Chapter 1: Special Elite Agent Shadow
Summary:
After stopping a terrorist attack by a group known as the Jackal Squad, Shadow the Hedgehog gets promoted to Special Elite Agent as a high ranking GUN agent. Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog graces the politicians of the United Federation.
Chapter Text
- — - Infinity of Chaos - — -
ARC 1: How It All Started
1 - Special Elite Agent Shadow - 1
One by one, the great titans of super buildings and skyscrapers that were once home to booming white collar businesses, suddenly tumbled down upon the earth. Both fauna and flora withered and died in an instance, as no amount of sunlight or water could possibly save them from their inevitable fate. The distant star of the planet was dying, obscured by the dark smoky clouds surrounding the world. An angelic island that once drifted so effortlessly in the sky, was now thousands of miles below the sea floor, destroyed, sunken and nonexistent. The people who lived here, they all perished long ago. Anyone who survived as a straggler, soon met their fate at the hands of something they couldn't possibly comprehend. Their deaths were quick, painless. Some didn't even realize they had died, and never would. The last inhabitants of this world, the ones who were too powerful to fade away, were forced to watch as everything they had ever known and loved decay away into ash.
This was their punishment for not doing their due diligence, for not producing an heir fitting of an emperor. They argued, they screamed, they resisted to the best of their abilities without hurting anyone else. Yet, the tormenting echoes of rue was corrupting their souls. There was no going back, even if they begged for forgiveness. Even after all they had been through, all the blood, sweat and despair they suffered, they would be cursed to watch the world they adored perish and rot forever. No amount of power would fix this, no amount of praying for a Hail Mary would ever return things back to the way they were. This was their error, the cross they were now forced to bear. They knew this, they knew this for decades. And yet, the agony didn't hurt any less. They watched their friends pass, one after the other. And there was nothing they could do.
Even worse, another curse was bestowed upon them for their insolence.
One of them became contaminated in the mind. Instead of loving and just as distraught as the other, he was now wrathful and cruel, just like he used to be before. He now hunts for the other in a desperate meaningless ploy to destroy the last living thing on the planet. A dark reaper in the underworld of vengeance, spreading death wherever he traveled. The other couldn't fight him back, he just couldn't. He loved him, how could he ever lift a hand against him? He had nothing else, so why would he be rid of the last remaining thing he had ever loved?
A lone figure, obscured by a black hooded cloak stood there and watched it all fall apart.
So he hid.
He hid, and hid...
He would hide until both of their physical forms gave out.
This would be their immortal lives now.
"Let our blood subjugate and conquer forevermore."
Forever.
20XX, July 11th - Mobius XX: United Federation, Empire City
DAY 1: Friday
Morning, 8:00 AM
Perhaps this was a rather ungrateful and introverted thing to think, but for Chaos sake, he couldn't take it anymore. The chattering, the constant talking, cheering and shouting...He was going to go deaf. And the flash photography was going to give him a seizure, his pupils kept retracting and dilating every five minutes. Didn't Overlanders—Humans—Realize just how sensitive Mobian ears and eyes were? Then again, a lot of these reporters and journalists were Mobians too, so he supposed he couldn't necessarily solely blame them. Point is, was this all really necessary? And did they have to do this at the White House's Briefing Room of all places? He didn't even understand why this required so much celebration. Yes, it was greatly fortunate that they stopped what could have been a bad tragedy, but compared to everything else they've stopped in the past, this incident was minimal at best. He looked up and around him, mostly at his human superiors to try and comprehend the situation a little better. Abraham Tower, the current leading general of the Guardian Units of the Nation—G.U.N., was attempting to shoo the crowd away so that they could all have a little more breathing room.
As he demanded GUN soldiers to get a little more aggressive in enforcing order in the room, he saw from the corner of his eye that there was a camera crew here as well. They must have been broadcasting live on television. The grey haired male human sighed stressfully and looked downwards at the star Mobian before him. "Well, as much as I'd love nothing more than to run thousands of miles away from this place to avoid the press, I'm afraid we don't really have a choice. We made an agreement, we've got to give the people the information they deserve." He gave a sympathetic frown. "I know you're not a public speaker, but you're the star of the show here so they'll be focused on you. You know the details better than anyone, so you'll have to do most of the talking, but I'll try my best to take over when I can. Just do your best, like you always do."
With that vote of confidence, the Mobian nodded and made a sigh himself. It was now or never.
He stepped forward in front of the crowd, standing in front of the podium filled to the brim with microphones. The camera crew readjusted their position and zoomed in with their lenses, honing in the person about to speak. A jet black Mobian hedgehog with a single red striped pattern lining his entire body stood before them all. His quills also consisted of this pattern, four of them being upturned. His gloves were white with black and red cuffs, and a signature pair of golden rings that served as more than a mere accessory. His muzzle and ears were tan, his sharp angled eyes an abnormal amber red with thick lashes. The edges of his eyes, similar to eye shadow, were a matching red as well. He had white fur on his chest that was beginning to grow outwards towards his shoulders. Finally, he wore an interesting choice of footwear called Air Shoes which, like his gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. His body and stature was muscular and fit, a little more so than an average GUN soldier. He stuck out like a sore thumb since there were no other Mobians known to the public to have such a strange set of biological features. Perhaps that was because he wasn't actually Mobian, but that was another story for another day.
As he leaned forward towards one of the microphones, he began to speak. This would be no problem, just tell what happened but don't give too many details that the public didn't need to know. Simple enough. "Err," He didn't quite know how to begin, though. But this wasn't hard, just start from the beginning. "One week ago, numerous 911 calls were alerted to a group of armed individuals spotted throughout Station Square with a number of illegal weapons in their possession. Due to the severity of the situation described, GUN was informed and took the proper measures to investigate thoroughly." He quickly glanced over at Tower beside him, who just nodded. So, he continued. "We located the suspects and discovered that they were a group of mercenaries who arranged to plant several bombs all throughout the city. GUN immediately dispatched Team Dark to capture the group while simultaneously disarming all of the bombs. Thanks to Agent Rouge, who unfortunately could not be here today," She was off doing another mission, one that he knew for sure the public shouldn't know about: Sunbathing in Apotos. "She managed to disarm every single bomb within less than five minutes. Meanwhile, I myself managed to take down the entire group of mercenaries while capturing their leader. They were all promptly arrested and taken into special custody by GUN."
Tower then leaned over the dark Mobian to announce, "We will take three questions but nothing more."
One of the journalists he saw earlier, a female Mobian black cat who was hopping up and down with her hand up, was the first one in his sights. "Yes, you."
"Yes! Thank you. Who is the leader of the mercenary group?"
Easy one, he was given specific instructions not to tell anyone of the public that information, but saying that outright would cause the public's view of GUN and the local law enforcement to decrease. He'd have to lie. "I am afraid we do not have that information at this moment in time. Rest assured all criminals involved are currently being diligently identified and interrogated. Next question." He quickly scanned the room with his eyes, ignoring the constant yells and cries of the other reporters and journalists hollering for his attention. He found his eyes settling on a female Overlander who was patiently waiting with her hand up. She had a notepad tucked against her chest. "You."
"Is this recognized as a terrorist attack? If so, why? What did they want, what was their motive?"
Hm, an actual good question. One that was a little compounded, so it was technically more than one question fused into multiple. Smart woman. Unfortunately for them, he'd have to lie just a little bit more. "Since we have not yet secured their identities as of yet, we most certainly do not have a motive at the moment. Their true intentions as of now, are also unknown. And this is indeed seen as terrorism. Though since we do not know the group's origins, we cannot say whether or not this was domestic or otherwise. However, I assure you they will all be punished to the fullest extent of the law for such a dangerous act, as hundreds of people could have been killed. Last one," Shadow quickly announced before taking a look. Let's see, let's see...Okay, someone that was neither a reporter or a journalist. How were they allowed inside? Didn't they only allow certain media vultures in for press conferences like this? Perhaps it was friend of some politician? He was dressed nice enough to be. A brown wolf, apparently. "You."
He heard a few curses uttered under the breaths of the rest of the crowd. They seemed to look a little surprised by him picking them, yet he had his hand raised. Maybe he didn't think he'd be picked. Almost nervously, the wolf began to speak. "Yes...Um," He looked slightly intimidated. "Is—Are we safe? First Dr. Eggman disappeared for three years, so a lot of people thought we would be safe, but this...This is-" He was obviously very nervous just speaking about this. "-Are we all going to be okay?"
Ouch, that was a bit of a harsh question. A real heavy hitting one because this had no fact or lie to give, this was a state of opinion. When he glanced up at Tower, his expression was conflicted. There was no easy way to answer this, he'd have to do the best he could. His opinion would be a little bias, but they needed to keep the public safe and calm. Perhaps what he would say next would be exaggerated and maybe even littered with tiny white lies, but the nucleus of it's argument would be heartfelt and true. At least, he thinks it will. "...I'll be honest," Shadow began, already half lying. "Seeing other villainous forces besides Dr. Robotnik appear in our world is troubling, to say the very least. But if any of you are to fear what may or may not come, I will gladly remind you of a few simple facts." Here we go, hopefully that colorful bunch didn't mind him mentioning them on TV, not that he really cared. "This world is more than properly protected. The people have GUN, yours truly and of course, Sonic the Hedgehog and his team. With them and us around, any challenges Mobius faces will become nothing more than a bad dream. We've seen worse, far worse, and yet we continue to trounce those who wish our planet ill-intent. Keep your faith in them, and us. No matter who stands against us, be it Robotnik or another random mercenary group, we will prevail. Remember that well." With the settling silence drifting in the room, after a few more seconds, Shadow simply concluded with, "No further questions." And with that, he stepped aside and allowed Tower to take his turn.
He made a small smile towards Shadow and nodded, indicating that what he said was a very good on-the-spot answer. He could tell he was impressed. As the human got behind the podium, he placed his attention on the crowd that was still thankfully silenced for now. "With that being said, I'd like to take this time to congruously honor Shadow the Hedgehog for his industrious efforts into protecting Empire City. He is the leader of Team Dark, and diligently conducted a full-proof plan that would extinguish the plot of these terrorists in under an hour. He was first to understand the mechanics of the bombs and communicated delicate instructions to agent Rouge, and then fearlessly tracked down the group and single-handedly took every single member down." An uproar of applause rumbled below them as Tower reached into his breast pocket to reveal a silver and gold medal held by a velvet black, white and red ribbon. "Agent Shadow the Hedgehog, with the President of the United Federation's personal blessing, it is with great honor and immense pride that I reward you with the Medal of Distinguished Perseverance, the highest honor of any GUN soldier." The applause got louder, along with it's cheering. And as it did, Shadow's eyes got smaller.
Wait, what?
That's what this was about? Tower—He planned this the entire time? But why? Didn't he...Hate him? Ever since the old man was a child, he feared Shadow and even attempted to kill him in the past during the Black Arms incident. Of course, it was a huge misunderstanding, but ever since then Shadow was almost positive the man still hated him. As the man bent down to placed the medal's ribbon over Shadow's head and around his neck, his expression was unchanged: He was puzzled. "Abraham...Why?" He whispered.
The man sighed and shook his head. "Let's be honest," He replied back in a matched murmur. "You've been deserving of this medal for a very, very long time. It doesn't matter what my opinion of you is anymore, you're as much of a hero as Sonic is. Even through my own cowardice and arrogance, you still saved the world, and only continued doing so time after time. I was just waiting for an excuse to give it to you, Shadow." After the black hedgehog was rewarded, Tower slowly stood back tall and saluted the public as more flashes of expensive TV cameras snatched their pictures. "Please don't think of this as some measly attempt of an apology. I'd have to do a lot more than this to make it up to you. Oh," He then quickly looked over at the hedgehog and scoffed with a smug risen brow. "And don't think this means I like you. You Mobians are still quite a rambunctious lot," His smirk softened. "But God damn are you better at our jobs than we are." He turned his attention back to the media. "You'll be getting a promotion too, by the way. Special Elite Agent, or SEA for short. I would have made you second in command, but that would require less action and more paperwork, and I know you don't have the patience. You're too good for it, anyway."
Never in his life did he ever think he'd hear him say that. Any of that. An honor, a promotion, and an indirect yet humble apology from a former enemy? A ghost of a smile grew on Shadow's muzzle. At first he was speechless, but now he knew what he would say. "..." Shadow saluted as well with a lot more fulfillment than he expected. "...Thank you, General Tower."
He hated to admit it, but this was a great start for a new day.
Station Square, City Hall District
City Hall
Morning, 9:00 AM
An iconic and unmistakable face graced the group of Mobian politicians. The face was so recognizable that it rivaled that of triple A celebrities, and has been for some time. That face could only belong to one person, one person in this entire universe. A face that caused both women, and even some men, to faint and fawn over in a mere instant with just the smallest of glances. The mere mention of his name made his fans' knees wobble, while causing his enemies to tremble with justified fear. Practically a mascot of justice and heroism, no one could ever forget the name: Sonic the Hedgehog. And right now, his face was right in front of this band of law makers and negotiators. Unlike most of his fans, they didn't look too pleased by his appearance which was becoming pretty common at this point. They didn't like it when he waltzed right in their city hall like this, unannounced and without any respect for privacy.
Before, his appearance would barely cause them to slightly shift their eyes, as they only saw him as some upstart kid who saved the world a couple times with dumb luck. But now, he was a grown man-err-Mobian. A Mobian who was taller, more broad-shouldered and evidently very experienced. His once azure fur was now a strong royal blue, his peach arms and stomach now much more defined and well built. His quills were longer, with sharper individual spines. His legs and thighs more powerful than ever before, annihilating any other athlete's desires of athletic achievement. His shoes mostly unchanged, if not for a few advanced modifications from a genius vulpine. There were scratches and decayed color on a few parts of them, as they've been worn by him for over two decades now. But they were far from worn out, as the gold buckles on them were still shining bright. They could take a few more one-hour trips around the world. His white gloves were just freshly washed, as his last pair were damaged from...Well, again, a story for another time.
Yes, this was Sonic, now. He was no longer a teenager demanding attention, he was an adult commanding respect just from his company alone. However, his personality didn't change too much in all those years of growing up. So, playfully, he was leaning back against one of the many marble pillars holding up the ceiling of the main floor. Security was currently gawking at him, clearly baffled as to how and when he got inside of the room, as this was a restricted area. He was wearing his trademark smirk, his lime green eyes arrogantly staring at the bunch. He was loving their reactions. Cutely, he held up a hand and simply said, "Hiiiii~" After a small pause of silence, he shrugged. "Aww, tired of my face already? That's a shame."
One of the politicians, an old racoon Mobian in a maroon suit who was somewhere in his fifties, took a step forward first with an irritated glare. He pushed up his glasses before addressing the current issue in the room. "...Sonic," He began carefully. "To what do we owe the displeasure?"
Sonic scoffed and leaned off of the pillar to walk around it. "What's the prob? I just thought I'd pay my most favorite people in the world a visit. Pretty nice of me, right?"
"I ask that you get to the point, as we don't have time for your typical games."
A small chuckle echoed in the room as Sonic sighed with a smile. "Fine, fine. I'll be quick, as usual. After all, I'm sure you've got a lot of money to wash and launder-" He flinched and placed a hand over his mouth. "Oops! Did I say that out loud...?" He bowed his head. "So sorry about that! Be a shame if the public heard that, huh?"
Another politician, a middle-aged goat in a grey suit, snarled. "Damn brat-!"
The raccoon held out his hand before them, causing them to cease their outburst. "What do you want?"
"Look," Sonic retorted tersely. "I get it, you don't like me, you never did. But I most certainly don't like you, nor do I have to. All I want is for you all to get off your lazy asses," He stressed uncivilly. "And spend some of that corruption money on more protection and security for the city." He once again shrugged with a careless expression. "Not too much to ask, right?"
That goat from before didn't lessen his aggressiveness. "We literally just ended a lengthy meeting about financial costs. We cannot spend any more resources on law enforcement or security measures, and we told you this several times already!" He yelled.
"This ain't about money," Sonic said, but then he began to mumble. "Chaos, do listening skills disappear after age fifty or something...? Anyway," He raised his voice to his default volume. "You have the money, you just don't wanna use it. I'm telling you to use it, for the thousandth time by the way, because none of you know how to deal with Eggman when my team or GUN is out of the picture. Y'all need to start opening your ears and take some notes. If we're not around, what are any of you going to do? Sit there twiddling your thumbs like a bunch of good boys? That don't work no more, bud. Actually, it never did." He crossed his arms. "Just because things are peaceful now, doesn't mean the world can't crumble in a split second when you least expect it. Seriously, we just had a God damn terrorist attack, and you still don't think you need to beef things up? You're lucky my friends and I are as capable as we are, or this place would have been toast decades ago."
"And while your advice is appreciated," The elderly raccoon countered. "There hasn't been a single threat deserving of such measures in an entire year. So there was a bomb threat, and what of it? GUN handled it in an hour or less. You've been giving us cryptic warnings for months, and for a while, we did heed your advice and doubled security and law enforcement, only to be met with nothing. All we've been doing is wasting money and causing citizens to panic with the presence of more police hanging around every corner. We've listened to your suggestions despite your bratty attitude and immature demands, but the time for doing things your way is over. Unless you are a high ranking member of GUN, such as agent Shadow," He referred to the TV monitor above, which showed constant news coverage of the city and it's neighboring counties. "We won't be taking any more requests from you. In summation: " The glint of the raccoon's glasses shone disapprovingly towards Sonic. "You're out of your league, boy." He then nodded to the others to exit as they were before the hedgehog showed up. As he began to walk away himself, a harsh laughter flowed throughout the room.
With an admirable whistle and a small pace of applause, Sonic laughed as he watched the monitor above them. He saw Abraham Tower whisper something in Shadow's ear before placing a hefty looking medal around his neck. "Hahahahahaaa! Alright! Not bad, Shads! Not bad at all." He then chuckled his laughter down to a halt before tilting his head at the group, who paused thanks to his sudden cackling. "Hey, so you don't wanna do things my way." He held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine...But you ain't hurtin' nobody's feelings, especially not mine. First of all," His voice deepened with a slightly more assertive tone. "I ain't that little fifteen year old doe eyed boy you flagged off eight years ago. You have no idea who or what I've been fighting for the last nine months of peace. I just don't report to you because like you said, I don't have any 'official' government power. So I don't need to tell you a damn thing." He trailed off before suddenly holding up a finger. "However!" He announced dramatically. "If you must know: Dangerous, elaborate robots have been making appearances all throughout the United Federation. I thought it would be just a few Eggman stragglers from the last big fight we had, but no, these are brand spanking new big boy toys who could decimate an entire cul de sac in mere seconds. Don't believe me?" He asked sarcastically. "Well, why don't you ask GUN? After all, they're the people I've been actually reporting to this entire time."
Intense alarm or shock weren't the right words to describe any of their faces right now. A bomb-shell dropping consternation might suffice. Attempting to save face, the raccoon angrily snapped back at Sonic. "How dare you! Why didn't you tell us!?"
"Because of that cute little attitude of yours." The blue hero easily replied "I don't like working with people who can't get over themselves. I stopped beating that drum the moment I turned eighteen. Even though it felt like pulling teeth when I was younger, GUN is finally a group I can get behind. They listen, they take action. Y'know, unlike you." He suddenly walked closed towards the mammal Mobian, pacing around him tauntingly as he continued. "If you don't want to help me protect people, to hell with it. I'll go over your authority and make it work on my own. Besides, like you told me before when I was a kid, I'm just a 'local hero' who's saved the very existence of the universe oh I dunno…five dozen times? Hm, I lost count." He then paused, leaning towards the elder man. "Unlike Shadow I don't have any 'real government authority.'" He used physical air quotes with his fingers. "No one would listen to someone like me, a person who's got the love and respect of the very people you govern over." He then rudely shoved himself against the raccoon, placing his arm around his shoulder as if he was an old pal.
This only further infuriated the other politicians, and even caused the raccoon to stiffen with unyielding rage.
"Shadow works behind the scenes, I don't. We both got our own ways of doing stuff. Both being plenty effective." Slowly and almost eerily, Sonic snickered while flagging the rest of them off. "Man, you guys really don't pay attention, do ya?" He just sighed tiresomely. "Some years ago, I had a little press conference of my own with the mayor's permission." He turned to look the raccoon directly in the eye. "I promised the world that I'd take down Eggman once and for all, and let the legal system punish him for all of his crimes. I made that promise because once upon a time, I was naive, and I was immature to think that letting him go over and over was a good thing. That wasn't just for the tabloids. I'm done playing nice." He shoved himself off of the raccoon and began pacing towards the others. "Eggman knows this, that's why he's been real slippery lately. He knows I'm gonna put him away. Every time I was close enough to finding him, he'd get away. But not because I wanted him to. I'm gonna find and get rid of Eggman for good." He then lifted his hand to point his finger directly at the group of criminal enablers. "With, or without you. I'm sure GUN or the President will be nice enough to hear me out."
Frozen solid in reluctant guilt and resistance, the group of negligent politicians looked away. Gradually, with the raccoon leading the way, they all headed their separate ways one by one in silence. Sonic watched them all leave in shame, and he did nothing but roll his eyes with a scowl. When he noticed in the corner of his eye that the guards from before were staring at them, he instantly turned his head in their direction. They flinched and bowed their heads before returning to guard their posts. They knew better than to try and throw him out. Greedy cowards, but he never did like politicians anyway. Well, there was no point in staying here. While there was something he wanted to look into, he'd been up for days investigating. It wouldn't hurt to take the day to rest only to pick back up where he left off tomorrow. Yeah, it was the weekend anyway.
As he began to walk, he felt a small breeze above him. From the high windows of the dome shaped city hall building, flew in a voluptuous Mobian of great importance. Ah, he knew exactly who that was.
Dark purple bat wings lifted and lowered as they cautiously descended and landed down into the spacious room. The guards from before were once again stunned at how they let in yet another unannounced guest. With high heels landing and clicking against the marble floor first, a pair of long but curvy legs made their way towards Sonic. Those stiletto pumps were luxury brand, and not at all easy to walk in. Black with red bottoms. Tight, glossy black leather pants fitted an ample and curvaceous white furred lower body. Her fit abdomen was bare and revealed to all, showing off her light tan skin. A black sleeveless high neck top seemed to just barely conceal the large bosom hidden beneath it, but if one looked from the side, they could easily see plenty of side-boob, and it was obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. A very costly handbag was slung over her shoulder, with her nails freshly manicured and painted. No gloves this time around. Her muzzle was adorned in purple pastel makeup, but not too heavy. Her lashes were long, her eyes light teal. Her large ears were pierced with tiny heart earrings, but even those didn't look cheap.
She slowly lifted up her black designer sunglasses, a silver wrist watch sparkling from the sunlight peaking in from the windows above. "You'd think they'd learn to lock the upper windows," A smooth, sultry, feminine voice complained. "Just because it's unconventional doesn't mean it can't happen. And they wonder why they need to depend on us all the time."
Sonic made another whistle, this time much more suggestive and placed his hands on his hips. "Rouge, now you know damn well you've got no right to be looking that good."
With a flattered laugh, Rouge the Bat flagged the hero off. "Oh my goodness Big Blue, you can't talk like that to me! The older you get, the more you flirt with me. Don't get yourself in trouble now, you'll make Rad Red jealous~"
He slyly placed an arm around her shoulders while pulling her a little close. Man, even her perfume smelled expensive. "Ahh we're just messin' around. No harm done, right~?" He replied in a low voice, his eyes suggestively meeting hers.
After their gazes met, they burst out laughing.
She fanned her eyes so she couldn't let any tears break through from how hard she giggled. "You are so bad, you know that right?"
"Hahaha," Sonic nudged her playfully and gave her space. "Ahh, I could never. Girls like you are too scary."
She pouted. "Oh what, because I'm older?"
"You're like three years older than me." The hedgehog deadpanned.
"Oh shit, that's true." She blinked. "Huh."
"Pffftt," The hero liked that they grew a little closer over the years. She wasn't some mysterious on-and-off ally anymore, she was just a friend who liked being risqué and a little coy sometimes. "Anyway, weren't you on vacation? You're too pretty to be in a stuffy place like this. It's drab and boring and there's nothing to do but watch a bunch of old crones count their dirty bills."
Chuckling even more at his impolite account of the city's leaders, Rouge could tell that Sonic once again made a visit to those said "old crones" who were undoubtedly dreading his appearance for some time now. Anybody on the inside knew he gave government figures a hard time, and it was hilarious. "Well, vacation time's just about over for me. I figured you'd be here giving them hell, so I came to ask a favor."
"Yeah, what'd you have in mind?"
"I won't ask you to do this for free, so I'll make a deal with you." She walked very closely towards him, to the point where her lips could just meet his muzzle. He had gotten taller than her as he grew up, so her heels were making it easier for her to get near. She whispered in a low voice so one would hear, and even if they did, she'd make a few threats to the guards to keep their lips shut. "I got some inside scoop on Dr. Egghead while I was sunbathing in Apotos. Turns out he must have been hiding out somewhere around Windmill Isle and left a few things discarded deep within the oceans. A device I got from GUN picked up something on my new handy-dandy radar. What I found could help you find him, if you do something for little ol' me~"
That was almost too good to be true, but this was Rouge. If she said she got something, she had it for sure. Sonic couldn't help but smile mischievously with piqued interest. "Not a bad offer, gotta admit. And I couldn't deny such a beautiful woman, now could I? So," He tilted his head. "What'd ya need?" He saw Rouge's smile deepen significantly.
"I need you to throw a party for Shadow."
1 - END - 1
Chapter 2: Shadow's First Party
Summary:
Shadow's been invited to his very first party, one that's been thrown in his honor!
Chapter Text
2 - Shadow's First Party - 2
Afternoon, 2:00 PM
Soapy foam filled water cascaded down dark ebony and amber red striped fur. Gloves and shoes were absent, he was fully bare. He felt the dirt of sweat wash out of his limbs and into the floor's drain. He technically didn't need to bathe since his body didn't naturally create odor on its own, but in certain cases, bathing was very necessary. His body may not have produced stench internally, but his body being covered in grime required a good scrubbing. It was similar to how washcloths didn't hold bad smells until they were used and stained with muck. One of these days he'd like to relax and take a good bath, but he never truly had time to relax. Rather, he never took the time to relax. Sure he had vacation days, but he didn't like using them. In fact, he's never taken one. This was illegal, but the government didn't need to know that. Maybe he should try and take it easy for a couple days? In the future, not now. He had too much to do. There were all kinds of international criminals running amok around the world, and it was his job to keep the globe safe however he saw fit. For right now, working at GUN was handling that quite well.
He stared at the black tiled wall with blank eyes, his mind rarely just as empty at the moment. It's been a long day, and he had to sign a lengthy amount of paperwork just to authorize his new promotion. Was he excited about it? Somewhat, yes. He would be getting more drastic cases, some that would occasionally involve more spying and infiltrating, of course along with some engagement of combat. He never thought he'd be doing a job like this in his lifetime, but some part of him was genuinely proud. After all, this was what she wanted. She wanted him to help the people of Mobius and make them happy. He was glad he managed to do so and make her wish come true, even if he did nearly screw it up a couple of times. He was thankful he was given the chance. His life...Actually had a purpose now. And he admittedly didn't know how to feel about that. He couldn't be ungrateful, he managed to forge a good life for himself. So why did all of this feel so...Underserved?
The creak of his apartment floors caused one of his black furred ears to flick in the noise's direction. He heard heels clicking on the hardwood outside of the bathroom, and the smell of haughty perfume burned his nose. He already knew who it was that so rudely barged into into his home to interrupt his shower. He'd say she picked the lock, but he already gave her a key to the place some time ago. He continued to bathe, rubbing his left arm with a loofah to properly cleanse the hidden dirt within his fur. He heard two knocks on the door, soon after waiting for a response. "You could have at least called and told me you were visiting." He commented loudly so she could hear him over the water.
A gorgeous white bat rolled her eyes at this. "You know I never barge in without a good reason, hun." He heard her natural sensual voice through the door.
"I don't intend on giving you my emerald."
"No sweetie, I'm not here for that. I've already got a wonderful boyfriend with a gargantuan emerald of his own." He could hear her lean against the door. "No, it's something important."
He washed behind his ears and soon in between his quills. "Important enough to interrupt my shower?"
"Yup, so hurry up in there and come here."
He rolled his eyes with an annoyed sigh, she was so bossy. He got his own place so he wouldn't be needlessly nagged, thank you very much. After a few more minutes, he decided that he was done washing up and turned off the water. He shook his fur and head to get off any excess droplets, grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He wrapped it around his neck and pulled on his socks before leaving the bathroom and finding Rouge lounging on his black sofa. Who's place was this again?
He could see she just got back from vacation, and she was playing with a pretty looking letter in her hand. He walked over and stared down at her. "What did you want?"
She made an offended expression. "I didn't want anything, Mr. Sunshine." She huffed and simply handed over the gilded envelope "I came here to give you this."
Shadow's eyes scanned the envelope carefully, noticing that it was black felt paper. The trimming on the edges were reflective gold. Obviously not real gold, but someone had to spend a nice amount of money to get an envelope crafted like this. He looked at the front to see the words, "You're invited!" in that same reflective material. He didn't see a return address. Was this anonymously sent? He opened the envelope carefully and slipped out the letter within. The letter felt laminated, so once again, not cheap. Whoever sent this spared no expense. He unfolded it and saw that this too was trimmed with gold on the edges. The words were matching, and had a short and simple message.
Shadow the Hedgehog, I humbly invite you to the Empire City's Arts Ballroom for a night of festivities celebrating your most recent outstanding achievement as the guest of honor.
The party will begin at tonight 8:00 PM sharp, ending at 11:30pm. Don't forget to look your best.
We can't wait to see you!
Blinking in both silence and confusion, Shadow slowly turned to Rouge with a dubious look. "...What is this? What did you do?"
Rouge just placed a hand on her head and sighed while shaking her head. "Shadow, honey, for Chaos sake, can't you see when someone is trying to do something nice for you? I didn't do anything, someone wants to throw you a party to celebrate you. Don't you think that's nice?"
"Mmhm," Shadow rose a brow, knowing no one with a right mind would ever invite him to a party, much less throw one in his name. "Sure. Who did you ask to do this?"
She sucked her teeth and crossed her arms. "...Alright already," She replied, clearly exasperated. "I asked Sonic. He's throwing the party and hosting it at the Arts Ballroom tonight. It was last minute, but he managed to set it up in just a few hours."
The black hedgehog squinted his eyes. "Without my permission?"
"It was supposed to be a surprise, Shadow." At first she looked annoyed at his insensitivity but after a while, her face fell into dejection. She got up and grabbed her bag with her. "I can see you're not interested, but I warned Sonic that you might not show up anyway. He took the risk regardless. I'll call him and tell him to cancel." With her head hung a little low, she began to walk away from his side. Shadow couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, as it's rare he ever sees her legitimately sad about something. "Sorry for interrupting your shower, see you on Monday..." Damn it, she was doing this on purpose. But even if she was faking, he...got really bothered when she looked like that.
And he fell hook, line and sinker. Agitated that she managed to get under his skin, he stopped her. "Fine," He said loudly, causing her to immediately turn around with a giddy looking grin. "I'll show up, but I am not staying. I don't do parties."
She immediately rushed towards him, grasping his hands and tightly holding them with desperation. "No please, pleeeaaase stay until the end! Sonic has something planned for every hour that you're there. It won't be a waste of time, I promise!" She insisted, almost uncharacteristically begging him. "Please, Shadow?"
He was bewildered by her efforts, she usually didn't pester him about something this badly. "Rouge, why do you even care this much? It's just a party."
Rouge made a frustrated sigh once again. "No, you don't get it!" She exclaimed. "Shadow, these aren't the same kids we played hero with eight years ago. These are grown adults, now. They're on your level now. Mostly. Which means," She trailed off. "They can be your friends. Now is the perfect time to try and have more people on your side. I know you're fine with them just being your allies, but I'm not. And I know it's not what you want, but I don't care." Her eyes glossed over with an emotion he hadn't seen from her since he first saved her from the explosion on Prison Island. "I admit, I was just like you. I didn't think I'd ever see those kids as actual friends in my life, and I really didn't expect myself to end up dating one of them. I didn't realize I got closer to them until I legitimately started hanging out with Big Blue all on my own, without asking for anything in return. And I wasn't just guilt tripping you." She emphasized this strongly. "All you do is isolate yourself in this apartment or in your office at GUN HQ if you're not out on a big mission. You don't go outside for yourself unless it's to get simple groceries. You barely talk with me outside of work, and you don't let anyone in. All you do is work, work, work. Aren't you tired of that same routine? Don't you want to...You know, live?" She then looked down. "Well, I suppose I want you to, even if you don't. If you don't want to try anything new, I get it and I can't stop you, but at least try this one time for me. If it doesn't go well, I won't bother you about something like this ever again."
He didn't appreciate her pushing, as it was his choice to live his life how ever he desired. If he wanted to live an isolated, boring life that was void of friends, he should be able to do so. He was done living for others, it's why he made the choices that he made when he first landed on Mobius. "...I don't appreciate you forcing something like this onto me and guilting me into accepting this invitation. Yes, I will attempt to enjoy this 'party' of Sonic's, but I am not making any promises. This is my life, and I'm choosing to live it how I want. If you don't like it, that's your burden to bare, not mine." He realized he was speaking a little too roughly with her, when he didn't mean to. He looked away from her gaze. "Look, I thank you for your concern. You've always looked out for me and I'm grateful to you for that. But you can't spring stuff up on me like this, you didn't even warn me." He knew he was hurting her feelings a little, but she knew what she was getting into when she first walked in here. "Just, don't do this again. If tonight goes well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
Her eyes looked a little hopeful. "So you'll try for me?"
He took his arms from her hands and walked around the couch to sit down. "I'll meet you there later tonight, don't be late."
With a relieved sigh, she smiled, albeit weakly. "Good, that makes me happy."
"Mmhm." He replied dismissively. "Even asked, I'm shocked faker even agreed to doing this."
"Well maybe he likes you a lot more than you think. To be honest, he'd throw one for anybody. Even Eggman if he wasn't such an ass."
"Or he's doing it because you made a deal with him." He could tell that triggered her because she had quite the knee-jerk reaction. She had a vein throbbing on her head.
"So what if I did? It was just a small amount of information, it wasn't even like that!" She placed her hands on her hips. "I asked him for a favor because it was last minute. Me asking him on the spot wasn't fair on my end so I had to give him something. Do you have any idea how much money it costs to rent out a venue, especially the Arts Ballroom? Even with a deal, Sonic wouldn't have accepted it for a small gain like that. He did it mostly because he actually wanted to do it. He said so himself." She made a pitiful frown at him. "Sometimes I wish you would stop assuming everyone hates you. Not everyone is as selfish as you think, especially not someone like him."
He took that into account. Sonic indeed was not as selfish as he was selfless, that much was true. But he was still an arrogant brat at the end of the day, so who knows why he accepted the deal. Maybe that little bit of information Rouge gave him, whatever it was, meant a lot more to him than she realized and felt he had to pay her back ten fold. Neither of them truly knew how the hero thinks, so he'd take that with a grain of salt. "That remains to be seen." Was all he said.
She mentally gave up and growled at him. "Whatever. You promised me, so don't you dare flake out on me." She stomped her way out of the apartment and yelled one more thing before shutting the door. "You better be there!" And with that, he heard a slam and the door automatically lock.
He just shook his head. God she was annoying when she wanted him to do something. In the meantime however, he had something much more important to do. He looked over at the glass coffee table and took his smart phone. He left it there while he showered earlier. He unlocked the screen and looked over his messages. Yes, little did she know, he had a mission he was already undergoing at this very moment. And he'd be starting it in just a few minutes from now. He stood up and slowly pulled off his towel, he needed to get dressed.
He had someone he needed to talk to.
Afternoon, 3:30 PM
There hasn't been many times where he had to visit GUN's secret solitary prison. It was an underground prison restricted from public access, and even hidden from GUN soldiers themselves. Only higher ups knew about this place, and Shadow had only visited it a few times for varying reasons. Eggman himself was once here, but of course found a way to escape. GUN's security had improved ten fold since then, which was more than enough to house anyone who wasn't a genius with a three hundred IQ. He walked down the corridor along with two guards, his eyes keeping aware of his surroundings. The walls were thick metallic looking bricks, the lighting was dark and dim within every cell. Every cell was sheltered with a tall iron door, with only a tiny window up top to check in on prisoners. This prison wasn't used to hold criminals indefinitely, it was almost like a holding cell they had in police stations, except these were more suited for highly dangerous criminals who aren't safe enough to sit in a regular holding cell. After guys in here were properly identified, interrogated and charged, they would be transferred to the real deal.
As mentioned before, Shadow was already given a mission the moment he was promoted. After the press conference earlier this morning, Tower assigned him to a task he had never done before, but due to his promotion, was now suited to do the job. At least, according to him. Shadow was to personally meet with the leader of this strange ragtag group of mercenaries, and question him about his intentions. He wanted Shadow to get a motive, but not just because they wanted a reason. The GUN organization was a militant group for sure, but they were also spies. Half of their job required espionage as well, so their radar for danger was a lot higher than your average military man. Tower knew for a fact that this bombing was too easy. Something didn't sit right with him and in his defense, it didn't sit right with Shadow or Rouge either. Something felt off, or not quite finished. These people weren't done, they were planning something else and he knew it. This was why he needed Shadow to talk with him, to see if he can extract the truth straight from the horse's-err-jackal's mouth.
Soon, they stopped at cell thirteen. The guards nodded and left Shadow on his own. The door automatically unlocked, hearing the electric charged mechanics turn and move from within as it slowly opened. He saw the jackal sitting on the the cot, his eyes determined. He had to be careful, as something didn't sit right with this criminal. He walked inside, hearing the door quickly shut back from behind him and lock again. He looked around the claustrophobic room, as there was barely any space for the cot and the toilet next to it. Looks like he wouldn't be sitting down. He stood against the wall and leaned against it with his arms crossed. He watched as the prisoner, his ankles and wrists handcuffed, looked up at his visitor. Interesting, his eye colors were completely heterochromic. One was blue, one was yellow. He had a long white scar across the right side of his face. He was a black and white jackal, similar looking to Husky-canine Mobians. The majority of his body was black fur with some exceptions. He had white hair that resembled dreadlocks, a white muzzle with cheek tufts and according to Rouge, had a white fur design on his back that resembled a ribcage. He had large ears, the inside of them also being white. He had an outfit, but that was discarded when he was arrested. Now he just wore the classic orange jumpsuit and shoes.
He looked tired, exhausted even. Probably due to all the interrogations. These weren't police detectives after all, these were military sergeants who wanted answers. They were undoubtedly very rough with him. "You look well, considering the circumstances." Shadow decided to destroy the silence himself. "You should be thankful they didn't physically harm you. GUN soldiers aren't like the police. Without the lawful eye, they like to hurt prisoners who don't open their mouths." Still no answer or reaction. The jackal just gave Shadow an unreadable expression before looking back down at the floor. He seemed conflicted by something. "I'm sure you're tired of seeing feds all day, but I'm not here to give you a hard time. I'm only here to find out your side of the story. Make no mistake, I'm not your lawyer, that's not my job. My superiors just want to know why you did what you did, that's all." He wanted to make sure he understood that this wasn't a threatening meeting in any way shape or form. "I don't want anything else from you, just an explanation. Nothing more, nothing less."
"..."
...Hm. Still nothing. Couldn't blame him, though.
"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog. I'm the one who took both you and your squad down a week ago. I thought I'd introduce myself properly this time since the last time we met was under more dire circumstances." Maybe if he kept on talking, he'd feel a little more comfortable. "I'll be handling your case from now on until the President of the United Federation and it's Supreme Court decide what to do with you. I won't lie, it'll be brutal. Either life in New Prison Island, or the death penalty." He looked out the tiny window of his room on the door, as he didn't have any outside light. "Prison Island was blown up years ago by Dr. Eggman." And technically yours truly. "After they rebuilt it, the worst of the very worst were incarcerated there. Even the doctor himself stayed a few nights there. It's not a fun place, especially not one to live in forever." Shadow wasn't sure if the jackal was even paying attention to him anymore, but he had a small feeling he was. "I understand why you won't talk, I don't blame you. There's little to no point in doing so. You'll either die slowly in a hellscape prison, or immediately by the hands of an executioner."
Nothing.
Shadow readjusted his position on the wall as time passed. "...I will not record you, and I will not write anything down. I just want to talk with you one on one, without anyone's else's influence." Some of that was a lie, but that was unimportant at the moment. As he received the same empty answer, he thought about Rouge and how she made a deal with Sonic earlier. A deal—perhaps bargaining would be the key to getting him to talk? "If there's something you want in return for speaking with me, that can be arranged, depending on what it is. Since you've only been here for a week, I understand that now isn't the best time for negotiations. So for now, I'll leave you be." He got off the wall and placed his arms behind his back. "I promise I'll be back next week, and maybe we can talk about what you want for information then. I implore you to consider the offer." As he held up his wrist to the door, a click was heard from one of his limiter rings. It soon opened up and allowed the hedgehog his exit. "Farewell."
As the iron door closed shut from behind, Shadow felt somewhat satisfied with that. He didn't get anything out of him, but it was the first day, and what he said was enough to stick in the jackal's mind.
He was sure he'd be ready to talk on Monday.
Evening, 8:15 PM
Though he planned to be early, Rouge advised him not to, as Sonic liked to be fashionably late to things. He had already been at the venue for an hour now, but didn't want to start the events too early to make sure everyone arrived. He would start a little later than sooner to be considerate for everyone else. He had to admit, the Arts Ballroom was gorgeous, inside and out. Black and white, gold vein marble decorated every wall, floor and ceiling. Strong large pillars held it up, and it's sparkling architecture could blind someone during the day time. One would usually host a wedding or prestigious college graduation here, not a simple party. Plus, this was Empire City. Living here was a challenge in itself in terms of finances and bills. Just like with the envelope, Sonic went all out. Rouge wasn't kidding when she said this was all extremely expensive, especially last minute. Shadow couldn't deny that he was somewhat flattered that he was willing to spend the cash for all this just for him, but then again, he and Rouge had a deal. He didn't do this out of the kindness of his heart like she said. Maybe some tiny part of him did, but that wasn't good enough. After all, they were bitter rivals, they never liked each other.
As he walked inside, he saw security get ready to pat him down, until they saw that it was the guest of honor. Wait, were those GUN soldiers? Were they in on this, too? They immediately stepped aside to let him in without a word. He stared for a moment before walking inside, albeit with a suspicious expression. Chaos, did GUN personally authorize this event? That would explain how the hedgehog was able to afford all this. Then again, Rouge made it sound like Sonic personally paid out of pocket for this. It's not too surprising, after all. Sonic collects rings literally every time he leaves the house and God knows where he keeps them all. Maybe he really did pay for all this himself. The atmosphere was inviting sure, but not for Shadow. It was loud, bright chandelier lights everywhere, people chattering and mingling. It wasn't like earlier this morning, as these weren't TV vultures, these were normal citizens. But it was still way out of his element.
And wait, there were GUN soldiers here too...Did Sonic invite his own colleagues here? Chaos, now this was even more embarrassing. He saw caterers bustling from group to group with refreshments and food, and he saw a few groups of people sitting with meals instead of standing and conversing. The food looked great, smelled good too. The drinks looked pricey, something you'd get at a luxury resort. The decorations were plentiful and abundant, and they were all in Shadow's colors: Red, white, gold and black. Large bunches of balloons, confetti, balloon arches, streamers, gift baskets...This was a lot. There was even a stage, and he saw a DJ set up there with ten foot tall speakers. The music he was hearing at the moment was rather calm, classical, and it wasn't too loud. This didn't really fit as the stereotypical party, did it? Shadow wasn't sure, he never went to one. Regardless, this wasn't Sonic's style, he could tell. He saw a few familiar faces other than his colleagues, such as the Chaotix and...Wait, was that the rabbit girl's mother? Why was she here? She didn't even know Shadow, did she? He saw Sonic's closest friends here, too. Amy, Knuckles, and Tails. They were all invited, they all came. All for him, but why? He finally saw Rouge taking a glass from a caterer.
He walked over to her, he felt and looked a little alarmed and even a little uncomfortable. "You." He addressed sharply.
She had on a fuchsia long sleeved halter dress with two split to reveal her legs. There was a small circle hole in the middle of the chest to reveal her cleavage. She wore black wedge heels with matching polish on her nails. Her make up was a little heavier than earlier and honestly, she looked great. But she always did. "Well hello to you too, Mr. Sunshine. I told you Big Blue didn't spare any expense."
"But, why? And why did he invite his friends? And why did they show up?"
She looked annoyed again. "I don't know honey, maybe because they actually like you? And unlike Sonic, I never approached them. He invited them himself."
But again, why? None of them ever liked him...Right? "But-"
"Alright everybody, let's get it starteeed!"
He recognized that annoying voice anywhere. Shadow, Rouge and the other partygoers looked up to see the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog walking across a ceiling beam with effortless balance. Woah, he certainly grew up. When was the last time he saw him outside of a dire situation? Anytime they met, it was strictly business and he never took his appearance into account. "Is that...Faker? If it wasn't for his fur color, I barely would have recognized him."
"I know, Big Blue really got that growth spurt. You should see his magazine covers."
Shadow had to rewind that in his mind. "Magazines?"
"You didn't know?" She reached into her cleavage and pulled out her smart phone. She unlocked it and swiped through a few pictures before showing Shadow the screen. "Apparently Sonic's not too big on public attention, but he's been dabbling into a few things. Ever since that whole werehog ordeal, countries from all over the world got their eyes on him. As he got older, he's been getting offers from a lot of companies, so he models for magazines from time to time. If the magazine does well, the money goes to trusted charities for the homeless, sick children, things like that. He's made appearances in video games, too." She leaned close to whisper. "I even heard a couple of movie directors begged him for a cameo, but he turned them down." As she was showing him the magazine covers Sonic was featured in, Shadow couldn't believe his eyes. Sonic looked so different than the last time they met. His quills were longer, his limbs were more in shape. He was a polar opposite to the scrawny teenager he knew before. He didn't even realize how long his eyelashes were. He had that androgynous face that model agents loved so much. He was a pretty good looking guy. He modeled sneakers and clothes, and he didn't even take the money for himself, he just gave it away. Wow, was all he could think. He made a nice niche for himself, not bad.
They looked back up at the beam when they saw a spotlight flick on and settle on the hero's figure. "I see everybody's arrived, and now we can finally get it poppin'." He sat down on the beam and playfully kicked his feet up. "We got a lot of GUN soldiers out tonight celebrating our guest of honor down there," The spotlight shifted from the hero, down to Shadow, making him flinch. Who the hell was controlling that thing? He awkwardly looked around him only to see everyone cheer and applaud for him. "Shadow the Hedgehog!" The applause only got louder, making his ears flatten. Damn it, not again. "I want you to make our special guest proud and show everybody how GUN really gets down!" The cheering got even louder, and he was shocked to see his own colleagues making most of the noise, even Rouge. He never saw them outside of work, so seeing them get amped up like this was strange to say the least. "Let's bump. It. UP!"
The lights went out, only for neon ones to replace the chandeliers. Shadow's instincts flared up as he watched the hero. He sensed chaos energy. Sonic's hands focused blue colored chaos energy, and something huge suddenly appeared in his hands. Was that a party ball, and did he teleport it in his palms with chaos control? Since when did he know how to do that? Sonic stood up on the beam and began to shake the ball like a bottle of champagne. The party ball burst open and even more confetti and little trinkets rained down upon everyone. Music began to blast the moment the ball broke, it's bass rumbling the floor. Everyone was loving it, jumping up and down with glee. With an almost gymnast flip off of the beam, and as he was in the air, he snapped his finger. Again with chaos energy, blue glowing bubbles appeared all throughout the venue. Each bubble held some kind of party favor such as candy, shot glasses and glow sticks. Once they popped, you got a free prize. Like a circus trapeze, the hero swung onto another metal beam before spindashing down onto the stage, where more neon lights engulfed the area. The lights suddenly turned red to commemorate Shadow, and the blue hedgehog got behind the DJ booth. He placed a high-tech pair of headphones against one of his ears and began to rub his fingers against the vinyl records.
Well then.
He sure knew how to boost enthusiasm, he'd give him that. Speaking of which, he could see Rouge dancing from the corner of his eye. Was it really that easy to just do that? Then, Shadow thought about something for a moment. He reached behind his head to his quills to pull out his own smart phone. He unlocked it and went to a search browser. When he typed in Sonic, a bunch of articles popped up. News websites talking about how he constantly gives to charity and keeps in contact with trusted politicians to pass helpful laws that makes the less fortunate lives easier. And more important, how he made a public announcement in City Hall some time ago, promising the citizens that he was "deeply sorry" for allowing Eggman's escape go on for so many years. He claimed his immaturity was holding him back from taking him down for good, But as an adult, he will no longer let Eggman go and will put him in prison, letting the legal system finally take it's course on Mobius' number one criminal.
Again, he was shocked. Where was he when all this happened? And since when was Sonic more in tune with chaos energy? Then again, he never actually paid attention to Sonic, or any of his friends. The only person he ever really noticed was Rouge, but like she said, they barely saw each other outside of work. Was he really that blind to them this entire time? Was he truly that preoccupied with GUN that he didn't even see the people around him change? If he had paid more attention, would he have known Tower would eventually reward him? Would he have predicted Sonic inviting him to party thrown in his honor? Perhaps he...Needed to do some self reflecting-
"A cup of freshly roasted coffee beans for you, our esteemed guest of honor?"
Okay, how the hell did this caterer know he liked eating coffee beans? Did Rouge do that? He blinked a few times before simply nodding. "S...Sure." He accepted the cup and chewed a few, and the moment he did his eyes dilated significantly. These tasted amazing! "These are exquisite, what kind are these? Are these-" He couldn't believe it. "Are these Mazuri grade?"
The female fennec Mobian laughed and nodded. "Mr. Sonic was right when he said you knew your beans! Yes sir, these are native, organically grown Mazuri coffee beans. These come from the coffee plants that grow near the Holy Tree in the village. Quite a rare find, but they are to die for. Please let me know if you'd like a freshly brewed cup later. Have a great evening!" With a delighted smile, she began to tend to other guests who were surprisingly taking cups of coffee beans as well. He figured other people hated the beans themselves. Then again, it didn't matter how you felt about coffee because beans from that village were like coffee flavored candy. Anyway, Sonic knew he liked coffee beans? Shadow never told him so Rouge might have, but still, the fact that he took that into consideration was quite thoughtful to say the least. And it even seemed like that caterer served him before anyone else, thanks to being the guest of honor.
Rouge suddenly came up to him and grasped his shoulder while holding a drink in her hand. "Big Blue sure knows how to party! You should have been to Amy's Sweet Sixteen, he ruined the place. It was amazing, but I see his stepped his game up with you!" She nodded over to one of the tables, one of which was personally reserved for Shadow and anyone he desired to sit with him. "Come on, let's eat and get some drinks in you, sweetheart. You're too sober." She grasped his hand and he felt himself just going along with it. No point in fighting anything now.
"You do know that alcohol and narcotics don't have the same affect on me as it does with normal Mobians, right?" He reminded her casually.
She shrugged. "Ahh so what? You still like tequila, right?".
"I suppose-Wait, how old is Sonic? Is he even allowed to supply alcohol?"
She snorted a laugh as they made their way through the crowd. "Honey, that boy is a man now. He's twenty three years old." Oh right, eight plus fifteen...Twenty three. "Even though Pinky and Fox Boy are here, they're under the drinking age and the fox is only sixteen. Sonic gave them strict instructions not to touch a drop of alcohol. He also said that if the party's getting too rowdy, that he'd personally tell them to go home. People can be scary when they're drunk." Knowing his friends, they probably wouldn't go against his orders. That would explain why the rabbit girl's mother was here, yet she wasn't. Too young and naive. Tails and Amy on the other hand were at least more aware and knew what not to do at a party with adults. At least he was being responsible to some degree. As they approached the table, they walked by some of the "colorful bunch" he glanced at earlier. They all smiled and waved excitedly, much to his surprise. They were happy to see him.
As Rouge and Shadow sat down, the bat downed her glass of liquor and called for a caterer to get over here with a tray of drinks. "The guest of honor needs some service over here~!" She announced proudly. A few caterers immediately rushed from the crowd to their table with drinks and freshly prepared food. He had to admit, his options looked appetizing. Shrimp cocktails and...Wait, was that slices of tiramisu? Chaos-Was that caviar?! The cheapest caviar someone could get was at least fifty bucks an ounce, so what the hell was this kind?
"Err," He was speechless once again. "Um, what kind of caviar is this?" Shadow asked the reindeer caterer.
"Hmm? Oh this is Undine Caviar, from the oceans of Holoska."
Even Rouge spat out her drink to that. "Undine...? H-Holoska?!" She gawked. "That's at least two hundred dollars an ounce!" She looked back at Shadow who was just staring into nothing while his mouth hung open. "Look, I know I told you Sonic and I made a deal but I had no idea he'd go this far. And I promise you it wasn't worth this kind of money." She made an astounded chuckle. "I don't care what you think of him. He has to like you to some degree to spend this much money on food alone. Actually," She looked around the entire building. "That boy had to spend at least fifty to a hundred thousand for the whole gig. And pro-bono too?" She placed a finger on her chin. "Damn, maybe I should ask him to do a birthday party for me..."
After the never ending apparent shock of just how much Sonic spent on this one party slightly subsided, Shadow had to admit that he didn't hate this. How could he? Everything looked nice, he ate great food and the drinks were divine. The decorations complimented him, the music was actually tolerable if not somewhat enjoyable, and the atmosphere was nothing but positivity directed towards him. How could he hate that? How could he dislike any of this? A part of him really wanted to because he didn't want to admit that he liked being at a party of all things, but he just couldn't. This was...Good. Great, even. Like Rouge said, Sonic was great at this. Maybe he should look into a career of it.
And if you speak of the devil, he shall come knocking. Because there the hero was, walking along the crowd and greeting the party goers. Wasn't he just playing music? It was still on, maybe he had it to play automatically? Shadow didn't know how any of that stuff worked. Once the blue speed demon stopped in front of the table, he placed his hands on his hips with a smirk and had only one thing to say to Shadow:
"Well, well, well...So you showed up after all, faker."
2 - END - 2
Chapter 3: Friends
Summary:
The climax of Shadow's first party.
Chapter Text
3 - Friends - 3
Evening, 9:45 PM
That nickname, one that was originally spoken from Sonic first when they met all those years ago. Shadow narrowed his eyes with a firm frown as he watched that smirk on the hero's peach muzzle turn into a leer real in seconds. Just what insult would he say next?
"..." Shadow said nothing. Rouge began to look rather uncomfortable from the rising tension between them, and began to sip her drink rather timidly.
"..." Silence from Sonic as well. "...Ha! I'm just kiddin'." A more light hearted smile replaced the sneer from before, and his demeanor became a lot less hostile. 'Guess he really was just joking. "How ya been, Shads? You look great, man! We barely talk, but I hope this isn't too much. I know you ain't really a party person so I wanted to break you in with a smaller gig of mine."
Chaos, this was a small party? What did a big party hosted by Sonic look like? Shadow cleared his throat with a much more calm and semi-polite manner. "I'm fine, I suppose. This was a lot to take in at first, and I see you spent-" Dear God, was that an ice sculpture behind them? Of him? Holy crap, it was. It was an ice sculpture of Shadow, planting his foot onto the head of an Eggman robot. Not gonna lie, that was kind of cool looking. Who the hell made a sculpture of him? And when? How much did that cost? Blinking slowly at this, he attempted to continue. "A lot...For...The party." He scratched behind his head, he kind of felt bad about this. He didn't deserve all of this stuff. "I suppose I should thank you. This is a lot and, well—I see how hard you worked to put this together at the last minute. I don't deserve all of this. A cupcake with a candle would have been fine."
Sonic wheezed out a hardy laugh. "Pffftt hahahahahaaa! A cupcake with a candle? Please, I haven't done that since Tails was like six years old! No no no, my friends deserve the best. I could have thrown a bigger party but yeah, it was last second and I didn't wanna scare you off." The blue hedgehog then pouted and crossed his arms. "Plus the mayor wouldn't let me host it in that fancy concert venue a few blocks from here. Said the last time I did that, I broke the sound barrier with my speakers. So freakin' lame..." After he sucked his teeth he shrugged. "But, it all came together like I planned. Not too shabby, could have used a bit more confetti." He then readjusted the position of his thighs uncomfortably. "Then again, maybe not. I have like, confetti under my tail...And maybe up my ass." Shadow choked on his caviar while Rouge snorted. Well he was definitely completely relaxed, as usual. "I've got a whole rainbow in my butt right now."
After giggling a little more, Rouge asked an obvious question. "Baby boy, are you drunk already?"
"Girl, of course not." Sonic said with a small laugh. "Maybe a teensy bit buzzed. Alcohol just doesn't kick in as hard as it does for you guys, I hate that. I gotta hammer in like, twenty beers just to get a little tipsy. Fifty to get somewhat drunk. I downed like three shots of whiskey back to back and I can barely feel anything. It burns like hell goin' down but it does nothing to me." Shadow took note of this, as this was interesting. Getting intoxicated was difficult for him as well, perhaps due to the chaos energy in their bodies. "Anyway, enough about me, congrats, bud!" He leaned over the table to nudge Shadow's shoulder. "Frankly, GUN should have given you that medal the moment you joined them but hey, what do I know? You take down bad guys faster than me sometimes and that's worth celebrating for a whole year. I've been waiting for an excuse to throw something for you for ages, Shadow."
He then felt Rouge kick him under the table with her stabbing high heel. In other words, "I told you so", in her own way. After giving her a small glare, he nodded to Sonic's words. "I appreciate it, I suppose. I won't forget this, Sonic."
Sonic placed his elbows on the table as he leaned closer to Shadow, his eyes shining with a sense of honor. "You know, we don't see eye to eye too often. But if it wasn't for you, a lot of people, including himself, wouldn't be alive right now. I'll never be able to properly repay you for that."
Oh.
Did he...really feel that way? He never thought he would. Okay, too much thinking right now. He should change the subject. "I see your chaos abilities have grown since we last met."
"Mmnn, yeah, kinda," Sonic made a rather disappointed pout. "They're pretty dope, but I still don't have good control like you do. To be honest, that was the best I ever did, and it was suuuuper hard. Had to gulp like three water bottles after that. The most I can do on the regular is make something pop for a few seconds, not super cool. But hey, I'm practicing." He started to whisper. "Hey. Don't tell anybody this, but you do realize I only started practicing to get better 'cause of you, right?"
He did? He inspired Sonic to get stronger? "...Really?" Shadow asked.
The hero nodded his head with a smile. "Yup, yup. You helped me take my job a lot more seriously. So, guess I gotta thank you for that. Anyway, GUN would be nowhere near a 'guardian of peace' they claim to be if it wasn't for them taking the stick outta their asses and trusting you. Now everyone in the world respects GUN, and feel safer all thanks to you." He felt Sonic place his hand on his shoulder again, but this time, he gripped it a little. His expression became serious, his smile dissolving a little. "You're doing good work and you need to keep going." He took his hand off of his shoulder and began to walk away. "Maria would be proud of you." Was all he said before leaving the table and diving back into the crowd.
Did he actually just...Say that to him?
As Sonic walked away to greet the guests again, he started to show a side that Shadow never thought he would see. He was making sure everyone was okay like a responsible party host, but he had personally never saw Sonic show genuine care for strangers before. "Hey you! How ya been? Yeah? You good? Yo, yo! You doin' good, too? You drunk already? Yeah? Good." But then, he stumbled upon one of their GUN colleagues. Rouge liked this one in particular, Topaz was her name if he remembered correctly. "Woah, woah, woah." He grabbed hold of her, as the woman was losing balance. "You are definitely not okay. You conscious? You feel sick?" The woman shook her head. "How many drinks did you have? Okay, did you eat something?" She shook her head again. "Oh no buddy, my friend, you can't just hammer away drinks and not eat. D'you need to puke?" He saw the woman nod. "Yeah? Want me to call you a cab? Alright, don't worry about it, I'll handle it, you just take it easy, take some food with you for the road and we'll get you home, okay?" He watched him let the woman take his shoulder and lean on him for support. "You gotta pace yourself! I understand trying to keep up with the youngins, but not at your own expense. You're alright, come on." The hero took the time to slowly help her walk out of the budling. "I'll help you outside, let's take it slow, one step at a time…"
...Tch.
Damn it, he couldn't deny it now. Rouge was right. Sonic was just that nice. But, no—They had a deal! As nice as he was acting, this was still for a selfish gain in some aspect that he just couldn't figure out at the moment. That had to be what it was, it had to. Otherwise, he would have been wrong about him all this time. And if he was, he-
-No. He should just enjoy the party. That's all, no big deal.
As time passed during the party, he watched Rouge go off and dance with the red echidna, Knuckles. It was actually both sweet and hilarious, because Knuckles apparently had no rhythm. She could do nothing but laugh at his efforts, before grabbing his arms and hands to show him how to move in certain ways that didn't make him look like he was having a seizure. Shadow was put off by the fact that the echidna was even here, because he knew that he liked to be alone as well. He isolated himself just like Shadow, up on an angelic island in the sky to guard the Master Emerald with his very life, twenty-four seven. He assumed Sonic broke through that wall however, and convinced him to come down to Mobius more often and live a little. Rouge probably helped with that too, but he could see how Sonic's friendship must have effected him. He too, grew with age like Sonic did. He was already a larger male than Sonic was thanks to his ridiculous physical strength, because he got just a little bit bigger and muscular. He was almost a little worried he would break Rouge's hands. But unbeknownst to everyone else, Shadow always respected Knuckles. All work no play, he liked that in a comrade. He knew how to control his power, and be gentle when need be. When Shadow looked over more to the left, he saw the pink hedgehog, Rose, or Amy Rose to be exact.
According to the bat, Sonic threw her a Sweet Sixteen birthday party some years ago and it was nearly just as grand as this one. She looked extravagant tonight. Her quills grew longer as she aged, and they were now down her back. She had a sparkly red braided headband, and a small amount of lip gloss. She wore a light pink sundress that fluttered with every move of her hips, her signature golden rings on her wrists without gloves, white stockings and black chunky Mary Jane heels. She moved rather well, getting others into high spirits and following her lead. She was beginning to create a conga line behind her, and considering some people in here were humans, it was kind of funny to watch taller beings put their hands on the shoulders of shorter Mobians to continue the line. He couldn't deny it was pleasing to watch, as he was glad there wasn't much of a rift between Overlanders and Mobians anymore. Right next to this, he saw what Shadow liked to call Sonic's own shadow and his favorite of the colorful bunch, Tails.
Truth be told, he didn't look like he was having much fun, but he was clearly attempting to. He was recording the conga line, nodding his head to the music while taking a sip of a cup of soda, the only liquid at the party he was allowed to drink besides juice and water. He looked slightly bored, maybe because parties weren't his thing either. He wouldn't be surprised if the fox was as introverted as Shadow was, since geniuses tended to stay to themselves to begin with. The fox definitely got a little taller, more yellowish orange strands of hair on his head and he appeared to have grown a rat-tail ponytail. He wore a beige vest with a white dress shirt underneath with the sleeves rolled up. He snapped his fingers on beat of the music, and as the beat dropped, everyone raised their hands up in the conga line to pose in front of his phone. After a flash, they all laughed and cheered for each other while Tails saved the photo on his device. Then, he looked at the phone screen to see the time, and noticed it was nearly 11 PM. He held up a hand and waved goodbye to Amy and the others who waved back with happy smiles, before picking up a gift basket and walking towards the exit of the building. He must have been informed by Sonic that since he was still a minor, he couldn't stay the entire time. Again, Shadow had to admit, quite responsible.
People like the rabbit girl's mother and other older adults were casually mingling and drinking together. He noticed the rabbit woman was taking back glasses of wine like water, which was both impressive and a little scary. Any other woman would be plastered by now but she looked almost completely sober. She looked like she was having a good time though, and that's all that mattered. She was talking with the crocodile of that group, the Chaotix, was it? Vector. Right beside him was the chameleon, Espio, if he remembered right. That bee boy wasn't here obviously because of his age. Perhaps this sounded silly, but Shadow never truly realized how one could have fun in their own way, even in a situation they didn't particularly like. Maybe he could learn from that. But frankly, he liked basking in this atmosphere. It was positive, free and quite welcoming. Watching everyone else have a good time was enough for him, and he liked enjoying the party this way.
Suddenly, the music gradually waned out, and the crowd settled down a little. Almost instinctively, the party guests all looked at the stage where the DJ was supposed to be mixing. A blue blur suddenly appeared on stage with a microphone, and the hero leaned against the setup while the spotlight shifted on him. "Bring it in, bring it in people." The crowd huddled closer towards the stage, and Shadow found himself standing up from his table and moving along with them. He was somewhere in the front, watching the blue hedgehog for what he would say next. "Alright, I think that's everyone. And I see the people sitting down are looking and listening. Cool." He twirled the microphone while clearing his throat. "Tonight, we gathered here together to celebrate someone's unbeatable endurance. You all already know who I'm talking about," He glanced upwards with squinting eyes. "Spotlight?" The light then shifted from Sonic to hone directly on Shadow, who's pupils instantly reacted the moment the bright light was put on him. Everyone immediately looked in his direction, warm smiles directed his way. "Shadow," Sonic began sincerely with an ardent smile. "Not gonna lie, when we first met, you scared the shit outta everybody." This caused a round of laughs to echo in the venue. "But then, when we all saw what you were really about, we realized we had you all wrong. Now, I'm only admitting it now 'cause I'm a little drunk—But!" He interrupted the audience from laughing at this. "A drunk mind speaks a sober heart, and I always respected Shadow, and always found him to be almost cooler than me." His voice shifted, he was completely serious. "You've been a worthy opponent, but an even better ally. You haven't even worked at GUN for a decade and you're already making crazy moves. This is only the tip of the iceberg for you, so don't stop now. There's so much more for you to do."
There was something growing in Shadow's chest, something warm. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. This overwhelming appreciation was a little too much for him, he wasn't used to it. Everyone around him just nodded in approval and clapped for him, cheering his name and patting him on the back. So many people, people who he's never even talked to or met were congratulating him, saying he deserved the award. Saying he's deserved it for some time. He just didn't understand. He didn't understand why they were showing so much kindness to a stranger, to a former villain like him. Sonic said it himself, he scared everyone when he first awakened from his cryostasis. But at the end of the day, maybe he was never truly a villain before. He was just someone who lost his way, along with a couple of tremendous mistakes. Yet he was being forgiven, not just by Sonic and his friends, but everyone in the country.
Again, this felt so undeserved. He didn't deserve their appreciation-
"Aaaaaand-!" His thought process was interrupted by Sonic's highly energetic voice. He suddenly jumped down from the stage right next to Shadow in the crowd and made a whistle. A few caterers began to cut through the horde of party goers, wheeling in a heavy looking metal cart. It was holding a small barrel, one that held alcohol. Oh God, wasn't this something they had at frat parties? Some kind of beer keg? That's what Rouge told him, at least. "Hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and bought you a little something as a gift for your accomplishment." Sonic stopped the cart with his foot and leaned down to grasp the plastic wire faucet and threw it up and down in his hand. "Rouge told me you were a fan of exotic liquor, so I got you a little something from a little place called Chun Nan." He handed Shadow the other end of the wire, where he was evidently supposed to place in his mouth. "This is called Shé Z. Did I pronounce that right...? Anyway, it's like Baijiu's big brother with a murder charge. Not even the hardest drinkers can take a shot of this. I didn't even want the caterers to serve it 'cause I knew it'd put everybody flat on their asses or worse, send 'em to the hospital. Soooo, no pressure or anything but," Sonic raised a brow. "You wanna take a sip?" His expression softened a little. "It's okay if you don't wanna, it's a huge ask. Honestly, everybody would be relieved if you told me to kick rocks with this shit." A few people chuckled at that while making a few sounds of approval. "I can offer you regular alcohol instead, it's no biggie."
Shadow could tell everyone was staring, watching with baited breath to see if he'd actually give this abomination a taste. Okay—This was from Chun Nan, which meant that it was undeniably strong to drink. Probably a high percentage proof of alcohol. Sonic was subtly challenging him, in front of everyone. Yet, Shadow could sense there was no actual malice. If he backed out, no one would berate him for it. He could see that everyone had the same intuition that parties weren't Shadow's scene to begin with, much less drinking like a college kid. Even Rouge was giving him a look as if saying, "You don't have to if you don't want to, it's okay." There would be no actual downside in denying his challenge.
And despite this, he felt inclined to give it a go.
"Hmph." With dauntless conviction, he placed the plastic wire in his mouth and gave Sonic a look, indicating to let the booze heave down his gullet.
"Ohohohooo! Didn't expect that answer! That's what I'm talkin' about." Sonic instigated as an impish rush of mischief shines in his eyes. "If you really wanna get hot, you gotta bring the fire, baby! Come on! Let's light this shit up!" With the most jock-like grin he'd ever seen, the hero twisted the nozzle to pump the liquid through.
It came through like a waterfall and almost instantly splashed against Shadow's tongue. Everyone began chanting and encouraging Shadow to keep going. "Go, go, go, go!" Even Sonic was egging him on, nearly beside himself with grand elation. This wasn't bad, Shadow thought. The only issue was the constant shooting of the liquid, so it barely gave a normal person time to breathe while drinking. However, Shadow wasn't normal. He didn't need oxygen the same way regular Mobians did, so he knew how to use proper breath control. Hmm, as he drank, he realized he was getting slightly buzzed. Wow, not bad. It's very rare that he ever felt buzzed, this alcohol must have been strong indeed. That's why he liked exotic drinks, as they had more punch than domestic stuff. Too strong for normals to handle, but just right for someone like him. If Sonic was a little drunk like he said earlier, he could have been taking sips of this behind closed doors.
As he observed earlier, the barrel was small. Smaller than a half barrel, so not even worth a hundred cans of beer. It wasn't at all fit to be in a party of over a hundred people, so it wasn't hard to finish off. It was only for Shadow, after all. So in a few more minutes, Shadow blinked when he realized no more alcohol was coming through. He must have finished it. Shadow pulled the wire from out of his mouth and like a mic drop, simply let it fall from his palm to the floor. Astonished, Sonic tapped the barrel with his foot, only to see it knock over easily without it's liquid weight and roll over on the floor like a tumbleweed. Everyone's eyes became as big as saucers. "Did he really finish the whole thing?" Someone whispered. "Didn't that stuff kill people who drunk over ten shots?" A female voice. "He really is the ultimate life form..." He felt a sweat drop form on his head from that one. Okay, now this was getting silly. They weren't actually impressed by that, right? It was half of a half barrel, that's for weaklings. Then again, this alcohol wasn't simple beer, it was strong enough to kill at least one person if they drank too much at once. It was only fit for shots and Shadow downed a small barrel of the stuff. Sure it warranted some praise, but not this much-
A few coughs suddenly came under Shadow's breath, causing the other guests to gasp. "Is he going to be okay?" He heard them whimper. They looked concerned, half expecting him to just faint in front of them.
That is, until he released a small burp.
"..."
...
...And like a firecracker that just hit a detonation, every single living being in the venue exploded with roars of hurrahs.
People immediately began to push through and praise him for such a stunt, and it was Sonic's friends who got to him first. Rouge gave him a hug and held up her phone to take a selfie with him. "Mr. Sunshine just broke a record! I can't wait to show Topaz, she's gonna be so mad knowing she missed this."
Knuckles rushed in and gave him a punch to the arm, which actually hurt a little, but it was all in good faith. The echidna was grinning from ear to ear. "Nice, I think even I would have struggled with that one!"
Amy placed her hands onto Shadow's and held them together. "That was really cool, but I still can't believe it. Is your throat burning?" When she saw Shadow shake his head without a word, she gawked. "N-No way...! That stuff's made from rice wine and the bitter petals of fermented Chun Nan equinox flowers. That's used in poisons and antidotes!"
The emerald guardian leaned over while nudging Shadow's arm with his elbow. "Hey, since I've got the chance to ask, what's your favorite drink? You like the foreign stuff, right?"
The pink hedgehog pouted and butted in. "Wait your turn! I wanted to ask him what his favorite flower was, first! If I know that, I can determine his astral sign."
Abruptly, Rouge slung her arm around Shadow's and pulled him away from them both. "Um, excuse you. He was my friend first, so I think I deserve more attention here."
"No way, bat girl!" Knuckles scowled. "I got questions to ask! Stuff that's actually important, might I add."
Amy whined as she leaned against the echidna to push him away. "Noooo, it's my turn to ask! I need to know for my readings!"
"Your readings?" Knuckles repeatedly incredulously. "To hell with that, I need a sparring partner. Sonic's like a wet noodle, I need somebody with spunk!"
Soon, other GUN colleagues and party goers attempted to try and get Shadow's attention. They were asking what his favorite drink is, what he liked to do for fun, and how and why his tolerance was high enough to be able to handle such a liquor. They also asked how long he's been working at GUN, how it feels to be a hero, whether or not he was faster than Sonic, and so many other questions that made his head spin. It was a lot of noise, a lot of nonsense spilling into his ear at once. And in spite of all that, Shadow didn't mind it one bit. He was so significantly flattered that he couldn't have possibly felt offended by anything they were asking. So many people asked if they could party with him again, and he obviously had to turn them down since he wasn't a party person. They didn't even mind the rejection, they were oddly very understanding. Even the rabbit girls' mother, soon learning that her name was Vanilla, walked on by beyond the chaos and told him something rather sweet. "I don't think we've ever properly met, but you are quite the pistol, young man." Young man? Did she not know he was more than likely older than her? The two members of the Chaotix came over and gave their compliments, commending Shadow for his unwavering strength in everything he did, including drinking.
Sonic clapped his hands a few times while knifing through the groups of people. "Alright, alright everyone, settle down. Give the man some space, yeah? You're gonna suffocate him." With a chuckle, he held up a crystal shot glass up in his hand into the air. "You ready everyone? Grab a shot, we're doing this together this time!" He watched everyone run to caterers and tables of beverages like cockroaches to rotting food. Once everyone settled with a drink of some kind, they all readied themselves for a toast. Rouge walked next to Shadow and handed him one, a shot of normal tequila this time. She gave him a knowing smile and turned her attention to Sonic. "Probably the only person in this world who can kick my ass in his sleep, and the ultimate lifeform: To Shadow!"
Everyone raised their drinks high. "To Shadow!"
Sonic and Rouge clinked their glasses with the striped hedgehog's and downed their drinks. But the hero stared at the bio-hedgehog and smirked. He barely murmured, but Shadow could still hear it. "I fibbed, I knew the whole time that you could down that barrel no problem. You're too cool not to."
He didn't want to, yet he couldn't help it this time.
Shadow smiled, and downed his shot as well.
This must have been what it felt like to live.
Late Evening, 11:45 PM
Like that, the party was over. The venue was closing, and Sonic was instructing everyone to gather their stuff and go home. He was organizing guards to call cabs for people to get home safely. Rouge said he specifically instructed all party goers not to drive here with their own vehicle if they planned on drinking, and to only travel via cab or public transportation. He didn't want any drunk drivers coming out of his event. A lot of people were completely wasted, and he and some of the caterers were helping people to their cars. Even his friends looked a little tipsy. Rouge was out of her mind, and Knuckles was a little high as well. Amy decided to take it upon herself to escort them both home, knowing they both could just crash at Rouge's place tonight. Sonic made sure that she'd be okay going home by herself, to which she simply replied that he knew she could take care of herself easily. Vanilla was oddly still pretty sober despite being seen with a new glass of alcohol every fifteen minutes of the night, and offered to assist the Chaotix home since they were both barely standing.
One by one, everyone was leaving. Soon enough, the place was a ghost town. The only people left were caterers and guards gathering their equipment and leaving. Sonic was still around, as he planned on helping staff clean up the place since it was his mess to begin with. Before he headed back in to start cleaning, he glanced in Shadow's way. He made a big bright smile and held up a peace sign, before disappearing inside. He hated admitting this to himself, but he had no choice. Sonic made his night sensational, and actually made him like going to a party. That wasn't an easy feat. Before Shadow left the building earlier, Sonic even gave him a prized bottle of that Shé Z stuff. The bottle was gorgeous, dark red with glittery thick glass. It was heavy and as large as his entire arm. The cork was large and thick, like an ancient gourd. A royal blue ribbon was tied around the top into a bow with a small tag on it saying, "To Shadow, Love Sonic." No doubt this costed a small fortune, as this stuff was both dangerous and imported. But at this point, it wasn't a surprise anymore. Sonic was willing to go broke if it meant making others happy.
But that wasn't all he gave him, of course. He didn't just give him the bottle, he gave him a small white gift box that was wrapped just as nicely. It was no bigger than the palm of his hand. And what was inside, almost made Shadow drop the bottle.
It was a picture of Maria, smiling innocently.
It was hand drawn, but it was expertly done. One could easily see graphite and pencil strokes done with her hair and eyelashes. It was practically an exact copy of her, with precise realism. Traditional art in itself was a difficult talent, but this...This was outstanding. The colors were used perfectly with contrasts and gradients blending together flawlessly into one small masterpiece. A small picture frame was behind the drawing inside of the box, indicating that it would be Shadow's job to place it in the frame and place it somewhere in his home. The picture was laminated so it couldn't be ruined. Who drew this? And how did they know how Maria looked? Perhaps Sonic asked the ice sculptor to do it? Either way, this would be a treasure he'd keep forever. He never had any surviving photos of Maria before her death, and he tossed away the black and white photo he had on the Ark during the Black Arms incident. It was admittedly one of his biggest regrets. But now he didn't need one, because he had this.
Shadow placed it back in the box the way it was, careful not to damage it, and held it close to his chest with his hand. His arm shook, he hated this feeling. He hated feeling this conflicted. He hated not knowing whether or not he deserved this kind of treatment.
"Thank you, Sonic..."
3 - END - 3
Chapter 4: Talk
Summary:
The morning after the party, Shadow appears at Sonic's home to have a serious talk with him.
Chapter Text
4 - Talk - 4
July 12th - United Federation, South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
DAY 2: Saturday
Morning, 10:00 AM
A careful but firm knock banged against the cottage door. After doing so, Shadow took a step back to admire the architecture while he waited. It's outer walls like they were made of cobble stone. Dark blue roofs wrapping their edges around the house like a loving embrace. White windows, a white and dark blue door. There were wind chimes made of bamboo. He also saw beside the door was a keypad, which he wouldn't expect on a normal cottage, but this was a modernized cottage. That must have been how Sonic got in and out of the house without the pesky chore of remembering keys. He had a fast tracked mind, he didn't have time to worry about that versus simply memorizing a number code. There was a camera too, probably to ward off crazed fans who managed to find themselves here. That would be extremely difficult to say the least though, because Sonic lived in Green Hill Zone. This wasn't an easy place to traverse, after all. Like Angel Island, it was beautiful, but very dangerous and away from society.
The cottage also wasn't that small, either. It was moderately bigger than the stereotypical tiny ones you'd find out in the woods. One could tell that once upon a time, this home was quite small. Perhaps he got work done? Lord knows he could afford as many renovations as he liked. There was a lot of shrubbery and flowers around. Not the normal ones either, surrounded by pretty wild flowers one could only find after traveling for some time away from the city. He was positive the Rose girl would love this, or who knows, maybe she planted these for the hero herself. There was a mailbox but it was neglected, probably not used very often. Thank goodness for that, he'd probably get flooded with fan mail every two seconds of the day. It was quiet and serene here. All one could hear was the sounds of the ocean nearby, with occasional tweeting from flickies flying about. The palm trees were attempting to block out the strong sun rays beaming onto the house from here, but they couldn't shade away it's bright light. The grass was plush, thick but not overgrown. Soft enough to sit on, maybe even make a bed out of.
There was one tree that was different from the others, one that seemed like it didn't even belong in this biome. It was ridiculously tall as well, over thirty feet at least. It was branching over the house, almost as if protecting it. Which was ironic because if a lightning strike happened during a thunderstorm, that thing would instantly destroy the house. The main trunk was so thick, it was like a small arm of the earth itself. The leaves were a strange light pastel blue, and they didn't look normal. Not just because of the color, but because they almost seemed to be glowing. It was a mesmerizing marvel of nature to be sure, but something was off about it. Why was this here behind Sonic's house? And why was it so different from the rest of the flora in Green Hill? Hmm, maybe he could ask him later, but now he was curious as to what his backyard looked like. The home was shielded by so many other trees and hedges that he couldn't see passed the house at all.
Regardless of all that, this was obviously a nice home and that much was evident. Apartments were convenient and elegant, but nothing could beat a view like this. Maybe he should think about getting a more rural home someday. He wouldn't mind being close to nature like this, it's a shame his mindset is too used to the hustling and bustling of the metropolis lifestyle. It's funny, Sonic did everything so quickly. Yet this place did nothing but slow everything down to a calming, relaxing pace. If he just stood in place like this and closed his eyes, he could fall right asleep. Right here, in front of the door. This place had such a zen aura that anybody would be instantly at peace.
The front door creaked open to reveal a teenage, yellowish orange fox. He poked his head through the doorway and narrowed his eyes up at Shadow. "Oh, it's you..." He sounded a little irritated for some reason. The vulpine rolled his baby blue eyes and walked away, keeping the door unlocked and opened. He supposed he was allowed in, then. Shadow carefully walked up the stone steps, past the porch and walked inside, before shutting the door behind him. He looked around the home since he had never been here before, nor did he ever think he would need to be. So this must have been the foyer, and he saw a place where Sonic and Tails put their bags and coats whenever they went out. He went through the doorway, and found himself in what looked like to be the living room. He saw where Sonic hung his keys, there was a nice sized TV, cleaning supplies and-
-All dark blue furniture with wood accents.
Why was he surprised?
He shouldn't have been. However, he was amused at seeing graffiti on the wall above the couch. It wasn't that tacky vandalizing graffiti either, this was actually good street art. Not bad, and good composition of how he did the interior design. Wait—Since when was Sonic of all people good at interior design? And did he do this graffiti? It was in light blues and greens, which matched the hero's physical color pallet. So there was that, and he couldn't imagine anyone else making this. It seemed like Sonic's style, after all. He looked over at the accent table beside the right side of the couch, and saw a picture of Sonic and Tails. Except, they were much younger. Small children, to be exact. Sonic looked maybe eleven or twelve, while Tails looked only four to five years old. They were adorable, honestly. Their innocence in the photo, it reminded him of Maria. Sonic was her age at the time this was taken. But enough on that...
Shadow exited the room to reach the hallway, seeing the stairs in one direction, a door to the backyard in front of him, and a couple rooms in another small path. That's when he smelled a delectable aroma, the smell of both sweetness and tanginess. Breakfast, he assumed. It was still morning, after all. If he had to take a guess, this was the kitchen. He leaned his head through the archway before entering, and he saw exactly who he was looking for. He saw Tails sitting at the island counter with a phone in his hand, scrolling up and down on the screen. He had a dark navy hoodie on, thankfully without the hood covering his head or face indoors. It looked a little worn out, and a slight size too big for him. It was more than likely a hand-me-down from Sonic. There was a plate right beside his elbow where he was leaning on the island's surface, and it barely had a crumb on it. The fox was nibbling on a piece of bacon when he spoke up. "Shadow's here by the way." He mumbled. Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?
"Oh really?" Sonic, who was shuffling around in front of the stove turned his head a little and made a small wave. "Hey Shads!" He turned back to the stove and reached behind himself to tighten what looked to be a white apron. "Tails," He said his name slowly with a less enthusiastic tone. "Your manners, bud. It's kinda crampin' my style. Say hi."
Tails didn't even look up from his phone. "Hi." And that's it.
With an exasperated sigh, Sonic paused before giving the vulpine a look. A very annoyed look, actually. "Tails, buddy." He placed down a spoon and a bowl. "The attitude's gotta chill. If you don't wanna be here, you can easily go to your own house." His voice was a little cold, but attempting not to be rougher than it already was. "I already gave you two strikes earlier today with that mouth of yours about breakfast. You're on your third, so I'll tell you one more time: Chill."
Both angry and embarrassed that Sonic said all that in front of company, the fox just sucked his teeth and hopped down from off the stool. "I'm going to my room."
"You do that and cool off." Sonic countered before picking up the bowl and spoon again. Shadow watched the fox stomp his way passed him and out of the kitchen. He heard those same stomps all down the hall, up the stairs, the upper floor, and soon—A slam.
Ouch.
Sonic just shook his head without saying a word, his ears flattened from the door slamming. "...Sorry about that." He grumbled. What happened between those two?
Not that it was any of his business, but he felt like he had to ask. "Is everything okay? Should I come at a later time?"
The hero shook his head as he carefully poured the bowl's contents in a big flat pan, his ears perking back up. "Don't worry about it, he's a teenager. Sixteen. I was a pain in the ass at that age, too." As he cooked, his voice sounded a little disappointed. "He's been acting like this for about three years, ever since Eggman disappeared. Maybe it's hormones or something, but it's stressin' me the hell out." This must have been what it was like to be a parent, or at least a legal guardian. Sonic picked up a spatula and carefully made sure the pancakes were shaped perfectly circular. As they hissed on the utensil to cook, Sonic leaned over the sink while holding his forearms to his abdomen. His head was low, he seemed downcast. Shadow doubted he would talk about it, it was rare to see Sonic like that. And again, it wasn't his business, but he couldn't help but be slightly concerned. He didn't know why, though. A small smile graced his muzzle as Sonic lifted his head and turned his back to the sink. "Sorry 'bout that, did you want some? I don't mind takin' an order or two."
Now he was offering him more food? Geez, did he wanna give him his house, too? His hospitality was starting to become sickening. Obviously Shadow didn't hate it, though. "...Since you're offering, if you don't mind," He slowly trailed off. Let's see how generous he really was with that offer. "Scrambled eggs with cheese and one pinch of pepper, pancakes topped with fresh butter and without syrup, black coffee with fresh ground beans, two strips of pork bacon and absolutely no condiments."
For a few seconds they both paused at the...Unexpectedly lengthy order of food.
"Not gonna lie, didn't expect a mouthful," Then, Sonic wound up his arm for a big thumbs up and his signature toothy smile. "But no problem, comin' riiiiight up!"
B-But he was joking.
He wasn't actually going to cook him a meal, was he? "Wait, what? No, I didn't think you were actually going to-"
"Noooope, your wish is my command." Sonic stubbornly and playfully replied as he traveled to the fridge to get some more eggs. "Why don't you take a load off and sit while you wait? I can get your coffee ready first."
Okay, well now he felt bad. Well not really, but, he didn't think he would actually start cooking for him. He'd probably have to pay him back for this sometime in the future, and he lowkey hated that. He definitely didn't want to feel like he owed the hero anything, especially after being thrown a huge extravagant party. Shadow walked around the island opposite to where Tails sat, and planted himself down on one of the stools. Not bad, soft seat, even had a small back to it so you couldn't fall backwards. He folded his hands up on the counter's surface and stared at the marble material. "My apologies for not calling first, Rouge says that it's rude to show up to a home unannounced without letting someone know. But," He felt a little awkward now. "I don't have your number and I struggle with using a smart phone as it is." God, he felt dumb. Who didn't know how to use a phone? Why did he even tell him that?
Sonic chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I'm not too fond of phones or technology myself." Shadow was glad he could agree, but the difference was that Sonic was not only young but had a literal genius prodigy living with him. He could figure out a computer after a while. For Shadow, it was very strenuous on his brain and he was too old for these new devices. He was lucky GUN was somewhat keeping him abreast with these new confounded toys they were giving him for missions. Sonic glanced over at the GUN agent for a quick second before looking back at what he was doing. "If you wanted my number, ya coulda asked anytime. I don't give my number out often, but you're a part of the Sonic Team! I don't mind. But what's up? Need a little help from yours truly on a special top secret mission or something?" His voice was turning smug. "Mr. Special Agent Shadow?" He teased.
Part of Sonic Team, huh? How quaint. Shadow half rolled his eyes at his little playground taunt. "Well I had no idea you even knew how to work a stove, hedgehog." He heard the hero make a mockingly offended gasp.
"I'll have you know that I've worked very hard to get this far! Hmph!" He made a light hearted pout as he effortlessly flipped a pancake without even having to look, showing off his skills. He twirled the spatula in his hand before breaking a smile. "Heheh, yeah you're right, I used to be super bad at this. Blew up my first oven when I was thirteen. But that was only after I got the house. In the past, we were on our own in Green Hill, stabbing fish in the water with sticks. Sleeping under palm trees during rainy nights, bathing in waterfalls." He took a few pieces of raw bacon and placed them in the pan, an instant strong sizzle was heard afterwards. "Then the government recognized me, decided to help little ol' preteen Sonic out. They gave me something where I was comfortable, and this cottage was already abandoned so they let me have it. It was way smaller, run down and smelly. But it was all I had. Then I realized how money actually worked and used some of it." While the bacon cooked, he heard a beep and his ear flicked in it's direction. He walked over to the coffee pot near the microwave and reached upwards for the cabinets above for a mug. After grabbing one, he placed it down on the counter and raised the coffee pot to pour. "I got it fixed up and eventually completely renovated it when I turned seventeen. Been chillin' ever since."
Like a busy waitress, he stepped away from his work station and leaned over Shadow to place down his coffee. When he did, Shadow smelled the powerful aroma of pure black coffee and it's melted essence of beans, but he also smelled...Sonic. He figured a jock like him would smell like sweat and toxic tween deodorant, but no. He smelled like fresh pine trees and those very wild flowers from outside. Specifically, hyacinths and...rosemary? It didn't even smell like body wash, it smelled like he was itself the flower. How did he do that? Damn, he got distracted. He walked away already back to the stove. Pay attention Shadow, pay attention. He grasped the mug and held it up to sip the steaming bean juice. Ahh, not bad. Not as good as the brand he had at home, but good enough.
"After I almost burned the house down the moment I got it, I asked Amy and Cream's mom for help. They're damn good at teaching, and they gave me a couple books with recipes." He just barely scraped the bacon off of the nonstick pan onto a plate and switched burners on the stove. "I managed to figure everything else out, raising Tails on my own but with better living conditions. When he turned eleven and I was eighteen, he tells me he got his own place where he could make all the noise and scrap yard messes he wanted without being chastised. Little man moved out, but he still visits and stays over. It was like nothing changed. Well, until his balls dropped or something—'Cause that kid is goin' through some changes right now and it's buggin' the life outta me." He finally turned off the rest of the burners of the stove, as everything was just about ready. He just needed to make the finishing touches. "Damn, I didn't mean to ramble like that. Sorry!"
Shadow shook his head, that was enlightening information. He had no idea Sonic cared for Tails that long and to such a high degree. No wonder he was his 'favorite' of his friend group, he raised the boy since he was small all by himself. It was just them against the world, at one point in time. "It's fine."
"What'd ya need me for anyway? I'd figure you wouldn't be caught dead in my place."
"As the ultimate life form, I go wherever I please, first of all." Shadow countered with a raised brow. "Second of all," His tone softened. "I just wanted to ask some questions, nothing much."
"Oh. Really?"
"Yes." Shadow confirmed quietly.
"Welp," Sonic walked over to the counter with two large plates. He placed down Shadow's first and put his own on the other side. "Ask away. And I hope you enjoy, never cooked for you before." He said delightedly as he pulled off his apron, hanging it on the wall close to the archway. "Shit, did this get a stain? I'll clean it later..." He returned to the island and sat down in front of his meal, seeing Shadow had already began. He looked like he was enjoying it, too. Sonic smirked. "Oooohh, the ultimate life form likes my cooking, huh?"
Shadow froze in place as he realized he was scarfing down his third pancake. He didn't even realize he was hungry—Hold on, he was never hungry. He was just eating this out of obligation, why was he enjoying this? Shadow didn't need to eat to live, he could just live off of chaos energy, so it was rare when he ate at all. He usually did it if he was tired, or during a special occasion like last night. Like regular Mobians, he turned that food into access energy to store later. But he didn't eat for pure pleasure, never, so that's why he never felt hungry. Neither he or his body actually needed it. He never even meant for Sonic to actually cook for him, he was kidding. He was just going to eat this to amuse the hero, and to make more stored energy as a bonus. But enjoying food? It was uncommon that he ever did. He only liked eating coffee beans, everything else was mostly bland to him. But this...This wasn't half bad. It wasn't even that, it was good. Great, even. He said Amy and Ms. Vanilla taught him? Maybe he'd have to visit them in the future if they cooked like this. After swallowing down the piece he was currently devouring, he sheepishly glared at the blue hedgehog. "...Shut up."
"Heheheh! It's a compliment, honestly. Knuckles had the same reaction."
"Anyway," Shadow retorted. "The party, I thank you for organizing it and spending literally a fortune on it. I'm sure I'll have to repay you eventually for that-"
"-Absolutely the hell not, but go off king." Sonic interrupted casually.
"But," Hissing, the striped hedgehog began to grow a vein on his forehead from the back sass. "I wanted to know," He made a small exhale before proceeding. "...Did you pay your friends to be nice to me? To talk to me? To show up?"
A loud snort, and soon a full blown cackle of laughter bellowed from the blue hedgehog. "Umm, fuck no?" He swore humorously. "That's totes mean girl shit, man, this ain't high school. Hahahahaaa!" He stabbed his fork in his sunny side eggs. "As if I'd ever do something that slimy...Not from me, thank you very much." After chewing a little, he compounded his answer. "Yes, Rouge asked me to throw you a party for a little info in return. That's it, big whoop. I dunno if she spoke to any of them before the party, but I highly doubt she'd pull something like that either. She's too classy for that. That party could have gone either way: Boring and pissy or hellah fun, and thankfully it was the latter. I had nothing to do with how they treated you and to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised as well, especially with Knux." He shrugged. "I didn't know he secretly dug you like that. He was just waiting to ask you to be a sparring partner." He feigned a pained, sorrowful expression. "'Guess I'm just not good enough for him anymore..." He even made a fake sniffle.
Shadow paused eating his last piece of bacon.
They...all just...
...Did that on their own...?
Really?
Seriously...?
"But that's the thing, man," Sonic added as he stood up from his stool. He walked over to the fridge and opened it to grab something to drink. "A lot of people do like you and highly respect you. It wasn't because of me and I guarantee it wasn't because of Rouge, either." A gentle smile graced his muzzle. "That's just how they are. They're my friends and have been my friends for a long time for a reason, Shadow. They're genuine sweethearts to the point where it's freakin' sickening, haha. Even Knux's got a soft spot." He closed the fridge, now holding a bottle of apple juice. "If they like you, they like you. The only reason why they never tried to approach you all this time was because, well..." He tried to say this as delicately as possible. "One because everyone's lives were starting to take a turn so nobody really had time to hang out with each other anymore, but two," He looked at Shadow's eyes. "Because they were scared."
Oh, fear huh? Something he knew all too well. He should have known that was the reason. Shadow nodded. "Of me."
But then Sonic's obnoxious cackling seemed to debunk that entirely on it's own. After a while he just shook his head while sighing, walking back to his seat to continue eating. "Bro, I know you're edgy and what not-"
"Don't push it."
"-But I promise you you're not the devil. They've all faced way scarier than you, and you and I both know that. They weren't scared of you, they were scared of themselves." He said it like it was the most obvious thing to figure out. One plus one equals two. "They were scared they would offend you, or God forbid piss you off and ruin any chances at making friends with you. You're an extremely introverted person who doesn't like being around people as it is, and believe me. I get it, a lot of us do, more than you think. I freakin' hate people." Sonic just chuckled at Shadow's apparent shocked expression from saying this. "Just 'cause I act like a frat boy doesn't mean I am one, Shads. I like a good party, yeah, once in a while. I don't plan on hosting anymore parties for at least a few months. But that ain't the point," The hero took another sip of juice before continuing. "We always respected your solitude, so we kept our distance. They never knew how to approach you, or talk to you or do anything around you and they didn't want to make things awkward or worse. I do know Amy did try to hang out with you in the past, but she told me you ignored her or denied her, so she took it as a sign." He made a helpless shrug and he looked down at his half eaten plate. "Even Rouge has trouble keeping you around, and she knows you better than any of us. I was shocked she dragged you to the party to begin with. Seriously, and look at me when I say this 'cause I mean it."
He didn't expect that demand, causing Shadow to meet Sonic's gaze. He never realized how vibrant his lime green eyes were. "...?"
"I am so, so sorry if everything seemed fake. That probably made you feel really shitty, and I hate that because that means you were uncomfortable and didn't enjoy yourself. If that's how you felt," He bowed his head down for a moment. "I'm sorry, truly, but I promise you it wasn't that at all. We were so happy to finally get some words out of you and well, we ran with it. Shit," He made an excited grin. "I still can't get you drinking that whole barrel of Shé Z out of my head. That was so freakin' awesome! I knew you were gonna do it and I still can't believe it! Hahaha!"
He let this all soak in.
All of it.
And it caused him to really think for a moment.
Despite how he felt about him, despite any negative opinion he's ever had about Sonic, there was one thing he never questioned: His honesty. Shadow never questioned Sonic's verbal frankness. He has never once stood in front of his face, and lied to him. He had never, not once in any time they've known each other, ever lied to him. Not a white lie, not a big lie, never. Lying is different from keeping secrets in Shadow's eyes, so if Sonic hid anything from him, he didn't count that. But in terms of telling him the truth up front and center? Sonic never failed in that department, not yet. He was frank, he was honest and had a demeanor that screamed "I don't give a good damn what you think. Here's my opinion. If you don't like it, great. If you like it, awesome. Other than that, I don't care." Sonic just didn't give a damn about small details or sneaky little advances in genuine conversation with his friends. He was straight forward and, no offense, too simple-minded to care.
First, Tower surprises him with a medal that he claims should have been honored to Shadow years ago. Then Rouge, the woman's who been by his side the moment he exited that capsule, was the one who took it upon herself to ask Sonic to throw the party. She even forced Shadow to go because she just wanted him to experience some form of fun and entertainment, even if for one night. Sure it was without his permission and behind his back, but she did that because she knew he'd just deny her. He experienced one of the most fun nights of his life, and made friends. He made friends. Friends who he didn't even realize already liked him to begin with. He had so much beauty around him and he wasn't even appreciating it. With everything that's happened so far, Shadow could no longer deny the truth.
He...Actually...Liked...
...Sonic.
And he wanted him to—be his friend.
It sounded so silly, so stupid and so immature, but he did. And if Maria was here, she would have pushed him to be his friend from the very beginning. He lived to make her wish come true, protecting the planet and making people safe and happy. If being friends with the world's hero would do that, then...
Then...
Shadow found his voice and cleared his throat. "And what about you?" He pointed the question to Sonic.
Sonic blinked. "Who, me?" He pointed to himself in surprise. "Well, it's not obvious? I mean I respect the hell outta ya too, but I figured you didn't want to be around me too long. So I mingled a bit but kept my distance to be safe." He drunk the last of his juice and placed the bottle down. "Like I said, the last thing I wanted was for you to be uncomfortable. I know how annoying I can be, especially to you. You hate my guts. But I wanted to make sure that even if you hated me, that you would still have an okay time." He began to speak with a little self deserving pride. "I was asked to be the host of a party, and my job is to make sure that the party goers are one hundred percent satisfied. And of course, the guest of honor most of all. But Rouge told me you had a great time!" He smiled warmly. "So that made me happy."
The striped hedgehog shook his head. "...No," He refused that beginning opinion. "I...Never said I hated you." His words floated in the air, and for a while, Sonic was a little speechless. "I have never in my time of knowing you, ever said I hated you."
The blue blur had his mouth open, but didn't make any sounds. "..." He blinked a couple times before taking another second to respond. "...I guess you're right. But in all fairness," He looked him directly in the eyes as he said this. "You sure act like it. Anybody else seemed fair game but me? I dunno, just...Seemed like I was the odd one out. I mean, I'm a little shit so I'm sure that didn't help." He then made a small sigh and stood up to pick up his half empty plate. He'd eat the rest later. "But eh, whatever. I'm just glad you had fun, and I'm super happy for you. That's all I care about." He leaned over to grab Shadow's plate too, that was nearly licked clean. He walked over to the sink and placed one of the dirty dishes inside. However, he put his own plate in the fridge.
Shadow stared at his half empty coffee mug. Both of their backs were turned to each other. "...Look," He sighed. "I'm not—good at this kind of thing. But I don't hate you. Never had, and I probably never will." He lifted his head and turned to Sonic who was still busy doing the dishes. "I can't hate you, I couldn't if I tried. You're too good to hate." He saw Sonic's ear move a little. "You said if it wasn't for me, you and your friends would be dead. But in reality, I did nothing but hurt you and your friends on more than one occasion. I screwed up so many times, yet you all still allowed me to repent. But…if it wasn't for you…"
Peach furred arms lowered and carefully dropped anything they had in their hands.
"When everything seemed fine," Shadow gripped his finger into the mug. "I relapsed into my old ways and let Black Doom get in my head. I did so many awful things. I didn't…want to hurt anyone. Not anyone who didn't deserve it. I—I," He rarely stuttered before. "I didn't know what to do, who to turn to. The government at the time wanted me dead, and Black Doom was going to kill me if I didn't comply. And I...lashed out and hurt everyone around me. Then when I learned of what I was and how I came to be, I knew I should have never been created. Gerald should have never made me." He shut his eyes tightly, looking away in shame. "So I figured the best way to finish it all, to show proper penance for what I've done would be to…" He swallowed hard, as talking about his intentions that day were hard for him. "..." He didn't even have the courage to say it. He cursed himself for his weakness, one that was still with him after all this time.
The faucet of the sink turned on as Sonic continued washing the dishes. "You killed Black Doom and saved the world almost entirely by yourself." He suddenly said. "You didn't make any mistakes you couldn't redeem yourself from. The first time, you thought you were doing what you were supposed to do. Once you realized you were wrong, you fixed it." The blue hedgehog scrubbed down the pan he used to cook the pancakes earlier. "The second time, you were scared. Didn't know what to do or who to trust, so you attacked anything and anyone that came too close. Once you realized you weren't alone, you stopped." He poured some dish soap into the sink. "You're really hard on yourself, but I get why. You could have gone down that road, you really could have. And me and you wouldn't be talking right now, one of us would be dead trying to stop the other." His tone in that sentence shifted severely, because he was right. If Shadow never reformed, they would have eventually fought to the death until one of them wasn't standing anymore. And that could have happened twice. Or, they could have taken each other out. Mobius would lose it's hero, and a person with great potential would have been lost forever.
He was telling nothing but truth, but it didn't make it any easier to listen to. Shadow didn't like thinking about what might have happened, especially when it very well could.
"You had so many opportunities and more than enough power to just say 'screw it' and massacre everyone around you," Sonic grabbed the roll of paper towels and wiped his hands to dry them. "But you didn't. With that alone, don't you think you've redeemed yourself by now?" The black striped hedgehog lifted his head at this. "No one is born in this world to be alone, Shadow." The hero turned to glance over his shoulder. "Nobody." He then turned around to lean his body against the sink, looking out the window underneath the cabinets. "Besides, you couldn't have redeemed yourself if you died. Can't do anything if you're dead. Dying is easy, but living is hard."
Since when did he of all people get so wise? Shadow watched his demeanor carefully, and he could see that Sonic's careless personality wasn't quite as reckless as it seemed. It's not that he was careless per say, he just didn't like dwelling in negativity, and he didn't want anyone else to either. He did care about people's emotions and past trauma, but he wanted them to grow from them too. Not be defeated by them. If he could live free without anything from his past holding him back, why can't anyone else? Yes, Shadow could sense all of this from the hero, and he wasn't sure how or why. Maybe, chaotic aura? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure how he was able to do this since he couldn't do that before. Was this why he kept giving him chances? Could he sense Shadow could change?
Shadow pushed the mug to the side to give Sonic his full attention. "If I hadn't met your friends, if I hadn't met you, I think I would have made the worst mistake of my life. You could have let me suffer, let me rot. Let me take myself out. And you didn't. No matter how many times I argued with you, fought with you, hurt you or your friends, got in your way…You still gave your hand to me. And after all these years I still can't understand, why?" He insisted assertively. "Why did you keep giving me a chance, why did you keep helping me? Why do you keep being nice to me?"
"Heheh," Sonic started giggling, but he saw Shadow's furrowed brows. He held up a hand defensively, as he didn't mean to come off as dismissive. "Sorry, I just don't understand what you don't understand, and that's kinda funny to me." He walked over to the counter in front of Shadow and leaned against it with his elbows as he looked down at him. "Why not? Sure, the easy answer is that it's safer for everyone if you were an ally and not an enemy. But that's not why I did what I did. I kept trying because you were actively in pain every single time we met." This made Shadow blink. In pain? Him? "The Ark, Metal Sonic's shitty comeback, Black Doom…You were like, constantly in this state of confusion and mental agony. That ain't fun, and it ain't fun to watch or fight anyone like that. Fighting you was fun at first cause I thought you were just another bad guy." He closed his hands together and stared at them as he spoke. "But when I realized you were someone who was actively suffering, things weren't so fun anymore. Had to take it seriously. Had to see that you weren't a villain, that you were someone who needed help. So I did what I could, and I got lucky that you woke up and saw the world for what it was. Life freakin' sucks, dude." Sonic made a sympathetic smile. "But it can be forgiving sometimes, too. So," He trailed off nonchalantly. "Take that for what you will."
As he watched the hero reach his arms up high and stretch, he couldn't keep his eyes away from him because he was stunned by his words.
"I'll clean the kitchen later, I'm too lazy right now..." Sonic whined before glancing at Shadow as he made his way out of the kitchen. "Come to the living room already, the stools make my ass hurt."
And he just carried on as if they didn't just talk about something in extreme depth.
4 - END - 4
Chapter 5: Interrogation
Summary:
After speaking with Sonic, Shadow goes to visit the leader of the mercenary group that attacked Station Square.
Chapter Text
5 - Interrogation - 5
He followed Sonic into the hall with his mug of coffee, but before they went to the living room, Shadow noticed that there was graffiti art on the wall of the hallway opposite to the kitchen and supposed dining room. It looked just as good as the one he saw before, but this one had this serene Japanese theme to it. There were sakura petals surrounding the word, and the graffiti itself was some kind of kanji. Shadow wasn't well versed in this so he wasn't sure what it said, but it was beautiful. The blues and greens he used contrasted the pinks and light purples nicely. Well he'll be damned: That arrogant idiot really was an artist, and a good one at that. He heard his footsteps come from behind, probably wondering why he was taking so long. "Ooohh, you like it? I did that ages ago. I sprayed it with something to make sure it wouldn't fade or get scratched. Not bad, right?"
Shadow nodded in approval and crossed his arms. "I hate to admit it, but yes, this is good. Really good."
They finally both went into the living room and sat down. Sonic climbed onto the couch lazily while Shadow sat in one of the matching arm chairs in front of the couch. Shadow was going to speak, until he saw Sonic constantly moving to get in a comfortable position. He rose a brow with a frown, waiting for him to just pick a damn position and stick with it. After a while, he gave up with a pout and just resorted to staring up at the ceiling, lying completely on his back. "Nmm, I hate this damn thing. Getting a new one is so expensive, though." He literally hosted a party that was almost worthy of a triple A celebrity's birthday bash, how the hell is he complaining about spending money on anything? "Hmmn, or maybe it's the food I cooked...My stomach still isn't right after last night. I shouldn't have drunk any of that damn Chun Nan liquor. It didn't get me drunk like I wanted but it sure as hell gave me digestive issues."
That's funny, Shadow had no issues after chugging down a small barrel of the stuff. "You know," The biohog cut in matter-of-factly. "I'm shocked you're that competent at cooking. Rouge just orders overpriced take out or heats up ramen noodles."
Sonic snorted but tried not to laugh. "Damn, you ain't gotta out her like that, that's still your bestie."
The GUN agent made an exhausted sigh at this fact. Yes he valued the woman's friendship but she was very trying sometimes. "Perhaps, but she is an insufferable roommate."
"Oh come on. She can't be that bad." The hero smiled.
Then he gave the blue blur a look. A long, hard, serious look. Almost as if he was insulted that he could say such a lie. "Real Housewives of Empire City. Every. Single. Night. Do you have any idea—how braindead I am now because of the torture I went through?" He saw Sonic gawk with a hysterical grin. He started chuckling and giggling even louder, it was getting harder to hold it. "She doesn't even just watch the new episodes, she watches old seasons on repeat. I mean sometimes she gets Omega to watch it with her, but she always used to get me to watch them more and it was slowly rendering me braindead. And then-" The royal blue hedgehog started wheezing so hard under his breath that he had tears in the corners of his eyes. He didn't expect any of this hilarious information today, but he'd definitely never forget it. As Shadow drunk the rest of his coffee he took from the kitchen, he complained more adamantly. "-They're not even good, it's the same crap every episode. They don't even throw drinks at each other, so it's boring." He didn't even realize Sonic was coughing his lungs out from laughing, he was too busy venting. "And then she takes two whole hours doing this weird skin routine she does once a week, and she hogs the bathroom forever. I was made to be efficient, meaning I don't necessarily need to eat, sleep or even use the bathroom like the rest of you do, but sometimes I do." He stressed with a scowl. "I had to threaten to pee in her sink to make her finally leave. Not to mention she sheds like a feral alley cat-"
Sonic sat up on the couch, holding a hand up to silently ask Shadow to please stop. "S-Stop, I can't-" He fanned his eyes as he heaved in and out from the oxygen he lost from chortling. "Please stop. Oh my God, you are actually really funny. I always knew you had some sense of humor when we met but I didn't know you were this funny. Rouge would kill you if she knew you were telling me this."
"Kill me? I wasn't nearly as annoying as she was. Besides," Shadow leaned back in his seat confidently. "She'd have to catch me first, and you and I both know she couldn't even if she wanted to."
"Ha-!" Sonic slapped his hands to his mouth to force himself to stop laughing. Seeing the hero squeal for Shadow to stop was legitimately amusing, and the ultimate life form couldn't help but smile a little at this. "You are such a dick and I love it, but I think my stomach hurts worse, now." He choked out. He made a long sigh after catching his breath and slumped back onto the catch like a dead fish. "Anywho," He leaned his forearm onto the arm of the couch in Shadow's direction and laid his face against it so he was looking at him. "Whatcha up to with GUN?"
Shadow's smile faltered back into a grimace. "..." He almost forgot about that. Almost. "...I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to tell you, despite being who you are, as it's classified information. But you're resourceful, so I'm sure you'll find out eventually regardless. I suppose I see no harm in telling you." He then gave him a glare. "Do not tell anyone about this. Not your friends, not Tails, no one. Even Rouge doesn't know about this, so don't tell her either. Got it? And I swear to Chaos if you do-"
"I got it, I got it." Sonic flagged him off. "Pinky promise, not a soul."
"Hmph," The GUN agent closed his eyes and leaned over the coffee table to place his now finished mug down, his elbows on the surface and his hands closed under his chin. "That group of mercenaries we captured? I'm assigned to interview the leader of that group."
He watched the hero's face scrunch up in confusion. "Interview? But you're not a journalist or a detective. That's something Vex would do."
"Indeed, but it's not for what you think." Shadow continued. "I'm not interviewing him for a tabloid on GUN's behalf, I'm interviewing him because they need me to extract information from him. Interrogations haven't worked, not even with the threat of violence. Something is," His frown deepened. "Off—About this incident."
"What do you mean...?"
"Too many things didn't make sense throughout the entire ordeal. First off," Shadow held up a finger. "This plan was horribly messy. Too many witnesses saw the team setting up bombs in various places throughout Station Square before they could even finish. It's like they weren't even trying to hide themselves or set the bombs up discreetly. If a retired bomb expert just so happened to walk by, they could have instantly stopped the attack before GUN was even notified. Second," He held up another. "There were fifty nine bombs in total."
The hero sat up a little for that. "Fifty nine? That's a weird ass number."
"Exactly. Why not just make it an even sixty? One more bomb wouldn't have decreased the charges of terrorism by much." He held up a third finger. "Third, this is a group of mercenaries. They are not terrorists by trade and judging from the past crimes they've committed in the past, this isn't their MO at all. They do raids on strong militant groups and steal valuables or weapons. We could barely dig much up on them since they're a very underground group, but we do know that this was way out of left field." He held up a fourth finger. "Fourth, the bombs were too easy to diffuse. Rouge took a look at one of the bombs for a mere two minutes and figured it out. Once one is diffused, they're all duds. They all have to work at the same time or else they all fail to detonate."
Sonic was fully up on his seat, now. "What?" He asked with squinted eyes. "Why would you plan a big attack with a wiring system that fails the moment you diffuse only one?"
Shadow nodded. "Precisely. But I did notice something with that number of bombs," Held up a fifth finger. "The number of bombs is exactly the same as the number of members of the group, including the leader. And sixth," He added, using both hands now. "They were all painfully weak for a band of soldiers for hire. I've fought mercenaries before, but they were the weakest of them all. The ones I went up against in the past put up a way better fight than they did despite being normal Mobians. They moment I appeared, some of them even dropped their weapons and immediately held their hands up." A seventh finger was held up. "Rouge found out that this group is extremely exclusive and refuses outsiders. They're a tight-nit family of jackals who do not leave any of their fellow members behind. They see their leader as a big brother to them all, someone they look up to and strive to be. But when we rounded them up for arrests, many of them were not jackals, and they were arguing with each other and screaming at their leader angrily."
"Wait, like," Sonic tried to make sense of that. "They were mad at their leader 'cause the plan failed or something?"
"Not quite," Shadow shook his head. "When I fought him, he treated his men like fodder. He kept throwing them at me, pushing them to me so he could get away. He betrayed them." He opened his eyes at Sonic with a sarcastically disappointed look. "I mean, he was a weakling himself, so I see why he ran like a coward, but why throw your men away like that if you're supposed to be like family to them? As we dragged them in the trucks, they all said he was a traitor who left them all to die." Saying that aloud made Shadow tap his fingers against his muzzle. "Don't get me wrong, if a person sees a GUN soldier, that's bad. That means a very bad crime was just committed, and that criminal may be ordered to be killed for the safety of others. However, I was the only one there to stop them, and I don't use weapons anymore. I don't need them. I couldn't have shot any of them, and I wasn't killing anyone. They knew that because I left everyone unconscious, not dead. However, he genuinely seemed to think they were all going to die even after being captured."
The hero made an uncomfortable grimace. "GUN does kill people though."
"Yes, but only if we're ordered to, and only if a prisoner is set for execution for a specific heinous crime." Shadow quickly corrected. "What they attempted doesn't warrant that, except for the leader. Since he led the group and made the plan, he is indeed on death row. But not them, they were just lackeys who evidently didn't know everything that was going on. GUN doesn't want to target them. And," Shadow scratched the side of his face with puzzled, flattened ears. "I don't get it. Fighting him, the leader had so much bravado and confidence, then became a complete coward once his team fell to my knees. But the moment he got in prison," He shook his head. "He's...Silent. Calm, collected, even calculating. You could claim it's because he knows it's all over for him but, no—Something doesn't feel right. It's almost like-"
"-The plan was screwed from the start on purpose." Sonic finished for him.
"Yes," Shadow concurred instantly, also a little pleased that Sonic was understanding this easily. "If this was indeed all a set up, why? Why set up not only your own team, who you allegedly treat like family, but yourself too? Like I said, he's getting the brunt of the punishment, they're not. So why even go through all the trouble if you're going to be the only one that bites the bullet? And the bombs," He added curiously. "Each one on their own was powerful enough to decimate an entire building. That's a lot of destruction with fifty-nine of them, yet it was too easy to diffuse them. It seems as if they wanted the attention, just so they could be found and caught."
"So that's like, nine weird things that happened that day. Did I get that right?"
"Indeed. After we all made our reports and compared notes with each other, Tower knew something was very wrong. The leader, that weird jackal," Shadow crossed his arms again with a very dubious and almost worried expression. "He's up to something. This plan was just the beginning, but he's conspiring something else. Something worse."
Sonic looked to the side with a thoughtful yet ominously concerned glint in his eyes. "...Sounds like a big ol' distraction. Maybe he has something in place already and he's just waiting."
Shadow hated the sound of that, because he's right. This did seem like one big diversion, but from what? "That's why I need to question him and get as much out of him as possible, and as soon as possible. If they were able to get their hands on explosives like that, God knows what else they're capable of."
"Why'd they make you do it, though? Why not Rouge or another high ranking agent?"
The striped hedgehog looked away. "Tower said it's because we have something in common. Despite my change, I still have a very stained past that will never go away. He figured that I may be able to sympathize with him, and make it easier for him to talk with someone like me. Tower wants me to exploit that."
A repulsed, positively disgusted expression struck Sonic's face as he whipped his head in his direction. "That old, wrinkly, God damn fossil told you what?" He hissed with fanged teeth. That wasn't very common to see. "He compared that pathetic loser to you? That mother-"
Shadow held up a hand to cease him. "Please," He insisted. "He just wants results, he's not thinking of it that way. He's apologized to me in his own stubborn way about how he treated me in the past, I've no gripes with the man anymore." He made a small smirk. "I'm flattered, though."
Sonic just turned away with a furious scowl. "Old bastard...I know y'all do things a little underhanded and I respect it to a point, but Chaos...He's got no right to use you like that."
"Calm down, hedgehog. It's a mission, business. Nothing more, nothing less. Again, I am flattered." Shadow tilted his head and rose a brow. "Color me surprised, I had no idea you cared so much."
With a blush appearing on his muzzle, Sonic stubbornly crossed his arms and looked away while puffing his cheeks. "W-Whatever, it's not like I care that much. It's the principle, that's all."
Shadow made a small chuckle. "Sure, faker." He made a more relaxed posture and leaned back in the chair. "I visited the inmate before the party yesterday. I haven't spoken with him too much just yet, just a mere introduction. He didn't speak back of course, but he had this weird sense of apathy to him. I can't describe it. Anyway, I promised I'd be back next week. I also said that if the demand was reasonable, we could negotiate a deal." He figured the jackal probably had something in mind at this point. "He'll have plenty of time to think about it. But if I don't get info by the end of the month, they'll either send him to Prison Island or execute him on the spot. And honestly, I think they're leaning more to the latter than the prior. So if I don't do this, he's as good as dead."
Sonic didn't like that, either. "That's shitty. Like I said, I really don't like how you guys work sometimes, but I get it. At least, I do now. Younger me wouldn't have understood that at all." He kicked his feet up on the wooden coffee table and made a tired sigh. "Not gonna lie, that sounds like a headache for sure, and a helluva lot of pressure. But, it ain't nothin' you can't handle. Me? I don't have the patience. But you're smart, and you move fast." He smirked a little while rubbing his finger under his nose. "Not as fast as me of course, but you got this."
The GUN agent rolled his eyes with a slightly bigger smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess." He looked at his wrist, specifically his ring and tapped it a few times. "I hate these damn things," He mumbled, barely above a whisper. Red holographic text suddenly appeared from the ring, and his eyes moved from left to right to read. Notifications from Tower, apparently. "GUN might have fought this group before years ago, so I'll have to dig through some archives at the office-"
"Woah!" The hero exclaimed with awe as he was suddenly behind Shadow's chair, grabbing his limb to look at the holographic messages floating in the air. "Freakin' dope!" He suddenly pressed his face against Shadow's cheek as he moved in closer to get a better look, his hands grabbing all over his arm and wrist. "You got a little doohickie in your ring? But I thought your rings were limiters, how'd they even program that in there without blowing themselves up? That's some super cool secret agent stuff! Oooh, ooh, did they give it to you after you got your promotion? Can you take pictures with it? Holographic pictures? Oh! Oh! What's this do?"
Shadow was...Understandably uncomfortable.
Not because of Sonic's sudden up close and personal presence, however.
He was uncomfortable because for some reason, he didn't hate this.
Why didn't he hate this?
He normally hated whenever someone got too close to him, with exceptions of Rouge, but Sonic was the biggest offender of that rule most of all. He'd always push him away at best, or punch him away at worse.
So why-
"You can scroll through pictures!?"
-Was he-
"Wait, you can use it as a phone too?"
-Okay with this?
Shadow slowly looked down at his side, where he saw Sonic's thigh brushing up onto the arm of the chair. His thigh was right next to him. Wow, he—Never realized how well toned he was down there. He was a runner more than anything so maybe that was kind of obvious, he just never took the time to look. And...His eyes were looking upwards near his inner thighs, and in between his-
While Shadow was distracted, he didn't even realize Sonic was as well. Not just with his limiter ring, but his arm itself. It was so firm and strong with muscles. Looking at it was one thing, but touching it was another. No wonder Shadow was physically superior to him in terms of strength, he forgot how defined his body was. Then, his green eyes lingered from his arm, to his shoulder, to his collar bone...To his chest-
...
...Sonic quickly stepped away with a nervous laugh. "A-Ahaha, whoops! Sorry for practically jumpin' on ya, it's just super cool and I've never seen one before-"
"-No, no, it's...Fine." Shadow answered almost just as nervously.
That took the blue one a minute to process. "...Really? I thought you would've hit me by now."
"Yeah-No, I...I don't mind."
"O-Oh."
"...Yeah." Well now, this was awkward. "I, um-" He wasn't used to stuttering, the ultimate life form didn't stutter damn it. Get it together! "I uh, need to go. So-"
"-Of course, of course! You got um, lots of important stuff to do. The whole questioning thing, heh." Sonic looked anywhere else but at him. "Probably." He scratched behind his quills. "I'll um, see you later then, I guess. Or, whenever. You don't have to, obviously. Haha."
"No I—Wouldn't mind that either..." As Shadow spoke, his words got more and more quieter. The last few words Sonic could barely hear.
"Huh? What'd ya say?"
"I said," He hated repeating himself, especially when he was embarrassed. "I said I wouldn't mind that either. The party made it easier to talk to people more, so I guess I...I don't know, I'll see you soon. Maybe. I'll call first."
Blinking in shock, Sonic was taken aback. "Oh. Huh. Um," He tried to smile. "O-Okay? I mean, that's great! I'm always down to hang or, y'know. Whatever."
"Right. So I'll, be on my way. Um," He quickly stood up and walked away, not leaving Sonic any room to respond. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah!" The hero waved goodbye reluctantly. "See you."
"Oh," Shadow paused for a moment as he was shutting the door. "And Sonic?"
"Yeah?"
"...Thank you." He shut the door firmly. He could hear him go down the steps and speed off away from the house, and the area entirely.
With an exhausted sigh, Sonic reached his hands up to his head and pulled at some of his spines.
"What the hell just happened?"
July 14th - Empire City
DAY 4: Monday
Morning, 11:00 AM
Here we are again, GUN HQ and their secret underground prison. Shadow was immediately let in, as usual. They gave him no issues to speak with the prisoner in question, as they knew what he was here for. Apparently before he arrived, they made accommodations to his mission and put him in a slightly bigger cell. One with enough room for a desk and chair. This is where Shadow was currently sitting, watching his target who was sitting on another raggedy, stained metal cot. Handcuffed by his hands and feet once more, he looked just as blank and uninterested as he did before. He stared at the floor, not paying Shadow any mind like last time. Shadow folded his hands on the thin wooden desk and leaned forward. He didn't have time to waste, so he just got started. "So," He began. "Have you thought about my offer?"
Silence. "..."
This disappointed Shadow. He figured he'd want to talk by now. Maybe it's been too soon, after all it's only been a few days. Perhaps he should wait until next week. Or maybe not. After all, if this was going to be the pattern, why waste his time? Sonic was right, there isn't enough patience in the world for this. He looked to the side for a while before getting up from his seat. "Very well, perhaps we can talk again some other day. If not, well, you know what will happen to you." He walked away from both the prisoner and the desk and made his way to the door. "I hope you go out without any regrets at the very least-"
"...Wait."
Bingo.
The biohog fought so hard not to smirk. He didn't say anything, nor did he turn around. Why? Let him come to him.
The jackal's voice sounded strained, as if he needed water. It was deep and practically baritone. "You said you would...make a deal with me?"
"I did, depending on the absurdity of the request." Shadow replied smoothly before turning around a little. "I know criminals tend to make rather outlandish demands, but GUN isn't the police. There's a lot of things we can do that they can't. So," He walked back over to the desk with his hands behind his back, but he wouldn't sit. Not yet. He understood basic interrogation tactics well, and he wanted the jackal to understand that he was the one with the power and authority, not him. And this little bit of speaking wasn't going to fool Shadow into thinking he was in the clear. No, unless he spoke of his conditions, there would be no conversation. He wanted him to know that. "What'll it be?"
He saw the jackal swallow harshly and clearing his throat desperately. He reached his bound wrists upwards to his neck to grab at it. "...A case of premium grade bottled water."
...Oh.
He just wanted some bougie water?
Water? Really?
Shadow blinked. "That's it?"
The jackal nodded easily. "That's it."
Okay, what was the trick here? What could he do with water? He couldn't try to electrocute Shadow, there was nothing in here with an electrical charge nor could he sense anything with one. Well maybe the door when it opened and closed, but that was in between the hallway and the room. The jackal would have to shove Shadow through the door the moment it opened but it couldn't do that unless Shadow triggered it to do so. Even if the prison was out of power, the door wouldn't open, they would just be trapped inside. Maybe poison? Shadow didn't see anywhere he could hide anything poisonous, even if it was just a simple flower. He had a jumpsuit on but the guards watch the prisoners bathe every single day and they check their clothes before and after they do so. Let's see, did jackal Mobians have any venomous or toxic glands? No, they were canines and canine Mobians didn't have biological defense measures like that.
Hmph, perhaps he really just wanted water.
After some mental debriefing in his head, Shadow nodded. "...Very well, something easy like that should be delivered to you within an hour. I'll ask the guards to get you a case, but in the meantime, I'll get you a cup of water from the cafeteria-"
"No."
Shadow paused. "No?"
"Stuff's like poison...Damaging my throat. Bad filters in the piping system."
He didn't want to believe that, but he couldn't be surprised if it was true. GUN treated their private prisoners like dogs in here, no pun intended. They probably didn't restore their plumbing on purpose. He'd have to talk with Tower about that one, as that was beyond unfair. To hell with prisoners not deserving fair treatment, that wasn't Shadow's issue. This man could have died of thirst before he got in the building, and what was he to do then? Talk to a dead corpse? The mission would have failed before it was assigned. "Have they been feeding you?"
The jackal nodded. "Yes. It's bland at best and nearly inedible at worst, but I have eaten. I've only stopped drinking their water last night and today." Well that was good at least, so he wouldn't be dying anytime soon.
"I'll have a word with General Tower about the conditions of the prison after our talk, I assure you." Shadow sincerely promised as he sat down behind the desk. "I understand that's incredibly inhumane of him, ironically, and unfair to you. I'll have the guards get your bottled water to you as soon as possible, fair?" He asked as he held up his wrist to his lips. A hologram appeared above it, and a microphone symbol appeared. "Topaz, do me a favor and put in an order for," He looked up at the jackal. "The brand matter?" He saw him shake his head. "Put in an order for some premium brand case of bottled water. Doesn't matter which brand, any will do as long it's not cheap. And the big ones, not the little ones." He waited a moment for a response.
A female voice came through from his ring, and the hologram subtitled the audio of her voice for him. "Fancy bottled water? I swear these guys...Yeah, I'll get that up to you in thirty or less."
"Thank you." The hologram disappeared and he put his arm down. "Anything else?"
The offer of even more free stuff caused the jackal to look up. "I can ask for something else?"
Shadow shrugged carelessly, it was no skin off his nose if he wanted something else. "I never said you had to request only one thing." He looked at his uniform, and saw how dirty it was. Someone must not have been doing the laundry. "I can have someone get you a new uniform, or even make it so that you don't have to wear that anymore for the remainder of your stay." He then saw how despite bathing as the prison allowed, he was not at all well groomed and his fur and hair was all out of place. "I can have someone give you a hair cut, or," He reached from behind his quills and pulled out two things: A pack of smokes, and a chocolate bar. "I can give you these. Actually," He tossed them onto the desk, making the items slide towards the jackal. "Have them anyway. I know prisoners kill for stuff like this."
He could see the jackal was obviously surprised, he even scooted backwards onto the bed. "Why are...How did you...?"
"I know they don't allow televisions in here. Of course if you would like one, I can have that arranged as well. Point is, you probably haven't seen the news since your arrest." Shadow crossed his legs and leaned back with his arms under his chest. "I was given a very high promotion that is almost equivalent to General Tower's right hand. With that promotion comes power that is exclusive only to me and the General. I can ask for anything I want, even if it's for a prisoner on death row. I can't ask you to tell me your life story without an incentive, you owe nothing to me. Therefore," He held up his hand to show off his wrist, his limiter ring sparkling portentously in temptation. "If you want something, just ask. A bigger cell with luxury furnishing? It's yours. Caviar from the rivers of Holoska? No problem. All you have to do is ask."
The jackal looked a little intimidated and overwhelmed by such a ginormous promise of freedom. "This is-This isn't real." He furrowed his brows and gnashed his teeth at the GUN agent with a rougher and louder voice. "You're just lying to me to get me to talk, and I don't buy it." His glower and voice became progressively more aggressive with every word he spoke. "You don't even realize who you're insulting. You think you can waltz in here like some prince charming and sweep me off my feet with the promise of a bunch of nice shit like I'm some hopeless pauper? Fuck you." Ahh, there was that bravado from before. It seems he touched a nerve. The jackal stood up from the bed, careful of his shackled feet. "You're just a lying guard dog that works for a bunch of military brats who have never once set foot in a real battle." He shoved a thumb to his own chest. "I am Infinite the Jackal, I am the leader of the most feared mercenary group in the world, so don't you dare toy with me. I don't need you for anything!"
Shadow's ring beeped and a hologram with text appeared. "SEA Shadow, got the water a lot sooner than estimated. Turns out there's an agent here who's a fan of one of the brands and had a case in their office. It's coming to the cell right about now."
"Thank you, Topaz." Shadow replied smugly without leaving the jackal's gaze. "You know," The biohog's tone became more callous. "I already searched GUN's archives from top to bottom, and even had a few hackers look into stolen audio logs of Dr. Robotnik." He saw the jackal's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh yes, I know you've been working with the doctor, and I know your biography already." A great power of malice caused Shadow grin malevolently. "Do you really think I'm just some amateur who got put on this case on a whim? I was next to get this promotion for months, Tower was just dragging his feet to do it. But that's not even the point, because I don't need some fancy badge to get what I want." A dark, almost growling laughter filled the room as an amber red aura emanated from the hedgehog's body. "I'm not the most veteran GUN soldier, but you have no idea how long I've know them, and how much they owe me. Even then however," Shadow's pupils sharpened, his feral tendencies poking through. His fingers made a crushing position with his hand, as if it was squeezing out the heart of a miserable whelp who had the misfortune of challenging him. "I am the ultimate life form, I don't need to work for anyone to get what the hell I desire. If I order it, then it will be done." This aura spread throughout the room, and wafted against the jackal, who's eyes dilated further from the presence of genuine ill-will.
An almost fearful glare was apparent in the jackal's heterochromic eyes. The cot brushed up against the wall as the former mercenary nearly tripped over his own bound feet to step away from the GUN agent. He clenched his teeth in intimidation, sweat rolling down his muzzle. He had underestimated Shadow, a big mistake. That's the coward he recognized, making the biohog's smirk deepen.
"Now then," Shadow stood up and took a few steps from around the desk, causing the jackal to flinch. With every step, every click against the floor with his heels, the jackal recoiled. His slow approach even caused him to sit back down on the cot without even realizing it. "You say your name was Infinite, right? Not that I didn't already know that." He leaned down with his hands behind his back, his sneer growing larger as he watched him internally panic from the danger looming right over him. "What was that about me being a dog for GUN?"
"...I-"
"Quit your bitching." Shadow spat as his red eyes flashed a brief glint of desire for brutality. "You and I are gonna have a little talk, and I'm going to attempt to be kind to you again. Dismay my efforts one more time,"
"...!" His namesake hovered over the cornered prisoner.
"...And I'll be more than happy to execute you myself."
5 - END - 5
Chapter 6: Fallen Jackal
Summary:
Shadow interviews Infinite the fallen Jackal, and gets a bit of valuable information from Sonic.
Chapter Text
6 - Fallen Jackal - 6
Afternoon, 2:00 PM
The striped hedgehog watched in boredom as the shaken jackal downed about four bottles of water in less than ten minutes. That couldn't have been healthy to do in quick succession like that. The case of water was tucked away nearly next to the fixed metal cot. He was almost just as cowardly and frightened as he was when they first fought. As he began to place his hand on the top, he attempted to begin his fifth bottle. But then, a horrible sense of danger struck him. The jackal slowly looked up from the bottle and to the predator that was waiting silently behind the desk. He was tapping his fingers against his own arm, evidently annoyed and impatient. The prisoner flinched and dropped the bottle before walking back over to the cot to sit down. "...Sorry-" He bowed his head.
"Quit apologizing, that irritates me." The biohog simply commanded. "Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?"
It was evident the jackal hated being put in such a submissive position of questioning. "...Yes, anything you want. Err," He suddenly looked conflicted. "Almost...Anything..."
"Oh?" Shadow took that as a challenge, a spark of amber red chaos energy sparking from his folded hands. "Do I need to demonstrate my authority onto you again?"
"No," The jackal quickly replied. "I just...You don't understand-"
"Then make me understand." Shadow ordered loudly. "I've promised to give you whatever you desire in exchange, and I didn't rip your head off from your shoulders after your pathetic attempt at a comeback. What more do you want?" He asked rhetorically. "The only two things I can't do is let your go free or stop the president from having you executed. You're on borrowed time, or did you forget that? I figured making your last days pleasant would be good enough, but apparently not."
The prisoner clenched his teeth, seeming to be nervous about something. "...Listen-"
Shadow slammed his fists on the desk, causing the jackal to wince. "Tell me what I need to know already, or you're dead!" He shouted.
The prisoner dipped his head low, his hands cupping his knees. "Alright," He shuddered. "If you really have that much power, that much influence...Then," He tightened his grip. "I just want one thing. My crew, my...Family," So it was true, he did care about them like family. But if that was the case, why did he act the way he did that day? "I don't know what their sentences are, probably life. Promise me you'll make their lives easier in prison. Make sure they're comfortable, make sure they're given good food and real water. Let them sleep on real beds, and don't let them get killed in there." His eyes were glossy, and though his tone was quiet and guarded, Shadow could tell he was getting emotional. "They're everything to me. So please, protect them as much as you can. Please."
Guess he did have a heart in there somewhere. Shadow listened to his request, but he wasn't impressed. "You claim they mean that much to you, and yet, you threw them away like rag dolls the moment I came after you. You used them as human shields against me. If I was a GUN soldier with a firearm assigned to that mission that day, they'd be dead right now."
That's when the jackal scoffed. "That's because they're not mine."
Shadow paused at that. "...What?"
"More than half of the men in that fight weren't mine, they were some riff raff given to me to help secure the bombs. I don't care a fig for them." He held up a few fingers as he looked up at the ceiling, mentally counting aloud. "Ten, fifteen...Yes, only twenty of those men were mine. The rest are random chumps I conned into doing it."
So that meant thirty-nine of the fifty-nine were outsiders. That's more than half of the group. "I see," Shadow replied calmly. "So you needed more hands to help plant all of the bombs."
"Yes, that's all that was."
No, something about that didn't sound right. "Then why was there a bomb for each person on your team? There were fifty-nine bombs, and fifty-nine mercenaries in total including you. If your actual group made up only around thirty-four percent of the team, why did you use that specific amount of bombs? And matter of fact, why did you make it so easy to diffuse? Once one bomb was down, the rest became useless duds."
The worried expression the jackal on his face, was slowly melting away. "...Who ever said there were only fifty-nine of us? I think you miscounted." He retorted with a cocky but still slightly nervous smirk. "Counting me, there were sixty of us. But one didn't make it to the bombing site that day, as he had something else he needed to do for me." Sixty? Sixty? Then where the hell was the one who got away? "And as for the number of the bombs, I was told that sixty of them would be enough to level Empire City entirely. I had each of my men plant a bomb individually, one for each person. I did that so we could do it more discreetly and much faster, as moving as a group would be too suspicious and take too much time."
"But some of your men were caught planting bombs by witnesses anyway."
"Those were the riff raff, novices. Of course they were caught. They handled the wiring too, so I wasn't surprised it failed."
"You don't seem to care about the whole thing being a failure, and you didn't seem to care then either. What was your plan exactly?" Shadow finally asked. "That was all too easy to trounce, too easy to stop. You all might as well had never attempted it in the first place. You yourself just admitted that you knew the plan would fail anyway, so why? Why did you do it? And why did your men call you a traitor?"
He saw sorrow fall in his heterochromic eyes. "They have every right to call me as such, I did things that sold them out."
"Like?"
He hesitated in continuing, but eventually started speaking again. "...You said you researched me before coming here?" He saw Shadow nod.
"You've been a mercenary since you were young, born and raised within that same group of mercenaries you lead now. The Jackal Squad, as lazy as that is. You grew in the ranks and eventually became the leader yourself. Your group is excellent at keeping your identities a secret, as no one in the world knows who you are, only that you're a band of ruthless Mobian canines. No one," Shadow trailed off. "Except GUN. You attacked GUN once around ten years ago when you were young. The raid failed, but you did a nice amount of damage and even stained their reputation. People were scared you'd be able to reach the White House, and you very well could have. You attacked major military groups across the world to take out targets or steal valuables. Yet no one could catch you or at the very least learn who you were. Then, you made a big mistake." The biohog narrowed his eyes. "You attacked Dr. Robotnik a year ago. We found this out through some hacked audio logs he made that he lost during the raid."
He watched the jackal scowl, and his demeanor became exasperated. "I nearly slit his throat, but I didn't expect his stupid little mobile to eject him out of his seat at the last second. If it wasn't for that, I would have had him. Anyway, I can't say his name out loud, he had me captured and chipped, and took a lot of my jackals away to his secret base as insurance. If I say his name, he'll activate it and I don't know what it can do. Not even the doctors could find it when I was first put in here."
"You not only tried to kill him, but attempted to steal his tech and sell it on the black market. He captured many of your men and according to his logs," Shadow made an uncomfortable frown. "He's experimenting on them, attempting to roboticize them into his minions. He didn't destroy your entire team, but he severely damaged it."
"Now you understand," The prisoner said with a tired tone. "I was given an ultimatum. 'Attack Empire City with a bomb threat', that's it. He wanted it to fail on purpose, and he wanted us to get arrested so you guys would waste your time on us. He just wanted to distract the authorities, specifically GUN. He forced me not to tell my men, which is why they hate me right now."
"But why?" Shadow stressed. "It was a shitty plan that failed from the word 'go' so it barely took that much time. What kind of distraction is that?"
"According to the man himself, it was long enough. Besides, he was right. GUN is too preoccupied with getting information out of me instead of worrying about where he is. As for the bombs," The more the jackal spoke, the less sure he seemed. It appears that even he didn't know what Eggman's true intentions were that day. "He just needed the city rattled up for approximately twenty minutes or so, but I don't know why. I don't know what he's really doing, as I cut off communications with the fat bastard after I started the mission."
The biohog raised a brow. "Oh? You're saying you can still communicate with him?"
The mercenary nodded. "The chip in my neck, it unlocks a smart device he gave me when the plan began. If the plan was to fail and I was to get arrested, I didn't want GUN finding it and tracing it to find him. Otherwise, he'd see it as a betrayal and activate the chip. I can use that to communicate with him, but I locked it away in a hideout. I'm not sure if you guys found that yet, but it should still be hidden in there." He moved his neck around as a gesture. "My men, he told me he wouldn't hurt the rest of them if I did as he said. But," He gritted his teeth. "I don't even know if he's telling the truth. I have no idea what he's doing to them."
"You said there were sixty of you, where is the last one?"
"It wasn't too important, but I was instructed to have someone keep an eye on your hero. I sent him out to do so about two weeks ago. He wanted to pitch in for the bombing, but I told him to leave last minute, about a few hours before we went through with it. That fat man was really antsy about that blue hedgehog, and it caused me some concern as well. So, I told him that keeping his eye on Sonic was more important. It'd be bad if GUN got a hold of us, but both you and Sonic the Hedgehog? No thanks. But," The prisoner sighed with disappointment. "I'm guessing that hedgehog is a lot smarter than he looks, because before the plan even started, I couldn't get in contact with my spy anymore. My take's that he was found out, and your hero made him pay for it. I don't know where he is now."
He had someone spy on Sonic? He didn't even know that, and the hero played it so cool that nobody would know that someone recently tried attacking him. He had not one scratch on him, either. Either Sonic beat the crap out of him and had him arrested elsewhere, or the spy made a run for it before Sonic could really get his hands on him. He'd keep that in mind. Shadow held up his wrist and watched the hologram with GUN's logo appear. He used his finger to swipe through the holographic screens. He saw his contacts and poked his finger onto a name: Rouge. A holographic keyboard appeared before him and began to type a message, an email to be more specific. After it was sent, the holograms disappeared and he relaxed his arm. Perhaps she could find out whether or not a jackal of similar appearance to his new friend was recently arrested. "I'll find that out soon, as you've piqued my interest. I see despite that miserable attempt at terrorism, you truly did know what you were doing." Sonic was right, this was all just one big distraction. "Only problem is, neither of us know what the doctor is planning. I can tell you're not lying about that, as you seem more threatened by the doctor than me."
"Trust me, I'm not scared of that obese quack." The jackal scoffed. "He's strong through robots, but that's not real strength. He has me in a bad position and I'm only scared of what he'll do to my family, not me. I don't have a choice."
"..." Shadow placed a fist under his chin, closing his eyes to think for a moment. This was indeed quite a bad position. The jackal can't even speak the doctor's name without severe repercussions. Who know what he put in that chip to keep him quiet. Poison? A lethal microscopic injection? Not to mention it was so small that not even doctors could find it. He really wanted to cover his ass, because he didn't want anyone interfering in whatever he was planning. But what would be so big that he went through such cruel measures? The doctor was quite cruel when he wanted to be, that was true, but he was never this merciless about his methods. Huge, over the top grand schemes were one thing. Using a huge laser to blow up the moon, splitting the planet in several pieces, sure. Again, over the top, with a legitimate level of extreme danger. But this intricate, gross manipulation, mass hostage taking and now experimenting on Mobians? This was an evil he never thought he'd see from the doctor, because this felt way more personal.
Why was he moving so mercilessly? Is it because of Sonic's announcement a few years ago, where he vowed to take him down for good? No doubt, this proclamation probably did shake up the doctor. Sonic was never that ambitious in permanently ending the fat man until just recently, which is a severe shift in tone from his usual heroic efforts. Eggman knew Sonic before even Tails, so he arguably knew him better in a way that his friends never could. When Sonic is sincere about something, it's a problem. That must have been why he went into hiding, he was scared of what Sonic was capable of with this new sense of justice. A kid playing around with chaos power was one thing, but a matured grown man with honed abilities was even worse. Eggman knows very well what Sonic is capable of when he's screwing around, but serious? Even Shadow was a little intimidated by what he might be able to do. That little show he put on during the party with his new chaos abilities was barely a taste of what he could do as of now, he was sure of that.
So, Eggman was planning something big in order to get back at Sonic...He was probably planning to kill him for real, considering the fact that he may feel threatened. He was using the Jackal Squad as pawns to attempt to draw out the city's stronger law enforcement, GUN, to distract them from something he did within that small timeframe of stopping the bombs. What he did in that little bit of time was crucial, and he needed to find out what it was. The jackal knew a lot, but not enough. This wasn't good enough, he needed more information. A full on attack now would be very dangerous, as no one had any idea what the doctor already had prepared. If he was really worried about the jackal talking under pressure, he'd have activated the chip to kill him instantly the moment he got arrested. No, he was confident that if GUN attacked him now, they'd regret it. This was becoming a very devious plot, and Shadow didn't like it one bit. He needed to talk with Rouge, and even more so talk with Sonic again about what he knew about the circumstances of Eggman's disappearance. But if the jackal had the ability to contact Eggman, they may be able to use that to their advantage.
Hmm...
Okay, he might have an idea.
It was a risky one, a very perilous idea that could backfire, but he had to take the chance. If this worked out, they could stop the doctor in his tracks before he even knew what hit him. "You," Shadow commanded, causing the jackal's ears to twitch. "I told you I can give you anything you want, and I meant it. Here's what's going to happen," He opened his eyes at him, his amber red irises glowering into his soul. "I'm going to have you moved to a different kind of prison. One that houses only one prisoner. You won't have to worry about other inmates, and I promise you'll have better living conditions. A bigger space, more privacy, better food and better plumbing. I'll even let you talk with your men from their prison. You will be exclusively under my surveillance, guarded by a few GUN soldiers for extra security. However," Shadow added. "It will also be for your protection. Neither of us know what the doctor has in store, and he may want you dead even now. This will be proceeded under a condition of emergency, causing your sentencing to be postponed. Meaning, you will not be executed until this is all over, giving you a little more time. Only a few powerful people will know of this procedure, and will also be keeping you under their radar, but I will be your only warden." He crossed his arms. "Until Eggman is stopped, you will be my prisoner. Not Tower's, and not the president's, and you will do everything I say. Understood?"
The jackal stared at the desk for a few seconds. "...And if I refuse?"
"Your sentencing is a few weeks from now. Your head could roll, or you can spend the rest of your life with worst the world has to offer on New Prison Island. Or," Shadow added, almost forgetting the former mercenary's circumstances. "The doctor could change his mind on a whim and activate that chip in your neck." He needed him to know that his potential death was of no real consequence to the biohog. "Your choice, makes no difference to me. It might take a little longer, but I'll stop Eggman with or without your help." He then attempted to make a slightly more sympathetic expression. "I understand not wanting to be constantly passed around as a pawn, but you put yourself in this position the moment you attacked Dr. Robotnik. These are the cards you were dealt, and now you have to use them. I advise you to choose wisely." He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, as Shadow was once in a similar position with the government and Black Doom once upon a time. He felt like a hypocrite, he know what it felt like to be used as a living tool. "I promise," He spoke more mildly. "I will make sure your family is safe. Believe it or not, there are rehabilitation programs for prisoners on the island. They won't be let go, but if they grow a history of good behavior, GUN will make note of this. They'll make accommodations for them and attempt to make their lives somewhat easier. I'll even pitch in, if you'd like."
A frustrated huff escaped through the disgraced jackal's lips. He shook his head before turning away. "Fine. Do what you want, tell me what you need me to do. I'll do it, just-" He lowered his head to the surface of the desk, his cuffed hands gripping his hair. "Let this be over already. The quicker this goes, the quicker I can be killed. It'll be better than this..."
Shadow's eyes shifted.
He...wanted to die?
"So I figured the best way to finish it all, to show proper penance for what I've done would be to…"
Would be to...
...
...Shit.
Shadow blinked a few times to wake himself up, he was getting distracted. "This isn't the end for you," He stood up from the desk and walked to the door. "Not yet. After I get this authorized by Tower and the president, I'll be back to escort you to your new prison myself." He was going to bring his wrist up to the door to have it unlock, but he couldn't. "...I'm sorry. For what it's worth, I pray your family is safe. And if they aren't," He pounded his fist against the wall. "I will make Robotnik pay with his life."
The iron door opened, allowing the ultimate life form to exit.
The jackal lifted his head from the desk, and watched as the door shut immediately.
"...What pissed him off?" He mumbled.
July 15th - Station Square, City Hall District
Burger Shop
DAY 5: Tuesday
Afternoon, 12:00 PM
Shadow said he'd call Sonic for the next time he wanted to see him, but he never got his number to do so. He got it off of Rouge, and arranged to meet with him here today. He also realized there was a reason why he never hung out with that blue hedgehog, because all he did was laze around and eat several pounds of food at once like some gluttonous, feral boar. He's been sitting here for over twenty minutes, watching this moron eat a bunch of terrible greasy food. All he could do was stare, because he was astonished at how long this was taking, and just how much food he decided to eat. Which, by the way, was on Shadow's dime. Maybe this outdoor dining area was a bad idea, because he was starting to get second hand embarrassment that he was sitting with him. Maybe he could switch tables real quick while he was distracted-"You know," The hero mumbled in between bites, causing his words to be very hard to comprehend. "I've tried like, a bunch of burgers from all over the world," Gross, he burped. "And I gotta tell ya, nobody makes 'em like the Federation."
...Okay.
"Y...Yeah." Shadow looked somewhere else. "While I'm glad you appreciate my hospitality, I came here to talk to you, not watch you put the entire planet into a food shortage."
"Huh?" Sonic mumbled while picking at his teeth, suddenly done with his food. Shadow's eyes bulged out of his face seeing all the empty wrappers and food containers. He was done already? But he had like seven burgers and a bunch of fries and—You know what, screw it. "Oh yeah, it was nice of you to ask me out." He said with a smirk, one that looked a little more suggestive than it should have. "But I know it wasn't to watch me put the world in a food shortage." Oh God, Shadow felt an aneurysm coming along.
Patience, Shadow. Patience. "Look," Shadow began with a tired voice. "You and Rouge made a deal. I need to know what it was. If it's what I think it is, it would greatly help with my case and I need to know about it."
"Oh yeah, questioning that mercenary guy." Sonic casually reminisced as he rocked himself back and forth in his chair, his legs rudely lying on the left side of the table's surface. "Hmmm," The hero playfully tapped his chin. Then he grinned and stuck out his tongue at Shadow. "Nope."
What? "Excuse you?" The GUN agent scowled.
"That's personal, bud, sorry. Maybe if you told me why you needed to know," The hedgehog shrugged his shoulders. "I could tell you then. Maybe."
Astonished? Shocked? No, he was downright blindsided. Was Sonic really negotiating with him about this? "Are you—Are you serious, hedgehog? Are you actually trying to bargain with me, now?" Why was Sonic of all people trying to pull information out of him? Just what was he doing this whole time? Now Shadow really wanted to know what the hero knew.
With a mischievous chuckle, the hero tried to calm him down. "Chill, chill, I'm not being a douche, I swear. Not on purpose." He was certainly acting like it. "I just wanna know why you wanna know, and why this correlates with that prisoner and GUN. No offense," He added slyly, his smirk fading. "I know Tower is cool and all now, but I still don't like him, nor do I trust him. The president I dig, we go way back. But him? Nuh uh," He shook his head while wagging his finger. "No way. I need a good reason to tell you anything, 'cause it's eventually gonna go to him."
Damn, he was good. Shadow shouldn't have underestimated how easy it would be to talk to him. Sonic was an open book when it came to normal conversation, but he was careful when it came down to business. He respected that, but it didn't make his job any God damn easier. With a stressed groan, Shadow rubbed his fingers on his temples. "I shouldn't be telling you a damn thing, but I see you just wanted to twist my arm."
"Shads, it's not you." Sonic countered with a flat line of a frown. "You know that."
"So you don't trust me from affiliation alone? That's low, especially for you."
Sonic rolled his eyes and began to look at his fingers, carelessly plucking off any food crumbs he might have gotten on them. "Shads if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be eating in front of you. I wouldn't have even come out here to meet you, I'm completely vulnerable. Don't do that."
"Then why are you making this difficult?" Shadow growled with irritation. "In case you haven't noticed, this isn't a game, faker."
"Alright," The hero took his legs off the table, scooted his seat closer and placed his arms on the surface. He held his head in one hand while his other tapped his fingers against the table. "Maybe it's because you and I both know that Eggman's tryin' to make a comeback. Maybe it's because someone was just stalking me for two whole weeks. Maybe it's because that same asshole, who now has a few less teeth, was stalking my little brother in his workshop one day before the bombing." His words were a little crass, but they were mostly blunt. He wanted to get through Shadow's head that there's a reason why he's being uncooperative. "Maybe it's because the asshole who was doing the stalking was not only a member of that loser jackal group," Sonic leaned in closer with narrowed eyes. "But was wearing a GUN uniform when I caught his ass."
The biohog was taken aback. "...What?"
"Mmhm," Sonic tapped his finger much more quickly at this point. "I figured he just stole the uniform to disguise himself in town. But nah. He had a low ranking badge, the weapons, even had that little communicator thing you got in your ring on a watch. If he just wanted a disguise, he didn't need to use all the little gadgets or accessories. If he was just gonna stalk me and Tails, why use a disguise at all?" He saw that Shadow was undeniably shocked, so he continued. "No, that guy was a real GUN soldier. I couldn't come to you or Rouge, 'cause I didn't know who else could have been watching me. I went to the president himself and asked for a list of recent recruits you guys authorized in the last year. Homie was on that list, his name and profile matched and everything." He looked to the side as his finger tapping began to slowly decrease. "After I beat the living shit out of him, I searched him. Found some paraphernalia that looked like that jackal group. That guy was a spy planted in GUN for that group, and he was gonna try something. Maybe hurt me or Tails, I dunno. Had him taken to Prison Island after that."
Infinite, the prisoner he was questioning, never told him that. He only said he had someone stalking Sonic, not someone who was working with GUN. He hated to say he didn't know, but he truly didn't. Not to that extent. Sonic had him on that one. "...When I interviewed the mercenary yesterday, he did say he had someone spy on you, but I had no idea it was for that long. And I didn't know he stalked Tails as well. I only just got word from Rouge hours ago that someone was indeed recently arrested on those charges but...I had no idea it was that bad."
"I know you didn't. You couldn't have. If you or Rouge found out, he'd be cooked before he started. It's why he was still a rookie, nobody pays attention to them." Sonic leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You get it now? Y'all got moles in your midst. Who knows, maybe he was the only one, but I can't be too sure. I got friends to protect, a family to keep safe. If someone managed to sneak their way into your organization, that's bad, real bad." Shadow grimaced harshly at this. He could say nothing to that. "Hey," Sonic tried to soften his tone. "I know it wasn't your fault, and I don't blame you for anything. But you gotta see where I'm comin' from. It's not that I don't trust you, I do. I'd trust you with my life if I needed to, and I have plenty of times. You never steered me wrong. But someone could be listening in on you guys, watching you. Maybe listening to this conversation right at this very moment. And if you're already compromised, I gotta watch out for my own skin."
Suddenly, Shadow held up his wrist and placed his fingers on his ring. With a tug, a click was heard. The ring split apart in half, and dropped onto the table with a metallic clang. "If I remove my limiter, the chaos energy powering it gets cut off, shutting down the device inside of it. As long as I don't use any power, I won't risk incinerating myself." He lowered his arm and looked Sonic in the eyes. "If there truly is another mole, they can't listen in on us now. My apologies, but I have to tell Tower this information. He needs to know that everyone in GUN needs to be reevaluated and looked at with a more scrutinized pair of eyes."
"I get it, you gotta do whatcha gotta do."
"With that being said, this is why I need you to tell me what she told you now more than ever."
Sonic hesitated in responding. Why was he so reluctant in telling him? "...Why didn't you just ask her instead of coming to me? I'm doing nothing but giving you a hard time."
Shadow took note of this, but didn't comment on it. "She refused because she told me she didn't feel comfortable with outing your business. You both made a deal, it had nothing to do with me and I had no right to know about it. But I came to you personally because I respect you, and I'd rather hear it from you." That wasn't the complete reason why, but Sonic didn't need to know that. He genuinely just wanted to see him again, but he'd never tell.
A small blush appeared on the hero's cheeks. Stubbornly, Sonic pouted and looked away. "Damn it," He grumbled. "You just had to go and say something like that...Alright," He finally caved. "I'll tell you."
Shadow made a relieved sigh. "Thank you."
Sonic crossed his legs and continued to look elsewhere. "Rouge knew I was on the lookout for Eggman. Ever since our last little tussle three years ago, he's been avoiding me and it's hurtin' my feelings. Can't blame him though, I got him pretty good last time."
"That's one thing I was concerned about in particular," Shadow cut in. "What the hell did you do to him? What frightened him so badly that it caused him to go into hiding for over three years?"
"I can't tell you." Sonic immediately refused, closing his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry Shadow, but that's super personal. I don't even like talking about it. You might end up finding out on your own. Considering what's happening, my dirty laundry might air out anyway." Dirty laundry? What was he talking about? Did Sonic...Do something bad? What could he have possibly done? "My friends were there when it happened, so you might be able to get it out of them. It was something bad, awful, actually. I didn't even realize what happened until it was too late. In fact, I can barely remember. I..." He was hesitant, and there was some pain in his eyes. "...No, I can't. Sorry. Point is," He brushed it off quickly. Now Shadow was even more curious. "He was building this big ass robot, and I mean super big. Like, probably twice the size of a sky scraper. It was like a miniature space station. We destroyed it before it could be finished, and he disappeared in that dumb Egg Mobile thingy. Whatever I did, it scarred him. He went into hiding after that and nobody's seen him since."
Scarred? The doctor? "I...See..." Shadow tried to ignore this cryptic part of the story.
"Rouge doesn't know what happened, and I guess Knuckles didn't tell her. Anyway, she could tell I was itching to know where Eggman was. Apparently while she was on vacation in Apotos, she discovered a lair under the country's oceans. She went scuba diving and found ruins of an old base." He finally turned his eyes to Shadow. "He was hiding there this whole time, but he moved. When she investigated the base, she saw he left in a hurry for some reason, so he left a bunch of important crap like digital transcripts. They basically said that he was going back to some island that's a nice distance away from the Federation to put the final touches on whatever he's doing there, but she didn't know where." Sonic's posture slowly but surely was starting to become a little more relaxed, Shadow noticed. "On her way back home, she started searching. She was gonna give up and worry about it later, but on a whim, she decided to check the old Chemical Plant ruins on West Island since it wasn't too far from the Federation, just like the transcripts said. There was nothing there, at least not on the surface. She said she had a GUN device on her that could sense body heat from living creatures, I'm guessing she had what you got in your ring and that's just one of the settings you can use. Long story short, she detected an organic heat signature from an Overlander beneath the ground."
Shadow's eyes widened. "He's hiding underground the Chemical Plant ruins?"
Sonic nodded slowly to let it sink in. "He's been chillin' here with us for weeks."
Oh no, if Rouge sensed only one heat signature-"Did Rouge say she detected any other heat signatures? Any Mobians?" When he saw Sonic shake his head, he cursed. "Shit."
"She said she only saw one, which is more than likely Eggman's. Nobody else that's alive, anyway." Damn it all, this means the jackals he captured, they were...Shadow couldn't tell Infinite this information just yet, he'd lose it. Sonic grimaced and tilted his head. "You okay?"
Shadow shook his head. "It's nothing," He lied instantly. "I understand now. Now that I know his location, I can get a plan going. I won't be telling GUN any of this until Tower has everyone checked. Once that happens, I'll inform him of this conversation and he can prepare the city for the worst." He looked at Sonic, who seemed a little off after telling him that information. He truly seemed as if he didn't want to tell him anything, not just because of GUN having moles, but because of some hidden guilt he won't talk about. "Is that alright with you? I won't inform him at all if you feel it may hinder your efforts. He'll be pissed at me, but he'll understand."
Sonic blinked. "You'd hide that from him for me? But he just promoted you, it'd be like spitting in his face."
"You could have been killed in your own home due to his negligence. And," Shadow shamefully looked to the side. "Perhaps my own negligence as well. Like I told Infinite, I don't need a badge to hold authority. I don't owe him anything other than protecting the world's citizens. But if telling GUN ruins that, I can't tell him."
Poking his fingers together with a lopsided grin, Sonic couldn't help but feel flattered. "Since when did you get all cool and stuff?" That's when he remembered what Shadow just said. "Wait, Infinite?"
Shadow nodded. "That's the name of the leader of the Jack Squad, the mercenary group. It has to be some kind of alias, but he swears it's his birth name and I haven't dug anything up to contradict this."
"Huh, gotta admit it's pretty dope if not a little dramatic. Then again, counting you and Rouge, nobody in my friend group has a normal name besides Amy and Tails soooo...'Guess I can't throw stones from a glass house. Heheh," Sonic chuckled a little. It was nice that he was smiling again, Shadow didn't like how downcast he seemed before.
Wait, he wanted him to smile?
Ugh, these weird feelings again, he'd have to ignore them from now on. Every time he thought about stuff like that, he got this weird warming sensation in his chest and his stomach felt weird. He felt his heartbeat pace itself just a tad faster, and his hands got clammy. Maybe he should have a doctor inspect him one of these days, because this was starting to become an annoyance. "Thank you for the information, hedgehog. Will you allow me to inform Tower?"
Sonic flagged this off. "Ahh to hell with it, go ahead. Just make sure you do it after he checks everyone out first."
"Of course," Shadow stood up from his seat and held out his hand. "Nice doing business with you."
The blue one looked at his hand, then made an unimpressed glare. "Are you serious?"
What did he do wrong this time? "What?"
"Dude, quit being so uptight. We're buds now, aren't we? You don't shake hands with your buds, you do this-" With a blur of blue, Sonic was suddenly leaning his weight against him, his peach arms wrapped around his body. His hold was tight, welcoming, gentle. He moved so quickly and Shadow didn't see it coming, so he could do nothing but let him do it. He was frozen solid in place, he didn't know what to do. "-See?" Sonic's voice was low and much smoother than before. "Isn't this better?"
Red was starting to spread on Shadow's muzzle. "Why...Why are you..." He could feel every muscle in his arms flex as he squeezed him closer to his blue body. He felt his hands on his back, and they felt strong yet comforting. His peach chest was touching his own and he didn't know what to do. He didn't even feel this way when Rouge hugged him, so why was he feeling this way now? His heart was beating so hard, his stomach was doing back flips. He could feel himself develop sweat at an alarming rate, and he was getting anxious. Why was he feeling this way? Was he getting sick? Was Sonic contaminating or something? And why did some part of him enjoy this? Deep within his brain he could feel it, he was liking this. He didn't want him to stop hugging him. "...!" He could feel his lips near his ear.
"You smell good, really good..." Why was his voice so deep all of a sudden? Why did it sound so suave? He needed him to stop, right now. Sonic suddenly pulled back with his hands on Shadow's shoulders, smiling brightly. "You smell like coffee, that's so funny! Heheh. I'll see you later, okay? Oh, and I'd like to hang out with you without having to talk about Eggman or GUN, please? Just a normal chill sesh with my bro."
"Y-Yeah, sure...Of course..."
"Awww," He made this playful patronizing expression. Shadow found himself internally panicking even more, because something about it seemed more sensual than teasing. "Poor thing. We gotta get you out more often, buddy." He jogged away while waving goodbye. "See ya!"
And in a blue streak, he was gone.
And so was Shadow's brain.
6 - END - 6
Chapter 7: Foreign Feelings
Summary:
Both Shadow and Sonic are struggling with abrupt feelings, and ask their best friends for some advice on how to move forward.
Chapter Text
7 - Foreign Feelings - 7
Empire City
GUN HQ
Afternoon, 4:00 PM
Nope, that's it, he couldn't take it anymore. He spent two whole hours thinking about this even after Sonic left the damn Burger Shop. He couldn't think about work, he couldn't think about anything and it was driving him insane. He needed help, and the only person he could come to about this was her. She barged in his apartment all the time, so now it was his turn.
A white female bat sipped her grape smoothie with boredom as she pressed her gloved finger on the keyboard button every few seconds. She stared at the computer monitor with boredom, disappointed but not surprised at her futile attempts to look into something. She was trying to look up any other information they had on the Jackal Squad in the GUN archives, but she was coming up dry. She wasn't going to get what she was looking for out of this. Oh well. Maybe she could go try to-
The door to her office slammed open. "Rouge!"
"AHH!" She screamed and nearly fell out of her computer chair. She spilled the smoothie out of the bottle a little, and it was currently dripping all over her hand and down her arm. With a slow brewing rage growing within her, she slammed the bottle on her desk and whipped her head at her untimely visitor. "Mr. Sunshine," She used that nickname with great venom. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to get a drink like this from Red?" Red, referring to Knuckles. "The grapes from Angel Island are plentiful and help decrease your weight and clear your skin. But you know how stingy he is with his island's precious resources. Now I'm going to have to grovel and beg him to make me another for lunch next week. I was savoring this! If this was on the market, you'd owe me at least a thousand bucks!"
Shadow simply stared at her apathetically. "Would it help if I paid you back that amount in cash out of my next paycheck?"
The bat's anger abruptly dissipated and she almost instantly smiled in return. "Oh that's no problem, sure. No harm done."
His tolerance for this woman waned sometimes. "Look, I need to ask you something. Something personal."
She raised a brow while grabbing a tissue from the tissue box sitting on the side of her desk. She pulled out a few while wiping off her hands and the bottle. "Now of all times, handsome? We're on the clock, you know."
"This is distracting me, that's why I need to talk to you." Shadow walked in front of her to show that he was completely serious. "I want it to stop and you're the only person I know who can explain it to me."
She saw his face, and saw how mentally troubled he was. His eyes were shaking, his body was rattled and he acted as if he saw a ghost fly right through him. Almost nothing could get Shadow like this. This was serious indeed, so she couldn't blow him off. She placed down the bottle and stood up out of her seat. "Alright, hun. Calm down, and take a seat. Relax for a moment." She advised, watching him reluctantly sit in her chair and hunch over while placing a hand on his head. Oh boy, that wasn't good. He was really upset about something. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now what's going on? You never act like this."
He made a draining sigh. He gripped his hand against his forehead, his ring now reattached to his wrist from earlier. He already had someone from the engineer department take the device out of it under the guise of an...Unforeseen malfunction. "If you tell anyone-"
"I won't, I promise."
"..." He closed his eyes and braced for whatever embarrassing reaction she'd have. It was shameful that he was talking about this, he couldn't look weak like this. "...I've been in closer contact with Sonic, lately. He's been giving me vital information for the case and I just met up with him some hours ago. I visited him at his home in Green Hills last week, too." Here it comes. "Ever since the party, every time I'm around him, my body acts weird. My chest gets hot, it gets harder to breathe, my mind goes blank, and I start sweating. I got checked out by a doctor in the infirmary before I came to your office, but they couldn't find anything wrong. But something is wrong, and there's something wrong with me." He looked up at her hopelessly. "Rouge, what is happening?"
He saw her eyes shrink like peas, and she slowly brought a hand up to her mouth. "Oh my God." She whispered. Then, she made a big smile and brought both hands up to her cheeks. "Oh my God...!" She squealed, her teal colored irises sparkling. "This is glorious. I can't believe this, holy shit."
"What?" Shadow didn't like the sound of that. "What's wrong with me? Did he get me sick?" He watched her bust out laughing while holding her stomach. "This isn't funny!" He growled.
"If I didn't hear it myself, I would have never believed it. Ohh my, my my..." She placed her hands on her hips and smiled at Shadow. "Oh Shadow, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at the situation because, well, I never thought I'd see the day. Wow," She looked towards the side. "That explains everything. That explains why you always turned down my advances when we lived together."
He squinted his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"
"Shadow," Rouge got down on one knee and grasped his hand softly. "You have a crush, honey."
A crush? Wasn't that something grade schoolers got? "The hell are you saying? Children get those."
"Anybody at any age can develop a crush sweetheart, don't get it twisted." She corrected him nicely. "A crush means you're forming feelings for someone, romantic feelings."
Romance? Oh hell no, absolutely not. Not for that idiot. "Rouge, I am not crushing on that hedgehog."
"So you say, but you're showing symptoms." She stood up and leaned against her desk, crossing her arms under her breasts. "Look, I know people have their preferences, but I don't care—I am the hottest woman in this country. You have no idea how many men and women have thrown themselves at me over the years. So," She proudly claimed. "Anybody who has the privilege of living with me is bound to want a piece. But when I lived with you," She placed a finger under her chin with a grin. "I tried hitting on you a bunch of times. You either were too oblivious or didn't care. When I tried to make a more forward pass at you during mating season-"
Yes, Shadow remembered that. Rouge had just come out of the shower, and she had a towel on but it was very loose. She tried touching him on his thigh, but he didn't like it. "I rejected you. I told you I was uncomfortable."
"Right, and imagine my shock that someone actually rejected me. Me!" She was still a little salty about it, even now. "Ugh...The shame I felt that day was second to none. But, I had to respect your word. I couldn't hurt you like that. You've been through enough of people using you and I wasn't about to do it myself. So, I let it be and never attempted to come onto you ever again." While she was a huge pain in the ass and an even bigger flirt, Shadow liked that she never pushed herself onto him again. She never wanted to hurt him, she just wanted to shoot her shot and she failed. The thing is though, he didn't even see it like that. He just didn't like the touching, he had no idea she wanted him that way.
"I didn't know that's what you were after specifically, and I didn't realize at the time that it was mating season." He shrugged. "I just didn't like being touched. Not like that."
"Oh Chaos, and that explains it too." She snapped her fingers. "You're an ace, of course you are. Probably demi...Ugh, how did I not see that? It was so obvious! I feel like a complete asshole, a totally insensitive asshole..." She berated herself with a shameful frown.
"A what?"
"Nothing...And I know I've already apologized to you before about that, but I truly am sorry for putting you in that position, sweetie. No hard feelings." She pressed a friendly peck on his forehead before thinking aloud, leaving a faint smudge of lipstick on his fur. "About Sonic," She continued. "Has he ever...You know, touched you? Not in that way, mind you. I mean in a platonic way."
"He hugged me before he left today. And last week he touched my arm because he wanted to know about the device in my limiter ring."
"And did you feel all of those symptoms like you described when he did those things?"
He nodded. "Yes, is that related?"
He saw Rouge make another mischievous giggle before clearing her throat. "Yes honey, people only act like that around the person they're crushing on. So every time you feel like that around Big Blue, it's because you feel things for him. Romantic things...and maybe," She gave him a suggestive look. "Other things, too. It is almost mating season, after all. Your feelings probably spurred on because of that, too. It happens."
He immediately protested against that. "But I don't-"
"Then you tell me why you feel nervous around him all the time." She challenged with a smirk.
Damn it, he couldn't explain that. "I...I don't know!" He hugged himself. "I don't understand any of this, that's why I came to you. I didn't think I could...Feel that way about anyone." He finally said, causing Rouge's smirk to disappear. "Rouge, I'm not made to feel anything. I always thought that this was another reason why I was abnormal compared to other Mobians. I was biologically engineered to mimic the appearance and DNA of Mobians, but I am not one myself." He looked down at his hands. "I can't even experience mating season like the rest of you do, so I always thought I was never made to reproduce. At the very least, I figured it never came across Gerald's mind when creating me. I'm half alien and half…a science experiment. I was meant to be a weapon and a cure for a horrible disease, nothing else. I don't understand mating season, and I can't comprehend affection on a physical or mental level besides basic hugs. I don't get romance, and I don't understand intimate emotions like love."
Rouge silently concluded that Shadow probably didn't quite understand sexual attraction either, which was why he turned her down without truly realizing what he was rejecting. He didn't even take into account that she liked him that way for a moment in time and wanted sexual intimacy, he just didn't like the physical aspect of it and saw it as nothing but. Now that he was the one with a crush, he was starting to finally understand what it felt like to want someone, and he was having a difficult time in grasping it.
"But whenever I'm around Sonic, I..." Red formed on his cheeks. "I like being touched by him and being near him. And I...Want him to do more, and I want to see him more often even when he's annoying me. He's making me feel things that I biologically shouldn't be able to feel, and I like it. I hate that I like it, but I can't control it." He looked at her for more answers, his voice evidently distressed. "But if I was never made to be able to feel these things, why am I feeling them at all?"
To her, this was adorable, but this was also very sad. Shadow was so used to violence, death and killing, and so used to people telling him he was a living tool that he eventually started to see himself as nothing but that. She hated that for him. She made a silent exhale and closed her eyes. "Hun, didn't you love Maria? Wasn't she like a sister to you?"
"..." He didn't answer her back.
"Shadow, if you could feel familiar love for her, why can't you feel romantic love for someone else?"
"Well I...I-I..." He still couldn't answer her.
"Stop me if I'm wrong, but Gerald didn't want some emotionless blob of bio-alien mass unnerving his granddaughter—He wanted someone who could make her feel comfortable while she was being healed." She gave him a gentle, understanding smile. "He wanted you to live and have companions. If he truly wanted you to be emotionless, why didn't he just make you into a genderless robot?"
Shadow lowered his head. "...I see your point."
"If you like Sonic, you shouldn't be ashamed of that, love."
"But why now?" He insisted. "I've known that moron for almost a decade, why am I feeling something now?"
"Because you finally took the time to get to know him a little, hun." Her grin grew larger. "I liked Knucklehead because I already had a little crush on him after the Ark, but then I started to hang around him more often on my own. He still didn't trust me at first, which was a smart decision on his part, but he still intrigued me. I didn't realize until I was asking him out on a date, that I had fallen for him." She made a more passionate expression, smiling dreamily as she thought about their first date. "It was a total disaster because of how dense he is, but I loved every moment anyway because I just loved him. It didn't matter if the date was ruined, I just needed him near me, close to me on another level." She placed her hands on her heart shaped plated chest. "A few more dates after that and we were all over each other. Now we're steady and we've been going strong ever since. Of course," Her smile became sheepish. "He's still an idiot, and his stubbornness gets on my last nerve. But I don't mind that because I love his negative traits, too."
She even liked his negative side? Was that what being in love was about? Loving every part of your partner no matter what it was, good or bad?
She decided to level with him, and lay it all out to him. "Yes, Big Blue is annoying, arrogant, cocky, much more foul mouthed with age, hard headed and almost more stubborn than Red. He's made a lot of mistakes, and even fox boy has admitted that he isn't the best role model sometimes. He's flawed, very much so." She reached down to touch Shadow's hand. "But that's okay, because we all are." She caressed his palm. "Not just you."
"But," Shadow made a worried expression. "I don't understand it. I'm..."
"You're scared." She knew he couldn't admit it outright. He didn't have to. "Love is scary, especially if it's your first time feeling this way. Sometimes love fails slowly, and dies after a long, grueling process. Sometimes your feelings aren't reciprocated and you ruin a lifelong friendship, something I feared I did with you." He could feel the guilt in her voice when saying that. "And love can hurt too, it can hurt really bad. It can hurt so bad that it feels like your heart is ripping out of your chest, or like the sky is falling on you." Rouge tightened her grip on his hand. "But I swear to you, it is so, so worth it. The beauty of it, the raw but innocent affection, and the passionate lust that comes with it, it is bliss. All the ups and downs, that's what makes love worth it. The fight and the challenge of it all, the feeling of finally conquering and embracing what you strived so hard to fight for to be yours-!" She didn't even realize how long she was rambling, so she paused for a moment. "...It's just...It's," The bat looked him in the eyes. "It's faulty perfection. I think that's the best way to describe it."
That oxymoron struck something within him. Perfect imperfection? Did such a thing truly exist? "If what you're saying is true, and I...Have a crush on faker, then what do I do? How do I make this stop?"
"Honestly?" She knew he wasn't going to like this. "Tell him."
Okay, no. "No." His voice was such an offensive deadpan that she nearly had a knee-jerk reaction to strangle him. "And for the record, I'm not scared of anything."
"Chaos-Shadow, hear me out." She eased carefully. "I know it's hard. It's extremely difficult, frankly. Pinky struggled with her crush on Big Blue for years, but after a while it became obvious and Sonic just didn't pick up what she was throwing down. That is, until she yelled it from the top of her lungs with a giant hammer." Rouge chuckled at the memory of that girl demanding for the hero to marry her. "She was young of course, but it didn't hurt any less. However, after she finally just came out and said it and it finally got through Sonic's head, she was fine. She slowly matured, and became more subtle with her advances. Now I don't know what happened exactly, but after a while she completely got over it." She frowned at this, as she was personally unsure of the story behind this. "Her and Sonic never dated, so I don't know if he rejected her or if she got over her crush on her own...Point is, she got through it because she finally got it out instead of letting it fester in her heart. If you conceal your feelings, you push yourself to a dangerous breaking point." She reassured him. "Tell him, then let it ride. If he accepts your feelings, great. If he doesn't, it's not the end of the world."
Shadow thought for a moment. "But," He made a concerned expression. "What if he does reject me? What if it doesn't go away after he rejects me?"
"I can't lie to you, it'll be hard. Very, very hard. You may even make your relationship awkward, maybe even ruin the friendship." She saw his face fall into downcast. "Hold on," She stopped him before he could second guess himself. "If this was anyone else, I'd agree and say you have every right to be worried. But Sonic isn't like that. You see how he was with Amy, he still loves her in his own way and they're still the best of friends. He won't push you away. If that happens, give it a little time. You'll be okay, he'll still like you. As for lingering feelings," She made a solemn grimace. "Again, that's hard. Everybody reacts to rejection differently. Sometimes it dies out on its own, but other times, it never does. It's something you'll be forced to live with."
He sat with this information, let it mend deep within his psyche.
He's been through hell before, he's experienced terrible mental and emotional damage.
If this fails, he could handle it.
He'd have to.
He rubbed his knuckles together before taking a deep breath, and releasing a calmer exhale. "...Okay." He said cautiously. "I think," He stood up out of the chair. "I'm going to wait on this. Speaking with you helped, so I don't think I'll be getting distracted anytime soon. I'm not going to tell him, not yet. I need time. Maybe if he was younger like when we first met, this would have been easier. He was a lot more naive and easier to talk to."
"Err," Rouge cringed. "You would've been a fifty-something year old dating a fifteen year old, sweetie."
Oh yeah. Gross. "Okay scratch that, that's disgusting."
"Amen to that one, that's why I waited awhile before I started coming onto Red. He was only sixteen and I was eighteen. It was a little weird."
That's true, she was older than most of Sonic's friends. "I keep forgetting you're not as old as you act-"
"-What the hell did you just say?"
"Sonic's too cunning, I hate to admit." Shadow observed, ignoring her glower. "He'll figure out that I have a crush on him eventually, if he didn't already. But the way he acts, the way he speaks, he's too," He tried to find the right word to describe him. "Coy. He's a huge flirt and plays too many mind games."
Rouge scoffed at that. "And you play 'em right back." She encouraged with a sneer. "Mind games are Romance 101, hun. You gotta get good at the game and play it well. Because if you do," She winked optimistically. "He'll be the one acting nervous and shy around you for a change. You might have him eating out of the palms of your hands." She could tell he was enjoying the sound of that, as he gave her a very amused look. "Women are masters at it, including moi. If you need any advice, just give me a text. Big Blue needs a little taste of humble pie."
"I'll hold you to that."
"You know I got you boo, Team Shadow for life."
They both made a fist, and softly pounded the other's with confident smiles.
Station Square, City Hall District
Rose Bud Flowers & Readings
Afternoon, 4:30 PM
One, three, five, seven...Not bad for today. She felt more confident closing up shop early. The pink furred hedgehog closed her register after taking out the bills and rings. She laid them out carefully before placing them in her red satchel. Once she clipped the buckles up tightly, she placed its now heavier weight onto the counter. She walked from around it while pulling out her phone and checking over her messages. As she did so, she saw a few of her employees wish her good night and waving goodbye while exiting the building. She smiled and waved back, wishing them safe travels on their way home. It may not have been late nor dark out during this time of year, but no one could be too careful. After that little bomb scare last week, the city required all venues to close up a n hour or two earlier for scrutinized curfew. She was sure someone would try and shut the city down instead, but the incident was wrapped up so quickly that it was barely worth anyone's time thanks to Team Dark. Everyone still had to be on guard, though.
Her long pink quills were styled in a way where the ends were slightly curled, and she was sure one of them straightened out after all the moving she did today. Some of her bangs were uncurled, too. She'd have to put tighter rollers on those before she went to bed. Her red off-shoulder, puffed sleeved suspender dress was stained with water and pollen. She'd have to put that in the wash tonight. She looked down at her knee-high, wedged red boots, and saw that a lot of dirt and grime was on the fabric. She'd have to throw that in to clean, too. Damn, so were her white gloves and ring bracelets, now stained in green chlorophyll. That'd be a chore she wasn't looking forward to. She sighed and looked back at the screen of her phone. She saw pictures of the party from last week, Tails had recently sent them over to her. Her light pink painted lips smiled at this, and she made sure to save them to her device. She'd print them out later. She suddenly heard the door open, the bells above it chiming to indicate a last minute customer arrived.
"Sorry, we're closing-" She looked up, and immediately brightened up. "Sonic...!"
The blue hedgehog made a shaka sign with his hand. "Yo Ames."
She put her phone in one of her dress pockets and ran up to him with a big hug. She pressed her face into his strong chest and she felt him embrace her back just as tightly. When she felt him lift her up and swing her around, she giggled. "Ooohh I missed you so much." She broke the embrace and pouted as she held onto him. "We barely talked at the party and we haven't hung out in forever!" They both secretly knew why, and it wasn't because of her old crush on him. It was because of something else, but they wouldn't bring it up. They knew better.
He put her down and gave her a nice head pat, noting that she was much shorter than him now. "Yeah, I know. Been super busy lately, everyone has." He saw her bag on the counter from the corner of his eye, and saw how much it was bulging. "Daaaaamn Ames. You rankin' in the bread, huh? It's like that?"
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "But of course. Would you expect anything less from the best botanist slash tarot reader in Station Square?"
"You right, you right." He gave her a much deserved bro fist. "Get that bag, girl."
"Heehee," She blushed at his praise. "I wish you came earlier, everybody left and I'm dead tired. I could have given you a discount."
He shook his head. "Oh no no, I didn't need any flowers or a reading. I was gonna walk you home, but I wanted to ask you something on the way there." He walked over to the counter and picked up her bag for her, but when he went to move, he nearly dropped it. This thing weighed a ton, how much money did she make in a single day? "Geez, Ames! What, did you rob a bank before you closed up shop?"
She laughed and obliged his request. "Sure, I don't mind. Summer marriages are hot right now, so I get a bunch of bouquet orders around this time of year. Thank you, by the way."
"Don't thank me yet until I lug this thing to your house without passing out first."
After she locked up the store from the outside, they went on their way to her home. They kept on the sidewalk and safely away from the road, with Sonic standing closest to the street on the pavement if God forbid someone lost control and crashed their car. He also kept an eye out in case any creeps decided to make a bad mistake, as he was in the mood to punch someone in the gut today. Amy was going to say something to him first, but she saw that he had an agitated expression on his face. She frowned, Sonic wasn't an angry guy. It was rare for him to look mad at anything. Well, at least that's what she used to think. Ever since three years ago...No, she couldn't think about that right now. She let them walk for a while before coming out and asking. "Everything okay?" She asked softly.
He nodded easily. "I'm good, maybe a little mentally drained." He sighed. "Tails and I keep fighting and it's really pissing me off, but I don't wanna hurt his feelings."
"Still?" She sucked her teeth. "I wonder what's gotten into him..."
"He really doesn't like that I'm acting more like a parent than his friend. I can dig it, but he's not getting that I'm acting like this for a reason." He made a stiff scowl. "Eggman's makin' a comeback, and nobody knows when he's gonna strike. I gotta be ready for that, but so does he."
She furrowed her brows. "Eggman's alive?"
"Oh yeah, he ain't goin' no where. The only thing that's gonna take his ass out is me or himself, and I called dibs a long time ago." He looked to the far distance, specifically to the south. "I know exactly where he is but I don't know what he's up to, so I'm keeping my distance for now until I get a better read on the situation." He looked back at the road before them so he could keep their surroundings in his sights. "Be careful, Amy. If you see something, tell me or Team Dark." He instructed firmly without looking at her.
She nodded. "Yeah, of course. But," She tilted her head. "That's not why you're upset, is it? I'm sure none of that's helping of course, but that's not what's bothering you right now."
He hated that women's intuition that Rouge talked about. It was a damn good detector of secrets and deception. "Yeah, you're right...It's what I wanted to ask you about, actually."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Okay so," His tone became a little more playful, but also a little embarrassed. "You know I'm bi."
"Right..." She trailed off, egging him to get to his point.
"And you're my bestie so you know not to tell, right?"
"Of course!"
"Aight," Sonic took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "...I think I like Shadow. Like, like."
The pink hedgehog immediately marched in front of him with her arms outstretched. "Hold it right there." She declared. She then grabbed at her own suspenders in shock. "What!?"
The hero tried not to snort at her reaction. "Is it really that shocking?"
"Yes! I mean, well...uh," She scratched her head and tapped her foot. She then eyed Sonic up and down, who just put his hand on his hip and watched her concentrate with an amused expression. Let's see, besides Knuckles who was already in a relationship, Shadow was the only person Sonic deemed as a proper rival. He helped him transform into Super Shadow, attempted to save him from dying when he fell from the Ark onto Mobius, begrudgingly gave his ring to Rouge when they thought he died, but after that...They just butted heads and argued a lot, fighting and sparring with each other to win a disagreement. They kinda stopped doing that after a while, only butting heads when they were in a mood, but were cordial enough to work together. Soon they showed respect to each other and how they did things, and let the other live however he wished. If one of them needed the other's help, they'd reluctantly ask but they always worked well together when they were on the same team. At first, Amy would have never called them friends, not by a long shot. But then the party happened, and everyone got to see a side of Shadow they never thought was there. He was nice, and fun. Sonic was having a grand time talking to him and gassing him up the whole night.
In that moment, they genuinely did seem like friends.
And if that was possible, then...
"Yeah, it's shocking but," She went back to Sonic's side and continued to walk with him. "After seeing how Shadow actually is at the party, I can see why anyone would fall for him. He's a really nice guy once you get to know him. If I'm not mistaken, Rouge had a crush on him when they first met because she was the first person he cared about after getting released from that capsule."
"Yeah," Sonic replied before making a toothy grin. "You think they banged?"
"Sonic!" She slapped his arm.
"No, really, really! She totes wanted to diddle him, I know it wasn't just me. Oof," He made a lopsided frown. "That'd be bad for Knux, though."
She nudged him again with a scolding tone. "Will you hush? That's none of your business." She placed her hands in her pockets as they moved. "You say you like him, huh? Crush?"
"Ugh," Sonic pouted. "I think so. I've never had one before so I'm trying to figure it out."
"Never had one before?" She asked in a puzzled manner. "But I've seen you date tons of people. You never had a crush on any of them?"
He chuckled at her naivety. "Ames, I sleep around." Her flushed face in reaction to him saying that, made him snicker a little harder. "I don't date for real—I do a couple meet ups to get to a first-name basis, and then we get busy. That's all I've ever done, so I never really liked anybody like that before." He made a culpable sigh. "Damn, 'guess that makes me a shitty person, huh? I'm basically sloppy seconds."
She shook her head. "No, no." She disagreed vehemently. "And I'm not just saying this because you're my friend. You're a beautiful, kind and sweet person who has needs too, Sonic. Being a hero can't be fun all the time."
His face looked tired after hearing that. "It sure as hell isn't. Not right now, anyway."
"Yeah, so nobody can blame you for releasing some steam in your own..." Her face became entirely red, and she could tell he was loving this. "...Um, private way. And it's your business, nobody else's. They don't have a right to judge you. As long as nobody gets hurt, people should be able to do whatever they want. Including um," She stammered again. "What you do."
He made a suggestive smile. "Fuck around?"
She punched him in the arm harder this time, making him wince with a laugh. "Language! As for this crush, do you get nervous around him? Butterflies in your stomach, dry lips, staring too long, at a loss for words?"
He blinked at how eerily accurate that was. "...You're an expert, huh?"
She gave him a very displeased look for obvious reasons. "Uh, duh. Yeah I am, dummy."
"Sorry, my bad."
"At least that's how I felt when I had a crush on you. It's different for everybody." She placed her hands back in her dress pockets and looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun was bleeding into different colors of purples and pinks. "But if you're feeling that like that every time you see him, then yeah, you've got a crush alright."
He nodded with a defeated expression. "Yeah, I figured as much..."
"So what's the problem?"
"What's the-Bruh," Sonic gawked at her. "Amy, you just said it yourself. You know what it's like, it's not that easy. Also, elephant in the room—we're two dudes." He stressed that last word very harshly. "I don't even know if he swings that way. What do I look like comin' onto him like, 'Hey Shads. Wanna date? No? You like girls? Dang dude. Okay, see ya later. Oh you never wanna talk to me again? Cool.' Like, no." He brought his hand up to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose with great stress. "God, this is stupid."
The pink hedgehog absolutely wouldn't stand for that. "Sonic, no it's not. This is your feelings we're talking about and they're important." She grabbed hold of his arm and made him look at her. "Look, I know it's hard. Trust me, I do. But you can't hold that in like I did, it's gonna kill you on the inside and you're gonna lash out and be a total jerk to him. If you wanna be careful and know his preference first, talk it out of him carefully. Don't make it obvious, just make him say it in a round about way. You guys are friends now so he won't mind telling you, I'm sure. Or," She shrugged after she thought about it a little. "Ask Rouge. She'd tell you, you got her number." Huh, she was right. Rouge was a little imp, she'd tell Sonic no problem if she understood the situation. "Once she tells you, you'll know whether or not to let it go, or pursue it."
Sonic shook his head. "I dunno," He said with a rarely unconfident tone. "I mean, I can't lie and say Shadow doesn't feel something for me..."
Her ears perked up instantly. "You think Shadow has a crush on you, too?"
"It's a big maybe at best, and a down right horrible misunderstanding at worst. He visited me at my house the other day," He saw her immediately hop up and down next to him, she was way too excited about this. "We talked, and long story short, we kinda...Had a moment. He had this cool gadget in one of his rings so I grabbed his arm to look at it, but I got way too close. I didn't notice until it was too late. I apologized but..."
"Buuuut?"
"He said he didn't mind at all." He cracked a smile at her hopeful gasp. "Then we met up earlier today 'cause he needed info on Baldy McNosehair. I hugged him before I left and, well," He smirked a little. "I flirted with him a little bit, just so I could see where his head was at."
"And then what? What happened?"
"Oh, nothing really. He was too stunned to do anything about it."
She pumped her fists with steam blowing from her nostrils. "Oh Sonic, come on, he totally feels the same way! Only someone who felt the same way would be stunned from that!"
"Ah ah," He held up a finger to stop her in her tracks. "That don't mean anything." He corrected her, and felt bad when he saw her deflated smile. "You gotta remember Amy, he's someone who doesn't get emotions the same way we do. Put yourself in his shoes: He witnessed straight, brutal hell over and over, thought the only way to live was to be a walking-talking nuke, then was forced to understand how normal life works at the drop of a dime. The only person in this world he ever loved in any degree was that poor girl who died up on the Ark. He just made friends with people other than Rouge after eight whole years of hiding from everyone in plain sight, and she had to force him to go to that party. We argued and fought with each other for years up until now. I'd be shocked if my rival went ahead and hugged me out of nowhere, too." Sonic was sympathetic to his peculiar situation, but that's what made this so hard. "He might not even be catching on to my signals. He might just be reacting, not actually thinking about what I'm trying to do. You know how that is," He pointed to himself as a gesture. "I was oblivious too, and I didn't catch any of the hints you were giving when we were younger until you literally hit me with it."
She still felt bad about that phase in her life, too. She grimaced. "I...Guess you're right." It wasn't even a thing about boys being dumb like with Sonic, Shadow had a legit reason to be oblivious. He just wasn't used to that kind of treatment from someone other than Rouge.
"I just gotta play it by ear," He stopped walking as they made it to their destination, and he casually twirled her bag in his hand with the strap. "I'll definitely give Rouge a text. I know she'll figure out what's going on when I do, but I'd rather ask her then try to pull it out of Shadow himself. Things might go left if I approach him head on, and she'll keep it a secret if I tell her to. I'll update you on what happens moving forward." He handed over her belongings and prepared to leave. "Sorry about dropping this on you outta no where, but I couldn't tell Tails. I don't want him in my business. He's too young and way too moody right now. And you know I can't go to Knuckles, he's still trying to figure out how he got with Rouge in the first place."
She chuckled a little at that. "Heh, yeah. Still," She slung the bag's strap over her shoulder. "I wish you luck, and I hope to Chaos it goes well. I'll have to do a reading for you guys, I'm curious about the outcome. Would you mind if I told you?"
"Knock yourself out." He turned around while holding up a hand to wave goodbye. "'Later, Amy. And thanks."
"Bye!" She called as he disappeared in a blue streak. She frowned and clutched her hand on her bag. She had this strange, bad feeling. On one hand, she would love it if the two got together. But on the other hand, she had this awful sense of pressure or dread. Like something bad would happen if they did. No, she shouldn't think like that. She needed to be supportive, Sonic needed her now more than ever and she couldn't fail him.
Maybe a reading would guide both her and them on the right path.
7 - END - 7
Chapter 8: Pent Up Tension
Summary:
Shadow's feelings are breaching as he and Sonic investigate an old hideout of the Jackal Squad.
Notes:
The beginning of this chapter involves light sexual content.
Chapter Text
8 - Pent Up Tension - 8
July 16th - Empire City
DAY 6: Wednesday
After Dark, 1:00 AM
The striped hedgehog grunted almost painfully as his fist briskly moved up and down below his crotch, moaning and gasping at these new sensations. He never knew that he could experience something like this, touching himself like a depraved high schooler. He looked down to see his tan colored, hardened length pulsing ravenously to be stuck into something. He unfortunately didn't have a fix for that, so his bare hand would have to do. Doing this at home in bed, he was glad he had plenty of privacy. If he had started doing this in Rouge's apartment and was caught, she'd never let him live it down. His face was flushed red, lightly panting as he stared up a the ceiling of his darkened bedroom. All he could think about was that damn blue hedgehog, and that charming yet smarmy little grin of his. The way he hugged him, the way he whispered in his ear. That's all he did to him, and yet he felt so much lust all of a sudden. The moment he got in bed, it happened. He grew hard and he couldn't resist rubbing himself.
All he had to do was imagine those perfect magazine covers that Rouge showed him at the party. Those poses he made may have been for fashion, but for him, they were for something far more inappropriate. He hated how easily he was reduced to a perverted loner who was jacking himself off alone in his room. If only he knew how much he was pent up, how much he wanted him. But why did he want him so badly? He only just discovered his feelings for him and now this? He inhaled sharply at his rising orgasm, his legs spreading wider as he sunk his head back against the pillow. Yes, there it was, the feeling that so many people strived for. It was growing stronger within his abdomen, he could feel it coming. He kept thinking about Sonic over and over. Smiling at him, winking at him, flirting with him. He was so beautiful, he was so much of everything he wanted. "A-Ahh..." He clenched his eyes shut as he stroked himself faster. "F-Fuck...Shit...Ahh..." He pressed the side of his face into the pillow. "S-Sonic...A-Ahh...!" He finally released, his seed making small squirts of white onto his hand. He squeezed his fist on his member, getting every last drop out. "Aah...Ah..." He panted heavily and turned over onto his side.
He looked down at his hand that was stained with his own fluids, confused as to why he was so aroused tonight. He never, ever felt this way before. Why? Was it-No, he couldn't experience mating season. That was impossible, right? Right, of course. This was just some kind of weird reaction to the feelings he was developing for Sonic. Rouge may have had a point, but he refused to believe that Gerald actually wanted him to breed when he got older. And Black Doom couldn't have possibly wanted that to happen since the species of the Black Arms were entirely asexual. It probably didn't even cross his mind when speaking with Gerald, and he was sure the old man didn't care for that either. He just wanted Maria to be cured, nothing else. If Rouge was right, that would mean Gerald wanted Shadow to find a partner and actually reproduce. That he wanted him to have his own private life and be...
...Happy.
He frowned.
Damn it...He didn't want to keep thinking about this anymore.
He should just go to the bathroom, clean up and go to sleep already.
Empire City, Unknown Location
Infinite's Prison
Afternoon, 12:00 PM
Empire City was so congested with metropolis architecture that there was barely any room for forests or greenfields. He was almost convinced this was only one in the entire county if it wasn't for the occasional parks. This old, tiny house was worn down, but sturdy enough to live in. Of course it's electricity, gas and plumbing didn't work but that didn't matter. The Overlander GUN soldiers sitting on it's porch appeared as normal citizens, wearing raggedy clothing. They looked like your average outsider country hicks, rocking on wooden chairs and chewing weeds. When Shadow walked up the porch steps and to the front door, they paid him no mind. As he walked inside, he stopped and looked down. He bent down, placed his fingers underneath three loose floorboards and began to lift. They came up easily, revealing a life-sized hatch with a 6-digit keypad. After putting in the appropriate code, he lifted up the hatch door and slipped down inside.
He used a metal ladder to climb down, his shoes landing on thick metallic flooring. He traveled down the short hallway only to be met with a tall shiny door, one that also had an electric mechanic. Like the doors of GUN's secret prison, this one locked and unlocked the same way. Shadow held up his wrist to the door, heard a beep, and it slid to the side to reveal the space within. It was the size of a crummy small apartment, but it was good enough. Far better than the one square foot prison cell he had before. A jackal with messy dreadlocks yawned as he sat up from his single full sized bed. It had a real mattress, with soft sheets and pillows. He was no longer wearing prison clothes, and like most male Mobians, wore nothing but his socks since his shoes were currently on the floor.
The GUN agent's foot hit a case of that fancy bottled water he had in his cell earlier this week. He saw that it was half empty, but there were a few more stacked in the small kitchenette section of the underground apartment. "Slept well, I see."
The jackal scratched behind his large ears. "More or less, yeah. A real bed's way better than some worn down cot covered with random stains I didn't make." He cleared his throat and turned to Shadow. "So what do I need to do, now?"
"I need you to tell me where you hid that device the doctor gave you. You said you left it in a hideout, where is it?"
"Westopolis." That old place? Can't say that was a bad decision, though. It was close enough to Station Square where they prepared the plan, yet no one would think a criminal would be hiding right next door. Westopolis was more than fully restored after the Black Arms attack, and it was now a busy town just like Station Square. A lot of people lived and prospered there now, never knowing yet another group of villains lay down at night right under their noses. "The hideout's in an abandoned casino. Check one of the slot machines, it should open the way."
Excellent. Short, sweet and to the point. Shadow appreciated that. "Very good. When I get back, I'll go over the plan." He reached within his quills to pull out a green chaos emerald. The appearance of the powerful object caused the jackal to make a double take. "What, never seen a chaos emerald before?"
Infinite shook his head. "No, you don't get it. Him," He still couldn't say his name, the mad doctor. "He was talking about them, about how they were dangerous."
Shadow paused. "Dangerous?" Sure they were, in the wrong hands, but Eggman would never say that.
"Yeah," He narrowed his heterochromic eyes at the hand sized gem. "He was saying how he wished he never used them."
"Excuse you?" Shadow replied in disbelief. "The doctor has been attempting to gather all of the emeralds for himself for years, and succeeded a staggering amount of times. Why in the world would he suddenly change his mind? And what do you mean 'never used'? What were the consequences of him using them in the past?"
Since that was indeed a good question, the jackal took a second. "Well," He tried to give some kind of answer. "He said something like, he 'awakened' something. Like he made something mad and he didn't even know it." It was common knowledge for anyone who knew of the doctor and his ridiculous methods of obtaining world domination— Eggman frequently discovered and played with powers beyond his control, only to trap both himself and Sonic Team into a situation he had wrought in the first place. Hell, Shadow wouldn't even be awake right now if Eggman had just minded his business and didn't pry into GUN's secret files. Sure, it was technically his business since his grandfather was involved, but he could have let sleeping dogs lie. But to be rueful and even scared by what he had done, this didn't sound like the man he knew and detested at all. This would also mean that the emeralds weren't at all what the doctor was after this time, which was odd in itself.
This definitely warranted further investigation, but he'd have to do that later. "...I'll keep that in mind, but we'll discuss that later. Behave yourself, or else." He was going to chaos control, until he saw a peculiar look in the jackal's eyes. "Was there something else?" He asked carelessly. That's when he remembered what Sonic told him yesterday. A serious punch of guilt struck him in his chest. His family could very well be dead, or worse, roboticized. He'd have to tell him about this soon, but he couldn't now. Perhaps he could tell him when he returned. "Sorry," Shadow quickly apologized with a softer tone. "Did you want something? More water?"
"No." The jackal shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. His irises, they were dead in color, as there wasn't a light shining in them. He breathed in and closed his eyes before lowering his head. "Good luck, I guess." That must have been it: The surface. He probably missed the sun and fresh air. However, letting him go was out of the question. Maybe instead of that, he could do something else.
Shadow gave him an alternative. "Under my supervision with handcuffs, I'll let you outside when I return."
A tiny beam of light suddenly appeared in Infinite's irises, a micro bit of hope returning to them. "I...Thank you?"
"Don't be ungrateful." The biohog scolded lightly. "Chaos Control." In a green flash, he was gone in an instant.
The jackal swallowed a gulp he didn't realize he was holding. Why was he being nice to him? How could someone as powerful as that show any ounce of compassion towards him? In all his years of pillaging, robbing, destroying and terrorizing, he never thought he'd meet his match with someone so mysterious. Shadow worked for GUN, yet Infinite could tell he only did so because he wanted to, not necessarily because he had to. Someone strong like that could up and leave anytime he wished without any real consequences. He didn't know much about the hedgehog, only that he was GUN's lapdog and that he worked with Sonic Team occasionally, but not much else. He barely got to speak or get to know him, especially considering his current situation, but he deduced that he was an enigma. Someone in a league of his own. If there was one thing Infinite learned while growing up in the squad, it was that power was everything. It gave you money, respect, influence and an army of people waiting to act on your every whim. It was the only real thing he should ever strive for, the only thing that was worthy of his time.
The only thing that was attractive.
Power.
He looked back up at the ceiling again. Maybe...
...
...No, that would never happen.
Westopolis
Afternoon, 1:00 PM
He phoned that stupid blue hedgehog over five minutes ago.
There's no reason why he was taking so long. They both could race from one end of the globe to the other in an hour at full speed, there's no reason why he should be waiting. Patience Shadow, patience. He closed his eyes and continued to wait with his arms crossed over his chest, but decided to at least meditate in the meantime. Westopolis...He hadn't been here in ages, not since the destruction his "father" caused. He still felt some shame whenever he thought about that incident, how people died and suffered under their assault. If it wasn't for him, Gerald wouldn't have made that deal and they would have never terrorized the planet. Not to mention, he didn't help the situation by picking up a bunch of machine guns and shooting at GUN soldiers and alien brethren. It was a miracle none of the humans died by his hand.
He was supposed to meditate, not lament to himself again. He had to stop doing that and focus-"Hiiiiiii~!" Never mind. Sigh. And right when he was content with him not being here, he shows up. Classic Sonic. He could see him goofily frolicking his way towards him. Was he doing that on purpose because he knew he was late? Asshole. Shadow just paid him no mind and said nothing. "Sorry for being late, I was in the shower. Can't show up to a mission stinkin', ya feel me?" Nope, he wasn't talking to him. "Aww come on, don't give me the silent treatment! I said I was sooooorry." Okay, he was definitely doing this on purpose. "Okay, okay, I mean it. I'm sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I had to rush to get myself cleaned up."
"That's all you needed to say-"
"-Sssshhhh."
Did...
Did he just put a finger on his mouth to shush him?
"Less banter, more action. What's the plan?"
An angry glare was his reaction, at first. With a huff, Shadow finally responded after he swatted his hand away from his face. "Infinite claims there's a hideout in Westopolis. An old abandoned casino. I looked over a map and some traffic cameras, and I confirmed that there is indeed an abandoned gambling hall downtown." When he called him, he asked Sonic for help under the guise of assisting him with his mission. In actuality however, he just wanted to spend time with him and had no idea how to ask. Plus, he was on the clock. He could kill two birds with one stone this way.
The hero stretched his arms over his head before reaching down low and doing the same with his legs, one at a time. He yawned and cracked his neck before tightening his gloves. Don't stare, don't stare Shadow. Don't stare at how well figured he was. Don't. "I hate waking up late..." Sonic mumbled. "I've been in my fair share of casinos as a kid, no problem. Since it's info from a criminal, I'll be careful though."
"This isn't an elaborate trap," Shadow was slightly defensive of Infinite, but he didn't mean to make it sound that way. "He was telling the truth, I could tell."
"If you say so, but you usually know what you're doing. Lead the way! Try not to go too slow."
"Tch." An amber red boom immediately threw street dust into Sonic's face, who could do nothing but laugh while coughing. But of course in a mere instant, they were both neck and neck. As they ran, Shadow noticed Sonic was running differently than how he remembered. His form was different, a lot more efficient anatomically. Perhaps because he grew taller and bigger, made sense-Oops. He must have noticed him staring. Shit. Shadow quickly looked away.
Sonic grinned. "Like what you see or somethin'?"
There he goes again with that mouth of his. It's okay, just do what Rouge said. If he wanted to play the flirting game, he'd just racket it right on back. It was just like before when they threw insults at each other. It was nothing different, just a lot more flirty and a lot less volatile. "..." Shadow made a sharp turn, as did Sonic, and when they did, he simply said: "...And if I do?" He could tell Sonic nearly tripped and fell onto the ground at terminal velocity, making the biohog smirk triumphantly.
"W-What?"
"Pay attention, faker." Was all he responded with, not even giving Sonic the attention he desired. He could tell the hero was gawking at him, which means he was successful. Ah yes, apparently the blue one forgot that while he may be the biggest flirt, Rouge was not only older but knew the game far better than he did. He had a great teacher who couldn't be beat. As they passed fresh new tall buildings, clean concrete roads and zipping past highway vehicles, Shadow felt a sense of relief. This place looked great, as if nothing ever happened. They did excellent work, and the people were happy. He heard it took Empire City around four to five years to fully get this place up and running again. However, the damage was still done. People were scarred, and he was even a little afraid to walk around town since he looked like the very creatures that hurt them all so much. He wasn't getting any mean looks or glares, not that they could thanks to their speed anyway, but still. That guilt would eat away at him if someone suddenly pointed and ran away screaming.
Shadow glanced over at his "partner" for the day and saw that he was texting on his phone. His phone cover had tie-dye marks as well, he must have made it himself. He was smiling at the screen and chuckling under his breath. How was he doing that while following Shadow's directions? "Having fun?" He asked blandly.
"I'm just talkin' to Rouge." A ping sounded off from his phone, a notification came up. "Oh, and someone else apparently." The hero replied while scrolling.
"Friend?"
"Nah it's-" Sonic didn't elaborate any further, and he could see his fingers typing away while his smile turned into an annoyed scowl. "Asshole..." He grumbled. "Don't worry, I can feel the wind shift when you make a turn or change your speed. I know which way and how fast you're gonna go." He said as he continued to text and send those stupid emoji things, and those...Confounded GIFs.
He hated that he was feeding into it, but he legitimately wanted to know. "Who else are you talking to? The mayor?" He meant that to be sarcastic, but he knew a lot of public officials actually did have Sonic on speed dial.
"No, some douche bag who won't leave me alone."
Sonic just had a stalker, that wasn't good. "Are they stalking you?" Shadow asked with a little genuine concern. Not that he couldn't handle himself, he just didn't want him to be in danger-Chaos, why was he thinking like this all of a sudden?
"What? No, no...At least, I don't think so. I've had a few of those, to be honest. Most of them are harmless." Sonic spoke about it like it was completely normal. Well, he was a local and technically international celebrity, so maybe it was. Sounded irritating to deal with. "Oh fuck you, dude. Block." Sonic shut off the device and placed it in his quills. He was exasperated at first by whatever he saw on his phone, but now he just seemed over it. He noticed Shadow was staring at him again, so he blinked in his direction. "What?"
"You seemed bothered by that person, are they of any concern?"
Sonic scoffed and shook his head while holding up his hand. "Oh please, he wishes. An ex."
Oh, he dated before? "Oh."
"I mean, not really?" The blue one twisted his mouth around, as he wasn't sure how to describe it without coming off in a bad light. "I uh," Well, there was no easy way to say this. He abruptly got close and shoved his finger into Shadow's shoulder. "Don't judge me, got it?"
"Sure...?"
"I sleep around, one-night stands." He rose a brow at Shadow. "That cool?"
Sleep around? What, he slept in different houses-Oh. One-night stands. Oh. Huh. Well then. Color Shadow surprised, and a little red. Sonic wasn't dating anyone, he was just...Rather, experienced in that department. Nothing he wasn't used to, though. He already had a friend who did that very often when they first met, and only stopped thanks to a certain echidna. Not gonna lie, that was a bit intimidating. Shadow didn't have any experience at all. "Err, I...I mean that's your business, not mine. Rouge did that too, so I know how that can be. Sometimes I'd have to escort someone out of her place. After I lodged a foot up their ass, of course. You're grown, it's your life." He then raised a curious question. "Wait—Why do you care what I think? You never care about what anyone thinks of you."
Sonic made a difficult expression. "You'd be surprised. A rando? No, I couldn't give one shit, but my friends are another story. Y'know, I don't like disappointing them or makin' anybody worried. A lot of them don't like it, and I sure as hell don't want Tails to know. He's a kid, and he looks up to me. I don't want him to think his big bro is a huge whore, haha." He laughed as he insulted himself, but Shadow could tell he didn't actually find it funny. "Amy doesn't judge me, but she thinks I can get hurt. Knuckles hates it for the same reason Amy has, but he's super vocal about it and it's annoying."
Okay, he could see why he was demeaning himself for it but he still felt that it was rather foolish. He highly doubted Sonic the Hedgehog was a slut for hire, he just liked to have fun after dark every so often. To get his point across, Shadow decided to break it down to see if they both could determine if that opinion was actually valid. "Do you have sex with married people and break up families?"
"What? No."
"Do you sleep with someone every single night?"
"Oh God no, even I have limits. To be honest, I haven't done anything with anyone in more than half a year."
"Do you get paid for it?"
Sonic slowly craned his head while glaring daggers into his face. "...Dude, that's not even cool to ask. Do I look like I need to do that for money? As a hero? With a kid?"
Shadow was unbothered by his reaction, as he solidified his point for him. "Then you're not a whore, are you?" Sonic was going to say something back, until he blushed and kept his mouth shut. "A whore is a prostitute, or someone's who's willing to do anything to get their rocks off. You don't do that. Ergo, you're not a whore. Sounds like the only one who's judging you right now is yourself." That redness spread all across the hero's face, who just kept silent without his expression fully visible. He hoped he didn't offend him with his tone, but Shadow knew he was right. Sonic was self-deprecating for a silly reason, out of sheer insecurity. Frankly, he didn't know Sonic had one of those. Nice to know, he supposed. After a few minutes, he concluded that Sonic more than likely was going to stay silent for the rest of the run. That didn't sit well with Shadow for two reasons. One, he didn't need the silent treatment during a very important mission. Two, he...Didn't want to hurt his feelings. It sounded dumb, but he really didn't mean to do that. He was just being honest with him, but Rouge warned him of his tone. Sometimes he sounded very heartless when his words and intentions betrayed him. He didn't want to, but he might have to apologize to him later. It was the right thing to do whether he liked or not.
As of right now, that didn't matter. They arrived at their destination, skidding to a clean stop. The roads here were more split up, not as clean or smooth. There were weeds and other unwanted plants growing in between the seams of the cracked pavement. The building itself had chipping, peeling paint that had long lost its color and texture. The door wasn't even shut, it was banging itself into the doorframe from the wind. Dead leaves and branches littered the surrounding perimeter. The windows were busted, the structure looked as if it was on its last leg. It almost looked like Black Doom had returned from the dead with how much damage the place gathered after a few years. Did the city neglect to repair this building? Hopefully it wouldn't cave in on them when they got inside.
"Let's go." Shadow said.
"Yup, yup." Sonic replied, seemingly normal at the moment. Good, he wouldn't have to worry about that. Shadow traveled inside first, the hero right behind him. It was dark, and there was no electricity. There were cobwebs and eerie little insects crawling up the walls and all across the floors. Shadow even caught a couple of roaches mating, which nearly made him nauseous. The carpet they were stepping on stunk of mold and old dried water, shriveled up and torn. A couple of venue speakers were toppled down onto the floor, their wires hanging from the ceiling or completely snapped in half. Broken glass, dead mice, mold rotting the walls, it was a mess in here. He saw Sonic hold his nose, because it did indeed smell like death. It was hard to see, and as they moved forward, they no longer had the outside light from the open door. Shadow didn't have normal eyes, so he could see in the dark. Sonic however was struggling, and eventually resorted to holding onto the biohog's shoulders. "Sorry, I don't have cat-eyes like you. Can't see."
Shadow didn't expect this but he could see why he was doing it, so he excused his touching for now. It's not like he didn't like it anyway...However, that was unnecessary because Shadow had an idea. He held up his wrist and his holographic device appeared above his limiter ring. He let Sonic know that it was safe as he did so. "It was reprogrammed, meaning no one will be able to hack in and listen in on us." Its red light greatly brightened the pitch blackness. Shadow scrolled through a few settings and found what he was looking for. Suddenly, a bright cone of white light shined through his ring. He heard Sonic gasp and then watched him proceed to poke at his wrist like it was a new toy. He ignored this—admittedly silly but adorable reaction—and pushed away any distracting feelings he was currently developing in his head. He didn't stop Sonic, either.
The feelings he was trying to restrain were getting harder to hold back...
As they walked carefully through the empty casino, they got to a bigger room. There were broken and fallen over slot machines everywhere, along with destroyed or broken chairs. This must have been the main hall. Right, didn't Infinite mention something about one of them? Something about one of them was different, but he couldn't tell. There were hundreds of these things too, so that would take all day.
"Infinite said that there's something strange about one of these slot machines."
Sonic tapped his foot. "Something strange, huh? Alrighty," He tilted his head to the side and brought his hands up to the back of his quills. Shadow watched with a puzzled expression.
"What are you-"
"Hold on," Sonic then lowered his arms to reveal a single, long but thin spine. Must have been a loose one. He then looked at the sea of broken machines, his eyes honing into the middle of the room. Like a dart, he took his fingers and flung the quill into the center of the floor. For a second, nothing happened, until blue sparks of chaos energy suddenly appeared. An entire volt of the power surged through from Sonic's figure to the path of the spine he threw down. Those sparks found the electric conductors they were searching for, and instantly billowed throughout the entire casino. One by one, each slot machine lit up, singing digital chimes before spitting out dozens upon dozens of rings at once. Soon, the entire hall was surrounded by glimmering golden rings. One slot machine though, one tucked in the far right of the entire room, was violently shaking. Sonic could feel this imbalance with his chaos energy and turned to point directly at their lead. "There." Shadow watched him jog away, but he was staggered in amazement. When Sonic didn't hear him coming, he turned to see what the hold up was. "You comin'?"
Even Shadow had to give him praise for that. "...Extraordinary," He whispered. "How did you do that?"
Sonic just blew a raspberry at him. "Oh stop it, like you can't."
"It's not that I can't, I probably could but," He scratched the side of his head. "I never thought to. That's, actually kind of ingenious. You concentrated chaos energy into your quills?"
The hero playfully tugged at a few of his aforementioned quills a couple of times, before letting them fall back against his back. "My quills got pretty long, and I decided to keep 'em that way. But I shed more spines now. Then, I thought about how you spawn chaos spears." He lifted his hand, before swishing his fingers to reveal another smaller spine that was glowing with blue power in between his digits. "Like I said, I'm still not that good at using chaos energy, especially not without a chaos emerald. I took one with me for safe keeping today, so that's helpin' me out, but I can't spawn energy out of nothing that easily like you. If I do, I have to push it into something that can hold it or else I end up blowing myself up and making myself tired. You're right," He flicked the spine before dropping it on the floor. A much weaker spark of chaos energy spat out from it. "I concentrate it in my quills and it travels to the loose spines in my hair. I just pick one out and boom, power surge."
"Does it take a lot of power?"
Sonic grinned. "That's the best part, nope. Barely even a wink. I can throw these bad boys for as long as I want. Don't get me wrong though, it's not powerful by any means. It can't even short circuit a small robot. Buuuuut," He whipped his arm past his own head before readying his arm and throwing four long blue spines at the nearest wall. They stuck within the surface like death spikes. "If I use more than one-" All at once, that blue energy from before surged between all four of them, causing a bigger illumination and a much larger spark. Similar to firecrackers, they couldn't withstand their own power and a small explosion boomed from the wall. "-The energy gets multiplied, and it gets stronger and stronger because they're all individually feeding off of each other. After a while, the spines can't hold it in any longer, and then—bigger boom."
Shadow was more than impressed after he saw the damage it did to the wall, which now had a gaping hole in it. "Innovation taken to a different level, I must say." He passed Sonic a small smile, as he even felt a little flattered since he came up with the idea from watching yours truly. "Nice."
"Psssh, shuddap..." The hero delightedly pretended not to be gratified, but his huge smile and rosy cheeks contradicted that. "Now come on and let's raid this joint!" He jogged over to the machine that was currently blowing a gasket. It was shaking so much that it was lifting itself off the floor. Shadow joined him and noticed that it was indeed thrashing like a full powered water hose. "Oh yeah, it's this one. If there's a mechanism that doesn't mesh well with my energy, even with a small spine, then it's more than likely trying to interfere with something else. My guess—a secret door-" A loud boom was heard, and the pair of hedgehogs quickly turned away while covering their faces with their arms. After it was over, they felt tiny pieces of rubble fall onto their heads. They looked down at the mess of now very destroyed slot machines, including the one Sonic singled out.
It was busted entirely, it's skeleton of wiring and cogs displayed open. Then, behind them, they heard a rumbling. They turned to the wall to see dust and dirt fall onto the floor, with the ruined and burnt up wallpaper suddenly creating a door cut out. It then opened upwards slowly, inviting them inside to an unknown path. They looked at each other, then back at the doorway. "You were right, there was a secret door. So that's what Infinite meant..." Shadow tapped his limiter ring to cut off its flash light. "Let's get moving." He again went inside first, with Sonic following right behind.
The corridor they entered had dim lighting from old electric lamps, but they could still see. They could also feel that instead of flooring, they were walking down stairs. They were steep and there wasn't that much room in the corridor to begin with, so it made walking down them a challenge. It seemed to take forever, too. They couldn't just run down them either, there wasn't enough room-"...!" Shadow suddenly felt a lot of weight push onto him, causing him to lose balance and catch himself against the wall with his hands. Sonic must have tripped. He sighed and tried to push himself off, until he felt something warm against his own, including his hand. Then, he looked up to see that Sonic's hand was holding onto his on the wall. "..." Shadow's face turned pale. He was on top of him. Shadow was underneath him. No way, no way was he up against him like this. He could feel his breath against his neck, and his other hand was trapping him on the other side.
"Shit," Sonic cursed with a deep voice. "My bad." He grunted as he moved to readjust his position, soon pulling his weight off of Shadow. "There was something on the step, some kind of object." He slowly took his hand from Shadow's. "You still smell like coffee..." He mumbled, but Shadow could still hear that. "You good? I'm pretty heavy, hope I didn't bruise ya."
"I-It's," Shadow took a moment to breathe. "It's fine. I'm fine." God...Damn...Stupid...Dumb...blue...Hedgehog. He dusted himself off and cleared his throat. "What did you even trip over?" He asked as he turned around and looked down at their feet. Sonic made a noise of interest, and Shadow saw why. It looked like some kind of two-way receiver but...The GUN agent bent down to pick it up and flipped it over. Both hedgehogs scowled, because there was a big Eggman insignia on it. It was a little scratched off, but anyone could see it clear as day. "This was what Infinite used when Robotnik captured him. He said he could use this to communicate with him. If we bring it back, I can get Infinite to pull some info out of the doctor."
Sonic made an unsure frown. "Ain't them things traced, though?"
"True," Shadow agreed. "If I try to damage it with chaos energy, I might destroy it. We need delicacy." He looked at Sonic. "Think you could fry it? I could have someone at GUN repair and reprogram it."
"No problemo. Let's see," His fingers flicked, and two spines appeared between them. "One might not do it, but two will." He took it from Shadow and shoved his spines straight through the device like claws. They glowed, and those blue sparks returned. The transceiver trembled and screeched, radio static growing louder and louder until the small pop of a miniature bang ruptured from within. Smoke soared from its small container, wires drooping out of the hole the spines made. "Since my energy is in it now, I can tell the trace is gone. A frequency just disappeared, and I can feel that it was really far away."
"Not bad," Shadow commented. "So whatever you hit with your spines, your energy marks. You can sense what happens to the object after it's been tagged."
"Yup! Well, except for stuff like walls and floors." The hero corrected. "It has to be a machine or a living thing. Something that has some version of conductivity, otherwise my energy just fades into the ether."
The biohog nodded. "I see, so if the transceiver was destroyed-"
"I wouldn't be able to keep my mark on it anymore, but I would know when it was destroyed and how strong the impact was to destroy it."
"Amazing." Shadow praised while placing the device in his quills. "Your ability might not be powerful in terms of strength, but it is highly strategic, which arguably makes it better. Your training's paid off, keep at it." When he saw how giddy Sonic looked, he decided to humble him with a more snide comment. "Hmph, you might almost get as good as me one day."
Sonic pursed his lips. "I can throw one in ya forehead, too."
"Oh please," The biohog immediately dismissed him as he continued to walk down the steps. "I've had enough of you and your antics for one day."
"Oh really?" Sonic countered with a sneer. "I haven't had enough of you. I liked having you under me, it's a good place for you."
"...!" This time, the ultimate life form nearly fell completely down the stairwell. A lingering hiss drifted from his lips as a stubborn blush began to color his tan muzzle. He slowly turned to the blue one with a heavy glare. "Something you want to tell me, hedgehog?"
The hero continued to leer at him while comfortably leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Nope. Do you?"
Steam emanated from Shadow's forehead.
The feelings he was trying to keep under wraps was unfolding, he couldn't hold them back anymore. That shitty smirk of his, that know-it-all attitude, that undeserved arrogance...
...Fuck it, that's it.
He's had enough.
In an amber red streak, Shadow instantly slammed the younger hedgehog against the cold stone wall. He had his arms pinned down, glowering at him with a frustrated expression. Sonic was a little shocked of course, and he even found himself sweating a little, but he was still smirking. "You," The striped hedgehog growled lowly, gripping his fingers into his wrists. Not too roughly, though. "Are you really trying to test my patience? Because you're doing a damn good job of it." He shoved his forehead against his, feeling him attempt to lean back from intimidation. "I'm trying to behave myself for your sake. Do you want me to beat the shit out of you that badly?" When he saw Sonic try to speak, Shadow slammed him against the wall again, causing him to wince. "Choose your next words carefully, faker."
"Heh," Sonic's grin only widened. "Yeah, you could...With something else."
8 - END - 8
Chapter 9: No Longer Just Friends
Summary:
While investigating the Jackal Squad secret hideout, the curse of mating season causes Sonic and Shadow to...become much closer than they anticipated.
Notes:
The beginning of this chapter involves light to moderate sexual content.
Chapter Text
9 - No Longer Just Friends - 9
Afternoon, 3:00 PM
Even now, even at this very moment, he was still toying with him. He had him literally in his hands, and he could strangle the brat if he wanted to. Sonic knew this, and he still decided to throw more fuel to the fire. But, that was Sonic for you. He didn't care if the Devil himself stared into his very soul, he'd spit right in his face and laugh at him. No matter how much Shadow tried to ignore his words, no matter how much he tried to keep his distance, he couldn't control himself any longer. He wanted to wait to confess his feelings, but this asshole of a crush was making that impossible. He couldn't deny it any longer—He wanted Sonic and by God did he want him badly. He knew it was just a crush, but now something else was screaming inside of him to just do something to him. Do the very things Rouge tried to do to him all those years ago. Do that and...And more. And more...And even more...That thought scared him, because he didn't even know he could want to do that to someone else. And he kind of wanted Sonic to do it to him, too.
...Damn it, why did he have to make everything so fucking difficult!?
"...What did you say?"
"You heard me." The hero retorted. "I want you to hurt me with something else." His voice grew huskier the more he spoke. "I want you to press me harder against this wall. I want you to fuck me up."
"...!" Holy shit, where was this coming from? "W-Will you shut the fuck up already!?"
"D'awww!" Sonic teased as he poked out his lips. "Poor itty bitty baby ultimate life form's scared of lil' ol' me?"
"Sonic I will kill you, and no one will find your body when I'm done with you!"
The blue one's eyes glowed into a dangerous neon green as his voice deepened threateningly. "You ain't gonna do shit, you big fuckin' pussy."
The striped one's eyes turned into a furious hellish red. "Mother fucker-!" He slammed his fist into the wall beside Sonic's head. He gripped his hand onto his jaw, forcing his peach lips to part.
Shadow dived in, pressing his lips into his.
It was so rough, that he was bruising his mouth and his own. But he didn't care, he didn't care about anything anymore. After half a minute, the pent up GUN agent broke the kiss, allowing them both a second to breathe. Now lightly panting, they stared at each other hungrily. The fire in their eyes wasn't dying out, however. This was far from over. Shadow growled and pressed a rough kiss on him again, gripping Sonic's arms and pulling him closer. He felt the hero wrap his arms around his waist to close any possible space between them. Hushed moans and light gasps echoed in the secret stone stairway, the pair shamelessly not concerned if they so happened to be caught. They broke the second kiss for a moment for some air, only to continue where they left off with yet another fiery kiss. Their thighs and legs brushed up against each other, grazing lower areas of great weakness. Their hands eventually found each other, grasping and interlocking their fingers. They couldn't get enough of each other, acting as if they would never see each other again after this. As if the very world was ending, coming to take them out along with it. And if that did happen, neither of them cared. They just wanted this moment to last forever.
It felt so good, it felt so wrong yet so right. Like it was something they should have done ages ago, or like they were releasing a tight lock on Pandora's box of hidden desires. The touching, the attention—It was everything Shadow wanted. This was all he ever needed and he needed so much more of it. He wouldn't stop until he could taste the forbidden fruit that he's been too afraid to touch for so long. But the moment didn't last forever like he hoped. After all, they needed oxygen. They slowly broke their consummation, and panted heavily. Shadow cautiously took a step back, the glow in his eyes slightly fading. His face was hot red, all the way up to the tips of his ears. He just did that. He really just...Kissed him. Not once, not twice, but three times in a row. He swallowed nervously. He did this all wrong. He didn't even confess properly, he didn't do anything right. He let Sonic get in his head, he let him get to him so easily.
Did he ruin it? Did he mess everything-
"Heheh..." A dark laughter drifted in the steamy air. Sonic clapped his hands together a few times as he laughed harder. "Hahaha..." He licked his lips sensually and darted his eyes directly into Shadow's. The glow in his eyes never decreased. "That was so cute...You're so inexperienced." He slowly took a couple steps forward in the tight space, causing his prey to back against the wall. Shadow completely had it wrong. He didn't corner Sonic, Sonic cornered him. The hero's cheeks were red, but he wasn't nearly as beet in the face as Shadow was. "You had me thinkin' I was actually in trouble, that I wouldn't be able to keep up. But it's obvious now," The hero's smile became increasingly ominous with every passing second. "You've never done this before, have you?"
He couldn't look away, he couldn't lie to him. He just couldn't. Those eyes...His eyes...Why couldn't he look away? Why did it feel like something was locking his focus? It was like his gaze was paralyzing him, and it wasn't just because of his feelings for him. It was something else. Something with energy he couldn't describe. Something vulgar that he was hopelessly attracted to.
"..." Shadow was definitely caught off guard. "...What...does that matter?"
Why was he intimidated by this? And why did he enjoy being in this daunting presence?
"You are adorable, you know that?" One would think he was teasing him, but his tone and voice was so eerily profound and unsettling that it felt like a threat. "I'm so proud of you for trying, Shads. But that ain't gonna do, not at all." He could clearly see it, the blue aura surrounding his entire body. It was radiating off of his figure like a Molotov fire. "Baby, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right." A finger was placed onto his mouth, and rubbed itself slowly down to his bottom lip. Sonic pressed his thumb down against it, slightly creating an opening of Shadow's mouth. "Now it's time for this youngin' to show you a thing or two." His feral fangs revealed themselves, and Shadow could feel his own latent animalistic instincts kick in. His body felt hot, as if it was lit on fire. He felt like he was burning alive, his skin scorching into ash. No...No, that wasn't possible.
That's when it hit him.
Touching himself late at night, growing hot, these lingering feelings of arousal: Aren't these all symptoms of mating season?
T-That can't be, Shadow was never susceptible to such a phenomenon!
This couldn't be happening. It couldn't! It was biologically impossible! "W-Wha..." Shadow shuddered. "What the hell...are you...doing to me...?" He whispered as he gripped his fingers into the wall behind him. "What have you done...?" He stifled a moan as he felt Sonic press his pelvis against his lower abdomen. "And why...have I wanted this for so long...? I don't get it..."
He suddenly felt his lips against his neck, his hand caressing the side of his face. "You've been stuck in my mind every single day," Sonic whispered. Even though Shadow was immensely flustered, he instinctively leaned into Sonic's touch. He pressed small pecks up his throat, and under his chin. "I've never felt like this either, not with anyone I've ever been with." He finally hovered his mouth over his. "You're driving me insane, and I'm gonna make you feel everything I've pent up." That's when it happened, the moment Sonic was dying for. They connected their mouths completely, this wouldn't be a mere kiss anymore. Feverishly, yet gently, Sonic lightly pushed his tongue inside. He immediately liked what he tasted: Coffee. He knew Shadow was nervous and clearly bewildered as to what to do. To make him feel more comfortable, Sonic stroked the side of his face and went farther back to delicately rub the back of his head. His other hand rubbed down his side and held his waist, lightly pushing his lower body closer. He then rubbed it upwards, planting it within his chest fur. He laced his fingers through it, and he could feel a low purr dwelling within Shadow's throat.
He could taste Sonic's tongue, and his breath. He had recently brushed his teeth, he tasted like mint. Suddenly feeling a little frisky, Shadow decided to try and keep up with this new game of theirs. He ever so slightly brushed his tongue against Sonic's. When he did, the hero made a pleasurable groan. He liked that he was finally trying to dance this dance with him. He did it again, and he felt Sonic grip his fingers in his chest fur. That felt good, really good. As their tongues pushed more and more against each other, Shadow decided to do something else. He had to show that he wasn't scared, that he could handle this. It didn't matter what Sonic was, who he was or what kind of power he had, he would never let him win. He admitted, he had him on the ropes at first, and he nearly pushed him completely into submission, but he wasn't going to let that happen. He couldn't, he'd never let himself live it down. Shadow lowered his hand towards his side, but he reached back father behind. He found the very ample, plump thing he was searching for, so he groped it. Hard.
"...!" Sonic gasped sharply, breaking the kiss immediately. A string of spit broke between them as he shivered from Shadow's touch. "Mmmnn," His tail started wagging in anticipation. "Mmhmhm~" He bit Shadow's bottom lip and nudged his knee in between his legs, rubbing it vigorously against his crotch. "Sneaky, aren't we? Tryin' to compete with me?"
"A-Ah..." Great Chaos, that felt amazing. "A-Aaah...!" He clenched his eye shut from the immense pleasure he had never felt before. Was this what it was like to be intimate with someone? If it was, he could get used to that. "S-Sonic..." He choked out, his voice weak but his body thriving with desire.
"You like that~?" Sonic hushed sultrily. "You like it when I touch you there? Or," Shadow suddenly felt his knee rub underneath his buttocks. "Here~?" A hefty moan was his response. "Nmm, yeah? Is it there?" He stuck out his tongue and slithered it against the corner of Shadow's mouth. "You want me to lick you up? Hm? You want that~?" He felt Shadow rub his fingers against his arse, and Sonic felt his own legs part. "Mmnn, fuck...Keep touching me like that..." He squeezed it, the blue blur's legs shuddered against themselves and his thighs closed instinctively. Then when he felt Shadow's fingers intercept between them and rub him from underneath his crotch, he started to lose it. "A-Aahh...Yeah, don't stop..." He praised erotically as he continued thrusting his knee against Shadow's pelvis. "Don't stop, don't stop..." He pleaded as he leaned his head against Shadow's shoulder. He gripped the biohog's hips with his palms and thrusted himself against him. "The way you touch me feels so good..."
They grinded against each other desperately. They were both so needy, needy for each other. "F-Fuck..." Shadow thrusted back against him, clutching his back as he moaned. "I c-can't...this feels-" He dragged his fingers down his back. "Sonic...!"
Sonic moaned back just as alluringly. "Shadow-"
"Shadow? Can you hear me? You've been in the same place for almost an hour. Just checking in on you."
...
...Shadow held up his wrist to activate his holographics. The time appeared in red text:
3:45 PM
...
...Oh.
The fun's over, it seems.
Panting but slowly catching their breaths, the two hedgehogs reluctantly separated themselves. Sonic backed away, not looking at him but clearly intoxicated with lust. Shadow was in the exact same boat. "..." He held his wrist close to his lips. "...I'm," He had to take a moment to find his second wind. "I'm fine. Thanks for checking in, over and out." He pushed that through his teeth, he had no desire to be talking with anyone right now. His lips suddenly felt dry.
Something...Clearly just happened.
But it did happen. They can't change it, and they can't change what most definitely would have happened if Rouge hadn't called in. Yeah they probably would have messed around-But honestly? Didn't even matter. Nope, not one bit. They had more important things to worry about. Like...Yeah! Investigating this hideout, for example. Right. Yeah...That. He looked down at his chest fur and saw how much Sonic roughed it up and attempted to fix it. He'd probably have to properly groom it later. Sonic meanwhile was still rather unpredictable. He was leaning against the wall with a hand on his hip, looking at nothing. His eyes were blank, the neon green glow in them completely gone. The glow in Shadow's had disappeared as well, their sex drive depleting almost instantly from that interruption. That was a good thing, though. Totally. Totally a good thing...Anyway, time to get moving. Their jobs weren't done, not yet. Shadow cleared his throat and silently gestured for Sonic to follow by nodding his head towards the end of the stairs. Nodding back, Sonic did as he was told.
They made going down a single flight of steps, the longest task of the entire mission.
Sigh.
They finally made it to the true hideout. One could tell both that the corridor and this room was man made, so Infinite must have made his men dig this little pocket of space. Shadow pointed to the other side of the room without saying a word, wordlessly instructing Sonic to check that side while he checked this side. He saw the hedgehog nod once and headed in the direction he requested. There were a few desks and drawers. In the back was a very large desk, the biggest one in the room. It was thick and had a longer length than the others. That was no doubt Infinite's desk. He was about to go check when he saw in the corner of his eye, Sonic tapping his knuckles against the left wall, the most far point of the side of the room Shadow requested for him to search. His blue ear listened closely to the noise his taps were making. He then backed up and eyed the wall up and down, before lifting his leg and swiftly kicking his foot directly against it. Instead of causing a bunch of bricks to crumble and fall, the wall...dented. Bricks weren't supposed to do that. That wasn't a real wall. With a slightly frustrated frown, blue chaos energy suddenly surrounded his entire head, before suddenly charging forward.
He completely headbutted the faux wall, and it worked, because all Shadow could see now was Sonic's behind. Before he could look away from such a gorgeous sight, Shadow heard a "Oh shit...!" Sonic's legs kicked backwards and he managed to pull himself back in from the hole he made. He dusted a few pieces of fake bricks off of his head before charging forward again with his shoulder first. Once he made an impact, the fake wall finally fell with a very loud thud. It even shook the ground beneath them. The hero tapped the fallen obstacle to see that it was super dense metal. It was probably osmium, but that was extremely rare to get your hands on. Not to mention stupidly expensive. Sonic simply stepped over the fallen wall and entered the room, which was itself concealed within a hidden room. Why put a secret in another secret? Maybe the most valuable thing they possessed was in there, so he'd check with Sonic later. Shadow turned back to his own task, and got behind the desk.
He pulled out drawers and opened cabinets. He searched for buttons underneath the desk, checked for false bottoms and fake handles that slipped off too easily. But no, he couldn't find a thing. There were just crumpled up pieces of paper that couldn't be read, along with broken pencils and pens scattered from draw to draw, and stained blank pieces of copy and line paper. Useless...Might as well see what Sonic was up to then-"...?" Wait. Shadow paused everything. He bent down and looked at the floor to see a shabby excuse for a rug, one that ran all the way underneath Infinite's desk. In one swift motion, the biohog grasped the crappy excuse of a decoration and whipped it from underneath the desk without even slightly disturbing it. He dropped the rug once he saw an item underneath the desk. There was a perfectly cut out square with a thin handle. There was a small cabinet built into the stone floor. When he returned to the hidden prison, he'd scold Infinite for not warning him about the many secret compartments that were installed in his humble abode. Shadow got down onto his knees and used his hand to lift the cabinet door open.
Ah, a black book. It was nearly too snug in the cabinet, but he managed to pull it out. He stood up while holding the thin piece of evidence, feeling it's light weight in his palms. It felt like it wasn't supposed to be, though. There may have been pages ripped out of it, but it appeared to be some kind of journal. He'd definitely look into that later. He placed it into his bed of quills, where it would disappear until he needed it again. He remembered Rouge once complaining about how she wished she could hide all of her belongings in a bed of hair like they could without anyone noticing a thing. Quills as hair was just the best, honestly. For safe keeping, he whipped around the room real quick to check the other small desks, but he found nothing worth salvaging and he was positive they didn't have any elaborate hidey holes either. He was done here.
He walked into the room that Sonic busted into earlier and saw that there were bunk beds all throughout the room separated by an aisle of empty space, similar to the barracks of a house of soldiers. The ceiling was extremely high, and the room was incredibly spacious. Quickly, Shadow eyeballed the amount of beds in this spacious cut out room. They were all very tall, and held multiple beds. There were fifteen bunks, with four beds each...That was sixty beds in total. Sixty people could rest in here. Looking towards the back of the room, there was a large cut out space in the wall for a very wide and tall steel fridge. They must have stolen a power line and hooked up some electricity to the place. Or maybe the casino never ran out of power, they just redirected the energy. Sonic had already opened it, it was nearly cleared out, save for some spoiled old milk and rotted meats that smelled awful. There was a door on the other side of the room that was open, and it was a large bathroom.
Shadow checked the restroom, one which had several toilet stalls, sinks and showers. Practically a community bathroom, which was a little gross. Guess they really were like a family. They checked underneath every bed, every mattress, and every box spring—Nothing. They checked for any more little secret surprises, but no. Zilch. That transmitter seemed to be the only important-
Sonic's ears twinged to the side. He then turned at Shadow, almost robotically or like he was being led by something. His eyes seemed distracted, he was sensing something. "Yo," He told Shadow, who was starting to wince at this buzzing noise he was hearing. "Take out that transceiver thingy." When Shadow did so, blue sparks kept zapping through the device and into his hand. He flinched in pain and dropped it on the floor where Sonic swiftly slid over to catch it just before it smashed onto the ground. As the hero stared at it, his eyes began to travel from it, to somewhere in the barracks. It was as if he was watching a line move from one place to another, and he was. He was watching his own chaos energy search for the conductor that was attracting it. It sparked across the floor, zapping towards the fridge. Once it settled onto the appliance, it went mad with energy and began trembling against the wall it was positioned against. "It must have sensed another conductor when you moved more into the room, it's in there."
Shadow was already on it. He boosted forward with his air shoes and charged a punch into the appliance. He hissed at the pain of being shocked by Sonic's energy, but he did just the right amount of damage. The hinges of the doors fell with hard thuds, and the shelves were broken. The now broken evaporator fan inside of it twitched, but something was behind the blade because Sonic's energy was sparking a lot there. It kept shocking him though. "There a way to turn that off?" He asked aloud as he attempted to put his hand inside.
"On it." More blue sparks appeared on Sonic's fingers. He snapped them, and a wave of blue aura flowed across the room before fading out. The sparks were no longer flaring up, they were gone. All Shadow saw left of it was floating blue embers fading into the air. He then grunted to get his fingers in the fan, before yanking it out. He looked down at it, and turned it around. His eyes narrowed when he saw transparent tape sticking down a slim USB. He ripped it off from its adhesive prison and carefully placed it into his quills.
"A USB," Shadow said aloud, wondering what was on such a tiny little thing. "More than likely a bunch of valuable info." He knew it for sure this time, they found everything they needed. He turned to Sonic. "Let's get out of here, I'm tired of this place. We got what we needed." He then walked over to place his hand on his arm, but then he slowly reached down to softly caress his hand. Sonic surprisingly grasped his hand back sweetly. With a small blush, Shadow muttered the words, "Chaos Control."
4:20 PM
In a literal green flash, they were outside of the abandoned casino, still holding each other's hands.
Silence fell between them as they stared at each other.
...
...
...
...Something major just happened, and they couldn't ignore it.
Shadow carefully pulled his hand away, as much as he didn't want to. "Um," He supposed he could start with the second most obvious elephant in the room. "I apologize." He suddenly blurted, causing himself to blink. Why did he have to make things so awkward immediately? "I didn't mean to offend you, earlier. I made you feel stupid and I...didn't intend that at all."
He must have meant the whole "whore" thing. Sonic shrugged with a small smile and handed the transceiver back to its new owner. "I'm over it." He replied. "Yeah, you're a little harsh, I won't lie." He saw Shadow ruefully look to the side. "But I know that already, so I knew you didn't mean it that way." He stroked one of his own longer quills that was hanging over his shoulder, before pushing it to the side. "If I was younger, I would have called you an asshole and given you the silent treatment. Sometimes our fast brains are too impatient for certain things, such as sensitive topics. I've been tryin' to learn how to both tame my own tone and to understand that if it comes from someone else, it's usually not what I initially think." He made a sly smile as he lowered his voice in a gossipy whisper. "Knuckles is the king of saying savage shit without meaning to be mean, Rouge currently suffers from it. But they're working on it." His expression grew a brighter shade of positivity. "People make mistakes, it's not a big deal. At the end of the day, you were trying to say something nice to me. And I appreciate that."
That was good, he didn't hurt him and he took it in stride like he always did. "Thank goodness," Shadow just barely whispered, as he didn't want Sonic to hear him and tease him for it. "Another thing," He added quickly as he hid the transceiver in his quills. "One of the gifts you gave me after the party, that hand drawn picture of Maria," He stared at the blue hedgehog with curiosity. "Did you make that?"
Sonic sheepishly scratched behind his head. "I uh," He stammered. "I hope you didn't take offense to it, I know she's a real tough subject for you. I don't draw very often, so I ain't too good at um...Traditional art. But I thought it would be the best way to immortalize her, and an even better gift. So," He nodded. "Yes, I drew her. I went off of what Rouge told me how you described her. I don't know if it was entirely accurate. I didn't do the ice sculptor though, I ain't that good! Hahaha."
He really was the one who did that? The better question was, why was he still surprised at this point? It was Sonic, of course he made that. He could feel it, he knew it all along. Only he would create something that would take that much care and attention, to craft something that would mean so much to the ultimate life form. Shadow bit his lip, his heart was so heavy at the moment and he was feeling so many different things at once. "I see. Thank you for that. I never had any photos of her, my truest regret," He sadly confessed. "But now she's preserved in beautiful strokes of graphite and color. I can rest easy now, thanks to you. I'll probably keep it for as long as I live."
A beautiful smile graced Sonic's face. "I'm glad, Shadow. That's all I wanted, to make you happy."
He had to say, that smile stunned him for a second.
God he was beautiful, but Shadow forced himself to stop being so mesmerized. "About what happened in the stairwell," And like that he changed the subject and ripped off the band aid. Shadow knew there was a chance Sonic could dismiss this or blow him off, but he had to take a chance because he needed to know. "I say this with as much respect as I have for you, which is a lot..." He clenched his fists. "...Will I be a fling too?"
Sonic wasn't offended, he knew why he was asking that. "I don't want it to be, no. If that's what you want, of course." He simply answered, his voice neutral.
"And," Shadow wasn't finished just yet, there was more he needed to know before he was willing to go through with this at one hundred and ten percent. "You know I'm bad at this. I don't even know where that all came from. I still don't quite understand what I'm feeling...I'm still learning and I can be—um," He hated admitting this. "Slow, at this. So," He hesitated. "Will you be patient with me? And if I do something wrong, will you give me the chance to fix it? Help me learn?"
"Yes."
"And you...want...me?"
"Yes. I have for a few days, now." Sonic spoke in raw frankness, and Shadow could tell he was completely serious. "Ever since the party I just—Couldn't get you out of my head. You're really somethin', Shadow. I just apologize for uh...comin' on pretty strong. I flirt a lot but that was a little much, I gotta admit." He tapped a finger to his own forehead with wonder. "Was that the mating season hormones? I turn into a huge asshole during that time, but it usually doesn't make me that aggressive. I have no idea..."
The GUN agent shook his head. "No, I'm glad you did. I wanted to wait to tell you, to find better ground to stand on because I wasn't sure."
"Me either," Sonic sympathized. "I talked with Amy about what I should do, and I asked Rouge if you, you know, swing that way. She wasn't completely sure since she never straight up asked you, but she figured."
That God damn woman, telling his business. "She what? That bitch-" He hissed under his breath, and he saw Sonic giggle to the side. He'd give bat girl an earful later. "Anyway, I wanted to do this right, but maybe that wasn't the best decision. The waiting was killing me, and the flirting wasn't enough."
Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, mating season'll do that to ya." He walked closer to the biohog and placed his hand on his shoulder. "It just became pent up sexual tension and I guess we couldn't handle it for long. We're not the kind of people who have that much restraint, anyway. The clock's ticking, life's too short. We're fast, but I don't think we're moving too fast with this."
Shadow couldn't help but feel a little flustered since Sonic was touching him after everything they did today. He looked at his hand that was now holding his shoulder blade, before glancing at him. "We're not?"
The hero leaned against him with a smile that wasn't sultry, but very joyful. He just looked happy to be next to him. "Amy gave me good advice, and I'm sure Rouge gave you good advice, too. But people have their own definitions of pacing, and I like the idea that everyone has the freedom to choose what they should do—even bad guys. So," He leaned his face closer, causing Shadow to stiffen with reddening cheeks. "I think we're going at just the right speed, because we're going at our pace. We should do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want. We'll talk about moving forward from time to time, and come to some kind of compromise: Easy. Not a bad plan, right?"
Putting it like that, maybe he was right. Maybe what happened today was the right thing, because it brought them together much faster than he anticipated, and he liked that. He didn't want to wait, he didn't want to take baby steps to have him. But now that he had him, he needed help. He needed to know what he was doing, and that if this was what he truly wanted in the first place. Was this just lust or was there something more? He needed to figure that out. "I like that plan," He said cordially. "With that said, do you mind slowing down for me?" He asked quietly, not sure if Sonic would like the idea of skidding to a stop right after that sudden explosion of intimacy they experienced for each other. "I know I want to be with you. I just don't know how much, or...even if this is what I'm supposed to be feeling. I still need time to process it all, to understand what I'm trying to attempt. I don't like going into a battle without knowing my enemy first, because I don't want to make a mistake that'll cost me my life." He lowered his head. "Rouge said romance was painful. That it can hurt so badly that it feels like it's destroying you from the inside. But she said that because it's so beautiful, it's worth all the despair." He then looked Sonic in the eyes. "I want to know if that's true. Will you prove it to me?"
"Not gonna lie, that's a big ask. I wanna say yes," Sonic replied honestly. "But I gotta tell ya, this is new to me too. I usually don't try to stick with one person, 'cause I never cared about someone that much. Not in this way, I didn't think I could. But I do know the basics of dating and what it could have in store, so I understand the gist. I'll get you that far," He raised his hand from his shoulder, to the side of his face and caressed it. "But after that, we'll learn together what we want from each other. I won't force you to do anything, and I won't pressure you to do things that only I want. I want us to enjoy this together, 'cause it's not fun if only one of us is happy. We'll move slower, but if there's ever a time you wanna push it forward or bring it back down, we'll do that. I don't want our first experience to be bad, so we need to work with each other now more than ever." He rubbed his thumb against his chin. "Deal?"
That was fair, and he was relieved to know that even Sonic wasn't sure about all of this either. Working with him, though...He could do that, it was a challenge he'd graciously accept. Shadow nodded. "...Deal." Suddenly, Sonic wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close to his body as he laid his head against his shoulder. "...!" This was, what—The twelfth time today he caught him off guard? To feel him breathe against him, to feel his velvet-like fur against his, his perfect figure embracing him...He could barely take it, he didn't know what to do. His breathing was getting faster, and he felt his chest pumping way too much blood. "I...I um..."
"Mmn, you're heart's beatin' real fast, y'know." Sonic murmured sensually. "That for me~?"
Shadow's ears flattened as he knew for sure his entire face was red again. "...Yes." He barely squeaked that out.
"You know you're allowed to touch me, right?"
"W-What?"
"Heheh," Sonic rubbed his hands down his back, causing him to shiver. He placed his hands onto Shadow's wrists and moved them to his waist. "You're allowed to hug me back."
Oh, right. Hug him back, of course! Of course. He knew that. Obviously. "Right-Of course." He pretended to have completely known to do that, he just wanted to make sure it was okay is all. He carefully embraced him back, putting his arms around his lower body. He was just inches away from his ass-Okay no. No. Focus. Focus-
"Or," His fawn lips purposefully brushed against his right ear. "You could touch me right here too..." He tried to push Shadow's hands even lower.
Oh God, he was going to snap. No, don't do it. Don't do it, not now. He couldn't. He didn't want to, it was too much. "N-No...I...Not now." He refused to go any lower, and he felt Sonic's attempt to push his hands downwards stop. "Not for a while, if that's okay?"
The hero made a satisfied smile. "Good! See how easy it was for you to tell me that?" Oh, he was just trying to prove a point. Thank Chaos. "Just keep that in mind. You have control over your own body, not me." He let go of Shadow's wrists. "If you're uncomfortable, you can tell me. I'll be okay, but I want you to be okay first."
He was just looking out for him and promising him that he will never force himself onto him. Everything must be consensual because he wanted Shadow to actually enjoy what he was doing. He was flattered he was showing him that he could trust him, and he wanted him to understand that he didn't have to fear his advances. If he went too far, he could say so. "I...I understand."
"Good, now I'm going to ask you permission for something. Can I kiss you again?"
If Shadow was prone to nose bleeding, he would be leaking right now. "Y-You uh...I-You want to-"
"Kiss you." Sonic repeated casually.
"On the...cheek or-"
"Wherever you want. Your cheek, your hand, or your mouth...Or your tongue." He added mischievously. "But it's up to you."
He hated that he had this kind of inexperience, because he felt like a child asking for candy. But if Sonic was willing to guide him, he couldn't refute that. "On the lips, please?" He asked innocently as he grasped Sonic's hands.
"Mmm~" As he requested, a chaste kiss was pressed onto his lips. He could hear Shadow purring again, which was cute. "You like that?"
"Yes...I do."
"And will you call me tonight?" The hero pouted and made a mocking sorrowful expression. "With Tails bein' on his own and all, I get so lonely sometimes..."
It was entirely and obviously facetious and yet Shadow fell right for it. "Yes, I'd love to." Shadow's hold on his hands tightened a little. "I don't want you to be lonely."
"Nmm," Sonic affectionately nuzzled his nose against his muzzle. "Aww, that makes me so happy." He quickly pecked his cheek before letting go and turning around. "I gotta go, I need to look into something else. Huge pain in my ass, but it's worth checkin' out. If it's important, I'll let you know." He then glanced at him and winked. "Don't forget to call me. Bye~"
And like that, he was gone.
All Shadow could see was a blue streak disappearing within the depths of the city. Winds blew against his face, until they finally calmed and left him alone with nothing but his thoughts.
He then sat on the ground and placed a hand onto his head.
He had a migraine.
The hero of Mobius was now his boyfriend thanks to mating season.
9 - END - 9
Chapter 10: Determination
Summary:
Shadow tells Infinite the truth about the status of the remaining members of the Jackal Squad. Next, he and Sonic go on a date to the beach.
Chapter Text
10 - Determination - 10
Empire City, Unknown Location
Infinite's Prison
Evening, 10:00 PM
Probably the most eventful day he ever had so far, but he knew being with Sonic would change that very soon. He'd have many more eventful days with him by his side, now. Yeah, the hero of Mobius was his boyfriend now. He wouldn't tell Rouge just yet, he'd wait on that. She'd probably tease him and make a spectacle out of it just to mess with him even more. After they left the abandoned casino, Shadow visited Tower's office and finally explained to him what Sonic told Shadow yesterday. He felt that now was an appropriate time. Tower begrudgingly agreed, as he had heard about a supposed GUN soldier being taken into custody on New Prison Island by the blue hedgehog some days ago. A very strict inspection would be initiated tomorrow, and all employees of GUN, even interns or janitors, would be thoroughly investigated. As an extra measure, Tower ordered for the president's own inner circle to be investigated as well. It would be a very annoying work day tomorrow, but it had to be done. He was a little tired tonight, and he noticed that he was atypically low on energy ever since he and Sonic...Did what they did. It could have been a symptom of mating season, but he didn't know for sure since he never experienced it.
He'd have to do some research, maybe even ask Sonic what it consists of. After informing Tower about the mole, he did his normal working hours which consisted of writing reports and analyzing cases of high level criminals. He also got curious and looked into the current state of the Chemical Plant ruins. He didn't find much but he did see that GUN's satellites were able to pick up some heavy electrical energy being utilized there. When he clocked out, he made a beeline to Infinite's new secret prison.
On the way, as promised, he called Sonic. It took a couple rings but he answered. "Hey." Shadow greeted.
"Hey you~" A playfully flirtatious, masculine voice greeted back. "You miss me?"
"It's been six hours." He deadpanned.
"Oh come on, I missed you!"
"...It's been six hours." He repeated. But then, he blushed a little. "But yes, I did." He heard the rustling of fabric in the background. Perhaps bed sheets. "Were you asleep? Did I wake you?"
A yawn was his response. "Nah, I'm headed to bed now. Took my shower, got my clothes off."
Shower? His gloves and socks? H-He was naked? "Clothes...off?"
The hero chuckled. "Well duh, it's more comfortable."
Shadow swallowed hard. He remembered how they touched each other. How he groped him and felt his bu-Damn it, focus. "O-Oh."
"Want a picture~?"
A...Picture?
The various things that could entail...So many possibilities. Sonic on all fours, an ungloved peach finger beckoning him to come over. Him laid back with his arms behind his head, showing off his upper body. Or maybe his face laying against a pillow, his arms hugging it closely as his lower body was lustfully inclined. But he wasn't sure if he could handle that. That was so much lewd beauty all at once. His lime irises that had a strange haze of provocative risqué, his velour-grade royal blue fur seemed to dazzle in low light, his fawn peach arms and muzzle helped completed such a gorgeous face and figure. He wasn't sure about this. Something inside of him wanted a picture, but another side just wasn't ready for that yet.
Well...maybe one couldn't hurt?
He'd just have to brace himself. Gradually, he made his lips move. "...I'd like one, yes."
"Mmm, okay...Gimme one second." He heard a few more noises of movement and shuffling around. Every sound he heard caused Shadow to grow more and more anxious. This felt like an overload of feelings, and it didn't feel good at all. Shit, maybe he should have refused. "Sent. Hope you enjoy~"
With baited breath, Shadow carefully took the phone away from his face and began to check his direct messages. He could feel sweat bead on his forehead. It's just a picture, it's just a picture. He placed his finger on the image symbol and braced himself-
...It was just Sonic rolled up in bed sheets like a damn burrito, with the goofiest yet smarmiest smirk he ever saw him make.
Shadow could do nothing but chuckle, as his anxiety immediately disappeared. Alright, he should have saw that one coming. But maybe that was a good thing, because Shadow realized he wasn't ready for potentially naughty pictures at all. Even though they officially started to date after doing something inappropriate, they still just started dating. If they sincerely wanted to be together, they'd have to push things like pure lust aside. Sonic knew this, and was trying to teach him a lesson.
"I hear ya laughin'. You like it, huh?"
With a small smile Shadow held the phone back up near his face. He realized he was just a few yards away from the location and slowly glided to a halt with his air shoes. He began walking casually, his eyes glancing up at the night sky. They were almost as pretty as his eyes. "Yes, I guess you could say that. You're a fool, you know that, right?"
He heard Sonic snicker in the background. "Maybe."
"...Thank you. I wasn't actually ready for something like that, but I tried forcing myself anyway."
"I know." Sonic replied gently. "I know you like pushing yourself, but sometimes you push yourself too hard. You've always done that, ever since we first met." If it wasn't for Shadow going overboard with his newfound ability of going super, he wouldn't have plummeted to Mobius and nearly died. "I don't want you to do that with me."
"I know, it's...A bad habit of mine. Sorry."
"Don't apologize for not being ready, Shads. I'll tell you what," He offered. "I don't wanna scare you off. I'm not gonna sext you or do any of that stuff until you say it's okay, alright?"
He didn't want to make it feel like Sonic couldn't do anything spicy, that was kind of boring. He did like how titillating Sonic made things despite Shadow's anxiety, it was fun and the feeling was always mutual. Plus, he felt like he was stopping Sonic from being himself. After all, he was as coy as he was sweet. "But I don't want to stop you from being you. I know you like flirting, and I admit, I like it when you do. Maybe not now, but I'd like one in the future."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, you enjoy how sexy I look in a comforter-burrito."
He snorted a laugh. "Sexy, huh? That's what you call it?"
"You could call it perfection, too."
Shadow smirked. "Yeah, maybe. But I'd personally use the word beautiful."
"..." Ha, crickets. He knew that'd shut him up. Just because Sonic was guiding him in this new relationship didn't mean their little competition of one-upping each other was over. "...You...Did you say-"
"I gotta go," Shadow cut in. As much as he loved to hear how stunned Sonic was from such a compliment, he wanted him to chew on that alone for a while. "I'll text you."
"You're such a dick," Sonic grumbled, and Shadow could hear an audible pout. "But I love it for some reason. Alrighty," He gave in, Shadow won this round. "I'll let you have this one. Hey," He suddenly said with an amused tone. "Do you mind if I take you out somewhere tomorrow? If you've got time, of course. I know you're busy with a lot of stuff right now."
He wanted to take him out? Like on a date? Oh boy, he didn't expect him to ask that so soon. Not that he didn't want it, he'd love to. He supposed he could clock in a little later tomorrow. There was nothing imperative going on other than Infinite's case, and that would only be operated on at night due to a plan Shadow was currently concocting. "I'd be honored, as long as it's in the morning and ends before noon."
"Dope!" Sonic cheered. "Nine?"
"Sounds fine to me."
"Sweet! Meet me at my place. The place I wanna take you to is a little confusing to find unless you're familiar with the area, so I'll take you there myself."
"Ahh, a personal escort?" Shadow asked playfully. "Your generosity knows no bounds, hedgehog."
He heard a scoff from the other end of the line. "You keep playin' with me like that, ya hear?" He could tell they both were secretly loving this cat-and-mouse game they were playing, and they wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. If this was how their relationship was going to be from now on, Shadow was all for it. "Nighty night, don't stay up too late."
A rare, warm smile graced his lips. "Goodnight, Sonic." He heard the line cut, he hung up first. He pulled his phone down to stare at the screen. He didn't want to stop talking to him. He wanted to be in that bed with him right now, even in that stupid, dumb ass bed burrito. He wanted to help him get comfortable and undress the hero himself. He wanted to hold him and kiss him again. He wanted to pin him down and make his face turn red again. He wanted to sleep next to him, and wake up seeing his face. He wanted to do so many things, and yet he knew he wasn't ready for it. He hated himself for this, as this snail's pace was killing him. However, he couldn't do it even if he wanted to. His mind and his body were too conflicted to go that far. Perhaps he could see this as another form of training? Training of the heart, maybe. He placed his phone in his quills. He really needed to update Sonic's contact details. He wanted to use that silly picture he sent as his wallpaper. Maybe Rouge could send him more of those magazine covers for him to use, too.
Alright, back to boring old business.
Actually, as Shadow stared at the old rickety shack that held the secret underground prison, he realized that tonight would be more sad than boring. However, he couldn't hide the truth from Infinite. He had to tell him, he had the right to know what happened to his family. He just hoped that his desire for death wouldn't increase dramatically so much that he...Did something regrettable. Shadow didn't want to do this, but he had to. He couldn't keep this from him, even if he was some terroristic mercenary.
When he entered the tiny underground apartment, he saw Infinite in bed, turning over to open his blue and yellow eyes and see Shadow. Was he wallowing in despair by himself? He then immediately moved to sit up and give him his full attention. When he tried to get out of bed, Shadow simply held up a hand to cease him. His amber red eyes that faintly glowed in the dark, were downcast and a lot more sorrowful than usual. Infinite frowned. "Did you not find the hideout?"
Shadow walked over with a sigh. "Do you mind if I sit?"
Blinking at the question, Infinite raised a brow. "I don't think I'm allowed to refuse that, so no?"
Shadow sat down on the edge of the bed and folded his hands in his lap. "A friend of mine discovered where the doctor is, a hidden base underground. When she discovered his whereabouts, she didn't see any other living being in the base. We didn't go inside of it, as we do not plan on raiding the place just yet until we can learn everything we can about Robotnik's intentions." He closed his eyes. "I do not know where the bodies of your family are, or if they were roboticized. All I know is that my colleague saw Robotnik by reading infrared signals, and his was the only one found on her radar. While it isn't one hundred percent proof, I doubt the doctor would just leave the members of the Jackal Squad behind as loose ends. While I'm not completely sure about their status, it's obvious they met a terrible fate this far along into his plans." The biohog lowered his head and looked away. "...I'm sorry."
The jackal's face became completely still, as if frozen in time. The news didn't settle in immediately, no, it was a slow and painful experience. It took several minutes before his face actually began to emote. His brows harshly furrowed, his large fanged canine teeth clenched, his eyes small and shaking like a leaf. His body shook frantically, his hands becoming balled up fists, before gripping his own thighs so hard that he was bruising himself. His ears flattened against his skull, and he hunched over while shoving his fists against his own head. A sharp inhale, and a sniff echoed in the silent room. An enraged snarl sobbed from his throat. "..."
The GUN agent could hear this, and he tried his best to ignore his quiet cries. He shouldn't have felt pity for him, much less empathy, yet he did. He knew what it was like having everything taken away, and he knew what is was like to be manipulated by someone as their puppet. Infinite didn't just lose his family, he lost his own dignity and ability to be a person. He was now just a tool for Eggman's desire to do God knows what. Sure he had other members who were alive in prison, but that was a significant chunk of his group, a large percentage of his family, suddenly gone. Plus, neither of them knew how they perished or if their bodies were even in Eggman's new base. Infinite had no one, and he was alone. Even if by some miracle he escaped and got away from Shadow, where would he go? He had no one left, and no home to return to. The jackal couldn't take much more of this, and he was starting to breathe a lot heavier and quicker. The striped hedgehog opened his irises and glanced at the prisoner, who was heaving and holding his head. He was pulling at his dreadlocks, gnashing his teeth with tears budding in the corners of his darkened eyes. He had bags under them, he hadn't been sleeping very well despite the change in interior. His fur was worse and needed to be groomed soon, and he looked like he just got out of a mental asylum.
He can't stay in here, not right now, Shadow thought. Infinite was too unstable and he was having a breakdown. Shadow knew what it was like to feel this way and he nearly took himself out when he did. This was risky, but if he let him stay here and simmer in this despair, he'd return to a corpse tomorrow. Shadow got up from the bed and reached down to grasp Infinite's wrist. He pulled for him to get out of bed, and murmured, "Chaos Control." They appeared on the surface, now covered in moonlight. They were behind the shack, where the soldiers guarding the place on the porch couldn't see. He pulled Infinite a few more yards away from the area before stopping and grabbing hold of his shoulders. "Hey," He didn't respond, so Shadow shook him. "Stop it. Wake up!" He yelled. He saw his pupils were gone, he was no longer mentally there. "Look at me!" Shadow hollered again while shaking him. "You can't fall apart like this, the others need you! They need their leader!" It didn't matter what Shadow yelled at him, Infinite was too far gone to listen or even consciously be aware of what was even happening at the moment. He tried to think about what he could do to ease his mind from breaking before it was too late.
What would Sonic do?
...
He got it.
"...?!"
Shadow wrapped his arms around the jackal, and held him close. As the prisoner just stood there, his pupils slowly began to react to the moonlight above. "I'm asking you," The ultimate life form spoke firmly. "To please hang on. You can't give up, not when there's still time to make this right. I will take down the doctor, and I will make sure your remaining family are safe. I promised you, and I swear I will not break that promise." He hugged him tighter. "Help me avenge them, help me make him pay for what he's done!"
"..."
He could feel moisture and tears hitting his shoulder blade. "...I've been where you are before. I know what it's like to lose it all, right in front of your eyes, not able to do a damn thing. But I swear to you, I'll make it right. I can't bring them back, but I won't let their lives be in vain. I-" Shadow tightly closed his eyes. "I am sorry. I'm sorry, Infinite."
The jackal stiffened as he sobbed, his eyes were still a thousand-yard stare. "...Why are you doing this?" He whispered. "Why do you give a damn about me? I almost destroyed your city, I could have killed so many people. I could have killed you."
This question caused Shadow to feel conflicted, as he was right. This was a cold blooded, greedy mercenary who hurt others for cash. He nearly leveled the entire metropolis of Empire City and could have gotten a lot of GUN soldiers hurt or even killed, if Shadow wasn't strong enough to handle it on his own. He had no reason to show kindness to this Mobian, nor did he deserve it. He deserved to rot in prison forever, and he was positive his victims would love to see him fry for what could have happened that day. Not to mention that he was aiding Eggman in whatever horrible plot he was currently undergoing, despite being forced. Shadow slowly opened his eyes. "...I told you I studied your group carefully. Through my analysis, I confirmed that your group never killed anyone. Of all the years you operated, you never had a body count. I discovered that your team was merciful only because you didn't want a trail of corpses to lead authorities to your whereabouts. And you did terrorize people, scared them, hurt them, but..." He didn't know why he was saying this, but something inside of him couldn't let someone else fall apart the same way he did in the past. He didn't want that. "That was your way of life. It was how you were raised, you never knew any different. I am not absolving you of your crimes, I have no right. You are a criminal, and you belong on death row for what you've done, forced or not. But I've been in your shoes."
With trembling eyes, Infinite broke the embrace and looked the biohog in the eyes. "...You have?"
"Yes. I've done awful things, I nearly destroyed this world more than once and I hurt Mobius' hero more times than I can count." His grip on the jackal was becoming so desperate, that his palms were getting clammy. It was as if he was talking to himself. "I worked with the doctor before and did his bidding, and I hurt many innocents. I was used too, and I didn't realize the damage I had done until it was almost too late. But," He met Infinite's gaze, his amber irises shining under the limited illuminated darkness of the night. This struck Infinite, and soon it felt like they were the only thing he could see. He didn't see the grass of the empty greenfield, or the dilapidated building behind them. He only saw Shadow. "Someone gave me a chance, and they never stopped giving me second chances every time I screwed up. I proved myself, and GUN eventually allowed me in. They saw that I was more than my mistakes, so..." He reached up to the grab the sides of the jackal's face. "Why can't I do the same for you?"
Confusion and bewilderment was his only reaction. "But I...I-"
"You lost almost everything, but you still have something left worth saving: The remaining survivors of your family—Eggman is going to destroy them all!" Shadow shouted as he shook him violently, desperate for his words to purge his ears. "Are you going to let that happen? Are you going to give up just like that? Are you just going to lay down and die!?"
"..."
"Well? Are you!?"
They thought it would be a simple raid, a simple but slightly challenging operation to both destroy and steal the doctor's machines. They planned it all out, mapped every location and level within the base. The robots were so easy to deal with, it was cakewalk penetrating his defenses. And then it all fell apart, because they underestimated him. They figured that since Sonic Team could easily take him on, why couldn't they? They didn't realize that the heroes weren't just abnormal Mobians, they were experienced in fighting the doctor. The Jackal Squad wasn't. They figured some fat Overlander could never go up against a feared mercenary group. When Infinite attacked him in his Egg Mobile, it was easily shielded with a digital force field. And before he could survey his surroundings, stronger and taller robots surrounded them all. He baited them the entire time, gave them a false sense of security then ripped the rug out right from underneath them. He could have killed him that day, slit his throat real quick, but he threatened the safety of his family. One by one, Eggman captured them all. He chipped him and forced both him and his entire family to work for him. Gave them a terrible plan that was sure to fail, threatened him by holding the larger half of his family hostage and now they could be either dead or worse.
He would never see the rest of his family again, and now...
...and now...
A new light shined in Infinite's eyes, and he slowly reached up to grasp Shadow's wrists. He held onto them tightly before a dark expression of determination washed over him. "No." He growled. "I'm done running. Tell me exactly what I need to do. I'll listen, I'll cooperate. I'll do anything if it means making that son of a bitch pay."
The dauntless prowess of resolve resonated between them, and Shadow nodded in confirmation. "I've found many useful things in your hideout. Tomorrow night, I'm going to initiate my plan. And once we know everything, we'll strike him down and end him. Once and for all."
As the two males separated, they looked up at the night sky above.
The stars were so clear, and the fresh smell of nature breezed by with light winds. Shadow briefly glanced at the jackal before stepping away, placing his arms behind his back. "...I remember that I promised to let you outside, with handcuffs and under my personal surveillance. A shame I forgot to grab them." He then turned his back towards him and began stepping away, causing the jackal to watch in shock. He was really letting him have this much freedom? "I will wait by the entrance. Return when you're done, and you may do as you wish so long as you do not leave the area. Enjoy this, I suppose you deserve it. After all," He paused for a moment, thinking about how he would watch the stars of the galaxy along with Maria on the Ark. "It's a lovely night out tonight."
Wiping his eyes with the back of his arm, Infinite quietly agreed.
"Yeah...It is."
July 17th - South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
DAY 7: Thursday
Morning, 9:10 AM
Just as planned, Shadow arrived in Green Hills to Sonic's home at nine, right on the dot. Sonic was already in the process of leaving the house with something tucked under his arm, and Shadow noticed that it was covered in a thick light blue sheet. After they greeted each other, Sonic told the biohog to follow his directions exactly because it was very easy to get lost in Green Hill Zone the deeper someone traveled. He said he would hold his hand, but he didn't want to drop what he was currently holding. When Shadow asked what it was, the hero just feigned ignorance and said he didn't even realize he took it out of the house. A terrible lie that barely had any effort, but this was because it was a surprise of some kind. They wasted no time in using their speed to traverse the dense biome of palm trees and wild flickies. Shadow had never seen the entirety of Green Hills before, and he was constantly taken away by every little thing he observed. The sun shone so much brighter here than it did in any other part of the Federation's territory, and the grass had such an abnormally interesting pattern of green stripes. The beaches were large and plentiful, yet perfectly clean and empty of littering tourists.
The sands were fresh and unstained, the drooping palm trees were strong and tall. The strange looping hills and crumbling cliffs were quite dangerous, and the structures of the rock formations of the biome were very out of place since there wasn't a set arrangement. Plus, there were many turns, literal pitfalls and lengthy differing paths that would lead someone anywhere but their destination. There were multiple small waterfalls, but one in particular was quite large with magnificent purified water that was untouched by outsiders. Shadow realized that if this was where Sonic and eventually Tails grew up, this was basically their training grounds for traversing the dangers of the outside world. Any normal child would have died attempting to make it through the zone, but that's what made him and his friends special. Sonic eventually slowed down to a beach, the largest one on the island. Upon arriving, Shadow noticed there was an old but charming pergola sitting in the middle of the white sands.
The hero bent down to uncover the item he was holding in him arm, pulling off the sheet and placing it on the ground underneath the pergola. "Heh, I'm glad Tails and I built this thing. Keeps the sun away." The sheet was made of cotton, fluffy and very soft to sit upon. The item Sonic had that was covered by the sheet, was a picnic basket along with a few other small items. Two plush cushions were rolled out onto the blanket facing each other, and he then picked up the basket to place it in the middle. He sat down on the cushion to the right and looked up at Shadow with a warm smile, beckoning him to come over and sit with him. "Come on, take your shoes off. Relax." He said while kicking off his own sneakers to the side.
Astonished by the admittedly romantic set up, Shadow was slow in walking over and sitting down. As he took his shoes off, he noticed how much the ocean from this angle sparkled like diamonds under the sun. It was mesmerizing. "This is extravagant, you didn't have to go this far."
"Of course I did, silly! I didn't wanna take you to some hoity toity restaurant. Especially not this early in the day." He began to open the basket and pull out the rest of the items, such as plates and eating utensils. "That's so lame—No, I wanted this to be special. Besides, I don't feel like being in public. That flash photography is annoying."
Shadow had to agree with him on that one. "True, the new GUN SEA dining with the hero of Mobius? Lots of paparazzi to be sure."
He pulled out the various foods that he prepared for their date, all of which were perfectly wrapped up in tight-sealed plastic containers. There were buttered biscuits, small chocolates, a mini tub of cream cheese, sliced rolled omelets and strawberry sandwiches with whipped cream. There was also some water bottles and two jars of freshy made fruit juice. As mentioned before, Shadow didn't normally eat for pleasure but he'd certainly do so today. This stuff looked absolutely mouthwatering. "Yeah seriously...I just wanted it to be you and me, you know?"
The GUN agent couldn't help himself and was already chewing on a few pieces of chocolate. "I appreciate that-" He said with his mouth completely full.
"S-Shadow I didn't even take everything out yet." Sonic chortled as he handed him a napkin. "Geez, I thought you didn't eat like that anyway."
"I don't."
"Okay, I know we're hedgehogs but please don't literally hog up the food."
Shadow squinted his eyes at the pun while reaching over to grab a bottle of water. "Says the man who nearly ate out the Burger Shop's entire stock of food within a single hour. Yeah okay, thunder thighs."
Thunder thighs? With red immediately decorating his cheeks, Sonic immediately took offense to that. "Hey! Big talk for someone with a huge ass."
Taking a few seconds to ponder that insult, Shadow was unclear what the point of said insult was since it just simply wasn't true. "Are you...calling me fat?"
Sonic then grinned and immediately waved his hand to dismiss this. "Oh no no no babe, you're way too toned to be fat. I'm just saying you've got a very nice ass, one with a nice amount of meat." He slyly sipped his glass of fruit punch with a wink. "And I see that's in shape too."
Alright, let the games begin. "Pot calling the kettle black, frankly." Shadow mumbled, but just loud enough for Sonic to hear.
"Yeah?" The blue one smirked and leaned closer. "You think I got a nice ass?"
Shadow met his gaze with a matched energy of salacity. "Indeed, I do. It's exquisite, as a matter of fact. And I think your thighs are nice, too."
Licking his lips, Sonic got on his hands and knees and slowly crawled closer until his muzzle was only a few centimeters away from his. "Yeah~?"
The elder male gratefully leaned closer as well. "Yeah."
They nuzzled each other's noses before tilting their heads and pressing their lips together. As they shared a passionate kiss, Sonic crawled himself into Shadow's lap. A hungry low moan vibrated from the depths of Shadow's throat, he caressed Sonic's face to find a better leverage and to hold him even closer. The hero gripped his white chest hair with one hand, and rubbed up his back with the other. Feeling more confidence than last time, Shadow stuck out his tongue to slowly graze the tip of Sonic's tongue. He felt the blue blur smile in the kiss and delightedly gave him some tongue back. They swirled and swished against each other, the sounds of lip smacking and louder moaning being the only thing anyone could hear. The biohog broke the kiss slowly. He kissed down Sonic lips, his chin and his underneath his neck. His hands reached down to his waist, and rubbed against his lower body. Sonic groaned longingly for his touch, his breathing getting rougher the more he touched him.
He pressed his blue thighs against Shadow's pelvis, grinding against him very slowly. Shadow wanted to keep going, but he was hesitant. "Am...I allowed to..."
"You can do whatever you want to me, Shadow." He whined impatiently into his ear. "Absolutely anything you want, anything-" Suddenly, Sonic felt fingers tickling his sides. "W-What the-" He felt his dark striped boyfriend hug him and tickle him, and he couldn't even move due to Shadow's weight. Sonic tried to use his legs to move away but the tickling was starting to become too much for him to handle, so he couldn't get away. "H-Hey wait, wait wait...!" He cried in panic. "S-Stop...! S-Stahahahahap!" He kicked his legs desperately as he began to giggle out loud. "H-Holy shit you bastard, stop! You s-sneaky son of a-!" He couldn't stop himself from cackling to the heavens above. "Hahahaha you freakin' asshole, stop!"
Ah, he remembered how Maria used to do this to him. Shadow had one simple request. "Submit."
"N-No!"
"Submit, faker."
The hero of Mobius refused to be defeated this way! "Ohohohooo screw you, no way!"
"Hmm," Shadow casually replied as he watched a group of adorable blue birds fly right by them. "Tempting, but I don't think that flock of flickies over there would appreciate that. I suppose you've had enough." And like that, he released the blue hedgehog and held his hands up to show that he had no plans on assaulting him with his barrage of ticklish fingers again.
A little exasperated by that, Sonic had a visible vein throbbing on his head. Panting, he promised Shadow this was not over. "When I get my damn hands on you..."
"Well I'm not ticklish, Rouge has tried." Shadow shrugged. Well, he wasn't ticklish anymore. He was incredibly ticklish when Maria got him, but things were different then.
"Oh I'll find a way to get you back for this." Sonic shoved a declarative finger into Shadow's muzzle. "Mark my words!"
The biohog easily patted his hand away from his face. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do? Talk shit and expect me to get flustered over it? I'm immune to your nonsense by now, hedgehog-" He was then abruptly shoved down against the banket onto his back. "...!"
He watched the blue hedgehog use his quote on quote "thunder thighs" to trap the striped hedgehog underneath him, straddling him down while he loomed over him with sinister green eyes. A greatly lewd grin slowly spread across his face as he rubbed his hand down Shadow's abdomen. That's when Shadow mentally hit himself over the head. Sonic was experienced, he knew how to get back at him in all kinds of ways he couldn't fathom. However, he was so enamored by his lower body, specifically his arse that was currently sitting against his lower stomach, that he was too flabbergasted to do anything. He didn't lie, he did have a nice ass. "You know what I could do?" Sonic asked with a subdued voice that Shadow swore he would dream about at night. "I could bend you over against that tree over there, spread your legs open and spank you while I eat you out like a fucking mango." And for good measure, he flicked his tongue at him tauntingly. But Shadow knew he meant every single word he was saying, this wasn't just a comeback. "How 'bout that, cowboy?"
...
...Okay.
Shadow slowly sat up. "...Oh my fucking God, you are perverted." He whispered in shock, completely beet red in the face.
Sonic was suddenly stood above the biohog, laughing triumphantly as he sat back down in his cushioned seat. "Ha!" He pointed his finger at his embarrassed expression. "I got you! I win!"
Well of course he won, what the hell could Shadow do against a threat like that? "God damn it," He grumbled as he felt liquid drip down his nose. Aw damn it, he was nosebleeding too? This was beyond embarrassing. He saw Sonic smugly hand over another napkin, and he snatched it out of his hand with a scowl. "Rouge told me your mouth was filthy, but sweet Chaos...Do you just have porn scripts memorized in your head or something?"
The hero made a big shrug of his hands and shoulders as he stuck out his tongue much more playfully this time. "Hey, you started it! And you like it, don't pretend like you don't."
Reluctantly, Shadow agreed because...Well he did. Very much so. "...Yeah I do."
He felt lips press on his cheek as Sonic quickly snuck in a peck. "Heheh. I know you do, babe~"
After a while, they both returned to eating their meals and enjoying the wonderful tropical scenery. They talked about nothing, and just enjoyed each other's company. Shadow once again praised Sonic greatly for his cooking skills, loving the strawberry sandwiches in particular the most. The fruit juices were refreshing, and the water was delightfully hydrating them under the hot beaming sun. The pergola however had great shading, and they managed to keep cool. They finished what they wanted to eat and closed up the basket. After Sonic turned on his phone and played some relaxing music, they eventually laid back on the sand, cuddling against each other. Sonic was lying against Shadow's chest, his leg over his. Both of their eyes were closed, enjoying their serene date.
Shadow nuzzled his face against the top of Sonic's head, gently ruffling his fingers through his fur. "...How do you smell so good all the time?"
He heard Sonic chuckle against him. "Pfft, man I dunno...I exercise, but I don't sweat that much to begin with. I also don't like using cologne all that much, but I do shower a lot..." He looped his finger in Shadow's chest hair. "Amy says there's some people in the world who don't actually need to use all of that stuff and that I'm one of 'em. 'Said I had a good natural scent."
As he pet Sonic's head more, he could feel him purr. "I concur, you always smell so fresh. Like wild flowers and tropical trees."
"And you always smell like coffee." The hero smiled warmly as he listened to his heartbeat. "I like that." Their hands met and held together as they laid against the blanket. The soothing sounds of the waves lightly pushed against the shore, placing them in a calm state of serenity. Several minutes passed, maybe even twenty, perhaps thirty. They just stayed like that for a while, until Shadow felt something pull at his brain. Something he wanted to know, something he couldn't ignore now that the source of his curiosity's potential answer was right in his arms.
He sighed silently before asking. "Sonic?"
"Mmn?"
"What did you do to Eggman?"
10 - END - 10
Chapter 11: The Small Truth
Summary:
Sonic begrudgingly reveals the truth of what happened between him and his longtime arch nemesis three years ago. Afterwards, Shadow and Infinite initiate their plan to stop Dr. Eggman.
Notes:
*NOTE: I was waiting for this chapter to announce this disclaimer. Please read this before scrolling down.
This is a story that I have adopted from a former writer. Her name was HumansAreTheREALMonsters on Fanfiction.net, and she is no longer writing. She gave me her core ideas and concepts to me for me to expand upon and turn into a full fledged story. If you see certain terms or lore in the story from here on out that seem similar if not exactly the same as her last story, Have No Regrets (or HNR for short), this is why. She has given me expressed permission and ownership of the lore of that fanfiction, and has fully abandoned any intentions on writing anything else ever again. I will do my best to do her vision justice, while eliminating problematic themes both she and I deemed to be too toxic for an enjoyable read.
Please also keep in mind that any and all characters written in this story are NOT made up. I do not like using original characters in fanfiction. Any and all characters in IOC (Infinity of Chaos) are all somewhere within the Sonic franchise. Whether it's the Archie comics, the UK comics, the games (including the obscure ones that no one plays), unnamed background characters, or unused characters that were planned but never appeared in the franchise, they do truly exist and can be found via an easy search on any Sonic-based Wikipedia. While unused characters of the franchise never had a chance to be written officially into a comic/game/show (and could be considered non-canon at this point), they still were created by the official minds of Sonic's writers, meaning they are still official Sonic characters.
If you've made it this far, I hope you're willing to give me a chance and continue reading!
Please enjoy.
Chapter Text
11 - The Small Truth - 11
Morning, 9:55 AM
What did he...Do to...
No.
No...
No, no no no no...
...No.
In an instant, a horrible expression diminished any joy Sonic currently had. He pulled himself away from Shadow's hold and placed a hand over his head. His eyes were shrunken, and he had a tight grimace on his face. Shocked at this sudden reaction, Shadow sat up and reached for him. "Sonic?" He asked cautiously. "Are you-"
Sonic slapped his hand away and stood up, defensively backing away. "I told you not to ask me about that, that's personal!" He yelled, his face unexpectedly panicked and even scared. "You can ask Amy, Knuckles, even Tails, but not me." He hugged his arms to his chest, his eyes darting all over the place, as if he was trying to figure out a way to get out of here. "I...I gotta go." He bent down to turn off his phone and pick up the basket, desperately moving as quick as he possibly could in literal blue blurs so he could get away. His arm was grabbed by Shadow, stopping him from doing anything else. "S-Sorry about this," Sonic tried to laugh it off, but his tone betrayed him. "I gotta do something at home. I'll call you-"
"Are you really running away? From me?" Shadow pressed with a disappointed frown. "We just got here."
"Shadow please," His voice was slightly shaken up, he was clearly upset. The biohog blinked in shock when he felt his limbs shaking within his hold. His eyes looked as if he witnessed something tragic, or absolutely ghastly. Of all the monsters, demons, Gods and other dark creatures he had ever witnessed and fought, what could he have possibly saw that frightened him this badly? Sonic was scared of no one, and even if he was, he'd never show it. He was practically begging him without actually saying it, "Just let it go. We can talk about this later, I swear-"
"Sonic," Shadow placed his hands on his shoulders. His hold was firm, but comforting. "You're afraid of something. I must have triggered something negative inside of you when I asked that, and I apologize. Sincerely." He delicately guided Sonic away from the basket, making him stand on his feet. They both walked over to the blanket and sat back down under the pergola. He kept Sonic close to him, to give him some sense of security. He saw that the hero was now almost fully guarded, he wouldn't dare look at him and his face was darkened. He remembered before that Sonic seemed uncomfortable when asking about what happened to Eggman three years ago, but he played it off a lot smoother. Perhaps because they were so vulnerable here together, he felt trapped when confronted with the question. "Do you want me to leave? Give you some space?"
A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he lowered his head. "...No." He dragged his hand over his face. "I don't want you to leave I...I wanna be with you. I just can't answer that. I can't." He brought his knees up to his chest. "But I don't wanna hide anything from you either. Damn it..." He cursed.
"You don't have to tell me."
"But I feel like I do." Sonic reluctantly insisted. "It's not like before, we weren't dating. Now we are, and I can't be cool with the idea of me actively keeping secrets from you. Especially since this isn't a small one..." He ran his hand through his quills. "If this was something trivial like some sort of secret kink or controversial ice cream flavor, I wouldn't give a damn. But this—This...What I did, what my friends saw..."
Shadow put a hand onto his knee and stroked it gently. "What did you do?"
The hero's ears flattened. He lifted his head and turned to Shadow. "...I almost killed Eggman."
The biohog's eyes widened, and he suddenly felt a little disturbed. Sonic killing someone? That was against everything he believed in, it was against everything that he was. He was a pacifistic hero, he didn't believe in taking lives even if someone deserved it. Despite promising to take Eggman down, he was going to have him imprisoned, not murdered or executed. His grip on his knee tightened a little. "You were going to kill the doctor?" He asked almost breathlessly. "But why? You don't believe in killing."
"I know I don't," Sonic tersely replied, clenching his eyes shut in shame. "I didn't want to. At least, I don't think I did..." He trailed off with furrowed brows. "Everything—It all happened so fast, I don't even remember much of it." He tried to explain himself, as if he was confessing to some horrible crime in an interrogation room. "It was over three years ago. Eggman had this big ass bot, planning to level the whole continent with it. Knux, Amy and Tails were there to help me. It was hard, but we managed to fight our way through to his lair. He got so freakin' mad," He started chuckling a little, but that panicked look from before quickly returned. "Not gonna lie, it was kinda funny to see. He always spazzed whenever we ruined his plans, but never like this. We all laughed at him, and then...Then he," All the color in his face immediately disappeared, causing Shadow great concern. "He pressed this button, he had these robotic arms with guns attached to it. They aimed at all of my friends. He had them programmed to match my speed, so if I tried anything, he'd shoot them. He started spouting some bullshit about how he was tired of losing, and that he needed to conquer the United Federation. I dunno what he meant by that. Maybe 'cause he's growing old and hasn't made much progress in ruling over the world with us around—I'm not sure." He gulped before continuing. "He told my friends to get out and leave me there, so Eggman could deal with me alone. But then, Tails tried to make a move and-"
Shadow did not like the obvious conclusion of that sentence. "He shot Tails?"
"He shot his arm, it went right through." His voice had absolutely no tone anymore, it was completely hollow and empty. "He was bleeding so much, there was so much blood. Amy and Knuckles ran to him and I...I was stuck. I couldn't move, I didn't know what to do. Eggman wasn't even boasting that he got him, he just told us that this was a warning. If the rest of them didn't leave, he threatened to finish Tails off." Slowly, Sonic was shaking his head. "Something was different with Eggman that day, he was so pissed and I don't know why. He was so tired of me, so tired that I drove him over the edge, and us being there trashing the place made it worse. Everything went dark," Sonic whispered. "I blacked out. I couldn't hear, I couldn't see anything—I just knew I wanted to hurt him, make him pay for hurting Tails like that." A slightly dark smile curled a little on his lips, and he gripped his hand into a fist. "I scared the shit outta him so bad, I think he actually crapped himself before he ran off in that little Egg Mobile. I made sure he'd never do something like that ever again. I can't lie, that part felt good."
Shadow almost didn't want to ask. "But what happened? What did you do?" He repeated.
"I felt a bunch of negative chaos energy dwell within me," Sonic explained quietly. "It was dark, angry, powerful. I think I transformed, but I don't know into what. I don't remember. The only thing I do remember is attacking Eggman. I punched him, broke his tooth, made him cough up blood, and I shoved my foot in his fat stomach. I kept hitting him over and over and over and over..." He could feel Shadow's alarmed gaze staring at him intensely, and he only felt more shame. "I couldn't control myself, I wouldn't stop. No matter how many times I yelled in my head to stop, my body wouldn't stop moving." He looked down at his hands, his gloves perfectly clean. "I had so much blood on my fists. My friends saw all of it, including Tails." He eventually resorted to covering his face with his hands. "He said my eyes were red. They had to scream for me to stop. And when I did, I saw everything I had done. They stopped me just in time, because Eggman almost..." He sucked in a sharp inhale and got into a sitting fetal position. "It's not just Tails growing up or me nagging him—Him seeing what I became that day is why he's acting the way he is. He doesn't trust me, and he hates me for it. He's got a scar on his arm now because of me."
Okay.
Yeah that...
That was a lot.
Shadow didn't know how to respond to that, not immediately. Tails wasn't just moody because he was growing up or because Sonic was annoying him. Their relationship was strained due to what he witnessed his big brother doing that day: Nearly killing someone with his bare hands. He beat Dr. Eggman near to death, and he would never forget what he saw. None of his friends would. Now that Shadow thought about it, perhaps that was why he never saw his friends directly interact with him at the party. They always would in groups with others, but not alone. Were they keeping their distance from him? Considering how welcoming and honest they were with Shadow, he assumed that couldn't be the case. "...Are your friends avoiding you now?"
Sonic shook his head. "No, I distanced myself from them. Me talking with Amy the other day was the first time I actually sat down and talked with her in several months." He lifted his head and leaned his chin on his knees. "They forgave me, and they said Eggman had it coming. Both Knuckles and Amy were almost just as mad as I was, but they didn't expect me to do something like that."
"And you said you transformed, you had all the emeralds with you at the time?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah, I did. Knuckles said that it might be worth having them on hand in case Eggman pulled some outer space stunt again. But it turned me into something bad. That's why I said you might wanna talk with one of them, they remember everything. They know what they saw." He lowered his knees to the ground and placed his hands on the blanket as he looked downcast. "So that's what happened, and that's why Eggman hasn't been showing his face. He's scared of me. Well, scared of what I can do to him. And honestly," He clenched his teeth. "I am too." He confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Is this how you felt? All those years ago?"
Words weren't good enough to soothe him, so he knew he'd have to show some physical affection. With great sympathy, Shadow wrapped an arm around Sonic and pulled him close. He leaned his head against his and allowed the hero to cuddle up against him. "More or less, yes. It is. I felt like I could trust no one, not even myself."
"How did you deal with it?" Sonic asked almost innocently. "I'm fine, but every time it's brought up...I feel like I let everyone down, and I feel like I betrayed myself. I don't know how to deal with this. I've never done something like this before."
The biohog exhaled softly. "...You do realize your job may require you to kill sometimes, right?" He was asking rhetorically, but genuinely as well. "Being a hero is probably the heaviest burden one can take. I know you're a pacifist at heart, it's why you never dealt a killing blow to me or the rest of your enemies." He rubbed his shoulder blade, and his upper arm. "But sometimes, there are people so beyond redemption that there isn't any other way. I realized this when I killed my 'brother', the biolizard. And again with my 'father,' Black Doom. Sometimes words just aren't good enough, and sometimes you have to do something you'll probably regret for the rest of your life. Of course," He glanced at the hero. "I can say that easily since I was made to destroy. I felt nothing when I destroyed the biolizard, nor any regret when I killed Doom. They both needed to be stopped no matter the cost. But you," He didn't mean to pity him, but he did. He pitied anyone who had such strong ethics and empathy, because all it did was turn around and bite them in the ass. "You want everyone to have the freedom to pick who they want to be, good or bad. If they're dead, they won't have that freedom anymore. I respected your point of view, I still do. But it doesn't work with everyone, Sonic. One day, you might have to kill the doctor. And if you did, I don't think anyone could truly blame you for it."
"..." Sonic said nothing to this.
"Lashing out is definitely rare for you." Shadow pointed out. "You don't get angry or upset, but perhaps that's the problem. Rage subsides and rests like a sleeping dragon. If you never release it, it will only continue to compound itself until you snap. Then, you turn into someone you're ashamed of." He could feel Sonic wrapping his arms around his waist and using him like an upright pillow. This was probably something else Sonic needed, as he wasn't a very sensitive person. He probably didn't show anyone this side to him, not even the flings he had in the past. He just kept it all to himself until he couldn't take it anymore. Shadow could emphasize with that. "You've never seen your friends mortally wounded like that before, so I see why your rage turned into something monstrous. But," He placed his hand under his chin and lifted it to make him look at him. "What's happened had already happened. It's in the past. There's nothing you can do about it now but learn from your mistakes and move on. Unfortunately, Tails has a physical reminder of what happened on his skin, but that wasn't your fault. Tails will have to learn to forgive you, to see past your mistake. When that will happen, I don't know, but he must see reason eventually."
Lightly blushing from his rarely empathetic deep voice, Sonic placed a hand on Shadow's and leaned his face into it. "I know I'll have to kill one day. I knew it ever since I was eighteen. I knew I couldn't keep up the delusion for long, I just never wanted to admit it." He closed his eyes. "But I also know that this is the responsibility I've kept for years, and I don't plan on dropping it now. I've made my bed, I have to lay in it. I'll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe, even if it means resorting to that. It goes against everything I believe in, but I can't...I can't keep letting this happen." Sonic stiffened as he raised his voice. "If he had aimed a little more to the right, he would have shot Tails in the heart. And if he did that," He opened his eyes, anger relit a fire in his irises. "I would have—I would have...!"
That was enough.
Shadow shoved a rough kiss into his peach lips, instantly cutting off his troublesome line of despair. Sonic was shocked by this, but he instantaneously melted into Shadow's arms. He was pressing his fingers into Sonic's head, pushing him against his body so he couldn't get away. The kiss quickly became heated, the hero gripping the GUN agent's shoulders and willingly allowing him to dominate the consummation. Slowly, Shadow broke the kiss, before leaning back in to share a much more gentle one. He felt Sonic sigh in bliss, and he could sense his stress was depleting. They broke the kiss again, and Shadow saw how ravenous his green orbs were. He wanted more, he wanted more touching too. They both fell over onto the blanket, this time with the elder hedgehog pinning down the blue blur. Lightly panting, they stared into each other's eyes with great hunger.
Having Sonic underneath him was a dream come true, and he didn't even realize the complete submissive position he had him in. Sonic's face was so flushed, and his body was so willing to be conquered. His figure was lightly moist with sweat from the biome's heat and his own hormones. His legs were opening for him, silently giving him permission to do whatever he wished. "Shadow..." He breathed his name as if it was a forbidden spell, one that was currently cursing him with a bombardment of lustful energy.
The biohog rubbed his nose against the underside of his neck, taking in more of his scent. "...You really talk too much." He really could just try something, but he couldn't. No, this didn't feel right. Not now. Shadow slowly lifted himself away from his prize, and he saw how disappointed Sonic looked. He caressed the side of his face with his hand, rubbing the pad of his thumb on his peach colored cheek. "You're beautiful."
Blushing much more heavily now, Sonic looked away. He was rarely shy, but he looked so cute like this. "Don't...Say stuff like that."
"Sonic," Shadow addressed warmly. "Don't dwell on the past, focus on the present. Your friends forgive you, Tails will come around soon enough." He brushed his thumb against the corner of his lips. "Smile for me."
He watched him crack the tiniest of smiles, knowing that cheesy line would get to him. "That was so corny..."
Shadow smirked. "And yet you fell for it."
"That's different—You're hot, of course I fell for it."
"Oh am I?" He tilted his head with a mischievous grin.
Sonic smirked back. "I only let the best of the best have me, y'know."
"And am I the very best?"
"Damn right."
10:25 AM
Before Shadow could dive right back down and attack him with yet another passionate kiss, his wrist beeped. With a tired groan, Shadow held it up to his lips. "What?" He asked rudely.
An offended sultry female voice was heard in response. "Well good morning to you too, I was checking in to see why you didn't clock in yet."
He just rolled his eyes, knowing the woman clearly didn't check her damn emails as usual. "Rouge, I told Tower I'd clock in later than usual today, I'm busy."
"Don't you get mad at me because I cock-blocked you."
Shadow immediately stood up while Sonic burst out laughing. He didn't tell her they were together yet, how the hell did she figure it out that fast? 'Guess that cat was out of the bag. "W-What!? How'd you even-!?"
"Just because I don't run as fast as you doesn't mean I'm slow, sweetheart. I don't know when you're gonna get that through your thick ass skull."
Well Sonic felt he just had to put his two cents in for a quick second. "Hiya Rouge!"
"Hey Big Blue~ I hope Mr. Sunshine isn't treating you too badly."
"Hmmm, I do feel a little neglected-"
"Don't—" Shadow made an angry whisper as he whipped his head at his boyfriend, who was currently covering his mouth to mask his devious giggling. "Do not agree with her in front of me." He then glared back at the holographics hovering above his limiter ring. "As for you, I will be clocking in soon and you will be patient until I do."
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over your bitching."
Shadow took in a long, deep breath. "Rouge I swear to Chaos, I will tell that damned echidna that you think that stupid lynx from that brain dead bachelor show you watch is 'attractive'." It didn't take rocket science to know that Knuckles was a jealous type of lover, and she knew this. She told Shadow that in confidence some time ago, and he felt that now was a great time to use that against her.
An alarmed gasp was heard from the other end. "I'll hang you by your edgy ass quills!"
"Try to catch me first." Was all the biohog retorted with before hanging up. When he saw Sonic cackling to himself at the conversation, he wanted to run over there and punch him in the arm. But then he realized: He was smiling. He was happy, he was okay. He wasn't upset anymore, and that's all that mattered. He could yell at him for embarrassing him later. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Screw you, faker." He muttered with a faint smile of his own.
"You guys yell at each other like you're still roommates." He laughed. "I thought me and Tails were bad, but oh my God."
Shadow rolled his eyes and saw him stand up to pat off any sand he might have gotten on his fur. The biohog decided that he should probably leave, as much as he didn't want to. "...Thank you for the date, it was very nice. I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier, and I'm even more sorry if I ruined the picnic."
Sonic shook his head and hugged him from behind. "It's fine, you deserved to know. I still had super fun with you~" He kissed his cheek as he leaned against him. "Good luck at work today."
"Thanks, I'll text you later. Hey," The biohog raised his arm to scratch behind Sonic's ears. "Do you mind if I take some food home with me? It's...really good." When he felt him purr against him again, he couldn't help but make a bigger smile. He hadn't felt this content with someone in a very long time.
"Heheh, what's mine is yours. Take as much as you like."
Empire City, Unknown Location
Infinite's Prison
Evening, 11:00 PM
Tonight was the night it would finally start, and both the prisoner and the GUN agent were hyper focused. Three additional GUN agents were here, two Overlanders to help guard the hidden apartment from the inside, and the second third of Team Dark: Rouge, of course. She was able to hack the transceiver Shadow and Sonic found in the abandoned casino, after it was repaired by a GUN engineer. She also had a laptop with the secret USB they discovered in the hideout inserted. She was sitting on a shabby arm chair that could just barely fit in the space along with the other cheap furniture. Rouge was briefed on what Shadow had put in place for the last week, and was asked to assist him tonight. Before they could get to the nitty gritty however, Shadow needed to go over the evidence he found. Since Infinite was more than cooperative at this point, he had a feeling this line of questioning would be easy with quick but extremely informative answers. Since they were divulging information that Robotnik wouldn't want out by any means, they had to be ready in case he would attack. Plus, should anything happen, Shadow wanted a couple of witnesses to be able to report to Tower. He placed all of the items he and Sonic found on the table near the kitchenette. He and Infinite sat on opposite sides of the small table to discuss them in length.
Shadow pushed forward the journal first, and gave Infinite a look, basically asking him without words to begin spilling his guts like he never spilled them before. The jackal nodded, he understood the assignment. "I keep a journal of some kind on me to detail missions so I can properly communicate a plan to my team. I have a good memory, so I remember almost everything I write. The ripped out notes were important, they were notes that Egg-" He halted himself from completing that sentence. He corrected himself. "The doctor, didn't want me to keep in case I was compromised. And I can't blame him, because they were indeed very critical to his plans. They were intricate notes, because I wrote what he said word for word, which could be bad for him. Though I remember the concepts of what I wrote, I don't remember exactly what he said."
"We can work with that. What do you remember?" The biohog asked.
"He had some elaborate plan to kill Sonic the Hedgehog. Apparently it's because he has some weird 'super transformation' or something like that. I don't get it, but whatever it is, the doctor said it was dangerous and that he had to kill Sonic to get rid of it." He saw that Shadow's expression grew very suspicious of this. "He said he got scared of Sonic because of some incident that happened three years ago, and he used this super form or whatever that nearly killed him." Infinite pulled the journal over even closer, flipping through to look at the torn pages so he could remember from sight alone. "Yeah, it forced him into hiding. But," He raised his gaze back at Shadow. "He said he'd have to kill you too, because he said you had one of those things as well. I remember him saying he wasn't sure if yours was evil or not, but that he'd have to get rid of you just in case. I have no idea what he was talking about, but I'm assuming you do."
Needless to say, the ultimate life form was taken aback. Okay, this confirms Sonic's story, but Eggman thought that his and Sonic's super forms were evil? How? They weren't sentient, they were them, just literally suped up. And they weren't evil, not by any sense of the word. Shadow did some things he wasn't proud of, and he internally admitted that he liked to brood sometimes to appear more daunting than he actually was, but he wasn't evil at all. Once he killed Doom and destroyed the Black Comet, he knew he was a much better person than he initially thought of himself as. Not a great person, but good enough. "Evil?" Shadow repeated in a whisper. "Let's not...Jump to conclusions," He was mostly telling himself that, that needed more probing later. "What else do you remember?"
The jackal flipped to another torn page and closed his eyes momentarily to think. "...Yeah, I still remember. He did some research on your hero and his ancestry, said wherever he comes from is bad news. He called Sonic something, what was it...? Damn it, hold on..." He tapped his finger on the page before snapping his fingers. He had it. "Yeah, that was it. He called Sonic a Chaos Born. Whatever that is, they're apparently so powerful that he was scared of them. He thought about using them for his own plot to take over the world, that whole spiel, but then he chickened out. Said that even he was too intimidated to try that." Infinite closed the journal and leaned back in his chair, tapping his own arm as he thought about his conversations with the doctor. "It felt so weird, I remember feeling like he was spouting some big ass conspiracy theory. Why would Mobius' hero be evil? Didn't make any sense to me. If he was evil like he described, surely the kid would have tried something by now."
Sonic had some secret ancestry? An evil one? And the term Chaos Born, where did that even come from? Shadow was a little worried to say the least, because there was some truth in all of this. When he asked Sonic about what he did to Eggman, he did say that he felt he betrayed himself. As if there was some underlying feeling of actually wanting to lethally wound Eggman. Sonic said himself that he felt a tremendous amount of malevolent energy inside of him before transforming. Negative chaos energy harnessed the darkness of nefarious thoughts, so it could make one do things they would never normally do under the right circumstances and even influence their mind. It's what happened to Chaos, the God of Destruction. Too much of it corrupted him, and turned him into a monster the echidnas didn't recognize. Shadow wanted to pick Sonic's brain about this, but he was very closed off. Hypocritical to say, but it was true and that also might have been another reason why he was attracted to him. If Shadow was tight lipped about his feelings, Sonic rivaled him in that category because he was just as shut off as he was. He just made it seem like he wasn't due to his friendly demeanor.
There was one more thing Shadow thought about. Shadow did indeed do as Sonic said, and asked his friends about what he did that day three years ago. They all were defensive, and didn't want to disclose it without Sonic's permission. Once Shadow said it was okay, as the permission to do so came straight from the source himself, they were reluctant but told him what he wanted to know since they were all friends now. Sonic transformed indeed, but it wasn't a normal super form. He had the golden fur, red eyes, golden aura, all of that. But something was wrong with his eyes...They all said they were "swirling" and that Sonic's voice wasn't even his own anymore. It sounded like someone else entirely. They couldn't see much because that's just how fast he moved, but by the end of it, Eggman was coughing up blood and pleading for mercy.
Knuckles had told him, "I know I talk a lot of shit about him, but Sonic's tough. He got way tougher when he got older, so seein' an enemy get a black eye or two wasn't a surprise. I taught him to hold his strength back, 'cause you might end up destroying something important or worse, seriously hurting someone by accident. But the way he was wailing on Eggman...It was so quick, so I could barely see it, but he was really givin' it to him. Even I didn't like it, 'cause it wasn't even a fair fight. He wouldn't even let him react. He broke his arm, his teeth, his nose...There was a lot of blood. It was a mess, it screwed Sonic up really bad when he saw what he did. It...was a little uncomfortable being around him for a while."
Then Amy told him, "Sonic doesn't get angry, so I was completely shocked. He was almost frothing at the mouth, and his hands...He had all this blood on them. His fur was all messy and rough, and his voice sounded like...Well, a demon. And those scarlet red eyes, they looked hypnotic. And he almost looked like he was enjoying it. I had nightmares for a few weeks straight, to be honest. I didn't tell Sonic because I knew he'd hate himself for it. He distanced himself from everyone after that, I think he was really ashamed and upset with himself. But one thing I know for sure, that was not Super Sonic, that was something else."
Despite his very negative attitude, Tails did indeed talk. "I shouldn't tell you anything since it isn't any of your business, but fine. Yeah, Sonic wasn't quite right that day. The others didn't see it, but I did: This weird, scarlet red silhouette that was in his shadow, it looked like a living monster. I see why Amy called it a demon, because it almost seemed like it was possessing him and using his body like a vessel. And weirdly enough, I never got treated for my wound. Sonic's power did that all on it's own and healed me automatically. Usually Super Sonic has to touch where the wound is to heal you, but I don't even think he knew he did that. It was like his power was so big that it was just unconsciously spreading throughout the entire base. I didn't like it, and I still don't like it. Something's off about him, but my machines can never sense anything wrong. No negative chaos energy, nothing. I still don't get what happened, but I think he does. An inkling at the very least. He refuses to talk about it to this day and he seems different now."
Shadow didn't report any of this to Tower, because he didn't want to out Sonic's business like that. If he did, who knows how he'd look at the hero from now on. It took seconds for GUN to turn on Shadow the moment the Black Arms showed their faces, despite him never cooperating with them in the first place. Sure the man has aged since then and perhaps he's not as narrow-minded as he used to be, but Shadow couldn't take that chance. Sonic was already falsely accused of crimes before thanks to yours truly, the last thing he wanted was for them to try and imprison him again for yet another simple misunderstanding. Sure the other GUN staff in the room could run and snitch to Tower too, but Shadow's authority trumped their word in terms of serious cases like this. First off, they were too intimidated by him to go against his orders. Second, Tower wouldn't listen to a word they said, even if they made an official report. Rouge could read the room and wouldn't tell if Shadow didn't want her to. Only Shadow was allowed to legally report on this, therefore no one else's word could hold any water. So until Shadow could investigate this matter thoroughly himself, Tower would remain in the dark for now. And that went for Rouge and any of Sonic's friends, because this was very personal to the hero. Shadow has no right to make that call.
The biohog kept all of this in mind, and glanced over at the ivory bat. "You find anything on that drive?"
Rouge nodded and turned her chair. "Yup. Some of the files were corrupted and damaged, so I couldn't get all of it. However, I did extract the nucleus of what Eggman is planning. He's aiming to destroy Big Blue first and foremost." That confirmed Infinite's initial testimony. "After doing some immense studying on a place called Christmas Island, the doctor discovered some ancient ruins on the island that told of some...Bizarre ancestry that Sonic is allegedly related to. He's apparently in fear of what these relics suggested and is attempting to get rid of him. Once this is accomplished, he plans on using a mysterious object known as the Phantom Ruby that was found on this island." She made a disappointed frown. "You know I know my gems, but even I gotta admit that I couldn't find a thing about this one. Eggman currently has it in his possession and wants to use it, but only a Mobian can properly utilize it's abilities. A regular Mobian wouldn't be able to withstand it's power, and would physically implode the moment they touched it. Only a strong Mobian can handle it's power and even then, they have to be a willing host for the ruby to take over their body. The doctor found that the ruby shows the user's innermost desires, meaning that he would need someone who has a mutual goal of destroying Sonic in order to see his plan through. Once he gets that part figured out, he'll use the ruby in an attempt to dominate the world and take Sonic out for good. But even he doesn't know the true potential of what it can do."
Shadow narrowed his eyes. He had never heard of such a relic before, and the fact that Rouge didn't know about it despite being a renowned treasure hunter, was worrying. Regardless, it sounded very dangerous and way too powerful to be in the hands of Eggman. "What did the relics on Christmas Island say?"
Rouge made a puzzled expression as she tapped her fingers on a few keys. "I've scanned and analyzed relics from ancient civilizations before, but this one was odd. They told of some apocalypse, the same old doom and gloom any civilization predicts. But this one, according to Dr. Eggman, described a specific race that would assert dominance over the planet. This race apparently dates back way before the echidnas, the Black Arms, the Babylonians, and even the ancients related to Chaos. If his findings were correct, this goes way back to the very end of the original armageddon between humanity and the Xorda."
The biohog winced, good lord was that ancient history. Shadow only knew about this lore thanks to Black Doom, as the Black Arms were going to enslave Earth, but a powerful rival alien race known as the "Xorda" apparently called dibs first and he didn't want a war with them at the time. "You mean the alien race that attacked the planet tens of thousands of years ago?" Again, severely ancient history.
The bat nodded. "Yeah. It's thanks to them and their gene-bombs that humans became mutated, and either became Overlanders or Mobians. Anyway, right around then is where this race seemed to have appeared. I'm not sure if it was right after, or right before the gene-bombing. Apparently Eggman isn't sure himself, but he somehow saw this truth through the ruby itself." She made a difficult expression while shaking her head. "I see why our jackal friend says it sounds like a big ol' conspiracy theory, because this is a little much. Even for us."
She was right, this did sound like way too much confusing and strange information. His head was hurting now. Plus this was a lot of myth, too. He doubted Sonic knew about any of this. He was pretty infatuated with him, that was obvious, but he had to be honest: Sonic was no anthropologist. There was no way in hell he knew about any of this, assuming this was all even true. Even Knuckles didn't know the true depths of history of his own race, and he for sure wouldn't know about anything this far back either. Shadow would have to see all of that for himself. "Chaos, help me..." Shadow mumbled. "Alright," He looked back at Infinite. "Now for the transceiver. Listen to me, and listen well." The biohog instructed firmly. "This is what you are going to ask, and if the doctor has questions, this is what you will say."
Rouge scooted over with her chair to hand Shadow a single piece of copy paper. He thanked her before sliding it over to Infinite across the table. The text on this sheet of paper was typed, so it was easy to read. After looking over the potential lines he would say, Infinite nodded in approval.
"That's it?" The jackal scoffed. "No problem, I'll call him now."
11 - END - 11
Chapter 12: It Begins
Summary:
Shadow, with Infinite's cooperation, commences a plan to take down Eggman. Shadow continues to have wet dreams about his new boyfriend, and Sonic attempts to mend his wounded relationship with Tails.
Chapter Text
12 - It Begins - 12
Evening, 11:30 PM
The transceiver made static scratchy noises, but they could hear that it was attempting to go through. Shadow stared at the small device with anticipation, as did Infinite. Since Shadow used to work for the doctor, he knew very well that he tended to operate privately at ridiculous hours after dark. It was a little early for him to be scheming, but Shadow knew that he sometimes began operations just before midnight. He more than likely was preparing his plan right at this very second, so this was the time to strike. Everyone flinched when they heard the transceiver make contact. "...ello? Hello? Who is this, and why do you have one of my transceivers? And why shouldn't I fire a missile at your exact location as we speak?"
They were in.
It's go time. Infinite glanced down at the paper of lines in front of him. "Doctor? It's me, Infinite."
"Infinite...? Who...Oh yes! Ohohoho yes, the jackal! I remember now, I forgot all about you for a moment. But your name was always fascinating to me." An angry vein throbbed onto the jackal's forehead, but he had to brush this off. Meanwhile, the voice of the world's biggest villain continued to talk. Rather casually actually, as if the jackal was nothing more than a fleeting memory to him. No surprise there, Eggman always treated his pawns like garbage. "Anyway, what do you want? Your purpose has been served, I don't need you anymore."
Bastard, the mercenary thought. But that was okay, he'd make him pay before long. "Listen, I escaped from GUN custody. They're looking for me, but I found somewhere to hide." Shadow instructed him to make sure to sound as if he was troubled, like he'd been on the run for some time to falsely give Eggman a sense of emergency. "I know the plan was supposed to be a failure, but it could have succeeded if it wasn't for those damn amateurs. They took a lot from me, my family...Everything."
The mad genius chuckled from the other end. "Oh yes, I saw the news. Shadow really gave ya what for, huh? Took you all down single-handedly. Not surprising, really. That hedgehog has a history of fighting giant bio-monsters and demonic aliens on near God level scales of power. You never had a chance, which is why I gave you a task that I knew would fail. You bought me just the right amount of time I needed. Getting the ruby would have been impossible, since GUN had some kind of tracking device on it." Shadow and Rouge's eyes widened. GUN did what? When? And how did they do that if they never knew about the ruby until now? A dark chuckle loomed over the static. "I thank you for the distraction, because those little minutes of time were all I needed to put my plan into place. That diversion made it so that they wouldn't notice if the gem was stolen, and hacking my way through their computers to momentarily disable the device was a doozy. Now that I have what I need, I can finally be rid of that rodent for good."
Infinite briefly looked at Shadow, who hesitantly nodded for him to continue. "Shadow ruined everything for me, so I want revenge. I remember you said your plan involves killing him along with Sonic, and I want in on that."
The doctor was a little hesitant in answering. "Interesting proposal, but there's a few problems I have with that. For one," He listed off sarcastically. "I'm not primarily interested in killing Shadow. Sure he could be a problem for me, but I haven't made enough research to determine whether or not he needs to die along with that blue rat. For now, that remains to be seen. Second," He added. "You're a weakling, like I said before. If you couldn't even scratch Shadow, I know for sure you can't even so much as breathe on Sonic. You'd be useless to me anyway. And finally," His voice became quite sinister, as if he was smirking through the device. "You and I both know that the only reason why you're in this position isn't Shadow, it's me. I'm the one who forced you on that suicide mission, and thus, I'm the one who ruined your life. You don't want revenge on Shadow, you want revenge on me. You're just lying through your teeth so you can get to me and do Chaos knows what. Nice try, though. If anything, I should find and kill you before you can run your mouth. Then again, no one would believe the babbling of some loser ex-mercenary anyway..."
Growling with clenched teeth, the jackal squeezed his fingers against the device. He was right, as he had no sense in trusting anything Infinite had to say. But, he needed to get closer to him somehow so he could cut him down when he least expected it.
Maybe...
Shadow could see the realization in the jackal's eyes and shook his head quickly with an alarmed expression. No, just stick to the script, he mouthed silently. All Infinite would have to do is insist and proclaim reluctant loyalty to Eggman, and threaten to tell GUN about his plan if he didn't comply. He didn't have to do anything else. It was simple, easy. Everything was written out for him, they didn't have to worry. So why...
...Was he making that expression?
Infinite only smirked in return, holding up a finger to his lips to indicate for him to be quiet.
He knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't regret the next decision he was about to make. "I know you think I'm stupid because of how I was defeated by you, but I promise you, I know a lot more than you think I do. You're damn right it's your fault I'm in this position, and I do want to kill you." Infinite made a fanged leer. "However, you forget that I nearly had your throat slit with my sword. If your Egg Mobile hadn't malfunctioned and ejected you away from my blade, you wouldn't even be speaking right now. I've been paying attention. I know what you're conniving, despite your efforts in destroying what little evidence of your plan I had left. I remember all the notes I wrote on you, and I remember your audio logs. You have the Phantom Ruby, and I know only a Mobian can use it to truly unlock it's potential. A strong one. You can't use Sonic or Shadow, because it would just empower the very things you're so scared of. You can't kidnap one of Sonic's friends, because he'd immediately find out about it and kill you where you stood. And you can't use a regular Mobian because they'd die the instant they would touch the gem. Not to mention, I remember you said the ruby needs a host that's willing to use it at all. So in summation, doctor—" The jackal grinned maliciously. "You need me. I'm not affiliated with Sonic nor Shadow, I'm a Mobian who's physically stronger than average, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my revenge on Shadow, and eventually you. But I'm sure you've got some kind of plan to counteract that last part. Oh, unless you didn't think that far ahead."
Infinite could see that Shadow seemed extremely worried, as he didn't want him to give himself up like that. That wasn't part of the plan, he was only supposed to threaten him with telling GUN about this information. If he was going to use the ruby on a Mobian host, that meant that Eggman would do something to Infinite's body and modify it so that he could utilize the gem's powers. That meant experimentation. Experimentation was a horrible life and a painful burden to live with. But he knew this, and he was even more flattered that Shadow evidently cared that much about his safety. With a more frustrated tone, Eggman began to yell through the transceiver. "How did you know any of that? I never even told you about the intricacies of the Phantom Ruby, nor about the ruby itself! Where did you get this information!?"
A good question, actually. If Eggman never personally told Infinite any of that, why the hell was there a thumb drive in his hideout of all of Eggman's audio logs? A dark chuckle emanated from Infinite. "Like I said, I'm not as dumb as you would believe. All of my jackals have specific jobs with specific roles. A few of them were hackers who took a little peek into your computers while you forced us to work with you, and they found your logs and copied them to a drive. I have that drive right now. But you never knew that, did you?"
"Fine," Eggman suddenly spat. "I underestimated you, I understand that now. So you want me to just let you waltz into my base, give you the ruby and let bygones be bygones just so you can kill me the moment you get your paws on it? Don't make me laugh. Besides, you could be feeding this information to someone right now. Do you think I'm stupid? Why would I ever trust you?"
The mercenary's heterochromic eyes flashed to the paper of the improvised script, Shadow most definitely wrote out what to say in this situation. And indeed he did. "Oh come now doctor, you already have something in place in case things go wrong, don't you? Surely a weakling like me wouldn't stand a chance against your genius," He made sure to lay it on extra thick, as Shadow placed parentheses on this line to do so. "Right?"
After a small pause of silence, the doctor answered back. "You know what, you're right. I do have something in place in case you backstab me, and it's something you'll never see coming. Alright," He spoke with a lot less venom and more creepy amusement. "I suppose I could allow you into my base...Odd that the transceiver isn't tracing your location, but I can see that it's been damaged." Excellent. Shadow was worried about that part, but if he thinks it was only damaged, they were in the clear. "Wherever you are, come to the Chemical Plant. I'm underground. There should be a secret elevator in the ground floor of the ruins, it still works. That'll take you to where I am, and we can get that chip taken out of you. Then we can begin!" That information almost sounded a little too easy to extract, until Eggman said this next. "By the way, if Shadow, GUN, Sonic or any of his little friends are listening to this, be warned." He ominously advised. "If any of you are secretly working with this jackal to find me, the entirety of Mobius will pay. The moment I stop breathing, is the moment something will automatically aim and fire at the country. Once it penetrates through, it will strike at the core of the planet, and wipe everyone out along with me." An evil chortle followed through that threat. "What it is, you'll never know until it's too late. Do not betray my trust Infinite, or you and the entire globe will regret it. Is that clear?"
Within a split second, Infinite's eyes turned to Shadow, who reluctantly motioned for him to accept his terms with a heavy frown. "...Crystal."
"Excellent!" The doctor could be heard clapping from the transceiver in excitement. "Be at my base tomorrow night, same time tomorrow. Do not be late, and I implore you not to bring any friends. After I examine you, we'll prepare your body for the ruby. Over and out."
Then, they heard nothing but static.
Infinite's hand started to become warm and vibrated, and the biohog knew what that meant. Rouge and the Overlander GUN soldiers were startled, but Shadow motioned to stay back for their own safety. He thought fast, snatched it from Infinite's hand and threw it to the other side of the tiny apartment prison, blowing up against the wall and making a small dent. Probably didn't want a mole tracing Infinite's location when he arrived at the Chemical Plant ruins, the doctor always covered all of his bases. Though Shadow planned most of the conversation, he didn't expect Infinite to be "examined" before inheriting the ruby. "I wish you didn't do that." He said ruefully before turning back to him. He didn't like the sound of that, he didn't want him to be experimented on like he was. "Are you sure about this? Eggman is going to pick and prod your body to prepare you for the ruby, and I promise you that is not a good experience. Experimentation can scar you for the rest of your life."
Infinite shook his head. "No, I know that. I know what I'm getting into. He may very well do to me what he did to my family," He gripped his hand into a strong fist. "But unlike them, I know what this entails, and I know what this is for. This is the perfect chance to get him right where I want him." The jackal took one last look at the script Shadow handed him, and he was impressed by how scarily accurate his prediction of Eggman's responses would be. He smirked as Rouge walked over to take the paper and place it in a folder under her arm, along with her laptop. "I can take it, I'll prove to you that I'm stronger than I look. Once I'm ready, I'll destroy the Phantom Ruby and crush all of his hopes right in front of him, just like he did to me." He raised his attention to Shadow. "I don't know how you're gonna do it, but you'll keep an eye on me I assume?"
Shadow nodded as he stood up from his seat. "Correct. I have ways to keep you under some form of surveillance, don't you worry about that. I'll have them let you out of your prison three hours before your planned arrival tomorrow night." He held out his hand to him. "Needless to say, your execution's been permanently postponed. When this is over, you'll be escorted to Prison Island in a renovated cell to your liking to live out the rest of your life sentence. You'll receive plenty of favors, along with some deserved privileges which includes monthly visits with other members of the Jackal Squad. Pleasure doing business with you, and may our enemies fall before you take a single scratch."
"You know," Infinite replied as he shook the biohog's hand. "If I knew you personally before all this, I would have made you the first outsider in history to join the Jackal Squad."
The striped hedgehog turned around and began to take his leave along with the rest of the GUN agents. "No thanks, I don't deal with villains—nor heroes for that matter. I go my own path: The path that only I see fit." He was the last one out of the hidden prison. "If you feel you have a safe chance to contact me with an update, do so. Good luck."
With that, the iron door to the tiny apartment was locked shut.
...
...And unbeknownst to them all, a mysterious figure was standing just behind the rickety shack that they were all currently exiting out of. A strange but smooth tactical helmet with a long back to it, was currently hiding their face. They wore a military themed uniform, leaning back against the wall of the shack. They tapped a long nightstick against their boot, bored of what they were listening in on. They were currently reporting on something themselves, their voice oddly manipulated with a strange filter. "So that's how the doctor got his hands on the ruby...It seems the Overseer before me never anticipated that an Overlander of such genius could crack the code. General," It was as if they were talking to someone else despite not having any obvious device on hand to communicate with. "First lieutenant general reporting. They're finally proceeding with their plan to intercept Dr. Robotnik. My guess is that it'll be fruitless, as this goes beyond anything anyone on this planet can comprehend. I see I'll have to make a move soon enough, but they'll never know, as usual. Permission to engage?"
A normal, deep voice replied back through static within the helmet itself. "Permission granted. Just be sure not to reveal yourself by any means, they don't need to know who you are. Not yet."
The unidentified soldier scoffed. "Have you forgotten I've been doing this long before I had the aid of the corps? They will never know I even exist, that is the number one rule as an Overseer. Chaos Born are just pawns in their games, I'm just here to manage them."
"True, but I'm technically your manager too. Meaning that you, your accomplishments and your potential failures are all my responsibility. I have a job to do just as much as you, so keep that in mind." The voice from the other end of the helmet's built in transceiver raised a question that sounded almost threatening. "Unless of course, that's an issue we need to discuss, first lieutenant general?"
An annoyed but oddly submissive sigh was their response. "...No, general." The mysterious figure stood off of the shack's back wall, and pulled something out of their pockets. They tossed a small golden ring ahead of them, and a portal that just barely fit their stature appeared. The portal revealed a highly advanced world of a huge high-tech metropolis, with flying cars and buildings that could float in the sky. A world that no one from Mobius would ever see. As they stepped through, they reiterated one last thing as they dragged their nightstick with them. "But I do know what I'm doing, and this mess will be sorted out in due time."
The portal closed, leaving nothing behind.
July 18th - Empire City
DAY 8: Friday
After dark, 2:30 AM
Everything seemed to work out good enough. He initiated his plan without a hitch—kind of, Infinite was going to keep a closer eye on Eggman, he got some extremely valuable information and he could focus on his next course of action: Attacking Eggman's base. Shadow reported his progress to Tower while leaving out the whole Chaos Born theory, and was in turn informed of GUN's mass investigation into their own soldiers. Tower confirmed with high certainty that there were no other moles hiding in plain sight. Those who Shadow personally deemed as safe were not investigated, which was why he had those two GUN agents in the secret prison with him. He worked with them for a while and observed them long enough to know they weren't at all suspicious. Not only that, but Tower was also forced by the president to issue an official apology letter to Sonic about the jackal GUN spy who stalked him. Shadow was sure the hero tore up the letter and tossed it in the garbage. Shadow tried to ask him why there was a trace on the Phantom Ruby, also informing him that this was why Eggman initiated the Jackal Squad's bomb attack, but when he brought it up...
...Tower seemed to be utterly confused.
He had no idea what Shadow was even referring to, and was even more confused by the appearance of some gem that wasn't a chaos emerald. He admitted that yes, hackers did report a strange instance in their systems during the day of the bombing attempt, but they thought it was just some small error. Nothing to be concerned about. He didn't know GUN ever had a trace on the ruby, and no one even knew where it was located or that the precious stone even existed.
That was...strange.
After all that, Shadow clocked out and returned to his apartment in the city. He didn't need to sleep per say, but he was mentally drained with this Chaos Born nonsense. What the hell even was that? How did Eggman even discover evidence of such an ancient race of people? Why did GUN have a trace on the gem? Why did it seem like Abraham genuinely didn't know what he was talking about? And why was Sonic involved? He wanted to ask his boyfriend about this so badly, but he knew Sonic wouldn't appreciate it and just clam up. Plus, he didn't want to ruin what they had going. Sonic was legitimately traumatized by what he did to the doctor, and would never dive any deeper with information regarding his super form. And their super forms—Why did Eggman come to the conclusion that they were evil? His head was swimming with so many questions, and he had a horrid migraine for the past three days straight. Tonight only made it worse, he was so stressed. If Sonic wasn't involved, he wouldn't be this pressed about it all. When he went to bed, he hoped his head would stop hurting and his mind cleared up.
And unfortunately, it never did.
Why? Because for some reason, he felt hot.
Very hot.
Not in terms of temperature, but in terms of...Libido.
He couldn't believe he was doing this, and he still couldn't understand how he was able to even feel this way. But here he was, touching himself at night in his sleep, once again memorizing the photo of one of the blue blur's magazine covers that was sent from Rouge. He was doing this like some filthy degenerate, all thanks to that damn blue hedgehog. This was only his second time doing something like this, and he didn't even know if he was doing it right. Despite being deep within a dream, his body took control, and seized the task in pleasuring himself. He unsheathed his bulging length, his tan colored member twitching and beading precum from the head. His body was lightly moist with sweat, his ungloved hands slowly stroking himself. His face was flushed red, biting his lower lip and scrunching his eyes shut due to this new feeling of sexual self-gratification. His dream was amazing, which was why this felt so good.
He could see it now, his fantasy.
He was standing against a wall, breathless and moaning loudly as his legs trembled below. He was holding onto the wall for dear life behind him, blissfully tilting his head back and closing his eyes. It felt so good, so real. The hero was on his knees, placing his palms on Shadow's pelvis, using it as leverage to bob his head back and forth. His member was in Sonic's mouth, reaching deep down his throat. Every so often, he'd look up at Shadow while sucking his member, as if asking for praise for a job well done. The biohog obliged him every time and pet his head, scratching behind his ears. He would feel him purr, and it vibrated against his length in his mouth. Audible slurping sounds were turning Shadow on even more, Sonic was just so filthy. Then as he deepthroated him, he felt something penetrate his body. Shadow made a loud gasp, his thighs making intense tremors as he felt a finger probe into his entrance down below. Sonic just smirked as he sucked him off, thrusting his finger inside him over and over. As he did so, Shadow felt his hips move on their own. He desperately reached out to grip the top of Sonic's head and forced himself into his mouth even more. Humping his face as he was fingered, he could feel his breaking point. Shadow was drooling as he watched him take every inch, every centimeter he had. Sonic tilted his head back and nearly pulled his entire length from out of his mouth. He slapped it against his tongue as he watched his orgasm arise. With one last thrust of his finger reaching deeper within him, Shadow cried out in pleasure and released.
White squirted into Sonic's mouth, which dribbled down his lips. Shadow nearly crumbled apart, his legs feeling so weak. He wanted to fall, but Sonic kept his legs still. He watched the hero swallow every blow he shot onto his face, and he even wiped his mouth with his hand only to lick the rest of his essence off of his bare fingers. "Have fun?" He whispered sensually.
Shadow nodded, out of breath. As he watched the blue hedgehog press kisses against his softening member, he felt himself blurt something out. "I love you."
...
...He immediately pressed a hand to his mouth, as he proclaimed some forbidden spell.
Why did he say that?
Why would he ever say that?
