Chapter Text
Chapter 3
As it turned out, the Hedgehog Harness had a deceptively steep learning curve.
Sonic soon realized that, despite everything in him screaming to race as fast as he possibly could towards the pull, his primary concern actually turned out to be not accidentally getting Knuckles or Tails killed in the process. It took a few hours for him to balance his speed against the shape and direction of the road. Not to mention the wind and lag time between his movements and his brothers’ follow-through. He could go as fast as he wanted when the way was straight and clear enough, but as soon as the path began taking twists and turns through the mountains, he had to be careful that he didn’t plow his passengers into a tree along the road or an outcropping of rock wall.
Tails and Knuckles worked out their own rhythm to stay airborne, alternating between Tails’ flying and Knuckles’ gliding. Per Tails’ design, Sonic’s speed gave them both excellent lift, and the two of them were able to get a lot further before tiring out and having to switch positions than they would have been on their own. When Tails was tired, he’d toss Knuckles as high as he could to give him as much air as possible to glide on before perching on his back. When Knuckles started losing altitude, Tails would grasp his arms and hoist him back into the air, tails whirring.
That must be what hang gliding feels like, Sonic thought to himself as he glanced over his shoulders at his brothers, watching them rotate their positions. He’d have to ask them when they got back. Hang gliding looked fun from what he’d seen on TV. Tails looks like he was having fun, at least! Knuckles, well… at least he’d stopped shouting? Until he was barking at Sonic to pay attention to where he was going.
Cars were another obstacle to contend with. Despite having saved the world multiple times now, the three Mobians were still aliens on a human planet, and they knew their relative obscurity was tenuous to begin with. GUN’s funding and public perception might have been in shambles, but all of them knew better than to count on that to protect them from being targeted again. In any case, it was best if there weren’t random motorists calling into local police stations to report three colorful, fluffy alien creatures sailing down the highway in the middle of the night. Even so, Sonic found that running on pavement was preferable to trying to traverse the wilderness with two passengers to consider. Fewer trees for them to smack into, although he wouldn’t feel terrible if Knuckles got smacked a few times…. Then he’d really have something to yell about. So he stuck to the roads as much as possible, despite the risk. Thankfully, they had the cover of night and the ever-sparse Montana traffic on their side. The few times he thought that they might have been spotted, the blue blur was pretty sure he was still going fast enough not to be registered by the human eye. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.
Sonic had to admit, though—overall, it was a surprisingly efficient system. It was certainly faster than any alternative, even with all the wind and drag and adjusting. But it was still exhausting. It was working for this emergency situation, but Sonic was going to demand a serious overhaul to the design if they were ever going to use this thing again. And a better name. Sonic refused to call it the Hedgehog Harness.
It was just after midnight when a massive freight truck pulled onto the highway ahead of them, heading south in the same direction the amber chaos was leading them. Sonic initially slowed down to maneuver the three of them out of its line of sight, but then an idea struck him. Suddenly, he sped off like a rocket, barrelling towards the vehicle, and ignoring his brother’s shouts behind him. He leapt towards the back of the trailer, vertically scaling the double doors in a flash and skidding to a halt on the metal roof, Knuckles and Tails floating safely down behind him a few moments later.
Tails was impressed! Knuckles was not. Still, everyone appreciated the chance to rest for a bit.
Tails took the opportunity to take new readings on his handheld Miles Electric, and Knuckles checked in with Tom as instructed. The golden chaos bolt skittered back to Sonic’s hand, curling around his palm excitedly. He smiled down at it, silently reassuring Shadow that he was on his way.
After a decent rest, the road began to curve, and Sonic felt the amber chaos’ pull diverging from the new direction. That was their cue for them to speed off again.
As they flew through the night, Sonic felt that pull in his chest getting more urgent, more insistent, more… anxious. It was hard to tell if the anxiety was from him or whatever emotions the little chaos ball was feeling. (That thought was still weird to him.) Nevertheless, they pressed on. Every so often, a bolt of Sonic’s own blue chaos energy would arc out from his body to meet the amber, diving and twirling towards it like it was trying to initiate a game of chase. At first the amber bolt evaded each attempt, repelling the blue sparks back and retreating. But as they drew further south, the amber bolt slowly began to reciprocate the blue’s attempts to engage. Soon enough, the two energies were playing and dancing, weaving all along Sonic’s quills, his arms and shoulders, before arching out in front of him and colliding in playful sparks along the road. It was a strange pleasure to watch the two of them interact—reluctant at first, but jubilant once they collided. Seeing the display made Sonic’s chest swell with warmth and a growing hope. That had to be a good sign. Right?
As they drew on, the inky black night sky slowly started to soften to deep blue as morning approached, then fading into violet and soft pink as sunrise began to spread across the sky. The first rays of gold had just begun to peek over the horizon when Sonic felt the pull tug him off the road entirely. He followed it down a tree-lined path, careful again of his passengers gliding behind him. He was relieved to feel the pull guide him to an abandoned dirt driveway and not into the thick treeline ahead of them. That would have been a mess.
Then, with no warning, the pull in Sonic’s chest vanished.
