Chapter Text
The heat haze of summer had hit Christmas Island at last. Pulsing waves of hot air were difficult for a lot of mobians to handle, and that included hedgehogs; even though most of their fur was shed during the springtime, there still was a lot to be desired about their current situation. In these moments, Sonic kind of envied humans, even though he knew perfectly well that he wouldn’t trade his speed for anything in the world, and certainly not for a couple months of peace per year.
Plus, the sunshine caress seeping through was almost soothing enough to make him forget what today even was. Monday, dreadful Monday.
Mondays weren’t exactly a favorite day of the week for a lot of people, and the blue speedster was no exception to this rule.
The only ‘good’ part about this particular Monday was the fact that he for once wasn’t assigned to a morning shift, meaning he could sleep in a little bit. Blue lids closed back up, his mind still clutching to the honeycomb-sweet embrace of the weekend, as well as to the fur of his beloved. Sonic smiled blissfully as he ran his fingers through the silky obsidian fur. This sensation was so innocent, so beautiful that it made his soul feel free like the wind, light as bumblebee wings. He opened his eyes to admire the beauty of the hedgehog that lay beside him on the bed — well, maybe ‘admire’ wasn’t the best way to put it after all; Shadow’s face looked a little silly, if not laughable. His brows were furrowed in frustration, yet his mouth was open agape. Every once in a while, hot puffs of air were released through his lover’s nose. He would’ve teased his boyfriend about it, if not the fact that Sonic most probably looked equally ridiculous while asleep.
“You dork,” The blue hedgehog breathed out softly and pecked the other’s nose, “Good morning.”
He had said that, but the sound apparently wasn’t loud enough to reach Shadow’s mind. The older hedgehog slept the sleep of the dead. Finally. The dark mobian used to be so skittish the first couple of times they fell asleep together, waking both of them in the middle of the night over an unfamiliar sound or smell. At those nights, there was a strict pattern to be followed — first, he would hold Shadow’s shivering form close, trying to soothe him to the best of his abilities. Then, they would check the fire detectors placed around the house together, proving there is no danger nearby. Repeat the steps as much as needed until his lover had calmed down.
It took a lot of time, patience, and practice, but eventually the demigod eased down and night by night, the abrupt awakenings ceased. It was still rare for Shadow to be in such a deep sleep though, so Sonic cherished it each time it happened.
But even though these moments were precious, the selfish side of Sonic knew Shadow was much more fun when awake.
“Shads…” Sonic said happily, louder this time, “Morning, sleepyhead…”
He planted warm kisses along his tan muzzle until he felt the other shift and wake.
“Huh, wha…” Shadow’s voice was raspy, a little rough. The blue hedgehog chuckled at that and pecked his loved one on the lips, ignoring their morning breaths.
“Hey there, sleeping beauty. We should get up, have breakfast and all that. Silv’s gonna call us soon.”
“Nnn…” Shadow groaned in misery and held the blue hedgehog closer. Sonic blushed at how much hotter it made him feel. They got over the part where they would overheat when together under one blanket, and now there was just this hot feeling that spread blush on his pale muzzle….
The blue speedster chuckled and pushed at the demigod’s torso.
“Come on, dark and handsome! You look even more ridiculous with that frown when asleep, I thought I’d die laughing looking at you!”
Shadow smirked at that. That typical smirk that formed on the demigod’s face only when plotting something nasty, exposing one of the fangs of his upper jaw, smile curling up in the most playful of ways. What… is he thinking...
“ That would make you die laughing? I doubt that. I know what would, though.”
Then dark hands started moving from his hips up and Sonic had a pretty good idea where this was going. Jade eyes widened at the realization. Hoo boy...
“Oh no, no no no…” His warm tenor said hastily, “You can’t be implying what I think you’re implying…”
The dark smile on the striped mobian’s face only stretched wider though. Gloveless black-furred hands stroked his boyfriend’s sides which shook in goosebumps at the feathery touches.
“Oh yes, Sonic. Exactly that.”
