Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The chilly blow of the wind whistled into the blue hedgehog’s ears, causing him to shudder. He watched a few golden and brown leaves float past him, falling downhill towards a small, peaceful settlement, an enormous windmill as its main landmark. The roads, usually bustling with mobians and humans preparing for incoming winter, now lay empty, and the few people that actually happened to pass by seemed to be on edge, looking behind their backs in a paranoid manner.

“Something’s going on here.” Sonic put his weight on his right leg, placing a hand on his hip as he watched the rather concerning sight.

“I hope we got here in time,” a short fox with golden fur muttered, standing next to the hedgehog, his face riddled with concern. He shifted his two tails uncomfortably, glancing back at his two companions.

“I’m not seeing any monster attacks or destroyed buildings, where’s all the action?” a red echidna sighed out exasperated, stretching his arms with a bored expression.

“And we’re not going to see any if we keep just standing here!” Sonic exclaimed, turning his attention back to his two tailed companion. “Tails, where were we supposed to meet Amy again?”

“She said to meet her in the square,” Tails said, recalling the contents of the letter the three received the other day. A call for help. “She’s been helping the victims of the attacks. From what she said, there were no lethal attacks yet, but that was almost a week ago…”

“Alright, let’s get going then. Last one there is a swamp goblin!” Sonic quickly announced before zipping towards the village, ignoring his companions’ objections to the race.

“...I wish he took this more seriously,” Tails sighed, to which Knuckles just shrugged, beginning to run after the blue blur.

Sonic never seemed to fully grasp the dangers of the alliance’s work. Maybe it was for the better that he found the idea of battling monsters and demons and such pretty fun, he definitely knew how to light up the room with his enthusiasm - but sometimes he’d come out as insensitive to those who the Hunters’ Alliance wasn’t able to protect. Their trio was relatively young, so they were never sent to more dangerous missions, of course, but it still didn’t feel right to think of all of this as a game when people’s livelihoods - and sometimes lives - were endangered.

Knuckles already had some experience in the field - he’s fought dangerous beasts since his younger years. His brute force and tracking skills were really impressive, he was practically raised for the job. After all, the alliance was formed by the echidnas originally, before the majority of them had met their end at the claws of the monsters they swore to defeat. Sonic and Tails? They were pretty new. It was actually Sonic’s idea for him and his little buddy to join the alliance. He was already somewhat protecting his hometown, Green Hills, with the occasional help from the fox. Why not turn it into a job? See the world a little? Use their skills for good? Of course, he was a little bummed when he learned they’ve been paired up with some other echidna to keep an eye on them. As if the alliance was going to let two newbies smear its good name with their freelance work.

It definitely wasn’t fun for Knuckles either. He mentioned a few times how mad he was for being demoted to a “babysitting job” after just ONE hiccup on a mission against a particularly aggressive rock golem. Tails sometimes got an impression that the echidna projected his anger onto the two of them - especially Sonic - but, overall, he wasn’t one of the talking types. He was very much a quiet, goal-centered individual. Tails absolutely didn’t want to step on his toes and risk even more of his hostility, so he usually let him do his thing without too much questioning. He couldn’t say the same about Sonic, though.

Sonic knew exactly where to go as he was quite familiar with Windmill Village. His childhood best friend - and now client - moved here when they were both really young. With Sonic’s speed, though, he never hesitated at the idea of a visit, as it was only a small jog for him. A part of him was happy that he was gonna see Amy Rose again, even under such circumstances. It’s been a while.

And so, as he got to the square, his attention was instantly brought to a small line of humans and mobians alike, seemingly waiting to speak with someone at a desk that was clearly put there last second with some papers held by rocks functioning as paperweights in the windy weather. At the desk stood a pink hedgehog in a fuzzy jacket, a fancier outfit than most of the villagers could probably afford.

“We can’t help you replace the sheep right now,” she was just trying to reason with a tall human farmer, “we’re doing what we can… Keep the remaining sheep inside until–” she quickly caught a piece of paper that slid from under one of the rocks due to the breeze caused by Sonic’s arrival, which made her glance up and notice the warm smile and a wave of the blue hedgehog, dressed in a characteristic, leather jacket overlaying a hoodie… and the pair of similarly-clothed fellows just now catching up to him with heavied breath. “Oh!”

“Ames! Long time no see!” Sonic grinned.

“We’re here about your report,” Knuckles stepped forward, nearly pushing Sonic aside with his arm. “We’re from the Hunters’ Alliance.”

“Oh, of course!” A sparkle of hope replaced the confusion in Amy’s eyes at those words as she quickly started gathering up papers. “I’m sorry, everyone! We’ll have to talk about things later, I must take care of this! Everyone's issues will be solved soon!” She exclaimed, nervousness lacing her voice.

Sonic made a note of people’s reactions to Amy’s announcement. While most seemed at least a little bit relieved, some gave the group unpleasant looks. It wasn’t the first time that happened, some people simply didn’t trust the alliance, but Sonic couldn’t understand why in the world people were upset that someone volunteered to get rid of monsters terrorizing their towns. …well, ‘volunteered’ may have been a strong word since towns had to pay a fee for that, but still. The ‘leather jackets’, as the alliance has grown to be known as, existed to help, after all.

Amy led the three with a quickened pace into one of the bigger houses in the village, fit for a mayor or something of the kind. As far as Sonic was aware, she was helping out in administration in the area, which would explain why she was answering the villagers’ pleas for help. Though Sonic wondered what the actual mayor was doing in the meantime.

“This way, we won’t be disturbed here.” Amy opened the door into a cozy living room with a lit fireplace, the flames coating the room in comfortable warmth like the softest blanket. Sonic sighed a little in relief, he was beginning to feel the chill outside freeze his toes.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Rose!” Tails said, taking a seat on the couch next to his companions as Amy sat in an armchair not far from them. “My name is Miles Prower, this is Sonic and that’s Knuckles.”

“Oh come on, Tails, I remember the two of you!” Amy chuckled. “No need for formalities here.” She held her sight on Knuckles for a second. “Although I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Amy Rose.”

Knuckles crossed his arms. “We’ve got your letter, we know,” he simply answered. “What’s the threat, then? We didn’t see any problem at first sight.”

“The problem appears at night,” Amy explained. “Before we get to it, though, do you want any tea? Cake? You’re guests here!”

“We’re here for the job,” Knuckles answered dryly.

“ I’d like some tea…” Sonic said cheekily, earning a side eye from his red companion.

“It’ll be just a moment!” Amy smiled, standing up. “Tails?”

“I’d gladly have some coffee, if you have any,” the little fox said, rubbing his hands together to warm them up quicker. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

“We can drink tea while figuring out a plan of attack,” he protested, straightening up. “Amy Rose, speak.”

The pink hedgehog furrowed her brows at the echidna, but sat down nonetheless.

“Our livestock is what’s been going missing lately,” she began. “Some shepherds had found carcasses of their sheep completely gutted out. There’s been a rise in strange sightings at night, destroyed trees and other greenery and such. One person has gone missing since then, too. People are scared to leave their houses after dusk, they don’t want to enter the woods either.”

“How can you be sure it’s not a pack of wild wolves or foxes?” Tails raised a question.

“The livestock bodies we’ve found rule that out,” Amy winced. “You can take a look if you want, I think they haven’t disposed of the last one yet. Awful sight… it’s as if it was poisoned with rot, massive chunks were missing, and those claw marks…”

“O-on second thought, I think I’m good,” Tails quickly stammered, his ears pinned back and he got a bit whiter in the face as he grabbed Sonic’s arm.

“I’ll take a look later,” Knuckles grimaced. “Could still just be a very big dog or something.”

“It broke into the sheds, too,” Amy shook her head. “When the farmers started locking their animals up for the night. But it was strange… it looked more like a break-in rather than a monster attack!”

“So the beast is intelligent?” Sonic pondered.

“Beasts aren’t intelligent,” Knuckles protested. “Maybe it was a coincidence. Someone tried to break in that night, opening the shed for the monster.”

“There was nothing missing at the scene,” Amy pointed out.

“The thief could’ve had a run in with the monster.”

“Wouldn’t there be any sightings of it then?” Tails asked.

“Right,” Sonic interrupted. “Amy, you mentioned sightings. What did it look like?”

“I don’t have any specifics,” she leaned back into her armchair, glancing away. “Only that it’s big, furry, and scary. And fast.”

“Fast, you say?” The blue hedgehog smirked. “Will it be fast enough for me? ”

“I can’t tell you, I haven’t seen it,” Amy said, but smiled a little. “Though I doubt it.”

“So, a fast, big, furry creature that steals livestock,” Knuckles summarized. “Could be anything!”

“If it only appears at night, we could set a trap,” Tails offered. “Or at least a stakeout, to learn more about it.”

“So we wait for it, catch it, and get rid of it!” Sonic cracked his knuckles with a stretch. “Seems easy enough. So what about that tea?”

“We’ve got a job to do, Sonic,” Knuckles groaned, getting up. “We need to see that carcass for more information on our enemy.”

“If you want to watch dead animals, be my guest,” Sonic grimaced. “I really don’t feel like it.”

Knuckles sighed. “Fine, be it your way! Amy, where do I find the shepherd?”

“She lives in the outskirts in the east of the village,” Amy said.

“Great! Looks like I have to do something all by myself again!” the echidna said before storming out.

An awkward silence befell the room for a moment as Knuckles’s footsteps grew quieter.

“...He seems–”

“Arrogant? Annoying? Aggressive for no reason?” Sonic interrupted the hostess.

“I was going to say something nicer, actually,” Amy sighed.

She was itching to ask more questions, but she did promise the two brothers beverages, so she decided to take care of that before progressing with the conversation. She wasn't gone for more than just a few minutes, though, and when she returned, she realized Sonic was looking around the room curiously, touching every expensive piece of fragile art that was in sight.

She placed the two cups on the small coffee table in front of the couch - one with tea and one with coffee - and sat back in her place.

“So?” She began. “How's the Hunters’ Alliance been treating you?”

Sonic picked up his cup and blew on it, somewhat enjoying the warmth of the porcelain against his gloves. The chill was slowly leaving his digits, but he was glad to speed up the process any way he could. He leaned back on the couch comfortably, seeing his little brother fidget with his cup a bit awkwardly in the corner of his eye.

“A bit more boring than I expected,” he admitted. “Most of the contracts we get are actually just wild animals or thieves and stuff. Nothing that exciting.”

“We're still in the trial period,” Tails added. “They’re giving us the least serious jobs, I believe.”

Amy scoffed. “Is that what they think of my report??”

“Hey, you're lucky you got us!” Sonic grinned. “We'll make sure this monster guy doesn't bother your town, no matter if it's an actual beast or a pack of dogs.”

Amy kicked Sonic under the table, causing him to jump and nearly spill his cup of tea. He gasped as he balanced it, then chuckled. It made Amy frown.

“This is a serious matter, Sonic! Something's out there!”

“I know! I'm just saying I'm taking every possibility into account!” He raised his free hand defensively.

“At least we have experience with packs of wild dogs,” Tails pointed out.

Amy sighed. “No matter what it is, it needs to leave. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep promising townsfolk to deal with their issues and losses…”

Sonic stood up. “It'll be gone before you know it!” He said confidently. “The alliance may not have faith in us, but you've landed with the pros! And Knuckles.”

Amy chuckled a little. “Thanks, Sonic. We should probably catch up with him now, huh?”

Sonic nodded in agreement, finishing his tea.

“It's nice to see you again, Amy,” he said as he placed the cup back onto the table.

“It's nice to see both of you too,” she smiled back at him. “I wish the circumstances weren't so dire, though.”

___

The closer it got to dusk, the less people were in the streets. Seems like people really were afraid of whatever was haunting the woods.

Knuckles was just about done checking out the carcass by the time the other three got to the farmhouse. It was enough to confirm to him that the creature was most definitely some kind of a beast, but he still couldn’t quite tell what kind of a beast it was. Well, either way, the team had to get to work.

The shepherd agreed to let the sheep out to the pasture that evening, even if it took a lot of arguments to get them to do that. Now the three of them had to also make sure nothing happened to the poor sheep during their stakeout, but at least it was a good lure for the creature. After all, what kind of beast would say no to such a buffet?

The plan was simple - Tails were to observe from a nearby tree, warn the team when the creature approached, and cast a net when it got to the right spot, Knuckles would be the muscle that would make it move in the right spot, and if anything goes wrong, Sonic as backup were to chase it down to herd it back. After finalizing the preparations, the team sent Amy home and told her to let everyone know to not leave their house tonight.

Sonic wasn’t thrilled about the plan. If everything goes perfectly… he wouldn’t even get a chance to do anything. Even during the action he would have to just watch Knuckles and Tails do all the work for him. How was he supposed to prove himself to the alliance if he did nothing?? He flopped down onto the grass behind the bush he was hiding with a sigh. They were there for just a few minutes and yet he was already losing his mind. It’d be so much faster if he just ran across the woods and found the creature himself.

Not to mention how cold it got after the sun had gone down for the night. The leather jacket offered some warmth, but it certainly didn’t beat running.

…

It felt like ages before Sonic heard something. Tails was giving a signal.

The hedgehog peaked out from behind the bush to look for the creature. Sure enough, something huge was approaching the pasture from the edge of the woods, and that was no mere wolf. Its fur was black, aside of a few red markings here and there, so it was hard to actually tell what Sonic was even looking at… he could swear he saw a tentacle for a second. A shiver went down his spine.

Finally, an actual monster! Maybe Knuckles would need some help with it after all. Knuckles was strong, sure, but Sonic wasn’t sure if he would be able to go against that all by himself.

The creature slowly crept up closer and closer to one of the sheep, somehow blending in nicely in the grass with its dark fur. Unfortunately, it was at the same time getting farther and farther from the trap. Sonic noticed Knuckles on the move, circling the beast to get the best angle.

Yet when he finally pounced at it, it was as if the creature had already spotted him, easily dodging the attack in a completely opposite direction.

Just as Amy said, it was fast . Once it started moving, even with its bright, red highlights, it was hard to spot where exactly it went in the dark. Knuckles kept attacking, but couldn’t land a single punch, and before Sonic got to react, the echidna was pinned to the ground.

That was it. Knuckles was about to be eaten alive and Sonic wasn’t going to just stand still anymore. He heard Tails cry out - the plan already failed before it was properly sprung into action. So he took off towards it with a fast kick.

It landed. The creature backed away, seemingly more out of shock than the force of Sonic’s kick. It didn’t see him coming. Good.

The beast quickly regained its guard and roared at the two of them, with Sonic now able to see its red, burning eyes stare straight into his soul. All three of them. Another shiver went down Sonic’s spine and this time something else sat in his stomach. He’s never seen something like this.

But he wasn’t gonna let a little bit of fear paralyze him now. After these few seconds that seemed to last ages, he took off with another attack. This time the beast dodged, and just as Sonic was about to jump again, it charged at him with the force of a freight train. He fell to the ground and all the air got punched out of his lungs, only then did he notice the prickling, burning sensation where the attack landed. By the time he regained his sense of sight and gasped some air into his lungs, feeling warm blood seep into his hoodie, he saw the backside of the monster disappearing into the woods.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” He called as he got back up onto his feet, ignoring the pain.

“Sonic, wait–!” he heard Tails’s voice behind him, but didn’t bother to listen. That thing was too dangerous to just leave alone in the woods. It may have been fast, but he could easily catch up with it.

Or so he thought.

Turns out, the woods were thick and had little space for gaining a lot of momentum. Not to mention that the beast seemed to know exactly where it was going. Sonic just barely managed to keep it in sight, losing it for just a split second and–

It was gone.

He stopped suddenly and looked around. It couldn’t have just disappeared! Blood was rushing in his ears, his heart was racing, he couldn’t calm down his breath and he sure as hell couldn’t simply listen for where it’s gone with all those sounds coating him. Yet, he had a feeling of being observed, and that put him on edge. Then, he made a realization. It didn’t disappear. He just simply couldn’t see it.

“Okay, you beast,” he said in half-whisper. “One-on-one. Just me and you.”

His strained breaths created small clouds of air and filled the small clearing, as if the forest around him was dead. But he didn’t have to wait for long. He heard some movement behind him and just barely managed to dodge, feeling the creature’s claws brush against his quills. It wasn’t going to slow down now. Before Sonic fully regained his balance, the beast jumped him again. Okay, it definitely had a tentacle or two, since it whipped right at him. Sonic jumped over the limb, but he knew that even he wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way of the charge so he tried to simply brace for impact, kicking the creature away as soon as it got too close for comfort and spin-dashing between its paws to safety. Was he crazy or did it have four arms?? He bounced off of a tree to gain some height and fell onto the creature with another attack, seemingly landing, only to realize it did no damage at all as the creature grabbed his leg with its teeth and swung it away against another tree.

Everything went dark for a moment. And by the time Sonic shook the daze out, the creature was gone. Again.

He attempted to get up only for his leg to give out from under it, causing him to cry out in sudden pain. Great, did it break his leg too?? He could feel warm blood now flow down his leg. He became painfully aware of the wound it left in his side. He’d definitely feel a lot more bruises in the morning.

“Sonic!” He heard Tails’s voice once again. He sighed, leaning against the tree he was under.

Well, this mission was an utter failure.

Chapter Text

There was only one thing worse than sitting still: sitting still while in pain.

While Sonic somehow avoided getting his leg crushed by the maw of the beast, he still managed to mess it up enough so it was impossible for him to walk without being in constant agony. Not to mention the inability to turn around or bend down due to the wound on his side, or the bruised ribs, giving him the constant reminder that core movement was a blessing. In other words, he was not doing well.

Tails and Knuckles caught up to him last night and helped lead him back to the village as the hedgehog explained to them what exactly happened, when he chased down the monster. The two managed to find a local doctor who patched him up to the best of her abilities, to then find Amy so she could find them a place to stay the night. That is, except for Knuckles, who, after giving Sonic an earful for going after the beast all by himself and nearly getting himself killed, insisted on guarding the edge of the woods and the sheep, which the three of them had promised to keep an eye on.

“If I see you out and about, you’ll have more than just a few bruised ribs!” the echidna hissed as he was about to leave.

“Aww, look at you,” Sonic smirked through the pain that only now began to take its toll, “caring for your teammates so much. Did the monster replace our Knuckles?”

“I care that one of my teammates nearly walked into certain death!” Knuckles snapped. “We’re now one man down and the monster is still out there, unharmed! If anything, it’s now aware of the danger it’s in, so we’ve lost the element of surprise! You have compromised our mission!”

“Weren’t you the one who said those things are dumb?” Sonic raised a brow, attempting to sit up. He hissed, making Amy jump and rush to support him, concern clear on her face. “It’s… going to forget all of this had even happened in like three days. Unlike my ribs.” He chuckled weakly.

Knuckles groaned. “When the alliance finds out, we’ll be put on raccoon extermination duty forever!” He hissed.

“Maybe this one is a bit out of our league…” Tails said hesitantly.

“No way!” Sonic protested. “This was– ack– this was just round one! The alliance doesn’t have to find out about this.”

“You want to lie to the alliance?!”

“Once we deal with the monster, it won’t matter how we did it, just that it’s dead!”

“Unless we fail because someone decided to run off on their own!” Knuckles hissed.

With the echidna storming out soon after, that was the last of him the group saw that night. Maybe for the better - it was a pretty long night for everyone included, alright. Amy let the gang stay at her house for a while, letting Sonic use her bed for the time being and offering Tails to stay in her guest room. She decided to stay in the Mayor’s house for now, as she still had a lot of work to do around the town in the next little while. Tails stuck around the house to help his big bro out whenever he’d need him, unless Knuckles called for him on the field to begin brainstorming on their plan B.

If Sonic was miffed that he couldn’t help earlier, he was now genuinely upset about it.

“You’re pretty lucky, you know,” Tails said as he brought his brother some breakfast the next morning.

“Oh yeah? How so?” Sonic asked, clearly not very convinced of the statement. He wouldn’t say being bedridden during one of the most exciting adventures he could be having was very lucky.

