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Two weeks had passed since the intense battle in space. Fortunately Sonic had been reunited with his found family, but Shadow and Doctor Robotnik had both bravely sacrificed their lives to save Earth from total destruction. A truly selfless act from those considered as self-serving and heartless. Everybody believed that it was completely impossible to survive such a treacherous explosion,however this was not the case. Due to Shadow being created as the ultimate lifeform, he somehow managed to survive. Crash-landing on Earth scorched and beaten, but alive.
Thankfully it was not long before he was discovered, curled up in a crater. The people who found him were familiar with the recent occurrences so he was swiftly taken care of. Much to Shadow's discomfort. He detested the familiar hospital smell and sounds. It brought back some unpleasant memories of his past with Maria. He tried not to linger on the thought however, it would only hurt more if he did. The near constant observation and babying irritated him greatly. Shadow was being treated like he was completely incapable. In his mind he was not, but his body said otherwise. After all, he was badly injured. Gouges from shrapnel were scattered leaving bloody gashes. With each movement Shadow's rough fur rubbed his wounds raw. His body was aching with bruises and awful burns. Furthermore he was constantly being plagued by debilitating headaches triggered by lack of sleep. In conclusion, he felt utterly terrible. Shadow was unaware until recently that he as the ultimate lifeform could even be so badly wounded. He was humiliated beyond comprehension and had considered running away, never to be seen again
Eventually Shadow was permitted to leave the hospital, as long as he had somewhere to go. Originally he planned to escape and hide away in a cavern. Far away from society, from people. After all, in the eyes of humans Shadow was a freak, an abomination and a threat. That's all everyone ever saw him as. However he discarded the idea, truthfully he didn't wish to be alone. Not again. Especially following fifty long years of solitary confinement. No interaction, no stimulation, no sensation and no contact. As much as Shadow avoided it, he craved some form of contact. Secretly he enjoyed the warm feeling that flushed through his body with every embrace. It was all a distant harrowing memory. It had been so long since he was last hugged. Maria wasn't there to console him anymore, he had to regulate his own emotions now. The hedgehog has become used to it, still sometimes he wished he wasn't.
But his plan was soon changed. Shadow was taken by surprise when Sonic arrived and offered him a place to stay. At first he was suspicious and almost offended at the offer. They barely knew each other yet Sonic was being so welcoming. It was strange considering Shadow has almost killed Tom and hurt everyone else. With a lot of convincing Shadow eventually agreed, even though he was far from sure. Sonic welcomed him into the home, even offering to share a room. At first Shadow disagreed, opting to sleep on the floor. Sonic shut that down almost immediately arguing that Shadow would only injure himself if he tried. Shadow explained how he was the 'Ultimate lifeform' Which meant he wouldn't be affected. However, Sonic laughed Shadow's statement off claiming that if Shadow was the 'ultimate lifeform' he wouldn't have been so badly beaten up.
For the first night Shadow slept on the couch, the family pet Ozzy acting as a weighted blanket. Shadow took a liking to Ozzy, which surprised everyone. No one suspected Shadow of all people to be a dog person. He was completely exhausted from the sleepless nights in the hospital. Despite this he resisted falling asleep that night, terrified that he would have to face another nightmare. A regular occurrence for him, except he would rarely wake up. In his dreams Shadow would have to experience his worst memories in graphic but distorted detail. The thought of such made him nauseous. By the second night he was provided with a proper bed, pillows and blankets, such care was comforting to Shadow. But he vowed to never let it show. Vulnerability meant weakness, weakness meant he was open to attack. Attack meant a threat to those who took him in. Admittedly on the second night he stayed awake, observing and refusing to rest. Sonic ended up threatening him with the melatonin gummies. To Shadow it was just another empty threat. Sonic attempted to test the theory but Shadow just stayed up until Sonic dozed off instead. Much to Shadow's amusement.
