Chapter Text
Sonic would be lying if he said that waking from unconsciousness with a pounding head and zero recollection of what happened was rare for him. What was new was the screaming, piercing pain in his leg. He hissed, curling in on himself and hoping that the unconsciousness would come back.
“Sonic.” No, that was not what unconsciousness sounded like.
“Sonic.”
“Go ‘way,” Sonic slurred to the disembodied voice.
“Sonic, open your eyes now.” Sonic thought about continuing to ignore the voice, but it was starting to sound more violent, like whoever it was was going to start hitting him any moment now. Emerald eyes flickered open, closed briefly again when the bright light of wherever he was assaulted him, and then cautiously opened for the final time.
He was in a clear, glass enclosure with those nauseating fluorescent panels above him. The floor was simple, freezing tile, and there was not a single piece of furniture. The lack of interior design (and the giant, mustached symbol on the wall outside the cell) screamed Eggman. That wasn’t too distressing. What was distressing was the hedgehog crouched over him, glaring.
“Shadow?” Sonic groaned, not quite willing to sit up yet.
“Obviously,” Shadow huffed. The other alpha looked uncharacteristically ruffled, quills bent at odd angles, and fur standing on end. Sonic racked his aching brain in a desperate attempt to remember what the hell had happened. He remembered getting a notification that some of Eggman’s bots had been spotted outside the village and telling his friends that he would take care of it. They had offered to help, but he waved them off, bored and looking for a little more of a challenge. He could remember blasting through mechs, taunting the doctor as the man floated in his eggmobile, and then nothing.
“What happened?” Sonic figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“You messed my entire mission up, that’s what happened.” Okay, never mind. Shadow was standing above him now, arms crossed and glare turned up to a thousand.
“Come on, Shadow, it couldn’t have been that bad,” Sonic tried, tone placating.
“The Doctor got away with the Chaos Emerald I was searching for and the one I had in my quills.” Okay, maybe it was that bad.
“I don’t see how that’s my fault,” Sonic muttered, slowly pushing himself up onto his butt with a wince. He chanced a look at his leg and barely fought off the urge to bury his face in his hands. His right ankle was twice its normal size, even through the sports tape he had wrapped around it. Sprained, if not broken.
“None of this would have happened if you had listened to me,” Shadow hissed, oblivious or uncaring to Sonic’s inspection. Sonic opened his mouth to rebut that, but a memory slammed into the forefront of his mind: Shadow, trying to give Sonic orders in the middle of the fight, and Sonic, blowing a raspberry at the other while spin dashing recklessly into another bot. The dark hedgehog must have shown up some time during his fight with Eggman and, if the past could be trusted to repeat itself, had tried to take over the situation immediately. And, again, if the past was any indicator, Sonic had ignored him.
“Nothing we can do about it, now,” Sonic declared, smiling nervously when Shadow’s fists clenched, “so how do we get out of this fish tank?” He worried for a moment that Shadow wouldn’t take the switch in conversation, but was pleasantly surprised and awed when the other alpha took a visible deep breath in and then released it slowly.
“I tried to spin dash out while you were unconscious,” Shadow pointed towards some scratches that were left in the glass, “but it’s reinforced somehow, and I obviously can’t Chaos Control out. Maybe if we both spin dashed the same spot, it would be enough to break.”
“Uh, one problem with that.” Sonic chuckled nervously and pointed at his ankle. Shadow’s carmine eyes followed his finger and then rolled when he realized what Sonic was indicating.
“Of course,” Shadow muttered under his breath.
“You say that like I wanted--”
“Greetings, lab rats!” A loud voice abruptly cut off Sonic. It sounded like it was coming from above them, speakers built into the ceiling, he was sure.
“Egghead, I was wondering when you’d show up to monologue,” Sonic snarked.
“Keep your attitude as long as you can, rodent,” Eggman said, “you won’t have it for long.”
“Sure, sure, like you haven’t said that a million times before,” Sonic responded, pretending to inspect his nails, which were safe under his gloves. Shadow seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated with the back and forth, brow furrowing more with every word.
“This time--”
“Enough!” Shadow interrupted them with a snap. “Let us out of here now, and I promise I won’t break every bone in your frail body,” Shadow growled at the ceiling.
“Sorry, Shadow, but that just isn’t possible,” Eggman's voice was faux apologetic, “you see, I need to be able to see you two to document the results of my experiment.”
“What experiment?” Shadow’s quills were bristling, and his hackles raised, chaos energy beginning to spark around his form. Sonic prayed that the agitation didn’t turn on him.
“Oh, you’ll find out,” Eggman snickered, “have fun, rats!” The intercom turned off with a final beep.
