Chapter Text
Shadow woke up with a cold.
It was a Tuesday morning and a thick fog had settled outside. The young sunlight filtered through the mist in a lazy haze of pink. Shadow looked at a blushing sliver of light on the wall for a moment, before sitting up and pulling his covers aside. The cool air helped wake his mind up.
It wasn't like he had never had a sore throat before. He had. Plenty of times. In the days following battles, he would often find he had shouted his throat raw, or a particularly well-aimed punch rendered his windpipe useless. And it wasn't like he had never felt the aftermath of strangulation.
He guessed the difference between those instances and now, was that he hadn't been in a battle for quite a while. And this one came with a heavy feeling in his chest, like an invisible weight had been placed on top of him. He tried a few coughs to shake the feeling as he tugged on a white singlet and cargo pants. It didn’t help, but he assumed his accelerated healing would take care of it soon enough, and pushed it out of his mind.
The apartment that he and Rouge shared was quiet as he padded to the kitchen. He was always the first to wake up, not that he minded. There was always an eerie kind of tranquility to be found in the small space during the world’s waking.
Pots and pans clattered as he took them from the shelf and placed them on the stove. Peaceful moments like that had become more frequent in recent years. Eggman had been silent for the past six months, and G.U.N had lost track of him, meaning they were as in the dark as everyone else when it came to the Doctor’s activities. Shadow and Rouge had both seen the growing frustration of the Commander as the silence grew. Shadow though, in the beginning, found that he enjoyed the time off.
Or he tried to. There was an itch, like spiders crawling over his bones, biting and burrowing into his flesh. It urged him to move, to do something. Like he was missing something. Like he hadn’t done enough. Something was calling, something was struggling. Something needed his help. Someone needed saving.
Shadow’s ear flicked towards the hallway as Rouge entered the room. She stretched an arm up and yawned, covering her mouth. Her silk robe swayed off her hips.
“Morning sunshine,” She purred, rounding the kitchen island. Shadow simply grunted in reply and cracked another egg onto the frying pan.
“You’re up early,” he observed. She sat down and sighed dramatically.
“Don’t I know it. I got an alert from G.U.N. They’ve got something on Eggman that they want us to check out.”
Shadow said nothing, but secretly he was pleased. The only time he ever managed to outrun that itch was when he was racing Sonic, and that faker was always more annoying than it was worth.
“--You’re blue friend and his gang are already onto it,” Rouge continued and Shadow whipped his head around to look at her. She was watching him, her fingers knitted and resting under her chin. A small smile played across her lips. Shadow realised where her expressions were leading and scowled, turning away again.
“Hmph. He is not my friend.”
“Sure, hon.”
She made these comments a lot, despite Shadow’s irritation and denial at them. She seemed dead-set on pointing out his proximity to a certain blue idiot. It didn’t mean they were friends. Sonic was just the only one who could keep up with him. One of the only things that stopped that incessant itching.
Shadow’s mind drifted off to an orange beach. The watercolour sky casted dark shadows over the sand. Next to him, a red shoe bounced in the air absently. Blue legs propped up. Hands behind his head. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell lightly, a small smile on his face.
A violent lurch in Shadow’s throat ripped him back into the present and the spatula in his hand clattered to the kitchen bench as he covered his mouth. Rouge sat up in surprise, confused as he spluttered and coughed. He felt something come loose in the back of his throat and he managed to take in a breath. Once he had calmed down, Rouge spoke up.
“You okay, sugar?”
Out of his mouth, Shadow pulled a single bright blue petal. Silence filled the room as they stared at it. Rouge leaned forward.
“Is that…?”
“A petal. Must have breathed it in on a run somewhere.”
“Ew… That’s gross, hon.”
He tossed the petal in the waste bin and washed his hands. He tried to ignore the pain that had only grown in his throat since this morning. The air filled with the smell of something smokey.
“Shadow! The pan!”
He flinched and lunged for the stove.