Then he pressed at the sensitive, ticklish skin at the blue hedgehog’s side. Hard and repeatedly, tickling the blue hedgehog in a merciless manner, always finding a way to reach Sonic’s weak spots despite his lover thrashing around, trying to break free from his hold. The blanket above them was folding and unfolding as the two played around, eventually rolling the cloth off the bed, though both mobians hardly paid any attention to that.
“You—! Ahahaha!” The pale hedgehog laughed and shouted openly, not caring how loud he was being. He pushed at Shadow’s hands, trying to pry them off.
“That’s a—” His sentence was broken by another set of laughs, “—A low blow, you grandpa!” Sonic hit the other’s shoulder uselessly, as there was little to no pressure in his punch at all.
Luckily, it seemed that Shadow did have some respect for how much tickling and yelling Sonic’s body could actually take, as he stopped when the overstimulation was coming close to Sonic’s boundaries. They shared yet another kiss afterward, this time deeper and sweeter.
“Jerk.” Sonic commented after pulling away, not really serious with that remark. And Shadow knew it, too.
“I love you, too.”
Suddenly, there was a knock on their bedroom door. Right, Silver.
“Guys! If you’re done being gay over there, can you come down for breakfast?” Silver’s voice breaking the mood caused yet another fit of chuckles from the two hedgehogs. Still, they got up and obediently went downstairs. Their morning smelled like lavender and safety.
It wasn’t all that hard for Shadow to realize that his life was so different now, more vivid. The two hedgehogs had only been together for a year and a half, but so many new, wonderful sensations were engraved into his memory. The darker hedgehog pondered the thought for a while. Is life really that different? Or am I just coming back to the old, long lost pattern?
He knew this sense of serenity; he spent hundreds of years wishing to have it back. But now that he finally did, something about it still threw him off guard. Just how easy could it be to welcome the morning breeze everyday? I guess years of loneliness had to take their toll…
Besides, it wasn’t like Shadow remembered everything from his previous life with every little detail, either. Sure, many memories were sharp, painful and very clear, but some parts were either missing, or a bit blurry, yet still at the back of his mind. Some of the everyday kindness had to be rediscovered by him, and accepting that was a bit annoying for the demigod.
He took a bite of his waffle, feeling grateful that today was Silver’s turn to make breakfast. When it came to preparing food, no one could beat her in the entire household. Still, the albino hedgehog wasn’t the one to complain about the food— even when she disliked something, she usually didn’t let it show.
“So,” Silver spoke to Sonic, breaking the silence, “Today’s the day, huh? And you’re sure you want to do this?”
The temperature in the air dropped a few degrees with these words, somehow. The atmosphere thickened, too. Sonic swallowed and took a deep breath. He looked conflicted.
“Yeah. It’s the only way I can take care of this matter full time. Besides, if I ever change my mind, I’m sure Sal would take me back. Not gonna lie, I will miss them all, they’re a great team, but…” The azure hedgehog looked into golden eyes with sincerity and determination. “I have to do this.”
Shadow wasn’t sure how to comment on this situation, so he didn’t. Sonic’s decision flattered him, but it also made him feel guilty. He knew how much the blue speedster loved his job; they had talked about this topic over and over multiple times and the young cop’s decision remained the same. If they were to find a way to get rid of their immortality, they had to do it full time. They had to go out there, make sure they try absolutely everything. And who knows how long that will take?
The blue hedgehog promised to put an end to this vicious cycle, and he meant it; sometimes, when Shadow woke up at night, it was to the sound of Sonic flipping through pages of yet another book he had either borrowed from the nearby library or ordered online. Some myths included in the collected literature turned out to be true, but not quite leading them to the expected results. Most of what was written in books didn’t bring any change to their miserable situation. No magic potions worked, or ridiculous sage rituals under the full moon. Nothing.
It was frustrating for Sonic, especially given the fact he was never an occult type of guy; sure, there might have been some fascination in the blue hedgehog at how some people seem to create great things with magic, but that just wasn’t his cup of tea. And now it had to be, because his and his beloved one’s lives depended on it.
Shadow wasn’t blind, he saw the other’s inner conflict — each time yet another idea failed to bring them mortality, each time their wounds closed back up immediately after appearing, something in those brilliant green eyes darkened with sadness. Yet the blue hedgehog never gave up, and he refused to let Shadow beat himself up over it. Just how much positive energy did the other have stored up inside? It never ceased to surprise the dark demigod. Sonic was definitely one of the most extraordinary individuals Shadow has ever known.