“Ugh, this is lame,” Sonic groaned, reaching up to rub an itchy spot at the junction between his neck and shoulder. His fingers paused when his glove caught on something. “The hell?” He pulled his hand away and inspected the red flakes on his glove, brow furrowing in confusion. Suddenly, his head was being pushed to the side, exposing his neck. His quills bristled in alarm, his hackles raising, and a snarl ripped from his mouth before he could bite it back. Shadow responded with his own growl, pushing Sonic’s head further to the side to inspect his neck.
“Blood,” the other hedgehog confirmed, abruptly dropping his hold and reaching up to poke at his own neck. His gloves came back with dried, rusty flakes, too. “We were injected with something.” Sonic didn’t respond, too busy trying to calm his suddenly frayed nerves. Having the other’s teeth so close to his exposed neck had sent every single alarm blaring in his hind brain. Despite the anxiety pooling low in his stomach, he found himself taking short, quick sniffs of the air, chasing after the lingering scent Shadow left behind. Lavender and something dark; a scent he had never smelled on anything other than Shadow. It was an odd scent for an alpha to have. Typically, omegas were associated with floral scents, while alphas smelled muskier. Sonic’s own scent was often described as mild for an alpha, underwhelming, and even calming when compared to others’, but Shadow’s was almost pretty if it weren’t for the unknown smell lurking underneath. “Sonic.” The blue hedgehog startled. His head felt foggy, and not just in a probable concussion way.
“What did you say?” Sonic cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on the agitated man in front of him.
“I asked where your idiot friends are,” Shadow repeated.
“First of all, they’re not idiots,” Sonic frowned, “and second, they didn’t come with me.”
“Of course they didn’t.” Shadow was pacing now, frustration leaking from his pores. Sonic shifted uncomfortably, rubbing at his arms. His skin felt tight. “Your communicator, can you contact them?” Sonic looked at the screen on his wrist and winced when he saw it was cracked. Tails was going to kill him; this was, like, the twelfth time this month he broke one. He tapped the screen, ear twitching nervously at the weight of Shadow’s stare, before flattening when the screen did not flicker to life. He looked up at the other hedgehog nervously and jumped when Shadow’s fist crashed into one of the glass panels. Over and over and over, Shadow punched the wall, hand crackling with red chaos energy. The glass didn’t even rattle, simply taking the punishment.
Sonic felt his stomach clench. He put one hand to his gut and grimaced, shifting uncomfortably. Tails had told him those chili dogs in the fridge were too old to eat, and now he was going to face the consequences, stuck in a prison cell with Shadow. A sudden cramp made him huff in pain, his eyes squeezing shut against the onslaught of nausea. Chaos, his head was pounding.
“Shadow,” Sonic called. Bang, bang, bang, bang. “Shadow.” Why did it smell so awful in here all of a sudden? “Shadow!”
“What?” Shadow whipped around, energy still crackling around him, and his lips pulled back to expose long, sharp canines. Sonic could only whine, crumpling forward in an attempt to alleviate the pain in his stomach. At least the banging stopped. A bead of sweat trickled from the back of his quills to his tail, and he shivered. Was Eggman just going to try to discomfort him to death? So far, it has been working. “What the hell is that smell?” Shadow was covering his nose with his hand now. Sonic squinted towards the lights, trying to ignore the migraine he could feel creeping up on him, instead focusing on the faint mist he could see.
“A gas,” he wheezed. Shadow’s eyes followed Sonic’s gaze, hand falling to his side and nose twitching as he sniffed the air.
“Omega pheromones," Shadow said grimly.
Ah. That explained it.
“He’s forcing us into a rut.” Sonic slowly lowered himself to the ground, pressing his forehead to the cool tile in a futile attempt to soothe his headache and push the need to vomit away. He vaguely registered that Shadow had begun pacing. Sonic tried to curl in on himself, placing his quills between him and the threat that was another alpha, but every movement made his body scream in agony. The scent was getting thicker and thicker, sickly sweet with an artificial undertone. He scrambled upwards, heaving as the nausea finally won.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Shadow asked, looking vaguely disgusted by the display.
“The scent,” Sonic groaned, pushing himself away from the mess. Eggman’s plan was surely to throw both of them into a spontaneous rut, igniting their territorial instincts with the omega pheromones and have them tear each other apart. Apparently, Eggman didn’t know that Sonic’s ruts were… unusual. Most alphas experience typical rut symptoms: increased aggression, increased libido, territorialness, but Sonic’s were different. Headaches, nausea, body aches, cravings, and irritability were his most common symptoms. Usually, his ruts were spent buried under blankets in his room, hiding from the sunlight that he could never get his curtains to fully block out. He lacked motivation to do much of anything, the opposite of the limitless energy most alphas experienced, and the cherry on top, the smell of omega pheromones was disgusting to him. Outside of rut, omega pheromones were unproblematic and even pleasant, but the second his rut began, the barest whiff would have him throwing up.
