Bulletproof Heart

by peachmink

Summary:

It's been ten years since the planet has been reduced to a arid, rugged wasteland, a place where camaraderie is rare and necessary for survival.

When Sonic, a notoriously wily troublemaker in the eyes of the "law", finds himself shackled to Shadow, a militant science project with a nasty temper, he must decide if forming an unlikely alliance with him is worth his freedom. The two find a lot of unlikely truths together as they go on a hunt for the mythical Chaos Emeralds- a set of precious gems said to grant a wish if you collect all seven.

With a menagerie of bloodthirsty, desperate enemies on their tails, will they be the first to collect the emeralds, or will the gems fall into the wrong paws first?

Chapter 1: It's Death or Victory

 

Sonic isn’t all that sure exactly how he got here. It feels like one moment he’s minding his own business, the next he's chained to the most insufferable prick he’s met in his entire life.

He’s got an unforgivably large needle shoved so far up his forearm he would have thought he was born with it jabbed in there. Paired with the seemingly unbreakable chain tethering the two hedgehogs together is a sturdy tube that laces throughout. The tube is just as unbreakable, Sonic has tried to gnaw through it in his free time playing passenger princess. 

He’s lost track of the days. He knows it’s been at least two moons since he was first tethered to this sad excuse of a person. The pain in his arm is but a dull throb now, at least. At first it really smart. Sonic’s attention lazes over to Shadow; who finds himself driving the biggest waste of space in the garage. The truck’s ride is anything but smooth, sand and rocks kicking from under its eighteen wheels. The horizon stretches endlessly over the red dunes ahead, a curtain of beautiful, powder blue placed above it. 

His eyes are met by piercing rubies, squinting in disgust. “What are you looking at, blood bag?” 

Sonic finds it within himself to balk out a laugh, “I’ll tell you when I figure that out.” The drive has been too quiet for the blue hedgehog’s liking.

Much to his dismay, he is met with silence. Aside from the scoff and eye roll Shadow returns him. Sonic pins his counterpart with a mischievous sneer, eyes half mast and lips pulled taunt to expose his toothy grin. “C’mon, Shad. Can I call you Shad? Want to play some road games? Twenty questions? Guessing game? I spy?” He kicks his feet up onto the dashboard, resting his calloused paws in the mess of quills behind his head as he leans back.

When all he gets in reply is a low growl, he chooses to continue blabbering on. “I feel like I know so much about you, but you don’t know squat about me. Shadow the Hedgehog- Egghead’s right hand man, the ultimate soldier- no, lifeform. Crafted from gnarly alien parts and—“ 

He is unceremoniously yanked towards Shadow as the dark hedgehog swiftly loops the chain up and around Sonic’s ankle to oh-so-rudely remove his foot from the dash. “Do you ever shut up?” 

Sonic pinwheels his arms before steadying himself, a paw firmly planted on Shadow’s shoulder. “Not really.” The momentum forces the soldier to lean on the steering wheel, deepening his scowl. Sonic knows this isn’t ideal. And picking away at this guy isn’t doing him any favors. Unless he can manage to knock him out and take the wheel, this is going nowhere as fast as Shadow can drive them away from Eggvalley. 

Can this monster even be knocked out? Word around the base is that this Shadow guy is indestructible. Which Sonic thinks is a heaping pile of armadillo shit. Why would he need Sonic’s chaos jolting blood bank if he couldn’t be killed? Seems like a lifeline to him, what will keep the abomination going when he takes one too many bullets. Or perhaps the alien bits and bobs the “hedgehog” is pieced together with will make him regenerate or something crazy like that. 

Sonic is only a little excited to find out, musing on what he’s gathered in intel. At least if he’s stuck at the mercy of this prick he is an interesting one. Because almost as much as Sonic hates his freedom being ripped away from him, he loathes to be bored.

He can’t even remember the last time he was able to take a run. It’s been at least a fortnight since he was captured, tucked away into a lab so far underground he thought maybe he’d reach the center of the earth before he managed to break free. At least his brother got away. 

Sonic’s racing thoughts are yanked back to the present when his head hits the cracked windshield, his tangled leg pulling uncomfortably to his chest, and the rest of him lurching forward to squish all of him to the dashboard. Stars flare behind his eyes as he rights himself. He shoots Shadow an accusatory glare. 

To his surprise, he’s met with a hardened expression facing the horizon. He follows Shadow’s gaze to see nothing of particular interest. A fingerlessly gloved paw moves with precision to Sonic’s limbs tangled in the chain. With a touch so ginger he didn’t think the dark hedgehog was capable of it, he begins to tug at the chain-clad tube. Shadow’s clawed digits graze the plush fur on his thigh through tattered, holey jeans as he frees Sonic from his prison.

“Look alive, we have trouble coming,” Shadow doesn’t take his piercing gaze off of the horizon, where Sonic swears there is nothing at all. He sits uncharacteristically still until he is finally loose. 

“Are you seeing a mirage? There’s nothing there, dude.” 

Shadow’s brow furrows impossibly further. “Open your eyes and stay out of my way. Unless you want to die.” 

Sonic lets out a faux yawn, “Maybe I’m done being alive. Or letting you try to scare me with ghosts in the sand.” 

The softness he was shown not moments ago is a thing of the past, as Shadow yanks Sonic at the muzzle to face him, noses close enough to nearly touch. “Listen here, hedgehog . I’m not going to repeat myself again. You better stay out of my way if you want to live. You are nothing but extra weight to me. I didn’t ask to be chained to a blood bag.” 

The blue hedgehog is frozen in place, silenced once more. Why is this guy so touchy? He reluctantly nods. Which is apparently enough for Shadow as he releases him and shoves him away. 

“Do you see them now?” Shadow tugs the emergency brakes into gear. Sonic somehow doesn’t realize until now as he sees the cranky abomination shuffle out of the truck that he’s been sitting on a booster seat. He can’t resist chuckling, covering his muzzle to stifle it with his free paw. Once again he is physically yanked from his thoughts- and behind Shadow across the seat and through the driver’s door. He lands in the warm sand below.

“ Focus . What’s so funny?” 

“Nothing, short stack.” 

Shadow sighs, long and hard. “I’m taller than you.” 