Following losing in a challenge against Sonic, Shadow was obliged to sleep. Sonic bet that Shadow wouldn't be able to beat him in a race. If Shadow didn't win he would have to sleep. The ebony hedgehog accepted the challenge, but due to extreme fatigue he lost. Much to his fury and self- loathing. Sonic tried to reassure Shadow that it was just friendly competition, but Shadow claimed he would take the defeat to his grave.
"You're going to sleep"
"Over my dead body"
"You lost that race, you know what our deal was"
"I'm not doing this because you commanded me to, I'm doing it because I don't go back on my word"
"Sure Hot Topic, you keep telling yourself that"
Without another word Sonic barreled into Shadow with a weighted blanket. Shadow crashed to the floor under Sonic's weight. Frantically Shadow grasped onto Sonic's quills, yanking them with force. Sonic pulled the hand away, pinning it to the floorboards for a moment. Shadow scowled and pushed Sonic who just restrained him with a blanket.
"Let me go you fool" Shadow growled struggling beneath his captor. Realistically he would be able to escape but he lacked the energy to do so. Sonic continued wrestling with Shadow, very clearly enjoying himself.
"Make me" Sonic huffed, sliding the blanket beneath Shadow's writhing body. At this point Sonic was practically sitting on Shadow. An odd sight to say the least. Sonic continued to burrito roll Shadow in the blanket leaving him immobile. Shadow sighed in defeat narrowing his eyes at Sonic
"When I get out of this contraption I'm going to suffocate you with a pillow. I don't know when, but I will." Shadow's eyes and voice darkened with his statement.
"Sure you will Shads" Sonic prodded Shadow's chest fluff twirling it jokingly. Shadow was far from amused.
"Don't call me that, ever again" Shadow grumbled as he was being rolled away to the bed. He was then swung onto the bed with a thump. Triumphantly Sonic clapped his hands with a mischievous grin. The blue hedgehog leaned in teasingly.
"You comfy?" He pondered
"I would be if you weren't staring at me" Shadow snapped back, his ruby-red eyes glowing fiercely.
"Fine I'll leave you be" Sonic yawned before skipping over to his bed where he fell into deep sleep within mere seconds. Occasionally, Shadow wondered how Sonic managed to fall asleep so quickly, one of life's greatest mysteries. Not long after Shadow too felt his eyes drooping shut as they pulled him into sleep.
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Panicked footsteps hit the ground quickly as Shadow ran beside a young girl. He didn't know where he was or why he was running. But something was wrong. Drastically wrong. Shadow took a moment to absorb his surroundings. Something was familiar about this place. Long stretching windows with equally long corridors. Outside was a vast expanse of darkness speckled with tiny sparkles. Polished floors with a pristine shine. Beside him was a girl, she wore a flowing blue dress and possessed luscious blonde hair. Maria! Shadow looked up to Maria, her eyes met his Maria's shining sky-blue eyes reflected his. Suddenly he recognised what was happening. They were running from G.U.N soldiers. Shadow became increasingly anxious, he knew how this would end. He knew how it always ended. An ear-splitting bang then exploded through the air rattling Shadow to his core. Swiftly he rushed Maria into the nearest room, where she immediately collapsed. Shadow cradled the girl in his arms, her blood was pulsing out from an open puncture wound in her chest. Shadow compressed the wound with his gloves staining them a horrific red. It wasn't helping in the slightest, but he felt he had to try. Shadow could tell that she was speaking to him by the movement of her mouth. But the sound was replaced by a hollow ringing sound. Why couldn't he hear her? Shadow took his eyes off Maria for a second to ensure they wouldn't be found. Shadow watched firmly as the soldiers marched down the corridor, skipping past the room he was in. By the time he returned the light had faded from her eyes. The once vibrant blue had faded into a mouldy grey. A rapidly expanding pool of blood soaked Shadow's fur leaving it dripping in crimson. Regret surged through his core and amber sparks of electric rage began sparking off him.