After their breakfast was over, the striped hedgehog pecked Sonic on the cheek, wished him luck at work and went back to the living room. He gathered the now empty breakfast dishes and put them neatly in the dishwasher, ignoring the soft clanks of the plates whenever they brushed each other.
“I hope he’s going to be okay…” He spoke to Silver, who was still present in the room. She walked up to Shadow and placed her hand on the dark furred shoulder.
“Of course he is. Also — it’s not your fault.”
Dark lids slid closed. It was so hard to believe, but Sonic wanted him to believe that, too. He had to play his part.
“Thank you.”
Not too long after, the blue hedgehog arrived at the precinct. After making sure his uniform was on neatly, he swiped his card to unlock the door and walk in.
“Heyyy, party people!”
Well, more like barge in. But his coworkers were already used to that.
“Hi, Big!”
Once the cat realized he was being spoken to, he raised his head from the papers. Very. Slowly. Sonic was nearly done counting to ten when the other finally replied:
“Hello.. Sonic.”
He high fived the mobian and the cat went back to his paperwork and well, petting his frog. Sonic still couldn’t figure out how he managed to get permission to bring a pet inside, but that wasn’t really his main focus right now.
Tom and Nicole waved at him from their desks. Amy pretended not to hear him as usual, though she rolled her eyes at his childish behavior so that kind of gave her away in the blue hedgehog’s opinion. Sticks, however, was a different story.
“Oh, hi!” They got up from their desk, walked up to Sonic and high fived him.
“Hi Sticks! Anything urgent happening today?”
“Nah, the duck stole a bagel.” They answered, flipping some of the report pages located on their desk, “Maybe Cap’n got something new for you, though.”
Sonic’s stomach turned. Right. The captain. He had to—
“Sonic the Hedgehog!” Came the yell from his superior’s room. That didn’t sound good. The blue mobian’s nervous smile said more than a thousand words.
“Oof. Good luck, Sonic.”
“Thanks, Sticks….”
He went inside the office, and was greeted with the usual sight: bookcases sorted out neatly, color arranged, the dark wood desk with a rainbow flag on it, and captain Sally Acorn sitting in front of her desk with a no-nonsense look on her face. The navy blue uniform she wore was ironed perfectly, adorned with an impressive amount of badges.
“Yeah, Captain?”
“Sit down. Take a look at these pictures,” She gestured at the chair at the other end of the desk and Sonic sat down as requested. Then, the squirrel pulled out of her desk locker two printed A4 pictures of… well, pure mess. Some garbage perhaps, if the blue hedgehog were to guess. She held both pictures up for Sonic to be able to inspect them without much of an issue. The photos showed a horde of empty candy wrappers, brown banana peels, and much more trash Sonic didn’t feel like focusing too much on.
“One is your locker, the other is a garbage dump in Adabat. Can you tell which is which?” Her face didn’t betray any emotions. It was a clear message to Sonic that she was not going to give the answer away that easily.
“Uhh…” Sonic scratched his ear, then bashfully pointed out to the picture in her right hand, “That one’s the dump?”
“They’re both your locker.”
“Dang, I should’ve guessed that,” The blue speedster pumped his fist in frustration, “Trick question, very much your style.”
Sally only smirked at that, savoring her victory.
“Indeed. I expect you to have that cleaned up by the end of today. Because of your messed up reports, Big mislabeled the evidence the other day. We can’t have that happening.”
Sonic gave her a flat stare. Was she seriously calling him out for that? But...
“Big constantly mislabels the evidence, whether I help with that or not.”
She can’t argue with that logic, right?
“He makes good coffee, though. You don’t.”
Okay, that’s just rubbing it in, Sal.
“Alright alright Cap, point taken. My desk will be squeaky clean.” Sonic said while rolling his eyes. So what if he was a bit messy? He was still one of the best detectives around… that’s what mattered most, right? Keeping the island safe was more important than some garbage on his desk.
“Dismissed.”
Sonic was already outside the office when he heard Sally speak up once more.