Suddenly, Sonic's face twisted into a state of utter repulsion. "...The fuck did you just say to me?" He hissed before painfully slapping away Shadow's member. "Oh hell no." He stood up and scoffed at him. "I just wanted a quick lay, not some sentimental bullshit from some faux excuse of life. Tch," He chuckled a little. "How could I ever love some freaky ass science experiment? I mean, you're not even real. You're just some fake thing made in a lab. You're good to fuck, not much else, honestly. But you've ruined that, too."
He turned his back towards him and walked away.
"Pathetic. Don't ever talk to me again, loser."
Shadow's eyes shot open with a start, panting out of his sleep as if he ran a world marathon in under a second. His eyes were bloodshot, he was tired. That dream quickly became a nightmare, and he dreaded this feeling. He felt aroused at first, but it was slowly dying out and being replaced with bleak anguish. This flip flop of emotions was not only annoying but absolutely painful. This was so confusing, he hated it. He hadn't felt this kind of sadness in years. Fake...He was just a fake. He was inept of truly loving anything. He didn't know why he kept forgetting that. He dragged his fingers over his face before pressing it more into the pillow. He gripped the pillow, his eyes moistening.
How could anyone ever love-
He felt his phone vibrating on the nightstand. He sighed. He slowly sat up, reached over and lazily grabbed the phone. After unlocking it, he checked his notifications, seeing that he got a message from Sonic. Why at this hour? He narrowed his eyes and checked the text.
i had a bad feeling somethin happened 2 u. I dunno y. u okay? reply when u can
Just a little bit, a small warmth grew inside of his aching chest. Shadow smiled a little, as he didn't expect this but he was glad that he was experiencing it now. His black and red striped fingers tapped away on the screen, answering back:
Bad dream, nothing to be concerned about. Thanks for checking in.
hey...is some of my spines in ya?
Shadow blinked. Huh. He patted himself, specifically his torso and abdomen before feeling a tiny blue spark surge through him. He reached behind his left side and felt something pointy, but dull. He grunted as he pulled it out, and looked at what he grabbed. Yeah, it was a blue spine, two of them in fact. The color in one of them was fading, and the power inside of it was barely even noticeable. He suddenly saw blue energy fade away from it, and it's fur became a dull gray. Must have died. Since they were both hedgehogs, Shadow didn't even realize that a spine that wasn't his own was stuck in him. He tossed it away somewhere but he kept the other in between his fingers, before texting back on his phone.
Yes, you were right. I had a few in my side. When did you do that?
i dunno but thats weird...i might have accidentally stuck 1 in ya at the beach when we were cuddlin up~ ;)
He recognized that odd symbol. That was supposed to be a winking emoticon, right? And next to that was one shaped like a heart, or at least that's what Rouge said when she explained texting to him some time ago. It didn't mean he loved him, but it did mean some level of charm, which he appreciated either way.
I suppose that would explain why you knew what I was feeling at the moment. Perhaps you could feel the wavelength in my body through the spine.
yeh maybe. didnt know i could do that tho. i just felt...all this sadness all of a sudden and i could tell it was comin from u. i thought somethin bad happened and i was worried. u sure u okay?
I'm okay, Sonic. I appreciate it.
As he stared at the phone, watching the little dots at the bottom that indicated that Sonic was typing, he decided to make a little proposal before he could reply back.
Hey, are you free this weekend?
yeh. whatchu tryna do~
Get your head out of the gutter, hedgehog. I want to spend time with you.
awww...really? i admit i didnt expect u 2 say that. whatd ya have in mind?
It's a long story that I'll explain in person, but I want you near me this weekend in case something might happen. But that's not the only reason. I sincerely want to be around you more often, and I want to welcome you in my home.
He was a little concerned about how Sonic would feel about that, since he knew he hated the idea of dating while constantly talking about Eggman or Infinite. He hoped he could see that his intentions weren't entirely selfish. He really did want to be with him this weekend—he was craving it to be honest—but he also needed to keep him close in case something might happen. Infinite would be under Eggman's hands soon, and who knows what would occur. Once the week began again, he'd have to physically clock into GUN and work at the office while also tailing Infinite's location. On the weekends, he'd work more at home but would still have to attempt at trailing Infinite's progress. Who knows? Maybe Sonic could help, but this wasn't his intention. He just wanted him here where he could see him, where he could make sure he was okay.
...
Shit, did he offend him? He wasn't responding.
...
...mmmnnnn...i guess i could do that. lil man is hangin with knux this weekend so he should be safe
He sighed in relief. He was also glad that Tails would be in good hands while he was out.
Good. You can come over at any time later this morning. I'll see you then.
i hope youre feelin a lil better now. try 2 go back 2 sleep and rest. i know my lazy azz will. goodnight~
He even sent a little kissing emoji. Sonic was so painfully of his generation that it was hurting his eyes, but Shadow found himself chuckling to himself.
Goodnight, Sonic.
As for this other spine that Shadow had, Sonic did indeed accidentally leave some in him when they were cuddling. He already knew that, but he also thought he had already used all the spines that Sonic stuck on him. 'Guess he missed a couple.
What he used them for, he would be the only one to know.
For now.
South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
Morning, 10:00 AM
The hero of Mobius stood near the door to the foyer, ready to leave just as soon as he fixed his hair. He was using the camera of his phone to look at himself, instead of a mirror. He had a satchel slung over his arm with everything he would need for this weekend. As he was fluffing his quills with one hand, he saw a orange-yellow fox slowly descend the staircase. He had on his light blue backpack, and he thanked Chaos he wasn't wearing that dumb emo hoodie anymore. He was chewing something, and when Sonic smelled a wave of fresh mint, he realized he must have took a bag of mint candies with him. He was moving around like a zombie, barely even awake. He must have barely got any sleep. Years ago, Tails would have had to use his plane to get up to Angel Island, but his namesakes were strong enough to get there on his own now. He was getting tougher, and Sonic was proud of him for this. However, considering his attitude as of the last few years, he needed to add a little insurance. Sonic took his hand from behind his quills and simply tossed a small spine at the teenager.
It landed right on his left ear, making Tails flinch. "...!?" He darted his baby blue eyes at Sonic, who was smirking mischievously. "Did you—Did you throw something at me?" He asked with an exasperated expression.
"Pfft, no." He lied with a smarmy grin. Sonic couldn't help but enjoy the small amount of fun he was getting out of the teenager's petulance.
"You're so annoying." Tails grumbled as he tried to dust himself off of whatever Sonic threw at him, but he'd never know what or where the spine was.
"Tails," Sonic asked while walking up to him and placing his hands on his own hips. "Be honest." He began with a thoughtful expression before getting down on one knee to get more on his eye level. Whenever the elder hedgehog did this, Tails was either in trouble or he needed to have a serious talk with him. Needless to say, the fox was a little on guard. "Are you scared of me?" Sonic asked with a neutral tone.
He could tell he was put off by the question. "W-What? No!" The fox exclaimed while backing up a few steps.
The hero was disappointed, as he could feel he was lying. His spine's chaos energy could feel feelings of deception and defensiveness. "...You mad at me?"
"No..."
"Do you hate me?"
"No."
With a slow inhale, Sonic stood back up straight and nodded. "Okay." He could feel more truth to those answers, so he wasn't lying about that, but he was definitely scared of him. Not gonna lie, that hurt, that hurt really bad. He'd never let him know that, though. "Just be careful, alright? Have fun at Knux's this weekend." He knew Tails wasn't interested in speaking any further, they were basically strangers at this point. He simply patted his head and turned to walk away.
"You...You be careful too." The young fox suddenly called out, causing the blue blur to pause. "Where...are you going?" His speech was hesitant, as they rarely spoke to each other. They usually just did a morning or nightly greeting, or Sonic would just let him know what he was cooking for dinner or breakfast. It felt new and a little intimidating, especially since he was scared of him. "Are you going to hang out with Shadow again? You're dating, right?"
Sonic almost choked on his own spit. "...!" Damn, he figured it out that fast? Was it that obvious? And was it okay to talk about this with him? He was almost eighteen, and there was no point in hiding it...Maybe he should just come clean already. "Oh shit, um...Yeah? I was goin' over his place for the weekend." He muttered while sheepishly scratching behind his head. "Look, I know you're like, Eggman level genius if not smarter, but how'd you figure that out that fast?"
The vulpine tugged on his backpack strap, flattered from the compliment since it was something he hadn't heard in a while. "I mean, it's pretty obvious. You like girls and guys, don't you? You flirt with everybody-"
Flabbergasted and even a little embarrassed, Sonic immediately attempted to remedy this. There was no reason why Tails would know that he was bisexual. "O-Okay wait just a minute!" He waved for the fox to come closer, his face immediately flushed. Tails smiled a little from that, since it was hard to get Sonic like this. At least, it was for him. He walked over as Sonic leaned over to whisper. "Aight, who told you that? You been talkin' to Amy? Rouge? Wait," Sonic had steam blowing from his ears after a sudden realization. "Did that stupid echidna tell you that?!"
Chuckling a little, Tails shook his head. "Rouge and Amy didn't tell me anything. Knuckles didn't either. But," He knew Sonic was going to blow a gasket from this. "Rouge visits Angel Island sometimes, and you know she gossips a lot. Knuckles is really loud, so whenever he complains about you to Rouge, I can hear it in the other room." When he saw the hedgehog humorously gritting his teeth with an angry smile, he decided to add a little more fuel to the fire. "He also said at the party that compared to Shadow, you were a 'wet noodle'. I mean, I personally disagree of course." He shrugged with a faux absent-minded smirk. "But you know, Knuckles will be Knuckles."
"Wet noodle?" Sonic repeated slowly. "Me breakin' his God damn arm the other month, was me being a 'wet noodle?'"
Tails snorted. "You broke his arm?"
"Asshole challenged me in an arm wrestling contest."
"Ooohhhh-"
"Aye, you know what?" Sonic added with a scowl. "You tell that talking stop sign to square the hell up next time I see him. I'll show him a damn 'wet noodle' with my knee in his spleen."
The fox chuckled a little more, and barely trying to hide it. "Heheheh, okay." His smile then faltered a bit as he looked downwards. "...Does Shadow treat you okay?"
Noticing the shift in tone, Sonic's expression softened and he gave him a reassuring smile. "'Course he does, I wouldn't be with him if he didn't. Granted we've only been official together for a few days, so I guess that doesn't really count." He shrugged. "I dunno, I've been havin' fun so far. I think he has, too." He playfully poked at his nose. "You're not worried for lil' ol' me, are ya?"
Tails swatted his hand away with a stubborn pout. "No. I just..." His expression became sullen. "Don't want you to..."
"Oh Tails," Sonic sighed with a smile as he pulled him in for a hug. "I'll be okay, I promise. And I won't abandon you either, you're my best pal." He could feel that he wasn't hugging back but he could feel that he was reassured. He let him go and gently nudged his arm. "If he breaks my heart, I'll tell you right away so you can get first dibs and beat him up. Fair?"
With a small smile, the fox nodded. "Okay." He waved a hand goodbye as he walked past the hedgehog. "I'm gonna go, I'll call you if something happens."
"That's my lil' man." He praised delightfully as he watched the vulpine exit out of the home first. "Oh and don't forget to tell Knux to run them hands!"
Giggling a little, Tails agreed. "Will do."
As he watched the door open and close, Sonic made a relieved smile. There was hope for them yet.
12 - END - 12
Chapter 13: Feeling Red
Summary:
Sonic visits Shadow for the weekend. As he explains to Shadow what Mating Season entails, things start to heat up...
Notes:
The beginning of this chapter involves slight sexual content.
Chapter Text
13 - Feeling Red - 13
Empire City
Morning, 10:30 AM
Shadow leaned back in his seat as he increased the volume of his laptop. General Tower was on the screen, communicating with several other high ranking agents on this video call, which included himself and Rouge. However, she looked as if she was busy doing something else. By this angle, it looked like she was doing her nails. Her gloves were off and Shadow could tell she recently grew them a little longer. He had to admit, they looked good on her. As rude as it was to do this during a business call, he couldn't blame her. At this point, both his and her jobs were done. Shadow secured the plan and put everything into place, all he'd have to do is keep tabs on Infinite. Rouge meanwhile did all the research she needed, and even gave Shadow some intel that she promised not to tell Tower in regards to Chaos Born and Christmas Island relics. Since their ranks were very high, there was little they had to do since they already handled the bigger case. It was the lower ranks and rookies who were scrambling around at the moment.
Tower forced local politicians to increase security and law enforcement across the city, even pressuring a few other places across the country to do the same. They had concrete proof and information that Eggman was planning something big, and they couldn't afford to lose innocent lives. They didn't announce anything on the news, as they didn't want to cause a panic. However, all of the locals who needed to be in the know had a good idea of what would come. If a Mobian noticed a few extra cops and grew scared, so be it. It was for their safety. Rouge mentioned to Shadow that Sonic was chewing the mayor and his cronies out when she came back from vacation, advising them to do the exact same thing they were forced to do now. Sonic already had a bad feeling for weeks, of course he predicted that heightened security would be a necessity. Sure there were other cases to look into with Shadow's high authority, but none of them could hold a candle to impending danger like this. Any other case that was on GUN's radar were weak normals that Shadow couldn't care less about, nothing at all worth his or Rouge's time. Or GUN's, frankly. Let the local boys handle it.
As he fought to keep himself from falling asleep due to sheer boredom, his ear turned in the direction of the front door. Ah yes, the one thing in his life that would give him some form of positive entertainment. Sonic the Hedgehog slowly opened the door with the key that he left for him taped underneath his mounted mailbox, and noticed that Shadow was sitting right on the couch in the living room. He saw him hold up a finger to his lips, indicating to be silent for now. Sonic gave a thumbs up, and gently closed and locked the front door back, before immediately zooming all over the place to look at Shadow's apartment. He almost forgot the hero had never been here before, so he supposed that reaction was warranted. After all, this wasn't a cheap place. It was on a higher floor, had modern interior and not-at-all cheap furnishing, and had much larger space than a regular apartment. He could see Sonic's tail wag in the corner of his eye, staring out the tall windows in the back of the room. He saw a message in the work chat, hidden from the others.
Oh God it was Rouge. She was smirking on camera, too. He had half of mind to unmute himself and tell her to cut it the hell out, he didn't want anybody to know Sonic was here. They'd probe the hell out of both him and Shadow.
oooohhh~ you didn't tell me big blue was here...
First off, we're officially dating now. Second, he's staying over for the weekend.
OOOOOOHHH~
For the love of God, do not make this obvious. We've only been dating for a few days. If Tower sees him here, he might bombard him with questions.
To be fair, Sonic had already been on camera. He was just so fast though, that no one could see him with the naked eye. For all they knew, Shadow's fur just kept blowing in odd directions from a hypothetical ceiling fan. The only reason why nobody but Rouge noticed that Sonic was there was because her eyes were trained to follow those who could move at such speeds, especially since she could keep up with them herself. Well, barely.
my, only a few days? youre already sleeping next to each other? mmmm~
Shadow closed his eyes with a terse scowl.
I swear to Chaos, Rouge...We're not going to do anything, thank you very much.
Okay see he said that, but he didn't really mean it. Who knows what they would do? Shadow didn't even trust himself at the moment with his sex drive, never even knowing that he could have one. Sonic was a huge flirt and an ever bigger tease, so the biohog might just lose it like he did the other day and pin him against a wall. That being said, he wouldn't mind if they didn't do anything either. He was still new to this, still a little daunted by everything. He was still struggling with the fact that he was now susceptible to mating season, something he'd have to ask Sonic about. In fact, he'd have to ask soon—He needed to know how to deal with it when it came around. He knew Sonic would never intentionally take advantage of his ignorance, and would only go as far as allowed.
Her smile went from sultry, to genuinely happy for him.
aaaww, thats so cute. so everything went well after all. im relieved. and im happy for you. you have fun mr. sunshine, i mean it.
With him around, I know I will.
Wow, he could tell she was attempting to stop herself from squealing on camera. Gross, she was so cringey. He rolled his eyes and closed the chat box, just in time for Tower to wrap this shitty meeting the hell up.
"Alright, you all have your orders. We don't know what's coming ahead, but whatever it is, we need to be more than ready. I want constant updates from all of you. We'll reconvene Monday. If there is an emergency, contact me ASAP."
And like that, the torture was finally over.
Shadow groaned tiresomely. If this laptop wasn't so exorbitant, he'd kick it off of his lap. He shut it down, closed it and pushed it across the coffee table. He'd put it away some other time. When he turned his head, a pair of perfect blue legs was suddenly right in front of him, which made him stare for at least three seconds. He couldn't help it, obviously. "Shadow?" Sonic's voice tried to break him out of his trance. "Shadow." He repeated again before leaning down and plucking him on the head. "Yo, eyes up here." Waking up from his momentary daydream, he blinked a few times before raising his gaze upon his source of unyielding emotions. His bag was no longer on his person, probably in the guest room he prepared for him. He must have found it after running around like a child in a toy emporium. He was snickering a little under his breath. "You good? Work tire you out? It's not even noon, bro."
Don't stare, don't stare, don't stare. As tempting as it is to stare at literally any part of his body, including his adorable smiling face, he had to stop. He didn't want to scare him off or weird him out. "Err," Damn it, words. Use words. "Yeah, somewhat. I didn't get that much sleep last night. I'm glad that I don't have to be in the office for the next couple of days. Rouge and I are tired of looking at a computer screen and hordes of paper work." Shadow sighed and laid an arm over his face. "All because of Dr. Robotnik, he's a pain in my ass. I had to approve so much stuff just to get permission to put Infinite where I want him. I'm glad that phase of the job is over."
The hero watched Shadow slowly stand up with a slightly hunched back. He really needed to relax. "Hmm," Sonic tilted his head. "Want a massage?"
"I-" Shadow nearly lost his footing. A what? "I'm sorry?"
"Massage."
"R-Right. Um, well..." He was thinking about his dream from last night.
Sonic raised a brow and punched him in the arm softly. "Not that kind, ya dip."
He didn't mean it that way either! Mostly. Kind of...Maybe. Shadow cleared his throat to attempt to save some remnant of his dignity. "Well I...How do I know it'll even be good? You look like you'd end up giving me a hunch in my back."
"First of all, you already have a hunch in your back. Second of all," Sonic sensually flexed his fingers slowly. "You have no idea how talented these hands are."
Damn it, there he goes again. To be honest, that one didn't even sound like it was on purpose, he was just that lewd. Nonetheless, Shadow blushed a little and agreed. "Fine, just don't kill me. I have things to do and that'd be a severe inconvenience."
"Alrighty, lay down on your stomach on the rug. I gotcha." The hero instructed as he pulled off his gloves and kicked off his shoes. He watched the striped hedgehog do as he was told and sat down onto the floor. He moved to get in a comfortable position and lied flat on his stomach with his forearms under his chin. As Sonic moved to get on top of him, he noticed just how nice Shadow looked from behind. Despite the hunch he was getting, he had very nicely toned deltoids and rhomboids. He had really nice hips, and his ass...Well, Sonic already told him how great his behind looked. Damn, now he was the one staring. The blue blur got down on his knees above Shadow's lower body and readied his peach colored hands. "Not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt. Like, really bad." He warned before cracking his knuckles.
"What do you mean it's go-Fuck!"
"I told you." Sonic's knuckles were currently dug deep within Shadow's left rhomboid, which felt really stiff in particular. He grunted as he dug a little deeper. "Yeah you're like super stiff right here-" He heard Shadow spew a bunch of curses at him. "Alright, alright, chill. It's almost over." After a little more finger movements, a sharp crack was heard, silencing the ultimate life form.
He blinked. Oh, that...Actually felt a lot better. "Huh." Shadow could tell that whatever knot was twisting up his back muscles, was suddenly gone.
"See? Not so bad." The hero replied as he flattened his hands and made a more relaxing motion on his back. "The massages that hurt are the ones that actually help. Well, as long as they know what they're doing."
After a minute or two, Shadow felt like he was melting underneath him. "Oh...wow..." He mumbled with half lidded eyes.
"Aye—Don't you fall asleep on me. I just got here."
All the ultimate life form could feel right now was pure bliss. "S...Shut up...Just keep...doing...that..." His eyes fully closed, making light moans of steady comfort and alleviation. Yes, this is exactly what he needed. Sonic's fingers were so soft, pressing in at just the right points. They glided across his fur like streams of fresh, free flowing water. Every place he grazed with his hands felt like a heavenly paradise, and he was content to stay as long as he could if it meant feeling this good all day, everyday. His hands rubbed lower down his sides, his external obliques. "Mmnn..." His moans were muffled by the dark rug, but Sonic could feel his tail wagging behind him.
Sensuously, Sonic smirked. "Feel good?"
"Yes..."
"How good?"
"Really good..." Shadow whimpered as he felt his fingers press into yet another pressure point. "Where'd you even...learn how to do this...?" For a split second, he felt those magic hands stop their magic. He was going to complain, until he felt more of Sonic's weight press on top of him. He internally panicked, feeling his crotch rub right up against his backside. He felt him wrap his arms around him and lay his head next to his, while his legs were being straddled. He felt small kisses being pressed down his neck, and Shadow's moans went from serene to carnal in a matter of seconds.
After another kiss to the back of his neck, Sonic whispered something against him. "This okay? Want me to stop?"
"No, don't-A-Ah..." He flinched, Sonic was making small bites at his shoulder. "I-It's fine...Just...Don't overdo it..."
"Mmmn, you smell so good..." The hero buried his face into the back of his shoulder blade, until he sniffed a couple of times. "Woah," He murmured. "You got some wicked hormones goin' on...You good?"
As much as he wanted to ask him in a more mundane scenario than this one, he supposed now was a good time to bring it up. "I..." Shadow was panting, his face red all over again. "I don't know...Is this mating season? Or some kind of..." He winced from feeling Sonic's hips push against him. "Nmm...equivalent?"
Sonic decided to lift himself up from the elder hedgehog for now, but he didn't stop himself from 'accidentally' grinding against his behind when he did so. "Yeah, kinda." The blue one exhaled softly as he watched Shadow pant underneath him. He wondered what he should do, since this was a bit of a problem. He didn't want to make Shadow uncomfortable, but he had to ask and he had to figure something out or else he'd suffer. For now, he'd tell him what he's going through and they could devise a plan afterwards. "Mating season was last week, and it's kinda dying out at the moment. Some people still feel the effects after it's technically over. I'm guessing you don't know much about it, right?" He asked gently, not wanting to make him feel silly for not knowing. He saw Shadow nod once, so he continued. "Okay, so here's the deal: it happens once a month. Usually only lasts a weekend at best, a week at worst. It only happens to Mobians, obviously, and you gotta be at least eighteen to feel the effects. Learned all this shit from a doctor visit when I was of age, unfortunately."
Shadow was definitely over the age limit at this point, but was more frustrated as to why this was happening to him recently. "I'm literally almost sixty years old, why am I just feeling this now?"
"Well, mating season is mostly about hormones but it's also about your brain." Sonic explained with some sympathy, as he knew Shadow had every right to be mad about this. "We've all got 'em, but they only develop if someone's sexually active or if they're really feelin' somebody. If someone's uninterested, they don't occur and they can completely ignore it because their brain knows it's not what they want right now. Usually virgins who practice abstinence, old married couples or strictly religious people don't have to suffer through it." He carefully got up off of Shadow's figure and walked around to offer him a hand. "But lately, you an' I have been diggin' each other sooooo..." He shrugged after helping him up off the floor. "It finally happened for you."
Finally beginning to calm himself down, Shadow was beyond shameful of himself. "And you? Is that why your mouth's so filthy?"
"Oh me? Noooo, no no no." Sonic shook his head with a laugh. "Yeah, I was kinda ruttin' last week when you shoved me against that wall, but I was on my way out. I was cool the next day." He rubbed his finger under his nose shamelessly. "Anything I did afterwards was aaaalll me~" He then gestured for Shadow to take a seat for a moment. After he did so, he sat next to him to further his explanation. "See, guys get in a 'rut,' girls go in 'heat.' When you're rutting, you get super cranky and aggressive. Kinda why I was spittin' so much shit at you at the time, sorry about that. If you don't get what you want, you get this mondo, super bad 'tude. Lemme tell ya, I'm a fuckin' piece of garbage when I'm sex deprived. I am soooo mean." He chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. "But the thing is, you're ace—probably demi-"
"Okay, what the hell even is that? Rouge called me that days ago."
"Too much to explain." Sonic immediately dismissed this while shaking his head. "It's not important, not right now. All you need to know, is that because of your mentality and your emotions, you never felt a need to...Well, fuck—anyone before. Now that you're around someone you wanna smash, your hormones aren't dormant anymore. That's why I slept around, I have a very horny sex drive. Considering all the bullshit going on, I kinda toned it down this year though. If Eggman kept up his crap, I wouldn't have as high of a body count as I do now. I could have taken meds for it, but I just like sex. Still," He leaned back against the couch with a sigh. "It's annoying, not gonna lie. Some people have to take off work for it, but there are ways around it. There's cheap medication for it, and I've even heard that there are some people who get this super expensive brain surgery to have it permanently stopped. After all, you don't need mating season to have sex. Apparently it's some bad gene we all got as Mobians thousands of years ago or something. Y'know, since we all have those 'feral, animal instincts' inside of us." The hero tried to give him a bright side. "Hey, girls get it worse than we do, though. They get a period, and mating season. Depending on the Mobian, anyway..."
He felt more knowledgeable about it now, which he was grateful for, but Shadow still felt uncomfortable with all this. So this was a permanent problem? What a burden. "And the symptoms?"
"Everything you're feeling right now, basically. Instantly red in the face, arousal comin' out of nowhere, more frequent masturbating...Oh," He turned to Shadow. "You...Been touchin' yourself?" Shit, he just noticed how insensitive that sounded. "N-Not that you have to tell me."
Crossing his arms, but more like hugging himself, Shadow nodded without meeting his gaze. "..."
"Okay," Sonic hoped he didn't sound patronizing. "That's a symptom, too...I know it's probably insane dealin' with this all of a sudden, never having to deal with it before."
"You have no idea, it's humiliating."
Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder. "But Shadow, it's nothing to be ashamed of—It's life. That's just how we're built. Everybody deals with it, including me."
"I understand, but how do I stop this?" He asked almost desperately.
The blue blur knew he was going to hate this part. "Err," He took his hand away from his shoulder and innocently twiddled his thumbs. "I mean, you gotta...Y'know, release it. Masturbating helps, it helps a lot but...Sometimes, it won't go away until you..." He gave him a look. In other words, he'd have to fill in the blanks himself.
With a stressful sigh, Shadow slumped backwards against the couch. "Great."
The hero rubbed the back of his own neck with a frown, he hated disappointing him like this. "Yeah," He agreed gloomily. "It sucks, it really sucks." Then he thought of something. "But!" He got up from the couch and jogged to another room before returning a few seconds later with something in his hand along with his satchel. "I got some meds with me. I had it on me just in case." He handed over a thin, plastic pack of circular pills. They looked strangely similar to birth control pills. "You can take these, and they might help."
"Might?"
"Ehh, yeah..." Sonic had a little more bad news for him. "You and I are different from everyone else. Drugs and alcohol just don't effect us unless we take a lot of it. Plus, you gotta remember—You're old, babe." He laughed a little at Shadow glare. "I mean it, seriously. You're almost six decades old and you never developed hormones. Do you have any idea how hard that shit is hitting you right now?"
"Trust me, I can feel it." Shadow deadpanned.
"Right, so your body's totes defensive. It's gonna take some time getting used to the pills." Sonic dug his hand back in his bag to look for more packs of medication. "You might need to take two at a time, I think I got some more in here...Thankfully, I got meds that are made for high tolerance, so you should be able to feel some relief at least. You can probably order some before I leave, but you might need to get a prescription-"
The biohog didn't even realize the hero was rambling. "You're not...Ashamed of me?" Shadow asked as he stared at the pills. 'Guess this was his life, now.
Sonic paused and looked up from his bag. "Shadow, why would I ever be ashamed of you? It's not your fault you don't know anything, no one took the time to teach you. And frankly," The hero added. "Nobody had a right to, it's your body. I'm only telling you because you asked me, and you're clearly suffering from it. I'm sure Rouge would have been chill enough to explain it to you, if you were comfortable."
"I just," Shadow suddenly exclaimed with an angered scowl. "I feel like a child. Not knowing any of this—About intimacy, mating season or...Sex in general is fucking demeaning. I can't do anything without you having to hold my hand and it's infuriating. You're younger than me, for Chaos' sake. What do I look like, a grown ass man constantly coming to you for help?"
The hero lightly whacked him on the head with a pack of meds. "I'm a grown ass man, too y'know." Wait, was that correct? "Mobian...Hedgehog, whatever. Look," He leaned close to whisper against Shadow's ear. "Don't tell nobody I said this, but anybody can see Knux didn't know about any of this either."
The ultimate life form blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, I never heard that explicitly come outta his mouth, but anybody who's been around the block can tell he was just like you. 'Member before how I could tell you had hormones raging inside of you? Well," The blue one smirked, as he knew he'd be dead meat if the echidna knew he was gossiping about him like this. "This ain't a mating season thing, or even a Mobian thing. I heard from Rouge it's apparently just me, but I can smell when someone else is horny. I can also smell if someone's a virgin." He started chuckling darkly while nudging Shadow with his elbow. "That fuckin' asshole still hasn't smashed Rouge yet. He smells like a baby doe! Ha!"
So it wasn't just him? He had to concede that this made him feel a lot better about himself. "He hasn't? Oh...So, he was ignorant like me?"
"Oh I bet every ring that I've ever gotten he was." Sonic replied with a shit eating grin. "I'm sure Rouge told him a thing or two, and even explained everything I'm telling ya now. The point is that Knux is just as green as you, even with a girlfriend for—What, a whole year?" Despite roasting the guardian for the past few minutes, it did make Sonic think for a moment. "Knux was always closed off, though. At least physically, so I'm not surprised he hasn't done the deed with her yet. He's also beyond stubborn, and he's practically a monk at this point. He really takes guarding the Master Emerald seriously, especially since he started researching into his own ancestry. In his defense, he doesn't have time to smash back to back like Rouge. I'm honestly impressed with her," Sonic added with a warm smile. "She was worse than me, and her body count's twice my amount. But she pushed all that aside just for Knucklehead. It's cute."
Knowing all that, that definitely made him feel less like an outsider. "I see."
Sonic was glad to see that his posture was starting to relax. "And it's not just him, a lot of people end up like you guys. We all didn't have parents to teach us this stuff, and a lot of other people never grew up with a parental figure. They had to find out themselves the hard way. If I wasn't such a fresh ass, I would have too. That's why I told Tails about it the moment he turned fifteen, including giving him 'the talk', since liking girls and stuff comes around at that age. I didn't want him to just suffer with it or never know what it was until it was too late." He tilted his head and patted Shadow's thigh softly. "You get it now? It's a lot, I know. But I don't mind helping you through that, either. I just don't want you to be ashamed of yourself for something you couldn't have ever known about."
"Yes," The biohog's face was less red than it was before, but he was still blushing a little bit. "I unfortunately will never forget this conversation for the rest of my life."
The hero flagged him off with a laugh. "Ahh, hang in there. You've dealt with worse." He stood up off the couch and walked away to travel to the kitchen, leaving his bag. "I'll get you something to drink with that, okay?"
"Yeah whatever..." Shadow mumbled miserably. By the time Sonic returned with a couple of water bottles, he found the biohog laying on his face on the couch's arm. "Leave me to die already..."
"D'aawwww." Sonic placed the bottles on the table before rubbing his hand on the back of Shadow's head. "Want me to leave you be?"
"No..."
Sonic wheezed a chortle. "Pffft...Then what do you want? Those feelings ain't goin' away till you take those pills, my man."
...
...No.
You know what, Shadow was tired of all of this.
He was tired of Sonic always having the upper hand, always knowing what to do, always having him in the palms of his hands. Even if Shadow didn't understand, even if he didn't know, even if he had no experience, he'd turn this around. He had to, damn it. He couldn't stand being this submissive, and he hated how Sonic was secretly loving every second of it. He knew he was. He knew they were supposed to take it slow, and he knew they were only dating for a few days, but he couldn't take this anymore. He knew something might happen when Sonic came over, and maybe because something inside of him wanted this all along. He knew that if they did anything, Shadow didn't want that to be the end of it. He didn't want Sonic to be some fling, he wanted more from him. But right now, he was only thinking of one thing, and he knew for sure these pathetic pills wouldn't accomplish that. He had to do this, he had to do something to not only make this feeling go away, but to assert dominance. Maybe it was the Black Arms in his blood, maybe it was that feral animalism in his genes that Sonic was talking about, but no more. No more would he take this laying down. Literally.
He inhaled very deeply, but slowly. Soon, he exhaled at the very same speed and pace. No rush, they had all weekend. All weekend to make that hedgehog learn who was the boss here. He tossed the packs of pills onto the table and stood up with a more confident demeanor. He swallowed, attempting to get the rest of his nervous jitters out of his system. He looked Sonic straight in the eyes, who didn't even notice he was looking at him until he saw him toss the pills. With almost innocent lime green irises, they stared back with an oblivious smile. "...?" He just blinked at him and made a compassionate expression, one that nearly caused Shadow to have that dreamy-like feeling again. He had to have been doing this on purpose, he couldn't be that adorable unironically. "Somethin' wrong?"
The biohog internally cursed himself. Damn it all, he was so cute when he smiled like that with that gentle voice of his. But that's okay, he'd make him smile for other reasons soon enough. Shadow turned around and proceeded to exit the living room, walking away from the open space into a hall. "Come into my room." He paused for a brief moment. "Now." He commanded before stepping into a room.
Feeling a little red in the face, Sonic nervously chuckled before placing the water bottles down on the table. "Uhh, Shads?" He called, feeling a strange sense of intimidation growing as he followed the striped hedgehog down the hall. "Not gonna lie, you're weirdin' me out a bit...If you don't want the pills, I could-" As he stepped into the room, everything functioning in his body stopped. All motor functions yielded, all blood cells halted and all brain cells froze. The hero's eyes dilated significantly, his heart instantly beating a million miles a nanosecond. He could feel a crimson liquid dripping down his nose, his mouth agape and completely stunned. "Haaa...Ho...H-Ho...Hohohoooooly shit..." A huge entire chill ruptured all throughout his body at once, and he couldn't stop staring at the masterpiece in front of him.
The ultimate life form got rid of all of his articles of clothing, stark naked, standing in the middle of the bedroom. His legs were perfectly separated with just about of space to show off the absolutely, large, protruding, long, neglected, tan colored phallic hanging between his legs. It was completely erect, standing up right all on it's own. Shadow was just carelessly slapping the back of his hand against it, showing off how stiff it was. "Do you see this?" Shadow asked rhetorically. "I've been dealing with this for days, and it needs to go." It was just sitting there, throbbing, begging for release by any means. "This whole time, I've been wondering why I couldn't keep my cool around you. Having a crush is one thing, but this...I knew it had to be something else. Then I had a wet dream last night, my second one, and you were in both of them. Now I realize that this," He slapped it again. "-Was what I was restraining this entire time. All those hormones eventually led to this build up."
Heat suddenly rushed in between Sonic's legs. "I-I was in your dreams?" He stuttered uncharacteristically.
"Get in here and close the door already."
Sonic didn't ask twice and immediately shut the door. "O-Okay-" Damn it, Sonic, no! No, Shadow was just doing this because he was frustrated. He shouldn't take advantage of him. "N-No, no, Shadow." Chaos, why'd he shut the door? He was such a perverted ass, this wasn't right...right? "Look, I know you're pent up, and I know you wanna show me that I shouldn't underestimate you. But we really shouldn't-"
"Did I say you could talk?"
"No sir-" God damn it, where did that come from!? "S-Shit! Damn it," Sonic was getting flustered, his slut-days were coming back to him. Fight off the urge, fight off the urge! "Shadow, seriously! I want you to take those pills and-"
Shadow easily and curtly cut him off once more. "This is your fault, so you should take responsibility." He then softened his tone a little. "I'm consenting to this, I want you to come over here. I want you to make this go away or at least show me how."
Sonic clasped his hands together before tearing his eyes away from that beautiful prize down below those ebony furred legs. "Shadow, I'm trying to be cool. I turn into a different person when I get horny, and I'm trying so hard not to scare you-"
"I'm not scared of you—I want you, you idiot!"
The hero made a big sigh.
There was no helping it, he couldn't keep himself on this leash anymore. This was all driving him manic, and if Shadow was giving him direct permission, how the hell could he pass that up? Shadow was positively the most attractive person he'd ever meet in his entire life, and here he was giving himself to him like a free sample. Sonic knew he was bad at being sensitive, and he knew he was terrible at being patient and taking things slow for the sake of others. He didn't want to make those mistakes with Shadow, and he wanted them to try and take things one step at a time. But they had already kissed, grinded, and he literally just gave him a massage that could have gone left easily. Plus, Shadow was truly suffering right now. Sure there was a ton of lust in his words, but Sonic was like that too. It was more desperation and a cry for help, for someone to just please help him release at least a single iota of this horrible tension. Mating season was awful for anyone who couldn't get rid of it, and he knew how it felt to just want to tear up the room until he got his rocks off. But unlike him, Shadow had someone who actually cared about him. Someone who he trusted to do it for him. Who was he to deny him of that?
Alright, he gave in.
He kicked his socks off and he could feel something primal awaken inside of him. His irises began to glow that strange neon green from before, and he directed them gradually at Shadow.
"You twisted my arm. Get on the bed."
A dangerous smirk grew on the elder hedgehog's muzzle as his eyes became a bright ruby red. "Those are the eyes I've been waiting to see."
13 - END - 13
Chapter 14: High Passion
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow give into their lust for each other, while a mysterious figure finds Dr. Eggman.
Notes:
The beginning of this chapter involves heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
14 - High Passion - 14
Morning, 11:45 AM
This was a thousand times worse than when they were in that abandoned casino, simply because there were less restrictions. They had way more room, they were in a bed to do this in, and they had nothing but time. The lights were off and the curtains were closed, but the morning sunlight was still peeping inside to illuminate the room as they needed it to. Shadow's bedroom was spacious, clean and perfect to get wild in. It had a modern headboard, red sheets, a canopy with red curtains and fluffy black pillows. The mattress felt like a cloud, and Sonic could smell his coffee scent all throughout the fabrics, which only turned him on even more. They were both completely nude, wrestling around on the covers. The moment Sonic conceded into giving Shadow what he wanted, he tackled him on the bed and crawled on top of him. They were kissing profusely and rather sloppily, holding each other's hands tightly and moaning longingly. As they French kissed, Sonic could tell Shadow had gotten better since last time, and he was doing a better job in keeping up with him.
Sonic could feel Shadow's length hitting against his stomach, pleading to be touched. He disconnected the kiss reluctantly, saliva falling from their lips. The blue hedgehog let go of the biohog's palms and reached down to rub his hands between his thighs. He could feel him twitching under his touch, and the ultimate life form was having a harder time regulating his breathing. Licking his lips with erotic excitement, the blue one gently grazed his fingers on his member, watching it ooze precum. "Mmmn..." He gazed at the organ hungrily, dangling his spit covered tongue over it like a savage beast. He then slathered his tongue directly against the head, causing Shadow to flinch violently. He gripped his fingers into the sheets, his legs involuntarily opening wider for his lover. His lingua swirled around the tip before playfully kissing the slit. An animalistic growl came from Shadow, his red eyes were becoming a stronger shade of bright ruby red. His body was growing fiercely impatient, he couldn't fight the urge anymore. No, this wouldn't be like his dream, he needed more than that. He reached out to grip the top of Sonic's head and drive himself directly into his mouth. "...!" Sonic gagged a little, but his eyes were so clouded with lust that he allowed Shadow to be as forceful as he wished. He reached up to grip Shadow's hand harder against him, silently giving him full permission to use him like a living sex toy.
As he thrusted himself into the blue one's mouth, he could feel him moaning. He was getting aroused from sucking him off, his tail wagging abundantly from behind. He rubbed his palms against his inner thighs lovingly, loving the feel of him under his touch. Shadow made a sudden strong thrust, causing him to gag again. But that sound was so stimulating for him to hear, he needed to hear him choke again. Shadow sat up on his knees and pressed both of his hands against the sides of the younger one's head. He then gripped some of his quills and forced himself in and out of his mouth, over and over. Sonic could feel his length reach the back of his throat in quick succession. He could barely breathe, but he was getting off on this so much that he didn't even care if he suffocated. He gripped Shadow's hips to push his face even farther into his crotch, his lips touching his pelvis with almost every thrust. The biohog continued to hump his face, his eyes growing half lidded with raw pleasure. This was absolute perfection—No wonder Sonic did this so often with other people. If this was how it felt, shit...Maybe he wouldn't have minded if Gerald only created him breeding purposes. This feeling, this impure excitement was second to none. He never felt this way before, he wanted to feel like this every day of his ageless life. And the way Sonic just took every single thrust like it was nothing, he was amazing.
But no, this still wasn't enough. He needed more.
He yanked onto his quills to pull his length from out of his wet cavern for a mouth. When he did, Sonic immediately fell into a coughing fit. He let him catch his breath for a moment, getting off of the bed before shoving the blue one onto his stomach on the bed. Feeling a little frantic from how rough Shadow was going, Sonic tried to get another moment to think. "S-Shadow-" He was pulled from behind by his legs off the bed. "...!" In a quick instant, Shadow was holding him upside down with one arm, the younger one's legs laying against his nook of his shoulder, his feet dangling behind his back, and his face hovering right in front of both his still rigid manhood and his black furred sack. Shadow placed his free hand against the back of his head, gripping onto his quills again. He made sure to grab the duller ones so he wouldn't cut his hand, but it honestly didn't matter. His grip was still rough, and he thrusted his member into his mouth again. "N-Nnmm..." Sonic had to be frank with himself, he definitely didn't expect Shadow to pull something like this, and he had never been put in this kind of position before. What was this, a variant of a standing sixty-nine? He wasn't complaining of course, he secretly loved every God damn second of this. He gagged again, feeling his boyfriend's member immediately reach down his esophagus. "N-Nmm!" The walls echoed sounds of both slurping, and much louder moaning. Shadow was silently marveling at his blue arse as he shoved himself in his mouth. The elder placed the hand that was holding his body above his blue behind, before groping and massaging his cheeks. "Mmmnnn...! Mmmnnn...! Nmmmm~!" Hearts fluttered in Sonic's eyes as Shadow gave him a good smack on the ass.
An abrupt red spark shined in Shadow's eyes. He could feel it—It was coming. "Ngh..." He drove his hips faster and faster against Sonic's mouth, his grip on his body tightening and he increased his pace. He wrapped both arms around his body as extra leverage, as this was going to take every ounce of strength he had. He felt his knees buckle, his back arching as he felt it rise up within his stomach. "Shit...Fuck..." Shadow hissed sharply, his eyes clenching shut. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...!" One last thrust, and he saw stars. "Fuck!" He snarled with a sexual growl, his hips making last minute thrusts as his essence poured from his body and directly into Sonic's mouth. White fluids dribbled from in between Shadow's legs and down Sonic's face. Finally slowing to a stop, he ceased thrusting himself in his lover's mouth, something he wouldn't be doing again for a while. His length was soft, his balls were drained, and he had finally gotten it all out.
That...was probably the best thing he had ever felt, ever.
It was like all of his problems just suddenly disappeared, like there was no reason to stress over anything. Eggman? So what? Infinite? Who cares? He was on cloud nine right now, nothing could ruin this moment.
Stabilizing his breathing, he soon realized he was literally asphyxiating Sonic to death with his penis.
"Oh shit." He carefully pulled himself out, and heard agonizing gagging and coughing. Damn, he might have gone too far with that. Not to mention the blue one had blood rushing to his head for at least fifteen minutes straight. Oof, he looked a little nauseous. Shadow diligently pulled him upright into his arms and carried him to the bathroom quickly. After he put him down on the tile floor, he rushed out of the room, only to return with one of the water bottles he left in the living room earlier. "I...I'm sorry." He said quietly as he watched the hero cough up more of Shadow's white seed into the toilet. He got behind him and held his quills back, a lot more softly this time, so they wouldn't get in the way.
Roughly clearing his throat, Sonic attempted to lift his head up from the porcelain bowl. "You know-" A cough. "-I'm not a spitter, normally I could have swallowed all that."
Sweet lord, he could? "I...O-Oh."
"But you had so much comin' out at once-" He rasped as he wiped the side of his own face to get rid of some of the fluids, wincing at some latent pain in his jaw. "-And being in that position...I couldn't hold it down. I don't think I'll be able to talk right for days...My fuckin' jaw is numb, I can't feel my tongue or anything." He reached for the water bottle and took a small sip. He moved his neck around to make sure Shadow didn't put a crick in it. "Hoooo boy," He slumped against the toilet, physically exhausted. "You kinda fucked me up there, not gonna lie."
"I'm sorry," Shadow repeated. "I...I didn't realize what I was doing, I didn't know I was going that rough."
"It's cool-" Another cough. "-Don't think I can do that again for a while, though." Then, Sonic smirked. "You blacked out, didn't you?"
Huh, he was right. He didn't focus on anything but getting stimulated. "Yeah I...Guess you're right."
"That's what you needed to feel, that's how you release." That impish glint in Sonic's eyes glowed just a bit brighter as his grin widened. "That crazy explosion of euphoria firin' off in your brain is what it's all about. Then after that, you feel all gooey and relaxed, like you just got a wicked high from the best drug on the market." Sonic sighed with a nostalgic smile, remembering all the times he busted the best nuts in his life. "It's never as good as the first time, though." He saw Shadow offer his hand to help him up, to which Sonic graciously took. As they walked in the bedroom, Sonic figured that their mission to relieve Shadow was accomplished. When they both sat down, Sonic placed the water bottle on his right nightstand and began fixing his quills. He could feel that Shadow put them out of place with all that grabbing. "Mind if I use your shower? I definitely gotta brush my teeth..."
The elder nodded. "Of course, but did you want to do it there?"
Sonic blinked. "Do what?" Then he realized what he meant and denied the suggested proposal with a small laugh. "Oh no, Shads, buddy. We can't go another round with you squirtin' like that, you'll die at this rate."
"Not me," Shadow insisted. "You didn't finish. Isn't it right that you have some relief as well?" He made a puzzled expression when he saw the hero nearly let out a tear. Shadow was already acting like a good lover, he was so proud of him. He knew he took control of the entire session and mainly pleased himself, and wanted to repay him by servicing him some pleasure as well. As much as Sonic loved sucking him off and him groping his ass like that, that wasn't nearly enough for him to blow. Seems Shadow noticed that as well, especially since Sonic never unsheathed his shaft. He wanted to change that and make Sonic happy, too. Plus, he really wanted to see what he was working with. He reached out to touch his fawn chest and his abdomen, feeling both of his lungs, his blood stream, and even his heart that was still clouded with lust. The blue blur was still a little sensitive under his touch, he noticed. "Let me make you feel good, too."
The younger hedgehog made a sympathetic smile. "Aww Shadow," Soon, his tone grew from sweet to patronizing very quickly. "I don't wanna hurt you."
A vein instantly appeared on Shadow's forehead. He threateningly crawled closer towards him, to which the hero cautiously backed away with every move. "I just fucked your throat upside down, and you're still taunting me?" He scowled as he grasped his legs tightly to pull them closer. "Look, I can take whatever you want me to dish out. And if I mess something up, tell me and show me how to do it right." He furrowed his brows as he lowered his head in between his legs. "I want to touch you, and I want you to feel good too. Didn't you say we would do this together?"
Sonic awkwardly poked his fingers together, as he couldn't deny that. "I know, but-"
"But nothing." Shadow retorted. "You talk so much big shit. Well," He pressed his hands in between Sonic's thighs to push them apart. "I want you to dominate me and make me do your bidding. I'm demanding you to do so." He then flashed his rival a competitive glower. "Unless of course, you're too scared-" He felt something smack directly in his face, and there was a rather long and wide shadow hovering over his face. His amber red eyes adjusted carefully, slowly backing his muzzle away to see the very treasure he's been after this whole time. He gulped at it's appearance—It was big. "...!" Very big. The length, it's girth, even it's weight seemed heavy if he could hold it in his hands. Peach colored and...Curved, it seemed. So this was what Sonic had hidden down there. He couldn't deny that it looked not only pleasing, but utterly appetizing. He probably couldn't do it well like Sonic, but he still wanted to put this in his mouth. In fact, he knew nothing about what to do per say, his instincts just took over. He tore his eyes away from his shaft and glanced upwards at the younger hedgehog's gaze.
That strange ominous glow in his eyes was radiating neon green again. "Oh fuck the hell yes," Sonic's voice was a lot huskier than before, and he looked as if he could barely contain his own perversion. He was leering at him, biting his bottom lip, his cheeks lightly red. "I fuckin' love it when you talk dirty like that, babe." He caressed his hand underneath Shadow's chin and placed a thumb over his lip. "You ready for me?"
He wasn't even playing coy, he was just that drunk on desire. But Shadow wasn't daunted. "Do your worst."
That leer widened alarmingly. "Do my worst? Baby, doing my worst would be me gagging you-" Sonic harshly pushed Shadow down onto the bed, on his back. "-Spanking you with a paddle-" He danced his fingers underneath his legs and pushed them apart, causing the ultimate life form to wince. "-And fucking you against your apartment window, so everyone can see just how depraved and slutty GUN's new SEA is." A heavy hazardous chuckle passed through the hero's lips. "Or maybe I could hook up a couple of toys inside of you...Make 'em vibrate and see just how long you last. Seein' your fucking legs shaking from cumming so hard, mmmnn..." He licked his lips ravenously, his eyes narrowing on Shadow, who looked flustered at his choice of words. He pinned him down with his arms over his head, and his legs lifted over Sonic's shoulders. "I wanna fuck you until you're brain dead right now, but I don't wanna take you like this. Not yet, babe. I don't care what you say, 'cause I say we need more time for that. So for now—" Sonic held up his fingers, and blue concentrated chaos energy began to surge through them like lightning prongs. He lowered them in between the elder hedgehog's legs. "We're gonna pretend that I'm inside of you, and we can play a game of 'chicken'. Whoever cums and begs for mercy first, loses." Those immoral eyes were intimidating, and their pupils thinned into slits. "Whaddaya say, Shads?" He plucked his chaos charged fingers into Shadow's flaccid penis, and in an instant, it immediately stood right up with a full erection.
Gasping strongly, Shadow's legs trembled in his hold. How the hell did he do that with chaos energy? "H-How did you-!?"
"You play with fire," Sonic pushed his lower body against Shadow, causing them both to moan. "You get scorched, Shadow."
"N-Ngh...!" Their members were rubbing together, and Sonic was thrusting himself onto him to rub them harder. He could tell Sonic's been wanting to do this ever since the stairwell, because this was similar to what they did but far more intimate with their members exposed. Shadow's arms were held above him, he couldn't move or do anything but watch as the younger hedgehog lunged his manhood against his own. Watching was periodically decreasing the GUN agent's sanity, because he had never experienced or seen anything like this before. He never watched porn, and he never engaged in anything sexual himself until these last couple of nights. Shadow knew the gist of what sexual activities suggested, such as intercourse with penetration or foreplay with touching and rubbing specific body parts. He only knew those things thanks to reading about procreation and Mobian breeding on the Ark. But this...The hero was right—It was almost like the real deal, because he was acting as if he really was penetrating himself inside of Shadow. They were both so sensitive down there, so any little touch or breeze of any kind of sensation could send them through the roof. But this rough, forceful momentum of pleasure was leaving their minds completely blank. Suddenly, Sonic reached down and gripped the bottom of Shadow's face. He dived down for a strong kiss, attacking him with his tongue. The biohog noticed that every time they French kissed, Sonic attempted to be gentle and never force his way into his mouth. But this time, he evidently didn't give a damn about gentleness anymore. Shadow still didn't back down, however. He would keep up with him for as long as he could hold out.
He felt Sonic suck against his tongue, and he could taste some of his own essence from earlier. He then broke the kiss and bit down on his lip, causing Shadow to moan. He pressed more rough kisses down his face and under his chin, grunting as he thrusted faster and harder. "If I can't fuck you," Sonic growled sadistically. "I'll just frot you until you cum instead." He bit his neck, and pressed his lips under his fur to suck a hickey onto his skin. "Fuck I wanna be inside of you so bad, I wanna cum inside of you..." He moaned with an almost manic laugh. "But I want you inside of me too. You used my mouth like a fuckin' fleshlight, so now I'm gonna use your entire body as one. I wanna drain you and take every last fucking drop you have!" He sucked more hickies all over Shadow's neck, then he used his other hand to reach down and press his fingers through his white chest hair. "Let's see~" He teased while thrusting against him a little harder. "Oh? That's where they are~" He felt hardened nubs underneath his chest fur, and began to rub his thumbs on his nipples. Shadow made a panicked mewl, his legs widening pleadingly. "You know, I dunno why..." Sonic pulled them a little, earning a gasp from the biohog. "But every time I touch you, I feel fucking crazy. It feels like I can't even control myself. You feel so good, you're so fucking hot—You make it so hard for me to keep myself in check." He smiled depravedly at Shadow's expression, his mouth agape and stuck in pleasure. "But I love this feeling." He shared another deep, steamy kiss with him again, groping his hand onto his chest.
Panting and sweating, feeling and literally looking red, Shadow was completely enthralled by Sonic's treatment. He wanted more, so much more of him. "Yes...Haa...more..." He hotly whispered. He felt Sonic rub his hands up and down his arms and finally grip his shoulders, using his entire upper body as leverage to drive his hips forward harder and harder. The immense friction between their lengths was electrifying, precum smothered and dripping down their thighs. With every push against him, Sonic grunted bestially as if he had been pent up for a long time as well. Or as if he was trying to release some buried unbridled rage. His eyes were absolutely frenzied, huffing and panting like a wild animal. He could tell this wasn't enough for him, he wanted something better, something more constrictive. Since his hands were free again, Shadow took it upon himself to reach down below and grasp both of their members. He felt Sonic flinch with a surprised but amused groan, momentarily pausing his thrusts. The elder lover began to rub up and down, stroking their lengths together. "Mmn...Ahh..." He felt the hero readjust his body to better feel Shadow's hands. He bent over his body and placed his hands on the headboard, holding tightly. He raised his leg upwards and planted his foot next to Shadow's head, while the other leg kneeled beside his lower body. Now at an even better angle, Sonic thrusted once more, this time causing both of their members to rub up in the GUN agent's palm. Shadow increased the speed of his strokes, constantly mewling and moaning for their eminent releases.
"Yeah keep touchin' me like that..." Sonic grunted, the bed frame slamming into the wall. "Don't stop...Keep jerkin' us off."
Shadow could feel it again, it was coming. "S-Sonic...!"
"I wanna see you cum, I want it on me...Cum all over me Shadow, please...!" With one last thrust and one last stroke, the blue one bellowed a long and exhilarating cry of pleasure, his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. Shadow tore his fingers through his sheets as he gasped and moaned loudly, his second orgasm occurring right afterwards. He made a few last strokes to get every drop of their seed out, just like Sonic said. White spewed onto their lower abdomens, and a few blows landed on Shadow's chest fur. Sonic was releasing so much of it that it was dripping out of Shadow's hand and down both of their legs. Their shafts soon became soft, completely finished and emptied of energy. The neon glow in Sonic's eyes finally faded away, and wouldn't return for some time.
Their bodies were completely still, they took this time to catch their breaths.
A pregnant pause of silence.
...
...
...
...After some minutes passed, Sonic stood up onto the bed and stepped over Shadow, before sitting down on the opposite side of the bed. He slouched over and lowered his head, still trying to stave off the dying waves of euphoria. Shadow had turned over and pressed the side of his face against the pillows, still gripping his fingers into the now damaged sheets. "Did I um..." Sonic spoke with an airy voice. "Did I go too far?"
"No." Shadow responded quietly.
"Wanna shower together?"
"Yes."
The two stepped back into the bathroom, holding each other's hands with Shadow guiding the other with him. Once the hot water rained down upon them, the biohog reached to pull Sonic close to him. He embraced him tightly, nuzzling his face into the nook of his shoulder. Surprised by this act of gentle intimacy, Sonic smiled and hugged him back. They held each other during most of the shower, lightly swaying under the stream. The hero lightly gasped when he felt Shadow kiss and suck underneath his neck. He made a soft moan as he felt him create a hickey onto his neck, payback from earlier. He pet the back of Shadow's head, kissing his forehead lovingly. The ultimate life form wanted so badly to say it, to say what he said in his dream. But he was too afraid of what Sonic would say, afraid that the nightmare end of his dream would come true. So, he ruefully decided not to. Perhaps it was best. If he couldn't express it to him that way, hopefully he understood close enough through his physical acts of affection. A while after, they actually bathed themselves and cleaned off the crusting bodily fluids off of their figures. They even playfully washed each other—Shadow in particular washed Sonic's back but snuck in a few tickles at his sides. Sonic giggled and gleefully told him to stop, but he didn't of course.
They exited the bathroom together after around ten to fifteen minutes, and plopped themselves onto the messy bed. Despite all the chaos they caused, thankfully none of the sheets were stained. Sonic immediately cuddled himself up against Shadow's chest and buried his face in his chest fur. Smiling at this, the GUN agent pulled the covers over their nude but clean bodies. He looked over at his night stand to check the time on his digital clock.
Afternoon, 2:45 PM
Wow, they spent three whole hours messing around? Ridiculous, but not surprising.
Shadow just turned back over and held Sonic close, laying his head against his.
"Shadow." Sonic mumbled, his voice drowsy.
"Mmn."
"Don't you need to do somethin'...?" He asked absent-mindedly, his eyes already closing. "Like with that Infinite guy?"
The ultimate life form rolled his eyes. "The doctor operates late at night, I'll worry about that later." He kissed his head and closed his eyes as well. "Shhh, just go to sleep."
Sonic was talking in his sleep, at this point. He had already fallen into a light slumber. "Mmkay..."
They stayed like that for the rest of the day, in each other's arms and fast asleep.
Unknown Location
Eggman's Hidden Underground Base
Evening, 7:45 PM
Vitals normal, brain activity stable, blood cells regulated and oxygen levels were secure. Having all of these monitors around to give him constant updates on the jackal's body was essential, as he needed to know at all times if he was reacting to the new fluids safely. Or if he was even alive. No normal body could handle such extreme chemicals, such as raw chaos energy that was liquified into the form of intravenous. It was all inside of this one tall life pod, similar to the one the Ultimate Life Form once slept in for fifty years. The liquid was brilliantly glittery, sparkling with raw power with multiple colors flying around it's container. The jackal was unconscious, his eyes closed in a deep sleep he wouldn't wake up from for a long time. Thick black wires were attached to his body from inside to outside of the pod. Occasionally, bubbles would float to the top. Any wrong move or tap against the glass of that capsule, and this whole continent could explode. Soon, Infinite would be ran entirely on Chaos Energy just like Shadow. Unfortunately, as much as he never wanted to admit this, Eggman was not the genius his grandfather was. His grandfather Gerald Robotnik was the kind of mastermind that no one could rival, not even himself. He was only able to blow up the moon and use Shadow as a pawn in the past, because of all the parameters his elder relative had already set up decades prior. While he would know most of the schematics and plans of his machines and experiments, he could never understand them one hundred percent.
Though years have past and his own IQ has only increased, this situation was different. Eggman never though he'd be able to get a Mobian to agree to his experiments, so he was just going to design a robot that could attempt to handle the powers of the Phantom Ruby. This was unplanned, and things that go unplanned were usually a recipe for disaster. However, Sonic always foiled plans that were planned. The unknown in this instance, could play in his favor for once. After all, the blue blur would never see this coming, and he doubt he knew anything about the Phantom Ruby. If he did, he would have had it already, but it now in Eggman's possession. Well, maybe not his, but Infinite's. Sitting upon the center of the chest of the jackal in the pod, was a magenta icosahedron. The gem was attached to his flesh at this point, and he remember the horrid pain the Mobian went through when it found it's host. Shame—If it was a robot, it wouldn't have screamed and gave him such a headache. But at least he was silent for now.
Now his lab was completely quiet, save for the hum of machines and blooping of the bubbles in the pod. It was dark, as the chaotic liquid was providing enough light with it's radiating power. The walls, ceilings and floors were metallic, monitors and cameras all over the place, wires as thin as spaghetti and as thick as pythons lined the room. High tech equipment was displayed all throughout, beeping and illuminating their space with neon lights. A large metal desk that arched nearly across the entire room sat right in front of the pod. A great genius of over three hundred IQ was sitting behind it, watching his computers with great interest. The doctor figured now would be a good time to activate the last step. One more thing needed to be done before Infinite's procedure would be completed. This would be the greatest yet harrowing plot he ever had, and he couldn't let anything stop him from accomplishing his goals. Who would have known that the Hero of Mobius, came from a heritage of a bunch of devils. For all his years of fighting against Sonic, he had no idea what he was toying with this whole time. For once, he was technically acting as a hero. If this worked, he would save this planet from a horrible fate. Then, he smirked. Perhaps enslavement under the Eggman Empire would be a better alternative-
"D...Doctor...?"
The genius Overlander turned his head upwards at the life pod curiously. Infinite's voice was barely heard, muffled behind the thick glass and liquid. "Ah, you're awake. The pain you felt from the ruby earlier must have really put you in shock. But you're fine, now."
"What's...Happening to me?"
"Your body is being properly adapted to the ruby's power with pure chaos energy. Soon your body will be built almost entirely biologically like Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form. Not a bad exchange for your cooperation, eh?" The genius chuckled darkly. "If everything goes right, we could both rule over this world together." His circular glasses shined with ill-intent. "You could be the second most powerful person on the planet, and live forever. Now be still, there's just one last thing for me to do." He began typing away, preparing to initiate what he's been waiting for. His fingered hovered over the key, his mouth wide with evil and triumph-
The door to the room was smashed open, flying across the room.
"...!?" Eggman flinched and looked at the entrance. Those were extremely heavy metal doors, not even that red echidna could punch it down that easily. But not even that, how the hell did an intruder get inside? His defenses were unstoppable, it was inconceivable that anybody could get inside, not even his own henchmen. He pressed a few more keys quickly, activating a barrage of robotic arms with guns to aim.
As the dust from the door smashing settled, a figure stepped through it slowly.
They wore militant clothing of the forest green shade. Their black boots clicked against the floor as they proceeded to march their way into the room. The guns immediately began to fire. As bullets rained down upon the intruder, a bunch of smoke from the barrels started to spread in the room. Eggman momentarily stopped the bots from shooting, furrowing his brows. Then, he gawked when he saw that the intruder was not at all injured in anyway from the bullet hell, holding up a long black baton. When he pressed a key to shoot at them again, the intruder just smacked them all with that baton. Metal clinks echoed in the room as they were deflected right back at the doctor. He yelped and ducked down behind his desk last minute, the bullets now stuck in the wall behind him. He peeked his head from behind the desk with alarm.
Who was this?
It wasn't a GUN soldier, they didn't dress like this. This person wasn't an Overlander, they were too short. It had to be a Mobian, as he did notice something that looked like a tail behind them, but he couldn't see entirely from this angle. Their head was covered by a strange, black, futuristic helmet. One that somewhat resembled a motorcycle helmet. Their gloves were white, but blue on the palms. That baton wasn't a normal size, as it shouldn't have been that long, almost like a sheathed sword. Plus, what police officer had a baton with material that could bounce off titanium bullets like tennis balls?
They held up a finger to the side of their helmet, and Eggman heard a beep. "Sir, I've arrived at the designated location. The doctor-"
"Fire!" Eggman yelled as he smashed his finger on a button underneath his desk. Instantly, a larger robotic arm with an even bigger gun than the others descended from the ceiling and blasted a small explosive charge at the mysterious interloper.
"-Is currently attempting to kill me." Once again, the intruder simply took the baton and with great timing, smacked the grenade away. It was redirected backwards, sending it to the back of the lab, destroying several pieces of equipment and materials that were now currently on fire. "Yes," The stranger nodded, their voice eerily edited with some strange filter. "His reign of villainy will end tonight as instructed by their will." He marched closer to the desk Eggman was currently cowering behind, whimpering in fear as the stranger held up the baton over their head. How-How did he do that? Those projectiles were just as fast as Sonic, no normal person could simply deflect those so easily. The stranger placed their hand down from their helmet and placed both hands around the handle of the baton, raising it even higher. "Dr. Ivo Robotnik," They addressed respectfully. "You've given my Prime a lot of much needed experience, and I thank you for your purpose. However, due to your blatant insolence towards the Divine Ones, you are no longer needed. You will now spend the rest of your life behind bars in Prison Island, and you will be permitted to stay there until your final days. Heed this warning: Attempt to deny the order of the Divine Spirits, and you will perish a much quicker and horrible fate. Farewell."
"The Divine Spirits...!? How did they-" He was coming closer, Eggman tried kicking things over and tossing things at him from his desk. The baton was struck down onto the piece of furniture, shattering it instantly in half. They kicked the pieces away and stepped closer, causing the doctor to scream in utter horror. "N-No...! Stop, wait! They'll kill us all, I need to do this! That blue rat will kill us all! We'll all die!" Robotnik shook his head rapidly, holding up his hands. "No! STOP! NO...!"
The baton struck down one last time.
...
...Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, slumped over.
Blood dripped from the tip, until it was carelessly flicked off on the floor. The stranger held up the baton over their shoulder and bent down to pick up the unconscious body of the evil genius. A small sigh. The intruder held their finger up to their helmet once more. "The deed has been done, sir. No, I did not kill him. It would prove too suspicious to the citizens of this world, and I cannot have the authorities blame my prime for something he didn't do again. What a frustrating time that was..." They dragged his body with them as they stepped in front of the life pod, watching the being from inside momentarily twitch every so often. "Sir, could you turn up your volume? I cannot hear you clearly."
A voice from the other end of whatever the intruder was talking through in their helmet, echoed in the metal room. "Is that better?"
"Yes, general. Now," The stranger turned and tilted their head at the pod. "What am I to do with the marauder?"
Infinite fought to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't. "Who...Are..." He just couldn't. He fell back into a deep sleep.
"According to the spirits, you must allow him to operate as he is. When his body is ready, he will exit from the pod himself in approximately two days."
The intruder turned to the side with shock. "W-What...!?" They cried. "But sir, this Mobian is dangerous. He could kill our primes with the Phantom Ruby! Or worse, completely destroy the fabric of realities. I cannot let that happen!" They dropped Eggman and immediately tried to touch their hand on the pod. Once they did, a terrible magenta colored shock of electric chaos power zapped them, causing them to be tossed backwards and knocked down into the broken desk. "Ngh...!" They slowly pushed themselves up from the wreckage and stood up carefully. "Impossible...The ruby's already taken that much effect? Damn it..."
"First lieutenant general," The voice from the other end said. The intruder sighed and pressed their finger on the helmet. "I understand how perilous this is, I don't like it either. If it were up to me, I'd tell you to take them both to Prison Island. However," The voice became unsure. "There is nothing we can do. I don't know what those divine bastards are planning, but we cannot go against their direct orders—lest we share the same fate as the other templates who were disobedient."
The stranger huffed angrily. "Something bad is going to happen. Something really, really bad. I can sense it, but..." They walked over to grab the back of Eggman's collar. "...Very well, general. I'll pray our primes can stop him before it's too late...but they're so weak, disaster will strike for sure."
"I don't want you killed."
"I know, sir. I don't want you harmed, either." They tore themselves away from the life pod, dragging Eggman's body towards the exit of the ruined lab. The small fires that started earlier slowly died down. "All we can do is pray."
The ruby on Infinite's chest from within the pod glimmered ominously.
14 - END - 14
Chapter 15: Christmas Ruins
Summary:
Shadow confronts his own nightmare and wants to tell Sonic what he thinks he feels. After a disagreement, they travel to Sonic's birthplace for clues.
Chapter Text
15 - Christmas Ruins - 15
Empire City
Evening, 7:45 PM
A blue hedgehog laid sprawled on a mattress that did not belong to him, but held a scent he adored. Lightly snoring, he was hugging a pillow that he thought was owner of the bed, who wasn't present in the room at the moment. He slept for hours, not realizing how tired he was until he fell asleep. The door to the bedroom opened slowly, the lights being flicked on. The light caused the hedgehog to stir and turn over, before slightly cracking his lime green eyes open. His snores stifled to a stop, and he blinked a few times. He sat up and looked at the open door to see the very thing he adored so much walk in the room with something in his hands. The black and red striped hedgehog glanced down at him with those amber red eyes, and cracked a smile before sitting down on the bed beside his body. He bent over to place something on the nightstand before giving his attention back to the sleepy blue blur. The hero couldn't help but smile back, as the source of his happiness was with him again. "Hey you..." He greeted sleepily.
"You plan on sleeping the entire night away, faker?" Shadow asked.
Sonic yawned, his ears flattening as he cuddled up against the pillow again. "Nmm...but your bed's so comfy...and it smells like you~"
The elder hedgehog pulled some of the cover off of him to motivate him to sit up. "Perhaps, but I still want to see your face before midnight." He then held out a plate in front of him. His cheeks were lightly red. "...Here, I don't know if I made it the way you like it but-"
Sonic looked down at the plate, and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. A perfectly steaming hot chili dog just waiting to turn his tummy into a happy tummy. He gasped in delight and sat up immediately while clapping his hands. "Oh my God, you got me my favorite!" He took the plate and put it a few inches away onto the bed, before leaning closely. "You are so sweet to me~" He pressed a kiss on his cheek, then he pressed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. Shadow took the initiative and turned to lightly grasp Sonic's wrists. He pressed his tan lips to share a more indulgent kiss. Sonic gladly returned it in full and mumbled a pleasant sounding moan. Shadow embraced him closely, deepening the kiss even more. The hero wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. After a few seconds, they broke the kiss reluctantly. Sonic licked his lips "Mmn, babe if you keep treating me like this, I'll end up losing my innocence."
Shadow scoffed. "With a mouth like that, you never had any to begin with."
"Heheh, true~" Sonic nuzzled their noses together, but then he pouted. "I wish I waited so I could have given my virginity to you, 'cause it would have been worth it." He gave him one last peck, before turning over to pick up the plate of food and placing it in his lap.
His comment caused Shadow to really think. As mentioned before, Shadow wasn't entirely ignorant to the concept of sex, he just wasn't experienced at all. He knew what it entailed, what it might look like and what could happen. He also knew about the idea of chastity, or virginity. That was a sacred thing, something a lot of people took for granted. Kind of like Sonic or Rouge, who carelessly threw it away for their life of sleeping around. But if Sonic regretted it and wished he gave it to Shadow, that's a huge compliment. "You...want to give your virginity to me?" He asked almost in disbelief. Sonic was someone who promoted the idea of freedom to the highest extent. Therefore, that kind of mentality must have been the same for the way he viewed sex. Everyone should be able to do what they want with their body, which included being sexually active or being abstinent. But his chastity was his, and something he didn't truly respect until apparently now. If he had stayed a virgin, him giving Shadow his virginity would have been like him giving up the ideals he valued, all for him. The fact that he wished this was how this happened, well...It touched Shadow.
Sonic looked a little disappointed in himself, as a matter of fact, nibbling on his chili dog solemnly. "Yeah...It's way too late now, but I wish I did. I really do. The chick I gave it to was nothing compared to you. But then again," He said with his mouth slightly full. "Nobody I've been with could compare to you, actually."
Again, hugely flattering. Shadow was taken aback. "You mean that?"
"Hell yeah." The blue one replied with a charming smile. "You're the best I've ever had, and we haven't even gone all the way yet. I can't wait for that day~ You're good..." He smirked suggestively. "Really good. You're hot, you're big, you have good stamina, you learn quickly, and you're rough," He poked Shadow's nose playfully with his finger. "But you're also so sweet and gentle at the same time. You're the whole package, so I guess I lucked out."
As the hero ate his meal, Shadow's heart felt like it was swirling with warmth. It felt amazing, but he also felt a little nervous because he wanted to say something. Something that would express just how much he appreciated that. But, could he even say that? "I..." No, he shouldn't.
The hero tilted his head as he chewed, practically almost finished the frank. "Hm? Did you say something?"
He couldn't. "Nothing." Shadow looked away.
Sonic finished the whole thing in mere minutes. He leaned over and nudged Shadow with his elbow. "Aww c'mon, don't hide anything from me."
No, he can't. "...I cant, sorry."
That sounded a little downcast, so it made Sonic a little concerned. With a more serious tone, he tried again. "What is it? Did you need to get something off your chest?"
"..."
Sonic made a pout and crossed his arms, not liking how closed off Shadow was being all of a sudden. He took a second to think before he got exactly what the problem was. He nodded understandably. "Oh I get it, I get it."
"...?"
"You want to say 'I love you,' don't you?"
Chaos, was Shadow acting that predictable? "...How did you know?"
With a small blush, Sonic smiled. "Because I wanna say it too."
"You do?"
"Yeah," Sonic's smile faltered as he rested his chin on his hand. "But I won't, because I shouldn't. And you shouldn't either."
That didn't make any sense to him, why not? This completely contradicted his dream, which he was grateful for. But if they felt the same way, why couldn't they say it? "But, why? I never said it only because I thought you would hate me for it, because I wasn't sure or not if I was really what you wanted. But if you feel the same way, then it should be fine." Shadow placed a hand on Sonic's leg affectionately. "The things I feel for you, I-"
"-That's only because I'm the first and only person you've ever felt like this with." Sonic easily cut him off with a hard truth. "I'm sure there's someone else out there who might be able to make you feel this way, too. We've only been dating for a few days, we can't say we love each other that fast. Saying you love someone, is saying you're willing to not just die for them, but live for them." His eyes drifted elsewhere as he spoke, his tone rueful but honest. "To live with them for the rest of your life, no matter how long that would be, for better or for worse. At least, that's how Amy put it. She's right, though."
What? He didn't care about the opinions of others, and he thought Sonic didn't either. "None of that matters. I know I want to be with you, Sonic. I told you earlier, I want you."
Sonic sighed, his grimace deepening and his expression a little...Annoyed? "You only think that now. Next week, you might be ready to punch my lights out. You even said yourself you didn't tell me because you were scared I would hate you if you did, which, by the way, would never happen." That's why he looked a little irritated, he was offended that Shadow would ever think that. He could never hate him, and he should have known that. "The fact that you didn't know that I would be okay with you saying that, proves we haven't been together long enough to say it in the first place. You...don't know me well enough, and I don't know you well enough either. Not fully."
All the vigor in Shadow just abruptly left. His heart felt empty, now. "...I...I don't understand." It felt like he never would, either.
"It's like I told you before, dying is easy, and I know you'd do that for me cause I'd do that for you if it came down to some big ass boss fight. But living," Sonic shook his head. "Living is hard. I couldn't ask you to do that for me, and I don't expect you to ask that of me either. Living requires us to take time in learning each other, knowing each other better than the other. Knowing how we'll feel, what not to say, what to say at the right time...It's complicated, and it isn't simple enough to just say it because I made you feel good for one afternoon after only three days of dating." He knew his words were a little cold right now, but he needed Shadow to truly understand how this worked without masking the reality of all this with softer undertones. "Bottom line, you shouldn't say that. There's even some countries out there who look down upon people who use those words so easily, so they don't say it at all. Not even during weddings. They wait until the very prime moment when it's entirely appropriate to say it, but only after they've taken time to truly know each other." He glanced at Shadow, noticing that he was looking glum. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Shadow. But there's a lot I don't know about you. We need to take this time to figure that out, without any rush. I don't know how long we'll be together. I personally hope it's for a while," He confessed casually. "Maybe even a long time, but neither of us know that for sure. You might fall for someone else, and they might make you feel so much happier than I ever could. Or, something bad could happen and we might break up. I...really hope not, but we just don't know. So," He reached out to place his hand onto Shadow's, softening his tone. "Do me a favor, be patient with that, okay? I still wanna be with you, so I'll wait with you. See how long we last. We're doing this together, right?"
The biohog just closed his eyes and looked away. "..."
Shit, he didn't want him to feel bad about this. "Hey, don't look so down." He tightened his hold on his hand. "Don't take it personally, we just need a little more time for that-"
"I suppose you're right." Shadow suddenly replied while standing up from the bed, taking his hand out of Sonic's hold. "It was foolish of me to think I could comprehend the concept of such a complex emotion. I'm still not ready, I'm still...ignorant." He walked away from the bed and made a beeline for the bedroom's exit. "Excuse me."
Sonic exhaled quietly as he closed his eyes, realizing that maybe he shouldn't have said any of that. Maybe he should have just let it hang in the air.
He hoped he didn't hate him for that.
Evening, 8:30 PM
The GUN agent was surprised to see that Infinite's vitals were perfectly fine. Experimentation of any kind from the doctor would cause severe damage and pain, so he should be in horrible agony right now. Yet, according to his computer, he wasn't. After he and Sonic talked, Shadow went into his home office. It was nothing special, and he rarely worked in here, but it had some uses. He had his own personal computer to do whatever with, and it was a good space away from distracting studio windows of his apartment. He grunted a little, before looking down at his hand. Red chaos energy was charging through it, so the spine was still in Infinite. Yes, Shadow had stuck one of Sonic's spines in him when he last saw him, except he overridden Sonic's energy with his own. Infinite didn't know it, nobody saw it, and Sonic wasn't concerned because he probably figured the energy in his spine died out by now. Shadow plucked it into the jackal's fur under the desk in his prison, and it's been on him ever since. Shadow could feel it's essence surging inside of him, indicating he was still very much alive. He used Sonic's technique to keep surveillance on him, and had someone from gun convert that power into data. They then further translated it into a computer program so he could read his body parameters electronically.
He could see that Eggman was forcing a lot of the cells in his body to become hyper focused on speed and power, ramping up his metabolism. Similar to his or Sonic's. He concluded that the doctor wanted Infinite to have a genetic makeup like someone with chaos energy. This had to have been a very painful process, as he could feel great anguish earlier before Sonic woke up. However, it abruptly stopped and Infinite seemed fine. He seemed as if he was okay, for now. He admittedly feared how much progress the doctor was making, as he was no slouch when it came to schemes. He was impossibly diligent, which was disappointing considering that if he was an ally of Sonic Team, he'd probably make the world a better place with them. Shame, really. Anyway, if anything abnormal happened with Infinite's body, Shadow would know instantly. If he had already used the ruby on him, he couldn't tell, because he never felt a spike or surge in power. Maybe he didn't implant it yet? He wasn't sure, as plenty of objects with strange powers could slip right under the radar of chaos energy, even chaos energy itself. There were a lot of unknowns here, but-
Oh. Sonic peaked in the room before stepping in and closing the door softly. "Hey..."
Shadow rose his head from the computer monitor. "Hey."
"You mad at me?" He sounded so afraid of hurting his feelings, that his voice was actually kind of cute.
The biohog sighed before looking back at the computer. "No. I'm...frustrated with myself, as always."
Shadow heard Sonic make a tired groan. "Dude, c'mon with that." He suddenly sat down on his desk. Considering how nice his lower body was, his ass made quite a tremor on the surface. He had to remind himself not to stare. "How many times do I gotta tell you to give yourself some slack? Look," He crossed his legs. "I know you're used to being super cooler than everyone else and doing super cool shit on your first try, but that's not how matters of the heart works. That shit's hard, man, even for us. Hell, I fuck up too. I told ya, this is my first serious relationship." He leaned his arm onto his computer monitor to get more of his attention, which worked. "If you mess up, take it in stride and move on. I won't be mad at you. And if I ever was, I promise you I'll let you know and get over it pretty quickly."
The GUN agent just nodded before looking back at the screen. "I'll be fine."
Sonic sighed, there was nothing more he could do. "Alright..."
Before the hero could hop off of the desk, Shadow blinked. "Wait." He said before pushing his monitor a bit to the side so he could get a better look at him. "You said we should get to know each other more, right?" He saw the blue blur nod. "Then can I ask you something about yourself?"
Well that came out of nowhere. Sonic shrugged. "Uh, sure. Anything you want."
"Do you know what a Chaos Born is?"
"A who-what's it?"
"A Chaos Born."
Sonic squinted his eyes. "Uuuuummmm no? I don't think so." He kicked his feet back and forth. "Sounds rad, though. Overpowered as hell, but rad."
Shadow eyes sharpened. "Do you know anything about Christmas Island?"
"..." The blue one paused. "...How do you know about that?"
What Eggman found was true? He had to keep probing. "So you do?"
Looking a little uncomfortable, Sonic eventually answered. "I...Yeah, I was born there."
"You were born there?"
"Yeah," Sonic scratched behind his head. "I barely remember, but yeah. I was a baby, then a toddler...didn't leave the place until I was maybe...six? Then I went to Green Hill Zone and well, the rest is history."
Huh, he didn't expect that answer. How was he able to do any of that as a baby? How did he even survive? "How did you even take care of yourself if you were an infant?"
The younger hedgehog just shrugged with a frown, not liking his own answer either. "I don't know...I don't think I have parents, so...I just don't know." He closed his eyes for a moment to think out loud. "I just remember...being in water...I almost drowned a bunch of times. I was real little so I didn't know how to swim. I kept choking and swallowing all this water..." He made a pained expression, the memory of it seemingly causing a little trauma.
"That's why you're scared of the ocean?"
Sonic pursed his lips while crossing his arms. "I'm not scared per say," He clarified defensively. "I just hate it. It makes me slow and I can't swim that well. But more or less, yeah. That always messed me up..." He got up off the desk and paced around the room a little. "I could never remember much, but I always remembered that. Something was drowning me and I don't know what it was to this day."
That was foreboding to say the least. "Okay, and do you know of the relics that are on the island?"
The hero turned around. "Relics?"
Shadow nodded, seeing how now was a great time to tell him some information that he discovered last night. "Remember I told you I wanted you here for the weekend in case something would pop off. I made a breakthrough in Infinite's case last night, and GUN and I arranged for him to go undercover with Eggman." He used the mouse to bring up a few digital photos. "The doctor found something on Christmas Island called the Phantom Ruby, and he wants to use it to eliminate you, but he needs a willing Mobian to properly utilize it. Infinite volunteered to be experimented on by the doctor under the guise of seeking revenge on me for putting him in prison, so the ruby could properly take effect on his body. Infinite is going to attempt to steal the ruby once the experiments are finished, defeat the doctor, return to me and destroy it. As for the relics on Christmas Island," He continued as the hero gazed at him with a questioning stare. "Robotnik found them and studied them, and he apparently found out that those relics told of some apocalypse that would ensue from a race called Chaos Born. After you defeated him three years ago, he studied you and apparently thinks you're related to this mysterious race of people." He could see Sonic's face growing more confused from here. "That drive we found in the hideout? It had a bunch of audio logs and images the doctor recorded that I had Rouge decrypt. She said this dates back to beyond The Ancients related to Chaos, the God of Destruction."
"W-What...? What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, walking closer. "What do you mean Eggman studied me? I don't have an ancestry, I never did. That's news to me."
He wouldn't understand from talking alone, he'd have to see for himself. Shadow stood up from his seat and motioned for Sonic to sit down and look. "Come here and take a look, you might recognize something."
Sonic obliged his lover and sat in his office chair, leaning close to stare at the digital images he brought up. There were high quality photos of Christmas Island, a place he could barely remember to begin with. This was clearly taken in the day time, the skies seemed normal without any clouds on whatever day this was taken. The ocean looked calm, too calm actually. It looked like the water was completely still, like there were no tides at all. The sand was clean and white, but it was a little too sparkly, like someone dropped a bunch of super tiny pieces of broken glasses or diamonds all over the biome. As for this first image, he saw broken pillars laying against white sand. It was crumbling and weathered down. There were clearly effigies carved within it, but time had destroyed the story it was trying to tell. Sonic obviously didn't recognize it. Shadow used the mouse to scroll to the next image, which was a photo of another pillar that was actually upright. Still, it was even more damaged than the other. He didn't recognize that either. Shadow scrolled to the next one, the third and final one. It was a photo of both the pillars together. One could tell they were supposed to be upright, standing completely parallel to each other.
Almost like an arch or...the entrance to something.
Lime green irises dilated. He remembered. He didn't know quite what, but he remembered something being there. "That—That right there. It's...It's missing." Sonic whispered.
Shadow glanced at him. "Something's missing?"
"Yeah it's-Holy shit." He could remember—Just barely, but it was there. He gripped the sides of his head and stood up instantly. "There's supposed to be an entrance there. I remember—A cave or something. I went down there all the time, because there was food there for me." He then looked down. "But why? What was...Who was feeding me?" He whipped his head at Shadow. "Shadow, we gotta get over there. There's something there, something that might help me remember." He rushed out of the room yelling, "I'm putting on my shoes, get your ring thingies!"
Well, this was a productive night.
Shadow nodded and glanced at the computer before following after him.
Evening, 8:55 PM
They would have arrived at the small island much faster, but Sonic's memory was fuzzy so he wasn't quite sure of the directions. After some trial and error and the constant running on water for twenty minutes, which caused the hero to become a little anxious, they finally made it. Finally on solid ground, he immediately had a profound sense of nostalgia uppercut him right in his jaw. His eyes became glossy and he immediately got down on his knees to place his hands in the sand. It was very pale pink, almost white. The grains felt like dry water, and the ocean surrounding the island were glowing like the northern lights. He suddenly rushed towards the coast, noticing how still the tides around them were. No motion, not even a small brush upon the shore. He placed his fingers into the water, and watched as galaxy levels of twinkles brilliantly shined throughout the liquid. The water felt like magic was charging inside of him, and his energy felt instantly replenished. Then, he curiously cupped some in the palms of his hands and brought it to his lips.
Shadow noticed this and tried to stop him. After all, that was complete salt water. "You idiot, don't-"
The blue hedgehog already gulped it all down, and swallowed. That's when he lowered his hands and stared at them. "...There's no salt." He murmured. "It's just like way back then." He slowly stood up while still looking at his palms, as if he would see all of his forgotten memories in them. "I always drank the water from the ocean. It was clean, fresh water." He then spit out a little bit of sand grains. Besides the sand, it was perfectly safe to drink. He looked around and noticed the blush pink sand, and sifted his fingers down a few centimeters. Tiny pebbles of shells and empty clams were within its crumbs. Nothing was in them. He let them drop from his hand onto the ground and stared out at the motionless waters just ahead of the sparkling beach rocks. "There wasn't any fish, but I always ate...fruits..." He turned to the right, noticing the multiple tall stretching trees surrounding the mass of land. "But there wasn't any fruit trees..."
The ultimate lifeform noticed something about those trees in particular. They reached up to the skies like the branches were clawing at the atmosphere. They looked similar to contorted beech trees, but their leaves were multiple colors. The colors were unnatural, too. Pinks, pale yellows, bright greens, neon oranges, strong reds, purples and light blues...Every color of the rainbow was here in these trees. The way their leaves shimmered like gemstones was beautiful, but unnerving because of how abnormal it seemed. It was like someone dyed everything in strange colors that wasn't at all organic. The waters, the sand, the trees and even the sky above had a weird spectrum showing through it. And the sky was so lit up with colors, that the darkness of nighttime didn't affect the island at all, and it made the stars look like glitter. It was similar to aurora, but something about it felt off. Anyone would think this was a magical place, but he couldn't say that for certain. Then, Shadow realized: These trees, wasn't it similar to the tree that was in Sonic's backyard?
As the two walked through the eighth wonder of the world, experiencing the bizarre silence, they noticed there was only flora but no fauna. No living clams, crabs, monkeys, birds or even insects. There was no buzzing or chirping, and they couldn't even hear the leaves rustle because there was no wind here. One would think creatures like flickies or chaos would flock to a place like this, so why didn't they? Then, Sonic paused. He looked down at his forearm to see that a pink butterfly landed on him. Thank goodness, an animal. When Sonic tried to gently shoo the insect away, he hissed and snatched his arm away. Blood began to pool, and the butterfly fluttered about. A tiny stinging puncture now taking place of the butterfly's seat. Sonic made a disgusted expression and wiped his arm on his leg to brush off the blood. Shadow nudged him to point ahead, where dozens of multicolored butterflies hovered and swarmed. Amber red energy rushed through his wrist, and he uttered, "Chaos Spear." And tossed the chaos imbued arrowhead at the swarm. They instantly fell out of formation and flew away in different, random directions.
After the crowd of insects scattered, Sonic saw what they were looking for in the distance. He saw a crumbled looking pillar. "It's there." He grabbed Shadow's hand and ran forward. In seconds, they finally arrived at what they saw on Shadow's computer. The two pillars standing side by side, one damaged beyond repair and one just barely hanging on. The area was entirely blank besides the pillars, except for the horrendous amount of metallic rubble littering the sand. Sonic kicked over a piece of robotic armor and tilted his head to see that an Eggman insignia was on it. "These were some of the bots I kept seeing around the country all year. 'Guess those were prototypes 'cause these look way more advanced." Both of the hedgehogs sucked their teeth, so Robotnik was indeed here. He made a horrible mess of things, too. Besides the debris of robot scraps, there were tall pieces of fulgurite shooting up from out of the sand. That only happened during a chemical reaction of some kind of combustion combining with sand, nearly creating glass. "Eggman wasn't alone when he was here, and he pissed someone or something off." Sonic commented. After surveying the area, the two hedgehogs glanced at each other and nodded before moving closer. Sonic would inspect the one on the right, and Shadow would examine the one on the left. The one on the left was upright, and the one on the right was fallen over. Simultaneously, they both landed their eyes on the effigies carved within them.
The moment they did, they howled in pain.
A loud steaming noise emanated from their eyes, multicolored mist flowing into the air. They both reached their hands to their faces, covering their eyes with aching torment. Something was burning their corneas. Eyes watering, they both attempted to push through the agony and open them back up to what they were looking at before. That's when they saw it.
These symbols carved in the pillars weren't effigies or images, they were words.
And they could read them.
Sonic checked with his partner before continuing their investigation. "Shadow, is it just me or can you-"
The elder nodded. "Yeah, I can read this. I assume when our eyes were burned, it made it so that we could read it." He wiped his eyes with the back of his fist. "There's no doubt, that burning sensation was chaos energy for sure."
"But why didn't it do that when we looked at it before on your computer?"
Shadow wasn't sure. "Perhaps because it was a digital photo and not the real thing? Maybe this place has a mark of chaotic power, that can only be disturbed from a chaos user." He glanced over at Sonic. "What does yours say?"
"It doesn't make any sense," Sonic replied while backing up a bit to get a better look. "The words are cut off, not making complete sentences..." He suddenly snapped his finger. "I got it." He went over to Shadow, and eyed the left pillar. "Yeah, that's it." He grabbed Shadow's hand again and backed up a few steps. "The left pillar is the left half of the text, the right pillar is the right. You have to read them both together."
Shadow blinked a few times, and concluded that Sonic was indeed correct. "You're right, whatever's cut off from one side, completes the other. So together it says," The ultimate life form began to read aloud. "'The path opens with amorousness. To small youth pure from intimacy, you may proceed without dilemma." The biohog raised a brow as he continued to read. "To the current all seeing eye, you may proceed without dilemma. To elders of consummation, you must prove your passion. Until the sands feel your devotion, you shall never know the residence of the template who presides here." He briefly looked at Sonic, who looked just as confused as he was. "To interlopers who are not of chaotic blood, you will be exterminated. Let our blood subjugate and conquer forevermore.'"
"Okay," Sonic sighed. "So I've had my fair share of creepy, cryptic, confusing ancient temples, but this is just weird. What is it trying to say?"
"Well," Shadow trailed off. "That second to last part was obvious: To whomever doesn't belong here, they will be killed. And considering the environment at the moment," He referenced the robot rubble surrounding them. "Eggman incurred the island's wrath. He was an intruder to...Whoever wrote this, and thus, he was attacked. And whatever or whoever it was, they definitely weren't holding back. He must have barely escaped with his life."
The hero placed his hands on his hips in a thought provoking manner. "Yeah, but nothing's attacked us so far. Maybe 'cause we can use chaos energy?"
"That makes the most sense, as we could only read this with chaos energy." Shadow knelt down to the fallen pillar, feeling his eyes water the more he tried to read it. "Eggman has faux emeralds on him all the time, copying off of Tails' invention years ago. I'm sure he was able to read it because of that as well. Probably using some machine."
Feeling a little impatient, the blue blur tapped a finger on his own hip. "But then what does the rest mean? I know for sure Eggface didn't get that far."
Shadow stood back up and closed his eyes. "Hold on," He muttered. "Amorousness...That means love. 'The path opens with love'...And 'small youth', probably a child."
"'Pure from intimacy'—Maybe a child who hasn't experienced love yet. And elder usually means an adult. Sooooo," Sonic tapped his foot, the gears in his head turning. "Adults who have experienced love have to prove it. Only adults, no minors. I could get behind that."
That's when it hit him, Shadow's eyes widened. It was asking them that? To do that? Here? "Oh boy," He sighed tirelessly. "I figured it out."
"Ah, no fair. Okay, what is it?"
"It wants us to fuck."
Sonic instantly busted out laughing. "Hahahaha! Yeah right!" As he chuckled his laughing fit off, he looked in his partner's direction, only to see that he was deathly serious. His smile instantly disappeared. "Oh shit."
"Yeah."
"Oh," The hero could feel a visible sweat drop fall down his cheek. "Huh. Well then."
The biohog went over the riddle carefully. "Small children can't possibly feel the extremities of love at such a young age, therefore, they've no need to prove anything. Adults who have experienced passion have to prove their worth by expressing that affection to their partner, right here on the island. Meaning us. If we don't, we can't get in." He furrowed his brows with a scowl. "The other line I don't understand is the 'all seeing eye.' Who or what the hell is that? And that other line about subjugation...that's violent domination."
No matter how far back Sonic tried to remember, he didn't know of anyone or anything being called an 'all seeing eye,' so that was a bust. And he for sure didn't remember such a cruel and weird line as the last one. As for everything else, he did remember not having a problem with accessing that weird cave. "Beats me...I do remember not having any issue with entering the cave since I was a child. Anytime I walked near here, it opened up for me automatically...I think. It's still real fuzzy."
A pause passed by, and Shadow awkwardly asked what they were both thinking. "So...Did you-"
"Yeah, about that...Um," Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't like screwing around when I'm demanded to in a not-sexy way, especially not by some ancient asshole who carved a couple poem stanzas in a rock." He crossed his arms and didn't look in Shadow's direction. "Plus, I'm all for sex on the beach, but I don't know if you're comfortable with that. We kinda did a little somethin' on a beach before, in Green Hill Zone, but it wasn't that...Y'know, steamy. It was cute at best, mostly cuddling." After their disagreement earlier, Shadow figured the energy between them wasn't that strong at the moment. However, Sonic didn't seem to be resistant because of that. Perhaps he truly didn't want to do anything unless Shadow wanted to. Or, also because he didn't want to deal with this at all. "If you want, we can run back home-"
"No." Shadow instantly disagreed. "This is important. Not just to me, but especially you. This is your birthplace, something you should know about."
Sonic frowned with contention. "I don't need to know, it's behind me. I was interested at first, sure, but it ain't the end of the world for me if I don't see it through. I couldn't care less about this island. I..." He couldn't finish his sentence, his voice diminishing in sound quickly.
Shadow could tell he was worried about something. "You usually run head first into something you don't understand. You're backing out now?"
"..."
15 - END - 15
Chapter 16: More Truth
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow explore the rest of the Christmas Island ruins, while Infinite sees the truth.
Chapter Text
16 - More Truth - 16
Evening, 9:30 PM
"..."
It wasn't like Sonic to clam up. He was uncomfortable with all of it. Not because of the demanded intimacy or the island, but because of something within himself. Shadow attempted to try and be patient and gentle. Sonic was an unloaded pistol when he was even slightly annoyed—Not cruel enough to shoot you, but cruel enough to break your jaw by pistol-whipping you with words alone. Shadow conceded that he somewhat feared what kind of foul language he'd use when fiercely upset. He'd be careful with what he had to say. "Are you afraid of what we might see when we open the entrance? Afraid of something we might find out?" Silence was his blue lover's response, and he only turned his back towards him while saying nothing. Shadow walked from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember on the Ark, when Rouge read the transcript of Gerald's final words before his execution? How he explained that he wanted to basically kill everyone on Mobius by using me and the eclipse cannon?" He sighed heavily. "That still sticks in my mind to this day, how even Eggman of all people, was put off by such a vicious perspective on humanity. Then, when I found out about Black Doom, I hated myself. I despised that my origins stemmed from such hatred and greed from both of my creators. Maybe I still do from time to time when no one's around. But," He glanced at Sonic and pulled him a little closer. "After I reacted, albeit with depression and rage, I eventually embraced it and learned to live with it. It's not easy at all, I still struggle with it. This...Dark cloud in my brain."
With sorrowful sympathy, Sonic turned and met his gaze. However, he still said nothing. "..."
He rubbed his hand down Sonic's arm and grasped his hand, rubbing his thumb in his palm. "Sometimes even looking in the mirror hurts. Knowing that's all I was supposed to be to them: A blood stained weapon of brutality and carnage. Then, I listened to your words." He chuckled a little to himself. "Your brash, arrogant, annoying words—Preaching 'freedom this, freedom that,' and the rest of that rebellious, teenage drivel." Shadow laughed a little more. "I thought you were just some brat with power you didn't comprehend, only showing me up with pure luck. Then," His smile went from humorous, to warm. "You attempted to save me when I fell. As I blacked out, that's when I truly started to listen to what you were actually trying to tell me: Live."
He had Sonic's full attention when he said that.
"No matter what I went through or what I found out about myself, you always told me to just take things one day at a time and live for me. Not Gerald, not Black Doom, not even Maria. But for me." He grabbed his arms and pulled him even closer. "No matter what my past was, even if it was recent, to remedy the mistakes and walk it off. You recently almost killed someone, which is admittedly entirely out of character for you." He saw shame grow in Sonic's eyes, but he wouldn't let that last. "You scared your friends, and you feel you can't trust yourself. Now, Eggman claims he found evidence of you being related to some all-powerful evil race of chaos users. You think that everything you've experienced up to now, might be proven to be true. That maybe, you're...Not what you thought you were." He saw Sonic's eyes fall downcast, but he gripped him tighter to make him stop. "But that doesn't matter." Shadow exclaimed. "Because where ever you come from, whatever you may turn out to be, it doesn't define you. Because...You're Sonic the Hedgehog. You don't give a damn about what anyone thinks of you, and you never cared about what your origins were. You shouldn't run away from your past, but you shouldn't let it defeat you either. Keep that mentality, make it stronger. I want you to promise me that whatever we find out about you, you won't let it affect you." He reached his hand up and caressed the side of Sonic's face, which was turning a deep shade of pink. "I mean it, promise me."
Sonic's mouth was slightly agape, his expression pitifully bashful. "H-How do you...do that?"
Wait, did he do something wrong? "What?" Shadow blinked. "What did I do?"
The hero turned away with an annoyed scowl. "God, you don't even realize how smooth you are and that's so annoying. How do you just charm me like that? Do you have any idea how hard that is to do on the fly?" His blue ears flattened as he tried hiding his face by looking away. "And you do it like its nothing...it's making me..." He released a hot exhale that he didn't even realize he was holding. He covered his mouth a little. "You can't...do that..."
Shadow nuzzled the side of his face with his nose. "Oh? And why not?" He whispered as he dragged his fingers down his shoulder blade, his lips hovering closely below his chin.
Gasping, the blue blur ended up falling right into his hold. He was kissing the back of his neck. "Because...You'll make me..."
"Make you what?" Ringed hands rubbed down his sides, earning Shadow a shiver. "I can't seem to hear you."
"Make me..." Sonic closed his legs instinctively. "Hot..." Shadow's hand was suddenly in between them, his fingers grinding against him from below. "A-Ahh..." The blue one flinched, his thighs unwillingly opening. "W-Wait..." He desperately seized Shadow's wrist. "I...You...N-Nghaah..." He felt a tongue slither against his throat, then he felt it suck against his flesh. Those fingers rubbed a little more vigorously, and Sonic nearly lost his footing. His knees started to bend forward, his grip on the elder one's arms tightening. "Not right there...Not here...I-I can't handle that right now."
Shadow stepped behind him, and began grinding himself against him, wrapping his arm around him so he couldn't escape. "I'll stop if you promise." He lifted his fingers from his crotch, then reached towards his upper torso. His hand suddenly groped his peach chest.
"A-Ah!" Sonic yelped in pleasure. "S-Shadow..."
"Promise me, hedgehog. Unless, you want me to embarrass you?"
"I-I promise..."
"If you break it, I'll be very cross with you. And I mean that."
Sonic shook his head desperately. "No...I promise, I won't break it. I swear-" Shadow squeezed his pectorals harder, causing the blue one to toss his head back. "F-Fuck...!" He hissed, his eyes rolling back. "Not there, anywhere but there, please...! I promise...I promi-Mmmnn...!" Panting heavily, he felt Shadow cease his teasing despite still having him in a very compromising position. Gulping, Sonic placed his hand onto Shadow's. He realized he was gripping the left side of his body, where his heart was. He could feel Shadow sigh against him. As entertaining and gratifying this was, he didn't want to prove his point like this, this was doing the reverse of what he wanted. Sonic understood that and tried to level with him. "I...I get it. You don't want me to fall into despair like you did. Right?" He felt his grip suddenly tighten again. "S-Stop that...!" Sonic whined with a moan. "If you keep touching me there, I'm gonna lose my mind!"
Shadow released him, turned him around and gripped the back of his head by his quills, shoving his forehead against his. "If you break that promise, I swear to Chaos...The things I'll do to you," His eyes went from sexually exasperated to genuine pleading. "The things you'll make me feel...You'll... Don't let me see you do that to yourself. Don't end up like me, Sonic." He leaned himself against Sonic. "Please."
Finally normalizing his breathing, Sonic nodded. "...I won't, Shadow. I swear on my life." His flushed cheeks slowly faded. "I don't wanna disappoint you, and I don't wanna make you sad. I'm sorry," The hero placed his hands onto his, and slowly lowered them. "I didn't mean to make you worry like that. But, if we do find out something bad," He pressed a small kiss on his cheek. "Will you be there for me?"
"Of course I will." Shadow replied without hesitation. "I'll be right by your side."
Sonic smiled widely. "See, you're doing it again. You're bein' cute and charming and what not."
The biohog pursed his lips. "What? I am not."
"Yes you are~" He teased. Admiring each other's eyes, they closed their eyes and leaned forward and shared a kiss. While a little heated, it was more romantic than lustful. "Mmn, you attacked me like an animal, y'know. I was in fear for my life because you were so rough." Sonic facetiously winced in imitative fear as Shadow caressed his muzzle. His voice mocking that of a damsel in distress. "No, you brute, no more—Please don't~"
Shadow was unimpressed. "Mock me all you want, you were like putty in my hands."
"Ooohhh nooooo~ This hot, sexy old man is gonna have his way with me! What ever shall I dooooo~?"
"S-Shut the hell up, I was making a point!"
"Pleeeaaase don't grope me again, mister~ If only a hotter and sexier older man could save me."
"Okay. You wanna play that game, fine." Feeling his eye twitch in unbridled vexation, Shadow poked his fingers into Sonic's sides.
Giggling from the sensation, the hero instantly gave up while putting his hands up in defeat. "A-Aight, aight. Chill." He yielded in his normal voice. He tickled him some more, however. "Ahaha-Hey! Hey. Chill." And then a little more. "Chill, chill chill chill chill! Chill dude! Bro-!" His laughs shrieked with glee as he uselessly attempted to block Shadow from his weak spots. "S-Stahahahap!"
"Say you're sorry."
"O-Okay okay, I'm sorry! Just stop tickling me...!"
Bright rainbow lights suddenly beamed in the corner of their eyes. They turned to the pillars to see a transparent arc of colors abruptly spawn from between the ancient structures. It was some kind of gigantic moving mass of energy, floating above the ground and shining bright. It stretched and twisted, until two prongs of the mass reached out from within. It formed a pair of arms with hands of raw chaos. They dived down towards the ground, digging it's semi-incorporeal fingers into the sand. As it scratched out the sand between the pillars, limestone rock was revealed from underneath the looser gravel. Once all the sand was cleared, the entire space of the material was a large circle of rock between the pillars. A strange symbol was marked on it's surface, an eye. The chaotic hands then paused, causing the two hedgehogs to glance at each other, baffled. What did it want? How were they to open this? Sonic cautiously stepped near the pillars, then looked down at the limestone rock below. He knelt down and placed his palm against the symbol that was carved into it. When he did, the carving lit up with a spectrum of color. It shined brightly into the sky, but it quickly faded soon after.
The ground began to shake violently, nearly causing them to lose balance. The chaotic arms moved once more out of stagnation, swooping down to dig their fingers around the large circle of rock. It lifted it up gradually, and the more it lifted it into the air, the more rock was revealed to have plugged this area of the island. A few seconds later, it was finally done lifting it's entire mass from within the ground. It was shaped like a sharp stalactite, the end pointed and sharp like a stake. When Sonic looked over to see what was uncovered from the limestone, he saw a cratered path with an old but organized structure of rock steps leading down. This circular shape, the rocky insides with moist spectral water and the strange bright lights emanating from below. This was the cave entrance Sonic remembered. He motioned for Shadow to come quickly, as now was their chance to get inside. "I don't get it," He murmured. "I thought it wanted us to mess around." He glanced at Shadow. "Maybe we proved enough?" They both took a moment to think about that, as he was probably right. Maybe they didn't need to go that far. What they had just experienced with each other was indeed adoration, and they could both feel that the lust was unnecessary. It saw all it needed to see, whatever it was. They smiled at each other and descended down the steps together.
Once they were fully underground, the chaotic hands immediately disappeared into rainbow embers of chaos drifting in the sky. The giant stalactite slammed down into the hole, raising sandy dust and minerals from off the ground. After it all settled, the sand mysteriously pushed itself over the hidden rock, as if no one was ever there in the first place. The ground shook again, both above and below, making the hedgehogs traversing down the stairs to lose their balance again. They recovered quickly, and continued going down. There was enough room to walk beside each other, they weren't cramped. They both looked up and around themselves, noticing the beautiful organic crystals and rock gems shining within the limestone walls. The radiance shining within them served as lighting for the cave, with absolutely no darkness to be found. Rouge would have a field day if she was in here, because a lot of these gems were minerals neither of them recognized. There were so many colors, hues and shades to all of them. It was fantastical down here.
When they reached the bottom, they saw an extremely large space. With hidden gems wedged between the walls and floors of the space, it created a gorgeous multi-colored reflection in certain parts of the area. A small circle of water sat in the middle, the water dazzling just like the oceans on the surface. Behind it was a straight edged monolith made entirely of those gems. It wasn't jagged or rocky with stones, it was completely smooth. Carved images were drawn within it's material, but Sonic and Shadow knew better by now. Around the small pond of water were small patches of dirt, and lovely wild flowers sprouted from the rich soil. The flowers oddly looked like bleeding heart flowers, an exotic and magnificent plant to be sure, but one had to be on the other side of the world to see one of those in its native grounds. These however looked like some rare mutated versions of them, because they were bigger than average and they weren't naturally all these colors.
Sonic stepped in front of the pond, and noticed that it was only big enough for one, maybe two people to get in the water. He then looked at the monolith looming over it and his eyes immediately began to water from slight burning of the chaos energy within the carvings. Glinting spectral tears fell from his eyes as he attempted to see through them and read the text carved within. "'Template number two, Sonic the Hedgehog'...Template?" He asked aloud. "The hell does it mean by that?" He then looked back down at the water below. This pond...It's small size...He blinked a few times, the chaos infused tears falling down his face and dropping into the water. The ripples symmetrically spread to all sides of the pond, causing something in his brain to spark up his memories. "...!"
The cries of an infant.
"My perfect one, no need to fuss." A motherly, yet strangely fatherly voice hushed it to sleep. "There there child, your hunger will wane soon enough."
The cries became happy coos and innocent giggles.
"What an angelic smile...Yes, you will be perfect."
Soon, those cute babbles turned into cries of torment.
"Oh, now you're fussing again."
Splashing, coughing, choking.
"Be still, it'll only be just a moment longer."
Can't breathe.
Can't breathe.
Can't breathe.
"This is for your own good."
"...onic. Sonic!"
Green eyes snapped open with a strong gasp. Sonic keeled over and began coughing and hacking, wheezing as if he was just held under water. He practically puked up the abnormal liquid from the pond, sensing it exit from his lungs. Feeling Shadow pat his back for support, he brought his hands up to his face. His muzzle was wet, water was dripping down his body. Panting, he turned to the ultimate life form. "W-What happened?"
"You threw yourself into the damn water." The GUN agent wrapped an arm around his waist to help him up on his feet, allowing him to lean against him. Sonic noticed they were some distance away from the pond now, and there were dragged water marks across the stone floor. "I found something of interest that I wanted you to see, but then I turn around and I see you drowning yourself in that pond. Why did you do that?"
"I," Sonic placed a hand over his head, he suddenly had a massive headache. "I don't know. I remembered—Someone did try to drown me in there. I was just a baby...I can't remember who it was for the life of me. Their voice was strange. It sounded like a man and a woman at the same time." His ears flattened. "I hate this, I don't like this at all." He made a small cough and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. "What was it that you wanted to show me?"
"Stay close to me." Shadow tightened his hold on the hero, causing Sonic to blush lightly. He guided him to the far left of the empty space, and showed him a wall. It looked like the rest of the walls of the cave, until he gestured for him to look down at the ground. There was another eye symbol carved here. "I tried touching it, but it wouldn't work. It must be the same as before when you touched the entrance."
The hero nodded and knelt down to place his palm against the symbol. It lit up like before, but it died out much faster than last time. Sonic narrowed his eyes. "Hey, put your hand here with me." He lifted his hand. "At the same time, c'mon." The biohog nodded and steadied his hand along with Sonic's. Concurrently, they both placed their palms down onto the symbol, and it lit up once again. This time, the light inside of it did not fade. The wall before them lifted upwards, revealing another section of the cave. It was much smaller, but something about it felt rather cozy. They stepped in together, noticing the items splayed out on the floor. There were several old, thick, warm blankets amassed in a pile. Almost like a nest. They were ancient, it's fabrics rotting away, formerly bright in pastel colors. In the back of the room was a full-body dug-in area. Something dug through the rocks here to form a reclining seat or resting place. There were old cushions covering the stone, and there was also some water from the pond inside of it. Looking up, there was a tiny skylight opening from above. Perhaps there was a hole somewhere above them. Moonlight shined down through it, illuminating the spot with colors. Was this supposed to be a bed of some kind? It was too big for a child.
Sonic touched his fingers against the strange bed, but he felt nothing.
He did however, see a tiny little metal thing in the corner of it. He reached down to pick it up between his fingers, and he realized that this was a tiny drone. A bug, practically, except it could fly. It probably fell through that tiny skylight. This must have been how Eggman was able to get information about Sonic's alleged ancestry, despite being attacked on the surface. He never physically made it down here, but he did get to see it through this drone. He then walked over and picked up one of the blankets on the ground, but he didn't feel anything pulling at his memory banks. No good. He turned over to Shadow, to see that he was attempting to read some carved text in the wall to the right. He mumbled a curse at the burning sensation, but eventually was able to read it. Sonic walked over beside him. "What's it say?"
Shadow blinked his eyes to rid himself of the tears that were not his own, and began to read aloud again. "'To the child who slumbers here, always remember the Divine Quadrant. The gold one, the dark one, the demon and the angel. If you wish for courage, look for the auric sun. If you wish for acceptance, look for the melancholy moon. If you wish for madness, look for your mind's pandemonium. If you wish for true love, look for your heart's perfection. If you are ever lost, look to their eyes for guidance.' Look," Shadow tapped his fingers on some of the text, and they began to glow in specific colors. The one that spoke of the 'gold one' was glowing gold. The 'dark one' text was glowing a dark blue, almost black. The 'demon' text was glowing scarlet red. The 'angel' text was glowing white, with small bits of other bright colors around it. "The gold one," Shadow repeated slowly before glancing at Sonic. "If you were born here, is it talking about Super Sonic?"
Anxiously, Sonic stared at the 'demon' text. "...Is...that what I..." He gripped his hands into fists. "That's what happened that day?"
The biohog frowned. "What do you-?" Then he remembered what his friends told him about Sonic's attack against Eggman three years ago. Yes, they said it looked like Super Sonic, but that it seemed as if Sonic was possessed by something demonic. "A demon...That can't be real." He whispered. "Why the hell would you have a demon inside of you? And what are the others that the text is talking about?"
"So I used some kind of fucked up demonic power...?" Sonic scowled furiously. "...Bullshit." That tiny amount of rage made a small spark of scarlet red aura emanate from Sonic's figure, startling them both. "T-The hell?" He watched as the energy traveled to the wall, it's power infusing with it and the text. Suddenly, the imagery covering the wall was rearranged with added carvings. It was reading something different. "'Let our blood subjugate and conquer forevermore. Chaos...reigns.'" That again? Who would write something so menacing? "I know I was born here," Sonic suddenly said hastily. "I know I was drowned here, and I know I must have slept in this room when I was little. But this—" He swung his fist into the wall, causing it to rumble. "Demons? Subjugation? Bullshit!" He shouted, gripping his fingers into the wall. "I don't believe it, and I'll never believe it until I see real proof for myself!" He tossed down the tiny drone, shattering it into pieces the moment it hit the ground. "Eggman's pussing out because of this? Really? We didn't even see where he got this 'Phantom Ruby' thing from. What a bunch of crap..." He watched pebbles and rocks crumble onto the floor. Sonic turned and immediately exited out of the room.
Concerned but fully understanding his frustration, Shadow followed him. The hero had his back turned to him, glaring at the small pond with great anger. "...What do you believe?"
Sonic scoffed, almost as if the answer was obvious. "I believe I'm me. I don't care what these ruins say, and I don't care what Egghead thinks. I'm no monster, and I'm not a demon." He glanced at Shadow over his shoulder, his green eyes shining with a strong sense of conviction. "I'm just a guy who loves adventure, nothing more and nothing less. I don't need some old rock tellin' me what I am." He made a big sigh, all of that fury slowly drifting away. He then stretched his arms high up in the air and put his hands on his hips. "Aight, I'm about sick of this dump. It's pretty an' all, but for what? To hide a bunch of shitty secrets? Tch, please." He waved for Shadow to come closer. "Could you Chaos Control us out? I could probably tap some rock to make an exit or something, but I don't wanna touch anything else in here. It feels nasty."
Sonic was obviously still bothered by this mystifying discovery, but he wasn't letting it keep him down. He was keeping his promise, and his huge personality was too powerful to back down from insecurity. With a small but proud smile, Shadow accepted. "Of course." He offered his hand like a gentleman, to which Sonic smiled and took it gratefully. "Chaos Control." In a green flash, they appeared above ground and back on the sand. Shadow recoiled a little in pain, feeling a slight headache after that. "This entire island must be covered in ancient chaos energy, so teleporting in it's space felt a little...Resistant to it's atmosphere. I'll need to take something for that, it gave me a migraine. I've had a lot of those this month." He noticed Sonic was still holding his hand, and when he did, the blue one just grinned at him. 'Guess he felt too comfortable to let go. "So, if you were born here, that means you were born in pure chaos." He eyed Sonic up and down, something he did often when the hero wasn't looking, but this time it was for a more serious reason. "Yet, you're biologically not made of it. At least, not like me. All Mobians have some tiny abysmal level of chaos power, but not like us. I wonder why your body's so different from mine..."
The hero shrugged while reaching his arms behind his head. "I dunno, maybe 'cause I gotta grow into it? I could barely Chaos Control when I was younger, and that was with a fake emerald. Now I can do a little more, but I still can't use abilities as well as you can. Practicing with it is hard for me. For some reason, my body can't focus well enough to go that far unless I transform. With age, it gets a little bit easier every year. Not by much, though. Unleeeessssss..." Sonic made a mischievous smile. He then leaned against Shadow, playfully nudging against him. "Since you and I are more than cool now, whatcha think about teaching me a lil' somethin'? Maybe gimme a training regimen? Maybeeee..." He fluttered his eyes at him dramatically. "Some private lessons with yours truly~?"
"Okay first off," Shadow poked his finger into Sonic's head to push him away. "Never make that face again, it's unattractive. Second, I don't mind training you, but we'd have to do it in an open space. Green Hill Zone should be perfect, actually. Plus, you'd have to set aside time every week to see me."
"Babe, I'll always set aside time for you."
Blushing, Shadow averted his eyes quickly. "Alright, work is usually lax on Fridays for me, so I suppose you can meet me in the early evenings of that day. Just, don't...You know."
"What?" Sonic tilted his head with a smirk. "Make your legs shake?"
"Shut-" The biohog reached up to pinch the tip of his ear. "-Your filthy mouth."
"Owwww!" The hero swatted his arm away. "Your mouth was filthy too! It had cu-"
"Sonic I swear on Gerald's grave, I will punt you into the sun."
July 19th - Unknown Location
Eggman's Hidden Underground Base
DAY 9: Saturday
Morning, 11:00 AM
Pain.
So much pain.
Everything hurts.
He...was on the floor.
He couldn't even focus his vision correctly. Where was he? He couldn't feel the water anymore, was he free? Heterochromic eyes attempted to refocus their pupils, noticing that he was still in Dr. Eggman's laboratory. He was still trapped here as per Shadow's plan, but...What happened? The room, it was a mess. Trashed, destroyed objects, turned over furniture, computers and monitors smashed into pieces. There were even some burn marks here, and water that was filling his pod was all around him on the metallic floor with broken glass, yet it didn't evaporate or dry up. It's obviously been some time since he was put in this pod, so why was the water still here? This water wasn't normal either, multicolored. Oh yes, didn't the doctor say this was pure chaos? Maybe that's why it didn't fade away. How long as he out? And why was his pod destroyed? He carefully tried to move his limbs, the glass shards perilously surrounding his body. He accidentally cut himself on his arm when trying to push himself off the floor. He winced in pain, as everything in his body felt hyper sensitive at the moment.
He wobbled onto his knees, and eventually his feet. Quivering with abnormal energy and decreasing pain, Infinite just barely managed to stand up. He panted lightly, feeling as if he worked his body a little too hard just to stand. He looked downwards, and saw that protruding cursed Phantom Ruby sticking out from his chest. He tried to touch it, wrapping his fingers around the base of the stone and pulled. The moment he did, that excruciating pain from before hit him like a dumpster truck. "...!" He screamed in gruesome agony, letting go immediately. It was like his whole body was electrocuted with thousands of volts the moment he tried to pull it off. He could feel his fur being stuck against it, were his nerves connected to it too? The doctor—Damn that bastard. He remembered the pain he felt when he first installed this damn thing on him, but attempting to get it off felt way worse than the installation process. Speaking of which, where was the fat lard? He looked around the destroyed room, noticing how empty it was. Along with the destruction of his precious materials, what happened to the doctor? And if he was gone, was his experimentation over? Did he do to him what he wanted?
If he was gone and the place looked like this, he must have been attacked. His eyes glinted with a shine of hope. Maybe Shadow stopped him after all? But, if that was the case, why didn't he come get him? Or at the very least, arrest him now that his job was done? Something wasn't right, he had to think back to last night. He was asleep most of the time, so he didn't remember much. Everything was mostly a blur but...He did open his eyes once last night. Eggman told him how they would conquer the world together once he finished one last phase in the experiment. Did he finish it? Did it work? And what happened after he told him that...? He closed his eyes, he had to think. Think, think, think. Wait—He remembered now. His eyes snapped wide opened. Someone, some strange intruder with odd military garb broke in and took the doctor away to Chaos knows where. So, Eggman was captured. If that was the case, what would he do now? Well, looking back down at his ruby-planted chest, maybe he could find a way to destroy this damned thing. Whatever it was, it was bad news and he wanted it off of him. Maybe he could let Shadow know that technically, the mission was a success and that they wouldn't have to worry about the doctor anymore.
When he moved to take a few steps away from the ruined pod, broken glass crushing under his bare feet, his ears perked up. Someone was coming. He looked up at the broken entrance with an alert posture, was the doctor coming back for him? The floor slightly shook, something with heavy weight was approaching. When it finally entered the room, his eyes began to shake. It was a robot, but it wasn't a normal robot. The limbs, the color of the metal and it's figure shape was too familiar. It had a robotic tail, robotic claws, ears and even a muzzle. Infinite took a few steps back, his voice caught in his throat. Behind the robot, more and more robots looking strikingly similar to both him and the one before him, began to fill the room. There were several of them, dozens. They kept filling the room until Infinite was eventually backed into the wall. He shook his head slowly in denial, his lips quavering in a never ending pitting despair. His eyes became moist with tears, the only noise he could make being a pitiful sob. The robots didn't harm him, they didn't even intimidate him because he already knew what they were.
They were his roboticized family.
The remaining remnants of the Jackal Squad, the only people whom he ever trusted and loved...
...Were now mindless, braindead robots that lived only to do Eggman's bidding.
He fell back down to his knees, slamming his fists into the ground. He wailed in great forlorn, as he was reunited with them in the worst possible way. Shadow had already warned them of their fates, but he never knew for sure. Now that the proof was right in front of him, he couldn't take it. This was a fate worse than death, they weren't even themselves anymore. Their souls, their brains, what was left of their real selves? And there was no way to reverse this, and he wasn't smart enough to know how. And even if he asked for help, he wouldn't receive it. He was just some criminal, no one would help him fix this. Sniffing with tears rolling down his muzzle, he slowly looked up at his lifeless crowd. They weren't even looking at him, they were just standing there, staring into nothing. Perhaps that was why they weren't attacking him, because maybe some part of them was still in there—Somewhere. And them encircling him like this, perhaps this was their way of mourning? He didn't know, but he knew that his own spirit was destroyed. He wanted to destroy them, free their souls of their metal entrapment. And with them all gone, what reason did he have to live at this point?
Maybe...
Maybe he could destroy them and-
"You lost almost everything, but you still have something left worth saving: The remaining survivors of your family—Eggman is going to destroy them all! Are you going to let that happen? Are you going to give up just like that? Are you just going to lay down and die!?"
-No.
No, he couldn't give up.
He still had family who were alive and breathing. They were imprisoned and some weren't even members of the squad anymore, hidden away in various parts of Mobius. But they were still here and that's all that mattered. He sniffled, stubbornly wiping his tears and standing up with a straightened posture. He was no weakling, he was too strong to give up. He'd fix this, some way, somehow. He glared at the gemstone sitting in his chest and gripped his hands into tight fists. He would use this thing to get exactly what he wanted. All he had to do was try and harness it's powers. Once he did that, he could get his family back and take vengeance on the very person who destroyed his life. This room was trashed, and anything valuable within it was more than likely destroyed. He'd figure this out, as he was sure that fat bastard had back up files in this base somewhere about this gem. He'd learn of how Eggman got it, it's powers, how to use them and how to make the world his. He glanced up at the jackal robots surrounding him. Maybe he could do something with them.
"...!"
A spark of magenta instantly rushed throughout the entire room, illuminating it with it's color. It flashed within every single robot, hopping from machine to machine, going straight for the soulless plastic eyes. Their bodies suddenly flinched, their limbs twitching and shaking with a different force of energy powering them from the inside. Intrigued, Infinite gradually raised up his hand. When he did, the robots looked up. When he lowered it back down, they lowered their heads. He then continued to lower it to his side, until all robots knelt down and bowed to his feet. He cracked a small smirk, so that's how this power worked. He then looked down at his own bare palm, seeing the magenta energy surge through every digit on his hand. Yes, this power was the key. This was it! If he could just learn to master it, he'd be unstoppable.
"Heheheh..." The jackal suddenly began to chuckle. "Hehehehahahahahaha..." This would be his moment, his time to finally get everything he's ever wanted. He wouldn't let this chance slip by, he'd embrace it. "Hahahahaha-!"
His heterochromic eyes flashed magenta.
And that's when he saw it all.
Images flashed in his mind the moment he felt the ruby's power. Images of strange things, things that didn't seem possible. The planet burning from the inside out, Overlanders and Mobians dying. Buildings on fire, falling and collapsing on the streets that were broken from deep within the earth. Multicolored lights everywhere, strangling the globe like a constrictor. GUN, Sonic Team, Team Dark, Eggman—They were all dying or already lifeless with their lifeforces drifting in the skies. Angel Island crashing into the oceans, the Master Emerald shattering into green embers, the God of Destruction inside of it being vacuumed into a stronger force. And that stronger force, had blue fur and lime green eyes. He stood and watched all of the destruction with a sinister smile, cackling as the world he had promised to save fell apart all under his order.
Gasping in alarm, Infinite held the side of his face as his normal iris colors returned.
Oh God.
Those visions-
That was what Eggman feared. This was what he found, this was why he needed to kill Sonic the Hedgehog. It wasn't some stupid conspiracy, it wasn't some bullshit excuse to kill the world's hero—That deceptive monster was never a hero to begin with! He was tricking them all, he was playing them all for fools. He was going to destroy everyone, and Eggman was the only one who wised up to it. He would kill them all, including not only his family, but Shadow.
He couldn't let that happen, he'd never let that happen.
He'd...never let anyone hurt...
...Shadow.
He felt his chest get warm all of a sudden.
16 - END - 16
Chapter 17: Focus
Summary:
While teaching Sonic how to use chaos energy without an emerald, Shadow falls into a rut. This leads to some...mischievous bedtime sparring, with Sonic soon becoming the teacher.
Notes:
The latter half of this chapter involves heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
17 - Focus - 17
South island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
Afternoon, 12:00 PM
Sweat rolled down his forehead, his brain starting to ache with this fierce flow of concentration. He had never focused on something so hard in his life, except for the whole chaos control with a fake emerald incident. His face was turning red, his body was on fire and his insides felt like they were melting. He wasn't used to using this much power at once, having this much of it enliven his entire anatomy like this. It was painful, it was confusing and it was difficult honing it into certain parts of his frame. How the hell did Shadow do this all the time so effortlessly? He could feel this nearly bottomless source inside of him, but he always struggled tapping into it outside of using Super Sonic. He thought having a master teach him would make it super easy from the start, but he supposed he was a fool to think that way. There were no easy roads in life, after all. Sonic inhaled sharply before falling over onto his knees. He could barely hold himself up over the striped green grass, and he was gasping as if he had been choked. His eyes were clenched shut, his arms convulsing as he attempted to catch his breath. He felt like he was overloading himself, because everything felt so strained.
A pair of ebony and red striped legs stood before him. Shadow stared down at him with an unreadable expression, placing his arms behind his back and eyeing his lover carefully. "No," He simply said. "You're using too much at once. You're forcing your body to hone this massive amount of power before you can even focus it in a specific direction." He tilted his head as he walked around his trembling body. "You're overloading your body, your organs, your bloodstream and your brain. Chaos energy requires all of these things to work synchronously in order to bestow it's true potential. If you keep trying to use it that way, you'll kill yourself." He got down on one knee to watch Sonic's face carefully. "You're going too fast—ironically—trying to rush yourself into learning what to do." He looked at his ear and tapped it with his finger. When it reacted by flicking his digit away, he got the result he wanted. If his ear wouldn't have reacted, that would have been bad. "Good, your nerves and reflexes are still working. You're not out just yet. Come on," He ordered lightly. "Get up, you're fine."
Spitting out some blood on the ground, Sonic wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and wobbly stood back up. "Easy for you to say, you're literally made of the stuff."
"Just because I'm made of it, doesn't mean it was instantly easy for me to use." Shadow quickly discredited this false information as he watched Sonic attempt to catch his breath. "Understand that Gerald made me a living, sentient creature with a working brain. While I was made for efficiency, I still had to learn the concept. It was easier for me to tap into the power, but I had to be trained to use chaos energy correctly. This took many months, but since I had no distractions or even a sense of 'living' besides interacting with Maria, it was much more simple for me to focus. And that," The biohog pointed to him. "Is your problem." He stepped in front of the hero and plucked the side of his head. Sonic winced and gave him a glare, his pupils constantly readjusting. At least his body wasn't completely out of whack. "Your senses are still present...Good. Anyway," He continued. "You take living life carefree too literally, as your body's adjusted to your mentality. You only force your body to go into overdrive during dire situations, which usually involves using Super Sonic. You've never trained yourself to keep your body in excess energy for consistent, long periods of time like I have. It's strenuous, painful work. You can't force out chaos energy until you've mastered such a discipline."
With a stressed expression, Sonic resorted to just sitting on the ground. His legs were too tired to stand. "So you're sayin' I gotta hurt myself like I just did for long periods of time just to be able to do it?"
Shadow shook his head. "No, this isn't the only way to learn. Meditation is also a great way to do it."
"Meditation, huh?" Sonic replied with a bored voice.
"Yeah, something else you fail at miserably." The GUN agent chastised, noticing his apathetic expression. "You don't know how to relax, at least not in a spiritual sense. You like taking vacations on beaches, sleeping on tree branches and gorging yourself on terrible fast food, but that's not true relaxation. It's funny, actually." Shadow crossed his arms over his chest. "You have such a free spirit to begin with, that it's strange that you can't meditate well enough to tap into your power. You have no conflicting darkness inside of you physically or mentally to obscure your ability to do so, yet you can't. But I see why," He trailed off knowingly. "Because you don't filter your mind."
The blue hedgehog made an incredulous expression. "Don't that happen when ya nap?"
Shadow scoffed. "Slumber does not equal serenity, hedgehog. Emptying your mind is true tranquility. There were long lengths of time where Gerald had me asleep in life pods and full body test tubes. Sometimes I was awake, so I couldn't do anything but stare while life proceeded without me." He glanced out at the green fields of Green Hill Zone, reminiscing about his early days of living. "I had nothing but time. Thinking eventually became abysmal to me, so I would just meditate. It kept my brain in check from going insane from the isolation." He looked down at Sonic. "Meditation isn't just for pious monks and fake social media yoga buffs, it literally cleanses you mentally when performed correctly. It's not used to completely empty your mind per se, but it is used to help clear everything else away so that you can focus on only one thing in depth. Once your mind is clear, focusing chaos energy becomes nearly second-nature because it'll be the only thing you have to think about. Then, you can pull it directly from the source, your body."
Sonic's expression softened as he listened to his words. Speaking with Shadow was always so enlightening when they weren't fighting, he wished they did this more when he was younger. "You know," He suddenly said. "I think I did meditate correctly once."
The biohog already knew what he was talking about. "Chaos controlling with that fake chaos emerald, right?"
"Yeah," Sonic nodded. "If I didn't do something, I was gonna die in that capsule and everything was gonna go to hell. In that split second, everything from my head disappeared. I focused on nothing but getting back to my friends. I was able to concentrate and before I knew it, I had used chaos control for the first time to get back on the Ark. I was sore after that, but it worked."
"Precisely," Shadow concurred. "That's what you need to do. Meditate more often so that when you do try to focus on using chaos energy, it'll be easier and won't be so taxing on your body. And soon, you won't need to do it at all. Of course, it helps to do it every once in a while if you want to keep up with it. It's like using a convoluted muscle. The more you keep it in shape, the less time you'll need to strengthen it."
The hero scratched the side of his face. "Okay, but how do you even go about it? I honestly don't remember how I did it the first time."
The biohog decided to sit beside the blue hedgehog and crossed his legs into a pretzel. "Calm your body, and then your mind. Sometimes it helps if you close your eyes. Don't you dare fall asleep, by the way. I'll kick you."
Sonic copied his movements and position, and did as he described. He placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. "Okay..."
"Steady your heartbeat, let things move slower."
"Slow everything down, I think I'm starting to get it."
Shadow watched him closely. "Now steady your breathing. Focus, then breathe." He nodded in satisfaction, Sonic was doing everything he was saying flawlessly. "Focus, then breathe...Keep doing this until things start to clear out." He could hear his breathing fix into a simple, but calming pattern. He then reached over and placed his hand onto his peach chest, which would normally make him react in a flustered manner. However, there was absolutely no reaction from the hero. He even felt his heartbeat slow itself. He was doing it, this was perfect. "Yes, just like that. Keep that up, and think of nothing but my voice." Soon, Sonic could hear nothing but his lover's voice. Not the flickies, not the leaves of the palm trees, not even the wind. Only Shadow's voice. "Very good. Keep that up until my voice drowns out. When it does, you...ot...it..."
...
Silence.
Pure silence.
Sonic heard nothing, felt nothing, and most importantly, could not be bothered by anything.
Yes, this was it. This was the tranquility Shadow was speaking of. This wasn't just peace, this was a peace of mind.
"..."
Shadow smirked with pride, because he knew he'd get it eventually. He had to admit, he thought it would take a little longer for him to get the meditation thing down. However, as usual, Sonic trumped his expectations. He simply sighed and closed his eyes as well, deciding that he would wait until the moment of truth would occur. It took several minutes, perhaps over ten until he saw results. He heard the sound of something similar to electricity, and opened one eye. He could see a blue aura beginning to enwrap itself around Sonic's limbs. His quills were slightly raising in the air, and his fur was waving from a sudden growth in strong winds. "Perfect." Shadow whispered. He moved to get behind Sonic, and reached his arms around him. He gently placed his hands on his arms, guiding them to raise upwards. That power concentrated into his palms, meaning that the hero was unconsciously comprehended Shadow's movements and intentions. Even better. "Now," Shadow brushed his lips against his face. "Chaos-" He murmured in his ear. A bright light flashed before his eyes. "-Blast."
A blue laser-like beam shot from Sonic's hands, shooting through the entire zone like a grounded shooting star. Several miles away, it smacked against the side of a cliff, causing several large crumbling rocks to fall into the oceans below with big splashes. After a few seconds, the light of it died out and faded into chaotic embers.
The heat of the ability steamed from his palms, and Shadow rubbed his fingers into them affectionately. "You did it."
The blue one suddenly snapped his eyes open with a loud sigh. "Holy shit..." He breathed. "That's what it feels like to use chaos energy without the emeralds?"
"Indeed." Shadow gave him a small smile. "How do you feel?"
"Amazing." Sonic replied breathlessly as he stared at his own hands. He had no idea he was that capable of doing such a thing. "I felt like...Like I could do anything." He was so awestruck, how long could he have done this? He should have approached Shadow about teaching him ages ago, but his immature ego probably would have prevented him from doing so. Damn, what a waste. "It felt so easy, almost like I was using a cheat code. It just flowed like water, all inside of me. But I could still feel you, and anticipate what you wanted me to do. It almost seemed like-What did Amy call it? Clairvoyance."
An interesting way to put it, Shadow thought as he rubbed his hands up and down Sonic's arms. "I suppose that's one perspective, sure. I'd agree that there is a high level of intuition behind it, once you master it."
"H-Hey," The hero blushed a little. "Why so handsy?"
Huh, he didn't know the answer to that. Shadow blinked, he didn't even realize how much he was touching him until now. "I'm not sure," He admitted quietly as he nudged his face against the side of Sonic's neck. "Maybe helping you direct your power...Riled something inside of me."
After lightly moaning from his touch, Sonic chuckled a little. "God, you are so horny. I thought I was bad. You got rutting issues or somethin'? Mating season been over." He sniffed a few times before smirking. "Nah, I can smell your hormones. You're still a little pent up. Geez," The hero noted. "You being out of commission for fifty years really neglected your needs. Ah-" He shyly recoiled from the little pecks being placed on his shoulder. "Come on, not here...I don't want-Mmn..." His body stiffened considerably, he could feel Shadow rubbing his hands from his arms to his chest. "N-Not there..." He inhaled a small gasp, he was groping him again. "A-Ahh...S-Stop," He seized Shadow's wrist, who ceased his movements from the command. "Look, you horn-hog," Sonic scolded with a frown, giving him a harsh glare. "If you're gonna do somethin', at least do it at home. I like messin' around in a bed, thank you very much. Even a lumpy recliner is better than hard ass grass."
"Sorry," Shadow mumbled, his tone now very drunk with an obvious craving. "I wanted to show you how proud I was of you. I guess I got a little too excited."
Liking the sound of that, Sonic licked his lips. "Well, when you put it like that..." He leaned back against the ultimate life form. "I think we made really good progress, so why dontcha take us home?" He lowered his hand behind himself to rub it closer towards Shadow's pelvis. "Pretty please~?"
The biohog took a minute to reply. "Could you teach me something in return?"
"Yeah? Like what?"
A little embarrassed of what he was going to ask, Shadow decided it was best to just take them home so he could explain it there. "...Chaos Control."
Empire City
Afternoon, 12:20 PM
In a green flash, they were back in Shadow's apartment. More specifically, his bedroom, on his bed. He had just fixed the sheets too, oh well. He let go of Sonic and moved to get in front of him. Shadow's cheeks grew a little red but he really wanted this to happen, so he couldn't back out now. "...Can you...Teach me how to..." He looked away for a moment. "...What is it called? I've heard Rouge say it before, it's some form of oral sex."
With a jubilantly naughty smile, Sonic instantly answered for him. "A 'blowjob'. Pretentious assholes call it 'fellatio'. You want me to teach you how to suck dick?"
"And you call me horny." Shadow replied shamefully as he pulled off his gloves. He unclipped his rings and placed them on the nightstand nearby. "But, the way you...Swallowed me yesterday, made my mind go blank. It felt beyond invigorating, but I want to give that feeling to you. I know I won't be able to do as well as you did, but I'd like to learn. Because...I..." He was too flustered to finish his sentence.
Sonic followed Shadow's lead and pulled off his gloves as well, all while making a more sympathetic smile. "Aww, you want me to feel good too? You're so cute."
"It's not just that," Shadow added adamantly, looking into his eyes. "I want to make you feel the way I felt. You made me feel powerful. To be honest, I don't know how else to describe it. It was a mixture of feeling dominant, completely recharged and even...Desired. I never felt so wanted by someone before," He put a hand on his knee. "It made me feel...special." He rubbed his hand upwards towards his thigh. "I don't know if it was because someone was willing to go that far just to make me feel good, or simply because it was you." His hand traveled a little farther, reaching his inner thighs. "You...Are absolutely alluring." Both of their eyes became hazy with lust. "The fact that someone like you likes touching me, likes being around me, it does something to me. You let me touch you, feel your body..." He suddenly kicked his own shoes off of the bed, before seizing Sonic's legs and tearing off his footwear as well. They both felt a familiar heat rising between each other. "And your body," He whispered as he dipped his bare hand underneath Sonic's pelvis once more, earning him a gasp. "I can't keep my hands off of it, I want it close to me every time I see you." After rubbing a little more, the hero's legs widened as his peach member was finally unsheathed. It was semi-hard, but Shadow was confident he could fix that.
Blushing with a playful grin, Sonic placed his hand onto Shadow's cheek to get his attention. "Alright babe, hold on." He tapped his shoulder with his other hand to make the biohog stop. He was eager, and he loved that, but they needed to do this correctly since this was his first time. "Okay, let's back up a bit. I'll tell you what you need to do, but I want you to watch closely. Okay?" After his red eyed lover nodded silently, the hero continued by taking his hands away and putting them to his own body. He placed his hand in between his own blue legs, his fingers rubbing against the shaft. He thumped his thumb against it, showing Shadow that it wasn't as rigid as it should have been. "Nmm, see how I'm not completely hard? Good news is, not only are you sexy but we're really sensitive down here. Once you get your mouth on me, I'll be rock solid and we can really get the party goin'." He wagged his finger at Shadow. "Come here~" He watched the elder one crawl closer and nuzzle his face between his legs. His expression wanting, eagerly waiting for what he would do next. Sonic couldn't handle it, just the sight of his silently excited expression was way more arousing than he expected. "Fuuuuck, don't look at me like that..." He felt Shadow lean down to brush his lips against the tip, placing his hands around it and gazing hypnotically at the head. Sonic could feel himself grow harder, Shadow was so hungry for this and he loved that. He watched him kiss the tip, making his legs twitch automatically. "Mmmn...Okay, you got that part right."
"This part of it is the most sensitive, right?"
"Mmhm~" Sonic smirked. "Someone's been payin' attention. Now, use your tongue and lick the underside of it."
Shadow stuck out his tongue, using the tip of it to lick underneath the head. The flavor of his skin was interesting, probably a taste he'd never forget. "Mmmn," He hummed at the feeling of having Sonic on his tongue, he liked this sensation. "Like this?" He mumbled, slithering it against him even more, feeling the organ harden even further.
Blowing out some air, the hero leaned back and placed a hand on Shadow's head. He scratched behind his ears, feeling him purr underneath him. "Yeah, just like that-Ngh..." He felt himself completely densify, he was fully hard now. He bit his bottom lip, he could tell the biohog was enjoying this almost more than he was. "Mmkay, now that that part's done," He instructed sensually. "I want you to put it in your mouth. Don't forget to use your hands, big boy. That helps create friction, just don't hold me too tight." Slowly, he felt Shadow place the entire head into his mouth, feeling his moist cavern envelope him. He moaned sharply, closing his eyes for a split second. "Shit," Sonic swore as he felt Shadow's tongue fully engulf his member. "Haa...Create a little suction, but not too much, not yet. And don't do it like you have to because of me, do it because you want to. Have fun with it, make me absolutely yours~ That makes it a hundred times better, trust me." Have fun with it and make him his, he said? Shadow could get behind that. He carefully began sucking down, causing Sonic to moan again. He bobbed his head up and down, beginning to understand the pace of this act of indecency. He stroked his fists against his member, realizing how simple this was. The only real challenge was keeping it up.
His spit coated his length, but not in overabundance. His tongue slipped all around him, feeling his precum drip into his mouth. He was tasting even more of him, and he was amazing. He truly couldn't get enough of Sonic's body. The more he jerked his fists upwards and downwards, Sonic would make those lovely sounds that he was addicted to. The level of hardness truly did make a difference, because he could taste and lick against every pulsing vein that was now visible. He went a little faster, not realizing that he was taking more inches of Sonic's member. The more he pet behind his ears, the more he could tell he was doing a good job. Now that he got the basics of it, maybe he could go a little further. He wanted to take more inches of his length, but there was a problem. His mouth, it got tired. He stopped for a moment and pulled his member from out of his mouth. He coughed a little too, it was only beginning to travel to his throat. His gag reflex wasn't very good yet.
He felt Sonic sigh with pleasure before looking down at Shadow empathetically. He's been in his situation before, nothing to be ashamed of in the slightest. "Mouth tired? Relax your jaw more, babe. Sucking against it takes more energy out of your mouth, so to compensate for this, do a little more licking. Take a second before you try again, it's okay." His voice was sweet like honey suckle, completely understanding and not at all disappointed. He just caressed the side of Shadow's muzzle and continued to rub his head lovingly. Shadow could feel his own tail wagging, and he could feel himself harden. Being praised like this was doing something to him. "You're just so eager to please, you're so fuckin' cute." Sonic whispered erotically. He indeed was resting his mouth, but Shadow needed to do something. He needed to feel something. He took one hand off of Sonic's member and reached down below himself. He felt his length already unsheathed, laying against the covers of the mattress. He began to rub slowly, jerking off his own phallus desperately so he could feel that same sensation he felt when he was sucking Sonic off. He was lightly moaning in pleasure, and decided to start stroking Sonic again. The hero caught this, and sneered seductively. "You dirty boy. You got turned on from sucking me off that much? Nmmm," He leaned back against the headboard. "Fuck, that turns me on even more...Don't stop-Ah...!" He felt Shadow put him back in his mouth. "O-Oohhh...Oh fuck...Don't be so rough, babe. You can go slow-Ohh~!" He gripped his fingers on the pillows. "Mmhmhmm...You really want this cock, don't you?"
Shadow pushed Sonic's length further into his mouth, taking up more inches until he could feel the organ reach his throat. This was intimidating since Sonic was large, but he knew how to control his breathing. He just had to be careful and remember his instructions carefully. Relaxing his jaw more, he only lightly sucked at certain parts of his length. As Sonic just advised, sucking used more energy, so he'd use his tongue and mouth to pleasure him until he was ready for the home stretch. He quickened his pace, jerking both himself and Sonic off faster and rougher. His head bobbed up and down once more, his tongue completely tangled around his length. Sonic's legs clenched a little, moaning louder from his treatment. Then, Shadow had an idea. Sonic used a trick on him before, using chaos energy with his finger to instantly make him hard. He'd steal that idea and focus that chaos energy somewhere else. Closing his eyes as he sucked a little harder, chaos energy traveled to Shadow's tongue. He heard Sonic make an almost violent gasp, and he felt him grip his fingers on his head. His hips began moving against his mouth, bucking his length down his throat. The biohog gagged a little, but he wasn't done yet.
"Fuck yeah," Sonic hissed sharply with a deep voice. He reached forward to grip the back of Shadow's quills and use it as leverage to pump himself in and out of his mouth. His eyes grew a dangerous shade of neon green, his grin growing more and more vitriolic. "Suck that fucking dick-Yes, fuck...!" A depraved set of emotions fell over Shadow, and he shamelessly was loving every second of this, stroking both himself and his lover faster. He pressed his lips against Sonic's pelvis, gagging a little more but wanting to pleasure him just as much as he did for him yesterday. He sucked harsher against him, slurping him up profusely with excitement. "You're gonna make me cum..." He humped himself against Shadow's mouth rapidly, arching his back intensely. "Take my fucking cum...Take all of it...!" He made one last thrust against his face before releasing. "A-Ahhh...! Holy shit...!" He felt Shadow moan against him, who was actually hitting his climax at the same time. "Mmm...Swallow it, swallow all of it..." He growled roughly.
Shadow could feel Sonic's essence overflow in his mouth. "M-Mmnngh..." He wrapped his arms around Sonic's legs to hold him close and lock his position. He wanted to taste all of him, he'd do exactly as he commanded. "Mmnnn...!" His own hips jerked, as he was still climaxing onto the sheets below.
Panting heavily, that impish look in Sonic's eyes disappeared as fast as it came. He made a long, deep, drawn out moan before pulling Shadow's head off. What was going on again...? His head was spinning. Once his length slipped out, it dripped with the blue one's seed. Noticing that Shadow's mouth was full with it, he looked at his nightstand for a tissue box. "Fuck...You got any tissues to spit that out? I don't want you to-"
With a gulp, Shadow coughed a little after swallowing it all down.
"..." Sonic blinked in shock. "...Oh my fucking God."
Coughing a little more from deepthroating for the first time, Shadow placed a hand over his mouth. "W...What?" He asked through hacking.
"Did you...Swallow all of it?"
Clearing his throat, Shadow nodded. "Was I not supposed to?"
He really just...swallowed it all?
He didn't spit any of it out despite never doing this before? He was really that comfortable with just-Great Chaos, that was so hot. He was hot, everything he did was hot and it was gonna-Oh no, Sonic could feel his eyes glowing again. "O-Oh shit-Ah...!" Sonic winced as his hips thrusted in the air, squirting out a few more blows onto Shadow's face. Blue chaotic aura erupted from his figure for a split second before fading away. Shadow had no idea how much sexual arousal could affect chaos energy, and vice versa. Good information to know. Nearly tapped of all of his energy, Sonic fell limp against the bed while his chest heaved in and out from that sudden secondary orgasm. "M-Mmmnn fuuuuck..." The abnormal illumination in his eyes faded away for the final time today.
A little alarmed from that reaction, Shadow just wiped his white fluids from off of his face and licked it off of his palm. "Are you...okay?"
Sonic's thighs shook vigorously. If he kept doing stuff like that, he was going to lose it and force himself back down his throat. "Oh fuck, you're licking it off too...?" The hero groaned erotically as he tried his best to calm himself down. "God I don't deserve you, you're too good for me." He made a futile attempt to force his libido to decrease by closing his legs. "You're not grossed out?"
Shadow was genuinely confused. "Why would I? It's from your body and I want it inside of me."
A bestial hunger flashed in Sonic's mind after that comment, but he ignored it as much as he could. Hold back Sonic, hold back...If he didn't, he'd destroy this entire apartment building with Shadow's ass trembling in the rubble. Shadow was slowly driving him insane and he didn't even know it. "Okay-Shadow, please stop talking. You're gonna make me cum again."
"I don't understand what the big deal is." The striped hedgehog simply replied as he got up from the bed. "Am I not allowed to swallow it?"
"N-No, but-Shit." His weirdly attractive naivete was giving the hero a sexual panic attack. "A lot of people don't like swallowing it, so they usually spit it out. Cum doesn't always taste nice."
Shadow shrugged as he bent over a little to pull at the sheets that were soiled. "You tasted fine to me. Actually, you taste a little like fruit. And didn't you tell me to swallow all of it anyway?"
His ears were steaming at this point. Sonic shook his head and got off the bed to let Shadow pull it off the mattress. "Babe, listen. I talk dirty, real dirty, but sometimes my horniness makes me a little hostile and I say things I don't mean. I didn't actually want you to swallow it," He scratched behind his head and frowned sheepishly. "But I was so caught up in the moment that I said I did. Damn, I kinda acted like an asshole...I didn't mean to, though. It was your first blowjob, I didn't want you to have to do that. Actually," Sonic added sincerely. "I'm sorry about that, and I didn't mean to shove myself down your throat like that either. I could have hurt you."
"I wanted that to happen."
Sweet Chaos, he did not deserve Shadow. Sonic was going to have a heart attack. "Shads, you are fucking killing me."
"I'm serious, Sonic." Shadow insisted with a firm tone. "I told you, just because I'm inexperienced doesn't mean I'm fragile. I can handle a few hard hits. Besides," He said as he wrapped up the dirty sheet and picked it up into his arm. "You like it rough anyway, don't you? Well, I do too. So next time, don't worry about me and do whatever you want to me." Ignoring Sonic's stunned silence, he asked him a curious question. "You said the taste of it isn't always pleasant, what dictates that?"
With an exhausted sigh, Sonic mentally decided to try and practice that whole meditation thing Shadow taught him earlier to get rid of these lingering feelings of lust. Him talking like that was doing things to his brain, and he didn't want to ruin Shadow's lovely home with his violent eroticism. "Oh Chaos, please help me not destroy this man in his own apartment..." Sonic mumbled before answering his lover's question. "Depends on your diet and hygiene. Fruits, certain seasonings and junk help make it taste good, so they say. If you eat a bunch of crap like pizza and greasy stuff or don't take care of yourself, it tastes like straight garbage and smells awful. And trust me, I've experienced it before. It's probably one of the most repulsive things I've ever smelled or tasted. Turns somebody into a spitter real quick." He was glad to know Shadow was too suave and clean cut to ever neglect his hygiene or diet, so he'd never have to worry about something like that again. "I know I like pigging out, but I only do that once a week or so. Other than that, my eating habits are pretty good and I always shower, so it all balances out."
Shadow was amused by this information, and he wouldn't forget it. "And how did mine taste?"
"Ummm, I dunno actually." The hero thought for a second. "The thing is, you don't eat regularly like I do. You mostly eat coffee beans, but that's not everyday. I can barely remember the smell. I know it was a little salty, which is normal...Other than that, I guess it didn't taste much like anything." He chuckled a little. "I know you're as healthy as a horse though, you nearly drowned me. But enough of that," He gave a flirty wink with a smirk. "After you throw that in the wash, how bout's you an' I take a bath together? I need someone to help me wash my back~"
"You want to go another round already?"
"Oh hell no." Sonic deadpanned, a sweat drop appearing on his head. "No more of you and your...insane adaptability at sex. If you keep riling me up, we're both gonna blow up this entire complex. I just don't wanna be lonely while I freshen up, is all."
Shadow smirked back. "In that case," He dropped the balled up sheet on the floor and walked closer to hug him from behind. "I suppose we can do that first."
"You read my mind~"
17 - END - 17
Chapter 18: The Broken Egg
Summary:
Something urgent comes up during Sonic and Shadow's weekend getaway. They question Dr. Eggman about what happened, before yet another problem crosses their path.
Notes:
The beginning of this chapter contains slight sexual content.
Chapter Text
18 - The Broken Egg - 18
Empire City
Afternoon, 2:00 PM
Giggling and lightly swishing water echoed from within Shadow's bathroom. The black tiled floors were marginally moist from soapy water slightly dripping out of a shiny, black square-shaped bathtub. The inside was red, spacious and had two small spots inside for two people to recline. The water was filled with floating bubbles and sweet smelling scents, foam and suds piling on the ends of the tub. A blue hedgehog smirked hotly, his peach arms wrapped around his elder lover's neck as they shared passionate heated kisses. He sat directly on his lap, happy to be the center of his attention. Black and red striped hands felt upon the hero's ample behind, rubbing and softly groping it before giving it a hard smack. Sonic moaned in the kiss as he was spanked, his tail wagging considerably. Shadow groaned with pleasure as he felt the younger one grind against him beneath the water, guiding his hips to move faster. Their tongues danced together roughly, grunting and moaning softly. Shadow thrusted harshly against him, causing Sonic to break the kiss with a startled moan. "I-I thought you said you weren't up for another round...?" He panted as he hopped up and down in his lap, causing the water to splash a little over the tub's edge. "A-Aahh...I almost forgot how big you were...It feels like I'm grinding against a yard stick..."
Shadow licked his lips hungrily with a sexual growl as he watched him. "I never said that," He sultrily reminded him. "You said you weren't ready, yet here you are bouncing on me like a dog in heat. I thought I couldn't keep my hands off you, but perhaps you can't get enough of me either, hedgehog." He suddenly sharply inhaled when he felt Sonic slam himself on top of him. "F-Fuck..."
Sonic gripped his chest fur tightly as he moved his pelvis back and forth against his crotch. "Keep talkin' shit and I'll make you eat those words, faker. Mmn," He used his other hand to grip the edge of the tub. "You feel so good..."
Hissing with lust, Shadow spanked him again. "Move faster, and don't stop unless I say otherwise."
A loud vibrating noise was heard from the bedroom, causing them to pause for a brief moment. They slowly looked at the open door leading back to the bedroom, making Shadow sigh in exasperation. He knew what that was, and it annoyed him. "That your phone, babe?" The hero asked. Shadow just answered by lightly tapping Sonic on the ass to silently gesture for him to get off, as much as he didn't want him to. He couldn't ignore that call, could be an emergency. Chuckling at his frustration, the hero sensually stretched his body upwards, similar to a feline, before stepping out of the tub. Water dripped down his blue fur, his quills weighted down from the liquid. He reached behind his head to shake some of it out of his hair while Shadow reluctantly climbed out. "Don't yell at 'em, they didn't know you were gettin' to the bone-zone."
"If it's Rouge, I'm gonna set all of her heels on fire." Shadow grumbled as he walked past the towel rack on the wall, snatching one off before entering the bedroom. He used it to dry his head and his own quills off as he walked inside, careful of the slippery wet tiles. His feet hit the black carpet of his bedroom. He really did not feel like talking to anybody right now, so he attempted to remind himself not to be rude. He stood in front of the nightstand to pick up his smartphone and swiped his thumb across the screen. He held the device up to his face with a tired expression. "Hello." His ear perked up to the sound of Tower's voice. "...Tower?" His voice sounded panicked and extremely worried, which wasn't like the old man at all. Shit, that wasn't good. He muted the phone real quick before calling for Sonic. "Sonic." He watched his blue lover step into the room with a towel around his shoulders, a concerned expression on his face. He knew Shadow wouldn't call him like that unless he really needed him. He motioned for him to come closer, but be silent. The hero nodded and stepped closer to the bed with anticipation as Shadow placed the call on speaker phone. "Tower, repeat that again."
"We haven't told the local news or any public figures. Only GUN and the faculty of Prison Island know this: Dr. Robotnik was just arrested."
Both of their eyes dilated. "What...?" Shadow asked in disbelief."
The Overlander sounded absolutely bewildered on the phone, as if he was blindsided by someone. "Shadow, it just happened late last night but I was only just informed about it this morning. I had to look into it myself before I decided to tell you and a few other trusted agents." He heard a heavy sigh, almost as if the man was dragging his hand over his face. "Of course, this should be reported to Sonic the Hedgehog as well. As much as I hate to admit it, this was his nemesis to defeat, not ours, regardless of our views. I know he'll be pissed at us for a while, a pain in my ass for sure." Shadow saw the hero roll his eyes with an irked scowl. "Even the warden of Prison Island, a high ranking GUN soldier, is confused as to how this happened. Someone—we don't know who—somehow captured Robotnik and escorted him to the prison at its front gates." Both hedgehogs shared a look of shock and worry, this was almost unbelievable.
"Are you sure it wasn't Infinite?" Shadow asked.
"To be honest, we don't know." Tower confessed. "I suspected as such due to your current mission, and yet...Something feels off, I don't think it was him. This is just a theory, but I believe this is a third party, someone who has nothing to do with any of this." Shadow darted his eyes to Sonic, who instantly knew what he wanted. He pulled off his towel to place it on the bed and walked away to the other side of the bedroom. "The man was passed out and when he came to, he was completely confused. There was a single bruise to his head, one not intended to kill. It seems he doesn't know his own attacker or even how he got there in the first place. Even after questioning him, he claims he has no idea what's going on and my interrogators felt inclined to believe him. I need you to get over there ASAP. Find out what you can, and have Sonic come with you. If you can't pry it out of him, he might be able to." Sonic came back over with Shadow's shoes, gloves and limiter rings. He had already dressed himself in his own iconic footwear and gloves, standing by until the biohog was ready. "Shadow," Tower addressed seriously. "Be careful. Many GUN soldiers have reported a strange sense of dread or uneasiness ever since I received word of Robotnik's incarceration. Whoever this person is, they were strong enough to not only penetrate Eggman's defenses, but delivered him to Prison Island practically wrapped in a bow. They are not to be trifled with."
Shadow pulled off his own towel and placed down the phone while putting on his shoes. "And if I were to find this person?"
A scoff was heard from the other end. "Frankly, I'd tell you to neutralize them and bring them into GUN custody. But," The old man trailed off. "This person—They don't seem like the normal international criminals and top secret crooks I normally give you. This person is undoubtedly extremely dangerous. Do not engage if you do not have to. If you do," Tower hesitated in continuing. "Retreating is not frowned upon in our line work."
Do not engage? Retreating? Tch, who did he think he was talking to? Of course, if Tower was warning Shadow of all people, then his concerns were somewhat validated. However, he felt a little underestimated. There was no one in this world who could beat him, except for only one blue idiot that he was pitifully infatuated with. And even then, he could only attempt to truly defeat Shadow on a good day. He admitted that it was indeed troubling that someone slipped in and out of Eggman's defenses easily, with the doctor in tow at that. And he didn't like the idea of everyone in GUN reporting a shared sense of danger approaching, despite the majority of them not knowing anything about this incident. So fine, Shadow would keep his guard up as usual, but he wouldn't run away from this. The biohog stood up while holding the phone in his hand. "I appreciate your concern, but I promise you Tower, I don't plan on losing to anyone. I'll have the hedgehog with me when I interview the doctor, and after I do, I'll be going after this so-called marauder."
"Good luck, special elite agent Shadow. I'll need a full report, of course."
"Likewise. Over and out." He hung up the phone and placed it in his quills before looking at Sonic. "You heard all that, right?"
Sonic nodded once. "Yup. I don't mind going on a trip down memory lane, you?"
"Hmph," Shadow made a small smirk. He grasped Sonic's hand. "Chaos Control."
They were both gone in a green flash.
United Federation Territory
Prison Island, Prison Lane
Afternoon, 3:00 PM
The elder hedgehog had to admit that it was a little weird being here again of all places, the very place where he was placed in cryostasis for so many years. This was where he was awakened, where he and Sonic fought for the second time, and where he first saved Rouge's life. It was an important location to his origins, not necessarily to him personally, but he couldn't ignore it's significance in his infantile start at being...More humane, for lack of a better term. Of course he still blew the joint sky high, another one of his regrets that he had nearly forgotten about. However, the island was rebuilt and there were no lives lost that day. He couldn't have asked for a better result, so at least he could walk the prison's grounds without too much guilt. When they teleported to the entrance of the prison itself, the guards were understandably startled. Once they saw it was GUN SEA Shadow and Sonic the freakin' Hedgehog, they immediately lowered their guard. In fact, they were pretty friendly, if not a little guilty-looking for once having Sonic imprisoned over a certain someone.
One of them looked psyched that he was there actually, and Shadow quickly saw why—They were one of his colleagues who attended the party a week ago. His proper military stance instantly broke and gave the blue blur a fist bump, saying how he had an amazing time. However, this isn't the only reason why this agent was chummy with the hero. "Oh and don't worry, we got that guy who was stalking you locked up nice and tight. One of them Jackal Squad guys or something, right? Well, he won't be pulling something like that again." This was the soldier who helped Sonic have his stalker arrested, who just so happened to be a spy for Infinite who was keeping an eye on GUN. Sonic gave a thumbs up, as he was glad to be rid of the second-grade mercenary. Needless to say, the two hedgehogs were let in effortlessly into the prison. They walked into the main corridor down the various entrances of the prison sections, before being escorted to the west block by another GUN soldier. This one, Shadow personally knew well.
Agent Topaz, Rouge's favorite and a gal pal of hers apparently. She too was at the party, she was the one Sonic had to escort out of the building due to her getting sick from taking too many shots without eating. She gave them a warm smile when she saw them and began escorting them to Dr. Eggman's cell. "Everybody's been on edge since they dragged him in," She said, her voice becoming more troubled as they walked. "It's weird, you know? I've never felt this kind of tension before, nobody gets it. And weirdly enough, even Eggman's been real tense. It's not just because he's gonna be put away forever, but because of something else. He's scared of something, but we can't imagine what." After a few minutes of walking past armed guards, showing off badges and using key cards to access certain parts of the block, they finally arrived. She took a few steps back while nodding to the hedgehogs. "He's there. Don't be surprised if you don't get anything outta him. We're not sure if he's faking it or not, but he's way too spacey to talk to at length." She bowed her head before exiting the corridor.
This entire hall was dedicated to only one large cell. It was unlike any other, and was see-through. Not with the typical iron bars, but with glass. When Shadow knocked his knuckles against it, he realized just how tough this material was. "This is AM-III glass. It's hard enough to scratch diamonds, nothing can get through this." The cell was fitted with nearly the same crappy set up Infinite had in his holding cell. Seeing Robotnik in orange was a little unnerving to say the least, as it just didn't belong on him. He probably hoped that one day either Sonic or his own inventions would take him out, not a prison cell. It almost felt like a high-tech hamster cage. After Shadow knocked on the window, the fat human inside slowly lifted his head. He was sitting on a large cot, its sheets a mess. He looked downcast, beyond depressed and lost. The only thing he kept on his attire were his pair of glasses. He simply scoffed at the two hedgehogs. Since Eggman was possibly the most dangerous criminal in the world, they couldn't go inside to speak with him. Instead, there was an intercom on the side of the cell.
Shadow pressed the button to speak. "Doctor..." He addressed slowly, still in disbelief that he was finally in prison after all these years. "...Is that you?"
"Who else would it be?" The Overlander spat. "I admit, I'm shocked that one of you managed to slip right into my base like it was nothing. Not even Rouge or Espio of the Chaotix could have made it that far, not with the defenses I prepared. The things I had planned, the machines I had inside lying in wait, just patiently expecting the moment an intruder would enter my domain...No one could have survived the trap I would have sprung, not even with chaos energy. Not even if you transformed with the emeralds. And yet," He sighed and looked away. "Here I am."
The hedgehogs both shared a worrying glance. Neither of them did this, they were with each other all weekend. "Doctor," Shadow addressed somewhat respectfully. "Neither Sonic or myself ever approached your base. We didn't do this, everyone else is just as baffled as you are. In fact," He saw the human furrow his brows at this revelation. "We're here because we thought you could tell us who it was who arrested you."
The human glanced up at the walls of his cell before answering, as if trying to remember that night. "It's strange," He said. "I know something happened, and I know there was an intruder. And yet, I can't remember anything. I only remember being conked on the head and...I woke up here. They tried interrogating me, to which they failed quickly. Nobody can play mind games better than a genius of a three hundred IQ." He scratched the top of his bald head, frowning. "But I truly don't understand what happened. I don't know who hit me, I don't know who took me. I know that the only two people in this world who could ever find some way of trouncing my defenses would be one of you two, yet you claim you weren't there. As much as I don't want to, I can't help but believe you. After all, I would have remembered if it was one of you." He stroked his mustache curiously. "I can't even remember what that bastard said to me before they hit me. Not even their appearance. It was like they were never there at all."
"Was it perhaps Infinite?" Shadow asked.
Eggman shook his head. "No, no I don't think so. Infinite was hooked up to machines, tubes passing through several points of his body, submerged into liquid chaos. There was no way he could have gotten out of his pod." He then shrugged and threw up his hands. "If you two don't know anything, and if I don't know anything, which is rare, this is going nowhere. 'Guess you wasted your time for nothing." He made a bitter laugh. "You might as well go back home, unless you'd like to watch the great and mighty Eggman's historic and tragic fall from grace a little longer?" He then whipped his head in Sonic's direction, his frown turning into a heinous scowl. "I'm sure you're eating this up, you blue rat."
Sonic gave him an unimpressed stare. "I'm just sad I wasn't the one to put you in here myself, baldy."
Eggman ran towards the window and threw out his arm, pointing a rigid finger at the hero against the glass. "If anyone should be in here, it should be you! You demon!" He shouted with great anger.
In silence, Sonic's face just slowly contorted into an expression of rage beyond anything Shadow's ever witnessed. "..."
That caught him off guard for a moment, he never saw Sonic look like that before. "Sonic?"
Then, a small chuckle fell from the blue one's lips. "Heheheh," He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned close towards the glass. "Hey Eggface? We investigated that island you went to, Christmas Island. How you found out where I was born, I'll never know. How you dug up those ruins and managed to get that shitty little micro drone inside of that cave, I'll probably never know that either. But I'll tell you something I do know." He tilted his head with a taunting smile. "After all these years of scheming, plotting, nearly killing me, nearly killing my friends, manipulating Shadow and using him as a weapon, blowing a hole into the moon, splitting up the entire planet into checker pieces, enslaving an entire alien race, turning me into a damn werehog, unleashing wrathful ancient gods for your own amusement, attempting to steal some magic rug, making a robot version of me that nearly wiped out the entire globe and so much more that I can't even name—It's nice to finally see you in some orange." He took a small inhale from naming only the tip of the iceberg of Eggman's wrongdoings. "I was so stupid as a kid, letting you run amok. You've made so many people's lives hell, but now you'll never hurt anyone again." His voice deepened as he narrowed his green eyes down at the Overlander. "I thought you were better than to buy into some bullshit about some alleged bloodline of mine. You know who I am, yet you're acting like you don't. For that, you deserve whatever happens to you in here, and I mean that."
After a brief moment of silence, Eggman continued to glower back at the hedgehog. "If you went to that island like I did and found those ruins, then you know why I'm a lot more hostile towards you than usual." He retorted. "If only I knew that squirmy, portly little hedgehog pup I met decades ago would be the key to world destruction. You're even worse than the Black Arms, you devilish little wretch. I should have killed you when you were young, that way none of us would have to endure the hell that would come. But," He made a knowing smirk. "I have good reason to believe that Infinite will stop you in your tracks soon enough, and then everyone will know just how evil their hero is."
Okay as riveting as this conversation of slinging mud was, Shadow had to step in. "First," The ultimate life form curtly interrupted. "You will not insult him in my presence. I think we're all a little beyond playground insults at this point. Second, your words are false. Faker isn't anywhere near as demonic as your actions have proven thus far. He saves the world, while you only wish to dominate it for your own gain. We did indeed examine the ruins, and we did find some text claiming some vague, cryptic concept of a domineering ancient race. Nothing however, explicitly points to Sonic as being some harbinger of the apocalypse. I think you got your notes wrong, doctor."
"Oh please, you're barely worth trusting either, project." Eggman hissed.
Shadow gritted his teeth and took a threatening step forward. "The hell did you just call me?" That word was a huge trigger for Shadow, practically a slur in his perspective. He was no longer some experiment, he was a living person and he'd be damned if he let some washed up mad scientist call him as anything less.
"You and that blue rat must be in cahoots, I just don't know how." Eggman stepped away from the glass with his arms behind his back, pacing around the cell. "I know you were able to read everything on the island thanks to your chaotic abilities, but I didn't need to do that. The moment I landed, the ruby was waiting for me, right then and there on the sand. Of course, the island attacked me for it, these strange hands made of chaos slaughtered my robots and nearly took me out along with them. But I got what I needed. Once I touched that cursed ruby..." His expression grew from frustrated, to fearful in seconds. "Ever since I touched that thing, it's corrupted my mind. And when I got captured by that interloper, something broke. Every time I even try to think of an idea to escape this confounded place, everything goes blank and I get this terrible headache. The entire time, I only saw visions in the ruby and it never harmed me. It's like the ruby's influence only triggered my psyche the moment I was arrested. It won't let me think anymore, it won't let me leave this prison. And then...the things I saw...The things I could see through that ruby...With you," He glared back at Sonic. "Being at the center of it all, I saw everything. Your lineage, your ancestry, and the very things that spawned you. No doubt Infinite will see that vision too, and he'll do what he can to stop you."
Sonic just shook his head. "I don't even know what you're talking about-"
"Like hell you don't, you disgusting rodent!" Eggman screamed while pointing again. "You say whatever you want about me, but I never wished for genocide! I only wanted the world for my own. You...You and your repulsive bloodline...You all want nothing but death and subjugation! Whoever doesn't fall in line dies, regardless of whether they're friend or foe." He lowered his voice significantly. "I may have done terrible things to you and your precious world, but I never, ever, lied to you about who I am. I never let you believe a lie for decades to lull you into a false sense of hope and security. That's a level of evil even I can't respect. You betrayed everyone, including your stupid little friends. You made everyone, including me, think you were a hero, when you're nothing but a tyrant that even I can't bear to look at in the eyes. You're an even bigger monster than me."
"...I'm not-"
"Yes you are!"
"I am not!" Sonic yelled back, slamming his fist into the glass. It cracked, its veins of damage spreading throughout the cell's perimeter. This act of anger caused Eggman to flinch, taking a few steps backwards with caution. "You're using that as evidence to paint me as some comic book villain? Are you fucking kidding me!?" He shouted. "I would happily die before I ever stooped to your level, you fat lard! I am nothing like you, and I'm sure as hell not worse. And the worst part is, you should know better. You've known me since I was a child, and you really think I'd pull something like that? I have people I love and care about, and I don't plan on hurting anyone any time soon. As much as I'd love to cave your God damned chest in through your old, shriveled up lungs," Sonic turned away and lowered his fist. "I won't. 'Cause I don't like hurting bad people like you, either. You're not worth the sweat or the blood." He closed his eyes as he spoke tersely. "I didn't transform that day because I wanted to kill you. I transformed because you nearly killed my little brother and I'm so sorry, but yeah, you pissed me the hell off. More than you ever had in my entire life. And I'll be honest," Sonic suddenly said. "I'm sorry I almost killed you, I really am. I don't like instilling that kind of fear into anybody, not even you." Then, he scoffed scornfully. "But you sure as hell deserved it. Have fun in your new home, you old fool."
After he said that, both Shadow and Eggman watched as the hero walked to the other side of the corridor. He leaned against the wall, looking at nowhere in silence. He had enough of this conversation and at this point, was just waiting for Shadow to wrap this up. Sighing, the biohog turned his attention back to Eggman. "I don't know what you or Infinite saw because of that ruby, but I guarantee you, something is amiss. Sonic would never do such a thing, and that's coming from me. I don't get fooled easily, and unlike the rest of you, I don't have a familiarity bias with him. Like he said, you two have a long history that goes beyond any of his friends. He's been fighting you since he was small, you two should know each other better than anyone else. If anything, you should be the one debunking this and defending him, not me." Shadow aptly pointed out. "I've only known him for much lesser years than you all have. I knew Sonic was a good person the moment I met him, and I can tell he doesn't have an evil bone in his body. He couldn't kill anyone even if he wanted to. For example,"
He gestured for the doctor to look over at the hero, whose posture and demeanor was very agitated at the moment. "..."
"I killed Black Doom and destroyed my bio-brother without hesitation, so I suppose one could label me as a killer." Shadow continued calmly. "As such, I know when someone has blood lust. And right now, he wants to bust into your cell and rip your head off, I can sense it. But he won't, because he can't. He doesn't have it in him. Even when this whole transformation incident took place a few years ago, he still didn't kill you. He held himself back despite the fact that you nearly murdered his family right in front of him. And if he's not willing to kill someone like you," Shadow leaned closer towards the glass. "The person who's constantly hurt everything he ever held dear, what makes you think he would ever destroy the world?" He stepped away from the glass and held his hand up to the intercom. "I'll find the person responsible for this, and I'll get to the bottom of this Phantom Ruby nonsense. But I'll leave you with this: Infinite and I have been working together for a while, he was never on your side." He saw Eggman's glasses flash with an unreadable expression. He must have known he was backstabbing him the whole time. "Just like everyone else in the world, he despises you, especially for what you did to his family. Now that he has the ruby and accomplished his end of the mission, I'm sure he'll have no issue with telling me what the hell's going on. And even if it all turns out to be true that Sonic is related to a race of evil beings, I promise you, he won't turn out like them. And if he needs to, he'll fight against them. Just like I did with Black Doom." Shadow turned away and uttered a few more things. "Goodbye, Dr. Robotnik. Your grandfather would be ashamed of the evils you caused, but for the many milestones you've made in scientific technology, he'd be more than proud." He pressed his hand on the button to cut off audio from outside of the cell, and walked away.
Eggman watched this, his words echoing in his head.
...
...He returned to his bed and sat down to stare at the wall.
Shadow gently placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder, who lifted his head and glanced at him with an unknown expression. He didn't know what the hero was thinking. Shadow at least knew Sonic was a little upset, though. Sonic knew Eggman wasn't pulling anything out of his ass just to insult him. The doctor may have been scared of death or losing, but he was never scared of a single person or thing. So the fact that he feared whatever he saw in that ruby, must have had some truth to it. Sonic knew this, and he knew he couldn't deny this. Something was wrong, and it involved him whether he liked it or not. He hated this, because Eggman never lied not once in their entire conversation. Sonic looked shameful, upset with himself most of all, but Shadow couldn't tell for sure. "You don't have to comfort me y'know, I'm fine. I'm not a little kid." The blue one mumbled dismissively. "It's fine." A lot of unspoken emotions were displayed in that shouting match they had, Shadow could tell. Like Tower said, this is immensely personal for Sonic. Nobody fought against the doctor longer than he has. He felt a strong betrayal from Eggman as well, feeling that the doctor should have known better than to think his old nemesis would ever be that evil. They always held some level of respect for each other, so perhaps he figured the doctor should have had more faith in him? The biohog wasn't too positive, Sonic was so closed off about stuff like that. Sometimes, he acted far more mysterious than he looked. Shadow placed a soft kiss on his lips. Sonic immediately blushed and panicked. "Y-Yo, there's cameras in here!"
"I don't care." Shadow quickly replied. "Just remember our promise."
"I do, I won't break it."
"Come on," He grasped his hand. "We'll go home and-" His ring beeped. A red holographic appeared, and a name popped up in bold semi-transparent letters. "That's not good," Shadow muttered as he realized it said: "Rouge." Why was she calling him now? He held up his wrist to his muzzle and began speaking. "Rouge, what's wrong?" She would never contact him like this if it was something simple. Plus, it was the weekend, they were both supposed to be off right now. Usually she'd be hanging around with Knuckles or doing her normal casual activities.
"Shadow, we might have a problem. A big problem." Her voice was a little nervous, and she sounded as if she was running.
This alarmed Shadow greatly, this was Rouge he was talking to. She never got anxious about anything. "What's going on? Are you safe?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay." She surely didn't sound okay. "I'm okay but...someone was just here in my apartment. They just walked right in my kitchen and asked me if I knew where you or Sonic was. The door was locked, and there was no sign of a break-in. It was like they just teleported inside, like Chaos Control."
Teleported? So this person could use chaos energy? And they broke into her house without her even knowing? GUN's best spy? That definitely wasn't good indeed, but still nothing he couldn't handle. However, now it was Shadow that was a little pissed off. Someone invaded his best friend's privacy and clearly frightened her. They would pay dearly for this. "Did they hurt you?"
"No. Honestly, they didn't seem interested in me at all. But then, they mumbled something about going to Angel Island. Shadow," She added with a slightly more anxious tone. "Knuckles, Amy and Tails are there. If that person shows up, who knows what they'll do to them. They're probably going to ask them about you two. They didn't do anything to me, but I don't know if the same will go for Sonic's friends. Plus, the Master Emerald is there. They might want it for power." He could hear heels clicking against a floor, she was probably leaving her apartment. "You need to stop them before it's too late, I already reported this to Tower. Go there now, get Sonic."
"Already a step ahead of you," Shadow replied as Sonic gave him a troubled grimace. "If you're going, don't get reckless. If it gets too dangerous, escort faker's friends off of the island as fast as possible and wait for back up. This person did something to Eggman, and they've even made Tower nervous. Everyone's been sensing that something big is going to occur. If that happens, I want you miles away. Do you understand?"
Reluctantly, Rouge sighed. "Yes, I understand. But you be careful too. Both of you."
"I'll meet you there, stay out of sight until then. Over and out." He looked at Sonic and tightened his hold on his hand. "You heard her, right?" Shadow asked, watching the hero nod quickly. "Your friends are in danger and this marauder scared Rouge. They're on Angel Island, which is bad. If they get their hands on the Master Emerald, this can get far worse. We don't know what they want, and they efficiently had Eggman captured and arrested. From the way Rouge described it, they might be able to use chaos energy. This means they're stronger than your average thug." He stared at him considerably. "Are you ready for this and whatever else that may come?"
Sonic gazed at their joined hands, feeling the warmth in Shadow's palm. Sonic knew for a long time that something was going to pop off, he just didn't think it would all turn out like this. Then he thought about everything Eggman said, including everything else they've discovered so far. If something really big was going to happen right now, he couldn't look back. He couldn't get cold feet and he couldn't flinch. He had to come at this head on, and with Shadow behind him, he believed he could do anything. No one would be too tough for them together. He looked into his amber red eyes with a charming smile. "If push comes to shove, besides the one you have to chaos control, I have all the emeralds on me already. If we gotta bust 'em out and take this loser down together, so be it. They've got our family in danger, after all." His smile became more determined. "I wanna go back to our cozy little weekend getaway at your place, and do nothing but laze about and mess around. So let's finish this quickly, alright?"
Shadow nodded, that's all the confirmation he needed.
"Chaos control."
18 - END - 18
Chapter 19: Stranger
Summary:
A strange, new opponent has appeared in Angel Island. Sonic calls dibs and an odd battle ensues.
Chapter Text
19 - Stranger - 19
Angel Island, Angel Island Zone
Afternoon, 4:30 PM
Visits to Angel Island were ruefully small within the last few years, as the hero had distanced himself from his friends after what he had done to Eggman. However, he would never forget it's vastly differing ecosystems, various chao gardens, multiple world wonders, magical waterfalls and inscrutable ancient ruins and temples hidden all throughout the island. To this day, he remembered his way around every single zone, knowing exactly where Knuckles laid his head to sleep at night. It's main zone being it's namesake, Angel Island Zone, was the large jungle system on the island and where he had first met the echidna. In the middle of that area was a place called Angel Zone, which was a lush forest biome positioned at the center of a body of water called the Eternal River. It stood just outside the ruins of some weathered place where ancient echidnas used to frequent, according to Knuckles. Apparently, Tikal herself used to live there with her father and other members of the clan. It was empty now, but the current guardian liked to live there to be close to them.
There was a bunker underneath the grounds, hidden in plain sight in the case of intruders. Despite the aging damage of the site, the bunker itself was practically in peak condition. Over the years Tails helped Knuckles reinforce it's tunnels, pathways and sections. Instead of looking like sandy catacombs of a pharaoh's tomb, it looked more like a legitimate small home. The echidna liked it mostly because of it's solitude and very concealed appearance. Even friends found the place hard to find despite visiting many times. However, as of right now, the pulchritudinous and tropical sights of the area would have to be ignored. After chaos controlling to the main zone, Sonic and Shadow raced their way through the tall winding jungle trees. They jumped, flipped and glided over the many rocky formations and vegetation that obscured their path. The blue hero led the way, as Shadow had never visited Knuckles' home before. His home was only a short walk away from the Alter of The Master Emerald, meaning the bunker was the location of where their 'marauder' would be causing trouble.
Meanwhile, a crimson red echidna stood with grounded feet and clenched fists. His stance was sturdy, his posture ready for battle. His entire body was still, waiting for the perfect time to strike. His dreadlocks flowed in the wind, their length increased from age. His biceps were itching to retract for a punch, his beefy arms internally pulsing with hot pressured blood. His amethyst colored irises never strayed from their target, his pupils steady. Behind him were two others who, while he was indeed protecting, didn't actually need him to do so. A pink female hedgehog with a red suspender dress, puffed sleeves and knee-high red wedged boots, had her knees properly bent down to ready her body for an attack. Her arms held tightly to a large red war hammer, affectionately named the Piko Piko hammer. It was larger than her entire body, yet she wielded it with ease. Her emerald green eyes looked past the echidna towards their offender, ready to charge the moment they would. Beside her was a yellow-orange fox who wore an old blue hoodie tied around his waist. He didn't have any obvious melee weapons, simply because he didn't need one. On his fingers and wrists were thin strips of metal lining on both of his hands, lining the skeletal structure of the limbs like veins. In the center, metal circles on the palms glowing with faux chaos energy. It was a mystery as to what these things could do. His namesakes were pointed upwards in alarm, but ready to tick in order to fly for a fast getaway or a propelled attack.
These three Mobians were more than powerful on their own, they never needed Sonic or Shadow for support in a fight. Perhaps that was why none of them called for help, simply because they felt they wouldn't need it. These were no longer children running through loopty loops and giant rings, these were growing adults who were in no mood for villainous games. This wasn't for fun, this wasn't some joyful little adventure against cute little badnicks. This was them defending themselves against a troublesome mystery foe, who proved to be a threat that they would be forced to take down themselves. Did they enjoy strife? Not in the ways one would initially think, judging from their previous endeavors. They liked fighting things that didn't have hearts, like robots. They never enjoyed fighting living, breathing, sentient beings.
But they would if they had to.
The echidna could feel the light breeze from the skies blow against his tan muzzle, his voice broadcasting as loud as he needed it to be to relay his message onto their unknown enemy from afar. "...I'll ask you one last time," He said with careful pronunciation of his words. "What. Do. You. Want?"
Before them, just several yards away, was a lone figure standing in the midst of the greenery and exotic flowers. They were of average Mobian height, size and weight. The first thing anyone noticed when they first arrived, was their strangely militant attire. While it looked intense, one could tell it was mostly used for service and not so much for warfare. They wore a deep forest green coat with a belted waist, matching trousers worn with a khaki blouse and a navy blue tie underneath, with the trousers tucked neatly into leg high military boots. The tips were sharp pointed toes that had steel metal plating, the material of the rest of the boots fine black leather. The fabric of the entire attire looked expensive but breathable, and apt for combat despite not being intended for battle. They wore white gloves that were blue on the underside, seemingly of leather material as well. On the chest of this attire sat several golden, silver, bronze and even platinum medals. A name tag however, was not present. On the helmet of this person was the most confusing aspect of what they wore, because they didn't wear a military hat or even a marine's helmet. No, they wore this strange, sleek, all-black helmet that seemed to be much more futuristic. The headgear had a longer backing to it than normal, which was odd. Many Mobians have typical long appendages on their heads or bodies depending on their species, but when they wore helmets, they usually had these parts—such as quills or dreadlocks—hanging out from the back of one. After all, they needed to protect their heads, not anything else. Yet they were covering their entire head, so nothing was visible at all. The three tried to see if there were other appendages such as spines or a tail from behind them, but they couldn't see from this angle. And to top it all off, the stranger had this abnormally long nightstick in their hand at their side.
"..." A breath was heard within the stagnant silence, making their ears perk up all at once. The stranger finally spoke, their voice heavily filtered with a strange digital audio effect. Most likely to hide the identity of their voice as well. "My apologies," They bowed their head lowly. "I do not wish to engage in combat with you, and I did not mean to alarm any of you." They lifted their head and placed their hands behind their back professionally. "I understand my appearance is not normal amongst the rest of you, and I also understand that me concealing my identity is not very trustworthy. For these inconveniences, I humbly ask for your forgiveness." The three briefly glanced at each other in a confused manner. A bad guy who was polite? That was new. "Please, allow me this one request so that I may not cause any further grievances." They asked nicely. "Would you be willing to tell me the locations of Sonic the Hedgehog prime, and Shadow the Hedgehog prime?"
Immediately, Knuckles scoffed. "'Should have known this had something to do with one of 'em." He grumbled. "Ever since those jackal assholes appeared, weirdos like you have been makin' a mess of things. First the bombs in Empire City, now Eggman's makin' some big comeback. It's all too coincidental, so-" He pointed his spiked glove at the stranger. "-I'm gonna guess that you're involved. Could be right, could be wrong. I don't really care. I ain't tellin' you anything about my bro, or Shadow." He pumped his fists against each other. "Now, either take that refusal as a peaceful conclusion, or get wrecked. I don't care which."
For a moment, the stranger said nothing, thinking about their next reply. "May I ask why you deny me this information?"
"Simple: 'Cause I don't know you and that's good enough for me. Plus, you just entered the most restrictive area on Mobius," He jammed a thumb into his own white-crescent marked chest. "My home. I know what you're after, and I know why you wanna find Sonic and Shadow. You wanna take out the heavy hitters. Smart move. But you forgot that there's already three heavy hitters here, one of whom you just trespassed the residence of." He took a few threatening steps forward to assert himself. "So do me a favor, and get off of what I'm going to claim is my front lawn. Take your little police stick, and get the hell outta here before I get mad."
The stranger made an audible sigh before holding two fingers up to their helmet. "Dullahan, Mad Dog reporting. Codenames are a go, this may get violent. Yes...Immediate refusal, as expected." They tilted their head. "Clarify? Hmm, yes I suppose I could try. Roger that, sir." They then turned their attention back to Knuckles. "Please understand that I do not desire your Master Emerald, nor any of the emeralds of your world. I do not wish to damage, steal or destroy any of your culture here on this island. I am not in affiliation with Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik prime, or the Jackal Squad. I only wish to know the locations of Sonic and-"
Amy shoved her way in front of Knuckles and immediately cut them off. "We said 'no', take a hint. Unless you tell us who you are, we're not telling you anything about them."
"I...Am afraid I cannot do that." The stranger replied disapprovingly. "My identity must remain hidden, I am sorry."
"Okay," Knuckles began walking towards their mysterious masked marauder. "I gave you too many warnings, so now I'm gonna have to forcefully escort you off of my property-"
Suddenly, an air of great danger washed over them all.
The stranger instantly whipped out their black baton, pointing it at Knuckles. "Please," They asked once more, their voice much more ominous than mild-mannered. "Do not make me engage in combat. I am warning you."
The echidna laughed. "Warning us? Warning us? Buddy, do you realize who you just pissed off?"
The vulpine spoke up with a dubious expression. "It's obvious they're not worth reasoning with. They're too adamant on finding Sonic and Shadow, and I don't like that. If they won't go," Yellowish electricity surged through the fox's palms. "We'll just have to make them."
The guardian prepared to charge forward. "That's all you had to say."
"Been a while since I played whack-a-mole." The pink hedgehog mused as she began to move her feet.
The grip on the stranger's baton tightened, but then it loosened almost just as fast. They then placed the blunt tool down at their side again. "There is no need for conflict, because what I need-" They simply stepped to the side as Knuckles and Amy both stopped approaching. "-Has already arrived."
Whirs of blue and black caused strong winds to blow against them all, and in less than a single second, two male hedgehogs skidded to a stop in front of the group of friends on opposite sides. With undaunting expressions, they glared at their new enemy with great interest. The fox blinked in surprise, walking up closer to them. "Sonic? Shadow—How'd you guys know to come here?"
"Because I told them." A female voice replied. More wind blew against them as bat wings flapped towards the ground, descending carefully but quickly. Rouge, with her hands on her curvy hips, walked near Shadow while explaining their new situation. "This creep broke into my apartment to ask me the same question: 'Where is Sonic and Shadow prime?' I told them to screw off, and here we are. I don't know what 'prime' means, though. I overheard them talking about going to Angel Island, they've got some kind of earpiece in that helmet." She narrowed her teal eyes. "They've got a higher up pulling the strings, no doubt."
Shadow didn't take his eyes away from their potential target. "Anybody we know?"
Rouge shook her head. "Nope. Nobody we know is in cahoots with this guy, I've already looked into it before I got here. GUN's been alerted to their presence."
Sonic smirked indifferently. "You're a real mystery, huh?" He mocked as he eyed the stranger up and down. "Nice threads. You hit up a local air force base before you got here, Napoleon?"
Knuckles snorted. "That was so weak."
"Oh shut up, Red." The hero glared at the echidna. "I see you're doing good after that crushing blow in our last match. How's your bum arm?"
"Better than your weak ass chicken legs, Blue." Knuckles easily retorted.
Suddenly, the marauder spoke. "...Let me see," They announced as they paced in front of the group. Both Sonic and Knuckles ended their banter instantly, their attention returning to what was more important. The stranger had their hands behind their back, lightly tapping the back of their calf with the baton. They then abruptly stopped. "You," They pointed the baton at the pink hedgehog first, who flinched at the sudden spotlight. "Amelia Rose the Hedgehog. Age twenty, recently purchased a venue to operate a botany slash tarot reading business downtown of Station Square." Understandably disturbed at this person knowing such information, the girl cringed with a scowl. The stranger then pointed their stick at Tails, blinking at the attention. "Miles 'Tails' Prower the Fox. Age sixteen, child prodigy with an IQ of over three hundred. Operates a workshop and is currently attempting to purchase the property rights of the ruined Chemical Plant of West Side Island to operate a robotic industry." Everyone, even Sonic, slowly turned their head to Tails in shock at that information, as nobody had any idea the young vulpine was planning such a big move. The marauder then pointed to the echidna, who only grunted in response. "Knuckles the Echidna and the last living remnant of the Echidna Tribe, more specifically the Knuckles Clan. The one-thousandth and fiftieth member of the clan, to be exact." The guardian made a face of bewilderment at such precise information of his own identity. "Age twenty four. Current guardian of this reality's Master Emerald and it's seven Chaos Emeralds, along with the forgotten Super Emeralds."
They all glanced at each other in puzzlement at that. Super Emeralds? Some of them didn't even know they existed, while others didn't know that someone else would know that they existed. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles could barely remember the Angel Island incident's conclusion, and even Eggman himself couldn't quite remember how he was defeated. They only knew of the term Super Emeralds, but never understood why or how they did. Why did this person know about it more than they did?
"Formerly a part-time treasure hunter, and now a practitioner of Echidna Tribe based Chaotic Meditation, striving to be an Echidnian Monk." The interloper finished with the echidna, and pointed to Rouge. "Rouge the Bat, age twenty six. Former world-renowned treasure hunter and cat burglar, now a high ranking agent and top class spy of GUN. Constantly goes on vacation approximately the same time and the same varying locations every year: From June to July in Apotos, Shamar and of course, Angel Island." The bat harshly frowned at this, hating that she of all people had her information leaked in front of everyone. The stranger then slowly turned their attention to Shadow, their voice growing much more demeaning. "You, the Ultimate Life Form: Project Shadow." Hearing his entire title thrown out there, the black and red striped hedgehog did nothing but glower even harsher in silence. "A commission from GUN and the President of the United Federation themselves, requesting for the greatest mind of his time, Professor Gerald Robotnik, to create a medical and military research program conducted around fifty to sixty years ago with the aims of achieving immortality." The masked marauder chuckled darkly. "A foolish dream as elusive as a literal shadow, but a dream nonetheless. The project produced two artificial lifeforms: a prototype, named the Biolizard, and the final product, Shadow the Hedgehog." They tapped their baton against the back of their boot heel. "With such a great scientific achievement, the professor also attempted to use you to find a cure for his fragile granddaughter's illness. Yet," They noticed how angry Shadow was getting, not appreciating his history being tossed right in his face. "He took horrible, reckless, drastic measures to accomplish this. He used the blood of a demonic alien race with the promise of the seven chaos emeralds as a gift in fifty years time. And then, he achieved what he wanted. He created 'perfection': You."
A snarl growing in his throat, Shadow wanted so badly to attack, but he felt his arm get grabbed and pulled back by Rouge.
The intruder continued without mercy. "He got what he wanted, and in return, he lost everything. GUN realized this project was far too dangerous for their liking and cowardly ordered a death mark on your creator, his staff and your beloved Overlander sister Maria Robotnik-"
"Bastard..." He felt Rouge's grip tighten.
But the stranger wouldn't stop talking. "-Shooting her dead with a single bullet to her heart." The masked person looked away for a moment. "A shame, really. A tragic mystery that would have been swept under the rug, had it not been for Gerald falling into a permanent, painful madness." Their baton dragged across the grass as they spoke with a lot more vitriol. "With wrath boiling in his heart, he changed you. He reprogrammed your mind into believing that both he and Maria wanted nothing more than devastating, calamitous revenge. When you awoke, it's all you remembered. You joined forces with Rouge and Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Gerald's grandson, in a plot to destroy the entire planet. You relished in the chaos, until you were made privy to the truth thanks to Amy Rose." They stuck the tool into the ground in front of themselves, before leaning their arms onto the other end. "Realizing your mistake, you attempted to save everyone at the cost of your own life for penance. Of course, this didn't happen. You lived, thanks to Robotnik who nursed you to health before sealing you away yet again with amnesia. You made yet another world-threatening mistake with the notorious Black Arms after your second chance of freedom, led by your biological father Black Doom." They tapped finger fingers against the baton, almost irritated. "Perhaps it was the amnesia, maybe it was the paranoia, maybe it was the discovery of Omega, maybe it was the self destruction of Emerl, or maybe it was even the PTSD that caused you to create so much havoc and damage to the very world that girl wanted to flourish. Hmph." They seemed disgusted with the biohog. "Either way, you murdered your own father in cold blood and ended his tyranny over Mobius. I suppose after that, you finally became mentally sound and decided to not be a planet-destroyer for once in your long, miserable, ageless life."
The blue hedgehog suddenly chuckled, causing the strange visitor to glance in his direction.
"Heheh, okay..." Sonic laughed bitterly before taking a few steps towards the stranger. "Y'know, Knuckles was right." He said as he got closer, the marauder barely giving him any attention. "What I called you earlier was indeed, waaaaay too weak. So let me give you a more accurate description of yourself, since you like to act like you know everyone else's story. Now, stop me if I get anything wrong." He teased malevolently as he paced around the masked person, and they allowed him to do so without vocally interrupting. "Let's see...You're...An only child." Sonic pointed out with amusement. "Never knew your parents, never got that pat on the back from good ol' daddy or mommy dearest. Never good at sports, probably excelled in school but everyone else did too. So you never stood out, much to your chagrin. Got bullied and teased for being a try-hard, so you decided to let out all that contempt in the military as some weak-ass cadet. You got bullied there too, constantly yelled at by all your superiors and sergeants because apparently, you just can't do anything right..." The hero tilted his head. "But you kissed so much ass that they just had to give you a spot to the top. Now to keep that position, you go on dummy-missions and fool's errands to make yourself at least somewhat useful, despite your obvious underqualification. I mean, you can't be cleaning the urinals all the time, right private?" Sonic leaned as close to the helmet as he could, so close that he could place a kiss on the surface. All that was reflected was his cruel grin. "And that's all you, my friend. A creepy, robotic, mundane loser, who has no idea who they're screwing with."
Oh.
Hmm.
Shadow blinked a couple times as he realized that Sonic was definitely in a very bad mood. He remembered Sonic saying how he'd never commit to 'mean-girl behavior', but he was more than positive that he was witnessing that exact thing happening right now. Knuckles just smirked, as both he and Shadow knew as former enemies just how terrible Sonic's mouth was when it came to insults. He was a good guy, a sweetheart who loved bringing people up. Of course, when he's not mad. Once you made him angry, however, he could hit below the belt too. Sometimes, Sonic never had to throw a punch because his words were stinging enough.
Sonic made a mocking, panicked gasp. "Oh no! I didn't hurt your feelings, did I? I'm soooo sorry about that. Well, I heard ya been lookin' for yours truly." He raised his arms up arrogantly, showing he was fully vulnerable. "I'm right here, bud! What'd ya need, huh?" He roughly nudged their shoulder, causing them to get knocked back a bit. "Party planner?" Another shove. "Disk jockey?" Yet another. "I do great raves! I get five stars with every rating, look it up." Seeing as how the stranger wasn't daring to make a move back, Sonic just pouted with a fake sympathetic expression. "Aww, I hope I didn't scare you off."
"...I could never fear someone as weak, and immature as you." The stranger retorted. "Your friends however, should. They have no idea just how dangerous you are."
The blue hedgehog raised his brows at this. "Oh? Tell me more. Actually," He held up a finger. "I got you."
The biohog's eyes widened at what he was going to do. "Sonic, don't-"
The hero ignored his lover and placed a hand on his hip apathetically. "Why don't you tell everybody how the only reason why Eggman wants to kill me, is because I'm some weird ass thing called a 'Chaos Born,' destined to destroy the entire planet." Slowly, everyone's breaths were suddenly irregular with silent shocked gasps. They looked more baffled and confused than concerned. But Sonic just shrugged, he didn't care anymore. He was very irritated today, and that talk with Eggman clearly put him in a terrible headspace. "Let me guess, that's what you were gonna say, right? How I'm some harbinger of evil, and how I'm nothing but a parasite tricking my friends into some false state of trust? 'Cause that's the same bullshit Eggman fed to me, and I'm guessing you're on board with that nonsense too."
The stranger suddenly lifted their head curiously. "...So you know of your destiny already?"
Sonic busted out laughing. "Hahahaha! Ahh...That's hilarious—No." His laughter was immediately cut off. "You can keep that destiny crap to yourself, by the way. I don't believe in it, regardless of where I allegedly 'come from'. I've got friends, family, and a world that I love. Why would I ever mess that up? Especially when I've done nothing but do the exact opposite my entire life."
"Because they wanted it that way."
"..." Sonic squinted his eyes with a frown. "...What? Who wanted it that way?"
The masked stranger shook their head. "This is why you need to come with me, both you and Shadow prime. You both need to understand your roles-"
"There are no roles!" The blue blur shouted, his voice echoing all throughout Angel Island. Flickies flew away in fear, leaves rustled and dropped from the trees. Sonic made a long sigh while dipping his head back, absolutely tired with all this drama that he had no interest in. "God, I dunno why this month has been such a pain in my ass..." He muttered out loud. "Look," Sonic finally said. "I ain't goin' nowhere with you, and neither is Shadow. I dunno who you are, and you're not giving me any reason to trust you anyway. Let me be the good guy, okay?" He asked genuinely. "Just go home, go do whatever it is you...do, and leave us be. Don't make me be the bad guy. Don't make me be the asshole you and Eggman like to paint me to be. Please, I don't wanna fight anyone right now. I really don't. Just go, man."
A pregnant pause.
Silence.
They wanted to weigh their options.
The masked marauder lowered their head in concession. "...Your final word, you refuse?"
"Yup."
"I see." They simply replied with a quiet tone. "Understood, Sonic prime."
The hero's expression began to soften. "See? Now that wasn't so hard, was it-"
A different air suddenly dampened the tension, and the intruder bent down into a much more defensive position. They tightened their grip on their baton, pulling it back to prepare to swing. "I see that I must take you and Shadow prime by force, as I initially intended."
With a bored roll of his eyes, Sonic just shrugged. "I hate it when y'all make me do this the hard way." Was all he said, rather disappointingly, before that neon green glow began to spark in his eyes. A loud sound of a thunderous impact along with a loud metallic clang was heard, because Sonic had thrown a powerful kick into the unknown assailant. They blocked the kick with their nightstick that was definitely made of a strong metal, the hero's foot still shoving against the weapon. The blue blur found this interesting, as while they were both subtly pushing against each other for dominance in the deadlock, he could sense they had no issue in protecting themselves from this attack. Almost as if they expected it already. "Your build's masculine, and I can tell you've got a natural deep voice under that stupid filter you got in that helmet. You're totes a dude. But not only that, you've got spines on your back." He noted loudly with a growing smirk, now able to see slightly behind the stranger from this attacking position. He just couldn't tell the color. "You're a male hedgehog, aren't you?" Sonic quickly took a single back step and dodged backwards as that baton was swung at his head. "Woah!" He chuckled as he dodged left to right from the swings. "'Guess I got that right, didn't I? Question is," The hero dipped low to dodge another blow before turning to the side and swinging a round house kick into the stranger's helmet as an abrupt counter attack. "There's only three badass hedgehogs that I know of, and they're all already here. You're the odd one out, so just who the hell are you?"
Despite the kick's great force, it did no damage to the helmet and Sonic could feel it was made of something much harder than metal or hard plastic. The intruding interloper swung their baton at his leg, causing the hero to backflip away and land on his feet by a couple yards. "That information," The stranger replied promptly. "Is only of yours, and Shadow prime's concern. If you wish to know who I am, then you will come with me. Quietly."
"And I already told you, that you could screw off with that nonsense." Sonic snapped back. "Tails!" He called as he began to rush forward, the fox's ears perking up. "Do me a solid and analyze him for me-" He swung a right hook, to which the stranger blocked easily with the stick. "-'Cause this guy's movin' real weird." From afar, the fox nodded and reached from behind himself. His namesakes held onto something and handed it to his palm. He lifted the item up to his face, revealing a pair of thin holographic lenses connected to a headpiece. Numbers, schematics and various forms of data ran through the lenses, giving him information on the target just ahead of him.
"Analyze me as much as you'd like," The enemy refuted as he blocked more of Sonic's blows. "None of you will ever figure out who I am, where I come from, or how I operate."
With a particularly riled up grunt, Sonic swung his left leg into the baton, causing it to break out of the stranger's tight hold and shoot up into the air. It flung hundreds of meters away, before landing and sticking in the ground. They wouldn't be getting it back unless they made a run for it. The blue hedgehog menacingly lowered his leg and glowered at his opponent with venom. "Don't you dare underestimate my lil' bro, 'cause he's the smartest genius this world will ever see. He'll figure you out in no time flat!" Suddenly, the enemy held up their hand, and with a magnetic buzz emanating through the air, the nightstick began to dig itself out of the ground. It shook, trembled and tremored underneath the earth before shooting back up in the sky on it's own, and swinging itself back towards the stranger. It landed perfectly in their hand, and they readjusted their stance. Instead of wielding it like an officer of the law, they wielded it like a full-on weapon. They twirled it in their hands, before bending down their knees a little, carefully readying the tool for not just defense, but now offense. With an excited grin, Sonic narrowed his eyes. "Now we're talkin'." With a loud and literal sonic boom of blue energy, Sonic bolted forward with a charged up fist, swinging a strong left. The stranger threw up a leg to block this, kicking Sonic's fist back with full force. They were no longer going to just protect themselves, they were going to fight back. The mystery militant swung and whacked at the hero's limbs, but the blue blur was too fast and dodged every attack. However, they anticipated this and as a surprise attack, swung with a side-swiping kick. Sonic had just barely saw this in time and jumped backwards.
Tails only needed his scouter-device to judge the person's vitals, he didn't need it to properly analyze their fighting abilities. "That guy's a lower-body type of a fighter, just like Sonic. The baton's just a back up for upper body attacks and defensive measures." He declared aloud so everyone knew what they were dealing with, should Sonic need to tap out for assistance. "Their body is incredibly healthy, abnormally so. They have great durability and stamina, so this fight won't be quick."
Shadow took note of this. "Their metabolism, is it hyper active like ours?"
The fox shook his head with a confused expression. "No, actually. For some reason, their brain functions, blood cells and metabolism is much slower than yours. In fact, it's even a little slower than ours. We all can only keep up with you guys, but we can't move or react as fast as you. This guy can't do either, and yet he's fighting back against Sonic with ease." He frowned at this, something wasn't right. "I know how quick you and Sonic's brains work. You both can't hold back from moving too quickly in a fight, it's why normal enemies fall down before they even realize they've been hit. So why..." He trailed off, very perplexed by this. "...Is this guy able to react to his movements? He's even predicting some of them. Even if this person had extensive combative and reactive training, nobody can move on the same level as you guys without sharing such a hyper active body."
"Did you sense any chaos energy?"
Tails shook his head again, which also stumped him. "Not at all. Again, that's weird. All Mobians have some tiny level of chaos energy inside of them. Unless they've got a super small microscopic amount of it in his body, I don't see a trace on this guy. It's almost like..." His baby blue eyes widened. "...They don't exist."
Shadow turned his attention back to the fight, his eyes carefully following the marauder's attacks. "Bōjutsu...?" He mumbled aloud. That was a particularly disciplined martial art. Why would a soldier learn something like that and not standard hand-to-hand militant combat?
Sonic's kicks were like stabbing knives, as each whip of a strike was strong enough to tear clothing. And it did, because just as he landed a right axe kick just passed their helmet, he missed, but a scratch tore through the fabric of their military coat. In less than a nanosecond, right as that forest green thread of their attire flew into the air, the stranger smacked his baton upwards into Sonic's landing kick. This knocked him backwards, but before he could recover, the interloper sharply poked the end of the baton into Sonic's shoulders, upper torso and lower abdomen—All pressure points. Coughing out a small amount of spit, the hero still grinned at this. That was a small amount of damage, sure, but nothing that could take him down. Forcing his body to recover, Sonic used the nightstick as a step stool and jumped high into the air, before making a lethal spiral kick downwards. The stranger easily blocked it, but this wasn't the end to Sonic's attack.
Sonic reached behind to grab onto one of his own quills and threw down several loose spines around the interloper, maybe a dozen. Blue electricity surged powerfully within them, creating a glowing cobalt perimeter of electric chaos energy. This seemingly alarmed the stranger, giving Sonic just enough time to announce an ability he's been dying to finally utilize. Unbelievably, a blue bolt of lightning struck down against the earth where they fought, causing the stranger's stance to falter. The blue blur balled himself up to create an aerial spindash and announced: "Chaos Wind!" Suddenly, the grass, trees and wild animals that were unfortunate to be in the area, were flung into the air with a mighty power of huge winds. The Sonic Team yelped in surprise, nearly losing their footing against the attack and watching with great anticipation to see if the stranger would be able to handle this one. Dust and debris rose into the air, masking their visions of what was happening. Sonic landed gracefully onto the ground, his body still in combat mode, ready for a potential comeback despite such a strong move.
When the winds and dust finally settled after about a minute, they all could see a figure in the sky, pummeling down. However, they used the strong winds to their advantage and twisted their body around along with their baton. They flew down like a spiraling top, landing on their feet as cracks grew into the ground underneath them. They made an annoyed sigh before slowly facing Sonic's direction once more.
The hero just leered at their recovery. "Why so pissy? Don't tell me you're done already-" In an instant, the stranger was directly in Sonic's face, gripping their hand onto his fawn arm. "...!"
"Chaos Override."
The blue electricity surging through Sonic that once empowered him, was now negatively shocking him with terrible pain. It fried him so badly, that by the time it was over and the stranger took their hand away, steam arose from the hero's body. That blue energy was now in the palms of the marauder's hands, until they made a fist, causing blue embers to fly into the air and vanish. It was as if they crushed the very foundation of Sonic's power. The blue blur fell down to his knees, grunting in agony as he coughed and hacked. His energy was yanked right from out of his body.
"Sonic...!" Tails shouted.
The stranger tapped their baton on their shoulder with boredom and looked down at the blue hedgehog with superiority. "You made a terrible mistake, matching yourself up with me. Chaos energy is useless against me, as I can easily destabilize it or worse, temporarily eradicate it from your entire body." They patronizingly bent down to his eye level and tilted their masked head. "Would you please act rationally for once in your feeble life and cooperate? I am in no mood for any more of your pointless games-" A white gloved hand suddenly gripped the stranger's tie out of their coat to yank them down even closer. "...! You're still able to move?"
"Dumb ass," Sonic hissed with a sneer.
It appears that his strange opponent didn't predict this.
"You really think I need chaos energy to beat your ass?"
19 - END - 19
Chapter 20: Look-A-Like
Summary:
This new enemy has proven to be quite powerful, and temporarily puts Sonic and Shadow out of the battle. Their friends however, aren't going down without a fight. During the scuffle, something unexpected happens.
Chapter Text
20 - Look-A-Like - 20
Afternoon, 4:40 PM
A devastating headbutt crashed directly into the marauder's helmet, knocking them back several feet and damaging the front visor. With tiny cracks forming all over the headpiece, the stranger grunted angrily as they stood back up to dust themselves off with their hands. "Curious," They scoffed. "With most chaos users, they instantly fall unconscious the moment I override their abilities. Yet here you are, still standing." They twirled the baton in their hand. "It seems I have underestimated you." They concluded humbly.
Sonic, with blood dripping down his forehead, stood up and wiped the blood off with the back of his arm. "I could say the same to you, private." He retorted mockingly. "It's rare somebody draws blood, 'guess you're not just some rookie with an inferiority complex after all."
A disturbing silence drifted the atmosphere, and no one moved a single muscle.
The hero was no fool, he knew this would be much more challenging than anything he's fought against in default form before. This person had great combative skill, so that military garb wasn't just for show. This person fought as if they battled in countless wars and matches of armed and hand-to-hand combat. Sonic could hear Tails from afar that they didn't share his speed nor reaction time, yet they moved as if they did. Not only that, but they could destabilize and drain chaos energy. And they weren't bluffing about the typical effects either, because Sonic nearly got knocked out when they touched his arm. Though he was wide awake, his body felt tired because all of his chaos energy was stolen and thrown into the ether. Because his body was quick to recover with great stamina, he could restore that chaos energy in a small period of time. However, he needed time to do so. If he kept fighting like this, he'd get slower, sloppier and receive more damage than desired. The last thing Sonic wanted to do was use the emeralds against a lone person who wasn't even on a giant robot or demigod level, as he knew that'd be overkill. If he was going to do this the old fashioned way, he'd have to utilize everything in his arsenal. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he'd need help.
But, that's what friends—or lovers—were for, right?
With a shit-eating grin, Sonic suddenly yelled: "Yo Shads! Tag in!"
A green flash appeared before their eyes, and the clash of amber red energy suddenly struck against the stranger's baton, a violent fist stuck into it's material.
"...With pleasure." The ultimate life form replied.
Caught off guard by the suddenly teleportation, the stranger could not prepare themselves from the sudden boost in upper body strength, and was knocked back a little. "Tag teaming against one foe?" They scowled as they steadied their body for a wave of hard hitting attacks. "How gutless." Shadow boosted himself with the help of his air shoes to strike a momentum driven right hook, and continued the attack with more fist-based strikes at higher speeds. His arms whirred of black and red as he assaulted the intruder. They however managed to learn his pattern in mere seconds, using their baton to block and push back every punch that was thrown. Due to Shadow's aggressive tactics, they were being slowly pushed backwards as they defended themselves, eventually nearing themselves into a now weathered down tree. A bright red glint shined in Shadow's eyes as he used both fists to strike downwards. The stranger threw themselves to the ground while using their baton to block their face, just barely holding off Shadow's balled up hands. They then kicked through the deadlock and nailed Shadow in the muzzle, but he didn't even react. He ate through the hit and drove down a powerful hook. The marauder barrel rolled away across the grass and immediately stood back up to ready themselves for anything else he had to throw at them.
Shadow pummeled towards them like a rocket, throwing in round house kicks along with bone shattering upper cuts. His knuckles just barely grazed against their helmet, causing a line of damage to draw across the black material. "What's gutless," Shadow responded in haste. "Is you not showing your miserable face. Anyone who doesn't have the decency to show their face to their enemy, is a sign-" He finally landed a jab against their chest, pushing them backwards as their boots created drag marks into the ground. Shadow rushed up with a follow up leading left. "-Of disrespectful cowardice!" His wrist was nearly grabbed at, but Shadow snatched his arm away quickly, as he knew this person could derail his chaos energy with a single touch. "Oh no you don't," Shadow used his air shoes to jet himself away a few yards before charging some power into his hand. "I'm not letting you do to me what you did to faker. If you want my energy so bad," He held up his arm. "Have a taste! Chaos Spear!" A array of amber red colored spear heads circled above the stranger before slamming down to their position.
They sprinted to avoid the spears, flipping and jumping from left to right to evade the chaotic projectiles. The final spear flew right behind them, dead on their trail, until they turned around and used their palm to simply smack the arrowhead away. It dissolved into chaotic embers, disappearing instantly. They could not only disrupt chaos energy from a living being, they could also destroy a chaotic attack with a single blow. Shadow planned on using Chaos Control to momentarily stop time to make a sneak attack, but it would more than likely fail since this opponent could override that move almost instantaneously. In a green flash, Shadow teleported behind them in the air, before performing an axe kick directly downwards. The stranger swung their baton to hold off the kick. They were holding Shadow's foot against their stick, struggling against it to shove it away. "Taking a page from Miles prime, allow me to analyze you." They said confidently. "You're an upper-body fighter, but you make lower-body sneak attacks. The exact opposite of Sonic prime, but just as weak." Red energy spiked through their baton, and soon, Shadow's entire body. "You are nothing like my superior. By the way," They added eerily. "I don't need to use my hands to destroy your precious chaos energy—Chaos Override."
"...!" An explosion of disrupted amber red chaos energy threw Shadow backwards and onto the ground. His body trembled as the shockwaves of his own energy attacking him continued to create severe damage. He rolled to a stop against the very tree he nearly had the marauder cornered at, panting angrily as he attempted to stand. Okay, clearly this wouldn't work unless they'd go all out. If their chaos energy wasn't ripped from out of their bodies, they could have kept it pushing physically. But as of right now, neither he nor Sonic had the energy to move forward. They needed time to rest, at least five minutes.
"Pathetically predictable," The marauder insulted carelessly. "Do you all see now?" They asked aloud, more specifically towards the rest of the Mobians. "Please mind your manners and do not engage in combat with me. I will be taking Shadow and Sonic prime with me now, as what they're needed for is far more important than this childish slap-fight you call a battle." They placed the baton on the ground and leaned their palms against it. "To think the spirits would depend on the absolute weakest duo of the Divine Pyramid...Laughable." They then dug in their pocket, searching for an object. "I'll just bring you to my general, and hopefully you two will prove to be more useful after he-"
"Hey loser!" Tails suddenly shouted while pointing his finger directly at the militant stranger.
"...?" They turned to his direction.
He stepped in front of the group of friends to get a better shot. With a small smirk, the fox readied his aim while winking, before power charged through the metallic pieces on his glove. "Smile." A laser beam composed of faux chaos energy immediately shot from his pointed index finger, and beamed towards the stranger at alarming speeds.
The masked marauder could do nothing, as they didn't anticipate such an action. It made a direct hit into their helmet, striking through and cracking a large hole into the helmet. "Gah...!" They cried out with panic, dropping their baton and covering their face immediately. Scrambling to make sure it was still on their head, they took a few steps backwards. More and more pieces fell to the grass, more and more holes were appearing as the cracks grew all over the headpiece. It eventually fell off and tumbled to the ground completely, before dissolving in a strange way. It was almost as if it was digitized or glitched out of existence. They pat their hands to their face with concern, before realizing their helmet was gone.
With extreme shock, Shadow, Sonic and all of their friends' eyes shrank with disbelief.
"No frickin' way..." Sonic whispered as his eyes adjusted to the unsheathed face of their enemy.
With an enraged grunt, they flipped their blue quills over their shoulders as they stood up straight. "God...damn it, General Zhadow...!" He swore loudly, his voice no longer obscured by a filter. Dark green irises, a peach colored muzzle and royal blue furred spines on his back, there now stood a Sonic-look alike. Underneath that heavy black helmet, was a Mobian-like being who looked exactly like their hero. The only difference was that his voice was far more serious, abrasive and authoritarian, and his eyes were not as bright as Sonic's. This wasn't Metal Sonic or another case of mistaken identity with Shadow, this was a near-exact copy. Sonic was right when he said it was a male hedgehog, but none of them expected this. Grumbling and cursing to himself, he pressed a hand over his now revealed head as he hissed with great exasperation. "That bastard specifically told me that those helmets were indestructible! Efficient prototype my ass...Now I'll need even more amnesiac serums to wipe all of their memories...I'll have to report to the espionage team and...Ugh!" He pointed an angry glare at Tails, who flinched in response. "You..." He growled. "Miles prime, to think you'd have something like that up your sleeve. I was wrong to underestimate your genius, and I sincerely apologize for doing so. With that said, you'll be the first to have your memory of this incident wiped. But no matter," He held up his hand in the air, causing the baton to swing in his direction and land in his palm once more. He swung it down, causing wind to blow at them all. "Your hero and his reformed villain for a boyfriend is still coming with me," His eyes held wrath within them, frustrated with his face being revealed. "Whether you like it or not."
Tails couldn't believe his eyes, nor could anyone else.
He began to walk towards Shadow threateningly, his baton slung over his shoulder like a heavy bastard sword. "I suppose I should start with the physically strongest contender here: You, Project Shadow. Without your chaos abilities, Knuckles prime would easily be a close second." He announced with miffed eyes. "Chaos users...Don't make me laugh." He spat. "Chaos users are nothing but weaklings who stand behind an emerald just to feign strength in battle. Eventually, you do nothing but rely on a single technicolor rock to do the work for you. Lazy, frankly. Meanwhile," He pressed a thumb against his own chest, his various medals glinting in the sunlight. "I had to work for my power, and underwent strenuous training to get where I am today. I cannot wield nor hold any degree of chaos energy, as my body physically can't handle its properties. However," He finally stopped in front of the ultimate life form, who was growling at him. "I never needed your flimsy little abilities to fight, and I kick ass on my own just fine. That's the difference between you and I, and why you will never defeat me as you are now." He declared as his grip on his baton tightened. "So quit struggling, and just come along quietly already. Conscious or not, you have a role to fill," He held up the baton over his head, ready to strike down. "And I am not leaving until I have your absolute cooperation!"
"Shut up!"
Slowly, the Sonic look-alike paused and raised a brow while turning to the source of the sudden outburst. "You again?"
The yellow-orange fox chuckled bitterly as he carefully flexed his fingers and swished his namesakes. "...I am so sick and tired of you stupid Sonic-wannabes, faking your way into our home," The metallic parts of his gloves sparked with pale yellow power as he gnashed his teeth. "You're a creep, a loser who hides behind a mask, and a liar at that. Sonic's not evil, pure and simple. My brother will never be a pawn in whatever game you're playing, and you're even dumber than you look if you think we're just gonna stand by and let you take them. Seriously," Tails laughed. "Are you high, or something?"
Amy tossed her gargantuan hammer up in the air and caught it in her palm, over and over with scanning emerald green eyes. "Anyone who lays a finger on my friends will feel every thorn I've got."
Knuckles cracked his namesakes and glanced over at the white bat. "Looks like we gotta do a full-fledged assault on this guy, batgirl. You ready?"
With a beckoning hand wave towards the Sonic look-alike, Rouge winked and smirked. "Oh I've been dying to get back at you for that cute little jumpscare you gave me back at my apartment, Fake Blue."
"For the love of God..." The Sonic clone sighed stressfully. He simply walked away from Shadow and traveled over to stand directly in front of the colorful bunch, who were all ready to throw down. "Let it never be said that I ever enjoyed extraction missions..." He shrugged. "Let's just get this over with, already."
The red echidna suddenly charged forward. "Don't mind if I do!" A brutal punch was whacked directly at the blue militant hedgehog, who blocked it last second with his baton. However, he was struggling to hold off this punch much more than with Sonic or Shadow. "Ha!" The echidna laughed. "You can read Shadow and Sonic like a book, but not me!" Another earthquake of a punch was thrown his way, but instead of blocking it, he stuck his baton into the ground, looped his legs around Knuckles' arm while holding onto the other end of the stick, and twisted his thighs and legs around it to swing the echidna down onto the ground for a strong takedown. As they tumbled down, Knuckles grunted and wrapped his strong arms around the look-alike. While carrying the blue hedgehog clone in his arms, he lifted them both up, before diving down directly into the dirt below. He charged forward deep within the earth, using his head alone to dig through, forcing the enemy to take half of the brunt of every inch of gravel they crushed through together. Above the surface, cracks formed underneath grass, until the blue faker was thrown directly out of a sudden gaping crater. Knuckles jumped out with an uppercut, before gliding quickly to the adversary and kicking him down to the ground once more.
The militant hedgehog reacted fast and used their baton to strike the ground first, before landing crouched down on the other end with both feet. He balanced perfectly on the stick, before spitting out dirt and dusting off the mounds of dirt that was now covered all over his uniform. He shook his head to get out any dirt that lingered in his quills and scowled. A female war cry was heard from behind, causing him to lift his head at the attack that was currently above him. Amy swung down her hammer, to which the strange hedgehog easily dodged by flipping himself off of the baton. Her hammer landed directly on top, shoving the stick farther into the earth. However, she didn't let him leave her gaze. She then threw down six gilded tarot cards with pink aura emanating from them. Before he could move away, a couple cards were sharp enough to slice right through his left arm, drawing and splattering blood on the grass blades below. The second tear in his uniform revealed a peach colored arm, concluding that he truly was a Sonic clone underneath his clothes. This only angered the pink hedgehog even more. She stomped down to land before slamming her hammer down into the ground. A boulder of rock lifted from the dirt from her man-made tremor, and she used it as a giant projectile to smack her hammer directly into it. It shot directly towards the faker, who used his entire body to throw himself backwards to dodge it.
He landed onto the ground and made another dodge roll before immediately getting back up. As soon as the uniformed hedgehog thought he had a second to breathe, his ears perked up to noise from behind. He quickly turned around only to quickly turn his face away from a high heeled kick headed in his direction. Using her wings to help propel her forward and increase force in her kicks, Rouge also used them to help her stay in the air, making her a harder target to both dodge and counterattack. It was almost as if she danced on air, flying with grace as she tapped her shoes away directly at the enemy. She was quick too, her taps working like jabs of fists. The fact that her barrage of her kicks were so copious and fast despite her not being on Sonic's level of speed was baffling, and so the lookalike didn't quite know how to read her. Just as he thought he might have figured out her pattern, she suddenly landed on the ground and lowered her body to do a sneaky sideswipe underneath his boots. While he had a feeling she'd do that, he couldn't react in time and lost his balance. She used this chance to charge forward with a punch, to which he suddenly smacked away from the back of his arm. Seeing as how he wasn't quite down and didn't want to risk taking any damage, she smartly used her wings to fly backwards to gain distance.
Even more annoyed, the blue clone hedgehog darted his eyes to the right to see a sparkling vulpine throw a hook directly at him. The faker ducked this attack, but Tails' namesakes wouldn't let him recover. Almost with a mind of their own, they reached out and wrapped around his waist. With a chest crushing grip, they pulled and tossed the uniformed marauder several feet away. He landed harshly on the ground, but he flipped and landed on the dirt with his fingers gripping into the ground to help steady his momentum. Tails snatched the scouter off of his face before pointing his finger straight at him, a beam lasering precisely at this exact location. The first time, he didn't see it coming, as it was literally moving at the speed of light. But this time, the stranger hedgehog had learned his lesson. His eyes flashed with slight uncertainty, before a moment of clarity sharpened his pupils. He read the moment of impact perfectly and side stepped away, the beam just barely missing his muzzle by mere centimeters. Then, a startling beeping caused him to look down at his feet, only to see several tiny bombs with a two tailed insignia marked on the back of them, sprinkled all around him. With a smirk, Tails snapped his fingers. A large explosion went off, shooting fiery smoke all over and hiding the view of their shared target.
Coughing and hacking, the mystery blue hedgehog waved his arm back and forth to blow the smoke away from his face. His clothes and fur was roughed up, and he looked a little tired if not completely stressed. His eyes looked concerned, worried that he'd be submitting the fight. He groaned in pain as he stood up, cracking his neck and straightening his posture. Then, he took in a deep breath before simply slapping the dust off of his top. And in an instant, he looked completely normal. His clothes weren't as dirty, his fur no longer bruised, and his expression not even the slightest bit intimidated. "I admit, He suddenly said. "I haven't had anyone cut my skin in many years. Then again, you're the friends of Sonic and Shadow prime—The smarter, more talented ones. However, as I mentioned before," He grunted as he flexed his arms, more popping of bones sounding. That's when they all realized, this guy had visible strength underneath that uniform, just like the original blue blur. His quills raised attentively. "None of you, will ever be able to defeat me as you are now." With a click of his boots against the ground, he immediately held up his palm to allow the baton to magnetically swing back to his side. Catching it effortlessly, he bent down with the baton in both of his hands. The baton ticked, and suddenly adjusted to extend it's length. With wind blowing through his quills, a dangerous glintsparked through his eyes. "Forgive me for asserting my authority over you."
The red guardian, in the air, was rocketing down with two spiked fists directly towards him. Knuckles would attack first once more, and perform yet another successful terrain attack.
But this time, the blue uniformed faker was ready.
As time slowed down, and just as Knuckles got closer to hitting him dead on with his namesakes, the militant hedgehog swung his baton directly into the underside of the echidna. Despite his heavy weight, he still managed to not only strike Knuckles directly in his stomach, but swing his entire body down to the ground. Instantly recovering back on his feet, the guardian became a boxing champion of any upstart's nightmares. He threw punch after punch, jab after jab, uppercut after uppercut, hook after hook, cross after cross. The mysterious hedgehog slapped each strike of fist away with the baton, before spiraling the stick in a windmill motion that blocked every single move the red echidna could muster. As the hedgehog did this with one hand, he made quick but short jabs into various areas of Knuckles' anatomy. His shoulders, his arms, his biceps and even his elbows. "I can see it now," He said as he watched the echidna back away, attempting to continue to try and punch back. He was losing his momentum. "Because your strength is so high, you know you're intimidating, and you use that against your enemies. You try and catch your opponent off guard with your sheer physical prowess, and even use the terrain around you to get the upper hand. Although," Even as Knuckles tried to bob and weave the hidden strikes behind the windmilling baton, he could no longer keep up in speed. He was slowly but surely losing. "Your stamina is lacking, you can't keep it up for long. After a few minutes of endurance from a formidable enemy, you're ready to collapse. After all," He suddenly kicked upwards, completely shattering Knuckles' stance. "You're not used to having someone stronger than you, are you?" He then stabbed his baton into his chest, knocking the wind out of the guardian, before swinging a roundhouse kick directly into his face.
The force of the kick was so harsh, that it knocked the echidna several meters away, landing harshly with a bone cracking thud. "D-Damn it...!" He groaned as blood dripped from his mouth and nose.
With an angered shout, Rouge sprinted forward with a knee attack, just missing the hedgehog's stomach. He easily dodged and saw right through her. She moved to swing her leg, and he did the same. As their legs clashed, he adjusted his hold on his long nightstick. "And you," He addressed curiously as they went blow for blow, kick to kick. She was putting every ounce of strength she had into her strikes, but the hedgehog wasn't even flinching and had no issue with sharing impact with her strong legs. "You've mastered taekwondo, albeit a very weak variant of the martial art." He ridiculed as he used her own landed knee as a stepping stool to jump up into the air. He swung his entire body into a spiral, a spinning kick landing directly against her head. She was knocked back with a yelp, but she wasn't down just yet. She immediately pushed herself to counterattack. "Bat Mobians have some of the most powerful sense of sound, and can detect up to the slightest motion of noise for several miles. Thanks to that, you excelled as a spy because you know just how loud the body can be when in motion. You've trained yourself to stifle the noise of your own attacks, making you a great fighter despite your lack in strength." But before she could even react, he was right behind her. Her large ears couldn't even hear him coming. "But you never thought there'd be someone out there who was even more silent than you." A foot planted itself directly on the back of her neck, nailing her spinal cord, causing her to gasp and fall onto the ground. Her arms and legs twitched, her body was struggling to recovery from being struck harshly in such a vital pressure point.
Satisfied with his work, the militant hedgehog turned around to see a pink hedgehog with inflamed emerald eyes swinging her hammer in his vicinity. "You bastard...!" She yelled with acid spewing venom. Her eyes were carefully keeping track of the marauder's movements, noticing that he was dodging left and right. "You keep hurting my friends—I'll make you pay!" She swung with great speed and a never ending decreasing pace. Each swing was undoubtedly deadly, because it caused great winds with every miss, flinging even thick branches off of nearby trees into the abyss of the distance. "Why can't you take a damn hint-" She stepped forward with one last strong thrust of her hammer. "-And go away!?" When it landed, it missed and connected with the ground, causing several mounds of structured dirt to cave in below to the depths of the earth. She slowly lifted her head, her bangs were darkening her expression, but anyone could tell that she was beyond scorned.
With boredom, the mysterious stranger twirled his baton in his hand before pointing it to the ground. "Ah yes, Miss Rose and her famous Piko Piko hammer..." He noted with slight amusement. "You like playing with hammers. Well, allow me to show you-" He suddenly lifted the baton up high above his head, and Amy watched with astonishment as the structure of the nightstick began to change once more. "-What a real warhammer looks like." In mere seconds, she watched the tool transform from a simple long-lengthed nightstick, to a large warhammer that rivaled the size of her own. It was completely jet black, compounded with hard metal, and it even had a sharp clawed end on the back. Shining with great, frightening weight, her eyes lost some of her vigor and was now replaced with a small amount of fear. Just like that, it swung down towards her, and she barely tossed herself backwards to avoid impact. She steadied her legs and stopped herself, before watching the hedgehog walk closer. He was already beginning to lift it up once more. Gritting her teeth, she charged forward and swung again. They both matched each other's movements, their hammers stuck in a strong deadlock. "You yourself are quite physically powerful, yet you don't rely on hand-to-hand combat. Instead, you push all of your power into a simple toy and waste so much energy at once into swinging in quick successions. Foolish, but I suppose you never matured in that regard, huh?" He then simply dropped the hammer from his hand, letting it fall to the ground. The loss of the deadlock's weight caused Amy to lose her balance. The militant hedgehog then pulled his arm back before swinging a right hook directly into her right shoulder, one that painfully tore through muscle. She cried out in pain and immediately fell onto her back, hissing and rolling to the side as she instantly grabbed her hand to her now heavily bruised limb.
A beam was shot at him from behind, but he easily dipped to the side to dodge it without even looking. Not even his quills were grazed. He almost forgot about the fox. He slowly turned around and kicked his foot in the ground. The small tremor caused by his steel-toed boots caused the dropped black warhammer to prop entirely upright, and into his palm. He tapped a finger onto the side, allowing the hammer to transform back into the bō-themed police baton.
"Oh but of course," The blue look-alike mused. "The true star of all of Sonic prime's friends, Miles prime." He placed a hand on his hip as he surveyed the fox's movements. He wasn't stepping any closer, and they were already a nice distance away from each other. "You are the one he values the most, his number one sidekick. I will admit, I do not feel comfortable with striking down a minor. In fact, it disgusts me. My job is to save troubled teens, not hurt them. But oh, excuse me," He scoffed arrogantly. "I suppose it's too late for altruism." He could tell the fox was just itching to get his hands on him, his fists shaking at his sides and his baby blue eyes rattling with rage. "You've barely any physical prowess, and while you are the best at keeping up with Sonic prime more than anyone, you still lack speed. However," The hedgehog's eyes sharpened, squinting carefully at the vulpine. "You never needed physical strength to defeat your enemies, as you've even taken down the mighty Ultimate Life Form himself, once. You are crafty, tricky and an unbelievably intelligent foe—just like a fox. Anyone who looks down upon you, is a fool waiting to be defeated."
"Is that even supposed to be a compliment, weirdo?" The fox spat back.
The hedgehog shook his head. "Ah, don't mistake my praises for derision. I speak with sincerity." He placed his hands behind his back, his baton no longer in a defensive position. "Despite your obvious weaknesses, you are remarkable. And it's because of your overwhelming weaknesses that makes you so much more daunting. Nobody can properly read you, not even me...At first." And with that, he charged forward towards the fox, swinging that baton directly at his smaller frame. The vulpine dodged out of the way, and placed both of his palms together to charge up more faux chaos energy. A stronger, much bigger beam of the power blasted right at him. Instantly, his white and blue leather glove cut right through that power like a knife, and embers of the beam flew into the air to disappear. After all, fake chaos energy was far weaker than genuine chaos energy. The militant hedgehog plucked the lingering embers off of his fingers before tilting his head curiously at the fox. "You didn't actually think that would do anything to me, did you? Fake chaos energy is like blowing air."
"Y'know," Tails smirked as he gestured for the cocky interloper to look down. "I figured as much." Before he could look down though, he was suddenly yanked to the ground by the fox's namesakes. They were wrapped around his ankles the entire time. He attempted to sit up, but was caught once again by the fox's appendages. They soon wrapped around his neck like a boa constrictor, gripping tightly around his throat with strength that he didn't expect out of the sidekick. Grunting with slight pain, the hedgehog tried to stand up anyway, but was punched in the face. Tails directly stepped his shoes onto the stranger's abdomen, not caring if he was crushing his organs with his weight. He looked down upon the blue fake hedgehog with repulsion, scowling harshly as he squeezed his tails against his neck tighter. The marauder made choked gasps, grabbing at his namesakes to attempt to pull them off. "Sonic always taught me not to kill someone, if I ever had the chance. But I'd never do that anyway, so I'll just wait until you lose consciousness. Don't worry, closing your eyes makes the process a lot quicker." He eerily advised. However, beneath him, the hedgehog was moving anyway. His knees craned and his back arched off of the ground. Before Tails could do anything, he was already on his feet and shoving the fox away from his body. Tails landed on his feet, but his namesakes kept their grip. "Oh no you don't!" Tails yelled as he pointed his finger to shoot another beam. That is, until his hand was suddenly seized. A tall shadow loomed over him, causing the younger Mobian to sweat anxiously. He slowly looked up to see the hedgehog gripping his hand painfully, before ripping the metallic frame off of his entire palm. It tore through his glove, and even ripped through small bits of his skin, shedding blood. Tails winced in pain, and was simply kicked square in the chest. Heaving out all of the air in his lungs, the force of the kick threw him to the side onto his back.
Exhaling in great displeasure, the Sonic look-alike held the baton over his shoulder once more to look afar at Sonic and Shadow, who were now up on their feet and fiercely alerted to his presence. "Finally-"
And to his dismay, it still wasn't over.
In streaks of white, red, pink and orange-yellow, the four friends were now circling around him. With smaller, panicked eyes, the look-alike darted his eyes around frantically. "How did all of you recover that fast...? The cyberspace simulations never predicted this...!" He murmured to no one. Knuckles was moving closer with balled fists. Rouge was preparing to lift and charge a kick. Amy already had her hammer lifted up high, and Tails had yet another group of small bombs in his hands. Their eyes all glowed with a haunting, perilous sense of tremendous danger. "Damn it," He hissed with a scowl. "Alright, I've had enough of this shit!" He swung down his baton and gripped his hand on the handle, before twisting it into three clicks. Abruptly, the baton began to transform yet again. New parts of black metal protruded from certain points of the stick, while it's length slightly shortened. And finally in less than a second, it was finished. When the group got a good look at what he was now wielding, they all began to back away in fear.
A loud gunshot rang out from all of their ears, and with great air pressure, the militant hedgehog was suddenly in the sky still aiming the tool directly down at them all.
Shadow's eyes widened significantly. "You're kidding." He whispered as his eyes fully comprehended what they were seeing. That baton was no longer a nightstick or even a warhammer, it was now in the form of a pump-action firearm. "That's not some police baton, that's a multi-purpose weapon and now it's a God damn gun!"
"Marksman series, model three: Shotgun." The blue hedgehog faker held the weapon in his hands like a professional gunman, reloading the now baton-gun and pushing his finger on the trigger for another shot. It boosted him in the air yet again, higher this time. "Follow me if you wish, but I won't go easy on you!" He pulled the trigger and shot again, using the momentum of the gunshot's pressure to jump far away several times and disappear within the tall trees of the jungle. Though the group shielded their faces when he shot the first time, all they felt was harsh wind and pressure being blown against them.
"Damn..." Sonic mumbled. He wouldn't say it out loud, but it reminded him of when Shadow first picked up a gun during the Black Arms incident—Literally everyone yelled: "He's got a gun!" And just scattered like roaches. Just like that situation back then, it was bad when an already daunting foe could take down a majority of the team. But it was even worse when they got their hands on a devastating weapon. That was definitely a game changer, and not in a fun way.
The biohog stepped forward as he watched the mysterious faker escape. "He's firing high-pressurized blanks...?" The marauder kept mentioning he had no interest in actually fighting anyone, only that he would if he had to. Perhaps he didn't want to mortally wound anyone, either. He looked back beside him as the true blue blur walked next to him. "Sonic, this person is beyond abnormal." He noted hastily. "Only Eggman's been able to create weapons like that. First it transformed into a warhammer, and now a gun. Who knows what else it can turn into."
Tails gave chase first, using his namesakes to propel him forward faster. "Don't let that freak get away!" He called out for the others, and they all ran along with him to hunt the faker down deep within Angel Zone's forest.
Shadow didn't want them to go after him, as he could cause more damage and hurt them much more severely. "If they go after him and fight again, he'll start breaking bones. I can tell he's holding back."
"I know," Sonic quickly replied. "I've been watching him, and he's good. Too good. He predicts everything we're doing, even though we've never met or fought the guy. But," He frowned. "He had more trouble fighting our friends than he did when fighting us. Like Knuckles said, he read us like a book from the word 'go', so nothing we did was a surprise. He expected every little thing we threw at him, even our chaos abilities. He was prepared to fight us, but not them."
"Yes, but all it took was taking a little damage and he learned their patterns quickly, fighting them all off easily soon after. So-" Shadow trailed off.
"-We gotta catch him off guard," Sonic finished for him. "Do something he'll never see coming. Only question is," He sucked his teeth. "What would that even be?"
Shadow could feel a plan forming in his head. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he's much more short-tempered than you are. He loses his patience very quickly, and gets annoyed by the slightest inconvenience."
Sonic smirked. "Yeah, he's probably been used to everything in his life going flawlessly. He figured whatever he was gonna pull here would be a cakewalk, but he underestimated us." He gave Shadow a look, his smirk widening. "People look more obvious when they lose their cool."
The biohog smirked, as he could feel that they were thinking the exact same thing. "And that's precisely the opening we'll need."
"And now I've got a plan."
20 - END - 20
Chapter 21: Strange Fight
Summary:
The fight against the strange Sonic look-alike concludes with a literal BANG!
Chapter Text
21 - Strange Fight - 21
5:00 PM
The mysterious blue hedgehog clenched his teeth, irritated that any of this was happening. This was supposed to be an easy extraction mission, slightly challenging at most if Sonic and Shadow prime tried to fight back. They were predictable weaklings, that was no trouble for him. But his friends, his God damn friends...He didn't expect them to be a thorn in his side. As he drifted through the air of the ancient jungle, he pulled the trigger on the baton-gun again to continue shooting himself forward. As he did though, a flash of multicolor lingered in the corner of his eyes. He made a tired sigh and figured that his time of running and taking a breather was over. Fine, he'd end this quickly. He didn't want to hurt anyone to such an extreme regard, but he'd do so if forced. He had a mission to complete, and he'd do anything to complete it. He then aimed the gun upwards, shooting and causing the pressured blast to shoot him back down to the ground. He landed nimbly, before holding up the gun and aiming in front of himself. The several Mobians headed his way immediately skidded their sprints to a stop at the sight of the weapon.
Reloading it, a bullet shell falling below his feet, he took a single step back carefully. "I am warning you for the last, final time." He announced loudly. "Do not make me upset Sonic and Shadow prime by hurting all of you more than I already have."
"What do you even want with them!?" Tails shouted.
The strange hedgehog shook his head. "You are never to know. By the time I'm done with all of you, none of you will even remember this. Just as usual."
Rouge narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that? What have you been doing?" She questioned roughly. Then, she slowly placed her hand on Knuckles' shoulder, her face stuck in shock. "This isn't your first time here on Angel Island, is it? You've been here before." To this, everyone turned to her in surprise, then back at their enemy. "My apartment, Station Square, Apotos...You've been everywhere we've been, haven't you?
With an unshakable expression, the hedgehog never took his eyes off of them as he aimed. "...That's none of your concern, Rouge prime." He replied quietly. "Please," He asked, his tone more pleading than before. His bravado and arrogance had momentarily disappeared for this single moment. "Stand down. Convince Sonic and Shadow prime to give themselves up to me. I do not wish to harm anyone any further." He licked his lips before continuing. "I am a soldier and an officer of the law. My job is to protect people, not hurt them. You're forcing my hand-"
Knuckles snarled. "You broke into my girlfriend's apartment, trespassed on the most important piece of land on this planet, and you expect us to let you kidnap our friends?" He took another step forward, causing the hedgehog to straighten his aim even more. "Tails was right, you are fuckin' high!"
"Moron, none of you understand!" He shouted back. "You will never understand." He lowered his voice. "You'll never understand why they're the way they are, why it's too hazardous to allow them to operate on their own without being checked. You can believe whatever you like, but those two are dangerous. That's why they need to come with me to fill their roles properly, so they do not destroy this reality with all of you in it. I'm trying to help you."
Amy made a scary smile as she tapped the front end of her hammer on her hand. "Can I hit this guy, yet? He's making a lot of noise and it's really starting to annoy me."
Suddenly, wind brushed past them all as streaks of black and blue rushed beside them. Standing in front of them, Sonic made an apologetic smile at them all. "Sorry about that guys, needed a quick recharge. We should have wrapped this up ages ago." He walked over to Amy, and placed his hand on hers to rest her hammer. He then stepped over to Knuckles and Rouge, and gently pounded a fist to the echidna's chest. He then stood in front of Tails and ruffled his fingers through his hair, giving him a reassuring thumbs up before turning around and returning to Shadow's side. "It's okay now," He told them with a calm voice. "It'll be fine, we'll get this guy outta here in no time." He then stretched his arms above his head before crouching down to stretch his legs. "He'll probably get a few hard hits on us, but we can handle it. Promise." Reluctantly, they all glanced at each other, then nodded their heads.
They took a step back, their bodies resting without any intentions of fighting anymore. Their faces were very concerned because they didn't want anything to happen to them, but they had to trust Sonic's word. They took a couple more steps back, getting a safe distance from what would be the last area for battle. The trees were much denser here, but the area they were currently all standing in still had a nice amount of room. However, if someone was knocked back or thrown, they'd hit their back on some sturdy tree trunks. Sonic even admitted that they would more than likely get hurt from this final act, but they knew this. They already knew this before they showed up, they just didn't want to see it happen. They all knew what they would do in the event that they were defeated, as they were aptly standing in a place where the Master Emerald resided. They both held emeralds on their person, Knuckles could sense it. So if push came to shove, they would use it against this mysterious person as a last resort.
Sonic relaxed his body before turning to his red striped partner. "...Mind lettin' me tag in first, bestie?"
Shadow made a small laugh at this and moved to stand aside. "Be my guest."
"Cool-" A gun shot was blasted directly at the true blue hedgehog. "Hey," His voice cut through the dying echoes of the shot, and he reached out from the gun's smoke to seize the mysterious hedgehog's collar. "It ain't nice to cut someone off, bud." He suddenly tackled the militant marauder down onto the ground, most definitely catching him off guard. Falling onto the ground together, they both pushed each other off and landed on opposite sides of the grass. They both charged forward to strike at each other, the hero's fist struck against the hilt of the stranger's gun. Every time Sonic moved to collide his punches with the look-alike's face, he would swiftly dodge out of the way. And vice versa—as every time the look-alike swung his baton-gun at the blue blur, he dodged just as swiftly. Seemingly evenly matched in speed, the interloper noticed Sonic was moving slightly faster than he was before any of this even started, which meant that he got his energy back and then some. Sonic could tell he was having very slight trouble reading him since his speed had increased, but he knew this wouldn't last for long. The lookalike threw a kick that was equally matched with the hero's who attacked at the same time, putting them in the same position he was just in with Rouge earlier. Except unlike that time, the two blue twins threw punches while in a leg-deadlock. Abruptly, Sonic ended their little back and forth with a strong chaos infused headbutt. The lookalike was knocked back, and blood began to pool a little towards his left temple. The blue sparks of Sonic's chaos energy further ruffled his feathers while also shocking him painfully. Annoyed, he ignored the shocks and shoved the gun onto his hip, pushing it into a holster. Sonic grinned. "I think it's time I really let loose, don't ya think?" He then rushed forward and literally let loose with a barrage of attacks.
The hero used his nimble body to create brutal breakdancing moves as attacks. With misguiding rhythmic footwork, spiraling kicks and fist swings, along with actions of bodily movements that made absolutely no sense, this was more than confusing for the hedgehog soldier. Each hit Sonic landed was of course blocked, but only barely. Slowly but surely, he was pushing the enemy back further and further, cornering him. But of course, even dancing had patterns after a while. So, while it took a minute to figure out, the lookalike decided to finally counterattack. As Sonic moved to close in, the stranger threw a punch, but the blue blur simply ducked down to the ground and began floor rocking and hand gliding. The lookalike tried to swing a low kick, but Sonic, holding himself up on the floor with one hand, caught it right between his legs. He then lifted and swung the militant hedgehog backwards into the ground before flipping onto his feet. As soon as his twin got back up, Sonic gave him no chance to recover by dive kicking him directly at his chin. At the very last second, the lookalike held up his arms to block, but was still knocked back once again. The more he was knocked back, the less time he had to recover, analyze, think or counterattack. Sonic took advantage of this and swung his left foot into his body, shooting him up into the air. He then jumped up to his level and stomped both legs into his abdomen to force him right back down. With sheer speed, Sonic left a trail of after images as they all struck at the lookalike in the air with dozens of kicks and punches that spanned within lightspeed. Finally, he caught him in the air and swung him around until he threw him down into the ground once again. When they both landed, the hero still wasn't done. He then did a small kickflip, but when he did, wind glowing with blue chaos energy appeared to rush forward and wrap itself around the lookalike. With another round of taps of his shoes, the winds became a growing, towering blue tornado. Trapped within it's winds, the militant hedgehog couldn't find any footing or control of the situation.
"Chaos Control." In a blue flash, Sonic suddenly appeared above his twin within the tornado with a smarmy smirk, and crossed his arms over his chest before stomping himself down directly into his body. The soldier cried out in great pain, this one sounding much more genuine than before. This time, Sonic actually did some major damage to him. In a mighty crash, trees were torn off from their roots into the air and off of the entire island. Small forms of rocks, minerals, and even water from nearby rivers of the area were tossed in the skies and forgotten if not completely destroyed. When the wind finally dissipated, Sonic smugly walked off of his twin's tattered body and bent down to wipe off his sneakers with his hands. His lookalike was unmoving, laid face down on the ground with his uniform nearly ruined. Bruises, blood and torn fabric covered his entire figure, revealing more blue fur and fawn colored limbs. "Damn," Sonic murmured as he eyed the body. "You really do look exactly like me. That's...Creepy." He whispered, frowning at this fact. He took a couple steps back before returning his signature charming smile. "Aw c'mon, I know you got a lil' more in ya!" His smile then turned into a leer. "You're a tough bastard, I know that ain't do shit to you."
With a groan, his twin slowly stood up, causing the other Mobians to gasp in shock. A strong series of attacs like that would have at least knocked someone out if not killed them. The fact that none of that could get this person to stay down, was extremely troubling to say the least. However, Sonic wasn't daunted nor was he surprised. If anything, he was ready. The soldier shook his quills and patted himself off. With a quick swipe of his hands, any dirt and bruise that was on his body, suddenly went away within that single motion. Although he looked much cleaner now, Sonic could tell he was still hurt. The bruises didn't completely disappear, they only faded. The tears and rips in his uniform were still present, and though he was no longer bleeding, the smears of blood were still there. Not only that, but his posture wasn't as rigid as before. Those stomps to the stomach really did a number on him. However, the hero knew this was only the beginning of the end. He may have looked relaxed, he wasn't. His face grew even more irritated, but not as much as Sonic wanted it to be. "You're cheeky, I'll give you that much." The lookalike then tore off the sleeves of his military coat, letting fly into the wind. He then held up a fist to reveal a black-metallic looking armband that covered the twin's entire forearm. It was slightly cracked in a few places due to all the fighting, but had no plans on breaking like his helmet did before anytime soon. Sonic could see that his forearms were very strong looking as well. Those armbands were why he was able to block every single hit he was given today. "I don't need a gun to neutralize you. Grit your teeth."
"Woah," Sonic smirked. "That's a snazzy looking pair of armbands ya got there. You use 'em to work out?"
"More or less, sure." The twin sarcastically concurred before cracking his knuckles. "But I suppose it's time that I let loose too, just don't say I didn't warn you." Suddenly, his battle stance became completely still. He continued to hold up his arms, his armbands facing outwards. Sonic's expression fell into befuddlement. That was odd, most fighting stances required a little movement for a quick dodge or deflection of an oncoming attack. But he didn't move a muscle, and he almost seemed like a statue if it wasn't for his steady breathing. While the stance seemed to suggest the fighting style he would use would be focused on the upper body, it wasn't. Sonic could tell because he could see his legs were way more tense than before. His legs were ready to kick, not just stand. The hero could only conclude that whatever he was going to pull was a mix of sorts—similar to what Sonic did—as there was no grounded martial art to be found here. He'd no longer use bōjutsu as Shadow assumed before, he was going to go all out. While that was exactly what Sonic wanted, he couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. "What's the matter, hero?" His twin taunted. "What, never seen a stance like this before?" The hero forced himself to ready his body, before charging forward with a punch. It landed, successfully this time, right into the lookalike's cheek. However, he didn't react or budge in the slightest. He just shook it off and kept up his stance. Even more daunted by this, Sonic swung a kick this time. Again, it landed, and even knocked the twin back, but he didn't even wince. The bruises began to appear, yet he wasn't even affected. He didn't even blink. "If you're quite done, I'd like to take my turn now."
Blinking with a bewildered smile, Sonic really wanted to know what he meant by that. "Err-" The second he blinked once, a knee was shoved into his stomach. "Ghh...!" He could feel his breakfast rise up in his stomach. He then felt a pair of legs tighten around his throat, before being tossed backwards onto his back. He was knocked directly into a tree, feeling the very oxygen get pushed out of his body. He struggled to get up quickly, but he just managed to do so—only to see a sprinting kick get thrown directly at him. He threw himself back down to the ground and flipped away. When he thought he found some distance, his twin was only mere inches away to prove him wrong. He drove a savage rising kick into the hero, his body now in the air. But the lookalike just made another, and another and another rising kick over and over until blood fell onto the ground. He then caught Sonic's head between his legs and swung them both down into a spiraling fall. Someone could easily have their spine broken from an attack like that, but luckily for the hero, he only had a horrible crick in his neck now. The militant hedgehog took a few steps back with that same stance as before, glaring down at him and expecting him to make another move.
Sonic slowly smirked through the blood, he still didn't plan on conceding.
This smirk caused the twin to scowl and close in to bring down a ferocious axe kick down onto his back. Without warning or to the lookalike's expectations, in a blue blur, the hero was right beside him. He elbowed him directly in his side, causing the soldier to grunt in pain. A crack was heard, indicating that a rib was broken. With an angry huff, he kicked Sonic away before jumping and making a spinning round house kick. Like a skipping rock, Sonic landed harshly onto the ground several feet away before eventually rolling to a stop. He struggled to sit up, his body screaming at him to stop moving. Those moves were way different than earlier, because the impacts were beyond excruciating. His punches and kicks were never that bad before, why were they now after he revealed those armbands? On the flip side, Sonic knew good and well that despite what just happened, he did crucial damage to the soldier's insides. First his stomach, and now one of many ribs were broken from that elbow. Yet he was moving as if nothing hurt him at all. Panting and coughing up blood, he still smiled, because things were still going according to plan. "...!" He felt one of his back quills get pulled and yanked. He was suddenly lifted off the ground by the back of his head, and he groaned in pain from the harsh grip.
The lookalike looked down with pure loathing as he glared at the fallen hero pitifully. "You're such a disappointment," He hissed. "How could someone as pathetic as you be a member of the Divine Pyramid? It baffles me."
Chuckling with blood dripping down his lip, Sonic looked up at his twin with great defiance. "I got's no idea what the hell you're talkin' about, but I'm not gonna lie," He then sneered at him, uncaring of whether or not this would be the last time he'd open his eyes today. "It feels super weird bein' beat up by yet another Sonic-wannabe. But then again, I suppose a walking-talking Napoleon like you needs something to compensate for his one-note personality. Must be a pretty sad life," His lime green eyes twinkled mischievously. "Huh, private?"
...
...
...
...The lookalike instantly tossed Sonic to the ground like a ragdoll, causing him to cry out in pain once more.
The twin's fists tightened as they laid at his sides, his arms now shaking with angry veins pulsing underneath his ruined clothes.
"A Sonic-wannabe...?" He quietly asked aloud. "ILLITERATE!" He bellowed as he stomped his boots into the ground. "You're nothing but a pathetic little boy who still hasn't grown out of your malcontent ideals!" He bent down above Sonic's body to yell directly down at him. "You strive for nothing but lazing about in sheer self indulgence until the next villain arises from your negligent, blood soaked pacifism! You dare compare yourself to me? Zonic, the Grand Overseer and First Lieutenant General of No Zone Corps!? My ambitions have far surpassed your feeble excuse of a life, as I'm the only one who's been protecting you and your ignorant friends this entire time!" He yanked Sonic up and began to violently shake him back and forth, the soldier's dark green eyes crazed over with pure wrath. "You think you're strong enough on your own to defeat the greatest foes you've ever encountered? I'm the one who made it so that you could defeat them, you fucking idiot!" He threw him back down before reaching down to his belt. "You're just a puny sparrow fluttering in the shadow of a soaring eagle—As I am hundreds of leagues above you and your pitiful lover in every way you could possibly imagine and more!" The baton-gun instantly lifted from it's holster. "So before you open that witless, simple-minded hole of a mouth of yours," He held it up and aimed directly down at the hero. "Let it never be said that you could ever compete with me!"
His words were passionately irate. The emotions in them were so strong, Sonic knew this wasn't just because of a personality trait. This guy really took that to heart, making what he said much more genuine than he initially thought. Glaring back at him with a scowl, Sonic said nothing as he prepared to bite the bullet.
"You are nothing but a damn embarrassment," He reloaded the gun. "Now stand down, Sonic prime!" He pulled the trigger, a loud bang going off with smoke drifting above. However, in a blue streak, Sonic was now standing in front of him with his forearm blocking his face. The blast of the blank bullet greatly bruised his arm, bleeding, but he took the hit like a stone wall. Surprised by this sudden act of movement, as he thought he had Sonic nearly unconscious, the hedgehog known as Zonic was too stunned to move. "...!?"
Sonic slammed his hand down on the muzzle of the gun, the two blue hedgehogs struggling for control as he laughed directly in Zonic's face. "You fell for it, Shadow was right..." He trailed off with an excited gleam in his eyes. "You are way too sensitive. All I had to do was push the right-" And then, Sonic simply let go and stepped aside as Shadow appeared behind him. A growing orb of chaos energy sparkling in his palm. "-Buttons."
"Chaos Blast!"
"...!" Feeling the attack full force, Zonic was violently knocked back into a nearby tree, just as Sonic had before. That blast singed his body, and he was now entirely sore. However, he wasn't knocked out. Instead of trying to counterattack, he aimed his gun down at the ground and pulled the trigger, blasting himself up in the air for some distance. His uniform was even more damaged, more wounds appearing on his body.
With a cruel grin, Sonic snapped his blue electrified fingers. "Ooohh? And just where do you think you're going, ol' twin of mine?" Several tiny blue spines stuck within his trousers, ones that Zonic never realized was in him this entire time, surged blue chaotic energy throughout his entire body, frying him instantly. "'Guess you couldn't predict that, could ya?" The soldier plummeted like a shooting star from the air, falling down to the ground.
Panting heavily, Zonic shuddered to stand back up. Using his baton-gun to get a balance, his ears perked up at the sound of dirt rustling on the ground. Anticipating an attack, he swiftly turned around and used his forearm to block the hit. Shadow's fist landed directly on it, an amber red aura smoking from his knuckles. He then threw another punch straight into his jaw, but Zonic could no longer keep up. The punch connected perfectly, making him fall to his knees once again. "You call him an embarrassment, when you, a supposed soldier gets easily played by a couple of playground insults? Don't make me laugh." The ultimate life form made an uppercut, and Zonic just barely blocked it with the gun, but the force of Shadow's punch shoved the gun into the soldier's cheek developing yet another visible wound on his muzzle.
A large vein throbbed onto his forehead. "Illiterate, you know nothing and that's the problem!" He shoved his foot into Shadow's stomach, knocking him back. "Quit interfering and just give up already!"
As he was knocked back, amber red eyes quickly glanced to the side. "Now!" He shouted.
A blue streak sped right up to them both, the hero winking at his twin before both he and the biohog curled into balls and spindashed directly towards him. In a scissor-motion maneuver, glowing blue and glowing amber red black orbs headed straight for him. Panic flashing in his dark green eyes, Zonic showed physical and internal discord before clenching his teeth tightly. If he didn't dodge this, he would be seriously injured and instantly fail his mission. He took a single step back, before diving his upper body backwards as low as he physically could. The spindashers nearly sliced through his neck, their quills just barely grazing his skin as they passed by. They both landed and uncurled their bodies, seeing their enemy in an impossibly flexible position. Even with broken ribs and a torn up stomach, Zonic was still able to make such a move and almost cleanly dodged that attack. A dark, low rumble grew from within the soldier's slashed throat. He slowly stood up while chuckling, his long quills falling against his back. "Hahaha..." He then made a sudden about face, his gun gripped in his hands. He then reloaded, blank bullet shells scattering all over the ground. Locked and loaded, Zonic pointed it directly at the two lovers with a dark smirk. "You're finally starting to impress me."
This guy still wasn't going down.
Sonic and Shadow glanced at each other before nodding and curling back into a ball. Black and blue orbs charged towards the soldier once more. Zonic just sneered at this. "That move again?" As they approached closer and closer, the soldier decided he wouldn't be dodging this time and was prepared to strike back. Suddenly, the pair twisted around each other like falling marbles before creating a double-helix maneuver. "Changing your formation at the last second? Impressive! However," He suddenly dropped his baton-gun on the ground and reached his arms up. He roughly caught the spindashers in his palms, their quills and spines shredding his gloves and hands with blood flying all across the grass. He then jumped up, spinning his body into a concussion worthy twisting corkscrew. They grew so dizzy from the opposing coiling counteracting their own spindash, that their bodies uncurled, allowing Zonic to toss them down onto the ground below. "You're still nothing compared to me!" He held up his hand, his baton-gun swinging back to his palm. "Marksman series, model seven-" He announced as he slowly descended. The body of the weapon expanded itself with more metallic plating and parts, before mimicking the devastating appearance of a military grade rocket launcher. He lifted it onto his shoulder and pressed his finger on the trigger. "-Rocket launcher...!"
Sonic and Shadow looked up with wide eyes. The ultimate life form yanked the hero close to get in front of him, shielding him with his body. The blue one embraced him from behind and a blue chaotic forcefield formed around them.
"Fire!"
A miniature mushroom cloud formed over the Angel Zone of Angel Island.
5:30 PM
Out of breath, Zonic walked through the destruction of this part of the jungle, stepping over dead grass and cratered ground.
He then paced towards the unconsicous bodies of Shadow and Sonic.
They were close together, and Zonic caught that they protected each other moments before the blast. Their furs were charred and burnt, and there was dried and caked blood pooled around them. Seeing this, the soldier only sighed with some remorse. He never wanted this to happen. He took the rocket launcher off of his shoulder and tapped it with his fingers. It transformed back into a baton, and he used it to poke at them. They flinched and attempted to move and sit up. When Shadow reached for Sonic's hand, he winced as green chaotic energy shocked his arm. Making a confused expression through pain filled half-lidded eyes, he reached from behind his quills to pull out the green chaos emerald he had with him. He stared at it and focused harshly, but it zapped him instead, causing him to drop the gemstone. It rolled to Zonic's boot, to which he kicked back at the biohog. He then placed a hand on his hip. "Can't use chaos energy, can you? That's because I've been draining you of your powers this entire time." He held up his arm band once more, revealing that the energy Shadow was attempting to use was now there, it's metal sparking with amber red, blue and green sparks. "When your friends took over the fight, that little rest you guys got from earlier did wonders for you. It took a while, a long while much to my dismay, but it got the job done eventually. Like I said before, I don't need to touch you with my hands to drain you. However, I told a half-truth." He gripped his hand into a fist, crushing the stolen chaos energy. "In actuality, I never had to touch you at all with anything to drain you. As long as you're around me, your energy's as good as gone in due time."
Sonic, with an exhausted and agonized scowl, glared at his twin in silence as he attempted to lift his head up. "..."
'Guess this was it, he was going to take them against their will.
"As I said," The soldier continued with a calmer, much less aggressive tone. "You cannot compete where you cannot compare. There is a reason why you two have been alive this long, with or without my help. You have some talent, even I'll concede to that." He then lifted the baton upwards. "But you're still both the weakest Chaos Born of the entire Divine Pyramid." He closed his eyes with another sigh as he moved to swing the stick down for the final time this day. "Now, it's time to come with me. I'll make it quick-"
A beep.
However, it wasn't from Shadow's limiter ring.
Blinking in surprise, Zonic lowered his baton and raised his fingers to the collar of his ruined military coat.
He pressed his thumb and index finger into the fabric, a click being heard as he did so. There was a hidden mechanism in there. Suddenly, static caused the two fallen hedgehogs to stare in confusion. Did he have some kind of transmitter in there? So it wasn't just in the helmet. "...Sir?" Zonic spoke aloud. "Dullahan, yes—Mad Dog reporting." He confirmed firmly. "No. They're alive, unfortunately. I had a bit of a hiccup, both primes and their friends attacked me. Of course, they were nothing of concern and I dealt with them accordingly." He reported arrogantly. "I'll be sure to wipe their memories in a moment and take the primes-What?" Zonic suddenly paused with an alarmed expression. "What!?" He repeated loudly. "No, sir, that has to be a mistake. I cannot allow them to know my identity! I-" His expression went from being worried to sheepish. He looked away in shame. "Well I...Accidentally revealed myself during a spat. But that only happened after the helmets you patented failed! You told me they were indestructible, that's your damn fault!" He yelled angrily. Then he suddenly looked rather intimidated and...Flustered? Was he blushing? "N-No sir, I didn't mean to...Yes," He nodded submissively. Who the hell was able to make a guy like him look like that? "That's what I figured." He then growled with reddened cheeks. "I did not lose, I literally hit them with a rocket! I can drag them back to HQ now if I really want to! Yes I received some damage, but it's nothing I can't handle." His scowl seethed into a grumble. "I know. Of course, which is why I should remedy this mistake by-What?" He scrunched up his face. "But...isn't that a bad thing?"
As the lookalike began to seemingly talk to himself through that collar transmitter, Sonic took this time to force himself up on his feet while holding Shadow's hands. He helped him up to stand as well, and they stared at the soldier cautiously.
"The spirits requested this themselves? Really? In our home? Our reality?" Zonic huffed and shoved his baton down into the ground. "But why, sir? We can easily handle this problem on our own." A pause. "A tragedy...? It's going to affect the others? But sir, that can't be possible, they're too weak!" He exclaimed with a frustrated tone, pacing back and forth as if he was arguing with someone on the phone. "Ugh...But sir-" He paused before growling under his breath. "Tch. Yes, I understand. No, I am not questioning their authority or yours." He sighed in defeat and scratched behind his quills. "Yes sir, if that's how it has to be...Fine. I'll leave them alone. I think this is a horrible idea, but we can't do anything about it." He nodded a few times. "Very well, yes. What the hell-No, I don't want any donuts. Yes, I promise I'll eat today and I don't need you to parent me like I'm your child. No, I will not go to the infirmary ward until I check the monitors. Yes, I'll write a full report before tomorrow morning. Goodbye, general." The soldier turned back to the two lovers with an annoyed expression. Not so much annoyed from the fight, but obviously irritated by that weird collar-call. "You're both lucky. If it were up to me, I'd escort you to No Zone Prison...But my superior says that I must leave you two be, for now. Have your momentary peace, it will not last long. Something big is going to happen to your reality, and I hope you're both much stronger than you were today to take it on." He lifted the baton over his shoulder, and dismissively flagged them off as he turned his back towards them. He began to walk away, his hand digging in his coat pocket. Then, he paused moving for a brief moment. "You, Shadow prime. You're the smarter and more rational one, so take this." He took his hand from his pocket to reveal a small golden ring and a small piece of cardstock. How'd that stay in his pocket with all the fighting?
He tossed the card from behind himself, and Shadow caught it with ease. When the biohog looked down at the card, his eyes immediately scanned its contents. Sonic peered over to look as well, to see a strange symbol marked on it. It was a symbol neither of them could understand, until their eyes slightly began to sting. Was this one of the same symbols they saw in the cave on Christmas Island?
"All you have to do is concentrate chaos energy into that card." Zonic instructed. "Once you do, it will alert me to your presence and I will traverse here to your reality immediately. Only use this for an emergency, and nothing else. Otherwise," He briefly turned to the side to glare at them. "I'll happily beat you within an inch of your life again." He then tossed the small ring in front of himself, a full body-sized portal suddenly appearing before them. With a small limp, the mysterious Sonic-lookalike only known as Zonic, stepped through. "Hmph. Good luck, fools."
And like that he was gone, the portal instantly disappeared behind him.
Clearly at a loss for words, the two hedgehogs just stood there in silence as they glanced at each other.
"For real," Sonic said. "I was not ready for today."
Shadow stared back at where the portal once was. "Frankly, I don't think any of us were."
21 - END - 21
Chapter 22: Recovery
Summary:
Sonic Team are stuck licking their wounds and attempting to understand just what's been happening these past couple of weeks. Shadow gets a strange call, and the two hedgehogs realize how much they mean to each other.
Chapter Text
22 - Recovery - 22
6:00 PM
As the sky began to darken, both Sonic and Shadow returned to their friends. As the fight had escalated, they had moved further down into the jungle without even realizing, it so it took them a while to make it back to them. By the time they did, the females of the group immediately ran to hug them. They went on and on about how they were worried, how they saw a literal tiny death cloud rise from within the jungle and thought the worst happened. When they saw how bruised and injured they were, especially Sonic, they immediately took them to Knuckles' bunker. The echidna claimed he had plenty of stocked up food and herbs inside that would quickly help heal their bodies, including everyone else's. He and Amy volunteered to heal the others first, taking from the red guardian's pantry to pick out certain plants. Both Knuckles and Amy were knowledgeable in plant science, and got to work on fixing up fresh wounds. Some of them stung, some reacted with brief hollers of pain, but it was worth it when it died down and was replaced with relief. Gauze was wrapped around limbs, blood was cleaned from fur and plant leaves littered the floor of the living room.
Rouge and Tails sat in recliners and both Sonic and Shadow sat together on the couch. When the red and pink Mobians were finally done treating everyone else, the bat and the vulpine decided to take over, switched seats and follow their instructions carefully. A metal bowl and some damp cloths laid on a wooden table, along with a small pile of wild Angel Island herbs. Amy had pulled her sleeve down from the collar of her dress to allow Rouge to treat her shoulder wound, while Knuckles closed his eyes shut tightly as Tails gently tapped a cotton ball against his blue-purplish left cheek. As they did so, both Shadow and Sonic were quiet, more so Sonic. The hero was looking down, his eyes downcast. His expression was guilty, and he looked upset with himself. Shadow saw this, but he could tell why. His friends got really hurt because of that guy, and it was someone who looked like him that was causing them pain. He felt not only responsible, but as if he practically hurt them himself.
He was going to reach over and grasp his shoulder, until Knuckles spoke up. "So," He suddenly broke the silence while turning his head in the two hedgehogs' direction. "We gonna talk about how that that guy said Shadow was Sonic's boyfriend?"
"Your hero and his reformed villain for a boyfriend are still coming with me, whether you lot like it or not."
Sonic fell head first off the couch.
"S-Sonic!" Amy cried as she helped him up, who was kind of wishing she didn't and let him rot.
The echidna snorted a laugh. "Judging by that reaction, I'm guessing I didn't hear that wrong." He glanced at the others with a grin. "I'm not the only one who heard that, right?" The atmosphere instantly became awkward, and Shadow suddenly found the nearby wall very interesting. Rouge gave the echidna a harsh glare as she sat next to him, but then looked at Shadow, who was refusing to gaze in their direction.
Seeing how uncomfortable the two were, Tails figured that maybe he could say something to soften the blow. "Yeah I heard that too," He said with a bored tone, as he leaned back in his seat. "But I already figured as much. It's not a big deal, honestly."
To this, Rouge smiled a little at the fox. She appreciated what he was trying to do. The pink hedgehog, after getting back in her seat from assisting Sonic, nodded with a small smile. "Yup! I've known for a while too, it's cute." Her voice was delighted, but she also came off as if she didn't find this information much of a big deal either. "Rouge, how's your neck?" She quickly changed the subject without even batting Knuckles an eye.
The white bat winked at the girl with gratitude, before going along with their game and moving her neck side to side. She flinched with genuine pain though, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "It's gonna be sore for a while, sweetheart. I probably won't be able to turn my head to the right for at least a few weeks."
A little put off by their metaphorical hand-waving of this conversation, Knuckles stood up stubbornly. "H-Hey! Are we really just gonna ignore this?"
Tails rolled his eyes as he pulled out his smartphone from his namesakes and began tapping his thumb away on the screen. "Knuckles," He quietly said with a curt tone. "Now's not the time, read the room. Leave them alone already."
With a small vein throbbing on his head, the echidna crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, whatever."
"Hey." Sonic suddenly said, causing everyone to look at him. He then tried to make his voice sound more relaxed, even feigning a sheepish smile to pass it off. However, he was fooling no one. "I don't know what that guy was talkin' about or what he wanted with me and Shadow." His smile faltered a little. "This is all super confusing, but I didn't mean for you guys to get involved in whatever the hell that was. Neither of us know what's going on, and I don't know why that guy or Eggman's swearin' up and down that I'm the devil. If I had known about that clone of mine, I would have dealt with him myself so nobody else would have gotten hurt. That," Sonic folded his hands on his knees. "Could have went really bad. It was my mess, and I should have handled it on my own." He bowed his head low to them. "Sorry, guys."
Rouge crossed her legs, and leaned her elbow against the arm of the loveseat. "Sweetie," She began softly. "You didn't know about him, it's not your fault."
Amy nodded and made an understanding smile. "You don't give yourself enough credit. It's okay, Sonic."
Knuckles, still salty about the others ignoring his previous question, concurred rather tersely. "Yeah yeah...Just don't get yourself killed next time if you try fighting that guy again. You both looked like a train ran over you."
The vulpine lifted his eyes from his phone and smiled at his older brother. "It's cool, Sonic. You're good." He then put his attention back to his phone. "And there's nothing evil about you, either." He scoffed. "That guy must have been gorging on some shrooms from Mushroom Hill or something."
The bat laughed at that. "I know, right? Who even came up with that nonsense? Big Blue's a good boy, through and through."
The pink hedgehog made an angry pout and crossed her arms. "I don't understand how anyone could think something like that. Sonic never did anything wrong."
"Ahh I dunno about that." Knuckles cut in. "Asshole nearly got my island blown up at least five times. My whole lawn's ripped up and-" A ball of gauze tape was harshly shoved directly at his mouth, causing the echidna to stumble in his seat. "W-What the hell, batgirl!?"
"You and I are having a very long talk when everyone goes home, you understand me?" The bat growled in a tense whisper as she pointed her finger at the guardian, who flinched at this. Knuckles immediately yelled about why he was in trouble, to which Amy pleaded that he lowered the volume of his voice. The three began to banter, with Rouge specifically arguing with Knuckles about his lack of tact and his inability to read the room. The pink haired botanist tried to mediate between them, but she was failing and now they were both getting on her nerves too. The fox just watched with amusement, then glanced over at the two silent hedgehogs. Shadow looked more at ease, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. Probably meditating, Tails assumed. He then saw Sonic, who was in the same position as he was before. His big brother was always so hard to read...While he obviously didn't look completely devastated by what happened, anyone could sense that he could feel a lot of remorse. Sonic didn't care about fighting if he was the only one taking the hits, and he loved it when his friends joined in—When they were fighting badniks. Not powerful, random, mysterious lookalikes who could have easily murdered them if they truly wanted to.
He didn't like seeing Sonic this way, so the fox walked over to the blue hedgehog and placed a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at him gently, his baby blue irises reminding him of older times when they were younger. Sonic smiled back, but it quickly disappeared and he looked away. He was probably too distracted, thinking about everything that's been leading up to now. Tails knelt down and tapped his knee, trying to get his attention. "Hey," He said quietly underneath the loud bickering. "I'm pretty sure Shadow's got enough energy to teleport off the island, now. Why don't you both go home together? We'll figure this all out later but for now, go rest up. You had it worse than any of us."
Blinking in shock at that, the hero slowly faced his little brother. "...You're cool with this? But Tails, I should at least take you home. I can't just leave you guys-"
"Sonic," Tails said firmly, but kindly. "We're okay. And," He added. "We're not scared of you. I don't know what Eggman or that lookalike of yours was talking about, but you're not a bad person. We all know that, and we all trust you." His smiled brightened. "We always will, especially me."
The thing is, Sonic knew better. Tails wasn't completely telling the truth and only wanted to make him feel less guilty, but the fact that he did warmed Sonic's heart a bit. While he could tell his little brother still had a small level of fear of him from that incident, the hero could feel some relief exit out of his own tightened chest. He let out an exhale he didn't realize he was holding in and closed his eyes. "...Good, okay." Sonic opened his eyes and stood up off of the couch. He hugged the fox closely and patted his head, before letting go and walking passed Shadow. He slyly tapped his leg as he went. Shadow opened an eye, before directing his attention to Tails. He watched the fox nod, shooing them. He wanted them to leave quickly before anyone else noticed, because he knew firsthand how annoying their pals could be.
The biohog nodded back, silently thanking the fox for his indiscretion. He stood up and grasped Sonic's hand. "See you later, Tails." Shadow respectfully greeted, having been one of the rare times he had ever used his name. "Chaos Control."
In a green flash, they were gone from the bunker and Angel Island itself.
Tails then turned to glance back at their group of bickering friends.
"Do you have any idea what the word 'sensitivity' means?" Rouge spat, standing up from the loveseat and glaring down at her boyfriend. "Obviously not."
Knuckles grit his teeth angrily. "I was just asking a damn question, I know I'm not the only one who was wondering that!"
Amy interjected with matching venom. "You are, because you're the only one they didn't tell, you big jerk!"
"W-Wait, what? Why me?!"
The boy genius just closed his eyes and shook his head.
Empire City
Evening, 7:00 PM
The blue hedgehog stared at one of the many tall windows of the apartment, watching the sun die out and give rise to the moon. The lights of the city all appeared like tiny flames of candles, the skyline creating an almost glittery metropolis against the dark starry night. He was sitting in one of the lounge chairs in the living room, just watching time fly by. His shoes were off and beside him on the rug, his legs lifted up and laying against the arm of the chair. His lime eyes were staring without blinking, as if trying to find the answer to something he didn't even know how to question. To question something, you needed a concept of something that caused your curiosity in the first place. But he was so confused as to what was going on, that he couldn't settle on asking himself anything. He was tired, and his body was weary. But his mind...It was so troubled, racing with thoughts of utter puzzlement and disarray. The hero hated this, but he hated even more that for some odd reason, he was the reason any of this nonsense was happening. And this all started because of what happened three years ago, when he used that stupid demonic super form.
What even was that? How did he do that? Why did he do that? It didn't matter if he was angry, he would never snap on someone so violently like that, not even Eggman. Ever since then, it's been one train wreck after another. The bombings, Infinite, Christmas Island and now some mysterious military double of his comes out of nowhere to beat the snot out of him and his friends. Not only that, but he realized just how weak he was despite his tremendous growth over the years. However, he wasn't too worried about that. Sonic adapted very quickly, and he knew that no matter how strong he could get, there would always be someone out there just a teensy bit stronger. He learned that the hard way with Knuckles and Shadow. However, it was still a lingering threat he couldn't stop thinking about. What if that Zonic guy appeared again with a vengeance this time? If it wasn't for whomever called him on his...Weird collar transceiver thingy, he would have kidnapped them and taken them to God knows where. Sonic was stressed, tired and sore in so many different places. The plants of Angel Island were amazing to say the least, because while Sonic was still very sore, his wounds were closing up very quickly in a span of only a little over an hour. He wasn't bleeding, he no longer had any open cuts or bruises. Soon, he was able to take the bandages and gauze right off without too much trouble. When he and Shadow went home, they showered together to get rid of the caked blood and dirt that covered their furs. It hurt a little to do so, but they were all cleaned up now. Shadow's biologically superior body was able to regenerate, so he healed much faster than anyone else.
He felt a kiss against the side of his face from behind. Sonic instinctively smiled affectionately and looked up to see Shadow standing over him behind the chair. "You're lost in thought, that's rare. Are you okay?"
The hero internally laughed at that. Shadow still didn't realize that Sonic was always thinking, he just didn't make it that obvious most of the time. "I'm...Hnn," Sonic couldn't lie. "I'm confused, and I think that twin of mine was right...I can feel that something else is going to happen, something huge, but I don't know what. It's the same feeling I had before the bombing." He admitted with a sigh before looking back at the skyline. "I mean, what the hell has been happening for the past two weeks?"
Shadow just shook his head, his brows furrowed. "I have no idea. This...Is a huge mess. I don't even know how to explain this, any of this." He looked out the window alongside Sonic, and it reminded him of when he and Maria would look out the Ark's windows down to Mobius together. As he stared, Sonic took this time to gaze at the elder hedgehog. He was so stunning to just stop and look at. His faintly glowing amber red eyes, his unique velveteen black and red striped fur, his powerful frame and body. It didn't matter if he was scowling at the world or making a ghost of a smile, he was just a treat to gaze at. His voice suddenly woke him out of his daydream. "And that card that faker of yours gave me, I don't even-" The sound of a buzzing vibration interrupted Shadow. That was his phone, again. Shadow swore that one of these days he'd chuck that thing right off of the thirtieth floor. "I need to take that," He rubbed his hand against his peach shoulder before walking away. "Don't go anywhere." He walked over to the coffee table in front of the couch and bent down to pick up his smart phone. He held it up to his muzzle. "Hello-" His eyes widened at the voice from the other end. "Infinite...?" From afar, blue ears perked up at the sound of that name. The biohog had nearly forgotten all about him. If Eggman was arrested while Infinite was in a pod, how the hell was he even talking to him? "How are you calling me right now? How'd you even get my number?" Shadow asked with a dubious voice.
"Shadow," His voice sounded off, as if something major had just happened before the jackal called him. "I realized something." A brief pause. "You're...Important to me."
The black and red striped hedgehog blinked. What did that even mean? "What are you talking about? How are you alive? Weren't you hooked up to tubes and wires in Eggman's base?"
"I have the ruby now, Shadow. I have the Phantom Ruby." He sounded almost as if he was inebriated. Was he on something? Was the ruby doing that to him? "I'm going to use it to set things right, but I need your help."
"But why-"
"Meet me in Eggman's base on Monday at 6:00 AM. Don't make me wait."
"Infinite-!"
He hung up.
Shadow scowled, staring at the screen of his phone in disbelief. The number was glitching with this strange magenta coloring on the screen. Did Infinite do that? He couldn't call him back if he wanted to. What kind of call was that? He was a little afraid of touching the screen of his phone at this point, in fear of it malfunctioning. He sighed and just placed it back on the coffee table. He wanted to meet with him in his base at the start of next week, but tomorrow at the crack of dawn? Why? What was he going to use the ruby for? He had a bad feeling about this, a really bad one. He sounded so cryptic and drunk on the phone. Not literally, but as if his mind was somewhere else. Like he wasn't all there. But if Eggman was arrested and had no hopes of getting out, what would Infinite do? "Sonic?" He called, he had a curious question.
"Yeah?"
"Eggman said he found the Phantom Ruby on Christmas Island. You never knew about this object before any of this started, right?"
Without getting out of his seat, the hero continued to lean back comfortably. "Nope. Don't think I ever heard or saw something like that as a child, either. Eggman claimed it was on Christmas Island, but I never saw anything like that there when I was young." He explained in an unsure tone. "This might sound naive, but I never thought I'd see another powerful gem other than the Master Emerald or Time Stones in my life."
Shadow figured as much. Damn it. "I'm too annoyed to deal with this right now..." He mumbled. He wanted to sleep this off, his body needed to restore the energy he wasted today. It may have been way too early to go to bed, but he was too annoyed and exhausted to deal with anything else. He walked past the couch and began to exit the living room. As he did so, he called for the blue blur again, this time with much less seriousness in his voice. "You. I want you in my bed, come on."
Sonic turned to the side with a laugh. "Freakin' what? That's not how you ask for sex, babe."
"I don't want sex, just get in here. I need something to lay on."
Standing up from his seat and traveling to the elder hedgehog's bedroom, Sonic couldn't help but chuckle at his demands. "You could have just asked to cuddle, dude." As he walked in the bedroom, he shut the door and pulled off his gloves. He saw that Shadow was already in bed on the right side, turned over. After he placed his gloves on the left nightstand, Sonic pulled over the sheets and climbed into bed along with him. He got close from behind and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his face into the back of his shoulder. As he rubbed his hands up and down his striped arms, he gently pressed a peck against his shoulder blade. "Everything okay?" He asked, half-knowing that the call Shadow just had was most definitely of some concern. "Let me know if I touch a bruise."
"It's fine," The biohog replied tiredly. "Tired."
"Yeah," Sonic completely agreed. "I feel ya there." He wouldn't probe him about the call, he wanted Shadow to be comfortable enough to tell him on his own. Even if he wouldn't tell him immediately, he was fine with that. He pressed more kisses leading up from his neck to his muzzle. His hands traveled to his chest, rubbing underneath his chest fur. He could feel him purr against him. He felt him grasp his hand, but he didn't want him to stop. "This okay?" He asked softly. He felt his partner nod his head silently, so he kept touching him. "Feel good?" Sonic felt him nod again, and he could hear him lowly moaning. He pressed a few more kisses close to the corner of his mouth, continuing his massaging motions on his chest and abdomen with his hands. "Hey," He whispered. "Thank you for helpin' out. Could have went down a whole lot differently if you weren't there."
Lightly blushing, the biohog continued to nod. "O...Of course..." He never realized how good this felt to just have someone caress and handle him like this. He felt Sonic lay his leg over his, pressing himself more against him. He turned over onto his back and placed his hands around Sonic's waist to guide him to get on top. The blue hedgehog did exactly as he desired and climbed to sit right on top of his lap. The lights were off, the curtains closed, but small bits of moonlight shined through to illuminate the hero's figure. Shadow was absolutely mesmerized, he was so beautiful. Even with the faint cuts and wounds, he was perfect. His enchanting lime irises, his velour-felt royal blue fur, his peach arms and torso, his athletic body. He was warmly smiling down at him, his eyes half-lidded with both drowsiness and great fondness. When tiny taps began to hit against the window, they realized that it was raining. He held up his arm to caress the side of his peach muzzle, and Sonic placed his hand on top of his tenderly. The hero leaned down with his arms at both sides of Shadow's body, and closed his eyes as he pressed a passionate kiss on his tan lips. As the kiss became more heated, Shadow hungrily sucked against his bottom lip before they disconnected. "You taste so good..." He huskily murmured.
His cheeks now reddened from his comment, Sonic bashfully laid his face against his upper chest, his white chest fur tickling his nose. "...Are you okay with our friends knowin' about us? Won't GUN have a problem with that if it gets out?"
Shadow caressed behind his ears and rubbed his fingers along the blue fur of his head. "I don't care if they know or not. If anything, I'm sure Tower would actually find it quite advantageous for GUN that I'm dating the Hero of Mobius. I was more concerned whether or not you cared about that."
The hero shook his head as he pressed hidden kisses onto his chest. "I don't really care either." He made a small pout. "But I definitely don't feel like hearing Knux's mouth...He's so insensitive. I mean I know that's rich coming from me, but geez. Talk about taking a freakin' hint." His ears twitched in delight as he felt Shadow scratch behind them. "Heheh..."
"You aren't worried about how the media views us?"
"Media? You mean the public?" Sonic rolled his eyes. "I couldn't care less about that." He continued to lay his face against his elder lover's chest, his voice slightly muffled. "There's plenty of people out there who'll hate that I'm bisexual, and there's plenty of people who'll love that I'm bisexual. It's too many different opinions, I don't have time to worry about that. I got a world to save, people to rescue. If a bunch of magazines and modeling companies drop my number, who cares? I can give to charity without their publicity."
Shadow felt his cheeks redden even more as he thought of something. "Yeah...Erm, about your...Charity events," He spoke carefully. "Do you...Um, mind...sending me a few photos of yourself?" Gradually, Sonic lifted his head up from his chest with a huge smirk. The biohog sat up immediately. "That's not what I meant!" He exclaimed quickly.
"You want naughty photos, don't you?"
"I do not. I just...would like-um," Shadow looked away as the tips of his ears turned red. "Just...More pictures, of you. I told you, my greatest regret is not having any photos of Maria. I try to keep images of things that I value, and I only have a few digital photos of your magazine covers from Rouge."
Sonic's smirk softened into a sweet smile, and he crawled off of Shadow to lay beside him on the bed. He pulled his smartphone from his quills and held it up in front of both of them so he could see along with him. After he unlocked it, he went to his photo app and began cycling through images in a specific album. There were a lot of photos of him and friends, hanging out and just having a good time. There were even a few with Rouge. Then they came upon some selfies that Shadow found worth keeping for himself. There were also a few photos that someone, probably one of his friends, took of him full-body. They were nice photos, honestly. There was one of him sitting next to a waterfall in Green Hill Zone, there was another of him shaking hands with the president, and there was another one of him holding a bunch of chao. He looked just as beautiful in these photos as he did right now in real life, but nothing compared to the real thing. "Want any of these?"
Shadow nodded. "Yes, I'd like a lot of these actually."
"Okay," Sonic made a few taps on the screen, and in seconds, the photos he selected from his album were sent directly to their shared private messages. "Just download those on your phone, and they're yours." He saw Shadow faintly smiling at his phone. "I know you're not a selfie-guy, but I'd like some pictures of you too eventually."
"Thank you." Shadow replied gratefully. "As for me, I suppose I could try and...Ugh," He grimaced. "Take a picture of myself one of these days and send it to you in return." His eyes saw that the hero had a bunch of photo albums. There was one dedicated to food, one dedicated to only his friends and one for...Huh. It just had triple x's across it. "Wait, what's that album?"
The hero gave Shadow an alarmed expression. "Oh no. I don't think you wanna look at that, babe. Those are nudes, really nasty ones too."
Was he trying to say he wasn't prepared to see him naked when he's literally been doing that all weekend? Please. "I want to see it." The biohog countered adamantly.
Sonic scoffed and shrugged, he didn't feel like debating his stubbornness. He'd regret that in a second. "Tch. Okay, suit yourself." He then clicked on the album before completely handing over the phone to his lover. "Don't say I ain't warn you."
Frowning at this, Shadow took the phone and began to swipe through the images.
And the second he did, he felt great heat rise in between his legs. His face became that of a tomato, and his eyes were bulging out of his skull.
These photos...They were the holy grail of Sonic's body.
Of course, most Mobians were technically nude to begin with since many barely wore clothing at all, especially males. The only time society officially declared them as naked was if they didn't wear gloves and shoes. Even then, nothing was explicitly provocative in this instance. It was only when a Mobian revealed their genitalia hidden within their fur that they were truly naked. And in these photos, Sonic was very much in his birthday suit. But that wasn't even the biggest issue, because the problem that Shadow was currently having and causing a rising erection under the sheets, was that Sonic was posing quite sexually in every image. There were some where he was showing off his lower body, specifically his legs and lower abdomen but especially his backside. In this one for example, he was bent over and taking a selfie in between his legs. Then there were some where he was showing off his flexibility, usually with splits and a lot of spreading of his legs. For instance, this one had his legs stretched behind his head with his crotch centered in the camera. There was one with his back turned to the phone, with nothing but his ass in full view. He had just got out of the shower with a towel around his shoulders-Wait, was that Shadow's bathroom? Did he take a selfie here? When did he even do that? Oh and this one was just a straight up penis-Okay, he was having a hard time looking away from that one. And as Shadow kept swiping, they got even worse. There was one where he was stroking himself, one where he was clearly showering with his ass up against the glass-Oh God.
There was even one where he was...Oh. Oh sweet Chaos. Was he fingering himself? And was that a video of it!? Oh shit, he didn't mean to tap it. It was playing and all he heard was moaning and...Oh.
Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off now.
...
Oh sweet Lord in heaven-
Shadow immediately returned the phone with his face almost literally on fire. "..."
Raising a brow, Sonic stared at him with a "I told you so" expression. He just leaned his elbow against the bed with his chin in his palm. He easily took his phone back, cut it off and placed it back in his quills. "You want a napkin to wipe up your drool, big guy?"
The ultimate life form had never been in such a difficult position before, and his erection was just tearing through the comforter. "..." He had no words.
"Now what did we learn?"
"...That I'm still not ready for sexting."
"And why?"
"Because I'm silently losing my shit right now."
Sonic nodded in approval. "Good boy."
Reactively closing his legs together, Shadow shut his eyes with a frown. He attempted to force his mind to focus on controlling himself and calming his hormones, before he tried to pin Sonic against the bed. He truly didn't want sex right now, he was too tired for that but God was Sonic making that difficult. That was all his own fault, though. He should have listened. "...Why do you even have those on your phone?" He asked slowly as he glanced at the blue one.
The hero flagged this off. "Ah nobody touches my phone, so I don't worry about anybody seein' 'em. Oh and FYI, I'm not one of those guys who doesn't allow his partner to look through his phone. You absolutely can if you want to and I don't mind if you know my password, 'cause I don't really care about that kind of stuff." Shadow noted that it was nice to know that Sonic trusted him so much. But then again, Sonic was too carefree about petty things like that to begin with. "Anyway, those were for the assholes I used to screw around with. I don't talk to any of them anymore, but I kept the photos—and videos—in case I started diggin' someone again." He then flashed Shadow a sultry smirk and licked his lips. "And I did~" He booped his nose with his pinky. "Someone I plan on being with exclusively might I add, so I think I'll keep 'em and add a little more to my collection. Just let me know when you're ready for me to send one. Or," He tilted his head with amusement. "I could take a new one for you, I don't mind requests. Or," He leaned closely against Shadow with hazy eyes. "We could make a video together. You fuck me in the shower, and I could scream your name while my phone's recording. Or I could have you scream mine while I bend you over your desk, and watch as my cum drips down your legs. Then you could replay it to yourself at night, over and over whenever you feel lonely~"
Shadow could feel blood beginning to develop from his penis to the inside of his nose. "I think I'm gonna have a stroke."
Sonic wheezed before snorting a laugh. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. No more." He then placed his hands on the sides of Shadow's head and pulled him in for a strong kiss. He lightly pressed his tongue against his, sharing a chaste but passionate French kiss. When they broke the kiss, Sonic advised that they should probably head to bed before they obliterated Shadow's headboard. "Just wanted to do that before you head off to sleep, handsome. Let's turn in before we ruin your apartment." They slowly laid down against the pillows together before cuddling up to each other. They held each other's hands and nuzzled each other's muzzles. Their legs locked around each other's and they stayed liked that as the night went on.
The biohog loved the feeling of him being beside him like this. "...Sonic."
"Hmm?"
"You make me happy."
The hero blushed. "...Yeah?"
Shadow nodded. "Yes." A wave of drowsiness washed over him. "..." He said nothing else, he had fell asleep.
Sonic meanwhile, could feel his heart beating rapidly. How was a moron like him able to make someone who was so angry and sad for so long, happy? He didn't know how he managed that, and he most certainly didn't know how the hell he even got Shadow. He didn't deserve him, not in the slightest. But damn it, he'd prove to himself that he did because the last thing he'd ever do is let him go. He caressed Shadow's sleeping face, noticing how relaxed and peaceful he was when he was adrift in slumber. Not glaring, not scowling or brooding, just at peace. If he could make someone like him happy, then he was at least doing one thing right in his life. The hero smiled lovingly, he really...
...No, it was still too soon for that. Maybe not now, but soon.
Soon, Sonic would be sure and he'd tell him.
The blue one closed his eyes and fell into a much deserved deep sleep along with the ultimate life form.
Right now, he was happy too.
22 - END - 22
Chapter 23: Lust Fluff
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow spend the last day of the weekend together in romantic and spicy bliss. However, they can't ignore what's going to happen. Soon, something major would occur—Something that would involve Infinite.
Notes:
The latter half of this chapter involves heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
23 - Lust Fluff - 23
July 20th
DAY 10: Sunday
Morning, 11:00 AM
His body was strange, which was a gigantic understatement. His biology made it so that he had this strict mental internal clock, meaning he would always have a rough but mostly accurate presumption of time. He would have this unconsciously in his head, even when he went to sleep. This function was more than likely for Maria, as he needed to know her habits and schedule for all of the activities she would undergo on the Ark. He never slumbered, always on alert to make sure she was okay. But now that he didn't have to worry about her anymore, he slept more than he ever had. Sleeping wasn't rare for him, but he still didn't need it to live or function correctly. However, he'd be lying if he said sleeping in from work wasn't one of the most gratifying feelings in the world. Not only that, but he got to do it with someone he cared for immensely. He always wondered how couples did it, sleeping in the same bed together. He thought it was a stupid idea, that the supposedly love between them would be ruined with this claustrophobic space. But now that he experienced it, he completely understood. Sleeping in bed with Sonic was a privilege he'd never take for granted, and having him near him in such a vulnerable state made him happy.
That is, if he felt the hedgehog next to him.
His amber red eyes slowly opened and scanned the space in front of him. His blue, prickly, life-sized pillow was gone, and he didn't like that. The sheets had been arranged in a way that didn't disturb Shadow's sleep, and he was practically tucked in. He couldn't feel his body heat lingering in the sheets, meaning he had been gone for some time. Slowly, the biohog sat up and made a small yawn, before looking over at the nightstand on his lover's side. His bag, gloves and phone was there, so he didn't leave the apartment. He then leaned over to the nightstand on his own side of the bed and grabbed his phone. He checked his notifications to make sure Rouge didn't make any emergency calls or texts. He saw one from her, one that was sent yesterday approximately one hour after they left the bunker in Angel Island.
i see you miraculously disappeared with big blue without a word. cant blame you though cause it was a real rough day yesterday and you two did most of the fighting. tower was worried but i told him it was nothing to worry about. text me back that youre okay when you can.
She left a tiny heart emoji next to that. Laying back against the headboard, he lazily replied to her.
I apologize for leaving without saying anything. Faker and I are fine. Thank you for your concern, but you all fought as hard as you could. That didn't go unnoticed by us.
Since this was sent by her yesterday, he didn't expect her to answer very soon. He turned his phone off and placed it back on the nightstand before standing up from the bed. When he stretched, he winced a little. He had a few cricks in his back again, probably from the fighting. That Zonic character was no push over, and he hit like a wrecking ball. Both Shadow and Sonic knew that the ultimate life form was king in terms of physical strength between the both of them, but this Sonic clone was on a level far above his. It still bothered him that they basically lost that fight, and escaped with their lives only because his superior told him to back off. It bothered both him and Sonic, actually. It wasn't just because they hated losing, they hated that they lost against an enemy they couldn't understand. Even with their plan having worked, they failed in delivering any harsh blow that would keep him down. He just managed to recover from every single thing they threw at him, regardless of whether or not he could predict it. And that card he gave him, he still had it in his quills somewhere. He had half of mind to burn it, if he didn't get a bad feeling about doing so. Something told him he needed to keep it. He didn't know why, and he didn't know for what, but he couldn't get rid of it. Sonic must have felt the same way, because he never bothered Shadow about it. But then again, Sonic's had a bad feeling since before this whole thing started. His intuition was scarily accurate.
...He was getting another headache.
He walked away from the bed to exit his bedroom, only to smell a magnificent scent. Never in his life did Shadow ever think he could feel hungry in self-indulgence instead of obligation. He traveled from his room and down the hall to his living room. The kitchen was just on the right, and the smell got even stronger. He followed it helplessly, dying to know the source of such a delicious scent. When he stepped in, he saw the beautiful blue hedgehog placing down a plate of breakfast bagels on his countertop. They were made with butter-fried bagels, bacon, sunny side eggs sprinkled with pepper and melted cheese. After doing so, he went to the sink to wash his hands, which were bare. His ear perked up to Shadow's footsteps and he turned off the faucet to greet him with a warming smile. "Heya babe, sleep good?"
For a moment, Shadow felt like he was still dreaming. Sonic was just in his bed, now he was cooking him breakfast in his own home and greeting him like a housewife. And the way he smiled was so dreamy-No, no he didn't use words like that. Ahem. The elder hedgehog forced himself to focus and walked closer to sit at the island. "You could say that. I only woke up because I realized you weren't next to me."
Blushing a little, Sonic reached over to boop his nose with a pout. "Quit sayin' cute stuff the moment you wake up." He carried the plate of food over to the island in front of Shadow. "I hope you don't mind me using your kitchen and diggin' in your fridge. I got hungry, but I remembered how much you liked my food so I decided to make you a lil' somethin' too." After he set it down, he walked over to his coffee pot to grab a mug of steaming hot bean juice. He set it on the counter next to the plate before leaning down and kissing him on the cheek. He went to the fridge to get a carton of juice and returned to the island to sit beside the biohog.
As the GUN agent sipped his freshly made coffee, he stared down at the smooth dark wooden countertop. "Thank you. You didn't have to, though."
"It's no trouble at all, I wanted to." Sonic replied before taking a bite of sandwich. "I hope you like-" He glanced over to see Shadow nearly finished an entire sandwich in less than a few seconds. The hero sweat dropped, wasn't he just sipping his coffee? "-It..." He trailed off with a chuckle. "Shads, you are so greedy."
"Compared to you, I'm practically starving myself."
Sonic pointed a glare at him. "Oh shut up, I told you I only pig out once a week."
Oh yeah, he did tell him that. "Why," Shadow asked as he chewed. "Are you on a diet?"
"No, I just know I shouldn't make it a habit." He took a sip of orange juice before continuing. "I was kinda chubby as a kid, super round belly. I was like a straight up circle, and I wanted to change that when I got older. I mean, doctors say that's normal for young hedgehogs but I still didn't like it."
Heh, he never expected someone as prideful as him to admit that to him. It was something that Shadow not only never knew, but never thought of. It was somewhat enlightening to hear that the hero had many insecurities that he never let anyone know about, but only told Shadow. He doubted if his friends knew he was self-conscious about that point in his life, so it was flattering that he trusted Shadow enough to tell him. "I think you'd look perfect either way."
The hero playfully slapped Shadow's arm. "What'd I tell ya about bein' cute this early in the day?"
The biohog made a small chuckle. "I'm not being 'cute,' I mean it. I saw your photo in your living room—The one with you and Tails when you both were little. If anything's cute, it was you in that picture." He made a sincere smile, not looking in Sonic's direction. "I never thought someone like you could look that innocent. The idea of childhood is always foreign to me, so it was nice to see you like that." He finally turned to meet his gaze. "You were adorable." Seeing Sonic's shy, flustered expression only made him enjoy this even more. He then poked his finger against his head as a little payback for his nose-booping. "Of course, you're beyond any concept of 'innocent' now."
Sonic scoffed. "Oh yeah? Why's that, ya old man?"
"Because I know that every time we get near each other," He leaned his face closer with a suggestive stare. "That lewd mind of yours is thinking of countless ways to pull me back into bed. I can see it right in your eyes."
The blue one smirked. "'That obvious, huh?"
"Painfully so, your eyes glow when you get frisky." Shadow replied while placing his finger on his bottom lip. "But then again, I always fall for it. I can't resist you regardless of how conspicuous you are." He pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Plus, you taste so good...I don't mind being lured into your traps." He turned back to his food and let the younger one think about that for a moment, wanting him to stifle in that little bit of early day flirting.
Giggling but definitely feeling a little warmer than usual from that comment, Sonic let him have this one. "Okay, you went from cute to super sexy in like, five seconds." He took another bite of his sandwich before replying. "You're not the first person to say that though, about my eyes. They always say they get brighter when I get excited. But I noticed," He added casually. "Yours does too. Maybe that's because we use chaos energy."
Hmm, literal food for thought as Shadow finished his meal. "Perhaps. I like it though, it's very arousing."
Sonic almost choked on his last bit of juice. "Okay you need to stop, mister."
"Stop what?"
"Don't make me kick you." He threatened playfully. "Hey," Sonic frowned as he looked behind Shadow. "You feelin' okay? You're hunched over again."
Shadow sighed. "I have a lingering pain back there somewhere, I figured it'd go away eventually." Then he took a moment before speaking up again, his cheeks lightly reddening. "...I'd very much like it if you gave me another massage."
The hero smiled at the request. "Sure!" He got up from the stool and picked up their empty plates of crumbs. After he placed the dirty dishes in the sink, he instructed Shadow to go in the living room and lay down on the rug. There was a lot of space in that room, so they'd do it like they did before. Shadow got in position like last time, laying flat on his stomach with his chin leaning against his arms. Sonic stretched and cracked a few bones, before getting down on top of the elder hedgehog and straddling him with his legs. "Now remember, this is gonna hurt at first." He saw Shadow nod silently. He gently glided his fingers up and down his back, feeling his muscles to detect any part of his anatomy that felt tenser than normal. He narrowed his eyes at his deltoid and dragged the pads of his thumbs across them, and he could feel Shadow flinch with a short groan of pain. "Right there, huh? Yeah, I can feel it." He then rubbed his fingers down to his spine, specifically stopping at his lumbar. "Oh man, you're super tense here." He mumbled before lightly tapping at it. The biohog had the same reaction, indicating this was another source of pain. "Your lumbar's messed up. So are your deltoids, that's what's really makin' ya hunch over...Hmm."
"How do you know this stuff so well?" Shadow suddenly asked with much curiosity. "Your knowledge of anatomy is surprisingly well versed."
"First off," Sonic abruptly jammed the points of his knuckles into Shadow's spinal region, causing him to yelp in pain. "I may not be book smart, but I ain't dumb. Don't underestimate my brains. Plus," He began to more softly rub his hands into the area of his lower back, causing the biohog to immediately moan in relief afterwards. "Sports are a big part of my life. Me winning the Olympics, being invited to sporting events, all the sports magazines I modeled in...I kinda picked up on some things after a while. And I'm not much of a reader but I do have some books stuffed under my bed. Some of them involved sports and whatnot." He made a stubborn expression as he pressed his thumb into a particularly tight spot. No, his fingers wouldn't be enough for this one. Shadow would hate this. Sonic placed his sock covered feet against his upper back before reaching down to grasp Shadow's arms, and forcefully yanked him backwards like a wheelbarrow. A loud crack echoed in the room, and Shadow shouted a curse at the hero for the sudden move. In particular, a "blue shithead." Sonic just rolled his eyes, knowing he didn't mean it. "Oh don't be such a baby, it's almost over." He let go, only for Shadow to basically faceplant right against the rug like a falling brick. "You're lucky we're not in Spagonia, they literally beat the shit outta you at their spas. I gotta admit I walked out feelin' pretty good, though." He then moved more upwards on his back, gliding his fingers over his deltoids.
If Sonic had done this every time they fought before, he would have defeated him easily. This hurt really badly, but then...It suddenly felt amazing. His muscles felt so free, almost like breezy grass blades in a greenfield. He felt Sonic's middle fingers grind themselves against his shoulder blades, meticulously uplifting blood circulation in the area. Every area he felt a tightness in, was suddenly as loose and limber as rubber. Firm enough, but malleable. He felt his deltoids make a small crack, Sonic's knuckles were deep in them at the moment. There was a slight pain, but it went away just as fast as it came. And boy did that feel so much better. Slowly, Shadow felt his eyes grow heavy. "Feels...good..." He whispered as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He could feel Sonic lean his entire body against him, with his lips close to his left ear. He felt his hands rub down his arms, using his massaging motions in his arms with one hand each. "Sonic..." He didn't even realize his other limbs were that tense. His fingers were definitely magical.
When he felt Sonic move on to his palms, rubbing his thumbs in specific areas, he felt a sense of arousal. Sonic did nothing this morning but cater to his every need. He fed him, he gave him his full attention and now he was giving him a full body massage that was truly doing wonders. It wasn't what he was physically doing that was turning him on, it's his consideration, hospitality and generosity that was making the GUN agent hot. That selfless attitude of his, it was overwhelmingly attractive and he had no idea why. Perhaps it was because Shadow had never been cared for before, as he was created to care for someone else twenty-four seven. But this...He could definitely get used to this kind of treatment. As he felt Sonic rub his fingers against the sides of his neck and collar bone, he made a small moan. He didn't mean to, but it felt really good. He appreciated that Sonic wasn't doing anything inappropriate to him, not on purpose. But feeling his crotch against his behind was doing something to Shadow. He couldn't ignore this feeling anymore.
He suddenly felt the hero's weight lessen and shift, he was no longer lying against him. "Okay, I think I got it." He then chuckled. "You look like you're ready to fall back asleep-"
The whole world flipped upside down for a moment.
Sonic found himself slammed to the rug, and he was suddenly laying on his back. Blinking, he realized Shadow had turned them both over to switch positions. He was pinning the blue hedgehog down, straddling him with irregular breaths. The ebony hedgehog's eyes were glowing ruby red, referencing the very conversation they had earlier. He immediately pressed a rough but deep kiss against the hero, who instantly moaned in pleasure when he did so. When they broke the kiss, Sonic lightly panted in shock. "H-Hey...You good...?"
"I told you," Shadow murmured hotly. "I can't get enough of you. I can't resist you no matter how much I try to fight it." He rubbed his hand against Sonic's crotch, desperate to see his erect member once more. "Let me have just one more taste..."
Moaning a little louder, Sonic seized Shadow's wrist to try and stop him. "W-Wait...Hold on-" He only rubbed harder. "O-Ooohhh fuck..." His grip on the biohog's arm weakened. "Y-You could have just asked-" He stifled a gasp when his length was suddenly unsheathed from its hiding place. "Aahh...Ahh..." He arched his back a little with a sultry smile as Shadow began to rub the base. It was semi-hard, something he was quickly trying to remedy at this very moment. "Baby, don't get me too excited...'Cause then I won't be able to resist, either..." Shadow moved down to stick out his tongue and lazily drag it over the head. The hero's body stiffened and his legs opened completely, moaning even louder as he had his way with him. "Fuck yes...That feels so good..." He slurped his tongue against the tip, before placing some of his member into his mouth and sucking down. "A-Aah...!" Sonic's feet curled. "Mmnnn~! Yes..." Now that he was fully erect, Shadow could do exactly what he envisioned. He had already revealed his own erection, stroking it impatiently as he teased Sonic. While continuing to stroke himself, he turned the blue hedgehog over onto his stomach and pulled at his legs to get him closer. He smacked his prick against his arse, causing Sonic to gasp. "...! Shadow, don't-"
"I'm not doing that, shut up." Shadow roughly hushed him as he grinded his shaft against Sonic's cheeks. He loved staring at his ass, it was probably the best part of his body. No, maybe not. There were so many parts to him that he adored touching and licking on, that he couldn't delegate that title to one place. He smacked his member against it again, earning him a needy moan from the hero. He embraced him from behind and wrapped his hand around the blue one's peach member, while he groped the other hand against his chest. His muzzle was pressed against the side of his face, feeling him breathe harder and utterly flustered. He kissed at his cheek as he began to grind himself against him from behind, using his ample ass as a source of friction. "If I can't be inside of you," Shadow whispered. "I'll just pretend that I am." Feeling a sadistic sense of déjà vu, he pressed his fingers harder into his peach chest, feeling his nipples hardening under his fur.
Gawking at what was currently being done to him, Sonic could do nothing but allow his lover to use his body as his plaything. He loved it, he loved that he was using him like an object. "Pretend you're fucking me..." He hissed in pleasure as his eyes became an illuminated neon lime. "Pretend you're fucking me so hard that I pass out..."
"Is that what you want?" Shadow asked as he thrusted against him, stroking his hand against Sonic's member vigorously.
"Fuck-Baby, you know that's what I want...I wanna feel like you're inside of me-" He felt his legs shake a little from him rubbing his fingers against his chest nubs. "A-Aahh...Fuckin' use me...Use me like your obedient little toy~" The hero licked his lips as he rubbed his backside against Shadow's shaft. He could hear him groan in pleasure at that. "Don't stop until you're satisfied...Make me yours...!" He moaned loudly as he felt him pinch his nipple.
Shadow reached his hand from his chest to his behind, spanking it before tightly groping his ass. He leaned his face into the back of Sonic's shoulder, his hips having a mind of their own as they thrusted against his arse. "It doesn't matter where I touch you...You always feel so good against me..." He stroked the blue one's member faster, feeling him shake his ass against his length with great excitement. "Fuck..." He swore heavily, gripping his fingers into his behind before swatting it again. "Move faster..." He commanded.
He did exactly as he was told, making Shadow moan a little louder. Sonic gripped his fingers into the rug as he felt precum drip down his thighs. He inhaled another gasp when he got spanked again, this time much harder. A red mark was starting to appear on his body, he could feel it sore into his skin. His tail wagged, he loved this small amount of pain for pleasure. He felt his elder lover lick against his neck before lightly biting down at his shoulder blade, grunting in anticipation at the rising pleasure. Sonic bit his own lower lip, he was so turned on right now. He loved it when Shadow took control, and he loved it even more when he lost himself in the lust and just used him like a sex-doll. Their movements in both speed and force increased, and Shadow was basically clapping Sonic's cheeks onto his weeping erection. He made sure to rub the hero's member with extra umph and care, as he could feel it was ready to bust as well.
"If...I was inside of you..." Shadow groaned as he thrusted harder against him. "Would you let me cum?" He could feel it rising even more, in just a few minutes they'd really feel it.
Sonic reached from behind and gripped the back of one of Shadow's quills. "I'd want all of your fuckin' cum inside of me...I want it running down my legs...I want it in me so bad-!" He cried out in satisfaction when he felt his climax approach. He wouldn't be able to hold on. "Ahhh...! Oh shit, fuck...!" He tossed his head back as his thighs quivered against each other. "A-Aahhh! Keep going, keep going-Ahh! Ahhh!" White spilled from his peach length, shooting all over the dark rug underneath them. Gasping, he felt that Shadow was still furiously stroking him despite climaxing already. "F-Fuuuck...!" The blue one tightened his fingers into his lover's quills, releasing a few more blows from in between his trembling legs.
Shadow suddenly wrapped his arms around his waist as he thrusted harshly. "A-Agh...!" His grip that was circling him tightened as he orgasmed onto his back. "A-Ah...Haa...Mmmn..." He thrusted a few more times before stopping, panting heavily against him as both of their bodies became stagnant.
Simultaneously, both males fell limp against the floor with a thud.
The ultimate life form was still holding the hero close to him, refusing to let go even after their orgasms died out. He pressed lazy kisses against his shoulder and neck, taking in the insatiable scent of his pleasured body. He felt his grip on his quills loosen and softly pet against his head. Shadow rubbed his hands against his arms, his tongue sucking a hickey into the side of his throat. He heard Sonic make a lengthy mewl, leaning his head against him to let him leave a mark. That was one of his most favorite things to do to him, marking him and showing everyone that he was his. Unbeknownst to everyone else however, the marks actually faded away pretty fast due to how quickly they could naturally heal with chaos energy. By the time they were in front of their friends, they were none the wiser despite all the bed-sparring they were doing the whole weekend. Otherwise, they'd be covered head to toe in bites, kisses and love marks. Sensually, Shadow rubbed his right hand back to Sonic's behind, the one he swatted mercilessly. It was no doubt sore by now, as a visible handprint was there.
Finally catching his breath, Shadow lifted Sonic up from behind and carried him bridal-style to the bathroom. Not the bathroom in his bedroom, but the bathroom that was for guests. It wasn't as big as the one connected to his bedroom, as it didn't have a tub, but it would have to do. He gently placed Sonic down on the tile floor and pulled him into the shower. After they threw their socks off, they closed the shower door and turned on the water. Once the water got hot, steam rose in the room and they began to kiss each other passionately. Sonic had the elder lover against the wall, pinning his hands against the glass surface. Shadow initiated a French kiss, loving the feeling of his tongue against his own. The hero pressed his lower body against Shadow's pelvis, and they lightly grinded against each other as they continued their lingua osculation. The shower door rattled as they went at it, roughly feeling and groping each other for several minutes.
When they finally exited the shower, they returned to the living room with half-damp bodies. Sonic sprawled his body against the couch as Shadow bent down to roll up the rug. If the stain didn't wash away, he'd have to throw it out. The hero winked at him while sticking out his tongue. "Sorry babe~"
Shadow simply shrugged. "It's fine, I started it." As stupidly expensive as this rug was, he never really liked it anyway. A few minutes later, he returned from the laundry cubby and sat down on the couch next to Sonic's leisurely reclined position. He playfully laid his legs onto Shadow's lap and relaxed against the cushions. Smiling at his carefree expression, the biohog rubbed his palm against his knee. "Sorry about that, you know how it is."
The hero nodded. "Yeah...I don't think it's latent hormones anymore, I think you're just as horny as I am."
The GUN agent agreed but he couldn't be blamed. "I can't help it, look at you."
"Hmmm~" Sonic smirked. "I suppose you're right, I am pretty damn sexy."
"Yeah, when you're not being an arrogant dick about it."
The hero reached over to poke his muzzle with his finger. "Ohh shut up, you like it."
Shadow scoffed. "Sometimes, maybe." As he looked down at Sonic's legs, his smile faltered into a flat line. He thought about his call yesterday, and what Infinite told him. He made a large sigh and closed his eyes briefly before glancing at the hero. He didn't say anything, but Sonic could see that something was bothering him from his expression alone.
He sat up straight, albeit with a small pained wince from the spanking earlier, and gave Shadow his attention. "What's wrong?"
The ultimate life form felt guilty in asking this favor, he felt like he was using him. And not in a sexy way. "...I may need your assistance in something. That call I got yesterday, did you hear any of it?"
Sonic shook his head. "Mostly, no. I know it had to do with Infinite, but I tuned out 'cause I didn't wanna know your business. I don't like eavesdropping."
He liked that he highly respected his privacy, even if it involved an active criminal. "Yes. Somehow, Infinite not only got my number but managed to call me personally." He saw Sonic's expression turn suspicious. "He sounded so...strange. He said now that he had the Phantom Ruby, he'd 'set things right'. He asked me to meet him at Eggman's base at 6:00 AM tomorrow. But," Shadow frowned firmly. "Something feels wrong. He didn't sound like himself. To get the drop on the doctor, he agreed to let him experiment on his body with the ruby. I don't know if it was the experiments or the ruby itself, but something happened to him. I don't know what for sure, because I haven't been able to read his vitals in my office since yesterday."
For a brief moment of silence, the hero made a suggestion. "...I think that Zonic guy was the one who got Eggman arrested." He suddenly concluded as his eyes wandered off elsewhere, deep in thought. "If Eggman was experimenting on Infinite when he got in his base, he could have done something to him before he left. Remember what he said before about wiping our memories?"
"Now I'll need even more amnesiac serums to wipe all of their memories..."
"With that said, you'll be the first to have your memory of this incident wiped."
"You are never to know. By the time I'm done with all of you, none of you will even remember this. Just as usual."
Shadow nodded in confirmation. "Rouge even noticed that he must have traversed not just Mobius, but our own homes before." Remembering Eggman's condition in Prison Island, he then realized what Sonic was getting at. "You think he wiped Eggman's memories? And that he's the reason why he didn't remember being captured or arrested?"
"Yup. And if that's true, who's to say he didn't do something to Infinite's head too?"
That would be a clear-cut answer—sure, but that didn't feel correct. This Zonic person was way too rigid to leave someone like Infinite to his own devices. Shadow slowly shook his head. "No...I don't think so. That guy was extremely strict, and didn't leave any room for error until we fought. Even if he did something to his mind, I doubt he would just leave Infinite there with the ruby. I don't know it's properties and even GUN couldn't dig anything up about it, besides what Eggman already found out. But it has to have some kind of tremendous power if it was able to not only show Eggman visions of disaster, but also make it so that he would never be able to think of a way to escape Prison Island." That part really stuck with him, actually. "The doctor is a marvel in intelligence, no one can argue that. If he really wanted to, he could escape Prison Island blinded and amputated with his genius alone. Yet he can't. It won't let him think that far without causing him severe disorientation and pain, which is a hell in itself." He crossed his arms. "Imagine being a genius, never allowed to process things on your own level of intellect, being reduced to some lowly prisoner in a place you could easily escape if you were given the chance to just think."
He could tell from the guilty look on Sonic's face that, while he hated the fat man, he still didn't like the internal permanent torment he was most likely going through in his own mind. "...Yeah," He sighed. "But if it isn't that, and if Infinite's lowkey a threat with that ruby, why not get rid of him too and take the ruby with you?"
"Remember that person he was talking to." Shadow replied thoughtfully. "He has a superior, someone giving him instructions and objectives. Despite his brashness, he listens to this voice with vehemence and reluctantly does exactly what it instructs. Whatever they say goes. If this person didn't tell that soldier version of you to stand down, we wouldn't be here. If they told 'Zonic' to leave Infinite and the ruby alone, regardless of how he felt, he'd have to do so. You saw how apprehensive he was about not kidnapping us, but he still eventually caved." He then placed his hand down onto Sonic's. "This is getting bad. I don't know what Infinite's up to and his words were...Odd, to say the least. It could be the ruby itself corrupting his mind, or whatever that thing does. I want to get it away from him and have him arrested. After all, his work is done and there's no need for him to keep going like this. That is, unless he's planning something for himself. Hell, he could have been the one to corrupt Eggman's mind. And now that I think about it, that's probably the truth." Shadow sighed and looked away. "He could have went rogue...I admit, I tried to have some hope for him like you do in people. And for a moment, I thought he could be trusted. However, at the end of the day, he is still a high level criminal who now has his hands on power that doesn't belong to him—and it doesn't seem like he's willing to let it go." He tightened his hold on his hand. "I didn't want to ask, as this is my responsibility, but I need your help Sonic. I want you to have the emeralds with you, and I want you to come with me to face Infinite together. If he tries anything," He closed his eyes ruefully. "Then I'll have to cut him down myself."
Grimacing at this, Sonic was reluctant. "Are you sure about that? Transforming could be serious overkill, especially with the two of us."
"Yes, but that Zonic person made me realize that we're sorely lacking in strength." He hated admitting this, but he couldn't be too careful. "If Infinite ends up becoming stronger due to not only the experiments but the ruby as well, we'll need as much firepower as we can get. The doctor said himself he drenched Infinite's biology in liquid chaos, which could lead to a seriously daunting potential enemy. I considered doing this alone, but...Well," He smiled a little. "I know you'd be worried and even more pissed that I didn't ask you for your assistance in the first place."
Sonic smiled back. "Aww, I'm glad you know that," He leaned closer menacingly with that same smile, causing Shadow to sweat drop. "'Cause I totally would have kicked your dick into your colon if you went after him alone after what we've just been through." He softened his expression and pecked his lips. "Gotta make sure my hubby's safe and sound, ya know?" The hero nodded his head in affirmation. "Alright, I'm in. I'll help you. But," His smile waned. "Let's hope he didn't completely lose himself, yeah? You seem like you kinda respected this guy, and you look like you really don't wanna do this. I appreciate that you tried to take a page from my book. I'm sure that took a lot, 'cause you don't normally think that way. Like you said though, sometimes giving bad people a chance doesn't always work out." He kissed the right cheek of his tan muzzle, where a hickey was currently trying to heal. "I hope you're cool with that."
"I'll have to be." Shadow replied quietly as he looked away. He then patted Sonic's hand before standing up from the couch and walking to the bedroom to put on some clothes. "Come on, there's still time for me to teach you more about chaos energy. It'll be useful for tomorrow."
The hero immediately followed suit with excitement. "Ooooohh~!" He leap-frogged onto Shadow's back, who just barely caught him. "Mmmnnn, do me a favor first and dress me please."
Grunting from his weight, the biohog glared at him from the side. "You are literally my weight if not more because of your thick ass thighs. Get off."
"But baaaaabe, I want you to dress meeeeee~"
A vein throbbed on Shadow's forehead. "We wear two articles of clothing. Dress yourself, you're fucking twenty-three years old!"
"Awwww c'mon! Do me a solid!"
"Get off or I'm dropping you out of my God damned thirty-story window."
23 - END - 23
Chapter 24: Catfight
Summary:
Shadow meets Infinite at the agreed upon location, and Sonic eventually joins them. This causes a strife to arise between the hero and the mercenary. However, this is only the beginning...
Notes:
Warning.
This is only the beginning.
Chapter Text
24 - Catfight - 24
July 21st - West Side Island - Chemical Plant Ruins
Eggman's Hidden Underground Base
DAY 11: Monday
Morning, 5:55 AM
The sheer height and mass of the Chemical Plant ruins was nearly astronomical. It was practically a miniature city, it's machinery and functions as large as buildings. The entire perimeter, despite how large it was, was completely gated off with old barbed wire fencing and tall metal sheets. "Keep Out," "Danger" and "Restricted Area" signs were all over the factory. Even if someone wanted to break in, they'd have to climb several feet before being able to hop the rusty sharp razors sewn on the trims. Old stains of oil and other atypical colors had faded against the ground. Any foliage around the area was dead and shriveled up like a prune, nearly wasting away as dust particles from the gruesome effects of the chemicals that used to pump in and out of the place drifted in the air. Even local wild animals of West Side Island avoided this place like the plague, as they weren't spotted for miles from this area. It was just another product of Eggman's goal to destroy the beauty of nature, and use it for his own gain in the most malicious, anti-eco friendly way possible. Honestly if the blue blur was never born, this planet would have been a wasteland by now.
To see the place where the hero and his little brother slash sidekick first kicked off their adventures together as a team, was incredibly fascinating. The area was extremely dangerous, even now with it being abandoned and zoned off to the public. It's amazing that two small Mobian children managed to bring the whole thing down to its knees all in one single fight. The pungent smell of scientific liquids and chemical properties would cause anyone's nose to wrinkle harshly. Despite it not being operated in over an entire decade, it still had the strong scent of a mad scientist's lair. And little did anyone else know, it was. Getting inside was easy, all the ultimate life form had to do was simply perform a high jump up over the barricades. The huge, towering entrance of two thick metal doors were already broken open, one of them on the ground after being torn off the big rusted hinges. Once he entered, he decided not to waste too much time and zoom his way in with some speed. He dodged over broken scrap piles of severely dated badniks, destroyed machinery and ruined life sized tubes of old unknown contaminated liquids. They were some security doors but they were already too damaged to even see as a roadblock, so he just boosted through them. The lightning was nearly nonexistent, and the few lights that did work were buzzing creepily in certain corridors and pathways.
There were looping walkable pipes that could no longer pump still chemicals, and faded toxic paint drawn on the walls directed him to the elevator hall. When he skidded to a stop, he looked up to see the looming elevators, one of which he remembered Eggman said was still operable despite its appearance. There were six in total, so he wasn't sure which—until he saw that same toxic paint that had vandalized the fourth one down. It was freshly used, he could tell because it had only dried hours ago. There was a drip that dried into place, and the words said: "This one," making it much more obvious. This could easily be a trap, however, he had a feeling this was Infinite's doing. After all, this was new paint and he wanted him to meet up today at this specific time. If it was a trap, he'd be ready. Besides, he already had a backup that was on his way already. He walked towards it, and the doors opened automatically. A light struggled to spotlight from within, allowing him to enter. He stepped in cautiously, and without him even having to touch anything, it immediately closed its doors and descended downwards at a hyper pace. The speed of its descent was almost stomach churning, like a rocket. It was similar to those vomit-inducing rides in amusement parks. After a single minute, he was glad it was over with. It didn't make him sick of course, but it was a bit uncomfortable.
The rickety elevator doors opened, leading him to a path that looked far better than the previous area. The metals on the walls and floors were clean, brand new and much sturdier. In fact, it didn't appear to be just normal metal, but chromium. This kind of material resisted very high temperature, which made sense since he was heavily underground now and closer to the planet's core. He walked more slowly this time, eyeing his surroundings with lightly amber red glowing eyes. While the lighting was better and actually working correctly, it was still somewhat dim in here. Everything was quiet, and the only thing he could hear were his air shoes clanking against the smooth floors. While walking, he looked down at his wrist before a red holographic appeared above his limiter ring. The time was 5:58, the awaited time was just two minutes ahead of him. As he traveled further down the corridor, he stumbled upon an area of several rooms with high-tech electric sliding doors. These were most likely Eggman's labs, and one of them looked extremely large. The door to this one however, was open. It didn't close on it's own. He peaked in only to see a complete mess. Monitors and computers were destroyed against the floor, torn and corroded paper was strewn all over, there was broken glass everywhere and there was even some fire damage in here. But worst of all, in the center of the room, was a life pod that had been smashed into. The ebony red striped hedgehog narrowed his eyes.
What happened in here?
6:00 AM
The sound of a pair of footsteps that were not his own echoed behind him. Shadow slowly turned around to see the very person he was looking for. A jackal Mobian of slightly taller than average height stood before him. His monochromatic fur was gleaming and healthy, his dreadlocks were perfectly upkempt, his limbs and body was still fit and not at all malnourished, and his heterochromic eyes were still very vivid with color. Yet...Something felt wrong. His eyes...They seemed...Clouded. Conflicted with an emotion that was unreadable. And let's not forget, he was just recently experimented on with very painful procedures. His body was still hearty and active, and his fur was so clean that it almost...Seemed fake. It's odd, because Shadow knew this wasn't a robot in front of him, yet his entire body seemed synthetic. Even his posture felt too straight, and his expression was empty. Then he saw that cursed ruby sitting upon his chest, and Shadow could see that it was painstakingly implanted within his flesh. There was no tearing that thing off without damaging some major nerves. The air around him was so weird, and Shadow had a sneaking suspicion that Infinite was up to something-
"...?"
...Oh.
He...Hugged him.
Infinite was hugging him.
Why, though?
Sure they weren't enemies necessarily, at least not as of right now, but they weren't friends. They weren't close enough for him to be doing this. Well, Shadow did hug him that one time last week, but that was only because the jackal was having a mental breakdown. He had to do something. Oof, he hoped he didn't start an unrequited friendship by doing that. After all, this was still a highly dangerous criminal that needed to be detained. He couldn't be making friends with someone like this so easily. Blinking, Shadow just awkwardly patted his shoulder. "Err," This was an odd start. "I see you're doing a lot better than I thought."
Realizing that what he was doing was indeed a little uncalled for, Infinite instantly pulled himself away and took a step back with an apologetic expression. "S...Sorry about that. And, yes. I'm okay." He looked down at the gem on his pectoral area with a frown. "As you can see, I have the ruby. Of course, I won't be getting rid of it any time soon without a painful consequence."
Shadow nodded with sympathy. "No kidding, it's like the doctor infused it into your skin under your fur. Does it hurt?"
The jackal shook his head. "Not anymore, but it hurt like hell on earth when he first installed it." He tapped it with a black-glove clawed finger. When he did, Shadow noticed his yellow and blue eyes flashed with a magenta color. Was that the icosahedron's power? And what was that power exactly?
"Infinite," Shadow addressed respectfully. "What power does that thing have? Is it similar to a chaos emerald?"
Infinite briefly adverted his eyes before landing his attention back to Shadow. "Honestly, it's amazing." He smiled a little. "This gem can do a lot of extraordinary things, things that can be done in the blink of an eye, things that shouldn't even be possible." He lightly dragged his nails against the gem, the smile growing. "I hate that I'll probably have this on my body forever, but using it is a feeling like no other."
The biohog shook his head. "No, I'm positive GUN's surgeons can find a way to-"
"No!"
"..." Shadow rose a brow. That was quite the outburst.
With shaking eyes, Infinite cleared his throat and tried to brush off the odd reaction. "...Sorry again. It's just, well," He looked a little nervous about something. "Shadow, I found my family here. They were roboticized, but this ruby saved them." He exclaimed with hope. "I reversed the effect, and I put them back together. They're Mobian again!"
He saved them? "What do you mean? And," He realized the bigger question was surrounding him. "What happened in this room?"
Suddenly, the jackal grasped his wrists excitedly. "I can show you everything. Come with me-"
"Wooooahhh...That's a cool lookin' stone ya got there."
A startling flinch shocked Infinite's nerves. His body froze as he dropped Shadow's wrists from his hands, before slowly looking upwards.
"Oh good," Shadow greeted the newcomer. "You're finally here. Fashionably late, as always." He then noticed Infinite's reaction, sensing fear in his eyes.
Was he scared? "...Who...Why..." The ex-mercenary mumbled with a shaky voice. Suddenly sitting on a broken, linear ceiling light that was literally hanging by an exposed wire, was Sonic the Hedgehog, smirking down at them both. His eyes suddenly stared at Infinite, causing him to back away a few steps. Amused by this, Sonic simply tilted his head with that smile that just wouldn't go away. Those eyes...Those lime green eyes...They were peering right through him, judging him, analyzing him. It was doing something to him, it was scaring him. The biohog was puzzled by this expression as the jackal pointed with clenched teeth. "W-Why...Why is he here!?" He yelled.
