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“We won’t make it in time,” Shadow thought. Green Hill was still too far away. If they continued like this, there would be no chance for either of them, so he turned to the Rose sisters and waved his hand. “Stop the boat,” he said. “I’ll take it from here.”
Rusty Rose slammed onto the brakes, halting the broken spacecraft in its tracks.
“Go back to your homes” Shadow commanded. “You’ll be safer there than out here.”
“Good luck Shadow” Thorn said.
“Aye, good luck! We’ll be seeing ye again I hope. Now go. Go! There don’t be much time left.”
Shadow lifted Sonic into his arms and climbed to the railing of the boat. The sisters nodded at him. “Go” they said.
Shadow grunted, and leapt off of the edge, skating as fast as he could.
Sonic kept falling in and out of consciousness, holding on as tightly as possible to Shadow, but he was too weak to do so for long.
“Sh-Shadow.” He said, “We’re not going to make it. You can’t get up to speed with me. Leave me-”
“Hush!” Shadow snapped. “We’re going to make it.”
“I’m not going to let you die out here.”
He skated even faster, barely able to keep balance with the pain in his legs and the weight of holding another hedgehog.
“Shad-o-” Sonic went limp.
“No, no, no.”
“Hold on Sonic, I’ve got you.”
Shadow gripped his partner tighter and blasted off full-force with each step he took on the broken shards around him.
“Come on…”
Each leap made him hurt even more. He could barely hold himself up. The shards started whizzing by at tornado speeds, and small bits cut into Shadow’s face. He was so close. He couldn’t stop now. “Green Hill,” he thought.
Yet, with every light-speed step, the portal to his home seemed to shift farther away. He wasn’t going to be able to go on like this forever. “Just a bit farther.”
Suddenly a massive blast from the Grim exploded to his left, throwing giant rocks and shards into the atmosphere. Before he could react, one giant piece of stone slammed into Shadow, knocking Sonic from his arms and sending him flying.
“Sonic!”
He flailed around aimlessly, searching for anything to jump off of or to grab. “Sonic!”
The other hedgehog had passed out and was hurtling towards the void. Shadow tried to activate his air shoes to give himself a boost, but the blast had damaged his jets. He looked around, turning his head swiftly from side to side, desperate to reach his partner. He didn’t have to wait long, as soon a shard came shooting towards him. He braced for impact, and when it slammed into him, he used the force to push off, and sped towards Sonic. He grabbed him roughly and spun back towards Green Hill. The light emanating from its portal was glowing a brilliant green. Out of all of the Shatterspaces, it was the least damaged. It was home. Shadow had to find another way to get there now with no power from his boots.
He found another shard and jumped from it, bouncing off of each one that came his way. They could still make it.
Sonic coughed, drawing Shadow’s attention. He was groggy, but at least he had opened his eyes. He wrapped his arms over Shadow’s shoulders and blinked at the bright light coming from Green Hill.
Shadow had to keep going. Even though he was heaving from exhaustion, he knew he could make it. It was so close. The pain shooting through his legs was almost unbearable, and having no boost from his shoes was difficult, but he had determination.
He skated in a rhythm, watching for each new piece as it came whizzing by, timing his steps so he could make the most distance. He gained more speed as he went, surprising even himself with how fast he was going.
“Hang on Sonic!”
Even at his fast speed, however, the shards were difficult to avoid. He leapt, side-stepped, and even slid under another as it flew above his head. He was so close now he could taste it. As he spun and leapt through the air, out of nowhere, he noticed another a huge piece from the previous explosion was hurtling towards him.
He tried to avoid it, but it was too late. It slammed into him, sending him careening backwards through space. He hugged Sonic, trying to protect him from the impact and hoping he wouldn’t go flying again. They were spinning uncontrollably, and Shadow only hoped they wouldn’t be thrown too far.
The flying was brief, though, as Shadow’s small body was flung into a crystal with such force that it took the breath out of him, and left a crater where he had landed.
“Agh!”
