Work Text:
Sonic pressed against the wound on his ribs, red liquid was endlessly falling to his torso, he felt bile coming at his throat whenever he dared to look at it for more than two seconds.
It wasn’t- it wasn’t supposed to happen.
How could he have known his opponent would use one of the audience’s glass bottles of wine on him?
He tried once again to pull the glass shard out of his skin and once again he felt like passing out.
The sound of the crowd cheering on for the next fight usually didn’t let him sleep, having been lucky enough to be put on the cell just below the ring, but at this mere instant it felt like static noise on his dizzy head.
He tried to distract himself by looking around, but there was nothing pretty to be seen around here.
The grey walls covered in multiple disgusting substances were a constant reminder of his deplorable situation.
Nonetheless, he had won the battle, and had made multiple (already fucking rich) people gain money.
He was nothing but entertainment, a way to pass their evenings, his worth made of how many bloody heads he got for them every night.
They were all like this, mindless greedy- his head bobbled and he got a flash of apathetic ruby eyes staring him down.
He gave him a chance and he-! He just turned his head away and let them take him-
Sonic screamed in rage and pulled the crimson glass out of him.
___
“It’s a beautiful painting, Shadow” Her celeste tired eyes sparkled when she looked at the freshly painted canvas.
“I did it for you, you can hang them with the others” He said with a tiny smile.
The painted bluebells were held tightly by his sister, yet she seemed to be lost in thought. Maybe she was tired.
The doctors on the colony had warned him that medication could make her worn out more easily. At first he had panicked but before he could yell at them they told him it meant it was working.
The city Shadow had grown in was almost abandoned in the dust compared to the space colonies, full of luxury, innovation, technology and most importantly access to superior medical care.
Just what Maria needed.
He couldn’t regret his choices. Not knowing why he had sacrificed- blue quills were splattered on the roof, his smile soft and understanding not seeing him as a prize to be won but a-
Maria had fallen asleep.
He shook his head.
He had done the right thing, he was helping him but he wouldn’t understand it. He had spent his entire life as a criminal , he would eventually see that Shadow helped him a ton by sending him there-
A juvenile criminal centre was the best place for him to be, he’d be fed and he’d be taught so many things.
Sonic needed to leave his criminal life behind.
What Shadow needed was for Maria to be healthy.
___
The soldiers dragged him around the walls of the creepy building, as they walked through hundreds of cells Sonic tried to get a better look at his surroundings.
There must be a way to get out of here, every system has a failure.
The younger soldier kicked him in his right ankle making him yell and fall.
Sonic’s face was shoved into the ground once again, more forceful than necessary as they put shackles in his wrists.
“There you go you little bitch” One of the soldiers spat.
Sonic momentarily sat down on the ground and looked at the shackles; they were not heavy, in fact they were thin, he could easily break them, he tried- no, no he couldn’t... What were these made of?
He didn’t have time to wonder more for the soldiers grabbed him again and threw him to the room at their left.
They closed the metal door and left him in the darkness.
His breath picked up, it was dark and it was a small room, he tried crawling to try to understand where he was.
Then his hand collided with something wet.
A sudden light turned on, he could see now what he had accidentally touched.
Scarlet, almost brown… dirty, dirty and there was so much of it, the room was literally drowning with it.
He had never seen so much. Why was there so much?
His eyes fell on a metal chair in the middle of the place, it looked like a dentist chair, he had seen them on the big screen commercials in the streets.
The chair was made with tools on it.
Then his eyes landed beyond the chair and he finally saw her.
There was a little girl on the floor. Motionless.
The blood it was from-
She was-
It was so obvious she was dead.
Sonic ran to the door in a desperate to call the guards, maybe they didn’t realise she was there, somebody needed to- she must be buried- how did she even-
“H-hey! There’s a girl! She’s- shit- Somebody! Y-you all need to- do something damn it!”
Nobody heard his screams, the scent of death was stronger by every passing minute.
He choked, covering his mouth.