“I gathered some data about these dead sheep the farmers had been finding earlier today. With Knuckles’s help, of course.” Tails laid the tray with a few snacks and PB&J sandwiches on a nightstand so he could help the hedgehog sit up with the least pain possible. When he was done, he brought the tray to Sonic and took one of the sandwiches for himself, as he sat on the edge of the bed so he could continue. “Remember when Amy said the bodies looked as if they were infected with rot ?”

“No,” Sonic simply replied, picking up one of the sandwiches. He was hungry, but he didn’t exactly find PB&Js very… appetizing. There was nothing wrong with them, at least not that he could pinpoint it, but he really didn’t care for the sandwich right now.

“Well… She did say that,” Tails continued. “And that’s why I wanted to double check. It was clearly caused by some really nasty venom. The creature must have some sort of venom glands in its body, which it sometimes uses against its prey.”

“Venom, huh?” Sonic said after forcing himself to take a bite of the sandwich. He didn’t want to disappoint Tails by not appreciating his efforts. “So, by ‘lucky’, you mean lucky I wasn't poisoned to death?”

“Precisely,” the short fox nodded. “We couldn't get a sample, but this thing is clearly pretty nasty. We would probably be able to tell almost immediately if it poisoned you.”

“It did have some spiky tentacles…” Sonic pondered. Tails looked at him questionably.

“I didn’t see it very well,” he admitted. “But it’s clearly very dangerous. We can’t go against it face to face, because if we get infected with that venom, it’s over.” His eyes were suddenly filled with concern as he looked up and down his hedgehog friend. Sonic could tell his mind was probably filled with what-if scenarios by the way he was looking at him.

“We’ll simply be more careful from now on!” The hedgehog exclaimed, reaching out and bringing Tails in for an awkward, quick side hug. “We now somewhat know what we’re dealing with, and even if I can’t help you two, you've got the brains and brawn to go for days! You’ve got this!”

Tails chuckled. “Thanks, Sonic,” he said gently, offering the other one a small, hesitant smile.

“Besides, I’ll be back in action in just a few days,” Sonic pointed out. “ Then we’ll show that beast true fear in round two!”

“I hope so,” Tails hummed. “We probably scared it off for now, meaning we have more time to plan our next move. And we’ll have to plan carefully this time.”

“Let’s not leave the planning up to Knuckles by himself this time,” Sonic chuckled dryly.

Tails finished the sandwich and jumped off the bed. “You should finish your breakfast, you’ll need the energy to recover.”

“Mhmm,” Sonic hummed as he forced himself to take another bite. “Actually, speaking of, do you mind getting me a stick?”

“A… stick?” Tails tilted his head.

“A walking stick,” the hedgehog explained. “I could at least be there when you’re making another plan.”

The fox looked at the other with worry. “I don’t know, you shouldn’t be putting strain on your hurt leg…”

“I won’t push it!” Sonic promised. “Come on, Tails, I’m going to go insane in here!”

Tails sighed. “Alright, I’ll see what I can find,” he offered him a worried smile.

“You’re the best, Tails!”

—

The weather seemed to get only worse with each day. The wind became colder, nipping at Sonic’s skin between his quills uncomfortably, carrying the last bunches of fall leaves with it. His little fox friend wrapped his jacket tighter around him as they approached Knuckles, already hard at work at the edge of the village. Sonic leaned on the wooden crutch that Tails had made for him as he stood in place, seeing the echidna carve crossbow bolts. He already had quite a few - they came here armed, after all - but didn’t use the crossbows they were equipped with thinking they could deal with the creature without using such weaponry. Just in case it wasn’t an actual monster.

Knuckles eyed Sonic up and down as he and Tails approached. “Weren’t you supposed to be in bed rest?”

“And miss all the action?” Sonic smirked. “No way!”

“You’ll be no help if you get yourself killed,” the echidna hissed.

“Relax, I won’t be doing any fighting,” Sonic put his free hand on his hip. “I can still help, though.”

“Sonic could help with the preparations,” Tails chipped in.

Knuckles sighed. “Just don’t get in the way.” 

The next plan was pretty simple: They would lure the monster again, however, this time they’d trap it with an invention of Tails’s design before it could run off. They’ll be able to finish it off easily once it has nowhere to run. The crossbows were a plan B. Best to have some better protection this time, in case one of them gets jumped again.

“What if it doesn’t come back?” Sonic raised the question, leaning on his lap once he was in a more comfortable sitting position on a rock nearby. “I gave it a pretty good scare.”

“It’s bound to get hungry eventually,” Knuckles replied, aiming the crossbow at a nearby tree. He squeezed the trigger and a bolt instantly jumped out of it at top speed, digging deep into the bark of the tree, exactly in the middle. “This is the only village in miles . The place is surrounded by hard-to-cross mountains. It’s a mindless beast. It’s not going anywhere.”

“Makes you wonder where it came from,” Tails chimed in, looking up from the drawing he was sketching.

“Or what it is ,” Sonic grimaced, looking over at Knuckles.

“Doesn’t matter what it is, what matters is that it’s dangerous and needs to be put down. Tails, what’s the status?”

“I’m finishing the blueprint,” the fox replied without looking up this time. “We should be ready to start putting it together soon.”

“Anything you need help with, bud?” Sonic stood up, picking up the crutch that was resting against the rock he was on a second ago and supporting himself with it. The wounds still hurt like hell, but he wasn’t about to give in to them.

“I’m good!” Tails smiled. “Knuckles, do you mind getting some of the materials we might need?”

“On it,” the echidna put the crossbow on his back and straightened up, jogging up to Tails to get the list of necessary items from him.

Well, this kind of sucked. Sonic sat back down and placed his chin in his hands. He still didn’t really have anything to do, now simply watching the others do all the work for him. Maybe he should’ve stayed at Amy’s place. He sighed.

—

“Hi, boys!” Amy’s voice broke through the hammers knocking and wood clanking together. Tails and Knuckles looked up from the contraption the two were building - or rather Tails was building and Knuckles was assisting - just as Sonic opened one eye and tilted his head slightly to look at the source of the voice from the patch of grass he was laying on. Amy held up a few bowls of something steaming, letting the wind carry the pleasant, savory smell to the three of them. “I brought you some lunch!”

“Oh, that smells amazing!” Tails instantly straightened up, leaving his tools on the ground as he ran over to Amy.

“I wouldn’t mind a break,” Knuckles smiled, following him.

Amy walked over and handed each a bowl, helping Sonic sit up to hand him one as well. It was clearly a really nicely made meat stew.

“Mmm-mm!” Sonic hummed with pleasure after taking a bite of the stew. It definitely was exactly what he needed. Only now has he noticed how hungry he was. “This is great, Amy! Did you make it?”

“Oh, no, no,” Amy shook her head, sitting down on a nearby rock and taking her own bowl of the stew. “Belle, the local tinkerer, made some for you guys, since you’ve been working so hard trying to protect us. Pretty much everyone heard of what happened yesterday and some people feel kind of bad for you.”

Knuckles scoffed. “They shouldn’t feel bad, they should feel safer with us around!”

“Well, some people are also saying kind of mean stuff about you guys too…” Amy said a bit weaker, taking a bite of the stew again.

“It was just one little hiccup!” Sonic complained. “We wanted more information, now we know what it looks like! Kind of!”

“We know it has venom, tentacles, and that it’s bipedal,” Tails listed. “And based on the estimation of its size I was able to design a perfect trap for it and-”

“Well, hunters can’t do hiccups!” Knuckles clenched his fist and hit the ground. “One more like this and someone might get killed! We’re lucky that didn’t happen already!” he turned into Sonic’s direction. With that kind of stare Sonic was sure he was going to drop dead any second now.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve already had that conversation this morning,” The hedgehog waved the echidna off, which seemed to only piss him off harder. “Let’s focus on our next step.”

“Speaking of,” Amy stirred her stew a little, “how are you doing, Sonic?”

“Better than last night,” the hedgehog grinned. “It still hurts pretty bad, but I’ve gone through worse. The leg’s pretty annoying, though.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so still for such a long time,” Amy chuckled, although she didn’t hide the worried look she was giving Sonic’s wounds.

“It’s torture!” Sonic complained. “Can you imagine taking ten whole minutes to get here from your place?? It’s a five-second jog!”

Amy chuckled again at Sonic’s exaggerated tone. Knuckles raised the bowl to drink up the remains of it and wiped his mouth with his arm, putting it down with a hum.

“Can you imagine being stuck with this guy all day?” He added. “He just won’t. Stop. Talking!!”

“ Someone has to loosen the mood a little! Not that anything would help you relax.”

Knuckles already got up to his feet and started walking towards the blue hedgehog, but Tails quickly stood in front of him and gently pushed him back.

“Okay, you guys,” he said a bit awkwardly, “let’s all calm down a little.”

“You’re all doing your best to protect this town and we’re all thankful for it,” Amy got up as well. “The past is in the past, so simply focus on what’s the best for everyone, okay?” She gave them all a warm smile.

Knuckles grumbled something, but backed down anyway. Sonic simply gave him a very punchable grin.

“I should get going,” Amy carried on, looking up at the sky. The sun was already brushing against the tops of the tallest trees, meaning it would start to get dark really soon. “I still have some paperwork to do in the Mayor’s office,” she complained with a small sigh.

“Take care of yourself, Ames,” Sonic said as he passed his bowl to her while she was picking up the rest of them. “Try not to overwork yourself.”

“Well, hopefully the beast won’t attack as often with you three around, so I’ll have less emergencies to take care of,” the pink hedgehog smiled.

“Thanks for bringing us the food!” Tails waved at her cheerfully, watching her leave.

“See you guys!” She waved back.

Knuckles stretched, looking up at the slowly setting sun. “We should start wrapping things up in here as well, we won’t get a lot done in the dark.” Tails nodded, and the two got back to work.

Sonic flopped back onto the ground, bored out of his mind. And feeling kind of useless. He watched the clouds roll by, his fingertips starting to feel a little numb due to the chill increasing with the setting sun. Then, he got an idea.

“Say,” he sat up slowly, “We could learn more about it from its environment. It comes out at night, meaning it sleeps during the day, right?”

Knuckles turned to squint at him. “We are not walking into the beast’s den!”

“Who said ‘we’?” Sonic smirked. “I could just follow its trail for a little while–”

“No. Absolutely not!” The echidna instantly shot the idea down. “You’re too injured to walk on your own, let alone go into the woods all by yourself, are you insane?!”

“Come on, we scared it off!” the hedgehog argued. “I wouldn’t go far, the pawprints themselves could be of help!”

“The answer is no, hedgehog,” Knuckles said with a low tone. Sonic scoffed.

“Yeah, okay, guess I’ll just keep sitting here,” he flopped back down into the grass.

Another blow of the wind made him shiver. He sat up again, groaning a little - he should not be moving so much - and used the crutch to stand up.

“I’ll go back to Amy’s place, then,” he declared. “I don’t feel like watching you guys work while freezing my quills off.”

“Oh, I’ll help you!” Tails quickly looked over, already on his way to support his older brother, but Sonic just raised a hand at him.

“I can do it by myself just fine, thanks,” he said quickly. “You just focus on whatever it is you’re doing.”

“Oh– you sure?” The fox folded his ears a little bit with concern.

“Yeah!” Sonic grinned. “You need to hurry, or else you won’t finish wrapping things up before the night falls!”

“Oh, right…!” Tails looked back at the contraption. Knuckles was picking up all the unused parts and tools and carrying them to a safer location now.

“He can take care of himself,” he called. “Come over here and tell me where to put these!”

“On it!” Tails ran back to the echidna to continue packing up. Sonic was about to get going, but he looked over at the lone two crossbows sitting near other equipment his companions didn’t hide yet. He picked one up and weighed it in his free hand.

“That’s not a toy,” Knuckles called to him over his arm.

“I know! I’ve shot one of these before, thank you very much,” he pointed out. They all have. They were all trained with it before being sent on their first mission. “I might as well get some training done while stuck in place tomorrow again.” He strapped the crossbow to his back and headed back into the village.

After getting used to using the crutch, it wasn’t so bad. He could still walk at a rather quick pace with minimal pain. If anything, it was more annoying than painful. He saw some people give him strange looks as he passed by, a few look at him pitifully. Like he was some sort of example. Oh, he hated it. He hated not being any help to the team, being completely benched because of a dumb mistake he made.

Then again… who exactly made Knuckles the leader of their team? Only Sonic knew what he was truly capable of, and if he gathered some data before the day ended, that’d show Knuckles! He was a valuable asset to the team, benched or not!

He looked back just to check if he was out of view, and upon making double sure the others were still gathering equipment, he whistled a tune and turned to go towards the woods. Circling back a bit, he was able to reach the place where they first encountered the beast near the pasture, now clear of any sheep.

The dusk didn’t make it easy to spot the tracks, but at least it wasn’t as bad as last night. He had to hurry though if he wanted to be able to learn anything. He quickly followed the tracks back to the little clearing where his own battle with the beast went down.

The whole place was a mess of footprints, pawprints, and blood. Mostly Sonic’s blood. He actually wasn’t sure if he made the beast bleed at all. He probably didn’t get a chance to do so. Oh, that was so embarrassing.

He went down on one knee with a small grunt to look closer at the prints. There were… a lot of them. Most of them actually looked like handprints, almost…? There were some pawprints that reminded Sonic of canines. And, from his quick count, the creature either loved to stomp its hands against the ground a whole lot, or it had two sets of arms, meaning the beast must have six separate limbs.

It would actually explain why Sonic thought it had more of them when they fought. So he wasn’t just seeing things. He’s never actually seen a beast with additional limbs before…

That was probably all he could learn here. The sun had almost entirely set, meaning he could barely see anything at all, and he definitely didn’t want to run into the monster while being nearly defenseless. He was kind of glad that he had his crossbow, but shooting it one handed definitely wasn’t something he wanted to learn on the fly.

He attempted to stand back up, but the pain in his side stopped him, making him drop his clutch and gripping his side with a hiss. Oh, that was uncomfortable. He stayed like that for a moment, waiting for the pain to let go, but instead he felt something else.

Suddenly, it was as if something was stuck in his chest, in his stomach, right underneath his skin. Something that wanted OUT. Sonic clenched his fists and let out a cry, confused and freaked out.

His body began to distort. Sonic could feel every strand of fur changing its form, every muscle tear, he could hear his own voice, he saw complete darkness mixed with things that he had never imagined he would see, he bit his tongue and tasted blood - were his teeth always so sharp??? - he was overwhelmed. He needed it to STOP. EVERYTHING . S T O P .

It was like a fever dream. Like a NIGHTMARE. He didn’t know how long it lasted, but even when it let go, he didn’t know what was going on. Where he was. Who he was. The sounds? The smells? He didn’t even want to open his eyes. Don’t add to this insanity. Everything felt alien. He was scared. Confused. Lost.

His crutch and crossbow were left behind on the ground.

Chapter Text

…stone. Cold stone. It was pushing against his cheek uncomfortably. He heard the wind’s hum, yet he didn’t feel it. It was close, but just out of reach. Close enough to taste the chill in the air. It penetrated his bones, leaving a dull ache that defeated any motivation he had to move.

He twitched his finger. Stone again. Against his paw pad this time. …pad? He didn’t feel his gloves. Strange… He never took them off to sleep. Now that he focused on that, the chill of the rocky surface spread across his entire body. He was laying flat on it.

…movement. Someone was close. Above him. But he could feel their footsteps just to the left. He could also smell… lavender? The presence drew a little farther. They passed by him, continued walking, but then stopped. They didn't go away. They simply kept their distance. His ear twitched.

Sonic opened his eyes. Shapes blurred together. Grays, greens, light, dark. He was inside…? Yet the air was fresh. He blinked a few times, then slowly sat up with a groan to rub at his eyes. He felt like he was going to throw up and his head pulsed like crazy. His whole body felt like it was thrown into a dragon’s maw.

What was he even doing last night…? He couldn’t place it. He remembered going into the woods and… the rest weren't even images. Just feelings. Vague memories of feelings that he couldn't explain. A lot of fear, confusion, anger…

“You’re awake,” A low, soft voice echoed nearby. A voice Sonic wasn’t familiar with. He shook his head and blinked again, letting his eyes fully adjust to his surroundings.

It was a cave entrance. A pretty massive one at that. He could clearly see the woods outside, and the sunny weather suggested it was an early morning. He was laying just out of the grass, on a stone surface of the cave. The walls sheltered him from the wind. Despite that, he shuddered a little, the chill of the fall reaching him, making his fur stand on its ends. Sonic followed the sound of the voice, a bit deeper in the cave, and turned to see–

He screamed, his voice bouncing off of the cave walls. The beast! The beast was right there–

He scrambled back, blinking again and then realized his eyes were playing tricks on him.

It was a hedgehog, much like himself. His fur’s color patterns is what fooled his mind into thinking it was the beast, seeing as his quills were black, red highlights running across their tips. He was around Sonic’s age and posture, standing straight and proud. The only unusual thing about him was a whip-tail lashing behind him. His red eyes stared into Sonic with repulsion.

“...are you done?” He asked with the same, low, soft voice.

“Yes, um– sorry,” Sonic said quickly, coughing a few times and clearing his throat. It felt really raspy… He needed a drink. He looked the other hedgehog up and down, trying to recall if he’s ever seen him before. “I’m sorry, but… who are you?”

The other hedgehog just scoffed, turning away on his heel. “You don’t remember a thing. Typical.”

Sonic blinked. This guy must’ve been related to his gap in memory, then.

“Uh, yeah, about that– do you mind enlightening me?”

The darker hedgehog gave him a venomous side eye.

“I don’t trust your kind,” he hissed.

“My… kind?”

With that, the dark hedgehog approached a bit closer and tossed something right into Sonic’s face. Sonic tussled with the piece of heavy clothing, getting it off of his head and looking down at it, only then realizing it was his leather jacket, an emblem with a golden arrow on its lapel. A trademark of the Hunters’ Alliance. He looked back up at the hedgehog with confusion.

“Okay, you don’t vibe with the alliance, I get it,” He shrugged, putting his jacket back on. He just realized he was completely naked, which wouldn’t be an issue if not for the fact that it was really cold. He could barely feel the tips of his digits…His shoes were gone too, which was strange. He got up to his feet. “Just point me towards the Windmill Village and I’ll be out of your quills.”

The other hedgehog looked him up and down. “If you go back, they’ll kill you,” he said flatly.

“Okay, can you stop speaking in riddles for a second here?” Sonic put his hands on his sides. “What the hell do you mean they’ll ‘kill’ me?”

“Just what I said,” he approached the blue hedgehog. “They’ll kill you.”

“Care to explain who’s ‘they’?” Sonic raised an eyebrow, not impressed.

“You’re a beast, hedgehog. And they’ve seen you.”

Now things were getting more and more ridiculous.

“Um, I don’t know what you’ve got going on, weird-hedgehog-that-lives-all-alone-in-a-cave, and I know I might be a bit out of shape at the moment, but I wouldn't call a total stranger a ‘beast ’ for no reason,” Sonic crossed his arms. It was his turn to look the other one up and down.

The darker hedgehog looked a bit shaggy, but not as much as one would expect from someone living alone in the woods. He wore an old trench coat that was covered in dirt and grime, he was barefoot, and the only thing sticking out in his looks were the spotless golden bracelets and anklets, bouncing off the light with a nice shine to them. Despite the grimy appearance, his quills were nicely brushed, and he himself seemed rather clean. His tail was lashing angrily left and right behind him, seemingly the only part of him that was actively moving as he stared him down. Only now did Sonic notice that the hedgehog's red markings also ran across his limbs and sharply traced the edges of his eyes.

He sighed, starting to walk, slowly circling around Sonic.

“You don’t remember last night, correct?” he began, with a rather ominous tone. “Don’t remember transforming? Running into the village like a lunatic? Your ‘ friends’ attacking you?”

“No,” Sonic simply replied, however his tone didn't come out as sure as he would’ve liked it to be. Some vague memories, or maybe feelings, started scratching the back of his head… No matter how hard he tried to catch them, though, they kept slipping away. He definitely didn’t look as confident as before. “The hell do you mean ‘transforming’? ”

The other hedgehog stopped, looking at him again.

“How is your leg?”