"Maria, I'm so sorry I couldn't save you" He cradled Maria in his arms and swept her hair out of her face before standing up and backing away. Shadow's chest tightened grief and rage. How dare they take Maria away from him again. Maria was so young and innocent, she had a lifetime of fun and experiences waiting for her. But she had that right robbed from her all because of G.U.N.
Shadow glanced over at Maria's body once more, she had deteriorated immensely. Her skin was an unhealthy shade of grey and terribly blotchy. As if her body was dissolving with each passing minute. Shadow took one look at his shaking hands and gasped. Blood stained his gloves leaving his hands feeling clammy and grotesque. Hysterically Shadow tore off the gloves and launched them across the room. Over and over he could only replay the moment in which Maria was shot. The sounds of the bullets. The splattering of blood against the walls. That awful screech. The unbearable stench of burnt flesh and hair. All of the torturous memories started playing all at the same time. Shadow crumpled to the floor and clutched his head. Violently he grasped his ears pulling on them until they trickled blood. The intense pain pulled him back to reality for a split second until the world faded to a murky black.
Shadow jolted awake sitting bolt upright, the blanket in which he was swaddled in felt like it was suffocating him. In a blind panic he pulled himself out of the blanket. Suddenly he lost his balance which caused him to fall. Fright from his nightmare overtook Shadow. Heavy breathing shook through him, each inhale felt useless. Desperately he searched around the space looking for something to latch on to. However in the darkness, nothing could be detected. Shadow rested his head upon his quivering knees, screwing his eyes tightly shut.
"Shadow what are you doing up it's like 2:00 AM?" Shadow's chest tightened even more as he continued trembling. This shouldn't be happening, he was invincible and shouldn't be acting like a child. Shadow tuned Sonic's voice out as negative thoughts began to swirl in his mind. The strain in his chest became tighter and tighter like a belt was being twisted around his neck. Shadow came to notice how badly claustrophobic the room was. The walls were closing in and tormenting him, why was this happening? Shadow seethed as his quills sprung up defensively piercing nearby objects. Instinctively Sonic flinched back shielding his face for a moment.
"Hey Shadow, are you feeling alright?" Sonic tapped the other on the shoulder cautious to avoid the rows of spines which stuck out erratically.
"Don't touch me!" Shadow yelped as he tried to shuffle back but he was cornered against a bedside table. His head collided with the wood causing a harsh bang. The noise was reminiscent of the sound of a gunshot. Blind panic overtook Shadow, not here, not again. In a flash of blinding light, he got to his feet and scrambled away into the darkness. Sonic pushed himself up and followed quickly behind.
Once downstairs Sonic flicked on the light illuminating the downstairs area. Quickly he surveyed the area, searching for his friend. He had to be here somewhere, unless he teleported out that is.
"Shadow, where are you?" He called out worriedly, carefully treading into the front room. Following a period of time looking around Sonic realised that Shadow wasn't there. Sonic decided to check the kitchen next, Shadow couldn't have gone far.
Sonic turned the corner to find Shadow tucked away beneath the kitchen counter. Ozzy was laying beside him resting his chin on Shadow's lap. The once powerful and fearsome Shadow the hedgehog was shaking like a leaf. Nothing could have prepared Sonic for such a pitiful sight. Shadow avoided Sonic's eye contact, instead turned to Face Ozzy. The dog began licking Shadow's face however he was quickly deterred. Shadow scrubbed at his face, rubbing away saliva from the dog.
"Shadow what are you doing under there?" Sonic said his voice was considerably quieter than usual.
"I'm sitting with Ozzy" Shadow replied bluntly gesturing to the dog
"I can see that"
"Then why did you ask?"
"Because I'm worried about you, Shadow you just started hyperventilating and ran off"
"I was fine"
"You were shaking"
"It was, cold"
"Shadow just talk to me, what's wrong?"