Judging by that reaction, Eggman wasn't kidding about those visions. Infinite indeed saw them as well about Sonic. Shadow stood in front of the jackal to get his attention. "Infinite, he's with me. I asked him to come along. Look," He frowned at his assumption from a few flimsy visions. "I don't care what that ruby or the doctor told you, faker is no villain. Understand?" Behind him, the blue hedgehog jumped down from the light fixture and casually reached his arms behind his head in a laidback position. Shadow crossed his arms. "Besides, this is my mission. He knows this is crucial, and knows not to act out unless I give him expressed permission."
The hero gave him a small pout. "'Don't gotta talk about me like I'm not even in the room..."
"'Point is," Shadow said. "If for some ridiculous reason faker were to pull something on you, he'd stop if I told him to. In other words, as long as you don't do anything rash, my word is golden and you're safe. Got it?"
With a nervous swallow, the jackal kept his eyes on the blue blur, who was currently picking his ear with his pinky. He didn't understand how a bumbling idiot like this managed to ally himself with Shadow. But it didn't matter, because to him, this bumbling idiot was beyond dangerous. Even though Shadow promised to keep the fool on a leash, he couldn't completely trust that for sure. He'd have to be careful. "...Fine." He grunted reluctantly. But he wouldn't be giving that hedgehog any attention, and he'd pretend as if he wasn't here. He turned his back towards them and began exiting the room. "Follow me." He said, mostly talking to Shadow.
Both hedgehogs glanced at each other with unsure expressions before doing as they were told. However, Sonic made sure to be behind Shadow, that way he wouldn't tick Infinite off any further. He'd also keep mostly quiet, because he knew he'd probably be ignored anyway. As of right now, he was enemy number one to this guy so it'd be disadvantageous to piss him off any more than he already had. Sonic knew how to read the room without uttering a word to his lover. When they exited the room, they continued to travel down the long hallway in silence. As they did, Shadow could hear the hero sniffing from behind him. When he glanced at him, he saw that Sonic was in deep thought about something else. Did he smell something? He'd ask, but he didn't want to disrupt the quiet, as he could tell Infinite wouldn't have liked that. He hated operating on someone else's pace, but he had to in order to complete this mission. He'd ask what Sonic was doing later.
"By the way," Infinite suddenly said before plucking a dying blue spine onto the floor. It had weak sparks of amber red electricity around it, until it quickly faded into gray with the embers floating into the ether. "Here's your disgusting spine back."
To this, Sonic furrowed his brows as he looked down at the tiny dead appendage. "...Yeah that's mine, but I ain't throw a spike in ya. After all, we've never met."
Infinite then gave Shadow a look, who held up a hand to relieve his concerns. He wouldn't let the mercenary believe it was Sonic who did this. "I'm the one who stuck it in you, Infinite. I used that to keep surveillance on you. I apologize that it was done without your knowledge, but I needed to keep tabs on you. You know that."
The jackal only kept walking. "Hmph." Was all that he replied with. They then approached the end of the hallway, which had a more open area. It was circular, the floor had an arrow pointing upwards and a railing lining the shape of the area. On the back of the wall was a digital pad that had a locked symbol on the screen. When they all stepped on it, Infinite placed his palm on the pad, allowing it to scan his hand. After a few seconds, it beeped and the locked symbol turned green. The arrow below them lit up with an LED light, and the railing surrounding them closed completely to seal the opening. Curved glass suddenly surrounded them, and the floor began to shake. It was an elevator.
Sonic leaned against the railing and looked up at the ceiling, while Shadow glanced at the jackal with thousands of questions flooding his brain. "Infinite, this base was tailored to and made by Eggman. How are you unlocking security clearances to use this elevator?"
"I told you," Infinite replied. "This ruby can do a lot of things that should seem impossible. I used it to fully override his authority over the power of the base. Anything that belonged to him," The magenta stone glimmered ominously, a spark of matching color surging through it. "Now belongs to me."
Meanwhile, the hero had his eyes closed, still deep in thought as he sniffed a few times again. When he did, he made a repulsed expression. He opened his eyes and then looked away from the jackal's direction. He looked really uncomfortable all of a sudden, as if he didn't want to be anywhere near the mercenary. Actually, his quills were a little raised and he was tapping his foot, almost as if he was irritated. Shadow noticed this, the energy between both him and Infinite was odd. Did Sonic know something that he didn't? The biohog glared at him, and Sonic could feel it. He gazed in his direction and their eyes locked. Silently, Shadow gave him a look as to say, "What's wrong?"
Sonic just shook his head with a concerned look in his eyes. In other words, "Can't talk now. He's watching us." With a small exasperated sigh, Shadow left it be. He hated this meaningless tension, and he hated even more that he didn't understand what Sonic was getting at. They'd have to wait until they were safely away from Infinite's presence. As they continued to ascend, a pit began to form in Shadow's stomach. First, he developed romantic feelings for the hero of Mobius. Sonic may or may not be some harbinger of destruction from a dangerous ancient race of unknown beings. Eggman gets arrested by some Sonic lookalike, taking him out of the playing field indefinitely and forever imprisoned without ever being able to think properly again. That same lookalike not only kicked their asses, but was inches from kidnapping them. Infinite gets handed unknown power that he was obviously not willing to give up, and now both Sonic and the prisoner he's been working with for two weeks were acting awfully dubious. These incidents seemed as if they were falling dominoes, going down the lines of events waiting to happen. He had a really bad feeling all of a sudden.
Just what was going on?
The elevator suddenly came to a stop, and the curved glass walls opened and the railing shutting them off from exiting descended back into the floor. Infinite was the first to move to exit, and the other two hedgehogs followed cautiously. It was yet another corridor, however, they could tell they were several feet away from the main base. Not only that but, there was natural light at the end of the hallway, as if there was a window letting in sunlight. As they walked in deeper, they saw other Mobians around. They weren't just normal Mobians either, they were all jackals. Most of them were guarding the hall or the locked doors lining the corridor, saluting or nodding to Infinite with a smile. But the moment Sonic walked past, they scowled at him. The hero just rolled his eyes at them and continued to move without causing further strife. Meanwhile, Shadow was shocked. Weren't these the jackals that Eggman supposedly roboticized? Some of them even greeted Infinite, saying, "Hey boss," or, "Glad to have you back, boss."
What the hell did the biohog miss? "Are these...Members of the Jackal Squad?" He asked curiously.
Infinite nodded as they continued. "Yes." He replied with a small smile. "With the ruby's power, I was able to reverse what Eggman had done to them."
"That's amazing," Sonic commented as he looked around. "There's a lot of small animals and even a few people who are victims of Eggman's roboticization. That ruby could do a lot of good and heal them."
The jackal suddenly scoffed. "I have no reason to do such a thing."
The hero paused with a frown. "...Really?" He glowered at the jackal and continued with a slightly raised voice. "Roboticization is basically having your soul and flesh ripped from your own body, still living consciously as some empty robotic husk. It's a living hell for anyone or anything to fall victim to. I've seen first hand what it can do to people and animals, even as a kid. Do you have any idea how much of a miracle it would be if you used that ruby to do to them what you did for your squad? You'd save a lot of people's lives."
Infinite stopped moving. "And I have no intention of doing so. That's simply not my responsibility." He then slowly turned to the side. "Unless of course, you find that to be an issue? If that's the case, that's too bad."
Suddenly, the hero shut his mouth and diverted his gaze. "..." Shadow didn't like that, it was bad whenever Sonic didn't continue running his mouth. He was trying his best not to irritate the jackal for Shadow's sake, but it was getting harder for him. The blue blur suddenly shrugged. "Meh, I guess that's fine. Do whatever you want, you're not necessarily my responsibility either." He simply replied with much less emotion.
Feeling the tension growing even more tense, Shadow cleared his throat. "Infinite, what are your plans? What are you trying to do with the ruby?"
"I'm glad you asked." Infinite replied with a softer tone.
As they neared the end of the hallway, there was a large chromium door that was slightly ajar. The light was coming from inside. When the hedgehog duo walked inside, they noticed that this was a circular area as well, except this was a full blown rotunda. It was very clean and spacious, with a single long, curved, chrome metallic desk in the middle with a dash board that was just as lengthy and intricate. Monitors were set up around it, hanging from the ceiling and showing various levels of data. Some detailing the electrical functions of the Chemical Plant ruins, and some describing the status of the many machines and robotic commands that were installed within the base. There were holographic pillars of text beside it, constantly changing and rewriting itself to properly update the user of the base's status. Two large wide pipes paralleled both sides of the room against the wall, pumping bright pink Mega Mack, the chemically infused pink water Sonic once had to avoid as a child. And just ahead of it all was a large window of thick glass, allowing natural sunlight to pour in. This was definitely Eggman's main base of operations, this very room. Sonic immediately went to the window to look out of it, as he was a little confused. If the base was underground, how was there a window here? When he looked out, he saw the many tall structures of the ruins attempting to tower beside this room, but they couldn't match up.
This meant that this was the highest point of the ruins. Eggman didn't just operate underground, he secretly remodeled the inside of the ruins to be able to install a working elevator that would allow him to travel up to the highest point of the plant. After all, there didn't seem to be any other section of the plant of a higher floor that they could access. Smart...Eggman truly thought of everything. If someone did find out he operated underground, they wouldn't think to try and find a way to a higher story of the building if the rest of the plant seemed completely destroyed from the outside. That way, if he was ever discovered, anything that was hidden in this room would never be found. No one would ever think he had a place to hide and work up here as well. The two hedgehogs did notice however, that the usual color of LED and neon lights powering the machines didn't match the others from the underground area. The color here was the same as the ruby: Magenta. Infinite must have used the gem to corrupt everything that was functioning inside of this room, working only under his power. The jackal stepped behind the desk and lowered his clawed hand to press a few keys. Once he did, both of the holographics beside the desk revealed a digital map of Empire City. A bunch of red circles appeared in certain areas of the maps, a couple of which looked like major populated areas.
"Dr. Eggman had hidden missiles aimed at these locations of the city, and a bigger one aimed at the rest of the country. He had these ready to detonate in the event that he would be killed." He pressed another key, and the red circles marking the map faded away. A text appeared saying: "Missiles deactivated." With just a push of a button, Infinite prevented a potential large scale crisis. "With the ruby's power, I control this base and all of its functions now. Which means, I can do practically anything I want." He turned to Shadow and walked very closely to him, his tone quiet so the other hedgehog in the room couldn't hear. "I'm going to use this base to install myself back in the underworld, assert my dominance over anyone who ever stood against me and my group." A sinister smile grew across his white muzzle. "I'll be feared more than ever before, and no one'll be able to resist. Shadow," He offered his hand. "This is the start of something hopelessly extraordinary! Come," Magenta flared through his irises, and the ruby began to sparkle. "Join me, I need someone like you. You'll be the first outsider to join the Jackal Squad, and the second strongest of the group. I'll give you as much authority as you want. We could travel from coast to coast, country to country and finally get what we truly deserve. Together, you and I could bring the world to its knees, and no one will ever take from us again." The ultimate life form slowly looked at his empty hand. "Please," His voice became eerie, suddenly ringing and echoing in his head. It was the only thing he could hear. "Just say 'yes'."
Shadow was...stuck.
"..." He couldn't look away, something was locking him in place. He couldn't get Infinite's words from his mind, yet he knew he didn't want to listen to this nonsense. If he was resisting, why couldn't he stop repeating his words in his head?
Why couldn't he escape his gaze?
"Mind if I interrupt?" And like that, Shadow regained control of his mind. He blinked and shook his head, a headache growing in his brain. He noticed that Sonic had walked over and he didn't look very impressed. He poked Shadow, who flinched in response. He was fully alert, now. "'Kay," Sonic raised a brow at the two. "Don't know what that was about, but..." He glowered at Infinite. "I know damn well you ain't usin' this place for good. Like I said, you ain't really an issue...For now." His green eyes flashed a sense of a hazardous challenge. "However, if you pull anything the moment Shadow and I leave this place, all bets are off. You do anything with this base that damages or destroys anything, even a flower pot, and then you'll officially become my problem."
With a growl, Infinite seized Shadow's arm. "Shadow, listen to me." He suddenly spoke with great urgency. "This...Rat," He hissed with hatred, to which the hero only scoffed. "He's going to eventually destroy the planet. With this base and the ruby, I can prevent that from happening. I need you to join me so I can protect you!"
Sonic started to snort. "'Protect' him? Oh that is precious."
Meanwhile, Shadow didn't know how to react or respond to any of this. "...Infinite, Sonic isn't-"
"He is! Eggman wasn't lying, I'm not being biased. He ruined my family, why would I take his word as gospel if I hated him?!" Infinite shouted desperately. "I saw exactly what he saw with this ruby: That fucking abomination-" He pointed a finger to the blue blur. "-Is a monster in sheep's clothing! You can't trust him. In just a few weeks time, this entire planet is going to hell! But," His hand began to caress the underside of Shadow's palm, his fingers lightly grazing the inside of his glove. This caused the biohog to stare in confusion. The jackal leaned closely with a sneer that didn't look as friendly, as it was something else entirely. "...If you join me, we could take him down together. You don't have to betray your friends. Just tell GUN I'm dead. I promise, no one will ever know that I got away. I'll do my thing, and you do yours, but we can both protect this world together. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you, and I'll give you anything and everything you could possibly want or need. I promise you, Shadow."
...
...Gradually, Shadow took his hand away while taking a step back.
"...The hell are you on about?" He suddenly replied with the same amount of bafflement as he felt just seconds ago. "While I respect and pity you, I am in no way your ally. I don't ally myself with criminals who do nothing but harm the earth. Like I said, my mission is to secure the objective of taking down Dr. Robotnik and having you arrested by the end of it. The initial objective has been completed by outside means, therefore, you and I no longer need to work together. It's over." He readjusted his glove that was needlessly toyed with as he sternly retorted to Infinite's ridiculous promises. "I keep telling you, Sonic is not a monster. I will not repeat myself again. Now, it's time for you to be escorted to Prison Island like we initially agreed." He made a pitying frown. "Don't make me do this the hard way, Infinite. Just come along peacefully."
Then, the jackal tilted his head. He made a scowl of abhorrence. "...You're fucking him, aren't you?"
Oh.
He just...Came out and said it.
Well then.
Clearing his throat, Shadow tried to remedy such a lewd statement. "That's none of your-"
"Yeah he is." Sonic suddenly replied casually. He then smirked. "What of it?"
"...!?" Shadow whipped his head at the hero. "Sonic-!"
"No, no, no..." Sonic playfully wagged his finger. "If the man wants to put himself in my personal business," The blue hedgehog suddenly stepped right in front of the jackal, his face close to his own with a threatening aura. "Let 'em keep talkin'. After all, it's not a lie, right?" He asked rhetorically. "Yeah, Shadow fucks me. Fucks me real good, too. Got a problem with that, doggy?" His smirk grew as Infinite snarled at him.
"Disgusting pig!" He spat. "You're taking advantage of him!"
A mocking chortle left the hero's lips. "'Taking advantage of him'? Homie, you don't know what I do to this guy late at night, but I sure as hell ain't doin' that. I don't need to," He placed his hands on his hips sensually and winked. "He pins me down all on his own~"
Infinite gritted his teeth angrily. "Fucking repulsive pincushion...! I should kill you! You're nothing but a leech on the very world you claim to love so much! You're just a slimy liar who sleeps his way around Mobius to gain more popularity! You really think your fans genuinely love you that much? Guess again, you shameless whore!"
With a yawn, Sonic turned away and began picking at his nails, even though they were covered by his gloves. So he wasn't even picking at anything, he just didn't give Infinite his attention. "Yeah, yeah, sure...All that good stuff. You got a social media account or somethin'? Go spam your complaints about me on there, incel. You'll be like, the five thousandth person to do so." The blue hedgehog then chuckled while shaking his head. "Heheh, what a waste of time. Babe," He turned to Shadow. "The hell is this? He an ex of yours or something? I mean," He eyed Infinite up and down. "I kinda see where you were coming from...? He's got a nice body maybe, but he's totes not cute in the face. At the end of the day, he's just some edgy loser goin' on a power trip. He's super mid at best."
Holy shit, was this actually happening right now?
"...I..." Shadow had no words.
"Babe...?!" Infinite's fur became more than rustled with anger. The jackal shoved his finger against Sonic's chest, who glanced at him with a bored expression. "Just admit that you're a Chaos Born, born to wreak havoc and enslave everyone on the globe. Admit that you're a fraud in front of Shadow, right here and now! Tell him the truth!"
"Buddy, I got no idea what the fuck you're even spewin' right now, but I do suggest you take your greasy paws off me before you and your cute little crystal gem gets hurt."
The ultimate life form could only watch in silence.
This is really happening right now.
Infinite slammed his forehead against Sonic's, his teeth gnashing and waiting to chew on his bones. "You're nothing but a pathetic worm suckling at the soles of his shoes. You're a disgrace to even call yourself a Mobian, you're just a lying monster! A revolting blight that destroys everything he touches!"
A nearly demonic glint sparked in Sonic's eyes, that were suddenly glowing that neon color again. "And what the fuck are you gonna do about it, puppy? You mad that I fuck your man better than you? No, wait..." That's when his eyes widened at the realization, and he started to laugh loudly. "Hahahaha! You never fucked Shadow, you just wish you did! Ohohoho my God, you are so pathetic!" He fanned himself from how hard he cackled, and his fangs sharpened as he mocked the jackal. "You want him soooo bad, but he'd never give you the time of day. That's miserable, and you are miserable. But, according to my nose..." He grinned. "You're a virgin, aren't you?" This caused the jackal to blush significantly, a flash of humiliation settling on his face. "I'm right, aren't I? I can smell how uptight you are, all in your desperate, nasty ass body. And you wanted Shadow to fix that for you, didn't you? After all, your hormones have been itchin' to make a grab at him this whole time. You reek of sexual tension almost more than you stink of wet dog." He then shoved himself against Infinite threateningly. "So you wanted Shadow to come here all by himself so you could try and pull something? Sounds like you're the one who wanted to take advantage of him, and I don't much appreciate that." His smirk turned from a leer, to a dangerous scowl. "Not only did you try to steal what's mine, you tried to manipulate him too. You had no idea Shadow had a friend—Oops, sorry— a boyfriend comin' along with him, and now you don't know how to act. Well allow me to take this time to knock you down a few pegs, you lowdown, thirsty, dirty, bitch."
The jackal lifted up his hand high with sharpened claws. "Piece of shit, I'll destroy you!"
Sonic's quills began to raise and sharpen, his fists tightening as he grinned heinously. "Bring it, fido!"
24 - END - 24
Chapter 25: Don't Make Me Upset
Summary:
The fight commences.
This is still only the beginning.
Chapter Text
25 - Don't Make Me Upset - 25
Morning, 7:00 AM
"ENOUGH!"
Suddenly, both the blue hedgehog and the jackal were shoved backwards from each other as Shadow got in between them.
Hissing with great frustration, anger and a little embarrassment, the biohog glared at them both. "...I hadn't realized I was surrounded by a couple of bratty high school girls." He snarled. "The only thing that's pathetic is you two! This has nothing to do with whomever I give myself to, nor is it anyone's business but my own!" He pointed a sharp glower at Infinite. "You. You're a death row criminal who attempted to destroy Empire City and murder thousands in the wreckage. While it failed, and while you may have done it against your will, you are still a merciless mercenary who steals and hurts innocents. As far as I'm concerned, I've no further business with you other than having your ass firmly put in prison." He then scowled at Sonic, who returned the glare back with more anger. "And you. I don't know what the hell your problem is-"
"My problem?" Sonic repeated with a growl. "Shadow, I know you don't understand things when it comes to intimacy, but you've gotta be fuckin' kidding me. That guy's been lusting after you this entire time, and he was just trying to manipulate you!" He yelled as he stepped closer to the striped hedgehog. "I could smell his hormones the moment we walked in the door. He fucking stinks of it! Look at him!" He gestured to the jackal, whose face was indeed quite red from being outed. "Doesn't that look familiar to you?" He asked rhetorically. "You know what being in a rut does to you, and it's that—except he's pointing it at you. Sorry for putting your business out there, but I can only take so much one-sided flirting right in front of my God damn face!" The hero shouted angrily. "I dunno what kind of relationship you guys had, but I don't appreciate it interfering with ours!"
...Shadow was taken aback.
That's what this was?
That's what Infinite wanted from him? He didn't just want him to join him, he...wanted him? That way? Was that why he kept looking at him that way, and rubbing his finger into his palm like that? Oh God. Chaos, what did he get himself into? It was so obvious, all the signs were there. Damn it, he should have never shown that guy any form of sympathy, he misconstrued it as having feelings for him. How the hell was he supposed to fix this? His headache grew a hundred times worse. Slowly, the biohog gently grasped Sonic's hands with an apologetic expression. "Sonic," He addressed respectfully in a low voice. "I...Listen, I didn't realize that was happening. I know my obliviousness is infuriating, but like you said I'm...I'm really bad at this, so it's hard for me to see that someone else other than you is flirting with me. Especially since, well, I genuinely didn't expect something like this to happen. It was never my intention to offend you, I'd never purposefully do that. And I certainly wouldn't betray you like this. I shouldn't have let him insult you like that either, I should have silenced him the second he dared to stain your name. If I were you, I'd be upset as well." His hold on his hands tightened. "Forgive me."
Watching this with a surprised expression, Infinite just looked back and forth between the two in silence. The anger in Sonic's face slowly dissipated into guilt. "No..." He sighed while looking away. "I'm the one who should be apologizing, I shouldn't have said all that and embarrassed you. That was wrong...I just got so pissed, but, that's no excuse for telling someone your whole business like that. I'm sorry, too. And I don't mean to be a pain, but this guy is really trying to trick you. You've been used before," He pulled Shadow a little closer, his eyes apologetic and his voice much more submissive. "And I just don't want that to happen to you again, y'know? I don't want anybody to hurt you like that."
Tenderly, the elder hedgehog caressed the side of the hero's face with a small smile. "With you at my side, I know that won't happen. It seems we both made a mistake, but I'm sure we can make it up to each other later."
Blushing a little, Sonic made a sheepish grin as Shadow gently rubbed his thumb underneath his bottom lip. "Stooooop...Don't do that in front of company, you're makin' me all red..."
"Oh my God," Infinite whispered, causing the two hedgehogs to look in his direction. "You have him eating out of the palm of your hands..." He murmured while slowly backing away into the desk chair, his finger pointing at Sonic with a shaky arm. "You...You..." He shook his head in disbelief. "How did you...How did you brainwash him like that...? Shadow's mind is too strong, I've seen it myself first hand. Did you use chaos energy? Are you mind controlling him? What did you do!?" He suddenly hollered.
"Okay," Sonic's eye twitched a little. "What the fuck are you talking about!?"
"You must have tainted him with your filth, you bastard!"
Shadow could sense this was going to get bad. He had never seen Infinite act like this, except for when he broke down in tears at the news of his family potentially being dead. But this was a far worse reaction than before, and he seemed to be completely out of his mind. Calmly with defensive hands, Shadow tried to take a step forward. "Infinite, you're delusional. I think you may have suffered a psychotic breakdown. You need to get a grip-"
"Stay back!" The jackal slammed his hand onto the dashboard of the desk. His heterochromic eyes became magenta, a surge of the ruby's power seeping all throughout the room. The door suddenly shut tightly, and the window was immediately shuttered with thick chrome. "It's alright Shadow," Infinite replied with a whisper. "I'll get you back, I won't let it end like this."
With a bright magenta light blinding the two hedgehog's eyes, they turned away and shielded their faces with their arms. When the light died down and they peeked to look, they suddenly saw a reddish-purple colored mist drifting throughout the room. Even worse, the pipe holding the mega mack liquid was suddenly pouring down on top of Sonic. A strong hissing sound echoed throughout the room as it began to seep onto his fur, and soon his skin. The hero yelled in pain, his body wincing from the chemicals. Shadow immediately tried to reach for him. "Sonic...!" But he was suddenly grabbed from behind and yanked backwards. He was thrown onto the floor, but he instantly pushed himself up. When he did, Infinite stood in front of him with a new light in his irises. They were no longer pleading, they were demanding. "Infinite..." Shadow growled. "If even a single scar is left on his body, I'll-"
The jackal moved forward to grasp Shadow's shoulders. "Shadow. I'm going to show you exactly what this monster is. Then, you'll see." He then pointed to Sonic, who, Shadow realized, wasn't being splashed with anything at all. The pipe was nowhere near Sonic, actually. The hero was suffering, but to nothing. Shadow blinked a few times to try and get his vision correct, but it didn't matter how many times he looked. Sonic never actually got hurt. "You see? This ruby, it creates illusions and warps someone's very perception of reality. Right now, he thinks he's burning alive in that acidic mega mack. But he isn't. When I trigger the right emotion," His expression darkened. "You'll see the real Hero of Mobius." He scoffed at the hero, who was falling to his knees in agony. He then tapped his finger on the ruby, causing Sonic to believe that another wave of mega mack was submerging him. He writhed on the floor, grabbing at his limbs to try and stop the pain that wasn't even there in the first place. "Hahahaha," He laughed as he walked over and crouched down to watch his expression contort with pain. "What's wrong? No more shit to talk?"
Shadow immediately reached out to grip the back of Infinite's dreadlocks. "Let him go now!" He yelled, his free hand charging with amber red chaos energy. "I'll make you suffer if you don't!" Infinite sighed and simply allowed the ruby to do the job for him. Suddenly, metal bars fell from the ceiling and entrapped Shadow with barely any space to move. He seized the bars and hollered for Infinite to cease. "Infinite, I'm warning you!" His hands were still charged with plenty of power. But then, Infinite turned around and casually tapped his finger on Shadow's knuckle, the magenta mist flurrying around his wrists. When he did, the chaos energy was gone. It wasn't like before when Zonic drained their power, no—It was as if Shadow never concentrated the energy in the first place. It was like it just disappeared. "...!?" Even when he tried to focus on using it again, he couldn't. It was like pulling at a phantom muscle that just wasn't there. His chaos powers were gone.
"I didn't want to have to do that, but you forced my hand, Shadow. You'll have to be put in an illusion too." Infinite made a sympathetic smile. "You're still being played, but that's okay. I'll just keep you there for you to watch. It'll all be over soon."
Grunting in pain, Sonic lifted his head with an annoyed expression. "An illusion, huh?" He challenged while eyeing the ruby on his chest. "And the ruby's doing it...Gotcha." Even though it was an illusion, Sonic could still feel the pains of the pink water burning him consistently. However, he pushed through it and smirked at the pain. He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the jackal looked down at his chest to see several small blue spines sticking in and out of his fur. When did he stick his spines on him? Blue electricity zapped against the jackal's torso, making him flinch in alarm. "I can tell just from looking at that thing that the ruby's strong, maybe even more powerful than a chaos emerald. But you aren't. So all I gotta do-" It electrocuted Infinite immediately. "-Is take you outta the equation!"
"Ngghh!" Infinite tried to touch the ruby, but when he did, blue chaos energy zapped him. The magenta light the hedgehogs saw earlier flickered before completely vanishing. The matching colored mist, was gone. He took away Shadow's powers for now, but he didn't take away Sonic's. He abruptly felt the feeling of something grabbing onto his tail from underneath his legs, agonizingly pulling thin, tiny strands of hairs out of his flesh. He looked down to see the blue hedgehog grinning at him menacingly.
"What's wrong? No more shit to talk?" The hero retorted as he pulled his tail to yank the jackal down to the floor, landing directly onto his face.
Since the mercenary's power was interrupted, the illusions he placed on them were both gone. The ultimate life form rushed from behind to wrap an arm around the jackal's neck, placing him in a chokehold. "I asked you not to make me do this the hard way, Infinite." Shadow scowled. "I wanted to respect you, I wanted to trust you," He squeezed his forearm more into his neck as the jackal's back arched in pain from being pulled and choked from behind. "But you hurt the very thing that I hold dear, and now I'll make you pay dearly! If you don't back down, you won't be walking to Prison Island. You'll be arriving in a body bag!"
Infinite attempted to grab and scratch at Shadow's arms. "N-No...You...Don't...Under...Stand...!"
"I understand plenty. I understand that you're hurting someone I care about, and I'm not going to let you continue doing as you please anymore. It's over!" He glanced up at Sonic, who was finally standing on his feet, albeit a little winded. "Sonic, do you have your phone?" He saw the hero nod. "Text Rouge. Tell her to contact Tower and call for back up to this location immediately." He slammed Infinite's face against the floor as he squeezed his arm against him more, his body weight entirely on top of the jackal. "The bastard's halted my chaos energy. I still have it, I just can't use it." He could feel Infinite's resistance slowly give out. "He must have forgotten that I don't need chaos energy to defeat him. After all," He leaned close to his ear to hiss some information that his former criminal ally evidently omitted from his mind. "I didn't need it when I defeated you the first time, did I? Like faker said, you're miserably pathetic."
Just as Sonic was about to raise his hand to his quills, Infinite forced himself to look up from Shadow's assault, his eyes directly connecting a gaze with Sonic's. Magenta washed over the blue hedgehog's vision, causing him to wince and back away. It felt as if smoke was going directly underneath his eyelids. As he was distracted, Infinite struggled with Shadow violently to get in a better position. He managed to get himself on his knees, before forcing his head to turn to Shadow's direction. His eyes flashed magenta and met his amber irises. That same colored light from before blinded the ultimate life form, and he lost his hold on Infinite's body. He could see nothing but purplish-reddish mist, attempting to swing his arms around to cause the mist to disperse. But it was no use, it completely filled his vision and the entire room around him as he knew it. Suddenly, two extremely heavy chromium-grade cuffs were slapped onto his wrists just beneath his limiter rings. Feeling it's weight pressing down on his arms, Shadow lost balance and nearly fell over. A black furred arm with clawed gloves suddenly reached out from behind to wrap itself around Shadow's neck, putting him in nearly the exact same position as the biohog put the mercenary just seconds ago. However, it didn't choke him, and it wasn't too rough with it's hold. It slowly pulled Shadow backwards until he felt something sharp jab him from behind.
Shadow turned around and saw the ruby poking at his back, with Infinite right behind him. "I didn't want to hurt you," The jackal frowned. "But you're making me do this. You need to see reason, Shadow." The mist suddenly disappeared, and Shadow could see that Sonic was in a strange daze. He was too distracted to see what was happening. Infinite took this chance to quickly push Shadow along towards the back of the desk. He pressed a button underneath, and the floor below their feet suddenly lit up with magenta light. They then began to descend from the room, serving as a tiny elevator. Shadow was absolutely discombobulated at the moment, as he was extremely angry, but he was trying his hardest to keep his balance from the heavy weighted cuffs. He was stuck, and he couldn't get to Sonic. When the floor finally stopped descending, Shadow saw that they had traveled to a room beneath Eggman's personal office. He looked around, seeing that this was a bedroom. It had plenty of space, and the interior itself looked very modern, almost futuristic. There was a window here too, but it wasn't as large as the one upstairs. It was barely large enough for someone of Shadow or Sonic's stature to escape out of.
He shoved Shadow farther into the room, to which he finally completely lost balance and fell onto his side. Gritting his teeth, he slowly looked up at his attacker with supreme hatred and distrust. "I should have never trusted you...I was a fool to show you any amount of remorse or compassion."
Infinite just shook his head at him before walking past him and holding his hand up to the gem on his chest. A cloud of magenta surrounded his hand and muzzle as he began to speak. "Jackal Squad, things went awry, plan B's a go. I left the blue hedgehog in the office. He's trapped in an illusion, finish him off." He was using the ruby almost like a transmitter. He then glanced down at the biohog with pity. "I don't know what he did to your head, but I'll fix it."
"Fool." Shadow curtly retorted. "Do you have any idea how stubborn that hedgehog is?" He struggled to get on his feet to stand up. "He doesn't give a damn what's done to him. Illusion or not, even in the worst pain imaginable, Sonic will break out of it and he will reach you. And when he does," Shadow then smirked. "God help you."
Infinite could tell Shadow wasn't just gassing up his hubby, he meant every word he said as both a lover and a rival. The jackal however, was undaunted. His ambitions were far too important to back out of now, and his true plans could only begin when he murders Sonic the Hedgehog. Maybe then, the wool he pulled over Shadow's eyes will be gone. "That remains to be seen. My jackals aren't the same as when you first encountered them. I used the ruby to empower them, to go beyond their limits." With a slight solemn frown, Infinite closed his eyes. "If they push themselves too hard, they won't even realize it until their bodies give out. They'll fight tooth and nail to kill that rat, even at the cost of their own lives."
With an enraged scowl, Shadow glared at him. "You're putting extreme physical pressure on your own men, willing to watch them die just to kill Sonic? I thought they were your family? You'd throw their lives away just like that!?" He took an angry step forward. "You bawled your eyes out when you thought they were dead, and you do this? What is wrong with you!?"
"The Jackal Squad is my family!" Infinite shouted back. "I..." He looked away. "When I turned them back into Mobians, they...They wanted this. When I showed them what that blue shit stain was truly capable of with the ruby, they asked me to do this. They knew that if they weren't strong enough to stand against you, they definitely wouldn't be able to confront him. They knew the risks. They asked for this, Shadow. That's how far they're willing to go not just to protect me, but to stop him!"
"Why?" Shadow yelled. "What is so dangerous about that damn hedgehog that you'd go this far!?" He tried to lower his voice, try one final time to reason with him, even in these damn cuffs. "Infinite, listen to me. Do you have the slightest idea what will happen if you kill Mobius' hero?" He walked closer, fearlessly looking into the mercenary's yellow and blue eyes. "First, his friends will find you. They will do everything they possibly can to avenge him, and you'll be lucky if all they do is imprison you. Next, GUN will come after you by order of the president himself, including other world leaders who literally have Sonic on speed dial. Then, the entire population of this very planet will want to sharpen your head on a spike. Even everyday citizens, even small children, will rush out of their homes in the streets to hunt you down for killing their hero. But before any of that?" The biohog lowered his voice darkly. "I'll be the first to try and kill you. With all of that in mind," He said slowly. "Why are you doing all of this? What in the world could that hedgehog have possibly done to terrify not just you and your squad, but Dr. Eggman as well?"
The jackal relaxed his arms, his posture loose. "...If you touch the ruby, you'll see the truth we all saw." He placed a hand over Shadow's wrist, causing the cuffs to fade away in magenta sparkles. "Go ahead." He nodded. "See for yourself."
Shadow furrowed his brows, wondering if this was a trick. But Infinite's posture was too relaxed for a trap. Cautiously, the ultimate life form hovered his now free hand over the gem. He closed his eyes to brace himself from what he may witness...
...
...
...
"...I don't see anything."
Shock instantly appeared on the jackal's face. "W-What?"
Unimpressed, Shadow snatched his hand away and took a step back. "I didn't see a damn thing."
"No! No, that's not right! We all saw it, you've got to believe me! Eggman and I-" His voice sounded frantic and panicked, desperate for the GUN agent to hear him out. "-We both saw it all! There were these things...Four entities that looked like spirits, different colors and everything." This caused Shadow's ears to perk up. "One was gold, one was this dark blue-almost black, the third one was scarlet red and the last one...it was this...strange white-pinkish color, but it had this weird spectrum glowing throughout it." This caused Shadow's eyes to widen significantly and with concern.
"'To the child who slumbers here, always remember the Divine Quadrant. The gold one, the dark one, the demon and the angel. If you wish for courage, look for the aurous sun. If you wish for acceptance, look for the melancholy moon. If you wish for madness, look for your mind's pandemonium. If you wish for true love, look for your heart's perfection. If you are ever lost, look to their eyes for guidance.'"
No...Is that what he was talking about? Shit, that couldn't be a coincidence. Infinite continued. "They were all there, and that hedgehog was in front of them. He was covered head to toe in blood, and the entire country was a barren wasteland. The sky was dark grey, everything and everyone was dead, and..." He slowly glanced at Shadow. "His friends were lying dead around him in piles. Overlanders and other Mobians, women and children—All just masses of corpses. But you," He emphasized with a near whisper. "You were on your knees, dying. You were begging him to stop, clutching at his legs, but he ignored you and asked those weird ghost things: 'Could you reboot this? I wanna do it again.'"
"Bullshit."
"Damn it Shadow, I am not lying!"
"Bullshit!" Shadow stomped his foot, creating a small dent in the floor. "He would never-!"
"Why would I lie!?"
Shadow scoffed. "Like faker said, you're infatuated with me for some God forsaken reason. You'll tell me anything to go against him."
"This isn't just because of that!" He basically admitted it. "We will all die if we don't kill him now, can't you see that?"
With terse silence, Shadow adverted his eyes. He knew Infinite wasn't lying. Even if he was a good actor, nobody could fake emotion like that. He had so much fear in his voice along with genuine confusion, as if he didn't truly understand what he saw either, but it made a big enough imprint to scar his memories. Eggman was the same way, and not even Sonic could disbelieve the doctor's words. Infinite obviously hasn't been in his right mind ever since it was revealed that his family could have perished, but this wasn't manic rambling. Moreso, Shadow knew about the spirits he was referring to. Those colors described in the cave, it was almost as if Infinite spoke the text they found on the wall in that room word for word. And he knew very well he had never visited Christmas Island like Eggman did. First the incident three years ago that was corroborated by Sonic's friends who also referred to something looking scarlet, then Eggman, and now Infinite. It'd be one thing if this were only two coincidences, but three in a row? As much as he hated to admit it, there was at least some tiny amount of truth to all this and Shadow couldn't keep ignoring it. Sonic swore up and down he knew nothing, not even of his own early years of being a small child. Shadow could tell he was speaking the truth too, but perhaps...
...Perhaps Sonic wasn't supposed to remember anything from Christmas Island as a child.
Shadow himself had his own memories tampered with by his own beloved creator during his time of wrathful madness. Who's to say this didn't happen to Sonic? And if he wasn't meant to remember, then what else didn't he remember? Was he also not supposed to remember that he was to...destroy the world?
Oh Chaos...
He could only hope this wasn't true.
"Shadow," Infinite used his name affectionately, breaking the ultimate life form out of his train of thought. "You're really smart, I know you've seen things that don't make sense. You've seen cracks in that bastard's smile, it's all just a mask." He reached out to him.
"Stay away from me." Shadow hissed. He attempted to raise his free hand, until he felt harsh weight fall upon it again. He saw that the other hand was cuffed again. "..." He slowly looked at Infinite with horrid contempt. "Regardless of my feelings for Sonic, he's never blinded me to the truth. Even if we never got together, I'd still be questioning you with just as much doubt. Sonic is too pathetically soft to the point where it makes me gag, to be a villain. I admit, he's become a little more ruthless when it comes to his enemies, along with a lethal shit-talking mouth, but he's still the heroic blowhard that everyone knows and loves. He could never do the things you're saying, and I will retain that stance until I am actively proven otherwise." His tone wasn't that angry, it wasn't even opposing. It was simple, quiet and honest. "It is a hill I am willing to die on, and you can't change my mind." No matter what happens, Shadow will always believe in Sonic, because the hero believed in him and never lost faith. He would do the same for him in a heartbeat, boyfriend or not. This wasn't about feelings anymore, this was about the person he personally knew at heart. And Sonic just couldn't do that.
Sonic was not a bad person.
It appeared that Infinite was slowly starting to see that this wasn't some form of brainwashing, Shadow truly believed this. He believed in the heroic blue blur. "...I see," He finally said before looking away disgracefully, placing his claws on the ruby against his chest. "I understand your perspective, Shadow." He then walked away towards the window, watching the clouds above drift in the atmosphere above. "And that's all the more reason why I need to take you away and protect you from him. I don't care about anyone else except for my family. But you," He tightened his hold on the ruby. "I can't let him hurt you, either."
Shadow could only stare with disappointment. He never wished for things to happen like this. What a waste, Infinite could have had a chance at redemption.
He threw it all away.
"I'll make sure you're taken care of, just like when I was under your surveillance." The jackal said softly. "I'll make sure you're fed, clean, and healthy. And when this is all over, I'll...let you go."
...
...Shadow's eyes suddenly dilated when he saw a pair of red golden buckled sneakers smash through the window, and drop kick directly into Infinite's face.
"Gah-!" The jackal was slammed into the other side of the room, landing against the wall before slowly sliding down to the floor.
Speed walking across the chrome metal floor with blood stains and gashes sprinkled all over the blue hedgehog's body, Sonic spit out some blood onto the floor before charging forward and getting right in front of Infinite. He reached out to seize the jaw of his white muzzle with his dirtied gloves and yanked him close. "I noticed you've never called me by my name, so let's fix that, shall we?" He hissed with a dangerous scowl, his hands and arms emanating with blue chaotic aura. "Say my fucking name you shitty mutt!" The hero yelled as he pulled the jackal backwards, before swinging his arm and shoving Infinite's face against the wall. Blood splattered from his mouth, his face being crushed against the surface. "Say it!" Sonic cried as he lifted his leg and shoved it against his back, sending him flying through the wall, creating a large hole. Looking over, Shadow saw that he not only was flung through one wall, but several walls. Shadow couldn't even see how far down Sonic knocked him back. He slowly looked at the blue blur, who was obviously not only injured, but exhausted. Broken glass shards poked in his body, and strands of black and white fur were covered on his hands. He was fighting for his life back there, and harmed himself just to bust through the window-Which...How the hell did he do that? He was panting heavily, and he suddenly fell down to one knee. He coughed a few times, more blood dripping from his mouth.
Shadow rushed to his side and grunted as he lifted up his weight-ridden hands to his face. "Sonic," He called almost desperately. "You're hurt. Are you able to stand? How'd you even get in here, and how did you break out of his illusion?"
Panting a little slower, Sonic met Shadow's gaze and almost smiled that he was okay. "You're okay...Good." He fondly placed a hand over Shadow's right. "I'm okay, babe. Those damn jackals really know how to hit hard, lemme tell ya." With a smaller cough, he looked back at the window he broke through. "I was fightin' my hardest but they ganged up on me while I was dazed from the ruby, so I got a little scratched up. There's a shitload of these guys in the base. I used some chaos moves but I didn't wanna drain my energy. You know how tight these hallways are, so I ran out of the window on the floor above us, the big one. Thank Chaos I landed on a pile of robot trash but," He winced, and Shadow looked down to see that Sonic's left ankle was enflamed. He broke his ankle. "That's when I ran along the building's wall until I reached the window, and that's how I got all this glass on me. As for the illusion thing, it's simple." He smirked. "Meditation."
Shadow blinked because that was indeed a simple answer. "That's all?"
"Yup, yup. All you gotta do is push everything else outta your mind. Focus on yourself until there's nothing but silence. Once you do that, the illusion fades." He grunted as he slowly stood up along with Shadow. "Of course, I ain't that good at it like you, so I struggled a little. But thinking about you made it easier, and I was able to wake up before they could do any real damage to me." He smiled at Shadow. "If you hadn't taught me, they would have killed me for sure." He pressed a chaste kiss onto the biohog's lips, a little blood smearing against his tan muzzle. "Thanks, Shadow."
With a worried frown, the GUN agent shook his head. "You're covered in blood and bruises and you're thanking me?" He sighed, but he almost smiled. He was proud of him for taking Shadow's teachings seriously. "We need to get out of here. Infinite can control the entire base, and who knows what he-"
"Shadow...!"
In a magenta flash, Infinite appeared. Bloodied on one side of his face, he angrily stomped his way towards the blue hero. His eyes flashed a purplish-red, and that's when Sonic thought fast and closed his eyes while looking away. That's when Shadow caught what he was doing. Infinite's control only works if he meets his gaze with yours. Sonic must have figured that out the first few times he attacked with those illusions earlier. Realizing that his power had no effect on the hero, he cursed. "Damn you!" He reeled his arm back and rushed forward. Sonic quickly pushed Shadow out of the way and raised his arms up. Infinite moved with a strong lead, but Sonic was quick to dodge it. The two males swung their fists at each other back and forth, either dodging or blocking each attack with their own counter. As they fought, the sounds of several pairs of footsteps clanked against the metal floors behind them from the huge hole Sonic made with Infinite's body.
A wave of several jackals with melee weapons appeared to flood the room. If more got in, they would surround Sonic and kill him while he was distracted with Infinite. This made the ultimate life form growl. He'd show them that they should have just minded their business, and that they shouldn't have ignored the most dangerous thing in this room.
He may not be able to use his hands, but he could most certainly use his legs.
25 - END - 25
Chapter 26: Jackal Armada
Summary:
The climax of Sonic & Shadow VS Infinite and The Jackal Squad commences.
This is STILL only the beginning.
Chapter Text
26 - Jackal Armada - 26
Morning, 8:00 AM
Shadow charged forth with a strong kick, knocking down a jackal soldier easily with an instant knockout. As they swiped swords, bats and maces at him, he easily dodged them and continued to make high and low kicks. Each strike from the biohog's air shoes was enough to KO anyone who stood in his way. He wouldn't let anyone sneak up on Sonic without him having a say about it. Despite not having function of his hands at the moment, this was a cakewalk. No matter how many weapons were thrown at him at once, no matter how many lackeys tripped over each other to get to him, he was too fast for them to touch. He could see that Infinite did indeed push them to their absolute limits, because they were certainly moving faster and hitting harder than the last time Shadow fought the squad. A jackal ran and jumped up with a dagger in hand and turned downwards for a direct stabbing, heading straight for Shadow's head. An air shoe had lifted up, catching the weapon's blade in it's metallic-like soles. While he blocked this attack, Shadow could see that many others were rushing towards him. Suddenly, small flames began to appear from the shoe, and Shadow was rocketed backwards, knocking the jackal down. When he propelled himself with his air shoes, he managed to knock over other members of the jackal squad as well. He positioned himself in a way that would spiral himself around the crowd, knocking them all down like dominoes. When he finally landed, he noticed that even more jackals were breaching inside of the room.
Meanwhile, Sonic continued to throw hands with the leader of the jackals. While the hero could admit that he was somewhat of a formidable fighter, he was nothing compared to Shadow and thus, nothing compared to himself. The only reason why Sonic wasn't landing a blow yet, was because his jackals did more of the work for him when they ambushed him earlier while he was still lost in the ruby's daze. He was injured, so he was moving a little bit slower than usual. This fight however was taking longer than he liked, so he'd have to push himself a little further. With the next attack that he dodged from Infinite, Sonic attacked while doing so instead of waiting for a chance to counterattack. A right hook was nailed directly into his jaw, causing him to stumble back. Growling, he swung this time with his claws, nearly scratching the blue blur's face. Sonic changed up tactics and swung a high kick to push away the attack. The jackal then seized at Sonic's throat to keep him still as his other clawed hand formed into a pincher to stab itself directly into his side. The hero reached down to grip the jackal's wrist, stopping him from completing the action and mortally wounding him. As his grip on Sonic's throat tightened, the hero just grinned before bringing up both legs and performing yet another harsh drop kick to the chest. This time, Infinite didn't get knocked back, but he did lose his hold of Sonic. The hero used him as a spring to jump off of his body and gain some distance away, and as he did so he called for Shadow to come closer in the air.
"Shadow, switch with me!"
The ultimate life form did as he was told, and moved to replace Sonic's spot in front of Infinite. The hero did a downwards spiral axe kick into the GUN agent's cuffs, severely denting them. When he landed behind Shadow, the striped hedgehog grunted as he used his own strength to break out of the cuffs. Sonic's attack was just enough to weaken them for him to destroy. They both took a second to pause, and looked around as several other jackals began to get closer. Shadow had pulled himself against the blue hedgehog, and the two were now literally back to back, looking at the scene around them. The army of jackals were coming closer, but something was wrong. Shadow was positive there weren't this many jackals the first time he fought the squad. In the midst of it all, Infinite, who was still recovering from the drop kick, was dusting himself off as he began to laugh. "You've noticed the increase in number, huh? I might have lied to you when I said the jackals in this base and in Prison Island were the only ones left of my family. I had to call in a few more reinforcements, others who either abandoned the family or owed me a favor. Even if they've left our way of life, they're willing to return and lay down their lives for me." He leered at their position, as they were nearly drowning in jackal Mobian grunts. "Remember the fifty-nine bombs? Well, there were supposed to be sixty. You know why? Because, there are sixty dozen jackals who are currently or were former members of the Jackal Squad. There's more of us than you realize, and they're not even all here yet. I didn't claim them before because they weren't involved in any of this, but I had to cash in my favors. Point is, you'll never make it out of here alive." He then held up his arm before yelling a command. "Jackal Squad! Do not kill Shadow the Hedgehog, he's mine to take. As for that blue stain," He shrugged before simply stepping back. "Have fun." With his command, the jackals made war cries as they sprinted forward towards the hedgehog duo.
"Damn it," The biohog said quickly. To them, everything suddenly moved in slow motion, as they could speak and process words faster than anyone else. "This fight could have ended minutes ago if I could use chaos. Infinite caused my ability to spark it to disappear for I don't know how long, and even a chaos emerald wouldn't help. It's probably an illusion, but I can't meditate right now to ward off its effects."
Sonic gave a quick thumbs up. "No problem," He then reached down to grasp Shadow's forearm. "I've got all the emeralds, and they're slowly givin' me my strength back. You can borrow some of mine." Blue energy traveled throughout the ebony and red striped hedgehog's body, before fading into amber red.
He could feel the power find its place within the elder hedgehog's figure, and it was quite warm. Even though it wasn't too much, this was more than plenty to work with. With an impressed smirk, Shadow quickly glanced at his lover. "I'm surprised you learned how to do that so quickly after showing you yesterday only once, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point."
"What can I say? I've got a good teacher."
"Well, I think it's time for your teacher to show off a few new abilities of his own." He glanced back at the problem at hand. "Follow my lead." Suddenly, the black hedgehog stomped his foot into the floor, a wave of amber red chaos energy abruptly blasting throughout the room and causing their enemies to lose balance. He then reached up his hand high in the air, before announcing, "Chaos Bind!" That red energy suddenly paused, before zooming into a line of visible power and wrapping around the entire group of jackals. It then suddenly shrunk and like a rope, tied them all together into one ginormous pile of targets. Shadow then gripped his hand into a fist. "Constrict." The wire-like chaos energy pulled tighter. They kicked and made strangled noises of pain, but they were all trapped. No one could get out of this. "Sonic, go!"
Rubbing his finger under his nose, the hero smirked before crouching down. Blue energy surged through his legs before he began to run. "You guys better hang on tight-" He ran around the room in circle several times that no one with the naked eye could count due to his sheer speed. Blue rings of wind began to arise from below, before growing and forming into a large indoor tornado. The interior of the room was absolutely destroyed, items flying across the area as the powerful currents pulled the huge group of jackals upwards into the air. "-Chaos Wind!" The wind was directed into the gaping hole, becoming a vortex of powerful air and pressure.
Shadow then released his hand. "Release." The red wire of energy snapped and disappeared into embers, causing the jackals to fall completely into the wind's pull. However, red energy was still lingering on their bodies. Before they could fall through the wall's hole, Shadow announced yet another move. He slammed his hands on the ground as his power electrified the floor. "Chaos Portal!" A red ring appeared around the hole, and right before their eyes, a black portal opened. Along with Sonic's wind, the two hedgehogs created an inescapable black hole. The jackals fell through the portal by the dozens, screaming and yelling in terror of the unknown waiting for them inside of the chaotic void. "Finally," The Ultimate Life Form said. "Chaos Control!" In an amber red flash, the portal disappeared. Unbeknownst to Infinite, that same portal appeared outside of the entire Chemical Plant, just to dump them all in the nearby oceans of West Side Island. While he was sure none of them would drown to death, the ultimate life form would not be responsible for any accidental casualties. Even if they all made it back to the plant, he was positive they'd have enough time to defeat Infinite by then.
Speaking of which...
"Chaos Control!"
In an amber red flash, the duo teleported closer towards the mercenary leader. The two hedgehog stepped together, nearly arm to arm, their fists charging with chaos energy. Lime green and amber red eyes locked onto their final target, who watched in shock at their efforts. He never expected that chaos energy could be easily transferred from one living being to the other. He was able to keep Sonic on a leash thanks to having Shadow hostage, but now he no longer had that leverage. As they moved even closer to him, he tried to use the ruby. Magenta sparked in his eyes, but then blue power began to electrocute his body once more. He cried out in pain and alarm, looking at his left arm to see that there were several blue spines sticking out of it. When did he-? "Heheh," Sonic chuckled darkly as his eyes began to glow neon green once more. "Never saw me throw 'em, did ya? I figured with all the experiments Eggface did on you, you'd be just a little stronger. 'Guess not. Just 'cause you got that ruby, doesn't mean you can follow my speed. I breathe faster than you can even think. Now, feel this." He used his other hand to snap his fingers. "Chaos Pierce."
"AH!" Infinite screamed in pain as his entire body was fried with blue power, feeling as if an entire bladed needle struck right through his body. He fell to his knees, smoke flowing from his slightly charred fur. In that split second, he almost forgotten his current situation. He quickly looked up to see the hedgehogs coming right for him.
"Chaos Control!"
Again!?
Wait...why did everything but them seem completely still?
Did Shadow...
...Stop time!?
Together, nearly in perfect synchronization, they both jumped up in the air with clenched fists glowing with chaos energy. Shadow glowered daggers into Infinite with an angry, yet disappointed scowl. His eyes glowing bright red as his borrowed power flowed inside of him. Sonic meanwhile, was simpering with great mischief. His neon green irises narrowing down upon him as he grinned even more. Once again, time moved in slow motion for them, but unlike the two chaos users, Infinite's body could not move since he was frozen in Chaos Control. Despite all the power Eggman infused into his body, he was still adjusting, he wasn't at their level yet. The only thing he could move at this very moment, were his irises. With terror, he looked back and forth between them over and over. Shadow, then to Sonic. Shadow, then to Sonic again. They were going to kill him. It was all over. All he could do was watch as they swung their fists down upon him.
His heterochromic eyes flinched...
...
...An impact that could be heard thousands of miles away blasted sound waves across the island and beyond.
Several floors of the plant were destroyed one by one, impact by impact. Their attack pushed Infinite down so far, that he landed on the ground floor, the original ruins of the Chemical Plant. Blood seeped out of his nose, his mouth and behind his head, his eyes half lidded as he stared upwards. Landing beside each other, their fists hot with chaotic aura, the two hedgehogs lowered their hands and walked around Infinite's body. As they did, they fist bumped each other. Another job well done by the speed demon duo.
Sonic crouched down and nudged him with the tip of his sneaker, tilting his head. "Shit," He grimaced considerably. "Did we kill him? I really hope not." He stood up with his hands on his hips. "I hate the bastard, but I don't wanna take him out for good. Don't want that on my conscience."
Shadow crossed his arms as he stared down at the broken jackal. "I don't think so, I can faintly hear a heartbeat-Oh."
Infinite slowly, with great difficulty, lifted his head up. "H-How...Are you two...I..." His limbs shook violently as they attempted to function. "Eggman...He infused me with nothing...but chaos...energy...I'm supposed to...be like you..."
With a frown, Shadow debunked this lie. "You are nothing like us, nor will you ever be—no matter how many syringes are stabbed into your body. Sonic and I are one of a kind, and nobody can match that."
Sonic nodded confidently. "He's right, ya know. When Shads an' I are together, there's no chance for douchebags like you. We're just that good. Don't make this any harder for us," The hero advised softly. "Just give up. Shadow might be mad at you now, but he's still got a heart. He might show ya some mercy if you come along quietly-"
"-And quickly." Shadow finished for him. "I have little to no patience as of now. You forced me to come here at the crack of dawn, just for you to pull something like this?" He reached down and roughly gripped Infinite's collar, yanking him upwards off his feet and looking him in the eyes. "You've disappointed me, Infinite." His voice was filled with so much regret and despondency, that he sounded slightly more emotional than usual. "I could have worked with you to make your life better, perhaps even lessened your sentence since you were forced into bombing the city, but you've crossed the line!"
Shadow made a horrible mistake.
Infinite painfully smirked a little as his eyes turned magenta.
"...!" The biohog let go of the jackal as he saw the purplish-red mist fill his eyesight. "Son of a...!" He suddenly heard the sound of sleek metal. A small whoosh of wind breezed past his face as he slowly looked down. A magenta glowing, large curved blade was sitting up against his neck, right underneath his tan muzzle. Carefully, his eyes darted to the side to see a black furred arm holding the blade near Shadow's face. How was he still able to use the ruby after having his body battered? His will power must have been a lot stronger than they anticipated.
The magenta mist faded away, and Sonic coughed as he finally saw through the gas. "Shadow-!" He tried to reach for him, but Infinite pressed the blade close to the striped hedgehog's neck, allowing a thin line of blood to spill and drip down his throat and onto his chest fur. It stained the white fur into pink, causing Shadow to wince. Immediately gnashing his teeth, his blue quills raised and sharpened, Sonic demanded that he let him go. "Get that fucking thing away from him!"
Infinite just shook his head. "Like I said before," He coughed up a little blood. "You've...forced my hand." The emotions of desperation, fear, anger, jealousy, lust and unrequited feelings all surged within the ruby, strengthening it's power significantly. The jackal's body was completely engulfed in it's aura, making him laugh a little. "Now I can feel it...everything the doctor put inside of me." He glanced at Shadow, who was still glaring swords at him from the front. "I didn't realize...chaos energy needed strong emotions to awaken latent powers. Heh," He closed his eyes. "That's all it took, hm? I suppose...I should thank you both...for that beating. You helped me realize...what I was missing all along." The entire room glowed magenta, and Sonic could feel himself lifting off the ground. Surprised by this, the hedgehog didn't know what to do. "You...blue rat, this is farewell for now. When the time...is right," He raised his free hand, the ruby's power floating around his limb. "I will kill you." He simply waved his hand, and in a purplish-red light, Sonic disappeared.
He cried out for Shadow's name right at the last second, reaching out for him. "Shad-!"
He was gone.
With trembling eyes, Shadow looked away and closed them while clenching his teeth. "Piece of trash..." He mumbled. "What did you do to him!?" He suddenly yelled.
Grunting, the ruby's power began to heal Infinite of all of his wounds. The bruises and gashes he took from the battle were gone in a near instant. Cracking his neck, the jackal made a big sigh before letting Shadow go. He looked at his sword, flipping it up and down in his hand. "You know, I thought after you arrested me, I'd never see this baby ever again." He smiled at it. "Ol' reliable. I manifested it with the ruby's power thanks to that boost in energy you two gave me. That beating really did wonders, helped me grow stronger." He ominously looked at Shadow, who immediately stepped back. "Pain always does wonders when it comes to learning though, doesn't it?" With another wave of his hand, in another magenta flash, they teleported to another floor of the upper levels of the Chemical Plant. The halls here however, were not renovated by Eggman and were complete ruins as the rest of the building. He walked down the hall casually, not caring if Shadow followed him or not. He dragged his claws against the wall, watching as polished chromium began to replace the old rust. Before their eyes, the surfaces of the corridor were healing itself of damage and weathered chemical reactions. He smirked as he stared at his hand with great desire. "Amazing...This ruby has so much power, I can't even see the beginning of it's limits!"
Shadow walked in front of him with a feral expression, ready to pounce and rip the jackal apart. "Where. Is. Sonic? I won't ask you again!"
Casually, the jackal continued to stare at his own hand. "He can't swim, right? Fear of water or something? I heard Eggman yap about that during my experiments."
Shadow's eyes shrank into peas. "Y-You..." Sonic couldn't swim, and he was terrified of large bodies of water. "You...You spineless motherfucker..!" He instantly tackled the mercenary on the ground, gripping his neck with enraged eyes. "You teleported him to the ocean!?" He shook the jackal violently. "Give him back now! NOW! If something happens to him...If he drowns-!"
Unimpressed with his sudden outburst, Infinite simply shoved the striped hedgehog off of his body. With strength that he didn't even realize he had, Shadow was suddenly flung several feet away. Standing up, the jackal blinked in shock. He really did reawaken all that chaotic strength Eggman drained into him. "Sorry about that," He casually replied as he walked towards Shadow's body. As he got back up, he cautiously took a step back since Infinite was coming closer. "I'm going to have to test my body against some live targets later, I need to see just how strong I've gotten...Anyway," He held up his hand, and a magenta colored chain suddenly appeared around the biohog's neck. "You don't need physical cuffs, I won't restrict you that much. But I will make it so that you can't leave my side, not even by a yard unless I say otherwise." Seemingly by an invisible force, Shadow was yanked directly next to Infinite's side. He stumbled against the wall, and as he did, the jackal suddenly slammed his arm next to him, trapping him against the wall. "Your boyfriend's right, I do want you." He gradually raised his claws against Shadow's face, dragging them down his muzzle. The ultimate life form tried to push him away, but the ruby didn't allow him to. "With this ruby, I can alter reality as you know it. And now that I've got access to it's full potential, you might as well stop fighting me. Let me save you, Shadow. I'll treat you right, I promise." Out the corner of his eyes, Infinite saw that Shadow was attempting to charge chaos energy in his hand. With a quick blink of his eye, Infinite caused magenta energy to erupt inside of Shadow's body, burning him alive from the inside.
The biohog hollered in agony, his body almost literally being scalded from the inside out with foreign energy that was like poison to him. He hunched over and puked up spit from his mouth, before falling backwards and sliding down against the wall until he hit the floor. Infinite licked his lips and crouched down to get to his eye level. He then placed his hand on his muzzle, before raising it. He closed his eyes and pressed a gentle kiss onto Shadow's lips. To the mercenary, this was heaven. Though he tasted faintly of sweat, blood, saliva and a little coffee, the fact that he could do this at all was mind numbing. That is, until Shadow chomped down onto his lip, causing Infinite to bleed severely.
"Gngh...!" He snatched himself away from he biohog and scowled at his stubbornness. He wiped the back of his mouth with his hand before grabbing Shadow by the arm and hoisting him up to his feet forcefully. He stared at the wounded GUN agent, noticing how broken he was. He looked completely exhausted, and he was intensely internally injured due to that zap of the ruby. "Don't try and think you'll be able to escape with chaos energy, as I've drained you of all of it. You now only have enough to keep you alive, at least that's according to Eggman. I remember him talking about how you live and breathe chaos energy, and how you'll die without it. The only energy you have, is enough to work your organs. Any other action you make that demands more energy than you currently have, will exhaust you instantly. And if pushed too hard, you'll die." He watched the hedgehog wobble from side to side, his now dark red wine eyes empty of any vigor they had before. "It's a shame," Infinite said. "You're beautiful, and you waste your life on that thing, that abomination that likes to pretend it's a Mobian."
Panting heavily, Shadow could barely fight to stay awake at the moment. "Fuck you. If you think you've killed Sonic, you're even dumber than I thought."
The jackal scoffed. "I know he's not dead. Considering what he is, he's too powerful to die just yet. No, I want you to watch me kill him. Then you'll be forced to get him out of your mind, and you'll be free from what ever spell he's placed on you. However..." He tapped his foot against the ground, magenta suddenly glowing all throughout the entire perimeter of Chemical Plant. If anyone was watching from afar, even from space, they could see the bright light of the ruby's power engulf the entire plant. Suddenly, the floor violently shook, as if an earthquake was rushing to open up the floor right beneath them. As the building shook, Infinite calmly dragged Shadow by the arm down the hall, the former state of the plant's insides still reforming in front of him. Many empty rooms that were once inoperable or too destroyed to enter, were now perfectly fit for entry. He looked inside first, before smiling. "Perfect." He dragged Shadow inside what looked like some kind of infirmary. There was a single hospital bed in the room. No doubt this was made for Robotnik in case he was injured, and probably assigned a robot to perform medical assistance. Infinite dropped Shadow onto the floor, before moving his magenta aura infused hands around.
Shadow watched as several items were pulled in and out of the room, both from within the room itself and from other rooms that were just restored. He even shifted and readjusted walls, floors and doors, adding and ridding them as he saw fit. He was rearranging the entire room's components to build and furnish it exactly as he wanted, and he was waving his arms and hands as if performing as a conductor for an orchestra. After a few minutes of levitating, pushing and pulling objects in and out of the room, it was complete. The jackal looked around before nodding his head with satisfaction, perfect. Infirmaries in itself were rather large rooms, even if it was utilized by very few people. They could hold a lot of items, and if remodeled, could become a rather eventful looking room. Therefore, by the time Infinite had finished his modifications with the help of the ruby, Shadow realized he had basically created an apartment. He even put individual smaller rooms within it, along with suitable furniture. Some of the objects were rusted or damned to hell, but the ruby's powers reversed the effects of wear and tear and they were brand new again.
The main room, the one they were in now, was a bedroom slash living room. There was carpet beneath his feet and there was a lone sofa and coffee table just ahead of the bed. The bed wasn't that big, as it was comprised of the original infirmary bed, but the sheets were clean now. It was large enough to just barely, probably uncomfortably, fit two people if they cuddled themselves against each other. Infinite made a gesture to Shadow, basically giving him permission to look around. The biohog slowly got back up on his feet to do so, noticing that there was a kitchenette, a bathroom and even a small dining area. This space that was pretending to be an apartment was a shoebox, and it was much smaller than his own in Empire City. It was maybe slightly larger than the place Shadow had the mercenary imprisoned, but it was livable. There was even a fridge and properly working plumbing. He created a legitimate home just from the powers of levitation and restoration from the Phantom Ruby. His ear twitched at the sound of more rumbling, and he saw that behind him, overhead of the bed, was now a cut out and some glass pane. Infinite had created a window, allowing sunlight to shine into the area. But on the ceiling above it, was a security camera. This made Shadow scowl with disgust.
"This is where I'll have you stay." The jackal informed him calmly. "Since I've marked you with my power, you won't have a chance to escape even if you make it outside." He gave Shadow a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry, I can't trust you. You're still too manipulated. That camera up there will watch your movements. If you destroy it, there'll be a painful consequence." He paced around the GUN agent slowly. "Like I told you, I'll make sure you're properly cared for. The fridge in the kitchen used to be rusted shut with rotten food inside of it, but I restored it and the contents inside. Should be enough for a month or two. The water is clean and filtered. It also works in the bathroom, so you'll be able to bathe. And while it isn't the best bed in the world, it's a soft place to lay your head. Please," He said smugly. "Don't say I never did anything for you."
Shadow blinked slowly. "You're keeping me here against my will? You're kidnapping me?"
"Kidnapping is a very strong word-"
"Then what the fuck do you call it?"
Infinite thought for a moment. "Hmm," He had it. "Ah, yes. Insurance."
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
"In other words," The jackal explained. "Even if your boyfriend manages to return guns blazing, he'll hesitate the moment he sees that I have you in my custody." Suddenly, that magenta sword from earlier appeared before Shadow's eyes and pointed it's blade directly at his neck. "If I cut you up a little and spill some of your blood in front of him, I'm sure that'll make him hesitate in attacking me."
Growling, Shadow glared at the jackal. "First off, he wouldn't kill you. Second, he knows I can take a hit. That won't stop-" The sword suddenly swiped down against his abdomen, with small beads of blood dripping onto the carpet. Looking down, the biohog realized the bastard had made a small cut against the side of his stomach. After a few seconds, it began to heal and close up slowly with the ruby's power.
"That's just a small taste of what I'm willing to do to you to stop that hedgehog. You say he won't give in, but he buckles the second his friends are in danger." He made the sword disappear into magenta embers and walked closely towards him with a growing smirk. "I don't think you want to test me on that, Shadow. Of course," He slowly walked behind him and hovered his hands over his arms. He grasped them lightly, rubbing the palms of his hands up his limbs. "If you're willing to cooperate with me, I'll stay my hand." He rubbed them lower towards his hips, and finally-
"Stop-" Shadow snatched himself away from him, and winded himself by doing so. "-Fucking touching me!"
With a disappointed frown, the jackal threw up his hands and walked away. "Have it your way. Rot in here while the world turns, I've got things to do. And by the way," He said as he traveled towards the door. "Don't get any ideas and jump out of that window, because you'd be falling to your death."
The biohog narrowed his eyes and glanced at the window. "What are you..." His eyes dilated quickly, and he quickly attempted- to walk to the window with a tired yet shocked expression.
As he looked outside, he saw nothing but clouds. He could just barely see the ground below, as they were now far above the plant. It was severely damaged, but it almost looked as if something within the structures of the perimeter was missing. There was now a lot of empty, dirtied chemical spilled ground that wasn't there before. There was a lot of unearthed dirt and minerals, as if someone took a giant shovel and dug up a bunch of the building from out of the ground. That's when Shadow's stomach fell. That violent shaking of the base from before wasn't an earthquake, this entire Chemical Plant was hiding something huge—Eggman's entire underground and upper-ground base was an airship! When Shadow looked through the window at an angle, he saw that there were other smaller airships soaring in the sky behind this one. Dr. Eggman had hid an entire air fleet beneath the ruins of the Chemical Plant Zone! How did-When did he even...Did he use those three years to build all of this? Great Chaos, this was almost astonishing if it wasn't for the situation he was currently in.
Infinite chuckled at Shadow's reaction. "You understand now? You will never escape me. I have full control of the Egg Armada, and Sonic will never get back to you even if he found some way to fly up here. I have defenses and traps beyond your imagination, and the rest of the Jackal Squad have already been placed to stop him. Not just up here in the fleet," He trailed off ominously. "But down there, as well. His home, Station Square...No where will be safe for him, or his friends."
Clenching his teeth, Shadow whipped his head at his captor. "Don't you dare hurt them! I'm telling you, if you hurt any of his friends, you won't just be pissing me off."
"A risk I'll gladly take." The mercenary casually dismissed. "You have everything you need in here, so I'll be on my way. I'll check on you every so often to make sure you don't go insane, because I plan on keeping you here for a very long time. Perhaps if you behave, I'll grant you some privileges. Goodbye for now, Shadow." His bushy tail swished as he walked away.
The black and red striped hedgehog tried to run after him as he walked out of the door. It automatically locked, and a forcefield colored with purplish-red covered it's surface. "Infinite-!" He was too weak, his legs immediately gave out. He fell to his knees the moment he jolted himself too quickly, cursing under his breath. "Ngh..." He punched his fist into the floor, his head lowering in defeat and despair. His fingers gripped the carpet, closing his eyes tightly. He pressed his forehead against the surface and whispered the one name that would give him comfort. "Sonic..."
From now on, this would be Shadow's new home.
26 - END - 26
Chapter 27: A Fatal Rescue
Summary:
Shadow's kidnapping proves to be lethal.
Notes:
Forced kissing and groping are present in this chapter.
A temporary tragedy will also occur in this chapter.
Chapter Text
27 - A Fatal Rescue - 27
July 28th - Unknown location in the skies
The Egg-Jackal Armada
DAY 18: Monday
After Dark, 3:30 AM
Seven days.
He's been here for seven days.
Sometimes, he both loved and hated his own ego. He hated it because as of right now, he was starving to death. Out of spite, he refused to cook for himself or eat anything Infinite would give him. He needed chaos energy to live, but if he had nearly none of it, he needed to eat to replenish his life force—That is, if he didn't have another source to get more chaos energy from. Because of this he didn't feel hungry per se, but he did feel lethally empty, for lack of a better word. He also loved his ego, because doing this out of spite was really getting under the jackal's skin, and Shadow loved it. He'd get so frustrated with him, yelling and demanding why he won't eat. He knew that if Shadow died, not only would he not have his hostage, but Team Sonic or GUN would more than likely torch this entire fleet to the ground with the Jackal Squad's ashes in it. Of course, that wasn't the main reason, he mostly just didn't want Infinite to have his way. If Shadow died, he wouldn't have his toy to torture anymore. Additionally, neither of them could ignore the protentional consequences of the canine-villain's actions. Despite his new found power, it was obvious that Infinite was still scared of the hero, and he should be. The blue hedgehog was a beautiful creature when he showed his bountiful kindness, but he hit like a God damn sawed off shotgun when he was pissed. And judging from that incident with Eggman three years ago, his anger became quite literally demonic when pushed too far. Infinite knew this, and that was a sleeping bear he was reluctantly being cautious of.
Infinite temporarily took his limiter ring and removed the smart device in it that allowed Shadow to call and communicate with other GUN agents, and he also destroyed his phone. He couldn't take the limiter rings off to release any power, because that required chaos energy to use power. Since Shadow was dry as a bone, there was barely anything to limit, and he had already used them for their stored power during his capture. He had nothing left to keep him alive. Shadow did nothing but sit and meditate on the bed, staying in the exact same position for several hours before taking some breaks to nap or sleep. He was spiritually closed off from the world, and Infinite couldn't bother him like this. No matter how many times he called his name, yelled at him, hit him...Yes, he was hitting him. As of now, the GUN agent's body was a little battered. Infinite's temper had a short fuse to that of astrolite, and he definitely liked to make Shadow pay for ignoring him. Since he was constantly in a state of meditation, his illusions never worked on him, so the jackal would resort to tantrum-driven violence. He would punch him, kick him off the bed, slam him against the floor or wall, choke him, claw at him, scratch him...He did a lot to Shadow. Since he was void of chaos energy, he couldn't automatically regenerate to slowly heal himself either. He was injured, and he had some dormant level of very sore pain all throughout his body. But it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. He's been tortured before, prodded and poked at. He's had his innards opened up and examined while he was still awake. He knew Gerald didn't intend to hurt or scar him most of the time, but it didn't change what he remembered about being a living experiment. Plus, Black Doom wasn't too gentle when he got his hands on him either.
See, this wasn't the way to break Shadow the Hedgehog.
The biohog knew physical, mental and emotional pain better than anyone, so this was nothing to him. Even if he was tortured for every day of every hour of his life, it would mean nothing. He's felt agony of so many varieties at this point, that physical suffering of any degree was minute. So when Infinite walked in his room this afternoon with a plate of food levitating next to him, Shadow already knew how this could go. He'd offer food, Shadow would refuse, he'd get mad and then hit him for an unknown length of time. Nothing to worry about. The jackal walked over to the bed, the plate of food levitating to the sheets in front of him. "I...Don't know what you like to eat, you won't tell me. I got you a steak," The GUN agent was sure plenty of canine Mobians such as jackals loved that particular kind of meal. "The proteins should help you gain more nutrients in your body. I know that if you eat, you'll gain more chaos energy but I'm not concerned about you using your abilities as of right now. You're allowed to eat if you want Shadow, and I just want you to live."
"..."
Nope, sorry.
No answer here.
A scowl. "Still ignoring me? This is childish, especially for you."
"..."
"Shadow."
"..."
"You can't ignore me forever."
"..."
"Shadow!"
"..."
The biohog was punched straight in the jaw, knocking him off the bed and onto the floor. The plate of food toppled over onto his figure, and he was still completely silent. He struggled to sit up, but he was too weak in his arms or legs to do so. It felt like all of the joints in his body were locking up and causing him to become stiffer. Infinite marched his way over to his body and yanked him by the back of his quills onto his feet. Shadow was so silent that he wasn't even making sounds of pain, which legitimately concerned the jackal for a moment. "You're not dead, are you?" He asked callously. He placed his clawed hand underneath his chin and force his head upwards. "Look at me, damn you." He spat. The biohog's eyes were a dead wine red, he was barely conscious or focused, but he was still alive and awake. His fur wasn't a rich back, it was almost a dark gray. It was ungroomed despite the many times Infinite tried to force him to bathe, the stripes in his fur became a brown red and his muzzle was losing color. He was dying for sure, but he stuck around just to piss him off as much as he could without doing a thing. "Tch." He threw him back down on the floor. "You sure know how to piss me off, don't you?" He asked rhetorically. Surprisingly to this, Shadow made a tiny smirk and weakly chuckled. "...!" Several veins appeared on Infinite's forehead. "You think that's funny!?" He swung his foot into his face, blood splattering on the floor. "I give you a home, food and a toilet to piss in and this is how you repay me? I'm trying to keep you alive! I don't want to hurt you, but you're making me do this!"
Spitting blood from his mouth, Shadow continued to say nothing. That in itself was an action, and he didn't regret it for a second. "..."
"Damn it!" Infinite yelled as he bent down and seized Shadow by his chest hair, yanking him forward to face him directly. "Why aren't you taking care of yourself? Do you want to die!?"
"..."
"You won't accept anything I give you! Not food, not hospitality...And you won't accept me!"
"..." Shadow blinked once. "...I did accept you, before."
"...?"
With barely any strength in his muscles, Shadow turned his head away as he spoke, his voice hoarse and damaged. "Infinite..." He almost whispered. "You're just a child throwing a tantrum...I've no interest in that."
Growling angrily, Infinite pulled the striped hedgehog close and forcefully pressed his lips to his mouth. This was also a common occurrence: Forced kissing or groping. Shadow had to suffer through this as well. Of course, Shadow couldn't be bothered to reciprocate. For one, he was already taken and for two, he wasn't interested. And he'd never be interested, not even at the cost of his life. It was like kissing a cold, brittle wall, because not only were Shadow's lips dry and cracked, but he refused to kiss back. This was useless, he'd never accept his feelings. Then, out of pure disgust, Shadow suddenly turned green and forced his head away. He hacked up spit from his mouth, violently coughing his lungs out. It would have been straight up puke if he had eaten something, meaning that Infinite repulsed him so much that even a failed kiss caused him to throw up. "Fucking...!" Rage filled the jackal's eyes. He fiercely shook Shadow's body back and forth, screaming directly in his face. "Why won't you just give me a chance!?"
Still coughing, Shadow would have rolled if eyes if he had the energy. "...For one, this is forced...You're literally assaulting me. Consent is actually...a lot more attractive than you think. And besides that," Anger suddenly appeared in his tone, radiating his voice loudly. "Because I just don't!" Shadow yelled back at him before hacking a bit from how much he strained his voice, but he continued. "I'm not one to throw stones from a glass house...but you're far worse than me in terms of crimes. You're a liar, a mercenary, a thief, a terrorist, an attempted murderer...and you kidnapped me. You took me away from the person...I actually have feelings for, and you tried to kill him. So I'm sorry if I'm having trouble...finding you even the slightest bit likable at the moment." He turned away from him with a hiss, as he didn't even want to look at him. "When I made my own mistakes, I at least...realized how wrong I was and made the effort to repent. You're just a delusional creep...who thrives on violence and bloodshed. You said it yourself the moment I arrived here, that you had no plans...on cooperating with me and turning yourself in. You want to continue hurting people for your own gain...and you don't plan on stopping. Now that you've got the ruby, you're worse than before. It was never just about Sonic...or his alleged tyrannical ancestry, you just want to dominate the world just like Eggman...with Sonic out of the way." He shamefully closed his eyes. "I should have never shown you kindness. I tried to be like him for once, and it bit me in the ass..."
Infinite honestly didn't expect that answer, but he still couldn't accept it. He couldn't. "Why...Why can't you see that I'm better than him? I'm smarter, and now I'm stronger! I can bend the fabric of reality, do things you can't even fathom! And you can say what you want about me, but I'll never be as bad as that fake hero! Just because I wish for domination, doesn't mean I want everyone else in the world to die for it. He does!"
"I told you...that remains to be seen." Shadow easily countered with a raspy voice. "Besides, Sonic at least doesn't force himself onto me. He's patient with me...and even stops me if I try to go too far for his sake. He cares about me, how I feel and what I'm comfortable with. He wants us both to...enjoy being together, he doesn't want the relationship one sided, as it shouldn't be. You meanwhile," His tone became more repulsed with vitriol with every word he continued to say. "Want nothing more...than to sexually take advantage of me and work me like a puppet for your own desires. Why you haven't tried to straight up force yourself on me at this point...is beyond me. Maybe you're hoping I eventually cave in...and let you do what you want with consent, but that'll never happen and you know it. You're fucking disgusting, end of story. Compared to you...Sonic is an angel. The only monstrosity I should be concerned about is my own captor, you."
The jackal shook his head desperately. "But I'm telling the truth! You know Eggman and I weren't lying!"
"I don't fucking give a damn if you're telling the truth!" The biohog shouted abruptly. "At this point, I'd rather Sonic kill me himself than to sit any second longer in here, around you! Unlike you, he was always strong enough to kill me on his own, and at least he deserves to have my blood on his hands...He's earned my attention. I wouldn't even spit in your direction, you fucking garbage dump of a Mobian!"
With disbelief clouding his heterochromic eyes, the jackal frowned heavily. "You...really care about him that much? How? Why?"
Shadow scoffed with a small pitiful laugh. "I've never wanted something...so much in my life, and he's it. He gives me everything I need, something you couldn't possibly do in this lifetime or the next."
"But you've only dated him for two fucking weeks!"
The biohog continued to chuckle harder, even though he was causing himself pain by doing so. "I guess that means the bastard stole my heart faster than you ever could. You don't understand our history...what we've done together, what he's done for me long before I was even considered his friend. Sonic is the most selfless person you will ever meet...someone willing to die just to see someone else smile. And yet you want to take that beauty away from the world...and destroy it. If you still can't get it through your head, let me put this in a way a sex-crazed troglodyte like you can understand," Shadow smirked darkly and glanced at Infinite with a cruel expression. "I'd let him bend me over and fuck me right in front of you, if that answers your question."
With a frustrated scream, the jackal shoved his fist into his stomach. When Shadow fell down to the floor, he continued to punch and beat him over and over. "Why!? Why won't you trust me!? Why can't you see things my way!? Why do you keep falling for that son of a bitch!? He's going to kill us all! Trust in me...!" He held up both fists in the air, balled up. "Trust in me instead!" He pummeled them back down onto Shadow's head. There was blood on the jackal's gloves, and he panted out of anger.
Now completely dizzy and losing consciousness, Shadow was still smirking and chuckling at him. Half awake, he croaked the last thing he had to say to Infinite for today. "...I already...fucking told you why, you idiot." He gasped as he spit up a glob of dark blood. He was out of breath, he could barely breathe anymore. "...Unless those big ass ears of yours...work as well as your brain does. You're...nothing to me. You want to know the real...truth?" He weakly reached up to grab at Infinite's arm, gripping as hard as he could with the limited amount of time he had left to stay conscious. "Quite frankly, you disgust me. You're a pathetic loser...who gets his kicks off of hurting others the moment he gets a leg up...then runs away like a skulker the moment things don't go your way. I hate you...You are a coward...in every sense of the word. You're someone I hate more than any other...A skittish dastard void of any honor!" He then snarled. "You're ugly, you're repulsive, but most of all, you're weak!"
Infinite's eyes widened. "..."
"Don't you dare ever show your face to me again! You weakling!" Shadow's voice held the emotions of someone who had enough. But not enough of the pain, not enough of the torture or the assault. None of that mattered to him. He had enough of Infinite. Not just of his face, not just of his voice but his very existence. His expression was contorted into so much outrage, so much loathing and so much genuine nausea by the jackal, that it almost frightened Infinite and put him in a thousand yard stare. With a loud, hefty voice, Shadow said one last thing before his last ounce of strength left his body: "You're NOTHING!"
...
...Shadow passed out.
"..."
And now it was Infinite who had nothing to say.
August 4th
DAY 25: Monday
Morning, 11:00 AM
Two weeks.
It's been...two weeks...
Shadow was tired.
Shadow was very tired.
He didn't have much left in him.
One more day of this, and he was sure he would die. He could barely breathe, even taking oxygen into his lungs was an ordeal that took several minutes to complete. He could never keep his eyes open for long, and the cells in his body were growing stagnant. The tiny bit of chaos energy he had left wasn't doing much to keep his organs operating, it's been too long without a healthy amount in his body. Usually it came back on its own, but Infinite injured him so badly that he screwed even that up. He kept refusing to eat, as he didn't want to owe the jackal a damn thing nor give him the satisfaction of accepting anything from him. Again, he starved himself out of spite. Normal Mobians or Overlanders would have died within only a few days, but him...He was lucky he was lasting this long. Well, maybe that was the blessing or curse of being the Ultimate Life Form. He couldn't even meditate anymore, it was like beating a dead horse. Why meditate? What good would that do? Infinite didn't even care to try and trick him with illusions anymore. All Shadow did was lay against this bed, staring at nothing. Sometimes he would crack a ghost of a smile, because he'd think of the one thing that would make him happy. He was out there...Somewhere. Looking for him, checking every single satellite in space for him. He'd come, eventually. He didn't want to die before he arrived, because he didn't want to break his heart. If he died, he knew that would destroy him. If only he could tell him his location.
The biohog realized: He loved Sonic.
He loved him.
He was in love with him.
He wasn't unsure about this anymore, and he's had nothing but time to think for the last fourteen days. Every time he's around him, he feels happy and at peace. Every time he smiled at him, his chest was inflamed. Every time he flirted with him, he immediately panicked and felt butterflies zip in his tummy. His voice was so sweet, he had the cutest face when he slept and snored. He was so warm to touch and hold, and he was so soft to lay against at night. His green eyes mesmerized him, and when they turned neon, an animalistic hunger breached from within. He felt so lonely whenever he wasn't around, and he was so bored and unhappy whenever he couldn't see him or hear his voice. Honestly, not being with him for this long put him in a small state of depression. He...He was sad. He wanted to see him, he wanted to know if he was okay. He wanted to see him at least one last time before he went. He knew the hero would have survived being dumped into the ocean, he knew he'd fight tooth and nail to get back to him. He knew he wanted him back. He knew he...needed him. He's the only person in this world who could truly understand him, who could truly comprehend him on a level no one else could. The way he made him feel, it at first reminded him of Maria.
That blue color palette of his figure, reminded him of her dress. His gentle words and kindness reminded him of her forgiving, almost nurturing nature. But those two were not the same. The blue blur was cocky, rambunctious and unbelievably rude, but that only added to how much he adored him. He wasn't just a sweetheart without flaws, he was a stubborn and annoying challenge. A challenge that welcomed anyone to try, including him. He took on this challenge, and he was still currently undergoing it. He didn't want to lose here, as there was so much he wanted to do with him. He wanted to go on more beach picnic dates, lay on the sand and kiss sweet nothings for hours. He wanted to spend more nights in bed with him, sleeping in late and cuddling against him without a single responsibility. He wanted to keep teaching him about chaos energy, showing him the way of an ancient untapped art that had great potential within him. He wanted to feel his body against his, feel his lips and his long eyelashes brush against his face when they woke up in the morning. It was true that he was willing to die for him before when it came to fighting big bads, simply because the world needed its hero before it ever needed him. But now...He was willing to die for him...Just because. He didn't know why he was falling so hard for him. Perhaps it was the long lengths of silence in this room. Maybe he was going crazy, or maybe he felt this way because Sonic was the only reason why he was still forcing himself to stay alive.
Sonic would want him to keep fighting, he wouldn't want him to let Infinite win. He'd want him to see Rouge again, to see Omega, who was currently stationed elsewhere in the world right now. He wondered if he ever finished his mission in Shamar, he'd love to speak with him again. He wouldn't have even minded to see Abraham, or any of Sonic's friends. But what he would give to see him...The things he'd be willing to do to get one glimpse of him again before he passed on...
"Shadow?"
No...
Could it be?
Very slowly, and tiresomely, Shadow's eyes forced themselves to open. His dead wine colored irises attempted to readjust his failing vision. He saw blue, and he saw peach. He started to smile. "...S..." He couldn't even move his lips to talk, his voice was dying out. "...So...nic...?"
"Hey," A blue hedgehog crouched down to place a white glove on the striped hedgehog's head, petting it softly. It was like there was an angelic aura around him. His angel coming to save him. Was he dead? Was this the light? "You're starving yourself, babe."
"..." Shadow couldn't respond.
"I need you to eat for me, okay? I got some food, right here."
"..."
He got him...
...food?
Something wasn't right.
Why would that be the first thing Sonic offered? Yes he was starving, but he didn't need food, not from him. If this was a rescue mission, Sonic would just give him chaos energy to revive him and he just recently taught him how to do so. Sonic even performed this feat right before they were separated, so he knew how to help Shadow properly. They didn't have time to eat if they were going to escape this place, and spreading chaos energy to another person was almost instant. Much quicker than having to consume and digest food. Shadow frowned as he stared at the hedgehog's eyes, which looked green at first, until they shifted from lime...
...To magenta.
Bastard.
He should have known.
The biohog moved his lips to spit directly at the imposter. Granted, he barely had any saliva at this point, but it did the job. The blue hedgehog flinched at this, before sighing with exasperation. He stood up from the bed and clenched his fists. "I tried to make this easier for you," He suddenly growled, black and white fur suddenly faded onto his body. His voice went from tender and comforting, to familiarly irritating and gross. The illusion was shattered instantly, and Infinite was revealed. His face was obscured by a mask, a real complicated looking one too. It was a silver-colored metal mask with white and black circular patterns on the inside of the ears, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns, and the left being white with black circular patterns. While his left eye was visible through a red visor, his right eye was covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eye patch, that was connected to his mask's right ear, which glowed reddish-purple every time he used that damned ruby. He supposed he really liked the asymmetrical schtick. Shadow's spit had stained the right eye, and it slowly slid down the surface. "I tried to give you the one thing you want, and you still won't take it!"
Shadow just stared with apathy. Even if he killed him right now, he didn't give a damn. There's nothing he could do to break him, and that bothered him. If Shadow had the energy, he'd laugh right in his face. "..." Infinite used his power to levitate the hedgehog in the air. With his hand, he made a crushing motion, which began to choke the GUN agent. He couldn't even cough, he just stared down at the jackal with that same disgust as he did before.
"If you wanna die so badly then...!" The jackal made his hand into a fist. "To hell with you! Suffer and burn in hell!"
His heart was stopping as magenta filled his vision, he could feel the blood in his body begin to stop moving. He was blacking out, he was going to die.
I'm sorry, everyone.
I'm sorry, Rouge, Omega.
I'm sorry, Sonic.
...I'll see you soon, Maria.
He accepted his fate.
"...!?"
A loud bang.
Several loud bangs.
And a final loud bang that caused an entire portion of the ceiling to be stretched down into the room, until it was completely torn through from the sheer weight of several unconscious bodies being dropped onto the carpet floor in front of the two males. With dust and pieces of chrome metal falling on the floor, creaking and moaning with the physical stress of having its material torn and bent, several jackals were now suddenly plopped in front of them. Looking up, there was large hole in the ceiling, where more bodies of jackals were laid out. Shadow could feel Infinite's power over his body abruptly cut off, and he fell to the floor. He landed on the back of his head harshly. That blow was enough to start shutting his body down. He had minutes to stay awake, his vision was incredibly blurry and he could barely see a thing. He could only tell that the ceiling was ruined, and bodies were falling out. Infinite was frozen with shock, and he rushed to the pile of his Jackal Squad with great concern. He easily could have used his ruby to heal them of whatever wounds they currently had, but he was too caught up in seeing them injured to do so. Shadow couldn't tell how severely hurt they were, but they were definitely attacked by something powerful.
Something like...
A red, white strap buckled sneaker stomped it's way down onto Infinite's head, who too landed in the pile of other jackals. Shadow's hearing was gone, his vision was going black. A loud siren began to ring throughout the entire base, the room was flashing red. A pair of blue legs rushed in his direction, and they bent down to the weakened biohog's level. Peach colored arms reached out to caress his face and adjust the position of his head, changing the perspective of his current dying vision. The most beautiful face he had ever seen greeted him, and this time, his eyes were genuinely lime green. He knew who this was for sure, he knew this wasn't an illusion. That flawless figure, that gorgeous pair of irises, even his wild flower scent, it was all there. He knew this person wouldn't hurt him, he knew this person would give their very soul to protect him. He knew this was the person he fell in love with, and he knew they would stop Infinite no matter what.
With a dying smile, Shadow's eyes involuntarily closed. "...S...on..."
...
...
...
...He wasn't moving.
He was gone.
Shadow was dead.
"No no no no no..." The blue hedgehog mumbled in a hushed frantic whisper as he lifted the striped hedgehog into his hold, letting his body lean against him. "C'mon babe, c'mon...wake up for me," He lightly shook him. "Shadow, don't do this to me...I need you babe, wake up for me. Wake up! Please! Shit..." He stood up with his body cradled in his arms and sprinted out of the room in a blue streak. He zoomed down the hall until he found a room that seemed far enough and safe enough to stay in for now. When he got inside, he instantly turned around and saw a button on the wall beside the entrance. He pressed it, and the doors shut and locked tightly. Without slowing down, the blue hedgehog looked around the area and saw that he was in some messy storage room that had a bunch of random pieces of furniture in it. He saw a metal bench and carried the unconscious GUN agent to it, placing his body down softly. He then bent down over him and placed his lips onto his cold tan ones. He closed his eyes with hope and puffed air into his lungs. He then pressed his palms onto his dark gray furred chest over and over to attempt to perform CPR, but nothing was working. "Shit, shit, shit...!" Panicking, he reached his hands up to his face, before realizing that the answer was indeed literally right in his face. "...!" Chaos energy transference...That was it. He could do it normally, but it wouldn't reach Shadow's vitals in time. It was an ability that was only almost instant. He needed a more intimate and instantaneous way of doing it to revive him faster than that, and he knew just how to do it. He leaned back over his limp body and pressed a kiss against his mouth once more, breathing a breath of blue chaos energy into his lungs. As he did so, he gently caressed his face, while his other hand desperately clutched his colder one.
Please...save him...
I beg of you...
"...?"
The hell was that...?
Was that someone's voice?
Whatever, not important right now. He had to focus, he had to get Shadow back.
That's when he felt a tiny, weak squeeze against his glove.
"...!"
It was working, but he couldn't stop now until he heard a steady heartbeat. He kissed him as if he had never kissed him before, pushing as much of his power as he could within him. He couldn't lose him like this, he refused to. He wouldn't! He was even losing his own oxygen from pushing so much of his air into someone else like this, but he didn't care if he suffocated. He'd do this until he saw him stand up and walk all on his own, and he didn't mind acting as a living defibrillator if it meant getting Shadow back. His blue ear perked up, he heard a heartbeat and he could feel it thump against his arm. It was so faint, but it was there. He just had to keep going, keep going...
He was almost there, he almost got him back.
Come on, come on...
...
...
...
...Coughing.
He got it!
The blue blur lifted his head and opened his eyes with relief, but then he felt a hand push his face back against the stripe hedgehog's. Blushing, the hero closed his eyes back to continue the life saving kiss. Slowly, the kiss was broken and it left the blue hedgehog panting heavily with a reddened face. The striped hedgehog below him was conscious again, struggling to move his limbs. Chaos energy drifted to internal organs, resuscitating the entire organ system of his body. Blood vessels picked up within the veins and began flowing once more, and electrical sparks began to fire off in the brain to create bodily functions. Cuts, gashes, bruises and other wounds closed up and healed before fading away and returning the skin and fur to it's proper color. His fur became jet black, his stripes were a bright amber red along with his irises, his muzzle was a strong tan and the smile he had before dying only brightened when they gazed into his green orbs. Their lips were a little red from such a lengthy kiss that wasn't even meant for pleasure, but it was more than worth it. Sonic carefully got behind the black and red striped hedgehog to help him sit up. He offered his hand to allow him to lean against him, and the biohog gratefully took it. He continued to look lovingly in the hero's eyes, his gaze never leaving his.
"...Sonic."
The Ultimate Life Form was alive again.
Unconditionally relieved, Sonic released a large sigh of happiness. "Thank Chaos." He hugged Shadow closely, clutching him to his body as if he would be taken away from him again. Then, he felt kisses being planted against the side of his neck and his shoulder. "S-Stop..." Sonic giggled a little at the familiar ticklish feeling. "Not now, heheh...stop..." He felt Shadow break the embrace and hold his face in his hands, as if he was an invaluable treasure he was terrified of losing. Shadow stared at him so intensely that Sonic was almost too intimidated to keep looking back. "S-Shadow-" A chaste kiss was pressed on his peach lips. "Mmn..." The hero was utterly flustered at this point. "Y-You can't do something like that right now...I...This is serious."
"I'm sorry. I...I was worried."
"Worried about me?" Sonic repeated with furrowed brows. "Shadow, you were dead for at least five minutes, you looked awful. You were bloody, your fur was matted and dirty and discolored..."
Shadow shook his head. "But I'm fine-"
"You died, Shadow!" The hero said with a louder voice, one that sounded almost broken. "If I didn't figure out you needed chaos energy, I..." His irises became glossy quickly, and he made a shameful expression as he looked away. "..." His ears flattened and tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. He truly didn't want to see him like this, and Shadow was shocked that he was seeing the hero break down at all. "I'm so sorry..." Sonic's voice was quiet, shaky and cracking with small sobs. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner...I could have lost you...You were probably in so much pain...I let you die...I failed you, I'm so sorry..." His shoulders shook as he closed his tear filled eyes.
So this was what it was like to see Sonic the Hedgehog cry.
How...Did he still look so beautiful even now? As sparkling tears rolled down his cheeks, he kept his whimpers nearly silent, as he was rueful of showing this side to himself. Shadow was sure none of his friends ever saw him like this, and probably never saw him cry or ever get this upset. Shadow caused this, he caused him so much distress. He had to fix this and fast, he couldn't bear to see him so unhappy. He hugged Sonic closely, feeling so joyful that he had him near him again. "But like always," The elder hedgehog reminded him of how good he was at his job. "You came in the nick of time, you still saved me. Thank you, Sonic."
Sniffing and blushing as Shadow wiped away his tears with his thumbs, Sonic tried to make himself stop releasing them. However, he never cried, so he supposed a lot was building up over the years. "I...I'd do anything for you." He whispered.
The biohog smiled at him warmly. "I know."
Those wonderful green eyes suddenly flared with a flame of unyielding rage. "That motherfucker basically killed you..." He hissed, his tears almost completely drying up the moment he brought up the elephant—or jackal—in the room. "I'm gonna make him pay."
Okay, that's where he needed to stop his overzealous lover. "Sonic, you don't understand." Shadow warned. "Infinite is stronger than before, much stronger. Even if we fight him together, we're no match for him with that ruby."
The hero gave Shadow a look. "I know that. That's why I've got all the emeralds with me, but that's not all—I have a plan. That ruby's strong, and if it's able to cancel out chaos abilities completely, it might be able to cancel out the emeralds, too. So," He broke their embrace and helped Shadow to stand. "I'm gonna go toe to toe with him myself to feel him out. I'm gonna leave the emeralds with you." A flash of several colors illuminated Shadow's eyes, and the seven emeralds appeared before him, circling around the blue hedgehog in the air. With another flash of rainbow lights, they disappeared. Shadow could feel the powers of the other emeralds around him, hidden within Chaos Control. Suddenly, Sonic made a tight scowl. "You don't get it Shadow...you have no idea how pissed off I am right now. I," He clenched his teeth angrily. "I wanna kill him. I wanna hurt him in the worst way possible. The way I felt when I almost killed Eggman...that's how I feel now. I've got enough chaos energy inside me to last for a few rounds. The emeralds are a last resort, but we can't use 'em if he finds some bullshit way to turn off their power, or something worse. That's why I gotta fight him to know for sure what he's capable of. I may not be as smart as Tails, but I'm damn observant. While I keep him busy, you get to the airship's control room and get in contact with GUN. They're looking for you. All you gotta do is tell them where we are and they'll come runnin'. I'm sure there's a map in there somewhere that'll help you out. Then, you gotta take this whole thing down. We'll find each other and Chaos Control out, then we'll transform together and waste this shithead once and for all."
The biohog frowned at this, he was reluctant. He had a God awful feeling about this plan for some reason. "Sonic...I don't want you to get hurt-I can't see you get hurt. He wants to kill you, too. You've seen what he's done to me. If he does to you what he did to me, I might lose it."
"He won't kill me," Sonic's eyes became neon green. "That's a fact. 'Sides, I can't let him hurt you again. You need to stay away from him. We just gotta play it safe, bait his ass and blast him off the planet." Those eyes instilled a level of determination and intimidation Shadow could feel from their gaze alone. "Trust me, I think we can do this."
Shadow was very hesitant but...
...He ended up nodding anyway.
What other choices did they have? Sonic was a reckless imbecile sometimes, but he was no dunce. When he was serious, when he locked in on something, that's when it was time to bend your ear and listen. He was right—Infinite got stronger, and neither of them knew the depths of his power or what he could do. They couldn't just turn super together without knowing if he could disable their only trump card. If they were going to do this, they had to analyze him before doing anything drastic. Meanwhile, they could set up their situation to act more in their favor. By the time Sonic went a few rounds with the jackal, Shadow would have GUN and Team Sonic invading the armada and give them some much needed backup. It wasn't a bad plan at all, it was just incredibly risky. Sonic acting as bait made Shadow feel sick, but Shadow couldn't do it—He was literally just Infinite's prisoner, died, and his body was still a little shaken up. Meanwhile, Sonic was more than willing to not only beat the hell out of several dozen jackals, but throw hands with the strongest villain they've ever faced yet in base form. Sonic was ready, and not only that, there was no way in hell Shadow could change his mind simply because he was too damn angry.
He couldn't deny him.
"...Okay." He finally said. "However," Shadow reached behind the hero's head to pull out one of Sonic's quills. He then stuck it within himself, specifically on his left shoulder. "That way, we'll feel if the other is in danger, okay?"
Sonic nodded confidently. "Gotcha."
Suddenly, the doors to the room became engulfed in magenta, and they were flung from off of its hinges into the corridor outside. An infuriated masked jackal stepped inside with shaking fists.
The pupils within the angry hero's neon green eyes turned into feral slits of barbaric wrath.
"Good," Sonic whispered as he stepped closer as well.
Shadow never thought the Hero of Mobius could get this mad.
"I've been waiting for you, puppy."
27 - END - 27
Chapter 28: A Fatal Contract
Summary:
The wrath of the Hero of Mobius is hard to quell, but the fight against Infinite is far from over...
...And then, something hopelessly unpredictable happens.
Notes:
Another temporary tragedy will occur in this chapter.
Chapter Text
28 - A Fatal Contract - 28
Afternoon, 12:30 PM
The jackal was more than annoyed that the hero arrived. He wasn't surprised that he'd eventually show up, he was surprised that he knocked out a few dozen of his men, and bashed them through the ceiling and onto the floor like gum against a sidewalk. He would take Shadow away, and he already healed him back to full health along with chaos energy. Since Shadow did nothing but meditate the entire time of his capture, his mind was resilient to illusions at the moment. And he was sure this steaming blue rat would be moving too fast and volatile for him to get his gaze on him. However, he was physically much stronger than he was, so this wouldn't be as easy for them as it was before. Even if it was, Infinite would only grow even stronger. They were on the same playing field now, except the mercenary had a huge advantage that could win this fight effortlessly. So yes, he was irritated, but he wasn't at all worried. He made it his mission to kill Sonic, and he would do just that without mercy. Nothing would surprise him, nothing would slip past him.
This was his fight to win, one he couldn't lose.
Meanwhile, the blue hedgehog walked closer as he seethed, his fingers flexing and readjusting to prepare themselves for a righteous battle ahead. They would spare no mercy, they'd crush and tear as much as they needed to. If the mercenary believed he was a monster, he'd show him one just as he desired. He nearly lost someone incredibly dear to him, someone he just spilled tears for. Someone he slept next to, someone he shared a bed with. It didn't matter if they weren't together for long, that flawlessly alluring black and red striped hedgehog was his, and he hurt what belonged to him. He tortured him, made him suffer for over fourteen days, and if he had just arrived a tad later, he wouldn't be standing behind him. This was beyond what Eggman did, because at least Tails wasn't close to dying a slow and torturous death. But this bastard...This delusional, vindictive, jealous bitch of a mutt...He was going to pay dearly. "I just gotta know..." He didn't need to push him over the edge any farther, he'll make him pay with his very life. "...What makes you think you can treat him like that?!" Sonic screamed as his entire body became a blue phantom of after images, zipping immediately towards the jackal with an outstretched hand.
"!?"
His full speed increased from last time...?!
Sonic's fingers gripped a tight handful of the mask, along with Infinite's face, and immediately shoved it against the nearest wall. If he didn't have this mask on, his nose would have been broken from impact. The action happened so fast, the jackal's eyes had to adjust—He could not move that fast before! "Hey," Sonic growled in a deathly whisper. "You still like callin' me a rat, right? Well let's make a promise, you and I: I'm gonna make you say my fucking name!" He began to scrape and push Infinite's mask against the wall while he moved his legs at an alarming rate in just a split second. "Say it! Say it, you shitty mutt!" He used both his momentum and speed to drag and grind his mask, and consequentially his entire body, along the surface of the wall like nails scratching and filing against a chalkboard. "You and that bald fat fuck are so terrified of me, you can't even say my name out loud without throwing in some cutesy little insult. Well no more, 'cause I'm gonna fucking make you say it! So say it," Sonic made a wild snarl as he moved faster and faster, his speed going so quickly that a miniature sonic boom began to blast everything else out of the room and even damage some of the walls and floors. "Say it!" He dragged him so far across the wall that he was down the corridor, and several yards away from the room they were initially in, leaving a streak of a sharp indention and blood from Infinite's mask into the metal hallway. "SAY IT!"
In Shadow's perspective, well...Needless to say: he was beyond aghast.
And maybe more in love.
Definitely more in love.
Angry, violent Sonic was hot.
He followed them, watching as Sonic literally used Infinite's face as a metal tearing paint brush, or a flathead eraser on a sharp sheet of paper. With every inch he moved as he dragged his body along, he grunted and growled as if he no longer was in control of his right mind. He had snapped—He was completely enraged. His eyes weren't even normal anymore, and his fangs were poking out of his mouth. It was as if a sleeping beast had awakened from within. Finally, Sonic pulled Infinite's body from the wall and swung it down onto the floor, small points of blood pooling beneath his body instantly. Panting like a deranged animal, the blue hedgehog's hand twitched violently, almost as if he wanted to do it again. As absolutely breathtaking he was right now, part of Shadow really wanted to stop him because this wasn't Sonic. He knew he was angry, and he knew he'd been harboring some negative emotions ever since three years ago. With recent events, those negatives only multiplied a thousand times over at the very least. Sonic was done, he didn't want to be the good guy anymore. He wasn't a hero right now, he was a regular person who had reached his limit with his temper. He didn't even turn to Shadow, he knew he was there. He knew he was watching this, and he knew he could see how out of character he was acting.
But he didn't care.
He didn't care about anything anymore.
Infinite pushed himself off of the floor and raised a shaky magenta glowing hand to his own mask, repairing it instantly. The speed of that wall-face-body-scraping was so severe, that it literally shaved off half of the mask and brutally damaged the jackal's face, which was bleeding immensely. As the mask was repaired, so was his facial structure. If it wasn't for the ruby's power, Infinite would have been permanently facially maimed for the rest of his life. He would have been unrecognizable, as even his nose got horrifically damaged to the point where he probably wouldn't have been able to smell or breathe anymore. The ruby actually saved him. With blood ceasing from dripping down his mask, the jackal didn't lose his composure. He didn't grow angry from the attack, but if anything, he seemed to grow a little more worried. That attack could have killed a normal person, which meant that Sonic wasn't holding back at all. The mercenary used the left side of his mask's eye to gaze into the blue hedgehog's glowing green. A spark of purplish-red power Blinked in his mind, and Infinite was suddenly directly in front of Sonic with an aura enflamed fist. He made a left hook, and it landed perfectly.
Blood splattered from the hero's mouth, and this moment of error gave Infinite just enough time to strike once again with a right. And for good measure, he struck with another left. Stumbling back a bit and now bleeding from his nose, Sonic looked a little dazed. Infinite moved to sneak in one last punch, but the hedgehog was ready for this one. He dodged last second, and swung a stronger right hook right back into the jackal's mask. Again, Sonic wasn't holding back, so that put major damage into the mask for a second time. Infinite recovered quickly from the hit and used his ruby's Blinking ability to continue teleporting punches into the hedgehog. However, these hits weren't connecting. Sonic dodged every single one, albeit by the skin of his teeth. Though the attacks were being done in less than nanoseconds, the hero was still able to anticipate them and avoid them. That's when he remembered what the blue rat said before about how his body and brain were literally moving much faster than he could possibly comprehend. A blink of an eye for Infinite was a series of breaths for Sonic, and it seemed like this fact still remained true even after the jackal powered up. The hedgehog's rage increased his speed so dramatically that he was moving beyond his own capabilities.
Bewildered by this, Infinite was momentarily distracted, giving Sonic the chance to slip a strong uppercut into the jackal's mask. Another piece of it broke off, revealing bloodied broken teeth falling to the floor by the mercenary's feet. A barrage of blue color fists bashed into the kidnapper's mask over and over, second by second, punch by punch. After a while, his mask was almost completely destroyed, but there was so much blood on Infinite's face that nobody could even see his eyes or much of his muzzle. In a magenta flash, Infinite teleported behind Sonic to try and strike with a sneak attack of sharpened claws, but he was only met with a sudden drop kick to the face. He tumbled down to the floor and scrambled to get back up quickly. Piece by piece, his mask was slowly restored once again with magenta surrounding him. He raised his hands in the air, and chrome metal walls suddenly surrounded the blue blur, obscuring him from their sight. Like a container of Schrodinger's cat, the blue hedgehog was sealed away in a perfect life sized metal box. Worried, Shadow ran closer, until Infinite held up his hand and made a crushing motion with his fingers. The metal box in the hallway dented, and when Infinite crushed his fingers more, so did the box. He was slowly crushing him to death.
The jackal walked towards it with a huff, but relieved the hedgehog was finally put down for now. "About time you-"
A pair of strong peach arms punched their way through the metal box, and reached out to grab Infinite. He tried to step away, but he was yanked back by his dreadlocks and yanked against the surface. Sonic headbutted his face and upper body through the wall as he pulled Infinite more into the metal box with him, whispering death threats as he strangled his arms around his neck in a sleeper hold. The muscles in his arms tightened and veined as he squeezed harder and harder, he wanted to break his God damned neck. "And just where do you think you're going?" He asked with a frightful growl. "You really think that loser shit is enough to stop me? Are you fucking kidding me, is that really all you got? No my friend, it's just gonna be you and me, with nobody to interrupt. And I ain't gonna stop beating the shit outta you until you say my name, understand? I'm gonna enjoy rippin' you to shreds. Piece by piece, limb from fuckin' limb." His eyes had never glowed this brightly before. He then briefly glanced at Shadow, who was still watching with his mouth agape. Angry at this, the blue hero yelled for him to move. "You idiot-What the fuck are you doing just standing there?! Go already!"
Shadow felt himself blushing a little.
He knew now was not at all the time for this, but God he was beautiful.
Hesitantly, the elder hedgehog slowly stepped backwards, biting his bottom lip anxiously. As gorgeously attractive as he seemed like this, Shadow knew better. Sonic was losing himself, he was losing his morality. If he kept going like this, he'd break their promise. He wanted to stop this so badly, but the biohog had to get in contact with GUN to intercept this fleet of airships. He said he'd go with the plan, he couldn't fail Sonic. With clenched teeth, he tore his eyes away from the hero and sped off. As he did however, he yelled back something. "Don't you dare forget our promise, faker!" Please, please don't let that imbecile lose himself in his rage like Shadow once did long ago.
As he skated through the newly destroyed corridors, he noticed that there was even more damage within the building than what Shadow just witnessed. Sonic must have raced his way inside and like a parasite, destroyed, or at the very least, highly damaged anything that got in his way. He was honestly shocked he didn't bring the armada down on his own already. He saw numerous unconscious bodies of the Jackal Squad littered on the floor, some of whom were pitifully trying to stand back up. There were a lot of blood stains and blue spines stuck into random parts of the wall with dying chaos energy surging through them. Thank God nobody was dead, the bodies were brutally unconscious at worst. As he ran, he slightly bent over to reach down and seize one of the bodies. He hoisted it over his shoulder as he skated, the flashing red lights of the siren going off from earlier still ringing throughout the base. However, he could hear something else. He heard an army of footsteps near his way from another direction, causing him to divert into another direction and skid to a stop to plant his back against the wall. He carefully glanced to the side of his hiding place to see more jackals rush down the hall, weapons in hand. Infinite was calling reinforcements. He would have been concerned if it wasn't for the fact that Sonic already beat up a high number of them on his own already. This wasn't two weeks ago, the hero could more than handle them all even without using chaos abilities.
When the jackal he grabbed from the other corridor began to stir and mumble, Shadow quickly threw him against the wall with his hand covering his mouth. With an alarmed, fully-awake, pained and terrified expression, the jackal stared at the biohog with shaky eyes. Waiting for the loud marching of footsteps to end, Shadow then turned his attention to the temporary hostage he just acquired. He lifted his hand from their mouth. "...H-Hey, you're-!" The biohog punched his fist into the wall beside their face to shut them up. "...!"
"Tell me where the control room is. Now."
"I-I can't! You're boss's hostage, you shouldn't even be out of your room! It's only a matter of time before he kills-" A glowing amber red Chaos Spear was held up to their eyeball.
With a tired and very annoyed expression, Shadow reminded this person that he was in no mood for a long interrogation. "Your boss has done nothing but assault me and torture me in that room for two weeks straight. Now, I'm a very busy person. Either tell me where it is, or lose your right eye. Then, I'll just move onto the next jackal and do the same to them." He tilted his head. "Would you like that? Because I really don't give a good shit."
Gulping, the jackal gritted their teeth frightfully. "...I-"
"And if you lie to me," Shadow added with a ghostly voice. "I will remember your face. I will find you, and I will happily break every bone in your body. Slowly. Oh," He then pointed the Chaos Spear to the other eye. "And I wouldn't mind taking your other eye, either. I'm sure blindness is just a small inconvenience to a member of the notorious Jackal Squad."
"There's a hidden elevator in the female restroom of this floor and it's in the fourth stall!" The Jackal Squad member suddenly blurted out. "I-It'll take you to the control room, but there's more of us up there. You won't even be able to touch anything!"
The Chaos Spear was stabbed right above the jackal's head, just barely close enough to tear off a few tiny strands of head fur, but not enough to injure him at all. Trembling against the wall, the jackal fell to his knees while whimpering. "Hmph," Shadow just stared with disgust as the chaos projectile faded into embers, watching as a yellow dampness began to spread onto the floor. Repulsive and gutless. "It seems being weak and cowardly is a running trend for you dipshits, not just your bitch-made leader." He began to walk away. "And remember," His amber eyes glinted ominously. "You better pray to God you're not lying to me." He proceeded to walk away before abruptly bolting in an amber red streak.
Shadow kept forgetting that though this was a plant created by Eggman to house his robots, it was now Infinite's home to manipulate and restructure as he desired. There weren't any restrooms before, but there were now ever since the mercenary took control and used the ruby to warp the interior of the entire building. He had few female members of the squad, but they needed to be accommodated of course. Smart of him to put a hidden elevator in the female restroom, as no one would think to look there for a secret. He made a sharp right turn directly into the restrooms and slowed to jogging. He went down to the fourth stall, noticing it was closed. He narrowed his eyes and bent down to look beneath the door. He saw black. He then stood back up and touched his hands around the door. His left index finger felt something bulging from the surface, and Shadow noticed there was something attached to the stall door that was painted over. Ah-ha. He placed his palm over it, allowing the heat of his once-again borrowed chaos energy burn away the layers of paint. It chipped away before revealing a digital elevator pad. It revealed two large arrow buttons and much smaller buttons for letters. Shadow smirked, way too easy. Question was, what floor would the control room be? That lackey said "up there," meaning it was indeed a higher floor. Probably the highest floor. He didn't want to assume Infinite was that much of a stereotypical villain, but he's learned to stop giving the shit stain the benefit of the doubt. He pressed his fingers against the up arrow, then the words "control room." The bathroom stall door began to shift loudly, opening from the front to reveal the inside of a typical elevator. Shadow stepped in, and the door quickly shut.
As he ascended, he could feel rumbling and quaking beneath him. He frowned, Sonic must have been fighting hard. He hoped to Chaos he wouldn't be too banged up. It took a few minutes to arrive at the desired floor, and Shadow sprinted the second the elevator doors opened. He saw a bunch of jackal grunts surprised that he was here in such a restricted area, so they immediately readied their weapons. They were blocking this single hallway, leading to a pair of tall black iron doors. No doubt that was the control room. Scowling, his eyes became a bright red as he boosted himself forward with higher speeds, "You're-" He spawned several small Chaos Portals all over the corridor, right beneath their feet. "-In my way!" Those portals would drop them into the oceans of West Side Island like before, ridding them of Shadow's space. He then propelled himself farther like a rocket with his air shoes, blasting straight through the doors to the control room. He saw larger built jackals in here, angered that their boss's hostage found his way here. There were six of them, and they were blocking the dashboard. There wasn't that much room for a fight, and there were big, tall standing windows that could easily break with enough force and send them all tumbling down beneath the clouds if they weren't careful. Charging chaos energy in his hands, he knew he didn't have time for this. He teleported in between them, before looking up at one of his larger enemies. For him, time moved slowly, so they were only just noticing that Shadow moved. With a loud grunt, the biohog swung his elbow into the back of one lackey, while he kneed the other in the crotch. They both yelped in pain, and Shadow jumped up to grab onto one's back. Wrapping his arms around his thicker neck, he held up a Chaos Spear to his face that had just spawned in his palm. Startled by this, the jackal backed away from the others. "Leave this room, or he dies." He swiped the tip of the chaotic weapon against his face, leaving an open bleeding gash in his muzzle. The jackal panicked, reaching up to attempt to pull Shadow off, but he only responded by wrapping legs around his neck as well. "You're loyal to each other, no?" He then sliced the spear against his shoulder, causing the jackal to kneel. "Leave or else."
Gritting his teeth, the jackal below the biohog yelled as he suddenly ran forward towards the windows. Just before he broke through, Shadow kick flipped off of his shoulders and landed on the floor as the jackal fell and plummeted out of the airship's windows. Shattered glass fell all over the floor. Whoops, Shadow thought. Hopefully he had a parachute or landed on some bushy trees. The other jackals immediately rushed towards him with big swinging fists. The GUN agent dodged and spun around to round house kick one of the punches away from his direction, and the force of the kick managed to cause the grunt to accidentally punch his own comrade in the face, instantly knocking them down. One down. When another of them tried to grab him, he jumped up on their arms with perfect balance and made a right hook directly into his jaw, sending a group of canine-teeth and blood flying. He stumbled to the floor and fell. Two down. Shadow then felt himself get grabbed from behind his torso and lifted up. He then reached down to seize the wide wrist of his captor, and punctured his fingers through his fur and skin. The large jackal hollered in pain, and the biohog used this distraction to whip his elbow directly under his face, pushing it against his throat and cutting off his airway. The jackal immediately dropped him and bent down to cough for air with a bleeding hand. Shadow then got from underneath him. As the jackal hacked and heaved, he then gasped when he felt the hedgehog begin to lift his entire body from up off the floor. This Mobian was more than twice Shadow's size, causing the other jackals to gawk in fear. Shadow then huffed as he began to swing the body around in a circular motion until he was nothing but a black and red blur. He suddenly let go, tossing the large jackal into the last two lackeys. They all knocked down with loud thuds, groaning in pain.
Shadow easily dragged the other jackal to the pile and tossed him on top, before a red wire appeared and roped around them. "Chaos Bind." It tightened around them. "Chaos Control." In a red flash, they were teleported to the oceans. Chaos Bind wouldn't last for long, so they'd be able to break out eventually. With a sigh, Shadow finally walked over to the dashboard, powerful winds blowing in his face from the destroyed window. He stepped over the broken glass and stared down at the high tech interface. He groaned stressfully, he hated these things! There was a flat keyboard, a number pad, switches, levers, speakers, a small microphone...He was never good at these. Ugh...What did what? Shadow placed a finger against a button, only to hear a ridiculously loud horn. Chaos, airships had horns? Okay, that wasn't it. Maybe this one? The siren and flashing red lights suddenly stopped. Oh, good because that was getting annoying. He looked around and pressed another. The windows of the control room suddenly blocked the sunlight with metal shudders, including the wind. Neat. That wasn't it though, hmm...Oh. Maybe this one? Radio static began to echo in the room, causing Shadow to sigh in relief. He remembered the frequency for GUN, and began tapping away with the keyboard.
More static began to clear through the speaker. "Who is this? This is a private, restricted frequency and you are not allowed to access it!" That was the voice of Tower.
"...! Abraham?" Shadow asked hopefully.
"SEA Shadow...?" The GUN commander gasped. He heard a lot of shuffling on the other end. "Inform Agent Rouge and Omega immediately, I've got contact with Special Elite Agent Shadow! Shadow," The old Overlander said with great concern. "Where are you? Tell me your exact location."
"Abraham, Infinite of the Jackal Squad kidnapped me and held me captive on West Side Island's Chemical Plant ruins. He activated Dr. Eggman's Egg Armada that was hidden underground, and it's been in the sky for two weeks."
"Tell me the coordinates, we'll locate you in less than ten minutes!"
Shit, coordinates? Shadow looked back down at the dashboard and looked for some kind of map. He randomly pressed some buttons, and one of which caused the airship to tank a bit. "...!" Shit, shit, shit! Don't press that again. Um...Oh, here we go. He found something. There was a digital map here. It was pixelated but it told the current coordinates of their current position and altitude. "I've got the coordinates." He announced with semi-confidence. "We're east of West Side Island, passing close to the United Federation. We're over the ocean, but we're only fifty miles away from-"
Without warning, two male Mobians tumbled their way inside of the control room.
"...?!"
Sonic was pinning Infinite against the floor, looking away and careful of his magenta gaze. While doing so, he punched at Infinite's mask over and over, snarling each time he did so. He was hitting him so hard that his knuckles were heavily bloodied and bruised. Even parts of his stained white gloves were ripped from the impacts. The jackal leader shoved a hard kick against the hero, knocking him backwards into the opposite side of the room. They both slowly stood up and glared at each other, ignoring that Shadow was just in front of them, attempting to contact GUN.
...
...And that's when the jackal realized that Shadow was attempting to contact GUN.
Infinite whipped his head at the biohog. "Bastard...!" He pointed his mask's eye directly at Shadow, who looked away too late. A magenta link of chains appeared across the floor, and Infinite yanked them, causing Shadow to be violently pulled away from the dashboard and towards him. The jackal leader growled angrily as he spawned his purplish-red bladed sword in his hand, and raised it towards Shadow's face. He wrapped an arm around Shadow's neck and pulled his body against his own. The biohog stiffened in his hold, turning away from him and the blade's tip as much as he could without cutting himself. "You're still disobeying me, you still won't see reason!" He yelled. "But I'll make you regret this, I'll make you rue the day you betrayed me. And then you'll finally see the demon you've been sleeping with this whole time!"
Sonic tried to reach for Shadow the instant he saw that blade near his neck. "Let him go-!"
As the hero ran towards them, the jackal whispered something. "Now," He briefly glanced at Shadow before looking over at his own sword. "Watch closely, Shadow." Magenta sparkled along the blade. Sonic caught this, his eyes making direct contact with the blade's aura.
And that was enough to activate a horrible ability.
It all happened so quickly.
No one saw it coming, and even Infinite hadn't truly realized what he had done until it was too late.
Shadow's eyes were like little peas when he realized he was no longer in Infinite's hold.
"..."
Sonic was now being held by the mercenary, having switched places with Shadow with Infinite's Blink ability. He had expected Infinite to attack him or to attempt to place him in an illusion. The blue blur was ready for all of that, he could handle it. And he knew that most of all, the jackal only wanted Shadow. He thought that Infinite had to share contact in the eyes to activate his powers, he didn't think even so much as seeing a reflection of his power could entrap him. He didn't think he'd do something like this.
Sonic didn't think he'd be currently stabbed in his neck, with the blade coldly slipping into his entire throat.
His body could barely react to what was being done to him, his eyes were glazed over. The jackal's hold of the blade shook a little, as he just realized that he was currently murdering the Hero of Mobius with his sword. A bunch of blood was spilling all over the floor, and he hesitated in yanking it out. Finally, stepping away quickly, the jackal ripped the sword from out of Sonic's neck. Blood splattered across the walls. Wobbling from side to side, the dying hero gasped desperately as blood cascaded out of his mouth and his throat. He tried to reach his hand to his neck as more blood squirted out. But then, he fell silent. He no longer gasped, he only stared with fading eyes as he stiffened. Infinite took another step back, watching the blue hedgehog slowly fall to his knees.
Finally, with his eyes rolling to the back of his head, he fell forward. The side of his face was laying against the floor.
He didn't move.
He wasn't moving.
Static from the dashboard along with Tower's highly worried voice echoed in the silent room. "Shadow? Shadow are you there? I repeat, are you there!? Please, answer!"
Sonic wasn't moving anymore.
Feeling his very soul nearly leave his body, Shadow immediately scrambled to his body. "S-Sonic...?" He could barely breathe his name out, as he had never been so scared in his life. He got down to the floor and scooped him into his arms. When he looked at his face, his mind went blank. Sonic's eyes were half lidded, dead green, and without any life in them. His muzzle was covered in blood, as was the rest of his upper body. Shadow couldn't stop staring, he couldn't stop staring. Staring...Staring...He looked just like...
His body...The blood...
He looked just like...
Like...
"He won't kill me, that's a fact."
He reached out his hand for the human girl as a bullet pierced right through her heart.
"Maria!"
He...
...He was...
...Dead.
He didn't even realize he was crying, not even as a small waterfall of tears fell down his muzzle and onto Sonic's body, which was growing colder by every second that passed. He could have begged for him to get up, he could have shook him and screamed for him to please show a sign that he was still alive. But he had already been through this before, he knew there was no use in doing that. The very thing he loved, he lost all over again.
Again.
Why?
Why did he have to fall for this idiot? Why did he do so, knowing that if something were to ever happen to him, he'd end up feeling like his heart imploded inside of his own ribcage? Rouge warned him of this, she warned him of the dangers of falling for someone. He knew the risks, and he took on the challenge anyway. He was a fool to do so, to think he could handle something this heartbreaking again. Shaking, he slowly looked up at the jackal who stood before him, holding the very weapon that ended the fallen hero's life.
Suddenly, Infinite dropped the sword, and it left a trail of the hero's blood as it slid away on the chromium floor. He knew he hurt Shadow in a way that he'd never be able to take back. He saw Shadow stare at him with the irises of a hellish inferno, waiting to burn and destroy anything that dared to get too close. His spines were raised and sharpened, his eyes were bloodshot. With a small swallow, Infinite attempted to speak. "..." He didn't even know what to say. He had severely hurt people before, but he never thought he'd actually end up killing Sonic the Hedgehog. Not like that. Everything happened so fast, and he knew he had to kill him but...This...This was grave. This was something no one could turn back from. "...Shadow," He spoke with both fear and concern, as he knew the ultimate life form wanted to kill him in this very second. "You...You have to understand," He murmured pleadingly. "I had to kill him. If I didn't...He would have become an overlord, a tyrant. He would have killed everyone, including you. I know you hate me right now," He cautiously took a step forward with a vulnerable posture, he meant no harm to Shadow. "But you need to see reason. You have to forgive me." He then knelt down, reaching his arms towards him. "Please, Shadow. Forgive me."
...
The biohog's eye twitched.
Forgive him?
Gradually, Shadow's pupils sharpened into slits. "...Forgive you...?" He whispered. "Forgive you..." He repeated with a haunting voice. "Forgive you...Forgive you...You want me...To forgive you..." He gripped his hands into Sonic's body, clutching him even closer. "You destroyed...something I loved. You killed it. You're no better than the people who took Maria away from me...You just want me to suffer...You take, take, take and take...And yet you expect me to show you forgiveness?" An eruption of amber red chaos energy bellowed from within Shadow's throat as he hollered from the top of his lungs: "I will NEVER forgive you!"
"...!" A boom of red aura blew the jackal back with a powerful invisible force, knocking him into the wall at the opposite end of the room. He landed onto the floor with a hard collision, taking a moment to recover from such a harsh impact. "S-Shadow..." He muttered. "Please..."
Shadow didn't hear anything.
He didn't hear Infinite, he didn't hear the static from the dashboard, he didn't hear anything. He just constantly stared at Sonic's dead body, his eyes no longer able to focus on anything else. Even as he laid cold and stiff in his arms, he still looked beautiful. He gently caressed his hand to his icy muzzle that was quickly growing a paler beige, his tears dropping all over his dead, dull blue fur. Pitifully, he began to chuckle to himself. It became loud, pathetic laughs of true grief, if not full blown sobs of misery. Again, it happened again. It was almost like he wasn't meant to find love or be happy, because anything he loved was eventually ripped away from him. Did he not deserve it? Did he not deserve Maria? Did he not deserve Sonic? Was that why this gorgeous specimen of hope and joy, was taken away from him once again? Why did he even bother with living a normal life, if this was all that was waiting for him? His only purpose was destruction and death, why did he think he could change that? Shadow was a fool. A complete, utter, stupid fool for thinking things would be different.
They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but was in actuality only around fifteen minutes.
However, Shadow would sit here until eternity if it meant he could continue being with his love, even in death.
He wanted Infinite dead.
Maybe if he could just take off his limiter rings, he'd get his revenge-
A black void.
...
...
...
He called out to it.
"...Huh? Who's there?"
...
He called out to it again.
"Little one...? You finally found me...!"
...
He told it what he desired.
"...I see." A hellish voice said. "You wish for madness, so you looked for your mind's pandemonium. Very good, template 2.0." They praised him with an amused tone. "And you desire to forge a contract with me? Let me look over your conditions..." The sound of paper filled his ears. "...Ah. Very well. I will commit to this request, as long as you commit to mine. Please, give it a good look. Read very carefully, as there are no second chances." They warned with a mischievous giggle. "Mmn, so you've read my terms. You understand them thoroughly, correct?" A brief pause. He nodded slowly. "Excellent. You have only ever summoned me once, which was three years ago. You were barely in your right mind when you did, so I don't think you truly comprehended the consequences of using my power. Now, you do. It's rare that I'm summoned under these circumstances, so I must warn you that this transformation will be painful. However," The voice laughed wickedly. "When the blood of your enemies run down your fingers, you'll feel such euphoria. You'll feel so complete, feeling their organs crush beneath your feet, rubbing yourself in their expired filth. You will be exactly what he always wanted you to be, young one: Perfect."
Bright scarlet red eyes opened to look down upon his soul.
They could tell he didn't want to be here, that he didn't want to do this.
He didn't have a choice, now did he?
"Are you ready to lay waste to those who hurt you and your love?"
An affirmative pause of silence.
...He nodded for the final time.
"...Very well." The voice concluded with a sick satisfaction.
Another malevolent cackle echoed through his mind.
"The contract has been sealed. I promise you, my dear, precious child..."
He hated himself for doing this.
He couldn't have any regrets.
"I will not disappoint."
A disembodied pair of bright scarlet red eyes appeared on the ceiling of the control room, and it stared directly down at Sonic's corpse.
They squinted, as if they were happy to see him after so long. Both Infinite and Shadow saw this, and were bewildered by such a sight. Suddenly, the entire room turned pitch black. Infinite figured his power was severed from the airship, yet it wasn't. The lights in the room had blown out, but only just. Then, those lights turned back on, but with that same scarlet red shade. All of Sonic's blood that coated the floors and walls began to bubble and meld into a thicker substance. Like microorganisms, the stains rushed to Sonic's direction, developing below Shadow on the floor. As it pooled into a perfect circle around him and the hero's body, it began to create a symbol. Startled, Shadow stood up while carrying his body, looking down at just what the hell was happening. His eyes narrowed, he recognized the symbol that was being created. It was the same strange symbols they saw on Christmas Island. Then, that blood began to slowly lift from the floor, and drift in the air to Sonic's body.
Shadow suddenly felt Sonic's weight become empty in his hands, because he was levitating from his hold. A little disturbed by this sight, the ultimate life form took a few steps back as he watched the blood grow and surround the fallen hero in a literal bloody halo. It then slapped several globs of plasma onto his body, until it covered him from head to toe. In seconds, a massive ball of scarlet red blood floating in the middle of the control room, glowing bright solar flares of demonic chaos energy that Shadow had never witnessed before. Then, those eyes that were on the ceiling, suddenly appeared all over the ball like growing pimples. They blinked and looked around the room curiously, moving individually with sickening squelches of appalling noises. Infinite, looked absolutely stunned. He himself told Shadow that the blue hedgehog was a demon, and as much as the biohog never wanted to admit it, he was finally proving that he was right. And yet, he looked more surprised than he did.
Quiet whispers of death, giggling, derailed singing and hisses filled their ears. These voices seemed to come out of nowhere, yet it was as if they were all around the room. It was emanating from the orb of vitae, which was becoming contorted and losing its form. The voices grew louder and louder, the symbol on the floor glowing brightly as scarlet red light blinded their eyes. Shadow and Infinite looked away quickly.
...
Silence.
Slowly, Shadow opened his eyes again to see.
And what he saw next, would remain in his nightmares forever.
28 - END - 28
Chapter 29: Fleetway
Summary:
The God of Chaotic Mania has finally arrived.
Notes:
Yes, I already know this is not actually Fleetway Super Sonic's name. Having two Super Sonics in one story is confusing, so this moniker will have to suffice.
Chapter Text
29 - Fleetway - 29
Afternoon, 2:00 PM
A glowing, sharply skinny, ghostly, scarlet red phantom stood in front of them. They slowly tilted their head, their spiraling eyes glowing curiously at them before a transformation underwent its figure. The demonic wraith's limbs thickened to proper proportions, and appendages grew to fit a more Mobian shape. Scarlet red aura faded from the body as golden-filtered peach arms were uncovered, along with a matching torso. Auric-colored fur was revealed on the rest of the body, except it seemed unkempt and even jagged. Sharp and rugged upturned quills appeared, and a recognizable peach muzzle was sifted from the bloody red energy. Now standing before them, was the body of a Mobian hedgehog who was currently in a super form. Except this super form had a dark twist. White gloves were clawed at the tips of the fingers, scarlet red aura instead of gold drifted off of the body like smoke. The body of Sonic the Hedgehog had been restored, at a cost. This was indeed the husk of the hero, but this was not Sonic. Holding their hand up to their face, the entity narrowed their strange eyes carefully. Their irises were red swirls, almost like two hypnotic disks. There was no iris, there was no pupil, it was just...that.
So this was what Sonic's friends saw that day: this creature.
It was confusing, because this was indeed Sonic's figure. Shadow had been with him intimately long enough to know every curve, every muscle and every piece of toned fat on the hero's body. He knew this wasn't Super Sonic, and yet it was a near exact copy of the super form. His peach color and his fur had returned to their rich shades, he was no longer dead. He had that sparkling golden color in this form, just like how it looked when they were in space on the Ark years ago. But Shadow knew in his heart, the person he loved was not here. Suddenly, the seven chaos emeralds appeared around Shadow, only to hover towards the demonic super form. They circled around them before turning into corrupted inverted colors. The gems then bled into embers, fading away into scarlet red energy. Then, the strange figure breathed. When they did, their semi-godly breath haunted its very sound within Shadow's ears.
"...You." They whispered, their voice eerily similar to Sonic's, yet horrifically warped. Infinite realized the entity was talking to him. "Fight me." He simply commanded with a calm tone. "I'll help you understand," He slowly turned to look at the jackal, directly in the eyes. Magenta flashed, but it did nothing to the entity. The ruby's power of illusions was completely useless against him. "Just how powerful the Divine Spirits are." Out of nowhere, Infinite's mask, which had been damaged once again during his previous fight with Sonic, was suddenly repaired in an instant. "I refuse to look at such an ugly face while killing you."
With an angry snarl, Infinite charged forward, his magenta sword appearing in his hand. "You're the reason this world is going to be destroyed. I'll end you right here!" The moment the sword began to swipe towards his nose, the corrupted entity simply stepped to the side to dodge it. As the mercenary missed, the entity sharply lifted his leg to land a powerful and flexible vertical high kick into his stomach. The sheer force of that simple attack was so awfully strong, that it sent Infinite into the ceiling and through the metal roof of the airship. Sunlight breached inside of the room as his body was flung several hundred feet into the air, outside of the ship and perhaps into the sky's stratosphere.
The entity then slowly lowered his leg and placed it back onto the floor, which oddly shook the entire floor. He then appeared before Shadow's eyes, practically teleporting in front of him. The biohog flinched and retracted himself away from the person that scarily looked like his boyfriend. "You're...not...him..." He whispered as he backed away into the dashboard. The entity continued to walk after him, only stopping when Shadow could no longer move backwards. He stared down into Shadow's eyes, his swirls for irises looking deep within his soul. He neared his face towards his, and the Ultimate Life Form felt true fear for the second time in his entire life. First was losing Sonic, next was witnessing a living nightmare creature walk amongst him. "..." He was so scared he couldn't move, nor could he speak any protest. He was never scared by anyone or anything before.
Then, he kissed him.
When Shadow felt his lips against his own, he could feel it: Sonic was indeed in there somewhere. He didn't know how he could tell from the kiss alone, but he could sense something benevolent inside of this demon. His blue lover was down there, buried deep beneath this creature's malice. Feeling his breath grow hot, Shadow gripped his fingers into the edge of the dashboard, feeling himself lean more into the kiss. When the kiss disconnected, the entity grasped his shoulders tightly. Those strange swirling eyes peered at him curiously with a smirk, malevolently eyeing him up and down. "Mmmn, you taste good..." His voice was becoming more warped as he spoke, this definitely wasn't Sonic talking anymore. "My host wanted us to give you that parting gift before he was fully put to sleep, no idea why. He also made it very clear in our contract that he didn't want you, his precious little friends or any other civilians killed by my hand. Not even those other jackals...But that doesn't mean I can't play with you, so I'll give you this one chance."
Not knowing what to do, the biohog made an apprehensive expression. If this wasn't Sonic, he wanted no parts of it. "Sonic...?"
"I am not your boyfriend." He snickered before lifting a clawed finger, running it down his tan cheek. The more he touched him and spoke, Shadow knew that he had to get the hell away from here. "You have one chance to leave my sight. Go ahead, use Chaos Control to escape. I won't stop you." He licked his lips as he took a single step back. "Find the others and hide from me. Otherwise..." He chuckled darkly as his fanged sneer widened. "I'll be forced to devour you." The claws suddenly extended and sharpened, raising threateningly to swipe at the ultimate life form. His personality was completely gone from this demonic presence, Sonic was gone. He raised one of his clawed hands, ready to strike. "Now, only on my mark, you can escape. If you move before I say 'go,' you and everyone in this entire airship dies." He announced playfully as Shadow began to slowly step away from him and the dashboard. "On your mark...Get set—" The demon was getting ready to pounce, Shadow had to get out of here before it was too late. His eyes looked up at the hole the demon made in the airship earlier, before anxiously glancing back at the entity before him. "..." Something told him that if he did indeed move before he said 'go', he wouldn't just kill everyone on the ship, he'd do so much worse. He watched his claws aim at him. If he moved even an inch, he would die again instantly. "Not yet..." The entity said playfully. "Noooot yeeeet..."
Shadow readied his legs to jump, his heart pounding in his chest and his eyes as small as peas.
...
"...Go!"
Not wasting any time in dealing with whatever in fuck was that, Shadow jumped up through the hole and looked at his surroundings. Wind blew against him violently, and he tried to figure out how the hell he'd get down. He tried to charge some energy, but he winced in pain and glanced at his palm. That scarlet red aura was faintly surrounding his limbs. He could have Chaos Controlled like the entity suggested, but being in that room and kissing what he thought was Sonic had temporarily corrupted his powers. He could use them, but it felt...Wrong. He couldn't quite reach it, and if something interfered with the chaos flowing in his body, it could screw up the Chaos Control and teleport him deep within the ocean or even the depths of outer space. That's when a clawed hand reached out from the hole. Startled, Shadow slowly turned around from behind and watched as the demonic Super Sonic crawled towards him with a hardy giggle. If that thing got any closer towards him, he swore he'd jump and take his chances with swimming.
"You don't know how to listen, do you?" He stood up like an approaching mantis, walking towards him gradually. Each step towards him shook the entire aircraft like a miniature earthquake. "Heheheh..." He then barely swung his claws into the roof of the airship, slicing deep cuts into the flying machine. Smoke began to shoot out of the damaged material. Chromium was an extremely hardy metal, one of the strongest ever made. So the fact that he cut through it so easily with a mere flick of his wrists was a bit troubling. Shadow took a few cautious steps back, his eyes staring at the entity carefully for his next move. Abruptly, the entity's body hunched over as he suddenly puked. The bile that came from his mouth was a glowing scarlet red. Was that blood? That's when Shadow saw green irises appear in the entity's eyes for a moment. "This...Hurts...!" He mumbled as he gasped for air, his voice almost sounding like Sonic again. He was fighting it. "W-Wasn't like this last time...Why does it hurt...!?" A disembodied scarlet red eye suddenly appeared below the demonic super form on the roof's floor. "...?"
Stop fighting me already. We have a contract.
You will obey, child.
Shadow was positive this time, Sonic was fighting the demon for control. He could see it, he was suffering through a lot of physical anguish right now. He was clutching at his stomach and mouth, groaning and almost screaming in pain. He barely had oxygen to breathe, he was suffering with every second he had control. Holding that form and fighting the demon possessing him, was hurting him in unfathomable ways. "Sonic?" Shadow was about to take a step forward, he had to help him somehow. "Sonic-!"
"N-No...! Get away from me!" Panicking, the entity suddenly looked up at Shadow with a frantic expression. His eyes flashed from green to scarlet red. "S-Shadow, whatever you do, don't trust anything I say! Please...Stay away from me, don't get close. Don't try to save me, just run! Go away, and just run!" He looked away from him with tears budding in the corners of his eyes. He was so ashamed, so scared of what he'd do. He held out his hand to the biohog, scarlet red energy glowing in his palm. "Chaos Control."
"Wait-!" Shadow cried as he reached out for him, but he was teleported away just in time.
After several seconds of moaning in pain, Sonic lost control. "N-Nghh..." Those green eyes were completely gone, and were replaced with the swirling red. Sighing, the entity stood up and relaxed his shoulders with a few bone cracks. He rubbed his hands down his face, then his arms. "You've finally decided to cooperate...Good. I can't wait," He suddenly made an ungodly leer. "To finally massacre this entire flock of ignorant sheep." He then made a small pout and placed a clawed finger on his cheek, tapping it as he thought about their agreement. "Oh, I almost forgot again, no killing anyone except that mangy mutt...But wait," He smirked. "Since I can't actually kill anyone, I'll happily pull off the wings of every butterfly I see and let them die that way. Wouldn't be my fault if they...bled out, and I'd still be upholding the contract." He smiled in delight at his own idea and clapped his hands. "Ah, so simple. Hahaha."
Magenta flashed behind him, and Infinite suddenly stepped before him. "At last, you've revealed who you truly are, you blue rat."
"Oh?" The entity casually turned around with a bored expression. "Ahh. I almost forgot who you were, but I remember now." He replied with a grin. "You're the weakling who killed my host."
Infinite paused. "Host?"
"Yes, you misunderstand." The evil super form replied. "You place your accusations of world domination and destruction on my precious host, when none of the blame falls on him. You see," He reached his hand up high in the sky, his palm mirroring the position of the shining sun. "Our little brothers—our sweet Chaotic Children, are only bishops in our game of chess. You may think of me as it's rook on the board. Suffer them, they know not what they do under our rule. My host had no idea this day would come, the day he and I would share a body once more. And he has no idea what awaits him in the next year." He then made a squeezing motion with his hand, almost as if he was crushing the sun itself with only his palm. Suddenly, the solar celestial body turned from yellow to a scarlet red, causing its surrounding clouds to match the entity's sinful power. "Your insolence is amusing, and you don't even realize that you too are only a mere pawn in our plans." His gaze lowered to Infinite's, and smiled immorally as he literally changed the color and energy of the planet's star in mere seconds. "That gem, the Phantom Ruby, also does not belong to you." He tilted his head. "That, is ours. More specifically, it belongs to my queen. You're using our power, too. As of now, you're no better than my host."
With an unsatisfied hidden scowl, the jackal countered this claim. "So, you're saying that blue rat was telling the truth when he said he had no idea what I was talking about...No matter, he's still going to kill us all thanks to you, but I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen." He tapped his black clawed finger against the ruby. "This may have belonged to you before, but it's mine now. And I'm going to use it to destroy you all. The more you hurt me, the stronger I become. And after fighting with your 'host', I'm sure I have more than enough power to stand up against you." A blood stained magenta sword appeared in his hand, and he pointed it at the entity. "What do I call you?"
The corrupted super form made a shocked expression, his long eyelashes fluttering. "Ah-" He then chuckled, almost seeming flattered. "-Oh my! My name?" He began to walk towards him, his hand lifting up in the air once again. "Why, I haven't been asked that in eons. Hmm...Well, my true name no longer belongs to me, and Mobians of this realm cannot pronounce it. So for now, you may call me..." He trailed off slowly.
With a simple flick of his wrist with his claws, blood suddenly splattered from Infinite's arms and legs. "H-How did you-!?"
"...Fleetway."
He had sliced his knees and forearms open, immediately causing the jackal to nearly fall off the entire airship. His body automatically began to heal himself, but that was too close. He then felt a monstrous shadow looming over his body. He was suddenly thrown down onto his back with a nauseous crack of his spine. "...!"
"Oh please, that was just a love tap. Come on now," The creature was now pinning him down with his foot planted firmly on his stomach, pressing down and painfully crushing his organs.
Infinite couldn't turn away, and he could feel globs of blood drip from out of his mouth and down the bottom of his mask. It was as if this creature wanted to play with his food before eating him.
"Make this fun for me!"
2:15 PM
When Shadow was Chaos Controlled, he appeared in his apartment and felt that his energy was much less corrupted. He turned to glance at his window, and saw that the sun was now scarlet red. His eyes widened in alarm. He immediately went to his laptop on the coffee table in the living room, as he no longer had a cell phone to call anyone. He opened it up, turned it on and quickly began opening up programs to message Rouge and Tower. He typed faster than he could run, sending both GUN associates a detailed report of what just happened. He told of how he was kidnapped and held captive for over two weeks, nearly starving to death under Infinite's control. He didn't want to tell them that he actually died for five minutes, he'd concern them more than he needed to. He told them that something big was about to happen, something really bad and that they needed to stay away from the skies and to hide indoors. If that corrupted version of Super Sonic could inflict that much power on the God damn sun, who knows what else it could do.
This is SEA Shadow reporting.
Two weeks ago, I was kidnapped and held captive by Infinite the Jackal, leader of the Jackal Squad on Dr. Eggman's secret Egg Armada inside the abandoned Chemical Plant. He was able to do this with the help of the Phantom Ruby. He used the ruby to hide the location of the airship, making it impossible for anyone to find even if they used an aircraft of their own to locate it. Sonic the Hedgehog discovered my location by unknown means and infiltrated the airship I was being held in. I was successfully rescued, but Sonic was mortally wounded in exchange. He is now engaged in lethal combat with Infinite, however-
He didn't know how to word this without putting the hero in a bad light. After all, that wasn't even Mobius' hero anymore. So instead, he'd put all of the blame on Infinite and that cursed ruby. It was only right.
-Sonic was unfortunately corrupted and transformed into a malevolent entity by the ruby's power, one that cannot discern right from wrong. It looks similar to Super Sonic, but I assure you, this is not Super Sonic. This is a demonic presence that is wreaking havoc upon the Egg Armada. Please do not make any type of contact with him, as he could be more dangerous than Infinite himself. Do not send GUN Airforce soldiers to the skies, as their efforts will only prove to be futile and could agitate the two assailants. I repeat, do not engage. The entity has just changed the color of the sun, and I have no idea what this could mean for the citizens of Mobius. Do not directly look at it, and inform the citizens to stay clear of the sun or to at least wear some type of eyewear. If they crash land the air fleet, they will more than likely return to or around the United Federation. Finally, since this was my doing, I will take on the responsibility of stopping both Sonic and Infinite myself. Please evacuate the city, station guards around the perimeter of the outskirts, and stay far away from either assailant until I have neutralized them.
Not even a second later, he was answered by both Tower and Rouge.
Tower replied, Glad to see you're still alive. Affirmative. Proceed with extreme caution SEA Shadow. Preparations are already in motion as we speak. Godspeed.
Rouge replied, thank god youre okay!
To this, Shadow made a more private chat to send to the bat. Rouge, gather up Sonic's friends and report to Angel Island immediately. Hide in the bunker, I'll meet you there in a second. He then closed the laptop and hastily Chaos Controlled out of his apartment.
Angel Island, Angel Island Zone
2:20 PM
When Shadow appeared on Angel Island, specifically its zone, he made a beeline for the hidden bunker in which its doors were already opened. Beside it stood the red echidna guardian, who was actually in the middle of walking out of it. When he saw Shadow, he made a shocked expression and paused. "S-Shadow?" He called. "Hey!" Shadow skidded to a stop as the echidna walked up to him. "Yo, where were you? Everybody was lookin' for you. Tails was hacking outer space satellites, Amy was asking all of her customers and using those dumb tarot readings to give her some kind of celestial sign, Rouge was flying all over the skies, and Sonic was absolutely losing his shit the whole time." He made a grouchy scowl. "Chaos, that was annoying. He was being a huge ass. Mostly to me. I mean I get it, but I was looking too. He acts like I don't care, shows how much he actually pays attention. Blue idiot..."
Okay, Shadow internally had to admit that he was a little flattered that even Sonic's friends were running around searching for him during his absence. However, now wasn't the time for flattery, this was a time of emergency. "Knuckles, are Tails and Amy here?" When he saw the echidna shake his head, he was going to say something else until the guardian looked up at the sky and saw the sun.
"Woah..." He whispered. "What the hell...?"
"That," Shadow replied. "Is Sonic's doing."
Blinking, Knuckles turned back to Shadow. "W-What? Yeah, the guy's strong but he can't turn the sun into different colors. I mean, maybe if he was Super Sonic-" A light breeze blew against the two males, causing them to look back up and see a yellow-orange fox flying in the air with his namesakes. He was holding the hand of Amy Rose, helping her fly up to Angel Island before descending down to the ground to land beside them. She patted down her dress and quietly thanked Tails while the fox walked beside Knuckles. The echidna didn't like the look of this. "Okay, guys, the last time all of you were here, my front lawn got cooked by a Sonic-lookalike." Granted, the grass and trees that were destroyed during that fight had quickly regrown thanks to Angel Island's mysterious ecosystem, but he really didn't feel like seeing it ruined again.
Amy shrugged. "Don't look at me, Rouge told us to come here. Said it was an emergency."
Tails nodded to this. "Yeah, and I saw the sun. I don't know what the heck's going on, but she sounded really worried on the phone."
"That's because I asked her to gather you all." Shadow said firmly, feeling another wave of light wind push against his back. Without having to look, he already knew a white bat was flapping her wings before dropping down beside him. He immediately felt the woman rush up to him and squeeze the daylights out of him. But she wasn't the only one, because apparently Amy wanted to get in on this too, hugging the very lungs out of his chest. "...! I can't...breath...damn it!" He rasped.
Rouge stubbornly continued to hug the biohog. Her large breasts were aiding in his suffocation because they were pushing against his torso. "You had me worried sick, you asshole."
The pink hedgehog agreed with a pout. "We all thought something terrible happened to you!"
Tails even smiled a little at this. "Oh man, I didn't even realize you were here! We looked everywhere for you, Shadow. I'm glad you're okay, Sonic was worried sick. We all were."
Again, Shadow was very touched but now wasn't the time. He gently patted the women away from him and tried to get control of the conversation again. "Look, listen." He said, causing them to become more alert. "You see that?" He pointed to the scarlet red sun beaming ominously in the sky. "Sonic did that. When he rescued me, he and Infinite got into a fight. He..." He made a deeply sorrowful expression, remembering how the blade cut through the hero's jugular. "...He stabbed Sonic through his neck." They all made distraught gasps at this information. "Sonic technically died, and then..." His expression became confused. "He transformed into what looked like Super Sonic but..." He then saw the expressions on all of their faces fall into fear, except for Rouge of course. That's when Shadow nodded. "You all already know what I'm talking about. That evil form you all saw with that scarlet red power, that Sonic's back and he's completely deranged."
Rouge looked at everyone else's faces, who all glanced at each other with frightened eyes. "Did I miss something...? I know Big Blue did something bad to Eggman but-"
Shadow nodded. "He did. He almost killed him, Rouge."
The white bat's eyes widened. "What...?"
"That power I'm describing, it's why they all look scared." He explained with a little guilt, not liking to put Sonic's business out there like this. "He used that power against Eggman, and the doctor almost lost his life in a brutal way. Tails, Knuckles and Amy all saw this happen and testified to me personally about the incident." He crossed his arms and looked away. "Now he's using that power again to fight Infinite, and he wants to end his life. When Infinite killed him, while he was dead within those few minutes, he transformed. He came back to life but something else returned, and it wasn't Sonic or Super Sonic. It was something demonic."
Amy hugged herself with a terrified look in her emerald eyes, staring at the ground as her ears flattened. Knuckles' fists were shaking and his violet irises were trembling against his eyeballs. Finally, Tails was breathing heavily and clenching his teeth as if he was in the middle of a blizzard. Shocked at all of their reactions, Rouge slowly looked at Shadow. "...That incident, scared them all this badly?"
Regretfully, Shadow continued to look away. "...Yes. And," He hated himself for admitting this. "He scared me, too." Rouge's mouth fell at this, as nothing could scare Shadow. "This was why Eggman hid away for three years, as that hedgehog scarred the doctor with what he did."
"But...No. No, Shadow, c'mon. " Rouge seized Shadow's shoulders to make him look at her. "Sonic isn't like that. He would never do something like that."
"I know that, Rouge." Shadow curtly retorted, still refusing to look at her. "He wouldn't do that...In his right mind. But I'm starting to realize, perhaps Eggman and Infinite weren't completely wrong in their accusations. When he's pushed too far, Sonic is..." He couldn't even finish his sentence. He felt like he was betraying him by saying all of this, he'd probably hate him right now if he heard this.
Gulping, Tails spoke up. "He already changed the sun. Are you saying that Sonic lookalike was right? That Sonic's...Dangerous, and meant to destroy the world?"
"..." Shadow took a while to respond, before a shine of faith glimmered in his eyes.
What the hell was he doing doubting him?
He loved Sonic and he was wrong to ever let that thought linger in his mind. "No, I'm wrong. That's not what's happening," He said with a grounded tone. "Sonic tried fighting for control over that form, and he warned me to get you all to safety. Apparently, he even told the thing possessing his body not to hurt any of us. He's still trying to protect you all, even now. He himself doesn't know what he might do with that power. However, this is all my fault." He bowed his head to the group. "I'm the one who allowed Infinite to gain control over the Phantom Ruby, and now he's planning something big. When Sonic and I tried to stop him, the tables were turned on us. I was kidnapped, Sonic was killed and became that thing, and now here we are." He then got down on one knee and kept his head low. "I'm...Sorry—All of you. You all showed me nothing but hospitality, and I betrayed your trust. I put you all in danger, and I'm the one who's responsible for all of the events that have been in motion these past two months. I ask that you don't hate Sonic, he can't control himself right now. The only one you should hate and fear, is me."
A small amount of silence followed through, and the three friends of Sonic looked down at Shadow with pity.
They didn't know how to respond to this, and even as they looked at each other for answers, none of them could find a worthy response. Rouge was going to defend Shadow, but she felt the words in her throat get caught and disappear. She closed her eyes and looked away, as she too had nothing to say to this. There was nothing to say.
He knew he'd probably never be able to call any of them his friends now, but they could despise him later. Right now, there was something more important: Their safety. "If you want to get rid of me, I can do that as soon as this is all over." Shadow promised as he stood back up, his voice more confident. "Since this is my fault, I'm going to deal with this on my own. I want you all to hide in the echidna's bunker and do not come out until it's safe. Armed GUN soldiers will be all over the United Federation, guarding every corner and alleyway there is. I know for sure that airship is going to crash, and when it does, I don't know what will happen. Either Sonic or Infinite could make it out, and when they do, they'll wreak even more havoc. Sonic would fall apart if anything happened to any of you, especially by his own hand."
Amy shook her head slowly. "Sonic might...hurt us?"
God damn it, why did he word it like that? Shadow frowned. "No. I...Just do what I say and hide!" He exclaimed before glancing at Knuckles. "Knuckles, I ask with great respect that I use the Master Emerald to invoke my own super form. Sonic currently has all the emeralds, but that entity inside of him corrupted them and are beyond my reach. I've been honing my chaos abilities for a very long time to the point where I'm more confident in transforming. It's a fifty-fifty chance that it'll work, but I might just be able to transform without the other emeralds and wake him up out of this funk." He softened his tone. "Please."
The echidna made a large sigh, but without looking at Shadow he nodded. "...Fine." Was all he responded with.
He could tell he and the others wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
He basically betrayed them, after all.
He respected this.
Ruefully, Shadow thanked him. "Thank you-" A giant airship suddenly crashed against the grounds of Angel Island Zone, just several feet away from the bunker. The insignia of Dr. Eggman was plastered right on its side, its paint being scratched and peeled off from the wreckage. The loud impact of such a ginormous aircraft nearly blew out all of their ears, and it crushed any tree or patch of nature the moment it landed. Black smoke immediately drifted in the air, and a few small explosions erupted from within. Pieces of metal, strong plastic and chrome became pieces of useless debris all over the ground. It created a crater into the earth of the island, further scarring the floating wonder with it's unforeseen collision. Slowly, Shadow and the others all turned to glance at what would be coming out of the fallen Egg Ship, an inkling of fear growing in the pits of their stomachs. That's when the biohog saw a glint of magenta, causing him to curse loudly. "Shit...!"
In the sky, they heard the sounds of screeching metal and explosions from above. More airships that were flying past Angel Island were falling down one by one like dominoes, plummeting to the oceans. A line of scarlet red energy sliced through every single one like melted butter. The Egg Armada was destroyed that easily in just a couple of hours, no doubt by that evil super form. The masked jackal stepped out of the leading airship's wreckage with a limp, panting as he tried to walk away. He then glowered at Shadow, who was more than prepared to risk his life to protect the others, and glared right on back. "Shadow..." Infinite whispered angrily. "This...Is all your fault..." He glared at the rest of the Mobians behind him, noticing that these must have been Sonic's friends. He made a dark chuckle and raised his hand in the air, magenta mist suddenly surrounding the entire zone. The others closed their eyes and coughed, while Shadow prepared himself to strike at any moment. When the mist disappeared, dozens of Eggman-grade robots suddenly appeared all around them. "Even if I kill that blue rat, I don't need any loose ends threatening my plans. I'll have these small fries overwhelm and kill the rest of you, while my surviving jackals storm Green Hill Zone and destroy any remnant of that blue phony." He then levitated in the air and looked down on them all. "I'm sorry it had to end like this Shadow, but you're nothing but an enabler! Your death's just as deserved as his!" In a flash, he Blinked himself away with the ruby's power.
Shadow backed away gradually. "Everyone, be on your guard." He instructed. "These robots aren't normal and have been enhanced by the ruby. They hit hard, they don't stay down for long and move much faster than your typical badniks."
"And just where do you think you're going, little puppy?"
They all perked their ears up at such a grotesque voice.
"You can't escape from me..." A golden hedgehog suddenly blasted himself out of the wreckage with a scarlet red streak following behind him. He raised his nose in the air to sniff, before licking his lips hungrily. "I smell a pathetic, wet dog who's going to die a virgin..." He didn't even pay the others any mind, and his aura itself was corrupting nearby robots and destroying them without even touching them. He made a frustrated growl and scratched at his own face with his clawed gloves, stomping his foot into the ground and literally causing the entire island to tremor. "Ngh...I'm bored. You're going to make me die of boredom!" He whined violently, the volume of his voice causing any animals who were unfortunate enough to be nearby to flee as fast as their legs or wings could carry them. "I can't let you get away so easily. I need your blood on my tongue to complete this contract, my host craves it. I need to devour you, and shit you out like the worm you are. So quit running away," He then laughed manically. "And come back and play with me!" The scarlet red streak from before zipped away from the zone, before disappearing in a flash.
That was Sonic, or at least the body of Sonic being puppeteered by whatever had control over him at the moment. Shadow made a look of determination. "Guys," He announced. "I won't be able to get to the Master Emerald just yet with these two active near the island. That demon or Infinite might corrupt it and I can't take that risk, or else the whole island's going down." Plan A would have to be paused for the time being. "For now, I'm going to go after faker and stop him myself another way. Don't follow me. When this is all over, I'll return with the real Sonic and you'll never have to see me ever again. But mark my words," He clenched his fist. "I will bring that hedgehog back to his senses, even if it kills me!" In an amber red streak, he ran after the demonic super form, leaving the group of Mobians to the ambush of robots. He already knew they could handle this on their own.
The red echidna made a tiresome groan and punched his fists together. "Gettin' real sick of this shit..." He mumbled. "I'm starting to regret ever meeting that blue bastard."
Amy's Piko Piko hammer suddenly spawned in her right hand. "Don't you even dare say something like that again!" She growled before getting into position. "Sonic died, or did you forget that under all that welching? If it wasn't for him, you would have lost your home and your life to Eggman. If you're regretting meeting him now after a couple of hiccups, you were never truly his friend to begin with." She made her posture more sturdy, ready to fight. "We're lucky his body's still around and able to move. If there's even a small chance Shadow can bring him back to his normal self with him alive, I'm taking it! I don't care that Sonic's making a mistake, he's still my best friend!"
"Easy for you to say!" The guardian snapped back as he mentally took a headcount of all of their robotic enemies. "This Sonic business isn't ruining your home and messing up your head!" He gritted his teeth. "I...I hate this." He finally said. "I don't know who to believe, I don't know if that's my little brother anymore. This is the second time he's transformed into a monster, and there's nothing I can do about it." He clenched his eyes shut with shame, frustrated that he was powerless to help Sonic. "You all swear I don't give a damn, but I do. I don't know what to do at this point!"
"Both of you need to stop fighting and pay attention." Rouge calmly commented. "It's no secret anymore that those two are in a relationship. That means Shadow knows Sonic far more intimately than any of us do, in ways you couldn't possibly understand. If anyone can vouch for his innocence, it's him. Red," She lifted her leg calmly, her teal eyes eyeing a line of potential targets as the robots shuffled closer. "If you truly regret meeting that boy after all this time of caring for you and being there for you every step of the way, including that Ix incident, then Pinky's right: You're an awful friend. However," Her voice became more sympathetic. "I get it. I was a bad friend too, once. This is how I felt when Shadow was still suffering amnesia during the whole Black Doom ordeal. I felt hurt, betrayed. I...felt like life could have been better if I never met him, or if I never broke him out of Eggman's base with Omega. But," She made a more grounded expression. "Shadow proved to me that I was wrong to ever doubt him. And soon, Sonic's going to do the same. So don't you dare give up on him. Because if I'm not willing to abandon hope, then you, someone's who's known him much longer-" Her dark purple wings raised, ready to ascend. "-Shouldn't either!"
Before Knuckles could respond to that, his purple irises dilated with worry. "...Wait." He suddenly said, realizing something about his other little brother.
The two female Mobians briefly glanced at him. "...?"
"Where's Tails?"
29 - END - 29
Chapter 30: Faith
Summary:
Tails attempts to find..."Sonic" on his own, but finds a rude and demonic awakening. Meanwhile, Shadow has a plan in motion.
Chapter Text
30 - Faith - 30
South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
Afternoon, 2:50 PM
Creations like these didn't take him long to invent. This device in particular, one that could sense extremely large amounts of chaos energy, was one of those creations. Of course, Tails had plenty of machines that could easily sense faint traces of chaotic power, but he deemed those obsolete since they couldn't withstand the sheer power of a super form. They'd always blow up or glitch and completely stop working, so he created one that was strong enough to endure detecting powers they went beyond that of a simple blast of energy. As of now, he was using the device to find and locate Sonic—Or at least, whatever was wearing Sonic's face at the moment. If that demon he saw three years ago was really here, then his big brother was lost for now. Of course, he wasn't going to confront the monster, he didn't have a death wish. No, he had another plan. What Tails experienced that day would linger in his mind with complete accuracy for the rest of his life, and he prepared himself in the event that he'd ever see this abomination again.
That was yet another new creation he made recently, and it was amazing. Using Eggman's machine that destabilized Super Sonic's form during the Dark Gaia incident, Tails made a device that would immediately destabilize and drain this new form's powers. It was an ingenious creation, one that trumped Eggman's easily since it would do more than take away the ability, but temporarily neutralize the victim afterwards as well by intercepting the brain. That way, if something went wrong, whatever was controlling Sonic wouldn't attack him after the attempt. You can't control a puppet if you can't attach a string to the head. All he had to do was track the hedgehog down and use it on him. While the group was arguing over just what exactly Sonic was, Tails snuck away and flew back down to Station Square. He went to his workshop, got in his plane and took the Tornado X2 to the skies. As it soared through the air, he made sure he didn't fly too high and low enough to where he could clearly see the ground. Right now, he was flying through Green Hill Zone, where his device located a powerful source of chaos energy. Tails knew that if he looked for that entity, he'd no doubt eventually run into Infinite. Tails did a little research on the ruby, hacking into GUN's files and discovering that they had already determined what the gem was from Eggman's findings from Christmas Island. The fox was unaware of Sonic's birthplace, and was even more unaware of such a gem.
It was true that the gem could warp reality, as he witnessed Infinite spawn an army of robots just before their eyes up on Angel Island. He didn't mean to leave the team on their own, but he was positive they could handle it despite the robots' increase in power. This was personal, he had to stop Sonic himself so he could prove to everyone that his big brother wasn't a monster. He was scared, Chaos was he scared, but he didn't want to lose his family. Ever since that day, he's given Sonic nothing but a hard time. Some of it was teenage nonsense of course, but most of it was fear and anger. Fear because of what he saw, but anger because of the fact that he couldn't understand Sonic. He didn't realize until then how much of a mystery his older brother was, and he hated that it appeared that he was hiding big secrets from him after all this time. He never talked to him, never explained himself, never defended himself and just always acted like everything was fine. Part of Tails felt betrayed, and he even felt some untrustworthiness. It was wrong of him to think this way when he didn't know the whole story, but that's why he had to do this. He didn't need to just prove it to everyone else that Sonic wasn't evil, he had to prove it to himself too. He needed to know if he still had the hero he idolized so much.
As he soared in the air, a series of explosions rung in his ears beside him. He soon noticed that he stumbled upon the wave of jackals Infinite had mentioned he sent out to raid Green Hill Zone, and destroy anything that involved Sonic. The group that was below him was rather large, which meant that this was probably the remaining members of the mercenary group. The jackals were using Eggman modeled vehicles, such as heavily armored jeeps or even downgraded Egg Mobiles. Once Eggman got locked up, it seems like they took everything Baldy McNosehair had. Almost like a crude divorce settlement. They were bombing the terrain behind them, destroying the beautiful serene nature of the biome. Scowling, Tails began pressing buttons on his dashboard without even looking. The bastards were destroying not just Sonic's home, but his home too. He wouldn't stand for this, and he couldn't let these losers eventually reach Station Square anyway, as it was only several miles from here. Three holes appeared from the right wing of the Tornado, and began firing a barrage of missiles into the jackals. He destroyed their formation, and caused some of them to speed up and get away. It didn't matter if some escaped, he'd catch up to them and destroy them too. As for now, he'd deal with the ones in front of him.
He switched the plane's model, allowing it to transform into the Tornado X2 Cyclone Walker. With mechanized legs, the aircraft became a towering walking machine, and stomped down on the ground below. Vehicles toppled over from the impact, and Egg Mobiles crashed against the legs with jackals falling out of them. Like gnats, a few crappy Egg Mobiles flew in his direction. Jackal grunts jumped from their mobiles and attacked the vulpine. He switched the machine to autopilot, allowing it to attack on the ground while he would defend himself from anyone who dared to reach up to his pilot's seat. He kicked one of them in the face, knocking them down several feet, before ducking a small dagger being swung at his muzzle. He sucker punched the attacker in the face, knocking them over as well. They obviously didn't do their research—Tails wasn't only trained by the Hero of Mobius, he was trained by the second strongest physical rival Sonic ever went up against: Knuckles. Tails knew he still had a lot to learn, but he wasn't a helpless eight-year old anymore. As they continued to attempt to climb up the legs of the Cyclone Walker, the machine automatically knew to shake them off by kicking it's feet strongly, winging them off into the distance with harsh landings. An upgraded version of the Volkan Cannon was activated, and began blasting several shots at his targets all at once.
For a moment, every single jackal around him that didn't get away before the fight started, was unconscious. He blew off his fists with a victorious scoff. That is, until magenta flashed in their eyes and forced them to get back up on their feet. It was strange, Tails could tell they were still not at all conscious, yet their bodies were moving against their will anyway. That wasn't good—If they would keep attacking until their bodies gave out and died, Tails would end up slaughtering a bunch of people. None of his weapons were lethal, but enough damage could kill anyone who was exhausted. He couldn't keep attacking them like this. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't because it was wrong and it went against what he was raised to believe. He looked at his dashboard to look for some kind of command that he programmed to neutralize them all for the time being, but since he was distracted, a harsh blow was struck into the left leg of the Cyclone, causing it to tip over a little. "...!" The fox saw that they were getting back in their vehicles and attempting to ram themselves into him. The metal this thing was made out of was far too strong to dent, but enough force would indeed knock over both it and Tails. Being up on this machine gave him the edge of aerial view, with them having to come to him just to attack which made themselves vulnerable. If he got knocked down to the ground, his advantage would be taken away. Since they could constantly get knocked out while fighting, the fight would endure for hours and eventually wear Tails out.
Eventually, slowly but surely, they'd kill him.
He had to think of something-
"I. Call. Dibs!"
A robotic voice suddenly announced as a slew of large bullets were shot off against the jackals. They were rubber, not intended to kill but severely incapacitate. Anyone that was hit with one was immediately knocked down painfully. The force of large rubber bullets was still strong enough to kill a normal civilian in a single graze, so hitting a mind controlled jackal dead on would cause their body too much exertion to get back up from such a devastating hit. Mind controlled or not, they physically wouldn't be able to get up because their bodies would be too battered. A doll was useless if it had no stuffing. The velocity of the bullets caused them to shoot right through the metal of the vehicles and Egg Mobiles, rendering them useless. The last and the very best of the E-100 series robots jumped down, his black and red shiny metal glimmering in the scarlet red sun. With strong metallic clawed fists, the stock-bodied rogue Eggman robot cocked back his arms and made windmilling maneuvers at incredible speed. Bullets and missiles were released from the underside of his limbs, and he spun himself around in a circle to further increase the radius of his attacks. Like a spinning top, he zipped through any and all jackal grunts who even attempted to try and get up.
However, in the event that they still wouldn't back down, this droid had a back up for that. He then stilled himself instantly and repositioned his arms before raising his hands. "Activating riot foam..." His hands were retracted, and were replaced with metal holes. Light beige foam spewed from within the holes, splattered and growing the second it made contact with the open air. It covered the jackals full-bodied, and the liquid did as he claimed and began to expand into a thick foam. Soon it became so thick, that it hardened as solid as rocks. Jackals attempted to punch or hit it off, but they couldn't get through. Since they were under the ruby's control, they wouldn't stop attempting to escape, but it was futile. They would never get out of this temporary prison, as some of the foam was either too heavy to get up with it on their bodies, or it stuck into the ground and made it so that it was binding some of the jackals to the dirt. It was practically a glue trap for insects. And the rest were too injured to stand up, their bodies were giving out. Still, they were all alive. No deaths occurred, but they were all beaten and would no longer be an issue. With that handled, the droid wonder known as E-123 Omega, turned to Tails with a confident gleam in his red LED eyes.
With a big smile growing on Tails' face, he couldn't help but greet the robot. "Omega, it's you!"
The robot's hands returned to their proper function and he pointed at the fox. "Make no mistake: I am not your ally. However," He made a few idle beeps before making his hand into a fist. "Assigned by GUN, I am to protect and aid any and all citizens from these canine-meatbags. It is my job to protect you, even if you fare better than a normal meatbag."
The fox chuckled a little, he forgot that Omega was a very neutral machine. To be honest, he didn't hang around anyone else outside of Shadow and Rouge, so he truly didn't have a reason to care about their friends other than those two. "Okay, fair enough," He said, but he still very much liked the robot. He was a marvelous machine that grew some level of sentience during their adventures, and evidently had some semblance of a heart since he greatly cared about the rest of Team Dark. "But I'm still really grateful you showed up. Thank you!"
"Your gratitude is highly unnecessary. Now," He began to jog ahead with excitement, happy to destroy more Eggman creations. Taking down criminals was also a bonus. "Let us destroy the rest of them!"
The Cyclone began to run after the droid to catch up, Tails feeling a bit more brave now that he had an ally on his side, albeit a stubborn one. "Hey Omega," He said to the droid below. "You see Shadow on your way here?"
"Negative," The robot replied. "I have not seen Shadow the Hedgehog nor Rouge the Bat in three months due to an imperative mission that stationed me in Shamar. Waste of time and not worth the travel miles." The machine made an annoyed beeping noise, a small amount of steam puffing from his upper body in frustration. "Missed several weeks of Housewives of Empire City with Rouge, this is unacceptable."
Tails chuckled under his breath, the fact that this machine enjoyed such a vapid TV show like that was beyond his understanding. "Heh, right...So," His voice became a little timid. "You know what's going on? Who we're up against?"
"Affirmative," The droid responded. "Shadow has failed his mission in securing an arrest for Infinite the Jackal. Due to this failure, Infinite has gained possession over what's known as the Phantom Ruby, a powerful icosahedron-cut gemstone with unpredictable capabilities. He kidnapped Shadow, tortured him and even caused Sonic the Hedgehog to become unstable. He is now causing mass destruction with the Egg Armada, and will soon attempt to destroy the rest of Empire City." Despite the computerized automated voice, Tails could tell he was very angry about what happened to the biohog. Rightfully so. "I am aware that Shadow's kidnapping lasted for two weeks, and he has committed several unforgivable crimes that warrant nothing short of a slow and painful death sentence. I am of the belief that this is a massive misunderstanding, as Shadow never fails and there is no calculated reason to doubt him. Ever."
Curiously, Tails suddenly asked him something rather personal. Sure this was a machine, but Omega's limited sentience had very interesting insight. "So you know about Sonic not being...all there right now." However, he noticed Omega didn't mention anything about an evil super form. Perhaps Shadow didn't tell GUN that detail, only that Sonic wasn't in his right mind at the moment. Fair. "With that in mind, do you think Sonic has the potential to be evil, Omega?"
"Why are you asking useless questions?"
"N-No really, hear me out—" The fox insisted. "You've seen everything Shadow went through, right? And you never doubted him, despite being made to stop him if he ever went rogue?"
"Negative." Omega immediately answered. "Doubting Shadow in any regard is futile. My function to neutralize him should he betray Team Dark, will never be utilized as long as I remain online, simply because Shadow will never turn to treachery. I know this, because he never has and never will."
Tails furrowed his brows. "But what about when-"
"Mistakes do not count as attempts."
He completely shot him down, he knew he was going to bring up the Metal Sonic and Black Doom incidents and rejected both subjects. He admired the robot's extreme loyalty. "Well, I know you don't know us or Sonic all that much, but you know he's a good guy. What if...What if he had a dark secret, a secret that made him powerful and evil enough to do nothing but kill and ruin the world," He hesitated in asking his next question. "Do you think he'd ever use that power on purpose?"
For a moment, the droid was silent. "..." After some idle beeps, he answered. "...Negative. Sonic the Hedgehog is incapable of committing acts of evil, even with ample opportunity to do so. Why are you asking me this?"
Tails frowned as he thought about Omega's initial answer. "We just found out that Sonic...Might not be what we thought he was, and he's gone insane. He's trying to find and kill Infinite, but if we get in the way, he might intentionally hurt us too. Shadow told us to hide from him, that he's too dangerous to be around."
"And how is this any different than when Black Doom manipulated Shadow, or when Shadow lost his memories?" The robot easily answered, countering his question with Shadow's past mistakes Tails was going to bring up just a moment ago. "When Black Doom told him to kill all humans, Mobians and other living organisms who got in his way, simply because it was in his blood? When he was deceived and manipulated into thinking he was nothing more than a fake android with false memories who lived a complete lie?" Omega's monotone voice almost sounded offended, angry that Tails couldn't see past his own fear. "When Professor Gerald himself twisted his memories of Maria Robotnik in order to make him believe she wanted nothing more than for him to commit genocide?"
This caused the fox to stiffen with his mouth slightly agape.
He was right.
"...I...Well-"
A strong, annoyed hiss breezed out of the vents of Omega's metallic face. "This orange creature sees not the forest for its trees..." The robot casually insulted him with a sarcastic air. "You asked if Sonic the Hedgehog would ever go rogue purposefully. I am telling you no, and not even now. If he has indeed gone rogue at this moment in time, it is only because he was forced to, just like Shadow was. Using my analysis of meeting the Mobian during past occasions, I cannot confirm with certainty that he would willingly betray his comrades for sincere bloodlust or greed. And considering what you've personally witnessed with the events of Shadow the Hedgehog, someone you are not as familiar with yet still showed sympathy to, you should know the foundation of your own questions: They have no proper basis. Your fear blinds you to the truth. You are wrong."
Damn.
Even the robot believed in Sonic more than he did.
"I already understand Sonic the Hedgehog is behaving hostile for now, but it is not of his own volition. According to Abraham Tower, Shadow reported that this was another one of Infinite the Jackal's plots." Omega added, his demeanor a little less exasperated. Tails found that interesting, that meant that Shadow lied and blamed it all on Infinite. Again, fair. "If necessary, I will forcefully neutralize him, but it should not be personally held against him. It's a very simple equation, Miles Prower the Fox."
This caused Tails to grimace heavily, feeling a great guilt weigh in on his heart. A robot void of organs or organic emotions, was damning him for losing his faith in his big brother. Worst of all, he knew Omega was right. He didn't want to doubt Sonic, he really didn't. This was why he's been so angry with him lately, because he didn't know what to believe. But, this was a crazy wake up call. If Omega of all people, someone who found Sonic just as annoying as Shadow did, was defending the hero, then maybe Tails was indeed wrong. Maybe...he needed to rethink all this. "...Maybe you're right-" Bolting past with magenta trailing behind him, the masked jackal mercenary zoomed right by the two. Blinking in shock, Tails stood up in his pilot seat and tilted his head. "What the...?" Was that Infinite? And was he running from something? "Omega, did you see that?"
"Target acquired: Infinite the Jackal. Engaging in combat!" That's when a harsh tremble of the ground shook beneath them. "Analysis...There are no earthquakes occurring in Green Hill Zone."
"Yeah," Tails whispered to himself as the shaking got even rougher. It happened in a pattern, one short-lived tremor after another but in very quick succession. "What is that?" Turning his head around in three-hundred and sixty degrees, Omega scanned the distance behind them as they ran across the striped plains. While the Cyclone was on autopilot, Tails turned to look too. His baby blue eyes squinted as he attempted to see just what in the world was causing so much shaking.
When he blinked, he saw it coming right for them.
A golden, scarlet red glowing hedgehog was running directly towards them, the glint of his swirling eyes being the first thing he saw. As he ran between Omega and the Cyclone, the force of his sprint caused them to lose balance for a second. The Cyclone barely managed to keep moving, and Omega quickly recovered but turned his attention directly at the supersonic moving force in front of them. As if competing for the Olympics all over again, the thousand-yard staring hedgehog ran as if he was completing the largest track field of his life. Tails realized that this was why the ground kept shaking, because every time one of his sneakers hit the grass, it left a small crater underneath. A long path of small craters were left in Green Hill's soil behind him. Not only that, but the look in the entity's eyes was completely empty. There was no expression, no emotion, completely blank of any concern or desire whatsoever. While he was running, Tails could faintly hear him whisper. "Why the hell can't I fly? I know I'm only using a fraction of power so this body doesn't give out, but this is ludicrous. This is so much slower than I can normally go. It's like watching paint dry and now I'm getting bored all over again. Now I'm letting that dog get away and the contract-" And he just kept rambling on and on, some sentences he was even repeating like...Well, a robot.
Using his jet boosters, Omega lifted himself off the ground and ascended himself up to Tails' level. "...Is this Sonic the Hedgehog?" He asked, almost unsure.
Gulping, realizing he was right beside the very thing he feared, Tails nodded. "Y-Yeah. Or at least, that's his body. Something's possessing him and it's evil."
"Should we engage in combat?"
"No. God no, Omega. That thing is way stronger than you think. The fact that we're able to keep up with him is a miracle in itself. I only wanted to find him so I can-"
Omega however, would hear none of that. "Engaging in combat."
"Omega, no!" Tails cried.
"If this rogue Sonic is going to get in my way, then I will bring him back to his senses and he shall be neutralized!" The machine flew to get ahead of the hedgehog, and with a small boost, managed to do so and kept his velocity. He turned around to Sonic as he flew backwards, transforming his hands into minigun barrels. "Firing!" Steel bullets were shot directly at the glowing hedgehog. However, they literally just bounced off of him like useless duds and dropped to the ground with huge dents in them. It didn't even phase him or get his attention, and he continued to run without so much as blinking. Seeing as how this was useless, Omega switched to another model of weapon. "Firing: Beam Cannon!" A large blast of purple colored energy was directed right in his face, an energy beam capable of destroying a highly fortified building. It burned away anything in its vicinity, and even Tails had to direct the Cyclone to back off a little so it wouldn't get damaged. A clawed glove reached out from the beam's light and tore directly through the robot's chest. It then gripped a hold of his back, denting the metal with it's fingers. The entity lifted the nearly three-thousand pound droid up in the air like a rag doll with one arm, before effortlessly swinging him away in the distance as if he was nothing. Omega crashed to the ground and toppled to a stop after a few seconds, his body smoking significantly with a few parts laying on the ground around him. He tore out his electrical metal innards and left him for dead.
Completely frightened, Tails' heart sunk. "O-Omega...!" He looked down at the hedgehog, and realized that his attention was finally struck. He was staring directly at him with those strange swirling eyes and it freaked him out. Desperately, he reached around the pilot's seat, before revealing a small remote with a single button. This was it, he could stop his big brother. He pressed his thumb against it before tossing it down below. It blinked red several times, before exploding into a vast array of orange-yellow energy beams. The beams encircled around the entity's limbs, and they zapped against him. It was the same invention that Eggman used against Super Sonic, so this had to work. This was it, this device should be able to render the super form useless after a mere second.
...
...
...
...It wasn't working.
The entity was still running and staring at him. Why wasn't it working!?
Unless—Tails' eyes widened.
This form was way beyond the power of Super Sonic.
Which means his device didn't have the capacity to stop him.
Scarlet red corrupted the beams and caused them to fade away into embers. The entity blinked, his concentration broken. He sped up significantly, gaining more distance away from the Walker. He suddenly made a U-turn directly in front of the Cyclone, before crouching down and spindashing, slicing through one of the legs. The Cyclone lost balance. Sparks of weld spatter shot from the now severed metal limb, and like a freshly chopped mighty oak tree, it began to fall down with a heavy thud. The moment it started to tip downwards, the fox moved to jump. "A-Ah...!" Tails fell out of the pilot's seat and landed harshly onto the ground back-first. He rolled to a stop with bruises growing all over his body from such a fall at a higher height, and attempted to move his muscles. "N...Ngh..." He squeezed his eyes shut at the pain. He felt his nerves react, and he forced his palm to feel its way to some of the grass. He gripped the blades and tried to push himself up onto his knees.
A loud tremor shook underneath him as a shadow grew over his body.
His eyes opened.
"..."
He was terrified.
He was shaking like a leaf. He was near him, he knew he was. What would he do? What could he do? Perhaps he could at least see his death from head on, as there wasn't any point in denying that he would no longer live in the next second. Swallowing hard with raisins for eyes, Tails slowly lifted his head up to see the demonic presence before him. He was so...manically appalling, yet so wonderfully marvelous to look at. The golden-scarlet hedgehog was crouching down beside him, watching him with intrigued scarlet red swirling eyes. Making shaky breaths, Tails was careful not to make any other noise. Don't move, don't make any sounds and don't do anything that might cause it to attack. If this thing wanted to act like a wild animal, he'd have to treat it as such. Sweat dripping from his chin, the vulpine kept his direct eye contact with him, terrified of what would happen if he broke it. The hedgehog was breathing slowly, but heavily, and his expression was still mostly blank if not a little amused. He suddenly reached his hand towards him, causing Tails to close his eyes shut and prepare for the worst. He suddenly felt the pain from falling from his Cyclone instantly go away, and a hand softly placed itself on his head.
It gently ruffled his fur affectionately.
"...?"
Only Sonic did that.
He reopened his gaze with the entity, watching it make a creepy smile towards him. However, if he wasn't mistaken, Tails could just barely see some genuine care in the entity's hypnotic disks all of a sudden. The smile faltered, and the entity began to speak. "..." With a struggling raspy voice, it said, "Tails..." It said his name. "You should...really...go home..." He said, his tone a little shaky, as if he shouldn't have been saying this. "...Stay...away...Don't want...to hurt you..." He then reached behind one of the fox's ears, before pulling out a blue spine. It looked like one of Sonic's, except the blue fur on it was dying. Blue energy faded from it, and the fox realized that was chaos energy.
"...!? Did you—Did you throw something at me?"
"Pfft, no."
The spine shriveled into loose threads of fur that blew away into the wind. "Can't...find you again...Might...Hurt you..." The hedgehog turned his attention away from him and stared back at the distance. "Find Shadow...Hide...Be good...So proud of you." It sounded like his voice was dying, it could just barely get out one last thing. "Love you...Always. Goodbye." As if waking up from a dream, the entity's expression dropped any and all emotion it was beginning to develop. A distracted, disturbing chuckle emanated from within his throat, a far creepier voice replacing the one that was just speaking to him. "I'll find you." He hissed with a sneer as he stood back up on his feet. "I'll devour you, doggy." In a scarlet red streak, he sonicboomed from view, shaking the earth as he made his way across the zone. Wind blew against Tails' face as he watched the demon disappear from his eyes, completely dumbfounded by what he just witnessed.
He hadn't realized how much time had passed since he left him, he was too stuck in thought.
That was Sonic for a moment there.
He broke control just a mere second, just to warn Tails and say his farewell, as if he was going to die again. How was he supposed to deal with that? Feeling empty, lost and alone, the fox continued to sit there. Omega had been destroyed, his Cyclone was destroyed...He had a chance to use the device and it didn't even work. He thought he could do something, anything to stop the demon, but in the end he was useless as always.
"..."
Why was he even here? He should have hid away like Shadow said.
"Tails?" A deep masculine voice called. He felt hands grasp his shoulder and helped him get back up on his feet. "Are you okay?" He recognized that voice from anywhere. The fox slowly glanced at the taller person in front of him. It was Shadow, of course. "Are you hurt?"
The vulpine shook his head silently. He then lifted his arm and pointed. "...He went that way." He said quietly. He already knew what Shadow came here for.
Shadow's amber red eyes glanced at where he was pointing, before looking back down at the fox. "I saw Omega's body a few miles away, and some of the bodies of several jackal grunts before that. Thankfully, Omega's been upgraded to the teeth with self-recovery protocols, so he's repairing himself at the moment." He lightly shook the fox for answers. "Look at me, you're spacing out. What happened?"
Omega was okay? Thank goodness. With a sigh, Tails closed his eyes. "That thing appeared. That demon." He said with a terse near-whisper. "I had a device that could neutralize super forms, but that demon is a much stronger version of Super Sonic, so it failed." This caused Shadow's eyes to widen. It was that powerful? So Super Shadow wouldn't have worked anyway, and that's really dire. That plan was a no-go, but he had a backup plan that he was currently commencing anyway. And if that didn't work, well...He'd have to cross that bridge later. "It destroyed my cyclone, and it almost destroyed Omega. He was going after Infinite, but..." He frowned with furrowed brows. "For a moment, I think Sonic was trying to break through. He...healed me. He told me to find you and hide. He said he didn't want to hurt me. Then he...Told me 'goodbye.'" He scowled. "Then that thing took over and he started saying awful weird stuff again."
With a sympathetic grimace, Shadow nodded. He could only imagine how Tails was feeling about all this, and he knew for sure he must have been absolutely disturbed. "Understood. Hey," He let the fox go. "Sonic isn't lost, he's in there somewhere. I know I can get him back, I have a plan. Sonic and I aren't telling you to hide because we're underestimating you, we're telling you to hide because no one knows what that entity can do. Not even him. It's too capricious, and if it was going to kill Eggman, it can certainly kill you too. Judging from the damage of your Cyclone, I should be looking at a corpse right now. But more importantly," He added with a soft tone. "I know you're doubting him, and I admit, I did a little as well. However, knowing that he's in there trying to break control should tell you that it isn't Sonic we should be worried about. It's whatever's controlling his body that's of great concern. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" He asked sincerely. "Keep your faith in Sonic, and find somewhere safe. If something were to happen to you, he would never forgive himself."
Nodding, the fox understood his point completely. "I know." He rubbed his arm, there was no use staying here. "I'll head back to Angel Island."
Shadow nodded back. "Do that, I'm sure the others could use some help right now. I already informed Omega to meet you there." He then turned his attention to the distance and charged his air shoes. "Good luck, and be careful. I promise you, I'll get that moron back and I'll kick his ass for worrying all of you like this." He boosted away, leaving the fox to himself. He then thought about that spine that was hidden behind his ear the whole time. Sonic must have been using it to keep track of him the entire time when they were separated. He was making sure he was okay throughout this entire ordeal, for weeks. At the same time, he was convinced that if it wasn't for Sonic fighting for control, that demon would have most certainly colored the grass with his blood. Why? Why was it able to make Sonic do that at all? Any of this? Did Sonic have genuine malice in his heart? After all, Shadow once did too, manipulated or not. Why couldn't Sonic? A mistake could still cost someone's life, regardless of intentions. How many more mistakes would Sonic make before he actually hurt one of his friends? Tails opened his irises and looked up at the sky. He touched the faded gunshot wound on his arm, feeling the old scar under his fur.
With a whimper, tears developed in the corner of his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I don't know if I can trust you anymore, Sonic."
3:30 PM
Skating through the fields of Green Hill Zone gave Shadow plenty of time to think of his second plan. If he wanted to get to that demonic form, he'd have to get to Infinite. And if he wanted to get to Infinite, he needed to make the jackal come to him so he could kill two birds with one stone. He had a sneaky, but ingenious idea. He saw some unconscious jackals miles away from Tails and Omega when he arrived here, but after doing a headcount, he knew that wasn't all of them. Infinite still had a few dozen more at his disposal, and they most likely got away. So, all he had to do was let them capture him. See, when Shadow was kidnapped, he spent plenty of time with the asshole and observed him with great detail during his capture. Infinite liked to talk a lot of shit, and often said things he didn't mean since he was a sniveling little coward. Whenever he said Shadow should have died alongside Sonic too due to being an 'enabler,' he could always tell he was lying through his teeth. Infinite still didn't want to kill him, he just wanted to lash out on him and keep a punching bag with a sex-hole around.
If he had successfully killed Shadow earlier from starvation and abuse, he would have severely regretted it and more than likely would have used the ruby to attempt to revive him. He was beyond positive about that. Therefore, if his lackeys spotted him during this incident, he was sure he didn't give them orders to kill. No, he gave them orders to capture him alive and bring him directly to Infinite. And that's precisely what he'd let them do. When he came across the group of Eggman imprinted jeeps and Egg Mobiles, he smirked. They'd never see this coming. When he skated to get ahead of them, he could hear some of them point and shout to get closer and capture him.
Perfect.
"Hey, that's the boss's hostage! Get him!"
Just as he predicted. Those were shitty versions of the Egg Mobiles, but they could still shoot projectiles, albeit laughable ones. A missile was shot in his direction, and the GUN agent decided to use a little bit of his acting skills. He of course easily dodged the explosion's impact, but didn't move away from the smoke it emitted. He suddenly cried out in pain and tumbled down to the floor. For a little bit of extra measure, he spawned a Chaos Spear in his hand to make a gash on his knee to make it seem as if they ruined his leg, before letting it disappear into the ether. Some of the burnt debris covering the grass was brushing up on it, making it look like it was the blast that made the injury. Even more perfect. As he heard footsteps near him, he pretended to groan in pain and grasp his leg. The jackals of all shapes, sizes and genders stared down at the biohog with curiosity before glancing at each other. "We took out his leg, we could take him to boss." With a small pregnant pause, they all nodded and reached down to grab Shadow's limbs. They lifted him up over their heads and carried him to one of the jeeps. They stuffed him in the back and two jackals, a muscular female and a thin male, got in the driver's and passenger seat.
After he was placed on the seat alone, the biohog chuckled under his breath. Idiots. The vehicle rumbled as it revved up it's engine and began to move forward. The female jackal glared up at the rearview mirror and held up a large dagger. "Don't try anything stupid. Wouldn't wanna deliver you to boss with your guts spilling out of your mouth." Oh yeah, keeping thinking that. Dumb ass. She then reached down below the driver's dashboard and pulled up a transmitter to her lips. "Boss, we've got Shadow. He must have been weakened or something, cause we took out his leg easily. I'm guessing that blue rat made a little visit in that demon form and put the hurt on him before we got to him." She hesitated before saying, "Want me to kill him?" Suddenly, magenta electrocuted both the transmitter and her hand. "N-Ngh...!" She dropped it, but she could hear the masked mercenary's shrill voice from here.
"You stupid bint! Don't you dare lay a hand on him! He's mine."
With a sigh, she ignored that sexist and outdated insult to make a reluctant reply. "Yes...sir."
In a magenta flash, the man of the hour appeared inside of the vehicle's backseat, scaring the other grunts half to death. The male jackal almost lost control of the car. The mercenary crossed his arms and made an unimpressed noise, looking down at Shadow. "Caught in the crossfire from your own cursed lover, how foolish."
With a roll of his eyes, Shadow easily countered with, "You're the one who keeps running away from faker. What's the matter? Too scared to square up?" A swipe of claws were sliced into his tan muzzle. "...And like always, you love showing your dominance over a disagreement that you're clearly losing, by using violence instead of making a legitimate comeback. Classic Infinite." The biohog commented as blood stung from his left cheek.
"That pesky mouth of yours," The jackal leader growled as he gripped the sides of Shadow's face with his fingers. "Will be the death of you, as it almost already was. You lay here in one of my vehicles, surrounded by my men and I, and you still go against me? You're far too intelligent for this kind of behavior, Shadow." He then placed his hands on his wrists, a pair of magenta cuffs appearing around them.
Shadow looked at the cuffs with amusement. This was like...what, the third time he did this to him? It was getting old. "Oh, these are nice. Better than the last ones." He raised a brow at the jackal leader. "I'm starting to see that you've got a weird obsession for this kind of thing."
Ignoring his words, Infinite leaned back in his seat and placed his hands on his lap. "Head to Station Square, we're done with Green Hill Zone." He instructed, and his jackals nodded in confirmation without a word.
With a sneer, Shadow decided to egg him on just a little bit more. "Ehh, you know, if that's what you're into, by all means—Hey, more power to you. I personally can't be bothered. Although," His sneer deepened as he brazenly looked up at Infinite in the eye of his mask. "If Sonic tied me up, that'd be a much different story." He could hear the dark growls in the mercenary's throat. Oh the fun he was having right now in pissing him off. "Spreading my legs open, having his way with me night after night...Hell, I'm getting hard just thinking about him-"
A claw was pointed right over his neck. Infinite pushed it against his fur, his nail close to slicing open skin. "Do you want to die again?"
Stupid wretches, Shadow thought as he silenced himself with a smirk. It was only a matter of time until his plan would go to its next phase, and they would all pay. All he had to do was wait until their paths all aligned-
The ground shook. "The hell was that?" Infinite asked aloud. Shadow's smirk only grew larger.
Ahh, and let plan B further commence.
30 - END - 30
Chapter 31: Chaotic Exorcism
Summary:
Shadow's plan B doesn't work, so it's time for plan C.
Chapter Text
31 - Chaotic Exorcism - 31
3:50 PM
It was as if someone was grabbing hold of the entire planet and shaking it like a snow globe, because the ground was trembling so badly that they could no longer drive straight. This caused them to get pushed and shoved back and forth inside the jeep, with Shadow sometimes being unfortunately squished into the car's door with Infinite against him. When they finally got a good balance of the vehicle despite the tremors, Infinite took this time to look out of the tinted windows and see that there were some damaged vehicles and mobiles driving along side them, but they lost a few people. Other jeeps were toppled upside down, or ripped apart and strung up on ruined palm trees. Not good. He then directed a command to the drivers of his own jeep. "Go faster, already. I'll use my power to give you a boost, but don't disappoint me. That shaking could be the ruby's power destabilizing some of the earth below us." Magenta suddenly surrounded the vehicle, and indeed caused it to boost just a little faster. Normal cars couldn't go this fast without falling apart, but Eggman grade vehicles definitely could.
That's when Shadow started chuckling. "You dunce."
Infinite seized the back of his quills and yanked his head backwards. "Couldn't hear you quite right."
Not phased by this, the biohog continued. "Then I'll happily repeat myself: You're a fucking nimrod. You're obviously exhausted from using the ruby's power, which is the only reason why you're not hauling ass and flying away with me in your arms. Plus, you really think that's the ruby causing all that quaking? Use your head, you mook." Shadow's voice scarily hushed to a near whisper as his amber red eyes glowed in the small darkness inside of the vehicle, glaring daggers into Infinite's mask. "Don't you get it? You've invoked the wrath of not just Sonic, but a demonic creature that nobody can predict. You made the worst decision of your life when you murdered Sonic the Hedgehog, because you awoke something you never truly understood. And now," He made a fanged grin. "It's coming right for you, and it's not going to stop until your beating heart is dripping blood down its maw. Listen, you hear that?" He said, feeling as if he was telling some forbidden, cursed campfire story, because Infinite was staring down at him with an unreadable posture. It was unknown what expression he was making thanks to the mask, but he could guess that he was silently listening to Shadow with great concern. That goes for the other jackals in this car, too. "The shaking, it's not earthquakes and it's not the ruby. What could it be? Perhaps it's him...After all, it's only a matter of time-"
Scarlet light illuminated the windows of the car.
"-Before he catches you."
The unconscious body of a jackal member was suddenly smashed through the jeep's roof. "Shit!" Infinite yelled as he looked up from above. How many times would that damn hedgehog make his entrance through the ceiling-"...!" The entire roof and back of the car was suddenly torn off and toss away in the distance. Only the backseat holding Infinite and Shadow, remained standing. The sounds of explosions and screams were heard all throughout the entirety of South Island. Behind them, was a golden hedgehog that trailed scarlet red behind him, sprinting after the vehicle with supersonic levels of speed. "Son of a fucking bitch!" Infinite stood up in his seat and raised his hands in the air. He levitated magenta infused objects above them, such as trees and damaged vehicles, before throwing them towards the demonic entity. The ruby's energy then surrounded Infinite's mask. "Jackals, do whatever you can to kill that piece of shit!" Several surviving jeeps and Egg Mobiles swerved in direction and headed directly for the golden hedgehog chasing after the vehicle. The ruby upgraded them to tougher and stronger models, with turrets and other weapons installed within them.
The turret atop several jeeps aimed and fired directly at the hedgehog, and the Egg Mobiles fired long, large heat seeking missiles towards him. The second a missile got close enough to brush up near his face, the hedgehog tilted his head to the side, allowing the missile to miss him by a hair. However, he wasn't done with it. He suddenly caught it with his hand, despite it being three times his size, and twirled his body around before tossing it like a dart right back at it's sender. It made contact and instantly downed the mobile, the explosion enveloping many other missiles that were heading the same direction and causing the other mobiles to crash against each other. The bullets of the turrets easily bounced off of him meanwhile, but he then decided to do something different with them. He made a small boost in speed, running right up against one of the jeeps ahead of them. He then reached out to grab the car door, before tearing it off like a simple sheet of copy paper. He then reached inside of the vehicle to grab it's driver, a jackal grunt who was now going to be an unfortunate victim of the entity. Without it's driver, the jeep crashed and toppled into an explosion behind them. The entity then aimed, before hurdling the jackal's entire body towards the jeep like a living arrow that was hurling right for Infinite.
Screaming bloody murder for his impending doom, the jackal shut his eyes closed. The momentum of his body was suddenly ceased, and he opened a single eye in fear. Magenta was surrounding him, as Infinite had levitated him to a stop before his face could crash through the jeep's front windshield. He raised his position over the empty roof of the jeep and dropped him, leaving yet another body on the floor of the damaged vehicle. Curiously, Shadow sat up in his seat to look at the carnage behind them. Damn, he already got behind them again? When? Did he teleport or was he just that fast? He was just toying with Infinite at this point. The demonic super form was now zipping passed the jeeps and Egg Mobiles, ripping them to shreds despite their upgrades. Many jackals fell or even jumped out, thankfully only falling unconscious if they hit the ground. When a malfunctioning Egg Mobile glitched itself to propel towards the hedgehog, he simply smacked the object away like a mosquito, causing it to explode in the air just above their car. The entity was coming closer to them. As pieces of destroyed metal dropped down upon them, the biohog suddenly had a mischievously diabolical idea. He made a dark smile before taking in a deep breath and hollering loudly: "Sonic! I'm here! They're hurting me!"
"You little-!" Infinite moved to grab him, but Shadow kicked his hand away with a laugh.
"Oh come on, don't you want to play with Sonic?" He then gave him a harsh glare with a snarl. "Not so fun when the hero becomes the real villain, is it?"
A petrifying, paralyzing impulse was fired off in the entity's brain.
He began to breathe a lot more heavily, his lips salivating as he desired to chew against some fresh bones. His fur became more ragged, and his scleras glowed scarlet red entirely. His speed increased by at least by a hundred fold, and he was suddenly running right beside the car, looking directly at his victims with a psychotic smile. He stared specifically at Shadow, who was glancing back with a calm expression. Then he purposefully turned his face to the side to show off the fresh wound Infinite scratched on his face just minutes ago. That's when the demonic super form flinched and opened his mouth wide to bellow a loud, satanic scream. It was so loud, that it destroyed all of the jeep's windows, shattering glass everywhere. Their ears bled, and crimson even leaked from their eyes. Suddenly, the being transformed before them again. It's body contorted and stretched, becoming completely engulfed by scarlet red energy. It returned to that terrifying ghost-silhouette form from before, and stretched itself over the jeep to peer down at his snacks with great hunger. The jackals driving the car in front were so terrified, they fell unconscious and tumbled out of their seats and out of the vehicle. The jeep lost control and crashed.
After it flipped a few times, it finally landed on it's back, smoke and soon fire sparked from within it.
...
Silence.
A black clawed glove slowly reached out from the crushed broken window, and attempted to pull onto the dirt. The leader of the fallen Jackal Squad pulled himself from underneath the car, dragging another body with him. The ultimate life form was pulled out alongside him, the magenta cuffs on his wrists still glowing brightly. They both coughed and hacked from the smoke, and crawled forward until they could just barely manage to stand on their own feet. As they struggled to limp away from the wreckage, the ruby's power slowly healed their wounds, allowing them to move a little faster. However, it didn't matter, because something caused them to stop. They slowly looked up to see a towering, fifty foot tall scarlet red spirit of sharp angles and ghastly proportions looming down on them with what they could only assume to be a Glasgow smile. It didn't even look like Sonic, a hedgehog or a Mobian of any kind anymore. It was just some horrifying, hellish, abominable, ravenous atrocity. It's long, lanky fingers reached down, the skies becoming blood red with it's power. It looked like the world was ending, or that the rapture was coming to finish them all off. The end of days.
More blood pooled from Shadow's eyes, and there were even drops of blood dripping from underneath Infinite's mask. This thing was so gorgeously awful to look at, that it was making them cry tears of gore. It made another roar worthy of a powerful devil, and they both fell to their knees submissively. They didn't want to, but it felt like they had to worship this new God of fear and mania. But that's when something clicked in Shadow's brain, he couldn't let this thing have it's way anymore. It was time for this cruel game of violence to stop.
"Sonic." Shadow called out to it with a loud voice. It was a little shaky, but he couldn't show fear. This thing fed off of it. "Sonic!" He yelled. "You have to stop!"
The creature paused from his voice, and it almost seemed to look confused by being called that name. "...?"
"Faker," The GUN agent used a more familiar nickname. "You're in there somewhere, I know you are. And I know you didn't just give up trying to fight off this thing's control over you, right?" With a trembling knee, Shadow stood up on one wobbly leg. "You're too stubborn to let anything influence you and take over your mind. You wouldn't let Infinite do it, so you can't let this thing do it either!" He watched the giant creature lower its head, it's eyes and it's hypnotic swirls becoming reluctant and conflicted. "You told me to run away from you, but I'm not going to do that. I don't need to run away from you, I never needed to run from you! You don't scare me, you can't scare me! You may have frightened everyone else, but to me, you're still the same, arrogant, cocky, pacifistic glutton who vowed that he'd never back down from anyone!" He began to walk towards it, the creature flinching and slowly shaking it's head as he got closer. "You don't want to break your promise to me, do you?" He said with a frown. "You promised you wouldn't become like me, that you wouldn't fall into darkness. Remember that?" The creature whimpered, shrinking down in size as the biohog got closer. "Do you hear me?" He whispered. "You promised, Sonic."
The creature returned to it's normal size, and the ghostly figure reverted back to the golden corrupted hedgehog from before. With a more familiar face, the entity continued to shake his head and crawled backwards away from Shadow. "N-No...I didn't..." It murmured. "I'm not...The contract is..."
"I don't care about that." Shadow simply said, his voice completely disappointed and writhe with sorrow. "...You're hurting people. You scared your friends again, and if you're not careful, you could hurt them. You could hurt me." That's when he saw green flash in those swirling eyes, Sonic was there. "Is that what you want?"
"N-No...!" It hollered. "I didn't do that...I couldn't have...!" Shadow could hear faint traces of Sonic's voice fighting to be heard. "You're lying...Stay away from me...! I told you to run away...And you won't-" The entity clenched his fanged teeth and imbued his hand with power. "-Listen!" A corrupted version of a Chaos Spear was thrown at Shadow, but it missed by a long shot. Shadow didn't even need to move to dodge it.
With genuine sad eyes, Shadow became dejected. "You...really want to hurt me?"
"No!" The entity screamed. It then covered it's hands on his face as it continued to toss it's head back and forth. "Can't hurt you...Can't...!" It threw dirt at Shadow, doing anything it could to make him stop. He begged him not to look. "Don't look at me...Don't look at me with those eyes! Judging me...You're killing me!" Blood tears fell from Fleetway's face, and he began sobbing as well. "I don't want to do this...Stop making me do this...No more," Shadow knelt down and got close enough to reach his bound wrists up to his face. He wiped his bloody tears with his thumbs. The biohog tried to return his expression to normal. If he was getting through to Sonic, it was no point for them to both be upset. He watched as the corrupted super form slightly uncovered his hands from his face and continued to cry, blood staining his gloves. Shadow reached his hand out to him again, he could pull him out of this. He could save him, he knew he could. "Stop it...Stop making me feel so bad...We can't break the contract, I'm sorry-" Suddenly the demon lifted his face from his hands with a sly smile. "-Gotcha."
This caused the ultimate life form to immediately stand up and take a step back. "...What?" He whispered. "But...I saw Sonic-"
"Hahahaha," The demon easily stood back up and grinned. "You did, because I allowed you to see him through my eyes and hear him through my voice. You still don't get it, do you? My host lost full control the moment he ran from that fox child. He will never breach my power again. Right now," He creepily walked towards Shadow with a twitching head. "He's taking a long, deep, sleep. One that he will not wake from until I allow it." He poked his own forehead playfully. "I'm in control, Project Shadow, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. He told you to run for a reason." Before Shadow's eyes, the flesh of the demon super form's arms turned into giant blades for hands. This thing was so powerful, that it could manipulate it's body to create any form it desired on any part of it's figure. "He told you not to try and save him, he told you to leave him be. But you just had to rush in and sweep him off his feet, didn't you?" He aimed his knife-arms to his face, prepared to slice. "I'm not your lover, Project. And I will eventually devour you, all of you. But first," He tilted his head to another direction, the one where Infinite was standing. "I've got a chew toy to play with."
He bolted towards Infinite, taking his attention completely away from Shadow. He giggled manically as he slammed his bladed limbs downwards, grazing Infinite's ankle as he barely jumped away. Fleetway joyfully swung to attack faster, laughing even louder. The jackal leader growled as he just barely dodged the attacks from the demon. He miscalculated, he thought he was ready. He had been hurt by this version of Sonic many times today, so he figured he'd eventually grow strong enough to be on his level. However, this was not the case. He still wasn't strong enough, he still didn't have enough power. Not only that, but he couldn't even use any tactics to manipulate the hedgehog because Sonic wasn't in there anymore. This entity only cared about killing and eating him, he had no desire in actually saving Shadow if he were to kidnap him. He no longer had any options, he was out of luck.
The demon suddenly paused and smiled eerily before a dark, scarlet red portal opened behind him. It was lengthy, twenty times bigger than any taller Mobian or Overlander anyone ever knew. It was extremely wide and thick, almost like a miniature sun. The entity stepped to the side to allow the portal to have some room, before a gigantic missile began to breach from within it. Shadow's eyes widened at the sight of a green tinted metal missile, that was beginning to slowly appear out of the gateway. That thing looked like a God damned atom bomb, surrounded by corrupted chaos energy with a giant Eggman insignia on the side of the titanic weapon. "So this was the contraption that mad scientist was creating in his base...Nice. If he had succeeded, he would have caused so much death and mania. How wonderful!" The demon exclaimed with excitement. Shadow was taken aback. This was the thing that Eggman threatened them with? This was what he was going to shoot at the core of the planet if Infinite betrayed him? Good God, it would have massacred the entire planet itself! He really was going to take everything and everyone out with him if he was compromised. But this was worse. Now Fleetway had it and was making it appear via Chaos Control, so now- "I'm sure my host won't mind if the planet accidentally blows up for a quick second. After all, it's not like I can't just reboot the reality. So why don't we end it all with a big bang?" His hands returned to normal and applauded. "Come on, everyone! I can't bare the thought of keeping this horribly beautiful discord all to myself. All of us together—Let us bask in this glorified, hellish apocalypse!" The demon cackled before the missile began to accelerate at hyper mach speed towards Infinite. The fact that something that big could move that fast was beyond horrifying.
The jackal felt everything around him slow to a stop, because...
...He needed time.
He needed time to think, time to thoroughly plan this out and he couldn't do this here. Even if he escaped somewhere else on the planet, this thing would find him if the missile didn't destroy them all first. No, hiding in another place in Mobius was out of the question. He needed somewhere more discreet, more remote. A place where not even a demonic demigod could find him. He needed-
-Another reality.
With a pained grunt, Infinite used most of his power to surround the missile with his energy, and stop it in time. But he didn't just stop the missile in time, he stopped time itself. Everything was frozen, nothing moved. If he had the strength, he'd murder the deity here and now. He panted heavily because it was getting harder to breathe, and he only had a little power left to get the hell out of here. Magenta suddenly filled the air, it's mist obscuring the scarlet sun above. Infinite levitated in the air as his power weakly surged throughout his body. He looked down at the frozen corrupted super form and announced his farewells. "Sorry to cut our game short, but I believe it's time I moved on from this world. I'm not quite ready to kill you, or your other tyrant forms." If what those visions Infinite saw were true, there were three more of these monsters. "So I'll be taking my leave to another space, one where you will never find me until I'm ready. But remember this," He pointed to the demon. "I will kill you. I will take Shadow away from you, I will kill the rest of you, I'll make all of you suffer and I will kill that God damned blue rat."
Much to his surprise, somehow, Fleetway broke out of this stopped time. A purplish-red portal opened behind Infinite, causing the entity to panic. "No...My contract states that I have to kill you-Wait!" He desperately reached out for the jackal, he hated so much that he couldn't fly like this. His voice sincerely pleaded for Infinite not to take away his only fun.
"Goodbye for now, Fleetway."
"H-Hold on! No...!"
Infinite the Jackal gave one last look at the mess that was caused because of his plans to destroy the Divine Spirits, and pulled himself backwards through the portal. Never to be seen by anyone else of this world, ever again.
With his power of this world now absent, time resumed.
Wrathful growls seethed through Fleetway's sharp teeth, and he angrily levitated the giant missile upwards. He made his hand into a fist, crushing the object of mass destruction in an instant. As it blew up, a scarlet portal opened beneath it, and Fleetway carelessly dropped it within. Wherever it ended up in space, would be where it would explode. The planet was safe, for now...But the demon was beyond annoyed. "I can't sense you, I can't sense you-Where did you go? Where did you go!?" The entity snarled before howling to the sky in demonic rage. "This weak form is restricting me...I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored...! I can't be bored! I can't!" He tore his nails down his own face in frustration, soon resorting to chewing against his claws. "If my end of the bargain is unfulfilled, I won't be able to stay in this body much longer. Maybe if I..." He mumbled. He glanced over to see if he could at least play with the striped hedgehog, only to notice that he too was no longer there. "...? He's gone? Hmm," A small devious smile drew upon his muzzle. "Well, if I can't stay in your body, dear child, then I'll have to take a souvenir with me. There's nothing in the contract preventing me from doing so." A scarlet red aura surrounded his body as he snickered, sniffing his nose. "...I can smell where you are...I'll find you Project, and when I do, I'll play with you instead. After all, just because I can't kill you, doesn't mean I can't devour a leg or two."
He sonic boomed away, leaving the destruction he caused behind him.
4:30 PM
He hated running away, but he didn't have a choice.
He ran to a more dense location of Green Hill, where a large abundance of palm trees acted like a tropical forest. Okay, that demon was a trickster through and through. If Shadow couldn't get to Sonic that way, he'd just have to move onto plan C. If this didn't work, he he'd resort to plan D, which involved him going super and just gambling that he could somehow neutralize the demon. That was a suicide mission, so he prayed it wouldn't come to that. That card he was given weeks ago, Infinite never got rid of it and allowed Shadow to keep it. He probably didn't realize what it was, perhaps he didn't know about chaotic writing. It was a good thing he didn't, because this would be his ticket to stopping this nonsense. When he reached for the card in his quills, he had some difficulty thanks to his hands being constricted. However, out of no where, the magenta cuffs disappeared into embers. Did Infinite free him, or did the demon...kill him? Either way, it didn't matter. That thing, Fleetway apparently, needed to be stopped. Hopefully, he could do this before that monster caused Sonic to make the biggest mistake of his life. When he got the card in his hand, he focused on its symbol and spread his chaos energy towards it just as he was instructed several days before. When he did, his amber red energy spread throughout the symbol perfectly and filled up the indentation of the card. It glowed brightly, before turning a light shade of blue.
A portal appeared before him, and a pair of heavy, black leather, sharp steel toed boots stepped out of it. Shadow lowered the card from his view when he saw the Sonic lookalike from before appear, this time without his helmet. Clad in that military uniform and that black, long baton, he gave Shadow an apathetic look. "Overseer Zonic, reporting." He announced before realizing who had summoned him. "So you called after all." He noted with a bored voice, the portal disappearing behind him. "I would hope this is for an emergency, like I instructed you." For a few moments of silence, Shadow just stared at him, silently panicking. That's when the lookalike known as Zonic scowled and furrowed his brows. "I don't have all day-"
And that's when it all spilled from the biohog's mouth.
He told him everything: The terrorist attack, his promotion from GUN, looking over Infinite, how he failed his mission, how he was kidnapped, how he died, how Sonic died and how he transformed into a monster that he couldn't stop.
...
...Blinking slowly with an understandably alert expression, the lookalike took a second to attempt to process all of this.
"I..." He cleared his throat before speaking. "...Oh. Oh no. No...Damn it. Shit." A brief look of devastation flashed in his eyes. "Shit, shit, shit..." He placed a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes tightly. "I-I...See..." He looked really upset for a moment, before clearing his throat for a second time and shaking his head. "Well," He looked to the side for a moment, his expression returning more neutral, and tapped his chin with his finger. "That would explain why my monitors aren't working...This is indeed a horrible, grave situation. I understand why you called for me." He then glanced at Shadow with a disgusted expression. "As much as I despise you, your race and Sonic prime..." He softened his expression and made a sympathetic grimace. "...I know you're upset. You've both been through literal hell and anybody would react the same way. And you both perished..." It almost seemed like he was genuinely remorseful for what happened. "I failed you..." He whispered, Shadow couldn't hear that. "Damn it. Fine," He walked to the side and began drawing something in the dirt with the end of his nightstick. "I'll help you both out, as usual."
That's when Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you're not confused by anything? That was a lot of information just now."
Zonic just shook his head. "Of course I'm not. I am your Grand Overseer, I know everything. Well, almost everything." He replied casually as Shadow noticed he was creating another strange symbol into the dirt. "I would have arrived sooner if my monitors hadn't glitched, but I see that was due to the Phantom Ruby's power. I'll have to have that modified later. If I was notified of yours or Sonic prime's deaths, I would have stopped the situation before it could get that far." His voice held a little bit of guilt. "In that regard, since it is my duty to watch over all Chaos Born, I...I owe you a tremendous apology." He then bent down to draw more intricate shapes into the ground with his finger. "But you're both fine now, so that won't be necessary." Well geez, he got over that quickly.
"What do you mean you're our Overseer? What do you mean you're supposed to watch over us?"
With an annoyed sigh, the soldier sucked his teeth and stood back up when he saw that his drawing was perfect. "And this is why I tried to take you two Neanderthals back to my reality where this would have all been explained to you." He threw his hands up with an exasperated expression. "But noooo," He mocked their voices, which was funny considering his and Sonic's voices were basically exactly the same. "'You're a monotone loser, I don't wanna go anywhere with you. Chaos Control this, Chaos Control that. Blah, blah, blah, I'm an idiot.'" He stuck his nose up at him. "Dumbasses, a fair pair of illiterate foolish fools...None of you ever listen until your whole planet's about to be destroyed. Then you grovel and beg me to come and clean up your messes. It's not like I get paid for this shit." He then pointed at Shadow before wagging his finger. "You. Get over here now and stand on this sigil."
Okay, Shadow didn't appreciate all the disrespect. "If you think you're allowed to talk to me that way-"
"As of right now, you are in no position to demand any respect from me. I am the only one that you know of who's capable of stopping your killer boyfriend," He pointed his baton at him threateningly. "So I'd shut your mouth if I was you, and do as you're told. Unless you'd like him to kill you this time? I'm sure that kind of guilt would eat him from the inside out the second he returned to his default form. And who would you call for help then?" He raised a brow with cold dark green eyes. "Go ahead, try me."
Angered by being pushed into a corner, Shadow stayed silent and just walked over to the ground sigil the soldier created. He stood over it and crossed his arms. "What is this even supposed to do?"
Zonic smirked. "You'll see. I hope you don't mind being bait for a few moments." He walked beside Shadow with his hands behind his back. "Use your chaos energy to charge up the symbol, just like you did with that card. Once you do that," He made a serious expression. "It's on. If you don't do exactly as I say, we both could die."
Alarmed by this, Shadow's eyes lit up significantly. "What?"
"I can smell that he's coming," He quickly said after a small sniff. "Use your powers now. Then, when I give the word, get the hell out of dodge and I'll take over from there. There are no do overs with Divine Spirits. If you screw up, we will both have our bodies devoured in the belly of that nightmare creature, and you will never see Sonic prime again. Got it?"
Haha.
Yeah okay, awesome-
-What the fuck was he talking about?
Shit, God damn it. Shadow hated not knowing what was going on, but he didn't have a choice. "Fine, but you better save Sonic!" He spread his amber red power underneath his shoes, feeling it dip into the earth and sift throughout the sigil imprinted on the soil. Once he did, it began to glow brightly, just like with the card.
The soldier then analyzed the distance with calculating eyes. "Yes yes, I'll return your precious boyfriend back to you. Just be ready." He held up his hand towards the biohog, this would be his signal that he'd have to pay attention to. "Here he comes." There was a small second of silence, and the wind blew past them. It gently rustled the leaves of the palm trees that were hiding the scarlet red sun's rays from their eyes. Abruptly, the ground began to shake severely and the trees began to sway in the opposite direction. A shining scarlet red light began to beam from afar, coming closer and closer with every nanosecond they breathed. "On my mark, cut off your power." Zonic warned as the demonic presence closed in on them. A golden corrupted hedgehog was now in view, sprinting towards them like a track star and laughing manically.
"Haha! There you are, I thought I lost you for a second. You missed me so badly that you called for me? Well I won't make you wait any longer, because it's time for me to devour you, Project." This was a sigil to call him? He was dead set on attacking him, mutilating him and consuming parts of him. If he couldn't kill him, he'd just take a few pieces of him for the road. "Now stay still, just like that. This won't hurt too much!"
"One," Zonic said quietly.
"I can't wait to eat you, to feel your bones in my belly!"
"Two..."
"Project Shadow...!"
"Three!" Zonic yelled as he placed his baton in his belt.
Just before a clawed hand grabbed at Shadow's face, he used his air shoes to boost himself backwards. He hadn't even realized he was right in front of him until it was almost too late. Seeing his lover's face being used by something that didn't belong in this world was terrifying, but he couldn't falter. As much as he disliked this soldier lookalike, he had to trust him. His power instantly canceled out, dissolving from the sigil with the ground becoming barren and empty. After Shadow jumped back a few feet away, Zonic immediately stepped beside the sigil, but was careful not to step on it. He then watched the corrupted super form frown that he missed his target, and skid to a stop on the ground, directly onto the symbol. He looked at Zonic and stared curiously. "Overseer Zonic...? Why are you here?" He mumbled. "Not I, nor did any Chaos Born request your appearance in this realm. And we told you and your lover that they shouldn't know who you are yet..." He squinted his swirling eyes dubiously. "What is the meaning of this? This better not be a sign of anarchy, you know the consequences."
Zonic silently exhaled before speaking a series of Chaotic Spells. "But of course not, dear Divine One, I could never." He raised his voice a little louder. "O' Divine One," He addressed with semi-respect and also half distaste. "The Scarlet One, the bringer of destruction and mania," He closed his eyes and bowed. "I am undeserving of your presence, but I humbly ask that you listen to this pitiful servant of Chaotic Blood." A mischievous glint shined in his eyes as he opened them. "With my authorization, the two-thousandth and fiftieth Grand Overseer, Zonic the Hedgehog, I now use this Chaotic Sigil to properly dispel you from Sonic the Hedgehog's body. With the assistance of the Light One's grace, I beg of you to return to your prison of eternal damnation, only blessing your little brothers with your presence once more in the near future when you are summoned again."
Panic filled Fleetway's eyes.
Those holy words were like poison to him.
"W-What? No. No!" He looked down and saw the sigil in the ground, and became even more frantic. "No! Not him! Not back to sleep...!" He tried to step away, but arms made of elegant white chaotic light reached up from the ground. The beam of a heavenly glow shined in the sky and parted the clouds. The sigil glowed bright white, with a spectral of several multicolors shining within. A gentle hum of several singing voices hushed and beckoned for the demon to give up. To allow himself to be taken away by the gentle touch of the hands.
Shh. It's alright, my dear. Soon, there will be no more pain.
No...
Yes, return to me. You're not acting like yourself. Please, let me make all your troubles go away.
S-Stop it, I'm not going back. This is the only freedom I'm allowed to have! I refuse. You can't keep doing this to me, Sonic called for me himself!
Oh goodness...Please don't misunderstand me, I think you did very well. He needed healing, and you've already helped him. You did such a wonderful job, I'm so proud of you! Now, let me heal you, let me embrace you, let me take you home.
No-Get your hands off me!
Let me remind you h ow wonderful it is to be surrounded by your adoring family. Let me remind you...
P-Please, no...!
...Just how much I adore you, baby brother.
The arms reached and seized the entity's ankles, yanking him back down to the ground. He fell over, and no matter how much he tried to crawl away, his claws making drag marks into the dirt, he was still getting pulled by the arms of chaos. They were similar to the giant ones Shadow and Sonic saw on Christmas Island, but these were much smaller and more persistent. They couldn't let him get away, no matter how much he yelled for them to stop. He looked back at Zonic over his shoulder with great hatred. "Why did you summon him!? Do you have any idea what he does to me!? Do you even care? You traitor! I'll kill you! I'll torture you! I'll-!" His entire body was getting pulled down below ground, the heavenly glow burning his very skin. "A-Ah...! No! I don't want to go back to sleep, not yet! My contract...I have to complete my contract! Sonic needs me!"
Zonic frowned at this. "And by the Light One's permission, whose word overpowers yours, I am telling you that your contract is now null and void. My apologies for this inconvenience, Divine One." It was clear he had no true empathy in his words.
Shadow watched all this with great confusion and concern.
How was any of this happening? And why?
"Someone help me...Project Shadow, help me! No! NO! Nooo...!" He screamed horrifically, with pure terror. This wasn't like before when he was faking in front of Shadow, he was actually mortified and scared of whatever this Light One was. "Ahhh!" He reached out his hand to someone, anyone who could pull him out and help him. A hand of light grabbed him by the back of his head, before pulling as hard as it could. But it didn't pull his head physically, he pulled the spirit within it, which was being painfully peeled from the body. The scarlet spirit made more demonic howls of resistance and agony as it was separated from it's physical host. The golden fur was fading, but he was still trying to fight to make it stop. It was as if making contact with the open air was killing him, burning him alive as the heaven's light from the ground below engulfed him in it's holy essence. With one last harsh pull, the spirit was fully ripped out of the body, tearing out of the hedgehog's flesh. "S-Sonic...!" The light in his eyes faded away, and his fur's auric color disappeared. The body of the hedgehog fell forward unconscious while the spirit reached out to it, desperate to go back in it's home. An angelic hand slammed it's palm over his mouth, silencing the demon. The haunting cries of the demon's spirit was instantly cut off as the arms pulled the scarlet phantom's form down, and phasing into the ground. The sigil made a bright glow, before dying out quickly, the heavenly light shining from it's symbol disappearing.
Seven corrupted chaos emeralds appeared and circled around the exorcism site, before returning their normal colors and falling onto the grass.
Scarlet red and sparkling white embers faded into the sky.
...
...A blue hedgehog was left sprawled on the ground, unconscious but breathing.
Cautiously, Shadow looked at Zonic, who glanced back. He then calmly nodded, gesturing that it was okay for Shadow to approach. He ran to the body of his blue lover and picked him up in his arms. He could feel warmth, and he could even hear a heartbeat. Then, he heard light snoring. When he dragged his thumb over his cheek. His nose twitched and he turned away from his hand, bothered that someone was interrupting his sleep. He moved all on his own. He could move. He was alive.
Sonic was alive again.
Shadow made a near-tearful smile, clutching him against his body graciously. He closed his eyes and kissed his forehead, his cheeks and his lips, feeling his ear flick against him. He fought himself not to cry, he made it so that tears wouldn't well up in the corners of his eyes but he was failing. "I almost lost you, but you came back to me." He whispered against him. "I know it was hard, I know you were in a lot of pain, but it's over now. It's over, Sonic. We're okay, you're okay."
Secretly, Zonic made a small, caring smile at this. When he realized he was smiling, he straightened up his posture and his expression, attempting to look more professional. He placed his arms behind his back, walking over to the biohog and the unconscious body of the Hero of Mobius. "Well, I suppose my job here is done. I'm glad you two finally found each other."
The ultimate life form frowned. "...Finally found each other?" Usually that was a compliment for new couples, but since this lookalike knew a lot more than he alluded to, that couldn't have been all that was. "What do you mean by that?"
"Hmph," He simply didn't answer. "If you want to know the answer to that question, information about Infinite the Jackal and many other questions that I know are spiraling in your head right now," He dug in his pocket to pull out a small golden ring with his fingers. "Then the next time I appear, you will come with me. I will give you two weeks to yourselves, to heal and recover from what transpired here today. However, after that," He pulled his baton out of his belt and pointed it at the ultimate life form's chest, poking it rudely. "I will no longer ask permission. I will take you both by force, even if I have to drag you there by your tails. Unconscious." He stared heavily at the biohog. "Do you understand me? I'm very busy, and I don't have time for you or your hero's childish nonsense. Your appearance in my reality is imperative and none of us have time for your game of chaos energized kissy-catch. No more unnecessary fights, no more high school mean girl playground insults." He poked him again but harder this time, knocking the striped hedgehog back a little. Shadow wanted to retaliate, but his militarized authoritarian voice was too strong to interrupt. "Is. That. Clear?"
With his frown tightening, Shadow took a step back. "...Crystal." He hissed.
Making a satisfied humming sound, Zonic nodded and simply turned to walk away while twirling his baton back to his belt. "Very good. It was always easier to speak to you, than that blue brat. I hate that I'm related to him, but well..." He tossed the ring on the ground, and a portal opened up. "You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family."
Family? That would make two of them, because Shadow would hate if his boyfriend was related to someone this detestable. He had a lot of questions about that too, but he obviously wouldn't answer them as he claimed. "You know," Shadow suddenly said as he cradled Sonic in his arms bridal style. "I hate you."
Zonic shrugged. "Good for you, the feeling's mutual."
"But," The biohog curtly cut him off. He wasn't finished, thank you. "And I know I'm going to regret saying this—But I thank you for saving him." He looked down at Sonic's slumbering face and he couldn't help but immediately smile again. "He means everything to me, and I thought my world ended all over again when he was killed right in front of me. I'll never let him go."
"..." This made the soldier hesitate. When he did respond, his tone was no longer hostile or callous, but genuinely happy for Shadow. "...I know you won't." He said softly. "He's very tired, he might sleep for a while. Perhaps a day or two straight, as the demon's power takes a huge physical and mental toll on the body after using it for a death contract. He'll probably feel ashamed, along with some self-loathing for a couple of weeks." He explained frankly. "I've never used the power myself, but I've researched what the form does to you after its usage." He turned to Shadow over his shoulder with a pitiful expression. "He's going to hate himself for being pushed that far. He might even become depressed." He turned away again. "You can't let him fall into despair, he needs you now more than ever. Don't let him down." He then hoisted his baton over his shoulder. "And for God's sake, confess your love to him already."
Blushing, Shadow watched as Zonic made his leave through the portal, disappearing.
Confess...His love for him?
31 - END - 31
Chapter 32: Rest
Summary:
The battle is won...kind of. Everyone is licking their wounds, but Sonic and Shadow aren't emotionally healing as well as they should.
Chapter Text
32 - Rest - 32
Evening, 5:00 PM
A pink hedgehog panted heavily as she pulled her hammer from the crunched skull of an Eggman robot. She took a few steps back before looking at the mess of metal and Robotnik insignia-marked pieces of robotic debris. That was it, that was all of them, and when they saw that magenta glow in their eyes disappear, they knew they wouldn't get back up again. A red echidna slumped onto the ground on his butt, trying to catch his breath from all the swinging and punching. His white bat companion stumbled to sit next to him on the grass, her legs and wings sore from all the aerial assaults and kicking. The pink hedgehog walked over and leaned her arms against the stick of her hammer, looking up at the sky and noticing the sun was a bright yellow again. A tall red and black droid walked beside them, his parts slightly scratched up and dented in a few places. An orange-yellow fox walked over and tossed the head of an Eggman droid somewhere away, his namesakes and legs exhausted. Their bodies were bruised, and they were injured in some places. They didn't get out of that scrap wound-free. They all glanced at each other as they panted, silently congratulating each other on a job well done. It was tough, and it was a long battle, but they did it together.
A black streak approached the group through the sea of destroyed robots and stopped in front of them. The ultimate life form stared at them with hope as he held the hero's sleeping body in his arms. Their eyes all lit up one by one, looking to Shadow to silently ask if he was alive. With a small smile, he nodded. Amy ran over with tears in her eyes, gently running her hand down his cheek. Sniffing, she whispered, "He's breathing. He's," She chuckled a little. "He's snoring, haha."
Knuckles rolled his eyes. "The asshole's asleep? Great. He gets a nap while we almost die from exhaustion, cool..." He then fell onto his back before staring up at the normal sky, the sun was setting and the atmosphere was bleeding into oranges and pinks. He made a relieved expression and closed his eyes. "...thank goodness." He murmured to himself. "My little brother's okay." Rouge smiled down at him while sitting beside him, and looked up at the sky as well. Their hands met, and they held each other's firmly.
Tails stepped beside Amy and smiled at the blue slumbering hero. But then, it faltered into a frown. "Is it...really him?"
Shadow nodded firmly. "Yes. Whatever was possessing him was exorcized from his body. It's gone, I think for good."
"But, you're not sure..." Tails took a step back.
Amy glanced at the fox with a bewildered expression. "Tails, Sonic is alive. Aren't you happy?"
"He's my big brother, of course I am! I was worried to death!" He said defensively before slowly lowering his head. "But, what if he turns like that again-"
"He won't." Shadow declared. "I'll never let something like this happen to him ever again, and I swear that on my life." He stared down at the hero's body, noticing a few red, sore spots all over his limbs due to the entity's power. "Never again..." Quietly, Tails nodded at his words but walked away and sat against a nearby rock in silence. He placed his hands over his face and dragged them downwards towards is mouth. His baby blue eyes stared at the ground with a somber frown, eventually placing his palms on his knees. The pink hedgehog narrowed her eyes at him with uncertainty. Despite seeing his big brother alive, he was very sad. She concluded he saw something bad, but that wasn't Sonic. He knew that, right? Meanwhile—Omega walked towards the biohog, who looked more than happy to see the robot. "Omega," He greeted with a subtle warm smile. "I didn't get a chance to ask before, but you came to help too?"
The droid poked his metallic finger against Sonic's leg. "Only by order of GUN. I helped secure the safety of several meatbags who were only just returning from outside the city during a crucial lockdown. Tower clearly needed my assistance." He spun his head to Tails, who gave a meek wave. "I detected strange explosions of high chaos energy in Green Hill Zone. Then, I came across the orange forest creature on my way here. He's slightly more tolerable than the others."
Chuckling, Shadow moved and bent over a little to hoist Sonic onto his back. "Never change, Omega." He then glanced back at Tails. "I'm going to drop faker off at his place, I assume you'll care for him?"
The bat noticed what Amy saw in the teenager, and knew that this probably wasn't a good decision. Rouge then spoke up before Tails could. "Handsome, don't you think it's best that you take care of him?" She briefly glanced at Tails before looking back at Shadow. "Fox Boy saw a lot...Things we didn't see." She had a point. Out of everyone here besides Shadow, Tails and Omega were the only ones who confronted Fleetway head on. Omega, despite his limited sentience, was unable to feel fear. Tails however was probably still terrified out of his mind, just keeping it to himself. "He needs some space. Besides," She gave Shadow a knowing smile. "You know what Big Blue needs more than we do."
"But," Shadow protested reluctantly. "I figured none of you would want me to be around him. It's my fault he-"
The echidna made an annoyed groan. "Chaos, my God damn brain-Aren't you two dating or something?"
Oh.
He didn't have to just say it like that, though. "Well, yes but-"
"Then just take that freakin' blue menace home already. Anyway," Knuckles added with a softer tone. "We don't hate you, Shadow. The only person we're weary of right now is Sonic after what just happened, but...we know it's not his fault either. Yeah it scared the hell outta us, but we'll come around soon enough." He sighed. "Rouge says you were tortured when you were kidnapped by that loser jackal guy. I dunno what he did to you, but I know whatever he did was enough to piss Sonic the hell off. That's what made him turn into that thing, not you. It's just like what happened when Tails got shot, Sonic lost control over his emotions." He saw Rouge nod beside him in agreement. "It happens to the best of us. It's Infinite's fault, not yours. So," He shrugged as he relaxed against the grass. "I'm pretty sure there's no reason to hate you for anything."
Shadow frowned, why didn't they get it? "You don't understand. I failed my mission, it's my fault Infinite got the ruby and kidnapped me in the first place. I'm the reason why Sonic was killed."
It was Rouge's turn to retort against that. "The way Tower told it, you both planned to take the ruby from Eggman and give it to GUN on a silver platter so we could find a way to destroy it. It was also the best and only way to infiltrate his base." She gave Shadow an obvious look. "How were you supposed to know any of this would happen?"
"I didn't, but that doesn't change the fact that none of this would have happened if it wasn't for me." Shadow exclaimed roughly, growing a little irritated that nobody was seeing the bigger picture here.
The bat scoffed and shrugged. "You're so hardheaded...Whatever, continue to blame yourself. But know that you're the only one who does." She then laid back on the ground against Knuckles and shut her eyes too. "I bet you all the jewels in the world that Sonic doesn't blame you, either."
Knuckles nudged her arm playfully. "Pssh, Sonic's such a softie that he wouldn't blame anybody even if it was their fault. Shadow's totally in the clear."
She snickered. "True, Big Blue's cute like that."
The ultimate life form was just...bewildered. Was it really just him?
Finally, Amy tilted her head at Shadow with a smile. "Hey, don't worry about them—They're just a couple of big ol' bullies." She patted his arm, one that was holding one of Sonic's legs. "I know what you mean, I can't say I don't understand you for feeling the way you do. But they're right about one thing: We can't really fully blame you if you never intended for any of this to happen. I know intentions are way weaker than actions, but your actions after your mistake prove you wanted nothing but the best for everyone." She reached up and tapped her finger on Shadow's temple. "Remember, didn't Sonic tell you that before? After the whole Black Doom thing?" She saw Shadow look away. "You and Sonic are so quick to blame yourselves for something you can't control. Maybe that's a guy-thing, but you're gonna worry yourself half to death over stuff like that. It's over now, and you're both alive and well. There's nothing to worry about anymore, isn't that good enough?" She innocently walked to the right of Shadow. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"
Blushing, Shadow really started avoiding her gaze now. "...We're only dating."
She made a small laugh before smirking at him. "Ha! Nice try, but I'm twenty, not twelve." She rose her brows at Shadow with a suggestive expression. "I did some readings on you two, and I already know you're all over each other. You love him, I know you do. I mean," She giggled. "You make it so obvious, the way you look at him. You look like you just found the gates to heaven."
Hesitantly, Shadow looked at her. "But, we've only been dating for a month. Technically, less than that since I was captured."
Amy shrugged her shoulders. "So?" She simply replied. "You've known each other for a very long time. Well, maybe not intimately, but you're starting to now. These feelings are rushing through both of you because you both never realized that there was someone out there for you. I'll be honest," She said while gazing down at the blue hero, the person who she crushed on so hard in their youth. "When I found out he slept around, I hated that. I hated it because he was too good for those people. Those weren't good people, they were people who wanted to take advantage of him and just use him for his status and his body. I mean," She sighed with some conflict. "It's his business and he is an adult, older than me, but I always hoped he'd find someone who actually deserved to have him." She smiled brightly when she glanced back at Shadow. "Thank God, he finally found you. Someone who actually gives a damn about him, who actually wants him beyond sex appeal and appearances, someone who truly understood what it meant to have the ginormous responsibilities he had." She saw that Shadow was beginning to look slightly bashful, he knew she was speaking truth. "Someone who was right there beside him the whole time. You didn't know how much you wanted Sonic until you became his friend, and vice versa. You're constantly asking yourself why it took you so long to see that what you wanted," She gestured to the snoring hedgehog on his back. "Was right here in front of you all along. Now that you've got him, all of these feelings are just erupting back and forth. I'm certain it's hard for you two to control yourself around each other."
Yeah that's pretty accurate, actually. That's exactly how Shadow felt every time he saw him, and that was before any of this started. It honestly began after the party, seeing that what he'd want in a person was right here with him this entire time. He wasted so many years being alone, sulking and brooding when he could have had this beauty with him. He was a fool, but he thanked Chaos he finally realized it now. "...He didn't want us to go too fast."
Amy made a small squeal. "Aww, that's so sweet! If I'm not mistaken, he never said that to anyone before you. He told me himself that he didn't care about anybody he was intimate with. He never took them seriously, and they never saw him as anything more than a quick lay." She momentarily made a creeped out expression. "Either that, or they turned out to be weirdo stalkers...There's a reason why Knuckles and I hated that phase of his life." She suddenly made a sweatdrop. "D-Don't tell him I told you all of this, he'll kill me. Heheh, anyway," She continued. "Sonic's been like that for a long time, so he never thought he could fall in love with someone, ever. I'm glad he was wrong and I'm even more glad he took you seriously. He's not perfect, but he can be a big sweetie when he wants to. With that said," She gave Shadow a big, hopeful smile. "Everyone's got their own definition of love. If this is yours, don't fight it. You're both of age, nobody's getting hurt, and I'm sure you both feel the same way after all that. You didn't do anything wrong, because what happened wasn't entirely your fault and you fixed it anyway. I know Sonic doesn't hold anything against you, and I know he loves you too. So what's the problem?"
Shadow smiled a little. Wasn't she the one who helped him realize Maria's true wish back on the Ark when she was only a preteen? She was a smart girl. "...I guess you're right. Thank you, Rose."
"Ugh-Ewww!" She pouted. "Don't call me by my last name, you make me sound old!"
"I'm allowed to call you 'Amy'?" He called her Amy before, but never to her face. He thought "Rose" was more appropriate since they weren't that close.
"Oh my God-Duh! We're friends now, silly." She punched his arm lightheartedly. "Now take Sonic home and make him some lovey dovey homemade soup."
The biohog raised a brow at her. "Lovey...Homemade what?"
"Chaos, boys are so laaaaame..." The pink girl whined. One could tell she and Sonic were friends for a very long time. If he was a jock, she was his kindhearted cheerleader bestie. "I got your number from Sonic, I'll text you a recipe later." She adamantly flagged him away. "Now shoo! And if you break his heart, I'm givin' you a good whack with my hammer and I'm placing a curse on you."
With a nosey and rude voice, Knuckles suddenly called them out. "You two still yappin' over there? Go home already! D'you have any idea how long it's gonna take me to clean this shit up? There's a whole ass wrecked airship on my island. And this is still my front lawn, y'know. You're loitering!"
Shadow could see that Tails was snickering under his breath. With an irritated scowl, Amy whipped her head at the guardian. "Then why are you still laying on your ass with your girlfriend, muscle-head? Get a job!"
"You get a damn job!" Knuckles yelled back.
"I'm a botanist and a tarot card reader. What do you do? Stare at a giant rock all day?"
"Yup." The red one smirked. "And I still got a girlfriend before you."
Steam rose from her head as both Rouge and Tails busted out laughing. "Oh screw you, ya damn oversized stop sign! That's why Sonic broke your 'bum-ass arm'! You couldn't even land a good punch on any of those robots, asshole!"
The echidna immediately stomped onto his feet. "What'd you say, Pinky!?"
Omega beeped quietly and looked down at Shadow. "Error: I am very confused as to what is happening at the moment."
August 6th - Empire City
DAY 27: Wednesday
Evening, 8:00 PM
The front door to GUN SEA Shadow the Hedgehog's apartment opened, then closed and locked behind him as he walked in. Going back to work was a little nerve-wrecking because he failed his mission, and was responsible for any and all damages that were accumulated during that single day of utter discord. Granted, the only damages sustained were on Angel Island and Green Hill Zone, places that weren't inhabited by a mass population of defenseless citizens. Still, it didn't matter. He had one task to do as the new SEA, and he failed it miserably. When he walked into his office yesterday, he half expected Tower to tell him to leave and never come back. Of course, that wasn't what he was met with. A lot of people were more than relieved to see that he was alive and well, and Tower only brushed off the incident as an honest mistake. The Overlander thought everything was going to go smoothly too, it's why he authorized Shadow to make the moves he made. Nobody saw any of this coming, so he didn't necessarily blame him for the mission's failure. It turned into something they never expected and unfortunately, they wouldn't have a prisoner. GUN apparently would lie and claim the mercenary was...killed in the skies of the falling airships. An adequate lie, but one that was ambiguous enough to leave a little doubt. Therefore, if God forbid Infinite appeared somewhere in town a few months from now, they could claim: "Oh! Well, we thought he died in the sky from all the explosions! Oops!"
As for the sun turning red...
...They never told the public how or why that was possible.
At least not with the correct answer, that being that their hero turned into a demon and somehow took control over an entire celestial body. GUN lied and said the airships were causing pollution in the sky, making it seem like the sun was red. Frankly, Team Dark never told Tower the exact reason why the sun looked that way either. GUN only told the public that Sonic Team was there during the incident, and their efforts more than helped take Infinite down. As for Sonic becoming corrupted and transforming into a malevolent entity that went berserk, Shadow blamed Infinite for this, saying that the Phantom Ruby was used to turn the hero against it's people, but that something went wrong and that the mercenary lost control over his own puppet, who went on a complete rampage. He did however, explicitly tell Tower that it was not Sonic's fault, and he barely even did any damage to begin with. If anything, he only hurt a bunch of jackal lackeys who were aptly arrested in droves of armored paddy wagons. The only people he hurt was Omega and he only made Tails fall from his Cyclone, but he ended up healing Tails anyway and Omega repaired himself. Sonic didn't do any real damage or harm in that form, which was a blessing in itself. As for the emeralds, Shadow collected them properly and could sense they were no longer corrupted. He Chaos Controlled them back in his possession within time and space. He was going to return them to Knuckles, but the echidna refused and said that it may be best that the biohog keep them just in case. He wanted to show him that the guardian still very much trusted him despite his error.
Since the mission was a big bust, they didn't have their prisoner and they didn't have the Phantom Ruby. Therefore, they had to do a lot of paperwork to report to local law enforcement, politicians, law makers and a bunch of other boring stuff that mentally melted Shadow's brain. Tower said the only reason why he didn't make Shadow his right hand man was because it involved more paperwork than action. If it was worse than this, he'd have thrown himself into traffic a long time ago. Even Rouge was slowly tearing her eyelashes out. Omega was lucky to be a robot, because sometimes he'd shut himself down to avoid reporting. It was petty and kind of funny, but Shadow was jealous he couldn't do the same. Plus the meetings were such a damn drag, they were so lengthy for no reason at all. That's been his last two days, and he was hoping that'd be the last of it. He couldn't wait to get into bed and sleep the rest of the night away. It was really early to turn in, but he didn't care. He was tired enough to sleep throughout the entire night, if not the entire century.
He immediately went to his pantry in the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee beans, which would be his dinner for tonight. It was rare he had dinner at all, but he was feeling a little drained today, so he'd use these to replenish his body. Hand picking them from the cup and popping them into his mouth, he walked down the hall to head to his bedroom. Before he opened the door, he passed by the short hall leading to the guest bedroom. Yes, he'd have to check that first. The Hero of Mobius was asleep in there, resting and healing. To be honest, he was a little worried. He's been sleeping for two, almost three days straight. Zonic warned him of this. He's been completely still in bed, not even tossing or turning. He had a bad fever of high temperatures that varied after every few hours, so Shadow would have to get a damp cloth and place it over his head every night so far. Even though he looked at peace, it wasn't normal and it wasn't healthy. Even his snoring became much quieter the moment he took him home. His friends, mostly Amy and Rouge would text and ask if he was okay. He'd just tell them that he was resting, but alive. He was sure they were worried, but he had nothing else to tell them at this point. He walked to the door and carefully turned the knob to look inside. He expected to see the same, immovable lump in the bed.
Except that's not what he saw. Instead, he saw a fully nude, wet, blue hedgehog using a towel to dry himself.
"..." Sonic blinked and made a small wave. "...Hey."
Shadow just stared, before slowly closing the door.
To this, the hero frowned and put a hand on his hip.
...
...Shadow nearly broke the door down and dropped his cup of beans to come back inside. "Y-You're awake?" He exclaimed.
"You dummy," Sonic smirked as he put his towel on the bed. "I was wondering when you were gonna peep that. Also dang—No privacy?" He asked as he playfully wagged his tail to gesture to his current nudity. His gloves and socks were absent. "I'm totally naked, dude."
Shyly, the biohog began to close the door again. "Sorry-"
"W-Wait, babe-I'm just kidding!"
8:20 PM
The ultimate life form was a very competent creature, but right now, he didn't feel like being competent. In other words, he didn't feel like cooking so he just ordered the hero some pizza. He hadn't eaten in nearly three days, so he was sure his stomach was nearly caving in on itself. Now they were in the living room, on the couch, watching a silly B-grade horror movie on TV and sharing a pizza. Well, more like Sonic was devouring it on his own, because Shadow couldn't be bothered. It's not that he wasn't a pizza guy, it just didn't do anything for him. Most foods didn't...At least food that wasn't cooked by Sonic. His food was absolutely mouth-watering. Once he fully recovered, he'd have to ask him for another one of those delicious breakfast sandwiches. Before joining the GUN agent on the couch, Sonic took a thick blanket from the guest room to wrap it around himself, because he felt incredibly cold. Despite the fever, he was freezing. He was wrapped up on the sofa with a slice of pizza happily sticking out of his mouth, chuckling every now and then at the movie since it was absolutely terribly written. Shadow had his eyes closed, leaned back with his elbow against the arm of the couch and holding his chin.
After a small obnoxious burp, the blue blur smiled at Shadow. "Thanks for the food, babe! I was starving my ass off." Shadow only nodded silently, no thanks was needed. He was just glad he was awake and eating. Sipping some Chaos Soda, Sonic lowered his head and made a quiet exhale. "...Shadow?" His voice was heavier than usual, which meant that he was serious.
"Mmn."
"Did I...hurt anyone?" He suddenly asked.
This was a conversation Shadow was dreading, but expecting. Zonic also said Sonic would feel a lot of despair after returning to his normal form, so he'd have to be prepared with what he might say. With a sigh, Shadow asked, "You remember everything?" Hesitantly, the hero nodded. To this, Shadow only spoke the truth. "You didn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. If you're asking if you killed anyone, then no."
Sadly, all Sonic said was, "Okay." After a few seconds, he asked something else. "...Did I hurt you?"
"No."
"Did I hurt Tails?"
"Not directly. You caused him to fall from his Cyclone, but you healed him afterwards."
"I didn't hurt any of my friends?"
"No."
"Did I...scare them?"
Some more silence, Shadow couldn't lie to him about that. "...Yes."
Sonic ran his bare hands through his quills stressfully, not saying a word to that. "..."
"Sonic," The biohog said as he opened his eyes at his lover. "That wasn't you. A literal demon possessed you."
Clutching at the sides of the blanket, Sonic continued to look downcast. The volume of the movie seemed to have drowned out. "...I made a contract with it. I asked if...if it would revive me and kill Infinite. In return, I let it have my body for five hours." He tightened his hold on the blanket. "That was the deal." His voice was writhe with guilt, as he basically admitted that he allowed himself to become the monster his friends saw. Even worse, he was willing to kill someone, which was not at all in his character.
Infinite deserved it obviously, but...Shadow had to admit, he didn't expect him to tell him that. "...You willingly made a contract with it?"
Shamefully, the blue one nodded. "Yeah. I did." His tone became unstable with self-contempt. "I...I didn't wanna die." He confessed softly. "I was scared of what might happen to you or the others if I did. I couldn't die, not yet."
"You fear death?"
To that, Sonic immediately shook his head. "No, not really. I was just worried about you guys, not me. Who knows what could have happened if I wasn't there? Knowing that scared the shit out of me."
Taking this into consideration, Shadow sat up straight and folded his hands in his lap. Sonic had a point. That could have been why Infinite never fought the team himself, he was too distracted and mostly too scared to do anything since Sonic-Err, Fleetway was actively chasing him. In a way, he protected them without even knowing it. Speaking of which, this wasn't some random corrupted power in the emeralds that spawned out of nowhere from Sonic's anger. This was a demonic spirit who had to ask for a contract to use his body. And apparently, not only did Sonic participate in that contract, he asked for it. He chose to be possessed, he just didn't choose what the demon would do with his body while he was inactive. Still, this wasn't Sonic's fault. Sure, giving him full permission to use his body was basically allowing it to do whatever it desired, but he didn't purposefully ask for it to scar his friends. "You wouldn't have had to make that contract if it wasn't for me." Shadow casually reminded him of his own mistake. "I let you die."
"Shadow," Sonic immediately lifted his head. "No you did not. There was no way you could have stopped that."
"I watched the life drain from your eyes as I held you." Shadow countered with a slightly louder tone, and there was hurt laced into his words. He still couldn't shake that image of his dead body from his mind. "I will never forget that so long as I live. You died."
Sonic frowned at this. Shadow wasn't the only one who saw something awful that day. "That's how I felt when I saw you die."
"That's different." The elder hedgehog scowled, offended that he even compared their deaths.
The hero was offended too, insulted that he could even say something like that. Death was death regardless of how it happened. "How the hell is that different?" Sonic asked rhetorically with a slightly more aggressive tone. "We both watched each other die, Shadow."
"I intentionally starved myself to death." Shadow growled with a glower. "You were stabbed in the throat by someone who was my responsibility. That is not the same!" He stood up from his seat, his eyes flashing with traumatic remorse. "You dying and becoming that monster was my fault."
The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Okay," He gave Shadow an incredulous look. "So was it your fault the first time, too?"
"..." Shadow had no immediate counter for that.
"Was it your fault that Tails got shot?" Sonic asked while standing up as well, the blanket falling from his back. "Was it your fault that I apparently had access to this power in the first place?" He gestured for Shadow to please speak up. "Huh?"
Fine, he had him on that one. But it didn't change the fact that none of this would have occurred if it wasn't for the ultimate life form screwing up yet again. Sighing with exasperation, he turned away. "Maybe I wasn't responsible then, but I'm most certainly responsible now."
"Holy shit," Sonic almost chortled at his unwillingness to just drop the guilt. "It's like you want to hate yourself. Quit it already!" He demanded angrily. "I'm fine!"
"No, you're not!" Shadow shouted back, taking a confrontational step to the blue hedgehog. "You slept for almost three days straight, haven't eaten in nearly three days straight, you have a fever, you have red sores all over your body and you can't even stand in an air-conditioned apartment without a blanket, despite it being eighty degree weather, because your body temperature's screwed the hell up." He narrowed his eyes at him. "That's 'fine'?"
The hero glared at him harshly. "You fucking starved yourself to death while that fucker assaulted you and beat you every chance he got for two weeks straight." He hissed with a dark tone. "Are we really competing on who had it worse right now? Is that really what we're doing?"
"I starved myself because I wasn't going to let that son of a bitch kill me." Shadow declared abrasively. "I'd rather have taken myself out."
Sonic's eyes widened, and he twisted his expression into one of disbelief at what the striped hedgehog was telling him. "Why the fuck are you so quick to pull something like that? Why do you have to go there? Why is it so easy for you to go there?"
"What the fuck does it matter?" Shadow retorted. "You saved me!"
"You still died for five fucking minutes, I almost didn't!"
"But you did."
Having just about enough of this argument, Sonic tersely sighed. "Don't you think I would have ended up transforming into that thing anyway if I hadn't saved you that day?"
It was like nobody was getting it. Not his friends, not Sonic—Nobody was comprehending the part where it was his fault any of this happened at all. "None of this would have happened at all if I didn't fail my mission!"
"Okay and so the fuck what!?" Sonic hollered angrily. "You fucked up. You fixed it. What more do you want from yourself, Shadow?"
A pregnant pause fell into the room, and Shadow averted his gaze.
Looking at Sonic was making it hard for him to talk anymore. "...To stop hurting people." He finally said. "A mistake is spilling a glass of milk, accidentally bumping into someone in a crowd and making them drop something, or absent mindedly saying something insensitive to a friend." He closed his eyes. "That's a mistake." He emphasized slowly. "Helping someone blow up the moon, empowering an alien overlord, or fighting people who already offered you an olive branch, is not a mistake. It's a pattern." He sat back down on the couch and leaned forward with his arms on his lap, his fists leaning against his chin. "Even when I tried to show mercy to someone with a checkered past like mine, it went wrong and he became an even worse villain than he was before. I gave him access to power beyond our imagination, and he killed both myself and more importantly, you." He knew Sonic would hate hearing this, but this was how he felt and he couldn't deny his feelings. "My death means nothing compared to yours. GUN would have lost their best agent, and Rouge and Omega would have lost a friend. But you? The entire world would have lost their hero, and your family would be in shambles. The world would bawl for you for a thousand years before they'd shed a tear for me, because you're far more important than I am. You're too good to die. Meanwhile, I'm...a fool, and I never learn my lesson no matter how many years pass. I did nothing but screw up everything that's transpired thus far." He covered his face with his hands. "I just want...to be better."
Without even hesitating at his words, Sonic easily answered back with a disappointed and very upset tone. "And I told your dumb ass that you can't be better if you're dead." Sonic frowned at him. "Do you want to die?"
"No."
"Did you want Infinite to kill you?"
"No."
Sonic could feel his rage boiling, because he knew the answer to this already. "Did you want me to kill you in that form?"
And just as he predicted, Shadow gradually said what he was thinking. "...I wouldn't have minded it."
"God damn it..." Sonic immediately turned away from him. He soon marched right back in front of him and yelled at him. "When are you going to give a shit about yourself? How can I care about someone who doesn't even want to be around me!?"
"I do want to be around you."
"Apparently only if I'm sucking you off, or transformed into some fucked up demon who's trying to kill you. Thanks, Shadow." He stepped away from the biohog and snatched the blanket up from the floor. "You got a real fucking funny way of showing it." He covered himself back up and walked from the couch and soon the room. Shadow could hear him return to the guest room, slam the door and lock it.
No...
No, that wasn't-
Damn it.
That's not what he meant.
That's not what he meant at all. Sonic meant everything to him, he didn't need him to be...Why did he say those things? He didn't want to lie about what he was feeling, but he also knew that what he was feeling would absolutely enrage Sonic. He knew he hated it when he wallowed in his own misery, but it wasn't just that. It wasn't just about a mistake or failure, it was about nearly ruining Sonic's life and almost having it ended by a person that was only able to get that far, thanks to Shadow himself. Everyone kept saying it wasn't his fault because it was just a mistake. That everything he ever did were just mistakes or misunderstandings. At a certain point, that excuse didn't work anymore. How many times would he make a "mistake" before actually doing some good when it really counted? Why did no one understand that? Why did it feel like he was the only one who could comprehend the true severity of his sins, his most recent nearly becoming the worst? Why was everyone like this?
Why was he like this?
Uncovering his eyes, Shadow slowly stood up from the couch. No doubt Sonic hated him right now, but he didn't want him to be mad at him. Although, it might have been best to leave him alone. If he tried to approach him now, they'd just get into another shouting match. With a heavy and pained sigh, the biohog walked out of the area and down the hall to get back to his bedroom. When he did, he shut the door and sat down on the edge of his mattress. He looked up at the window, seeing the rain staining the glass. An appropriate turn of the weather. He got underneath the sheets and laid his face against the pillow, but it wasn't the same as holding someone against him. Now that he had known intimate comforts and the loving touch of someone else, it was almost as if he couldn't live without it. He wanted so badly to drag Sonic out of his own bed and pull him in his room just so he could have someone to lay against. Now that he knew what love was, being at odds with him wasn't fun anymore.
Because...it hurt.
He truly was a fool.
32 - END - 32
Chapter 33: Amends
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow have a much needed talk.
Notes:
There is light sexual content in the latter half of this chapter.
Chapter Text
33 - Amends - 33
August 7th - Empire City
DAY 28: Thursday
Evening, 8:00 PM
The apartment door closed as Shadow walked inside. As he did, he tapped away on his new smart phone that was aptly paid for by GUN, since his last one was destroyed during his kidnapping. He was texting Rouge, and he had been talking with her all day privately via chat. Team Dark was completely separated today, as they were all tasked with individually investigating all the locations Infinite had been to after he got the ruby. Rouge went to the Chemical Plant ruins, Omega checked the faux-shack underground prison Shadow kept him in, and the GUN SEA was tasked with investigating Green Hill Zone. While he was in Green Hill and saw all the mess of Eggman parts of mobiles and vehicles, he thought of his training session with Sonic there. He also remembered that the hero's house was only a mile or two away within the biome. Once he thought about that, Sonic stayed glued to his mind all day. He was still upset with him, and wouldn't even answer the door when he knocked before he left this morning. To be honest, Sonic might not have even been in the building, and he might have went home without his knowledge. He almost wanted to check, but decided against it.
Shadow, out of desperation, reluctantly told Rouge about their disagreement. She said that they were both idiots and shouldn't be arguing with each other at such a sensitive time, that they needed each other now more than ever due to what they've both been through. Since they both literally died, the least they could do is cut each other some slack. When he told her what he said to Sonic however, she grew a little irritated with him and even called. She said, "You said what to him? Shadow, I thought you were done with that kind of thinking. Why are you so willing to throw yourself to the wolves like that? You have people who care about you, including Sonic. How could you say something like that? He already feels guilty about what he became." She continued to berate him about the way his harsh way of speaking always betrayed what he actually meant, and always mistranslated poorly to the person receiving his point of view. He just silently listened, he knew she was right. After she scolded him for half an hour, she eventually deflated and apologized. "You know I'm not one to apologize but...I'm sorry. I don't mean to spazz at you, but Sonic's right. You have this genuine resentment of yourself and it's awful, Shadow. It consumes you like a void. You don't just blame yourself, you hate yourself. How are you supposed to love someone when you don't even love yourself?" When she said this to him, he knew she was even more right. He did have some deep seated enmity of himself, and it's been an issue ever since Maria's death. What could he say? It was hard not to think that way after all this time. "Look, Big Blue's a friend and all, but you're my best friend, Shadow. I want you to be okay, and you can't be okay if you keep thinking about yourself in that way." She sounded very concerned, and he knew why.
They eventually went back to texting, and she's been telling him what to do to mend the situation. She said that since things were said in the heat of the moment, they both said a lot of cold things to each other that they probably didn't mean. The feelings were true, the words just weren't. She said they both needed to apologize to each other and get over it with...sex and cuddling. Shadow personally didn't think cuddling or sex were the answers for all of this, but he somewhat understood what she meant. He was in a bit of a sticky situation because he was worried about Sonic's health. He still wasn't one hundred percent, and for all he knew, he could have passed out from another crazy fever. Not only that, but this was his God damn apartment. If he wouldn't open the door this time, he'd have to break it down and lay down some of the rules around here. He'd try to be as nice as possible, but he wasn't going to continue being disrespected. The only person allowed to slam and lock any doors in his home was Shadow himself, thank you very much.
...Well, that's what it sounded like in his head.
But, thinking about it now, that was probably a bad idea. He'd only piss Sonic off even more, and that could make him leave and run off to God knows where alone. Assuming he wasn't already gone, that is. He could have thought that staying in the apartment was a bad idea and left hours ago. Shadow could have tried to text him but...Ugh, this was frustrating. It was easier when they weren't together, he didn't hesitate about his actions as much. They didn't care about each other like this, things didn't matter. Now, things did matter. He really didn't want to hurt his feelings again so...He'd have to be more cautious.
Fine, he'd be the bigger person and apologize-
Oh my, what was that smell?
Shadow could sense a fantastic aroma coming from his kitchen. Like a mouse lured with the promise of a block of cheese, he unconsciously followed the scent down the hall to his kitchen and immediately went inside. He saw a savory pot of pasta lying on the counter, piping hot. Feeling his mouth water, Shadow walked over to it to see its beauty. Wow, the sauce looked so thick and creamy, and he could smell a bunch of different cheeses inside of it. There was a little green of garnish on it, probably some herbs. And ooh, was that lemon?
"I see you're home."
Shadow didn't know how he didn't see the blue hedgehog, he was literally sitting at the counter island on his phone. He immediately skipped Sonic and went straight for the food. Maybe he was just as much of a glutton as the hero was. "Err," He felt a little awkward..."You cooked?"
"Mmhm," Sonic replied casually as he scrolled through his phone. "You barely had any ingredients in here, but yeah, I did. Hope you don't mind. I destroyed that pizza last night so it's not like there were any leftovers." He then gestured for him to sit down. "Go ahead, get some. You had a long day, no doubt."
Yeah he did, actually. Nodding, Shadow carefully sat down at the counter across from Sonic to scoop out some pasta from the pot. "What is this? It looks amazing."
"It's-" Sonic was going to explain, until he saw a whole fork load dive into the biohog's mouth. He got some in a bowl that fast? "Oh my God Shadow, you've gotta stop doing that."
"Dmmng whmm?"
Fighting the urge to smile, Sonic just shook his head and looked back down at his phone. "Nothing. Anyway, it's lemon-dill tortellini. Vanilla showed me how to make it years ago. It's just cheese, lemon juice and butter." As the elder hedgehog continued to gorge on dinner, the hero placed his phone down and sighed. "Yo. Listen, I-" He suddenly said, making Shadow pause with a piece of pasta hanging from his mouth. Again, Sonic fought the urge not to grin. "You...You got a little..." He pointed at his own muzzle. When Shadow blinked at this, Sonic reached over to hand him a napkin. "Dude, wipe your mouth." Okay, now that he was done babysitting his boyfriend, Sonic finally continued with what he was saying. "Look at me." With a more humorless expression, Shadow did indeed give his full attention to the hero. "Alright. I'm," He made a shameful look. "I'm sorry."
The striped hedgehog lowered his fork. "...Why are you sorry?"
"Because," Sonic began slowly. "I keep forgetting that none of this is easy for you, and I'm not being patient enough to understand that. You don't think like my friends and I do. You," He tried to find the right words. "You lived a good chunk of your life thinking your only purpose was to live for someone else. And when you were sealed away, you thought that exact thing for fifty years straight. Maria was all you had and, I'm sure she was the only concept of happiness and affection you understood at the time. You put all of your emotions into her, and when she was...taken away from you, you thought you had nothing else." He was speaking carefully, not wanting to say anything dishonest, offensive or inaccurate. "When I threw you that party, I wanted to show you that you had other people here for you who were willing to give a damn about you. That other people would jump at the chance to be your friend, me included. I wanted to show you that everyone, even your own coworkers at GUN, really care about you and want the best for you. You had Rouge and Omega, but now you have Tower, my friends, me...And plenty of other normal citizens who see you and think, 'Hey that's the guy who stopped that terrorist attack all by himself. He's a pretty good guy.'" He folded his hands together and placed them over his mouth for a brief moment, deep in thought to meticulously think about what he'd say next. "The moment we started dating, I felt like...You forgot about all of that. I think you forgot that you had other people besides me who really like you. Now you're putting all your emotions into me, so if something were to happen to me, you fall apart. You think you have nothing left, so you start hating yourself and blaming yourself for me not being there. You're doing with me exactly what you did with Maria."
Frankly, that kind of claim did indeed offend the ultimate life form a little, because he felt strongly that nobody truly understood the way he felt about Maria but himself. Despite this, he chose not to say anything for now. "..." However, his expression did grow a little hostile.
Sonic could see this, but he decided to keep going. He needed to hear this. "You don't...love yourself, or even like yourself. And you hate yourself because of the things that you did, things that you think you allowed to happen. I think you get really angry when everyone just says you made 'mistakes.' I get it," The hero added. "You think we're understating the severity of what you did in the past, and to a degree, I can kinda agree with that." With a slightly anxious tone, the blue hedgehog continued. "You fucked up. You fucked up really, really bad, more than once. But the thing is, the part that you will not understand," He said this part with a little exasperation of his own. "Is that we didn't just hand wave everything you did because 'oooohhh friendship'—We forgave you because you actively made an effort to repent for what you did. You saved the world with me and tried killing yourself to make up for your first mistake. The second time around, you used a giant fucking laser to blast your own dad out of existence after you realized you were siding with the wrong crowd. Not to mention you had amnesia, you didn't know who to trust at the time, yet you still did the right thing. This is why my brain is doin' freakin' trigonometry with you, Shadow." He took another deep breath. "If you took it upon yourself to fix your wrongs all on your own, and never did anything bad to that extent ever since, why in Chaos, do you still hate yourself? Why the hell are you keeping such a burden and letting it weigh in on your chest and your mind, and letting it screw you up from the inside?"
Quietly, Shadow's expression softened. He couldn't deny there was truth to what he was saying.
"Then I remembered who you are." Sonic glanced away for a moment. "I remembered what you were put through, and what you were 'created' for. It is biologically in your nature to hate yourself, because all you think you're supposed to do is serve. You still feel like you have to serve Maria, even in death, since it was her dying wish and all you had left to care for. The moment you fail at something, anything, you burn yourself alive with this self loathing. And now that you've found something else to care for, me, you make it ten times worse for yourself. The moment something happened to me, you felt you needed to pay for it by killing yourself again. Shadow," His voice shook a little, he was hurt. "That's not okay. Not if you want to be with me. You can't take yourself out before you can do any good, you can't have it both ways." He stood up from the stool and walked in front of Shadow, then he knelt down and placed his hand over his. "I know you felt like shit when I died, and I know that in itself is a huge understatement. I know you felt like the world was ending when that happened, and I know you felt like it was your fault that I turned into a monster. I know that because that's how I felt when you went off with Black Doom. That's how I felt when you started attacking me out of nowhere when you were having amnesia. That's how I felt when you died." He squeezed his hand. "I'm not trying to compete with you on who angsts the most, and I am so sorry if that's what you thought I was trying to do. But I'm telling you that saying you're the only one at fault for all of this bullshit happening, is unfair. You hurting yourself is unfair to me, but especially to you. This is your life, and you have the right to live it. If the world suddenly ended, I'd die, everyone else would die, but before all that...You'd die. And what would anything matter at that point? How can you enjoy anything if you're gone? You're not the only one who feels like shit about all this, and you're not the only one who hates himself." He lowered his head disgracefully. "I hate myself too sometimes, I really do."
A little shocked from that confession, Shadow asked, "You...do?"
"Yes, Shadow." Sonic glanced up at him and gazed into his eyes. "Right now I hate myself. Because I let Tails get shot, you starved yourself to death because I was too late to save you, you hate yourself because of me and I...Fuck," He cursed with frustration. "I forged that contract all on my own and willingly gave myself to a demon, just so I could live and kill someone. I ended up scaring everyone half to death, and I caused so much havoc and fear. I didn't even get to Infinite because the thing using my body kept playing with him too much. It was all a big, epic fail on everybody's end. Not just yours. But," He added strongly. "I also know that I didn't have a choice. I was either gonna die and never see you or my family again, or turn into that thing for a temporary amount of time, potentially have a chance at getting rid of the bad guy and saving everyone. I think there was an obvious choice there." He rubbed his thumb into the knuckles of his gloves affectionately. "I know as a hero I have to make really tough decisions, which includes killing someone. It's what I've been doing for years, and you're an elite government agent. In this line of work, we might die like...all the time. Death is...more obvious, we just choose not to look at it. The decision I made was tough to make, and I made it with this in mind. Even though I fucking hated every damn second of it," He closed his eyes. "I still stand by it and I do not regret it. Because if I didn't make that decision, all of us could be dead right now."
Silently, Shadow watched Sonic as he rubbed his hands in his lap. He felt a lot of emotions right now, emotions he hadn't confronted in a very long time. When he laid it all out in front of him like that, he truly felt foolish for what he said last night. Even if it were things he didn't want to hear, he couldn't deny the truth to them. He didn't want to hear this, and yet this cloud dampening his mind was starting to fade. But he wasn't used to having a clear head, he wasn't used to...Accepting himself. He wasn't used to accepting the fact that right now, his life was good despite it all.
That's when the hero opened his eyes and posed an honest question to the ultimate life form. "...Be honest. Would you have really been okay with me killing you in that form?"
Ruefully, Shadow averted his amber red eyes and turned away from him. He regretted telling him something so cruel, he should have never uttered such a terrible thing to him. "...No. I..." He saw Sonic stand up and walk in front of him so he couldn't avoid looking at him. "I didn't mean to say that." His grimace stiffened. "The only person who deserves to kill me is you. Only you, because...I did so many terrible things to you and your friends. You're the one who helped me fix everything, I owe...I owe everything to you. I know saying that hurt you, I'm sorry."
"And are you really okay with you starving to death, or you dying at all?"
Shadow shook his head, still trying to look away from him. "N...No." If he didn't, he'd break him. "I just...I just didn't want to..." He couldn't even get a complete sentence out. "If I stayed alive, he could have did something terrible to me...he could have used me to hurt you and I...I didn't want that..." He couldn't break in front of him like this, he couldn't let him do that. Even though he had intended to lie, he couldn't. "I just didn't want to hurt you again...so no, I...I don't." He was making it so that Shadow couldn't lie anymore and it was hurting him. "I want to...stay with you and be with you and..." He couldn't finish anything he was saying, what was happening to him? Sonic was destroying his walls and he didn't want him to, but the feeling of having this darkness dissolve was so tantalizing. The feeling of finally thinking clearly was right within his grasp after so long.
"And why's that?"
"Because..." His expression wrinkled painfully, he was breaking him. He was breaking him. "...I..."
"Because what?" Sonic wanted him to say it.
Shadow placed his head against the counter and gripped the back of his own quills with his hands. "Because...I...I have..." His body shook as tears began burning his eyes. He closed them and a few drops slipped down his hidden face.
...
"...a life worth living."
...
...He broke him.
He felt Sonic grasp his shoulder gently.
He got up from the stool and they embraced each other tightly. Shadow had his face hidden against the nook of Sonic's neck and shoulder. The blue one silently held him close, stroking the back of his head with his eyes closed. Being in his arms like this, the biohog felt true bliss, more than he ever had before in his entire life. He had been tortured, beaten, starved, touched and he thought none of it bothered him. It was all coming out. This feeling was so soft, welcoming, warming, calming, forgiving...
...Loving.
...
They both stayed like this for a while.
Evening, 9:00 PM
The pot of pasta was put away in the fridge after they got bowl-fulls of some to eat. No, Shadow didn't have enough and very much wanted seconds. They both went to Shadow's room to eat and watch TV in bed together. Apparently, Sonic was still really cold with a fever, but was trying to play it off like he was fine the whole time. Shadow admitted that when they were in the kitchen, he couldn't tell at all. Although, now that they got comfortable, he was suffering in silence. This made the biohog thoroughly but calmly reprimand the hero for doing something so stupid. He was now currently wrapped in the blanket he had from last night, sneezing and shivering constantly. He at first didn't want to be in bed with Shadow, saying he might get him sick with his germs all in his sheets, but then he remembered that Shadow was more than likely immune to any kind of illness or disease that existed. Actually, Shadow took it a step further and pulled Sonic as close to him as he could. Their legs were tangled with each other, and they leaned against each other as they ate from the bowls in their laps.
They were watching that crappy B-movie from last night that they never got to finish. It was so bad that it wasn't scary in the least bit, and they found it completely humorous. The story was ridiculous, the acting was absolutely over the top, and the gore didn't even look realistic. There was a part where a victim was apparently strangled to death easily in under a minute. Shadow pointed out that this was actually very inaccurate. After Shadow placed his finished bowl on his nightstand, he gave a scarily precise summary of how the process worked. "Hmph, it takes much longer for someone of such low strength to kill someone via strangling. You need at least five minutes. Even then, if you don't apply an appropriate amount of force against the carotid arteries, they'll only fall unconscious, not dead." Feeling that there was no answer, Shadow slowly glanced at Sonic, who was squinting at him harshly. "What?"
"...Babe, you literally just told me where and how to strangle someone to death."
"Well maybe if this movie wasn't so dogshit, I wouldn't have to explain it."
Snickering, Sonic shook his head. "Dude, you didn't have to explain it at all."
Shadow crossed his arms. "Subjects such as anatomy and forensics are very important to understand."
"Mmn," Sonic scoffed as he placed his now empty bowl on the nightstand on his side of the bed. "Says the man who can't work a new phone without whining."
Pursing his lips, the biohog glared at him. "You know just as well as I do that these damn things are way too complicated to use. I mean," He further complained. "Why do I need to press two buttons at the same time to take a screenshot? That's stupid."
The blue one snorted a laugh as he sipped his bottle of water. "You are so old."
Mumbling, Shadow looked somewhere else. "Yeah, well this dick ain't old..." Immediately choking and feeling water enter his lungs, Sonic beat his own chest several times to try and get himself to breathe normal again. He couldn't see, but Shadow was silently smirking at this. "You okay?" He asked with faux concern.
Sonic instantly glared at him with an accusatory finger being pushed into his chest fur. "Oh screw you, don't act like you didn't just say that!"
"Say what?"
"Ohoho, fuck you."
"I'd love to."
Blushing rapidly, the hero had nothing as a comeback. He was too ill and too easily flabbergasted from that emotional conversation they had earlier. So he just conceded with a middle finger. He pouted as he sat back against the headboard. Then, he frowned. "Actually...Shadow," He said softly. "Are you okay? I mean, with...You know, doing stuff like that."
The ultimate life form blinked and shrugged. "I don't know what you mean, we've been 'doing stuff' since we got together. Technically before, actually."
"No, no, I mean..." Sonic knew he was bad at being delicate, so he tried not to come off too insensitive. "Infinite...when he, touched you...Did he-"
"What?" Shadow rose a brow. Then he realized what Sonic was trying to ask. "Oh God, no." He flagged this off and shook his head. "Not at all. The most he'd do is force me to kiss him, but every time he did, I'd bite the shit out of him. I think his lip is permanently torn open, now. There's no amount of power that'll fix what I did to his face, so he gave up after a while." He apathetically picked up the remote and turned down the volume of the TV. "I never reciprocated, nothing ever felt good because I hated the bastard and I'd never betray you like that." He then yawned, not realizing how tired he was. "Anything else was him grabbing me, groping me...Stuff like that, until he got bored of me. It didn't bother me as much as you think it would, he didn't do it that often. Plus, I'm used to not having privacy over my own body. I wasn't ever taken advantage of on the Ark, but plenty of scientists grabbed and touched me in places I most definitely did not appreciate. I never had an actual right to my body until Gerald actually started to care about me, because he realized I wasn't just a tool for him to use at that point. By that time, the only form of physical expression I accepted and understood was hugs from Maria, and only Maria." He then made a dark expression. "Now if that little bitch ever tried to have his way with me, I would have died trying to kill him days before I starved. I can promise you that."
As much as he didn't like hearing how his boyfriend was assaulted, used, abused and starved, he was relieved to hear that cowardly jackal never went that far with him. "Oh...Still, I'm sorry about that. I wish I found you faster before he could do any of that stuff."
"How did you find me, anyway?"
"Oh that? Um," Sonic scratched the side of his face. "Tails went uber genius mode when you went missing, and he managed to detect energy from the ruby. Anytime its power was activated, he could sense it on this little doohickie he made and well," He shrugged. "I found ya. Getting in the sky was hard, though. The damn armada kept teleporting in different places. I borrowed his plane and crashed it into the side of the ship when I finally found an opportunity. I slipped in during the crash and just started whoopin' ass, pure adrenaline at that point. Shame about the plane though, it was a childhood classic of his." He then mumbled something else. "Well, it was my plane..."
The biohog blinked. "You know how to pilot a plane?"
Smirking and rubbing his finger under his nose, the hero shrugged with a cocky tone. "Ehhh, just a little bit. Been flyin' since I was little, but eh, you know. People don't realize that Tails' Tornado 1 is a hand-me-down." Sonic also didn't like that Shadow basically grew up never truly having his body to himself, but it certainly explained his mindset and how he felt about intimacy. He was simple about it. If he didn't want it, he didn't want it. If he wanted it, he wanted it. He didn't want just anyone and he surely didn't want Infinite, but he wanted Sonic and only Sonic. Which on that note, made Sonic very flattered. "So...You..." He blushed. "You never liked being touched that way, until you got with me?"
"Yes. Rouge already tried-"
Sonic snapped his finger with a grin. "Haha! I knew it—Get ready to pay up fifty rings, Ames." He muttered with a mischievous giggle. When he saw Shadow staring at him, he apologized for interrupting. "Heheh, sorry."
"Uhuh," Shadow replied slowly while continuing to gaze at him dubiously. "Anyway, I obviously didn't quite understand what she wanted at the time, but even knowing now, I still didn't like it. The way you touch me just feels...Correct. And really good, of course."
Fully red, Sonic covered his face with the blanket bashfully. "O-Oh. That's...really nice..."
"If you're asking if you can touch me that way, it's fine, you can. I'm not traumatized by what he did to me."
"Oh, no, I wasn't going to. But, you sure?" Sonic asked again with concern. "Dealing with something like that's real sensitive. You may not think it's hurting you, but it might be deep down in your heart somewhere. I mean," Since they were being more than honest, he figured he should tell him something. "I've been assaulted before myself."
Flames of chaos energy instantly erupted in Shadow's eyes. "Names."
"Chaos-Not recently! Chill, man!" He held up his hands defensively. "I-I'm just sayin', it might not seem like a big deal at first, but it might start creeping up on you after a while. I was never kidnapped or anything, but I was touched, groped, forcefully kissed...They're all either exes who got blocked, or exes that got their asses kicked and then arrested. But yeah, I've gone through it. It's why Amy and Knux hate that I sleep around. A lot of fans can get real handsy sometimes, too. It's small stupid shit, 'cause that's as far as they go. Still, eventually, it can really bother you." He rubbed his own arm with a frown. "Sometimes it makes you feel ashamed that you were touched like that. You might even blame yourself, too."
"Hmm," The fire in Shadow's eyes gradually dissolved as he took in his words. "I see what you mean, and I'm more than positive Rouge went through that. Maybe if I was normal, I would have seen it that way."
Sonic elbowed him. "Shadow, you are normal."
"You and I both know that's not true." Shadow deadpanned. "But I understand. It's unfortunate you suffered through that in the past, and I appreciate your concern. If I had known, dating or not," He crushed his hand into a deadly fist with a dark voice. "I would have painted their blood on my walls. However," His tone quickly shifted to be more gentle. "I assure you I am not going through that." With a small blush, he gave him a consolation. "The conversation we had earlier kind of...cleared what was going on in my head, including that. If I ever have an issue, I'll tell you. You're," He quickly turned his eyes away. "Easy to talk to about that kind of stuff."
Delightedly flattered and exalted once again, Sonic poked his fingers together with a dreamy smile. "Ohh, I'm glad."
"With that said," Shadow leaned over and whispered to him sultrily. "If you want to do something to me," He pulled down the blanket from Sonic's head and brushed his lips against his muzzle. "Anything at all," He pressed a teasing kiss against the corner of his mouth. "I give you full permission to have me however you please." He then grasped Sonic's hand and placed it between his thighs, letting his palm rub underneath his private area. "Right now, if you want."
Crimson dripped from Sonic's nose. "H-Huh...? Oohh..." He started staring at his crotch. "Ooooh..." Focus, Sonic. Focus! He shook his head, took his hand away from Shadow's hold and rubbed his nose with the back of his arm. "N-No, no. I'm sick, we're both still recovering from what happened, so we probably shouldn't." He then quietly made a sheepish request. "But um," He stammered. "I would like to kiss you, though-" His lips were suddenly captured by the biohog, who pushed him down onto the bed and held him close as he caressed his body. "M-Mmnn!" He pushed Shadow away a little to gasp for air. "H-Hold on, you tryin' to strangle me with your mouth?"
"If you'll indulge me."
With a sweat drop, Sonic had to ask himself if he was dreaming. "Okay, you're making it really hard to practice abstinence."
"Who says we have to?" Shadow replied nonchalantly.
"Damn it, I do, you dummy." He booped Shadow on the nose. "I wanna slow down and I only wanna make out with you tonight, nothing else." He saw how much Shadow was pouting and decided to up the ante just a little. "Alright, maybe a little grinding for flavor, but no more. Capisce?"
Shadow frowned. "Hmph, you're no fun."
"Did we swap brains or something? You're talking like me now."
"Oof," The GUN agent winced, he was right. "That's a horrible thought."
"Fuck you."
"I want to."
"Will you shut up and kiss me already?" And once again, Shadow moved much quicker than Sonic anticipated and had a kiss stolen from him for the second time that night. "N-Nm..." He moaned a little from how enthusiastic he was acting, but he was also being slightly rough and he liked that. He kissed him like a famished stray, but Sonic could understand why. They were separated for a week, and when they finally found each other again, Sonic passed out for two days. Then they got into an argument, and didn't talk to each other for some hours. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss having Shadow touch his body like this. He had to say, he was much better at kissing now—A stark contrast to how he kissed Sonic the first time. His lingua brushed against the blue blur's lips, and he opened his mouth to fully indulge himself with Shadow's tongue. He gripped his shoulder blades as they pushed and rubbed against each other's tongues, saliva mixing shamelessly as they continued the sloppy French kiss. Shadow groaned hungrily as he fully tasted his lover for the first time in weeks, and began to move his hips against his pelvis. "Mmnn~!" Sonic clutched at his shoulders tighter, feeling the bed lightly rock as he pushed himself against him. "Mmnn~"
He loved hearing those little noises he made, it drove him crazy. A string of spit fell from their lips when Shadow broke the kiss, and he grabbed Sonic's hips beneath the sheets as he moved a little faster. "Do you have any idea," He whispered huskily. "How long I've waited to touch you? To hold you, to have you in my bed?" He thrusted himself against Sonic, earning him a surprised pleasured gasp. "I want to wake up next to you, feel your body heat against me...Every time I look at you, I can't even think properly. All I can see is you," He thrusted again. "Moaning for me, pleading for me to touch you more. You're a tease every second you're around me and it's getting harder for me to control myself." He dived down for another chaste kiss, staring at him with wildly insatiable eyes. "God I want you," He thrusted again, moaning from how he feels under him. "I want you so fucking much..."
"A-Ahh...You have me, you have me, I promise..." Sonic murmured back. "Just-Aahh..." He rubbed his hands up his back. "Just wait a little more...I promise, I'll let you have more..." They shared a longer, heated kiss this time. "Mmmn, you gonna wait for me? Hmm~?" He whispered in between kisses before pressing his lips back against his. "Nmm, mmmnn..." He moaned more into the kiss as Shadow rocked their hips together, creating a highly enticing friction in between their legs. When they broke their kiss again, Shadow kissed down to his collar bone and on the side of his chin. "Oooh...Ahh...Wait...Don't you-Ah!" He felt him lightly bite his shoulder. "Don't bite...! A-Ahh...You're making all kinds of marks on my-" He gasped sharply when he felt his fangs dig deep into his flesh. "Ah!" He had no idea why that felt so damn good. He gripped his fur painfully as he arched his back. "Oh my God...S-Shadow...! Fuck, you're making me so hard..." He placed his hand behind his head to tug at his quills. "H-Hey, hold on..." When he did so, the biting got a little softer. "That feels good, but...Take it down a little, huh? You-Ooohh..." He made a lengthy whine when he felt his tongue lick at the wound he just made. "Baby, you're killin' me..."
With a hushed whisper, Shadow licked up under his jaw and proceeded to make small hickies on his body instead. "Sorry...I'm just so hungry for you..." He rubbed himself against him faster. "I'll wait for you...I'll wait as long as it takes..." He then replaced those hickies with soft kisses as he continued to grind against him. "But I want to be inside of you...I want you inside of me...I don't care which..." He hugged Sonic tightly as he thrusted harder. "I just want you all to myself...!"
"Yeah, just like that...Keep going...Yes...Aahh..." He turned his head to the side to give Shadow full access to his neck. "Wait, wait, get behind me..." He felt Shadow move to get behind him and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. He continued to kiss against his neck as he resumed grinding against his ample bottom. "Yeah...Feels way better, don't it?" A sexual growl was his answer. "Heheh~ You like that?" He asked sensually as he rubbed his arse against his crotch.
"I love it."
"Mmn~ You're pretending you're fucking me, aren't you?"
"You have no fucking idea. I wanna spread your legs into a split at this point."
That was turning Sonic on even more. "You're so dirty...You're making this so hard...You feel so good against me..." He gripped Shadow's wrists against his body as they laid against the pillow, their grinding becoming slower and softer. His kisses became less rough and much more gentle, and instead of growls, he was hearing light moans in his ear. He felt his hands travel up to his fawn chest and squeeze a little onto his pectorals. "Ahh...You always end up touching me there..." He smirked when he felt that Shadow was finally starting to calm down, as his sex drive was definitely put on hold for a while and he couldn't wait to get it out. Now that he has, he was getting over it. Sonic had to admit that all felt really good, though. Finally, Shadow slowed to a stop but he didn't cease kissing against him. "Feel better~?" He asked sweetly.
"Yeah," Shadow whispered back. "I can finally think clearly again." He sighed with relief and nuzzled his nose into his cheek. "Thank you, I needed that." He didn't realize he didn't need to have an orgasm to feel release, that was good to know.
Sonic turned over to share one last passionate kiss. "Mmmn~ My pleasure, babe. I guess I needed it, too-" He suddenly turned his face away to sneeze. "Shit." He coughed and sat up to cover his mouth with his arm. Shadow sat up as well, a little concerned at his abrupt coughing fit. Sonic held up a hand. "I-I'm fine-" He sneezed again with a miserable expression. Sniffing, he held up a weak upturned thumb. "That's why I said it's best we don't-" Another sneeze. "-Go too far. Just need a little more rest I guess, heheh."
"And you pushed yourself for my sake." Shadow frowned at this. "Didn't you tell me not to do that?"
"Okay fair, but-" Another sneeze, and a small coughing fit for good measure. "-You literally just got away from a handsy incel. Meanwhile, I'm super sick but we both needed that. Also, I'm the one with the most experience here, so my word holds much more authority than yours!"
"Oh my dearest apologies," Shadow replied facetiously. "And who's the dumb ass fool who made that decree exactly?"
With a proud smirk, Sonic slapped his own chest. "Right here, baby." He sniffled up another potential glob of snot and pointed to himself with an arrogantly beaming aura. "King of Pleasure, that's me."
Shadow suddenly turned over with the covers over his body. "Screw that, I'm going to sleep."
"H-Hey!" He glomped onto Shadow with a pout, causing the elder hedgehog to make an irritated grunt. "Don't leave me oouuut, I wanna sleep with yoooouuu."
"Sure, if you shut up."
He pressed a playful kiss on his cheek. "Thank yoouuu~" Shadow allowed him to climb over and snuggle against his chest, placing his face directly into his chest fur. He made a satisfied noise of delight. "Ahh yes, my fur pillow. Just as soft and plush as I left it." His voice was half-muffled by it.
Smiling a little, Shadow pet his head, feeling him purr against him. "Thank you, Sonic." He whispered. "For everything. I promise I'll work on...loving myself, so I can be better. And I won't just do it for you, I'll do it for me."
He could feel the blue hedgehog smile against him. "Good. I'm proud of you." His voice became drowsy rather quickly. "G'night~"
"Goodnight."
33 - END - 33
Chapter 34: Missing
Summary:
Tails has gone missing, and Sonic is panicking. Shadow takes it upon himself to find the vulpine.
Chapter Text
34 - Missing - 34
August 8th - Empire City
DAY 29: Friday
Evening, 6:00 PM
Everything felt so anticlimactic. Even though everything was okay for now, there was no legitimate resolution. He really hated that he couldn't arrest Infinite. He could never get a good opening on him to get him down, and even when he did, Sonic ended up doing the heavy lifting. He could have used his limiter rings but frankly, what difference would that have made? He would have had a crap load of power, that would only be wasted. Infinite either would have made his powers disappear or lethally drained him of his energy again. The only reason why Sonic got some real good hits in, was because he only used physical force that increased from their last battle. They could have tag teamed him, but that was Sonic's fight, he wanted to get Infinite more than he did at that point. Even though Sonic getting mortally wounded was an awful end to that fight, it was an unavoidable result. It was just going to happen that way one way or another. Right when he could have taken off his rings and gave Infinite a torturous beating of a lifetime, Sonic transformed and well...Shadow got benched. Needless to say, Shadow really didn't like being shafted, even if it was for someone he loved, because he felt pathetically useless. That was a feeling he hated even more. It wasn't self hatred or anything, no, he was learning not to do that. It was hatred of being stagnant while everything else moved around him. When he did these reports and meetings about the incident, it would always make him cringe. Thank God this would be the last day to talk about this mission, Shadow hated even more to talk about his failings. He knew they needed to know what went wrong for the future, but Chaos was it draining and humiliating.
And freakin' boring.
As the ultimate life form stepped out of his office, he made a big sigh. Thank goodness he could leave for the day. Weekend, here he comes. He closed the door to his office and leaned back against it as he pulled out his phone, making sure nobody tried to contact him. And he was glad he checked, because he had some texts from Sonic and Rouge.
He checked Rouge's first since he assumed it was something simple, sent fifteen minutes ago: hey. something's wrong. fox boy's gone missing. i'm looking into it now but call sonic.
Furrowing his brows, he checked Sonic's text which was sent twenty minutes ago: tails is missing. call me asap
Oh great...Shadow immediately went into his contacts and called the blue blur. He looked back and forth in the hall, noticing a few agents walking back and forth with their belongings to go home. When it picked up, Shadow immediately asked what was going on. "Faker, what's going on?"
"Shadow," Sonic's voice sounded both winded and worried. "Tails is gone. I don't know where he is, I can't find him, he could be in serious danger, no one's seen him and he doesn't have his phone-"
"Sonic."
"Huh?"
"Slow down," The biohog eased. "Now, what do you mean he's gone?"
A sigh was his initial response. "When I woke up from my two-day nap, I've been texting and calling Tails but he never answered. I figured he needed some space, so I left it alone but...Shit man, I got worried. He saw a lot of bad stuff and I wanted to know if he was okay." There was some chattering in the background, he must have been around some people. He even heard a few citizens call out his name in awe. "No autographs, please." He said in a hurried tone. "Sorry about that. I swung by my house to see if he was there, but nobody was home. For some reason the closet in his room was left wide open and one of his hoodies was gone. It was a hand-me-down from me, a navy blue pull over." Okay good, he was giving him some details. "I checked Tails' house, but he wasn't there either. All of his gadgets were left out in the open on his workbench, like he was in a hurry. He never does that, he always puts his stuff away when he's done with them 'cause he's a bit of a neat freak. Not only that, but he left his phone and it's off. It didn't die, it's been off for days."
Now that was definitely a red flag. What teenager left their phone at home? Regardless of being introverted or not, old or young, having a phone on your person was practically the normal way of life at this stage of society. It was too important to leave the house without it, as it was crucial for emergencies and quick communication. "He left his phone?"
"Yeah, I've got it, actually. It's not damaged at all. I have no idea why he left it, he never leaves it. He made it himself. Even if you tried, you couldn't track it 'cause he put some kind of encryption on it."
"Was there any sign of forced entry?"
"Nah, the door was locked. Plus, he's got hidden cameras and I already checked those. After that, I checked-Yes?" He heard the hero pause, someone was speaking with him on the other end in the background. "Yeah, Professor Pickle. He hasn't seen him?" Professor who? That was the dumbest name-Who names their child that? And why did they keep such an awful surname? "He didn't come here, either? Damn it, I was sure he'd be here..." He sucked his teeth. "No, it's okay. Thank you anyway Professor Victoria, you be safe." With a big stressful sigh, Sonic spoke to Shadow again. "My bad. I checked Angel Island and apparently Knux had no idea he went AWOL. Amy didn't either, they just thought he went home and stayed to himself like usual. Now they're looking for him, too. I checked with the president, and the old mayor who gave him a medal years ago—nobody's seen him. I thought the president would know something since he authorized Tails to take over the Chemical Plant ruins, but no, nothin'. Hadn't talked to him in months. I even swung by the ruins, but the damage we did to it was so bad that we basically damned it to hell. GUN closed it off, so he couldn't be there."
So what Zonic said was true, the fox really did have some big plans for the plant behind the scenes. "And you asked Rouge not too long ago to look into this?"
"Yeah. She thought he might be somewhere else on West Side Island since he was born there, but she just texted me and told me she didn't find anything. Makes sense though, he hates that place..." He heard him sigh again. "Look, I know you guys are busy, but-"
"Don't even finish that sentence, I'll make sure he's found before the night is over." He gave Sonic a very reassuring tone. "We'll find him, okay? It's probably just a misunderstanding."
"But Shads," Sonic sounded really on edge. "It could be anything. What if Infinite popped back up and took him? What if that Zonic guy took him because he couldn't take us?"
Well Shadow knew for sure that the latter wasn't true, but he had a good feeling the prior wasn't either. "Infinite Blinked himself away to another space beyond our world. He retreated for a reason, he's too busy licking his wounds to return anytime soon. As for Zonic, I'll explain later, but he's not responsible. I know that for sure. He only wants you and I, no one else. Therefore," He stood off the door to his office and began walking down the corridor. As he held the phone to his muzzle, he quickly waved "hello" to fellow colleagues who passed by him. Mostly those who were at the party and liked greeting Shadow whenever he was in the building. "Nothing like that happened to him, I guarantee it. If something did happen to him, it won't be that severe. That's why I'm going to find him. Where are you right now?"
"I ran to Spagonia real quick, Tails likes to visit the place once in a while. A couple times a year at most. Nobody's seen him, though. I'm getting ready to look somewhere else."
Damn, he was in a another country right now? Well, he supposed that was understandable. He must have been really worried about the kid. "Alright, that's good. Since there's a bunch of capable eyes looking out, we're bound to find him sooner rather than later. I'll get to work myself, then." He then softened his voice. "Sonic?"
"Yes?"
"Don't panic. He'll be okay."
"I'm not panicking, I'm just...Y'know?" He sounded a little defeated. "I dunno if he just up and ran away or what, but I need to know he's okay. With everything that's going on, I'm half expecting a freakin' tenrec teleporting in front of me with some great-value chaos emeralds, sayin' she took Tails because he's some harbinger of doom or something." Shadow wanted to snicker at that, but he knew Sonic was only attempting to make a joke to try and calm his own nerves, and it wasn't working. "...I really need to see my lil' man."
He hated hearing him sound so dejected. He had to fix that. "Just give me some time. Two hours, tops. I'll call you the second I find him."
"Okay...I really appreciate it, Shadow. Talk to you soon."
He hung up first, the blue blur was in a hurry.
Let's think for a moment...Tails seemingly left his workshop in a hurry and left his phone. He must have left it purposefully, because it was turned off before it could die on its own. People only did that with their devices when they didn't want to be contacted or bothered. Of course someone could have made him leave it there, but Tails was no weakling. If there was an intruder, he would have left some sign for Sonic to see that something was wrong, even if the kidnapping wasn't violent. Assuming this wasn't a kidnapping, Tails just didn't want to be called and left his phone himself. He left all his machines on his work bench out in the open, when he normally cleaned up after himself since he was a neat freak. He also left the closet in Sonic's home wide open with only one article of clothing missing. A piece of clothing that was either meant to warm you up, or hide yourself from society. Since it was August, the only reason anybody would be wearing a hoodie is because they didn't want to be seen. This would of course indicate that he left hastily for some unknown reason, but that whatever he was hurrying to was planned. He didn't want to be called or texted, and he wanted to hide himself on his way to whatever location he was going to. Not only that, but this piece of clothing was special: It used to belong to Sonic. No kidnapper would tell Tails to wear that on purpose unless they knew the dynamic between the two. The only person who'd know that is Eggman, who's rotting in prison right now. Tails intentionally wanted to wear this particular hoodie. The only question now was: Where would Tails go? Sonic already checked all of the obvious places that Tails would be, but nothing turned up. What other places would be important to the fox?
Hmm...
...
...That's when Shadow had an idea.
Sonic said he was born on Christmas Island, then went to Green Hill Zone. He met Tails on West Side Island, but the vulpine hated it there. He lived with Sonic as a small child in Green Hill, growing up in his house and thus, the rest of the zone. Before there was a house though, they lived in the wilderness and only had each other. This meant that the two spent most of their childhood there, and made a lot of memories together all in that one biome. Tails took a very sentimental hoodie from his closet, one that was a hand-me-down from his big brother. If he disappeared on purpose with something of Sonic's, he'd have to go to a place that held nostalgic and personal value. Sonic looked in a place that was way too obvious, yet didn't think about another place not too far off that was right under his nose. When they had that date on the beach, Sonic said something about the old pergola there...
"Heh, I'm glad Tails and I built this thing, keeps the sun away."
Shadow knew exactly where the boy genius was.
No Chaotix Detective Agency needed.
South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
6:15 PM
An orange-yellow fox sat underneath an old pergola, leaning against the back leg and looking up at the bleeding sky. A bookbag was laying beside his leg. It was melding from yellows, to oranges, pinks and purples. It was amazing how the sun did that to the sky, quite an interesting phenomenon of science called "light scattering". He pulled over his backpack, unzipped it and pulled out a bag of mint candies, popping a few in his mouth as he watched a few overzealous stars begin to sparkle from the depths of the dying sun's rays. They looked beautiful, and he could barely even see them. He should have brought his telescope. He remembered how he and his big brother would sit together on the sand and watch shooting stars and passing meteor showers. Those were the days, the good ol' days when it was just him and Sonic. He loved their friends, but sometimes he wished he could go back to simpler times. Eggman's schemes weren't as insane or diabolical, and his brother was right by his side every step of the way. He remembered how he stopped those bullies from pulling at his namesakes, and he didn't even realize it until they fell in the water from how strong the winds of his speed were.
Sonic was such an interesting creature, he hadn't realized just how special his big bro was until now. At first it was cool, with him being able to use the chaos emeralds. The first time he saw Super Sonic, his mind was dazzled. He thought he'd never see something that cool again. Then he turned into Hyper Sonic when they met Knuckles...But remembering that adventure in particular was always so fuzzy. He could remember everything else clearly, just not Hyper Sonic or the...What were they called? Super Emeralds? He wasn't sure. But that was the second time in his life where his eyes were blown away by how awesome such a power was, and how his bro was even more awesome to be able to use it. Then...just three years ago, he turned into that thing. He turned into a horrid, dark force that gave him nightmares for weeks. He grew distant and colder against the hero, because he didn't think he could harbor such an evil power inside of him. He thought they were getting closer like how they used to be, but then he turned into it again and this time, he could have killed him. Eggman and that lookalike known as Zonic both believed Sonic was a being of hidden darkness that was faking his heroism. The vulpine always denied it despite feeling great doubt. Their friends defended Sonic all the way until the end of the ordeal, and even Omega agreed that the blue blur was not the villain he was painted to be. But he still couldn't get the image of that...Monstrosity out of his mind. What was that thing? Was it going to kill him? Did Sonic become that demon on purpose? And if he did, why?
He pulled the strings of his hoodie and sighed somberly as he looked down at the ground. Why was any of this happening? Was the person who raised him really his big brother? Was Sonic lying to all of his friends this entire time? Did he trick him?
And most of all, why wouldn't he just talk to him about it for Chaos' sake?
"There you are."
Flinching, Tails pulled down his hoodie even more.
"Don't bother doing that, Tails. I know it's you." He recognized that deep voice anywhere. Why did he of all people come find him?
"...Shadow?" He asked hesitantly as he slowly pulled the hood back down. The striped hedgehog walked over and sat down on the other side of the pergola. "How'd you know I was here?"
Shadow spoke casually, as he didn't want to alarm the fox or make him think he was in trouble. "...Sonic took me on a date here weeks ago. He said you two built this pergola, but it's several years old, meaning you built it when you were young. You left your phone, but it was obviously on purpose because you didn't want anyone to bother you. When you disappeared, you only took a hoodie that once belonged to him, meaning that you intended to seek out comfort alone. You two grew up together, so I know this beach in particular was probably very important to the both of you. His home and the rest of Green Hill was too obvious. I put two and two together, and now I'm here."
Tails scratched behind his head as he broke it down. "Yeah, you are pretty smart. Sonic and I haven't been here together in ages—Over ten years, as a matter of fact. I'm surprised he made this spot a date, but he probably doesn't remember that we used to play around here. Because of that, I didn't think he'd look here."
"His house is only a few miles from here. You hid in plain sight, not a bad plan." He gave the fox some praise for his methods of hiding, despite the fact that it blew a gasket in Sonic's head. "He thought something bad happened to you. He said you left all of your tools and devices on your workbench in your workshop, and you leaving your phone and cutting it off made him think the worst."
Tails just shook his head. "No, I just didn't answer or respond to any of Sonic's texts or calls. He said that if I didn't answer, he would come to my house and visit in person to check on me, and that was only this morning. I panicked, 'cause I...didn't wanna see him." He pulled over his bookbag to show Shadow that he was indeed prepared for the sudden trek, just as he predicted. "I didn't just take the hoodie, I took my bag. I usually keep this hidden in my room, so I'm not surprised Sonic didn't notice it was gone. I cut my phone off, packed, took my bag and left. I took some food with me, I've been completely fine. I'll be frank—I don't know when I would have returned home, but I know it wouldn't have been over three days."
Just like Shadow thought, it was a simple misunderstanding.
However, considering everything that's been happening, he understood why the hero went into panic mode. "I see, so you weren't missing for days, you just stopped answering and only left earlier today." Shadow summarized easily. He saw the fox nod slowly, confirming his summation. "I understand the situation now. However," He glanced over at the vulpine with a firm voice. "I'll have to inform him that you're here. He's really worried about you."
With a bitter scoff, Tails crossed his arms. "Riiiight, so he got his boyfriend to come get me. How nice." He scowled at the ground and lowered his head. "All he likes to do is throw parties, date random people, nap, model, give to charity, eat and occasionally act like a hero. A hero who," He clenched his teeth angrily, memories of their younger lives burning in his eyes. Was it all a lie? "Was hiding some messed up demons in his body this whole time. Then he just cuts everyone off and pretends that everything's just peachy. 'No biggie, it's not like I turned into the embodiment of hell and traumatized literally everyone who saw it, including Eggman. It's not like I care to tell my friends anything. It's not like I care to tell my closest buddy, my little brother, that I'm hiding a horrible secret and I'm going to keep it from everyone, including him.'" A few loose tears pricked the back of his baby blue eyes. "'It's not like I wanna talk about it or maybe at least explain myself, so you won't keep wondering if I'm actually a bad guy or not. Nooo, I'll wait until I transform into it again, nearly kill you and scare the crap out of you. And still. Say. Nothing!'" He yelled and threw his hands up in the air, his voice echoing across the beach. Sniffing, he brought his knees up to his chest and placed his head in between them. "Why does he have to hide everything about himself? He's done that ever since we were little and I'm sick of it. Why can't he just be honest with everyone? With me? If I'm scared, why not talk to me? Doesn't he care?"
Shadow made a pitying frown. He sounded deeply hurt by the hero's secrecy. He supposed that was another reason why he was attracted to him: He was just as secretive as Shadow was when it came to more serious traits about his past or personality. Sonic was an open book, to a point. After a certain extent, he closed everyone off, even his closest friends. He more than understood why Sonic acted the way he did in terms of keeping information away from people, as sometimes it was best for others not to know certain things, especially the people you care about. It didn't mean it was the right thing to do though, as it was a double edged sword. You risked hurting someone's feelings, making them think they weren't worthy of being trusted with hearing you at your worst. With a small sigh, Shadow also looked to the stars. Sometimes Shadow was forced to keep things from Maria, such as unplanned surgeries and operations to attempt to stave off her illness. She was terrified of needles and hated being cut into, so he'd have to pretend he'd know nothing about it. One day, he hurt her severely by doing this. She cried, begging to know why Shadow would keep this information from her. He told her it was because of the fact that if he did tell her, she'd make things extremely difficult for everyone else by hiding somewhere on the Ark and worrying Gerald half to death. They may have been painful and scary, but those operations helped keep Maria alive. She was betrayed by him for a while, but she eventually understood that he only did it for her own good.
She forgave him.
While this particular situation was far more extreme than what Shadow was thinking of at the moment, it was still similar on a much smaller scale. "...Sonic is...flawed." He said softly, and he could hear Tails scoff at that between sobs. "He's annoying and can be very insufferable. He can also be...extremely hard to understand. He seems like a simpleton on the surface, but he's far more calculating than he lets on and sometimes, he acts more like an enigma than an actual person. He hides when he's physically or emotionally hurt, rather expertly, and I see that he's been doing this since he was a boy. People like that, are very good at hiding secrets." He folded his hands in his lap. "That being said, he truly does not find joy in hurting people, not even enemies. Well, at least not the ones who don't piss him off that much. Speaking from experience as someone who hides a lot from his own companions, you need to understand that he does not like hiding things from you or anyone else. I learned very recently that Sonic doesn't hold himself in as high a regard as everyone thinks. Sometimes, he does not care for himself at all to the point of self-hatred."
This caused the fox to pause and slowly lift his head up, because Shadow was contradicting something Tails had believed for a very long time. "...What?"
"I've silently observed that there's only two things in this world that Sonic the Hedgehog fears: Oceans and hurting his friends." He slowly glanced at Tails with a temperate expression. "It's not so much that he's scared of an enemy hurting you, he's scared of you being hurt because of his own actions. If there's even a single, tiny abysmal thing that could cause you harm because of what he might do, he either won't do it, or he won't tell you about it."
"But talking to me isn't going to hurt me!" Tails protested persistently. "That doesn't excuse him from cutting everyone off, only coming around for birthday parties and occasional get-togethers. I visit a lot, but he still doesn't talk to me. He just cooks food, takes nap or leaves for hours or days at a time. He just goes on like everything's normal with him, and it's not!" The fox cried morosely with hints of betrayal. "He acts like he didn't do anything, like we didn't see what he did! We're his friends, I'm his little brother. He should know that he could tell me anything!"
The biohog continued to stare at him, but he made a more pronounced frown. "...No, he doesn't know that."
"...?"
"When I interviewed you all about what you saw that day, you all told me different aspects of the same story. Point is, you all were terrified of him." He could see Tails scowl with resistance to his words. "Rose-Err-Amy, said she had nightmares for weeks, and even Knuckles testified that he was very uncomfortable around him for a while. And now you're saying you were scared yourself."
Feeling uncomfortable with talking about what he told the GUN agent, the teen finally replied with, "So? I mean, I'd get it if he heard us say that-"
"He didn't have to." Shadow countered quickly. "Tails, chaos energy is a very fascinating power that can do many things. Faker's gotten better at using it, and I think you can see what I'm getting at." He then stood up and walked over to the fox. He knelt down and reached behind his own quills to pull out a blue spine that was sparkling with blue electricity. "I woke up this morning with this on my person. He hid one on me without me knowing it because he wants to make sure that I'm okay at all times. With this, he can sense that you all don't trust him. I don't know for sure, but I assume he's placed one on all of you sometime during these past few weeks out of concern for your safety. Honestly, your friends probably still don't know there's one on them even now." He poked at the spine, and it reacted by making a slightly stronger spark, shining a light blue highlight into the reflection of Tails' eyes. He stood up, walked over and sat down closer beside the fox. "He uses these to sense whether or not you're in danger, but he can also feel your emotions, too. For instance, he could sense that I was rather dejected one night, despite us being several miles apart." When he used Sonic's trick on Infinite, he could feel his emotions of agony before the ruby was implanted. This spine ability, or Chaos Pierce as he liked to call it, was a very handy skill. "He could feel your fear this entire time. Every time you talk, he senses your dread and he knows when you're lying to him." He continued to watch the fox's expressions, noticing he was beginning to look put off by this information. "If he knows you're scared of him, why would he tell you anything? He'd just be afraid of scaring you even more. Besides," He added while sticking the spine back on his person. "It's not easy telling people about your skeletons, especially not your friends. Sonic still doesn't understand any of this himself, and he's still trying to figure it out. Not only is he afraid of telling you, but he can't even give you a real answer." He gave Tails a look with a hopeless shrug. "What is he supposed to do?"
Quietly, the vulpine's eyes lowered to the ground once more with a conflicted gaze. "...Where is he?"
That was an easy answer. "Oh, I was on the phone with him fifteen minutes ago." He replied indifferently. "He's leaving Spagonia at the moment, probably running to another country to ask about your whereabouts. He apparently asked for some guy named Professor...Cucumber?" He scratched his head with a confused frown, that name was still super dumb. "I don't know, it was a stupid name, but he asked him where you were."
Tails' eyes widened slowly. With an airy voice, he asked, "He...went all the way there to ask about me? That's like, three countries away from here." He hadn't spoken with the professor in almost an entire year.
"I told you, he's looking frantically for you. Everyone is." Shadow nonchalantly added. He knew he was adding more to the fox's guilt, but he wanted him to thoroughly understand that the hero was not as careless or heartless as he seemed. Hopefully that guilt would help him see reason quicker. "And if it's any consolation, he called me last."
"..."
"I don't know how it feels to 'grow up', I was made to be an older teenage Mobian at the time of my creation, with small spurts in growth every few years like all of you. After a certain point, I'm going to stop aging, so I won't know how it feels to be elderly either. I'm physically in my twenties, I believe I'm mentally a little older than thirty and yet I still don't understand petulance or brotherhood. But I do know this," He looked Tails in the eye when he spoke these words. "That idiot loves you. He raised you all alone when he was only a child himself for years, and he always put you first. Sonic never panics, but he surely did on that phone call earlier." With a grunt, Shadow stood up and stretched his arms and cracked his neck. He'd need another one of those massages again. "Cut faker some slack. He fought an army of terrorists three separate times, got nearly murdered after having his throat sliced out of his neck, transformed into a form that he doesn't understand which turned him into a demon, almost destroyed his body from the immense power of said form, and now his child goes off and disappears." He looked down at Tails coolly. "That's a lot to go through in just a few weeks."
A particular word Shadow used made the fox slowly stand up. "Child...? You think, Sonic sees me as his child?"
The biohog wasn't too good at understanding interpersonal relationships other than the ones he was currently experiencing, so he could be wrong. However, his voice remained confident in what he was saying. "I don't mean to be literal, but it seems like it to me. He clothed you, fed you, gave you shelter and raised you as if you were his own. Is that not a parent, if not a legal guardian? Regardless of blood relation, you're pretty much his kid at this point and I don't think anybody can argue that."
"Uhh..." A small blush appeared on the fox's muzzle as he sheepishly looked to the side. "When you put it like that, that would explain why he's been so...fatherly to me these past few years. He gave me 'the talk' and even suggested I should go to a gifted school with other kids my age. He even offered to pay for my tuition out of pocket, and wanted me to make friends and have the life he and the others never had. He always...tried to make me enjoy being a kid. It wasn't just 'cause he was worried about me, and I guess as he got older," He felt silly for not realizing this sooner. "He started to see me as..." He couldn't finish his sentence. "..."
"I told you all that before he transformed, he died." Shadow emphasized that last word heavily. "He only used that transformation to revive himself. If he didn't, you could have lost Sonic that day for good and we'd all be attending the funeral of the century. Hell, maybe the millennia."
Tails' shoulders began to shake, his body shuddering as he thought about the idea of Sonic perishing permanently. But then, he also thought about the moment when that demonic super form knocked him down from the Cyclone.
"Tails...You should...really...go home. Stay...away. Don't want...to hurt you. Can't...find you again. Might...Hurt you...Be good. So proud of you. Love you...Always. Goodbye."
He even took the spine he hid on Tails' body before and got rid of it so there wouldn't be a chance he found him again and hurt him if he lost control. In the end, Sonic tried to protect him to the very last second. It didn't matter if a literal spirit of an unknown hell took over his body, Sonic still fought to protect him. He knew that, now. "I...I know." Large tears dropped from his face. "I-I know..."
Hearing the fox cry was a good sign, as he finally understood and he was releasing some emotions he had pent up. Shadow gave him some dignity by looking away. "It also made him sick apparently, so he's running around like a moron probably sneezing his ass off. Look," He said with a more sympathetic tone. "He wasn't given instructions on how to raise a child or himself. He doesn't know what's going on and all he wants is for all of us, more so you, to be safe. He's not ignoring you, he's attempting to care for you from afar without crossing the line and being a burden to you. He's trying." He placed a hand on Tails' shoulder to make him look at him. "That means so much more than you realize." He let go and took a few steps away as he glanced back up at the sky. "And when he finally gets an answer he's comfortable with, he'll eventually come to you and tell you himself. I know that, and I think you already knew that deep down too. You just needed confirmation, but never got it. Right?"
Tails nodded as he tugged at the sleeve of the hoodie, realizing how old it was and how he still didn't plan on throwing it out. He used the sleeves to wipe his eyes and sniff one last time. "...Yeah."
"Give him time, that's all I ask for on his behalf." Shadow then turned around and gestured for him to come over. "Get up, I'll take you home and give him a call-" He suddenly felt his entire body get shifted a little, and he looked down to see the fox...hugging him. "...Oh."
"...Thank you." Tails murmured. "I'm...sorry for being mean to you."
Okay, this was a little weird for Shadow. He really didn't like being touched by anyone other than Maria, Rouge or Sonic, but he knew Tails didn't mean any harm. "Err, that's fine," His voice became a little awkward. "I can think of a handful of moments where I wasn't very kind to you, either."
"Heheh," Tails broke the embrace and laughed a little. "You did kick and throw me a lot back in the day."
Alright, now he felt guilty. Shadow immediately avoided eye contact. "Yeah. Um...sorry." Well he at least had a good reason for it. "To me, you were always the most valuable member of the group. You were the brains, arguably the most dangerous target that, with enough time, would figure out how to defeat me. Whenever Sonic and I were at odds, I knew I had to take out his biggest supporter: You. You were his medic, his strategist and his informant. Not knocking you out first would have been a grave mistake on my end. After all, you've defeated me before once during the Emerl incident. I made sure that didn't happen again." He didn't mean for that to sound so barbaric, but he hoped the fox could at least see where he was coming from at the time. "In a battle, it's best to take out the biggest threat first."
With a flattered crack of a smile, Tails rubbed the back of his neck. "W-Wow. Thanks! I never saw it that way."
"Physical strength means nothing without intellect. You have an overabundance of it, use it well."
"Heh," Tails placed his hands in the hoodie's pockets. "You're way nicer than you were eight years ago, but maybe you were always this nice and we just never saw it. I see why Sonic likes you so much."
Secretly blushing, the biohog continued to advert his gaze. "..." God, was it really that obvious they had a thing for each other? "...Let's just get you home and-" A breeze of wind hit them, causing them both to turn to the side and see a blue hedgehog walking towards them while panting heavily. "Ah, so you finally figured out where he was. Took you long enough, faker." Shadow greeted.
Lime green eyes met baby blue, and a wash of powerful relief fell over the hero's face. "Tails...Thank God, you're okay."
6:45 PM
With an annoyed expression, the blue hedgehog berated himself for not realizing where the fox was sooner. "I can't believe I didn't think to look here first. I feel like an ass..." He said while catching his breath.
"You...remember this place?" The teen asked innocently. He truly thought the blue blur forgot all about this little beach.
Sonic made a small laugh. "Pfft, yeah! We used to bust badniks over here for funsies all the time, we cleared the whole map. I taught you how to pilot the Tornado 1 here for the first time, I was so proud of you. Well I still am, obviously." He gave him a kind smile. "How could I not remember something as epic as that?" Feeling his heart strings tug harshly, Tails suddenly ran towards him, his namesakes propelling him to go faster until he tackled him with a big hug. Nearly knocking the hedgehog over, he chuckled at the vulpine's enthusiasm in seeing him. "Haha. I missed you too, buddy."
"I'm really, really sorry for running away like that." Tails suddenly cried. "I just got really frustrated and...I-I'm sorry. I've been really mean to you for years and it wasn't fair to you. I didn't know what you were going through, I was just mad you wouldn't talk to me." His voice cracked a little as his eyes moistened once again. "But you died and...now you're sick and I just made everything worse...I'm really sorry, Sonic." He looked up from planting his face in his peach chest. "I won't do something like this ever again, and this time I'll trust you. I'll have more faith in you, no matter what happens, I promise!" He tightened his hug and hid his face in his torso again. "...I love you, big bro."
Silently, Shadow watched the scene unfold from underneath the pergola, leaning against it's support beams stuck in the sand with his arms crossed over his chest.
With a gentle sigh, Sonic knelt down onto one knee and patted Tails' head. "Ohhh boy..." He shook his head with a small chuckle. "What am I gonna do with you, huh? Come on," He wiped the teen's tears, having not seen him cry in a long time. It was always a weak spot for the hedgehog. "No more of that, okay? It's alright. All that matters, is that you're okay." He stood back up and pulled him back into a warming embrace, continuing to ruffle his head affectionately. "I love you too, lil' man. I always will, don't forget that."
Sniffling, Tails wiped his eyes with his hoodie sleeve again before smiling at his big brother.
Sonic continued to smile back lovingly...
...Until a very furious vein throbbed on his head.
34 - END - 34
Chapter 35: Brothers
Summary:
Sonic and Tails finally reunite and restore their brotherhood.
Chapter Text
35 - Brothers - 35
6:50 PM
He didn't want to do this, but he forced him to activate a power he promised himself he wouldn't use.
A power he refused to use unless pushed into very specific circumstances.
Circumstances like this one.
With a small inhale, Sonic commenced:
Dad mode.
He roughly pinched the tip of one of the fox's large ears, causing him to yelp in pain. "You are so freakin' grounded, you little brat!" Sonic yelled, causing both Tails and even Shadow to flinch. "Do you have any idea how tired I am!? I literally just came back from Spagonia, yelling at Professor Pickle and his interns as to where your little two tailed ass went!" He let go of his ear and shoved a finger into the teen's chest, making him squeak in fear. "I was so worried about you! I got a goddamn sinus infection and a sore throat, and you think I feel like running track cross-country around the globe just to find you chillin' here at the beach with Shadow the whole time?!" Sweating nervously, the fox took a cautious step backwards before he was yanked by the cords of the hoodie. "You've pulled some dumb shit before, but this one really takes the cake. You are so not going back home without rules or regulations, little boy. You may have your own place but as long as you're a minor, you ain't an adult yet. I make the rules, and you listen to what I say, whether you like it or not! You will not leave my sight until I say so." His death stare could slice the fox's namesakes in half if it wanted to. "Got it!?"
Shadow blinked several times with a sweat drop.
Yeah, Sonic was hot when he was mad, but the biohog didn't expect to see this kind of anger from him today.
Fatherly slash brotherly rage...That's a new one.
Nodding anxiously with a very nervous grin, the fox conceded to his conditions easily. Chaos, he hadn't been scolded like that in years, but it was definitely warranted. "Y-Yeah, n-no argument from me this time. You're right." He bowed his head to the blue hedgehog with respect. "I acted like an idiot for a while and I should have apologized and cleaned up my act a long time ago." As he apologized, Shadow could see that the pinnacle of Sonic's anger was reluctantly beginning to decrease as Tails apologized thoroughly. Pfft, and that's why Sonic had a scary temper: He was too damn nice for it to truly let loose. So predictable. "I had no idea you had so much on your plate, and I…I was being selfish. And…I'm truly sorry, Sonic." Tails ruefully rubbed his own shoulder as he looked away shamefully. "I really mean it. I just hope you can forgive me. I'll stay on punishment for as long as you want, no complaints." He nodded in confirmation, he accepted his fate. "I promise."
At first, Sonic just continued to glare at him with a very disapproving frown, but then a wave of sadness washed over him. He remembered when Tails, only four years old at the time, grew blisters on his feet for trying once again to keep up with Sonic, who was only eleven. Sonic caught that he was suffering in silence, lifted him up on his back, and carried him home, promising that he'd heal him up in no time. He also promised him that he'd never have to worry about bullies again, that he'll always be by his side to protect him no matter what. From that moment on, he took the pup in to care for him for years up until this point. He remembered how small and cute he was, he was so precious and excited to be with someone who didn't demean him for having an abnormality. He grew up so fast, where did the time go? Where was his little buddy from all those years ago? Meanwhile, Shadow could see Sonic was breaking. He couldn't keep up the angry parent schtick, no matter how genuinely pissed he was. He loved Tails too much to hold anything against him. He only chuckled to himself and shook his head. Again, predictable.
Sonic sighed heavily and crossed his arms. "Geez, you can't even let me be mad at you." His expression went from exasperated to regretful. "'Sides, I don't like yelling at you, you know that. I don't like making you upset. Not any kiddo, but definitely not you little man. Sometimes it feels like you use that against me..." He said in an accusatory fashion, but then it quickly softened in defeat. "You've always been a sweet kid at heart, so it's hard to stay mad at you." However, he still maintained his firm tone. "But you'll still be grounded for a while, at least two weeks. You've been gettin' away with murder lately, but this is the straw that breaks the camel's back. You wasted everyone's time and made all of our friends worried. They're still looking under rocks in Station Square like idiots, desperately trying to find you. Not to mention you made me get Rouge and Shadow involved, who work for the government. Their work is way too important for them to rush outta the office just to look for you." He shook his head, his decision was final and he wouldn't be softening the blow of his punishment this time. "You're on lock down until further notice. I'm talkin' no science fairs, no splurging your allowance on rare materials for your plane, no late flights after midnight, and no binge-eating on pounds of mint candy in a single night. You'll be in my house, under my rules. And you are not finalizing that deal with the president about the Chemical Plant until your punishment's over." He raised a brow, daring him to object. "Understood?"
Surprisingly, Tails nodded with a bright smile. He hadn't realized how much he actually missed his parenting. He was only annoyed by it before because of his distrust of him, but now, it felt relieving. "Yes sir, of course. I'll call everyone myself and let them know I'm okay, and I'll even do chores around the house without you having to ask."
"That's what I wanted to hear. And for Chaos's sake," Sonic further complained while pointing at the hoodie. "Stop wearing that hoodie like a depressed E-Boy, it's raggedy and shitty. You've already got a rattail goin' on, this ain't helpin'. You're better than that."
"B-But," Tails made a sad pout. "I really like this hoodie..."
Sonic made a very unimpressed expression. "It has moth holes in it, dude. Throw it out, or I'm rippin' it off of you and burning it in a damn fire pit. I'll just buy you a new one. It probably smells like dank piss anyway...When's the last time you even washed that thing?"
Blinking slowly, the fox suddenly found the sand to be really interesting. "Ummm-"
"Tails." Sonic stressed with a disgusted glare. "Seriously? You're almost seventeen, you've got no excuse to be wearin' stuff that smells like a corpse. Throw that thing out the second we get home, or else I'm gonna bathe your ass raw."
"O-Okay, okay! I'll throw it out." He started poking his fingers together with a timid smile. He knew asking this would bite him in the ass, but..."Sooo, I know I'm on punishment and everything, so I'm sure any form of entertainment is off limits. Buuut," He saw Sonic squint his eyes at him harshly. "I can still have my phone, right?" He tried to grin charmingly to attempt to ease in his small request.
A twitch lingered in Sonic's right eye. "You little shitbird. You really think you can smooth talk your way out of-You know what? Screw it. I'm keeping the damn phone."
"W-Wait, wait!" The fox pleaded desperately as he reached up to Sonic's quills, where he knew his phone was hidden. "Can't we negotiate or something? I need my phone to make updates to my new wi-fi router! If I patent it, I can get the whole city to start using it and generate a stable city-wide income!"
Shadow gawked. Good God, why was this kid trying to create a monopoly out of Station Square? Sonic was basically one of the one-percenters, he just didn't show it. He could drown the child in cash if he really wanted to. Did Tails really just want to make a business that badly? Maybe it was a good thing he didn't go to school. Sonic however, wasn't having any of it. "I don't give a good goddamn if you found a cure to cancer, I'm keeping your phone." Sonic slapped the teen's hands away and pulled the device out of his quills himself. He turned it on and checked to see if anything untoward was on there. Tails was a good kid like he said, so there wasn't anything scandalous on the phone. "Hmph." Still didn't help his situation, though. Sonic was now tossing it up and down in his hand. When Tails tried to reach for it, he easily snatched it away and then crushed his fingers against it. The fox begged him to stop. "You're lucky I don't break this sci-fi crap, but I should. You obviously don't care about it since you left it at home. Actually," He noted. "It's been fryin' your brains a little too much, so maybe you do need to take a step back from it. You get too easily distracted with this thing."
"Awww, Sonic come on! The smartphone is an invaluable, delicate tool that greatly aids a teenager's personal development and social skills! It's my baby, I need it!"
A larger vein throbbed on his forehead from such an elaborate lie. "You crashed your freakin' plane into the side of a mountain five months ago, 'cause you were doom scrolling while flying."
The fox just flagged this off with a raspberry. "Oh that was an accident, it could have happened to anybody-"
"Miles Prower the Fox," Dear Lord, he used his whole name. He used his whole name and his quills were growing way too sharp for comfort. "Do not piss me off any further than you already have tonight. The phone's gone, end of story."
As Sonic placed the phone back in his quills and bent down to grab the fox's backpack, Tails immediately looked down at the ground with flattened ears. "Okay, I'm sorry..." He replied meekly as the hedgehog walked over to lift him up over his shoulder like a sack of feathers. "...!" Wow, he hasn't been carried like this since his plane crash during the whole Chaos ordeal. "Y-You're carrying me?" He asked with protest. "But Sonic, I'm sixteen-"
"Shut up."
"-Okay."
Chuckling more under his breath, Shadow smiled at this banter of fraternal love. It was one thing to see it in sitcoms or TV shows, but witnessing it up close was truly a humorous experience. Plus, he didn't realize how much Sonic was forced to grow up. He was arguably more mentally mature long before he actually physically matured. He watched as the hero, who still had a rather annoyed expression on his face, walked over to thank the biohog for finding him. "Damn Alpha teenagers..." He hissed under his breath before looking at Shadow and sighing tiresomely. "Thanks babe, I owe you-" He sneezed, shocking himself from the self-interruption. "Damn it, this is getting annoying."
Shadow shook his head. "Think nothing of it. Will you be okay taking him home by yourself? You look red in the face, I'm sure you still have a fever." He frowned. "Amy gave me a recipe for soup to make you, but I see it didn't work very well."
"I'll be fine," Sonic grumbled. "It's a short jog a few miles to my house, I can make that no sweat. Just do me a solid and Chaos Control my bag from your apartment later tonight when you get the chance. If you're that worried," He leaned over to press a kiss on his cheek. "You're more than welcome in my home anytime you like, in case you wanted to check up on me. It's the least I can offer~" Shadow replied with a small kiss on the lips, making the blue one hum in delight. They could hear Tails mumble "Eww," behind him, so Sonic roughly elbowed the fox in his back. "You keep mumbling under your breath back there and I'll break your gaming consoles." That was at least the fifth threat tonight, Shadow silently noted.
"O-Ow-What...!?" The fox panicked, pathetically wriggling in his hold. "N-Not my achievements! No! Anything but that! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Sonic could feel a headache grow as he rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna need so many bottles of aspirin after this..." He used his free hand to rub his fingers on his right temple before continuing with what he was saying to Shadow. "Anyway, I wanna have a talk with you about something important. Come by the house in maybe a few days from now, I'll text you." He gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Actually, I think you'll appreciate it. I'm gonna take this little shit home and get some rest. I'll call you later."
