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Sonic’s friends kept a close eye on Him. Those who were close to his location found themselves by Sonic’s side. Silver’s prophecy hung over Sonic’s head, and it got worse every day.
Every ‘see you later’ became a ‘goodbye’. His friends looked up at him with grief in their eyes and unshed tears. Every trip made everyone jump in to help him. Moments of quiet were hoarded- a rare treasure. No one knew how many memories the group would have left.
When Sonic went to battles, he was watched. Groups handled battles that one person could handle.
“You don’t have to stand over me,” Sonic said, casually smashing robots one after the other. Eggman had been on the losing side of this battle and this was a basic clean-up. Steal and other metals were flying in the air. Many of his teammates were in the middle of a battle along with him. The annoyance in his voice was clear. “I’m not a fragile toy.”
Eggman had been floating around the battle dancing around the mechanic carnage, trying to avoid the metal flying everywhere, still managing to be struck.
Realistically any one of them could have handled this. As is, Amy and Shadow were there. Shadow remained quiet only calling out his attacks to crumble enemies before him. He was barely looking at what he was attacking, watching Sonic out of the corner of his eye. Anger was evident in his look, as was normal for him.
Amy was swinging her hammer, knocking debris out of the air. “How can you be so calm? You are going to die and everything is going to go to hell.”
“So don’t let it, I’ll do everything I can from my end,” Sonic said like it was the easiest thing in the world. Eggman heard this and laughed. It was a joyful sound, but malicious in its application. Sonic didn’t pay it any mind.
“‘Everything’ might not just be enough.” Eggman sneered and picked robot pieces from the glass from his Eggomatic. “You would be wise to listen to your friends, but intelligence has never been your strong suit.”
“Yeah, Yeah- Can it Eggman.” Sonic huffed. “I’m fast enough for anything you can come up with.”
Sonic spoke with such confidence that few would think to prove him wrong. Eggman just grinned as he looked at a computer on his eggomatic. “But are you fast enough to save your brother?”
Sonic stopped and glared up at Eggman, his teeth bared, even his pointed teeth showing. His ears folded back. The change had been in seconds. Sonic’s wrist communicator went off, alerting him of an emergency. Specifically, A cut to the power.
“Run along, little boy, maybe you still have time.” Eggman floated back, out of the way of a flying hammer, courtesy of Amy. Sonic hissed at Eggman before running off.
“Shadow!” Amy yelled out, only for Shadow to teleport away without a word.
Tails was cornered in his shop. The power was cut, keeping some of his tools from being used. He had been caught using his tools, and the sudden shutdown of his lab keyed him to the fact There was no way for him to call for help but he didn’t want to. Tails gripped a silver wrench and was ready to fight back. Noises from the intruder echoed from the house area of the lab. Darkness and shadows cloaked the identity of the threat but Tails was ready. The fox boy glared at the intruder, the footsteps thundering down the halls.
Red eyes glowed maliciously from the rooms. Blued steel glowed in the sunset shining through the widow.
“Metal.” Tails said. It wasn’t a greeting. The sound of gears turning filled the room, and Metal Sonic glowed as he approached, gaining speed and getting ready to attack. He was turned away from tails as the fox boy swung his wrench and hit it with a sharp clang, scratching and denting the metal casing of the robot. Metal spun around and made a grab at Tails, his hands sharpened into dangerous points. Tails was able to dodge out of the way of the grab, but small pieces of fur were sliced off and floated to the ground.
Tails growled under his breath and swung again. Metal Sonic dodged out of the way and grabbed at Tails’s arm, the sharp talons digging into his skin. Tails yelped in pain.
Tails beat on Metal Sonic with the wrench. The clanging rang out through the Lab, bending the casing even more. Metal Sonic stood there and took the blows without a word.
In a rage, Tails jabbed the wrench into Metal Sonic’s eyes, the metal tool sinking in deep. Sparks flew out from the blow. Metal Sonic dropped Tails and grabbed at his eye. A metallic grinding sound filled the air as Metal Sonic stumbled for a moment. Tails grabbed his own arm and gently grasped the wound. The air tasted of Chaos energy, all too familiar to Tails.