Sonic tried his best to breathe as little as possible, each inhale sending more nausea creeping up his throat. He was so focused on the pain in his stomach, he didn’t notice Shadow approaching. He startled at the warm hand on his shoulder, before his mind caught up, registering Alpha! Danger! Sonic snarled at the dark hedgehog, trying to pull away, but faltering with a cry of pain when he jostled his ankle. He could feel adrenaline pumping into his veins, readying him to fight against another alpha in rut, but before he could move, rough gloves were cupping his muzzle.
Shadow’s eyes were blown wide, crimson irises practically drowned by his pupils. He was breathing hard, like he had just sprinted across the island, and Sonic could feel the body heat radiating off him. His hands were firm, but gentle. Sonic’s instincts screamed, but he was finding it harder and harder to move. The nausea was easing, the smell of the artificial omega pheromones being overpowered by something soothing. Lavender, Sonic thought distantly. He and Shadow were locked in a staring contest now, neither moving nor even blinking. He knew that he was in an extremely dangerous situation, locked in a room with an alpha in rut, injured and laid out by his own rut, but he didn’t feel scared like he should.
“Shadow?” Sonic croaked, trying to break the tension between them. The other hedgehog blinked, but his eyes were still dazed, like he was looking at Sonic from underwater. “We have to get out of here,” he tried to urge. Shadow’s eyes slipped from his own to Sonic’s ankle. Suddenly, before Sonic could react, his injured ankle was in a firm grip. He yelped, more in surprise than pain, but was unable to pull away. Shadow was slowly unwrapping the sports tape around his legs and shoes, leaving the soiled white ribbons to pile on the floor. “What are you doing?” Sonic was panting, feeling overheated and overwhelmed. The other alpha still didn’t respond, holding Sonic’s ankle slightly elevated, before he began the tedious process of rewrapping the ankle. It was a tighter hold than Sonic had done this morning, squeezing the swollen limb. Sonic whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut against the discomfort. Shadow continued until all the tape had been used, setting the ankle back down gently. “Uh, thanks?” Sonic was beyond confused. Shadow should be trying to rip his throat out, not taking care of his injury.
The other hedgehog stood silently and began to pace the perimeter of their prison cell. Sonic watched him warily, still clutching his midsection. What he wouldn’t do for a heating pad and his bed right now. Shadow came to a stop in front of Sonic, still wordless. The lack of response was beginning to make Sonic nervous again, trying to subtly shift towards a corner of the room so that he could defend himself more easily. His movement was noticed, though, and suddenly Shadow was crouched over him, hands pinning Sonic’s shoulders to the glass. Sonic snapped his teeth at the other, a low growl vibrating his chest. Shadow answered with his own, sharp teeth exposed and glistening in the light. The hero struggled against the hold, unable to get enough leverage with his injured ankle. He froze at the feeling of teeth pressed to his throat.
Every instinct in him screamed not to move, not even to breathe. One wrong move would be the end. Shadow’s breath was hot against his neck, coming in short huffs. Sonic’s ears flattened, trying to show the other alpha that he was done fighting, but he couldn’t help the way his body jolted when a hot, wet tongue smoothed over the junction between his neck and shoulder, right over the injection site. Shadow was making a low, grumbling sound, like he was displeased. His tongue laved over the fur over and over, leaving it damp. Sonic shuddered, hating how awful his body felt in the moment and how helpless he was. After a few more minutes of licking, Shadow finally pulled back, seemingly satisfied with his work. He looked at Sonic, searching for something, and a frown pulled his lips downward. Sonic was too exhausted to respond to the unspoken displeasure, shuddering against the waves of discomfort racking his body. When he got his hands on Eggman, he swore the man would regret this.
“Pain.” Shadow’s voice startled him, emerald eyes flickering up to red. Shadow still looked out of it, but more focused.
“You back with me, dude?”
“You’re in pain,” Shadow tried again, brows furrowed in concentration. The other alpha seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle, his sides quivering with each breath.
“Yeah, my ruts are kinda rough on me sometimes,” Sonic answered vaguely, believing it safe enough to move to wrap his arms around himself. Shadow tracked the movement, eyes gaining more clarity with each second.
“Your friends. Coming?” Words still seemed hard for the dark hedgehog, but he forced them out anyway.
“I don’t know. I hope so. They knew I was going to fight Egghead, so hopefully, my not checking in will make them come looking,” Sonic replied. His eyes burned with exhaustion, his words slurring slightly.
A loud bang snapped him back awake. Shadow whirled around, on his feet faster than even Sonic could track. His fists were clenched, every lethally sharp quill standing on end, and a menacing growl rattled the air around them. Sonic scanned the room outside their cell, trying to figure out where the banging was coming from. It sounded almost like...explosions?
“Sonic? Can you hear me?”
“Tails! Oh, thank Gaia.” Relief sagged his shoulders at the sound of his little brother’s voice.
