title of Protector added to their name. This hesitance to even care for their own kind is something the current chief is looking to change.

Nightlighters are also renowned for being able to summon other sea creatures to their aid. The deeper one goes into the trenches, the less sapient the sea life becomes. Only experienced and deep-voiced Nightlighters can summon those from the very bottom.

Because of their large numbers, it is not uncommon for them to bump heads with their more aggressive neighbors, the Coral Clan.