“My… leg?” Sonic blinked. Only then did he realize he hadn’t felt even a pinch of pain from his leg the entire conversation… and nor from his side. The bandage was still loosely hanging on his calf. Okay… there had to be an explanation for it. He glanced at the other hedgehog suspiciously and then kneeled on his healthy leg, undoing the bandage and–

The wound was gone. Completely gone. As if there was nothing there to begin with. Not even the smallest scar.

“Lycanthropy can cure any minor injury with a single transformation, as your very molecular structure gets reconstructed,” the other hedgehog carried on, seeing the confusion and slight fear drawing itself on Sonic’s face.

“Hold up– lycanthropy?? ” Sonic instantly got up again. “You’re not saying that that thing that attacked me was a werewolf? ”

“I am,” he growled. 

A shiver went down Sonic’s spine, the realization of what those words implied dawning upon him heavily. Those red eyes staring at him right now… No, it was impossible, right?

“...it was you,” Sonic said slowly.

The hedgehog didn't reply. He let Sonic draw his own conclusion, it seemed.

“If so, what kind of messed up werewolf are you??” Sonic carried on, calling back the image of the monster he fought that one night. “Four arms? Tentacles??? ”

“I am the Ultimate Lifeform,” the hedgehog said, straightening up. “There is no other like me.”

Sonic chuckled nervously.

“So what you’re saying is that you bit me,” he said, starting to pace, “and because of that I turned into a werewolf last night? Yeah? Is that right?”

The hedgehog nodded. “It would be amusing if it weren’t a waste of my power. The hunter becomes the prey. ”

“Ha, ha! Okay, no, I get it,” Sonic kind of forced a laugh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he slowly shook his head. “You're just making fun of me, right?”

“Do you need any more proof, hedgehog?” the other one hissed. “Ask your colleagues, if you dare. As I said, you fought .”

“I’d rather hear it straight from the source, thank you very much!” He looked over the dark hedgehog. “About those directions…?”

“Hmph,” the other one just scoffed, turning away.

“Okay, fine! Thanks so much for the directions! So very helpful!” He headed towards the cave exit, not sparing another look back. He was gone in half a second.

“Suit yourself,” the dark hedgehog said before groaning in annoyance, rubbing his temple.

He walked further into the cave and leaned on one of the walls.

“He’s even more annoying than I thought,” he scoffed.

There was a moment of silence. And then a slow chuckle echoed through the cave.

“This is never an easy transition,” the voice said. “Give him some time, he’ll come around.”

—

This was, in a way, a test run of his injured leg. And, just as he feared, Sonic was completely fine to run at his usual speed. His injury was just… gone.

There could be a better explanation to it though, right? Maybe he could ask Tails… Maybe the injury itself wasn’t as bad as he thought… Maybe the village had magical medicine he never heard of. There had to be something that could explain it that did not include him turning into a werewolf beast last night.

In a way, he was glad his leg was okay. Even if it was just one day, he missed running like this, and even if his whole body still ached in a strange way, it felt good to stretch a little. He almost didn’t mind having to do a few laps before he found the correct way back.

Some things about the woods were… strange, though. They were small things, yet Sonic was beginning to be hyper-aware of them. The dewy grass smell was more clear, the sun hurt his eyes a little bit more, the birds fluttering their wings dozens of trees away got his attention each and every time, despite the wind in his ears usually drowning out sounds like these. When he slowed down for a second, he noticed more smells - the trees, a few flowers that haven't withered yet, a few fruits that some critters were carrying away… he never noticed any of this. What was going on…?

He took off again, still not fully aware where to go. Yet, he couldn't explain it, but… one of the directions was a bit louder. It had a few more, vague smells coming off of it. Though, it was probably his mind playing tricks on him. That must've been it! He got a strange idea stuck in his head and his own senses were trying to convince him that it was true.

Then, he stopped. Something caught his eye: a homemade crutch and a crossbow. That was the clearing where he fought the beast the other night. And that was the place where he…

He shook his head. He was letting that hedgehog weirdo get into his head! Maybe he simply got jumped so hard he hit his head and had amnesia. He did remember feeling pain… And it seemed like there were additional prints in the ground suggesting a struggle. So maybe that was it! He picked up the crossbow and put it away, then eyed the crutch… a bit of the bandage was still stuck to his leg.

Sonic thought for a second. He hummed, uncomfortable visions plaguing his mind. And what if his companions jumped to conclusions too…? Sonic didn’t worry much about Tails, but Knuckles… ohh, he shivered at the thought. Reconsidering, he figured Tails would be really concerned too if he were to find out…

He bent down to tie the bandage around his leg tighter and to reapply the bandage on his side. Just for now. As soon as he’d learn more, he’d tell them. Yeah. For sure.

He picked up the crutch and felt it in his hand, then leaned on it. It’d take him a while to get back to the village like this, but, in a way, he didn’t mind. There was another thing he had to learn about, after all, and he wasn’t sure if he’d like the true answer.

No, he was letting that guy get into his head again. Could he really be the werewolf they fought? Was that even a werewolf?? Something didn't make sense here. Sonic has never seen a werewolf before, but he was pretty sure they didn't come with double arms. Besides, from what he learned in the alliance’s training, werewolves were aggressive beasts that craved blood and destruction. Even as a human or mobian, you could easily recognize a werewolf from the way they'd act. Like monsters given humanoid form. A destructive, impulsive, uncontrollable brute.

That other hedgehog… he wasn't that. Even as aggressive as he got, he was a soft spoken, calm, rational person that one could hold a conversation with… kind of. Maybe he was a little questionable, but he'd never give him the impression of secretly being a beast. Maybe he's just gone insane out of isolation or something.

Yet Sonic couldn't dismiss the similarities the beast and the hedgehog shared. They had a very distinct palette to them, even if the beast had more vibrant hues to it. And those eyes…

The beast had those intelligent eyes. That's what made him think. Then that meant…

Sonic reached the village, circling around to not make it clear where he was coming from. He hoped nobody noticed he was gone, but with the attention Tails and Amy were giving him since that one night, his hopes were rather low. The fact people started to flood the streets to begin their daily routines wasn't helpful either. Why did he feel extra watched today?

Not to mention the smells. Did the village always stank so bad? All the different scents mixing together into such a disgusting aroma made him wish he ran back to the woods.

Upon at last making it safely to Amy’s house, he attempted to sneak in. It seemed like nobody was home… thank Chaos. He tossed the crutch and the crossbow near Amy’s bed which he was currently occupying and rushed into the washroom to freshen up a bit. Ames brought some fresh water for him and Tails before the sun set on her way back to grab something from her house, which the two appreciated a lot. As it turned out, he was covered in grime. Not to mention the nasty feeling that he felt he couldn't get out of his quills, almost like something that was stuck to his skin. He rubbed and rubbed, pouring water over himself, his dulled claws leaving slight, red markings on his skin, yet it wouldn't leave. It stuck to him like glue, and the more time passed, the more aware he was of it. It was driving him insane.

His ears suddenly perked up. Someone was at the door. …Mint. Tails. It was Tails. Okay, okay, he needed to wrap this up. He looked good enough, he just needed to grab some fresh bandages and get to bed. Tails barely managed to open the door in the time it took him to do that.

“Huh? Sonic?” The little fox’s voice rang out, he must've heard him rush to bed. He quickly ran up to the bedroom, eyes wide like two plates.

“What's up, Tails?” He stretched in bed, his crutch beside it. He looked at his brother lazily.

“Oh, Sonic, where have you been all night?!” The fox yelped, clearly worried out of his mind. He ran up to hug his brother.

“Woah, hey– what's the big deal?” Sonic chuckled awkwardly. They did notice he was gone. Dammit. There went his plan of pretending nothing unusual happened. “I just wanted to get some fresh air last night. You know me! Found a pile of cozy leaves to burrow into, slept like a baby, came back before dawn!”

“It was incredibly dangerous!” Tails cried out. “Are you okay? Were you attacked?”

“I already told you, bud, I'm fine,” Sonic gently pushed his brother away. He hated lying to him like this, but he needed answers first. He needed to make sure everything was fine before he shared his worries. “We scared that beast off, remember?”

“I wouldn't be so sure,” the fox looked up at his brother with concern. “It came back last night. And that's not all. There's more than one.”

Sonic's heart sank.

“...more than one…?”

Tails nodded. “When me and Knuckles were done cleaning up last night, I went to check on you. Knuckles stayed behind to stand guard. You weren't here, so I ran back to Knuckles to tell him, but he raised an alarm that the beast was back. We tried to fight it off, but then another one jumped out of the woods! A much bigger one!”

A burning hole appeared in Sonic’s chest and grew with every word of Tails’s retelling. He could tell he went white in the face.

“I think the first one was the new one,” Tails continued. “Its fur was a little brighter than the second one’s… and it seemed a bit more out of control. We eventually scared both of them off and nobody got hurt, but that changed our plans… I was so worried that they got you, we couldn't find you anywhere!”

“Wow,” Sonic forced a grin. “Sounds like I've missed quite a bit of fun.”

“This is getting more and more dangerous with every second,” Tails complained. “Who knows how many of them are in those woods?”

Sonic inhaled. He had to play along for now.

“Hey, let's focus on what we know . We'll deal with them one by one! We can do this,” he assured his little buddy.

Tails whined a little. “Maybe… but we definitely have to adjust our plans… one trap won't be enough.”

“That's the spirit!” Sonic pat Tails’s shoulder. “We can't be lamenting, we have to keep going! We'll find a way to deal with those creatures, the alliance will see how cool we are, and everything will be just fine!”

In a way, he was trying to cheer himself up just as much as Tails.

“You're… you're right!” Tails smiled. “We've less time than we thought, we have to get to work!”

“Go on ahead without me,” Sonic stretched a little, pretending that his side suddenly gave him trouble. “I'll take it easy for a while, I think I slept funny.”

The fox suddenly looked worried. “Do you want me to call over the medic–”

“No, no!” Sonic quickly interrupted. “I'll–” he cleared his throat, “–I'll be okay. It's just a mild ache.”

“If you say so…” Tails hesitated, but then stepped back. “We'll be in the same spot as yesterday if you’ll want to join us!”

“Gotcha!” Sonic waved as he watched his little brother leave. The hole in his chest only grew bigger.

There was another one. Just like the other hedgehog said. Another beast. Another… werewolf.

Him.

…No, no, he couldn't be…

But the wounds healing themselves overnight. His vague memories lining up with what the other hedgehog said. Another werewolf suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Not to mention the strange things he's been hearing and smelling…

Sonic looked down at his hands, now shaking slightly. His dull claws, his pads. He really was… he really was a beast. There was too much proof for everything to be a mere coincidence.

He was a danger to everyone in the village. He already attacked Tails and Knuckles. He could have killed them and he wouldn't have had a clue . How long until he lost his mind? Until he was no longer himself? What if he started losing it during the day too?? What could he do? What should he even do??

…the other hedgehog. That other hedgehog. He was calm, well spoken, he warned him. He knew what he was doing. He was in control. Sonic had to get his help. Maybe he knew how to reverse this.

Sonic grabbed his crutch. He carefully left the house, making sure as little people saw him as possible. He still pretended his leg was hurt, just in case someone spotted him, slowly making his way through town until he reached the woods. There, he took off, attempting to find his way back to the cave.

He was pretty sure it was somewhere to the east… he headed in that direction, until something else hit him.

It was a vague smell of lavender. One he had smelled that morning. It wasn't the season for lavender to bloom, but he had an idea where it was coming from. He turned his direction towards it instead.

He almost ran straight into the dark hedgehog. The other one had great reflexes, though, because just as Sonic got in range, he grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground.

“Ow…” Sonic whined, coughing up the dirt that got into his nostrils.

“You.” The other hedgehog gave him a pitiful stare.

“Yes, me,” Sonic sat up on his knees, attempting to fight off the dizziness induced by the sudden attack.

“I thought you decided I was playing a joke on you,” the dark hedgehog said sarcastically with a scoff.

“I know, I know, but–” he got up to his feet– “I thought about it. I checked a few things and– well–”

“Spit it out, hedgehog. You're wasting my time.”

Sonic reached out and grabbed the other hedgehog’s wrist, looking up at him with eyes full of desperation.

“I need your help.”

Chapter Text

Sonic had faced a few monsters in his past, long before he joined the alliance. His island didn't house a lot of beasts, but every now and then some sea serpent or other ocean creature would attack the coast. Sonic was never good with water, but as soon as these creatures touched down on his beaches, it was on. sight.

There were a lot of despicable creatures out there, and Sonic knew well that Green Hills was quite lucky to be very rarely attacked. He felt horrible for all those people who had to face constant monster attacks, which is why he decided to join the alliance in the first place. He protected a few places on his own, but deep down, he knew he wouldn't be able to do that against more powerful foes. He wasn't the only hero of Green Hills, and the world needed more protection now than ever. Taking a crash course of the different types of monsters and some ways of dealing with them on behalf of the Hunters’ Alliance, he felt ready to get out there and defend innocent people from these ferocious beasts.

Never did it pass his mind to wonder what those beasts must've felt like. If they felt anything at all. Truth be told, he didn't think they were conscious. How could you be capable of thought and still choose to terrorize people? If you were capable of feeling anything at all, wouldn’t you feel any empathy for the innocents whose livelihoods were taken away? No. The lack of that was what defined a monster.

Now, there he was, squeezing the wrist of a complete stranger that claimed to be one of those beasts, begging him for help. There he was, apparently having turned into a mindless beast last night himself, without any knowledge if he could ever go back to his normal life. Staring at those shocked, red eyes, hoping for a small drop of empathy and a promise of help.

Instead, the other hedgehog pulled. It happened so fast Sonic didn't realize when he let go of his wrist, nor when the other hedgehog managed to dig its claws into his arm, pulling him closer, so close he could feel his breath. It smelled horrible. Sonic's heart raced as he realized how defenseless he now was. How his face was just a few inches away from the other.

“Why would I ever choose to help someone like you, hunter.” His words were slow and dripping with venom.

Sonic felt his cheeks become hot. Yet before he had any opportunity to consider what that actually said about himself, the other hedgehog suddenly pushed him away, placing his heel right behind Sonic’s feet, making him lose his balance and slam into the ground with a painful grunt.

“You got yourself into this mess,” he continued. “I’ve nothing to say to you.”

“ You got me into this mess!” Sonic retaliated, getting himself off the ground. “You bit me! You cursed me!”

“Watch your mouth, hedgehog,” the other one hissed. “It is not a curse. It is a gift. One I shouldn’t have carelessly passed on to you!”

“Well I don’t want your lousy ‘gift’!” He took a step closer to the darker hedgehog, staring him down. “How do I reverse it?”

“There is no reversing it! You’ve transformed, and you will continue transforming every night.”

“I can’t!” Sonic cried. “What if I hurt someone? What if I kill someone??”

“None of my concern.” the other hedgehog turned on his heel with a shrug, ready to leave.

Desperation began to get replaced by anger in Sonic’s chest. How could this guy just put the worst possible burden on him and then refuse to help?? Show zero empathy? He really was just a monster.

…an idea formed in his head. A cruel one, but he had no other choice.

“I’ll make it your concern, then,” he said slowly.

It caught the other’s attention, who stopped and looked at him over his shoulder.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Got him. 

Sonic fixed his jacket, leaning down to pick up the crutch that he lost, after the hedgehog threw him to the ground the first time. He picked at the wood, playing it cool.

“It means that you either help me,” he said without making eye contact, “or I lead the rest of the alliance straight to you.”

The dark hedgehog scoffed. “If you think that I live in that filthy cave–”

“I’m not talking about the cave,” Sonic looked up at the other hedgehog with a cold stare.

He easily found him when he wanted to just a few minutes ago, using those new skills he gained since last night. He could do it again, he was sure of it. He watched the darker of the two connect the dots together, eyes widening just a little bit as he made the realization.

Sonic wasn’t actually intending on doing anything like that. At least, he didn’t want this guy dead. He was only a nuisance to the local shepherds after all, so maybe, with the knowledge that he was just some guy , he could convince the others to just imprison him… at most. He didn’t deserve to die like any other wild beast. Even if he was one sometimes, he was also a person.

If looks could kill, Sonic would be dead twice over. There was more hatred in those eyes than in Knuckles’s when Sonic told him he used his handmade crossbow bolts as firewood by accident.

“Hmph. You could do that anyway,” the other hedgehog remarked.

“And lose the only guy I know who could teach me how to deal with this whole situation?” Sonic crossed his arms. “I’m not dumb, you know. But if you refuse, I’ll lose it anyway, so there might be at least one more good thing I could do before turning myself in.”

Silence befell the two of them. Sonic could tell the other was weighing his options. Good, he could tell he was a bit scared from the way his tail was lashing, how his eyes kept darting around.

He then fully turned around to face Sonic, staring him down.

“Your lessons start now.”

And, in half a second, the hedgehog darted away at a speed not unlike Sonic’s. That caught the young hunter off guard as he let go of the crutch and scrambled to follow him.

“H- hey!!” He called after him. The hedgehog kept making a lot of sudden turns, as if he was trying to lose Sonic. He definitely knew these woods better, but Sonic wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily. “You want a race? I’ll give you a race!”

Sonic had to admit, he’d never met anyone who could match his speed. Not to mention how he struggled to build up enough momentum due to all the turns the other one was making. It was the same strategy the werehog had used against him during their first encounter – use his knowledge of all the paths against the hunter, except now he was somehow faster . But Sonic wouldn’t let some forest hermit beat him at a good old fashioned race!

The scenery around them changed as they ran – Sonic didn’t think he ever got so far into the woods yet. The slope of terrain raised, creating a pretty steep tilt of the land, yet the vegetation didn’t seem to care much. More and more stones peaked out of the ground, smallest rocks creating tripping hazards, biggest boulders becoming their own, isolated islands with trees, grass, moss, bushes, and other types of flora. The trees themselves seemed to become a tad more sparse, making it easier to run, at least. Still, the amount of rocks and inclination compensated for it.

Despite everything, Sonic was able to build up some more momentum, and once he did, he managed to overtake the other hedgehog with a quick sprint, laughing as he did. He remained undefeated!

“In your face! HA!”

When he turned back to look at the hedgehog behind him, though, he realized he was gone.

“Wait, what–?”

Sonic came to a sudden halt, disturbing some of the forest floor below his feet.

His breath was heavy, blood rushing in his ears. At least he wasn’t cold anymore with that bit of exercise. Despite his breathing being the only thing he should’ve been hearing, there were different new sounds that he only now started noticing: a bird singing several dozen trees over; a squirrel letting out a tiny cry as it dropped some nuts from its branch, then the nuts hitting the forest floor; a rabbit getting startled and running off. It was similar with smells – there was the aforementioned rabbit, and dirt mixed with rotting leaves on the forest floor, winter in the air…

Lavender .

He wasn’t far. Now that he thought about it, Sonic did think he heard some strange movement nearby… he headed towards the sweet, delicate scent, keeping a lookout for the dark hedgehog. He couldn’t help but feel like his footsteps were incredibly loud, it annoyed the living hell out of him. He even decided to walk on his tiptoes, to limit the amount of noise the crackling leaves were making under his pads, just so he could hear his own thoughts more clearly.

He had walked past a huge boulder that had a few trees growing on top of it, but then he stopped. The smell ended there… or turned. He looked back at the boulder. A collapsed tree nearby leaned against it and it seemed like it could work as a staircase… but as Sonic looked up the tree, he saw the dark hedgehog sitting near its top end, leaning on one of his knees and observing the blue hedgehog closely.

“Hm. Slow,” he murmured.

“Slow? I beat you!” Sonic argued.

The dark hedgehog sighed and shook his head.

In a way, if it were spring or summer, Sonic would’ve struggled to spot him. His dark quills and fur made him blend in pretty well, and, surprisingly, his red highlights could pass as poppies if one were to simply glance in his direction without looking closer.Sonic would’ve never thought those clashing colors would work well together in the wild.

“How did you find me?” the other one asked.

“What?” The hunter was caught off guard once again. “You weren’t exactly hiding–”

“Answer my question,” the other interrupted.

“With… my eyes?”

The dark hedgehog rolled his eyes.