Suddenly his shackles shined a bright red. He stared down confused.
The chair behind him turned on as well and then he heard a voice through the microphone on the corner of the room.
“Starting welcoming operation, please sit in the chair”
Sonic stayed put where he was, there was no way he would get close to that thing.
His shackles beeped and he felt a strong pull making him move against his will.
He started thrashing and screaming, his old shoes soon were stained with the blood in the floor.
“NO! No! No! Let me go!” Sonic screamed, he fell to the ground, the shackles pulling him closer and closer to the cold metallic chair.
“Don’t resist, it's only gonna hurt more!” One of the guards shouted from outside the door between laughter.
No matter how hard he tried to escape he ended up in the stupid chair.
His arms, legs and neck were all cuffed as the machine started working and he heard a razor blade over his head.
Sonic felt like he was choking he was going to die-
Then he felt how it grabbed his quills.
Sonic’s heart stopped for a second.
They pulled and he screamed.
They were getting rid of his quills- so he couldn’t escape.
He felt bile coming up, the pain was unbearable, he started crying.
Suddenly a gate opened on the roof.
And a small body fell.
Sonic felt the blood splatters falling on his legs and he yelled terrified.
He heard the crowd screaming from above before the gate was closed again.
They threw the losers here.
Losing meant death.
It was another kid. They put kids to fight.
He never saw somebody older than twenty in the cells.
The machine continued on, pulling at Sonic’s quills and cutting his fur.
He passed out.
___
Maria dragged him along running down the corridors of the Robotnik Manor, her laughter was happier than ever and Shadow smiled brightly.
She wore a tiffany blue dress, just for the occasion.
Thanks to Shadow’s sacrifice success, he and Maria finally got access to the space colony, now she could heal properly and one day she would hopefully be able to live fully on this world.
She insisted they celebrated with a picnic.
They arrived at the chao garden, the manor had two but this was Maria’s favourite.
Shadow lay the blanket down, it was decorated with cornflowers. He got all the items from the basket while Maria played with some of the chao.
Once he finished preparing the food, Maria sat down next to him to enjoy some of the mini sandwiches, and a few curious chao fluttered around her.
“I can’t believe grandfather even allowed you to do this, it’s been so long since we’ve spent time together” She said with a sigh.
Shadow had been overworked lately; between his dance practices, shows, interviews, manipulating a guy who could barely earn a piece of hard bread and Gerald’s scolding he couldn’t catch a break at all.
That’s why he made the deal. Gerald needed a hero in his company to increase his rating, to gain a spot for his sick granddaughter in the space colonies, that had to be him.
He was a hero for putting a criminal behind bars.
No matter if he had fallen in love with the criminal.
“We’ll spend even more time together now, the professor has allowed me to go with you, so we’ll never be separated” Shadow stated firmly.
That’s why he had done it. There was nothing more important than his sister.
“So… I assume that you're finally going to pursue your dream of being a painter?” She asked with excitement in her eyes.
Shadow closed his eyes and nodded with a smile.
Maria squealed and hugged him.
“That’s wonderful! Oh I can’t wait to see what you’re going to paint! Maybe you’re even better at it than dancing! And it’ll make you so much happier” She pressed kisses on his forehead and he softly laughed.
“I already checked and the space colony we will be transferred to, it has some tutors for drawing and painting, I’ve already been accepted on their classes”
“Shadow, that's so exciting!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. Some of the chao around her imitated her doing cute little squeaks.
“Honestly i’m a little nervous”
“Oh you’ll do just fine! In fact! We should make a toast” Maria grabbed one of the plastic cups and tried to pour some of the apple juice in it, her hands trembling.
Shadow grabbed it and poured it instead, she looked slightly down but soon recovered and held her cup.
“For Shadow and his freedom! So he never has to go on a stage again!”
___
The crowd watched him as if he was a mere piece of meat.
He felt disgusted.
Why the hell hadn’t the resistance destroyed this place?
He could still see the blood of the children who had died in this pit. He saw a small shoe and he gagged, that shoe could fit his little seven year old brother.