One moment it was there, urging him forward as it had been for hours. And then suddenly just… nothing. Leaving a nauseating, heavily empty void where the compulsion had just been. Ice-cold adrenaline surged through Sonic’s veins as panic seized his chest. He slammed his heels into the ground, dust, rocks, and dirt flying around him as he skidded to a screeching halt. Not a second later, Tails and Knuckles barrelled into him from behind, sending all three of them careening forward across the road. They collapsed in a tangle of limbs, quills, and color-coded cables. The three groaned painfully—even without the crash landing, they’d all been going all night. Everyone was exhausted, sore, and now they were scraped, bruised, and disoriented on top of it.
Knuckles was the first to regain his wits.
“What is the meaning of this, Hedgehog?” He barked as he wrenched himself free of his brothers. Panic seized Sonic’s chest again as he came to and jumped to his feet, looking down at his hand. The amber chaos bolt was still there, curling around happily with a bolt of blue, but the pull in his chest was still just… empty. His stomach twisted with sickening terror.
“The pull!” Anxiously, Sonic wrestled and twisted until he was free of the harness, before he began whirling around in distressed circles, as if looking for a cellphone signal. His heart pounded wildly in his chest. “It’s gone!”
Knuckles angrily unclipped himself from the damned contraption.
“What do you mean ‘gone’?” He demanded, flustered as he threw the red straps to the ground angrily.
“I mean gone!” Sonic snapped back. “Like, it just stopped!!” Ice plunged into his stomach. “I can’t… feel him—”
Tails, who had also freed himself from the harness, was already holding up the Miles Electric to scan the surrounding area. The device immediately let out a series of decisive beeps. The fox took a few steps along the road, his focus trained on the screen as he took in the readings. He stopped mid-step as the beeping frequency went up.
“I’m getting a strong spike of energy here,” he reported. He pressed a few buttons, adjusting the configuration.
Sonic’s eyes darted as he whirled around, trying to spot something—anything. Nothing stood out along the road except a few dilapidated farm buildings—a few sheds that were in such an advanced state of disrepair that one of them was leaning to one side, and a barn that didn’t seem far behind them. Wherever they were, it was clear that this place had been abandoned for years—the grass was almost up to their knees, and wild plants were growing into and out of the buildings. But most urgently, not a single sign of red eyes or black fur….
“But… it’s so much lower than it was in Tokyo…” Tails muttered, more to himself than his brothers. “Still no way to tell if it is actually Shadow or just an echo….” Sonic’s heart plunged into the pit forming in his stomach.
Knuckles came up to stand beside him, putting a comforting hand on Sonic’s shoulder while he surveyed the area, violet eyes scanning the treeline and down the road. As much as Sonic appreciated it, it didn’t work. At all. Sonic felt a pinprick of shock in his palm and looked down to see the gentle amber bolt. He gazed at it for a moment, watching the way it shimmered with excited energy, almost reassuringly. His breathing sped up all over again, and he set his jaw with determination, defying the anxiety that threatened to consume him.
He’s here. He has to be here.
“I’ll look around!” He announced. Then he took off like a shot, zipping into the overgrown grass in a streak of blue. He wasn’t thinking—only moving. He darted towards the barn, skidding to a halt just inside the broken door. The state of disrepair inside was almost worse than it looked on the outside. If it had been any other time, Sonic might have found it to be a fun place to explore…. Maybe it was haunted! Now, though, it was a miracle that he could register his surroundings at all.
“Shadow—!!” He called into the dusty space, his panicked voice reverberating sharply against the dilapidated walls. His emerald eyes darted around frantically, desperately searching for any sign of black or red, any glimmer of amber sparks among the rusted farm equipment and piles of tires. “Shadow!!” He called again, hoping for any trace—anything to prove that the pull wasn’t just an echo… anything to prove the other hedgehog was still alive. “Shadow—!!” His voice echoed off the rafters as icy terror gripped his throat. He was really starting to panic now. Even with Tails’ warning, he had been certain—so sure that it was Shadow. He’d refused to entertain the idea that the amber chaos in his hands was anything but a sure sign that he was alive. But the pull was gone, and Shadow wasn’t here….
He knew that this was exactly what Knuckles and Tails had been worried about—getting his hopes up only for everything to come crashing down around him. He’d known it, but he’d still poured every last ounce of hope into the possibility. Sonic could feel the pit of despair starting to sink back into his stomach.
No.
No, that couldn’t be it. Shadow had to be here!! Maybe he was back further into the trees? Or maybe he had been here but left. Sonic let out a frustrated whine. Why wasn’t the pull working anymore?!
“Come on, Shadow!” He growled in frustration, holding up his hand to watch the way the amber danced cheerfully—mockingly over his palm. Why had it pulled him this far only to vanish?! “Where are you?!” He demanded, as if yelling at it would somehow magically tell him what he wanted to know. “Come on, point somewhere!”
A deafening crack shook the whole room. Sonic let out a startled yelp and jumped back, his heart hammering from the shock as he looked up to see a bolt of pure chaos—blue chaos. His eyes went wide as it gathered before him in the center of the room, spinning slowly around itself to form a sphere.