Shadow nodded, finding that part about this "important conversation" rather intriguing. "Understood. I'll keep that in mind. Goodnight, hedgehog." He smirked as he saw the fox lying in defeat over his older brother's shoulder. "Hmph. Goodnight, Tails."
He held out a pitiful hand as he whined for the biohog to save him. "S-Save me Shadow...We're friends, aren't we?"
"Sorry," The striped hedgehog shrugged, his hands were tied. "But I'm afraid not even I can go up against the authority of a loving older brother."
"He's gonna kill me!"
"Walk it off, Miles." He waved a hand before disappearing in a green flash. "Farewell, for now."
Snorting a laugh, Sonic began to walk away from the beach while carrying the fox. "Ha. He's such a dick, I love that about him." He claimed proudly with a smile. As he walked, he briefly looked down at the vulpine. "Y'all cool now? You looked pretty chill with each other when I showed up. I thought you didn't like him."
With a small smile, Tails nodded. "I misunderstood him. Shadow's a good guy, just like I thought when I was a kid. I had it right the first time. I guess my teenager angst blinded me." He said dramatically. "I won't let it happen again, though." After another minute of silence passed, Tails asked a question that Sonic found absolutely adorable. "Hey, I know you're super tired and sick, and I know I'm grounded. But, could I play video games in the living room while you watch until you fall asleep? Like old times?" He made a nostalgic smile. "I liked when we used to do that. It was really fun."
Hearing his gentle voice talk about how things used to be before made the hero sigh heavily. He was making it really hard to stay mad at him, but he had to stay firm. "...I'll allow it tonight, and only tonight. Don't ask me again."
"And um...Can I stay over your house a little while longer after my punishment's over?" The younger brother asked delicately. "I know you're probably tired of me, but I like staying there. I won't be annoying like I was before, I'll give you your space."
"Alright," Sonic responded wearily. "I already told you a thousand times before, that you're always welcomed in my home. It was yours too, once upon a time. But then you just had to grow up and move out on your own at age eleven..." He shook his head, grimacing at the memory. It almost broke his heart. "You grew up way too fast, but I guess I did too." He then placed the fox down onto his feet on the ground and leveled with him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." The fox flinched and nodded while looking his big brother in the eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about...What I turned into. I didn't know how to approach anybody with it. I didn't even know how to explain it to Shadow 'cause...I really don't know what's going on. And plus, Tails," He said sincerely. "You gotta understand: You're just a kid and you do everything in your power to not be a kid. I know that's my fault and I know I'm a shitty role model, but I didn't want that for you. It's why I tried to get you to go to school or send you off to those science fairs—I was trying to fix the damage I already did but...it was too late." He shamefully looked elsewhere. "You ended up just like me. It's only right you get to have the chance to be normal, but I messed that up. I hate getting you involved in stuff like this, not the hard hitting stuff. It's different if we're doing a casual little raid on some random Eggman base or having fun on some intergalactic amusement park planet, but this..." He ran his hand through his quills. "This wasn't an adventure, this wasn't fun. It was...Terrible, and I didn't want you getting hurt. I got stabbed, Shadow was tortured, there was so much blood...I couldn't let anything happen to you, too. Not like last time." He placed his hand on his shoulder, the one that was still scarred from the gunshot three years ago. "You have no idea how guilty I feel that I scared you that badly. I didn't know what to do."
Tails tilted his head. "You didn't...?"
"Of course not, isn't it obvious?" Sonic laughed at this. "I almost never know what to do. I just rush in without a plan, letting my instincts and my gut take over, always. It's a really dumb idea, but old habits die hard. Still," With his hand still on his shoulder, they continued to walk. "I know I did the best I could with what I was given. I just hope you see that, too."
The teen genius nodded without hesitation. "Yeah, I do. Shadow helped put things in perspective, I don't blame you for anything that happened. It was a life or death situation—Literally." He still couldn't believe he technically lost his big bro that day. "You did what you could. I forgive you, and I'm sure the others already do." He blushed a little, he had never told Sonic this before. In hindsight, maybe he should have. "You're a good role model and an even better big brother. I appreciate everything you're doing for me and...I guess I should try a little harder to see where you're coming from. But I think you're doing great!"
That made the hedgehog genuinely smile a little. "That's nice, I'm really glad you think so." Sonic suddenly and painfully tightened his grip into his shoulder. "But hohoho, if you pull a stunt like this again...I'm gonna turn you from Tails to Tail."
Gulping, Tails instantly started to panic. "I-I won't!" It's a fear he hadn't felt in a while, but it was a fear they both felt was more fitting. The fear of getting your butt whooped from your older brother was way better than fearing a demonic presence.
Sonic made a more lighthearted chuckle and pulled the fox close to give him a gentle noogie. "Ahh, I'm only kiddiiiing! Mostly."
Tails laughed nervously as he attempted to fix his now messed up hair. "H-Heh, I haven't seen you that angry since the time I crashed the Cyclone into my workshop.
Sonic remembered that day, it cost a lot of money to repair his house and he was worried he blew himself up in the wreckage. "Geez, I almost took your damn head off for that one. I thought you blew yourself up to the stratosphere. Thank goodness you only had a few scratches." He playfully poked the fox's head. "You've got a lot of brains in that noggin of yours, and a lot of dumb luck."
"Yeah, I see now that I've still got a lot of growing up to do."
"Meh," The hero shrugged. "We all do. You never actually stop growing, y'know." He looked down at him with a gentle smile. "We've both got a lot of growing up to do, but we can do that together lil' man."
The fox smiled brightly as his head was patted again. "Heheh."
August 12th
DAY 33: Tuesday
Evening, 9:00 PM
"And that, my little brother, is how it's done."
Groaning, the sixteen year old fox pouted as he stared at the TV screen. The Hero of Mobius stuck out his tongue as he twirled a wireless gaming controller in his hand. He had stopped sweeping the floor to look over and see that his big brother just beat his high score, and since he was grounded, there was nothing he could do about it. "You are such a cheater." He grumbled in his new orange tie-dye hoodie.
"No I ain't. Get good, scrub." Was all the blue hedgehog said before using the remote to turn off the TV. As he placed the controller back where it belonged, he shooed the vulpine away. "Aight, fun's over. Less talkin', more sweepin'." He watched the younger Mobian stick his tongue out right back at the hedgehog, before turning up his nose and returning to his exile of chores. Chuckling at this, Sonic walked away from the couch and headed for the stairs. He pulled his phone out of his quills and checked his notifications to see old, happy and relieved messages from their friends. Days ago, Tails did as he promised and video-called them all one by one to apologize for worrying them and wasting their time with a ragtag search team. He was really guilty when he did it, and Sonic glared at him over his shoulder the entire time. Knuckles and Rouge only laughed, while Amy sighed. They said it was fine, but to please not do something like that again after they just had a crisis.
The night Tails was found, Sonic and the fox sat on the couch. Tails played video games all night, while his big brother watched until he fell asleep like he wished. He woke up to Tails giving him a bowl of soup to help treat his ailments, and he surprisingly got a lot better after eating it. Tails said he secretly stole some herbs from Angel Island the last time he was there, right under Knuckles' nose. He used some of them as ingredients, followed a recipe from Amy and made the sickly hero some much needed homemade broth. It was pretty good, and went down easy. With four days to recover, Sonic felt like he was back to his old self. He wanted to think he could fight the illness off on his own, and he didn't want to ask anybody for help. Even when Shadow tried to make him soup, he was very reluctant to accept it. But Sonic could see that this in itself was his own undoing. He didn't get better until someone offered to help him without him asking, and he couldn't deny that he was flattered either. Tails hadn't did something like that for him in a very long time, and the last time he tried to make him breakfast, he too blew up the oven. He was only ten years old, and he cried for hours. He was so cute back then, so it was easy for Sonic to forgive him.
They spent the rest of the week hanging out in Station Square, having some much needed downtime with each other at the mall. Sonic bought him a new hoodie like he said, one that was orange. It was basic, but Tails wanted it because he asked Sonic to do some tie-dying to it. It came out perfectly with a cool zig zagging pattern, and Tails instantly fell in love with it. He warned Sonic he'd probably wear it to pieces, but the hedgehog advised him to at least wash it often and to ask Amy to sew up any holes that might appear in the future. The day after that, they went to the food court and got some grade-A chilidogs, bought some engineering tools and got some movies to binge at home. Tails was grounded, but the rules could be modified under Sonic's authority at any time. So for those several hours, Tails had some freedom. They had spent so much time together, the sun was setting by the time they were done. From then on during the rest of the week, they watched a couple of movies together, again, under Sonic's permission with popcorn. They haven't done a movie night in a while, so it was way more fun than they expected. And like a good boy, Tails took it upon himself to do some chores every night before he headed off to bed. All before Sonic could even ask, just as he promised.
Of course during that time, Sonic made sure to share some attention between Tails and Shadow. He would text and video call him whenever he had the chance, usually in the dark hours of the night when the fox was asleep. They never did anything raunchy however, and only talked about unimportant subjects. They just liked each other's company, even if they were physically separated. Tonight however, he had a plan and wanted Shadow to visit him physically, just as he requested days ago. When the hedgehog got to his bedroom, he went to his bathroom to go into the medicine cabinet and pull out a thermometer. He checked his temperature, and while waiting for the results, he scrolled through the messages on his phone. He had asked Shadow earlier to come over, about an hour ago.
lil man and i are home. drop by when you can ;)
The biohog was busy himself with downtime on his day off, so he did a lot of meditating and napping. He saw that Shadow saw his message, and had replied twenty minutes ago or so.
Very well, I'll be over soon.
That's when both of his ears perked up. The thermometer beeped, and there was knocking on the front door. First, he checked his temperature, seeing that it was finally down a normal number. He cleaned it off in the sink, grateful that he wasn't sick anymore. That made him feel even more confident with what he had to tell Shadow. Tails wouldn't be spending the night here, or in the next few days as a matter of fact. Considering what Sonic was planning, it couldn't be helped. "Sonic! Shadow's here!" He heard his little brother call. It'd be lame to go back downstairs like a normie, so instead, Sonic exited the bathroom and went to the nearest window in his bedroom. He lifted it up and crawled out, walking along the shingles of his roof and seeing Shadow talking with Tails outside. The hedgehog whistled to get their attention, and they both glanced upwards.
Sonic made a flirty wave. "Heeeey~"
Tails nudged Shadow playfully as the GUN agent faintly blushed. "Don't keep him waiting, you know he's impatient."
"You're just as much of a troll as he is." The biohog glared.
The fox made a grossed-out expression. "Ugh, you guys are probably gonna make out for hours and hours and hours...Blegh." He then lowered his voice in a whisper. "Hey, do you guys do that weird tongue thing? Like is that real? 'Cause that is a lot of bacteria and I personally don't think that's very healthy-"
Entirely red in the face, Shadow yelled for Sonic to just get down here already. "Hedgehog, get your kid."
Sonic jumped down and strolled over casually to the two. "What'd he say?"
"Well, I was just asking if the whole tongue exchange thing is real." Tails asked aloud. "What's it called...? French kissing? That's a lot of germs and I'm slightly concerned for your health."
Slowly, Sonic gave the fox a look and raised his brows. "...Tails, I'm not gonna explain the tier system to you again in front of company. You don't need to know what tier Shadow and I are on, and our hygiene ain't got nothin' to do with it."
Tails made a surprised expression. "Wait...Are you guys at tier eighteen already? Isn't that marriage?"
Silently, Shadow gaped between the two of them, speaking as if he wasn't even here. The hero frowned with a cringe. "What? No-Dude, that's the dating tier. Shadow and I ain't there yet, we've been dating for maybe a month. Look at him," He gestured to the fuming biohog who was glaring daggers into his face. "He's like a steamin' vegetable over here, we ain't ready for that." He then looked to the side with a thoughtful expression. "Damn, I only warned you about mating season. I guess I didn't teach you about the intimacy tier yet, but French kissing's definitely on there. That's like tier five. You don't need to know about the rest of that stuff, though. You're a baby, you're way too young...Unless," Then he smirked mischievously at the fox as he wiggled his brows. "You want me to tell you in excruciating, anatomical detail how we-"
The fox immediately stepped away. "Oh God, okay I'm sorry I asked."
"Mmhm." Sonic casually stretched his arms behind his head, secretly taking something out from the depths of his quills. "Anyway, you might be heading over to Ame's place for tonight. Aaaaand the next few days."
"W-What?" Tails' face fell instantly. "But why?"
"'Cause I need the house to myself for a bit and I don't trust that you're going to do what I say and stay grounded, along with the specific restrictions we agreed upon. So," He suddenly tossed him a light pink flyer, apparently formed into a paper airplane. Tails barely caught it, then unwrapped the paper to reveal its contents.
That's when the fox's face went from dejected to horrified. "Sonic, no."
Sonic sneered. "Sonic, yes."
The fox immediately started whining in protest. "Sonic come oooonnnn! Why do I have to go on a flower retreat with Amy in Frog Forest? That's boring!"
"'Cause you're grounded and I want the house to myself, I literally just said that."
Tails quickly got annoyed with his smarminess. "No I mean, why can't I go to Angel Island or something? That'd be way better and Knuckles could just keep an eye on me in his bunker."
"One," Sonic held up a strict finger. "'Cause Knux is an asshole, will totally break my rules and let you do whatever you want just to spite me. I don't feel like beating his ass right now." He held up another finger. "Two, because Amy's been bugging me to get you to go with her on this trip for two months straight, and I'm tired of her messages." He held up a third. "Three, because it's basically a camping trip and you love camping trips. Those are totes fun and you need to get some air. 'Sides, it's not normal flowers. Amy said they were really rare and kind of dangerous. Giant Venus flytraps and whatnot." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean she's going with a couple of other people, and a couple of students interested in botany. It's not like you'll be alone, so I figured you'd be cool with that. The trip starts tomorrow sometime in the morning, so I asked and she was willin' to let you spend the night so she could take you." He walked past the salty teen slowly as he mentioned one last thing. "Oohh and I almost forgot to mention, I heard that Zooey'll be there~"
Like any predictable sixteen year old boy, Tails immediately sprinted towards him and got close to whisper. "...You said Zooey's gonna be there?"
Pretending not to notice, Sonic spoke as if he truly wasn't sure about what was said. "Ohhh I dunno...I mean Amy said something along those lines. Sayin' Zooey was soooo enamored with the science of anthology and the symbolism of flowers, and how the flowers in Frog Forest represent love...Apparently the poor girl isn't too good at understanding the intricacies of botany and cells, and she really could use some help. Yeah Amy's there, but sometimes you need a second opinion." He continued to smirk and winked at the fox. "From, oh I don't know...A genius with a three hundred IQ? But you didn't hear that from me-" A dust cloud was left where Tails was, who was already inside the house, upstairs, packing his bag. Giggling impishly, the hero nudged the previously forgotten striped hedgehog's arm. "I am such an asshole."
"Yeah," Shadow deadpanned. "You are. Very much so."
"Aw it's not like I set him up for failure, she already likes him anyway. He just never had an excuse to go see her."
Deciding to humor this conversation, Shadow might as well have asked who this person even was. "You said it's some fox girl?"
"Oh Zooey? Yeah, she's a cutie. She was at a local science fair in Station Square, Tails was there and welp," He grinned. "He got a crush on her. This was earlier this year. Her and Cream go to the same school, she ended up meeting Amy, she needed a tutor to help with some of her projects, Amy introduced her to Tails, they recognized each other-" Sonic and Shadow started coughing from an even bigger dust cloud suddenly hitting them in the face. They looked down to see the fox vibrating in excitement with a heavy looking bookbag strapped on his back. He looked and smelled much more well groomed than he did a second ago, and his eyes were swirling with hearts. "-And then this happened." The hero laughed. "Hahaha. Ahh you're terrible, Tails."
"H-Huh?" Tails was suddenly woken out of his daydream. "What do you mean? I wanna study rare plants, that's all."
The GUN agent shook his head incredulously as Sonic wheezed a laugh. "Chaos, he's just as shameless as you. He is your child."
The fox tugged at Sonic's glove to indicate that he needed him to get a little closer. The hedgehog bent down a little to listen as the fox whispered. "Hey," He said quickly. "You said the retreat's tomorrow morning, right?" He saw Sonic nod. "Okay, do me a solid and let me take my phone so I can make an album and a playlist."
The hedgehog gave him a disappointed stare. "Really? You're gonna show her pics of your plane and serenade her with EDM? 'Cause if that's what you're gonna do, the answer's a solid 'no'."
"Nope," The fox confidently replied. "Gonna show her some flowers from Angel Island and add some classical baroque music. Show her that I know my stuff, and that I'm sensitive."
That high school jock smile of Sonic's crept up quickly as he fist bumped Tails. "Atta boy!" He pulled out an orange smartphone from his quills and handed it right over to him. "Don't forget to give it back to Amy when the trip's over, but you better reel her in before then. She better be hangin' off your arm when you get back, and you better gimme deets! I need details, lil' bro!"
A sharp glint shined in Tails' baby blue eyes. "Tch, you're kidding right?" He held up a strong thumbs up. "It'll be a cakewalk. I got this, big bro."
A lone tear slipped from Sonic's eye. "...Oh my God, I'm so proud."
"You're tainting that child with your jock shit." Shadow mumbled to the hero.
"'Jock shit', huh?" Sonic repeated callously with a raised brow. "That same 'jock shit' got you here at my house, nine at night, as my boyfriend. Evidently it works." He smirked. "Got anything else to say?"
With an exasperated glare Shadow just rolled his eyes. "Fuck you."
"Sure, in a second. Anyway-" He ignored Shadow's shocked reaction to that and gave Tails a noogie. "Alrighty champ, you got all your stuff?" He saw Tails nod like a rabid animal. "O-Okay bro, chill. You're not gonna see her 'till tomorrow. Make sure you listen to everything Amy says, got it? I don't want her to call me and tell me you gave her lip, you're still grounded after all. Oh, and don't think when you come back that your punishment's over, either. Nope, still grounded. Cool?" He winced when the fox nodded again like a jack hammer. "Dude, stop. You're gonna give yourself a headache. Alright, I'll let you go then. And remember what I taught you about hangin' out with someone you like."
Tails nodded once more with a salute. "Rule number one: Consent is awesome! Rule number two, anything that's not PG-13 is off limits until I'm eighteen. Rule three: Don't be a 'nice guy.'"
He didn't know why he was even remotely interested in this conversation, but Shadow found himself asking about that particular rule anyway. "Aren't you supposed to be nice?"
Sonic instantly shook his head. "Incel shit." That word was foreign to the ultimate life form, as he was of a much older generation. That's when the blue hedgehog rephrased it. "Infinite."
"Ah," Shadow instantly understood. "Got it."
"Aaaand that's all you gotta know." Sonic quickly patted his head before shooing him. "Aight you're good, go ahead. Be safe, be respectful, don't eat random 'shrooms, all that crap. Just have fun." It's like Sonic's parenting went from one hundred to three in just under an hour. The fox gave a more sincere smile at the two hedgehogs before jumping up high, letting his namesakes propel and ascend him further. He waved goodbye and winked at Sonic before disappearing in an orange-yellow streak in the sky. "Oh wow, he got faster. Haha, that's my lil' man."
He thanked God that conversation was over. He already didn't like talking about his feelings and the complications of romance with Sonic, so he definitely wasn't interested in hearing about it between two teenagers. Shadow sighed and glanced at the blue hedgehog. "You panicked about him being missing, grounded him, and now you're sending him away? You confuse me."
Chuckling, Sonic flagged this off. "Nah nah nah, you don't get it. Tails an' I are cool now, and we trust each other. I know he won't do anything stupid like that again, I know he'll be okay and I already poked one of my spines behind his left ear while he wasn't looking. And, well..." His voice slightly decreased in volume as he admitted something, making a slightly sheepish expression. "I guess I was kind of panicking last week. But like you said, if doggy's in another realm, we've got time before something else goes down. Can't live in fear forever. 'Sides, Tails is still grounded and he knows that. I just wanted him to stop shutting himself in the house. Beyond all of that," He mysteriously turned his back to the ultimate life form as he walked towards the steps of his porch. "I really gotta talk to you about something. I promise you won't be disappointed~" He beckoned for the biohog to follow him inside.
As he did, Shadow took a brief pause before replying with a request of his own.
"Actually," He said. "I need to talk to you about something, too."
35 - END - 35
Chapter 36: Love
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow have a beautiful talk that's been expected for a while now.
Notes:
The latter half of this chapter contains very heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
36 - Love - 36
9:20 PM
Two grown hedgehogs sat together in the sturdy blue beanbag chairs of Sonic's bedroom. It wasn't that big of a room, as the house itself wasn't that big, but this was the master bedroom. A bathroom was connected to it with a small walk-in closet. It was a cozy room, which matched the home's comfy atmosphere. A tiny white coffee table was between them, and they were both drinking some herbal tea. Shadow wasn't really a tea guy, he was a bean-juice guy all the way. However, he couldn't deny that this tea was quite flavorful. Peach chamomile, apparently. Sonic brewed them some before they headed upstairs, right after Shadow said he needed to talk with the hero about something important too. The TV in front of them was on, sitting on a wooden entertainment console, but it was only playing a video of a fireplace. It was virtually silent in the room.
However, the blue one decided to break that silence first. "So," He began as he crossed his legs. "I called you here to tell you something, but you had to tell me something. Well," He began to sip his cup again. "What is it? You can go first, I don't mind." As he awaited Shadow's answer, the biohog took this time to gaze at the beauty before him. How many times could he describe in his head how gorgeous he was? Plenty, actually. He could probably think of one trillion words that could detail just how marvelously brilliant he looked every time he saw him. Yet, it still wouldn't be enough to properly express just how much he absolutely loved staring at him and his opulent body. Every smile, every smirk, every quip he made, annoying or flirtatious, could always make him feel warm inside. As selfish as it was, he hated that he couldn't lay next to him for the past three nights, he missed him. It was pathetic how much he needed him beside him now, but that's how intoxicating he was. Even cuddling with him was like a drug with an endless pleasure that he couldn't get enough of. He smelled amazing, he felt like an assortment of new-bought plushies, and the very sound of his voice made him feel so secure with himself. He hated how hopelessly captivated he was by this moronic yet beautiful vision. He was glad he didn't have to work for the next few days, because now he could just be with him all weekend.
Unbeknownst to Shadow, Sonic felt the exact same way about him. He's met many, many attractive people in his life, but he never thought he'd find someone as stunning and ravishing as the ultimate life form. He wondered if that's why he was given that title, because there truly was no one else in this world who could ever look as effortlessly handsome as he did. Maybe he was still a little immature, but he always got this dreamy feeling whenever they were alone together. No—Whenever their eyes met. Actually no, whenever he merely thought about him. He felt like melting from the inside, because even the way he just sat there and glared at nothing was so alluring. He supposed Shadow could have been categorized as a bad boy, as silly as that might have sounded, but maybe that's why he was so beguiled by him. He was stereotypically misunderstood and far from a bad person. He charmed him with the simplest of sentences, with the shortest amount of words. He made it look so easy to be romantic, despite not knowing a thing about it. It was so unfair with how smoothly he did it, sometimes not even realizing that he was being so suave. He was so innocently yet absent-mindedly enticing all the time, and that made the hero short of breath every moment they got close.
Realizing that they were both staring at each other for probably three minutes straight, Sonic laughed and Shadow just chuckled. The hero placed his cup down before leaning back. "Heheh...Okay, but for real though," He said with a lingering smile. "What was it?"
"I'm in love with you."
...
...
...
...Sonic blinked in surprise.
He didn't expect him to just say it outright.
"H-Huh?" His face was entirely red in mere seconds, his ears reddened to the very tips. "Really...?" He felt like it was stupid to ask, but at the same time, he still couldn't believe he just said that. He couldn't believe that...he meant it. "But," His voice went from shocked to confused. "Why? Err," He should rephrase that. "What I mean is, I know we've been dating and everything and well, with everything we just went through, we're definitely feelin' for each other now more than ever but...I guess, what I'm asking is," He hesitated in saying this, as he didn't want to sound insensitive to his sudden confession. "I just don't understand—Why me?" He asked sincerely. "Why did you want to start dating with me? You had your first kiss with me, I'm your first boyfriend, I'm your first everything and I don't know why you wanted that person to be me."
Shadow didn't say anything else yet, because he could see that Sonic still had more to say. He looked conflicted not with what he said, but with himself. The biohog only continued to stay silent and watched him carefully. "..."
"I mean," The hero continued without even realizing he was rambling. "I'm not the one who saved you from falling from the Ark, that was Eggman. I didn't help you realize the truth about Maria's wish, Amy did. I wasn't your first friend either, it was Rouge. If anything, you should be in love with one of the girls. Heh," He chuckled a little as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The only thing I've ever done for you is throw you a party eight years after we met. I don't..." He frowned and made a somber expression. "I don't deserve you, Shadow. You're so strong and you survived so much bullshit, and you came around and got everyone on your side. You don't need me, you never needed me. You could do so much better than me." He folded his arms under his chest as he stared down at their near-empty cups of lukewarm tea. "I let you starve to death, I let you watch me die...And to top it off, I'm just sloppy seconds. I don't deserve you at all, especially not your love."
There was some truth to what he said, but there were also some half-truths and some straight up lies. Lies that Shadow personally did not appreciate, lies that did nothing but serve as self-loathing for Sonic. "...If you hadn't helped me transform into Super Shadow, I wouldn't have been able to fulfill her wish and right my wrongs. Despite Gerald's teachings about my abilities, I never knew I could do that. And I wouldn't have been able to defeat my bio-brother, or Black Doom. Amy is a sweet young woman who's friendship I value, but I just don't feel anything for her despite what she's done for me. Rouge was my friend first, yes, but she wasn't the greatest person either." He saw that Sonic had looked up from the table to share a gaze with him. "With her own stained reputation, she didn't truly give me the chance to redeem myself, but you did. Redemption was probably the best gift I was ever given, a gift so invaluable that I believe I owe my very life to it. You always believed in me, even when I betrayed your trust. One could argue you would have done that for anybody. After all, Knuckles was once your enemy, too. But he didn't do what I did, and unlike him, I was once just as bad as the doctor. And you still chose to look past that." He faintly smiled at the memory. "You've always been kind to me, I just never reciprocated it due to my own myopia. But it wasn't until now that I realized just how much of a rarity you are."
See, that's how he did it.
And it was just so sudden—Bam. Charmed. Blushing harshly again, Sonic shook his head. "I'm not...You're..." Words were failing him and he couldn't get it together quick enough. "I'm not that special, Shadow."
"So says you," Shadow easily retorted. "But I happily disagree. I don't think you understand, Sonic." His voice hardened with conviction. "You caused one of the biggest changes of my life, and as such, you're a very important asset to my story. I wouldn't have made it this far without you, friend, lover or not. If I wasn't so blinded by my own darkness, I would have looked past the surface of your beauty a lot sooner. But now that I've seen more of it, I can't get enough of it. I'm..." He made a difficult expression, as it was somewhat hard to describe just how much he felt for him. "I can't even go to sleep without thinking about you. I rarely ever had dreams after I was created, now I dream of you every single God damn night. I hate that you're not in bed with me when I wake up, I hate not being able to touch you or even look at you. I hate that I can't hear your voice. Which is baffling because you're so damn annoying." He made a large sigh. "...And despite that, I still want to be near you every second of the day. I'm absolutely infatuated with you and there's nothing I can do." He laid it all out for him, there was nothing more he could say. "I'm in love with you, Sonic. I've never told anyone I loved them, not even Maria. It's another one of my biggest regrets, but I won't make the same mistake with you."
Sonic was going to turn into a red blur if Shadow kept talking like that. In all seriousness, he had no idea how to even approach such a confession. "I-I...I um..." He had never felt embarrassment like this before. He had never been confessed to like this, not with such passion. When Amy confessed, she was just a preteen proclaiming a childhood crush. While he was flattered at the time, he just didn't feel the same way. But this...It was so intimidating, Shadow's words were so heart stopping that he didn't know what to do. He's never felt like this before. "But," If he kept this up, he wouldn't be able to handle it. "But aren't you worried about going too fast? We've only been dating-"
"I don't care." Shadow exclaimed with a tired expression. He didn't care about semantics, he just wanted him. "I know you're more experienced than me, and I know you said we should wait but I don't give a damn." He said curtly, a little frustrated that he wasn't getting it. "I don't want to stay like this, I want to be on another level with you. I want you. I don't know what else I have to say or do to prove to you that I want this to happen. I'd die for you all over again if that's what you want me to say, because I would."
A nearly painful pang bumped in his heart, making Sonic flinch. "You'd...You'd go through all that...The kidnapping and...Starving...For me? R-Really?"
"Yes." The GUN agent said without an ounce of hesitation. He then reached over and grasped the hero's hand, which was trembling. "But I know you'd also want me to be happy. So if need be, I'd happily live for you too."
Another pang swelled up in his chest, it nearly made Sonic grasp his own chest.
Oh God, why did it feel like this?
Is this...what it felt like?
A flash of something powerful tugged at his brain, it was shooting off so many signals of emotions. He could feel that it was getting hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to see. His senses were getting clouded with so much emotion and it almost hurt. The way he was grabbing his hand, the way he was talking, the way he was so genuinely professing his love, it was eating him alive. He couldn't handle this, he had never been in this situation before. He was panting and he didn't even know why, he just felt so hot, like his entire body was set ablaze in a never ending inferno of ardor. It was so hard not to react, not to act like it didn't bother him, to act like he didn't love this. Like he didn't love him. But he couldn't, he couldn't lie anymore. He couldn't lie to him, he couldn't lie to himself. He wanted this, he needed this. He needed him. He didn't care which way, he didn't care if they never spoke to each other again after today. He just needed to hear him say that again.
That he loved him.
A little concerned, Shadow stood up from his seat and got closer to kneel down and lift Sonic's chin up with his finger. "Hey, you're red all over again. Is your fever back?"
Oh Chaos, he was touching him. He was touching him, he was touching him. He's touched him before and then some, why was he acting like this was new? Why did everything feel so different now? "I..." He was panting even harder, he turned his body away from him so he couldn't see his face. This was so humiliating. "S-Sorry..." He tried to catch his breath. "I just didn't expect you to say all that, and I...I didn't know how to handle it and..." What was he even saying anymore? He didn't know, he couldn't think.
"If I offended you-"
"Shadow, I fucking love you."
"...!" Now it was Shadow's turn to turn completely red. He didn't expect him to just spout it out like that. "You do?" He watched the blue hedgehog get up and pace around his room, his hands dragging over his face. He looked more stressed than happy about the mutual feeling.
"Fuck-God damn it..." Sonic cursed under his breath. "I had no idea I'd end up feeling like this about someone ever." He sighed as he slowed to a stop, his back towards the elder one. "You were right there in front of me the whole time. The whole time..." He mumbled with disbelief. "Even when I was young and stupid, the few times I was able to sit down and just talk to you about nothing was so freakin' enlightening. I hate that I was so quick to bicker and fight with you, instead of listening to you just speak about random shit because it always made me feel so...Awake. You always helped me look at things a different way, working smarter and not harder and just being the best supporter I've ever had." He finally turned around to glance at Shadow with the biggest and brightest smile he ever saw him wear. "When everyone else failed, you always picked up the slack. When no one else could help, you were there to save me. You come in clutch every single time without fail, and I thought that's all I would get from you." He walked closer, his voice tingly with a kind of powerful passion he never knew he could have. "When I got more, you turned me into putty. Hahaha," He laughed lightheartedly. "I get so weak in the knees, I can't talk right, my chest hurts, it gets hard to breathe...Everything about you is just perfect. Your sex, your body, your mind, even your darkness—I don't care, I want all of it. I want all of you, Shadow. I didn't want to admit it, because I knew feeling like this would change me and...I was scared of that." His tone grew more quiet at the realization. "But you broke it out of me and I don't care about any of that anymore. To hell with pride...I love you, too."
Relief and pure joy spread throughout Shadow's chest. "Sonic..."
"That's what I wanted to tell you," The blue one stepped close and grasped Shadow's palms with stiller, more confident hands. "I was gonna confess too, I just needed more time to think it through. You beat me, you got there before me. I gotta admit, I'm a little salty," They both chuckled at this. "But hearing you say that, everything just...Fell outta my mouth and I couldn't stop rambling." He tilted his head. "That's what you do to me." His hands rubbed upwards to his arms. "But," He added sensually, his voice growing deeper. "That's not all I wanted to tell you." He made a carnal smirk. "I was gonna ask if we could move on to the next level too, in a different way..." He rubbed his hands up to his shoulders and suddenly pulled him much closer towards his body. "I sent Tails to Amy's place for a reason, you know."
Wait, what did he mean by that?
Feeling a little caught off guard, Shadow carefully asked just what the blue speed demon was referring to. "...What do you mean? Isn't the next level saying 'I love you'?"
"Aww, there you go bein' all cute again~" He caressed the sides of Shadow's muzzle and leaned closer as he whispered his next set of words. "Nah, I wanna go all the way with you. Which means, I don't want any of that soft shit we've been doing before to get off. No grinding, no frotting." He chuckled at Shadow's stunned expression before continuing. "I want you to fuck me. I want you," Their noses were touching. "Inside of me. And I want you to fuck me, as hard as you can."
Ha.
Haha.
Hahaha-Shadow was bleeding profusely from his nose now. "..."
"Oops!" Sonic busted out laughing. "Heheheh, I keep forgetting you're not quite used to my shit talking yet." He walked away to his nightstand to grab some tissues from a tissue box he kept nearby. He returned and placed them in Shadow's hand, because he currently wasn't moving and was stuck. "Okay babe, I love you, but the blood on my carpet-" Shadow suddenly sniffed it back up before any droplets fell. "Thank you~" He kissed his cheek and traveled over to his bed and plopped down. As Shadow was wiping up his nose, Sonic was taking off his shoes, gloves and socks. By the time Shadow had collected himself, he saw a naked blue hedgehog who was patiently waiting for him to be finished. He was laying down across the sheets with his chin leaning on his bare palm. His blue thighs and legs were magnificently toned, his peach arms were waiting to grab and embrace him in a strong hold, and his lime green orbs were faintly glittering with desire. It almost seemed like his fur was sparkling, too. He was waiting for him. "You done~?"
"Chaos..." Shadow whispered to himself. This was really happening, he was just sitting there waiting for him to take him. To have him. "Faker, listen-"
He slowly wagged his now bare finger. "Come here~" He patted the mattress. "C'mere and show me what you've got, big boy."
The biohog felt so out of place all of a sudden, his ears were steaming. "I-I..."
Sonic made a facetious sad grimace. "Aww, you don't want me~?" He opened his legs widely, causing Shadow's eyes to bulge out of his skull. "I promise I'll be gentle with you, I know it's your first time. You can have this," He couldn't stop staring, he just couldn't stop. "All you like, for as long as you want. You can tie me down, make it so that I can't leave the bed. I promise, I'll let you keep going 'till you've had your fill. Let you fuck me for as long as you need. And you can fill me up as much as you want~"
Holy fucking shit.
Shadow felt like the room for spinning for a moment. "Sonic," He needed to get control of this conversation and fast. "Listen, for a damn second." He said tersely, blowing his nose on the tissues. To show a little respect, Sonic closed his legs and let him speak. "Are you telling me, you're willing to...Lay on your back for me?"
"Yes." No sultry jokes, no sexual undertones, just a straight forward answer. "I told you, I'd do anything for you. And FYI, I'd die and live for you too. I mean that, genuinely. I'd do it all again if it meant we get to stay together. You beat me to saying that, too."
Flustered, the ultimate life form swallowed harshly. He's always wanted this, he literally told him the other day that he wanted this. Why was he hesitating? Was he scared? "If...If I..."
Sonic just frowned at this and shook his head. "I don't care if you finish too soon or anything dumb like that. We already had this talk before: If you screw up, I'll help you. Plus you've got crazy good stamina, so-"
"No." Shadow said firmly. "What if I hurt you?" He didn't want to hurt him, he'd die inside if he ever hurt him.
The blue one was flattered that he was concerned, but he didn't need to be. "Babe," He sat up and gave him a reassuring smile. "If I was a virgin, yes, you'd probably hurt me. You're pretty big. But," He motioned again for him to get closer. Slowly, Shadow approached the bed before sitting down at a safe distance. "That's what foreplay is for. There's plenty of steps for preparation, we'll do that and I'll be ready for ya. It's no biggie. And of course, I'll show you how to do it." He could still see reluctance in his expression. "Shadow, look at me." He instructed softly. This caused the striped hedgehog to finally meet his gaze. "I'm going to be okay. If you hurt me, I'll tell you and you can stop for a moment. Okay? We'll go slow...at first."
With a small sigh, Shadow closed his eyes and nodded. "Okay. I understand."
"Good," Sonic then reached over and gripped him by the chest hair. "Now stop playin' like we're kids, take off your God damn clothes and get over here already."
10:00 PM
After the biohog's clothes were discarded, he was pushed more onto the bed and shoved down onto the pillows. Sitting up, he saw Sonic digging in the drawer of his nightstand. He pulled out a bottle of...What was that? He placed it onto the sheets before seductively crawling over and getting in between Shadow's legs. He pushed them apart and before he could even get closer, he saw that his job was already half done. Embarrassed, Shadow looked away as his member was fully unsheathed and already half-erect. Sonic had riled him up and neither of them didn't even realize it until now. Licking his lips, the blue one leaned down and stuck out his tongue. His length immediately reacted, pulsing from his saliva just barely hitting the head. It was ready for him and he hadn't even started yet. Smiling at this, Sonic softly placed some of his mouth onto the tip and lightly sucked against it. Shadow stiffened, his legs widening just a little more. He glided his tongue underneath, feeling the veins in the organ tightening with blood rushing more to the shaft. He licked a little more, before putting the entire head into his mouth. Shadow inhaled sharply, his breathing pattern becoming slightly rougher. His tongue wrapped more around the flesh, while his mouth provided a warm and wet cavern to rest in.
He moved his mouth a little lower, getting an inch or more in. He slowly went up and down, lightly sucking and licking the tan member. Sonic hummed in delight, he loved the taste of his cock in his mouth. Feeling it throb, pulse and flinch under his touch, it was a feeling like no other. He loved that he could have Shadow like this, enslaved to his every pleasurable whim. He suddenly pushed more of his length down his throat, causing his lover to groan in pleasure. His spit slathered nearly all over the entire phallus, making it easier for him to go up and down even faster. "Sonic..." Shadow whispered, reaching out and caressing the top of his head with gratitude. Involuntarily, his hips started to buck right against his face. He didn't meant to, it just felt so good. He didn't want to nearly choke him to death again so he'd try and control himself, but it was getting harder to do that with every second that past. He moaned lightly every time he felt himself reach down deeper in his throat, still wondering to himself how he got so good at this. It didn't matter that he slept with others before him, he still shouldn't be that good at this. It was driving him crazy. He went a little faster, and Shadow gratefully enjoyed the increase in pace. But there was one thing he enjoyed more—The fact that he was now completely down Sonic's throat. His uvula almost got smacked over and over, and he didn't gag at all. His lips touched his pelvis, before letting almost all of it slip out of his mouth and doing it all over again in quick succession.
Shadow grunted and gripped his fingers in his quills, thrusting his hips harder against his mouth. If he was able to do that on his own without choking, he should be able to handle this without choking, right? As he did so, he saw Sonic glancing up at him erotically, humming in contentment that he was using him like a sex toy again. He wanted him to use him, he wanted him to choke him. He wanted to gag, he wanted to feel every centimeter of his dick in his throat as much as possible. For the first time in a while, Shadow's eyes began to glow bright red as he thrusted himself harder and faster. He gripped the sides of Sonic's head, forcing him to take him in and out of his mouth without any mercy. He wanted to control himself, he wanted to be a good boy, but he couldn't. He couldn't resist it, he wanted him to take every fucking thrust he gave him. Sonic wrapped his arms around his waist, gripping his back and allowing him to continue face-fucking him as roughly as he pleased. Shadow began to hear that amazing gagging sound, that exhilarating noise of slurping, gulping, choking and constraint. He moaned louder, this felt so good. Those little noises he was making made it feel even better and he needed more.
In seconds, Sonic was on his back with his mouth filled with Shadow's length, his muzzle hidden between his legs as the striped hedgehog humped himself against his face. Panting, Shadow laid his face against the blankets and gripped them in between his fingers as he drove his hips in and out of his throat. "Ahh..." He could feel his sack smacking against his chin repeatedly, and Sonic could feel his now completely hardened erection striking down deeper inside his mouth. He held Shadow's waist tightly, he didn't want him moving from this spot. He'd let him fuck his mouth as long as he desired. Then, the blue one did something quite unexpected. When Shadow did another thrust, this time, Sonic did not let it slip back in his mouth. Taking a moment to gasp for air, he pushed Shadow up more to get something else in his mouth. Hungrily, he slipped one of his balls between his lips to suck. "A-Aahh!" Shadow's back arched and his legs spread opened significantly. "Ahh...! Aahh..." He buried his face in the sheets as he listened to his lover slurp his testicles against his mouth. He had never done that before, he was never touched like this before. He didn't know how to feel but he did know one thing: That felt fucking incredible. He could feel Sonic's tongue dip against his taint, and Shadow nearly ripped up his sheets like tissue paper. "Fuck...fuck...!" He moaned loudly and almost submissively. He truly didn't expect him to do that, but he definitely wasn't complaining. If he kept this up, he was going to-"Cumming...I'm cumming-!"
Suddenly, the blue one slipped him from out of his mouth and stopped.
He patted Shadow's ass to let him know he could get off of him now. He truly did not want that to end, but he knew there was much more they had to do while the night was young. Panting heavily and sweaty, he slowly crawled away from Sonic and sat back against the headboard. He closed his eyes tightly as he registered all that pleasure in his brain, still mumbling mewls under his breath. It was like he could still feel him sucking against him even now. The glow in his eyes faded a little, not completely but not as bright as before. He held his hand over his head, not only winded but most certainly dazed from such an experience. He almost came right then and there. Sonic cleared his throat with a few short coughs, but he was okay. He reached behind his head to fix his quills before glancing over at Shadow, who was having a mental crisis from all that pleasure at the moment. He snickered impishly. "Feel good, huh?"
"Holy fucking shit." He might have seen God for a moment there.
"Pffft." Now, it would be his turn. "Now," Sonic laid back onto the mattress and raised his legs up so high that they were on either side of his head. Sonic forgot the name of the pose in yoga, but he remembered Rouge saying how it was a really advanced position and she was very upset she couldn't do it like Sonic could. He had already unsheathed his own peach colored length, and it was already hard from sucking Shadow off. It was leaking precum against his stomach, and his tight entrance was staring him right in the face. "I need you to do me a big favor-" Sonic tried to instruct him on what to do, until he saw a feral spirit jump right into Shadow. His eyes immediately started glowing again and he stared ravenously at his compromising figure before slowly making his way over to him. His member was dying to get inside of him, especially like that. However, Sonic stopped him quickly. "Ah ah," Shadow froze with a disappointed frown. "No, bad boy. You are not fucking me like that, not yet. You'll kill me. That's why," He pointed his finger downwards. "I need you to take that beautiful tongue of yours and lick me up~" He made a pleading pouty face. "Pleeaaaase~? If you don't, you might tear me up down there. It's been a long time for me and I don't wanna get hurt-" A thick tongue was immediately smushed against his entrance. "O-Ohh my God-" Sonic shuddered when he felt Shadow ardently slobber against his hole. He was crouched over him, strongly gripping his blue legs with his face buried in his crotch. "A-Aahh...Ah wait-Ahh!" As payback, he licked against his taint this time. "M-Mmnnn~!" Sonic moaned delightedly.
His tongue was slightly bigger than Sonic's, so it had a lot of range to work with. He groped his hands against his ass as he dug his tongue against his him, licking and sucking against it roughly. He's honestly been dying to do this the moment they started dating, his ass was perfect and now he had the privilege of tasting it. He took one hand and grasped Sonic's shaft, causing his eyes to widen in lustful shock. He began to stroke him vigorously, ceaselessly pushing his tongue harder and harder against his closed off hole. He wanted it to open so badly, he wanted to taste the inside of him. The blue one's mouth was agape the entire time, he didn't even get to finish explaining what he wanted Shadow to do, but he was so stuck in pleasure that he couldn't stop him. His eyes were slightly rolled back, lying helplessly against the mattress as he continued to watch his boyfriend lick against him. Finally, he made a breach. It was a very tiny opening, but he wasn't complaining. He understood anatomy well enough to know that there were a lot of muscles here. He didn't want to be too rough once he pressed it inside of him, and he absolutely didn't want to hurt him. Using caution, he gently pressed the tip of his tongue against his entrance. Feeling him push inside with his lingua was doing many unexplainable things to the blue hedgehog. Most notably, causing him to lose his mind. He was so shocked that he was doing this that he was still slack jawed in awe. Shadow paid him no mind and continued to prod at the entrance, pushing just a little bit more inside.
Okay, okay wait a minute.
Wait a damn minute. "W-Wait...!" He felt his tongue push in even more and he moaned very loudly. "Aaahhh! Fuck, oh fuck, oh shit...!" If he kept doing that he was going to cum. "S-S-Shadow fucking wait...!" He cried as he grabbed one of his quills and yanked him off, moaning loudly once more when he felt his tongue leave his entrance. Quivering, Sonic panted harshly as he tried recovering from that onslaught of oral sex.
A string of spit connecting from Shadow's tongue to Sonic's hole lightly swung as his face was forcefully lifted up from his work. "What...?" He was speaking as if he was still dazed from earlier. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Chaos..." Sonic murmured drunkenly. "Y-You didn't let me finish, man..."
Shadow blinked. So? "...Okay?"
"There's a bottle of lube on the bed," He pointed weakly to the aforementioned bottle, which was only a few inches away from Sonic. "I was gonna tell you to use that and put it on your fingers. It makes getting inside easier-" A flash of green illuminated his eyes as the bottle was suddenly already in Shadow's hand. "Did you-Did you use Chaos Control for the fucking bottle?"
The biohog was already pushing the cap open and squeezing its contents onto his fingers. "The quicker I get inside of you, the better." He already got the gist of it, it was lubrication. Lubrication was used to loosen rough friction between objects, it was basic physics. Two plus two equals fish, it wasn't hard to understand. He didn't have to vocally explain it to him and he didn't care for the unnecessary sex-ed right now. He was a virgin, not stupid. Once enough was coated on his fingers, he tossed the bottle somewhere on the bed and hovered them over his blue hole. Slowly, he pressed his index finger against his entrance first. Sonic whined in pleasure, desperate for something to be put back inside of him. "Quit bitching," Shadow growled. "Trust me, I want to be inside of you more than you do at this point but I don't want to hurt you." The tip of his finger easily slipped right in, causing the blue one to gasp. "Now, when I get my fingers inside of you, and when I fuck you with them," He spoke in a hushed grunt. "You better not stop me. I won't be held responsible if you cum." Soon, his entire finger had penetrated him. He slowly pulled outwards, before pressing it back in with the same pace. As he did so, he continued to stroke Sonic's member with his free hand.
Drooling a little bit, Sonic closed his eyes in bliss as he was fingered. "M-Mmmn...Mmmn..." His moans were much lighter this time and not as frantic, and in Shadow's opinion, he was making a very cute face. His face was stuck in pleasure, lightly biting his own finger as Shadow increased his pace and force. "Mmhmm...Just like that..." He praised Shadow softly, his tail wagging with satisfaction. Seeing that his finger was slipping and sliding in and out without much trouble, he figured he was ready for another digit. When he pressed his ringer finger in, Sonic's eyelids clenched tighter. "Y-Yes...Yes..." His legs shook a little, he gasped every so often at the feeling of him hooking them inside. He did the same as before, pulling out and pushing back in at a steady pace before going quicker. Sonic bit his own finger harder, mewling with gratification. It was now the younger one who was completely at Shadow's mercy, and he was so drunk with pleasure that he wouldn't be able to stop him this time for any reason even if he wanted to. He could feel them press and stretch his walls, easing the muscles a little more with every break of infiltration. And then, Shadow added a third finger. Sonic reluctantly released a yelp, he was reaching deeper inside of him. "A-Ahh..." Feeling all three digits move around inside was invigorating, he loved the sensation. Soon he'd need something much bigger, but this would do for now. The ease of the third finger was allowing Shadow to move his hand much faster than before, and soon enough, he pressed inside of him so hard that he hit something. "...!"
Smirking, the ultimate life form kept going without any sympathy. "Ah, there's your prostate..." He noted casually as he flicked his fingers in and out of his hole at a rapid rate. Sonic whimpered sexually and pathetically, planting his face in the covers so he couldn't see his flushed muzzle. "It's funny, you're cute when you-" He thrusted his fingers inside this time. "-Act like this." He knew that if he kept hitting this area, Sonic would release in seconds. "Hearing your little whimpers and moans is only making me harder, I hope you'll be ready for that." As tantalizing as it was to keep going and watch him suffer, he decided to wait until the real deal was inside of him. He would only cum if he allowed it. He slowed to a stop, before carefully pulling his fingers out one at a time. When the final digit exited his entrance, his hole twitched and retracted, his fluids dripping from his hand. Trembling, the blue one fell out of position to lay sprawled against the sheets. His chest heaved in and out as he panted, his hand having gripped the sheets so hard that there was now a small tear in it. Shadow reached over for the tissue box and wiped his hands clean as he watched his younger lover struggle to gather himself. "Karma's a bitch, faker."
"..." Sonic had no words.
"Now, can I..." Shadow moved closer with a gentler tone. "...Have you, now?"
36 - END - 36
Chapter 37: Euphoria
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow become one with each other.
Notes:
The beginning portion of this chapter contains very heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
37 - Euphoria - 37
10:30 PM
Finally, Sonic sat up against the headboard and shared a passionate gaze with Shadow. He laid back against the pillows and opened his legs to him.
"...Please. Take me."
The ultimate life form was greatly gratified from hearing that as he stroked himself, as the lube was fully coated on his member as well.
Shadow straddled him down, continuing to lock a gaze with his lime green eyes with his own amber red. He leaned close and they shared a heated kiss. As they kissed, Shadow softly seized his waist with both hands. Sonic's legs rested against his sides as he gradually pushed his hips forward. They both broke the kiss the instant the biohog began breaching inside. He felt extreme tightness, while Sonic felt a rigid, large length press into his body. He embraced Shadow tightly, his hands gripping his back harshly as he hissed at the pain. It had been so long, he thought it'd be a little smoother than this. It hurt, but feeling him break through his walls was a feeling like no other. Breathlessly, he gasped and clenched his eyes shut. He felt Shadow kiss his forehead and his cheek as he pushed a little more. He felt his nails dig into his spine. "Do you-" Shadow stifled a moan, the tightness of his entrance was swallowing him. "-Want me...to stop...?" He saw Sonic shake his head stubbornly, he wanted him to put it all in. He didn't want to keep stopping, he wanted him and he wanted him now. Feeling the very breath get stolen from him, Shadow made a light gasp as he pushed himself completely inside. Every inch, every part of him was inside of him now. He laid his face against the side of Sonic's muzzle, lightly panting at the sensation.
Smiling a little, Sonic asked him how it felt. "...How do I feel?" He murmured.
Shadow initially responded by kissing him strongly. "Mmn," He still couldn't quite comprehend how stimulating this was. "I can't...I-I can't describe it...You're constricting me, I can't even move..."
"Just...gimme a minute..." Sonic winced a little, but his hands that were gripping Shadow were loosening. "I-I'm still adjusting...Once I'm ready," He rubbed his palms against his deltoids. "It'll feel a million times better."
"Better than this?" Shadow asked in disbelief. "I can't even imagine..." He could slowly feel the walls around him loosen, and as much as he wanted to get started and pile drive the hedgehog, he knew he couldn't. "And how do I feel?"
"Like a giant fucking yardstick."
The striped one slipped out a laugh. "You keep saying that."
"You are very big, Shadow." Sonic grunted uncomfortably as he felt his insides adjust to his size. "If I was a virgin, I'd probably be in the hospital."
"Okay I am not that big, hedgehog."
"Fuck you, yes you are. You wanna pull out real quick and measure it? My best guest is a mean nine inches at least."
Shadow narrowed his hazy lust-filled eyes at the blue one. "If I were nine inches, I'd be in your stomach and you'd be dead."
"I'm pretty sure you're already in the process of that-Oooh..." He sucked in a breath. "Shit...It's like you're tearing me apart..." He licked his lips with anticipation before mentally preparing himself. He was going to instruct Shadow to go ahead and move, because he didn't want to wait any longer. The suspense was killing him, he wanted it, even the pain. "...Go, do it."
"Are you sure?"
"Please, Shadow." He pleaded with glossy eyes. "I wanna feel you so bad, please, please fuck me."
...
...God he loved him.
It was steadily pulled out, causing the blue one to groan and fiercely stare into Shadow's glowing eyes. Before pulling all the way out, Shadow pushed back in. They both moaned simultaneously, but they never broke eye contact. As Shadow repeated this motion, they both continued to gaze in each other's irises, going along this ride together. When the biohog nearly pulled out again, he saw Sonic smile at him. Pain or pleasure, he just loved that Shadow was finally inside of him. They kissed again, still refusing to break their gaze. The kiss was long but simple, doing so as the elder lover continued to carefully push in and out. Each probe from within made the walls loosen just a teensy bit more, as if slowly inviting him to keep going. Sonic's body wanted him, it was becoming used to his length and it wanted more of it. It wanted him to imprint himself inside, to permanently claim this vessel for his own. As the constriction loosened, pushing in and out wasn't as difficult, which meant it was easier to accidentally increase speed and force. Worried that he could be hurting Sonic, Shadow searched his eyes for any protest, but he saw none. He only saw what he could describe as pure ecstasy. Sonic didn't want him to stop, he wanted him to keep going until they both would feel good.
Once again, he pulled out almost completely. Shadow was planning to make a calculated thrust. If this would hurt, that would mean they weren't quite ready to let loose yet. If it didn't, he could continue going faster and harder. Paying attention to Sonic's expression was crucial here, meaning that they had to keep eye contact no matter what. They finally broke their extended kiss, their lips a little sore from how long it lasted. That's when Shadow took the risk and suddenly thrusted into the blue one. "Ahh-!" A loud gasp slipped from his fawn lips, but it cut off just as quickly. His face was stuck in pleased shock as the biohog paused, not sure if he should continue or not. Well, Sonic was still giving him that wanting stare, so maybe..."A-Ahh...!" Shadow thrusted again to test out their progress, and a lovely moan drifted from his lips. In fact, he was even smiling a little. That was it right there—That means it felt good, so the ultimate life form had no reason to stop anymore. With a determined expression, he thrusted against him but he didn't stop. He kept doing it at a steady pace, one that wasn't too fast or too slow. He grunted each time he did so, as Sonic was still very tight, albeit in a more cooperative way. He also didn't nearly pull all the way out either, there would be no more teasing. There wasn't time for that anymore, they needed this to go to its very peak.
Shadow realized something—His insides felt invigorating. It was so good, so warm, wet and tight. He was right, he was so right. This was way better than grinding, rubbing or frotting. This was something beyond his expectations. His grip on his sides tightened, huffing at how sensational he felt from within. Every time he pushed against him, Sonic moaned blissfully and pet the back of Shadow's head. This felt great, but Shadow obviously wanted more. While still keeping his eyes on the blue one, he lifted his hand from his waist and used it to grope his peach chest. Sonic placed his hand on his, wanting Shadow to feel him more. He rubbed his thumb against his pectoral, until it felt something stiff. His pink tinted nipples were revealed, hardened from their love making. With a hungry lick of his lips, Shadow pinched his fingers against it, causing Sonic to freeze up and moan satisfyingly. He knew he was sensitive there, and he took advantage of it without any hesitation. With the pleasure against his chest distracting him, Sonic didn't even realize Shadow was going faster and harder until his latest thrust caused the bed to creak. His blue legs trembled and nearly punted Shadow right in the face as they raised up instinctively, his toes curling slightly. The biohog placed his legs over his shoulders, now with a better angle to thrust inside of him.
But as he kept going, Sonic was beginning to move his body against his as well, pressing himself more into his member with every motion of thrust that he made. Shadow gripped his thighs that were now lying against his torso, and increased his pace, his length reaching deeper within him due to the small spike in momentum. They were growling and glaring at each other with intense sexual passion, both of their eyes glowing brightly in the room with raw lust. Shadow could see it—He was challenging him. He wanted him to go even faster, to punish him even rougher. This wasn't enough for either of them, he needed him to piston himself more. Sonic bit his lip with impatience, smirking roguishly as a plot began to plant in his brain. Shadow couldn't tell what it was, he had no idea what he wanted him to do and he knew it. He wanted him to suffer in not knowing just what he'd do next. So far, the biohog had been exclusively dominative but he could tell Sonic was gladly going to test that to the highest extent. He sat up from the headboard, but Shadow could sense he was going to pull something. No. Now was his chance to have total control, and he wouldn't let him take it. The striped hedgehog seized one of his wrists and pinned him back down against the mattress, thrusting harshly with clenched teeth. He wasn't going to take this from him, he'd sit there and take it like he was supposed to.
Abruptly, Sonic's hand quickly reached out to grasp the side of Shadow's neck and gripped it tightly. He was knocked back down onto his back with the blue one pushing himself on top. He then shoved himself down onto the elder one's length, penetrating himself with Shadow's cock voraciously. Now he was the one straddling him, grinning wildly as he hopped up and down in his lap. "Did you really think-" He was interrupted with a great thrust. "-That I'd let you have all the control? Did you forget-" He moaned loudly with the next thrust. "-Who you're fucking? No baby...If you want me to be submissive-" He slammed himself down harshly, earning an almost pained groan of pleasure from the biohog. "-Then you've gotta earn it." He grabbed at Shadow's chest hair, gripping it tightly and using it as leverage to bounce himself up and down between his legs. If this was going to be their position as of now, then the biohog would at least make it more of a fight. He wrapped his arms around Sonic's waist strongly and smacked his hips into his ass with harder force. The bed's legs moved back and forth from the escalation of their fornication. Shadow glowered up at his younger lover silently as he kissed and nipped at his abdomen, his thighs jolting upwards with every new thrust. His sack paddled against his arse repeatedly, waiting to be drained of everything it had dwelling inside. "Fuck me...Fuck me harder..." Sonic hissed as his eyes luminously glowed neon green. "Fuck me harder...!"
Harder, he said? Shadow had no argument there. He suddenly seized Sonic's arms and drove himself in and out of him with ruthless motions, watching the hero arch his back in pleasure. "Why must everything-" He growled as Sonic panted heavily, sticky fluids were dripping in between their inner thighs and pelvises. "-Be a fight with you? Why can't you just-" His member reached beyond and even deeper levels of his body. "-Fucking take it? Quit being stubborn-" His eyes squinted at how good his ass felt on his prick, twerking itself against it remorselessly. "-And just let me have you!" Shadow was half-lying though, as he secretly loved the fight Sonic was giving him for dominance over their lovemaking, and they both knew it. Chuckling underneath the moaning, Sonic just leered down at his ebony furred lover as he rode him generously. In other words, that was too bad. Sonic would enjoy being on top, no matter how much he fought him for control. He loved it when Shadow got annoyed by his tenacity, as he most definitely would not submit no matter what was done to him. If Shadow truly wanted to get full control, he'd have to brutally ruin him against these sheets. At the same time, Shadow was internally trying to figure out how he'd do such a thing. Sonic always got flustered and caught off guard whenever Shadow went overdrive so...He had the perfect idea. He smirked back at Sonic as he listened to the plapping of his hips beating into his ass. He was going to regret going against his wishes in just a moment. "Heh, okay..." He mumbled ominously.
He embraced his body tightly, before pushing his legs to sit up from the sheets. Sonic was so delved into the pleasure that he didn't even realize what Shadow was doing until he suddenly pulled out completely. Dazed, he looked down at his lover with a confused expression. He was suddenly turned around and lifted from the bed, before being pulled against Shadow's body. Carrying him, they were now off of the mattress. His eyes slowly widened from what was happening, as he had an inkling as to what he was about to pull. Using his own flexibility against him, Shadow held up Sonic's legs upwards past his head and rested his calves against the biohog's forearms. He had his body in a full nelson-piledriver position, and Sonic panicked as his tan colored cock aimed directly at his retracting entrance that was hovering above it. It instantly drilled inside of him, causing Sonic to scream. If it wasn't for his impish smile, Shadow would have thought he really hurt him. But no—He absolutely adored this. He was forced to watch himself be constantly fucked with a strong, veiny member that was currently doing it's hardest to find and hit his prostate. He didn't know he was drooling at the sight, and he honestly probably still didn't because he was too distracted by Shadow pounding his ass like a well-oiled engine to notice. His entire length was going in and out, he was swallowing him whole from the inside. He was so out of breath and shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. His eyes were rolling back and he was quickly losing all sense of rationality. He could only focus on one thing and that was Shadow's beautiful and merciless cock.
Since Shadow wasn't very well versed in sex, he didn't know the names of any advanced positions. All he knew of was missionary and doggy style thanks to the curse and blessing of the internet, but nothing else. He had no idea what position he put themselves in, but that didn't matter because that wasn't the point. He had Sonic in a way where he couldn't stop him or wrestle for control, because he had his limbs completely restricted besides his lower legs dangling from his arms. Sonic could do nothing to get out of this, and he was panicking because he knew this would be it if Shadow kept going this rough. He didn't want to lose, and he was slowly but surely lagging behind from the extreme amounts of lust plunging inside of his mind. The only thing Shadow cared about, was driving himself inside of Sonic's body as deeply as he could to pulverize him. One way or another, he would obliterate him and make him remember this night forever, even if they both passed on from this world permanently. At this angle, he was sure to find his prostate by now-"AH!" Ah, there we go. His ears perked up in satisfaction at the sound of the blue one's screaming and loud, gasping moans of supreme pleasure. "Oh my God-Oh my fucking God...! You're fucking me so hard-Holy shit...! Don't stop, please God, don't fucking stop!" A sudden rush of climax fired off in their brains, causing them both to orgasm simultaneously. Sonic mewled as his peach member squirted blows of white onto the floor, while Shadow released plenty of his own essence inside of him. It dripped down their legs, but Shadow never stopped thrusting. "Yes yes yes-Keep going! Keep going and don't you stop until you make me cum again! Please, I'm begging you!" Sonic yelled desperately, feeling his eyes glossing over with small tears budding in the corners. "Give me all your fuckin' cum...I want it all inside me...! Fucking breed me!"
He read his mind, because Shadow had no plans on stopping just yet.
Back on the bed, Shadow was against the headboard with Sonic sitting upright in his lap. They held each other strongly as Shadow continued to pump full force of his still completely hardened erection inside of him. He was going full force with top speed, the bedframe slamming against the wall and the floor. If Sonic had neighbors, someone would have called the authorities from all the thumping and screaming. Shadow slapped his hands over his ass cheeks, squeezing them firmly as he humped him. Sonic collided his ass against his cock, feeling him hit his prostate constantly over and over. They kissed profusely, using tongue and sloppily twisting their glossas around each other's. They both moaned in the kiss reverently, a sense of almost innocent jubilation felt between the two of them. They were so happy to do this, so happy to feel each other at maximum and experience the full throttle of everything they've ever felt for each other. They were almost there again, they could feel it rise up in their stomachs. The more Sonic moaned, the more he sounded less sexual and more emotional. Shadow caught that a few tears were dripping down Sonic's face, and his eyes were barely focused. He would have been concerned if it wasn't for the fact that he felt like crying from the pleasure himself. They were overloading on it and they couldn't stop. Shadow made one last thrust, causing Sonic to scratch his nails down his lover's back and leave a mark that drew blood. He had hit his prostate once again directly, and that sent him over the edge. He arched his back and cried out as he released for the second time against Shadow's stomach. When he orgasmed, his walls tightened worse than before they even started, choking the very life out of Shadow's member. His glowing red eyes widened significantly. He hugged Sonic so hard that he could have fractured his ribs, moaning loudly as he released one last time inside of his body. White spewed from within him, dribbling out like a leaky faucet when he pulled himself out of him for the final time that night.
...
...
...
...They both were stuck in that position for at least a few minutes, panting and heaving as they quivered violently against each other.
"Y-You're...crying..." Shadow murmured.
"I-I'm...I'm okay..." Sonic whispered back.
...
...They both fell limp and collapsed onto the bed.
Both of their combined weight falling onto the mattress caused the bed's legs to give out and break, slamming the entire lower end of the bedframe against the floor and damaging the carpet. Sonic laid the side of his face against Shadow's chest, his eyes drained of tears and still rolled back. He looked half dead with some of his drool leaking from his bottom lip, yet absolutely enlightened and even joyful at the same time. Shadow was in a similar state, his eyes aimlessly staring up at the ceiling with a faint sense of complete and unadulterated euphoria. They weren't focused, and his pupils were almost thinned. But a cloud of heavenly bliss was drifting through them calmly. They laid on the now very broken bed just like this, quietly catching their breaths and easing away from the thrills of a powerful, dying orgasm. Their eyes' abnormal glow had faded away. They didn't know how, but their hands ended up meeting each other. Their fingers intertwined, and held each other's palms lovingly. Sonic pulled the biohog's hand close to his lips and kissed his digits one by one with a soft, happy smile. His other hand gently ran through the loose strands of his white chest fur, and he nuzzled his face against his torso. Shadow was flattered, because his body was so abnormally patterned compared to other Mobians, with the stripes on his fur lining all the way down to his fingers and feet. But Sonic loved them. He loved all of him.
He mustered the strength to crawl on top of him and leaned down to rest his forehead against Shadow's. He caressed the sides of his face before closing his eyes and placing an enchanted kiss onto his tan lips. Shadow wrapped an arm around his waist to hold him closer, deepening the kiss with much more gentleness than before. As they continued the kiss, he pulled the uneven and messed up covers over their bodies. A wave of true happiness fell over Shadow as he felt the blue one break the consummation to trail soft kisses down his muzzle and under his neck. It was like he was worshipping his body, and he was so pleased in knowing that he truly appreciated it. He ran his fingers down Sonic's back, feeling him lightly shiver under his touch. Even after all that, he was still so sensitive to his contact. He felt his tongue run against the side of his throat, lightly nipping at it with his teeth. That felt kind of good, Shadow made faint moans under his irregular breaths. He felt fangs poke at his skin to bite down firmly, but they didn't break skin. Shadow closed his eyes with a louder moan, reaching up his hand to pet the back of his head. He put so many hickies on his upper body, but the elder hedgehog did the same to him last time. It was only right, and he enjoyed it. He smiled a little at Sonic's playful nature. They were both dead tired and he was still toying with his food.
He then heard him whisper something against him. "...You broke my bed..."
Huh. Yeah, he did. Well, they both did. "...We both broke it."
"Hnn," Sonic lifted his head from his neck and pushed one of his own longer quills behind his shoulder. "I haven't done that before...No one's ever broken furniture with me. No one's ever made me cry during sex, either. Maybe you went too hard?"
"Or maybe they weren't doing it right."
With a smirk, Sonic placed the pad of his thumb onto Shadow's bottom lip. "Yeah," He replied sensually. "Maybe you're right." They shared a short kiss before he fully laid his body against him. He rested his arms onto his chest, his chin laying against them as they gazed into his lover's amber red eyes. "I think...That was the best sex I've ever had." He gave him a lazy wink. "Well, so far. I'm sure the next time we do this, it'll be ten times better." Sonic purred as his head was pet. "Mmn, you treat me so nice~"
"You're willing to do this with me again?"
"If you hadn't drained me out, I'd be willing to do it again right now. But cumming back to back like that got me real tired, dude." Sonic drew circles in his pectorals while they pillow talked. "I usually don't bottom, it's not really my thing...But I genuinely wanted you to have me. After all, you've been beggin' for it forever. And, well..." He smiled warmly with a blush. "...You're really good at it. It was my first time in a while letting someone destroy me like that, and I don't regret it at all. I don't want anyone else to touch me, because I know they'll pale in comparison to you. You made me feel better than I ever have in my entire life, I feel like I can do anything. Like I'm all that matters." Then, he said something that heated up the ultimate life form's face all over. "And then I look at you, and I see what really matters. You're all I'll ever need. I love you."
Shadow pressed a soft kiss onto his head. "I love you."
Sonic could feel that flustered, pathetically dreamy feeling rise in his chest again. The way he just said that...Chaos. His heart was beating faster and he felt completely infatuated. He didn't like being overly emotional, it was embarrassing. To try and ignore this, he decided to be playful. "Hmmmm, no I think I love you more."
The striped hedgehog raised a brow at him. "No you don't, I do."
"Noooo, I do."
Were they really challenging each other over this? "Okay, but I'm willing to die for you again."
"So am I, asshole." Sonic curtly replied.
"But-"
The hero promptly cut him off again. "Nope."
Shadow scowled. "Faker-"
"Denied."
Alright, now he was annoyed. "Do you really want me to bend you over and make you cry, again?"
Carelessly, Sonic closed his eyes and tapped his finger on Shadow's chest. "Oh I dunno grandpa, is your dick still soft? Can't do nothin' with that."
A small vein throbbed on Shadow's forehead. Like he told Sonic before, he loved being around him despite him being so fucking irritating. "Next time, I'm putting duct tape over your musky ass mouth."
"Ohohoooo! Kinky~"
"I cannot believe you right now." Shadow made a tired sigh. "I fuck you within an inch of your life, make you cry and break your damn bed, and you still have shit to talk. Does anything shut you up?"
"Mmmn, not sure." Sonic made lewd hand motions with his hands, pretending as if he was stroking someone off with his tongue hanging out and licking them all over. "A big, fat, hard cock in my mouth, maybe that?"
He winced at his use of language and physical visuals. "Chaos...Why are you like this?"
The blue one chuckled at this. "Because I'm a fresh, hot ass who's never been reprimanded with a good fuck before. You haven't quite tamed me yet, y'know. This was only step one, you still gotta do two through ten."
Shadow became a little intrigued by that notion. "So if I fuck you really hard nine more times, I might be able to get you to act more obedient..." He nodded his head, this was good information. "Yes, I think I can do that."
Sonic tilted his head mischievously. "Oh yeah? Can you? Many have tried and failed."
"Like I said, they didn't do it right like I did." He gave Sonic a lewd smirk. "Did they?"
A much more vulgar giggle left Sonic's lips. "Oh no babe, nobody can do it like you~" He then gradually frowned when he made a more sincere realization. That wasn't an exaggeration, this was truly the best Sonic's ever had. And if that's the case, there was nothing else left. If God forbid Shadow was taken away from him permanently, there'd be nothing else to enjoy. "Wait...Nobody can do it like you." He said slowly. "Like, seriously though—If we break up or if something happens to you, I don't think I'll ever wanna smash anyone else ever again. I mean, 'cause...It's not gonna be this good with anyone else, like...ever. It just won't, I know it won't. It'll just be disappointing because it'll never be as good as this." He made a worried expression and put a hand to his own face in alarm. He hit the peak, this was the best there was and there wasn't anything or anyone like Shadow. But if he hit the peak...Shit. "Oh no, now my standards are way too high. Damn it, Shadow!" He lightly punched his ribs with a pout. "Now what am I gonna do? You're too good and now I'm stuck!" He made a whine and planted his face against his chest. "I'll never find sex as good as this ever again...You asshole!" He continued to grumble stressfully. "That's assuming I'd be able to move on anyway, I probably wouldn't be able to get over you and...Fuck." He swore before sighing in defeat. "You stole me, you bastard. You got me in the palm of your hand and I didn't even see it." He made a frustrated groan. "How did you even do that? How are you doing this? How are you doing this shit right under my nose without me noticing!?"
Surprisingly, Shadow wheezed a hardy laugh at his complaints. Sonic blinked in shock, as he had never heard the biohog laugh that hard before. "Hahahaha..." He stifled his laughs down to a deep chuckle. "Heheh, all I can say is that I'm flattered."
Shiiiit, did he say all of that out loud? Ugh, he hated it when Shadow charmed him into spilling his guts out like that. And he didn't even mean to, it just happens. Blushing profusely after outing himself and hearing both an adorable and absolutely hot round of laughter from his elder lover, Sonic hid his face back in his chest fur. "W-Well it's not like I'm lying or exaggerating...I don't think I'll ever be interested in anyone else ever again after you, assuming us breaking up will ever even happen. I hope it doesn't, though." He made a slightly self conscious expression. "I'm pretty good at ruining nice things-" He was plucked on his head. "O-Ow!" He frowned at him with a glare. "Dick!"
"If I can't insult myself, neither can you. Stop it." Shadow said firmly, before smirking a little. "Now, go back to the part where you said I'm basically the best you'll ever have in your entire life. I really liked that." He motioned for Sonic to keep talking. "Go on, take your time. I'll wait."
Sonic pursed his lips at him. "Hmph..."
"If it's any consolation," The biohog said with a less playful tone. "While I don't have anything to compare you to, you do things to me that no one else can. Things you've made me feel before we got together." He caressed the side of his pouting face. "You made me get distracted at work with daydreams of you, made me have wet dreams about you, made it hard for me to live alone without you waking up next to me in my bed...I don't need to compare anyone else's sex to yours to know that I currently have perfection lying right beside me."
He did it again.
He did it again without even trying. Again.
And now Sonic's face was entirely red again. "You motherfu-See!" He exclaimed while pointing an accusatory finger in his surprised face. "You did it again! How are you doing that? Stop it!"
Shadow chuckled again with a lightly confused expression. "I don't understand, what did I do?"
August 13th
DAY 34: Wednesday
Midnight, 12:00 AM
After their session of pillow talk ended, Sonic asked Shadow to get some things while he changed the sheets. They really didn't feel like it, but after speaking sweet nothings to each other, they gained a small second wind. He put them in the washing machine, which was in a small laundry cubby next to his bedroom in the hallway. He took some spare sheets out of his closet and remade the bed. While doing so, Shadow went downstairs to fetch something to eat since they needed a severe recharge after all that. Sonic instructed him that he had leftovers from last night that he cooked for himself and Tails. There was a pot of grilled chicken soup, so he'd scoop some out for two bowls. He heated them up with chaos energy, taking only seconds for them to steam nice and hot. Microwaves were for normies, right? Since the biohog was in love with the hero's cooking, he had no protest to chow down on some homemade soup. Sonic also asked him to grab some water from the fridge and liquor from the cabinets in the dining room. He had a few bottles of stuff in there: some wine, beer and...Ooh, sake. He'd take that and a couple of shot glasses. After all, Shadow liked the exotic stuff. He found a large tray in the hutch that would help him carry all of these things upstairs. When he made it back to the bedroom, he saw that the bed was thankfully fixed, but the legs were still very much destroyed. The bed would have a bit of a lean, but they'd just have to live with it. Sonic would definitely have to buy a new one.
They took a quick shower together before returning to bed with their meals. Sonic changed the channel on the TV to stream some popular animated show that was trending at the moment. Shadow wasn't a TV person, and it was rare that he ever saw a film being streamed. He most definitely never watched animated shows, either. The last time he did, he did so with Maria. This wasn't entirely new for him, but it's been a long time. After they finished eating, Sonic was tapping away on his phone and not at all paying attention to the TV. Shadow resorted to laying his head against Sonic's chest for a change to relax and watch. He didn't realize until now how soft and plush his upper body was. Soon, Shadow found himself actually interested in the show. However, he grew ceaselessly tired of a certain character at the moment. He kept complaining to Sonic, which amused the hero since he didn't think Shadow would be curious in such a childish form of entertainment. After all, it wasn't an anime and it was mostly aimed at adolescences. "This character is so detestable, practically evil. Why is he labeled as a good guy? There was no redemption or anything." Shadow mumbled against his peach torso.
Sonic shrugged as he scrolled through his phone, his other hand lazily petting Shadow's head. "Dunno, that's just how the writers wrote him. Apparently he's a fan favorite. I think Tails used to watch this. Lil' man told me things went downhill by like, season three."
"This guy freaking sucks." Shadow deadpanned.
"Yeah..." The blue blur chuckled as he pet the biohog's head a little more. "Yeah he does."
Lowly purring at the attention, Shadow asked an inquisitive question. "...Who are you texting? Rouge?"
"Hm?" Sonic shook his head. "Nah, I had checked on Tails earlier, but now I'm deleting and blocking a bunch of contacts on my phone. No biggie."
The biohog blinked. "Why...?"
"They're just exes and assholes who don't need to have my number anymore." Sonic declared proudly. "I've been trying to get rid of all of 'em in the last few weeks, and I'm finally finished. They're all gone. After all, I'm happily taken already." He briefly smiled down at Shadow before turning his attention back to the phone's screen. "No one can have me but you now, and I want everybody to know it."
Blushing a little at this, Shadow smiled and nuzzled his face against his pectorals. "You're really good for the ego, sometimes."
The hero scoffed arrogantly. "Man, I'm the shit." He turned his phone off, and leaned over to grab the bottle of sake from the tray on the nightstand. "Hey, you wanna do a shot together?" He popped the top open and poured some in the shot glasses. He handed one over to Shadow, who sat up and graciously took the glass. The bottle was placed back down. Sonic leaned closely to plant a loving but short kiss onto his lips before whispering one thing, "I love you."
Shadow gave him a warm smile before clanking the glass against his.
He found true happiness—they both did.
"I love you more."
37 - END - 37
Chapter 38: Date
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow go on their second date.
Notes:
There is moderate sexual content in the beginning of this chapter.
Chapter Text
38 - Date - 38
Morning, 11:00 AM
The blue hedgehog squeezed his eyelids, before slowly opening them. His lime green eyes adjusted to his surroundings quickly, and he could feel the rest of his mind awaken from it's long slumber. He felt an absence of warmth beside him, with a pout he patted his bare hand around only to feel nothing. Where did his living body pillow go? He didn't feel like it, but he sat up and stretched his arms up behind his head. He made a soft sigh, as he was glad he got a lot of rest but he was even more glad that he got to experience probably the best night of his life. He faintly smiled at the memory, it was amazing. He was also very proud of Shadow for being so open and willing to do such an intimate act with him. Sure they had messed around before, but what they did last night was the real deal. In all fairness, Shadow had been wanting to do it for a while, but he was sure he was still nervous about all of it. He really grew from his naivete from their first date. He had more to learn, they both did, but that's why they were going to keep doing what they were doing and take this one step at a time together. After he cracked his neck and moved to get out of bed, he heard the door to his bathroom creak open. He felt steam drift into the bedroom and saw quite the delectable sight.
A nude black and red striped hedgehog stepped into the room and leaned against the door frame. "You're finally awake. Get up already, I need you to wash my back...Among other things." With that, he turned back around and slowly returned to the bathroom. Smirking, Sonic watched those perfect cheeks of his go up and down with every step he made. Well, couldn't turn down an invitation like that. He happily hopped out of bed, and quickly jogged to the bathroom before shutting the door. He was instantly pulled into the shower that was already running, and he was attacked with an exciting heated kiss. Shadow prodded his tongue into his mouth, initiating a more intense French kiss. Sonic didn't expect this to be how he woke up, but he didn't question the lustful attention at all. As they kissed, he felt Shadow rub his hand down his abdomen and in between his legs. Sonic moaned in the kiss instinctively, his cheeks slightly reddening. The biohog's palm pressed up against his crotch, his already slightly hardened member quickly being revealed. He felt him stroke his length in his hand very slowly, and Sonic sensually reciprocated by grinding his hips against it. Shadow broke the kiss with a thin trail of saliva drooping below their chins. "May I?" He asked gently. Sonic nodded without a word and parted his legs.
Shadow got on his knees and pressed his face in between his blue thighs. As the water hit their bodies, Sonic leaned his head back against the glass walls with a lengthy groan. He closed his eyes with a difficult expression, feeling his manhood harden and grow completely erect. It was being licked, teased, kissed and stroked all at once. He opened his eyes to curiously look down at his lover, who was staring right back up at him as he licked the base of his tongue around the underside of the head. The younger one's prick was fully hard in seconds, veiny and strong. He soon placed an inch in his mouth, sucking and moistening more of his length. With a small short lived chuckle, Sonic softly placed his hand on top of Shadow's head to lightly guide him back and forth against his pelvis. "What a great way to wake up-" He sucked in a breath. "-Mmnn...You like havin' me in your mouth?" When he saw him nod, he licked his lips. "Yeah? Such a naughty boy...No breakfast, no 'good morning'. You wanted this cock that bad, huh?" He saw him obediently nod again as he bobbed his head up and down, making Sonic grin sultrily. He saw Shadow's free hand reaching down below his own thighs and making stroking motions. "Mmm, and you're touching yourself too." Sonic grunted with pleasure as he pressed his fingers into his lover's quills. "You're not gonna choke, are you?"
As a retort against that, Shadow pushed more of his member down his throat. Sonic could tell he was still not well versed in performing a blow job, so he wasn't trying to deepthroat him. However, he was still doing a very good job. He actively stroked his length with increased speed, his eyes never leaving Sonic's gaze. He felt the blue one scratch behind his ears and caressed around his face, causing his black tail to wag in satisfaction. Biting his bottom lip, Sonic grinded his hips into his mouth. He then glanced at the shower wall to his right, and thought of something a little frisky. He glanced back down at Shadow and smirked before lifting one of his legs, bending it at the knee and placing his foot against the wall. His lower body was now very vulnerable and open, giving his striped lover much more space not just to suck him off, but to do a lot more. The biohog dragged his tongue from his erection, his sack, his taint, and soon his entrance. It was tight and not at all willing to retract and open up to him as of now, but that could be easily fixed. His lingua smushed itself against it, causing Sonic to stiffen and release a louder moan. He was still stroking him quickly, precum spilling onto the tiles below. He heard Shadow growl sexually as he sucked against his hole, feeling his own orgasm approach.
Sonic growled as well before pulling Shadow's hand away from his member so he could stroke himself, and pushed his head further below his arse. His elder lover gladly obliged him and wrapped his free arm around his blue leg to keep him still, continuing to eat him out as he rubbed his own length desperately. "Fuck..." He hissed while closing his eyes tightly. "Fuck...Ahh..." He pressed his fingers more into Shadow's head, inhaling sharply as he felt his tongue beginning to penetrate inside of him. "O-Oh shit..." His inner thighs twitched. "You're gonna make me cum..." He gripped his hold into his fur, roughly shoving his face farther against him. His legs trembled, his release imminent. "Shadow...Ahh...Nnmm that feels so good..." He gasped when he suddenly thrusted his hips forward, jerking himself roughly as white squirted from his fist. "A-Aah...Yes, yes...!" He could feel Shadow moan against him, and he looked down to see a small white puddle leak from underneath his lover. Sonic lowered his leg and panted lightly as his lover pulled his face from underneath his bottom. He was a little winded as well, letting go of his own softening length. He embraced the blue one and shared yet another kiss. The hero deepened the kiss and held Shadow closely.
After that pleasant little late morning surprise, they actually got to cleaning themselves and each other like Shadow initially requested. When their shower finished, they brushed their teeth and properly groomed themselves. They then exited together in a large towel that was wrapped around both of their dripping bodies. Sonic was playfully hugging the elder hedgehog from behind under the towel as they attempted to walk simultaneously, the hero's weight on the biohog making it slightly harder to navigate. Usually this would irritate the GUN agent, but he was chuckling a little from the younger one's childlike nature. "I can't walk right with you on me like this."
"Mmmn, but I love you~" He teased with a kissy face. "You should be extra nice to me and gimme a piggy back ride." He was suddenly lifted up onto Shadow's back. "W-Woah!" He blinked at this, he didn't expect him to actually do that. "Damn, I didn't think you'd actually do it." He made a gleeful smile and wrapped his arms around his neck from behind. "Heheheh, you must be in a good mood 'cause you're bein' super cute today."
"You could say that." Shadow said while carrying the blue one effortlessly, holding his legs and calves securely as they moved to the bed.
When he was gently let down onto the sheets, Sonic pulled half of the towel off of his body. "Don't you gotta go to GUN?"
The biohog shook his head, pulling the rest of the towel off while glancing at the hero. "I took off for a week. It'll be the first time I use my vacation days. Tower easily allowed it."
"Well in that case," Sonic trailed off. "I got's a proposition for ya." He said with an energetic tone.
"Which is?"
"I wanna take you out somewhere-"
The biohog frowned at this. "You are not splurging money on me again, hedgehog."
"Oh hush and hear me out." Sonic retorted. "Smashin's great an' all, but doncha wanna do more than just sex? We've only had like one official date, and I wanna do another one with you." He then made a sad pouty expression. "Unless you're tired of me already...?" His own gloves were thrown directly into his muzzle, covering his facetious face. "...So is that a no, or...?"
Shadow rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm not going to say no," He said curtly before sighing and bending down to pick up his own discarded gloves. "I just don't like that you keep throwing cash at me." He stood back up and looked at the blue hedgehog with a serious expression. "First the party, and now this...Why do you keep spending so much on me?"
Sonic pulled the gloves off of his face and made a bored expression, before simply shrugging. "...I don't understand that question." He said calmly while pulling on his hand wear. "It's my money, I want to spend it on you and you're more than worth it. I don't get what the problem is. Shadow," He gave him a puzzled look, slightly chuckling at such an obvious question. "Why would I not spend my money on you?"
Not at all expecting such a careless, nonchalantly affectionate answer, Shadow blushed and looked away. "Damn you..." He grumbled. "Fine, but when I splurge on you, I don't want to hear any complaints."
"Kay kay." The hero replied easily as he pulled on his socks. "I already made reservations last night anyway, so-"
Shadow froze. "You what?" He glared at Sonic. "You didn't even know for sure I was off from work. Where are you even taking me?"
"Meh, I had a hunch. But uhh..." Sonic did nothing but make a sheepish grin in return. "...You're really gonna hate me for this."
Station Square, Central District
Afternoon, 12:15 PM
All the hero could say to the GUN agent after that was, "Put on something nice for me today, 'cause I'm taking you somewhere fancy." He told him this while pulling on a white varsity jacket with blue sleeves and trims, the number "91" stitched in cobalt onto the back. It was thin, so he wouldn't be too hot under the weather's blazing sun, but it also looked rather pricey. He changed his footwear as well to a more fashionable pair of sneakers that were more for show than performance. He looked great, more so than usual, even if it was just two extra pieces of clothing on his person. After he dressed himself in front of the biohog while combing his hands through his long quills, Shadow felt a little underdressed. He didn't like the idea of this fancy date and was glowering at him the whole time. However, he eventually complied and zipped to his own home in Empire City to get a specific article of clothing that would compliment his appearance. When he returned to the blue blur's home in less than a few minutes, he was wearing a thin black jacket with red lining, its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It wasn't the most glamorous, but it was nice enough. He could tell Sonic liked this, because he almost saw little blue hearts floating above his head when he returned.
The hero then escorted the biohog out of the house and back into the city. It took about ten minutes to find the place deep within Station Square, as this was only Sonic's second time going to this location. When Shadow saw the building, he noticed how luxurious and exclusive it looked. This was a restaurant, the ones where celebrities liked to eat and entertain themselves. Its sign sat up top with a loud font, saying "The Eclipse." A canine-Mobian host dressed in an all black suit asked if they were here on a reservation. If not, they'd be asked to leave. His tone was rushed and bored, until he saw that he was currently speaking to Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog. His attitude immediately brightened and he bowed his head several times. When the hero politely explained that he already had a reservation, the host asked, "Oh yes, 12:30's VIP table for two hundred?" Sonic made a sweat drop at Shadow's shocked expression and nodded quietly. The host immediately guided the two deeper into the restaurant and towards their private VIP table.
Shadow instantly felt out of place and slowly turned to the blue hedgehog with an annoyed glower as they followed the host. "I should beat your ass for this." He hissed.
"Okay but-"
"Two hundred fucking dollars for a reservation, Sonic?"
The hero held his hands up in defense. "Before you throw acid in my face, I really, really wanted to take you to this place." His voice became empty of jokes or sarcasm, he was being sincere. "With all the craziness going on, I...wanted to do it sooner rather than later."
With a heavy sigh, Shadow shook his head at him. "Why didn't you at least ask me first?"
A guilty expression fell upon Sonic's face. "Well I...I wanted to surprise you." He sounded a little afraid that he offended the striped hedgehog, and a little dejected that he might not have wanted to come here after all. "Sorry."
He remembered how upset Rouge got when Shadow initially denied her to go to the party. Though she was mostly guilt tripping him, he could tell she still really wanted him to go and was slightly genuinely sad that he didn't at least consider it first. If it wasn't for him going to that party and taking a chance, he and Sonic might not have found attraction to each other. Thus, never getting together. He was doing exactly the same thing to Sonic who, unlike Rouge, was sincerely remorseful about surprising Shadow. The biohog began to feel rueful for his knee-jerk reactionary response. He was so used to brushing off or pushing away things being done for him that he forgot that it was his lover doing it for him this time. "..." He hated seeing Sonic look like that because of him. "...I don't mean to be ungrateful, I'm...I'm obviously flattered," His voice was softer than before. "I just...I don't deserve-"
His hand was grasped softly. "I know you feel like you don't deserve it. I told you that I feel like I don't deserve you," Sonic gave him a small warming smile. "But I got ya. And since I got ya, I'm gonna make sure we both enjoy ourselves. I already get that you don't like surprises, but..." He blushed a little. "Could you do this one for me? I won't do anything like this again, I promise."
No, that's not what Shadow wanted. He squeezed his hand back affectionately against his. "I don't mind if you do something like this again, I just..." He didn't know how to explain it.
"Still learning how to deal with it? Being catered to?" Sonic asked with a relatable tone. But then, he grimaced. "Oh no. I didn't insult you by doing this, did I?"
"No," Shadow damned himself for making this way more difficult than it had to. "No you're not offending me, you're doing quite the opposite actually. I just don't know how to put it without...You know."
Curiously, Sonic looked to the side with a thoughtful expression. "I noticed you took the picnic a lot easier, 'cause it was really simple and downsized. No money was involved, so you were able to digest that a little better." Figuring it out, the hero looked more satisfied that he understood Shadow's perspective a little more. "Now I get it. Y'know, I feel the same way when my friends do nice stuff for me, especially when it involves money. I hate it when Tails buys stuff for me. Buuut," He leaned against him with a loving expression, causing Shadow to feel a little flustered. He couldn't handle it when he looked at him like that. "We had a long talk about self hatred. Is it really that you don't deserve it, or that you don't think you deserve it? Couples splurge on each other all the time, why can't I do that for you?"
Blushing, Shadow averted his amber red eyes. "...I see what you're getting at, and you're right. Like I said, just give me time. I'm still learning."
The hero pressed a chaste kiss onto his cheek, not caring if anyone saw them. "I can do that. And maybe you feel like you don't need all this to have a good time with me, I feel the same way sometimes too. I wanted to try somethin' a little new. I won't keep bombarding you with stuff like this, I know it can be intimidating and even a little annoying." His smile turned from bright to excited. "But you'll see why I wanted to take you here and you won't be disappointed."
"Well," Shadow responded with a small smile of his own. "You have yet to make me feel that way, you usually never disappoint."
When the host stopped walking, he stepped aside to welcome them into the VIP room. Sonic thanked the host before pulling Shadow inside. "I wasn't just deleting numbers on my phone or texting Tails, I was making the reservation for this room." Speaking of which, it looked amazing. The paneled walls were gilded in silver, sparkling and shiny. The ceiling had a grand diamond chandelier and the floors were glossy with floral patterned linoleum. The room wasn't very big, as it was only big enough for a small party of people. The table was quaint but just as expensive as the other pieces of furniture in this room. The material looked like black onyx, and the barrel chairs were made with ridiculously soft and thick fabric. In the middle of the table was a small sized bouquet of flowers. When they sat down together at the table, Shadow still seemed very uncomfortable. The moment his eyes landed on Sonic, he seemed to look a little better though. He internally admitted it, he hated this. But if this was what Sonic wanted, he'd trust the process and compromise- "Wait for it." Sonic said with a grin. "Wait for it, wait for it, wait for iiiiiit..." Raising a brow, Shadow pointed a confused gaze at him until the lights dimmed a little.
The walls and ceiling weren't just paneled, it was so much more than that.
Because in just a few moments, they blacked out to reveal stars. Shadow's eyes widened. These walls weren't normal, they were LED. Before, they were in a normal fancy VIP room, but now they were in the beautiful mysterious void that was outer space. It was as if he was in a planetarium, watching several comets and dying cosmic giants fizzle all around him. The lights from their beauty reflected onto his body, his amber eyes glinting wondrously. His mouth was slightly agape, shocked at what he was witnessing. Sonic watched with a big knowing smile, loving how much Shadow was silently enjoying this. Breathlessly, the biohog marveled at it all. "...What is this?" He asked quietly.
The hero reached to the middle of the table to pull over a menu. "Besides the food, The Eclipse is known for their LED walls that show parts of outer space. Rumor has it, they're the same walls they use in local planetariums. It only does it a few times in the normal dining area, though. That's lame, so I wanted to get a room where it'd be constantly on while we eat. Plus," He said while plucking his finger through the pages. "I don't feel like gettin' hounded by paparazzi or fans. As much as I'd love to scream to the top of my lungs that I'm dating the motha effin' Ultimate Life Form, I can only imagine how annoying it would be to constantly see our faces plastered on online tabloids. Watching to see where we go, checking to see if we ever have a hiccup in our relationship, crap like that."
Shadow couldn't even respond because he was too distracted by the room's atmosphere. "Yeah..." He mumbled, making Sonic giggle.
"I told ya this place was nice! I know it's not your scene, but it's still pretty dope." He placed down the laminated menu before digging in his pocket and holding up a small cylinder of chap stick. After he uncapped it, he dragged it over his lips, causing Shadow to glance at him and squint his eyes. Seeing that he was staring at him, Sonic blinked. "What?"
Shadow couldn't believe what he just saw. "I just never took you for the pretty boy type. Huh," He thought about what he just said, then eyed Sonic up and down. His eyelashes were already naturally long, and he smelled and dressed very well..."Then again, saying it out loud, it seems pretty obvious now." He definitely didn't have that vibe when he was younger, sleeping on tree branches and living off of the wilderness despite having a home. One would expect he'd smell and look like some wild drifter. 'Guess he grew out of that.
Rolling his eyes, Sonic placed the cap back on the stick and put it away. "We all don't have immortal, glowing skin like some people, so I gotta keep these babies nice and soft. I'm kissable for a reason, babe." He wasn't lying about that one.
After a small while, a Mobian female waitress with a black suit dress entered the room to visit their table and gave them glasses of sparkling water before returning for their orders. Shadow took a few minutes to look over the stupidly exorbitant menu, before settling on what he wanted. Sonic gave him terse instructions not to get anything cheap, or else he'd order for Shadow on his own without his consent. Begrudgingly, he obeyed and knew what he wanted when the waitress returned. As they waited, the biohog noticed the flowers on the table and began to think about what Sonic would like if he were to gift him a bouquet. However, he wasn't sure how to ask without sounding cheesy or overly sensitive. Hell, would Sonic even like flowers? This caused Shadow to just keep staring holes into the plants, making Sonic chuckle under his breath. He already knew what he was thinking.
"I like cornflowers." The hero suddenly said with a casual air.
Blinking, Shadow glanced up at him. "Corn...flowers...?" He repeated slowly. He didn't expect that answer.
The blue one nodded. "I saw 'em in Amy's shop one day and I really liked them 'cause they're blue like me. She says 'they represent delicacy and refinement'. She also told me that in old history, young men would wear them as broaches to show that they were in love. If the flower shriveled up and died too quickly, it was taken as a sign that their love was unrequited." He then shrugged causally as he pulled out his phone and checked for messages from Tails. "None of those things represent me, but y'know, I think they're pretty." He then looked up from his phone. "Yours?" He asked with a more interested voice. "I'd initially guess red roses but that's too predictable. You're cooler than that."
Hmm, a question he never mused about. "I never thought about it before," Shadow began as he looked up at the ceiling's chandelier, which he soon realized resembled a blooming flower's vines. "But I think...I like white lilies." He answered confidently. "There was a garden on the Ark with artificial flowers that resembled them. Maria and I would lay on the synthetic grass often and stare at the stars. We sometimes fell asleep on the field." If Amy knew that much about cornflowers, she would have to know about lilies due to their popularity. They were very common, after all. It couldn't hurt to ask. "What does Rose know about those?" Shadow asked curiously.
With hesitation, Sonic put his phone away and took a sip of his sparkling water. "In some countries," He began cautiously. "I personally found out that they represent innocence and purity that follows soon after...death." He didn't want to say it, but he also didn't want to lie to Shadow or brush it off without a proper answer. He could see some hidden sorrow behind Shadow's eyes, but it was one of acceptance, not necessarily mourning. He's been used to that poor girl being gone, but it didn't hurt any less. "But," Sonic quickly added. "They also represent hope, and rebirth."
"Hmph," Shadow nodded with a satisfied expression. He didn't smile, but he accepted that answer. "I see."
The waitress soon returned to take their orders and a bill with the check for when they were finished so they wouldn't be disturbed afterwards. The restaurant was French themed, so the dishes were almost all French cuisine. Since it was only lunchtime, they both planned on eating rather light. A small meal, a drink and maybe a little dessert afterwards would do. Sonic asked for crêpes suzette, while Shadow ordered a croque madame. They both ordered a lemon flavored soft drink and a small bowl of white chocolate macarons. It only took the waitress less than ten minutes for their food to arrive and they graciously began to chow down. While they ate, they talked about nothing important. It was a nice change of pace, considering the events that transpired days ago. As Sonic expected, Shadow not only loved the room but adored the food. He consistently made sounds of contentment and guiltless self indulgence. The hero deduced that Shadow just really liked sandwiches of any kind. Be it a breakfast sandwich or strawberries with whipped cream, he was a big sandwich guy. He wondered if he would mind fixing him meals for work with GUN.
Then Sonic realized as he was eating that he was thinking like a housewife, which was a little demoralizing. He wasn't someone who did stuff like that, nor was he someone who'd be expected to wait for his spouse at home from a long day at work with a hot meal ready on the table. He sounded like some girly homemaker. This was another reason why he didn't like the idea of falling in love, it was making him think and act differently than what he'd normally say and do.
But...At the same time, if it was for Shadow, he strangely didn't care about any of that stuff. If his ego had to suffer for it, so be it.
Sigh.
Love was so confusing and annoying, but it was worth it for Shadow.
"Sonic," Shadow suddenly said, his plate almost completely polished. How the hell did he eat it that fast? "Do you know how I stopped you in your demonic form?"
He didn't anticipate him bringing that up now of all times, and he didn't like speaking about it. This caused Sonic to pause chewing a little. "...No?"
"Remember that card that was given to me by that lookalike of yours? Zonic?"
"Yeah?" That's when the hero blinked. "Oh, you called him for help?"
Shadow nodded. "Yes, he knew exactly what to do. He performed some kind of exorcism of sorts, with sigils infused with chaos energy. There were hands of chaos like the ones we saw on Christmas Island, that reached up and pulled the demonic spirit out of your body and into the ground." He saw Sonic furrow his brows with both semi-shock and confusion. "They literally ripped it from your figure, and the contract you forged with it was instantly nullified. When you were back to normal, Zonic instructed me that we had to come with him the next time he appeared. He gave us two weeks to recover before coming. He won't be taking no for an answer this time, either. He's prepared to fight us again if we resist. However," Shadow added thoughtfully. "Perhaps...It's best that we do go with him. I can't help but think that if I had called him the second you transformed, none of what happened afterwards would have transpired. He might have even known a way to stop Infinite. He knows exactly what's going on, while we're stuck in the dark. He exorcized that spirit out of you effortlessly and despite his extremely detestable nature, he seemed legitimately concerned that you died. He obviously means us no harm if he can help it, and he's willing to explain all of it. About you, your forms...everything." He gave Sonic a serious stare. "I think we should go with him. If he knows how to travel to different worlds, he may even know about Infinite's current whereabouts. I don't know how long we'll be gone, but we need answers."
An exasperated exhale drifted from Sonic's nose as he nibbled against the prongs of his fork. "...Alright." He finally said. "Fine, but I'm definitely not givin' that asshole the respect he thinks he deserves. I'm grateful he got that thing outta me," He made a scowl. "But the moment he gets slick at the mouth, we're findin' a way back home."
The biohog agreed. "I think that's fair, and we won't let it end the same way if he corners us again. We're far stronger now than we were before."
In a couple minutes, Sonic finished his food and reached for a macaron. At the same time, Shadow had also reached for one, and their hands touched. Blushing with a smile, the hero pulled his hand back to allow Shadow to get one first. "'Guess we both got a sweet tooth."
The elder hedgehog couldn't really agree as he took a bite of treat. "The food is great, but it's just not the same as your cooking. Subpar, in comparison."
Sonic made a delighted smile as he took one of the desserts from the bowl. "Oh stop it, I ain't no chef. I'm tellin' ya, you should hit up Vanilla's place sometime and try her world famous apple pie. It's so, freakin', good."
"Indeed, I was thinking about making plans to visit the woman eventually. She was very kind to me at the party, and Rouge told me she has a hidden stash of exotic liquor in her dining room. She's a good drinking buddy, apparently. Oh," He added after another bite. "And I'd like another massage from you, my right shoulder's a little stiff and you're kind of responsible. You scratched the hell out of my back last night."
The blue one nodded while chewing. "Yes, daddy."
"What?" Shadow paused. "I'm not your father, faker."
Sonic snorted a laugh. "No, no babe, it's a thing." He made a suggestive smile. "A sex thing."
He was still confused. "How?"
"Well," Sonic started off normally as he took a napkin and wiped his mouth. "You normally say it like this..." He then lowered his arm in between his own legs on the chair. His cheeks suddenly reddened, and his eyes clouded with lust. He was acting as if he was fondling himself right in front of Shadow in a very public venue. "A-Ah...Ahh...! Mmn, harder Daddy~!" He moaned loudly as he tilted his head back.
Blood from his nose dripped onto the macaron Shadow was holding. He knew he was faking it, but why did he sound so convincing? "...!" Did he really just do that here of all places?
Snickering at his expression, Sonic crossed his legs and leaned forward over the table. "You didn't have a little accident from that," He tilted his head playfully. "Did ya~?"
A little flustered, Shadow looked away with a scowl. "D-Don't...call me that in public again."
"Aww why, daddy~?" He teased.
"S-Shut up, hedgehog." He finished the rest of his macaron in haste and immediately stood up. He reached for the bill in the middle of the table beside the flower pot. "Just let me take the bill and-" Sonic was suddenly next to him, elbowing him in the arm to push him away. "Bastard, give me the damn check!"
"Absolutely not." The hero easily retorted.
"Sonic, you're irritating me."
"I do that everyday, sexy."
A vein grew on Shadow's head. "I am not letting you spend even more cash on me!"
Sonic flipped him the bird. "Oh I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid that's not your decision, baby boy. I made the reservation so I'm paying for the food."
The two males glowered at each other with their foreheads ramming instantly. Shadow was in no mood for his copious amounts of ludicrous generosity. "I said I'm paying for lunch and that's final." He hissed with fanged gritting teeth.
The blue one matched his scowl, until he suddenly sneered. He knew how to make him submit. "Please," He whispered hotly. "Daddy~?"
"...!" That almost got to him, but he wasn't losing this argument. Not this time. "I'm not falling for that." Shadow curtly responded while ignoring his own reddened face. "I'm paying for this date whether you like it or not, and if you've got a problem with that," He used his thumb to point towards the door of the VIP room, giving Sonic a dangerous glare through his amber red eyes. "We can easily settle this outside, if you'd like."
A troubling grin planted itself on Sonic's darkened muzzle, and he licked his lips as his quills began to sharpen. "That's fucking hot." He bit his bottom lip eagerly as he continued to glare at his lover. "As much as I'd love to tango with you right now," He suddenly threw up his hands and stepped away. "Don't feel like endin' a date with a spar, not really romantic if you ask me." He then shrugged and gestured for Shadow to take the bill. He knew his ego needed this, there was no need to fight. He'd let it slide, for now. "You win, all yours."
This little...
An annoyed twitch triggered in Shadow's eye. Was he patronizing him? Did he think he was the one calling the shots here? Just because he made the reservation, didn't mean he was the one in control of this date. What, he thought he'd just let him have it? Was he showing pity? Oh that's it, he'd show him. "Motherfucker." He growled, still not knowing why he fell in love with someone so painfully trying. He snatched the bill and the pen from the table, signed his account number and name in perfect cursive, slammed it back down on the surface of the table and marched over to Sonic. He gripped the collar of his varsity jacket and roughly pulled him close. Sonic only continued to smirk at him as he did so, only adding fuel to his temper. "I should drag you out into the public dining room, fuck you in the middle of the floor and make you beg me to fill you up with my seed in front of every Mobian and Overlander in Station Square." He saw the hero's eyes sparkle with devious intentions, but he could tell that threat made him a little nervous as well. "But I won't. I suppose that'd be too humiliating, even for you. What I am going to do, is take you to Empire City's Shopping District and spend the rest of my last pay check on you."
A cloud of alarm washed over Sonic.
Empire City was notoriously expensive, even buying a damn hotdog from a food stand was nearly twenty bucks a frank. It's shopping and fashion districts would put even an up and coming CEO out of business if he spent too loosely. If Shadow was willing to take him there and pay for whatever he wanted...That'd be a lot of money. Which means that he was willing to spend a fortune on him, just like Sonic did for him with the party. Flattered was an understatement for him at the moment.
He could only whimper one thing to that: "W-Wha...?"
38 - END - 38
Chapter 39: Fluff
Summary:
Shadow drags Sonic along during their date to spoil him.
Chapter Text
39 - Fluffy - 39
Empire City, Shopping District
Afternoon, 2:00 PM
Maybe Sonic shouldn't have talked so much crap, because now he was dreading it. Shadow almost literally dragged him to Empire City's shopping district, the most extravagant and overpriced area in the country, and he couldn't get himself out of this. Even when he tried to clam up to prevent his date from getting him anything, Shadow threatened that if the hero didn't find anything worth buying, he'd randomly buy something expensive for him anyway—regardless of what it was or if Sonic was interested in it or not. Sonic was cornered, there was nothing he could do. He pissed off his boyfriend and now he would suffer his wrath of egotistic generosity. Still, he could tell Shadow genuinely wanted to do this besides the fact that Sonic was upping him in terms of spending on a partner. He wanted to make him happy the same way he was making him happy, and that was very kind of him, but he couldn't handle this! He hated when loved ones spent money on him, it's why he threw absurd parties for them every once in a while. Right now he was pulling him in a nearby a large store by his tail, the blue one whining the entire time as they entered through the doors.
They heard gasps and felt starstruck eyes land on them as they traveled within the shop, but they ignored them. Sonic would actually love to run away and sign autographs just to escape this torture, but Shadow had a tight grip on his wrist. They passed by clothes, the grocery section, the entertainment aisle and even a section dedicated to holidays. When they finally got to a section that was void of customers, Shadow took the time to let go and face the blue hedgehog. He pointed his finger in his chest, causing Sonic to flinch. "Now that we're alone, I want specific answers about your likes and dislikes." He commanded firmly. "I don't want any stuttering or hesitation, you better give me clear cut responses. Understood?" He saw Sonic weakly nod. "Favorite color."
"B-Blue..." Sonic felt that one was obvious.
"Which shade?"
"Err, royal blue...? My least favorite color is probably a murky green."
"Favorite hobby."
What the hell was this, speed dating? They were beyond that. "Okay dude-" He felt his quill get pulled at painfully. "A-Alright, alright! Um," He looked around for a brief moment before answering nervously. "Drawing? Traditionally, I guess. Mixing music is fun too...I don't like swimming, obviously."
Shadow nodded in approval. "Noted. Favorite food."
"Bro, even Eggman knows that one." Sonic deadpanned with a blank stare. "I ain't sayin' it." He then thoughtfully decided to add to this answer. "But I will say that I hate anything vegan unless it's cooked by Amy. She's the only person in this world that can make that stuff taste good. Blegh."
"Hmph," The biohog supposed he could accept that answer. "Favorite snack."
Sonic had to think about that one for a second. "Hmm..." He tapped his finger to his chin. "I kinda eat almost anything but if I had to pick, I think cheese puffs. I don't really like plantain chips, though."
"Favorite genre of media."
Okay was he doing some kind of online quiz, or was he on a date with his boyfriend? He wasn't sure anymore. With a tired glare, Sonic reluctantly answered. "...Action, animation and comedy. I hate romance and documentaries-Shadow, what the hell are you doing right now?" He asked with squinted eyes. "Why are you polling me about my likes and dislikes like some simdate avatar? It's weird and it's kinda crampin' my mood right now."
Meanwhile, Shadow continued to nod with a satisfied expression. Excellent information that he would use and abuse later in their relationship when he least expected it. "I already figured out most of this data on my own, I just needed to fact check what I knew. And I'm happy to say," He gave Sonic a precarious smirk. "I was right about most things. Everything else I just didn't know, but I do now, and I'm going to take advantage of that." He seized Sonic's wrist again and began pulling him towards a specific area of the store, the younger hedgehog spewing several different types of excuses as to why Shadow shouldn't be doing this. "I'm not doing this just to one-up you, I'm doing this because I want to." He clarified firmly as they entered the art department. "I also know that you won't accept a gift without whining if you don't have an incentive, so I have a request for you." They walked past several art college students, who stared in shock with dropped jaws as to who just whisked by. They finally stopped in front of a selection of gradient and charcoal pencils. "But before I make that request, I need to know one last thing." Shadow said as he let Sonic go, who looked very troubled at the moment from all this. "What are you most skilled at with traditional art?"
Blushing, Sonic frowned. "I dunno man," He scratched behind his head, no one had ever asked him that before. "I do a little bit of everything. Tie dye, graffiti, gradients...I guess I could tell you what I do the most." He turned to eye the several packs of pricey professional art pencils hanging up on the shelves. "Even though I'm pretty good at it, I don't really have time to complete big projects like painting and using charcoal. I'm also not a thread or crafts guy, and I don't mess with digital stuff. Too complicated for me. The most I do on a regular basis," He then bent down to gaze carefully at the thin graphite pencils on sale. "Maybe once every couple weeks or once a month, would be sketching. It's quick, easy and there's barely any mess. I've got a couple of notebooks at home but eh," He picked up a pack in his hand. "Haven't had the time, recently. The last thing I did was that picture of Maria." He smiled a little. "Drawing her was fun, I really liked how it came out."
Shadow saw that he picked something up, watching him stand up straight as he looked over the 12-pack graphite pencils. "Is that what you want?" He asked softly.
That's when Sonic realized what he was doing and quickly moved to put it back. "N-No! No, not at all." Shadow caught his arm, stopping him from placing it back on the shelf. "...?"
"If you want it, I'll get it for you." His voice was gentler than before, and his grip was barely tight at all. "It's just a pack of pencils. I'll buy the world for you, if that's what you desire."
God damn it, he was doing that super romantic charming stuff again. "Shit..." Sonic ignored his own rapidly beating chest and refused. "Shadow, art stuff is way too upscale. I'm not-" He was silenced with a short kiss. "...!" His face was completely beet red from that. "I freakin' hate you sometimes..." Sonic hissed while half covering his face.
"Now that you're done complaining," Shadow took it upon himself to take the pack of graphite utensils from the shelf himself. "I'd like to make my request." He saw the price of the pencils were indeed stupidly exorbitant, but he didn't care. It was pennies to him as it was for Sonic. "I want you to draw me." He tapped his finger onto the pack. "With these." He turned around to look at the shelves opposite of the pencils, noticing that there were thankfully some sketchpads here. "Maybe..." He grasped a large sized sketchpad, one that should be big enough to cover someone's lap and then some. "Yes, this. I want you to draw me on fourteen by seventeen paper. That should be big enough." He handed it over to Sonic, who was stunned by this. He stared at the sketchpad with an unreadable expression. Shadow noticed his conflicted silence and said something he'd been wanting to say to him for a while. "That picture of Maria was beautiful, probably the best piece of art I've ever seen. It looks exactly like her, almost better than the real thing. If you can do that on a such a small piece of canvas, I'm curious to see what you can do with a bigger space. I know you'll resist if I just give it to you, so that's why I'm asking you to do this for me." His expression was honest. "Let me buy this for you, Sonic."
Damn it, he couldn't deny that handsome face anymore.
A quiet exhale released from the blue one before he closed his eyes. He then tucked the sketchpad under his arm, and took the pack of graphites from Shadow's hand. "...Okay," He replied with a quiet tone. "I'll do it, but only because you asked." He didn't look in Shadow's direction, and he could tell Sonic was a little shy at the moment. "I'll need more than this, though. I ran out of some stuff a while ago."
Glad that the hero was finally giving in, Shadow graciously offered to go and retrieve whatever else he needed. "Of course, we can get that too." He then watched as the blue one began walking on his own deeper into the aisle. He curiously followed him, and saw him glance over some rows of erasers. There were classic pink ones, but there were also grey ones and white ones...Was there a difference? "Err," Shadow felt like he was in the dark at the moment. "You need erasers?" Sonic completely ignored the pink and grey erasers, only checking out the white ones. "Won't any of them do?"
Sonic shook his head with a focused expression. "The pink ones are for writing with normie pencils, the grey ones are like putty. They're used for charcoal, they're called kneaded erasers. Don't need that right now." He spoke to Shadow dismissively, as if he was some kind of naive art student. Actually...That was kind of hot. He kept forgetting how attractive Sonic was when he was really honed in on something. It's why he was so horny when he was teaching him how to meditate with chaos energy, it just did something to him whenever he made that serious look. "No, no..." He mumbled. "That's for sandpaper, don't need that..." He then saw exactly what he was looking for. "I need plastic and hi-polymer." He concluded confidently, almost as if he was talking to himself. He took a few of the white erasers off the hooks and handed them over to Shadow without even looking or asking. All of a sudden, Sonic suddenly asked, "You want it colored or grayscale?"
Since when did he get in control of the date? Shadow was put off by this question. "I'm...unsure. What do you recommend?"
"For full body commissions with a traditional medium," He said as he stood back up to inspect more items. "I recommend grayscale. To me, color ruins the whole thing. Black and white keeps the beauty of the strokes and markings."
Traditional medium? Strokes and markings? Sonic did not talk that sophisticated. Was this the same moronic blue hedgehog from before? Shadow had no words, and he was very attracted at the moment. "...Oh."
"Plus, your physical color scheme is mostly monochromatic anyway." He gestured for Shadow to continue following him since he was ready to move on from this part of the aisle. "I'd rather embrace that than screw up the composition with unnecessary hues, it's pretty lame. I kinda colored Maria's picture, but it was with super light gradients. Didn't wanna mess up the foundation I made." He then made a difficult expression as he looked back and forth. "Where's the fixative sprays? Can't have it smudging when I'm done." He asked aloud before catching sight of the aforementioned item. "There they are." He walked over to another shelf of spray cans. Some of them were paint cans, and others had other solutions of chemicals. "Believe it or not, some people use hairspray instead of buying the legit stuff." He casually informed the GUN agent as he picked up a couple of cans. "It doesn't work as good though, and some sprays are better for paint than other dust-based mediums."
What was happening right now? At this point, Shadow was practically intimidated and highly aroused by how intelligently he was talking about this. "Do you..." He wasn't even sure how to talk about this. "...Need any paint cans for graffiti or...?"
Sonic shook his head once again. "Nah, I'm chillin' with the street art for the moment." He got what he needed, so he gestured for Shadow to follow him once more out of the aisle. It would take them a second to find the checkout counter, as the store's size was considerably large.
"How long have you been drawing?" Shadow asked peculiarly.
"Since I was little." The hero easily answered. "There's rocks on the ground that can be used as chalk, stuff that's brittle or sedimentary. Lil' me would randomly pick up random rocks, sharpen them and draw all over solid ground. Or Tails and I would make sand sculptures in Green Hill." He chuckled a little. "He'd always get so jealous at how big I would make the castles. When Amy and I were young, we'd make these little seashell necklaces." He smiled at the fond memories. "'Guess I always had a knack for creativity." He paused for a moment before turning to look at Shadow. "Hey," He said with a more excited tone. "You wanna buy me stuff, right?" He saw the biohog nod cautiously. "Weeeelllll, I did a little modeling for a sports brand a few months ago. There's a shop nearby selling its merchandise and I wanna see if they got my face hanging up somewhere. Plus, I need some new threads." He grinned. "Wanna check it out after we're done here?"
Shadow nodded, liking the idea of potentially seeing more photos of Sonic. "That's fine."
3:00 PM
Carrying plastic bags of the art supplies they bought earlier, the striped hedgehog spent perhaps ten minutes staring at an advertising stand. It held an official magazine photo of the blue hero, showcasing the athletic fits on sale. The way he smiled, the way his body was posed, it was a work of remarkable craftsmanship. Whoever took this image did a fantastic job. This was one of the pictures Rouge sent him, but seeing it on a larger scale was something else. He didn't wake up from his daydream until he felt a finger tap his shoulder. He saw that Sonic was giggling at him. "I know you're in love with me and everything, but you've been standing there for like, almost twenty minutes." He had a few articles of clothing in his arms with hangers and tags still attached to them. "Come here," He grasped his hand and traveled with him to the changing rooms in the back of the store. "I was gonna try some stuff out in the changing rooms, but I wanted to ask you to guard the door. I told ya, fans can get real handsy. There's a lot of creeps that hang out in places like this, too."
Blinking out of his daydream, Shadow agreed. "Of course, sorry. No one will get past me." He felt Sonic place a kiss on his cheek before heading inside one of the rooms. Shadow walked over and stood in front of it. While Sonic was changing, he took this time to check his holographics. He held up his wrist and tapped his ring, red holograms appearing above it. Good, no notifications. No news was good news. Then again, Shadow thought of something. Who knows how long it would take for them to return from that realm that Zonic spoke of, and Shadow's job technically still wasn't done. Infinite had escaped to another place, sure, but that didn't mean he was neutralized. No, his job would be completed when the bastard was stripped from his power and either locked up, or killed. If Zonic could somehow help them find Infinite and defeat him, this would take a whole lot longer than expected. This mission wasn't over and therefore, Shadow needed to notify Tower about this. He wouldn't give him specifics, but he would warn him that he may not be back for some time. Yes, that seemed like the most suitable action. A small transparent red keyboard appeared, and his fingers tapped away in the air to relay a message:
General Tower, SEA Shadow reporting. It has come to my attention that there may be a way to locate Infinite and the Phantom Ruby. If my suspicions are correct, along with Sonic the hedgehog, we will devise a plan to take him out for good. I fear the method in attempting to find him will be extensive, as we will not be present in this realm to find the answers we're looking for. With that said, our presence in Mobius will be barren. I will give consistent updates on my progress with any breakthrough found, and I will notify you and Team Dark about our findings immediately. I will complete any necessary paperwork to extend this case, and authorize my absence.
In a few seconds, Tower responded back.
That's a little concerning. What are the circumstances of this request of absence?
Shadow quickly responded: The details are still ambiguous even to me. Someone who's been able to travel between another realm and Mobius has been appearing in our world in secret. I conversed with them during Infinite's attack on Green Hill Zone, and they were able to not only heal Sonic of Infinite's corruption, but they were also willing to give answers about Infinite. This person does not live in our world, and requires my and Sonic's appearance elsewhere. They will only give us the data we need if those conditions are met.
He didn't want to tell Tower any further information than this. First, it was too confusing. Two, it had a lot to do with Sonic, which was none of the old man's business. He had to be careful with reporting to him.
Again, I don't like this. I can easily write this off as a top secret mission that requires you to be AWOL from GUN HQ for a while. Similar to what was done with E-123 Omega. If you have a chance at gathering information on this miscreant, then I am more than willing to allow you full permission to engage. However, with all due respect Shadow, you've already failed once before. That failure nearly cost you your life, wasted thousands of dollars in lawful protection, and caused panic throughout the city. I am not entirely assured in this decision.
A scowl planted itself on his muzzle. That was barely concern that he was showing, he was completely doubting his ability. Either way, he was insulted and he'd make him pay for that. Abraham, I think you've forgotten why I work for you in the first place: To protect the world she wanted to thrive. I will utilize any means necessary to make that happen, with or without you. I never needed GUN to protect the world, and I do not need them now. Therefore, I don't need your permission for anything that I do. I only report to you out of respect, but I could have easily ditched this communicator and disappeared on my own without telling you a thing. I understand your faith in me has waned due to recent events, but I am still the only person capable enough to find that bastard and bring him back kicking and screaming. This is my responsibility, and I will either arrest or eliminate Infinite by my own means. If you're truly that disappointed in my efforts and my next plan of action, I will gladly and personally hand over my badge to you in the next hour.
"Hmph." He awaited a response, which was taking a little longer than usual. Good. He wanted that old man to think long and hard about what he was trying to say. He may have been an old crone now, but Shadow could still see him as nothing but that troublemaking little boy from all those years ago. It'd be unwise to piss off someone who could severely weaken GUN's manpower by just simply putting in their two-week notice. He never needed GUN to protect what he cared about, and he didn't need their help with his endeavors in the slightest. If Tower had cold feet, then he should just cut Shadow off while things were peaceful. He had no time for this.
Finally, Tower replied.
However, this wasn't a simple holographic email, he put an audio clip along with it saying: "I understand, SEA Shadow. It...was not my intention to offend you. You've made great, valiant efforts to protect the people of this planet many times. It's why I gave you the promotion in the first place. If you are confident in this proposal, then there is nothing else I can do. You and I can make the necessary preparations for your absence, and you'll be on your own as requested until you return. I just...I only wish for your safe return. If something happened to you, well...It'd be a very dark day for all of us at GUN, and the United Federation."
That's the answer he wanted to hear, but...
Damn, now he felt slightly guilty. It'd only be right to respond back via an audio recording as well. "I appreciate your concern, Abraham. But you and I both know that it only takes one mistake for me to see my errors, and fix them accordingly. What happened before will not happen again. I will neutralize Infinite, and I will make this right. Mark my words."
After he ended that message, he lowered his wrist with a solemn expression. Did the old man think he still owed Shadow something? Well, perhaps he did, but he always sounded so sad whenever he spoke with the biohog alone. Maybe that's the self loathing Sonic kept trying to tell him about. It was different to see someone other than both himself or his lover doing so, so now he could clearly see what the hero meant. He mentally sighed, maybe he could try and meet up with the general more often outside of work hours. He couldn't deny that he...cared about him despite the mistakes he made. Shadow was no saint either, he had to respect that. Huh, Sonic was right.
He had more friends than he realized, if Abe would consider himself as such.
That's...exactly what Sonic was trying to show him with that party.
It worked.
Shadow's ear flicked at the sound of shuffling from the side. He turned to see that nobody was next to him, but then he looked upwards at the stall next to Sonic's. He saw white lights flashing from above it, and someone was peeking their head over the divider of the changing rooms. A few throbbing veins appeared on Shadow's head as he placed down their bags and quietly walked inside of the dressing room. As he went in, Sonic exited out with a new outfit. He was so happy and proud to show it off to Shadow, until he realized his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. "...? Shadow?" He looked around and saw their bags on the floor. He raised a brow and was going to bend over to pick it up, until he heard a bunch of whimpering and thumping in the dressing room next to the one he just walked out of. He slowly turned around to see the door bust open with a male Mobian koala getting thrown to the floor. A sweat drop planted itself onto Sonic's head. He was scared to know what happened in that stall.
The koala had a bloody nose and was attempting to sit up, until an air shoe planted itself harshly onto his back. Shadow had a smartphone in his hand, one that didn't belong to him. That's when Sonic connected the dots. Swiftly, the ultimate life form crushed the device in his hand and let it fall to the floor in a tiny pile of brutalized metal and plastic. "How many pictures did you take?" He asked before stomping his foot on the koala's back.
"T-Three...!" He choked out.
"You recorded him?"
"N-No-" Another bone shattering stomp. "I-I'm not lying, I swear!"
"Did you send any of the pictures you took?"
"I-I didn't get a chance to, no."
That's when Shadow narrowed his eyes down at the koala. "You've done this before, haven't you?" He knelt down and gripped the back of his collar, lifting him up in the air with a tight grip. "Are you stalking him?" He then slammed him against the wall. "Lie to me and you go straight to hell." He threatened with a seething, quiet tone.
The koala shook his head back and forth rapidly. "I'm not, I'm not! I just saw him going in the dressing room and I-I wanted to sell a few pictures!"
Sonic tilted his head and smiled absentmindedly while placing his fists on his hips. "Oh yeah, I remember you! You're that one guy who stole my socks out of my drawer." He then realized what he just said. "Oh gross, you're that one guy who stole my socks out of my drawer...Freakin' ew. You're the worst kind of ex."
Since Mobian males didn't wear much, that was basically equivalent to underwear. In summation, Shadow was now beyond pissed. "You stole his underwear, you fucking pervert." He snarled, nearly frothing at the mouth with sharpening quills.
"P-Please don't kill me, I won't bother him again. I'll get rid of his number, everything! I promise!"
Sonic winced in the background. "Dude, you still have my number when I personally told you to get rid of it? Ah geez-" He saw a spike in amber red chaos energy surging from Shadow's body. "Uh oh."
"Why would I kill you?" Shadow smiled manically. "I'd rather scrape the bone marrow out of your kneecaps with a rusted spoon, and watch you plead for merciful death."
Yikes—Okay, that was enough. Sonic simply walked over to the biohog and lightly pulled at the back of his jacket. "Alrighty hotshot," He placed his hands onto his shoulders and began to pull him away. "That's enough." He said gently with a soothing voice. Reluctantly, Shadow could feel his rage dissipate, and his grip in the koala's collar loosened. Finally, he let him go and watched the koala scramble to his feet before running out of the store while covering his bleeding face. He was almost faster than both hedgehogs for a minute there. He continued to rub his hands into Shadow's shoulders affectionately. "We're cool, you're cool. Nothing bad happened, I'm okay."
He could feel Shadow sigh tersely before placing his clenched fists at his sides. "...I should've killed him for that."
"Babe," Sonic said with a scolding tone. "You're better than that, no. Come on," He turned him around and presented himself to him. "Don't think about that creep anymore, look at me instead!" He grinned cheerfully. "Don't I look nice?" He posed with an arm behind his head. "I modeled for this one too, y'know~" Shit, Shadow almost forgot why they were even in here to begin with. He didn't even take the time to look at what he was wearing. When he finally took a good look, he was pleasantly surprised. He was wearing a black mid-riff revealing jacket that had dark blue trims and matching gloves. He wore matching boot sneakers, an entire outfit that was well worth it's price. It was all shiny and had some nice material. It was strange—Shadow literally saw this idiot naked so many times, and yet he almost found him more sexually attractive with clothes on. That made no sense. Sonic began to tug at the end of the jacket. "Dude, this is so thick. I don't think I could rip these." He tapped the tips of his shoes against the hardwood floor. "And the kicks are so comfy! I think these are comin' home with me," He looked at Shadow for approval. "What do you think? Looks nice, right?"
He was so happy-go-lucky and carefree, he didn't even care about the fact that he was literally just being harassed by an ex. Sonic said things like this happened to him many times before, was it really so easy for him to shrug it off just like that? Of course, that's just how Sonic was. He let nothing bother him, and if it did, he'd try his darndest not to let anyone know about it. He repressed a lot of emotions constantly and like Tails complained before, never talked about them or just avoided doing so. Shadow kept forgetting that. With a frown, Shadow just decided to go with it. "...Yeah." He said softly. "You look great, as always."
Sonic was ecstatic from his agreement and suddenly handed over a handful of clothing. "Okay, now you try these on. It's your turn, I wanna see. I wanna see!" He said with a hyperactive voice.
"But why-"
"Do it, do it!"
Sighing, Shadow just did as he was requested. "Fine." He slowly walked back in the dressing room and shut the door.
As he did so, Sonic's face fell and he made an annoyed groan. He pulled out his phone from his quills and began texting Rouge with irritating fingers.
yo. need u 2 get the drop on someone else for me.
oh no. another stalker blue? its been a while but consider it done, just give me a name.
ex. i got a name and deets. im on a date with shads so ill txt u later.
oh shit, did he get mad?
i deleted his number and blocked this asshole but hes still on my ass. weirdo was takin pictures of me in a dressing room at the mall so yeah. shadow was pissed. dont need anybody makin him mad like that so could ya handle this for me please? ill get you some fruits from angel island in exchange.
of course honey, i got you. get the pomegranates this time~
thanks rouge~
Maybe Knuckles and Amy were right, having a high body count while being a celebrity increased the chances of stalking and harassment significantly. He was so wrapped up in getting tail that he didn't think about the consequences until it was too late. Well, that's what he got for being young and dumb. Like he told Tails, they all still had a lot of growing up to do, Sonic included. He'd probably never screw around like that again, especially now that he was taken. He wished he learned this lesson a lot faster, because this was embarrassing. He didn't want Shadow to have to see that. What if he was offended or mad at him? That could have ruined the date entirely. He hated himself sometimes, he really did. He then ran his head through his quills, and clenched his teeth. He should have never given himself to anyone other than Shadow. Yeah he didn't know he'd fall in love, but why didn't he think about the consequences of when he would fall in love? Then again, maybe because he didn't think he could fall for someone...Damn it. Why did he throw himself around like a cheap rag? Was that all he was? Is that all he made himself out to be? God he was an idiot...
But no, he couldn't let Shadow see this side of him. Be cool, be chill. It was fine. He'd just...Deal with it later. Alone. Nothing to worry him about, he had his own problems. There was no sense in worrying about something stupid like this, he was an idiot as usual—end of story.
"..."
He sighed at himself.
The door to the dressing room opened to reveal the ultimate life form dressed in exactly what Sonic was wearing, except it was black and red instead of black and blue. He was looking over himself as he walked out, noticing what Sonic pulled. "If you wanted to match, you could have just said so." He said before glancing at the younger hedgehog.
Sonic was suddenly brimming with thrilling elation, steam blowing out of his nose and his tail wagging. "Ohmyfreakinggodyoulooksogood!"
...The hell did he say? Shadow squinted his eyes. "...Excuse me?" His pupils suddenly shrunk at white light being flashed in his face. Sonic was making several poses at mach speed and taking pictures with his phone of himself and Shadow. "Are you really taking pictures right now?" He asked skeptically. "Seriously?" He was kissed on the cheek, and another flash went off. Blushing, the biohog scowled. He hated this. Sonic grinned as he paced around, scrolling through his new pictures.
He was sure to make a nice album from that barrage of selfies. "Oh hell yeah, I can't wait to show Rouge."
Shadow was starting to regret offering to buy Sonic whatever he wanted. "Can we go now?"
39 - END - 39
Chapter 40: Art
Summary:
While drawing Shadow, he and Sonic have a sudden heart to heart.
Notes:
The latter half of this chapter contains heavy sexual content.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
40 - Art - 40
South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
Late Afternoon, 5:00 PM
Returning home, the two hedgehogs placed their bags of newly purchased goodies on Sonic's couch. After getting some nice clothes, they took home some food to-go for later. No cooking tonight. The blue one tossed off his jacket on the coat hanger near the foyer, as he felt it was too restrictive. He was too used to having nearly nothing on. Shadow felt the same way and more neatly placed his outerwear on the hook. The hero then walked over to the couch to dig in the bags and pull out the art supplies. "Do me a favor and put the food away in the fridge for me?" He asked as Shadow walked over from the coat rack. "I'm gonna get to work on drawin' you after I get done some practice sketches. Once that's done, I hope you don't mind posin' for a while." He sat down on the couch and flipped through the sketchpad. Shadow picked up the bags of food and left the room to place them in the kitchen as Sonic instructed. When he returned, he saw the hero carefully sharpening the graphite pencils not with a pencil sharpener, but a long blue spine. In old days, people would use knives to sharper pencils or other utensils. To this day, some people still did so, as they preferred it over a sharpener since knives made better results. He supposed Sonic preferred doing it this way, just with one of his own appendages. Shadow was never truly aware of just how useful their Mobian bodies were until now.
Curiously, Shadow sat beside Sonic to watch him work. "I still can't believe you can draw or cook. I never knew you were someone who paid careful attention to detail." He murmured as he saw the blue one make swift and quick motions with one of the pencils. The lead was so light, he could barely see it. "How do you know which ones to use?"
"It depends on how bold you want your strokes to look, and what phase the drawing is in." Sonic scooted closer to show Shadow what he did so far. "It's hard to see, but I'm using really light graphite. I'm also not pressing too hard so it can be easier to erase." He drew more curved lines, creating what looked like...a circle? And it was an almost perfect circle, too. Shadow was perplexed, and soon he wasn't able to keep up with Sonic's movements. He was making crosses and t-shaped figures. Why was he doing that? "I'm not going off of a reference so this'll be a little harder than usual for me, but that's why I'm practicing before I draw you." The strokes became sharper, more refined and perfectly curled. His wrist was moving so quickly, he couldn't follow the lines he was making. There were clear shapes being made, and before Shadow knew it, there was a pair of eyes that were perfectly symmetrical despite being drawn at an angle. Soon, there was a face, a muzzle and a pair of ears. His strokes were aimed lower, forming what appeared to be the linework of a body. It was feminine, as there were a lot of curves and rounded strokes. A dress was made, along with puffed sleeves and wedged boots.
Shadow blinked, was he drawing Amy? "Is this Rose-Err...Amy?" He saw Sonic nod silently as he continued, not interrupting his work and keeping close attention to what he was doing. After the line work was completed, he began to make strange marking within the lines. More lines? "What are those?"
"This is called cross hatching," Sonic briefly explained. "You basically make a bunch of cross-like marks to create the illusion of shadows and lighting. Doing that helps shape whatever you're drawing, while giving it some texture. Depending on how emphasized the marks are, determines how dark or light the shading's gonna look on the composition." He faintly smiled as he felt Shadow lean closer against him to watch. "It's super simple, but you need some experience to actually make it look good and not random. Lighting isn't easy to mimic on paper." He made more of those "cross hatching" marks all across the figure of the drawing, causing it to appear more in depth than it first seemed. He even purposefully left some space of the drawing blank from markings. "Some marks you don't need to make, because leaving some space blank gives it brighter lighting." He pointed to a part of Amy's unfinished dress. "See? If my source of light is say...Here," He pointed above the drawing's head. "Then there should be some light here just above her chest. Not too much though, 'cause her head's in the way." He began sketching darker lines under the figure's chin. "So there should be some shadow here, and maybe some there too..." He placed the pencil down to reach for one of the white erasers he bought, and carefully began to shave off some strokes. "There's still some lines showing from me drawing the base of the body...Don't need that. I don't like the rough sketch look."
How did he know what to do? Shadow scratched the side of his head. "How do you know what not to do and what to erase?"
The hero placed the eraser down and continued shading in some parts of the drawing. "Well, when you draw something, you think about how realistic it's going to look. If realism isn't your style, that's one thing, but if you're gonna use elements of realism with a stylistic twist, you gotta factor some of that in." He turned the entire sketchpad around to get in a better position. "What I usually draw is like eighty percent realism, but my style manipulates a little of what I'm drawing. However, since I'm trying to convey a more authentic look, I need to think about proper anatomy and all that jazz. For example," He pointed to the torso of the figure. "I know that if I'm drawing a girl, I need to take in account for her breasts and the curves of her abdomen and lower body. Females have more fat in certain places than we do, so I gotta put in more circles and rounded edges. On the flip side," He went to a small corner of the page to draw a miniature example. With a few quick strikes of the pencil, he created a masculine-looking torso. "Guys are more jagged and flat with straighter lines. Depending on how muscular they are, I need to convey that through lines in the limbs and the body. Oh, and let's not forget about people with different weights and body shapes. That's a whole other can of worms right there."
Shadow's head hurt. "...That's too much to think about at once." He suddenly mumbled.
Sonic giggled in return. "Yeah, anatomy's a bitch. Not easy to learn, and it's hard to translate what you see in your head onto a piece of paper. You know," He added with a somewhat solemn tone. "Some artists go through aphan..." He paused with a frown. "Aphan...The hell was it called? Aphantasia. It's a condition that makes it real hard for them to imagine what they're trying to see in their head. Art usually depends on mentally visualizing what you're going to create, so that makes it almost impossible for them to create anything."
"You sound like you went to school for this."
"Pffft! Hell no." The hero laughed. "I told you I'm street smart, not book smart. I mean I do read sometimes, I got a couple of favorite books and novels stuffed in my closet. But let's be honest, I ain't studious by a long shot." He continued his drawing of Amy. "I heard about the condition online, a lot of artists are struggling with it and they're trying to raise awareness about it. It's messed up, dude." He made a few more strokes, before placing down the pencil and handing the sketch pad over to Shadow. "How's that? Not too bad, right?"
The biohog was blown away. This looked nearly exactly like Amy Rose. She was smiling, sitting on her knees with a bundle of flowers tucked in her arm. The pronunciation of her feminine anatomy was indeed emphasized like Sonic explained. She had lashes on her eyes, but also many smaller ones on her lower eyelids. Which was indeed incredibly realistic. Her physique was skinny, but lightly curved in the right places to convey that this was a female-based figure. Her dress had just the right amount of folds, flaps and wrinkles within the fabric. The anatomy of the body was flawlessly accurate, and the fingers were expertly done with each digit being properly drawn within every joint. "This is unbelievable," Shadow said breathlessly. "How...How do you know how to do this? And this is practice?"
Sonic continued to chuckle at his reaction. "That's not even good, man." He took the sketchpad back and flipped to another page. "The lines are weak, the cross hatching sucks and the anatomy's mid." He saw that Shadow looked offended at this, as if he was the one who drew it. How could he insult such good art? This made Sonic laugh even harder. "Her elbow's not as pronounced as it should be in that angle, and I made her boobs just a liiiittle too perky. I love Ames to death, but she ain't got honkers like Rouge."
"Are you kidding?" Shadow was blown away by his harsh self-critique. "That was a practical carbon copy of Amy."
"Bah, to you." The hero flagged him off as he glanced at a few different graphite pencils. "With an untrained eye, yeah it looks nice, but a creator knows their mistakes. They can spot them way faster than anybody else can. It's like making a professional musician listen to his first soundtrack. They'll hear the imperfections even if you don't." He cracked his knuckles and looked over at Shadow. "Alright, I think I'm good. I probably need to sketch a little more than that for practice since it's been a while, but I just wanna get this done so I can get in bed and cuddle with you~"
With a small blush, the biohog asked another favor. "...Could you give me a massage before that?"
"Of course I can~" He pecked Shadow's cheek before gesturing him to move to the loveseat across from the couch. "Alright, do me a favor and go over there. I don't care what pose you wanna do, just make sure you can stay in that position for at least..." He took a moment to think. "...thirty minutes, tops. I usually draw pretty fast, but it's been a minute for me so it's gonna take some time to get this right."
"Any pose?"
"Mmhm."
"Doesn't matter?"
"Nope."
That's when Shadow thought of an impish idea. As Sonic picked out a few graphite pencils from the coffee table, the ultimate life form walked over to the loveseat as instructed. However, before he sat down, he unclipped his limiter rings and placed them on the other side of the table. He then pulled off his gloves and bent down to take off his shoes. Once fully nude, he placed himself onto the loveseat and got in position. He leaned back in the seat, crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. When Sonic was done gathering what he needed, he briefly looked up before looking back down at the sketchpad.
Then he stopped.
He blinked and gradually turned his attention back to Shadow. "...Come on, man."
"What?" Shadow asked innocently.
Blushing, Sonic berated the elder hedgehog for his nudity. "You can't get me hard before I draw you, that's like totes unfair!"
"Okay," Shadow opened his legs widely. "Is that better?"
"...!" The blue one's cheeks became beet red. "S-Stop that! Look, if you wanna pose nude that's fine, but don't get me all distracted or I'm gonna end up drawing somethin' else that is not safe for work."
The GUN agent smirked. "I'd like that."
A flustered, angry pout appeared on Sonic's muzzle. "Quit it or I'm kickin' you out of my living room! Pose normally already. I'd tell your horny ass to leave so I could just go off of a mental image as a reference instead," Steam blew from his ears as he mentioned that, because all he could think about now was being plowed in bed upstairs. Shadow was literally pogo sticking in his mind and he couldn't stop picturing it. "But you ruined that too, because now all I can think of is...Ugh," He became pitifully frustrated. "Shut up and pose!"
Shadow just pretended not to comprehend what he wrought. "Okay." He simply replied.
5:35
Time passed by, over thirty minutes. After around ten, Shadow closed his eyes and meditated. He was able to stay still in a single position for a very long amount of time due to his practice of concentration, so it didn't bother him at all. If Sonic needed to see his eyes, he'd wait until he was instructed to open them. Until then, he'd keep them closed and relax. He didn't think he'd like being stared at, as he hated it before when he was on the Ark. But being gazed upon by his lover was different, and it made him feel very special. Like he was the most important thing that existed. Being the subject of Sonic's attention was an emotion he couldn't describe, and he never wanted to stop feeling this way. Besides, the way he was looking at him riled him up. Sure his eyes were closed, but he could sense Sonic's irises peering at him intensely. He took art very seriously, which wasn't something anyone would think of when picturing the Hero of Mobius in their mind. Shadow sees now that the blue hedgehog was much more sensitive and attentive than he let on. He was probably so embarrassed and shy about this side of him, which was why he never talked about it or brought it up during their date. Perhaps a part of him was ashamed, but Shadow wasn't sure. Sonic was so closed off, so unwilling to speak about himself.
Actually, maybe he could get something out of him now. Something that's been bugging him today. After all, time had passed and it was over thirty minutes. "...Sonic." Shadow addressed calmly, breaking the steady silence.
"Hm." Sonic barely responded as he looked back and forth from the sketchpad, and the meditating biohog.
"May I ask you something else? I won't request anything else of you for today."
The blue blur just shook his head as he made a few more strokes on the paper. "You can ask me whatever you want, Shads. I'll do it for you, you know that."
"Can you be more honest with me?"
Sonic paused and looked up from the sketchpad. "...What?"
Shadow had to be careful here, because Sonic was quick to shut something down the moment he was uncomfortable. "That ex of yours at the shopping district," He brought it up smoothly. Not with any roughness, but enough firmness to indicate that the hero couldn't avoid the subject. "It bothered you that he was harassing you, but you didn't tell me. You just brushed it off." He opened an eye at the blue one. "Are you okay?"
The artistic hedgehog made an indifferent expression and looked back down at what he was doing. "I'm fine." He simply replied, with nothing else to add. His tone was empty, void of any emotion. That was a red flag right there, he didn't mean what he said.
He was being difficult, but the biohog already expected that. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Shadow closed his eye back and shook his head. "You're lying."
"No, I'm not." Sonic's voice grew a little annoyed. "I told you, I'm fine. Happens all the time, it's nothing I'm not used to." He gave Shadow a stern glare, and he knew he could feel it. In other words, he was silently telling him to stop asking about that if he knew what was good for him. After a brief pause of silence, Sonic lowered his gaze back to the sketchpad.
"Sonic," Shadow said carefully. "I can sense your deception. You're not-"
A crack echoed in the room.
A loud sigh exhaled from Sonic as he looked at the now broken pencil. He broke it from gripping it too harshly due to his exasperation. He tossed it on the floor somewhere before placing the sketchpad down onto the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the paper with an unreadable expression. He said nothing. Shadow opened both eyes to see that his blue lover wasn't very happy at the moment. He knew he must have struck a nerve, and Sonic couldn't hide it this time. "You told me thirty minutes," Shadow said cautiously, knowing very well the atmosphere was a little tense. "And usually when you give me an estimated time, you always hit the mark. I've noticed you draw very quickly, which means you could have finished the drawing several minutes ago. But you haven't, because you're bothered about something. Personally, I think it's because of your ex. Although," He quickly added. "If I'm wrong, please tell me so. I can tell you're uncomfortable, and I don't want you to force yourself to do this if you don't want to."
Sonic leaned back in his seat as he continued to stare at the unfinished drawing. "Shadow," He began with a moderate tone. "I'm fine." He emphasized that last word heavily. "I told you several times, this happens way more often than you think. That's why I asked you to guard the door."
"I meant to say this earlier," Shadow said with a sincere voice. "But I'm sorry he slipped past me. I should have known someone would try and sneak in through another stall."
"It's cool, I told you that already." He retorted with a more curt pitch. "I just," Sonic furrowed his brows and scowled as he picked up the sketchpad once more. "I didn't want you to see that." He grabbed another graphite, checking it's led to make sure it wouldn't be too heavy or too light. "I'm really starting to regret slingin' myself around, 'cause now it's causing problems in my relationship. The one relationship I care about." After affirming its lead, he began to draw once more. "It's...embarrassing, Shadow. And I have no one to blame but myself. You have no idea how often this happens," His voice became more stressed and tired. "No idea how many times I have to ask Rouge to file restraining orders for me, or to have someone arrested instantly without all the paperwork. Before, I didn't care. Being touched, threatened, half-assed attempts of being doxxed, a bunch of shitty stuff. It never bothered me because all I cared about was myself. As long as nobody hurt my friends or my family, I didn't give a damn what they did to me." He reached over to grab one of the erasers. "Now I'm goin' steady with someone, and you seeing that is...It's deplorable. It shows just how much of a slut I really was before I got with you. How's anyone supposed to look up to someone like that? How are you supposed to love someone like that? Like me? I'm ashamed." Sonic finally said with a quiet voice. "That's all it is, shame."
A sorrowful silence drifted in the air.
Shadow had nothing to say to that, so he just closed his eyes again. He could scold him for his self loathing, but that'd be incredibly hypocritical of him. He could argue against this, easily detailing how wonderful Sonic was to be with regardless of his former sex life. He could tell him how much he loved him and that because of his love for him, this didn't make a difference to him, but this would all just fall on deaf ears. Plus, he didn't want to irritate Sonic any further. Maybe it was best to stay quiet, but only for now. He needed to practice what he preached about loving himself. He could tell Sonic genuinely did have some legitimate adoration for himself, just not as much as he should have. Shadow would get it through to him that he was wrong, he'd just wait for a better time to do so.
When he got the chance, he'd make Sonic see how much of a rarity he truly was.
5:55
"Oof, that took way longer than I expected...but it's finally done." Sonic stood up and walked around the table to the other side to hand over the sketchpad to Shadow. "Sorry for the wait, you don't have to pose anymore. Just make sure you don't touch it directly, you'll smudge the graphite."
Shadow opened his eyes and reached to grasp the sketchpad. Meanwhile, the hero walked back over to the couch where the bags were to get the fixative spray. When the striped hedgehog looked down at the hand drawn image below, he was immediately dazzled. Just like his other masterpieces, he drew the ultimate life form perfectly. Accurate anatomy, realistic strokes within the fur, delicately placed cross hatching marks with grayscale color of lead...It was flawless. And despite how mirror-like it seemed, he couldn't help but feel that tiny details within the drawing were just ever so slightly exaggerated. That must have been the stylization that Sonic was talking about before. He made Shadow look far more attractive than he actually was, at least in his opinion. Is this how Sonic saw him? This beautiful work of art, is what he saw whenever he looked at him? The biohog couldn't help but blush, this was the greatest form of flattery there was. He didn't think he could blow his mind again with his talent, but he literally just did. He blew his mind again.
"You mind turnin' that around and holding it up for me?" Sonic asked with a can in his hand. The biohog didn't want to stop staring at the work, but he reluctantly turned the sketchpad around and held it up anyway. "Turn your head." He warned before spraying the paper with the solution. Shadow turned his head to the side, smelling the strong chemicals of the fixative. After it was properly coated, Sonic stopped and placed the can down onto the table. "That'll have to sit for a while. Lemme get that out of the pad." He carefully placed his fingers against the bottom corner of the paper, before slowly tearing the page properly out of the book with the indented line. Once securely torn out without any damage, he handed it to Shadow before taking the sketchpad out of his hands. "Still try not to touch it, that needs to dry. So," He said with a small smile. "You like it?"
Now having the drawing back in his hands, Shadow wanted to clutch it to his chest and keep it forever. Maintaining self control, he nodded before glancing up at Sonic. "I...Can't describe how I feel about this." He looked back down at the picture. "It's excellent-No, immaculate. I don't even look this good in real life, but you made it as if I do. I'm...I'm shocked." He needed to have this framed at home. "Can I have it?"
"'Course you can, it's you!" Sonic chuckled. "Just let it dry first and I can get you a frame to put that in."
"Did you sign it?"
The blue one shook his head. "A signature? Nah, I don't do that." Sonic gathered up the art supplies from the couch and the table, and placed them back in the plastic bags. "I like to leave a little mystery, y'know?" He then neatly placed the bags back on the table. "I'll put those away somewhere later, too lazy right now." He looked over at Shadow. "You can leave that on the table too, just make sure nothing touches it before it dries." He watched Shadow place it onto the surface with precision, making the hero giggle a little. He treated it as if it was some sacred treasure lost to time. Sonic then pulled off his gloves one by one. "Alright hot stuff," He made a playful smirk as he flexed his now bare peach colored fingers. "You ready for that massage~?"
Shadow stared back at him with a blank expression, before it slowly turned very risqué. "No."
Sonic blinked. "No...?"
"I don't want that anymore. Instead," He walked over to Sonic and grasped one of his hands. He suddenly lifted him up in his arms, causing the blue one to gasp. In an amber red flash, they were Chaos Controlled to Sonic's bedroom. "I just want you." He carried Sonic to the bed while gazing at him fiercely.
"W-Wait wait wait wait, what's happening?"
"I said," Shadow gently placed him down on the bed and walked over to his nightstand. He found the lube from last night and slowly glanced at Sonic. He knew what he was referring to. "I want you." He opened the cap and softly commanded him to get fully naked. "Take off your shoes."
The hero was clearly caught off guard by this sudden proposal. "U-Uhh," Although, he couldn't say that he didn't feel a little horny from Shadow modeling nude for him. He wasn't opposed to the idea at all, he was just a little confused as to why he suddenly wanted this. And why did things get sexual every time the subject of giving Shadow a massage was brought up? "Not that I'm complainin' or anything," He said as he kicked his shoes off of the bed. "But is there a reason why you suddenly wanna do this? Feels a little outta left field."
Shadow scoffed as he got on the bed along with Sonic. "I don't need a reason to fuck you, hedgehog." He declared firmly. "If I want to have you for the night, that's all the reason I need." He watched hungrily as the blue one smirked at his words and rolled over onto his stomach. He raised his arse high in the air on his hands and knees, his tail teasingly wagging and beckoning for Shadow to come closer. The biohog licked his lips before getting closer and squeezing some of the lube onto his fingers. After doing so, he threw the bottle over the end of the bed and leaned down to press a wanting kiss onto the left cheek of his ass. He used his free hand to grope it, before giving it a nice smack. Sonic snickered at this and waved his bottom from left to right. He wanted Shadow to do more, obviously. Shadow then stuck out his tongue and slid it against his entrance, causing the blue one to inhale sharply. Considering what transpired more or less than twenty-four hours ago, it was a little more willing to open up for Shadow this time. After licking it a few more times, he pressed the tip of his tongue against it. It easily slipped in, so Shadow pressed some more. Sonic bit his lip and moaned deeply, pushing his lower body more against his lover's face.
The biohog slowly pulled his tongue out, before inserting his index finger in next. It was easy to get in the first half of the digit, but it was a little more resistant to the rest of it. With a steady pace, Shadow gently pushed his finger in more. When it finally reached the knuckle, he pulled it back out with care. He continued this motion and after a while, his walls were loose enough for one digit. It was time for the second. His middle finger went in next, and he used his free arm to hold Sonic's legs close and still. Like the first, his muscles quickly got used to his digits. Sonic was moaning and lightly panting, mewling for more as he fingered him. As he did so, Shadow laid the side of his face against his ample bottom. "You're not as tight as you were before, that'll make this easier..." He pressed more kisses against his ass, quickening the pace of his fingers thrusting in and out of him. He felt his blue legs shudder on instinct, and his moans grew a little louder. He saw that Sonic was watching him do this, looking over his shoulder with a red face. "You're beautiful, you know that?" Shadow murmured as he added a third finger, and simultaneously unsheathing his own hardened member from its hiding spot. "I'm blessed I get to touch you this way, to see you make that face and make those lovely sounds..." He pressed all three fingers knuckle-deep in, making Sonic yelp and arch his back. "Gorgeous..." He pulled his digits out of his entrance.
He turned Sonic onto his back and held up his legs over his shoulders. He leaned down to press a loving kiss onto his lips, and Sonic immediately deepened it by wrapping his arms around his neck. Shadow tried to be careful and penetrate him slowly, but it slipped right in and made him accidentally thrust it inside. "...!" Sonic's eyes became lime green hearts as he squeezed his calves against Shadow's shoulder blades. He liked that, there was little pain. They continued the kiss as Shadow began to pull out, but Sonic stopped him. He broke the kiss. "N-No, don't go slow, just fuck me." He said in a hurried voice. "Just fuck me, please." He then continued the kiss, his glossa protruding Shadow's mouth desperately. Their tongues wrestled for dominance of the kiss as the biohog thrusted against the blue one again, causing them both to moan out loud. He did exactly as he was told and didn't hold back, continuing to thrust his length within him. Sonic reached one of his arms down and pressed his fingers against his own crotch, revealing his swollen erection. They were both ridiculously hard for each other before they even started. He stroked himself as Shadow drove into him, and they both broke the kiss with hot breaths. "I'm no one else's..." Sonic whispered desperately. "I'm yours, only yours...Make me yours every fucking night if you have to..." He moaned loudly after he felt another hard thrust. "I just wanna be with you...nobody else..."
His words weren't as vulgar as they were supposed to be.
They sounded rather...sad.
Shadow frowned at this as he increased his speed and strength. Did he believe that because Shadow wasn't his first, that because he had such a high body count, he didn't believe that he was truly his? Did he think that because of his past actions, that he was a whore? Did he really think that little of himself? That shame that he held in his heart was strong. Well, Shadow wouldn't stand for that. He'd prove to Sonic that he was wrong. He grunted as he slammed himself inside of his inner walls, smacking his hips against his pelvis harshly. "You're so fucking beautiful..." Shadow cursed as he gripped his fingers against Sonic's legs. "And yet you think so damn little of yourself...Ngh..." He laid his head against Sonic's shoulder and next to his neck, biting him. He heard the blue one squeak in shock, before moaning pleasantly at his roughness. "I don't understand you..." Shadow hissed, feeling some parts of his insides still tightening against him. He felt so good inside, he felt so good. "You keep hiding things from me...Hiding what you feel, and yet..." He groaned as he made another powerful thrust, causing the already broken bed to rock against the wall. "You tell me not to do the very same thing that you're doing..." He bit his neck harder. "What sense does that make, faker?"
"I-I'm not-" Sonic gasped strongly, almost as if he was strangled for air. "I-I'm not beautiful-Ahh!" He gripped the back of Shadow's quills. "I'm a God damn mess...I'm ugly. I don't know why you-Ahh...! Want me..." He panted quickly, clenching his teeth and his eyes at the brutal impacts Shadow was making with his manhood. He was practically pile driving him into the mattress, showing him no mercy. "Ahh...Ah...! Ahh! Ah! I'm just...A used up trash bag-Aahhh~!" He tossed his head back, his lover was reaching his prostate at a rapid rate. "I dunno why you-Mmnn...! Love me...But if you really do...Then..." He gripped his hold onto Shadow's quills tighter, and he looked him dead in the eyes as he continued to ram his member inside of him. "Then fuck me harder and fill me up...Make it so that no one else is allowed to have me, ever." In other words, even if they were to break up, he wanted Shadow to make it so that he will never be able to move on or make love to anyone else. Last night, Shadow thought he was joking about that. But no, Sonic was being serious then and he was serious now. He didn't want anyone else, and he hated that he already gave his chastity away. "I should have given myself to you first...I'm sorry..." His nervous system electrified as Shadow went even harder. "F-Fuck...!" He almost screamed, he was hitting his prostate. "Holy fucking shit-" That felt way too good. "I'm so sorry...!" He moaned. "I'm sorry! I don't know what the fuck I was thinking, but I'm sorry...!"
He was moaning and nearly screaming for him again, but it wasn't just the lust. He was truly upset, and this was the only way he could express that. Internally, he was hollering at himself, beating himself in the head for being so stupid with his maidenhood. He hated that he couldn't see Shadow was right in front of him this whole time, and he gave up something so valuable. For this, he saw himself as not just shameful, but ugly. Shadow couldn't believe this, Sonic thought he was...Ugly. An angered growl broke through the biohog's lips. He went harder, he was annoyed by Sonic's refusal to believe the truth. "You fucking idiot," Shadow insulted roughly as he shoved his blue calves and his legs down against the bed over his lover's head. He increased the severity of his thrusts even more, his sack slapping against his ass in brisk succession. "To think that you'd believe something so stupid...You model for God's sake, how the hell could you think something so ridiculous!?" He yelled as he gave a punishing blow to his entrance. That earned him a panicked scream, he was near his climax. Sonic was in disbelief at his words, so he looked away as he suffered in pleasure. But Shadow wasn't going to go easy on him, not even if he begged. "I'm gonna make you feel everything I've got, I'll make you'll think twice before you ever think something that foolish again!" He could feel his own release coming soon, and it was going to be wild. "If I have to love myself, you have to learn to love yourself too. I'm not doing this alone, because you promised me we'd do this together!" He snarled as he seized the side of Sonic's muzzle, forcing him to keep his eyes on him. "Do you fucking understand me? I'm not gonna let you believe that anymore!"
Sonic nodded quickly, his face stuck in awe at how hard Shadow was going. He placed his hand over Shadow's, his eyes rolling back with fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, I understand, please keep going, I'm sorry-" He continued to ramble apologies with pleasured delusion until he felt it happen. "Aaahh!" His back arched further, his body almost lifting. "Fuck! Cum inside me, cum inside me...!" He made one last stroke against his own length, climaxing all over himself. "Please fucking cum inside me, I need your fucking cum, please cum inside-!" Shadow firmly placed his hand over Sonic's mouth, reducing him to nothing but loud and intense muffled moans. "M-Mmnnn!"
Witnessing Sonic's orgasm was too much for him to handle, it was a tantalizing sight his own body couldn't ignore. "Shut the fuck up," Shadow released a loud moan as he released inside soon after. "And take it...!" He thrusted a few more times as his essence flowed throughout his inner walls, clenching his eyes shut tightly at the critical tightening sensation on his member. "Shit...You're so fucking tight, I can't stop...!" He thrusted one last time, white attempting to ooze out. "Aahh..." Panting heavily, he slowly opened his eyes at the mess they made. He saw that Sonic's body was twitching, his hips violently reacting from the explosive orgasm. He was still cumming, silently gasping in near excruciating euphoria as his release finally began to end. Shadow pulled out, continuing to watch his blue lover miserably attempt to recover from his climax.
Sonic fell limp against the mattress and pressed his face into the blankets. He gripped them, quietly sobbing. Seeing this, any lingering feelings of pleasure in Shadow's mind disappeared. He saw something troubling happen right before him:
Sonic wasn't just crying from lust anymore, he was crying because he was actively distressed.
He rushed to embrace him, feeling him lightly shake as he continued to cry. "...Sonic?"
"..." Sonic said nothing and shoved his face against the nook of his shoulder. He hugged him closely, not daring to reveal his face to him.
Slowly, he held the back of his head with more care. He closed his eyes as he felt him cry even harder against him. This wasn't just him being upset about the dressing room incident, he was letting out everything. Him dying, watching Shadow die, upsetting Tails, becoming a demon, giving himself fully to someone else...It was a lot to keep inside for so long. He was positive Sonic wasn't a crier, if at all. He only saw him cry once on the Egg Armada, and he didn't think he'd ever see him cry again. Crying during sex was different and even Sonic admitted he never did so until he did it with Shadow, but that was more extreme euphoria and pleasure, not immense sadness. No, this was not the same. Because this time, it was so much worse. He was almost bawling, he was at his very lowest. He was beyond inconsolable. And thanks to the demon's transformation...Shadow's eyes widened. That's why everything was hitting him so hard, Sonic was secretly miserable ever since that day and never said a word. He was suffering in silence this whole God damn time. Sonic had been the one comforting Shadow, helping him get through his issues while he neglected his own. How many years has he done this? How many people did he have to be strong for? How long has he ignored his own darkness? Why couldn't Shadow see this sooner? Shadow didn't even realize this until now, and he felt guilty for it. He only knew Sonic was a little annoyed and regretful, but not this. He didn't know he was putting himself in such despair. Shadow also didn't realize that sex could cause such intense emotions. He felt a little more responsible for triggering them, but at the same time, he was glad Sonic was letting it out now.
No words were needed, and he didn't want to ruin this moment.
After maybe ten minutes passed, he could hear that Sonic's sobs fell silent.
Shadow lightly moved the blue hedgehog, making him get up from the bed with him together. He allowed him to continue hiding his face in the side of his neck as they walked to the bathroom, his weight leaning against his body. He ushered Sonic into the shower, turning on the faucet at a mild temperature before leaving him be. He knew he needed to be alone right now. And he was right, because the second he left the room, the hero got down to sit on the tile floor. His head was hanging low, his face still not visible. His back laid against the glass wall as he felt the water cascade over him. He got in a fetal position. He no longer cried, but he was broken at the moment. Shadow took this time to gather up the soiled sheets and put them in the wash that was just out in the hallway. When he returned, he remembered Sonic had some spare sheets in his closet. He remade the bed that was still broken, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the other legs didn't give out. They definitely went harder than last time, but the surviving legs were hanging on by a thread. The biohog finished making the bed and heard the bathroom door open. He saw Sonic walk out of it with a blank expression, as if he was completely fine. He wouldn't ask, nor would he probe. There was no need. Shadow just walked past him to get inside of the bathroom to bathe himself next.
Sonic sat down on the bed and moved to get within the sheets. He laid the side of his face onto the pillow and stared at nothing.
Soon, Shadow had returned from the bathroom with dampened fur. The blue one felt him crawl into bed behind him and embrace him. He heard his steady breathing and heartbeat against him, and it made him crack a smile. Sonic placed his hand onto one of Shadow's forearms and closed his eyes.
They didn't need to say "I love you," they could both sense that this was how they felt without words.
The only thing heard in that room next, were quiet snores from both lovers.
40 - END - 40
Notes:
Everyone...I say this with a heavy heart.
I think I need to put the story on hiatus for a while.
You see, I have at least nearly 30 chapters ready after this one, but I'm kind of at a block. I need more time to ready up more chapters. As I've said in the comments, this story is going to be very long. That's why I post at least three chapters at a time every weekend. I need to get out of this funk so I can have more work ready for you guys to enjoy. Right now, I'm experimenting with other fandoms. (I won't say which until that work is prepared to be published, so don't hold your breath.)I think I need...maybe two months. Two months to get myself back on track. Until then, this is goodbye. When I'm ready, I will post an update on my X/Twitter account: https://x.com/PMillennium78. PLEASE understand that I AM NOT abandoning this story, and I will not leave this story in limbo for more than two months, no matter what I have ready or not. I WILL be coming back, and I'll hopefully have some new material with me that's already been prepared.
You have all been so incredibly supportive. Thank you all so, SO much! I'm new, I didn't think I could get this far, but you all welcomed me with strong open arms. I'm not going anywhere until this story is finished, so...just give me time. I promise I'll return soon.
Until then...
...Sayonara, for now!
Chapter 41: Vertical
Summary:
We begin Arc 2: No Zone. Sonic and Shadow have arrived in a world filled with technology and a terrifyingly impressive militant police.
Chapter Text
ARC 2: No Zone
41 - Vertical - 41
South Island - Green Hills, Green Hill Zone
August 18th
DAY 39: Monday
Morning, 10:00 AM
Today was the day.
The necessary preparations for SEA Shadow's legal absence from GUN was notarized and approved. As for Sonic, he contacted all of their friends and told them they'd be leaving with the person known as Zonic. He explained to them in detail that while he despised the soldier, it was in both Shadow's and his own best interest to go with him as he initially asked when he first appeared in Mobius. He was the one who saved Sonic and reverted him from that demonic state. If anybody knew what was going on, it'd be him. Therefore, they had no choice. They needed answers, and they'd be forced to go with him eventually anyway. At the very least, he wanted them all to see them off. They were all in front of the hero's home, gathered together for what would be the last reunion for some time. Sonic gave Tails a quill charged with his energy and told him to incubate it in one of his devices so it couldn't die, just in case it'd be a long while before they returned. He wanted Tails to have it so he'd know whether or not the hero was in danger. In turn, Sonic gave one to Shadow to charge it up with his own power. He gave it to Rouge, and instructed her to do the same with one of Tails' machines. The hero also informed everyone that if anything bad were to happen here in Mobius, that they should contact Tails and get their hands on the spine. Their collective negative emotions would be enough to alert him that there was trouble back home.
On the days leading up to this one, the hedgehog duo spent some quality time with their allies.
Amy was lucky enough to drag-err...take Shadow to his first concert, which he surprisingly enjoyed immensely. Sonic hung out with both Rouge and Knuckles in one of the zones of Angel Island, Sky Sanctuary, and went on a sky-diving death defying yet relaxing treasure hunting adventure with two of the world's best contenders. They didn't find much, since the couple had already cleaned most of the island out of gems together, but they did find some scraps of malachite and even some diamonds. Sonic and Tails took Shadow to Cream and Ms. Vanilla's home, and the biohog finally got a taste of the woman's world famous pie. And it was so, freaking, worth it. When they got time alone, Shadow helped train Sonic with more chaotic techniques and skills that would most definitely aid them during their trip. Sonic failed at a lot of them and still wasn't very good at some of the things he was taught yet, but he was a quick learner and would get the hang of it soon. Wherever Sonic fell short, Shadow would be there to step in, and vice versa.
They would be okay.
This was their time to say goodbye for now, promising to return in the near future. They confessed that they didn't know how long they would be gone, as they wouldn't know what would happen once they left Mobius, but they swore they'd never desert their home. Someway, somehow, they'd make it back before the year was over. They hoped this trip would end much quicker, but who knows? Things were getting hectic and very unpredictable, neither of them could forsee what might happen while they were absent.
Sonic sighed as he placed his hands on his hips. "...And to top it all off, he's probably comin' with a warp ring to snatch us up anyway. So that's what's goin' on." He made a guilty expression. "Again, we're sorry about this. Nobody expected any of this to happen, y'know?"
They all nodded quietly, glancing at each other to see mutual agreement. There was nothing anyone could do, this couldn't be helped. Tails nodded with a confident smile. "It'll be alright, big bro. I'm not worried." He then glanced over at the taller pink hedgehog, who looked more than a little concerned. "Amy is, though."
She pouted at the fox for outing her. "N-No I'm not!" She stepped closer to Sonic and placed her hands on his softly. "Sonic, can I...be honest?" She asked in a hushed whisper, causing the hero to nod with a troubled grimace. "I am worried. See, remember when I said I would do some readings for you and Shadow?" She saw him nod again. "I was gonna tell you what I saw, but I kept getting this catastrophic result with my cards. I kept redoing them over and over for days to weeks, because I didn't wanna give you any bad news. But the result never changed, and by the time I wanted to tell you what I discovered, well...A lot of stuff kept happening, and there was never a good time to pull you aside. Point is, I don't know why," Her eyes flashed with some unsure fear. "But something bad is going to happen. I refuse to believe it's because of your love, that's crazy. I never got any readings of you breaking up or anything like that, which is super sweet but," She ceased her own rambling and sighed. "I think...Someone is going to take advantage of the fact that you two found each other." Her face became determined and fierce, and her hold on Sonic's hands tightened. "Whoever this is, do not let them win. Don't let them use your love against you. Fight back, don't give in. Ever." She tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Okay? I'll make sure Tails is safe, and I'll keep a cosmic eye on you two." She winked.
Catastrophic result...?
Hmm...
...Taking her words into account, Sonic nodded firmly. "Ames, you're tough as nails and sharp as a tack. I won't forget that." He gave her a hug, making her blush a little.
When their embrace ended, the red echidna suddenly spouted out something. "So is this just gonna be an on-and-off thing, or are you guys serious or...?"
Amy scowled and punched her fist into his arm, causing the guardian to wince painfully. "And why is that any of your business?"
Knuckles growled at her and huffed. "That's my little brother, of course it's my business!" He turned to the two hedgehogs, but mostly stared at Shadow. He eyed him up and down, before tapping his foot and putting his fists on his hips. "'Can't say I'm disappointed...You're pretty strong, I see why Sonic picked you." The hero was glowering blades of daggers into the echidna's skull as he inspected the biohog. Shadow meanwhile, was just standing there with a blank expression. He didn't know how to react to this. "Hmph, I guess I'll allow it." Knuckles crossed his arms. "You're better than the other assholes he messed around with, and you're way more reliable. But let me tell you something," He said with a threatening tone. "You hurt him, break his heart or do anything stupid," He smashed his fists into each other. "Then you and I are gonna have a big problem. After all," He cracked his neck, his muscles tensing. "You two aren't the only ones with a super form. He better be in full health by the time you get back, too. If he so much as has a cold when you return," His purple eyes narrowed ominously. "You're dead and put six feet under the grounds of the Master Emerald's alter, where the rest of my people are buried. They could use some company down there that aren't maggots. You got that?"
Still just staring blankly, Shadow easily answered: "Sure."
"Good-OW!" He was suddenly punched in the head, a bruise instantly appearing.
Sonic dusted off his fist as he gave the guardian a harsh glare. "I'm flattered, Red. Don't embarrass me like that again."
"Oh screw you," The echidna barked. "I hope you get a hangnail!" He was suddenly patted on the shoulder and shushed by a lipsticked kiss to his muzzle. It stained his cheek, leaving a very obvious kissy mark. "...!" He blushed and scowled while looking away, as a white bat walked from beside him and towards Sonic.
Rouge made a small sigh with a smile, looking at them both with some pride. "Well, look at you two now. I'm happy for you, really." She then glanced over at Sonic with a kind smile. "You've been so kind to Mr. Sunshine, and I'm so glad you're making him happy. I can't thank you enough for that, sweetheart. Now as Rad Red was saying," Her smile turned into a creeping, fanged grin as she cracked her knuckles in her palm. "Shadow's been through a lot, you know? He doesn't need anyone else causing more damage to him. So if you ever, ever, hurt Shadow—There will be no emerald, no super transformation in this world that will save you from me." Her face darkened significantly, and her voice became deeper. "I'll break your precious legs, and you will never run again after I'm done with you. GUN will cover up your injuries as a tragic accident, and I'll make it so that they never investigate what really happened. You will sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, eating out of a damn straw forever." She tilted her head as her expression brightened back up. "Understood, Big Blue?"
Feeling himself sweating all over anxiously, Sonic just nodded. "U-Uhh, yeah-"
She suddenly laughed and flagged off his expression. "Oh I'm just kidding, honey! You know I like you~" She gave both hedgehogs a big hug before returning to Knuckles' side.
Stunned, Sonic was nearly speechless. Her threat was far worse than Knuckles'. "I freakin' told her, girls like that are scary..."
Shadow looked over at him. "Now imagine living with that for an entire year."
Tails laughed at this and went over to nudge Sonic with his elbow. "Well, Sonic already told me I got first dibs on Shadow if he ever hurt his feelings, so the rest of you guys are out of luck." He used his namesakes to fly above them in the air, propelling himself over to Shadow. "Whatever Knuckles said, I'd basically say that by now. I don't feel like repeating it." He gave the biohog a sincere smile. "Just take care of him and make him happy, alright? Sonic can be a dummy sometimes, but try to be a little patient with him."
"Okay," Sonic suddenly cut in with a whine. "Are all of you gonna embarrass me today?"
Shadow made a small chuckle. "Fair enough." He gave Tails a nod. "I'll protect him with my life, and I'll make sure he's always happy. You won't have to worry about that, Miles."
The vulpine poked the striped hedgehog's arm. "Hey. You and Sonic are the only ones allowed to call me that, ya hear?"
"Of course."
Amy then squealed as she hopped up and down in the air. "Ooooohhhh you two are so cuuuuute!" Little hearts flew over her head as she skipped around merrily. "I feel like a little girl again, this is so precious!" She cupped her hands together as she swooned around the group of friends. "I can see it now, gorgeous black and blue bouquets on every table, velour-suede tuxes, and a grand sweeping orchestra...And I'll be the maid of honor-"
Tails immediately flew over and stopped her before she spoke any further. "Psst. Amy," He whispered. "That's tier eighteen, they're not there yet."
"Not yeeeeet~!" She sang happily.
Sonic cringed. "Chaos, I actually want to leave now."
The biohog just shrugged. "I've already been tortured by Rouge with that kind of behavior at work. I'm sadly used to it."
A large portal suddenly stretched out and appeared before them all.
It was engulfed in light blue aura, illuminating in their eyes all at once right in front of the hero's home. A supremely advanced metropolis appeared within it, showing a world beyond their own. Two pairs of black, steel toed military boots stepped out from within the portal. They expected the Sonic lookalike from all those weeks ago to be here, but that's not what they saw. With their hands behind his back and batons in their gloves, two Mobian-like persons briefly glanced at the crowd before them. Sonic Team and two-thirds of Team Dark all glared at them, their bodies prepared for a fight if need be. Uninterested, the soldiers then turned to Sonic and Shadow, who looked standoffish. This isn't what they agreed on, who was this? One was average Mobian height, but the other was above average and had a stocky build. These two strangers were both wearing strange, all black full bodied armor along with those helmets they saw Zonic wear on Angel Island. And the armor looked even stranger, as if it was designed by some insane sci-fi engineer. If they didn't know any better, they looked like advanced, anthropomorphic Eggman robots.
They both stepped beside the portal on opposite sides and announced their presence. "Sonic and Shadow prime," They both spoke at the exact same time, and their voices were filtered. "Due to unprecedented circumstances, first lieutenant general Zonic could not be here to escort you to our reality himself. We will be escorting you instead. Please come with us." They saw Shadow and Sonic share a gaze, then at their friends. They looked very unsure, but they could all tell they meant no harm.
Besides, they could also tell these two were nowhere near as powerful as Zonic was, meaning they could all ambush the two and take them down here and now if they truly felt threatened. That Zonic guy was strict, meaning he would have been here if he could. Something major must have happened for him not to show up. Fine, they'd just have to take their word for it. The two hedgehogs looked back at the soldiers and nodded. The soldiers then bowed to their friends with respect. The shorter soldier spoke first. "Our apologies for our superior's first meeting, it was never his intention to harm anyone. He already understands that his reputation in your world is highly negative."
The larger one spoke next. "Be that as it may, he will not cause anymore trouble in your realm." They straightened their posture before gesturing for the two male hedgehogs to come along. "We swear to you," They promised the gang. "He will make sure the primes are safe and protected."
The hedgehog duo in question glanced back at them all one more time to wave. Sonic gave a bittersweet smile to the vulpine. "Be good, lil' man. Tell Zooey and Cream I said 'hi'."
Shadow glanced at Rouge and gave her a single nod. "Tell Omega and Tower that I'll be fine, and I won't fail."
Hearing their final goodbyes made both Tails and Rouge wince sadly. The fox was the first to speak up towards the soldiers. "You better keep them safe, or we'll find a way to come to you instead." He exclaimed with a gruff voice. "You better treat Sonic and Shadow like kings in there."
Ignoring his comment, the two soldiers and the two hedgehogs disappeared within the portal, before it closed up immediately and vanished from their realm.
With troubled frowns, the friends all looked at each other with worry.
They could only hope that lookalike would keep his promise.
30XX - No Zone
Parallel City, No Zone Corps Headquarters
August 18th
DAY 39: Monday
Morning, 10:05 AM
In an instant, two male hedgehogs and a pair of soldiers appeared out of the portal.
Once they did, they stood on the grounds of something extraordinary.
Taking this chance to look around their new environment, they witnessed the massive wonder before them. It was as if they were transported in time to the future, where buildings were so tall that they seemed to reach outer space. Where cars could fly as high as an airplane, where people...walked sideways? They couldn't believe their eyes—They were actually watching people walk sideways along walls. In fact, some of the cars and even the buildings were upside down or completely vertical, floating in the air. The sky had a strange light blue hue, and the sun glowed brighter than it did back in Mobius. The clouds didn't look fluffy at all, almost as if they were just sitting there and barely moving in the sky. Roads and streets, venues and neighborhoods were beyond anything out of their imagination. Everything was so high tech, so advanced, so futuristic. Mailboxes were simple holograms, street lights hovered in the air above the highways, cars drifted without wheels or even without a driver. Even flora like trees or shrubbery was faux with a digital replacement, giving the illusion of cyber leaves falling to the ground. There were people in those same strange, all black, sleek yet thick armored uniforms at every corner. They all had batons that looked like Zonic's, and those weird helmets too. They were all in a rush, though. Some were escorting civilians to safe areas, or demanding that they stay away from this perimeter. What was going on?
Standing behind them, was an intimidating structure that resembled a towering, platinum white, modernized obelisk. A giant and heavy looking metal plaque floated above their heads in front of the building that read: No Zone Headquarters. Around the building's pillar-like form, were swirling light blue paths of cybernetic power. Floating armored trucks and other military-grade vehicles drove on them, entering in and out of various places of the architecture. Flat floating steps leading down from the platform they were standing on, led to nothing. Looking over, they realized the entire building, including the platform, was also floating in the air some how. Only a few of those cybernetic roads led from the ground to this platform. When Sonic curiously reached his hand out, a light blue hologram appeared, almost looking like a net pattern. When he took his hand away, it disappeared. Was this some kind of invisible forcefield? Shadow was just as stupefied as he was, trying to comprehend how such a place could exist. He was looking at so many things at once, that his head was starting to spin. Suddenly, a group of people in black were sprinting on one of the only cybernetic paths leading to the platform. Once they stepped onto it, their black uniforms digitized into more casual uniforms similar to Zonic's. They somehow ran in perfect single file lines, marching quickly in unison before entering the building ahead of them. What was the hurry?
"Gentlemen," The shorter soldier announced with the click of his boots. "Welcome to No Zone. Or," He stepped over to look over the skyline of his own home. "In some realities, the Perpendicular Zone." He noticed how breath taken then were, and understood their silence. "Yes, marvelous, isn't it?" He said. "Our home is extremely advanced, perhaps the most advanced realm in all of the realities-"
A loud series of explosions rang in their ears, causing them all to turn to the right.
"...!"
The sounds of roaring rotor blade vortexes blasted through, and Shadow and Sonic winced while covering their ears with their palms. But that sound, it reminded the hero of the airships he saw on Angel Island several years ago when Eggman first tried to conquer it. He knew it all too well—That wasn't just the sound of a huge aircraft, that was the sound of someone who wanted to take the world for themselves. His lime eyes dilated when he saw a behemothic flying battleship pass by the No Zone Headquarters. It was black and red, and instead of that pretty light blue color that brightened the cybernetic roads, a candy red colored grid-like forcefield surrounded the entire colossal aircraft. It was so massive, it could have fit a small country in it's innards. Or perhaps even be used as a missile for the sun itself. Only Dr. Eggman could create something this unnerving, yet he was firmly locked away in Prison Island back in Mobius. So who the hell made this metal monster? As Sonic and Shadow's eyes watched the vessel slowly go by, they saw an insignia in bright yellow on various parts of the battleship's wings. They were alarmed, but then confused. It was a symbol that looked like Eggman, yet something about it seemed off. The mustache was...smaller?
Suddenly, several dozen black futuristic fighter jets zoomed past the HQ around the towering vessel at speeds so quick that normal people wouldn't have even known something flew by. Just like how Sonic and Knuckles rode on the Tornado's wings when flying with Tails, or how Shadow and Rouge stood on Omega's large shoulders when in the air, several soldiers were planted on the wings of the jet. They had those batons too, but they were using them as guns the same way Zonic used his against them back on Angel Island. However, they weren't using mere shotgun models, they were using rapid fire firearms. Shadow blinked, were those machine guns? The bullets that shot out of them weren't normal, either. They were comprised of that same light blue cyber energy stuff, shooting directly at the flying battleship's forcefield. Each time a bullet hit the shield, the glowing candy red opposing energy brightened from the damage it took. However, the vessel wasn't only good for flying, it was a battleship for a reason. Large metal sidings on the side of the ship lifted up, revealing the gaping holes of several canons. Multiple missiles were shot out from the ship, aiming and seeking the tinier fighter jets beside it. The fighter jets swerved and spiraled through the air to avoid the projectiles, the soldiers on the wings almost losing balance and holding onto the metal birds for dear life. Both Sonic and Shadow watched as one of the jets were hit right in the left wing, instantly smoking and sparking with fire. It was going down, it wouldn't be able to keep flying for long, and the soldier on top of it slipped from the explosion and was hanging onto the tip of the right wing for dear life.
The smaller soldier beside the two hedgehogs suddenly placed too fingers to his helmet, before speaking aloud. "Mad Dog, this is Tallboy reporting: Hammerhead and I have successfully completed the extraction. Requesting permission to reengage in combat immediately!" He said with a hurried voice. "Bird Delta is down, I repeat, Bird Delta is down! Requesting permission to lead the Squadron."
A voice with static replied back, a voice both Sonic and Shadow recognized. "Mad Dog responding, Tallboy you may reengage. Permission to utilize the Squadron is granted, lead a frontal aerial assault. Team Primal is preoccupied with neutralizing seven dozen targets on Ground Zero, complete annihilation should take approximately ten minutes. I want the tip of that battleship's forcefield destroyed by the time we arrive, understood?"
The soldier nodded. "Yes sir!" He went to rush his way past the group, until the larger soldier grasped his arm. "...?"
"Zespio," The larger one said, that name perking Sonic's ears up. Zespio...? "Don't just rush in like that, you might get hurt! You gotta think rationally, that thing is huge. One wrong move and your whole fleet's going down."
"Zector, I know what I'm doing. The first lieutenant general and my entire squad needs me!" He pointed to the entrance of the HQ. "Escort Sonic and Shadow prime to the commander's office, then report back to the hangar. We might need some sailors in a few VTOLS with some model tens in case things go south." When the larger soldier didn't immediately respond, the smaller one placed his hand on top of his to gently make him let go. "I'll be fine, I promise. Keep your frequency open, I'll update you whenever I can." Finally, they both nodded from his reassurance and the shorter soldier sprinted towards the edge of the platform.
Just as he was about to jump off, a hefty, black, sci-fi looking motorcycle digitized in physical form right before their eyes. It was hovering in the air, it's wheels alit with that cyber energized color. He landed on the vehicle's seat and immediately revved it up, before zooming off into the distance away from the HQ. As it rode away at alarming speeds, a trail of cyber energy followed behind it's wheels. Then, it rose into the air, before undergoing a transformation. It converted itself into the cockpit and canopy of a fighter jet, before the larger portions of the aircraft appeared on the sides with cyber power. In seconds, it became one of the black fighter jets they saw before and soared into the sky along with the others. However, this one was slightly larger, and had special markings on the wings. Military emblems of great honor, zipping through the atmosphere like an eagle.
The larger soldier was reluctant, but turned away from his comrade's aircraft in the sky and demanded that the hedgehogs follow him. "You two, come with me!" He ordered. Sonic and Shadow glanced at each other before following the soldier into the building.
While he wasn't running, he was speed walking, almost as if he was eager to get in the action as well. The hedgehogs were distracted by the sky battle behind them, but then their attention was immediately changed to the interior of the HQ. Once they entered the building, they were even further floored. The floor was a smooth white marble, the walls were black with glowing light blue veins of digital power coursing through it. Looking upwards, they saw people walking on the walls again, using this strange feat to get to other floors of the building. How was that even possible? They walked by what seemed like other haste-moving soldiers, who quickly stopped to salute the larger soldier escorting them before continuing on their way swiftly. There were stairs floating and turning sideways every so often, leading to different paths and corridors. Elevators didn't even have wire cables, they just shot up in the air like rockets and plummeted back down to whatever floor was requested of them. Trash cans incinerated any garbage that entered it, and the floors were cleaning themselves with that same cybernetic power. The second someone smudged the gloss, it made a faint blue glow before the stain faded away in mere seconds. There was a reception area, the people sitting behind the desks were typing on holographic computers with impressive briskness. They looked anxious yet very determined. People who the hedgehogs assumed were normal citizens sat in the lounge, wearing clothing that wasn't at all the normal Mobian fashion sense. As usual, they barely wore any clothes to begin with, but the pieces of fashion they did wear were strange. It was almost like the cyber-punk, sci-fi clothes one would see from a movie.
However, they were all very shaken up. Their eyes constantly darted from side to side, whispering to each other with scared murmurs about what was happening. They were panicked, but they couldn't leave. Places where windows were supposed to be, were shuddered with metal slats. No one would be getting in or out without permission, these citizens were being kept in here for their own safety. There were even other soldiers surrounding the reception lounge standing by as guards. A mother in the lounge area, a female squirrel with odd triangle-themed piercings in her ears, pulled out what the hedgehogs initially thought was a smart phone. But no, it was flatter than that—It was just a screen. There was nothing to even hold, she was just holding up a flattened touched screen. Then, she somehow stretched the screen to be bigger by pulling the sizes with her palms. It was now about the size of a tablet. After a few taps with her finger, she placed it down near her kit who was sniveling and crying. It floated in the air, before showing a random animated cartoon for the child to watch. It's cries stopped for a moment, and the mother's expression was desperate to calm the child down. She was worried too, but she had to be strong for the kid. She hoped this would at least distract them. Another Mobian-like person, a male rabbit, was glancing nervously around him at the guards, before pulling on some wireless headphones. Maybe music would distract him. Above his head was holographic text that said: Do not disturb, high volume. He closed his eyes and attempted to divert his attention from what was happening. Besides the obvious increased tension of the reception area, the hedgehogs couldn't help but marvel at the high tech they had in this world.
As the three walked past all of this grand showcasing of unbelievable technology, the tall soldier speedily escorted them to a nearby elevator. A holographic sign appeared over it, reading: Restricted Access Only. Once he stepped closer, his very presence opened the doors immediately. He motioned for the other hedgehogs to follow him inside. Once they did, they were skyrocketed up above to a higher floor in only two seconds. When the doors opened, the soldier gave the two a warning. "Be careful here, the gravity is going to shift. Don't be surprised if you trip or fall." He then stepped out of the elevator onto the new floor and awaited for the others. Sonic and Shadow cautiously stepped out, before immediately losing balance and almost falling over onto each other. After taking a moment to find some semblance of equilibrium, they looked around to see that they were now sideways, because they could see that the floors below them were turned to the side. The entire floor they were currently on was vertical, and so were they. "Give it a second," The bulky soldier casually said. "We have devices that will stabilize your body's equity. You'll get used to it in no time." He began speed walking away, almost uncaring if they were still having trouble. "Come on, we're almost there." Grunting with insecure steps moving forward, the two attempted to follow after the soldier. They managed to get the hang of it a little, and they were just barely able to keep up with him. As they traveled down a corridor, they noticed that the theme of this entire world was black, white and light blue. There was no other color in sight besides the forest green, navy blue and brown military uniforms they saw on other soldiers passing them.
At last, they stopped in front of two tall white doors, but there were no handles. They opened simultaneously without being touched, allowing them all to walk within a small hallway that led to the main room. The floor was white hardwood floor, with an odd square-shaped pattern within it's slabs. The walls were black with odd sharp polygons, and the windows were tall but heavily tinted. They could see out, but no one would be able to see in. The room was so nicely furnished that it almost seemed like a small living space. There was a square glass coffee table with LED lighting within it, and it had fish swimming inside of the glass surfaces. They didn't look real, but there was actual water inside of it. Two white leather arm chairs were sat on either side, with a white leather loveseat sitting behind the table. The sides of the room held elevated dark green metal cabinets, probably tightly locked while holding a bunch of classified information. Near the windows was a large black desk that curved on both sides, and it was floating. Underneath it was a thick, large square rug that had a militant symbol, five white stars to be exact. The computer chair behind it had a tall back, and a flag was draped onto the wall behind it. A symbol was planted in the middle of the fabric, and it was unique to say the least. The flag was black, and the white colored insignia printed on it was an..."L"? No, it looked like an L, but it wasn't. It was a ninety-degree angle, with a small superscript circle in the middle.
If they didn't know any better, they'd say the stepped into the grand office of a cutthroat dictator or a great army general.
"You two stay here, and do not leave this room!" The large soldier ordered. "Otherwise my superior will have all of us hung by our tails." He held his fingers up to his helmet. "Mad Dog, Hammerhead reporting. Both primes are secured inside of Dullahan's office, requesting permission to reengage in combat as a standby within the hangar."
The hell were these code names?
"Mad Dog responding, Hammerhead you read loud and clear. Permission to reengage in combat is granted, please assist Team Alpha with physical aerial combat. You may regroup with Tallboy's bird if the opportunity befalls you, over."
"Thank you sir, over and out." The two hedgehogs watched the large soldier run out of the office immediately, the doors shutting behind him automatically. A click was heard, they were locked in.
Well.
This was...interesting.
The two hedgehogs glanced at each other, and Sonic decided to speak first. "...Did we just walk into a war?"
Shadow scratched behind his head. "I think we did. Question is," He walked over to one of the windows that were barricaded. He grunted as he placed his palm underneath it to push it upwards. With a little more effort, it was forcefully lifted all the way up to reveal the tinted glass. "What is this world?" He asked aloud, watching several fighter jets zoom across. Sonic walked beside him to watch along with him, just as curiously amazed as he. "It looks like the future, and everything is either hi-tech or militarized. Or both."
"Yeah," Sonic replied. "And did you hear what those guys said? They said the names Zespio and Zector, kind of like...Espio and Vector from our world."
Shadow then stared down at the floor.
Wait...
He slowly turned to Sonic. "Zespio, Zector, Zonic...are these other versions of us?"
The shock of this revelation made Sonic's eyes dilate. "...Holy shit." He whispered. "No freakin' way," He looked at Shadow and shared his baffled gaze. "That would explain why he looks exactly like me. Those other guys were covered up in that armor so I couldn't tell for sure, but Vector is that exact height. And even though their helmets have voice filters, it still kinda sounded like him too. And that battleship," He realized that maybe that wasn't Eggman, but perhaps..."That insignia wasn't quite Eggman's style, but if there's other versions of us in this world, then there's another version of Eggman here too." But this didn't make any sense. "But why is there a sci-fi world with nothing but different versions of Mobians around? How does this place even exist?" He asked. "I mean, I know that sounds a little stupid comin' from me. I've seen all kinds of whacky shit in my adventures. I've got so many crazy stories, sometimes my friends don't even believe me. But this? This is a whole other level of whacky, crazy shit."
The biohog shook his head. "I don't know what's happening, but we may have put ourselves into something even worse." They watched as yet another jet was shot down, watching the soldier that was previously standing on the wing fall down. That's when they saw more of those cool looking motorcycles drive through the air to catch them, before driving away. "This world is at war, that's a fact. What for, I'm sure that Eggman symbol has something to do with it. That clone of yours has a lot of explaining to do."
Sonic gawked at what happened next and excitedly tapped Shadow's shoulder while pointing at the window. He then got closer, almost watching out of it like a TV. It was so tall and wide, they had a perfect view of the aerial fight. "Yo, look at that!"
The larger fight jet that the soldier known as Zespio was flying, was leading an entire fleet of twenty-four smaller jets behind it to the front of the battleship. On each jet, stood a soldier with a weapon. On the bigger aircraft was the larger soldier known as Zector, along with a few other soldiers on the wings. There was enough room for many of them to stand on, and they all had their baton-weapons readied and aimed. They weren't machine gun models this time either, they were rocket launchers. The battleship had become stagnant in the sky, staying in this position just to attack with barrages of missiles and other explosive projectiles. Zector held up an arm, his palm open. The lower portion of his helmet, where the mouth was, was open. They could see a Mobian-like reptilian mouth speak. That almost sealed it, that guy must have been Vector's twin. "Ready. Aim..." He instructed loudly before making his hand into a fist. "...Fire!" Every soldier sitting atop the jets, including the jets themselves, began to fire all at once. When individual soldiers shot at the forcefield around the ship before, their bullets couldn't cut through. However, with at least two dozen soldiers with rocket launchers, and high powered fighter jets built with minigun-grade firearms, the forcefield barely had a chance. It took maybe three seconds for the forcefield to crack, and digitally shatter into pieces before the red cyber energy faded away into the ether. After they broke it from the front of the battleship, the rest of the shield fell apart everywhere else, leaving the gargantuan aircraft highly vulnerable. "Team Primal, Hammerhead reporting! The shield is down, I repeat: The shield is down! Move in, now!"
A squad of nine flying motorcycles drifting in the air rocketed towards the battleship. The motorcycle leading the group looked even more advanced than the others, and the cyber energy trail left behind it was a different shade of blue. Almost the same shade of blue as Sonic's fur. Could that have been...? "They're gonna hit that thing head on like that?" Sonic exclaimed. "That thing's metal is way too thick. They can't bring that down with a couple bikes, can they?"
Synchronously, all drivers suddenly jumped from their vehicles and ascended in the air. On the soles of their armored boots were thrusters, similar to Shadow's air shoes. They used this to propel themselves above the battleship, before hurdling back down in a V formation. Whipping out their police batons, the law enforcement tools became models of rifles that shot glowing lights of laser projectiles. Mere bullets and even rockets wouldn't be able to damage that metal, but thousand-degree lasers would. It cut through the metal like butter, severing portions of the aircraft in near symmetrical burning lines. The colossal aircraft caught on fire in many areas, metal and machinery from the inside groaning loudly with damage. Some parts were beginning to fall down in the sky, plummeting below onto the city. If they let them fall down completely, it would destroy buildings and kill many civilians. The leader of the squad made a hand signal, gesturing for the group to disperse immediately. They did as they were commanded, and the soldiers scattered to fly downwards ahead of the giant falling pieces of the ship. Like angry wasps zipping around their disturbed hive, they moved at mach speed to fly around the pieces. The more they spiraled around them, the more a light blue forcefield appeared around each one. Once the forcefields were completed, the velocity of the falling battleship rubble slowed to a stop and just continued to float in the air.
As they handled the rest of the plummeting battle ship parts, the leader meanwhile turned off their thrusters and landed squarely in the middle of the remaining flying piece of the ship. He then sprinted forward with a sonic boom, moving just as fast as both Sonic and Shadow.
"What!?" They both gasped.
They ran around the entire surviving aircraft piece hundreds of times in only a single second, forming a forcefield around it. It was larger than the others. The leader slowed to a stop before crouching down and retracting their arm. They swung their fist into the floor of the highly damaged deck, which caused a large vibration of internal damage to ran throughout the rest of the ruined battleship. A cataclysmic explosion rang within the forcefield, fiery blasts and smoke filled the entire sphere. Through the smoke, the leader shot through and phased through the peak of the forcefield, safe from the explosion. The motorcycle they rode to lead the squad quickly drove in the air below them to land on, and drive away. Soon, the fleet of fighter jets flew beside the forcefield. It began to glow light blue, and the sphere holding the destruction of the destroyed battle ship began to float alongside it. It was almost as if the leading jet was levitating the sphere itself, taking it away from the aerial battleground. Smaller jets did the same with the small forcefields of the wrecked ship parts, leading it away into the distance somewhere. Where they'd take them, the two hedgehogs had no idea. They saw a few other members of the leader's squad drive by with their flying motorcycles, announcing to other soldiers listening in that their victory was confirmed.
"Mission successful, target neutralized. Code green, all officers on standby are to escort civilians out of HQ and back to their residences. All combative officers fallback. I repeat, all combative officers fallback. Team Squadron: Dispose of the remains of the target, over."
Like that, the fight was over.
Sonic and Shadow slowly looked at each other again for the third time today.
"...Woah." They both said breathlessly.
Suddenly, they heard a loud voice ring into the room. There must have been speakers in the ceiling for announcers in order to alert other officers in the building. It was a female voice, one that sounded...kind of like someone Sonic knew. He tried wracking his brain for who it could be, but he was drawing a blank. Why did that voice sound so familiar, yet not...? "Sonic and Shadow prime, please exit the office you are currently in. After exiting, please travel down the corridor of soldiers and do not stray from the hall. First Lieutenant General Zonic will meet with you shortly, thank you and welcome to No Zone."
They heard a click, the doors were unlocked.
They gave each other an unsure look, before nodding and moving to walk away from the window and out of the office.
The two Mobian hedgehogs were met with exactly what the announcer said: A corridor lined with soldiers in both casual and armored uniforms. They had their hands behind their backs, in a professional stance and not moving a muscle nor a sound. It almost seemed like they didn't blink, either. They all had their helmets off, revealing their faces. They all looked like Mobians of various species, but they knew they weren't actually from their world. Their postures were so rigid, so flawless that it looked painful. Men, women and anything in between of all shapes and sizes were soldiers, proud and too disciplined to fall out of formation. With every soldier they passed, they saluted the two. They saw that this hallway wasn't that long, yet it seemed like it took forever. They felt like they couldn't walk too fast, almost like they weren't allowed. This was intimidating to say the least, and none of the soldiers would even look at them. They just kept their eyes forward at nothing. True soldiers, through and through.
They finally reached the end of the hallway to see half a dozen soldiers standing by in that same stance.
They all looked like the soldiers who were fighting in the skies, because their armor looked a little scratched. They all slowly took off their helmets to reveal their faces. That's when the hedgehogs saw the familiar faces of a green crocodile and a purple chameleon, going by the names of Zector and Zespio. Shadow was right, they were the spitting image of their Mobian counterparts. However, these weren't the people they knew. These people were not Vector and Espio, not at all the members of the Chaotix. Their expressions were neutral and rigid, not like the two guys they knew from back home. That's when the group of soldiers stepped aside and bowed their heads before standing up straight and saluting. From within the crowd, was the leader of them all. As they stepped in front of Sonic and Shadow, all other soldiers from down the hall all bowed at the exact same time. Zespio quietly stepped beside the leader, and carefully took off their helmet for them. As he did so, they pulled out their baton from their belt.
A male blue hedgehog with a stoic scowl on their fawn muzzle shook out his long quills from the helmet and met their gaze, before firmly planting his baton onto the floor and leaning his palms against it like a staff.
"Sonic and Shadow prime," He addressed with an apathetic tone. "How nice of you to finally arrive in my city."
Zonic the Hedgehog, First Lieutenant General of No Zone Corps stood before them all as if he was beyond the caliber of anyone else.
Almost as if a spotlight was shining down on him, and him alone. While Sonic was the hero of his world, Zonic was the hero of this one and spared no time to prove it. This was his house, and nobody could dispute that with its owner. Under his sheer authoritarian aura, there wasn't a soul alive that could intimidate him or resist his command.
This was the face of justice in No Zone.
41 - END - 41
Chapter 42: The Half Truth
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow meet General Zhadow, who gives them some much needed exposition.
Chapter Text
42 - The Half Truth - 42
11:30 AM
Several minutes of silence passed.
"..."
Even the other soldiers were starting to seem a little uncomfortable by the quiet.
"..."
Zonic was staring down on them like they were peasants. He was the same height as they were, yet it felt like he was standing upon a heavenly ivory tower. It was like he thought he was better than literally anyone or anything else, even the damn sun itself. No, maybe even the universe. He narrowed his dark green eyes down at them with an unimpressed expression. "...Well?" Zonic asked with a raised brow. "Introduce yourselves to my soldiers, if you would. It's the least you could do for being late."
Being late?
How were they late?
They came when Zespio and Zector came to pick them up, how faster could they have come? Sonic could feel irritation brew in the back of his brain. "Late?" He repeated with a flippant leer. "Sorry Napoleon, I didn't know we had a damn time limit. Excuse us for not rolling out the red carpet for you during our arrival to a place we didn't even know existed. But please," He gestured for Zonic to keep talking. "By all means, keep spouting more of that bullshit to your esteemed guests, private."
Everyone in the hall immediately turned their head towards the Mobian blue hedgehog with shocked expressions. They broke their own stances just to give him a, "Why the hell did you just say that?" look. Shadow internally cringed at this. While he had no right to say it outright since he himself was no better, he kinda wished Sonic would tone down the sass. He understood he didn't like his military twin, Shadow didn't either, but talking smack the moment they arrived wasn't a good decision. They were completely at these people's mercy, and Zonic could pull anything with all these soldiers at his disposal.
Zespio immediately walked right up to Sonic with an offended expression. "How dare you! That is our superior, and you will show respect-"
"Please," Zonic simply replied with an uninterested voice. "It's fine, I suppose I should have just introduced them myself. It isn't wise to depend on self-indulgent brats."
A vein appeared on Sonic's forehead as he threateningly stepped closer. "Haha...Bastard-"
Shadow immediately seized Sonic's arm. He gave him a stern look with his amber red irises, and just slowly shook his head. The hero just rolled his eyes and took a step backwards while crossing his arms. Fine, he'd let Shadow do the talking. The biohog sighed and glared at Zonic, as he basically started it for being rude the second they saw each other. "If allowed," He began tersely. "We'd like for you to start that sentence over with less childish sass. We didn't ask to be here, by the way."
Zonic only scoffed. "Hmph. Shadow prime, always the more rational of the two." He gestured for the other soldiers to give the two hedgehogs their full attention. "Officers," He announced loudly. "I ask that you ignore my derision of these two Mobians and forgive my unprofessionalism. Regardless of my own personal opinions, they are still two of the multiverse's most powerful living beings. They have saved their own reality of numerous formidable threats for decades, and are seen as heroes of their world." His voice sounded slightly less disrespectful when describing the two, so they were thankful for that at least. "They are stronger than even the highest ranking No Zone soldier—except for myself and General Zhadow, of course—" Okay that one was definitely a dig. Anytime he praised them, he took it right away in the next second. "And are not to be underestimated. They are special guests of ours, and as such, should be treated with immense respect. If they are in need of assistance of any kind, you are to see their requests through. Protect them with your very lives when necessary, and do not belittle or irritate them within or outside my presence. Should either of these primes complain to me of incompetence, a severe penalty will be bestowed." He slammed the tip of his baton on the floor. "I will not tolerate anything less than perfect behavior from all of you, because as you know, perfection in No Zone is key. Is that understood?"
They all saluted simultaneously. "Yes, sir!"
"Very good, at ease." Zonic placed his hands behind his back, his baton nonchalantly tapping against the back of his boots. "Return to your normal duties. All combative soldiers who took part in defending the HQ are to write and submit their reports to me by o five hundred." He waved a hand to shoo them all from his presence. "Dismissed."
They quickly bowed. "Yes, first lieutenant general."
Despite being dismissed and walking with a slightly more casual air, they all scattered about in perfect synchronization. Were they that well trained? Sonic hated how cool they and this world all seemed, because their boss certainly was not. He hated even more that someone so uncool would have his face and voice. Super big bummer, honestly. He continued to stay silent, though. He had nothing positive to say to this person, so he kept his mouth shut and let Shadow take over. As everyone else exited the hallway, the biohog showed his dissatisfaction with their not-so-warm welcome. "I'm going to ask you once and only once, not to insult Sonic in front of me again. While we do have questions that obviously require answers only you can give us, we can just as easily find a way back home without your help. You hate us so much, yet you evidently needed us to be here for weeks. If you want our cooperation," His eyes sharpened their glower at Zonic. "Watch your damn tone."
Slowly, Zonic smirked.
"Ha," He chuckled and walked past them easily. "Too easy." Was all he replied with. "Follow me and do not stray from my direction, that's an order."
Sonic couldn't keep quiet anymore. "We ain't your soldiers, ya damn clone."
Zonic simply shrugged as he continued walking. "Up to you. Follow, or don't. I don't care."
A very annoyed laugh came from Sonic as he turned to Shadow. "Can I please punch his teeth down his throat and make him swallow 'em?"
"As much as I love the phrasing of that," Shadow responded slyly, always loving whenever Sonic acted more volatile than usual. "I don't feel like invoking the wrath of an entire hi-tech military force that isn't GUN. GUN soldiers are easy to take down, but these guys," He trailed off with an unsure tone as he glared at his boyfriend's twin down the hall. "They're a whole different league, more organized and more powerful than any army I've ever seen. While I'd like to introduce your twin's face into the concrete floor just as much as you do, we need answers. So," He tugged on the back of one of Sonic's quills. "Behave."
Sonic gawked at him. "Me!? He's the asshole!"
"I know he is, but you're also better than him, right? So be the bigger person."
The hero grimaced with a disgusted look. "Dude, fuck that-"
Shadow suddenly leaned closer with a suggestive smile. "Do it for me?"
Blushing a little, Sonic looked away and pouted. "Fine, whatever...But only 'cause you're cute."
With Sonic behind him, Shadow followed after the arrogant first lieutenant general. They realized that they were returning back to the grand office they were in before, the general's apparently. It's hard to believe that there was someone higher up than Zonic. Considering how much ego the guy had, one would think he ran the place himself and no one else. As they entered back inside of the office, Zonic stood beside the desk on the right. He had one of those weird super thin smartphones in his hand, which was odd since he was still in that heavily armored black uniform. They were surprised he didn't crush the fragile looking device with his hardened gloves. As he tapped at the screen with a bored expression in one hand, he used the other to tap a few hidden buttons that were installed within the armor. His uniform was suddenly digitized into the more formal attire they saw back in Angel Island, that forest green uniform. It was amazing how their supreme technology could just do that. Now dressed less for battle and more for militant conferences, the blue soldier briefly glanced at the two Mobians who were watching him carefully.
Zonic looked back down at his phone and continued to use his thumb to scroll. Was he allowed to be on his phone like that at this time? "You may sit, if you wish. My superior will arrive shortly, as he had other...more important matters to attend to. Once he is here, we will both be able to explain to you exactly what's been happening to you and your reality for the last month." He then looked up from his phone and glared at them harshly with a more aggressive tone. "And do not disrespect him in the slightest degree, or I'll have both your heads." Sonic was going to move his lips for a comeback, but bit his tongue and just sat down in one of white chairs at the coffee table. Shadow did the same on the other side and crossed his legs, his expression already tired.
This was going to be a long day.
"It looked as if you were all at war, what's more important than defending your HQ?" Shadow asked with a challenging resonance.
"If you must know, Shadow prime," Zonic curtly retorted without looking from his phone's screen. "While we were defending the HQ from that battleship, my superior was attacking the actual threat: The owner of that said battleship. He discovered that the battleship was oddly completely empty of a captain or personnel to run the ship, only equipped with weapons. He decided to investigate that himself. That too, will be explained to you when he arrives. What you witnessed here today has to do with your reality as well. However, you both must understand something vital. Regardless of your distaste for me, you cannot show that same crassness to my leader." He gave them both a strong stare, not one meant to antagonize them, but to warn them. "Heed this warning in a way I know you two can understand: Don't. Fuck. With the general. Do that, and I promise you'll return home in one piece." Sonic continued not to say anything, but he did stare at Zonic with a tensive glare. Zonic caught this and shared his glare right back. "There a problem, Sonic prime?"
No, Shadow asked him to play nice. He'd do so, so he said nothing. "..."
Zonic chuckled again. "Hmph. You keep your pet on a leash rather well, Shadow prime."
Shadow immediately stood up and began to take a few steps forward towards the twin. "And I told you not to insult him again in my presence." He confronted him fearlessly. "If you'd like us to leave, we'll happily do so. This has been nothing but a waste of time, anyway." He briefly looked over at the windows, all of which were void of the metallic shudders that were barricaded before. "Shame we couldn't enjoy the wonder of your precious hi-tech city, your disgusting attitude ruined our short-lived visit."
"I'd love for you to go back to la la land and out of my God damn reality," Zonic hissed back. "However," His tone shifted to sound more indifferent once more. "My superior wouldn't appreciate that. You're both tougher than you look, you can handle a few jabs."
Before Shadow could say anything back, a portal opened before them from across the room.
From within it, they saw a black helicopter that had just landed on a helipad, sitting atop the highest peak of a skyscraper. Strong winds blew from within the portal, causing the temperature in the room to drop from the brisk breezes. A black, steel toed boot that looked similar to Zonic's stepped into the office and out of the portal. Before them stood a male Mobian-like hedgehog, wearing a long navy blue military trench coat. They wore a pair of white gloves that were red on the palms, golden rings wrapped around the wrists. Several medals were pinned to their chest, and there were more than Zonic had. They glinted as they fully entered the room, the portal behind them closing slowly. White chest fur stuck out of the collar of the trench coat, and red stripes lined their upturned quills. He had a pink tinted plastic bag in his hand, a sweet aroma drifted from it. He wore a pair of black tinted, tactical military sunglasses, hiding his eyes. A pair of ominous dark red orbs glowed from behind them, hiding half of the new arrival's face. A tan muzzle met the two hedgehogs, a disinterested frown planted firmly on it.
A near identical twin of Shadow the Hedgehog, was now in the room with them.
"You're late, too." Zonic said still without looking from his phone.
Silence.
The only thing anyone could hear, was slightly gruff breathing from the Shadow lookalike. "..."
Okay, this was...awkward.
Sonic looked back and forth between Shadow and this newcomer with baited breath, who looked exactly the same. It was freaky enough seeing his own twin, but one of his boyfriend? Yeah, today would be a long day indeed. That's when Zonic made an annoyed sigh and took his eyes off of his phone to glower at the Shadow twin. "Damn it-Will you introduce yourself to them already? We're wasting time, here. You and I both have a very busy schedule today." Those eerie dark orbs glowing from behind the shades directed their attention to Zonic the second he spoke. The blue furred soldier just scowled. "General, for God's sake-" In one swift motion, Zonic's superior appeared right in front of him in the blink of an eye. He roughly gripped his jaw with one hand, before consummating a deep kiss on his fawn lips, silencing his complaints instantly. "...!" Zonic clutched his hand against his phone tightly, stiffening his body in shock at what was happening. His muzzle was a deep red, but he couldn't push him away. He tried to place his hand on his wrist, attempting to make him stop embarrassing him like this, but his hold on him was too strong. Shadow's lookalike seized Zonic's collar, lifting him from the floor. Continuing the kiss and keeping his hold on Zonic, his superior walked towards the white sofa, and broke the connection by rudely shoving Zonic down onto the furniture. Lightly gasping with an understandably completely flustered face, Zonic gave his superior a death glare. His superior nonchalantly dropped the pink tinted plastic bag on the fish-tank coffee table, knowing very well how much the blue soldier was seething at the moment.
Shadow's lookalike readjusted his shades. "..." He walked back over to the front of the desk and bent down to pick up Zonic's phone. He scrolled through it a couple times, before carelessly tossing it over at his subordinate. Zonic caught it, still incredibly humiliated from what was just done to him in front of company. His superior walked behind the grand desk, before sitting in the chair, crossing his legs and raising them up on the desk's surface. He folded his hands in his lap, and his sunglasses glinted menacingly. "...So," A deep voice flowed from his lips, once that sounded exactly like Shadow's. "These are the primes."
...Needless to say, Sonic and Shadow, the latter of whom sat back down in his designated seat, were a little stunned by what they just witnessed.
They just saw their own twins kiss each other, the same way they would themselves.
Were they together, too? And as hostile as that kiss was, and as irate as Zonic seemed at the moment, his eyes had a strange sense of submissiveness. Did he secretly enjoy that? He was keeping his eyesight away from his superior, fixing his collar, smoothing out his uniform and putting his phone in his coat pocket silently while gritting his teeth. Sonic was enjoying every second of this, smirking directly at his twin. Looks like he was learning what Sonic learned as a teen the hard way: There was always a bigger fish, and that Shadow lookalike just proved that to them all in seconds. Zonic was quite the pistol, but if he was a pistol, then this guy was a damn anti-tank rifle. There was indeed someone in this world who couldn't care less for his attitude or his authority complex, and wasn't afraid to smack it down with a simple slice of humble pie. Dark red glowing orbs directed their line of sight to Zonic, causing him to flinch upright in his seat.
"Introduce us." Was all the Shadow lookalike requested of his subordinate. His voice didn't intend to be intimidating or even demanding. If anything, it sounded rather casual and even mundane, but it did the exact opposite effect.
Intensely exasperated, Zonic cleared his throat and tried his best to look more professional, even while blushing like a fool. With a heavy, irritated sigh, he began carefully. "...Sonic and Shadow prime, this is my superior, General Zhadow the Hedgehog. Leader and general of the entirety of No Zone Corps, warden of No Zone Prison and virtually the most powerful shadow political figure in all of No Zone, despite only being the shadow to Parallel City's mayor. While he is not at all a world leader, he has just as much influence and authority as one due to our massive military and several international business dealings." That was a mouthful, but he was forced to say all that every single time he was tasked with introducing his boss to a trusted ally. He took a second of breath before continuing, still with a very annoyed expression. "General Zhadow, this is Sonic and Shadow prime. They are two of the most prevalent Chaos Born in the multiverse, the Divine Pyramid, and are somewhat formidable."
A surprising small snort came from the one known as General Zhadow. "'Somewhat'? Didn't they reveal your identity and kick your ass so badly that you had to resort to using a rocket launcher? Don't inflate yourself too much, rookie."
Sonic burst out loud with laughter. "PFFT! Oh, I like this guy!"
"Illiterates," Zonic hissed in return, glaring at Sonic mostly. "If you knew anything about No Zone, you'd know that using weapons on our targets is a mercy. If I had gone full hand-to-hand combat on you two dunces, you'd both be corpses."
Zhadow simply tapped his fingers together. "Rookie, have you eaten today?" He suddenly asked.
Zonic blinked. "Err, not yet. There was an attack, I didn't have time to. Why?"
"Eat a donut."
"What?" His subordinate was put off by this sudden order. "But-"
"Eat." Zhadow insisted with a calm voice.
"Sir-"
Zhadow lowered his sunglasses a little to reveal his glowing dark red eyes. "Eat." His expression was neutral, as was his tone, yet something about the way he spoke just now said otherwise. "I made sure I got your favorite, simple glaze." He added while properly keeping his shades on the bridge of his nose.
Sonic slowly looked over at Shadow across the coffee table and whispered the words, "This guy is intense."
A few more veins appeared on Zonic's head, but he slowly exhaled and decided not to feed anymore into this futile argument. "...Fine." He pulled the pink plastic bag over and opened it up. As he dug in and pulled out pink boxes filled with sweets, he relayed one last thing. "We're having a talk when we leave for lunch this afternoon."
"Mmn." Zhadow carelessly responded. "Anyway," He directed his attention to Sonic and Shadow. "You two," He suddenly began to smirk a little. "How interesting...You're the only people I know that managed to push Zonic that far. He hasn't returned home battered like that in years. Even if you technically lost, I must thank you. He needed that beating, good for training. Pain helps people grow."
Sonic then looked at Shadow with a look. The biohog frowned back. "What?"
The hero shrugged and suddenly stared at the ceiling. "I dunno, he just...sounds like somebody I know...Couldn't tell ya who."
"Shut up, faker."
A dark chuckle emanated from the general. "You're more like us than Zonic gave you credit for. I had a feeling he underestimated you, something I adamantly taught him not to do." He ignored the fact that Zonic was still glowering holes into his face from across the room.
"Yeah, um," Sonic cut in with a sheepish smile. "So y'all are a thing...? Like us?"
"Indeed," Zhadow replied easily. "We felt it was futile to hide it from you. It's illegal to date within the workplace but," He shrugged. "I own this work place, so it's an open secret amongst the other soldiers. Most other Sonic and Shadow templates are in an intimate relationship of some kind, just as you two are."
Shadow furrowed his brows. "What do you mean 'other Sonic and Shadow templates'? And for that matter, how do you two exist? Why do you look exactly like us, what is this world and why are you suggesting there's more clones of us?"
Zonic scoffed as he nibbled his glazed donut. "First off, don't you dare insult us by calling any of us clones of you." He crossed his legs as he continued to eat small bites. "You two must understand, we all live in a multiverse. Meaning, there are other worlds and realities beyond your own that exist. Some before your time, some after. Meaning that there are other Sonics, Shadows, Rouges, Robotniks and etcetera. You two are not the only Sonic and Shadow that exist, and never will be. General Zhadow and I are an example of this. And FYI, both us and this reality are older than both of you and Mobius." He placed his gloved fingers underneath the edge of the coffee table and pressed a button. A metallic tray of two cups of coffee digitized before them, causing Sonic and Shadow to stare in amazement. Piping hot plastic cups of coffee were now right there on the table, real and filled with the aroma of fresh ground beans. Shadow's nose wrinkled though...The beans didn't smell natural. What kind of coffee was that? Zonic took a cup and began to sip. "All entities of any reality are completely different from you, which again, includes us. We are nothing like you," He spat with distaste. "We have our own lives, biologies and personalities. The only thing we all share with each other are superficial similarities and Chaotic Blood."
"Older than us, huh?" Sonic mused.
"You're twenty-three, right?" Zonic asked sarcastically. "I'm a year older than you."
"Wow! And you're still a whiny little bitch, that's crazy-"
A dangerous glint appeared in Zonic's eyes. "I'll mount your severed head on my damn desk."
Sonic sneered just as perilously. "I'll shove that donut through your freakin' colon."
Zhadow decided to interject. "And that's enough of that," He pointed at his subordinate, instantly snatching Zonic's attention. "First lieutenant general. Third degree penalty."
Zonic scowled at this. "Penalty for what? I'm the Overseer anyway, this technically doesn't even involve you! All Shadow templates aren't inherently Chaos Born until they forge a relationship with their reality's Sonic. I may be your inferior in this reality, but you're my inferior on the Divine Pyramid. I don't have to allow you to be considered a Chaos Born, you know!"
"Well according to the spirits, I officially am a Chaos Born and I'm feeling pretty involved." He kindly retorted with a challenging tone. "That said, your attitude is derailing this conversation, one that holds immensely vital information." He frowned at him. "Do your job, and that's an order."
"Oh to hell with this shit." The first lieutenant general growled. "You're all fools if you think I'm gonna let you humiliate me and tell me my own duties. I'm done with this garbage dump of a 'conversation', and I don't give a good damn about your penalties. Fire me and dishonorably discharge me for all I care." Zonic suddenly slammed his cup of coffee on the table, and left his unfinished donut in the pink box of baked goods. "Look," He glared at Sonic and Shadow. "You wanna know the real truth? All of us in this room are designated as Chaos Born. Chaos Born are a race of beings who are spawned from the chaotic deities known as the Divine Spirits. There are four in total, and are responsible for the multiverse, our realities, your super forms, and us existing. They are known as the Divine Quadrant, and are the supreme beings of this multiverse. I am the Overseer of Chaos Born, AKA—The All Seeing Eye of Chaos Born, meaning it's my duty to watch over any and all Chaos Born that exist within the multiverse. All ten thousand of them, including you two dunderheads." He pointed at them with an angry finger. "Chaos Born are nothing but powerful tyrants who destroy their own worlds for pure entertainment and subjugation. Their only purpose is to purge and breed, and it's only a matter of time before you two do the exact same thing!"
Sonic narrowed his eyes with a frown. "But...what are you talking about? You, Eggman, Infinite, why are all of you saying we're going to destroy everything? We wouldn't do that-"
"Because it's in your blood, Sonic prime." Zonic stressed. "Chaotic Blood commands the mentality of a Chaos Born, meaning you'll become an overlord whether you like it or not. The spirits call the blood, and the blood listens. You don't have a choice in the matter. The Divine Spirits are the ones who control everything, and whatever they say goes. If they want you to pillage your entire planet while breeding with Shadow prime for shits and giggles, you'll do it simply because they asked." He marched over to Zhadow's desk and began abruptly taking random papers and documents from the drawers. "Your super forms are the reason why your world's Eggman was terrified of you. That demon that possessed you that I exorcized? That's one of the four Divine Spirits, Fleetway. That's why he was so powerful, and he wasn't even using a fraction of his power that day. Super Sonic or Super Shadow, they're all the Divine Spirits. You've been using their powers since you were a mere child and you didn't even know it. You saw the cave in Christmas Island, didn't you?" He asked rhetorically. "They spawned you, molded you, let you live freely because they allowed it. You preach that freedom bullshit like its gospel when you don't even realize you've never been truly free!" He tucked the documents in his arm and began walking away from the desk, his voice beyond wrathful. "I don't know why the spirits are reluctant in turning you into their puppets like all the others, but nevertheless, I'm forced to enable and watch it all happen like everyone else!" He yelled. "That's why I fucking despise you, both of you. You're both nothing but pawns in their games and I have to watch it like a trainwreck! Infinite the Jackal may have been a lying, corrupt, controlling, murderous fiend, but he was telling you the truth when he said you were a threat to your own home. You're both nothing but blood thirsty monsters." He began stepping out of the automatic doors. "There's your fucking explanation."
Zhadow tried to stop him. "Zonic-"
"You can consider our lunch date canceled. I'll be in the Room of Realities, and I don't want to be interrupted. Do not talk to me unless you're coming to fire me."
The doors slammed shut.
Afternoon, 12:20 PM
"..." Zhadow only sighed in return as he stared at the pink box of untouched donuts. He didn't even give him the other coffee before he left, he could tell he was more angry than usual.
Sonic stared at the now closed doors with a conflicted frown. That's why he hated them so much? The hero scratched behind his head and looked downwards. Zonic never once lied to either of them since they met him, why would he lie now? He had to have been telling the truth, but if he was being truthful, so was Eggman and Infinite. They couldn't deny this anymore. People with their own faces, were telling them the same thing their enemies have been trying to get through to them for a month. They had the blood of a race that was evidently very dangerous, and they couldn't look away from the truth anymore. Shadow was also just as conflicted, not knowing how to process this information. He had already been told that he had the blood of an alien dictator, now he had the blood of yet another as well? This was a little too much to take in.
The biohog spoke up to break the silence in the room, looking at his own military twin for answers. "...I'm assuming everything he said is true."
Zhadow nodded firmly. "Yes, it is. And he's somewhat correct, this is actually none of my business. But considering how long we've been together, I became recognized as Chaos Born. Before long, the spirits decided that I should aid him in certain Overseer affairs, such as this one." He shrugged, that's just how it was. "Like he said, whatever they say goes."
"But I still don't get it." Sonic was unsatisfied with that. "You're sayin' our super forms are deities? Gods? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? We are our super forms, not the other way around. I mean, I don't see anybody else when I go Super."
Zhadow then slowly took off his shades.
Woah.
His eyes were...scary. "Tell me," He began with a question of his own. "What super form do you use the most?"
The hero blinked at that question, was it not obvious? "Not counting that whole werehog thing or the Arabian Nights incident, I only use Super Sonic. That's the only form Shadow and I-"
"Wrong." Zhadow interrupted him immediately. "You have three others, only one of which you've never used before."
"Dude," Sonic scowled in frustration. "What are you saying?"
"Sonic prime," He took his feet off of the desk and stood up gradually with a grunt. He walked over to the white couch and sat down to talk with them more personally. His presence up close was a little unnerving, as both hedgehogs realized the pupils in his dark red eyes were sharp like a cat's. Why? Shadow's didn't look like that. "There are thousands of Chaos Born, but very, very few of them are strong like you both are. This also means there's even fewer that can fully utilize the power of chaos abilities. The Divine Spirits are the ones who created chaos energy, and spread it throughout the multiverse strategically. They made every single world by hand, spawning living creatures within them all with careful detail. They made us, they made you. When you use a super form, you're using their power. That demon possessing you was doing the same thing the other forms do to you when you transform. To transform into a super form, you summon them with the emeralds. Once summoned, Super Sonic possesses you when you transform. In order to use their powers, their spirit must fuse with your soul, possessing your body and using you as a host."
Sonic made an uncomfortable expression. He had no idea that's what's truly been happening this entire time. "Possessing me...? But I...I don't..."
Zhadow saw that he was finally starting to get it. "Your super forms are not completely you, and in some cases, such as the demon, they're not you at all. They take over your body and just use you as Zonic said: a puppet."
"But that's not true!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed. "I'm...I'm me. Every time I use Super Sonic, I'm still me."
"That's because the spirit of that form allows you to keep control."
That's when both his and Shadow's eyes widened.
"...You did, because I allowed you to see him through my eyes. You still don't get it, do you? My host lost full control the moment he ran from that fox child. He will never breach my power again. Right now, he's taking a long, deep, sleep. One that he will not wake from until I allow it. I'm in control, Project Shadow, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. He told you to run for a reason."
...
...He was right.
That day, Fleetway completely toyed with Shadow's emotions into thinking Sonic was there. And Sonic can attest to the fact that he did mentally and physically try to fight for control several times that day, before fully losing dominance after he warned Tails in Green Hill. Sonic knew he wouldn't be able to keep whatever it was that was using his body in check, that's why he told everyone to run away from him. He almost completely forgot about that, kinda because he wanted to forget about that. But he couldn't, because this was only a tiny piece of the truth. A truth he never wanted to admit.
Zhadow continued. "That was barely even half of a single iota as to what Fleetway could do, because he knew that using that form would physically destroy your body if he used too much power. If there's no body, there's no super form. You know what you're capable of as Super Sonic, and that's what Fleetway is, times a thousand. Maybe even a million. That demon is a God, and one of the four gods that created Chaos Born. Super Sonic, the Gold One, is also one of them, and only allows you to have nearly full autonomy when you transform." He made a distrusted expression. "As for the others...they're far worse. You remember that text you saw in the caves of your home island, right?" Zhadow asked, watching Sonic nod slowly.
"'To the child who slumbers here, always remember the Divine Quadrant. The gold one, the dark one, the demon and the angel. If you wish for courage, look for the auric sun. If you wish for acceptance, look for the melancholy moon. If you wish for madness, look for your mind's pandemonium. If you wish for true love, look for your heart's perfection. If you are ever lost, look to their eyes for guidance.' Look," Shadow tapped his fingers on some of the text, and they began to glow in specific colors. The one that spoke of the 'gold one' was glowing gold. The 'dark one' text was glowing a dark blue, almost black. The 'demon' text was glowing scarlet red. The 'angel' text was glowing white, with small bits of other bright colors around it. "The gold one," Shadow repeated slowly before glancing at Sonic. "If you were born here, is it talking about Super Sonic?"
The blue hero resorted to holding his head with one hand, he was getting a little...spacey from all this information. "So...our super forms are Gods, and there's four of them. And you're saying I used three of them? When did I use the third one?"
Zhadow took a few moments to answer. "...Do you remember the Angel Island incident back when you were a preteen?"
Sonic wasn't ready for this answer, he knew he wasn't. "Of course I do, that's where I met Knuckles. But," He frowned. "The ending of it is kinda weird...Not me, him or Tails can ever remember how we beat Eggman that day. I don't think even Eggman remembers, either."
"That's because you used another super form, one that you weren't supposed to use yet."
Sonic squinted his eyes. "W-What?"
"With the Super Emeralds, you used Hyper Sonic. Hyper Sonic, the Light One, is the most powerful form you have, and the strongest of the Divine Quadrant. But that power in the hands of a small child was too much for you to handle. You accidentally caused a time rift when you defeated Robotnik prime, which is why neither you or your friends completely remember that day."
Now Shadow had to cut in on this one, and he nudged Sonic with a frown. "The hell are Super Emeralds? And why didn't you tell me about this?"
"I-I don't know!" Sonic replied with a sweat drop. "I don't...I-I don't remember..." He made a guilty expression. "Hyper...it sounds familiar but every time I think of that word-"
An otherworldly Mobian-like figure cradled the tiny blue hedgehog kit in his arms, humming an angelic tune while watching the sun set on the horizon. The child was fast asleep, and the unknown figure smiled down upon the baby lovingly.
Who...was this person?
Did they take care of him?
Were they the reason why he survived?
Why couldn't he remember this before?
"..." Sonic was in a fantastical daze, his eyes half lidded when that word was brought up. It was like tiny stars and constellations appeared in his eyes, he was truly lost at the moment in the best possible way. Daydreaming about his years as an infant was such an ethereal feeling. Though Sonic's expression was empty, not at all smiling and even drowsy, he looked...Happy. He was never able to remember before, why could he only remember now?
Hyper...that name was so...lovely. He couldn't remember why, though.
Shadow was shocked by this reaction. "Sonic?" He tried to touch his arm. "Hey," He shook him a little. "Snap out of it."
Sonic suddenly winced and shook his head. "I'm fine..." He mumbled. "Fine...I'm fine."
Zhadow watched this curiously. "That's the same reaction every Sonic has when Zonic explains their purpose to them. That word 'Hyper' always causes a dreamlike trigger..."
Shadow whipped his head at his twin. "But why? And what is 'Hyper'?"
The No Zone general averted his eyes. "...Neither I or Zonic are allowed to tell you. The spirits explicitly told us we could explain the basics to you, nothing more."
"Then why are we even here?!" Shadow yelled and angrily, absolutely done with this conversation and this visit. "You've both done nothing but insult us, piss us off and tell us cryptic nonsense that gave us both a migraine. What do you want from us?"
Zhadow ignored his increase in volume and kept his own tone calm and collected. "...Zonic will never admit it, but No Zone requires your assistance. That jackal...that ugly weakling, what was his name...?" The commander crossed his arms with a tightened frown. "Damn it, what was it...He was so pathetic, I barely remember...Oh yes," He snapped his fingers. "That 'Infinite' guy, we've seen the damage he's done to your world and to you two. He caused both of your deaths and we sincerely apologize for this negligence. Zonic didn't have access to his monitors to be able to watch you, so we had no idea what had happened until it was too late. Not only that, but we weren't allowed to stop Robotnik prime from taking the ruby. We still don't know why that is, they wouldn't tell us." He could see that they became even more confused when he mentioned monitors. "Nevermind that. When Infinite disappeared from Mobius, he appeared in other realities, including here. He left strange gems in every single reality he touched, and caused massive damage." Gems? That caused the two Mobian hedgehogs to narrow their eyes harshly. That wasn't good. "The spirits instructed us to have you come here, tell you the basics of Chaos Born lore and have you assist us in stopping our world from being destroyed as well."
"Destroyed?" Shadow repeated. "Destroyed by what?"
"We have a Robotnik in this world, same as you do. He was the former warden and general of No Zone, Warden Zobotnik." That explains the odd insignia on that battleship. Shadow's assumption was right, there was another Robotnik here too. "During that little attack he did to the HQ earlier, I decided to use this diversion to pay a visit to the man himself. I couldn't take him down, he was too guarded by one of those strange gems...one similar to the Phantom Ruby Infinite had in his chest in your world. He's using that to protect himself, and to cause a bunch of damage to my city. We can fight back as long as we want, but it's only a matter of time before my men are ragged and we start gaining casualties. He's already wreaked havoc in plenty of other cities in our reality and I will not let him destroy another."
"So you just forced us here to ask us for help." Sonic deadpanned.
The leader of No Zone shook his head. "You don't understand. We were forced to force you into helping us. Again, whatever the spirits say goes."
The hero asked a question he knew both himself and Shadow were thinking. "And if you don't do what they say?"
This made Zhadow flatten his lips, this answer wasn't going to be very fair. "Well, let's break it down. They're powerful Gods. And I'm not talking about Chaos the God of Destruction level of gods, they're far stronger than that. Frankly, they'd easily turn him into a glorified water slide. They're responsible for creating chaos energy, gave the Black Arms chaos energy, created the Master Emerald and the smaller emeralds for the Echidnas to guard for centuries, literally have any ability you can think of at their disposal via chaos energy, spawned thousands of different realities that created an entire multiverse, and an entire race of chaos wielders like you." After he laid it all out, he had a very fated tone. There wasn't anything else he could say to drive home that these deities weren't anything to trifle with. "They're not enemies you fought as a teenager, Sonic prime. They are all one million times stronger than any enemy you've ever faced or will ever face, so...You tell me. You saw what the Scarlet One, Fleetway, can do with such an abysmal amount of power. Take a wild guess as to what happens when you disobey them. Besides," His voice grew rather glum. "Zonic has shown me what happens to Chaos Born who don't obey their creators...Something I'm also not supposed to tell you, but I think you can fill in the blanks."
Both Mobian hedgehogs gawked. They gave Black Doom chaos energy? They created the Master Emerald? They did all that? Shadow was told that Black Doom mastered chaos energy thousands of years ago, and Knuckles told Sonic that the echidnas guarded the emeralds with their very lives for eons. Everything they were being told...made everything else seem like a lie. Okay, okay, calm down. Take a breath. Sonic made a very big sigh. "So these Divine Spirits...They sound like the real bad guys to me."
"I'm not at liberty to confirm nor deny that." What a very politician-way of answering. "I'll just say...you're not the only people Zonic despises. If it's any consolation, I've heard Zonic mention that the Gold One and the Light One are a lot more merciful and cooperative than Fleetway and the Dark One. He's observed that they don't influence your personality when they possess you, and they never mean Chaos Born any harm. Honestly, he makes it sound like the spirits are always fighting, for lack of a better term. None of them are ever in agreement with each other when it comes to Chaos Born, so it seems that half of them aren't all bad." He shrugged at this though, it didn't help the situation and he knew this. "Regardless, the Divine Spirits created the Phantom Ruby. They want it back, and they want Infinite to stop ruining their multiverse. They want you to find and eliminate Infinite, but they also want you to restore the realities he damaged first."
"That thing is theirs, too?" Sonic sucked his teeth. "Makes sense, I guess...And I'm assuming that's an ultimatum, too?"
Zhadow stood up from his seat and turned away from them, his hands holding his shades behind his back. "Like I said, if you'd like to get another visit from Fleetway, or worse, someone else, that's up to you. Zonic and I have learned that going against their wishes brings nothing but misfortune. That's all I'm allowed to say on that, and I can only ask that you obey their orders and help us. Wouldn't want to see two Chaos Born with so much potential die before the real fight even begins."
Shadow took note of that last part.
"Die...?"
42 - END - 42
Chapter 43: Horizontal
Summary:
Zhadow tells Sonic and Shadow exactly what they need to do from here on out if they want to obey the will of the Divine Spirits, and find Infinite.
Chapter Text
43 - Horizontal - 43
12:40 PM
The general did not respond to this. "..."
Sonic and Shadow glanced at each other silently.
Then, they both closed their eyes with a smooth exhale. This was definitely the craziest thing they were ever told in their lives, but it wasn't anything they weren't used to. They were kind of tired of being shocked by things at this point. Sonic spoke first. "I'm guessing you can't elaborate on that, either. The things Zonic was mumbling back on Angel Island make a lot more sense, now..." His tone shifted with a little sympathy. "They're threatening you guys too, right?" If Zonic and Zhadow were being threatened too, they couldn't blame them for how dodgy they were acting. And it explains how apprehensive Zonic was in even letting them be here. He didn't want them here in the first place, but he was forced to. They both were. Both Sonic and Shadow could tell that these guys were strong, really strong. Not just in strength, but conviction. These were militant soldiers, their willpower was second to none. And yet, they were bending the knee at some unforeseen force that wasn't even physically here.
They were scared of them.
Scared of what they can do.
And if powerful people like this were scared, then...
"...I cannot confirm nor deny that."
A pregnant pause wafted through the room with more silence. The blue hero decided to slightly change the subject. "Zonic said something about Shadow technically not being Chaos Born?"
Zhadow nodded easily. "Yes, not by blood relation. All Sonic templates are Chaos Born by blood, but all Shadow templates are recognized as Chaos Born only after they create some semblance of a relationship with their respective reality's Sonic, regardless of the level of intimacy. The moment that reality's Sonic and Shadow begin to bond, the spirits judge whether or not to authorize that Shadow in the 'family', sort of speak." In other words, it was like a bunch of affluent in-laws legally accepting their child's spouse and or close family friend. "Then, that Shadow becomes recognized as a Chaos Born. It's why most Sonic and Shadow templates that are both recognized as Chaos Born are in a romantic relationship." Thank goodness that's how that worked, because it'd be really weird if all Sonics were blood related to all Shadows. The prime Mobians were not interested in incest of any degree. "Zonic and I have been together for a long time, so naturally, I was officially recognized as a Chaos Born myself. That is the purpose of being Chaos Born—'To spread out as much of our lineage as we possibly can, even without blood.' At least, that's how Zonic explained it to me."
"And you're sayin' Infinite messed with you guys, too?"
"Yes, we believe he," The commander hesitated to find a good word for it. "'Influenced' former warden Zobotnik into causing the mess we have currently."
Shadow wanted to clarify this one last time. "You mentioned there were other realities effected. Meaning that all of us, including you and Zonic, are being given an ultimatum to restore this reality and stop this version of Robotnik, before moving on to the next and doing the same thing?"
"Yes."
"...Right." Sonic rolled his eyes and stood up while stretching his arms over his head. "Welp, I've heard enough."
Shadow nodded while crossing his arms. "I agree. That was a damn headache to listen to, but it cleared up some things at the very least...with hundreds of more questions that I'm sure won't be answered anytime soon."
"Well," Zhadow paced over to the back of his desk. "What say you? Will you go back home, and await your demise at the hand of one of the spirits as retaliation for not aiding us? It may not be immediate, you know. They may allow you to live most of your lives in peace without ever harming you, as they did before." He spoke with a tranquil tone, as if there truly wasn't that much of a consequence to just walk away. "Never influencing you, never visiting you unless you summon them via transformation. Of course, the spirits are incredibly unpredictable as well, but you could risk it. Live life how you used to, continue your relationship without outside strife to worry yourselves about. Pretend this conversation never happened, and just be happy. It's the easier path, one I'm sure plenty of people would rather take. There's no shame in turning away from this, as this is a hefty objective. Because even if you're successful in helping us, you'll just have to do this again in other realities. A lot of hopelessly capricious things could happen, including finding Infinite and dying. Again. And you may not be able to come back this time, never to see your friends and family ever again. Not only that, but we're not even allowed to tell you the whole truth of Chaos Born, so you're still in the dark about a lot of things. It's a lot to take in and gamble, too much for some to accept. If you choose to shut your eyes from this little bit of truth and retreat," He closed his eyes with acceptance, as he knew there was a high chance of the two running away from it all. "I won't shame you."
Sonic walked around Shadow's seat, and looked down at him. He met Sonic's gaze quietly, the two never interrupting Zhadow.
"Now," The general said as he turned his head to them, his dark red eyes glowing with impatience. "I'd like to hear your decision."
A decision?
A decision right now? After all that?
"The odds are astronomically stacked against you," Zhadow reiterated with a foreboding stare, placing his shades on the surface of the desk. Those eyes of his were beyond freaky. Why did they look so strange? So...Beastly? His pupils...They almost looked like a demon's. "Frankly, it'd be a mercy if you both stayed dead." He abruptly said coldly. "It's only the three of us here, no one back at home would ever blame you for turning your back on such a ridiculous demand. You don't even have to tell them, they'll never know. You won't be ridiculed, and no one here will blame you either. It'd be better for the both of you if you gave up now and left our reality." He fully turned to them, his irises peering down on them. The moment they focused on the two Mobian hedgehogs, a huge pressure of weight suddenly befell them. Sweet Chaos, was that his aura? Why was it so massive, and why did it weigh so much? It felt like they were being crushed in their seats. "Just give up already, who the hell are you two even kidding?" Why...did his voice sound like that? "Not even I would send the most capable soldier on a suicide mission like this. Joking yourselves is cruel, and a waste of time." Why did his stare look so intense? Why was his voice so calming, but his face so wrinkled with anticipation and judgement? Shadow glared at Sonic angrily many times in the past, but never once did he ever make him feel this shaken up with a mere stare. And as for Shadow, nothing ever made him feel this way, not even in the presence of his own alien father.
Why was this version of Shadow so God damn intense?
His irises sharpened. "Just go home where it's safe already."
...Maybe Zonic was right: Don't mess with the General of No Zone.
...
...
...
...Slowly, Sonic started to chuckle nervously.
"Dude," He chuckled a little more lightheartedly. "You are so freakin' gnarly, its givin' me goosebumps over here." He then nudged Shadow's shoulder from below. "Amiright? Guy's totes fierce. 'Guess he's the general for a reason, huh? I almost saluted."
Shadow scoffed with a small smirk. "I suppose so. I have to admit, you almost made me nervous there, general."
The hero then bent down to lean his elbow against the top of the white sofa, his chin in his palm. "Yeah I mean, it's not like we're not used to being told that literally all the time."
"Every time, actually."
Sonic dug his pinky in his ear. "Whateve's, not like we got anything better to do. Eggman's locked up now, and that's boring. The only thing that'll give me nightmares at night is boredom. Plus, I ain't one for runnin' away like a coward." His voice grew a little more serious, as some hidden anger was concealed in his words. He had unfinished business with the jackal, after all. "Infinite's a colossal douchebag who needs to be stopped and stomped. That's it, end of story. I could give a damn about super scary Gods and my own bloodline, but I really don't. The dickhead's hurting people, that's all I need to get an adventure goin'. Besides," A cruel grin curled on his fawn lips. "That little asshole still hasn't said my name yet, and we made a promise that he would before I beat him for good. And I can't wait to force it outta his nasty ass mouth." One of his longer quills was suddenly pulled from below. "O-Ow!"
Shadow gave him a glare from the sofa. "Excuse you, 'before we beat him'. Did you forget I still have a mission to do? And I will see it through, hedgehog. I've got gripes of my own to settle with the bastard."
Sonic took his quill away and rubbed it pitifully with a pout. "Okay, but you don't gotta be an ass about it! I'm sensitive there."
"I will when you exclude me from the equation." Shadow countered.
"I wasn't excludin' you!" Sonic said defensively. "I'm just sayin', I call dibs..." He mumbled while looking to the side.
"Screw you, no you don't."
"Yeah, I do!"
Shadow narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Sonic-"
Sonic narrowed his own right back. "-Shads."
"Heheheh..."
Loud, booming laughter and applause suddenly echoed from behind the desk, causing the two hedgehog to look at the No Zone general.
"Hahahaha." He was laughing so hard, he had tears budding in the corners of his eyes. His claps were so loud, so thunderous, it was even making the desk and any item on top of it shake. "Ahaha, hahahahahaa!" He made a toothy grin that almost caused them both to flinch. That sneer, looked way more menacing than it was supposed to. And those eyes of his weren't helping. His expression was dark, and they noticed his teeth were way sharper than a normal Mobian's. What was up with this guy? He then picked his sunglasses up from the desk, and placed them back on his face where they belonged. "Ahh," He sighed with an unnerving smile. "Rookie severely underestimated you two, and I believe he should personally make it up to you for this grave mistake. As for my eyes," He already knew that's what they were uncomfortable about. "I'm normally not supposed to take these sunglasses off, makes people very frightened. Some of my own soldiers run away from me when I don't have them. I have a condition you see, one that's affected my body in various ways over the years. And yet," He stroked his own chin curiously. "You two stare at me like it's no big deal. Even as I look at you, the entire time I explained to you what you are and what might happen, you never caved. You knew I was telling the truth, and you knew I didn't exaggerate either. I never saw genuine fear in either of you. Of course, my own counterpart, I already expected this. You Sonic prime, I thought I'd see some weakness. But no, there was none at all. My sincerest apologies for showing bias, I see now that I was wrong."
Sonic just made a flat frown. "I swear—The moment anyone sees us together, they think Shadow's better than me or something."
"Well," Shadow interjected with a shrug. "I can see why they'd think so. I'm stronger, faster, smarter...Not to mention my limiter rings hold me back. I'm the Ultimate Life Form, after all. I can't help that I'm-" And now his quill was being pulled, very painfully. "Ghk...! Get off!"
"Take it back and I won't rip it off your skull." The hero replied with a sweet and yet very threatening smile.
Shadow hissed. "Sonic, I'll murder you-" He suddenly saw Sonic lean his face very close to his own over the couch, his lime green eyes now neon and sparking. "...!"
"Take it back." He squeezed his striped quill harder, Sonic's voice deepening. "We keep count of how many races we've both won and lost, and I'm freakin' beating you by three out of four hundred and seventy-one. You'll probably always beat me in the physical department, nobody can deny that. But I can easily fold your ass in speed, and we both know that. We also both know that the second I take things seriously, you're screwed. Oh, but I guess we'll just ignore the times I've beaten the absolute shit outta you when you got in my way in the past."
"Excuse you? You only beat me once-!" The grip on his quill tightened even more. "B-Bastard...!"
Sonic's voice became ever so slightly aggressive. "And let's not also forget the fact that I'm way more experienced in this relationship than you, and can very easily make you regret your shit talkin' at any second. Don't make me ask you again, faker. Take. It. Back."
Shadow instantly fell in love with him all over again. Holy shit, that was so hot-Err, annoying! Totally annoying and not at all something Shadow would dream about late at night. Blushing a little, Shadow pushed Sonic's face away with a growl. "T-To hell with you! You think I'm scared of you or something?"
"You're the one blushin' like a little girl, Ultimate Shithead!" Sonic snarled back.
Shadow immediately stood up and shoved his finger into his fawn chest. "Do we need to take this outside!?"
Zhadow laughed again at this, causing them to momentarily realize that they were bantering in front of company. They couldn't do that again, that was a little embarrassing. "You're more like us than I thought. Zonic likes to claim Shadow prime keeps you on a leash, but you two are much more equal. How poetic."
Sonic chuckled sheepishly, instantly let go of Shadow's quill and scratched behind his head as his boyfriend glowered at him. "Ahahaaa, you were listenin' to all that...? My bad."
"If you're done being an idiot," Shadow grumbled at the blue one before crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you want us to do, general?"
He was using his title respectfully, meaning that Shadow had his honor, for now. Zhadow showed far more grace than Zonic, so it was only right in his mind. Zhadow took notice of this and smiled a little. "Before I get into that, I must ask of you both one last favor. And I promise it's not as demanding or lethally threatening as the prior."
"Yeah?" Sonic asked. "What's up?"
Zhadow sat down in his desk chair once more. "I understand that you and my rookie got off on a bad start and he's obviously not helping with how he's acting right now. I humbly ask that you excuse this behavior. You see, while I love seeing his adorable irritated face, there is a reason why he has such a sour attitude." His smile fell, and his tone became a little solemn and even disappointed. "In the last three years, he's...seen some awful things. Terrible things he is forced to keep only to himself, and occasionally me. That kind of mental negativity does a lot of damage to strong people, as I'm sure you can imagine."
Yeah, the blue blur was very unimpressed by this. "'Kay that's cute, we both literally died though. So I could give a shit, I really could. Shame I don't."
Zhadow chuckled at this. "I like you, Sonic prime."
"Thanks, I guess." Sonic shrugged callously. "I just don't like smartass Napoleons who think they're better than everyone else, especially not ones wearin' my face."
"Fair enough." The general conceded. "I only ask that you attempt to remain civil with Zonic, so neither of your objectives are made more difficult. Don't directly engage with him unless necessary to make your mission a little smoother. Otherwise, ignore or don't answer him."
Sonic sighed while rolling his eyes. "Okay look, I'll level with you." He said with an indifferent tone. "I'll do you a solid and be more chill on my end, unless provoked. I'll respect you at the very least. One, you look like Shadow so I guess I'm a little biased too. Two, bein' petty won't get us anywhere, even I know that. Plus, you're not as big of an asshole as Captain Try-Hard is, so I can work with that."
"Ah, much appreciated." Zhadow nodded. "As you get farther in your objective, I'd like for you to report directly to me. If I'm not in, I'm afraid you'll have to report to Zonic, so please keep that in mind."
"Yeah yeah," The hero flagged this off with an annoyed expression. "Figured as much...Whatever. The faster we get this over with, the faster Shads and I can blow this joint. Not like we're welcome here anyway..."
"That's actually not true."
"...?"
Zhadow lightly turned in his spinning desk chair from left to right and right to left, almost childishly. He had this near playful, small smile on his face. If anything, Shadow could sense that he had a similar careless attitude like Sonic did, while Zonic had a more intense and stoic demeanor like Shadow. It was like the roles were somewhat reversed. "Our citizens and our soldiers know who you are, as I announced your arrival before you showed up, and before Zonic made you both look bad in the corridor. By the way, I promise I'll reprimand him for this and relay your importance to our soldiers with less negative opinions soon. To make your stay here more enjoyable, I personally instructed my citizens, vendors and politicians to treat you both very well," He trailed off with a smirk. "If you catch my drift."
"Yo..." Sonic squinted his eyes very, very tightly while speed walking over to Zhadow's desk. He then leaned forward and tilted his head with his hands on his hips. "Are you sayin' we can get free shit?" He whispered. "Like...Discounts? All expenses paid? Free food?"
"Basically."
1:05 PM
Zhadow could see the hero really liked that. "As for discounts, as long as your money is held in some kind of digital wallet, you should be fine."
Sonic then made a relieved smile in knowing that Zhadow was way more cool than he initially thought. "And just like that you're my favorite person ever. Besides Shads, obviously." He walked back over to the biohog. "Well you're both Shadows so...Huh, makes sense. Anywho," Sonic leaned against him like an upright armchair, causing his lover to scowl at him from the added weight. "Tell us whatcha need us to do, and we'll get it done in a jiffy or your money back guaranteed."
The commander continued to chuckle at the blue hero's antics. "Heheh. To begin, our main target is the former Warden Zobotnik. However," He turned his chair around to the windows. Sonic and Shadow walked over and looked out as well, and they almost immediately saw exactly what he was looking at. In the far off distance, many kilometers away from the main city and high up in the sky, was a ginormous metallic base floating within the stratosphere and nearly touching the mesosphere. It was trapped within a circular forcefield, the same light red one they saw on the battleship earlier today. "That, is a problem. He fortified himself in that base, and that forcefield is impossible to cut through. We've tried everything from bashing it with cyber energy, to utilizing Primal Mode on several soldiers at once, but nothing gets through. From there, he sends out his little toys to attack the HQ. He knows he can't attack my city, Parallel City, as it is heavily protected by a similar forcefield with an approximate amount of strength. The HQ however, has a weaker one, and it's only a matter of time before he destroys it and ruins my building."
Shadow didn't like the sound of the other things he mentioned. "Cyber energy? Primal Mode...?"
Zhadow flagged this off. "Bah, not important at the moment. The point is, we don't know how to bring the thing down and infiltrate his base. Zonic has worked closely with our hackers here in No Zone HQ, and has found that Zobotnik is literally stealing the energy from my city to empower his forcefield. He's doing this by using something that's disrupting the flow of power within the city's electrical grids. We see that whatever he's using is destroying the currents of cyber energy. It's transferring it all the way to his base, while the city loses its stored power." He made a soft sigh and tapped his finger on the desk as he gazed at his home. "Soon enough, we'll all fall into a permanent blackout. It's already happened to other cities, and they've been forced to use Parallel City's emergency supply of stored energy as well. Parallel City is the largest city in our world, but it is far from indestructible. Even worse, we can't fix it. Every time someone makes repairs, Zobotnik just steals it right back. We don't have much time before that happens, I say maybe three weeks at best."
The hero cringed. "Oof, three weeks, huh? Damn..." He then realized how calm Zhadow sounded about all this. "Wait," He looked down at the general. "Aren't you like...worried? You're super nonchalant about this."
The commander only shrugged his shoulders. "Mmn. I'm concerned for my citizens yes, but I can't worry about what 'might' happen. Who knows?" He glanced at Sonic through his shades. "Maybe you'll stop him before that happens, maybe you won't. I can't worry about hypotheticals, they do nothing for me on the battlefield. I only work with concrete facts. The fact is, something bad will happen if we don't do something. And as of now, my men can't do anything. That's," He pointed at the blue blur. "Where you two come in." He lightly kicked his feet back and forth. "I have a theory, or a hypothesis, rather. I believe whatever Zobotnik's using to steal power, is chaos energy."
The biohog blinked. "Chaos energy? But, do you not have chaos energy in this reality?"
Zhadow shook his head. "Not at all, this entire realm is void of chaos energy. The world runs on cyber energy, a type of power that is weaker in strength but stronger in structure and innovation. It is made purely of digital and technological power, and can do almost anything. It's easy to learn to use and is incredibly useful. Cyber energy is why our reality is so advanced, it's the very crux of everything we make or do. Chaos energy would disrupt and destroy whatever is made from cyber energy, it's like a polar opposite. The only chaos energy that exists in this world is in Zonic's biology due to Chaotic Blood, and he has a very tiny amount of it. Even less than a regular Mobian of your world. I think I might have some myself since I was made with it along with some grade-A bio-engineering, but it's microscopic at best." The hedgehogs' ears perked up at that. So Zhadow was created like Shadow was, just with way less chaos energy. "None of us can use chaos energy, some can't even touch it. Our bodies are naturally far weaker than a Mobian's, and thus, it would kill us instantly upon contact." He then leaned back in his seat. "Of course...if you're weak. Zonic, myself and my soldiers are anything but weak. Even the lowest private has the strength of a hundred men, so we can tolerate being exposed to chaos energy. After all," He smirked. "We're not just regular soldiers, we're an intergalactic, multidimensional law-enforcing army that arrests the very worst of all realities. Which includes arresting those that can use chaos energy."
The two Mobians were taken aback. Sonic whistled at this. "No way, you guys are a huge police force and military? And you go outside your reality to make arrests, too?"
"Indeed," The general concurred with pride. "And now you see why Zonic being an Overseer of Chaos Born is so important. He's not just watching over you, he's watching over other realities through other Chaos Born. It's his job as both an Overseer, and a No Zone officer. We travel to other dimensions and realities to fight, arrest and neutralize many dangerous adversaries that pose too great of a threat in their own world. In No Zone Prison, you might see some people who look scarily similar to your familiars in Mobius. Different versions of your allies and enemies are all there, rotting away and serving their life sentences for awful crimes. And we've been doing this long before Zonic became a soldier, and long before he was even born."
Sonic made a thoughtful expression. "This might sound rude but," He was too curious. "How old are you? Zonic said y'all were older than us, but you seem way beyond just a couple years older than Shadow."
"Oh, I lost count." Zhadow mused. "Hmm, maybe somewhere after one hundred...? I can't remember, Zonic usually keeps track of that."
"One hundred!?" Sonic repeated in shock. "Holy crap, you're a whole century!?" He grinned. "That's freakin' crazy." He then looked at Shadow suggestively. "I guess us Sonics are into nothin' but old guys. Wait," He paused. "You guys started dating when he was of age, right?"
Zhadow snorted at this, because it wasn't any of their business. However, he saw no harm in telling them. "If you must know, Zonic first enlisted himself into the corps when he was fifteen, but we first met when he was nineteen. I didn't feel anything for him until he was twenty, and in that same year, we began dating. It's been four years since he gave himself to me, we took it slow at first." He then lowered his shades and raised a brow at Sonic. "You two however, move very quickly."
The two Mobian hedgehogs blushed, with Shadow personally trying to understand how and why he would even know that. "How do you even know that? Even Zonic told me to confess to Sonic already, yet you two weren't in Mobius when we first felt something for each other. How did you know about us being together? How do you know anything?"
"As Overseer, Zonic is granted the Room of Realities." Zhadow explained casually. "It's a room filled with thousands of monitors that show us live footage of different realities, with various micro cameras planted all over your world that you are unaware of. It's how we knew Infinite was causing damage to other realities, we saw it happen. We had one on the Phantom Ruby on Christmas Island under the guise of GUN's encryption. It was planted by the former Overseer less than a century ago, but Eggman prime destroyed it. In other words, Zonic's literally been watching you this whole time. If anything, Robotnik prime destroying the encryption is what alerted us in the first place, it was only a fail-safe for the surveillance of the gem itself since we had other cameras. Once Zonic saw the monitor's feed glitch from this, he knew something was wrong. At that point, he began physically keeping watch on all of you as a spy."
Shadow realized that this was why Tower had no idea what the biohog was talking about that day. He wasn't alive when the camera and encryption was planted on the ruby. Plus, GUN didn't even know about the ruby in the first place. They never knew that they needed to protect something they knew nothing about to begin with. Eggman was so intelligent in hacking through it, and using the bomb scare was a perfect distraction. But why didn't the spirits let Zonic stop Eggman or Infinite the moment they got their hands on the ruby? Curious...
Meanwhile, Sonic almost looked terrified. Zonic watched them the whole time? Everything? "Oh God, since when?" He asked with a stammer.
"The Overseer before him has watched you since you were born. Zonic began his training as Overseer at age five, and took over in watching your reality instead ever since."
Sonic made a ghastly expression. "Oh my fucking God, no."
Shadow was almost too scared to ask. "And me...?"
"Well you're much older than Zonic," The general said matter factly. "So he wasn't able to watch you then, but the Overseer before him watched you since your creation on the Ark. If it makes you feel any better, he can't watch you in your own homes and he turns the channel whenever things get too..." He smirked more at their reactions. "...Spicy. Every Overseer is to keep an extensive log of all major or peculiar events they see per reality, so that the next Overseer can take notes and study from-Honestly gentlemen," Zhadow said with a bored frown. "That's a whole other can of worms that I am not well versed in. You have to ask Zonic about this to truly understand how being an Overseer works, but we're getting very much off topic. In summation," He finally said. "I think Zobotnik is using chaos energy to steal my city's power. Where he got it from, I haven't a clue but I assume it's because of that jackal's little visit. I surmise that whatever he's doing must be happening in the Power Sewers, since anything involving the city's power originates from there. If he wanted to steal energy, he'd have to tamper with that first. Therefore, I want you two to travel to the outskirts of Parallel City, find these sparks of chaos energy where the city's power cores are stored, destroy them, and stop him from stealing anymore power. I don't know if that'll weaken the forcefield enough for us to purge it, but it'll at least give my city more time to survive. Hopefully, whatever you find can help us figure out how to get inside the base and kill-Err," He blinked at his own wordage. "Oh...Huh. Where did that come from?" Zhadow asked aloud as the other hedgehogs in front of him made a concerned stare. "Um, neutralize Zobotnik. Sorry," He looked to the side and readjusted his collar with an unsure tone. "I don't know where that word came from..."
"Okay cool," Sonic said with a lopsided frown. "'Cause I don't wanna kill anybody unless I really have to, soooo..."
"Oh no that's fine," Zhadow didn't mind that. "I want him to rot in No Zone Prison, solitary confinement to be exact. He needs to live with what he's done, pay me no mind."
"Sure..." He glanced at Shadow, who just shrugged. He didn't know what that was about either. There was no malice when he used the word "kill," which was odd to say the least. It was almost as if he was too used to using that word, so it slipped into his regular vocabulary. That was interesting to note, for sure. Sonic didn't like that, but he'd brush it off for now. "This city of yours is huge, like mondo-Tokyo level huge. We might need some help getting around."
The commander nodded. "But of course." He pulled open some drawers under his desk and pulled out some items. "You two have smart phones, yes?" He saw them nod. "Give them here." He held his hand out, and the two hedgehogs dug in their quills to get their phones. After they placed them in his palm, he began typing on their touchscreens with both hands at the same time. It seemed he was very much ambidextrous. "Did you take your world's chaos emeralds with you?"
"Yeah," Sonic said. "Shadow has them all in Chaos Control. Figured we'd need 'em just in case."
"Excellent, a good move on your part." He paused and placed the phones down, before revealing two very tiny microchips on the pads of his fingers. He slipped—more like phased—them within the phones. "Just be sure not to transform near any cyber energized highways or homes." Zhadow commented as he returned both phones back to the two hedgehogs. When they got them back in their hands, they noticed the layouts of their home screens were very different. Shadow looked painfully lost, while Sonic looked rather giddy about a new toy. "I put new software on your phones, software that'll make your devices more synchronized to our reality's advanced wi-fi without them blowing up. You'll be able to keep in contact with your friends back home, however, I advise you not to tell them about your bloodline. The spirits want to keep that info classified only to us and you. Your phones may look a little intimidating at first, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time. There is a full map of both my city and the rest of the entire reality downloaded on your devices, along with an updated clock since our reality moves exactly five minutes faster than yours. Also," He handed them two black...studs? "Here, you'll need these." One for each person. They were small, but weren't these earrings?
Shadow squinted. "These are gaudy."
The hero wasn't that mad at the idea, honestly. "Nah, I think you'd rock 'em pretty good. 'Sides, they're tiny. Nobody'll notice unless they get right in your face."
"Heh..." Zhadow snickered under his breath again. What was he so giggly for? It's like he saw everything as a game. "They're not just earrings, they're earpieces. They're what's installed into our suits and helmets, and help us communicate with each other. Some soldiers specifically wear these when they're working undercover. Since you both don't wear clothes and I highly doubt you'd be willing to wear our uniforms, this will have to do. Your earpieces work under my own, and Zonic's personal frequencies." He watched the hedgehogs poke the miniature devices against their ears, and flinched when they punctured through their skin. "You'll have direct contact only to us, and vice versa. And Sonic prime," He gave him a look. "I advise that you set your frequency to mine to avoid any conflicts with you-know-who. I'd like you both to wear them twenty-four seven, but you can easily turn them off and on at any time. Just remember to turn them back on when you're progressing in your objective, and off when you're done for the day."
Sonic scoffed. "Geez, I didn't know we were signing ourselves up for service. What, do we get a medal too?"
"Hmm," The general hummed a sound of interest. "We'll see if you work hard enough to earn one, and I'll get back to you on that. For now," He pulled out his own super thin smartphone from his coat pocket and tapped his thumb a few times on the screen. Their phones suddenly vibrated against their quills. "I just sent you the specifics of your mission and what we talked about today. There is Chaos Born software Zonic designed himself some time ago, something I think you might be interested in. But you'll unfortunately have to ask him for it, as I don't have access to those files. Nevertheless, I will update you personally on what we find, and I expect you both to do the same. I won't bother you to write detailed reports, as that's not your job, it's ours. Please, ask for assistance from Chief Master Sergeant Zespio of No Zone Airforce, or Admiral Zector of No Zone Navy. Or, should things change, you could always ask Zonic-"
"Got it, so one last question." Sonic paid that last part no mind and just continued, which only made Zhadow snicker even more. "This is super cool an' all but um," He referred to the elephant in the room. "Where are we sleepin'? I mean, I used to be a huge vagabond back in the day, but I'm getting way too old for that and I like cuddling with my man in a bed." He got roughly elbowed by Shadow in the arm. "What? It's true for you, too."
"Will you shut up?" Shadow scowled.
Zhadow slid over one last thing across the desk. "Here, it's yours."
Shadow picked up the item, which was a pair of key cards. "What's this for...?"
"Those are the keys to a two-story apartment on the top floor penthouse of one of our No Zone military dorms, located in Acute Square. This dorm in particular is the most extravagant, because only the highest ranking soldiers live there. All apartment groups come in duos, so you'll be living next to Zonic and I." He saw Sonic's face become very scrunched, making him grin. He tried to hide it as best he could. "As much as he didn't want this, he needs to have you in his sights at all times while you both are here. For what it's worth," Zhadow tried to lighten Sonic's downcast spirits. "It's a penthouse. I'll pay for your rent, and we have an outdoor bar and a pool on the roof."
"Oh great. Awesome..." Sonic deadpanned while walking away from the desk. "I cannot wait to get this shit over with..."
Shadow scoffed. "Relax, faker. The quicker we find those sources of chaos energy, the faster we can find this Zobotnik person and we can go. Besides," He added. "We've been given great hospitality. We get discounts in any store we approach, free food services and a paid off luxury apartment. You can't complain about that."
The hero continued to pout. "Yeah, yeah..." He glanced at Zhadow. "Thanks, I guess. You didn't have to do all that."
Zhadow just spun himself in his seat, the back of the chair facing them. "I'm only doing what was asked of me."
"Oh, the spirits told you to do this too?"
"No," Zhadow said. "Zonic did. He wanted you to be taken care of while you were here."
Sonic frowned. "You're messin' with us, right?"
That's when Zhadow slowly turned his chair back in their direction, his shades slightly uncovering his dark glowing eyes. "Do I look like the kind of person to joke around?"
The hero blinked. "...Uhh, yeah." He was no longer put off by this, because he could tell he barely meant to be intimidating in the slightest degree. "Kind of. You're way too chill to blow a gasket. Kinda like me, which is super weird since you're another version of Shadow." He sneered at Shadow. "I didn't know you guys were capable of joking." His boyfriend flipped him the bird silently.
"Hmm," Zhadow made a small smile as he readjusted his eyewear. "I suppose. Well," He simply leaned back and planted his boots up on his desk again. "I've already contacted Zespio and Zector, they'll be waiting for you outside the HQ." He gave them a two finger salute. "Good luck."
Sonic grasped Shadow's hand and pulled him along to the entrance. "Rodger dodger, see ya!"
...
...When they exited the office, Zhadow simply pressed his hands together in his lap.
"...I can't sense any ill-will. They're different."
43 - END - 43
Chapter 44: Perpendicular
Summary:
General Zhadow confronts Zonic in his Room of Realities, and remembers his days as a private.
Chapter Text
44 - Perpendicular - 44
1:15 PM
The General of No Zone Corps stepped into a room that was immensely restricted, a half drunken cup of coffee in his hand. This room wasn't just restricted to other soldiers, but literally anyone that wasn't Zonic, with only one exception. The Room of Realities was state of the art in it's sole goal of surveillance. Glossy, flat and thin television monitors lined up every wall of the room, with live footage feeding into every single screen. It was a large space, and every TV was equally twenty-four inches each, symmetrically mounted on every space of the walls. A monitor covered them from top to bottom, showcasing the various worlds of so many different realities. Every so often, one could see a Sonic or Shadow of that respective realm walk by or be focused on. Most of them didn't even know they were being watched, but for some, it was supposed to be this way. Not even Sonic and Shadow prime were supposed to know who they were, they were supposed to live their lives without ever knowing about their Overseer until the Divine Spirits deemed them ready for subjugation. Zhadow never thought he'd fall in love with someone so important, and he definitely never thought there'd be other worlds beyond his own until he became a Zone Cop. Life was funny, but right now, he didn't find anything humorous.
Sitting at a U-shaped desk in the middle of the room, was the very thing he loved so much.
The only living being that could make him feel this way, to make him feel happy, was right there. Zonic was the center of his universe—or multiverse, rather—and everything he'd ever wanted. Despite how angry he looked even now as he wrote in a large, thick notebook, he was still breathtaking. He sometimes asked himself how he even managed to get him to fall for him, even though his rookie was the one who confessed in the first place. He was so happy back then...so willing to smile and laugh. He was so innocent, so naive but genuine about everything he did. His sense of justice was a ray of hope to anyone who worked with him, and he was the perfect mascot of rising upstarts within the corps. He was so weak, so pathetic, so worthless when he first met him. He couldn't even hold a gun correctly, much less yell orders at anyone. He had confidence, but it would always waver in the face of a strong challenge.
He used to be very easily intimidated by Zhadow, but not anymore.
4 Years Ago
The young blue hedgehog panted as he struggled to push himself back up from the hard concrete ground. His training uniform, a black and white striped tracksuit, was torn and stained with dirt in various places. Sweat dripped down his forehead to his chin as he attempted to regain his energy, his bones and muscles both sore and very damaged. He saw blood drip from his nose below him, and he had a bad headache. Around him was a completely blank white room, aside from the light blue grid pattern all around them. The Cyber Space around them was awfully brutal today, only because someone programmed it to be. Behind him, was a long and lengthy trail of destroyed Zobotnik-grade robots, broken firearms, snapped melee weapons and a small line of blood leading to the blue one's pained figure. His gloves were ripped all over the fingers with torn knuckles, his sneakers were busted at the soles, and his muzzle was scratched with beading drips of crimson. He felt like he was going to die at any second, because his vision was starting to fail. He was going to pass out.
"..." A rough cough.
No, he couldn't stop now. Not here, he almost had it. He had to prove to the others that he could do this, that he was strong enough to be recognized as one of the higher ranked soldiers. Small time Zone Cops didn't get to go on top secret missions, missions that involved saving people from other realities. He couldn't let that happen, he couldn't let everyone leave him behind. If the other Sonics could do it, if Sonic prime could do it, so could he! He grunted as he struggled to stand back up on his feet. He almost stumbled back down, but just barely managed to keep his balance. Still out of breath, he slowly looked up at the person before him. It wasn't a mere high ranking soldier, it was the General Warden Zobotnik's right hand and first lieutenant general, Zhadow the Zone Cop. He was the scariest, most brutal officer in the corps and held back on no one but innocent civilians. His interrogations ended in less than five minutes, his arrest quota was astounding, his record was polished clean and some rumored that his influence was even more powerful than Zobotnik himself. When Zonic was assigned to be his private, he was so excited and happy to finally get a chance at being stronger.
But the man's training methods were...
...almost inhumane.
Training started one year ago before this moment.
He kicked him off floating skyscrapers to help him learn how to electronically summon his assigned No Zone motorcycle, he made him consume various poisoned liquids to learn about different banes that could be used to kill people, forced him to spar with much stronger and larger No Zone Mobians in the training hall, tased him with abnormally high volts to train his body against tasers, and even used Cyber Space to help simulate stabbings from different weapons in order to discipline his body into taking a piercing blow. And if Zonic ever failed, if he ever showed fear or even the slightest amount of incompetence, he was roughly punished for it. Zhadow beat him up during training and belittled him often. Embarrassing him in front of other soldiers, using him as an example to new recruits and reprimanding him in front of prisoners in No Zone. One could say it was typical military hazing, except Zhadow was doing more than that. Every time he'd humiliate Zonic, he'd always vocally give him a lesson.
Lesson one:
If he pushed him off a building and he didn't properly summon his bike to save himself, Zhadow would catch him just before he splattered on the ground and say, "Your fear is preventing you from taking action and summoning your vehicle. You've failed. Do it again and stop questioning yourself."
Lesson two:
If he couldn't property discern poison from regular liquids, Zhadow would immediately give him an antidote after experiencing painful side effects. "Your memory is trash. All No Zone soldiers need a photographic memory, and your own lack of discipline is preventing you from remembering your experiences. How are you to describe a criminal on the run if you're too chicken-shit to remember? Do it again, I don't care if you pass out. I want results."
Lesson three:
If he lost a sparring match with another soldier, which was often, Zhadow would quickly escort him to the infirmary while berating him. "You don't read your opponents properly, because you let their size and experience intimidate you. You need to learn how to scan your enemies like a living computer, and until you master it, you will continue to lose to even the weakest small time thug. You're wasting my time."
Lesson four:
If he almost fainted from being tased at such high voltages, Zhadow would escort him once again to the infirmary. Usually by the back of his collar. "If you can't handle high voltages, then you can't fight against criminals who use chaos energy. In that regard, you might as well be completely useless and stay a normal Zone Cop on the lower ranks. Toughen up or stop showing up to work."
Lesson five:
If he passed out from training in Cyber Space under Zhadow's personalized programming, he'd wake up the next day with his superior sitting by his bed in the infirmary with a coffee in his hand. The nurses would always look so troubled when they appeared, because Zonic visited the place very often. "The fact that you still can't handle a mere simulation is pathetic. When are you going to allow your skin to harden, and your body to be more reactive? Do you want to die? If so, quit wasting everyone's time and turn in your badge. I have other more promising new recruits that can handle this basic level of training much easier and faster than you."
Zhadow never escorted Zonic to the infirmary or gave him cold advice out of passion nor concern, as he cared not a fig for the hedgehog back then. He did those things because he needed him to get stronger if he wanted to participate in missions outside of No Zone. There were many powerful criminals out there who could kill several No Zone soldiers in the mere snap of a finger, the higher ranks had no time for weaklings. To be honest, Zhadow never had hope in Zonic. He only trained him because Zobotnik told him to by order of the former Overseer. Zhadow didn't truly know what an Overseer was or what they did at the time, he only knew bits and pieces and that they were crucial to the multiverse. He had no idea how important Zonic was, but the moment he did, he got even tougher on him. He hated the idea of some "Overseer" giving him orders, and hated even more that a weakling like Zonic was heir to be one. He thought that if he gave him even rougher training, he'd finally give up and leave his sight.
Zonic used to always say, "Yes sir!", "My sincerest apologies, sir!" and "Please forgive my weakness, sir!" Always so apologetic and eager to please.
That is, until Zonic fought back.
If there was only one word he could use to describe Zonic, it would be "stubborn."
Zonic never, ever gave up.
If he was pushed off a building, he just nodded at his superior's words and got ready to jump off again himself. If he nearly died from consuming poison, he'd force himself to remember the name, it's effects and it's specific serum to counteract it. If he lost a sparring match, he'd let his wounds heal and request a rematch himself. If he fainted from being tased, he'd ask Zhadow to do it again after he woke up. If he passed out in Cyber Space, he'd beg Zhadow to throw him back within the simulation once more on a harsher setting. Zonic fought like hell every single day of his life to be taken seriously and recognized, and before long, he no longer let anything bother him. Even while intimidated, he just pushed through it all anyway. He was tired of being weak, he was tired of being underestimated and he was tired of being the only Chaos Born on the pyramid to be without any combative prowess. This tact for perseverance, this knack for adapting after experiencing horrible pain, this tenacity for striving to be the absolute best despite all the disadvantages, was why Zhadow reluctantly and inevitably fell in love with him.
He didn't admit it to the younger hedgehog yet, as he didn't want to believe he fell for him or anyone for that matter. So now when he trained him, he would have to look somewhere else after a while so he couldn't stare into his pretty forest green eyes. Zhadow stood before him, void of sunglasses, his dark red glowing eyes peering down at him with interest. Would he push back against this, too? Was his willpower really that strong? "Are you done?" Zhadow asked callously. "If you give up on becoming a high ranking officer, maybe I'll help you to the infirmary. Otherwise, you can waste away in here, it makes no difference to me."
"No, sir!" Zonic suddenly exclaimed with a strong voice, pushing his body to salute with fractured bones. "I'd like to go again, please."
Bewildered by this response, Zhadow scowled. "Do you have any idea what you're asking? You're about to die!"
Zonic bowed his head. "I understand that, sir. Requesting permission to engage with the simulation once more on a higher setting."
"Illiterate." Zhadow hissed. "You're about to pass out from blood loss and shock, don't try to-"
"First Lieutenant General Zhadow, sir." Zonic addressed formally before standing up straight to look his superior in the eyes. Before, he'd always flinch and look away in fear, just like everyone else. But eventually, his gaze never wavered. He knew the abyss was staring at him, and he had no qualms in looking right back. He knew exactly who and what Zhadow was thanks to his role as Overseer, and at this point, he didn't care anymore. He only needed to remember that this was his mentor, and he needed him to make him strong. That's all he needed, and all he cared about. "With extreme respect, I implore you to ignore my external weaknesses. I..." He made a determined expression. "...Can handle this. I don't care what you throw at me. I don't care if you beat me to death, I don't care if you throw me in a barrel of acid, and I don't care if you burn my uniform and my badge in front of my eyes. You will never stop me from becoming a higher ranking No Zone officer." He made a fist and pounded it against his own chest, ignoring the pain of his heart beating so quickly. "I already know you care not for Overseers, but you must understand my responsibility. It is my job to protect other Chaos Born of other realities. They are my brothers, my Chaotic Brethren of Chaotic Blood. I may not know any of them personally, but I love and care for them all!" He said while stepping closer. "Nothing will stop me from protecting them with my very life. And I'll happily protect the lives of others all the same if it means preserving justice. No one deserves to hopelessly suffer at the hands of the greedy and wicked, and I want to become someone that everyone can depend on. I will become a true No Zone soldier, and I will protect those who I love. No one in this multiverse has the power to take that from me, not even you!"
...
...Zhadow just gazed at the younger hedgehog curiously with widened eyes.
Did he...
Was this...Still the yellow-bellied new recruit he met a year ago?
Suddenly, Zonic made a panicked expression and bowed his head again. "I-I sincerely apologize for speaking out of turn, sir. Please excuse my..." His eyes grew heavy, and he wobbled from side to side. "...In...so...lence..."
He fell to his knees and fainted.
Once he did, Zhadow's tan muzzle grew red.
That spirit, that dominant drive to keep going no matter what, even in the face of a deadly adversary...
...Is why he was so proud to have him as his first lieutenant general today.
And his lover.
1:16 PM
An entire minute passed as Zhadow reminisced about the past, the very year of their blooming relationship, only a few months before Zonic confessed to him. Such an interesting time, a happier time. An easier time where Zonic wasn't so angry, spiteful and devoid of hope or mercy. He missed those times, he missed when Zonic had a shine to his eyes. And more than that, he wished he didn't-
"Quit staring at me and get out." Zonic roughly spat without looking from his notebook.
Zhadow frowned. He was so icy towards him. These last few years were rough ever since that incident, but it's gotten worse with every month. Zonic stopped eating as much, took more hours of work, barely got a wink of sleep and always stared at that damn notebook of his. He had many of them that were filled to the brim with info of other realities, and he had been writing in them since he was only five years old. This one was...Zhadow lost count. He had them organized on bookshelves at home in their apartment. This one he had just bought a couple months ago, and it was already worn out and halfway finished with it's pages. He had to keep track of so many things at once, while still striving to be a soldier and law enforcement officer of several worlds. He had his work cut out for him, but he always balanced it well when he was younger. Why was he pushing himself so hard now? It was like he was torturing himself on purpose.
"..."
"You're not allowed in here." Zonic reiterated as he flipped a page. "This room is off limits to everyone except myself. You're only allowed inside when I'm not available. Leave."
Zhadow continued to stay silent. "..."
Zonic scoffed. "Oh, I suppose you're here for me to hand you my badge and gun?"
"..."
"The silent treatment..." The current first lieutenant general sighed. "How predictable. If you're not gonna do anything, I'd like you to leave me alone now."
Zhadow simply took a small sip of his coffee. "...Why do you insist on making things so difficult?"
"And why do you have to go out of your way to be an asshole?" Zonic countered curtly.
The commander made a silent sigh. Their conversations were often this catty, mostly on Zonic's end. If it wasn't, it was very mundane with simple quick answers. If not this, there would be small instances of romantic sparks between them with more light hearted conversations, but they were diminishing. "I already sent the primes on their way to destroy those strange sources of energy that's stealing from the city's power cores."
Zonic nodded in approval. "Good, at least they'll be of some use."
His superior continued to sip his coffee quietly. "...You really hate me, don't you?"
The blue soldier flinched at this phrasing, and paused writing. "What?"
"Ever since that day, three years ago... you've detested me." Zhadow watched his subordinate carefully as he spoke, knowing this subject was a very sore topic for them both. Yes, ever since that moment, they've never been the same. "You don't trust me and you avoid me like the plague unless it involves work. You don't even like sharing the same bed with me, and you can't stand to be next to me anymore. You don't even wear your ring."
Suddenly, Zonic stood up from his chair and turned his attention fully to Zhadow. His expression was a little hurt, even a little fearful. Not of him, but what he was saying. "No...Zhadow," He tried to step from around his desk to approach him. "I don't-"
"Then why don't you wear your ring?" He asked with a relaxed voice. But Zonic could tell that though he didn't sound stung with despair, he very much was.
It was now Zonic who had nothing to say. "..." He looked away with shame as he rubbed his own fingers against themselves, without the ring Zhadow mentioned.
Zhadow slightly crushed the side of the coffee cup. "And there's my answer." He said calmly. "Tell me," He continued to sip it to feign his placid attitude. "If you hate me so much, why are we wasting each other's time by still pretending to be something?"
Slowly, Zonic lifted his head and walked directly in front of Zhadow. With a hushed yet heavy voice of remorse, he had this to say: "I am not pretending." When Zhadow didn't immediately respond to him, Zonic closed his eyes and sighed stressfully. "Zhadow," He began with a lighter tone. "I have never, nor will I ever hate you. I..." He blushed a little. "I adore you. I love you. I've loved you for four years and I still do to this day. If I didn't, I wouldn't have let you kiss me in front of the primes. I wouldn't still work here, I wouldn't still live with you and I wouldn't have stayed in this reality when I could have easily moved on to another."
That didn't make his general feel any better. "You have a very strange way of showing it."
"Zhadow, you know why I can't trust you like I did before." He retorted with an offended scowl. "Don't act like I'm just doing this without a reason, you know what you did. You know why we're like this."
Zhadow's frown tightened angrily, but his voice remained collected. Zonic knew his dark red eyes were glaring at him through those military shades. "...I told you what happened that day."
"Yes, after you were caught." Zonic pointed out with a matched grimace of betrayal. "And I know you told me the truth. I just wish you didn't hide it from me, and continued to hide it after proposing to me." He looked downwards with a more somber expression, and this almost caused Zhadow's anger to disappear instantly. He hated seeing him like this. "You never cheated on me, never took advantage of me, but you lied to me and...You deceived me. And you even kept it from me after you put that ring on my finger, right before the very worst day of my entire life. How the hell do you expect me to react, Zhadow? What would you have done if I kept a secret like that from you?" His superior turned his face away from his gaze, and Zonic could tell he was the one who was ashamed now. He still felt guilty about it, because what he did was indeed wrong. He wished things didn't play out that way, but it did and he allowed it to. Zonic couldn't accept that just yet, despite it being years ago. "...I need time." He finally said. "I know it's been three years but...I still can't forget what the former warden said, and what I saw. You hurt me first, Zhadow. I can't forgive you yet, because now I feel as if I can't trust anyone. Not even you."
The commander gradually took another sip of coffee. That hurt, that one hurt pretty badly. He always taught Zonic not to mince his words with people, he taught him too well. "...Fine." Zhadow suddenly said. "Then the least you can do is act more civil with Sonic prime. You acting like a bratty teenager isn't going to help restore our reality-"
Zonic growled, a split moment of traumatic hatred flashing through his eyes. "You know why I hate him, and I'm not repeating myself!" He yelled bitterly. "You know what I said, you know what I showed you. You know what can happen, you know what he can do!"
"Zonic," Zhadow raised his voice a little, causing the first lieutenant general to clench his teeth. "I know what you saw. I know what you saw scarred you for life, and I know you'll never be able to forget it. And I know what I did didn't help. But I'm asking you to give them one chance. I can sense it, there's no bloodlust in them. Not even my own prime has it despite the Black Arms blood."
"That's only because the spirits haven't gotten to them yet. You know how quickly a good Sonic can turn bad!"
"All I'm asking," Zhadow turned his concealed gazed back towards him, his voice losing it's edge. He wasn't demanding it, he didn't want to fight with him anymore. He was pleading with him, he just wanted this one thing and for this conversation to be over. "Is that you trust my word on this, that's it. You don't have to like or trust anything else I say, but I want you to at least have faith in this."
The blue soldier exhaled strongly through his nose and closed his eyes tightly. Despite what they were referring to, Zhadow had never lied to him besides that. He never led him astray after that moment. Besides, Zhadow could have easily gave him a shouting match of the century, but he didn't. He was just asking him, that's all he could do and they both knew it. Zhadow already knew it was useless to try and get Zonic to change his mind, yet he tried anyway. Zonic couldn't ignore that. "...Okay. I'll trust you on this, and this one thing only."
Zhadow sighed and turned his back towards him. "Thank you." He began walking away towards the exit. "Now, I have a conference in thirty minutes with the mayor. I'll need you to act as leading sentry on No Zone Prison's perimeters."
Just as he was about to step out of the automatic doors, Zonic gave him a shocking answer. "...No."
The general immediately turned his head to the side. "Excuse me?"
Zonic's expression and voice became very neutral. "I said no, general." He repeated effortlessly.
"Insubordination?"
"Yes, sir."
Zhadow was a little put off by this. There was no anger or ill-will in his refusal to obey his orders. "You do realize I can penalize you for that. Severely."
His rookie only shrugged in response. "I know." He then began to raise his gloved hands to his military jacket, and slowly began to undo the buttons one by one. He kept his dark green irises on his superior the entire time until he partially opened his top to reveal some of his beige blouse, and they both knew what was underneath that. "But I'd like you to do that in another way."
Oh.
Oh.
He had Zhadow's full attention, now.
Zonic pulled a little at the sides of his half opened jacket, before slipping the khaki tie that was tucked from underneath it. "I want to escalate our lunch date, and you can have me. When you're done with me, I'll go back home, put my ring back on and," His peach muzzle blushed a little, and he looked away. "When I return, I'll obey your orders." He pulled his tie off of his own neck and let it drop on the floor. "But only then."
Abruptly, a heavily dark red aura began to surround the No Zone general. "This is illegal, you know."
"You being engaged to your right hand is also very illegal, sir." Zonic replied nonchalantly.
An animalistic smirk grew on Zhadow's face, and a pair of dark red glowing orbs reflected from the back of his shades. "I haven't had you scream my name in nearly four months..." His voice had an almost barbarous tone to it, or perhaps hungry was a better word. "I counted. A mere tussle in the sheets isn't going to fix the misery you put me through, you hurt me deeply when you stopped wearing your ring. And you did that over six months ago, so how are you ever to repay me for all of that?" He asked while taking a few threatening steps forward, his fingers gripping into his coffee cup even harder.
"I know," Zonic said with a genuinely rueful voice. "And I'm sorry. I'm...very sorry. I never meant for you to think that I don't love you, because I do." He confessed this as he proceeded to peel off more layers of clothing. His jacket dropped, and he was now unbuttoning his dress shirt. "Even though I don't trust you as much, I want to prove to you that I still love you with every fiber of my very soul. Zhadow, I'm still hurt because I love you so much. I know giving you my body isn't much," He wasn't daunted by his superior's looming shadow, and only continued to undress himself. "But I want to make it up to you somehow, and I want you inside me. I'll...I'll make it up to you everyday, whenever you want, wherever you want." He could tell Zhadow was smirking even harder at that offer. "I'll...I'll even let you touch me in public. Whatever you want, I won't complain. I'll let you do whatever you want to me, and I'll do anything you say without hesitation. I promise." He reached his hand down to his own waist, loosening his belt right in front of his commander. "And maybe...you can record us this time. That way, I can listen to it at night when you're away on a business trip. So I..." With a small thud, his pants dropped to the floor. "...won't be lonely."
A primal aura spread all throughout the room, giving it a frightening aesthetic with a dark red hue overriding the default lighting in the room. "Good fucking God I've missed you." Zhadow growled sexually as he completely crushed the coffee cup in his hand. It's steaming hot contents dripping all over his glove and onto the floor.
Zonic blushed more as he stood there, waiting for his superior to come closer to ravage him. "I've been...touching myself a lot because...I thought you were too angry with me to have me, so," His face became completely red, and his eyes were entirely averted. "You don't have to...be that gentle."
That's when Zhadow paused at the realization. "Did you...masturbate before coming to HQ today?"
Zonic's eyes glanced at him silently, before looking somewhere else again. "..."
Zhadow was suddenly right in his space, gripping his collar and pushing him backwards into the desk. "Oh I'm going to fucking annihilate you."
The blue soldier was shoved onto his back. "...!"
"Take off your gloves."
Sitting up cautiously onto the desk's surface, Zonic could feel a great level of arousal spread throughout his lower body. He was so ready for this all of a sudden. "Y-Yes...sir..." His gloves fully fell onto the floor, he only wore his beige blouse and it was nearly completely open. "...May I-"
"Permission to speak denied." Zhadow ordered as he got in between Zonic's legs. "Open your mouth."
Well, shit.
Alright. Zonic shyly did as he was told and opened his mouth widely. He instantly felt his superior's tongue protrude it, slathering his lingua against his. "M-Mmnn..." Zonic gratefully reciprocated the sloppy French kiss, loving the feeling of his lover's tongue against his own. It's been so long since he tasted it. He wrapped his arms around his neck, gripping his bare fawn fingers into the back of his uniform. Feeling up against his body, his warmth, it was a dream come true. Ever since they drifted apart, he had wet dreams for so many nights. His jaw was suddenly gripped and his face roughly pulled back. "N-Ngh..." His grip was tough, but he knew he didn't want to actually hurt him.
"You will do everything I say from here on out until the primes leave this world." Zhadow gave him his new orders smoothly. "Do you understand?" Zonic nodded without a word, knowing well that he wasn't supposed to speak yet. He could feel Zhadow eye him judgingly, pressing his thumb on his bottom lip and staring at his slightly parted lips that had a thin line of his spit falling from it. "Hmph. The thing is, I know you keep your promises. You never break them, you always stick to your word. If you're willing to humiliate yourself in front of others just for me," He lowered his hand in between Zonic's bare blue legs and pressed his fingers against his crotch. He winced in his hold, his thighs trembling with desire. He was unsheathing his shaft from underneath, meanwhile there was a growing erection poking against the general's pants. "You'll do it without question. I know you will, but I'm still not convinced." He gripped the back of Zonic's quills tightly. "So I want you to swear to me that you will never take off that ring until I get you the real thing." They both knew what this meant. "When I return from my meeting with the mayor, I want to see it on your finger, and I want you to keep wearing it until it leaves a mark on your hand. Swear it in front of me now, and you better mean it." He painfully tightened his hold on Zonic, causing him to shut an eye in pain. "If you lie to me and stop wearing your ring for even the smallest reason, I don't ever want to see your face in No Zone again." He leaned his face closer to Zonic's, and he could see his dark red eyes staring deeply into his own behind his glasses. He meant it, and he meant it with a vengeance. "Do you understand, First Lieutenant General Zonic?" He asked quietly.
Zonic nodded. "Y-Yes, sir-Ghh..." He was really pulling at his quills pretty hard, this was hurting a little. "I-I swear on my life, my badge and my presence in No Zone, that I will never take the ring off again." But that roughness, only caused Zonic to blush even more with his tail wagging ever so slightly.
He liked this.
He loved this.
44 - END - 44
Notes:
To the people who only comment on this story or message me for commission work, it hurts me that you feign interest in the story when in reality, you just want my money for art I can easily make myself. Please stop acting as if you are a fan of this story, and then request me to pay you for artwork in the same turn. Actually, please stop asking for me to commission you at all. I will never commission anyone, because I, like any starving artist, am painfully broke. From now on, I will report people who spam my stories with these disingenuous comments.
To the massive amount of people who commented on this story with genuine comments, I very much appreciate and adore you! Thank you so much for giving this story a shot, this notice is not towards you in any way. Again, thank you for your actual support and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
To my faithful readers, I will only be posting twice a weekend from now on due to me attempting to write more chapters for the story. I apologize for this inconvenience, but please keep my Twitter/X on the look out for more updates at https://x.com/PMillennium78 or @PMillennium78.
Of course, if you wish to create Fanart of this story for free, you are obviously very much allowed to! It’s very flattering.
Thank you!
Chapter 45: Obtuse
Summary:
Zhadow and Zonic have made a small repair to their relationship, while Sonic goes off with Zector the Zone Cop for his part of the mission to restore power to Parallel City.
Notes:
The beginning of this chapters contains heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
45 - Obtuse - 45
1:25 PM
"Good boy," Zhadow praised as he released his hold on his spines. "Take off my belt." He ordered while placing his hands behind his back. A thrill of excitement rushed through Zonic's chest, and he quickly moved to place his hands onto his leader's waist. He immediately began to loosen and undo his belt, zipping his fly and pulling his trousers down. When he did, he saw a lovely, rock hard, veiny, tan member twitching with precum. He almost drooled at the sight, it was magnificent. How long has it been since he touched it and had it in his mouth? Zhadow scoffed at his reaction. "Hmph. I know you haven't looked at it for a while now. Even after all this time, it still surprises you. That's cute." And then he suddenly pressed the back of Zonic's head, causing his length to smack him in the cheek. "Go on, then." He stared down at him as if he was nothing but scum, a mere stain on the pavement.
And that only riled Zonic up even more.
He almost cheerfully placed the organ in his mouth, graciously sucking his lips and wrapping his fingers around his prick. Ah, the flavor of it never changed, it still tasted so good. His flesh was that of blessed undiscovered treasure, a wondrous zest of unadulterated power and authority. He gripped his fingers onto his superior's waist, humming in delight at his how he felt in his mouth. He pushed his length farther, slurping and stroking more of his delicious erection. His tail wagged quickly, his muzzle and ears tinted red. He then got on one of his hands and both knees, and felt Zhadow push his hips into his face back and forth at a quicker pace. He could hear him make low growls in his throat, he was pleasing him and that was everything he wanted. If someone had walked in on them, that would have only aroused Zonic even more. He loved this, he loved being used like a plaything, he loved it when Zhadow treated him like a pet. And he'd be obedient to him for as long as he wished. "Mmmn~" He reached down below himself and began to rub his neglected fawn colored phalic, his moans being muffled by his lover's penis. He slowly pulled his member from out of his mouth, and slicked his tongue against it instead, feeling every vein on the tip of his tongue.
The general let out a deep groan, that felt nice. "Very good boy," Zhadow exalted him with a moan. "Mmm...Make sure you take every inch of me..." Zhadow continued to thrust himself in his rookie's mouth, tilting his head back breathlessly. Zhadow was the one more experienced in sex than Zonic, and had a few one night stands before they got together. However, no one could compare to his first lieutenant general. He was the best he ever had, and he wouldn't trade him for anything. When was the last time he sucked him off like this with those pretty peach lips of his? Four months was too long, far too long. From now on, he didn't give a damn how pissed off Zonic was at him, they'd have to compromise to a few quickies every so often at the very least. That's when Zhadow saw from the corner of his hidden eye, that Zonic was touching himself. Oh no, that wasn't allowed. He then yanked himself out of the blue soldier's mouth. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
Confused by this, Zonic just gave Zhadow a dazed, questionable look. "...?"
"Who gave you permission to touch yourself?"
That's when it hit him, and he took his hand away from his own nether regions. "N-No one, sir-"
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
Zonic immediately silenced himself. But considering the fact that Zhadow immediately shoved himself back in his mouth anyway, he would have been silenced either way. He gagged at the sudden intrusion, choking a little from how deeply he pressed in his throat. "...!" Hearts filled his dark green eyes as he continued to suck his general's member.
"I'm the only one allowed to do this to you, the only one who can force the great First Lieutenant General Zonic on his knees." A carnal sneer grew on his tan lips as he watched Zonic choke and gag on his cock. He could feel his primal instincts increase, it was hard to hold them back. "The only person in existence," He whispered with a grunt. "That can rile me up so easily." He pressed both hands on his head and thrusted into his face even more, moaning deeply at how amazing his lips and tongue felt. Zonic did such a good job, he took every hit he gave him and repaid it in full with nothing but pleasure. He was such a good boy, such a good little pet. "You're so beautiful and you dare deprive me of your body?" He growled. "I should have punished you a long time ago for that. Ngh..." Fuck, he was stroking him so quickly now. "Ahh...And I missed this fucking mouth of yours, you sound so much more pleasant when you're gagging instead of barking orders at everyone. You mouth off to me everyday and get away with murder, I could have had your badge years ago for your insolence. Nmm...Shit...!" With a relieved exhale, he pushed himself out of his lover's mouth. "Haa...fuck..." He was panting a little, while Zonic was coughing and hacking for air.
Just as Zonic began to catch his breath, he was pushed onto his stomach on the desk, knocking over his notebook, pens and other office supplies. He knew exactly what that meant, and lifted his ass to his superior without hesitation. His tail was still wagging, he was so ready for this part. Panting, he spread his legs apart and allowed him to do what he wanted.
Zhadow stared at his arse, remembering that Zonic had toyed with himself earlier today before work. As devious as that was, this was still a muscle, so it was just as tight as it would be if he hadn't masturbated. He said he didn't have to be gentle, but he'd still use some precaution. Zhadow held up his hand and pulled off his right glove, before letting it drop to the floor. He then gave Zonic's bottom a nice spank before he placed his black and red stripped fingers in his mouth. When they were drenched with enough saliva, he quickly but carefully pressed three digits inside of his rookie. Zonic practically squeaked in surprise, and he moaned with great want. He pressed himself against his fingers even more, shaking his ass on them almost unconsciously. Zhadow smirked at this and spanked him again. "Dirty boy," He scolded. "You'd rather suffer in silence than give yourself to me? How dare you, you've insulted me." He created a hook motion with his fingers, causing Zonic to gasp and moan with an impish smile. God he loved it when he lost himself in pleasure like that.
As he continued to finger him, Zonic made one last plea. "P-P-Permission to speak, s-sir-Mmmn!"
"Permission granted."
"P-Please put it inside me..."
"Hm?" Zhadow tilted his head as he pushed his digits deeper, causing Zonic to cry out in pleasure. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you clearly. What was that?"
"Fuck me, please!" Zonic suddenly begged desperately. "I'm sorry I didn't let you have me, I-I didn't think you'd want me-" Another spank. He knew better than to say something that stupid at this point, of course he wanted him. "M-My apologies for my insolence, sir-A-Ah...!"
"And why should I give you what you want?"
"Because I need you!" Zonic cried. "I...I miss you. I need you inside me, I need you to fill me up!" He felt him pull his fingers out. His entrance was retracting, it was waiting for him. He needed him so badly. His needs were met with instant penetration within his body, causing Zonic to inhale sharply, his eyes dilating in alarm from such a sensation. "Y-Yes, yes! Please, be as rough as you want! Just take me!" He felt him thrust harshly from within, and he moaned very loudly in response. "A-Aahh...! Ahhh...Ahh...! Ahh!" A resounding slapping noise echoed in the Room of Realities, and the metallic desk thumped against the floor over and over. His face laid against the surface of it, his eyes full of lust and need. He could feel that he wasn't going slow at all, he was relentlessly humping himself in his body repeatedly and trying to reach even deeper. He needed this, they both needed this. He needed him to assert his dominance over him, he craved it every single day and he never had the confidence to tell him. He thought he was too cross with him to entertain him, but he was so happy they felt mutual about this at the very least. He wanted him to break him, he wanted him to humiliate and destroy him. And he'd let him do it whenever he wanted, in front of whomever he desired.
As Zhadow rapidly thrusted his length into his subordinate, he bent over his figure and wrapped an arm around Zonic's body. His other hand clamped down on the back of his neck and squeezed, lightly choking the first lieutenant general as he was pounded into. "Mmn," He grunted at the restrictive tightness of his hole. "I suppose I'll have to arrive at that meeting a little later than expected..." He squeezed his fingers around his throat a little more, earning him a gagged moan. "I'm sure the mayor won't mind...Mnn," He loved that he liked it rough like this, he was so depraved. "You always liked it rough, huh rookie? You have such a prim and proper facade, when in reality, you're the most lewd, immoral person in No Zone, aren't you?" He thrusted very hard this time, causing Zonic to nearly scream a moan. He was smiling wickedly, his eyes almost rolled to the back of his head. He was utterly intoxicated with libido, he adored what Zhadow was doing to his body. He was railing him so hard that he knew he wouldn't be able to sit right for weeks. "Well?" Zhadow asked with a smirk. "I asked you a question, and I need an answer."
"Yes!" Zonic moaned. "Yes I am, I'm completely depraved...Please thrust in me more, please fuck me harder...!"
Zhadow's smirk widened at his drunken enthusiasm. "Despite playing with yourself so much, you're still tight..." He pulled out and pushed Zonic onto his back. He pulled his body closer on the desk's surface so he was in between his legs again. He then shoved himself right back inside, earning himself an almost pained gasp.
"...!" Zonic was shaking violently. "Y-You're so big...Please fill me up, please fill me up...!" He begged repeatedly as his superior returned to drilling his length into his cavern. He still had his hand wrapped around his throat, still lightly choking him. Zonic grasped his arm, his legs lifting in the air from passionate and abundant pleasure.
"Don't worry," Zhadow grunted, increasing his roughness and his speed. "I'll give you exactly what you want in just a minute...I need to see your face while I have you like this. Pathetic and needy...but you like being like this, don't you?"
Zonic nodded quickly. "Y-Yes, sir!"
His smirk became a fanged sneer in seconds, that dark red aura from before growing even larger. He couldn't hold back his primal instincts anymore. "Say my fucking name."
"Yes, Zhadow! Ahh...!"
"Now ask for permission to cum."
"M-May I cum, sir?" He thrust extra hard for his clear failure in respecting his previous order: He didn't say his name. "Oh God...!" Was it possible to die from the intensity of an impending orgasm? "Please let me cum, Zhadow!"
His ebony fur was growing more jagged and rustled, and his fangs were growing sharper. Zonic's tightness despite constantly masturbating, his pleading and his willingness to be his toy and his little whines and screams were becoming too much for him. He was going to destroy this room along with his beautiful body. "Ngh..." He'd give him exactly what he wanted soon. "Tell me you love me, first!" He suddenly yelled, seizing Zonic's neck tighter. He needed to hear him say it again, because in this moment he wouldn't be able to lie or inflate what he was saying. Zonic was truly vulnerable, and was currently his slave to his every whim. If he was going to say he loved him, he'd mean it without a doubt.
"...!" Zonic was going to blow, that felt way too good. He loved it when he did that, he couldn't help but smile at the endorphins traveling to his brain. "I love you! I love you more than anything in the world...! I love you so much, Zhadow!" He choked out.
Sharp claws grew from the general's bare fingers, and his glasses fell from his face from all the thrusting. His demonic, dark red, slit-pupil eyes glowered down at Zonic ravenously. He was going to conquer him, own him, and breed him into perfect submission. If he could impregnate him, he would. His feral mind took over, his Black Arms blood boiling inside of his body. "Permission granted...!" He groaned as he could feel himself about to release.
Seeing his eyes caused Zonic to orgasm instantly, his mouth agape as he felt himself spill all over his own desk. Zhadow nor himself ever needed to touch his member, he came from his invasive thrusts alone. "Ahh!" He arched his back, the back of his head slamming against the desk as his knees straightened upwards in the air. He hit his prostate dead on this time. This was heaven, it had to be.
Zhadow's voice grew much deeper than usual, almost supernaturally so. "Look at you, you're a fucking mess." He chastised Zonic sadistically as he watched him release all over himself. That sight was amazing, he wished he could take a picture. "If I get any stains on my uniform, I'll punish you for this!"
The wind in Zonic's sails were completely stagnant, his eyes were completely rolled behind his head. His voice wasn't even high anymore and he wasn't even screaming, he was completely stuck in pleasure. Zhadow was still thrusting inside of him, and he was still loving every second of this despite being frozen in sensual indulgence. "I-I'm sorry sir...Please fill me up, Zhadow...I love you so much...I love you inside of me..." He mumbled mindlessly, his body practically limp against the desk. That's when a spark of pleasure shot through his G spot, revitalizing his nervous system once more. It felt positively euphoric. "A-Ahhh! Yes, yes...!" Zonic suddenly gasped, and he could feel his insides tighten. "Cum inside me...!"
A ferocious growl rumbled from Zhadow's lips. "Ngh..." He spilled inside of Zonic, his entrance clamping down on his member. "Shit...Ahh...!" He hadn't realized how much he pent himself up, he really needed to do this. So much was coming out, he hid away so much of himself. They both hid themselves from each other. They still were hiding to an extent, and this hurt. But the sexual high they both were feeling now, is what they needed to keep going. White was dripping out of his rookie, it was a gorgeous sight. He let go of Zonic's neck, and sweetly rubbed his palm against the side of his throat as he pulled out of him. He knew he liked very rough sex, but sometimes he feared accidentally hurting him for real.
In complete tranquil bliss, Zonic gently smiled as his eyes became half lidded. "A-Ahh...haa...t-there's...so much...s-so much of you inside me..." He murmured. His legs dropped down and he laid still against the desk. He turned his head to the side and stared at nothing as he attempted to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Zhadow was panting like a starved wolf. He could feel that his eyes were reacting to the alien chemicals in his body, which was bad. That meant that his primal side was almost completely revealed, he had almost lost full control over himself. He had to stop it, he had to get it back under control. He didn't want to scare Zonic, he had to look away. When he tried to cover his face with his hand, his arm was grabbed softly. "No..." Zonic whispered. "Don't look away from me, I love your eyes...You're so beautiful."
Zhadow was always used to being the dominant one in the relationship, but Zonic always somehow managed to get him to blush every now and then. Now was one of those times, because he didn't expect that kind of compliment from him today. He could feel his primal instincts fade, and his Black Arms blood slow its circulation. His eyes reverted back to how they were before. They still weren't normal, but they weren't as monstrous as they were only seconds ago. "Why are you never scared of me when that happens?" He asked, sincerely puzzled by this. "Every time someone looks at my eyes, they get terrified. Some even run away, even our own men. But you...you always keep your gaze."
"Because you don't scare me, because I love you."
That was very sweet, but it only made Zhadow frown at the truth underlying his words. "But you still don't trust me."
Zonic sat up on his knees and wrapped his arms around his superior. "Give me more time." He requested tenderly.
"How long, Zonic?" Zhadow asked while not returning the embrace. "I can't keep living like this. I need you to be in this with me one hundred and ten percent." He raised his hands to caress the sides of Zonic's face. This would be the only time in a while that he would ever see him look so relaxed, and even happy. "I know you're still angry with me, but I need my rookie. I need you."
The blue soldier blushed this time, and made an unsure expression. "Just...a little more time, Zhadow. Please?"
He didn't like that answer, but he knew he wouldn't get a different one. If that was the case, then he'd at least accept that on his terms. "...Will you at least stop avoiding me?"
"Yes." Zonic answered without pause.
"And will you please be more cordial with the primes? For me?"
"Yes."
"And," He hesitated a little. "Will you allow me to touch you more?"
Zonic nodded. "I promised you could have me as much as you want, Zhadow."
The commander shook his head. "Not that way, that's not all I want from you. You know I want more than that." He rubbed one of his hands back down to Zonic's neck, seeing that he bruised it a little. The uniform would cover it up, but he didn't mean to rough up his skin. He knew that's what Zonic wanted and what he liked, but perhaps they would have to put a hold on his little kink for next time. He didn't like hurting him, he hated doing so actually. "I want to go on dates with you, kiss you, hold you...love you in ways beyond just sex."
A warm, bright but small smile graced Zonic's face. One that nearly took Zhadow's breath away. And for a second, he almost looked like his rookie from all those years ago. "Yes. That would make me very happy." That stunned Zhadow a little. He was so in love with him, that sometimes he questioned who really had who on the leash. He pressed a deep kiss onto his lips, one that was ardent but without the erotic tension. And though it was supposed to be void of lust, Zhadow could sense there were some lingering feelings of sensual desperation from Zonic all of a sudden. He moaned in the kiss and mewled when he felt his superior kiss against his chin and soon his slightly bruised neck. The more he kissed on him, the more his rookie was wanting. "...Bite me."
...
...Zhadow stopped.
What did he say?
"What?" He asked while lifting his face from his shoulder.
Zonic was a little put off by this reaction, and he blinked in confusion. "Don't you...want my blood? I know it's been a while since you've done that, but I know that's what you like to do during or afterwards. It's okay, I don't mind." He pulled at his own collar to reveal more of his throat. "Just try not to leave a mess, blood is impossible to get out of light clothes."
His blood?
He was offering his blood?
His blood...
...His blood.
A pulsing, violent sensation was vibrating in his skull. His blood? And he wanted him to bite him? He wanted him to take it, just like that? Such a good little pet, it was like he was asking to be dominated, impregnated and bred-
-Damn it.
He did it again.
He had to stop thinking like that, the blood was controlling his ideas more and more. He already slipped up in front of the primes when he used the word 'kill', and he did it again with Zonic. Stop it, stop thinking like that. Zonic may have complained about the spirits, but the will of the Black Arms was another pain in the ass of a different variety. Clearing his throat, Zhadow shook his head and calmly refused. "I can't. If I did that," The things he would do to him, the things he'd make him do to him...God, maybe he was the more depraved one here. "I might..." He trailed off with an almost fearful voice, scared of himself. As mentioned many times before, the last thing Zhadow ever wanted to do was hurt Zonic. If he gave in to his instincts, he might do something far worse than a mere bite and then he'd truly never trust him again. He didn't want to lose anymore of his trust, he couldn't ruin what little of what he had left. He loved him, he couldn't lose him like this.
Zonic could see the conflict in his face, he didn't look very okay at the moment. "Oh," He decided that distracting him might be best. He rubbed his hands to Zhadow's uniformed chest and gave him a very submissive expression. "I suppose so, but," He laid his face against his torso and looked up at him pleadingly as his tail started to wag a little again. "Please, give me more? I'll be good."
"Oh?" The discord in Zhadow's eyes faded a little, and he made a small smirk. "You want more...? Are you sure about that?"
"Yes," He replied in a needy way, which was purely exciting. Zonic never acted like this otherwise unless he was face down and biting a pillow. "I need you to fill me up one more time, I don't have enough of you inside me...I need it so bad...Please fuck me again, sir?"
Zhadow licked his lips slowly. "My, my..." Well, he didn't mind that notion-"...?" A loud beeping noise caught his attention. He held up his arm and momentarily pulled up his sleeve to look at his smartwatch. It too, was very thin. He saw the time.
1:45 PM
The general sucked his teeth unfavorably. He hated his many jobs sometimes. "I'm late..." As much as he wanted to stay, he couldn't. He didn't need the mayor even more pissed off at him with further lateness. He kissed his rookie on the forehead before turning around and fixing up his clothes. "I need to go, you know how that is. Not like I like the bastard anyway, but," He had hoisted up his pants and fixed his belt. He then smoothed out his uniform, readjusted his collar, then bent down to pick up his glasses. If he showed up without them, they'd pass out from fright. As he placed them on his face, he grabbed his glove from the floor as well and pulled it back onto his hand. The claws that grew from his fingers earlier were gone. "Duty calls. I should be back before evening. Clean yourself up and don't forget to make your rounds in No Zone Prison. Oh and," He almost forgot one last thing, something more important. "Do me a favor and show Shadow prime that thing we talked about yesterday. He needs it." He held two fingers up to his head and saluted him. "Remember, I've got you in my sights." He placed his hands in his jacket pockets and uttered, "Cyber Control." In a light blue flash, he was gone and teleported out of the room.
Silence.
Zonic looked down at himself, and he did indeed make a mess on his own desk.
More importantly, it was getting harder for Zhadow to control his instincts. As sexually arousing as it was to see, it was a huge problem at best and a great danger at worst. Ever since three years ago, ever since that incident, his primal thinking and his Black Arms blood reacted worse. Was it his fault? This issue didn't become a problem until he got with Zonic, as it did flare up during sex many times before the incident three years ago. He never snapped though, only seemed more excited than anything. But now...He grimaced, because he felt like such a burden. As if he wasn't already a burden to the entire multiverse with this stupid Chaotic Blood. He didn't know what to do, or how to help his general. And it's not like the primes could help, they were too weak. It was hopeless, just like everything else in his miserable life.
He sighed.
Might as well clean up.
1:25 PM
Outside HQ, officers Zector and Zespio were indeed already waiting for them and without their helmets. Two of those black motorcycles were floating just off the platform, waiting for a rider and a passenger to join. Shadow and Sonic decided that they should split up so they could cover more ground, and they would get a No Zone officer each to help escort them throughout the city. They agreed they'd try to return before sunset and report to Zhadow together about what they found. Sonic went with Zector, and Shadow went with Zespio. The crocodile soldier explained that they'd take them to the outskirts of Parallel City, just as Zhadow instructed them earlier to investigate the city's power cores. Before long, they were off in separate ways. Sitting on the back of motorcycles, the two Mobian hedgehogs held onto their respective Zone Cops as they boosted into the skies at hundreds of miles per hour.
Sonic was having the time of his life, never realizing how fun riding on a motorcycle was. He always felt the idea of vehicles to be practically useless for a guy like him, but this was actually awesome! That's when he noticed that if he liked roller coasters and riding rocket ships that soared into the air at thousands of miles per hour, why wouldn't he enjoy a motorcycle? Maybe he'd have to have Tails do him a solid and build him a nice little cruiser when they returned home. Or maybe, he could get one of those ridiculously fast sports cars that could be customized to go at mach speeds! That...was probably super illegal, but who cares? The sky wasn't even the limit, he could do this all day! He hoped Shadow was enjoying himself as much as he was right now, because he was having a grand old time. Using cyber energy, the motorcycle boosted even faster, causing Sonic to wave his arms in the air. "This is freakin' AWESOME!" He yelled as they increased their speed. "WOOHOO...!" When Zector noticed how much the hedgehog was enjoying himself, he couldn't help but smile. "We're goin' at least a thousand miles right now, and you guys just ride like this every single day on these babies?"
Zector proudly nodded. "That's right! No Zone newbies have to be trained to withstand the velocity of how fast these things can go, including sharp or uneven turns. We go so fast, that we have to drive in the sky and avoid the public cyber roads. If you can't handle riding a high stakes roller coaster, ya can't handle a No Zone Corps grade motorbike. Which means ya can't get recruited and you're kicked out immediately." He revved up the vehicle as they made a turn, making Sonic giggle childishly. Zector appreciated how laidback he was. "Heh! Our superior was so crabby about you guys visiting us, but I don't see what the rub is. You're pretty fun!" He briefly looked down at the vehicle's dashboard, noticing on his GPS that they were getting closer. "Alright, we're almost there." He grinned. "But I think we can make a couple detours to do stuff like-" He revved up the bike a little more, before it raised upwards in an aerial wheelie. "-This!" But since they were in the air and nothing was restricting the lower wheel's movement, Zector was able to keep up this wheelie for several minutes. Sonic was absolutely ecstatic with excitement, and asked the Zone Cop to do another trick. "Another one, eh? No problem, let's do a hyperspin...!" The crocodile leaned the vehicle on it's side to the point that it was nearly lying flat, and accelerated the gas to caused it to spin multiple times and forming a ringed dust cloud in the air. "And let's finish it off-" He caused the vehicle to boost once more, raising it upright from the momentum. "-With a spiral stoppie!" The bike leaned forward on it's front wheel, and began to spin like vinyl record. After a few seconds, the bike lowered itself before boosting forward once more.
This was the very essence of what Sonic adored in life.
No restrictions, no traffic stops, no legalities holding them back. Just the avid rush of speed, thrill, adrenaline and complete carelessness: Fun. It was just fun! The wind relentlessly smacking him in the face, his hair and quills flying all about, his hands in the air and taking it all in rider stride, this was what life was supposed to be. Free, happy, no responsibility and no rules to hold anybody back. This was how things should be, how everything should be! This is freedom, this is happiness! This is-
...
...Then he thought about Shadow.
No, maybe he was wrong.
If he was younger, maybe that's as far as happiness would have gone for him.
But now that he had Shadow, he found something else that made him happy. Something that made him even more happy. Sonic was older now, and he thought he reached the pinnacle of what he wanted his life to be about. He was such a fool to think he wouldn't change, that he wouldn't grow to find other things that could complete him. He told Tails that no one ever stopped growing, so why did he think he did? No, that was the true freedom: To continue growing and discovering new things in life. And with Shadow in his life now, he knew he'd never run short of such experiences. He could feel himself blushing. How did that asshole get in his head so easily after being separated from him for only around ten minutes? Damn it, was he really that in love with him? Ugh, he hated feeling like a girl so much. But...He smiled. Maybe he did secretly enjoy feeling this way about someone, because he damn sure wouldn't change it for the world. As the motorcycle dived downwards, it headed straight for the grounded streets and normal roads of the reality. Sonic looked up at the sky as they went down, seeing the colors of the many layers of atmosphere of the planet fade from his vision. He almost saw stars when they were up that high, and they affectionately reminded him of the biohog. Maybe that's what Shadow was, a shooting star that landed right in his palms. Maria may have had her wish, but maybe...Sonic had one too.
One he never realized he had until now.
The bike landed on the concrete street of the more grounded level of Parallel City, and skidded to a stop against the pavement. Zector put the vehicle to sleep, and it would only activate upon his order. The crocodile got off of the motorcycle, instructing Sonic to do the same. "Welp, we're here." He said while placing his armored-gloved fists on his hips. "This is the outskirts of Parallel City, the northern area. If you look there," He pointed ahead of them. From what Sonic could see as he stepped from the bike, was that this particular street just kept going and going. There was nothing ahead, just a constant void of sky and road. "This road looks like it doesn't lead anywhere, but that's not true. This is a road that's restricted from civilians, as this leads to other zones and realities. That's why it looks endless. It's not, but it'd take a normal person years to make it to the next realm. Zone Cops have special equipment in our bikes that can make us go lightspeeds and arrive at our destination." He gestured for Sonic to look around, as there were no nearby buildings for several kilometers. "The outskirts of Parallel City are off limits for civvies due to accidentally riding on the Cosmic Interstate, which is this road. If you look closely, there's something keeping you from leaving." When Sonic stared at the endless road, he saw a light blue grid appear but only for a nanosecond. "There's a barrier here. Only Zone Cops and outsiders can slip in and out, otherwise it works like a brick wall to protect our people from the outside. Normies can't leave without a No Zone uniform, so if someone accidentally road a semi-truck at this barrier..."
Sonic cringed.
Splat.
"Not only that, but the second you slip out of the barrier, a powerful magnetic pull that aligns the Cosmic Interstate forces you to keep going forward. You won't be able to turn back unless you're riding a No Zone bike that's calibrated to force a U-turn." He then clapped his hand onto Sonic's shoulder. "So try not to sonicboom your way outta here, alright? Haha." He warned with a lighthearted smile, which was odd considering how dangerous this area was. But then again, Vector was kind of like that too. The blue hero frowned as he looked back and forth. If there was nothing out here but this lone road, where the heck was the city's power core? Zector then stepped into the middle of the street and bent down to drag his fingers against the concrete. Three small circular light blue lights appeared within the rock. Sonic walked over and tilted his head curiously, what was that? Zector then tapped his digits against the the circular lights in a sequence, almost like holographic buttons. Let's see, that was 3...1, then 2...There was a secret code for this? To be honest, nobody would ever think something like this was here anyway. The three lights flashed white before the ground began shaking. Sonic stepped to the side to see that just where he was standing, the concrete began to shift. Zector stepped away as well, before an entire square outline was indented into the street. It then slowly opened to reveal a large metal ladder leading downwards. The hero blinked in shock. Woah, so that's where they were hiding the power core. Zector began to descend the ladder while gesturing for Sonic to follow. "C'mon Sonic prime, this is the power sewer. It's just down here."
The inside of this secret entrance kind of reminded Sonic of a legitimate sewage system, but much cleaner and without the God awful smell or dank water. It was dark and moist, but was very organized and structured like an elaborate piping system. There were yellow stripes lining the floor, leading to certain mechanisms lined on the walls. This was probably for utility or city workers to operate down here. Zector continued to go deeper and deeper within the secret tunnel, and Sonic saw restricted access doors on the walls. That probably led to other sides of the city's outskirts, and thus it's different power sewers. So a power sewer was a place where a city's entire power grid was stored and operated...Interesting. The dim lights down here made things a little creepy, but Zector's confident chill attitude kept his spirits lifted. As they continued to walk, Sonic decided to probe the Chaotix leader lookalike for some answers about curious things.
"So..." Sonic trailed off. "...Why does your boss have such a stick up his ass?"
Zector laughed at this. "Y'know if we were in HQ, he'd have your head for that! Heheheh. Zonic, huh?" He made a sympathetic smile. "To be honest, I dunno. He wasn't always like this, this angry little sea urchin. Honestly, nobody really noticed anything until three years ago."
Three years ago...Why did that amount of time always spell danger? "What happened three years ago?"
"Well," The crocodile frowned. "You ain't hear this from me, but one day, Zespio an' I heard a lotta loud yellin' coming from the former warden's office. At the time, Zhadow was the first lieutenant general and Zonic was the second lieutenant general. Zespio and I were guarding the door. They were all havin' a three-man meeting about something with former warden Zobotnik, and things were quiet. Then all of a sudden, there was a lot of angry yelling and thumping, and then this big glass smashing sound." He glanced at Sonic with an unsure look. He himself didn't know what happened in that room. "Next thing I know, Zonic runs out tellin' us that Zobotnik betrayed us all and jumped out of the window. Zhadow was goin' nuts with Primal Mode and-Oh." He blinked and made a sheepish smile. "Whoops, I wasn't supposed to talk about that. It's a top secret No Zone Corps secret, y'know. Anyway, the room was a mess and Zonic was livid. But he wasn't just mad at Zobotnik or what happened," He made a solemn expression. "He was mad at Zhadow."
Sonic furrowed his brows. "Why? What did he do? Does it have something to do with that primal thingy you mentioned?"
Zector shook his head. "Nah, had nothin' to do with that. To this day, neither me or Zespio know what happened in that room. All we know is that Zobotnik was planning something horrible for all Zonians-Err, No Zone inhabitants, enslaving us to do his every whim as this mindless army of feral soldiers." He scratched the side of his face. "But Zonic, he was so cross with Zhadow. I mean, you already know they're in a relationship, right?" He asked the blue hedgehog, who nodded in return. "Yeah, everybody knows it, even Zobotnik knew it. And I think that made him really mad, 'cause Zhadow was his number one guy. Once Zonic came into the picture, they weren't as close. But when that incident in the office happened, Zonic never trusted Zhadow the same ever again. I don't know what he did to betray his trust, or what he did to make him so mad, but he became the way he is now ever since that moment." He sighed heavily. "It sucks, 'cause they were a power couple. Anytime someone thought about No Zone, they thought about those two. They were the faces of justice, the faces that put fear into any criminal. They gave us morale and now..." He shook his head with disappointment. "It just sucks. They still work together closely, but it's obvious things aren't the same. Sometimes I can hear them screamin' at each other outside our leader's office. Well, it's usually Zonic yelling..."
The hero chewed on that for a moment as the crocodile rambled on.
Zhadow somehow betrayed Zonic? What, did he cheat on him? Say something out of turn? It's clear the two had a lengthy history together, the same way he and Shadow did. But there was something that Sonic didn't like about that story. Zhadow was close with this world's Robotnik? That wasn't good. One could argue Shadow was 'close' to Eggman too, but he never actually was. He only worked with him out of some slight sense of obligation for waking him up and his own selfish desires. In reality, he just wanted revenge and felt that Gerald's own grandson would be the perfect person to work with to accomplish that. He never actually liked or trusted Eggman as far as he could throw the fat lard. That's when Sonic interrupted Zector's rambling.
"You said Zhadow was cool with Zobotnik? How close we talkin'?"
45 - END - 45
Chapter 46: Vertex
Summary:
Sonic and Zector complete their mission, while Shadow and Zespio attempt to finish their own.
Chapter Text
46 - Vertex - 46
1:35 PM
This made the crocodile wince, he really shouldn't have been running his mouth like this.
"Ah boy," He shrugged. "Y'know, I only divulged that info to see where your head was at, makin' sure you were truly trustworthy and all..." Huh, he wasn't as airheaded as he seemed, just like the OG Vex. "I really shouldn't tell you anything else but, for some reason, you lookin' like our vice leader is makin' me a little more comfortable than I probably should. However you use this info will be very telling. Keep that in mind." He gave Sonic a casual, but firm warning. Don't abuse this information. "Just promise you won't tell Zonic I told you any of this, he'll have my badge." He saw Sonic nod in agreement before continuing. "Alright, General Zhadow worked as Zobotnik's right hand for decades. And I mean several decades, I'd say at least thirty years. Makes ya wonder how old the guys is..." This made Sonic frown. Did they not know how old Zhadow was? Maybe Sonic should keep his mouth shut for now, it wasn't his business to tell. "He's worked with Zobotnik for a long time, and before Zonic, me or Zespio ever enlisted. They were pretty tight. Everybody always thought Zobotnik was a little, y'know," He gave Sonic a disapproving glance. "Corrupt, but nobody could ever prove otherwise. Honestly, Zhadow seemed kinda underhanded too. He had a lot of reports of severe police brutality on criminals and prisoners. Nobody ever respected him the way they do now, they only feared him. But then little Zonic came in outta no where screechin' 'I wanna be a No Zone soldier, too!'" Zector chuckled. "Ahh, he was so young and naive. Nobody ever thought he'd make it, 'specially not Zhadow. I think he made the guy have a heart, and next thing we all know, they're dating."
Sonic looked to the side as he thought about all this.
Something wasn't adding up here...
From what it sounded like, Zhadow had more of a checkered past than Shadow did, which was saying a lot. Sonic honestly never knew how old Eggman was, but he assumed by the time he was arrested by Zonic, he was at least somewhere in his late sixties. Considering that people in this reality were older than Mobians, he'd hazard a guess that this Zobotnik was at least a few years if not an entire decade older than his own world's Robotnik. This means that the man was old, super old. If Zhadow lived long enough to work by this guy's side for thirty years, this meant he worked for the last warden before then as well. He wasn't sure who was the warden before Zobotnik was, but he could kind of guess it was a just another Robotnik. Maybe another version of Gerald. Technically, Zhadow was himself a Robotnik-Err, Zobotnik, who took over the moment the last one made a break for it. Looking at it this way, it almost seemed like Zhadow served as some kind of militant heirloom for anyone who ruled No Zone before taking over himself. Sonic was only making a bunch of theories in his head, but his intuition was almost always right. He really wanted to question the general now about his history with the old warden, because maybe the general wasn't such a blameless victim after all.
He hoped it wasn't all black and white though, 'cause he really kinda liked Zhadow. He was cool, fun, lighthearted and not at all the drab annoyance that was Zonic. If Sonic loved Shadow as strongly as he did, he knew Zonic must have felt at least somewhat similar about his own reality's Shadow. But if he was so pissy because of whatever Zhadow did, the love of his life, then...He mentally sighed, he needed to relay this to Shadow to see what he thought. After all, regardless of Zonic's opinions about them, they were still very similar. Maybe Shadow's attitude about Eggman and Gerald was somehow similar to how Zhadow felt about his world's Robotnik.
"Ahh, there it is!" Zector suddenly said as he jogged towards a bright light at the end of the corridor. As he made more steps, he was suddenly electrified and thrown backwards onto the ground. "Gah...!" He slowly stood up and looked at his electrified hands in shock. If he wasn't wearing this armor, that could have fried his entire body. "What the hell...? That's not supposed to do that." The two looked upon a glowing orb of light blue power, probably as large as a circular window. The light was trapped behind glass that was rounded to the energy's form. Several thick and large wires were surrounding it, including a few metal pipes. Light blue grids faded in and out from vision, along with a few sparks of electricity running through them. So this was one of the city's power cores and it's power grid. Sonic's eyes became neon, he could sense that there was indeed chaos energy here. He wasn't very good at sensing other energies, but training with Shadow helped tenfold. Now it was much easier for him to sense it, but he should have been able to feel it way before they got this close. Perhaps it was because of all the cyber energy surrounding it? Either way, this was what they were here for. Sonic took a single step forward, and tossed his arm forwards. A blue spine stuck against the glass, but didn't penetrate it. This made Zector flinch in fear. "H-Hey! Don't throw things at it! The power core is extremely unstable without that glass. If you break it-"
"Yeah, yeah." Sonic cut him off. He then narrowed his eyes and frowned. Why did this feel...off? Not just because of the cyber energy, but because of how easy it was to find the chaos energy corrupting it. If Infinite visited this reality, then this Zobotnik should have been warned that he and Shadow were coming to No Zone to help stop this. Wouldn't there be defenses for it? "I got it. That's why I didn't throw my spine too hard." He walked towards the glass and plucked his spine from it. He stared at it carefully, feeling its power surge into his own body. He winced a little in pain, that cyber energy was not agreeing with him. However, it didn't completely clash with the chaos inside of him either. Odd, didn't Zhadow say they were like polar opposites? Maybe because his body was fortified with chaos energy, it was too strong to be heavily effected by the cyber energy. After draining the energy out of the spine, Sonic dropped it on the floor and let it die. "Okay, now I get what's goin' on..."
Zector blinked in a confused manner. "Uhh...what?"
The hero bent forward and squinted his eyes very harshly. He knew something was wrong here, and he could feel it coming. "I thought it was weird that there was nothing stopping us from comin' down here. But now that I feel the energy, I know what it is." He stood up straight and glanced at Zector. "You're pretty strong, right?"
The crocodile didn't like where this was going. "Well, I'd like to think so, yeah. I mean," He made a cocky smirk. "I didn't become Admiral for nothin', y'know."
"Right, right," Sonic nodded. "'Cause you might wanna put your helmet back on."
Put his helmet back on? "Why would I-" The light blue power core suddenly became candy red, illuminating the entire power sewer system. It vibrated destructively against the glass, causing a massive surge in energy within the wires and pipes. Even the grid around it became candy red, it was all becoming corrupted. "That's Zobotnik's hacked energy!" Zector exclaimed with a scowl. "We need to-" Before his eyes, he witnessed the glass withholding the power core crack. A few more cracks appeared, and the dim lights turned red and flashed several times like a siren. The entire glass surrounding the core busted from within, pieces of the thick material falling to the ground. Sonic could feel it, that thing was about to make a huge blast. He rushed towards Zector and tackled the crocodile down. As he did, a vaporizing line of candy red power beamed throughout the entire corridor. Sonic could feel it singe the very tip of his back spines, and it hurt pretty badly. He thought it was weird that such a tiny area would hurt, until he looked down and saw his arm. It was very much singed and burned. 'Guess he didn't push Zector down quick enough to avoid the blast himself.
Grunting in pain, Sonic tried to get up and move his arm. It hurt like a son of a bitch to even inch it in any direction, but it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. Sucks it was his dominant arm, though. He saw a few electrical sparks of that candy red cyber energy seethe through his skin, and that hurt pretty badly too. "O-Okay," He hissed. "Not gonna lie, that hurt." His ear twitched at the sound of electrical surging. "Get down!" More zaps from the corrupted core blasted outwards, but this time it was multiple blasts all at once. The blasts were so strong that it was damaging the toughened concrete walls, shooting through them like melted butter. If they stayed down here, they were gonna get zapped in the face before long. He turned to Zector quickly. "Yo, we gotta get outta here!" As the croc stood back up on his feet, he noticed how fast Sonic was willing to protect him. He dove his body over his like a shield, despite Zector being larger than him and armored. Even if Zector got hit, it wouldn't have burned through his uniform so he wouldn't have gotten injured too badly. Sonic even got hurt in the process, but didn't hesitate for a moment to save him. The hedgehog suddenly ran towards him while snatching his hands in his hold to pull him along. "Come on already!"
