Waiting Drives You Crazy

by SnekyDoodle

Summary:

Shadow finds an uncharacteristically distraught Sonic on a cliffside overlooking broken machinery and dying fire.

“That unrecognizable voice trembled, gloves hands sinking into the Earth. Red irises could only stare in disbelief at the scene in front of him. As that figure picked itself up off the ground and stumbled, reaching out for him with dirty, dirty hands.”

He was on his knees.

 

He had seen the blue blur on the ground before, but now he was on his knees.

Head to the ground.

 

Shadow was frozen still. Time felt like it had stopped, but he hadn’t used Chaos Control. He hadn’t done anything, anything but watch.

 

And it killed him.

 

“Sh.. Shah.. hahaah..” That unrecognizable voice trembled, gloves hands sinking into the Earth. Red irises could only stare in disbelief at the scene in front of him. As that figure picked itself up off the ground and stumbled, reaching out for him with dirty, dirty hands.

 

And his own reached forwards as well.

 

He caught Sonic as his knees buckled under his own weight, the hedgehog hanging off his arms. His head was down, ears flat against his head as if he were trying to block out the world.

Shadow stared ahead at the remnants of a battle left scorching in the Earth below the crevice they stood atop of.

His nose recognized fire and ash, gunpowder and smoke. It nearly brought him back to days long past, but the trembling, wetness hitting his fur kept him grounded to the present day.

 

He didn’t smell blood. He didn’t see any external injuries littering cobalt fur. He didn’t see anyone else.

 

It was just them.

 

Carefully, slowly, and oh so gently, as if comforting a wounded Flicky, Shadow let Sonic sink his weight into his steady arms. The hedgehog refused to support himself, breathlessly laughing into Shadow’s still ear.

 

What happened?

 

The question was on his tongue, but it died at his lips. Crunched bits of hard steel fell against his fur and unceremoniously to the ground, falling from the blue quills it had been lodged between.

The familiar, shimmering blue shine did not go unnoticed.

 

The laughter was quiet, a sorrowful, mourning sound that shook Shadow to his very core.

This was not a sound that had ever come from Sonic.

 

And Shadow stood there, azure blue quivering in black arms.

Gunmetal grey and ashen orange filled the sky that he stared into, a swirling galaxy or smoke and suffocating fire.

 

He expected something.. someone, to appear. But they remained alone.

 

More than anything, that’s what Shadow thinks terrifies him the most.

 

“.. what.. happened?”

Shadow barely processes that the words leave his mouth. His voice was small, hesitant, and worried.

 

Sonic cackles, mouth wide for the breathless noise to escape from his throat.

 

“Hahah.. heh.. Shadow.” The blue hedgehog’s grip tightened around his arms as he replanted his feet firmly on the ground, heaving himself upwards and away from Shadow’s uncertain grasp. “Wouldn’t you like to know, huh?”

 

He laughed, one hand coming to swipe tears from his eyes, rubbing a finger below his nose. He grinned widely at Shadow, an expression the darker hedgehog had grown irritatingly accustomed to.

But it didn’t reach the eyes. It never would, Shadow thought to himself. How can he fake a smile after that?

 

“Hah.. heh, sorry for the trouble, Shads.” Sonic continued in his shocked silence. “Things got a little hazy down there and, y’know how it is with ol Egghead.” Sonic’s voice broke off at the last word. The azure hedgehog tried to cover it up with a cough, but Shadow could see through it.

 

A gloved hand reached forwards, rings shining in the dim lighting as Shadow reached towards a turning Sonic, hand nearly at his shoulder.

 

“I need t’ head back now,” Sonic sighed. “Help the others clean up the, ah, the mess. Heh, Amy’s gonna be so mad.”

 

His hand never landed on the shoulder. In less than a second, Sonic was standing at the edge of the cliffside, overlooking rubble and torn machinery. Flames that were dying with each passing second.

 

“Thanks for the help, Shads.” 

 

The next second, Sonic was gone.

Shadow didn’t follow. He simply stared where Sonic once stood in front of him, hand still outstretched as if he could reach out and grab the hedgehog from the past and bring him back where he once stood.

 

There was a certain darkness in Sonic’s eyes that didn’t go unnoticed. As Shadow’s mind processed the events that had unfolded moments prior, he let his arm go slack, staring ahead, eyes haunted.

 

What did he do?

 

Shadow backed away. The silence was loud, and something about the way the wind flowed felt horribly wrong.

 

Gloved hands clenched at a black and red flank. He would not stand here and wait.

 

The hedgehog dissapeared in the blink of an eye, leaving the cliffside isolated and solemn.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Sonic Autism