“ And you’re three minutes late! Seriously, Sonic?!”
“My clock battery died!” Sonic yelled back equally loudly, almost missing the way the pink hedgehog to his left chuckled at his response. Almost. He turned around, now facing the direction from which the high pitched noise came.
“Well, some of us use phones for that like, you know, civilized people.” She didn’t even look up from the horde of reports on her own desk, just brushed away some hair strands and flipped another page. Right, his rivalry with Amy was never going to end, was it. She might be a little uptight in her behavior, but she was just downright perfect in everything she did at work; each year, both him and the pink hedgehog fought for the amount of solved cases, and it was never certain who was going to get the glory each time, which was why the precinct placed their bets when summary reports came along. She was the total opposite of Sonic’s laid back personality, but she was still a worthy opponent when it came to the Detective of the Year title.
Sonic sighed internally. He’s definitely going to miss this.
“Yeah, yeah…” The blue hedgehog scratched his head and got to work. There’s a lot of cleaning up to do. Oh, is this donut still edible?
Whilst Sonic was taking care of issues at work, Shadow decided to pass his time in a more… creative manner.
Lately, the thoughts of guilt would not stop clawing at his skin. Every single spark of sadness in emerald orbs, every exaggerated sigh Sonic let out and every hopeless punch at the wall when the younger hedgehog thought Shadow was sound asleep… he felt responsible for it.
“Say, when was the last time you went out to take pictures?” Silver asked, pale hand resting on a dark shoulder in a comforting manner. Shadow frowned and looked away.
“It… has been a while.”
Walking up the hill, Shadow clutched his tripod a little bit harder. He had to at least try to let go of overthinking. Wasting energy on pointless feelings will not help either of them. Taking a deep breath proved to be cleansing and with step after step, his thoughts became lighter. Willing himself to redirect his focus to the jungle vines slowly lacing around the tree barks proved to be quite an effective way to lose his track of thoughts. Once, twice the dark hedgehog’s mind desperately tried to pull him back into the darkness, but he pushed it away;
We will find a way. Sonic promised.
A small smile formed itself on the tall muzzle upon examining the camera held in his hands. Right. What was important now first and foremost, was the world around him.
The world he could capture and control.
The viridian grass beneath his feet carpeted the woodland area. Barks of the chestnut trees lazily pent upward, each of their veins tangling together and eventually reaching the spiraled branches. The canopies seemed tall enough to touch the light of Solaris themselves as they stood tall, as if with pride.
Children of White Seed, although still very young, worked so hard to keep the balance of nature proud and strong, despite their goddess and mother being gone.
From afar, Shadow could see the bushes and trees stand aside to let in the warmth of the sun, creating something akin to a cliffside entrance. It was as if nature itself was pulling the striped mobian in that direction, calling…
It was a feeling he definitely had to keep. He placed his backpack down on the forest floor, unfolded a tripod and placed his camera on top of it.
One swift click followed a dozen more, causing a wide smile to bloom on the tan muzzle. Emerald hues licked by a sweet orange and gold danced before Shadow’s eyes. He took his time experimenting with the angles, testing the perspective, determining which part of the environment deserves the most spotlight.
At some point, a rustling sound caused him to turn around to notice a power chao, the yellow streaks on its head and palms telling the demigod it was probably still a baby. Its tiny nostrils flared a tiny bit, possibly smelling a snack that was hidden inside the backpack’s pocket it was trying to open.
When their eyes met, the little creature shrieked in panic before trying to hide behind the bag. The dark hedgehog gave it a lopsided grin before sitting down.
“It’s okay, you can have it.” He reassured the little creature. His warm baritone, albeit laced with underlying roughness caused a hopeful look to form on the baby chao’s face. And when the gloved palm offered the tiny apple that was hidden, it wasted no time dowsing on the juicy treat.
This moment of serenity was disturbed, however, when the two noticed a black aura creeping up on them from behind Shadow. The power chao let out a terrified squeak, shivering in fear upon noticing that snakes started crawling out of the darkness, slithering toward them among the grass strands.
