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Shadow finished lap 27 around the island in the past hour. He pushed his limits with every step he took, trying to catch that feeling. It was a feeling he could not really describe but crave. The closest description he could get was bright, a rush, warm, a jolt of energy, and just absolutely rightness.
Very few activities helped him feel this way. Running was one of them. Should have been one of them but something felt off. The strange feeling he would get in his stomach wasn’t there. The black and red hedgehog grew more and more frustrated. Why could he get it on his own? And then he tripped in his distraction. Shadow fell forward, face planted on the ground. He didn’t bother to immediately get up and dust himself off, but instead pounded his fist besides himself and cursed.
“Damnit!”
Clearly, Running wasn’t working and it had been his last resort. Shadow knew why that feeling was missing. It was because that damn Faker. She was the cause of this. Of why he could no longer feel that emotion anymore. All because Sonic dropped off the face of the earth without saying anything to him first.
It had been two weeks since Shadow had last heard of the blue hedgehog. It was unusual because of her constant meddling in their lives. There were rarely moments when she was actually gone for more than one day, and those were excused and told to the team either through Vanilla, Eggman, or now by Metal Sonic.
To make it even stranger, Metal Sonic had come to them a week prior, by himself, freaked out and unable to properly communicate English to them. The robot had beeped and booped, and seemed desperate about something but got called away before he properly say his piece.
Also Eggman hadn’t bothered to even contact them or Vanilla about his “evil” plans which often had Sonic as the center point. It was dead quiet without the Doctor’s plans of world domination, starting with their island. It was boring and unnatural. And Sonic should have been present no matter what her boss told her to do.
Shadow tried to talk with Vanilla about it, trying to use her connections with the doctor, but came up short as she wasn’t told a word about what happened to the blue hedgehog. And honestly, that made the worrying and the black and red hedgehog’s nerves much worse.
What could have happened for her to stop talking with him? Last time he checked, he was still her number one rival despite the sibling rivalry Eggman was beginning to encourage. Sonic wouldn’t just drop him out of nowhere. Not after everything they had been through the past few years.
Speaking of Vanilla, the black and red hedgehog had to visit his friends. It has been a few days since he had seen them
He decided to stop by Vanilla’s house to talk with her and his friends. Maybe talking with them could help keep his mind occupied and stop thinking about Sonic.
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“Shadow,”, Amy said as she watched Shadow attempt to burn energy by fighting an imaginary enemy. “you should probably take this time as a cooldown from the stress. Eggman been quiet for a bit and so have his kids.”
“I can’t. He could be plotting something and ambush us at any moment.”
“Doesn’t he already do that?”
Besides man, you got to take it easy.”, Knuckles said, punching his punching bag. “Also we all know that it isn’t Eggman you’re worried about but Sonic. And it’s kinda concerning how out of hand it is.
“I agree.”, Tails said. “You’re like a crackhead who hasn’t gotten their fix yet.”
“Miles, I am not a crackhead that’s desperate. Okay, I just, I think I’m going to go check up on her.”
Amy blocked his attempt at an exit. Knuckles stopped to make his argument.
“Dude, it’s Tuesday. You’ve made an agreement not to jump her at her place on certain days after the ‘Incident’, remember? It’s for that reason and Sonic herself, that Eggman has yet to filed a restraining order against you.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”,Shadow huffed with his arms crossed. Everyone stared at him as they recalled the forsaken hell week that transpired due to Shadow dropping in unannounced at Sonic’s space to fight her unprovoked multiple times. The horrors everyone experienced (minus Shadow) left everyone pretty scarred for life.
Tails shuddered. “Yes, it absolutely was.”
”Yeah, I can’t be made a judge again.”
Okay, maybe I have a problem but you guys can’t tell me that Sonic doesn’t have it either.”
Tails looked at his friend incredulously. Shadow and his rivalry with the blue hedgehog knew no boundaries, both literal and figuratively. “She does but it’s a mixed bag of them. I doubt it’s as bad as your aggression towards her.”
Shadow lightly growled and Amy clapped her hands to get her friends attentions “Well, anyways, maybe we should all have a nice relaxing day in town?”, she pipes up. “It would help take your mind off on Sonic for a while, Shadow.”
The black and red hedgehog sighed. “Fine. But if we see Sonic then it’s on sight. There will be problems.”
“Alright, but I doubt we’ll see her since she’s pretty much a loner.”
“No something tells me that we’ll be seeing her shortly.”, Shadow says ominously. “Is it the plot?”, Sticks yell as she ran right past them. Everyone stared in the direction the badger was going.
“What?!”, Knuckles yelled back in confusion. Sticks was already to far away to respond.
“Let’s just go before we think too hard on this.”, Amy said as she tried to push the boys in the town’s direction.
——————
(Sonic and metal)
“Metal, come on. Help me sneak out of here.”
“(No. Doctor Eggman wants you resting today.)”
“I know but I haven’t gone outside for months.”
“(Don’t be so dramatic. It has only been 2 weeks.)
Yeah but it feels like forever ago. I’m not sick anymore so why can’t I go out anymore?
(Probably because it‘s been happened randomly and with unknown causes and you were incredibly insistent that you were in Camelot when you disappeared.)