He gasped, feeling a dull throb in his head and back. Luckily, he had taken the full force of the impact and Sonic was still safe. He simply had to keep going. He took a deep breath to regain his composure and attempted to stand up. When he tried, however, his left leg buckled beneath him, and a searing pain shot up through his bones and into his spine. He fell to his knees, nearly dropping the blue hedgehog in his arms.
Sonic weakly grabbed Shadow’s arm and tugged on it. “Shadow…stop.” He said.
Shadow didn’t pay attention, and instead gritted his teeth, and tried to rise again. He yelled out in agony as his leg crumpled beneath him another time.
“Shadow,” Sonic said more forcefully. “Listen to me.”
All the other could do was continually try to raise himself, each time with worst luck than the last. On his 5th attempt he managed to stay balanced, shutting his eyes to avoid the unbearable pain. He’d been through worse.
He limped slowly towards the edge of the shard, ready to leap off again.
“Shadow!” Sonic screamed at him, though it sounded barely above a whisper to the other, but it was enough to get his attention.
“Huh?” He looked down to his companion, who looked like he was on the verge of crying.
“Shadow, stop. We can’t make it.”
“You don’t know that. I am the ulti-“
“Shadow will you listen?!” Sonic turned away, a look of shame sweeping his face. “Your leg is broken Shadow. We won’t make it.
“It’s right there Sonic! I need- I must get us home.”
Sonic shut his eyes and groaned. “Please Shadow,” he said. “Stop hurting yourself.”
Shadow gazed in front of himself, and then down at his leg. Sonic was right. There was no way. The mangled limb could barely hold its own weight. “I cannot fail…” he thought. “I have to try…”
Sonic pulled on the other’s arm again, bringing his attention back to him.
“Please?”
Shadow huffed, swallowing what he was going to respond. His eyes looked back and forth as he tried to make a decision, even though he already knew what it was. “Ok.” He said curtly. He laid the other hedgehog down on the ground gently, then stood up again to stare at the horrid portal that led to his home. They really weren’t going to make it. A few moments went by, although it could have been hours.
“Haha. Brooding again.” Sonic chuckled.
Shadow glared at him.
“I’m thinking.”
“I dunno.” Sonic said before coughing. “Looks like brooding to me.”
Shadow sighed and shook his head. Why did he want to save this guy again? It seems whatever reason he had when he was full of adrenaline was gone, leaving only his annoyance for the blue creature.
More minutes passed, and Sonic faded in and out of consciousness as he lay on the ground. Sometimes Shadow noticed the other staring at him, but he chose to ignore it, and kept his focus on the Shatterspace.
…
“You’ve never looked better,” Sonic said, smiling.
Shadow glanced at Sonic and rolled his eyes. “Still joking at a time like this…”
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not a joke.”
“hmph.”
“Anyways, you know I’m right. You’re cute. I think you should know that…seeing as we’re not going to be around here much longer.”
Shadow frowned and folded his arms, looking away from Sonic.
“What’s your point?”
“Does there need to be one?”
“hmph. I’d like one.”
“Well,” said Sonic, with a small laugh, “We’ve got all the time in the world.” He patted the place next to himself weakly, beckoning for Shadow to sit. Shadow kneeled down carefully and pulled his legs close to his chest, while the other leaned his head into the dark, soft fur of Shadow’s shoulder. Shadow winced when Sonic accidently brushed his aching leg.
“It’s kind of pretty…in a weird way.” Sonic said.
“What is?”
He pointed to the expansive world in front of them. “This is. Or maybe-” he wiped a small tear from his eye, “Maybe I’m just overwhelmed.”
Shadow looked at the space surrounding them. It was, in its own way, beautiful. The destruction of the Shatterverse was creating its own spectacle, and Shadow and Sonic would be the last to see it.
He exhaled.
“We’d better…enjoy it then.” Shadow responded in a depressing tone. What else could they do? Shadow knew that the Rose sisters were long gone: the Grim explosion had taken out their ship, but he didn’t have the heart to tell Sonic.
“Let him think it’s all alright.”
