Work Text:
(Play: Andromeda )
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Right in time with a certain space captain’s heart and the IV drips in a limp peach arm.
Captain Shadow of the Arsenal sat on the left edge of the gurney, holding a pale peach hand while his first mate slept off the drugs from emergency amputation. Tails was already coming up with a way for his best friend to get around, now that Sonic was one-legged. He'd be that way for the rest of his life.
All because he and Sonic picked a fight over a freaking supervisor.
He regretted their fight. Regretted their angry words. And he wished that he had come much sooner to save him. The haunting image of Sonic’s dead and injured body cradled in Eggman’s arms had seared itself into Shadow’s memories, spiraling into what-ifs, fears, and pain that Shadow could hardly swallow.
What if they hadn’t fought? What if Sonic hadn’t run off? What if they had come much, much sooner than they did?
“I put all my fucking faith on you! I didn’t have enough time to build a ship myself so I trusted that you would come!”
This was one of those few times where Eggman was borderline right. Emphasis on borderline.
Shadow almost wanted some of the painkillers they were giving Sonic to make this easier on him. The past events kept spiraling and spiraling in his head and he wished they could stop.
He stared at Sonic, sound asleep and bundled in a pastel teal hospital gown, chest rising and falling evenly and without impairment. The captain had been here from the moment the surgery was completed, as soon as it was declared Sonic wasn’t going to die and that everything had gone to plan. The damage was hidden beneath a white weighted blanket overtop a blue heated blanket, since according to Eggman’s testimony, Sonic had been experiencing some panic moments. Thank goodness Rouge hadn’t tossed out all of the weighted blankets, given Shadow’s and Tail’s histories of needing them.
Quietly, Shadow leaned over and kissed Sonic between his closed emerald eyes, mentally thanking every deity in the universe for looking out for Sonic and for blessing Shadow with the ability to save him. Sure, his first mate would be scarred even more than he had, but it was better than him being dead.
‘Yes, that’s it. Keep breathing. Keep telling me you’re okay.’
“I’m never leaving your side again,” Shadow whispered, fingers twirling through blue quills. “I swear it on my life and my soul.” His other hand found Sonic’s cheek, holding the blue hedgehog’s head in a half-embrace given their position.
Sonic was unconscious, so he couldn’t respond. But Shadow planned to stay right here for when he woke up. And then he’d apologize and explain and set everything right. No loose ends.
“Captain?”
He turned around to see Rouge in the hall, her teal eyes soft with concern. “Eggman wants to see him.”
Shadow’s blood boiled at those words. Eggman. That…..that scourge of a man. That wretched bastard who haunted them for most of their lives; plundering, pillaging, obliterating, and ruining all in the name of hunting treasure and trading blows with Shadow’s crew.
The same man who called them saying that Sonic was in a critical condition. The same man who was with him all that time. And the one loose end in all of this that Shadow simply couldn’t ignore no matter how much he wanted to.
“Is he cuffed?” Shadow asked, rising cautiously as one hand moved to the crook of Sonic’s arm, fingers dancing around the IV needle and the tape.
“Mhm,” Rouge replied. Then her voice lowered. “Knuckles and I will be watching him.”
“Fine. Send him in.” He sat back down, ready to lie over Sonic if needed.
The scientist pirate still looked rather beaten up and bruised as Knuckles all but shoved him into the room, the scientist grumbling as he stumbled in. They’d locked him up as soon as he was taken aboard the Arsenal , giving him only the basics of first aid treatment and a brief shower. Even so, Shadow found himself very amused that the Doctor’s usually immaculate mustache was frizzy and matted (like he hadn’t combed it in a bit) and there were dark bags under his eyes visible even in the dimly lit room. The metal handcuffs clinked as he approached the two hedgehogs.
“How’s the Blue Ghost?” Eggman’s voice was scratchy, which was to be expected given the circumstances the Arsenal crew rescued them in. His gaze didn’t leave the slumbering figure behind Shadow.
“Fine.” Shadow didn’t tear his steely gaze away as his hand tightened around Sonic’s. “Amputation went well. He's stable and he'll make a full recovery. And Tails is working on something to help him get around once he gets discharged.” He didn't know why he was telling Eggman this. They were enemies!
His inner voice said that because Eggman was with Sonic all that time, he had the right to know. But Shadow’s anger wouldn’t let him admit that.
“Good,” Eggman grunted.
The silence that followed was tense and short.
“Can I sit down?” Eggman grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the opposite side of the gurney, ignoring Shadow’s glare of disapproval. Silence reigned for all of five minutes as both of them glared, silently accusing the other.
Eggman spoke up first. “Was it worth it?”
Shadow’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “What?”
“Was the reward worth the argument?” The Doctor asked.