Bro don’t you want to see Amy? She might be there.
Metal turned away and if he could physically blush he would have. Sonic was all too aware of his feelings for the pink hedgehog, something neither of them had expected. It was something he had recent figured out and it was so new and strange. Ever since the “Incident”, the robot had somehow developed feelings for Amy Rose and wanted to learn more and be with her. And now Sonic was trying to bait him into helping her using this information.
“(No)”, Metal said firmly. Family coming first was a command that Dr. Eggman had installed him with. He refused to let any of his “emotions” come between him and the safety of Dr. Eggman and Sonic. “(You need to rest and get better.)”
Why don’t you just monitor me? I wouldn’t seek out Shadow for a fight, heck I won’t even go near any of his usual haunts. We can just have a nice day out and stretch our legs?
(You’re not okay. Not stable yet.)
Yes I am Mets. Everyone else keeps telling me that Im not but you know it’s true. I really need to get out of here. I’ve been cooped up for too long. 🙏 please.
(Sonic, doctor Eggman is very concerned by your behavior and refusal to tell the truth of what happened.)
”Goddamnit Metal I’m not lying!”, Sonic screamed and a dark energy leaked out. Metal stepped back. The blue hedgehog realized what she had done. Her ears dropped and she looked away from her brother. “I’m sorry, Mets. Just, can we, I, I want to think about the good moments, alright? Could we please get out of this place?”
His sister looked so fragile and vulnerable at the moment. It was something Metal wasn’t used to seeing at all. Sonic usually had a better grasp at controlling her emotions. A huge part of him told him to ignore her and just obey Dr. Eggman’s orders of keeping her in check and well. But a small part of him, the rebellious part, the part the felt capable of “emotions”, told him to help her out.
These past two weeks had been spent in misery and a sense of inconsolable despair. Sonic had disappeared the first week without a trace. No one knew where she was and Eggman kept it all under wraps despite Vanilla questioning his about the blue hedgehog. The beginning of the second week was when she returned. Sonic had walked into the base. Her expression was of one not accepting reality. There was like a dark cloud hanging over her. When the doctor confronted her when he saw her approaching, it was like something cracked inside his sister. Sonic broke down and there was nothing they could do about it. Not even his creator’s famous tomato soup could help.
Seeing Sonic breakdown and cry had terrified his
And was also part of the reason why she wasn’t allowed outside. He might have been worried about her harming herself badly.
But it seemed like for the first time, Sonic acted like herself and it reassured Metal that she would be okay.
Maybe experiencing some freedom would help her truly feel better. Also the added bonus of maybe catching a glimpse of his crush also helped his decision.
With an exasperated roll of his optics, Metal caved in.
“(Fine, but it we keep this trip on the down low and we get back here a little bit after lunch.)
“Yes!”, Sonic hugged her brother as tight as she physically could. “Thank you. I know just the places.”
————-
Shadow and the gang having fun
————
It was a chill day of shopping around, stopping Knuckle from damaging the goods, buying Amy some paint, Tails searching for an antique comic book, preventing Knuckles from breaking even more stuff, and then finally getting food at the food court.
“Wait is that them?”, Amy asked squinting her eyes to see a distance. From very far away, close to the tree line of the forest, sat Metal Sonic and Sonic eating lunch together. Metal Sonic had a can of something in front of him. While Sonic had her back most turned toward them. She had a platter of chill dogs and was absorbed in telling a story.
Shadow’s eyes lit up. Finally, this battle will be glorious. The black and red hedgehog began to walk towards them attempting to control himself to not run at the duo.
“Wait Shadow. Come on, they are just eating and minding their own business.”, Amy tells him.
“So? Amy. They’re here and I told you that if I saw Sonic, we were going to fight. No questions, just hands.”He then walked faster.
(Sonic telling Metal about her adventures. So yeah I got a chaos sword now.)
“Anyways, so then Lancelot comes over and tell me, “Arthur! We need you to wield Caliburn to-“, Sonic rambled as she got cut off.
“Faker! Metal!”, Shadow shouts from a few feet behind them. Both siblings turned to face. They stopped their conversation and eating to stare at Sonic’s rival.
“Let’s fucking go!”
“Like right right now, Shads”, Sonic asked confused. She was eating. taking her legally mandated lunch break, and on paid leave. Eggman had told her to take it easy for her during this time.
“Yes. Right right now.”
Well, fuck it. It had to been two weeks since they had last exchanged fists. Sonic ate the remainder of her chill dog platter in a flash while Metal finished off his motor oil quickly as well but with the angry of someone that refused to be rushed. She wiped her hands with a napkin. “Well you heard the man, right Mets?”
The robot nodded. He already knew what was up.
Sonic threw the trash that was on the platter into the nearby dumpster. Then frisbee threw the platter at her rival. Shadow caught it on reflex but the blue hedgehog kicked him in his distraction, lMetal joined in to fight everyone else.
It was a fight that lasted for two hours with no clear victor. Everyone went home after getting badly beat up.
“Sonic, dear is that you?
Oh crap it’s vanilla
I will be telling your father about this, young lady.
Mets run!
But still, it was a good day.