Sonic rushed through the lab, his speed causing the air to buzz around him. Sonic slowed down just long enough to see the blood drops on the ground. Sonic didn’t say anything to Tails, just looking at him before grabbing the still-dazed robot and launching him through the nearest wall and toward the woods just outside. Metal Sonic began clawing at Sonic as the two were dragged further past the trees. Sonic’s face got clawed pretty deeply.
“Ooh new manicure, good for you.” Sonic grinned at Metal.
Blood dripped the entire way from the lab to the forest.
“Sonic!” Tails cried out.
“That fool-” Shadow blinked into the lab, looking around for something, his eyes widening as he found it, turning to face Tails.
“I’m fine- save him.” Tails yelled. Shadow teleported away.
Sonic felt the claw rip upwards, deep and painful, through his torso A yell was pulled from him as Metal Sonic cut deep and painfully. Sonic’s ears folded back as the swipe knocked the wind out of him. The pain was all-consuming, causing Sonic to stumble, red dripping onto the hard ground between them. Sonic hissed through his teeth, a pained and angered sound getting pulled from Sonic.
Metal Sonic tilted his head slightly, looking down at the blood dripping from his hand. There was no mouth on metal but the smirk was radiating from Metal Sonic. Sonic snarled, bearing his teeth. The missing eye of the robot sparked angrily.
They were alone. Sonic was injured. The realization was slowly dawning on him. The two were deep in the woods. The destruction would lead anyone looking directly at them, but night had fallen. Sonic felt a rush of anger. Anger that after everything, fate was catching up to him. Anger that this metal copy had gone after his family.
“Don’t think I’m going down without a fight,” Sonic promised, wiping his mouth with the back of his gloves. His voice was low, dangerous. A growl was interwoven through every word. Green eyes flared.
Sonic rushed at Metal Sonic. Blood was being flung with every movement, but Sonic was bouncing with every attack. Bright blue quills were littered around the battlefield. The sounds of the impacts were loud and echoing.
Sonic kept moving, fighting against dark spots dancing in his vision. Every attack made his limbs drag more and more, getting heavier and heavier. Sonic’s breathing grew heavier and his heart was beating against his temple and ears. Metal Sonic grabbed Sonic and slammed him through a nearby tree, forcing the hedgehog through the trunk, and causing it to collapse. Sonic groaned and gasped, blood dripping into his mouth from the cut on his face. He spit the blood out.
“That was a cheap shot,” Sonic grumbled, taking a second to stand up. His legs were wobbling but he stood up, looking just as determined as he always did. Sonic swallowed and mentally thought about Tails, who had been cut from this killer machine. An apology burned in his chest, and he mentally sent it to his little brother and prepared to throw his might against his opponent.
With his quills turned up, Sonic stepped up, fighting to lift his feet over a nearby downed branch. Sonic shook his head to clear it and braced to hit the robot.
Metal Sonic twitched and shot towards Sonic, but a yellow flash of light filled the battlefield. Metal Sonic crumbled into pieces, his head skidding along the ground. Sonic looked down at the wreckage before looking up at the person saving him.
“Shadow!” Sonic grinned and placed his hand over his chest. Shadow just looked over at Sonic for a moment, judging his state of being. His eyes looked over at Sonic’s shoes and the red mud clinging to him. Sonic’s eyes went wide and he went ashen.
Despite the group being happy to see Silver, the hedgehog was always an omen of something going very wrong. He was their friend but rarely was his appearance a good thing. When he had called a meeting, the serious tone was not lost on everyone. Everyone was gathered around the old resistance HQ, with people surrounding a small white table. Some sat on boxes nearby, others sat in a few chairs. The large group waited for Silver to speak. He sounded tired, drained by the news he carried with him through time. The message he brought was not one they did not see coming, but they were still blindsided by the finality of it.
“Sonic’s going to die and it will ruin my future.”
Silver’s warning caused a wave of unease through the group of heroes. They looked at each other quietly murmuring to each other as the words sank in. Many snuck glances at Sonic, whose face was stoic in his own way, that easy-going smile still on his face, but his eyes sparkling with an unreadable emotion. He didn’t say anything. He raised a hand to the center of his chest, dropping it just as quickly.