“You won’t learn how to control yourself if you can’t even name your senses,” he scoffed.

“I didn’t know that’s what you wanted!” Sonic argued.

The other hedgehog jumped off the tree, landing on the forest floor near Sonic.

“Try again.” He barely straightened up before taking off into the woods once more. Sonic sighed.

“You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to just tell me what you want me to do!” He called before following him.

Okay, so they weren’t racing. How would playing hide-and-seek even help Sonic with his issue? The other hedgehog was probably just making a fool out of him at this point, but Sonic had to take whatever he could get. The sun was creeping up to the highest point in the sky already and it worried him more and more, the burning hole in his chest still present and making itself known anytime he remembered why he was doing this.

The terrain was once again mostly flat, the trees dense. Running fast once more became a gamble of possibly running straight into a tree, so Sonic was forced to slow down a little. He did his best to keep an eye on the other hedgehog as long as he could, however it was only a matter of time until he slipped out of his sight. And, sure enough, as Sonic made another few turns attempting to follow the other one’s path, he realized he had no idea where the hedgehog had gone.

Okay, okay, what did he say? Something about senses. He took a big inhale, closing his eyes to focus better.

The other hedgehog’s scent was faint…as if he were far? Yet it didn’t make much sense. Sonic suddenly shivered as a blow of strong wind pulled him back to reality, and he opened his eyes.

Right, the wind! It could disrupt the smell, right? Yeah, that sounded like it made sense. So he had to find something else this time. What else was there… hearing! He heard him before, so maybe this time…

Sonic focused on the sounds around him, doing his best to drown out the hum of the wind, his heartbeat and breathing, and the creaking of the trees above him– wait. One of the trees creaked a bit louder, as if something was pulling on it… 

Looking up in that direction, he felt the wind on his back. The vague smell of lavender became a tad stronger as he took a step forward. He quickly spotted the dark hedgehog standing on a branch, holding onto the tree with one hand.

“Well?” he asked once he realized he’d been spotted.

“I heard you, obviously,” Sonic put a hand on his hip, leaning on one leg. “That tree isn’t taking your weight very well. You should lose some.”

The darker hedgehog squinted at him with repulsion mixed with a bit of confusion.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, for both our sakes,” he said slowly. “What else?”

“ What else?” Sonic blinked.

The other one rubbed his face. Sonic never felt so annoyed with someone’s disdain towards him.

“You know, you could use your words next time you want someone to do or say something,” Sonic sighed.

He watched the other one open his mouth to reply, but he then quickly turned his head as his ears perked up. Sonic was just about to ask what caught his interest just before the sound reached his ears too – similar to an angry mob…?

“Looks like your pack needs you,” The dark hedgehog said, leaning his back against the tree.

Sonic grimaced. “We’re not done here,” he announced, turning to take off towards Windmill Village.

“Don’t forget your broken leg, hunter, ” the dark hedgehog said with sarcasm, not even looking down at him anymore.

Sonic hated how that was actually a helpful remark, as he’d already forgotten. He would’ve run into the village at top speed, making everyone instantly question his previous night’s injury. He sighed, rolling his eyes to at least appear like he didn’t care what the other hedgehog said. Thankfully he didn’t leave the crutch far away from the spot where they were, so he grabbed it and headed to the edge of the village where he sneaked back to the vicinity of Amy’s house.

The sound was coming from around the Mayor’s house, from what Sonic could tell immediately. He was now able to tell that, in that cacophony of sounds, there were the voices of Amy and Knuckles, and they sounded like they were in trouble. Great. The day was getting better with every second. The hedgehog took off as fast as he could without busting his whole facade.

Surely, there was a small crowd gathered in front of the entrance to the Mayor’s house. Sonic quickly spotted Amy, Knuckles, and Tails, all standing on the stairs before the front door, Amy doing her best to calm the people. It was a mix of mobians and humans, mostly older ones, screaming over each other as they complained about something. As Sonic approached, he make out some of their shouts:

“All was fine until THEY came around!!”

“The Leather Jackets brought only more trouble!”

“They can’t hunt anything to save their lives!”

“We’re in danger!”

“It came for vengeance! I’m sure of it!”

“Make those Leather Jackets leave!”

The blue hedgehog pushed through the angry mob and somehow made his way up the stairs to the rest of his friends, looking over them with confusion. Tails jumped as he noticed him, as if he thought it was one of the people from the mob reaching out to personally throw them out of the village. He seemed relieved once he realized it was just his big brother.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?” Sonic shouted over the crowd.

“They think the other monster came here because of us!” Tails cried with concern.

“Everyone– please– if we were just to calm down– let us explain–” Amy was desperately trying to get a word in, but each of her attempts was instantly shut down by another cry from the crowd.

“Please, guys!” Tails joined her again. “It’s our first mission, so–” those words only started an even worse uproar. The hedgehog saw his little brother swallow as he realized what he just did.

“This is ridiculous!” Knuckles cried. “We’re wasting our time here while we could be helping you people!”

Sonic looked over the crowd. Ohh no. He didn’t even think about the implication of him appearing in the village as another monster…

He had to help them out somehow. It was all his fault, and now his friends were getting their names run through the mud all because he had headed to the village when he was completely out of it. Think, think, think…

“HEY! EVERYONE! CALM DOWN! ” He screamed at the top of his lungs to get everyone’s attention.

Most of the voices hushed down, but now everyone was staring daggers at him, expecting him to speak.

“So our monster buddy had brought a friend!” he began. “Do you know what that really means?”

“They came here for you!” someone yelled.

“They’ll come for us next!!” someone else cried.

“Think!” Sonic quickly cut off another incoming screaming contest. “When do you usually get backup? When you’re losing!”

A complete silence fell. He had them now. He just had to ride that train of thought home.

“We faced off with it the night before yesterday, and it felt threatened! It knows it’s going to get its butt kicked!” He continued, putting all his weight on his ‘healthy’ leg and leaning on the crutch with both his arms in an arch. “So it brought another one, so what? We’ll deal with that one too! We’re experienced hunters!”

“The fox said it’s your first mission!” Some short human woman called from the crowd.

“Maybe, officially, it is,” Sonic waved his hand around. “But me and my buddy Tails over here–” he reached out to pull Tails closer, “ –have fought a lot of those monster freaks before we joined the alliance! They don’t let just anyone join, you know! And Knuckles over there?” He pointed to the echidna. “He’s a pro! An expert in his field! He’s fought like a dozen of such beasts before! He’s basically our supervisor! You’re in good hands, people!”

Sonic noticed with the corner of his eye that Knuckles rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, turning his sight away. He elbowed him gently, making him jump.

“Ah! Yes, exactly!” The echidna yelped, catching onto the narrative. “We’ll deal with those beasts in no time!”

Sonic smirked, turning back to the crowd. “Any more questions?”

“What until then?” Someone asked. “What if these beasts attack the village again?”

“Did anyone get hurt last night with two of those running around? Hm?” Sonic raised a brow. “We’ll protect you until we catch them, you can count on us!”

“You couldn’t even protect yourself!” Some older beaver gentleman pointed its cane at Sonic’s crutch.

“Hey, being a hunter is a dangerous job,” Sonic raised his hand defensively. “Sometimes we get hurt! We signed up for it with the job! The important part is that none of you get injured!”

From the aggressive shouts, only murmurs remained. The group was still getting all kinds of looks, from unsure to loathsome, but the worst of the crisis seemed to be averted.

“So,” the blue hedgehog carried on, “I think you should leave us to do our job now?” He leaned forward on the crutch, the question rhetorical. The murmurs now included some sort of sounds of agreement in-between them, and the crowd began to slowly disperse as people decided to begrudgingly return to their daily routines.

Amy sighed heavily with relief.

“Thank you so much, Sonic,” she turned to the hedgehog with gratitude, “I don’t know what we’d have done if you hadn’t showed up.”

“No problem,” Sonic grinned. “They interrupted my nap-time. I just wanted to see what’s up.” Another lie. He hated that so much.

“How are your injuries?” The acting mayor looked over at him, concern drawing itself clear on her face despite the soft smile.

“Oh, fine, actually,” he said a bit thoughtlessly before adding: “it still hurts, but at least I can move a bit.” He rubbed his quills with a grin.

“That’s great,” Knuckles interrupted the two, “because we have other issues at hand right now.”

“Right, I probably should get back to work either way,” Amy smiled at the three, “I won’t hold you three back any longer. Talk to you later, boys! Don’t overdo it, Sonic!”

With a last wave, the pink hedgehog disappeared in the Mayor’s house. Knuckles started walking and the others followed.

“What’s wrong now, Knux?” Sonic asked, trying to ignore the looks the townsfolk were now giving the three.

“Let’s talk out of the commonfolk’s earshot,” Knuckles lowered his voice a bit, looking around. He exchanged a look with Tails suggesting they both knew what the problem was, and for some reason, Sonic felt a clump in his throat. Did they know? How did they find out??

They walked to the edge of the town where Tails and Knuckles were building their trap just a day earlier, all tools already ready in the field and a tarp thrown over their little work-in-progress. That was a new addition, but it could be useful for putting away the tools before they called it a night, at least.

“Well?” Sonic asked impatiently, taking a seat on his favourite rock.

Knuckles and Tails looked at each other.

“You told the people the second creature arrived as backup,” Tails began, “but that… was a lie.”

“How can you be so sure?” Sonic arched forward, crossing his legs and leaning on them. Please for the love of Chaos don't say that you know–

“They fought,” Knuckles simply replied.

Sonic’s ears perked up. “...I’m sorry?”

“What I just said,” the echidna crossed his arms. “When I was standing guard, one of them jumped out of the woods, stood on its hind legs, claws ready to attack me, so I tried to get it with my crossbow. I missed, but it made the beast go crazy! Kept snapping its teeth and clawing at me so fast I just barely managed to get out of the way! And when I thought I was done for, Tails showed up, and then the other beast jumped out of the woods straight into that first one!”

“...Huh? Why?” Sonic’s tongue slipped. He sharply inhaled a second later, realizing he nearly said too much.

“Hell if I know,” Knuckles carried on, not questioning Sonic’s confusion. “They started wrangling each other, and while me and Tails were getting ready for round two, the bigger one bolted to the woods and the other one followed.”

Sonic knew from Tails’s retelling that the first to arrive was supposedly himself, so the other must’ve been that werehog. But why would he attack him? …unless he protected Knuckles…? And then lead him away from the village? Again, why?

“It only makes the appearance of another beast more questionable,” Tails noted. “Maybe they were fighting for territory… but there’s another strange thing.”

Sonic could feel a headache incoming.

“Yeah…?” He asked.

“They didn’t look like the same species,” the fox explained.

“Oh, right,” Knuckles added. “I saw that too. One had like six arms or somethin’.”

“And Sonic mentioned it also had tentacles,” Tails pondered. “The other one looked kind of…”

“Like a werewolf,” the echidna finished. “It definitely looked like a werewolf.”

Sonic swallowed. He felt a shiver run down his spine as the word was said out loud. He couldn’t have them find out, not yet, not now, think, think–

“A werewolf? Here? ” He raised a brow, doing his best to sound confident in his words.

“Could be possible,” Knuckles shrugged. “Someone could be livin’ in the woods.”

“Then why haven’t we seen that someone yet?” Sonic raised a question. “Besides, if they fought for territory wouldn’t that mean they were the same species?”

“Not necessarily–” Tails began, but was swiftly cut off.

“We don’t know everything about those creatures yet, we can’t go off assuming things about them without knowing it for sure!” the hedgehog carried on.

“Okay, if they were the same species, why were they so different?” Knuckles humored the hedgehog’s idea.

“Maybe they’re… uhh…” he thought for a second, sweating profoundly. “...a male and a female?”

That was definitely the strangest take he could make. He now had to run with it, but he only prayed the two would assume he was the male, otherwise the rest of this conversation would be incredibly uncomfortable.

“I–... hm…” Tails put a hand to his chin as he thought. “...that could be a possibility… Maybe their fighting was a mating ritual of sorts? We don’t know everything about these beasts after all.”

Sonic grimaced in pure repulsion.

“...I doubt fighting can be considered a mating ritual…” he added hesitantly.

“You never know! Some species do that sort of thing!” Tails countered.

“So, we’re back to square one,” Knuckles sighed. “No idea what we’re dealing with, no plan, and the danger just increased.”

“We just have to rethink everything,” Sonic offered. “We’ll think of a plan in no time, you’ll see!”

It felt horribly wrong to continue this conversation and the hedgehog couldn’t even tell the other two why.

Knuckles hummed, pacing slowly.

“...you’re right,” he said after a moment. “As much as I hate to say it, you were right all along.”

“Yeah, see? …wait, excuse me?”

“We can’t risk endangering any more commonfolk,” the echidna explained. “The stakes just had risen and if we set a trap right here, we endanger civilian injuries. We need to take the fight to those beasts.”

“You mean we should set a trap for them in the woods,” Tails asked to clarify, even if it didn’t sound like a question. The echidna nodded.

“We trap them in the forest, we get rid of them there, we collect proof, and we’re done,” he added, cracking his knuckles.

“I think that could work… I even have an idea of how to increase the capability of the trap!” Tails lit up, suddenly heading for the blueprints. “If the beasts are enemies, we can be sure they won’t travel together. That also makes things a bit simpler!”

“Great! Sounds like we’re on the right path!” Sonic smiled weakly, trying to hide how his hands were shaking a little bit. He was now planning how to kill an innocent man he met in the woods and himself. Great. Amazing. Incredible work, Sonic.

“Yeah!” Tails returned with the blueprint and sketching tools, spreading them across the ground. “We could actually do it! Okay, so I was thinking–”

Sonic wasn’t saying a lot most of that afternoon after that. Knuckles and Tails kept discussing different plan ideas and how to approach this new challenge, sometimes asking him for his opinions, but it just… filled him with even more fear. He knew he should listen, he should know what to expect, maybe he should even share the plans with the darker hedgehog to save him… It just felt really wrong to carry on. He was stuck going along with it for now with no way out.

The trio continued planning and sketching blueprints until dusk caught them. Sonic insisted on them wrapping up a bit early to ‘get enough strength to continue the next morning’, so they were back in Amy’s place before the sun set. This time, though, Tails was set on the lookout so Knuckles could get some proper rest, which Sonic didn’t mind at all as the echidna fell asleep pretty much instantly. He only listened to the sounds of his snoring to make sure he was knocked out cold before he hid his jacket under the sheets and started sneaking out of the town.

He nearly froze when he saw Tails. Of course, his little brother could fly, of course he’d choose to patrol the area from the sky! At least he couldn’t fly forever and now and again Sonic spotted him landing somewhere in the distance to catch his breath. He hoped the little guy wouldn’t keep it up like that all night, he’d get completely exhausted.

Anyway, no time to worry about Tails, because he had to get out of there before he’d be the one they’d be raising an alarm for.

Sonic ran into the woods, a strange feeling starting to burn deep in his chest. He had to find the other hedgehog before–

Too late. The memories of the previous night began to flood back as he felt the same, intense feeling that tried to explode him from the inside, causing him to collapse to his knees, clench his teeth in a painful groan, curl up–

“Pathetic,” Sonic forced himself with all his might to look up at the voice speaking to him. The other hedgehog stood before him, watching him with repulsion. “A mighty hunter, defeated by his own self.”

“Shut– up–” Sonic managed through clenched teeth.

“You’ll never win a fight against yourself. You need to embrace it. ” The dark hedgehog took a step back. In just a moment, Sonic watched the small, unusual hedgehog completely change its shape: growing in size, gaining new limbs, mutating into something completely different. A few seconds and it was over. He raised his head and let out a powerful howl, heard probably all across this side of the mountains.

Before him stood the three-eyed beast that he faced off against that one fateful night.

Chapter Text

Werewolves were an interesting race of monsters. Everyone has heard about their ability to infect others with their curse, yet hardly anyone had met someone who was actually affected by it. A rumor was born that these beasts simply couldn’t blend in among humans or mobians, that their monstrous sides were too much for their minds to handle and that they would always run off into the woods after their first transformation and never return. That you could tell that someone was a werewolf no matter what shape they took. Sonic had even heard rumors of people touched by insanity being accused of being werewolves, even if they weren't, though he wasn’t sure what came of them in the end. 

…he chose not to think about it.

Truth be told, not much was actually truly known about werewolves. The information gathered by people around the world were mixed, sometimes straight up conflicting. Was the werewolf transformation painful? Or was it a pleasure? Did they follow an animalistic instinct or were they bloodlusty killing machines? Were they just normal people during the day, or were they out of their mind? You’d hear one of each and everything in-between depending on who you’d ask for opinion. Sonic would accept anything as the truth at this point, really.

Though, the one thing that went beyond his benefit of the doubt was a were-creature with a pair of tentacles with spiny suckers, additional arms, and a third eye staring right into him right now. No, any other time he’d probably laugh if he heard someone tell him that that was a werewolf.

If anything, the intense jolt of fear he just felt as he saw the creature made his condition worse. He cried in pain as he doubled down, his forehead pressed to the ground, as his insides were burning like his very blood was on fire. He felt parts of his body growing and changing, his lungs taking in more acidic air with every sharp breath, his stomach turning upside down, nearly making him return the dinner he had earlier–

Stop resisting it.

Sonic’s ears perked up just ever so slightly. He couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from, but it was familiar. His mind began to feel hazy, the reality around him being quickly drowned out by the sensations he was going through.

Resisting it? How was he supposed to stop?? It burned him from the inside!

He put his hands on his head, sharp claws pricking into his fur uncomfortably. His head felt like it was going to explode. His quills itched like hell.

What did I say? The voice echoed in his mind again. Stop. Resisting. Let go. Or it’ll only get worse.

Sonic inhaled sharply. Let go. It took everything he had to make him let go of his head, his hands instead gripping at the dirt, pine needles, and dead leaves in front of him. It felt like it would go on forever. His mind couldn’t take it. His body couldn’t take it.

Then, it calmed down. For just a moment.

As the hedgehog felt relief, he was suddenly flooded with everything else. The wind painfully whistled in his ears, the bats flying overhead screeched, his head hurt, the grass had as intense smell, so did the soil, it mixed with the stench of the village nearby and the lavender before him and the tree bark and all the animals–

His eyes couldn’t even comprehend the shapes around him. The trees looked different, the plants looked different, the sky, the horizon, everything was wrong–

The voice spoke up again, but it was loud, too loud, too much of everything was going on, Sonic could feel the very air irritating his fur, he wanted to rip his spines out so they wouldn’t touch his back, he wanted everything to STOP MOVING–

He ran. He needed to get away. Away from the sounds, away from the smells, the sensations, the voices, everything was too much.

He ran and ran, until he saw a spot. A spot to hide. What was it? He didn’t care. He didn’t care what he was squeezing into, he just cared that it was safe, isolated, sounds and smells muted. He covered his ears and shut his eyes, curled up in a ball, and begged for everything to end. It was better in here, but everything was still too much. His breathing was quick, so was his heartbeat, and these very sounds were making it even worse.

He stayed like this for what felt like forever.

Something moved outside. He could feel and hear and smell every step, yet he was too overwhelmed to focus and be able to tell what that was. Something spoke in his mind, almost like a worm that made its way through his ear and yelled directly into his brain, something that made a high pitched sound escape his own throat. That made it stop, but he only squeezed his ears harder. He then felt the presence of something, right there, near the entrance. An eternity later it left, its footsteps farther and farther, until Sonic couldn’t hear or feel or smell them anymore.

…

The sounds and smells calmed down a little after a while. The hedgehog had no idea how much time had passed. He still had his eyes closed shut, his head hurt like hell, his stomach felt like it was full of stones. He barely fit in the spot he was in, yet he felt incredibly small, crushed by the world surrounding him.

He slowly opened his eyes to at least realize where he was, his breath shaky and irregular, making small puffs of vapor each time he exhaled.

It was wood that surrounded him. Bark. He was inside a hollowed out log, a huge one, from the looks of it. The wood scratched uncomfortably against his quills. He still heard vague noises from the outside, but he didn’t dare to leave. No, no, he was not going out there again. He was not going through that hell again. This was safe. Safe enough.