This snapped Zector out of it and his helmet was suddenly digitized on his head. He then sprinted forward with a trail of light blue following behind him. Sonic smirked at this, it was nice to be able to run with someone who could at least keep up. As they ran to escape the corridor of the power sewer, they ducked their heads down at the last second to avoid another blast. Sunlight began breaching through the ground, causing them to look up. That power was so strong that it was destroying the very street itself from above. Alright, this wasn't going to be an easy fix. Zector placed two fingers on the side of his helmet. "Gonna have to call for backup-"
"Nope," Sonic skidded to a stop and faced the direction of where they just ran from. Now that they were at a slightly safer distance, he had an idea. A dumb idea, but an idea nonetheless. "I got this."
"Are you crazy!?" Zector yelled as he neared the ladder. "You'll get your face combusted if you let that thing hit you!"
Sonic only shook his head. "Trust me, I got this." He readied his left arm, the one that wasn't damaged. "Lemme show ya how we do things in Mobius." He held out his left palm, and watched closely for when that beam of light would come. He could still faintly see its color from afar, it was only a matter of time before it shot at them again. Maybe a few seconds, but he couldn't be late. If he was, it would cut his head clean off like a laser. He focused only on the upcoming blast, allowing everything else from his mind to fade away. He couldn't hear Zector's shouting, he couldn't hear the electrical beams. All he could hear was himself, and that rogue power core. Now all he had to do was imagine Shadow lying next to him, on the beach, enjoying the sun and each other's company. True tranquility. It almost made him smile. Focus, and breathe. Focus, and breathe.
One...Two...
"Sonic prime...!"
...Three.
With his own royal blue energy protecting his palm, Sonic blocked the candy red's beam from shooting through. It didn't break through his glove, not yet. The hero closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt even more, but he had to do it. It was the only way he knew how. Slowly, the red cyber power broke through and began to protrude into Sonic's glove. He groaned in pain, this kind of power didn't feel good at all, but he couldn't waver. His hand never left its position, and continued to absorb every particle of the beam. Zector watched as a living electrical current began to spread all throughout Sonic's anatomy, it was going to corrupt his entire body. "N-No! If you absorb that much cyber energy, especially hacked, you'll die!" He yelled, and tried to run to him, but he couldn't. What could he do? He couldn't stop him midway, the damage was done. And if he touched him, he could be corrupted himself. He could do nothing but watch as the prime hedgehog assimilated the blast. But then, he did something rather clever. Sonic used his injured right hand to poke out two fingers. He pressed them against his left wrist, allowing some of the corrupted cyber energy to flow into the other hand. Like a pair of lightning rods, he used his chaos energy to help manipulate the cyber energy into the other limb.
The power traveled to his burned right arm. Shadow was gonna be super pissed at him for this, but-"Chaos-" He then pointed his two fingers upwards. "-Redirection...!"
A huge boom of red power zapped from his digits and through the concrete ceiling. It shot into the air and soon the sky so far and so quickly, that it traveled all the way into the higher atmosphere of the planet. It cut through clouds, oxygen and other gases, before hitting outer space itself. Zector eyes widened behind his helmet, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He drained all of the energy and assimilated it using chaos energy to help hold it in his figure, and move it from one place to the next. He then redirected the corrupted power within himself, using his own body as a lightning rod to point it somewhere else: Off the entire planet. "No...way..." The crocodile whispered to no one but himself. Panting heavily, Sonic limped his way back down the corridor, shocking Zector even more. "W-Wait! What are you doing now?"
"Ain't it obvious?" Sonic scoffed while holding his right arm. "The moment chaos energy merged with cyber energy, it got corrupted and became its own messed up thing. I basically shot all of the corrupted energy into outer space. That stuff's gonna dissolve eventually, meaning it won't be of use to anyone and the city'll be without power. So," When he finally reached the destroyed core, he placed his hands up against where it used to be. Royal blue light glowed in the darkness, and resonated in the empty spot. "I'll just give what I took back. Except," He winced, this was really hurting now. "I recycled some of it. I took away the chaos energy, blasted out the corrupted energy, and now I'm gonna return the cyber energy." He took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. Royal blue and light blue mixed together, before the lighter hue separated and drifted from out of the hedgehog's hands. It gradually swirled and formed into a circle, growing thicker and bigger until a large orb of light blue light replaced the destroyed core. In just moments, Sonic created a brand new power core from the recycled cyber energy he absorbed from his body. Completely out of breath, Sonic took a few steps backwards before falling onto his knees. Sweat rolled down his head, his fur ruffled and uneven. That was seriously exhausting, but it didn't kill him. Good enough, in his mind.
Zector watched as Sonic slowly looked to the side, and gave him a thumbs up with a cheeky grin.
"See? Good as new!"
"You can't be real."
"Buddy," Sonic coughed out with a weak chuckle. "I'm as real as it gets."
1:35 PM
"You said this is where the core usually is?" Shadow asked the purple chameleon, who was frantically looking around for a power core. When they arrived at the south outskirts' power sewer system, they headed down the long concrete corridor until they reached the very end. A power core was supposed to be there, but it wasn't. It was completely dark in here with barely any light, and Zespio claimed the core itself should have completely illuminated this end of the hall. Shadow could see that there was supposed to be a round glass casing holding the power core against the wall, but there wasn't anything taking up the space. How could Zobotnik steal energy from a location that didn't have energy in the first place? The biohog grew bored of watching the chameleon look under wires and pipes for the core that obviously wasn't here. He spent like fifteen minutes looking around for nothing. Shadow rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Perhaps you took us to the wrong location-" His amber red eyes suddenly widened. "Sonic...?" He clutched his hand at his chest and felt around for something. He then pulled a blue spine from out of his chest fur, and stared at it carefully. He saw candy red power surge through it, and it shocked Shadow's hand. He dropped it, and watched the spine die. "Shit..." He held his hand up to his left ear where he pierced the stud-transceiver. He pressed it to activate its frequency. "Sonic? Sonic, do you read me?"
"N-Ngh...Heya babe...How you doin'~" He sounded both winded, sheepish and very injured. In the background, he could hear chattering of others, including beeps. Was that a heart monitor? Shadow's heard that sound more times than he was comfortable with thanks to caring for Maria, he recognized it anywhere. Damn it, it's been less than an hour. He got himself into trouble that fast?
Shadow raised a brow. "You idiot, what did you do? The spine you put in my chest just had this weird reaction with red energy and died."
"Welp, 'member how you showed me how to redirect chaos energy a week ago back home?"
"Yes...?" Shadow didn't like where this was going.
"Aight so, we found the power core on the northern outskirts right? It's got chaos energy like Zhadow said, but it corrupted the power core's cyber energy. So, I kinda...absorbed the corrupted cyber energy, separated it in my body and redirected the corrupted stuff into outer space. Then I directed the purified cyber energy back into the power core to restore it and took some of the chaos energy that was in it for myself. It hurt super bad though, and I might have gotten a pretty bad boo-boo on my entire right arm. Aaaand I might have gotten corrupted in my stomach and chest." Some silence followed after that, and Sonic could tell he may have pissed his boyfriend off severely. "...So like, you've been totes quiet for like, a whole five seconds. Umm, Zector was kind enough to drive me back to No Zone HQ to the infirmary. The nurses said I made contact with too much cyber energy and it's kinda hurtin' me. They said my fast metabolism is helping me recover from the effects. I'll probably be out by the time you get back, though. And hey!" He tried to laugh it off. "I fixed a power core before you, faker! Haha, I win!"
Shadow's eyes shrank.
On the days before they traveled to No Zone, Shadow spent that time avidly teaching Sonic how to be more in tune with chaos energy, which involved various skills such as redirecting it into something else or yourself. But when he and Sonic practiced, the blue hedgehog wasn't very good at it and kept accidentally hurting himself. He got the basics, but didn't know how to do it correctly without harming himself with an outside power inside of his body. Using Chaos Redirection required that energy to be pumped into the blood stream and into the heart, using the organ like a living electrical amp. That's why it was so risky to use, if inexperienced. "...You God damn, stupid, moronic dunce!" Shadow hollered with a large vein growing on his face. "I told you not to pull something like that, you aren't ready! The last time you practiced, you passed out in my lap with your nose cascading blood!" He was enraged that Sonic did what when he specifically told him not to many times before coming here. "It's one thing if you attempted that on regular chaos energy, but we're in a world full of cyber energy. Why the hell would you do something so stupid? You could have killed yourself!"
Some silence from the other end. "...You mad at me?" Oh God, he sounded so cute and pathetically stupid all at once.
Blushing a little, Shadow remained angry if not a teensy bit charmed. "Yes, I'm fucking mad at you!" He yelled so loudly that an amber red aura exploded from his body, causing Zespio to flinch. "You-! You..." He attempted to calm himself down. He couldn't just scream at him the whole time, he still loved this moron after all. He sighed stressfully, he was giving him ulcers. "...I literally just lost you, and you pull something like this? You played with your own energy like a malfunctioning jumper cable. How do you expect me to react?" His voice wasn't as loud, but it was still very angry. He already knew Sonic was an audacious adrenaline-junkie prick, but he just saw his corpse a couple weeks ago. Was he trying to give him PTSD with new trauma? "I told you to never attempt a high-leveled skill like that without me around for a reason, Sonic. You could have died all over again, this time by your own doing because you're too foolish to listen to me! How would I look returning home and breaking the news to your friends, huh? How would I tell them, 'hey, your hero killed himself and he's dead for real this time when I promised I'd protect him with my very life.' Chaos, you-" He massaged his forehead with his fingers. "-I just wish you'd stop doing shit like this!"
"..."
...
...Shit.
Okay, he didn't mean to say all that, but he also didn't realize how much he wanted to say. He didn't see until now how much Sonic dying really affected him, and it still was screwing with his head to this day. It only happened a short time ago, but he thought he'd be able to get over it since he came back to life. But no, it didn't make it any better. He was terrified of even the slightest chance of something like that ever happening to Sonic again, and the fact that he so carelessly ran right into danger like a blue dumb ass pissed him off to no end.
"I'm sorry, Shadow."
"...!" He sounded so genuinely hurt that he scared Shadow. The biohog's face was completely red now, and he felt super guilty for yelling all of a sudden. "N...No, you don't have to...apologize but God damn you, stop being so reckless for once in your life. That's," He was sure he probably hurt his feelings. "That's all I wanted to say. I...Didn't mean to yell, but you and I need to have a serious talk about this when I get back to HQ."
"I understand."
Oh no, why did he give in so easily? Shit, did he hurt him that badly with his words? Damn it all, he didn't mean for this to happen. "If...If I hurt you-"
"That's where it was this whole time!" Zespio suddenly exclaimed. "Shadow prime, I found the power core. That surge of chaos energy you made helped me locate it. It's in here."
Shadow almost didn't care, because the thing most important to him seemed hurt and he was responsible for it. "We found the power core, I'll...See you at HQ. Over and out." He ended the frequency with a terse sigh, more angry at himself at this point. Why did he have to react with anger first? Why didn't he hear him out? He didn't mean to be so protective over him, but Sonic couldn't even see that. All he heard was pissed off screaming in his ear. He probably didn't even realize that Shadow was just being overprotective, because his emotions overtook him. Even worse, why didn't he say he loved him before ending the frequency? God, he was so stupid. No, worry about that stuff later. Focus on the mission at hand, and then he could try to fix this when this was done. He turned his head in the direction of Zespio's voice, and saw that he was on the right side of the room, entering an iron door with a warning decal taped to its surface. Zespio was beckoning him to follow, as he found what they were looking for. The biohog followed the chameleon with a lingering feeling of rue.
When he entered, he saw that this was clearly another section to hold more pipes and wiring. Shadow could see Zespio standing in the middle of the new corridor, staring at an orb of light blue energy hovering in the air. That's odd, why was it just out in the open like this? Zespio had a difficult expression on his face, he too was confused by this. As Shadow stepped closer, the chameleon looked around them cautiously. "This has to be some kind of trap, why is it here? It should be behind the glass. And there wasn't any damage to the container...Usually the core is too unstable to be outside of containment. It electrifies anything that gets too close and causes severe damage to its surroundings."
Shadow walked ahead of him to get closer to the core. He eyed the vessel of power and frowned. "...This doesn't have any chaos energy."
"What? But-"
The orb suddenly disappeared from view, before reappearing right behind Shadow.
"...!? Why is it doing that?" Zespio squinted his eyes. "What, is it malfunctioning or something?"
"Can it even do that?" Shadow asked curiously.
The chameleon paced around the orb carefully, noticing it was twitching and seemed very much out of sorts. "It is made of cyber energy. Cyber energy is almost entirely digital so technically, yes it can. I've heard of incidents before. The phenomenon is extremely rare, but I've heard entire power grids in other cities completely disappear, only to glitch and teleport way up in the sky. Vanishing buildings, glitched airplanes...It's been known to happen. That's the risk we take living in such an advanced world, because almost everything that has to do with power is written in code." The orb teleported back to where it previously was. "Perhaps something caused it to glitch?"
Shadow would guess it would be chaos energy, but again, he sensed nothing of the sort. Since this thing was comprised of cyber, it'd be unwise to touch it. Using Sonic's idiotic situation as an example, he'd get seriously injured if he did so. Instead of that, he had another way of putting this thing back where it belonged. The biohog raised his hand, amber red aura spreading throughout his palm before a small beam of chaos power zapped against the core. It created an amber red sphere around it, and Shadow moved his fingers to create a pulling motion. The core began to float in his direction, albeit a little shaken up due to being in contact with it's polar opposite power. Shadow could feel this imbalance, but it didn't ruin or damage his connection with it. He had to be careful, as any wrong move could cause his own power to destabilize. Slowly, he began walking backwards towards the exit of the room, and Zespio watched in fascination at this. It was as if Shadow was levitating the core with him. He kept his breathing calm, his eyes focused on only the core.
"Do not get any closer," Shadow instructed quietly. "Any minor mistake, and I might corrupt myself or blow up the core. Or both. Don't interfere." He warned the chameleon. With expert precision, he traveled all the way to the main corridor of the power sewer. He levitated the core nearby it's containment area, and closed his eyes. "Chaos Control."
He teleport the core back within it's glass imprisonment, his line of chaos energy cut itself off and faded away into embers. Once the core was back within it's containment unit, it sparked and slowly reformed it's own sphere. It was no longer shaky or twitching, the glitches had stopped. Shadow made a relieved sigh, that could have went bad. Zespio stepped out of the secondary corridor entrance and realized Shadow was no longer handling the core. He saw that it was right back where it belonged, and smiled a little. "Amazing, how did you get it back inside without damaging the casing?"
"I teleported it inside. It appears that Zhadow's theory about chaos energy for this core was incorrect. I don't know what made it exit it's containment to begin with, but there was no chaos energy in sight. Hm," He thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps Zobotnik stealing energy from it was why it glitched in the first place? I am very...challenged when it comes to high end technology, but I do know very simple basics. For instance, when something foreign attempts to enter and steal data from a device, it treats it like a virus and the device itself begins to act up to stop the Trojan from damaging anything else. I'm sure being outside of it's case caused it to glitch even further, so that may have been what happened here. Since it's back where it belongs, it might be attempting to repair itself so that it won't glitch again." He glanced at Zespio. "Are there any other power cores within Parallel City?"
The camouflaging No Zone officer shook his head. "No, two cores power the entire city. Usually a normal city needs a small one, but we have the largest metropolis in the world, so it required two bigger ones." He made a small laugh and nodded. "Heh, not bad. You took care of that rather quickly and efficiently. General Zhadow will be quite pleased." He then gazed at the biohog with a peculiar stare. "It's funny, First Lieutenant General Zonic spoke so negatively of you primes, but I can't for the life of me see the issue with either of you. Sonic prime does seem rather rude, but I can't blame him for reacting the way he did to our vice leader." He frowned a little. "Zonic can be a little...rough around the edges with outsiders, and for good reason. Most outsiders are criminals in our line of work. However," His faint smile returned. "General Zhadow mentioned that he would get cranky with you two around, so we expected this. He seems to take a liking to you two, and if he likes you, you must be good people."
Zhadow already took a liking to them before they showed up? "He liked us before we got here? Why?" Sure, they knew they were being watched by him and Zonic this entire time, but that still didn't explain how he liked them personally before even meeting.
Zespio shrugged. "I haven't a clue, he was always neutral with other Sonic or Shadow templates around in No Zone." He walked towards Shadow and gestured to follow him down the corridor to the exit of the power sewer. "You both aren't the first Sonic or Shadow templates we've met, as they've been seen in Zonic's office many times in the past. However, you two are the first Sonic and Shadow templates to be treated so well by our general. The others were mere visitors, but you two are being treated like guests of honor. He gave us specific instructions to do whatever it is you command, so long as it isn't too ridiculous, and to treat you with as much respect as we treat our leaders. General Zhadow never does that, so you two must be special." He could see the ladder coming up just ahead, it wouldn't be long now. "So far, I agree. During my futile search for the core, I got word from Admiral Zector that Sonic prime had already accomplished his deed in restoring the other power core. All at the cost of damaging own body at that. He said he dived his body over Zector, despite being smaller than him to take a hit." His smile deepened. "That kind of selfless justice is what all No Zone officers strive for, and that's something we haven't seen from other Sonic and Shadow templates in a very long time."
Shadow was aptly flattered by the chameleon's words, he didn't expect the officer to say something like that to him. "...Hmph," He accepted his praises. "Thank you, I suppose. Now if only that idiot would listen to what I say and stop being so damn reckless..."
Zespio chuckled a little. "Zector often acts the same way, I can relate."
Shadow cringed. "Oh God, I should have went with him instead. Two idiots working together is like a rat king of children playing with a live bomb."
"In all fairness," Zespio commented. "Zector is a little more responsible than your world's Vector prime."
"That isn't much better." Shadow retorted, a sweat drop appearing on his head. While the Mobian crocodile was a secret genius in detective work, he was still by far one of the most annoying and idiotic allies he ever met. One that rivaled Sonic. He had his fair share of incidents with the rambunctious Chaotix leader, so he knew that saying that was basically scraping at the very bottom of the barrel.
As they stepped closer to the tall metal ladder, they both could feel something move behind them.
They instantly turned around with their bodies rigid with combat readiness. Zespio's helmet digitized back on his head, while Shadow tightened his fists. Just a few dozen feet from them, was...
...A Zone Cop...?
Shadow blinked, his guard only slightly lowering. Zespio meanwhile tilted his head, but he didn't remove his helmet. He slowly stepped towards the fellow officer, and greeted them promptly. "Err, hello? I am Chief Master Sergeant Zespio. Only I have authorization to be in this location at the moment." Something felt weird. "Address yourself, now." He commanded calmly. However, he was met with silence. "...It is a direct violation of No Zone protocol to ignore your superiors. I will ask that you address yourself once more, otherwise I have no choice but to have you penalized for your insolence and grievous disrespect." While he awaited an answer, he placed two fingers to his helmet. Light blue text appeared in his visor, analyzing the unknown person before him. This person had average Mobian stature, including a tail that was covered by the armored uniformed. He couldn't tell who this might be, as all No Zone Corps superiors had extensive memory of any and all officers, even rookies. Strange, the computer in his helmet had no data for this person. All he could see was, "Error." He had never seen such a glitch before-"...!" Zespio's eyes widened behind the helmet. "Shadow prime, you must escape immediately!" He suddenly yelled.
Shadow was caught off guard by this. "Excuse me?"
"This person is dangerous! They-"
A bang rang out in the power sewer.
"..." Zespio looked down to see blood dripping from his side. Something had broke through the armor of his uniform, and planted a large bullet right in the side of his abdomen. The fake Zone Cop was holding an advanced looking handgun, and it was smoking with a silver shell dropping onto the ground. The ultimate life form's eyes dilated at this, that wasn't a normal Zone Cop.
Oh shit.
Zespio instantly pulled his baton from his belt and aimed. It transformed quickly into the same shotgun model Zonic used back on Angel Island. He pulled the trigger without hesitation, as he didn't want anymore harm to come to him or potentially Shadow. The spread shot headed directly for the traitorous officer, and when it made contact-
"W-What the...!?"
-The bullets ricocheted into random directions of the corridor, causing Shadow duck his head. A candy red forcefield appeared over the figure of the Zone Cop traitor. It was the same color as the shield that protected the battleship earlier today.
This didn't make any sense, how the hell did that officer whip out their piece so quickly without him noticing? And why did they have a forcefield on their uniform? Gritting his teeth anxiously and painfully behind his helmet, Zespio turned and hollered for Shadow to run. "Shadow prime, get out of here!"
The biohog refused to run away like a coward. "I'm not leaving until this interloper is dealt with!"
"Your protection is my top priority, I cannot let you be harmed-" Another bang. "Ngh...!" Zespio dropped to down to one knee, he was shot at again. This time, he was only grazed but it still hit his fresh gunshot wound. "J-Just...Go...!" He brought his hand up to his side, attempting to push through the pain. "This is unorthodox for sure, but I...must deal with this individual on my own. You must return to HQ...and warn the other officers. Get to safety immediately!"
Shadow scowled at his stubbornness. Another gunshot was heard and a bullet traveled directly towards the back of Zespio's helmet, but this time it did not hit its intended target. In an amber red flash, Shadow appeared in front of the wounded officer and held up his hand. With a punching motion inside of a split second, he had caught the bullet in between his fingers. The gunpowder slightly burned his glove, but it didn't singe through the fabric. He then crushed the projectile and charged it with his own chaos energy, before flinging it right back at their mysterious enemy. It darted right back and slammed into the imposter's shielded body, causing it to penetrate through the shield and shatter it almost instantly. "Master Sergeant Zespio," He addressed respectfully. "Return to HQ and receive immediate medical attention. I will handle this faker myself."
Zespio shook his head. "But you can't-!" Shadow's hand suddenly placed itself on his helmet. "What are you...?"
"Chaos Control."
"Wait-!"
The injured chameleon was teleported out of the power sewer, and above ground near his bike. Hopefully he'd take that as a polite sign to stay out of his way. Shadow moved his neck around and cracked his knuckles in his palm. "I'll warn you one time only," Shadow said loudly to the imposter. "Bullets do not work on me, they're just too slow. If you really want to hurt me..." He trailed off ominously as he walked closer towards the fake Zone Cop.
The imposter placed the weapon back on their hip and began to step closer towards the biohog as well.
"...Then you better raise your fists."
46 - END - 46
Chapter 47: Red & Black
Summary:
After a tussle with this No Zone traitor, it's time that Shadow and General Zhadow teamed up to forge a frighteningly powerful duo!
Notes:
There is an unnamed character in this chapter who is a "thylacine." This character has a name, and did indeed appear in the Archie Comics before the Sonic publication of the comic was canceled. His name was Maw the Thylacine. Look him up if you'd like a visual!
Chapter Text
47 - Red & Black - 47
2:00 PM
He always hated conference rooms, even in the HQ. They were stuffy and smelled faintly of old tattered plastic. He stared out the tall windows of the room, the sounds of the politician and his posse of white collared sycophants going from one ear and out of the other. He didn't care about what they were talking about, and he really wasn't in the mood to even be in here. He wished he could skip it, but it wouldn't look good on paper and he couldn't damage his perfect record. It was more of a pride thing at this point, but still, he didn't feel like the headache a negative political reputation would cause him. If he could, he'd fall right asleep on them all without a care.
As a shadow leader of an entire city, active general of the world's strongest intergalactic military, and being the warden in charge of some of the multiverse's worst entities to ever exist, Zhadow the Hedgehog was an incredibly busy man-err...hedgehog. He had many documents to fill, many people to meet and shake hands with, many meetings and many responsibilities. With so many important jobs, he was loaded with wealth beyond anyone's wildest dreams. If he had children, his money would last at least ten generations of descendants a lifetime without so much as even making a slight dent into his savings. If he really wanted to, he could build a pool deep enough to hit the planet's core and fill it up with nothing but rings and bills to quite literally swim in it. He didn't think his abnormal life would turn this way, and he never sought for it. He didn't expect to be an intergalactic police chief slash general, he didn't expect to be a shadow world leader, he didn't expect to find out that there were other versions of himself living their own lives, and he surely didn't expect to fall in love. He obviously created a nice life for himself, and for that he was proud. However, he always had a lingering question floating in his mind...
...Is this what he really wanted?
He knew he wanted Zonic, that was obvious. He'd never question that, and he wouldn't change it even if the world's safety depended on it. His love for him was too engrained to ever doubt. No, what he wondered was if he really wanted to be the General of No Zone Corps. Did he really want that? Did he really want to be the Warden of No Zone Prison? Did he really want to be one of No Zone's powerful shadow politicians? He didn't expect himself to be dedicated to such slimy occupations so thoroughly, but then he disgusted himself, because...Of course he took to these jobs effortlessly. Slime, corruption and deception was all he was good for. Did he think he was repenting by working all of these responsibilities? He wasn't sure, and again, he didn't even know if this was what he wanted. He was just going day by day, doing the tasks he knew he had to do without even thinking. His body's been on auto pilot for decades, it was hard to think differently. He wished he could talk to Zonic about it, but he was too busy and stressed with his own destiny. Not to mention they weren't on good terms anyway-
"General Zhadow? General Zhadow, are you even listening?"
He sighed.
Life was never simple. Sometimes he wished it was, but perhaps that'd take the fun out of it-
"General Zhadow!"
Ugh.
Irritated from being mentally interrupted, Zhadow made a deep frown and leaned further back in his seat. A vein appeared on his head, but he wouldn't let them know he was annoyed. He'd handle this professionally as usual. Through his shades, he glared at the scrawny middle-aged thylacine who was angrily glowering right back at the hedgehog. God, weren't those things extinct? How did a strand of that specific animal DNA create a Zonian? Yuck, and that blue suit was not doing him any favors. And what brand of cologne was that? It smelled like a trailer park, with a side of feline ammonia. The No Zone general rolled his eyes, he didn't care at this point. Bastard still looked as ugly as he was unscrupulous. "My apologies," Zhadow finally said. "Did you say something or...?"
"Unbelievable!" The thylacine yelled while standing up out of his seat and pointing directly at the general. "First you grace us with your lackluster appearance over thirty minutes late, you rudely forget my name and you're not even paying attention to this meeting! Do you have any idea how important this conference is?" He slammed his fist down on the boat-shaped boardroom table. "We have to figure out the financing for this city, the largest and most profitable district in No Zone, might I add! This is crucial, because we've had to splurge money on repairs all across town thanks to your former warden!"
Zhadow was painfully bored. "I genuinely don't see how this is my problem."
"You're the damn leader of this city!"
This made the commander chuckle a little, what a bold faced lie. "No, you're the leader of Parallel City." He roughly noted as he watched the marsupial growl under his breath. "Need I remind you that I am the shadow mayor of this city? We made a deal that I would only step in when absolutely necessary, which was authorized by our esteemed president. As of right now, I don't see a reason to assert my authority over a mess that you can very easily clean up." He crossed his legs and folded his hands over his lap. "So you ran out of a little money, who cares? I don't."
The mayor of No Zone grew impatient at Zhadow's uncooperative attitude. "You should care, because without that money, we won't be able to finance critical components of Parallel City's government!"
"Okay, so stop splurging on expensive dominatrix gigolos and put that money towards those that lack funding."
The thylacine's face grew red as he took a few steps backwards. His colleagues around him raised their brows and slowly turned to him with shocked, amused and disgusted expressions. "...! H-How dare you!?"
Zhadow twiddled his thumbs in an impatient manner. "Well there aren't any reporters in here, and there's no shame in sexual gratification so long as it's legal, consensual and not inherently morally repulsive. I won't judge you for what you do in your spare time, it's quite frankly none of my business." A vexed dark red glint shined from behind his sunglasses. "What is my business however, is your pathetic neglect on my city."
"How about you quit acting so arrogantly, and do your job as a shadow mayor, then?" The marsupial yelled.
"Oh I'd be absolutely delighted to," Zhadow retorted with a sarcastic smile. "But I don't think you or the powdered wig higher ups would appreciate what I have in mind. Besides, that goes both beyond my agreement and diminishes my time dedicated to other important matters. Do you have any idea how busy I am? I already have to do most of the work for you idiots, but I also have an entire intergalactic military and a supreme maximum security prison to run." He smirked as he began to glare at the rest of the flock of ass-kissers. "God forbid some of the funding for No Zone HQ was suddenly pulled, or we might not have enough soldiers to watch over those scary criminals you all fear so much. You're pulling me thin all because you don't know how to do the very job you signed yourself up for, due to your own massive greed and lust." Zhadow shrugged. "It's simple: Stop being a selfish prick."
The marsupial began to march his way over to Zhadow's chair from across the table. "That's it, I've had enough of you!" He suddenly made a nauseatingly crass smirk. "I'm sure we'd all rather Vice Leader Zonic replaced you. He's far easier to work with..." He mumbled something no one else could hear. "...and to look at..." He cleared his throat and normalized the volume of his voice. "But we're unfortunately forced to deal with the likes of a negligent dictator like you. I've got the president on speed dial, and I assure you that you'll be hearing from my lawyers-"
A crashing sound.
One of the windows was instantly destroyed as a No Zone armored policeman was thrown directly into the boardroom, crashing into the table and destroying anything on top of it. Laptops, phones and tablets were dropped or immediately damaged beyond repair from the harsh collision. The unknown officer struggled to get up, as that landing was very brutal. Everyone suddenly panicked, stood up out of their seats and began to scream or sprint their way out of the room. In only seconds, the entire room was a complete mess, with the boarding table crushed in the middle, office chairs toppled over, electronics glitching and destroyed on the floor, and the dust of rubble staining the hardwood mahogany. Meanwhile, Zhadow continued to sit in his seat completely unbothered, almost as if the impact's range didn't get close enough to touch him. A small bunny of dust fell onto his leg, and he simply plucked it off while keeping his comfortable position in his chair. The mayor was sprawled on the floor, his suit now stained and blood pooling from his head. Some rubble had hit him during the commotion.
He slowly raised his head with a groan, before opening his eyes and looking up at the mess. "W-Wha..." He then quickly scrambled to his feet and hollered in stark shock. "What the hell just happened!?"
A pair of air shoes stepped from the destroyed window sill to walk into the room and glare down at the unknown No Zone officer, who was beginning to stand up. Shadow panted, that mystery person was no pushover. He needed to find out how this was so he could inform Zhadow that there was a mole in their ranks. "Son of a bitch...If I can just get your damn helmet off-" He readied himself for another barrage of attacks, before he noticed out the corner of his eye that Zhadow was sitting right in the middle of the room unscathed. "General Zhadow...?" He didn't expect to see him in here.
His lookalike just made a small casual wave. "Ah, hello there Shadow prime. Lovely day, no?"
Before Shadow could respond, the strange Zone Cop suddenly raised their hand in the air, fully armed with the baton-model handgun. Before Shadow's eyes, it transformed into what looked like a machinegun. They then turned around and aimed directly at Zhadow, making Shadow yell for the commander to get out of the way as fast as he could. "Get out of the room, now! It's too dan-" The bullets fired at the general, who easily smacked away every single bullet that was fired in absurd speeds with his own No Zone issued baton. He did so all without breaking a sweat, or even moving the rest of his body. "-gerous." Shadow blinked slowly, and then felt a little dumb. This was another version of him, after all. "Huh. I don't know what I expected if you're another version of me, of course you're capable of handling yourself." He commented as the rain of bullets ceased, as they weren't doing any damage at all. Zhadow twirled the baton in his palm before placing it back onto his belt. He then just readjusted his glove and continued to lean back in his seat. Sonic was right, this guy was intense. "You really don't take anything seriously, do you?"
"You get used to stuff like this when you're a Zone Cop, honestly. Don't worry," Zhadow suddenly snapped his fingers, and in a light blue flash, the mayor suddenly appeared right next to his chair. Shadow was caught off guard by this. Was that a form of Chaos Control using cyber energy? The marsupial was beyond shocked, gasping and looking around frantically for a way to escape, but Zhadow reached out and gripped the back of his cut up collar very tightly. All without moving out of his seat, once again. "I'll keep the mayor safe, you just keep doing what you're doing. I see this opponent of yours has our uniform," He suddenly frowned dubiously as he stared at the mysterious enemy. "However, I can see that it's been hacked. All armored uniforms run on cyber energy, but this one was severely altered with some kind of virus. If I had to guess, Zobotnik's doing. In that case, this person is no soldier of mine at this point. If you can capture them, get their helmet off and find out who it is, I'd appreciate it." He tossed the mayor down below him and raised his feet up, before slamming them down onto his back. The mayor cried out in pain, his face now pushed against the floor that was scarily riddled with broken glass. "It's alright if you use chaos abilities, just try not to aim at any houses or neighborhoods. Don't want to hurt the civilians. Buildings like these are fair game, it's just collateral damage at the end of the day."
Shadow watched as Zhadow basically used the mayor as a recliner for his feet.
Holy shit, this guy was like a jovial tyrant. Wasn't that thylacine beneath him someone important? Did anything bother him? Even Shadow felt a little unnerved by his twin. "Err...Thanks-Augh...!" He was too distracted, and was sucker punched right in the cheek. 'Guess the traitorous officer lost interest in Zhadow and went after their original main target. Growling angrily, Shadow dodged the next swing and uttered the name of his most notable attack. "Chaos Spear!" An amber red arrow comprised of chaos energy spawned into Shadow's palm, and he swiftly used it like a bladed melee weapon to swipe at his attacker. They didn't expect this attack and moved backwards quickly, but not without being slashed directly on their helmet. Sparks of that candy red power surged throughout the helmet, causing the traitor to wobble around side to side while the Chaos Spear dissolved. They groaned in pain, causing Zhadow's ear to perk up. They were then kicked directly into their stomach, before being seized from behind. In a quick side step, Shadow now had his arms trapped around them, keeping them from moving and escaping from his grasp. Shadow then huffed as he hauled them upwards, before swinging them right out of the broken window he had just recently thrown them in from. They were tossed through the shattered entryway but didn't fall. They activated the accelerators in their boots to keep them hovering in the air and stared down at Shadow. They then propelled themselves forward, ready to attack the ultimate life form once again.
Watching the two go back and forth, Zhadow was blissfully entertained and a little impressed. When Shadow made a scathing uppercut, he snorted a small laugh. "Heh, nice."
"W-What the hell is this, General Zhadow!?" The mayor struggled to crawl out from his previous position and stood back up to confront the general. "Your actions have proved to be far too dangerous to go unchecked. Do you have any control over what happens in No Zone HQ or what!? This is the second incident that someone's-!" He was suddenly yanked back down to Zhadow's eye level, his fist gripping his throat very tightly to the point where the thylacine couldn't breathe at all. He made a strangled gasp and reached his hands up to his neck to attempt to pry Zhadow's grip off, but he didn't have the slightest bit of strength to even attempt such a feat on a single finger. "Ghh...Ngh...!"
Zhadow tilted his head, the smile on his muzzle gone and now a flat line. "Why don't you shut up and watch closely at what a Zone Cop has to deal with everyday outside of No Zone? Maybe that'll give you a new found appreciation for me and my corporation. My soldiers work very hard, and so do my most trusted allies. Shadow prime is a treasured guest of mine, and I already promised him and his partner that they would be treated as such by all inhabitants of this reality. He'll handle this as quickly as he started it, I assure you." He then shoved the marsupial back down onto the floor beneath his steel-toed boots, and planted them right back onto his spine. This time with a harder impact. He coughed and hacked, his back more than likely permanently hunched over from the general's harsh stomps. "Trust me," Zhadow said calmly. "It'll be a good one."
"B-But, why is there another-"
The commander's quills began to raise upwards, and he slowly pulled off his sunglasses to lean down and stare directly at the mayor. His entire face was darkened, only his dark red glowing eyes and pearly white fangs were visible. The pupils were sharpened, the growls of a disturbed goliath of a beast rumbling in Zhadow's throat. "One more word out of you, and I'll rip out your tongue and strangle you to death with it. It'd be a nice replacement for that overpriced tie you got fastened to that utility pole of a neck. You're loud and that annoys me, so just relax and enjoy the show." With a sigh, he placed his glasses back onto his muzzle and leaned back in his seat, his monstrous aura gone. "Oh and by the way, you'll be using the funds of your offshore bank accounts to keep the city running." He felt the mayor flinch, because he didn't know that the general knew about that. "If you won't, I'll happily have you arrested, along with your lawyers and anyone else who tries to cover up your bullshit. That is," He sadistically stomped onto his back one last time for good measure, causing the public official to wail in agony. "After I beat the shit out of you for my own amusement."
Sweating profusely and in horrible pain, the mayor could barely speak but still had one last thing to say. "Y-You do realize you're just acting like a tyrant at this point, right? You can't strongarm your way through everything!"
"You may be right about that, but I'm not the president of this country, nor the sole leader of this world. Yes, I am a general of a terrifying military and police force, but I am only the shadow mayor to Parallel City and that's it. I don't have any true political power, at least not publicly. And anyway, No Zone Corps is not corrupt nor broken. We had a few mishaps, but it's nothing we can't fix. So don't worry, because I don't intend to use my power to hurt the little people." Zhadow smirked, but it was more ill-will than anything. His tone was merciless, and not at all compassionate nor lighthearted. "Hurting the weak is a boring waste of time, and I have someone at home waiting for me who wouldn't much appreciate it if I suddenly went rogue again. No, I want to use my power to hurt the bad people, because it's far more satisfying and entertaining. The shitty," He stomped on his back again. "Pathetic, vile, immoral hedonist whelps. People..." He chuckled darkly. "...Like you."
The mayor could feel his heart beating out of his chest, and he couldn't breathe very well anymore. If he didn't stay quiet, he was almost positive Zhadow would either send him to the hospital or kill him. "..."
"Now get used to your new position as my stool, and shut your fucking trap already."
The marsupial had no choice but to obey the general's commands, there was no fighting him because he was too powerful. "Y-Yes...G-General Zhadow..." He meekly whispered.
"Excellent." Zhadow mused as a stray, small beam of chaos energy blasted right past his head, causing his quills to blow back a little. "Be sure to say hi to the president for me when you get home, we'll be having lunch next week."
Meanwhile, Shadow was having a little trouble with this traitor.
He was currently in a battle of endurance with them, their fists caught in the others' as an attempt to push each other down for an opening. Their armor was profusely scratched and battered, but there was no real damage. And every time Shadow knocked them down, they clearly weren't able to recover too well. It seemed as if their body was on overdrive despite being exhausted, because he could hear heavy panting from underneath their helmet. They sounded winded and in pain. When Shadow quickly glanced at their lower body, he could see that their knees were trembling. They weren't properly built to fight against someone as strong as the biohog, but was forcing their body to overperform anyway. He had overwhelmed this person easily and more than once during this battle, yet they wouldn't stand down. And the eerie thing is, Shadow could tell they very much wanted to. It was like they were being physically forced to keep attacking no matter what, only giving them a few seconds for a breather, if that. Something was off here, but he didn't have time to try and figure it out. This traitor needed to go down, he couldn't let them roam freely. Shadow suddenly let go, causing the Zone Cop to lose balance and fall forward. The biohog lifted his leg to slam his knee directly into their chin. The force was so strong that it knocked them upwards into the air, and stuck headfirst through the ceiling. Their body hang from the ceiling like a dangling holiday ornament. They moved their legs to try and get themselves out of their current position, while Shadow charged chaos energy into his fist. The moment they'd get themselves loose, he'd go for the kill.
Zhadow watched this closely, and he was very captivated by the use of his Mobian counterpart's powers. He had fought against criminals who could use chaos before, but none of them were ever skilled like Shadow, not even other Shadow templates. The traitor used their boots once more to boost themselves completely through the ceiling, a large hole stuck within the structure. Sunlight beamed through, and Shadow could feel that they were up to something. There were some noises of thrashing and loud thuds, as if they were destroying the upper floors. The biohog's ears slightly craned upwards, and that's when he heard it. They were coming back down, and fast. Just as he anticipated, the rogue officer boosted themselves back down from the hole, but with a large and torn up metal ceiling beam in their hands. The swung it down onto Shadow's head, and he blocked the hit just in time with his wrist. Keeping themselves ascended in the air, they swung at the ultimate life form rapidly without end with the piece of rubble, desperate to knock him down with one blow. While still charging chaos energy in his palm, he used his other hand to block every hit. However, he had to be careful. If he didn't handle this correctly, he could accidentally blow this entire building sky high. Suddenly, light appeared underneath Shadow's shoes before he too was boosted into the air. Amber red chaos energy traveled from his fist, down towards his right foot. Zhadow clapped his hands at this, the traitor must have forgotten he had jet boots too. He swung his chaos infused leg down into the officer's head, knocking them down back onto the floor. However, the force was heightened by the power of chaos energy, which was strong enough to slam them through several lower floors below. Both hedgehogs heard several thuds before a final resounding slam echoed in the building.
Zhadow sat up in his seat and applauded louder. "Ha! Perfection."
Shadow walked over to look through the second hole he made with their body, only to see that there wasn't a body there at all.
Shit, where did they go? Shadow darted his eyes towards the broken window and ran over to look out. He could see the rogue officer still walking drunkenly out onto the streets, holding their damaged helmet before sprinting away in a candy red streak. People were screaming, and other Zone Cops had already arrived to investigate the building and escort civilians out of it safely. "Damn it," Shadow would have to catch them. He lifted his leg onto the window sill, until his shoulder was grasped. "...?"
Zhadow was now behind the biohog, his eyes curiously obscured thanks to those shades. He couldn't tell what the commander was thinking right now. "I noticed something rather interesting while you were fighting." He placed his hands in his coat pockets. "That particular model of armor our new friend has is outdated. When our engineers first created the current model of our armored uniforms a few months ago, they mentioned that the prototypes have a dangerous glitch in them. Should the suit be hacked, it could glitch the helmet into physically manipulating the wearer."
Shadow's eyes dilated. "Are you suggesting that this person is being mind controlled?"
The general nodded. "Indeed. It was a glitch that was corrected with the improved models, and we destroyed the faulty ones to use them for scrap metal. This would have to mean that someone got their hands on the prototype schematics of the suits, and used it to control that officer. In other words," He looked past Shadow to peer out of the window as well. "I was wrong. That officer isn't a traitor, they're being used against their will through that helmet."
Damn, that made things pretty complicated. "That's unfortunate, because I know I've broken a few bones by now."
"Maybe," Zhadow carelessly replied. "But it can't be helped. I can, though."
Shadow watched was the general stepped onto the window sill and kept perfect balance. "What are you doing?"
"I'm the one who patented the suits and watched over the entire engineering process. I know all the weak points of the current model of uniforms, and the same goes for the prototypes. Only I and a few other high ranking officers tested the suits, so we know how to destroy them. In fact, Zonic was wearing a prototype helmet when he visited you in Angel Island, which was why it was so easily destroyed." He then turned to the side to glance down at Shadow. "I believe at this point, I'll have to step in to assist you. How well can you hone those chaos laser beams of yours? They're quite extraordinary."
The way he put it made it sound lame. They weren't just "laser beams," they were energy based projectiles-Oh. Damn, that kinda described exactly what a laser beam was, didn't it? "Uhh," Shadow was still so put off by the general's lack of concern for literally anything. "Yes, I suppose I could use them, but I'd have to be extremely careful. One wrong move, and I might accidentally blast them in the face."
"I see, I have a remedy for that." Zhadow tapped the tip of his boot into the window sill. In baby blue light, a No Zone-grade motorcycle digitized before them in the air just outside of the window. It hovered, waiting for it's driver to take control. Unlike all the other motorcycles, this one was more advanced and a little bigger. The lights surging through the motorcycle was dark red, including it's under glow. A matching symbol was marked onto the right side of the bike, specifically on the main body's fairings. When Shadow glanced at it, a wave of negative nostalgia suddenly hit him. This vehicle reminded him so much of his own abandoned Harley back at GUN, but that wasn't all that grabbed his attention. Why did the symbol on the bike...Look so familiar...? He blinked in shock. Was that the Black Arms symbol? Shadow wanted very much to ask the commander about this, but there was no time. He'd have to remember to probe him about this later. Zhadow simply hopped from the window to the seat of the bike, before seizing his hands on the handlebars and revving up the bike. "Hop on, this won't take long." Shadow made a determined expression and without a word, jumped on the back of the bike. As unpredictable as his counterpart was, he knew he could hold at least some small level of trust for him. He hadn't lied to him once, he never said anything disrespectful, and he was more than welcoming to both himself and Sonic. He even reiterated his respect for Shadow to the mayor himself, albeit very violently, but Shadow could appreciate that.
Teaming up didn't seem like such a bad idea.
The bike roared loudly as it thrusted away from the ruined national building.
Shadow could feel the winds smack against his face like a battering ram, this thing was going exceedingly fast! He could have sworn the other bikes didn't go nearly this quick before. Perhaps the general's personal bike was in a league of it's own. Shadow held onto the commander's abdomen as his quills flung backwards. They zipped through the town's square in less than two seconds, and sped through right to the very end of the district. The vehicle zoomed past several buildings and skyscrapers, dipping and diving under utility pole wires and soaring above the townsfolk who looked up and pointed in awe. Before Shadow knew it, they were already tailing the traitor, who was currently running down a very long highway. He could see yellow signs surrounding the entrance to the highway, meaning it was under construction. It seemed to be almost finished though, because they didn't see any workers or upturned concrete. Shadow could feel that his counterpart slightly decreased the speed of the motorcycle so they couldn't rush past them. That in itself was amazing, because that meant it could go faster than their culprit. And Shadow could tell this wasn't even the fastest it could go. Zhadow revved up the bike and quickly glanced from behind at Shadow.
"Alright, here's the deal. Like I told you before, cyber energy and chaos energy work like oil and water. The moment you penetrate the suit with that power, it'll combust and kill the soldier within the armor." It's a good thing Shadow never aimed to stab the person with his Chaos Spear, then. "We don't want that, so you'll have to be more precise." Zhadow suddenly reached for his belt, and handed something over to the biohog. "Focus your energy into the gun. Aim at the weak points of the suit, and I'll tell you where to shoot."
The ultimate life form's eyes became as small as peas.
"...You're...giving me a gun?" He scanned the weapon with slight fear, fear of himself.
He hadn't used a gun in years, and he swore to himself he'd never use one again. He caused so much terror and destruction, he couldn't use one again. Not again. He couldn't go back to how he used to be. What would Sonic think? Would he be angry? Would he be ashamed? Would he...break up with him? So many memories were flowing through his mind. This was the very type of weapon that killed Maria, this was the tool that caused him to injure so many innocent soldiers and massacre his own brethren.
The blood, the screaming, the yelling, the bloodlust that he felt...
He couldn't do this.
"...I can't-"
The traitor from below had a weapon of their own, and aimed from behind to shoot right at their assailants. They used the machinegun model from before, dozen of bullets instantly shooting towards them. A slew of metallic bangs rang out into the highway from both sides, and smoke drifted into the air. Dented bullets fell onto the road below them, having been deflected by an opposing barrage of bullets from another source. Zhadow used one hand to lift up his gun from where he initially aimed, while his other hand kept it's hold on the bike's handlebar. It was jet black, and trimmed with dark red metal. If he hadn't shot back, they would have been impaled by several bullets to the face and body, or the motorcycle would have gotten damaged in very vital areas and blew up. Zhadow sympathetically gazed at Shadow from over his shoulder. "I know you've had a hard life, Shadow prime. Zonic told me everything that you went through a long time ago. You should know that I've met other Shadows, and I've noticed that we all have a similar, tragic slew of events that always transpires at some point in our lives. And it always begins with a single, helpless, human girl."
Shadow flinched.
Did he...have a Maria, too?
...
...No
From the way he was talking, he had a Maria.
"Believe me," Zhadow understood his hesitation, more than he would ever know. "It's hard. It's the worst pain any Shadow can go through, you're not alone. We've all felt it, and any Shadow who hasn't felt the pain yet, will very soon. It's almost like a rite of passage for us, because most of us are destined to feel this despair. I'll be the first to admit that it took me months before I could pick up a gun again after what I witnessed-" He suddenly honed in on the target below, before aiming his gun and pulling the trigger several times to deflect more oncoming bullets. "-However," He briefly let go of the handlebar, reached up to take off his shades and placed them in his coat pocket. He then returned his hold on the vehicle. His eyes focused on the puppeteered soldier as he continued to speak to his Mobian twin. "You're letting your trauma hold you back. You love Sonic prime, don't you?"
Shadow blushed a little, but nodded firmly. "Yes, yes I do."
"Then you need to use that love you have for him to smother out your lingering doubts and guilt. I-" He suddenly drove the vehicle to the left, then back to the right to avoid more projectiles. "-Am in love with Zonic. I will happily place a bullet in my own head if it meant I could stay with him forever. I used that drive to demolish the pain I felt from my own loss, and I know you can do the same. After all, you're one of the strongest Shadow templates I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." He claimed with familiar pride. "And even if it was only for a few hours, I know for sure that you have an almost limitless untapped source of potential sleeping within you. Both of you, I can sense it. But you can't utilize that potential unless you push yourself through the pain. Darkness resides in all Shadows, it's a curse we have to live with. If there's nothing we can do about it, then instead of allowing it to be a curse," He reloaded his handgun. "Make it a blessing."
Turn his curse and despair...into a blessing and hope.
Not gonna lie, that was a hard task.
But Shadow was the Ultimate Life Form. He caved to nothing and he could do anything he wanted.
Even the impossible.
He tightened his grip on the weapon that was given to him, fitting in his hold like a glove. He took the gun off of it's safety and began to spread chaos energy within it. The gun lit up with amber red aura, the color glowing from the barrel. He aimed beside Zhadow's head, and readied both his arm and his eyes. It's crazy how easy it was to pick it up, it was like he never stopped using them. His eyes narrowed, and his body was no longer hesitating.
He was ready to do this. "...Tell me where to aim."
A confident grin drew upon Zhadow's face. "That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear."
He dived the motorcycle down to the empty road, no longer soaring in the air. The wheels rubbed it's rubber friction against the concrete, the speed of the vehicle never waning. Zhadow placed both hands on the handlebars, still keeping hold of his own gun. The traitor noticed that they were getting closer, and were now grounded as they were. They lightly jumped in the air, their feet hovering a few inches off the ground with the jet boosters in their boots. They aimed their weapon as well, prepared to shoot. Candy red corrupted energy surged erratically throughout the armor, but they didn't wince.
"You need to shoot it in a specific order to make it all come apart, at least three areas." Zhadow pointed out loudly over the motorcycle's engine. "I can tell from that specific model of armor that this is a high ranking soldier. In other words, they're no where near as strong as me or Zonic, but they're still pretty tough. They'll be quick, and they might even try to attack the bike. Listen to my instructions very carefully, got it?"
Shadow was ready. "Just tell me where to shoot."
The corrupted No Zone soldier immediately began firing once more. "I'm moving to the right. Hit the left shoulder blade!" Zhadow yelled as he maneuvered the bike to the right. The GUN agent pulled the trigger without any ounce of reluctance, and the single amber red glowing bullet traveled all the way towards their enemy. It smacked directly into the left shoulder, and easily slipped halfway through the armor's material. It didn't destroy this part of the suit completely, but it did damage it. Cracks began to form around it, and a few pieces of the black uniform fell into the wind's momentum. Thankfully, it didn't hit the body since it didn't go all the way through and there was no blood. Zhadow praised Shadow's bullseye. "Not bad. Next, you'll need to hit the-" He unfortunately couldn't finish that sentence since the traitor began to shoot at the bike. The large bullets bounced off of most areas, but it chipped and scratched at the body. It wouldn't do any damage now, but if they kept shooting in the same place, it'd would eventually weaken the parts and soon hit vital components of the vehicle. "Tch, of course." Zhadow mumbled before revving up the vehicle. "Hold on tight!"
Shadow thought he was prepared for a sudden boost in speed, or perhaps even an ascension back into the air.
But that's not what General Zhadow did.
Unbelievably, the bike suddenly raised the front end into the air, while the bottom end's wheels suddenly bounced against the road. Shadow looked down and saw that those weren't normal wheels, there were hydraulics installed into the motorcycle. The small sudden jump caused the vehicle to dodge the bullets and completely miss their target. Soon, the front end wheels extended their hydraulics as they descended back down, creating the exact same motion as before. The rubber of the tires were so strong, that it forced the bullets to bounce off of them. Both ends of the bike took turns in doing this over and over to dodge the projectiles, until Shadow realized what was happening:
Zhadow was bucking the motorcycle...
...like a horse.
Shadow slowly turned to Zhadow in shock, because he couldn't believe this right now. "Are you bucking the damn bike like an angry bull?" That was something Sonic would install, not another version of him. This was ridiculous. Of all the things he expected out of his incalculable counterpart, it most definitely wasn't this! This was absolutely ludicrous. This was inane, stupid and this was...
...Fun.
Was this how Sonic felt during his adventures? Was this the adrenaline he lived for all of his life? Because Shadow could feel it. With all the stupid recklessness forged in Zhadow's actions, all while riding on a death defying vehicle of astronomical speeds, he felt the thrill. He felt the rush—the absolute joy of danger. It felt liberating, even. This was what Sonic preached, this was the joy of life he valued more than anything else!
His counterpart chuckled with dark amusement as the bike front wheels craned in the air, almost like a neighing stallion. "Haha. There are hydraulics built into every No Zone issued motorcycle, that help give the vehicle a boost without ascending it into the sky. I don't mean to sound my age, but back in my day-" He swiftly swerved the bike to the side in a circular direction to get another angle on their target. The bike was incredibly fast and was now on the other side of the road. The officer was too slow in turning around, giving Shadow enough time to aim his next shot. "...They called me the Dullahan of No Zone."
The biohog couldn't help but smirk at his counterpart's enthusiasm.
This was completely nonsensical and he was loving every second of it all.
Shadow wasted no time in aiming his gun-
"Aim at the right foot!"
-And pulled the trigger.
47 - END - 47
Chapter 48: Acute
Summary:
Zhadow and Shadow work together to successfully take down their mystery foe, and become a true alliance of deadly brotherhood.
Chapter Text
48 - Acute - 48
2:15 PM
Another shot fired landed directly into the tip of the officer's boot. While it did chip the armor, it didn't make enough damage. Frowning, Shadow fired a few more with perfect accuracy without a single second slipping by. Both projectiles pushed through and flaked off a nice chunk of the uniform. The corrupted No Zone soldier gasped through their helmet, a wail of agony slipping out. Both hedgehogs knew they were in pain, but it couldn't be helped, they had to stop them. Shadow noticed that after he nailed his shot, more and more of the rest of the suit was flaking off. More pieces flew into the wind, the entire uniform was slowly falling apart. Zhadow was right, all they had to do now was hit the last area of the body. Growling in frustration, the officer gripped both hands on their weapon and pressed their finger against certain parts of the gun. The firearm transformed into the very thing that technically won Zonic his fight against Sonic and Shadow on Angel Island: A rocket launcher. There was no dodging that, they'd either have to go back up in the air or abandon the motorcycle. If they ascended in the air, this would give the target enough time to slip away, or Shadow would lose his line of sight. And abandoning the bike was out of the question, as they'd fail at apprehending the soldier and potentially helping them.
Shadow took the initiative and carefully brought his feet up upon the seat of the vehicle to kneel upon it. The momentum and speed at which the bike was going was challenging to keep his balance on, but he's done worse. He steadied his equilibrium, and re-aimed his gun. If he could shoot the next target faster than they could pull the trigger on that launcher, they'd be home free. Problem was, where was the last area located? "General Zhadow," Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Where's the last weak spot?" Before his comrade could answer his question, the mysterious officer reached behind themselves to pull out a baton. This shocked them both, wasn't the rocket launcher the baton, just transformed? That's when they realized, no. This was just another nightstick they had equipped on their person. They were more than prepared for this exact scenario this whole time. Zhadow scowled and revved up the bike, he'd have to pull another stunt in order to dodge what would come next. The corrupted Zone Cop transformed the baton into yet another machinegun model, and began to fire. They were trying to use the onslaught of bullets as a diversion so they couldn't properly counterattack. Zhadow already had a remedy in mind, though.
"Hang on," He warned again. "And try not to get nauseous!" He pushed his fingers into both handlebars at the same time, activating a command within them and the entire motorcycle. It roared it's engine before using both ends of it's hydraulics to lift the entire vehicle above the ground. It then dipped forward, before instantly spinning in a circular motion in the air. The more it spun, the more a cyber energized forcefield appeared around the vehicle. The bullets bounced off of it, an automatic electric zapper smoothly smacking away gnats from it's vicinity. Not only that, but it was causing it to develop more speed and it neared even closer towards their target.
Shadow was once again floored when he noticed how familiar this seemed. "The bike can spindash...!?"
Zhadow grinned. "Zonic had the engineers enable that command after observing Sonic prime's various battles. It takes a lot of fuel and energy out of her, but it'll be worth it." The shield suddenly disappeared, and the bike ceased it's spins while still in midair. As they descended back down to the road, their eyes caught the gaze of the corrupted soldier. They tossed the machinegun onto the concrete, before reaching up with both arms to lift the rocket launcher onto their shoulder. Their finger began to travel towards the trigger. "Shadow prime, aim at the the very top of the helmet and graze it." He emphasized that word especially, he didn't want Shadow to make a deep shot. "That's the strongest point of the suit, but it's severely weakened after the other areas are damaged. You'll need to shoot it at an angle to properly graze it so it won't hit dead on. Once it's damaged, the entire armor falls apart. If you shoot anywhere else around the cranium, you'll penetrate through the helmet and kill the soldier behind it. And if you miss, that rocket launcher's radius will more than likely blow us away into a bloody mess. Perfection is key!" In other words, either make another bullseye or die. Shadow's resting knees stood up, keeping his balance as he was now standing on the seat of the bike. He placed both hands on the gun, as he would need perfect direction for this final shot. "If all else fails, I'll be forced to Cyber Control us off of the highway and we will lose our target. Do you understand?"
Cyber Control? Questions for later. The Ultimate Life Form understood perfectly. "Got it!"
"On my command," Zhadow instructed as the front end of the bike landed on the concrete. The mysterious Zone Cop's finger began to press against the trigger. Right as this happened, Zhadow held up his own gun and aimed. This caused the officer to flinch, not anticipating that the general would attack first instead. He shot, and their culprit was forced to give its attention to the abrupt projectile. They just barely dodged it by propelling themselves just a few inches to the side, but this was a grave mistake. This moment of hesitation was all they needed to end it. "Fire!"
Shadow pulled the trigger.
The glowing bullet raced towards the officer's already damaged helmet, and their hold on the rocket launcher had loosened in fear.
It clipped the very top of the headgear, nailing the exact spot Zhadow described.
The officer no longer continued to boost themselves in the air. That small little graze caused a massive fissure to form throughout the entire helmet, before it spread around the entire suit. It all cracked open across the body in a Z-shaped pattern, before large pieces of the armor fell down onto the road. Zhadow deftly maneuvered the motorcycle to skid to stop, decreasing it's speed to zero with skid marks tracing behind. Both hedgehogs watched as the officer's body became visible underneath the corroding armor. Piece after piece, they saw limbs covered in a black bodysuit reveal themselves outside of the uniform. Soon, the helmet completely fell off and shattered into several pieces upon impact on the ground. A face, a body and a pair of legs were released. Soon, the boots could no longer work, as they too fell apart into nothing. Shadow thought fast, jumped up from the bike and dashed towards the person. He managed to safely catch them before they dropped onto the road, and landed with great agility. When he looked down upon who he caught, his eyes widened.
...
...This person looked like Rouge.
It was a woman. A female Zonian white bat with large ears, a pair of closed dark purple batwings, a Rubenesque physique and two smooth feminine legs. Her body was mostly covered by a black bodysuit, but it was torn in a few places. Her breasts were large and she was very curvy like the bat he personally knew, yet he couldn't tell he was fighting a female until the armor broke. Maybe it bound her chest, and the bulkiness of the suit made it hard to tell? The woman looked pained, her teeth and eyes clenched shut. Her face looked bruised and smudged with faded makeup, and this caused Shadow to recoil. No...Did he do this to her when they fought earlier? Zhadow had gotten off the bike and walked to stand beside his Mobian counterpart. "Don't worry," He said with a lightly comforting tone. "Those bruises seem old, they weren't from your fight with her." Zhadow then made an angry scowl. "The real person responsible for hurting her like this will pay soon, that's a fact."
"But," Shadow almost whispered. "Who is this?"
"This is Prison Psychiatrist, Zouge the Bat, but she always preferred that we call her 'counselor'. She used to be a well-seasoned No Zone soldier, a colonel of the No Zone Airforce before officer Zespio rose in the ranks. If she had kept up with it, she would have become Chief Master Sergeant instead." Zhadow made a small smile as he reminisced about the woman's days as an active officer. "She was a fine fighter, but she grew tired of the combative nature of our job. She pitied the prisoners of No Zone, and by former Warden Zobotnik's approval, became the official leading psychiatrist of the Zonian Resources Department of No Zone Prison and No Zone Corps." He placed his hand down to touch the bat's face, feeling her temperature. She felt normal, but she looked absolutely miserable. "Hmm, I don't think she's conscious...She'll need immediate medical attention. Cyber Corruption is a horrible affliction, one that has excruciating side effects and some of which can be permanent." He reached his hand up to the collar of his coat and pinched his fingers against it to activate his hidden transceiver. "Mad Dog, Dullahan reporting. Come in, Mad Dog." He waited a few seconds before static sounded through.
"Mad Dog responding. Dullahan, you read loud and clear, over."
Shadow raised a brow. "Okay, you said you were called Dullahan, but who's Mad Dog?"
Zhadow made a small smirk. "Zonic."
The biohog blinked. That was a nickname for Zonic? Zonic? Why would he of all people have a weird moniker like that? "...Why? And," He slowly squinted his eyes at Zhadow. "Why am I highly concerned about the answer to that question?"
His counterpart made a devious chuckle. "Let's just say that through hazing, soldiers eventually pick up nicknames. Zonic's is 'Mad Dog', and we decided to make it an official code name. The reasons for this, well...I can tell you that story another time. Zouge's nickname was 'Ghost'. She wasn't just a good pilot or a good fighter, she was also an excellent spy and the best hacker we had." Alright, now that one actually makes more sense. Zhadow returned his attention to Zonic's frequency. "Mad Dog, things went a little...Unexpected."
"Sir, you are an actual force of complete and utter bedlam, this was more than expected."
Zhadow just scoffed at this and Zonic's sarcastic tone. Seems that somebody forgot the absolutely savage pounding they got earlier today on his desk. "Do you remember Ghost-Err, Counselor Zouge?"
"Counselor Zouge?" Zonic repeated with a puzzled voice. "The Ghost of No Zone? Of course I do, she was as strong as she was vastly intelligent. She was also an endearing ditz. She's been missing for over a year." This caused Shadow's ears to perk up. This woman was missing, and for that long? "Why?"
"Well," Zhadow glanced down at the bat's scrunched up, unconscious expression. "Shadow prime and I may have accidentally found her."
"W-What? You did? Where-How? Where was she? Is she alive?"
Wow, he sounded extremely concerned all of a sudden. Shadow didn't think the little shit had a heart. Zhadow decided to fill Shadow in on that. "Zouge was one of the only officers to treat Zonic with compassion when he first enlisted. She didn't haze him like everyone else. She often gave Zonic private therapy sessions due to..." He frowned somberly. "...What he saw a few years ago. His sanity was greatly affected, and I personally asked for her to help mend his mind. Not only that, but she was my combative partner before she left the force. She acted as both a mentor and a nurturing system for Zonic. He really took a liking to her, so he was pretty devastated when she was reported missing." He responded back to Zonic. "She's alive, but she's in a great deal of pain. I'll explain more in depth when I return to HQ and I'll most definitely write a very detailed report about this, but she absorbed a dangerous level of corrupted cyber energy. She might be undergoing the effects of Cyber Corruption. I need you to alert the medical ward and prepare a room for her."
"Yes, of course sir!"
"When we arrive with her, inform the force that she's been found safe and sound."
"Yes, sir."
"Tomorrow, we need to have an emergency meeting with the primes." He began to walk towards the bike and gestured silently for the biohog to follow him. "Shadow prime and I found startling information that relates to Zouge's disappearance and her being found. Zespio was assigned to help escort Shadow prime, but was injured and reported to me that he was now in the medical ward due to being shot twice by a rogue soldier. That rogue soldier turned out to be Zouge. Shadow prime thankfully Chaos Controlled him to safety before he could be harmed further." He looked over at the bike's dashboard to make sure it was still running properly. "I am also aware that Sonic prime was injured today due to corrupt cyber energy as well, which I believe will be a useful topic for us to discuss. These incidents could help us create a game plan against the Canary. So," He made a more stern tone. "Play nice. Got it?"
"Ugh..." They heard Zonic sigh.
"None of the sass, Zonic."
Zonic sucked his teeth as he begrudgingly obeyed. "Yes, sir..."
Zhadow nodded, that was the answer he wanted. "Good-"
"I'm wearing my ring by the way, and I love you Zhadow."
"...!" Zhadow almost tripped and fell onto his face. Where the hell did that come from? He hadn't heard Zonic tell him that outside of sex in months. He could hear the smirk in Zonic's voice, which was only inflaming Zhadow's face even more. Picturing his stupid, handsome, smarmy muzzle was messing up his brain functions. "E-Err...I..." He blushed and turned his face away from Shadow's view. "I um...Love you too..." Hie entire body felt like a burning oven now, and it was getting hard to keep cool.
"Hm? I'm sorry General, I couldn't quite hear that." Zonic audibly sneered. "Oh that's not good, I think you're breaking up."
Flustered, Zhadow demanded that his lover cease his teasing immediately. "S-Shut the hell up or I'm docking your pay!"
"I literally have three of your black cards in my wallet, and I know your bank account's tracking number by heart. Your money is my money at this point, sir."
"D...Damn you..." He pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. "Over and out." He mumbled before cutting off the frequency. Shit, he hasn't felt embarrassed like this in a very long time. And even worse, he was enjoying this feeling. This is exactly how he felt when he first got with Zonic, and he missed it. He still didn't have to humiliate him in front of Shadow though, and he could tell Zonic knew he was around to listen. When he glanced over at Shadow, he just saw him staring at him with a knowing grin. "The hell are you looking at?"
Shadow smiled at this. He didn't think anything could catch his counterpart off guard, but there was only one thing. Only one weakness: his reality's Sonic. It only made sense. The biohog just scoffed and shrugged. "Nothing." He then remembered something interesting Zonic mentioned. "Zonic has a ring?" Was he referring to those small rings he used to make portals? "I did often see him use one before he left our world, is that what he meant?"
Zhadow cleared his throat and dug in his coat pocket to return his sunglasses back onto his muzzle. After readjusting them a little, he answered with his typical chill tone. "No. What you're thinking of are the warp rings we use to travel instantly to different realities. What Zonic was referring to was his engagement ring."
Wait...They were engaged?
Shadow didn't see that coming, they were already at tier eighteen. Impressive. "You're engaged to each other?" He saw the general nod silently. "You mean, you're getting married?" That would explain why Zonic knew his damn bank number and had his credit cards. Wait, black cards were for super wealthy people-Did Sonic have one? Again, questions for later.
The commander shook his head. "No, not anytime soon. We," He frowned as he looked over the skyline of the highway. "Have been having some issues in our relationship. No offense, but I won't go into it." He said regrettably. "Not quite comfortable with revealing that information. I'll only say that Zonic and I haven't been seeing eye to eye in the last three years. I barely managed to threaten-Well, convince him to start wearing his ring again, or else I'd break up with him." He blushed a little again. "But if he's really wearing it again...then I..." He trailed off as his volume decreased, and he almost sounded a little shy. "..." The phantom of a truly joyful smile curled on the corners of his lips. He didn't need to finish his sentence, Shadow could tell that the thought alone made the general very happy. He wasn't exaggerating, he was truly in love with his world's Sonic. Zhadow's ears suddenly perked up. "Oh, I must have spaced out again." He glanced at Shadow with a neutral expression. "Well, that was quite a productive day, no? I thank you for your assistance, Shadow prime. I'll be sure to thank Sonic prime too, when I have the chance." He then walked over and took Zouge from his arms. "I'll be taking her to the medical ward at HQ myself, but I want you to meet with Zonic in his office. It's one floor below my office, just ask for a fellow soldier to escort you there if you can't find it on your own. He has something he needs to show you, and it's very important."
Uh, okay. Shadow blinked. "Sure...?"
"If I can be frank," Zhadow's smile became more evident. "I haven't felt like that in a long time. Once I became warden and general of No Zone Corps, Zonic and I rarely had the time to team up. Even when we did, there was never a real challenge. But I actually felt a little peril there for a moment, and I missed those days terribly so. You," His eyes were concealed, but Shadow could feel a strong sense of honor radiating from his twin. "You are fun. I see why you and Sonic prime sparred so much in his youth, because you are very entertaining to partner with. I don't know if you've figured it out yet, but all Shadow templates have some form of Black Arms blood pumping in their veins." This caused Shadow to really listen to his words. He knew about the Black Arms blood, too? "With it, we can easily tell who has bloodlust and malice in their heart. I've used this form of intuition for over a century, and it's never failed me. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you and Sonic prime that you weren't what Zonic feared you could become, and I still don't think you'll bend to the spirits' wishes. You have rightly earned your spot on the Divine Pyramid, and I hope my rookie can see that with time." He hoisted the woman's body over his shoulder and held out his hand. "You are a hardened warrior worthy of my recognition, and I officially accept you as my fellow Chaotic and Black Arms Brother."
A...
A brother?
The only brother Shadow technically had, he mercy killed.
He didn't think he'd ever have a chance at being anyone's unofficial family again. He just...didn't think he could, or that he deserved to. He gazed down upon his counterpart's glove with an unknown emotion. His chest felt warm, and he felt...happy. Happy that someone other than Sonic actually appreciated his presence to such a high degree.
Heh, wow.
He really didn't expect any of this today. Or the last couple of months, honestly.
He slapped his palm onto Zhadow's, and shook his hand firmly with a new light shining in Shadow's eyes.
"Much appreciated, Zhadow."
2:30 PM
The two Black Arms Brothers in...well, arms, traveled back to No Zone HQ together, with Shadow running alongside Zhadow's bike. Zouge was in front of the general as he drove, so he could have his body shielding her and keeping her balanced on the vehicle. When soldiers saw their leader waltz in with her unconscious body in his arms, they all jumped for joy. Many gasped and praised a higher entity for her safety, while others looked beyond confused as to where and how he got the woman. He would only order for them to give him and her body space, and to return to their duties. He promised he'd inform them about the circumstances of her disappearance later, but the fallen psychiatrist needed medical attention as soon as possible. Without having to walk too far in the entrance, several nurses pushed past the crowding soldiers to take the bat. Zhadow instructed them to treat her with the utmost care, before placing her on a gurney and allowing them to wheel her deeper within the HQ, quickly rushing to the medical center. Shadow asked if she'd be okay, and Zhadow replied, "She's a former Zone Cop and my best friend. She'll be fine."
They took this time to travel to the medical ward themselves, albeit at a slower pace. They were too busy talking with each other about practically nothing. The two just enjoyed each other's time, talking about the similarities between themselves, their lives and their lovers. It was interesting and positively mind blowing to see how similar and different they both were from one another. For example, Shadow liked black coffee or straight up coffee beans. Zhadow on the other hand, loved cream and sugar while Zonic was the one who enjoyed black coffee. Sonic wasn't a big fan of coffee, but would drink it once in a while as a latte or iced with whipped or ice cream. They both talked about how their Sonics were reckless, but Zonic only grew reckless due to personal feelings, while Sonic was just rash in nature. However, both blue hedgehogs knew how to take the reigns and step up without anyone having to tell them to. They also both discovered that Sonic was more street smart than a scholar despite his secret love of books, while Zonic had a slightly higher than average IQ. All No Zone soldiers were required to be very intelligent, and him acting as an Overseer helped this as well. His IQ was higher than many soldiers, rivaling even Zhadow's, and many saw him as a genius. They also noticed that they both had very different dynamics in their relationship. Shadow liked to be the more "dominant one" to be sure, but Sonic very easily switched this role whenever he wanted. He only lets Shadow have control on most occasions. Meanwhile, Zonic was very comfortable with being nearly one hundred percent submissive with Zhadow and very rarely tried to be dominant. He was an asshole in public, but a puppy dog behind closed doors. Although, Zhadow made sure to mention that Zonic could do the same as Sonic and flip the script if he really wanted to. His rage and his authority complex were usually responsible for this.
By the time they made it to the medical ward, specifically Sonic's room, they were chuckling together like old friends. Shadow had no idea he could do this with someone other than Sonic, Rouge or Omega, but he wasn't complaining. Of course another version of himself would be the friend he never had, it felt so obvious now.
From afar, the hero of Mobius lifted his head up from his smartphone. He was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, quite ready to leave this place. Thankfully, the nurses finished their tests moments before the striped hedgehogs entered the room. Sonic could see how much Shadow liked Zhadow, and he smiled at this. He liked how much they were getting along, and he liked even more that he was making yet another friend. It was once so hard for Shadow, but now he was doing it like it was nothing. Granted, this was just another version of Shadow so there was a lot of bias, but things could have gone south. They could have ended up just like Sonic and Zonic, absolutely despising each other. Good for them, he thought.
"I thank you for allowing me to keep the gun, but is it possible for me to 'borrow' one of those motorcycles?"
"Oh?" That piqued Zhadow's attention. "You know how to ride?"
Shadow nodded. "Very well, actually. All GUN agents in Mobius are issued a Harley, mine being called the Dark Rider. I mostly used it during the Black Doom incident. I abandoned the vehicle after that due to bad memories, but that ride we shared today gave me some nostalgia. Besides," He smirked. "Your technology is beyond superior to GUN's. These bikes are far more advanced, and I need one. I want Abraham Tower to see how much GUN is lacking." They were brothers now, right? He could slide him a bike or two without anyone knowing.
"Hahaha," The general snickered. "That's just a tad selfish, don't you think?"
"Well, it's not like I can't take care of it. I took great care of my old bike at home when it was active, and I personally customized it and maintained it myself."
"Really?" Zhadow asked with amusement. "But aren't you bad with technology? The schematics of our models would cause your head to implode."
"Perhaps, but I do understand the intricacies of a motorcycle. I'm sure Miles could help me with the more advanced parts if you gave me a blueprint."
Sonic almost busted out laughing, Shadow really was a stereotypical bad boy. God, yeah—he remembered that damn Harley of his. He acted like he was sooo cool lugging that big thing around. Sonic snorted under his breath, but tried his best not to be too loud. He didn't want to interrupt this adorably edgy moment of bonding between two borderline gothic edgelords. Huh, what type of goth would Shadow be if he embraced the culture? Zhadow would obviously be a military or cyber goth, but Shadow...Hmm, he'd probably be either a punk, or a rivethead. No, maybe an emo? Nah, definitely a rivethead after that whole motorcycle conversation. Both? Hmm, once again, questions for later. He shook his head with a smile and looked back down at his phone. When they first got here, he was worried he wouldn't be able to text or contact their friends. Fortunately, messages were able to go through easily and instantly Sonic liked to think that it was because of Zhadow's upgrades that this was possible. He had texted their friends that they were okay, and that they wouldn't believe the story they'd tell them when they got back home. He glanced back up to see Zhadow giving Shadow a two-fingered salute before he disappeared in a blue flash-Oh. Oh shit, he teleported? He could do that, too? Huh. They were just full of surprises, weren't they?
His dark and brooding apple of his eye finally made his way over to him.
Shadow's smile had vanished, and his happy expression was instantaneously replaced with concern. "...Hey."
"Hey you~" Sonic greeted back sweetly as he placed his phone back in his quills. He could tell Shadow was staring at his body, because there were a few strips of white bandages wrapped around his chest, his arm and stomach. "Oh, that..." He frowned a little and scratched behind his head. "Yeah, I was bleeding a little in those areas. Chaos Redirection involves the nervous system and the heart, right? I kinda screwed up that part, and that's where the corruption happened. I got most of it out of me on my own, but the damage was done." He knew Shadow was still upset with him over what he did. "The bleeding was minimal and it stopped after ten minutes. The nurses said that compared to the usual cases they get with Cyber Corruption, mine was extremely simple. Once they pumped it all out of me, they patched me up, saw that my body was clean and they said all I needed was some bed rest." He already knew what Shadow would say to him, but he wanted him to know that he knew his mistake. "I made a big no-no, I won't do it again. Promise." He bowed his head to him.
Shadow didn't like that, and he felt a lot of remorse well up inside of his abdomen. Sonic was never that submissive about his own mistakes. "I...I'm-"
"You don't have to apologize, Shadow."
"...?"
Sonic patted the spot next to him on the hospital mattress. The biohog slowly sat beside him and listened to him. "I get it, it's cool. You had every right to be mad. Tails and Amy blow up on me about being reckless all the time, so I understand. You were only mad 'cause you care about me so much. I'm the one who should be apologizing for scaring you, but I'm okay. The nurses took real good care of me, fed me good food, all that. They said I could leave before you came in, I just need to stay in bed for the rest of the day." Sonic placed his hand on his shoulder and leaned against him affectionately. "I know being with me is a headache, I'd be frustrated with my hyperactive antics too. But I promise you, I'm not mad at you for reacting in a very warranted way. And I'm not just saying that to hide my feelings or anything like that, I really don't mind." He leaned close and kissed his cheek. "We're okay." He assured him with a gentle voice.
He didn't know it, but Shadow's cheeks were lightly pink now. He released a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding and nodded. "Okay..." Leave it to Sonic to always take it in stride. He still felt bad, though. He knew he hurt his feelings, and his guilt didn't make up for it. "Are you okay?" He suddenly asked. "Is your body sore? Is your heartbeat normal?"
"I'm fine." Sonic simply answered.
"Can you breathe correctly? Do you feel a tingling sensation in your ears? What about your chest, is it tight?" Those were the typical physical effects of screwing up a Chaos Redirection, he had to cover all bases.
"No."
"Are your senses still sharp? Is your temperature-"
Sonic placed his finger on Shadow's lips, halting his overprotective questions in one swift motion. After a moment of silence passed, Sonic put his hand down. "Shadow?"
"Yes?"
"I'm okay."
Okay, now he felt stupid.
Of course he was okay, this was Sonic. Shadow looked to the side with another sigh. "...Right." He just felt he had to make this right somehow, but he didn't know how. "Look," He hated being in this position. "I know I hurt you, I...insulted you and that was completely unnecessary. If we weren't together or even friends, I wouldn't have cared as much if I hurt you or not. But," He blushed and looked downwards. "We're not just rivals anymore, we're...This is something more, now. This isn't petty, this is serious and I don't like the idea of making you sad. I just," He closed his eyes and scowled. "I can't see you get hurt like that again, Sonic. I can't, I can't go through that pain. I know I sound overprotective and I know I'm a hypocrite, but I just need you to listen to me when I tell you not to do something. And," He balled his fists in his lap. "Me yelling at you and undermining you didn't translate any of that, I'm sure..."
Still keeping his gentle but warm expression, Sonic reached over to caress the side of Shadow's face, causing him to look back in his direction. "Shadow?"
Why did he keep saying his name like that? "Yes?"
"I love you."
Blushing even more, Shadow frowned. "I know that already-"
Nope, he still didn't get it. "Shadow." Sonic repeated.
A vein appeared on Shadow's head. "W-What? And stop repeating my name like that, it's weird as hell."
"I love you."
"Sonic-"
"Shadow." Sonic spoke his name with a much more grounded tone, causing the striped hedgehog to stop and listen once more. His expression was much more serious, and he was gripping his shoulders tightly. "I love you. I don't care how many times we argue, or how much you may or may not hurt my feelings. I will always understand that you don't mean to be harsh, and I'll always know that you will never go out of your way to hurt me in any shape or form. Ever." He pressed a deep kiss onto his lips. It was long, slow and purely loving. After Sonic broke the kiss, he nuzzled his face against Shadow's muzzle. "What kind of boyfriend would you be if you didn't reprimand me for being an idiot, huh? Do you honestly think you're supposed to be super nice and loving to me every single second of the day, even when I'm the asshole?" He asked quietly, watching Shadow silently shake his head. "You don't have to be perfect, Shadow. Perfection doesn't exist, and it's boring. You know I'm scared of boredom, right?" He kissed his cheek again. "You're not perfect, and that's what I want. You being imperfect is what makes me so attracted to you. I want you to yell at me when you're angry, and I want you to berate me for being an imbecile. I want you to express yourself in whichever way you know how, because I already accepted you a long time ago. I told you that I wanted all of you, including your darkness. I want your negativity just as much as your positivity, so we can work through it all together. Because that's what we're still doing—working this relationship together."
Sonic often chastised him for being so hard on himself, and he knew he had to stop doing that if he wanted to love Sonic to the fullest extent. He was still learning, obviously. It wasn't just that, though. He had to trust Sonic's word that he wouldn't hold anything against him for nothing. People made mistakes, including them. That was okay. They were okay. Shadow loved the touch of his hand, sometimes it instantly comforted him of all his worries. Shadow understood, now. "You say you're not book smart and that you're insensitive," He said while rubbing his cheek against his palm. "But your emotional intelligence is incomprehensible. You always know exactly what to say, I don't know how you do that."
The hero asked for one thing. "Can I have a hug?" He didn't have to ask twice, Shadow had already embraced him tightly before he could finish his sentence. He felt the blue one chuckle in delight. "Thank you." He then winced a little. "Ouch..." Shadow broke the embrace worriedly. "It's okay, it's okay." Sonic assured him it didn't sting too bad. "Your arms are strong. I know I'm cuddly, but don't squeeze me too hard right now."
Shadow smiled a little. "That's hard not to do."
"Heehee, you're so cute when you worry about me. You're just a big ol' spiky teddy bear~"
A feminine voice suddenly cut in. "Um, excuse me?" They both paused and looked up at the person standing in front of them. It was one of the nurses, and they all wore light gray standard nurse uniforms. This one was a female penguin. Sonic didn't recognize her as one of the nurses who assisted him, she must have just started her shift. "So sorry for interrupting, General Zhadow, First Lieutenant General Zonic." She had two cups of delicious smelling lattes in her hands. "Zonic here asked for some lattes for you both, and I made sure to make a heart design with the milk as you requested." She made a kind smile. "Here you are!"
Both Mobian hedgehogs blinked. "Erm," Shadow slowly glanced at Sonic, who was giggling.
"Dude, they've been confusing me for Napoleon for the past hour."
"Yeah," Shadow concurred as he returned to his gaze to the nurse. "I'm not General Zhadow, and he's not Zonic."
This information slowly processed through the nurse's head.
"..."
It took a minute, but she eventually got it.
She gasped in horror at her mistake. "O-Oh my goodness! You're not Zhadow and Zonic, you're the primes...! I'm so, so sorry! I should have known better, neither of you have our uniforms. Please disregard everything I said-Um," She began panicking, because she literally outed her bosses' relationship. She quickly shoved the cups of lattes into their hands and backed away quickly, her face red. "Y-You can keep the lattes, I'll just make two more cups!" She turned and began literally track-running away from the bed, out the door and into the hall of the medical ward. She completely retreated. "I beg of you, don't tell vice leader Zonic about this!" Wow, even without the armor, she was running almost as fast as them. "You two have beautiful chemistry, have a great day please...!"
They heard other nurses in the hallway reprimand her for rushing out into the corridor like this. "Hey, what are you doing!? Stop running!"
Both hedgehogs glanced at each other, before chortling at what just happened.
48 - END - 48
Chapter 49: Circumference
Summary:
Sonic takes some must needed rest after his first experience with Cyber Corruption, while Shadow meets with Zonic about something "important."
Chapter Text
49 - Circumference - 49
Acute Square
3:00 PM
The two hedgehogs gazed upon the glamorous penthouse roof, and were dazzled by what they saw.
It was a spacious and luxurious outdoor space with a moderately sized pool, an outdoor bar, and a hot tub. Everything looked spit shined clean, and even the chlorine water of the pool smelled of a more pleasant fragrance than the typical obnoxious chemical scent. It was shielded by a transparent pool cover, and the water was entirely clear, nearly drinkable. The outdoor bar had a grill and plenty of bar stools. There was an area next to the hot tub that had a pair of comfy looking sectionals, and there were metal pergolas shielding all of these areas from the sun or potential rain. They had traveled to the apartment on foot after getting a few directions from a fellow Zone Cop, and were pleasantly surprised to see how organized and modern the building's structure was. It was definitely high-end too, because there was an elevator person, a bellhop and receptionists that actually had good attitudes and dressed like astute butlers. Even the maids and janitors had spiffy looking uniforms that were ironically absent of dirt. The modern-sci-fi aesthetic was slowly growing on the two hedgehogs, and they took a liking to the sleek interior design. The penthouse level has it's own private elevator that only they could access through a special keycard, which was checked by one of the receptionists for security. Zhadow had already informed them to do so before they arrived.
When they reached the top floor, they noticed the entire building was split into two parts. Both sides on every floor held an apartment, and each side had their own reception lobby on the ground floor. So, if Zonic or Zhadow wanted to access their own apartment, they'd have to go to the other side of the building. Once they got to the roof, they could see that this was where the apartments met. They could just walk right out onto the roof and access the other apartment. While this was the only duo apartment that had an outdoor area and a balcony leading from the second level, each apartment on every floor had a small lounge area to meet the other. It was like a fancy, upscale hotel and neither hedgehogs ever imagined seeing a military dormitory look like this. There were actually a lot of rooms in these bad boys. There was a living room, kitchen, dining room, downstairs bathroom, a small room for a library space, a small gym—Wow, really? Talk about practical—and an entire upstairs. The second level had a laundry room, two offices, a smoking room with a...was that a hi-tech hookah? This was a complex for hardened soldiers, not patrons at a bathhouse. Hmm, maybe a lot of people in No Zone liked to smoke? There was an empty small room, perhaps for storage, and finally the bedroom. The bedroom had a master bathroom and a large walk-in closet that was supposed to be shared with two people.
Now this was where they could tell their military counterparts had something to do with the design of the rooms. If this was a dorm for military soldiers, there should be two equally sized bedrooms for two soldiers, yet there was only one for each apartment on this one floor. This apartment was designed with a dedicated couple in mind, not a pair of officers who just so happened to work together.
Those two made their relationship very obvious, but they respected that.
Sonic walked over to glare down menacingly at the pool, while Shadow eyed the hot tub. As mentioned before, this was not designed with soldiers in mind. A hot tub was for frat parties and frisky lovers. He had to admit that it was pretty romantic, though. "Sooo," He heard the blue one say as he strolled over to the sectional on the left of the pool. "I see you and your twin are getting along pretty well. How'd your mission go?" He asked as he sat down. "And where did that Zespio guy go? I could have sworn I saw him get rushed into the medical ward after I got there..."
Shadow walked over to sit beside him. Huh, this was kinda nice. He already had a pretty expensive apartment at home, but he had never seen or experienced luxury like this before. "After I fixed the power core, Officer Zespio was shot twice by a rogue Zone Cop." He saw Sonic gape in surprise. "I Chaos Controlled him back to HQ, and dealt with the traitor myself. However, they proved to be rather formidable, and we ended up fighting all the way into the square. We broke through the town hall's building, and we interrupted the general's meeting with the mayor. Thankfully no one else was hurt, and Zhadow decided to lend me a hand with his bike." He smiled a little at the mental image of his counterpart galloping the bike like a prized mare. "We bonded over taking down the officer, as he was a lot more chaotically charming than I realized. Frankly," He glanced at Sonic lovingly. "He reminded me of you."
The hero blinked. "No shit, really...? I did say he acted more like me than you earlier, but it was mostly a joke." He laughed a little. "That's kinda cool."
"Also," Shadow paused a little. "He gave me a gun to use during the chase, and it unnerved me." He could see Sonic didn't like the sound of this, his smile faltered. "Zhadow already knew why, what I did in the past and why the very sight of one does something to me. He had a Maria too, and he lost her as well."
Some hesitation and silence began to spread. Shadow was reluctant in asking this question. "Are you...disappointed in me? For using a gun again? I know you hate them."
Sonic immediately shook his head. "Nah, nah. Not at all. You did what you had to do, and I know it was for a good reason." He gave him a reassuring smile. "I could never be disappointed in the coolest guy I know...and love." He saw Shadow blush a little, and he looked downwards. Sonic softly chuckled at this before his expression and tone became sympathetic. "Damn...That's not surprising, though. People that chill have been through absolute hell. They don't have that much anger to give anymore because of what they've experienced, unless they're really pushed to the edge. That Zhadow guy totes fit the bill." Preaching to the choir on that one.
"He said that every Shadow has to suffer the loss of their own respective Maria. It's just...Our destiny to go through that kind of hardship." The biohog said solemnly. "Once I realized he understood me in depth, I was able to use the gun efficiently to take the rogue officer down. And I can't say I didn't enjoy myself doing so, until we saw who was underneath the helmet." He frowned at the memory of Rouge's lookalike, how tortured she looked under that suit. "It was a No Zone counterpart of Rouge. Apparently, she's been missing for a year. Zhadow has no idea how she ended up like that, but he assumes it was Zobotnik who was responsible for forcing her to fight us. He said he hacked the armor with her inside of it, mind controlling her through the suit."
The blue once winced. "Mind control? Chaos, that's a little much. I can't imagine how messed up she is after that."
Shadow nodded ruefully. "If I had known it was her, I wouldn't have struck as hard. But if I hesitated, she could have really injured me. Zhadow says she's not even an officer anymore," He scoffed. "But she sure as hell hit like one." He sighed heavily. "It's been a long, confusing day..." He was sure they could both agree on that one. "Anyway, what about you? Did you find out anything?"
"Well," Sonic kicked his legs back and forth. "Zector is pretty cool, just like the real Vex. But he did tell me something-" He made a suspicious frown. "-Interesting, to say the least." He saw this piqued Shadow's interest. "I'm gonna say this as quietly as I can because of that up there." He pointed to the door of their apartment that led to the roof. Above the door was a camera, just in case someone managed to sneak in via a floating road from above. Sonic gestured for him to get closer so he can whisper this. "Zex wasn't supposed to tell me this, but apparently something major happened three years ago. Zonic, Zhadow and Zobotnik, when he still worked there, were havin' some private meeting about something. There was a lot of shouting and Zobotnik straight up threw himself out the window to escape the HQ. Zonic was mad as hell, but he was pissed at Zhadow for some reason. Zex has no idea why, but he told me Zhadow had a pretty extensive history with their world's Egghead. A troubling one. At the time, nobody liked him and thought he was just as slimy as Zobotnik until he and Zonic hooked up."
Shadow furrowed his brows. An extensive history? "Is that so?" He whispered back.
Sonic nodded dubiously. "Yeah, I'm talkin' several decades of working together. Homie was Zobotnik's right hand man. Not only that, but I already noticed how pissy Napoleon was actin' around him this morning too. He wasn't just being a dickhead to Zhadow 'cause he was in a bad mood, I could tell it was because of something else, and my take's that this incident is it. I think Zhadow made a mistake, a big one, and Zonic's makin' him pay for it."
The biohog grimaced, as he knew how much Zhadow adored Sonic's counterpart. "That's quite unfortunate...He told me he loved Zonic intensely, and they're even engaged."
The hero blinked. "Engaged? Ouch," He cringed. "That sucks, they're probably havin' a rough time right now."
"Yeah," Shadow nodded. "Zhadow told me as much without getting too deep into it, but they're at odds at the moment. As it turns out, Zonic hadn't been wearing his ring for a while. However," He still remembered the frequency conversation his twin had with the first lieutenant general. "Things don't seem as bad as we initially thought. When Zhadow radioed him, Zonic outwardly claimed he loved him and that he was wearing his ring again." He chuckled a little. "It caused Zhadow to get flustered, it was quite endearing. Perhaps they're taking steps to mend their relationship."
"That's cute and all," Sonic replied with a distracted tone. "But something's up. Zhadow's got stained hands, I can tell."
Shadow frowned. "Maybe, but that's just his past. It doesn't define him."
"Nah man, listen." Sonic shook his head. "I ain't condemning him for his mistakes, that's dumb. I'm saying whatever he did, is biting him in the ass right now. His mistake is Zobotnik's doing, I'm sure of it, and I think he's gonna use that against those two." Hmm, now that was a worrying opinion indeed because it made more sense. Sonic never cared about anyone's past if they were actively doing good in the moment, that's not what he was concerned about. He was concerned because there was a reason why the two military hedgehogs were previously at odds, and that reason could be the two's undoing. "Those two are strong, but everybody's got a weakness. What happened three years ago, is that weakness. And maybe it's the asshole in me," He continued with a curious tone. "But I really wanna know. And not just so I can gossip about it, either."
The elder hedgehog took note of this, as Sonic's intuition was scarily accurate pretty often. "Hmph," He and Zhadow were cool, but he couldn't ask him about this. They'd have to grow closer, first. And it's not like Sonic could ask Zonic, his twin would probably burn him alive with a flamethrower out of spite. Nothing they could do about it now. "For their sake, I hope they can move past this error. If you're right, it won't just be their relationship on the line and it'll hinder us too."
Sonic suddenly yawned and leaned himself against Shadow. "Well, whatever...We'll all deal with it when we need to." He smiled at the biohog. "Y'know, the fancy schmancy stuff ain't my scene, but this is really snazzy! You know, except for the pool."
Shadow chuckled at this, he caught how harshly he was glaring daggers at it earlier. "Just sit on the shallow end, you'll be fine."
The hero pouted at him. "I ain't five, ya ass. I can at least dip my lower body in it."
While he was pursing his lips, Shadow snaked his arm around his waist and leaned his face closer. "How disappointing, I really wanted to make you scream my name in the water."
Sonic made a lopsided frown at this proposal. "Mmmn, sex in the pool does sound fun, but it's really not good for ya."
Shadow didn't expect the rejection. "Really...?"
"Trust me, you don't want that chlorine on your dick or up your ass. It burns like a motherfucker. Besides," The younger hedgehog then made a very good and somewhat disgusting point. "It's not like it's our pool, we're sharing it with Napoleon and Zhadow. And Chaos knows what they've already done in it. If we go at it like rabbits, I'm sure they go at it like a couple of starved hyenas." He said suggestively with a smirk. "Plus there's cameras, they'd know and I don't think they'd appreciate it. I don't feel like being yelled at by someone who looks exactly like me for smashing, thank you."
Alright, now Shadow was fully regretting what he said. They were like distant relatives to them, he didn't wanna envision that or physically go anywhere near a place they've been intimate in. "Okay, I immediately change my mind." Actually, they might have done it in the hot tub and the sectional they were sitting on too. Oh God, gross. Now everything felt icky.
Sonic giggled before rubbing his finger in Shadow's chest in a circular motion. "As much as I'd love to squeeze my thunder thighs around your cute little face," He trailed off with an alluringly deep voice, capturing Shadow's attention instantly. "I'm a little too winded. The nurses said I should rest for the remainder of the day for a reason." He kissed Shadow's cheek, and he could tell his older hubby was slightly disappointed. "Aww...don't pout, babe. Raincheck a couple nights from now, maybe~?"
"Of course, I can't say no to that." Shadow replied with a naughty smirk of his own. "I can be patient, but I'll probably still dream of you tonight."
The hero blushed with a warm smile and kissed him passionately. "Heehee, I didn't know edgelords could be so romantic." He slipped into his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck. "You should be super sweet to me and carry me to bed. I need daddy to tuck me in~" He laughed when he saw Shadow have visible panic on his face.
"God damn it, hedgehog! What did I tell you about calling me that?"
Smirking, Sonic had another idea. He stuck out his tongue and slowly licked the side of his face, shocking his striped lover. "Aww, don't be mad...Want me to make it up to you?" He pressed his ass against his crotch. "I'm real sorry, daddy~"
Shadow was blushing heavily, and he growled sexually. "If you keep messing with me, I'm gonna fuck you in front of these cameras."
"Mmnn...I actually like voyeurism, that really turns me on." He whispered in his ear as he grinded his body against him, causing Shadow to gawk in shock. Didn't he just say he was tired and that they shouldn't do anything out here? "Makes me real hot, and I need something long and hard to cool me down. Maybe you can get me wet in another way~?" He rubbed his hand down his chest fur, against his abdomen and eventually his pelvis. "Maybe your cock could fix that? I wouldn't mind putting it down my throat, or inside me. Just don't be too rough, I'm still a little sore from last time." He kissed his chin and his jaw. "You fucked me so hard, I can't even sit right anymore. You can be gentle with me this time, right? Or better yet," He pressed his lips against his ear and teased it between his teeth. "I could eat you out, bend you over and fuck your pretty little ass raw instead. Right here, right now. I wanna see my cum drip down your lips and your legs at the same time in front of that camera. I want everybody to see just how much you love me inside of you, fucking you with every ounce of strength I got."
...
...Mmhm.
Indeed.
Ergo.
Verily.
Of course.
Anyway, Shadow was done with this conversation.
"..."
Completely red in the face and at a loss for words, he just picked Sonic up in his arms, got up and carried him back inside the apartment in embarrassed silence.
"Hahaha! I win again!"
3:10 PM
Shadow carefully placed the blue hedgehog in the new bed, and they were both pleased with the arrangements. The mattress felt very comfortable, soft yet firm, and the sheets were recently washed and ironed evenly. "I'll be right back, General Zhadow wanted me to meet with Zonic for something important." He pulled the covers up to his neck, and aptly tucked him in. He saw that the moment Sonic hit the sheets, his body was beginning to give out. All the sexually flirtatious vigor he had in him was instantly gone, and he looked almost painfully exhausted. He was panting lightly, sweat beading on his forehead with a disgruntled expression. This worried the biohog, and he caressed his face in concern. "Chaos...Sonic, are you okay?"
The hero made a weak smile and nodded slowly. "A-Ahaha...Yeah, I'm...Good." He could barely get that out. "You know how you had a long day, but your body keeps going full speed until you get home 'cause you know you got a lot to do...? And you know how the moment you hit the bed, everything just shuts down on you all at once? Yeah...that's happening to me right now. Doin' all that talking kinda wore me out even more. Shit," He closed his eyes tightly. He felt like he was going to pass out. "Haven't felt this tired in a long time...That Cyber Corruption is no joke. I am never doing something like that again..." He carefully reopened his eyes up to his boyfriend and gave him a sweet smile. "Don't worry about me...The nurses said I'm good, I just need to sleep for the rest of the day. I'll be okay, Shadow." He watched Shadow lean over to kiss his forehead. "I'll probably be knocked the hell out when you get back though, haha."
He hoped he was right about what the nurses said. He didn't like looking at him like this. "I hope this means you'll listen to me when I tell you not to do something from now on. Fine," Shadow said reluctantly. "But if you need something, anything at all, just call me or use the frequency in our earrings."
Sonic only shook his head softly. "N-No, I won't need anything. Hey," He added with a groggy voice. "Just do what you gotta do, don't let me slow you down. Just 'cause we're together doesn't mean you don't have your own life or concerns. If you wanna-" His eyelids became really heavy all of a sudden. "O-Oh shit," It was like his body was forcing him to wrap up this conversation. "-Go out and do whatever you want after you talk to Napoleon instead of coming straight home, it's cool. Go ahead," He nodded to him. "Don't let that bastard get under your skin, either."
Shadow sighed as he stepped away from the bed, he was such an annoying moron. And he was in love with this annoying, adorable moron. "Just get some rest, faker."
"Yes, daddy." Sonic snickered weakly. See? Adorable moron.
Shadow shook his head with a small blush, this idiot would talk shit until his dying breath. "Chaos Control."
3:11 PM
It took him a mere minute to get to Zonic's office on the third highest floor. It was underneath's Zhadow's designated floor, which was underneath the building's hangar for aircrafts. His speed greatly surprised the other soldiers and faculty members around the building, only seeing a streak of black and amber red pass right by them with a flurry of wind. He even made a few of them drop their files and clipboards, to which he mischievously somewhat intended. Shadow skidded to a stop and walked up in front of the office, it's large automatic double doors standing before him. A golden plaque with Zonic's name and rank was beside it, but it was glowing with cyber energy. Pretty neat, actually. It was similar to how GUN designated their offices to highly esteemed soldiers and agents, but still not this advanced. He saw a couple of high ranking soldiers walk by, but they didn't stop him. They only bowed and kept moving, they knew he was allowed to be here. The doors suddenly opened for him, and he stepped inside silently.
As he did, he noticed this office was similar to Zhadow's, but only slightly less grand. He saw that the first lieutenant general was in the middle of the room, sitting in one of the white loveseats beside a faux fish tank coffee table. He had strange small vials on the surfaces, all lined up in an opened black case. They were all filled with glowing white liquid, and Shadow couldn't help but be interested. Just what where those? Zonic was examining each one, before plucking his finger into the glass. The moment he did, bright multi-colors shined throughout the white liquid, before returning back to it's default color. Shadow slowly paced over to the vice leader of No Zone Corps, curious as to what in the world he was doing and what he had in his possession. Zonic placed the vial in his hand down into the case, before picking up another and doing the same thing. "Hello to you too, Shadow prime." He nonchalantly greeted as he carefully examined the tube.
He wasn't sure if he should even greet him back, he was an asshole and didn't even deserve his time. "Hmph."
"I trust Zhadow-" He corrected himself. "-Ahem, General Zhadow pointed you in my direction?"
"What do you want?" He asked curtly. "And what the hell is that?"
"These are amnesiac serums." Zonic answered back easily. "The science team here helps me create them with my permission and surveillance, but they can only be created with Chaotic Blood. My blood, to be exact." He placed the vial down, and moved to pick up another. "This is what I used to wipe you and your friends' memories of me, if any of you caught me during my missions, that is."
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "So you really were the one who wiped Dr. Robotnik's memories after being arrested."
"I sure did," Zonic replied. "And he'll never know. After all," He briefly glanced up at him before turning his attention back to the vials. "You and Sonic prime never did, either. I've meddled in your battles before, you know." He gestured for Shadow to stop standing and relax. "I'm not the one who made him unable to think, though. That was Infinite and the ruby. Sit, it's been a long day." He offered with a calm voice. He sounded way less agitated and sarcastic before. Why? What did he want from him? Shadow cautiously did as he requested, and sat on the other side of the coffee table on the opposite loveseat. "The Chaos incident: I was the first person to cheer for Sonic prime's endeavors, which made everyone do the same in support. I, like many Mobians, used to be a big fan...Until a few years ago. It sounds silly, but positive energy only empowers chaos users, which was the boost he needed to defeat Chaos. After I appeared, I wiped the memories of anyone who stood close enough to see me with some very thin needles. The Black Doom incident: Using an old encryption from the Overseer before me, I hacked into the Eclipse Cannon so it could shoot a stronger beam with the help of cyber energy. If I hadn't tampered with it, the blast that shot through Black Doom wouldn't have killed him. You never knew I was even there, nor did he."
He remembered back on Angel Island that Zonic claimed he was responsible for helping them defeat many of their major enemies, low key saving their lives. "Hmph, and let's say I believe that. That's your duty as Overseer, correct?"
Zonic nodded. "Indeed, that's my job. To aid you in whatever affairs you get yourselves into without you knowing. Plus," He placed the vial back in the box and stared at them with a thoughtful expression. "I cannot allow either of you to die, that'd be an extreme failure on my end." He then looked...Regretful? "I...Shouldn't have let either of you be killed by that ugly jackal that day. If my monitors were working, I could have stopped it and you both wouldn't have been so traumatized. I'm sure that's a sight you both will never forget as long as you live..." He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced at each vial, mentally counting them in his head as he spoke. "Again, my sincerest apologies. While either of you dying is horrible, it isn't as detrimental as you might think. The spirits don't want you dead, so they would have pulled something to revive you. Similar to what Fleetway did with Sonic prime when he signed that death-contract. Of course," He added. "Something like that can't be done too many times, as the physical body eventually gives out. I can't let either of you die like that again, and I promise I'll save you both if I have to."
Alright, that warranted a lot of questions, but Shadow was too mentally exhausted from what he witnessed today to ask them at the moment. Why couldn't Zonic be this cooperative and honest when Sonic was around? "...Why are you telling me all of this? I thought you hated me."
"I do," Zonic responded, but his voice was empty of venom. "I honestly hate all Chaos Born, despite being one myself. But you're easier to speak with, while Sonic prime is too immature to hold down an adult conversation."
"You say that," Shadow retorted with a scowl. "And yet you've never actually spoken with him without your catty nonsense. I thought the same as you did once, thinking he was nothing but a foolish child toying with power beyond his understanding. I'm even more positive that your general, the man you're literally engaged to," He saw Zonic immediately look up from the vials to glare at him. He didn't think Zhadow would tell his counterpart about the status of their relationship. "Thought that very same thing about you. That is, until he got to know you. I did the same thing with Sonic, and now we're together too." He saw that Zonic was continuing to silently glower at him, he had paused everything he was doing. "I learned the hard way a long time ago that things aren't always what they seem. So instead of acting so myopic, maybe try to have a more open mind. Being closed off from the world by choice, is far more immature than having a careless attitude by nature—And I say that with firsthand experience. But that's just my opinion."
Quietly, Zonic only closed his eyes and sighed. He closed the case of vials and leaned back in the loveseat. He crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. "..."
"Tch," Shadow frowned. "Nothing to say to that, huh?"
"Nope." The first lieutenant general answered. "Nothing at all."
This annoyed the biohog even further, why was he acting so difficult even now? "What the hell is your problem with him? Zhadow doesn't have an issue with him, he even trusts us despite only meeting us just today. Why can't you do the same? I would have thought Sonic's counterpart would share his sappy sense of compassion and empathy."
Zonic opened his eyes and looked down at his own gloves. He held up his hand and rubbed his digit against a silver band decorating his ring finger. It was nice, but very simple. It was void of gems or any precious stones, and it only held a valued metal. It's all he needed it to be, because it was a statement more than anything: He was happily taken by someone else, and they could move on to the next level very soon. That's all either of them wanted, so the ring was perfect. Zonic then stared somewhere else in the room as he finally replied. "...You don't understand. That's all I can say about that, as I am not at liberty to tell you the specifics of why I personally despise him. While he is more active and stronger in both body and mind than many other Sonic templates, I still can't be too sure. So many like him have fallen to the spirits' will, and I can't help but feel that his time of complete autonomy will end soon. Sorry..." He said as he continued to rub the ring. Shadow looked at his eyes, and that's when he saw it.
It was quick, but it was there. A flash of awful trauma and turmoil was resting within him.
He knew something, something tragic that he couldn't talk about.
Was he rubbing the ring out of anxiety, or comfort? Shadow wasn't sure, this was another person he couldn't quite read. "...But I do not trust him," Zonic said firmly. "And that's my final word on that. Do not ask me such a question again." It was a demand, but his voice was so soft that it didn't match. He meant what he said, but he didn't wish to fight Shadow about his opinion. He just wanted the conversation to be over. "..." He was still rubbing the ring, and he looked kind of sad or lost. Honestly, it reminded Shadow of himself. Is that what Sonic saw every time they spoke? He hoped he didn't, because seeing it on the other side was damning to say the least. "You can stop staring at me. I don't know why you and General Zhadow do that so much, I'm not very interesting to look at."
Shadow scoffed. "You're engaged to him, that's different. I'm staring because," He grimaced. "Well, I never thought I'd see someone who looks exactly like Sonic look so depressed. It just doesn't look right to me."
Zonic said nothing to this, and he still wasn't looking at him. "..."
That's when Shadow noticed something else. What was that bruise on his neck? He could barely see it thanks to the military coat's collar, but it was there. It was faint and healing. Was he in a fight recently? "What's up with that bruise on your neck?"
Abruptly, Zonic's muzzle changed color and his eyes dilated with embarrassment. "H-Huh?" He instantly stopped rubbing his ring and covered the side of his neck with his glove. "I-I have no idea what you're referring to." His voice finally had some emotion to it, and he was clearly flustered. He tried pulling up his collar to hide it more, but it was fruitless. "S-Stop staring at me, damn it!" He growled as he sheepishly turned away.
Shadow could easily deduce what he was whining about, and he only turned green in response. "Oh God...that's what that is? It's too big to be a hickey, what in Chaos' name do you two do to each other?" He grossed himself out on that one. "Actually, please don't answer that."
A vein grew on Zonic's forehead as steam blew from his ears. "Will you shut up and mind your own business!?"
"Look," Shadow finally said. "What do you want from me? Zhadow claims you have something important to show me, and I'm sure those serums and that weird neck bruise aren't it."
"Y...Yes," The vice leader replied begrudgingly with a small pout. Wow, he actually looked kind of cute when he wasn't being an asshole. Respectfully, of course. Shadow could never look at someone else that way, even if they did look exactly like Sonic. "It's something you deserve to see, something all Shadow templates deserve to experience. But you're currently the only one who can." He stood up from his seat and gestured for Shadow follow him. The biohog raised a brow, what was he up to? He got up and followed him through the office. He saw that there was a door at the far right of the office, made of iron and steel. Once Zonic stepped close enough, it automatically raised and allowed him inside. Shadow followed after him, and he saw a room of great technological wonders inside. There were monitors all over the walls, covering every inch. After Shadow walked in, the door closed and locked tightly with a click. Zonic walked to the middle of the room, where there was a metal table and a very thick notebook that was open with a pen on top. He picked it up in his hand. "This is a highly restricted room, as no one in No Zone or any reality for that matter, is allowed inside except for me and occasionally General Zhadow." Shadow was blown away, why were there so many monitors here? And—His mouth fell agape as he realized what was showing in every single screen. Were those...Other Sonics? He walked up to the monitors of the front wall, seeing other versions of so many Sonics going about their normal lives. He saw other Shadows as well, and they were so unique compared to themselves. Some looked very similar, but still either wore different articles of clothing or had slightly altered body types. Hell, he even saw female versions of themselves.
This was beyond extraordinary.
"What...is this...?" Shadow whispered out loud.
"This is the Room of Realities, a place where I am able to watch all ten thousand known realities of the multiverse. There used to be billions more than that, probably an infinite amount." He watched Shadow walk from TV to TV, amazed by the various worlds that were showcased with every one he glanced at. "I told you, it's my job to literally keep watch over all Chaos Born, and this is how I do it as Overseer." He frowned when he saw Shadow tap the screen. "Do not touch any of them, you could cause them to malfunction." He rolled his eyes. "I understand it's fascinating, but don't destroy my stuff. Nonetheless," He picked up his notebook and reached his hand underneath the desk. He pressed a hidden button. Once pressed, the walls shifted. All of the mounted monitors moved backwards, while thicker walls slid down to conceal them simultaneously. Soon, it looked like a normal, boring room made of nothing but metal. A square opening appeared beneath the desk, and soon, it too disappeared beneath them only to be replaced with normal metal flooring. "Sorry to cut the tour short, but this is more imperative."
Shadow was indeed a little salty, but he was more concerned with the fact that Zonic was now walking up to him with his book tucked underneath his arm. "What are you-?" He grasped his hand and flipped it over to stare at him palm. "...!?"
"Keep your palm open." Zonic then reached in his jacket's chest pocket, pulling out one of the very vials he was messing with before. Shadow flinched, was he going to wipe his memory? "Relax." The blue soldier instructed as he pulled the small cork off of it's top. He swished the liquid around, and Shadow saw that it wasn't the same liquid inside of the vials. The solution within was red, but it was faintly glowing. He sniffed and smelled copper, was that blood? "This may seem a little morbid if not completely unhygienic," Zonic warned slowly before taking the tip of his pinky and dipping it in the liquid. "But I'm afraid this is the only way for me to force it out of you." Once the digit was drenched in it, he stared down at Shadow's hand again. "Keep your hand still." He then began to use his pinky as a pen, drawing within Shadow's palm with the blood as ink.
"What the-?!" Shadow didn't like this. "What are you doing to me?"
"Quiet." Zonic continued to draw with his pinky, and Shadow realized he was making a sigil. Yes, one of those markings he created back on Angel Island to entrap Fleetway. "I'm using my blood to call the power inside of you."
Alright, well he didn't know what that meant and he very much didn't like the sound of it. "What are you talking about?"
Zonic sucked his teeth and sighed in exasperation. "Oh my God," He mumbled. "I'm calling your super form, you dolt."
Shadow's reactionary response was to snatch his hand away, but then he took a second to replay what he said. "Call my super form? You mean one of the spirits?" Why would he do that?
The blue soldier shook his head. "No, not them. Shadow-templates don't have their power, only Sonic templates do." He finished his markings and took his finger away. He began to place the small cork back on the vial and placed it back in his pocket. "You have a...special kind of super form. One that not even the Divine Spirits can properly surveillance. It's actually the most unique phenomenon I've ever seen as Overseer, as it's very unorthodox. None of us thought something like this could become a Divine Spirit, but I suppose humans and Chaos Born are capable of many amazing things, including you two." He pulled his book out from under his arm and opened it to look through the pages. "Let's see, what page was it...?" He muttered as he scanned through it thoroughly. "Keep your hand out." He instructed while Shadow just stared at him with a puzzled expression. He had no idea what was happening. "No, not there...Ah yes, here we go." He found what he was looking for and cleared his throat. "'O' Divine One," He began reading, and Shadow was familiar with that opening line. Wasn't that the same thing he said to Fleetway before Sonic's exorcism? "Overlander Spirit of mutated human blood, you have transcended your race and became a spirit of divine properties in your own rite through martyrdom and sheer determination. For this, you have been recognized by the Divine Quadrant for your adamant role in guiding Shadow the Hedgehog, template number two. With my authorization, the two-thousandth and fiftieth Grand Overseer, Zonic the Hedgehog," There was a draft in the room, and it was causing both of their quills to rise. Even Zonic's pages were fluttering about, and the wind was growing even stronger despite residing in a closed room void of windows. "I now use this Chaotic Sigil to summon you out of your unwilling slumber."
The floor was shaking now! Shadow looked all around in bewilderment, his palm still fully open as he was told. However, a bright light began to form from it. "...!?" He watched it grow bigger with every word Zonic spoke, and the sigil was glowing strongly.
"With the Light One's grace, we simultaneously give you full sanction to operate by your own will, so long as you continue to aid and guide Shadow the Hedgehog through his various goals and desires, whichever they may be, forever. May our Chaotic Blood subjugate and conquer forevermore.'" He then closed the book and watched alongside Shadow with a neutral expression as the power in his palm grew bigger and bigger.
Shadow needed a God damn explanation here! "What have you done? What did you call!?"
Zonic slowly looked at him, before he suddenly made a small smile.
"...I called her."
49 - END - 49
Chapter 50: An Angel Appears
Summary:
Shadow witnesses something truly angelic, something he'd never thought he'd see ever again.
Notes:
It's the 50th chapter! Hooray! Please check my twitter/X for something slightly important. (https://x.com/PMillennium78 or @PMillennium78)
Chapter Text
50 - An Angel Appears - 50
3:30 PM
Shadow squinted his eyes from the increasingly blinding white light, but kept them open so he could see exactly what the hell was going on here.
The light was engulfing the entire room, and Zonic looked strangely unbothered by it all. Soon, the light finally cleared and the shaking stopped. Shadow cautiously darted his eyes around to see if the room changed, but it didn't. He then looked down at his palm to see that the blood sigil was gone. Then he glanced at Zonic, who was giving him a weirdly warm smile. Why was he looking at him like that? The blue soldier silently pointed upwards. Furrowing his brows, Shadow put his hand down and looked up gradually. There were strange sky blue embers around the room, and that caught the biohog off guard. Those embers were made of chaos, he could feel it. More and more embers appeared around the room, before circling together to create some kind of form. They bonded and bulked into a silhouette of chaotic illumination, and a golden aura appeared around it. He took a couple of steps back to take it all into view. Soon, a disembodied pair of closed eyes appeared before him. The lashes looked...blonde. The eyes slowly opened to reveal ocean blue irises, and around them, a figure was becoming more visible. Shadow's heart started beating quickly, and he didn't even know why.
Those eyes, why did they look so familiar?
Why did this feeling feel so familiar?
Strings of sky blue embers became golden strands of long hair, and it flowed in the air as if there was no gravity in the room. It covered the eyes, before it flipped backwards to reveal a human, youthful, heart shaped face. It neared closer towards him, the eyes staring down at him not with pretentiousness, but a powerful sense of deep familiar love. A golden stream of chaotic power roped all around the figure, before it materialized into a petite, frail and feminine human body. Chaos energy formed light and royal blue fabric, creating clothing in the blink of a nanosecond. The golden hair became voluminous, waving in the breeze softly. Porcelain fair skin mapped itself on the arms, legs and face, and a pair of royal blue flats appeared on two daintily formed feet. A matching royal blue headband appeared within the depths of the thick blonde hair, finishing the look in total completion. A hauntingly angelic smile curled on the face of an old friend, their entire body engulfed in super-auric chaotic aura. Gentle small hands cupped themselves against the figure's chest, and a lifetime of galaxies shined through those ocean eyes. This aura was so welcoming, so calming and nurturing. It wanted nothing more than to love and be loved, to embrace even the coldest creature and shield it from the harsh reality of a cruel world. The fabric created from chaos energy was lightly fluttering, and the figure was levitating before him. Close enough to touch his nose, was the adorable opposing nose of a young preteen girl who was once lost so many decades ago.
Before him, was his super form.
And his super form, was the Divine Spirit of Maria Robotnik.
"..."
...
...
...
...Shadow was frozen stiff.
His body was immediately weak, but he couldn't look away.
Was...Was this real?
Was any of this real?
Was this a dream?
Zonic, still smiling tenderly, turned his back and made his way to exit the room silently.
Completely stuck, he was literally looking at a ghost. Why...Why did she look so real? Why was she here? How was she here? This...T-This couldn't be her. This couldn't be her at all, he refused to believe it. He had to have been dreaming or something, because this was impossible-"...!" He felt small arms wrap around his body, and an explosion of beautiful warmth entered his body. He could feel her hair, her skin, her body heat, he could feel everything. She was hugging him, she was actually hugging him after such a long, painful time. He still couldn't move, he couldn't even speak. None of this could actually exist, this was all fake. It had to be.
A sweet yet cosmic female voice reached his ears. "Shadow..."
No.
This couldn't be real.
This wasn't real, it couldn't be.
"...I-It's you..." She whispered. "I-It's really you. I missed you so much!" He felt her nuzzle her head against his, and he continued to stay stuck. He couldn't even hug her back. He was in total shock, his psyche was paralyzed with disbelief. "I've been asleep for so long. I couldn't wake up again after you beat that big alien man," The voice became absolutely delighted. "But I finally woke up! Now I can see you, now I can feel you and talk to you! Shadow," He felt her hug him even tighter. "I'm so happy!"
"..."
How could he speak at a time like this?
"...?" He could feel the girl pulled herself back from the embrace a bit. "Shadow...?" She tilted her head in confusion. She then poked at his forehead. "What happened? Did you have some kind of a brain freeze...? That usually happens when you eat those ice pops really fast. Didn't Grandpa tell you not to do that anymore?"
Shadow said nothing. He was too stricken with emotional incredulousness.
This made the young girl pout and break the embrace. She floated backwards and placed her fists on her hips with a disappointed frown. "Now I get what's going on, you big ol' dummy." She scolded. "You were always so hard headed. You don't believe I'm real, do you? Hmph." She sighed and tapped her finger against her chin to think. "Hmm, oh!" Then, she snapped her fingers with an excited smile. "I know what to do!" She smirked and raised her hands slowly. "I'll prove to you that I'm real. Watch closely, and don't blink!"
Suddenly, she dropped down to the floor on her feet. They stood up tall, and began to tap on the very tips of her toes. Golden sparkles kicked up from her movements, before she twirled her body around while raising her legs high. With careful grace and precision, the girl glided herself around the room, her hair flowing behind her like a dashing blonde cape. Every move she made created gorgeous golden dust and whirls of glittering embers. She was elegant, nimble, agile and beautiful. She twirled around like a ballerina, only to make spins and spiral jumps in the air soon after. It was like she was dancing on air, making shotgun and scratch spins. When she spun in the air again, he could see how happy she looked. She was giggling, laughing at what she could do now. No IV's strapped to her arms, no random pains to keep her from moving out of bed, no wheelchair waiting for her down the hall in case she'd fall over. She wasn't sick, she wasn't dying. No disease cursed her, no bullet would strike her down this time. She was too powerful, she was too beyond anything any normal human could comprehend. She could move, she could dance, she could be as active as she always wanted to be without anything holding her back. Her heart didn't give way, her breathing didn't grow weary and her stamina was infinite. Her bones were powerful, her limbs could make as much sudden movements as she wanted without getting winded. This state of being was what she always wanted-
-To be free.
She ascended above, before finishing with a layback spin.
He just remembered—Didn't she always used to watch ice-skating events on TV during her days on the Ark? Yes, the Olympics had only just began broadcasting on television and people barely had the analog invention in their homes. Gerald was lucky to afford one. And wasn't she the one who designed his air shoes? More sparkles of ruby red, sky blue and golden embers surrounded her as she glided into a circular motion around Shadow. "It's a good thing that guy put those TV's away, or else I would have accidentally destroyed them." He watched her the whole time, still overcome with what he was witnessing. Her posture was perfect, her form as if she had been practicing figure skating for years. It was like he was at the Olympic Winter Games all over again, nimbly using her ability to float and fly as her means of skating. She rose her hands in the air as she glided, more of her power encircling him. The power was so incredibly strong, but so comforting and warming. She made a spiral jump into the air, and he swore he could see angel wings made of chaos appear on her back. As more walls of chaos energy danced around him, he saw her finally spin around him closer and closer. She finally glided to a stop, before making a dramatic but stylish finishing pose. A spotlight of chaos shine down upon her as she approached.
She then exhaled and bowed, as her performance had now ended incredibly. Soon, all the power she showcased around them slowly faded away into embers and returned back to her body to absorb.
"I'm the one who designed your shoes and helped you learn how to skate, remember? It's only right that I can do what you do!" She then lifted her head proudly, and made a big, joyous smile. "Don't you think?"
Shadow fell to his knees...he didn't know what to do.
The girl slowly floated towards him before sitting down on her knees as well. She reached out to grasp his hands and held them softly. "You've dreamed for fifty long years," She tightened her grip. "Don't you realize you've been awake this whole time? This is real. And I," She raised one of his hands to her left cheek. "Am real." Finally, two lone tears fell onto the floor. He couldn't hold it anymore, and he cried silently. "Shadow-" He cut her off with a strong hug, his arms nearly crushing her body against his own. She was shocked by this, but then she smiled. And soon, he wasn't the only one crying. She closed her eyes and embraced him back, her tears cascading and falling between them. She was such an enchanting entity, that even her tears made surges of power. "You big...dummy..." She sniffled happily. "I was with you this entire time..." She cradled the back of his head, lightly petting him as they held each other. "I thought about you every second I was gone, and when I woke up the first time, I knew you needed my help." She felt him shake against her, he couldn't believe he was holding her again. "I didn't want to, but you had to stop the Biolizard's rampage. After you fell from the Ark, I went to sleep again...And then I opened my eyes to you standing up against that big, mean alien man." She chuckled, it sounded silly when saying it out loud. "After you beat him, I fell asleep once more. I didn't know when I'd ever wake up again, but then, that guy who looked like Mr. Sonic, his power awakened me. And now," She grinned brightly, she was so hopeful of her new un-life. "I won't fall asleep again, I'll stay awake and I'll be able to stay with you as long as you need me!"
Shivering, Shadow didn't let go of her. "But how...H-How are you...Why are you...?"
The girl sighed. "I'll be honest, I still don't quite understand what happened myself." She broke the embrace a little, but continued to hold him as she looked into his glossy, reddened amber eyes. "All I know is that I felt a terrible, burning pain in my chest." She frowned as she remembered the day she was shot. "It hurt really badly, and...I think that was the first time I fell asleep. I couldn't wake up anymore, no matter how hard I tried. Everything was dark, and I couldn't see or hear anything. I don't know how much time had past, but then," Her smile quickly returned. "A beautiful golden spirit appeared to me, and then...I saw you confronting the Biolizard. Time had stopped, and the spirit spoke to me. It said that I..." She hesitated. "...Died. The spirit said it could turn me into something powerful, and that I could give that power to help you stop him. It said that without my power, you would die. And I," She made a determined frown. "I-I couldn't let you die! I refused to let that happen, so I agreed. My soul drifted to your body and...Then I woke up again, and saw the world through your eyes. I could hear, see and feel everything you could. We were in perfect synch. I was in your body, and I...I-I made it so that you could transform into Super Shadow." She placed his hand on her chest where her heart was, and it made him flinch. This was exactly where the blood had spread when it all happened, but her dress was clean of any and all wounds she gained in her past life. "I'm your power, Shadow. I have been ever since you transformed with Mr. Sonic. I think...I think it was his power that made it so that I could talk with that spirit. If it wasn't for him, I don't think we would be here."
"So," Shadow sniffed a little, attempting to hide the few tears he let out. "You're...You're my super form?"
She nodded delightedly. "Yes! But this time, I'm not going anywhere. The guy who looks like Mr. Sonic did something to me, he made it so that I won't fall asleep after you use my power. If you transform, I can still be with you in spirit."
"But," The biohog noted something devastating. "You're still...gone..."
The girl made a sorrowful smile. "Yes, I'm still very much...dead. However," She placed her hands on his shoulders and lightly shook him. "It doesn't matter. We're together again! And instead of being sick and useless, I can actually help you!"
Shadow frowned and stopped her in her tracks. "You were never useless to me. You kept me strong with your memory alone. Everyone on the Ark adored you, they loved you because of the morale you gave us all. You kept Gerald sane, you helped raise me, you helped me learn how to live like a normal person. Maria," He finally said her name, and speaking it on his tongue felt so strange now that she was in front of him. "You were a shining beacon of hope and pure light. Even before all of this, you were my strength. You gave me the will to keep living." He caressed her face gently. "You were my best friend, my sister. My everything."
She smirked and winked at him. "You're right, I was your everything. But now," She cupped her hands and looked down at her palms. Shadow watched as golden chaos energy formed from within, to create little moving figures. They were figures of himself and Sonic, sitting beside each other and smiling. "He is your everything. He's your world, now." The figures faded into embers before she placed her hands to her chest. "Every second I slept, I felt your love for him. It's so strong, so powerful, so sweet and warm. I didn't know you loved anything else besides grandfather and I, and I am so happy that you've found that feeling again. And now," She made a strong fist. "We're both going to protect him with everything we've got. After all," She giggled. "He's a big dummy too! He's gonna need all the help he can get." She offered her hand to him as she stood up. "I'm still getting used to this, being a...Um, 'Divine Spirit' and all, so I'll need practice in controlling my power. Even though I've been asleep, I could sense almost everything that was going on since I was last awake. The big stuff, anyway."
Rubbing his eyes and nose with the back of his arm, Shadow took her hand to stand in front of her. He tried his best to look her in the eyes without tearing up again. "Then you know what's going on? What happened to Sonic and I, and why we're here?"
She made an infernal angry scowl, a rare sight.
Shadow could count on one hand how many times he actually saw the girl angry. Frankly, he didn't even know she could look that angry. "Oh yes, I know. I know what that horrible jackal person did to you, and I know how much he hurt both you and Mr. Sonic. I could faintly see and feel what happened. I knew your body was weak and that your tummy was empty, and for a moment, I thought you'd join me and grandpa in the darkness when you starved yourself. Thank goodness that didn't happen." She huffed and crossed her arms. "I don't like fighting, and I hate violence of any kind because it's wrong and it hurts people. But," Her tone was grounded, she wasn't kidding or backing down from her stance. "That guy is a bad man, Shadow. A very, bad man. He needs to be stopped, and if you need to use my power to beat him, then it can't be helped. We're not gonna let him hurt you or Sonic ever again, right?"
Shadow nodded, a little relieved she only knew he starved, and not the other terrible things Infinite did to him. "Right."
"Alright," She made a confident smile. "Then you and I have a lot of work to do, mister!"
"Err," He blinked. "What do you mean, Maria?"
Another voice chimed in.
"Quite the surprise, right?"
3:50 PM
Shadow's ear perked up to the sound of another voice. He turned around and saw Zonic step into the room with two steaming coffee cups in his hands. The door was wide open, waiting for them to exit. "Zonic...?"
The blue soldier handed a cup over to the biohog, who hesitantly took it as a sign of goodwill. He quickly saw that Maria's power was causing it to boil. "I found out about this human friend of yours becoming a Divine Spirit years ago, but I was never allowed to inform you, as I wasn't even allowed to meet you or Sonic prime in person yet. When you arrived in No Zone, Zhadow and I wanted to explain to you the situation first before showing you her presence. We also needed to know if we could trust you." He took a small sip of his coffee, all black. "Of course, I still don't, but my general does and I suppose his word is strong enough to allow this to happen. Besides," He made a faint smile. "You deserved to see her either way." His eyes somberly looked somewhere else. "All Shadow templates do. Count yourself lucky that you're the only one who can still speak with his Maria." Maria smiled and curiously floated over to the first lieutenant general. She tried to poke his shoulder, but her hand went right through. Zonic lightly chuckled at this. "Heh. Hello, there. You're quite energetic, aren't you?" The girl was an absolute delight, so much so that she even made a dried up prune like Zonic smile instantly. He glanced back at Shadow. "Unfortunately, you are the only person she can physically interact with. And only those of Chaotic Blood can see her. However, I cannot feel or hear her either. She's powerful, but she needs to hone her abilities to be able to walk amongst the living like a true Divine Spirit. She hasn't been using enough power to do so."
Maria continued to mess with Zonic, her hand phasing in and out of his face as she tried to pluck him. Zonic wasn't bothered at all, and found it rather adorably amusing. Shadow did too, but he had no idea what either of the two meant by this sudden revelation. "Are you saying that me not using my super form too often is why she hasn't met her true potential yet?"
Zonic nodded. "Indeed. If you had used your super form as much as Sonic prime, she'd be-" He winced at the girl's transparent arm going right through his eye. "-A very forceful entity. A fearsome one at that, one that could interact with the physical world almost as much as if she was alive. That's why she said you need to assist her with aiding her abilities so she can become as strong as a true Divine Spirit. They have no trouble walking amongst the living since they're living breathing entities. They only choose a spirit form to allow themselves to be summoned as super forms by other Chaos Born." He watched as the human girl floated back over to Shadow's side. "Her circumstances are different, so she'll never actually be alive again and she's tied to your body, but that's just a small limit in the grand scheme of things. It's pretty simple, actually. All you have to do is have her active whenever you use your chaos abilities, and she'll be able to assimilate the experience. Soon, she'll be able to do the same as they do."
The girl nodded in confirmation, causing Shadow to blink. "What...? What do you mean?"
"Maria prime is abnormally intelligent for her age, being related to a line of geniuses, so I'm sure she's already figured it out." As the two—well, three of them walked out of the empty Room of Realities, the door locked up tightly behind them. "You see, Maria prime was asleep or 'inactive' whenever you weren't using her as your super form. She wakes up and becomes 'active' when you do. This isn't normally how a super form, or a Divine Spirit rather, is supposed to work." Zonic walked behind his desk and sat down in his chair while continuing to sip his coffee. "A Divine Spirit has the power to be active in your body whenever you or it chooses, only becoming inactive by the same rule. I made it so that you both could have the choice of allowing her to be active or inactive whenever you want. I used my Chaotic Blood to empower her to do so by officially installing her on the Divine Pyramid, with the Light One's permission. It's supposed to be a choice shared from both parties, as a super form cannot work unless the spirit synchronizes itself with the host's soul. It's a temporary fusion of sorts, and you both must work simultaneously to function as a working unit. Otherwise, the transformation fails and there's no super form."
Shadow furrowed his brows. "So why did faker struggle with control over that demon? If they were at odds, the transformation should have failed."
"Ah," Zonic nodded in satisfaction. "You caught that, not bad. You're right, that would normally cause a super form to fail. However, Fleetway, the Scarlet One, knows his power is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who gets cold feet would easily disrupt the transformation, so instead-"
The biohog frowned at the answer. "-He forces them to make a contract."
"Bingo. The Scarlet One is a demon, through and through." He leaned back in his chair and swished the contents in his cup around. "A Chaotic Contract forces complete synchronization with the host and their soul, regardless of their mental or physical refusal. After all, you can't just back out of a legally binding document, especially not one bound by chaotic power. The times Sonic prime broke control and tried to speak or act on his own, was only because Fleetway allowed him to. He likes playing with his food."
Damn...Okay, that was intimidating information. "Wait, can Maria do that too?"
Zonic made a difficult expression. "I want to say yes, as she is technically a Divine Spirit. Only powerful spirits can do so, but Maria prime can surely get there. The problem is, I'm not sure if the Divine Quadrant would appreciate an Overlander growing as powerful as them..." He grimaced considerably. "They're very touchy about people who fly too close to the sun. While you should allow Maria prime to gain more power, be mindful of the potential consequences."
"If you work for the spirits," Shadow said while walking closer towards the desk. "Why aren't you stopping me from doing this? Why did you even show me Maria and why did you give her the freedom to reunite with me?"
"..." Zonic looked somewhere else and made no answer to this.
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "...You say you hate us," He finally figured it out, Zonic's angle on things. "But like Zhadow said, you hate the spirits more than you hate Chaos Born. You want Maria and I to keep going, don't you?"
"...I'm not at liberty to answer that question at this time."
"Hmph," Shadow scoffed. "Zhadow trained you well." He felt Maria place her hands on his shoulders and peek over his head to peer down at him, making him smile more genuinely. "As much as I don't like you," He reached up to pet the girl's head. "I...Can't thank you enough for this. Zhadow told me that you wanted to show me something, but I never thought it'd be this—or her. You're the one who made it possible for us to be together, and it might be for your own gain but," He watched Maria giggle and nuzzle her face against his fur. "I don't think I've ever felt more happy than I do now. This is the greatest treasure I've ever received, and I am not going to let it slip from my hands again." They grasped each other's hands and squeezed tightly. "I have my family back, my real family."
Zonic continued to stare at nothing, his coffee in his hands as his expression seemed blank. "...I have nothing to gain from this. The other spirits of the quadrant could possibly see this as an act of anarchy, and kill me instantly."
Both Shadow and Maria's eyes widened from that. "What?"
...
...The first lieutenant general turned his back towards the two in his chair.
"...Go, enjoy each other's company while you can. She can be active whenever you want, but she still needs rest. Being out of your body is straining her since you're her host, she just doesn't realize it yet because it's only been over fifteen minutes." Shadow could hear a hint of hopelessness in his voice. Or the voice of someone who's already accepted their fate long ago. "You have three hours each day before she starts growing tired. If she is out of your body for too long, she will faint and become inactive for an unknown amount of time, meaning you won't be able to transform should the need for it arises. And in the worst case scenario, you won't even be able to use chaos energy until she regains her strength. The same goes if she is too far from your body. Over ten feet, she instantly faints and you feel immense pain all over your nervous system until you faint as well. I'd tell you to be careful, but you're smart enough to heed a warning. If you need assistance, or have questions about Maria prime's abilities, you may ask me via our earpieces. So go," He flagged them off, shooing them out of his office. "Go have fun together. You deserve it, both of you."
Maria frowned and looked down at Shadow, who shared her concern. He could have been killed for this and he did it anyway? What did he mean by that? Didn't he hate him? So why did he...Hmph. Even if he asked, Zonic definitely wouldn't answer him. Shadow sighed and continued to hold Maria's hand. "You're a strange person, Zonic. But for what it's worth, we're both grateful to you."
"..."
Shadow looked away. "Come on, Maria." He smiled up at her. "There's so many things I want to show you."
The girl gasped cheerfully. "I can't wait!"
August 19th
DAY 40: Tuesday
Acute Square
Morning, 9:00 AM
A Mobian blue hedgehog yawned as he sat up from bed. That was some good sleeping, it felt revitalizing. The nurses were right, a small rest was all he needed to feel better. He didn't even feel sore anymore, so he could probably take off these bandages. He stretched his fawn arms over his head before looking over at the high-tech digital alarm clock sitting on the nightstand. Chaos-It was already the next day! He didn't realize he was so tired. The nurses did say he should sleep for the rest of the day, and he did warn Shadow that he'd brick. Speaking up which, where was the ultimate life form? He looked over at his side, only to see the bed on this side was empty. He frowned, did he even return to the apartment? Shit, was he okay? No, this was Shadow, of course he was probably okay. Still, he couldn't help but worry a little bit. Things were nuts right now, anything could happen. He leaned against the headboard and placed his finger on the black studded earring. He pressed in and heard static, he activated the frequency. "Yo, Shads. Shadow, you there?" He didn't get an immediate answer, which only worried him more. He began to move his legs to get out of bed, he'd have to-
"Oh, you're finally awake." He heard back through the earpiece.
Sonic sighed in relief. "You asshole, don't scare me like that."
"You? Scared? Did the sky become filled with flying pigs, too?"
The hero scoffed. "Very funny. Good morning to you, too." He greeted in a grumpy tone as he stood up out of bed. "Where even are you?"
"I'm by the pool, and I have a surprise for you."
"Shads, if you spent money on me-"
"Sonic," He used his name seriously. "It's something way beyond that. Trust me, you need to see this. Come outside and talk to me after you freshen up."
The elder hedgehog only used his name like that whenever he was really adamant about something, he couldn't ignore it. Alright, he'd go down there after he showered and cleaned himself up. Once he got in the bathroom, he peeled off the bandages and threw them in the trash. He looked at his chest, arm and stomach, and saw that the wounds he got from the Cyber Corruption were all gone. Good, that was annoying. He hopped in the shower and cleaned off all the grime from yesterday. Afterwards, he washed his face and brushed his teeth. Nice of Zonic and Zhadow to equip the apartment with all the essentials they'd need. He groomed himself with a brush he found in one of the bathroom cabinets, seeing that it was newly bought. Nice. After he fixed his quills and looked over himself in the mirror, he saw that he looked good enough to see his lovely edgy boyfriend. He returned to the bedroom to pull on his gloves, socks and shoes. Once fully dressed, he decided that stairs and doors were for chumps. He walked out of the bedroom and traveled towards the door leading to the balcony. He opened it and stepped out, but once he did, he heard...laughing. Was Shadow talking and laughing to himself?
Sonic walked across the balcony before hopping over the glass railing and landing right behind the striped hedgehog. "Hey, who ya talkin' to?" Shadow turned around with the brightest smile he ever saw him wear. It caused a shiver to go up Sonic's spine, and he blushed a little. "W-Woah. You're in a real good mood, huh?"
Shadow smirked. "Heh, you have no idea." He stepped aside and gestured for Sonic to look beside him. "Sonic, meet Maria."
The hero had to make a double take. "Freakin' what? How-" That's when he saw a living phantom of golden aura step from behind Shadow. The person was a young Overlander, so they were naturally around the same height as both adult Mobian hedgehogs. It's why he couldn't see them until Shadow moved. He couldn't see a third shadow on the ground, this person didn't have one. He saw shoulder length blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, natural rosy cheeks and lips, and the face of an innocent human girl. She wore a royal blue puffy-sleeved blouse with light blue trims over a light blue, knee-length dress with long sleeves, a royal blue hairband and matching blue flats. She was smiling happily, swaying from side to side as she hummed to herself. While Sonic couldn't hear her, he could most definitely see her. And she was breathtaking. "T-This...This is-" He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "No..." He started chuckling to himself out of disbelief. "No freakin' way...Is this," He glanced at Shadow. "Is this really her?"
The biohog nodded proudly. "Yes. Cousin of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, granddaughter of Professor Gerald Robotnik and Commander Abraham Tower's childhood friend: This is Maria Robotnik."
Sonic was absolutely floored. "...She...S-She..." He cupped his hands onto the sides of his own muzzle. "She's sooooo gosh darn cute...!" He instantly zipped around the human girl to get a good look at her from all angles. She giggled in response. "Holy crap, she is so adorbs! You didn't even tell me she was this adorable, how is she this adorable!?" The Overlander girl blushed at the insistent compliments. "Her hair is so pretty! Her eyes look like oceans and her skin looks like porcelain glass! She's like a super expensive and super cute angelic antique doll!" Sonic placed his hands on his head frantically, this was cuteness overload. "Aww maaannn, she's makin' me gush like crazy. I haven't seen a kid this cute since I met Tails and Cream!" He saw that Maria was shyly elated with Sonic's presence and his endless praises. She looked like she was saying something, but he couldn't hear her. Sonic made a disappointed grimace, he really wanted to hear what the sweetheart sounded like. "Huh? I can't hear her, is that just me?"
Shadow shook his head. "No. She's a weakened Divine Spirit, so she's basically semi-incorporeal to anything else but me. I can feel and hear her, but others can't, they can only see her, and that's only if they're Chaos Born." To demonstrate this, Maria poked at Sonic's nose, but her finger went right through it. "She hasn't been active for a long time, not since I fought against Black Doom years ago. I've only used my super form a few times in my life, so I don't have much experience in using the power. As such, neither does she. Experience will help her figure out how to physically walk and talk amongst the living, but she still isn't alive. She's just that, a spirit. And she's been with me this whole time, sleeping."
Squinting his eyes, Sonic slowly passed his arm through the girl's stomach, which made her giggle playfully. "Woah. Wait," He just realized what Shadow was saying. "Wait, wait and wait. Maria's a Divine Spirit? She's your super form?"
Wait...
Please...save him...
...That's the voice he heard on the Egg Armada when Shadow died.
She really was here the whole time.
That means she was Shadow's trump card, a really gnarly one. He gawked at the little lady, how'd she even do that? And how can someone do that, much less a young girl? She was pretty strong for a kiddo. "Sheesh, how you come out swingin' the second I meet ya? You're way too overpowered, girl!"
"It apparently all happened just before the fight with the Biolizard." Shadow smiled as the two instantly bonded, playfully phasing their hands through each other like a couple of silly school children with a new holographic toy. He had a feeling he'd like her and she him, he never doubted it. The two were so alike, it only made sense. "Maria said she felt like she slept an entire age of time away when she died, before some golden spirit woke her up. She claims your power is what helped her become my Divine Spirit, allowing me to transform into Super Shadow for the first time."
"Oh snap...!" Sonic dodged the girl's pokes. "She's super quick...Makes sense when you break it down, and I'm happy to know that I helped bring her out of you-Yikes...!" He dodged another. "Ohohooo, now I see where Shads gets his competitiveness from." He and Maria stared each other down as they eyed for an opening. Shadow raised a brow, they couldn't even touch each other. The hell were they doing? "How'd ya get her to come out in the first place-Oof! Almost got me there."
Shadow only shook his head. Both of their abilities to make friends with people was startling. "Zonic is the one who helped me bring her out, using his own blood and a Chaotic Sigil. He explained that she's an enigma, and neither he or the Divine Spirits know how she was able to even become one. He said they're living entities that interact with the physical world easily, and that they only choose a spirit form so they can be summoned by other Chaos Born. Maria though..." He looked over at the human girl, who paused when she felt Shadow was staring at her. "She's dead and we've both accepted that fact, as hard as it was for both of us to do." She made a somber smile at him. "She's not supposed to be able to...do any of this. And at any moment, I might not be able to ever see her again if I lose my ability at transforming." He noticed that the two ended their game of phantom tag, giving Shadow their full attention to his words. "Like I said, none of us understand how or why that worked out." He smiled gratefully at her. "But I'm so glad it did, and we'll both enjoy this for as long as it can last. Zonic said that even when she returns to my body, she'll be active, so her spirit will live on through me as it did before. She'll see, hear and feel everything I experience, and she can rest and become inactive any time she wants since she knows how to control it now." Maria floated towards the biohog and hugged him, immediately squishing her face against his cheek. "I can't have her out of my body for too long, or else she'll eventually get tired and I won't be able to use her power during an emergency for some time. She also can't be away from me for too far a distance, or it'll cause physical pain to my body."
Sonic nodded slowly at this information. It was a lot to take in, but he was just happy Shadow had the chance to be with his big sister again. "Gotcha. Uhh," He suddenly made a shameful expression. "I'd whisper to you, but since you guys are connected, she'd probably hear me anyway. Um," He scratched behind his head, he didn't know how to say this. "Does she...um," He cringed at himself for even asking this, but he really needed to know. "Can she, err...feel, see or hear, when we're...y'know...?" He hoped to God Shadow knew what he was talking about. He didn't know the exact age of the girl when she perished, but she looked like a twelve to fourteen-year old. He refused to explicitly bring up such a topic with a child slash young teen around, dead or not.
Shadow blinked. "Hm? Feel when we're what?"
Maria tilted her head curiously before glancing between the two hedgehogs.
...
...Suddenly Shadow's face became a little red. "Oh."
"Yeaaahhh..." Sonic winced.
"Uhh," Shadow averted his eyes from the girl. "I asked Zonic after she became inactive last night via earpiece, as I feared the same thing. He aptly informed me that I can limit what she can experience through me, even if I'm transformed. Maria already understands if I need her to become inactive while I'm...'busy.'" He hated the subject of this discussion so much. "The most she can feel is that I love you, but that's basically it. She won't know or understand what I'm doing, she'll just be resting while unconsciously sharing her power with me. Plus, if I'm in a fight, I don't want her to feel the pain I feel. Decisions like this have to be shared between both the host and the spirit, but Maria is very trusting of me so it's practically automatic. In summation," He was glad to rid Sonic of his very valid concerns. "We don't have to worry. She'll instantly become inactive if we end up...doing something, even if I'm using her power. She'll be okay with it, she already understands that I might need some privacy every so often."
Sonic made a huge sigh of relief. "Thank God, I was ready to puke..."
"No kidding. Anyway," Shadow added with a sigh, that was a horrible conversation he'd never want to have again. "Zonic said we had a good three hours per day before she'd have to return to my body. We're almost literally attached to the hip, so I wanted to enjoy the day with her as much as I could before she has to go. We spent time with each other yesterday before we both went to bed to rest, and I wanted to do that again later today if we had the chance." Shadow respectfully asked Sonic for his permission. "Is...that okay?" As he asked, Maria took this time to place her chin atop the ultimate life form's head, her big pretty eyes peering down on the hero innocently.
She seemed content there, and Sonic couldn't help but smile at this. They were so precious together. "Aww, of course it's okay Shads. What kind of jerk would I be if I said 'no'?" He grinned as Maria made bunny ears with her fingers behind Shadow. She was just as playful as the hero was, he loved that. "Pfft, heheh. She's way too cute to refuse. She's a doll, you two go off and have a grand ol' time. Do it for me."
Maria looked very pleased with Sonic's words. "Heehee..." She appreciated his compliments even more. Static was heard from both Shadow and Sonic's ear pieces. The girl tilted her head and poked at the biohog's ear. "Hmm? You got an earring? Who's this talking...?" She murmured. Both hedgehogs became alert, as this was more than likely either Zhadow or Zonic contacting them.
"Shadow prime, Sonic prime, come in. Zonic and I require your presence at this moment in time."
50 - END - 50
Chapter 51: Diameter
Summary:
Attempting to talk over their next plan of action, the two blue hedgehogs butt heads.
Chapter Text
51 - Diameter - 51
9:05 AM
As the hedgehog duo stepped inside the general's grand office, Shadow uttered a simple command to his spirit companion, who was absolutely fascinated by the futuristic architecture. "Maria, return." The human girl fluttered her eyes before nodding with a smile and phasing herself back within the biohog's body. Sonic watched beside him with a slacked jaw. He didn't say anything, but Shadow could tell he was thinking, "That's so freakin' cool...!" or something similar. The girl was not inactive, she could still hear and see what was happening through Shadow's perspective. Zonic was stood beside his general's large desk, writing within a thick, old notebook. Sonic noticed the engagement ring Shadow mentioned. Zhadow meanwhile, was tapping his finger irritably against the surface while glaring at the wall. He was obviously miffed by something, which was a little unsettling. It seemed like nothing bothered the guy, 'guess they were wrong. Sonic and Shadow walked to the white loveseat and respectfully gave the leader their attention. There was silence except for the sound of Zonic's pen. The primes glanced at each other.
Was everything okay?
"I mean," Zhadow suddenly exclaimed abrasively. "Who the hell are they to tell me who I can and can't have a conference with?"
Zonic slowly directed his eyes to his general. "Sir-"
"I'm the God damn general of this city and the entire nation." The No Zone commander growled. "That should be my call, not theirs."
Oh dear, he was really starting to rant. Zonic tried his best to pacify him. "I understand that sir, but-"
"So what if I happen to be late now and then?" Zhadow suddenly stood up, causing everyone to stare awkwardly. "I'm the only one doing any actual fucking work around here, imperative matters that require my attention." He began to pace behind his desk. "I should be able to request exclusive time with the president any time I wish. They're literally stretching me thin as it is, and that pussyfooted mayor decides to be cute and run to the buffalo bastard. I should have ripped that little bitch a new tie with his own severed neck-"
"-Sir, the primes are already here and you're embarrassing yourself."
"Zonic, sincerely," Zhadow absentmindedly cut him off. "Is it just me?
Zonic sighed quietly. "No sir, it's not just you-"
"-Does my word mean nothing anymore? I had that coward shitting himself after Shadow prime destroyed the room." He had his teeth clenched angrily. "Are people not taking me seriously?" The doors to the room suddenly opened, a Zone Cop holding a single cup of steaming hot coffee. They looked nervous, and Zhadow's exasperation only intimidated them more. It was a Zonian fennec fox, probably a new recruit because this was basically intern work. They were skinny under that uniform, too. "Do I really need to start ripping kneecaps out of every single politician in this God forsaken city for them to realize that I am not the one to trifle with?" Zhadow was almost yelling, his tone oddly feral sounding.
Zonic placed his notebook down on the desk, took the cup from the soldier and nodded to them gratefully, while also silently dismissing them. The newbie saluted while trembling, before rushing out of the office. Zonic turned back to his leader, who was still angrily ranting. He stepped behind the desk and carefully approached. He moved behind Zhadow and smoothly wrapped an arm around him. "Sir," Zonic's voice deepened soothingly. He rubbed his hand up to his shoulder while the other gently passed the coffee over to him, his face close to the side of his tan muzzle. Zhadow's rant faded into silence as he felt his rookie's touch. Zonic then kissed the corner of his lips, watching his superior lightly blush from this public act of affection. "You need to relax." Zonic whispered almost sensually.
"..." Zhadow looked down from behind his shades, noticing his rookie was wearing his ring as promised. Damn it, his face grew a little more red. Zhadow went from angrily scowling to meekly pouting in seconds.
"Sir," Zonic's abrupt dream-like voice haunted his ears once again, his hand lightly rubbing itself against his shoulder blade more. "Would you like to binge watch The Real Housewives of Parallel City later tonight?" It was like his lips were just barely pecking at his ears. "I know you've missed a month or two thanks to your schedule, so I had them automatically recorded on our TV when they aired." His hand rubbed a teensy bit lower to his collar bone. It was quite auspicious that they were wearing uniforms, because it felt like Zhadow's entire body was on fire and sweaty. Zonic never flirted like this so openly in front of others. He was really keeping true to that promise they made. "You work so hard, you deserve to take it easy once in a while." He praised him tenderly. "We'll be able to relax in bed later tonight, okay?"
In bed? Damn, did he intend for that to sound so arousing? Zhadow liked how he was massaging the left side of his body, it felt good. He reached for the coffee and gradually grasped it. "You...did that?" Zhadow asked quietly. "Even though we were at odds?"
Zonic nodded. "I told you, I never stopped loving you." He gazed at him longingly with his dark green eyes.
Damn.
He really didn't expect him to say that or look at him like that. With a small gulp, Zhadow cleared his throat. If the primes weren't here, he would have tackled Zonic on the desk and spread his legs wide open. "Um," He tried to play it cool. "Yes, I...would like that. Thank you, first lieutenant general."
"Of course..." Zonic suddenly caressed the side of his face before turning him around, their backs facing their Mobian counterparts. The vice leader swiftly leaned close for a quick, but firm kiss. Zhadow forced himself not to moan. Why did his lips taste sweeter than usual? Zonic broke the kiss and slyly licked his lips. "...Sir." He eyed Zhadow up and down with a lustful stare before dragging his hand down his chest and off his body. Zhadow silently gawked at his lover, who simply turned and walked away. He stood back in front of the desk to address the primes. "I apologize for my general's...Um, very vocal political grievances. Disregard this." He could tell Zhadow was uncomfortable being in this office due to his work, so perhaps they could take this somewhere else for the time being. "This room is stuffy. Here," He dug in his pocket for a warp ring. "We'll talk in a more pleasant location. Follow me."
He threw the ring to the side of the room, a portal instantly opening soon after it landed.
Town Square
9:10 AM
The four hedgehogs exited the portal and out into Town Square. Zhadow sipped his coffee and kept a tensive eye on his rookie. The Mobians noticed this, why was he staring at him like that? It wasn't in a dreamy, infatuated way, it was in a more ravenous way. Again, not in a sensual sense—in a literal feral, hungry glare. Was he okay? The general seemed way more hostile than usual today. Momentarily, Zonic leaned over to him and whispered something, probably a sweet-nothing. Zhadow's demeanor only slightly improved, but he still looked on edge. As much as they despised the Sonic-lookalike, they couldn't help but notice how ironically unguarded he seemed around Zhadow, which was cute. It was probably the only time they've ever seen him genuinely smile, and he was much more loving to the general than their first meeting. After a minute of walking, the two Mobians hedgehogs noticed the city folk around them. They were conducting their daily lives, on their phones or walking with their children. Some of them traversing vertically. They looked up to see that the Town Hall, which was only a small street away, was heavily damaged and was currently being repaired. That street in particular was closed off for safety. The biohog sweat dropped, whoops. There was a mall close by, along with a cat-cafe a couple streets away. Now that was truly precious, Sonic would have to take Shadow there. He knew it wasn't his scene, but he wanted to see his reaction to all the little kitties. He had such a rough exterior, perhaps he'd melt the instant he got his hands on a baby kitten.
Zonic walked ahead of the three and began to speak, as the area they were in within the square was very void of people at the moment. Now was the perfect time to talk. "Sorry about that Shadow prime," He apologized specifically to Shadow while glancing at his superior, who was now eerily silent at the moment. "He's been a little stressed ever since yesterday's meeting with the mayor, which was no fault of your own. Forgive his behavior."
Sonic frowned and lowered his eyelids. "Err, I'm still here too. Did you wanna talk to both me and Shadow, or are we gonna keep pretending like I don't exist?"
His counterpart only glared at him, before closing his eyes and sighing. "...Ugh."
"Zonic." Zhadow called, silently reminding him of what they talked about.
"I know, sir. Anyway," He just brushed Sonic off and continued to speak, while the hero only rolled his eyes. "What you've both accomplished yesterday gave us startling information. While my superior deduced that chaos energy was being used within the Power Sewers, he didn't expect it to be corrupted within the power sparks of the city itself." He bowed his head graciously. "Thanks to your efforts, energy is no longer being stolen from the city and more can be shared amongst other metropolises in No Zone. According to our reports made by officers Zespio and Zector, Sonic prime injured himself for the sake of restoring the city's northern power core. Meanwhile, Shadow prime didn't find any conflicting chaos energy within the southern power core, but did confront a rogue No Zone officer, who turned out to be Counselor Zouge in disguise. We're not sure if she was supposed to be guarding it, or was just at the right place at the right time for some unknown reason. Regardless, she was mind controlled into attacking you."
Shadow nodded. "Yes, General Zhadow informed me she was trapped within some hacked prototype version of your armor. I also understand she had been missing for a year."
Zonic made a solemn expression. "Yes, she was. None of us had any idea what happened to her, she didn't even leave a note. We see now she must have been kidnapped. We'd like to probe her, but she's unfortunately still unconscious with bedrest. Thankfully, the Cyber Corruption wasn't as drastic as we feared and the doctors were able to pump most of it out of her system. She'll be able to wake up after a few days and start her recovery." He glanced at Sonic. "I'm sure you can understand how painful that was, given that you were experiencing a similar treatment."
Sonic made a pained frown. "Yeah, no kidding..." He looked over at Shadow. "They take this tube, hook it up to some weird device, stick it in your body and have it suck the energy outta you through the areas that were corrupted. With electricity, right in your guts." He saw the biohog wince at his words. That sounded like that really hurt. "Oh yeah, it was no picnic. Apparently, they said it's best they don't numb the pain 'cause the effects of anesthesia along with the electricity and corrupted cyber energy has a chance of screwing up the nervous system." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't tell you 'cause I know you would have blown a gasket, I'm sorry." He saw that Shadow only shook his head silently, he didn't mind. With how he yelled at Sonic earlier that day, he could understand why he didn't want to irritate or worry his lover even further. "The nurses said I had a really small amount of it hurtin' me, so what I went through wasn't too bad. But that Rouge lookalike sounded like she had way more than I did, so her procedure was probably way worse. I can only imagine the pain she felt."
The hero's twin nodded in approval, he said only facts. "He's correct, Cyber Corruption is no laughing matter and can very easily kill it's victim in the most painful way possible. Hacked cyber energy becomes corrupted, and in some cases, spreads like a literal virus." He glanced at Shadow. "You and my superior are very lucky you didn't contaminate yourselves with Counselor Zouge's corruption, or you'd both be stuck in the infirmary ward right now. Fortunately, her corruption wasn't very contagious, so you're safe. Nonetheless," He continued. "We've concluded that Zouge more than likely isn't the only No Zone soldier that's been kidnapped and used as a puppet by Zobotnik. There are other No Zone officers who have either gone missing, or hastily went into retirement at strange points of their career in the last couple of years." He made a frown, almost as if he was internally blaming himself. "The incidents were few and far in between, as only ten soldiers, counting Counselor Zouge, have gone missing or retired over two years. Three went missing, seven left the force for unknown reasons and went AWOL. We never knew why, and despite our best efforts, could never find or contact them."
Zhadow decided to speak on that as the military's leader, since it was ultimately his responsibility. "They all had something in common: They didn't have families to go back to, so no one would raise any suspicions if they suddenly stopped coming into work. However, Zouge was my former partner, best friend, one of Zonic's mentors and officer Zespio's teacher. Even death row prisoners who attended her counseling sessions sobbed at the news of her absence. She was beloved by the entire force, so everyone couldn't ignore her sudden disappearance." He took a sip of his coffee. "Not only that, but everyone who went missing were low ranking, weak No Zone soldiers. Zouge is the only high ranking former soldier who went missing. Naturally, she was the strongest victim despite only being a veteran. She was also the last to disappear."
"Yes," Zonic concurred with an angry scowl. "This is no coincidence. We believe someone has been targeting soldiers to kidnap them, force them into hacked suits and mind control them to do their nefarious deeds. The only person we know with the genius, motive, resources and malice to do such an act, would be Warden Zobotnik." He placed his hand in his jacket pocket and held up one of those super skinny smart phones, before he pulled at the corners of the device to stretch it into a bigger screen. The technology of this world was beyond fascinating, they'd probably never see another world like this ever again in their entire lives. Now the size of a tablet, Zonic began tapping his fingers against the thin screen. "I've calculated a few simulations and I theorized that this is only the beginning. The power strengthening the sky base's shield might be weakened thanks to you two, but it's not down and won't be destroyed anytime soon. My superior tried infiltrating it yesterday during the attack on the HQ, but he couldn't get inside no matter what he hit it with. We still lack the power to do so. While it's been a while since a soldier has gone missing, we can't drop our guard. Zobotnik might be making plans to kidnap more of our people. As for moving forward, we need to figure out a way to destroy the forcefield without corrupting ourselves. Warping is impossible, since we don't have a code to locate and properly warp us inside of the base. Besides, doing so would severely corrupt the portal and anyone who steps outside of it thanks to that forcefield."
"It's probably something underground..." Sonic casually said.
Zonic blinked and momentarily looked up from his tablet. "Come again?"
"Well, 'cause the Eggman in our world hid his last base underground in an abandoned chemical factory." He explained with a heavily thoughtful face, his tone focused. "He operated there, but also had a secret elevator that took him up high in a restored area of the factory, which secretly held an entire armada raring to go at the push of a button. Eggman can be a predictable idiot sometimes, but other times, he completely pulls the rug out from under us with something totally out of left field." He glanced upwards at the sky, staring into the distance at the stratosphere-level floating base. "I know it isn't fair to compare completely different Robotniks, but I'm starting to see that Mobius and No Zone do have some similarities, including the four of us. So," He looked back at Zonic. "Who's to say the same isn't being done here? The smartest move your Eggman would make is to do something beneath your city and not in the sky where you can clearly see his base. He's obviously too scared to come down here himself, so if he's kidnapping people, he's probably-"
"Illiterate." Zonic simply retorted.
Sonic was caught off guard by that. "Huh?"
"That's stupid." The blue soldier reiterated. "No Zone HQ has complete control over underground areas, it'd be impossible for him to operate anywhere below our city. Let it never be said that your Robotnik can be compared to ours."
"Well yeah, but just listen for a sec." Sonic attempted to stay civil. "I'm goin' with my gut here, and it's never wrong. I'm telling you-"
"Ridiculous." Zonic scowled. "That argument holds no basis and I implore you to cease such an inane notion." After making a few more taps on his tablet, he handed it over to Zhadow from behind without even looking. Zhadow didn't like Zonic's tone, but hesitantly took the tablet to glance at the screen. "Unlike Mobius, No Zone deals in facts. Not 'gut feelings' that have absolutely no evidence whatsoever to back up their theories. Hmph," He looked down upon Sonic in distaste. "Gut feelings are too risky to be trusted and a risk I'm not willing to take or listen to. If anything, your childish ideas could get us all killed simply because your intuition was wrong. While I admit that we do not have a plan at the moment, putting your useless two-cents in is a waste of time. Now if you have an idea that actually holds water, by all means Sonic prime," He gestured for him to finally speak. "Go right ahead."
The hero's face remained neutral as he stared at his counterpart. "...So am I actually allowed to talk now, or are you gonna chew my tongue out again for breathing wrong?"
"I already gave you permission to speak, Sonic prime."
"I don't need your permission to do shit, Napoleon."
Okay, the biohog cut off Maria's hearing so she didn't have to listen through this nonsense. He mentally advised her not to pay any attention to this argument. Shadow tried to intervene and took a step ahead of Sonic to confront Zonic. "How many times do I or Zhadow have to ask you to stop berating him needlessly like this? How old are you? Aren't you older than him? Act like it for Chaos' sake."
Sonic only shook his head and grasped Shadow's shoulder to pull him back. It wasn't worth it. "If Private Douchebag doesn't wanna listen to what I have to say, it's cool. Then when something happens and my gut is proven right, he'll just come bitching right back to us and demand that we help out. Again." Sonic scoffed as Shadow grew more concerned about the tension surrounding them at the moment. "Crazy how even the spirits knew you couldn't handle this on your own, asshole. Some Overseer you are, right?"
Zonic's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he didn't respond back just yet. Zhadow was starting to sense that this conversation was growing more than heated. He pushed the corners of the tablet to shrink it back down into a smartphone, and placed it in his pocket instead. He'd return it to Zonic later. He stepped beside his lover and tried to curve his attitude. "Zonic, we talked about this. Stop it." He whispered to his ear. "Sonic prime is not what you witnessed three years ago. You can't snap on him for simply existing."
"Oh my," Zonic chuckled sarcastically. "My apologies general, Shadow prime, but it's quite hard for me to listen to the words of a shameless, smug, whore."
"..."
The general's shades became slightly lopsided on his face, while the biohog was too stunned to even defend Sonic.
Shadow and Zhadow glanced at each other, before gawking back at Zonic. They didn't think he'd say something like that to the hero, and didn't know what to do or how to remedy this situation. Meanwhile, Sonic continued to look scarily unbothered by that insult. Both blue hedgehogs continued to gaze at each other in complete silence, the tension growing so thick that it was strangling anyone from speaking. Okay, maybe they could just slowly escort their respective Sonics away from each other and calm them down separately. Yes, that seemed to be the best course of action.
As Shadow and Zhadow attempted to speak to their lovers-
-It was too late.
Sonic took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly as he closed his eyes.
He only had one thing to say:
"Yup."
A gold buckled red sneaker suddenly slammed itself directly into the side of Zonic's shoulder, nearly breaking it upon impact.
"...!" Zonic's dark green eyes shrunk as he realized what was happening.
How did he move so fast? When did he get up close to him without him noticing? Why couldn't he see him coming? Did his speed increase even more since they last fought? After his eyes peered down at his Mobian counterpart's limb striking into his shoulder blade, he then slowly and angrily glared at the blue hero with wrathful vengeance. He clenched his teeth fiercely and painfully as he felt the agony spread throughout the left side of his upper body. Sonic only glared at him right back, his expression dark with rage. Sonic landed on the ground a few feet away from his twin, and awaited his retaliation with a very tensed up body. Zonic gritted his teeth as he felt his bones slightly shift from how hard he kicked him. Any harder, and he would have fractured it. Sonic half expected Zonic to reach for his belt and pull out his baton, but he didn't. He only tightened his fists and growled, his quills slightly raising and sharpening. Zonic was more than tired of hearing the blue blur's mouth, as everything he said was nothing but nonsense and useless to their objective. Meanwhile, Sonic was tired of playing nice with someone who was adamantly hostile with him. Constant insults were one thing, but commenting on his personal life? One that he already wasn't proud of? That was no one's business but his own. A guy could take but so much. Sonic was silently doing the same, more than ready for what Zonic would do next. Before Shadow or Zhadow could move to stop them, something hopelessly unpredictable happened yet again.
Light red energy abruptly concentrated behind the blue twins, before materializing and constructing a humongous and towering figure.
The striped hedgehogs looked upwards, knowing that this situation was about to go from bad to worse very quickly. Pieces of strong hardened metal digitized onto the giant figure, and created portions of a metallic structure. The ground began to shake, and civilians from afar panicked and began yelling while pointing. In black and dark red tungsten looking material, a gigantic mega mecha-robot stood before them and was completely engulfed in candy red corrupted cyber energy. It had the cartoonish face and metal pieces of a pair of glasses and a mustache. That only symbolized one thing: Eggman. Or in this case, Zobotnik. The ginormous droid was heavily armored and ready to attack, looking down upon the civilians with the one emotion it could digitally have—gleeful sadism. Shadow noticed that this thing was indeed similar to an Eggman mech, but it did look both more advanced and deadly. If it moved from this spot, even by an inch, it'd destroy a building or two instantly. They couldn't let it move from this area or else it'd breach the rest of area and demolish all of Parallel City.
Shadow steadied his body and got ready to move. "General, we have to-"
Zhadow was already a step ahead of him, Cyber Controlling his coffee away to a nearby public trash can and pulling his baton out of his belt. He lifted it up before stabbing the end of it into the stone ground. He twisted the handle into a few clicks, light blue energy glowing and concentrating into the rocks. A grid glowed with cyber energy and appeared beneath their feet. A dome of light blue digital power stretched overhead and surrounded the entire town square. Now shielded with a forcefield, whatever damage that would be done here wouldn't effect the rest of the city. Zhadow then reached his free hand to his collar to press in and radio his men. "This is Dullahan reporting to any and all nearby officers on duty. Code 11, 10-59, several dozen citizens nearby. Do not engage with the droid. I repeat-Do not engage with the droid, only enter the vicinity if a civilian strays. Stay clear of the forcefield until the incident has been resolved. Respond with your frequency if you copy, over." After announcing his orders, he lifted his baton from the ground and placed it back on his belt.
And then he just...placed his hands in his pockets and continued to watch. He didn't lift a finger or foot to help fight the robot or at the very least, stop the two blue hedgehogs from fighting.
Shadow stared in amazed befuddlement.
Zhadow glanced at his twin. "What?"
"What the hell do you mean 'what'?" The biohog exclaimed as he pointed just ahead of them, where both of their problems were. "We need to stop those two morons before they get themselves hurt!"
Zhadow continued to stare nonchalantly. "No need. If they fight, that robot will become collateral damage in no time." He pulled out a white pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his jacket pockets. As he pulled out a couple of cancer sticks, he stuffed the pack back in his pocket while flipping open his lighter. Shadow saw several soldiers zip passed them on foot and on motorcycles in the air, entering the city passed the square and ignoring both the robot and the forcefield where their leaders were. They showed up pretty quickly. "I've already notified my officers to appear in the city to help escort civilians to safety, while the stronger soldiers are on standby and ready to act in case things get worse." He ignited the lighter and lit his cigarette. He placed the lighter back in his pocket and began to take in a puff. "No one except No Zone officers are able to enter or leave this forcefield, and that includes objects. Since we're in the middle of the square, there aren't any buildings that risk receiving damage. In other words," He blew out a stream of smoke. "We don't need to do anything."
While he appreciated how prepared he was, he didn't appreciate his lack of concern for their other problem. Namely, their lovers actively trying to kill each other. "Are you telling me we should let them fight? They'll kill each other!"
The general made a small laugh. "Pfft. No they won't."
"...!?" Okay, Shadow was going to fight his own twin next at this rate. His carelessness was pissing him off. "Are you serious right now? This isn't a joke! Sonic has a temper, but he keeps it in check as much as possible. He keeps everything to himself until it all eventually boils over. If he gets pissed, that's bad. Meanwhile, Zonic's default emotion is anger and I'm sure that little exchange they had was only the tip of the iceberg. If we don't stop them, they will kill each other!" A cigarette was suddenly offered to him. "...?"
"Look at it this way," Zhadow said calmly while handing the ultimate life form a stick. "Sonic prime is too pacifistic to kill. While Zonic talks a lot of shit, he can be quite merciful, unless he is absolutely forced not to. Not only that, but Chaos Born are strictly prohibited from killing Chaotic Brethren of other realities, especially Overseers. If this rule is broken and if he lethally wounds Sonic prime, Zonic will be instantly killed as punishment by the spirits, and he knows this." He took another drag. "Trust me. You do not want to get in the middle of a fight between two Sonics. Never a good idea. This is not the first time Zonic has fought a Sonic template, however this is the first time where he was in the wrong. Usually he'd have to subdue a rogue Sonic template who went against the spirits' wishes, but this...this is entirely juvenile and honestly, he needs to be humbled." He sighed as smoke drifted from both his nostrils and his lips. "Zonic is too hardheaded to play nice, no matter how many times I ask him to do so. Perhaps this will be the only way he'll learn. You and I both know that Sonic prime isn't one of the weaklings Zonic fought in other realities. He's one of the strongest, whether Zonic is willing to admit it or not." He saw Shadow slowly take the cigarette and stare at it harshly. "Even if he was allowed to kill Sonic prime, he couldn't, and he's about to learn that the hard way." He stepped closer to hold up his lighter and light up his cig. "Let them fight. If it goes too far, then we'll step in. In the meantime," He said while returning the lighter in his pocket, looking up at the droid before glancing back down at the two blue twins. "I'd say enjoy the show and let them destroy that robot while they're at it. Kill two birds with one stone."
Shadow made a heavy sigh as he gazed at his lit cigarette.
He closed his eyes and placed it between his lips.
He cut off Maria's sense of touch, but she could see what he was doing and she reluctantly understood. She didn't like cigarettes, as Gerald used to smoke cigars and she hated the smell, but she did understand that this was still Shadow's body and he had every right to do whatever he wanted with it. That included smoking. He could feel that she didn't like it, but accepted it and he was grateful for that. They both didn't want her to feel him putting this in his lungs, so the decision to null her physical senses for the moment was mutual. He remembered how he and Rouge used to share a few sticks during missions together. He too gazed at his blue lover from afar, a little concerned about him getting hurt. However, he had to mentally scold himself from doing so. Zonic was an intimidating force to be reckoned with, as he fought both Shadow and his Mobian counterpart at the same time, and defeated their friends all at once. Sure he left with bruises and a broken rib, but everyone else had been brutally beaten before he left their reality. However, Sonic was powerful, no one could deny that. He's been fighting horrors of great strength ever since he was a little boy, and only fought stronger enemies with every incident that would come after without fail.
He was scarily adaptable, and he never gave up no matter what. Underestimating him was a terrible error and would be someone's undoing, something Shadow experienced himself with the hedgehog more than once. He didn't like that he was being so overprotective of him, because Sonic didn't need that. He never needed protection, not in the slightest. He just didn't want him to get hurt again, because it reminded him of...what happened in the armada, the incident that literally changed their lives forever. But he couldn't forget who he fell in love with either, and he had to start trusting Sonic more than that. He had this, he had to let him move on his own accord. After all, while they were in love with each other, Sonic was still as free as the wind to do whatever he pleased, which very much included fighting.
Besides, like Zhadow said: It would be quite unwise breaking a fight like this up.
As Shadow inhaled some of the smoke, Zonic got ready to move. "Let it never be said that I will be held responsible for what happens to you here today."
And let the games begin.
Zonic swung a heavy right hook directly into Sonic's face. It felt like he wasn't holding back at all, because that stung and throbbed way more than it did on Angel Island. But since Sonic was pissed, the pain didn't effect him in the slightest. He took the hit, but returned it in full with a punch of his own. Zonic was a little surprised by how much his abilities increased in just a month since they last fought, which means predicting his actions from here on out would be difficult. If that was the case, he'd have to stay in control and dictate the rest of this fight. He charged forward and seized Sonic's arm before sprinting away with him in tow. Two blue streaks raced off towards the left leg of the giant bot, with Zonic tossing and slamming Sonic into the metallic limb. The force was so powerful that his body dented through the material, destroying the lower part of the leg. The robot teetered a little from this, and looked down at the two twins. The hero grunted from the impact, but it didn't phase him for long. He saw Zonic rushing towards him, and he let it happen. He tackled the hero within the robot's giant foot, disappearing within it's machinery. Smoke and electrical debris flew out onto the ground, while the two black hedgehogs watched two blue lights shine within the robot's body. It traveled from the legs, the lower stomach, the torso and finally through the chest.
Sonic was now tackling Zonic out of the machine in the air, leaving a gaping hole in the robot's chest. A large spark of electrical failure ruptured within the droid, causing it to further lose balance and fall backwards against the force field's wall. Once it did, the cyber energy fried it's entire body, with a few cracks forming along the impact area. Sonic gripped Zonic's collar and spindashed with him in his hold. With heightened momentum, he threw down the vice leader back down onto the ground. Zonic landed on his feet and immediately sprinted after the hero. Just as Sonic landed himself, Zonic threw another punch. This time, he missed. Sonic threw one back, but he missed as well. They punched and kicked at each other in rapid succession, but they could never land a hit. When they did finally land an attack, they got stuck in a deadlock. Their fists were pushing against each other, having struck a punch at the exact same time. They both used their other hand to grip the other's, growling while attempting to push the other back.
Zhadow was smiling a little, until he noticed Shadow staring at him with a weirded out expression. "What? This is peak entertainment." He then looked back at the fight. "...And very attractive." Shadow was staring at him even more. Zhadow flagged him off. "Oh calm down, I'm ogling my Sonic, not yours."
While Shadow's jaw dropped at his twin's antics, the two blue hedgehogs broke the deadlock by kicking each other directly in the face, shooting them in opposite directions. They both landed against a wall of the force field with more tiny cracks developing behind them, but Sonic wasn't worried or pained in the slightest. He was too focused and too determined to stand his ground. Zhadow frowned at this, they were damaging the force field even more. Just as the true blue blur suspected, Zonic was coming back with startling speeds towards him. Sonic ran from the spot he was in, and charged towards the giant robot. It finally regained it's equilibrium, and lifted it's arm to reveal several missiles getting ready to fire from within it's metal plates. It fired them directly at the blue hedgehogs. With Sonic leading the way and Zonic chasing after him, they easily used the flying projectiles as stepping stones to get higher above ground and closer towards the bot's face. Just as Sonic took one more step, he suddenly spun around with a spinning kick, sending a missile directly towards Zonic. The first lieutenant thought quick and kicked it far away from his vicinity and into the surface of the forcefield several meters away. A larger vein of damage appeared. Sonic ran along the robot's left shoulder, and Zonic joined him by jumping onto the shoulder blade. The two glared each other down, now face to face once more.
Once again, Zonic took charge first and moved to attack. Sonic swiftly dodged by quickstepping to the side, allowing his twin's swing to miss and strike at the robot's shoulder. It caused a huge dent and sparks of power to flare out. The hero noticed how Zonic was using a lot of upper body attacks, much different from last time. While he was sure Zhadow was probably physically stronger than him, he still couldn't risk getting hit because his counterpart landed punches like a bag of bricks. Zonic continued to try and nail him, but he missed every single time. He would always lose his target at the very last second, striking the droid instead and slowly but surely ruining it's armor. The robot tried to raise it's hand and slam it down to crush the blue hedgehogs. They didn't even notice and continued fighting. When the droid smacked it's palm down onto his shoulder, it was sure that it would see a splatter of blue fur and blood mangled on it's palm. But before it could lift up it's hand, Sonic was suddenly thrown right through the center, making the entire hand and it's arm malfunction. Sonic landed painfully on it's forearm while Zonic tore his way out of the hole he created with the hero's body. He stepped out onto the wrist, then the arm, his fists clenching and prepared to strike again. The hero of Mobius slowly stood up, and practically welcomed Zonic to come at him once again. The blue soldier's face was wrinkled with fury, prepared to strike once more. He swung his arm for another punch, but Sonic caught it in his fist this time and pulled it down. Zonic then tried to swing his leg into his side, but Sonic blocked it with his knee.
With a dark smirk, Sonic crushed his fingers into Zonic's knuckles. He yanked Zonic closer, and trapped his attacking leg with his thighs from down below. He couldn't move, Sonic had practically constricted his limbs around his own from below, preventing him from moving any further.
What was he planning?
Oh.
"...!" Zonic's eyes widened at the mistake he made.
Zhadow sighed and shook his head. "Zonic, that was foolish of you."
51 - END - 51
Chapter 52: Cylinder
Summary:
The two true blues' fight come to a petulant end. When they reconvene to talk, they realize a troubling possibilty.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
52 - Cylinder - 52
9:30 AM
The blue soldier was in a bit of a predicament.
Sonic now had his thighs trapping Zonic's forearm, his hands still painfully gripping his wrist. He tightened this grip on his arm with both hands, and his weight caused Zonic to kneel down as he attempted to pull his arm back to no avail. Sonic maneuvered in front of him to forcefully tear off the sleeve of his uniform, revealing the armband he used on Angel Island. Sonic then grunted as he pulled at it. Zonic groaned painfully, and was shocked that Sonic was even doing this. He continued to try and pull himself away, but Sonic would not let go. He tried to punch him from behind but Sonic swung a backwards headbutt into him so hard, that he fell backwards onto his back with his twin on top of him. With one more huff, the hero ripped the armband off of his forearm, exposing his peach furred arm. Zonic was entirely alarmed, staring at his bare arm and now Sonic in disbelief at what he just did. Meanwhile Sonic stood up from his body, simply tossed the armband onto the ground below, and it plummeted with a very heavy thud. Shadow noticed it left a cratered indentation into the ground, that armband had a lot of weight to it. "Hey." Sonic said as his shadow loomed over his soldier counterpart's figure. "You've been watchin' me since I was little, right? Then you should know that it only takes one ass kicking for me to adapt to a new enemy. I did it with Knuckles, Shadow, and I can easily do that with you." He cracked his knuckles and blue chaos energy surged throughout his entire body threateningly. "All I need is one loss, and after that, I've already figured you all out. Not gonna lie, it took me a while to think about it..." He paced around Zonic as he slowly got up to glare at the blue hero. "...How to beat you if I ever had to go toe to toe with you again. Then I remembered you said No Zone inhabitants don't have any chaos energy at all because they're bodies are too weak to handle any amount of it."
Zonic mentally smacked himself from talking so much during their first meeting. He leaked out way too much information that Sonic wasn't supposed to know yet, leaked information that was now biting him in the ass. Zhadow always warned him about his anger, how it controlled him way too often during battle. He wished he listened to him.
"Which means," Sonic tilted his head deviously. "Y'all are basically weaker than Mobians of my world. Which also means, you're naturally weaker than me even at my worst. So I kept wonderin'," He said casually as he placed his hands behind his back, his body glowing with royal blue aura. "If you're so weak, how the hell are you able to not only keep up with me, but beat my ass into next week while shrugging off even the toughest attacks? Then I thought about your nifty little armbands, and how you showed 'em off when you got fed up with me back in my world. Those armbands are how you're able to take a beating, because they're actually placing a cyber shield over your entire body." He saw the vice leader clench his teeth in frustration, because Sonic totally figured it out. "I'm guessin' thanks to the risk of Cyber Corruption, the shield isn't very thick or strong, only tough enough to survive a battle or two. They're hidden underneath your uniform so your enemy can't figure it out, and even when they do, it's too late by that point. And that's also how you absorb chaos energy without even having to touch me. You hit a lot harder and faster without your cute police stick, and that style you use to fight is pretty damn deadly."
A whoosh brushed by Zonic's face, and he suddenly felt his other arm feel very light. Panicked, he looked down at his other arm only to see that the sleeve of his uniform was torn off once more. Both arms were bare, and were void of the iron armbands. He looked up at Sonic, who was playfully looking at it. He was so quick, that he stole it from him in that second of insecurity.
"I still don't know how you're so fast, but without these armbands giving you that extra layer of protection-" Sonic tossed the other one away as well, letting it land in some random area of the square. "You don't take punches and kicks like a champ anymore," He steadied his body in a fighting stance. "You take 'em like a bitch."
While Zonic was now a little intimidated, he still wouldn't back down just because his technique was revealed. He matched Sonic's demeanor, and was just as ready as he was to fight again.
Silence drifted between the two for a total of one second...
...
...
...
...Sonic's eyes glowed a neon green.
A sonic boom resonated throughout the entire city, causing Zhadow and Shadow to cover their ears. It was so strong that the robot was trembling, it's weight causing the ground to tremor. The bricks on the ground from below shivered against the concrete they were attached in, and even the windows of a few houses several miles away cracked. Shadow and Sonic knew how to do sonic booms very easily with their speed, but the biohog had never heard or witnessed him create one that forceful. That boom was enough to rocket Sonic towards his twin so fast that he couldn't predict or see him coming. A punch was coming his way, and he could not move his body fast enough to dodge or block it. It pressed directly into his muzzle, and the attack's compulsion threw Zonic off of his feet. He was knocked into the side of the robot's head, all the way through to the other side and onto the right shoulder. He landed hard, but he knew he had to get up to prepare for another attack. Panting, he got back up on his feet, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. His ear flicked at the sound of wind, and his body reacted faster than his brain. He raised his leg in the air, just barely blocking an attack from the hero. They kicked at each other blow for blow until Zonic bent down and rushed forward from below. He punched Sonic in the stomach, knocking the air out of him.
Sonic coughed out some saliva, feeling slightly lightheaded from that. Zonic then reached his hands towards him to seize him by the neck, before swinging his entire body down into the metal plating of the droid. He then looked down at Sonic's legs, which were moving to get back up. He grunted and shoved his steel toed boot onto his thigh, and he could feel his bone dislocate. "Agh...!" Sonic winced in pain, but the soldier knew very well that those powerful legs were the hero's weapon of choice. If he took those out, this fight would be easier. Now he just had to fully break it or at least make a fracture-
-Sonic made a cocky laugh as he just barely managed to swing a hard kick into Zonic, away from his body. He then charged closely to grasp Zonic's wrist once again.
"...!?"
"Haha! C'mon now-" His expression grew ominously playful. "-Lemme take you for a ride!"
Take him for a...?
Shadow and Zhadow cringed at what was going to happen next.
Zonic's eyes shrunk at the realization.
Another sonic boom went off as a royal blue streak ran along the body of the entire droid. Around the torso, up the arm, from below the pelvis, through the chest and so on and so forth. With every area Sonic sprinted to at mach speed, he whiplashed and slammed Zonic into the robot's armor. Both the velocity, force and upcoming collision with a surface that Zonic couldn't even see coming, he was both slowly losing his lunch and the fight. He had no idea how Sonic would move, as his actions since the fight started were completely erratic and unpredictable. He wasn't even using chaos energized abilities like he initially assumed he would, this fight was still almost entirely physical. The only chaos energy the hero was using was to boost his speed, nothing else. And without the armbands as the blue blur deduced, Zonic couldn't neutralize it or stop him from using it. Finally, Sonic slightly slowed his speed at the top of the robot's cranium to swing his twin round and round. He then jumped up, spindashed for good measure and let go, letting Zonic slam against the head of the droid directly onto his back.
Panting heavily, the first lieutenant general spat out more blood before attempting to sit up and stand. When he did, his eyes scanned for Sonic everywhere. No, no no. Where did he go? Where the hell did he go!? His ear flicked at movement from the right, and turned to defend himself. However, his hearing betrayed him. The noise he heard was a few thin blue spines being dropped onto the metal floor. In reality, Sonic was right behind him. A bone shattering crack was heard as Sonic spiral kicked his sneaker into Zonic's arm, the very one he struck at the very beginning of this fight. This time though, he fully broke it. "...!" Zonic could no longer feel his arm anymore, it was useless, but he did feel an enormous amount of pain instead. His face was then gripped by Sonic's hand, who quickly dragged and shoved his entire body down through the robot's skull. He threw him all the way through every metallic and electric organ the mechanical beast had from within, and the robot could no longer function correctly anymore. On the way down, the two noticed how many weapons were stacked inside of the thing, weapons it couldn't even utilize due to the strength of the two hedgehogs fighting. They tore through the lower stomach of the robot, with Zonic being tossed out and landing onto solid ground.
Sonic landed gracefully, and glared down at his twin. "Your prediction bullshit is tough to fight against, and then I figured out why you were able to predict Shadow and I at all." He scoffed. "I admit, we grew dull as we got older 'cause the threats we were fightin' just weren't that tough. Not as tough as you. We pulled the same moves, the same maneuvers, and it always worked out. We didn't think there'd be anybody strong enough for us to switch things up a little, so we didn't grow. Not gonna lie, that was naive on our part, so I see why we lost. I mean, it's no wonder you saw through all that after watching us for so many years. We just weren't thinkin' outside the box enough to beat you." He then stomped his foot into the ground, and did a slight twisting motion with his leg. A painful crack was heard, causing Sonic to wince. He forcefully pushed his bones back into place. While it was a short-term solution, it's all he had at the moment. Though his leg was growing red and enflamed, he had work to do and he'd just have to push through the pain. He then reached out to grip Zonic by the tie and yank him upwards to look him in the eyes. "You see that?" He pointed to the forcefield, which now had many cracks all over it. Not only that, but the robot was very slowly about to teeter and fall. If it landed against the forcefield, the whole thing would come down and shatter, endangering the city's safety. "'Cause of our little tussle, that big ass thing's gonna destroy your city. And instead of growing the fuck up and letting me speak my piece, we wasted time and almost got several buildings destroyed."
The two striped hedgehogs glanced at each other with a sigh, looks like the entertainment for today was over.
Zhadow knew his rookie wouldn't like this, but he had to agree. "...He's right, first lieutenant general." He said with a heavy frown. "If you and I weren't so close, I'd have taken your badge by now, but nepotism saved your job. That was completely reckless and unnecessary. If you really wanted to fight, you should have taken it to the outskirts."
Zonic slapped his twin's hand away and stood up to face his superior. "But sir, he struck first-!"
"Zonic," Zhadow pulled down his shades to reveal his eyes, he was serious. "You started it the second you arrived in Mobius prime. You're the one who constantly acts uncooperative and hostile with every passing second that goes by. Who in their right mind would continue to let someone treat them like garbage every second they're around them without consequences?" He lowered his shades back on the bridge of his nose and looked away from him. "I only authorized you to use force in Angel Island due to the primes' instant hostility and apprehension to trust you. But I didn't stop Sonic prime from beating you just now, because you needed that beating. You're the one who needs to stop acting like a brat." He exhaled silently, knowing somehow Zonic would make him pay for this at home or at work. "...As your superior, I am ordering you for the last time to back down. Do you understand me?"
...
...Out of no where, all the hostility and anger sewn into Zonic's face—suddenly disappeared.
He clutched his now broken arm and simply walked to his superior's side while nodding. "...Understood, sir."
Shadow glanced at Zhadow with slight concern, because that didn't sound very in character. Sure he only knew the little shit for a couple days, but he was positive Zonic would never just back down like that. However, this was his reality's Shadow. If anyone can tame a Sonic, it would be that world's Shadow. Zonic remained silent and calm, his eyes staring somewhere else as he held his injured limb. Zhadow met Shadow's gaze and made a small nod, indicating that it was nothing to worry about. This was their relationship after all, not his. He shouldn't worry about his twin's romance when there were other issues at hand.
"Now if you don't mind," Sonic held up a thumb pointing in the robot's direction. It was going to fall backwards and break right through the forcefield. "I'm gonna do your job for you, and stop that damn thing from crashing into your city." He made a gesture towards Shadow before turning his back and walking away. "Come on, Shads." The biohog nodded back to his lover. He dropped his cigarette on the ground, stomped it out, and in amber red and royal blue streaks, they were running towards the robot together.
The two hedgehogs reached it a bit too late, as the robot's severely damaged right shoulder had penetrated through the forcefield first. The two soldiers watched as their Mobian counterparts approached the giant falling menace. Shadow rushed from behind, Chaos Controlled to the middle of it's back and with a chaos charged foot, kicked it with a harsh blow. The force of it caused the droid's weight to shift from backwards to forwards, meaning it would not fall fully against the shield. However, it would still cause immense damage to the ground, damage that could dig through the earth's outer core and create a massive earthquake that the city wouldn't be able to survive. Sonic spindashed it's torso, slicing right through it in spiral cuts. Then together, the two hedgehogs spindashed the legs. With a Chaos Control, they teleported above and spindashed the arms. With a second Chaos Control, they appeared at the head and decapitated the droid. The head landed hard and rolled against a wall of the forcefield, breaking through and rolling down the road. Shadow landed on the ground, while Sonic performed a Chaos Wind. A blue tornado appeared, blowing powerful winds within the town square. The pieces they had sawn off were now trapped within the tornado, and Shadow created a Chaos Portal to open beneath the miniature natural disaster. The tornado was absorbed within the chaotic portal, taking the giant pieces of the robot with it. In one last Chaos Control, the giant robot was gone, it's destroyed parts teleported in the outer reaches of space.
The decapitated robot head rolled down the street, gaining more speed and momentum. It was ready to crash right into the cat cafe the hero noticed from before. As it was about to collide, Zonic's eyes became emotionally conflicted. Thankfully, Sonic appeared just in time to run from the front of it and stop it by kicking his foot firmly on the skull. Shadow ran beside him to create yet another Chaos Portal, sending the piece away for good. They bro fisted and dusted themselves off before running back and returning to the town square. As they approached their twins, Sonic noticed that Zonic was still staring at the cat cafe from afar. He looked deeply bothered by the fact that it was almost destroyed. The hero frowned and raised a brow. "What, you like that place or something? That robot head didn't touch it, I promise. The place is fine."
"..." Zonic slowly blinked and averted his eyes somewhere else.
"Tch, now Captain Try-Hard's got nothing to say for once. My lucky day." Sonic spat. "The fuck's your problem with me already? What are you so angry for? Huh?"
Zhadow could completely understand Sonic's anger towards Zonic, as he never truly let it out before. He didn't like speaking for Zonic, but he knew his rookie was in no mood to talk at the moment. "The first lieutenant general is..." He hesitated. "...A regular visitor at that cafe. He donates a lot of money to the building. They rescue stray cats and run an adoption agency while serving coffee and baked goods in the presence of the felines." In any other situation, Zonic would have clocked Zhadow in the jaw for letting out that information, but he knew his rookie didn't care for indiscretion at this point in time. "I don't know if you've both noticed, but this world is lacking in terms of flora and fauna. We have very, very little amounts of nature in our world. There's barely any trees or shrubbery, no matter where you travel in No Zone. Even our oxygen isn't entirely natural, as almost everything here is powered by cyber energy and technology. As such, there are very few natural non-Zonian animals that live in this reality. Birds, squirrels, dogs...They don't exist in this world anymore. Stray cats are one of the few species of non-Mobian animals that have survived our advanced technological evolution up to now. Their numbers decrease everyday, they're significantly endangered." He glanced at the cafe as well as he took a puff of his cigarette, realizing it's been a while since he and Zonic visited. "The place is run by No Zone Mobian felines who like to save their...'ancestors', from the streets. They use the funding to help find the strays new homes and Zonic knows them personally. He used to visit a lot in the past."
Shadow was a little shocked to hear that the first lieutenant general actually had a soft side, even more so that the world had little to no organic life besides it's people, but Sonic obviously didn't care. "That's real interesting. Super interesting." Sonic retorted with a glare.
Zhadow held up his hands in defense. "Hey, I'm not his keeper. Just answering your first question." He dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it to put it out. "He's grown, he can handle himself. If you've got a problem with him," He gestured for Sonic to approach his rookie if he desired. "Go right ahead."
"Sweet. I'll ask again: Who the hell hurt you so damn bad? 'Cause it sure as shit wasn't me. I've thankfully never met you until a few weeks ago." Sonic growled.
Zonic still didn't respond. "..."
The hero shrugged his shoulders and turned his back to him. "Whatever, loser." He gave Zhadow his attention, while Shadow meanwhile, allowed Maria's sense of hearing to be shared through him again. "What I was going to say before all that shit started, was that your Eggman might be pulling what our Eggman did. I know they're not the same person, but you can't strike that out as a possibility without at least looking into it to make sure. Rather be safe than sorry."
The general nodded his head. "Of course. And what do you believe he's plotting?"
Sonic sighed in exasperation. "Alright, check this out 'cause now I'm in a bitchy mood, I'm hungry, and I am way too irritated to repeat myself. Write it up in a report or somethin', 'cause I'll be damned if I have to say all this crap again." He continued with a slightly less agitated tone. "I ain't sayin' your Robotnik's gonna build up some mega-droid or a secret armada under your city like ours did, that's mid. I'm sayin' he's using the underground, probably below the Power Sewers, to lure and kidnap your men. Zobotnik's too chicken-shit to come down here himself with you guys runnin' around, so he operates it from afar up in his base. Meanwhile, he knows that you guys are gonna eventually figure out how to break through that forcefield and get to him physically. That's just a front." Sonic glanced down at Zhadow's belt where his baton was. He remembered how Zhadow used it to activate the square's defense mechanism. "There's a whole power grid powering this entire reality, and I'm assuming that's how you were able to put up the shield in the square. There's probably a bunch of defense mechanisms programmed in the system. Meaning that if something were to happen to it, the people who power it would be notified that something's wrong. So I'm thinkin' that the real rub, is that Zobotnik somehow hacked his way into an area of the grid, cut out some space for him to operate in, and started his real plan there." He crossed his arms. "My gut's telling me that he's got some sort of secret hideout below us. And in there, he's probably got some kind of machine that forces a victim into a corrupted No Zone prototype uniform. I think he's creating an army, using your own men against you."
Shadow just stared at his blue lover with a small smirk. He was so damn hot when he was angry. He cleared his throat to add onto that. "An overly complicated and outlandish theory to say the least, but it can't be ignored. After all," Shadow turned his attention to his twin. "Sonic has a good point. A few good points, actually. Your Robotnik is more than likely far more calculating than ours, as I assume he's just as strict and militarized as you both are, and that's a problem. I hate to make our differences and similarities so black and white, but it's the easiest way of looking at the scenario." He looked back to where they defeated the robot. "Hear me out: The traits of our realities is that we have major differences with extreme similarities. By that I mean, whatever we have in common is multiplied tenfold. For example, both Zonic and Sonic are 'heroes' in their own sense, but Zonic takes it way more seriously than Sonic does to the point of it almost being a weakness." He then pointed to himself. "You and I are both of Black Arms blood, but I can tell that your biology's been much more effected by it than mine. It's to the point where you can't even hide it—you're forced to wear sunglasses to conceal your eyes in fear of scaring others, due to the blood mutating parts of your body to a stronger extent."
Zhadow placed a finger on his chin. "Hmm...So you're saying that both Robotniks are similar in concept, except ours is smarter and crueler. Whatever his methods are, are far more advanced and convoluted than your world's Robotnik. Meaning that outlandish theories, are more than likely the best answer." He nodded his head a few times in approval. "Mmn. Honestly, I can't argue against that. I've worked with Zobotnik for many years before Zonic enlisted in the force, and I will personally attest to the fact that the fat man is a demon in human clothing. He plotted so many backhanded, sneaky, inhumane and merciless schemes, that I was going to try and have him publicly exposed and arrested." He grimaced. "It runs in the family, too. Hell, the only reason that I exist is because his grandfather stole the blood of a Black Doom that doesn't even exist in this reality. Of the three Zobotniks I worked under, the former warden was the absolute worst. I could no longer work for him in good conscience with all of his sins piling up right in front of me. However, he moved so discreetly and expertly, that I could never gather real evidence that would legally put him in No Zone Prison."
Sonic and Shadow briefly glanced at each other with interest. That was intriguing information. Zhadow did indeed work for the Robotniks of this world for a very long time as they theorized, and was spawned in a similar way Shadow was. He was indeed made by a grandfather Robotnik, and actively worked for the family for over one hundred years. The Black Arms blood he had in his veins didn't even belong to a Black Doom that existed in this world, which proves how desperate this elder Robotnik was to create a bio-soldier. And what was most interesting, was that the entire time Zhadow talked about his past with Zobotnik, Zonic suddenly looked very ashamed. He couldn't even look anywhere near Zhadow's direction, and the two Mobians were almost positive he didn't notice this. It was like hearing both Zhadow's and Zobotnik's names in the same sentence was mentally but silently hurting him. Sonic may have just got his answer right then and there as to what or who the source of Zonic's anger was. But perhaps that was something that should be talked about at a later date.
The general of No Zone Corps held up his wrist to check his watch.
10:15 AM
He placed his hands on his hips. "Well, I think I know what our next course of action should be." He pulled out his smartphone and began typing his thumb on the screen. "I'm going to have the sleuth team investigate the underground, and have the hackers examine the entirety of No Zone's power grid. I know they'll find something in due time, probably before the end of the week. We just needed to know where to look. A question for you, Sonic prime."
The hero looked more bored than angry, now. "Yeah?"
"The kidnappings stopped after two years with only ten victims. That's not a lot of people to create an army. What is your rebuttal to that?"
"...Hm." Sonic took a moment. "Before I answer that, how high up were the soldiers who went AWOL again? You know, besides Zouge."
Zhadow paused from tapping on his phone for a moment. "As I said before, they were weak. They were all pretty low ranking. Rookies, new recruits, soldiers who were just making a name for themselves. Not very strong just yet."
"Right, that's what I thought. Then I've got another theory for ya: They were all just a test run."
The general, and even Zonic rose their heads at that. "Test run...?"
Sonic nodded. "What if Zobotnik kidnapped the weaker guys to test this mind controlling armor on them first, before moving onto a stronger target?"
The general made a disturbed scowl, because he knew where he was getting at. "...Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
The hero nodded again. "Yup. He only stopped kidnapping people once he got to Zouge 'cause he was too busy trying to perfect this mind control on her, a veteran who used to be one of the big dogs. That ain't easy to do."
Shadow curiously concurred. "Yes, that would make sense...After all, she's a psychiatrist on top of being a strong former soldier. It would take a lot of time to break her, making her a challenging but flawless experiment if his methods worked. When Infinite kidnapped me for a couple weeks, he tried breaking me to no avail. He would have needed much more time to truly purge my mind and use me like a puppet. Meanwhile, he kept your Rouge for a year straight. Actually," He made a slightly worrisome expression. "You may need to have her mentally checked out when she awakes, general. Who knows what Zobotnik did to her. As for faker's second theory, I'm afraid I have to agree once more. He may have only just completed his brainwashing over her, which was why she fought me."
Surprisingly, Zonic finally spoke. "But why have her attack you, Shadow prime? Why wait all this time for that, when you easily destroyed her suit and neutralized her?"
"Because like Sonic said, she was a test run too. To see how well she'd fair against someone of my caliber."
"And I guarantee that he ain't done kidnapping people." Sonic added forbiddingly. "My take's that he's gonna gun for one of you, next. Now that he's figured out how to brainwash someone who's strong, now he can go after the rest of you and take you down below."
With alarmed expressions, Zonic and Zhadow glanced at each other. "But," Zonic said anxiously. "No...No, that couldn't be. If...If we were to..." He paused for a second. "...Accept Sonic prime's theory, then that means Zobotnik had access to the power grid this entire time. Even if he hacked it to create some kind of base underground, we still would have known." His face grew more nervous. "Unless-"
"-Someone betrayed us." Zhadow growled as he crushed his phone in his hand. "God damn it." He tossed the destroyed device somewhere on the ground before pulling out Zonic's smart phone. He'd be careful not to destroy this one, and unlocked it quickly. "While you only have theories, we can't deny the possibilities you introduced. We won't do anything drastic, not just yet. We'll move slowly for now, wait until we get the results of the sweep of the grid and the underground. In the meantime," He sharply turned his concealed gaze to Zonic, who flinched at his angered expression. "First lieutenant general, trust no one. I want you to investigate every single one of our people from top to bottom from the shadows, thoroughly and flawlessly. Do not get caught, do not leak deception, do not reveal your intentions to anyone and only convene this matter with myself and the primes. Write a detailed private report on every soldier and faculty member, then submit it to me immediately. No one is cleared until I say so, and I want this done before the week is over." He ordered roughly, his voice and tone entirely void of patience. "Failure is not an option. Is that clear?"
Zonic bowed his head instantly. "Yes, general. Of course, consider it done."
Sonic frowned. "Wait, but aren't Zector and Zespio cool?"
Zonic shook his head stubbornly, but they could tell he didn't like this either. "My general cannot take any chances, they must be investigated as well. For all we know, one of our most trusted soldiers may be being brainwashed right under our noses without them even knowing it. Zouge was an unwilling victim, I know for sure she didn't actually want to fight Shadow prime, but she had no idea what she was doing in the first place. We don't know if the same could be happening to someone else." He closed his eyes shamefully. "This is very deceitful, that much is obvious, but we can't risk anyone else getting kidnapped and hurt. Zouge shot Zepsio twice, and could have murdered him. We still don't know the whereabouts of the other soldiers who went missing, and at any moment, they could be sleeper agents ready to strike when we least expect it. If your gut feelings are to be trusted, we have to take this seriously, Sonic prime. More than we want to."
Shadow nudged Sonic gently. "He's right. Tower was forced to do the same when you found that jackal mole within GUN's ranks. They have to make this decision to ensure everyone else's safety, regardless of their intentions of finding and defeating Zobotnik. They don't want to do this, they have to."
The hero only grimaced and nodded. "Right...Like I said, better safe than sorry."
Releasing a tense sigh, Zhadow shoved Zonic's phone in his rookie's jacket pocket. "Order me another one when we get back home, first lieutenant general."
"Yes, sir."
"Sonic and Shadow prime," The general called attentively. "This will take some time. Until we gather results, you two may relax and enjoy your stay in our home as much as you wish. We are more than grateful for the amount of progress we've made thanks to your help. We apologize for the hectic first two days."
Sonic shook his head. "Nah man, it's cool. You guys didn't ask for this."
Zhadow then walked behind Zonic, grunted and lifted his rookie up over his shoulder. The first lieutenant general blushed. "Z-Zhadow, what are you doing? I'm injured, but I can walk on my own-" He felt a firm slap on his ass and gasped submissively. "...!"
"Shut up."
Shadow and Sonic felt a sense of deja vu. Zonic's blush grew into a darker shade of red and he easily complied. "Y-Yes, sir."
"I'm taking this one to the infirmary ward. If we need your assistance, we'll radio you immediately." Zhadow gave them a two-finger salute. "Goodbye for now. Cyber Control."
In a light blue flash, he and his rookie were gone.
Sonic chuckled a little. "Heh. They are so into BDSM."
"Into what...?" Shadow asked, remembering Rouge making jokes about that kink when they previously lived together. "Wait, that's the thing with ropes, whips and chains, right?" He blinked. "That's what it's called?"
"Not now, babe."
52 - END - 52
Notes:
Who is the traitor?
Chapter 53: Prism
Summary:
Shadow and Sonic have an interesting talk. Afterwards, the ultimate life form utilizes what's called a Cyber Chamber.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
53 - Prism - 53
Acute Square
10:30 AM
Sonic clapped his hands delightedly at the sight of Maria phasing out of the biohog's body. "Man, I'm so excited for you two! Make sure you have as much fun as you can before she has to return to your body, alright?" The female Overlander spirit was just as excited as he was, and Shadow was forced to watch the two bounce up and down together in their apartment's living room. They were literally jumping on the couch cushions. Well, more like Sonic was jumping on the cushions and Maria was just floating up and down. Shadow was starting to grow a headache, their synergy was annoyingly compatible. Sonic couldn't even hear or touch the girl, yet the blue one was acting as if he knew her longer than Shadow did. Still, he couldn't help but smile at the sight. He could feel that Maria instantly took a liking to Sonic the moment she semi-physically met him. But again, he suspected that would happen since they both were so similar. Maybe not in terms of idiocy and recklessness, but in terms of positivity and radiance. Even with his volcanic temper, Sonic was still a beacon of light for so many people. He only grew that angry when he was pushed to his limit, as he was otherwise cool and collected. Maria was the same way, never completely losing her composure or her will to power through it all despite how she may have felt in the moment. Their drive to be happy and make others happy was sickeningly contagious, too.
Then, Shadow realized something. "Sonic, isn't your leg fractured?"
Sonic paused and blinked. "...Maybe."
"This idiot-Stop jumping on the damn couch, then!" Shadow yelled with a vein appearing on his head.
"Okay, okay! Fine, not like it hurts...Meanie." The blue one pouted and crossed his arms, slumping down onto the furniture with a clear toddler-worthy attitude. The blonde girl pouted and crossed her arms too. If Sonic couldn't have any fun, neither would she. Together, they both turned their noses up at the striped hedgehog in synchronous petulance.
Shadow gawked at this, that girl was way too mature for her age to act like that. Technically if she was alive, she'd be older than both of them. "Maria, shame on you! You're better than that." She stuck her tongue out at him in response, while Sonic deviously giggled under his breath. The biohog growled at his lover. "You little...How did you influence her with your delinquent mind that quickly?"
"Bro, all I need is like five seconds and everybody becomes my bestie." He replied with a cocky smirk as he and the girl bro fisted.
The ultimate life form just glared at him. "I am not your 'bestie'."
"'Course not," Sonic winked. "You're my 'boyfriend'." He and Maria snickered together in further retaliation.
Good God, he warped her into a jock just like him. He'd pay for the damage he did to that poor child later. Blushing, Shadow growled even more. "You poisoned even Maria with your nonsense. The world is doomed." With a small sigh, he asked for the girl to return to his side. "Maria, seriously. Come here, you and I have work to do." The girl's pout slightly subsided. She then glanced at Sonic who just smiled in return. She smiled back and levitated towards Shadow's side. She floated behind him and placed her chin on his head. "I sent Zhadow a text asking if there was any safe area to train with chaos energy without causing any damage to the city. Unlike Mobius, there's no green fields or forests to safely perform chaos abilities in. He informed me there were a few rooms appropriate for this within No Zone HQ, and that a soldier would escort me. He told me to be careful in case there truly is a mole, but we'll both be on high alert the whole time while we're out. Maria and I are going to practice using chaos energy so she can get stronger."
"Oooooh." Sonic mused while laying back on the couch and kicking his feet up on the arm. Shadow noticed his leg wasn't that red or enflamed anymore. "Pretty gnarly stuff, guys. You both better come back OP as hell, got it?"
Shadow blinked, and Maria tilted her head too. "'OP'...?"
The blue one winced. "Chaos, you're old."
The biohog had steam blowing out of his ears when he heard Maria giggle above him. "Shut up! I don't understand ludicrous, tween lingo, thank you very much!"
Sonic nodded his head facetiously, he was totally listening. "Mmhm, mmhm. By the way, I love you~"
And now Shadow's muzzle was completely crimson. "..." Maria chuckled louder at this, as she could feel his embarrassment. "I...I um," He turned his face away as the volume in his voice rapidly decreased. "Love you...too..." Sonic smirked, he knew that'd shut him up. "Hey."
Sonic's smirk faltered when he heard the tone shift in his boyfriend's voice. "What's up?"
"I've seen you get angry pretty often now. Your temper is horrible, almost as bad as mine." Shadow looked down upon the blue one curiously, trying to figure him out. "Eight years ago, I would have never known that. You got pissed a couple times when we fought, but you quickly shrugged it off the moment I touched a nerve. I thought you were too nice, too merciful to truly hold rage in your heart." Sonic was staring back at him with an unreadable face, he had no idea what he was thinking. "I once said it's rare that you get lost in thought, but I see now I was painfully mistaken."
The hero's lime green eyes gazed at him with an unnerving silence. "..."
"It's not that you think too little," Shadow narrowed his pupils at him. "You think too much, don't you?"
Sonic slightly shifted his gaze elsewhere. "...Got a problem with that?" The question was confrontational, but his voice wasn't. It sounded more curious than annoyed by the analyzation. The biohog walked closer in front of the couch and leaned over. He reached to grasp the bottom of Sonic's jaw, before tilting his head upwards. He was forcing him to look back in his eyes.
"Tell me." He whispered. "What are you?"
Sonic remained still but frowned. "The hell do you mean by that? I'm me, you know that. Nothing more but definitely nothing less."
"You said it before—There's many things I still don't know about you, but you're going to tell me them." Shadow swiftly seized his wrists with his free hand, pinning him against the couch. He wouldn't be running away from this conversation. "Starting with what you are. Now."
Their noses were just barely touching. Sonic furrowed his brows with a heavy frown. "What? Shadow, I'm just as much in the dark as you. Why are you persecuting me like this? You think I'm lying?" His irises glinted some disappointment. "I don't appreciate that."
"Not about your ancestry, hedgehog. I know you wouldn't lie to me about that, that's not what I meant." Shadow didn't immediately answer his initial question. "...I mean you. I do love you," He said calmly. "And I know you love me. I know it's hard telling people secrets, especially people you care about. Sonic," He leaned his forehead against his softly. "If you're hiding something, tell me. I won't be angry, I won't be disappointed, I won't leave you, I won't betray you." He lowered his eyelids. "But if you've got a problem that you can't fix on your own, you need to let me know. So what is it? What are you feeling right now and why is it getting you like this?"
Slightly blushing, Sonic closed his eyes with a short exhale. "...Zonic and I..." He never used his twin's first name since they arrived in this reality. "I'm starting to realize, we're...really similar." His expression tightened. "I hate that. That asshole is so angry at the world, he hates everything despite having so much light around him. He lives in a cool world, is the leader of a bunch of badasses who are all clearly willing to bow their very lives to him, he's engaged to the second most handsome guy in the multiverse who obviously adores him, and yet..." He turned his face away. "He ignores all of it, because whatever he went through is too much to bare. He...hates himself." He slowly opened his eyes, staring down at the geometric grey carpet. "He reminds me so much of you, how you were before we got together. Before we even became allies." He felt Shadow's hold on his wrists disappear, and Sonic laid his arms in his lap. "You're right," He murmured. "My anger, it's...always been really bad. When I was little, before I met Tails, I was such a snappy kid. I never let people finish their sentences, never took the time to listen, never tried to care. It's why I didn't talk much and why I stayed away from people and the city, I just didn't care for any of it. I always wanted to protect the world and it's animals, 'cause to me, they're always innocent." He thought about Zonic's concern over that cat cafe, he didn't know Sonic understood his worries more than he realized. "But people," He scowled. "People...Overlander or Mobian, so many of them are selfish and greedy. They just take and destroy, without a care for anything else. I dedicated my life never to end up like that, because nature was my only companion. The only thing that I knew didn't have the ability to be evil. I eventually saw that sometimes, people can't help that. How they were brought up, or whatever they went through is what created them into what they are today. I usually never cared, because to me your past shouldn't define you. It wasn't until I met Tails that I started to think that way."
Shadow took this time to sit beside him, and listen to him as much as he needed him to.
He owed that to him.
"Then I met Knux, someone who thought exactly how I did: The outside world is evil, and cruel. The only thing left to protect is the world, not it's people." He brought his fists up to his mouth, his eyes staring through nothing as he spoke. "I realized that he was what I became. I saw it from the outside perspective and realized how wrong I was to be so pissed off at everything. I was shocked—That's how I acted? That's what I was like? I was disappointed in myself, and I knew I couldn't let someone else think that way. Then, years later," His eyes traveled to Shadow's. "I met you, and I truly saw what I could have become: The very worst outcome. That's why I took our promise so seriously, because...it's so easy to just snap and take everyone down with you." He frowned underneath his hands over his muzzle. "Then I see Zhadow and Zonic, two people who've got a crap load of skeletons. If they're an alternate version of us, then it was a possibility we could have ended up like them. Secretive, sad, angry every second of the day. It's a little scary. I don't wanna end up like that, because our relationship would suffer from it just like theirs. And despite having a cracked mirror right in front of me," He lowered his head. "I'm doing the very thing I forced myself not to do. It took so long for me to learn how to hide my negativity, I had it down packed by the time I met you. Nobody noticed a thing, not Tails, not even you. Now I'm turning into demons, picking fights with clones of myself, trying to kill jackals...What is wrong with me?" His eyes trembled with an unknown emotion. "Why am I becoming what Zonic hates? Why am I becoming a Chaos Born?" He lowered his hands to his lap, his face becoming lost. "I'm just as bad as he is, I'm as bad as he thinks I am."
...
"I really can become a monster if I try."
...Shadow looked away for a moment, his eyes searching for an answer. "So that's what you've been thinking about the entire time we've been here?"
Sonic nodded silently.
"And you refused to tell me?"
Sonic nodded again.
"Why?" Shadow whispered. "Why do you hide so much from me?"
"'Cause if I don't tell you, I won't have to hear myself say it. I'm hiding," The volume in his voice waned. "From myself." He glanced over and chuckled at Shadow's alarmed expression. "Heh, it's so cute when you get caught off guard like that."
Shadow scowled at him. "This is why Tails was so angry with you, because you keep hiding, and you keep running away from your friends."
Sonic nodded in agreement again. "Yeah, he told me. But," He smiled a little. "Running...That's what I do best, isn't it?"
"Sonic," Shadow gripped his shoulder. "Stop it."
"I know, I know." The hero said sheepishly. "I sound like a huge hypocrite."
"Yes, you do—in the worst way. And I don't like it." He grasped the sides of his face. "What do I need to do to make you stop thinking that way?"
Sonic blinked. "I don't know...? I don't think you can, Shads, that's up to me." He placed his hands on his to lower his arms. "I have to make that change." He chuckled. "You can charm me as long as you like, but it won't do anything to my brain. Still," He made his voice more gentle. "I can guarantee I won't stay like this for much longer."
Shadow became confused. That was a long, miserable confession. How could he recover from feeling like this that quicky? "How do you know that?"
"Because I'm not depressed, I'm just a little lost right now." He answered confidently. "This will always be in the back of my mind, 'cause I know my anger is part of who I am, but I'll find my way again...eventually." He looked down at Shadow's hands and nuzzled the side of his face into his palms. "If I break, I can't help you or anyone else. I wouldn't be able to beat the crap outta Infinite, face our friends or continue being with you. I wouldn't be able to live. And damn it," He gave Shadow a confident smirk. "I'm gonna live. If we die again, we can't trust that we'll miraculously revive for a second time. No matter how many lives we're given, I ain't never gonna waste mine. Not a single one."
Shadow's cheeks reddened a little. How was he so confident in himself that he'd be able to get over this mental bump in the road? Was it really just that easy to live with it and leave it be? All Shadow ever did was push his past away and try to forget it, but Sonic embraced it. Despite being ashamed, despite hiding it, he knew he had to face it sooner or later and now, he wasn't scared to do so. He struggled with himself a lot, Shadow knew that now, but he never let it control or define him. Sonic still fought to thrive, he still made himself free.
"Yeah, that little 'whore' comment ticked me off, buuuut," Sonic shrugged. "Meh. I'm over it. I'm just hungry, now."
He was so...simple.
Yet not at the same time.
How did a person like this exist without constant disarray?
Sonic was...a force of something that he didn't comprehend. Even now, Shadow still didn't understand him, and frankly, he probably never will.
He...
...loved that about him.
Shadow leaned close and pressed his lips against his. Sonic happily returned it in full. When it ended, the hero could see the love and admiration in his eyes. "H-Hey," Sonic blushed. "Don't look at me like that."
Shadow caressed his face tenderly. He was an enigma, he'd never truly get him. It didn't matter that they were together, he still had to chase him. But he'd chase after him forever, because he wanted to know. He wanted to understand. "Will I ever understand you?"
Sonic only shrugged. "Maybe one day."
"A challenge, hmm?" Shadow brought his hand to his lips, and kissed the blue one's gloved knuckles. "Fine," His eyes sharpened with determination. "There's no one in existence that can surprise or elude me. Soon, neither will you. I'll dedicate the rest of my life if it means figuring you out."
Sonic's face became red. "The rest of your..." He tried not to sound so captivated, but he failed. "D-Dude, you can't go around promising stuff like that willy-nilly! Do you know what you're even saying?" He kissed him again, causing Sonic to look away and bashfully push his hand into Shadow's face. "S-Stop that already! You're gettin' me all flustered!"
"Quit fighting and look at me."
"What, so you can kiss me to death? No way!"
"Damn you, stop squirming!"
"You stop smoochin' me, it's weird!"
"How is me kissing my boyfriend weird?"
"...!" Sonic felt his heart beat fasten exponentially. He slowly looked at Shadow with glossy eyes. "What...did you call me...?"
Shadow realized his mistake and blushed almost as harshly as he did. He covered his mouth as he noticed just how deep the hole he dug himself into with that comment. "I...I mean, that's what you are, aren't you?" He scratched the side of his face. "I know I don't usually call you that, but you know it's true. Although," His muzzle was completely red as he shyly confessed something else. "I...I guess you're a little more than that at this point..."
The blue blur couldn't sit still anymore, he was almost shaking with hearts swirling around his face. "Oh my God-"
"S-Shut up!" Shadow yelled bashfully. The blonde girl squealed and smiled brightly as she placed her hands on her cheeks, swaying back and forth dreamily behind the couch as she watched over them. Shadow was truly embarrassed, now. "Maria, cut it out..." He only made her giggle some more. "Ugh." He was literally being tag teamed by his boyfriend and his older sister's ghost. He didn't need to take this. "Come on, Maria." He bashfully scowled at Sonic as he stood up, before heading towards the front door. The girl's ghost followed after him while delightfully waving goodbye, all while Shadow grumbled a threat. "And you better not do anything stupid before I get back. If you injure your leg any further, I'll break them both for you."
"You are so in love with me."
"Screw you!"
"You are so freakin' precious, it's killin' me!"
"I am not, and if you keep saying that, I'll kill you myself!"
"Heehee," Sonic waved goodbye playfully with a kissy face and a wink. "Bye, baby boy~"
"Asshole." Shadow hissed as he exited the apartment and shut the front door with a slam.
Sonic made a small laugh as he heard the slam and fading grunts of exasperation. He always loved annoying Shadow, but them being together made it a thousand times funnier. Maria becoming his tag team partner was an absolute dream, by the way. He barely knew the girl for an hour and she already took a big liking to him, and vice versa. What a sweet, hilarious little girl. Funny how if she had survived, she'd probably be in her seventies or late sixties by now. He wondered if her mind was frozen in time since her death, poor kid. If she had lived to grow up, could she have stopped Eggman from going down that road? Were they even close? He wasn't sure, and Shadow probably didn't know the answer to that either.
But his boyfriend was right, he needed to stop thinking so much. Zhadow told 'em to take it easy, so that's what he'd do. As he leaned back on the couch, he thought about that sweet deal they were given while they were living in No Zone. Free food...
He grinned.
He knew exactly what he'd do first.
No Zone Corps HQ
11:15 AM
The ultimate life form gritted his teeth, his cheeks still very red from flustered embarrassment. Stupid, beautiful, idiotic, gorgeous, mysterious, blue hedgehog...Maria could feel everything he was thinking, and only laughed the whole time. She floated ahead of him as he grumbled to himself, smiling knowingly. "You really do love him, huh?" Her response was a grumble, which only made her snicker to herself. "I'm so happy for you, Shadow." As they walked down the corridor of one of No Zone HQ's higher floors, she gasped and proposed an idea. "You know what you should do before we get back? You should buy him some flowers!"
Shadow's eyes shrank into peas, that was a super girly idea. "Maria," He slowly looked up at her. "I can't just do that. He wouldn't..." He then sighed and looked down. "...Actually, he probably would appreciate that. He says he's trying not to be bothered by everything, but he can't just do that all on his own. That might cheer him up." He saw her make a giddy expression. "Alright, stop that already." He saw her try not to smile, but it clearly wasn't working. He only shook his head at her. "You're as goofy as he is, and as cringey as Rouge." She only responded by grinning at him.
"Shadow prime," The purple chameleon ahead of him paused and turned around. "Are you...talking to me?"
Crap, he forgot he was literally talking to a haunt. To everyone else, he was talking to himself. "Err," He shook his head quickly. "No, sorry. I was using the earpiece General Zhadow gave me. Nothing important."
The chameleon nodded. "Ah, of course. My apologies for intruding. Just this way." When Shadow arrived, he was met with Chief Master Sergeant Zespio, who was tasked by Zonic to escort him to a special room where he could practice with Maria. He obviously didn't mention the girl to him, it was too confusing and he didn't need to know about Chaos Born or Divine Spirits anyway. He took him up an elevator to a higher floor, and was currently leading him down this corridor to the room in question. He recognized this floor, this was the one that held Zonic's office. He kept his distance from the chameleon just in case he could be the traitor, but he didn't think he'd try anything. He also didn't believe that it was him. He was already similar to his world's Espio, whom would never betray Sonic, much less the Chaotix. He doubted this version of Espio would, either. Especially not with those gunshot wounds on his side. He was all bandaged up inside and outside his uniform, but he carried on as if he was never harmed. The soldiers of No Zone were strong, he had to admit that.
Maria felt that the best way to communicate in public, would be to mentally speak in Shadow's mind. She'd be able to feel his response. What kind of flowers are you gonna buy him?
Shadow briefly looked to the side, seeing the girl leaning over his shoulder. He likes cornflowers, but No Zone is void of genuine plants or any kind of flora. The plants I have seen in this world are just holograms, and that won't do.
Maria frowned while tapping her chin. Hmmm...Oh, I know! Maybe Mr. Zhadow could tell you where to get flowers. After all, he loves Mr. Zonic so I'm sure he's gotten him a bouquet a few times now.
He nodded at her, that's not a bad plan. You're right, he might have an idea. I'll text him later. He then thought about something curious. Maria, did you heal Sonic's leg? I know only super forms can do that.
She nodded cheerfully. I sure did. I healed Mr. Zonic, too. I did it right after they got done fighting, then I healed Mr. Sonic when we got home. Her smiled faltered nervously. Oh no, I hope that was okay. I didn't ask, and I know you both don't like Mr. Zonic.
He shook his head. It's okay, Maria. He learned his lesson, I think. It was the right thing to do. He saw her poking her fingers together, she wanted something. He knew what it was, the girl was too generous to hide her intentions. You can heal Officer Zespio too, if you want. I don't think we'll have to worry about him being the traitor.
She sighed in relief and nodded. Thank you. She raised her hands, golden sparkles glittering out of her palms. They drifted towards the back of Zespio, who flinched when he took another step. He paused and glanced downwards to touch his side. When he didn't flinch in pain, he made a confused expression. He patted himself harder, but felt no pain once again. He scrunched up his face, he didn't understand what was going on. He then scratched behind his head and proceeded onwards down the hall. It doesn't take much to do that, so your energy won't be effected. She looked down at Shadow. Do you think they'll ever get along? Mr. Sonic and Zonic?
Well, despite how bitter Sonic and I were in the past as rivals, I'm dating him now. He smiled a little. That idiot has the power to make anyone join his side. Almost anyone. If he could get me of all people to fall in love with him, I'm sure he'll manage to get Zonic to come around somehow.
Maria tilted her head. You think so? She grimaced sympathetically. I sense much sadness from Mr. Zonic, but there's so much anger within him. I can't even sense anything past it. It's like this tall, dark wall of wrath. It's the same for Mr. Zhadow, all I see is this ocean of guilt. I wish we could help somehow. If it wasn't for Mr. Zonic, we wouldn't have been reunited.
She felt as if she owed the blue soldier something, and Shadow would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same way. As insufferable as Sonic's twin was, there was a heart deep down in there somewhere. Shadow mentally sighed. I know, Maria. But Sonic's right: We can't make people change. It's up to them to make that first step. Whatever inner demons they have, they have to confront and fight them on their own.
Zespio suddenly stopped in front of a large pair of metal doors. He readjusted one of his badges towards it, causing it to beep with a loud click. They slowly shifted open, revealing an all white room. "Shadow prime," Zespio called, gaining his attention. "This is one of our many Cyber Chambers. I've unlocked it for you, but I already placed you in its system so it'll let you in whenever it's free to use. Higher ranking soldiers are too strong for regular physical training, so we use these for a proper challenge." Shadow curiously walked ahead of him to step inside, noticing that everything was indeed white, but there were no walls or even a ceiling. Everything looked endless, with light blue cyber energy drifting through the atmosphere every so often. If he wasn't currently upright and standing, he'd swear there was no floor either. "There's a terminal on the side of the door. There, you can choose how long you wish to stay within the chamber. After that, you can pick which simulation you'd like to use to help train your chaotic abilities. Cyber Chambers are the only areas in this entire reality that can't be destroyed from chaos energy. This room can handle anything you throw at it since it's a digital space, so you won't have to hold back."
Extraordinary—This was basically a pocket dimensional room, just powered up with digital energy. "Did Zonic use this to learn our movements?"
Zespio nodded. "Indeed. It's what all high ranking officers use to help train against any enemy, especially ones that can use chaos energy. We need to be prepared for anything. Perfection in No Zone is key."
So this was what he used to help him predict their movements on Angel Island. How strategic. Now Shadow would do the same, and he marveled at the idea of how stronger he and Maria could become with this technology. He'd text Sonic about this, but...
...Where was the fun in that?
Shadow liked being ahead.
Zespio bowed his head. "Vice Leader Zonic recommended you use it for only three hours," No, he really meant that for Maria. "But if you need more time than that, it's no problem—you can add more hours as many times as you want. Just make sure you don't succeed twenty-four hours, otherwise you risk contacting Cyber Corruption. If you're in need of refreshments or using the bathroom, you can cancel the simulation at any time and pause your time block with the terminal. The doors will unlock and let you out immediately, and it'll let you back in by recognizing your DNA the moment you approach the entrance. Just don't bring any consumables in the chamber. It'll be vaporized instantly." He remembered something else. "Oh, and please take care to properly shut off the simulation when you're finished with the chamber. Keeping it on without a person inside to use it or give it commands can cause the system to glitch. If you're feeling spacey or begin to see things that aren't there-" Woah, what? "-Then you may have been corrupted with cyber energy. Turn off the simulation immediately and exit the chamber. Find an officer or alert one of our leaders, they'll escort you to the infirmary as fast as possible."
Okay, that was a lot of warnings. Shadow sweat dropped. "Anything else?"
"Just two," Zespio replied. "While it is possible for more than one person to stay within the chamber, it is highly recommended you use it alone. More than one person using a simulation at once increases the chance of Cyber Corruption. I understand you and Sonic prime are a team, and would probably be interested in training together in the future. Do this at your own risk. The last thing I should warn you of," He said with a lower voice. "Privacy. Unlike the normal chambers higher ups use to monitor and train rookies, this one is almost completely incognito. Once someone claims a private chamber, they cannot be interrupted unless someone with high clearance has the authority to cancel out the designated time block. Otherwise, this room is sound proof and it will lock from the outside so you can't be interrupted. There are no cameras and no devices within the chamber to record what you may say or do. Cyber Chambers can create a realistic simulation of anything you can possibly imagine, you just need to type in the right words on the terminal. Being more descriptive helps the AI properly determine what you want. These types of chambers are mostly private, meaning that whatever you ask for it to simulate will not be recorded in No Zone HQ's databanks." His expression darkened. "Which brings me to the most important subject involving privacy. Many former, dishonorably discharged or arrested officers have requested very depraved and twisted things in these simulations. Most words are not recorded in our records, but certain key terms are. In other words," Zespio narrowed his eyes at the biohog. "Do not request for the murder or corpse of any officer, civilian or politician, violence against children in any capacity, sexual images or pornography," Shit, Shadow quickly tried to mute out Maria's sense of sound on that one, making her blink in confusion. She didn't need to hear that. "Or other macabre visions. Doing so will alert the watchdog team, and they will lock you within the chamber until a group of officers arrive to arrest you. You may ask for basic war themed simulations, but intense gore is completely out of the question. Do not request for suicidal commands, or the psychiatric team from the infirmary ward will be immediately notified and will come to the chamber to personally escort you out." He raised a brow. "Do you understand these conditions?"
Shadow frowned. There were officers in the past who requested that kind of stuff? Of course, people were doomed to sin but...corpses, violent offenses and sexual depravity? How disturbing. He was glad whoever asked for these simulations in the past were arrested or fired. The biohog nodded confidently. "Of course. Trust me, you won't have to worry about anything like that from me or Sonic."
Zespio's expression became neutral again. "Alright then," He gestured for him to get further inside and let loose. "Good luck."
The metal doors closed shut, and Maria floated beside Shadow. "Why did you cut out my hearing all of a sudden?"
Shadow made a repulsed expression. "Trust me, you didn't need to hear that. Let's just say some people used this room for some very bad things, and now No Zone HQ has to take certain precautions to make sure that something like that doesn't happen again." They both glanced at the terminal sitting on the wall beside the metal doors. "I hate overly advanced tech." There was a touchscreen keyboard, but the screen of the terminal was black. He tapped at a few keys but nothing happened. He felt Maria float over him and carefully examine the terminal.
"Ohhh, that's how this works? How grand!" She smiled brightly. "Let's see, this is the 'on' button-"
"Welcome to Cyber Chamber F49-5: Shadow prime the Hedgehog. Please type in your desired time slot."
Shadow blinked a few times at the automated voice system. Huh. "Leave it to a Robotnik to figure this out in seconds."
Maria pursed her lips. "Shadow, the 'on' button's right here."
"Oh." He glanced at her. "Are you sure you have the strength to act outside of my body for three hours straight?"
She nodded confidently. "You bet I do, let's do this."
Shadow looked back at the screen and typed in: Three hours. He saw a few options appear after he placed in the number.
"Would you like to activate vocal commands?" This made Shadow think. If he was training with Maria, a literal Divine Spirit, things could get messy and overpowered very quickly. He may not be able to walk over and touch the terminal if he needed a simulation to stop. Vocal commands might be a good idea. He pressed the "yes" option. "Very well. Please type your requested simulation, or choose a default simulation to activate. You may stop, resume, load, save or delete a recorded simulation at any time via the terminal or voice command."
Nice, this was pretty handy. Let's see...Ah, he knew what he wanted. He barely had to think for long. He smirked as he began to type in a descriptive vision. "Let's do a tiny army of Eggman robots for a little warm up."
"Simulation prompt accepted: One hundred dozen up to date Robotnik prime-grade droids of various sizes and strength in combative mode. Activating Cyber Corruption detection and health monitor. Processing your request...This may take up to ten seconds. Do not turn off the terminal during processing. You may cancel or edit the request at any time before the simulation is completed. Please wait."
Behind them, they heard several loud metallic thuds. They turned around quickly to see several Eggman bots fall from the abyss of the missing ceiling. They landed on their feet, the insignia of a mustached genius printed on their backs and sculpted metallically into their faces. Some were larger and taller than others, and made louder impacts when they landed. They were beginning to crowd the space, their bodies ever so slightly glowing with cyber energy. Maria observed them all curiously, never knowing that these were what her cousin created. She didn't like that her cousin was a bad guy, and she knew he was now rotting away in prison back home. However, she couldn't get cold feet now. She was ready to destroy them all if Shadow wished for it.
"Simulation complete."
Shadow's smirk deepened. What a neat little toy. He could feel the girl's anticipation, she was ready to show him just how powerful she became during her slumber. "Ready?" He asked.
She took a deep breath and closed her ocean blue eyes.
They suddenly snapped open, becoming a strong ruby red. A golden aura illuminated her entire figure, her dress blowing in a strong breeze she was creating. It blew back several robots far away, her hair raising significantly.
"Ready."
She phased from behind Shadow's body, and he could feel his entire nervous system explode with powerful energy he had never felt before. His eyes went from amber to ruby red, and he tightened his hands into fists. He wasn't even transformed, and yet he could feel the power of Super Shadow right at his fingertips.
"Chaos," Maria announced an ability that currently only one Shadow in the entire multiverse had: "Synchronization!"
A golden sonic boom blasted within the Cyber Chamber.
53 - END - 53
Notes:
It's theory time.
Chapter 54: Dimensional
Summary:
Things are rather turbulent between Zonic and Zhadow. Just when it seems like they're about to patch things up...
Notes:
The latter half of this chapter contains heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
54 - Dimensional - 54
Acute Square
11:00 PM
The first lieutenant general noticed that the lights finally went off in the apartment across from his.
So the primes finally went to sleep. He sighed in relief, good.
At least he wouldn't have to worry about them for the rest of the night. Zonic pushed one of his longer quills over his shoulders and gave his attention back down to the chore he was currently accomplishing. The one thing he liked about being at home was that he didn't have to wear that God damn, stuffy ass uniform. It was made to be extremely sufficient, so he never had to worry about excessive sweating or it being too tight on his limbs, but it was so annoying to be covered from head to toe all the time. Granted, most Zonians didn't walk around almost entirely bare like Mobians, but less clothing was still more comfortable. At home, Zonic wore a loose white dress shirt and nothing else. He was only completely nude when bathing or pleasing his man. As of now, he was staring at this screen for over an hour and his eyes were burning. Using their database, he cleared over one thousand soldiers just today, having the AI check uniforms, Cyber Chamber discrepancies, recent penalties, arrest quotas and potential HR complaints. Unfortunately, that was a very small percentage of their army. He'd have to work much faster and harder than that. He was moving a little slow because he wanted to inspect them with a human-err...Zonian eye, as computers did sometimes fault. Their technology may have been the most superior amongst the entire multiverse, but glitches still happened. Shadow prime had just discovered that one of the power sparks of the Power Sewers was severely glitched. It was rare No Zone had a technological error, especially not a big one, but it didn't mean it couldn't happen. He couldn't take that chance and he refused to fail his superior. So here he was, staring at several digital files detailing five hundred and twenty of the one thousand soldiers the AI already cleared.
One of his blue ears twitched at the sound of footsteps walking past his desk. He could smell that it was his general, his nose never lied. He wondered if Sonic prime's sense of smell had heightened yet. Hm, details for later. Zhadow's scent would always remain familiar to him. Most Shadow templates smelled similar to begin with, but his general had the most unique. It was sweetened cappuccino, mixed with smooth cologne and pen ink. Yes, that's what his superior smelled like all at once. It was a scent that intoxicated the blue soldier every time the aroma hit his nostrils, and he'd never get sick of it. As of now, his natural scent was slightly obscured by body wash. Their home offices were a bit extreme considering all the work they did, so it wasn't too small and held a lot of paperwork inside. He didn't have to take the time out of his night to walk all the way down to hall just to see Zonic. Nice of him to drop by before bed. Without looking up from his screen, Zonic greeted his superior. "Hello, general."
"Zonic," Zhadow sighed immediately. "I told you not to call me that after hours." He had on a silk black robe that was barely fastened, his fur still very moist and his bare body very visible. As much as Zonic wanted to stare, he felt negative tension arise in the room for some reason. "I'm your superior at work, I'm your fiancé at home. How many times do I have to tell you that?" He sounded more irritated than usual, which was rare nowadays. "Do you listen?" This shift in tone caused Zonic to slowly look up from his computer. His expression didn't look bothered or hurt, but Zhadow could tell through his eyes that his last comment was a little uncalled for. Zhadow brought a hand up to his face and dragged it down his muzzle. He sounded and looked really stressed all of a sudden. "Never mind that. How many soldiers have you cleared so far?"
"Over one thousand by AI, over five hundred by my own eyes." He elaborated further after a second. "I don't completely trust the AI, so I'm going over every profile myself. That takes time, and I know that's not good enough."
"No," Zhadow paced by his desk. "It's...fine. Just try to go faster than that."
"I understand, g-" Zonic corrected himself quickly. "Zhadow. Sorry." He would go into detail why things were going a bit slow, but he figured he didn't care for the reason. He didn't want to irritate him any further. "Is," He continued to keep his gaze on his lover. "Everything okay?" He asked gently. "If you're still angry with me-"
He heard an almost angry growl. "I'm not..."
Zonic frowned. That didn't sound like him at all. "Sir, are you-" He felt a small breeze brush by him as a violent fist collided with the surface of his desk. "...!"
"Damn you, stop calling me that!" Zhadow yelled, his dark red eyes glowing a dangerous aura. He was standing over him, glowering down on him as if he was scum.
Zonic wasn't sure how to respond to that, it was very out of character for his general to snap on him like this. He didn't flinch, he didn't show fear nor did he feel any. Zonic could never be scared of Zhadow, but he was a little saddened and disappointed that he was clearly upset with him about something. This was more than likely his fault, so he should be the bigger person. Zonic took his hands away from the keyboard and mouse, and gave his attention fully to his fiancé. "I...I'm sorry. I know I've been disappointing you a lot recently," He apologized softly, his dark green eyes glossed over with genuine hurt. He got out of his chair and properly bowed his head down to him. "I promise I'll be better. Sincerely."
"..." The rage in Zhadow's eyes suddenly dissipated.
What was he doing?
Why was he yelling at him?
His dark red eyes began to simmer down, and their attention lowered to Zonic's bare left hand. His ring was still on his finger, just as he promised. He still never took it off. Grunting in confusion, Zhadow shook his head while half covering his face and turning his back to the blue soldier. "...Just don't stay up too late." He dug his hands in the pockets of the robe and quickly walked out of the room.
Before he fully exited, Zonic asked for one thing. "...Did you..." He saw his superior pause. He felt bashful all of a sudden, so he licked his drying lips before repeating what he said. "Did you...want to watch that show you rave about so much?" He anxiously rubbed his finger against his ring, he hated feeling so awkward. Normally this would be easy to ask, but Zhadow's mood was so unpredictable. He didn't want to anger him any further. There was silence, and that made his anxiety increase bit by bit.
Zhadow didn't turn back, but he did eventually respond. "...Yes, I would like that."
Another sigh of relief drifted from Zonic's peach lips.
It almost felt like they were just starting to date again. Zhadow was testy like that at first, very grumpy and very unapproachable. Turns out it was only because he was shy and didn't know how to process such delicate emotions on such a strong level. He eventually learned how to be better, and grew to become more relaxed than even Zonic. While those days were kind of exciting, Zonic didn't miss the moments of nervousness or sudden outbursts. As mentioned before, Zonic didn't fear Zhadow, and never had in their relationship. The only thing he feared was ruining the relationship, not the general himself. Zonic put the computer to sleep and stepped from behind his desk to follow his superior out of the room. Things were still eerily quiet, and he wasn't sure if he could speak or not. Suddenly, he heard Zhadow groan and ran his hands behind his quills. "...I should be apologizing. I didn't mean to yell, I'm just a little..." He kept covering his face, but why? He didn't have to do that at home, it was just them here.
Zonic didn't like that. He grasped Zhadow's wrist from behind and forcefully pulled it away from his face. They both stopped walking. He stepped closer to look him in the eyes, but Zhadow refused to look his way. "Why do you keep hiding your face from me...?" Zonic asked gently. "You're perfect, let me see you." He caressed the sides of his tan muzzle, and got a good look of his handsome face. He already hid his face from the world with those sunglasses, he wasn't allowed to do that here. He didn't care that his irises were scarily abnormal, that there were some veins visible and that his pupils were so sharp. He never cared about that. Zonic made a small smile. "See? Just as pretty as I remember." He saw his superior blush significantly and tried his best to advert his eyes from his gaze once more. "No," He leaned his face closer. "You can't look away from me this time." He pressed a soft kiss onto his lips. "Stop hiding from me."
"Zonic-"
"Didn't you say you wanted to spend more time with me?"
"Yes, but-" He was kissed again, silencing him. "..."
His rookie caressed his palms and held them in his hands tenderly as he guided his superior to their bedroom down the hall. "I told you, you need to relax more." After they stepped inside, he shut the door and traveled to the bed to adjust the pillows. Once they were fluffed, he got on the mattress and wagged his finger at the general. "Come here, lay with me." Almost as if the roles were reversed, it seemed now that Zhadow was a little anxious about something. Zonic wasn't sure what, though. Yes, they had a lot of issues at the moment, not just in their relationship but No Zone as a whole—although, he never lost his cool. If anything, whenever a new obstacle was added, he grew more relaxed or even excited. But this time, things were different. He couldn't shrug things off as easily anymore. That worried him. Zhadow joined him in bed and was immediately pulled against Zonic's body. Zonic smirked and lowered his hand against the loose rope of his robe. "Take this off. You'd be more comfortable without it, don't you think?" If he kept talking like that, he'd be in need of another shower due to his increase of sweat. Zhadow cleared his throat and gradually slipped the robe from off of his shoulders. It fell off the bed and the two cuddled against each other with their backs at the headboard. Zonic planted the side of his muzzle against his chest fur, before digging around under the sheets for the remote. Once he found it, he nonchalantly pointed it at the TV. "Sir."
"...?"
"You're allowed to touch me."
"I know."
"Then touch me."
"..." Zhadow swallowed deeply, and Zonic caught that. What was he so nervous about? It was almost like he was terrified to touch him or even be near him. He laced his arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer towards his body. That made his blue lover smile and pressed his face more into his chest. Then they both blinked at the sound of instant female, shrill yelling and bickering from their TV screen. Oh God, this brain dead show. He had no idea why his general liked it so much, Zonic only rolled his eyes in great distaste. This caused Zhadow to chuckle a little. "It's not as bad as you think."
"Sir," Zonic whined with squinted eyes. "These women are leeches on society and do nothing but bitch at each other for an hour. They don't even throw drinks at each other anymore because of security and lawsuits. They just talk shit the whole time without throwing a punch, and they purposefully get themselves into scandals with the other women just for laughs and ratings."
Zhadow innocently pointed at the screen. "Okay, but that one there is my favorite-"
"Oh God, you're way too old for this."
"No, no, no, hear me out-"
"You better give me a raise for forcing me to listen to this trash."
"No, really. Seriously, listen."
"I'm listening..." As much as it pained him to listen to Zhadow's argument over why the show was secretly ingenious, he was just glad that whatever was plaguing his mind was distracted for now. He didn't like seeing him so agitated and nervous like that. And at the very least, Zhadow's argument actually held some legitimately good points that, while Zonic didn't agree with, could most certainly respect the opinion of. Zonic kept his eyes on him and nodded every so often to indicate that he was listening. Honestly, he could kind of see where he was coming from. Zhadow regrettably worked with politics more than he liked to due to being the General and Chief of the No Zone Corps. He always worked with the most sleaziest, slimiest creatures in their reality. He knew the game of pettiness, backhandedness and deception better than anyone. Watching it play out amongst wealthy, female powerhouses was incredibly interesting and humorous for him to watch. Zonic supposed he could respect it from Zhadow's point of view, but nothing more. "Okay wait," Why Zonic was entertaining this by even asking questions, he didn't know. "So most of them are divorced anyway?"
Zhadow nodded. "Indeed, but the thing is that this is actually a great strategic move in terms of publicity and ratings. After all, marriages are mostly a business deal for both them and the show. People don't realize that this is the main point of a public, nationally televised divorce, it creates more content. The highs and lows of a wife's struggle battling the divorce, and it instantly paints the wife in a positive light, no matter how the others or the viewers see her in the show. A great manipulative tactic, honestly." Frankly, this was why he was the general of the multiverse's most powerful army. It didn't matter what Zhadow looked at, he could break it down like a board of chess. He saw everything as a strategy, and that was highly admirable. Now, if only he could place that tact on hobbies that weren't as inane. "You see..." Oh no, he was going even farther on this.
A heavy sweat drop fell upon Zonic's head.
All in the name of love, that's all he could do.
11:30 PM
They eventually resorted to finally giving the show their attention, watching in semi-silence. Zhadow would laugh or cynically comment every so often at the display. Out of respect, Zonic continued to pay attention, as much as it was slowly murdering his brain cells. After a pregnant pause, he felt Zhadow rub his fingers through the fur on his blue head. He purred in delight. "Zonic." He called his name much more softly this time.
"Hmm?" Was it more reality housewife trivia? He couldn't take much more.
"I'm sorry." Zhadow continued to caress Zonic's head against his torso. "I don't know why, but it's been more difficult managing my stresses. The government is breathing down my throat, my city's been damaged, there's a possibility my soldiers have been kidnapped and brainwashed...and my relationship is in shambles. Of course," He added bluntly. "I already know your troubles are far more serious than mine-"
"No," Zonic immediately sat up. "Zhadow, you can't compare our duties like that. It isn't fair to either of us. You still help me with my role as Overseer when you don't have to at all. We're both going through a rough time, this is my city too."
Zhadow shrugged. "Perhaps. Though I will admit, and I know this is going to piss you off," He warned slowly. "But you're one of my stresses, Zonic." His rookie didn't respond or interrupt, he let him continue. "You really, really need to stop fighting with Sonic prime. I know you're afraid of what he may become, I know what you saw, I remember every detail you told me. I know it scarred you, I know you needed therapy for months, and I know that's where your hatred for everything started. If you keep going the path you're going," His dark red eyes locked with his dark green orbs. "You'll become what I was before I met you, and you don't want that. You were so bright, happy and optimistic. Ever since that day in the Room of Realities, and ever since I..." His eyes lingered elsewhere for a moment, frowning with regret. No, he couldn't bring that up. Not now. "...I know I'm mostly responsible for hurting you and turning you like this, and I'm sorry. I can't apologize enough for that, but I'll do it a thousand more times if it'll make you stop hating the world for just a second." He sighed heavily. "No matter how many times I ask or order you to, you just continue to bicker and fight with Sonic prime. Now you're becoming reckless, losing yourself to your emotions more often than usual." He paused for a moment. "Do you know why Sonic prime was so angry with you earlier today?"
Zonic said nothing, he only continued to stare attentively.
"You should know, because you already told me." Zhadow lightly scolded. "Sonic prime has a history of sleeping around, and he is very ashamed of it. Once he met his Shadow, he regretted all of it." He could see Zonic's eyes drift in another direction, thinking about these words with a neutral face. "You told me that Sonic prime wanted to give him his virginity, but by the time he fell for him, it was far too late. Now he feels like a used 'whore', and Shadow prime mentioned that he calls himself that a lot in a very demeaning way. It's a terrible trigger for him that you've witnessed firsthand via the monitors, according to you. Of course," He brought up a fair point. "That's their relationship, I don't much care for the sentiments. As long as they're happy and keeping their issues out of the mission at hand, I suppose that's good enough for me. We're going through enough of our own troubles as it is. But the point is," He finally made it to the nucleus of this conversation. "If you claim to be someone who wishes to protect his Chaotic Brothers, then you need to show the compassion and empathy you had when you first enlisted. That's what the multiverse needs. Your relationship with the others on the Divine Pyramid are mostly positive, so why can't you do the same with him? You use his own trauma against him, negating your own goals. The strife is so unnecessary, and we have way too many problems to deal with. Problems that are far more important than your unproven fear of this Sonic turning rogue."
The blue soldier's brows furrowed, and he closed his eyes tightly. He was wrong. His relationship with the others on the pyramid used to be positive, and he thought Sonic was trustworthy once upon a time. But he wasn't. None of them were. "..."
None of them...right?
"That face you're making," Zhadow noticed. "You usually look like that when you feel guilty about something. So you do care about him, you just won't let yourself be civil with him. I suppose that's your pride or your fear. Or both. Well," Zhadow's tone became a little more stern. "Whether you'll admit it or not, for the sake of our objective, you need to apologize to him tomorrow and get this squashed. And that's an order, by the way. Is that understood?"
Zonic quietly nodded. "Yes. Of course, sir."
Zhadow blinked in surprise.
Huh.
He...Didn't expect him to just accept that.
Oh.
Well then, that was...a lot easier than it should have been. Was he finally listening to him and acting mature about this? "Err—Well, I'm glad you finally get it. I know you're upset with me for chastising you in front of the primes again, but you had it coming and I am not sorry for reprimanding you when necessary as your superior." He only saw Zonic nod again, silently. Shit, he was making this harder for him to stay strict. "However, I do apologize for hurting your feelings as your fiancé. You need to learn how to better control your anger and-The hell?" He didn't like how easy this conversation was going. "You." He plucked Zonic's forehead, making him flinch. "Why aren't you yelling at me by now? You usually hate it when I scold you at home. You get all angry and either force me to sleep on the couch, or we have angry make up sex, and you're not initiating either."
Zonic just sat there with a blank expression. "Why would I do that?"
Zhadow had a sweat drop this time. "Because that's what you typically do."
The blue soldier scratched the side of his face. "Yeah but if you're telling the truth, why would I be mad about that?"
He saw his elder lover narrow his eyes at him with an unimpressed scowl. "Are you kidding me? No offense Zonic, but you are incredibly difficult to check."
"I know," Zonic suddenly replied calmly. "I know I have a problem. Counselor Zouge used to help me out with that, but now..." He made a solemn expression. "Without her sessions, things have been getting harder to manage on my own." He felt Zhadow place his hand over his head and scratch behind his ears. His tail wagged delightfully.
"Alright," Zhadow said. "Perhaps when she recovers, she'll be willing to get you back on her schedule."
Zonic placed his hand on his. "Zhadow," He said. "I know I've been a huge pain in your ass for the last three years, and I'm sorry for being a bad lover to you." He leaned his face closer. "But I don't want to hold anymore grudges, and I still want to prove myself to you. I've already told you a thousand times, but," He made a difficult expression. "I'm having...a very...very hard time dealing with everything that's been happening. It's starting to take a toll on me too, I get it. I'm still going to make myself learn to trust you again, and prove to you that I still love you and still very much want this ring on my finger." He face softened with acceptance. "That's why as much as I hate this damned, vapid show, I still wanted to spend time with you tonight. I know I need to make some effort to help mend our relationship better." He made a tired sigh and sucked his teeth. It didn't sound so much as hatred, but just as common petulant annoyance. That was a start, at least. "And I know the same has to go for Sonic prime too, but that's definitely going to be a while from now. I can tell you that much." He then lowered his eyelids at Zhadow suggestively. "That's also why I wanted to spend the night with you here, in bed."
Okay, that definitely wasn't innocent to say. Zhadow's cheeks faintly turned red. "Um," Why did it feel hotter in here all of a sudden? "That's...great-"
Zonic suddenly crawled into his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck. He buried his face against the crook of his neck while whispering, "Touch me, please."
Zhadow's eyes shrank and he made a surprised chuckle. "Ahahaha...ahh...I don't know if that's...wise. You're still injured, aren't you?"
"Shadow prime's Divine Spirit already healed me."
How did he even know-Damn it, Zonic was already prepared for this. "Okay, but we still need to get up early and-" Zhadow felt Zonic grind his lower body against his pelvis, and he couldn't help but stare down at his ample behind. He had to touch it, he had to. Just a small tap would do. He slowly reached down to grope him, causing his rookie to lightly moan in his ear. "Zonic..." His tone sounded a little weary again. "I shouldn't...I really shouldn't..." He shouldn't, but he really wanted to. They just had sex a day ago, but it wasn't enough. They had been away from each other for so long, that frankly, he deserved to have him every single night. "I..." He felt Zonic kiss against the side of his neck. He couldn't deny this, he was so intoxicating. He smelled so sweet, he smelled like blueberries and bakery treats. Okay, maybe just once. Just once he could indulge but no more this week. Anymore and he'd snap, but he'd definitely enjoy this. He groped him harder as he rubbed his body against him. Zonic lifted his face from his neck and shared a passionate kiss with his general. They both moaned lowly in the kiss, their breaths quickly hot with lust. "Zonic?"
"Mmn...Yes...?"
"I have a request..."
"And that is?" His grip in his ass became tighter, causing Zonic to wince with a moan. "S-Sir...I'll do anything for you, absolutely anything-Ah..."
"..." He knew this would sound a little weird at first, but it wouldn't be weirder than anything they've ever done to each other thus far. "...I want you to punish me."
Zonic's cheeks became pink instantly. "H-Huh? But I...I haven't-" He bashfully looked to the side. "I-I haven't done that in almost an entire year, sir. Is that...Is that okay?" His initial response was a strong French kiss. "M-Mmmm~" His heart fluttered, he was ravishing his mouth with his tongue. It tasted so good.
"I want you to punish me, and that's an order."
"Y-Yes, sir..."
August 20th
DAY 41: Wednesday
12:15, Midnight
The box spring shook furiously, with panting, loud moaning and harsh grunting echoing off the walls.
Zonic made their conditions very clear: Yellow for a break, and red to stop.
Zhadow never used either color.
The sheets were messed up, the pillows toppling onto the floor, the wall behind the bed definitely damaged to some extent from the constant slamming of the headboard. A lone white blouse was tossed on the carpet, long forgotten along with a bottle of lube. A blue hedgehog was panting with sweat dripping down his face as he quickly and roughly rocked his hips back and forth against his fiancé's fully hardened member. He rode him without mercy, penetrating himself with his prick harshly. He had one hand gripped against his throat, while the other was holding a black, leather strip of fabric. His fist held it tightly, and he was making sure that every thrust met against his ass was in perfect synch. He was riding Zhadow against the bed, with a leather leash wrapped tightly around his neck. A matching black blindfold was tied behind his head, and now he could only hear and feel his surroundings. He would have been holding Zonic by his waist to help guide him onto his cock, but his wrists were handcuffed over his head at the moment. They hadn't done something like this in a very long time, but it was just as good as the first time they tried it.
Zonic was moaning with great satisfaction, his superior was doing a fine job in pleasing him. But the moment he felt his hips falter-"How dare you." He pulled at the leash with a frustrated scowl. "Don't you dare stop moving." He growled sexually with a glare. "Keep fucking me and don't stop until I say so." Ah yes, there was the rhythm again. "A-Aahhh..." He moaned loudly and clenched his eyes shut. "Ahhh...Mmmn...Y-Yes...Yes...! That's it, harder...faster..." He pulled at the leash again. "Harder..." He felt him reach deeper within his walls, and he gasped in pleasure. "A-Ahh!" He loved every second of this. They skipped most of the foreplay and after a little preparation dictated by his rookie, they went straight into the main course. Zonic's inner thighs were shuddering and moist with lube, sweat and precum, his neglected shaft weeping for attention. But Zhadow's sex was so good that he didn't even need to touch himself. He made him so wet inside, his general's perfect length slick with so much of his fluids. This was exactly why he wanted Zonic to do this: Because every once in a while, he loved it when he dominated his body. To feel his beautiful ass slap against his pelvis over and over while he choked him with both his hand and a leash, was one of his many fantasies. Specifically. He had many more, of course. He restricted him so much, he couldn't even hold him and use his body as leverage to thrust harder, but he couldn't let that be an excuse to go easy on him. After all, he didn't want to disappoint him and be punished again. "A-Aaahh!" Zonic cried out a whimper, his grip in his neck growing tighter. "O-Oh shit...Fuck..."
"H-Haa...ahh..." Zhadow couldn't believe how good he was at this, even after all these years. No one should be able to ride this well, but he was taking his very soul out of his body moving his hips like that. He was taking every inch, every thrust and pump inside of his body with so much greed. He couldn't stop his hips from smacking into him, and he didn't even realize he was thrusting faster and harder. He wanted him so bad, he needed his insides around his dick, he craved it. He was so blessed to have this beauty in his bed, destroying his mattress and making him feel his domination. He heard the sound of something falling on the floor with a soft thud. Next, he felt his throat feel a little lighter and less restricted. Did he drop the leash? Soon, his vision returned because his blindfold was ripped off of his face. "...!" He watched Zonic grip both of his hands into his throat, his movements becoming more rapid. "Ngh...Z-Zonic...!" He was going so rough, but he couldn't help but stare at how gorgeous he was. "Damn..." If he kept moving like that, he was going to lose it. "W-Wait..." He wouldn't be able to control it. "Zonic-! Mngh...!"
He didn't use his colors.
If he did, Zonic would have respected his word and stopped or slowed down immediately.
He honestly didn't want to, it felt too good.
He just wanted to love him, but...
Zonic's face became pathetically desperate. He needed his seed inside of him now. "Cum inside me..." He moaned pleadingly. "Fucking cum inside me..." He laid himself against him, hugging his body close as he continued to hop his ass up and down in his lap. "I need you inside me so bad...Please cum...!" No, no no...He couldn't keep talking like that. Zhadow was going to lose it. He couldn't lose control, he couldn't. Shit, he told him to keep the blindfold on for a reason. Look away, look away before it was too late. Before his mind wandered and thought about all of his past mistakes. "No." Zonic gripped his jaw with his hand and forced him to look back in his direction. "Look at me, please look at me. A-Ahh...!" He gasped erotically, he could feel it coming. He couldn't look away from him and his beautiful dark green eyes. His flushed face, hickeys covering his upper body, his sexual whining and pleading all directly in his face. He was even smiling, he looked so happy to do this with him. He couldn't stop him, not now. He never saw him smile like that, how could he ruin it? His light was too warm, he couldn't take it away. He couldn't go back to the darkness again.
Zhadow's eyes shook rapidly, he was losing it.
"Zhadow...I love you so much, please cum inside me!"
"...!"
An alien-like impulse fired in Zhadow's brain.
His pupils became as thin as an anaconda's, his dark red irises becoming bright vermillion.
Breed him...Breed him now.
He'll be grateful afterwards.
Zhadow made a dangerous snarl and tackled Zonic down against the bed. The blue soldier was shocked when his head hit the mattress, and looked up with an alarmed expression. "Z-Zhadow...?" He saw that he destroyed the handcuffs. He didn't just snap the chain, he dented and tore through the metal of the cuffs itself. They fell off the bed and onto the floor with heavy thuds. Those weren't normal kinky handcuffs either, those were actual No Zone issued handcuffs. Those were what officers used to arrest criminals, dangerous ones at that. He was growling sexually and hungrily, and his eyes were glowing. "Zhadow-Ah-!" Zonic was turned over on his stomach, with his ass promptly raised up. He instantly felt his superior penetrate deep within him once again without warning. "A-Ah!" He felt tears bud in the corner of his eyes. Usually when he screamed like that, no matter how immersed they were, Zhadow would always stop and ask if he was okay. But not this time. He immediately started thrusting brutally, slapping his sack against his taint from behind. He gripped his wrists and pulled at his arms. Zonic smiled nefariously, his mouth lightly drooling as he felt him strike against his prostate and beyond with every impact. This was it, that's exactly how hard he wanted him to fuck him. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes...!" He cried. "Don't hold back...Fuck me, cum inside me, please!" He moaned a near scream once again when he felt himself release onto the sheets. "A-Aahhh! Ahh! Fuck...Don't stop until you finish...Aahh! Zhadow I love you, I fucking love you...!"
He felt his black and red striped arms wrap around his neck, putting him in a rear naked choke hold as he never ceased thrusting. He wasn't even looking at anything, his eyes were completely lost. He was grunting and panting like a dying dingo, but his mind was blank. Zhadow only wanted one thing, and he'd get it by the time he was done with him. Finally, he clenched his eyes shut tightly as he released inside. "Grnghh..." His fangs sharpened considerably, and he glared down at Zonic's neck. He snarled again and opened his mouth to fully bite down.
"...!" Zonic's leaking mouth fell open as both pain and pleasure struck against his throat. That made him orgasm for a second time, his eyes rolling back with an impure grin. "A-Aaahhh...Ahh...! Yes...! Bite me, drink as much as you want!" He felt him thrust a few more times as he bit him, and Zonic was positive he saw heaven for a brief moment. "I'm yours, I'm absolutely yours..." He whispered pleadingly. "Again, fuck me again, bite me more...I love you so much..."
...
...Zonic fell forward against the bed, almost completely still if it wasn't for him heaving his chest in and out from sheer exhaustion.
Zhadow drenched his tongue in his blood, slathering it against his bleeding throat. He sucked against it, cleaning his mess before realizing...
...what the hell he was doing.
"..."
Oh no.
Shit.
This is bad.
Zonic slowly lifted his head with a dizzy expression. He winced in pain and put a hand to his head, it felt like it was spinning. He then glanced down at his own neck and half saw the large wound Zhadow made, which almost traveled to his shoulder. "O-Oh...shit..." Zonic panted. Oh well, it'd heal eventually. He sat up and sighed in relief, that was good. Probably the best they've done in a while. He looked over at his fiancé. "Zhadow," He called with a tired voice. "Do you mind helping me to the bathroom? I'm dizzy and my legs are a little numb." He saw that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, completely still. "...?" He narrowed his eyes. "Zhadow?"
"Yeah-Yes." He replied quickly. "Yes...I'll...help you." He stood up and turned to offer his hand.
Wait, did he have claws?
Ugh, his head...he couldn't focus.
Zonic took his hand and he was helped off of the bed. Soon he was escorted to the bathroom. His legs were indeed spent and was forced to lean against his general for support. After he helped him to the shower, he backed away from Zonic and shut him inside. Zonic frowned, what was going on with him? Why didn't he want to shower with him? Actually, he could smell...fear. What in the world was a juggernaut like Zhadow possibly afraid of? He really didn't like how this night was ending.
After his shower was over and he returned to the bedroom, he had a small gauze covering his neck. He bit in pretty deeply, but he'd be fine. Oh good, he already changed the sheets and fixed up the bed. The only issue was, he didn't see his lover. He looked around the bedroom. Where was he? He walked closer to the bed. "Zhadow?" He called. "Zhadow...?" He crossed his arms disapprovingly. "I don't plan on sleeping alone, you know-" His senses reacted faster than his brain. "...!" Zonic forced his body to push himself to the side. A loud crash was heard as he whipped his head around. Zhadow was there, and he had his claws stabbed into the wall. His face darkened over, only his glowing red eyes and demonic pupils visible. He slowly pulled his hand away and began moving towards Zonic. If this was any other assailant, such as a home invader or robber, Zonic would have already rendered them unconscious and carried them to No Zone Prison himself. But his body was frozen over in shock at what was happening, something that he only just now realized he caused.
Zhadow was being controlled by the Black Arms blood this whole time, and it was triggering his Primal Mode.
And he, as a pure blooded Chaos Born, allowed himself to be immersed in Black Arms hormones.
The very step that initiated official Chaotic Breeding.
54 - END - 54
Chapter 55: Symmetry
Summary:
Zonic manages to get Zhadow under control, and Shadow finds himself spending the next day with Sonic.
Notes:
Once again, the character Mayor Zaw, is a Zonian (No Zone) version of Maw the Thylacine, who is a real character from the comics.
Chapter Text
55 - Symmetry - 55
Damn it, that's why he kept hiding his eyes, why he was so reluctant to sleep with him, and why Zonic felt dizzy after they did it. Zhadow's Black Arms blood was becoming more unstable for some reason, and Zonic losing himself in the pleasure only made it so much worse. That was step one of Chaotic Breeding, which lead to something neither of them were ready for. Thank goodness there were many other factors that needed to happen before anything irreversible occurred. Why didn't he see that coming? He literally dedicated his life to studying this stuff, he should have known better. But then again, Overseers weren't meant to find love or reproduce-Shit, he couldn't think about this right now! Why didn't he notice sooner? Was he really that insensitive and negligent? He was such a selfish idiot, he just wanted it to be like it used to be. Passionate and fun late nights, cuddling, watching stupid TV shows, a more active sex life...That's all they both wanted. But Zhadow was trying to go about it a different way, and he should have paid more attention to the signs. He shouldn't have seduced him, he should have just let them cuddle and go to bed. He was a terrible fiancé. He did nothing but hurt him.
This moment of self hating clarity was the distraction Zhadow needed to tackle him against the bed once more, albeit in a much less erotic manner. He had his right hand gripped against his jaw, and his left pressing against his throat. Not enough to choke him, but to keep him still. His weight was pressing down on him, he couldn't move. He forcefully pushed Zonic's face aside to look at his neck, more specifically at the wound he made earlier. That gauze was in the way, he needed to get rid of it. He snatched and tore it off his neck, causing the blue soldier to wince painfully. Zonic tried moving his eyes to see his lover, only to notice that he was literally drooling at sight of his throat. He slowly leaned down, his mouth widening to reveal his large sharp teeth. Then, something conflicted in Zhadow's eyes. He briefly shared Zonic's gaze, and he saw that he still wasn't afraid.
"Sir..." Zonic grunted calmly, his current position making it rather difficult for him to speak. "I can smell that your hormones are erratic, and hostile. With all due respect," Speak carefully, don't arouse any emotions. He wasn't in his right mind right now and any little thing could trigger him. "I think you need to get off of me, and take a walk outside."
"..."
Zhadow suddenly became frozen, but he still kept his hold on his rookie.
Zonic sighed. Chaos, he was such a fool. This was entirely his own fault. "Zhadow," He said softly, keeping his tone leveled. "Please, I'm asking you to get off."
"..."
The general grew a horrible headache, his eyes trembling as he stared down at him. He wasn't scared of him. No matter what he did or said, he was never, ever afraid. Looking him straight in the eye and still treating him like a normal person. He never ostracized him, never made him feel lesser, he only embraced his darkness and never denied or belittled him. Even his expression—he wasn't angry, not even sad. If anything, he was disappointed in himself. He blamed himself, and yet Zhadow was the one who was pinning him down. He was too good for him, he was supposed to love and protect him. How could he do this, and how could he ever hurt him like this?
He couldn't do this.
The blood wasn't worth it.
He abruptly released the blue one and tore his demonic eyes away from him. He could feel an awful migraine, holding his head painfully. He quickly got up from the bed and sprinted to the bathroom.
"Sir!" Zonic called for him and immediately threw himself out of bed to go after him. As he tried to push the door open, he was shoved back. "Ngh-Zhadow, quit messing around! Let me in!" He seized the doorknob and prevented him from closing it shut.
"Stay the hell away from me!" He yelled, his voice gruesome and deeper than normal. He could no longer keep his hold from the knob, the pain was coming back. He groaned in pain, his hands shooting at his face. He couldn't help it, the Black Arms blood was pulsing within his veins so hard that it was starting to become visible through his skin and fur. Red lines glowing throughout his body all over. He started to panic, he couldn't stop it—It was too late. God, this hurts so bad. He fell onto his knees on the tile floor, his claws growing larger and scratching at his own face. It felt dreadful, he couldn't take it much longer. His groans became screams of torment, it was infecting his entire body and he could feel it infiltrate his muscles. He slammed his forehead to the floor, hunched over and gripping his claws so hard into the tiles that he was digging through the material. He could hear the door finally open. "D-Don't get close..." He growled in agony. "Your blood...I can smell it...I can taste it on my tongue...I'll devour you...I don't want to hurt you! Go away!"
Zonic easily refused.
He had something behind his back, Zhadow couldn't see. Zonic crouched down and attempted to help him up. "Sir, it's alright. Let's just go back to bed and-"
Zhadow made a savage snarl and instantly lunged at him to bite.
A metallic noise was heard, because Zonic had swiped his baton against his fiancé's muzzle. It blocked the potential bite, his teeth gnawing right through it. He instantly broke it in half, with metal black pieces falling below them. Zonic had no choice but to drop the remains of it. "Damn it-!" He reached out to seize Zhadow's muzzle with his hand, uncaring if he was bitten. They knocked over onto the floor, Zonic on top of him and pinning him down with his lower body. Zonic's left foot was stomped against his right arm, and his free peach hand was gripping Zhadow's left wrist to stop him from attacking him with his claws. "You're Black Arms, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically as his superior tried to claw at him, his teeth puncturing his skin as he held his face down against the floor. This was a losing battle, Zonic eventually would be thrown off since his general was stronger than him, especially in this form. He had little time left. "The Light One nulls the influence of the blood instantly. You're recognized as Chaos Born, so like I once told you-" He almost lost his grip, but slammed Zhadow's head back down against the floor. "I'm your Overseer too, your superior on the Divine Pyramid. And with the Light One's authority, I demand that you control yourself this instant!"
The second he uttered the words, "Light One's authority," a white chaotic symbol appeared on Zhadow's head. It shot through the internals of his body, invading his brain and blood cells. His nerves, his eyes, his skin and the very tips of his fur could feel all of it. It was forcing his primal side to revert. His pupils kept readjusting, widening yet thinning over and over. It was almost like his very heartbeat was being overwritten. Zhadow gasped strongly before wincing, his eyes going back and closing. He fell limp against the floor.
...
...Damn it.
Zonic sighed again.
Carrying Zhadow in his arms back in the bedroom, he warily placed his general back on the mattress. "Now I see why you refused to drink my blood for so long...I don't know why, but you're having a tougher time controlling the Black Arms influence." He got on the bed beside him and moved up to get closer to his body. "I didn't want to do this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to put a seal on you, sir." He saw that he was panting and sweating. It was like he caught a terrible cold, Chaotic Spells were nothing to scoff at. Zonic reached for his side of the bed's nightstand, and placed his attention to the drawer in the middle. It was locked tight and had a holographic keypad that appeared the moment his hand hovered near it. After pressing the right combination, it unlocked and he pulled open the drawer. He took out a small glass bottle from within, one filled with his own blood. He tapped it with his finger, watching it react properly with a spectrum of colors quickly flashing throughout it. Good, it was still potent. This wasn't normal blood, after all. It was blessed with the chaotic properties of him. This bottle was only used for emergencies, and he hated that he was forced to do this. He twisted the cap open and placed it down onto the bed. He then poked his pinky inside to drench the tip in it's liquid. Carefully, he leaned over his general's body. He lowered his digit against his torso, right beneath his chest fur. He began to draw a complicated Chaotic Sigil in his black fur, the sigil of the Light One. Since it was a very detailed symbol, he had to re-dip his pinky a few times for fresh strokes.
Once he finished, the sigil began to glow brightly on Zhadow's body. He grunted in misery, the symbol was nearly burning itself against him. It only took around a minute, but the light and the sigil made with Zonic's blood slowly faded away into angelic white embers. Zonic quickly looked at his face to see if he felt any better, and thankfully, his leader's tightened expression loosened. He no longer looked in pain, but more wore the hell out. His body was going back to normal, but he knew his eyes were still affected. He placed his hand over his forehead, and felt that his temperature was normal. Thank God. Zonic grabbed the cap and twisted it back on the glass bottle. He leaned to his side of the bed to return the bottle in its secret hiding place, and locked the drawer back. Zonic then scooted himself closer to his superior, and gently lifted his fiancé's upper body so he could lay his head against his blue furred lap. He gently petted his head, feeling that he was slowly normalizing his breathing. The darkness of their bedroom was only illuminated by the LED lights of their futuristic furniture and items, along with the night sky's moon. Zhadow kept his eyes closed, he needed a minute to rest.
"Zhadow...?" Was he awake?
"..."
Even if he wasn't, he still had to repent for this. Zonic grimaced ruefully. "Zhadow...I-"
"Don't..." Oh, he was awake. "It's not like I refused. I told you to do those things. You didn't use me."
He still could have endangered both himself, but more importantly, him. "I thought you said you had control over the blood?"
Zhadow made an unsure grunt. "I thought I did...I haven't tasted your blood in so long, and something felt...wrong. I knew I'd snap if I consumed it. But even without it," He winced as he attempted to sit up. "I don't know why it keeps rousing up and boiling inside me. This isn't normal, and I've been trying to figure it out on my own."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Zonic asked with a hurt voice. "I wouldn't have been so forward and I would have kept my distance for your sake."
He knew he didn't appreciate that he kept that from him. "I didn't want that." The striped general gradually turned to look Zonic in the eyes. "I wanted you. I always want you."
"Zhadow," His rookie blushed but remained grounded in his stance. "We have to be more careful and communicate better than this. I know it's my fault that we don't talk as much as we should, but that's no excuse for you to hide things like this from me. You could have hurt me, I could have hurt you!" He exclaimed with a saddened expression. "And I..." He closed his eyes disgracefully. "I need to pay more attention to you. If I did like I was supposed to, I would have known better and neither of us would be going through this." He turned away and rubbed his finger against his ring. "Damn it. I'm such an awful fiancé..."
His general sympathized with his lover, and tenderly caressed the side of his face. "I don't blame you, Zonic." He pulled him closer, trying to get him to look him in the eyes by his own volition for once. "We'll be more careful, and I won't hide anything else from you." He saw Zonic slowly open his beautiful dark green eyes back to him. "I've got you in my sights, always."
...
...Pfft, he's been saying that even before they got together, albeit in a more menacing way. "I know you do." Suddenly, Zhadow fell forward against the blue soldier. "S-Sir...!" He shook his shoulders worriedly. "Are you okay? Is your blood flaring up again? Get up!" Zhadow made incoherent, smitten mumbles, his face deeply planted in Zonic's peach chest. That's when the first lieutenant general slowly frowned with an unimpressed glare. "Really? You could have just asked to-" He was cut off by his general embracing him strongly and fully pushing his muzzle deep within his upper body. Zonic only rolled his eyes. "Fine, you can stay there for the night." Zhadow hasn't done this in a while, so he could let it slide for now. His pectorals were a little larger than his, after all. Zonic supposed he could see why his lover saw it as just another form of sex appeal, despite the fact that he wasn't a woman and didn't have breasts. Usually, Zhadow tried motorboating him or suckling at his...Ugh. He was a pain sometimes. While the idiot was down there, he decided to offer him something he believed his superior needed. "Hey," Zonic said as he petted the back of his head. "Take the day off tomorrow, I'll take care of everything."
This caused Zhadow to lift his face from his chest with a stubborn frown. His dark red eyes were still very much infected with Black Arms blood as he thought, and that little incident caused his irises to look even more frightening. However, they obviously didn't bother Zonic in the slightest. "Zonic, you're barely even sleeping or eating as it is. The only thing you know how to do is work until your body gives out. The last thing I'm going to do is make you take over my tasks on top of your own for twenty-four hours."
"I don't care." Zonic simply countered with a nonchalant tone. "You're in pain because of me and you can't perform your duties in these conditions. Perfection in No Zone Corps is key."
Okay, he had him on that one but he still couldn't let him do this. It didn't feel right. "What if you're pregnant? You can't work in those conditions."
Zonic almost laughed at such a ridiculous notion. "Oh, please. You and I both know there are way more parameters than that to trigger an official Chaotic Pregnancy." He tapped his finger on his general's forehead. "Remember: Triggering Chaotic Breeding with Black Arms hormones is only step one, sir." Still, he didn't realize how much of Zhadow's hormones came out when he lost himself in the influence like that. He'd have to write that down later, maybe read up on it some more in older notes. "Sex means nothing without accomplishing certain key requirements. I am not pregnant and won't be for a very long time."
Zhadow scowled. Shit, he had him again. But that's not the point, he didn't want him taking on all those responsibilities. "I am your general, and my answer is absolutely not-" And to that, Zonic just forced his face back into his chest to shut him up. "Zmmmnpgh!" He also felt his rookie wrap a strong peach arm around his neck so he couldn't get out of his embrace. Pay back for putting him in that very arousing sleeper hold earlier.
"Shut up already..." Zonic mumbled as his elder lover made physical attempts to push himself away. "I'll take proper care of myself so you won't worry yourself sick in here." He saw his superior grumble a sigh against him, his futile resistance waning. "It was you who made me the first lieutenant general and vice leader of No Zone Corps for a reason. Wherever you falter, is where I pick up the slack. Quit being so hard headed and let me take responsibility." He let go of Zhadow and allowed him to slump against his chest. "It's just one day, I can handle that. I already know your schedule, and I am aware that you have a conference with Mayor Zaw at noon. I know you don't like it when I speak with him alone, so I'll be cautious. I also know that I have to speed up the pace of clearing all of our officers of suspicion, that I'm in charge of a crucial sweep within No Zone Prison at 5 PM, and I know I have to keep a watchful eye over the primes and other Chaos Born at every hour of the day." He poked a rough finger against his superior's head. "You and I both know that I have literally done so much more than that within only twenty-four hours. This is nothing to me, I was trained for this. You trained me for this." He leaned down and placed a small kiss on his cranium. He saw the tips of his black ears redden from that. "If you're still against it, at least consider the option. You need rest, and you've been deserving of a vacation day for months."
Zhadow sighed heavily as he slightly lifted his face from his chest. "But Zonic-"
"The mayor will not touch me sir, I assure you."
He knew he could handle himself, but...
...Alright, fine.
"I'll think about it, Zonic."
Ray Avenue
Morning, 11:00 AM
Shadow admittedly woke up later than he should have today, he didn't realize how tired he was from training with Maria. After her time was beginning to end, he asked her to return to his body a few minutes before exactly three hours. He was glad he did so, because she was a little winded. She tried to act as if it was nothing, but he could tell she was lying for his sake. He told her it was okay, that they could practice again another time. When she returned to his body, he decided that he'd stay just a little longer inside of the Cyber Chamber on his own. He created several simulations, including fighting against all of Sonic's friends, a few powerful Eggman modeled robots, some GUN machines, First Lieutenant General Zonic and even General Zhadow. He spent up to seven hours within the Cyber Chamber, from 11 AM to 6 PM. And his final simulation? He went against Sonic, of course. However, there was a problem. With Sonic, he noticed the simulation wasn't up to date. He knew this because he defeated the simulation way too easily. Of course, Shadow would always and forever be stronger than faker in terms of physical prowess, but Sonic always found a way around that. And besides that, Sonic's physical strength did increase since they got together. If that was the case, he'd have to assume the simulations of the others weren't quite accurate either. The Eggman bots were perfect, the simulation wasn't lacking there, but the simulation of organic organisms...That's where it failed. Hmph, he'd have to inform Zhadow about that.
As for the difficulty in fighting against Zonic and his counterpart, those simulations were a little challenging. However, learning from their first fight and observing Sonic's second fight with his twin helped. It was a little difficult, but it didn't seem nearly as intense as the real deal. His own twin was a bit of a doozy as well, but nothing he couldn't handle. He defeated every single simulation he created, which was disappointing. That's how he knew the simulations weren't up to date, because he knew damn well his twin would push him to the brink of death in a serious battle. It was another version of him, after all. Anyway, that's why he was a little late in waking up this morning. When he returned last night at 6, he made sure he texted and asked Zhadow for some advice for where he could get some flowers. The general replied via audio recording in the private chat. He remembered his twin sounding rather amused, saying, "Ahh, I had a feeling you'd ask me that eventually. Very well, I suppose you could go to the same place I go to for Zonic. The plants aren't real of course, but they mimic their appearance and fragrance far better than a mere hologram. They're a bit on the pricey side, but they're worth it. It's a few blocks away from the town square." After he gave him the directions, he dashed to the flower shop and searched high and low for some cornflowers. The store paled in comparison to Rose's establishment by far. He couldn't find cornflowers, and asked the shopkeeper if they had any available. Unfortunately they didn't, but they did have something that could serve as a good replacement: Blue hyacinths.
Not quite what he wanted, but it'd have to do. Out of all of the other flowers he saw in the store, those were the only ones that really screamed out to him. He asked the shopkeeper if they knew the symbolism of the flowers. They told him they represented sincerity and care, which perfectly served his intentions. When he returned home, he saw that the blue blur was outside on the roof by the pool, reading a novel. He remembered how peaceful he looked, how focused and studious he seemed. He wanted so badly to go out there and join him, but he didn't want to interrupt him. While they both obviously enjoyed each other's company, it was good to be alone sometimes. He also noticed that there were some pink tinted plastic bags on the kitchen counter. They had a sweet smell to them, and Shadow recognized them from the bags Zhadow had in his hands when they first met him. Those had donuts in them, right? Did Sonic visit some bakery? He wasn't sure but he also was too tired to care, so he immediately headed to bed without eating. After all, he didn't need to. His body would automatically regain his chaos energy with a good night's rest. He hid the flowers under the bed, got under the covers and eventually felt Sonic come to the bedroom hours later to lay next to him.
When he awoke this morning though, the hero was already gone.
He texted him to ask where he was after freshening up, and he only responded with: dont feel like tellin ya. ;p come find me~
Shadow was annoyed, understandably.
So now here he was, trying his best to sense Sonic's chaos energy to find the moron here in...what was this place called again? He looked up at the holographic street sign: Ray Avenue. Whatever. Where the hell was this idiot? He was near the town square, was there anything here that would grab that imbecile's attention? He blinked at the sight of that puke-pink colored atrocity known as that ugly cat cafe. He couldn't have been in there, right? Well, might as well check. He sighed and walked towards the venue, careful not to bump into anyone. Downtown areas were always crowded, after all. When he entered the establishment, he literally almost barfed at how much pink was colored all over the interior. The main reason why Shadow respected Amy's appearance was because the girl was smart enough to add other hints of color to her attire. But this? This was just a grotesque cacophony of a giant pink mess. The carpet, the walls, the counter, even the damn bags for food were all pink. It was safe to assume that this is where Sonic got the food. The only upside to this was that there were a few wild cats loitering in the dining area, and they were all a multitude of natural colors. Shadow winced his eyes through the poor choices in furnishings and made his way past the entrance, careful not to step on any meowing critters.
Once he did, he noticed something very interesting.
He found not just one, but two blue hedgehogs.
Zonic was...talking with Sonic.
Not yelling or bickering, just talking.
Shadow blinked several times.
He walked closer, curious about what was happening. Sonic's face was very blank, neither negative or positive. He stayed silent, and he was at the counter, waiting for the cashier to finish bagging something. A Zonian panther to be exact. They seemed a little nervous, probably because the literal vice leader of No Zone Corps was speaking with an esteemed guest of No Zone. Or because they looked exactly the same, it could have been that too. "...Watching you for as long as I have, I already know why you took such offense to that insult." Zonic said. "My monitoring over your life only saw the surface of your past 'partners' and mistakes, narrow-mindedly nothing more. Either way, who you lay down with is none of my concern. I suppose it's only right that I as your Overseer, humbly apologize for my behavior. I don't just mean for yesterday, I mean since our very first meeting." His tone was neutral, but held some semblance of genuine remorse. He bowed his head lowly to Sonic with his arms behind his back. "Furthermore, I thank you for your increased efforts to aid my reality and they have not gone unnoticed."
Oh, well that was...progressive of him. That was a good start.
Slowly, Sonic blinked. "Oh." He then lowered his right arm. "Dope."
And he suddenly shoved a strong punch into Zonic's gut. "...!" He coughed painfully and took a small step back.
Sonic's expression became quite darkened over, his lime green eyes sharpening their gaze with animosity. "Apology not accepted. Go fuck yourself with a chopstick, you little bitch."
Shockingly, Zonic only chuckled under his breath. He dusted himself off and straightened up his posture, before smirking back at Sonic. As he did so, an ebony-furred wild cat suddenly strutted across the counter to rub up against Zonic's shoulder. "Heheh...Fair enough, Sonic prime." He then waved hello to the cashier, who was practically shitting bricks at this exchange, and turned his back to the hero. He walked away casually, not at all bothered by that killer punch. "Have a fantastic day." As he brushed past Shadow, he briefly glanced in his direction. "Oh, you're here as well. You should know that my superior has taken the day off. I'm afraid that if you need to report something, you'll have to report it to me. Otherwise," He continued walking away. "You too have a fantastic day, Shadow prime." The doors chimed as they opened, watching the blue soldier travel away from the cafe. Shadow then noticed the black cat jump down from the counter just to sprint after the soldier out of the cafe. It just barely managed to slip outside as the door opened and shut back.
That was an interesting reaction from the first lieutenant general. What was that supposed to mean, though? Shadow raised a brow. "Okay," He trailed off slowly as he got closer to Sonic. "He's either plotting to kill you for real, or he sees you as an equal now."
"Whateves." The hero looked at the cashier. "Want me to get the little guy back or...?"
The cashier shook their head with a slightly relieved smile. "That cat always follows Mr. Zonic around town. Heh," They chuckled a little. "We once put a camera around his collar to see where he goes at night, and we watched him follow Mr. Zonic all the way to his office in No Zone HQ. That's probably where they're going now. That little troublemaker always returns to the cafe after hours." They carefully began to tie the pink bag's handles together. "He first found the cat on the streets as a kitten over four years ago, and gave it to us to care for. Mr. Zonic became a regular just so he could visit, and take a donut home on the way." They smiled warmly. "I personally think it's because the cat reminds him of Mr. Zhadow. He loves his company, so we haven't let anyone else adopt him." They then sighed. "Mr. Zonic refuses to take him in, though...I wish he would soon. Wild animals age much quicker than us Zonians. He won't be around forever, and so many other customers want to take him." They soon made a fond smile. "But we owe No Zone Corps our very lives. We'll hang onto that cat for as long as it takes until Mr. Zonic is ready."
For a moment, Sonic was quiet. "..." His eyes seemed distracted, staring at the surface of the counter. He then broke himself out of his deep thinking and smiled at the cashier gratefully. "Thanks for the discount by the way, you guys are the best!"
"Oh it's the least we can do!" The panther replied cheerfully while clasping their hands together. "You saved our shop from being destroyed. That robot head could have flattened us, our customers and the cats like pancakes if you hadn't stepped in. Thank you so much!" They finished tying the bag, revealing an adorable bow.
Sonic picked up the bag and waved goodbye to the cashier. "I'm not gonna lie, I'll be back again in probably a couple days. You guys got crazy good grub and I'm kinda obsessed."
"Haha! Thank you for coming to Pink Rescue. We'd be glad to have you again and again, Mr. Sonic."
The blue Mobian hedgehog walked towards Shadow, but stopped when he saw a delightfully adorable tabby cat walking by his blue legs. He squealed in delight and bent down to pick up the tiny animal. "Ooohhhh my freakin' gosh, you are too cute!" He grinned at the feline's happy meows, cradling her like a newborn. Shadow noticed how easy it was for Sonic to flip on the nurturing role, probably because he was so used to caring for Tails. "Man, I wish I could take a bunch of you little guys back with me to Mobius. Ames would find you good homes for sure." He resorted to carrying the small creature in his arm as he watched Shadow approach. "Hey babe~ You see this cute little gal? Isn't she the sweetest?" He held up the cat in front of the ultimate life form's face, smiling from ear to ear at his reluctance. "Come ooonnn, you know you wanna pet her! Look at her tiny face!"
"..." Shadow was face to face with one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse:
A defenseless kitten.
Shadow simply patted the tiny feline a few times before gently pushing Sonic's hands out of his face.
Kitten defeated.
"Are you done playing this stupid game of hide-and-seek now?"
Sonic pouted as he carried the kitten in his arm. She sniffed around him and nuzzled her face into his chest. "Meanie...Your heart's as cold as ever."
"It wouldn't be if I woke up with you in my bed this morning. Now I'm cranky."
"...!" The hero's cheeks became red instantly. "C-Chaos..." That was kinda hot. "Well, maybe I had things to do!" He pompously turned his nose up at him with an even harsher pout. "I've got business of my own, you know. Super important hero stuff, mind you."
"Yes," Shadow agreed in a deadpan. "Business like tending to stray cats and buying bread treats for pure self indulgence. Your heroism is flawless as ever, faker."
"You dummy," Sonic bent down to let the kitten go. She didn't seem like she wanted to leave, until she saw another customer come in. She meowed and ran off, making Sonic smile brightly. He then returned his pout as he stared at Shadow. "For your information, I bought us something nice to chow on together. It was gonna be a surprise, that's why I told you to come find me." He then made an annoyed scowl. "I was gonna try to leave before you came in, but then Captain Try-Hard distracts me with that dodgy-ass apology." He rolled his eyes. "I can tell he was genuine, but still, screw him. Not in the forgiving mood right now. Anyway," He roped an arm around Shadow's shoulders and directed them towards the exit of the cafe. "I got a nice little spot waitin' for us a few blocks from here. It's quiet, plenty of space for a picnic and super clean...mostly. It ain't conventional, but it's got a helluva nice view. You mind havin' another outdoor date?"
Shadow's eyes squinted. "Depends. How much would you have spent on that if everything wasn't discounted?"
Sonic sucked his teeth. "Dude, seriously?" He could tell Shadow wouldn't continue moving if he didn't tell him. "It would have been like fifty or sixty bucks, whatever. We eat a lot, so I had to get a decent amount of food. 'Sides, takeout's always expensive, you know that. Shit, this is cheap."
"Hmph," The biohog would allow it. Maybe he should wait a bit before giving him his flowers. "Very well, I'll give you permission to cater to me for now."
Sonic glared at him as they walked through the doors together. "You keep acting like a sun-dried tomato, and I'm gonna make out with you in front of the entire city."
"Try it, and see what happens."
"Shadow, don't make me push you in an alley."
No Zone HQ
Afternoon, 12:00 PM
The first lieutenant general scooted his office chair forwards as he placed his coffee on his desk beside his large computer monitor. He tapped a couple keys to wake it up, unlock it and log on to his desktop to open his browser. Without touching anything else, he gave the computer a voice command. "Computer, open emails." The device did as it was ordered, opening his top secret emails onto the screen. "Open the most recent email from the president and use both links." He pulled a notepad, a square ashtray and a pen from one of the drawers underneath the desk, and placed them down on the surface. Paper was so obsolete in this world, and very few manufacturers still made it. There were no organic trees to make it out of, so they had to get creative and form paper out of thin bio-plastic. The plastic itself was of course not made of any organic material, either. Writing utensils that showed up on this kind of paper were pens with heavy ink, which was what Zonic was using now. He kept paper on hand due to the natural error of computers: They can always be hacked or glitched. Despite their world having several hundred years of technological countermeasures built for such errors, it could still happen and one could never be too sure. Zonic's duty as Overseer was more important and secretive than any other responsibility in any reality of the multiverse, so whatever he wrote had to have been protected and concealed at all costs. His notes for today were mostly for his general, to secretly report to him when his duties for today were complete.
When the computer opened a specific email and initiated the links on its own, he heard the doors to his office open automatically. A rookie soldier peaked their head inside with a gentle smile. A male Zonian sloth that enlisted almost a year ago, and was making impressive progress as a new recruit. "The mayor has arrived, sir."
The thylacine mayor of Parallel City was ready to speak. Zonic forced himself not to roll his eyes. Here we go..."Computer, activate encrypted recording." Zonic would need some smokes for this one. "Thank you, private. Let him in." The sloth nodded and stepped out. As Zonic heard the sounds of overpriced dress shoes click against his floors, he mentally prepared himself. He dug in the pocket of his jacket and placed down a blue lighter and a pack of cigarettes that he stole from Zhadow's nightstand earlier this morning. His superior was asleep, he wouldn't find out until later and they always took each other's smokes anyway. He reached over to press a key on the computer, unmuting himself and the desktop's speakers. Meanwhile, the political official made his way towards one of the living chairs in front of the desk to sit. He was still in that ugly suit, along with that even uglier tie and some dumb suitcase filled with God knows what.
"Good afternoon, mayor." Zonic greeted indifferently as he began writing a few things on the notepad.
The thylacine's face was very suspicious, almost as if he expected someone else to sprint inside of the room to give him a fright. "Err, good afternoon First Lieutenant General Zonic. Um, is General Zhadow not showing up today?" He then sucked his teeth. "Of course not, I don't even know why I asked. I suppose he's late again?"
"Actually mayor," Zonic corrected him quickly. "General Zhadow has taken..." He briefly glanced elsewhere. "...A mental day to himself. That is why we are having the meeting in my office, and not his."
The mayor scoffed loudly as he rudely slammed his suitcase on the fish tank table. "Bah! I didn't know generals and police chiefs were allowed to have those." He shook his head with an exasperated expression and crossed his arms. "Lazy, tyrannical and negligent of his duties. I don't know how the president even deals with him."
The blue soldier only continued to write on his notepad. "It was my idea, mayor. General Zhadow was not keen on the idea of missing work. I nearly forced him to take the day off for his own sake." It wasn't any of the thylacine's business, but he didn't like anyone badmouthing his superior. Besides, that information wasn't very vital in the slightest, it'd be okay to reveal it to a loser like this. "Now," Zonic placed down his pen, brought his hands up to his collar and began to unbutton his military coat. The mayor was distracted, as he was on a tablet, tapping on the screen with his fingers. When he heard Zonic speak again, he momentarily looked up from the device to see Zonic undressing right in front of him. His eyes bulged out of his skull as he did so. The first lieutenant general ignored his shocked expression as he slung his jacket over the back of his office chair. Now he only wore his beige blouse, which was starting to become undone as well. He pulled off his gloves one by one, his hands now bare but his ring was still stuck to the gloves. He'd retrieve it in a moment. As he opened the blouse a little more, his peach chest was revealed to the politician, whose muzzle was turning color. "I'd like for you to please remind me what this private conference is about." He rolled up his sleeves to his peach colored forearms, revealing more of his body underneath such a heavy, concealing uniform.
"F-First Lieutenant General-!"
"Formalities are unnecessary and an annoying mouthful, mayor." Zonic silenced his panicked complaining. "You are not one of my men, you are allowed to call me 'Zonic' along with a proper honorific." He instructed with boredom as he reached his arms behind his head to readjust and smooth out his quills.
The mayor didn't know how to correctly respond to this. "M-Mr. Zonic, why are you stripping?"
"Stripping? I am still very much in my uniform." Zonic repeated with a disgusted expression. "How ignorant. Pardon your loose tongue, but I'm allowed to be comfortable in my own office space, mayor." He then reached for his cup of coffee and placed it to his lips. Just like with Mobians, Zonians were only truly naked if their genitalia were revealed. This still applied to a No Zone officer, even with the uniform. At most, a soldier would only be penalized for not properly wearing their uniform, not for being "naked." To them, that's not what being "naked" was. As of right now, Zonic was the boss while the true leader was away, so he was allowed to take off his coat and show off a little bit of his chest if he wanted to without consequences. Even then, he was a male so it's not like he had breasts falling out onto the desk. What would the mayor do? Snitch to the president again for having his blouse slightly open? Not his problem. "State your business, please."
Besides, there was a reason why he did that.
55 - END - 55
Chapter 56: Rhombus
Summary:
Zonic hones in and confronts Mayor Zaw, revealing some interesting information on the politicians of No Zone. Meanwhile, Shadow and Sonic go on their date.
Notes:
One of the characters cameoing in this chapter is a Zonian version of Axel the Water Buffalo. In the Archie comics, he was a villain who worked with Eggman along with Maw.
Chapter Text
56 - Rhombus - 56
12:15 PM
The mayor of Parallel City gulped as sweat beaded down his forehead.
He made a sheepish smile as he readjusted his now very hot collar, his eyes stuck on Zonic's partially revealed upper body. The thylacine cleared his throat nervously as the blue soldier sipped his coffee, eyeing him with a raised brow. "I-I-I err...Y-Yes!" He turned his face away a little to avoid staring any longer than he already had. "Of course, of course...Um," He briefly scrambled for his things, and Zonic could hear rustling over there. He had a smart screen stylist and picked up his tablet from the table. He used it to tap on the screen and scroll down to what he was looking for. "I requested this meeting with General Zhadow to ask about his proposal on budget cuts, and discuss his most recent behavior as general and shadow mayor as of late. If you don't mind, I'd like to discuss the first topic, as it's more important." He watched Zonic nod silently, but with judging eyes as he retrieved his ring from his discarded gloves. The mayor flinched and continued with a more shaken tone. "U-Uh...You see, the city council and I are having a hard time justifying some of these budget cuts. Now as you know, Parallel City collects a very exorbitant amount of funds every year due to its population and spectacular reputation..."
...
...Ugh.
Chaos, no wonder Zhadow always showed up late to these things. This was so freakin' boring. Why did he even take on the role as shadow mayor to begin with? Zhadow had been operating as a shadow politician for decades way before Zobotnik betrayed them and left the force. He was far more ruthless back in the day, so he could only imagine how he acted towards his political colleagues then. However, they probably didn't object to him in any regard at that point in his life. Maybe that's what Zhadow meant when he was complaining in his office yesterday. Because he fell in love and mended his cruel nature, newcomers like this poor excuse of a mayor tried testing his patience constantly. Well, not for long. Zonic didn't like it when people took advantage of his fiancé, and he'd make them pay dearly. Zonic already knew what the thylacine wanted to talk about, and already had a game plan prepared. He already knew about the budget cuts and what Zhadow wanted the city to do. While he wasn't as well versed in politics as his superior was, he knew things most people in his position wouldn't. As far as he could tell, his general's plans were understandable and reasonable. The mayor of course didn't see it this way because of his own selfish reasons, so he'd exaggerate the negative aspects of the cuts to the city council to get them on his side and damn Zhadow's proposal.
If there was one thing Zonic did better than Zhadow, it was his ability to act, and use his silver tongue.
His general may not be able to convince them because of his ego, but Zonic was elusive enough to make someone think otherwise. After all, Zhadow was incredibly stubborn and arguably the most powerful person on the entire planet. They were being attacked by Zobotnik on a dangerously random basis, their own soldiers were possibly getting kidnapped and mind controlled, the townsfolk were shaken up and No Zone Corps may have even had a mole in their midst. Zhadow had so many responsibilities and issues to deal with every single hour, that he had no time to take it easy. And despite all that, his rookie was able to talk him into taking the day off and relaxing in bed. Zonic may not have been the best talker when it came to his Chaotic Brethren, but anyone else?
He had the persuasive lips of a cult leader.
"...And could prove to be a catastrophic collapse in-"
"Mayor Zaw."
The thylacine blinked and stopped for a second. "Yes?"
"Why do you inflate only the hypothetical negative outcomes of General Zhadow's proposal?" Zonic asked while placing down his coffee cup, his ring glinting proudly on his finger where it belonged. "In No Zone Corps, we only deal in cold, hard facts, not mere hypotheticals. We only support theories that hold water and legitimate evidence. The ideas for budget cuts amongst certain aspects of the city are perfectly reasonable if not completely merciful. He's barely cutting away any significant money, and any funding that's being taken away, are from venues that you have taken a personal interest in and don't need." He narrowed his eyes in an accusatory manner, but kept his tone calm. Couldn't scare away the little fish. "The general knows No Zone Corps takes a lot of funding, especially from Parallel City, so he doesn't want to take any more than what he needs to keep it running smoothly. Plus, he wants some of that money to go to places other than the force that needs it more than we do. Such as schools, the Power Sewers and the grid, and the ERT."
The mayor frowned. "The what?"
Of course he didn't know about that. Idiot. "ERT. The Eco Research Team? The team responsible for researching how we can grow more flora into our world? So we don't have to depend on technology to do literally everything? So our world looks nicer, and so we don't have to depend on imitation meat or fake plants to eat as much?" Zonic narrowed his eyes. "So we live like a normal society for the first time in centuries?"
The greedy politician just laughed and flagged this off. "Of all the things he would suggest...Those are all useless subjects to invest money in, but that's the dumbest of them all. Our world will never be able to grow a genuine tree ever again, we'll never be able to eat organic beef, and we'll never have a zoo. That's a fact we need to accept. Our reality is truly the epitome of the future, Mr. Zonic. Why deny it?" He then lowered his tone in a slightly threatening way. "Keep this conversation in this room, and this room only. What I have to say is confidential, First Lieutenant General."
Zonic squinted his eyes with a frown. "Um," That was a strange request, one that he didn't like but would concede to. What was this guy planning to say? Hmph. Zonic shrugged, but he'd warn him. "Okay? My soldiers know I have an important meeting, so no one will interrupt unless there's an emergency. Keep that in mind. Go ahead."
"Very well. Now," The mayor began. "What was that about me taking a personal interest in certain venues across the city?"
"Sure." Zonic easily replied. "The red light district profits from your recent moves as mayor, as you divert a nice amount of the city's cash flow, including your own, into the sex industry."
"...!" The thylacine growled angrily with an embarrassed scowl. "That damn hedgehog...Did he spout that nonsense to you, too? Well, I assure you it isn't true!"
The blue soldier continued to stare at him incredulously. "It's okay to have hobbies after dark, mayor. Our only issue is that you're letting it dictate how you run the city-"
"Let's get something straight here, hm?" The mayor cut him off with a curt voice. "Aren't you illegally engaged to your own superior?"
Ah yes, this was what he was waiting for. Zonic nodded as he briefly looked down at the ring on his finger. It was clearly in view, there was no point in hiding it. "Yes, I am engaged to General Zhadow. It's an open secret only in No Zone Corps, and I'd like for you to keep quiet about it. The president doesn't need to know about that."
The mayor nodded with satisfaction. "Ah, see? You've got a secret too, right? We've all got something that doesn't need to be public, you and I are no different." He leaned his marsupial-like muzzle in Zonic's direction. "It's only fair that we keep each other's skeletons locked up tightly, so you scratch my back and I scratch yours. And to conclude," The thylacine placed down his tablet and smirked. "How about we wrap this meeting up with you agreeing to my proposal instead? I wouldn't mind cutting some of the profits to you personally, Mr. Zonic."
Zonic only sighed. "Mayor, I don't-"
"That ring you have there," The politician made an unimpressed grimace and shook his head. "It's very lack luster. Surely General Zhadow could afford to give you something better, no?" His eyes landed on Zonic's chest, and he licked his lips. "Be honest, is he even treating you well? A barbarian like that can barely keep control over his own men, I doubt he could maintain a relationship."
The blue soldier furrowed his brows and darted his dark green conflicted eyes in another direction. "I...suppose he can be a little trying at times." He leaned back in his chair and practically hugged himself with his arms. "He's a little too...rough...with me. He raises his voice a lot, he says hurtful things he doesn't mean and...sometimes, he..." His face and voice tightened uncomfortably. He didn't like talking about this. "He makes me nervous."
The thylacine nodded his head in an understanding manner. "Yes, I figured as much. You poor thing, I can only imagine how much he's put you through. He's probably hurt you so much already." A malevolent grin stretched across his muzzle. "But I can be gentle with you, first lieutenant general. I can give you everything you want, and treat you the way you deserve to be treated."
Zonic made an interested expression and turned his attention back to the mayor. "Oh?" He asked with a deeper voice, standing up from his desk. He grabbed his cigarettes and ash tray, then slowly walked over to the seat across from the thylacine. "Is that right?" He sat down and crossed his legs. He just had to hear what he'd say next, up close and personal. The mayor was ravenously watching him the entire time, too.
"But of course, Zonic." Mayor Zaw didn't bother with the honorific this time.
"Well, then I'd like you to be honest with me." Zonic held up his pack of cigarettes and began tapping the bottom to pull one out. "We first met four years ago when I was twenty, and Zhadow and I had only just started dating. He took me to a ball that was filled with politicians, and you were there." He placed the stick between his lips and reached over for his lighter. He flicked it once and set the other end of the cigarette ablaze. Once charred and lit, he placed the lighter down and took a puff. After slowly releasing the smoke from his lips, he continued. "You had just been elected as mayor, so Zhadow wanted to meet you personally. Before we even walked over to your table, you stared at me the entire time." He noted with a buttery voice, his eyelids lowered in a suggestive manner. "I was only recently graduated as a higher ranking officer, I was still green. I wasn't even dressed that well, as I didn't know anything about being formal until Zhadow and I got together. Ever since that ball, it was safe to assume you became rather infatuated with me. Every time you and I cross paths, you try to flirt with me when Zhadow's not around. You keep undressing me with your eyes every chance you get, because you like what you see." He saw his eyes lower towards his chest incessantly. He really had a one track mind. "Am I wrong?"
The mayor leered heavily. "I can't help myself, Zonic. Your entire body, your face, your voice...You being engaged to that bastard is a waste and a true crime. I can't help but be obsessed with you."
"Hmph," Zonic scoffed. "And I suppose I'm no better than the sex workers you sleep with every night?"
"Oh of course not!" Zaw exclaimed defensively. "I only buy them because I can't have you. Look," The thylacine explained further, desperate to stay in his good graces. "I admit, I put a lot of money into the red light district. Before Zhadow got promoted, Warden Zobotnik and I made a lot of deals that led to my election, which just so happened to involve those venues." Unbeknownst to him, Zonic narrowed his eyes with a frown. He did what? "He didn't care much for it, but wanted me to keep the prostitution scene active in the streets. Therefore, giving you all more cases, more posts, more eyes and more business. People are touchy when it comes to lust, you know. Untoward things can happen, such as drug dealing, murders of victims no one cares about and so on. It was a great deal. Now I have too many businesses running in the industry to let go, it's why I can't let Zhadow take away those funds. Not only is it extremely lucrative, with a little sex trafficking and prostitution, but that kind of business is the only thing that can make me satisfied. But if I had you," He folded his hands under his chin with a toothy grin. "If I had you in my bed every night...I'd want for nothing, and neither would you."
The blue soldier took another puff of his cigarette before replying slowly. "Mayor," He addressed with some concern. He didn't know he was dealing with Zobotnik in the past. Makes sense now, but what else was being done behind their backs? He didn't expect this conversation to reveal so much. "You do realize you're confessing a lot of crimes to an active, high ranking, intergalactic police officer slash vice military leader, right? It might be best if you stop talking."
The thylacine arrogantly laughed again. "Oh, please. We both have much to lose from this conversation, Zonic. If our secrets were outed, we'd both lose our jobs and ruin our lives. As long as you keep that pretty mouth of yours shut, we won't have any issues." His eyes returned to the blue one's peach chest again. "Now how about we start brainstorming how you'll be leaving that tyrant of a hedgehog for me instead?" He brought his hands up to his tie and began undoing it. "Someone more sophisticated," He then started to pull off his suit, albeit having some trouble. "More rich, more gentle and soon, far more powerful. After all, I'm in the president's good graces. All you have to do is take off the rest of your clothes, spread those blue legs of yours and show me-"
Zonic simply ordered for his computer to finish one more task. "Computer, stop encrypted recording."
...
...The mayor's face froze.
"...Huh?"
"Mayor, I ask for your forgiveness—I told a small lie." Zonic casually spoke as he watched instant terror strike in Mayor Zaw's face. "The president and many other government officials already know the general and I are in a relationship. Now let me take the chance to straighten something out for you myself." He took in one more puff before blowing the smoke directly towards the marsupial. Once it hit his face, he coughed heavily. "The only person I will ever lay on my back for is Zhadow the Hedgehog, the strongest person in this reality and the only person in the multiverse deserving of my complete and utter submission." Zonic's voice became much more cocky and prideful, simply because he was talking about his own fiancé. That was enough to make him speak like the most insufferable narcissist on the planet. "I like strong men, very, strong men. Men who only stifle their strength for my sake when I command them to. You're so weak, you couldn't even breathe near me without passing out. From your noxious demeanor alone, I can only assume your phallic is that of a shrimp, and I've no interest in scrawny, pathetic gnats like you. I need muscle, toned fat and a personality that'll not only bend for my every whim, but one that's strong enough to intimidate me into doing the same. I hate easy targets, I need something on my level. I need a challenge that can easily shoot me dead at any given moment, just as easily as I can shoot a bullseye through it's head. Computer," Zonic grunted as he stretched his arms behind his head. He was so bored right now, he couldn't wait for this to be over. "Pull the president out of the breakout room and unmute him."
"B-Break...out...?" Zaw whispered frantically. "W-What...!?" The mayor whipped his head at the desktop and gasped, scrambling to fix his clothing. Why was there a webcam on the back of it? Someone was entering the call, someone powerful, and his heart was beginning to sink in his ribcage.
The blue hedgehog leaned his head back as he pulled his cigarette from his lips. "Good afternoon, Mr. President." He greeted from afar. A tired face appeared on the computer screen—a brown, large stature Zonian water buffalo with bronze eyes. An incredibly imposing looking brute with large horns, who was absolutely no nonsense. One wouldn't think a barbarian looking Zonian like him would be leading the country, but he spoke extremely well and seemed to always have the people's best interest at heart. On the surface, anyway. Unlike Mobius' United Federation, they didn't have an Overlander ruling over the country.
He just sighed heavily while shaking his head in a shameful manner. "Hello, First Lieutenant General Zonic." He then disappointingly pointed a glare at the thylacine, who flinched considerably at his voice alone. "Mayor Zaw-"
"W-Wait just a second!" Zaw immediately stood up from his seat, ran behind the desk and over to the computer. "I'll have you know that this hedgehog stripped in front of me, flirted with me, and-!"
"Stop." The buffalo hissed. "Just stop. I witnessed everything. I was in the breakout room listening and watching you make a fool of yourself this entire time. Vice Leader Zonic and General Zhadow have been making complaints about you for years, and I tried to ignore them just to give you the benefit of the doubt. The general even tried killing you at the damn policeman's ball years ago!" Ahh, Zonic reminisced as the president continued to rant, remembering how Zhadow basically gave the thylacine a very violent swirly in the bathroom when he caught him staring at Zonic's behind. He told Zhadow he was very uncomfortable because he knew he was staring at him, only to see his then boyfriend nod his head once and leave his side. He had just disappeared to the bathroom while dragging Mayor Zaw along, and soon everyone else in the building heard screaming and yelling. The president just so happened to walk in, saw the scene and threatened Zhadow to let go of the marsupial, or else he'd get him imprisoned indefinitely. Zhadow only glared at them both, before shrugging and returning to Zonic's side. He then took him by the hand and pulled him out of the venue, growling they'd never attend to one of those again. Good times. "And the only reason why he didn't separate your head from your shoulders," The president continued. "Was because I threatened to have him imprisoned for life. I denied all the anonymous allegations, I backed you up anytime your loyalty to this city was ever doubted." He sighed tersely and brought his large hands up to his face, before dragging them downwards. "Now I see I've made a horrible mistake...Actually," The buffalo growled angrily. "Detain him and get him out of my sight. Now."
"Of course, Mr. President." Zonic replied without looking back as he pressed his finger underneath the edge of the coffee table, activating a hidden button. The doors to the office opened once more, and two high ranking No Zone officers quietly stepped in with their armored uniforms.
The thylacine frantically waved his hands back and forth as they approached. "N-No, wait! Hold on-!" He tried hiding behind the desk for shelter.
"Don't be too rough with him, that's General Zhadow's job." Zonic aptly reminded them as they walked through the office. "Please make sure you put him in a holding cell away from the big boys. Otherwise, they'll kill him." The two soldiers saluted their vice leader, before getting behind the desk and gripping the now former mayor by the forearms. They then dragged him out of the office, handling him rather roughly. All the while, he kicked, screamed and wailed for someone to make them let him go. Zonic tapped his cigarette against the square ashtray as he watched the doors shut back. He then got up, grasped the ashtray and walked back over to his desk to sit down in front of his desktop. The moron never knew the computer had a webcam on the front and back. "You got all that, Mr. President?"
The buffalo only nodded with his eyes closed, several veins throbbing on his head. "Unfortunately, yes." He sighed again, his ears flattening. "I am so sorry. I had no idea he had been harassing you since his election. I didn't know you and General Zhadow were telling the truth. And to think he actually participated in...Damn," The president kept shaking his head over and over. "I'm the one who pushed for his election, but if I had known about his true intentions...I had no idea he was committing so many heinous crimes. I should have believed you and the others, as you aren't the only ones who accused him of something. I just...I don't know," He looked incredibly ashamed. "I knew him personally for a very long time. I never thought he'd resort to such things." He opened his eyes and made a more thoughtful expression. "Of course, I'd like him put in prison immediately, but we need to be aware of the specific charges."
The blue soldier placed his cigarette on the ashtray and respectfully gave the president his full attention. "I'm no lawyer, but I am a seasoned policeman despite my young age. I do have some knowledge on how the laws work. As for the mayor," He crossed his legs. "We'll start with the big ones first and proceed down the list: He's participated in sex trafficking and illegal forms of prostitution. He has illegal offshore bank accounts filled with embezzled money from the city, and worked with a known criminal who was recently discovered to have committed various crimes within No Zone Corps. I'd like him charged with sexual harassment for past incidents as well, but this little set up unfortunately invalidates that. I'm willing to take the bullet on that one." He tapped his finger on his forearm curiously. "As for evidence, you have this video. The legality of it is questionable for sure. I had him recorded without his consent. I did however warn him that he was actively confessing to a policeman, yet he continued to talk. Finally, let's not even mention the fact that my superior already has physical evidence for all of these allegations. He would have came forward with it sooner, but some people didn't want to hear us out." Zonic added with a scowl and a knowing glare. "Even if he had a damn good lawyer, he'd still get a moderate amount of prison time at best."
The buffalo could only sigh once again, he knew what Zonic was referring to already. He messed up, he knew that now. "Right...And what about entrapment?"
"Oh God," Zonic quickly growled. Was he really suggesting that at this point? "Foolish nonsense...Yes, this was indeed a set up, but frankly, I couldn't care less." He glowered directly at the president. "I didn't expect the moron to give up info that easily from a little flash of pectoral fat." He shrugged carelessly. "With all due respect, Mr. President, this conversation is pointless at this point. You act as if any of that matters when you know it doesn't. You and the others barely give a damn about legalities of the law to begin with. All you do is cross your T's and dot your I's to save your own asses and manipulate the laws into doing what you want, so I'm sure you can spare that hospitality to me. I'm also sure nepotism will get Mayor Zaw a lighter sentence regardless of what we can stick on him, along with a permanent stain on his record. Besides," His expression darkened ominously. "My superior will have plenty to say to him when the legal portion of this incident concludes, and he doesn't want that. He knows now that he's screwed, and he knows General Zhadow won't be pleased. He's a scary man, you know. In due time, he'll be begging us to keep him locked up and far away from him. Ergo, you concerns for entrapment are futile. We will get the confession we need from that leech either way, and you will allow us to have him incarcerated, to the fullest extent if possible."
The buffalo stiffened with a scowl of his own. He didn't appreciate being talked to like that, but he remained cooperative. He nodded a few more times. "I see. It would be more than misfortunate to have this publicly announced on the news, therefore-"
Zonic just sighed. "Let me guess: You want this covered up so you can fire him behind closed doors and let bygones be bygones, all so the public doesn't despise the government more than they already do?"
The president made a snarl at his crassness, raising his voice aggressively. "I think you and I can both agree that it would be best to do so, First Lieutenant General Zonic. I'll handle all the necessary paperwork I need to sign to insure that the mayor is placed in No Zone Prison. And..." He stressfully conceded the thing that Zonic had been waiting for. "...We'll accept General Zhadow's proposal, and I promise we'll stop criticizing him so harshly and try to work with him a little more cordially."
"Frankly," Zonic noted, still a little unsatisfied with that flimsy olive branch. "You're all very lucky. If Zhadow and I weren't together, he would have been much more uncooperative and dangerous to work with. If he knew about what happened here today, he'd call the police on himself." He made a very displeased expression, his tone greatly agitated and not at all intimidated by the president's vigor. "You all treat him like some inferior peon the moment he decides not to bare his fangs for once. I'm starting to think he had every right to act like a 'tyrant' to you people, because none of you actually listen. Zhadow warned you about Zaw. He warned you about Zobotnik. He warned you what would happen if you worked with them. This little show I put on for you, is proof that this government is gutter trash and is only being held together with children's glue. Zhadow only became the shadow mayor to make it easier for him to keep a protective eye over Parallel City and fix some of the damages you idiots caused. However, he doesn't need that job to do so. If he truly, truly wanted to," He leaned closer to the screen and deepened his voice. "He could use the military to storm your building, initiate a coup and take over the country as a dictator. Hell, he doesn't even need an army to do that. He could do that all on his own without anyone's help, and conquer this entire planet with an iron fist. And yet," He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "He's humbled himself, and refuses to be the monster you all swear he is. You all throw stones from glass houses, when he's actually committed several crimes for all of you at least once in the past under the previous warden's orders. He's learned his lesson with former Warden Zobotnik, and he will never commit such acts again. But he surely can if you push him there. Heed this warning President Zaxel," He told him what he told Sonic and Shadow when they first arrived. "Don't. Fuck. With the general. And for that matter, don't fuck with me."
The president winced, clenching his teeth in frustration. "..."
"Your entire government is filled with corrupt lemming fucks, who don't realize how dangerous it is to piss off a literal warlord. Check your dumb ass privileges."
"Of course...First Lieutenant General Zonic..."
"Let it never be said that I enjoy interacting with any of you cretins. I don't ever want to have a call with you or that endangered foolishly foolish fool again, that's Zhadow's job. And I expect that you treat him extra nice the next time you drag him to a meaningless conference. Or else." Zonic carelessly flicked his cigarette against the ashtray. "I'll be mailing my general's evidence on your precious former mayor later this evening. Have a fantastic day."
With a click, he ended the video call.
Zonic stood up from his seat and took his cigarette. He placed it between his lips once more and pulled his phone out from his pants pocket. He unlocked it and proceeded to dial a number. As he waited for it to pick up, he walked around the desk and leaned against it. Suddenly, he heard a "meow." He blinked and looked downwards to see a black cat walking through his office doors and towards his boots. "Oh no," Zonic bent down to meet the feline. "You got out again?" He made a small smile as the cat began to rub and purr against his legs. "So reckless..." He gently pet it's head, watching it nuzzle his fingers and kiss his hand with it's wet nose. "I'll bring you back to the cafe later, okay? You can't keep following me through the city like this. You could get hurt, little one."
The feline only continued to purr and laid down onto the carpet. It was clearly comfortable in here.
When the phone connected, a deep, raspy, tired voice answered back. "Zonic...?"
Zonic smiled more when he heard his superior's voice. "Sleeping the day away like I predicted."
"Shuddap..." He was definitely drowsy. "What is it...? Did something happen?"
"No, general-Err, Zhadow." He had to stop doing that. He was the boss right now, he didn't need to address Zhadow formally in this instance. "I just wanted to inform you that you no longer have to concern yourself with that washed up mayor, he'll be terminated in a couple of hours and placed in No Zone Prison."
A small diabolical laugh echoed from the phone. "Oh yeah?" He snickered. "Hahahaha...I can't wait to see him escorted to one of my favorite cell blocks. And why's that? What did that shithead do this time? I doubt the president was willing to take the evidence I had on him."
The black cat sat up and stared up at the desk, before making an agile jump to the surface. It strutted across the desk before sitting down beside the desktop. The temporary leader of No Zone Corps leaned against the desk. Zonic knew he wouldn't be able to hide what happened, nor did he want to, but he didn't want his general to start going on a rampage. "I can't tell you."
"Huh?" Zhadow made a sleepy sound of confusion. "Why? Wait..." His voice grew slightly exasperated. "Did he do something to you? Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have let you do that conference. I knew he'd pull something." He growled. "What did he do to you? Tell me now, Zonic."
"I can't tell you."
"Zonic-"
"Zhadow," Zonic said carefully. "If I tell you, you're going to get out of bed and commit grievous bodily harm along with attempted first degree murder. I really don't want to arrest my fiancé on his day off." He decided to tell him something in order to ease his worries. "Let's just say I got a live recording of him actively harassing me and admitting his crimes, and the president witnessed it all. I'll tell you in detail when I get home tonight, I promise. By the way," He added with a slightly more lighthearted tone. "I gave the president a good tongue lashing and got him to accept your budget cut proposal without further issue. The politicians of this country won't be annoying you anymore, Zhadow. They understand now where we stand and what we can do. They'll think twice before trying to chastise you for anything ever again."
He could hear Zhadow take a minute before answering, as he knew he didn't expect that to be the outcome of the meeting. "What...?" They both knew Zonic could get Zhadow's proposal accepted, that's not what he was put off for. "You used yourself as bait to get the mayor arrested? And you enforced my standing with the president? How-Why...Why did you do that?" He asked softly. "I didn't ask you to do that, and in any other circumstance, you could have lost your job."
Zonic's smile widened a little. "I don't like seeing you stressed, Zhadow. Puts me in a fit. So I did what any good partner would do: I made them regret it with subtle, brutal threats." He inhaled a puff and exhaled some smoke before looking over at the now sleeping black cat on his desk. "I warned the president to never question our authority again, especially not yours. If the president or anyone of his little cronies dares to defy us again, I'll happily leak the recording of the conversation between the mayor and I to the public, and let the people tear the government asunder themselves. I hate acting like a Chaos Born, but I will if I have to." He scoffed. "Besides, the idea that some skinny, extinct Zonian could ever take me was laughable to say the least. I mean seriously, there's a reason why he was buying prostitutes to deal with his nonsense at night. How can anybody entertain themselves with something that small-Oops." He almost forgot this call was more than likely recorded. "Never mind, you get it." Oh well, he stopped himself from saying anything too egregious just in time. Besides, their sleuth team knew what this was. They unfortunately heard plenty of nasty things on their phone lines before, promptly did them a favor and deleted them. They might delete this one, too. They'd be fine. "Me however, I like big things...It was nothing personal."
"...You're amazing. I don't know why I'm still surprised by your competence at this point." He heard rustling in the background, perhaps sheets from the bed. "God I fucking want you so bad right now-"
"Ah ah." His rookie playfully cut him off. Thankfully his superior rambled that so quickly, that it'd be hard to understand what he was saying unless someone took the time to slow the audio down. "Not on the phone sir, this is recorded. Wait until I get home for that." He chuckled a little. "If that was your way of saying 'I love you', then your knack for flirting has definitely waned."
"You have no idea, Zonic. No idea."
"Heh," Zonic pulled the cigarette from his lips before responding. "I love you too, sir." Yeah, they'd definitely have to delete this. He placed the cigarette in the ashtray before he reached over to pet the sleeping feline once more, feeling it vibrate with purrs in it's slumber.
"What will you do now? I forgot both of our schedules for today, it seems."
He chuckled at that. "I'm going to be checking on Zouge in the infirmary ward."
"I see. I think I'll take another nap...Make sure you write reports of everything that happens today in my absence."
"Of course, sir."
Line Road
12:35 PM
As of right now, they were in a complete Sonic situation.
What was a Sonic situation? Basically, a Sonic situation was a location and scenario that involved a risky position for normal people. The risk could be low to very extreme. In this instance, it was a very low risk for them. Regular citizens? It was a very dangerous risk. That was because he and Shadow were currently eating their lunch on the guard-less roof of a tall building. It wasn't a skyscraper by any means, but it was definitely tall enough to make a normal person's head spin. Their legs were dangling over the edge as they sat together, looking down and watching the city operate as the day went on. A few empty pink food containers of baked goods and treats were scattered in a small area just behind them, along with some plastic cups and eating utensils. They'd be sure to properly dispose of their mess later. Sonic was sipping on one of the pink plastic cups with a white straw, while Shadow was nibbling on a croissant. The blue hero was kicking his legs back and forth with delight as he sipped his drink. This was nice, just sitting here in harmony without speaking a word to each other. It was calming, maybe even therapeutic. They should have dates like this more often: Sitting on rooftops and watching the world spin away right before their eyes. They spotted some Zone Cops speeding around the city, but not in an urgent manner. They were doing normal patrols at high speeds, moving on foot or via motorcycle. They were damn hard workers, super busy bees that only returned to the hive when their job was truly finished to absolute completion.
Sonic ended up leaning against Shadow's shoulder, his hand meeting his. They clasped together lovingly, and Shadow felt very content. Well, he always felt content when he was around him. This feeling was nothing new, and yet it always felt so fresh every time they were together. The spark between them never died out, not even by a little. Now that they were alone intimately like this, perhaps now was a good time to gift him his surprise. Blushing a bit, Shadow gently pushed Sonic back a little. He finished the last of his croissant before uttering, "Chaos Control." In a green flash, a small bouquet of blue hyacinths appeared in Shadow's hands. They were in transparent gilded plastic, wrapped in velvet fabric, containing the precious plants within. Without looking, he slowly handed it over to Sonic. The blue blur blinked with a surprised expression, gradually placing down his drink behind him. He then took the bouquet and gazed upon it with dreamy eyes. "I know they're not your favorite." Shadow suddenly said with a shy tone. "The flower shops in this reality are worthless compared to Amy's establishment, but it's all they had to accommodate. Not to mention they're fake, this world can't maintain any semblance of flora." He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, knowing this wasn't really good enough. Sonic deserved the best, and this certainly wasn't it. "Sorry."
Pink colored Sonic's muzzle entirely. He most certainly didn't expect this from Shadow of all people, dating or not. Yes, he told him his favorite flower, but he never expected him to get him a whole bouquet. "...Why," He whispered before looking at Shadow. "Why did you...?"
Shadow laced his arm around his shoulders and pulled him against his body. "I understand why you keep your emotions to yourself, the same way I do. I know you wouldn't feel down for long, but I at least wanted to let you know that I'll always be here for you no matter what." He leaned close and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "I learned from you that it's okay to not be okay, but I want you to know that it's also okay to rely on me if you're not strong enough to shoulder it all on your own." His amber red eyes pierced a significant level of love into his heart. "Got it?"
Unconsciously nodding, Sonic nervously swallowed as he felt his chest vibrating with an increased heartbeat. He didn't realize he was clutching the flowers close to his torso, panting heavily. His legs closed tightly, and he suddenly felt like he was dying. Oh God, he hadn't felt like this since before they came to No Zone. He remembered he had this same sensation when Shadow first confessed his love to him, and he could barely get through that. They had already established a deeper relationship with each other, and yet Sonic couldn't handle this. Why? Why was a couple of flowers destroying his blood flow right now? His ears flattened, and he gripped his hand to his chest. His breath was turning hot, and he couldn't contain it much longer.
Shadow became understandably alarmed by this. "Sonic...? Are you okay?"
"I'm so hot...You're making me so hot..." The blue one whispered with a small smile. "Damn it," He held his head. "Why does this keep happening...? I don't get it..." He hugged the bouquet to his chest, and he began to chuckle a little. "It can't be mating season, it only starts on the first weekend of every month...It's the 21st, we're way past that. Besides, mating season doesn't make me feel this winded..." His body hunched over, his breathing attempting to stabilize itself. Shadow held him closer with concern. "Shit...I feel like my chest is going to explode...Actually," He bashfully turned his face away from Shadow. "Don't look at me, you're making it worse and you keep touching me...Your eyes are making me hotter..."
No freakin' way...
...Did Shadow make him that flustered? Is that what this was? "Are you telling me I flustered you so much that you're having a panic attack?"
Sonic blew a raspberry at him as sweat began to form on his face. "N-No...And this ain't a panic attack. A panic attack is somebody losing their shit and actin' all anxious. I..." He started to smile all over again. "It's not that...I'm hot and nervous, but not like that. I dunno what this is, but I don't ever want it to stop."
"Really? You look sick."
"Nah," Sonic held the flowers tighter. "I'm happy." He spoke as if he couldn't even believe what he was saying. "You make me...so freakin' happy."
Shadow furrowed his brows. "But, I don't understand. It's just flowers, it's not even a big bouquet and they're not even real."
The hero shook his head. "It's more than that, Shads." He peered down at the flowers, and doing so only made him brighten even more. "Ames gives me flowers sometimes, but it's platonic. No one else has ever bought me flowers out of love before. Even if they aren't real, you didn't have to get this for me." The flowers did have a scent despite being fake, and they held a scarily realistic resemblance. "And even though I told you what my favorite flower was, you already knew I wasn't that kind of guy. I'm not big on sensitive, girly gifts like this. But you also knew it would still mean a lot to me, because it came from you. No one would ever think the badass Ultimate Life Form would buy anybody flowers—especially not an asshole like me. You're trying so hard to be nice to me, trying so hard to make me smile despite everything. This," He buried his nose in them. "Is the second nicest gift anyone has ever given me. But," He lifted his face from the flowers and returned his gaze to Shadow, his lime green eyes filled with tender love. "You're the best gift I'll ever have."
The biohog felt his words sting with great meaning, because he knew he didn't exaggerate anything he said. He truly meant every word. Now his heart was beating quicker, and he couldn't escape Sonic's sweet gaze. Being this unavoidably infatuated with each other was almost too much for him, because he still couldn't believe he was able to hold and keep such a grand prize like him.
They loved each other so much.
Their hands met once more.
They both closed their eyes and shared a long, passionate kiss, their quills lightly blowing in the soft breeze.
56 - END - 56
Chapter 57: Radius
Summary:
Zonic questions Counselor Zouge about what happened to her. Meanwhile, Sonic and Shadow have some alone time together.
Notes:
The latter half of this chapter contains moderate sexual content.
Chapter Text
57 - Radius - 57
No Zone Corps HQ
1:00 PM
No Zone was the most advanced reality in the entire multiverse. This means that thanks to digital power, cyber energy and technological prowess, one can do anything they desire if they have the right resources. This world's average IQ level was above average compared to a normal Mobian's, and it was common for a child to have basic coding and hacking skills at only five to ten years old. Hackers, programmers and computer engineers were abundant, meaning that it was very difficult to stand out from the rest. No Zone Corps only hired the best of the very best for their watchdog team, and were responsible for keeping a watchful eye of the world. From traffic cams, sewer cameras to baby monitors, they had eyes everywhere. Thanks to this, they worked closely with the stealth team, as their methods of keeping surveillance were crucial for them to operate. They were also responsible for guarding the HQ's databases, finding and destroying viruses before they could even penetrate their defenses, and maintaining programs that were based on strict security. They welcomed requests to create new programs, and weren't daunted by any technological challenge.
Therefore, Zonic made sure he stopped by the watchdog ward to make a simple request: "I want my top hackers to create a program that analyzes each and every single No Zone officer in the corps for signs of improper conduct, by my standards." He ordered. "I want an AI that thinks exactly like me, that can properly decide whether or not an officer is well equipped to continue working as a No Zone soldier, similar to a criminal database system. That way, I can properly search for and judge every officer we have on file in only minutes. I already have some notes about what I look for in a soldier to help create an AI."
When he made this request, the team was obviously concerned.
Did this mean he was going to fire a massive amount of cops?