“By what, a centimeter?” 

Shadow is, in fact, several centimeters taller than Sonic. 

“Enough. They are nearly here.” 

Sonic squints at the horizon, shuffling his way to his feet. The harsh sun beating down upon the two hedgehogs makes Sonic thankful he was at least given boots, and some clothes. Even if that’s just some tattered jeans and a cloak to hide him a tad from the unforgiving rays. 

All he can see is a fast approaching dot in the distance. “That’s hardly nearly here ,” his tone falls into that of mockery towards the end, mimicking his dark counterpart. Maybe during a scuffle is the best time to make a break for it. He glances down at the chain tethering them together once more and considers breaking his own paw. Maybe then he’d be able to squeeze out of the cuff. 

“You can’t see that horrendously colorful bunch of thieves?" Shadow quirks an eye ridge at Sonic as he steps past him towards the truck. He harshly kicks the rusty side panel, revealing a secret compartment. And within is copious amounts of firearms and ammunition. Like, way too much for one dude. “Word across the sands is that they will steal anything.” 

Sonic blanches when his mind catches up with the words Shadow spat at him. “Colorful thieves? No way. Not all the way out here.” The dark hedgehog props a sawed off shotgun on his leg and checks it over, likely for usability and ammo amount. 

“You think petty thieves stick to little towns? No, they aren’t any better than bandits.” He starts fiddling with the inner workings of the shotgun, Sonic can hear, but his eyes are glued to the heaps of red sand before them. The dot has become more of a mass, still headed for them at top speeds. 

“I just… I may know some guys like that,” Sonic holds his paws out in front of himself, flexing his digits, his calloused pads reminding him of days long past. “ Worked with some guys like that.” He has a pistol placed squarely in his paws. 

“If you turn on me or get in my way, I won’t hesitate to fill your mouth with lead,” Shadow says simply, a fact. “You have six shots, make them count, hedgehog.” 

Sonic sputters, a roar of laughter erupting straight from his chest. “I won’t dream of working with him again. But jeez, don’t threaten me with a good time, dude.” 

Shadow kicks the hatch closed and makes his way in front of the truck, “They are going to try and steal what I have, and I can’t allow that. If you need to defend yourself, don’t hesitate to kill them.” 

The blue hedgehog squints. “I’m not killing anybody ! I ain’t a pig.” Out of all the time spent in this wasteland of a desert, Sonic has managed to keep his manslaughter charges to a minimum. He knows damn good and well that’s caused him more grief than succor, too. 

As his eyes follow the approaching assailants, the clear outline of a large, four-wheeled, ATV-looking contraption, he can see one of the members of this merry band of thieves perched upon the high sitting bar above the steering wheel. 

Feathers, an obnoxious bright green. A pair of goggles pulled over icy, cold blue eyes. Clothes way too clean for someone with such a dirty job, a white button up tucked neatly into  A smile etched into a beak that is about to utterly peck into him; told ya so! Shoulda stuck with me!

Shadow scowls. “Just don’t get in my way,” he takes another big step forward. Sonic reluctantly follows. He glances left to right; nothing but rusty dunes as far as the eye can see. 

He doesn’t have a choice in the matter. He twirls the pistol around his finger before he shoves in his back pocket. 

“You sound like a broken record,” the blue hedgehog shuffles awkwardly. “Can’t we just drive around them? What do you have that’s worth so much in the truck, anyway?” 

“None of your business,” Shadow adjusts his grip on the shotgun before tucking it neatly into a strap across his back. Sonic promptly gives up trying to talk to this guy. If that’s actually Jet hurdling towards them, then the broody monster just became the second most annoying thing out here. Sonic takes a step back, at the furthest distance he can muster without tugging at the chain. He leans coolly against the side of the truck… and the two wait. 

Waiting for Jet and his two goons to arrive so they can kick his ass, or scare him off- or whatever. Okay- maybe Wave isn’t a goon. She’s actually kind of cool. Sonic fondly remembers a simpler time, when his genius of a brother was swapping tech secrets with the swallow. 

Jet’s goon is Storm, a big, brawny kind of guy. Legend has it, when you see an albatross while on a journey it’s a bad omen. Lo and behold, if Storm is with Jet, it always spelt bad news for Sonic. He pointedly does not let his gaze linger as the ATV stops a few yards away from Shadow’s big rig. 

He hears a familiar beep-beep from the group, swiveling his ears in their direction, crossing his arms neatly across his chest. The chain connecting him and Shadow sways and rattles between them. 

Wave slides away from the steering wheel. She’s got her attention on some little device in her talons. Storm follows suit in exiting the patched up death trap, cracking his knuckles. 

“Should be here,” Wave supplies. The beeping becomes incessant. Reminds Sonic of one of his brother’s noisy machines— “Wait, is that one of Tails’ gadgets? Have you seen him?” Sonic blurts out before he can even stop himself, clear concern lacing his tone. He stumbles forward, losing his footing somewhat in the sand as he shifts up next to Shadow. He raises a brow at Sonic, and if he didn’t know any better he’d say the inky soldier looked a little interested in what he was on about. 

The green hawk hops off of his perch, letting out a demented cackle. “Is that you, Bluebell?” Jet gives Sonic a pointed top to bottom once over, leaning forward with his seemingly permanent smirk. “You wouldn’t happen to have one of the emeralds , would ya?” 

Sonic’s quill rise in agitation, immediately falling into a defensive stance. His attention is shifted to Wave, who motions for the hawk to look at her device before elbowing in Shadow’s direction. His eyes follow her sideways glance, seeing the dark hedgehog appears to be just as puffed up as he is himself. Odd. 

“I don’t know what you’re on about, creep. Go on about your pillaging, or whatever it is you do for fun these days,” Sonic’s lip curls, muzzle crinkling. He hates to be so out of the loop. The only precious gems that come to mind are from some fairytale he’s heard across the sands. But he’d sooner drop dead than admit he has little to no idea what the hawk is on about. 

“Just because you’re scared of a little bit of blood doesn’t mean I’m pillaging , it’s called self defense. Maybe if you’d put a bullet in your problems you’d have less of them, too,” Jet bellows out, feathers standing on the edge. “And what is all this even about? Are you on house arrest?” He points towards Shadow, then follows the tubed chain back to Sonic, erupting into laughter. 