Perhaps it would all go away if he waited here, in the safety of the tree. With walls enclosing him from almost all sides.

So, he waited.

—

Sonic’s ears perked up. Something disturbed the serenity he managed to reach. Movement. Footsteps.

…and a very fresh smell of blood and flesh.

Strangely enough, it smelled… good. His stomach rumbled. The heaviness he felt was quickly replaced by hunger once he realized how hungry he really was.

Someone approached. Slow, careful steps that stopped right in front of the entrance to his hiding spot. Then, something fell to the ground. Sonic could see it. A rabbit?

Either way, it was dead. That was what he smelled. And he was hungry.

He crawled out of the hole, feeling the wind suddenly slap him across the cheek, the rabbit before him looking really good. He almost didn’t notice the silhouette next to the entrance, a huge, dark-furred creature standing right there, watching him with three, red irises. Sonic jumped a little, but the creature didn’t move closer. It looked at him, then glanced at the rabbit, then back at him.

The hedgehog didn’t think long on what to do next. He simply dug in, nearly instantly ripping the flesh apart with his claws and teeth. The other creature simply laid on the ground and remained there, even after Sonic disappeared in the log again.

He felt his presence the rest of the night.

—

“Five more minutes…”

A ray of sunlight slipped through the crack in the wood, landing directly on Sonic’s eye. He tried to wave it away, turning to the other side lazily, until a strong stench invaded his nostrils, causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust and he groaned. He leaned up on his hands and rubbed his eyes. Only after a moment did he realize where he was, which made him instantly perk up, fully alert.

He sat up. He was still inside a log, but now it seemed slightly bigger. He still wouldn’t be able to stand up straight in it if he tried, but he could at least sit up straight. He grimaced at the metallic taste in his mouth before the memories of last night flooded him, and he nearly gagged as he realized there was something right in front of the entrance. The source of the stench.

Ew. Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew. He did NOT.

He put a hand to his face. He realized there was something dry stuck to his fur. Oh good Chaos he did.

He was NOT going to keep thinking about this.

Avoiding stepping on what remained of the carcass, he crawled out of the log. He wasn’t quite sure where he was.

“Hello? Weird, grumpy werehog guy?” His voice echoed through the mostly quiet forest, but no response reached him back. Well, he didn’t attack anyone tonight, at least…

He glanced at the sky. It was still an early morning, but he had to hurry back. He didn’t want to risk anyone seeing him sneaking into the house, especially with dried blood on his face. Oh, that would be a terrible look. Maybe if he hurried, he could reach the house before Knuckles woke up and he could wash this all off…

He glanced back at the carcass. It was still so difficult for him to believe it. He was a beast. This time, he remembered it. He was just a beast. Hiding in trees, eating dead rabbits… Would it slip into his everyday life? This instinct, making him do animalistic things, even though normally he’d never even consider it? Was that why werewolves didn’t live in societies?

No, he wouldn’t let himself slip that far. He couldn’t. He had to keep holding onto that bit of humanity that he had.

Taking a deep inhale, he took off towards Windmill Village.

Chapter Text

It would probably take Sonic a while to get used to the new abilities he’d gained recently. He kind of wished he could turn them off. He could smell in the air that rain was coming, and so he was thankful that he managed to wash himself and get to bed before that happened. He could smell the muddy ground outside as soon as the pourdown started, he could smell the wood of the various furniture, he could even smell the earthly and grapey scent of Knuckles, still sleeping in the room next door. 

It was really distracting when he was simply trying to get some rest. His muscles ached, and the weariness of not getting a full night’s sleep quickly caught up with him, once he was in the safety of their temporary house. Burrowed in the blankets with his back turned towards the rest of the room, he tried to get a little shut eye before the day fully began.

The sound of the rain was nice, though. He didn’t enjoy sleeping in the rain, but listening to it in a dry spot? That was alright. Soothing, even. Reminded him of the times he’d crash on Tails’s couch whenever a big storm or something hit, how he and his little brother would spend the entire evenings playing board games with candles as their only source of light.

…Now that he thought about it, the smell of the rain outside and this interior weren’t so alien, either. Maybe he just never paid attention to them. He definitely remembered one time when Amy would take him out sightseeing around Windmill Village during one of his visits, how they rested on a hill with a great view on the rest of the valley, how rain caught them and Sonic carried Amy back home to shelter them both. Then they’d simply sit here, in this very room, talking and joking, and how Amy would show Sonic some of her favourite books. The hill that they rested on would become their usual picnic spot for a while after that.

Yeah, these smells were always there, he just didn’t pay attention to them. He could also tell that Amy always smelled of strong, flowery perfume, though underneath he could recognize the scent of strawberries and parchment… Wait, he wasn’t just recalling that. He could smell that right now.

Just as he made that realization, he heard the front door of the house open, letting in the hum of the rain. Moments later, the pink hedgehog barged into his room.

“Good morning, Sonic!” Amy called cheerfully, taking a hood off of her head, dripping with raindrops. She held something, sheltered with her cape, probably to not let it get wet. “Oh– did I wake you up?”

Sonic stretched out, lazily sitting up. “Morning. No, not really,” he smiled. “Been awake for a while. Whatcha got there?”

Amy placed the items on the table near the entrance, revealing them to be a stack of books, taking a moment to take her cloak off and put it on the coat hanger in the hall.

“I figured you’re probably really bored here,” she said, picking up the books and walking over to the bed, “so I got some stuff that I think you’d like.”

“Oh, wow!” Sonic took one of the books Amy handed him and glanced at the golden letters on the cover. “Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it!”

“How are you doing, by the way?” Amy put the rest of the books on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Pretty good, all things considered,” Sonic shrugged. He almost forgot about the injuries at this point. He couldn’t admit to that, though. “It’s not bleeding anymore and I can freely move, mostly.”

“I’m glad,” the pink hedgehog smiled at him. “Thanks again for yesterday. I really don’t know where that would go if you hadn’t showed up.”

“What can I say? Someone had to remind the townsfolk we’re on the same team,” Sonic smirked. “And how have you been doing, Ames? Have they cut you some slack after we came to the rescue?”

Amy sighed. “Oh, I wish. I feel like there’s only more things to do now.”

“Yet you’re here,” the hunter pointed out. “Shouldn’t you be doing all your mayoring business at the hall? Since you’re the acting mayor now?”

“I kind of wanted to escape that for a moment,” Amy chuckled nervously. “Take a break, you know?”

Sonic leaned back against the bed frame. “And you chose to spend that time by running here in the rain?” He snickered.

“Well, I hoped to spend some time with you,” Amy admitted. “I know you're here on a work related matter, but since you're recovering from those injuries anyway…”

“I wouldn't mind some company,” the blue hedgehog smiled. “I was just thinking about one of our trips around the countryside.”

“Which one? The one when you insisted on climbing a tree, but a tree branch snapped beneath you and I had to fish you out of the lake, or the one when you wanted to prove you can race the setting sun and ended up getting lost?” She teased, giggling. Sonic chuckled at the memories too.

“No, I choose not to think about those,” he grinned. “I was thinking about the picnics we'd have on the hill outside of town.”

“Oh, right! My, it’s been so long since we've been there…!”

“Remember when you tried giving me your first reading there?” Sonic hunched forward to lean on his knees. “You were really excited about those cards.”

“Yeah, I studied  their meanings for a whole month before I even got my hands on them!” Amy sighed with a little smile on her face. “But I sucked at it back then.”

“Hey, there was some truth to your readings! I think you've predicted me falling into the lake the week after,” he pointed out.

The pink hedgehog chuckled. “Yeah, not all turned out to be true, though.”

“Now that I think of it,” Sonic hummed, “I think you hid one card from me at the time.”

He nearly forgot about it. He didn't understand it in the moment. Amy seemed really flustered about the last card and refused to elaborate, insisting on wrapping up the reading afterwards.

Even now, years after, Amy blushed a little at the memory.

“Yeah, I remember that,” she simply said with a smile, looking out the window.

It took Sonic this long to put two and two together. He suddenly felt a little stupid.

“Hey, Amy, did you have a crush on me back then?” He asked directly.

“Yup,” she looked back at him, a bit flustered. “But we were just kids back then. I'm engaged now.”

“Engaged?” Sonic perked up. “When did that happen?”

“A while ago, actually! We really didn't have time to catch up, did we?”

“My, my! Look at you!” Sonic grinned. “Who's the lucky gal?”

“Her name is Blaze,” Amy smiled. “She's the mayor! That's kind of why I'm the acting mayor while she's gone. She trusts me.”

“Where is she anyway? I was wondering about that,” the blue hedgehog sat back again.

“She's out of town getting funding,” Amy explained. “Windmill Village isn't very affluent, and we still need to pay you guys.”

“Damn,” Sonic frowned a little. “If I had known, I would've gathered the boys off-duty.”

“You still deserve to get paid, Sonic,” Amy smiled. “We'll be okay. Blaze is great at negotiations.”

“I'll trust you on that,” the hunter smiled back. “Hope I'll get to meet her someday.”

“Maybe you'll run into her when she returns! I'm sure you'd like each other!” She picked up one of the books from the nightstand. “Some of these are from her collection, actually. I feel like you have similar tastes.”

Before Sonic could reply to that, the front door opened again. The hedgehog could tell it was Tails without even looking over.

“Guys! We got a letter!” the fox called, running into the room, stopping suddenly once he saw the owner of the house present. “Oh, hi, Amy!”

“What?? What’s going on?” Knuckles suddenly jumped out of his room, instantly taking a fighting stance. “Where’s the monster?!”

“Whoa, Knuckles, calm down!” Tails raised his hands defensively, holding an envelope in one of them. “We just got a letter from a hunter team in Sunset City!”

“Oh,” the echidna dropped the stance, seemingly a bit disappointed. “You didn’t have to get me out of bed for that.”

“I should probably go,” Amy noted, standing up. “Leave you guys to do your thing. I’ll see you boys later! See you, Sonic!”

“See ya!” Sonic waved at his friend as she walked past the two in the hall and left, letting in some of that moist air in as she opened and closed the door behind her.

“So what’s this thing about?” Knuckles crossed his arms, eyeing the letter with a rather bored expression.

“It’s marked as a priority letter,” Tails pointed out, walking deeper into the master bedroom so Sonic could also see it before he opened the envelope to uncover the letter. He then slowly read the contents:

Hunters of Windmill Village,

We insist on keeping caution on your mission moving forward. Our team had encountered several werewolves terrorizing Sunset City and the areas surrounding it, including killing several of its inhabitants.

We have managed to neutralize the majority of the werewolves, however some have escaped us. We are still on the lookout, yet we haven’t managed to identify them in their daytime forms, so we advise caution to all surrounding settlements, just in case some of said beasts ran off towards them to hide from us.

Stay safe and keep your guard up. Notify us if you are in need of backup. We’ll send one of ours to you if need be.

Hunters of Sunset City

“Killing…?” Sonic perked up instantly. Werewolves killing people…?

“When was this sent?” Knuckles raised a brow.

“Two days ago, it seems,” Tails ran over the letter again.

“Then we know where our second werewolf came from,” the echidna walked through the room towards the window, fist punching his own palm. “This is getting serious. We need to get our heads in the game.”

“A strange, unknown creature and a rabid werewolf on our hands… I don’t like the sound of that,” the little fox admitted, as he put the letter next to the pile of books that were still resting on the nightstand.

“Eh, we can handle it,” Knuckles stretched out and cracked his knuckles. “We just need to mobilize. We need some sort of actual alarm to raise during night guard in case one of these things attacked. If they have killed before, they’re sure to try again, and if it runs into one of us while we’re on our posts, we will get mauled before even stepping foot in the town.”

“I could easily build a simple alarm,” Tails hummed. “It should be loud enough to not only notify whichever one of us is resting here, but also the entire town to stay indoors at all costs.”

“How do we even know it was that rabid werewolf that attacked you?” Sonic raised the question.

“Well, first of all, it clearly looked like a werewolf,” Knuckles pointed out. “Second, it attacked me on sight. Clearly, most beasts would think twice before doing that,” the echidna grinned ominously, revealing his fangs with a self assured, small chuckle.

Sonic frowned as he looked at him. Oh, he absolutely did not like the sound of where this was going.

“Well,” he continued, “wouldn’t that mean it would attack last night, too? Tails, did anything attack?”

“No, not at all,” the fox said, unsure. “It was a pretty calm night, but I don’t see how that connects at all. Since it got attacked, it might’ve just ran off.”

“So, it could be in a completely different town by now,” Sonic deduced. “So, not our problem!”

“...Sonic, are you feeling alright?” Tails frowned with confusion and slight worry at his big brother.

Shit. He pushed it.

“Aside from my leg feeling as if it was on fire?” he replied, semi sarcastically. “All I’m saying is that we have to focus on the creature that’s been here longer, because it’s probably not going to leave on its own. And, from what these hunters have written, there are several teams of hunters around right now, aren’t there?”

“I suppose…” the fox pressed his lips together.

“Whether we’re dealing with two or one, we can’t push our luck,” Knuckles pointed out. “We already have had an incident, ” he made direct eye contact with Sonic, “we don’t need any more casualties.”

“Can I take a nap before we get to work?” Tails raised a hand slightly. “I’m a little tired…”

“Take a nap and you better sleep well, because we’re getting to work at noon sharp ,” The echidna straightened up, putting his hands on his hips. “Sonic, can you tell everyone in the village about the alarm?”

“Sure, let the guy with an injured leg walk all around town in the rain,” Sonic complained.

“You’re still part of the team. You were walking pretty well yesterday,” the red hunter noticed.

“Yeah, fine,” Sonic rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. “At least it’s better than sitting inside all day.”

He got up from his bed slowly, noting that Tails ran up to support him. He felt horrible lying to his little brother like this, but he needed to learn how to control himself before he were to tell him anything, just in case. And now, the stakes seemed really high… 

Putting his hunter jacket on didn’t feel as good as usual, the jacket weighing uncomfortably on his shoulders, like a burden he had suddenly received. Or maybe it’s always been there but he simply never noticed it.

Going through town in the rain wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, if not for the rain that left his quills wet and stuck together. Oh, he hated that feeling. The jacket and the sweater he received from Amy, after his last hoodie was destroyed in the attack, were soaked, only making him feel colder than before. Not to mention constantly having to pretend he was injured and slow, to a very frustrating degree.

At least it didn’t take that long. He may have skipped over some details, like the werewolves attack in Sunset City, but he figured the townsfolk didn’t need additional rumors of the hunters nextdoor bringing new werewolves to their doorstep, especially since it wasn’t even true. At some point the rain nearly stopped, leaving merely a drizzle, but it didn’t make it any less annoying. Sonic decided to head to the woods once he was done to run some of those frustrations out.

As he ran, he pondered about last night. The conversation with Amy and then the other two nearly made him forget the uncomfortable memories, as well as the mystery hedgehog’s actions. He figured he needed to have a serious talk with the guy sometime soon.

He stopped somewhere in the middle of the woods and focused. He needed to find the dark hedgehog. The smells of mud and wet leaves and needles were overwhelming, he couldn’t find his scent as effortlessly as before. He could hear the gentle tapping of the raindrops falling off of tree needles and dropping onto the ground, he could hear the grass and moss squishing underneath his shoes as he walked and squeezed the newly absorbed water out of said flora, he could hear distant chirps of some birds that decided to come out of hiding, now hopping across the branches and drinking the raindrops off of the leaves. The smells were muted with the rain, yet after he focused for a while, he could recognize that faint, lavender scent. Gotcha.

He followed the scent at a quick pace, careful not to lose it, and it led him uphill. The path seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Only after he got to the top did he realize where he was. His and Amy’s spot.

It’s been ages since he’d been there, yet the view nearly hasn’t changed at all. He could clearly see the village at the bottom of the valley, with a big windmill in the middle. Surrounding it were the pastures and fields, as well as the enormous woods, now a mix of dark oranges and greens, as most of the leaves were gone, leaving only the needles. He could see the spot where his team was building that trap contraption.

No trace of the other hedgehog, though, weirdly enough. He was sure that he followed the scent well…

“When will you leave me be?” A voice from behind nearly made him jump. As he turned around, he saw the dark hedgehog, arms crossed, leaning against a nearby tree at the edge of the clearing.

“Oh, good to see you too, weird werehog guy,” Sonic leaned on one leg, placing a hand on his hip. “How do you know I haven’t come to just take in the view?”

“Hmpf,” the dark hedgehog looked away with annoyance on his face.

“You must be fun at parties,” Sonic said with sarcasm, coming up to the edge of the hill to take in the view. He heard the other approach and stand a short distance away, keeping his space. It was still somehow comforting to have someone there.

…just like last night.

Sonic glanced at the other hedgehog. He was still a stranger, but as much as he wanted to appear as that gruesome, wild beast, Sonic could see that he had some softness to him. After all, he saved him from Knuckles even though he could let the echidna kill him right there and then (or worse, let Sonic kill him instead), he brought him that dead rabbit (even though it was gross as hell) and stayed with him all night, even if he didn’t have to do that. Sonic could tell that he cared, somewhat.

He wondered why he was trying so hard to seem cold, though. Even now, when he looked at him, he had that aura of mystery and angst to him. With his focused, red eyes looking over the valley, silent demeanor, clearly styled quills that swayed gently in the light breeze present with the two of them. Sonic had to admit, something about the other hedgehog intrigued him. He wanted to know him better. He wanted to discover that mystery that stood next to him.

“...You know,” he stretched out, looking down at the valley below them, “we should probably start over.”

The darker hedgehog raised a brow at him. Sonic reached out a hand towards him.

“I’m Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog,” he grinned.

The other one looked him up and down, between the hand stretched out towards him and his grin. Sonic could tell he didn’t expect that. After a moment of hesitation, the dark hedgehog just turned his head away with a scoff.

“...You may call me Shadow,” he added after a second.

Sonic pulled back awkwardly, scratching his neck. Well, at least there was some progress.

“Shadow. Alright!” he simply replied, looking at the valley below them. “...thanks.”

“What for?” The dark hedgehog gave him a confused look.

“Well, you didn’t have to stay with me last night,” Sonic plopped down onto the grass. “The rabbit was a bit of a stretch, though.”

He saw Shadow’s eyes widen slightly as he mentioned last night, but that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He crossed his arms.

“You need energy after a transformation, especially as bad as yours,” he noted. “The last thing I need is the hunters finding one of their own in the woods dead from exhaustion.”

“Give me a break! I’ve been… THAT for only two days!”

Shadow scoffed, looking away.

There was some familiarity in this situation. Something that Sonic could almost touch. He sat in that very spot, on a soft blanket, with Amy sitting next to him, doing her first spread on the ground. How good and cozy he felt at the time, just spending his day with a good friend, indulging her in her interests. Shadow now stood a bit further, and he definitely didn’t feel as familiar, despite the memories. Yet, looking at him now, Sonic felt something else…

Man, he should probably stop staring.

“Still, thanks,” he added a bit softer. He hummed, getting lost in thought. It reminded him of something else. “...I think I get what you were trying to do yesterday,” he perked up.

Shadow turned his head slightly to look at him, one of his ears raising.

“All these smells, sounds, and feelings… you were trying to prepare me for them,” Sonic continued. “That’s why you insisted on naming my senses.”

The other hedgehog turned away. “You won’t go far if you can’t even do the bare minimum.”

“You’re right,” Sonic stood up, getting the wet grass and dirt off of him as he did. It caused the other hedgehog to look at him with slight confoundment. “I need to get a hang of it. I don’t want to go all crazy like the first night,” a shiver went down his spine as he remembered the letter he and the other two got. “How about we go now?”

Shadow looked over him for a second, then his expression turned more serious. Or maybe annoyed? He was hard to read.

“I won’t go easy on you this time, hunter,” he announced,before taking off into the woods.

“Oh, right away– yeah, sure, why not,” Sonic sighed. He did say now , so he should’ve expected that.

He wasn’t going to slack off on this strange exercise anymore. He was willing to do anything to get a bit more control back. Anything to not become one of those rabid beasts the alliance was hunting down all across the land.

He took an inhale and then quickly followed the other hedgehog.