Sonic’s fur stood on end—that was his chaos! But… it hadn’t come from him. Before he had a chance to process what he was seeing, the amber bolt that he’d been carrying in his hand all night leapt forward, diving off of his fingers in an elegant arc and forming into its own ball on the ground. The two energy spheres circled each other, sparks sizzling loudly off the clusters in a slow electrical exchange. Like assessment. Or recognition. Or greeting.
“Sonic!” Tails called out as he burst through the broken door a moment later, his tails whirling and the MIles Electric in his hand beeping furiously. Knuckles followed a few moments later, fists raised and ready for a fight.
“Hedgehog!”
“Look—!” Sonic exclaimed as his brothers rushed up to him, both their eyes widening at the sight of the spinning chaos energies before them. “It’s… it’s doing it again!” He could barely hear himself, entirely transfixed by the dancing blue and golden amber. Even the sound of his own shouting voice seemed so far away, like he was back in space—back on the moon… looking into crimson eyes with courage and determination… their hands clasping together like thunder, and pure chaos surging around their bodies infused with radiance.
Knuckles let out a frustrated growl next to him, jolting him back to the present.
“What is that?” The echidna demanded, taking a step back from the swirling light show. “What is going on?!” He pulled his hands up closer to his face.
“I-I’m… not sure.” Tails replied, having regained his composure to maintain his focus. He looked back and forth between the swirling chaos lightning and his device. “They’re the same chaos signatures that I read back in the attic—exactly the same.” He pushed a few buttons, trying to refine the configuration. His face scrunched up in frustrated confusion at what he was seeing on the readouts. “But I’ve never seen chaos do anything like this before.” The icy grip in Sonic’s chest tightened, his heart beating frantically against his ribs.
“Okay, but if it's the same, then he should be here! Right? That means he’s gotta be here! Where is he?!” His throat was tightening. His eyes were burning. The pit in his stomach was deepening.
This can’t be an echo. It can’t. It has to be him. Please, Shadow. Please be here, please….
Suddenly, the blue and amber spheres dove at each other in a hiss of sparks before colliding with an immense BOOM so deafening that it shook the whole barn, pushing all three Mobians back a few steps as dust and debris rained down from the shabby rafters. They looked back up as they recovered, astonished at the sight before them. The two chaos energies had fused into a single blazing sphere, so bright that it bathed the entire barn with blinding brilliance. Sonic was vaguely aware of Knuckles and Tails both shouting, but he couldn’t look away from the wonder taking shape before his eyes. His heart was thundering, beating in time to the rhythm of the dance of the newly united energies.
Then, just like the night before in the attic, both chaos bolts split off from one another. The blue arc surged toward Sonic, breaking like a wave against his chest, sparks flowing through his fur before settling back into his body. He hadn’t even realized that that tiny part of his power had been missing until it was back with him. Nor did he have time to ponder that before the amber chaos suddenly arched upward and soared towards the rafters.
With his breath lodged in his throat, Sonic looked up, watching as a silhouette of upturned quills slowly took shape out of the darkness, reaching out for the amber light and catching it in a gloved fist. The bolt swirled around its owner’s sleek frame, threading through red-striped black fur and illuminating gold in crimson eyes.
Sonic couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn't think. His throat was steel. His heart was a hummingbird’s frantic wings, his eyes wide and burning.
The figure lowered his fist, eyes slowly dimming as he looked down at the three Mobians on the ground below him. His face remained shrouded in the lingering darkness of the loft, but Sonic could feel the figure’s gaze lock onto him.
“Shadow…?” He choked out barely above a whisper, his voice breaking and wavering and trying so hard not to cry. But he knew he’d been heard.
Slowly. Finally. Shadow the Hedgehog stepped out from the darkness and into the morning light streaming in golden shafts around him.
It was as if they were back in Tokyo—the trio looking up at the Ultimate Lifeform as he gazed back down at them. In that moment, an entire lifetime ago, he’d looked down at them with menacing disdain, his eyes blazing with resentment. But here, now, he looked at them warily—cautiously. His brows knit together with guarded suspicion as his eyes darted between the three of them, only for his gaze to lock with Sonic’s again. Crimson eyes searched emerald, silently asking an intangible, reticent question. Sonic’s face broke into a wide, beaming smile, his eyes shining with relief that flooded every part of his senses.
Yes. Yes! He answered silently, unable to contain the elation in his face. Whatever it is, the answer is yes!
Sonic couldn’t take his eyes off of him, not even noticing when the dark hedgehog averted his gaze to take in Tails and Knuckles beside him more thoroughly. Shadow was okay—Shadow was alive, and that was all that mattered. The bolt of Chaos had been him! Not a trap, not an enemy, not an echo—him.
Then Shadow moved, crouching to drop down from the loft, air shoes landing on the dusty ground floor with a heavy thud. His eyes narrowed, darting between the three of them as he slowly straightened up. He looked unscathed, but anxiety poured off of him—his posture was rigid, knees slightly bent, feet apart just far enough, ears pointed forward but twitching at even the most imperceptible sound. It was clear he was ready to defend himself, attack if he had to, or run.
However, even Shadow’s most meticulous hypervigilance had neglected to account for the fastest creature in the universe.