“Shadow?”
“hm?”
“Do you ever think about us?”
“What does that mean?”
“Like,” Sonic turned his head into Shadow’s neck, almost hiding. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we didn’t fight all the time?”
Shadow sighed. “No, not really,” he admitted.
“Oh…” Sonic closed his eyes. “I do. Sometimes I like to think that somewhere, in another universe, we’re friends.”
“We aren’t….not* friends,” Shadow grumbled.
“But we’re also rivals.”
“We can be both at the same time.”
Sonic shrugged. “I like you Shadow. I hope we’re better friends in the next life.” He relaxed deeper into Shadow’s shoulder, cuddling close to him, and at the moment, Shadow didn’t have the energy to mind. The world was ending after all, and what harm would a little warmth bring?
“It would be beneficial to me if you stayed alive.” He said, turning away.
Sonic laughed sleepily, his body growing weaker by the second. “And it would be beneficial to me if you gave up the tough-guy persona and kissed me.”
“huh?”
Shadow couldn’t have heard that right. Maybe the energy drain had taken more than Sonic’s power. It had stolen his mind as well.
“W-what?” Was all the black hedgehog could stutter.
“It wouldn’t have to mean anything.”
“I can’t jus-“
Shadow stopped mid-sentence when he felt Sonic slump over into his lap. “Sonic?” he asked, gently shaking the other. But he didn’t move. “s o n i c?” He whispered, his hidden fear rising to his surface. He shook a little harder, but the other’s body had no tension in it. This was too fast. He needed more time! He hadn’t even-
- then Sonic stirred. It was small, but he moved.
“I’m…still here Shadow.”
The black hedgehog could tell that it was taking a lot of energy for Sonic to speak. His words were barely above a whisper and completely strained. He didn’t have much time left.
“Don’t do that.”
Even in the state he was in, Sonic still managed to smile. “I’ll try not to. Although I wouldn’t mind sleeping in the lap of an angel.”
Shadow retracted, his face feeling warm. “I’m no angel. You know that.”
“You are to me.”
Shadow didn’t know what to say. Of course, this all wouldn’t matter in just a small amount of time, but why was Sonic doing this? Did their rivalry mean nothing? What about his pride? “If Sonic even has any…”
“Will you?”
Shadow stared at the azure creature.” “Will I what?”
“Kiss me.”
“Sonic I-” In truth, Shadow couldn’t find a good reason not to fulfill Sonic’s request. Nothing mattered anymore. If all they had was their rivalry, then it wasn’t much. “It’s everything you dimwit!” He shouted at himself internally. But at the same time, he couldn’t stop the other, more apathetic sides of his brain talking just as loudly. “This is the end. This is it. You’re going to lose everything…”
“I-“ He said, gazing into Sonic’s face. If he did this, it would be all on him, as Sonic was too weak to move by himself. “What are you doing Shadow?” He thought, even as his head dipped lower, nearly touching the blue one’s face. “It’s the end of the world Shadow. Give this to him.” “I-”
Sonic looked up expectantly, curiously. His body was translucent now, the energy drain taking full effect, and Shadow could see right through him. “This is all on me…”
Then, as tenderly as had ever existed, Shadow closed the gap and they kissed. His lips met lips, and mouth met mouth. Sonic was warm, even in his weakened state, and Shadow found himself embracing the kiss, instead of backing away from it like he thought he would. “Like I should.”
When he pulled away, he was surprised to see Sonic grinning again.
“You actually liked that?” He stuttered.
“Again,” sonic pleaded.
So they kissed again. And again, and again. To Shadow’s surprise, Sonic wasn’t half-bad, and he found that he was even enjoying himself. Not because it was Sonic, but because it was physical. At least that’s what he kept repeating in his head so he wouldn’t have to think about kissing Sonic* of all people.
As they continued, Shadow could feel a strange vibration building in the other’s chest, and suddenly heard a strange sound emanating from it as well.
“What is that?”
“What is what?” Sonic whispered, fluttering his eyes open.