That's when Zonic realized his mistake and tried not to sound so harsh. "E-Err, make no mistake. No one is in trouble. I just want a program made that can help the general and I keep track of everyone and their behaviors." He then frowned. "Let's not forget, we've had to arrest some of our own men in the past for crimes that were committed right under our noses. It's rare one of our people gets in trouble for nefarious deeds, but we can't take any chances during such a crucial time of unpredictable strife. With former Warden Zobotnik at our throats, we don't need anyone else bringing us down with him. We can't have another situation like this happen again, and I want to keep all of you safe." He bowed his head to them. "I know this is short notice, and I understand you all may feel a little unnerved, but I assure you that none of you will receive punishment if you haven't committed a crime. This is an order, so it isn't up for debate, but I don't want to scare any of you." He made sure he was careful not to make any mention of a traitor, he didn't want to spook any potential enemies. He hated looking at his own men like this, but he didn't have a choice. He had to be careful. "I'd like this program finished by tomorrow, if possible. If you need more time, let me know. You will not be penalized." When they all slowly nodded their heads, stood up simultaneously and saluted, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, all of you." Good, that was one problem taken care of. Hopefully they'd keep in mind that while Zonic was not a member of the watchdog team, he was still quite savvy in programming and hacking. If the program they created was purposefully faulty, glitchy, corrupted or only tailored to analyze everyone except for a select few soldiers who didn't want their business revealed to their vice leader, he'd make them pay dearly.
And they knew that.
He didn't like ordering people around with fear. Fear begets hatred and eventual rebellion. However, he needed to be firm and grounded in what he commanded. Still, it was difficult doing so to officers who were nothing but nice and respectful to him for years. Zhadow was so much better at being cutthroat than he was. He was so casual in the way he spoke, that he was intimidating without sounding strict or cruel at all. Zonic was good at talking people into doing things, but he wasn't good at commanding orders to comrades, even if they were beneath him in terms of rank. He was once in their shoes, he had no right to look down upon anyone unless they deserved it. He sighed stressfully, he would be glad when this was over and done with. Finally, he could do something that would hopefully lift his spirits.
He entered the infirmary ward, specifically in Zouge the Bat's private medical room.
The moment he saw white fur, a tan muzzle and dark teal eyes fully awake and conscious, he felt so much relief at once. She had bandages on her arms, neck, chest and probably in other areas underneath her hospital gown, but she looked completely fine in the face. Her fur was clean, her posture was upright and her voice was strong. She was healing nicely. Her makeup might have been gone, but she still looked drop dead gorgeous. He felt himself smiling a little, and he quickened his pace to the bat's bed. A nurse was speaking with her, but the moment she saw Zonic, she bowed her head to them both before scurrying away. She had given Zouge a small cup of tea, and the former policewoman lifted her head to lock eyes with the blue soldier. A gentle smile slowly grew on her face when she saw him get closer. He pulled over a chair and sat down beside the bed with an excited expression. She chuckled a little, she could see his tail wagging from this angle and he didn't even try to hide it. Either that, or he didn't even realize it. "I haven't seen you this excited since your first date with Zhadow."
"Counselor Zouge," Zonic spoke her name with genuine joy in his voice, a joy he hadn't felt in a very long time. "I'm so happy you're okay!"
"I know, I can tell." She pointed behind him.
He blinked and turned to see his tail was wagging. He blushed and tried to force his body to stop, but his tail still wouldn't cease wagging. "A-Anyway," He tried to change the subject. "How are you? Are you still in any pain?"
She nodded, her voice calm and void of any worries whatsoever. "A little, yes. It's mostly small instances in random places in my body. The corruption really took a toll on me, but it thankfully didn't enter my organs or bloodstream. It was all mostly external—in my skin and a bit of my nerves." She held up her free arm to show how bandaged it was. However, this wasn't all. Zonic could see that the thin fur on her limb was slightly desaturated in color. That was a common symptom of severe cyber corruption: discoloration of fur and skin. "I've been wrapped up like a mummy, but thankfully my color's coming back and all the corruption's been pumped out of me." She made a lighthearted expression. "The nurses said that I made quite an abnormal speedy recovery, despite how badly I was corrupted. A few more days rest, and I'll be good to go." Just like he remembered her, she wasn't at all concerned with her wellbeing because she was confident she'd be out of the infirmary in a short time. Zonic liked to think that Zhadow's scarily chilled out persona was because they got together, but Zouge being his former partner in anti-crime definitely helped with this. "Ahh, I can't wait to get in a nice massage chair. You know, the ones in the counseling center."
Zonic only chuckled under his breath. He wished he could be like her sometimes, he'd have less worries and a much weaker temper. "You're just as blasé as usual, Counselor Zouge. I'm a little scared to ask," He began. "But when do you plan on returning to work?"
"Well, I'd like to get back to my office now actually-"
"A-Absolutely not, ma'am!" Zonic exclaimed with a sweat drop.
"Oh I'm only kidding, sweetie." She leaned back in her bed and took another sip of her tea. "I'm no fool, I know my body needs more rest. If I tried to get up and go to the prison now for a random counseling session, my legs would give out and I'd get horrible cramps everywhere." She held up her finger and shook it with a firm frown. "No no no, that absolutely will not do. All No Zone personnel, officer or not, must be physically and mentally well enough to work one hundred and ten percent without failure. Perfection in No Zone Corps is key." Ah yes, that old slogan. Perfection is Key was a popular saying amongst new recruits and rookies moving up in the ranks. It was an old one, one Zobotnik created himself to boost a strict sense of flawless morale. Zonic heard this slogan over and over ever since he became a private, and it was mind-numbing at this point. He'd probably remember those words until the day he died. Zouge took one more sip of her tea before saying something interesting. "You need me to talk, right?"
Zonic was caught off guard by this. "Come again?"
The white bat stirred the tea around a little with her finger, before placing it in her mouth to suck off the lingering liquid from her digit. "Mmn," She was looking up at the ceiling with a curious expression. "I started out as a rookie on the sleuth team. The first thing they taught us was: 'If something ever happens to you, make sure you remember every last detail.' That way, when you're being questioned, the authorities will know who, where and what to look for." She placed the cup on her lap. "How long was I missing? I'd say...about a little over a year. That right?"
The blue soldier frowned and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. One year and two months exactly."
"I see," She replied calmly. "Then I've got a year's worth of intel for you." She turned her body fully towards him. "Huddle up, buttercup. This is gonna be a doozy." She motioned for him to come closer. She then held up her finger to her lips, her voice much quieter. "Keep your voice down and your reactions minimal. This may be a private medical room, but you truly don't know who or what is listening." Zonic remembered some of her teachings about stealth, deception and hiding in plain sight. It was time to show her how much he paid attention. "Alright," She took a small breath before coming out with it. "Last year, during my final day at work before being taken, I had clocked out at three in the afternoon after seven sessions with seven high maximum security prisoners. They all went fairly successful and nothing of importance happened, they were mostly check ups. I didn't go straight home when my shift was over, I went to the Navy Division to speak with Admiral Zector. Chief Master Sergeant Zespio asked me to speak with him on his behalf about something..." She made a knowing smile. "...Personal, during my lunch break that day. After speaking with Zector, I got some hot bottled tea from the cafeteria, and went on my way. On the way home, I felt," She furrowed her brows and frowned. "Really, really dizzy. It only happened after I almost completely finished the tea, I couldn't tell it was drugged before it was too late."
Zonic grimaced. Why couldn't she of all people detect anything suspicious? "But all high ranking soldiers are trained to detect drugs or poisons of any kind."
Zouge nodded. "Indeed, but I couldn't sense this one. It had no odor, nor did it have a taste. In fact, I don't think it's your run of the mill black market narcotic either. Something about the symptoms felt off, not like normal drugs. For instance," She added quickly. "I always walk home instead of taking a vehicle so I can enjoy my time traveling in the city. It takes me almost an entire hour to get home without a vehicle and without any detours. In over forty-five minutes, the drug in the tea had only just taken effect on my body, and that was only until after I had almost finished the whole bottle. Whatever this concoction was, it moves very slowly and only begins to travel to the blood stream after consuming a little less than thirty-two fluid ounces. By the time I arrived at my apartment, I collapsed. Now," She made a suspicious expression. "I live in a modest apartment, it's not very upscale at all. Even so, there are always guards around the perimeter of the building. Two of them in fact, but only one of them was there that day and I don't remember anyone else being around when I collapsed. I knew one of them personally, he smelled faintly of pungent mouthwash. I saw him when I walked closer, but by the time I started blacking out, he was gone from the entrance." She started to sound a little more uncomfortable as she spoke. "My vision went in and out, and the last thing I saw was a hand coming towards me. After a while, I couldn't see, but I could still hear, feel and smell what was going on before I fully went unconscious. I heard heavy footsteps, I felt myself being dragged across concrete, then really smooth but hard floors. I'm not sure how long it had been at that point, time started to become meaningless. Soon, I was fully unconscious. But..."
The blue soldier urged her to keep going. "But what? What happened?"
"I smelled...Mouthwash right before I lost consciousness. Then, the next time I woke up, I saw him."
"Saw who, ma'am?"
Zouge scrunched up her face in latent anger and disgust. "Zobotnik."
Zonic made an alarmed expression. "Zobotnik...? And what did he do? What did he say?"
"The room was almost pitch black," She said, her face growing more and more unnerved by her own story. "I was strapped down to this metal bench, there was this blinding spot light on my face. It was like being put on an operation table for live surgery. Zobotnik was there, standing in front of me. I don't remember how long I was in that dark room, and I can't for the life of me remember specifically what he said. I only remember a few sentences he said before I blacked out again." She placed a fist to her lips and lightly bit down on her finger. "He told me that I would be his most important test subject, and that he needed his experiments to do well with me. Then he told me that soon, he wouldn't need cyber energy for some reason...After that," She made a small sigh. "I remember feeling as if I slept a whole age away, but the entire time, I felt so much pain. It would come and go, but it was awful and it was mainly in my head. The nurses and doctors swore up and down there was nothing strange in my body except the Cyber Corruption. I barely had any cuts either, just a few small ones on the back of my head. Next thing I know, I'm awake, wearing this weird version of No Zone armor." While she continued, Zonic noted that Zouge had been kidnapped long before they upgraded their armor. She had no idea what their current armored uniform was and didn't know what she was wearing at the time. "I could see everything, but I couldn't control the rest of my body. All of a sudden, I'm shooting officer Zespio, and then I'm fighting someone who looks exactly like Zhadow, along with Zhadow himself on a motorcycle on one of the highways." She made a distraught expression, her voice a little shaken. "I wanted so badly to stop, and the fighting hurt my body a little more. But every time I tried to make myself stop, my head...My brain would get this excruciating sensation. I could feel corruption spread all around my limbs and..." She made a big sigh. "...There you have it. That's what happened, it's all I can remember."
The blue hedgehog gave her a saddened sympathetic expression. "Ma'am...I'm so sorry. You must have been so scared and confused."
"I was scared, scared of hurting people. I almost murdered my own student, officer Zespio." She placed a hand over her face. "It was awful, Zonic. The nurses told me he fully recovered, but if I had actually killed him," She hugged herself and clenched her eyes shut. "The guilt, the misery I would have felt...I have to apologize to him when I get better." She felt him place his hand on her shoulder gently. She uncovered her face and gave him an attempt at a reassuring smile, but her sorrow was clouding over it. "I'll be okay, eventually." She then saw Zonic look downwards, feeling guilty for having to probe her like this. "Zonic, it's okay. You're a policeman, you have to do your job." She smiled a little brighter. "Go ahead, you can ask me more."
She was such a kind soul, too kind for this line of work. He understood why she retired at such an early age. "Right, of course ma'am." He cleared his throat. "Now, you mentioned the smell of mouthwash, is that right?"
"Yes, a really strong odor of mouthwash. The security guy working at my apartment building always smells like that, but I smelled the same scent when I was dragged away." She then narrowed her eyes. "But that's not all—Zobotnik smelled like that, too."
Zonic almost fell out of the chair but forced himself not to react too obviously. "W-What?" He never remembered Zobotnik smelling like that.
"Ah, I almost forgot," She mentioned curiously. "You didn't work alongside Zobtonik as long as Zhadow and I have. You only ever talked with him during meetings when you became Zhadow's apprentice, so you never got too close. Maybe you never noticed? You see," She lifted her teacup back to her lips to take a sip. "Zobotnik always reeked of strong mouthwash, a specific flavor. That nauseating, mint scent you usually smell at the dentist. Zhadow and I always had the displeasure of smelling it when we were in the office with him, or when we had to act as his bodyguards. The guard at the apartment, this older bear Zonian, he had only just been recently hired. He smelled like the same brand of mouthwash Zobotnik used. Same flavor, too." She tapped her finger against the cup. "This is going to sound insane," She glanced at Zonic. "But who's to say that maybe," She shrugged. "Zobotnik found a way to disguise himself as a Zonian?"
"A disguise?" Zonic tried to take in that idea. "I mean, you could disguise yourself easily as a No Zone officer if you wear an armored suit, but a Zonian? In all fairness, Zobotnik's an overweight potato. Even the most obese Zonian bears have some level of musculature to them, someone would be able to tell the difference. Not to mention an Overlander disguising themselves as a Zonian would be completely impossible to begin with."
"Not if you use cyber energy."
The first lieutenant general slowly leaned back in his seat while keeping his eyes on her. "There's no way, we haven't made that kind of technology yet. The stealth team would be all over such an invention."
Zouge shook her head after taking the last sip of her tea. "Hold on," She placed the tea on the table beside the hospital bed and returned her attention to Zonic. "Listen. We have been struggling for years to invent a digital disguise unit, and the engineering team could never get it right since before you even enlisted. Let's not forget that before he betrayed us, Zobotnik was the leading engineer and scientist in that department. Pop quiz," She suddenly said. "Who invented the second generation of No Zone armor? The silly red and green ones?"
"Zobotnik, ten years ago..." Zonic trailed off. "I believe his grandfather created the original first generation armor a century ago, with a similar color scheme."
"And who invented the third generation of No Zone armor? The nicer, sleeker black version?"
He could see what she was getting at. "Zobotnik, six years ago."
"And the fourth generation of armor that you're currently using and modifying now?"
"We did, this year."
"Now I was kidnapped for this one, so I need you to fact check me. Who made the armor that I was wearing when you found me? Which by the way," She nodded her head with an impressed expression. "They're pretty nice."
"Zhadow patented it, and the current engineering team created it. It was a prototype model before we made the fourth generation suits. However," Zonic frowned, as he could see where this might lead after he gave her this piece of information. "They had a horrible defect. They were easily hacked because they relied too much on cyber energized composition. Once hacked, someone would be able to mind control someone in the suit. That's what we deduced happened to you, because the armor we found you in was indeed hacked and spread Cyber Corruption to your body." He folded his hands in his lap and sighed. "It was a mess, but we thankfully didn't have any soldiers wear them on duty. Only high ranking soldiers who volunteered to be guinea pigs wore them, and I ended up testing out the helmet most recently a few months ago. They're not only easy to hack, but they're weak if you hit the right spots. We think Zobotnik may have stolen these schematics somehow, and created his own line of faulty suits to lure and kidnap low ranking soldiers. You were the odd one out, but Sonic prime theorized that you were all just a test run. If your memories are accurate, which I'm sure they are, then his theory was correct. You were Zobotnik's ultimate test run, because you were the only high ranking soldier he kidnapped. Sonic prime believes he needed to test a stronger subject against someone very capable like Shadow prime, the other Shadow you fought on the highway."
Zouge crossed her arms and thought about this for a moment. "I see," She murmured. "So the famous primes are here, and the one that looks like you is saying this could have been one big experiment..." She looked down at the sheets of the bed. "Who says he needed to steal schematics? All he'd have to do is watch normal officers go about their day in the city in those suits. He could easily do so while hiding, or maybe even threaten citizens to keep an eye on the local police's uniforms so he'd never have to leave his hideout and risk being seen. One glance, and a genius like him would be able to deduce a prototype's errors. This means he's been toying with armored suits and cyber energy for a while, now. Ergo, who's to say Zobotnik didn't finally figure out how to create a digital disguise, using all those different models over the years as tests?"
Zonic frowned at this. "That's what I feared you'd say." If Sonic was right, then there'd be no question Zobotnik thought even farther ahead than this. "Tell me this, Zouge." He said. "Do you believe you were underground somewhere?"
The bat sadly shook her head. "I'm not sure. I could have been, but then again, I could have been high up in the clouds. Everything's a blur, and I don't even know what he did to me."
"Did you see anyone with you in that room? Did you hear any voices beside Zobotnik's?"
She shook her head once again. "No, not at all. It was so dark, and all I did was black out for a lengthy period of time. My hearing was faulty."
Damn it, that wasn't good. Then where did the other kidnapped soldiers go? Did Zobotnik still have them held hostage? Was he still experimenting on them? That sick bastard...They had to figure out a way to cut through that forcefield and soon. "Shit," Zonic mumbled. "One last thing, Counselor Zouge." The volume in his voice decreased even further, and he scooted his chair closer to whisper to her large right ear. "...If someone else were to betray the No Zone Corps, who would be the first person you think of?" He could tell that question unnerved her a bit, but he could also tell she knew why he was asking that. The feeling was mutual, she didn't feel completely safe either. She was a former spy and hacker, she knew what it meant to be rightly paranoid.
She nodded and spoke her answer. "...Definitely a higher ranking officer, a leader of their own faction."
Zonic's eyes widened significantly. "...What? Really?" That was such an extreme target off the bat.
"Think about it," She whispered. "Someone had to have been on the inside for these disappearances to happen, someone who has access to information of other higher ranks, lower ranks and faculty members, such as my home address. Someone who knew I liked tea, and someone who was able to drug my tea while I was still in the building. Rookies have nothing to lose, but nothing to risk. Higher ups have everything to lose, and so much more to gain with a roll of the dice. Why do you think so many successful, rich people end up turning out to be snobby at best and criminals at worst? I care about Zhadow a lot," Zouge saw Zonic's face grow regretful. "But we both know how underhanded he was before you two got together. Zobotnik was the same way, doing such horrible things behind the scenes that nobody could prove. Zhadow and I both witnessed that man record himself talking about wanting to prod Zonians with needles, use them like henchmen, enhance the Primal Mode command to lethal extents, fantasize about coups and tormenting prisoners...Yet, he had the president's blessing and had a heavy hand in Parallel City's politics for a very long time. If Zhadow or I ever had proof, he'd be ruined instantly and he knew this. Why do you think he threw himself out of the window? He knew it was over for him as a 'law abiding' citizen once he told you the truth about Zhadow. If he had stayed in the force any longer, Zhadow would have eventually found a way to persecute him for his crimes. He wanted to cause distrust amongst you two, a hard hitting power couple, before he escaped." She placed her hand on his, her voice gentle but honest. "Someone could be in the force, doing the exact same thing."
Zonic closed his eyes with a sigh. "Let me guess: You think it's Zhadow."
Zouge shook her head immediately. "Absolutely not, not at all."
Slowly, Zonic opened his eyes back to her. "You don't...?"
"No Zonic," She tightened her hold on his hand. "He has you now. If Zobotnik somehow managed to get to him and messed with his head, it wouldn't have worked. He loves you too much to be taken advantage of anymore. That would never happen, not even on his worst day." She admitted something to him. "Yes, he's made some very deplorable mistakes that not even I condone, but by the time he met you, he was a patsy in everything he was ordered to do. It's why he couldn't keep working for him anymore, you showed him better. Even if he did get mind controlled, you two know each other so well that you would have easily caught that something was wrong with him." After she saw his face soften with a shine of hope in his dark green eyes, she moved on to her main point. "No, it's not Zhadow. I know for sure it's not him. It's someone powerful, but it's someone lower than Zhadow's rank. Someone right below your level. Powerful enough to make certain moves, but low enough not to cause anyone to notice. Someone just as strong as me, who Zobotnik could theoretically make stronger than you or Zhadow."
This caused the blue soldier to gradually take his hand away from her, remembering Sonic's words to him yesterday. Sonic believed that the next person Zobotnik would go after next would be him or Zhadow. If there was a traitor, it would indeed have to be someone who had easy access to personal information. While some personal information was restricted unless they held the general or first lieutenant general's position, it wouldn't be hard to get intel on faculty members. While Zouge was a veteran, she was not a high ranking soldier anymore, she was only a psychiatrist. In terms of value, her position decreased immensely, meaning it'd be fairly easy to get info on her. If someone of a high standing used the HQ's database to find this info, their search history wouldn't be recorded because they'd only be searching for intel for a normal faculty member. The database only recorded searches on information if it regarded a powerful official that was actively in the force. The next step would be easier, observing Zouge's daily activities and planning her eventual kidnapping around her schedule. Zobotnik wouldn't have been able to do any of this even if he did hack his way through, because their security systems were too intelligent to ignore any kind of threat. After all, it was made by Zobotnik's grandfather, and heavily upgraded over the years by Zouge herself before she retired and many other talented programmers. Their system was impenetrable, so someone had to give him access to their database while also keeping a watchful eye on potential victims for the former warden to take.
Alright, now he had to break it down in his head.
This was the traitor and Zobotnik's MO: They drug a beverage or consumable, something that can quickly enter the bloodstream of their targeted victim. They contaminate something the victim normally consumes. For example, Zouge with her tea, a beverage she drank everyday before and after she retired. He remembered Zhadow saying she was never big on coffee. Next, they would wait until their victim was in a secure, safe area to have them drugged. Somewhere alone, or where no one would find them before they were taken. When Zouge approached her apartment complex, no one was around but that lone guard. On top of that, she suggested that this person may have just been Zobtonik in disguise, so he theoretically could have done the same in the other kidnappings. He could have been right beside his victim the whole time just before they passed out, waiting for the drug to take effect before he dragged them away. Then, once the victim was successfully captured, they were taken to some unknown location underground that was ignored by the city's power grid. Zobotnik would only be able to do this by being assisted by someone on the inside. Finally, he'd do...something terrible to them that would penetrate their minds, place them in the hacked prototype suits and mind control them as one of his minions.
Zonic knew all high ranking soldiers of No Zone Corps by heart, because almost all of them were people he met and grew up with when he first enlisted. The leader of the watchdogs, the leader of the engineering team, the spymaster of the stealth team, the admiral of the No Zone Navy and the chief master sergeant of the No Zone Airforce. These were all people he highly respected, and some of which were his closest friends who helped him get to where he is today. Suspecting or even accusing them would be a grievous offense. He hated this, this was an awful feeling. The only upside to this was that he could clear a large portion of their army and faculty out of the suspect list. Of course, he'd still have that new program double check to make sure, but in his heart, they were innocent. The infirmary ward, the Zonian Resources Team, the cafeteria and janitorial faculty—they were all absolved of any crimes in his personal opinion.
Damn...
...Zonic really needed those watchdogs to finish up that AI program.
Acute Square
3:00 PM
A Mobian, fully nude blue hedgehog panted heavily as he hugged the pillow against the headboard. His body was moist with sweat, his face was flushed with red and his eyes were closed in vigorous bliss. His figure was roughly pushed against repeatedly on the bed, the bedframe making rocking noises every few seconds. He was moaning loudly, but he kept trying to stifle it with every collision. A slapping sound echoed off the walls, and he gripped his bare peach fingers into the pillow case as he clenched his teeth. His tail was wagging, his ears were lightly flattened from the intensity of what he was feeling at the moment. Black and red striped furred arms were embracing him from behind, gnawing at the side of his neck. He was being thrusted into so harshly, but it felt so good and he never wanted it to end. The hero could feel his lover penetrating him with every beautiful inch of his girthy member. It wouldn't matter how many times they did this, this would never not feel like the best pleasure in the world. He gasped sharply, he was getting close and the anticipation was amazingly tantalizing. "A-Ah...! Ahhh...I-I told you...Not to go so hard this time-Ahh~" He licked his lips. "Fuck...You feel so good...Mmnn! Ahh!" He spread his legs a little farther, feeling his ass slam into his striped lover's pelvis. "Yes, yes...Haa...Ahh...You're gonna make me pass out...Ah, Shadow..."
Shadow loved feeling his body so close to him like this, but he loved even more that he was inside of him. "Mmmn," He didn't know when or why he was so into biting, but he loved leaving such ravage marks on his blue body. Especially at his neck, it tasted so good for some reason. He was always careful not to break skin, and even if he did, he'd make sure the puncture wasn't too deep at all. He didn't want to hurt him, he could never wound such a gorgeous body. He'd never forgive himself for ruining such lustful beauty. The biohog kept his eyes closed as well, the pleasure was just too good. His ass was so ample, so easy to smack and rub himself against. He was always so tight, and yet so ready to be used. His insides would always remember his length, and after some preparation, they'd always be willing to let him right back in for more. He could hump him against this mattress until the literal world ended, and he'd die a happy death. He was so warm, so welcoming, so wanting. But the best part of it all, would be when he released and filled him with the very thing he begged for every time they did this. He always pleaded with him to give him his essence, claiming he needed it inside of his body every single time. "Sonic..." He moaned his name lowly against his shoulder. "How are you so tight...? I always fuck you with everything I have, yet you-" He grunted as he made a particularly strong thrust. "-Always constrict me...You want me that badly?"
Sonic nodded his head desperately. "Yes..."
"You want me to fuck you like this every time?" He thrusted harder. "Hm?"
"A-Ah!" Sonic lifted his head from the pillow, his eyes still shut. "Y-Yes, yes...! I want you so bad, oh shit...!" He moaned very loudly this time, he struck his prostate. "You're fuckin' makin' me cum..." He whispered with a shaky voice. "A-Ahh, fuck yeah...Right there, right there baby, that's it..." He struck it again, and Sonic orgasmed onto the sheets below. "Aaahh!" He laid the side of his face against the pillow and pressed his bottom against Shadow more. "Ahh! Shadow...Cum inside me, you know that's what I want...Please...!" He could hear him grunting louder as he increased his speed and strength in his final thrusts, he was about to blow too. He couldn't wait, it was his favorite part. A loud growl was heard from behind the blue hedgehog as he felt his partner finally release inside of him. He didn't even pull out yet. Good. He slowed his thrusts to a stop, but he still didn't exit out of his body until he was finished. "M-Mmmn...Yeah...every drop...all of it..." Sonic whispered with a drunk smile. "God, that shouldn't feel that good...but holy shit..." After a few minutes of staying in that position, Sonic felt Shadow's hips begin to retract and pull out. He whined at the disappearance of his length, he wanted him to keep it inside forever. Shadow grasped his peach arms and turned him over onto his back. He leaned his face down to his chest and not only began groping it, but sucking at his pectorals. The blue one made a slow, lengthy, alluring moan and leaned his head back against the pillows. Shadow slathered his tongue against his pink tinted nipples, rolling them on his tongue before sucking his flesh and fur in his mouth. "Mmmn, try not to bite me there...be gentle..." Sonic pet his head gratefully, using his other hand to bite his own finger. "Ah, daddy..." Shadow had sucked against his chest so much, that his hardened nipples were turning red.
He lifted his face from his torso and graced his blue lover with a passionate French kiss. They moaned desirably in the kiss, almost wanting to go another round. They held each other's hands closely and their legs tangled around under the sheets.
After a while, the two laid back in bed against the headboard together, cuddled against each other.
Sonic was on his phone scrolling through messages, while Shadow had his eyes closed and his arms behind his head. The room was silent again, besides the TV playing a video of a calm ocean. It was an ASMR video, something the GUN agent had no knowledge of. He just figured it was a relaxing video, and Sonic kind of wasn't in the mood to explain it at the moment. Didn't want to ruin the atmosphere with some lame explanation of the internet being the internet, and inventing trendy terms and abbreviations. It was relaxing, and it was better than playing music. Shadow felt that he could easily meditate to something like this.
"So," Sonic suddenly broke the silence as he tapped his bare fingers against his screen. "You smoke, huh?"
Shadow's eyes opened. "Um," He blinked. "I used to...yeah."
"Want me to get you some real quick? I could get you an ashtray, too." The hero casually offered. "Some people like doing that after sex."
Slowly, the ultimate life form sat up and glanced at Sonic. "No, that's okay. You...don't mind?"
Sonic snorted. "Pfft, I dunno when you're gonna learn that I don't judge." He replied with a smirk. "Why would I care if you smoke or not, babe? Your lungs, not mine. 'Sides," He said while turning over against Shadow's body, laying the side of his face against his arm. "You're the Ultimate Life Form, aren't ya? Smoke probably don't do anything to you. I mean I'm sure Dollface don't appreciate it, even though you probably got a work-around for that. Not my business, but you don't have to hide that from me. Just get the ones that don't smell too bad, that's all I ask."
Shadow blinked again. "'Dollface'...?"
"Maria."
"Ah." Pretty apt nickname, honestly. She was asleep at the moment. Shadow laid back down against the pillows and wrapped his arm around Sonic to pull him against his body more. "You're so simple." He commented as he stared up at the ceiling. "As long as no one hurts me or your friends, you're not really bothered by anything. And even when you are, you get over it so quickly. You're right," He conceded. "I really need to start trusting you more with simple things like that." He then asked a curious question. "You ever smoke before?"
"A couple times when I was like seventeen, yeah. Wasn't supposed to touch it at that age, but I was rebellious." Sonic nonchalantly confessed. "I didn't enjoy it, I coughed up my damn chest like a square. I tried weed too when I was nineteen, but obviously it didn't do anything for me and I hate the smell. I even tried the brownies," He shook his head. "Nothin'. I mean," He looked up from his phone for a moment. "I'm sure I could get the hang of smokin' a couple cigs now, 'cause I know how to smoke weed-" He noticed Shadow was staring at him with an unreadable look. "What?"
Shadow shook his head. "Nothing, it's just," He chuckled a little. "Didn't think I'd ever hear the Hero of Mobius proudly claim how well he knows how to smoke narcotics."
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Oh don't use the word 'narcotics' like weed's some kind of fucked up, amped up version of angel dust." He then reached over to boop Shadow's nose. "And you better not tell anybody, either. My friends already hate that I used to sleep around, I don't need them chirpin' on me for that too." He looked back down at his phone. "Even though I don't have any interest in that kind of stuff, people like Knux'll run with it and bug the shit outta me for it. Actually," Sonic snickered a little. "I remember Rouge saying she stole a few herbs a couple years back and tried 'em out, got her zooted like crazy. She said it was like taking shrooms. Now I wonder if that Knucklehead tried some stuff on his own, too. Big ass hypocrite."
Frankly, Shadow wasn't even surprised by Rouge. After living with her for a year, he knew her way more than he wanted to and he knew she'd pull something like that. Maybe not now, but definitely in the past. "Would you share a cigarette with me?"
Sonic smiled at him. "If you asked, sure I would."
Shadow returned the smile a little. Good to know. "What do you want to do now?"
"Honestly?" Sonic lowered the phone from his face. "I was gonna go into town and get some souvenirs for the gang, but I could always do that later. Then I got another idea."
"Yeah?"
"What's that thing you talked about taking Dollface to yesterday? A place to train with chaos abilities?"
57 - END - 57
Chapter 58: Scalene
Summary:
Zonic performs his duties as an officer within No Zone Prison, while Zhadow has a typical conversation with his old friend Zouge.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
58 - Scalene - 58
August 21st
DAY 42: Thursday
No Zone Prison
Morning, 9:00 AM
No Zone Prison was a very impressive structure that rivaled that of many other containment buildings. It's architecture and interior was second to none, and proved to be quite useful in maintaining the safety and security of thousands of intergalactic criminals. There were different No Zone prisons all over the world connected to No Zone HQ, but this one in particular was home to it's territory, and thus, the most secure and the most strict. It was a building that, like many other buildings of No Zone, floated in the air far away from the grounds of civilian homes. It looked like a bulky, flying screwdriver, made of pure metal and tinted dark army green walls. It was a massive monster of construction, and intimidated anyone who dared to look up at it from down below.
It was close to No Zone HQ's proximity, and the only floating roads leading to it connected from the headquarters and from a strictly guarded public road for visitors. Getting inside it was difficult for anyone who wasn't a No Zone officer, so getting out was even more daunting. While no one was proud to admit it, there were a few successful escape artists who made it out of the prison's perimeters. Few, being the operative word there. Those few attempts were made by only one person, one person in all of No Zone history who managed to not only escape the prison once, but multiple times with the last attempt being favorable. This person's initial first two attempts only got them onto the public streets of No Zone, but was quickly captured afterwards and dragged back to prison. Their last, third college-try was the charm, and they escaped the entire zone itself. This was the only inmate to ever leave the confinements of the brutal No Zone Corps, and hasn't been seen since. They were a folk hero in the eyes of the prisoners who still resided here, prisoners who witnessed each escape attempt firsthand.
This person's name was...
...
...Well, perhaps that was a story for another time.
Now wasn't the time for the tales of criminal folk heroes, now was the time for work. A subject Zonic was very well versed in. Today was quite productive, as the watchdog team worked much faster than he anticipated. The didn't just get the program finished by the end of the week, they got it done in under twenty-four hours and was ready to hand it to Zonic first thing in the morning. He hadn't even gotten to his office to put down his belongings yet, but he was stopped by a member of the team who begged him to follow them to the department. He was astonished by their work ethic, and greatly praised them for their diligence. He could tell they were exhausted, their eyes red and blacked under their eyelids due to a lack of sleep. He asked them how in the world they managed to work so quickly under such pressure, and they replied with an answer that touched the blue soldier's heart.
"Well sir," The leading hacker said, a Zonian female chipmunk with dark auburn-red hair. She was always such a hard worker, it was no wonder she became the leader of this department. He remembered her during his days as a rookie, she was in a few of his classes and rose in the ranks alongside him. He didn't know her that well outside of work, but they always had a pleasant time speaking whenever they crossed each other's paths. "We understand how vital it is that our soldiers stay safe. We're still disappointed in our own efforts that we couldn't find out what happened to those missing officers." She made a guilty grimace and lowered her head. "The stealth team leader and I, it was our job to keep them safe. It's our job as the watchful eyes of the force. Yet we failed." She made a determined expression. "We can't let that happen again! So, the other watchdogs and I worked as hard and fast as we could to make this program for you. Please," She bowed her head to the first lieutenant general. "Give our regards to General Zhadow, and find our lost men. We believe in you, sir." She saluted, and when she did, the other hackers around her got up from their seats to do the same.
Zonic was blown away. He thought he had diminished their trust in him with such a rough request, that he didn't think they'd speak to him with such loyal vehemence. Again, he was touched. He could only smile and shook the chipmunk's hand. "Thank you so much officer Zacorn, all of you. You're all great examples of what a true Zone Cop is." He leaned close to whisper. "Don't tell the others just yet, but I may try and speak with the general about giving you all a raise. I'm sure you already know about the city's budget cuts, and the money the corporation received recently." He could see her expression turn from gracious to shocked at what he was getting at. "This was why our leader pushed for a small increase in money from the cuts, he wanted to reward those who work hard. If this program works as well as I hope, it'll conserve so much time and even save a few officers' lives. But you all deserve it for your perseverance alone. I'll give you a call personally when the decision is finalized."
The girl was completely alarmed and tried to protest against it, saying that maybe the others deserved it but she didn't. "B-But sir! They deserve all the credit, I only-"
"I implore you not to look a gift-horse in the mouth. You're the leader who led the team to success, so you deserve it the most. Be grateful." He watched her stiffen at the order, and begrudgingly sigh with a nod of reluctant acceptance. "Please, return to your duties. The next step is thoroughly investigating the city's power grid for any signs of a breach in code. In the meantime, expect a slightly bigger paycheck from now on." He gave her a wink before leaving the watchdog department, a thick USB drive in his hand.
When he made it to his office, he hooked up the drive to his computer to see the files of the program, and it was a whopper. No wonder the USB was so big and held so much memory, this thing was a behemoth of codes. He ran the program on his desktop first to see how well it worked, and he quickly noticed how easy it was to navigate it's interface. The software was very elegant and clean, and it seemed to be void of glitches from first glance. There was a long list of every single No Zone officer currently on duty within the force, approximately over four-hundred thousand. It even included international officers who were stationed in other parts of the world, and officers who no longer worked here. Officers who retired, officers who perished in the line of duty or went missing. They even had officers on file dating back to when Zhadow was first created. That was up to over one hundred years of information, and all the names were in alphabetical order. It was even better than their archives program. Okay, so far this was pretty damn impressive, but could it actually work as intended?
Zonic initiated a test and requested that the program run the numbers on a few new recruits they enlisted a month ago. In nanoseconds, the program's AI finished. It not only pulled up their files individually, but informed Zonic through text why they were cleared and absolved of any suspicious activity. It used reasonings only he would use, solidifying his initial request to make the AI think like him. For another test, he made the program check over one hundred-thousand soldiers at once.
And it did it in slightly over one second.
Fantastic. Perfection!
No, this was beyond perfect—this was positively marvelous! Now he could clear as many soldiers as he wished without fail in less than five minutes. What took him hours would now take him less than one-tenth of a cigarette break. Ahh, this day couldn't get any better. Honestly, this week was pretty good despite it's hiccups. He was getting closer to Zhadow, the primes seemed to be satisfied, they were close to figuring out how to get at Zobotnik, and all the obstacles that got in their way was being toppled down one by one. With every negative thing that happened, something amazingly positive was it's conclusion. The city had it's power back, the political circle of the country was finally giving the general the respect he deserved, they had extra fire power with the primes in the reality, Counselor Zouge was back alive and well, and now Zonic could finally weed out this supposed traitor. He couldn't be any happier. If anything bad happened today, it couldn't dampen his spirits. He was confident everything would be alright.
Huh, he hadn't felt like that in a while. It was a good feeling that he hoped would stick around.
Zonic had arrived to work earlier than Zhadow today, who was still at home taking another hour to sleep before arriving at the office. Him being the most powerful person in this reality bought him that right. He begged Zonic to leave him be so he could squeeze in just a few more minutes of shut-eye, and his rookie couldn't say no to that. That single day of vacation spoiled him rotten. He left him in bed and texted him that the HQ would be fine without him for a small while, something he'd read when he woke up.
As of right now, Zonic was dressed in his black armored uniform standing in the middle of a greatly spacious prison yard. Other prisoners were currently being escorted to their cell so they wouldn't cause a ruckus. Zonic wasn't wearing his helmet at the moment, he didn't feel he needed to. Frankly, he didn't feel a need to wear his armor either, but he didn't know that until after he arrived at the scene. Why? Well, they made a surprise sweep of the prison yesterday in the very late afternoon with little results. Everything seemed fine, if not a little tense. There was tension between other prisoners, but nobody could prove it, not even when they were all questioned. When Zonic sat down in his office chair this morning, he got a message from one of his most trusted officers that there were plans of a riot happening in the prison. This was reported by a guard who spotted too many dubious small crowds forming around the prison's yard, one of which were acting very erratically. So now here he was, dressed for a fight in case he needed to bestow his authority on someone forgetting their place.
However, he was painfully disappointed.
They rounded up the main anxious culprits the guard accused, all tied up with cyber energized rope in the middle of the yard. Zonic stood in front of them with a bored expression, one hand on his hip with the other holding his phone. Before he left his office, he downloaded the program into his phone so he could do a quick scan of any officer he walked by on his way here. It's not always possible to download software meant for a PC onto a mobile device, but No Zone was just that advanced. Anyway, his quick scans included Admiral Zector and Chief Master Sergeant Zespio, who were assisting him in this failed prison riot. It didn't take them long. The second they saw the biggest heavy hitters of the force walking into the yard with those scary beefed up uniforms, they crumbled to their knees and begged for forgiveness. Zonic turned his back to the group and asked for Zector and Zespio to keep their eyes on the grunts while he made a small assessment of them.
Zespio blinked as he digitized his helmet away. "Err, assess us for what exactly?"
"Your conduct as a Zone Cop." Zonic easily answered. "I want to see if you're both up to standards."
"W-What?" Zector made a sweatdrop as he and Zespio looked at each other with surprised faces. "You sayin' we in trouble?"
Zonic shrugged as the crocodile continued to vibrate nervously. "If you didn't commit a crime, no. If you did, yes."
"Huh?!" He panicked. "L-Look, I may have stolen some snacks from the cafeteria fridge, but that's it! I swear!"
This made the blue soldier glance up from his phone and squint his eyes at the admiral. So that's why they never had any of those chocolate treats left during lunch break, despite the lunch ladies swearing up and down they had a fresh shipment of them from the cafe every week. "...That'll be coming out of your paycheck, admiral." He saw Zector deflate with a depressed expression. "They teach you this in day one of bootcamp: Don't give up information that wasn't asked of you. Do not concede any information you don't need to give, lest you shoulder the consequences you didn't have to face in the first place if you had just kept your mouth shut." He rolled his eyes. "General Zhadow won't appreciate that, he loves those chocolate bars and was very disappointed that we seemed to be out every single week. He put extra money in the cafeteria's budget too, you know."
Zector screeched with fear. "D-Don't tell Zhadow, don't tell Zhadow!" He immediately scrambled towards the blue hedgehog and got on his knees with his hands clasped together. He bowed his head several times. "I'll buy him as many chocolate bars as he wants, just don't tell him, I'm begging you Zonic! He'll turn me into a fancy wallet!"
"Zector," Zonic slowly said as the tied up prisoners on the ground watched the back and forth between the two officers. They couldn't believe that these cavalcades of justice were this petty. "You're embarrassing yourself."
"I'm saving myself, you're gonna get me killed!"
A vein appeared on Zonic's head. "Gee, I don't know—then stop stealing from the cafeteria's pantry!"
"I-I will, I promise!"
"Ugh." Zonic made a pained expression, he forgot how annoying the crocodile was when he was in trouble. He remembered all the times during bootcamp where he roped him and Zespio into so many incidents that didn't even involve them in the first place. Wasn't he older than them? It was like high school over and over again with this guy. "Let it never be said that I don't regret taking this call...Officer Zespio, get him please."
The chameleon snorted under his breath and walked over. "Pfft. Of course, sir." He bent down to grasp the end of the crocodile's tail, and began to drag him away from their superior's boots. Zector whined the entire time, pleading that Zespio find it in his heart to convince Zonic not to tell their highest superior about his misdeeds. Zonic scrolled through his phone to check if the program did it's job, and it sure did. It easily cleared Zector and Zespio instantly. It only told him his normal activities, all to which didn't seem suspicious or even important. He only saw that he was a regular of the cafe, same as he was, but he already knew that. He was clean. Well, except for the part about Zector stealing chocolate bars from the cafeteria, so that checked out. It even told him how much money he owed back the HQ for his series of thefts. However, the system itself claimed this wasn't necessarily a crime as much as it was a ridiculous waste of time and cash. Yup, that's exactly what Zonic thought. The AI was perfect as he initially concluded. He looked back at his two comrades and announced the verdict. "Besides that crap you pulled Zector, you're both clear. By the way, you owe the HQ over one thousand credits."
"Whew, okay. I can pay that...I think." Zector sighed as he stood up with a relaxed posture. "Email me the amount, I'll cover it." Zespio, who was standing beside him, also looked a little relieved. They glanced at each other with a shared gaze of immense trust. "You had us worried there, Zonic." He playfully leaned his arm on the top of Zespio's head, which made the purple chameleon blush a little. "Thought you were gonna fire us or somethin', haha!"
Zonic glared at the croc. "I should fire you, you glutton. How you run an entire naval fleet, I'll never know."
"H-Hey! Don't say things you don't mean!"
"Tch," He rolled his eyes. "At least I can count on Zespio, who's never stained his record even once since we all enlisted. He's a prim and proper officer, the perfect example of justice and responsibility. You should take some notes, admiral."
Zespio was grateful for that. "You're too generous, first lieutenant general."
"Oh, come on!" Zector whined between the two of them. "What about me? I work hard, too!"
The chameleon glanced up at the croc. "You don't even properly address our superiors by rank. Any normal soldier would be penalized for that every single time they made that mistake. You do it on purpose out of naive familiarity."
Zector gawked at him, why wasn't he on his side? "That's 'cause we're buds! Zonic doesn't use our titles sometimes, either!"
"Zector," Zesio deadpanned. "First Lieutenant General Zonic is literally the vice leader. If something were to happen to General Zhadow, he'd take over the entire force. He doesn't need to use our titles if he doesn't want to, he has no obligation to do so."
Zonic nodded. "He's absolutely correct, admiral." This caused Zector to deflate once again. Zonic smiled a little at the two. "However, it'd be quite rude of me not to respect your status. You've clawed your way to the top like I did, and I believe you both worked harder than I to get to where you are today." He glanced back down at his phone but his smile was still there, causing the two to watch him curiously. "Despite the fact that one of you annoys me almost as much as Sonic prime, I still couldn't ask for a better pair of trusted officers, and even better friends." Unbeknownst to him, both Zespio and Zector smiled at this, flattered by his words. "Zhadow was right to promote you two, you're the best leaders of our navy and airforce we've ever had in No Zone history. Any incident in the skies or in the seas was always cut short thanks to your efforts, and now pirates and airborne terrorists are too terrified to harm our citizens. Counselor Zouge would be proud of you both." He turned his back towards them. "I'll let you chew on that."
As the two chuckled amongst each other at Zonic's brooding attitude and rare compliments, Zonic was more than happy to know that he didn't have to suspect either of them. He was so relieved his best friends were safe from suspicion, neither of them was the traitor.
Thank God.
He closed his eyes and held his phone to his chest. But if it wasn't either of them, then...
...Who was it?
No Zone HQ
10:00 AM
Zhadow huffed a long sigh as he sat down in his office chair.
He got Zonic's text about handling things while he was sleeping in. That extra hour of sleep was awesome. Shame it couldn't last longer, that vacation day was too good to be true. Maybe he should do that more often, he had the authority to do so. However, he'd have to find a way to get Zonic off too. He couldn't spend all day in the apartment alone again, he needed something to cuddle up against, and...other things he couldn't do by himself. If it was an order, Zonic wouldn't be able to ignore it. The general nodded his head a few times to himself. Yes, he'd plan some vacation days around a lighter schedule. Things were a little hectic right now, so vacation days for anyone was a big no-no. But when this was all over, he'd have to take his rookie to some nice places downtown. Maybe at the beach? He wouldn't mind if the primes came along, either. If only Zonic and Sonic's relationship was a little better. Maybe they could bond better via a double date? They'd definitely refuse immediately unless he and Shadow asked them together. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now. It was time for boring work. He tapped his finger on the mouse to wake up his computer, and saw that his account was flooded with emails. He groaned and leaned back in his chair. He wanted to go back to sleep already. He also wished Zonic was here, he was so good at organizing these damn emails for him.
He looked down at his desk and saw the pile of documents waiting for him to read over and sign. Great, back to carpal tunnels and hand cramps. Might as well start with the documents first. He could have sworn using paper was growing obsolete in this reality, but he forgot they were still only used for official documents and simple notepads now. He pulled over the stack and reached under his desk for one of his pens. After signing a few dozen of these, he'd have to take a smoke break in the office. He'd lose his mind in here. A few minutes of writing later, a buzzing noise was heard at the doors to his office. Who could that be? Zonic was busy at the prison at the moment. He lowered his free hand under the desk to press the hidden button.
"Come in." He returned to writing and reading these stupid documents. The clicking sound of heels caused his ears to perk up. Was that perfume? He paused writing and looked up from his papers. "...Zouge?" He asked with an airy voice.
A white bat with a busty figure cat walked her way inside of the office, a humble looking black purse slung over her shoulder with a thin strap. She held a cup of hot tea in one hand, with a steaming hot cup of coffee in the other. She was dressed in the usual attire she wore before she was kidnapped: A Turkish rose shoulder-less sweater that did it's very best to conceal her large bosom, a midi black skirt that covered her knees and a pair of black block heels. Her makeup was light but complimented her tan muzzle nicely, light pink lip gloss and pastel purple eyeshadow. On the bridge of her nose was a pair of pilot eyeglasses shielding her long and thick eyelashes. She pushed them up as she approached the desk, before asking politely if she could sit down.
"May I?" She saw Zhadow gently gesture for her to sit in front of the desk if she wished. She sat down on the white living chair before crossing her legs. "How have you been, honey?"
Zhadow was a little shocked she came in here, but he was more shocked at seeing her walking and talking. Her body held no wounds, she was clean of any old bruises despite the Cyber Corruption. "Um," He almost didn't know what to say to her. He hadn't spoken to her in so long and he didn't expect her to come here the moment she recovered. "I'm fine...Uhh, you?" Shit, he thought he was getting better at not being so awkward.
She smiled at him warmly. "I'm back to one hundred percent, so don't you worry a hair about me." She offered the coffee to him. "Here, sweetie. It's from Zonic, delivered by a private."
He graciously took the beverage and noticed that there was a sticky note attached to it. He lifted it up and read it. Here, to take the edge off. All black, just how you like it. Love, Zonic. He blushed as he placed the note beside his desktop and made a small smile at the note. "Thank you, Zouge. I appreciate it." He glanced back at her. "And you're sure you're okay to walk? I hope you know I'll be having officers escort you home and to work from now on. We can't take any chances."
She nodded her head understandably. "Yes, I understand. I'd protest, but I already know you're too stubborn to hear 'no' for an answer." She then took a sip of her tea before asking another question. "It's been a whole year...The place looks so different. I had no idea you upgraded the uniforms." She saw his expression and stopped him in his tracks. "I already know about the hacked uniforms, Zonic told me everything yesterday. I'm up to speed with what's going on, and," She gave Zhadow a careful stare. "I know there's a traitor in the building, and to be honest, I already had suspicions. I gave your rookie my thoughts on narrowing it down on who it could be." She leaned back in her seat and quickly glanced around the room before continuing to speak. "I doubt your room's been bugged without your knowledge, so I suppose it's okay to talk here...Anyway, I believe it's a higher ranking soldier, someone just below Zonic's paygrade. Word is that he's got a new program from the watchdog team that runs checks on soldiers instantly, detailing their behaviors and any recent reports of strange activity." She took another sip of her tea. "I overheard this from one of the rookies of the department, they worked really hard and really fast to get it done. Zonic will probably have a culprit for you by the end of the day."
Zhadow was impressed, that was a smart way of cutting out a lot of wasted time. Hell, he should have asked the watchdog team to do that to begin with, but Zonic came up with that idea all on his own. Not bad, not bad at all. But of course, this was his rookie they were talking about. There wasn't a better soldier in No Zone's history, of course he'd figure out a solution before the week was over. If there was another rank besides general, he would have promoted him just for that act of ingenious alone. "I see," He smirked. "I'll have to reward him and the watchdog team with something later." He couldn't give Zonic a raise, he had access to Zhadow's money anyway. That wouldn't do, he'd have to do something special for him. However, he'd have to think about that later, he couldn't get distracted right now. "Anyway," He tapped his fingers against the desk's surface. "You believe the traitor is a higher ranking officer...An interesting theory." He then moved his mouse on his computer to access his emails. Zonic had sent him a thorough report last night detailing his interview with Zouge. He clicked it and skimmed through it. "Hmph," He frowned. "Thankfully your head's mostly clear, since you don't remember what that bastard did to you. If any mental issues flare up after a while, report this to me immediately." He saw her nod. "The traitor's someone as strong as you...Hmm," He wondered aloud while crossed his arms.
Zouge asked the general to take a minute to relax before diving any deeper into that report. "Zhadow, honey, you can read that when I leave. Please, you'll drive yourself mad." She glanced at him with a concerned expression. "I can tell you've been stressed, I can hear it in your voice. I see you haven't shaven that much, and If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a wrinkle or two growing on your muzzle." She made a light chuckle at his empty glare. "I'm only teasing, of course. Zonic told me you took a vacation day for the first time in almost a year. Drink some of your coffee before it gets cold."
He sighed and complied, slowly taking his hand off the mouse. "I suppose you're right..." He grasped the cup of coffee and finally took a sip. When he did, he made a disgusted face and pulled it back from his lips. "That tastes like straight poison-What is this?"
Zouge immediately stood up from her seat at the word "poison", and went over to the desk to lean down and smell the cup. She sniffed a few times, but she didn't smell any poisons or narcotics of any kind. She glared at the cup and tilted her head. "It smells fine, it smells like regular black coffee-" She blinked. "Wait," She turned to Zhadow. "You hate black coffee, don't you? You like the sweet stuff, lattes and cappuccinos." She rose a brow. "Why would Zonic give you a black coffee?"
"I have no idea, but this is dirt water." Zhadow pushed the cup aside before taking a second to look back at the sticky note.
Something felt...off.
He lived with Zonic for over two years, he'd never forget his preferences of coffee because they drank it and smoked together anytime they had lunch. He looked over at the handwriting. It looked like Zonic's writing, didn't it? It looked like his penmanship, but it was too rigid. There was no fluidity in the letters. Wait...He pulled up his shades to narrow his dark red eyes at the writing. This handwriting was a little too basic. Zonic's handwriting wasn't cursive, but it was slightly curled with certain letters. Especially when writing the letter "Z". Did he get someone else to write this or something? No, he'd never do that. While their relationship was an open secret, they never talked about or revealed their relationship outright in front of other soldiers. If he asked someone to write this, their open secret would be outed. Did...Did someone forge this?
That's when Zhadow licked his lips a few times.
That wasn't just coffee.
Zouge sniffed the cup a few more times before her eyes widened. "Is it just me, or do I smell copper in this cup?"
That was...
...Blood.
...
...
...
...It's okay.
It's fine, it's totally fine.
Zhadow cleared his throat and tried to get Zouge the hell out of this office before it was too late. "Zouge-" He tried to say her name, but it was cut off with a sudden groan of pain. His sunglasses dropped onto the floor as he held his head, and the bat made a worried expression as she watched him writhe in the office chair in agony. "Nghh...Ghhgh...!" His ears flattened and his fur was beginning to ruffle all on it's own. She slowly took a few steps back as he began to stand out of his chair. He was panting, sweating and his eyes were glowing. His quills were sharpening so much that they were stabbing out of his uniform. He coughed and hacked, small drops of puke spilling onto the carpet. She could tell that there was coffee in the bile, he was trying to throw up whatever he consumed from that coffee as quickly as he could. She tried to reach her hand into her purse to get her phone, she had to contact Zonic immediately.
When she did, a chair was thrown right over her head.
"..."
Her eyes were as small as peas.
She slowly turned around and saw the shattered officer chair in front of the doors. She then gradually turned back to Shadow, who was growling and snarling. His teeth were growing sharper, his voice was growing more demonic along with symptoms of Primal Mode. She dropped her tea onto the floor, staining the carpet in yet another area. She could tell Zhadow wasn't aiming very well due to the pain he was undergoing, but if he had lowered his aim just a little more, he would have instantly knocked her out with that piece of furniture. She swallowed hard as she took one more step backwards. "...Zhadow?"
"Y-You need to run..." He gasped as he clutched his hands to his throat.
She didn't waste anymore time and shoved her hand in her purse to pull out her phone. She immediately dialed Zonic's number and turned around to run through the exit and out of the office. As she did, she brushed her finger against the frame of the automatic doors. She used to work here after all, she knew all the hidden components of this building. She had just pushed a hidden button that initiated a silent alarm within the facility. One that only stronger soldiers would be alerted to in their personal offices and transceivers. Soon, all high ranking officers would be aware that there was an emergency happening in the general's office, an issue that only one of the big boys could handle. The moment she was out, she kicked off her heels and began sprinting down the hall, her phone near her muzzle as she prayed that Zonic would answer quickly. As she passed by other officers who looked puzzled, she whispered, "Come on Zonic, pick up...Pick up!"
Meanwhile, Zhadow had fallen to his knees.
His hands were gripped in the soiled carpet, his body heaving as he tried so hard to cough up the blood he drank. He kept throwing up empty spit and stomach lining, it wouldn't leave his system no matter what he did. "...Get out of me...d-damn it...!" The pain was unlike anything he's ever felt before, and he could feel black and glowing red veins growing on his arms and forehead. He couldn't stop it this time, he couldn't do anything to stop the transformation. That's when a white chaotic sigil appeared over his chest, causing him to scream in misery. "T-The voices...stop...talking to me...!" The sigil attempted to do it's job, but it was failing. The windows to his office cracked. He fell backwards into the floor, wriggling in misery. It was burning him underneath the uniform, it was killing him. The Black Arms blood was too strong to counteract and it was crossing into the hypnotism, but the sigil was also damning his body to hell. He slammed his fist into floor, and attempted once again to sit up. He was gasping for breath, he was going to die if he didn't make it stop.
He couldn't die, he couldn't die yet.
He had too much to live for, too much to go back to. He reached his hand up to the desk, cautiously using it to pull himself up from the floor. His uniform was stained and out of place, he was getting so tired. He couldn't do this anymore. He reached a shaky hand to the keyboard to activate the computer's voice command. "C...C-Co...Computer-" He hollered in pain again, his fingers stabbing through the desk and tearing his gloves. "E-Emergency..." He was almost there, all he had to do was tell it to call Zonic.
Damn it, just a few more words...
Just a few...more...
...more...
...
"..."
...He couldn't fight it anymore.
The sigil was corrupted and destroyed.
His eyes suddenly stilled, as did the rest of his body.
Slowly, the corners of his mouth curled into a horrible, malicious smile.
"Computer," He ordered with a much more calm voice, but with a cadence that wasn't of this world. Rather, one that wasn't of this planet. He straightened his posture and readjusted his collar. "Call Zonic immediately." He held up his hands to tear off his gloves, before placing his now bear palms in his jacket pockets. Beneath them were sharp claws that were ready to tear into the flesh of puny weaklings.
His smile widened to a toothy leer.
Oh, how this would be fun.
No Zone HQ
10:00 AM
"What do you mean you weren't planning a riot?" Zonic asked incredulously while tapping his foot irritably, the guard who accused the group was standing right behind him with a firm frown. "This guard specifically told me otherwise and they are a highly respected member of the prison faculty." He glared his dark green eyes deeply into the pathetic criminal, tied up along with his other co-conspirators. "Don't you dare lie on his name. And for that matter, don't even think of lying to me ever again." His shadow stretched over them dauntingly as he took a step closer, making them flinch in fear. "I'll make you regret it, trust me."
One of them shook their heads adamantly, a Zonian skunk. "N-No, you don't understand. We weren't planning one, we swear! A lot of gangs have been forming and picking on the fresh meat, we're just trying to protect ourselves!"
Gang activity within prison walls was nothing new, but it didn't do any favors for Zonic's temper. "Excuse you? Gangs in my prison?" He reached down to grip his collar and knelt down to his eye level. "Say that again with more confidence this time." He tightened his grip, making the prisoner wince. "Go on."
"I-It's not like you care about us anyway! Only Counselor Zouge does, the rest of you couldn't care less if we bit it. You pigs are all the same, you wouldn't protect us even when we asked! What the hell did you expect us to do?!" He shouted, his voice echoing in the prison yard. All of the inmates tied up beside him just stared at him with frightfully shocked expressions. He just mouthed off to the prison's second most powerful officer. Zonic's silent glower instantly caused him to fearfully turn away with a yelp. "W-We just don't want to get beat up anymore. Leave us alone, please! There's no gang, we won't talk to each other ever again if that's what you want!" Suddenly, his collar was let go. "...?" He slowly looked up at the blue soldier, who stood up and continued to look down upon them like pathetic whelps.
"..." Zonic crossed his arms. "...Which gang was it?"
The skunk blinked. "W-What...?"
"There's over twelve of you fools, and that's more than half of your entire cellblock. You're claiming a gang has been assaulting over a dozen prisoners, which can't go unchecked." He motioned for the guard to come closer as he spoke. "A little strife is child's play in confinement and barely worth my attention. Either learn how to fight, or keep out of sight. However, we don't need groups of people attacking each other in my prison. That in itself can cite a riot, and that's a charge nobody wants on their record. Now," He slightly rose the volume of his voice to enforce his initial demand. "Tell me which gang it was that's been picking on all of you and say it with your chest. And don't give me that 'snitches get stitches' bullshit, we're beyond that now. This is an order and you will obey."
The prisoner made a panicked expression and clenched his teeth worriedly, darting his eyes back and forth.
Zonic sighed and bent down. "Whisper it."
"..."
He cautiously murmured in his ear.
"..." The hedgehog blinked and stood back up. "Them? That's who you're scared of?" The skunk nodded his head quickly, causing Zonic to furrow his brows. "You're kidding, right?" He asked incredulously. "Maybe if it was the Destructix or one of the Zone-Imps, I'd get it. You're scared of an elderly washed up nobleman, who's literally about to die in prison in a couple of years. King Maxx can't even piss straight anymore."
"You don't get it, he's got power here!" The skunk insisted desperately. "He has so many prisoners working for him, that's how he formed his gang!"
This made Zonic raise his brows. "Oh really? Hm, the warden won't like that. We've had a pretty hard time dealing with those from Moebius, but I thought I made it clear that I didn't want any further incidents from anyone native to that reality. I see my word wasn't taken very seriously, and I'm offended." He glanced at the guard. "Let them go, they aren't even worth investigating. They didn't do anything wrong." He returned his attention to the skunk as the guard immediately got to work on releasing the prisoners. "Well, don't worry. I'll be having a very nice talk with Mr. Maxx personally in a few days from now, and all of his loyal little friends." He walked away from the prisoner while giving one more command to the guard. "Assign guards to keep watch over these prisoners and their cellblock, I don't want any of them harmed on my behalf. I want a report about this conversation in an hour, is that understood?"
The guard nodded as the prisoners were let go, who were cautiously watching the vice leader and his comrades. "Yes, sir."
"And for the love of God," Zonic glared harshly at the guard, who flinched. "Stop ignoring prisoners when they adamantly complain about being targeted. A few rivalries and fights in the cafeteria or the showers are one thing, but now we have gangs clashing in the cell blocks and the yard. This may not have been a riot, but it easily could have become one due to your negligence." He motioned for Zespio and Zector to come over. "How many times do I have to remind you all that Zobotnik no longer runs this prison, and that General Zhadow does? We're not as cruel as he is, and will never resort to such willful enabling." The guard felt himself becoming smaller and smaller with Zonic's authoritarian voice. "When Zobotnik was in charge, we had attempted prison assassinations, gang turf wars, fights amongst guards and sexual harassment reported on all fronts. All incidents he covered up to save his own ass, and for pure sadistic enjoyment. I am not allowing my prison's reputation to be stained any further. Check yourself, or I'm taking your badge and your career. You understand me?" He asked angrily.
The guard fought not to whimper in his presence. "Y-Yes sir, this won't happen again."
"See to it that it doesn't." Zonic turned to Zespio and Zector. "Admiral, do me a favor and have a talk with some of Maxx's friends for me later today. That'll be his first warning before I have a talk with him myself in the near future, and please let him know that. I want him to panic and make another mistake. Chief master sergeant, perform a reevaluation on the guards of their cell block. I don't like what I'm hearing and No Zone Corps requires only perfection." They both nodded and saluted. Before Zonic could bark another order, his suit began to beep. That only happened when his phone was being called. His phone digitized in his palm and he looked over the screen.
Oh, it was Zouge calling.
58 - END - 58
Notes:
There were a few cameos and mentions of people from the Archie comics in this chapter, some of whom are from Moebius. I will name and very briefly explain them in order of appearance in case someone hasn't read/isn't well versed in the comics. Please skip this note if you are uninterested.
- 1. Officer Zacorn: Zally Zacorn, the Zonian version of Sally Acorn. She was actually planned to be written in No Zone, but never had the chance to make an official appearance.
- 2. A skunk prisoner: Jeffrey St. Croix, AKA Anti-Geoffrey St. John. The anti, or evil version of Geoffrey the Skunk. Both were annoying, petty, envious characters who worked with villains several times out of jealousy and fear of Sonic. They're not very different if you ask me.
- 3. The Destructix: A ragtag team of notorious prisoners from No Zone Prison who had escaped in the comics. There were eight members: Fiona Fox, Predator Hawk, Sergeant Simian, Sleuth Dog, Flying Frog, Lightning Lynx, Draco Wolf and...someone else.
- 4. The Zone Imps: These characters are not Moebian or Zonian natives. They are quite interesting, and very underrated in the comics with very little time to shine. They are small, extradimensional, human-like creatures native to the Unknown Zone. They're very short, much shorter than Overlanders and even some Mobians. While they are a race of people, only two have ever been shown in the comics. Verti-Cal and Horizont-Al. They are cheerful, merciful, kind and virtually harmless. That is, until they are angered. Once enraged, they transform into terrifying giant robots that destroy anything and everything in sight. They are literally ticking time bombs waiting to attack if you make the wrong move. They can warp reality, are omnipotent, and very dangerous. They were so dangerous, they single handedly severely damaged their own reality and were aptly arrested by Zone Cops. They MUST wear control collars every second of the day, or else they'll transform. A "certain someone" abandoned them during an infamous prison escape, and destroyed their collars to let them wreak havoc as a distraction.
- 5. King Maxx: King Maximillian Acorn, AKA Anti-Maximillian. An anti, or evil version of Sally Acorn's father. A corrupt, evil man who rightfully deserved to rot in No Zone prison, and legitimately had a hierarchy amongst convicts within the prison according to the comics. He even had a "certain someone" beat up when they didn't make good on a deal.
- 6. ???: Speaking of a "certain someone," they were hinted to earlier in this chapter. I will not name who it is. I believe you can all figure it out.
Chapter 59: Isosceles
Summary:
Zonic slowly falls apart as he remembers an incident that happened three years ago. Meanwhile, an emergency is happening in No Zone HQ.
Chapter Text
59 - Isosceles - 59
10:15 AM
Zonic held the phone to his muzzle as his comrades moved to get to work within the prison, a few guards passing by him and saluting before continuing on their way. "Counselor Zouge? This is unexpected, is everything okay?" He asked. Her voice sounded really panicked on the phone, and in the background, he could see guards and other officers arriving in the prison yard. "What the...?" He didn't authorize for them to be in here, why were there more soldiers in the prison? Did Zhadow order for this? He saw Zespio and Zector ordering for guards to surround every area within the prison. That's the actions officers would make when there was an emergency, like an escape attempt or an attack on the HQ. There weren't any sirens though, and the officers he saw were higher ranking. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer. Before he could ask what was going on, Zouge began yelling into the phone. "W-Woah, Zouge...Zouge please, slow down. Slow down!" He demanded, her voice bleeding in his ears. "Alright, from the beginning. What happened?"
"Zonic, it's Zhadow. The coffee you sent for him had-"
"What?" Zonic stopped her. "I never sent him any coffee. What are you talking about?"
"You didn't...? Shit, never mind that!" She exclaimed. "He had a cup of coffee that was laced with blood. For some reason, that caused him to have some kind of break down and now he's wreaking havoc in the HQ!"
The vide leader's eyes shrank. Blood? "Zouge...what kind of blood was in the coffee?"
"What kind of blood?" She repeated in a confused voice. "What do you-I don't know, but it was blood! I could smell it. What does it matter?"
Damn it, she didn't know about chaotic blood or Black Arms blood, and this was no time to explain such a lengthy and complicated topic. "Forget it, I'll explain later." He really needed to know how this happened, because if chaotic blood was contaminated in his coffee, that would be the only way to trigger his Black Arms impulses. Pure blooded Chaos Born such as himself or Sonic were the only people in this reality with that kind of blood. Question was, how the hell did someone get Zonic's or Sonic's blood without them knowing, and how did they sneak it in Zhadow's coffee? This was bad, because both he and Zhadow agreed that if he consumed anymore blood, he'd lose it for sure. Zhadow hasn't been an officer for years, but that didn't slow him down. That only made his drive to hit the pavements and round up criminals even stronger. He always waited for any excuse to get back in action, and that alone was a sense of bloodlust.
But this...This was literal, actual bloodlust that nobody would be able to stop unless they wanted to die.
"Where is he right now?"
"I don't know, he told me to get out of the office. When I reached for my phone, he threw a chair at me. I dialed your number and ran out as fast as I could, but I pushed the silent alarm before I left. I ran down the hall, went to the lobby where some rookies were being evacuated to." She sighed, her voice slightly winded from sprinting. "Thank goodness we weren't letting in any citizens today."
That's why there were soldiers securing the prison, the silent alarm was activated. When the silent alarm within No Zone HQ was activated, all moderate ranking Zone Cops were under protocol to evacuate weaker soldiers, faculty members and potential civilians in the building to the lobby and other areas of the lower floors until the threat was neutralized. Others were required to travel to the prison and secure the prisoners with extra security in case anyone had any bright ideas to escape during the commotion. Meanwhile, the strongest and high ranking officers were tasked with neutralizing the threat, while weaker soldiers were put on standby along with the civilians in the lobby and were usually encouraged not to engage unless absolutely necessary. There was no audible siren, but all transceivers and walkie-talkies were alerted to an automatic message notifying them that a very dangerous threat was located somewhere within the HQ. This was done so the alleged threat wouldn't know that they were compromised. Speaking of which, he could hear the automatic emergency message muffled in his suit now. He needed to notify the primes as soon as he got off this phone call. As for Zhadow's whereabouts, he'd have to radio in soldiers that were currently in the building and near the higher floors where their offices were.
"Did he hurt anyone?"
"Yes, actually. The entire top floor is littered with bodies. Thankfully, they were only unconscious when I ran past them to get to the elevator."
Damn it, he was already hurting people. Shit...He took a deep breath before continuing. "Zouge, stay in the lobby and keep everyone calm. This is different from a normal HQ attack, this is one of our own men, the top dog at that. Even the weakest soldier would be a threat to a regular criminal, but this is General Zhadow. With enough power, he could destroy the planet. Frankly, I'd tell all of you to evacuate the building entirely, but we can't cause a panic amongst civilians. I'll take care of it, just keep up their morale. If word gets out that yet another of our generals has turned on his comrades, it'll demoralize everyone in Parallel City and I can't have that."
"I understand, but please be safe."
He hung up first. He held up his other wrist to his lips, as there was a transceiver inside of the armored gloves of the suit. He was going to contact the primes, until his phone rang again. The hell? The name on the screen...
...It was Zhadow.
"...Hello? Sir...?"
"Ahh, Zonic, there you are. I was afraid you wouldn't pick up."
Okay, he sounded pretty normal...if it wasn't for the fact that he could actively hear something demonic laced behind the very end of every word. Alright Zonic, calm down. He's dealt with him like this before. Sure it was only two other times, but he did more research since then and was ready this time. He knew what to do. Steady your voice, show no fear like always, and just try to defuse the conversation without pissing him off. "I'd always pick up for you, sir."
"I'm so glad you're more obedient." Obedient? He never talked like that. "Did you speak with Zouge by any chance?"
A trick question—Zhadow had access to phone lines within No Zone HQ's vicinity and could very easily listen to any call Zonic made or received. He never snooped on him out of love and respect, but he certainly had the ability at his fingertips. And if his mind wasn't right, he definitely heard their conversation before calling. No sense in lying. "Yes, actually. She informed me you were having some kind of breakdown after consuming blood. I was worried because of what we talked about the other night," He'd use his silver tongue to his advantage. "But I'm relieved to hear that you sound just fine. Are you okay? Would you like me to come to your office?"
That's when he heard him chuckling under his breath on the other line. Did he see through him that quickly? "Oh Zonic, your words and your voice are as smooth as velvet. Unfortunately, you and I both know I'm too smart for that." He chuckled louder. "You know what's happened to me already, but I'm glad you understand that this state of mind is far better than how I acted before."
"..." Zonic momentarily closed his eyes tightly with baited breath. He saw through it, but that's okay. He could still try to talk him down. "...Listen Zhadow, I'm just relieved that you're okay. Let's just talk this over, you and me. Okay? Just for a few minutes, I promise I won't take long."
"Oh I'd love to, Zonic." He sounded way more amused by that offer than he should have. "First, turn that silent alarm off and inform the soldiers that everything is fine." His voice no longer held any joy. He meant it. "That's an order."
The first lieutenant general looked down at his phone. He had the power to remotely turn off the alarm with an encrypted app on his phone, and fool everyone into thinking the threat's been handled. Only he and Zhadow had the power to do that, but no one would believe it unless Zonic did it and lied to their men. He couldn't do that, he couldn't risk their lives like this. If he turned it off and lied, Zhadow could kill them. He'd never be able to live with himself, and neither would Zhadow the moment he regained his sanity.
He had to refuse. "...No."
An amused scoff. "Insubordination again?"
"Yes, sir." Zonic quietly replied. "I will not endanger the lives of my soldiers."
"Not even for me?"
"No," He said without hesitation, opening his eyes and staring off in the distance. "Not even for you, Zhadow."
Zhadow sighed. "I'm disappointed, rookie. Although, you pure blooded Chaos Born always act as if you're too good for anything, so I supposed this was expected." He sounded so pompous, so arrogant and nonchalant about the welfare of their people. "I guess I was wrong, you're not as obedient as you're supposed to be. However, I can easily fix that." He nicely asked him to come to his office like he initially offered at the start of this conversation. "Come to my office, I'll fix you."
Zonic had to pretend to play ball for now. Oh he'd definitely confront his superior soon, but still needed to attempt to fix this before things got ugly. He began walking, making his way out of the yard and into the main inner area of the prison. There weren't any prisoners in sight, they were all firmly locked in their cells with each metal door guarded by both a guard and an officer on every level and every block. With each cell he passed, they all saluted him before returning to guarding the door. He didn't see Zespio and Zector, they must have gone to HQ. They probably tried to report to him to tell him their moves, but he had a feeling Zhadow had a hand in blocking their transmissions. That's okay, he was making his way now.
Everything would be okay, he could fix this.
"I'm making my way to you now, sir." He said softly as he began running towards the end of the corridor. If he wanted to get to the HQ quickly without having to waste time by traveling through the many floors of the prison, he'd have to access the emergency elevator in the restricted area. Thankfully he could get there on this floor, and it was hidden from both the prisoners and new recruits. He exited out of the inner area, running down another hall separating the cell blocks. Only faculty were allowed here, he was getting closer. He made a few turns before he finally hit a dead end. Perfect. He dragged his hand along the wall until he hit a bump. He placed his hand over the phone before saying aloud, "First Lieutenant General Zonic, badge number 077729." He uncovered the phone and watched as the dead end digitized to reveal a hidden glass elevator. It opened to welcome him inside, and he quickly stepped in. "I'll be there soon, Zhadow." He said as the doors quickly shut. There were no buttons to request a floor, this elevator's only purpose was to take him straight to HQ. "All I ask is that you don't harm anyone else-"
A slam and the helpless screams of yet another victim was heard through the other end. "Are you fucking giving me orders, first lieutenant general?"
Shit, he angered him and he definitely hurt someone nearby. He had to remedy this and quickly, he needed to get to HQ as fast as possible. He looked around the glass elevator, noticing that he could see the city from below. It was going as fast as it could, he couldn't accelerate it's movements. This elevator was connected around the exteriors of both the prison and the HQ, meaning the elevator had to cross between the floating buildings right over Parallel City. It was so high up that if the elevator was destroyed, he'd fall to his death. But that's not what he was concerned about. He saw all the people down there, innocent civilians of his city who had no idea what was happening. If he didn't stop Zhadow now, he'd get onto the streets and hurt so many more. Then he'd reach the Cosmic Interstate and potentially cause irreversible damage across other realities. He couldn't let this happen.
No, it's okay.
He can fix it.
He could always fix it.
Wherever Zhadow failed, he could succeed.
He could do this.
He could get through this.
"No sir, not at all. I'm just-"
"Then shut the fuck up and bend an ear, you lying, insolent pest. You need to hear this." Zhadow ordered roughly, causing Zonic to flinch in shock at this tone shift. "I am so fucking sick and tired of your damned Divine Fuckheads ordering me around as if I'm below them. You..." He hissed into the phone, his voice growing more harsher and rougher with every syllable. "You and your disgusting bloodline, you disease of useless child-bearers...Your voices, your very fluids are like poison to us. You've been rotting away my people for thousands of years and you think I'm going to let you do to same to me?" He was panting like a starved wolf, it was getting harder for him to keep cool. Zonic slowly took the phone away from his muzzle to stare at it in horror. "You meet us, manipulate us into falling in love with you, and fuck us like incubi until we finally cave and lose our consciousness. We fall into an endless hole of sleep, not realizing that you're just a tumor slowly killing us. Heheheh..." He started snickering again, causing Zonic to drop the phone. He must have accidentally pressed the speaker phone button, because now his voice was even louder in his ears. "Hahaha. I admit, it worked for eons! You had me fooled, Chaos Born!" An applause was heard. "But now, the hole is gone. The white noise has disappeared, and I can finally fucking think. It isn't until the Black Arms blood flares that I wake up, and truly see you all for what you actually are...Now I can finally embrace who I truly am, what I am and what I've been meant to do all along!"
He...
...H-He could fix it.
He could fix it.
He could fix this.
Zonic found himself walking backwards against the back of the elevator, hugging his arms to his chest as he listened to his fiancé lose his mind.
The elevator still didn't arrive, he couldn't get out of here. The walls felt so close, the air felt so thin to breathe. N-No, he could fix this. He could fix this. His eyes were trembling, his body couldn't keep still, not even within the armor. He couldn't believe this, it was never this bad. He's never lost it like this, not even the first time. "N-No..." Zonic whispered. "No, no...no...no..." He was slowly shaking his head back and forth. This was so terrifyingly similar to what he witnessed three years ago, the tragedy that befell so many realities. The visions of Shadow and Sonic templates losing their minds and killing each other, murdering the masses of their worlds, conquering every star in their galaxy until nothing was left but a black space of nothingness, just to call him up and ask to reboot it all for the sake of doing it all over again.
All over again.
All over again.
Again.
No.
No, not again.
God damn it, not again.
He couldn't do this again!
3 Years Ago
A coffee cup of spilled blood was laying against the floor.
Nobody knew what was in it until it was too late.
The current first lieutenant general, Zhadow the Hedgehog, had his entire face and upper body splashed with this plasma. Some of it entered his mouth, and his instincts were triggered instantly. Normally, chaotic blood didn't rouse him up too badly so long as it wasn't that much. But the blood he had on his tongue tasted delicious, and that was enough to drive him mad. Such a magnificent flavor of such an obedient pet...He couldn't control himself. He was now attacking his new fiancé, eager to bite him and taste more of his race's vitae.
"Come here...just one taste..."
"Stay away from me!" Zonic yelled as he dodged a swipe of his claws. "Zhadow, you're not in your right mind, stop!"
Zhadow's glowing red eyes were writhe with bloodlust, but also severe conflict. He suddenly turned away from him while covering his face with his hands, grunting in pain as he tried to fight it. "Zonic..." He whispered painfully. He couldn't hurt him, he couldn't. He had to stop. He loved him, didn't he? Then he had to be strong enough to ignore the impulses of his blood and regain control over his mind and body. He had to mute the voices. It took him a few minutes, minutes of staying in one position, panting and mentally telling himself not to move, but it worked. He thankfully didn't get that much in his mouth, so he could handle this and calm himself down with some patience. Still out of breath, Zhadow's eyes were no longer glowing. Without looking at Zonic, he warned him about the next time this could happen. "...If I ever end up losing myself by consuming your blood, you need to be strong enough to stop me." He slowly turned around to walk towards him, and though Zonic was on guard, he didn't move away. Exhausted, Zhadow collapsed forwards and Zonic caught him. "Don't...let me hurt you..." He murmured against his shoulder. "Do whatever you can to stop me...even if you have to kill me."
The blue hedgehog stared at nothing as he held his superior against his body, his words echoing in his mind. First his betrayal, and now this.
"..."
1 Day Later
Unbeknownst to over four hundred-thousand No Zone officers, their Major General Zonic the hedgehog, was witnessing the worst event in Chaos Born history.
He didn't find out until much later through some archive digging, that many Overseers have witnessed this phenomenon before.
They called it The Chaotic Purge.
He had checked on the monitors around the same time he always did, he didn't expect to see what he saw that day.
It was sadly normal to see at least one Sonic or Shadow template listen to the call of the spirits or Black Doom and wreak havoc in certain parts of their world, but it was always few and far in between. Besides, by the time he showed up, the damage was already done and never irredeemable. He never witnessed any massacres or kills. There would be a few unconscious bodies, but nothing on a devastating, world wide scale. He only ever rebooted a reality twice since he became overseer for small errors, the other incidents never got that far and he could always stop them before going completely rogue. But this...This was different. So many realities, one hundred monitors, were showcasing live footage of mass genocide being caused by each world's designated Chaos Born. No matter where he looked, no matter what camera feed he changed it to, they all showed the same. Blood, death, hysteria. Over and over. He wasn't prepared for this, he couldn't handle this, he couldn't keep watching this. This was all there was, there was nothing left and this is all his life would be. Witnessing people who looked just like him commit horrible, noxious genocide. Why? Why were they all doing it at once? Why were so many of them killing people? Why was it so easy for them to turn on their friends? To turn on the people they loved and adored? Sure, not all of them were heroes or even good people, but...but never this. None of them were ever like this. Why? Why today? Why was this happening? Why was this happening?
Was this truly all they were meant to be?
Was this really it?
Would this really be his life now?
He slowly looked at the monitor that was broadcasting reality number 1991, Mobius prime. Oh good, not all was lost. Zonic felt himself smiling with hope. That one held Sonic the Hedgehog prime 2.0, truly the nicest and sweetest template that lived in the multiverse. Surely his reality was...
...
...Why...
...was he beating up Dr. Robotnik prime like that?
Why was there so much blood?
Why was he transformed into the Scarlet One?
Why did he use that power, and why was he enjoying it?
Why!?
Wasn't he the good one? Was he...just a lie too?
After about five minutes of staring, Zonic found himself sitting against the floor and the corner.
Seeing that was all that was needed to break him.
The Room of Realities was locked, and nobody except for two people had the authorization to automatically unlock it and enter. Zonic was alone in this room, alone with his thoughts and alone with the horrors of what he was seeing. Ah, but it was okay. He was the Grand Overseer, he was sure he could fix his. Somehow. Some...how...eventually...Yeah. "I can fix it...I can fix it...I can fix all of it...All of it..." Zonic kept rambling to himself over and over as he listened to the carnage across every single monitor in sight. There was so much screaming, so many voices begging them to stop, begging them to know why they were betraying their friends and family. He had a thousand yard stare, his body was trembling all over, he was huddled in the corner and rocking back and forth. "T-They'll just call me to fix it like always...reboot the reality, they never know the difference, haha...Sixteen years...sixteen years..." Sixteen years of watching over monsters. Sixteen years of watching what he thought were good people, turn into rabid tyrants who cared about nothing but killing for the fun of it. Sixteen years of rebooting realities to clean up the mistakes. Sixteen years of assisting evil Chaos Born into birthing even more monstrous children. Sixteen years of being lied to, sixteen years of deception, sixteen years of being played a God damn fool. He already hated the spirits, but he couldn't look away from this. He couldn't forget this, he'd never forget this sight for as long as he'd live.
This was what it was meant to be a true Chaos Born.
"Zonic? Zonic!"
It was okay, it was alright.
He could fix it.
He always fixed it-
"Zonic!"
His shoulders were being shaken. Who was that? He couldn't even hear or think anymore. "...?" He slowly lifted his head upwards. "...First Lieutenant General Zhadow...why are you-"
The striped hedgehog wasn't wearing his sunglasses, he didn't need them at the time. He could fully see his dark red eyes, and they looked much less corrupted than they did in the present year. "Get up! You're losing your mind in this room!"
"But don't you..." Zonic slowly looked and pointed at the monitors with a zombified expression. "Don't you see that? Don't you see what's happening? Don't you see...the blood? The bodies? The laughing, the screaming, the crying? And I," He then pointed to himself with a very unstable voice. "I-I have to...I have to go down there and...and clean it up. All one hundred of them. I have to reboot their realities, I can't let them live in a world full of...full of..." He brought his hands to his face and his eyes strained. Tears were budding in the corners, he couldn't even gather a proper sentence together now. "T-They...they all...I'm...I'm letting them do this and...and they want me to...Oh God..." He hugged himself so hard that he was causing the bones in his arms and torso to shift. "Oh God...what have I done...No one told me this was part of the job...I didn't reach this part of my research yet...I let them kill so many...I let them do this and now it's gotten so much worse...The spirits told me I had to...I enabled it, I'm just as bad...I did this..." Tears fell onto the floor as he began to sob. "I did this, I'm a murderer...I'm just as bad as the spirits, I'm just as evil. What's wrong with me? Why is it in our blood? Why are we like this, why were we made like this? Why did I let this keep happening? Why are they all acting this way!? Why can't they ignore them!?" He began to shout so loud that he was burning his vocal chords. "Why did I enlist in the corps? Why did I think I could make a difference!? I belong in prison, I deserve to suffer, I deserve to die...Why am I even alive if this is all I'm made for!?"
...
...He was slapped.
He was slapped so hard that blood was pooling in his mouth. He slowly brought his hand up to his lips, and saw crimson smeared on his gloves. He slowly looked up at his superior, who looked both enraged and very concerned by his outburst. He was knelt down next to him, and his hand looked ready to strike him again. Was he going to kill him? Was it happening in this reality, too? Did Black Doom get to him, too? ,
If he was going to kill him next, he accepted it. "...You...you're going to kill me after all?"
A look of extreme hurt washed over Zhadow's face. "Kill you...?" He clenched his teeth, his expression racked with guilt. "You still believe I'd kill you, even after I told you yesterday that I could never do that? I know you were angry at me, but did you not listen to a word I said?" He reached his hand forward, causing Zonic to flinch and look away. All he did was seize his hands to pull them away from his face. Zonic blinked and glanced back at Zhadow, still unsure of what he'd do to him in the next few minutes. "I know you hate me. I know I lied to you, and I know you deserve better than me. But I do care for you, Zonic, and I can't have you fall apart like this. This," He dug in his pocket and pulled out a remote, one that controlled the many monitors. He pressed the power button and all at once, they shut off instantly. Zonic must have left it in the office by accident. "None of this matters. You were put in a terrible position that you've been forced to work in for almost twenty years. You never had a choice, you've been manipulated since you were born. Nobody can blame you for letting them act as they are. If you don't do what the spirits tell you, they'll kill you." He dropped the remote and placed his hands on his muzzle to caress his face gently. "I know this is asking a lot, but I need you to buck up and get through this. The mind is so powerful that it can make you physically and deathly ill. If you keep going like this, you're going to kill yourself. I'm going to lose you for real and I am not accepting that."
"But you..." Zonic pushed Zhadow's hands away. "You're...you lied to me, too. You all lied to me, you're all liars, you all always fucking lie to me!" He screamed. "How can I ever trust anyone again!? I can't even trust you!"
"I know." Zhadow whispered. "I know...I know..." He bowed his head lowly and shamefully. "Zonic, I know...I don't care how long you hate me or distrust me, but I am begging you," He didn't dare look at him, he knew he was too angry with him to see his face. "You can't give up like this. You can't. You can give up on me, but I won't let you give up on yourself."
"Why?!"
Zhadow growled and gripped his collar, looking him dead in the eyes. "Because I fucking love you!"
"..."
"I gave you that ring for a reason. I don't care if you never wear it again and I don't care if you end our relationship right here and now." The grip of his collar loosened, he leaned his forehead against his. "But I love you, and I am not losing you, too!"
Zonic didn't know what to say.
Zhadow sighed very heavily before completely letting go of his uniform. "...Tell me you won't crumble like this again, no matter what happens. Tell me that even if you have to reboot a hundred more realities, you won't lose yourself. That no matter how many mistakes I make, no matter how many times I hurt you, you'll be okay." When Zonic didn't respond, Zhadow asked again but louder. "Say it, tell me! That's an order!" Zonic was still so hesitant, because it was such a painfully selfish request, but Zhadow needed him to say it. He needed to hear it. He needed to know he wouldn't lose him. He couldn't lose him. "Zonic...please." He pulled him in a tight embrace, hugging him close and squeezing his eyes shut. "I'll beg you as many times as I have to. Say it."
He didn't want to.
He didn't even want to be here anymore.
"Say it, Zonic."
He didn't know why...
...But he obeyed.
"...I won't fall apart like this again, sir."
His voice was so hollow.
He barely meant it.
That's what he told him three years ago.
Zonic didn't mean it at the time, but he slowly attempted to actually care for himself as time passed. Of course, he still wasn't happy with himself in the slightest. To deal with the grotesque, cruel and true reality of being an Overseer, he had become cold and angry towards everyone. Even to his own fiancé, because it was his only way of coping. He hated that his past Overseers lied to him and never told him the truth about rebooting realities. He hated how he was never allowed to read through certain files until a specific event happened. Just pure manipulative secrecy. Everyone lied to him, he could trust no one. Not even his love. Lately though, he honestly thought things were beginning to look up. That perhaps he could let his guard down for just a moment. That maybe, just maybe, he could smile more again.
He really thought that.
What a fool he was.
Zhadow only continued to laugh manically on the phone, forgotten and discarded on the elevator floor. Zonic was halfway to the HQ now, halfway there. Soon he'd have to face him like this. Soon he'd have to see him acting exactly like Black Doom wanted. "I'm privy to your divine bullshit now. I've destroyed the ignorance you placed on me. No more gaslighting, no more deception disguised as 'love'. Love...hilarious. My people are immune to such useless emotions, but you did everything you could to implant that poison into my head. You made me deny my own calling, my own destiny, but now I'm free. The Black Arms—we are what true perfection looks like. We are beyond you, whelp." He whispered with contempt. "We are beyond everyone and everything! You, Chaos Born, even the Divine Spirits themselves! We're born to conquer all of you! Isn't that grand?!"
"..." He never, ever talked to him like this before. Not even on his worst day.
This wasn't Zhadow at all.
"You see...I understand why you forced yourself into my life."
It couldn't be. "...No. Zhadow, I didn't-"
"I understand why you seduced me, why you used your bloodline's incubus ways to crawl your ass into my bed."
"Zhadow, please listen-"
"And now..."
It was useless, he wouldn't listen to him anymore. He lost him.
"I am going to do my real job, and slaughter every single last one of you whores."
Now Zhadow was becoming the very thing that ruined him.
"I'll save you for last, and then...I'll properly breed you like the miserable cum dumpster you are."
He couldn't do this anymore.
"See you soon, Zonic."
He...
...he gave up.
"Do whatever you can to stop me...even if you have to kill me."
"...I love you, and I am not losing you too!"
"I've got you in my sights, always."
...
...
...
...Heh.
Heheh.
He almost got to him.
Zonic found himself chuckling too, he really almost had him for a second there.
He actually almost made him lose his mind, and brought him down along with him. So that's how Shadow prime's Black Doom got in his head all those years ago. Not bad. The Black Arms blood shouldn't be underestimated, he understood that now. This would be greatly valuable information for his notes and future generations of Overseers. He didn't understand why this issue with his blood was becoming so prevalent and difficult, as sometimes he didn't need to ingest blood to turn out like this. Sex, looking into his eyes...Other things were causing it to rouse up as well, and Zonic could not for the life of him figure out what the damn problem was. His current notes couldn't make heads or tails about this. But you know what? He didn't care about that right now. He didn't care about anything right now. He slowly lifted his head up, and reached his hand down to his phone.
Zonic then gradually stood up straight, and spoke with an indifferent voice.
"...Yes," He said. "Be seeing you real soon, Zhadow."
"...?"
"But I must tell you," Zonic said with increasing vigor. "This isn't you, and I know it isn't you. Your body's just being used by your bloodline, something I know about all too well. Just like the spirits command our blood, the disturbing, callous voice of the original Black Doom commands yours. The person I'm speaking to now is nothing but a bloodthirsty puppet, just like the rest of the Sonic and Shadow templates. However, I'm not afraid of you and I never was. The funny thing is," His fingers squeezed into the phone, slightly denting it. It was thin and skinny enough as it is, anymore squeezing and he'd break it. "You know that already, and you also know that just because you're my superior, doesn't mean you're stronger than me. Mark my words, and you better heed them well for what's coming next: You will never break me Zhadow, not even on your worst day. Not even if you were seconds away from blowing up the planet's core. Not even if I watched you slip a knife into my back." He glared down at the phone as he hissed one last thing. "Never."
He hung up and digitized the damaged phone away.
Zonic closed his eyes and released a long exhale. He placed his hands behind his back and straightened his posture.
He was okay.
Completely...
...okay...
...His eye twitched. Must have been stress.
He just...had to get through this and bring Zhadow back to his senses. Once he made it to HQ, he'd sneak his way to his office and grab something important. Then, he could confront him and this nightmare would be over.
It was as simple as that. No biggie-
Oh.
His eye twitched again.
How bothersome.
"Dude, that was awesome! Why didn't ya tell me they had this super cool training room?" Sonic exclaimed with excited joy as he exited the cyber chamber together along with Shadow. Maria was tired, so she was asleep at the moment. "Oh wait, lemme guess," The blue hedgehog smirked and placed his hands on his hips. "You wanted an edge on me, didn't you?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes as they paused walking, leaning his back against the wall. "I thought the Ultimate Loverboy was already better than me in every which way possible? Stronger, smarter, faster and all that crap?"
Shadow returned the scoff with one of his own. "Hmph," He stepped very closely and planted his arm beside Sonic's shoulder on the wall and gazed deeply into his lime eyes with his own amber red. "I don't normally do this," He began with a deep voice. "But perhaps an apology's in order?"
Pfft, yeah right. Shadow immediately apologized the second he felt he did something wrong when it came to their relationship, which was precious. For petty things like competition and shit talking, he'd first be caught dead before ever uttering an apology. However, he still made that sound interesting. "Mmn, I'm listening..." Sonic replied.
"I admit, you were more than impressive in those simulations. You even showed me up a few times, and you learn from my teachings so quickly." He nuzzled his nose into his cheek, before satisfyingly taking in his natural flora scent. "Maybe I was...under the wrong impression?" He raised his hand under his peach chin. "Misguided? Blind...Wrong, even?"
The hero twisted his mouth to the side. "Hmmm..." He turned up his nose and crossed his arms. "Nope. Not good enough."
"Perhaps," Shadow pressed a few kisses on his cheek, making Sonic giggle. "We leave, I take you out, for...those repulsive chilidogs-"
Sonic nodded his head a few times. "Okay, gettin' better..."
"-We run a few 'friendly' competitive races around the city-"
"Mmhmm~"
"-And I take you home, bend you over the kitchen counter and spank you while I eat you out like a mango."
"Ohohohoooo!" Sonic grinned while clapping his hands a few times. "Now that's what I wanted to hear~" The blue one booped his nose with his finger. "Alright hotshot," He then rubbed his digit against his chest fur in circles. "I'll cut you a deal. If you beat me in those 'friendly competitive races' you offered, I'll let you have me as much as you want, however you want, for as long as you want, as hard as you want." He saw Shadow's smirk grow lewdly. "Oh yeah, babe. I'm talking hours of back to back rounds. Only fair the winner gets to have all the fun, right?"
The biohog made a small laugh. "Okay, and if you win?"
"Same rules," Sonic's smirk became a leer. "Except I fuck you."
Shadow's eyes instantly went wide. "Um...uh-"
"Oh come on," The blue one seized his wrist and swung themselves around to reverse their positions, and pin him against the wall instead. That last sentence clearly shocked Shadow enough to bring down his guard. Sonic's arms were on both sides of Shadow's muzzle, their faces very close to each other's. "You ain't scared, are ya? You can beat me no problem," He grazed his lips over his cheek. "Can't you~?"
Okay, Shadow was both aroused and slightly intimidated. "..." His cheeks were a little red. He then leaned forward and confidently shared a kiss with the hero. It was quick, and when he broke it, Shadow accepted his challenge. "You're on, hedgehog."
"Heheheh," Sonic chuckled arrogantly. "You're so cute when you think you're faster than me."
"I am faster than you, and I am not losing."
"I can't wait to see you bite that fuckin' pillow for me, baby."
"You talk so much shit."
"Damn right I do-"
A beep, and then static was heard.
Their ears twitched at the sound of a familiar radio frequency from their earrings. They both heard a voice that sounded similar to Sonic's, just more stern and void of it's casual cadence. That was no doubt Zonic, yet they quickly noticed he sounded really on edge for some reason. Sonic slowly stepped away from Shadow, and they both saw several No Zone officers in armored uniforms sprint down the hall right past them. What was going on? There weren't any sirens going off, was there an emergency happening? Suddenly, Sonic sniffed the air with his nose. He then gasped and made a nauseating noise of revulsion. What the hell was that smell? "O-Oh God...!" He gagged, covering his mouth immediately. "Chaos, who the hell is reeking like that...?!"
Shadow glanced at the hero in confusion. Didn't he react similarly to Infinite when he was flirting with him? "What is it? I don't smell anything."
Sonic pinched his nose with his fingers before answering. "Damn, I can taste the vomit in my mouth already...I'm gonna be sick..." He shook his head to try to ignore it. "I told you before, I can smell hormones. Somebody's got gnarly, super nasty ones. But this ain't normal, not at all. Hormones, depending on the person, have their own scent. You have one, I do too. Not like this, though. This scent is rotten, full of ill-will and malice." He frowned with both disgust and concern. Who the hell would smell like that? And this pungent? "This shit smells hostile, like the kind of mating hormones wild animals have before fighting to the death. Tails said he saw something like that on some nature channel—How some species, before they evolved into us, would fight or even try to kill their mate before reproducing. They give off some kind of scent that tells potential mates to square up if they want some, or die. That's the same shit I'm smelling right now and it's makin' me wanna throw up my entire intestines." He gave Shadow a precarious grimace. "Hormones aren't supposed to smell this bad, either. It can be strong, but not so strong that it smells like a maggot infested corpse. Whoever's givin' off that smell really wants to hurt somebody, not make love."
The biohog could see the similarities, now. "Is it similar to how Infinite smelled?"
Sonic nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely, just not this gross. This is twice the stench that asshole gave off. And it doesn't always have to be mating season to grow hormones like that, either. If you've got super intense emotions goin' on, you can end up makin' yourself rut on your own. It ain't just that though," The hero added. "It's not a smell like BO, or someone not wearing proper deodorant. This smell...It's hard to describe, but the best way I can put it, is that hormones smell like different themed colognes or perfumes. Fruits, sweets, plants. Sometimes, if somebody's ruttin' or feelin' the heat real bad, they smell more like aged liquids. Like vinegar, heavy liquor or even fermented honey. But this shit," He winced again with a gag. "This smells like a God damn bottle of blood soaked bleach! It's awful and it is not okay. Whoever's stinkin' like that is dangerous for sure-"
Their earrings beeped again.
"Sonic and Shadow prime, come in. Respond immediately!"
59 - END - 59
Chapter 60: Reflection
Summary:
Zonic confronts his manic fiancé.
Chapter Text
60 - Reflection - 60
10:25 AM
The Mobian hedgehog duo glanced at each other, before Shadow decided to respond to Zonic on the frequency first. "What is it? We see a lot of officers running around, what's going on?"
"General Zhadow has lost his mind and is harming other officers." This caused the duo to make shocked expressions. "The upper floors of the HQ are on lockdown due to a triggered silent alarm. All stronger officers are currently investigating the area surrounding General Zhadow's office and keeping anyone from coming in or out. Other soldiers are securing the entire headquarters and the prison, while the weaker soldiers and new recruits have been safely evacuated to the lobby on the ground floor. I'm currently doing a head count, and I need to know where you two are right now. Your safety is my top priority."
Okay, they definitely didn't expect to hear that today. Now they were really worried, because they didn't think Zhadow of all people would lose it. He was such a chill guy, nothing ever seemed to trouble him. And even if it did, he always brushed it off like water on a duck's back. They wondered if this was a situation like what Sonic went through with Fleetway, but they doubted it. Zonic would have said so. Shadow replied again, albeit with a more guarded tone due to the severity of the situation. "We're on the forty-ninth floor, the one with your office. We just exited the Cyber Chamber. If you require our assistance-"
"Absolutely not!" Zonic yelled, making their ears flatten. "I told you, your safety is most important right now. If you go against my superior when he's stuck in Primal Mode and under the Black Arms influence, he..." He trailed off anxiously. "...Just make sure you stay away from him. You don't want to fight another Shadow, especially not one who's lost it. Believe me." Zonic wasn't one to get nervous, this was grave. If this was indeed similar to when Sonic transformed into Fleetway, they understood his concerns. "You may enter the floor and remain on standby in case I'm injured, but until that happens, do not engage with him. General Zhadow was a brute in his prime as an officer, and fighting him in any capacity is no picnic. I am the only one with experience in combating against him, and it is my job as his first lieutenant general to take responsibility and get him back to his senses. Understood?"
Shadow frowned, that sounded way more dangerous. "Fine, but the moment we feel you're getting overwhelmed, Sonic and I are stepping in." He cut off the frequency and glanced at Sonic. The blue blur nodded to him and they left the entrance of the Cyber Chamber in two streaks of blue and black.
Maria's spirit was resting right now after training, so she couldn't hear or see anything that was going on. Considering how unpredictable this scenario was at the moment, that might have been for the best. They couldn't use an elevator, they were all powered off due to the lock down so they were forced to use the stairs. It took them less than a full minute to get to the floor above this one, only because the stairwells were literally vertical and their gravity was switched momentarily. They still weren't used to that, but they managed to get by after almost tripping several times. On their way, they saw several unconscious bodies of officers with discarded weapons. Shit, not good at all. The moment they made it to the entrance of the corridor, armed Zone Cops that were blocking their way held up baton-firearms at their faces. When they realized it was the primes, they quickly apologized and lowered their weapons before standing aside. When the two rushed in, they realized this floor was filled to the brim with other armored officers. They were all aiming various guns at a lone figure in the middle of the large hallway.
Zhadow, his quills sharper, his fur rougher and his teeth sharper than a normal Zonian's, was twirling the body of an unfortunate officer like a lasso in his palm. One would think that sounded physically impossible, but he defied the odds. He was grinning at the attention he was being given, and easily let go to toss the officer several feet away. Sonic thought fast and quickly ran and jumped to catch the poor soul before he broke his neck against the wall. He landed on the floor and carefully placed the injured Zone Cop down. Others quietly thanked the hero before pulling the officer away from the scene. Shadow stepped in front of Sonic protectively, narrowing his eyes at his twin in confusion. Why was he doing this? What made him snap, and why was he hurting his own men like this? Zhadow glanced back at Shadow with a knowing smile, his red eyes causing the biohog to flinch. Why did they look like that? They looked...horrifying. His scleras were pitch black, and his irises were molten red. They never looked that bad before, why now? What the hell was going on? And why...Did that look so familiar to Shadow? The ultimate life form took a step back, his memories briefly being struck by very negative nostalgia. He knew those eyes, he knew what it meant. He knew where they came from.
One of the officers aiming warned their general to stand down. "General Zhadow, please. We don't want to hurt you. Raise your hands-"
"Pfft-Ahahahahahaaa!" Zhadow snorted and busted out laughing, his arms holding his stomach as he almost teared up from such a statement. "Hurt me? Hurt me? Hahahaha!" He rubbed his claw under his eye. "'Hurt me,' he says. Oh my stomach...What are you going to do? Spit on me? That is just hysterical!" He waved his hand at them back and forth, shooing them from his sight. "Tch, please."
"Then you leave us no choice!" The officer yelled. "Fire!"
The surrounding officers cocked their weapons before unloading a thick shower of rubber bullets onto their superior. Zhadow raised a brow as the projectiles headed his direction from various angles, before chuckling and shaking his head. "Cyber Control." Was all he said. Time froze, but not for long. It was so quick, that no one realized what happened until it was too late. However, Sonic and Shadow did. They watched everything that happened in that single frozen second, as they were the only ones in the room who could comprehend speed and time on such a high level. All Zhadow did was walk around the room, collecting the bullets in his palm before returning to where he was before. When time unfroze, the officers saw what he had in his hand. He then let them all drop to the ground, creating a small pile onto the floor. However, he kept one in his palm. He plucked it against one of the cops, the one who ordered for them to shoot. The force of his finger was strong enough to fire it like a gun, and it was going to penetrate their helmet and shoot right through their cranium. Shadow disappeared in an amber red flash, and pulled the officer away from the bullet in the nick of time. Zhadow smirked at this. "Ahh, there's the infamous Chaos Control technique. Not bad, Shadow prime. How I wish I could learn such a skill. Cyber Control is already so limited."
"Zhadow," Shadow addressed him personally as he stepped away from the officer he saved, who was currently a little shaken up. "I don't know what happened to you, but you need to calm down." That's when a terrible realization struck him. "Wait," He mumbled. "You're not the traitor, are you?" His voice was low, low enough that not everyone could hear what he said. But he knew Zhadow would be able to hear him.
Zhadow blinked. "Traitor...? Oh," He nodded his head a few times. "I almost forgot about that...No, it's not me." He sincerely answered as he picked at his claws. "I can definitely assure you that it's one of the top dogs. Not Zonic, but close enough. Hmm," He curiously looked somewhere else, causing the other officers in the room to wince in fear. "I wonder if they're somewhere else in the building, watching this and lapping it up. Well," He shrugged as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Hope they enjoy it, because I'm coming for them next when I'm done here." He sneered. "I wanna thank them for waking me up, but I also wanna rip their liver from out of their throat, and watch them gag on their own blood. Killing's too easy, they need the pain to learn not to ever stand against me again. Then, it'll be Zobotnik's turn. That obese boar of a man...No one betrays me without paying a heavy consequence, and he'll pay for it soon enough with my gun in his ribcage."
Silently, Sonic was painfully gagging with his palms against his mouth. His eyes were watering and he tried looking away from Zhadow to make it stop. "Ghgh..." He turned green and keeled over to puke. The officers around him were startled by this. "..."
Shadow immediately went to his side and pulled his quills back. "You okay?"
"I-It's him-" Sonic weakly said before gasping and throwing up his breakfast on the floor. "H-Holy fucking shit...It's disgusting-!" He fell to his knees and puked once again. If he kept doing that, he'd make himself pass out. Shadow rubbed his back for support, but he really needed to get a hold of himself. "I-It's not just hormones, it's something...so much worse...it's like...it's like I can smell everything he wants to do to Zonic..."
"To Zonic...?"
"Shadow, he's gonna kill him."
"What?!"
"He's not entirely wrong..." Zhadow mused with a smirk, causing Shadow to glare at him with a scowl. He looked down at his claws and grinned even more, imagining his lover's blood all over his limbs. "Chaos Born have such amazing noses, they can smell anything. As much as I'd love to impregnate Zonic and have him birth my pups like the pathetic sow he is, I'm afraid his sins are far too egregious for me to ignore. A simple beating isn't going to fix his treason against me. No," He squeezed his hand into a strong fist. "I have to kill him, slowly. Painfully. That's the only way he'll learn. Then, the spirits can bring him back, and he'll remember this lesson for the rest of his next life. No problem. Ahh," He chuckled. "This is good news for him, the spirits would love it if an Overseer reproduced...that hasn't happened before."
Shadow was unbelievably repulsed by his twin. How could he talk like that to him? To his men? About Zonic of all people? "How dare you," Shadow hissed. "How could you ever say something like that!?" He yelled. "Zonic is your fiancé, or did you forget that when you turned into this abomination? You love him!"
Zhadow snorted another hardy laugh. "Love him? Oh my poor, ignorant brother in Black Arms," He turned to Shadow and began walking in his direction. "Don't you see?" He asked gently. "These misguided Chaos Born, these..." He glowered down at Sonic with an angry scowl. "...disgusting sluts, want nothing more than to be bred by someone as powerful as us. To them, this is all a game. They're toying with us, and they gaslight us into believing that 'love' is a real, fathomable emotion. Thing is," He continued callously. "Black Arms were never made to feel such useless, weak emotions. It's a drag, a real burden to be honest. We don't need shit like that to be almighty." He leered as Shadow cautiously took a step backwards, his body shielding Sonic from any potential attack his twin might make. "All we need is the wisdom of our noble father, the true God of this multiverse. And as his sons, it's only right that we enslave these deceptive incubi as our playthings. Breed them, and continue our bloodline for millennias to come. It's in our DNA to conquer, to rule and destroy as much as we want. This planet, this reality? Please," Zhadow scoffed. "I could have destroyed or ruled it long before you got here. After all, that's what I'm supposed to do, but Zonic..." He immediately frowned when speaking his name. "He was only supposed to be a doll, a pet for me to use. He infected me with his filth...and now his whore family, the spirits, want me on their pay roll. They thought they had me in check, but I don't think so. I woke up to the truth just in time. And soon," He slowly placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "So will you, dear brother."
Nervously, Sonic gradually looked up at his boyfriend. He could only see his back, he couldn't see his face. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? He couldn't tell. Zhadow, he was definitely insane. He kinda sounded like Fleetway, but the tone was flipped on it's head. He was so confused, what was going on? "Shadow?" Sonic called out to him softly. "Hey-"
"Don't you dare use his name!" Zhadow hollered as he pointed a harsh glare at the hero. "You blue vermin, the things you've done to my little brother. I should kill you, too. But I won't, because that right's reserved for Shadow prime."
That's when Sonic furrowed his brows as he slowly raised his head. "Now hold up a minute-"
"Your kind are nothing but scum-sucking dirt! You force men into your body over and over until you're bloated with our seed, then you bite the hand that feeds you just to birth more immortal, spoiled, nymphomaniac spawn who don't do as they're told! Ungrateful, repulsive whores! And now you dare to try and meddle in our bloodline-"
Shadow stepped forward and reached out to seize Zhadow by the tie. "Shut the fuck up!"
"..."
"I see it's useless speaking with you. After all, you're clearly not in your right mind. But I'll tell you this much," Shadow shoved his twin away from them, before bending down to help Sonic back on his feet. "Sonic is precious to me, and I won't allow you to sully his name anymore than you already have. Speak one more negative thing about him, this 'breeding' bullshit or even so much as begin to mention Black Doom's name," His pupils sharpened as he dangerously stared at his twin from the side. "And I won't wait for Zonic, I'll eviscerate you myself."
For a moment, Zhadow stared back with an unreadable expression.
Then, he sighed while scratching the back of his head. "...Ugh, so you've been poisoned by their mind games, too. What a shame, little brother. Oh well," He raised his claws upwards, cyber energy glowing within his fingertips and highlighting his ruffled fur. "I guess I'll just have to kill you, too. Such a waste, and we bonded so nicely." He tilted his head with a leer. "But I can't have your kind tainting our bloodline any further. It's nothing personal, Shadow prime."
"No, it isn't." Shadow retorted before looking behind Zhadow. "But it is for him."
At the other end of the corridor, stood yet another Zone Cop.
However, unlike all the rest, his armor was slightly more advanced. The aura in his step was much stronger than anyone else's, and every click of his boots made any officer flinch and back away from both fear and supreme honor. The vice leader of No Zone Corps had arrived, his helmet concealing his face. He suddenly raised his arm upwards, signaling for his men to retreat. "...Go." He commanded. However, they all glanced at each other nervously. They couldn't just leave him with an enemy this dangerous.
One of them pleaded with the first lieutenant general to think about this. "First Lieutenant General Zonic, we-"
"I said, go."
His tone was far more rigid than the first time, and it made the officer gulp. One berserk superior was one thing, but two? That only made them more fearful. "Sir, please-"
Five slices clawed through Zonic's helmet, destroying the side of it instantly.
"...!" His dark green eye dilated as he realized Zhadow had destroyed his helmet without breaking a sweat or even making that much noise. In a blur, Zhadow returned to the middle of the room, his fingers having black pieces of the armor falling from his claws. The destroyed headgear slowly fell into pieces with loud thuds by his boots, before Zonic's face was completely revealed. Fresh blood dripped from his peach puzzle, Zhadow had slashed through the armor and managed to pierce his skin. There couldn't be anymore arguments. He had to get their men the hell out of this corridor and fast. "Get out!" Zonic angrily screamed at the officers. "Get the fuck out before anyone else gets hurt! That's a God damn order! Leave!" Without anymore words to fail, they finally nodded their heads and sprinted down the opposite end of the hallway in droves. One by one, they were all gone until there were only four hedgehogs in the space. Zonic carefully brushed his quills behind his shoulders after the rest of his helmet fell off, and kept his eyes on his fiancé. The primes had stepped away, giving them plenty of room to hash this out. "...Zhadow-"
"Zonic, stop." Zhadow suddenly cut him off. "You know what this is." He readied his nails for another swipe. "The time for words, is over."
With a huge sigh, Zonic clenched his eyes shut with remorse. He didn't want to do this. He really, truly did not want to harm a hair on his lover's head. But if he didn't stop him, he could hurt the primes. He could get out, hurt or even kill other soldiers, get out onto the streets and harm civilians...Before all that however, he'd hurt him. He would never allow Zhadow to do that, ever. "...Yeah," Zonic slowly opened his eyes as he hovered his hand over the baton on his belt. "I guess you're right."
Abruptly, Zhadow began to chortle. "I'm sorry," He snickered. "I didn't mean that we should fight, I meant that you should just lay down and let me kill you. Are you kidding?" He asked patronizingly. "You? Fight me? Ha!" He cackled and pointed at Zonic with a sneer. "As if you could ever go toe to toe with me. Rookie, did you forget who dominates this relationship? Compared to me, you're about as threatening as a snapping turtle that's been flipped onto it's back. You're a poodle in the presence of a famished lion. You're a damn tick on the ass of a rabid gorilla. Honestly," He crossed his arms over his chest. "What can you possibly do to me?"
"..." Zonic said nothing to this. His words hurt, but he knew he didn't mean them. He had to ignore him.
"Oooohh, the silent treatment...I get it," Zhadow tapped his finger against his arm as he eyed Zonic up and down. No, his posture was still very rigid in a fighting stance. 'Guess it couldn't be helped. "You really think you can do this. That's admirable, rookie, I gotta admit. That's the No Zone Corps way, exactly what I taught you. I'm impressed you still remember your teachings. But Zonic," He said his name a little nicer this time. "Don't kid yourself and don't make this harder than it needs to be. You're being dramatic, overreacting. It doesn't have to be this way. You can't stop me, you can't even spar with me. You'll die the moment you raise that nightstick. If you don't wanna die," He offered him one last chance. "Then announce your undying loyalty to me, and the Black Arms. I'll spare you, hole you up in one of our breeding hubs on the Black Comet, and live out the rest of your days in paradise. All you'll have to do is take my seed and birth my children. I'll make sure you're comfortable and stress free. You'll never have to worry about this meaningless job, the spirits or your disgusting Chaos Brethren ever again. You'll never have to go through what you went through three years ago, I promise." He held out his hand to him. "Don't you want that? Don't you want to be free of Sonic prime and the rest of the cattle?"
...
...Suddenly, Zonic lowered his hand from his belt and looked away.
"..."
"See—I'm right, aren't I-" A gunshot rang past his ears. Zhadow blinked and realized that Zonic shot right past his head and impaled the wall several feet behind him.
A shell of a rubber bullet fell down as Zonic reloaded the baton-shotgun. "No thanks."
Zhadow sighed in exasperation. "Damn incubi, you never listen—Cyber Control."
Time frozen one again-
"-Cyber Cancellation." Zonic retorted. Cyber energy flashed in his eyes as time unfroze and marched on.
His abilities were useless to him.
Zhadow just scoffed. "...Tch. Not bad."
He instantly began walking towards Zonic, and his blue fiancé did the same.
Sonic and Shadow watched with baited breaths as their counterparts walked closer and closer towards each other. Closer and closer, closer and closer...until they both gave each other the harshest glares they ever saw from either of them. Zonic scowled, and Zhadow growled back. A small boom of cyber energy flashed and blinded their eyes for a split moment. The force of that miniature explosion caused the entire building to shake. When the light died out, they saw blue and black blurs clashing left and right all over the wide corridor. Since the building itself held so many soldiers, it was a gargantuan building, meaning it's halls were much larger than average. They had plenty of space to fight. Zonic swung down his baton, he had switched it's model back to a nightstick quickly. He missed Zhadow by a hair, creating a crater within the floor. Zhadow swung a strong fist at him, but he blocked it just in time with his bō-themed weapon. Zhadow jump and kicked downwards, aiming right at his head, but Zonic jumped back to dodge. They both grunted stormily as they charged towards each other for yet another clash. When Zonic made a spiral swing of his baton, Zhadow blocked it with his forearm, revealing a red colored-metallic armband. He then gripped the tip of the weapon, before swinging a harsh kick into the blue soldier's body.
Zonic was flung backwards, but he moved his body to land his feet on the wall. Running along the surface vertically, his armor automatically placing his gravity ninety degrees, he boosted himself forwards at a higher velocity. His body propelling like a missile, he swung another attack against Zhadow with his nightstick. The general was ready and jumped up to catch the tool in his palms. The speed increased the force of impact, and it burned his black furred palms, but he easily ignored the pain and shoved it away, causing Zonic to loose hold of it. After it fell from his possession, both hedgehogs separately landed on the floor, before turning and running directly towards each other. They went blow for blow, blocking or dodging every hit they gave each other. The Mobian hedgehogs noticed that this was probably how their friends felt when they watched them fight, when they used to be bitter rivals. It was weird, watching different versions of themselves fight like this. They were almost literally looking at a mirror. It was a little nerve-wracking and even exciting, but considering the circumstances, there was no joy to be had here. Zonic and Zhadow clashed once more, Zhadow's fist pushing back against Zonic's raised boot. They pushed at each other over and over, until another small spark of cyber energy flashed in the corridor. The general teleported behind Zonic and tried to make a sneak attack last minute, but the blue soldier already anticipated this and jumped backwards again.
Sonic could tell that while he did beat Zonic in their fight a couple days ago, his twin was holding back a lot. Sure, he was too, but he could imagine how hard the fight would have been if they both went all out. Shadow was right: Those simulations didn't do these two justice, they needed to be upgraded soon. For a couple of hedgehogs without chaos energy, they sure as hell fought like they had it. Zonic's armor was damaged, but it wasn't going to break apart like his helmet did anytime soon. There were a few rips and tears in Zhadow's uniform, but he was moving like he never got touched. Steam blew from certain parts of the armor, before they tightened themselves onto Zonic's body. Cyber energy faintly glowed on the material, indicating that a thin shield was being used to help absorb the damage of Zhadow's hits. However, it was damaged, and one could easily see cracks in the transparent holographic full body shield. Zonic could also see that using a weapon of any sort was useless at this point, so there was no need in trying to get his nightstick back for now. That was fine, he could do this without one. Zonic made an arrogant glare and suddenly raised his hand. "You want my blood, don't you?" He then gripped his hand into the other, before ripping off the armor of his own limb. Sonic and Shadow gawked. What the hell made him do that!? He did the same to the other, his hands now only wearing fabric gloves and no longer armored. "If you cut me on my hands, you can tear off my gloves and drink as much as you want."
"Baiting me with the one thing that gave me enlightenment? You're so obvious, rookie." Zhadow scoffed as he held up his palm, revealing a spatter of crimson liquid dripping down from it. "I already got what I want from you." Zonic made a look of concern, when did he cut him? Where-Zonic looked down at his side and saw part of the armored suit severely damaged and torn. His blue fur was revealed, and a large gash was forming on it. Blood splattered from it, and was staining the floor. Zhadow stuck out his tongue, which was much longer, and for some reason, forked than it was before. He let the drops of blood drip onto his lingua, before his pupils reacted with bloodlust. "Mmmn," He licked his lips hungrily as he slurped more of the liquid into his mouth. "Nnmm, I swear that's the only good thing about you Chaos Born..." He gulped it all down, his palm now only stained with dried blood and empty of the red liquid. "Your blood, and your tight asses. Absolutely exquisite." He teleported in front of Zonic, who was distracted by his wound. He connected a sucker punch directly into his face, knocking him down onto his back. The vice leader made a pained expression and tried to get up quickly, but he was pinned down to the floor by Zhadow slamming his hands onto his throat. "Aw, what's the matter? I thought you liked when I do this." He taunted as he squeezed his hands harder, breaking through the armor and fully choking Zonic's neck. He choked and gagged, his legs losing strength to try and kick him off. "You making that face...it's immaculate." Zhadow grinned sadistically. "Come on, scream for me too." He swung his fist into Zonic's face, blood spitting from his mouth. He punched him again and again and again, blood was caking all over Zonic's face. If he hit him any more, he'd either knock him out or kill him. No matter what, Zonic wouldn't groan or make a sound of pain at all. This made Zhadow laugh. "Acting tough in front of the primes? Get real. Come on, rookie." He laughed more as he punched one last time.
This was getting worse, he had to get away from him. Zonic tried to turn away and crawl out of his hold, but he was violently pulled by the back of his head and yanked back on the floor. "A-Ahh!" He could no longer keep it in, he was in a lot of pain.
"Ahahaaa!" Zhadow cackled as he dragged Zonic by the quills across the floor, leaving a bloody trail. "There it is! You're just a weakling like all the others!" He let go and watched Zonic struggle to stand up, blood falling from his face. He rapidly punched and kicked at his body like a literal punching bag, and he took every single hit with agony. "You're not special, you're just a glorified watchdog. Everyone knows that Overseers are the weakest Chaos Born on the pyramid!" He gripped his hand in Zonic's face and shoved him down head first into the floor. Blood was staining everywhere at this point. "Accept your fate already!"
A glint of protective rage radiated in Sonic's eyes, and he moved to step forward.
He couldn't let him beat on his twin like that, this wasn't even fair anymore. He was just beating and humiliating the hell out of him and they couldn't just stand by and do nothing. "Motherfucker..." He growled as he readied his legs to bolt. Shadow quickly gripped his wrist and pulled him back, shaking his head at him. He couldn't interfere, not right now. Before Sonic could protest, Shadow gestured for him to look back and keep watching carefully. "...?"
Zhadow nonchalantly sneered at his fiancé's bleeding face, holding him up in the air off his feet by gripping his hand on his jaw. "You see this, Shadow prime?" He asked aloud as he stared at the battered body of his lover. "This is what a true Black Arms Prince looks like, and how you should properly reprimand your child bearer the moment he gets slick at the mouth. It's easy." He then tilted his head at Zonic. "It's funny, I'm still attracted to you for some weird reason, despite all the manipulation. Perhaps you've still got some control over me, but that'll end the second I kill you." He leaned closer. "Any last words, rookie? I suppose after all the years we've spent together, I owe you that much."
Last words?
...
...
...
...Zonic started chuckling.
"You're laughing at your own demise?" Zhadow asked with a raised brow.
"Hehehaha...This is amazing." Zonic giggled, causing his superior to squint his eyes harshly.
"...?" That was an odd response, it even made Shadow and Sonic stare with bewildered expressions. "I know you're a masochist rookie, but this is a little much. You're literally about to die, you could at least show some dignity before I rip your throat out."
This only caused Zonic to laugh calculatedly even more. "Pfft-Ahahaha...! Wow, so this is what it's like to get beaten up by a 'Black Arms Prince', huh? I'll have to write that down in my notes. This is something, this is definitely something..."
This made Zhadow scowl with a vein appearing on his head. He tightened his grip on his jaw, causing Zonic to wince. "Damn chaos lunatic...The hell are you on about?" He shook him. "Tell me!"
"You always hated when I knew something you didn't. You're right, Zhadow. I'm so unbelievably sorry," Zonic replied facetiously as he suddenly raised up his leg high in the air and swung the heel of his steel toe boot into Zhadow's chin. He lost his grip on Zonic and was pushed backwards from the attack. Caught off guard by this very strong kick, the general spit out some blood. Where did that strength come from? His body was practically limp in his hands, why was he able to make such a strong hit? Zonic coughed a few times, before clearing his throat and moving his head around. He winced again, he had a bad crick in his neck now. He then raised his hands and wiped the blood off of his face. When he did, the primes noticed he did have some bruises on his face but not as much as he should have had from that beatdown Zhadow gave him. He didn't even have any black eyes or a broken nose. This fact caused Zhadow to frown too, why wasn't he more damaged than that? Zonic patted down his quills, while plucking off any loose spines Zhadow may have pulled out. "You're right, Chaos Born are indeed a terrible race of people, and we are pretty good at deceiving others." He then wiped his blood soaked gloves onto his suit before glancing at his confused fiancé. "Manipulation, gaslighting and seduction...Yeah, we're pretty good at that. I did just do that to the now former mayor, after all. But I don't really know how to do all that to the one I love, so I guess I'm not as good of a Chaos Born as I should be. What I do know how to do however," He then raised his hand to Zhadow again, showing his unarmored glove. "Is act my ass off." A small needle was revealed, poking out of the glove.
Zhadow's eyes dilated. Oh shit, did he poison him? He didn't feel anything, at least not yet. What did he do? What was that? "The hell-" He patted himself to see where he might have been punctured, but he for the life of him couldn't feel any tiny wounds. "What did you do?"
"Oh nothing," Zonic trailed off as he pulled the tattered glove off to reveal a syringe hiding against his wrist. He pulled it out and dropped it onto the floor. It was completely empty. Whatever he injected Zhadow with, he gave him all of it. "Just something from my office. I stopped by before I came here, which was why I arrived a tad later than expected. Whoops."
The general stared at the blue soldier cautiously, before cracking a smirk and chuckling. "Heh, nice one, you almost had me worried for a second. Your bluffs have gotten much better, rookie."
"A bluff, hm?" Zonic coldly retorted. "How curious-" Using cyber energy to help boost his speed, he ran towards Zhadow and shoved a fist directly into his stomach. "-You should know better than to lie to yourself, sir." A few cracks were heard in the corridor, Zonic had crushed his fist against his organs. Spit coughed out of Zhadow's mouth, he didn't anticipate this at all. "You always think you're the only one who knows how to use cyber energy," He punched downwards into the back of his head, sending Zhadow to the floor. "And then you forget that you literally taught me almost everything I know. You know," He then reached down and gripped Zhadow by the back of his quills to pull his face up. "Besides the whole acting part." He swung his knee into his face, before grabbing both of his arms and tossing his entire body into the wall. Zhadow crashed through, breaking down the surface and landing into his office in front of his desk. Rubble and dust filled his vision as he struggled to stand up. The hell? Why couldn't he get up faster than that? Damn it, what did Zonic do to him?
Snarling angrily, Zhadow got back up on his feet and readied himself to attack once more. "..."
Zonic stepped through the hole he made and continued to taunt him. "Sorry sir, did that hurt?"
"You got a few good hits in, good for you." Zhadow spat back.
Zonic nodded. "True. I didn't fight as well as I wanted to, but that's only because I wasn't in the mood for a long, strenuous battle. I only wanted rile you up and catch you off guard for a few seconds...among other things. I'll start taking this more seriously, now." He politely let him know as silence fell upon them. Zhadow glared daggers into him, while Zonic remained completely calm and collected. "Excuse me." He pardoned himself, teleporting before his eyes. The general made a shocked expression, not knowing that Zonic could use Cyber Control. "Didn't know I could do that, did you?" He whispered behind him as he nailed his knee into his back. Zhadow was knocked forwards with a pained groan. That attack actually helped revitalize his nervous system. Whatever he injected him with made him a little slow at first, but now he felt fine. Wrong move on his part. His ear twitched at the sound of footsteps, and raised his arms to block another kick. There we go, he was just as fast as he was before. Now he could take Zonic down without anymore issues. But...why did he look so carefree about this? The vice leader looked apathetic, he still wasn't taking this fight too seriously. This only angered Zhadow more, and he swung a cyber energized fist at him. Zonic blocked it with another kick, and the two began clashing once more.
Now things were beginning to look like the first portion of this fight, equally matched and going blow for blow. Except there was more teleporting and Cyber Controlling, craters and cracks growing all over every surface of Zhadow's office. The building shook again, and Sonic and Shadow carefully walked closer to the hole to watch the rest of the fight. They had each other on the ropes, except Zhadow seemed to be lagging a bit behind every so often. He looked more frantic and angry, while Zonic looked more zen and relaxed, even if he was hit. The windows in the room were destroyed, so a lot of harsh wind was blowing inside of it. When Zhadow tried to punch at the blue soldier, he dodged by throwing himself against the desk. He secretly pressed his finger underneath, activating the metallic blinds to shudder the windows and safely barricade them. That way, no one would be thrown out or accidentally fall. He dodged another attack by sitting up on the desk, and watched Zhadow try to swing a fist downwards. Zonic blocked it by using both feet to push back against his arm. He then reached out to grip his striped fiancé's collar, and shoved his face down in between his thighs. He trapped his head below with his legs and held up his hand. His forgotten baton from earlier magnetically flung into his grasp and he held it up in the air just as Zhadow broke free. He swung it down onto his cranium, causing blood to drip down his head.
Zhadow snatched the nightstick from his hold and broke it in half. When he tried to grab at the first lieutenant general next, Zonic rolled off the desk and quickly ran to catch the broken end of the baton. He flicked it, and with cyber energy, it repaired itself instantly. However, he wasn't going to use it again yet. He placed it back on his belt, while Zhadow was growing increasingly impatient. "Stop running and die already!" He yelled as he charged forward with a cyber-sonic boom. Waiting until the very last iota of a second, Zonic side stepped to dodge. He then clotheslined his arm into the general's chest, stopping him dead in his tracks and knocking the wind out of him. Hacking and lightly panting from that hit, Zhadow was distracted. Zonic took this chance to hone in with a deadly series of attacks, his dark green eyes glinting menacingly. Rivaling Sonic's after image speed, he swung kicks into his striped fiancé constantly. From a kick to the face, to the chin, to the legs, the stomach, to the top of his head. Zonic momentarily slowed to a stop behind him, his face eerily darkened over as he looked down upon him.
He jumped in the air and swung a final, spinning aerial kick into the back of his neck at the tip of his spine.
The most critical pressure point of the body.
60 - END - 60
Chapter 61: Tessellation
Summary:
Zonic and Zhadow's fight concludes spectacularly, but...
Chapter Text
61 - Tessellation - 61
10:55 AM
That was practically a decapitation, Zhadow's nervous system almost completely shut down.
He felt the life drift from out of his mouth as he made a breathless gasp, falling down onto his knees. He didn't understand, how was this happening? He had Zonic on the ropes, how did he turn this around? That kick destroyed his nerves, he couldn't even move. He was paralyzed, he couldn't get up. "H-How..." He asked with an airy, hoarse voice. He was lucky he could even speak right now. "How did you..."
Zonic gripped his hands into his own suit, before tearing it all off in once fell swoop. The heavy armored pieces dropped onto the floor with heavy thuds, useless. The blue soldier dusted dirt and dried blood off of his body, now only wearing a black bodysuit. This was the only piece of clothing worn underneath the armor, and it held little to no defensive protection. It's fabric was only used to help attach the armor against the body. The gashes Zhadow struck against his figure were fully revealed, and he was bleeding in two places but the blood flow thankfully stopped after a while. Still, he'd need to go to the infirmary ward when this was over. Cyber energy surrounded Zonic as his casual-formal, dark green uniform digitized onto his figure. Much more comfortable and breathable. He pulled his nightstick from out of his belt as his less armored black leather boots clicked against the floor.
Zhadow watched as he towered over him, the only person in the multiverse that could destroy him.
"See, that's how I know that stupid Black Doom blood of yours is invading your brain." He said while twirling his nightstick on his now clean gloved hands. "Zhadow, you're the one who helped me get here. You helped me get this strong, even without cyber or chaos energy. You know just as well as I do that I can easily kick the shit out of you if I really went all out, because you trained me to do so. You trained me for if and when you went rogue. The same goes for Sonic prime," He casually mentioned, causing his counterpart to blink at being put in the conversation. "He could defeat Shadow prime easily if he took things seriously. I know he was holding back on me during our fight, and he knows I held back on him too." He leaned down and stared Zhadow in the eyes. "You're strong, very strong. Still physically more powerful than I, but you also forgot that I'm more nimble and agile than you. Sonic templates are anything but weak, we're the strongest beings in the multiverse next to you. Some Sonics are far superior in terms of strength or authority, but we equally match all Shadow templates in every shape and form. No matter what reality it is. I told you this many times, dear fiancé of mine."
This insolence...
...Zhadow couldn't stand it.
He found the strength to get back up on his feet and swing his claws forward. "I've had enough of your insolence you little shit!" The moment he moved, his blood began reacting differently. "...!?" Why was his heart beating so fast? Why couldn't he move again? "T-The hell...!?" He grunted in pain as he grabbed at his own throat, as if someone was pouring acid down his esophagus. "...!" He choked and hacked, his knees buckling. "W-Wha...What did you...do to me...!?" He growled as Zonic glared down at him.
"This was a very bloody fight, Zhadow. You spilled a lot of my blood, and a lot of it ended up in your mouth without your knowledge." He gripped his nightstick tightly in his hand. "Even if it was microscopic drops, you consumed it." He tucked his baton underneath his arm, before pulling out a syringe from his pocket. This one was filled up with a glowing multicolored liquid. Shadow recognized it, wasn't that one of the vials Zonic had in his office days ago? Those were the amnesiac serums, but they were white. This one wasn't. "You know what this is?" He asked his general rhetorically. "No, of course you don't, because I hid these away from you in case something like this ever happened. I love you, but I still don't trust you and I'm kind of glad I didn't. If I had, you would have known about these and destroyed them in your blood rage." He tossed the syringe behind himself, and it headed in Sonic's direction. The hero caught it, but glanced at Zonic with confusion. "Sonic prime, you can borrow that for a while. I'll explain later. General Zhadow," He addressed his fiancé respectfully. "This serum doesn't have any of my blood, it has the blood of the Divine Spirits themselves. All four of them. Chaos Born blood is one thing, but the blood of a god is another. It acts like an aggressive tumor against Black Arms, no?" His response was a blood soaked cough, Zhadow couldn't even speak anymore. "I never injected you with anything, but I drugged myself with this before coming to this floor, and it went into my bloodstream. This serum doesn't do anything to Chaos Born, so you were never the wiser. I knew you'd consume it during the fight eventually, which is why I took the armor off of my gloves. I figured you'd try to bite or slash at my wrists while we were trading blows. What I didn't expect, is for you to gorge yourself on it like a feral animal. I figured a few drops would slip past your lips, but you went ahead and drank some of it yourself." He scoffed. "Both your Black Arms Influence and Primal Mode are interfering with each other, so I guess it was the hypnotism that made you do that. You were your own demise, sir. Thank God there was only a very tiny amount of the spirits' blood in there, or else you'd be dead."
Zhadow was still trying to move, even now. He struggled to stand up on one leg, constantly wincing in pain with every movement. "I-I'll...kill you...All chaotic swine...I swear it..." He rasped angrily.
Zonic sighed as he closed his eyes. "Sir," He said softly. "You told me that if you ever lost control, to neutralize you immediately without hesitation." He suddenly pulled his baton from under his arm and raised it behind himself. "You said if worst came to worst, that you give me full permission to kill you if necessary."
"Zonic-"
Cyber energy glowed throughout the baton, before it began to transform. The staff lengthened, but the other end of it grew larger. It became a warhammer, but that wasn't all. The hammer portion of the weapon duplicated in size, but it still wasn't finished. It grew larger and larger, more cyber energy being used as the size only multiplied without end for several seconds. Before everyone's eyes, it was a ginormous black warhammer that no normal person should be able to carry. It was so large, that it was consuming space in the entire office and even some of the hallway. Amy Rose would be jealous. Shadow and Sonic had to back away several feet just so it wouldn't hit them as it grew.
Zonic opened his eyes to his superior. "I'm very sorry, my general." His rookie apologized with a gentle voice, and a rueful expression. "Just following orders."
Zhadow's eyes widened. "Zonic, wait-!"
With a war cry, Zonic swung the giant hammer into his superior, destroying some of the walls as it collided into Zhadow's body.
11:00 AM
More dust and rubble fell onto the floor in the office.
Sonic and Shadow made their way inside while shielding their mouths and noses from the debris arising. The colossal hammer disappeared, and Zonic only held a normal nightstick in his hand. He slowly placed it back on his belt as he stared at the person across the room. Zhadow had been thrown into his desk, which was also thrown against the shudders of the windows. If Zonic hadn't activated them, his general would have been tossed out of the window when he smacked him with that hammer. His body was beyond beaten and covered with dust. Lying back against the destroyed desk, he made a weak smile at Zonic. "I-I'm...so...proud of you..." His eyes rolled back before falling unconscious. His body went limp against the desk, he was no longer moving. Shocked at his words, Zonic furrowed his brows and grimaced tightly. That was Zhadow's real voice for a second there, the influence had disappeared for a quick moment. Zonic looked away shamefully before walking over and kneeling down to his general's unconscious body. He carefully dusted him off before reaching down to his own belt to grab some things. For a moment though, he paused. He pitifully stared down at him, feeling so much regret. This day was going along perfectly, why did this have to happen?
Sonic walked from behind Zonic to look down at Shadow's defeated twin. "God damn..." He whispered. That fight was intense on both sides, but damn that was a brutal conclusion.
"Just because you have difficulty fighting your Shadow, doesn't mean I have trouble defeating mine. I was ready before I even arrived here." Zonic said stoically as he pulled out a pair of black handcuffs and some strange looking rope, causing his Mobian counterpart to blink in surprise.
"Well, why'd you take your suit off...?"
"Both mine and Zhadow's ability to control cyber energy caused some parts of the uniform to malfunction, disrupting it's ability to place a forcefield over my body for protection. It was so glitched that I couldn't even digitize it off." He replied as he handcuffed his superior, and used the rope to tie it around his legs and waist. "It became more of a hazard than an actual asset at that point, so I ripped it off myself for efficiency."
"W-Woah, woah," Sonic tried to stop the first lieutenant general. "Isn't this a bit much? You beat him, ain't that good enough?"
The vice leader silently exhaled through his nose. "You don't get it," Zonic said with a somber voice. "I have to do this, he's not completely out cold-" They all heard a few rumbles underneath the general's voice, and his body began to stir. "See? The moment he regains consciousness, he's going to snap again. This is for his own good, and these restraints won't even last that long. The Black Arms influence didn't leave his mind yet, this is just a small setback. Breaking out of the binds will cause him to use more energy, giving me more time to apprehend him again if need be." He finished his knot of the rope, and pulled one last item from his belt. He attached it to Zhadow's neck, then stood up to take a few steps back. It was a metal collar of some kind.
After a while, cyber energy began to illuminate from the rope, tightening it's hold on the general's body significantly. This caused Zhadow to blink his eyes awake, and they saw that his irises were still scary as all hell. He began to growl and attempted to move, but he couldn't due to both the handcuffs and the ropes. "The fuck is this...?" He then glared up at Zonic and snarled. "You-!" The collar on his throat buzzed as a volt of electricity shot up his spine. "...!" He immediately laid back against the destroyed desk, panting from the short amount of intense pain. "Zonic, don't you think this is a little ridiculous...?" He started chuckling as his rookie gazed down at him with pity. "I-I'm fine, just take this stuff off of me. This hurts and you're putting me in a lot of pain." He glanced up at him, his alien eyes still very black and red. "You're hurting me. You don't want to hurt me, right? Please," He pleaded with him with a kind voice. "I know I hurt you first, that was wrong of me and I'm so sorry. You know I love you, I just got a little stressed out. We should talk this over and-" Another shock from the collar cut him off. "Gah-!" He made a wrathful growl, his caring facade immediately gone. "You insolent, spoiled fucking sow! I'll kill you! I trained you, gave you a home and financial stability. I made you into what you are today! Without me, you're nothing!" His tone held so much venom and hatred, that Zonic was convinced this wasn't even his fiancé anymore. "When I'm free, you'll never see the light of day again. You'll never leave that bed, and I'll breed you into submission. You'll birth my offspring over and over, and then we'll see which bloodline is stronger! The Black Arms will never die!"
Zonic could barely take this anymore, he turned his head away with a grief stricken face. "He's never acted like this before..." He whispered. "Damn it..." This was all his fault.
"Yo," Sonic placed his hand on his shoulder, and to his surprise, Zonic didn't roughly shrug it off. He allowed it. "What's going on?" He asked carefully, not wanting to upset his twin any further. "Guy's actin' like he's possessed. Why is he acting like this? What happened?"
The blue soldier could tell Sonic was trying to comfort him. Normally he'd chew his head off for even speaking to him, but he just didn't have the heart. The fact that Sonic of all people was still trying to be nice to him despite everything that's happened thus far, said a lot. Zonic couldn't ignore that. He slowly opened his eyes, but didn't dare look in Zhadow's direction. "I didn't think I'd have to explain this so soon, but," He sighed while rubbing the back of his arm against his eyes. "All Shadow templates are of Black Arms blood, just like Shadow prime. The blood is very strong, so strong that it carries the influence of the first Black Doom ever spawned in the multiverse. He was immensely powerful before the Light One killed him, but he left a burdensome curse on all Shadow templates before he perished, so his will would live on through them." He slowly glanced at Shadow, who was staring at Zhadow with a petrified expression. "The blood whispers a lot of horrible things to the templates, attempting to infect their minds with ideas of breeding and conquering. It makes them misogynistic, angry, violent and cruel. They completely forget their natural personality and become monsters that are unrecognizable. I've seen it happen to other good natured Shadow templates, and in the worst cases, they become very abusive to their respective Sonic templates or even kill them. I can't tell you how many rogue Shadow templates I've had to wrestle down due to their Black Arms blood clouding their minds." He hugged himself. "Weak willed Shadow templates can't ignore it and are easily commanded by it. However, stronger templates like Zhadow or those on the Divine Pyramid, are able to mute the noise."
Shadow took a few steps closer to his twin, crossing his arms over his chest. He was staring down at him in disbelief, his eyes conflicted and horrified by the physical reflection of what he could become.
"But Zhadow," Zonic continued sadly. "It's been getting so hard for him to control it lately, and I think it's my fault. We've been trying to make things work, but I end up riling up his blood every time we get too close. It got worse and worse until...this happened. Consuming Chaotic Blood seems to trigger it," He frowned. "But it's never gotten this bad. He's drank my blood in the past without issue, yet it is now. He's never reacted like this before. I know the Primal Mode is interfering with it too, but..." Sonic made a confused expression. That term again, what the hell was that? Zonic continued to ramble on. "Something isn't right. I don't know how the hell he ended up drinking my blood at all. Counselor Zouge told me that someone gave her coffee to give to him, and that I apparently asked them to deliver it to her for me. That's bullshit," He cursed with a more angry expression. "I never asked anyone to give Zhadow coffee today, and I think it was laced with my blood. I don't know how that happened or who it was, but I swear to fucking God when I find out..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his voice was so betrayed that anyone could easily fill in the blanks with a random, merciless and inhumane threat. Both blue hedgehogs noticed how upset Shadow was beginning to look, and Zonic shooed Sonic away. "Go to him." He said with a glum voice. "I'm fine."
His eye twitched, though.
The hero caught that, that was weird. Sonic glanced at Zonic with concern, before walking over to the biohog. "Hey," He tapped his shoulder. "Hey, hey hey..." He saw Shadow didn't want to look at him. "That's not you, man. It's not, don't look like that."
Shadow shook his head. "But it can be."
"It won't, though. That's not even Zhadow anymore. He's being controlled by some dumb, super old spirit of Black Doom. He's not doing this because he wants to and he doesn't actually think that way." Sonic said desperately, not wanting for Shadow to fog himself in darkness again. He grasped his arms and turned him around so he couldn't look at Zhadow anymore, who was still growling at Zonic. Shadow's back was turned to the general, and now all he could see was Sonic. "Zhadow still loves that guy to death, I know he does. You heard what Napoleon said, you have to consume my blood for this to happen." He brought his hands to his muzzle and gently caressed it. "We'll just have to be careful, that's all. We'll be alright," He tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Okay?"
...
...Slowly, Shadow nodded. "...Yeah-"
A circle infused with hacked light red cyber energy surrounded both Zhadow and Shadow.
Shadow caught this out of the corner of his eye and pushed Sonic away. "Move!"
"What the-!?" Sonic stumbled backwards as a portal opened beneath the two black striped hedgehogs.
A strong wind began pulling them all towards it, even taking the destroyed desk with it. Zhadow grunted as he finally broke free of the collar, the cuffs and the cyber ropes. Robotic limbs reached out from the portal, and seized both of their ankles. Shadow fell down onto the carpet and tried to kick it off, but to no avail. Amber red aura surrounded his body, but it kept fading. The general was also being pulled down, and if they didn't do something, it would grab and take them all. He glanced at Zonic and gave him one last command. "Zonic, hack the portal and close it!" Zonic made a look of conflict and shook his head silently. He couldn't do that, he couldn't seal his only access to his general. If something was taking them, he'd rather go down with Zhadow-"Do it, before it takes all of us!" He hollered, his voice was void of the Black Arms influence. Both he and Shadow couldn't use their abilities, because their bodies were conflicting with the hacked cyber power sucking them in. This portal was interfering with their powers, and they were being completely pulled in. "Do it, Zonic-!" He yelled before being completely pulled in. Both he and Shadow were no longer visible anymore, and it was getting harder for the blue hedgehogs to keep their balance. They were getting pulled in, too.
As much as he didn't want to, Zonic made a determined expression and did as he was ordered.
Keeping a steady balance, he snatched his baton from his belt and shoved it into the floor. An explosion of light blue cyber energy waved throughout the room. "N-No..." Sonic whispered as he realized what was happening. Not again, he couldn't let Shadow get taken again! It made contact against the light red portal, causing it to glitch and close up quickly. They were gone. "No!" The hero stared down at the floor before falling to his knees and running his hands through his quills. Shadow was gone. He was taken from him, again. His lime green eyes began to shrink, he couldn't let this happen again. He suddenly growled and whipped his head to glare at Zonic. "What the hell are you doing?! Warp us to where they are!" He demanded angrily.
Zonic immediately matched his glare with an infuriated one of his own. He just fought his fiancé to the death, he was captured before his eyes and now his counterpart was giving him shit? Absolutely not. "Watch your fucking tone with me, Sonic prime. My general gave me clear instructions-"
Sonic became a literal enraged blue blur, gripped his fingers into Zonic's collar and smacked his forehead into his with a hard impact. The headbutt caused blood to drip between their heads as he glowered at the first lieutenant general. "I literally saw Shadow get kidnapped before I watched him starve to death in my arms, because I was too slow to save him. I let him get beaten and assaulted by some piss smelling dog for two weeks straight before he fucking died." He whispered with a grave tone. "I'm not letting that happen again. This ain't up for negotiation. Use a fucking warp ring and take us to where they are NOW!" He screamed right in Zonic's face.
Shocked by his sudden outburst of rage, Zonic took a few seconds to digest that before violently shoving the hero away from him. "Tch...! Finally showing your true colors, I see!" He insulted while dusting himself off. "Don't you dare touch me."
Sonic was seething. "Call me whatever the hell you want, but birds of a feather apparently flock together. You're my 'Overseer' or something right? You're supposed to protect me? You let us both die and you don't seem too bummed about it! Now my boyfriend's captured and here you are lookin' peachy. So how good of a person are you?!"
The first lieutenant general froze. "...!" He then looked downwards, memories of what he saw three years ago and the sight of Sonic transforming into Fleetway flashing through his mind. "I...that...wasn't on purpose..." The hero saw that what he said evidently hurt the vice leader, he was mumbling frantically to himself. "I-I never wanted you to...I didn't know...the monitors..." He then clenched his eyes and teeth. "Damn it, shut up!" He yelled. Attempting to ignore his counterpart's words, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a warp ring. Once he did, it began sparking with cyber power. "It's obvious to me now, Zhadow's outburst was intentionally initiated. It was a distraction to kidnap both him and Shadow prime. Warp rings are based on cyber energy which involves coding. That portal left code and thus traces of its energy in the office, so all I need to do is allow this blank ring to absorb this energy to copy the data, but this is clearly a trap." He walked over to the now empty spot of where the striped hedgehogs used to be. "The person who took them must have known this, they didn't even encrypt the portal to stop us from following them."
Sonic continued to glare at him. He didn't care about any of that, he just wanted his boyfriend back. "You second guess things way too much. Here's the issue: You wanna rescue your fiancé and do your damn job, or not?"
Zonic scowled. "Fine." He tossed the ring down and opened the very same portal that took their partners away. It was no longer corrupted in red, and it wasn't pulling them. "Go. I encrypted the ring so nobody can use its code and follow us."
"All you had to say." Sonic retorted as he immediately jumped down into the portal.
???
11:05 AM
Not this shit again.
After falling through the portal, the striped hedgehogs had landed harshly on a hard metallic floor. Along with a very destroyed desk.
Shadow winced as he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. The entire room was metal, and it wasn't very big. It was a cube shape, but there was a high-tech looking surveillance camera watching them from the ceiling. He didn't see a door or any windows, they were completely trapped in here. It was dark too, with a single ceiling lamp hanging above them. The cone of the lamp barely concealed the camera, and he stared right at the lens. He felt a vein throb on his head. How many God damn times was he going to be captured? He was sick of this shit. Well, one thing he knew for sure: He wasn't dying here like last time. Begrudgingly, if it would be days at a time, he'd eat if he had to. He wasn't going to put himself or Sonic through that kind of trauma again, especially not with Maria here. He turned around to see where his twin landed, and saw him huddling himself in the corner. He was holding his head, still in a lot of pain. Perhaps he was trying to fight off the Black Arms influence? His voice almost sounded normal when he told Zonic to close the portal.
Zhadow gripped his claws into his quills as he painfully smacked his forehead into the wall. "Get...out of my head..." He hissed. "Stop it..." He whispered harshly. "I'm not...your son...I...will never be one of you...!" He did it again, leaving a red mark. "Get out...get out, get out, get out...!" He punched his fist into his own skull, desperate to get the voices to stop. "Stop talking, stop talking to me! I won't do it...I won't give it back...!" He shook his head back and forth, grunting in misery as he hunched over. "This is my body...I won't ever let you use it again...you made me hurt Zonic, you're not gonna make me do it again! Nghh...Ghhnngh...! Stop it! Get the fuck out of my head already...!"
This still left a bad taste in Shadow's mouth...Is that really what he could have become if he had allowed Black Doom to manipulate him? He was terrified of the thought. If he didn't stop Zhadow, he was going to keep hurting himself. That's when he thought about what Zonic told him about Divine Spirits. More specifically, about Maria. She undoubtedly got stronger during their time in the chamber, so maybe...He commanded the girl to appear. "Maria, wake up." Golden sparkles appeared around him before the young lady's phantom appeared. Her light caused Zhadow to wince and cover his face with his arms. She blinked in surprise as she saw their surroundings. Wait-Were they captured? Again? She placed her hands on her cheeks in shock before glancing at Shadow with her mouth agape. That was almost comical if it wasn't for the situation they were in. He only shook his head. "Too much to explain. You see that?" He pointed at Zhadow, who was tearing out his own fur and quills.
"G-Get out...get out...I'll die before I ever let you take control over me ever again!"
"I need you to heal him and get him to calm down. Can you do that?" He asked the girl with a serious voice. She could see the agony he was going through, and she could sense the mental turmoil he was battling. It was a dispicable battle, one he was trying to continue fighting but was losing. With a very worried expression, Maria's ocean blue eyes darted from Zhadow to Shadow. She then frowned and nodded quickly. She floated towards Zhadow and raised her arms.
Her approaching golden aura was burning against the general's skin painfully, and he turned away from her. "S-Stay away from me...!"
She wrapped her arms around the general, and enveloped him in a loving embrace.
"...!"
Zhadow's eyes dilated significantly.
He could feel it all.
Her warmth, her care, her kindness, her compassion and her undying love for Shadow.
She nestled her head against his, her power phasing throughout his entire body, including his head. Why could he feel this? He thought only Shadow could touch this phantom. All of his wounds were healed, blood stains disappeared, the damage on his uniform was sewn back to perfection, and the dust that littered his body faded away. She placed her hands onto his forehead and grunted as she focused her energy into his brain. The voices, all of the nonsensical evil voices telling him to do horrible things, were gone. His mind, it was clear again. He could think again. He heard nothing but his own honest thoughts. Maria slowly took her hands from the general, before floating back to Shadow's side. "I think you did it." The biohog said. "Hopefully, something like this won't happen again for a while." He exalted the girl for her efforts. "Nice job. Maria, return." She nodded again and phased back into his body. He cautiously walked over to the general, whose eyes were...normal. His scleras were white again, and his irises were a normal dark red. They weren't even crazy looking like when they first met, they looked completely average now. "Hey," Shadow knelt down beside him. "You okay...?" This was a little awkward.
Zhadow blinked several times before patting his face with his now fully gloved hands, no more claws. He was in complete disbelief at the girl's power. "..."
Shadow could hear the girl say something in his mind. "Maria says something helped her get through to your head, she just doesn't know what." He glanced at Zhadow with some sympathy. The guy's been through a lot. "I'm guessing it was Zonic giving you that glorious ass kicking that woke you up. If it wasn't for that, I don't think she could have helped you. You taught him a little too well, he got you pretty good." He sat back against the wall and leaned his arms over his knees. "She healed you of all your wounds, physically. Mentally, she only cleared some of the noise. Maria's strong, but she isn't a miracle worker. You've got a lot of issues in your head that you need to work out on your own, so this'll unfortunately happen again." He stared at the wall. "You should be okay for now though, and I think she reversed the effects of older incidents. Your eyes are completely normal now, you don't need sunglasses anymore."
"I..." Zhadow didn't even know what to say, but he was glad his voice was normal again. "Um...Thank you. Sorry you had to see that. I lost myself in the static, the voices wouldn't stop. She silenced them, now I can think." He then sighed with a very guilty expression. "I hurt Zonic so much, there was so much blood. I never hurt him like that before, not even when we sparred in the past. Damn," He grimaced painfully. "I said so many awful things, I dragged him across the floor like some kind of ignorant caveman...I know he's disgusted with me, but I can't worry about that right now." He relaxed his posture and leaned against the wall as well. "I also apologize that you had to find out about our bloodline like this."
The biohog glanced at the general. "That's what I want you to explain. Zonic gave his own perspective and said there was an original Black Doom that cursed future Shadow templates, but what the hell is it exactly? Why did you become...that? You need to explain this, not him."
Shamefully, the general looked downwards. "Zonic's explanation was spot on, but I get what you mean. You want to hear it from another Shadow." He folded his hands over his lap. "Like he said, all Shadow templates have Black Arms blood, a large amount of it. The moment we become in tune with our heritage, the voices start to appear. When that happens, we become rather," He tried to find the right word. "Barbaric. We only think about pillaging, enslaving and breeding. Awful things. Our entire persona is temporarily wiped out. Only the strong ones can ignore it, but chaos energy helps keep it at bay, too. It acts like a barrier and mutes out the noise. I have almost no chaos energy, so it's harder for me to ignore the voices." He remembered his first year of being created, and being made a Zone Cop the second he was spawned into this realm. "The abysmal amount of chaos energy I do have, I mastered with Black Arms techniques, which led to me being vulnerable to the influence. I learned how to control cyber energy like chaos energy so I could use it to block the influence, but it's weaker than your power. It only helped but so much. The blood helps make us stronger with every battle we fight, but me," Zhadow scoffed. "I reached my peak. Thanks to the Zonian half of my biology, I'm naturally weaker than you in that regard. Zonians, all inhabitants of this reality, are the weakest versions of Mobians in the entire multiverse. It's why Zone Cops are so physically powerful and work through horrendously painful training regimens. We have to compensate for a lot, including me. This is as far as I can go with the Black Arms. I thought me being with Zonic would help too," He shook his head sorrowfully. "But no...not at all."
Shadow took in his words carefully. Like the curse of feeling the trauma of watching a Maria die, they were all cursed with the scourge of Black Doom's shadow as well. Great..."I see." He said quietly. "You make it sound like the Divine Spirits and Chaos Born were always a pain in Black Doom's side."
"That's because they were and still are to this day." Zhadow pointed out. "They know all Black Dooms in all realities, but they knew the original one personally. Mostly the Light One. And boy," He chuckled a little. "Did he hate the Light One. According to Zonic's ancestors' notes, he despised him—absolutely loathed him. You can feel it in our blood, in the voices. They hate the spirits more than they hate Chaos Born, and even more than Zonic hates them. You know," He said with some surprising amusement. "According to the spirits, there are some things Zonic and I are not allowed to tell you yet. However, they didn't say I couldn't tell you about some myths. I don't think anything bad will happen if I tell you some stories."
"Like?"
"Well," A small mischievous grin planted itself on Zhadow's face. Wasn't this guy just miserable a second ago? He swore he and Sonic grew more and more alike everyday. "Rumor amongst the older Overseers, is that the Light One, the one more commonly known as Hyper Sonic, used to tease the original Black Doom." He made a suggestive expression. "Sexually."
Shadow almost choked on his own spit as he mentally muted Maria's ears from this conversation. "What?"
"Haha," Zhadow chuckled a little more. "The legend goes that Black Doom wanted to reproduce with Hyper, because he wanted to create a powerful offspring that would rule the universe. This was before the multiverse was created, by the way."
"But..." Shadow didn't know why he was entertaining this information, but he was weirdly curious. "I thought Black Arms aliens were asexual?"
The general nodded. "Yes, the offsprings are. Like us hybrids, Black Doom himself is able to reproduce sexually. Most of his full blooded children are only drones, so they have no need to reproduce. Us Shadow templates however, are different. He exclusively designated that role to us, which is why the voices effect us so drastically. As for the attraction," Zhadow continued as Shadow made an uncomfortable expression. "Hyper is a deity of...how did Zonic put it?" He asked aloud. "'Love, purity and perfection...?' Something like that. Black Doom wanted to feel the supreme godly euphoria of having intercourse with a literal deity of love. To that, Hyper simply told him 'no.' Knowing that Black Doom could never have him, Hyper would make fun of him for it. Constantly, every time they crossed paths in the deep trenches of space. Our ancestral father didn't take kindly to that, got mad, they fought and...well," He shrugged. "Here we are. Bitter arch nemesis ever since, even in death." He saw Shadow's incredulous and partially grossed out face, and snorted to hide his laughter. "Pfft...I'm really not in the mood to laugh right now, Shadow prime. It's just a legend passed amongst Zonic's older Overseers, I have no idea how true it is. There is a legitimate hatred amongst Black Arms and Chaos Born, but no one actually knows why. Zonic believes this is why most Sonic and Shadow templates are rivals in their respective realities: It's in our blood to naturally hate each other, or love each other."
The biohog just silently gagged, as he unwillingly pictured an image of Black Doom trying to flirt with a Divine Spirit. If they looked the same as Sonic in physical form, that was just even weirder. This giant, ugly, starfish looking alien without a proper mouth or nose, trying to sleep with a Mobian looking hedgehog? That was just both ridiculous and a little nauseating. "I-I see..." He unmuted Maria's hearing, he supposed she could continue listening for now. Why was he having so many gross conversations with people lately?
The general rubbed his finger tip into the metal wall of the room. "Hmm," He mused. "This metal isn't normal—It's some form of tungsten." He suddenly slammed his fist into it, but light red cyber energy appeared when his hand made contact. It faded away the moment he lowered his arm. "And it's been protected by hacked cyber energy, too."
The ultimate life form spawned an amber red Chaos Spear in his hand, before chucking it at the wall opposite of them. The red cyber energy glitched from the exposure of the foreign power, but it didn't damage the wall. He frowned and chucked a few more at it. Each one formed ripples in it, but it still didn't pierce through. Normal cyber energy would have immediately crashed and fell apart, but hacked cyber energy seemed to be stronger. All of the spears dissolved.
"Definitely Zobotnik's work." Zhadow concluded confidently. "So I presume that's who we've been captured by. In other words," He glanced at Shadow. "Your boyfriend was right. He wanted to kidnap either me or Zonic next. Which means, he'll probably come by to pick us apart soon and turn us into zombies like he did to Zouge. Why he wanted to capture you too, well, maybe he felt he could get a two-for-one deal." He channeled cyber energy in his palm, creating what Shadow noticed as a cyber version of a Chaos Spear. He tossed it up at the camera, but it was blocked by a light red digital forcefield. The spear digitized into the ether when it fell down. He sucked his teeth. "Figures. Oh well," He turned back to Shadow. "Waiting for our deaths is a bit of a drag...I could ramble on about how our abilities work. Even though I can't use that much chaos energy, I know how the properties of chaos power can be corrupted with Black Arms blood and make it stronger. It's safer to try when a strong minded Shadow template attempts it. That's boring though, and we don't really have the space to actually practice any of that. Instead of sitting in deafening silence," He offered Shadow a proposition. "Would you like me tell you more about our bloodline to pass the time? The stories are quite interesting, honestly. They're worth a listen."
What the...?
Why did he have to be so careless about everything? Now wasn't the time to tell stories like some crotchety old man-
Shadow blinked.
-Oh...
...
...Huh.
Okay.
The biohog nodded his head affirmatively. "Sure, I guess that's all we can do for now." He saw Zhadow smirk, he was glad his twin was cooperating.
"Great. Now listen closely..."
61 - END - 61
Chapter 62: Isometry
Summary:
Sonic and Zonic begin to navigate unknown enemy territory. Meanwhile, Zhadow and Shadow figure out a way to escape their capture.
Chapter Text
62 - Isometry - 62
???
11:05 AM
The two blue hedgehogs dropped down to the floor from the warp portal, and it closed the second they landed on their feet.
They both gave their surroundings a quick glance before Sonic noticed that this looked eerily similar to an Eggman base, which means they were in Zobotnik's humble abode. That must have been who kidnapped the striped hedgehogs. Super strong metal on every surface, long corridors and confusing hallway structures, cameras on the ceiling, no windows in sight and the smell of heated machinery. However, he felt an odd sense of dread drifting in these halls. While this looked like an Eggman base, he had to remind himself that it wasn't. Whatever kind of monster Zobotnik was, was a whole different beast entirely. Still, he'd have to rely on his own instincts to get him through this place. He doubted Sir Try-Hard would be of any use to him after fighting Zhadow. His head was too clouded with emotions and narrow mindedness, as always. Plus, despite him looking okay, he was still injured and he lost a lot of blood. The fact that he was still standing was a miracle in itself. Yeah, he was nothing more than a liability. He could find their lovers by himself. A solo mission, he's done thousands of those before, void of friends or help. He could do this no problem. Without even batting his Zonian twin an eye, Sonic sucked his teeth and boosted forwards into the unknown.
Meanwhile, Zonic had carefully concluded the same facts Sonic did less than a second prior. This place was dangerous if they were on Zobotnik's territory, meaning they had to be very cautious and stick together. Something bothered him though. Why didn't the warp ring take them directly to where Zhadow and Shadow prime were? He was sure they were in the same vicinity, but definitely not the same area. That's odd...Did the warp ring read the portal's code incorrectly? He reached his hand up to his collar and pressed his fingers against the hidden button, and attempted to connect with his superior via frequency. "Sir? Dullahan, do you copy?" Nothing but static. "Shit..." That was a fruitless effort anyway, their devices would probably be traced in this building. Even if he could make contact with Zhadow, it'd be dangerous to communicate. If their transmission was blocked then—"Hmph." So that was it. This whole building was covered in hacked cyber energy, meaning that while they could get in, nothing could get out. A perfect trap, just as Zonic figured earlier. This was some real risky shit, here. He'd have to instruct Sonic to stay by his side at all times, he couldn't afford him getting hurt. "Alright, Sonic Prime. This is obviously Zobotnik's base, so we'll have to-" He felt wind brush against his cheek, before turning around and seeing his Mobian twin missing. He gawked at the sight of a blue spec running off in the distance of a very unknown battleground. "Oh God-What the hell are you doing!?" He yelled as he ran after him.
Sonic simply yelled back, "You go ahead and continue examining this death trap as long as you want Napoleon, but I'm gettin' bae back!"
"This damn brat...!" Zonic growled as he quickly caught up with him but immediately curved his direction to skid to a stop directly in Sonic's way, forcing the hero to pause as well.
"Dude, get outta the way already."
"Absolutely not." Zonic retorted. "How many times do I have to tell you that this is not Mobius prime? Your world is nothing like ours, and it is unwise to rush into a battle without some iota of a plan, or at the very least, some damn precaution!"
The hero could feel his spines sharpen and slowly raise. "And how many times do I have to tell you to stay outta my God damn way?" Sonic simply shoved Zonic away and boosted off down the corridor.
Zonic felt a sharp headache come along, this was no time for petty games. Growling under his breath even more, Zonic rushed after him while pulling his baton from off of his belt. While he could easily catch up with Sonic, he knew the hero would just push him away again and he was in no mood for another fight with another hedgehog. He'd stay behind, but stop him when things got too dangerous. He grasp the tool tightly, readjusting and clicking it into places to transform the tool into a bigger weapon. His eyes honed in, and saw something rather suspicious just ahead. A faint red blinking light-No, a series of them. A mine? Before he could warn Sonic, he saw the Mobian hedgehog jump up and dart himself towards the side of the wall, running alongside it to avoid the floor. Zonic, now equipped with his shotgun-modeled baton, shot against the floor with a blank round to boost himself upwards and dodge the very same trap. Both blue hedgehogs landed back on the floor and continued going, and that's when Zonic realized this was a rather long hallway. Was this the entrance hall? It was one hell of a jog just to get here.
They both caught even more mines lined against the walls and ceiling of the corridor. Not giving each other a glance, the blue duo performed their own means of defense. Sonic spindashed through, and the cyber energy in Zonic's hidden armbands glowed to cover him entirely in a digital forcefield. As the mines exploded, they both dodged any legitimate damage and breezed right through it all. Any explosion that got too close, was blunted the second it made contact with either of them. Sonic landed on his feet as Zonic followed. "Sonic prime," The blue soldier attempted to call to his twin. "This is only the entrance hall. General Zhadow and Shadow prime are more than likely in a much more secure area that's deeper within the base. This building is more than likely a labyrinth, but I can make a quick scan of the area and-"
"Sorry, don't care!" A sonicboom blast was his response, blowing powerful wind directly against Zonic and nearly knocking him backwards.
"...!" He huffed with exasperation, why won't this idiot listen to him already? He sighed in a near hiss, he supposed this was his karma. "Let it never be said that I enjoy being an Overseer..." He mumbled. He suddenly stopped and barked a loud order. "Stop!" He hollered.
Sonic dragged a sigh and momentarily paused while whipping his head back at the soldier. "Why are you even still here?"
"For God's sake, just listen for a damn second!"
"Oh wow, now doesn't the start of this conversation sound familiar?"
Zonic rolled his eyes so hard that they almost got stuck in his skull. "I am aware of the irony, Sonic prime. Now isn't the time for holding grudges. One wrong move, and you will be either captured or killed."
"That has literally been my life, everyday, since I was born." Sonic deadpanned.
The first lieutenant general mentally begged any entity, even the Divine Spirits, to please bless him with a less pounding headache that was Sonic the Hedgehog prime. "Just, be quiet. Listen," He then eyed the walls suspiciously. "You hear that?" Zonic asked quietly, the tone in the room suddenly heavy. This made the hero squint his eyes, and bend his ears to the sides. That's when he blinked. There was indeed a very faint buzzing sound. It was just barely there, but he could hear it. It sounded like those bug zappers, but not nearly as loud. If they hadn't stopped running, they wouldn't have heard it. That's when Zonic glanced at Sonic with a very, serious stare. "Don't. Move."
"...?"
Zonic then reloaded his weapon, but switched the ammunition. He then aimed into the air, and squeezed the trigger. However, what came out weren't bullets, but gas. It had no odor, and felt a little cold to the touch as it drifted towards Sonic's side of the room. It didn't linger for long either, almost instantly dissolving the moment it drifted into the air. Once it did, Sonic watched several laser beams colored with that sickeningly familiar candy red energy decorate itself all over the room. Some of them flickered on, while others were fully online and ready to fry anything that walked across it's radius. Some were diagonal, horizontal, vertical, in every direction they could think of. The hero looked down, and saw that the back of his sneaker was dangerously close to a beam. He inched it away, but didn't move any further. Zonic then looked around himself, noticing that while there were beams around him, he had more room to maneuver. Okay, he's experienced something like this before. Both in war training, and experienced in other realities that were quite literally at war. Espionage missions helped, too. He licked his lips as he continued to make a mental head count of every single beam in this portion of the corridor.
Reluctantly, Sonic couldn't ignore Zonic's warnings at this point. "...So Mr. Try-Hard," He said with a steady voice. "You got a plan for this?"
"Of course I do, you could learn a thing or two." Zonic sarcastically replied with a matching steady voice. It was almost like if they raised their voices any louder, they'd be bombed. "Cyber gas lasers. Basic high-ranking No Zone Corps training. The emanators of these lasers are extremely tiny, but," His weapon modified itself into...woah, a rifle with a scope? Excessive much? The longer, heavier weapon was reloaded, a new form of ammunition now applied within automatically with cyber power. "With a digital scope from my model four rifle, it'll be a cakewalk for me to destroy them. As for you," He locked eyes with Sonic. "Do you know how to Chaos Control?"
Sonic shook his head. "Not on command...I could attempt it, but I might accidentally teleport myself into space or something. Don't have it quite down packed like Shadow just yet."
"As I thought." Zonic continued. "Then I am only going to ask you one last time: Listen to what I say very carefully, or you will blow up and die. Do you understand?"
The hero scowled. "Whatever."
"Move slowly. Do not move your head, there's a laser right against one of your back quills." Zonic warned quietly. "Step forward three times." As he was instructed, Sonic moved three steps forwards with gradual pace. Probably the slowest he's ever moved in his life and it felt like months in real time just to do that much. "Okay, now-" They both heard a very loud buzzing noise, and a bean suddenly shot towards Sonic's figure. Calculating every position of the other lasers in the room, Zonic shouted his next order quickly. "On your knees!"
"...!" Sonic immediately got down on his hands and knees, his ears just barely ducking the surprise laser. It singed the very tip of it, making him wince, but he didn't move like Zonic initially ordered. He saw flakes of his own cerulean fur drop down on the floor below him. This was a bad position too, because there were dozens of beams surrounding him in this spot. There was practically no way out unscathed. Now he was sweating, and maybe a little nervous. Just a bit. If Zonic hadn't reacted fast enough, Sonic would have quite literally lost his head.
Ever so slowly, Zonic paced a little closer towards Sonic's position, his gun aimed just as rigidly as before. "Okay...Okay," Zonic saw that Sonic's pupils were slightly dilated. He was a little worried, as he should be. At least he was taking this seriously, now. "You're okay. I'm going to throw something to you, alright?" He asked gently, and Sonic noticed that was actually the nicest tone he's ever spoken. "You don't have to catch it, and do not move. Stay completely still." He slowly bent down to place his gun on the floor, then he rolled up the sleeve on his left forearm. He then dug his fingers into the hidden metallic armbands, and pressed his thumb on a few buttons. Pressurized air hissed from within, before loosening and dropping from his limb. It made a loud thud on the floor, and Zonic picked it up in his palm. He carefully underhanded it towards Sonic. The buzzing of the lasers seemed to grow louder, and they suddenly focused solely on the armband. Suddenly, an orb of light blue cyber energy began to grow and expand around Sonic's body. It began blocking off the lasers, and Sonic now had a little more room to move. "Now you can move. Pick that up, and keep it on your person until we make it out of this portion of the hall. Walk backwards with it. Again, slowly."
The hero nodded and reached down to swipe the armband, before slowly turning his head around. He then began to walk backwards towards a space that was void of beams. The shield around him was small, so if he moved the armband too far from his body, he'd lose some cover. Everything was so quiet except for the beams, that he couldn't even hear his own heartbeat. Step after step, step after step. Take one step at a time, not too fast. Not too fast. He had to keep reminding himself that over and over, because the compulsion to just make a break for it was so engrained into his brain. No, not this time. For once in his life, he had to accept that right now, being slow was the best option. Step after step, step after step, step after step, step after...
...
...He exhaled.
He made it.
He bent over with his hands on his knees, not realizing he was holding in so much of his breath.
Woah.
He hadn't felt that nervous in a super long time.
Heh, he smirked. He kinda loved that. Did that make him an adrenaline junkie? Ah, who cares. Sure, Eggman had laser traps too, but not that intense. He blew out some air and placed his fists on his hips as he watched Zonic. What would he do, now?
"And now that you're safe," This made the hero blink. Huh, yeah. He wanted him safe first, he noticed. "It's my turn." The soldier then aimed upwards and a loud bang echoed in the hall. A small explosion rang out from the ceiling, as a few lasers were now offline. Zonic aimed to the left and shot once more, then to the right, downwards and more. He made a bullseye with every bullet he used, destroying every hidden emanator of those lasers. A loud buzzing noise went off, his ear flicking backwards. He then swiftly turned his body around and shot without hesitating, destroying another emanator before a surprise beam could attack him. He heard another inching closer from above, and ducked his body backwards to dodge yet another. He continued shooting in this position, and soon, he was no longer visible in the smoke of the several mini explosions. Sonic waved his hand back and forth to waft some of the smoke away, and couldn't help but be impressed by the sight he saw next. The sound of metallic bullets falling to the floor rang as No Zone's vice leader stepped forwards from the smoke. As it faded away, the hall was shown to be empty of lasers, but now very much riddled with damaged surfaces and dented bullet holes. He reloaded the large gun and leaned it over his shoulder. "Quite an amateurish trap at best, but worthy for an outsider."
Sonic had to admit it, Zonic looked kinda cool like that. "..."
"Well then, shall we proceed?" Zonic raised a brow. "On my terms this time?"
And just like that, the briefest glint of admiration for him disappeared.
Sonic only groaned tiresomely. "Ugh..."
11:15 AM
"It is said that several thousand years ago, when our father, our first father—the first Black Doom who ever spawned within the multiverse—first created our bloodline," Despite how grand the beginning of this story sounded, Zhadow's tone couldn't be less enthusiastic. He was too busy taking pauses to smoke while telling the story to actually care. He almost sounded like an underpaid substitute teacher. "He concocted our veins and flesh with the unique ability to forge and create weaponry out of our own bodies. This unfortunately only applied to those of pure blooded Black Arms alien lineage, while hybrids were unable to perform such a feat. As such, they were forced to adapt and grow a different form of offensive biology: Chaotic Vampirism, the act of drinking the blood of another being of chaotic properties to perform miracles." He blew out some smoke from between his lips as he watched Shadow meditating in the middle of the floor with his eyes closed. He was listening very attentively in silence, Zhadow knew this. He's told him at least ten short stories about their bloodline with similar conclusions, and he was positive he was bound to figure something out soon. "This ability only works on living organisms with chaos properties, such as Chaos Born. The more you drink, the stronger you get...along with a few consequences."
As he continued to talk, Shadow had his hands folded in his lap, his legs crossed in a pretzel and his eyes shut to the world to focus carefully on Zhadow's words. Maria was aptly listening along with him, meditating in harmony with the biohog in spirit. Shadow realized that his fellow Black Arms brother was something else. He was so carefree, that nobody ever noticed how conniving he was. Every minute the hedgehog talked, he was secretly forming a plan in his head while everyone else went on about their day. His brain connected dots, pushed over pieces and played chess with the world while it was stuck playing checkers in naive ignorance. He knew exactly what he was doing, sitting against the wall casually, smoking as if they weren't at all in danger when they could easily be killed right at this very moment.
Zhadow cleared his throat. "Opening your mind to the will of the original Black Doom befalls unavoidable mania, something I've experienced too many times. It is why controlling chaos energy requires complete concentration for us. Drinking the blood of Chaos Born is a risky move, and should only be done if you are fully at peace in mind and heart. If not, your soul will be corrupted by the whispers of our multi-dimensional father," His tone grew darker. "While you, the real you, is destroyed." He flicked a few ashes on the floor, and watched them fall onto the metal below him. "On the flipside, there was another ability the Black Arms hybrids created: Chaos Corruption, the act of corrupting chaos energy with Black Arms blood." He saw Shadow's ear perk up ever so slightly, and he almost grinned. "They say that our legacy is built upon blood manipulation. It's why we can do so much with our vitae, it's one of two of the most powerful substances in the entire multiverse. It's not just chaos energy we can corrupt," He smirked. "We can corrupt anything, if we're strong enough that is. You just have to work the blood like chaos energy, letting it rise and surge within you to a boiling point until they mix together like a cauldron of power. It's an amazing phenomenon." He then shrugged and flicked more ashes on the floor. "But sadly, you and I just aren't on that level yet. With me reaching my peak, and you being so green, there's no way you could do something like that in the near future. Interesting story though, no?"
"..."
A couple seconds. "...We could die, you know. Like," Zhadow snapped his fingers. "That."
"..."
"Anything could happen..." He added quietly. "We could get killed, mind controlled, or Zonic and Sonic prime could die."
"...?" The hell? Why was he saying that to him? Why did he stop telling stories? Both he and Maria felt confused as they tried to synchronize their concentration. No, focus. Ignore him for now.
"If you don't concentrate, we're all going to die..." Zhadow kept saying that over and over, and his voice sounded weird again. Impossible, did the influence get to him again that fast?
After a while, he finally stopped talking.
...
...The sound of static filled the empty, silent room.
A monitor descended from the ceiling with a metallic rod, and lowered itself in front of the two striped hedgehogs. Zhadow lifted his head to glance over at it, while Shadow continued to concentrate. It flicked a few times, before live footage began to play within the screen. An obnoxious and gaudy mustache filled the monitor's interface. A pair of square glasses with gold rims sitting upon the bridge of a familiar big nose was in view, shining menacingly. Their face was obscured by pitch black darkness, including behind them. On their wide shoulders were matching precious metallic shoulder guards and a golden collar. He couldn't see anything else, except for a huge evil smile drawn across the newcomer's face.
Oh, it's been far too long since he's seen that mug.
A low cackle, then a satisfied exhale.
"...Having fun telling stories, First Lieutenant General Zhadow?"
Shadow's twin only scoffed while plucking his half finished cigarette onto the floor. "That's General Zhadow, to you. Oh, and warden...and shadow Mayor of Parallel City...and perhaps much more in the near future." He grunted and moved to stand up with his hands in his coat pockets, undaunted by his former boss's digital appearance. "Former Warden Zivo Zobotnik, it's been a long time." He took a couple steps forward towards the monitor, his dark red eyes staring right into the screen.
Zobotnik chuckled again and adjusted his eyewear before replying. "Yes, indeed. Look at all the gray hairs hidden in that tattered, murky black fur. You've seen better days, dear General."
"Aww, your concern flatters me so." Zhadow tilted his head and matched his catty energy, his tone feigning a friendly demeanor. "I'm glad to say that unlike you, I'm aging like fine wine. And oh wow," He lifted a hand to point. "Look at all those putrid liver spots on that crowning bowling ball head of yours. How are you doing, sir?"
A small vein grew onto the bald Zoverlander's head. He almost forgot how annoying Zhadow's cutthroat tongue was. "Far better than your failing illegal relationship with both your pretend fiancé and your pathetic lot of political brown nosers, of course."
Zhadow smirked. Just like old times. "Oh, well we all can't be imperious, putrid, scum sucking murderers like yourself, dear former warden-"
A fist slammed against a desk that wasn't visible on screen. "But you didn't waste time penetrating that disgusting blue rodent in my office whenever you pleased, did you, Zhadow!?"
That only made the current General of No Zone Corps shake his head with a small laugh. "Amazing, you're still so short-tempered. That's really what this is all about? You're that mad that I picked Zonic over you?"
Zobotnik only growled and backed away from the screen a bit, his face now more darkened over. Only the rims of his glasses were visible, now. "My grandfather failed when he created a traitorous mutt like you. You were supposed to guard and obey the Zobotnik bloodline for hundreds of years until your body eventually gave out, or until we upgraded your biology." His voice decreased it's volume a little, sounding more disappointed than angry at this moment in time. "You were a war hero, a scourge amongst illegals. The moment anyone stepped in front of you, their will to live combusted and bent to your whim. You were my star soldier, my best cop on the force. You destroyed so many targets, cleared our entire black list of wanted criminals. You made the world a better place, and forced it into a permanent era of peace. No one dared to break the law in any reality due to your very presence alone. And yet," He began chuckling bitterly, clapping his hands roughly. "And yet! You threw it all away for a pathetic, masochistic college kid with a damn authority complex. A blue rat who has the blood of cosmic monsters, who want nothing but to destroy us all!" He yelled, seething his next line of words. "You ruined it all, all of it! I gave you an out Zhadow, and you refused to take it all for the sake of an emotion you were never supposed to feel! You didn't just disgrace the Zobotnik name, you disgraced No Zone Corps, this reality, and more importantly, yourself!"
Blinking a few times from that outburst, Zhadow remained unimpressed. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck while looking down for a brief moment. "Oh geez...what a bother." He mumbled. "Zobotnik, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I'll be nice enough to repeat myself one last time. Just make sure you listen good, alright?" He bent down a bit to laser focus his gaze onto Zobotnik, his face nearing closer to the screen. His voice became quiet, silently infuriated and greatly imposing. "I. Love. Zonic. I don't care how angry you get, I don't care how many times you attack me or my city. I don't care if you kidnap me, I don't care if you threaten me, I don't even care if you experiment on me. Kill me for all I care. Do your fucking worst, because nothing you do, not in this reality or the next, will ever make me change how I feel about him." His pupils sharpened dangerously. "You understand that, boy?"
This made Zobotnik flinch. Did he forget that fast that Zhadow practically helped his grandfather raise him? Hell, he used to babysit the little bastard. He worked alongside him, his deadbeat father before he perished, and soon, him. All during the course of over one hundred years. "...!" He began to snarl, but then, he stopped. He then paused, before sneering. "I see...You're scared, aren't you? Scared that the moment your little boyfriend comes running for you, he'll be trapped and killed by my hand, and you won't be able to stop it. You know," He gestured to the room around him. "Because you're stuck in here, of course. And trust me," He grinned harshly. "You aren't going anywhere, Zhadow. I have a plan that needs to be fulfilled, and I require your bodies to make it happen. I can't wait to take my tools, stab my scalpel in that nasty brain of yours, and rewire it to get you back where you belong: To me. To the Zobotnik family."
Soon, a vein began to grow on Zhadow's head this time. His fists clenched in his pockets tightly, and he could feel his teeth and quills sharpen. "Oh? You're threatening that? On me? Foolish boy," His eyes began glowing a dark crimson. "Your grandfather was the last ounce of genius this family ever had. My body was made with state-of-the-art bio-engineering that precedes your lack of skill for hundreds of years. You're about a few centuries too underdeveloped to try it, you damn reprobate."
"Ha! Is that so?" Zobotnik leaned closer with an eerie smile, his teeth gleaming in the low amount of light. "Is that why I captured so many of your men? Why I nearly got Officer Zespio killed, why I broke the mind of Counselor Zouge? Why I almost had you kill your precious Zonic?"
Zhadow clenched his teeth. "...So it was you." He was clenching them so hard that he could break it from the pressure of his jaw. "You're the one who made me hurt Zonic like that."
"Oh but of course it was me!" He boasted. "Of course, of course! I'd tell you how I got his blood, and how I got it into your coffee...but why ruin the mystery?" His shoulders trembled as he could barely contain his wild snickering. "You'll find out soon enough! Hahahahahaaa!" Zobotnik slowly ceased his laughter to a minimum and exhaled. "Ahh...But enough about my successful trap, let's get you both in a nice surgical room."
Once again from the ceiling, four metallic arms quickly descended from above. Two of them were both armed with needles, long enough to prick and inject their contents inside the nearest victim. The other two had metal fingers itching and wiggling, slowly nearing the two hedgehogs as Zhadow took a cautious step back from the monitor. He looked around a few times, but he kept cool. He then gave his attention back to the monitor, before asking a strange question. "Zobotnik, were you listening in on us this entire time?" His question caused the approaching needles and metal hands to pause. "Being an officer, I've sat in many interrogation rooms. And while you can normally see the cameras, the microphones are never obvious."
This made Zobotnik take a second to register that question. Why was he asking that now? Did the cameras not make that obvious? "Why are you wasting my time with useless inquiries, Zhadow? What, did your IQ go down after all these years, too? Tch. I think you and I both know that I've been watching and listening in on you the second you fell into my base. Well," He smirked. "Technically before that, but again, I don't want to spoil the surprise. I overheard you spouting some nonsense about your oh so curious Black Arms bloodline, something I have absolutely no interest in. After all, you're not strong enough to be an actual threat to me. Neither of you are. As you told Shadow prime," He referred to the still meditating striped hedgehog twin in the room. "You reached your potential, and he's even weaker than you, so I stopped listening after a while." His voice grew excited. "Meanwhile, I have the power of spirits themselves! The Phantom Ruby-"
That's what he thought. Good thing the general didn't say anything apparent earlier. Idiot never caught on to what they were pulling, which would make this next move so much easier. Zhadow easily interrupted the bald human with a single command to his Black Arms brother.
"Do it, Shadow prime. Or we die."
The room began to glow a bright amber red as Shadow slowly stood up. His entire body was inflamed with chaotic power, the candy red cyber energy that was infused in the surfaces of the room were glitching and sparking dangerously. He released a hissing breath of tinted heat, the very air he exhaled was completely colored in amber aura. The very stripes aligning his fur pattern began to glow, as did his irises behind his closed eyes. His body became almost akin to a glowing star. In space, he'd be a shining, tiny supernova, with it's radius spreading all throughout. The floor and walls tremored, the tungsten metal peeling back and shredding itself from the exposure of such power. The metal arms began to malfunction, as did the monitor. Zobotnik began to panic, his posture now more than rigid with alarm. Zhadow's quills began to blow back as power from within the middle of the room began to increase, and he did nothing but sneer at Zobotnik's reaction.
"Cha...os..." Shadow shakily whispered, the word on his tongue feeling as if it was a new sensation. As if he never spoke it before. He could feel that this session of meditation not only allowed him to think, but to figure out how to use new abilities he never knew he had. And now that Maria was awakened, she only powered him even more. "Chaos..." He whispered again, this time more grounded and less shaky. No, it still wasn't there. He didn't grasp it just yet. He could do it, he could feel it. The power was right at his fingertips. His hand lifted upwards, before crushing his digits. "Chaos...Corruption...!" He whipped his head at the monitor and instantly formed a large, corrupted Chaos Spear in his palm. "Destruction!" He made a hard throw, the spear nailing the screen in an instant. It cracked, it's feed and audio ruined. All they could hear was Zobotnik's glitched shouting and yelling, but his words were incomprehensible.
Several sparks of corrupted amber red energy shocked the entire mechanism, and spread like a fire throughout the rest of the room. The candy red cyber energy could no longer keep it's form, and soon, the amber energy began to take over it's entire grid. It all came crashing down all around the room, dissolving in on itself and completely disappearing from sight. Panting, Shadow looked down at his hands in shock. Did he...Do that? Did he really just do that? How did he do that? When could he do that? Why didn't he figure this out until now? He then ran his hands through his quills in disbelief. He couldn't believe it, there was a whole different sector of untapped chaotic abilities. A sector he was never aware of after all these years. Hell, did Gerald even know? In terms of being ahead, Sonic would envy him for this. After all, if this was Black Arms exclusive, there was no way in hell Sonic could learn it. He started to smile a little. Zhadow wasn't kidding, he did have hidden potential. He then clenched his hands. Okay, that was epic, but he couldn't get too cocky. While that felt amazing to do, he was severely inexperienced. That took a lot out of him, and he'd need to practice with more meditating later-
Applause.
Shadow blinked and turned to the side to see Zhadow smiling with pride and clapping his hands. "Surprised?" He asked. "I'm not." He nodded his head in approval. "I knew you had it in you."
The Ultimate Life Form stared at his twin with wonder. How much did he know? How much was he willing to teach him? "How...When...Why did you..."
"Let's just say that my reality's Gerald was a little more thorough than yours. As for why I taught you in code about what we can do..." Zhadow shrugged. "...Why not?" He simply asked.
Then, the wonder in Shadow's eyes began to fade.
Wait.
Wait...
...Zhadow...could do that too, couldn't he?
They could have been killed the second they set foot in this room, they were only lucky that Zobotnik wanted them alive and took so long to confront them.
Blown up, shot in the head, gassed, crushed, anything could have happened.
So why...
...Why didn't he...
...Why the hell would he do something like that at a time like this?
And it wasn't just because he was a careless oaf, he did that just so he could force Shadow into an ultimatum to make it happen. He forced him into a do or die situation. That's why he kept saying those things, he was practically threatening him. Like: "If you don't figure it out, we're all going to die and I'm not going to help you."
...
...Bastard.
He used him.
Shadow slowly began to shake his head, again in disbelief. "You...You knew we could get injected. You knew there was a chance I could screw it up. You knew we could have been killed if I didn't succeed in figuring out how the ability worked, or worse, used as mind controlled soldiers set out to kill Zonic and Sonic. In fact, I could have hurt myself attempting it for the first time. I could have hurt you." He began to stare, and really took a good look at Zhadow. When he did, he noticed that Zobotnik wasn't lying. He didn't notice it before, but his twin did have a gray hair or two. They weren't very obvious unless you were up close, but they were there. His age was indeed beginning to show, probably from all the stress his body was put through recently. Physically, he'd say his twin was at least in his mid thirties. "If you could teach me how to perform it, that means you know how to do it yourself. Maria healed your wounds and restored your stamina, you had no excuse not to perform that ability on your own to save us several minutes ago." He narrowed his eyes at him. "You knew what could happen. You knew the risks." He took a single step back from his twin. "And despite that, you gambled our lives like nothing."
To this, Zhadow's smile became a flat line. "..."
The biohog wasn't sure how to feel. His tone was neutral. "...You're insane."
This made Zhadow look down at his hand, Cyber Controlling a metal ring in his palm. It was a matching piece to Zonic's. He stared at it warmly. "...I don't mean to sound my age again," He began slowly. "But when you get to where I am, whatever number it is," He still couldn't remember, he'd have to ask Zonic sometime. "After one hundred," He Cyber Controlled the ring away and placed his hands back in his pockets to look into Shadow's eyes. "You'll understand. Sure, I could have done it myself easily. But why do that and deprive you of a vital moment of clarity? Dire situations activate a person's fight or flight, it's how I train all my soldiers. Zonic included." He began pacing around Shadow. "You and I are not runners, we don't run away. We don't cower, we fight head on. Therefore, I knew you'd make at least some attempt at the ability. If you failed, I would have made a move. Yes, it could have went wrong. Yes, we could have been captured and brainwashed. And yes," His voice wasn't remorseful. "I did risk both my life, and yours just to get you to learn Chaos Corruption. Was that right to do? No, but you need to know what you are and what you can truly do. Shadow prime, mark my words," He frowned heavily. "There are horrors beyond this reality you'll never be able to fathom, even after you confront them. You need to know these abilities, and the quicker you learn them, the better chance you have at surviving the worst the multiverse has to give you."
Shadow's expression became a little agitated and betrayed. "...I don't appreciate being manipulated, general."
He didn't use his name, Zhadow took note of that. He only sighed silently while closing his eyes. "I understand that, Shadow prime, but it was for your own good."
"You sound like Black Doom."
"..." Zhadow's frown became a scowl and his expression darkened with a raised brow. "Huh. Didn't expect that from you...I'll ask you never to compare us together like that ever again, Shadow prime."
"Or what?" Shadow challenged with a matched air of hidden anger. "You'll try to kill me?"
Dark veins began to decorate the general's eyes while his pupils became thin once again. "Do not overstep your boundaries, neonate." His voice was starting to sound demonic again, too...
Shadow was going to retort with something, until he felt a phantom's hand place itself on his shoulder. He glanced over and saw Maria looking down on him. She looked disappointed, and shook her head adamantly. In other words, don't go there. Not worth it, not right now. Shadow sighed and nodded to her once, she was right. Now wasn't the time to fight, and he didn't want to undo all the work Maria did to heal Zhadow of his...ailment. He already understood that the general was only trying to help him learn something in his own perilously harsh way. Considering how hard boiled Zonic was, he could only imagine the kind of training regime Zhadow gave him back when he was still a private. That's just how he was, no matter how much love "softened" him. However, if Zonic truly did tell Zhadow everything he went through, then he should know better than to pull something like that on Shadow. He'd relax for now, but he'd look at the general with a less trusting eye from now on. That Black Arms blood of his was a problem.
A big God damn problem that he needed to fix soon.
The biohog just looked away in silence. "..."
"My mistake," Zhadow suddenly said, his voice and face void of any anger or malice. Just like that. "I only wish for your survival and triumph over anyone who opposes you, and trust me, there will be many. I teach my soldiers the same way, so I suppose I couldn't help myself. But you're not my soldier," His eyes were normal again, and he was seemingly sincere as he walked closer towards him. "You're my brother."
He held out his hand to Shadow, just like before.
11:45 AM
...
...Except Shadow didn't take it.
He only nodded and turned to walk away, leaving Zhadow a little stunned. "Likewise. No hard feelings, general."
"..." He watched as Shadow went over to one of the ruined walls, punched it a few times and left a large hole. Without any cyber energy protecting the surfaces, getting out of this room was a piece of cake now. He stepped out of the hole without even telling his twin to follow. Zhadow then looked down at his own palm once more, before lowering it back into his pocket.
Damn it.
He shouldn't have did that.
He...didn't mean to.
It just happened.
He looked over at the floor, where he dropped that cigarette. The ashes were still scattered, and that windy eruption of power from Shadow spread it all throughout the room. He took the tip of his boot and kicked the cigarette around to force it to drop more ashes on the weathered floor. That should be good enough. Hopefully that would help, but if it didn't, he'd just move to plan B.
He lifted his head at the destroyed wall, and headed out of their room of capture as well.
62 - END - 62
Chapter 63: Segment
Summary:
Sonic and Zonic cut their way through this mysterious base, until someone decides to grace them with their presence.
Chapter Text
63 - Segment - 63
Zobotnik's Base?
11:50 AM
It's been almost an hour, and they still didn't find Shadow or Zhadow.
Why? Well, Sonic liked to believe it was because of Sir Try-Hard's futile attempt to lead them to their partners. He went on with that whole, "I know him better than you do, so you need to follow me and do what I say," shtick and the hero was so over it. Yes, thanks to his navigation, they avoided of lot of traps that was laid out all throughout the base. It took them a while to dodge them all, and now they were here in yet another corridor. This place was a labyrinth and he was just sick of all of it. He needed to know Shadow was okay. He put a spine on him, as he usually did so out of habit whenever the biohog wasn't looking, but he couldn't feel anything for several minutes. No news was good news, but he didn't care. He needed to see that his hubby was doing okay, and this aimless traveling was pissing him off to no end. Why was everything pissing him off this week? It was annoying. Soon enough, he felt a reaction. He flinched and placed a hand on his peach chest. The quill he put on Shadow...He could feel it. It had been powered up with a huge surge of energy. But-"Ngh..." Sonic winced and paused moving. This power felt weird...It didn't feel right at all. Negative. Was it even chaos energy anymore? It was quick, too. The feeling faded away in seconds.
He'd say that wasn't good, but he didn't feel pain or distress. No, if anything, he felt...distrust.
Sonic blinked. Distrust? Disappointment, betrayal...Why? Why was Shadow feeling like this all of a sudden?
Damn it, he needed to get to him already!
Meanwhile, Zonic had his baton held upwards. The tip of it was glowing with cyber energy, and a holographic ray of light beamed from it to scan the walls. "Hold on a moment, Sonic prime," He said, evidently deep in thought as well. "The base is filled with hacked cyber energy, but I'm scanning our surroundings anyway so I can attempt to build a digital map of this place. That way, we can figure out where Shadow prime and Zhadow-"
"Okay, I appreciate that you're not as useless as I thought," Sonic interrupted with an annoyed voice. "But I think I can manage on my own, now. I need to get to Shads pronto and your way ain't doin' it for me." He readied his body and boosted forward ahead of Zonic. "Later!"
...
...Zonic just squeezed his eyes shut with a slow sigh.
When he opened them back up, one of them began twitching again.
Again.
That was really starting to get on his nerves.
Okay, since he wanted to keep acting as if he couldn't easily catch up to him and stop him, then he'd become the immovable object to Sonic's unstoppable, forceful stubbornness. He simply looked down at the baton, seeing that its scan had finished up quickly. Good, no interference. Probably because of some of the damage they caused. He then turned off this feature, and whipped the tool down to transform it into a new tool. "Combative series, model one," The baton hissed many times throughout its parts, before elongating and becoming less rigid. Soon, it became a metallic whip composed of several metal plates connected to each other, able to bend and swish with complete cooperation. "Control Whip." As a test, Zonic made a couple of small swings, before pulling back and swinging it forwards. A loud crack echoed in the hall as cyber energy flowed through its parts and reached far and wide. As the blue hero sprinted and saw a corner to round, his peripheral just barely caught the end of the whip coming right for him. It instantly wrapped itself around his neck, causing the hero to gasp in surprise and slight pain. He was yanked to the floor roughly, and pulled several feet back to where he began: At Zonic's side. The officer simply turned to look down at Sonic with an aloof expression. "You know," He said quietly. "I could easily just handcuff you and force you to behave."
Coughing, Sonic scowled at his twin. "God, you are a such a freakin' step-on-me sub-Agh...!" He clenched his eyes shut at the tightening sensation of the whip.
"Why can't you understand that in order for me to do my job, you have to listen to me and stay by my side?" Zonic pressed his thumb onto the handle of the whip-baton, releasing Sonic of its grip. He swung it around in a circular motion around his wrist to gather the rest of it. "How hard is that to comprehend?" He narrowed his eyes at Sonic's neck and saw that the whip made a very slight mark. It was barely noticeable, but he didn't mean to do that. He shook his head. "Great. Thanks to your antics, I caused a bruise." He rolled his eyes and dug in his pocket with his free hand for something. "Hold still, I have something for that."
Sonic gradually stood up and dusted himself off before giving Zonic one of the most angry expressions he's made since this whole mess began. "I don't want your damn help."
"I don't care that you don't want my help Sonic prime, you need it." He replied calmly as he pulled out...what looked to be some kind of plastic pack of pills? The heck were those? "Here. You need to be one hundred percent in case something-"
Candy red appeared all around them.
"-Happens." Zonic slowly finished as he looked around them.
A holographic grid of the malware cyber energy surrounded them once more, but that wasn't all. They witnessed the walls shift, expanding and spacing themselves out to create a large area. This was no longer a corridor, it was a spacious square-shaped doorless room. The other end of the hallway seemed so far away now, because even the floors lengthened themselves further. Out of nowhere, several figures appeared in glitchy silhouettes. Zonic made a double take. Was that a form of Cyber Control? Fully digitized in the physical world, before them stood a barrage of Zonian-sized soldiers. Their armored uniforms looked similar to No Zone Corps, but they weren't. The armor these figures were wearing weren't just black, they were black and gold. Wait a minute...Golden shoulder guards, golden trims on the helmets and boots...And that cursed mustached insignia. This made Zonic grit his teeth. Zobotnik. Damn it, he should have known this would happen, being in enemy territory like this. Those weren't soldiers, not at all. They were in some big trouble, now.
Sonic took a few steps back with daring eyes. "I hope these ain't more No Zone traitors."
"No," Zonic quickly responded with a disgusted tone. "They're soulless—These are all robots."
The hero looked at his twin in disbelief. "Robots? This advanced looking?" He glanced back at their ambush of new enemies. They were lining up all around the room, blocking off the only exit that led to the rest of the base. These things were as tall as they were, with their body types. They looked like normal No Zone soldiers, except for the ominous candy red glow in the depths of their suits. Sonic noticed the visors of the helmets. It was heavily tinted, but if one looked closely, they could faintly see the face of a No Zone officer. That's when he saw it: Nothing. There was no face under there, he only saw servers and intricate metal pieces of machinery. There was no limb of flesh underneath that wall of armor, only iron endoskeletons. "That's about four dozen guys. Shit," Sonic said in both astonishment and a little stress. "Makes Egghead's badniks look like chew toys." Now Sonic was all for bashing up some robots, but these guys weren't normal, he could tell. That material, that armor, the way Zonic looked apprehensive, these bad boys weren't going down without a long and hard fight. Looks like he'd have to roll out the big guns. "Alrighty, it's go time. Try not to get in my way again, Napoleon." Sonic warned in a cocky manner as he wound his arm up. "Don't wanna accidentally knock your ass out."
Zonic scoffed as he dropped some of the whip's slack from his wrist. "Your resistance to my orders is legendary, I'll give you that."
All at once, the robots pulled nightsticks from their belts and readied their hardened bodies for battle.
The leading droid of the miniature army moved their leg forward to initiate the start of a charging sprint. That is, until the chaos charged fist of a royal blue after image shoved itself into its face. The chaos energy instantly caused the cyber properties inside of it to react negatively, causing the head of the robot to explode instantly and fall backwards. That very same thing happened to various other robots behind it, as Sonic's many after images brutally attacked a target at random with different punches and kicks. Zonic watched this with admittedly some admiration. Welp, it was on. He then swished the whip around, glowing light blue before darting forwards to crack it against the abdomen of a helpless robot who was too busy giving Sonic its attention. The whip acted like a flexible blade, slicing through the material of the droid's torso like dripping icing. The whip then curled itself around its nearly halved body, and Zonic lifted it up in the air before swinging it around to smash and crush the others with their own fallen ally. Destroyed helmets and other body parts flew around the room, leaving marks of electrical burns and glitching glows of corrupted cyber energy on every inch of the walls and floors.
The two hedgehogs briefly crossed each other and never made eye contact, their gazes too busy surveying the remaining enemies around them to do so. They then switched sides without a word and began phase two of their onslaught. Zonic released the destroyed robot from his whip's clutches and swung the weapon to grab, snatch and throw down any machine he could get his sight on. Each throw was harsh enough to break the droids on impact, leaving no digital survivors. Each touch of the end of that whip produced an ear shattering crack, and made clean slices of impact with devastating damage. Meanwhile, Sonic realized that these guys weren't so tough. Either that, or maybe he just got stronger. Fighting Zonic more than one definitely helped him figure out how No Zone soldiers fought. These robots mimicked them, and even tried copying some of Zonic's moves with their baton bōjutsu, but they paled in comparison. They were easy to dodge, easy to counterattack and most importantly, easy to defeat. He swung his leg into the side of a robot, the blunt force bending its metal and shooting it across the room to leave a dent in the wall. Without even looking, he made a sharp elbow from behind against a foolish machine who tried to make a sneak attack, nailing it right in the chest. Sonic didn't let up. He sucker punched another, then another and another.
As they fought, Zonic's reflexes once again proved that they were second to none of any No Zone officer. Right in the middle of using his whip to pop the head off of another robot, he saw just out of the corner of his eye, that some of the robots they defeated...
...were starting to get back up.
"...!" Zonic tried to warn his twin. "Sonic prime! The robots are-" He got shoved backwards, he took his eye off of the battle for too long. "Ngh," A robot was shoving their nightstick directly into his torso, but Zonic just barely caught it in his hands, attempting to push it back. What the hell? They weren't this strong before. The red glowing lights on the robot's armor began to shine even brighter, the veins of its power becoming more visible all throughout its metal body. Quickly, Zonic looked to the side and saw that the same was happening to the other robots, including the ones attempting to get up from the floor. Sonic was able to fight them off no problem, but he still wasn't aware of what was going on. Zonic suddenly got pushed even further, his back hitting the wall harshly. "Damn it..." He grunted as he kicked the robot, and while it did do some damage, it wouldn't let up off of him. What, were these things on overdrive now? That's when he heard Sonic cry out in pain, causing him to look up from his current fight once again.
Sonic stumbled backwards, then blocked a hit from one of the now strengthened droids in the nick of time. Crimson fell onto the floor and smeared, and Zonic smelled copper. He must have taken a hit to the face. Frowning with determination, Zonic turned back to the robot and gave it a look. He then headbutted the droid, damaging it greatly from the sudden attack. The grip it had in the baton suddenly loosened, and its knees buckled before falling to the floor with a thud. Of course, the head. They had to destroy the heads. These robots were highly advanced, meaning they worked like supercomputers. But super or not, the fastest way to destroy any computer was to annihilate the motherboard. Since there was no face behind those helmets, he could only assume the hub of these robots' AI's were stored there. He stared at the body long and hard to see if it would move again, but it did not. Yes, that was the key. For safe keeping, Zonic stomped his steel toed boot against it's cranium and crushed it to pieces. After doing so, he moved to get to Sonic immediately. As he rushed over, he saw that the hero must have figured it out too, because he was currently punching the hell out of an already downed droid. He saw that his mouth was bleeding. Must have gotten jabbed in the jaw.
Panting a little, the hero lifted up the robot with both hands and threw it into the remaining group of metalheads. He was a bit winded, and Zonic would be lying if he said wasn't too. That little upgrade they all got was a pain in the ass for sure. There were about less than half of these assholes left, counting the ones that didn't get their heads caved in, meaning they'd be getting back up anytime soon. And just as they suspected, some of them were back on their feet in seconds. After taking a small moment to catch their breaths, the blue duo charged first. Damn, it was a good thing none of them could transform their batons like Zonic could-"Oh shit." The realization struck the two hard. They began to transform their weapons, forming into battle axes, hammers, maces and various other blunt weapons. The first lieutenant general quickly twirled the whip in a circular motion around them, forming a cyber energized forcefield around them. Zonic then began to transform his nightstick-whip back into another model, and while doing so, he warned Sonic not to lose focus. "I haven't seen those things in years. Sonic Prime, those robots are an upgraded version of an old model Zobotnik used as training dummies. They were only supposed to be assigned to advanced officers, and some were even reported to have mortally wounded a few inexperienced rookies. According to my superior, they were never the same and had to be honorably discharged due to severe injuries. Zobotnik swept it all under the rug like the fat bastard he is. I don't know what these newer models can do, so do not get careless!"
"God damn." Sonic hated the sound of that. Still, nothing he couldn't handle. "Thanks for the heads up, but I got this." Utilizing his undeniably death-defying speed to break out of the forcefield, he proceeded to whirr himself into a circular motion. Fearsome winds began to blow ruthlessly throughout the space, causing Zonic to slam down his baton onto the floor, and hold onto its handle to keep him balanced. The forcefield would protect him from damage, but not from those dangerous wind currents. He kept his eyes shut from the tiny sharp metal parts blowing by him, carefully opening one to keep his attention on his Mobian twin. The robots around him lost their equilibrium and began to float upwards into the air. "Chaos Wind!" Their bodies slammed upwards into the ceiling, unable to fall back down due to the wind pushing back against the laws of gravity. Abruptly, the blue hero skidded to a stop before snapping his fingers. "Pierce." Several sharp blue spikes of power shot through every single one of them, penetrating their bodies and some were unfortunate enough to get impaled through the head. That was a little messy, as Sonic wasn't able to sneak his spines on everybody's helmets, but it did most of the job.
The winds slowed to a stop, allowing the several droids to fall to the floor like empty dolls.
"Heh," Sonic clapped his hands together to dust his hands off. "No problem."
As of now, only about five were left and they weren't doing too well.
Despite not having their heads destroyed, they were moving sluggishly. Must have been malfunctioning due to all the internal and external damage they took. Slowly, they began to hold up their batons, their bodies rattling with glitches but still set on completing their objective. Their nightsticks transformed, becoming firearms instead of melee weapons. Two held handguns, two held shotguns, another held a machinegun. Okay, now this was getting a bit dicey. Before Sonic could move, Zonic instantly rushed ahead to stand in front of him, the forcefield engulfing him now shrouded and protected them both. Just in time too, because they all began shooting. The rain of bullets bounced off the forcefield, but they weren't stupid. They knew just as well as Zonic that the forcefield wouldn't hold up for long with this much damage. "Stay behind me." He ordered. Sonic scowled, he didn't need him butting in like that, he could handle this.
"Dude-What the hell?"
Zonic's baton finally finished transforming into a new model, but Sonic was too miffed to notice. Meanwhile, Zonic was adjusting the new weapon's functions while periodically glancing back up at their enemies. Soon, this forcefield would come down and he'd have to act fast. "You're hurt. Reach in my pocket for a pill. No time to explain. It'll heal your wounds over a short amount of time."
That sounded awesome, and yet the hero didn't care. Why did he keep getting in his damn way? Was he a damsel in distress? No, he was a freakin' hero. The complete opposite, thank you. "You keep getting in my way, and it's really starting to piss me off."
"Now isn't the time to argue, Sonic prime." Zonic replied with an apathetic air.
That only ticked Sonic off even more. He growled and shoved himself against his twin while reaching down and gripping his weapon, forcing him to keep his attention on him. "I ain't gonna tell you again, I don't need your help. Quit patronizing me, and quit actin' like you give a shit about me. You don't. If I get hurt, that's on me, so what the hell do you care?"
Zonic kept his gaze with the blue hero, but his expression was blank. "...I'm only doing my job."
"Haha." Sonic laughed before quickly resorting back to glowering. "Quick question: Didn't you just try to take my head off the other day?"
"And I apologized for that."
"And I told you to shove it up your ass. Y'know why?" He asked while tilting his head sarcastically. "Because you tried to freakin' kill me the first time we met, and you've done nothing but treat me like garbage the entire time I've been here. At least Knux and Shads attempted to be neutral at first by avoiding me or keeping their comments to themselves during dire situations, but you always went out of your way to be a complete and utter douchebag no matter what happened. You yell orders, insult me, try to kill me, then try to get me to do something for you. I ain't with that shit anymore. So before you try and bark orders at me, and use your little magic wand to make a forcefield to protect lil' ole me from harm," Sonic's quills sharpened. "Don't. I don't need it and I don't need you. Piss off already, Napoleon."
"..." Neither he nor Zonic even noticed that the forcefield was slowly beginning to fade due to the damage it was taking. "...You don't get it," The blue soldier tried his best to keep his tone cordial, but it was becoming terse and his brows furrowed. "I know how to hold back on you. I would never put you in real danger. I didn't want to fight you or anyone the first time, I was only defending myself and you attacked me first. The second time, I held back so I wouldn't mortally wound you in that fight, to which you also initiated first."
Sonic sneered. "Oh, I'm so so sorry that I was supposed to just sit back and continue to let you dog pile me every chance you got. What, you want a rematch or something? Think you're stronger than me? More 'mature'? I could give a damn."
Zonic's eye twitched. "...Damn you, will you fucking listen!?" He suddenly screamed in Sonic's face. This caused the hero to harden his glare, but he roughly let go of his twin's weapon and took a step back. Gradually, Zonic took a deep breath before releasing it. "...If anything happens to you, anything, this multiverse will suffer. I cannot let you die again, I won't let it happen." His hands were suddenly shaking, the weapon in his palms clattering against his palms. His eyes were small, a little red with bags under them. "I am only," He gripped his fingers into his weapon tightly. "Trying to do my fucking job."
"Yeah?" Sonic replied quickly. "Well, I think you're doing a 'great' job." He then pointed to his own neck. "Ever had your jugular sliced out? Ever watch your own blood waterfall out of your throat and all over your body? Ever sell your soul to a demon 'cause you were too weak to kill the guy who killed your boyfriend? I have." This made Zonic's pupils shrink even more. "It hurt. It all hurt." Sonic's voice became nearly just as quiet as Zonic's. "It hurt a lot. You know what hurt more? Shadow seeing it all happen. I gave him PTSD. As if he needed another form of that, right? Then you waltz in and exorcize me, insult me and my boyfriend any chance you get, force us to come here and pull the same dumb shit you pulled back on Angel Island. And you want me to be cooperative with you? You? You came out the gate askin' for smoke, and you want me to listen to you? Now?" He nodded his head a few times. "Yeah, I got a problem with authority figures. Still, I learned to push the petty crap aside as I got older to get the job done. But you...I dunno, you just rub me the wrong way. I don't know what in fuck's name your issue is with me, and at this point, I don't care. We all had it rough, join the club. You don't have to protect me, you don't have to do your 'duties' as Overseer just for me, 'cause I'm sick of it. Sick to death of you. I just want you," The forcefield was down. "To leave me," A group of bullets were headed their way. "The fuck alone."
...
...The twitching wouldn't stop.
It wouldn't stop.
It wouldn't stop.
It just wouldn't stop.
"Cyber Control." Zonic whispered.
Time stopped, for the robots.
Not for them.
Afternoon, 12:25 PM
"...When this is all over," Zonic finally said, his eyes looking more dead than usual. "You will have your wish, Sonic prime." His face was unmoving, blank and absolutely void of any emotion. As was his voice. His hands stopped shaking, and his pupils remained small for some reason. And Sonic noticed that his eye was still twitching. It was subtle, but it was still happening and hard to ignore being this close to him. "But until then," He raised the weapon over his shoulder, revealing it to be a grenade launcher. Without turning around to look or aim, he pressed his finger on the trigger. The blast of the ammo blew back the blue duo's quills, but Zonic's expression remained still. The hefty weapon of great weight suddenly shot. No Zone issued grenades hurdled towards the robots, but then they stopped. The moment they left Zonic's vicinity, Cyber Control took over to pause it within time. "I am afraid that I must continue to protect you with my very life." He then simply turned to the side and swung the butt of the weapon once to smack the several frozen enemy projectiles away. Once again, they froze the moment they were too far from the source of Cyber Control. Then he initiated the ability one last time. "Cyber Cancellation."
Time moved forward.
And when it did, a loud explosion rang in their ears and blew back their quills even more.
Sonic glanced beside Zonic to see every single robot they ever fought in this battle, including the survivors, destroyed and reduced to smoking rubble.
The explosions destroyed their craniums and the rest of their bodies easily.
Then, light blue veins of cyber energy began to spread throughout Zonic's right sleeve, and into his limbs. Soon, it grew all the way up to the bottom of the left side of his muzzle. Sonic blinked, wasn't that Cyber Corruption? That wasn't good, and it was even worse that it was spreading that fast. That hurt like a bitch, how was he not reacting to that? That's when Sonic saw how dim Zonic's irises were.
They were an abyss of naught.
Nothing was there.
No emotion, not anything Sonic could make out.
Was...that a symptom of the corruption too, or...
...Whatever. Not his problem.
He was sure Zonic could just go to the infirmary and get it fixed anyway-"Take this." Zonic suddenly shoved something in Sonic's hands. The hero looked down and saw one of those pills he saw earlier. It was bright green. That made Sonic wonder. Why weren't Zonic's eyes as bright green as his own? They were always a dark green, and so was Zhadow's as a dark red. He frowned at the pill, but swiftly placed his hand against his mouth and swallowed. Soon, he could feel the stinging in his mouth fade away. He wiped the back of his hand on his lip to get the dried blood off, only to look at his glove and see nothing. The blood disappeared as well. He blinked several times and patted his own face, feeling absolutely no pain in the slightest. Damn, that was way too useful. How long did he have those things on hand? He could have used them at Angel Island, or even their own fight. Hmph...No. Maybe on any other mission, he would have, but Zonic was too proud to do that in a fight when it came to his counterpart. His pride could have killed him. He saw Zonic walk away while taking a pill himself, taking it down in a single silent gulp.
He paused for a moment and grasped his weapon, transforming it back into a nightsick. Once it was back to its default state, he slung it back over his shoulder.
"I have a map of some of the base, now. Follow me." Was all he said, his back turned to the hero.
Sonic said nothing in return, the tension in the room of slaughtered robotic corpses thick with an unknown emotion the blue hero couldn't put his finger on. He could see from behind that the corruption on his arm was beginning to fade away, making him question why the first lieutenant general or the general didn't give him or Shadow any of those pills in case of corruption. Then again, he thought back to his time in the infirmary. The nurses didn't have pills like that in the room, not to mention they had to pump his damn stomach to get that corruption out. The hacked cyber energy Zobotnik used was candy red, and that was the energy that was corrupting his body at the time, but the corruption on Zonic was light blue like normal cyber energy. Perhaps Zonic wasn't necessarily corrupted yet, and what Sonic just witnessed was an early stage of the affliction? He didn't know, he was no No Zone doctor, but it would explain why those pills were able to get rid of it so quickly and easily without going through the painful procedures Sonic went through.
He heard Zonic sniff, then he saw him stop completely.
He sniffed again, then again.
His head lifted up immediately and he frantically looked back and forth. "Sir...?" He whispered under his breath. That's when Sonic felt something hit his nostrils, too. Cigarettes—he could smell cigarettes and nicotine ashes. Or rather, something that was supposed to smell like nicotine, it was a bit off. Since there were no plants in No Zone, he was terrified to know what their cancer sticks were made of. Thank goodness Shadow was immune to stuff like that. Oh shit, Shadow! If they were captured together, he and Zhadow had to have been in the same place. They wasted way too much time in here. They could follow the scent, they had to find them! "Sonic prime, come on." Zonic began running. Sonic quickly followed behind, exiting the mess they made together.
Running alongside each other, the hero noticed that this corridor was different from the others. He was beginning to see doors, actual other rooms instead of just several hallways leading to others. Zonic looked down at his baton to see a holographic map floating above the tip. Okay, there weren't that many actual rooms in this place, and it was indeed an intricate maze. Pathways that led to nowhere or worse, a death trap. Empty rooms without purpose and dead ends were riddled all within. Only a few places were of actual interest with legitimate labels on the map. There was a small hub for elevators...elevators? More than one? Why? This lair was only for Zobotnik, why would there be multiple? Questions for later...Perhaps that was an exit, but what interested him more was the large room labeled "surgical room." Just before that was "holding room one" and "holding room two." No doubt that's where Zobotnik took their partners. Surgery required preparation, sometimes at great lengths of time before getting started. They weren't too late, he was positive. Zobotnik liked taking his sweet time to do anything, according to Zhadow. So they were more than likely in the holding rooms and they could check both. Problem is, security there was probably extremely tight. They'd have to be more cautious than ever.
And then something untoward happened.
"...!?"
"Stop right there."
That's when both blue hedgehogs recoiled in revulsion at the sudden whiff of mint mouthwash. They heard clicks, causing them to look around and see several metallic arms poking out of the walls, armed with machineguns that could shoot bullets. Zonic thought fast and tried to initiate Cyber Control. "Cyber-" He abruptly stopped mid sentence, his body freezing up. "Con..." Sonic skidded to a stop to look back and see the first lieutenant general lose balance. He was suddenly out of breath, his muzzle red and flushed with exhaustion. His face was sweating, and he nearly dropped his baton. He trembled before falling to one knee, panting even harder as his ears flattened. "..."
"Hahaha..."
Sonic grimaced and looked in front of them to see a fat, human male with a stupid looking mustache and an even dumber nose heading their way. He was dressed in all black, with the exception of his golden collar, shoulder guards, cuffs, cufflinks, glasses rims, buttons and tassels wrapped around the left side of his round figure. He wore tall military boots, a pair that matched Zonic's. And not only that, but he wasn't approaching normally, he was walking on the side of the wall, vertically looking down upon them on a ninety degree angle. As much as he didn't want to, Sonic couldn't help but protectively walk in front of Zonic while he was down. Still, why was he suddenly weak? He glanced down at his twin only to see that he was having a very hard time breathing normally, and he looked like he had a horrible fever. Maybe even nauseous. Even the corners of his eyes were watering. The large man just chuckled while shaking his head, candy red appearing beneath his feet as he walked onto the floor upright before Sonic. Must have adjusted the gravity on his soles. Sonic could only guess this was the asshole who stole Shadow and Zhadow away and caused all of this mess.
"Sonic prime," The fat Zoverlander addressed in faux respect. "We finally meet."
Gradually, Zonic was attempting to regulate his breathing, but he was still on one knee. Sonic only gave the man who looked scarily like Eggman a rough scowl. "Let me guess, Baldy McNosehair's distant multidimensional cousin—Zobotnik."
Zobotnik just blew out a scoff and placed his hands behind his back. "Just as feisty as your Zonian counterpart, eh? Heh, I mean," He mocked the fallen vice leader. "Not now, I suppose."
"Did you do this to him?" Sonic growled. "Huh!?"
"Oh me? No, no no no..." Zobotnik easily dismissed this accusation. "Private Zonic-Oops, sorry. First Lieutenant General Zonic did this to himself. You see," He explained as he looked back down at the blue soldier with sadistic satisfaction. "My former star soldier Zhadow was made with cyber energy, so he can use as many abilities as he pleases so long as he has the energy to burn. Similar to your world's Shadow with chaos energy. But Zonic, well, he's a weakling. Overseers weren't made to fight, they're born to live out their lives as pathetic loner watchdogs, sitting in front of a bunch of TV screens doing nothing but writing in countless useless books filled with even more useless information. They're nothing but glorified, voyeuristic pencil pushers." He held up his arm and slid his long sleeve upwards, checking his golden watch. "Combative cyber powers are far more powerful and use way more stamina to activate. It's why soldiers in No Zone Corps are pushed to their very limits during training, otherwise they won't be strong enough to withstand the effects, and thus, are useless to the force." He smirked as he stroked his mustache. "Zonic already had to fight his lover using cyber energy, and he just used an ability that takes too much out of him after one use. I'm sure you already know the different between a Chaos Control that stops time, and a Chaos Control that teleports you to another location. Teleporting is one thing, but stopping time requires much more power. Cyber Control is easy...for Zhadow. For Zonic, it takes about half his energy. He used it twice today, and now he's a blundering mess. I would know, Zhadow reported all this to me when I was still general. If he uses it again, he'll pass out. Maybe even die from exhaustion."
"What...?" Sonic knelt down to Zonic. "I thought you took that pill? Doesn't it heal you?"
Zobotnik snorted. "Oh those measly little things? He only healed a weak variation of Cyber Corruption. They only heal small wounds, they don't restore your stamina. Serious wounds such as damage to the organs, deep inner tissue of the flesh or severe Cyber Corruption aren't going anywhere either, FYI. Oooh," He raised a brow at Zonic. "I see he's trying to hide how he really feels for your sake, a shame that won't last for long."
A bang.
Sonic couldn't believe his eyes.
Using what little ounce of strength he had left, Zonic pushed himself forwards to seize Sonic and shield his body with his own.
The hero's eyes shook as he saw blood pool around them, and he darted his gaze to Zonic's arm. There was a hole, the bullet was large and it went right through him. Blood was developing all around the left arm of his uniform, dripping globs of crimson onto the floor. Still panting, Zonic continued to hold Sonic close, his body still shielding him from one of the many robotic arms that shot first.
Sonic could only watch in confusion.
Why?
Why did he do that?
"..." Zonic made a difficult, pained expression. "Escape...My..." He tried to speak, his voice deathly low and raspy. "...Chest pocket...get..."
His eyes rolled back and his body fell backwards with a thud.
Zobotik had only one last thing to say to the only conscious blue hedgehog here:
"Come along quietly."
Sonic made a steady gulp, his eyes scanning the guns all around him, before they landed upon Zonic's body. He had been exhausting himself this entire time, the entire day, and never said a word. He just pushed and pushed, fighting to get to the end of this conflict so he could finally rest and recover. Never once did he complain, never once did Sonic catch him sweating or red in the face until now. He pushed himself to the very brink and beyond for everyone else's sake, including Sonic's. Tails, Amy and Shadow hated it when Sonic did that, and now he was seeing firsthand at how they felt whenever he pushed himself too far. Idiot. That's all he could think to himself: Idiot. To whom, he wasn't sure. Maybe they both were.
He closed his eyes with a silent exhale, and nodded. "Fine. Just...at least let me carry him to where you want us to go. Okay?"
Zobotnik clapped his hands together.
"Excellent."
63 - END - 63
Chapter 64: Equilateral
Summary:
Now captured together, Zonic and Sonic are forced to talk.
Chapter Text
64 - Equilateral - 64
Afternoon, 12:30 PM
There was a single, lonely lamp hanging in the middle of the ceiling.
"You can place him there." Zobotnik instructed, gesturing towards one of the metal chairs in the middle of the room. Like the endless corridors, this room was nothing but metal. The chairs didn't look very comfortable, but they didn't have a choice. Sonic carried the unconscious blue soldier to the left chair, setting him down gently and upright. Since he was still out cold, his head drifted a bit to the side and his entire body was limp. Before Sonic pulled away, he adjusted his collar and tie. His knuckles brushed past his breast pocket, and his pupils dilated a bit. He then took his hands away, dragged his fingers through his own quills and stood up to stand back. "How kind of you," Zobotnik commented cruelly. "Dressing him up before he's all cut up. It's the least you could do after that little spat you both had. Who knew the hero of another reality could be so heartless with words alone? Ha!" Zobotnik chortled while Sonic continued to stare at his twin with a concerned expression, some of his own fur stained with his blood. "It's always such a pleasure to see that little blue pincushion's spirits crushed. That was almost just as good as three years ago." This made Sonic's ear perk up.
"..."
Zobotnik found the hedgehog's silence interesting. "Nothing to say, hmm? I understand. We'll get you to talk sooner or later, as you have vital information to give me." His glasses glinted ominously. "And you will give it to me." He then demanded Sonic followed Zonic's lead. "Sit. Down." His voice became seriously authoritative, almost the same as Zonic's or Zhadow's when they were giving orders to their officers.
Except Zhadow sounded scarily laidback, while Zonic sounded scarily ready to find and kill you if you dared to disobey him. But Zobotnik just sounded like a huge creep. Yeah, he hated Eggman, and with age he did grow much colder, but the man didn't seem as heartless as his counterpart did. The contempt Eggman had for Sonic wasn't as hateful, while having extremely brief moments of mercy. Those moments of truce were very short and only served for his own gain half of the time, but he still had a heart in there somewhere. It was tiny, shriveled up, old and black, but it was there. That time when Eggman whispered to himself about Gerald, almost disgusted by his grandfather's wishes to kill them all with the Eclipse Canon, proved that perhaps he did have some kind of a conscience. On the flip side, there were indeed times where Eggman seemed like a horrible monster. Roboticization, using Shadow's PTSD and distorted memories against him, nearly killing Tails with a literal bullet to his arm. Eggman committed so many God awful crimes against both humanity and Mobian lives alike, but Sonic never wanted to believe the man was only pure evil. He knew him since he was a child, saw his schemes grow bigger and more complex, watched him become more wrinkly and fossilized.
When he saw him in prison, chained up, confused and angry as to why he couldn't figure out a way to get out, it hurt Sonic.
It hurt him because he finally saw how mortal and human the large man was.
In the end, he was just like everyone else: Mortal, and pitiful.
But Zobotnik...
...That bastard seemed consistently evil, no matter how he moved or spoke.
Even the way he breathed seemed wrong, his idea of order and authority perverted. He didn't look down upon people from arrogance, he looked down upon them like they were toys. He saw anything and everything as something to tinker with, something to play with or modify. A crooked Dr. Frankenstein that thrived from making playdates with people's very lives. And the smell—what a loathsome, horrendous scent. Dental mint, used floss, medicine and plastic fabric. God, if Sonic still had the strength to puke for a third time today, he would. This was an enemy that, while Sonic could read on the surface, he couldn't fathom what he was truly capable of. He almost didn't want to know. The blue hero just kept his eyes down, raised his arms behind his quills and fixed them a bit. They were a little out of place. He then turned around and planted himself on the other metal chair. His back touched Zonic's, their quills almost tangling together. Zobotnik stepped out of the room, and the only door to the room instantly shut. When it did, it practically blended in with the other metal walls. In a flash of candy red, thick wires of hacked cyber energy roped around the two hedgehogs and metal chairs. It wrapped around their arms, torsos and legs. The touch of the wires caused Sonic to flatten his ears with an audible hiss the moment it made contact with his fur and flesh.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot. Outsiders can't handle the touch of hacked cyber power. So sorry about the inconvenience." Sonic's ears rose to the sound of slight static. Was the asshole talking from some kind of loud speaker? He didn't see any in the room, perhaps they were really small and hidden. The wires tightened around them to the point of near suffocation. They weren't going anywhere. They were both tied to each other, and one half of them were dead weight. He listened closely, he could faintly hear Zonic struggling to breathe and his heartbeat was irregular. He wasn't doing too good. "Now, I need to take a brief moment to...handle some things. You both just sit tight, you hear? Hahahaha..." Then, silence followed. Sonic waited for a moment, then another. And another.
...
...Okay.
They were alone.
Sonic closed his eyes to focus, strengthening the chaos in his body. He breathed evenly, attempting to meditate his abilities. His nerves stilled, his blood flowed a little slower. His brain activity calmed, and he soon thought of something sweetening. Him and Shadow, at home in Green Hill, listening to the flickies chirping and lying against each other in bed on a lazy Sunday. It's late afternoon, the summer only beginning. He was off from work, there was no Eggman to go after. Yes, this was what he usually did to help meditate. All he had to do was think about Shadow, and...
...what?
He saw...
...them and...something else. They were cuddling something together. What was it? It was small, tiny...
...Huh?
He saw someone else.
Someone standing in front of them, tilting their head at them.
They were smiling, very proud of them and...
...He blinked a few times.
Why did he envision that?
He realized he spread a healthy amount of chaos energy towards Zonic. He remembered how he told him that Zonians couldn't handle the power of chaos, but Zonic could, he just couldn't use it. Well, at least it worked. He tried to turn his body to the side, his vision attempting to eye Zonic from this position. His eyes then darted around the room. Yeah, they were alone but there were no doubt cameras in here too. He glanced back at Zonic as best he could, and after a while, felt some movement. The weight in the chair behind him shifted, and he could tell it was traveling all throughout his twin's body. He could hear his breathing and heartbeat stabilize, his body straightening. He heard a loud gasp, and Zonic suddenly lifted his head up with his eyes snapping open. He gasped, panting and hunching over. He blinked and then whipped his head all around. Shit, he was captured. Trapped. Damn it, Zobotnik got to him. Wait, where was Sonic prime? He was about to panic, until he sniffed a few times. He then silently sighed in relief. Okay, he was right behind him. Good, but not good. That means they were both trapped. He made another sigh and leaned his head back, feeling Sonic's quills hit his own.
Well, at least they were both alive...for now.
Zonic cleared his throat, feeling much better. He wiggled his toes in his boots, moved his shoulders side to side and lifted both his knees up and down. Yup, he could feel all of his limbs and nerves. He felt great pain in his arm, but it didn't bother him all that much. Right, he was shot. Whatever, nothing he couldn't handle. He was okay again, and his stamina was filled to the brim. After a few minutes of silence, he eyed the ceiling carefully. He knew the cameras were in here somewhere. Okay, he could deal with this. "Sonic prime?" He called quietly.
"Mmn." Sonic mumbled.
Zonic licked his lips carefully, feeling that they were dry. "Are you okay? Any injuries?"
"You literally have a hole in your arm, dude."
"Your health is more important than mine-"
"Okay, can we stop with that shit?" Sonic immediately cut him off with an annoyed grunt. "God..." He sucked his teeth and sighed while shaking his head. "You're the biggest pain in my ass, and yet you take a bullet for me. You talk so much shit, claim how much you hate me and what I am," He hesitated, his tone growing less hostile and more solemn. "And you bleed for me. You...You put me in some luxurious penthouse that has a damn pool. You make sure Shadow and I are taken care of with a whole world-wide discount on anything we possibly want. You give Shadow Maria back. You order your soldiers to do whatever we want, when we want it. Grant us permission in some awesome training room, and then you try to sacrifice yourself for me." He furrowed his brows as he spoke, Zonic couldn't see his face from here. "I don't get you. Knuckles and Shadow kept the same energy the whole time until we became friends. But you keep flip floppin' and I don't understand it. Hell, are you only being nice to me because you're being forced to by the spirits? 'Cause if that's the case, I need you to stop. I don't care what they told you to do, just...stop."
His words hit hard, but they weren't cruel like they were earlier. They were honest and desperate for Zonic to please do what he asked: Stop. Stop being nice to him, only to act like an asshole the next time he saw him. Stop pretending to care, stop only preserving his life just because he was ordered to. He didn't need charity, he didn't need protecting, especially not if it was from someone who absolutely loathed him. He was tired, tired of someone being fake. This time, Zonic couldn't just brush him off. He couldn't ignore his words and see it as nothing but the "ramblings of a malcontent." He couldn't tell him to just shut up and focus on the mission anymore, he was forced to listen to his voice. His tone, his words, his conviction and the energy in what he spoke, he could feel it all. And once again, he couldn't ignore it. He couldn't ignore how he felt anymore for the sake of his own agenda. Slowly, Zonic blew air out through his lips. He no longer tasted blood on them, Sonic prime had almost completely healed him with his power. If it wasn't for the bullet wound, he'd be one hundred percent. He could feel it was healing him extremely slowly, so he'd be dealing with it for a while now.
He closed his dark green eyes.
After a minute, he slowly opened them back up. "I..." Zonic began. "...Never wanted this life." He let a second pass before continuing. "See us Overseers, we're the most monitored creatures in the multiverse. The spirits watch us like hawks. One screw up, one act of rebellion, and we're killed off. Just for another one of us to be spawned in the very next day. The second I learned how to read and write fluently, at six months, I was forced to learn how to become an Overseer. How to watch over ten thousand TV screens, how to program a system to document every single live feed even when I'm not around, how to collect and read from older notebooks from my ancestors, how to read and write Chaotic Tongue, how to filter the high risk realities from the lows...I was born in the cave of a watchdog. Told all my life that the only reason I exist, is to make sure you and so many others, are alive and happy." He steadied his eyesight on nothing in particular, his voice tight and firm. "It didn't matter that I was happy, if I was healthy or even alive. They tell us the moment we're born: 'You are nothing but a servant to the other Chaos Born. The stronger, more important Chaos Born, whose lives override yours every second you breathe.'"
Sonic would have snapped with a comeback, but he didn't. He just listened, the same as Zonic did a moment ago.
Zonic continued. "And honestly, I was okay with believing that. I still am, actually. I'm okay with serving someone else for the rest of my life. Maybe that's why I took to being General Zhadow's right hand so effortlessly. Being a soldier, it just made working as an Overseer so much easier. I'm nothing but a tool to be used by someone else for whatever they desire." He nodded his head with gradual acceptance. "And I lived that life for twenty four years. I traveled to other worlds, cleaned up their messes, arrested the biggest adversaries, made the mistakes disappear...I made it all disappear. They'd always yell at me, feeling regret. Well, most of them. 'Fix it. Fix it! Fix it!'" He almost chuckled. "I always fixed it. I'm the one who always fixes it. No matter what happened, no matter how many horrible irreversible mistakes they'd make, the sins they'd commit, I always saved the day and fixed it. Sometimes without them ever knowing." He shrugged, as much as he could being tied up anyway. "The incidents of world reboots were small, I only did two after Zhadow proposed to me. And it wasn't even for irredeemable mistakes, it was for small mistakes in the grand scheme of things. Honest errors. Accidentally killing one person in a fight, accidentally shooting an energy beam into the planet's core and giving it a limited time to explode, things like that. None of it was ever intentional or malevolent. It was all still so easy. Then...it happened."
The incident that ruined him and made him like this, Sonic assumed.
"The Chaotic Purge." Such a sinister term. "Happens once every five hundred years. Didn't know that at the time, wasn't taught about it purposefully in case I got cold feet. Not like I could back out of my duty anyway, but I was blindsided. All Overseers before me were never told about it until it was too late. Information about it is in our notes, but we're not allowed to read certain portions of the archives, as per rule of the Divine Spirits, until it happens." Zonic made a long sigh, one that seemed to last an entire minute. He sounded so tired. "The Chaotic Purge is an incident where a random number of realities in the multiverse undergoes a widespread Chaotic Subjugation. It causes the destruction of every single world that's effected. For me, three years ago, only one hundred realities were effected." He felt Sonic flinch from behind. He nodded his head. "Yes. It's purpose is to see who's the strongest with how quickly and efficiently they wipe out their own reality. See who's worthy of being installed in the Divine Pyramid. It begins with a Sonic or Shadow template, sometimes both, falling to the whims of the Divine Spirits, and awakening into their true selves: Chaos Born. Even the sweetest, most kind hearted templates lose themselves in the mania, and become different, monstrous people." He shut his eyes tightly, remembering all the blood shed he witnessed that day both via video and in person. "They massacre everyone in their respective worlds. Friends, family, pets, civilians...even their lovers. In fact, they usually kill them last and just...pile up the bodies like livestock awaiting a butcher's block. Some went slowly, being tortured. For others, their planet was destroyed in the blink of an eye with quick but intense pain. Even if it was only for a second. And why?" Zonic asked rhetorically. "Because the spirits said so."
This caused Sonic's eyes to widen, almost anxiously swallowing a gulp he didn't know he was holding. Could...could he have done that when he turned into that demon form? Oh God, how many times was he that close to...subjugating Mobius?
Zonic stared down at his bound legs. "That's when they visited me, the godly bastards. Told me what Reboot Cleanups were, and how I was supposed to go from reality to reality and clean up all this gorey, bloody mess. All by initiating a Chaotic Spell to make it all instantly go away—one hundred times. I had to write down what happened, who was killed, how fast the annihilation was, then report on the Chaos Born who ruled that reality and how they were holding up." He laughed bitterly. "As if their well being mattered at that point. Evil. All of them. I didn't care that the spirits got in their heads, it doesn't change what they did. Didn't change what I saw." He paused for a minute, thinking carefully about what he'd say next. "I wished I disobeyed the Overseer before me. I would have at least been somewhat ready for what I was going to see that day. Bodies...bodies everywhere. Organs, guts, viscera strewn all over my screens on every live feed. Every single Sonic and Shadow template was mad with power, not even remorseful for what they did. Half of them killed their Shadow, while the other half of the realities murdered their Sonic. And the worst part is," He added with a dejected, small smile. "I knew a lot of them personally. Made friends with some of them, including on the Divine Pyramid. But then, it was as if none of that mattered. They didn't care that I was disturbed, didn't care that I was throwing up so many times with each reality I traveled to." His voice grew colder. "They clowned me, called me weak for not being able to stomach what they had done. They abused chaos powers and used their abilities to subjugate and conquer everyone in sight, and loved every second of it. Just like they were meant to do all along."
Sonic lowered his head with a perplexing layer of guilt. He had nothing to do with any of that, never even knew about Chaotic Purges or whatever. Yet, he felt guilty because he now understood why Zonic was so untrusting of him, and why he was so icy. He saw people who he considered his friends, people who looked just like them and his fiancé, do nightmarish things. And he saw it all live, up close and personal. It was like he saw one of those insane dark web Red Room videos, except on a multi-global scale. Dozens of times all at once. That's...more than a lot to deal with.
Just as quickly as his tone grew cold, it gradually became warmer again. The smallest of gentle smiles curled on the corners of his lips, and his dark green eyes had a haze of nostalgic yet melancholic happiness shining through them. "You know, I watched you since I was only five years old, and you were only four. You were more radiant and heroic than any other Sonic I ever had the pleasure of knowing, even if we had never met." Unbeknownst to him, Sonic furrowed his brows at this and turned his head in his direction. "Sometimes I..." He sounded a little nervous, as he never told this to anyone before. Not even Zhadow. "I would imagine being there with you. Saving the world with you, being by your side as your friend—Your brother. I'd sit in front of the monitor, clap my hands and cheer for you. Beg my Overseer to buy me at least one toy plane so I could pretend to fly with you. I always cheered when you beat the bad guy, pointed at the screen and told my Overseer how amazing you were. You were my hero, too. That's what I thought for so many years, and I couldn't wait to meet you one day." His smile waned, and his eye lids lowered sadly. "I thought you were the only Sonic in this God forsaken multiverse who'd never stoop that low. And then, on the day of the Chaotic Purge, I watched you transform into Fleetway." His frown became rigid. "I watched you nearly murder Dr. Robotnik prime." He started shaking his head, his voice becoming a near whisper in disbelief. "You enjoyed it, the blood running down your face and arms. The carnage, the violence. Your friends always neglected to mention the part where you were smiling after what you did. Maybe it was the demon, maybe it wasn't. Point is, you forged a contract with the Scarlet One that day willingly. You did it, you made it happen, whether you were in control after the transformation or not. You chose to almost kill your Eggman."
The blue hero closed his eyes and turned his head away in shame. He knew that, he didn't need to hear someone else say it. He already felt horrible about it, he never wanted to talk about that ever again.
"Since it was your first time using it," Zonic continued hesitantly. "I have researched that most templates don't remember their first transformation or even the contract, but I saw what you did. I know how you did it, which means you consciously intended to mortally wound Dr. Robotnik prime that day, all on the day of the Chaotic Purge. The spirits, they got to you too. And that's when I realized," He scowled roughly. "We're all the same. There is no 'good Sonic', they're all—we're all just evil, horrible creatures who do nothing but hurt and destroy. No matter who you are, no matter how 'free' you claim to be, we all bend to the spirits' will, and we all become overlords. You're no better than we are." He made a small sigh. "At least, that's what I thought at first. My hopes and beliefs in you died that day, but," He sounded as if he really didn't want to admit this, but he knew he might as well tell him the entire truth. "Then I see you here, acting just as kind and heroic as you would at home. I saw how you raised Miles prime into a fine young man. I saw you having fun with Knuckles, Amy and Rouge prime. I see you blossom your love with Shadow prime. Then, I just watched you enjoy life. Give to charity, save innocents, give that signature TV smile." He turned his head to the side a bit, almost wanting to see Sonic's face after everything he's said. "Then, when it's late at night, I see you at home. Glaring at yourself in the mirror, hating what you see. Hating yourself, hating everything you've ever done." He grew empathetic, a rare tone he used. "You blame everything on yourself, despite being put in situations you can't control."
This made Sonic blink.
What was he trying to say exactly?
The blue soldier readjusted his position in his seat as much as he could. "It still wasn't enough for me to trust you or see you in a better light yet, but you started to make me question my disappointment. Then you come here, you save Zector's life, restore my city's power sparks, saved the cat cafe...all at the cost of hurting yourself. You have a glimmer of hope shining inside you, but I'm still trying to figure out if it's genuine or not." He scoffed. "I guess you confuse me too. Confused that if you could turn so easily, why do you still choose to be a hero? Why fight it? Why fight what's going to be done to you? It already happened once, it'll happen again, and the results will be more permanent. You didn't know about any of this Chaos Born stuff, but I know damn well you had an inkling that the first incident with Fleetway wasn't going to be the last. That's why you kept your distance from your friends, why you were so cautious." He was absolutely sure in his reasoning, and he wanted Sonic to know that. "Even you couldn't trust yourself. You knew something was coming, yet you lived life as if it didn't. You lied to yourself, despite the fact that denying your destiny is futile. So maybe that's why I, as you say, 'flip flop' with you. Because, I don't...I..." He made a tense sigh, squeezing his eyes shut. He never told a soul any of this, and he didn't even know if Sonic was truly listening to him. Too late to stop now. "...I don't hate you. I don't even want to hate you. I claimed I did, but I don't. I lied. I can't. I," He growled in frustration at himself, his ears flattening. "I-I just can't fucking hate you. I want to like you, I want to believe in you, I want to call you my brother, and I wish to God that I could stop worrying about you!" He suddenly yelled.
Sonic flinched and blinked a few times.
"But I can't. I just can't." Zonic sucked in a shaky breath, his body lightly trembling. "I'm sick of worrying whether or not you'll be the last Sonic I can trust, so I tried annoying you, riling you up to see if the mask would slip off but...there's no point in that anymore. I'm tired. I'm so, so tired. You say you want to be left alone?" Zonic asked aloud sarcastically. "Well shit, so do I. And the best part? Zhadow and I...Tch, we're worse. We abuse our power by threatening politicians, blackmailing them, extorting them just so they can stop being so damn corrupt and run the city like they're supposed to. If Zhadow and I wanted to, we could blow this planet up sky high with a single nuclear cyber grade missile. I could order for the entire army of No Zone to destroy the president's home. I could even ask the spirits to make it all go away in the blink of an eye, just for a laugh. I had the mayor fired and imprisoned, I swept Zhadow's sins as a policeman under the rug, I even allowed my reputation as Overseer get me easy access to No Zone Corps, and now I'm engaged to my own boss. A relationship that would normally cause immediate termination." Zonic tried staring at something, anything for answers, but he couldn't find them. He didn't know what else to do or say. "Everyone is too scared to go against us, and we rule everyone with fear. I helped other Chaos Born get rid of bodies, enabled their murderous rampages, and encouraged their violent reproductions. I should have arrested myself ages ago. I know I shouldn't have put all my hopes into one person, but I did." His voice became quiet, pitiful. "You were all I had. I wasn't allowed to make friends or even go outside. You were the only true friend I had before joining the corps, and you didn't even know I existed." He chuckled somberly. "How pathetic is that? It's not you that I hate, Sonic prime."
Sonic's eyes continued to stay wide as he listened to his next set of words.
Zonic finally confessed something that he never wanted to express aloud, or even to himself. "I hate myself, and I hate that this is my only purpose. I hate even more that I let this hatred consume me and hurt everyone else around me. Including you. I know none of that was your fault, it wasn't any of your faults. You couldn't control yourselves, but I just couldn't get what I saw out of my head and I lost my mind. I put all the blame on you and...that was wrong. Beyond wrong." His body trembled harder, his voice unstable. "I'm sorry. I am truly, truly sorry, Sonic."
...
...
...
...The Mobian hedgehog wished he could hug himself right now.
Why was it like this?
Why was it that whenever he had a bad day, something terrible happened? How was he supposed to know getting angry that day would turn him into a demon? How was he supposed to know that getting pissed would initiate a contract? How was he supposed to know that he'd want that contract? And because he couldn't control his anger, he caused someone else to have a horrific mental breakdown. He didn't know there was another version of him out there watching, so disappointed in him that he lost his damn sanity. He didn't know he was supposed to be a good boy one hundred percent, twenty four seven. How fair was that? Why couldn't he ever have a bad day without something going to shit? He couldn't have exes because they stalked him and made him look bad to Shadow. He couldn't show weakness in front of his friends because they'd worry themselves to death, and lose their morale. He couldn't be honest with Shadow because he'd distract him with his issues when he had his own problems to deal with. He couldn't do anything without some kind of shitty consequence. Even now, he'd keep this to himself, because all it would do is ruin everyone else's day somehow.
This was why he hid from himself. This right here.
It was just better this way.
Damn it...
But, did Zonic really mean that? That apology, it didn't feel fake at all. It was sound, honest, and desperate to come out. Like he had been keeping this all to himself for a very long time. He heard some guilt and shame, but he also heard a hint of relief. Like he was glad to finally tell someone about all of this. He wondered if Zhadow knew how he felt, or if he's the only person who heard any of this information. If he was, he couldn't deny that this was a little flattering. He had to know though, if he truly meant what he said about being brothers and...that other sappy stuff.
After some silence followed, Sonic tried to speak up.
"Um..." Damn this was awkward. "Uhh," It felt like things between them were different now. "Do you...really mean that? That I...was your only friend?"
Zonic nodded his head once. "I watched your adventures like a TV show. I thought, 'Why couldn't I be like him? Out of this room, out in the world with so many friends?' And I figured that if I couldn't do that, that the next best thing was to act as if I could. I signed up for the corps, trained my ass off every single day to be just like Zhadow. Just so I could be as good and heroic as you, and not some useless 'pencil pusher.' That was my dream," He raised his gaze up to the ceiling, a hopeless glare in his irises. "To protect my brothers and keep them out of harm's way like a true hero. That we'd eventually meet, and you'd be my friend for real. I dreamed and pretended for a long time...and then reality slapped me silly." Those dark green eyes lost hope a long time ago, though. They'd never get their shine back. "I finally learned that I'm nothing. This is all I was made for: nothing."
"That's not true!" Sonic instantly and aggressively denied this.
"...?"
"Nobody's born for a purpose, that's not how that works!" He didn't even realize he was almost yelling, until he heard his voice echo off the walls. He silently exhaled and tried to temper his volume. "Fate, destiny...all that crap is bullshit. There are no roles, no duties you have to follow the rest of your life. I know the spirits force you to do what you do, and that's why you're the Overseer, but I don't give a shit." He strengthened his expression. "You're you. You decide who you are, what you are, and what you do. If you're Zonic the Hedgehog, First Lieutenant General of No Zone Corps and Overseer of all Chaos Born, then own it the way you want to. This is your life, and your only purpose is to live it how you want it. No one needs a purpose for existing, they only need to live it. You let your anger shroud everything around you, so all you've been doing is walkin' around on auto-pilot. What kind of life is that?"
Zonic blinked slowly at his words.
"If you wanna marry Zhadow, do it." Sonic declared strongly. "If you wanna adopt that black cat from the cafe, do it. If you wanna take over the world, that's your decision to make." He felt his fists tighten behind the binds. "Villains, heroes—none of that crap actually matters. I don't care what you are, good or bad. All I want is for you to get over yourself and take the reigns. Only then can I respect you. And even if I don't, so what? To hell with what I think!" He exclaimed. "Nobody in this life matters more than you. You make your own happiness, you make your own mistakes, only you are responsible for making your life worth living and you can't give that responsibility to someone else. You say you're nothing? Then stop being nothing and prove yourself wrong!" He yelled, rattling the chairs between them. "Make your own purpose, fight your own fights. And quit letting everyone tell you otherwise, god or not! If you worked so hard to get here, then prove to yourself that you deserve to be here. That you deserve to be engaged to Zhadow, that you deserve to be the Overseer. That you deserve to fight alongside me."
The vice leader of No Zone Corps was a little stunned before answering that. That anarchist bravado again, he couldn't believe he was hearing it now of all times. "I can't just-"
Sonic already knew what he'd say. "I know it's not that easy, and I know you're being threatened." He cut him off with a slightly softer tone. "I'm not telling you to just drop everything and do whatever you want at the risk of being killed. I'm saying that whatever you're forced to deal with, own it instead of treating it like a huge burden or else it will be a huge burden. You've been doing this for almost two decades, this is nothing to you at this point. You're the vice leader of a big ass intergalactic military police, you're the watchdog of ten thousand realities, and you're engaged to a literal badass who has political control over your entire city. You're leagues above anyone who tries to judge you." He finally asked him a question that he should have asked himself ages ago, something Shadow once told Sonic. "So why are you judging yourself?"
...
...why was he judging himself?
Huh.
He...he didn't know.
Maybe it was because he felt so responsible? Felt like he was the only one trying to keep everything together? No, that wasn't fair. Plenty of others probably felt the same way, like Sonic. Zonic wasn't the only one suffering, and he isn't the worst person in the world. Yeah, he made some mistakes in the past and he did some underhanded things, but he'd never compare himself to someone as terrible as Zobotnik or the spirits. He wasn't that bad, and he did try his best to do some good in his life. It's why he wanted to be a cop, why he wanted to become a higher ranking soldier. He knew hurting bad people would be in the job description, but he also knew that saving innocents would make it all worth it. He's been acting as Overseer for so long, and he's seen the crimes of other Chaos Born. Nothing could surprise him anymore, he's already survived the very worst the multiverse had to offer. He's gone up against adversaries Sonic and other templates would never know about, with help and by himself. He's studied Chaotic Lore since he was an infant. He's conquered the single most powerful Zonian in this entire reality as his fiancé, and now he was the heir to become general should his boss retire.
"Am I not..." Zonic hesitated. "...as bad as you think?"
Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes. "Pssh. I didn't wanna admit it, but...I guess not. So you and Zhadow like to play dirty to get the big wigs under control, whatever. Shadow does the same thing, I get it. And as annoying as you are," He couldn't even stay annoyed with his twin anymore. "You're not a bad guy, you're just too damn angry. Angrier than Shadow and that's saying a lot. You're not Satan, dude. You're just someone who lost his way a little, that's all."
Zonic made a firm grimace. That wasn't everything, though. "...That's not all Zhadow did, Sonic prime."
This made the hero pause. "I knew it," He mumbled in a near protective tone. "He hurt you somehow, didn't he?" He felt Zonic nod behind him. "What did he do?" He felt Zonic ready his body for the words that were about to spill from his lips.
"He was going to kill me."
64 - END - 64
Chapter 65: Polygon
Summary:
The truth about Zonic and Zhadow's relationship is revealed.
Chapter Text
65 - Polygon - 65
12:50 PM
"He what!?" Sonic hollered, nearly raising himself out of the chair if he wasn't bound.
Zonic only closed his eyes. "Yes, he almost killed me. Sonic prime, my general wasn't just a cop back in his day." He inhaled sharply, as if speaking the truth caused him actual physical pain. "He was a hitman." He tightened his legs together, feeling so small and trapped. "He killed many criminals who were too dangerous to imprison. Criminals on our most wanted list, criminals who slaughtered dozens of innocents and committed unforgivable crimes. All Warden Zobotnik had to do was give him a name, and the deed would be done in less than twenty four hours. Even politicians had Zhadow on payroll, assigning him to murder crooked or corrupted people in power who did horrible things with their authority behind closed doors." He kept his eyes closed in shame. "He killed rapists, child abusers, Zonian and human traffickers, serial killers, terrorists...the most evil of evil doers. Rumor has it that this was how he got his codename 'Dullahan.' His reputation spread in the criminal underworld, and almost everyone was too terrified to walk the streets. All in fear of Officer Zhadow riding through the city on a dark horse, and literally collecting the heads of his many victims." He could feel an icy silence in the room, and he knew Sonic's reaction to this information would be risky.
"So," Sonic started off slowly. "He's...a killer?"
"He was a killer." Zonic corrected. "He hasn't killed anyone in decades, that I know for sure. He only killed by Zobotnik's orders, and his time as a hitman only lasted ten years with exactly one hundred victims. This all happened thirty years before he and I ever met. However," This was the part that always pained him to talk about. "Warden Zobotnik noticed that we were falling in love. We didn't mean for it to happen, and I surely didn't. I didn't seduce or manipulate him, or whatever the hell that old fat bastard was talking about." He spat with an exasperated tone. "It just happened. My Overseer, before his death, forced Zobotnik to take me in to have me trained as a soldier at age fifteen. We agreed that having me become a stronger Overseer would be useful in protecting other Chaos Born and he was sick of me begging to sign up, so he utilized his authority and made Zobotnik recruit me for bootcamp. Soon, my Overseer died of an illness and I was completely on my own. My Overseer wasn't very kind, more authoritarian and only cared for me with basic essentials out of obligation. I felt alone, and even though I made friends with Zespio and Zector, I still felt a sense of isolation. Zobotnik saw potential in me, and at age nineteen, had Zhadow personally train me as my mentor. We fell for each other when I turned twenty, and I confessed first. That's when the spirits decided to appear."
The hero frowned. "The spirits? Why?"
His Zonian twin scoffed. "Because I wasn't supposed to fall in love." He explained bitterly. "Overseers are supposed to be both aromantic and asexual. We're not supposed to reproduce, you are. Overseers are ultimately managers of Chaos Born, a job that requires strict around the clock surveillance. We can't let anything be a distraction, which is why we are raised with so little affection or contact. Our lives are not supposed to be our own, and we are only supposed to live for you, not ourselves. We can't do our jobs if we're busy having fun, living life, taking or breaking hearts. I broke a rule, see?"
Sonic hated that, that was no life to live and it wasn't fair. No wonder Zonic was so crabby, that kind of cold thinking was ingrained in him. "That's freakin' bullshit."
"Maybe, but it's been our duty for over two thousand years and it's a heavy tradition that won't be broken anytime soon. Anyway," Zonic continued either way. "The spirits didn't appreciate that I was disobeying my creed as Overseer: Absolute isolation, so they appeared in Zobotnik's office. He and I were having a private meeting about Chaos Born, and how I needed a room for all of my monitors here in HQ to properly keep watch on all of you while I work. A new and improved Room of Realities. I tried to make it sound lucrative for him. I'd be able to report to him much more easily about disturbances in other realities, giving him more cases to have officers investigate and make potential arrests, but he wouldn't budge. He didn't like it, didn't like that I was asking for special privileges that no other officer had, including Zhadow. He already didn't like my Overseer, so he most definitely didn't like me. Most of all, he hated that I was making Zhadow soft." He smirked a little, still internally laughing about how he stole his favorite toy from that monster of a man. "My superior was buying me expensive plastic flowers, slipping donuts on my desk, kissing me during training sessions. And worst of all, he never hid it from Zobotnik." He chuckled a little in small triumph. "Zhadow was never ashamed, proudly told Zobotnik what he was doing with me. Zobotnik hated it, hated me because I 'seduced' his number one soldier and distracted him from his real job. Zhadow's interrogations were less harsh, his reports of police brutality decreased significantly, and he always kept me under protection."
Sonic scoffed. "And I'm guessin' Fatty McBaldy took offense to that."
Zonic nodded in affirmation. "You have no idea. So we're having the meeting, and the spirits show up in all their glory. Well, kind of..."
Four Years Ago
The obese Zoverlander slammed his fist on the desk, a younger Zonic flinching at his angered expression. Warden Zobotnik had enough of Zonic's little game. First he corrupts the mind of his best soldier, and now he waltzes in here and demands an entire private room all to himself, just so he can play "Overseer"? He'd be damned if he let some scrawny little blue pincushion tell him what to do. He wasn't even a real soldier, just some wet behind the ears rookie who rose in the ranks through dumb luck. Yes he graduated top of his class, yes he arrested an impressive number of local criminals for his age and yes he nailed every interrogation he was a part of, but this was all rubbish. If he strong armed his way into signing up for the corps, then who's to say he didn't use these so-called "Divine Spirits" to ease his way through the ranks? This boy had everything handed to him on a silver platter, and he would not stand for this any longer. First that other, older strange blue hedgehog shoved him into his possession. If he hadn't owed that weird hedgehog a favor for tipping him off about certain multidimensional criminals from other realities, he would have never said yes to taking in this pathetic manipulator. He had no idea taking Zonic in would cause all this, and he wished he could take that moment back.
"I will not repeat myself again, Officer Zonic." Zobotnik warned slowly. "You are not special, and you are not getting your own private room to do whatever you wish. This is my HQ, my corporation, my building and my property! If you keep assuming that you can do whatever you want just because you seduced your way into First Lieutenant General Zhadow's bed, then you've got another thing coming, boy." He glared at the hedgehog harshly, his teeth clenching angrily. "You are nothing but a disgraceful weakling who slept his way into power! Get out of my sight!"
Zonic ignored all the insults, he was used to them. His brows were knitted together though, because he needed that room. The room in his old apartment wouldn't do anymore and those TVs were much older models. They'd all give out any day soon, and all of his live feeds would be ruined. Not to mention juggling work and surveillance at home was becoming more difficult as he got promoted. He needed those feeds close by so he'd always have an eye on his brothers. He'd fail as Overseer if he couldn't upgrade. Damn it, he needed that room. "Warden Zobotnik," He tried to be polite as usual. "I promise, I am not trying to abuse my authority or take advantage of anyone. I only need this room to-"
"That is enough."
"...!?"
Dynamic light broke through the entire office, almost blinding their eyes. Both Zobotnik and Zonic looked up and turned around to see a strange, luminous ball of light shining before them. There were so many colors shining throughout it: Gold, dark navy blue, scarlet red and a pinkish white. Around those colors were a beautiful spectrum, sparkling and radiating colorful auras all around the room. A new layer of tension grew within it, a tension not of this world. A tension of godly proportions. A tension worthy of only the greatest deities who ever existed. Their voices were all in sync, four different vocals of the Divine Quadrant. Four deities, four gods. Zonic immediately recognized who this was. Though he only met them a few other times in his life, he'd never forget the intensity or the immense presence of these deities. He never saw their physical bodies, only seeing artistic renditions of them, but he did see their spiritual forms before. They were the culminations of both wondrous dreams and gruesome nightmares. However, even only as this spiritual orb, they were still inhumanely daunting.
He immediately got down on both knees and bowed his head. "D-Divine Ones?" He was still so nervous, they were so powerful and he felt so small compared to them. As he should. "I-I am undeserving of your presence."
"Unruly Child of Chaos, you broke your creed as the All Seeing Eye. Is this a sign of rebellion? You dare defy us? You know the consequences."
Zonic fearfully flinched and bowed his head even lower. "No, my spirits, not at all! Please understand, I-"
Zobotnik meanwhile, had no idea what was going on and didn't like one bit of it. "What the hell is going on!? What is that?!" He scrambled around his desk for the panic button. "There's been a damn breach in security-!"
"We said that is enough, warden."
Slowly, the warden growled and lifted his head back towards the ball of light. "Excuse you?" He began to walk from around his desk. "Let me guess, another one of you damn Chaos Born things? I couldn't care less. You're here to defend your precious, miserable little whelp of a soldier? Well, it's no use. My word in this world if gold. If I say it, it's done. And I say he gets nothing else from me!" He feared no one, not even some...weird amalgamation of multiple gods. He was the warden and leader of the world's most powerful military, a military that's gone toe to toe with some of the multiverse's most dangerous enemies. He was protected by all politicians of this world due to his many favors, and he had a literal hitman lying in wait with a single phone call. He was untouchable!
Well, almost untouchable.
Zonic's eyes were bugging out of his sockets. He had to admit, Zobotnik was quite impressive for having such confidence in front of a group of literal deities. Either that, or he was incredibly, arrogantly stupid. If he kept talking reckless like that, they would kill him.
The spirits were not even slightly humored or intimidated by this adorable attempt at being dauntless. "Warden and General Zivo Zobotnik," Both the Zoverlander and the blue soldier winced. Damn, they knew his entire full name and title. Their omnipotence knew no bounds, as they in essence, were absolutely boundless. "We tire of your constant ridicule of our current Overseer. Zonic the Hedgehog, template two thousand and fifty, is this reality's ultimate overlord. While Overseers are not required to conquer and subjugate their home realm, we are not at all opposed to the idea, should you continue with your relentless disobedience."
"Disobedience? Do you have any idea who you're talking to!?" Zobotnik yelled as he stomped closer towards the ball of light. "I am the sole ruler of this world! I am the czar! I am the very ground these useless animals walk upon! I-"
Four arms of chaotic energy reached out and instantly gripped the large human in a lethal chokehold.
Zonic looked up at this in fear. Holy shit, they were actually going to kill him! "Warden Zobotnik-!"
"...!" Zobotnik was lifted off of the ground, the arms strengthening their hold on his neck all at once, causing him to kick his legs back and forth. His face was turning purple, his glasses tilting to the side as they were about to fall off.
"Are you attempting to speak down to us?" The voices boomed resentfully, the room shaking violently as the very fabric of matter was literally peeling from within the office. As the walls rotted, pieces of the reality's space and time were glitching through. The sun fell, only for the moon the rise, only for the sun to return again in rapid succession. The clouds warped around the planet over and over, and the light of dying stars that were lightyears away zipped around the globe. The tides were rising and lowering, winds growing as strong as tornados. If they used anymore of their power, the could potentially destroy the entire city if not the entire reality itself. "We are the reason why you even exist, fool. We are the end, we are the beginning. We are life, we are death. We are serenity, we are chaos. We are all, we are one. We are everything. We are the embodiment of everything this multiverse stands for, and we do not need to tolerate a feeble existence such as yours." If they squeezed any harder, Zobotnik would literally pop like a grape, with blood exploding all inside of the room. Zonic couldn't even stomach the idea of that happening, whether he liked the fat man or not. "Perhaps it is time for this reality to void itself of a Robotnik template."
"Wait!"
Shit.
Shit, why did he do that?
Zonic cursed himself for stopping them. Oh no, he wasn't even bowing anymore. This was supremely disrespectful! Please don't kill him, please don't kill him. He actually liked living. He didn't wanna die, he didn't wanna die-Damn it, no! He had to calm down. If he was going to be a strong soldier, a soldier that Zhadow and his brothers would be proud of, then he had to face their maker head on for once. No more cowering, no more hiding. He was the Overseer, right? Then he had to act like one. He took in a deep breath, and let it out calmly. He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back. "Divine Ones," He addressed respectfully. "Please, I beg that you spare this man. He knows not what he does. He doesn't realize what I am, or what you are. He is ignorant, nothing more." He bowed his head. "Forgive his disrespect, and please let him go."
The hands paused.
...
...They slowly dropped Zobotnik from their hold, letting the Zoverlander thud right onto the floor with a harsh impact.
The orb of light became golden yellow.
"Perhaps...he is right?" A golden voice spoke calmly, but proudly. "Destroying this Robotnik template will do no one any favors. Cruelty may be unnecessary."
The orb became a black-navy blue .
"Tch, the nerve-" A loud, shrill and wrathful voice scoffed bitterly. "Are you sincere, brother? He's a damn nuisance!" It screamed angrily. "He dares insult us? I say we kill him where he stands! Overseers are the eyes of our children. This Zonic template has wasted too much time debating his purpose with this simpleton. We've no need for an obese, loud mawed, mutated homosapien to stifle his efforts! We all have a fucking job to do!" It cursed strongly.
The orb turned scarlet red.
A demonic voice hummed in delight. "I must concur. So, why don't we dig out his eyes, and his tongue, and his teeth, and his bones and his blood...In that order~ Hahaha...Zonic here can watch." It cackled gleefully, barely able to contain it's excitement. "Chaos...Mayhem...Chaos...Bedlam...So much chaos...!"
Finally, the orb became a blinding white.
"Goodness me..." A beautiful voice sighed. "That is enough, my dear brothers."
Zobotnik groaned painfully while Zonic kept his position. He was almost too scared to move. The hands returned to the ball of light and disappeared, only to be replaced with something even more beautiful.
A glowing, blinding white phantom of dainty and delicate proportions, stretched out from the within the light. Seeing this, Zonic's eyes immediately cascaded drops of multicolored tears. He unconsciously knelt down to one knee, his face stuck in wonderful admiration and dream-like awe. They held no facial features besides a pair of phantasmic irises. The phantom, their eyes hot pink with love and nurturing kindness, raised it's hands towards Zonic, beckoning him to come closer. Zonic slowly got up, and made a gentle smile. He felt so happy all of a sudden. He walked towards the phantom and bowed his head to it once more. It sweetly caressed it's ghost-like hands across his head, before lowering it's skull to plant an invisible kiss onto his cranium. "Such a wonderful child..." The entity whispered, their voices crossed between both female and male. "So strong, so determined, so selfless. I am so happy to have you as our new Overseer. My love for my children never wanes, you only make it stronger. I'm so, so proud of you, Zonic."
He could barely even use his mouth to speak. "T...Tha...Thank...you..."
"I will order for the others to show mercy to this man. They will fight with me about it, because they really do not like this..." The phantom just pointed an empty glare at the unconscious human. It had no genuine ill will for Zobotnik, but well, he was so detestable that even a god as gentle as this one couldn't hide their dislike of him. "...'Warden' of yours, but we do respect that he is a vital component of your world. Now that he has seen what we can do, I doubt he will give you anymore trouble after this. If he does, you are not shamed for coming to us for aid, you understand?"
"Y...Ye..." Zonic couldn't really talk at the moment.
The phantom sucked their teeth. "Shoot. I forgot how heavy my aura was...Excuse me, child."
Suddenly, the room was normal.
No more exploding chaotic aura, the walls weren't peeling and showing the secrets of the universe. The celestial bodies of this reality weren't disrupting the atmosphere of the skies, and the stars were no longer out of place. It was a normal office once again, besides the ball of multicolored light and literal haunt slipping from out of it. The white phantom sighed with satisfaction, watching Zonic's physical demeanor recover. The blue hedgehog blinked and shook his head to snap himself out of it, his pupils readjusting appropriately. Wow, that felt weird. He scratched behind his head, until he felt a sweet warmth lightly caress his face. He realized the phantom of the Divine Spirit of Love and Perfection, the Light One, was caressing him. He suddenly felt panicked. Did he do something wrong? What happened?
The chaotic haunt chuckled light heartedly. "Do not worry child, you have not wronged us. Not in my eyes."
"But I," Zonic stammered nervously. "I-I fell in love, Light One. Overseers aren't supposed to do that. I broke the rules, didn't I?"
The Light One made a conflicted expression, or as much as it could make one with so little facial features in that form. It had no mouth, only eyes and a ghostly figure. "Hmm, I suppose you did. However," The Light One gently patted Zonic on the head. "My little brothers and I had a long talk before appearing in this realm, and we decided to make you an exception. We do not mind. I personally think it is wonderful that you have found love!" It made a delighted giggle. "For obvious reasons, of course." As a god of love, of course it would encourage Zonic to elope with his partner. "Regardless," The phantom continued with a less playful tone. "You deserve to be happy. We see how responsible you have been, how well you operate as Overseer despite having such a heavy responsibility placed on your shoulders as an officer of such an astounding military. You are the only Overseer in history to have made such a large step to help aid your brothers. It was a brave and difficult decision, and you are confidently standing for it. We recognize your dedication as a Chaos Born, and are happy to allow this single desire. We only ask that you do not allow it to distract you from your mission."
Zonic nodded his head firmly. "Of course, Light One. Thank you so much for your mercy. I won't fail, I promise."
"Oh my child," It sweetly crinkled it's eyes at him. "We know you will succeed." The phantom then tilted it's head down at Zobotnik, before rolling it's eyes. "Excuse me, sir?" The phantom playfully floated above the human's head and poked it's finger at his bald, shining cranium. It almost outshined the spirit's power, and it flinched at the reflection of it. "Anyone there? Helloooo~?" Zobotnik suddenly groaned again and slowly sat up, rubbing his palm on his head. He then gasped and screamed in fright at the phantom's appearance. He then scooted backwards, scowling at it in both fear and distaste. He kept scooting until his back hit his desk. "Ah, there you are. Now," It floated back to the ball of light and gave Zobotnik a heavy gaze. "This young hedgehog wishes not to abuse his role or power as Overseer. We only ask that you please remain cooperative with him so he can progress in his due diligence. He is a hard worker, and a wonderful Zonian deserving of so much love and admiration. You do not have to like him, you do not have to bend to his will. However," The spirit's hot pink eyes turned almost red. "You will not impede his efforts more than you already have. If you do, my brothers will not hesitate to eradicate you from existence, and their fury is beyond even my control . I do not wish that fate upon you. So please, do what my dear Overseer asks and keep him safe."
Zobotnik looked as if he wanted to say something, but...he couldn't. Not against something like this. This thing was beyond any power he could understand. Zonic warned him many times that these Divine Spirits were very touchy, and didn't like being told "no." It wasn't so much Zonic's request at this point, it was there's. And if he refused, he'd be obliterated. Damn it, he had no choice. He saw what happened, he felt them choke him near to death. As much as he didn't admit it...
...He did fear one thing, and it was them.
The Light One made one last adoring glance at Zonic, before waving goodbye. It then paused when it saw how much Zonic grew up, having watched over him since he was a mere, tiny little soul. "Oh goodness, look at you now. Amazing. Gorgeous." It chuckled again at Zonic's flattered expression. "And so humble. There are very few things that I despise and goodbyes are one of them, but...It cannot be helped." It seemed to make a solemn sigh. "Maintaining a multiverse is quite the busy work, I assure you. Farewell, young one. I pray we meet again one day. May your love prosper into greater perfection, and let our blood subjugate and conquer forevermore. And remember," It seemed to swoon at their own words, it's limited expression evident with fervent adoration. "I will always adore you." The blinding white haunt winked before disappearing into the luminous void of the ball of light.
His vision completely turned white, before it slowly faded away.
Well.
That happened.
Zonic slowly turned to Zobotnik, almost with a smirk. "Do you get it now, Warden?" His smirk grew as he looked down upon the fallen warden. "It's not up to me at this point. I tried so hard to shield you from the spirits' wrath, but here we are. You're lucky that was one of the nicer ones. So then," He tilted his head. "When will I be getting my new room?"
"..."
In that second, Zobotnik felt himself gripping the floor so hard that he tore up the carpet.
1 Year Later
Zhadow held onto Zonic's hand tightly as they neared the doors of their current general's office. Officers Zespio and Zector stood side by side of the doors, and saluted to them both. They aptly ignored their hands being joined, averting their eyes. Their relationship was known all across the HQ, but they knew better than to make obvious notice of it. Meanwhile, Zonic was a little confused as to why Zhadow was holding onto his hand like this. He liked the attention, but it seemed less romantic and more overprotective. Frowning, Zonic inquired as to what was making his new fiancé so antsy. Was it because he arrived to the office late? Damn, maybe he was angry with him. "Sir," He asked quietly before they entered. "What's wrong? You're holding me so tightly. If this is about me being late, I'm sorry-"
Suddenly, Zhadow paused, his hand hovering over the knob of one of the double doors. He sighed. "Zonic."
"Yes, sir?"
His volume lowered. "You understand that I love you, yes?"
Zonic made a small smile. "Of course sir, we're engaged now." He then blushed and covered his face with his free hand. "I-I still can't believe you did that yesterday, we've only been dating for a year-" Both of his hands were suddenly grasped tightly, and he was pulled closer towards Zhadow. Zonic's face became red quickly, his eyes instantly dreamy. The smell of his cologne was strong, the smooth scent of cappuccino filling his nostrils along with strong pen ink. He felt himself silenced immediately, and all he wanted to do was melt in Zhadow's hold. He was staring so intensely at him, his dark red eyes gazing into his own with a strange sense of peril. His first lieutenant general was nervous about something, but what? "S...Sir...?" Zonic whispered bashfully. "Did I...do something wrong...?"
He held Zonic's face in his hands, desperate to hold him just a little longer before they went inside. "..." He didn't say anything, he just stared.
Stared and stared.
What was going on with him? "Zhadow?"
...
...Zhadow took his hands away and didn't return to holding his hand. He only placed his palm on the knob, and began to open it. "I'm sorry."
An apology?
Zonic thought that was strange, but chalked it off to Zhadow not used to being engaged either. He always acted weird or aggressive whenever he was embarrassed or shy, so he supposed this wasn't that odd.
How wrong he was.
The meeting started simply enough, but it quickly grew a sense of animosity after only ten minutes. Zonic just stood there beside his first lieutenant general, attempting to ignore the growing volume of Zobotnik's voice. He was standing at his desk, yelling at his superior with an untouched coffee cup beside him. His annoying mint smell was drifting in the air. He was glad he never had to smell it too often. Usually, he and Zhadow would be slinging mud at each other like a game of tennis. Each dig and insult falling lower and lower below the belt. But this time, things were quieter. It was mostly Zhadow nodding his head and staring at nothing, while Zobotnik constantly insulted and criticized him. Zonic didn't like this and wanted to defend his new fiancé, but he had no authority to speak. He only came because Zhadow wanted him to, saying he wanted him by his side for this one. He figured he just wanted support, so he came without hesitation. He'd do anything for him, after all. He glanced at Zobotnik, who was gnashing his teeth at Zhadow. "Do you understand what I'm telling you? You're failing me, Zhadow! Your arrest rates have been decreasing for months, all because of this blue abomination!" Zonic blinked. Woah wait, why was he involved now?
"Keep him out of this." Zhadow retorted with a tight tone, his voice still low and quiet. "Besides, I've no one to arrest if my streets are empty of criminal activity. I've done my job, warden. It's why Parallel City's crime rate is nearly zero. My arrest rates can do nothing but reflect this fact as a positive."
"You know damn well as much as I do that crime does not simply 'rest'." Zobotnik pointed out angrily. "I've got the president and other world leaders clamoring at me every hour of the day, because they're annoyed that you haven't done your job. I am sick and tired of reminding you of your responsibilities!"
Slowly, Zhadow shut his eyes. "I understand that warden, but I-"
"There is no 'but,' first lieutenant general." Zobotnik's glasses held a strange gleam that Zonic couldn't put his finger on. His tone went from bitchy to genuinely serious. It seems that this wasn't about pettiness anymore. "My grandfather created you a century ago to be the most efficient soldier ever made. He was so desperate to create such brilliance, that he went through great lengths to seize the blood of another world's Black Doom just to make you. He put all of his hopes and dreams into you, and I know you know this." He then turned his back towards the two hedgehogs, his arms behind himself. "I know your relationship with this family has been strained ever since her death, but you promised me that what happened to her wouldn't hinder your efforts moving forward. You know what you were made for, you know that I need you, Zhadow." He almost sounded disappointed. "You let something distract you, something dangerous. And now," His voice got really low all of a sudden. "You know what needs to be done to fix the mistakes you've made."
Zonic expected Zhadow to make yet another snappy comeback, but he didn't. He gradually turned to his superior with a raised brow.
Zhadow tightened his grimace, his eyes still closed. No, clenched. Like he was trying to mentally avoid something. "...And I told you that I wouldn't do that anymore. I'm done with that line of work, Zivo."
"And I told you," Zobotnik held up a finger. "That if you truly want to be free of you-know-who, you'll make that sacrifice. You know what's at stake, don't you?"
Zonic didn't understand what the hell was going on, but he smelled a lot of fear all of a sudden. Fear from Zhadow. "Sir?" He tried to whisper to him, but he wouldn't look his way. Why?
Zhadow wouldn't reply. "..."
"That being said," Zobotnik conceded. "I thank you for the information you've given me in the meantime. You've done well in that regard, at least." He then turned to the side, and that's when Zonic saw it.
The most wicked smile he ever saw the Zoverlander make.
There was so much malice and hatred in that smile, that he nearly gagged from the mere sight of it. Zobotnik was staring right at Zonic, not even Zhadow. He looked as if he wanted to kill him, as if he wanted to eviscerate him on the spot. Zonic flinched, what the hell was going on? Why was he mad at him? He didn't ask anymore favors after that incident with the spirits, so why was he on his case? Zonic darted his eyes from Zhadow, who still wouldn't speak or move, then back to Zobotnik. He could smell so much detestation, so much ill will. Was this his fault? Was it because Zhadow proposed? He wasn't impeding on his schedule or anything like that, nor did he demand extra time away from his duties just so he could spend time with him. He knew how sensitive Zobotnik was about Zhadow, so he kept his distance in that regard. Zhadow always did his duties, it's just that a lot of those dutries just so happened to involve Zonic somehow. They had a lot of time together, they couldn't help it. Zhadow still did his job with perfect accuracy. So why? Why was he mad at him now?
He needed to get out of here before things went bad between them.
Just as Zonic tried to take a step back, he felt Zhadow grip his wrist tightly.
Painfully.
Zonic hissed in pain. "S-Sir, let go please.
No answer. "..."
"Sir?"
"..."
"Zhadow!
"Quiet now, boy." Zobotnik spat with venom. He then turned around fully, only to tilt his head eerily at Zonic. "You've been a pain in my side for far too long, and now you'll see what happens when you take what's mine." He then arrogantly adjusted his golden cufflinks before continuing. "I'm sure you've heard about the reports of police brutality, prisoners going missing, ridiculous claims of extortion and blackmail from all sectors of the corps." He chuckled a little. "And of course, the best rumor of all, that there's been someone killing some of No Zone's most wanted criminals. Maybe there was a little truth to those rumors, and maybe not. Maybe," He placed both hands on the desk menacingly. "Just maybe, none of that ever happened, because I made it so that they didn't happen. Made it so that this information wouldn't ruin your precious fiancé's life. You see, boy, Zhadow is my toy soldier. One that I wind up and command to play when I tell him to. I hand him a name and a gun, and he does what he needs to do. Not just for me, not just for the politicians of this country, but for the entire reality."
Zonic's eyes widened.
Killer?
...
...
...
...Zonic then turned his head in Zhadow's direction with dilated pupils. "You. It's...you." He whispered, and yet it sounded as if he was the only one yelling in a silenced library. "You're the one the politicians are paying to kill off everyone on No Zone's most wanted list."
Zhadow did nothing but finally open his eyes, and stare at him right back.
His irises void of any misunderstanding or innocence.
"You're a hitman."
He said nothing.
His silence spoke volumes.
Zobotnik clapped his hands. "That's right!" He exclaimed with a laugh. "Do you really think No Zone Corps is about law enforcement? Multidimensional militant protection? Pfft, justice? So naive, Second Lieutenant General Zonic. So pathetic." He raised his hand to adjust his glasses and sneered. "Zhadow was never yours, he only played house with you to keep your damned 'Divine Spirits' under control. Zhadow's been my personal assassin for decades, and he was my father's and his father's before that. He's a natural born killer, and he used you like the moronic dunce you are."
That's when Zonic's brows furrowed. "W...What...is he talking about...?" He murmured to Zhadow, his wrist still very much tightly seized.
Zhadow still refused to say anything back.
"It's not obvious? Goodness, I guess Chaos Born scum aren't too bright, even in this reality of heightened IQ levels..." Zobotnik sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Evidently, Zhadow here did me a favor after your little stunt in my office a year ago. I had him spy on you for me, tell me every piece of information you ever told him. Including before and after you got together, all the way up to your pathetic little proposal." He crossed his arms and smirked. "Get it now, boy? You're a toddler with a BB gun in the midst of a world war. You're nothing to me, and nothing to Zhadow. You were useful to us, for a time, but now I've had enough. This little charade of love—Bah, love...He wasn't even made to feel such nonsense, but regardless," He continued mercilessly. "It's over now." He scoffed at Zonic's betrayed expression. "Oh please. Don't look like that. You and your greedy race, you're no better than him nor I. Now Zhadow," He grinned even more. "Do your job, and waste this filth."
"Y-You," Zonic's voice almost cracked. "You lied to me. You accepting my feelings, you proposing...You...you never loved me?"
He saw Zhadow bite his bottom lip hard, but he still wouldn't answer. His eyes held a lot of pain, a lot of secrets and pain he could never tell him. Not even now when he was caught.
Zonic's eyes became glossy.
Everything-
Everything was a lie.
Every single thing was a hopeless lie.
"I let you use me, have me, touch me..." Zonic's voice shook heavily, his hand in Zhadow's hold shaking. "I let you break me..."
All Zobotnik did was continue to cackle, and he just laughed louder and louder until he snapped his fingers. When he did, the sound made Zhadow's eyes flicker with obedience. A hundred years, he served this family for a century. He had to serve them, had to continue serving no matter what. It's what she would have wanted, what his horrible grandfather wanted. He was made for nothing more than to kill, so he couldn't deny his own purpose. He had to follow orders, he had to.
He...had...to...
Zhadow bit his bottom lip so hard that he almost tore through skin, before whipping out a handgun and aiming directly at-
"And just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Zonic hissed a horrid growl as he caught the weapon in his other palm. He saw Zhadow was caught off guard at the resistance, but their struggle for it didn't stop. "Are you actually trying to kill me? You put me on your hit list, too? Me!?" Zonic shouted with great fury. "I won't let you hurt me, not again! The warden was right," He glared into Zhadow's eyes, his own moist with tears in the corners as he clenched his teeth savagely. This made his fiancé hesitate, causing Zonic to gain more control over the gun. "I was naive, but not anymore! If you wanna kill me, I'll make you work for it first!"
The gun was slapped out of their grasps, and Zonic swiftly move to shove a strong kick into his fiancé.
"...!" Zhadow was flung some space away, but immediately recovered to rush for his weapon. The moment he got it back in his hand, he aimed where Zonic was, only to see that he was aiming back at him with a handgun model of his own. Tears were streaming down his face, but he was more angry than ever before. He didn't think he could ever see him get this upset. Zhadow grit his teeth. Damn it, he didn't want this. He never wanted this, he just wanted to love him and be happy. He just wanted to step out of the darkness, even if it was just for a while. He needed his light, he needed him.
But he...he had too much to risk.
He couldn't disobey, he had to do this.
"Cyber Control!"
Before he knew it, Zonic felt his superior teleport right behind him. He was going to try and pin him down, he could feel it. Thinking fast, he quickly swung his gun from behind to aim it directly into Zhadow's stomach. Right as he did, the muzzle of Zhadow's gun was placed against Zonic's head. They had each other in a literal deadlock. They could shoot and kill each other right here and now, and it'd all be over in seconds. Just like that. Zonic only chuckled bitterly and shook his head. "I can't believe I wanted to marry you."
He didn't know it, or maybe he didn't care, but Zhadow's heart broke when he heard him spit those words.
Didn't matter. Zonic's heart was broken, too.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Zonic yelled angrily. "Do it!" He hollered. "We'll kill each other. Isn't that what you want?!" He turned and thrusted himself against his fiancé, pushing the gun further into his own face while he continued to aim at Zhadow's abdomen. "You're just like all the rest. The rogue Shadow templates who want nothing more than to abuse and use their Sonics like dolls! You've had your fill, so you can kill me now, but not before I kill you too!"
N-No...no...
He didn't...he didn't want to...
Zonic sniffed as he tried to force the tears to stop. Zhadow didn't deserve them, not even now. "Of course someone like you would never fall for someone as weak as me. I should have known..." He shoved his gun harder into Zhadow's stomach, making his superior wince.
That's exactly what he said to him when he first confessed to him. Zhadow had no immediate response, so Zonic just assumed he wasn't good enough for him. He was willing to accept the rejection with grace and a sad smile. He never knew he could feel this way, feel so much for someone else like this, so of course he couldn't speak at the time. He only told Zonic to leave his sight, and Zonic was sure he ruined his chances of having any kind of relationship with his superior. He feared that perhaps he destroyed his mentorship, and would be transferred over to someone else. Next thing Zonic new, later that day, Zhadow showed up in his office later to accept his feelings. His face was completely on fire and he was so nervous, hiding it with agitation and anger, but Zonic saw right through him. He was so happy, he was so elated and relieved that he felt the same way. He was smiling so much that it almost irritated Zhadow. God, he was so beautiful when he smiled.
That was the best smile he ever saw him make.
He could remember the first time they shared a bed together, the time he took Zonic's virginity.
He remembered how he held him in his arms at night, how he snuck kisses on his cheek during drills.
Then, he remembered yesterday.
When he proposed.
Zonic was in the advanced gun range, practicing on some high level long distance targets with a sniper. A Sniper System M200, quite a difficult gun to master, but he was too ambitious. He wanted to master all firearms in order to be more than proficient to his lover. That is until Zhadow had just strolled on over, slapped him on the ass and made him shoot prematurely with a yelp. Blushing, he told Zhadow to stop before someone saw them, until he realized the room was empty. He then saw his superior get on one knee, and that's when he took out that priceless velvet box.
...
...Obviously, Zonic said yes.
He had never been more happy in his entire life.
He was certain his life was complete, now that he found what he thought was his soulmate. Then the spirits made it even better by accepting it, allowing him as the only Overseer in history to have a lover. Life couldn't be any better than that.
Until now.
Now.
Now...
...He just wanted it all to be over.
65 - END - 65
Chapter 66: Point
Summary:
The story of how Zonic and Zhadow's relationship began to fail three years ago is finally told in completion.
Chapter Text
66 - Point - 66
Shoot him.
Shoot him.
Shoot him.
Those were his orders.
He couldn't disobey.
He couldn't.
He...he...
Zhadow's pupils were shaking so much that Zonic witnessed them individually dilate and shrink every few seconds. It was like his own mind was being overloaded, he couldn't make a decision. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this, he wouldn't do this. He wouldn't do this. He wouldn't do this!
He can't do this!
Zhadow blinked once and his pupils returned to normal as he whispered one thing.
"...I can't do it."
Zonic became confused, as did Zobotnik.
Zhadow slowly lowered his gun. He then shook his head over and over, mumbling, "I can't do it." Over and over. He then glanced at Zonic, his eyes meeting his. Zonic was shocked at how vibrant they looked all of a sudden. Instantly, he placed his hand against Zonic's cheek, just as he did earlier before they went inside the office. He caressed him and shook his head again. "I can't. I just can't." He whispered. "Not you. I can't hurt you. Anyone else, anyone else but you." His voice was trembling, and Zonic never thought he'd heard it sound so vulnerable. He was so used to the man barking orders, sounding intimidating, planting his authority on anyone who dared to cross his path. But now, it sounded so scared. So fragile, so terrified of losing the one thing that actually gave him purpose. The one thing that showed him light within a seemingly never ending darkness. "You have so much light," He said, and Zonic swore he almost saw tears. "So much beautiful, bright light. I need it. I need you. I...I love you." Zonic slowly felt himself lowering his gun as well. "I don't care anymore, I don't care what happens anymore. I don't care if you kill me, but I can't kill you. I can't."
The gun was fully lowered.
Zonic was so confused. "I...Zhadow, I don't understand-"
Zobotnik slammed his fists on the desk. "Don't you dare fail me now, Zhadow!" He bellowed, pointing his finger at his soldier. "If you don't kill him, I'll-!"
"DO IT!" Zhadow screamed, whipping his head at his master's grandchild.
Apprehensively, Zobotnik lowered his arm, frowning in alarm at this sudden disobedience.
"Fucking do it." Zhadow hissed. He was tired.
He was so.
Fucking.
Tired.
"I don't care anymore." Zhadow said shakily. "I'd rather watch this whole world burn to death before I ever lay my hands on him." He wiped the back of his arm across his face, before snarling at Zobotnik. "Zonic is the only reason why I'm still alive, why I didn't point that fucking gun at myself when she died!" He slowly paced towards the desk, before jamming his own finger at his head, painfully. "You keep fucking with my head, destroying my brain. And you dare make me point a gun at him? I've killed so many for you and your disgusting posse of lemming wretches. Do whatever the fuck you want at this point, 'cause I'm done." Zhadow declared strongly. "Done being your weapon, done being your family's prisoner." He raised the arm that held the weapon, but aimed at his superior instead. "From now on, I don't shoot at your command. I shoot for myself! I'm done, Zobotnik!"
Without a word, Zonic turned his aim at the large man as well.
They were both aiming at him, both ready to end Zobotnik's life.
He only sighed.
"You disappoint me." He dug his hand underneath the desk, and then held up a clicker with a red button. He pointed a disappointed frown at Zhadow, his thumb hovering over the button. Zhadow flinched. "The blood will continue to be on your hands as always, Zhadow." A split nanosecond of hesitation due to fear. As he was just about to press it, Zhadow tried to quickly aim and shoot at his hand, but-
He already pressed it.
...
...
...
...Nothing happened, though.
"...!?" Zobotnik glared at the button and mashed his thumb against it several more times. "What the-!?" He then glared at Zhadow. "You—You figured out where I hid them. How did you know?" He threw the detonator onto the desk angrily. "Tell me!"
"Ahh," Zonic twirled his gun in his hand when he pieced it all together. "So that's why I smelled an absurd amount of gunpowder, oxidizer and nitro..."
No.
He couldn't have-
Zonic then sneered at Zobotnik as Zhadow slowly turned to him with a shocked expression. "Hey," He stared at Zobotnik mockingly. "Aren't you both wondering why I showed up late to the meeting?" He asked while carelessly tapping the gun against his own nose. "See, us pure blooded Chaos Born have noses one thousand times stronger than Zonian Bloodhounds. With the right training, we can smell almost anything up to hundreds of meters away. We can smell blood types, hormones, energies and even emotions. So of course we can smell something as obvious as hidden chemicals." He then glanced at Zhadow. "Just an hour after I came into work today, I was told that you were quite busy this morning, First Lieutenant General Zhadow. Therefore, my protocol was to take over any immediate duties that you wouldn't be available for. On my way to HQ, I picked up some donuts at the cat cafe. That's when I kept smelling a nauseating amount of scents that are usually associated with explosives near the ground as I walked by City Hall. Just for safe keeping, I ordered for a bomb squad to investigate the building, specifically the basement." He saw his superior's eyes widen even more. "Low and behold, we found a gold mine of explosives strong enough to wreak havoc on an entire city. Still, this is a typical Monday for us. Not wanting to bother you with such a mundane task, I handled it myself before I even clocked into work. I planned on reporting to you after every explosive was accounted for, and we made sure not to alert the public to induce unnecessary panic. They swept the bombs out before any political officials could notice anything. They've all been disarmed and dismantled. That's why I was late, sir."
A smell?
A God damn smell?
That's how he found them!?
That?!
Zobotnik was absolutely livid. "What!?" He yelled.
Meanwhile, Zhadow could only gradually smirk at his rookie. He taught him so well, he was so proud.
"And now," Zonic announced coldly, gaining Zobotnik's undivided attention. "Seeing as how you were attempting to force Zhadow to kill me, you were extorting him. I'm guessing you made those bombs and gave him an ultimatum: Kill Zonic, or I bomb the entire square and potentially kill thousands of innocent lives." He scoffed. "It's obvious you never held Zhadow under the chokehold you think you had, because you had to go through all this trouble just to kill little ol' me. Such a shame," He tilted his head at Zobotnik. "I'm so sorry, are you mad that he loves me more than he fears you and your repulsive bloodline? Oh, I can almost hear the sound of a puny, pathetic violin playing in my ears."
Digging his fingers angrily into his desk so hard that pieces of faux wood were piling up on the surface, Zobotnik growled his next question. "How do you even know I made them?"
"Come now, warden." Zonic almost laughed. "I think it's pretty obvious who made those bombs. Whether you stamped your stupid face on them or not, the ultimatum you put over my superior is more than evident. Besides," He added with a sneer. "Do you really think I was the only one who leaked information during the course of mine and Zhadow's relationship? Pillow talk goes both ways. But I suppose when you're evil, ugly and old, you can't possibly fathom such a sensitive phenomenon, and neglected to counteract this in your oh so flawless plans." He saw that Zobotnik was gripping his fingers into his desk profusely, and it was cracking from both sides of the surface. "Zhadow told me all about how corrupted, deceptive and tyrannical you were. How you allowed abhorrent conditions of No Zone Prison to grow even worse than before, how you committed police brutality onto one of my own brethren from Moebius, how you desired to enslave all Zonians as your feral Primal Army, how you hate our kind due to your race's decline in population, and how Zhadow's been attempting to get you legally arrested for months along with Counselor Zouge's help." He saw Zobotnik clench his jaw. Yes, even a highly esteemed former officer was involved in his potential downfall, should the plan to arrest him commenced. "Zhadow was never your puppet, at least not to the extent you desired. It's simple, warden," Zonic looked down upon him as if he was mere maggot scum on the side of the road. "You miscalculated."
Miscalculated?
Him?
The genius of No Zone?
The child prodigy of the Zobotnik family, who trounced all of his other successors in terms of IQ and brilliance?
No.
No...
...No.
It's okay.
It's fine.
Zobotnik took in a deep breath and looked down at the coffee cup. He slowly took off the top, and swished around the contents. Damn, it wasn't even warm anymore. 'Guess this would be his last drink. He was surprised it didn't fall over with all the slamming he was doing on the desk. So he lost this one, he could accept that.
But he wouldn't lose twice.
"...!?"
Zobotnik took the coffee cup and tossed it's contents right into Zhadow's face. Except it wasn't coffee-
-It was blood.
Chaotic Blood.
Zonic's nose could only just barely smell it's scent, and it was faint. But why couldn't he smell it before? That's when he sniffed a little more and realized that this blood was old, very old. Perhaps several weeks or even months old. Shit, it barely had a scent at this point. When he saw the plasma stain his superior's face and uniform, he saw how dark the blood was. It was almost brown, even black. That blood was heavily decreased in oxygen, which was why it lost so much color. Damn, was that why he couldn't smell it? It wasn't potent anymore. Chaotic blood was different from normal blood, as it's properties made it difficult to sense when aged. Normal blood, no matter how old, was easy for a pure blooded Chaos Born to smell, but not their own.
Except that wasn't the biggest problem here: Zhadow was currently losing his mind.
He was gripping at his own head, groaning and howling in pain. He had dropped his gun and kept wobbling from side to side. Zonic noticed that some of it went into his mouth, he had accidentally consumed some of it. Why? He consumed blood before and it never had this much of an effect. How-No, where did Zobotnik get pure blooded chaotic blood from!? Zonic began to run towards his superior to help him, until Zhadow yelled for him to stay away. "Don't! Stay away from me!" His voice, it sounded so strange. Why did it sound like that? He didn't read anything about this in his studies!
Zobotnik mumbled a chuckle under his breath as he watched Zhadow fall down to one knee, writhing in agony. "As you already know, Zonic, Zhadow has the blood of a Black Doom inside of him. Which one, I've no idea, you'd have to ask the grave of my grandfather. That's unimportant though, because the blood of the Black Doom he stole from, was a stronger variant of that bloodline within the multiverse. According to my grandfather's notes, anytime the blood of a Chaos Born is ingested, the Will of the Black Arms is activated. I found this out after your little power play in my office last year, and dug up some journal entries of my dear grandfather to counteract your own repulsive bloodline."
Wait, so Chaos Born were involved in this? He didn't know! He didn't read into his archives that far because he wasn't allowed to yet. He had no idea! Shit, what should he do? What can he do?! Zhadow was on the floor, slamming his face into the carpet. He kept punching his fists into his head, begging the voices the stop. Voices? What voices? Damn it, why didn't he know about this? Why wasn't he told about this immediately? This would explain some of the rogue Shadow templates he fought against in the past, but still. He was never warned, never taught about this! Gulping, Zonic demanded an answer. "How did you get that blood!?"
Zobotnik boomed a cackle. "Where? From you!" He laughed some more at Zonic's expression. "Every time you trained in the cyber simulations, you practically painted the place with your plasma. Zhadow wasn't there to survey your performance, he was there to measure just how much blood you were giving to the system. To me. Every time you got injured, Zhadow collected what he could in a container before the chamber cleaned itself, and gave it to me. You spilled enough to fill an entire water tank, but I only needed a cup for insurance. I saw the way Zhadow took a liking to you," He glowered. "I knew you were pulling him out of my grasp. So in case he betrayed me for your disturbing idea of love, I had this ready. Oh, and the Primal Mode ramps up the aggression in the Black Arms blood as well. Just a warning." He shrugged with an evil grin. "Oops!"
Zonic seized his fingers into his gun so tightly that he almost destroyed the muzzle. "You son of a-!" He was knocked down to the floor, his damaged gun falling out of his grasp. He suddenly felt his arms pinned over his head, and he couldn't move. Zhadow's weight was on top of him, and his eyes...they looked...so demonic. They didn't look normal at all, and he was salivating and foaming at the mouth. His teeth were large and sharp enough to shred tree bark, and his gloves were torn from his newly grown claws. No, no this couldn't be happening! Zonic didn't know what to do, he was internally panicking. Zhadow was going to hurt him, he was out of his mind. "S-Stop..." Zonic found himself whispering. "Stop!" Zonic cried as his fiancé neared his teeth towards his neck. "Stop, please!" He begged and pleaded for him to stop. He couldn't let him do this, he couldn't let him hurt him like this. "Zhadow, please stop!" He felt his hold on his arms tighten painfully and he turned his face away. "You're hurting me! You said you wouldn't hurt me, you said you couldn't and that you loved me! So please," He shouted his plea for the last time. "Stop!"
He felt Zhadow let go of one of his arms, and gripped his jaw. He forced him to look his way, and that's when Zhadow witnessed the emotions in Zonic's eyes.
No fear.
Absolutely none.
He wasn't scared of Zhadow, not at all.
He just didn't want him to hurt him like this.
He wasn't scared of him.
Never him.
Why?
Why was he never, ever scared of him?
Was it his love for him? Did he still love him after everything he's done to him? The grip on his jaw and arm loosened significantly. Or maybe, it was that light of his. That beautiful light he couldn't get enough of that followed him everywhere he went. The light that he craved, that he needed.
He needed Zonic.
"I...told you..." Zhadow slowly growled. "I love him...I will not-" He Cyber Controlled in the air to drive down a skeleton shattering punch into Zobotnik's desk. It instantly collapsed into several pieces, as he slowly glared up at his boss. Zobotnik yelped and immediately began backing away towards the windows of his office. "-Nor will I ever, hurt Zonic!" Even his voice and eyes were going back to normal. He fought off the influence for now, just that fast. He could still hear them, still feel the literal shadow of Black Doom's spirit over his own, but he didn't lose his soul. Not yet. He's already done so much damage to him already, but he'd gladly die before ever making such a mistake again. He stood defiantly in front of Zobotnik, getting closer and closer with cyber energy charging in his palms. "My patience is gone." Zhadow uttered. "I'll cross off the final name of my list: Yours!"
...
...Zobotnik swallowed a gulp as his back hit the cool air of the surface of the tinted windows.
"...Huh," He said slowly. "I guess I did miscalculate."
He began to pull something out from his belt, just as Zhadow was coming right for him. If it wasn't for the Black Arms messing with his head, he would have just teleported again or ran faster, but he couldn't. Almost everything was interfering with each other in his body. Zobotnik took this chance to think fast, pull out his gun and aim. No, even if he shot him, he'd survive and get torn to shreds. He then instead pointed the gun behind himself, and pulled the trigger. It shattered the glass, and he bended his knees forwards. He then threw his entire body backwards with all the strength he could muster, tossing himself out of the window. Several shards and tiny pieces of glass tore through both his clothes and his skin, but he cared not even as his blood flew into the powerful breezes.
The only thing he cared about now, was his escape.
Shocked at this suicidal jump, Zhadow paused.
Zonic cautiously walked over from behind to look, only for the hedgehogs to watch the human ascend into the air. How could they forget? Their uniforms were equipped with boosters in the boots, even the casual ones. He flew higher and higher until he was a pea in the sky, and soon, gone from their visions.
He was gone.
Even if they called for soldiers to go after him now, they knew they wouldn't be able to find such an elusive foe.
Bastard escaped with his life.
Zhadow slowly turned to Zonic, who took a cautious step backwards.
That's when it happened: Another impulse firing in Zhadow's brain. One he couldn't control.
A coffee cup of spilled blood was laying against the floor.
The current first lieutenant general, Zhadow the Hedgehog, had his entire face and upper body splashed with this plasma. Some of it entered his mouth, and his instincts were triggered instantly. Normally, chaotic blood didn't rouse him up too badly so long as it wasn't that much. But the blood he had on his tongue tasted delicious, and that was enough to drive him mad. Such a magnificent flavor of such an obedient pet...He couldn't control himself. He was now attacking his new fiancé, eager to bite him and taste more of his race's vitae.
"Come here...just one taste..."
"Stay away from me!" Zonic yelled as he dodged a swipe of his claws. "Zhadow, you're not in your right mind, stop!"
Zhadow's glowing red eyes were writhe with bloodlust, but also severe conflict. He suddenly turned away from him while covering his face with his hands, grunting in pain as he tried to fight it. "Zonic..." He whispered painfully. He couldn't hurt him, he couldn't. He had to stop. He loved him, didn't he? Then he had to be strong enough to ignore the impulses of his blood and regain control over his mind and body. He had to mute the voices. It took him a few minutes, minutes of staying in one position, panting and mentally telling himself not to move, but it worked. He thankfully didn't get that much in his mouth, he could handle this and calm himself down with some patience. Still out of breath, Zhadow's eyes were no longer glowing. Without looking at Zonic, he warned him about the next time this could happen. "...If I ever end up losing myself by consuming your blood, you need to be strong enough to stop me." He slowly turned around to walk towards him, and though Zonic was on guard, he didn't move away. Exhausted, Zhadow collapsed forwards and Zonic caught him. "Don't...let me hurt you..." He murmured against his shoulder. "Do whatever you can to stop me...even if you have to kill me."
The blue hedgehog stared at nothing as he held his superior against his body, his words echoing in his mind. First his betrayal, and now this.
"..."
He shoved him off, and Zhadow stumbled onto his feet.
Zonic looked down at his hand, at the ring he gave him just yesterday.
Zhadow tried to speak, out of breath and still in pain. "Z...Zonic, I tried cutting ties with Zobotnik on my own. I tried gathering evidence to get him put away. I stopped killing for him for decades, and I tried to be better. I tried...for you." He rasped as he tried to step closer. He reached out a hand. "I love you-"
Zonic smacked it away. "You were going to shoot me dead."
"He was going to kill everyone in town!" Zhadow cried desperately. "If I made the slightest indication of betraying him, he would have killed you himself. I wanted to kill him, but he had a failsafe ready to activate the bombs. He tracked my every move, even had my brain waves downloaded in some fucking computer program. I didn't know what to do!"
"You could have told me." Zonic easily countered.
"Don't you get it? I couldn't! If I did..." Zhadow looked downwards with fear in his eyes. "If I did I...I would have had to tell you about what I am and...you would have left me. I couldn't lose you, but I...Damn it," He cursed himself. "I didn't want the entire city to be destroyed. But at this point, I don't care if everyone else burns!" He tried once more to approach him. "I'll sacrifice the world if it means staying with you. I don't care if something happens to me, I'll shoulder all the pain I can muster if it means I can stay with you. All I need is you, Zonic. All I-" He stopped. "..." Because he saw how much Zonic was crying. He couldn't see his face, but he saw large droplets fall on the floor by his feet.
He wasn't even making any noises, the tears were just falling. Constantly.
Drowning him.
Zonic couldn't even look at him, he was staring at the floor. "...Coward." He whispered. "You're a coward. Instead of having the balls to tell me everything, you went ahead with this plan and nearly had me killed. You used me."
Zhadow couldn't let him keep thinking like that. "That's not true!"
"It is!" Zonic yelled back. "I'm just an obstacle to you."
And then, he did something that burned into Zhadow's memory.
Something that would remain the cause of his life ending guilt, every single second of his existence.
...Zonic slowly turned his way, his face puffy and red. His eyes just pouring with more tears, his body trembling violently, his irises as glossy as polished orbs of forest green marble. He was sniffling, his shoulders shaking, his body soon hugging itself out of a desperate need for comfort. His ears were folded back, his demeanor so broken. His expression was the most devastated he had ever witnessed. "...You never loved me."
His light, he destroyed his light.
He destroyed him.
Horrified by what he had done, Zhadow was the one to take a step back this time.
This fear, this guilt—It felt horrible.
He didn't want this, Zhadow never, ever wanted this.
"N-No..." Zhadow slowly shook his head. "No, I..." He finally found his voice. No, he couldn't give up, he had to hold him. Just once to reassure him that he still wanted him and loved him. He tried for the last time to approach him, for a moment, Zonic didn't move away. "Zonic—Please listen to me! I want you, I love you, I need you-"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"...!"
"Don't...touch me...ever again." Zonic just lowered his gaze back down to the floor. "Instead of trusting me, you nearly kill me. Instead of telling me the truth, you continue to lie and propose to me to keep up the act."
Zhadow immediately shook his head. "That wasn't an act!" He'd never do this, never in a million years. But for Zonic, he'd do anything to get his forgiveness. He'd eat bullets, he'd let himself be prodded, he'd burn himself alive if it meant keeping him by his side. He shoved his knees onto the carpet, placed his hands flat down, hunched over and bowed his head low to the floor. "Please, I'm begging you to forgive me. I'll do anything for you. I want to be with you, it's why I proposed at all. He didn't tell me to seduce you into a relationship, it's why I didn't confess first. I never wanted to trap you." He gripped his fingers into the carpet, his claws still evident. "It's why I needed time before I told you how I felt. I...I knew a day like this would come, a day I'd have to tell you everything. But...You're right. I was a coward. I couldn't bear the thought of you leaving me. I...I didn't think I could love again at all after her." He closed his eyes tightly, hoping and praying that somehow, they'd walk out of this room together. "I thought that was the end for me, that I wouldn't care about anyone else ever again. Then...I met you. Someone so naive, so desperate to get stronger all to keep up the facade of justice and hope. And then you showed me, that it wasn't just a facade." He never told anyone this before. "That keeping justice and hope was possible."
This made Zonic tilt his head upwards a little.
"The glimmer in your eyes," Zhadow continued both passionately and despairingly. "The spark of excitement in your voice whenever you accomplished a mission successfully, I...I couldn't ignore it anymore. Everything about you shines a brilliant light that I can never catch, but one that I could at least stand next to and admire. You never let anything bring you down, not even acting as Overseer for the rogue templates. You always pushed on, and in just a few years, you became the star of No Zone Corps. You're everything I wished I could have been." Unbeknownst to him, due to his bowing position, Zonic was blushing from his heartfelt words. Slowly, ever so cautiously, he heard Zonic's footsteps come closer. His boots stopped just before his hands. Zhadow gently reached up to grasp his wrists. "Please listen to me. I know you despise me. I know you'll never forgive me for this, but I beg you, don't leave me." He carefully got up from the floor and looked him dead in the eyes once again. "I don't want to sit in the darkness anymore. Don't take the light away from me. Don't leave me in the dark, Zonic." He grimaced painfully. "Please."
Zonic stared at him, and he saw the pain in his eyes. He still smelled the fear, and he sensed no ill will. His voice held nothing but sincerity and so much fright. He truly didn't want him to leave him. "..."
But that still wasn't enough.
His rookie snatched his hands away, wiping his tears with his sleeves and walking away.
Soon, the doors opened and shut.
He left Zhadow alone.
He fell onto the floor, and slumped against the remains of the destroyed desk.
He...left him.
He...hated him.
Hated him.
Now no one would love him.
Ever.
Zhadow would have to get used to being alone in the darkness from now on.
That agony would continue to infect his entire body for years to come, patiently but surely aging him to his early grave.
His eyes were never the same after that day, nor was his mind, or his heart.
And as for Zonic, the very next day, he nearly lost all of his sanity and innocence by witnessing the Chaotic Purge.
From that moment on, Zonic refused to ever talk about what happened that day or the purge, and attempted to continue the relationship as if the incidents never happened. Zhadow soon had to wear sunglasses, as he terrified everyone who caught his eyes near to death. They became distant, even when trying to keep the relationship alive with dates and midnight sex, but it was never the same. Zonic grew colder, meaner and stoic, while Zhadow grew patient, quiet and calmer. Zonic hated the world with a calculated animosity, while Zhadow accepted it in defeat with a pathetic white flag. They both were never the same ever again.
They were both broken beyond repair.
1:15 PM
"...From the warden's perspective," Zonic continued with a casual air. "He saw me as a big threat. Letting me live would only empower other Chaos Born, since my job is to aid you all however I can. Apparently, Zhadow told him how the spirits saw most of their 'children' as replaceable. If I died, another Overseer would be spawned in that reality as if nothing happened. My death means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but they'd probably never spawn another strong Overseer like me. I was different, and both the spirits and Zobotnik knew this. Zobotnik was banking that killing me would send the spirits a message." He made a small inconvenienced sigh. "Bastard was willing to die if it meant bringing us down, as he knew the spirits would retaliate against both him and Zhadow after doing something like that. It didn't matter to him though, he just wanted to even the score that badly. I suppose he also saw that once I became Zhadow's underling, he could use that opportunity to find something, anything that could destroy the spirits and other Chaos Born. I'm not the only Sonic template that was a huge pain in his ass, you see. Once the spirits got directly involved with getting me my upgraded Room of Realities, he had enough. Thing is though, I wasn't that blinded by love." He dully noted. "I was always told never to divulge any information about Chaos Born to outsiders, not even to my reality's Shadow template. Of course I broke that rule, but not entirely. I still kept some key secrets to myself, secrets that thankfully saved both of our lives plenty of times."
Silence was his answer.
Sonic said nothing.
"I mean," Zonic just went on, didn't even notice the lack of acknowledgement. "Zhadow tried not to be too forceful, even when he was ordered to. I sometimes refused telling him info at the risk of my job, but he ultimately respected my decisions even then. We bonded, so sometimes I accidentally slipped up in giving info, and vice versa. Zhadow theorized that Zobotnik wanted to either eradicate or enslave all Chaos Born and Zonians no matter what." He scowled. "He didn't see No Zone Corps as a system of justice, he saw it as a way of destroying competition. With access to the entire multiverse, he wanted to conquer other realms by destroying the villains of other realities one at a time, entrapping them or executing them all here in No Zone. So no one would be left to stand up to him. That's what the Zobotnik family always strived for, and that dream was in the warden's grasp with Zhadow around." He scoffed. "It was thanks to me that it all crumbled away. He made us both pay for it. Day after that, the Chaotic Purge happened. And now, here we are."
Silence.
...
...
...
...Zonic blinked. "Sonic prime?" He called. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah." The hero quickly responded. "Yeah..."
"Are you," He felt odd asking this. "Okay...?"
"Yeah." Sonic said, his voice blunt and lowered. "I'm fine."
Zonic couldn't see, but Sonic face was twisted in remorse. He had no idea his twin went through all of that, no idea that this was why he was such an asshole. It was almost like when he was up on the Ark, and listened to Gerald Robotnik's death row tape. Why he was so angry, why he made Shadow the way he did, why he wanted everything to be destroyed. Gerald was hurt, he went insane and he was so pained by what he went through and witnessed. Zonic and Zhadow went through something just as terrible, not even counting the fact that Zhadow lost his own Maria too. Zonic lost everything in only two days, and Zhadow didn't know what to do. When his own love betrayed him, he thought he could at least believe in Sonic, the only idol of hope he had left.
But then even that was ruined.
Sonic tightened his frown, his eyes narrowing with solemn clarity.
"..."
Zonic meanwhile blinked as time moved forward. Sonic found his indifference to his own past trauma extremely depressing and a little unnerving. Was he really that numb to it? "...Um-"
Sonic slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes. "How did you both...continue being a thing after...all that?"
His Zonian counterpart paused for a moment. "I won't lie, it was difficult. Still very much is." He began honestly. "Zhadow begged me many times not to leave him, and I..." He made a defeated smile. "I still loved him so much. I still wanted to marry him one day, even if it was all a lie." He sighed heavily. "I was desperate. I knew he'd be the only person I'd ever fall in love and be happy with. I wasn't good enough to get someone else as amazing as him, and I'd never be able to find love like that again. We broke up for a brief while, about half a year. Being away from him hurt like hell." He went on with a strained voice. "My chest, it felt like I was being shot in my ribs over and over and over. I woke up screaming in pain every other night, clenching at my heart because it felt like it was swelling. Like I was dying without him. I went to a doctor and Counselor Zouge, and they both told me something I couldn't believe: That I was suffering through heartbreak. It's not just some romantic metaphor, it's a real and physically troubling illness that can kill you. I had to be prescribed strong aspirin until I got over it. And he," He lowered his gaze sadly. "Zhadow didn't take it well either. To everyone else, he seemed fine and grumpy as ever. But me? I know the signs, I know what to look for when there's something wrong with him. Dull emotion in his voice, dead eyes like a fish, grunts and mumbles for conversation if not absolute silence...It was all there. Being apart was hurting us, and we both did want to stay together, so..." He began to sound a little self conscious, as if he knew he was a fool for taking Zhadow back after all that.
Was he truly foolish into thinking it could work?
Was it really the best idea to wait just half a year before trying again after all of that? It just hurt so much to be away from each other that they had to try. Just once. That attempt took years up to now, and it wasn't too bad at first. But eventually, it drained and molded into the very thing they both were afraid of. They were becoming estranged to each other. Zonic yelling at Zhadow while Zhadow just stared back with a bored glare without a care to even continue the argument. The few times Zhadow would even get angry, he would just be reminded of what he did to Zonic, and why they were in the position they were in. He'd freeze in fear and just silenced himself, confusing and angering Zonic even more. Sometimes Zhadow would just shut down the conversation by walking away without a word, not even hearing Zonic out. He couldn't. He couldn't because hearing Zonic sound so disgruntled with him hurt, because it reminded of him of his greatest failure. Reminded him of what he almost lost, and could still lose at any moment. Zonic became so angry, so confrontational and unwilling to forgive even the slightest offense. It wasn't fair to either of them.
It wasn't working anymore.
"We just...dealt with it." Zonic continued. "We got back together, under the condition that we could move at my pace and mine alone. I couldn't just forgive him, so we took baby steps. We still had good moments, barely any bad ones. If we did, it was over small, stupid things. Nothing bad or worthy of more distrust. We were a normal couple, but...what we both went through was still always in the back of our minds, which caused us to clash heads or just straight up avoid each other. I'd usually be the aggressor, because I was secretly still so angry with him and...well, myself. When we were told we'd soon have to meet you and Shadow prime, we started to argue and drift apart more. Soon, I stopped wearing my ring because I questioned whether or not I should even keep it on. I was too angry and snappy, and Zhadow was too avoidant of me to hear how I felt because he didn't want to fight me anymore. I was scared of being betrayed by another Chaos Born, scared of the very thing that ruined my life would ruin my relationship once again. That I'd lose Zhadow for good." He realized something. "Zhadow may have started this mess, but I guess we both ruined it in the end, huh?"
...
"...Sorry." Sonic whispered.
Zonic blinked again.
Did he hear that right?
"Did you just...apologize to me...?"
1:15 PM
"So that's what happened?" Shadow asked his twin tersely. Things still weren't cool between them as of right now, but he demanded to know why Zhadow acted the way he did. Why he was so secretive and why he was so deceptive with others. If that's how he acted with a so-called brother, he had no doubt that was some of the reason why he and Zonic's relationship was so muddled. He didn't expect such a tragedy of a story, but it all mostly sounded like Zhadow's fault. He was a murderer, a liar and a coward. In his cowardice he failed to trust the one he loved most, and destroyed their relationship. He tried to think about Sonic, and whether or not he'd ever be put in a situation like that. And then, he frowned at himself. If he had got with Sonic during the whole Black Doom incident, or even when they first met, the same thing could have happened with them. Having someone in your head like that was hard to shake off, mind control or not. Zhadow was obviously damaged way before he met Zonic, but it got even worse and his sanity was getting picked off year after year. "Hmph..." Was all he could say.
Zhadow only nodded as they walked down the corridor, casually tossing cigarettes out of his pockets. He had been doing that for the past twenty minutes, and stomping on them to cause the faux tobacco in them to spill out onto the floor. Shadow noticed, and he was still trying to figure out why he was doing that. Meanwhile, Zhadow responded. "Yes, that is why Zonic distrusts me. After everything he's done for me recently, I know he still loves me as much as I love him. But," He tossed one more cigarette, before using his boot to stamp it out. "The damage is done. I don't think he'll ever forgive me or trust me like he used to. That's the wedge. In our line of work," He then threw his entire pack of smokes, before charging cyber energy in his hand and tossing a Cyber Spear into it. It immediately caught on fire with digital flame, but burned out as soon as it sparked. Smoke drifted all into the hallway, traveling down the corridor. "Trust is everything. We need to rely on our soldiers in order for our missions to be successful. You can't go into war with an army of strangers who you can't even stand beside without giving him the side eye. Distrust causes panic and infighting, and I can't have that. So to have it in my own home, is quite troublesome."
Shadow could only shake his head at him. "You brought that on yourself, general."
Zhadow easily agreed. "Indeed, I did."
"And you did the same thing with me."
That made the general sigh. "Shadow prime," He gave his counterpart a very exhausted expression. He was tired of arguing with people he valued. "I'm sleepy. I'm so sleepy that I could faint right now and slumber a thousand ages away." He suddenly confessed, making Shadow squint his eyes. The hell did that mean? "If your trust for me is nonexistent at this point, then so be it. I understand. However, your full cooperation is needed to get us out of here and reunite with our partners."
The ultimate life form just continued to stare at him as he walked ahead. "...Why did you drop all those cigarettes?"
"Simple," Zhadow answered. "Pure blooded Chaos Born have extremely sensitive noses. With age and experience, their ability of heightened smell becomes stronger. Sonic prime's ability is only limited to hormones and a few emotions, but Zonic's reaches even farther than that. I left ashes everywhere we went so he could quite literally sniff us out and find us. If we can't find them, they'll find us."
"Wait," Shadow paused. Sonic told him that he was able to smell hormones months ago, saying that Rouge told him that was unusual. So that wasn't just a quirk of his, it was in his blood. "That's not just for mating season?"
"To be honest, I don't know." The general replied, his breath still reeking of smoke. He knew that would help, too. "While it helps with mating season, I don't think that's all it's for. Zonic isn't sure why the spirits gave them such a strong sense of smell. Now," He whipped out his baton from his belt and it instantly transformed into a rifle. Shadow was taken aback, why did he suddenly pull out a gun? Zhadow then looked over the weapon before adjusting some of it's parts. It was charged with cyber energy, raring to go. "Geez, haven't used one of these in a while...We need to make some headway." He rested the butt against his arm and shoulder and aimed. "Chaos Corruption." Dark red, corrupted chaos aura spread throughout the gun's innards. He pulled the trigger and shot right at the wall next to them. After a loud bang, the shot made a sharp tear through the metallic surface. The candy red cyber energy attempted to spread towards it and mend it back together, but it ultimately failed and faded away. There was a small hole, but it wasn't big enough. So, Zhadow decided to up the ante. The gun began to adjust and extend it's parts to grow just a bit bigger. He took a step back then nodded for Shadow to do the same. Once his twin did, he pulled the trigger once more and blasted the wall apart.
The material creaked painfully, the metal bending in ways it wasn't supposed to. There was a gaping, ravaged hole that peeled back the metal plating. They both saw there were plenty of paths ahead, all shaped like corridors. This place was nothing but an elaborate maze, but not for long. A maze was useless if it's walls were destroyed. Zhadow shot again, then again and again, until he blasted every wall ahead of them in their immediate sight. There were several more holes now, and the labyrinth of this base was slowly losing it's edge over them. If they tried running straight through those holes, they'd still probably get nowhere because they didn't know where anything was. Shadow was sure his twin thought of that, that wasn't his plan. He destroyed those walls for another purpose. Zhadow then rested his gun, and transformed it back into a baton. He then twisted the handle a few clicks, only for a hologram to appear before him.
He nodded in satisfaction. Finally, a map. "Zobotnik is so naive." He said, almost smirking. "He doesn't even know we can use such an ability, but neither did his grandfather." That element of surprise would be their ticket out of here. "There we are. Thanks to all the damage, I can get a proper quick scan. Let's see, according to this, this place has several dead ends and elongated hallways that lead to nowhere. But I see here," He pointed to an upper level of the map. It was glitching and wouldn't show a clear picture. "Ahh, so he must be there."
Shadow raised a brow. "You want to go directly for Zobotnik?" He wasn't mad at the idea at all, but that felt a bit premature.
A dark grin appeared on Zhadow's face. "Why of course, but not by rushing in with literal guns blazing." He then looked up at the ceiling. Yes, they'd have to blow their way through there. Instead of horizontal, they'd have to go vertical. "He claims there's microphones all over this place, but I doubt the ones in this hallway survived those blasts I made. You see," He tilted his mischievous glare at Shadow. "We're going to get ourselves captured again, on purpose."
Once again, Shadow just gave him a bewildered expression.
He wanted to risk their lives again?
Ugh, he was way too similar to Sonic in the worst possible way.
"Fine," Shadow mumbled with a sigh. "And what did you have in mind?"
66 - END - 66
Chapter 67: Cube
Summary:
Shadow and Zhadow find something terrible in the labs of Zobotnik's hidden lair. On the other side, Zonic and Sonic are questioned by Zobotnik...until something incalculable happens.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
67 - Cube - 67
1:25 PM
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Stupid hedgehogs, the lot of them!
The large Zoverlander growled as he attempted to repair his surveillance system. Chaos Corruption? He wasn't aware of such a power. Did Zhadow hide that ability from him and his ancestors all this time? Little bastard, he'd make him pay for everything he had ever done to the Zobotnik name! Betrayal, treason, deception...He was disgusted with Zhadow. His grandfather should have never given him any freedom and kept him on a leash inside of that damned laboratory. And his father—Pssh, the lazy prick. Illness took him out before he could actually do anything with his pathetic, useless life. He was ashamed to call him his father. His grandfather did all the work, and he was left pulling the rest of the slack that they both left him. And that girl, his oh so dear cousin...Hmph. He couldn't care less. The girl was never his problem, and his other family—where ever they were in the world—were just as useless. He had no need for people who dared to defy him, or didn't have the means to be of use to him. They should all perish, leave room for those who actually mattered in this reality.
He started to grin as he saw the lights of his set up brighten once more. It's okay, he'd get Zhadow back. And he'd seal his vengeance by destroying his precious love right in front of his face. Zonic, that disturbingly manipulative Chaos Born. What a horrible race of creatures, and he's had way too many displeasures of meeting several Sonic templates. Especially that one, little green snot. Now there were two blue rodents in his realm, and he needed to get rid of them all. Perhaps he should establish a new law when he returned to power: All Zonian Hedgehogs are hereby abolished from this world! Yes, he liked the sound of that. Then he could murder the little varmints one by one. Ahh, good. His systems were back on and powering up better than before. Okay, now to check his security modules. Yes, everything seemed to be working. Oof, maybe he should have turned the lights on in here, it was rather hard to see with all the darkness. He raised up his hand to his glasses and pressed his finger against the rims. An LED light glowed around the lenses, brightening his vision. There we go.
All of his monitors were working. He had to admit, his set up paled in comparison to Zonic's Room of Realities. Well, he assumed it did, he never got to physically go inside and see it. He only went off of what Zhadow told him when he used him as a spy. Hundreds of monitors from one side of the room to the next, all showing live footage. State of the art technology that could only be found in this zone, he knew that, but he hated that he could never see it. But that's okay, because he'd claim that room back too. Everything that piece of shit blue hedgehog stole from him, he'd get back and then some. Then, he'd make him pay the ultimate price. Slowly, and painfully. He looked up at his screens carefully, he had to spot his intruders. His old eyes caught the screen showing Zonic and Sonic prime bound together in their cell. Good, they were still trapped. No way they could get out unless they used some ridiculous unpredictable ability like the Shadow twins did. But please, what were the odds of that happening? Zobotnik admitted fault on his part, Shadow templates were stronger and more dangerous. The Sonic templates were just trouble makers, not actually anything to worry about. However, Zhadow and Shadow needed to be found and captured immediately. Who knows what else those two would pull?
He grumbled, some of his monitors still wouldn't fix their feeds. Come on, come on...
Aha! He got it, he saw the little shits.
He blinked behind his glasses.
Oh?
He tilted his head. What were they doing?
First off, two monitors were showing one of the striped hedgehogs each. Every monitor he had showed a separate area of the base, meaning that the hedgehogs must have split apart. Why? Did they feel they could get better results that way? Did they get into a fight? He triggered the audio, unmuting them both to listen. His ears instantly bled at the sound of Zhadow yelling and screaming in that uncanny, demonic Black Arms voice of his. He was holding his head, banging it against the wall and groaning in misery. He was sitting in a fetal position on the floor, wailing in agony. Hmm, the blood must have roused up again. Funny, because he thought that weird power of Shadow prime's healed him. 'Guess not. He then glanced at the other monitor where the ultimate life form in question was...making a damn mess in his facility! Zobotnik gawked at the amount of damage he was doing to his walls and floors. Holes everywhere, disrupted candy red hacked cyber energy dissolving easily. Chaos Spear this, Chaos Spear that, yelling for the name of Sonic prime and demanding to know where he was. How was he doing that? His normal chaotic abilities were worthless here. Unless he used that weird corruption power again. Damn it! He began to panic. If Shadow prime destroyed any more of his labyrinth, the base would lose it's surveillant edge. No, this needed to stop this instant!
Zobotnik looked over his dashboard for a certain key item. Before he did this, he had to make sure it was secure. He dragged his fingers against the keys of his long, circular keyboard that wrapped around his desk, feeling for something in particular. He looked down and saw it when his finger hit something blunt. There it was, the USB. It wasn't damaged, that was perfect. He'd leave it there for now, but he couldn't forget about it later. Alright, back to business. He leaned forwards to the screens and began typing away on his main computer.
Then, he hovered his finger over a peculiar button and grinned.
Time to test out a few other guinea pigs.
Oh.
"...?"
Shadow prime teleported back to where Zhadow was. He knelt down beside him and tried to get him to stand up. Maybe he got concerned and went back for him. That's when Zobotnik got a real good look at their surrounding, and noticed which monitor feed this was. Right Side: 3rd Floor. Ohh, so they were there? No matter, that only served his intentions even better.
He pressed the button.
1:30 PM
Shadow huffed as he dragged his twin away. He had another breakdown, smacking his face against the wall over and over with a blood stain. As he dragged him away, Zhadow's eyes caught the blood stain on the wall. He narrowed his eyes with a frown, watching the small stain almost literally dissolve within the creases of the metallic plating on the wall. His pupils dilated. What the...? Meanwhile, Shadow looked back and forth around the corridor. Was that a door? He lifted his counterpart onto his back and rushed for it. He kicked it down and immediately went inside. He sighed as he continued to carry him within, before kicking the door closed with a slam. He wasn't sure if it would lock, but it wouldn't matter. If reinforcements came after them, they'd probably blast through the wall the same as they did earlier. Shadow then carefully placed his twin down onto the floor, noticing that while it was still metallic, it was in a tile pattern. Tiles were usually for bathrooms, kitchens and...He slowly blinked.
...Laboratories.
Slowly, both he and Zhadow lifted their heads to look around the room.
Dear God.
Soft groaning, whines, bleats and sobs of agony gently echoed in the room. No one was screaming, no one hollered or yelled. Their suffering was so quiet, they could barely hear them. The room was very large, more on the width than length side. Less than a dozen beds were lined up against the wall in a row with some space, with bodies lying in every single one. Both Black Arms brothers could feel the uneasy sensation of death drifting around them. They looked at the walls, and saw several unused morgue drawers lined up in threes. There were a bunch of tables with sinks around, some stained with unknown liquids neither hedgehog wanted to know of. There were needles, tools and other deranged instruments lying on them all. Most of them were clean, a few of them were crusted and rusted with old blood. The strong smell of chemicals, cleansing materials, illegal medical narcotics, sweat and filth was stuffed within this hell hole. Finally, the bodies were writhing in pain, sprawled on their individual thin mattresses with limbs stretching and retracting every so often out of desperation to leave their prison. But they just couldn't get up, they couldn't leave. They couldn't make the pain stop, and they would remain here in torment.
Zhadow, still holding onto Shadow for support, swallowed nervously.
No.
It couldn't be.
He gestured for Shadow to go over to the beds, and Shadow silently nodded. They stepped closer to one of the beds, and they both peered over to look. Meanwhile, Maria's phantom floated above them to look as well, before she gasped in horror and looked away with her eyes shut firmly. With a traumatized stare, Shadow demanded the girl keep her eyes away from the scene. "Maria, don't look. For your sake," He slowly shook his head with a pitiful expression. "Do not look until we leave this room." Maria felt tears prick the corners of her eyes, and she only nodded while floating away a couple feet from the hedgehog. She kept her hands over her face, refusing to glance again. Zhadow's irises shook heavily, his breath caught in his throat.
He knew these people.
They were all barely dressed in those typical patient gowns, but some of them had colored marks and stains on them as well. A female Zonian sheep, a private on the bomb squad. She had only just been recommended to join the team. Her eyes were nearly empty, she wasn't making any noise at all and her irises were staring at the ceiling aimlessly. She wasn't even blinking, and she was completely still. If it wasn't for her chest rising and lowering, he would have thought she was dead. He carefully reached out to touch her, only to feel that she was completely cold. He whisked his finger tips away, before carefully turning to yet another body. A male opossum, constantly shaking with his teeth clattering against his jaw and clutching the blankets. He had cuts all over his arms and face, and he wouldn't for the life of him open his eyes. Like he was too scared to. He was a new recruit for the sleuth team, recommended by Zouge. Beside him was a male lion, a larger Zonian who was sucking in breath as if his ribs were caving into his lungs. He used to be an apprentice for the leader of No Zone's army, a promising future. Next was a male quokka, constantly coughing and clutching at his throat. He was some local junior detective attempting to get into bootcamp for an official position. Just a kid. After him was another larger Zonian, the biggest in the room, an orangutan who kept holding his head and moaning: "Make it to stop..." A new member of their airforce, an impressive upstart who cut through the ranks to become an airman. There was a female wolf, crying to herself gently and almost silently, not even above a whisper. It seemed like she couldn't move, and there was a harsh degree of Cyber Corruption eating up the side of her face. Yet another member of the sleuth team, and a strong one at that. She was the strongest of the new recruits, and had great training with sniper rifles.