"I don't want to talk about it okay" Shadow raised his voice clearly frustrated by the bombardment of questions. Shadow thumped his head into his knees repeatedly. Ozzy whined, tilting his head. Silence followed soon after, a flash of guilt was present in Sonic's eyes. Sonic slipped under the counter and knelt down.
Shadow grunted as Sonic wrapped his arms firmly around his thin frame. He remained completely still, stunned beyond belief. Shadow leaned into the touch leaning his head against Sonic. Deep down he knew that he would regret this later, but at this moment it didn't matter. The touch was warm and welcome. Shadow felt a sense of relief wash over him, it had been too long since he last felt this safe and comfortable. Shadow noticed how perfectly soft Sonic's fur was, at least in comparison to his wiry hair. Sonic began running his hand over Shadow's frayed quills flattening them down into a neat order. Sonic ignored the prickly sensation that came with his action. It didn't matter, as long as Shadow felt better. Sonic ended up pulling back to soon for Shadow's liking but he wouldn't dare to admit it.
"Hey Shadow, don't panic but your ear is bleeding" Sonic informed Shadow calmly reaching up to touch Shadow's matted ear. His unwelcome touch was shoved away,
"Wonderful observation" Shadow gingerly ran his hand over his ear, the glove came back spotted with blood.
"Come on then,let's get you sorted out" Sonic crawled out offering a hand out to Shadow.
"I can take care of myself, I'm not incompetent" Shadow rose to his feet simply ignoring Sonic's offer.
"I know you aren't, but I want to help you plus you don't want to risk an infection" Sonic explained, speeding off to switch on the light. The brightness caused an abrupt headache to press into the front of Shadow's skull. Paired with the sleep deprivation, a white fluorescent light did nothing to help Shadow's pain.
"I am the ultimate lifeform, it won't get infected" Shadow hissed, putting emphasis on 'ultimate'.
"Oh don't remind me" Sonic exclaimed with intense exaggeration. Sonic felt if he heard the phrase "the ultimate lifeform" once more he would lose his head.
Shadow shuffled backwards up onto the kitchen counter beside the sink. The marble was freezing cold against Shadow's numb body. Shadow released a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding.
"This might sting," Sonic warned, coming into view, a drenched tea-towel with a doughnut pattern in his hands. Shadow observed that there was a running theme in this house, doughnut. He'd never even eaten one, so he couldn't possibly understand what made them so legendary.
"Just do it already"
"Alright then"
Sonic gently dabbed a dripping wet cloth over the scratches, blood began to fade. Much to Sonic's relief, Shadow's ear was improving already. But it wasn't entirely better. Judging by how deep the gashes went, Sonic knew it would need disinfecting. But he knew Shadow would never allow it. Icy cold liquid trickled down Shadow's spine causing him to shiver. Sonic peered over at the nicks scattered across Shadow's ears and shook his head.
"In the morning I'm going to get Maddie to take a look at these, okay"
"Doesn't she hate me though, for all the things I've done? The way she looks at me says it all"
"Maddie doesn't hate you, she's just a bit wary of you"
Shadow's only response was a dismissive hum, Shadow didn't believe Sonic's statement one bit. He believed that Maddie should hate him, especially after what unspeakable things he did.
"I'm done," Sonic announced, dropping the cloth into the sink with a wet slap. Without hesitation Shadow slipped off the counter landing silently on the tiles. He crouched down and softly stroked Ozzy on the head, his tail thumped against the ground enthusiastically. Shadow felt a tiny smile creep up his lips. He quickly relaxed his face, if Sonic caught sight of this Shadow would never hear the end of it.
"Was that a smile?" Sonic pressed loudly leaning on the kitchen counter. Shadow got up with a menacing glare. He circled around Sonic before gripping Sonic's quills and dragging them down.
"You saw nothing" He warned sinisterly, Sonic laughed nervously reaching up and removing Shadow's hand.
"Alright edge lord, I won't tell"
Shadow nodded approvingly, maybe everything will work out in the end. With help from Sonic maybe Shadow's old wounds could heal. He just needed a fresh start.