Chapter Text
Shadow and Sonic sat in the beautifully decorated dining room, silently sipping their tea as the three police officers sat across from them sorting out their many papers. They both, thankfully, had enough time to completely dry themselves and put on their gloves and shoes before being practically forced to answer the door. The officer sitting right in front of them was obviously some high level general and to top it all off he was human. He seemed to be somewhere in his mid to late thirties. The other officers were both Mobians of some kind. Most likely a fox and a panther. They were both very young, probably in their early twenties and had a look of pure wonder as they glanced around the house. Sonic peeped over at the ebony who happened to be staring intensely at his teacup. This was certainly not a comfortable situation for either of them.
“I apologize if we frightened you both. But, we really needed to speak to you. I am sure you are aware of the many destructive events happening around the world and we need your help, Shadow.” His low base voice echoed through the room with a rather unusual accent as he stacked all of his papers into a neat little pile.
Sonic was relatively shocked that the Jednakian police force would ever send a human general instead of a Mobian. Humans were always looked down upon in Jednak, especially in the more conservative areas of the country. But, this one seemed to be a relatively decent guy and Sonic could understand why he was hired. His soft brown hair was well groomed and his eyes glowed an almost hypnotic orangish yellow. The little gold general badge on his chest really stood out against his greenish outfit and radiated pride and courage. Sonic grunted softly as he was never really comfortable being around cops, especially human generals. Shadow, on the other hand, was relatively used to these kinds of people by now. Of course, he used to be very bitter towards human officers but grew to realize how kind and honest they could be. Working at G.U.N for those many grueling years helped calm his prejudice a bit. However, something seemed very special about this specific general. He remembered seeing him somewhere... But where?
“Of course, officer. What do you need my help with?” Shadow gently pushed his hand underneath the table to gently grab onto his partners, noticing his awkward skeptic mood almost immediately. The last thing he needed to deal with was the cobalt thrashing out and doing something he would end up regretting.
“We have an emergency mission slated from the higher-ups and would be extremely grateful for your cooperation, Shadow. All of us know of your prowess as a previous secret agent of G.U.N. Likewise, we have just found Dr. Robotnik’s base abandoned, which is great news for us. We can acquire some much-needed information. I need you to sneak in without destroying anything, get inside and hack into the computers. I’m sure you have enough specialized training to do that. When you get in, we will communicate with you via the communicator and let you gather the information. The more files you look in and take pictures of the better. The rest of us will go looking around the grounds to make sure there isn’t any more data we could collect.” His gentle yet low voice echoed through the dining room in a slightly serious yet warm tone as he nodded softly to confirm what he had said.
“What about me?” Sonic questioned quickly as he really hoped they would let him tag along.
Where in the world could have Ivo ran off to now? It really worried him. Ivo was still his father, technically that is, and the last thing he wanted was to find him dead. Why in the world would he just leave? He had been defeated countless times, why was this one any different. It wasn't like Sonic felt any angrier than he already was. The damage had already been done... Something definitely seemed fishy.
He clenched his fists tightly as he desperately hoped he could join them.
“Unfortunately, the Jednakian police force specifically told me to reject your request. This mission is for Shadow and our team. Please, stay out of our way...” He glared suspiciously at the sapphire hedgehog before leaning against his chair.
Anger erupted from emerald green eyes as he lunged slightly at the cop from across the table. He didn’t want to hurt him necessarily, just show that he wasn’t to be messed with.
“Do you realize that this is my father we are talking about!? I have a right to know where he has gone. I’m very worried about him!!!” He pounded his fist against the table and growled angrily at the emotionless and unafraid cop.
The ebony grabbed his shoulders and violently pulled him away before shoving him back to his seat. A very salty glare was sent to the cobalt and this was when he knew he was officially in time out.
“It saddens me greatly to hear that... I can assure you that if we find any trace of where he went we will let you know when we get back.” The officer croaked worryingly as his face formed a slightly sympathetic grin.
“Sonic...Do NOT approach an officer like that or dear god help me, it’s the couch for the next year. Just let me handle this mission alone. I can assure you that Ivo is probably fine. It takes a lot more than this to make him run off and I know you know that.” Shadow nagged slightly as he returned his gaze back to the officer, attempting to reassure him that he had everything out of control.
“But what will I do while you’re gone...?” Sonic pouted his bottom lip and flattened his ears before whimpering softly.
“I don’t know. Do what you always do when I’m on trips!” The ebony proclaimed exaggeratingly before pushing his index finger against the hardwood dining table, trying to keep his frustration and embarrassment under control.
“Cry in my bed until you come back?” He replied dejectedly before sluggishly lying his head on the table.
“Come on... We both know you don’t do that so quit trying to persuade me. If you really want to, you can stay here, water my plants and feed my fish. However, you must promise to be considerate. This is my property you know.” The ebony tightly grabbed Sonic’s ear and tugged hard enough to make the cobalt’s face and ear glow slightly red in discomfort and pain.
“OW OW... FINE. FINE... Geez. Wait...! Since when did you have a fish?!” The sapphire hedgehog exploded as if it was the craziest thing he had heard all day.