Chapter Text

Sunset City wasn’t that far away from Windmill Village. Sure, there was a mountain range in the way and the way around it looped a little, but it was a running distance away, really. To Sonic, at least. For others… well, maybe it was about a day away. Still, it really wasn’t that far.

And people were dying there. Murdered by some rogue werewolves. Werewolves like… like him.

It was happening so close and he had no idea until this morning.

There was something truly terrifying about knowing werewolves could go on murderous sprees, probably not even aware that they’re taking innocent lives. Something about the fact that he could lose it and go on such a rampage himself, hell, that he almost has done that was making his blood run cold. This knowledge was horrifying. It only pushed Sonic to try harder to learn how to control his wild side. He needed to control it. Fully.

Shadow wasn’t joking when he said he wasn’t going to go easy this time - he was using some dirty tricks, like covering his tracks, masking his scent with the overwhelming stench of mud and moisture, hiding in hard to spot places… Sonic had to focus really hard this time and even then there were moments when he was close to thinking he was never gonna find the other hedgehog. That maybe Shadow ditched him and he was making a fool out of him trying to find him.

But, no, the mysterious hedgehog still kept his word. He didn’t seem happy about it, if anything Sonic wondered why he was so nice to him up to this point through his actions when he was looking at him with so much hatred, but he was still pointing out his mistakes and what he should’ve done. Even if he left most of the things for Sonic to figure out on his own, it was still pretty helpful.

Sonic ran past a burrow in the ground, before pausing. He focused all his senses, like he was doing for a few hours now, and as he noticed the small hole, he quickly put two and two together. He poked his head into the hole and quickly realized it was actually a pretty big, underground cave. He jumped in, bracing himself for the fall as roots and vines kept getting his limbs stuck in them, before landing on the ground and letting his eyes get used to the dark.

…huh. There must’ve been a lot of light falling into the cave through that small burrow, because Sonic could swear the entire place seemed really bright for an underground cave. He looked around, taking in the sounds bouncing off of the walls and the smells hiding underneath the scent of wet soil and fungi. Yes, Shadow was definitely in here.

In fact, as he looked around, he noticed a pair of red, glowing eyes, staring right into him. It almost made him jump.

“AH– Oh. well, found you,” he cleared his throat, trying to play it cool.

Did the edge of Shadow’s mouth curl into a small smirk?

“Acceptable,” he simply replied. “Did you notice anything else?”

“Aside from the stink of dirt and frogs?” Sonic waved his hand near his nose, as if that could help in any way. “It’s a pretty well lit cave. Does it have those glowy mushrooms somewhere?”

Shadow shook his head. “This cave is completely dark.”

“Huh? Are your eyes okay?” Sonic raised a brow. Then, his own eyes widened a little. “Oh. Ohh. Seeing in the dark is one of these weird, new senses, huh.”

He couldn’t help but feel his blood run cold. Anytime he got any bit of information that confirmed in his mind that he really was something else, that he was a beast, even right here, as his normal self, the hole in his chest that he felt sometimes would grow, feeding on his anxieties. Were his eyes glowing as well, just like Shadow’s? Did he look like a cryptid right now to an onlooker?

“Get used to it,” Shadow shrugged. He walked past the hunter, heading towards the one entrance above them. Yet, before he reached up to the vines to pull himself up, he glanced at Sonic over his shoulder. “...your hunter friends are still guarding the sheep?”

It snapped Sonic back to reality, somewhat. “Huh? Well, yeah. That’s why we got called here.”

Shadow looked away for a moment, and then, with a disappointed look, started climbing out of the hole. Sonic quickly followed, although it wasn’t as easy as Shadow made it out to be. After a moment of struggling with the roots, though, the hedgehog got out, squinting his eyes with pain as the daylight hit him like a flashlight in the face. Okay, that made sense. He let his eyes adjust to the sun.

“Why? You’re planning on stealing more?” he asked once he was fully out of the burrow.

“Not with you lot in town,” Shadow scoffed.

“Why were you even killing the sheep?” Sonic thought for a moment. They assumed the beast was hungry, so maybe that was simply it. “Aren't there some, I don’t know, forest critters you could get instead?”

The dark hedgehog side-eyed the hunter coldly.

“We all do what we must to survive,” he hissed. “Class dismissed.”

“What?” Sonic perked up. “But that wasn’t nearly enough–”

“ I said, leave. ” Shadow stared daggers at the blue hedgehog, before bolting off. This time, though, Sonic didn’t follow him.

Okay, that was a bit strange. That suggested that there probably weren’t any big animals in the woods that Shadow could hunt. Was he really feeding himself on raw mutton all this time? Gross. He assumed he couldn’t catch enough rabbits to stay well fed, then.

Hold up. Two days earlier, when he, Tails, and Knuckles started guarding the town, they caught Shadow sneaking up on a sheep. He obviously didn’t manage to get it, as he ran off after his and Sonic’s little fight, which means he probably was pretty hungry back then. …and he most likely hadn’t eaten much since.

Oh. Oh he must be starving.

Sonic suddenly felt pretty bad for the guy. He gave him that rabbit last night, despite the fact he could’ve eaten it himself and probably hasn’t had a proper meal in ages. Maybe it was a good thing that he left him hanging for the rest of the day. Sonic could figure out how to help with his access to town in the meantime.

Oh, and he probably should let Knuckles know he spread the word about the alarm. He completely forgot about it. He ran back to the village, picking up the crutch he hid near the edge of the forest, and made his way back to the field that was used as the building grounds as of now. He found Knuckles practicing his aim on a nearby tree with his crossbow.

“Took you long enough,” he commented as he noticed the hedgehog approach in the corner of his eye, not taking his sight off of the target before shooting another bolt into a bullseye.

Sonic shrugged. “I napped at the edge of the forest,” he lied confidently. It started coming to him a bit more naturally, which he really disliked. “Had to air dry my sweater after getting soaked in the rain,” he gave Knuckles a look.

The echidna huffed. “Let’s just get Tails. He shouldva woken up by now.”

He shot the loaded bolt right through the last one and casually put his crossbow away on his back, walking towards the town. Sonic gave a passing glance at the massacred tree bark, feeling a sudden chill, before following.

The two walked through the village in silence. Sonic couldn’t stand the awkwardness.

“So,” he began to fill the deafening silence that couldn’t be filled even by the ambient of the village at rush hour, “you’ve been a hunter for a while, ay, Knux?”

“Yes,” the echidna replied simply. “What of it?”

“Oh, I was just wondering about what kind of creatures you’ve faced before.”

“Hah,” Knuckles smirked, “lotsa’ vem. Zombies, ghouls, sirens, kobolds… even that one ghost…” he added the last part a bit quieter, unsure. Despite the confidence in his voice as he spoke, he wouldn’t directly meet Sonic’s eyes.

“And you got rid of all of them?” Sonic’s ears lowered a little bit.

“Well, I worked with a team,” the red hunter looked away, “so I wasn’t the one to deal the deadly blow every time, but… yeah. You could say that.”

Sonic hummed. Something was up about this story, but he wasn’t sure what.

“That sounds pretty cool,” he admitted. “You’ve gotta tell me some of those stories.”

“Maybe later,” Knuckles said, pointing to the building before them. “We've got work to do right now.”

Indeed, the building before them was Amy’s house, which the echidna quickly entered. Sonic perked up as he realized there was an intense, savory smell coming out of the building. Something was cooking. Only now did he realize he hadn’t had anything ever since… the rabbit. Yeesh. He definitely wasn’t going to just wait outside to be invited.

The smell was more intense inside, it almost gave Sonic a headache. He noted Knuckles must’ve noticed the smell now as well, given his reaction, right before he headed towards the kitchen to see what the source of it was, giving Sonic a confused glance. The hedgehog, of course, followed.

“Oh, hey guys!” Tails peeked out of the small kitchen as he noticed the guests. “Good timing!”

“Yeah, I was about to fetch you,” Amy’s voice reached them. Because of the smells Sonic didn’t even notice that she was there as well until now, seeing her stirring something in a big pan. “Dinner’s almost ready! Tails did most of the work this time. It’s already delicious!”

“Aww, I’m glad you like it,” Tails smiled a bit awkwardly, playing with the wooden spoon he held in his hands. “I wanted to thank you for your hospitality!”

“You know you didn’t have to,” Amy chuckled.

“I like cooking, so it’s really not a big deal,” The fox tossed the spoon into the air to do a small trick with it before catching it again.

“Huh! I wouldn’t mind a bite,” Knuckles rubbed his hands together.

“And we actually get to eat inside for once,” Sonic jested, even if it did mess with his plans a little bit. He hoped he could sneak out into the woods during dinner time to fetch Shadow some, but now it would be a bit more difficult to pull off.

Amy’s house wasn’t exactly very spacious - the kitchen could barely fit two people if they squeezed. It wasn’t usually an issue for the pink hedgehog who lived by herself, however anytime she was in need of more space, she’d get the big table she kept in her shed out into the big bedroom. Knuckles helped with carrying the table inside as Amy and Sonic – much to Amy’s disapprobation, even if he insisted he was feeling up to the task and didn’t want to just stand around doing nothing – got the chairs and started setting the table as soon as it was in the master bedroom. Tails soon announced that the food was ready and the group sat down to eat.

Tails’s cooking was really something. It was just mashed potatoes with lamb and a few fresh veggies, yet with the right use of spices and whatever Amy had available in her pantry, everything came together wonderfully. No shade to the nice lady that made them that stew the other day nor Amy who got them some snacks the day before, but this was definitely the best dish the three of them had in a while.

“It’s delicious, Tails!” Amy hummed blissfully as she took a bite of the meat. “How’d you get it to be so soft and tender?”

“Thanks!” I just used salt and slow-cooked it for a while,” the young fox admitted with a small blush flushing his cheeks. “That’s why I wanted to put out the fire almost entirely earlier.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss your cooking,” Sonic smiled, having nearly finished his portion at that point. He really didn’t realize how hungry he was… nor that the taste of blood that he tried to wash out was still kind of stuck in his mouth until now. At least this much more pleasant taste would hopefully get rid of it entirely. 

“It’s definitely filling,” Knuckles admitted between his bites. “We’ll need the energy if we want some progress to be made today!”

Tails held the fork in his mouth for a moment as he ate, humming thoughtfully. “I’m pretty sure I could at least get the alarm working today, if I hurry,” he said after a moment, putting the silverware back onto his plate.

“Great!” The echidna lifted his knife up so suddenly that both Amy and Tails flinched, afraid he was going to accidentally stab them. “The safety of the commonfolk is our number one priority!”

“Right, you’re setting up an alarm?” Amy interjected. “Sonic didn’t give me a lot of details.”

“Yeah, didn’t want to cause mass hysteria,” Sonic leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “We’re not sure what to expect of these beasts, so it’ll be safer to simply raise an alarm for everyone to get to safety if they appear in town again.”

“This way we can deal with them without endangering anyone,” Knuckles added.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Amy admitted. “Do you have any plans for dealing with them yet? Since there’s two of them.”

“We do, actually!” Tails chimed in. “It’s a rough idea for now, but…”

Sonic tuned out after the genius fox started explaining the mechanisms of the trap. He did catch something about the trap being camouflaged in the woods and triggered by interacting with the bait they’d set up, but currently his mind was on how to get out of the house without raising any suspicions. The others seemed deeply invested in the subject of discussion, so this was probably a great moment to find an excuse.

“Excuse me for a moment,” he said after a while, getting up from his seat and leaning on the crutch that was resting against the edge of the table until now. “I need to use the outhouse.”

The others paid him little mind as they continued explaining their current plans to Amy. Sonic walked into the hallway, making sure his footsteps were pretty audible alongside the knocks of the crutch against the wooden floor all the way to the front door. He then opened the door, waited a second, closed it, and then quietly snuck back into the kitchen. He had to grab the food, after all.

The window was ajar, given how otherwise the place would be filled with smoke. Even now with the ventilation the amount of smells was overstimulating to the hedgehog. He really wished he could turn his new abilities off sometimes. He grabbed a bowl from one of the shelves and glanced at the leftovers… He couldn’t take everything or it would seem suspicious, so he took a bit of everything into the dish, mindfully covering his tracks. Once he was satisfied, he pushed the window open and lumped out of it, the bowl of food in his hands and the crutch pushed against his side with his elbow. He took a deep breath, enjoying a bit of fresh air outside of the suffocating building. He decided to leave the walking aid just outside under the window – what were the chances anyone would’ve noticed it while he was gone for just a few minutes? He didn’t have time to find a good hiding spot for it and he preferred his hands free to make sure the food wouldn’t fall out of the bowl when he sped up.

It was dinnertime, so there weren’t a lot of people in the streets at least. Sonic easily snuck into the woods without anyone spotting him before he took off, hoping he could catch Shadow’s scent. Oh, but it turned out to not be so easy, with the smell of the food aggressively attacking his nostrils anytime he took an inhale. He would have to wing it a little bit.

He ran deeper into the woods, trying to retrace his steps. Maybe Shadow would be somewhere where the two of them had already been? The woods weren’t small, but they weren’t endless either. He really hoped for a bit of luck this time. …until he caught a whiff of a familiar, sweet scent. Finally.

The dark hedgehog quickly came into his view after that, cross armed, with his back turned to him. Only when Sonic came closer did he side eye him.

“You’re interrupting my hunt. I thought I told you I’m done today,” he said with an annoyment. He glanced over at the bowl Sonic was holding. “What is that?”

“Good afternoon to you too, Shadow” Sonic smirked a little. His expression quickly changed to a bit more genuine though as he handed the bowl over to the other. “Tails made a bit too much food for us all to eat, so I thought I’d share.”

Considering how Sonic basically shoved the bowl into his hands, Shadow had little time to object to that. The hunter noticed that his eyes widened a little, probably as he smelled the intense, delicious scent of the food a bit closer. It quickly changed into a suspicious squint.

“What is this trick, hunter?” he hissed.

“Why would it be a trick?” Sonic raised a brow. “We have a truce, remember?”

“A truce never mentioned sharing resources,” Shadow scoffed.

The hunter shrugged. “Look, it’s your choice if you want this or not. I just wanted to be nice. I don’t really have time to argue about it right now,” he sighed, turning around. “The others might notice I’m gone. I’ll just retrieve the bowl next morning, alright?”

Before Shadow could reply, Sonic already took off.

The dark werehog looked at the bowl of freshly cooked food in his hands, the savory smelling lamb meat, some smashed vegetables and some cut up. It kind of reminded him of–

… he still didn’t trust that hunter. He still could’ve simply poisoned the food. But he felt an ache in his abdomen, a rumble in his stomach. At this point, he had very little to lose.

So he picked up a handful of the food and dug in.

—

“Yeah, I needed that,” Sonic said confidently as he hobbled into the room with the support of his crutch.

“And we don’t need to know about that,” Amy wrinkled her nose a little. 

Knuckles rolled his eyes. “So, as I was saying–”

The echidna continued some story he was telling before Sonic even walked into the room, which he struggled to follow for that very reason. He sat down in his place at the table, looking down at his own, already empty plate, picking up a fork and fidgeting with it. He glanced at Tails.

Just as he turned his attention to his younger brother, the fox looked away from him, seemingly at Knuckles. Sonic was sure that they caught just half a second of eye contact before that. Huh. What was that about…?

The rest of the dinner was pretty uneventful. Everyone finished their food and Knuckles helped with the dishes, sending Tails and Sonic ahead to start working as it was pretty late into the day already. Tails’s blueprints were all finished, so after setting up a simple, village-wide alarm, he began building the trap.

Sonic wasn’t half bad at following building instructions. While Tails was the genius in their group, the hedgehog had had helped his little bro with building numerous things before, so even now with an ‘injured’ leg he was still able to help here and there. He definitely felt strange and anxious, helping with a construction that was supposed to hurt two innocent people, including himself , but he’d figure something out. Maybe he could sabotage the construction at some point…? Perhaps he could regain the control over himself in the nights before his team finished setting up the trap so he could talk them out of it? He didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt, but he also didn’t want everyone to think he was a danger to society, especially Knuckles.

…Maybe he shouldn’t be speeding up the building process after all. But it would be suspicious to back out now. So he simply did his part slowly.

Man, he hated to do stuff slowly.

Knuckles joined the two shortly and started helping out with the bigger parts of the construction that Tails in no way could get into place just by himself. It barely took them a few hours to create some basic mechanism.

“Alright, let’s see…” Tails placed a pretty big rock in a specific spot in the ground, seemingly having calculated where the trap should aim. Sonic wasn’t exactly sure what the construction was supposed to do yet, but he was about to find out, it seemed, as the young genius waved the others to get out of the way and pulled its trigger.

Suddenly, a massive log shot up into the air like a catapult, although going in the exact opposite of the rock. The fox observed, focused on the movement, a lot of calculations clearly going through his head. The log landed in the grass, several feet away from the target. Sonic watched Tails hum as he held up his blueprint and sketched something onto it. Knuckles shot the hedgehog a confused look.

“Awh, you’ll get it next time,” Sonic put a hand on his brother’s arm, assuming that wasn’t what was supposed to happen. In a way, he was sort of relieved.

“Oh, I did get it!” Tails smiled at him. “It’s simply the first part of the mechanism. It’s a little difficult to explain, you’ll see when we finish the next part.”

Sonic blinked, then snickered. Of course that was just the first part. When Tails put his mind to something, he did it right alright.

His mood soured immediately after, though, as he was suddenly filled with a sense of dread. Right… he glanced at the sun. It slowly began to head towards the horizon, which was shielded by the trees.

“Okay!” Tails raised up his blueprint, looking over it one last time. “With this test successful, we’re one step closer!”

Sonic stretched his arms. “Yeah, actually, I think I’m gonna clock out early tonight,” he said nonchalantly with a yawn. “Knuckles snores like a saw through lumber.”

The echidna in question scoffed. “I do not! You should clean out your ears, hedgehog!”

Tails giggled at the disagreement. “Well, actually, I think that’s a good idea,” he pointed out, before yawning himself. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep today myself either.”

“Hmph,” Knuckles looked over the two, “well, I’d rather not have a sleep deprived kid near hammers and nails. I want you up early tomorrow, though.”

“Got it, boss,” Sonic smirked, teasingly saluting the eldest hunter, who responded with an annoyed grimace. The hedgehog chuckled as he picked up his crutch and stood up, ready to leave.

The brothers returned to Amy’s house in comfortable silence, even if Sonic was painfully aware of just how fast the sun was setting. He hoped he’d go back by himself – this way he could mask his disappearance quicker and leave way before the sun set without raising suspicion. Now he had to keep Tails in mind… the hole in his chest definitely made itself felt as he thought about that.

“I think I’ll go straight to bed,” Tails said as the two entered the house, closing the door behind them.

Sonic hummed in agreement. “Me too, I’m beat. Well, goodnight buddy,” he waved to his brother and disappeared in the master bedroom.

“Goodnight, Sonic.”

The room had been cleaned, the table probably back in the shed by now. Sonic glanced at the window as he entered… he still had some time. He undressed, leaving even his shoes hidden under the bed and stuffing his clothes beneath the sheets to make an illusion of someone laying there. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to going out into the cold night in nothing more than his birthday suit, but he also didn’t want to ruin the clothes Amy has so kindly lended him.

He approached the closed bedroom door and put his ear to it. He didn’t hear Tails walking around… he had to go to sleep already. Poor kid, he must’ve been exhausted.

Either way, that was good news. Sonic glanced outside into the hall, quietly making his way out of the room and then outside. He was doing his best to make as little noise as possible, even to his sensitive ears. Once he was on the front porch, he sneaked out of the village and rushed deeper into the woods, heading straight for Shadow once again.

Searching for his werehog friend, Sonic ran across a fallen tree, broken around nine feet above the ground. It looked like lightning struck the massive oak, causing it to topple over, staying in that position to this day, dried out and dead. Shadow was sitting on the tree, one leg hanging off of the side, the hedgehog leaning on the other. His tail swung back and forth below it. His usual coat was draped over his shoulders, lightly enough that it almost seemed like a stronger gust of wind could steal the piece of clothing right off of him.

“Hey, Shads!” Sonic waved to the hedgehog, trying to ignore how much he was trembling from the cold air now that he stopped moving.