Storm, ever ready to start any amount of a fight, nudges Jet, forcing him to cease his squawky cackle. “Boss, you want me to ring it out of ‘em?” 

And that’s when the ball of angry red and black needles growls ! Like some sort of rabid animal, Sonic assesses. Great, awesome. Love it.  

What happens next is almost too fast for even Sonic’s eyes to catch- the ringing in his ears comes before realizing Shadow point-blank attempted to murder Jet the Hawk. Lucky for the green loser, Storm shoved him out of the way with the quickness. He’s fast for a big guy- maybe not as fast as Shadow, though. The albatross is on Shadow like a bird on a worm in a split second. Jet lets out a pained squawk, blood splattered across the rust hued sand below. He holds his arm and already looks like panic is setting in, a bright crimson standing out against his green feathers.

Despite the tether between them, Sonic’s mind is racing ahead to come up with a way to ditch this situation entirely. If Shadow is truly this trigger happy, that can’t be good news for the long haul of this little roadless-road trip. 

Sonic knows he’ll have to amp up some of that good ole chaos energy if he wants to compete in this race. Before Sonic can gloat or anything of the like at Jet’s misfortune, he is promptly wretched in the direction of Shadow and Storm’s brawl. The last thing he sees before his face meets the ground is Wave rushing to Jet’s side, seeing to the harsh scrap where he was grazed by Shadow’s bullet.

He opens his mouth in the midst of a yelp, only to have it fill with sand. This isn’t helped at all by the fact that he’s being further yanked away. Sonic manages to get a knee under himself, squinting towards the skirmish. From the looks of it, Shadow’s sawed off shotgun has been cast out of reach. Storm has always been one of the biggest dudes Sonic has ever seen, but he’s surprisingly evenly matched with this freak of a hedgehog. He’s got his talons embedded into Shadow’s shoulder. Then he takes a harsh slog to the bottom of his beak that sends the albatross up a good few feet before plummeting back to the grains below. He falls flat on his back and groans as he gets his boots back under him. 

Shadow shakes rapidly, blood splattering away in flecks along with excess sand from his quills. With little to no warning, aside from his cherrywood eyes fixating on the cuff around his own wrist- he twists a knob on the underside of it. 

Sonic is pretty sure in that moment he sees new colors that have never been named before, unseen by any other being on this miserable excuse of a planet. He can physically see the chaos energy jolt from his body; focus pouring overwhelmingly into the venipuncture at the crook of his elbow. The energy arches and jolts into and around the tubed chain, the strobe of colors finalizing on a bright blue until it meets Shadow’s veins. It erupts into an array of golden sparks as it crackles around the monster Sonic finds himself chained to. Sonic has donated blood before but never has it looked so… colorful. 

For the first time since he's met this prick of a hedgehog, he sees the man actually smile. It’s sinister and vile- but most alarmingly sort of a good look on him. Sonic loathes to admit. As in, maybe this freak is more of a looker than he originally judged. He notes the toothy grin features elongated fangs. Checks out for some weird alien genetics Shadow is rumored to possess. 

The hybrid then holds his paw out and shoots a golden-orange beam from it at the unfortunate albatross before he can get his balance in check. It hits Storm square in his broad chest, forcing him to return to the rusty grains. 

Shadow barks out a laugh, the cachinnation bouncing around Sonic’s skull like a billiard ball. He solidifies more chaos energy around his paws, this time the hue taking on an acidic green. It’s getting harder for Sonic to concentrate as the brawl before him starts to blur together, the hedgehog seeing doubles of Shadow and Storm as they exchange blows. The horrific blood transfusion has Sonic’s heartbeat pulsing in his ears. He watches the crimson liquid rushing through the chainclad tube, wondering if the device has an off switch before he is bled dry. His arm lazes forward at Shadow’s behest until suddenly he’s falling in the opposite direction he’d expect to- away from the chaos jolted fisticuffs.

He notices Jet’s boot plant itself on his chest before he realizes he’s making one winged sand angels on the ground, his free arm sluggishly trying to resist the pull. “Not so fast, Bluebell. Maybe he’ll answer my reason and give up the emerald like this,” Jet squawks like he has all the answers. 

And truth be told, Sonic only processes every other word. The blood loss is starting to make him feel a tad chilly. He can’t remember the last time he felt cold . There’s a lot of problems with that. He hopes he lives to address them. When he lazily closes his eyes, managing to drift off for a moment somehow, he is ripped back to consciousness when the chained tube is looped around his neck and pulled taunt. It pulls on his fur, somehow it's the pinching sensation he’s focused on the most at first. He refocuses his eyes forward the best he can, even if standing up right again hurts something awful. 

“Hey Stripes, if you don’t leave my guy alone and drop the emerald I’ll choke him out.” 

Sonic doesn’t think the hawk would do that. 

But he also didn’t think Jet would raid a village then push the blame on him- THEN get mad when he decided to bounce. So who’s to say he wouldn’t snap his windpipe with an indestructible tube-chain. Their mutual crushes didn’t mean anything, what’s one more crush to the throat added to the mix? The thought of rolling back into a bunker with Jet again made Sonic’s skin crawl. 

For how slow his range of motion and cognitive reflexes are, his mind is racing. 

Shadow has managed to pin Storm when his cuffed arm is yanked away at the behest of Jet’s threat, the chain growing tighter around Sonic’s throat. The dark hedgehog squints, his trademark scowl long since returned to him. There’s something in his glazed, crimson eyes Sonic can’t quite place.

 

“I don’t care.” 

 

This time Sonic is the one to laugh. Perhaps it’s the massive blood loss making this funny to him. Jet is so stupid. He’s pretty sure Shadow would be happy to get rid of him. The chortling easily turns to a wheeze, the lack of air starting to get to him. 

Jet and Wave are saying more between each other but it may as well be a language he doesn’t understand. Even with the flashes of light in front of him strobing, Sonic can tell Shadow is winning. He hopes he wins faster. 

The last thing Sonic can piece together before losing consciousness is Jet squawking about something in his ear, his taloned digits lacing between the chain and his throat. 

Chapter 2: This Ain’t a Party

Summary:

Shadow wonders if it’s really worth all the trouble.