“Just stay here!!! And be a good little boy.” Shadow replied before gently flicked the cobalt’s nose while growling slightly.
“Since when was I a boy... This is all man here, baby.” He grinned mischievously as he grabbed the charcoal hedgehog’s hand and placed it on his moderately muscular chest.
“Not in front of the police officer!!?!” Shadow immediately pulled his arm back in defense before glaring coldly.
“Alright... alright! No need to yell at me, woman. I’ll keep your garden company and uh... feed your fish.” Sonic winked sweetly before crossing one of his legs over the other and placing his hands behind the back of his neck.
“Ya ya ya... I apologize, officer. He’s a bit immature and disobedient, sometimes. Do not mind him too much. He’s not as violent as he looks. Anyway, when are we going to start?” Shadow explained desperately as he tried to protect both himself and his mates reputation.
Thankfully, the officer was staring at Shadow’s face blankly as his cheeks flushed slightly red. He faintly stuttered before smiling happily. He knew how rare it was to see a couple quite like this in Jednak.
“Oh uh well... Tomorrow at eight. We will get the other team ready to go and we will start making a plan at G.U.N headquarters...” His voice seemed to have warmed up a bit as he nodded softly.
So, this country wasn’t as bad as the media made it out to be. These two people at the very least seemed to be respectable.
“Sounds good to me. Well, it is starting to get late. I would appreciate if you and you colleagues would take your leave and stop getting into my things!” The ebony shouted irritably, making sure to aim his voice right at the other Mobian officers who had run off.
The two officers that made the intelligent decision that looking through bookshelves and cabinets in boredom was a fantastic and not completely rude idea. Both turned their heads before uncomfortably putting things back where they belonged. They scampered over to the professional officer before bowing their heads in apology.
“My sincerest apologies. These buffoons are relatively new to Jednak and are interested in the culture. Sometimes they get just a tad carried away. And, please forgive me if this is too much of a personal question. but, do you two get persecuted a lot?” He tilted his head slightly, attempting to make the words coming out of his mouth as unbiased as possible
“Hmm...? Why would we?” Shadow’s eyes opened widely before sending a confusing glaring at his azure love.
“Oh..... He’s asking because were banging.” Sonic explained cheekily while pointing his finger straight in the air.
“We have never done such a thing!!!” The charcoal hedgehog exploded as he waved his hands in front of him in defense.
“Yet, that is... And no, we’re kind of a new couple, so, we haven’t got much attention yet. However, I’ve known a few other gay men and they seemed to have been pretty accepted.” Sonic shrugged slightly before shaking his head.
“Ya... Now that you mention it, Rob has never had issues. Speaking of which, I need to pay him a visit after this little mission. I’ve heard he’s been quite-” Shadow was cut off almost immediately as if the general was so excited to speak that he couldn’t wait.
“That’s great to hear! My name is Iskra by the way and I’m from Kontefere, your neighboring country to the north... These clowns are too and I'm sure you know that we Konteferians have a rather poor view on Jednak. Not that I ever truly believe much of what the media says.” The general's voice trailed off slightly as the azure's face had become rather dark and serious, his brow flaring down making him look almost demonic.
“Really...? I had no idea...” Shadow gently pet the cobalt’s arm, desperately trying to calm him down as the other officers stood firmly, ready to protect their general incase of an attack.
“Let me handle this, Shadow. Yes, we have had many dictators in the past, but this new government system has been working very well for us and there are more people safe and healthy than ever in Jednak’s history. As a prior gymnast who had to have major surgery on his leg, it was very challenging even a decade ago to get medical care. Now everyone has it practically for free. Not to mention, our poverty percentage has reduced by fifteen percent in the past ten years. So, please, let those in your country know that we are doing very well for ourselves and keep your biased opinions to yourself.” He explained firmly as his low voice echoed through the dining room in a way that made the room instantly silent.
The general smiled again before nodding his head slightly. He knew that this little hedgehog was just very prideful of Jednak and didn’t think much of his odd change of behavior.
“Certainly... I suppose you have lived here your entire life?” The officer asked surprised as Sonic responded with a solid nod.
“That’s amazing... Well, I’m very happy to see a homosexual couple so good for each other and so happy. It’s great to see so much joy in a country known for such despair. Well, I suppose I should be getting on my way... Thank you for the chat, boys. I will be back at 8 am.” He tilted his hat and flicked his hand to the side, letting the others know it was time to leave as well.
He handed Shadow a sticky note with his name and number before sternly walking over to the other officers and gently bopping them both on the head before taking his leave out the door. Sonic uncomfortably shuffled his feet against the ground slightly as he leaned against Shadow’s chair, carefully avoiding eye contact.
“So... You mind explaining what the hell all that was about? What despair? Why are you making such a big deal out it?! Losing your cool isn't like you when your in front of visitors.” Shadow mumbled angrily while leaning his head against the cobalt’s arm.
“Jednak... Has always been a very desolate dangerous place for decades.. Eggman is great evidence to support it.”