“Don’t call me that,” Shadow shot him a look, though he turned away as the hunter climbed the fallen tree to sit near him. Sonic followed his sight to a sun setting behind the trees, somewhere down the valley. It was already out of their sight at this point, but they knew it wasn’t long before it completely set.

“So…” Sonic began awkwardly, “another night, huh?”

Shadow turned to look at him, as if expecting him to continue.

“Is every night going to be so… violent? ” The hunter carefully worded the question.

“You weren’t violent at all last night,” the dark hedgehog pointed out. “You just hid in a hollowed out tree like a coward.”

“Okay, could’ve done it without that last part,” Sonic rolled his eyes, “but, that’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“The transformation ,” The hunter clarified, a more serious expression on his face. “It’s not exactly the most pleasant experience in the world.”

Shadow scoffed, looking him up and down. “And it’s not going to be, as long as you keep fighting it.”

“You mentioned that last night, but I’ve no idea how to not fight when my entire body is twisting, turning, and mutating into something monstrous!”

“Whether you like it or not, it’s a part of your life now,” the dark hedgehog straightened up, pulling the coat off of his shoulders and hanging it over the tree they were on. “The sooner you realize and accept it, the better.”

He glanced at the darkening sky and jumped off, landing on the ground with quite a lot of grace to it. Sonic stared daggers at him – none of this made it any easier to understand! What was he even supposed to do? How should he not fight it??

Recognizing an uncomfortable, alien feeling somewhere in his chest, he realized it’s time, so he jumped off as well. He didn’t want to add a concussion from the fall to the list of his worries.

“Treat it as a gift, not a curse, hunter,” Shadow continued, standing tall and proud. “If you want it to be empowering,” as he spoke, his appearance shifted, Sonic once again watched his claws get sharper, teeth longer, additional limbs growing out of his sides and shoulder blades, and a third eye opening on his forehead, “It WILL empower you.”

As the last of the sunlight faded, Sonic had to now look up to see the creature of the night towering over him. A creature who was a tiny hedgehog just a moment ago, just like him, a creature who mutated into a beast, just as he was about to. Embrace it? Accept it? He had no no choice but to try again.

After all, how hard could it be?

Chapter Text

‘Focus. Don’t fight it. Welcome it.’

Sonic’s heart was racing, blood rushing into his ears. He inhaled the cool, evening air, feeling it spread in his lungs alongside that alien feeling that he dreaded. Another transformation was incoming. The second one he’d remember, hopefully.

Once it began, it was uncomfortable at worst. He could feel his body change, grow, he felt his teeth getting sharper against the inside of his mouth. He looked at his hands. The short, dull claws he usually had had grown - they were longer, their color darker, the fur on his hands was replaced by a different shade and texture, including cuffs of long, light fur that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

His new claws were massive, horrifying. Those were no longer his hands. Those were hands of a monster –

Sonic gasped and cried out as a pinch of blaring pain flooded his mind. He grabbed his head, losing balance and falling to his knees. It hazed his thoughts. It clouded his sight. And it wouldn’t stop. Itspread to other parts of his body until he was left a whimpering mess of quills and fur.

He stayed there, curled up in a ball, unable to roll up entirely like he usually could, which only put more dread in his chest, until all his senses flooded him. The smells, the sounds, the textures and vibrations once again aggressively attacked his brain at full force, and he was unable to do anything about it.

And then he heard a voice.

‘Calm down.’

The voice overlapped everything else. It didn’t come from anywhere around him. It wasn’t too loud, or too quiet. It wasn’t coming into contact with his ears. If he knew any better, he would’ve assumed he imagined it, yet it felt too vivid to be mere imagination. It was a voice. A voice he clearly heard in his mind.

Trying to identify the source of the strange sensation stopped his trembling, it seemed. He still refused to move from the fetal position, but he slowly opened his eyes. There were three glowing red irises staring at him.

‘Take a deep breath, hunter. Don’t repeat last night. Focus.’ Sonic recognized that voice. That soft, deep voice, now scratching at his brain like an itch he couldn’t reach. He knew it was coming from that set of red eyes observing his every move. He knew they didn’t mean him any harm. That he should do what they told him.

He closed his eyes and inhaled the cold air through the nose, a thousand different scents reaching him in a span of a few milliseconds. Focus. He couldn’t tell them all apart. There was a mix of things he could recognize, others he had no idea what they were. Focus, focus… He focused on one of the strongest smells that he recognized. The sweet, gentle smell, so similar to lavender. It was familiar. The safest option at that moment.

‘Good. Take it in one by one.’

One by one. He was still focusing on the one smell, but his other senses were going haywire. For example hearing… His heartbeat was the dominating sound that he heard, thumping against his chest, feeling as if it was going to jump out any second now. Other sounds… the trees creaking. Wind blowing. Dirt being pushed around by critters. Footsteps. Fluttering of wings. So many sounds. Too many. Too many to choose from. His heartbeat only picked up on pace.

…then something moved closer to him. It leaned against him, its warm, soft fur tickling Sonic’s neck, as it engulfed him in what felt like an… embrace? Then the sound– A soft one. Similar to his heartbeat, but slow, calm. Gentle . He could barely hear it, even if it was close. It soothed him,as did the soft breath brushing against his quills.

That. He had to focus on that. The soothing presence of another soul, a calm and non-threatening one. That sweet scent, the lavender one, grew stronger as well. Sonic buried his face in the other beast’s fur, closing his eyes to calm his own breathing. Everything slowed down.

His heartbeat soon matched the one he could hear. The other creature stepped back, which caused Sonic to open his eyes again. He couldn’t begin to describe what he was seeing. Everything felt different than normal, the shapes, the colors, everything was so alien. He sat up slowly, taking a moment to adjust to his surroundings, to take in the new, unique view on the world he now had.

‘Hm. Better.’ Sonic almost jumped as he heard the voice again. He blinked at the creature next to him. He had nearly forgotten he wasn’t here alone, as he took everything in. It was a comforting reminder, though.

The hunter opened his mouth to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat. The sounds that would leave his mouth were closer to grunts and whines, almost like barks, no matter how hard he tried. He could swear he noticed a momentary amusement on Shadow’s changed face.

The darker beast started slowly circling him on all fours, observing him closely.

‘Well, hunter? Can you hear and understand me? Are you aware of your surroundings?’

Sonic attempted to keep an eye on Shadow as he moved. He took another glance around and quickly nodded. He wasn’t going to get his thoughts across verbally, it seemed.

Shadow stopped in front of him, taking a close look at him.

‘Then you have finally achieved the bare minimum.’

Sonic huffed with annoyment. The other hedgehog wasn't exactly helping him much before that!

‘Simply sitting here and listening to your senses is not a feat of great skill,’ Shadow’s voice continued in his mind. 

Suddenly, a piercing pain stabbed his brain through his ears as the cloud-covered sky crackled with unbelievable anger, lightning up the forest for just a moment, causing Sonic to wince and press his hands against his skull to dull out the sound. If Shadow reacted to the sudden noise, the blue hedgehog missed it. As Sonic readjusted and the slight ringing in his ears quieted down, he heard gentle tapping of raindrops against pine needles, tree branches, and the piles of leaves resting on the ground in the far edge of the forest. It was approaching and it would catch up to them soon.

Sonic watched Shadow’s ear turn towards the sound, the werehog seeming to think, before he turned back to the hunter. He stood up on his hind legs, towering over him with a truly intimidating stature. His tail and tentacles lashed behind him.

‘You're fond of races, aren't you?’

That made Sonic perk up instantly. Now that was his language. He stood up as well, mimicking Shadow’s actions, realizing that standing straight – even if strangely different than usual – didn't feel unnatural in the slightest, unlike what he had expected. He felt pretty comfortable standing straight, although everything around him looked so much smaller… and yet he felt so much closer to it all at the same time.

Seemingly taking it as a yes, the dark beast lowered himself to the ground, taking a stance ready to take off on all fours– sixes?– and letting out a low growl.

‘Try to keep up.’

In one second, the beast took off into the darkness of the night, kicking up dead leaves and dirt as he went. Sonic didn't hesitate for long – he quickly followed the werehog. At first he tried to run as he normally would, but something very quickly pushed him to drop to all fours himself, realizing it felt much easier that way.

Though this wasn't his usual speed, he had little time to notice that as wind rushed through his ears, delivering all the sounds and smells from all around. From his own hands? claws? landing heavily against the forest ground, to the tapping of the tiniest wild mouse’s little feet on the bark of the root it was currently jumping over, from the smell of a bird nest situated somewhere above him in the naked branches, to the scent of Shadow chasing off into the distance. Right, Shadow . He couldn't just let him lose him so easily!

With all his senses he was somehow able to tell when to change directions and when to turn before running into trees, bushes, or burrows, giving him an edge he did not have before. He could feel the vibrations of Shadow’s footsteps, he didn’t need to look to tell where the other beast was. He jumped over a massive boulder blocking the way, landing on the top and using the newly acquired height to jump and push himself forward, getting a few extra feet closer to his rival. Now the two werehogs were side to side, both pushing it, both willing to give it all to win this one. Shadow glanced at his competitor, a spark appearing in his eyes right before he sped up, taking a turn in an attempt to shake Sonic off. Sonic wasn't going to give in to that trick so easily again though, as he bounced off of a tree to make the sharp and sudden turn and used another, small incline to get some momentum and jump forward. He landed next to Shadow once more, suddenly deciding to push his side against the other’s to hopefully trip him up, but the darker werehog simply pushed back. The two continued running, locked in a stalemate, as whenever either of them would let go, the other would go tumbling back. A playful growl escaped Sonic’s throat, resulting in a similar reply from Shadow, even if it sounded a bit more threatening.

They were both late to notice the tree in front of them, that they were running straight into, and Shadow was the first to react, pushing Sonic away with more power to let both of them dodge it without losing too much momentum. Sonic nearly lost his balance due to the sudden shove, but recovered rather quickly. Not quickly enough to remain side to side with the darker hedgehog, though, who rushed forward and was now running uphill, jumping over rocks and outcrops, gracefully dodging other obstacles. This was where the trees got more sparse, but the boulders and rocks poking out of the ground made it a rather difficult terrain to run through. Sonic wasn’t going to slow down, though!

Using all the strength he had in his muscles, he pushed himself even further, managing to catch up with the darker werehog, and just as he started gaining on him, he jumped straight onto the rocky wall of a boulder to propel himself in a different direction, changing the course of the race with a smug look on his face. It was his turn to dictate the rules! He saw with a corner of his eye how Shadow had nearly stopped in his tracks, but managed to turn just a second after. A second too late, though, as Sonic was already leading tremendously, tongue lolling on his chin, catching the cool air in his mouth.

He ran forward until he perked up – there was a cliffside right in front of him. He halted so suddenly, that he left claw marks in the ground, alongside a small pile of grass and dirt where he now stood, straight up on his hind legs to avoid falling down the cliff. Adrenaline was flowing through his veins as he panted, looking down at the village down in the lowland surrounded by wilderness, feeling something building up in his chest, deciding to simply let it all out in a powerful, loud howl, reaching every nook and cranny of the valley. He heard another voice joining him behind him – Shadow caught up and was now harmonizing with his own, mighty call.

Sonic carried on a second, then a third time, not minding how Shadow no longer joined him the next few times. He simply felt so alive , so energetic, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt that kind of adrenaline. After he was satisfied, he plopped down onto the ground on his back, sighing with content and panting with slight tiredness. He wasn’t used to getting tired after runs, but he could tell running in this form felt different. Slower. More exhausting. But he didn’t mind it. It felt satisfying, in a way. Although his tail was definitely going to get tired from how much it’s been wagging the entire time.

Shadow approached him slowly, looking over the view of the valley before glancing at Sonic with a side eye. ‘You got lucky,’ a familiar voice rang in Sonic’s mind.

Sonic just grinned smugly. ‘I so won and you know it!’ He chuckled slightly at the snarky remark he thought of, wishing he could boast in Shadow’s face about it. 

Shadow suddenly raised his head, fully turning to the blue werehog, eyes wide. The three, red irises staring right at Sonic made his tail slow down, his grin disappearing and being replaced by a confused look.

‘How did you do that?’

Sonic turned over to sit up and simply tilted his head at Shadow. He had no idea what he was talking about.

Shadow stared at him for a moment longer before shaking his head and looking away. ‘...Nevermind,’ the voice sounded again.

The distant droplets have finally caught up to the two of them, a pourdown soaking their fur and quills in cold water in just a few moments. Sonic instantly tried to shake the water off with a displeased grunt, as if it could help in any way while the rain intensified. If there was one way he absolutely hated about this form so far was the fact that more fur was insanely more uncomfortable when wet than his regular fur amount.

They were currently on the same hill where they spoke just the previous morning, the spot where he used to have picnics with Amy. The village below seemed really small from up here, with nobody in the streets at this hour. Knuckles was probably patrolling somewhere near the edge of the woods, but Sonic couldn’t see him from there.

‘Let’s go, ’ Shadow insisted, looking down at the village with Sonic before turning around and making his way back towards the woods. ‘The howls could’ve notified your friends. ’

Sonic grimaced at the venomous tone Shadow used when addressing his friends, but he had to admit there was some truth to it. Knuckles probably wouldn’t search for them all by himself in the dead of the night, especially after what happened to Sonic just a few nights back, but he definitely would be on edge due to the sounds they were making. He really hadn’t thought about that… it just felt right in that moment. The blue werehog turned around to finally get out of the rain, but then something else stopped him.

Strawberries and parchment…? What was Amy’s scent doing here?

He sniffed the air before dropping to all fours and trying to identify the source. He noticed in the corner of his eye that Shadow had stopped without a word, turning in his direction, probably waiting for him before carrying on and disappearing from his peripheral vision. He’d find him later, curiosity won this round.

He quickly found the direction he was catching the scent from, as it led him a bit to the side, near a tree on the edge of the hill. There was something half buried in the dirt, covered with leaves and moss, something that hadn’t been touched in years… and yet it clearly still had Amy’s scent on it. Did she lose something here a while ago?

Sonic easily uncovered what turned out to be a small jar, filled with a transparent liquid that looked like water. He dusted it off with his clawed, massive hands, even if he struggled a bit, only to see a nearly faded, handmade label on it that simply said “Moon Water”. Huh…

A crackle split the sky in two with a sudden burst, a sound so similar to an explosion, making Sonic jump as the land was lit up for a split second. At least it didn’t hurt as much as the last time. He definitely should get out of the rain. He’d figure it out later. For now he simply left the jar where he found it, hoping nothing would happen to it at least until the morning, before turning to follow where Shadow went.

Despite everything, Shadow must’ve been going a bit slower than he normally would, letting Sonic catch up, as he wasn’t really that far from the hill when the hunter found him. He earned a side eye before Shadow sped up, probably not any less uncomfortable to be out there in the rain as Sonic. The trees shielded them from the worst of it, but Sonic would’ve preferred to be completely dry if he had the choice. Man, did he envy Tails right now. Or Amy for that matter. Being able to just sit this pourdown out inside a dry house in a cozy, warm bed… The wind penetrated his fur, causing him to shiver. Oh how he wished he could just go back to the village and hide from the rain. Maybe if he snuck…?

The thought of Knuckles shooting him on sight was enough for him to give up on that hope, though.

Going through the woods at a slower pace, Sonic was able to realize how many smells he simply didn’t recognize. More than during his usual visits in the woods. In fact, he couldn’t even catch a whiff of Windmill Village’s stench, one that was usually so easy to smell. They must’ve been really deep into the woods at that point, and if Sonic had to guess, they were only going deeper.

Suddenly, something colorful caught Sonic’s eye. He stopped and turned to observe a few tiny, floating creatures with tentacles pass by, and just as they noticed he was staring at them, they hurried and disappeared somewhere in depths of the forest. Sonic had never seen creatures like this before, yet he could swear he’s heard of something like that before… Suddenly, it struck him. Wisps! He’d learned about them during his course right before entering Hunters’ Alliance. They were described to be tiny spirits, rarely seen anywhere near settlements, yet powerful enough to be considered a threat if spotted. Well… the hunter wasn’t exactly sure if they looked threatening at all.

Sonic glanced at where Shadow went, figuring that he could easily track him if the other werehog decided not to wait for him. He decided to follow the wisps out of sheer curiosity. Just to make sure they really were no threat to people living nearby.

The rain droplets soaked his fur more and more with every step, raising a pretty unpleasant scent of mud, humus, and moisture from the forest floor, making the act of tracking rather uncomfortable. At least the little guys were flying and so their scent wasn’t as close to the choking stench of the ground as any other creature’s scent would’ve been. It didn’t take him long to track down the few little wisps he saw, now seeing them catch up with a few other little critters of seemingly the same species, even if they looked fairly distinct. A sight of so many colors in one place in late fall definitely was a sight the werehog didn’t expect. The creatures seemed happy to have reunited, clearly communicating with each other, but in a way that Sonic couldn’t understand. Observing them from a small distance, hidden from sight as to not freak them out again, the hunter didn’t feel like he was observing potential monsters that could use their strange powers to hurt people – it simply felt like he was watching a bunch of creatures living their lives peacefully, reuniting with close ones, as the affection they showed each other clearly transcended any sort of verbal barrier that stood between him and understanding what they were communicating about. They really were just simple spirits, nothing else.

Suddenly a cry made Sonic jump, bristling up as he watched the wisps scatter in fear. It didn’t come from far and it was definitely a cry of some animal or beast, bearing some resemblance to a call of a bird of prey, yet not quite. The werehog turned to head towards the call, tensing up, a low rumble in his throat. He wasn’t going to let any beast wreck havoc in his forest.

He snuck up closer to the source, ready to pounce if needed, hiding behind a bush to approach as close as he could to take a look. His ears folded as he saw the creature making the noise – a rather small creature with a beak and yellow legs, brown fur and folded wings on its back. It was curled up near a fallen tree, making the call now and again and then looking around vigilantly, as if awaiting a response.

That one was easy to identify. A gryphon. Sonic only bristled his quills more at the realization, though. This one looked small… it was just a kit? Which meant its mother must’ve been nearby. Strange, those creatures were known to attack livestock and even people pretty often, how come nobody knew that a bunch of gryphons lived so close?

A powerful breeze suddenly changed the direction of the rain as the sky crackled once again and Sonic noticed a shadow of a creature appearing in the sky as if out of nowhere, landing near the gryphon kit heavily. The hunter took a step back farther into the bush just as he realized he was looking at its mother. The little gryphon chirped joyfully, jumping towards the adult, just as she dropped something that Sonic was able to identify – as soon as the smell reached him – as an animal carcass, freshly killed. A badger, maybe? He wasn’t going to wait to stick around. Especially after he realized the mother gryphon made eye contact with him and opened her wings, screeching threateningly. Okay, that was definitely his cue to go.

Making his way back to where he got off track to catch up with Shadow, Sonic couldn’t help but wonder how many more mythical creatures lived so close to people without them realizing it? If they truly were bloodthirsty beasts, like the alliance liked to speak of them, why would they stay hidden? Were they straight up avoiding the village?

That would’ve been food for thought, if not for the awful stench of mud and rotten leaves filling his nostrils when he searched for the other werehog’s scent, as well as the growing discomfort of feeling water in his quills. Now he only wanted to focus on getting out of this rain. Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to find Shadow. He decided to ignore the dark werehog’s annoyed side-eye he had shot him by the time he caught up.

As the two made their way through the woods it was pretty obvious that Shadow knew the entire place like the back of his paw. He trod these invisible pathways with confidence, perceiving where to go with ease, not a moment of hesitation, only calculated movements to get to whatever their destination was. Soon, Sonic saw it as well, as they came close to a specific rock formation – tilted boulders created what almost looked like a naturally formed shelter, its rocky walls and roof seemingly enough to shelter them from the pouring rain, as the far inside was still dry. Shadow slipped into the burrow instantly, glancing back at Sonic. The blue werehog didn’t hesitate long.

The hideout was small, however. No matter how hard he tried to hug the opposite wall, he could still feel his tail touch the other beast, the awareness of it being slightly uncomfortable. Yet, it didn’t seem like Shadow minded it. Nor did he pay him any attention to begin with. Sonic sighed, resting his head on the ground as he watched the raindrops hit the forest floor.