Notes:

Thanks again to Echo for the beta read!!🧡 Check her out!!

Shadow has changed his mind about the blood bag. The jolting chaos energy is doing him so many favors. He’s not even having to tap into the reserves from the emerald… a lot. 

But this albatross is ignorant. Clumsy, unfocused, undisciplined. He does, however, make up for all this in brute strength, rivaling Shadow’s own. He loathes to admit that.

The playing field is only so even because of the weight pulling at Shadow’s wrist. He hears the struggles of the blue hedgehog and the squawking thief. It would be a real shame if his little back up battery bit the dust. And the chain rattling between them is starting to hinder Shadow’s movement, his plans. 

He gets the upper hand on Storm, swiping low to knock him off of his big, clumsy talons. He’s on him before the albatross can react. 

Storm snarls, "Just give us the emerald, we need it more than you!” Shadow radiates more crackling energy at his paw, holding it threateningly close to Storm’s chest. 

When his opposite arm is unceremoniously yanked away from him, his glare trains towards Sonic and Jet. “Hey Stripes, if you don’t leave my guy alone and drop the emerald I’ll choke him out.” 

“I don’t care,” Shadow spits out. A lie. Sonic is measuring up to be a good resource. He’s heard stories about his antics; knows he is a total menace and one hell of a fighter. He can’t pretend for long that he’s ready to let Sonic get wasted just yet- especially by these clowns. 

 

The adventure has just begun. 

 

As if hearing Shadow’s inner thoughts, Sonic lets out a pained laugh. That distracts Storm long enough to strike him easily with a forceful punch to the temple. 

Storm stumbles back, eyes crossing and snarl wrenching from his throat. He tackles forward once he seems to gather his barring: unfortunately for him, Shadow has easily become savvy to his antics. He swivels and manages to get his boot hooked behind his leg and forces him to lose his balance. 

With out much room for an argument, he sends an electrifying warning through Storm’s thick skull, meeting his forehead with the palm of his paw- chaos energy making him light up like a sad Christmas tree.

He hits the sand below with a resonating thud. 

Shadow gives Storm a solid kick to the ribs for good measure. When he groans but doesn’t budge, he feels satisfied with his work. He expects a snap back from Jet, but instead his sights land on a different scene entirely. 

Sonic looks impossibly more blue in the face, pale, even- the chain laced tube wrapped around his throat at least three times. Jet is in a panic, trying to get his digits beneath the chain to free him. Too little too late, as Sonic goes limp in his feathery arms. Shadow is quick to take action, his steel boot meeting Jet’s face. The hawk hits the sand before Sonic does, clutching the new gash he sports and muttering obscenities. 

Shadow kneels down to assess the damage the blue menace has taken, leveling Wave with a strong glare. The swallow puts her hands up in the universally understood motion of surrender, device still beeping. She does seem the smartest of this circus, after all, as she continues tending to Storm; the sad lump still out cold. 

The dark hedgehog gingerly untangles Sonic’s throat from its chained prison. He checks for vitals when it occurs to him he needs to switch the device shackling them together off. The effects waver instantly as he flips the switch on the bottom of the cuff, chaos jolted adrenaline spiking downward. 

Sonic is cold, his muzzle is pale, and he doesn’t appear to be breathing. “Surely you didn’t have your windpipe crushed so quickly and easily,” he mutters to the man below him. 

With a heady sigh, Shadow cracks his knuckles and places one paw over the other, lacing his clawed digits securely against his pawpad. He places his entangled paws over the center of Sonic’s chest before he begins to press down firmly. Again and again, in the perfect rhythm intended for this maneuver. He grimaces, understanding what comes next. 

The fur on Sonic’s peachy chest is a lot thinner than the plush blue along his face, his ears. Shadow is able to feel how clammy the blue hedgehog is growing through his pawpads. A chill clings to the various scars across his chest, though Shadow notes two of them look surgical, intensional. He takes information in to avoid the unavoidable. 

 

Twenty-seven… twenty-eight…

 

Once Shadow reaches thirty presses, he leans down to Sonic’s muzzle, lips meeting as he attempts to blow air into his stupid lungs. When he shares his breath with him, he can’t explain his mind wandering away to thoughts about how soft Sonic’s fur is despite the weather, and likely his lack of nutrition. 

Either way. Still nothing. That’s no good. 

He repeats this a couple of times, brow furrowing low. If he keeps at this he’s going to break a rib, he muses. As a last resort, he fishes the green emerald from his quills. 

He doesn’t miss Wave’s gasp at the reveal. If she starts, he will finish it. She’s since gathered Jet up to be with Storm, tending to the gash on his forehead. 

Direct contact with the glimmering jewel will aid Shadow, surely. He inhales sharply before placing the emerald squarely on Sonic’s motionlessly chest, holding it firmly in place. 

He proceeds to lightly press it against the thin fur there. His intent is clear- sending jolts of energy into him, harshly so. Eyes- that Shadow notes are the same hue as the precious emerald- shoot open as he convulses, limbs snapping in ways they shouldn’t. Once he’s completely sure the menace is breathing again, Shadow pulls the emerald away. 

Sonic lurches upright and has a coughing fit, his paw reaching up to soothe at his throat. The dark hedgehog doesn’t break his focus on him, bringing his paw up to Sonic’s forehead. Still chilly, but he’s breathing, his heart is beating, and he’s already trying to stand. Shadow shoves him back down at the shoulder. 

“Not so fast, hedgehog,” he doesn’t mean to sound condescending, but the way his voice carries its colored that way. And he knows it. Sonic’s lips part as if he’s about to say something but lets out another string of wheezy breaths instead. 

Both hedgehogs zero in on the emerald as it pulses all of a sudden. Not quite emitting jolts, but it oddly enough puts a thought in Shadow’s head. This gem forced its way into his mind to plant the idea. The way the emerald can communicate with him at times is jarring. Invasive to start, but he’s just not too sure how he feels about that. One thing, however, is for certain- the fact that Jet has a chaos emerald. 

Shadow shuffles up and makes his way over to the gaggle of thieves, leaving just enough room for the chain between Sonic and Shadow to sway. He extends his arm holding the emerald, then the other, paw cupped to accept the prize. “Give me the emerald you have or I’ll take it by force.” 