“Shadow—!!” Sonic cried as he threw his arms around his neck, pulling him into a crushing embrace and burying his face in soft dark quills, his tail whipping wildly back and forth excitedly behind him. He didn’t even register the way the other hedgehog went rigid, arms frozen in the air in front of him as if his brain and body disconnected the moment of impact. Even if Sonic had noticed, it wouldn’t have mattered. Shadow was here. He was warm. He was safe. Sonic could feel the other hedgehog’s chest expanding with each breath, could feel his heart beating hard against his own. That was all that mattered. And Sonic swore felt something inside him become whole again.
“You’re alive—!” He exclaimed, voice muffled against Shadow’s quills, taking in a faint scent of lavender from his dark fur. “You’re here, you’re alive!!” Sonic felt a rumble coming from Shadow’s chest and it made his senses thrum with vibration.
“Obviously,” Shadow’s voice was hoarse, clearly annoyed. The sound of it was so familiar, so real that Sonic thought that he might actually start crying.
“I thought—we thought that you’d… that… the cannon… the explosion… we thought—” Sonic’s voice gave out against the thickening in his throat. He hugged Shadow tighter and felt that rumbling in the other hedgehog’s chest grow louder in response.
Oh.
Wait.
That was growling.
Shadow was growling.
“Get off of me,” he snarled, his voice a gravelly rasp against blue quills.
Sonic’s eyes flew open wide, his cheeks burning as he realized just what he was doing. Immediately, he zipped back, raising his hands placatively in front of him.
“Sorry—sorry!! My bad—didn’t think… I—yeah, okay, not a hugger. Got it.” He sputtered, his whole face flushing deeper. Shadow had stopped growling, but his expression remained severe, his posture still on edge. Sonic could hear Tails and Knuckles shifting behind him, but he still couldn’t look away from Shadow. “I just—dude, I’m just so glad you’re okay!”
Shadow lifted a brow at him, the tight line of his mouth twisting slightly, eyes narrowed suspiciously—like he was trying to work out a puzzle. He studied the blue hedgehog for a moment more, then darted to Knuckles and Tails.
“You three also survived.” He concluded—a matter-of-fact observation more than anything.
“Yeah, but how did you survive?” Tails asked. Shadow watched as the fox walked forward to stand next to Sonic. The ebony hedgehog’s rigid posture tensed further, but he didn’t move away. “The core’s meltdown would have been enough to incinerate Earth’s atmosphere.” Tails pointed out.
Shadow’s ears flicked back, but his expression remained the same—somewhere between annoyed and curious.
“So I was informed.”
“Eggman must have told you that, huh?” The fox’s tails lowered slightly. “Did-did he survive…?”
Sonic’s ears flattened slightly. That was a possibility he hadn’t even considered. He swallowed hard, trying not to feel guilty as he hoped the answer was no.
Shadow shook his head.
“I don’t think so,” he said quietly. Sonic did his best to hold in the sigh of relief that wanted to escape. He couldn’t help but wonder if that made him a bad person, but he didn’t have the energy to dwell on it before Shadow’s eyes locked on his own once again. Blue quills bristled, Sonic’s fur standing up slightly in attention as crimson eyes burned into him… like he was searching for something. Sonic’s brow furrowed inquisitively, head tilting slightly. But Shadow averted his gaze, eyes casting down to the ground as he folded his arms over his chest, the tension in his limbs tightening. His face twisted into a painful grimace, and he swallowed hard before he spoke.
“Tom,” he breathed quietly. Then he looked up, his gaze stormy with emotion, but resolute as he met Sonic’s eyes once more. “Is… is he… alive?” His voice was raw, like it was being raked over jagged edges of shattered glass. His brow scrunched into worried lines around the stripe of red in his dark fur, steeling himself for the answer to a question that had plagued him. Sonic’s heart fluttered painfully as he watched the vulnerable emotions play out over Shadow’s face. Just like on the moon, he looked so lost.
“Yeah,” Sonic’s voice wavered as he tried to answer. He swallowed, pushing down his own turbulent emotions, and tried again. “Yeah, he’s alive. He’s fine—back at work actually!” He offered Shadow a reassuring smile, trying to take on a lighthearted tone of voice. “He was on bed rest for a while. But even the sling’s gone now! Yeah, but oh, now he’s stuck on desk duty, and he never stops complaining about it, but—”
Sonic cut himself off before he could start rambling. He watched Shadow’s ears perk up, eyes closing with a heavy sigh as some of the tension in his shoulders eased, replaced with fatigue.
“I… thought he was Walters…” he confessed, his voice quiet, words spoken carefully and deliberately, as if he’d practiced what he was going to say.
“The holograms,” Tails offered. “It's a device I designed that can alter the user’s appearance. We used them to get into GUN headquarters.”
Shadow opened his eyes, brows lifted as he looked back at Tails. Sonic could swear Shadow looked impressed, even as his tone stayed neutral.
“They were very convincing,” he confirmed.
“Tom informed us that you had mistaken him for the Commander,” Knuckles added, speaking up for the first time as he moved between the two, becoming the center. His expression was focused, suspicion still lingering in his voice. It made blue ears twitch back with agitation as he looked over at him. Sonic swore, if the echidna decided to go aggro now of all times, he was going to personally tackle him with everything his brother had taught him in his stupid Warrior training.