“We’re in the base and looking for you now. Are you okay?” There were muffled sounds of combat in the background.
“Eggman injected us with something to force us into a rut,” Sonic explained, eyeing Shadow wearily as the other glared up at the ceiling, “my ankle is hurt, but otherwise we aren’t injured.”
“We?” Tails sounded confused.
“Shadow’s here, too.” Silence on the other end.
“And you’re both okay?”
“It’s a long story, but yeah, we’re fine. Just try to get us out of here soon, please,” Sonic practically begged.
“We’re on it, hold on just a little longer,” Tails reassured, before the intercom beeped as the fox disconnected.
“Hear that, Shads? Rescue team is on the way,” Sonic said. Shadow was glaring out of the glass, pacing again. “Shads?” The returning silence couldn’t be a good sign. The fighting was getting closer, the ground now shaking with unseen impacts. The disturbance seemed to bother Shadow, who was pacing closer and closer to Sonic. The other turned, seemed to evaluate Sonic for a second, before he approached with a determined expression. “What are you doing?” Sonic asked nervously, trying futilely to scoot back. An embarrassing squeak left him with the feeling of warm hands on his thighs. “What the hell?” Sonic shouted, kicking out at Shadow with his good foot. It was caught easily, pinned to a narrow waist, before Sonic was being dragged across the floor, towards the hedgehog.
They were chest to chest, practically nose to nose. Sonic ducked his head, trying desperately to escape the sudden closeness, but was halted when Shadow picked him up effortlessly. He was carried quickly, yet with care, towards a corner of the cell. Before he could truly process what had just happened, he was being set back down and met with the black and red fur of Shadow’s back. The alpha was unmoving, staring resolutely towards where the sounds of struggle came from.
A door barely distinguishable from the rest of the steel wall slammed open, revealing Knuckles, fist raised. The echidna retreated quickly after scanning the room for further threats, pushing Tails in front and ushering Amy back into the hall they had come from. Tails flew into the room in a whirl of orange fur, and Sonic wished he could feel the breeze the twin appendages generated.
“Oh, man, I’m so glad to see you,” Sonic called. Tails smiled at him, raising the Miles Electric into the air. Shadow watched the approach of the fox carefully, subtly sniffing the air.
“Careful, Tails,” Sonic warned, “Shadow’s been acting weird.”
“I already contacted Rouge,” Tails said, tapping away at his device. “She said Shadow’s ruts can be a bit unusual. I was able to access Eggman’s files and found the formula for what he injected you guys with, so I should be able to reverse the effects, but we have to get back to my workshop.” Sonic turned the information around in his mind for a moment. How weird was it that they both had strange rut symptoms? Shadow was still a statue in front of Sonic, eyes glued to the beta beyond the glass. Tails seemed unaffected by the alpha, but the one ear pointed straight towards Shadow betrayed his unease.
There was a loud clang! that made Sonic jump and Shadow snarl, before the glass prison began to rise. Fresh air hit Sonic’s senses, and he gasped, relieved to not be smelling the stale remnants of omega pheromones. His head was still pounding, whether from his rut or the blow he took earlier, but the hope of a nap filled him with energy.
“You said your ankle was hurt?” Tails approached the two hedgehogs slowly, mindful that Shadow had yet to move from his position in front of Sonic.
“Yeah, I don’t remember what happened. Hit my head, too,” Sonic admitted sheepishly. Tails fixed him with an unimpressed look before glancing over to Shadow.
“I just want to scan him, make sure his injuries aren’t anything severe,” the kit explained to the looming alpha. Silence spread in the room, Sonic’s eyes bouncing between the two nervously, before Shadow moved to the side. He still stood close to Sonic, but no longer hindered Tails. The fox offered the dark hedgehog a wobbly smile before crouching in front of his brother. Tails waved the Miles Electric over Sonic’s ankle and head, grimacing at whatever popped up.
“Definitely a concussion, but not the worst you’ve ever had. Luckily, the ankle is just a sprain, but you shouldn’t put weight on it for a few days.” Sonic sighed at the news. No running for days. He turned his head at the sound of the door opening, Knuckles peeking in.
“Hurry up, reinforcements are on the way,” he ordered gruffly before closing the door again.
“Wait, Knuckles, I need a ride!” Sonic shouted after the red alpha. Tails looked at Shadow nervously, but Sonic didn’t notice.
“Maybe Shadow could help?” Tails suggested hesitantly. Sonic opened his mouth to argue, but Shadow was already moving, lifting Sonic with one hand under his knees and the other supporting his back. Sonic flailed, wrapping his arms around Shadow’s neck, fearful of falling. Shadow walked towards the door wordlessly, Tails trailing behind them. Sonic glared at his brother over Shadow’s shoulder, but the fox just grinned back. This was really not his day.