-—
Eggman’s new workshop was on the edge of a cliff. It overlooked a dense forest, only just barely peeking above the trees. By the time Shadow and Rouge got there, it was obvious that the Doctor was under attack. There was a dark pillar of smoke billowing from a hole in the roof and the sun occasionally glinted off the wings of a bright red Biplane. The Tornado.
Dark blurs in the air indicated hundreds of Badniks that occasionally exploded, no doubt lucky hits from Sonic and Co. Large clumps of metal rained down on the trees around the place and Shadow swerved his bike to avoid them, Rouge gripping his midsection tighter as they approached the battle.
As they came into view of the small group of heroes, Rouge patted Shadow’s shoulder, before leaping off the back of the bike, into the air. She drove her foot into several Badniks, kicking off of them further and further up, their explosions reflecting in her biker’s helmet. Meanwhile, Shadow tugged his bike into a drift and circled Knuckles and Amy, who fought back-to-back against the onslaught.
Where’s Sonic? He thought to himself. There was no sign of blue, blurring or otherwise. He pulled his bike to a stop, taking no time at all to join the battle. It was clear that Knuckles and Amy were attempting to clear a path through the Badniks to the entrance of Eggman’s workshop, while Tails covered the air. Shadow could only assume that Sonic was around, or already inside. But surely he wouldn’t leave his friends on their own to deal with this many enemies…?
“What are you doing here?” Grunted Knuckles as he threw a robot over his shoulder. A small flicky popped out and fluttered away, squawking. Rouge dropped down onto a robot coming up behind him and straightened up.
“Always so friendly,” She teased as she stepped to his side. He just turned back to the fight, gritting his teeth and throwing his fists. Shadow found Amy at his side, wielding her hammer viciously.
“There are more robots than I can ever remember fighting!” She yelled to Shadow, in between swings. “They’re all low-level and easy to defeat, but—” She fought off a particular badnik that avoided her hammer and got close. She grabbed it by the arm and hurled it over her shoulder, slamming it into the ground. “--They outnumber us, and Sonic is inside chasing something fast.”
Shadow growled and tossed a robot into another. “Is he stupid?”
As if in answer, the side of the workshop exploded and there was the hero himself, grappling with something lithe and dark. They rolled across the grass, towards the edge of the cliff. Shadow was skating forward before he could even think about it.
As he reached the two wrestling figures, he leaped and spun, driving his skate into the side of the enemy’s head. It was catapulted off of Sonic, who quickly stood, wiping his nose and grinning. Shadow removed his bike helmet to glare at him.
“Alright! He’s got no chance now,” He said as he stepped to Shadow’s side. They approached the Badnik together. It stood and shook its head. It stood taller than the two hedgehogs, with slim limbs that looked like polished obsidian. Its eyes were round, but angular and set into a cat-like face. It had small wires peeking out between its joints that pulsed and buzzed. Both its hands and feet ended in a singular thin claw.
Shadow spared a quick glance towards his companion and noticed a small line of red on his upper arm.
“You’re fast, I’ll give you that,” Sonic called to the creature. “But you’re no match for me and my friend here.”
Shadow glowered at his use of the word ‘friend’. Thank Gaia Rouge was still busy in the battle behind them. Sonic turned and nodded at him. Shadow gave a single nod back, and they both leaped at the creature.
This Badnik was more advanced than the others. It moved fluidly out of their way, almost as if it had turned to liquid and slipped underneath them. It moved like a shadow. Sonic ducked under the claw that was swiped his way and sprung backwards on his hand. His brows were furrowed in concentration.
Shadow decided staying close was the best move. The creature was fast, but Shadow was faster. Its claws were long and a single form, so its limit was its reach. If Shadow could keep in its space, he should be safe. He ducked and dodged, driving an elbow into the creature’s neck joint. It fell backwards, dragging Shadow with it. Using his momentum against him, the creature rolled and pinned Shadow down beneath it. It brought down a claw and Shadow ripped his arm out of the way as it pierced the ground. It tore a hole in the sleeve of his leather jacket. He dodged the other way as the creature did the same with its other hand.
There was a flash of red sneakers and blue knees around the creature's neck and suddenly Shadow was free. Sonic and the creature rolled closer to the edge of the cliff, grappling each other again.