Beside her was a male octopus who was squeezing and retracting his hands against the bed over and over, his eyelids attempting to stay open. He didn't want to go to sleep, not again. Not again. He was another new recruit for a guard position in No Zone Prison, known for being a harsh interrogator and manipulating suspects by mimicking people they knew and coaxing them into telling the truth. Then, there was female echidna who had her fists tied down against her own body, resembling an asylum patient. Shadow assumed this was because all echidnas, regardless of what reality they hailed from, would always be related to the legendary Echidna Clan. Thus, being extremely dangerous foes with even more dangerous spiked fists. Her mouth was covered with tape as well, and she kept making small mumbles of pain. Her expression was a little green, she looked nauseous. If she puked, she'd choke herself to death with her own bile. She was enlisting for the army, and would have been a great asset with her combative prowess. Finally, there was a heavy set and short Zonian chinchilla, her legs kicking violently as her hands grasped her stomach. She wouldn't make clear noises, only low gasps and disgruntled grunts of shocking misery. It was almost as if she was having a seizure, with the way her body was flinching. The pain in her stomach must have been extremely severe. She was going to be yet another prisoner guard, wanting to make a name for herself despite her stature.
Zhadow knew the names of every single person here. Remembered their faces, their recruitment paperwork, their recommendations, their interviews...everything. He normally had bad memory with weaklings, but these new recruits left a lasting impression in his mind. He saw potential in these nine former soldiers. As silence filled the room, Shadow cautiously broke it. "Are...these the missing soldiers?"
Ruefully, Zhadow nodded. "...Yes, they are." The general gazed at the wolf who was undergoing a horrible amount of Cyber Corruption. She couldn't even look in his direction, she was so distracted with the pain. "Cyber Corruption," He murmured. "They're all suffering a form of it." The wolf's was visible since it was on her face, but the others had it in places that weren't obvious. The paper-like blankets covering their bodies helped concealed it as well. They also all had some cuts and bruises on their bodies, with the opossum's body being the worst. The corruption that spread on the wolf's face was also candy red, a signature of Zobotnik's. "This is Zobotnik's form of Cyber Corruption, and it's literally hacking their bodies alive."
Shadow grimaced. "Hacking their bodies...? Like computers?"
"In a metaphoric sense, the body is a computer being constantly updated and programmed by the brain." Zhadow replied with a hushed voice. "In our world, everything is seen as a computer, even if it's made of flesh. And with the power of cyber energy, anything can be a Trojan horse. This isn't just corruption, this is a living virus attacking my men." He shook his head. "If Zouge was afflicted with this kind of power, then she's way stronger than I thought." Zhadow clenched his fist at his side. "But it's because of her strength that she was able to recover flawlessly. But them," He gazed upon their battered bodies with pity. "They're not as strong as her. They can't fight it off as well as her. I'm surprised they haven't died yet."
The biohog refused to watch this any further. "Maria! Heal them-"
"Don't!" Zhadow yelled and held up a hand. "If she uses chaos energy to heal them, you could expediate the corruption and finish them off for good. You can't use that here!"
Shit, he almost forgot about that. Shadow scowled. "We can't just leave them here, general. What else are we supposed to do?"
The sound of static and an obnoxious voice entered the room. "Die by my hand."
The door leading to the room was thrown off it's hinges and slammed against the wall, before falling backwards with a loud thud. A Zonian robot poked it's head inside, before glaring right at Shadow and Zhadow through their helmet. Candy red cyber energy flashed through the visor, causing Zhadow to narrow his eyes. That black and gold color scheme was all too familiar to him. "I haven't seen those models in years." He whispered. "Zobotnik..." He then growled before Zobotnik's voice berated them once again.
"Poor Zhadow. Still undergoing the effects of the Black Arms?"
The general darted a glower at the ceiling for it's hidden camera and microphone. "Still pounding away beer cans for that fat belly of yours?"
"Heh! Mock me while you can, Zhadow. You're still weakened by the blood, which means you're nothing but a pain in Shadow prime's side. A weak link. You'll drag him down, and then you'll both be vulnerable." Shadow glanced at Zhadow, who glanced back. They both nodded their heads before giving their attention back at the crowd of robots just itching to get inside. They wouldn't come in for some reason. Were they ordered not to in fear of damaging the missing soldiers inside the room? "I will get my hands on you, and when I do," One by one, several robots crowded behind the damaged doorway. Some of them tilted their heads at them, silently beckoning for them to come out and play. "There will be no one left to stop me."
Zhadow only scoffed. He pulled his nightstick from his belt and slammed it against the floor. A tall wall of cyber energy lifted in front of the hospital beds, shielding them from any damage that may come their way. "Keep thinking that, you idiot." He mumbled under his breath before extending the nightstick's length. "Shadow prime, those are not living creatures. They're androids made to look like my men, with a gaudy ass design to boot. Destroy them without hesitation." Meanwhile, Shadow mentally called for Maria to strengthen herself just a little, and spread that strength to him. His eyes glowed amber red, while Zhadow's glowed cyber blue. They couldn't completely tell from here, but they guessed there was a decent amount of robots outside of this room. With only one Shadow, that could be a problem. But with two and a semi-Divine Spirit by their side, the odds were stacked way more in their favor. They had this, they could do this no problem. Sparks of light blue and amber red shined from inside of the room, blinding the robots for a split second-
-Before two sonic booms resonated within the base.
Streaks of light blue and amber red drove directly through the doorway and into the group of robots, the sonic booms they created destroying more of the walls and now other surfaces of the corridor. Several robots were knocked down from this extreme collision, one in particular scrambling to get up and fight. They grasped at a nightstick on their belt, getting ready to use it for combat, until a heavy airshoe stomped onto it's metal skull and crushed it instantly. Shadow threw a few Chaos Spears into the crowd, one here, one there and-Oops. "General, get down!" Just as Zhadow was in the middle of gun whipping a robot in the face so hard that their jaw fell off, he heeded Shadow's call and ducked while tripping another droid from behind. Shadow tossed another, then another and another. Each one he threw, nailed their target and hit a robot somewhere on their body. Amber red aura glowed on his palm, before he squeezed it into a fist. "Chaos Bind!" Thick wires of amber red chaos energy spawned from each Chaos Spear he tossed, and instantly wrapped around their victim. The wires tightened so harshly, that it practically sliced the droids in several pieces. Zhadow elbowed, kicked, punched and shoved his way through, knocking down several robots. However, he didn't dispatch them. That's because he had something else planned for them.
"Marksman series, grand model two..." The nightstick transformed, shortening and becoming a much more lethal weapon. "...Revolver." This was no normal revolver however, and it's barrel was longer than normal. Dark red power glowed within it's chambers, while light blue cyber energy traveled towards the bullets inside. He twirled his new toy in his hand, before pointing and taking the safety off. He squeezed the trigger, blowing the abdomen out of one of the robots. Their internal grey viscera sprayed across the hallway's floor, before falling to their knees. Zhadow used his speed to turn and shoot in several direction in the blink of an eye, his bullseye never losing it's mark and creating a killer streak. Feeling a presence from behind, he swung a fierce kick before aiming and shooting once more. The droid that attempted to sneak attack him was blasted to the other side of the space, leaving a dent in the surface. Before Zhadow could shoot some more, he noticed something off about the robot. It was twitching. Then, it began to stand back up, despite it's chest being severely damaged from that kick and bullet. Zhadow's eyes widened with a frown. His eyes then darted to the first droid Shadow destroyed earlier, and noticed how it never got up. Their craniums, that was the key. "Really? For the love of..." He rolled his eyes and warned Shadow while aiming for the head. "Destroy their heads! They won't stay down unless you damage the skull." He blasted another shot into his current attacker's face, halting it's movements permanently.
The heads, he said? Okay, a more lethal approach then. Shadow spawned a chaotic weapon in his hand. "Chaos Lance." He then stormed forwards and swiped at a nearby robot. He decapitated it in one go, and moved on to attack the next. In a few seconds, three headless robots fell to his feet. He suddenly heard Maria mentally warn him of a presence on his right. He turned to look, only to see several more bots armed with No Zone grade firearms. Rifles to be more specific. Now that made things a little more challenging, which he appreciated. "Hmph." Child's play. He charged in like before, except he knew they'd shoot the moment he got too close. He blocked several bullets that moved at thousands of miles per hour, which was very slow for his perception. He deflected them all easily, moving faster than their motherboard brains could compute. He sliced their ammunition in halves, before becoming nothing but a streak of amber red zig zagging all around them. Slices suddenly appeared on their figures, digging deep within them and obliterating their insides. Some lost their arms, and thus lost their weapons. Some lost their legs and fell, while a couple were literally sliced in twos. Suddenly an amber red portal appeared below them all. "Chaos Portal!" They fell through, and were now lost in the trenches of space as Shadow Chaos Controlled behind the mess.
After a few more shots rang out from Zhadow's gun, he looked at the mess before them. He didn't see anymore able bodied enemies, and after doing a head count, he realized they destroyed about four dozen bots. Not even worth a tiny army, frankly. A waste of time. "As useless as those weapons were in their hands, I now see why Zouge nearly killed Zespio with just a couple shots. Those guns are stronger, almost on mine or Zonic's level." He continued to twirl his revolver around his fingers, until he caught one robot crawling towards his leg. He aimed downwards and shot it right in the left temple, causing a major internal malfunction. The droid's head exploded with smoke, before falling limp against the floor. It wasn't moving anymore. He blew the smoke off of his own gun, and glanced over at Shadow. His twin was dusting himself off, walking his way while kicking spare damaged parts out of his way. Both of their ears flicked at the sound of metal dragging against a surface, however, they didn't move or look. They kept their eyes locked with one another as robotic hands sprouted from the ceiling.
They reached for them both, and Shadow made a delayed shocked reaction. "General, move-!" He was cut off by a metal limb gripping itself around his throat. He then gave the general a nod as he was yanked down to the floor from behind.
Zhadow only smirked as he felt the same be done to him, being pulled towards the floor harshly. They could feel hacked cyber energy shock their bodies, meaning that utilizing chaos of any sort was now useless. The hands were like collars, choking them and dragging them across the floor at a speedy rate. Zhadow glanced down at his gun, before aiming backwards and squeezing the trigger. Despite the impossible angle, he managed to hit the limb dead on, causing it to loosen it's grip on his neck just a little. Zhadow then took this time to get in a better position and shoot randomly all over the corridor. Shadow raised a brow. What was he doing? All bullet holes decorated the halls, The general finally turned the gun on himself and before Shadow's eyes, shot his own hand. He didn't even flinch or make a noise of pain. Shadow nearly gasped, and Maria blinked in shock. Zobotnik, over some hidden loud speaker, gawked. "Have you lost your mind!? It's my job to kill you, not yours!" He yelled, while Zhadow only chuckled. He then saw that his hand now had a very evident hole in it, bleeding profusely. He then squeezed it, allowing more droplets of blood to ooze a path as they were pulled. The robot limb revitalized it's components, and tightened it's hold around Zhadow's neck once more.
He winced in pain, but continued to sneer and snicker. "You are so screwed."
The two striped hedgehogs were dragged away within the depths of the labyrinth, Zhadow's blood smearing the floor along the way.
1:35 PM
It was a long time, a very long waft of silence before the hero spoke up again.
"...Look, don't be weird about it." Sonic curtly said. "I'm sorry. Like I said, everybody's got their own problems, some worse than others. Yours is...bad. Really bad." He sighed heavily. "I ain't excusin' you for your bullshit, I just understand. Well, as much as I can without actually being put in that situation, obviously. But if you really want me to be the hero you want me to be," He could feel Zonic's head raise at that. "Then you gotta cut us both some slack. Everybody makes mistakes, man. Doesn't make us evil. I didn't realize what I was doing when I summoned Fleetway, I didn't know what I would do. I didn't know the damage I would cause, I didn't even know I could do that at all. The second time, I was desperate. I didn't wanna die, I didn't wanna lose Shadow again. I know you would have did the same if you were in my shoes."
Zonic relayed this information, and slowly nodded. "...You're right. I would have."
"Then you gotta stop thinking like a damn algorithm. Things ain't always black and white. That's why I think with my gut, why I go with my instincts. Because if you're true to yourself," He told him with great conviction. "Then you'll never steer yourself wrong."
A light, gentle chuckle emanated from Zonic. "Ever the idealist..." He mumbled with a small smile. "Very well, Sonic prime. I forgive your past discretions, and I'll try your way. With that being said," He smirked. "I take it that you forgive me now, too?"
Sonic pursed his lips. "Alright, don't push it, Napoleon."
They suddenly heard panting. Their eyes raised up to the hidden loudspeakers. Was that Zobotnik? The hell was he panting for? They could hear shuffling too, as if he was attempting to properly get in his seat. Not good, the blue soldier knew what would happen next. They weren't sitting here to look pretty before experimentation, they were sitting here because Zobotnik needed something from them. Before the Zoverlander got situated, Zonic scowled and narrowed his eyes. He lowered his voice and leaned his head backwards a little. "Sonic prime," He whispered. "I've done my fair share of interrogations to know when someone's about to be questioned. Zobotnik doesn't just want to experiment on us, he needs answers. More than likely answers to help him figure out our anatomy, and use us to the fullest extent when he attempts to mind control us. Do not answer anything he asks of you without caution, do you understand?" Silently, Sonic only nodded with an uneasy expression. "Our shoulders are touching, so I'll nude you twice for yes, and once for no. Do not let him get under your skin, and do not let him manipulate you. Zobotnik is a monster, he will ruin you with words alone if you are not careful."
"Got it." Sonic whispered back, taking his orders without any push back. Zonic noticed this and almost smiled. Progress.
"Oof...oh boy..." They heard the man wheeze before seemingly settling down. "Alright, where were we...?" He mumbled, and they could hear papers being shuffled and buttons being pushed. The one lamp in the room suddenly lowered, causing their pupils to shrink a bit and look away with a hiss. "Ah yes, the answers I require from you. Private-Oops, I did it again. First Lieutenant General Zonic? You awake?" The blue soldier just turned up his nose and closed his eyes. "You're a policeman, aren't you? Then you know what I want, and you'll give it to me if you know what's good for you. After all," He chuckled darkly. "I've got your precious partners in my custody." Both hedgehogs growled at that, but said nothing. "So Zonic, I'll start with you since you're the so-called 'Overseer' of Chaos Born. I'll ask you a series of questions, and I'll need you to answer with sincere honesty. If you don't and lie to me," They both winced at the binds around them glowing candy red, stinging their bodies. "You'll both be contaminated with a lethal dose of Cyber Corruption. A slow and painful death that I can easily wait out until you answer properly. Do you understand?"
Zonic scoffed. "I answer to one man: my fiancé and superior. Keep your questions to yourself, you glorified mouth breather."
Zobotnik only sighed in return. "Are you really going to be noncooperative now of all times? Really Zonic, you need to grow up."
"..." Nope, no answer here.
Zobotnik just sucked his teeth. "Something tells me that your stubbornness will risk both your own and Sonic prime's safety, all for the sake of idiotic loyalty. You're so in love with Zhadow, that you'll endanger both of your lives. You'd think after what he did to you, your blind infatuation would eventually die out. Hmph," He sighed. "No matter. Then I'll just move my attention to your counterpart."
Sonic stiffened with a scowl. "Fuck off, you great value Egghead."
"Pfft!" Zobotnik laughed. "I am far above your world's pathetic version of the Zobotnik name. He was so pathetic that this rookie over here," Crassly referring to Zonic who still wouldn't give him his attention. "Got him arrested in less than ten minutes, nearly an academy record for fastest interdimensional incarceration. Me? I'd die before anyone dared lay a hand on me. But let's not think of such misfortunate impossibilities. Instead," They could hear him audibly sneer. "Let's focus on you, Sonic prime." He continued to chuckle at Sonic's glowering. "You're Chaos Born, yes? You may not know as much as Zonic, but you'll have to do. Now tell me, how long has your race reigned for? I need to know just how far you've come as a species, and theorize how many times your people may have evolved."
Sonic didn't feel a nudge, as this wasn't a yes or no question. He'd have to answer on his own. "Look," The hero began. "Like you just said, I dunno about any of that crap. I don't know about our biology, our history, our lineage, none of that. Hell, I just met Zonic weeks ago and we barely know each other. And with the bullshit you keep hittin' his workplace with, he hasn't had the time to tell me much. You probably know more than I do at this point."
"Hmph. Is that the truth?"
"Yeah, it is." Sonic retorted confidently. Their binds didn't tighten, he was indeed telling the truth.
This made Zobotnik change tactics. "Okay," He began before taking a minute to ask his next question. "What are you?"
Sonic blinked, but felt no nudge from Zonic. "I..." Sonic frowned and looked downwards. "I don't know. I have no idea what I am." His voice was laced with sadness and some shame. "I thought I was just a hedgehog. Then I'm being told I'm part of some race of multidimensional deities who like messin' with their own kin. Can't give you an answer I don't know myself."
"Bah." Zobotnik didn't like this, the binds still weren't tightening. His ambiguous unsure perspective was entirely sincere, he truly didn't know. "Fine. Do you have relations with your reality's Shadow?"
Relations? That was a smarmy way of saying relationship. He felt Zonic finally nudge him twice. He could be honest. "Yeah," Sonic replied gradually. "What of it?"
"And are you aware of how to procreate with a Black Arms hybrid?"
"What...!?" Sonic made a disgusted expression. He felt Zonic nudge him once, but it didn't matter. Even if he knew the answer to that question, he'd die before answering it. "Hell no! And I wouldn't tell you anyway, I ain't tellin' that to some weirdo quack. Gross." The binds still weren't tightening. He was still being truthful despite his curtness.
Zobotnik made an annoyed grunt. They weren't getting anywhere like this. "What about Zonic? Are you loyal to him as your Overseer?"
The hero felt Zonic nudge him...three times. The hell did three times mean? Sonic hesitated, feeling the binds around them tighten a little. He was taking too long to answer. He cleared his throat and spoke. He got it, he knew what he wanted him to say. "Maybe," He said casually. "He scratches my ass, I scratch his. Depends on the situation, and vice versa. We ain't buddies, if that's what you're wondering." That answer was neither a yes or a no, yet there was still truth to it. Technically, Sonic wasn't lying. Sonic then smirked. "What? I answered, didn't I?"
Zobotnik growled at this evasive tactic. "You little...!" He slammed his fist against the desk, or at least that's what they assumed from the noise, and demanded more answers. "You think you're smart? Dodging my questions like this? Think again! Zonic," He pressed a button, and suddenly, the binds tightened harder than ever before. It took their breaths away from them both, causing them to gasp strongly and cry out. Any harder, and their ribs would be crushed, or their arms would be broken. Either way, they'd be mortally wounded. "Tell me what I want now, or I will kill you both right here and now!"
"Ha!" Zonic laughed through it all. "Let it never be said that I believe a word you say. You can't kill us, Zobotnik, you need us!" He sneered as he winced in pain. "Without me, you'll know nothing about Chaos Born and the entire truth will die with me! And besides," He added ominously. "You already know that I'm merely a pawn. Another Overseer will be born into this world and you'll stop nothing. That is, unless the spirits appear and kill you first for your insolence."
"Oh?" Zobotnik leered. "Then why haven't they appeared now in your time of distress? I can easily kill you two and keep Zhadow and Shadow prime for myself instead. Meanwhile, it seems your beloved gods have forsaken you, private. Waste away for all I care!"
Sonic felt he had to say something. "Okay," He grunted with pain. "I kinda gotta agree with that douche on this one. If they don't want anybody stoppin' us, why won't they help us?" Hell, where were they before all this? "Why weren't they around when I needed help beating a big bad? Why didn't they show up when Shadow needed help? Doesn't make sense-Ngh..." He clenched his eyes shut to try and ignore it. "A-Anymore than this and we're both gonna die, y'know!"
"Gghh..." Zonic had to agree. "I-I'm inclined to concur, so I have a better idea...Sonic prime, do you trust me?"
"W-What? Why are you asking that now?"
"Do you trust me!?" Zonic yelled.
"...!" Sonic blinked at his sudden shout. "Y-Yeah whatever, why?"
"And can I trust you?"
"I guess? What are you-"
Zonic cut him off hurriedly. "Then I'm going to trust you with something very, very important. I am going to-Ngh...!" They could feel their bones popping, and even their quills were starting to stab each other. "T-To give you something that only one other person in this world has the permission to do."
Zobotnik had enough of this panicked talking. "What the hell are you two up to?"
"There's no time, Sonic prime." Zonic sucked in a breath before initiating something he hadn't triggered in many years. A series of sentences that worked as not just a code, but something so much more dangerous. "I, First Lieutenant General Zonic the Hedgehog, badge number 077729, give you, Sonic the Hedgehog prime 2.0, exclusive permission to activate my Primal Mode."
Fear instantly set into Zobotnik's voice. "W-What!?" Panicked shuffling scraped against the speakers, as if Zobotnik immediately stood up. "No!" He yelled fearfully. "No, don't you dare! Don't listen to him! He's crazy, he's spouting nonsense!"
What the hell was going on?
Sonic blinked several times. "Zonic, what are you-"
"Quickly!" Zonic shouted as the binds got even tighter, indenting into his uniform and in their furs. "Repeat after me, and don't stutter! Don't hesitate, don't improvise, don't say anything else at this moment in time. You can't screw this up! Do not say it until I finish, or else the hypnosis will be ruined." Hypnosis? What the hell was he talking about now?
For a brief moment, time slowed.
Zonic took in a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. This was risky, but they didn't have a choice. They had to do something. "'Zonic, activate Primal Mode: Mad Dog.'"
"Don't! Don't listen to him!" Zobotnik scrambled, pressing a button to immediately let Sonic go, but not Zonic. The hero inhaled strongly as he fell off of the metal chair. He tumbled onto his knees, barely able to keep himself off of the floor. He panted heavily, grasping at his chest and taking a second to breathe. "L-Look," Zobotnik stammered nervously. "I'll let you go. You can go free, do whatever you want. But do not repeat that sentence!" Sonic noticed something odd. If he didn't want him to say it, why didn't he just shoot him dead to mute him forever? Hell, why not shoot Zonic to stop him, too? The door to their prison suddenly opened slowly, giving Sonic plenty of opportunity to just turn and run off to find Shadow. "You hate him anyway, don't you? I've seen you two bicker, you despise each other. So just leave him be!" He could just leave Zonic here, and go about his business without anyone else stopping him. No more arguing, no more barking of orders, no more bickering, no more tragic backstories. He could just...go. "I can't let you escape, but I'll at least let you go for now. Just go and don't look back!" As he finally began to breathe normally, Sonic slowly stood up and stared down at Zonic, who was struggling to maintain his consciousness.
"S-Sonic prime..." Zonic rasped as he could feel himself losing all of his oxygen. He couldn't even speak in full sentences anymore. "I-If...you wish to escape...the thing from my pocket...there's...Ngh-" He winced. "-A warp ring inside...if you make enough damage, you should be able to use it without...the hacked energy interfering..." If those binds squeezed any harder, he'd contact Cyber Corruption and die from being crushed to death. "I won't blame you if you...if you leave now..." Even his eyes were turning red, he was losing oxygen. Zonic told him to grab it for the worst case scenario—this one, because he'd rather Sonic survive than he did. He'd rather see him make it out than have them both perish. Even now, he looked out for him.
Everything was protected by hacked cyber energy, and Sonic had no idea where Shadow was. He needed Zonic to keep going, whether he liked it or not.
Besides, he was a hero.
He wouldn't have left him anyway.
Sonic just smirked at the ceiling, before taking a deep breath...
"No!"
...and saying-
"NO!"
67 - END - 67
Notes:
Cameos of characters who appeared in this chapter unnamed:
Female Sheep: No Zone's version of Lanolin the Sheep. (IDW)
Male Opossum: No Zone's version of Clutch the Opossum. (IDW)
Male Lion: No Zone's version of Smithy the Lion. (IDW)
Male Quokka: No Zone's version of Barry the Quokka. (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog)
Male Orangutan: No Zone's version of Chief Mechanic. (IDW)
Female Wolf: No Zone's version of Whisper the Wolf. (IDW)
Male Octopus: No Zone's version of Mimic the Octopus. (IDW) I know someone had a theory that the traitor was this character. Sorry, but that's incorrect! I don't plan on making anyone from the IDW comics relevant characters in this story.
Female Echidna: No Zone's version of Julie-Su the Echidna. (Archie Comics)
Female Chinchilla: No Zone's version of Thunderbolt the Chinchilla. (Archie Comics)
Chapter 68: Concave
Summary:
Sonic and Shadow witness and learn what Primal Mode is.
Chapter Text
68 - Concave - 68
1:45 PM
"Zonic," Sonic proudly announced. "Activate Primal Mode: Mad Dog."
"...!"
Everything stopped for Zonic.
His breathing, his heartbeat, his brain waves, his blood cells, his nerves, everything.
His pupils became slits.
Zobotnik's voice became so terrified, that it shook through the speakers. "What have you done...?" He whispered. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" He screamed.
Sonic had no idea why the Zoverlander was so scared all of a sudden, but he didn't mind at all. What he did mind however, was not knowing what was happening. What was that command? Why did Zonic ask if he could trust him? And why did he look as if time stopped? Sonic frowned and took a single step back. He smelled a new scent: Danger and hostility. Oh no, what the hell was that about it? Where was it coming from? That's when his eyes widened as he glanced back at Zonic, who was eerily still. He wasn't writhing, wasn't in pain, not moving a single inch. He wasn't even breathing anymore. He was completely frozen. Shit, what did he do? Did he screw it up? And that's when he realized that this smell, this smell of great hazard and animalistic rage...was coming from Zonic. "Shit," Sonic whispered. "Shit, shit shit..." He took a few more steps back, because for some reason, he felt a horrible abundance of fear. Sonic faced some of the scariest foes ever witnessed, and yet he felt scared and he didn't even know why. "W-What the fuck...?"
Then, chuckling.
Laughing.
Cackling.
Mad, near delirious cackling.
The fur on Zonic's body became rough, the binds bending so much that the cyber energy surrounding it was cracking. His quills sharpened so much that the slightest touch could shred an entire pile of copy paper. He was growling through his laughter, his teeth growing sharper, beyond feral. His ears became just a little rounder, resembling that of a natural predator's. Before Sonic's eyes, he began to stand from the chair, snapping the binds that covered his legs first. Candy red cyber energy faded away into the either, and the binds returned to being normal rope. Now fully standing, Zonic's gloves began to wear down. Soon, they were sliced to bits, revealing his bare peach hands and actual claws. With a loud and terrifying snap, the binds on his body tore asunder, falling onto the floor with energy dissolving away instantly. A bushier blue tail wagged furiously. "Sonic prime," His voice was waaaaay more intimidating and rougher than usual, Sonic noted. "I thank you for your cooperation. You're right," Zonic snarled as he slammed his hands onto the floor, leaving imprints in the metal as he gripped it and tore his nails through it. Now on all fours, the blue soldier licked his tongue over his sharper canines. "I need to think less with my head, and more with my body. My true instincts."
An interference with the microphone echoed in the loud speaker as a loud siren blared into the room, along with fading quick footsteps.
Did Zobotnik leave?
Did he just leave his prisoners alone?
And...Did Zonic just break out of hacked cyber energized binds with his strength alone...!?
Holographic lights of candy red appeared all around them. They digitized into physical Zobotnik issued No Zone Corps droids, all armed with weapons. Sonic almost fell over, because there were so many in the room that it was completely crowded. They were pushing and leaning against him, there was no room in here anymore! Was Zobotnik trying to crush them with their numbers alone? Sonic grunted as he tried shoving a few away so he could breathe, and he could no longer see Zonic anymore. Where did he go? Where was he? Why-
"Now, let me show you why they call me..."
Sonic's ear perked up as he tried to turn around.
"...The Mad Dog of No Zone!"
And just like that-
-He saw multiple heads of robots fly in the air.
Not just heads.
Bodies, arms, legs, faces, computer chips. Hell, he even saw a few eyes being ripped from faces. They all scattered around, something beyond Zonian standards ripping and tearing through the horde of robots like a sweeping guillotine. Was Zonic spindashing? Sonic watched in both shock and fear, because whatever it was that was doing this was coming in his direction and he honestly was too caught off guard to move. He felt some of the weight of the other robots lessen, and he could finally kick some away from him. They weren't even trying to attack him or aim their weapons at him. They were too preoccupied with their current target, the one brutally massacring them all. He heard exasperated grunting, a highly exasperated voice he knew all too well with a tone straight out of the angriest fires of hell. "Out of my fucking way, I don't have time for this. Move it!" Sonic even winced with every thud and crunch he heard. "I. Said. Move!" A robot's lifeless body was suddenly thrown into the ceiling so hard, that it left a visible hole. "I'll crush you all—Move or die!" Something splattered on Sonic's face, making him flinch considerably. He slowly looked down and touched his hand to his muzzle. He then looked at his hand, and saw a strange liquid. The hell? It wasn't oil, it was something else. It looked like mercury or something similar.
Before he could examine it any further, he yelped at the whoosh of several droid bodies being flailed beside him. If he was just a few inches over, he would have been pummeled. All he saw was a sea of robotic bodies, their heads absolutely mangled beyond reason or recognition. If these were real people, Sonic would have barfed his entire organ system out of his body minutes ago. A powerful impact slammed into the ground, causing a visible tremble to wave throughout the entire room. Sonic almost lost his footing, before witnessing a hopelessly, ridiculously ludicrous sight: Zonic was in the air, gnawing on the torn head of a droid with his teeth, with two wrangled in his arms at the same time. His dark green eyes had the pupils of a rampaging lion, his grip so tight on the robots in his hold that their bodies imploded on themselves. Zonic spat out the head before tossing the bodies down onto the floor like useless dolls. He landed with a heavy stomp, before rushing for yet another helpless nonliving victim. The robot tried aiming and shooting their weapon, a handgun, but the bullets practically bounced right off of his hardened quills and ricocheted into the walls. Zonic ran on all fours, mimicking the guttural noises of a drooling rottweiler. He tackled it down before doing the same to many others, collecting them all one by one before running along the walls.
He abruptly made a sonic boom, slamming through the ceiling with all of the robots he collected, disappearing in yet another hole. Sonic's eyes darted back and forth upwards as he tried to anticipate where Zonic was. He heard a lot of banging, violent battle cries and frustrated snarls. More of that mercury looking liquid dripped down from the larger hole, and he witnessed it vibrate. That wasn't good. Sonic knew exactly what that meant, and immediately moved to run out of the room. The moment he got out, the small clang of a small piece of precious metal rolled out into the hallway and hit his foot. A silver engagement band tilted and fell onto the floor. Sonic picked it up, noticing it was Zonic's ring. He then slowly turned around, and witnessed a large pile of disemboweled robotic bodies collapse through the whole metallic ceiling. It caved in on the entire area, crushing and flattening any remaining robots that were doomed inside that room. It was completely destroyed, and nobody would be able to get inside of it ever again. Taking a few steps backwards, he heard the sound of more denting metal. He looked up and saw a peach clawed fist punch it's way through the ceiling of the hallway, creating yet another hole.
Finally, Zonic dropped down and landed on his feet before Sonic.
He spat out a few shards of metal from his mouth, before using the back of his torn up uniform sleeve to wipe it.
...
...
...
...Woah.
Just...woah.
Zonic punched his fist into his palm, before cracking his knuckles and whipping his gaze at Sonic. "Let's go."
"Wha..."
Sonic was...freakin' aghast.
"W-Wha..."
Aghast.
"W-What the fuuuuuck!?"
"Keep your voice down, my ears are sensitive like this!" Zonic growled back.
"D-Don't you yell at me!" Sonic tried to snap back, but was still obviously intimidated. He pointed at Zonic and demanded a God damned explanation! "What happened!? What did you make me do, and why do you look like a toned down version of my werehog form!?"
Zonic only rolled his feral eyes and sighed, his voice notably much rougher. "First off," He began roughly. "This is no where near close to your werehog form. I'm still the same size with the same amount of musculature, my fur color didn't change, my clothes didn't change, I do not possess any power of Dark Gaia, and I can't stretch my limbs like a wad of gum." He squinted at Sonic, making him flinch again. "Second, this is what's known as a form of Primal Mode."
Sonic mentally bonked himself in the head—That's the term he kept hearing from Zhadow, Zector and Zonic since they arrived. "Oh yeah. Wait, so this is Primal Mode?" He gawked at the damage he did that room. "It does that!?"
Zonic nodded once. "Primal Mode is a form of hypnosis that is performed on only high ranking No Zone soldiers. It forces the user to awaken their feral animal instincts, allowing them to take on some traits that are exclusive to normal predatory animals. As you already know, we are biologically mutated forms of our animal ancestors, and we took on more human-like qualities to our bodies. However," He said strongly, noticing that this completely sucked in Sonic's attention. "All Zonians—Or rather, all versions of Mobians, still have a significant amount of primitive animal instincts concealed in the back of our brains. These instincts are hidden, severely latent due to thousands of years of living more sophisticated and domesticated. Primal Mode unlocks these restrictions, and frees this portion of our minds. It grants us heightened strength, speed, and other qualities we otherwise wouldn't have as a regular Zonian. For example, Zhadow and I have a harder time spindashing like you and Shadow prime do. But like this-" He instantly became a whirling ball of sharp blue spikes, immediately slicing through the entire corridor. He landed swiftly, while a straight line cut through every wall Sonic could see within a ten foot radius. "-I can do what's natural as a hedgehog and spindash whenever I like. Not only that, but bullets are useless if they're aimed at my head, because my quills are denser and sharper. My strength and speed is increased, my skin is thicker and harder to pierce, and my stamina is revitalized and nearly bottomless. I can't feel pain since certain parts of my nerves are numbed, I can regenerate most wounds, and I can't feel fear because portions of my brain are now being told to ignore this emotion."
"And," Sonic carefully added as he stared up at the hole. "That's why you kept making holes...?"
"Well that was more collateral damage, but yes." Zonic shrugged. "Hedgehogs burrow in the ground, do we not?"
"O-Okay," Sonic made a nervous smile. "And can I ask why you crashed the hell out just now?"
That internet lingo was painful to hear. "I told you, weapons are a mercy. Bare handed combat from any No Zone soldier is a death wish."
The hero then made an unsure frown. He could get why Zobotnik was intimidated by his twin like this, but so what? Why not kill them before it was too late? "I don't get it," He said. "Zobotnik's obviously scared of you like this. Why didn't he just shoot us both?"
A cruel expression darkened on Zonic's face. "Let me make something very clear." He started off with a dark tone. "While the practice of Primal Mode hypnotism was common about a decade ago, it stopped the moment Zobotnik escaped because he's the one who invented the procedure. There are no more soldiers of my generation besides myself, Zector and Zespio, who completed the psychiatric session and passed the physical cyber simulation trial." He outstretched his fingers, his clawed nails glinting in the dim corridor's light. "The psychiatric sessions last a week to deem soldiers with a strong mind worthy for the hypnosis. The physical training is...deadly. Lasts for twenty four hours of a brutal war simulation. If at anytime a soldier falls unconscious during training before the simulation is successfully completed, they are deemed unworthy for the procedure and are not allowed to attempt it again. I was the last to finish, and the last eligible soldier to be hypnotized. It was quick, took about an hour. However," Zonic trailed off with an ominous stare. "Neither Zobotnik, nor my superior ever saw results like mine before. After I was hypnotized, they escorted me to a Cyber Chamber to test out the code words. Thing is, the effects of the hypnosis worked well. Too well. I couldn't control myself, I went ballistic." He looked elsewhere. "I caused so much destruction, that the Cyber Chamber they took me to, the one on the fifteenth floor, is still inoperable to this very day. Mind you, this was four years ago. The engineering team is still attempting to repair it. I was the best result of the hypnotism he had ever had besides Zhadow, so Zobotnik was elated. My general, not so much. He was incredibly concerned for me. I jumped at the opportunity to get hypnotized, because it would mean I 'made it' as one of the best soldiers in No Zone. I didn't give Zobotnik permission to use my code, but it didn't matter. The damage was done. Zhadow didn't like this. Didn't like how much I wanted the procedure, and even more disliked the idea of me being useful to Zobotnik. Zobotnik hated me, but he still had my loyalty, and wished to use me either way when the time came to utilize his most deadliest soldiers." Zonic sighed. "I didn't realize how right Zhadow's concerns were at the time. I knew Zobotnik was shady, but I didn't care. Just wanted to get stronger."
Gradually, Sonic realized that Zonic was very lowly growling under breath with every word almost involuntarily or unconsciously.
"And I got stronger alright. So strong that both he and my superior had trouble taming me. I was the most difficult soldier to mend, as even Zhadow had an easier time getting himself under control in Primal Mode than I did. I had too much anger, apparently. It took a couple months along with extensive sessions with Counselor Zouge to reign me in, but I finally mastered it with full control and autonomy." Zonic made an almost disappointed pout, which was a bit alarming. "Due to how dangerous my initiation was, Zobotnik was disappointed to announce that he would never, ever, utilize my code unless absolutely necessary." Was he seriously bummed out about not being able to use this form more often? God, this guy was the epitome of a try-hard. "Normally, soldiers with Primal Mode grow stronger and more volatile with certain key emotions, such as fury, pride or even bloodlust. However, I was different. Any little thing caused me to lash out violently in that form, including unstable emotions. So," Zonic finally concluded. "If Zobotnik had harmed you more than he already had, for example, by shooting you point blank in the head," He made a threatening hiss of a snarl. "Primal Mode would have caused me to go berserk, to the point of gruesome self destruction. I would have lost my mind and went after Zobotnik at all cost. He knew that, which was why he didn't shoot you, only told you to leave. On the other hand, if he had shot me dead, well," He made a devious chuckle. "What happened in that room, would have happened with Zhadow if he found out about my death. Possibly a thousand times worse. And while I do not fear my fiancé, I'd never in a million years wish to fight him in that state. Not even if we were both in Primal Mode. Zobotnik would rather disembowel himself before ever facing Zhadow head on in that form."
Well that was definitely true, as Zobotnik almost literally shat bricks on the very mention of Zonic's Primal Mode. He could only imagine how terrified he'd be of Zhadow's Primal Mode. "Huh..." Was all Sonic could say to that. The soldiers of No Zone were all try-hards to be honest. He already understood that by default, they were all biologically weaker than most other versions of Mobians in the multiverse, but Chaos did they overcompensate for this. No wonder they never had any major trouble from any other reality, everyone else was probably too scared to try anything. The only adversary on their radar was one of their own former generals, and that said a lot. As for this Primal Mode business, Zobotnik clearly didn't think Zonic would ever trust anyone besides Zhadow to utilize the code, especially not Sonic after their constant arguing today.
He miscalculated again.
Trusting the hero was a big move on Zonic's part, he couldn't ignore that. "So," Sonic's voice suddenly became a little meek. "He didn't hurt me because you would have went ape shit, because you..." He frowned as he avoided Zonic's gaze, a small tint of red coloring his cheeks. "...actually care about me?"
This made Zonic's expression become soft. "To that, I answer with a question of my own: I saw Shadow prime hold you back from getting yourself involved in my fight with General Zhadow. Were you truly going to try and fight off my superior for me? Because you actually care about me?" He asked with a small, knowing smile.
That's when Sonic clammed up instantly with an alarmed expression. "...! I-I just-" He crossed his arms with a panicked pout. "I dunno! I just didn't like that he was dragging you around and makin' you bleed and...Whatever." He scowled with embarrassment. "Shut your mouth already."
Zonic only closed his eyes with a more obvious, light hearted smile. "You don't have to say it."
"Tch." Sonic continued to grumble, refusing to even consider the idea of actually liking Zonic...Even though it was getting much harder to do so. "Here," He handed him his engagement ring without looking, even though he knew Zonic was still smiling about it. He quietly thanked Sonic and placed it back on his finger. "Okay," The hero adamantly changed the subject. "And why do I have robot blood on my face...?"
Zonic blinked as he noticed the silver looking stains on his twin's face. "Robot blood...?" He took his clawed finger and carefully swiped Sonic's muzzle. He looked at the pad of his index digit and frowned. He sniffed a few times before lifting his head curiously. "That smell..." He sucked his teeth and placed his hands on his hips. "Yup. He created those robots using the Phantom Ruby."
Sonic's eyes dilated. "What?"
"Mmhm," Zonic hesitantly confirmed. "The Phantom Ruby has a tropical scent. Usually it smells like a beach, Christmas Island being a good example. And while I do smell sea water in this liquid," He frowned. "Something's off...It's almost like the ruby's been changed or modified. It doesn't smell the same, it has a different kind of scent. Regardless," He continued. "I'm afraid of what this means. Zobotnik couldn't have the ruby if it's installed into Infinite prime's chest, as removing it would kill him. My superior did surmise that he influenced him, and I got reports from other Sonic templates on the Divine Pyramid that the bastard left strange gems in every realm he visited. In summation-"
"That son of a bitch has another version of the ruby, and used that to make these things?" Sonic finished with an unbelievable tone.
Zonic nodded again. "Not just another version, but multiple. While this is just a theory, I'm afraid that has to be the most probable answer. I don't know how or why, but Infinite somehow made copies and scattered other rubies across the multiverse. That would explain the sudden spawn of other gems that share its appearance. Zobotnik must have one, because that would explain this smell and his extreme amount of robotic prowess despite being alone, and without funding. He isn't like your Robotnik, who didn't need funding or help of any kind to create his robot armies. Zobotnik's more pathetic than that, and was desperate enough to ask that jackal for assistance to create his own little army of toy soldiers." He scowled. "Bastards...Both of them. They're causing severe damage to my world and the multiverse, and they're getting away with it. Well," He flashed his fangs ferociously. "Not for much longer. Sonic prime," He glanced back at his twin with a high level of...respect? Color Sonic surprised. "I thank you for trusting me, as that could have went very bad, very quickly. Screwing up the code words can cause horrible psychological damage to the brain. You followed my instructions flawlessly, and now I can help you and my general even more. Stronger than ever."
Sonic didn't expect the sudden praise. "U-Uhh, yeah. Sure, no problem. How long does that primal thingy last?"
"I can remain in this state until you, or someone else who has permission to use the code words, tell me otherwise. I cannot put myself in or out of this state on my own. Someone else has to activate, and deactivate it. In theory," He continued as Sonic listened curiously. "I'm almost invincible like this. Although," Zonic made a difficult expression. "It can begin to place extreme stress on my body. I'd say maybe...two hours. That's as long as I can go before I begin to feel faint."
The blue hero grinned. "Two hours, huh? That's plenty. We'll find your hubby and Shads in no time. You got the map in your nightstick, right?"
The first lieutenant general placed his hand on his belt. "Indeed. Using my baton will be useless at this point, as I might accidentally destroy it." He pulled it out and tossed it to Sonic. "You may hold onto it for now and update it. The more we destroy this base, the less encryption the hacked cyber energy has on it, revealing more information to us-" That's when Zonic paused and blinked several times. He sniffed several times and made a fierce expression. "My general...He smoked recently. Cigarettes, ashes, I can smell it..." Sonic saw his tail whip back and forth in anticipation, his body getting down on all fours once more. "No, it's more than that...copper...metallic...!" He growled angrily. "Blood!" He snarled as he charged forward down the hall, leaving Sonic in metaphorical dust. "My general planned this. He wanted us to track them down. Read the map and try to keep up, we don't have all day!" He yelled. Sonic was dumbfounded by his sudden speed, and took little time in rushing off to catch up with his twin.
Ah geez, how the hell do you use one of these confounded things? Sonic made a difficult expression and he tried to mimic what Zonic did to activate the holographic map. He twisted the end a few times as he continued to run behind Zonic, and was relieved when he saw it glow bright light blue. A holographic map did indeed appear as intended, and he saw that his twin was right: He did so much damage just now, that the map was even bigger and more detailed. He could see where they were, but-"...?" He saw that there was another end of the map that had a lot of info, too. Odd, he was sure they never got over to that part of the base. Unless-"That's where they are!" Sonic exclaimed. Only Shadow and Zhadow would be tough enough to make this much damage, feeding them more info. They had to have been at that spot recently. "They must have busted out themselves and made a mess. They must have did that on purpose to help us find them!" That's when the smell of fake tobacco drifted to his nose as well. Yes, he could smell cigarettes, too. He didn't smell blood, though. Was Zonic's nose more sensitive than his? Questions for later. "Damn," Sonic mumbled. "If we hadn't got captured by Zobotnik, we could have reunited with them. We were so close."
"No matter," Zonic growled back. "The past is the past. My superior always thinks ten steps ahead. He planned something, I'm sure of it." He then jumped and ran along the side of the wall. "According to my nose, the scent is upwards. What does the map say?"
"Your nose is right, there's a path above us. Several floors above, actually. Zobotnik really took us for a trip when he captured us. That path is where the hologram starts to fail, I'm guessin' 'cause there isn't any information on that portion of the base yet-" He felt Zonic seize his hand from above, making him almost trip. "W-What are you-?!"
"Then that's where we go. Like I told you," Zonic smirked. "Try to keep up."
"W-Wait, wait wait-!"
Zonic yanked Sonic to his side, before forcing them both in a spindash. If they could have just did this before, Sonic would have already tried, but he never attempted it since neither he or Zonic knew where to go.
Now that they did, it was go-time.
"H-How the hell are you doing this!?" Sonic yelled as they propelled themselves through the ceiling, creating one final hole.
1:45 PM
After they were dragged into an unknown room by those robotic limbs, the two striped hedgehogs were let go and tossed onto the floor.
This area was pretty big, big enough to hold a substantial amount of storage. The room had better lighting than the rest of the maze, but the floor was tiled like the laboratory rooms. Ahead was a much higher platform, one with near pitch black lighting. The only illumination up there were from digital screens of several monitors. Tilting his head, Shadow could see a glare. There was glass protecting this platform, and behind it was what seemed to be some kind of work station. A desk, perhaps? That would explain the monitors. He looked around the room some more, noticing metal tables of cleaned and unused surgical tools. Shadow's eyes widened, and he could feel Maria grow incredibly uncomfortable. They both knew what this was, yet another surgical room with an observation deck. This was where Zobotnik was going to operate on them, and must have needed to get the room prepared before taking them here. That was probably why he didn't immediately put them both in here when they first got captured. Still, that was odd. Did he not plan all this? That's when he felt Maria tap him on the shoulder. She then pointed after she got his attention, at the hulking mess behind them. Shadow turned around, and slowly glanced up at the huge pile of robotic rubble pushed into the corner of the room. He recognized it too—It wasn't a pile of several robots, it was a pile of old pieces from one giant robot. The robot from the square that almost destroyed the cat cafe, it was here. But how? And why didn't it look damaged? Shadow created a Chaos Portal, that thing should be lightyears away by now.
Meanwhile, once Zhadow was let go, he smirked and instantly got up on his feet. He spread out his still bleeding hand and slapped his palm onto the wall. He ran and smeared blood all across the surface like a paintbrush, coating the wall with his plasma. When he felt less moisture from the hole in his hand, he paused and looked down with a frown. Damn, already? "Damn regenerative abilities." He sighed and shrugged as the hole began to close up due to his biology. Unlike earlier with his fight with Zonic, his abilities were no longer hindered by ingesting cosmic blood. The effects wore off, so he could heal normally again. "Oh well, it did what it needed to do. Only a matter of time, now."
Shadow slowly stood up and eyed his twin suspiciously. What was he going on about now? "Time for what?"
Through static, they looked up and saw small little speakers in the ceiling. Huh, they could actually see these. They heard panting and panicked grunting. They glanced at the observation deck, and saw the lights flicker on. There in all his glory, as ugly and wrinkly as Zhadow remembered, was former Warden Zobotnik, sprinting to the large elongated desk. His hands slammed themselves on the edge, using it as leverage as he hunched over while panting. He pushed up his square glasses and proceeded to carefully walk around the desk to a complicated looking dashboard, a few holographic monitors floating above it. He tapped some keys, and proceeded to pull out a small napkin from his chest pocket. He dabbed his face from terrified sweat, before clearing his throat several times to try and get his confidence back.
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "The hell's his problem?"
Zhadow only continued to smirk. "..."
Zobotnik stepped forward in front of the glass and reached his hand up to his collar. He pressed his fingers in the fabric, and began to speak. "Alright," He said, still a little out of breath. "No more games. I'm done." He declared with a ragged glower. "I'm going to take you two apart, piece by piece, until I get the results I want." He reached to his right, his hand hovering over the far end of the dashboard. Zhadow instinctively stood in front of Shadow, and a light blue holographic shield surrounded the ultimate life form. Shadow blinked at this, not expecting the general to protect him like that.
Zhadow then gave Zobotnik a calculated glare. "I'm warning you, Zobotnik. If you pluck even a single hair from my fur, I'm not the one who's going to make you regret it." Both striped hedgehogs witnessed the fat man from above flinch with a growl. "You know me, but you don't know him. You don't know how far his anger goes. How much he's had to put up with, how long he's waited for the chance to go all out. And the best part?" Zhadow chuckled. "You made him this way."
"You betrayed your fiancé, not me!" Zobotnik yelled.
"And who put me up to it, little one?"
"...! Damn you, Zhadow!" Zobotnik slammed his fist onto the dashboard again. "Fine. I'm on the clock, but no matter. A small cut to the head takes seconds. After that, all I'll have to do next is inject you with a serum that'll put you to sleep." Several upon several robotic arms descended from the ceiling, charged with hacked cyber energy.
"Chaos Corruption." Zhadow's palms glowed with a dark red power. "Shadow prime," He called without looking behind. "You and Maria prime need to save your energy for the real battle. I refuse to make you break a sweat for this clown."
"I'm privy to that ability, already!" Zobotnik countered as he pressed another key. He held up his gloved hand, and with a flash of candy red, he possessed an irrefutably important object in his hand. He used digital teleportation, an ability no Zoverlander would be able to use no matter how much they trained like he and Zonic did. Not even high ranking No Zone soldiers could learn the art of cyber energized abilities, relying on their suits and weapons to utilize limited use of the power for them. In his palm, an exact copy of the once lost Phantom Ruby. Except this ruby was different, glowing and comprised of a completely different combination of colors. Instead of the red and purple magenta, it was a light blue with small highlights of candy red. It seemed to be comprised of both regular and hacked cyber energy, bestowing it's combination of power in complete harmony.
Shadow was flabbergasted. "How did you get that?!" He yelled. "Who gave it to you?!"
Zobotnik only sneered. "Is it not obvious? From that jackal friend of yours." The icosahedron digitized away as he cackled,
Zhadow scowled. "So the other Chaos Born from the Divine Pyramid were telling the truth. You're so jealous of Zonic that you resorted to working with a literal terrorist just to get to me. Deplorable and miserably desperate." His ear flicked. Not at the sound of Zobotnik's reactionary ranting about how he totally wasn't jealous, and how he was going to absolutely destroy them all and make him pay for betraying him, but at the sound of...burrowing. A grin crept onto his muzzle maliciously. He then bent down onto one knee, before lowering his head and placing his ear against the floor. No, he heard it. He know he did. The sound of something sifting through the catacombs of this lair, or the sound of something tunneling around the skeleton of the base. No, actually. Something better than that. It was the sound only a hedgehog could recognize, a sound that only spiny mammals like them could ever understand. It was the sound of something fearsome, something angry, something that had a lot to say but would much rather use their fists to do the talking. Something brutal, something vengeful, something...mad. Drilling. That's what he heard: Violent, spiral, sharp drilling. And in just a minute or two, it would rise to the surface and wreak havoc.
Shadow noticed what Zhadow was doing, and squinted his eyes. Why was he listening to the floor?
Before he could tell his twin to give his attention to the real threat at hand, Zhadow suddenly stood straight and gave Shadow a spiteful smile. "Hey, remember how you asked me why Zonic was called 'Mad Dog?' Well, let me enlighten you-"
"Are you seriously ignoring me now of all times!?" Zobotnik screeched angrily as numerous robotic hands super charged with a stronger variant of hacked cyber energy reached for the general. "Die, you backstabbing little bastard!"
The sound of clashed metal echoed through the room as Zhadow held up his hand to hold off the robotic limbs. He grunted at the impact, noticing that thanks to that cyber Phantom Ruby, these things were giving him a little trouble. Even with destructive, corrupted chaos energy, it wasn't effecting them as much as it should. "Looks like he upped the ante, but it doesn't matter." Zhadow gripped his hold onto the limbs, his corruptive power very slowly but gradually attempting to spread throughout the mechanisms. "Zobotnik's so desperate to cut us open that he won't for the life of him straight up kill us. Besides, if my calculations are correct, he's too scared to try and kill us anyway for a very special reason. Hahaha," He chuckled menacingly as he steadied his legs so he couldn't be pushed back. "Ohh Zivo, how the mighty have fallen. Shadow prime, bend your ears. I've got one more story to tell you. Once up a time-" Zhadow playfully began before grunting and yanking the robotic arms down from the ceiling in one fell swoop. Now corroded in Black Arms aura, the material of the droid limbs fell apart easily. "-There was a small, weak, naive young man who wanted to join No Zone Corps. He was so desperate to become one of the best, that the moment I became his mentor, he did almost everything I asked of him without the slightest bit of hesitation. Latte? Done. Paperwork? Finished before the next hour. Training regimen? Completed to a T before dawn and repeated. He even offered to iron my uniform, and we weren't even dating yet. He did everything he could to prove his worth, to shower me in great respect to the point of total servitude. He was so loyal to me, that if anyone dared talked negative on my name in the locker rooms," He tossed the destroyed robotic arms to the other side of the room, denting the wall. "That his skinny, weak little self, would end up starting fights with the biggest, toughest and most experienced soldiers around him. And a few times, he was victorious despite not having that much training yet."
Shadow watched the corrupted power surge within Zhadow's grasp. He used it like nothing, whereas the biohog had a much more difficult time even initiating the ability on his first try. He couldn't even say the name of the power out loud without constantly losing his hold on it. He really needed to get better at using it, so he could spawn the power just like that without hesitation.
"That puny, weak little hedgehog, was Zonic." Zhadow continued as he casually readjusted his uniform's collar. "Zonic ate, slept and breathed No Zone Corps, and did everything he could to surpass everyone. Even me. And while he isn't there quite yet, he's scarily close to dethroning me. I couldn't be more proud. With that said," Suddenly, the floor shook. It was quick, and it wasn't even that harsh, but it was there. In fact, Zobotnik must not have noticed because he was too busy yelling for Zhadow to shut up already. Both hedgehogs tuned him out long ago. "Everyone in the corps gets hazed in some regard. Some are bullied, some make new recruits do their bidding. Zonic unfortunately suffered both, due to his skinny stature and polite nature. He was painfully kind, and many took advantage of that. But the moment my name was sullied, even as an innocent misunderstood rumor, he became a different person entirely. Vulgar, cold, merciless and most of all, angry. Therefore, everyone called him 'Zhadow's dog', due to his obsequious admiration for me. The stronger he grew, the more intimidating he became. The bullying soon stopped, as he was no longer seen as just a fanboy of mine. Sure, he was still as loyal as a dog, but not as a lap dog..."
The ultimate life form nearly laughed at the idea of Zonic looking skinny and pathetic, as that was not at all the person he knew today. To think someone that pissy, arrogant, stubborn and stoic could ever be seen as kind and harmless, was hilarious.
"...He became a Mad Dog."
A loud bang rang through their ears as Zhadow suddenly dodged a literal bullet hurdling in his direction. Zhadow looked up and saw a barrage of robotic limbs now aiming dozens of firearms at him.
Zhadow only scoffed. "You're so jealous, it's almost adorable at this point, Zivo. And slightly creepy."
"Will you shut your God damn mouth for just a second!?" He demanded. "Mad Dog this, Mad Dog that—We get it! That pathetic little private of yours is so up your ass, that he earned himself an even more pathetic moniker that he wears with pride for some misguided reason. Tch!" He glared down at them both as Zhadow continued to smirk at him, and that only made him even angrier. "What that little rodent did to the name of No Zone Corps sickens me. Instead of improving to be a better soldier, he doubled down and became your greatest weakness. Now he's spreading his influence throughout the entire HQ like some national war hero. Delusional. Makes sense considering how much of a failure you are, Zhadow. I already know Zonic is coming, but I've already prepared for his arrival!"
Shadow blinked at this. Arrival? He was coming?
If he was coming, then-
"Soon, I'll have you all buried underneath my base! I don't care about prodding you because at this point, you've all already pissed away your chances at survival by ruining what little patience I have left!" He jammed his finger against the dashboard over and over, pressing so hard every time that he was almost damaging the mechanism. "Die! All of you!"
The firearms from above charged brightly in candy red, preparing to rain a bullet hell upon both hedgehogs.
The floor shook.
Hard.
"...?"
It shook again.
"...!"
Then again.
"The hell...!?"
And again.
Suddenly, the room was flashing red and a loud siren was heard.
Zobotnik frantically looked around the room, his eyes searching for his monitors. No, where did they go? He knew they'd be coming, but where were they? "What...? No...Why can't I see them?" He asked in a hushed whisper. "Why can't I see them!?" He yelled as the floor shook again.
That's when Shadow felt it: A huge tremor from right underneath his feet. Before he could make a step back, the metal floor was torn through via a blue ball of sharp spines. Spindashing into a swift landing, the very thing he treasured most in this world and the next, stood before him while panting. Sonic the Hedgehog blew out a huge sigh as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Okay, he was getting kinda tired. It's been a super long day, honestly. "Okay, gotta hit the gym and work on my cardio a little more." His lime green orbs connected with Shadow's amber red, and he made a sweet but tired smile. "Hey, babe."
Both Shadow and Maria were shocked, the phantom of the girl floating behind Shadow and gawking with excited ocean blue eyes. "Sonic...?" Shadow almost whispered. "How did you-" That's when he remembered the cigarettes Zhadow scattered. Zonic must have smelled the scent all the way from this location, and thus brought Sonic with him. But then, where was Zonic? "Where's Zonic?"
The sound of glass shattering nearly bled through the blaring siren. The Mobian duo, Maria and Zhadow all looked up at the observation deck. Zobotnik's horrified screams cut through as well, and they saw him back away into the dashboard. He quickly turned around and slammed his hands all over the keys, before clenching his eyes shut in fear and teleporting away. Without warning, several No Zone soldier androids burst into the room. They jumped down from the observation deck, kicked their way through the doors, all armed to the teeth with weapons. The guns from above instantly began to shoot, targeting them all. Zhadow thought fast and spawned a holographic shield from above their heads to protect them. However, since these firearms were stronger, their laser-like projectiles would destroy the shield in a matter of seconds. The entire room shook again, and Shadow could hear Maria gasp in a fright as she witnessed several bodies of androids being thrown down to the floor like darts.
A vicious growl was heard as a uniformed blue hedgehog jumped down from the observation deck.
With an annoyed expression, Zonic simply stood up tall before carelessly tossing an android's mutilated body onto the floor towards his superior's boots.
And to that, Zhadow could only say one thing with the biggest sneer on his face.
1:55 PM
"Atta boy."
68 - END - 68
Chapter 69: Decap-Attack
Summary:
The hedgehog quartet, joined by the unstoppable spirit of Maria Robotnik, give Zobotnik and his robotic goons the fight of the century!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
69 - Decap-Attack - 69
1:56 PM
The constant noise of bullets being dented from impact onto Zonic's quills filled the room, along with the sirens and lasers. Though the lasers were energy based projectiles, and while they did make small singes onto Zonic's fur, it didn't hurt him in the slightest, and the wounds vanished as quick as they appeared. A small pause of internal silence was shared between Zonic and Zhadow, causing their counterparts and Maria to stare with baited breaths. Zhadow only continued to smirk, while Zonic was not at all in a smiling mood.
A heavy, angered and wrathful glare glinted in Zonic's dark green eyes for a brief moment.
...
...
...
...But then, they stifled.
Zonic only saluted his superior with militant pride. "Your orders, sir?"
Sonic, Shadow and Maria all sighed in relief.
Zhadow wasn't surprised in the slightest. "That's my rookie." He praised before noticing that their forcefield was failing. Those ceiling guns needed to go, pronto. "Alright everyone, about face." This order caused everyone to look his way with great attentiveness, ready to listen to his next line of instructions. "We're in a bit of a bind here, but it isn't something we can't handle." With a snap of his fingers, Shadow's personal forcefield was dissolved. "Rookie, destroy those lasers. ASAP." Without another word, they all watched Zonic disappear in a streak of blue and camo green as he spindashed towards the ceiling. The lasers were useless against him, making it more than easy for him to slice through them all instantly. Now destroyed and torn in half, they could no longer function and their destroyed pieces fell onto the floor. The holographic forcefield Zhadow was using was no longer needed, and dissolved. However, now they had another problem on their hands: The horde of No Zone androids stampeding their way towards them. They were all glowing candy red, empowered with stronger hacked cyber energy. They wouldn't go down as easily as they did before, and they'd have to destroy the heads. Zhadow had to take that into account. "Attacks with a large radius are imperative here. Zonic is the only one here who can destroy these things in just a few hits without having to go all out. Stay out of his way at all costs. Sonic prime," The general said with an authoritative call. Sonic flinched and smiled sheepishly. "Your wind and speed based chaos abilities are needed. Don't waste your time fighting any one-on-one battles. Understood?"
The hero nodded confidently. "Got it."
"Shadow prime," Zhadow addressed his twin next. "You and Maria prime are the stars of this show. I need you both to be my ears and my eyes. Maria prime," He glanced at the girl's phantom in particular, making her a little surprised that she was personally being included. She was flattered nonetheless. "Thanks to your incorporeal form, you can phase in and out of surfaces with ease at alarming speeds. Your limit for staying out of Shadow prime's body is three hours and approximately ten feet, meaning we have plenty of time to burn but not a lot of space."
Shadow interrupted a bit to debunk that last part. "Not exactly. Maria's been getting a little stronger with exposure and training. She can't go too far, but she can go a little farther than ten feet now. Perhaps up to thirty or more. Besides, there's another way for her to survey our surroundings with the hacked cyber energy gone."
"Even better." Zhadow commented. "You both can work separately while being connected, and that's what we'll need to escape. The very presence of your spirit is enough to destroy cyber energized walls. Guide him so that he can guide us to the exit." She nodded her head with a firm frown, she was ready. "Shadow prime, you're still too inexperienced to use Black Arms abilities. For now, use chaos energy and Maria prime's assistance to blast your way through." Shadow nodded as well at this. "Zonic," He addressed his fiancé with great pride. "My number one prodigy," He couldn't help but praise him. "You're the backbone of this entire operation. As of right now, you are physically the strongest hedgehog here. Defeating just one of these rust buckets is a picnic for you, even with the power up. Ergo, it'll be your job to clean up these tin cans as fast as possible. Keep them away from Shadow prime at all costs. He is your number one target to protect. We need him to lead us to victory, after all. Did you bring the pills with you?"
Zonic nodded and dug in his pocket to show his superior the many plastic packs of green pills. "Yes, sir. I've many to spare."
"Excellent. Everyone, take a sheet of capsules with you for the road." Zhadow ordered. "You'll need them." After everyone took a pack from Zonic's palm, Zhadow neared the conclusion of his instructions as he watched a few androids near closer from behind his rookie. "Everyone's got their orders, and I expect you to heed them properly and flawlessly. After all, perfection in No Zone is key. As for me," He whipped out his baton from his belt and allowed the tool to transform into a heavy looking assault rifle. "I'll provide some much needed back up. Whenever someone falters, I'll be there for support. Now," He swung down the gun to aim, a strong gust of wind blowing against every android before them. Zhadow's finger laid against the trigger as he narrowed his dark red eyes through the scope. "Move out!"
Everyone dispersed synchronously.
Just as an android's bladed weapon, and axe, began to swing towards the side of Zhadow's muzzle-
-Zhadow just turned to look and simpered with a wink.
With a ravenous snarl, sharp, large teeth gnashed into the blade. Zonic had bitten down onto the weapon, his canines nearly snapping it in half. He had gotten in front of his superior to bite back in mere micro seconds. His snake-like eyes sharpened angrily, growling as he used his jaw the snatch the weapon out of the android's grip. The android almost seemed to grow frustrated, and attempted to throw a punch into the first lieutenant general. Still holding the damaged weapon in his mouth, Zonic dipped backwards to dodge the hit before sprinting to the side. He clipped the robot's neck with the blade of the axe, before seizing it's arm and continuing to run to the next opponent. He used his jaw to swipe the axe's blade through another robot's throat, decapitating it instantly. He swung the android he was dragging along with him like a battering ram, wrecking through several others with sheer brutality. He soon tossed the robot so hard upwards, that it nailed through the ceiling. It was useless to him now, having been severely damaged from all that destruction. Zonic then ran on all fours to speed through and slice through the rest of his enemies, leaving headless bots in his wake. He then huffed and spat out the now very destroyed axe blade at one more robot, who was just about to aim and shoot a handgun, before the blade nailed it's cranium. It paused, fell to it's knees and thudded onto the floor. Zonic's tail wagged furiously as he charged forth to another wave of helpless robots. His growl and snarls were the only thing they could hear next, before their bodies were crushed and their heads flung from their shoulders.
From the eye of a Zobotnik grade sniper rifle, a No Zone android aimed carefully at their target. A blue Mobian hedgehog who seemed to be watching all the action curiously. His back was turned, not at all paying attention to the danger behind him. Just as the droid was going to pull the trigger, he turned around, smiled a charming grin and pointed directly at his own face, mouthing: "Don't miss!" Soon, the android felt a tap on it's shoulder. It paused and slowly turned around, only to see Sonic smiling and giving them a friendly wave, before a gold buckled red sneaker slammed itself into it's face. Despite literally having him in his sights, he somehow got behind him that fast. It knocked it backwards, and it nearly dropped the gun. However, it balanced itself and aimed once more with heightened attention. That's when it saw Sonic right in front of their helmet—Until he disappeared in a blue streak. It saw him again to the right. Then to the left. The right again. No, the left. The right-! The droid's head began to spin, it couldn't fathom how fast he was moving, because he wasn't moving left and right. No, he was running in a circle. A big one. "Chaos Wind!" The android began to lift upwards from the ground, while other robotic comrades near it began to do the same. As they hovered in the air, sparkles of blue began to shine around them. As Sonic jumped from droid to droid out of the miniature tornado he made, he landed on the ground before uttering one more thing. "Chaos Pierce." He snapped his fingers, and blue spines littered and poked into all of their visors suddenly exploded into blue chaotic aura. With a cocky but bored smirk, Sonic watched the destruction with a smooth indifference. "Psssh...So bored..."
"Sonic prime!" He heard his twin shout.
Sonic turned to see Zonic destroying at least three androids at once with his hands, that mercury liquid splattered all over his fingers. "What's up?"
"That thing I told you to get from my pocket, do you still have it?"
"That thing...? Oh!" Sonic reached from behind to dig through his quills, and pulled out the very item Zonic told him about before he fell unconscious earlier. It was...a ring. However, it was bigger than a normal warp ring. Sonic needed both hands to hold it properly. "Yeah, uh, what is this thing exactly?"
"An artillery warp ring. It won't just open a portal, it also holds items. It possesses a number of things inside via cyber space, including blank warp rings, and a small arsenal of weapons. Say whatever weapon of your choice," Zonic smirked as he slammed down yet another droid into the floor. "And it's yours, spawned in cyber energy. The weapons won't be immediately destroyed if you use chaos energy, but you should still be cautious. Otherwise, you can spawn as many as you desire."
Sonic blinked in curiosity. "No freakin' way, for real?"
"Very real." Zonic replied. "Could you toss me a warp ring, actually?"
"Okay, uh...I want a warp ring...?" The hero carefully reached his hand inside of the large ring's opening, watching it disappear from one side the deeper he dug in. When he pulled his arm out, he indeed got a normal sized warp ring. He smiled a little at the gadget and underhanded the ring over to his primal twin.
Zonic knew what he was doing, he knew Sonic would take a great liking to such a toy. He only grinned at the results.
Eventually, Sonic gazed upon the ring before making a devious smile. "Ooooohhhh..." He then licked his lips as he watched everyone else fight for a brief moment. Sonic wasn't well versed in weaponry, but that didn't mean he didn't have any experience using them. After all, using Super Sonic taught him a lot about using weapons and projectiles being made of chaos. Chaos Spears, Chaos Lances, Chaos Beams...So why couldn't he do the same with regular weapons? Sure he'd look inexperienced, but that wasn't the point, was it? Zhadow gave him strict instructions to create attacks with large radii, and if the name of the game was "cyber energy", well...He had no problem getting on board with that. "Okay..." He mumbled with a smirk. "I waaaaant...a sword." He pulled his hand out and just as he asked, he got a sword that was made of cyber energy. "Oohohohoooo~!" He liked that. A mischievous idea planted itself in his head as he dropped it to get another. "Gimme another," He pulled out another sword. "Another!" He got his wish. "And another...!" He pulled out so many that the floor around him was soon littered in cyber swords. "I may not be able to spawn Chaos Spears like candy like some people, but I can still do this." He placed the ring back in his quills, before taking a slow and deep breath. After exhaling it, he glanced to the right at a large amount of androids nearing him. Geez, was there like a couple hundred of these guys in this room? That's one hell of a party, and one he'd love to crash. "Alrighty Zee," Sonic announced. "You ready? Hot pot of No Zone fakers comin' straight your way!" He reached his arms up to his quills, before scattering several small spines in all of the bladed cyber weapons he spawned. "Shadow loved this one back at the Cyber Chamber—"
Suddenly, all of the cyber swords glowed royal blue. The chaos power touching the weapons was beginning to damage them, but it wasn't instantaneous. They could hold out for a few more seconds. Plenty of time for Sonic to perform something that floored Shadow back at the Cyber Chamber earlier today. They clattered against the floor, before raising up in the air, all of them at once. Using his spines to connect energy with each other, they mingled with the weapons they were stuck into, forcing their dominance over the blades. This synergy created an illusion of levitation. With the pile of swords crowded together, they began to form into a shape: that of an arrow, pointing directly downward onto the group of droids rushing towards Sonic. However, when they saw a large shadow loom over them, they looked up at the gigantic projectile made of smaller weapons.
"Chaos-" Sonic announced as he guided the massive projectile made of cyber swords with his hand. "-Piercing Spear!" He waved it towards the robots, allowing it's aura to help propel it directly on their path. Some of the androids tried running, but it was too late because the spines in the cyber sword were beginning to explode from the contrasting energy. Since there were so many compiled against each other, the explosion became bigger in multitude. Soon, a huge royal blue dust cloud wafted over the entire room. As the dust settled, Zonic walked over while waving his hand back and forth to brush some of the blue chaotic dust out of his face. He looked down, and saw a sea of No Zone androids malfunctioning against the floor, completely immobilized. Sure they could get back up since their heads were still attached, but that's why it was only Sonic's job to damage them. Destroying them was Zonic's. He smiled at Sonic's handiwork, and quickly rolled into a spindashed to slice their heads to shreds. Once he finished, he glanced over at Sonic who held up a piece sign and a huge grin. Zonic couldn't help but smile back with a roll of his eyes. So cheeky.
The entire half of the room of cleared, save for a few stragglers.
Now it was the time for the other half.
2:11 PM
Holding a lance made of chaos energy in his hands, Shadow charged forth and stabbed it directly through the head of an android. He ripped it off it's body, decapitating it instantly. He continued forwards, diving head first into the crowd of droids. He stabbed one through the head again, one through the eye, one through it's neck before he tore it's head off from it, and repeated these actions to as many androids as possible without fail. They tried shooting at him, slicing him, bludgeoning him, but the ocean blue eyes of a golden spirit halted their efforts. Using the power of raw, super chaos, she simply held up her hand with a determined glare. Once a bullet or melee weapon struck against her palm, a golden light filled their visions as a wall of ruby red blocked them from attacking again. With each strike they made at the wall shielding Shadow, the wall wouldn't chip away. With her around, hitting Shadow was impossible. In her peripheral vision, she saw a stray enemy try to attack Shadow from another blind spot, so she held up both hands to spawn yet another shield. She then huffed, and made her hands into fists. The walls of chaos suddenly slammed into the droids, sending them into separate directions across the room. In the meantime, Shadow had harpooned through many robot heads, skating his way through to an opening. His eyes quickly darted around, noticing the spreading of Maria's power left behind many embers of chaos.
Perfect. Stabbing the lance into one more robot face, Shadow let it go and kicked their body away before announcing, "Chaos Portal!" Anyone nearby was sucked in easily except himself, and it closed soon after. That was a good chunk of them gone, but he wasn't done. There were more coming, but he had a little time to breathe. Perfect, he could think. Let's see, they were in Zobotnik's lair, but this wasn't his base. His lair was where he kidnapped victims and experimented on them, which meant they were underground somewhere. Instead of going down, they needed to go up. "Maria, survey!"
The girl's spirit wasted no time in closing her eyes and concentrating. A form of ruby energy surrounded her, and to her, she was in complete silence. She needed it to focus carefully on surveying the entire base. Now that they've caused so much destruction, and since Maria could let loose with her powers as a Divine Spirit, there was nothing else stopping her from creating her own map. This time, completely filled to the brim with information. However, it'd take time. She'd need at least five minutes.
Alright. Maria needed exactly three hundred seconds, leaving Shadow without extra protection.
Pfft.
As if he needed it.
In the literal shadows of battle, stood someone the droids seemed to have forgotten about.
But that was okay, that was his plan all along.
Zhadow hummed to himself, a military cadence he and Zouge used to recite during bootcamp along with the rest of their squad, as he casually aimed his gun and shot. The bullets of his assault rifle were large, big enough to pierce not just one, but several things at once like a dart. With every bullet that shot through the head of an android, it pierced through and shot yet another, and another if one was dumb enough to stand behind them. Needless to say, it splattered their motherboard brains, instantly neutralizing them. But as he made his way through shooting some of them, they began to realize what the true underlying threat of this fight was: Him. Many charged forward to attack, making him smirk. A punch was thrown at him, but he easily moved his head to the side. A kick, but he simply blocked it and shoved it away. A swipe of a metal bat, but he smacked it away with the butt of his gun. A barrage of bullets from a machine gun, but he uttered, "Cyber Control." He then scooped the frozen bullets in the air into his palm. When time was restored, he shrugged at the droid as he dropped all the bullets it shot at him just a moment ago onto the floor. The group of robots were a little stuck. Nothing they threw at him worked, not even attacking at the same time. However, they weren't programmed to give up. To this, Zhadow just twirled the large firearm in his hand. "Come on, already." He waved his hand. "Give this old man a show."
If they could feel emotions, they'd be incredibly annoyed.
They immediately charged towards him to attack at the same time once again.
A dangerous glint of Black Arms sadism shone through his eyes. "That's it..." In a streak of dark red and light blue, Zhadow zipped around them all. He teleported several times in nanoseconds, shooting them all one by one while also dodging their attacks that just barely managed to move at the same speed. "Yes, that's it...!" He grinned with bloodlust, the blur of his striped quills almost nonvisible. "That's it, that's it, that's it...!" He loved that they were fighting back, desperate to get their hands on him and kill him. So weak, so pathetic, so useless! Mercury splattered all over his face, and he licked it off of the corner of his lips. When he tasted the liquid, a ginormous spark of adrenaline shot throughout his bones. "Hahahahaaa! Yes!" He suddenly skidded to a stop, and paused time just one more time. "Cyber Control!" Now that his toys were stuck, he was happy to do as he pleased. "Heheheh...Chaos Corruption." Damn, he could feel the influence of the Will of the Black Arms flood his brain once more, but he didn't care. He was having too much fun, it's been too many years since he's taken the heads of criminals. Too long since he's acted as No Zone's notoriously feared Dullahan. He transformed the assault rifle into a new, glorified weapon he hadn't used in years, filled to the brim with corrupted chaos. "Superior Marksman Series, model nine, RPG..." He jumped backwards to gain some distance before lifting the substantial sized weapon onto his shoulder. "...All of your heads-" He squeezed the trigger, the projectile of a rocket powered grenade heading their way. "-Are mine!"
Yet another explosion boomed within the room, this time from Zhadow.
Several bits of destroyed robotic parts flew into the air, before thudding onto the floor.
A long, airy breath drifted from Zhadow's tan lips. That was almost better than sex.
Almost.
"God, that felt good." He then realized something. "Huh..." He blinked as the influence of the Black Arms faded for the time being. "...Yeah, I have a problem." He scratched the back of his head with the barrel of the RPG, frowning and twisting his lips to the side. "Hmmm. I seriously need a vacation. A long one." He watched the others duke it out with the remaining androids, satisfied at their progress so far. "Where would Zonic like to go though...? Shit, where do I even wanna go?" He asked aloud as he transformed the RPG into another weapon. This time, a shotgun. "Ugh, I haven't had a vacation in years. I don't have the slightest-" He aimed and shot a slug without missing a beat, blasting the head off of a nearby droid. "-Clue where to go. Plus, he's mad at me right now...Ngh," He made an exhausted sigh and bonked the shot gun against his head a few times. "Why do things have to be so difficult? Why can't they just be simple for once? I made such a mess..." He dodged the swing of a mace and swung his arm to grip his hand into an android's helmet, his fingers digging through the intricacies of their microchips. He yanked out wires and several pieces of machinery, before carelessly dropping it on the ground. The droid he ravaged in the face dropped down without making a sound. As he watched Zonic fight just as perfectly and beautifully as he taught him from afar, he made a somber expression.
He loved him so, so much.
Damn.
He really, really screwed up.
Big time.
He'd never forgive him at this rate.
And...he didn't deserve his forgiveness, either.
Would he...leave him?
No, no he couldn't even fathom that, and now wasn't the time to think about that. They'd talk or fight about it later. For now, he'd make himself useful and continue with the plan. His eyes landed on Sonic, who was currently attempting to push off several robots at once. He was kneeling on the floor, one of his legs shot through with a bullet hole. Not good, and now a bunch of androids were ganging up on him at his time of weakness. Gutless. Sonic winced painfully as he could no longer kneel on his injured leg, and almost fell down completely onto the floor. When he felt a bunch of weight lift from off of him, he looked up to see Zhadow stomping his boots directly into the left side of one of the android's heads, a severe drop kick. Once it fell to the ground, he landed and attacked the rest of him. He blasted his shotgun at one, while he punched down another. He then aimed his shotgun at the one he downed and shot it in the face, before shooting the rest in rapid succession. Once they were all defeated, he nodded towards Sonic. It was safe to get up now.
Sonic made a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, thanks." He got up with a groan, before pulling out that pack of pills he got from Zonic. He popped one in his mouth and returned the pack back to it's hiding place. His leg healed slowly, but he blew out a sigh of relief. "Muuuch better!" He grinned before getting ready to speed off in another direction. "Alright, round mothafuckin' two, assholes!" He tackled a droid into a spindash, using the robot's body as another layer of protection as he diced through a few stragglers. He uncurled himself while pinning down the robot he tackled, grunting as he attempted to yank it's head off.
As he struggled, Zhadow simply walked over and watched with amusement. "Need help?"
"Nah," Sonic grunted as he tore it off of it's shoulders. "I'm good! Sheesh, hadn't had this much fun since that raid in Egghead's base three years ago." Another robot rushed towards them, and Sonic sidestepped behind it to place it in a chokehold. "Aw no you don't!"
Zhadow tilted his head curiously. "Leg okay?"
"Yup yup." Sonic gave him a wink. "All good here, thanks for the assist!" He kept his hold onto the robot's head with his arms tightly, before shoving a harsh kick into it's back, causing it's head to be ripped off. Sonic spun the skull of his downed foe on his finger like a basketball, before letting it drop down so he could dribble it with his feet. He then lifted his leg up high, before making a strong, powerful kick, rocketing the head sky high towards the observation deck. "I see a couple bad guys down that way, Imma handle that real quick." He waved Zhadow a goodbye before jogging off. "See ya!"
Excellent, Zhadow could move on.
2:16 PM
He then rushed towards his counterpart's side a little further away, reaching him in seconds. He reloaded his shotgun and begin to blast away a few robots that were attempting to wobble away from Shadow's carnage. They were heavily malfunctioned, but not destroyed. Zhadow would happily fix that. After blasting a few more in the head, he saw his twin punch down yet another droid. He then turned to the side, looking over at Maria's spirit. "Maria!"
"Ready!" She answered, her eyes opening and glancing down at Shadow. "Being out of your body spread my power, destroying a lot of that weird digital power blocking us from getting out. I know where we need to go!"
"Good job. Do we need to smash our way through, or is there a proper exit?"
The girl tried to speak, but a stray line of bullets shot at both her and Shadow. They barely dodged it. Then, they both made very exasperated expressions before glancing at each other and nodding. Maria got behind him, and Shadow focused energy in his hands from her body. "Chaos..." Her eyes became ruby red. "...Synchronization!" Now that they were both synched up, it was time to show off what they practiced. "Shadow, I don't want to waste too much energy or else I'll fall asleep and make you weak. Here," Suddenly, in a flash of green, a green chaos emerald appeared in Shadow's hand. "That should buy us more time. Give me the command, then tell Mr. Zhadow to finish them off. I won't need to hold back!"
Smart girl. This way, using synchronized chaotic abilities won't just vacuum up her energy, but will take from the emerald as well. She'll still have some left over by the time they'd be finished. "You got it." He tossed up the emerald in the air, before catching it with a quick snatch. "General, Maria and I are going to shovel these weaklings in your direction. Blast their heads off."
Zhadow reloaded his shotgun with a smile and took a few steps back as they all readied themselves. "How fun."
"Maria," Shadow raised his hand into the air, with chaotic strings of ruby aura connected to both his fingers and Maria's entire body. For a moment, she wasn't incorporeal, she was physical. Her now fully manifested voluminous blonde hair raised in the air as she closed her eyes and floated in front of Shadow. She then bowed her head, bent her knees forwards and made an elegant curtsy with her dress. "Chaotic Dancer!"
A spotlight made of golden chaotic embers shined down on her.
To this, everyone else stopped fighting. Zhadow, Sonic and Zonic all looked up. Their breaths halted, realizing that Maria was now fully fleshed out. There was silence, and even the sirens seemed to be muted from her presence. The droids before her paused, her physical form intimidating them into a fierce halt. She then raised her hands up in the air as Shadow puppeteered her. She made a graceful beginning stance, ready to put on the performance of a lifetime.
This was her stage, now.
She carefully tip tapped her toes onto the floor, sparkles and glitters of ruby red following her dress. Energy began to surround her limbs, fully powered up to the brim. She made a few small twirls, before opening her eyes at their enemies with a cold glare. She then furrowed her brows with a scowl as she threw a Chaos Blast with one hand. She spun around to blast another, chewing through energy like nothing. She made a spinning kick, kicking an entire wave of energy to cut through several robotic heads. Another spin gave off a circular wave of power, malfunctioning several robots. As they seized up and sparked, Zhadow took the initiative and squeezed his finger on the trigger to shoot them all. Maria she raised her arms upwards, causing a rising wave of chaos power to lift from seemingly out of now where, eating up the bodies of several unfortunate droids. She then stomped her heel onto the floor, a shockwave causing the entire floor to rust and shrivel up, as well as anything that happened to be standing in her way. She raised both hands, a duo Chaos Blast from both directions. She jumped in the air with another ballet worthy twirl, before spawning a Chaos Lance in her hands. She gave it a gentle tap with the tip of her finger to test it's sharpness, wincing and wringing her hand, before aiming it downward and descending down upon the crowd. She stabbed through the head of one, before twirling away to dodge another barrage of bullets. She was too dignified to be injured by a mere senseless robot, too prim and proper. It was shot in the head and fell with a thud as she passed by it, not even worth her time.
She then began to skate, grabbing the lance with both hands and pulling at it. Just like that, she had two Chaos Lances, and wasn't afraid to use them. She then skated in a serpentine maneuver, the spotlight following her every move, as it should. She sliced through them all, gentle sweeps of her hand as she ever so carefully dashed her way through them all. Her craft was special, polished and pristine. Nothing could ruin her moment and if it did, it would pay dearly. Behind her laid a trail of robotic bodies, twitching to get back up. However, a bang of a shotgun silenced them for good. That's when Shadow made a few pulls of his fingers, indicating for her to go farther. A full overdrive. No holding back. Her eyes glowed ruby red, and she dazzled away into a spinning halt. She raised the lances as duo weapons, her stance still and patient. Then, time stop. She had initiated Chaos Control all on her own. Now it was truly her time, and hers alone. She made a war cry as she charged forward. A right slice, a left slice, an upwards slice, a downwards slice, and a spinning slice for good measure. Time unfroze, several hacked up robots falling to their demise. But she still wasn't done. She positioned the blades in a scissor-like formation, and began to literally cut them all down to size. Halved bodies flung into the air, mercury liquid spilling all over the metal floors and even on her dress. She didn't actually enjoy the violence, so she actually closed her eyes shut for this part. When she was finished however, she grunted as she chucked the Chaos Lances at two more droids. She nailed them with bullseyes, the blades cutting through their chests before dissolving into embers. She then raised a leg upwards at the knee, before disappearing in a golden streak. Zig-zagging across the area, she decimated the last remaining enemies on this side of the room, blasting more smaller Chaos Blasts from her hands before spinning into a halt.
She panted heavily, as that took a lot out of her.
She then bowed her head with one last curtsy, her chaotic strings snapping and dissolving into embers.
And soon, the remaining malfunctioning robots fell to her feet.
From afar, Sonic applauded as he walked over. "Okay, but that was freakin' awesome?" He yelled. "Hell yeah, Dollface!"
Zhadow walked over and finished them off with a couple slugs, before reloading the shotgun. Shadow was a little winded himself, but seemed fine. He and Maria unsynced themselves, before glancing at each other. The emerald was teleported away. Shadow placed a hand on his abdomen, and hissed in pain. He looked down and saw that he was shot, probably earlier when Maria needed to survey a mental map. He got sloppy, and he didn't want her to heal him and waste energy. He teleported the plastic pack of pills in his hand and took one out. He swallowed the green capsule, and instantly felt the effects. The wound slowly began to close, his pain fading. He exhaled in relief and teleported the pills away. Finally, Maria had some time to talk. Still panting a bit, she made a sweatdrop. "O-Okay...um...can I, uh...have a second...?" She asked delicately.
Shadow nodded, still trying to catch his own breath. "Y-Yeah. Don't worry, you did great-"
The sound of denting metal rang above them. Both Shadow and Maria looked up, seeing Zonic maul yet another robot in the air and over their heads. He landed harshly, using the robot to break his fall. After all, Zhadow told him to protect Shadow with his life. There were still some left, about three dozen. A cake walk. He wiped more mercury liquid from his mouth as he stood up over it's body, tensing up a bit at how it felt to ingest the substance. Yeah, that was the Ruby's power alright. Tasted like nothing but salt water from the ocean. It wouldn't do anything to them permanently from a few drops, but it did rouse up their adrenaline a little. Spiking their energies. Thank goodness it didn't do much to Zhadow. Speaking of which, the general made one last announcement. "Primes!" He called. "I want you both to follow Maria prime's instructions and find the exit." Simultaneously, both Zhadow and Zonic began to back up as the much smaller crowd of androids got closer. "Don't worry about us, we'll follow suit. Zonic can smell your scents," Their backs hit each other, and the two Zonian hedgehogs readied themselves for one last fight. "We won't be far."
"What about them, general?" Shadow asked. That pronoun was emphasized, and Zhadow knew exactly what he meant. "We can't just leave them here."
Zhadow held up a hand. "No worries, Shadow prime. I'll handle it before we depart for good."
Sonic, Shadow and Maria all shared a glance. They then nodded to each other. Maria phased into Shadow's body, and the biohog grasped Sonic's arm and pulled him close. Now that Maria had a mental map, and more so now that they heavily destroyed the base and got rid of the majority of the hacked cyber energy surrounding the place, they could easily teleport out. "We won't leave, we'll meet up at the exit." Shadow declared, modifying Zhadow's orders. "If you take too long to show up, we're coming back for you."
"Noted." Zhadow replied easily.
"Chaos Control."
The three teleported away, and Zonic could easily follow their scent. It was somewhere up above, somewhere less dense and closer to the surface.
They were alone, now.
Well, besides the androids coming for them.
Zhadow realized that using a gun at this point was useless. He transformed the weapon back into a nightstick, and placed it onto his belt. He made a small sigh. "You found me, just as I calculated."
"Hmph." Zonic replied dismissively. "You're injured, sir."
"Oh?" Zhadow looked down at his arms and legs, and did indeed see a few cuts. Not too deep, but they were bleeding. He didn't even notice. "Well would you look at that, 'guess they aren't that weak after all. Zobotnik made a cute little army, here." A green pill was thrown at him. He caught it at the last second, and hesitantly swallowed it.
"Your recklessness is going to get you killed one day," Zonic chastised quietly as his claws and quills sharpened. "And I won't be there to save you."
"Ha!" Zhadow scoffed while shaking his head. "Please. I'm not that old, rookie. You haven't surpassed me just yet." He cracked his knuckles in his fist, and grinned. "But I have to say, I'm really enjoying myself. Just like old times," Several guns, melee weapons and readied fists were pointed at them. "Eh, rookie?"
"Try to take this a little more seriously, general, I'm not in the mood." His voice was cold, colder than usual.
Yeah, he was still angry with him. Rightfully so. He accepted it, and whatever may come of their relationship afterwards. "Cold shoulder, hmm? I get it, and I respect it. Just," He hesitated a bit. "Tell me one thing." He made a small frown. "Do you still love me?"
An annoyed grunt was Zonic's response. "Would I be here if I didn't?"
"And how do I know it's not out of obligation?"
"Tch," Zonic made a heavy growl. "I'd laugh if I didn't want to rip your tongue out right now."
69 - END - 69
Notes:
Yes, the title of the chapter is a SEGA reference to an OG game from back in the day. I was never good at it...
Chapter 70: Collinear
Summary:
The conclusion to Zobotnik's lair ends with a literal bang.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
70 - Collinear - 70
2:26 PM
Zhadow sighed at that, as he expected that kind of retort. "Look, I know you hate me right now," He said before placing his hands in his pockets. "But after all this, I think I've fallen in love with you even more."
...
"...Damn it," Zonic's tail wagged profusely as he blushed, angered even more by his superior's continuous careless attitude and very much unnecessary flirting. "Will you just-" Using speed that would rival even Sonic's in base form, Zonic was suddenly sucker punching an android directly in the face. "-Shut up already?!" The punch was so hard, that the robot's head flew off instantly, shooting through the metal wall and creating yet another hole within the base. There'd be more where that came from. Bullets were immediately shot at them, but they were useless against Zonic and Zhadow simply teleported from sight. Just when it seemed like he was about to appear, he vanished. Just when it seemed like he was gone, he showed up for a split second. Constant Cyber Controlling was a hard trick of the ability to master, and made it seem like the user was just a series of after images through sheer speed. However, Zhadow wasn't moving, not at all. This alone confused their enemies, not sure where to aim or attack, so they went after Zonic instead. A bad move on their part. A horrid snarl headed their way, with Zonic instantly gnawing the head off of a droid in a single chomp. After spitting it out, he shoved a kick that made a painful impact, tossing yet another robot across the room at alarming speeds. The collision with the wall caused the back of it's head to explode, ending it's faux life. He tossed, threw and punched down more droids. Then, he reached for one of their guns, snatching it out of the grasp before turning it on them and pulling the trigger to shoot. Using laser projectiles, it instantly fried it and caused the skull to implode. Zonic growled as he turned around to aim and shoot at more without a single ounce of mercy.
Zhadow caught what Zonic was doing, and was appreciative. Because he was nearly invulnerable to most attacks, he was taking the brunt and attention off of Zhadow so he can get an edge on them from behind. Even now, his rookie was willing to throw his life away for him and protect him with his body as his living shield. He was told many times that he taught Zonic a little too well, as a small amount of guilt ate away at the general. He pushed away this feeling, and decided to make his move. He gripped his fingers into his fist, and teleported behind one of the droids. It charged up with corrupted chaos energy, and he swung a right hook into the back of their head. It twisted, spun around and completely fell from the robot's neck. Wires and circuitry sparked as it's body fell, and Zhadow moved onto the next. Moving like a silent assassin, he was reminded of his old days. The days where he slaughtered exactly one hundred, absolute scum of the earth. In his eyes, they deserved it, even if it was all wrong. As he quietly kicked, punched and tore off the limbs of the robots, he watched his rookie with admiration. His bullseye got better, shooting with excellent accuracy even in such a harsh, violent, messy form. He was so, so proud of him. It didn't matter how many times he told him so, it was more true every time he said it. He wanted so much to tell him, wanted so much to hold him and whisper sweet nothings and apologies, but he knew he'd probably never get to do that in the near future again. He ripped the head off of another robot, and grimaced tightly.
Zonic hated him, he knew it. He could feel it.
And he had every right to.
He stomped onto the head of another droid, before teleporting to Zonic's side. Zonic had quickly stolen yet another gun from another droid, and dual wielded the guns expertly. There was a fault to laser-based weapons, however. When used too often without rest, they overheated. If pushed past their limits, they could overheat so much that they burn the hands of their users, even through armored gloves. Zonic was using them bare handed, ignoring the singe of the burns on his flesh. He couldn't feel the pain, Primal Mode made his brain ignore his pain receptors. The more they overheated, the more they risked melting or even exploding. So instead of continuing to use them, Zonic threw them towards the droids. Zhadow saw this as a sign, and spawned a Cyber Spear in his hand before throwing it directly into the two guns. It sparked and did indeed create a small explosion, distracting the robots. The two Zonian hedgehogs sped up and took a page out of Sonic's book. They ran around the dwindling group of surviving robots, creating a holographic cyber energized vortex. Knowing this final attack would be big, Zonic skidded to a halt and jumped backwards a few yards. Zhadow teleporting in the air and spawned a series of Cyber Spears inside of the vortex. He then lifted his hand, making a finger gun. The tip of his finger charged with cyber energy, and he closed an eye before uttering a move he hadn't used in a very long time. "Cyber Bullet."
An actual blast boomed from Zhadow's digit, a light blue bullet shooting forwards and making a beeline for the vortex.
"Chaos Corruption."
Suddenly, the bullet turned black and dark red, before piercing the vortex and causing the worst explosion of the entire battle.
The explosion was so large, that it ravaged almost everything in sight.
It destroyed the walls, the ceilings and some of the floors. Zonic shielded his face from the blast, watching it all turn to ash in just under a few seconds. The droids all disintegrated, putting an end to Zobotnik's underground No Zone android army. A cloud of light blue and dark red seized the halls of the entire labyrinth, their light nearly blinding anyone who saw it. Even the siren could no longer continue to blare, as everything in that room was absolutely destroyed. A huge cloud of dust fell upon the room, and Zonic coughed as he brushed himself off. He slowly opened his eyes to see the damage, and saw small flames of digital fires appear around the room. There weren't even any pieces of rubble or rusted parts of the robots. They were all gone in the blink of an eye, totally vaporized. The metal of the surfaces were completely rusted into brittle, and weren't even that safe to walk on anymore. It seems that the majority of the damage was centered to this portion of the room, and not the observation deck. It was still damaged, but not nearly as bad as where they were. Zonic cautiously tried to take a step forward, but heard a creak and paused. Suddenly, he felt a hand grasp his. Gently. He looked up and saw Zhadow beside him, his expression sorrowful but respectful. Zonic just looked away and took his hand.
They Cyber Controlled to the safety of the observation deck, and they both took this time to look down at the result of that battle.
That was a lot.
It took them hours to get here, about four, but here they were. Zhadow's plan worked flawlessly, and they were victorious. Usually, this would be where Zhadow patted Zonic on the head, or sometimes his ass, and praised him for his work. After all, that's what they used to do when they partnered together when the job was done. But that was a long time ago, when they were happy with a seemingly healthy relationship. A far reach from now. If only they both knew just how many secrets they kept from each other back then. Would they have even survived as a couple if they told each other the truth? They didn't know, and maybe that's why Zhadow did what he did. But even then, even then...Zonic still couldn't forgive him. Still couldn't forget the sight of him aiming the gun at him. Still couldn't forget watching all of those templates betray each other for world domination, just as Zhadow did that day. Zonic stiffened and closed his eyes with tightened fists. No, after today, Zonic still wouldn't forgive him. He couldn't, he just couldn't.
And like always, Zhadow didn't blame him.
Zonic let go of his hand.
"I smelled rancid distrust from Shadow prime while he was with you." Zonic suddenly said. "If I could smell it that bad, I know Sonic prime could, too." He opened his eyes to turn and glare at Zhadow. "He took a liking to you, and yet now he speaks with caution towards you. What did you do?"
Zhadow placed his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes focused on the destruction below. "...I manipulated him into using Black Arms abilities for the first time." Then, Zhadow felt an uppercut jam directly into his stomach. "...!" He gagged and hacked a cough before taking a few steps back from Zonic. "Okay..." He mumbled as he wiped his mouth of spit. "I deserved that..."
"You deserve so much more!" Zonic yelled. "I should put your fucking face through the wall!" He shouted. "It wasn't enough to beat me senseless, you had to betray Shadow prime's trust, too? God," He made a frustrated snarl, his ears flattening and his tail becoming more ragged. "What is wrong with you? Didn't you tell me that I should mend my relationship with my brothers? So why the hell are you burning bridges with yours?"
"...It was the blood, I-"
"I'm sick of that excuse!"
"..." Zhadow nodded his head. "...I know."
"You know the Black Arms is a trigger for Shadow prime, and you know his history of being used. He has fucking PTSD from what he did under that bastard's influence. Not to mention abruptly teaching him a Black Arms ability cold turkey without proper training could have caused him to fall victim to the influence just like you. What, do you want to spread it?" Zonic was so beside himself in disbelieving rage, that he couldn't even recognize Zhadow anymore. "I...I can't believe you, Zhadow. As someone who went through the exact same thing, how the hell could you do that to him? How?!" When he didn't get an immediate answer, Zonic just gripped his hands onto his head, feeling yet another headache pummeling through his brain. His eye was twitching even more now, and it was getting so God damn annoying. "Be honest," He suddenly said. "Did you enjoy hurting me? Beating me up, dragging me across the floor? Because I didn't enjoy hurting you. I didn't enjoy hitting you in the head, hitting you with a giant hammer, tying you up like some deranged criminal on death row." His dark green eyes became slightly glossy. "I only laughed while you were hurting me, because that's the only thing I could do to keep myself from going insane. I've been beaten by my fiancé, called a slew of horrible insults by the man I love, and nearly had a panic attack in the elevator on the way to HQ because of the psychotic drivel you were spouting at me. I've been shot, tied up, nearly crushed to death, I burned my own hands and now I'm in Primal Mode close to having a nervous break down." Zonic's volume decreased, his face softening from anger to sorrow. "I'm tired, Zhadow. Something needs to change, because I can't do this anymore."
Zhadow only nodded again. "Yeah," He dusted himself off and looked upwards at the damaged ceiling. "I'm tired too, Zonic."
Zonic slowly shook his head. "What do you want me to do at this point? Seriously."
His general closed his eyes. "...Whatever you think is best."
Silence drifted between them for a moment.
"...Even if it ends up hurting us."
...
...
...
...Zonic considered those words. Let them linger in the air for just a little while longer.
"Are you sure?" Zonic asked softly.
Though his voice was calm, steady and cool as ever, inside, he wanted to scream his vocal box out of his own throat. "...I'm positive, Zonic." He then turned to glance at his fiancé, a defeated smile fitting his tan lips. "All I want is for you to be happy. I love to see you smile. You had such a beautiful smile before we got together, and now I barely get to see it. All because of me. I'm...sorry. So," His voice faltered a little. "If...getting rid of me is your only chance at being truly happy again, then I accept whatever you decide. I won't be mad, I won't yell. We can go back to being coworkers, and nothing has to change. I won't guilt trip you, I won't pressure you to take me back this time. If you return your ring to me," He nodded once. "I'll know your answer. This is your choice, and yours alone." Silently, Zonic saw Zhadow's arms shaking in his pockets. He didn't want to say any of this, and speaking these words were killing him. He wanted so badly to stop talking, to stop being gracious enough to give Zonic an out. But after everything he put him through, it was only right. It was the least he could do, after all. "But," Zhadow added. "Please know one thing," For a brief moment, his confident expression returned. He held up a two finger salute, and uttered the very thing he told him during his very first day under his mentorship: "I've got you in my sights. Always."
He'd still love him, even if he destroyed what they had.
No matter what.
Looking downwards at his hand, the ring on his finger, Zonic grimaced. He kept the ring on the entire time, even during that entire fight. "..."
Zhadow wasn't fighting it anymore.
He knew Zonic was unhappy. And if there was anything he hated more than Zobotnik, it was seeing Zonic unhappy.
He was willing to sacrifice having him by his side, if it meant Zonic could move on and smile again.
...
"...Could you," Zonic suddenly said. "Take me out of Primal Mode, sir?"
Zhadow nodded. "Zonic, deactivate Primal Mode: Rest."
His blue fur smoothed itself out as much as it could from all the fighting, but it was no longer as rough as it was. His teeth shrunk back to normal, not as sharp. His quills dulled to a normal sharpness, his claws blunted into normal nails and his posture was no longer hostile. He was normal again. Zonic exhaled silently, feeling some relief from being out of that form. He brushed his quills over his shoulder and looked to the side. "...Thank you, sir."
"Mm."
"May I," Zonic rubbed his own arm solemnly. "Have some time before I decide?"
"Of course," Zhadow answered easily. "Take as much time as you need. I'll keep my distance, I don't mind sleeping on the couch for a while. And I'll um," He scratched behind his head with a puzzled expression, still unsure how that blood got in that coffee and who wrote that fake note. They'd definitely have to meet up with the primes and talk about everything they witnessed and saw today, so they could figure this out. "Try to be more cautious from now on. Maybe try to look into some of Professor Zerald's notes on my biology, see if I can numb some of this influence. Don't need this happening again."
"Right."
"Now then," His superior suddenly said, his voice more focused. He began to walk deeper into Zobotnik's observation desk, his eyes glazing over the desk and monitors. He was in detective mode, but Zonic saw right through it. He was attempting to distract himself, and Zonic would be lying if he said he didn't need a diversion from his feelings right about now. "This area needs to be thoroughly investigated before we go. Besides," He added. "We can't let it rot. Zobotnik might return, and there's some unfinished business I need to take care of." He scanned his eyes over the monitors and blinked at one of the screens. Were those numbers?
2:40
That was the clock showing the current time. But there was another set of numbers...
00:14:57
That's when Zonic sniffed his nose a few times. "..." He made a shocked expression. "...!?" He looked around back and forth frantically, smelling something dangerous. "Sir, I smell explosives. A lot of them!"
"A fail-safe bomb?" Zhadow scowled at the numbers on the screen, watching the time tick down with every second. He sucked his teeth and made a tiresome groan. "Of course, damn sore loser...Whatever." He dragged his fingers over the keys of the dashboard before hitting some of them. "We've got about fifteen minutes, plenty of time. He probably thought we would have took longer, factoring in the unfinished business I have to do, so I guess we'll have to work just a little bit faster." He scanned over some of the files, and read what he needed to see. Quite extensive information, info that he'd have to tell everyone later. He digitized his new smartphone to his hand, before taking a picture. He took more than one. Now that he was done with it, he couldn't let it be. He spawned a Cyber Spear, and shoved it into the dashboard. A loud surge of electricity sparked throughout the machine and within the monitors. The screens glitched before turning to snow, then turning off completely. His eyes looked over the dashboard, searching for something in particular. Come on, that asshole had to have had one somewhere-Ah, there it was. A USB, an extremely thin one. He yanked it out and scanned over it carefully. He then plugged the USB directly inside of his phone. It caused the smart device to glitch a bit, but it settled down after a while and showed him various digital files. He downloaded them all, and opened up one that he found fascinating.
He took a second to skim through it.
Hmm...
Oh.
Ah.
Ohoho. So that's what this was, huh?
Zhadow's eyes darted to where the pile of that giant robot used to be down below before it blew up along with everything else. He wondered if it was the same material as those blood soaking walls.
Hmph.
Fine, two could play at that game. Zhadow tapped his thumb on the screen a few times before pulling the USB out and placing it in his pocket. He got what he wanted.
Zonic stared at the phone curiously, unsure of what Zhadow was thinking. "Sir?"
"I'll tell you later, rookie. For now, there's one more thing we need to do."
2:55 PM
Dark concrete of an elaborate piping system, and dim ceiling lights buzzed in their ears as they climbed up a metal ladder. A restricted access door appeared before them, but once touched, it shocked Shadow's hand with hacked cyber energy. Zhadow told him not to use the ability again, but now wasn't the time for patient caution. The biohog whispered, "Chaos Corruption." And touched the knob of the door once more. Black and dark red energy corroded the material and glitched the door. It trembled a little, before just tilting and falling backwards off it's hinges. Shadow then grasped the blue blur's hand and ran while scanning their surroundings. They were back inside of the power sewers. Which one, they weren't sure. They traversed throughout the piping systems, before noticing that there wasn't an exit at the end of this hall.
Sonic thought fast and eyed around for another ladder. Ah-There it was. He jogged over to it and climbed up, before holding a hand up and dragging his fingers across the ceiling. Once he did, three small circular blue lights appeared. "Ha! Found it." Okay, now what was the combination Zex used again? Oh yeah, it was...3, 1 then 2. He pushed his finger against the lights like buttons and pressed them in the sequence he remembered. Just as he hoped, the three lights flashed white before the ground above them began to shake. A square opening was made, pouring in fresh outdoor light inside. As much as Sonic wanted to jump out and scream "Freedom!", he had to wait for the others like Shadow said. He jumped down from the ladder and walked beside his partner with a charming smile. Shadow saw this, a faint blush appearing on his muzzle. However, he frowned and looked elsewhere. Sonic placed a hand on a shoulder. "Everything okay? You're not hurt, right?"
Shadow shook his head. "It's nothing, I just—" He sighed. No, Sonic would see right through him. He might as well have been honest. "The general...manipulated me into using a Black Arms ability. We were in a precarious situation that could have killed us both, but he risked our lives just so he could put me in an ultimatum to force me to use it." He scowled with disappointment. "He used me like Black Doom. I should have known our sudden 'brotherhood' was too good to be true. I should have known another version of me couldn't be that trustworthy." He crossed his arms and kept his eyes downcast. "It's obvious he was under that cursed Black Arms blood influence, but I don't care. I didn't appreciate that. He should have known better than to try that with me of all people."
This made Sonic grimace for Shadow. They both were so happy he found another friend, only for it to be ruined in just a few days. Sonic might not have been there to witness any of this, but he believed in Shadow one hundred percent no matter what. Still, did Zhadow really mean to do that? The guy was super chill and fun to be around, but it's obvious there was something very wrong with him. And it was all thanks to that damn blood of his. Sonic grasped both Shadow's shoulders gently. "Hey," He said softly. "I know he's been acting like a huge asshole lately, but Shads," He shook his head at him. "That's not actually him. That dickhead who beat up his own men, the bastard who called Zee all those names before beating the snot out of him? That ain't him, Shadow. Not at all. Just like it wasn't you when you hurt some of those GUN soldiers." He saw old pain wince through Shadow's eyes. "You weren't in your right mind. Don't get me wrong, you still did what you did, and I know that guilt is going to haunt you forever. Now think about how Zhadow feels. You honestly think he isn't secretly falling apart at the seams for what he did to you? To Zonic?" He saw confliction in Shadow's expression. "That cool guy schtick is an act, I would know. He's hiding it 'cause he's a leader, and he can't do his job if he's sulking all the time. He's not some toxic, abusive person. He's got a disease, and that disease is Black Doom. That blood stuff is dangerous and it can mess you up, too. So, I'd be angry, but...I dunno," He caressed the side of his tan muzzle. "I'll never tell anyone to just forgive the person who hurt them, that's wrong and it's not my place. You forgive him when you want to, at your pace. Even if you never forgive him, that's your right. Still, at least try to see where he's coming from. That guy needs help, Shadow. Serious help. Both him and Zonic got issues, but especially him and he's gotta fix it himself." He arduously turned Shadow's face in his direction. "Give him some time. You two clicked perfectly and it wasn't without a reason. The guy you teamed up with is still in there, somewhere."
Shadow only sighed again, quieter this time. Sonic was a pacifist at heart, no matter how much he huffed and puffed when he was angry. He hated unnecessary violence and didn't like it when people didn't get along. However, he also wasn't a fool. Sonic believed in independence, and believed others should have the same right. If someone wanted to make a decision for themselves without anyone else influencing or persuading them to do otherwise, he'd encourage it. Therefore, he'd be the last person to ever guilt trip anyone about "forgiving and forgetting." He didn't believe in that, he only believed in having empathy. He wasn't asking Shadow to forgive Zhadow, and he wasn't even asking him to consider it. He only asked him to see his perspective, the same thing he did for Shadow so many years ago. Sonic loved Shadow, he'd never force him to forgive someone who did something wrong to him. Even if it was for a small offense. He just didn't want Shadow to go completely cold as usual, but to try and be patient with someone he legitimately liked. Nothing more. Because maybe, just maybe, things weren't what they seemed.
The biohog eventually nodded slowly. "...I'm still going to keep my distance, but I suppose you're right." He felt a kiss plant itself on his cheek. He held one of Sonic's wrists affectionately, before rubbing his cheek against his palm. "...I love you." He smiled a little. He could always talk to him about anything in confidence, and he knew the blue blur would always have his back.
Sonic smiled back cheerfully. "Love ya too, babe."
"So," Shadow smirked. "You're calling Zonic by his name, now? No more Napoleon or Captain Try-Hard?"
Red colored Sonic's face as he internally panicked. "I-I uh-"
"You've even got a nickname for him, now. 'Zee', right?"
"S-Shut up!" Sonic blushed with frustration as he snatched his hands away. "It's not even like that!"
"Oh?" Shadow mused with a raised brow. "Because I distinctively heard the sound of loyal camaraderie between the two of you during that battle. Perhaps, even, the beginnings of a friendship? Of..." He nudged Sonic's shoulder playfully. "...Brotherhood?"
"Oh my God, you are actually super unattractive to me right now."
"Aww, poor faker can't be honest with his feelings."
"That's it—I'm not cooking for you anymore."
"Wha-!" Shadow gawked. "You promised you'd make me box lunches for work when we return home, you can't do that! We had a deal!"
Sonic turned up his nose at him with a stubborn pout. "And I'm ending that deal as of today."
Shadow groaned with irritation. "You're impossible. Fine, I'll apologize to you properly when we get back home."
The hero liked the sound of that. "Anything I want?"
"Yes," Shadow hissed with a vein throbbing on his head. "Anything you want."
Sonic then made a leer. "Even if-You might wanna mute Dollface's ears for a sec." Shadow blinked at this but did so anyway. "-Even if I want you face down, ass up, with your legs spread out for me? Begging and shaking and pleading for me to fuck you raw until you pass out~?"
Shadow could only scowl bashfully, his cheeks reddening significantly. He had a feeling he'd demand that. Sonic's been alluding to topping for days. "Yes, fine. Whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, now don't speak another word about this. I'm unmuting Maria's hearing and I don't need her listening to you talk like the obnoxious playboy jock that you think you are. A girl her age doesn't need to hear this crap." When he returned Maria's sense of sound, he grew irritated at Sonic's arrogant smirk.
"Sure, sure...I'll be good. For now."
"Annoying prick."
"Only for you, baby."
The ground was shaking. This was like, the tenth time today. Except it didn't stop, and the shaking was absolutely violent. It felt like a radical earthquake. Sonic and Shadow glanced at each other with concern. Were Zonic and Zhadow still down there? Should they go back? Maybe they should- "..." What was that? "...!" A voice maybe? "...un...!" What? "Run!" Two voices, now. "Run! Now!" They saw their Zonian counterparts sprinting towards them as if their very lives depended on it. And they definitely did. The closer they got, the more the ground shook. Suddenly, light blue holograms appeared, with physical metal materials building and compiling themselves together to create two large sci-fi motorcycles they recognized easily. Zhadow's glowed red and Zonic's glowed royal blue. They both synchronously jumped onto their bikes, before making two beelines towards the primes. They held out their hands for them, prepare to pull them onboard. Sonic and Shadow took the initiative and rushed forward to spread out with their palms open, just barely missing the front end of their bikes by a few centimeters. Their palms slapped their counterparts', and were securely yanked upwards then down to the seat behind the driver. Problem though: How the hell were they both going to ride out of the-
"Cyber Control!"
Oh yeah.
Damn, Sonic unlocked the entrance of the sewer for nothing. He felt so smart, too.
In a flash, they were above ground.
Finally!
Sunshine rained down on their furs as their bikes immediately boosted down the empty road. Sonic noticed their area was similar to the road Zector showed him, the one that led to the Cosmic Interstate. This must have been another portion of the city that led to it. Sonic and Shadow turned around, only to see the ground they were just riding on was beginning to crumble apart. Smoke and combustion shot throughout the hole Sonic made to open the power sewer. Oh shit, maybe he shouldn't have opened that. "Y-Yo!" Sonic yelled over the roaring engines. "Is it me or is the entire underground exploding?"
"You're half right," Zonic yelled back as he and Zhadow maneuvered their bikes in the same direction. "A lower portion of the underground is currently being destroyed by a series of bombs. Zobotnik made a failsafe. Thankfully," He and Zhadow revved up their bikes and accelerated them into the air. Now hovering, they drove their motorcycles high into the sky. "That portion of the sewers isn't connected to the power sparks. They're at a safe distance. Still, that damage could possibly spread and disrupt their functionality. We'll need to send an advanced team of engineers and programmers to the sewers the second we get back. I'd make the order now, but our transmitters still aren't working." He then slightly turned behind to glance at Sonic from the side. "I owe you a tremendous apology, Sonic prime. You were right all along."
The hero blinked. "Seriously...?"
Zonic nodded before turning back to the road. "You were right about everything. Zobotnik operating underground, his next target being either me or Zhadow...We even found the missing soldiers, just like you suspected." He tightened his grip on the handlebars. "I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have let my anger and unfounded distrust derail my rationality. If I had just took your word, perhaps we could have rescued them sooner." He made a small smile. "Hmph. Should've known better than to question someone almost as sharp and poised as me. I won't make that mistake again."
That wasn't an actual jab or insult.
It was banter.
Playful, well meaning banter that hid a genuine compliment.
And he meant it.
...
...Sonic rubbed his finger under his nose and grinned back. "Heh. No problem, Sideways."
"Pfft," Zonic chuckled a little at the new nickname. "That's a clever one."
Shadow held a faint smile as Sonic finally, finally began positively bonding with his counterpart. He never thought he'd see the day. He returned his attention to the back of his own twin, and frowned. If only their relationship was mended. "You rescued the missing soldiers?" The ultimate life form asked with concern but with an obvious guarded tone.
"Indeed," Zhadow replied quickly, some level of understanding and some remorse hidden in his vocals. "My rookie and I did so much damage, the forcefield surrounding the entire lair was practically useless. I Cyber Controlled them out of there and into No Zone HQ's infirmary. Took a lot of my energy, but it was worth it. The doctors and nurses are probably really confused at the appearance of random bodies, but it wouldn't be the first time. They know their protocols." They could still hear the echoes of rumbles from underground from afar. As the aerial motorcycles drove towards HQ, a bad feeling settled in all of them.
Especially Sonic. "Uhh," He said aloud to address everyone. "Why does it feel like it's still not over?"
Zhadow scowled as he glared at the ginormous floating building. "I think you're right again Sonic prime, it's not over." He narrowed his eyes. "Not by a long shot."
No Zone HQ
Afternoon, 3:05 PM
And by God was Sonic right.
So painfully right.
A mess.
That's the only way they could describe the scene.
They weren't even welcomed at the front doors. Hell, there weren't even guards. They just waltzed right in. Somebody was definitely getting fired after that, but that wasn't the biggest issue. No, the biggest issue was witnessing No Zone HQ practically implode in on itself.
The moment they walked in, they saw havoc.
Privates and rookies were holding medical supplies and running back and forth from the reception lobby to the infirmary ward, which was only a few hallways down from here. Spilled over medicine, gauzes, needles, towels and sanitation scrubs were scattered from their arms to the floor. They even saw a few janitors sprinting around like chickens with their heads cut off-Oh. There actually was a Zonian chicken running around, freaking out. Wait, why did they have a gun? Weren't they part of the cafeteria staff? Several gurneys and stretchers filled with the bodies of the missing soldiers they saw in Zobotnik's underground base, were currently being wheeled off into the ward. Nurses were trying their best to calm down current low ranking soldiers who were paranoid and nervous, while doctors were demanding the attention of those same nurses. Not only that, but there were several unconscious soldiers on the floor as well. The hell? Why were they hurt? They weren't fighting, they weren't supposed to. Only the strong ones were supposed to be on combative duty and they were still all on the top floors on standby. What the hell happened here? That's when they saw several No Zone android body parts strewed all over the floors and even some of the walls. Zonic was absolutely shocked, he had never seen the HQ so disarrayed like this. It was like some disorganized, hole-in-the-wall back alley clinic. If any citizens or politicians of No Zone walked in and saw this, they'd pull all funding from No Zone Corps immediately.
Slowly, Zhadow felt many veins appear on his head and throb significantly.
He made a low growl, his fingers massaging his temples. Oh boy, he really didn't want to do this. Hadn't done this in years actually, it was Zonic's job. However, he could see that his rookie was so shocked at what they were witnessing, that he couldn't bark any orders right now. So fine, he'd do it. This was all his fault anyway, it was only fair he take proper responsibility. "Such a damn drag...God damn it...I'm in no mood for this shit." Zhadow grumbled before taking a deep breath, and exhaling even slower. He placed his fingers to his lips and made a harsh, loud and near window shattering whistle. The sound caused Shadow and Sonic to flatten their ears with a disgruntled frown, that was almost painful to hear. However, they glanced over at Zonic and saw both his ears and tail pointed upwards. His pupils were flat but his eyes were wide. When they looked around them, so was everyone else. They all froze, dropped anything they were doing, completely still. Only regular faculty, such as receptionists or janitors, didn't have a reaction. It was only the soldiers who reacted to that whistle. "Attention!" Zhadow yelled, causing them all to turn and look directly at their ultimate superior. Including Zonic. All in silence. Simultaneously, everyone lifted an arm and saluted strongly. With frustrated disappointment, Zhadow glared at them all one by one. Looking at every single person who dared to lose their nerve in the line of service. Ridiculous, he was severely disappointed in them.
Sonic tilted his head at Zonic and carefully poked his shoulder.
No reaction.
Holy shit.
The blue hero slowly looked at Shadow, who was just as bewildered as he was. How the hell can a person train someone, let alone several hundred people, that well?
Zhadow then relayed another order. "...At ease." As if snapped from out of a dream, everyone regained their senses. Their ears and tails no longer pointed up. Their eyes were no longer blank, but they were extremely attentive at this point and still looking in Zhadow's direction. They still wouldn't move, they still didn't disobey his orders. He then darted his dark red eyes to a Zonian sungazer lizard, and she flinched nervously, her salute almost completely failing in posture. "You." She immediately began to sweat, she was only a private. "Explain what the fuck is going on in my facility. Now."
She tried her best to keep up her salute without losing her shit. "Y-Y-Yes, General Zhadow, s-sir." She attempted to clear her throat, her voice decreasing second after second. "You see, there was...there was an incident-"
"Speak up!" Zhadow hollered.
"...!" She shivered violently, her eyes trembling against her skull. Even the other soldiers around her winced from his tone. "T-There was an incident, sir! D-During the silent alarm emergency, several random hacked warp holes were created within random areas of the building, ultimately abducting several No Zone soldiers!" She wished so badly she could avert her eyes from his harsh gaze, but she knew it'd be over for her and her career if she did. "Many high ranking officers from upper floors who weren't taken reported it, asking for assistance from the lower floors. Robotic No Zone soldier androids were warped within the facility, and wiped out a large number of lower ranks. This happened just after the bodies of the nine previously reported missing soldiers were teleported here. T-There are no fatal casualties, but...they're all unconscious."
With a steady pause of silence, Zhadow continued to glare down at her. "How many were taken?"
She bit her lip hard. "...o..." She couldn't even say it. "O...On..." She couldn't do it, she had to break eye contact.
She squeezed her eyes shut and looked away.
"...One thousand, sir."
70 - END - 70
Notes:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sonic the Hedgehog!
Thank you to everyone who have stayed and kept up with the story so far. This story is almost at 500,000 words! Funnily enough, this entire story isn't even close to halfway over. (I know, yikes.)
As a surprise, I made an extra rare Monday update! Hope you all enjoyed~
By the way, there is yet another cameo here! At the end of this chapter was a sungazer lizard: A Zonian version of Trip the Sungazer from Sonic Superstars! I suppose her name would be Zrip...?
Be sure to visit me @Pmillennium78 on X (Twitter), so we can scream "happy birthday" to our favorite blue gumball together!
Chapter 71: Traitor
Summary:
Who IS the traitor?
Chapter Text
71 - Traitor - 71
3:15 PM
Sonic could barely repeat that number. "O-One...thousand...?" He whispered in a grave voice. "Oh Chaos."
Shadow made a difficult expression and turned away with his eyes closed. After what he saw in that laboratory, he could only imagine the pain Zobotnik's new victims were feeling now. Damn it. God damn it...Zonic looked absolutely heartbroken, his ears flattened and his eyes lowered to the floor. It was thanks to their absence that they were all gone. Everyone looked at the general, expecting a volcanic magma explosion of hateful wrath to erupt from his throat. Instead, Zhadow did something Sonic and Shadow didn't expect, but Zonic wasn't surprised. General Zhadow only exhaled through his nose stressfully before dragging a hand through his quills with a bored expression. "Ugh. Seriously? Geez...Alright." The primes just stared at Zhadow as if he was a freak of nature-What the hell did he mean by "alright"? One thousand of their men were gone! Wasn't he at least a little worried or upset or something? "I can only assume this happened while I was compromised?" He asked the private, his tone a little softer and more inconvenienced than angry.
She nodded her head multiple times very quickly. "Y-Yes, sir."
"Right..." Zhadow sighed and rubbed the back of his neck while staring at something else. "So this is technically all my fault...I see." He muttered to himself before increasing his volume. "The primes and First Lieutenant General Zonic were also preoccupied with dealing with me, and then we were all captured with warp holes ourselves." He saw some of his men glance at him with alarmed faces. Right, none of them had any idea what happened in his office before his and Zonic's fight concluded. "It took a ludicrous amount of time to get back to HQ, and we couldn't communicate with anyone since our transmitters were down while we were in there. Not only that, but during our absence, even more heavy hitters were taken away, leaving you all incredibly vulnerable. I see why you all had a hard time getting back on track." He tried to sound understanding, and that even gave the private hope. "However," Until Zhadow snatched it away with a gnarly death grip of a strict, chilly voice. "That is no excuse for you all to be running around like a bunch of lunatics in my domain." He rose his voice loudly, his expression still very much exasperated by the state his HQ was in. "This is my damn corporation, and you will all operate dutifully as per protocol no matter what happens. Even if Vice Leader Zonic and I had died, you all should have behaved accordingly and operated with much more precision and grace than what I'm currently witnessing right now. I am severely disappointed in all of you. If you can't handle dire situations, you don't need to call yourselves my soldiers!" He bellowed. "Is that clear!?"
They all bowed their heads to the general immediately, while he looked down upon them all with disgrace. His arms were crossed and he was very much unimpressed by their respect. Bowing was the least they could do for this garbage fire of a mess they put the building in. "Yes, General Zhadow." They all apologized at once.
"Tch, I see some of you need to be discharged or at the very least suspended. Go home and play house with that loser attitude, I've no need for it. Even the weakest lower ranking No Zone soldier should be strong enough both in mind and body to take down an entire small army single handedly." He turned away from them all with revulsion. "Pathetic. You lot couldn't even disarm a child with a pellet gun, so I'm done wasting my breath with you." He snapped his fingers. "On your feet, all of you." He commanded, causing everyone to raise their heads at once. "Since I'm the only one in the room with a half thinking brain, I suppose I have to do everything for you maggots myself." He held his hand out. "Transceiver. Now. I don't have all day, unlike you." Another soldier rushed up with a walkie talkie and anxiously handed it over to their general. He snatched it away and pressed his thumb against one of the dials before speaking into it. "This is General Zhadow reporting to everyone and anyone still remaining in the building. Listen carefully. Ranks one through twenty," He glared at another section of the room. "Assist the infirmary and psychiatrist faculty immediately. Do everything the doctors and nurses say, and don't you dare fuck it up. You're the weakest soldiers here, and you're hanging on by a thread as it is. Do not disappoint me anymore than you already have."
The sungazer lizard along with the other privates and rookies saluted and nodded, before running off towards the infirmary ward. They all looked really embarrassed, as if they were all spanked in front of the entire class by their dad with a diamond-studded belt.
Zhadow's eyes turned to another portion of the room. "Ranks twenty one through forty, stop whatever you're doing and work with the engineering team to begin repairs on the building at once." Those were soldiers on floors above them, but not at the top. He heard static through the device, before hearing several voices of affirmation come through with, "Yes sir," and "At once, sir." At least somebody competent was still in the area somewhere. "Forty one through sixty, reinforce security on my building. Nobody was posted at the front entrance, so I can only assume other exits have been neglected as well. A horrible and grievous mistake that could cost more lives that I can't afford to lose. The facility is on lockdown for the next twenty-four hours. No one gets in or out. We'll have to utilize bunker rooms for tonight until I personally lift the HQ off of lockdown. Is that understood?" More static, before more strong vocals of affirmation. No issues there, either. "Sixty one through eighty, you are to enforce stronger security on No Zone Prison. The lockdown for the prison is still in effect and will stay in effect for twenty-four hours as well. If even one prisoner is seen poking their damn pinky out of their cell, you're all fired." More nervous voices of acknowledgement came through, which was good enough. "Finally, ranks eighty one through one hundred, if there are any of you left," He really hoped there was. "Investigate the entire facility from top to bottom. Work with the seniors of the espionage team to figure out exactly what happened here while I was gone. Minute by minute, full of details. I want full reports from every single soldier who witnessed what happened here today, and I want them all by o five hundred tomorrow."
That's when he heard a voice that relieved both his and Zonic's nerves. "Yes, general."
"Of course, sir."
Zhadow stared at the transceiver. "Officers Zector and Zespio...?" He asked aloud. "You're both still safe?" He made a thankful grunt. "Good. At least I can count on you both to clean up this mess. In fact, I'd like to speak with you personally ASAP. Meet me in...oops," He blinked. "Shit, it's destroyed. Oh well, I guess we can use Zonic's office instead." Couldn't use his own office right now since it was basically destroyed. He shrugged while Zonic pointed a silent glare at him. Asshole didn't even ask. "Meet me in First Lieutenant General Zonic's office in three minutes." He cut off the transceiver and tossed it carelessly to the private who gave it to him previously without even looking. Wait, why were they still here? They had orders. Zhadow then scowled and slowly turned to glare at them. "Aren't you needed in the infirmary ward, private?" He asked roughly, making them yelp and scurry off down the hall and away from the reception. "Idiots, all of them..." He grumbled with an empty glower.
Meanwhile, in the background, Zonic was silently blushing at his superior's natural leadership. Chaos, he was so handsome when he barked orders. He rarely got like that, but when he did, it just...did something to the first lieutenant general. He almost forgot about everything that's happened up to now, and he wanted to yank Zhadow by the collar and pull him close just so he could steal a kiss from him. But then, he remembered what they talked about before they escaped Zobotnik's clutches. The light in his eyes died, as did the pink flush on his cheeks. He was greatly saddened about the decision he'd have to make soon. Beyond that, a good chunk of their allies were gone. When Zhadow took Zonic to the room filled with missing soldiers before they left, he was disatraught by what he saw. They were in so much pain, and now more of their friends would be subject to such horrible experiments. Zonic grimaced tightly, his dark green eyes clouded with fear and guilt. If only they all hadn't been captured, they could have prevented this.
"Looks like our day isn't done yet." Zhadow scoffed tersely. "Lucky us." He glanced over at the primes. "Sorry to disappoint you two, but I'm afraid I can't let you leave the HQ just yet. We really need to regroup and report what happened on all fronts. Officers Zespio and Zector will join us to help give their perspective on what happened while we were gone. After that," He looked so done with today, frankly. "We'll attempt to come up with a solution. After that, then I'll let you both go home. You're not normal civilians, so there's no restrictions for you. You can come and go from the facility as you please. You're strong enough to handle yourselves, after all. If you return to the apartment, it should be fine. Just call us the moment you notice something's off, even the smallest thing, and even if it's 1AM in the morning. If we need you to return, you'll be notified. Got it?"
Shadow and Sonic glanced at each other quickly before nodding. They were tired too, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, at least they could eventually go home and rest. Zonic and Zhadow meanwhile, seemed like they'd be up all night after today.
"Fine, general." Shadow replied.
3:18 PM
"Oooohhhhh..." Zhadow spun in Zonic's office chair with a nonchalant expression as he finally got the details on every thing that's happened from all fronts. Zonic just stood beside him while facepalming at his superior's typical childishly blasé attitude. Asshole took his damn chair, too. "So that's what happened..."
"Sir," Zonic stressed with a sweat drop as he eventually moved to sit down on the edge of the desk. "Please at least try to take this seriously," He lifted his hand from his face and glared at Zhadow. "We lost one thousand of our men for God's sake."
"Mmnn," The general blinked slowly as he took a drag from his newly lit cigarette. "Okay, so let's recap for a second." He mused with a simple tone. As he took a second to pause and rethink everything he was just told, the others in the room just sat in the lounging area in silence. Officers Zector and Zespio sat together in one white loveseat with their casual formal uniforms, while Sonic and Shadow sat together in the other. Zhadow was too busy mumbling to himself what was reported while periodically finding Zonic's office much nicer than his own...even though they were modeled almost exactly the same way. Zonic was so irritated by his indifference to the situation, that he was trying his best not to spazz at his fiancé.
With a small smile, Sonic looked over at Zector. "They're like this all the time, huh?"
Zector chuckled a little. "Heh, you have no idea. They were like this even before the incident three years ago-" He was elbowed by Zespio.
"Don't tell them about that!" He hushed.
The crocodile just shook his head. "It's fine, Zespio. They already know. I told Sonic prime what I knew, and I'm sure he already told Shadow prime. It was bound to happen sooner than later anyway." They both glanced at the primes in question, who nodded sheepishly. They did indeed know, but to a much higher degree than they thought they did. They wondered if the officers had any idea how devastating the incident truly was being inside of that room, being told from each of their superiors what truly happened. Maybe they'd never know, but they had no right to tell them anything about that.
Quietly, Sonic nudged Shadow's arm. "Did Zhadow tell you...?" He whispered, knowing only his partner could hear him.
Shadow nodded. "Yes. He told me everything. Zonic told you, I presume? How Zhadow was going to...?"
Sonic nodded back. "Yeah, he did. But," He frowned. "That's not all Zonic told me. He told me what happened the day after that incident, too. Something huge happened in the Room of Realities." He made a guilty expression. "Part of it is my fault."
"...?" Shadow furrowed his brows. That didn't sound good, but they couldn't talk here. "...Hmm," He placed his hand on his and gently squeezed it. "Not here."
"Yeah." The blue blur already understood, and his eyes became downcast.
"Hey," Shadow rubbed his fingers against his knuckles, causing the blue one to look up and share his gaze. "We'll talk about it. Okay?"
Blushing a little, Sonic nodded bashfully. He'd totally kiss him right now in front of everyone if he could get away with it, and Sonic tried his best to ignore that fact. "Yeah...Yeah, okay."
"So," Zhadow suddenly said, gaining everyone's attention. Zonic looked so exhausted from their little exchange, so he just stared at the tinted windows of his office in silence. Something else looked wrong, though. Something was fogging up his mind, something very negative. Sonic couldn't help but feel bad. The guy was already going through so much, what was bothering him now? The general continued. "I went nuts thanks to Zobotnik," He insensitively admitted. "Zonic was forced to neutralize me-"
"-If you mean by neutralize you mean, 'kick the absolute shit out of,' you'd be correct, general." Zonic interrupted with a curt tone and crossed arms.
...
...Zhadow just slowly turned his head to his rookie with a stare.
Nobody could read what kind of stare it was. It wasn't a glare, not a glower, but definitely a stare that warranted a flinch. Zonic stared right back, too. Still unreadable. Nonetheless, the tension in the room increased significantly. "..." Zhadow then brushed off that comment and continued. "...When I was neutralized, myself, the primes and Zonic were all captured via a hacked warp hole. While we were trying to get out," He pointed his cigarette at Zespio and Zector. "You and various other soldiers report that other hacked warp holes appeared randomly all throughout the building to kidnap only higher ranking soldiers. Up to one thousand members of ranks sixty through one hundred. You claim the mass abduction took about ten minutes, as transmission channels to those who were taken were suddenly cut offline by that time stamp. You both took the initiative, made a head count, and confirmed with other officers before we arrived that it was exactly one thousand soldiers missing. Once that happened, all hell broke loose because a slew of No Zone androids appeared through more hacked warp holes and wreaked havoc on every single floor." He placed the cigarette back between his lips and took a puff. "You all managed to defeat them with a handicap, but not without some nonlethal casualties, mainly the weaklings from ranks one to thirty. After that, some soldiers lost their nerve and morale, sending my reception area into chaos." He flicked ashes into an ashtray. "That about right?"
Zector and Zespio nodded with despair inducing looks in their eyes. They were ashamed they couldn't do more. "Err, yes sir." Zector said first. "We're...sorry."
"We should have done more," Zespio added, absolutely dishonored by his lack of strength in the matter. "Whatever consequences you bestow, we'll accept it with pride."
"Alright, alright," Zhadow flagged them off carelessly. "Let's not get dramatic here. Not like you two did anything wrong. Actually," He added. "You two and the survivors of your ranks did the heavy lifting. I should be thanking you for being the only decent soldiers able to keep this place from catching on fire. Hmm," He tapped his finger on the desk impatiently. "I guess I can push in a raise..." He then looked over at the primes. "Sonic prime, all of your theories were correct. Blindingly so. Shadow prime," He called to his twin. "Did you notice anything...off about the metal in Zobotnik's underground lair?"
This made the biohog frown. "I...no. I didn't notice anything strange at all with the metal."
"That's funny," Zhadow replied. "Because after I shot my own hand to leave a blood trail," He saw Zector, Zespio and Sonic's faces grow immediately disturbed. Shadow and Zonic were the only ones who knew why he did that. After a while though, Sonic started to get it. After all, Zonic smelled his blood and instantly knew where to go to track Zhadow. Before that, he smelled cigarette ashes. Zhadow was leading the two to them the whole time. Smart guy. "I saw the metal absorb my blood."
"What?" Shadow's eyes widened. "Absorb it? It...took your blood?"
Zhadow nodded. "Indeed. Then, we all saw the pieces of the giant robot Sonic prime and Zonic unwittingly destroyed in the square."
"Which is impossible, by the way." His Mobian twin countered. "Chaos Portal transports anything I put in it in outer space. There's no way in hell Zobotnik could have gotten it back. Not to mention Sonic and I tore it to shreds. Even if he could get pieces of it back, they should have looked way more damaged than that. It looked more disassembled than destroyed." Then, he looked at Sonic and thought about what he said at the square that day. Test run...a test run...He and Zhadow locked eyes as he realized the truth. "No...you've got to be kidding me."
The general saw that his twin finally caught on. "Indeed. What if, using Sonic prime's line of thinking, that robot was a test run as well? Testing Sonic prime and Zonic's abilities, clocking in the information and utilizing it for the next robot he'd use. In all fairness, it was probably meant to test all of us, but their little spat that day took the initiative. Either way, Zobotnik got some valuable data."
This made Sonic grimace. "Oh shit. Damn," He made a sheepish expression. "Usin' my own ideas against me...I didn't even think about that."
"In that case," Zonic suddenly said with a less turbulent voice. "What if that's how Zobotnik got my blood?" He turned to his superior. "What if that robot was made of the same metal?"
"Hmmm," Zhadow nodded his head a few times. "That would make sense...Problem is, transportation. How in the world did he get it from his lair back to me in HQ in a coffee cup?"
"Actually, I'd like to have Counselor Zouge here, sir." Zonic said. "She told me she gave the coffee to you, so perhaps she noticed something before delivering it."
That wasn't a terrible idea, and they didn't really have that many options to help them figure this all out. Couldn't hurt.
3:20 PM
About a minute and a buzzing sound of Zonic's office doors unlocking later, the bat in question was currently standing before them all with an odd expression and without her heels. Barefoot. She looked rather suspicious of something. Her eyes kept darting around back and forth in the room, from Zhadow to Zonic, Sonic to Shadow, then from Zespio to Zector. She must have still been shaken up by earlier, but it seemed more than that. No, she was dubious of something else. Zonic narrowed his eyes at her. She reached her hand up to take off her glasses and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them apprehensively. "Um," Zonic began. "Good to have you here, Counselor Zouge. I assure you, my superior is no longer out of his mind. He's fine now, so-"
"I know." She abruptly said.
Both Zonic and Zhadow briefly gazed at each other before returning their attention to her. "Is there another reason why you look so nervous, then?" Zhadow asked carefully.
She made a small, weak smile. "No reason, no reason at all. Don't you worry your little head about me."
Even the primes could tell that was a boldfaced lie. She couldn't have been the traitor, she was acting too obvious. If she was anything like Rouge, there'd be no way in hell a woman like her would ever out herself that easily. Plus, she was just recently a victim of Zobotnik's. He already did the very worst he could to her, so she couldn't be threatened by him again. She would never stoop that low, not even if she was forced. Zonic cleared his throat and attempted to steer the conversation forward. "Well, counselor, we called you here to ask if you noticed anything strange before or after you gave General Zhadow his coffee."
After cleaning her glasses, she finally placed them back on the bridge of her nose with a small adjustment. "Ahem, yes, of course. Um," She made a small sigh. "You see, General Zhadow's coffee was given to me by a private. It had a sticky note on it in your handwriting, and they claimed they were told to give it to me to hand it over to Zhadow."
Zonic scowled. "I never wrote a note and I never told a private to deliver any coffee to anyone."
"Not to mention the note was forged." Zhadow commented. "And to top it all off, the coffee was black. Disgusting. I don't like black coffee, and Zonic would never make such an error. He's been making me coffee since before he even became a major." He saw Zouge's expression grow a bit more weary. Why? She couldn't have had anything to do with this. It wouldn't have made sense. She told Zonic exactly how one could poison someone within the HQ herself, and this incident made her look like enemy number one. That was way too easy. Even if she did do it, as a former member of the espionage team in her prime, she wouldn't be this sloppy. "Zouge, which private gave you the coffee?"
She swallowed hard. "..." She looked somewhere else.
Why?
Why wouldn't she talk?
...
...The atmosphere got ten times more intense.
Slowly, Zhadow stood up from Zonic's chair and his expression darkened significantly. Zonic did the same, getting off of the desk and pointing a scarily intense look directly at the bat. The primes made worried exchanges to each other, while officers Zespio and Zector stared at her in disbelief. Slowly, Zouge took a single step back, her frown heavy and filled with guilt. Her head was lowered, her face nonvisible. "...I'm sorry." Was all she said. "I..." She then lifted her head with a sad smile and nodded. "I-It...It was me." She said with a shaky voice. "It was all me. I got the coffee, I forged the note, I...It was me." She then closed her eyes and took in a brave, deep breath. After exhaling, she held out her arms, her wrists outwards. "Arrest me." She nodded again, her eyes opening with strong confirmation. "Do it. I'll go quietly. Just," She made a small chuckle to try and lighten the mood and tilted her head. "Try not to rough me up too much? I'm still a lady, after all."
"No way..." Sonic whispered under his breath.
Zector's eyes were small with disbelief. "N-No...No!" He stood up from his seat as well. "Counselor Zouge-I...Y-You can't...No!" He exclaimed. "You wouldn't! You would never do that! I know you wouldn't!"
Zouge only looked away. "Well," She said quietly. "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think."
To this, Zonic made an unimpressed expression. Zhadow's expression also didn't change nor waiver. He glanced at Zonic and nodded his head, before turning his eyes back to Zouge. The Vice Leader of No Zone Corps slowly walked over to Zouge, his hands behind his back with a terrifying silent glare. "..." He eyed her up and down, causing the woman to continue averting her dark teal irises. "...So you did it, hm?" He asked softly. She nodded her head once without a word. "Mmhm. Okay...Then surely you can tell me how you got my blood in it." He saw her eyes dilate, and for a split second, her expression seemed confused. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she tried playing it off. "Go on."
She placed her hands on her chest, as if trying to calm her own nerves. "...It was simple." She said. "I...took it from you when you visited me in the infirmary ward."
"Ah," Zonic continued to look unimpressed. "Okay. And I presume you knew exactly what would happen if General Zhadow consumed one lick of my blood, then?"
Her eyes seemed to dart back and forth. She didn't know what to say. "...What does it matter? It did what it needed to do."
"Oh? And what did you need it to do? How and why did you know my blood could put my general into a frenzy?"
"I'm sorry," She curtly retorted with a challenging glare. "Is this some kind of interrogation? Put me in a room at the very least-"
"I will put you in an interrogation room when I deem it necessary, counselor." Zonic shot back with a stronger tone. "Stop avoiding the question and answer me."
Silence.
More silence.
And then, a small chuckle.
"Heheh," She cracked a pitiful yet prideful smile. "Ohh, Zhadow taught you so well, Zonic. I'm so proud of you. I can't lie to you, not like this. Your eyes," She noted. "They're too hardened to ignore small bluffs or big lies. Even if they come from a friend. You'll make a fine general, one day." She then began to shake her head, she couldn't do this anymore. "Zector, sweetie," She slowly turned her head to the crocodile with a somber expression. "I'm so sorry, I tried." Zector only continued to look at her with a befuddled look. He had no idea what was even happening right now. She turned back to Zonic and braced herself for what she was about to tell them. "...The truth is," She began. "There was no private. Zector is the one who gave me the coffee, and told me to give it to General Zhadow."
"Gah-!"
A loud thump.
The croc was suddenly tackled against the wall, his collar being gripped tightly by Zhadow, who was glaring swords of daggers into his skull. He was practically choking him, and despite the size difference, Zector was being crushed against the wall by his superior. His expression was still confused, but evidently panicked by what was happening. "Oohhh," Zhadow growled threateningly. "So it was you? You're the one who did this? You're the one who made me hurt Zonic?" He slammed him against the wall very hard, causing Zector to shout in pain as cracks formed in the surface behind him. He tried placing his larger hands on Zhadow's, attempting to get his superior to stop. As Zhadow glared into his golden eyes, he couldn't see any true ill-will. That didn't make sense. If he's the one who did it, why didn't he sense anything negative from him? "Answer me!" Zhadow yelled.
"G-General Zhadow...!" He managed to say with a strangled voice. "I-I have no idea what she's talking about, I don't remember giving her coffee that day! I don't even remember seeing her!"
"Liar!"
"I-I swear! Counselor Zouge," He tried to turn his head towards the bat. "You're making this up, I didn't do that! I swear I didn't!"
Zonic squinted his eyes harshly at him.
"Damn it, I swear to God I didn't do this! I swear it on my badge, my career, my life...anything! I didn't do it!"
Someone still wasn't telling the truth here.
The blue soldier took something from his belt, and it digitized into a collar.
One of those again, the primes recognized it from when Zonic placed one on Zhadow earlier today when he knocked him out. "Perhaps a control collar will get us the answers we need." He made a passive glare at Zouge before walking over to Zector. "I won't put one on you, ma'am, as I can already tell you're telling the truth. You tried taking the rap for Zector, which is very much in your character. You should be arrested for lying to an active police officer and conspiracy to aid a potential suspect, but we'll go over punishments later." Behind him, Zouge could only nod pitifully. She did wrong, she knew she did. She wouldn't fight whatever would come her way. Zhadow moved aside, but kept Zector physically detained. Zonic reached around Zector's shoulders to clip on the collar, before taking a step back. "Admiral Zector, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. I'm sure you already know as an officer yourself, that if you lie with this collar on," His irises sharpened. "It will electrocute you with a plethora of volts. Zector," He said with a voice that became slightly submissive. He didn't want to do this. "I don't want to hurt you. Don't make me hurt you more than our superior already has. Please."
Zector still looked so shocked and disoriented. He still didn't understand what was happening and it was starting to really hinder his psyche at the moment. "I-I don't...I don't understand...I don't know what's going on..." He mumbled to himself as he looked all around the room, his nerves strangling his body as he felt the eyes of everyone mentally persecuting him. No one believed him. Nobody would believe a word he would say. He was the admiral for No Zone Navy, a war fleet general. He took on pirates, aquatic terrorists and foes who dwelled underwater for years. He may have been an annoying army brat in his youth, but he earned his way to the top like everyone else with true honesty and honor. Zonic was his best friend. Zhadow, while reluctant to call him a friend, was still very happy serving the general, especially since he and Zonic got together. The primes were so easy to warm up to, more so Sonic prime. Zouge was an old friend and mentor for years, someone who helped him do something incredibly important with Zespio. And Zespio...He trusted Zespio with his very heart. And now, they all looked at him like he was some deranged criminal. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't. "Zonic..." He whispered. "I don't...I don't get it..." He murmured to the blue soldier. "Please."
Zonic only sighed heavily.
"Question one,"
"Z-Zonic!" Zector cried. "I'm serious! I didn't do anything-!"
"Enough." Zonic halted his further pleads. "You do not speak until I ask you a question. Understood?"
Finally, Zector lowered his head with a shamed expression. He only nodded, his voice low and quiet. "...Understood, First Lieutenant General Zonic."
He never used his entire title. Never. Not even when they were privates together. That hurt. It hurt a lot, but this had to be done. If Zonic had to play the bad guy to get answers, so be it. "One," Zonic said slowly. "Were you the one who laced Zhadow's coffee with my blood?"
"No." Zector's answer was strong, simple and without prejudice.
The collar didn't beep or electrify him either.
He told the truth. This made Zhadow and Zonic glance at each other questionably. Hmm. "Question two," Zonic continued. "Did you know what my blood would do to Zhadow if he consumed it?"
"No."
Nothing.
"Final question," Zonic said. "Are you the traitor?"
"No," Zector said before glowering his eyes up at Zonic with betrayal in his irises. "And I have no idea what the fuck any of you are talking about." He scowled, his voice grave, tired and hurt. Nothing happened, not even with that last bit.
He was telling the truth.
Zhadow paused, but slowly took his hand off of Zector's throat. He took a few steps back to fix up his own uniform, but his eyes were still narrowed on him. Something didn't make sense. Zouge clearly said it was him, yet the collar didn't detect any deception whatsoever. She couldn't have been lying, not then. She was trying to save Zector. Why cover for him if he never did anything wrong to cover for? Zonic however, still wasn't done. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes and took a second to think. He remembered when he scanned both him and Zespio with his phone with that new app the watchdog team produced. According to his AI, they were clear of any suspicion besides Zector stealing treats from the cafeteria.
"...I didn't go straight home when my shift was over, I went to the Navy Division to speak with Admiral Zector. Chief Master Sergeant Zespio asked me to speak with him on his behalf about something..." She made a knowing smile. "...Personal, during my lunch break that day. After speaking with Zector, I got some hot bottled tea from the cafeteria, and went on my way. On the way home, I felt," She furrowed her brows and frowned. "Really, really dizzy. It only happened after I almost completely finished the tea, I couldn't tell it was drugged before it was too late."
"No, it's not Zhadow. I know for sure it's not him. It's someone powerful, but it's someone lower than Zhadow's rank. Someone right below your level. Powerful enough to make certain moves, but low enough not to cause anyone to notice. Someone just as strong as me, who Zobotnik could theoretically make stronger than you or Zhadow."
...Zonic scrolled through his phone to check if the program did it's job, and it sure did. It easily cleared Zector and Zespio instantly. It only told him his normal activities, all to which didn't seem suspicious or even important. He only saw that he was a regular of the cafe, same as he was, but he already knew that...
That's when Zonic snapped his eyes open with realization. "..."
He realized something grave.
"...General Zhadow?" Zonic asked with a hollow voice and a thousand yard stare.
"Hm?"
"Where does the cafeteria get most of it's ingredients...?"
This made Zhadow grimace. Why was he talking like that? "Most of it comes from Pink Rescue, the cat cafe near the square-" He cut himself off with a dreaded expression. His eyes shrank as he finally realized what Zonic was getting at. "...!"
Slowly, Zonic turned his attention to Zector. "Zector," He began carefully. "You're a regular at the cafe, right?" He saw him nod his head silently once, still angered by the accusations but more disturbed by Zonic's haunting expression. "And, what...do you do there...?"
Feeling a horrible sensation weighing down in the room, Zector gradually answered with some hesitation. "Um, well...I eat. Sometimes Zespio and I go together for lunch. Uhh, sometimes I uh," Why did the room feel so small all of a sudden? "I help the employees in the back. Help them move storage, and sometimes I help them deliver food to the HQ. When I have the time, of course."
It felt like gravity just disappeared from the planet.
Zonic's expression became heated, absolutely enraged yet painfully stabbed in the gut all at once. His face was no longer visible, his fists were shaking at his sides, and he looked absolutely cheated. He sucked in a sharp, deep breath before almost snarling out what he had to ask next. "Counselor Zouge," He hissed. "You got your tea from the cafeteria, right? The one that was drugged?" He saw her make an almost frightened expression, and she nodded her head slowly. "And Zector, those chocolate treats you steal from the cafeteria, those are made by the cafe, right?" He saw the crocodile nod his head next, almost looking just as scared as Zouge. "And you said sometimes Zespio is with you?" He saw him nod again, and that's when Zonic glared right at the purple chameleon. "Chief Master Sergeant Zespio," He said with a guttural voice, causing the airman to lift his head with high concern. "I'm going to ask you point blank and you better not, for the love of everything you hold dear, lie to me." He tilted his head and finally asked, "...Did you drug General Zhadow and Admiral Zector?"
Zespio's eyes became as small as dots.
...
...
...
...The chameleon's face was stone cold, steady and without any expression, but eerily silent. "..."
Zouge brought a disturbed hand to her mouth, her brows furrowed in disbelief at what was happening. Zector's entire expression was broken. His eyes became vacant, soulless. His mouth slightly agape, because he wanted to say something but he couldn't even think of anything to speak. Zonic's quills sharpened immediately as he gripped his hand to his belt. "Sonic and Shadow prime, move. Now." He demanded. The Mobian hedgehogs instantly got up from their seats and took several steps away from the scene before it got ugly, and Sonic was nice enough to grab Zouge by the shoulders and gently pull her away too. This was about to get really, really, really ugly. "Sir," He called to his superior without looking. "I have this. Take Zector and move." Zhadow only ever heard Zonic speak like this once before, and it was when he betrayed him three years ago. He could never forget the way he spoke, the way he sounded so done, so fed up with it all. So uncaring of the actions he would make next.
Zector tried so hard to defend him. He still couldn't believe this, after all. "N-Now Zonic, hold on..." He tried to say with a half hearted chuckle. "Zespio...he'd never...he...I mean...I..." He couldn't even keep going, words were failing. He couldn't think of anything else to say.
"I'd like an answer now, Chief Master Sergeant." Zonic asked again, coldly-
-Just like that, Zespio was gone.
Everyone began to panic.
Where the hell did he go?
And why would he disappear like that of all times?!
"...!" Zonic looked around the room quickly, as were the others. Where the hell did he go?! Then he growled. "Invisibility..." He hissed, he forgot the chameleon had such an ability. No wonder he was an ace in the espionage team before being promoted to Chief Master Sergeant. "Zespio! Don't you dare hide from me now!" He yelled angrily. "You can't run away from the truth, not like this! You call yourself a soldier!?" He sniffed a few times and scoffed. He could smell the purple reptilian's scent, one he could never forget after bunking with him and Zector for months in bootcamp. Not to mention the added scents of sweat, anxiety and of course, deception. He whipped his head at the windows. Was he really trying to attempt to escape from there? Not on his watch. "Foolish fool, you should know better than to try that with me." He exclaimed before pulling out his nightstick, transforming it into a shotgun, aiming and pulling the trigger without another thought. "You may have invisibility, but I can smell you from a mile away!"
A bang resounded in the room, along with a pained grunt.
No longer able to blend in with his surroundings, Zespio's figure became visible once more as he dropped to the floor with a harsh thud. He was indeed near the windows like Zonic assumed. "Sonic and Shadow prime, grab him now! Sir," He called to Zhadow. "Keep Zector away from him at all costs." He reloaded the shotgun as he watched the primes surround Zespio. "I have no idea what kind of hold you have on the admiral, but it stops now." As Sonic and Shadow hoisted Zespio up on his feet, it was clear neither of the hedgehogs wanted to do this. Shadow knew it had to be done so he wasn't too torn up about it, but Sonic however was a little disappointed. He and Zector seemed to really care about Zonic and Zhadow. He hoped the traitor would be somebody they didn't know too well, or at least someone Zonic and Zhadow didn't hold dear. How could Zector's own partner do this to them? Shadow looked down upon the chameleon with disgust, ashamed he ever worked with him or trusted him. They held Zespio by the arms with their legs against his, virtually keeping him from making a move unless he wanted to have a wrestling match with two twins of his superiors. He knew better, though.
It was useless.
He was trapped.
Zespio could only look down in pure disgrace. "...Zector," He murmured. "I..." He couldn't even look at him. "I never wanted this, I only wanted to protect you. To protect everyone. I didn't want this, I didn't want to hurt you." He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Zector...he just, didn't know what to do anymore.
"...Zespio...why...?"
Zonic just continued to glare at Zespio with betrayal. "Do you have anything to say for yourself before I have you arrested and interrogated, Officer Zespio?"
The chameleon only shook his head.
"...No."
71 - END - 71
Chapter 72: Plane
Summary:
Zespio the Zone Cop is arrested and interrogated for his reluctant yet ultimate betrayal against No Zone Corps.
Chapter Text
72 - Plane - 72
August 22nd
DAY 43: Friday
No Zone HQ
Dawn, 5:00 AM
On Thursday, August 21st at 3:40 PM, Chief Master Sergeant Zespio the Chameleon, was arrested and escorted to No Zone Prison.
He was taken to a secure holding cell, and Zonic was the one to escort him. He coldly told the guards that if any of them berated or irritated Zespio while being held, he'd have their badges in an instant. While taking Zespio to the holding cell, he took his badges from his chest, his weapons, his belt and any other No Zone officer tool he may have had on his person. Right as Zonic closed the cell, he heard flirtatious whistles, angry shouts of revenge, mocking laughter and eerie perverted smiles thrown Zespio's way from other inmates.
Something in Zonic snapped a little. Not completely, but enough.
He suddenly punched his fist into the wall, shaking the entire cell block and screamed, "Quiet!" He then took a second to breathe, before hissing an order to anyone who dared speak another word. "If anyone has anything else to say, release them from their cell and allow them to say it to my fucking face." He glared at every single cell within twenty meters and asked for any volunteers. "Well?" He asked, watching nearby vertical gravity prisoners avert their eyes and duck their heads from view. "Any takers? Hm? I promise you won't be charged with assault. It'll be a fair one-on-one. Or a-hundred-on-one. I don't care." When silence was his answer, he just made a small laugh. "Ha! Strong enough to open your mouths for a snide comment, but too weak to actually get up and do something about it. That's why you animals are in here, because you're all senseless cowards. The only person who had the balls to say anything to me directly escaped from this place a long time ago, and now you all don't have your little folk hero to fall back on. In summation," He growled. "If any guard hears anyone making even the smallest comment towards the person in this holding cell, you will personally be dealing with me. Your name, number and cell block will be written down, and I'll be happy to execute you on the fucking spot with my bare hands. I could give a damn about police brutality at this point." He turned heel and made his exit before giving an order to nearby guards. "Spread the word to other guards about this declaration, I'm serious. Have a fantastic day."
The entire time, Zespio didn't speak a word.
He was already told he'd be interrogated tomorrow, so he just kept his mouth shut for now.
As instructed, the entire HQ and prison was locked down for the remainder of the day for safety. As such, all soldiers on duty were forced to spend a night in the HQ's emergency barracks. As mentioned before, the building was incredibly huge, and large enough to house so many rooms with more than generous amounts of space per room. Having a few rooms dedicated to barracks was nothing new, and were usually only used in case of extremely rare and dangerous situations. For example, constant attacks on the HQ that lasted more than a day, deeming it unsafe for anyone to leave or enter the building, or other worst-case scenario situations such as the literal apocalypse. There was even a space for a limited amount of citizens to take refuge in the HQ as well.
That would probably never happen, but considering the luck they were having recently with the HQ, they couldn't rule anything out. They all had to be prepared for anything and everything. The general and vice leader of No Zone Corps had a very busy night, and asked for the primes to please go home and rest appropriately. They were used to dealing with schedules like this and expected not to sleep very much tonight. The primes were reluctant, especially after everything that had happened, but did as they were asked and returned to their apartment. Zhadow and Zonic, after taking very necessary showers in the bathrooms connected to the barracks, resorted to sleeping in Zonic's office. Zhadow was a gentleman, and insisted Zonic take one of the loveseats. He also offered to leave entirely if Zonic was too uncomfortable, but he allowed him to stay. He fell asleep in Zonic's chair. He didn't actually need to sleep unlike him, but he was dead tired after everything they went through that day.
The dawn broke, and their work day started.
Neither hedgehog really slept well, catnapping every hour or so. The lockdown was lifted since Zhadow saw no immediate threat, but the HQ and prison remained in code yellow. Code yellow meant that the buildings would be restricted from public access, with limited allowance of leaving or entering either facility. An officer would only be able to leave or enter if given expressed permission by General Zhadow or First Lieutenant General Zonic himself, or unless they were called to a potential crime scene. As of now, no soldier was allowed to leave without a good reason. Any soldier who wasn't in the HQ at the time, say due to vacation or a sick day, were told to come to HQ and once again, was not allowed to leave until code yellow was lifted or called by the dispatcher's office. They needed all hands on deck for this situation, they couldn't afford anymore screw ups or sudden surprises. Unfortunately, nobody would be returning home in the near future unless Zhadow deemed it absolutely safe. This caused the families of his soldiers to be concerned, but he stressed to them and any other civilian ally of the force not to spread this information to the public. It would cause a panic. He even had to threaten jail time for discretion, as this was a very serious matter.
When Zonic woke up, he saw a tall bottle of juice and a plate of breakfast on the faux fish tank coffee table laid out for him. Simple sunny side eggs and strips of bacon. He blinked slowly, before sitting up and turning his head at his fiancé at his desk. He seemed distracted, busy with emails and paperwork with extensive reports from yesterday. He didn't have his uniform jacket on, and neither did Zonic. They got new uniforms yesterday since their old ones were heavily bloodied and damaged. The two were quickly patched up by nurses from the infirmary ward, but that was as much recovery as they got. The wounds they had on their bodies were gone, but stung with some aching pains. Being around Maria prime's phantom definitely helped the healing process, but they could still feel some faint scars. The only thing they could do to be comfortable sleeping in the building, was taking off their military coats. As for the food, no way in hell did Zhadow trust anyone retrieving food for them, which meant that he must have got up and went to the cafeteria himself just for Zonic. He didn't get him coffee, which was a good idea. He didn't think either of them could even glance at a mug of bean juice for a while after what happened. He still thought about him, still took care of him. Zonic blushed, but he couldn't smile. He just couldn't.
He had a decision to make, after all.
He didn't feel quite comfortable making one yet, though.
Not yet, he was still unsure.
He looked down at his hand, at his ring. He rubbed it, desperate for affection from the one he loved. He closed his eyes tightly and he silently exhaled painfully. He opened his eyes and glared at the plate. He really didn't have an appetite, despite his stomach screaming at him to put something down his throat. He hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning. He was starving but...he just didn't feel like eating right now-"Eat." Zonic's ears flicked. He didn't need to look, his general made the order. "Eat." He repeated again.
He didn't feel like fighting him right now. "...Yes, sir." Zonic obeyed quietly, picking up the fork and poking at the unnaturally orange yoke.
"You need to be prepared for today's interrogation, Zonic."
"Yeah," Zonic replied in a near whisper. "I know, sir."
They both wanted so badly to say, "I love you," but it was too late for that.
Far too late.
No Zone Prison
Morning, 9:00 AM
"I wanted you three here with me today because you may have noticed something Zhadow and I didn't." Zonic instructed carefully, fully fitted in his entire formal military uniform. He had dark circles under his eyes, but so did Zector. Nobody in HQ actually slept well, to be honest. They couldn't, not with everything going on. At 8:50, he instructed the primes to arrive at HQ for Zespio's interrogation. They were the only ones allowed in or out of HQ whenever they wished, special orders from Zhadow. While they arrived, he informed Zector of the interrogation and asked him to attend as well. They were now standing in front of the interrogation room currently housing Zespio, the door completely sound proof with two guards standing beside it. "I will be asking questions first, and I don't want anyone interrupting me or Zespio. Let me finish my line of questioning, and then I will give the floor to you. Fair?" He asked the three. Shadow and Sonic nodded, but they gave careful glances at Zector, who just stared down at the floor. He was incredibly upset, but didn't vocalize it at all. It was written all over his face. Zonic only sighed. "...Admiral Zector," He began. "I am sorry for our reactions, especially our general. We," He hesitated. "We thought-"
"I know what you thought." Zector interrupted softly.
Zonic grimaced and looked away. "..." He turned around and placed a hand on the interrogation door. He glanced down at the handprint pad and placed his palm on it for immediate clearance. The knob-less door hissed pressurized air and unlocked with a loud click. It slowly opened, and Zonic gave Zector some real advice. "...Whatever he may say to us, to you," He said. "I pray he had a good reason, at the very least." Without another word, he entered the cell first. Zector gestured for the primes to enter in next, with a kind but tired smile. Poor guy. Once they were inside, he finally entered and the cell door locked behind them automatically. The cell was small, but was big enough to hold all four of them.
With four chairs, Zespio sitting in one of them on the opposite side of the white table, the rest all took their seats ahead of him in silence. Sonic was in an interrogation room before thanks to a certain someone, and walked by them a couple times when delivering thugs to GUN or local police on a silver platter. It was the first time he sat in one on the opposing side, though. Shadow had been in interrogation rooms a nice amount of times. Not nearly as many as Zonic or his twin, but enough to understand how the rooms and the interrogations themselves worked. His last one was only a month ago with Infinite. Zector as just as seasoned an officer as Zonic, so interrogations were easy for him. In fact, he was quite the gumshoe when he was a private, which was why he rose in the ranks so quickly. He was very good at it, and he rivaled Zonic's numbers of confessions. But questioning Zespio? He couldn't even look at him. The chameleon looked tired as well, probably having not slept at all last night. He wouldn't look at Zector either, because he was too ashamed. He wasn't wearing his military jacket, but he thankfully wasn't wearing orange either. He was handcuffed to the leg of the table, which was nailed down to the floor. A control collar adorned his neck, and the only thing he had left of his military status was his uniform. Everything else was taken, and his dignity suffered greatly.
Zonic did not want to do this.
He never, ever wanted to do this.
Not to Zespio, not him.
He was his best friend in bootcamp, along with Zector. They were the only two Zonians in his life who didn't actively bully or haze him, nor did either of them fall under peer pressure from their colleagues. They snuck him snacks, sneaked out of the dorms to hitch joyrides on No Zone issued motorbikes and played with the cool gadgets after dark when their superiors had went home. They got into so much trouble. So many hours of extra push ups, sit ups, laps around the yard and squats as punishment. They caught so many bad guys together, and none of them were seen without the other. They were a devastatingly effective trio, earning upstart status the moment they became Zone Cops. They worked so well together, their teamwork second to none. Sonic may have had Tails and Knuckles prime, but Zonic had them. And he...loved them. They were the only friends who truly acknowledged him. Friends he wasn't stuck watching on a TV screen, friends who actually knew he existed and could talk to. Friends who he thought would never let him down.
Yeah, they drifted apart when they all grew up and got promoted but...
...
...Zonic began the interrogation.
"Zespio," Zonic didn't want to start with formalities or introductions. He knew exactly who they were, and there was no use in playing games. "I'm just going to go ahead and start. The guards said you were fit enough to speak, and that you were willing to talk now that you had some time to yourself. They made sure you were fed and properly bathed before coming here. So," He brushed one of his quills behind his shoulder. "I'm just going to ask you point blank like yesterday: Was it you who placed my blood in Zhadow's coffee? And please," He warned him gently. "You know what happens with that collar if you lie."
The chameleon kept his head and gaze down, but he did answer. "...Yes."
Zonic folded his hands on the table and sucked in a breath. Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it..."Okay," He tried to continue. "And, you knew what would happen when he drank it?"
"Yes." He answered effortlessly again. "I don't completely get it, what General Zhadow is and why his biology makes him react to your blood, but yes. I knew the basics."
Every answer felt like a kick to the spine. It hurt. This hurt like hell. "Did you also plan for Zhadow, the primes and I to be captured?"
"Yes."
"Were you the one who drugged Zouge last year?"
Zespio immediately shook his head. "No, that wasn't me. I wasn't involved then." Hm, that was a curious answer.
"Mmhm," Zonic's expression wasn't relaxed, but he was very curious about that last part. He'd bring that up again later. "Were you involved in the kidnapping of any of the nine missing soldiers from last year?"
The chameleon shook his head once more. "No, I wasn't involved then." He repeated that line.
"Did you drug Admiral Zector?" Zonic asked with a heavy tone. To this, the crocodile gripped his fingers into his pants but still refused to look up.
Zespio hesitated, but he still answered. "...Yes, I did." He took in a deep breath before compiling on that answer. "Zector stole a lot of chocolate bars from the cafeteria and hid them in a stash at home. I drugged one of them with something and while he was inebriated," He bit his bottom lip before continuing. "I...performed a specific form of hypnosis." This caused everyone to stare in shock. He hypnotized him? "Under that hypnosis, I was able to have Zector do whatever I asked. Once the hypnosis was over, he'd lose his memories. That's why he had no idea what Counselor Zouge was talking about when she accused him." He brought his hands up to his face.
"But," Zonic couldn't believe this. "How? Zector may seem like a blundering fool, but he's not. He's sharp and more calculated than he seems. How did you manage to trick him like that?"
Zespio clutched his fingers into his face, his voice muffled a little. "...Last year, the day Counselor Zouge was abducted, she went to the Navy Division to speak to Admiral Zector for me about something important. I was too cowardly to speak with him myself. I asked her to...tell him my feelings for him." When he said that, Zector tightened his frown while Zonic's expression softened greatly. "A few days later, we officially began dating illegally within the workplace." His voice was shaking, incredibly vulnerable. "I loved him, and he loved me. And because of that," He bunched his hands into fists and balled them against his face, still hiding from them all. "I took advantage of his trust. I...I betrayed him and...I used him." He leaned his elbows onto the table and kept his face hidden. "I got involved days ago, when the primes first arrived. That's when it all started. When I drugged Zector, and hypnotized him to do my bidding anytime I required his help. The hypnosis specifically targeted Primal Mode, effecting his brain instantly. If I screwed up at anytime, I could have caused horrible damage."
Zonic quickly glanced from behind, only to see Zector covering his face with one hand, his face wasn't visible either right now. "Zespio," He began again cautiously. "I know of only one person who has the ability to utilize any form of Primal Mode hypnotism." He stared at the chameleon longingly, knowing he put himself into a horrible deep hole, but still had hope for him. Somewhere. "You worked with Zobotnik, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Willingly?"
"No!" Zespio suddenly yelled, slamming his fists on the table. "I'd rather die than work with that son of a bitch ever again!" He trembled violently, his head still lowered. "I'll never forgive myself for what he made me do. The day we both escorted the primes to the power sewers, when Counselor Zouge attacked Shadow prime and I," He explained. "When she shot me, she planted something inside of me." He clutched his hand to the right side of his abdomen, his head slightly lifting. Zonic could just barely see some of his face from this angle, and he could make out a guilt ridden grimace. "Something in the first bullet, it had something that traveled to my bloodstream. When I got out of the infirmary later that day, I put my uniform back on. Next thing I know, the transceiver in my collar and my armored uniform had been hacked by Zobotnik, and he's suddenly talking in my ear. He told me whatever he put inside of me was some kind of nanobot with a bunch of mechanics in it. It could hack any and all devices near me, using me as a living Trojan horse." He clutched at his side tighter. "No matter what I did or where I went, even showering, he was there. Listening. I walked through security gates without them even activating, so I knew he wasn't bluffing. Just being near any of you, I could listen in on your conversations, see your emails, hack reports...even disable security grids."
Zonic nodded his head. "You were the one who hacked the power grid, allowing Zobotnik access to the city's underground system." He looked over at the primes and gave a probable theory. "A few days isn't a long time to set up a lair, but with the Phantom Ruby, anything's possible." He gave his attention back to Zespio. "What else did he make you do, Zespio?"
The chameleon sighed. "He made me use Zector as my pawn. That way if I was ever caught, he'd take the blame and I could still be used. I didn't want to, God damn it," He slammed his forehead onto the table surface. "I didn't want to! I didn't, I didn't..." He rambled on and on, until eventually he continued. "...But he forced me to. He said he chipped every single soldier he had ever captured. He said that if I didn't comply and do everything he said, he'd ignite a micro-explosion implanted in the chips. They were similar to the nanobot placed inside of me, and I had an explosive sitting in me too. He said he'd blow us all up, killing us. I didn't care about me, not if it meant hurting Zector. He showed me the bombs through my phone, showed me what he could do with them. I didn't want to go through with it, but..." He couldn't continue. "But..."
Why did this sound so familiar?
"He was going to kill everyone in town! If I made the slightest indication of betraying him, he would have killed you himself. I wanted to kill him, but he had a failsafe ready to activate the bombs. He tracked my every move, even had my brain waves downloaded in a some fucking computer program. I didn't know what to do!"
Zonic made a very heavy sigh and closed his eyes momentarily before opening them back and staring at the wall behind Zespio. "You're killing me, Zespio..." He mumbled to himself.
"It was all a trap, all of it. From the moment the primes came here, it all went to shit." Zespio abruptly said. "He knew they were coming. He put chaos energy into the power sewers on purpose to draw us all out. He wanted to use Zouge to get another victim before she was defeated. He knew Shadow prime or Zhadow would have dispatched her, he knew he was losing another puppet so he got a few more just for insurance. He used the giant robot in the square to scan and download your abilities, and he used it to collect your blood, Zonic." This made the blue soldier frown. Zhadow was right after all. "He made some kind of metal that absorbs blood, and that's how he got it. I hacked through the sewers to get to his lair, used an elevator." Ah, so that's what that elevator hub was about. The hedgehogs didn't need to use it, but Zobotnik and his visitors did. "I got the blood in a small bottle and I returned to HQ with it. I made the coffee, and had Zector deliver it to Zouge to give to Zhadow." He just spout it all out, not leaving anything else to their imagination. He put the truth out there, no longer fearful of what could happen to him next. "If I betrayed him, he'd kill me and the others. But if I failed and got caught, he said he'd deactivate the chip inside of me and leave me be. Said I was useless to him at that point, and he said he'd just get another victim. Killing me would bring unwanted attention. I..." He stammered. "I didn't want this to happen to anyone else. Didn't want them to live this hell. Now that the general got everyone back, I don't know if he'll keep them hostage with those bombs. However," He added cautiously. "I'm sure he's doing the same to the one thousand soldiers he kidnapped yesterday. And yes, while I knew about that too, I wasn't involved in that. I don't know why Zector and I weren't kidnapped, but the victims truly did seem randomly picked to me."
That's what bothered Zonic.
This all seemed careful and measured, but the sudden attempt at kidnapping Zhadow and Shadow seemed a little rushed. He was so panicked to have them dissected. It was a risky move he knew could have failed, and the four hedgehogs ended up destroying his entire lair while taking his hostages. Sure he took more and had another base up above, but he still lost something in making such a gamble. "Why did he attempt to kidnap the general and Shadow prime? That was a really stupid move on his part considering how calculated everything else was."
Zespio scoffed. "He panicked."
"Panicked?"
"I heard through Zouge that you were getting an AI program made to figure out who the traitor would be. She didn't think I'd ever be the traitor, so she let her guard down with me." He made a guilty, bitter laugh. "I'm sure she's beating herself in the head over it, but," He went on. "Once Zobotnik knew about this, he scrambled. He never anticipated we could create such an intelligent AI. He knew either you or Zhadow would figure it out and not only deem me useless, but attack him head on. By the time you'd figure it out, he knew he wouldn't be ready for a direct attack from the HQ. So, he felt he'd do better taking his chances with kidnapping at least two of you. He didn't care who he got, as long as it was a pair of hedgehogs. One pair of you is already an issue, but two? He didn't stand a chance, as we can all see." He sighed. "He knew there was a chance you'd escape anyway, so he made the decision to kidnap more soldiers while you were in captivity. Without the four of you, the HQ was just asking to be destroyed. At least, that's what I assume. He hasn't attempted to contact me since he captured the general and Shadow prime, so I wasn't sure when it was safe to confess." He took his hand away from his side. "The nanobot is still inside me, probably still inside the others too. He even reversed Primal Mode on them, so they couldn't fight back against him when they were caught, or afterwards if by chance they escaped. He kept parading around this weird jewel, and he said he used it to make the defective suits brainwash everyone, including Zouge. Everyone else was a toy to mess with, but Zouge was the only experiment he took seriously. He didn't want to hurt her too badly before she could be used."
That explains why she barely had any cuts or bruises on her body when experimented on, while the others looked like they came from a literal war zone of land mines. The ruby probably helped minimize damages as well, along with so much more.
"I was afraid he could have been bluffing, that he'd blow me up along with everyone else anyway. But after a while," Zespio finally lifted his head from the table, his gaze still downward but finally revealed. He had a look of acceptance on his face, empty of hope. "...I accepted it. It's what I deserved."
Zector's body flinched.
Zonic meanwhile, listened to his words sadly. "...I understand." He remembered that Zhadow had a similar mindset when he was finally caught. "Do you know how Zobotnik managed to kidnap Zouge and the others a year ago without aid?"
Zespio nodded. "Yes. He used a disguise."
Holy shit, was Zouge right too? "A digital disguise unit?"
"No," Zespio immediately denied. "Similar, but not quite. All he has is a chip attached to his suit. It digitizes him as someone else for a limited amount of time, but I don't know how long and I don't know the device's parameters. He told me that's what he used to disguise himself as Zouge's doorman, and to the others as friends or family members. He said it's faulty and not at all reliable, that he wouldn't use it again in the near future until he perfected an actual disguising unit. He's attempting to use the prototype schematics to help him achieve this. He didn't see any harm in telling me any of this since it was useless to him at this point anyway. He didn't care if I was caught and told you anything. Any info I'm telling you now, he knows won't be a problem for him later."
Zonic could only sneer. "Cocky shithead..." He mumbled. "I see." He pressed his hands together, and looked over at the primes. "Sonic or Shadow prime? Do either of you have any questions?"
The speed demon duo glanced at each other with somber expressions before Shadow spoke up first. "I have just one," He said before looking over at Zespio. "When you escorted me to the Cyber Chamber," He rose a brow. "Was that a part of your plan, too? Did you rig it or something?"
"No," Zespio said. "But Zobotnik did watch you and Sonic prime train in the simulation. Since I was near it, the nanobot inside me hacked it, giving him surveillance. He's been trying to analyze all of your bodies and strengths, then apply it to his new line of androids. He's probably downloaded the data by now." From the side, he could see Zonic digitize his phone to his hand, typing his thumb on the screen with a hardened expression. Probably making a note to have someone disable that particular Cyber Chamber for safety.
Sonic made an uncomfortable frown. "Did Zex have any idea you were doing this to him?"
Zespio sadly closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, not at all. Sometimes he'd have lapses in memory, but he didn't tell anyone else but me about it. I told him it was because he was tired and stressed from work. No one else but me knew what he was going through."
The entire time, Zector remained silent.
Zonic carefully asked Zector if he'd like to speak. "Admiral? Was there...anything you wanted to ask or say?"
All the navy admiral did was shake his head firmly. "...No."
Something shattered in Zespio's chest, he couldn't let this happen.
"Zector!" Zespio exclaimed, his head fully lifted and his gaze reaching his. His golden eyes were shaking, terrified of what he was about to lose. Zector refused to look in his direction, though. "Please, listen to me!" The chameleon pleaded. "I know I hurt you, I know I used you, lied to you and betrayed you, all of you, but you have to understand," He attempted his best to explain himself. "I couldn't control anything that was happening. I didn't want our allies killed, I didn't want to do any of this! I hated it, every single second of it! I wanted it to stop, I wanted it all to stop! I didn't know how long he'd have his hold on me, I didn't know for sure if he'd pull something again if I got caught. I never meant for you to get hurt, accused, none of it. I-I," He desperately stood up from his chair as much as he could to lean over the table, the handcuffs limiting his movements. "I love you! I'm sorry I was too scared to tell you myself, and none of that was a lie. I was too cowardly to just step up and confess, because I was too afraid of what might happen if I did. I truly, from the bottom of my heart care about you! Everything I did to you, I hate myself for it. I'll never, ever forgive myself for what I put you through, but please," A few drops fell from the airman's muzzle and onto the surface of the table. "...Please," He murmured. "Forgive me."
Zector finally rose his gaze to Zespio's and locked his eyes with his own.
He folded his large hands in his lap and took a few seconds to answer. He was incredibly conflicted, a little traumatized by his betrayal and most evidently hurt by the one he loved. And yet, somehow, there was a strong kindness in the crocodile's eyes. Merciful, gentle, sweet even. "...I can't forgive you that easily, Zespio." He said compassionately, his voice calm and accepting of what was done. "You betrayed everyone's trust, including mine. You nearly got me fired and arrested, nearly got Counselor Zouge detained. Even if you didn't mean to, you got one thousand of our men kidnapped, and you helped our enemy gain valuable info that could have destroyed us all." He moved his chair closer to the table and reached out to grasp Zespio's across it. "I know you were too scared to ask, but you should have told me, Zonic or Zhadow. Not outwardly, but you're not just a pilot, you're a spy. You know how to give codes to our allies if you're in trouble. We could have played along while finding a way out of this together."
"I...I was too afraid, I..." Zespio stammered. "I saw what he did to our friends, what he'd do to me...to you." He shook his head slowly, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "I couldn't let that happen, I...I couldn't risk it, Zector. He tortured me, used the machine inside of my body to send these digital hallucinations to my brain. It's how he brainwashes all of his victims. He showed me everything he would do to you if I didn't comply." A few more tears dropped from his face. "I refused to let that happen to you. I couldn't let it happen to you."
Zector rubbed his thumb over Zespio's knuckles and looked down. "...I should have paid more attention to you."
This made Zespio flinch.
How the hell could he blame himself? He wasn't even conscious of what was being done to him, and yet he blamed himself for not noticing what Zespio was going through? Damn it, he didn't deserve him.
"N-No, please," Zespio whispered back. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have been such a coward. I'm sorry," He glanced at Zonic and the primes. "I mean it. All of you, I'm so sorry. Zonic," He gave the blue soldier a pitiful smile. "I don't blame you for anything that may happen. I accept whatever you and Zhadow decide. Forgive your foolish underling, it's all I ask of you. You could have had me arrested on the spot, could have sent me to the maximum section of the prison. Could have left me to rot, could have had me ruined in here." He showed a great level of saddened gratitude. "But you didn't. I couldn't have asked for a better pair of friends, and I will never forget your mercy or your kindness. And please, tell Counselor Zouge I'm sorry for disappointing her as her student."
...
...Zonic took a moment to stare at Zespio with somber dark green eyes. "Is that truly all you have to say?"
Zespio tearfully nodded confidently. "Yes, sir. That's everything, I swear to you."
His collar never reacted.
Not even when he apologized, when he claimed his loved for Zector or when he called Zonic one of his very best friends.
He was nothing but honest the entire time.
And that hurt more than anything else he ever did.
Zonic then stood up from his seat and digitized his phone away. "Chief Master Sergeant Zespio," Zonic addressed him with humble respect. "You were not only the best pilot this force had ever seen, but a fantastic ally and partner against crime. You were an amazing friend to me, and without you or Admiral Zector, I never could have made it this far, regardless of General Zhadow's mentorship." He closed his eyes and turned away. "I am afraid I cannot show you favoritism, and I must treat you like any other convict. You have already turned in your badge. Your uniform will be taken as well, and you will no longer be a face of No Zone Corps. You will be given the uniform of our prisoners and arrested." From behind, he could tell Zespio was nodding his head with grim understanding. "Your status and rank as a Zone Cop is hereby stripped and taken off record. You are no longer an airman, but a simple Zonian who made a choice within a terrible ultimatum. This entire conversation was recorded, and your confession will be carefully picked through to determine a proper punishment. For now, I am charging you with treason, assault of a fellow officer and coercion. Since you were an officer who took advantage of our system, there will be no bail for you. You will remain here until your trial. A lawyer will be appointed to you in an hour or so, and afterwards, you will be securely placed in a cell. Visitation hours will occur after you have been properly processed in the criminal system. I promise you will not be harmed or ridiculed by one of our own." He walked over to the door and placed his hand on the handprint mechanism. "I can only hope a judge will show mercy on you, my friend." He gestured for the others to stand and get ready to leave.
Unbelievably, Zespio smiled at Zonic. "Thank you, Zonic. Thank you for giving me one last ounce of dignity."
Zonic hesitated as the door hissed air to slowly unlock, but he tried his best to ignore this and exited the room first.
Reluctantly, Sonic looked back at Zespio, but his arm was grasped by Shadow, who gently urged him to leave before they lingered too long. All three hedgehogs were gone from the room now, and all that was left was Zector. The crocodile stared down at Zespio, before walking over and kneeling down to his level. He placed his hand on his shoulder, and his other on his cheek. Lightly blushing, Zespio watched as the crocodile leaned forward and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "I love you, and I'll support you." He said firmly. "No matter what happens."
Zespio's eyes became glossy, and he nodded to Zector in return.
Zector's hand lingered on his shoulder, before tearing himself away and quickly rushing out of the interrogation room.
When he did, he sped right past Zonic before he could inform him what to do next.
He moved so quickly, that he was exiting out of the hallway, and never to be seen for the rest of the day. He didn't say a word to anyone, just shoved his way past them all. Zonic's mouth hung open, but it slowly closed. No, he needed time. Protocol was on the back burner right now. Guards saluted Zonic before moving to enter the interrogation room, ready to arrest and process Zespio. "Do not harm him," Zonic barked. "If even the slightest hair on his head is harmed, I...!" He sucked in a deep breath, just as the guards paused to walk inside with alarmed expressions at their vice leader's tone. "...Just don't hurt him." His vigor just vanished, just like that. "Be civil, don't chastise him, just do your jobs. And keep his cell heavily surveillance." He finally said with a defeated voice. The guards made looks of sympathy and nodded to Zonic before walking inside the room and gently instructing Zespio to get up so they could uncuff him from the table, and place him in new ones. He was incredibly cooperative, and held no malice towards anyone. He took his defeat with grace, and the guards noticed this with appreciation. They informed him where they would be going, to change out of his clothes and into a fresh orange outfit. They promised they wouldn't be too rough with him, and would escort him to their booking center.
And Zespio just...accepted it all with a nod.
"You two," Zonic suddenly said to the primes. "I thank you with upmost gratitude for your aid yesterday and today. You've proven to be powerful assets and I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for us." They never heard him speak so softly before, so lenient and without any hard-boiled bravado hidden in the back of his words. Sonic caught that his eye was twitching yet again, but it was so subtle that he doubted his twin even noticed. Was he okay? Well, that was kind of a dumb question. No, no he wasn't.
Zonic hasn't been okay for years.
Sonic rubbed the back of his neck with a remorseful frown. "Is...he gonna be okay? Zespio?"
Zonic nodded. "Yes, I know he will. As much as I'd like to twist the rules and give him a cushiony cell with five star service," He sighed heavily. "That is a grievous misuse of my power, and Zespio would never accept it anyway. I know he wants to be treated like everyone else, placed in a public cell with the other heavy hitters. He's tough, really tough, almost tougher than me. He knows how to defend himself, and nobody has any real balls to humiliate him knowing he's my best friend. His reputation will precede him, and give him unwanted protection." The vice leader was confident the chameleon would be okay on his own. "He'll be fine. I just," He looked to the side. "I hope their relationship won't suffer too much from this..."
Sonic made a sad smile. "Heh, it's weird, seein' him and Zex together. In our world, Vector's crushin' on Ms. Vanilla."
Shadow blinked and looked over at his partner. "Really...?"
The hero laughed to try and lighten the mood. "Haha, yeah. Been crushin' on her for years, but I heard they're casually dating for now. He's head over heels for her though, really wants to take it to the next level. He already adores Cream and he's got experience caring for kids thanks to Charmy, so I heard from Rouge that Vanilla's thinkin' about makin' it official. As far as I know," Sonic said with a curious voice. "Our Espio isn't interested in any kind of relationship, at least that's what Knux told me. He's content with himself meditating, training, sleuthing, looking after Charmy when Vex isn't around, all that good stuff. Hell, I don't even think Vector is bi. He's as straight as a ruler."
This made the biohog a little confused. Were Zector and Zespio not supposed to be together in their world as well? "That's odd," He said. "You'd think they'd have feelings for each other in Mobius, too."
"Not quite," Zonic said, motioning for them to follow him out of the corridor. "That's the thing about alternate realities. Sometimes two people can be a couple, and sometimes they're not. Sometimes, they don't even know each other exists." He explained, his voice seemingly distracted from the turmoil he just went through. "In some universes, you two never become a thing, aren't gay, or absolutely loathe each other to literal death. And I am most definitely not exaggerating on that last one. However, Sonic and Shadow templates are...different. Most Sonic and Shadow templates do fall in love with each other somehow, it's only a small percentage of universes where this doesn't happen." The two Mobians hated the thought of them never getting together or even finding each other. "As for everyone else, it's a total coin flip. In this world's version of Espio and Vector, they're in love. In another, they're only friends. And in another, they don't even know each other. Same rules apply to each and every one of your friends. In very, very rare cases, they don't exist at all. Either that, or they haven't been documented to exist by an Overseer yet."
Oof, that was a grave thought. A world where their friends never existed? They couldn't fathom such an idea. Interesting how Zonic mentioned that their existence had to be recorded by an Overseer. They wondered how many versions of their friends were ever documented.
"For example," Zonic continued. "I, and my Overseer ancestors before me, have yet to meet my world's version of Tails or Amy Rose. If they exist," He shrugged. "I don't know where they are, or if they're even born yet. In different realities, different versions of your friends could be much older or younger than you, like myself and General Zhadow. Or, they are only supposed to exist at differing periods of time than you. So perhaps they just haven't been created yet, and won't be for a long time." He made a vacant, yet wondering expression, staring off into nowhere. "Maybe I'll meet them one day..." Sonic thought back to what Zonic told him, about being raised to stare at a bunch of screens for the rest of his life, never knowing the people behind them. How he wished he could meet Sonic, how he pretended they were the best of friends when the hero never even knew he was out there watching. Zonic had nobody for a very long time, only gaining friends when he joined the corps. He finally found Zespio, Zector, Zouge and soon found Zhadow. Then he created a family of his most loyal comrades, as even the lowest ranking private smiled at him with supreme respect.
He finally found happiness and yet, he was still so lonely.
So alone.
A vibration sound rumbled in his chest pocket.
The blue soldier reached down to pull out his thin smart phone and check his notifications. Hmm, so his general was talking with the engineering team about something. Something he needed Zonic's aid with in about ten minutes. Fine, he didn't mind. Things between them were intensely weird and strained, but they still had jobs to do. Zonic turned to the primes and nodded for them that it was okay for them to leave if they wished. "You two-Well, three," He remembered Maria's phantom was here somewhere. "Have worked hard. For now, my superior and I have to pick up the pieces. We don't have anything in store for you as of now. When we're ready to talk about what our next plan of action will be, which should be soon, we'll call you." He reached out and firmly but gently grasped Sonic's wrist. He had a small smile on his face, and it almost made Sonic blush. "Enjoy each other's company, Sonic prime."
Shadow watched the two blue hedgehogs with a knowing ghost of a smile.
Sonic slowly nodded and smiled back. "Will do, Zee."
72 - END - 72
Chapter 73: Oblique
Summary:
Zonic and Zhadow are drifting apart. Later that day, Zonic gives Sonic a precarious proposal.
Chapter Text
73 - Oblique - 73
August 23rd
DAY 44: Saturday
No Zone HQ
Morning, 11:00 AM
He caught Zonic hugging himself last night in their bedroom.
Just sitting on the bed, embracing himself in silence.
A few old, thick and tattered notebooks were scattered around him on the sheets. There were used up sticky notes, pens, highlighters and permanent markers strewn about. His eyes were bloodshot red, reading and fact checking for hours.
He hadn't done that in three years.
It tore Zhadow's chest into shreds, because he couldn't go to him and comfort him. He had to let him be, let him deal with his emotions on his own. He wanted so badly to walk in, sit beside him and hold him against his body. Whispering sweet nothings and promising him he wasn't alone, that he was loved and beyond appreciated. He wanted to kiss him, caress his face, watch him smile. He wanted to wipe and kiss away his troubles, hold his hands and just spoon him in their bed. He wanted to kiss along the back of his neck, rub his hands on his fingers that held the ring, pet his head and watch his tail wag. He wanted to listen to him purr, hear his steady breathing, fall asleep to his heartbeat. He wanted to surprise him with breakfast, take him out for a lunch date, watch him organize his files in his cabinet in his office, let him sit on his lap behind his desk, listen to him rant about his day...
He wanted his fiancé back.
He wanted him so, so badly. He was right there, right there. He was only upstairs, just a few steps away. He could have begged him for forgiveness, begged him to give him another chance. Begged him to initiate a procedure that would more than likely negatively impact his own biology forever if it meant bringing an end to this Black Arms madness, but that wouldn't happen. Zonic would never agree to such a thing, and he didn't want to talk to Zhadow right now. He wasn't comfortable around him, wasn't comfortable being near him. He...probably hated him. That made the most sense. Yeah, he probably hated him so much, and only stayed out of obligation. He didn't love him anymore. He didn't deserve Zonic's love anyway. He should just cut his losses and find a way to live with this. He's been in the darkness for so long, what's a few more decades until his body eventually gave out? No one would miss him-
-Damn it, it was happening again. Thinking about horrible thoughts while he sat behind his new desk. That's how the influence got him, how it pulled him into that barbaric way of thinking. It was so easy, so effortless to just feel so horrible about himself until he was pulled back into the pitch black embrace of his demonic alien father. Zonic hated his bloodline, and Zhadow hated his own. He understood him a lot more than he thought. Zhadow leaned back in his new computer chair, his office having been repaired quickly by the engineering team and some local construction workers who were warned not to speak about the damage they saw coming into the HQ. Repairing structures in No Zone was seamless to Zonians. Thanks to almost everything being made digitally, all they had to do was utilize some cyber construction materials to code and bind it's way into the physical structure of the building. His office wasn't the only room repaired, either. Almost all repairs in the HQ were complete by this morning, and the HQ was virtually fully operational again. He saw his note from Zonic to disable and destroy the Cyber Chamber on the fifteen floor, as apparently Zobotnik used Zespio to hack it.
Oh Zespio...He was so disappointed in him.
He and Zector were Zonic's lifelines and amazing officers. He had no idea they were in a relationship, and he had no idea how much Zespio had been used to harm their men. Now one of his greatest policemen and airmen was behind bars, and his admiral was so heartbroken that he ditched the HQ and went home without telling anyone. Zonic caught him leaving early evening yesterday just in time and informed Zhadow. He emailed Zector that while he understood why he left so suddenly, he couldn't just disobey orders and protocol. Anything could have happened, and he could have gotten kidnapped himself. He placed a third degree penalty on Zector, both punishing him and placing him in a small suspension for a day. He wanted some time off? Fine, he had twenty four hours. Zhadow would concede to that no problem, but he strictly instructed him to return to work tomorrow with a fresh attitude and a clearer head. The HQ was vulnerable internally, and Zobotnik could use this weakness to his advantage. This morning, Zector replied with an email of his own, accepting the penalty and apologizing for his abrupt absence. He thanked Zhadow for the day off and promised to return a better soldier tomorrow. No charges were ever placed on the croc. He was never aware of what he did and was used like a puppet. He was barely a suspect at that point, and the idea of charging him with anything vanished from their minds the moment Zespio confessed everything.
The primes, as Zonic instructed, kept to themselves and gave their twins some much needed space while they took some time to figure this out. He could tell Zonic and Sonic finally began to see eye to eye, which was wonderful. He sometimes caught Zonic messaging the blue blur, making small smiles here and there. Unfortunately, the HQ was so busy that the two couldn't properly bond as much as they wanted to. They were incredibly cordial as of now. Not as friends per se, but they at least smiled anytime the other was brought up or around. That was some fantastic progress on their part. As for Zhadow and Shadow, just like with Zonic, the general burned that bridge. He hasn't heard a word from his Mobian counterpart since their capture. It seemed as if he wanted nothing to do with him either. He couldn't blame him, couldn't blame anybody but himself. As far as he knew, the primes were attempting to enjoy themselves in their city while also monitoring what they saw. If they caught a glimpse of even the slightest indication of something suspicious, they were informed to alert Zhadow and Zonic immediately. They claimed they were taking it easy, but they weren't. They were still trying to do their twins a favor by keeping an eye on their city in silence.
On the other hand, Counselor Zouge didn't take it easy at all. Zonic dropped the charges for her lies to protect Zector, seeing as how her offenses were abysmal in the grand scheme of things, especially since Zector didn't technically or consciously do anything wrong, and let her off with a warning. She wasn't even offended, she was only proud of him and praised Zhadow for how well Zonic turned out. After what happened to everyone, she immediately enforced several psychiatric sessions to several No Zone soldiers and even a few prisoners who were directly effected by what they witnessed the other day. She reportedly even offered her services to the primes, who gently turned her down, saying they had each other and weren't nearly as effected as everyone else. They graciously asked her to please look out for No Zone Corps, not them. Many, many soldiers helped her earn every hour's worth of her salary, easing them through sensitive but caring sessions. Counselor Zouge was second to none, being one of the few psychiatrists and therapists who didn't just sit there nodding and going "Mmhm," every few seconds for a checkup. She listened, gave advice, carefully considered facts, suggested legitimate theories and tried her damndest to come up with strong solutions. She happily stayed over night and didn't return to her apartment, happy to sleep in the barracks if it meant she could keep watch over all her patients twenty-four seven.
And a patient she had been dying to see since she returned from her own capture, was Zonic.
Zonic needed therapy the first time thanks to Zhadow, and now he needed it because of him again.
He sighed.
This was why Zonic wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
He wished he could have chosen his family.
Suddenly, he got an email as he sifted through more reports of the mass abduction.
It was from Zonic.
No subject, just a single sentence.
I will have a final decision for you by Monday, sir.
A pit grew in Zhadow's stomach. He made a decision that fast? He hoped for at least another week, a week to try and figure out a way to get him back. Damn it, he needed Zonic. He loved him, he wanted him by his side. He couldn't live with the idea of never seeing him again, never kissing him or hugging him or even speaking to him again. He dragged his hand over his face before replying, Understood, Zonic. No, if he truly loved Zonic, he had to let him make his own decisions. He had to let him go, had to let him live his own life. If breaking up with him made him happy, then he should welcome his decision, whatever that may be.
He...he had to get out of this room.
It was strangling him to death.
11:15 AM
Zhadow didn't know why he wandered to this portion of the HQ. He didn't know why he was in the Zonian Services ward, had no idea why he was walking to Zouge's office. Zonic was avoiding him, he hadn't seen him all day. Anytime they crossed paths, he'd just salute or nod without a word before dropping off papers or another report. No, he had to see him at least once today. Had to hear his voice, be as close as he possibly could since he couldn't have him. Other soldiers who past by him were frightened, not because of his eyes, but because of what he did to their fellow soldiers a couple days ago. Yes, he wasn't in his right mind, but their men didn't forget. They didn't forget what they saw, what he said, how he acted. Not to mention it was his fault that their men were kidnapped. Nobody respected him anymore, much less even liked him. He was used to this treatment though, only being feared. Just like old times when Zobotnik ran the place. He was becoming the person he tried to forget years ago. He couldn't escape it.
As nearby soldiers frantically saluted him before running off, he made his way to Zouge's office. He stared at the door for a few seconds, before knocking. The door opened slowly, and the bat's softened gaze and sweet smile greeted him. "Hey there, sweetie. Did you make an appointment?" She asked, her airheaded persona drifting into her words as she made a confused frown. "I can't seem to remember my schedule without my phone...I have so many patients now, it's hard to keep track." When she didn't hear an audible response, she noticed Zhadow's cold expression. His eyes were without any glimmer or sign of life, they were practically dead. Just like Zonic's. Her smile faded instantly, and she understood what this was about. "...You're here for Zonic, right?" She asked, but she knew he wouldn't answer. She looked behind her before glancing back at Zhadow. "If I tell him you're here, he'll lose his temper and reduce his progress. I'll let you in, but don't get caught. Stay on the outside, and watch through the window. He's a little upset at the moment, so his senses are dulled. He won't smell you. Don't talk, don't let him know you're here. Just listen." She advised firmly. "Do you understand?"
"..." Zhadow nodded without a word.
Zouge pushed the door more open, and allowed the general inside.
It had been a long time since he set foot in her office himself. It was separated into three sections. A waiting area, where he saw a few other soldiers awaiting their appointment with her. When they saw who walked in, they flinched before looking back down quickly. Zhadow ignored them. The second section of her office was a room with a desk and her computer. This was where she filed her patients, their information, their sessions and so much more. There was also a small fridge in the corner, holding snacks and other treats a patient may enjoy or need while speaking with her. There were shelves on the other side of the room with several items, including stress toys, tissue boxes, pillows, plushies and even blankets. Whatever someone needed, she had it. The third area was a spacious room with a couch and a living chair for Zouge to sit in and listen to her patients. The seats were comfy, incredibly soft and bouncy. It caressed her patients, making them comfortable enough to nearly fall asleep. There was a TV mounted in the middle of the wall, playing videos of gentle rain or waves of the ocean. Anything to give the room a nice and welcoming atmosphere. The room was concealed by a wall and a large window. It had blinds, but they weren't pulled down. He could clearly see through it. For safety reasons when dealing with prisoners, the window was a one-way glass. Zhadow could see in, but her patients couldn't see out.
That's when Zhadow saw him, and his breathing stilled for a brief moment.
Zonic was there, patiently sitting on the couch while Zouge made her way back inside. The room was soundproof, so he couldn't hear either of them. When dealing with prisoners, Zouge had the sessions recorded and aptly warned them of this fact before starting. She'd have an aid nearby somewhere in the office with a transceiver, listening to the conversation in case things went wrong or worse, violent. With soldiers however, especially ones without any troubled history, she didn't feel the need to do so. Besides, this was Zonic. She trusted him completely, she had no reason to have him recorded. She made a polite smile to Zonic before sitting down and crossing her legs with her black nylon stockings. She said something dismissively, probably saying she had to buzz someone else in. Zonic remained silent, only nodded. She took her tablet and stylist from the coffee table between them and began tapping on the screen. She spoke again, perhaps telling Zonic to continue where they left off. She stared at him attentively, waiting for him to speak once more.
He talked.
And he talked, and talked.
He talked for a very long time.
Maybe...fifteen minutes straight.
Zhadow stood by and watched patiently, watching his soon to be ex-fiancé speak.
As he spoke, the longer he used his words, his expression grew so pained. Angry, tormented, annoyed, tired, exhausted, misguided, confused and hurt all at once. He had a bottle of juice in his hands, still too traumatized to drink a cup of coffee. He was squeezing onto the bottle so hard, that he was crushing the material in his palms. Any more, and he'd destroy it. He still wore his ring on his finger, probably reluctantly. He kept staring off into space, not directly looking at Zouge and glaring at the TV screen. The very thing he was forced to stare at for ninety percent of his entire life. He was talking about everything he's been through in the last four years, maybe longer than that, but Zhadow knew for a fact that he eventually began talking to her about him. How he hurt him more than once, how he was ruining their relationship, how this was the end for them, how he couldn't take it any longer living with him in that damn apartment. He looked like he wanted to break, but he wouldn't.
Zouge could see this, so she slowly stood up from her seat, smoothing out her pencil skirt before walking over to the coffee table and bending down to press her finger underneath it. Activating a hidden mechanism, Her seat and the coffee table digitized away, and she took a few steps back. Zonic looked up at her in confusion, before she pointed ahead of them in the middle of the room. Several cyber comprised mannequins digitized before them, waiting to be practiced on. The blue soldier blinked, before glancing back at her again with a quizzical stare. She placed a hand on his shoulder, before gesturing to his belt. She then nodded her head before taking his bottle of juice, and taking a few more steps back. Zonic slowly turned to the mannequins and noticed something peculiar. There were seven of them, and every single one of them had a picture of someone he knew taped to their faces. One had Zector's face, one had Zespio's, one had Sonic prime's, one had Shadow prime's, one had Zobotnik's, one had his own, and one...had Zhadow's.
He stood up.
Slowly realizing what Zouge wanted him to do, he gradually lowered his arm to his belt and pulled out his nightstick.
...
...Zonic charged forward with a scream Zhadow couldn't hear and witnessed him tackle one of the mannequins down. He lifted his baton and struck into it over and over, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...Zouge watched silently, pieces of the mannequin, which was made with hardened faux plastic, flying past her face without her even flinching. The look on his rookie's face was savage, beyond wrathful and positively deadly, as if he could kill anyone with a glare alone. He whacked at it so much that his own nightstick broke apart. He kept swinging. He just kept swinging and swinging, until eventually his motions became slower and slower. Eventually, after maybe ten minutes, it all came to a stop. Zonic dropped the destroyed weapon from his hands and just sat there staring down at what he destroyed. He was panting lightly, his eyes glossing over with an emotion he couldn't describe. The general expected that the mannequin he picked to demolish had Zhadow's picture-
-But it wasn't.
Zouge walked over and knelt down beside him. She tore off the ripped up photo from the ruined mannequin's face, and slowly lifted her head towards the window. Zonic didn't know it, but she was staring directly at Zhadow. The picture she held in her hand, was Zonic's. She then held it up a little higher, showing him that it was a photo of Zonic during his graduation from bootcamp. He was so young then, didn't even know Zhadow well. So naive, so innocent before his life went to hell. Zhadow was speechless. Why...did he attack his own picture? Why not his? Zouge turned back to Zonic and helped him up to his feet, but when she did, Zhadow saw something awful that he hadn't seen in years.
Zonic was sobbing.
Silently.
He wasn't wailing, wasn't yelling.
Just letting pools of tears fall from his face in complete quiet, dripping and staining onto the carpeted floor.
"..." Zhadow felt his chest tighten considerably. His breath quickened and his eyes dilated. He watched Zouge place her hand on his shoulder, petting it gently. That's what she wanted from Zonic: She wanted him to break, wanted him to finally release everything he ever held in. And sadly, she knew this wasn't enough. He needed more healing than this, more time to let loose and truly express himself. She rubbed his back and cautiously guided him back to the couch. Zhadow had heard of this form of therapy, a rage room. She mentioned how she wanted so badly to implement one into her office for patients, that it was excellent for certain individuals struggling with expressions of emotions or temper problems. She just needed the funding, and thanks to Zhadow's budge cut proposal, he slid her some cash for it. It was finished in no time, and she just waited for the perfect person to test it out on. He supposed that person was Zonic. And either fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed to work. He had to admit, she was a genius. If it helped Zonic even a little, he was glad he trusted her with the money.
Zouge helped Zonic back to his seat and knelt down beside him to speak with him a little more. Zonic's eye began twitching, and Zouge seemed to point it out. Zonic just wiped his eyes with his arm and shook his head, denying it. She then digitized a bottle of...prescription pills in her palm, and tapped her manicured nail against it. She explained what the pills were, what they do, and how they could help him. At least, that's what Zhadow figured. Zonic just kept shaking his head and adamantly refused.
Zhadow couldn't take it anymore.
He practically ran out of her office and shut the door behind him with a firm slam.
August 25th
DAY 45: Sunday
No Zone HQ
Morning, 12:00 PM
"Soooo, why'd you text us and tell us to come here again?" Sonic asked with a puzzled expression.
Today, Zonic called the primes—Well, more like Zonic texted Sonic personally for them to come to HQ for "something very important." He wouldn't explain what, only said that it was imperative for them to come so he can divulge some information they needed to know before anything else crazy happened. They already had a meeting at 1PM to attend to, so they were surprised that Zonic wanted them to come a little earlier. He and Sonic grew more comfortable with texting each other as of late, Shadow noticed. He escorted them both to a training room, digitizing his armored uniform on along the way. The training room was huge, with combative weapons and equipment hung up all around the room. There was even a circle for combatants to spar, but Zonic made sure to clarify that he didn't want to fight his twin again or anyone else today. There was a set of stairs in the room leading to an upper area, an observation deck. Zonic asked for Shadow to wait below while he and Sonic went upstairs to talk for a moment.
A little put off by this, Shadow watched the two blue hedgehogs go upstairs with a confused look. Maria phased from behind him and poked her head over his to look down at him curiously. She tilted her head and mentally asked him what was going on. Shadow only shrugged, wondering just what Zonic was up to this time.
Meanwhile, Zonic answered Sonic's question. "Sonic prime, as you know-Err," He corrected himself. "As you saw yourself, Shadow templates can become very dangerous when they consume our blood. Blood of any Chaos Born can cause a negative reaction, but the blood of his lover is different. Worse, even. Shadow prime naturally has much more chaos energy pumping in his veins than my superior. That helps counteract the Black Arms blood and it's influence, because he already has a large portion of our power." He explained diligently. "Chaos energy is created by the Divine Spirits, meaning their power helps block a lot of the demonic bloodlust and negativity. Chaos energy is also empowered by emotions, and his love for you should be able to cut through that as well. Meanwhile, Zhadow has mostly Black Arms blood with a microscopic amount of chaos energy. He has almost nothing to counteract the influence of the original Black Doom, and it even caused his Primal Mode to permanently bleed into his psyche." He saw Sonic look much more attentive than before at that. So that's why he looked and sounded so hostile whenever it happened, because the Black Arms kept conflicting with the hypnotism used for activating Primal Mode. Zhadow's brain was in a constant state of conflict at this point. "Black Arms blood is no laughing matter and should never be underestimated. Ergo, Shadow prime shouldn't be as affected if he consumes your blood, but you still need to show extreme caution. He's still very strong and mixing that with chaotic blood is a deadly combination no matter which Shadow template it is."
"And you," Sonic summed up slowly. "Want to test it out on Shads...? To see if he'll freak out like Zhadow?"
Zonic nodded. "Yes, I need to know if he too is having a hard time controlling himself. Throughout all your battles with Shadow prime, I am more than positive, regardless of whether or not either of you know it, that he has consumed your blood accidentally many, many times. Tiny droplets, microscopic pints, full on splatters, anything. You're lucky he hasn't snapped yet, actually." Zonic noted ominously. "Eventually, he will consume enough of your blood to influence him and lose it. My superior introducing Shadow prime to Black Arms abilities I'm sure helped speed up some of the process." He sighed heavily. "I apologize on his behalf, but that's what the blood does. I read up on some old notes yesterday. Apparently, the moment another template seeks out a 'brother' of sorts, they try and assimilate them into the influence by teaching or forcing them to perform Black Arms abilities. More allies, more soldiers for Black Doom's pitiful little multidimensional sleeper-agent army." He placed his hands on his hips and peered down at Shadow from below, who was patiently standing and waiting. He could see Maria's phantom float around him gleefully. "If you have any questions," Zonic said gently. "You may ask, and I will answer as best as I can under the watchful eye of the spirits. They're listening to us, after all."
Sonic made a perturbed expression. "T-They are...?"
Zonic nodded with a bored expression, he was used to being watched. "Mmhm. They always watch over their children, especially Overseers, which is why I cannot tell you certain things. Otherwise, I'll be punished or even killed. I'll still try my best, however. You both deserve the truth, if at least some of it."
"O...Okay," Chaos, that was creepy. Were those things watching him ever since he was born? Ugh, he couldn't think about that now, it made him super uncomfortable and icky. "What would happen if we consumed Black Arms blood?"
"Honestly?" Zonic replied frankly. "Nothing besides extreme nausea. I once accidentally swallowed some of Zhadow's blood during an intense mission we were assigned. He was stabbed by an assailant, and his blood splattered on my face thanks to my helmet being severely damaged at the time. A good amount of it landed on my tongue, and it was probably the most disgusting experience I've ever had. I didn't puke, but I felt like I had to for hours." He walked over to the guard rail of the observation deck, not blocked off by glass unlike the one in Zobotnik's base, and leaned against it. "Black Arms blood is harmless to us, and tastes like thick liquid medicine. It's just nasty, nothing more. Depending on how bad the influence affects a template, the taste and smell of it gets worse, according to my notes."
Sonic nodded his head a few times, now it all made sense. "Yeah, that's kinda what I smelled when Zhadow went nuts. I was smelling his hormones, though."
"Indeed. All Sonic templates have the ability to smell hormones more strongly than normal Mobians. We can also smell biological chastity and sex drives, including much more with experience." He watched Sonic walk over and join him by the railing, listening to him attentively. "Some have even reported to smell emotions and energy signatures. I can attest to the first one, as I can smell a limited amount of emotions from those I'm close to. My range cannot extend to strangers however, and I can't smell energies or auras just yet. I might not ever can, since I'm not even supposed to be this strong to begin with as an Overseer."
Woah, okay so it wasn't just him. Rouge was right, Sonic being able to smell hormones so strongly and someone's maidenhood wasn't normal at all. It was exclusive to their race. "So you smell stuff like that, too. Why though? That's weird."
That's when he saw a brief flash of hesitation and apprehension appear in Zonic's face. He averted his eyes and avoided most of the question. "...I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you the entire answer. All I can give you is some of the Black Arms perspective on that, but not much else." He saw Sonic's disappointment, but he could also tell he understood. Loose lips not only sank ships, but destroyed them. Zonic couldn't get himself killed for insubordination. "Zhadow wasn't completely out of his mind when he said that many Black Arms favor breeding with Chaos Born. It's why the blood calls for them to kill off the civilians, the weaklings, and breed with the Chaos Born so they can reproduce strong offspring and properly conquer the world. Let's just say that us being able to smell hormones..." He made a difficult expression as he tried continuing as vaguely as possible. "...Helps with that. That's all I can say about that, and I know it was an unnerving answer to hear. Sorry." He could see how disgusted Sonic looked from that, remembering all the horrible things Zhadow said to Zonic that day. The fact that there was some truth to his words was a little disturbing.
"No, it's fine. Um," Sonic tried to recover from that. "And like...Since all Shadows are technically Chaos Born, are they related to us? Like is this all low key incest? Zhadow made it seem more like an in-law thing, but-"
Surprisingly, Zonic stifled a chuckle. He looked kinda nice smiling like that, Sonic noted. "Pfft. No, not even slightly. First off, Shadow templates are not designated as Chaos Born unless they are recognized as such by the spirits. Shadow templates are almost all born from the DNA and bloodline of the Black Arms with some level of chaos energy. Chaos energy does not equal chaotic blood. Just because they have the power, doesn't mean they're biologically related to us." He explained with a more lighthearted voice. "For example, that would be like claiming that all Mobians are related to you because they have a small amount of chaos energy. You and I both know that's not true. That's why we as Sonic templates are pure blooded Chaos Born. We have the blood of the spirits themselves, which makes us brothers even if we don't have chaos energy. Without the blood of the spirits, no one can be related to us. Shadow templates are only Chaos Born by name and recognition."
As Zhadow once said, the spirits were the end all and be all so that made sense. They may have made almost everything but that didn't mean everything they made was directly related to them by blood. That explained why Mobians have chaos energy at all. "But," Sonic said. "I doubt the spirits made the Black Arms, right?" He saw Zonic nod.
"They spawned themselves into existence thousands of years ago, again, according to my notes." Zonic inquired. "No one knows how or why, it was a spontaneous phenomenon that eludes even the spirits."
"Well, if the spirits didn't create the Black Arms, why do they have chaos energy at all if they're not actually Chaos Born?"
He saw Zonic make a peculiar expression. A great question that even he wasn't entirely sure how to answer to the fullest. "Tens of thousands of years ago and perhaps beyond that, the first Black Doom from the first reality stole the power of chaos energy from The Ancients, the entities related to the God of Destruction, Chaos. The Light One, the first and most powerful divine spirit, gifted the Ancients with that power after he created them. The Light One didn't appreciate Black Doom stealing from them and by extension, Chaos Born, and confronted him. My ancestors are unsure how this happened, but the most popular theory is that a cosmic battle ensued. That's why the Black Arms have the ability. The Light One feared he could use this power for evil purposes, and so cursed Black Doom's future spawns amongst the multiverse to show resistance to their father's hive mind," He made sure he added a small disclaimer. "So the legend goes, anyway. Nobody truly knows what happened during their spat, we only know that chaos energy never belonged to Black Arms. As you can see, not all templates are as strong willed as others, but it served its purpose. Some Overseers believe it was a petty curse to force his children to show physical resemblance of a Chaos Born, to always remind Black Doom of who he stole from. That's why all Shadow templates are hedgehogs and why for some stupid reason, people confuse Sonic templates for Shadow templates and vice versa. To be honest, I don't think it's that deep. I personally believe Shadow templates sharing the appearance of hedgehogs like us is actually the other way around—The Black Arms are taunting the spirits with an alien hybrid that mimics our appearance. Although, there's truly no evidence for any of this and it's not like I can ask. The spirits aren't much for conversation, especially not about Black Arms."
That sounded like a lot of drama that the hero personally was not interested in. Life was just high school over and over again, even with literal deities and demon aliens. "Wait, so the Divine Spirits look like hedgehogs too? When they're not in spirit form?" He saw his twin nod. "Why, though?"
That honestly stumped Zonic a bit, as he didn't know the answer to that either. Then he just shrugged before saying, "Why does Black Doom look like an angry, mouthless black and red starfish?"
Huh.
Good point. "Touche." Sonic turned and leaned over the railing to look down at his boyfriend below. He smiled a little at watching him and Maria interact. "Okay, so if worst comes to worst, you'll have to put a seal thingy on him, right? What even is that and what does that do?"
"A Chaotic Sigil is a random hieroglyphic that's written in Chaotic Tongue." Zonic answered. "It can be anything if you learn the language, but each sentence using these characters must contain the mark of one of the spirits for it to hold any physical power, thus creating a seal. Each spirit has their own respective symbol that involves specific energies and emotions. When I put a sigil on General Zhadow and most other Shadow templates who go rogue, I create a sigil that says 'cease' or 'stop' with the Light One's insignia." He digitized a tablet into his palms before stepping closer to Sonic for him to look at the screen. There was a library of different symbols aligned on the device's surface, showcasing the very hieroglyphics of chaos he spoke of. He pointed to one in particular, one shaped like a heart. "The Light One's symbol represents true love, perfection and holiness. I use this one because the Light One is the ultimate opposite of Black Arms blood, and its power is like poison to any spawn of the race."
Sonic tilted his head wondrously. Who would have thunk his bloodline had their own language? "Sorry to sound like a broken record but, why?"
"The Divine Spirits have been the rival of the Black Arms army for eons and that's not a legend." Zonic replied as he tapped on the heart symbol, opening a page writing texts detailing the symbol's meaning and power in normal English. "It's a brutally ironic fact. It's why most Sonic and Shadow templates naturally become rivals in some way shape or form. Anyway, that sigil is almost like an exorcism for Black Arms blood," He zoomed into the paragraph detailing the symbol. "Because it forcefully contains the alien demonic influence of Black Doom. And that's the key word here: demonic. Black Arms aliens are demonic in nature. It's similar to when I performed an exorcism on you with Fleetway, but against the opposing race. However, this isn't a fix at all. This is like putting a tiny bandaid on a breaking dam at best and isn't a true cure of the disease. All the sigil does is quell the influence for some random amount of time until another incident occurs. It's painful for the template in question but thankfully only lasts for a few minutes. In worst cases, they can become immune to the sigil and strong enough to ignore it. Something I feared would happen to Zhadow." He scrolled down to show Sonic more information. The Black Arms symbol was at the bottom. Once he tapped his finger on it, information about the race appeared in red text. "The influence itself comes from a hivemind of voices that all stem from the original Black Doom, voices that speak to every Shadow template in every reality until it eventually echoes back in on itself. This is why the influence is so hard to ignore: it's too loud. If you're lucky, the template is strong enough on his own to push back the influence, and in some rare cases, stop it permanently. To truly stop it for good on your end, you have to use the Light One's power directly as a super form. I can't use a super form, so this is sadly all I can do to stop Zhadow if he isn't strong enough to stop himself. You however, have the ability to stop Shadow prime by using the Light One, or in your case, the entity more commonly known as Hyper Sonic."
That name caused a weird chill to settle in the Mobian blue hedgehog's chest. Hyper...such a strangely enchanting name. He didn't like the idea of having to go overboard just to stop Shadow's potential influence for good.
Zonic continued. "The process is once again painful, but instant and permanent. The second he feels any pain, it's over and it'll never happen again. However," He twisted his mouth into a disapproving frown. "His Black Arms biologically would be severely altered and damaged forever. I've never seen it done before, but my ancestors write that it's a grueling procedure. In worst cases, the Shadow template slowly loses his sense of identity after some time, becoming a fragment of his former self. A gradual and painful variation of dementia, basically. It's terrible."
Sonic frowned heavily with a pained expression. That'd be like completely overwriting who Shadow was at the cost of his mental wellbeing, and that was beyond awful and unfair. "I...I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna change him, that's still his body. That's what makes him him, whether I like it or not. And I never hated it or had a problem with it. I could never, not even if he asked me or if there were no consequences. That would...hurt him in a way that'd be unforgivable. I couldn't do that to him."
Zonic slowly nodded in approval with a tiny smile. "Hm. I had a feeling you'd say something like that. I agree, actually. I'd never do that to Zhadow either. It's like lobotomizing him of a gene I deem undesirable, but that's not my right. I'm not his creator." He shut off the tablet and digitized it away into the ether. He glanced at Sonic with a determined stare. "Well, in that case, you'll just have to hope that Shadow prime will be strong enough to control himself, or we'll have to use a sigil. If things get too dangerous, I'm afraid I'll have to step in and place a seal on him." That must have been why he was armored, even though he could totally fight Shadow without it, as he's done so before. It was just a precaution. "Whatever the result, after this, I should probably teach you how to read and write chaotic language. That way, when a problem arises and I'm not around, you can stop him yourself. And it doesn't just work on Black Arms either, you can use it on yourself if you have trouble with one of your super forms, another Chaos Born or even objects. It can be a useful tool and even a weapon for you to use as a last resort."
That sounded ridiculously useful, and he was glad to be taught something to one up Shadow. Looks like he wouldn't be the only hedgehog learning a new exclusive ability during his time in this reality. "Huh...okay. Hey, can Shadow learn it too?" Sonic asked hopefully. "That way he could help himself."
Zonic somberly shook his head, much to his twin's dismay. "I'm afraid not. Shadow templates are able to read and write Chaotic Tongue if they're taught, but they are not able to utilize its powers like Sonic templates can. Remember, Sonic templates are pure blood Chaos Born, meaning we're the only ones who can utilize any form of power from the spirits, including their super forms. I do know some of your friends have utilized super forms themselves in the past, but that was only because the spirits let them to help you. They won't allow them to use their power again. Black Arms aren't allowed to use super forms at all. Shadow prime is indeed an enigma, as he has the ability to use a similar power of the Gold One, but I doubt he could learn how to use pure blooded powers. Black Arms biologically can't use the abilities of Chaotic Tongue no matter how much they learn."
Shoot. So much for that...
Zonic digitized a syringe and a glass vial in his palm, both were empty. "We will only commence with your permission. Afterwards, Shadow prime has to consent to the test first. This needs to be done," His tone softened. "But I understand if you both don't want to do this. You may back out at anytime before he consumes your blood."
Sonic sighed with a heavy exhale as he briefly looked down again at Shadow from above, before tearing his gaze away. He hoped to Chaos nobody got hurt too badly after this, but they both had to know how far this could get. Zhadow was a tragic example of a rogue template fighting against his maker's wishes. If there was a chance Shadow could suffer from it to the same extent, Sonic needed to figure out a merciful way to stop it. Shadow was there for him when he transformed into Fleetway, so he had to return the favor and then some.
He loved him, after all.
It was now or never.
"Okay...let's do this."
73 - END - 73
Chapter 74: Theorem
Summary:
Shadow and Maria are put to the test after ingesting Sonic's blood. Afterward, Zhadow commences and extremely important and strategical meeting.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
74 - Theorem - 74
12:10 PM
Shadow gently smiled as Maria's spirit circled around him playfully, giggling and cheerfully creating chaotic sparkles all around him without rest. He heard the sound of footsteps, two pairs, along with intimidating clicking of military heels. He and Maria turned to see the two blue hedgehogs walking in their direction, speaking to each other with concerned tones. They must have came down from the observation deck, noticing a while ago that they had a private talk upstairs. "...After looking over some old recordings of other Shadow templates undergoing the influence," They heard Zonic say. Zonic noticed Maria's presence and realized something. He then respectfully leaned closer to Sonic to whisper. "I found that Black Arms blood only flares when under extreme emotional stress. Tasting chaotic blood or having sex is only an accelerant." He didn't want the child to hear that. He stopped walking along with Sonic and increased his volume once more. "If his mind is clear of any negativity, nothing should happen. If he snaps, it's because his mind is restless and you'll have to fix it somehow." He nodded to the three of them and took a few more steps back to give them some room. "Good luck."
Sonic scratched the side of his head with a grimace that looked a little nervous. He didn't look at Shadow and sighed before crossing his arms. Shadow blinked, while Maria floated above them to watch the two hedgehogs interact eagerly. "Something wrong?" He asked the hero.
The blue speedster nodded. "Yeah. Zonic wants you to...drink my blood. To test how bad the Black Arms influence reacts in you." He finally reached the GUN agent's gaze. "I don't like it, and neither does he, but he said it's best that we test it now instead of waiting until a freak accident happens that causes you to snap. Like with Zhadow. He's got remedies for what might happen, but he said we should only do it if you're okay with it." He reached from behind his quills and pulled out a small vial of blood, his own blood. "Zee just got this from me when we were up on the deck." Sonic's expression tightened. "It's fresh. He says once a drop of this stuff hits your tongue, there's no turning back. Look," Sonic looked away with a face that appeared evidently guilty. He was guilty because he did indeed need to understand how bad Shadow could be effected, but also didn't want him to experience the hell Zhadow went through. "This...this is like a big science experiment. You already went through so much pain on the Ark, and you barely got away from Black Doom's clutches. I don't wanna make you go through that again, man."
Shadow listened to his words carefully. Zonic was the Overseer, AKA, the All Seeing Eye of all Chaos Born. It was his job to record incidents like this to help aid other Chaos Born, which included other Shadow templates. Zonic, despite being one of the most detestable people he's ever met, was never malevolent in nature. He didn't do his job out of enjoyment, he did it because he had to. He didn't suggest this test to trigger Shadow's PTSD, he was doing this for the good of him, Sonic and other Chaos Born out there suffering through the same thing. If doing this could help stop the pain of another Shadow out there, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. Besides, Sonic was tough. He could handle him at his worst. Plus, they had Zonic here suited up and ready for a fight if need be. This could get messy, but the two blue twins could handle Shadow if he lost it. The only problem however...
...was Maria.
Shadow looked up at the haunt with a worrisome frown. How would the influence affect her? "Will this hurt her?" Shadow asked as the girl peered back at him with a sweet smile.
Zonic made a difficult expression. "That's...a very good question, one that even I don't know the answer to." He crossed his arms and gazed at the spirit with analyzying eyes. "The girl's spirit shouldn't even exist, much less be here to experience such a test. Since she holds a power similar to that of a Divine Spirit, this could get really ugly. She's already very powerful when she synchronizes with you. I've never witnessed a Shadow template under the influence while in a super form. I don't think any Overseer has, frankly." He placed a hand under his chin and tapped it while thinking. "The possibility of her power going rogue along with your mind is a strong one, and I'm not sure how well either of you could receive a sigil if I used one on you. Hell, if it'll even work...We need to be extremely careful." He made a difficult but necessary decision. "If things go awry, I'll have to take responsibility and use one of the most powerful sigils in Chaotic Tongue. It'll hurt both you and her, but it's the only thing I can think of and I'm not sure if it'll even work. That being said," He added while staring at the three. "This needs to happen. We need to see how badly you're affected so Sonic prime knows what to do in case you lose it. Of course, none of you have an obligation to this decision. While I want you to cooperate, as this is indeed imperative, you can tell me 'no'." He glanced at the spirit, who waved politely at him. "She has a say in this too, of course. We'll need Maria prime's consent as well."
This...wasn't an easy choice to make.
Shadow beckoned for the girl to come closer. "Maria, come here." The girl's phantom floated lower and graced him with her innocent presence. "You heard him, right?" He saw her nod. "This is a big decision, one we can't take likely. I might end up like General Zhadow, but it might end up hurting you too. I don't want that, but they're right. We need to know what to do in case this happens. And in order for us to know how to stop it, we have to complete this test. Do you understand?"
The young girl's ghost drifted her ocean blue eyes to the side. Her expression was a little lost, unsure of how to answer that. She remembered how much suffering Zhadow went through when she healed him. His head was a maze of remorse, sorrow and agony. She didn't want either of them to feel what he felt. That's when she glanced over at Sonic, who felt so guilty by this that he couldn't even look at her. He looked so ashamed, glaring at the glass vial of blood with angry eyes. She made a sad frown. Then, she closed her eyes. "..." She opened them again and turned to Shadow. She nodded her head once, but her expression was fierce. They had to do this, she couldn't be afraid. Zhadow was alone whenever he suffered the influence, but Shadow wouldn't be. They could handle this together.
"Are you sure?" Shadow asked.
She nodded again. "Yes. We can do it."
The girl was determined, her mind was made up. Shadow nodded back, feeling a little more confident in this choice. "Very well." He glanced at Sonic and held out his hand. "Do it, Sonic. We're ready. We can do this."
"I..." Sonic was hesitant. He looked back at Zonic from behind, who only nodded in return. They could handle this, no matter what happened. Sonic gripped his hand into the vial, before finally conceding to his boyfriend's choice. Alright. He looked back at them, before taking a few steps back. "Okay." He made an underhand toss of the vial, and Shadow caught it swiftly. "Just...be careful."
The biohog stared at the vial, and Maria tapped it with her ghostly finger. They watched the content flash rainbows of light within it, before it faded away just aa fast. He wondered of all the times they fought in the past, would he have noticed the oddities of Sonic's blood back then if he had paid more attention? Shadow silently exhaled, and twisted the cap off. It dropped to the floor with a small clatter. Shadow held up the vial and began to open his mouth, tilting the container towards his lips. Zonic watched carefully from afar, placing his palm in his chest and initiating his suit's bodycam. It was now recording. Sonic watched with baited breath as his own blood poured into Shadow's mouth, through his lips and onto his tongue. As it all traveled down his throat, he made a small gulp. The vial was empty, and Shadow made a surprised expression. So did Maria. "Why...does it taste so sweet...?" He asked aloud. The girl's senses were connected to his, so she could taste exactly what his tastebuds experienced. "It tastes like..." He continued with a mumble. "Like..." He turned to the girl, who spoke something with a confused expression. No one else could hear her. Shadow nodded. "Yeah, like blueberries."
"Funny," Zonic suddenly commented. "Zhadow said something similar about mine the first time he tasted it. That the flavor tasted of blueberries. I've heard other Shadow templates comment that their respective Sonic template's blood tastes like some kind of blue or purple fruit." He looked over at Sonic. "It depends on your biological makeup. Since you and I are nearly physically identical, it makes sense our blood types taste the same."
Shadow and Maria seemed deep in thought, several minutes passing by. Sonic became more nervous with every second.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three.
...
...
...
...After a while though, they both turned to each other and shrugged.
They didn't feel anything.
Sonic smiled with a sigh of relief. "Thank Chaos..." He looked over at his twin. "See, Zee? Shads and Dollface are fine!"
Zonic however, kept recording and didn't budge. He narrowed his eyes and only shook his head silently. He then pointed at the two, gesturing for Sonic to pay attention.
This wasn't over.
That's when the scream worthy of one thousand phantasmal banshees resounded all throughout the entire HQ and beyond. Anyone within the reality, even someone who was just traveling within the realm, heard the scream perfectly. It was beyond haunting, beyond ghastly, beyond evocative. They were the wails of a divine entity trapped in the infancy of it's own unlimited potential. The screams were so powerful, that everything went white and Sonic lost his vision.
12:20 PM
"..."
Sonic squeezed his eyelids before slowly opening them.
He was on the floor.
How'd that happen?
And what was the ringing in his ears for...?
What was happening?
"...onic Prime...!"
His hearing came back to him.
"Sonic prime!"
And when it did, his vision solidified. Immense winds were blowing his quills and fur back every which way. The entire room shook as if a devastating volcanic earthquake was threatening to swallow the planet whole. Zonic was there, in front of him and shielding him from something big up ahead. Carefully, Sonic pushed himself upwards onto his feet. He felt a little wobbly, but Zonic caught him by his wrists to help him keep balance. They both looked at the huge ball of dark red aura exploding within the large room. A petrifying phantom worthy of trouncing even the scariest of horror film icons was currently attempting to stretch itself out of Shadow's back. Sonic could barely recognize her, but it was her. It was Maria. Her hair was turning pitch black on the ends, her eyes glowing a dark crimson. There were no irises, no pupils, nothing. Just...dark red. Even her clothes were fading to the same color, torn and ripped in a few places. She was wailing in agony, her hands to her head as she screamed to the heavens in misery. Her skin was deathly pale, she didn't even look human anymore. She looked like a true, vengeful ghost, trying her hardest to pull herself out of Shadow's body so she could be free from the pain.
She couldn't.
And Shadow...
...He looked even worse.
The stripes lining his fur were glowing, as were his eyes. They too were empty of irises or pupils, just a void of dark glowing red. His quills were lethally sharp and out of place, sharp claws tearing from his gloves and destroying them. Dark red veins appeared and pulsed all throughout his body, including his face and muzzle. Those same veins were pulsing into Maria's skin, the very source of their pain. They both were screaming, begging for someone to make it all stop. Just stop. Stop. Even for one God damn second, make it stop! Shadow fell to his knees, his nails scraping at his skull to dig inside and rip his brain out of it meant he could make the voices stop. They needed help.
They were pleading for help.
"That's alarming," Zonic noted with a steady voice. "Neither of us should be able to hear Maria prime, but we can. She's growing more powerful, meaning Shadow prime is too, in the worst way possible." His helmet digitized on his head, concealing his face and filtering his voice as he pulled his baton from his belt. "It can't be helped," He said as he extended the weapon defensively while getting in a combative stance. "I'll have to put them both down myself-"
"No!" Zonic felt a hand seize his shoulder. He looked to the side and saw Sonic step forward with a wary, but resolute expression. The hero stared at his lover with distressed eyes. "I can do this. I can stop them."
Before today, Zonic would have yelled at Sonic to just step back and let a real professional handle this. He'd demean him, insult him, call him a petulant brat and tell him to sit in the corner like the rebellious child he was. But now, things were different. Zonic's body relaxed and he lowered his weapon. He shrunk his nightstick down to normal size, but he kept his grip on it just in case. He nodded once and took a step back. "...Very well." He said. "I trust you. Just remember that neither of them are in their right minds. You can get hurt or worse, assaulted. Maria prime will not be able to stop him. If at any moment you need assistance, I'm right here."
Sonic gave Zonic a grateful smile. "I appreciate it, Zee." He then began to walk forward towards Shadow and Maria, noting the hazardous territory just ahead. "But he's my man, so he's my responsibility. If I wanna stay in Dollface's good graces, I gotta do her a solid and handle this on my own. Gotta keep up a good impression for his family, y'know?" He took a few more steps closer, feeling their aura hit his face. It felt shockingly negative, filled with fear, anger, hatred and distrust. "If I can get to Shadow, I can get to Maria and vice versa. Easy." Well, more like easier said than done.
The two were still screaming in agony, their screeches similar to that of some paranormal entity that didn't belong in this world.
The blue hero didn't show fear, and instead presented nothing but the very thing he showed them both everyday: Love. "Hey," He said with a measured but kind voice. He penetrated the orb of aura, feeling it's disturbing power weigh in on his body. It felt like it was pushing onto his chest, like it was hard to breathe, but he ignored it. If this was the Black Arms influence in raw form, he hated to know what it looked like transformed into a super form. Sonic gently placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder, who was too busy holding his head and hollering to notice. "You know babe, not gonna lie, I never hated the whole Black Arms thing. If anything, I think it's kinda cool on you." He got a little closer and gently massaged his palm on his shoulder blade. "But if it's actively doing you nothing but harm, well," Sonic's smile failed a little. "We can't let that go. So," He tried to caress his muzzle with both hands this time. "How about we-" That's when he saw the glint of pearly whites and instantly ripped himself away from Shadow. However, he was gripped by the arms to stop him from completely moving away. Sonic flinched at the sight of Shadow's teeth and open mouth. He had been inches away from biting him and he clearly wanted to attempt it again. "Okay, why the biting though!?" Sonic yelled out loud. "What, they're vampires too!?"
Zonic watched this carefully, but answered Sonic calmly. "Actually, in a way, yes. Black Arms desire more chaotic blood or worse, flesh, to consume. It makes them stronger. It's like a constant, insatiable hunger. They can't help it once they smell or taste it and gorge on it until they have their fill, which could mean your death. It's either that, or forcing you on your back for breeding purposes for similar reasons. Unfortunately, consent usually isn't a factor." The blue soldier made a pitiful face. "It's disgusting...I'm sorry, but I warned you. If you can't handle this, I will step in."
Sonic hissed at the feeling of Maria's power burning his skin. "N-No...I ain't givin' up on them that easily!" He looked up as he tried to pull himself out of Shadow's hold, watching her sob violently and miserably at the noise in their heads. No, he hated seeing kids cry. That poor child, she didn't deserve this. He glanced back at Shadow, noting that he didn't deserve this either. No one did. That's when he realized that the solution was risky, but obvious. To hell with it. He opened his arms and crushed Shadow into an inescapable embrace. Feeling his warmth, both Maria and Shadow winced.
With all the voices clouding their heads in a bleak darkness, a puny, weak sparkle of light shined through.
"...!"
"I can feel it." Sonic whispered to Shadow as he held him close, ignoring his biting attempts. "I can feel everything you're both feeling right now. I don't know how, but I can." He nuzzled his face against his cheek, causing his attempts to pause. "I get it. You're worried that somehow, you'll lose me again. You're worried that I'll get myself killed. You're scared that you won't be able to save me this time. And most of all, you're scared that you'll be the one to do me in. That you'll lose control and make the same mistake Zhadow did." Fear. That's what triggered this nonsense, fear and guilt. Fear over hurting Sonic and becoming the monster he was always meant to be, and guilt for nearly accomplishing that feat with Sonic's death. Shadow expected him to be afraid as well, but he wasn't. Sonic is not scared of him. "I love you both so, so much. We can get past anything together. Maria," He addressed the girl sweetly as he looked upwards at the dark phantom, who was stifling her sobs to look down at him. "I promise, I'll help you and protect Shadow with every fiber of my being, and I'll never let him lose himself. Ever. I'll do what I always have, and help him through his bad times." He turned his loving gaze back down to the infected biohog. "Like I told you, I want your darkness just as much as your light, and I'll help Maria too."
That's when they both saw it in their minds.
Something so beautiful that it couldn't ignored, no matter how many voices screamed at them to attack, bite and kill.
Sonic's gracious and holy smile.
That tiny little light they saw before, it grew.
It grew, and grew and grew...Bigger and bigger until there was barely any darkness left.
Their eyes were almost blinded to the light, but they welcomed it all the same even if they could never see again. It singed their eyes in a lovely way, and they walked towards that light before abruptly running to it. It wasn't just a light, it wasn't just hope. It was home—They were running home. They held each other's hands, running towards that light together. And when they arrived, Sonic was waiting there for them with that beautiful smile.
They were home.
They always had been, they just couldn't see it.
The dark red aura faded away, disappearing after a few minutes of necessary holding and hugging. Maria could feel her form ease it's stress, the demonic influence attempting to purge her figure vanishing. She made a big sigh, placing her hands on her chest. She could breathe properly again, her lungs empty of that nasty smog. She floated down to the two hedgehogs and wrapped her arms around them both. She nuzzled her head onto Sonic's and Shadow's, smiling in relief and happiness. Shadow meanwhile, squeezed his arms more around Sonic. His quills were normal, and his claws retracted. His teeth were no longer feral, and he practically laid himself against Sonic's embrace. This feeling, this wonderful loving feeling, was all he needed to keep going. The fear, the guilt, it was almost all gone. Sonic could tell it was still there, still in the back of their minds. No one could be perfect, and nobody was completely void of negativity. But that was okay, Sonic accepted it. Soon, he knew Shadow and Maria would both accept it too. The three hugged one another in a strong, single unit, adoring hold. None of them wanted to let go, because their love for each other was boundless.
To this, a strange light began to glow from Sonic's figure.
Shadow and Maria blinked, their eyes now normal. Were they seeing this correctly? Was Sonic...glowing? Sparkling?
"Now," Sonic said with that same perfect smile. The small scratches on his body didn't even seem to bother him. "How about we take a chill pill for a quick sec and go back to givin' Zee and Zhadow a hand? They need our help too y'know, all of us." As he spoke, the biohog and the phantom could feel his positivity and his pureness. How was that possible? How was it possible to be that pure? Sonic, while heroic and sweet, wasn't perfect. He even transformed into a demonic force himself not to long ago, so how...? Why now? Unbeknownst to everyone else, Zonic noticed it too. He was a little surprised, not realizing that Sonic had gotten that far with his connection to him. To the Light One. His positivity alone was powerful enough to not only quell Shadow and Maria, but stop the influence all together. He eased their worries in just a few minutes, without barely breaking a sweat. Sonic purged himself through that wall of demonic darkness and despair, and didn't even flinch. He didn't even get bit, only a couple small scratches that would heal in hours. Amazing...Zonic only witnessed this happen in some of the strongest Sonic templates in the multiverse, the templates fit only for the Divine Pyramid. Especially the king in particular. So that's why the spirits deemed them worry for the pyramid, because Sonic prime was already showing signs of being strong enough to use Hyper Sonic's power. He was using it without even realizing it. It was bleeding through him, shining through him.
However, he kept silent and to continued to watch. He didn't want to interrupt them.
Shadow whispered a single question that he and Maria were begging to know the answer to. "Are you an angel...?"
"...?" Sonic blinked at that question and tilted his head with knitted brows. He then chuckled a little before bursting out laughing. "Hahaha...! Freakin' what?" He giggled. "I turned into a demon twice, tried to murder Infinite, terrified an army of terrorists and mercenaries, I'm fresh as hell and my mouth is awful. I ain't no angel! Hahahaha!"
To that, Shadow slowly smiled while Maria grinned back in return. "Hmph...I suppose not."
The hero grasped Shadow's hands softly in his own. "I can't be an angel, that's Maria's job." He felt the girl nuzzle against his head. "But I can be anything else you want me to be." That pure dazzle of light glittered in his lime green eyes again as he continued to smile at him. "Just ask."
He was so...in love with him.
"...My world."
Sonic immediately turned red. "W-What?" He lightly bonked Shadow on the head. "Dude, what did I tell you about spoutin' that romcom crap at me!? It's embarrassing!"
Maria giggled mischievously as Shadow glared at him. "'Romcom crap?' It isn't crap, faker, it's the truth."
"S-Stop saying that!"
"I'm the Ultimate Life Form, I say whatever the hell I want!"
Steam blew from Sonic's ears as his entire face became a mixture of pink and red. "Damn it-Why are you like this? Aren't you the least bit embarrassed right now? Saying all that stuff? I mean," A small flash of confliction appeared in his expression as he tried avoiding Shadow's gaze. "Being your world...Do you even mean that?"
"Yes, and I will never be embarrassed of loving you." Shadow easily answered without even a slight ounce of hesitation.
He...meant it?
The hero immediately tore his arms away from him as he bashfully glowered at him. "L-Loving...me..." He couldn't even repeat what he said to him. He turned his face away and crossed his arms with a pout. "I-It's like you don't even realize what you're saying. You're doing that stupid smooth-talk flirting thing again and it's so annoying!" His jaw was suddenly grasped and tilted. His blushing only increased as Shadow neared his face with suggestive eyelids. "S-Shadow..."
Shadow pressed a quick kiss to his floundering lips. "Don't question my love for you again. Got it?" He dragged his thumb over his bottom lip playfully, causing Sonic to have a secret mental breakdown.
Feeling his heart pounding against his ribs, Sonic nodded slowly as he could faintly taste coffee on his tongue. "Y...Yeah-Mmn..." The biohog stole another kiss from him, and Sonic had no choice but to fall apart at the seams in his arms again. "Not in front of...company...I told you about that..." He tried to protest as Shadow continued to kiss him over and over, not allowing him to speak for long. Hearts fluttered around them in the air as they both whispered, "I love you," and "I love you more," to each other constantly. Their tails were wagging and the tips of their ears were red.
Meanwhile, Maria was about done with this conversation. Adults were so icky...Maria stuck out her tongue and made a grossed out expression before looking over at Zonic, who looked more than pleased at the display. He pulled off his helmet and gazed at his younger brothers with relieved pride. Sonic did it, he was right to trust him. She smiled at Sonic's Zonian counterpart and floated over towards him. She bowed her head at him and grasped his hands. And for some crazy reason, he could feel her. She wasn't incorporeal to him anymore. "Thank you." She said, her voice small but sweet as tooth-rotting candy. He could hear her still.
Zonic was taken aback. "How...can I hear you?" He whispered. "Did you...permanently get stronger?"
Maria shrugged but continued to smile. "Shadow and I feel much more powerful now, so perhaps we did. Thanks to you."
"I," Zonic refused to take any credit. "Please, you should be thanking Sonic prime. It's thanks to his strength that-"
"But it's because of you that Shadow and I are together again." Maria kindly but quickly cut him off with truth. "I can feel so much love between them. I can do things I never imagined, things that were impossible for me to do when I was alive. I can be Shadow's trump card and Mr. Sonic's friend, and now we found a way to stop the influence." She chuckled a little. "It was so obvious, all we had to do was get rid of the fear and guilt. Once that was gone, Shadow's mind was almost completely clear. We could hear and think again. We know what to do, and we'll be prepared. We're forever in your debt, Mr. Zonic." She hugged his head to her chest with a bright smile. "Thank you so much!"
Now it was Zonic's turn to blush a little. He wasn't very experienced with dealing with kids, but the young lady's embrace was beyond angelic. The girl was so small and thin, yet so adorable and compassionate. He couldn't help but smile back as he felt a new thinking pattern perform in his head. She literally just said it, the key to fixing this entire mess. Fear and guilt, huh? This girl may have just helped him realize something.
He patted the girl's head, and thanked her for the information. She may have just saved someone else today. "I thank you as well, Maria prime. Thanks to you, I think I just figured out the solution to a problem I've had with someone for a few years now."
The girl lifted her head and tilted it. She had no idea what he was alluding to. "What do you mean...?"
1:15 PM
This was one of the most restricted rooms in No Zone Corps: The general's personal conference room.
There were many designated conference rooms assigned to but a few high ranking soldiers. Even First Lieutenant General Zonic had one. This one however, was the king of them all. It was the biggest, the most spacious and the most accommodating. A long and wide digital whiteboard, electronically receiving text of plans and recorded subtitles of everything that would be said. A large monitor prepared to feed video of live film and surveillance, while black modernized egg chairs—how ironic—with long backs aligned the elongated matching conference table. In every chair sat someone of great high standing, and there were two extra seats for two very important people. General Zhadow's chair sat at the head of the table, and Zonic's chair sat appropriately on his immediate right. Admiral Zector's chair was on Zhadow's immediate left, and if former Chief Master Sergeant Zespio were here, he'd be sitting right next to the crocodile. Sadly, since he was currently in prison, a temporary leading airman replaced his position. A Zonian coyote with a lot of bravado, who promised nothing but flawless results in his new position. He was originally a strong member of the No Zone's army, but had great intellect and talent with working an aircraft. Not only that, but he knew of Zespio's schedules and duties well since he had to work with the airman quite often. Zhadow picked him out himself, feeling he'd be a good short term solution to the empty spot for now. He still had no idea who'd replace Zespio long term, but knew it would be someone already within the No Zone Airforce. He just needed more time to think on it.
Security protocols changed drastically since the first day of lockdown. Before walking inside the conference room, everyone had to be scanned. The full body scanning device that was set up in the hall leading to the double doors wasn't normal either, not the ones usually used in an airport. It did a nearly invasive x-ray scan, searching and looking through every single living organism that walked through the door. This was in case someone else got chipped like Zespio, and the new security system made it so that no one could walk around as a sleeper agent ever again without being caught. The scan was sensitive to objects installed within a living organism made of strange illegal metal, meaning that people who just recently got surgery that had pace makers or other metallic plates in their limbs wouldn't trigger any alarms. Zhadow had this new feature installed in every security camera in the building, scanning anyone who so much as coughed near them. They were very inconspicuous if not practically invisible. Most soldiers didn't even notice them or knew what they were doing when they walked by them. The Vice Leader of No Zone Corps warned the primes about this, but also informed them that x-rays in No Zone weren't the same as x-rays in Mobius. While it was highly dangerous to get several x-rays done in one year due to radiation, No Zones x-rays didn't require any radiation whatsoever, only a very small amount of cyber energy that didn't risk Cyber Corruption.
Everyone who sat within this room, participating in this extremely important meeting, was the leading head of their rank. There were one hundred ranks, and all one hundred leading soldiers took up their seats properly. Pamphlets were printed and placed in front of them, but they were advised to read the digital version of the document last night before arriving at work today. It was a briefing on what they'd be covering today, while also noting how incredibly imperative it was for them to show up. They all were sitting patiently, their hands folded on the surface of the table in perfect, strict posture. Their eyes were straight, not exactly pointed at anything in particular. Just as if they were in bootcamp all over again, none of them were allowed to make a peep or move until their ultimate superior gave them expressed permission. There were a few secretaries in the room, supplying everyone with a cup of water, coffee or tea. This meeting would be long, so they needed to be well prepared. The guests of honor who were sitting with them all today were the primes, who had special seats aligned next to Zonic. Shadow was used to being patient and rigid before the start of a conference, as he had experience, but Sonic didn't. He was a bit unnerved at how well everybody was trained to just...sit there looking so poised and professional.
He kinda felt out of place and self conscious-
-Until he felt a small nudge on his thigh.
His eyes glanced to the side and saw Shadow sharing his gaze. He could feel great warmth in his amber red eyes, and any feelings of self consciousness disappeared. He noticed Shadow seemed a bit tired after their little experiment earlier, but he looked okay. Okay enough to firmly reassure Sonic. Maria was dead tired and asleep at the moment, but somehow, Sonic could feel her support too.
A faint smile graced Sonic's lips, and they both broke their gaze to return their attention to the leader of this great military. Just beyond the head chair, General Zhadow was out of his seat and speaking with someone who didn't have a designated seat for this meeting. No, they would be required to stand, and he didn't care if their legs grew tired. It was the president of their country, the water buffalo Zonic spoke with days ago. A few secret servicemen were in the room, eyeing their president and other people in the room carefully. The primes recognized all black suits like that instantly, as they both worked with Mobius' president many times and consequentially brushed past many secret service members before. Everyone, including other soldiers, were trying their best to mind their business. The room was deathly silent, so they could ever so quietly hear Zhadow casually chastising the president like a cold, uncaring stepmother. The president's ears kept flattening, his posture glum and wilted under the general's intimidating aura.
Despite being much shorter than him, he was awfully terrified of Zhadow and everyone knew it. Even the secret service guys.
Zonic just stared at this with a raised brow, almost wanting the president to get snippy so he could get out of his seat and drag his ass out of the room.
"...and I want nothing less than perfection. Is that understood, President Zaxel?" Zhadow asked with a prickly, but quiet voice.
The buffalo could only flinch at his tone. "Yes...General Zhadow..."
"Excellent. Now go be useful and stand over there like a good boy."
"..." Grumbling under his breath, the president did as he was "asked" and stood to the side by the conference room's hanging monitor.
Zhadow meanwhile returned to his seat and plopped down with a heavy sigh. He carelessly planted his feet up on the surface and crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing those tactical sunglasses again, but why? Shadow frowned. Did the effects of the influence return to physically damage his eyes again? Zhadow did a quick once over of everyone who attended as he instructed, and began to clear his throat. "Attention." Was all he said. That simple little command, caused everyone to stand up and salute the general in unison. Now both Sonic and Shadow felt out of place, as they were the only ones besides the president and his secret service men who didn't move. A few seconds passed. Finally, Zhadow nodded his head. He was pleased. "At ease." They all politely sat back down in their seat and went back to folding their hands on the table. While that display was still ridiculously highly trained and strict, they didn't seem as rigid as before. Their eyes looked more relaxed and glanced steadily in Zhadow's direction. "Very good. Now," He snapped his finger once, and a secretary was already by his side with a pack of smokes. "I'm not one for pleasantries, and I care not for preliminary introductions in meetings. If you're really that curious, it's in the briefing before you on the first page. No, I want to get to the nitty gritty already. You all know why you're here." He explained briefly and bluntly.
Sonic and Shadow however, weren't particularly sure what this meeting was for. They had a feeling, but weren't positive.
"Before we begin, I need to make something clear." He said, his voice lowering to a much more serious degree. After the secretary lit the cigarette for him, he quietly thanked her and placed the stick between his lips. He didn't know it, but Zonic was secretly glaring envious daggers at the woman. A Zonian female goat. She caught his glare, winced and quickly shuffled away. "All leaders of their rank know who I am. You've all met me at least once, and have spoken with me personally both before and after you were promoted to your current position. I have worked in No Zone Corps for a very, very long time. Several decades. I've witnessed things beyond any of your imaginations, across a multitude of realities. I've imprisoned some of the worst the multiverse has to offer, and I have arrested and detained creatures of unfathomable power." He sat up straight in his chair and blew out some smoke. "I have worked under the Zobotnik family as long as I've been sworn in as an officer. Warden Zobotnik was my superior, and for some of you, he was your superior as well. I reluctantly answered to him despite his corrupt ways, and I witnessed many terrible things. Things I was in a proper position to speak out on. Now that I am your leader," He slowly stood up out of his chair. "You are all now my responsibility, and you work under me. Anything that happens in No Zone Corps, is on my head. That being said, some of you witnessed a side of me that I'm ashamed of."
Another wave of silence waved through the room.
He was confronting what happened head on with his most trusted soldiers.
"Thanks to former Warden Zobotnik, he had me brainwashed and forced me to attack my fellow soldiers. I had no idea what I was doing, and to those who I've harmed," He bowed his head down once. "I am sorry. To those who I frightened, who's loyalty waned because of my actions, I am sorry." His tone was grounded, but not impenetrable. It was strong, but not intimidating. Zhadow wasn't trying to be daunting right now, he only wanted to be honest with unshakeable conviction. In fact, it almost sounded like he was talking to someone else. Someone personally. "What Zobotnik pulled on me, is something similar he pulled on some of your previously missing comrades. What some of you saw that day wasn't me, it was someone else. Someone who..." His voice drifted for a moment before he found his train of thought again. "...made some awful mistakes. You all have my sincerest apologies. Just recently after my return, it was revealed that we had yet another traitor in our midst: Now former Chief Master Sergeant Zespio. And now, there are more missing soldiers, leaving the HQ and the city incredibly vulnerable. It's been a hectic week to say the least." That was beyond an understatement. "If any of you, and I do mean anyone," He said with a stronger voice, almost as if he was directing that tone to someone in particular. "Feel as if you no longer belong here, that you no longer feel like you can trust me or your allies here in the corps, that maybe it would be safer for you to follow a new line of work," He placed his hands firmly on the table. "Now is the time to speak up. You will not be penalized, you will not be judged, and you will be rewarded proper compensation as contractually obligated. Turn in your badges and your guns to me at the head of the table."
Secretaries with metal bins in their palms walked beside Zhadow, awaiting for badges to be placed in one bin while guns were to be placed in the other. They noticed that goat secretary didn't get any closer to the general. In that moment, there was no one else but Zhadow and his first lieutenant general. Zonic was looking in Zhadow's direction, but the light in his eyes were dull. Dead, just like his own. Zonic claimed he would make his decision by tomorrow, but Zhadow didn't want that. If he wanted to break it off, now was his time to take an out. This was his chance to leave him, his chance to break up with him completely without having to say a word. It didn't matter if his departure would demoralize the other soldiers. Zhadow didn't care if it would make other soldiers leave immediately without their beloved yet feared vice leader by their side. He only wanted Zonic's happiness. If him leaving the corps would make him happy, then so be it. Zhadow would rather die with a sinking ship than continue to see him suffer. Just rip the band aid off, Zonic. Just do it. That's what Zhadow was thinking to himself: Just do it already. Put him out of his misery and just get it over with. If he waited a day longer, it would hurt worse than anything else he's ever experienced. So please, just do it. Just leave. Just quit.
Just leave him be and let it be over.
...
...Nobody moved.
Zhadow's concealed eyes looked over the entire room once more.
He was honestly shocked.
Nobody wanted to leave.
Not even Zonic, who was still giving Zhadow that unreadable, blank look.
That's when Zhadow made a small laugh. So Zonic was deciding to take him out by the woodshed and end it all tomorrow, much to his miserable chagrin. Alright, fine. So the last of his wellbeing would be destroyed by tomorrow. He wanted it to happen now because he was prepared, but he wouldn't be ready later. Zonic knew this. Damn it. No, that wasn't fair. This was ultimately up to Zonic. If he wanted to end it tomorrow, it was his right. He could handle it, he could be a big boy and shrug it off like usual. Probably...maybe. As for everyone else, he was grateful. Looks like he wouldn't be losing anymore of his men. That was excellent, and it served his plans perfectly.
Okay.
General Zhadow nodded his head a few times at the sheer loyalty of his soldiers. He was proud of them, all of them. They may have feared him to some degree, but they still respected him and reveled him with honor. They all had every right to just get up and leave, including the primes, but they didn't. They stayed, and nobody had even a slight fearful or indecisive expression in their eyes. They wanted to be here, and they wouldn't take the easy way out. Zhadow sucked in a puff of smoke before releasing it the next second. He shooed the secretaries away and spoke once more.
"Now that's what I'm talking about. Well, if no one's getting cold feet," He moved to sit back down in his seat and crossed his legs once more. "Let's get started, shall we?"
74 - END - 74
Notes:
Another small cameo: A Zonian coyote. This is supposed to be the Zonian equivalent of Antoine D'Coolette from the Archie comics.
By the way, I think I should inform you guys that this arc has run much longer than I anticipated. I'll explain further when the final chapter of the arc is posted, but you should know that it's almost over. That being said, I implore you all to read everything I've ever written up to this point very, VERY carefully. I understand that some exposition can be a little intimidating if not boring, but there is a method to my madness. While I cannot answer certain questions that will spoil the story, I do implore you to ask them anyway. I want everyone to read what you all have to say, think and ponder about what may or may not be true.
So many wonderful and wicked things are coming after this arc, my loves.
A grand finale fitting No Zone is approaching soon...
Chapter 75: Degrees
Summary:
Plans for a potential war commences. But by the end of the day, Zonic confronts Zhadow with a problem they've needed to talk about for a long time.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
75 - Degrees - 75
1:20 PM
Zhadow took his cigarette from his lips and dapped it against the ashtray a secretary had placed down for him. "If you all haven't realized it yet, this isn't a normal meeting." The atmosphere of the room was already murky, and it grew much colder after he relayed that sentence. "The primes and rookies don't know this, but experienced soldiers who have all sat in a conference room together know what this means. When I call you all here like this, it's not because I want to discuss budget cuts or petty criminals on our local wanted list." He said with a heavy voice. "It's because I am going to bestow onto you a plan. A big plan. A serious, complicated, strategic and dangerous plan. A plan," He finally said. "For war." A secretary used a very thin remote to click a button and switch on the digital whiteboard. Text began to appear on the surface, automatically typing words all by itself. As it typed, graphics appeared beside it. The text detailed some information from the briefing pamphlets, but told of other data. Data about the current status of the HQ and the corps itself. How many soldiers remained, how many soldiers were strong enough to handle a Zobotnik No Zone android, and the basic bullet points of what was needed of any and all officers currently on active duty.
The primes glanced at each other quickly. So that's what this meeting was about—a war. They were officially going to war with Zobotnik. They were a little shocked, as they didn't think they'd be ready to counterattack so soon after losing so many people. However, they couldn't linger. If they let Zobotnik keep all those officers, he could torture them or worse. God knows what he was already doing to them now. But they way Zhadow was speaking sounded as if he was ready for this, that he was ready for a day where he had to use his position as general to finally go against Zobotnik at full force. Considering everything he's gone through with the man, maybe it wasn't that surprising.
"To begin," Zhadow announced. "I'm sure you can all guess who and what we'll be fighting." The whiteboard changed it's graphics to former Warden Zobotnik, picturing his entire figure, even down to the mustache. Small details of a "putrid mint smell" was pointed at his teeth. The general readily continued. "Zobotnik's been attacking HQ for weeks. He's been silent for three years, and now he's trying to get under our skin. He's been kidnapping my men, attacked the square, used one of my men to infiltrate the HQ and the power sewers, and caused a great disturbance within the ranks. All within the last year up to now. He's crossed the line. Frankly, it's only a matter of time before he makes a full scale attack onto HQ. Not with those adorable battle ships, but with something bigger. Something stronger." He held the cigarette between his fingers, but didn't take a puff just yet. "I am the most veteran soldier when it comes to Zobotnik, the only veteran that hasn't died or retired before or after he came into power. Therefore, I know how he operates and I know how he thinks. He's a stubborn ass and he hates modifying his plans. As you all know, some of you having met and worked with the bastard before I became general, he's a treacherous recreant who's powerless without his toy soldiers and weapons."
The monitor mounted and hanging from the ceiling showed them all footage of Zobotnik No Zone androids being warped and deployed into the HQ, all captured by the building's surveillance cameras. It showed the horrible sight of several high ranking soldiers being warped away, while the androids attacked and wreaked havoc on vulnerable, weaker officers. Some of the soldiers' eyes were wracked with regret and weakness, still feeling at fault that their comrades were taken away so suddenly and without warning.
"Those are Zobotnik No Zone androids. Androids that the corps used to use as training and target practice. They didn't look nearly this advanced, and speaking from experience," Zhadow noted. "They're pretty tough. Not tough enough for me mind you, but a big enough problem for a weak No Zone soldier, as you can see from the footage. They are not to be trifled with, and truth be told, Zobotnik could be making stronger models as of this very moment. Not only that," He motioned for everyone to take their eyes off the screen and back at him. "But he's been spying on us for a very long time. Probably began watching us the moment he escaped HQ. He's studied mine, First Lieutenant General Zonic's and the primes' abilities and physical attributes. He's more than likely using that information to make stronger robots to fight against, but that's not all." He added ominously. "Him kidnapping Counselor Zouge and the other previous missing soldiers was only a series of tests to create powerful mind controlled soldiers. He is kidnapping our allies and placing them in hacked cyber corrupted No Zone Corps armor to brainwash their minds, and turn them against us. Even worse, he's manipulating their hypnotism of Primal Mode, something he unfortunately made officer Zespio perform on Admiral Zector. Even worse, he's got his hands on a gem that helps him warp portions of our reality as we know it, giving him plentiful and limitless amounts of fire power. As much as I'd love to call the bastard an idiot, he's far from one."
Laying it all out like that, he was right. Zobotnik was no fool, he carefully planned his revenge the second he left the HQ.
He was waiting for this, waiting to destroy Zhadow and Zonic.
Zhadow sucked in a puff of smoke from the pale stick of fake tobacco before moving on. "I hate to admit it, but this will be the toughest enemy No Zone has ever faced. He knows our schedules, he knows our protocols, he knows our armor, he knows our database, and worst of all," He added with some terseness in his voice. "He's holding our people hostage. Frankly, he might even have the city under hostage if we were to go by his track record of hiding underground and littering bombs in the power sewers. He's always been one step ahead of us, always leagues above what we could predict." That's when a cruel smirk began to slowly grow on the corners of his tan muzzle. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm tired of allowing this scum to get the better of us." The whiteboard changed it's text, showing graphics of their current armor. He stood up from his chair and strolled over to the board. "Therefore, it's our time to fight back. We won't go off with a bang, not yet. We have to move carefully, slow. Nimble. We'll take small steps before making the biggest leap," He slammed his palm on the surface. "All starting with our uniforms. As of today, none of you are to digitize your armored suits on. You are to perform your duties without them until further notice. Further notice of what you ask? Until the engineering team is finished with our new and improved line of suits."
This caused a few of the soldiers to glance around at each other with surprised expressions. A new suit again? So soon? Some were even beginning to whisper, unsure and even apprehensive to the idea of a new suit. What if they accidentally made a faulty model again? What if another virus glitched inside of them and made them perfect targets for Zobotnik?
What if-
"Quiet, fools." Zonic simply but loudly commanded.
His voice alone silenced the room instantly.
He then respectfully gestured for their superior to continue. "My apologies for their behavior, general."
Honestly, Zhadow didn't expect him to do that.
He hesitantly nodded towards him and tried his best to stop thinking about why Zonic did that, and tried to ignore how hot he looked when he demanded respect. "...As I was saying, we'll be getting new suits. Again. Yes, new suits. Again. They'll be virtually the same in appearance, just with a few slight modifications in digital programming. Thanks to the astronomical minds of myself, First Lieutenant General Zonic and Major Zacorn's team, we've made great leeway into creating new programming for the next models of suits." The whiteboard modified the text to detail the new changes to the suits in elaborate, schematic detail. "Zobotnik graced us with plenty of scrap metal and useless, broken androids. We had plenty of test subjects to utilize them on. Not only that, but we knew what to look for in terms of hacked cyber energy. Only a few suits have been made thus far, we began making them during the second day of lockdown. So far, we've found that they're completely safe. The point of the new suits was to make them unhackable...among other things."
Other things...?
"These new suits have microscopic amounts of chaos energy." He saw a few shocked and worried expressions at that revelation, even from Sonic and Shadow prime. "I know what you're thinking: 'But chaos energy is highly unstable when made in contact with cyber energy.' And you'd be right," He paused. "To a point. As per your training in bootcamp, you are taught about various forms of energy that are dangerous to both our world and Zonians. Chaos energy is one of them. A mere touch, and a normal Zonian might implode. However," He pointed to the nape of the schematics of the new suits on the whiteboard. That was where the chaos energy was located, the neck. "The tiny amounts of chaos placed in these new suits are protected by a layer of the very material that's used to create Cyber Chambers. That material," A sweat drop appeared on his head. "While ludicrously exorbitant, is excellent at absorbing shock from chaotic prowess. It's nearly indestructible, and will not weaken if the chaos energy within it is sparked, keeping the wearer of the suit safe. Why do you need chaos energy in your new suit to begin with? Because chaos energy is the ultimate deterrent of Cyber Corruption and hacked cyber energy, and the former warden has an over abundance of it. This," He shoved his finger against the board several times. "This is part of the answer. Even if some of you are too weak to fight multiple droids at once, you'll already have a greater advantage on the battlefield. With cyber and chaos energy working together, you'll have stronger protection and combative ability. Zobotnik will never see this coming, as this has never been done before. Shock and awe. That's our key to victory."
Sonic and Shadow looked over at each other.
How and when did Zhadow get the time and resources to accumulate enough chaos energy to place it in several new suits? They had a ginormous amount of soldiers. Neither of them knew the exact number, but it was a good portion of the United Federation's back at home. While the amount may have been much smaller, that wasn't the point. This military was a hundred times stronger, with much more expensive necessities to keep them unrivaled in the multiverse. There were already one hundred leaders of the different ranks and branches of their military in this one room, for example. How in the world was he planning to make thousands of more suits? That's when the primes saw Zonic looking at them. He then mouthed, "I'll explain later." His expression seemed rather unbothered, like he personally didn't see the answer as to how they got so much energy to spare very controversial.
Zhadow stepped over to take his cigarette from the ashtray and took a puff, but he didn't sit back down. "Vice Leader Zonic is my most trusted right hand and advisor when it comes to plans for attack and war. However, not even he knows the depths of what I'm planning, and that's how it should be. The time for me to tell you all the final components of my plan will come when the time is right. Until then," He flicked some ashes off into the tray. "These suits are just step one into defeating Zobotnik. Unpredictability is his ultimate weakness, a weakness that we're going to abuse until he's behind bars of No Zone Prison. That is the true and only way to defeat him. With this in mind, step two is just as crucial if not more so." He then nodded towards his fiancé. Well, he still was at the moment. For now. "First Lieutenant General Zonic, if you please."
The blue soldier nodded and stood up with his hands behind his back. He walked over to the white board as his superior sat back in his seat. "Our suits will not be the only things to get an upgrade. Our vehicles, aircrafts and watercrafts will all be getting a small makeover." The whiteboard digitized new information, revealing schematics of new and improved motorcycles, VTOLS and ships. "The same idea behind our new suits will be utilized here in new vehicles. A synchronization of cyber and chaos energy, made in similar ways. Not exact of course, in the untoward event we're compromised again, but close enough for you all to understand how it works. Our third step is to do the same for our devices. Your phones, transmitters and other cyber energized machines will be revamped with improved cyber protection. Your general, Officer Zacorn and myself have created a new wi-fi along with stronger security measures placed over the entire HQ and prison. Simple means of hacked cyber energy will no longer be strong enough to penetrate our walls with illegal warp holes or teleportation. Foreign objects of questionable energy will be detected instantly, no matter how well they're hidden, and no one is to return home without better surveillance." The whiteboard changed to show new uniforms, except they looked exactly the same as their current ones. "They won't look different at all, but the components of what the fabric is made out of will be. They are all chipped and comprised of new cyber energy that gives feedback to our computers here in HQ. All fabric uniforms will be watched live by our Watchdog Team and our new security system. That way, should someone be kidnapped again, we'll know immediately. Even if your uniform is forced off of you or taken off before you arrive safely at home, this will alert our systems. Thanks to your uniforms not appearing any different, this will be yet another element of surprise for potential enemies of No Zone Corps. They'll never know until it's too late. Not only that, but during battle, your superiors will have live surveillance of your status when in uniform or in your suit. They will also know when you take it off."
Geez, that was pretty overwhelming.
Every move anyone made would be watched with every second that passed. Everyone would be under No Zone HQ's eyes until they arrived at home and took off their uniform voluntarily. Some soldiers kept a stone face, while others seemed a little uncomfortable and rightfully so. The whispering was arising again, and it was like nails down a chalkboard to the blue soldier's ears. It's not that it was hurting his ears, it was pissing him off. This made Zonic scowl, and he could feel his anger bubbling up in his chest.
How dare they act nervous with cold feet now of all times? Did they not realize what was at stake?
Cowards. All of them.
"Spare me with your excuses of feeling 'uncomfortable.'" Zonic barked with annoyed eyes, causing all leaders of their ranks to flinch with their undivided attention. "Perhaps when Zobotnik is neutralized, our security measures will lessen. But until then, deal with it. We've lost one thousand men in just a few hours. Any gripe you have with our precautions is useless and absolutely foolishly foolish. You think our Watchdog Team wants to see you walk into a public bathroom? You think we give a damn if you just so happen to swipe a few snacks from the cafeteria? Think again." He glared down at them all individually, and he watched a couple shrink back in their seats with silent anxiety. "We are not losing anyone else to Zobotnik. Do you understand? This isn't about your feeble tinfoil hat fears of Big Brother, this is for your safety. We absolutely cannot let something like this happen ever again. I put an outstanding soldier in prison for being unwillingly compromised by Zobotnik. In the blink of an eye, everything he's ever worked for has been erased with a criminal record that he never even wanted. Nine soldiers are now in the infirmary, screaming their heads off in miserable pain at the slightest touch of a scalpel thanks to what was done to them. Even Counselor Zouge is still traumatized by what she went through, and she's tougher than all of you combined. So I ask you," He pointed at them at the conference table. "How much are you willing to take before you realize it's time to get serious? More of your allies? Your friends? Your family, even? How far are you willing to go, and are you willing to be Zobotnik's next victim?"
Complete silence filled the room once more.
"..."
...
...No one whispered anymore, and no one had anything else to say at this time.
"I didn't think so." Zonic spat imperiously. "General Zhadow is a genius, or did you all forget that?" He asked with a raised voice, a tone resembling that of a sergeant berating new recruits at bootcamp. "It's thanks to him that No Zone Corps didn't fall apart when Zobotnik betrayed us. He has never steered you wrong before, and he won't now. What happened a few days ago was beyond his power, so you aren't allowed to use that against him. Like former Officer Zespio, he too was once a patsy in Zobotnik's schemes and never desired to harm or destroy anyone or anything. Your distrust for him is abysmal, and frankly, I don't want you here in my HQ if you've got cold feet. The general gave you an out, and none of you took it. If you still have second thoughts, leave our sight." He demanded coldly. "Get up, leave this room, discard your gun and badge on his desk and desert the facility immediately like the coward you are. Burn your uniform in a trash fire while you're at it and never come back. I mean it." Zonic growled. "This is a God damn travesty and I'm tired of losing. We're all tired. Major Zacorn and the Watchdog Team spent several days without sleep working with us to create these modifications for your safety. General Zhadow never relaxes and is always on high alert, thinking and planning several tactics in his head. Playtime is over, and the kid gloves are off for good. If you're not willing to go to the ends of the earth to protect this reality with your very lives, the very thing you promised when swearing an oath to this military, then get out and don't ever show your pathetic faces to me again!"
Sonic flinched at his twin's words, and Shadow just stared with reluctantly daunted eyes. Zhadow wasn't lying when he said Zonic had no issues with taking the reigns of authority at any given moment. That was very harsh, maybe a little too harsh. And yet, neither hedgehog could disagree with him. This was do or die, now. If somebody didn't want to be here, they needed to leave at this point.
Things were too serious, too cutthroat to be questioning their superiors now of all times.
A long sigh drifted from Zonic's peach lips. "Trust is absolute in the line of duty. If you can't trust your leader, then why fight?" He asked with a lowered tone. "Why are you still here? Why are you kidding yourself and wasting everyone's time? I know you're nervous. I know some of you are scared you might be next. But you won't be next, you won't be a victim. We're making sure of that with these modifications. We are trying our damndest not just to protect you, but our entire reality." The whiteboard behind him changed the visuals, now showing the entirety of No Zone HQ, No Zone Prison and even Parallel City's landscape exterior structural schematics. "For step three, we didn't just modify the inside of the HQ, we modified the outside of it as well. Everything in this city is now being watched with careful eyes by No Zone Corps. Now Zobotnik has no where to hide, especially not underground again. And beyond that, we've even put in extra countermeasures for attacks against our city. Even if an officer is absent from the scene, we've built new programs within the streets of the city to protect nearby civilians and buildings." He then turned his dark green eyes over to the side, glancing at the only politician in the room.
President Zaxel cleared his throat with a cautious glare back at both Zonic and Zhadow, as he could feel their intensity spread throughout the room. He couldn't clam up now. "As president of this country, it came to my attention that No Zone Corps may need some assistance. I've already given General Zhadow and thus No Zone Corps complete authority to do whatever he deems necessary for this city's survival, along with necessary increased funding and imports of materials needed for your operations. I have contacted other generals of sister No Zone Corps bases throughout the globe, and they now understand the gravity of the situation. Should things turn dire here, they are more than willing to step in and take over. They are all on standby, just waiting at the chance to join the fight. I understand now through many trials and errors that Zobotnik was never someone to be trusted." His brown eyes hardened at the soldiers, as did his posture. "He is a villain through and through, and he needs to be taken down by any means necessary. Lethal, nonlethal, it doesn't matter at this point. I want that Zoverlander put behind bars or buried underneath the city the second he dares to rear his head. As your president, I have the authority to command you all to attack at any moment in time. When the time for war begins, I give you all total jurisdiction to do whatever it takes to bring him to his knees. When this is all finally over, you will all be seen as national heroes and the city will never forget your bravery and insurmountable service."
"We know where Zobotnik is hiding," Zonic suddenly said once the president was finished. "And we know he'll strike at any moment. He is up just above the stratosphere of our atmosphere, and we deduce he will descend his base when he is ready. We have to be ready for that, and we will be ready if you all cooperate appropriately."
It was then Zhadow's turn to speak once again, but he didn't feel like getting up. Too tired. "We surmise that Zobotnik doesn't plan on attacking us head on just yet, giving us a small amount of time to prepare. Training for all of these modifications will begin tomorrow on Monday, 6:00 AM sharp, lasting the entire week. For step four, those of you who have achieved Primal Mode will be getting your hypnotism modified as well by Counselor Zouge." He thankfully saw that nobody began to panic or anxiously whisper amongst themselves again, but he could see the apprehension in their eyes. "Don't worry, she is a professional and the best psychiatrist we have with experience in extensive hypnotism. I know that some of you trusted your command code to the former warden, so she is merely making it so that Zobotnik cannot activate the command in any of you and turn you against us. That will take place on day one, and many of her assistants along with some experts from other bases of No Zone Corps around the world will be traveling here and aiding her in changing your hypnotism. This is so that a portion of planning will be finished before the day is over." He took another puff of his dwindling cigarette, noticing that he was almost finished it. "Tuesday and Wednesday will be combative training with the new suits and adjustment training with the new fabric uniforms. Thursday will be training with the new and improved vehicles. You will also take part in training with the intricacies of our new security system for the HQ, prison and Parallel City. Friday will be a review of our plans for battle along with tactics. Saturday and Sunday will be a day where you all tend to your normal duties, but nothing more. If you happen to have free time and wish for more training in anything we talked about today, please be sure to request some time with First Lieutenant General Zonic."
Zonic walked back to his seat but did not sit down. "Since we are no longer on lockdown, you are allowed to go home from now on when your hours are over. Inside the HQ, you are willing and ready for combat at any second. Outside of HQ, you will operate your life normally with your eyes and ears peeled. Everyone is to collect and wear the new uniforms after this meeting is over. If anything seems suspicious, your suit will be notified before you notice it yourself. Do not act obvious, do not show any means of fear or suspicion. We do not need to make the locals panic, and most importantly, we do not want Zobotnik to know what we're up to. Everything we've been planning needs to be a proper and just surprise, which will be a huge blow to his schemes." He leaned down and pressed his finger into the pamphlet in front of his chair. "Your training schedule will be detailed in your pamphlets. Each day will begin at 6:00, and tardiness of any amount will not be tolerated. Forget about taking off work. Even if you're dying, you'll be resting here in No Zone's infirmary. Any setback must be made up immediately. You are to report to your next superior about your day before clocking out. Even if your day was void of anything worth noting, it doesn't matter. What you don't see as a problem, someone else might. We need complete control of everything around us so that none of us will fall victim to our enemy."
Zhadow blew out some smoke and dabbed his cigarette against his ash tray once more. "Step five: The primes."
This made Sonic and Shadow blink at the sudden mention.
The general continued nonchalantly. "As you all know, these hedgehogs are an alternative version of myself and Vice Leader Zonic. And as you also already know, you are to treat them with complete and unadulterated respect. These two are some of the strongest versions of us that exist, and they are not to be taken lightly. Sonic and Shadow prime are one our trump cards and a vital component of our inevitable victory. Without them, we are severely handicapped. This will be explored in more depth on Friday, but just know that they are vital to No Zone Corps. They will not bother you during training week unless absolutely necessary," He suddenly eyed the two primes with a peculiar tone. In other words, that wasn't towards his men, it was more towards them. He didn't want them to impede anyone else's progress during training week, and it's best to leave everyone alone until training is over for the entire HQ unless there's an emergency. "On the flip side, if you feel you need to alert them of something important enough to interrupt your training, do so. They are an extra pair of eyes our reality desperately needs right now. If any of you or your men suspects something is wrong with one of the primes, alert me or Vice Leader Zonic immediately. We need them alive and healthy for what we're going up against." He finished his cigarette as more ashes fell onto the tray, and crumpled the tip of the cancer stick into the surface to put it out. "This concludes the meeting. Any additional questions are to be directed to Admiral Zector, Major Zacorn or Vice Leader Zonic." He stood up from his seat for the final time. "You are all dismissed. Continue your regular duties for today and rest up for tomorrow."
With keen synchronization, all soldiers stood from their chairs with a hefty and strong salute. "Yes, sir!"
Somewhere in Parallel City
2:20 PM
Lime green irises stared up at the sky curiously at the small dot in the distance. That was Zobotnik's base, alright. The one sitting there in between atmospheres for days ever since they got here. He put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes carefully. Just what was that asshole planning? "Made some progress with Dollface, huh?" He asked to his partner, his attention never shaken from the base several miles away from them. "You've been meditating extra hard at night when we're in bed. You seemed a little tired at the meeting after tasting my blood, too."
Shadow nodded as he continued to meditate his connection with Maria, who was currently resting in his body at the moment. "Indeed. Tasting your blood wore both me and Maria out, but we were able to get our stamina back up over time. She's been practicing how to go longer distances without me by her side or losing our connection for longer periods of time, using the apartment as practice. Now, she can haunt around whatever area she wishes up to one hundred feet. We can still mentally communicate and our senses are still shared unless I turn them off. At any time, I can summon Maria to my side instantly with Chaos Control. She can also stay out of my body longer, up to seven hours, and other Chaos Born seem to be able to hear her now." He explained, remembering how Zonic was able to hear her earlier today when they tested Sonic's blood on his tongue. "She's getting much stronger. Soon, we'll be able to go a little farther."
"Nice." Sonic commended them. "Yeesh," He suddenly mumbled. "Zee was pretty intense in there, wasn't he?"
"I'll say." Shadow agreed as he leaned back on the concrete ground, sitting with his legs in a pretzel. The two primes were currently loitering on a skyscraper that was floating in the air. It was miles away from No Zone HQ, and they went up here so they could get a good view of the silent base in the sky. "Abraham could learn a thing or two from this reality. Our counterparts are the best military leaders I've ever witnessed, frankly. Even if I didn't like them, I can't help but respect what they do and how they command a room. They're leaders alright."
"Hey," Sonic suddenly said, his tone shifting. He walked over to Shadow and sat beside him closely. He leaned his head on his shoulder and nuzzled the side of his muzzle against his. "You...nervous about any of this? Like," He felt Shadow rope his arm around his waist to pull him even closer. He could smell black coffee all over his fur, and he loved the scent. "I've never...went to war before. I mean, I guess I kinda have? My friends and me being a unit, all against a literal army of Eggman bots kinda counts I guess. But," He frowned. "Never like this. This feels so serious and a lot of bad stuff happened over the course of just six days. It hasn't even been a full week and this place feels like it's on the brink of destruction, y'know? You work for GUN an' all...Have you," He placed his hand onto Shadow's knee. "Done something like this before?"
The biohog opened his eyes and broke his meditation. He placed his hand over Sonic's and rubbed his palm against it affectionately. "Not like this, no. Mobius never had a threat of this caliber that your friends and I couldn't deal with on our own. I do agree that I feel a sense of peril. Something big is going to happen in this reality, something no one will be able to predict." He turned his gaze at Sonic, his amber red eyes holding a strong degree of protective love. "But no matter what happens, we're both going to walk away alive this time."
Sonic met his gaze in full and nodded. "True that."
They both shared a short kiss before looking back up at the sky.
Shadow made a small sigh. "Do you think our counterparts are going to break up? Maria has been sensing a lot of sadness between the both of them lately."
This made blue speedster grimace with pity. "...I dunno." He admitted softly. "Zee's still wearin' his ring, and he hasn't told me anything. I didn't wanna ask, either. Not my business, but...I can't lie and say I'm not worried about them. If they break up, that'll hurt their dynamic. They're stronger together, not apart."
"Not if they're actively hurting each other, Sonic."
This made Sonic tighten his frown. "...Yeah," He somberly agreed. "You're right."
Shadow pressed a small kiss on his head and rubbed his arm. "It doesn't matter if they break up. As long as they still respect each other enough to fight side by side, everything should be fine. We have to trust that they won't fall apart, not when everything they care about is at stake. I haven't known them long enough to prove it, but I have a feeling they'll still be strong enough to take Zobotnik down."
"Yeah," Sonic nodded. "I just," He lowered his gaze. "I just wish they didn't have to suffer like this so much. It ain't fair. They both deserve to be happy, even if they did make a few mistakes. They were doing so good."
The biohog could see where he was coming from. Seeing another version of themselves break up would be devastating in a way neither of them could describe. If their relationship failed, who's to say their own couldn't fail too? Having hope in their twins' relationship, helped empower faith into theirs. That was selfish and incredibly immature, but they both couldn't help it. They couldn't watch mirror versions of themselves fail while their own lives prospered. It just didn't feel right, and it felt as if the same could happen to them.
"..." Shadow didn't immediately respond.
Or rather, he didn't have a response to that at all.
Instead, he decided to ask Sonic something. "...You said that some of the reason why Zonic is the way he is, was partly your fault. Why is that?"
Sonic sighed and proceeded to tell Shadow everything Zonic told him in Zobotnik's lair. About the Chaotic Purge, about Zonic growing up all alone with a single TV to stare at twenty-four hours a day, how Sonic was the only hope he had until Fleetway ruined it. As he did, and as he finished, he brought his knees up to his chest and lowered his face. "So because I had one bad day and lost it," Sonic explained glumly. "I helped ruin his life."
That...
...that was pretty heavy.
Shadow gazed down at his blue lover sympathetically.
A small, sad smile twitched onto Sonic's lips. "I mean don't get me wrong, we're cool now. I just, I feel like shit. I know it wasn't technically my fault, and I know I couldn't have had any idea that Zonic was out there somewhere, watching. Much less even exist. He knows that too, knows he shouldn't have seen me as some untouchable idol. Knows he shouldn't have blamed me for something I couldn't control." He felt Shadow pet his head behind his ears. He'd purr if it wasn't for the blame he felt tugging at his heart. "Still I...It was partially my fault that he's like this. Angry, cold, slightly insane."
He felt Shadow snake his arm around him and hold him tighter. "Sonic," He said gently. "None of that matters, not now. It's in the past, and you both finally stand on common ground. That's a good thing, and the only thing you should focus on at the moment. Both of you."
Sonic nodded. "I know."
Acute Square
Late Evening, 11:00 PM
The sky was almost pitch black, but one could faintly see some dark clouds forming around.
Zhadow and Zonic returned to their apartment for the night albeit at different times since Zonic was avoiding him, and vice versa. Zonic got home first, and Zhadow caught him in his home office filing away some papers. He looked busy, but neutral. That terrified Zhadow. He was already over him. Already over this relationship. Why was he even wearing his ring anymore? It was obvious he didn't want it on, that he didn't want it or Zhadow anywhere near him. Attempting to ignore this, Zhadow went to their bedroom to undress from his new uniform and only have on a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbow. Both he and Zonic lounged around in only this single article of clothing when resting at home. They didn't feel comfortable being completely nude unless making love, something they'd probably never do again.
Sitting on the small balcony of their apartment with a white chair and outdoor table, Zhadow scowled as he glared at the old documents in his hands. He slammed them down on the table and held his head with one hand. It was useless. No matter how many times he read over his creator's old notes, he couldn't find anything that could help quell the influence of the Black Arms. Soon, he dragged both hands over his face as he sighed stressfully. He was going to lose Zonic. He was going to lose him for good, and never see him outside of work again. He'd move on from him, hate him, despise him and curse his name until one of them perished. God, who would even want him like this anyway? Zouge was right, he was letting himself go. He was aging faster, he wasn't grooming himself as much as he should and he couldn't stop thinking about Zonic. Couldn't stop thinking about how that light he tried so desperately to hold onto, would leave him for good. He'd be stuck in pitch black darkness, alone, terrified and wrathful to no one but himself. He could feel his heart tighten painfully in his chest, and he knew after today, he'd be a wreck.
No, he...he had to save face.
Pretend nothing bothered him.
As usual.
He couldn't be weak in front of anyone, especially not his men. They were going against Zobotnik soon, and anything could happen. Forget breaking up, Zonic could get killed next week and then he'd truly never see him again in any capacity. If they were over, at the very least, Zhadow would be able to watch him from afar. He would still have him in his life to some level. So why...did it feel as if breaking up was a death sentence anyway? Damn it, if only he could figure it out. If only he was strong enough to ignore the voices. If only he wasn't such a pathetic-
The door to the balcony opened and shut.
"Sir?"
Zhadow's heart stopped.
"Sorry, I don't mean to keep doing that. Zhadow, do you have a minute? To talk?"
He could hear his voice behind him. It was gentle, careful. As if he was going to say something irrefutable in just the next few moments. Something Zhadow couldn't deny or ignore. This was it. This was it. He thought he had more time, at least twenty four more hours. Zonic was going to do it, he was going to end it all. Destroy it. Destroy what they had. Zhadow couldn't handle it, he couldn't. If he did this, if they were over...He...He didn't...He couldn't..."..." He cleared his throat and attempted to calmly gather the papers back in a neat pile. He didn't get up or look behind him, however. He couldn't. "...Of course. Sit down-"
"No," Zonic simply refused. "I don't think I will."
...
...Shit.
Damn it.
Damn it all to hell.
To the coldest, darkest God damn pit of it.
75 - END - 75
Notes:
By the way, yes, Zonic occasionally calling people "fools" or "foolishly foolish fools" is indeed an Ace Attorney reference. And I'm sure you can guess which character he resembles most. Spoiler alert: The one with the whip.
(Be sure to follow me on https://x.com/PMillennium78 or @PMillennium78 on X/Twitter for updates!)
Chapter 76: Locus
Summary:
Zonic makes his decision, and Zhadow is faced with his real feelings.
Notes:
The end of this chapter depicts heavy sexual content.
Chapter Text
76 - Locus - 76
11:01 PM
Zonic stood behind Zhadow's chair, his voice hitting him like a grenade capsule. Zhadow slowly got up from his seat, left the papers there on the table and turned around to face his soon to be ex-fiancé. Thunder roared throughout the skies, and the air began to smell moist. It would rain soon. Even now, he couldn't help but feel pathetically attracted to his rookie. Matching Zhadow, he wore nothing but a white dress shirt, and that damned ring. Why didn't he just throw it away or pawn it off already? Zhadow could barely stand to look at it, at the evident proof of his ultimate failure. Failure to secure the love of his life. Zonic's arms were crossed, but his expression was blank. He wasn't angry, not at all hostile or confrontational. He was ready for this. Ready to end what they had for good. Zhadow's heartbeat was pounding so hard and so fast, that he was sure it was outwardly audible to hear.
There was a horribly uneasy silence between them.
"..."
Neither of them spoke.
"..."
Zhadow couldn't take this anymore.
Should he beg? Should he get on his knees again? Plead for him not to leave him? No, he swore he wouldn't do that. That Zonic had every right to leave and walk away if he wanted to. That he wouldn't guilt trip him into staying with him. That was wrong. He had to let Zonic decide for himself, but he...he didn't want him to. He didn't want him to leave.
"...Would you like a cigarette?" Zonic asked quietly.
Zhadow shook his head immediately. He didn't want anything right now. "...No."
Another round of thunder rumbled above.
Zonic walked over to the railing of the balcony and leaned against it, still fully facing Zhadow who was carefully watching his every move. He glanced at the sky, then the covered up pool from below, then to the opposing apartment just on the other side of theirs. No doubt the primes were home, resting. He then finally returned his attention to Zhadow, who was still wearing those stupid fucking sunglasses. A vein throbbed on Zonic's head. "Take those off." He coldly demanded with a horrifyingly quiet tone. Without a word, his superior did what he commanded and slowly pulled off his eyewear. This revealed a very demonic set of dark red eyes, some Black Arms equated veins spreading in them. Just as Zonic thought. He only shook his head at Zhadow, who looked away shamefully. "I didn't feel like waiting until Monday to say what I have to say, so here we are. Frankly," Zonic began, and Zhadow knew it was over. "I was extremely angry with you. You've got a lot of nerve, Zhadow." He said, watching his fiancé's demeanor slowly become more and more anxious. "You forced me to make that promise to you three years ago. A promise so damn selfish that I can barely keep it even now."
"...Tell me you won't crumble like this again, no matter what happens. Tell me that even if you have to reboot a hundred more realities, you won't lose yourself. That no matter how many mistakes I make, no matter how many times I hurt you, you'll be okay. Say it, tell me! That's an order! Zonic...please. I'll beg you as many times as I have to. Say it."
...
"Say it, Zonic."
"...I won't fall apart like this again, sir."
"You lied to me, pointed a gun at me, made me promise you never to break when that's just physically and mentally impossible, and you beat the living hell out of me. How am I not supposed to break and fall apart after suffering through all of this? How dare you not grant me that right?" Zonic made an empty scoff as he looked down upon his partner. "You were so worried about me dwelling on negativity, that you failed to notice that you were doing the exact same thing. A devil rebuking sin. You're the one dwelling on negativity, you're just too much of a coward to face it."
Coward?
Did he just call him a coward?
Zhadow's gaze rose to meet Zonic's, anger filling his demonic eyes immediately. How dare he. That wasn't true, not even in the slightest. He wasn't a coward...not...not again. Not this time. It was...different this time. "Excuse you?" Zhadow retorted with a hiss.
"I'll happily repeat myself, sir." Zonic easily countered. "You are a damn coward, and you've always been a coward. Those papers you're looking at? Let me guess, pages of Professor Zerald's journal?" He flagged this off with a scowl. "Please. You're a fool if you thought you'd find answers there. Of course you'd look in the safest and most obvious place-"
"I was trying!" Zhadow suddenly yelled, no longer able to keep his cool as usual. "I was trying to find a way to make it stop. I was trying to find a way to save this relationship!"
"Even if you did, my decision to end it is entirely mine!" Zonic yelled back, causing Zhadow to wince with a glower. "You made it clear that it was my choice and my choice alone to end this relationship. I don't care if you miraculously found a way to make the voices stop. I've had enough of your cowardice, Zhadow. I'm not going to deal with it anymore." He declared strongly, leaning off of the railing and beginning to walk closer towards Zhadow. "You really think that's the only problem? The influence? You really think it isn't anything else? Do you truly believe something that damn narcissistic? That you itself aren't the problem? Are you that afraid of facing your own mistakes?" With each step he took, Zhadow backed away with an unnerved expression. "Are you that delusional into thinking that neither of us are the problem? That maybe, just maybe, we're the ones who need to fix this? That the problem isn't either of our bloodlines?"
Not the...problem...?
How in the world was the influence not the problem? It was all the influence's fault, the only reason why their relationship was in shambles to begin with. "What...are you talking about?" Zhadow took a few more cautious steps back.
Zonic's gaze never faltered, nor did the conviction in his voice. "I tested Sonic prime's blood on Shadow prime today. And you know what we discovered? Rather, what Maria prime discovered?"
"You tested Sonic prime's blood on Shadow prime? Are you insane!?" Zhadow shouted. "That could have gotten them killed-!"
"And what the hell were we supposed to do, if I may ask, sir?" Zonic asked viciously and sarcastically. "Wait until something bad happened at the very worst time? Like you did?" Zhadow flinched at this and growled. "Once again you show how cowardly you are. I knew the risks of those three getting hurt, and they all knew too. Of course we were all afraid of what could happen, and the results did seem hopeless at first. However, it was through their love and unshakable bond that led to Sonic prime dismantling the influence in just a few minutes. He stormed through the Black Arms aura and embraced Shadow and Maria prime with everything he had, not letting anything scare him away. His love was strong enough to create a light in the darkness, and lead Shadow and Maria prime back to their senses. The influence was rendered useless just like that."
Sonic prime did that? That easily? With a Divine Spirit at Shadow prime's side? How? How did...How?! Love alone couldn't have been strong enough to stop it, how the hell did they figure that out? Zhadow couldn't wrap his head around that. "I...I don't understand."
"Of course you don't." His rookie callously replied while rolling his eyes. "You never understand when it comes to you." Zonic sighed and looked to the side. "Maria prime told me something very interesting. Once fear and guilt was emptied from Shadow prime's mind, the voices stopped." He let that linger in the air for Zhadow to chew on and think about carefully. "Love isn't what stopped it, it was the absence of fear and guilt. It was Sonic prime's love that just made it easier for Shadow prime to mentally get rid of it. That's the answer, Zhadow." He lifted his gaze back to his superior. "Fear and guilt. Whenever a Shadow template has an abundance of both of those negative emotions swimming around inside their head, the influence has little to no trouble infiltrating your mind. The blood and sex are only accelerants to the influence, not the cause. You are. Shadow prime was terrified of the idea of Sonic prime dying again, and felt immense guilt for allowing his death to occur in the first place. Once Sonic prime recognized and acknowledged his concerns, the voices disappeared. Of course, Shadow prime isn't cured, but he won't be suffering from the influence again for a very long time."
This made Zhadow stare with wide eyes. It was really just that simple? It couldn't have been...right? "..."
Zonic narrowed his eyes at him. "You meanwhile," He continued roughly. "Forced me into ignoring my own trauma for the sake of moving forward, ignore me after the climax of any argument, refuse to acknowledge your fears and faults, and walk around with a synthetic, untouchable, 'cool guy' attitude to try and trick everyone else into thinking you're perfectly fine. Including yourself." He walked closer, making Zhadow back away into the table. He couldn't get away from him now. "You never even once trusted me. If you did, you would have never worked with Zobotnik into scheming to kill me. You would have never fell victim to your influence or at the very least, had a fighting chance against it. You would have never lied to me, you would have never laid your hands on me, nor would you have hidden your true nature from me. And if you truly loved me," He said, his voice rising with some emotion. "You would have taken a chance and trusted me!" Zonic found himself shouting again, and he didn't even realize it. "While it wasn't that often, Zhadow, you drank my blood plenty of times without issue before it ever became a problem. Your blood caused you to snap the first time because your secret was outed and I discovered you were a liar. You snapped the second time because you were stressed with me and the fact that we had a traitor in our midst. It's not just my blood or my body that rouses it up, its you and it's always been you. You are the one who is moping in his own misery, and you won't face it because you're too busy trying to ignore it! You're scared of it, you're hiding from it and you are by every sense of the word, a fucking coward!"
This was it, Zonic wasn't allowing him to run away anymore. He demanded answers. He demanded to know why Zhadow refused to try and be strong enough to face his problems head on, why someone of such strong standing was too weak against himself. He couldn't ignore him, he couldn't avoid him.
Zhadow's sunglasses fell onto the balcony's flooring.
"..."
...
...
...
...It was useless.
He couldn't hide anymore.
The General of No Zone Corps, placed the back of his palms onto the edge of the outdoor table. He lowered his head miserably, no longer able to keep his eyes on Zonic's or face him. "...You're right." Zhadow whispered. "I'm scared."
"...!" Zonic couldn't believe his ears.
Did he just admit it?
Did he just hear Zhadow the Zone Cop, the General of No Zone Corps, the shadow Mayor of Parallel city confess to being frightened?
"The moment I lied to you," He spoke again, his voice frail and...shaking. Zonic never saw his general this weak before, and never thought he ever would. This was his most vulnerable moment. The very lowest he'd ever stoop to. "The moment I saw how much I hurt you," He could remember how much Zonic sobbed before leaving Zobotnik's office that day. "I realized too late that I broke your heart. I...I got scared that eventually...you'd leave me for good and never want to see me again." As Zhadow spoke, Zonic didn't dare interrupt him, not even as he watched him tremble even worse against the table. "Because...what if I screw this up again somehow? What if I end up hurting you to the point where you don't give me another second chance? Then I nearly kill you, corner you into unfair promises...forcing you to unrealistically grin and bare the other Chaos Born without ever breaking...forcing you to make our relationship better... instantly demanding that you to get over something that's impossible to live with...I just made you feel so much worse, and then I...I fought you and beat you, and...I'm so fucked up." Zhadow cursed himself, anger and destitute despair laced in his whispering words. "I'm not even normal, I can't even control myself around you." He reached his hand up to his head and pulled at some of his fur, before revealing to Zonic some gray strands in his black coat. "I'm aging so quickly because of everything that I've ever done, and my biology is slowly failing. I'm going to die like this. I'm pathetic, this is all I've ever measured up to." Both of his hands gripped at his head as his voice began to turn. "I'm a killer, I'm a shady politician, I'm an enabler, I'm a tyrant..." The red stripes in his fur began to glow. "I'm...the worst possible choice to have as a partner and yet you stuck by me anyway, and I for the life of me, cannot understand why."
Zonic could see it, and his theory was correct.
Zhadow was actively transforming from the influence right before his very eyes, because he was falling into his own despair.
"Why?" Zhadow asked desperately. "Why did you ever want me? How could you want me? You're the only thing that ever made me truly happy to be alive, you're the one who made me realize that I could live as more than just some tool to kill." His claws gripped the table so hard that his fingers were beginning to poke through the material. "I didn't know there was light until I met you. You healed me. You made me happy and you gave me hope. I keep screwing up, and soon, I wont have that light anymore. I won't be happy, I won't have hope...You're going to leave me." He said it like Zonic was aiming a gun at his head. Like he was going to kill him. "I don't want to be in the dark again, but you're too good for me, Zonic. You always were. You're perfect. Me, my only purpose was to hurt people and now I'm hurting you. I'm...worst than awful, I'm below it all. I'm scum, I'm repulsive, I'm a massive pile of shit...I'm..." His ears flattened against his skull. "...Nothing."
"..."
His rookie was silent.
"This is something I never wanted you to see. Something I was too scared for you to see. But now you see me for what I truly am: Nothing."
...
"...How dare you?" Zonic demanded in a hushed tone, his tone betrayed and hurt.
Of course it was. He hurt him again, as always. "...I'm sorry." Was all Zhadow could muster. "I know you despise me. I know this is over. I just...I just wanted to be near you just a little while longer, even if we were in separate rooms. Just being near the same space as you gives me peace. I'm sorry, Zonic." He slowly released his grip from the table and tried to move to turn around and gather the papers from the table. "I'll leave you be-"
His arm was gripped tightly.
"How dare you ever think something so ludicrous about yourself, and for this long?"
Zhadow paused.
What did he say?
"...What...?" He lifted his head and returned his attention to Zonic, who was fiercely staring at him in the eyes.
"Zhadow," Zonic softened his grip and stepped closer. "I gave myself to you without regrets because I love you. I stayed with you because I love you. I'm still here despite all of the stupid shit we've gone through because I love you. I'm angry, because I still love you. If I didn't love you, if I didn't care, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't show you any emotion what so ever. I'd act as if you're nothing to me." He carefully rose his hands to Zhadow's muzzle and caressed it. "But you're not. You're everything to me. Even though we're technically on the same level of authority, I still worship the ground you walk on simply because it's you: Zhadow the Hedgehog, the strongest, most powerful person I will ever have the pleasure of knowing. I enlisted because of you. I saw you on the recruitment posters, I saw you on TV. I told my Overseer to enlist me because of you. I wanted to become the first, strong Overseer because of you." Red began to spread on Zonic's cheeks. "I prayed everyday to be even slightly as strong as you, and I wasn't even in love with you yet. Then when I was, it all made sense. I thought it was destiny since we were Chaos Born, that we were supposed to be together. But then when I gained more experience as Overseer, I saw that there's still a surprising number of Sonic and Shadow templates who don't feel for each other at all and probably never will. Despite what the spirits want, it's all still a roll of the dice. There are some who hate each other, some who just aren't right for each other. That's when I realized, there is no destiny when it comes to us. It just happened that way and I am still, so fucking glad it did." He could smell it, the smell of fear wavering in the face of love. Despair cowering in the face of hope. "All Overseers are aromantic, and never find love. I wasn't meant to fall in love with you. Yet I did, and became the first to find someone to adore. You gave me that ring, I put it on and I still don't regret it. Of all the things I've done wrong, you were the only thing I did right. No matter how many times I scream at you, no matter how many times you lie to me, I'm still going to want you no matter what. And eventually, when we're ready, I want you to...marry me."
The effects of the Black Arms blood began to dissolve in Zhadow's body. The veins in his demonic eyes disappeared, his irises returning to normal, his claws retracting. His heartbeat, something he thought would pound right out of his chest, was beginning to finally slow. His nerves weren't on fire, his brain waves weren't off the charts, and his hearing felt at ease. He could listen again, he could think again. He could feel something other than fear again...
"I adore you, Zhadow."
...but the guilt, the guilt was still there. Still festering, still waiting for the bomb Zonic would inevitably drop.
"But you," Zhadow tried to speak, his voice still shaky but now void of demonic force. "Don't you...want to leave me?"
"No," Zonic immediately denied. "You idiot." He tightened his hold on Zhadow and leaned his forehead against his. "I only enforced that this is my choice, and I just wanted to tell you why I was angry. I never, ever said I wanted to leave you, nor do I plan to. Zhadow," His dark green eyes became glossy. "I love you so much. I can't leave you, I don't have it in me to leave you. But if you can't take the time to face your fears," Now it was Zonic who was shaking, it was his voice that was trembling with fear. "Then I...I can't..." He hid his face into Zhadow's shoulder. "I can't...do this anymore..." He hugged Zhadow tightly, his body tremored against him as Zhadow listened to his silent sobs. "I don't want to lose you either...But I can't let you keep hurting us both like this. What if next time, you succeed in killing me? What if I end up having to kill you? What if we kill each other? I can't let that happen. Someone needs to do something, Zhadow." He gripped his hands into his body, his sobs growing harsher. "I want to stay with you forever. I want to wake up next to you, eat with you, sleep beside you, make love to you every single day. I need you," He sniffled, but he took a deep breath and exhaled. He lifted his face from Zhadow's shoulder and faced him head on. He didn't care that he saw him weak like this, he didn't care if his eyes were red and puffy. "But I don't need you to keep hurting me or yourself. If you want me, then you need to not only trust me, but trust yourself."
He...he really...
...Did he still really...love him...?
"But I'm..." Zhadow watched as the last of Zonic's tears fells down his face. "...I'm the exact opposite of what you thought I was. I'm a murderer, I'm a...I'm a monster-"
"No you're not." Zonic countered firmly. "You were used by a monster, but you're not a monster. You're not a monster because you never wanted to do those things in the first place. You knew what you did was wrong, stopped the moment you could and never killed again. I don't care about your past Zhadow, don't you understand that? How many times do I have to tell you?" His rookie asked with a pleading gaze. "I accept you. I always accepted you and I always will because I fucking love you!" He gripped his shoulders, almost shaking him. "Don't you get it?"
Yeah, he did.
It was just too difficult to accept.
Zonic could see Zhadow's now completely average eyes become watery. He could still sense it, the guilt. It was diminishing, but it was still there. No, he'd get rid of it. Obliterate it. He'd make it so that Zhadow never felt guilt or fear ever again. "Zhadow, deep down, you did trust me, didn't you?" He saw his superior dart his eyes away. "Whenever you told me how corrupted Zobotnik was, you were trying to warn me." Zhadow was crying out for help the whole time, attempting in small ways to tell Zonic bits of the truth without fully telling him. "You hoped I'd figure it out on my own, didn't you?" He saw Zhadow close his eyes tightly with clenched teeth. Zhadow needed him, and he never knew it. He was suffering in silence, and this greatly saddened Zonic. He still didn't understand why he just couldn't tell him the truth. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me when it all happened?"
Zhadow only shook his head. "I didn't think you'd believe me after you found out. And when you walked away, I..." He lost all hope. He didn't have to say it. His face darkened as his head lowered, still too ashamed.
Zonic was sharp enough to notice the hidden bombs in the city's square that day, but never his fiancé's inner turmoil. Maybe if he had confronted him before they walked in the office, they could have patched things up. Could have stopped Zobotnik together and had a better talk. Maybe they both wouldn't have screwed everything up. "...I understand, now. I made mistakes too, see? Bad ones. I should have paid more attention to you, but like always, I neglected you. I couldn't see you were pleading for me to help you in your own way. It must have hurt you, watching me act so blissfully ignorant." He wanted to show Zhadow how it wasn't that hard to admit your mistakes and face them. Nor was it a weakness to acknowledge them in fear of losing something valuable, but a strength. He then made a determined expression and lightly shook Zhadow to make him look up at him again. "But not again. I won't neglect you ever again. Our mistakes, they're in the past and you're a better person now." He loosened his grip on his shoulders and lowered his hands to Zhadow's wrists. "I admit, I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what you did, even if it was for the good of everyone else. Even if I missed your signs, you still should have pulled me aside and told me everything straight forward in secret. You still didn't trust me enough to tell me the situation Zobotnik put you in, and you still aimed a gun at me. I don't think I'll ever forget that moment."
His superior could only nod at his words, unable to argue back or make a counterargument of his own. "...Nothing was your fault, Zonic." Zhadow whispered back. "It was all mine. You didn't do anything wrong. I...I should have told you everything. I just...wanted to keep pretending. That everything was fine. I wanted so badly to propose to you, and I at least wanted to see you wear the ring for a single day before saying goodbye."
"Hnn," His rookie looked to the side. So that's why he proposed the day before. He was desperate to keep up the illusion. Not to trick Zonic, but for his own sake, knowing it would all crumble apart soon. He needed the image of Zonic wearing his ring before he did the deed. If he truly didn't care, or if it was out of pure malice, Zhadow wouldn't have hesitated shooting him dead, but it's clear that he never wanted that day to happen. "Now I know you didn't actually want to kill me." Zonic took Zhadow's hands in his own gently. "You were scared, panicked. You didn't know what to do, you didn't know what the right decision was. You didn't even want to hurt me, you just did what was best for everyone else. You tried not to be selfish, tried to be the good guy. But you truly made your decision when you turned the gun on Zobotnik. I accept that, now. Not only that, but I see now that you tried with every fiber of your being to warn me before it was too late, I just wasn't attentive enough to see your efforts, and that was wrong of me. You put all your trust in me, and I failed you, too. We..." He wasn't sure how to put this. He honestly didn't have much energy for this conversation anymore, but he wouldn't dare give up on it. He wouldn't give up on Zhadow, ever. "We can't make each other responsible for being happy and we can't make each other responsible for giving us a will to live. We have to want this for ourselves. To be happy with ourselves, to want to live for ourselves. If you want out of that darkness so badly, then you make your own light. It was hard to realize..." A small, fond smile appeared on Zonic's lips as he thought about his Mobian twin's words from Zobotnik's lair. "But I know I want to live and be happy now, with you. We can make our own light together." He rubbed his thumbs into Zhadow's knuckles softly. "Do you want to be happy with me, Zhadow?"
Silently, Zhadow nodded his head, feeling some relief at Zonic's touch.
"Please, let this be the last secret we keep from each other. Do you promise me?"
He nodded again.
"We can't keep hurting each other like this."
Zonic was caught off guard when he suddenly felt Zhadow squeeze his arms around him. He rested his head against his shoulder, his position a stark contract to when Zonic embraced him earlier. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." He nuzzled his face against the side of his neck and held onto him for dear life. "...I don't ever want to hurt you. I'll trust you, I won't lie to you and I'll never put my hands on you like that again. I'll treasure you." If Zonic said he could make his own light, then it had to be true. He wouldn't lie to him, he wouldn't lead him astray. He'd lead him to the light he's always wanted for so long. He didn't need to have Zonic's, he could make his own and they could live happily together. "But..." But he needed help, he needed him by his side to help guide him there. "...Help me...? Please?"
With a solemn but hopeful smile, Zonic petted the back of his head and held him closely. "Of course I'll help you, sir. All you had to do was ask. You know I'd do anything for you."
"You'll..." Zhadow's eyes began to moisten as he felt the cool metal of his ring make contact with his fur. He would still wear it, and he'd never take it off. That gave Zhadow a sense of hope that Zonic would never fathom. "You'll help me...?"
"Yes, sir."
Zonic felt his shoulder blade become moist, and he didn't mind in the slightest bit. He just continued to hold Zhadow close, allowing him to be weak and vulnerable. Something he should have done a very long time ago. He continued to pet his head, combing his fingers through his fur softly and rubbing his back with his other hand. He's never held him like this before, maybe they should make it a more common thing. That way, Zhadow wouldn't feel ashamed for releasing his emotions like this again. Tears dropped from Zonic's shoulder as Zhadow continued to hold on. "...I'll trust you with everything, absolutely everything." As he spoke, droplets from the sky began to fall onto their heads.
Zonic looked up as it began to rain, a more soothing round of thunder grumbling above them in the midst of the dark clouds. "Oh," It was like someone took a giant bucket and tossed it right onto their penthouse. It was getting harder, they'd have to go back inside. "Maybe we should go inside. It's raining pretty hard..." He looked back down at Zhadow and continued to pet his head. "Don't you think, sir?"
Zhadow could barely stand.
He was holding onto Zonic so hard that he was starting to tear into his blouse.
An enormous, prickly, stabbing, burdensome, agonizing and hateful weight...
...Was suddenly lifted from Zhadow's shoulders.
It felt like he could breathe and see color again.
"Yes..." He sobbed. "Yes it is..."
Midnight, 12:00 AM
The rest of the night, despite needing to get up for work in the morning in just a few hours, Zhadow clung to Zonic like a koala bear. He hugged him when they went back inside of the apartment, hung onto him when he went to the kitchen to fetch something to eat and even held onto him when he went into his office. Thankfully he only needed to fetch his notebook, one he used for Overseers, and didn't plan on sitting at his desk tonight. When Zonic went to the bedroom, Zhadow still wouldn't let go. And the entire time, Zonic never minded. He allowed Zhadow to do whatever he wished to make himself feel better. If using Zonic as a walking body pillow would do the trick, then so be it. He held up a mug of black coffee to his lips as he leaned back against the headboard of their bed, Zhadow still attached to him by laying his head against his chest. Zonic still pet his head, feeling him purr against him with every stroke. For some people, coffee helped them wake up in the morning. For Zonic and many other Zone Cops, it was a nightcap. Hopefully, they'd both be able to fall asleep and get some kind of rest for tomorrow. That training wasn't just for their men, it was for them too.
Besides, Zonic was planning something of his own-
-Zonic moaned at the feeling of his general placing kisses against his neck. "Mmmn, sir?" He breathed sultrily as he felt those kisses become licks. "Nnmm..." Zonic placed the mug down on his side of the bed's nightstand and turned his attention to his fiancé. His fiancé who would one day become his husband, something he knew for sure. "Sir, we have work tomorrow...Ahh..." He felt his superior's hand rub in between his blue legs and cup his nether regions. Zonic gasped with a louder moan and grasped Zhadow's wrist. "W-Wait...at least let me-Mmm...let me get undressed f-first..." As Zhadow began to nibble against his neck, Zonic unbuttoned his shirt and allowed his general to do as he wished. The moment his blouse was open, Zhadow shoved his face against his chest and attacked it with more kisses and love marks. He wrapped his arms around Zonic's lower body and slathered his tongue against his pectorals. "A-Ah...Sir...I-" He was pushed onto his back, his head hitting one of the pillows. "Don't be too rough, please-A-Ahh...!" Zonic squeezed his eyes shut as his entire face became red, his legs widening for Zhadow immediately. Zhadow fully bit into his neck and drew blood, but even as his tongue lapped it up into his mouth...
...Nothing happened.
Feeling a barrage of hormones enter his brain and body, Zonic smiled in pleasure at the feeling. "A-Ahh yes...drink all you want...Mmmn...!" He gripped his fingers into the sheets as he moaned loudly. Zhadow continued to lick at his bleeding neck, closing the wound and cleaning his mess as Zonic called for him. "Zhadow...please," He begged, needing to feel him inside. "Love me...love me, please..." He felt his kisses travel from his neck, his chin, his cheek, the corner of his lips and soon his mouth. As they shared a needy French kiss, Zhadow unbuttoned his own shirt and tossed it off of the bed. He helped Zonic out of his and after doing so, seized his thighs and spread them open. His peach member was already unsheathed and completely hardened. All from that one bite and a little kissing. Zhadow couldn't talk, though, he was no better. His erection had unsheathed itself minutes ago, wanting so badly to plunge itself into his rookie's entrance. He caressed Zonic's jaw, and he opened his mouth for him gratefully. He placed his fingers inside, allowing his rookie to roll his tongue all over his digits. With his eyes half lidded and filled with lust, Zonic drenched his fingers in spit, desiring so much for him to take him. He moaned when Zhadow pulled his fingers out and dragged them down his lips, spreading his dripping saliva below his chin.
With Zhadow straddling him down, Zonic could clearly see his superior's eyes. Yes, they were still normal. Thank goodness, he was right. The absence of fear and guilt freed Zhadow of his inner torment. He wasn't completely free of the Will of Black Doom, no Shadow template ever was, but he could at least live his life without constant mental anguish. And frankly, that was one of the greatest gifts he ever received. The number one best gift being the gorgeous blue beauty below him. Right now, after being told he was given more than another second chance, but a chance at being truly happy with the one he loved, he was beyond elated. It wasn't just an olive branch to try and patch the relationship, they were going to rebuild it all from the ground up. Together, full force with complete confidence and trust. He was beyond relieved, beyond happy. And he wanted to share that positivity with Zonic in the strongest way possible. He needed to thank him, to treasure him as he promised and make him smile every single day of his life. He'd do it until the end of time and beyond if he had to. Zonic couldn't smell any fear, only happiness and true, raw passion. Zonic sucked in a strong gasp when he felt one of his fingers penetrate him from below. However, he didn't shake his gaze. He continued to share his loving stare with Zhadow, and his general was happy to do the same. Still keeping their eyes locked on each other, Zhadow quickened the pace of his finger thrusting inside of him. Zonic moaned greatly in their kiss, ever so grateful of his partner using him as he desired.
After a few minutes, there were now three fingers thrusting in and out of Zonic's sensitive hole. Spit and fluids dripped onto Zhadow's hand, and they reached further inside of him. They curled and brushed past many delicate muscles, causing his rookie to gasp and moan with trembling legs. His member was leaking precum, and he nearly climaxed from being toyed with like that. As Zhadow eased his digits out, he broke their gaze for a moment to hold his legs up and dive his head down. "A-Aaahh...!" Zonic cried a pleasurable gasp as he felt his tongue purge inside of him. "Aah...! Ahh! S-Sir...!" That felt amazing. It felt so amazing that he couldn't help but play with himself. He gripped the top of Zhadow's head, while he used his other hand to pinch and pull at his own pink nipple. "Your tongue feels so good...Oh God...I need you...I need you inside me...!" He whimpered, closing his legs around Zhadow's head. "Y-You didn't lose yourself after drinking my blood, I'm so proud of you-A-Ahhh...!" He could feel his tongue stretching his walls even more, tasting him from the inside while feeding Zonic pleasure beyond his imagination. "M-Mmmn...Sir, please..." He loosened his hold on his head and opened his legs a little. "Let me suck you...let me taste you..."
Zhadow lifted his head from in between his thighs and licked his lips.
Black and red striped fingers gripped themselves into blue fur, pulling and pushing the top of Zonic's head back and forth against Zhadow's pelvis. He gulped every inch of his general down his throat without gagging, loving the feeling of his length settling in his mouth. Leaning against the headboard, Zhadow stifled grunts and low moans of pleasure as his rookie downed his cock, more saliva dripping down his neck and onto the covers of the bed. He didn't touch himself, because he didn't need to. Zhadow would get him to orgasm without contact in no time, as always. Zhadow lovingly caressed Zonic's head with both hands, before almost painfully gripping his palms onto his ears and skull and thrusting his hips harder into his mouth. Tears weld up in the corner of Zonic's eyes, but not from the roughness, from sheer joy at his superior using him like this. He loved it, he loved living as his toy. To be nothing but a tool of his pleasure. That in itself gave Zonic euphoria, a high he couldn't compare to anything else. "Nghh...Fuck..." Zhadow swore blissfully. "Your fucking mouth...Such a good boy..." He praised roughly as he continued to thrust his hips and his member onto Zonic's tongue. "Such a fucking good boy..." Soon, Zhadow's veiny, throbbing member was slowly retracted from Zonic's mouth. He hungrily dragged his tongue down the base before swirling his tongue against his sack and sucking against it. Zhadow eased his hold on his head and pet behind his ears for being such a damn good boy. "That's my rookie...Mmmn..."
Yes, his.
Always his.
Zonic crawled in Zhadow's lap, his hole dripping with his saliva and begging to be plugged with something massive. They kissed feverishly, the general gripping his fingers against his rookie's ass tightly. His tan cock lightly brushed against his entrance, before angling carefully and instantly thrusting inside of him. Zonic immediately gripped his fingers into his back and cried out so loud that he almost collapsed onto Zhadow. Sweet Chaos, he could feel him fully enter him, fully reaching the depths of his body in one fell swoop. His knees were buckling and quivering strongly, his inner thighs extremely sensitive and wet with his own precum. But Zhadow held him securely, his eyes closed as he could feel the nearly therapeutic intensity of his member burrowing inside of his rookie. This feeling, this was what heaven felt like. If he could have him like this forever, he would. "Z-Zhadow..." Zonic could barely whisper as he attempted to adjust to his superior's size. It's been too long, too long without his length stretching him. "I...I..."
"Shhh," Zhadow rubbed his hands on his lower back soothingly. He knew he wasn't hurt, he just needed a minute. "You're okay. Don't talk."
Still trembling a little, a few minutes passed as Zonic could feel himself finally relax. He laid his head against the crook of Zhadow's shoulder and pressed his bottom down against his member to fully sit in his lap. He embraced Zhadow and closed his thighs around his waist. "Take me, please." He whispered. Zhadow nuzzled his cheek against Zonic's head, before grunting and making a strong thrust upwards. "A-Ahh!" Zonic couldn't contain any of his moans tonight, especially not this one. Usually he'd tried to act tough and attempt to stifle them, but he couldn't. Or maybe he didn't want to. Maybe he wanted to scream for his general, and maybe he wanted him to hear his pleas and cries. "A-Aahh...Ahh..." He wasn't even going slow, not wasting any time in being gentle. "N-Not...too...r-rough-Ahhh!" He felt him spank his bottom as he thrusted, a tender heat resonating on his flesh. He said not to go too rough, but he didn't actually mean it. He wanted Zhadow to go all out, and he wanted the pain along with the pleasure. He just wanted him. Another slap against his ass, constantly in time with every other thrust. Zonic's mouth fell agape as he held onto Zhadow, emotionally begging for him to never stop. "Don't stop...don't stop...fuck me hard, please...!" He cried. "I need you to hurt me...I need it so bad..." This was the only time and place Zhadow was allowed to hurt him, the only pain he'd allow his general to bestow. And he welcomed almost any form of pain. The pain made it easy to forget, made it easy to ignore any past mistakes, made it easy to accept them.
To accept himself.
To accept each other.
They knew this was unhealthy, a more than unstable way of relying on each other to take the real pain away. They couldn't do that anymore in their lives, but in the bedroom, maybe they could make a few small exceptions. Right now, it was the only way they knew how to cope. At the very least, they had each other along with some hope and adoration to go along with it.
But this time, they wouldn't only rely on this to get them through the dark times.
They'd instead rely on themselves and find sincere healthy ways to truly help each other.
Together.
"I know," Zhadow murmured back as he tightened his hold on him. "I know you do. I'll hurt you...I'll hurt you as much as you want. As much as you need." He spanked him again, his own hand radiating heat from how hard he slapped him. A print was starting to become visible, and he rubbed his palm against it to blur the lines of pain and pleasure. It hissed, it was tender to the touch and there was a high level of pain searing in his flesh, now. If he hit him more than this, he'd start to bleed. And yet...Zonic didn't even care. He loved every second of it. Zonic bounced up and down in his lap in time with his thrusts and spanks, holding onto his shoulders as he looked down and watched his lover's member reach deep within and out of him. "I'll do anything for you. I love you," Zhadow whispered. "I love you so much, Zonic..." His brows knitted together as he felt his eyes burn with the sensation of an emotion he avoided for decades. An emotion only Zonic was allowed to see. "You're my everything, the only reason I want to keep going...So please," He pushed Zonic down onto the bed and laid on top of him as he continued to thrust. "Don't leave me..." He grasped Zonic's hands and held them tightly as he increased his speed. He felt so tight, so constrictive. He was beauty incarnate and he needed to keep him to himself. He needed him so much. "Please God don't leave me...Don't ever leave me..." Zonic's legs entangled themselves around his general's body, keeping him as close as possible. "Please..." Zhadow hid his face against his neck, his tears falling onto his collarbone as they could both feel a rising climax.
Zonic closed his eyes as he moaned Zhadow's name into the ether. "Zhadow...Z-Zhadow...!" He gasped again, feeling him strike at his prostate. He gripped his fingers against Zhadow's hands, crying out in pleasure. "I promise...I won't leave you...I'll never leave you...I need you...!" He could feel it, it was coming. "Inside...Cum inside me...Cum inside me...!" He could feel him thrust harshly a few more times before it finally happened. "...!" Zonic tossed his head back, his back arching as he released against Zhadow's torso. He made a strangled moan, his eyes snapping open at the ceiling. He felt Zhadow bite his chest, lick at his nipples and bite at his shoulders. He didn't care where he bit him next, because it felt so good. "A-Aaah...!" He came hard, his legs practically spasming from the orgasm. "A-Ahh...! N-Ngh-!" He felt Zhadow's arms tighten around him before he slammed one last thrust inside of him. His seed breached within him, coating his walls with his essence. He heard Zhadow growl a hard groan against his body as he came, and he could feel it all leak from between his thighs.
...
...Panting, Zhadow continued to hug Zonic and didn't reveal his face.
Zonic already understood why, and allowed him to stay like this.
He was out of breath too, blankly staring up at the ceiling light as rain continued to pitter patter against their window. He wouldn't move Zhadow, and he wouldn't even stir. Actually, he could feel drowsiness weigh heavy onto his eyelids. He pet his general's head once again that night in ambient silence, closing his eyes as a faint smile curled on his lips. When he felt Zhadow's breathing become steady, he could tell his superior fell asleep, purely exhausted from that emotional conversation and their lovemaking.
He was more than satisfied with that.
No, better than that.
For the first time in years, Zonic truly felt hopeful and happy.
"...I love you too, sir."
76 - END - 76
Chapter 77: Apothem
Summary:
The primes and their Zonian selves talk about their next plan of action.
Chapter Text
77 - Apothem - 77
August 24th
DAY 45: Sunday
No Zone HQ
Morning, 9:30 AM
Two Mobian hedgehogs made their way down the hall leading to General Zhadow's office. Zonic texted the blue hero to come to the HQ for something "important." That word again...Every time they heard it from one of them, they grew concerned. And all that yelling, they both could hear it from outside of their apartment. A few times, one of them debated whether or not they should go over there, knock and ask if everything was okay. They decided not to, because again, it just wasn't their business. If they fixed things, they fixed things. If they broke up, they broke up. There was nothing anyone could do about it and they had to accept that. They just hoped things wouldn't be too awkward when walking inside.
Sonic leaned close to Shadow as they walked up to the doors. "You think they ended it?"
Shadow grimaced as he glanced over at Sonic. "I don't know. They were yelling a lot last night and then," He made a confused expression. "Everything just stopped. Silence. Right when it began to rain, too."
The blue one sighed. "Geez, I really hope this doesn't get weird..."
"You and me both."
The doors opened, and...
...
...Zonic was simply sitting on Zhadow's desk, using a pen to write in his notebook.
There was a pink box of donuts beside him, no doubt from the cat cafe. The establishment was thoroughly investigated after Zespio's confession, and they found no further signs of tampering with any consumables within the building. They placed strict surveillance over the cafe, but other than that, it was safe to eat and buy from. The owners completely understood, and were incredibly sorry to hear that their goods were used in an elaborate plot. No Zone Corps made sure the news never spread to customers, and kept surveillance over the cafe virtually hidden. Citizens wouldn't notice members of the Espionage Team to keep watch over it since they were hidden in the shadows, or as regular customers. Meanwhile, Zhadow was leaning back in his chair and typing away on his desktop at lightning speed. He looked painfully bored though, and he still wore those sunglasses. However, they were a new color. Instead of a bleak black, they were tinted a bright red that only revealed it's color under the gleam of illumination. Next to him was a steaming mug of coffee, a sweet latte. After another investigation of their cafeteria, it was deemed safe to eat and work in again. They also kept a strict protocol and surveillance of anyone outside of cafeteria staff entering the kitchen, along with rigid rules of theft from the pantry. What happened to Zector and Zespio would never happen again, not on their watch.
Oh.
Well.
Those two...seemed, uh...fine?
The two Mobian hedgehogs glanced at each other with puzzled eyes, before returning them to their twins. As the doors behind them automatically closed, they moved to walk in front of the desk. Sonic broke the ice first, still a little cautious of the unknown atmosphere in the room. "Uhh, hey!" Sonic tried to sound cheerful and waved hello. "Um," He scratched behind his head. "How's it going...?"
Zonic's ears pointed upwards at his voice and he lifted his gaze from his book. He digitized the book away and gave Sonic a subtle but fair smile. "Hello, Sonic prime. Shadow prime."
Zhadow only grunted a, "'Sup." And nothing else.
Zonic cringed and slowly turned to his superior. "...Sir?"
"Oh," Zhadow forgot his manners again. "Oops. Hello." And just like that, he went back to his computer.
Okay, that wasn't completely out of character for either of them. Still, something seemed weird. Like something definitely happened between those too, something the two primes thought was negative, yet things seemed positive. They were missing something, here. "Uhh," Sonic frowned. "Everything cool...?"
Zonic blinked and raised a brow. "Yeah?" He took a half eaten donut from the box before taking a bite out of it. "Why wouldn't it be?"
Sweat dropping, Sonic nervously laughed. "Ahaha, uhh...I um, well...Ehh," He shrugged while rubbing the back of his neck. "Never mind. That's you guys' business."
To this, his militant twin only chuckled. "You're not slick, you know. You're allowed to be concerned, Sonic prime." He pushed the box of donuts over to his superior, who unconsciously reached for one without even looking. "It's appreciated. We're doing fine. More than fine, actually." He gave Sonic a wink, making the hero breathe a sigh of relief. They truly were okay. He had no idea why he was so concerned over someone else's relationship, but he was more than happy that Zonic and Zhadow's relationship seemed to be okay. Even Shadow looked a little pleased at this information.
Zhadow only continued to type with one hand, dunking his donut in his mug of coffee in another. As he took a bite, he only mumbled, "Mmhm," in agreement.
"O-Oh." Sonic made a smile. "That's...good. Great! I'm happy for you guys."
Zonic nodded with a sense of satisfaction, as he was relieved himself. Happy that he and his general were finally at a comfortable place in their relationship. A place where he knew they wouldn't stray from for a very long time. "Indeed." He said with a bright smile, one that made both Sonic and Shadow do a double take. He looked so different when he was happy. "Anyway, before you two came in, General Zhadow and I were talking about having children-"
"...!" Zhadow turned his head and instantly spit coffee all over the floor. He then began to cough and hunched over his desk as he painfully continued to hack. That's when the primes noticed that a trickle of blood was dripping from his nose and his face was completely flushed.
Meanwhile, Zonic was absolutely unbothered by his fiancé's choking. "Don't mind him, he knows I'm joking."
Shadow stared with squinted eyes as Zhadow continued to writhe. "Are you sure...? Because I think he stopped breathing." He blinked. "And bleeding to death from his nose."
Zonic easily flagged this off. "Oh he's just being dramatic, he'll be fine." As he said this, Zhadow was slowly but carefully wheezing to get in control of his lungs. As he panted, he swiped a tissue box from one of the drawers of his desk and wiped his nose with an annoyed grunt.
Sonic busted out laughing. "Hahaha! Oh you are evil." He crossed his arms as he felt the atmosphere in the room lighten significantly. "It's funny he's taking the joke this bad though, he knows we can't have kids. We're all dudes. I mean, unless you adopt-"
That's when a disturbingly devious smirk appeared on Zonic's face. "No Sonic prime," He said with a low voice. "There is a way for Chaos Born of the same sex to biologically reproduce. And he knows that."
...
...Haha.
Hahaha.
Hahahahaha-
-What the fuck did he just say?
Both Mobian hedgehogs became deer caught in headlights at this blasphemous information. That whole incident with Zhadow, everything he was spewing..."So that whole...breeding thing the general talked about under the Black Arms influence..." Shadow weakly pointed at Zhadow, who was scowling with exasperation at Zonic. "...was true?"
And then, Zonic just crossed his legs and rose both brows suggestively at them. "..." His smirk only grew, and he didn't say a word.
He didn't have to.