Shadow stood his ground firmly as he watched Knuckles’ movements just as suspiciously—distrustfully. Knuckles narrowed his eyes at the ebony hedgehog, sensing his cautious appraisal. “We would still like an answer as to how you survived,” he pressed.
Shadow narrowed his eyes right back and turned his body towards the echidna to face him fully. For a long moment, he said nothing. Sonic felt anxiety twist in his stomach with each second of silence, his eyes darting back and forth between the two as they stared each other down. But Shadow’s eyes shifted, moving to find his own once again. Sonic felt his heart jump to his throat—he must have been nervously fidgeting more than he’d realized. Peach cheeks flushed pink as the other hedgehog’s piercing gaze lingered, his brow furrowing almost inquisitively, again as if he was trying to figure something out—searching for answers in the hero’s green eyes. All the while, the silence drew on, the tension in the air getting thicker with each moment. Finally, Shadow closed his eyes, letting out a resigned sigh before casting his gaze back down at the floor.
“I… don’t know.” He said, speaking slowly. “The last thing I remember was the cannon and—“ He cut himself off abruptly mid-sentence, and his head snapped up to Sonic, eyes wide as realization dawned on him. “Wait—bed rest?” His brows knit in confusion, harkening back to the recount of Tom’s condition. “How long?” he asked, an edge of urgency in his voice.
“Oh, Tom? Uhh… like five weeks, I think?” Sonic offered, somewhat puzzled by the other hedgehog’s shift in tone. “Well okay wait, hang on—yeah, at first he couldn’t be moved for like two weeks,” he said, working through the timeline out loud. “So that was only after he was strong enough to come back to the States. And then… oh! Right, but then he was still in the hospital here for another week on top of that, so I guess it was more like eight weeks…?” Beside him, Tails suddenly whipped out his phone, his face scrunching up in focus as his thumbs flew swiftly over the onscreen keyboard, typing furiously.
Shadow’s eyes widened further, his mouth dropping open in disbelief. Slowly, he let his arms drop to his sides and fully averted his gaze.
“H-how long… How long has it been since the… since I…?”
“Three months,” Sonic answered gently and felt a squeeze in his chest at the way Shadow seemed to shrink in on himself at the news.
“Three months,” Shadow echoed, his voice quiet, disbelieving—almost defeated. He was quiet for a moment, the storm raging behind his eyes as he tried to process this apparently new information. “Yesterday I woke up in the desert,” he continued finally. “I don’t know how I survived the explosion."
Sonic had to hold himself back from rushing forward to hug him again. He really looked like he needed one.
“You must have fallen yesterday,” Tails piped in, drawing everyone’s attention. He took a few steps towards Shadow. The ebony hedgehog’s quills bristled slightly, his posture tensing as the fox approached and held his phone up for Shadow to see the news article that he’d pulled up. “Yesterday at 10:13am, a meteorite was reported being seen by multiple witnesses who saw it fall above the Sonoran Desert.” Tails continued. “It’s really unusual for meteorites to be so bright that they can be seen during the day. So, that must have been you, Shadow.”
Sonic watched Shadow’s eyes scan the words displayed on the screen, watched them shift and narrow as his brow furrowed, and a frown crossed his lips before he looked down at the floor again.
“So I’ve been unconscious in space for three months…?” he spat. Tails took that as his cue to step back to his brothers. Sonic felt his chest squeeze again at that sullen expression. His mouth moved before his brain did.
“Pfft. And didn’t even get to enjoy the view? Bummer!” His hasty attempt to lighten the mood was met with a scowl from Shadow. Oops. Quick, think of something else! “But, uhh… if it makes you feel better, you didn’t miss much!” He tried to send the other hedgehog a bright smile, but it came out more like a cringe. Bad recovery. Bad recovery! Shadow was clearly not impressed by the blue hedgehog’s antics. His red eyes narrowed further before one withering brow ridge arched up, almost comically.
“You don’t think before you speak, do you?” Shadow asked, dryly.
“He does not,” Knuckles confirmed before Sonic had a chance to try to embarrass himself further.
“Nope,” Tails concurred. Sonic sent both of them a petulant glare.
“Wow, thanks, guys,” he mumbled as he felt his cheeks burn all over again.
“What about that chaos energy?” Tails cut in before the bickering had a chance to start, looking back at Shadow. “That amber bolt and the pull Sonic felt that led us here. That was you, right?”
Shadow eyes found the fox once again, his ears flicking back for a moment, cautiously searching his face before answering.
“I don’t know.”
Knuckles let out a disgruntled scoff, looking less than pleased with that response. Sonic poked a triumphant finger against the side of his brother’s head, a satisfied smirk on his face.
“See? Told you it wasn’t a trap, Knucklehead.” The echidna batted his hand away with an annoyed scowl.
“Trap?” Shadow somehow looked even more unamused.
“Yes, a trap, impressive Hedgehog,” Knuckles replied, making deliberate eye contact with Shadow, who in turn cocked a puzzled brow at the odd title. But Knuckles ignored him and went on. “As far as we knew, you were dead. There was every possibility that this energy, this… compulsion that the hedgehog was feeling was little more than an attempt from an adversary to lure us from the protection of our home.” Violet eyes narrowed. “Our enemies are not to be underestimated.”