Up above the workshop, a screen flickered to life. There were shining teeth and gleaming goggles.
“Eggman.” Shadow growled.
“I see you’ve met my latest creation! This is Slick.”
“We’ll defeat him, just like we did all your other robots, egg-head!” Sonic yelled breathlessly from Shadow’s side. He had managed to throw off Slick for a few seconds. They both scattered as the cat-like thing lunged at them again. From the screen, Eggman chortled.
“I’d like to see you try Sonic! You see I designed Slick with a specific purpose in mind, and— Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself! Funny seeing you here again Shadow, you might consider joining my side this time.” He snickered maliciously and taped his fingertips together.
“I’ll pass.” Shadow dodged under Slick’s claws and drove his leg out in a sweep, knocking the creature over.
“Ngaww, enjoying yourself with your new-found friends, hm? The Ultimate Lifeform, gone soft for an arrogant blue hero.”
Normally, a taunt like that wouldn’t phase Shadow. It was a stupid jab, and untrue. But for some reason, the tightness in his chest that had never quite gone away, seized him again and he coughed violently into his sleeve. He didn’t even realise he had fallen to his knees until Sonic was at his side.
“Hey! You okay, Shads? Come on, you gotta get up—Woah!” He jumped away as Slick drove a claw between them. Something dislodged itself in Shadow’s throat and he spat out a glob of blue. He wiped his mouth as he stood to face their enemy.
“I’m fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Sonic elbowed him lightly. “Alright!”
They both stepped towards Slick and leapt into a spindash. Seen as nothing but twin streaks of light, they flew towards Slick, who widened its stance to meet them. With a swipe of its claw, it struck Shadow out of the air with a loud snap. He tumbled across the grass, his leather jacket the only reason his arms weren’t scraped to shreds. With a jerked of its head, it snapped at Sonic, stopping him with teeth that had, up until that point, been invisible. Sonic cried out as the teeth clamped around his shin and bit down.
Shadow stumbled to his feet and tried to skate into the fight, but as soon as he sped forward, he toppled over again. He looked down at his feet and found that the boosters on his right shoe were completely smashed. He blinked in surprise.
“How–?”
He was interrupted by Amy who had made it to the cliff edge with the others. “Sonic!” She cried out.
Sonic, who was still clamped in Slick’s jaws, looked up from punching out the creature’s eyes. He waved at her frantically, his face twisted in pain.
“Amy, wait! Stay back—”
The lesser badniks surrounded them and suddenly the air was filled with their buzzing. Shadow weaved through them, running towards Sonic and Slick and he tackled the creature, setting Sonic free. He stayed down for a second longer than normal before climbing unsteadily to his feet. He was knocked down again a few seconds later as Slick threw Shadow at him. They skidded closer to the cliff edge. Sonic inhaled through his teeth sharply and Shadow glanced at him.
In the lower part of Sonic’s leg, there were red, oozing puncture marks. For a second, they met each other’s eyes. There was a glimmer of something feral in Sonic’s eyes. He was scared.
Shadow got to his feet and pulled Sonic up beside him. He tossed his rival’s arm away and glared at Slick, ready to finish it for good. Next to him, Sonic spread his stance and put his arms up. A small trickle of blood soaked into his sock.
Somewhere in the background, Eggman was laughing. Slick dug a claw into the ground, the other raised into the air, ready to land someone’s final blow. Then the surface of its skin flickered and changed. It became a mottled arrangement of colours, perfectly blending in with its surroundings. Shadow blinked. Tails yelled something from above them as the engine of his plane got louder and louder.
There was a movement in the air.
Shadow tensed his legs.
There was the whistle of a rocket.
Something hit the ground between the hedgehogs and their opponent and the world was filled with suffocating heat, dark smoke, and the smell of gunpowder. A dark claw cut through the smoke and struck Shadow and Sonic in the chest. Shadow was suddenly free of the dark smoke, but the world spun around him, and he felt weightless.
As Shadow fell towards the ground, he reached towards the blue figure falling above him.
Then the trees swallowed them whole.