“Are you purring?” Shadow asked, in utter disbelief.
“Yes, have you never heard it?”
Shadow shook his head. Truth be told, he didn’t know that hedgehogs could purr. He was dumbfounded.
“I only do it when I feel safe or I’m happy.” Sonic said. “It kind of just happens, I don’t do it on purpose.”
Shadow listened to the sound. Even when Sonic spoke it continued, like it had a will of its own. He put his hand near the sound and felt it, all while Sonic watched with a surprised look on his face.
“I make you feel safe?” he asked, softly.
“And happy,” Sonic replied with a wink.
For the first time, Shadow grinned, and he knelt down again to steal a kiss from his companion, this time enjoying the odd sound. If Sonic was okay with it, so was he. Why not have a little fun? He scolded himself internally for the thought, but he justified it by repeating what he’d said before. “It’s just for Sonic. This means nothing.”
Shadow pushed Sonic closer to him with his knees, and grabbed his back, pulling him closer greedily. Sonic melted into Shadow’s embrace and wrapped his own arms around the other hedgehog.
“If I ever lost you Sonic,” Shadow began. But he didn’t know why he said that.
“Don’t talk, just kiss,” Sonic commanded, closing his mouth around Shadow’s again.
Shadow didn’t speak, but instead obeyed Sonic’s orders. He grabbed Sonic’s legs and wrapped them around himself. Shadow’s chest got heavy, and he got more needy. Everything was confusing him. He never would have let this happen under normal circumstances, but- “Stop overthinking, idiot. Enjoy yourself.” Shadow forced his mind to wander, shutting out the dissenting voices telling him to stop, and instead focused entirely on the man he held in his arms.
…
Soon, Shadow felt a damp spot on his cheek, so he peeked through his eyes. Sonic was crying.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Shadow asked, pulling his face back. He had sounded gentle, even to himself.
Sonic kept his eyes closed, needlessly searching for the warmth of his partner.
“No,” the other one whispered. “No-no-no. It can’t end like this!” He grabbed his face with his hands, hiding.
Shadow stared at his sobbing companion, unable to move, and unsure of what to do. He hesitantly reached his own hand out; “Sonic?”
The other man looked at Shadow with tears streaming down his face.
“I don’t want to die Shadow!”
“...Sonic, I...”
“They’re all gone, Shadow. They’re all gone and it’s all my fault. I tried to save them, and it-” He choked on a sob. “-it didn’t work.”
Shadow had never seen Sonic so distraught. Sonic was supposed to be the stupidly positive one! He always had a plan. He never gave up. He was the headstrong one, usually rushing into danger before anyone else. “Needlessly endangering himself,” Shadow thought.
He leaned forward and pulled him into a hug. “But there is no second chance this time.” He stared into the abyss, and the endless shards surrounding them. He saw the bright flashes as the shatter-worlds collapsed in on themselves. “They’re all gone...but, we did everything we could.”
“Sonic.” He said, matter-of-factly. “Sonic look at me.”
The blue hedgehog glanced up, peering through his tears, and shadow grabbed his face gently, holding Sonic’s cheeks in his palms and directing his vision towards himself. He stared into Sonic’s eyes, and for the first time, he saw something more behind them. A deepness that he had never cared to notice. He had never been this close to the little blue creature before. He could see the multi-coloured flashes of the Shatterverse reflected in his partner’s green eyes. Or were they blue? Sonic’s pupils gently vibrated, growing larger and smaller with the changing brightness of their surroundings. His tears sparkled in the light, and the flecks of water shimmered as they floated away.
“Shadow?” Sonic asked.
Shadow blinked, pulling himself out of his trance.
“Sonic, there’s nothing more we could have done. It’s not-” He paused, taking a breath. “It’s not...your fault.”
Sonic should have smiled at that, or said something funny like he always did, but Shadow saw no sign of jokes this time. Only tears and distress. Sonic was- Shadow’s ears drooped ever so slightly, their usual straightforward appearance faltering for a moment. “He’s become like me,” he realised.