Sonic gaped at him.
“Knux!” He hissed. He knew Knuckles was blunt, but seriously? Now?! To his surprise, Shadow let out a soft, amused snort in response.
“A reasonable assumption,” the ebony hedgehog conceded, thoughtfully crossing his arms over his chest again.
Sonic did not appreciate that tiny smirk that crossed Knuckles’ face at that—he looked way too pleased with himself. But something did occur to him, and his head snapped back to Shadow.
“Wait, you said you woke up in Arizona yesterday, right?” he clarified. Shadow said nothing in response, but narrowed his eyes and gave a small, cautious nod. “And this isn’t the… what was it, Sonoran Desert?” Sonic continued, excitement creeping into his tone, ears standing straight up and turning forward towards the other hedgehog. “So, that means that—that chaos… from before—is that how you got here…?” His tail wagged slightly, his voice taking on a hopeful lightness he hadn’t felt in months. “D-did you feel the pull too, Shadow…?”
Shadow’s ears pinned back against his head, and his brow furrowed as he stared directly at Sonic. The blue hedgehog swallowed hard, trying not to feel embarrassed or exposed, but being the focus of that piercing gaze was both unnerving and exhilarating. It made him want to freeze in place and run in circles and dissolve all at the same time. Still, he could tell that Shadow was trying to figure something out—Sonic could practically see the gears working in his head as he weighed his options. Finally, as the silence was drawing out just long enough to start feeling uncomfortable—again—Shadow breathed in slowly, apparently having decided not to answer. He reached behind him into his quills, then slowly outstretched his hands to reveal seven colorful gems glittering softly with the faint traces of chaos energy shifting inside them.
All three Wachowski boys gasped.
“The Chaos Emeralds…!” Sonic breathed in astonishment.
“These are yours,” Shadow declared. Knuckles instantly stepped forward, holding out his hands for them. The Emeralds clinked softly as Shadow dropped them into the echidna’s open palms.
An uncomfortable tension thickened in the air between them as Knuckles stepped back, clutching the Emeralds and cradling them delicately to his chest. Sonic’s shoulders tightened as he looked at his brother’s face. Knuckles’ mouth was set in a deep line, brow furrowed and violet eyes narrowed in focus. After a moment, he looked at Tails, who looked back at him with a mix of complicated emotions in his eyes. The fox managed to offer him a hopeful, if hesitant, smile. Then Knuckles turned his eyes back to Sonic, even as the hedgehog averted his gaze, unable to stomach his brother’s scrutiny. But the echidna bowed his head ever so slightly and looked back down at the emeralds in his hands.
“Can you fix it…?” Sonic asked quietly. “Like you did last time?”
“Yes,” Knuckles said without hesitation. “And I will do so once we have safely returned to our home.” Sonic swallowed hard, his eyes casting down to the floor and his insides clenching with guilt. Silently, Tails slid his yellow backpack off his shoulders, unzipped it, and held it open for Knuckles, who dropped the emeralds inside, tinkling softly together as they landed. Tails immediately zipped the backpack back up and handed it over to his brother. Knuckles took it and clutched it close to his chest.
Then the echidna straightened his spine, lifting himself to his full height, raising his head and looking directly at Shadow. Shadow also straightened up in return, willfully meeting Knuckles’ gaze. His brow ridges furrowed suspiciously, crimson eyes darting between the three of them, like he was trying not to let any one of them out of his sight for more than a moment. It was a strange mix of curiosity and anxiety between the four Mobians. Mistrustful tension still lingered heavily in the room.
Finally, Knuckles broke the tense silence.
“You have my gratitude, Impressive Hedgehog,” he proclaimed. “Returning the Chaos Emeralds was a noble deed that I will not forget.” Sonic couldn’t help but smile at the sincerity in his brother’s voice, despite his lingering guilt. Knuckles closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to meet Shadow’s gaze once more. The echidna didn’t smile, but the stern intensity in his eyes softened just a tiny bit as he said, “I am in your debt.”
Shadow’s eyes widened, almost alarmed at the shift in Knuckles’ countenance, but when the echidna held his closed fist deliberately out in front of him, Shadow took a sharp step backwards. His ears pinned back against his head and his crimson eyes narrowed at the offered fist, now truly alarmed by the baffling gesture.
Tails stepped forward and held out his own fist, slotting it next to Knuckles’. He grinned brightly up at the ebony hedgehog.
“Yeah! Thank you, Shadow. We owe you one for sure!” he chirped.
“We owe you seven!” Sonic added, smiling reassuringly up at Shadow as he held out his own fist on the opposite side of Knuckles’. The three Mobians formed their unit—resolutely standing side by side in a sturdy display of solidarity with one another.
Except this time, they left just enough room in their formation for one more.
“Power Bump on it!” Sonic prompted, beaming at Shadow.
The ebony hedgehog looked more confused than ever. His eyes darted between each of their faces and down at their connected fists.
“A Power Bump,” Knuckles explained, a small smile crossing his face—still serious but no less reassuring. “It forges an unbreakable promise between allies.”