Jet whistles low. “You’ll regret this, just you wait!” 

“The emerald, now,” the dark hedgehog commands, further shifting his paw forward. Wave is the one to move to Jet’s back, unzipping his bag and rifling through it. The hawk makes no motion to stop her but looks most displeased. The swallow supplies the emerald, a light blue shimmering that reflects off of the sun’s rays. 

She places it squarely in Shadow’s expectant paw, but her eyebrows are quirked- her sharp eyes surveying Shadow’s air shoes, “that’s a really old model. Where’d you get something like that?” 

“None of your business,” he turns away from her, no really room for further conversation. 

“Whatever, they are so out of date. Grandpa.” Her attention is back to her fellow thieves as Shadow turns to leave without another word. 

He takes the few steps to get back to Sonic, looking down his muzzle at him, “Can you actually walk?”

Sonic slowly nods, an indignant look on his face, but doesn’t make a motion to move. He looks sickly, even after being jolted up by the emerald. 

Shadow exhales, reaching down to pull Sonic back up to his feet by his free arm. He lets out a surprised yelp. Shadow throws him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

The dark hedgehog starts to trudge back towards his truck when he hears Jet squawk, “So you really are just going to ditch me again? And steal from me to boot?” 

Sonic squirms weakly as Shadow doesn’t make any motion to stop their exit. “You’re the one who sold me out for something I didn’t do! And I haven’t stolen anything from you!” He pauses, as Jet simply replies with a noncommittal hum and a scowl. His voice sounds more strained, as he attempts to beg, “Have you seen Tails? That’s his tracker tech, right?” 

“Oh no, no, no. You don’t get to steal from me and run off with some freak then expect me to answer your questions.” The green hawk says simply. “You shoulda just stuck with me.” 

“It’s not a game, I haven’t seen him in weeks.” Sonic grits out. He is lifted off of Shadow’s shoulder and into the tall truck, the dark hedgehog following suit. He glowers back at the trio. 

“Any answer to his question or are we done here?” Shadow raises an eyeridge. 

“Forget you!” He squawks. 

Shadow doesn’t grace them with further conversation. He just climbs into his semi-truck and shoves Sonic across the seat to take his place behind the wheel. He shifts the truck into gear, revving the engine swiveling the truck around the beat up ATV before speeding off. 

He does, however, watch them become little specs in the distance in the cracked rear view mirror. 

Sonic is uncharacteristically silent. Shadow could get used to this. He does have a slew of his own questions for the troublesome hedgehog now, though. Something about how crushed Sonic looks makes his heart ache. Not on the count of any empathy for him, but the situation of having lost someone itself. He keeps mentioning his brother. Tails, as it were. 

And the dark hedgehog can’t put his finger on what it is exactly that has him feeling this way. Losing a brother? Perhaps Shadow had a brother, too. He can’t recall anything that far into his past. Talking with Sonic more about it may further jog his memory. But that would also mean, well, talking further with Sonic.

And Shadow really revels in the silence. The sun is starting to hang low in the sky by the time his precious silence is broken. A dusty purple starts to color the horizon. Pinpricks of light shine through the atmosphere in the form of distant stars. 

 

“Thanks, by the way.” 

Shadow doesn’t reply at first, letting the quiet blanket between them set for a while. Then, “it doesn’t really serve me well for you to be dead. That hawk was a total imbecile.” 

Sonic snorts. “You got that right. We used to be grand ole pals. I doubt we’ve seen the last of them. If Wave is using Tails’ tracking device for chaos energy, they’ll find us again.” 

“If they get in my way again I won’t be so kind a second time. I should have taken that device from her, if it’ll help me track down the emeralds,” Shadow gives Sonic a sideways glance. At this, the blue hedgehog pulls his paws away from his neck, having been picking at the fur and bruising there. 

“You sure did change your mind about me fast.” 

“I can admit when I’m wrong. You prove a lot more useful alive than dead, even if you did get in my way,” he scoffs. 

Shadow follows Sonic’s gaze to the dashboard where the dark hedgehog has boldly propped the chaos emeralds. Green and light blue glow softly against the dusk sky and dirty windshield. “So they are really real. I never would have guessed. What do you want them for?” Concern clearly weighs heavy in his voice, even if he’s trying to hide it with a smile. 

“That’s none of your business.” 

Sonic leans forward, tracing the edge of the gem with his extended digit. “That could be your catchphrase! I think it’s my business since we are stuck together.” 

“Good thing you aren’t paid to think.” 

The blue menace sighs. “Okay, okay. Tell me the story then? The one you’ve heard about the emeralds.” 

Shadow also sighs. “Legend has it, there are seven chaos emeralds. If you gather them all up, a beautiful, golden creature will descend from the heavens and grant you a wish. It’s said this being is so radiant, just being in its presence is overwhelming.”

Sonic practically sparkles with interest, ”And you believe in this fairytale? Surprising…” 

“I believe somewhat. I think the chaos emeralds are just some side effect of the radiation; there’s something very wrong with them. Like you and me. But that’s a lot of power, regardless." 

Sonic scoffs, “I’d like to think I’m just really good at fighting and harnessing lightning or whatever. There’s nothing wrong with me.” 

“Once again, glad you aren’t paid to think.” 

“So, where are the rest?” Sonic thinks he’s smooth in changing the subject, doesn’t he? 

“This is why I regret not stealing the tech from that swallow. I do know the whereabouts of one emerald, but I don’t know exactly where the rest are. We are pretty lucky that one fell into our paws.” He looks thoughtful for a moment, “I have a suspicion there’s one at the casinos.” 

Ignoring all of the information given, “We?” An annoyingly smug grin paints Sonic’s face. 

Shadow growls. That’s all the warning he decides to give him before he slams on the brakes, forcing Sonic to lurch forward to the dashboard.

“Could you use your words? Ouch,” Sonic rubs his nose. 

“I need to check on our cargo. It’s also inadvisable to travel at night. We will take watches and camp out here,” Shadow shifts gears and moves the semi truck to the side of the sand bank along the gravely road. 