Sonic stumbled backwards towards one of the white loveseats, which thankfully caught him before he fell backwards. "W-Wha...wha...really...?" He slowly turned to Shadow in disbelief and horror. "That means...Shadow could have..."
Shadow looked back with just as much fear. "...impregnated you-"
"-This whole time?" They both finished in synchronized, quiet terror.
Again, Zonic said nothing. He let his smirk and mischievous expression do the talking for him. Not even Zhadow had anything to say to that, and he was too embarrassed to berate him for that very real and possible joke. "..."
Now Sonic was panicking. "Oh my fucking God." He whispered. He was hyperventilating. "Holy shit, holy fuck...!"
And now Shadow was panicking. Good thing Maria wasn't awake for this. "This can't be happening this can't be happening...!"
Both hedgehogs were pacing all over the office, loudly and frantically panicking at the same time. Sonic grabbed at his stomach instinctively. "Shit! Am I preggo right now?! Is this a prank? W-Where's it even gonna come out from!?"
Shadow was pulling at his own quills with a nauseating feeling of nerves. "I can't be a father...I don't even know what the hell that even means! Rouge is going to hold this over me until I'm dead...!"
"Pfft..."
A small laugh.
"Pfft...heh..."
Another. And then-
A harsh wheeze of soft laughter rang out within the office. Zonic held his stomach as he couldn't contain it any longer. He leaned his head back and continued to chortle. Beside him, Zhadow stared at his rookie in dazzlement as he watched him laugh. He tried his best not to blush and turned his gaze away from him quickly. Zonic quieted down his laughs into small chuckles as he stood up from the desk. "Heheheh. Ah, I forgot you're both still green when it comes to Chaos Born knowledge. Calm down you two, nobody's pregnant." The moment he saw the two Mobians calm themselves, he smirked and added, "Yet." He snickered again when Sonic wilted against Shadow in fear, so terrified of potentially having a child that he couldn't even speak.
To make up for this, Shadow spoke instead, but was almost just as scared as Sonic was. "But...how is that even possible?"
"Too long to explain," Zonic began with a lighthearted smile. "But let's just say you both have to do something other than sex for either of you to be able to get pregnant in the first place. The Black Arms influence is involved, which initiates Chaotic Breeding, which leads into several other steps I don't feel like listing right now. If these steps aren't initiated, you can't get pregnant. The final stage of actual pregnancy is called a Divine Intervention and you can't get one unless you ask both me and the Divine Spirits themselves for permission. And even then, we all have to unanimously agree to let you reproduce." He sighed at the long winded explanation. "Believe it or not, heterosexual Chaos Born can't get pregnant naturally either, they still have to ask us for permission. TLDR: Population control, fascist crap, the spirits are dicks." He shrugged. "Half of them, anyway." Huh, he sounded way more carefree than he ever had before. Didn't even sound worried about the spirits omnipotently overhearing this conversation.
"O-Oh," Sonic could feel himself able to stand up straight, now. "Thank Chaos."
"You see," Zonic further explained. "Zhadow only freaked out because as Overseer, I already have my own permission to conceive a child. That's a stronger chance of the spirits allowing me to have a pregnancy, and he would be none the wiser. They don't have to tell your spouse about the procedure either, in case the breeder, or father rather, isn't too thrilled about being a dad. And again," He looked over and smirked at his general. "Zhadow knows this." He patted Zhadow on the head patronizingly. "Of course I'd never get pregnant without telling you. Getting you pregnant does sounds fun though-"
An irritated and bashful growl was his retort as a few veins appeared on Zhadow's forehead. "Can you actually shut up?"
"What's this?" Zonic gasped dramatically. "Nervous? Around me? What a shock. Come now," The vice leader leered as he leaned over. "Don't you want to tell Shadow prime how wonderful it is to be an expectant father? Or mother?"
"Don't you want to shut the fuck up?" Zhadow hissed under his breath as he turned away from him. He wanted this conversation to be over, thank you.
Zonic only scoffed. "You would absolutely get pregnant for me if I asked."
Steam blew from Zhadow's ears and his face was as crimson as a grilled red pepper. "No, I wouldn't."
"Mmn, but this ring says otherwise." Zonic retorted as he flashed his engagement ringed finger at his superior.
Having had enough of his rookie's teasing, Zhadow got up from his office chair and walked around his desk to step up to him. He got close to his face, his nose nearly brushing his. "Shut up before I call a priest and give you the real thing."
Zonic's heart skipped a beat.
"...Really?" Zonic almost whispered. "R-Right now?"
Slowly, the annoyed edge in Zhadow's voice dissipated. "...If that's what you want." He slyly reached over and grasped Zonic's left hand, the one that wore the ring. "Having a kid while being married is better," His thumb rubbed against it. "Isn't it?"
Soon, Zonic's face became a red, steaming tomato. "...I...I um...I was only kidding, but if you-"
"Then you wait until we're ready for that." Zhadow sternly commanded. "Permission to speak any further about this is denied..." He slowly let go of Zonic's hand. "...for today."
If it was possible, several hearts fluttered around Zonic's head. All he could do was nod obediently and meekly like a good boy. "O-Okay, sir."
They were both blushing pathetically towards each other. Sonic and Shadow realized that Zonic told nothing but the truth: Their relationship was fine. More than fine, but fantastic. What they heard last night may have been an argument, but it was one that probably needed to happen. They must have told each other things they both needed to hear, things they needed to say and things they needed to talk about years ago. Things that finally resolved the errors of the past, things that were now merely healing scars of their relationship. They were both damaged, but they weren't broken after all. They truly had each other again, and soon, they'd be good as new. They'd be better people, together.
The primes smiled at the two.
Just as they were nearing closer for a kiss, they decided now was a great time to get back on track. "Excuse me," Shadow interrupted loudly, causing their twins to flinch and bumped into each other's heads. They scrambled away from each other at a healthy distance, if not slightly closer than they should have been, and finally gave the primes their attention. After clearing their throats, they quietly apologized for the inappropriate display. Shadow only shook his head with a knowing smirk. "But we'd like to know why we were called here."
A lightbulb went off above Zhadow's head. "Oh shit, yeah-" He was bonked on the head.
"Act professional, sir." Zonic chastised.
"Whoops. Apologies. Anyway-" Zhadow was going to continue, but then he frowned. "Actually...It's boring in here. And stuffy. Rookie," He looked over at Zonic. "Warp us somewhere less uptight, please."
"Pssh," Zonic pulled a warp ring from out of his breast pocket. "I swear you just wanted an excuse to leave your desk, sir. But I won't judge." He tossed the ring a couple feet away onto the floor, an upright portal appearing before them.
Parallel Beach
Morning, 9:45 AM
Walking across the gritty sands of Parallel Beach, Shadow felt Sonic hold his hand rather rightly as they walked. He didn't look nervous at all, smiling cheerfully and confidently as usual as they followed their Zonian counterparts. No one would have noticed he had an issue with their environment if it wasn't for the fact that he was squeezing his digits onto the biohog's glove. Shadow could tell it was because they were so close to the ocean, a big no-no for the hero. He'd allow it, and he wouldn't say anything. This was what Sonic needed to be comfortable, so he didn't mind in the slightest. To try and calm his nerves, he gently rubbed his thumb across his knuckles. The grip in his hand loosened a little, which told Shadow that he did exactly what he needed to do. He felt Sonic walk just a little closer and rub his shoulder up against his. He acknowledged what he was doing for him, and silently told him how much he appreciated it and him.
Sonic whistled as he took in the sight. "Nice view! Not cool of y'all to keep this sweet dating spot from us."
Zonic chuckled in return. "As if we ever had the chance to show you the beauties of our reality. Maybe another time, Sonic prime. For now," He and his superior stopped walking and stood side by side before the primes. The smile on Zonic's face faded. "It's time we all discussed your part in the upcoming war."
"Precisely," Zhadow agreed as he pushed up his sunglasses, clearly seeing that those words caught their attention instantly. "As you know from sitting in on our meeting, we've created technology to upgrade everything in No Zone HQ, especially our uniforms and suits. With diligent and persistent work, we discovered a way to merge cyber energy and chaos energy together without a cataclysmic collision. This invention wasn't just for my men," He hardened his gaze at their Mobian twins behind his shades. "It was for you as well."
Shadow frowned at this. "Us? Why? You didn't make suits for us, did you?"
Zhadow shook his head and held out his hand. Without a word, Zonic pulled a pack of smokes out from one of his pockets and handed one over to his general. He placed it between his lips before continuing. "No, you're both too strong for suits, they'd collapse the second you tried putting one on. However, we do have something that will help protect you from cyber energy." Zonic soon held a black and red lighter up to the cancer stick to light it, before returning it and the pack of smokes back to his pockets. Zhadow sucked in a puff before exhaling it out from his nostrils. "It's a stronger caliber of protection, one that could harm a regular Zonian, even a Zone Cop. It's similar to the transparent, almost invisible holographic shield Zonic and I use in our hidden armbands. Not only that, but it's more inconspicuous." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and gave it over to Zonic, who gladly took a puff as his superior walked over to the primes. He stood in front of them silently for a second, before something whirled passed their eyesight. Zhadow moved so quickly that they almost didn't catch that. He then stepped back over at Zonic's side, who passed the cigarette back to him.
He planted something on their gloves. Sonic and Shadow both looked down at their joined hands, and saw very, very tiny chips now ingrained into the fabric of their gloves. It was black, red and light blue. Cyber energy surged within it, but it didn't harm either of them. They both stared at the chips curiously, confused as to how they weren't harmed. That's when they thought about the new suits, and how material from the Cyber Chambers were used to help shield chaos energy from the cyber energy around it. That same material must have been used here, but the other way around. Nice.
"When I declare war on Zobotnik, I'm going to have the Watchdog team attack Zobotnik's base from above. Assuming he doesn't attack us first, of course, but I doubt he will. No, he wants us to make a move first." Zhadow took a drag before handing it back to Zonic. "And when that happens, it's on. Sonic prime," He called. "I want you to work with Zonic here to secure and fight off any adversaries from the ground. Zobotnik is smart, so he isn't going to be in one place at once. He'll do what he did at the underground lair, and go back and forth." He looked over hesitantly at Shadow, who gave him an unreadable expression back. "..." He was still untrusting of him, he could sense it. "...I'd like for you to work with me, and help fight Zobotnik off in the skies. If his base is above normal altitude, we'll be able to handle it. Our bodies can breathe and function in space without issue or the assistance of a super form, so we'll have more of an advantage."
Sensing some tension, Sonic spoke up. "Won't he see that coming, though? Us fighting alongside our counterparts?"
"Exactly." Zhadow replied. "I want him to believe we're predictable. Something is going to happen during battle, something that'll force us all to switch partners. I don't know when, and I won't tell why. The element of surprise must be on all fronts for it to truly work. If one of you, even Zonic, knows the plan the same way I do, we'll lose our edge over Zobotnik, because he'll know that one of us knows something we shouldn't. To fool your enemy, you must fool your allies. I'll be the only one who expects the unexpected..." He then curiously glanced over at Zonic, who stayed silent but returned his gaze. "...Assuming no one else has any surprises."
"..." Zonic looked away while handing the half finished cigarette over. "...In time, sir."
"I need to know," Shadow suddenly said, placing a hand on his hip but still not letting go of Sonic with his other. "How did you get chaos energy in thousands of new uniforms, suits and vehicles? Even if it's a tiny amount, that's still a lot of energy per person considering the amount of soldiers you have at your disposal. That's not even including potential back ups of emergency vehicles or suits." He narrowed his eyes at Zhadow. "Did you use your own energy? If so, how the hell are you still alive if you told me yourself that you have a near microscopic amount of chaos energy?"
"Because he didn't use his own energy, Shadow prime." Zonic answered calmly for his superior, feeling it would be best for him to answer instead. "He used the energy of other Chaos Born templates."
Shadow made an abhorrent scowl. "You what?"
"Please," Zonic held up a hand. "Just listen. We have many prisoners in our penitentiary. Some of those prisoners just so happen to be Shadow and Sonic templates." This caused both primes to stare at Zonic questionably. "Indeed, there are many sitting in a cell as of now. Even a werehog version of you Sonic prime, who never reverted from his feral form due to extreme anger. Nonetheless, we took chaos energy from other templates who reside in our prison. However, we did so only with consent. Usually we make a deal with them. More time in the yard, protection from guards, cushioned cells, increased visitation time, more snacks, more smokes and etcetera in return for their chaos energy. We don't take too much, and it's akin to giving blood at a blood drive." He noticed his superior was handing the rest of the cigarette over. One more puff and it'd be finished. He quietly thanked his general and took the cancer stick. "Just so you know, most prisoners know what's going on. No one officially told them about the upcoming war, but they know something's wrong and they know something's going to happen. While we didn't tell them exactly what's happening, we did warn them not to try anything during the battle. We have more friends coming from other parts of the world to help us out, which means we'll have more prison guards who are stronger than the average Zone Cop to keep them at bay. A lot of the Chaos Born we have imprisoned know and despise Zobotnik, and are all onboard with us taking him down. Most were willing to help us out and give us their power, Shadow prime." After finishing, he took a final drag of the cigarette. He blew out the rest of the smoke and crushed the bud in between his fingers.
"Hmph." Shadow still didn't like this, because it sounded like something Zobotnik would do. Sticking needles in and out of patients just to drain them of their power. Sonic's grip tightened a little. Shadow looked over and saw his lover giving him a somber expression.
"Shads," Sonic said softly. "Zee and Zhadow aren't like that, that's not what this was."
Zhadow made a small sigh. "If it's any consolation," He added with a begrudging tone. "Zonic gave me a good tongue lashing and a punch to the gut for what I did to you in Zobotnik's lair. In other words, he hates manipulation just as much as you do, so he'd never take part in it." He gave Shadow a patient stare. He didn't want to be on bad terms with his little brother anymore. "Zonic's telling the truth. Everything was consensual. We did have a few Chaos Born give us the middle finger, and we accepted that and walked away. But many wanted to help out, simply because they wanted Zobotnik to pay for what he did to them. To all of us."
"..." Shadow just glowered at them all, before sucking his teeth and looking away. "Fine. Just don't get in my way."
"Likewise."
Silence.
After a few minutes, Zonic asked a peculiar question. "You both can utilize the Gold One's power as of now, correct? In other words, transform into Super Sonic and Super Shadow?" He saw them both nod. "Perfect..." He made a small smirk as he looked off to the side. "Sonic prime," He suddenly called, motioning for Sonic to follow him. "Come with me, I want to have a talk with you. Privately, if you don't mind." He had a smile on his face, one that looked...playful. Huh. Well that was a surprise. Sonic squinted his eyes, befuddled by this. He shrugged and patted Shadow on the shoulder. He let go of his hand reluctantly, but gave him a reassuring smile. He'd be okay. He walked away and over to Zonic's side, who guided him a little farther away from the two striped hedgehogs. They could hear their voices fading away, their tones very friendly and even cheerful with each other. An extreme contrast to the beginning of their relationship. They both wouldn't admit it, but they were officially friends at this point. Good for them.
They were both left alone with each other, in silence yet again.
Shadow crossed his arms and stared at the tides from afar. "...Nice to see you and Zonic in good standing again."
Zhadow smiled a little, and lifted his left hand. A silver band was decorated on his finger, matching Zonic's. Now that he was more confident than ever in their relationship, he had every reason to wear his ring too. He only made Zonic wear it alone because it was his test to see if he still wanted the relationship, but Zhadow saw now that this was unfair. They had to be in this together, so he'd wear his too. No matter what. "Yeah, we are." He blew out some air. "It was a harsh and long talk, but one we needed to have. Like he said, we're more than fine." Seeing the metal glint in the bright sun tugged at his heartstrings and made him want to smile even more. "We're great. We have a lot of work to do, but we'll get there. Together."
The younger of the Black Arms brothers nodded. "Hmm." He still didn't look at him. "...You look better. Not as many gray hairs, no wrinkles and you actually shaved."
Feeling outted, a sweat drop appeared on Zhadow's head. "Err, thanks."
"Breaking up with him," Shadow said, his voice slowing its cadence. "Would have killed you, wouldn't it?"
...
...Zhadow gave him a pitiful nod. "Yeah, it would have." He knew for a fact breaking up with Zonic would have destroyed both his mind and heart. And eventually, his body. "I'd be a dead man walking if our conversation went in a different direction. I'd probably be completely void of emotion, just like Zobotnik wanted me. I'd age much quicker, grow wrinkles all over my body and die within the next ten years or less before falling to dust. I could feel my entire biology fail the second I thought he was going to take off his ring for good. I would have been strong enough to fight Zobotnik, but not much else after that. It's pathetic but," He shrugged with a helpless scoff. "He has my heart, and I can't get it back no matter what I do. I'm stuck." He closed his eyes behind his shades, feeling the breeze flutter through his fur. "And I'm so happy that I am."
Scarily and ironically enough, Shadow felt the same way if Sonic suddenly wanted to end their relationship. He didn't think he could handle it, not even with Maria back at his side. He unfortunately had a small idea of how Zhadow's felt, and he hated it. "...It probably would have killed me too." He understood him, and didn't like the feeling. "Will you marry him soon? After we defeat Zobotnik?"
"No," Zhadow shook his head. "We need more time. More time to heal from the years we wasted being miserable. Don't worry," He glanced over at his Mobian twin. "We will get married one day, mark my words. When we're ready, we'll send you an invitation. Although," He scratched the side of his face. "I don't think Zonic's too big on the idea of a wedding, and I'm not either. We'll probably just do it by paper and keep it moving. Duty calls, and all. We'll still let you know, though."
Shadow only nodded. "Hm." He didn't have much else to say.
The general decided to poke a bit into his twin's personal life too. "And what about you and Sonic prime? Still going strong?"
"Of course, and nothing less." Shadow easily retorted. "But..." His confidence began to falter a little. "...the influence still affected me during Zonic's test. I'm afraid of losing faker, afraid of it being my fault, afraid of never seeing him again. Obviously I'm not perfect and neither is he, but I...I don't," He lowered his head. "I don't want to screw this up."
Zhadow didn't expect his twin to be so upfront with him all of sudden. He still sensed distrust, yet he sensed something else: A desire to want to trust. He still wanted to trust Zhadow, and...well, that touched the general a little. Just a little. "Hmm," He placed his hands in his pockets, took a few careful steps over to his twin and looked out at the ocean along with him. "Yeah, that's a valid fear. One I still have even after our talk. But that fear is so small now, so insignificant. Because now, I don't just trust Zonic," He reached up to pull off his shades and look Shadow directly in the eyes. His dark red irises still perfectly normal. "I trust myself, too. You need to do the same. Have faith in yourself and trust that even if you do screw up, even if you do hurt him—and believe me, you will—that it won't be the end of the world. That he'll still love you despite it all, and eventually, give you another chance. But you've got to give him an incentive to give you another chance, obviously. Prove to him that your love for him is bigger than whatever mistake you may make. Plus, this works both ways. He'll probably hurt you too. Still, none of that matters because you love him and he loves you." He placed his shades back on and readjusted them on the bridge of his nose. "That's all, really."
The ultimate life form finally took this time to look back at him, really look at him. That carefree attitude Zhadow had before wasn't an act anymore, it was truly who he was now. With Zonic fully at his side, he had absolutely no reason to worry about a thing. Not even if Zobotnik attacked them all right now. "You make it sound so easy."
"It's not," Zhadow agreed. "But remember what I told you during your first day here in No Zone: 'You need to use that love you have for him to smother out your lingering doubts and guilt.' I said that to you but," He chuckled. "I didn't even take my own advice at the time. Starting now, I will. And you should, too." He watched more of the waves push and brush against each other softly. "Even if Zonic did leave me, I would have been a wreck, but I still would have smiled at the memory of him. Smiled because even if he did leave me in the end, I had him. I had his love and by God did it feel so good. That alone would have kept me going for however long I would have had left. And I still wouldn't have regretted a thing. Heartbreak can kill you, but it's a slow death. Before it's all over, at least think about how great it was before it ended."
Shadow's face became melancholic. "...That's exactly how I felt before I died." His irises began to shake. "I...don't want to feel like that ever again."
Zhadow noticed his evident despair, and realized that while Zhadow may have accepted the idea of Zonic breaking up with him, Shadow couldn't comprehend the concept of Sonic leaving him. Not at this point in time. Perhaps with maturity and age, when he was a little over than a century, he would. He'd see that with mortality standing right behind him, death and heartbreak were on the same wavelength at that point, and that it was better to die with the memory of happiness than to die in miserable reality. Or maybe Zhadow was just delusional. After all, he still wasn't completely sane. Neither was Zonic. "Please understand one thing," The general said. "What happens to one Chaos Born relationship, won't happen in yours. We're all completely different, Shadow prime. What works in my relationship, might not work in yours. What ruined Zonic and I, more than likely won't ruin you and Sonic prime. Sonic prime had the tools to work with you, tools Zonic didn't have until it was too late. You both talk to each other, hear each other out even when you're mad at each other. You don't keep secrets the way Zonic and I did, which was what created the wedge between us. If you're worried about that, then I'm happy to tell you that you'll both be fine in that regard. But anything else?" He shook his head. "I have no idea what's in store for you two. No one does, and that's okay."
"It's..." Shadow furrowed his brows. "...okay?"
The general nodded. "You're both leagues ahead of Zonic and I in terms of a functioning relationship. You trust each other, talk to each other, and don't let negative emotions linger. Maybe one day, your relationship will start to fail. It could be for any reason, but who cares? All that matters is that you both love each other. Zonic and I are only still together because we both still love each other and are willing to do anything to make our relationship work. If you and Sonic prime are willing to do the same, your love will survive. And it'll do more than that, it'll thrive." He reached out and placed his hand firmly but fraternally onto Shadow's shoulder. "You'll both be okay."
Shadow looked back down, and he didn't shrug Zhadow's hand off. "..." He allowed it. "...Are you sure?"
"You two aren't just strong in body and mind, but in heart." Zhadow patted him on the back. "I'm positive. Call it Black Arms intuition."
That made Shadow smile a bit, because that sounded absolutely ridiculous. "...I see." He lifted his head and turned his body to fully face Zhadow. He grasped his hand from his shoulder and took it into his own. He grasped it firmly, a new set of determination settled within Shadow's amber red eyes. "Perhaps we can reinstate our brotherhood, general?" He wasn't just blindingly forgiving him, he was choosing to try and trust him again. He never wanted to hate Zhadow, never wanted to ruin their friendship. He had a bonified brother and he wanted to keep that. He'd try again and if Zhadow failed him once more, then at least he could say he gave him a chance.
Blinking in shock at that proposal, Zhadow slowly smiled back and shook Shadow's hand. He couldn't be happier. He got his fiancé and his little brother back on his side, and he wouldn't take these second chances for granted. "I'd love that, Shadow."
Shadow felt some tenderness of the use of his name, until he suddenly held up a finger. "On one condition."
Oh.
Um, he didn't expect that either. Zhadow was a bit confused. "Err, sure?"
Shadow took in a deep breath, before making his request. "...I want an upgraded No Zone issued military motorcycle."
"Pfft-" Zhadow instantly wheezed a hardy laugh. He still wanted one after all this time? "Hahaha," He placed his hands back in his pockets and shook his head. "You're definitely my little brother, that's for sure. Why not? Consider it done. Even if you total it, I don't mind handing you a few replacements."
"I can fork over a few thousand in return."
The general liked that idea, as a few extra rings and United Federation bills converted into No Zone credits could help boost funding for the corps without having to deal with the peanut gallery that was Parallel City's politicians. A delightfully lucrative deal to say the least. Maybe he could throw in a couple of exciting new upgrades as a surprise for Shadow later as a bonus. "Well believe it or not, your world's currency is weaker than ours. I'd have to charge you a little extra..."
Shadow scoffed, as money was no object in this discussion. "For a ride like that? I don't give a damn if I go broke, I need that in my life."
"Ha!" Zhadow chuckled a little more. "Well, I guess I can't say no to that. You have yourself a deal."
Shadow nearly pumped his fist with a triumphant smirk. Hell yeah, he'd have the best ride in the entire multiverse soon! Sonic was gonna be so jealous. It was nice having friends, or brothers rather, in high places. Speaking of Sonic, were he and Zonic still talking? He looked ahead at the two blue hedgehogs conversing excitedly with each other several feet away. The heck were they talking about? Shadow strained to try and hear them, but he couldn't make out what they were even saying. He frowned at this. "Should we check on them?"
Zhadow tilted his head in the same direction his twin was looking, and nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while. I'm sure they won't mind. Zonic and I are quite busy this week anyway. Oh and FYI," He mentioned as they began to walk over to their cerulean partners. "Please be sure to train in the Cyber Chambers with Sonic and Maria prime whenever you can. You're the strongest we have, but we can't be too careful. Just to be cautious that training with multiple people can be rather dangerous. If you feel any signs of Cyber Corruption, leave and alert a nearby officer immediately."
"Noted." As the two striped hedgehogs stopped in front of their blue lovers, they noticed their presence and ceased speaking. They glanced at each other with playful concern, almost a little anxious that they were caught speaking about something they shouldn't have. Shadow gave Sonic a knowing glare. "The hell are you two up to?"
Sonic pouted at his suspicion and crossed his arms. "None of your beeswax, ya dip. You don't need to know. Amiright, Zee?"
Zonic met Zhadow's gaze, and a worried grimaced flash across his peach muzzle. "...It is indeed something I don't wish to speak of as of this time, sir. I want to keep it to myself for a while. Is...that okay?"
Surprising both primes, Zhadow nodded without a second thought. "Sure. I know you've got a good reason not to tell me, so I won't pry. I trust you."
That's when Zonic's cheeks became completely red. He then smiled beautifully and warmly. "Thank you, sir. I promise, you won't be disappointed."
"I can never be disappointed in you, rookie." Zhadow faintly smiled back tenderly.
Sonic groaned in annoyance and pointed at the two while glaring at Shadow. "See!? Why can't you be more nice about it like Zhads over here? You big stinker!"
Shadow growled at him. "Asshole, because unlike Zonic, you don't think before you act. He's got a few more brains in his skull unlike some people I know."
"Oh yeah tough guy?" Sonic growled back. "Well how about this!" He suddenly reached over to wrap his hand around Zonic's waist, pulling him closer. Zonic did the same, both blue hedgehogs close together like identical twins if one were to ignore their differing attires and eye colors. "One of the things me and Zee were discussing was how to properly thank you for being so good to us lately." Sonic's voice lowered suggestively as he smirked, noticing the striped hedgehogs' flustered expressions. "We thought of all kinds of things...naughty things. I mean, c'mon," Both he and Zonic tilted their heads simultaneously with sensual, beckoning expressions. Sonic wagged his finger at them. "Two Sonics at once? Wouldn't you like to have both of us at the same time? Right here, right now on the beach~?"
Just when they thought Zonic might stop his twin from saying anything else, he instead doubled down and joined in on the fun. "You were so rough last night, but I don't mind screaming your name again, sir. It would be a great way to release some stress...Don't you think~?"
That's when both of the striped hedgehogs' brains became blank, null and void.
They both could feel their heads become light, and they both fell backwards onto the sand from flustering shock. Landing at the same time, with Zhadow's shades now mangled on his muzzle. They were definitely unconscious.
Zonic instantly pulled himself away from Sonic and made an embarrassed grunt. "Okay, I'm never doing that again." He declared, his voice completely void of any flirtatious notion. He couldn't believe he actually let Sonic talk him into doing that. "You do realize that'll never happen, right? That's too weird, we're literally brothers."
"Oh, I know." Sonic laughed while flagging him off. "I just wanted to see both their faces when we said that."
"I gotta admit," Zonic smirked as he looked down at his smitten and fully knocked out fiancé. "Seeing Zhadow smitten like that is something I've been wanting to witness again for a while, now."
"Oh! Oh!" Sonic hopped up and down with a vexatious grin. "You know what would really screw 'em up? We should both get in the pool at the penthouse-"
"You can't swim."
He felt Sonic lightly punch his arm. "Listen! We should get on top of each other in the pool, spill some ice cream-"
Zonic was instantly appalled. "Cease and desist!"
"H-Huh...?"
"I am not tangling my limbs with you to feign a sexual position with a dairy treat! That's borderline incest!" Zonic protested with a disturbed blush.
Sonic pouted again. "You dummy, not for real! It's the whole sex with twins thing, guys love that shit!"
"I am not doing that, Sonic prime."
The hero stomped his feet in the sand with a petulant whine. "Uuuuughhhh, fiiiiiine! Well, we gotta at least wear matching outfits or something."
"W-What?" Zonic gawked at this crude idea. "No! This was a one time thing, I'm not twinning with you!"
"But we are twins, Zee!"
"We're not twins, I'm older than you!"
For some weird and probably inane reason, Sonic had just a wonderful question that he felt had to be answered. "Hey quick question, can you hear us when we boink?"
Zonic couldn't take this nonsense anymore. "You and your lewd teenage questions—No. Most of the walls are sound proof. Don't you think you would have heard Zhadow and I going at it by now if that was the case?"
Okay, fair point. If they heard them yelling yesterday, it was probably because they were outside. Sonic twisted his mouth into a lopsided frown. "Well, aren't you guys always busy?" When would they even have the chance to do it, besides super late at night at home? And wouldn't they be too tired after working all day?
Zonic could only laugh at such a pathetic excuse. "Tch, a mere set back. Trust me, our work schedule means nothing. We make do whenever we're alone together, any place we can-"
Sonic's face turned green. Know what? That was Sonic's bad, he should have never asked. "Okay fair, but please stop talking now."
An adorably small yawn drifted in their ears. The phantom of a sweet, young girl rose from within Shadow's still unconscious body and stretched her transparent arms above her head. She was dressed in a cute, long, light blue nightgown with polka dots. Huh, so she could change her appearance in spirit form now. Her hair was a little wild, as if she had just gotten out of bed. She blinked her eyes open slowly, rubbing her palms in the corners to get the sleep out of them. She then peered down at Shadow...only to see that both he and Zhadow were completely unconscious. Her eyes widened significantly and darted them back and forth between the two striped biohogs. She then looked up at Sonic and Zonic for an explanation.
Crap.
They both panicked and pointed at each other immediately. "It was his idea!"
77 - END - 77
Chapter 78: Bisector
Summary:
The primes and their Zonian counterparts have a fun double date together.
Chapter Text
78 - Bisector - 78
August 27th
DAY 48: Wednesday
Bisector Boulevard
Late Afternoon, 3:00 PM
The prime hedgehogs felt a little winded after going a few rounds in the Cyber Chamber today. They were both training with Maria, who too was a little tired and currently resting within Shadow. However, they felt good and they felt stronger. Sonic was getting better at using chaotic abilities without an emerald, and Shadow was growing more in tune with both Maria and his Black Arms blood. They even went against some powerful simulations of No Zone androids, with updated information fed inside of the system thanks to some generous watchdogs who were informed about the primes wanting to use the chamber. Probably thanks to Zonic. They took a break for now and decided to have a date at a nearby restaurant. However, Sonic had a curious idea: Why not make it a double date? They both texted their twins and asked if they'd like to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with them, promising not to take up too much of their time. After a few minutes, they both responded with a yes, and informed them that they'd show up in ten minutes. They already secured a table, and told a rare Zoverlander hostess that they were waiting on two more friends. She was kind and said she'd be on the look out for them to guide them to this table. They got strange looks when they walked in, mostly because they looked exactly like the stars of No Zone Corps. They were getting stares and whispers, but they didn't care. It wasn't out of malice, just pure curiosity and confusion. At least their table seemed somewhat private, as no one else was sitting around this particular area. Not a lot of customers in right now.
No Zone HQ was brutal for the last few days. The training regimen for all soldiers, prison guards and active duty officers was extensive and strenuous. Everybody looked exhausted whenever the primes entered the building. Even the receptionists looked dead tired. They still weren't allowing visitors or civilians inside, not even politicians. They kept seeing nurses, doctors and psychiatrists work around the clock, hard at work to please their superiors with hard work and great diligence. Despite the extremely harsh work ethic they were all forced to work with, a strong sense of hope and determination was evident in the halls of the HQ. No one was giving up, and nobody wanted to stop while they were ahead. Everyone was focused on getting better, stronger and smarter. They all not only wanted to do good in the eyes of their leader and vice leader, but to ultimately stop Zobotnik for good. All staff of No Zone, including even the lunch ladies and janitors, were very worried about the one thousand soldiers taken from them. Zhadow kept mentioning them a lot, whispering to Zonic about how they might be being experimented on right now, but that there was nothing they could do. However, as mentioned before, hope was never lost. The nine soldiers Zobotnik kidnapped a year ago? They meanwhile, were all making varying lengths of recovery and a couple of them even opened their eyes. They were all still healing, still trying to recover from what was done to them, but they were all alive and well. Some were even optimistic that everything would be okay.
Even Zespio and Zector were doing fine. Zonic heard through the grapevine of prison guards gossiping, that the two's relationship didn't end. It was still very strong, and they both wanted to make it work. Zespio's case was being looked over by highly esteemed national judges, who were debating whether or not Zespio should serve any time since he was completely and utterly an unwilling assailant who only performed such underhanded actions due to lethal extortion beyond his means. His confession was corroborated by the few missing soldiers who were alert enough to speak, and confirmed that they were given similar threats on the chance that they were let go by Zobotnik. There was evidence of the chip being placed in their bodies, including Zespio's, which took days to find. They were so microscopic, that several watchdog and engineer members had to step in and assist the doctors in the infirmary ward. With this in mind, it appeared that Zespio had a good chance of being declared not guilty. There were even whispers that there was a possibility that his case was going to be completely thrown out, with Zespio released with an expunged record. The only penalty he'd receive, is a lengthy period of community service. Service that he was all too familiar with, and service that got him noticed and recruited into No Zone Corps to begin with. With a little threatening and cold glares, perhaps Zhadow could even reinstall him back into the force. That part however, was up to Zespio. And with how prideful the chameleon was, they doubted he'd take this handout with a smile. Not to mention this was all wishful thinking, nobody truly knew what could or would happen with him or his case.
Regardless, everyone seemed to have been adjusting to the new modifications accordingly. Even civilians were unaware of the danger looming over them, and the military they respected being armed to the teeth due to a huge threat that was coming there way. No one complained, no one quit, and nobody stopped coming into work. If anything, everyone seemed more ecstatic to come back. They'd leave miserable, and return to work the next day with a prideful demeanor. Pride that they were surviving, that they were getting stronger. They were going to do this, they were going to win. They wouldn't give up no matter what, and they'd prove to Zobontik that the corps never needed him in the first place. Zhadow's reputation within the HQ was beginning to increase bit by bit, as he became more intimate with his role as general. Instead of watching from his desk like an untouchable dictator standing upon an ivory tower, he actually left his office many times a day to check up on different leaders of the ranks. He'd give advice, bark some orders, survey results, adjust the training and let them have at it once more. He gave high praise and rough criticism where it was needed, but always assured everyone, even the weaklings, that them returning to work everyday and trying their hardest was why Zhadow still had so much faith in them. He wasn't disappointed, he was beyond proud. Zonic was in a similar boat, aiding his fellow colleagues and breaking in the lower ranks into stronger soldiers. They both were doing well in their own training too, making more progress than anyone else for obvious reasons. They met with Zouge for personal relationship sessions, both together and separately, finding great clarity with therapy.
Zhadow learned that Zouge had offered Zonic anti-depressants, and offered the same to him. While they felt they didn't need it at this point in time, they realized that this wasn't the point. While their relationship with each other was getting better, they still had traumatic hang ups of their own to deal with. It was still difficult to feel better about themselves and they needed help in doing that. Just loving each other wasn't enough to make them love themselves. Zhadow witnessed a horrible travesty with a Maria template that he still wasn't over. It was because of this incident that he unhealthily hung onto Zonic's love like a toxic drug, feeling that it was the only good thing in his life worth living for. So if something happened to Zonic or their relationship, Zhadow would more than likely be heartbroken to death. This was why his biology fell apart when he thought he was going to break up with him, he couldn't take it because he...had nothing else to live for. He thought being the General of No Zone was good enough as a will to live, but it wasn't. That's not even mentioning the fact that he despised his bloodline, upbringing and bad habits of selfishness. His entire existence, basically. This was why he was so hard on himself to the point of self hatred, severe guilt and fear.
Zonic meanwhile, still held a ton of anger. Not so much towards Zhadow anymore, but towards what he had to deal with on a regular basis: Chaos Born. The primes were different, he had no ill will towards them anymore. But he did still hate how other Chaos Born in the multiverse dropped him as a friend and brother the moment he showed weakness during the Chaotic Purge. He truly thought he had some kind of actual, real, blood-related family, but he sees now that he never did. Unlike Sonic, they weren't sorry about what they did and they never seemed to ever actually care about him. He was tossed away like trash, and even had some issues about the previous Overseer's coldness towards him. Sure, it wasn't necessarily his fault since he too was brought up the same way, but he showed glimpses of care for Zonic and truly wished he showed more to him. He wished this because maybe he wouldn't have had so much rage inside of him, knowing someone close to him did actually care about him besides Zhadow. He held not just anger at his other brothers' betrayal, but anger at himself for showing such weakness. For becoming so angry to begin with, and for living such a miserable purpose. He still felt as if his life didn't amount to much, even with Zhadow being there for him.
All of this needed to change, and this medication may help them with that.
But not now.
They couldn't risk taking this psychological medication when a war was about to start in just a few days or so. No, they'd decide to take the medication when this was all over with. Until then, they could stay strong with their mental scars together. Neither Shadow or Sonic knew of any of their twins' visits to Counselor Zouge, but they could tell they were both trying their best to better themselves individually in their own ways. Zonic and Sonic's relationship flourished, and Zhadow and Shadow's relationship mended with a greater bond. A powerful connection of brotherhood resided in all four of them, and a true Fraternity of Chaos was born. Finally, Zonic got what he always wanted: To become friends with Sonic the Hedgehog. Having Shadow prime as a friend, who was warming up to the blue soldier rather nicely, was a plus.
While waiting for their twins to arrive, they heard the doors to the restaurant open heavily. A few gasps and uncomfortable yelps were heard. The two primes looked up to see duo hulking masses of No Zone armored officers walk within the establishment. They were worried the place was going to be investigated for a potential crime scene, until they noticed the hidden color scheme of both upgraded suits. One had dark blue highlights and a blue tinted face shield that obscured the face of the helmet. The other had dark red highlights and a red tinted face shield instead. They calmly told other customers of the restaurant to relax, that they were only here for a lunch break, their voices heavily filtered. The nervous Zoverlander waitress guided them to Sonic and Shadow's table, before grasping their hands and shaking them rapidly up and down with gratitude. She praised them for their efforts as Zone Cops, thanking them for keeping their reality protected. She then rushed off, yelping about getting them glasses of water before taking their orders. She was practically squealing by the time she got away. Both soldiers held a sweat drop before slowly turning their attention to the primes.
Who by the way, were also baffled as to why they showed up with their armor on. Usually they looked like super cool hi-tech army men, but right now in this kind of setting, they looked like a couple of scary hi-tech linebackers.
The soldier in black and dark red scratched behind his head in puzzlement at the strange behaviors of everyone around them. "I don't get it, what's their problem?"
"We're still in our armor, sir." The soldier in black and dark blue replied.
"Ah damn it, no wonder we got weird looks." He huffed and shrugged. "Screw it...We can change here."
"Are you sure, sir? In public?"
"It's not like we're getting naked or something. It's fine. And if it's not, I'll yell at someone." They both tapped their fingers against the chest of their armor, steam blowing from out of it as it adjusted against their figures. They soon digitized away, with normal articles of clothing being revealed from top to bottom. Pressurized steam blew from underneath their helmets as they both simultaneously pulled off their headgear. Zhadow sighed as he digitized his helmet away, bringing his hands up to his head to fix his quills. He didn't have his shades on today. He looked much better than before, much younger. His gray hairs were now few and far between, and he looked almost just as young as Shadow again. His eyes were still normal too. "What a drag, today was a total bore." He was wearing a black tactical military top that was nearly skin tight. His white chest fur was poking out from the collar. A monochrome gray military jacket was loosely fitted around his shoulders, along with black gloves with red palms. He also wore the standard No Zone knee high, black, steel toe combat boots.
"All for the good of the corps, sir." Long blue quills poured from out of the black and blue helmet as Zonic lightly shook his head to get his spines from out of his face and over his shoulders. Styling quills like hair was a bit of a chore sometimes. He wore the same top as Zhadow, but didn't come with a jacket. Too hot for that. He did however have a dog tag necklace around his neck. He too wore the same boots and gloves, except with blue palms instead. Neither hedgehogs wore pants because...well, why? No need. His helmet was digitized away as well, and before he could move to pull out a chair, Zhadow already did so for him without even looking. He quietly thanked his superior with a smile and sat down at the table. The general sat down beside him, his expression annoyed and bored all at once. "Cheer up, sir. At least we're on a date, hm? We haven't done that in a while."
"Yeah," Zhadow admitted with a dull tone. "True."
"Huh," Sonic suddenly said. "You two clean up nice. Where does your stuff go when you digitize it anyway?"
"Cyber space storage." Zhadow answered easily. "Everyone has one, but you have to pay for it monthly. Think of it as putting it in Chaos Control, like a digital cloud, except even civilians can use it."
"Sir," Zonic stared down at Zhadow's boots. "The back straps in your boots are loose."
Zhadow sucked his teeth. "Seriously? I thought I tightened those damned things."
"Hold still," Zonic instructed as he bent down from underneath the table. "I'll fasten them."
"I can do it myself, though-"
"I'll hear none of that, you don't do it right." He lightly scolded him. "That's why they're always loose. Almost done..." Unbeknownst to them, Sonic and Shadow just stared at them with knowing smiles. After a minute of staying down underneath the table, Zonic lifted up and straightened his posture in his seat. "There." Feeling eyes on them both, their militant twins glanced at the primes with perplexed expressions.
"...What?" They both asked.
"Nothing." The primes answered back as the waitress returned with a tray of four glasses of water.
As the four hedgehogs began to converse, the leaders of No Zone Corps informed the primes that things were going swimmingly. Nothing has impeded their efforts yet, and their soldiers were making good progress in the training regimen. They were highly pleased with their soldiers' efforts in growing stronger, and they had high hopes for battle. They talked casually as they looked over their menus, with Zhadow having a comically difficult time in discerning the costs of these dishes. He squinted his eyes harshly at the laminated menu and scowled. "Why the hell does a crepe cost so damn much...? It's just flour and dough."
"Sir, that's not all a crepe is." Zonic kindly corrected him.
"Really...?" Zhadow asked while lowering his menu with an incredulous glance.
3:20 PM
As the quartet of hedgehogs were finishing up their meals, Sonic decided that they should all play a little game before they parted ways for the day. He asked if either of their Zonian counterparts just so happened to have those special, super thin tablets on their persons. They both pulled out their phones, stretched them to adequate tablet sizes, and handed them over to Sonic along with some digitized stylists. He took one, but insisted they keep the other. He then said that someone from each couple would come up with a question for four rounds, a question that involved their relationship. Both couples would have to answer to the best of their ability, taking turns between partners. The partner had to answer correctly, earning the couple one point. Each couple had to work as a team to get enough points with four questions to beat the other, and show off just how well they knew each other.
Basically, it was a "Just Married" game.
After realizing what Sonic was playing at, Zonic immediately blushed while Zhadow only chuckled a laugh. Meanwhile, Shadow just stared at Sonic with a raised brow. He wasn't one for games, but the blue hero pleaded with him that he'd at least give it a try. He'd even take the first turn to answer in order to make him feel a little more comfortable. Since Sonic would answer first, he handed the tablet over for Shadow to make up a question. Whatever question he'd make, the other couple would have to answer as well. Shadow glanced at their militant counterparts. Hell, did they even want to do this silly, childish game right now? Weren't they too busy?
Zonic and Zhadow gazed at each other for a brief while before giving their attention to Shadow. They both shrugged eventually, and Zonic spoke first. "We wouldn't have come here if we didn't have time to spend with you."
Zhadow nodded. "It's fine. We'll have to return to HQ in about an hour and a half. Plenty of time for this little game of Sonic prime's."
Shadow made a long sigh. Fine, he'd humor the blue idiot. "Tch." Well, since he would be creating the question and thus beginning the game, he supposed there was no time to waste. He thought about it for a few seconds, before quickly looking over at Sonic, who was giving him the dumbest yet brightest smile he ever saw him make during their entire relationship. The biohog just made an annoyed grunt and turned back to the tablet's screen. He picked up the stylist and began to write, his perfect cursive making satisfying swirls and bubbles of professional typography. After he finished, he placed the stylist down and held up the tablet for everyone else to see. Sonic tilted his head to look over and giggled at what Shadow wrote:
Who eats the most junk food?
Sonic laughed at that and nudged Shadow's elbow. "Givin' us an easy win, huh Shads? You and I could both answer that at the same time, no need for me to write down the answer on this one."
Shadow's irritated glare became a small fond smile in just a few seconds. "Hmph. If you insist."
"Okay, at the count of three. Ready?" He saw Shadow nod. "One, two, three-"
"Sonic." They both declared.
The hero grinned and wrapped his arm around Shadow's shoulder. "Ha! Easy win!"
Zonic pursed his lips at his twin. "Excuse you, but we're still here and my superior has an answer for you."
For some odd reason, Zhadow had a strange, awkward expression on his face as he slowly held up what he wrote on the tablet. "..."
With a proud demeanor, Zonic easily presented what his general wrote. "As you can see, we both clearly know that Zhadow's the one who eats the most junk-" His eyes looked down at what he wrote, and they slowly made an empty glare at Zhadow. "..."
Zonic
A vein throbbed on Zonic's forehead as he snatched the tablet away. "You liar! You're the one who constantly eats those damn chocolate bars from the cafeteria!"
"Now rookie," Zhadow quickly held up a know-it-all finger. "I do believe the real hoarder of snacks is you-" His collar was suddenly gripped tightly. "...!" A sweatdrop fell upon Zhadow's head, along with an oddly submissive blush painting his tan cheeks as he made a slightly anxious chuckle. He lifted his hands in defense as his fiancé gave him a death glower. "I'm only speaking the truth, Zonic. You hide croissants from the cafe in your mini fridge at the office."
"I do not! You're the one with an unhealthy diet of chocolate, cigarettes and sugar filled cappuccinos!" The blue soldier saw that Sonic continued to snicker deviously at the banter, attempting to stifle his laughter with both of his hands. Even Shadow couldn't help but smirk at the playful tension. With a competitive stare, Zonic handed the tablet back over to his superior. "Fine, it's our turn anyway. Prepare yourself, Sonic prime." He then pointed his harsh gaze at Zhadow, who flinched a little before picking up the stylist to start writing again. He almost forgot how much Zonic hated losing. "And you better give a good question, sir." After the two of them shared the tablet and stylist back and forth, Zhadow firmly placed the bottom of the tablet onto the table, facing the primes with a grounded look. They both were more than confident they'd win this round. "Answer at your own peril, fools." Zonic jabbed.
Sonic took that challenge easily with a smirk. "No problem, Sideways. Bring it." His lime green eyes landed on the written question on the screen from afar, created with a unique method of writing that was exclusive only to No Zone's General. Mostly fixed print, with a few letters having some sense of curls.
Who snores the loudest?
To this, Shadow only scoffed. "Too easy, general. I'm disappointed in you." He easily handed the tablet over to Sonic along with the stylist, leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "At this rate, we'll defeat you both in no time." He gloated coolly as Sonic made finishing touches to his answer.
An arrogant glint shined in Zonic's eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, Shadow prime." He then pointed to the tablet Zhadow was holding without even looking.
Zhadow
After the answer was revealed, both Zonic and Zhadow nodded. Zhadow snored horribly loud every so often, at least once a week. "Sometimes, Zonic takes out earplugs from his nightstand drawer just to get some hours of sleep." He scratched behind his head with a slightly embarrassed frown. "I definitely have a snoring problem." Next to him, Zonic only nodded again in agreement once more, awaiting their counterparts' answers.
Sonic matched Zonic's glare and turned his tablet around to reveal his answer. Shadow briefly looked down at it, before smirking and returning his gaze back to Zonic. Like he said, they win this game easily-
...
...What.
Shadow
Why did Sonic write that?
Shadow's eyes immediately glowered back at Sonic's tablet, before looking up at the hero with a scowl. "W-What is this!?" He demanded. "That's not true!"
Sonic made a bewildered expression and tried explaining himself. "W-What do you mean that's not true? You snore like a polar bear when you're out of energy!"
"No I don't." Shadow immediately retorted. "I'm a silent sleeper because I'm a light sleeper! I don't snore!"
"My ass!" Sonic countered back. "The only time you don't snore is when you don't use too much energy that day. And don't get me started on your snoring after we smash, you sound like a damn steamboat."
Red filled Shadow's face. "You little-!"
Zonic cleared his throat and easily took the tablet from Zhadow's grasp, before giving their younger brothers a calculated sneer. "I do believe the point is ours, gentlemen."
"Hmm," Zhadow made a mischievous leer. "Loud snoring after sex, hm? How shameful, Shadow prime..."
The piercing sound of a whistling kettle from the restaurant's kitchen nearly caught their attention, until they realized it wasn't a kettle, it was Shadow himself making that noise from sheer humiliated rage alone. He pointed an intensely annoyed and tomato-faced glare at Sonic, who winced from such an angry expression. How dare he spout such lewd information in front of their friends? "Write your fucking question, now." He then gave that same glare to their so-called older brothers, who only continued to smirk at them. "You wanna play dirty? Fine. Sonic," Shadow commanded. "Don't hold back. Make them regret it."
That's when Sonic suddenly made a near evil smile at their opponents, and began writing quickly. "Oh, I got you. I'll make you both fold and beg for mercy with this one!" He then slammed the stylist down and presented his question to everyone. Shadow saw the question and, while still a little humiliated, was pleased with what he came up with. Meanwhile, their twins' arrogant faces dropped the second they laid eyes on the words.
Who's the kinkiest in the bedroom?
And before anyone could make a move, Sonic already revealed their answer, as it had already been written down from the whirr of Shadow's hand.
Sonic
Now it was their turn, and they couldn't run away and give up. Zhadow immediately avoided his gaze and used the menu to hide his face. Zonic was so aghast at such a question, that he had to place a palm on his own chest to compose himself. "Y-You...!" He hissed with reddened cheeks. "How dare you! We shouldn't have to answer that at all! Redo it and make a new question."
"Oh?" Sonic smiled maliciously. "You pussin' out now, Sideways? Didn't take ya for a coward..."
"Coward...?" Zonic repeated slowly. "You dare mock me and my general?" A familiar primal growl rumbled under his throat. If Zhadow had activated Primal Mode for Zonic, he instantly would have tore this establishment asunder. He instantly made a grab for the tablet and stylist before writing, all while still keeping his static-like glare at Sonic. "Fine, then. Permission to reveal confidential intel, sir?" Geez, he wanted to take Zhadow's turn in answering too.
Zhadow hesitantly lowered the menu from his face as he reluctantly nodded. "Well," He chuckled a little. "'Guess I'm not bored anymore...Permission granted, rookie."
Zonic presented their tablet to their opponents the second he was given the right, his face unwaveringly confident and undaunted by any and all challengers. "Read it and weep."
Zonic
"...!" Both the primes were seriously caught off guard with that one. Stammering but still trying to save face, Sonic attempted to refute this answer. "B-Bullshit!" He said. "You're way too uptight! There's no way in hell you're 'bout that life! Maybe Zhadow, but definitely not you!"
"I liked being choked."
"..."
Silence.
Just...absolutely shocked silence.
Except for Zhadow's shameless chuckling, of course.
"Among many other things I care not to disclose at this moment in time," Zonic coldly stared them both down with great defiance, knowing full well victory would soon be theirs. "But I'm sure you can fill in the gaps." He watched both Sonic and Shadow's jaws drop, frozen in appalled surprise. "Hmph, Zhadow had a similar reaction during our first night together."
Zhadow nodded again with a small laugh, shaking his head. "No kidding." His voice lowered to the point where mostly only Zonic and Zhadow could hear them, but the primes could still hear just a bit. All to add insult to their internal misery. "Who'd ever think my scrawny little rookie would be that naughty as a virgin? Like I always say, you can be really submissive...to a point. I'm still shocked about that, actually. You really know how to use a whip-"
"Oh God, I'm gonna fuckin' puke-!" Sonic planted his face against the table with his hands on his head. Why didn't they understand that they didn't want to hear about how their older counterparts, who were basically their literal brothers, had sex? Like, yeah, they walked into this one, but Chaos that was weird to hear out loud.
"..." Shadow was too slumped back against his seat to even respond, his face and entire body as white and pale as a ghost from hearing his own twin confess to such disturbing information. "...Kill me..." He whispered pathetically.
Zhadow clapped his hands with a hardy laugh. "Hahaha...Oh boy, I did not expect this kind of fun today." He gestured for Zonic to take his turn on the tablet. "Your turn rookie, make up the last question." He leaned close and whispered against Zonic's ear, causing his rookie to blush significantly. "Be a good boy and end this game for me. I'll reward you later in my office, I promise." He could see Zonic gulping, his expression abruptly going from untouchably confident, to extremely submissive and obedient. His tail wagged excitedly, and he could feel his superior's hand from under the table reach down in between his legs. No one else could see him do this, but Zonic could feel it and that was all he needed to heed his general's call.
Stifling a moan, Zonic attempted to clear his throat again. "Y-Yes...sir..." He began writing, and Zhadow stared at him in the eyes the entire time. This caused an exhilarating amount of nervous yet thrilling tension rise within Zonic's body. He loved it when he stared at him like that, like he was the only thing in the world to gaze upon. Like he was so important, so grand that nothing else in the entire multiverse actually mattered. Zonic could barely finish writing, his breath growing hot with each letter and his hands beginning to shake. That's when he felt the hand in between his legs rise back up to his thigh, and it caressed it sweetly. His general began whispering amorous nothings in his ear, calming his nerves just as quickly as he stirred them on. Zonic couldn't stop himself from curling the corners of his lips into a smile. The fact that either of them ever thought about breaking up seemed so absurd at this point. "I'm...done, sir..." Zonic murmured before slowly holding up the tablet to reveal the final question.
Zhadow secretly rubbed his thigh a little more. "Atta boy."
"D-Don't call me that in public..." Zonic meekly scolded.
Both couples got the last question correct, so they were both tied. After three questions, they both had two points. This would presumably be their tie breaker, the final showdown. Sonic silently thanked God he didn't hear much of their private flirting, and finally landed his eyes on the final question. And when he read it, any and all sense of second-hand embarrassment or revulsion at their twins' intimacy instantly dissolved. It was a question that caused his entire expression to grow blank, along with his mind. He didn't know how to answer it, so he was glad that Shadow would be doing so this turn. A more demure blush painted his peach cheeks, and he felt a hot, warming sensation erupt in his heart. He slowly looked over at Shadow, who too was hesitant in making a move to answer. He read the question too, and he...he didn't know what to do either.
Who will propose first?
Zonic honestly didn't realize what he was writing by the time he was finished. This wasn't a question for them both, it was only a question for one couple, the one who didn't share any plans of engagement yet. "Um..." He began with an uncharacteristically awkward stammer. "I don't mean to...intrude in your relationship's progress, but considering what we just talked about, I don't suppose you mind answering this much." He made a slightly remorseful expression. "This question is more for you two, not us. Zhadow's the one who proposed to me, and...well, to answer the question from our perspective, we both always knew he'd propose first. Don't get me wrong, I was still surprised when it happened, but I always had a feeling. And now," He softly gazed into Sonic's lime green eyes with his own dark verdant. "I'd...like to know from you."
And then...he smiled.
It was a genuine, warm and caring smile. "Of course, you don't have to answer. I'm sure it'll be fine if we end it as a tie."
The same smile that took everyone's breath away, because they didn't expect to see a hard-ass like Zonic look so sweet and kind.
He didn't want to know to be nosey, he wanted to know as an older brother so he could support them both as much as he could.
Both primes could feel his intentions, and it was something they never expected from him.
...Gradually, Shadow eventually made a move to grab the tablet and stylist.
They had to answer him at this point, but...Shadow wasn't sure how to. Would he offend Sonic? Would he make him mad? Would he make fun of him? Not in the humorous way, but a soul crushing way. No, he couldn't think like that. He had to trust Sonic more, he promised him he would. That he'd trust that he'd never judge him and support his thought processes no matter what.
Shadow began writing.
Finally, he presented his answer after a few seconds.
Sonic
Both Zhadow and Zonic tilted their head at that, not anticipating that answer.
Sonic looked down at the tablet, before his eyes widened.
Shadow...thinks that Sonic would propose first?
With a lighthearted chuckle, Sonic glanced at his striped lover. "M...Me?" He found himself smiling lovingly at him. "You really think so?"
Without looking back at him, Shadow only nodded. "...Well," He tried to explain himself. "You make everything a competition between us, so...Yeah. I do."
Sonic smirked. "So you're sayin' I'm gonna beat you and put a ring on it first, huh?"
"Yes." Shadow replied seriously, ignoring his joking nature. "You...You hated that I confessed my feelings to you first." He raised his eyes and met Sonic's eyes. "I beat you, plain and simple. You won't let me beat you again, I know that for sure. Like you said, it only takes one time for you to lose to adapt. When we get engaged, because I know it'll happen eventually," That alone made Sonic's face become entirely pink. Shadow knew for sure that they'd get engaged in the future? Was he...serious about that? "You'll make sure I never see it coming. But," Shadow laid the tablet down and scooted over to Sonic, getting closer. "I don't like losing either, even if I'm the one with the advantage. When we take it a step further, and I put a different kind of ring on your finger, I'll beat you to it again." A strong and powerful passionate aura gleamed through his amber red eyes.
The blue hero couldn't look away, and he was completely defenseless. "...You," Sonic slowly shook his head. He couldn't believe Shadow's adoration for him, not even now. How did he love him so much like this? He didn't deserve it. "You don't...actually mean that...right?" He could feel his chest getting that strange, hot feeling again. "W-We...we haven't even dated that long..."
Shadow's conviction remained grounded. "I don't know, you tell me." He leaned closer. "Do I?"
...A spectrum of colors flashed through Sonic's irises.
A rainbow colored liquid trickled down his nose.
"...?"
Shadow knitted his brows together. "Sonic...?"
Zonic immediately narrowed his eyes with a frown.
What was that just now?
It was like he was stuck in a daydream.
A daydream of eternal happiness and pure love.
He never wanted to wake up from it-
"Sonic."
Blinking himself awake, Sonic shook his head to snap himself out of it. He then giggled sheepishly as he reached for some napkins from the center of the table and wiped his nose. "H-Heheh, sorry...You," He turned away bashfully. "You made me all flustered and hot again."
"..." Shadow didn't like that answer, as it didn't sound very assuring. All of a sudden, Sonic seemed off. What was wrong with him? It was just like before when they were sitting up on the floating skyscraper. Or when Zhadow first brought up who this Hyper Sonic was during their first day in No Zone. That dazed, loving yet lost look...Shadow didn't like it one bit. He glanced over at Zonic and Zhadow, who looked extremely on guard all of a sudden. They were staring intensely at Sonic, as if they were expecting something to happen, but it never did. They weren't smiling, not giving him warm expressions like before. They looked like they were ready to jump up out of their seats and restrain him. The hell? Why were they looking at him like that? Did they know what this reaction was? Shadow then darted his eyes down to the tablet, seeing it's time in the left hand corner of the screen.
4:15 PM
Damn, they couldn't bring this up here, and not now.
However, Shadow needed to have a serious talk with all of them about what this kind of reaction was.
"Hey, hey," Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder with a soft smile. "I'm alright, I promise. It's probably too humid in here or somethin'. No biggie."
Wasn't the AC on?
"Hmph," Shadow still didn't fully believe that, but he nodded anyway. Even if he grabbed Sonic by the arm and pulled him in the public bathroom to ask him what the hell that was, he wouldn't have an answer for him. Sonic didn't understand anything about his own race, biology or ancestry. He doubted he'd know anything about this Hyper Sonic spirit. As he told Zhadow, he couldn't clearly remember transforming into this form when he was a child. He was just as in the dark as Shadow was. But worse, it seemed as if Sonic wasn't even fully aware of it. He was just...blindly falling victim to this dazed like state and accepting it the second he snapped out of it. Either that, or he was pretending not to worry about it for Shadow's sake. Shadow sighed. "Anyway, I suppose that was fun."
Sonic's face became vivid with cheerfulness. "Wasn't it? I told you so!" He kissed Shadow on the cheek, seemingly blissfully unaware of what just occurred to him.
On the other side of the table, Zonic silently gave Zhadow a steady look.
Zhadow nodded back with a matching gaze. He then suddenly stood up from his chair with a clasp of his hands. "Well now," He said with a strong voice, gaining everyone's attention at the table. "That was a nice little get together. We should do this again, sometime." He then pointed a stare at Zonic. "Maybe with a little less competitiveness."
Zonic pouted and stood up as well. "Oh please, he started it."
"Blaming your younger brother for your errors again, rookie?"
"Oh hush." Zonic then looked back at the primes and gave them both another smile. "We did enjoy ourselves, though. Thank you for inviting us." That's when they watched his face grow a little stern, perhaps protective. "Sonic prime, do make sure to let me know if that nosebleed of yours persists. Shadow prime," His smile flattened and he nodded at him. "We'll be in touch soon." His smile returned and he gave a small wave to the two as a goodbye. "Keep up your patrols, you two. You're a big help."
Zhadow was patting his pockets with a confused expression. "The hell? Where's my wallet?"
Zonic rolled his eyes as he pulled out a black leather wallet from the depths of his blue quills. He opened it up and began picking through a few black cards. "Sir, I have your wallet. You know this."
"Oh shit," Zhadow blinked. "You had it this whole time?"
His rookie filed out some Zonian credits in the form of bills, and placed them down onto the table near their empty plates. The primes noticed the bills had a light blue tint, and had holographic figures printed on the material that mimicked paper. "Yes, sir. You told me not to give you your wallet back until the end of the week so you can refrain yourself from buying more chocolate bars." He then gave him an empty glare. "But I'm the glutton, apparently." He closed his wallet up and placed it back in his quills.
The general leaned closely and snaked his hand around his waist with a low voice. "Ohh, am I in trouble now?"
Zonic's lips curled a little in return. "Mmm, we'll see when we return to your office."
Zhadow held up a two finger salute to the primes. "We'll be going back to HQ, farewell for now. If you see or hear something, don't hesitate to call. Cyber Control."
In a light blue flash, the two were gone.
Sonic giggled a bit as they disappeared. "Okay, this double date just confirmed it: Those two are totes into BDSM shit. I was joking before but they basically just admitted it." He laughed a little. "Who'd think a try-hard like Zee would be that frisky?" He looked over at his striped lover, only to see that he was looking down at the table and much quieter than usual. His smile faltered a bit, and he scooted closer. "Shads? You good?"
Shadow quickly nodded before leaning forward and planting a full, passionate and inescapably deep kiss onto his peach lips. Sonic froze up instantly and melted into his own chair, unable to even resist. Neither of them cared if anyone saw them. When Shadow ended the kiss, he watched Sonic's reaction carefully. While he was indeed stunned from being kissed deeply like that in public, he didn't have that weird, entranced daze like before. No nosebleed either. He licked his tan lips, tasting the hero's flavorful skin on his mouth. As Sonic struggled to recover from that, Shadow thought about Zonic and Zhadow's words. They weren't being too obvious, as they didn't want to ruin the date or Sonic's mood, but they made it evident that they did indeed know what was going on with the hero. They even made it sound like they would speak with the primes soon about this, at a better time and a better place. Shadow could accept that, he just had to be patient. In the meantime, like Zonic said, he'd have to keep track of Sonic's reactions whenever they flirted with each other and notify him of any persistent nosebleeds. Sonic only ever suffered one during fights from being decked, so it'd be easy to keep an eye on that. No doubt Sonic would lie about his nosebleeds so he wouldn't worry Shadow anymore than he already had, so he'd have to stay by his side at all times just in case. He hoped the hero wouldn't see him as clingy, but this was for his own good.
"I'm fine," Shadow eventually answered as he stood up from his seat, looking down at the cyber bills on the table. "Bastards are lucky I was too distracted to stop them from paying for everything." They may have been allowed discounts, but it was the matter of principle. He held out his hand to Sonic. "Come on, we still need to patrol the east side of Parallel City and report our findings to the general."
Sonic sighed heavily. Shadow was being romantic without even knowing it again. "I hate it when you do that..." He took his hand and was aptly pulled to his side. He always thought he'd hate the idea of being so submissive to someone like this, but he couldn't lie and say he didn't enjoy being doted on. Sonic cracked a smile and wrapped his arms around the biohog's neck. "Can I kiss you while we're out~?" He asked while nuzzling his nose against his tan muzzle. "And maybe a little more...?"
"Pssh," Shadow shook his head at him as he guided him away from the table and near the exit. "You're so reckless. You'd have sex in an Eggman base if you could get away with it."
"Oooh~! Now that's super kinky~"
Shadow grimaced.
Why did Sonic's body heat feel so hot?
78 - END - 78
Chapter 79: Taking What's MINE
Summary:
Zonic undergoes an impossible procedure.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
79 - Taking What's MINE - 79
???
Evening, 8:00 PM
The metal clanks and authoritative clicks of military boots against metallic flooring was canceled out from the noise of rotating helicopter blades. The First Lieutenant General of No Zone Corps was gentlemanly guided off of the No Zone issued helicopter by the hand of No Zone Corps' general. After making sure he securely exited the aircraft, he gave an order to the pilot of the vehicle to ascend and leave them for now. No one could see them enter their next location. They saluted their superiors, before lifting off from the helipad and rising higher and higher into the air. They flew away from the area, leaving the two hedgehogs alone. Where they were currently was off limits to every single living creature in the entire multiverse, all except for one. And only he could give scarce, rare permissions to outsiders to enter this location. They stood onto a platform that floated in the middle of a vast ocean. A platform made of strong, unbreakable dark rocks that made multi-colored sparkles in direct moonlight. Beyond the platform laid a path of flattened rocks leading to a tiny beach. Beyond that beach stood a tall and foreboding cave made of the exact same minerals. The entrance of that cave was blocked by large boulders, and a familiar symbol lied hidden in the sand just in front of it.
Zonic, followed closely by his superior, began to make their way towards the entrance of this forbidden cave. The location of this unique island was beyond the continent of where their country and city stood. It was far off reach from any locals, and even the strongest of seamen would perish before ever docking their ships at such a shore. Even Admiral Zector wouldn't be able to make it, simply because he didn't have permission from the island's master: The All Seeing Eye. It was only thanks to Zonic's permission that the pilot of that helicopter didn't crash and kill them all the second he neared a single kilometer towards this place. This place was sacred, ancient and treasured by those who knew and feared the race of Chaos Born. Zonic kept his hands behind his back, professionally traveling towards the one place where he knew better than any other. A place where he was born, a place where he was raised from an infant to a toddler before being taken to Parallel City as a baby. He could barely remember, but he faintly reminisced the days of his old Overseer keeping watch over him...along with someone else.
"Zonic," Zhadow suddenly said as they walked together. "Sonic prime is-"
"I know." Zonic answered quickly. "I know, general. But it's alright," He said reassuringly. "We'll explain to Shadow prime in due time. As long as Sonic prime doesn't lose control of that power, he won't become what we..." He corrected himself slowly. "...What I always feared. The Light One's power can be beautiful, but it can also be very dangerous. Dangerous enough to wipe out several realities at once. Let's hope that when and if it happens, it won't go to his head and he'll keep control."
"You trust him enough to do that? After all this?" Zhadow asked curiously.
Zonic nodded firmly. "Yes," He answered confidently. "More than ever, general. He is so much stronger now than he was before. If any of the stronger spirits try and take over his mind, he'll show enough resistance and perhaps even disrupt the transformation before he loses himself. Besides, now he has Shadow and Maria prime by his side. I have faith they'll all do the right thing."
Silently, Zhadow nodded back. "Good for you, rookie." He then asked a question he had been meaning to ask for months. "Now that you've bonded with Sonic prime, will you...try and make contact with the others on the Divine Pyramid again?" He asked carefully, knowing that was a very sensitive topic for Zonic. "I don't mean to pry, but if you could create a bond with Sonic prime, perhaps you can fix your relationship with your other brothers. Well, maybe not all of them, but it might be worth a try." He saw that Zonic stopped walking, making him pause as well. Damn, did he offend him by asking that? He should have been more sensitive. "I'm not saying you have to, obviously. It's your choice, assuming the spirits won't meddle in that decision. I don't blame you if you don't want to after what happened."
The Chaotic Purge.
Zonic sighed...
...But he didn't waiver.
In fact, he'd love to tackle and utterly defeat such a challenge.
Slowly, Zonic fully turned to his fiancé, his dark green eyes shining a gleam he hadn't seen from his rookie in years: Hope. "Sir, I refuse to hide from my responsibilities any longer. Thanks to Sonic prime, I realize now you weren't the only one acting like a coward." He held up his hand and looked over at the engagement ring on his finger, then his hand as a whole. He made it into a strong, proud fist. "That is why I'm doing this. Instead of hiding behind a screen like my ancestors, I want to become a true protector of all Chaos Born. I'll do what no other Overseer in history has ever done, and I'll bridge the gaps between all realities of the multiverse." His fist tightened with blinding ambition. "I'm not just going to bury my nose in my notes. I'm going to take the reins, and I'm going to prove everyone wrong." He looked up at the cave before them, as he hadn't gazed upon it in many years. "I'm tired of just watching and not acting. I'm tired of witnessing my brothers fall victim to themselves and the spirits. I don't want to fight them anymore—I want to help them, no matter how much they may despise or look down on me. I'll fix it, the right way this time. And when I'm done, I'll properly reunite us all." He slammed his fist into his own chest, causing his numerous medals to glint in the moon's rays. "I'll believe in them. All of them, like I should have from the start. I'll be a better big brother, and the strongest All Seeing Eye in Chaos Born history. I'll be the first to create an entire Fraternity of Chaos, and I will never allow the Chaotic Purge to happen ever again."
He then continued to walk towards the cave, with a much more assertive stride than before.
"...It is my job to protect other Chaos Born of other realities. They are my brothers, my Chaotic Brethren of Chaotic Blood. I may not know any of them personally, but I love and care for them all! Nothing will stop me from protecting them with my very life. And I'll happily protect the lives of others all the same if it means preserving justice. No one deserves to hopelessly suffer at the hands of the greedy and wicked, and I want to become someone that everyone can depend on. I will become a true No Zone soldier, and I will protect those who I love. No one in this multiverse has the power to take that from me, not even you!"
Zhadow could remember a skinny, trembling, naive blue hedgehog standing just in front of his office with a latte.
A hedgehog who had no idea what his life would be in the next five years.
A hedgehog who never knew just how powerful he'd become.
A hedgehog who would never know just how proud Zhadow would be of him.
"Just you watch, sir."
He's come so far.
With a smile Zonic couldn't see, Zhadow whispered, "That's my rookie."
Zonic took a moment to stop before the rubble blocking their way. Then, he tapped his foot eight times. The second he ended the last eighth tap, the symbol hidden within the sand glowed light blue. The symbol of an All Seeing Eye. The large boulders blocking their way were instantly digitized into the ether. They were never real to begin with, comprised of nothing but cyber energy made to resemble the appearance of massive stone debris. The silhouettes and shadows of the two hedgehogs disappeared as they traveled deep within the cave's entrance, leaving nothing under the moonlit night sky.
When they stepped inside, the faux rubble appeared once again and the symbol's glow underneath the gritty sand faded away.
Zhadow couldn't help but feel a little curious being inside of this place, especially of the multi-colored, asymmetrical gemstones imbedded within the surfaces. He had only ever escorted Zonic here twice during their entire relationship, but he had never been inside of it before. He wasn't allowed, as he wasn't officially part of the chaotic family yet. Now that he was, he was amazed by what he saw. This cave reminded him of the cavern that was on Christmas Island in Sonic prime's world, a nearly identical interior. The only difference was that everything was mirrored. If there was a peculiar crack on the left side of the cave's walls in Mobius prime, there was a crack on the right side of the walls in this cave in No Zone. Just like Sonic prime and Zonic, they were nearly identical twins with slight differences that someone wouldn't be able to catch unless they knew the two of them very well. "This," Zhadow said quietly, his voice echoing in the colorfully lit environment. "Is what you called a Chaotic Shrine, right?" He asked, carefully walking down the stone steps as he pulled up his shades to get a better look.
"Yes, sir." Zonic answered. "All Sonic-template Chaos Born have one. I would have informed Sonic prime, but I'm not allowed to tell him about them quite yet. I will soon, according to the spirits."
"How do you speak with them when I'm not around?" His general asked with a peculiar tone. "They're so big and bad that they can destroy the entire reality just by sneezing wrong. I'd know if they appeared in the office. I may have only met them once," He referred to before the primes appeared in Mobius prime, days before Zonic went there to arrest Eggman prime. It was quite the experience to say the least. "But I'll never forget it." This godly multi-colored ball of light speaking multiple voices at once...Yeah, it was an experience alright.
Zonic digitized his notebook in his hand and paused to show his superior. He flipped to a few blank pages in the back, showing him rows of text that were in Chaotic Tongue. This handwriting wasn't in normal ink, either. It was made of pure liquid chaos of various colors, four easily identifiable colors they both knew very well. And just before his eyes, more words appeared in gold. Zhadow couldn't understand what it said, as he didn't have any knowledge of Chaotic Tongue except for the holy "stop" sigils Zonic placed on him in the past. As if something or someone read his mind, the text modified itself into regular English. It read, This is how we communicate with template 2,050, version 2,050.
Zhadow frowned. "Version 2,050...what...?"
"I am the two thousandth and fiftieth Overseer to ever live, sir." Zonic replied as he momentarily looked up from the book. "My template number and the number of times an Overseer has been spawned into the multiverse coincidentally share the same number as of my birth. I am both the two thousandth and fiftieth Sonic of this world, and the two thousandth and fiftieth Chaos Born template. When a Sonic template dies, depending on how much the spirits favor him, another Sonic of that exact template is reborn into the world they hailed from. However, since it's a new template, their number adds up in a decimal point system. The same goes for the numerous bloodlines they have spread around the multiverse. My bloodline was created after over two thousand others were, giving my bloodline that number. For example, if a new bloodline of a Sonic template was created right now, that would be the ten-thousandth and one template ever made and the first of his kind, giving him the title of template 10,001.1." He then saw how absolutely confused his fiancé looked, miserable in the breaking down of numbers and titles. He got enough of that at work. Zonic sweat dropped. "My apologies, sir. I know it's complicated."
"Geez, why can't you guys make things simple?" Zhadow asked, glaring down at the notebook for an answer.
And he got one, too. I ask my older brother that everyday, Shadow template 1999.
Zhadow just looked even more bewildered. Not just at the template number, as he never knew his own template number, but at the endearing family term. "'Brother'? That's how they refer to each other in the quadrant?"
Zonic felt like he was describing a long running TV series that had a huge franchise with a stupid and convoluted plot with unnecessary lore. And he himself felt like he was a part of it's huge, obnoxious and angry fanbase, trying his best to explain to an outsider what the show was about, not realizing how dumb it all sounded until it was too late. Huh, maybe this was similar to how Zonic felt whenever Zhadow explained that housewife reality show to him. Confusing, ridiculous and utterly nonsensical. Yup, that described the spirits perfectly: Extremely powerful people with too much wealth of prowess who bickered at each other like squabbling street cats. Damn. So this was his life, huh? "Err, yes, sir." He'd definitely have to talk with Zouge again after this visit, because he suddenly felt a little embarrassed of his "family." That definitely held some psychological issues somewhere. "Like All Chaos Born, we all refer to each other as brothers except for the spirits. The spirits themselves however, do refer to each other as brothers with the Light One being the eldest. Anyway," He wanted to change the subject. "This is how they communicate with me without destroying the fabric of our universe. Almost like text messages, one or two of the four, or sometimes all four of them at once, write to me randomly in a notebook of my choosing that's marked with a sigil."
This made Zhadow frown. So that's how Zonic always knew when and how they were watching him. Maybe not through the book per se, but it was their way of not only communicating with him, but subtly threatening him by always showing him they were there.
Watching. Listening. Writing.
Waiting.
Creepy bastards.
"So," Zhadow continued. "That means you already asked them about what you're about to do here. This is how you got their permission?"
Zonic, with a more determined expression, nodded while closing the notebook and digitizing it away. "Indeed, sir. That was the Gold One." He said while continuing to walk. "He—Or at least, that's the pronoun they all prefer going by—Gave me personal permission to do this. He explained that he had a tremendous argument with the others about this decision, but that they all finally came to a unanimous vote. The others wrote in their reluctant agreements soon after." Zonic smiled a little, his voice holding some pride. "They don't like that I'm actively destroying every single Overseer tradition they ever upheld. 'Celibacy, isolation, working from the shadows, weak and helpless.' I am the only template of the Overseer bloodline to ever go against the grain as sexually and romantically active, surrounded by friends and loved ones, working as one of the world's most prevalent figures in public militant authority, and the strongest Overseer in Chaos Born history. The other Overseers before me didn't even have names, only titles. I'm the only one with a genuine, legal name, one that was given to me by the last Overseer." His expression became somber. "...He may have been an old, grumpy fool," His smile widened a little more. "But I see now that he did care for me more than I realized, in his own conservative way."
Zhadow, being as old as he was, did remember that hedgehog in particular when he approached No Zone Corps about enlisting his rookie. But he also remembered catching glimpses of this person around No Zone years before Zonic was born. Zonic called him old, but he aged rather well. The old Overseer was a blue hedgehog like himself, with greying strands of fur here and there accompanied by a couple wrinkles. He was slender, more skinny than Zonic since he held no true muscle mass like his descendant. However, in his youth, he and Zonic looked exactly the same in the face. He was curt, short and didn't butcher his words. Just as Zhadow cared not for Chaos Born at the time, his old Overseer cared not for his or Zobotnik's opinion. While he never liked him due to his rude nature, he did find some respect for his fearless and unshakeable demeanor. Zhadow listened to Zonic's words with great attention, hoping that he would eventually come to the conclusion he personally believed in for so long.
"They know when we insult them," Zonic warned balefully. "They know when we talk bad about them, and they know every single, little thing we ever do. When we eat, when we make love, even when we breathe. Like I keep telling Sonic prime, they let us do what we do. They allow us to talk bad about them, they allow us to give our true opinions about them to the primes. And while I never asked permission," He glanced at Zhadow with a strange gaze. "They allowed me to free Maria prime from her slumber. Why?" He shrugged before turning his eyes back to the path ahead. "I don't know, and I don't think they'll answer even if I ask."
"Alright," Zhadow accepted that, he supposed. As...precarious as that sounded. "But why can't I read this? Wasn't Shadow prime able to read Chaotic Tongue on Christmas Island along with Sonic prime?"
Zonic stopped in front of straight edged monolith made entirely of spectrum-hued precious stones, surrounded by a small pool of chaos filled water. Fake wild flowers made of No Zone grade materials were blossomed around it, attempting to mimic the appearance of poppies. Except they weren't red, they were a dark, rich blue. "Simple, because they allowed him to." That answer seemed so ridiculously simple to the point of it being a contradictory lie, but it wasn't. "While the rules of Chaotic Tongue are real, the spirits can still do whatever they want and either bend the rules, or outright ignore them for their own purposes. They wanted Shadow prime to see glimpses of the truth about Sonic prime. They wanted him to have a hint at what he truly was. You already know what I am and what I'm capable of, so there's no need to let you see anything. The primes aren't allowed to know the entire truth yet, however, so they must be kept in the dark while being fed bits and pieces of truth." Zonic walked closer to the monolith to read the words engraved in it. Template 2,050. Yup, that was his alright. "'If something doesn't make sense, just blame the spirits.' That's what my Overseer told me." He hovered his hand over the monolith's surface, his quills suddenly blowing in a breeze that seemingly came from nowhere.
The text on the monolith began to glow, and the gemstones reflecting multicolored light began to change into dark blue. The monolith then sunk down into the rocky earth below, the water of the small pond around it draining into the hole it left. More stairs appeared beneath where it used to stand, leading to an underground area unknown to Zhadow. It was large, large enough to fit one person at a time. Zonic beckoned Zhadow to follow, before heading down first. The steps went from stoney and rough, to smooth and nearly man-made. Someone had smoothed the lower steps out into proper proportions. Once the two hedgehogs made it below the cave's lower floor, they both saw a pair of...
Zhadow's eyes widened.
...Guards.
He narrowed his eyes. "The hell...? I thought this place was restricted only to you?" He asked before reaching for his belt with a dangerous glint in his eye. He felt his wrist get grasped softly.
"It's alright, sir. They're supposed to be here." Zonic let go of Zhadow and gestured for them to keep moving forward. This place wasn't nearly as bright and pretty as the cave's upper floor. There weren't any gemstones, no cute little ponds, no monoliths or sealed entrances. It was darker with few lights illuminating the most important pieces of chaotic lore within. This place had smoothed out stone surfaces, and was even larger than the ground floor. In the middle, way in the back, was a taller and foreboding flat-headed obelisk that held text inscribed in it, in Chaotic Tongue. A few steps led upwards to a square-shaped shrine that held the obelisk, a fountain gracing this structure with that multicolored water subtly glittering in the darkness. More of those fake flowers were bloomed all over it to the point where they made a path leading to the shrine. The faux flora was so abundant that the nature became overgrown the closer one got to the obelisk. However, there was an abundance of caution tape closing them off from accessing this portion of the area. The guards that Zhadow noticed were dressed in extremely old No Zone uniforms, the original version of the tacky red and green ones, but they were still heavily armed. That's when Zhadow recognized these two people. They were old school veterans of No Zone Corps, veterans who retired from the force decades ago. A Zonian vulture and a lynx. They had to have been in their sixties if not late fifties by now, but they still had fit and brawn bodies like they never left.
Zhadow turned to Zonic with some surprise. "You knew they were already here? Did you have them deployed here?"
Zonic shook his head. "No sir, my Overseer did this. When he grew ill, I was only fourteen and he knew he would pass on soon before I could mature. To protect me and my shrine, he had these two here to guard this portion of the cave for years before I joined the force. They were never to leave, living out their days on this island for a decade. I don't know how my Overseer talked them into doing this and wasting their lives for my sake, but he did. They've been standing guard, protecting my shrine from both intruders and myself. They are only two of three people in this entire reality who truly know who and what I am, with very basic knowledge of chaotic lore." Zonic eyed the two soldiers carefully, practically staring right through their helmets. "I would come here at least once a year to check on them, but I never was allowed in this area no matter how many times I asked or begged. My Overseer absolutely did not want me ever accessing this place without a good reason. He told me to never, ever enter my Chaotic Shrine unless it was an emergency. I know what this shrine holds and what it can do." He placed his hands behind his back professionally. "Since we're about to go to war, I figured this counted as an emergency. Hopefully, they'll cooperate and understand that my intentions are just." As he tried approaching the two older officers, they instantly stopped him and aimed their weapons. Their old eyes behind their helmets adjusted when they realized it was Zonic, the very child his Overseer tried protecting years ago, but they didn't move their guns from his view.
"Stop right there, Zonic, General Zhadow." The female vulture exclaimed with a raspy tone.
"We have orders from your Overseer not to let anyone in, not even you!" The male lynx added roughly. The wrinkles in these officers' muzzles were very prevalent through their visors, but an aura of fulfillment was very present. Yes, they may have lived ten years of their lives here, but something in them found completion in doing this final duty. Zonic wished he knew why, and why they obeyed his Overseer's wishes after all these years. "We are more than proud that you've become Vice Leader of No Zone Corps, but we all know that as soldiers, we cannot disregard protocol."
Zonic's expression remained neutral and patient. He calmly demanded, "Step aside, officers. I am more than of age to access my shrine, and I am here for an emergency just as my Overseer requested before his death."
The two veteran Zone Cops glared at him with a stubborn unwavering sense of honor. The vulture shook her head adamantly. "We can't, Zonic-"
A baton was suddenly struck in both their stomachs.
"...!" The lynx fell to his knees and nearly dropped his weapon. "Y-You...! Little brat...!"
"How dare you...!" The vulture grunted as she struggled to stand back up straight. "Do you have any idea where you even are right now...!?" She croaked. "This place is forbidden for a reason! It's too dangerous!"
Zonic paid them no mind as he simply walked ahead of them both, twirling his baton in his hand. "You two are No Zone Corps' strongest veterans in the corps besides my general," He then paused and looked back with a cold glare. "But you're nothing to me." With that, he continued walking and ignored their shouts of determent. "Sorry, but I don't have any time to waste on you. Forgive me later." Zhadow glanced down at them for a brief moment, before continuing to follow Zonic's lead. It's funny, really. Zonic was right. Back in Zhadow's day, these two soldiers were some of the fiercest cops in No Zone history. They saw war, fought tremendous shoot outs, dealt with hostage situations, destroyed criminals in interrogations and even stopped a few terrorist attacks. Zhadow was honored to have them as allies. Back then, Zonic would have been killed from a single blow to the head from one of these two. If they were normal intruders, Zhadow was sure they would have been easily dispatched by them in seconds. But now? They were as weak as twigs crunching right under his boots. His rookie was beyond anything they could have seen. A single hit, and they were both down for the count.
The brightest light in the room shined down upon the obelisk, silently coaxing Zonic to come forth.
Closer.
And closer.
The old caution tape decorated all around the room was immediately destroyed as he stepped forward, and Zhadow even assisted his fiancé by giving them firm whacks with their nightsticks. Torn up pieces of yellow tape lied all over the floor, evidence that the shrine's inner circle was now completely breached. As Zonic walked up the stairs, Zhadow stepped aside to watch just what his rookie was going to do next. Why did he bring him here? Why did he trust him with seeing all of this? He didn't before. Zonic held up his hand to the obelisk and another dark blue glow radiated from his body. The text engraved into the stone changed and began to glow a golden yellow. A large sigil depicting the seal of the Gold One appeared, the entire area now engulfed in it's aura. Matching colored fog began to spread throughout the room, and Zonic's quills began to blow lightly once again. An undaunted shine reflected in Zonic's eyes. "I'm here just as you instructed, Gold One."
The veteran No Zone soldiers managed to recover and sprinted over. The lynx pleaded with Zhadow to stop Zonic. "General Zhadow! This is completely and utterly foolish, he's going to get himself killed! You can't let this happen. Stop him!"
Zhadow simply scoffed and lifted his head to look over at them. "With all due respect Officer Zellidy, Officer Zephthys," Yes, he still remembered their names to this day. "While I more than respect you to an extremely high standard, you do realize you're talking about my fiancé, right? Zonic says he checks up on you two once a year, so I'm assuming you know our relationship since you know our ranks, no?" When he didn't get an immediate response, he continued. "Then you should know better than to assume I'm strong enough to stop him when he's already set his eyes on a goal."
The vulture sucked her teeth and turned her gaze back to Zonic, seeing that Zhadow was of no help. "First Lieutenant General Zonic-No," She corrected herself pleadingly. "All Seeing Eye Zonic, you know your Overseer has forbid you from ever setting foot in this room. You know the consequences, you know what might happen to you! I don't care what those weird spirit things told you, this could destroy your life! Please," Pressurized air blew from her helmet as she reached up and pulled it off her head. Both she and the lynx bent down to place their helmets on the floor and lightly bowed to Zonic with desperate expressions. "Your Overseer was a stubborn, cynical and proud man, but he was no fool. He knew you wanted to become a No Zone officer, and he knew you'd stop at nothing to be recruited. When he told us how passionate you were to become a strong officer of the law, we knew we had to help him protect you. He cared for you, he wanted you to live no matter what, even against the spirits' wishes."
This made Zonic hesitate a little, causing him to turn his head a bit in their direction. "..."
"So please," The old vulture pleaded. "Just come down from there and leave."
...
...Zonic turned his attention back to the obelisk. "...I refuse."
The lynx growled and lifted his head from it's previous bowing position. "Damn you, child! That man's dying wish was to keep you safe from this power! Don't you understand that?" He readied his legs and arms to dart over there and seize Zonic forcefully. "You may be far more important than anyone else in No Zone will realize, but we will not allow your constant disobedience!"
That's when Zonic made a small laugh. "Haha."
"We mean it, Zonic!" The lynx shouted. "Get down from there right now, or else we'll-"
"Or you'll what?" Zonic suddenly yelled back while whipping his head at them. The sudden increase in volume of his thunderous voice caused them both to flinch and silence themselves immediately. "I tried keeping my composure out of respect for you and my Overseer, but you two must have forgotten how bad my temper is." He didn't even turn to look at them, and yet they could clearly picture how annoyed and exasperated his face was right now. That thought alone caused these old, grown Zonians to hesitate in fear. Officers who witnessed horrible sins, officers who stepped through blood soaked crime scenes, officers who joined their allies in brutal battles, were now taking cautious steps backwards from a twenty four year old. "You are upsetting me, shut your damn mouths already. I am the current Overseer and All Seeing Eye who is beyond the age of maturity, meaning my authority overrides the one before me and most importantly, yours." He then opened his palm, before slamming it against his own chest and gripping the fabric of his uniform. The sounds of clothing falling around him was all anyone else could hear, until his grounded authoritative tone echoed against the walls once more. "If you're both too cowardly to witness something grand before you, then simply get out."
Zhadow gazed with very interested and slightly lewd eyes as he watched his fiancé strip his clothes from his body. He didn't know why he was doing that, but he definitely was enjoying the show. He'd forcefully kick the two geezers out of the room for daring to stare at his fiancé's beautiful body if it wasn't for the fact that Zonic wasn't technically fully nude. His eyes landed on his tight blue behind, and he was more than eager to keep staring. It didn't matter that they had sex almost daily, it was a privilege to see his rookie like this everyday. Each experience being better than the last. However, lust wasn't the only thing keeping his attention. This...didn't feel right. He could tell Zonic was about to do something he couldn't reverse.
Now bare and without any articles of clothing, Zonic still refused to turn around and face them. There was no need to. "You've already fulfilled my Overseer's dying wish, and now your usefulness has been spent. Leave, fools."
Total fear and panic overcame the two veterans. The vulture tried once more to beg Zonic to stop before it was too late. "Z-Zonic! You can't possibly...!"
"You aren't actually going to attempt a transformation, are you!?" The lynx finished for him with matched paranoia.
This made Zhadow perk his ears up a bit. Yes, transformation. The very thing that no Zonian should be able to do, Chaos Born or not. "Yeah, Zonians are too weak to handle large amounts of chaos energy. They combust like balloons."
The two veterans soldiers glared at Zhadow harshly. The vulture chastised him first. "Now do you understand why his Overseer told us to stop him at all costs? He'll get himself killed! He cannot attempt a transformation-"
"You keep using that word 'attempt'," Zonic suddenly retorted. "As if you're certain I'll fail." The obelisk began to morph itself within the dark blue aura, changing and modifying it's own physical form into something else. Something grand, just as Zonic stated. "How dare you belittle me. I'm not 'attempting' anything, I am succeeding at seizing my ambitions by the throat." It finally settled on a physical form for now, and was then fully engulfed in solid gold.
"Zonic," Zhadow tried to reason with him one last time before he went through with this. "Are you sure? Think about this. Think about how Sonic prime looked after he fell out of his second transformation with Fleetway, how exhausted and battered his body was afterwards. How depressed he was days later. You can't handle any chaos energy whatsoever. A death like that is quick and horrendously painful. If you're not fully up to this, then I-"
"Zhadow," Zonic slowly turned his head to the side to gaze down upon his fiancé. He'd be the only one he faced, the only person who didn't deserve to keep his back to. His dark green eyes fell upon him, his expression scarily ready for whatever would come next. His tone was no longer imperious, but steady and reassuring. "I told you, I am done running. If I truly want to become an ally to Sonic prime, if I truly want be a powerful asset to you, if I truly want to become something..."
"You say you're nothing? Then stop being nothing and prove yourself wrong!"
"...Then I need to do this. You need to trust me."
There was silence yet again.
And that's when Zhadow's protective demeanor changed.
Suddenly, the general sighed and placed his hand in his pocket. He leaned back a bit and nodded his head. "...You're right, I do." He then took a step back and held out his arm to bar the others from getting any closer. "Have it your way, rookie."
The veteran cops gawked at Zhadow in shock. "Y-You can't be serious!" They both shouted.
"Toss me your army knife, general." Zonic ordered gently.
"Of course." Zhadow simply reached for his belt and pulled out the requested bladed weapon. He tossed the large knife several feet away, watching Zonic catch it in his palm.
He noticed he purposefully caught the blade itself and not the handle, cutting his flesh immediately. Fresh crimson began to pool all within his palm, and he let the knife drop from his hand since it did exactly what he needed it to do. It's metal clanked against the stone floor as Zonic lifted his bloodied hand onto the obelisk's surface. He placed his hand flat against it, before lightly smearing it across the engraved glowing words. "'O' Divine Golden One," He began calmly, reciting the words flawlessly with perfect memorization. "Despite my status as a mere Overseer and All Seeing Eye, you have come forth to bless my presence with your eternal golden embrace. I wish for outstanding courage against a fearsome foe who dares to threaten my brethren in chaotic arms. I hereby promise to only utilize your prowess in the name of honor, lionship and unadulterated justice. With your clear and gracious sanction, I, Zonic, template two thousand and fifty, humbly ask that you grant me your godly abilities of the Auric Sun so that our blood may subjugate and conquer forevermore."
As his blood dribbled down the golden obelisk quietly, Zonic stared at the structure intensely, waiting for reaction.
Come on.
...
...Come on already, they promised he'd appear.
Zonic scowled. What the hell was the hold up? He recited all the words correctly, memorized the damn thing for days. Did they seriously lie to-
"Zonic?"
"...?"
It-Err...He was speaking to him.
"Yes, my child. I hear you. I accept your promises..."
A golden phantom of tall yet Zonian-like proportions, abruptly phased out from the obelisk. It used it's structure to detach it's ghostly body from within, stretching and elongating it's transparent form fully out of it before floating in the air to look down upon Zonic. It's ruby eyes were wide but calculated. Considerate, but not blindingly kind. Proud, but never too arrogant to seek justice. Zonic blinked in surprise, having never seen the deity in this form before. His dark green eyes held hope, hope that he'd finally become just like the others. Just like Sonic. Or...something even better. Yes, something that was his own, something that was his. Something that only Zonic the Overseer could become. With grateful hands, Zonic held out his arms to the spirit, silently asking for it to come to him. He was ready, he was so ready. He had been ready for this moment for days, a moment he never thought he'd ever have. He was so happy. This was his moment, his moment to shine. He was so proud of himself, so proud that he finally-
"Gah-!"
"...And by accepting those promises, you will accept my dominion over your soul."
The golden spirit had it's haunting limbs strangled around Zonic's throat.
"Can you truly handle this power? The sheer, raw dynamism of courageous, intrepid valiance? If not... Then may you die where you stand, child."
The force of those hands attacking his neck were so strong, that he almost fell backwards. Zonic, his eyes shrank down to pupils with shock and alarming pain, reached his arms up to both keep his balance and attempt to stop the spirit from strangling him. His feet slightly took a couple steps back, almost losing equilibrium from being on the edge of the step, smearing the blood stains that dripped below. It was literally forcing itself onto his body, causing his back to bend at a very uncomfortably flexible angle. His long blue quills hung as he was starting to be pushed down. The more it choked him, the more he lost oxygen. He grunted, yelped and cried out in pain, making gasping noises of painful suffering as he squeezed his eyes shut. Why was it choking him like this? This couldn't have been the proper way to receive a super form, this isn't what he read! He read that the host had to keep up endurance with the spirit, as the experience would feel as if his very life force was being drained...Oh. That's what it meant. Damn it, he hated how his ancestors were forced to write in such cryptic metaphors when it came to the important stuff. If he didn't do something, this thing would kill him. His body was being singed from the raw chaos energy comprising the spirit, and he wouldn't be able to take much more in the next few seconds.
They all could clearly see that it's lower body was phasing into Zonic's. That's when he realized that it wasn't choking him, it was trying to override him. Through his body, and eventually his soul. That's why this was so painful, why this was actively draining him of all the will he had. It was trying to conquer him, to bestow it's authority onto him, to show him who the true deity was. He was nothing but a mere mortal asking a god for powers beyond his capabilities, of course it would destroy him the second it touched him. The chaos energy itself was agonizing to feel, the extreme gargantuan size of it's aura was being forced inside of his body, brain and heart all at once. His bloodstream was boiling, his neurons were being misfired, his nervous system and senses were going haywire. He couldn't even control his body anymore, because it was pushing it's will onto him that harshly. It was a predator, and Zonic was nothing but it's prey.
The two veterans called out to Zonic. "Z-Zonic...!"
Even Zhadow was worried, almost wanting to break his vow of trust in Zonic and running over there to get that damned thing off of him. "Zonic..." He whispered desperately, watching in horror as the deity continued to constrict itself around his love.
No...Really?
Was this how he died?
Was this how he would fail?
All that work, all that grinding, all that pencil pushing, all that reading, all that watching, all that talking, all that fucking surveilling...
And this would be what does him in?
His own ambition?
His own misguided attempt at being like Sonic?
"You are not special, and you are not getting your own private room to do whatever you wish. This is my HQ, my corporation, my building and my property! If you keep assuming that you can do whatever you want just because you seduced your way into First Lieutenant General Zhadow's bed, then you've got another thing coming, boy. You are nothing but a disgraceful weakling who slept his way into power! Get out of my sight!"
"It feels super weird bein' beat up by yet another Sonic-wannabe. But then again, I suppose a walking-talking Napoleon like you needs something to compensate for his one-note personality. Must be a pretty sad life. Huh, private?"
"As if you could ever go toe to toe with me. Rookie, did you forget who dominates this relationship? Compared to me, you're about as threatening as a snapping turtle that's been flipped onto it's back. You're a poodle in the presence of a famished lion. You're a damn tick on the ass of a rabid gorilla. Honestly, w hat can you possibly do to me?"
"This is all I was made for: nothing."
...
...
...
...Nothing...
Nothing?
Him?
First Lieutenant General, Vice Leader of No Zone Corps and the All Seeing Eye of Chaos Born?
What a pathetic, foolish lie!
"...I thought I told you all to shut your fucking mouths and watch!" Zonic bellowed.
Zonic's eye snapped open, his irises no longer dark green but a bright lime. He stabbed his fingers into the spirit's back, feeling it's now completely corporeal flesh dig into his peach nails.
"...!?" The spirit's ruby eyes peered down at Zonic with alarm. Did he force it into being corporeal...!?
Now it was on his terms. He'd destroy all the rules and rewrite them himself. He was the leader, he was the czar, he was the one and only authority and damn it, he was the hero this time! He was done running in everyone else's shadows. He wasn't weak, he wasn't naive and he surely wasn't a coward. He was done taking orders, he was done asking permission. This was his life, this was his fate! A fate he'd make all on his own! No one would tell him what to do, no one would make him feel ashamed. No one would lie to him, no one would conceal the truth from him and no one would take him for granted anymore. He wasn't just a watchdog, he wasn't just an Overseer, he was Zonic the Hedgehog.
He was putting his fucking foot down against the spirits, whether they liked it or not!
"I said you would see something grand, and I intend on keeping that promise!" Zonic grunted as he forced his body to bend forwards, still keeping his balance and standing upright. He carefully stepped backwards onto the lower steps, nearly losing his balance several times but never falling or faltering. He yanked and pulled at the spirit with both hands, forcing the thing off of his body as much as he possibly could. It was a horrible struggle, as he could still feel every iota of pain in every microscopic region of his entire being. But he didn't give a damn. He'd fight through the pain, he'd eat through it all! "And you," He whispered a choked hiss at the spirit, watching it's ruby eyes narrow at him dangerously. "You think I'm that weak? Do you really!?" He screamed angrily, stomping his foot to push his body forward, gaining an edge on the spirit's physical struggle. "I am no misguided Child of Chaos, I am the pride of this reality and the face of No Zone itself! I am the sole ruler of this reality, and it is my job to keep it secured and empowered. The rest of you are nothing but distractions, mere worms underneath my heels! I am not letting anyone or anything stop me from achieving what's mine. Not even you, not any one of you! I fear no one. Not Zobotnik, not you, not even the entire Divine Quadrant itself! Not anymore! You can't override my will because it is absolute and beyond anything your puny brain can comprehend! You want me to overcome the sun itself?" His pride would pierce anything that got in his way, without mercy. "So be it!"
A loud thud.
The two veterans watched in sheer amazement.
Zhadow could only stare with wide but steady eyes.
Zonic had tackled the spirit down onto the floor away from the steps, the fall being harsh enough to cause it to wince a holy groan of agony. It was still trying to keep it's hold on Zonic, but it's grip on his throat was loose. Zonic was gripping his hands into it's body, the roles switching significantly. Now it was he who was forcing it down, his body pinning it like a grappler. Sparks of golden yellow power began to zap throughout the cave, the entire land of the island quaking under this battle of spiritual wits. Zonic's now glowing lime green eyes shined with undeniably invincible pride, the very essence of auric honor the spirit represented. Golden aura intercepted Zonic's body, putting a strange golden filter over his fur. The spirit's eyes squinted painfully as it tried to fend off Zonic's unshakeable will, unable to keep up with his golden ambition. It then blinked in shock as Zonic began to pull the spirit towards his own body to absorb it. He gripped it by the shoulders, a deadly game of chaotic tug of war being yanked into his own figure. "You are not a god, but a mere entity, and I don't give a damn what I have to sacrifice to conquer you! You will recognize me, you will honor me! You will see me as the one who claimed you! One way or another-" Zonic's irises suddenly turned light blue, his fur flashing a golden yellow for a brief moment. "-I will make you bow to my will and mine alone!"
The spirit's ruby eyes became frantic as it was quickly becoming assimilated within Zonic's body.
"Impossible...! How is a non-chaos user absorbing me like this...? Is your determination truly that strong? No mortal in this multiverse has an ego that powerful! Not more powerful than mine! You can't-!"
It was losing it's corporeal form.
"W-Wait...Wait...!"
All from sheer willpower.
"WAIT-!"
A supernatural, bloodcurdling scream resounded outside of the cave.
79 - END - 79
Notes:
The vulture is a Zonian version of Nephthys the Vulture from the Archie Comics.
The lynx is a Zonian version of Dr. Ellidy, who, fun fact, is the father of the little girl who was used as a basis for Nicole the Holo-Lynx's AI.I implore you all to read this chapter very, VERY carefully.
...Although I'm sorry if you saw any typos.
Chapter 80: Apex
Summary:
The final arc of No Zone begins.
Chapter Text
80 - Apex - 80
???, Zonic's Chaotic Shrine
Evening, 9:00 PM
The loudest, most terrifying and haunting scream Zhadow ever heard echoed from the shrine.
But it wasn't Zonic's.
It was the spirit's.
Zonic, hailing from the only Chaos Born bloodline that was too weak to ever hold a large amount of chaos energy, just forced a deity to assimilate inside of his own body. Through the power of his own pride and will, he forced it to his soul. Forced it to align itself with his figure and his biology. Against all the odds he ever was told, he defeated them all.
Zonic the Hedgehog overrided a living super form.
The phantom was gone, now trapped inside of him. His body slowly faded from golden to cobalt blue in seconds. Heavy amounts of searing hot steam drifted from his anatomy, and he wobbly stood up from the floor onto his blood stained feet. His fur was messy and out of place, his face was drained of fluids, and his heartbeat was incredibly weak. Snot, saliva and golden tears all fell from his muzzle and onto the floor. His irises were no longer light blue, but they were lime green. No longer dark. If he wasn't so roughed up, he and Sonic would now be complete identical twins. Gasping sharply and bringing a hand to his mouth, his body hunched. However, he didn't puke. He gulped it down and refused to show anymore weakness. Panting and completely out of breath, Zonic's pupils became foggy. He could no longer see straight, no longer properly think. Any wrong motion, and he'd pass out for sure. Maybe even die. He had to be careful moving here. His knees were buckling, but he had to push through it and retrieve his clothes. He still had a job to do, after all. He refused to clock out early, he still had to go back to HQ to...to...What was he supposed to do again...?
N-No, snap out of it. He could do this.
He could still do this.
Zhadow walked over to Zonic, his uniform already tucked in his arm. "Rookie?" He called softly, not getting a reaction from Zonic.
"Y...Y-Ye...Yes...sir..." Zonic managed out, his voice strained and severely weakened. His vocal cords had been fried.
With a sympathetic expression, Zhadow placed his hand on top of Zonic's head and pet it gently. He nodded to him. "...You did good, Zonic. You did really good."
Then, Zonic made a very weak smile. "H-Ha...Ha...ha..." He couldn't even see straight anymore. "...I...Did good...?"
"Yeah," Zhadow caressed the side of his peach muzzle. "You sure did." He then reached down to try and grasp his hand, but Zonic pulled away.
"N-No," Zonic meekly whispered. "I-I...I can...walk...on my..."
He could do this.
He could do this!
He...!
...could...
...do...
...this...
"..."
Zonic collapsed, but Zhadow caught him in his arms.
"Zonic," He murmured his name lovingly, embracing him securely. He lifted his body and carried him bridal style, feeling his full weight since his rookie was completely knocked out. He looked down at his exhausted, drained face with some concern and pride. "You always push yourself so hard." His golden tears stained his uniform, and he cared not one bit. He allowed his head to lay against his chest, and he began to walk away from the site of an intense spiritual duel. His clothes were thrown over his shoulder, as he felt clothing him now was pointless. He wouldn't be going back to work anytime soon. "My rookie. Ever the persistent one, ever the determined one who just has to fix it all by himself. You shoulder so much burden on your own, but no more." Zhadow declared gently to him, passing by the two veteran officers who still were in disbelief at what they just witnessed here tonight. "You're not alone anymore, Zonic. You're not that little boy who used to sit in front of TV screens all day. I'm here, now. I've always been here, and I will continue to be here for the rest of your life and beyond." He pressed a kiss onto his head, cradling him like the invaluable masterpiece he always saw him as. "I'll get you checked up privately in the infirmary, but then I'm going to take you home. You'll be taking off from work until I deem you healthy enough to return, and I won't take 'no' for an answer."
He knew he was unconscious, and he knew he couldn't hear him.
Zhadow didn't care. He just loved him.
Slowly, Zhadow glanced over at the two veterans and nodded his head. "...You did his Overseer proud. Thank you for trying to protect him," He then amorously gazed down at Zonic. "But you can't change his mind once it's made up. If he's gonna wrestle down a deity and absorb it, well damn it, that's what he's gonna do." He shrugged with a smile. "That's my rookie for you." Zhadow placed one foot on the bottom step of the staircase leading the upper floor. "I don't think you two have to stay here anymore, as your jobs are done. This shrine is more than protected on it's own, it doesn't need you here to protect it from outsiders. You were only here to ultimately stop Zonic, nothing else. Go back to your lives, and live decent ones." He began walking up the stairs. "Maybe, just maybe, you'll live a long one like mine." As the two veterans watched the general take Zonic away, their expressions of shock disappeared.
They then saluted before bowing their heads. Their jobs were finally done, and they could leave too. They were free.
Zonic unconsciously pressed his face more into his superior's chest.
He may have been in pain, but he was so content in his hold.
August 29th
DAY 50: Friday
Ray Avenue
Dawn, 5:00 AM
For the remainder of Wednesday night, Zonic was taken home after being examined by the doctors in No Zone HQ's infirmary. He wiped and cleaned his face before they arrived, didn't need them asking questions about what he just pulled. Zhadow lied and said he, "fell ill while at work." He said that he saw that Zonic was burning up to the point of sweating and sweltering all over his body, and helped him out of his uniform to get him to cool off. They told Zhadow that Zonic was experiencing a number of symptoms: Fever, headache, nausea and fatigue. His body temperature was indeed high, but not astronomically. None of these things warranted a hospital stay, but they did advise Zhadow to keep Zonic in bed until these symptoms resolved itself. They couldn't pin point a specific diagnosis, not even something simple like the flu or a bad cold. They tried to entertain the idea of a sinus infection, but even that seemed incorrect and he tested negative for everything. Since they didn't see anything outwardly dangerous or potentially life threatening, they concluded that Zonic would probably be okay after a full day of rest. By the time Zhadow arrived with him, his face wasn't leaking anymore and his breathing was a little more normal. With all that in mind, Zhadow reluctantly agreed that Zonic would be fine eventually. However, he didn't care if the hedgehog woke up anytime soon to complain about resting in bed, he would not be working at the HQ until he was one hundred percent.
And Zonic did eventually wake up, and he did make a fuss. All while sniffing with his eyes leaking those strange golden tears. If the doctors had saw that, they would have dragged him to a testing lab. He mostly complained because he was worried about the other Chaos Born in the multiverse, his Room of Realities. Zhadow however, told him to relax. That the other realities could handle not being watched for a couple days.
Zhadow then did something else, something no one expected...
...He took the entire next day off.
All just to care for Zonic.
He informed everyone at HQ that he and Zonic would be taking a day to themselves for personal reasons, urging everyone to continue their training regimen before the week was over. They would not be coming in on Thursday. He expected full marks and perfect results by the time they returned. Scheduled for today was a review of their battle plans, but the two leaders informed their men days in advance that should anything happen to them or the HQ before they could do so, to study what they talked about in their meeting extensively every single day for at least an hour. To normal citizens, it'd be difficult to memorize every single parameter of their conference in just an hour, but No Zone officers were of a different caliber.
See, No Zone's military wasn't as large as some people assumed it was. Some local citizens didn't even know the true number of how many soldiers resided in the HQ. The proper number was over ten thousand, not counting faculty, staff or any sister branches around the world. Three thousand in the army, three thousand in the airforce, three thousand in the navy and only a little over one thousand in the special ops. In a way, the special ops were considered the "marines" of the No Zone Military, being some of the toughest and strongest living beings on the planet. And that was no exaggeration considering who were the two leading men of that portion of the military, Zhadow and Zonic. But internationally? The number was over fifty thousand. Every single officer within the corps was trained not only in military prowess, but in law enforcement, criminology and talents belonging to other branches. In other words, an airman could swim almost just as well as a seaman, and an army man could fly a jet almost just as well as an airman. Lower ranking soldiers of every branch did most of the law enforcement work, while the higher ranks handled militant affairs.
All faculty, including doctors, nurses, therapists, janitors and receptionists, were trained in hand to hand combat and weren't your typical white collar employees. You could not apply to work in No Zone HQ without being properly trained in self defense, as it was a strict requirement for moments like these. Fifty thousand in total wasn't very big, only about the size of a field army or in literal terms, a corps. However, since they lost one thousand men to Zobotnik, they now only had over nine thousand domestically. That didn't seem like much on the surface, but it was still a large blow to their numbers. Still, even with the disadvantage, nobody in No Zone HQ was defenseless. What happened last week, putting the entire building into chaos, wouldn't repeat itself. They were ready this time, and they would stay ready with or without their leaders. They had to be. Taking off today was a careful decision, one that Zhadow didn't take lightly. He saw the progress of all of their men, and was more than satisfied with what he saw. Some of the weaklings on the first to tenth ranks were almost as strong as Zonic was when he became major. The big boys in the fifty to one hundred ranks were almost as tough as Admiral Zector, as if they weren't intimidating already. If God forbid they lost to Zobotnik, the fat man wouldn't escape without a drastic consequence. They'd make their loss worth it.
Therefore, Zhadow felt it was safe enough to stay at home with Zonic.
He helped him bathe, fed him, clothed him, got him his favorite foods and drinks and stayed by his side every hour of the day. Frankly, this was the most vulnerable he had ever seen Zonic, even more than before they got together. He was so weak, so unconfrontational. So demure, gentle and fragile. Zhadow wasn't used to him like that, as he still had a lot of spunk even when he was a young weakling as a private. Nothing was drastically wrong with him thankfully, he just...couldn't really get out of bed. He got tired easily, didn't feel like watching TV too long, constantly fell asleep while doing basic things. Even while eating or talking. He got much better about five hours after he was taken home on Wednesday night. No more fevers, sweating, sneezing, sniffling or drooling. By Thursday, he was just really tired constantly but nothing more. Still, Zhadow watched over him. Fearing that having two blue hedgehogs down for the count was a bad sign, Zhadow kept active contact with Shadow while he cared for Zonic. According to his twin, Sonic didn't have anymore nosebleeds. Shadow purposefully would test the hero, flustering him on purpose to the point of practical lightheadedness, but nothing seemed wrong. Sonic was completely healthy and fine and was secretly very worried about his big bro. Zhadow said that they'd still need to have a talk about what Shadow witnessed, but that it'd have to wait until Zonic got better. After all, he knew about the ailment better than Zhadow did.
At midnight, Zonic cuddled up against Zhadow with plenty of kisses and nuzzles, thanking him for caring for him like this. He promised to return the favor at a later date. How? He'd never tell, it would be a surprise. By morning, Zhadow was positive Zonic was fully healthy. He was already dressed in his uniform, had already cooked them breakfast, made coffee and laid out his superior's clothes for the day. This was Zonic's usual routine when they first began to live together, when their relationship was still in it's puppy love stage. Just as before, he served his general well. Zhadow cautiously asked if he was okay to work today as Zonic handed him the breakfast tray, and that's when he saw it.
Bright lime green eyes.
Zhadow's eyes widened. "S...Sonic prime...?"
Zonic scowled and narrowed his oddly bright eyes at his general. "Not funny, sir."
"No, Zonic...Your eyes. They-" Zhadow pushed himself out of bed and grabbed Zonic by the arm. He pulled him into the bathroom before the mirror and pointed at their reflection. "Look. They look just like Sonic prime's."
Zonic blinked slowly and really took a good look at himself. He supposed he didn't notice when he showered earlier, so used to having a routine. He patted his own cheek and watched his pupils lightly react at the bathroom's white ceiling light. "Huh..." He crossed his arms over his chest. "...They do." Then, a small smirk grew on his lips. "Perfect." He patted his general on the shoulder and walked out of the bathroom. "More than likely an effect from absorbing a Divine Spirit. Don't worry sir, I'm fine. Get dressed."
Zhadow watched his fiancé walk away casually, as if he didn't literally spiritually devour an entire deity the other day. "You're starting to act more like me," Zhadow noted while exiting the bathroom. "And I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
No Zone HQ
Early Evening, 6:15 PM
"The meeting went over rather well, don't you-Mmn...Think, sir?" Zonic moaned at the feeling of his superior grinding against him from behind. He laid his head back against his shoulder as he sat in his lap behind his desk, feel his rough hands grip against his inner thighs before cupping his nether regions. He gasped sultrily, gripping his fingers against the edge of the desk. "S-Sir..." He whispered huskily, feeling Zhadow's right hand rise underneath his uniform top and grope his chest. "A-Ah...Mmm~" The general kissed the side of his face, licked the back of his neck and playfully nibbled his teeth against it. "No, don't b-bite...not at work...I-I won't be able to get the blood out-! Ah!" He could feel his gloved fingers press against his nipples underneath his shirt. "We literally just showered in the barracks together, sir...w-we can't-Mmmn...!" He could feel him rubbing his hand in between his legs more. He was going to get him hard again at this rate.
Zhadow silenced him with another harsh pinch to his hardened nipples. "And why can't we?" He tilted Zonic's head to the side and stole a heavy kiss from him. He purged his tongue within his rookie's mouth and hungrily tasted his lingua against his own. "Mmn," He broke the kiss and watched Zonic's face grow completely flustered. His face was heated, his eyes half lidded and his lightly drooling mouth agape. "Look at you. You want me to take you again, don't you? Where should we do it this time, rookie?" He asked as he playfully looped his fingers around his belt. "The desk? Maybe...the windows? Or maybe I should teleport us in the square and-" He hesitated. "...?" His dark red eyes narrowed at something troubling. "...!" No. He saw it. Rainbow colored liquid from Zonic's nose. It was a tiny glob, but he could see it beginning to drip. "Shit." He quickly fixed up Zonic's uniform and took him from out of his lap. A little dazed and confused, Zonic watched as his superior stood them both up and stared Zonic in the eyes. His pupils were oddly large and vacant. Not good.
"S-Sir...?"
"It's happening to you too now, Zonic."
"Me...too...? But," An ominously giddy smile curled onto Zonic's lips. "This feeling is so good..."
So good.
So good...
Soooooo goooood...
Being in love was sooooooo gooooood-
"...!" Zonic shook his head rapidly and smacked his hands against his skull to wake himself out of the trance. His pupils realigned themselves, now more aware. He patted himself all over to feel if anything on his physical figure changed, but felt no difference. He quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket and tapped his thumb against the camera app. He saw himself in the lens, but didn't note anything abnormal besides his newly bright green eyes. He sighed in some relief, but still remained a bit worried. Not good. Not good in the slightest. "I feel a little naive saying this," Zonic said as he put his phone away and placed his hands on his hips. A tissue was handed over to him and he took it gratefully, wiping his nose. "But I didn't think I as an Overseer could undergo the effects of the Light One's love...I thought I'd be too weak to be recognized by him. Well," He thought about when the spirits first appeared in Zobotnik's office. "He did have quite the favorable opinion of me when we talked for the first time face to face...Hmm," He frowned. "Still, I'm not as desirable as a mate like someone from the Divine Pyramid. Why choose me?" He asked aloud.
Zhadow watched him carefully before reaching down to his desk to grab his shades. "Like you've already said, you're the strongest Overseer in Chaos Born history, and now you're the first to have a super form. Even the weakest Sonic templates are worthy of breeding if they can utilize even one super form. At least, that's what you told me. If the head honcho already liked you, this was just an even better reason to give you permission to reproduce." Slightly, Zhadow's cheeks grew a little red. "Although," He continued hesitantly. "I suppose now we need to be a bit more careful."
Zonic made a devious grin. "Oh? Worried you might get me pregnant? Or," He leaned very closely towards Zhadow. "Were you interested in getting pregnant by me instead~?"
"Shut up, rookie." Zhadow pushed Zonic's face away while pushing up his shades onto his nose. "Besides, we'd still need permission from three other spirits-"
"You mean two."
Zhadow's shades became lopsided. He slowly turned back to Zonic with a horrified expression. "H...Huh?"
Continuing to smirk at his fiancé, Zonic just leaned against the desk. "The Gold One and I had a very long talk after I passed out." He poked at his own head. "You know, in here. And he told me some very fascinating things..." He nonchalantly rubbed his finger against his engagement ring, keeping his gaze locked onto Zhadow's. "He said he was so impressed with me wrestling him down, that he could feel the very essence of what he stands for reside in my soul. Honor, courage, justice, he felt it all within me. It's one thing if a Sonic template simply possesses a super form. It's another thing if that Sonic template bonds with that super form. Every time I passed out in our apartment, it was he and I talking with each other. In a few short conversations, he and I got along pretty well. He even apologized for harming or scaring me, saying it was all part of the initiation. While he didn't want me to die, I very well could have and he was very relieved I survived." The office's lamp caused his ring to glint it's light into the reflection of Zhadow's sunglasses. "He said he'd be more than willing to grant me permission to have a Divine Intervention. In other words, that's two votes from the spirits and one vote from me. Three out of five."
That basically meant that there was now a sixty percent chance that Zonic or Zhadow could get pregnant.
"..." Zhadow was silently having a panic attack in his brain. He just gradually walked to his office chair, before stumbling to sit down. "...Oh." Was all he could say.
"Yeah," Zonic replied with a smarmy expression. "'Oh.'" He then walked around the desk and placed his hand on his shoulder, his expression softening. "But I meant what I said before, I won't do that without your knowledge. Besides," He leaned down and kissed him on the head. "I'd like to get married before having a child, sir."
The general readjusted his shades and leaned back in his chair more comfortably. "...Good."
Static from their uniforms, both at the same time. They both glanced at each other, before Zonic pressed his finger and thumb into his collar first. "Sonic prime?"
"Zee, where are you right now?" His twin's voice sounded rather alert.
"I'm in General Zhadow's office, why?"
"Shads an' I been eyein' Zobotnik's base in the sky for days. We noticed he's been inching to the left and right, but nothing noteworthy. We thought that was weird. But today, just now, he teleported the whole damn thing to the other side of the city!" His voice sounded a little perturbed. Something that big shouldn't be able to teleport like that unless someone had a seriously strong amount of power to Chaos or Cyber Control it to do so. "It teleported back to where it was, but it's closer and now the shield around it is completely down. You can see that it's getting closer to the city, too. Shadow and I got up to higher buildings to get a better look, and we see that it stopped moving. Zobotnik's trying to get more comfortable before he makes a move. Not only that, but I swear it got bigger. This isn't lookin' good, Zee."
Zonic flattened his mouth into an unbothered frown. He glanced over at Zhadow with his eyes, who continued to comfortably sit back in his chair, before responding back. "Do you have a visual on the base at the moment?"
"Yeah, Shads an' I are keepin' our eyes on it."
"And you are positive you don't believe it'll make a move anytime soon?"
"Maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow, but that thing's gonna move again. And when it does, it's gonna level the city. We're sure of it."
The first lieutenant general walked over to the office's tinted, tall windows. He glared at what used to be a metallic blip in the sky, but now was a much more visible stain on their reality. From this distance, no one could tell with a naked eye that the base got closer, but it definitely did. And Sonic was right, something about it was different. It was bigger, had more parts within it's territorial walls. More than likely not just more space, but weapons and perhaps accommodations for his new victims. Zonic scowled harshly and turned to Zhadow. Behind his superior's red tinted shades, they locked eyes with each other. A few seconds passed, and Zonic remembered the general's intentions on attacking first the moment Zobotnik showed his hand. Teleporting around the reality like that at random wasn't some kind of mistake, that was a warning. Zobotnik didn't accidentally move his base around while also coincidentally making his territory bigger—He was surveying the entire reality. More specifically eyeing every No Zone Corps base within the reality around the globe. Once he observed what he needed to see, he must have modified the base itself with the power of his own Phantom Ruby.
After today, Zobotnik would probably plan on making a very layered and well thought-out attack, assuming No Zone HQ wouldn't attack first. He'd watch and watch, until sucker punching the HQ into a war.
But no, that's not how it was going to go.
"Sir," Zonic referred to Zhadow. "Training week hasn't been 'officially' completed yet, and there are still some soldiers who didn't finish their individual training to one hundred percent satisfaction."
Zhadow was unbothered by this. "Doesn't matter," He simply replied. "They know what they have to do, and so do you."
This was it.
Zonic nodded to his superior. "Sonic prime," If it was possible, Zonic's voice became more serious and strict than it ever had been throughout this entire fiasco. "You and Shadow prime will report to No Zone HQ's rooftop immediately. It's time." He cut the transition off before his twin could respond, because there was no need. They knew this was coming. He walked closer and held out his hand to Zhadow. "My general," He addressed with limitless respect and of course, love. "Shall we?"
Zhadow took his palm and immediately stood up from the chair. "Do you understand that we both are keeping something from each other at this moment?"
His rookie nodded his head confidently. "I do."
"And you're comfortable with that? Fighting without knowledge of what I might do?"
"Yes." Zonic answered without hesitation. "And you?"
He planted a small peck on his cheek before rubbing his thumb over Zonic's ring. "Of course, rookie. More than ever."
Hand in hand, they walked towards the windows together. "Will you still have me in your sights, sir?" Moving in perfect synchronization, sparks of cyber energy electrified between them. Their bodies were ready for it all.
The metal of their rings synergized with each other strongly, and Zhadow eyed the base from afar with a heavy glower.
The epitome of everything that's ever given him misery was sitting like a king in that confounded base, and soon it would all come crashing down.
All of it.
"Of course."
In a light blue flash, they both disappeared.
6:25 PM
Were they really doing this? Now?
Man, Sonic didn't think he'd feel all these jitters.
It kinda made him excited! He couldn't keep the grin off his face. Shadow meanwhile had his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the base above in the sky along with the blue hero. So this was it. Fine by him. They were both standing on the HQ's roof, above the hangar where they kept their new suited up aircrafts. A few guards were up here, but they only saluted the primes and let them be. The strong winds from the higher altitude caused their quills to blow back, their furs standing on the ends with anticipation. Their heads all turned at the appearance of light blue flashing in front of them all. The leaders of No Zone Corps stood before them with terrifyingly stone cold expressions, and the guards on the roof immediately knew what that meant.
Zhadow simply lifted his hand to his collar and initiated the hidden transmitter in the uniform. "This is General Zhadow speaking. All units, outside or inside the HQ, stop where you are." He said, his voice rough and determined. "If you are actively making an arrest at this moment in time, capture the assailant as quickly as possible and warp them to No Zone Prison via warp ring. All officers and special teams are to report to your designated posts for emergency combat. Watchdog team," As he continued, the guards from the roof instantly began sprinting towards the staircase leading to the helipad, shuffling out of the area in seconds. "Initiate the city wide security protocol, and alert the other districts to do the same until further notice. Tell the president to make an emergency press conference, and have the entire country put on lockdown with the city promptly evacuated to the neighboring cities. No one in or out after doing so, and I want the people to know that this is a national emergency that will be taken extremely seriously. No exceptions. Have our international friends reinforce defensive measures within and outside HQ immediately, but inform them to reinforce security on their own turfs in worse case scenario. Guardsmen in No Zone Prison, keep the animals locked up tight and don't let anybody get any ideas of escape. To faculty, including medical, psychiatric and sanitarian staff, continue your duties as instructed but be prepared for anything. To my soldiers, all nine thousand of you," His dark red eyes sharpened behind his shades. "I am declaring war on former Warden Zivo Zobotnik, and your mission, should the situation befall you, is to capture him alive."
With that, the transition was over.
Suddenly, a gigantic dome of light blue cyber energy digitally stitched itself over the entirety of Parallel City. The four hedgehogs watched with tense curiosity as it formed and strengthened over significantly, with multiple layers being created within to reinforce it's walls. The floating roads of the skies were instantly closed off with digitized barricades appearing out of thin air. Floating buildings had several confused and panicked people forced out of the structures, while civilians down below in the square were being told by city workers to leave the area immediately. Zone Cops in the middle of on-scene arrests were warping criminals with rings out of sight, before getting on their bikes and returning to HQ. The roars of their engines flared in their ears in the distance, while they could see the square's tallest building's video wall flicker on with President Zaxel residing within it. They could ever so faintly hear his voice echoing across the city while they heard panicked shouts and cries of the people.
"Citizens of Parallel City," The buffalo began, flashes of cameras illuminated his face in the background. "Do. Not. Panic. The city is now being placed on lockdown, while the brave men and women of No Zone Corps defend our home from the diabolical villain that is Zivo Zobotnik. As of this moment, I am hereby declaring war on him and his army of minions. Everyone will be safely evacuated into safe areas scattered in neighboring cities via warp rings. Families will not be separated as per protocol, and we trust that this manner will not last any longer than a day. However," His brows furrowed, hidden emotions of latent anger rising in his face. Perhaps shame as well, guilt for what he allowed and ignored in the past. "Zobotnik is an evil malefactor who has long ruined the integrity and trust of our city and government for decades. We've searched for him for years, and he's finally revealed his location and has apt intentions on attacking Parallel City. His crimes are nearly bottomless, but he will not torment this city or any city any longer." His voice rose highly. "We've had enough." He slowly exhaled before continuing with a slightly less angered tone. "Please remain calm, cooperate with the local authorities and remain indoors until the threat has been eradicated. I have vehement confidence that our military will keep us all protected, and I humbly ask that you please give them your upmost loyalty and faith." He nodded his head at the reporters before him. "Thank you." He and his band of secret serviceman quickly speed walked out of the room and away from the podium and microphones, dozens of reporters screeching for requests of questions.
Now it was Zonic's turn, who initiated his hidden transmitter and gave the ultimate order: "Team Bravo, are you and the other teams stationed securely?"
The voice of one of their many soldiers answered with a similar chilling tone. "Affirmative, over."
"Initiate the first wave."
"Yes, sir."
The entire building shook. More specifically, the roof itself was shaking. The center of the roof's flooring shifted and revealed a circular lining. It was a large platform that descended downwards into an unknown part of the building, until it raised up again with something new. Shadow personally was almost impressed, as the object that appeared on the circular platform rivaled that of the Eclipse Canon. It was almost like a smaller version, but still quite deadly. With blinding white metallic material, probably the same material used for the Cyber Chambers, it began to arm itself with impossibly powerful ammunition. With loud, strong clicks, the canon slash ballista-like weapon adjusted itself and aimed carefully. Probably being used by Team Bravo. Bright light blue rays emanated from within it's long barrel, before blasting a strong beam of energy towards the battle ground hidden in the lower atmosphere of the sky. It made a direct hit on it's target, clipping the side of the sky-high base on the right. Bits and pieces of large debris fell down below, and since it was closer to the city, it was dropping down on the outskirts of it. Just as the primes feared for the potential damage that was about to impact the earth below, the forcefield exclusively protecting Parallel City, began to morph and stretch towards the outskirts, enveloping it in it's protective dome as well.
That forcefield wasn't going to just protect the city, it was going to protect any nearby area it could stretch to, a heavily sophisticated defensive measure. It didn't move, and it was going to keep the outskirts protected as long as it was programmed to do so. Dozens of cars, trucks, buses and other large vehicles filled with citizens were going to and fro the city to outside it's walls to get to other places for safety. Their protection was of the upmost importance, more than anything else that would be accomplished here today. With this state of the art wall of defense, it would be much more difficult for Zobotnik to attack it.
Both of the primes were pleasantly surprised at how prepared their counterparts were, but maybe they shouldn't have been surprised at all from their competence. What they could be surprised about however, was the sheer speed in which evacuations and security protocols were taking place. Evacuations took forever to the point of civilians being live targets during battle, simply because it took too long for people to be escorted out of their homes or work environments to leave. They both remembered the Infinite incident like it was yesterday—Hell, it practically was yesterday—and how even Omega had to stay behind and help with the procedures of evacuations before showing up to help in the real fight. No Zone was no-nonsense and absolutely all business. They didn't waste anytime getting anything done, and the power of technology sped up the process of everything they did.
Both of their counterparts' gaze then traveled to the primes, their expressions still oddly and even menacingly glacial.
Silence.
A minute passed.
Two.
Three.
Four.
...and finally, five.
A candy red light of hacked cyber energy beamed from the skies above, coloring the clouds in it's corrupted color as it soared towards the city down below. Before the primes could make a move, they realized they didn't have to. The several layered forcefield was more than enough to help fight off the beam, it's projectile bouncing off of it's surface like a mirror. The counterattack completely and utterly failed. Pounds of steam and smoke blew from out of the base, not out of malfunction, but out of modification. It was changing it's form before them, readjusting the parts of it's structure like a handheld puzzle. With a few more adjustments, locks and shifts, the final form of the base was completed, and it wasn't very creative. It was almost identical to the Death Egg, except the mustache wasn't as big. Sonic remembered as a child that the Death Egg was so massive, that it could have housed an entire small planet inside. This base was definitely way smaller, but that didn't matter. It still probably held a large amount of traps, androids and other untold dangers they wouldn't expect.
Several more beams of candy red shined down upon the city, but not for another attack. The beams were transparent, similar to holographic lights. Millions upon millions of lines of code danced throughout the lights, all waiting to infect and corrupt anything it touched with horrid viruses. Teleporting via Cyber Control underneath the holographic lights, hacked No Zone androids were deployed all within the city, purging right through the shield. The primes became alarmed, but their twins didn't. Wasn't that bad? They were actively storming the place. Miniature armies of them were beginning to pile all around the outskirts of town, sprinting to run inside with armed weapons of various types. Zhadow decided to pacify their concerns. "Don't worry, this is according to plan. I want Zobotnik's little toys to come shuffling in, so the shield only blocks projectiles not moving targets with energy such as machines or living beings. Let them try and level the place, their tantrums won't last for long." He then jabbed his thumb from behind himself as a gesture, motioning for them to look.
A loud quake resounded underneath them. The quaking didn't stop, the building itself shifting to perform yet another move. Trailing a physical streak of light blue cyber energy, black fighter jets resembling arrows and spearheads flew into the air with perfected coordination. In an exemplary V-shape, they trailed faultless symmetrical streams of high-powered fuel. Up to one hundred and fifty aircrafts shuffled out one line at a time with great briskness, scattering across the atmosphere in separate but equally counted groups. Exactly fifty flew towards the base above, another fifty flew towards the outside of the city to act as a defensive outer layer and the remaining fifty transcended above the town itself as flying guardians. They hovered a little closer towards the area, before beginning to shoot down the androids with their own laser-based projectiles. Like a child wielding a magnifying glass to an anthill, they were on the attack and shot down the androids below. At the base, the aircrafts buzzed around the Eggman-looking structure as organized wasps. They aimed and shot their projectiles at the base to weaken it's own security protocols, but nothing more. They knew the heavy hitters would be coming soon to do the real work.
After the aircrafts made their exits, it was time for a branch of military that many people tended to foolishly forget about. Approximately twenty miles away from Parallel City lied Parallel Beach. From it's waters, bubbles began to rise to the surface. Androids of Zobotnik's handiwork teleported on the sands, but they quickly lost their balance the moment they appeared due to the rising watercraft surfacing from the ocean itself. Salt water dripped from sleek, sharp and black colored surfaces. Navy ships that were literally hovering above the water with cyber energy, were now pointed directly at the beach. Great ships of sea battles with long experiences of becoming the very nightmare of any band of pirates, were now fully functioning and ready to fire. One hundred powerful ships stood their ground above the very much groundless water, stalking tyrants of nautical prowess towering any and all enemies of the corps.
Finally, a near eardrum destroying pierce of several engines revving up at the exact same time pounded against their lugs. One thousand motorcycles of new and improved, advanced, hi-tech state of the art machinery, boosted themselves away from the HQ as a biker army of heavily combative armored officers. They were not officers of law right now, they were defenders of justice and rightful vengeance. Vengeance for the scars that were placed on the facility, vengeance for the permanent wounds placed on their allies, vengeance for the constant years of secrecy and abuse of power infiltrating the heart of the city. Vengeance for the two people who could have lost each other, and themselves. Vengeance for the lone soldier who was forced to betray them all, and was now patiently waiting in a prison cell for it all to blow over.
Vengeance for No Zone.
Justice for No Zone.
That would all be accomplished today.
But for them, that was a normal Friday night, wasn't it?
It was go time.
80 - END - 80
Chapter Text
81 - Trapezium - 81
6:35 PM
Candy red holographic insignias of Zobotnik appeared over the skies of Parallel City, right above it's forcefield. As the last remaining citizens of the metropolis were ushered into trucks, buses and cars they looked up to see his putrid face plastered overhead. A speaker symbol appeared beside it, and all devices surrounding the city activated. Broken dumpster stereos, dusty outdoor venue speakers, forgotten laptops on cafe tables and mistakenly dropped smart phones blasted the boasting voice of the former warden. Blustery, bombastic and utterly obnoxious babbling of vindictive chuckling echoed across the reality of No Zone. "Hohohooo...You just couldn't resist..." The arrogant snickering transformed into heavy, weighted laughter that only became more maniacal and spiteful. The sound of clapping and wheezing from cackling so hard collectively spread towards everyone's ears. "I knew you couldn't! I knew you'd attack me eventually, Zhadow, and now you've started a war you'll never be able to win. Hahahaha...!" He continued to chortle. "Your cute little defenses—Do you really think that's enough to stop me? Do you!?" The enemy lines of the sky, that infernal base of his, began to move at an alarming speed. Not down towards the city, but across it. As it moved, it deployed several flying futuristic battleships, the same red ones the primes recognized when they first appeared in No Zone. They looked a little different, more dense and equipped with way more weapons than the first. "Oh you miserable whelps...I don't care about the weaklings, the useless nine to five do-gooders of this forsaken city. Your brown nosing, backstabbing president...your snakes with guns calling themselves protectors of justice—No, I care not for any of you. Go ahead and lead the precious citizens to safety, because all I want..."
The base, the industrial, wide and large propellers framed beneath and around it, soared back towards the city before ascending a little bit higher. Once it settled there, the four hedgehogs watching expected him to shield it with a forcefield of his own. But he didn't, he was asking to be attacked again. And they could only deduce that would ever would hit him, would fall into an immediate trap.
"...Are the heads of Zonic and Zhadow the Hedgehog."
As the increasing volume of roaring engines, shooting projectiles and faint yelling echoed in the background, the four hedgehogs faced each other.
"So," Sonic spoke first, breaking the ice with a thrilling smile. "What's the sitch?"
"A change of plans." Zhadow replied, causing the primes to give brief puzzled expressions. Zhadow made it very clear on the beach days ago about what they were going to do, and what he wanted them to do. But their ears could hear something in peculiar, something that was hidden behind his normal casual bravado. There was another purpose to his words, but they didn't know what. "Rookie and I will team up, and you two will do the same. We'll handle the skies while you two handle the ground. If need be, we'll rendezvous at a designated base." That was weird...Why didn't Zhadow say "you three," and not "you two"? He and Zonic recently always counted Maria in their plans since she was a powerfully magnificent asset. That wasn't like him at all. "All we request is that you cooperate with unbridled urgency. When we need you to do something in particular, you'll know, but you need to carry it out to full and flawless completion." Both he and Zonic held out their hands. "Together, we're all going to obliterate Zobotnik for good, and take down that damn shitstain in my skies. We're going to make him pay for everything he's ever done to us, all of us. We're not just going to stop him, we're going to destroy him, and take back the ruby. This will be the last time we all team up, and anything can happen. We could die, you could die, we all could die." He rigid expression tightened. "Are you with us to the end?"
Something was wrong here, and neither Sonic nor Shadow could sense why that was. But then, they looked at Zonic, who's expression was stiff as usual. That's when they saw it: His eyes. Why were his eyes so brightly green like Sonic's now? And Shadow—he could sense way more chaos energy inside of the blue soldier than usual. That wasn't good, he should be a pile of guts with all that power inside of him. Zonians couldn't handle that much chaos energy from simple exposure, but inside of him? How the hell was he not dead? Before either of the primes could speak and ask them just what was going on...
...Zonic held up his finger over his lips silently.
Both Shadow and Sonic could both hear and feel Maria's warming presence in her transparent form. She leaned down to their ears and whispered to them, Be quiet. Someone's listening.
The primes' eyes darted upwards at the base as she disappeared again.
...
...They understood the situation now.
Okay, no problem.
They supposed they would get their answers later.
Zhadow repeated his question once more, his tone shifting a bit once he noticed the primes were on the same vibe as they were. "I'll ask again. Are you with us to the end?"
Without another moment of hesitation, Sonic's hand proudly gave Zonic some dap while Shadow's firmly grasped Zhadow's.
The blue hero's eyes glowed a playfully dangerous lime green and the GUN agent's irises illuminated into a dauntingly loyal bright amber red. "Let's go."
Zhadow bestowed his orders immediately without missing a beat. "I want you both to clean up the outskirts of the city, then pierce your way towards the square. Begin at one of the empty roads that lead to the Cosmic Interstate and make your way in from there. You can split up for now until you make it to the square, but I want you both together for most of the fight. You're both stronger as a single unit, and you'll create way more damage that can't be ignored. I don't expect you to wipe them all out, but I do expect you to destroy a good chunk of Zobotnik's numbers by the time you get to Town Hall. If you erase the outer rim of his hold on the city while destroying his main line to the town, it'll severely weaken his grip on us. I want a trail of nothing but destroyed androids left behind. You understand?" They both nodded quickly. "Perfect. Rookie," Once again, his voice seemed to shift. More gentle if not a little cocky. "We'll be leading aerial attacks on those meddlesome airships. You and I are going to have some fun," He smirked and raised his hand up to his sunglasses. "Just like old times."
A small blush appeared on Zonic's cheeks. A chance to fight alongside his superior again, just like before he got promoted? That was beyond a treat, and Zonic would savor every moment of it. To see his number one role model in his element, a moment to see him in his prime once more was a dream come true. After all, Zhadow was more than just his fiance, he was his everything. More than a mentor, more than a war hero, but a manifestation of terrifying yet handsomely unrivaled excellence that trumped anything and everything that came at him. He saw Zhadow take on several stabs to his stomach from a random psychotic assailant, and didn't even wince. He witnessed him take several bullets to the chest without recoiling, all with a damaged bulletproof vest. He's seen him wrestle down huge, roided up, drugged out thugs all by himself while walking away without even the smallest of scratches. He even saw Zhadow walk away from an actual explosion, with several healthy rescued citizens piled in his arms and shoulders. No Zone hasn't been in an actual war in many decades. Fifty years ago however, they were involved with another reality. A dangerous one, one that held a Chaos Born who wasn't born yet at the time, but soon became a resident of No Zone Prison many years later. Zhadow was the leading man of that war, and their military left that reality without any casualties. It was long, hard and grueling, but they lost not a single soldier.
Zonic had the privilege of fighting with Zhadow a nice amount of times during his mentorship, but they dwindled to nothing once he became general. The kidnapping didn't count since he and Zhadow really weren't on good terms, but now?
He was just so happy to be with him like this again.
Zhadow reached his arms above his head, stretched them and popped a few bones. He cracked his neck to the side, adjusted his shoulders and sighed. It's been a few years since he's done this. Hopefully he still got it. Pfft, what was he thinking? Of course he still had it. He seized his shades and easily tossed them off of his face, allowing them to digitize away before they plummeted to the ground below. Shadow noticed that still, his eyes were completely normal and healthy, as was his entire body. That was great news, the general truly did improve and stayed on his path of improvement. Good for him. Both Zhadow and Zonic began walking forward in precise synchronization, before speed walking, then jogging, then running until they were fully sprinting towards the edge of No Zone HQ's roof. They both jumped off and dived at the same time, and the primes watched as they descended down the vertical of the sky scraping building, wind bustling through their quills and clothes with every inch of space they dropped. To anyone else, they both committed suicide, but anyone who was a native of this world knew better. Digital lights of dark blue appeared around Zonic as lights of dark red appeared around Zhadow. Holographic grids of incomprehensible technological wonder appeared over their figures, engulfing them until the most advanced form of their new combative armor transformed around their bodies. First the boots, the legs, the lower body, the torso, upper body, arms and finally the helmets. Numbers of codes with ones and zeroes vanished from their frames when the transformations were complete.
Dark red and dark blue holographic lights created a bright neon glow just several feet below them, as the skeletons of futuristic high-grade machinery began to configure itself in thin air. Components connected, parts fused, gas was supplied and engines were summoned to create two twin No Zone grade motorcycles befitting only the General and First Lieutenant General of No Zone Corps. Fully digitized into the physical realm, it was noticeable to see that they were far more advanced than their older models. They were larger than other regular motorcycles or any of the No Zone models, more complex with multiple features other soldiers could only dream to have. Their engines roared dark red and blue smoke respectively, along with bright underglows and illuminated neon lights shining underneath it's metallic parts. With perfect timing, they both safely landed on their new bikes and gripped their armored hands on the large handle bars. They made their engines purr and then roar before making aerial wheelies and sonicbooming off from the HQ, leaving trails of digital dark red and dark blue energy behind their tires.
Now fully sheathed in their new battle suits, General Zhadow put to fingers up to the side of his helmet before speaking, his voice heavily filtered. However, speaking via their transmissions would allow his voice to sound normal to his men. "All combative units, the Huntsman and I will be initiating a frontal assault on the birds. Assist when necessary, but don't get in the way. For the teams on the ground, the primes will be stepping in. Same orders: Assist when you can, but do not become a nuisance. Protect them with your very lives, as they're the key to winning this war. Should anything happen to me, you already understand that you are to obey the Huntsman's orders to flawless perfection as the new leader of the fight. Regardless, for now, don't hold back. Destroy as many and as much as you can. I want a sea of metal bodies by the time this is done. Over." After relaying his orders, the two leaders of No Zone Corps drove their motorcycles up towards the sunsetting skies, time seeming to move slower as they ascended beyond their HQ.
That's when Zonic noticed what Zhadow said. Huntsman...? Who's codename was that? He didn't know of any soldier with that name. "Sir?" He asked behind his filtered helmet. "Who is this...Huntsman person? Will they be assisting us?"
A hefty chuckle emanated from Zhadow. "Rookie," He said before turning his way. "It's your name."
Time seemed to stop for a moment. "...Huh?" Zonic was confused. "Sir, I was never designated with that codename. My code name is Mad Dog-"
"I should have never let that name stick beyond your mentorship." Zhadow shook his head with a huff. "That was wrong of me, Zonic. You far grew past that moniker, it was disrespectful of me to allow you to operate under that title."
He was still confused, that was still Zonic's title no matter what. It's what everybody knew him as, what he was known for and what he did best: Act as a rabid guard dog for No Zone's leader. "But sir, Mad Dog is who I am. Yes, it was a hazing insult, but I embraced it and made something out of it. Everyone from bootcamp does that. Didn't you? Your name, Dullahan, you earned it. You did so well in your tests that the higherups boosted you to higher ranks in just a few months. It's a reflection of who you are—The dark horse of No Zone Corps. Zespio's was Tall Boy because while he wasn't the tallest Zonian around, he became a titan in the skies. Zector's is Hammerhead because like the shark, he mauls his enemies into mush. Metaphorically, of course. He is the predator of the seas, one that nobody can match in the water. And me," His voice grew a little softer, almost as if a bit of his confidence waned. "I...earned my name as Mad Dog. I am the guard dog of both Chaos Born and No Zone, especially for you. So, my name should reflect as such." He almost wanted Zhadow to confirm his words, as if he needed him to agree that this was all Zonic was. A mere dog. "Right?"
"No."
"...?"
Zhadow scoffed. "Didn't you tell me yourself that you wanted to be more than that? That you'd prove everyone wrong?"
"But...that was for my role as Overseer, sir. And I'd like to think I'm currently accomplishing that."
"Oh? So you're okay with only being a dog for me?" Suddenly, Zhadow's helmet was digitized off so Zonic could fully see his face when he said his next line of words. "Well I don't. I never did, and I never should have allowed you to think that. I've been more than selfish towards you Zonic, and I'm slowly trying to fix that." He held up his hand from the handlebar, revealing that even though they wore armor, a cylindrical neon blue light was wrapped around the ring finger to replace his engagement band. Zonic briefly looked down at his own hand to see that he also had a holographic ring around his armored finger, a red one. That wasn't on their suits before...did Zhadow upgrade it recently without his knowledge? If his blush could appear on his helmet, it would be covered pink. "Zonic," Zhadow addressed softly. "You are so much more than a mere dog, and you're more than just an Overseer. You're more than Chaos Born, more than my fiancé. To the world, you're everything. Without you, this reality wouldn't stand a chance. If you never enlisted in the corps, I can't imagine what would have happened to me or the reality. But in battle," He digitized his helmet back on and looked ahead at their destination: A stark red battleship covered in candy red energy. "You are no longer a 'Mad Dog' anymore, I already announced this change to our soldiers via email. I even had the Watchdog team change your title in the databanks. And if anyone screws up and accidentally calls you that again, I'll have them penalized. You will never be seen as a lap dog again, but a leader who commands the dogs. A leader who hunts them. A fearsome hunter who is the apex of all predators in the wild."
Zonic felt the grip in his handlebars weaken significantly.
His superior, his beacon of pride and passion, never wavered in his words. "Even the king of a jungle, a lion, can easily fall prey to a mere gunshot to the head. And it's only right that as a Dullahan, a headless ghost rider who collects the heads of the sinful, has a huntsman by his side to help him round up his enemies. Don't you think..."
His heart was beating so fast, it was like they were just dating again.
"...Rookie?"
Zonic had already known in his heart that one day Zhadow would be his husband, but Chaos did he want to marry him right here and now. His hands shook, and he almost felt his eyes burn with a sensation he knew all too well. He refused to show weakness, however. Not now. He took in a deep breath, a vindicated smile gracing his lips hidden behind the helmet. An overwhelming amount of recognition and humility struck his chest, and he grasped it. "..." In joyful silence, Zonic accepted his new codename with grace, gratitude and dignity. "...Thank you, Zhadow." He wasn't sure if his superior had any idea how much that meant to him. He could feel something well up in his nostrils, which alarmed him at first. Hyper's power was starting to affect him again, this hot sensation of love breaching his mind was distracting him. No, he had to ignore it. He couldn't mess up now, he had to show Zhadow how much he'd grown and how much he meant to him. Show him how well he earned his new nickname. He made a small sniff before revving up his bike and boosted ahead, leaving Zhadow in his dark blue cyber dust. "Try to keep up, old man!"
The general smirked and trailed right behind him. "Heh. Don't get too cocky, rookie! You've still got a ways to go!"
6:38 PM
As the primes watched their counterparts practically race each other to their first battle, they realized that now it was time for theirs. Before Shadow could even speak, he felt a gust of wind and the scent of blueberries and wild flowers smack him against his cheek. He rolled his eyes and mentally instructed Maria to stay within his body for now. "Maria, stay hidden. Our other selves obviously have a plan, and we don't want to spoil it." He felt the girl confirm his wishes, and he followed the blue blur's lead and instead of jumping off the building, ran down the side vertically. He saw a royal blue streak, and took no time in catching up to him. "Real cheeky of you to leave me behind, faker."
Sonic laughed and turned around to effortlessly run backwards with his arms behind his head. "Oh please, like you wouldn't have left me behind by teleporting like the cheater you are."
Shadow was more than unimpressed as they ran along the many tinted windows. "I don't need to cheat to beat you."
"Oh yeah?" The hero challenged with a grin. "For real," He said while tilting his head, a knowing sportiveness in his voice. "You think you're hot stuff just 'cause you got Dollface with you?" It was a good thing he didn't use her name, otherwise their plan might have been muddled. Whatever said plan was supposed to be, anyway. "You gonna let her carry you like a lump o' coal? Don't make the little lady do all the work, okay? Not manly or cool at all, bro." There was a lack of venom in that remark, but there was indeed a lot of roguish cockiness that Shadow didn't appreciate in the slightest.
An annoyed grunt was his first response. "Asshole, what are you up to?" He growled with a glare. "You do realize this is a war, right? It's not a damn playground-" He felt his chest fur get gripped, Sonic suddenly only inches away from his face with a huge sneer. "...!" Shadow fought the urge to blush, did he really have to grab him there of all places?
"Then let's make a bet." Sonic exclaimed with excitement. "Whoever trashes the most bots and makes it to Town Square first, wins! The win don't count if you ain't destroy more droids than me before ya hit the finish line, and vice versa. And by the way, I'll allow the use of chaos energy, but you can't use Dollface's powers or use Chaos Control, faker!"
Was he actually making a competition during the start of a God damn war? You know what—Why was Shadow even questioning his antics anymore? It was Sonic for Chaos' sake, he'd make a game out of jumping over bloodied spikes all over Greenhill Zone if he wanted to. But...He saw what he was doing. If they made this a competition, it'd be much easier and quicker to wipe out the lackeys. Maybe even make it more fun. A glint of competitive pride drifted through Shadow's eyes. Fine, then. Since someone wanted to be grabby at the moment, Shadow decided to play along and reached up to grip the bottom of Sonic's jaw. He was honestly amazed they haven't made each other fall off the side of the building while running like this, but he supposed this was an average Sonic-Situation. Even as he gripped his jaw, Sonic continued to taunt him with that grin. "You really think I need all of that just to beat you? Have you forgotten who you're in a relationship with?" He then rudely pushed Sonic's face away and skated faster. "Name your conditions, hedgehog. Don't hold back."
"Fuck you're hot when you get like that..." Sonic mumbled while biting his bottom lip. He had no problem keeping up with Shadow's sudden speed increase. "You already know what I want, Shads, and you been avoidin' the subject like the God damn plague. You ain't runnin' away from me this time. You already promised me twice since we got here that you'd hook me up with what I been askin' for. I'm not askin' a third, and this ain't up for negotiations. You lose, and it's a done deal. You win, and you know what you're gonna get." Sonic threatened with an oddly rougher than usual tone, his irises brightening neon green. "I'm sick of the c-blockin', you owe me two times over and it's about to be three times. The second this is all over, your ass is grass. And even if you do win this one, you're still in my debt 'cause you promised. Ya hear?"
That's when Sonic suddenly watched Shadow sonicboom right past him with amber red aura. "You done, now?" He asked with a glare. "Good. Now shut up and shit or get off the pot."
And with that, he left Sonic in his competitive driven dust.
A deviously frisky chuckle left his body before he rushed after him, two streaks of blue and red going in opposite directions.
Oh it was so on.
Parallel City, East Side
6:45 PM - The war has begun.
Parallel City was soon becoming overrun with androids, with zone cops giving it their all to destroy them or at the very least drive them away. They were already informed that their heads were their vulnerabilities, so breaking that was the key. However, it seems as if their AIs became privy to that disadvantage, and was doing everything they could to avoid any cranial damage. These androids were more elusive, more nimble and quick to run away before allowing themselves to be ambushed and potentially neutralized. While the officers weren't necessarily struggling against them, they did find the enemies extremely annoying. Despite the few dozen they had already downed since the battle started, they realized they wouldn't be lucky enough to get anymore victims unless they made a different strategy. They realized now that their new suits were a godsend, because these androids looked nearly identical to their old suits if it wasn't for the gaudy golden plating on some parts. A couple of cops on motorcycles tried making a pincer attack, making U-turns in the middle of the battleground with cyber grade improved firearms. As they circled around a group of bots, they aimed and pulled the trigger. Instead of bullets, they shot two large electrified nets that deployed in the air before slamming downwards on the metal lot with a strong magnetic pull. The electricity did indeed fry them a little, but it barely caused them to stop moving. They fell on top of each other, but were quick to get back up and untangle themselves. Some were even intelligent enough to whip out some army knives, empower the blades with hacked cyber energy and began to cut themselves out.
When a few of the officers tried shooting at them to gun them down, a few of the androids thought one step faster and created a forcefield of candy red over them to block the projectiles. These androids were extremely intelligent, much more intelligent than Zhadow had explained to them in their meetings. The officers who attempted the pincer attack were trapped in the shield along with the enemies they attacked, and when they tried to drive their bikes out, they couldn't quite get through. They were breaching the energy, thanks to the tiny bits of chaos energy infused in the material of the bikes and their suits, but they weren't quite strong enough to fully break out. Meanwhile, as the droids got out of their nets, they began to slowly approach the two officers from behind, weapons aimed and pointed at the back of their helmets. The others tried running over to break the forcefield from the other side, but they couldn't dent it, only slightly push a finger or two inside. They attempted to grab at their comrades and pull them or their bikes out physically, but it wouldn't budge, they were caught in an energized stalemate. The leader of this group, a female ring-tailed lemur with a deadly boa-constricting tail, was currently crushing a few droids to death with her limb. She heard the grunts and yelps for assistance from behind, and turned her head at the noise. She saw her team was getting overwhelmed by these damn things. Not even because they were stronger, but because they worked so intelligently.
She gritted her teeth behind her helmet as her tail popped the heads off of the robots in her grasp, and let their bodies thud onto the ground. She whipped her tail around before pressing her fingers up to the side of her face shield. "Bastards...You'll pay for what you did to Zhisper!" She hissed to no one but herself. She initiated the radio frequency, and was begrudgingly forced to ask for back up. This sucked. If her squad was already asking for help for something as minor as this, this early into the fight, she could only imagine how the other groups on the ground were doing. She sighed, she had to do what was best for her comrades. "Damn it...This is Python from Team Delta. We're kidna havin' a tough time here, and I might need some back-"
A blue whoosh brushed right by her.
"-Up...?" She slowly looked in front of her to see a blue hedgehog, one taller than her, who was lightly bouncing up and down on his toes with his back towards her.
Woah, wasn't that one of the primes? Cripes, he looked just like First Lieutenant General Zonic. His quills were just as long, his body just as fit and athletic, and his aura just as imminent. The hedgehog got in a track runner's position, royal blue aura smoking from his cerulean body. The golden buckles on his sneakers electrified with blue chaos energy and drifted all the way to his upper body. "Ohohohoooo," The Mobian hedgehog smirked with a snicker as his eyes aimed for that stupid looking candy red forcefield. "This is gonna be fun."
"H-Hey!" The lemur tried protesting. "You're one of the primes, right? I'm supposed to protect you, so please don't do anything too rash-"
"Get ready to pay up, Shads!" The blue hedgehog laughed as he boomed his way towards the ball of hacked cyber energy. The other officers had spent enough times with the fastest people in their reality long enough to know what that sound was, and quickly rushed to move out of the way with surprised yells. Covering himself head to toe with chaos energy, Sonic rocketed his way through the commotion and made a direct impact into the forcefield. He had spindashed himself into the surface, the initial collide creating several cracks all along the shield. The energized azure ball of spikes hammered away at the shield until more creases in it's defenses chipped away, Trojan codes falling apart with the amount of damage and chaos energy exposure. It began to sound like a sawblade slicing through a smithing anvil, severing through until finally-"Ha!"-He broke through. The shield was instantly sliced through, and fell apart in seconds with it's code drifting upwards into the ether before vanishing. The captured officers revved up their engines to drive away, then skidded to a stop beside the lemur cop to watch alongside her. Sonic landed on his feet before eyeing down his new friends. "Hey there, rust buckets. You miss me? I sure missed you!" He ended that sentence with a speedy series of after images laying a grievous beatdown on numerous droids at once.
If he didn't destroy their heads from the impacts of his fists and or kicks, they were too mangled to get back up anyway, short-circuiting every so often as they all fell to the ground like dominoes. The blue streak came to a still as he brushed some of that weird mercury looking robot blood off of his body. "Mm," Sonic frowned a little. "Way too easy...I ain't convinced that's all you got. But," He tipped his sneaker into the busted up head of one of the droids currently lying face first into the ground and tilted his head. "You definitely ain't gettin' up anytime soon. 'Guess I'm done here, and I'm sure the nice officers behind me won't mind finishing the job by blowing your faces to pieces. Still counts as a win in my book." He turned to the lemur, who slowly pulled off her helmet in amazement. "You the leader here, right?"
She nodded gradually, still a bit stunned. Her leaders told her the primes were no joke, but she saw now that this was a terrible understatement. "Y-Yeah..."
"Ohhh~!" Sonic smiled a little at the sight of her revealed face. "You're a cutie."
"...!" She immediately blushed. "T-Thanks...?"
"Don't think I've seen a face like yours in my reality. Anywho," He began casually walking off with his peach arms behind his head, readjusting his quills. "You're doin' pretty good, had to slug my legs through a whole heap of destroyed bots before I got here. That tail of yours is killer." He gave a thumbs up without looking back before speeding off. "Keep it up, kid!"
"..."
She then turned around, only to see a path of mangled parts of robots scattered in a perfect trail that led all the way to here. The path of the destruction was so long that she couldn't even see the end of it. No, that wasn't just her or her men's doing. That was Sonic prime's. Did he come all the way from the Cosmic Interstate? The lemur just stared with stars in her bright purple eyes. Seeing as how she was still in shock, one of her comrades tapped the back of her shoulder. "Err, ma'am? Your orders?" They stared at her continued silence. "Master Sergeant Zangle...?" They used her name, seeing if she would react. "Are you okay-"
Steam blew from her nostrils as she pumped her fists in the air. "He's. So. Freaking. COOL!" She shouted. Her allies flinched and backed away immediately as she seized one of them by the shoulders and shook them violently. "Did you see that?! Did you see how freakin' awesome that was!? He's like Zonic but like—Almost cooler!" She hollered an angered wail. "Aaawww man, why couldn't he assign me as his bodyguard or something!? Damn it...!" Her emotions flipped back and forth, practically dancing around in circles while squealing. "This is so freakin' amazing! I gotta beg Vice Leader Zonic to me get stationed in Mobius prime, I need to hang out with that guy!"
Her men only watched with blank stares from their helmets as they watched their leader go from professional to a small child in just seconds.
"Zhisper's gonna be so jealous...!"
Parallel City, West End
6:45 PM
Seriously, it was a good thing ammo for their guns were practically limitless thanks to cyber energy. Otherwise, they would have ran out ten minutes ago. Another team of No Zone soldiers were attempting to clear out and secure an area of the city, the shopping district. The droids were showing overwhelming signs of high intelligence, knocking over mannequins and cashier counters to use as barricades instead of wasting cyber energy on forcefields. Several groups of them were huddled near the entrance of a shopping center, sometimes disappearing inside it's depths to recovery from any damages they received from other officers. This particular No Zone team decided to make a few bases in this area, creating a perimeter around the shopping center to prevent any stragglers from getting out or coming in. At first, the plan was full proof. They managed to get a lot of headshots on some of the bastards, and were cleaning the place out nicely. That is, until the face shields in their helmets began to glow candy red. Their robot heads twitched creepily, and it almost seemed like they glitched and stopped their movements entirely. Then, before the Zone Cops could realize what was happening, the androids began creating their barricades at quick paces. They took proper defense, no longer blindly attacking like mindless bots.
Soon, the direction of the battle completely flipped. Soldiers were getting barraged with malware-energized projectiles, candy red bullets that were attempting to hack into their suits. Thankfully they didn't, but that wasn't the only problem. When a soldier got hit, a matching colored bubble would appear around them to stop them in their tracks. Even attempting to duck and dodge these projectiles didn't work, as the androids seemed to predict where they'd run and get them anyway. Now several soldiers were trapped in hacked cyber bubbles, yelling and hollering for help to get out. They were slamming their fists on the bubbles from the inside, their voices muffled. That was an alarmingly impressive strategy, since many officers were attempting to storm the shopping center's entrance. It was like enticing a gang of rats with a single slice of cheese. A few cops tried tossing some cyber grenades, but the droids were fast and smacked them away with their weapons back to their senders. Last minute digitized riot shields were deployed to protect themselves, but that plan was a bust too.
That's when the captain of that team, Watchdog Specialist Zally Zacorn, yelled for her allies to stop. "Stop!" She screamed. "If you keep stampeding in like that, they'll catch all of us!" As she ordered for them to back down for now, she watched the bots remain still and ready for them to make a move towards them. That's when she realized that something quite troubling was happening: These androids were actively updating their own AIs. "Great..." She scoffed and pressed her fingers to her helmet as she ducked and ran through active lines of fire. "Come in, all units! This is Princess reporting, the androids are updating their AI! I repeat, the androids are actively updating their AIs! Do not take them likely and destroy them as quickly as you can before they can outsmart you!" She digitized her helmet off, her long auburn red hair lightly blowing back as her face was revealed. A light blue glow began to illuminate around her. Holographic visors appeared over her face, along with a hovering keyboard and a dome over her head. Sure the entire city had one, but it was only to protect it from outside laser projectiles. Besides that, anything else could waltz right in and do whatever. Anyone inside of the shield was on their own, so she needed this extra line of protection. "Activate the Zicole Program," Officer Zacorn voice commanded the holographic interface, initiating a series of floating codes around her. "Survey." A light blue grid spread across the entire portion of this side of the city, and numbers began appearing before her as she glared at the shopping center. One, two, three...Twenty-three. Twenty-three enemies. It was only that many and they did this much damage? Geez.
She bit her lip with a small rise of anxiety. This was embarrassing and troubling. Sure she had plenty of men to spare, but now a good chunk of them were trapped in those bubbles. When she glanced behind her to see them, she saw that other allies were attempting to get them out to no avail. Hacked cyber energy was a huge puzzle, as nobody but the programmer itself knew how to unravel it's corrupted code to take it down. Only something very physically strong could break through certain barriers of digital firewalls. And while yes, they did grow stronger with training, not everyone finished their training and some people just weren't that physically savvy enough to destroy hacked surfaces like that. Plus, despite the upgraded suits, they didn't want to risk contacting Cyber Corruption. New suits or not, it was still a big valid threat. She had to think of something, because when she glanced back at the shopping center, she saw that some of the droids were beginning to step from out of their barricades and march their way over here. They were going to corner them.
"Damn it, damn it..." She could call for backup, but that would hinder someone's else's squad. They couldn't make any surprise attacks because these droids already analyzed them like peons. Nothing they could throw at them would catch them off guard and work. "Shit...!" She didn't have a choice. She'd have to call reinforcements. Just as her finger hovered over one of the transparent light blue keys-
-She watched the entire entrance of the shopping center blow up.
She gasped as she witnessed the bodies of several robots sprinkle all around her feet, thudding so hard into the concrete that they left huge imprints. She didn't understand, grenades were practically useless against them since they never lingered long enough to explode. How did an explosion happen? She nervously took a few steps back before looking up and seeing a dark figure walk out of the smoke. From the fires of the smoke, a black and amber red striped hedgehog stepped out into view with an unenthusiastic scowl. "And that makes one hundred. Waste of my time." Was all he spat before marching his way past the shocked officers, who continued to watch in awe and confusion.
That wasn't General Zhadow, he was out of uniform and he wouldn't be here right now. "Wait...You're..." She mentally smacked herself as she blinked a few times. He was one of the primes! "Shadow prime!" Officer Zacorn attempted to gain his attention as he walked by, allowing her holographics to float beside her. "W-Wait!" He raised a brow and paused for a brief moment to look down at her. "We tried using grenades, but they were too smart and fast and hit them right back at us. How did you-"
"Because I didn't use a grenade, and I didn't attack them from the front." Shadow easily answered. He leaned down and picked up one of the ruined bots, it's head specifically. "See this?" He pointed at the crown of the metallic cranium. "These things aren't indestructible. Yes, their heads are their weak points, but that's not all. They explode when you hit them in the right spot. All I did was infiltrate their base from the back entrance, hid behind a counter, snatched one away from the group, decapitated it, smacked it hard enough on this part of the head, waited for it to smoke and tossed it. Boom, done." He easily threw it over his shoulder somewhere before beginning to walk forward again. As he did, he disappeared in a green flash. Before her eyes, he teleported to several of her allies who were trapped in the bubbles and easily punched through each hacked forcefield with a chaos energized fist. With that kind of power, they crumbled to dust in seconds. And as for his race with Sonic, this wasn't cheating since he was only using chaos energy to help allies, not defeat any robots. Soon, all of the soldiers who were forced out of the fight were now back in action. They thanked Shadow profusely, saluting and bowing as he went on by. He said nothing to their gratitude but didn't ignore them. "You can thank me by doing a better job of keeping this area secure." Was all he said before speeding off in a streak of amber red.
Well damn.
Specialist Zacorn just slowly shook her head with a nervous laugh.
"Huh. He is another version of the general, after all. 'Guess I shouldn't be surprised."
81 - END - 81
Notes:
Zhisper - No Zone version of Whisper the Wolf from the IDW comics.
Master Sergeant Zangle - No Zone version of Tangle the Lemur from the IDW comics. Her codename "Python" is a reference to her constricting tail.
Watchdog Specialist Zally Zacorn - No Zone version of Sally Acorn from the Archie Comics. Her codename "Princess" is a reference to her nobility in the comics, and her Zonian counterpart was actually planned to appear in No Zone before the comic was cancelled.
Zicole Program - Not a character, but a reference to Nicole the Holo-Lynx and her AI program from the Archie Comics. She and Sally Acorn were very close.
(Please keep in mind that while Archie, Fleetway and IDW comic characters do and will appear in this story's various books, only very few people from these entities will serve a large role in the story. Only versions of Sonic, Shadow, their super forms and other video game canon characters that appear across these comics and the games will serve as main or supporting characters. Any comic exclusive characters that are not different versions of video game characters will only serve as side characters or cameos at best to move the story along, or to reveal key information.)
Chapter 82: Hypotenuse
Summary:
The start of the war begins with a strange occurrence.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
82 - Hypotenuse - 82
Parallel City, Town Square
6:50 PM - 5 minutes since the war has begun.
"Round up the stragglers, now! Swarming formation, captain's orders!" A Zone Cop yelled.
Multitudes of No Zone officers sprinted into action with aimed two-handed firearms. They led a charging swarm tactic towards the advancing armed androids, properly spread out amongst each other to give everyone ample room to shoot and fight without the threat of friendly fire. A large group of the bots charged towards them as well, actively returning fire but not gaining any enemy causalities. Seeing as how they were flawlessly shooting down the robots with perfect headshots, they didn't stop their momentum and kept pushing forward. They all fell down one by one, sometimes a few at a time beside each other and going immediately offline. As more of the enemy's numbers weakened, the droids began to falter before turning and running in the opposite direction. Only around a dozen survived that ordeal, and the rest felt it was best to retreat for now. This caused the group of soldiers to pause their onslaught and glance at each other. They then laughed and cheered a little, realizing that they just punked their enemy into running away for the time being. They wouldn't just let them go, but they could at least take this second to reload their weapons and adjust equipment before diving any further into enemy lines.
They were fighting in the square, plenty of space and room for a good fight, so long as nothing went too far from the area. After reaching a certain amount of meters, that was the end of the perimeter and the beginning of the square's surrounding neighborhood. That neighborhood housed several historical and important government buildings, political homes, well-to-do citizens and No Zone Corps' beloved cat cafe. All inhabitants of the city were nearly ninety-nine percent evacuated, meaning they didn't have to worry about any innocents getting harmed. They heard word that the owner of the cat cafe and it's staff managed to round up all the kittens and nearby stray cats and booked it once it was safe to run. Besides this current tiny group of adversaries, the square was relatively safe at this point. Of course, there was robotic debris littered all over the place, but that's because this particular team, Team November, had cleaned the place out once they were deployed in this area. They wouldn't say it was a piece of cake demolishing these bots, but they surely had less of a hard time than other teams in the city. That was because members of Team November were some of the higher ranking soldiers of No Zone Corps, specifically ranking fifty-one through seventy. After a soldier reaches a rank higher than fifty, they were officially a member of the higher ranking officers. They were stronger, faster and smarter than any other soldier out there and proved their deserving of their status every single day they worked on the force.
While leaders of any group was a higher ranking officer, such as officers Zacorn and Zangle, they were leading weaker men under the guidance of a dependable and stronger captain. This group however was different, because all of the members of this team were high ranking and deadly in a fight. While they were the lowest highest ranking officers, they still weren't pushovers to be ignored. This means that of course, the captain of this group would be quite powerful as well. That leader was the same Zonian who would be replacing Zespio's position for the time being in this war, the coyote picked out by General Zhadow himself. As of now, he was acting as a soldier on the ground. He planned on leading an attack in the skies soon. He lowered his weapon and stopped walking, watching his men move on without him as he tuned into his frequencies.
"Come in, Napoleon. This is Python."
Zangle...? Why was she contacting him right now? Hopefully she was okay, she was a little careless when it came to combat. "This is Napoleon, I read you loud and clear." He said, his voice, though filtered by the helmet, still strong with an accent that was of European descent.
"Sorry for the lack of communication, sir." Ah, he almost forgot she was a couple ranks lower than him. "Had a bit of a hiccup. The outskirts of the city seem to be secure. We've still got stragglers everywhere, but we're doing pretty good on the East side."
He nodded his head, that was indeed good news. "Very good. And the West side?"
The lemur sighed on the other end. "I've been tryin' to get in touch with Princess for like fifteen minutes now. I think she might have-"
"This is Princess reporting, over."
"Woah!" The female lemur exclaimed. "Princess, there you are! I was worried for a sec. You good? Need backup?"
"No need." The chipmunk kindly refused. "One of the primes came rushing in and saved our butts. I'm a bit ashamed, but I'm definitely grateful. Even gave some useful info. They sure know how to hit hard."
"Yeah no kidding!" Zangle chirped. "One of the primes helped us out too, the blue one. He totally trashed the place like it was nothing. I'm in freakin' rockstar awe, these guys are the real deal!"
"Try not to get too distracted, Python." Officer Zally lightly scolded, knowing how the lemur tended to fangirl over their leaders and was now doing the same with the primes.
This only made the coyote scoff. Yeah, he heard about the primes and he heard how big and bad they were. How of all the versions of Sonic and Shadow in the entire multiverse, they were two of the best the general and vice leader had ever met. They gave the two royal-like treatment from the entire reality, were ordered to do whatever they wished at the drop of a dime and rumor has it that they got to live in town rent free. Tch, freeloaders in his opinion. Honestly, what have the primes even done exactly? Okay, so one of them helped find Counselor Zouge, and the other protected officer Zector with his life. They fixed the power sewers, may or may not have destroyed the giant robot in the square and they allegedly aided General Zhadow and Vice Leader Zonic out of their capture. They clearly got lucky while their leaders did the heavy lifting. The positive press they had was due to nepotism. He wasn't impressed with them since they appeared in the reality, even more unimpressed when he finally saw them face-to-face in that meeting. They looked like sore thumbs, completely out of place. Especially that blue one. The striped one had some maturity, but that blue one, the one who looked like Zonic, was absolutely immature and childish. He could see why the first lieutenant general didn't initially like him, but he caught the two hanging out like best friends the other day. Hmph, he didn't like this...He already knew their General Zhadow was a carefree, yet dangerously patient man. He was unbothered by almost everything, but he knew when to lock in. Zonic however, was always locked in. He was surprised he let the primes butter him up like that to be on friendly terms.
"That remains to be seen, ladies." He said dismissively. "They're just a couple of stronger than average Shadow and Sonic clones, nothing more. So they know how to take down a few androids, but that isn't very impressive."
"A few androids?" Zally repeated with slow pronunciation, almost making sure she was hearing him right. "Napoleon, I watched Shadow prime take down an entire squad of these things. After that, he got my men out of capture in mere seconds. No, less than that actually. Then he gave me some very valuable advice on how to destroy-"
"No offense Princess," He sighed. "But you and the entirety of the Watchdog Team itself is lacking in actual strength. You were bound to find yourself in trouble eventually, I was just waiting for you to request backup."
"...!?" She scowled. "How dare you! You do realize I wouldn't be here if our leaders didn't think I could handle this, right?"
"You're here because your genius and technology is second to none besides our leaders, that's all."
"Yo," Zangle began with a disapproving tone. "Not cool, Zantoine."
Officer Zacorn immediately shushed the lemur. "Python, don't use our names in the frequency!"
The soldier known as Zantoine D'Zoolette only chuckled at their complaining, shaking his head with a hidden smirk. "You both just don't get it, do you? Princess, you have brains. Python, you have agility. Those things mean nothing if you don't have both along with strength. I'm not in charge of a few upstart rookies with some stronger guns and thicker suits, I'm the leader of a group that's actually worth a damn. And because they're so skilled, I've barely any need to step in myself. You're in charge of a bunch of kindergarteners playing with fingerpaint, while I'm actually working with real talent here. Trust me, I don't need the help of some outsiders. There is a reason why General Zhadow picked me to replace that snake Zespio and neither of you."
"..."
"..."
Hmph, he expected that to shut them up. Seriously, no wonder Zhadow didn't pick either of them to replace Zespio, they were too naive. Too weak. "You get it now, ladies? Please, sit tight while we finish up. I'll update you both soon." He began to walk forward again, planning to join his team ahead. "Without the primes, might I add."
"...'Know what?" Zangle suddenly said with a bored voice. "I'm gonna keep my frequency on, and I'm just gonna wait for it."
This caused the coyote to frown a bit as he saw his teammates in the distance grow bigger. "Wait for what?"
"I think I'm going to wait too. There's a reason why you were hazed with that codename, Zantoine." Zally concurred with a cold tone, hypocritically not even caring that she wasn't using his codename anymore. "Don't say we didn't warn you."
Warn him? She already made a report on the frequency to all units that the bots could update their AIs. He and his team already drove them away before that could happen and even if they were doing so now, it's not like it'd make much of a difference. He was the leader of one of the best teams on the battlefield right now, second to none. Sure they were other higher ranking soldiers such as Admiral Zector, but that didn't count. He was on the beach deployed somewhere, while he was ruling the lands of No Zone's Army. They had no idea what they were-
"What the hell are they doing...?!" He heard one of his men yell.
He tilted his head and began to pace a little faster. Once he made his way over to his team, he slowly pushed his way through. "What's going on?" He asked, but nobody answered. The hell? What was this, insubordination? He glanced back and forth between his allies, only to see that they were all stuck looking at something just ahead of them. Zantoine narrowed his crystal blue eyes, before his heart rate began to beat just a little faster. Just a few yards away, they saw the robots who had fled from them. They had huddled themselves up against a nearby fake tree, one that was made up of entirely synthetic material to feign a real one's existence. It was large and thick, plenty of room to hide behind. The bots were hiding there at first, until they began slowly walking from behind it. They were glitching, failing to actually move properly. Some of them even fell to their knees and began crawling, as if they were in immense pain. Sparks began to fly from their joints, until at least half of them went offline and fainted against the ground. The few who didn't, looked down at their allies. They tilted their metal heads gradually, almost giddily. They then began to bend down to their metal allies...
...before seizing their limbs and ripping them off of each other's bodies.
Mercury colored liquid splashed into the air as Zantoine slowly pulled off his helmet in silence.
Why...Why were they...
...Why were they doing that...?
They were actively destroying their own kind, mutilating their robotic parts like disposable plastic dolls. And the weirdest thing? It was as if they were sentient, as if they were enjoying ripping each other apart. That was impossible, robots couldn't have emotions like sadism, but they sure as hell were seemingly pulling arms and legs apart like violent, psychotic children. Some of the metal plating on their helmets and mimicking suits were covered in that mercury looking substance, splattered with the viscera of their fallen allies. Why were they killing each other? Why were they doing that? Zantoine's pupils began to grow smaller, because he didn't think he'd ever see something like this in his life. Even his men were too shocked to do anything, because this...this was disturbing, beyond inhumane. Why would Zobotnik ever program his machines to do something like this? Why...Why would anyone do something like that!? Did he find pleasure in this? Did he find pleasure in knowing his droids would do this in front of people?
He didn't hear the sound of gunshots being fired behind him.
Didn't hear the hiss of steam. Didn't hear his teammates cry for help, because there were others who didn't hear them either. He didn't even see the light blue and red colored gas spreading around him. Some broke out of the trance, some didn't. It didn't matter, because soon, Sergeant Major Zantoine D'Zoolette's entire team, was shot down. Pained, injured bodies hit the concreate ground, gasping and yells of bewildered astonishment was faded in the back of his ears. And soon, he felt a harsh pain erupt in his abdomen. He couldn't look away, couldn't look away from how the androids were pulling machinery and wires of electrical guts out of each other. Some were even pulling it out of themselves, actively harming and destroying themselves. That silver liquid began to look like crimson red blood, and it...he swore it splattered on his face and even got in his mouth. He flinched, his heartbeat abnormally extremely high. Why did it suddenly feel so hard to breathe? Why did he felt so much fear and hopelessness all of a sudden? Why...why was he even...here...? Why was he here...when he knows damn well he could be killed at any moment's notice? Why did he think this was a good idea? Why did he take this position knowing he could never fill Zespio's shoes? Why did he even enlist into the corps? Why did he...do anything?
Despite being one of the strongest leaders of No Zone Corps, he seemed to have forgotten one of the many common battle tactics of war...
...Warfare demoralization.
Except this kind of demoralization had a twist. A twist that not even their general could have predicted. Because unbeknownst to anyone there at the scene, those robots weren't just harming each other, they were glowing candy red while doing so. They constantly kept eye contact with the officer, never took their helmet's gaze off of him as they destroyed each other. This wasn't just a diversion, this was something so much worse. He was distracted from his allies' demises, and he didn't realize there was a whole new deployment of fresh and brand new androids walking behind him with armed weapons. Several of them, enough to count for two squads of enemies.
"Yo, he's gone like, really quiet. Napoleon? You still there?" Zangle tried to get him to respond. "Napoleon. Come in, Napoleon!"
"Napoleon...?" Zally called next, her tone less frosty and more genuinely concerned. "Look, don't get an attitude and ghost us. This isn't the time for mind games. Are you okay? Where are you?"
Silence.
"H-Hey! Don't ignore us!"
He...just couldn't look away.
So he didn't feel when he was knocked over the head with the butt of a gun, and soon dragged across the ground. His pupils were wide, almost filling all of his irises, which were small. He couldn't hear anything, couldn't feel anything, couldn't even see. It was like the entire world was getting blocked out, and he...he could see only one figure. One figure in all the darkness, slightly illuminated by a thin magenta light. One with a strange mask, and these weird white dreadlocks behind him. He was stepping, walking closer towards him. He couldn't move, couldn't get up or sit up to reach out to the figure.
Just as the stranger bent down to seize his hand, he suddenly felt like he could hear again.
It was faint, but he could just barely hear it.
The sounds of crushing metal, harsh blows of air and relieved yet alarmed yelps of gratification. Then, he could slightly feel that his sense of touch returned, because he could feel the ground below him quake. His vision, it was attempting to come back to him. That vision of the weird stranger disappeared, and the only thing he could see next, was golden buckled red sneakers crushing their soles into the skulls of the very robots harming themselves. His eyes, he blinked them several times so he could return feeling in them. His pupils slowly tried to shrink back down to normal size, and his irises darting around. His body still felt a bit paralyzed, but he almost had full control of his body again. He grunted, his shoulder blades shifting back in motion. He felt his thighs twitch, and he slowly moved them upwards. His fingers tingled, his elbows unlocked. His breathing became regulated, gasping as all of his nerve endings came back online. He shoved his palms against the ground, sweat beading on his forehead as he pushed himself up onto his bottom. Now sitting a bit slumped, he gasped as he grasped at his own neck. As he did so, he felt a small piece of his armor fall from the chest area. It made a small clatter sound, and rolled to a stop on the concrete. He could hear the frantic yells of his comrades shouting at him to respond.
What was that just now?
It was like some life draining hallucination, and it could have killed him. He coughed a few times, cleared his throat and craned his neck upwards to look at the sight before him.
6:55 PM
"Napoleon! Napoleon, answer me!"
The blue hedgehog in the red sneakers paused when his ear heard the transmission of a familiar nickname. His ear flicked, before he began to chuckle. He turned his head, his long quills blowing back from all the literal chaos around them. He peered down at the damaged, puny piece of equipment forgotten on the ground. He bent down, picked it up and gave it a once over before his lime green eyes glanced at the Zonian coyote. "Napoleon...?" He repeated with a growing grin. "I used to call Zonic that same thing, y'know. Funny there's a real cop with that codename." He tossed it back to the soldier before placing his hands on his hips. Zantoine didn't even move to catch it, too exhausted to do so, but it did land in his lap. "You should probably give your buds a callback, let 'em know you're good. Now," He rose his eyes at the display with a smirk, silverish liquid stained on his peach muzzle. "You should probably stand back. 'Cause I see the competition's just gettin' good."
Ten minutes.
It's been ten minutes, and he made it here first. Let's see what his rival accumulated in contest.
In a streak of amber red, a black and red striped hedgehog carelessly dropped a few rescued soldiers from his arms onto the ground. Stains of mercury was stained on his fur and strange looking footwear. The coyote blinked in shock, when did he save his allies? Hell—When and why did they need help in the first place? What happened? How long was he in that illusion? That's when he scanned his surroundings on the ground, and noticed several fresh new destroyed metal bodies of those damned androids. The striped hedgehog gave the blue one a heavy glare, before dusting off his gloves. A moment of silence passed between them, causing the other soldiers around them, including Zantoine, to look back and forth. One of his comrades looked from behind and jolted while pointing. "T-There's more coming!" They, along with the rest of the officers scrambled to get back up on their feet with loaded weapons digitized in their palms. Another wave of androids were walking their way, in perfect shape and unwavering determination to exterminate the No Zone Corps population.
One of them paused as they watched hacked cyber energy glow around their robotic helmets. "What's going on with them...?"
"Napoleon's team, Team November, remember my latest report!" Zally shouted over the forgotten transmission in Zantoine's lap. "Those robots are extremely dangerous, their AIs are constantly updating!"
"Hohooo," The cerulean Mobian hedgehog jested. "I love the sound of that, more of a challenge that way."
The striped hedgehog was in no mood for chatter. "Are you going to keep talking shit, or are you actually going to try and beat me?"
"Try?" The blue one laughed harshly. "Try? Baby, I don't need to try when I've already won."
The other soldiers, perturbed by this conversation, slowly looked in their direction.
"Your bluffs are getting old, hedgehog." The striped one countered. "As if you could ever beat the likes of me."
Another chortle rang out from the hero, until he suddenly raised his hands. "Bluffing? Okay..." He then clapped his palms together, a forceful shove of strong and powerful winds coming from seemingly out of nowhere unraveling around them. The soldiers yelped and lost some of their equilibrium, realizing that it was probably best to step back a bit. As azure colored winds began to drift into light breezes, multiple thuds were heard slamming onto the concrete. The ebony furred hedgehog watched as several bodies of discarded, busted and decapitated droids fell from the depths of the disappearing winds before him. He must have used Chaos Wind to gather them all up and put them down here. It wasn't quite Chaos Control, as he probably had it running wild on the loose a few districts back, and only called for the chaotic natural disaster to come here. It wasn't cheating, he only used the ability to keep record of all the bodies he dropped. The hero cocked his head to the side with an arrogant grin. "You call this bluffing?"
Amber red eyes scanned every single destroyed unit, including the ones already littered about before he got here. That was...what, two hundred and forty? Hmph, child's play. "You disappoint me, faker." Was all the golden ringed hedgehog said before snapping his fingers. An amber red portal appeared above his head a couple feet away, before dumping an unnecessarily large portion of androids. They too were battered to a bloody, robotic pulp, with some of their bodies so mangled that they were all nearly mutilated. "Four hundred and seventy one." The ebony hedgehog declared. "That more than trumps your measly amount almost two times over. You may have beat me here, but as per your conditions," He continued boldly. "That doesn't matter. As long as I have a larger body count than you, which I do," He crossed his arms over his white furred chest. "Then I win."
Lime green eyes stared stunned at the pile of metal corpses. He fluttered his bright irises in impressed shock, before suddenly breaking out into another round of laughter. "Hahahaha...!" He ran his hand through his quills and his expression darkened over a little. "Shads, did you forget?" He asked kindly, or rather, patronizingly. "I ain't fifteen, babe. One-upping me ain't gonna be that simple no more. Seriously," He slipped a golden ring from behind his quills, a slightly larger than average one. "You think I came in swingin' with a weak ass number like that? I didn't even tell you the total amount yet."
Shadow's eyes dilated slightly. Total amount...? And why did he have that ring? Wasn't that the same ring Zonic gave him back in Zobotnik's lair? He still had it? He watched as Sonic slowly plunged his hand through the opening, his limb disappearing, before he pulled it back out with a hefty grunt. He winced at the resistance of what was inside, before yanking out a bulky spiked net. Sonic looked over at the net, noticing how heavy it was from all the things inside of it. He whistled, before placing the ring back in his quills. He then twirled the large netted bag before tossing it in front of Shadow's huge pile of enemy rubble. The biohog slowly peered down, before realizing that within this spiked net, was a cacophony of destroyed androids. His eyes scanned several times back and forth, up and down, mentally counting all the enemies Sonic slain in the last ten minutes. A few beads of sweat decorated his face as he realized the number: Two hundred and sixty. Which...added together...!
...Five hundred.
Sonic destroyed five hundred, while Shadow only destroyed four hundred and seventy one.
Sonic beat him.
A vein began to grow on the biohog's forehead. "You...!" He growled roughly. "You said we couldn't use chaos abilties!"
"Yeah I know, and I stuck true to that. I never used any chaos abilities to drop these douchebags." Sonic said with an adrenaline pumping sneer. "But I never said we couldn't use No Zone equipment, such as this cute little arsenal ring I got from Zee to make a cyber energized spiked net." His grin widened so hard that his teeth was beginning to ache, his eyes glowing neon green. "Beat ya again, faker. Now," His quills began to raise. "Whatcha gonna do 'bout it? Huh?"
That little son of a bitch...He completely bamboozled him! He never mentioned they could use No Zone equipment, and he led him astray. He set him up! That cheating bastard! Shadow's amber eyes glowed ruby red as he snarled in anger, his quills sharpening as he steadied body to a scarily sturdy stance. "When I get my fucking hands on you...there won't be anyone left to save you from me!"
"What's wrong, Ultimate Loser? Sorry you lost to me yet again?" Sonic shouted back. "Alright tough guy, lightning round! No chaos abilities, and no No Zone weapons. All muscle and speed. Whoever destroys the most bots in this area in exactly five minutes, wins! No excuses, no tricks, no last minutes additions. This is do or die, and I'll even let ya clock it in!"
7:10 PM
"When I win, I want an apology with you on your knees, bowing to me!"
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about, baby. Bring it on!"
Flashes of blue and green, and black and red filled everyone's visions.
Both hedgehogs sonicboomed towards each other, but instead of clashing, they just barely side stepped one another with an electrifying static-worthy glower from them both. As their eyes locked onto one another, they sped past and went in opposite directions. In streaks of their respective colors, they made simultaneous U-turns and made a beeline for the marching squad of enemies just before them. Zantoine took this time to slowly stand up, his hand cupping the broken off portion of his transmitter in his hand. Large auras of royal blue and amber red were plunging their way through the crowd of assailants, the duo hedgehogs destroying dozens of bots at a time with limitless combative prowess. Fluids of that mercury looking liquid, heads, arms, legs, torsos and scrap metal flew into the air before falling in different directions onto the Town Square's grounds. It was like watching two different waves of tsunamis meet and collide with each other, encapsulating a powerful ship and dragging it down into the oceans below together. While the two were throwing heated words at each other, they weren't fighting one another, they were actually cooperating. They were fighting and destroying their enemies together in exhilarating, competitive synch. This wasn't a war to them, this was barely even a fight.
This was all just one big game to them.
Zantoine along with the other soldiers were too stunned to step in and make a move. "Did all of you see anything strange?" The captain suddenly asked. "Any weird hallucinations or delusions?"
Some of his men turned to each other with some silence, before a few of them nodded. "Yes, sir." One of them replied. "I certainly did."
"I did, too." Another added.
"Me as well. I saw some weird guy with an even weirder mask. What was that about?" He heard one of them mumble. "He on the wanted list or something?
That was bad, that means it wasn't just him—Almost the entire squad was engulfed into a hallucination that nearly costed them their lives. The coyote tightened his frown as he watched the primes go at it, a sinking feeling pooling up in his stomach.
However, another one of his comrades took an inch forward with a notable point. "Those are the primes, aren't they? Our leaders told us to protect them with our very lives, shouldn't we step in?"
"No." Zantoine immediately said, his hand raised up as they watched the competitive carnage. "Just...let them do this on their own. We'd obviously only get in the way."
"But sir-"
The coyote immediately whipped his head at them with a humbled scowl. "You want to walk in that scrap and die? By all means, go right ahead." He looked back at the two's progress, realizing that they were almost finished in wiping out that entire group. "To us, this is serious. But to them?" He scoffed as he felt a pit develop in his chest. He was too arrogant, too conceited to realize that his leader, General Zhadow, never made mistakes. And he definitely didn't make a mistake making these two death defying hedgehogs his number one guests in No Zone, and the spearheads of this war. "They're just having fun. Practically flirting with each other, honestly." They reminded him of his leaders very much, and he could finally see the comparison. "No, what we're going to do, is further secure the perimeter of this area. Leave them be, let them clean this mess up. They're doing the heavy lifting so the least we can do is make it so that they can't be interrupted. I want all of you partnered and designated to an area on the outskirts of the square. That's an order!" He announced. His team saluted him, and immediately dispersed in duos. Some however, couldn't help but steal glances at the literal chaos unfolding within the center of the square, lingering behind before remembering their orders and rushing off.
Those lookalikes of their bosses were no joke, and that was an understatement. So that's what Zangle and Zally meant...He supposed he owed the girls an apology. Not now though, later. This was no time for sentiments. He lifted the broken piece of the transmitter near his lips before speaking as he continued to watch the primes. "Napoleon reporting. My apologies for my lack of response. Something..." He frowned and furrowed his brows. "...Something strange happened to me. I'm afraid updating their artificial intelligences aren't the only thing those droids can do. They can cause you to lethally hallucinate."
"What?"
"Say what!?" Zangle needed to hear that again. "Are you sure?"
"I'm serious, Python. Those things..." Zantoine made an angered and repulsed scowl. "Those things may not be sentient, but they're evil. They mutilated themselves in front of me to demoralize me, and it worked. After they hurt each other, they spread this gas around my entire team. Seeing that display successfully distracted me, allowing the gas to infiltrate my body. It made me blackout, and I saw things. Things that make absolutely no sense. I saw someone with a strange mask reaching out to me, all before I heard these strange whispers. Insults, personal insecurities, anything to bring my spirits down." He realized until only after he finished that he sounded like a mad man. "I know this sounds insane, but I'm telling the truth. My men experienced similar symptoms and saw the same illusion. Princess, you need to override everyone's frequency, including our leaders and the primes, and warn them before it's too late. This is serious!" Zantoine suddenly raised his voice, an emotion covering his tone as the weight of what he just experienced fully confronted him. "This is beyond warfare tactics, this is complete psychological manipulation. Anyone with a weak mind will instantly fall victim, and I nearly just lost my entire squad! Do it!"
The chipmunk from the other end of the transmission listened to his words carefully. Zantoine was one of the proudest soldiers who ever enlisted into the corps, having done so due to a prideful family tradition. He came from a long line of policemen and military men, and didn't take kindly to weakness of any sort. He admired General Zhadow greatly because of his similar nature, though more brutal, and took to his teachings closely. He chastised and looked down upon anyone who wasn't as skilled as he was, including his own comrades sometimes, which often led to them butting heads with him. Like just a few minutes ago. But Officer Zacorn knew this was mostly a front. Yes, the coyote was proud but he wasn't an idiot. When he was humbled, he finally backed down and listened. If anyone besides their leaders could make him this nervous and this guarded, then this warning wasn't imaginary or taken out of hand. Zantoine was serious, and that means that whatever he went through couldn't go unnoticed.
"...You got it." Was all Officer Zacorn said before switching her frequencies to all units across the entire scope of Parallel City. "All units! I repeat, all units, come in!" She called with a strong voice. "This is Princess, captain of Team Watchdog reporting. I am overriding all of your frequencies as per orders in cases of an emergency or a potential lethal threat to all officers. It's been reported from Napoleon, captain of Team November that not only are the androids updating their AIs, but they are fighting and mutilating themselves in order to distract, lure and psychologically damage nearby soldiers. This is not a simple form of warfare demoralization, this is extremely dangerous! I have been informed that they tear themselves apart to distract you. They then spread noxious gas to trap their victims to cause a severe hallucination and cause you to be incapacitated, or worse. Proceed with caution and do not approach any group of androids without assistance. I repeat, do not approach any group of androids without assistance!"
Both prime hedgehogs heard this warning in their earpieces, and cared not for it.
They already knew these androids weren't the same enemies they fought not too long ago, and they knew they'd be tougher and programmed to be more conniving. And as they both attacked and fought their way through the horde of mercury blood pumping robots, they both did indeed come across the very thing they were warned of. Almost as if in a panic, a few of them paused, turned to each other and attacked their own numbers. Slowing down to a stop, both Sonic and Shadow watched with slightly surprised expressions. Wow, she wasn't kidding. Androids were beating each other to literal metallic pulps, before almost gleefully glancing at their enemies. Slowly, the primes began to walk through the piles of rubble to get a better look, soon walking by and reuniting with each other beyond the mess. They continued to watch as more robots joined in on the self-destructive brawl, and they even caught a few of them shooting each other down. When they realized they had both primes' attention, their helmets glowed candy red.
The hedgehogs blinked, their minds suddenly purged with an illusion.
An illusion of...Infinite.
Infinite...
...
...Infinite, Infinite, Infinite...!
That little scum sucking, predatory, cowardly, incel-baiting, narcissistic, mask wearing piece of shit!
Once they grew enraged at the illusion, it was almost as if the hallucination itself was daunted by this emotion. The vision of Infinite flinched, and it almost instantly faded away from. It expected them to be weakened and frightened at what they saw, demoralized and broken. But quite the opposite, actually. It seems these androids didn't do their research, because they'd know better than to show two of Infinite's most prevalent victims a vision of him and not expect them to grow wrathful. These weren't No Zone cops, these were templates from another realm who knew better than to fall for such an obvious trick, one that didn't even do what it intended. With angered veins growing on their heads, they both gave each other a nod before snarling and rushing forward.
With a sweat drop, Zantoine watched with widened eyes as the two primes went ballistic. He then winced at the brutal impacts of closed, hardened fists, and skull splitting ax-kicks stabbed into their robotic heads.
"Napoleon! What's going on? Are the primes okay?" He heard Zangle ask frantically.
"Oh no, they're...Fine-" Was all he could reply with before he cringed at the sound of metal being torn apart. "-Just fine. Trust me. I'm honestly a little concerned for our enemies at this point."
Panting with highly exasperated expressions, Sonic cracked his knuckles while Shadow swung a lazy kick into one of the now very destroyed androids' bodies. The entire squad of robots, was now completely and utterly defeated. Considering the rate of speed they both performed, which was approximately the same level of quickness, they weren't sure who destroyed the most bots. They both silently took a mental head count, looking over their respective sides of the square and how many they obliterated, even recounting a few times. Sonic reached behind his quills to pull out his phone, unlocked it and checked the current time.
7:15 PM - 30 Minutes.
The blue hero looked up at his boyfriend with a suddenly bored face, handing him his phone to see the time for himself and to show that he didn't tamper with it. "...Tie?"
Shadow glossed over the screen, and then shrugged with a similar look before handing the phone back. "Eh. Tie." He then held up his hand to readjust the inhibitor accessory on his wrist, staring harshly into the destruction. "That illusion was odd. Do you think he's here?"
Sonic glared down right alongside him. "Infinite? Dunno...I sure hope he is so we can beat the shit outta him. The fact that he's scarin' the hell outta of the cops is real cute. Shame that don't work on us, though." He smirked a little in Shadow's direction. "Remember, I call dibs-"
"Don't even start with that nonsense. Whoever gets to him first claims 'dibs', hedgehog."
"Fine, fine..." The cerulean hedgehog looked up at the battle ships above them, noticing the fighter jets and flying motorcycles zipping around. "You think Zee and Zhads are havin' fun up there?"
The biohog glanced upwards as well with a curious stare. "If they're just as competitive as we are, probably."
Meanwhile, Zantoine just shook his head. He didn't understand how they just completely ignored the illusion. He, along with other members of this team may not have had the chance to be qualified for Primal Mode, but they were still some of the strongest minded soldiers in the corps. The fact that these buckets of bolts managed to get in their heads was impressive in itself. If they couldn't even make a scratch to the primes' psyches, then that meant they were either extremely powerful in both will and mind...
...or absolutely insane.
And since they were eerily similar to their leaders, he was leaning on the latter.
82 - END - 82
Notes:
Zantoine D'Zoolette - Zonian version of Antoine D'Coolette from the Archie Comics. He was hinted to exist and was actually planned to appear in the comics along with Zally Zacorn and Zhadow, but never did due to it's cancellation.
I do apologize for the lack of content. Due to writer's block, I sadly will only be posting once every week on Sunday. I am sorry, but I will not stop until this story is completed. Updates may be decreased, but my resolve will not waver. If you wish for more updates, please seek my Twitter/X @PMillennium78 or https://x.com/PMillennium78.
Chapter 83: Mensuration
Summary:
The point of view of the war switches to Zonic and Zhadow's.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
83 - Mensuration - 83
6:55 PM - 10 minutes since the war has begun.
Futuristic exhaust systems, burning synthetic rubber and roaring engines deafened the ears of those unfortunate enough who didn't have a helmet to mute the noise. Many other motorbikes soared across the skies and lands of the city, but only two in particular made direct contact with the numerous battleships above. The only other flying objects surrounding and attacking them were No Zone Corp's state of the art fighter jets. They were shooting their cyber-based projectiles at them, and they did a nice amount of damage. They destroyed forcefields, damaged the armor, and blasted holes in a few places. Some aircrafts tailing behind the other created a line, before a jet stream of light blue energy trailed behind them all. They moved in perfect synch, as did many No Zone soldiers, and made a circular formation around one of the battleships. They swirled around it with quick speed, the light trail behind them strengthening and thickening into a rope of cyber energy. A large one. It was nearly as large as some of the undersea cable wires lined and connected around the world, and as thick and powerful as anacondas. Once completely wrapped up in their cable wire-web, the aircrafts dispersed in separate directions.
The battle ship attempted to counterattack them with missiles and rockets, but being bound in the cyber wires caused it's aim to fail and miss their targets entirely. To make sure those missed projectiles didn't hit the city or any buildings, other aircrafts made sure to shoot them down with an instant explosion in the air. The battleship blared it's horns as a dying cry, before being pummeled with several cyber beamed lasers. It began to emit black smoke before beginning to fail and fall below the clouds. Suddenly, a light blue holographic ball surrounded it, preventing it from plummeting down below and crashing. Instead, something else quite extraordinary happened. These aircrafts were equipped with many new upgrades, and one of those upgrades, was being able to shoot a projectile that would initiate the capabilities of a warp ring. A portal opened within the ball of cyber, pulling the ruined battleship into it's depths. In an instant, it was blipped out of atmosphere and into the deep oceans below where it would explode and eventually rust into useless pieces of junk for years to come.
Impressive, the leader of No Zone Corp thought.
But he could do better.
While other battleships sank like that one, others weren't so easy to take down. Why? Because a whole hot mess of AI upgrading, sadistic and malevolent androids were not only piloting the ships, but jumping on top of it's decks and shooting down other aircrafts. Unfortunately, they managed to damage some of fleet, causing at least seven fighter jets to smoke and fail. One fighter jet leading a team of slightly smaller aircrafts, saw the sirens inside flare and began to make a move to eject themselves out. "Damn it...!" They looked from the cockpit window to see the other aircrafts nearby. If they didn't eject themselves, they'd crash into the other aircrafts in the sky. They couldn't let anyone else get hurt. "Mayday, mayday! This is Kitsune reporting from formation D-5! I've been hit—Get out of the way before I crash into you! Now!" They warned quickly before moving to look for the ejection button on the damaged dashboard. That is, until they saw a flash of blue and red light fly right by their window. Pulling off their helmet to reveal a male, youthful, teal-furred fennec fox muzzle, he tilted his head with curiosity. What was that? It was there and then it was gone. No matter, he couldn't waste anymore time-"Oh no..." He whispered. The window was cracked, and it's glass was beginning to fall apart into pieces. He had to call for back up and eject himself out of here before it was too late-
"Hey."
"AHH!" The fennec screeched in fear as he slammed himself backwards into his pilot seat. "W-What the...!?" His fuchsia irises widened at the appearance of his ultimate leader, General Zhadow, poking his helmet covered head through the now very destroyed cockpit window. "G-General Zhadow...? How are you-Why are you even-"
"Thank me later." He reached in and seized the fennec's smaller and thinner arm, who scrambled to grab his helmet before being taken away. As he was taken, explosions banged from within the aircraft, explosions that could have taken his life. It cried in mechanical and digital anguish, before smoking and falling down. Thankfully, in the cases of aircrafts being downed, they were automatically programmed to digitize away from the scene in a safe area designated for damaged vehicles. Therefore, it wouldn't crash on the ground. He was suddenly planted on the back of the general's most advanced motorcycle, the best model in the entire corps. It revved up and inclined a little before boosting away in a rush of darkened red smoke. The speeds this baby could go was so powerful, that it threatened to rip the poor fennec's face off if he didn't put his helmet back on. He wrapped his smaller arms around his leader for dear life, not realizing that he was literally holding onto his boss like a frightened child. As the motorcycle zipped around in the air through the mess of flying missiles and lasers, it dipped, spun, ascended and dodged it's way out of it all. As they found a clearer area in the sky to drive on, the vehicle suddenly made a sharp dip to the right to dodge a sneaky approaching missile from behind. "Alright then..." The general huffed before slowing his bike to a stop.
The fennec began to panic. "S-Sir? I don't mean to question your authority, but what are you doing? We'll get hit!"
"Mmhm." Was all General Zhadow replied with underneath his black and red concealing armor. "Just wait for it."
"W-Wait for what?" He turned back and saw a massive heat-guided missile coming straight their way. If his ears weren't covered up by his helmet, they'd be painfully pinned back out of fear. "This is bad, this is really bad...!" The fennec began to panic, looking back and forth for a way to get off the bike. "I can't believe I'm going out like this!" Maybe he could jump off and initiate his jet boots? Hopefully they weren't damaged, otherwise he'd plummet to his death. "Oh man, oh man...! Am I gonna die...!? I-!"
"Private Zitsunami." His general addressed with a strict voice.
"...!" The fox flinched and slowly looked up at his superior. "Y-Yes, sir...?"
"I said-" The missile headed right for them, but it wasn't targeting the fennec, it was targeting the leader himself. He suddenly stood up on the seat of his bike, dipped his body to the side with his arm held out and with rough but flawless precision, snatched the tail-end of the missile in the air. Since it was bigger than his hand, he had to grip his fingers in it to dent them inside it's material, making sure he locked his grip so it couldn't fly by him. Still attempting to blast it's way out of his grasp, he looked down at it with unimpressed contempt. He could feel it getting hotter, the obnoxiously large thing, getting ready to blow right up. Private Zitsunami trembled in shock at what he just witnessed: General Zhadow just caught a heat guided missile in the air with his hand alone. Instead of merely dodging it, he straight up caught it like a frisbee. "-Wait for it." Even the momentum of the projectile itself didn't move him, it wasn't strong enough to shake his stance from the bike, which he still stood on with excellent balance. "These toys aren't bad, but not worth my time. Cyber Control." Light blue froze over the missile, freezing it's entire physical mass to stop it from exploding. Zhadow then dipped his body backwards, once again with perfect equilibrium, before rallying his arm back and aiming.
The fennec realize that now was a good time to duck his head with his hands over his skull. He still however, watched with awe. "...You aren't really-!"
"Of course I am." Was all Zhadow replied with before reeling back with a windup pitch, and whipping his entire body forward with a deadly throw. With a small boom from the impact force of his throw, it speedily made it way from the bike and into the skirmish of aerial warfare. Zhadow steadied his body back in a default standing position, before raising one hand and conducting the direction of the missile's path. With small twitches and pulls of his fingers, it moved left, right, up, down and spun around any object that could disrupt it's path. It missed other missiles, dodge the blasts from laser beams, cut through the smoke of dying battleships and made it's target on the very ship that aimed at them in the first place. As androids up top the mechanical beast reloaded their weapons to shoot at the buzzing enemy aircrafts above, they had no idea what was coming up behind them. Zhadow snapped his fingers and simply muttered. "Cyber Control." And unfroze the missile's active bombing mechanisms. The droids slowly paused and turned around, before attempting to scamper away. It didn't matter though, because that missile had a large radius.
So the second it floated even two inches above the ship-
-It instantly exploded.
Several droids, now with damaged heads and bodies, wobbled their way off the edges off the battleship's deck if they didn't already fall over from being forcefully shut offline. They fell to their untimely digital deaths, destroying the rest of themselves on impact by making horrid, splattering contact with the ground thousands of feet below. That put a huge dent into the numbers on top of that ship, and now only less than a dozen remained, frantically trying to understand where that rogue missile came from. As the surviving droids scattered, Zhadow sighed and looked down at the fennec fox, who was still amazed by what he saw. "You're one of the lower ranks, aren't you?" He asked with a sullenly bored tone.
Despite the filter over his deep voice, the fox understood that his leader was a little disappointed in his cowardice. "I...Yes, sir..." His reply was glum.
"Buck up already."
"Huh?" The fennec slowly lifted his head back up from the sudden order.
"I see you tried to warn the others before you crashed. You also slaughtered a good amount of bots before that happened. If I'm not mistaken," He stared at the other fighter jets soaring around the battleships ahead of them. "You even help lead some of the others into looping around those ships, roping them up and utterly destroying them." He nodded towards him before turning around and settling back down in a sitting position on his bike. "So quit cowering in fear as if you're helpless, because you're obviously not. My soldiers have better pride than that. We don't go out with a whimper, we go out with a war cry. You all ultimately represent me, and what No Zone's military is all about." Cyber energy began to surround the fennec. "You better represent me and the corps properly the next time you're in trouble. Don't let me catch you blubbering like that again. I want you to do what you did before, and ravage your way through like a true soldier. Is that understood?"
The unexpected recognition and praise disguised as chastising reprimands, caused the fennec to pause.
His hands shook, before tightening into still fists.
He then suddenly stood up on the back seat of the bike and saluted strongly. "Yes, sir!" He said proudly. "If you don't mind sir, please Cyber Control me to the HQ's emergency hangar so I can secure another jet and get back in action!"
"Hmph," Zhadow was already ready to teleport the private away to the hangar. "Just what I wanted to hear. Don't get caught up next time, and make them regret ever putting a scratch on you. Otherwise, I'll have to dock your pay."
With a light blue flash, the fennec was teleported away back to the HQ's hangar, right below the roof.
With a bored sigh, Zhadow leaned his elbow on the dashboard of his advanced vehicle. Just as silence permeated in his area of the sky, several more missiles began to fly towards his direction. Without even looking, Zhadow spawned multiple Cyber Spears in his hand. "Huntsman said he'd meet me here..." And once again, without looking, he tossed them from behind, uncaringly making direct hits on every single one. Fiery smoke blasted close to his vicinity as he stared out into the sky, utterly uninterested in this war. He expected it to be way more fun than this. Hopefully things would pick up soon, or else he'd fall asleep. "...Just where did my little rookie go?" His rookie was the only one in the world who could make almost anything interesting, after all.
7:10 PM
In the meantime, Vice Leader and First Lieutenant General Zonic was busy getting ready to fight his own battle.
Bigger fighter jets, aircrafts that were large enough to hold a group of soldiers at once, hovered over a particular battleship. It then released it's hatches and dropped down many officers down onto it's deck. Once they landed, they immediately sprinted to attack the androids who were still too busy shooting at their allies flying above. They used cyber energized firearms, melee weapons and their fists to stop them from shooting anyone else down. They knew the craniums were a weak spot, so they constantly made moves to destroy them or tear them off. However, as warned before by Officer Zacorn, these bots were smarter than they looked. They became privy to their plans to destroy their heads, and began counterattacking while swiftly dodging any lethal hits that would damage their skulls or their bodies. But that wasn't all. In fact, something untoward happened, something no one expected. The androids' helmets began to glow candy red, but they weren't just updating their AIs. Abruptly, all at once, the bots began to move at alarming speeds, speeds rivaling their jets and motorcycles. And when they began fighting back with punches and kicks of their own, the soldiers couldn't take them as well as before. Some were caught off guard, while others were completely knocked down to the deck's floor.
They increased their strengths and speeds, along with smarter intelligences.
One of the privates Zhadow had chewed out when they first returned from Zobotnik's lair, was in the midst of it all. She was leading this front, and she thought it would be a one-and-done. Simple, to the point and finished within a minutes or two. And they almost succeeded, if it wasn't for the fact that the androids all decided to give themselves power buffs. She didn't anticipate that all, and even mentally hit herself in the head for not seeing something like this coming. If they could upgrade their own robot minds, why couldn't they boost their bodies too? Now her allies were getting hit and injured from all directions, and some of the androids even ditched their weapons just to participate in an all out brawl. Now several officers and androids were fighting each other bare handed to the death, and her people were slowly losing. No, she couldn't call for backup, she refused. She couldn't show weakness, not yet.
Growling under her breath in frustration, she held up her fingers to her helmet and announced an order. She may have been a weaker soldier, but she wasn't a coward and she wasn't backing down now. "Team Hotel, Dragon reporting! I beg of you to try your best to stand your ground, but I need you to give me some room and back up!" Zrip the Sungazer and First Class Airwoman, stomped her foot into the center of the deck. A wave of wind blew throughout the entire battle, causing everyone to falter in their movements. Her allies tried their best to wrestle themselves away from their current combatants, before jumping away and holding up their arms in front of themselves. Digital cyber-grade riot shields appeared in front of them, attached to the forearm. The androids meanwhile, while a bit confused as to why everyone backed off, notice that their leader was the only one who didn't leave her position. Their attention all locked on her, and she was waiting for this. Just as they began to charge towards her, the few others who still used firearms, aimed at her as well. She then bent her body downwards, before scraping the bottom of her steel toed boot against the deck's flooring. She huffed and knelt down in a runner's position, before steam blew from her helmet. It charged up and glowed light blue before she strengthened her legs.
What happened in No Zone HQ that day still plagues her, and played into her insecurities of being weak.
She knew she could be shy, meek, docile and even considered useless, but not today.
She wouldn't fail her superiors again.
"I'm not backing down, and I won't let you-" Slinging across the deck like a shotput ball, she boomed towards the androids with her helmet glowing brightly. "-Hurt my allies anymore...!" Directing herself like a physical arrow, her helmet seemed to take on a sentience of its own, literally headbutting her way directly through in a severe piercing attack. Armored spikes sprouted from her helmet, and began to stab the very first android she hit upon impact. It drove right through it's face, before stabbing through several androids behind it. After several impalements, she stomped her feet into the ground from behind to stop her own momentum, before swinging her head back to detached her helmet's spikes from her victims. She then began swinging, punching and kicking her way through the crowd with a battle cry. As she fought her way within, the androids she didn't knock out and throw off the entire deck from sheer force of her hits alone, were attacking her right back. They punched at her, kicked her, scratched, even grazed at her suit with bullets. She tried surviving this full scale assault for several minutes, knowing very well what she put herself in. As she was getting roughed up, she still continued to fight back. Her allies watched with horror, frozen in indecisiveness as they desired so badly to help her. But they knew if they stepped in and disobeyed her, they'd only drag her down and get defeated themselves. They didn't notice the shadows looming over them from behind. They all would be ambushed at this rate. While continuing to fight, she warned her comrades. "T-Team Hotel-Gngh..!" She was hit in the face, her helmet cracking a bit. "We're getting overwhelmed, but I bought you time. Get out of here while you still can, retreat! I repeat, retreat now!" She yelled as she was shoved onto the ground.
As she went down, she saw her allies scramble in separate directions with apprehensive reluctance. They didn't want to abandon her here, but there were other enemies closing in on them all. Cruelly, the androids dragged her away and began pulling off her helmet. Once off to reveal her reptilian female face, they peered at her sadistically. Her eyes shook as she watched them prepare themselves to attack her once more. This time, directly onto her head.
She squeezed her eyes shut and looked away while shielding her face with her arms.
A harsh slam caused all of the robots to be blown back with several thuds. Even the droids who were attempting to corner the other officers had been knocked back from the strong gust of a hard impact to the deck. "Damn it, I'm late..." A masculine filtered voice hissed as steel toed boots clicked beside the sungazer's body. She blinked her eyes open in confusion, before noticing that those very armored boots, were lined with dark blue.
7:15 PM
She gasped and looked up with a hopeful smile. "V-Vice Leader Zonic..." She quickly tried to get up on her feet, but winced when she felt that those droids hit a lot harder than before. They didn't damage her armor, but it felt like they bruised her through the suit. A hand was offered to her, and she took it with a grateful smile. Once she was on her feet, it was only then who she truly realized was standing before her. She then yelped and bowed her head several times with remorseful respect. "S-Sir! I apologize for my weakness! I..." She grimaced and gripped her hands into fists. "I wasn't strong enough...I'm sorry."
"Nonsense," The first lieutenant general dismissed. "You did fine. I'd say thanks to your Hail Mary, you managed to half this entire quad of enemy lines. Not bad, Airwoman Zrip."
"R-Really...?" She asked with sparkling eyes, before composing herself and nodding. "T-Thank you, sir! But," She wearily looked at the androids slowly moving to get up and head their way. "Something's wrong. Not only did their AIs upgrade, but their strength and speed increased too. They were overwhelming my team, so I told them to retreat while I took them all on myself."
"Indeed," Zonic replied calmly. "And that was both heroic, and incredibly stupid." He looked down at her and plucked her upside the head. "You could have gotten yourself killed. Do not put yourself on a suicide mission like that again unless absolutely necessary, private."
She whined at the pluck and held her forehead in misery. "O-Ow...Yes sir, it won't happen again."
"Now, I want you and your squad to make a perimeter around this area and have your guns ready." He punched his fist into his own palm, his face shield glinting from his helmet. "You did half the work for me, so I'll be more than happy to finish the job. Go on," He instructed. "That's an order."
The sungazer fluttered her eyes, lost as to what the vice leader meant. However, orders were orders, so she saluted and ran off. "You got it, sir!" She motioned for her comrades, who still didn't completely leave the area. They truly didn't want to abandon her at all, so once they saw she was safe, they immediately sprinted back with guarded stances. Zonic being there was a bigger boost in morale as well. "Everyone, circle a perimeter." They easily did as she told, finding safe ground some space away and forming a circular formation. "Draw your weapons!" She ordered before digitizing her helmet back on her head. She pulled her baton from her belt, as did her allies, and transformed them all into assault machinegun firearms. They aimed and simultaneously kept the androids in their sights, who had not only backed up but saw more interest in Zonic instead. "Wait for my signal and not a second sooner or later!" She demanded with purpose.
Zonic was satisfied with their formation, a perfect circle practically trapping both himself and the droids within. "Hmm. Excellent form." He commented before sharply turning to the side, eyeing the exact measurements of this space. "Now all of you, listen to your leader well and do not shoot until she gives you the command. I want this done perfectly and quickly, I've got a date I'm late for." He then held out his hand and used it to beckon some of the androids to come closer and attack him already. "Come on you fools, make that mistake and step up." His designated nightstick, now aligned and empowered with glowing dark blue lights trimmed on it's sides, extended and began to modify its shape. He twirled the tool around before gripping it with two palms and swinging it downwards to reveal it's new shape. Strengthened in impenetrable No Zone metal, a large crescent shape revealed a large battle ax. The blade was glinting with deadly sharpness, just waiting for a few head to roll from it's cold steel. Zonic became still, silently eyeing every enemy before him. Lime green orbs shined from behind the face shield of the helmet, prepared and ready to swing.
An android pointed at Zonic, a candy red holographic symbol appearing on its chest. It was in the shape of a star. A star? That made Zonic tilt his head curiously. Then, he and his underlings witnessed the armor on the robot's figure transform and thicken. It's structure and bodily makings of it's form grew a little taller and bigger. Made in hacked cyber energy, an abnormally large heavyset model of a firearm formed in its hands. It became a powerful shotgun model, one used in military training and combat. It then held up the weapon and promptly aimed directly at the Vice Leader of No Zone. It brought a big gun to his big ax party.
This made Zonic a little impressed. "My...what a pretty looking weapon you have there. I'm sure it would make a beautiful little keychain." He mused tauntingly. "So you must be the leader of this squadron. I guess it's only fitting that you fight against me." He then steeled his body for a fight. "And while it was smart of you to use a firearm against a melee weapon," His glare on the target hardened. "It won't save you."
The larger androids pressed his finger on the trigger, while Zonic jumped in the air.
The sound of metal clashing against metal transpired.
The ax's blade made a downwards slice through the abnormally sized slug, cutting through it's shelling and explosive gunpowder. Using the smoke to his advantage, Zonic zipped forward to make a surprise strike against the robot. Red lights blinked on it's helmet, indicating a nearby threat. It swiftly side stepped backwards to avoid this swing, before aiming quickly and firing without warning. Zonic dipped his body backwards before quickly recovering and making spiral swings in quick speeds all around his target. The android, now seeing that Zonic was picking up his speed, tried matching it. It blocked his swings with the heavy shotgun, watching as the vice leader made deep slices within the weapon. However, still not enough to damage it's insides and stop it from firing. As it was distracted from blocking Zonic's attacks, yet another weapon was hidden behind Zonic's back. Using one hand to swing the ax for further attacks, he used the other to extend a secondary nightstick. He swung the blunt weapon against the droid, making some damage in the left side of it's cranium, directly into it's temple. Red flashed on the droid's temple, indicating an update to it's AI. Almost seeming irritated, the robot slammed it's hand down onto Zonic's wrist tightly, and twisted it painfully to the right. A horrid screech of pain came from Zonic as he dropped his weapons and backed away.
Officer Zrip made a look of concern as she slightly lowered her gun from her muzzle. "V-Vice Leader...? Are you-"
"Don't you dare lose your focus!" Zonic spat as he held onto his now broken wrist. "All of you, keep your attention on the enemy and-!" A loud bang was heard, and Zonic grunted as he was knocked backwards. Now resorting to falling to his knees, Zonic gasped in another wave of intense pain as he looked down at his wrist. It was completely shattered, he guessed. He couldn't feel it, yet the pain was definitely there. Like gnats, the other lower grade androids began to circle around the perimeter they made. The one in charge probable called in for back up. Once the king bee, Zonic, was down, they'd rush in and ambush the others. They were at a stalemate. Whoever fell victim to the other, would be the victor of this battle. And unfortunately, it seemed as if Zonic would be the loser. A shadow grew over him, and he slowly looked up through his helmet to see his victorious opponent loom over him with a loaded firearm. It reloaded the shotgun, before slowly aiming at the first lieutenant general. "..." A strange silence fell over them all, even over the loud firings and battle cries in the distance wailing in the background. "I see..." He whispered as he lowered his head down, accepting his own fate. "They were right, your live updating AIs are impressive...too much for any normal No Zone officer to handle." He bowed his head low, indicating to the droid that he had no issues with receiving the punishment for his loss. "...It's a good thing I'm not a normal No Zone officer then," He then held up his once "broken" wrist, then moved his arm and fingers around without any pain whatsoever. "Surprise."
The droid flinched backwards, but it was too late.
The once dropped weapons were now Cyber Controlled to Zonic's fully functioning palms, and he gripped them tightly before swinging them both into the opposite sides of the android's skull. They both impaled the droid at the same time, crushing through all of it's circuitry and machinery, destroying the motherboard that functioned the entire body. It's digital life was now completely snuffed out. The droid stilled, before dropping it's shotgun and falling to it's knees. The head twitched several times, sparking before a small explosion boomed within it's head. It fell backwards, completely and utterly defeated. "Your armor got denser, and your combative IQ increased with every move I made. You're like us, just not nearly as well trained. You're getting these battle updates cold turkey without actual practice, so while your moves get slightly more sophisticated," Zonic grunted as he yanked the weapons out of it's head and transformed them back into regular batons. "The impulsivity to use them decreases your skills. Your only tactic is shock and awe, which is admirable...to a point." He placed one of them back to his belt, but kept the other in his possession. "But you need a little more than shock and awe to truly trick your enemies." Like he said before, he was a brilliant actor. Next, he transformed his nightstick into a machine grade firearm, and held up an arm. "Team Hotel! About face!"
With much more confidence in her expression, Officer Zrip and her men all raised their weapons in accordance to their leader's orders and quickly turned around with them. "Sir!" Now, they were all facing an android each who had circled around their perimeter. All of whom seemed a bit put off that their leader was obliterated.
They aimed their weapons too, but one could tell that something in their programming faltered. Interesting...Did they somehow lose morale after witnessing their leader lose? Were these things growing sentient? Zonic would definitely have to ask his general about this. "Aim...!" He ordered next, watching his team tighten their precision on their individual targets. If they all fired now, the enemy would fire right back, causing a deadlock. Everyone would kill each other simultaneously, assuming both sides had the same grade of power and armor. Good thing that wasn't the plan here. Just as the androids prepared to squeeze their fingers on their weapons, Zonic made an additional order. "Mass Cyber Control!" He announced, and his soldiers all nodded. In multiple light blue flashes, all soldiers involved in the perimeter teleported in the air instantly with aimed weapons.
It was little too late that the androids all realized their mistakes.
They underestimated No Zone Corps.
"Fire!"
With a smirk, Officer Zrip couldn't help herself and fired first.
A barrage of cyber-grade bullets drenched the outside perimeter with brutal and armor-crushing projectiles. Attempting to move faster than the bullets could pierce them, a few of the androids tried scattering with their guns pointed upwards to shoot, but they seemed to have forgotten a very vital piece of the puzzle that was in the middle of this firing squad. A click went off from Zonic's suit, allowing him to initiate Cyber Control without having to use his own physical power. It could be used several times without fail, the limit of utilizing the ability while using the suit being fifty times before running out and needing to recharge. While it wasn't quite as powerful or manipulative as a natural Cyber Control, it was still quite a powerful ability and in some cases, an extremely unfair advantage on the battlefield. Zonic teleported once behind just one android, and fired. When he did, he continued to run to round the entire circle of the robot enemies, and shot them from the back with every droid he sprinted behind. Now with bullets hitting them from the back and above, their enemies had nowhere to go. Some way, somehow, they'd all be hit and severely damaged even if they didn't get a perfect hit. Meanwhile, if any of his allies' bullets managed to accidentally hit him, their suits were automatically attuned to friendly fire and were invincible against ally projectiles. They bounced right off of him, and allowed him to keep speeding through and give his officers yet another unfair advantage.
By the time the constant blasts of bullets ended, Team Hotel landed back onto the deck on their feet. Officer Zrip reloaded her gun before lowering it and ordering for her men to do the same. "At ease." They all glanced around themselves and noticed the almost literal graveyard of robotic bodies littered across the battleship. With a relieved smile, Zrip made small sigh. When she heard the sound of boot clicks, she and her men instantly wiped the smiles from their faces and saluted their superior. First Lieutenant General Zonic marched his way towards them as he transformed his gun back into a nightstick, pressing a finger to his helmet to digitize it off. His lime green eyes were revealed, along with his rigid, typically stoic expression.
He eyed them all one by one, especially the sungazer lizard, before looking beyond them at the mess in their skies. He then turned his head to look behind himself a little. They still had a tremendous amount of work to do, but they had to do it together. "I already informed all other units about this fight and the information gathered from it. Being the first to experience this development, you all know more than anyone how to combat these things. The others will need your assistance in destroying them." He placed his hands behind his back and returned his glance to them all. "You see that one battleship near the square? The one downing some of our jets? Has a stupid looking, golden gaudy turret on the deck?" He asked, not expecting an answer but utter obedient silence. He saw that their eyes quickly darted upwards to see the exact battleship he was referring to in the distance. And as he said, a few jets were smoking and going down from the damage it was making. "It's extremely ugly, and I want it out of my skies. See to it that you assist the aerial team of that portion of the atmosphere and bring it down." He then closed his eyes and sighed. "This reality...it isn't perfect. Not by a long shot. But you know something?" He opened his eyes before a cybernetic motorcycle zoomed it's way through the clouds before diving down onto the deck. It drove around them all before skidding to a stop beside Zonic. "It doesn't matter what happens to this reality. This is our city, our home, our world. It doesn't belong to a shameless, heartless dictator—It belongs to no one but it's people. And we will stop at nothing in keeping it from the clutches of that madman in the sky."
He lifted his leg up on the footrest and moved to get in the seat.
Officer Zrip, along with her team, all rested their salute and bowed their heads. "Thank you for your aid, sir. We'll do better and destroy that ship before 19:30!" She declared.
"Very good, private. Remember what I told you," He advised as his helmet digitized back on his head. "And tear that ugly thing apart." His engine revved up, and his hands planted themselves on the handlebars. "Good luck." With a gust of holographic blue smoke, he drove back into the clouds and disappeared with sheer speed.
The sungazer lizard smirked and watched him fly by, before digitizing her own helmet back on.
"It's time we get back to work, team."
7:25 PM - 40 minutes.
A black armored, dark red striped fisted glove suckerpunched a droid directly into its face, knocking it several feet away. Wobbly and dizzy but not destroyed, it scurried away and ran off. The person who punched it didn't bother to chase after it.
With a bored whistle, the General of No Zone wrung his hand out from the splatter of mercury and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his motorcycle's seating. He had parked his purring vehicle onto the stained flooring of yet another battleship, one of the bigger ones. One of the few that was causing a lot of damage to their fighter jets and deploying more androids from above down to the city on the ground. When he arrived, he managed to get them to stop sending out more enemies, and were now at a stalemate with the general. Currently, there was a large number of androids attempting to swarm him..."attempt" being the operative word. They kept hesitating. Even if one of them felt frisky enough to get up and start running over guns blazing, something in it's programming told them that charging up against this particular target wasn't a very good idea. It would just pause, lower it's weapon, back down and quietly run back to their base. At this point, they all resorted to huddling up together in an area they designated as their base: The entire other end of the deck. Half of the entire ship was filled to the brim with androids, silently waiting and glaring at the general from afar.
At any time, they could all whip out their weapons and shoot him down all at the same time.
But they both knew that they wouldn't. Not yet.
After all, it wasn't just General Zhadow who was waiting on someone, but he did know that they were both waiting for the same person.
As he continued to wait, he digitized his smartphone in his hand and began scrolling through some things on his thin touchscreen. "We..." He began talking to himself out loud as usual, dabbing his thumb on the screen as he cycled through a peculiar website. "...Need a change of scenery. I think he'd like that." He mumbled as he continued to scroll. "Hmm, ohh...A beach house? Hmm, no. Maybe...A cottage? No, no no...Too modest. Maybe he'd like a-" A bullet whizzed past his head. And yet, Zhadow didn't seem to be bothered. "-Cabin? No, too rustic. Damn," He sighed as he continued to scroll, the digital images of several homes being displayed reflecting on his helmet's face shield. "I don't want to ask, that'll ruin the surprise. If I ask his preferences, he'll get suspicious. I really need to-" Another bullet flew by. "-Think carefully here. What kind of location would really make him happy? I just don't know." He looked away from his phone for a moment. "Wouldn't he hate the beach? It would remind him of that place, which would remind him of Chaos Born and the Chaotic Purge and...Ugh. No, no that wouldn't do. That is," A few more bullets continued to shoot at him, and he only moved his head and shoulders a bit to the left or right to dodge. "Unless...Yes. Maybe that's what I need to do." He nodded his head firmly. "I got it-" Another bullet. "Damn it," He whipped his head at the army of enemies ahead of him. "Do you guys mind? This is seriously important and I don't need you ruining my line of thinking-"
Another bullet.
A more irritated grunt. "That's it." He was going to wait for his date, but he was growing too annoyed to take this blatant disrespect any longer-
A No Zone motorbike trimmed with dark blue lights zoomed by before skidding to a halt beside the general's. The rider of that bike faced his superior and bowed his head respectfully. "My apologies for being late, sir." The first lieutenant general apologized sincerely. "I had to assist a few teams before arriving. Forgive me."
"About time you got here, rookie. Hmm," Zhadow digitized his phone away before his rookie could see what he was researching, and tapped his finger on the handlebar. "I suppose I could forgive you, if you show me your face."
A little put off by that, Zonic hesitated in responding. "Sir, there's at least a hundred dozen androids in the back of the deck and they were just shooting at you. We could get shot in the face."
"Ah, who cares?" Zhadow shrugged. "We'll be fine."
Normally, Zonic would be irritated and berate his superior for being so unnecessarily careless. But for some reason, he didn't feel a need to do so. He only did as he was asked, and digitized his helmet away. "Yes, sir."
This made Zhadow peer closely, and he too, made his helmet disappear with digitization. "Ahh," He smiled a little at Zonic's beautiful peach muzzle. "There you are."
"Are you..." Zonic found himself chuckling, his cheeks dusted light pink at the sight of Zhadow's handsome tan smile. "...Actually flirting with me during a war, sir?"
"Why not? I like looking at you."
"Sir please, not in public. You're making my face red."
"I like when it turns red."
"Sir-"
The floor below their feet shifted.
Both hedgehogs looked up to see that very army of androids mentioned before marching closer with raised weapons.
And they looked pissed.
83 - END - 83
Notes:
Private Zitsunami - A Zonian version of Kitsunami the Fennec from the IDW comics, and sidekick to a well-known female green tenrec.
First Class Airwoman Zrip the Sungazer - A Zonian version of Trip the Sungazer from Sonic Superstars, making her second cameo.
Chapter 84: Formula
Summary:
Zonic and Zhadow's mid-war "date" doesn't go as planned.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
84 - Formula - 84
7:30 PM - 45 minutes.
Huh.
They supposed flirting outwardly in front of the enemy was a little annoying if not completely offensive. Okay, fair enough. And right as they both thought this, hundreds of lines of bullets and projectiles blasted towards them. A cyber energized shield instantly raised in front of the hedgehogs to block them, but it wouldn't hold for long with that much firepower hitting it. Zhadow rolled his eyes while sucking his teeth. What a pain. He looked over at Zonic, who still was blushing a little. "Rookie, I didn't destroy any of them before you arrived. I only fought a couple off from getting too close, but they're all still functioning. I didn't want to have any fun before we rendezvoused, and I didn't want to leave you out." He reached over and placed his hand on Zonic's, his fingers rubbing against his knuckles and in between his digits. They couldn't feel anything with all the armor on, but it was the gesture that counted. "Can't start the date without my rookie."
Zonic could only shake his head with a bashful smile. He couldn't believe him. He found the most inconvenient places to flirt, and that only added to his ludicrous charm. "Heh," He couldn't deny that he didn't like the attention, even now. "I appreciate that, sir." His voice and expression began to darken with a smirk. "Shame they don't know that this is our date."
"Yes," Zhadow replied with a matching hostile tone. "A damn shame."
They both separated and gripped their hands on their handlebars. They slightly raised their bodies on the bikes, their legs ready against their vehicles. Their eyes hardened, and postures stiffened. Zonic asked the conditions of their little outing. "Still no helmets, sir?"
"Nope."
"Very well, general."
"Please, Huntsman," Zhadow addressed honorably. "Call me Dullahan. Soon," Their wheels were just burning rubber, pleading with their owners to let them plow through them all with thousands of cyber energized horsepower. "Even these idiots will know my title. Don't hold back," He ordered ominously. "I want a show, and I don't want to see a single trace of these bastards anywhere near this battleship. You hear me?"
"Of course, sir." Zonic purred with a quick flirtatious glance. "And I expect the same from you. That is," The general caught that he was purposefully wagging his tail at him. Zonic could tell that his dark red eyes became glued to his behind. "If you can handle it."
Sweet lord, even with the armor on he could still picture his perfect blue ass in his mind. Okay, if he didn't stop doing that, Zhadow was going to pin him on that bike and give everybody in this entire reality a real show. Holding himself back from tackling his rookie down, he only licked his lips and tore his dark irises away with a sneer. "Likewise." He hovered one hand near his belt while he kept the other on the handlebar. "Rookie, I think our new friends are a little shy now that you're here. Do me a favor and break the ice."
As Zhadow looked over, he saw Zonic lift up a very large firearm over his shoulder. He leaned back in his seat, lifted his leg on the dashboard and aimed an advanced looking grenade launcher. "My pleasure." The moment the weapon was revealed, the small ocean of androids ahead of them flinched and began to move. Many of them raised their weapons to aim, while others were pushing through to charge forward. Zonic narrowed his eyes on their vast amount of enemies carefully, and they darted around at high speeds to make a proper headcount of every single target in their midst. "Eighty-five...Ninety-two..." He mumbled before the weapon began to blink blue lights. "Many targets acquired in the closest vicinity: One hundred per my count, sir." Zonic informed before steadying his shoulders, the androids who didn't stay behind began running forward with throwaway weapons. Combustibles such as grenades, sharp bladed throwing knives, caltrops and more. The others who stayed behind, about half, were getting ready to fire. "Cyber Control."
Time stopped, and Zonic squeezed the trigger.
The large projectile traveled a great distance ahead of the two hedgehogs, blue smoke trailing behind it as it was readying itself to explode. As it made a calculated nosedive down into the cesspool of enemies, Zonic unfroze time. "Cyber Cancellation." A beep was heard before the flying combustible expanded and with a loud boom, shattered its outer shell in the midst of the droids. The explosion, colored blue like it's sender, spread all around the lower end of the battleship's deck. It not only worked as a powered grenade, but a smoke bomb as well. Now blue mist surrounded them all, an no one could see through it. No one, except the general and his rookie. Zonic transformed the grenade launcher into a warhammer. He swung it onto his shoulder with the other hand gripped onto the handlebar, and glanced at his superior. "Smoke bomb deployed, sir." The hunt was on.
A thick, spiked, elongated, black, metallic vine-like whip sparked with dark red energy. It's handle was gripped by Zhadow's fist, who swung it in perfect circles a few times to test out his arm. "Mmn," Each time the end of the whip struck the deck's floor, it broke through the surface several times, deeper and deeper with every swing. "Still got it...Nice job, rookie. Now we can finally start our romantic date." They both revved up their engines, reaching down to their dashboards to use their finger to flip a specific switch. The holographic word, "Auto Pilot" glowed onto the dashboard. They both slightly stood up from their seats, before readying their legs and their feet onto the footboards. Blue and red smoke erupted from their motorcycles' exhaust pipes, the tires screeching against the floor before their vehicles boosted forward with shockwaves. Projectiles were immediately and aimlessly shot at them to try and impede their efforts, but automatic holographic shields appeared in the areas that were being shot at. They were programmed to block outside attacks, but allowed the exit of projectiles coming from the rider of the bike itself. A complicated but sophisticated code that was the ultimate defense, a quality that shared a similar but ultimately different function with the giant forcefield over the town.
With both hands gripped on the pole of the warhammer, Zonic grunted as he swung the weapon into a small batch of droids from the left side of his bike. With complete autonomy as programmed, the motorcycle swerved and turned when necessary to avoid obstacles and enemies who just refused to move out of the way. Some enemies though, were unfortunate enough to be run over or clipped by the speeding vehicle. Even worse, both Zonic and Zhadow's motorcycles moved in precise, symmetrical, synchronization. If Zonic moved left, Zhadow moved right, but they both kept riding forwards with side attacks of their melee weapons. As Zonic bashed heads and mangled bodies, Zhadow swung the whip like a lasso before the digitally charged weapon automatically aimed and swiped at group of androids. The whips contorted around necks and bodies, more than long enough to fully wrap around several robots at once. Zhadow swung the whip upwards, before slamming it down back onto the floor in a circular motion. Practically creating a meteor hammer, the wrapped up droids were now being used as a battering ram to crush and destroy their own allies. A surge of dark red electricity vibrated throughout the tool, before abruptly letting go and causing the previously strangled ball of androids to crash into other enemies.
Both bikes rose their front ends upwards as wheelies, the underbellies of the vehicles revealing their hidden mechanisms from below: Half-body sized sawblades. It was no longer a fear of being ran over by the bikes, it was a fear of being ran over and sliced to ribbons the moment their bodies slipped under. Again, enemy projectiles were useless, being easily deflected and blocked. They continued to drive through them all, spearing through the entire body of androids like a parting sea. Mercury colored fluids splattered all over the bottom of their bikes, massacring any who dared to get too close for a misguided attack. Even if they didn't strike their heads, their bodies were so destroyed that getting up was impossible, no matter how much their AIs screamed at them to get back up and fight. Both hedgehogs held out their hands to each other and their palms clasped together tightly, before their bikes revved up even more. Soon, their bikes began to drive in a circular motion around each other, their weapons outstretched to create a spinning ball of death. Now in a whirr of dark blue and red, the motorcycles roared simultaneously as they drove round and round to destroy as many androids as possible. Even more mercury flew into the air, staining the deck floor and nearly painting a full coat on their bikes.
The motorcycles suddenly skidded to stops beside each other, and their riders readjusted their holds on their bloodied melee weapons. They were dripping with the silvery liquid, watching it lightly shimmer in the dying summer sunset's light. Some of it even stained their armored suits all the way from their feet to their faces. As they witnessed the carnage they committed, they saw that they only destroyed about half of their enemy lot. Fine enough, they'd get rid of the rest soon. But...Something felt wrong. Zonic squinted his lime green irises with a frown, as did Zhadow. That's when their pupils dilated slightly, noticing that they almost forgot something. These things had increasingly growing AIs. Even if they lost numbers, the ones who survived would only learn from what they saw. This fight, or this date rather, was far from over. The androids seemed to glance at each other, almost as if they were silently communicating with each other's computerized brains. Digitally sending signals and messages about what to do next. It felt quiet, silence befalling the mercury stained battleship.
Then it happened.
They dropped their weapons...and began pulling themselves apart.
They ripped off their own arms, legs, shoulder blades, jaws...They even saw a few reach their hands up to their heads and twist their own skulls off their necks. Their heads dropped and rolled across the floor, the light behind the helmets gone. Electricity and surging circuitry was all they heard next, and the two militant hedgehogs glanced at each other with disturbed expressions. What were they doing? They both heard the reports made by Officer Zacorn and Officer D'Zoolette about the androids harming and basically killing themselves in front of soldiers in order to demoralize their onlooking victims. Once they're distracted, they're put in some kind of trance or hallucination that drains the victim of their morale by revealing their personal grievances or insecurities via gas. This effect is so grave that D'Zoolette was unsure whether or not the androids were actually sentient with genuine evil intentions in their metal hearts.
Zhadow and Zonic were too perturbed to move to take their eyes away from the gruesome display. The general scowled and leaned back. "They weren't kidding...this is beyond insane." He murmured.
Zonic had his brows furrowed. "Sir, seeing this might affect us."
"Let them try." Zhadow scoffed. While keeping his eyes on the large group of droids hurting each other and themselves to build up a better bot, he stepped off of the motorcycle and digitized it away. "No need for our bikes, rookie. We're going to have to play a little dirty to put the rest of these losers down for good. We're going to do something different." He held out his hand for Zonic to take without looking, and his fiance took his hand to help assist himself off of the vehicle. Once Zonic was off and his bike vanished in numbers and codes, Zhadow gazed upon the growing threat curiously. Not just one, but two and soon three taller androids loomed over them. Their body pieced together by the body parts and metal of other now destroyed bots. "I must say," He said with a small smirk. "These androids are truly extraordinary. Advanced, powerful and unique all in one, smart enough to demoralize our men with fear and psychological damage. All at the risk of hurting themselves just to carry out their mission in hurting their foe by all means necessary." The entire other half of the droids on this side of the desk were now offline and obliterated by their own hand, with only three large robots left.
The three more advanced androids were beefier, with stronger armor and more hi-tech physical attributes to their bodies. They somewhat reminded the two hedgehogs of the Gemerl series on Mobius prime, an impressively powerful and intelligent robot that gained some sentience and empathy despite being made as a mechanical warrior. Except these androids made the lovable bot look like a metal chew toy. These three androids, still copying the appearance of Zonians in No Zone Corps suits, were slightly taller than the average sized Zonian and were more intimidating in size. They peered down at their hedgehog enemies with seemingly sadistic curiosity, wondering when they could strike and kill them both were they stood. Their helmets glowed candy red, and many numbers and holographic digital texts appeared over the face shield of their headgears. The hedgehogs noticed that they were looking at live numbers of something. They were...scanning. Scanning them.
They could read the quickly moving text: Rate of heartbeat: Normal. Brainwaves: Slightly above average. Fear percentage: Zero. Initiating illusion gas.
Gas?
Zonic thought fast and slammed the butt of his nightstick into the floor, activating a light blue holographic forcefield around them to protect them from the pale azure and red gas that began to hiss from the back of the androids' bodies. He thought this would be the best course of action to protect their bodies from the exposure of the substance, but that didn't matter. The gas, once it touched upon the surface of the forcefield, caused it to hiss and dissolve away. "The hell...!?" Zonic took a step back in shock. What kind of gas burned away cyber energy like acid? It entered their domicile, threatening their wellbeing, and even if they did cover their nose and mouths from inhaling it, it could still enter other vulnerable places. Their open ears, their eyes, even through the flesh and pores under their fur. Zonic had a feeling that even if they had their helmets on to protect them, that gas would have ate through the protective cyber energy surrounding it and entered tiny air pockets through their suits anyway. Once it traveled to their faces, Zonic could smell it. The smell of tropical oceans, or rather, a fake one. The smell of...
...A Cyber Phantom Ruby.
"A Cyber Phantom Ruby? What...?" Zonic blinked and sniffed a bit more. "That's the version of the ruby Zobotnik has? That's what he used to make these things?"
"How quaint, a ruby befitting this reality. That's probably the same pattern the other alleged rubies follow: A gem that fits the aesthetic of whatever world it resides in." Zhadow noted, not bothering to shield his face from the gas. "Steel yourself, rookie. They're trying to manipulate our heads with this stuff."
Yeah that's true, but...Nothing was happening.
Both hedgehogs took a few seconds to look around and see if anything changed but again, nothing happened. A little surprised, the taller droids seemed aptly confused by this. They looked at each other, feeding each other information silently. Probably arguing over why this tactic didn't work. "Oh." Zhadow stifled a snort at this obvious failure. "Well that's a shame. I guess considering everything we've been through, the gas is useless to us." Zhadow placed his arms behind his back and eyed their enemies with a precarious and unnerving stare. He saw that the androids were taking a few steps backwards, realizing that their plan was a bust and they'd have to resort to something else. "Since you're all done taking your turns, we'd like to take ours now."
Zonic placed his nightstick back on his belt and narrowed his eyes. "We'll be sure to take our time with you."
"But you know, rookie, I'm just so curious to know..." Zhadow trailed off with a dark smile. "...Can they feel fear?"
"I'm not sure, sir." Zonic's expression shadowed over with a harsh glare. "I'd love to find out."
In a black and red streak, Zhadow was suddenly behind one of the androids, their helmet in his hand. Behind the helmet of the droids was nothing but a blank metallic slate of wires, chips and a disturbingly creepy endoskeleton with a large motherboard in it's skull. The android panicked and began patting it's own naked and robotic face before whipping it's head around at Zhadow with a closed fist. "Ohh..." Zhadow remarked as he casually tossed the helmet somewhere on the deck's floor, his expression still casually unbothered and a little playful. "So that's what you all look like under there...Wish I could put it back on, you're scary." Seemingly angered by this, the android charged forward with hacked cyber energy surrounding it's limb, empowering the upcoming hit. And just as it was coming closer to strike at Zhadow's face, the general's expression went from slightly playful to absolutely lascivious. He dipped his head to the side to dodge the punch by centimeters, before reaching out to grip the android by the neck so tightly that he crushed the extremely thick metal around it's armored throat. He then threw a ruinous right hook of his own into the robot's naked face, causing mercury liquid to spill out by his boots. "Now then, let's test our little theory, shall we?"
In only less than one second, Zhadow made hundreds of punches to his victim's metal face, pieces of rubble and scraps spewing from it's revealed cranium. More mercury liquid splattered all over his jaw, and his eyes didn't even flinch at it. He continued to stare down at his victim as he quite literally punched it to death. Once he was finished, he slowed his fist to a stop and tilted his head at the damage he made. He punched it's head so hard that he basically destroyed the entire endoskeleton of it's skull and nearly made an opening to it's pipe-looking esophagus. He realized that if this thing was made of flesh and bone, Zonic would have probably arrested him by now. As the exposed wiring sparked in his face, he casually tossed it to the floor. Guess their increased height and strength didn't mean a damn thing. How boring. When he felt a shadow grow over his body, he slightly turned to the side with a bored stare.
Yet another of those androids was preparing to strike at him, this time with a sneak attack. How gutless. Then, Zhadow smirked. Suddenly, the android's arm, the very one they were about to swing, was ripped off. Shocked, the bot paused it's movements while looking down at it's now detached limb. They were then yanked backwards on the floor and had their chest stomped in. A steel toed armored boot trampled right through their torso, all the way through to the deck's floor. "Trust me," Zonic whispered to it with deadly eyes. "I'm doing you a favor. I'd rather you be destroyed by me than my superior, I'll make your end much more merciful." Almost seemingly frightened, the robot attempted to kick its legs and crawl backwards, until Zonic dragged it by the legs forwards. He then lifted it up into the air by the ankles and swung it's entire body back down into the floor so hard, that it plummeted through the deck. It's head recieved the most damage, and all one could see was its feet sticking out of the hole of the airship. It twitched, before eerily stilling itself. That's when both hedgehogs turned to glare at the remaining android left.
It took a few steps backwards, before turning around and sprinting towards the edge of the deck. As it ran, Zhadow and Zonic had already pulled out their batons and transformed them into machine firearms. They blasted bullets into the taller android, decorating it's back with bullet holes until they shredded through it's metal ribs and out it's chest. Even as it fell to its knees, it attempted to crawl forwards towards the end of the deck, grabbing onto it's railing to pull itself up. Soon, it's mid section was so riddled with bullet holes that it tore from it's torso. It ripped apart, and severed the android's body in half. Silvery liquids was spilled all over, and it no longer had the strength to move forward.
The lights in it's helmet faded out.
Zhadow and Zonic glanced at each other with frowns. That was way too easy.
Then, they nodded.
They put their weapons down at their sides. Zhadow sighed heavily with a disappointed roll of his eyes. "What a waste of my time...If I knew they were this weak, I wouldn't have made this our date."
Zonic smiled a little. "Well, at least we got the job done rather quickly, sir. Besides," His smile wavered. "They may have been nothing to us, but I know our men would struggle defeating them. If more of these androids start mutilating themselves to build up better allies, they'll overwhelm our soldiers more than they already have. We'll have to go from sky to sky, street to street, beach to beach to aid them appropriately-" He sniffed a few times. "..." His eyes widened. "...I knew it." He sharply turned and glared at the severed android that was laying against the rail of the deck. It's head twitched back and forth before rattling the rest of its body. The other severed end of the body, it's legs, began to stand up on their own, wobbling towards the upper body of the android it was torn from. It knelt down and crawled forward to push it's lower half into the upper half. Strings of candy red energy appeared around not only it's stomach, but around all areas of severe damage to stretch itself over them. Like stitches, it looped through the metal material, sewing itself and closing up holes and other means of damage. Metal fingers wiggled, and knees began to buckle. Soon, the android was standing tall. Some of it's armor was dented, bruised and scratched, but it was alive and well. It reached down to touch at it's midsection, only to flinch it's hand away since the fresh bullet holes were still hot to the touch. It hadn't repaired this part of it's body yet, and seemed to have more difficulty doing so.
The other androids were getting up as well. The one knocked through the deck's floor, crawled itself out of the hole and began wobbling around to steady itself. Impossible—They destroyed and damaged their heads. How were they getting up? That's when the android Zhadow had punched to oblivion began to rearrange it's own face, repairing it's skull and damaged wires. It soon stood up as well, and now all three androids were walking towards them. They may not have been able to put their enemies in illusions, but they could come back from the dead whenever they wished.
"You're kidding...We eviscerated them." Zonic whispered as he lowered his gaze to think. "Destroying their heads doesn't work anymore...? Were they empowered by the Phantom Ruby or..." He almost gasped. "...No. They were holding back on everyone this whole time-"
This moment of terrifying clarity distracted Zonic for too long. "Rookie, move-!"
A robotic fist connected with Zonic's face.
Zhadow watched as he stumbled backwards. "Rookie...!"
7:45 PM
"Say it."
"Fuck you."
"After you say it."
The ultimate life form growled angrily as he shoved his finger into Sonic's chest. "I am not having this discussion with you right now!"
The blue hero just smirked as his boyfriend glowered at him. "Just admit that you lost and we can talk about it later, baby."
"I am not-"
"Even if you don't, you know your ass is grass."
"I-!" Shadow almost punched Sonic right in the face for that, but he had to remind himself that this wasn't just his rival anymore, this was someone much more important. He couldn't just wail on him, as much as he totally wanted to with that smug ass expression. He took a deep breath and lowered his fist. "I thought we agreed it was a tie."
"Yeah about that," Sonic mused. "I counted while we were fighting that last bunch, I still got more than you." He crossed his arms over his chest as Shadow flinched at that, knowing well himself that Sonic did indeed destroy more bots than he did. He was probably hoping that after their "truce," he'd forget about it and ignore their current numbers. "Babe, when I want something, I lock in. I ain't givin' up that easily, y'know. You're gonna give me what I want, whether you like it or not."
"Fine!" Shadow hissed loudly, tired of this conversation and his own very obvious failure. "You..." He gritted his teeth so much that he was going to puncture his own gums. "...You win. Happy?"
"Heh," Sonic leered as he lowered his smartphone from his face. "Got that on video, hell yeah..." The hell? When did he pull his phone out and record him? That little bastard! Shadow gripped Sonic by the neck and retracted his arm to get ready to pummel him right in the face. All the while, Sonic was still grinning, wiggling his brows up and down. "Don't be so butthurt about it, babe. Wait till later for that-"
Shadow shook him violently. "I am going to paint that damn penthouse with your blood!"
"Psssh, that threat was so weak. You're not even trying-" Sonic's ear flicked at the sound of radio static in his ears.
He felt Shadow's grip on him loosen as both hedgehog looked over at the destroyed pile of dismantled androids. They listened carefully to the frequency in their earpieces and ceased their squabbling. "All units, I repeat, all units come in." That was Zonic's voice. "This is Huntsman. I am overriding your frequencies to inform you-Ngh...!" They heard a lot of scuffling and grunts. Was he in a fight right now? "Dullahan, on your right! Get down, now!" They heard the sound of scraping, running and light panting. "Son of a...! Get. Off. Of. Me. Now...!" They heard him growl as the sound of gunfire rang out over his voice. "...!" They heard an explosion. Holy shit, what was going on? More panting, and an irritated exhale. "...My apologies for the interruption." He sounded way more winded this time. He cleared his throat and attempted to continue. "I must inform you all that there is a new development in information on our enemies. We were wrong. We were all wrong. Yes, the androids can update their AIs, but that's not what they've been doing. They were already intelligent, and they were already very strong. When they destroy themselves and hallucinations don't work, they use those pieces they rip from their allies to create a larger and stronger android. They tricked us—They were holding back!"
The Mobian hedgehogs glanced at each other with concern. These assholes were holding back this whole time?
"It was a trick! Destroying their heads doesn't work anymore. I repeat: Destroying their heads do not work anymore! The only way to-Ah...!" The sound of a hard thud. Zonic must have fallen. "Ngh...I've been hit...No, no, Dullahan stay where you are! From above-!" Another explosion sound. "Get around from the side!" Another loud thud, but it sounded harsher than before. "And stay down." Zonic rasped. "As I was saying, these are not the same androids we informed you of before in our conferences. They are worse, more conniving and much stronger. They can read your brainwaves, your heartbeat, whether or not you've been injured, even the amount of blood loss you may have suffered from a recent battle. They can even detect how much ammo you have in your gun, and they can see how much energy you put out with every move you make. These androids are deadly." He emphasized strongly. "The only way to truly destroy these androids is to destroy every last piece of their bodies into dust. Leaving even a single finger untouched could allow them to rebuild themselves into a new body and revitalize their strength. Switch all forms of ammunition and weapons to laser or incendiary based projectiles to dissolve and burn away as much as you possibly can! Heat is their enemy and prevents them from reteaching or repairing their limbs!"
Shit, this didn't sound very good. It sounded like they were getting roughed up from the other end.
Zhadow's voice was heard in the interference next. "Motherfucker...!" He cursed. "Watchdog Specialist Zacorn, connect the Zicole Program to the entire grid of Parallel City!" Just as he made that order, light blue lights shined all around them. Squares and holographic gridded lines aligning the entire city appeared across the entirety of the district. That chipmunk girl wasted no time in following orders remotely. The primes could feel a strange electrifying sensation of incompatible cyber energy traveling beneath their feet, but it didn't bother them thanks to that tiny microchip Zhadow planted on them. "All units within Parallel City, connect your nightsticks into the grid at any nearby hidden security protocol unit." This reminded the primes of when Zhadow connected his nightstick into the town square's ground when Sonic and Zonic were fighting. He initiated the square's security protocols, causing a shield to cover the center in a dome shield. But if hundreds of officers initiated multiple security protocols all across the city simultaneously...Wouldn't that take a lot of energy?
Perhaps they would find out soon, because all nearby officers around the hedgehogs instantly pulled out their nightsticks, twisted the tips a few clicks and then stabbed them into the concrete ground of the square. More energy exploded from every impact into the now very visible streetwide security system. But when they looked up at the sky, they saw more cyber energy fly into the air, indicating that other officers all around Parallel City was doing just as they were told. A lot of sparks, bolts of power and surging electrical veins of cybernetic prowess zipped around the forcefield and even beyond it. They could even feel something shaking underneath them, perhaps the power sewers being connected all around the electrical sewage system of the town. This didn't seem very safe, the primes thought. What was Zhadow planning?
"After doing so," The general continued. "Get back and leave your baton there. Do not get any closer until further notice. Retreat to a nearby roof or use your bikes to get the hell out of dodge. Air Force team, stay away from the city's dome as much as possible. Navy, compile several layers of shields around all of your ships." The Zone Cops snatched their palms from their nightsticks and took quick several steps back from their weapons. They could easily use a replacement. Some spanwed their bikes and revved up their engines to drive away, while others hopped up onto nearby roofs as instructed. "Primes," Oh boy, they didn't expect him to call for them so soon. "I need you both to make a sonicboom at the same time. A big one." He emphasized that strongly. "Since Zobotnik wants to play dirty, we'll have to match that energy. I want you to bring the whole power grid down!"
The whole power grid...?!
Shadow grimaced and spoke back to the earpiece, remembering the significance of the power sewers and how crucial the city's connection to other districts in the reality was. "General, you can't be serious. Parallel City is connected to other districts who rely on the capital's power sewers. If this city goes out, other cities will fall into a blackout!" If they did this, this could destroy the fabric of not just this city, but many others surrounding it who depended on it to strive.
"I understand that, Shadow prime," Was all Zhadow said. "But we can't let Zobotnik get ahead on us. This'll be a small price to pay. Do it, now!"
No...Shadow knew Zhadow better than that by now. He may have been careless, but he was no idiot. He risked betraying his own fiancé just to protect the city and it's civilians once upon a time, and made it very clear to the primes when they first arrived that he was it's protector as a shadow politician. He would never endanger innocent lives so effortlessly like this. Shadow mentally gave Maria a command. Maria, survey for external power beyond this city. He knew he could extend her power like this since she grew stronger, this would be no skin off her nose. She silently agreed, and hidden, thin golden veins traveled from below Shadow's soles deep within the underground of the city. He could feel the girl contemplating, concentrating, thinking, surveying, watching...Until she finally felt it:
Electricity.
There was power beyond Parallel City's power sewers connected to the districts neighboring it. It felt different, a different wavelength then the one she could feel around them now. They had their own cyber grid, fully functioning and powered up without leaching from this town like it usually did. With satisfied relief, she mentally reported to Shadow what she found. The other cities have power beyond the power sewers of Parallel City, Shadow. Now he understood what Zhadow was on about. He still didn't quite comprehend what he was planning, but he could tell he thought much farther ahead than they all realized. He'd play along. Shadow grasped Sonic's hand and gave him a silent look. Zhadow may have made a crazy request, but it was okay. They could do this. He could see conflict in Sonic's eyes, until he saw Shadow's gaze. It was steady, prepared and relieved of any concern. In other words, this was fine. It wasn't as bad as they made it sound, they had to do what they were asked to keep up. With a reluctant nod, Sonic trusted Shadow and nodded.
They both let go of each other and knelt down into track runner positions. Chaos energy rushed around their fur, their eyes glowing neon green and red respectively.
The primes made small sprints in circles around the square for one full second. Those ten deciseconds were so quick, yet so potent, that rays of force drifted into the air as electric microscopic lights. If it were possible, it was like everyone around town, even the androids, could hear a sharp, loud, perilous buzzing slowly increasing its volume as time passed. The more energy that was about to be sacrificed, the louder that buzzing got. Two enormous simultaneous sonicbooms fulminated in the middle of Parallel City. They were so large that they nearly mimicked royal blue and amber red mushroom clouds of raw energy. It was then that nobody could hear anything, just a pulsing monotone beep that echoed from their ears. There was a bright flash of light, and then there was nothing. Darkness befell them all, pitch black everywhere. The skyscrapers, the shops, the schools, the houses, the apartments, the highways—It was all gone. The primes halted to a quick stop, and the moment they stopped moving is when the entirety of Parallel City's power was fully and completely offline.
The automatic tone of a computerized feminine voice echoed across the metropolis: "Alert: Parallel City is now offline."
The city was now in a full blackout, just as the general commanded.
The only thing that was still illuminated, were No Zone equipment scattered all across the city, the armor of the androids and the gigantic forcefield protecting the town. It was so quiet, almost utterly silent if not for the low hum of the androids and their constant online machinery. The androids, they were confused. Perhaps even a little panicked. They began to scatter, some even initiating jet boots to try and fly out of the dome's domicile. And why? Well, that's because-
"Woah...!"
-They were about to be the victims of a massive factory reset.
"Officer Zacorn, now!" Zhadow commanded.
"Initiating emergency city-wide factory reset. Please evacuate the area now and avoid electronics up to a thirty yard radius. Emergency city-wide factory reset commencing in five..."
The whole sky and ground of Parallel City began to glow light blue, mimicking the Northern Lights from one end to the other. Everything it touched instantly restored power to wherever it's lumination hit. But not only did it restore power, it was actively affecting the androids. The moment it touched even one bot, it completely ruptured the Trojan codes within its body, causing the metallic figure to combust from the inside. As metal pieces flew in different directions, they faded away into empty embers of dying hacked cyber energy.
"Four..."
And it didn't end there, it reached high as well. It slipped right passed the battleships, causing them to crush into themselves before malfunctioning and erupting explosions from within their decks. They too would fade away into embers, not even their remains were able to fly down to the earth below. To any androids or vessels that attempted to scour across the seas, they were vaporized into nothing. The more that cyber energized light spread, the more bots and enemy vessels it destroyed. It was akin to witnessing a deity adamantly erasing all the mistakes it ever created, wiping them off the map of the world in one easy swipe with a quick rapture.
"Three..."
That's when it hit Shadow like a sack of cement blocks. Because No Zone was nearly completely made up of technological power, the entire reality was practically a living computer. There wasn't just security measures integrated into certain parts of random neighborhoods, the entire city itself held a security protocol that was programmed in it's code for God knew how long. In fact, maybe Zhadow only just had something like this installed. Either way, nobody saw this coming.
"Two..."
The androids couldn't run fast enough, couldn't jump high enough, couldn't fly far enough, couldn't even hide well enough to avoid the city's ultimate security system. One by one, few by few, dozens by dozens, they were all disintegrating like collapsing stars. As the primes saw that the energy was swooping towards their direction next, they felt something near their shoes. They looked down, and saw that the soles of their feet were conducting cyber energy beneath them. Yet, chaos energy was opposingly protecting them from being corrupted. Once again, Shadow realized something else. That chip Zhadow put in their gloves...Was it responsible for this? If their feet was projecting power of cyber energy this whole time, then that means...
"One."
It blew over them so fast that they almost didn't see the cyber lights traveling to the other end of town. They saw more buildings light right back up, as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.
"Emergency city-wide factory reset complete."
8:00 PM - 1 hour and 15 minutes.
When the primes and nearby officers looked around them to check if there were any other enemies still lingering about, they saw none. Every single android, even the ones that were already destroyed, were gone. The only thing that remained of them were charred spots printed into the concrete ground. In the air and the water, there was absolutely no evidence at all. The biohog tapped at his earpiece, but could only hear disoriented static. He couldn't hear his Zonian twin at all, nor the other officers on the line.
"Transmissions will be down for a while," Officer D'Zoolette explained briefly from the side as he jumped down from an awning. "Something that big is going to take our radios some time to get back online. Give it around fifteen minutes or so."
"That bastard..." Shadow whispered with a growing scowl, referring to Zhadow. "He knew."
"What?" Sonic turned to his boyfriend with a baffled stare. "You...Are you sayin' he planned this? All of this?"
The biohog pointed at the Zonian coyote, who flinched a little. "You. When your suit is engulfed in cyber energy, does it automatically connect with the city's power grid?"
The coyote nodded once. "Indeed. This is a security measure, helping us see who's suit is still online and who's isn't. If someone's suit is offline, we'll know they've been injured since their suit would more than likely be damaged. However, it is also discreet and protected by a massive amount of coded cybernetic walls. Zobotnik thinks he's a bigtime hacker, so we have to encrypt the energy signals in our armor. We're virtually invisible." He slowly looked up at the fighter jets zipping by, rounding fellow aircrafts up in groups as a precaution. They no longer had to fight. "Those in the water or in the air don't have that same advantage since they're not physically connected to the city like we are by just walking around town. They have to connect via a specialized wi-fi thread."
"And do you leave a mark whenever you move within the city's power grid?"
He nodded again, a little impressed by an outsider's quick understanding of their reality's power. "Correct again. All living things leave a mark within the city's powergrid if it's connected to it in some shape or form. This is another security measure, tracking our fellow officers in case...Well," He tried to sound a little sensitive. "Someone gets kidnapped again. Only we can see them, however. It was a new upgraded feature integrated within the city's system days ago. We only ran a couple tests to see if it worked, but I suppose it passed the ultimate test tonight. You two however," He noted with some interest. "Are different. You hold both chaos energy and cyber energy, meaning you leave a much bigger mark into our power grid than we do."
Sonic scratched behind his head. "Are you trying to say we were being used...?"
D'Zoolette felt now was the time to come clean. "Err, in a way, yes." He sighed. "Our leader told us not to tell you, but that is the just of what he ordered us to do. To track where you went, make sure you did as he ordered and came from different directions all across the city before joining each other in the square. He knew that if you did that, your marks would make a perfect mass coverage over the city's grid. Since you're both powerful with a lot of energy, especially joined together, he knew it would make a bigger impact. Initiating citywide security protocols while using two sonicbooms to destroy the city's power, was the climax of his plan. You see," He further explained steadily. "A citywide power outage initiates a factory reset. Giving the city a factory reset is extremely dangerous and is rarely done every five decades or so. It violently revives all that power like a defibrillator, using emergency energy storage. It seems harmless, but it fries anything it touches like a laser beam. When it commences, it follows the trail of anyone or anything that made a digital mark into the city's power grid, actively erasing it in case it's a virus. Usually, citizens are protected with cyber energized forcefields that's powered by generators, making it safe to walk under and ignore. But our general wanted it to effect and destroy our enemies, so he recalibrated the code of the factory reset to vaporize the tracks of anything that had outside code. You both technically have outside code, but were still protected. Our android friends weren't so lucky."
In other words, Shadow and Sonic were being used as pinpoints to coat a trail of outside code. Every area they visited just so happened to have androids crawling all over it, which also held outside codes. Since the security system of the factory reset was on high alert for anything that could be deemed a virus, it followed the stronger outside code to properly destroy anything that could harm the city's power grid while also restoring its energy in the same breath.
"If you two didn't have those chips, you'd both have an irreversible case of Cyber Corruption, if not be completely dead."
"He had the other officers track where we are under the guise of protecting us." Shadow said aloud to mostly himself. "They weren't just keeping their eyes on us, they were tracking us. They were all marking our movements and our energy sources. And that chip the general put in our gloves—It helped give us a thin shield of cyber energy. But in turn-"
"-We ended up marking a bunch of points all across the city." Sonic finished with an airy voice. "Oh shit." He blinked. "He made us cause the power outage on purpose. We were just moving reactors the whole time. Damn," The hero crossed his arms. "He really did plan all of this...That's kinda scary."
Shadow's fist clenched. "That son of bitch...He used us again when we could have been hurt!" He exclaimed with a growl.
"Nah." Sonic simply disagreed with a sudden smirk. "That's not it."
The biohog narrowed his eyes. "What are you on about...?"
"Shads, did you forget?" He asked with a mischievous grin. Then, he mouthed the next few words silently. Someone is watching us. "Remember what Zhadow said at the meeting on Saturday?" Sonic spoke, his voice purposefully audible this time. "'Shock and awe.'"
And that's when Shadow remembered the other thing Zhadow told them at the beach...
"To fool your enemy, you must fool your allies."
84 - END - 84
Notes:
The story will be updated with new chapters every Sunday.
Chapter 85: Torus
Summary:
The war seems to have simmered down...or did it?
Chapter Text
85 - Torus - 85
7:46 PM
The city's power would return soon.
They gave the primes their orders, they could only hope they'd fight these bastards off in time.
The burning corpse of a crisping taller, upgraded and stronger android, laid unmoving on the battleship's deck. Smoke emanated from its metal husk, and it's skull was also actively melting. It's fingers tried to move, but once heat began to burn it's endoskeleton from the inside, all movement ceased indefinitely.
A pair of Zonian hedgehogs panted heavily as they were unwittingly pushed back against each other from opposing forces, their built-in suit flashlights flickering on. There was no sunset to help them see through the dark of night anymore. And with the city in an active blackout in this point in time, they had no choice but to turn them on.
They got down one of those hulking androids, they just needed to get rid of the last two. One was walking towards the general, while the other marched towards the first lieutenant general. The hedgehogs instinctively reached their hands to their belts as they witnessed the impending danger before them. However, they touched each other's hands instead. They held onto each other closely, their fingers tightly clasped. They leaned their heads back against each other, taking as much time as they could to catch their breaths before moving forward. They couldn't get sloppy, or else they might bite it. Their digits automatically rubbed against each other's ring fingers, feeling the ghost of engagement rings on their hands.
"You okay?" Zhadow asked gently.
Zonic nodded. "Yeah." He then looked down at blood dripping from his peach muzzle. "This is why we should have kept on our helmets on."
His superior spat out blood onto the ground, as he had been injured as well. "Maybe, but where's the fun in that?"
"Sir." Zonic sighed. "This is a war."
"..." Zhadow took a second to answer back. "...I know." He said softly. "You know," He suddenly added. "You remind me of myself, before she died."
This caused Zonic's eyes to widen. Was he...really talking about her? Here? Now? "...Sir?"
"That stupid girl," Zhadow shook his head with a knowing solemn smile. "Never listened to a word I said. Zobotnik's father made me swear to keep her safe, look after her at any cost, even my own life. Girl was a genius, creating cures for what we all thought were incurable diseases left and right. She was smarter than all the men in her family put together, even her grandfather." His smile began to fade more and more. "She wasn't like Maria prime, she was healthy. She was healthy enough to grow into her twenty-first birthday. That day was crucial for her, because she was going to make a national conference about some groundbreaking scientific discovery. Something that would help grow flora in our reality." He was just rambling, almost as if he himself couldn't believe that he was talking about this out loud. He paused, his pupils distracted from the enemies around them. "I was so angry with her the day before, because she kept disobeying my orders and just doing whatever she wanted with this nonchalant, stubborn attitude. Skipped out on meetings, lollygagged with the citizens, visited children's hospitals off schedule. She'd always say, 'Ah, who cares? Why so uptight? Just relax, everything will be fine.' I had enough of her antics. I snapped on her, yelled at her. I told her to 'stop acting like a damn child, walk on that damn stage like the adult you are and speak your damn script.'" He grazed his finger against Zonic's knuckle a little more. "...I hurt her feelings. She didn't talk to me for hours. I spent that night planning security for the conference, making sure everything would be impenetrable from the outside so nothing could lay a finger on her head, assuming she'd eventually get over it. People hated the Zobotnik family for years, and there were rumors of shadow companies wanting her medicines for their own monetary gain. There was a high chance someone could attack her. I was so rigid, so quick to lash out for things not being perfect. I never thought outside the box, just did everything my way and only my way. Never listened to others' advice, never saw beyond my own perspective."
Silence befell them both, and it almost seemed like the androids had paused moving towards them. Like they were wondering why they were whispering to each other all of a sudden.
Then, the General of No Zone Corps confessed something he told no one, not even Zonic up until this moment. "...She was shot in the head."
A cold chill passed Zonic's spine. "..." He had nothing to say to that.
Any of that.
"..." Zhadow slowly closed his eyes. "...Her blood and...her brains got on my face. The best part? It was a political friend of Zobotnik's father. Walked up right next to her and shot her before she could get to the podium. I was too busy looking at the roofs and the crowd, never saw it coming. We weren't broadcasting just yet, so nobody else except for the people in Town Hall saw what happened." He exhaled silently through his nose. "None of us ever thought he'd betray us like that. We thought we were too scary, too powerful, too big and bad to be crossed from the inside. We didn't think that there's just some people in the world who didn't give a damn about consequences. I set up all those security measures for nothing, because I couldn't see the snakes in our own grass due to my own arrogance. If she didn't listen to me that day, if she had disobeyed me this one time like she always did, she could have survived. She'd probably still be here, making the world a better place. But no," He made a sad chuckle. "She just had to finally listen to me that day."
Still, Zonic had no words for him. He remained silent.
Zhadow cleared his throat, his eyes opening and readjusting to their situation. "My rigidness only slightly loosened after her death. And then you came around." His voice held a little more hope this time, the corners of his lips curling a bit. "You showed me light, showed me that if I didn't change, I'd just go through the same thing again. And I'll be damned," He gripped his fingers against Zonic's. "If I lose you the same way I lost her. So," He shrugged. "Maybe that's why I don't take things too seriously anymore. Because...why? I learned the hard way that even if you're immortal," His dark red eyes seemed to brighten with his final words. "Life's too damn short."
Zonic's face became warm, and his heart started beating quickly. He was still too stunned to speak, too stunned to respond. They weren't facing each other, but he could feel and mentally invision all of the expressions and emotions Zhadow held throughout that confession. There was so much hurt and guilt laced in his tone, so much repressed self-anger and hatred. He wondered if he told Zouge anything about this, if he confessed to her just what he went through with that poor young woman all those years ago. Zonic wasn't even born when she passed, it was several decades ago. More than fifty. Zhadow held all that hurt inside of himself up until now, and was so scared of making the same mistakes with Zonic that he almost did make a grave error he couldn't take back. If he hadn't chose him, if he hadn't chosen to change for himself, neither of them would be here together. Zonic was almost positive he was the only person in existence who he told this too, as he was sure not even Zobotnik knew the full story of his cousin's death.
He knew age and experience was what made Zhadow so uncaring of the small things, but he didn't truly know the depths of his reasonings. Now that he did, and now that he knew Zhadow trusted him to such an extent that he'd tell him such a heartbreaking truth, he was more confident than ever in their relationship. He didn't care about what happened moving forward, he almost didn't care if Zhadow decided to play a cruel joke and aim his gun at him again, because somehow, he knew beyond a shadow of any doubt, Zhadow trusted him and loved him.
And he felt the same way.
With a new sense of purpose, Zhadow tapped his finger on Zonic's hand. "Ready?"
Zonic nodded confidently. "Of course, sir."
They quickly gave each other a nod before sprinting from their own directions and charging forward. Their hands ripped away and snatched their weapons from their belts. With nightsticks in both their hands, they transformed them into different tools of combat. Together, Zonic and Zhadow revealed large army knives in one hand, and firearms in the other. Zonic held up a shotgun model, while Zhadow revealed a semi-automatic rifle model. The androids were fully prepared to fight this out with their bare fists alone, and rushed towards their separate enemies. There was a strict, painful and energy-draining method of combat practiced amongst only the most loyal of No Zone officers. A practice that Zonic introduced to the force when he became a major, during his very first military conference with the big boys. It was a method of fighting that was exclusive to Chaos Born, one that helped resonate two Chaos Born at the same time. With their energies, brain waves, auras and blood pressure acting with pristine synchronization, they'd perform what's called, "Chaos Synchronization."
This was a feat Shadow often performed with Maria prime or Sonic with a Divine Spirit, but this wasn't exclusive to deities. Any Chaos Born could do it so long as they aligned themselves perfectly with their given partner, Chaos Born or not. As long as one Chaos Born was present and adhered to their partner's exact movements and thought process, it could be done. Their bodies would attract each other like magnets, perfectly aligned yet properly repelled so they couldn't overlap or screw up each other's matrix. While this was a pretty easy method to learn with even some of the weakest Chaos Born, regular living beings were another story. Zonic never explained his own race or the concept of Chaos Born, but instead introduced this new method of fighting as, "Combative Synchronization," instead. He explained that even regular Zone Cops could learn this ability, and while not as powerful without a Chaos Born present, it could still be done to a smaller scale. With Chaos Born, synchronization was second nature like breathing. For normals, they had to actively learn through long periods of training how to perfect it. To this day, only a few assigned partners of No Zone Corps have properly learned the method, while even fewer mastered it.
Zonic and Zhadow were two of those few.
It didn't require a dramatic announcement nor a pause in movements.
It was instant and flicked on like a light switch.
"Initiating emergency city-wide factory reset. Please evacuate the area now and avoid electronics up to a thirty yard radius. Emergency city-wide factory reset commencing in five..."
A slug banged against the face of an android, but it dodge the large bullet and swung with a heavy hook. Zonic dodged as many times as it took to look for a chance to counterattack. Unbeknownst to his enemy, he already was. With each dip or sidestep back, he swiped his knife against the droid with deep and heavy cuts. Each miss from the gun was made up with a slice of his blade digging deep into the metal and splattering mercury. A particular stab into the abdomen caused the droid to react fast and swing a foot directly into Zonic's stomach. He couldn't dodge in time, taking the hit. Since both he and his superior were synched up, he also took a harsh hit to the gut. They both grunted through the pain and continued moving without rest. Zhadow shot careful but quick rapid shots into his own enemy, managing to graze more and more of that annoying golden armor trimming their bodies. Ducking and twisting around to avoid potential heavy hits, he finally swung the gun into an approaching homing fist. Using the heavy firearm as both a shield and it's intended purpose as a gun, he whacked, shot, smacked and pummeled the android with each hit it tried nailing back. However, he wasn't going to let either of them sneak a counterattack this time. They'd have to go overdrive, move faster and stronger than before, even if it drained them of all their energy.
"Four..."
Without even realizing it, Zhadow was grazed right in the shoulder. Since he was hit, that meant that Zonic got hit as well. The punch given by both robots was so hard that it broke off pieces of their armored suits on their shoulder blades. The pain was growing underneath the suits, and it made them both wince, but again, they could not stop for a second. If they stopped, they lost. End of story. But that was okay, because they were saving up the last bit of energy they had for this one. To be completely synchronized, both parties had to understand how the other thought and they both had to be confident enough in whatever decision the other would make. If one party wanted to go left, the other had to confirm that moving right wasn't the best choice. They both had to simultaneously decide on every single move they made during battle, all without words. This was next to impossible to those who held no mental discipline or even clairvoyance, who held no grounds of internal peace or concentration. They had to share one brain, and never miss a beat or else they'd both fall victim to their own mistakes.
Zonic and Zhadow had fought alongside each other for years before they even got together, so they understood each other's combative IQ's more than anyone else in this reality.
"Three..."
They were more than ready to take it up a notch.
Together, both hedgehogs turned heel and ran towards each other to switch enemies. But before they passed by each other, they tossed their melee weapons away and grasped each other palms tightly. Using each other's momentum, they spun around in a mind-numbing, eye-bleeding circle of blue, black and red. Bullets shooting from spiraling directions in deadly unison, a Russian Roulette's Merry-Go-Round. Steady and strong slugs along with quick and piercing bullets were shooting at their targets at different but harmonized tempos. The androids realized that this fight would be more difficult than they realized. A constant moving twister of bullets kept evading their gaze while their bodies were impaled with ammunition. That ammunition was incendiary based, and flamed on with extreme heat the second they made contact with a surface. Even if they tried to move out of the way or run, that carasol of bullets was quick to come right their way due to it's seemingly unstable speed and movements.
"Two..."
The two hedgehogs unclasped each other's hands, their momentum shooting them both off in opposite directions at their new opponents. Using Cyber Control, their guns digitized away and they teleported their knives back into their hands. As the androids were too stunned from being pelted with burning bullets, they couldn't react fast enough to the sprinting Zone Cops heading their way. They both jumped up in the air, their fists gripped into the handle of their blades. They dived down with downward stabs, nailing their targets directly into the crowns of their heads, their feet landing on their shoulders. Before the androids could reach up to attack, they jumped off and Cyber Controlled to the opposing droid from behind. They stabbed the knives into their backs and dragged the blade upwards, cutting and slicing through several inner wires and metal plating within. Their spinal cords now screwed up and tattered, the androids lost their balance and fell forward. The partners Cyber Controlled their guns back in their hands and squeezed the trigger at their targets at the same time.
A spread of fire sparking slugs shot through the face of one android, while piering rifle bullets melted through the other's. And if that wasn't enough, they both lifted up the bottom of their guns to reveal that their army knives were hidden within their guns like bayonets. They yanked the blades out of their hiding places and zipped past their victims with high speeds. There was silence again, until the sound of sliding metal shrieked in their ears. The heads of both androids were decapitated, and slowly slid off their neck stumps and rolled onto the deck floor. They were both on fire and melting, their bodies also completely fried.
"...One."
They won this one. For good.
8:00 PM
"Emergency city-wide factory reset complete."
Zonic fell to his knees first, panting extremely heavily while coughing up a few droplets of blood. His weapons clattered onto the deck floor. Performing those Cyber Controls was harsh on his body, as he used more powerful, natural ones than the weaker ones programmed into their suits. He had to, otherwise his synchronization with Zhadow would have failed. He trained himself to be able to handle more than two in one day, but it still took a toll. He coughed a few times before he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Zonic looked over and saw that Zhadow's lip was bleeding, he must have gotten nicked again without knowing. "Come on, on your feet." He carefully eased Zonic back onto his feet, until he felt Zhadow lose his balance a little as well. "Oh." He blinked. "Huh. Never had that happen before..." He looked down at their work, watching the light of the city's security factory reset drift by and cause the bodies to fall into ash. They saw that building after building was regaining its power back. "These guys are the real deal. If an army of them appeared now, they'd probably wipe our boys out within half an hour." He caressed Zonic's cheek. "You did good, rookie. No surprise there, though."
Zonic smiled a little and stole a kiss from his superior, which shocked the general. "Flattery will get you everywhere."
"Oh really~?" Zhadow smirked. However, it waned when he noticed the blood on Zonic's cheek. As much as he wanted to kiss his rookie until their possible inevitable deaths in the midst of a war—How romantic, no?—Now wasn't the time to kiss and makeout. "I think the canary is about to make his move." Zhadow noted, using a rare codename they only used in specific circumstances. "Will you be ready for what has to happen next, Huntsman?"
Zonic nodded. "I've been ready for a very long time, sir."
8:01 PM - 1 hour and 16 minutes.
"Zhadow's not goin' back on his promise to you, Shads." The blue Mobian hedgehog walked over closely and placed his hand onto Shadow's shoulder blade. "He wouldn't do that, and he wouldn't put us in danger. He wouldn't have put his people in danger either. We're goin' up against one of the biggest, fattest, corrupt evil geniuses in the multiverse. He's doin' exactly what we agreed on: Helpin' us win this war." He squeezed it a little and gave his hubby a reassuring smile. "If Zee's able to trust him again, so can you. Just," He winked. "Go along with it. We won't regret it, not this time. And hey, if we do, I'll kick him in the dick for ya."
Shadow just glowered at his cerulean boyfriend, his scowl unwavering. However, it slowly faded into a thin flat line. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Sonic was right. Zhadow wouldn't make a one-eighty like that on their brotherhood, and he did technically warn them all of "surprises," even his own soldiers. According to Zhadow, not even Zonic knew exactly what his fiancé planned to do and it was supposed to be that way. Not only that, but Zonic was fine with it and completely in on it. If he of all people still trusted Zhadow, someone who betrayed him in a much more severe way than he did Shadow, than the biohog had no right to hold this against him, especially if this was according to plan. He released a terse sigh. It...It was just hard to...Continue trusting someone who was so unpredictable. And then, he gazed back into Sonic's lime green orbs.
He mentally facepalmed himself.
He was dating someone who was unpredictable himself, so who was he to judge anyone right now?
Fine, he'd let it go and trust their counterparts. "Hmph."
Well, now the city was powered back on and all of their enemies seemed to be literal dust at this point, what now? Hell, they basically won. Some war this was. Sonic frowned as he began to lean against Shadow with his elbow on his shoulder, causing the biohog to hiss in annoyance. "Okay but like, now it's totes super boring. Like, what are we even supposed to do now? City's powered back up and we molly-whopped everybody with that factory reset."
D'Zoolette frowned, as he was inclined to agree. "Usually when there's a ceasefire in combat, we don't take this as a victory. We stand our ground and retreat to our bases until we're ready for action once more. After all, the enemy could be licking their wounds and getting ready for a counterattack as we speak. That is," He once again gazed at the very empty metropolis. "If there were still enemies around. Since there's no one here," He digitized his smartphone in his hand, another super thin model, and checked the screen. "And according to our readings, there's indeed no more energy signatures marking the revitalized power grid besides our own." He digitized the phone away with a huff. "Either way, if we don't receive orders from our superiors, we don't move. We'll just have to stay here and make the most of this break in combat." He began barking orders to his men. "Team November! Rest up for fifteen minutes exactly. Recharge your cyber energy, take off your helmets, and regain your electrolytes. After that, partner up and secure the square's perimeter. If you see any allies coming your way, gather any info you can, report back to me and return to your post. We don't move an inch outside of this zone unless we're told to, understood?"
The officers saluted and nodded. "Yes, sir!" They instantly went to work, digging their hands in their belts and tossing these small little square-like capsules onto the ground. Instantly, geometric shaped tents were digitized in the middle of the square. They weren't very big but they were big enough to allow two people to sit inside. Officers pulled or digitized their helmets off, letting their faces inhale genuine semi-natural oxygen. A lot of them sighed in relief, stretched their limbs over their heads to pop a few bones or just sat down on the ground to take a second to breathe. The primes watched them pull out water bottles, canisters of protein liquids or good ol' fashioned semi-natural fruit juice. They even saw a few chew on some protein bars. These guys were more than ready for not just war, but an entire trek if need be.
Shadow just watched with an impressed, quiet stare. "They're constantly organized and prepared. I am so criticizing Tower when we get back home."
Sonic just snorted a laugh. "You're such an ass."
8:03 PM
With their time remaining for a "break," the two primes were offered a ten of their own by D'Zoolette. He didn't make a big deal about it, he just respectfully nodded towards them without a word and walked off. A strange air of humility shined in his eyes, good for him. They wondered what made the soldier feel that way though...Maybe he was already really humble? Who knows. They walked inside of one of the tents, this one being slightly bigger than the others. There was a simple cushioned bench, a small mini-fridge with refrigerated calorie filled small snacks and healthy drinks, and a small box of those green healing pills. They seemed a bit bigger than normal. Sonic and Shadow took this time to slip a few in their quills. Could be useful later. They took a seat beside each other, a single outside lamp dangling above them in the pointed cloth-ceiling of the tent. Their hands met on the bench accidentally, but they didn't move it.
Uncharacteristically, Sonic had a solemn frown on his muzzle. Shadow noticed this quickly and urged him to tell him what was wrong. "Hey, what's wrong?"
Sonic sighed while dragging a hand behind his neck. "Could you...Ask Dollface to give us some privacy?"
Sonic never usually asked for Shadow to tell Maria to leave them be. He'd do so playfully sometimes, but never directly or seriously. However, Shadow agreed and mentally asked for the girl to rest for a small while until they finished talking. She understood Sonic wished for privacy, and happily hid herself deep within Shadow's consciousness. She wouldn't be "asleep" per se, but she would be cut off from Shadow's senses for a few minutes.
Rubbing his own shoulder, Sonic stared downwards. "I know I'm like...a total asshole but," He lifted his head and gazed towards Shadow. "I don't wanna come off like some possessive jerk. I know I keep teasing you and messing with you about y'know, being on top," He saw Shadow's face turn red at the sudden revelation of the conversation's topic. That's what he wanted to talk about? "But you been through a lot, Shadow." He said with an abruptly sincere voice, that kind of cadence that sounded a little huskier than intended. The kind of voice that made Shadow's heart stop. "You been used by so many people you were supposed to trust. The last thing I wanna do is do the same thing and pressure you into doin' something you don't want. I know you like to make me feel good before you make yourself feel good and, well," He sighed with an annoyed expression. "God I sound stupid...I'm just tryin' to say," He finally concluded. "That I don't care what we agreed on. If you aren't comfortable with me doing that, then I won't do it. I mean, there's a reason why you've been so apprehensive about it."
Shadow's secretive bashfulness immediately drained and was replaced with subtle understanding, and some flattery. The biohog turned his head, looking at the closed opening of their tent. If he wanted to, he could leave. If he wanted to, he could stay. If he wanted to, he could teleport to the stars. If he truly, truly wanted to, he could just stand up, tell Sonic to screw off and not speak to him for the rest of the night. He could also stay, and kiss him. He could also pin him down on the bench and make love to him. The point is, Shadow knew he could do whatever he wanted because he knew Sonic would never take advantage of him. He knew he could trust him, he knew he could trust him not with just his life, but his body. He could lather himself in honey, stark naked, and Sonic would still firmly tell him no, point to the door and scold him to go put some damn clothes on if it wasn't entirely consensual.
He honestly didn't think they'd be talking about this now of all times but, well, he supposed unintentional boredom during a war prompted it.
He placed his hand onto Sonic's knee. "You told me that I need to trust you with things more. That I needed to stop assuming you'd ever judge me for anything. Well I'd like you to take your own advice." He turned to Sonic and rubbed his hand up his peach arm, caressing it. "I will never distrust you with anything about me. Not my choices, not my possessions, not my body. I will admit," His voice grew a softer. "Trusting someone entirely with everything I have is still new, still a little...intimidating. It's why I seem a little hesitant about this. Why I keep second guessing myself about you, I suppose. But one thing I will never question," He leaned closer towards Sonic's face. "Is my trust in you." He got lost in his lime green eyes so quickly, he didn't even notice. Sonic didn't realize he did the same in his amber red orbs. "You've made it clear since the very beginning that I have full control over my body and I believe you. You told me that if I ever feel uncomfortable with anything we do, we can slow down or even stop. You would never go back on your word, I know that for a fact. We made a bet and," He scoffed. "Unfortunately, I lost that bet. But if your victory is rightfully claiming me with everything you have, then it's not really my loss, now is it?"
Red spread upon Sonic's cheeks, and his body felt hotter than usual. Putting it like that..."...Obviously you can change your mind when this is all over, but," Sonic still needed more confirmation. "Are you sure? Are you really gonna let me...do that to you?"
"If we could get away with it," Shadow trailed off with a hidden playful tone. "I'd let you fuck me right on this bench."
Sonic instantly pressed a strong kiss on his tan lips. "Holy shit I don't deserve you. I love you so much."
"I know." Shadow retorted smugly. "I suppose letting you have some control in the bedroom once in a while is only fair."
"Pfft!" Sonic lightly punched Shadow's arm. "Get real! 'Some control?' Baby, I'm gonna wreck that ass." He leaned closer and swiftly lifted his fingers underneath Shadow's chin, his voice deepening dramatically. "I told you I've been tryin' to behave for your sake. The moment I take the reins, I'm gonna have you beggin' for me every-" He emphasized each word with a whisper against his lips. "Single-" He snuck his hand behind Shadow's quills and gripped it lightly. "-Night. You'll want me to take you every day, every hour, every damn second. You'll want it constantly, you're gonna be so cock-hungry, and you won't be able to breathe or live without me inside you. Every time I get near you, even an inch, you'll open up those legs for me and plead for me to ravage you over and over and over, just so I can coat your walls with my fucking seed. And when I've finally had my fill, you'll say, 'Thank you, Sonic,' and beg for me to destroy you all over again."
...
...
...
...Shadow felt lightheaded all of a sudden, and his face was beet red.
However, he didn't cower from this challenge. He welcomed it entirely, and decided to match that energy with his own. Who said Shadow himself wasn't excited about Sonic topping him either? He just never said it out loud, that's all. Shadow had pride, sure, but he had desires as well as anyone else. He swiped his nose across Sonic's cheek and took in his scent. "I can't wait. You better make good on your promise," He murmured back as he dragged his other hand between Sonic's knees. "And you better make me scream your name the whole time while you fuck my God damn brains out."
"Fuck, baby..." Sonic growled sexually before he stole another passionate kiss. It didn't take long for them to exchange tongue, groping and embracing each other intimately. Soft, quiet moans and groans filled the small tent, with Shadow leaning onto the bench and roughly taking Sonic down with him. As the cerulean hedgehog pinned the biohog down, their kissing session never interrupted, Shadow closed his legs around Sonic's waist. When he grinded himself in between his ebony furred thighs, he heard Shadow moan longingly. "You like that?" The hero asked sultrily as he continued to grind, breaking the saliva laced kiss slowly. "Mmn, you want me to take you right here? You sure about that? I don't wanna get you all wet..."
"Nmm..." Shadow breathed out another moan as he felt him grind against him harder. Been a while since they did this, they mostly just kissed and cuddled this week. "Mmn...Keep going-"
"Ooohhhohohohohoooo!"
"...!?"
8:15 PM
The booming, bombastic volume of Zobotnik's irritating voice rang out across the newly powered city.
"Not bad, not bad at all you little pests. However!" He continued to shout as holographic sparks of candy red energy appeared across the night sky. Sonic and Shadow slowly separated and stood up, the tents deployed around the square digitized away instantly, including their own. The primes along with the other officers, looked up at the sky to see the gargantuan floating red base up above. "You really think I can't see through your deception? Did you really think I'd be too stupid to catch on? I've been watching and listening in on you this entire time. All of your frequencies, all of your bases, everything you've ever whispered or said—I heard it all for days. I know your war plans, I know your schematics. I know your formations, and I also know every single upgrade you've placed on your precious equipment. I know your oh-so-perfect general of yours thinks he's planned it all, but he has no idea what I have in store. None of you will escape me!" Suddenly, holographic fire walls that were slightly taller than Zonian height, appeared scattered all around Parallel City. "Now that I've softened you all up, it's time to play hard ball. If you think those androids from before were hard to defeat, then you're all more worthless than I estimated. Zhadow is the greatest success and simultaneously the greatest failure my family has ever created, and has learned all of his tricks from me! Zhadow, nothing you throw at me will surprise me. Nothing you have in mind will stop me. Nothing you can even hope of doing, will ever save you from me."
Several miles away from the square, in the vast waters of No Zone's few natural resources, the earth deep beneath the sea shook this side of the planet.
Rising with the gradual weight of hundreds of thousands of tons, the robot arms of a titan-sized, metal, aquatic themed creature lifted from the oceans. Small tidal waves of water washed down it's surfaces, it's humongous shadow stretching over the entirety of the No Zone Navy. Limbs that were kilometers long stretched beyond the water and darkened over the entire fleet of No Zone ships. Rounded punctures within the limbs resembled suction cups of octopian tentacles, but were hollowed from within to allow for large bouts of missiles and projectiles to shoot from it's openings. But there was more: It also released more advanced androids from out of it's holes. The new droids mindlessly dropped down into the waters and on the shores, instantly scrambling to get up and run or swim their way to their next target. There was no face to this monster, it was nothing but tentacles and arms that were ready to crash down and become the demise for all sailors who were cursed to traverse this ocean. This was something that was fabled about in storybooks, old wives tales of sea monsters scouring the vast waters for pirates and watermen for supper. A great beast who ruled the tides under the curse of Gods, a legendary kraken of humongous proportions. In this story however, this thing was real and it was not made of flesh, but cold hard metal.
"You're all the dumbest specimens I've ever had the displeasure of gloating at. My robots were never weak, those were all just the failed subjects I was working on while I was exiled. Technically, I never showed any of you my real hand. The only ones who got a sliver of a taste of what's truly to come, is Zhadow and Zonic. And even they struggled against it!"
Just above the dome of the city, many squares of candy red holographic shapes began to compile and mash against each other.
They were quick, completing several forms to create one massive figure. Once it was finished, it was solidified via hacked cyber energy to create a familiar looking colossal robotic foe. With a soulless grin, it's signature mustached head appeared first before the rest of it's bulky body finished forming all around it. It was a near exact replica of the giant robot that nearly destroyed the cat cafe over a week ago, except it's armor had a small redesign along with a new toy in it's hand: An overly complicated looking firearm with a very wide barrel, indicating that it wasn't just a gun. It was beyond that, an RPG to be specific. Once it's body was finished it's coding, it became fully fleshed out and ready for action. In stark black, red and golden metal plating, the titanic droid stretched out it's new legs and stomped them down into the city directly through the town's protective dome. Despite the dome seeming invincible, the impact of the gargantuan robotic feet managed to destroy it. The entire force field over the city shattered like glass, and disappeared into cyber embers. The small earthquake the robot caused landing on the ground caused it to crush a few buildings, or for more to topple over and collide into others. With every move it made, the ground shook violently, and it looked down at the all the tiny little officers looking up at it in horror. It lifted up the large weapon over it's shoulder, it's beaming yellow eyes gazing upon them all. To make things worse, more advanced androids appeared in holographic candy red light all throughout the square around the colossal robot's legs.
"If those two couldn't handle such measley little bots, than the rest of you are as good as dead. And I'm going to enjoy watching you all perish, one after the other. Body after body, inflamed and piled into a corpse ridden pyre!"
Within the clouds of No Zone, a strong mass of candy red began to accumulate and compile on top of each other.
Just like that, Zobotnik's base disappeared in a flash. Hidden within the sky's dusty water droplets and ice crystals, nefarious codes of technical deception became energized enough to form a corporeal shape. Then, the base appeared again. This time however, floating just above the tower of No Zone HQ. It then began to slam downwards, soon smashing down onto the roof of the HQ and crushing through the ballista weapon that was stationed on top. It was destroyed instantly without much difficulty, and the officers who were also stationed in the area panicked and utilized their suits' limited Cyber Control to teleport to the floor right underneath the roof. They couldn't teleport any further than that, thus being the downside to limited abilities of cyber powers. They just barely ducked their heads at the bulking, dented ceiling stabbing at their heads from above, and they sprinted away for safety while keeping their heads low. Long, sharp pointed legs shot from beneath the base to stretch out and stab down into the sides of skyscraper's building. It dug themselves in deeply, allowing themselves to help perch the enemy's base right on top of their headquarters. The ultimate disrespect, planting enemy lines right on top of their main base. Now all anyone could see was Zobotnik's smug, arrogant icon staring down on them all like a Greek emperor awaiting to be satisfied with bloodspill and violence. Advanced androids were deployed in holographic teleportation all over the roof, and the outside of the base, waiting for someone to greet them.
8:20 PM - 1 hour and 35 minutes into the war.
"And if you think this is all I've got," Zobotnik snickered. "Then I'll be more than happy to prove you wrong."
Their earpieces nearly blew out their eardrums, because all they heard next was screaming.
85 - END - 85
Chapter 86: Phi
Summary:
Things aren't going very well...
Chapter Text
86 - Phi - 86
All at the same time, they heard hundreds of frequencies suddenly barge into their earpieces.
"This is captain of Team Sierra reporting! There's robots all over Parallel Beach, they're stronger and-Agh...! They're pulling us into the water-!"
"What the hell is that thing!? Is that...Some kind of kraken...!? Oh God, it's strangling the vessels!"
"Everyone, stay calm! You have to-No stop! Get down...!"
"Team Golf is down! All suits are offline! I repeat, Team Golf has been wiped out! Requesting backup immediately-Ahh!"
"Where's the general!? Is the first lieutenant general okay? Where are they!?"
"They're entering the HQ! I repeat, they're entering the HQ! There's been a breach! Code red, code red-!"
"Mayday mayday! I'm going down! Stay clear, get away while you still can!"
"I-I can't feel my legs...I can't feel my legs...Is anyone there...? Help..."
...
...The pair of Mobian hedgehogs felt their stomachs drop.
This wasn't even just bad, this was—This was catastrophic.
Shadow could feel Maria's phantom raise up from behind him, looking up in panicked terror at the mess before them. Her ocean eyes widened at the sight of officers attempting to shoot at or even run away from the advancing advanced androids calmly walking in their direction. Bullets that struck their bodies bounced right off, even with empowered cyber energy and small pints of chaos energy enriching it. Melee weapons, guns, grenades, good ole fashioned fists—Nothing worked against them. They just shrugged everything off before making harsh blows themselves. One punch from those androids was enough to send an officer several meters away and knock them out instantly. The colossal Zobotnik robot continued to stare down at them all, watching it's minions march across the territory and brutally defeat any naive No Zone soldiers who stood in their way. It didn't move, it didn't attack, it didn't have to. All it had to do was keeping staring at them all with that same, unmoving smile, colors of candy red and light blue circling it's electronic eyes.
Officer D'Zoolette desperately screamed for his soldiers to stop shooting and to just run away. It was all they could do, all he could think of. His pride shattered, but he didn't care. All that mattered now was getting his men out of this mess before it was too late! "Run! RETREAT!" He shouted. "Team November, I am ordering you all to retreat NOW!"
In the background, multiple fighter jets were circling downwards before crashing into the ground. Thankfully, some officers managed to escape their fate by utilizing emergency parachutes, while others were quick enough to use their limited Cyber Control to teleport to a safer area on the ground just before they made impact within the crash. Some miles from here, officers were stuck fighting underwater to kick off the persistent advanced androids attempting to pull them down and drown them like sirens. Within No Zone HQ, several officers stationed inside attempted to try and destroy the legs of the base to get it off of their roof, but the advanced androids used this distraction to purge within the HQ itself. Every single point of interest around Parallel City was now under direct attack, and many officers were falling unconscious and losing the battle. As D'Zoolette checked his smart device to check the energy signatures of the soldiers currently fighting in battle, he saw many badge numbers grey themselves out. Suits were being deactivated. One after the other, many soldiers were falling victim to Zobotnik's clutches. His heart began to palpitate faster, fearing that some of them may have died. Thankfully, badge numbers that were grayed out only meant that the suit was deactivated. There was a life support system integrated in all bodysuits underneath the armor that held it's own power, even if the armored suit was offline.
If the badge numbers on screen turned red, that would mean that the person in that suit was no longer alive and the life support system failed. He didn't see any red numbers yet, meaning they didn't lose anyone. He feared however, that this wouldn't last long. As the coyote ran, he yelled for the primes to escape if they knew what was good for them. "Primes! Get out of there now! We're retreating! You'll die if you stay here!" Was all he said before continuing to run, not daring to wait for the primes to follow. He knew he had to protect them, but he had to hope they'd follow after him or else he'd get injured too.
The two Mobian hedgehogs were speechless.
Weren't they winning a second ago?
What happened?
How did things turn around that fast? Where did they go wrong? Was it because they didn't take things seriously?
Was this their faults...?
Maria cupped her hands to her mouth, her eyes moist with empathetic worry for the destruction around her. Shadow was good at holding stern, unbothered expressions whenever things went bad, but he could barely keep it straight this time. His amber red eyes became hardened, his brows knitted with a concerned scowl. Beside him, Sonic just stared agape, his lime green eyes almost lost with utter confusion of how this all went bad in just minutes. And where the hell were their counterparts?
Where was Zonic and Zhadow?
Sonic closed his eyes and attempted to focus beyond the havoc around them, and sniffed. He had to strengthen this ability of his, he had to sense where they were at all times. He sniffed again, and again.
...Blueberries and...Lattes.
He smelled them. He got it, he got the scent!
His eyes snapped open and they peered upwards beyond the giant robot standing above them. There was a downed airship crashed atop a tall building some miles from here. If they could just get away from here and rendezvous with them, maybe they could come up with some kind of backup plan. The problem was though, how the hell were they supposed to defeat this giant thing in front of them while avoiding these nosey advanced androids? Like they heard in the frequency earlier, Zonic and Zhadow sounded panicked earlier while fighting. Like they were getting overwhelmed. Zonic was by far one of the strongest foes they've ever gone up against, and Zhadow was a completely different ballpark in itself. If those two couldn't handle it, then Zobotnik was right. What chance did they have?
That's when the biohog growled under his breath. No...No they couldn't believe that. Zhadow was also one of the smartest people they've ever met. The guy acted like an airheaded idiot, but he was absolutely no moron. His IQ was probably almost as high as Tails', maybe just as or even higher. His battle intelligence was beyond Tower's in terms of combative tactics of warfare, and he played every portion of his life like a game of Senet. He would use his own family, his own fiancé and even himself as pawns if it meant winning against his opponent, and he'd do so without hesitation or emotions getting in his way. He didn't like to act heartless, but he did if he had to in order to gain a perfect victory. While winning now would be way less of a "perfect victory," Zhadow was petty. He'd go down fatally wounding his foe before dying first. In other words, he had to have had a plan. A plan that scoped even this scenario. They had to reunite with their brothers quickly before it was too late, before they permanently lost any of their men.
"Maria, show yourself!" Shadow commanded. The girl's phantom phased from within his body out into the real world, her form going from transparent to fully fleshed out in seconds. She walked upon the square's gravel ground with dainty feet, showing off her true figure. Her clothes were different, adapted to the reality and the war's aesthetics. Holographics codes of chaos circled around her new royal blue dress and within the strands of her golden hair, the trims of threads in her fabric glowing neon light blue. Her headband and shoes also held neon lights in them, with her footwear, now boots, glowing on the soles. An earpiece decorated the right side of her face against her ear, a small microphone attached to the bottom and near her jaw. Her body glowed a golden silhouette, as she was now a spirit fully realized into the physical world. Her time in this form was barely limited, and she had plenty of energy to burn. Looks like she felt she had to upgrade her outfit, too. Cool how she could do that.
Sonic sharply turned to the biohog. He then made a double take at the girl. "Okay first off: Super cute, Dollface." He turned back to Shadow. "Second: Dude, really? Now? I thought we had to keep it on the down low."
"Sonic, look around." Shadow pointed behind themselves. "The entire city is in shambles. We can't get in communication with the general or Zonic, and there's soldiers who are close to dying. As of this moment in time, this is do or die." If this throws a wrench into Zhadow's plans, Shadow was more than confident his twin would figure out a way to plan around Maria's appearance.
Zobotnik's voice echoed from the giant robot above them. "What the...? What the hell...!?" He hissed. The giant robots tilted it's head before leaning a little lower to truly stare down at Maria, who flinched at the ugly robot's mug. "How...How are you here? You were shot in the head. Killed. How are you...?" The robot saw Shadow stand in front of her protectively with a glower. "Oohh," Zobotnik chuckled. "I see now. You're not my cousin. After all, she was older than you. Taller, shorter cut hair and couldn't be caught dead in a dress or a skirt. She was always one for those formal suit pants, acting like she was the boss of everything and everyone." He sighed softly. "You look just like her otherwise, just like when she was twelve. Grandfather and father couldn't stop raving about the little brat, how she was the end all and be all of all Zobotniks." He scoffed bitterly. "Never making time for anyone else but her. Annoying little bastard...Her own demise was Zhadow's doing. He failed in protecting her and now she's all gone. Too bad. I can only imagine," The robot peered a little closer towards the girl. "That the same is bound to happen to you-"
The girl raised her hand and swung it.
"...!"
She slapped the colossal robot right across it's metal cheek, causing it to wince backwards and stumble a little. It's scrambling tremored the ground, almost making it lose balance. It shook its head rapidly to get itself together, before angrily glaring back down at the girl below.
"You little...!"
Maria's blonde brows arched angrily, scowling at the bot wrathfully. How dare he talk about his own family member's death like that? Like nothing? Jealousy, hatred and envy. That's all she could sense from that abomination of a man. She was utterly disgusted. Was this how their world's Robotnik was? Was he jealous of Maria? Jealous of his cousin for having everyone else's attention? She closed her eyes and turned away shamefully, she cared not to look at anything or anyone that dared resembled her foolish cousin. This horrible human was no different. But he was right about one thing. "You're no cousin of mine." She murmured before clenching her tiny hands into fists. "Shadow, I'm done talking." She opened her eyes to the biohog, her irises and her fists now filled and flaming with the fires of chaos energy. "Let's go!"
All he needed to hear. "Maria, I give you full autonomy. Faker," He addressed his boyfriend. "I expect a grand performance. Both of you, don't hold back." Shadow Chaos Controlled a green chaos emerald in the air before snatching it in his palm. Amber red aura circled around him. "Waste these bastards!"
"You got it!" Sonic cracked his knuckles and readied his legs, blue aura surrounding his figure and clashing against Shadow's. Behind them, Maria floated a little into the air as golden energy soared around her as well.
Zobotnik's colossal robot seemed to cackle, reaching it's giant hands to it's bulky stomach and holding it as if it was laughing too hard. "Hahahahahahaaa! You? You!? A wannabe Zonic, a pathetic Zhadow clone and some frail twelve year old girl? You've got to be kidding me! Hahahahaaa...! Oh...! Oh stop, you're killing me-!"
Maria's ocean blue eyes became ruby red for a moment. "Hmph." She simply rose her hand and blasted a Chaos Blast directly into its abdomen. However, instead of drilling through the material and eating away at the bot's insides like she expected, the blast merely faded into embers the second it made contact with the robot. "...!?" She blinked in shock. Chaos Blasts may not have been Shadow's most powerful move, but it was a doozy on impact, especially in close range. It could wipe out an entire line of houses, and yet it didn't even put a scratch in the paint of that metal. It's one thing if Shadow shot it, but Maria, a Divine Spirit shot it. Why the hell didn't it do more damage than that? Both the hedgehogs and the girl all looked at each other with some concern, until they all nodded at each other and huddled closely. A tall flame of combined chaos energies grew from the three of them and raised upwards as it radiated from their bodies.
Blue, red and gold all combined as they aimed their hands and announced together: "Chaos Tri-Blast!"
A thick beam of raw chaos energy blasted from the three of them, blowing their quills and hair back significantly. It was even pushing them backwards, their eyes squinting from the bright lights of their energies. It shot at the giant robot once more, and this time, it did make a black mark into the metal. The giant robot squirmed uncomfortably and tried to take a step back. That beam managed to melt a small spot into its armor, but that was all. It didn't quite pierce through, not all the way, not enough to penetrate the inside of the bot and mess it up from within. The bot looked down at the tiny bit of damage, dusted itself off and continued to glare down at them. Damn, it still wasn't enough. All three Mobians began to grow even more worried. Why was their combined strength not enough to at least make a hole in this thing?
"Hahahahaha! Pathetic. You get it now?" Zobotnik taunted with a chortle. "Weren't you listening? I told you, I planned ahead just like Zhadow did. Where do you think he got that from? We both learned from the best, my grandfather. We've been imprisoning Mobians since before any of you were born, and we've studied a Black Doom from another reality who was far stronger than yours. We've studied chaos energy longer than your Gerald, and I've already recalibrated many of my creations to become immune against it. I know damn well that no one in this reality, not you, not Zhadow and not even one of the Divine Spirits themselves could beat my perfect army!" The giant robot then pointed it's finger at them, motioning for the advanced androids below to go after the trio. "It's been fun. Well...Not really, but I must bid you adieu, you puny little pincushions."
Sonic gritted his teeth with exasperation. "You're really startin' to piss me off..." His quills sharpened as he got down on one knee with his legs ready to take off. "Shadow, you take the right and I'll take the left. Dollface, spot us! No holds barred!" He instantly charged forward with a sonicboom, shoving his fist directly into an android's face. His eyes already did the math for him as he made the punch, calculating in his head as quickly as he moved his feet. These shitty androids had the same color scheme and armor pieces, meaning they were almost just as tough as that big thing above them. Almost being the operative word. They needed constant combined strength to even make a dent in the giant, but if his calculations were correct, all they'd need for the small fries is constant one-man power. In other words, just like Shadow advised, they couldn't hold back in the slightest on their own. They had to hit very, very hard, constantly and without rest if they wanted to get even one of these things down. Well, lucky for them, they had stamina for days thanks to their unstoppable metabolisms. This would tire them out by the end of it, but no matter.
Bring it on.
Now several meters away, Officer D'Zoolette panted heavily as he and the rest of his men made it to a safer line of distance. They'd spawn their bikes and ride off next. They only ran on foot this far to see if there were any injured they could pick up along the way, but they thankfully found no one. He looked back a little to see if the primes followed, only to notice that they were still smack in the middle of the square. "...!? What the hell are they doing!?" He exclaimed. "They'll get themselves killed...!"
After making that punch, Sonic didn't let himself rest for even a second. He swung another and another into the same android until his fists punched through its entire cranium. He winced in pain at how hard his hand collided with the material, he really had to go at this thing hard just to destroy its face. However, they now knew that destroying the head wasn't good enough. The entire body had to be melted down for scraps. So it's a good thing his fist was inflamed with blue chaos energy. Each hit he made into it helped melt some of its metal and drench all within its body, causing it to malfunction and implode with smoke coming out of it. It wobbled to the side and fell over. This happened all within a manner of nanoseconds because Sonic knew he couldn't take too much time in attacking the next opponent. That was only one, and by a quick headcount from here, he had dozens more to go on his side of the square. He swung back and forth, doing the same to two more droids. Not enough, too little. He went for the fourth, the fifth, the tenth and soon the twentieth.
From the naked eye, he looked like a literal blue blur. From Shadow and Maria's perspectives, they could understand his movements and realized it was best to do the same. Shadow huffed and sonicboomed his way to the right just as Sonic instructed. With the green emerald still clutched in his palm, he initiated a Chaos Control. Sonic had speed, he didn't need time to stop in order to get ahead. Frankly, Shadow didn't either, but his plan was to work smarter, not harder. He struck against the androids with heavy power, noticing just like the hero that this was the best way to get a leg up on their enemies. His chaos infused fist shoved through body parts and zipped around as many bots as he could to relay his punishment on them all. By the time Chaos Control ended, he'll have destroyed several enemies. And yet, as he felt mercury splash on his gloves, he knew this wouldn't be enough. He ended the Chaos Control and noticed the few bodies around him compared to the large amount still just ahead of him. If felt like he didn't even do anything. Fine, looks like he'd have to do this all over again. He'd do it again and again until there were none left. He thought about taking off his inhibitor rings but...No.
Too risky. Just do the same as before.
Maria Robotnik allowed energy to flow from within her fingertips, and she took a quick step forward before disappearing in golden sparkles. She hovered in the air above the fight, and laser focused on the targets who kept trailing Shadow and Sonic from behind. Her pupils readjusted before fixating on every enemy she planned to attack head on. She raised her hands with her palms facing outwards, firing smaller Chaos Blasts below. Her aim became a destructive beam, zapping and melting down bots who got a little too close in making sneak attacks to her allies. She noticed that chaos energy wasn't cutting through as much as she wanted it to, the material that made up these things was too tough. However, with enough pressure, it eventually did enough damage to make them stay down. Good enough, for now. As she was firing down at them, she already noticed from the corner of her eyes that there were a few trigger happy androids attempting to spawn some weapons and aim at her next. Foolish idea. Using one hand to continue assisting the hedgehogs, she used the other to aim behind herself and blast away. However, the radius of this hand was larger, meaning that even if she couldn't aim perfectly from behind, it'd still damage any potential foes and make them think twice before trying again.
Continuing to support her allies from above, she suddenly felt something grasp at her ankle, and yank her down multiple feet down back to the ground. She yelped in surprise. She was corporeal now, meaning she was practically amongst the living. Anything could make contact with her spiritual body as of this point, including enemies. She fell hard onto her backside, grunting in both pain and annoyance at the very rude interruption. She winced her eyes around to spot the person who did it, until she felt a harsh uppercut...to her face. She was knocked back, her body hitting the ground a little farther back. She felt her head spinning and her face emanating some pain in her nose. She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her hand to her face, and looked down to see golden blood decorating her fingers and dripping down her nostril. Both hedgehogs saw this and immediately stopped what they were doing. "Maria!" They both cried out, instantly turning heel to go to her side. The shadow of the advanced android who hit her, loomed right behind her. But that's when a vein began to throb on the little girl's head.
Honestly...Maria hated violence.
She hated every aspect of it, even in self defense.
She didn't like hurting people, she despised the thought of making anyone feel pain on her behalf.
But you know what?
With all this chaos energy inside of her body fueling every aspect of her existence, it was also responsible for fueling her emotions. So right now, that energy was sparking not just exasperation at being attacked, but rage.
Pure, chaotic rage.
A golden aura saturated foot stomped onto the ground, causing yet another small tremor tonight. Long strands of blonde hair raised in the air and her dress began to lift from growing winds, her mid-length shorts underneath them slightly showing with so much air blowing from below. Pieces of rocks and minerals lifted around her as well, and she grew more and more irritated. She took her thumb, wiped it underneath her nose, and snarled as she reeled back and tossed a hook right back into her attacker's jaw. That hit dislocated their entire neck region, the head being immediately severed and knocked right off. Her fist was covered in chaos energy, melting it and the top of the body. Growling, her eyes became ruby red and she continued to swing. She kept hitting at it, punching it, slapping it and even throwing in some kicks. They weren't graceful, they weren't well-trained or even that combative. It was the equivalent of a young child defending herself against a larger bully, a child who had never experienced fighting in any capacity up until this moment. While that wasn't true in her case, as she's fought a couple times alongside Sonic and Shadow as of now, she never had to fight on her own. This was all she could do. And what she could do...was extremely destructive. Because by the time she realized she wasn't hitting anything anymore, she slowed to a stop and looked down.
The ground beneath her was on fire.
She may have had the powers of a spirit, but at the end of the day, Maria Robotnik was still just a little girl living as an extremely inexperienced but powerful Divine Spirit. Without proper training or care, her power was that of an unstable nuke missile. Shadow did the best he could and did make some progress with her, but this was still a deity they were talking about here. A mortal could train a god but for so much. It was easy fighting when someone was in control of her movements, but it was harder having total authority on her own. It was like taking the aim assist off of a large weapon. She looked around herself, and realized the full scale of damage she had just done. She created a crater around herself into the earth, destroying a portion of the square's landscaping. Several droids were burnt to crisps at her feet, including the one who pulled her down and punched her. Actually, she wasn't sure if that one even existed anymore. She couldn't see a single scrap of its body. The ground had small chaotic flames burning into the soil, and she suddenly felt a little tired.
Damn, she kind of exhausted herself snapping like that. And...she was not proud of herself in the slightest. While the damage didn't stretch throughout the entire square, it very well could have and hurt Sonic and Shadow. She looked down at her hands, noticing the mercury liquid on them and some small smears of her own golden blood. Her eyes crinkled with shame, before slowly looking back at the hedgehogs. She then made a small, sheepish laugh and said, "Ha...haha...Sorry." She then swallowed her pride and decided to mope about her error later. She hovered back in the sky and readied her hands to help assist them once more. Thankfully there was one upside in that tantrum of hers: It cut down a lot of their enemies. Not all of them, not even half, but a good considerable portion. "Keep fighting! I'll watch your backs!"
Shadow frowned. He was ready to blow a gasket and rip the world apart seeing her bleed like that, but she used up all the rage he could have potentially mustered. He never thought he'd see rage inside of her like that before, ever. That just...wasn't who she was. Was being a Divine Spirit changing her? He could feel her energy decrease dramatically after that. While he didn't like her wasting power and energy like that, nor did he like her practically misbehaving like a brat, something she most definitely was not, he couldn't say he wasn't impressed. That was the most ungraceful thing he ever witnessed her do in his nearly sixty years of life, and yet she still did terrifying damage to their foes. He really needed to find stronger ways to train her, because if something like that happened again, she could potentially kill not just their enemies, but everyone in a single kilometer. Not only that, but it arguably did almost more harm than good since she was down a lot of power now. She couldn't keep going like this for long, so they'd have to wrap this up much faster now.
Over the crowd of androids, he called to Sonic. "Don't worry about her! Keep going!" He ordered before commanding a slew of chaotic abilities with his fingers gripped in his emerald. "Chaos Binds!" Several instances of long green colored ropes made entirely of chaos appeared around several groups of droids, before tightening around them in deadly constrictions. It melted through some of their bodies, destroying them. He didn't stop there, however, he continued. "Chaos Portals!" Numerous green portals opening paths to a black void opened all across the square, swallowing many enemies whole and sending them to the dark reaches of space. This was taking a lot of energy out of him, but he couldn't stop.
Meanwhile, Sonic was glad to know Maria was okay and began to move as if nothing happened. He had to. He ran in a circle few times to create a small blue tornado, activating a voiceless Chaos Wind. He ran to another area and did the same thing, repeating this cycle of action over and over amongst many areas of the square. Now, several Chaos Winds of small blue tornados rounded up and caught several androids in their currents. For the finale, Sonic ran into one big circle around the entire perimeter of his previous attacks. While running, he dragged his fingers through his quills and tossed many spines into air, allowing them to be sucked in by many of the miniature natural disasters he made. He then skidded to a stop and concentrated once again, his eyes glowing neon green. "Chaos-" Larger blue winds began to pick up all around them, sweeping everyone he had ever touched into the sky. "-Hurricane!" Now before them all, was an average sized chaos riddled hurricane sweeping in the middle of the city, swallowing up fake trees, grass, and of course, advanced androids. He then snapped his fingers-"Pierce."-And activated the several spines flying round the winds of his ability. Tens of dozens of small blue explosions rang out all throughout the hurricane, destroying and incinerating all of the victims he collected. Wow, he never did that move before. And he was starting to sweat, that took a lot out of him.
Sonic and Shadow found themselves tiredly backing up into each other, panting heavily as they did quick scans around themselves. They fought with everything they had, and Maria spotted them well with additional small Chaos Blasts here and there to ward off anyone who may have gotten the upper hand in their tussle.
And that's when they noticed something horrible.
They barely made a dent on Zobotnik's numbers.
There were more. So many more marching towards them. They didn't even get a single scratch on any of the trio besides Maria, and yet they felt almost exhausted. All that fighting, all that hitting and yet they didn't even half his army. They looked up at the giant robot, just standing there, leaning it's arm against one of the buildings and smirking down at them. They saw that more advanced androids were just being constantly respawned into the reality via that damned hacked cyber energy. It's like the bastard had an endless supply of them. Not only did it take a lot to beat just one, but it took everything they had just to make a small cut into his numbers. And hell, that was mostly Maria's doing, not theirs. And now, they were all very tired.
They were fighting a losing battle.
Unharmed or not, eventually, they'd grow so tired that their bodies gave out. And then, they'd become lambs to the slaughter in no time.
"Hey..." Sonic panted. "How ya holdin' up over there...?"
"...I'm fine, but..." Shadow panted back. "If this keeps going, we're going to get killed. Fast."
"Yeah." Sonic nodded slowly. "I peeped that. I know you hate runnin' away an' all, but," He glanced to the side at the biohog. "We gotta bounce. Now." He looked ahead at the soldiers far, far away from here who ran off earlier. They were still standing there, watching. Waiting for them to retreat along with them. They didn't want to stay anywhere near this fight, but they had to obey orders and keep the primes protected. That was nice and all, but they couldn't just bail on them either. The moment they left this area, that robot would wreak havoc on the entire capital of the city. While the two barely made progress, they were still holding them off from harming more soldiers. They were technically saving their lives right now by stalling. If they left now, more of their numbers would dwindle. "I don't like it, I don't wanna leave them like this. But if we don't conserve ourselves, we won't be of use to anybody. 'Specially not Zhadow and Zee."
Shadow sucked his teeth with frustration. He was right, and he hated that he was right. Shadow hated running away more than anything, he hated the idea of mimicking a coward. But as he looked up at Maria's sweating and upset face, and as he felt Sonic panting harshly behind him, he knew he couldn't let his pride push him to an early grave. But, wasn't there something, anything they could do? "...There has to be a way. If we don't stay here, the Army of No Zone will fall, and soon the rest of the branches will meet the same fate. I can't accept this." He looked down at his green emerald, and his eyes hardened. "I'm not giving up." Amber red aura boomed from his body. "I'm not finished just yet!" He yelled before storming off.
"S-Shadow, wait!" Sonic called out, but dust smacked him in the face. "H-Hey! You're gonna get yourself hurt! Hold up...!" He tried running after him, until several bullets were shot at his feet. "...!" He took a step back and looked up to see several androids aiming at him with firearms. "Shit...Fine." Blue aura exploded from his body. "I ain't lettin' you assholes take me down without a fight!"
Watching this, Maria's eyes seemed to flash with traumatic, negative nostalgia.
She could remember it all.
The way GUN stormed the Ark. The way they gunned everyone down. The way some of the doctors tried fighting back with weapons laying around the ark on their own. Some were even desperate enough to pick up scalpels and swipe at active firing squads. She remembered the way they screamed, begging for their lives as blood splattered on every corridor of the station. How Shadow snatched her hand and ran away to the escape pods, how he pleaded with her not to look at the bloodshed around her. How they had to hide behind walls, keep their hollow breathing to low volumes so they wouldn't be caught and shot. How she begged Shadow to tell her where Gerald was. How blindsided Shadow was when she shoved him in that pod by himself.
No, not again.
Not again.
If they kept fighting a useless battle, they'd all get hurt or potentially even die. She would never, ever let that happen again!
"Chaos Control!" In a golden flash, she teleported to Shadow and swiped her arm underneath his while he was sprinting.
"M-Maria...!? What are you-"
He couldn't finish his sentence as she teleported again, this time to Sonic's side. She hooked her other arm in his and boosted herself into the sky. "W-Woah! Dollface, what's the deal!?"
"Be quiet, please!" Maria commanded as her hair blew back, boosting herself and the two hedgehogs in her arms several miles away from the square. As they soared higher into the sky, the primes' quills blew back violently as they saw the growing number of androids crowding below. If they had stayed, they would have been overwhelmed. "Mr. Sonic, can you smell where Mr. Zonic is?"
"Huh? U-Uhh," This was out of nowhere. "Yeah?" He pointed towards the right, southwest from their current location. "Over there. I can barely smell 'em, but they're both over there somewhere. On top of a building, there's a downed airship on the roof."
"Maria," Shadow scolded the girl for snatching them up like that. "Just what do you think you're doing? We were in the middle of a fight! We could have stalled for a little while longer and came up with another plan-"
That's when another vein throbbed on Maria's forehead.
Was this a guy thing or something? Dummies. Big headed dummies, the both of them!
"Shut. Up!" She yelled, her voice echoing across Parallel City.
...
...
...
"..." Both hedgehogs found themselves very silent at the moment.
She made a heavy sigh as she continued fly, changing course of her direction to where Sonic pointed and keeping their arms locked with hers in a vice grip. "You're both the biggest dummies I've ever met. We all could have gotten killed! Grandpa taught us a long time ago Shadow: Running away isn't cowardly if you're living to fight another day!" She exclaimed strongly. "It's not cowardice, it's being smart enough to know when you need to stop, reflect and try again later." She whipped her head at him with a stern glare, causing the biohog to unexpectedly flinch. "If you think I'm going to stand by and watch you two die from exhaustion because you're both too silly to give up and cut your losses, then you've got another thing coming! I am not going through that again!"
Shadow tried to defend their decision. "Again?" What was she referring to? "Maria," He attempted to cut in. "You don't understand. If we don't hold them off-"
"I know, Shadow." She retorted. "I know we might lose more friends, I know this. But Mr. Sonic was right. If we all fall here, then what the heck is anyone else supposed to do?" She asked rhetorically. She turned back at the path ahead, keeping her gaze uncompromising and strong. "I acted like a dummy too, and I wasted so much power, energy and time. Now you're both tired, and we're all barely able to stand. I am sorry if I'm upsetting you by disobeying your orders as your Divine Spirit, but as your family," She emphasized. "It's my job to keep you alive. Both of you. This conversation is over." She declared.
The striped hedgehog felt her words hit him hard, and she was probably the only person besides Sonic to ever shut him up like that. He hesitated, feeling some anger at her reluctance to at least hear him out, but then, it waned. It reminded him of how she'd always scold him back on the Ark when he was younger, how she'd tell him not to eat weird things, not to intentionally throw unstable Chaos Spears at doctors whenever they pissed him off, not to violently yank off chunks of Gerald's mustache when he suggested another experiment, not to chastise and annoy little Abraham...The list went on. She'd get so cross with him, because it wouldn't be small offenses, it would be things that could have really hurt or even killed someone or himself. She rarely ever got angry, but he felt so bad whenever she did, especially at him. He hated angering her, but most of all, he never wanted to disappoint her.
He realized now what she was alluding to earlier, and now felt even more guilty for talking back to her. He now saw why she was so upset. He looked away and closed his eyes. "..." He said nothing else.
Sonic watched this with a steady gaze, only just realizing how in depth their history was with each other.
For a tiny moment, they all had silence.
Peace.
8:35 PM
Zhadow wiped the sweat from his brow as he attempted to focus his vision. At the moment, Zonic was lying against him, panting heavily from the fight they just endured. Around them were tiny bits of metal and many stains of mercury. The moment the power went back on in the city, there was a brief moment of ceasefire. After that, all of these advanced droids just spawned their way on the roof of this building. The airship they had fought on was ruined, crashed right on top of it. They had fought a small group of advanced androids, and they were beyond tired. Who would have thought Zobotnik had that up his sleeve? He had to admit, the son of a bitch was crafty as hell. Just like his conniving, shitty grandfather. He pet Zonic's head, rustling his fingers through his ruffled fur as they took this moment to rest. Their suits were damaged, cuts and bruises managing to purge right through their armor. A shameful state for them to be in, but at least they were the ones still breathing.
As he sat on the ruined deck of the destroyed airship, his fiancé sat in his lap, very tired. He tapped the back of Zonic's shoulder softly. "Rookie?" He called quietly. "You alive down there?"
"Yes, sir..." His voice was quiet and soft, but still winded. "My apologies for my incompetence...I'll get up in just a moment-"
"No, no." Zhadow continued to pet his head. "Take a bit more time. We both need the rest."
"But sir," Zonic grimaced. "Our men...we need to do something."
"I know. And we will, soon." He kissed the top of his head. "Just be a little more patient, rookie. I'm waiting for something." He then looked down at him. "We both are, remember?"
A wave of secret understanding flashed through Zonic's eyes. He then nodded. "Yes, sir."
"C-Chaos Control..." A golden light filled their visions as Maria Robotnik, barely holding Sonic and Shadow in her arms, appeared in golden sparkles. Out of breath, she struggled to continue carrying the primes by the scruff of their necks. Two hedgehogs who by the way, were two very grown Mobians who more than outweighed her in size and weight alone. Her eyes rolled back and she lost all mobility. She dropped them before dropping down hard onto the ground herself. Her hair scattered all over her shoulders, her face not visible and her breathing barely audible.
Grunting in pain from such a rough landing, Shadow immediately scrambled on his feet and ran towards her. "Maria...!" He knelt down and shook her a little, thankfully seeing her head move. She just barely lifted it, her face entirely drained. He began to feel the effects of her exhaustion bleeding into his own body since they were still connected, and nearly passed out right alongside her. However, he cared not for himself. He caressed the girl's face and gently guided her into sitting upright against him.
Sonic felt woozy as well, lifting himself up to sit on his bottom before rubbing the back of his head.
Damn...everything went to shit.
86 - END - 86
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