Shadow’s expression remained dubious, his brows knitting together even further, the ridges bunching up over the bridge of his nose. Sonic kept smiling at him warmly, but felt his heartbeat quicken as the silence drew on. The other hedgehog’s posture was still tense, and yet Sonic was sure that he could see that curiosity in his eyes start to win out against the anxiety as he tried to work out how to proceed.
Slowly, cautiously, Shadow lifted his left hand. Curling his fingers into a fist, he reached out, pressing it tentatively into the offered space between Sonic and Tails. The three Wachowskis smiled like a victory had been won, even though Shadow still looked back at them with apprehension. Sonic felt a flutter in the pit of his stomach, nearly holding his breath as he watched those crimson eyes fill with such raw emotions. Slowly, Shadow’s face relaxed—the sharp edges of his stress melting into a quiet relief.
But that moment of precious reprieve was cut short as Shadow sucked in a sharp, sudden breath through his teeth, wincing hard as he swiftly pulled his hand back. Amber chaos rippled over his fur as he hunched over, grasping the left side of his chest. Icy panic shot through Sonic’s veins as he watched him sway on his feet, almost losing his balance entirely. In a zip of blue light, Sonic was at his side in less than an instant.
“Easy—” he assured him as he braced the other hedgehog from falling. “I’ve got you, Shadow.”
“Are you okay?” Tails took a few steps forward before he stopped himself, unsure if approaching was wise. Knuckles held his position but frowned in concern, violet eyes scanning the ebony hedgehog’s body, looking for injuries.
Sonic pulled Shadow’s right arm over his shoulder and wrapped his own arm around the back of the other hedgehog’s waist to keep him on his feet. Shadow inadvertently leaned against him, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth hard, letting out quiet, labored grunts as his body tensed. He choked out a strained gasp as his eyes flew open, blinking rapidly like he was trying to clear his vision. His upturned quills bristled, brushing up against Sonic’s as the hero held him steady.
It took Shadow a few moments more before he fully came back to his senses and realized what had happened. His face snapped up to glare at Sonic, eyes burning with furious annoyance. He opened his mouth to say something, attempting to push the blue hedgehog away from him, but hissed in pain again before he could. He recovered more quickly this time, settling for growling angrily at the other hedgehog.
“I’m fine—” Shadow barked roughly, bearing his teeth in frustration. It was unclear whether it was from pain or irritation. Or both. Probably both. “Get off me—”
“Dude, you are the opposite of fine,” Sonic shot back. Shadow growled again, more furiously this time.
“I don’t need your help!” He insisted.
“Oh, shut up,” Sonic sighed, rolling his eyes. He’d had to deal with Tom being petulant about accepting help for months. He was beyond over dealing with the tough guy crap. “Try lying again when you can hold your weight up on your own.” Still, Sonic couldn’t help but notice that Shadow wasn’t squirming to get out of his grip or push him away anymore.
“I have accelerated healing.” Shadow insisted, still wincing. “I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, okay. Sure. You might want to check the warranty on that one.”
“What does that mean!?”
Tails held the Miles Electric back up, the device blipping softly with each of the fox’s quick keystrokes on the display. Then he pointed it towards Shadow, and the device let out a series of urgent beeps.
“Where are you injured?” Knuckles asked firmly, still trying to assess Shadow’s injuries from where he stood. Shadow’s quills bristled sharply at the question.
“I fell from space, echidna,” he gritted out through bared teeth, as if that answered the question.
“Yep. I was right,” Tails announced, “these energy readings are super low compared to the ones I took in Tokyo.” He poked at the Electric a few more times. “That would make sense if your chaos was what kept you alive in space for three months.” He looked up at Shadow, his brows knitted together as he tried to puzzle it out. “Has anything like this happened before?” He asked with the same tone he used when Tom managed to brick his laptop. Again.
Shadow’s scowl zeroed in on Tails, clearly unappreciative of the fox’s attempted troubleshooting.
“I’ve been traveling all night,” He huffed. Sonic rolled his eyes again. So Shadow was a non-answer answering type of guy. Great. That was going to be so helpful.
Tails didn’t seem fazed, as he calmly looked back at the Electric, making a series of faces that Sonic called his ‘thinking mode’. “I’ll have to go over the data later when we get back. I’ll be able to compare the energy frequencies more easily there, and as soon as I analyze the fluctuations in the—”
“Tails,” Sonic cut his brother off. He could feel Shadow growing more tense by the moment. “Smaller words.”
Slightly embarrassed, Tails nodded and powered the Electric off, dropping it in the bag the Knuckles held open for him, and fished out the ring that he had put inside previously.
“I think we should take him to Maddie.” He concluded. “I could take measurements all day, but I’m not a doctor.”
“Doctor—?” Shadow hissed, spitting the word out with panicked venom. Sonic felt the other hedgehog’s body go completely rigid against his, practically pressing into his side.
“Technically, a veterinarian,” Tails elaborated. “But she takes care of us when we get sick or—”
“No—” That time, Shadow did try to pull away from Sonic, but another painful tremor reverberated through his body, and his face twisted in agony. Sonic pulled the ebony hedgehog’s arm tighter around his neck and his own arm tighter around his back, trying to keep him steady. Shadow gritted his teeth even harder. “No doctors—” he choked out emphatically.