Sonic seems ready this time, following Shadow out of the driver’s seat door, scrambling. He yawns, stretching his arms high over his head as his feet meet the sand. “Oh, we can have a fun little campfire. Tell stories! Sing campfire songs-“ 

Shadow yanks the chain as he trudges towards the cargo hold in the back, hoping Sonic shuts up. “Stay out here. Don’t be nosy.” 

 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Sonic squints to see a bright array of lights in the distance. His shackled arm is extended far behind him, chain taut between the two hedgehogs as Shadow mills about the cargo hold of the truck. Curiosity really is eating away at him… what’s the monster hiding? 

His ears swivel, catching the faint whisper of what almost sounds like chirping. It reminds him of the nature reserve, the one that is likely all dusted to nothingness now.

Perhaps his ears deceive him, but it sounds like Shadow is growling. Again. But this time a tad different, not as low or vexing. Maybe one little peek wouldn’t hurt. 

Sonic feels as if Shadow can read his mind in that moment. Because as soon as he finds the resolve to peek around the corner, Shadow is slamming the hatch behind him and locking up. There’s two locks and a bundle of chains keeping the thing secured, assumingly so if someone did manage to get close to it, it would take a lot of time to break into. 

He misses that Shadow has a bundle of dry sticks with him until he throws them to the ground and starts to poke around with his foot at the sand, digging a small hole. Sonic keeps in tow with him as he reopens the side panel from before, this time retrieving a bundle of cloth and some cans. 

Just seeing the cans makes Sonic’s stomach growl… he grimaces and feels his brows draw lower.

The dark hedgehog sets the blanket in the sand, ironing out the edges meticulously. Retrieving a can opener, he starts to pick at one of the containers, tossing the other to the opposite side of the hole he’s dug in the sand.

Sonic crosses his arms with a frown, chain rattling as he shifts from foot to foot, “I gotta chew open my own can and sit on the bare ground?” 

Shadow rounds the can off with the manual opener, scooting as far as he can onto the opposite side of the large blanket he’s laid out. The smell hits Sonic’s nose, the best thing that’s happened to him all day. 

A can of chili… 

His mouth practically waters as he plops his rump onto the blanket, not necessarily with distance in mind. His eyes are giant saucers as he gawks at the can. To his surprise, it grows closer to him. Shadow holds it out to him, eyebrow raised. A chuckle escapes Shadow, something both smooth and genuine, “I’ve never seen someone look so enamored by canned food before.” 

Sonic accepts the chili, looking it over before setting it down in front of himself as if it’s something sacred, with such care. “Do you got a match? It’s a lot better cooked.” 

“I do have a match. I’ll start the fire.” Sonic shuffles up and retrieves the other can before lowering himself back onto the blanket. He leans back on his elbows and his gaze rises up to the stars, the sky having grown much darker since he last bothered to pay attention to the sprawling abyss above them. 

“I used to eat real good before egghead destroyed Green Hill Zone. The place was amazing! Man, nothing beats a good chili dog… a little bit of canned chili reminds me of those days,” he reminisces. Shadow begins arranging the fire and a little make shift cooking area, but stays silent. This prompts Sonic to keep sharing. “Green Hill was amazing, beautiful. I think that’s what I miss the most about the planet before. All the greenery, the wildlife. I haven’t seen a flicky in at least four years.” 

If he’s going to be stuck with this guy, might as well try to befriend him, right? He can’t be all bad. Even if he is a monster. “Sharing good food is important, it’s like a gateway to sharing your experiences!” Sonic beams. 

Shadow strikes a match on the bottom of his weird, robot looking shoe. “I wouldn’t call canned chili good food by any stretch of the imagination.” He lights the little burner under the can, placed on a metal grate. 

“Oh yeah? Do you got any seasonings? I bet I could make it taste great!” Shadow surprisingly supplies a small box from his various cooking supplies, wooden with a little clasp on the top. He shoves it into Sonic’s paws, the intention all but said. The blue hedgehog clicks it open to reveal a wide array of spices. “Aw yeah, now we’re cooking with butter! Well, not exactly… but you know.” 

Shadow’s eyes have furrowed lower than before, his sharp glower scanning Sonic’s person with such disdain he can almost physically feel the pinch. He abruptly lunges forward, Sonic having only a moment to prepare for a fight-

When all he does is yank the pistol out of the back of his dusty jeans. 

“We left mine behind, I… I forgot it,” he grits out, barring his teeth. “Rookie mistake.” 

“Right, the big guy gun. I’d rather not use a firearm anyway. I can manage just fine without a weapon,” Sonic says as he starts to choose his spices for dinner. There’s a bitter chill starting to cut through the air, albeit not too cold. But it’s a nice change of pace. 

Shadow sneers. “I don’t need a firearm, either. I just like them,” he states, as if he’s upset at the prospect of needing a gun. Sonic nods along, a smug grin pulling at his lips. Yeah, he’s decided he can’t trust this guy, but he is definitely funny without even meaning to be. It’s almost adorable. 

…Kind of reminds him of Jet. His smile fades as the internal reminiscing swirls in his head. But as his ears droop, his demeanor shining less, Shadow snorts. 

“You look like a kicked puppy.” 

“Whatever, dude,” he sprinkles some paprika and onion powder into the cans, stirring the spices thoroughly. He shields the sand, gently kicked up by the breeze, with his paw. “Not everyone is the ultimate science project and can bounce back from the beating we got today.” 

And it’s true, Shadow doesn’t have a scratch on him, the only evidence of his tussle with the albatross is his matted fur. Whereas there’s a ring of mussed fur around Sonic’s neck, revealing a faint purple bruise that reaches all the way around. His smile returns when he thinks about the welt Jet will have on his stupid forehead. 

Shadow just levels him with a glare. His ears betray his interest, however, tilting in the direction of the sizzling makeshift burner. This keeps Sonic’s smirk intact. Along with the fact that this chili was going to be amazing. “On top of that, I used to bed that jerk. I didn’t plan on seeing him so soon, or ever again.” 

“You slept with that hawk?” The judgement his voice carries in no way hides how he feels. 