Shadow’s quills bristled as he remembered their fight, the angry words, and most notably, the red dripping from his first mate’s mouth at the climax of it all. It was an ugly reminder that he had failed Sonic as both a friend, a lover, a brother, and a captain.
“We didn’t pick Aleena as our supervisor for that mission,” he stated. “She recommended Marine for her abilities riding a ship. And even if she didn’t, I wouldn’t have chosen Aleena myself.” He turned to Sonic’s sleeping form. “I wish I had told him sooner. Then maybe we would’ve been spared of this mess.” Gloved hands interlocked tenderly, squeezing the blue paw gently.
“Indeed. And had you come much sooner, he’d still have both legs,” Eggman snorted.
Shadow’s body went rigid. “What?” Tension simmered in his voice.
“If you had come right away, we wouldn’t have been trapped there for so long,” Eggman explained. “Hell, we probably could’ve gotten the crystals out and both of us on our merry way.” Eyes narrowed behind the glasses. “Or maybe if you hadn’t fought, he wouldn’t have run.”
“Shut up.” Shadow’s free hand went to his gun. “You shut your mouth right now.”
“Or what? You'll blow my brains out?” Eggman sneered. “I've heard all your threats. You don't have the spine to follow through.”
Shadow stood up, hand slipping free from Sonic's. “There's a first time for everything.” He cocked the gun, ready to fire and placed it square against Eggman’s head. Eggman had no weapon and he was handcuffed. This would be the easiest shot fired, even if Shadow wasn’t the finest sharpshooter in the galaxy.
“You wouldn’t shoot me even if you wanted to,” Eggman snarled. “The way I see it, you owe me for saving his life. He would’ve died without me. You owe me for helping him.” His cuffed hands brushed some dust off his jacket.
“I’ll reward you, alright,” Shadow bit back. “I’ll pay you back for everything you did to us and more with one bullet.”
“I’ll end you as well. Then he really can come with me, like he thought he wanted to do.”
Cool fear shot through Shadow. “What?”
Eggman’s eyes gleamed wickedly. “At one point, he suggested that once we got the crystals, we could leave purple and then explore the galaxy together.” He smirked. “How about it, Shadow? Think he’d make a great addition to the Eggman Empire?”
“You’re lying,” Shadow hissed, putting both hands on the gun and planting his feet. “Sonic would never–”
“I dunno, given your temper and your argument before everything went to hell, I’d say he’d have a good reason to leave.” Eggman shrugged. “I told him he had to go back to his crew, but there was a moment where he thought about jumping ship. And you know what? I think he wanted to – that’s how big of an impact your fight was.”
Months of fear, pain, and loss surged to the surface. Shadow bristled and steadied the gun. “Forget putting you behind bars. I’ll put you away for good.”
“And how would Sonic react to that?” Eggman grinned wickedly. “How would he handle you blowing me away by his bedside?”
Shadow stilled, blood draining from his face at the mention of his first mate.
“Uh huh, that’s what I thought.” Eggman’s smirk was edging towards triumphant laughter. “You won’t blow me away because Sonic wouldn’t want you to. And you know I’m right.”
Shadow shook his head with a smirk of his own. “He might be mad at me for the mission, but I’m sure he’ll forgive me for blowing you away.” He leveled the gun. “This is for everything you did to my crew and the galaxy as a whole, but this is for Sonic especially.”
“Mmrgh?”
Both pirates froze at the voice, bleeding of exhaustion and confusion. The blue hedgehog stirred at the sound of his name, limply shifting around with his eyes still shut.
Eggman beat Shadow as he knelt beside the pirate and stroked his head. “Hey, kid. How’re you feeling?”
“Diizzaaaayyyyyy,” Sonic giggled, jaw stretching for emphasis. “Diiizzaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!”
Eggman laughed, a strange sound. “I'm sure.”
“Heavy, too. Why?” Sonic mumbled.
Eggman scratched his mustache. “I will be honest and say I don’t know.” Shadow just about scoffed. Sonic probably felt heavy because of the nutrients they were pumping into him to make up for all those days he was sick and didn’t eat.
“‘s dark,” Sonic mused. Then his face scrunched up a little. “Loud.”
“Yes, it's very dark,” Eggman agreed. “But the lights are off so they don't disturb your rest.”
“Ghosts?” The heart rate spiked on the monitor.
“No, no ghosts,” Eggman continued. “Just the rescue crew. We got picked up. It’s over.” Sonic’s ears twitched thoughtfully and sluggishly at that.
“‘--eep?” Blue eyelids fluttered, a paw finding Eggman's hand. The heart rate calmed down.
“Yes, yes I did.” Eggman chuckled, a sound that rattled Shadow’s bones. The guy was their nemesis and here he was chatting with Sonic like they were buddies.
How could he tell what Sonic was saying?