Shadow showed no fear, however. He held the horrified creature close to his chest, cooing reassuring words. His other hand reached out to the creeping vermins and as expected, the disturbing mirage disappeared upon touching. He turned around to be met with the sight of an already familiar jackal.
“Why am I not surprised,” the demigod of life said dryly, “cheap tricks and unnecessary scaring tactics are still your signature move.”
The mask on the other demigod’s face prevented Shadow from knowing what expression these words could possibly form on the pale muzzle underneath.
“There is nothing cheap about embracing your privilege,” Infinite spoke bitterly, voice distorted, layered with what sounded like a thousand screams; while all of this was too familiar for the dark hedgehog to be disturbed in any way, the little creature in his arms let out a desperate wail. He stroked it gently, hiding its face in his chest fur. Its trembling ceased down somewhat at the ministries.
Furious ruby glared daggers at the mobian hovering above him.
“Cut to the chase. Why are you here? Christmas Island is way beyond your borders and I’m sure Yama does not need your aid.”
Infinite scowled and stepped down on the grass. Each move of his feet caused the grass around them to grow bleak as life seeped out of the plants the demigod of death touched. He walked up closer to Shadow, causing the little chao to clutch the dark hedgehog’s chest fur tighter.
“You broke the cycle of life. That mortal’s soul was ours to take.”
The striped mobian chuckled, not at all fazed by the other’s words.
“Why do you care? Again —not your region, Infinite. Someone really goes out of their way to prove themselves to Anubis, hm?”
The jackal’s body trembled with fury. The white locks on the canine’s body floated around, morphing into pale snakes. They danced in the air, hissing in response to Infinite’s emotions.
“Anubis chose me as his rightful heir!” He screamed in rage, “I have nothing to prove to anyone, much less to a sewer rat like you. This is exactly why demigods of life have no right to exist. You disturb the natural flow.”
“If my actions caused a disturbance to the natural flow, Solaris would not grant me such abilities.” Shadow admitted calmly with a shrug. “Though for your information, the current situation does not please us either. We are currently looking for a way to undo it.”
A low chuckle left the jackal. Of course he would be amused by this situation. Not a single slip up of Shadow’s could go without Infinite rubbing it in his face.
“Such a reckless move, Shadow. What happened to you? You’re even weaker than I remember. Love surely did not cloud your logical judgement, am I right?”
Shadow’s glare was sharper than a falcon’s claws, colder than Holoskan nights. His next words were going to be a low blow, but he didn’t care.
“As opposed to your logical judgement, because of which a certain red wolf is not among us anymore?”
He was fully prepared for the upcoming burst of dark energy targeted his way. One swift jump was all it took to avoid Infinite’s attack.
“ He held me back!!”
The horrible bloodlust scream of the grieving jackal shook the trees around them. The ground shivered beneath Shadow’s feet. Infinite panted in exhaustion, the white snakes slithering behind his head spatting out fuchsia venom.
“Thank your lucky stars my powers are weakened outside of my region, Shadow.” The grim demigod spat bitterly.
“But it won’t last forever. The beauty of it all is that you will hand yourself to me on a silver platter. Wanna know why? I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
Coral eyes widened. What was he talking about?
“The key to ending your mortality lies inside Valley of the Kings. However, once you step a foot in Shamar I will watch. Your. Every. Step. You’ll be dead before you even reach the altar.”
He didn’t give Shadow a chance to reply to his words. Instead, he summoned shadows that formed a portal. Stepping halfway in, he looked at the striped hedgehog once more.
“Tackle me at my full power, if you dare.”
One more step, and the dark jackal was gone.
Shadow released a breath he had no idea he had been holding. He walked up close to the only trace that was left of Infinite having been here —grayed out strands of grass. He sat the baby chao down and pet its tiny head. At last, it seemed to calm down somewhat.
“There is one thing you underestimate, Infinite.” Shadow murmured and closed his eyes, concentrating the chaos energy within himself.
His gloved hand hovered above the deceased plant. Slowly, the bleak gray flourished into rich green; the joy of life began to flow through the forest veins once more. A single waxvine flower grew amongst the grass, white and rosy petals twisting gracefully. The tiny red creature jumped happily upon seeing the full bloom.
“Life will always find a way.”