“It was more than that, me and my bro traveled with his crew for a long time,” Sonic pauses to bring the spoon up to his lips, blowing on its contents. “We trusted him. I’m kinda glad you kicked him in the noggin so good.” He brings the chili up to his mouth and licks it. He crinkles up his muzzle before reaching for another spice- the garlic salt. He adds that to the canned mix and stirs it. Upon taking it on for a second taste test, his face lights up. 

“You can’t trust anyone but yourself out here. Did you learn your lesson or what?” 

Sonic gingerly takes the cans, handing one to Shadow. “Dude, try it.” 

The inky hedgehog reluctantly takes the can and sniffs its contents before dipping his spoon into the chili. He hesitates, bringing it up to his muzzle slowly. Sonic has taken several bites before Shadow gets to his first, quite pleased with his work. He’s a lot of things, but he’s no liar! 

Shadow’s face lights up with something between contentment and surprise as he slowly chews. He faces his blue counterpart and simply nods. 

“Told you! Man, I miss cooking for real…,” he talks around a mouthful. “When I find my brother, I’ll have to tell him about the canned chili, for sure.” 

He inclines his head again, clearing his mouth of any food before speaking. “And when do you plan on doing that?” 

Sonic narrows his eyes, glinting in the low light of the fire. “I don’t know. But I will.” A small amount of camaraderie has Sonic forgetting he’s tethered to this jackass, somehow. He has no idea how he’ll get to Tails, or where he is, or how he will find him. 

“Does he need your protection or something?” 

“Yes and no. He’s grown now. But out here I feel like it’s best to stick together. When I saw him last, it was right before Jet sold me out to Egghead’s stupid drones. I was trying to distract them and lost sight of him when I was overwhelmed and captured.” He punctuates his lamenting with an obnoxious slurp as he downs more of the chili. “He’s gotta be okay. I just need to find him.” 

Sonic finishes off his chili. “He’s pretty much everything to me. I have to find him.” 

When grassy green eyes land back on Shadow, the soldier wears an expression Sonic didn’t think was even possible for him. His eyes look glassy, his pupils tugged to the center of his sclera forming tiny, crimson slits. His posture has drawn in on itself, the complete opposite of his usual confident, squared shoulders and chin held high. 

 

For once, Sonic finds himself speechless. 

 

He tilts his can sideways and licks the inner side, eyes not leaving the other hedgehog. After what seems like forever, but in reality is likely only a minute or two- at the most, Shadow exhales sharply and jolts back. He scoots away from Sonic with a low growl. 

“You have got to stop growling like that! Not helping with the monster allegations,” Sonic sets the empty can down and holds his paws up. 

Shadow snarls! This guy is way too much. “Shut up. I’m taking the first watch. You better get your sleep now or you’ll be up all night.” 

Sonic tilts his head as his ear flicks. Sleep does sound nice… it was impossible to rest in the truck earlier. “You know what? Deal.” With no fanfare, he plops down on the blanket, stretching his arms and legs out wide before curling up into a ball. 

He doesn’t remember thinking of much before falling asleep. Perhaps that the brisk night air is starting to make his teeth chatter.

 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

 

A blonde human girl grinned down at him. “Cmon, Shadow! I can handle going outside for just a minute! I want to see the stars, too.” They are surrounded by dim light and all sorts of metallic paneling; the walls and ceilings feel too close. 

“You know it’s too risky for you to go on to the surface,” Shadow heard himself say. 

The young girl grabbed a gloved paw and clasped it between her hands with such a soft, kind smile that it melted Shadow’s heart, “Pleeeease!” 

“Fine,” Shadow surrendered. 

The two made their way towards a seemingly endless ascent up a flight of stairs. Halfway through Shadow shifted to sweep this young lady off of her feet and onto his shoulders, careful to adjust her around the mess of quills. She was as light as a feather. 

 

He pushed the hatch open, a sliver of pale moonlight illuminating the stairwell. He carefully stepped outside into the cold night air. As far as the eye could see there was a never ending expanse of purples, blues, and greens, glittered with stars. Below them was a wide variety of greenery. Shadow set the frail girl down onto the grass and simply stood beside her, neck cranked upward to the unbelievable sight above them. 

His sister let out a happy sigh, content in all forms of the word. “Thank you, Shadow. It gets so stuffy down there working and testing all day.” 

“You know it’s for your own good. If you were to fall ill because I took you to town or something, I’d never be able to forgive myself.” 

A comfortable silence sat between them for quite some time. The only sound being crickets and the occasional hoot from the woods behind them. 

Her laughter as she began explaining what constellations they could see began to bleed into the background. The sky became a darker, murkier color.

 

The girl he held such warm feelings for was replaced by a lump of blue fur and quills, snoring softly beside him. The rise and fall of his chest with each breath is jittery as he shivers.  

Shadow is no stranger to these visions of a life he can’t remember. But this is the first time one has come to him so vividly and with so much understanding. 

 

A sister. He has a sister. 

 

He startles when Sonic’s teeth start to make an obnoxious clicking sound, chattering with a particular chilly gust of wind. With a huff, he slides his tattered coat off and throws it over the blue mess beside him. 

It’s almost time for the idiot to take a watch. While Shadow doesn’t need a lot of sleep, he finds himself extremely irritable without any at all. 

Well, more so than usual. 

He surveys the area, double checking he didn’t miss anything while zoning out. Not that he would, he surely would come back to attention if something were amiss. 

 

The rest of his watch is uneventful. The menace has had enough sleep, he has decided.

He nudges Sonic with the toe of his boot. All he does in response is whine and roll over, tangling himself further in Shadow’s coattails. “Hey, it’s your turn to watch. Wake up.” 

His voice seems to be enough to jolt Sonic awake, as he spins to consciousness and sits upright. “Huh?!” 

“Your watch.” 

He blinks, rubbing his eyes after freeing his arm from the twisted mess he’s made of Shadow’s overcoat. “Right; I’m up, I’m up!” He stands up, tripping over the jacket before separating himself from it. He holds it back out to Shadow.

“I don’t need it. I’m the ultimate lifeform; I don’t get cold at night,” he takes Sonic’s place on the blanket and faces away from the blue hedgehog, curling himself into a ball as he lays down. 

“Okay, sure, buddy,” Sonic yawns. “Sleep tight.” Shadow glances over his shoulder to see Sonic adjusting the jacket over his frame. He’s a lot less broad than Shadow, the physique of a runner. 