Sonic’s eyes were barely open, but they were staring at the white ceiling tiles as if they held all the answers and dazzled by their smoothness. He reached up limply, fingers splayed like starfish. “Purty.”
“Yes, it is very pretty,” Eggman agreed. Shadow knew Eggman was indulging his crewmate while the latter was heavily drugged. It was a matter of time before things went south. He quietly tapped his foot, scrutinizing the interaction.
Sonic’s ears twitched at Shadow’s footfall. “Two you?”
“No, just one of me,” Eggman explained, confusion wrinkling his eyes.
“Noise?” Sonic’s ears flattened limply as his eyes scrunched back up, head shifting again. “Wha–”
Eggman glared at Shadow as if it were his fault Sonic had woken up. “Shadow’s here, too. We were having a thoughtful discussion when he thought it’d be necessary to raise his voice to make a point.” The insinuation was clear.
Okay, screw it. Shadow was going to blow Eggman away here and now.
“Sha—?” Sonic’s hands fell flat, brow scrunching up in thought. “Here?”
“Your whole crew came to rescue you,” Eggman continued. “We’re onboard the Arsenal .”
Sonic slipped into another dopey grin. “Reallleeeeeeeeeee?” He then began giggling again like a maniac. “Yur so funny, Eggman.”
The Doctor smiled softly. Shadow took a step towards the blue hedgehog, apologies bubbling on his lips as he pocketed the gun.
He could apologize right now. For everything. And then he’d wrap Sonic in his arms and promise to never hurt him ever again or Sonic could take Shadow’s loaded gun and blow the bejesus out of him. Honestly, either option would be appropriate for this blunder.
Sonic tried to turn his head to see where Shadow was, but then he let out a low groan. “Hurts…..” His hand started sluggishly moving down his amputated leg.
The painkillers were working at their best or close to it, so Shadow knew Sonic was experiencing phantom pain. Was he starting to notice the fact his left leg was gone?
“I know, I know. You keep resting, okay?” Eggman hummed as he checked the dosage for all of the IV drips and caught Sonic’s hand before it could wander too far down, moving it to lay the left hand over Sonic’s heart. “You’ll feel all better soon.”
“Kay.” The Doctor moved away, but Sonic reached out for his hand. A hand that should’ve been Shadow’s. “Stay?”
“Sure, sure. I’ll be right here when you wake up. We can even watch a movie later with all the snacks you want. You pick the movie.” Eggman sounded borderline whimsical as he fixed the blankets. “Just sleep for now.”
Sonic relaxed right away, easily slipping back into a drug-filled sleep with a soft ghostly smile on his face, the pain forgotten by Eggman’s comforting gestures.
Shadow grit his teeth, jealousy flooding him. That should’ve been him comforting Sonic and promising to stay with him. He should’ve received that smile. Not Eggman.
He pulled out his still-cocked gun (miraculously calm and without shooting himself in the process) and pointed it at Eggman’s head with his right hand and formed a Chaos Spear with his left. “Return to your quarters. NOW .”
Eggman glared at Shadow and got up. “Alright, alright, you pest.” He got up and walked out of the room, keeping his footsteps light as Shadow jabbed both weapons into his back. “Overkill, much?”
“You should talk,” Shadow muttered, remembering the showers of laser fire as orange as the sun, the onslaught of robots, and the villainous doctor laughing over the spectacle of it all as he and Rouge and everyone fought for their lives.
The door whooshed open with a hiss, a patch of brighter light spilling into the room. Rouge and Knuckles were waiting to take him back, watching them silently with a dirty stare from Knuckles and a disappointing glare from Rouge. Both had undoubtedly witnessed the events that just transpired.
Eggman turned and pushed his glasses up his nose the best he could with his restraints. “Just remember, rodent. You might be the one who got him off planet Purple and saved him, but I’m the one who stayed with him. I held him as he died. I’m the one who gave him comfort when you pushed him away. Not very family-like of you, is it?” Then he marched off, whistling off-key. Rouge and Knuckles followed, gripping the doctor's arms tightly before he got too far and more or less dragging him away.
Shadow stared daggers into his back, pocketing his gun and the spear dissipating. He stood outside the medical bay and peeked into the glass where Sonic could be seen soundly sleeping, unmoved and unaware of what truly transpired. The protective instinct the black hedgehog carried rose up again and his pride picked his next words.
“You know I regret my actions. But don’t think this gives you leverage to take him away from me and my family. He was mine first.”
Shadow would not lose Sonic again. Not even to Eggman. And Shadow would be damned if the Doctor thought he could take Shadow’s place in terms of favor in Sonic’s eyes.
Losing Sonic to Eggman. That might not be the worst pain in the galaxy, but at the moment and given Eggman’s statements, it was pretty close.