His quills were barely a pixie cut, he could not use them to fight.
He looked up at the countdown in the giant screen above him.
1…2…3… FIGHT!
His eyes locked with the trembling maroon bunny, they could be a little above his age, but they looked terrified.
They ran to him anyhow, trying to attack him with everything they had.
He didn’t want to kill them, he tried to just be evasive to their attacks, he didn’t want to hurt anyone.
The rabbit didn’t stop, they punched and kicked him.
Sonic’s score was lower, while the rabbit was raising.
“I don’t want to hurt you! Stop!” He yelled when the rabbit pushed him against the ring’s wall.
They started choking him. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t die here, he had a little brother to raise.
Tails, I’ll come back I promise-
His vision faded out and when he came back he stood above the rabbit.
They were looking at him paralyzed, Sonic could see their twisted arm.
The crowd was quiet.
“I’m not gonna hurt you” Sonic begged, trying to make them understand. “Just don’t hurt me”
The rabbit tried to crawl away from him while screaming and crying.
“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you! I was just defending myself! I’m sorry-“ Sonic said, trying to look harmless by putting his arms up.
They needed to escape! They could if he just got the other to understand.
The collar on the rabbit beeped and they both froze.
It beeped again and the rabbit sobbed.
“I’m Val” They said, trembling.
He looked at them surprised.
“I’m-“
The collar beeped again and the bunny choked, red tainted their lips.
The crowd cheered.
Sonic looked up at the screen shaking.
His score was higher.
He was the winner.
___
Their dance session had been longer than usual, Shadow needed out of the mansion badly and he was his best distraction.
Or as good of a distraction as a target could be.
The city roofs were their stages, they were not afraid to make risky jumps just to prove themselves to the other.
Shadow looked at his opponent and how,without missing a beat, he walked over a metal cable between two buildings.
Shadow’s mouth was agape.
The blue hedgehog grinned at him before finishing the line with a delicate jump.
Sonic didn’t belong to the muddy streets of the downtown neighbourhood, he belonged on a stage, with people applauding him but that could never be.
What a waste.
That outstanding colour would shine anywhere else but here.
Sending him to a juvenile detention facility would be the best. He would be rehabilitated and back to society.
He’d be protected by the soldiers then.
Shadow jumped next to Sonic and they kept dancing until dawn.
___
The faces of the monsters were covered in a golden armor , no matter how shiny it was they weren’t immune to having it stained with the blood from their sins.
He hid below the truck while the soldiers took away the grey hedgehog.
The innocent man would be tortured and killed, the last thing his nephew would see of him was the horrible scarlets blooming on his face.
The blue hoglet sat on the roof of their truck, the smog on the sky of the city was his only companion as he clung to his -way too big- crimson hoodie.
___
His debut was made when he was barely above the age of six, he was already praised by all the aristocracy in the city.
The professor showed him off with pride, having managed to make him proud was his biggest happiness.
Ballet was no easy practice, yet he had managed to shock the entire city with his show
The coal hoglet got wonderful gifts and cards.
Applause and applause after applause.
This was his worth. This is what would make the Robotnik company rich, he, the way too young ballet dancer.
In the newspaper cover, he could be seen holding a bouquet of blue daisies.
___
“Look at me!” He screamed, a dozen soldiers over him.
The cameras were focused on the red and black hedgehog standing in front of him. They kept asking him questions and Shadow answered with a grace that made his blood boil.
Sonic kept yelling at him until the soldiers decided that was enough and put a muzzle on his face. He continued struggling but he never turned back to look at him.
After he had trusted him- he could have sold him too and he didn’t, he chose not to! He could have given him to them but…he fell in-
He saw Gerald Robotnik laugh and praise Shadow, the hedgehog beamed and smiled as another picture was taken.
He never once turned to look at him.
Not even as Sonic was dragged to a metal cage.
___
“Was it dangerous?”
Shadow wore a white suit, there was a blue poppy on his chest pocket making him look dashing.