Shadow wrapped his arms around Sonic, thinking again about how beautiful and sad his partner’s eyes were. He noticed too, as each second passed, that his blue friend became weaker and even more faded. Soon there wasn’t going to be anything left to hold. He looked towards the Green Hill portal. It seemed to be so close from where he was. “If only my shoes worked!” But it was too far away to make; he’d already tried. They were completely spent. He could see New Yolk from where he was as well. The fractals that had kept the portal open were slowly crushing themselves, and anyone left inside was long-gone by now. He stared into the abyss and suddenly he didn’t feel so stoic anymore. That’s when the weight of the situation set in on Shadow, like a dark, heavy blanket that was suffocating him.
They were going to die out here. He and Sonic. The Sonic that he hated and fought against-and fought for. The blue hedgehog who could never take anything seriously, and never seemed to care about things bigger than himself. “But he cares about me.” Shadow thought. For the first time, he felt Sonic’s fear. He couldn’t just move on with his life after this one like he had done every other time. There was no after*. There was only Sonic and him. They were the last things here, and then they weren’t going to be.
…
Sonic buried his face into the white fur on Shadow’s chest, his own heaving with panic.
“I don’t want to die Shadow,” he repeated again, more hurriedly this time. “Not like this. Not out here.”
Shadow could do nothing. His own fear was growing stronger, but he mustered all of his energy to stay calm and comfort the man clinging to him.
“You’re brave Sonic.” Shadow whispered. “Braver than I ever was.” He rubbed his hand against the quills on Sonic’s head, smoothing them out, and then kissed there. “You did everything you could. You’re so brave.”
“You don’t understand Shadow. I’ve lost everyone. I messed this all up. But I thought that maybe you could make it out.”
“What is he saying?”
Sonic continued; “Everyone is dead because of me; Tails, Amy, Nine, Knucks...Rebel and Rusty, they’re... they’re all gone!”
He buried his head again, his whole body was shaking as if he was being electrocuted, and all Shadow could do was hold him more tightly. His eyes grew wide as he could feel the little hedgehog’s heart begin to race as he started panicking.
“-I didn’t want to lose you too.”
Shadow couldn’t respond. This was all getting to be too much: the shatterspaces, the colours, the sounds of shards crashing into each other, the fucking kisses, and now sonic, sobbing into his shoulder. He had never had to deal with something like this before. The only other time he had ever comforted someone was when he was back at G.U.N., with- “With Maria…”
“I don’t want to die out here. I never knew you liked me back. I-I- I knew that you would never kiss me-I never hoped that that would happen because I knew it wouldn’t. I knew it couldn’t! You’ve just given me everything and now it’s all going to be taken away!”
Sonic tried to look at Shadow, but he was too weak to move. The black hedgehog was holding him too tightly, nearly suffocating him as the confession reached his ears.
“It’s not fair. I know you’re immortal, but I’m okay with that!” Sonic gasped. “We could have worked it out. We could have-done something, but now I’ll never get the chance. I just wan......”
As he spoke Sonic’s words seemed to disappear into the air, and morph into a far-off hum. Shadow couldn’t hear the rest of what he was saying. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart, and the force of his blood rushing into his head. He had never comforted anyone. Not anyone except Maria; his sister. As memories came flooding back, Sonic’s voice seemed to be trapped outside of a thick glass box, only a blurry image remained, and Shadow could only see his own reflection. His vision went hazy, and he blinked, unsure of where he was. “Sonic likes me.”
He had felt this before. After Maria had died, he’d lost all sense of self. “Maria...” He had forgotten who he was. “Maria...” The bright colours of the shatter-spaces started to merge together, creating a swirl of blazing light, and the crystal shards surrounding him seemed to stop moving. Then everything went silent. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t even feel, although he was certain that there was an odd, (but somehow familiar?) warmth in the centre of his chest. “Maria. Don’t leave me. Don’t go. Please don’t go.”
“Shadow?” A familiar voice leapt out from the darkness.
“M-Maria? Is that you?”