Shadow gritted his teeth. He had not been surprised by the news. A hero’s road had the same destination. “And what caused this supposed death? Eggman?”
Shadow’s voice was angry. A growl rumbled in his chest. He didn't look at Sonic at all. There was a faint glow in his blood-red eyes.
Silver opened his mouth and closed it, “reports are undecided. Some say yes; others say no.”
“Let’s not sweat it now, no use crying about things now,” Sonic answered. “Appreciate the heads up, bud.”
“You’re an idiot.” Shadow hissed.
The group watched the exchange between the two with wide eyes. Tails fiddled with a nearby tool, a screwdriver. Amy squeezed the armrests of her chair until her knuckles turned pale. Even Silver looked mournful.
“What do you want me to do? Stop saving people? I’ll keep an eye out for something that might kill me.” Sonic asked, his tone gaining an edge .
“Which, given how you live- could be anything because you don’t think about self-preservation.” Shadow slammed his hand down on the table, causing it to crack and bend under his fist. He finally turned to look at Sonic, his eyes glowing bright red, chaos energy crackling in the air. “You just do whatever you want and leave the consequences to the rest of us.”
Shadow ignored his voice cracking, willing himself to still be angry. “We’d probably have to babysit you to keep you alive.”
Sonic crumbled from the blood loss. He had grown pale, his eyes losing focus. His smile upon seeing Shadow dropped as he collapsed. His knees buckled, dropping into free fall. Shadow was by his side in a heartbeat, helping him to the ground. Sonic shivered and coughed, swallowing for a second. His quills were spread out underneath him. The red was clashing against the bright blue quills. It took a moment before his vision cleared up.
“Tails- is he ok?” Sonic asked Shadow. The other hedgehog stood up and flashed out of Sonic’s view. He reappeared with a red box, the first aid symbol printed on the box. It made a noise as he slammed it down.
“Shadow? Tails- is he-“ Sonic asked, his voice getting high and panicking. His breathing was already uneven, and the rapid breathing was pulling at his wounds. Shadow looked down at him. His eyes were lacking the edge that they normally carried.
“Fine. He’s fine.” Shadow answered, putting on clean medical gloves. “Can’t you be worried about yourself for once in your life?”
Shadow was moving quickly, examining the slash marks on Sonic’s chest. The bleeding had slowed, and Shadow began cleaning the wound. The cleaning wipes were soaked with clotting blood.
“I didn’t know you were like a doctor.” Sonic wheezed. He wasn’t reacting to the alcohol coming in contact with his cut, showing that Sonic was getting worse. His eyes were looking through Shadow, his gaze losing even more focus. Sonic couldn't lift his head anymore.
Shadow didn’t respond to Sonic for a moment. “...I was created to save a life. That includes this kind of thing.”
Sonic wheezed out a bitter laugh. “Oh, right: part of the ‘ultimate lifeform’ title.” his eyes watered up. “Guess it’s your turn to be a hero; how heavy your crown is.” Sonic’s voice grew soft. The wound was not deep but wide and long enough to be a problem. The main cut went from just under his right shoulder down to his left hip. On either side of the cut were more shallow scratches that had already started to heal. Shadow began sticking adhesive stitches to the wound. Shadow could feel Sonic’s heartbeat, steady and still strong.
“The Scar will look cool,” Sonic whispered, his voice starting to rasp. Shadow looked up at Sonic’s pale face, eyes looking right at Shadow.
“Don’t joke about this.” Shadow scolded gently, more so than how he had ever spoken to Sonic before. “It was a miracle you even survived this.”
“No.” Sonic countered. Shadow just looked at Sonic for a moment before his ear turned to a sound that Sonic could not hear over the sound of his own heartbeat.
“He’s over here!” Shadow called out before standing up.
“No!” Sonic gasped, numbly lifting his hand to grab at Shadow, but his fingers were still slow to react to his command. His hand passed through the open air as Shadow flashed away,