“Of course”
Touching those lips, getting close to him, loving him.
“He was a criminal”
The most beautiful blue he had seen in this artificial city.
“He could have hurt me at any given time”
He giggled and Shadow’s heart stopped, he held his hand and it made him feel safe.
“But you know…”
You really are something, princess.
“I did it for the city, this is the place I grew up in. I believe it can be better”
I’m sorry. I did it for my sister. It’s for the better. I promise.
___
Someone shook him awake.
He saw his cell’s roof and immediately pushed away from their touch.
A guard perhaps? Annoyed that he had screamed in his sleep?
Sonic hissed and curled up away from the unrecognisable shadow. It was late, incredibly late.
“Would you look at that?” Somebody whispered in the darkness.
He knew that voice.
“Eggman?” He asked, his voice sore.
“Hello you oversized rodent” The man wickedly smiled.
The guy was wearing his show time suit, a large red coat covered him whole and a high hat was on his head.
“You came here to bet?” Sonic growled.
Eggman laughed loudly, making the hedgehog jump.
“Oh no! Not really entertaining for me, too disgusting” The egg shaped man looked for something in his pocket, he finally reached it and pushed it in front of him.“ I brought you something”
Sonic sniffed at it.
Food.
He quickly grabbed the package and opened it.
A chilidog.
He almost sobbed.
He took a tiny bite and soon water started falling down his cheeks.
Eggman patiently waited for him to finish before speaking.
“I didn’t come to see a fight, hedgehog. I came for you”
Sonic’s face scrunched up, he attempted to clean his face but it was full of blood and dirt.
“Why?” He asked in a tiny voice.
“Your talent doesn’t really show in this horrible place! You’re meant to be on stage, my boy, not dying out here ... .that's what I came to offer” The man’s grin grew wilder, he wondered how it didn’t hurt his face.
“…you want me to dance in your theatre…” Sonic said, his ears dropping.
“Come on, after living through this you must understand my cause more than ever! The people out there, those who made fun of you, who fooled you, who betrayed you like that boy…”
Sonic looked up straight to Eggman’s face.
“…Shadow?”
“He’s on the space colonies now, catching you was his ticket up there”
Sonic felt cold.
“…a-and my friends? The resistance they-“
“From what I can tell, you’re not even on their missing list”
The tiny hedgehog’s head hurt. He felt like screaming, he needed to tear something apart. They had abandoned him. All of them. He had used him.
He was nothing but meat to them.
He had continued to resist, he had childishly hoped for them to come after he realized he couldn’t escape.
He felt like vomiting, but he would never have food like this again!
Except…
“Come with me, dance in my theatre and I promise you nobody will dare do this to you again. You’ll fight for this city, Sonic, for the ones who get fooled and abused… like you were” Eggman brushed his quills and Sonic fell apart.
He looked around.
Grey.
Black.
Red.
Just like him.
Never again.
“…okay”
___
Shadow woke up abruptly.
His face, don’t forget his face-
He turned to his right and there it was. The painting he had done of him.
Sonic.
He just…he needed to see him one last time. Make sure they were treating him well at the juvie. Maybe he had already forgiven him.
He just…he had to know.
He stood, turned on his screen and looked for the nearest flight down to the city.
It’ll be quick.
Just a visit.
He couldn’t tell Maria. Gerald asked him to never mention his tiny criminal friend to her, for she would get curious and probably angry at him.
Shadow looked at all the paintings in his walls, he looked like a maniac.
Big canvas, small, simple papers, even napkins.
Everywhere there he was…
Blue.
He needed to see him.
Just one more time.
___
He didn’t find him.
He found an empty cell,he stared at it.
How couldn’t he have known? There was no juvenile centre. This wasn’t rehabilitation, this was torture.
The little brother of the boy he murdered screamed and cried outside of the cell
Shadow looked at the grey floor with a broken heart and sense of guilt that would never be erased.
Blood and fallen quills.
Red and blue looked so ugly together.