Shadow turned quickly. Trying to make out anything in the pitch-dark that he was floating in.
“Maria! Where are you?”
“Sh-----dow?
He spun around again, flailing in the air as he tried to figure out where the voice was coming from.
“M-Maria! Please, where are you?” He reached out, hoping to find anything to grab onto, only to be met with emptiness. His eyes started to burn in the haze, and that warmth in his chest grew stronger.
“Shadow? Shado—it’sme S-aria. Please wake up.
“Maria where are you?”
Shadow could feel his eyes sting as small tears began to form on the edges of them.
“Don’t leave me again,” he thought.
“Please wake up Shadow. Please wake up....please w ake up!”
Shadow snapped his eyes open, and the darkness retreated. He blinked, realising tears were rolling down his face. Sonic’s confession came echoing back through his head, being the only thing he could think of. “He likes me, he likes me, he likes me…” His chest was still warm, however, and he knew was somewhere familiar. He was with Sonic. “That’s right. With Sonic.” Sonic was laying on his chest. “Sonic is laying on my chest. Sonic likes me and Sonic is laying on my chest. The faker likes me.” Slowly the world came back to him and Shadow shook his head. He needed to get grounded and pull himself together. He glanced down to see Sonic lying on top of him with his eyes closed. “…Sonic is laying on my chest and Sonic likes me. I am in the Shatterverse. I am sitting on a shard, my leg is broken, and Sonic likes me….”
“Shadow? Shadow please don’t leave me. Please wake up Shadow,” He whimpered softly.
“I’m here, Sonic.”
“Shadow!”
Sonic threw his arms around the other hedgehog and squeezed him weakly. “Please don’t leave like that. You scared me.”
“I won’t. I’m-sorry.” His head was still reeling with haziness, but he knew where he was now.
“I love you Shadow. I’m sorry I messed up.”
…
Shadow thought about Sonic’s words. He thought about all of the times that they had fought. He remembered when they threatened to kill each other. “Sonic loves me?” He could almost feel the punches they had exchanged. But then, looking down at the creature clinging to him, he remembered the other times too. I thought about all the times Sonic had patched his wounds. Or the time he convinced Tails to modify his air shoes so he wouldn’t slip on water. He remembered when they would race and laugh, (although Shadow would never admit to laughing) and when Sonic shared his awful chili dogs with him.
He remembered every time Sonic had stood up for him and protected him. All of the times he had saved him. All of the times they had saved each other. He remembered all of the times that he had risked his own life for Sonic. All of the times he was worried about him and looked after him, even though he had a tough expression on the outside. “He loves me.”
The tears still stung Shadow’s eyes, but strangely he felt re-invigorated with a purpose.
“I won’t let Sonic die. Not alone at least.”
He raised his arms up, and once again brought them to Sonic’s face. He cupped his hands over the other’s cheeks and lifted his head up so their eyes could meet.
Sonic blinked, his tears floating away from his eyes as he did so and mixing with the droplets from Shadow’s. “His eyes are so pretty,” Shadow thought. “I’ve wasted all this time never looking at them.” Shadow brushed the fur on Sonic’s cheek with his thumb, and then slowly, very gently, kissed him.
“You’re not going to die Alone Sonic,” he whispered.
For a brief moment, Sonic smiled, and leaned into the kiss. “You don’t have to like me back,” he muttered.
Shadow raised the corners of his mouth, revealing his fangs. “I’m the ultimate lifeform. I do what I want.”
Sonic grinned wider.
“I didn’t know you were such a kisser.”
“Get used to it.”
As red embraced blue, the universe continued to shatter around them. New Yoke crumbled, and the path to No-Place imploded in on itself. Boscage maze grew brighter as the rest of the shatter-spaces caved in on themselves. There was no escape. This was the end of the galaxy, and in the middle were two small hedgehogs, lost in war and in love. The din of universal explosion grew to a deafening pitch, and as the last bright flash went off, the two hedgehogs kissed again.
“I love you Shadow.”
“I heart you too Sonic.”