“It’s okay,” Sonic said, trying to give Shadow his most reassuring smile. “Maddie’s not just a doctor—she’s our mom.” But he could feel the other hedgehog’s muscles flexing and bunching where he held him up, could feel his quills bristle against his own, could feel the barest prickle of chaos in the air. Like a metal coil retracting before springing forward, and Sonic knew instantly—Shadow was moments away from bolting. Or doing that annoying little teleportation trick of his, more likely.
Sonic was not about to let him just take off again. Absolutely not.
“Look, Shadow… I promise she won't hurt you,” Sonic asserted, trying to hide the urgency in his voice. “Really, there’s nothing to be afraid of with—”
Shadow’s eyes snapped to meet Sonic’s gaze, his crimson irises illuminated with a low amber glow. The faint chaos in the air sizzled. “I am not afraid,” he growled insistently, “…of anything.”
Sonic felt a spark of challenge ignite in his chest.
Oh.
Oooh.
Oh he could work with this.
He smirked.
“Oooooh yeah, tough guy?” Sonic teased, his eyes glinting playfully. “Okay. Prove it.”
Shadow’s ears shot back, and he bared his teeth, showing a slight hint of pointed canines (holy crap, those things were long!) and amber chaos rippled through his ebony fur in agitation. Sonic’s smirk widened as he lifted a taunting brow at the other hedgehog, silently daring him. The two hedgehogs stared each other down, neither willing to be the first to look away, their faces inches away from one another’s. Chaos crackled in Shadow’s eyes, but Sonic was close enough to catch the way they darted barely perceptively—like he was still trying to suss out some ulterior motive in the hero’s emerald gaze.
“Come on, Shadow,” Sonic tried again, still smirking, tone still mocking, hoping his cocky facade was enough to hide how his heart was pounding in his chest and the pit of panic that threatened to form in his stomach at the idea that Shadow might run. “You came all this way,” he teased. “Don’t back down now.”
The silence dragged on, more tense this time than it had been that entire morning. Knuckles and Tails stayed still and silent as they watched the tenuous exchange between the two hedgehogs. Sonic could see them giving each other nervous glances from his peripheral vision.
Then, finally, Sonic watched the amber lightning fade from Shadow’s eyes, felt the tension in his body go slack a little as he leaned more of his weight against him. The ebony hedgehog slowly closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath through his nose, his chest expanding slightly as he inhaled. Then he gave the slightest jerk of his head in a nod.
“Fine,” he said, exhaling heavily as he opened his eyes.
Sonic felt the weight of the world slide off his shoulders and shatter on the barn house floor.
“There’s our big brave boy!” he beamed, still keeping up the (relative) facade of teasing, though more playful and less provocative now. He couldn’t help the way his grin widened, but he did manage to stop himself from winking at the ornery hedgehog. Somehow, he didn’t think Shadow would appreciate his careless charm just then. Baby steps. “Maybe you’ll even get a lollipop if you’re good!” he chirped as he shifted his grip to take more of Shadow’s weight. The ebony hedgehog growled in response, ridges forming at the bridge of his muzzle as he scrunched his face up in exasperation.
“Are you always this annoying?” he grumbled, irritated.
“You will get used to it,” Knuckles assured him, smirking with amusement. Sonic’s head whirled around to stick his tongue out at his obnoxious brother. As always, Knuckles wasn’t fazed. “Take us home, Fox.”
“You got it!” Tails responded enthusiastically. The golden ring tinkled softly as he raised it in his hand and tossed it to the other side of the barn. It twirled in the air with a shimmering metallic hum before swiftly expanding with a loud whoosh. The attic appeared on the other side, framed by the whirling ethereal metal portal. Warm and golden morning light streaming into their shared bedroom created such a stark contrast between the dark gray and creeping green of the barn. It made Sonic’s fur bristle ever so slightly. The barn suddenly reminded him too much of the abandoned military base. Shadow didn’t belong in this place either. Where things were left behind to rot and be forgotten. Sonic refused to leave him behind again. Ever.
Shadow’s eyes went wide with astonishment.
“What is that…?” he breathed, astounded as he watched the air warp around the edges of the golden trim. Tails lifted a brow.
“Have you… you’ve never seen a ring before, Shadow…?” he asked cautiously, his tone curious rather than critical.
“The quickest way in the universe to get around!” Sonic slowly guided the ebony hedgehog towards the open portal. “Kinda like fast travel.” Shadow’s brows knit together in confusion.
“…like what?”
“Fast travel!” Sonic repeated. “Yannow… fast travel…? Like in a video game…?”
Shadow’s ears flicked back, his head jerking to look at Sonic with an almost startled expression.
“….what’s a video game?” he asked.
Sonic almost stumbled, and he looked back at Shadow, mouth hanging open in aghast pity. This poor, poor deprived hedgehog.
“Oh, dude.” he breathed, ears turning forward as a grin spread across his face, his tail wagging behind him just slightly, “I have so much to show you.”
The four of them stepped through the portal, Shadow still heavily leaning on Sonic. As soon as they were safely through, the portal snapped closed behind them with a wink, leaving the abandoned barn still and empty and silent once again.