The dark hedgehog wastes no time in closing his eyes and resting, sleep quickly taking him away from the dunes and distant lights. 

 

 

 

 

That is, until a short time later, he is awoken by a different obnoxious noise. It nearly sounds like Sonic is mid combat, labored breathing and… no…

He’s snoring. Sonic’s head has landed on Shadow’s thigh, cheek pressed to tattered jeans and drool pooling out of the corner of his mouth. 

And the rage Shadow feels is almost uncontainable. 

His hands are on Sonic’s throat in seconds, squeezing his windpipe like his life depends on it. And his life may very well could have depended on the hedgehog, but he decided to take a nap instead! 

“What. Are. You. Doing?”

Sonic’s eyes fling open, panic fettering at his features. He lets out a warbled sound, pathetic and pleading as he weakly paws at Shadow’s iron grip around his throat. 

“You were supposed to stay awake and keep watch, blue hedgehog. What’s your problem?” Shadow’s voice evens out, more calculated. Scolding. 

Sonic seems to pick up that anger and keep it for himself; his eyes still wild, brow knitting low. Instead of clawing at Shadow’s paws, they begin to crackle- pupils glowing brighter in the low light of the early morning. The attention to those details throws Shadow off course- a rare slip up, as Sonic’s knee connects with an unsuspecting rib cage.

The inky hedgehog drops Sonic, having had the breath knocked out of him. He recovers fast enough to stand up right, the blue nightmare weaving low to attempt a cheeky uppercut. 

 

He’s really fast. 

 

Shadow isn’t expecting time to recover- but is still jarred and falling back as his feet are suddenly being swept out from under him.

“Don’t go all crazy on me, man! Nothing happened!” 

The soldier snarls, lunging up from a crouch to continue the squabble. “Anything can happen out here, you simpleton.” Sonic isn’t a match for Shadow’s brute strength when hit head on. His fist connects to a peach muzzle. The links of the chain clatter together.  

“So you respond by choking me out? Dude!” Sonic spits a nasty ball of blood and saliva to the side, swiping a digit under his nose. The anger has left his features, replaced by a giddy grin. 

The two exchange a few blows, blocking and weaving around one another. Shadow can’t seem to land a clean hit now that Sonic is wide awake. Shadow has a hard time accepting that this idiot is keeping up with him. But he does. Because he can admit when he’s been proven wrong! He grits his teeth, swiveling away from another fist aimed for his face.

And Sonic’s smile hasn’t been wider before this point. Is this stupid idiot having fun? 

 

Oh, I’ll show him fun. 

 

The inky hedgehog leans into one of Sonic’s wild punches- just as Sonic’s about to celebrate, toothy grin likely opening wide to retort; Shadow reels back and puts all of his weight into one strike to Sonic’s abdomen. 

It all happens so fast Shadow has no time to react- Sonic goes flailing to the ground, a good few yards back. He hears the chain rattle before pulling tant, yanking Shadow along to the ground with Sonic. 

The two hedgehogs lay in the sand, the fullest distance they can be apart from each other, one arm outstretching towards the other, bound by the chain clad tube.

Truth be told…  it's actually hilarious. 

Sonic shuffles up, clutching his stomach. He wheezes, then he erupts into a fit of giggles. “Th-The chain! Dude, how did you forget?” 

Shadow surprises himself with booming laughter, after he spits the grains of sand out of his mouth. The chortles die down much quicker than Sonic’s snorty chuckles, his face returning to his typical, neutral expression of a scowl. “How did I forget about this stupid chain? Like I said, I can admit when I’m wrong... and you made me mad.” 

Sonic wipes a tear from his eye. “And you just bruised my internal organs by punching me so dang hard.” 

The morning sun breaches the dunes, bringing the heat with it. The way the shining rays sit behind the menace almost looks like a halo. “Enough wasting time. We leave now, so we can reach the Casino Night Zone before noon.” 

Sonic raises an eye ridge, “That’s sort of a stupid name for a city, seeing as it’s not already night, right?” The blue hedgehog begins picking up the makeshift camp, swiping up the burner and blanket with, Shadow loathes to admit, impressive speed. 

He brushes himself off, turning tail to go back towards the truck, “Pretty sure it gets its name from the buildings having a lack of windows, so that way you can’t tell what time of day it is.” He opens the driver’s door and Sonic scrambles to crawl across the seat after putting the supplies away. 

“You know, that checks out,” he rubs at his abdomen, likely soothing the oncoming soreness. 

Oddly enough, the ring around his neck is almost completely faded, Shadow can see through the ruffled up fur there. When his sights drift back up to Sonic’s face, his smug smile sports one of his last ration bars firmly stuck between his teeth. Already freed from its plastic packaging. 

He groans, kicking the truck into gear. Eyes on the road. 

Sonic shoves the second half of the bar in Shadow’s face. He reluctantly takes it. 

“This kinda tastes like dirt,” Sonic chews hesitantly. 

“It’s coffee flavored, these are to be cheirshed.” 

“Was that a joke?” 

Shadow deadpans at him. 

“Actually, whatever. Just hit the gas. I want to see the slots!” Sonic starts tying the sleeves of Shadow’s coat into a knot to go over his shoulders, like a stupid cape of some variety. 

 

Shadow exhales, wondering if it’s really worth all of this. Has his mind truly changed about the blood bag…? 

Sonic starts to hum some song Shadow is unfamiliar with around a mouthful of food, his feet returning to the dashboard. 

 

 

Notes:

The in-laws want to go to Vegas soon. I haven’t been for a few years, but it’s always a fun and surreal time! I picked Casino Night Zone first for that reason lmao

Anyway, I hope to update at least every two weeks. Work and medical stuff has kept me so busy lately!

Stay Peachy 🍑

Notes:

So excited for this one! Baby's first longfic... I am going to try to weekly update this one. Comments are most loved, would love to hear what yall think if you took the time to read

 

Shout outs to EchoesintheARK for the betareading/general writing coaches and P4R4D0X1C for the vibe check! (and also my spouse for helping me with the summary wording)

And miss Mia- Freichfrygirl for just always being awesome and encouraging me to write and be creative♥

STAY PEACHY! See you next week!!!