‘Wish there was more space here to at least shake the water out of my fur,’ he thought, attempting to stretch his arms out as much as he could without poking them out of the burrow. He got into a more comfortable position – again, as much as he could – and simply listened to the rain and the wind, letting his eyelids close gently. The sounds were quite calming and helped him distract from the irritating feeling of moisture touching his skin. He heard Shadow changing his position too, feeling him brush against his back a few times.

He nearly jumped when he felt something touch him again, with more force. His head shot up to look back, where he saw Shadow grooming his quills and fur. His sudden reaction made the darker werehog pause, the red irises meeting his own eyes.

‘I thought you disliked the moisture,’ Shadow’s voice sounded in Sonic’s head again. Sonic stared at him for a moment, as if considering what he just said, before sighing and returning to his resting position. It did help with the wetness… He had to admit. So when Shadow returned to work, he didn’t object this time. It felt strange, Sonic definitely wasn’t used to it, but at the same time it was kind of nice. Comforting? He couldn’t explain it. Not to mention how the closeness offered more warmth. Yeah, on second thought, he didn’t mind it at all.

As Shadow got closer to work up Sonic’s fur, Sonic could hear and feel his heartbeat again. Just as calm and gentle as before. With all that, as well as with the rain tapping outside the hideout, Sonic couldn't help but get a little drowsy. It was pretty late into the night… Perhaps he could close his eyes for just a moment… He sighed again, this time with more comfort to it, and allowed the sluggishness to take over.

Perhaps the rain would stop soon… and they could continue racing through the woods…

Maybe he was fine with living like this after all…

Chapter Text

The first thing he felt was the incredible stiffness in his muscles. The next was Shadow’s strong scent.

Sonic groaned, attempting to stretch out his arms, realizing that something was laying over him. He opened his eyes and reached for the piece of material draped over his shoulders, quickly realizing he knew this article of clothing – it was what Shadow usually wore, his old, ragged trench coat. That explained the smell. He sat up, covering himself a bit more with it as he felt the dampness in his fur, and a cool breeze barely reaching him from the outside. Right, he was in this cave-burrow thing Shadow found last night. Sonic yawned as he slowly recalled all its events.

Right, last night wasn’t so bad actually… he felt pretty good in the moment. Yet a part of him felt a slight unease at some of the events that transpired. With the running around, howling, tracking… it didn’t feel quite right. It felt like… like he was doing things he normally wouldn’t do, not if he had a choice. Yet he didn’t question it last night, despite being aware of everything that was going on moreso than the last few times…

He felt a shiver. Was he losing it without realizing? Ugh, it was way too early for that. He’d figure it out. He’d figure it out! It was fine. He needed to ask Shadow what to do with all that lack of agency, first and foremost.

…speaking of, where was Shadow? And why would he just drop off his coat on him?

Sonic rubbed his eyes and crawled out of the hideout, grimacing at the mud that his palms and knees were now covered with, on top of his damp fur and quills. The breeze instantly caused him to shiver again, just as he realized that the mud on the outside of the burrow was hard as a rock. Grass and leaves looked as if they were spray painted with a coat of white, glistening in the sparse sunlight like shards of glass.

“You’re finally awake.” Sonic’s ears perked up, as he turned to see his werehog companion resting on the burrow’s roof. The dark hedgehog was wearing some different, ragged clothes that Sonic has not seen yet. They looked snug, if not a little tight on him.

“And you’re up and early,” Sonic retaliated. “What’s with the coat?” He asked, pointing at the piece of clothing resting on his shoulders.

“As I’ve said before,” Shadow sat up, jumping off the rock and landing gracefully on the ground, “I’d rather not have a dead hunter in the woods. It would only cause me problems if you died of hypothermia.”

“Suuure,” the blue hedgehog hummed, deciding to simply put on the coat. It was pretty breezy, and he was already starting to lose feeling in the tips of his fingers. He stuffed his hands into the coat’s pockets. He nearly drowned in it, which made him wonder how did the other hedgehog pull it off so nicely, given they were a very similar size. “Anyway… what a night, huh?”

The dark hedgehog looked him up and down. “You weren’t running straight into hunters or shaking your quills off, for the most part, so I’d say it was an improvement.”

Sonic huffed. “I’ll pretend it was a compliment,” he put a hand on his side. “But, I actually wanted to ask you a thing or two about this whole transformation thing, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind, but that’s not going to stop you, is it.” Shadow crossed his arms and leaned against the boulder that formed a wall of the burrow.

“Well, I don’t know any other werewolf mentors I could go to around here,” Sonic teased. He dropped his smirk a moment after, though. “I was thinking about last night, and how I thought I was in full control over myself at the time, but now that I think about it, that… wasn’t the case.”

Shadow raised a brow. “Meaning?”

“Well, for starters, I definitely wouldn’t choose to howl my heart out on that peak,” he noticed. “It was a dead giveaway of our presence! And I really doubt I’d be so fine with you grooming me like that normally,” he frowned, suddenly feeling like he could use a dip in the lake. He shuddered a little.

The darker hedgehog’s confusion seemed to morph into a more neutral expression, almost understanding. He sighed.

“When you transform, you’re more in touch with all your senses,” he explained. “That includes your instinct. Trust me, hunter, I wouldn’t have chosen to groom you normally either,” He grimaced in pretty clear disgust.

The hunter’s memory reached back to the letter he and his fellow hunters received the day prior. Of feral werewolves attacking and killing innocent people. The memory of himself attacking his own friend, or at least a retelling of it. Were those bloodthirsty werewolves simply following their instinct? Were they simply not aware of what they were doing…?

“Okay, instinct. So that’s instinct,” Sonic nodded. “But how do I stop it if it goes too far?”

Shadow’s brows drew together. “Stop it? There’s no stopping your instinct.”

It felt like a very cold breeze just went straight through Sonic’s chest.

“What if it tells me to hurt someone?” He asked up front.

Shadow looked at him for a moment. Sonic couldn’t read his expression one bit. He straightened, approaching the hunter, looking him dead in the eye.

“Then they did something to deserve it.”

Sonic frowned. He couldn’t say he liked that answer.

“You’re still not confident,” Shadow continued, looking at Sonic carefully before turning away. “Come with me.”

“Where to?” The blue hedgehog crossed his arms, raising a brow.

“There’s someone who wants to talk to you,” the dark hedgehog said over his shoulder.

—

A wooden bowl was placed on the stone floor of the cave with a soft clank. Despite being enormous, the creature that stood before him was rather delicate and gracious in its movements. Shadow had to look up to be able to look her in the eye.

“I don’t sense poison of any kind,” her voice echoed through the cave, bouncing off the walls and disappearing at the exit somewhere in the woods.

“You’re absolutely sure about that?” Shadow eyed the empty bowl, traces of food still stuck to its inner walls and, albeit cold and weaker, the delicious scent still recognizable.

“I think you’re being a bit paranoid, darling,” the creature before him spoke, and although her monstrous figure, her eyes had a kind of softness to them.

“For a valid reason,” Shadow hissed, crossing his arms and looking away.

“Well, it’s been a while since you ate it,” the beast pointed out, “are you feeling any different?”

“I feel like I could vomit any second now,” the hedgehog grimaced, still not meeting her eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that’s just nerves, darling.” She took a step forward to glance at the outside. “How unlikely is it really that he simply wanted to look out for you?”

Shadow growled a little, squeezing his arm.

“He’s a hunter,” he replied. “You can never trust a hunter.”

“He’s also one of us,” she noted. “He’s not like just any other hunter. He doesn’t seem to have a bad heart, either, does he now?”

Shadow fell silent at that, his eyes still tracing the rocks on the ground.

“He could be a valuable asset,” she continued.

“Did you forget how he tried to kill me?” The hedgehog hissed. “How he blackmailed me into helping him with the threat of murder?”

The beast before him hummed, leaning back into the shadows.

“Yet he still chose to help you survive,” she said slowly, thinking. “Perhaps all there is to it is to show him our perspective further.”

“He thinks we’re monsters,” Shadow scoffed, turning around, ready to abandon this pointless conversation. “That he’s a monster.”

“Now that’s just sad,” his friend raised a brow. “Say, bring him here next morning. I’ll talk some sense into him. Maybe we’ll be able to use him to our advantage.”

The dark hedgehog turned to her instantly. “No.”

“Your concern is sweet, Shadow, but I can handle myself,” she winked at him. “I want to get a feel for what he’s like myself. Properly, this time.”

Shadow grimaced with a low growl. He didn’t like that idea.

—

“This better not take long, I don’t want Tails noticing I’m gone again,” Sonic stretched his arms and placed them behind his head as he walked.

With the way the sunbeams rolled down the western peaks now, the cave entrance was engulfed in shadows. One could probably miss it if they didn’t look closely, really. Of course, with the fact Sonic has been here before, he spotted it almost instantly. It only raised more questions in his head.

“What, you got your pack tucked away in there?” He asked sarcastically, mostly to break the awkward silence that befell the two of them.

“I don’t live here, hedgehog,” the darker werehog hissed over his shoulder. “Someone else does, though.”

Suddenly, Shadow turned around, the movement so quick Sonic nearly walked straight into him. He stared at those red, burning eyes filled with venom, so close to his face once again, and felt blood rush to his cheeks once again.

“Mark my words, hunter,” Shadow growled with a quiet yet very confident tone, “if you ever reveal the existence of this place to anyone , you’ll be begging for death to release you from the hell I’ll put you through.”

Sonic swallowed. His cheeks were flushed. A shiver went down his spine. He wasn’t actually really that scared of the threat, yet he wasn’t really able to think of a snarky response at the moment. So he took a step back, cleaning his throat and pretending to wipe something off of his face, not meeting those red eyes again.

“Dramatic, much?” A slight quiver made its way into his voice, which he cursed himself for. He turned back to look at Shadow, or rather at the space behind him while pretending to look at him. “I don’t exactly see the point of telling anyone about some random, spooky cave in the middle of the woods, so…”

Shadow scoffed, turning around and leading the blue hedgehog into the cave. Sonic was a little bit more unsure now. What was that hedgehog getting him into now?

It was dark inside the cave. It took Sonic’s eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, soon making everything clear to his eyes – every stalagmite, every crack in the wall, every pebble. It was deeper than he expected. He still wasn’t used to the see-in-the-dark thing, considering that usually he wasn’t even himself at night when everything was dark, so it took him a moment to take everything he saw in. Shadow didn’t hesitate like him and just walked confidently into the depths with a confident walk.

“Rouge!” his voice bounced off of the walls with an eerie echo. “I brought him here.”

Sonic was just about to ask who he was talking to, when what he thought was a big stalactite at the far end of the cave, had moved. It lowered slowly, the creature suddenly spreading its massive, bat-like wings, and Sonic watched in horror as its incredibly contorted maw opened wide. He took a step back, unable to even begin to process what he was looking at.

And then he realized the creature was simply yawning and stretching. It jumped off of the ceiling, landing gracefully on the ground. As it folded its wings around its own body, hiding half of its face in its own neck fluff, it blinked a few times and directed its glowing, blue eyes right onto him. It must’ve been at LEAST 15 feet tall. The creature leaned down to take a closer look at Sonic, who was doing his best not to tremble, forcing a scared smile.

“H-hi there!” He waved his hand hesitantly. “So you’re… Shadow’s friend, huh?”

“And you’re breakfast he’s so kindly brought me,” the beast replied with a feminine voice, revealing its distorted smile with a nasty grin.

Sonic’s heart sunk, his face suddenly white as a sheet. The creature stared at him for a moment, and then cracked up and laughed.

“My apologies, I couldn’t help myself,” she straightened up, once again hiding behind her chest fluff, her eyes amused. Sonic noticed with a corner of his eye that Shadow sighed and shook his head slightly. “I am Rouge. I’m the protector of all the beasts in this area, big or small.”

The hunter chuckled weakly, only slightly relieved. He cleared his throat.

“I’m Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog,” he announced. “I didn’t know beasts had… protectors.”

“Of course they do, darling,” Rouge said sweetly, turning around to walk farther into the cave. “This may not be the finest establishment, but do make yourself comfortable.”

“Yeah, I’m actually in a bit of a hurry, so if you could just spit out what you wanted to say so I could get going…?” Sonic pointed towards the cave’s entrance, taking a small step back.

“Impatient, are we?” the giant bat raised a brow at him. “I was actually going to ask you if there is anything you would like to learn about us,” she explained. “As you are now one of us, it’s my duty to look after you as well.”

“Just because I was roped into this doesn’t mean I’m one of you guys,” the hunter chuckled awkwardly.

“Oh?” Rouge leaned forward. “Then what are you? A clueless villager? A hunter chasing its own tail?”

“I…”

As much as he hated to admit it, there was some truth to what the giant bat was getting across. He couldn’t return to his normal life. He couldn’t pretend nothing was going on. He couldn’t keep chasing himself as his own bounty forever.

“...I’m just using Shadow’s help to figure it all out!” he finally replied, trying to gain some confidence back in his tone. “Once I do that, maybe I’ll look for a cure, and then I’ll be back to my own, old life!”

Rouge eyed him carefully, her expression difficult to crack.

“There is no cure,” Shadow chimed in. He was leaning against the far wall. It was clear he was listening carefully, even if he wasn’t even looking in their direction. “I already told you that, hunter.”

“You don’t know that!” Sonic retaliated.

“Why do you want to go back to your old life so much anyway?” Rouge asked, tilting her head slightly, her eyes focused on the hedgehog. If not for her sheer size and the distorted smile Sonic knew she was hiding behind her fur, she’d almost look… cute. A little bit.

“Because this is not how I wanna live!” the hunter replied, a bit more intensely than he wanted to.

“And what do you mean by that?” the bat insisted. “What has been so horrible to you these past few days?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” He started pacing slowly, listing on his fingers: “Having to lie to my friends? Being unable to control myself at night? Going through very painful transformations on a nightly basis? Fearing that I might snap one day and kill someone?? How about that?”

Rouge was silent for a moment, her expression unchanging.

“You don’t think very highly of us, do you?” she finally spoke up. “Nor of yourself, it seems.”

“I think there are dangers in this lifestyle that I never signed up for!” Sonic retorted, crossing his arms.

“You’re convinced you’re going to hurt someone,” she pondered. “Why would you do anything like that?”

“Because I already almost did! And while we chat here, the beasts in Sunset City are attacking its inhabitants! Are those your beasts, too?!”

Rouge blinked, clearly taken aback by the statement.

“...Sunset City is out of my reach, I have no idea what’s going on in there,” she admitted. “I know it’s mostly inhabited by beasts that can blend in with the people there, but I don’t see why they’d ever choose to attack them.”

“Well, yeah! They are! The werewolves there are killing people!” it came out almost accusatory, but it was the first time he could freely talk to someone about this. Without busting himself, of course.

He saw Shadow’s ears perk up before the darker hedgehog turned to the two of them, eyes widening just a little bit.

“If they are killing people, ” he started, unfolding his arms, “then them being werewolves has nothing to do with it. They would’ve killed those people either way.”

Rouge nodded, turning back to Sonic. “Lycanthropy doesn’t make you a bloodthirsty monster, you know.”

“Well, could’va fooled me,” Sonic mumbled.

Sonic probably wouldn’t want to risk getting an annoyed look from a creature such as this just four days ago, but he was getting tired of being scared. He watched as she sighed and brought one of her wings to her head for a moment.

“Look, big blue. Everyone has a beast inside,” she began, gesticulating with her wing. “It’s your primal feelings, senses, and instincts. Lycanthropy merely gives them a form that can manifest at night, letting all of those loose. They are still your feelings and senses, though, and you are responsible for them.”

“If someone is a monster, they don’t need the gift to manifest it,” Shadow spoke up, turning away once again. “They’ll be a monster either way.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” Sonic still wasn’t sure about all of this. “You didn’t attack your friends and have no recollection of it!”

“Perhaps you’re looking at it from the wrong perspective,” Rouge proposed. “I think it’s simpler than you’re making it out to be.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, you ran straight into the village after transforming, yes?” She hummed. “From what Shadow told me, you could’ve just panicked and went to get help from your pack. The pack, of course, attacked you, so you were simply defending yourself after.”

Sonic fell silent. Huh. That… that made sense, actually.

“So I didn’t just… want to hurt people,” he said slowly.

“If you didn’t want that before transforming, why would you want it after ?” Despite the fact that her mouth was still covered, the bat’s eyes clearly smiled. “Having certain new abilities that you don’t understand doesn’t make you a monster. ”

The hunter sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt a little silly now.

“...what about the transformations?” he asked instead. “They’re not fun at all. I can’t imagine living the rest of my life accepting to just be in pain every single night!”

“You’re only in pain because you resist the transformation,” Shadow said flatly.

“I don’t know what that means!” Sonic retorted, annoyed. He’s heard it so many times but it hasn't cleared up anything so far!

“You’re fearing what you become,” Rouge explained.

“...huh?”

“You must be resisting the transformation subconsciously because you’re scared. That’s all there’s to it.” The bat folded her wing and straightened up again. “Once you accept that the other form you have is still you, the sooner you’ll be able to forget the painful transformations.”

“Okay,” the hunter slowly processed what the other just said, “Okay. That at least gives me more info to work with than I got out of Mr. Edgelord over there,” he pointed at Shadow who only scoffed.

“Are we done here yet?” he asked, side eyeing the two.

“You don’t have to be here for it, Shadow,” Rouge chuckled slightly. “You’re free to leave anytime you want.”

The dark hedgehog tsk’d and walked out of the cave without another word. The bat seemed to wait a moment before speaking to Sonic once again.

“He’s got a rough surface, but he does care inside,” she pointed out with a slightly lowered tone of voice.

“I’ve noticed the thorns,” Sonic said, semi sarcastically.

“There’s more to Shadow than you think,” Rouge winked at him. “Maybe you’ll be the one to get that side of him out.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” Sonic shrugged. “He seems to kind of hate me.”

“He’s like that with everyone. And he has a history with the Leather Jackets,” she noted. “You’ll understand eventually.”

“I think I can imagine,” he noted. He definitely didn’t expect a beast to get along well with beast hunters. Rouge only giggled, a bit menacingly.

“Anything else you’d like to discuss?” Rouge asked, returning to the main subject.

“Well, the only other thing was that I hate hiding all of this from– oh, crap! Tails!” He perked up suddenly. “What time is it? I have to go back before he notices anything!”

The bat stretched out her wings. “I won’t hold you back any longer,” she simply said. “You know where to find me if you ever want to talk. Or if you are in any danger,” she winked at him, “fellow beast.”

Sonic wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that title yet, but… he felt a little lighter. He’d have to think about everything he just learned on his own, but there was definitely some burden that was lifted off his shoulders.

“Thanks, Rouge,” he replied with a genuine smile, turning to exit the cave.

“Oh, before you go,” Rouge took a step forward, “I have a question.”

“What’s up?” Sonic’s ears perked up as he turned back to her.

“You’ve been in that tiny settlement for a few days now. Have you seen… the Mayor?”

The Mayor? He knew from Amy that her name was Blaze, but he hadn’t actually met her.

“She’s out of town from what I know,” he responded, raising a brow. “What does a beast protector want to do with a Mayor of a random town anyway?”

Rouge hummed.

“That’s not for you to know,” she replied simply. “Thank you, though. You may go now.”

Well, that was weird. There had to be something more to this, but Sonic would have time to figure that out later. Now he just had to get back to town before anyone noticed.

As he exited the cave, he saw Shadow waiting near the entrance.

“I thought you left,” the hunter admitted, looking over the werehog with confusion.

“I was waiting for you to return my coat,” Shadow gave him a judgemental look.

“Oh. Right.”

Sonic quickly undressed, giving the article of clothing back to its owner.

“Thanks again,” he added afterwards. Shadow just hummed.

“And…” The dark hedgehog began, earning a confused look from the hunter. Sonic didn’t see Shadow unsure before.

The werehog turned around to pick something up, revealing a somewhat washed, empty bowl.

“Oh, I almost forgot about it,” Sonic admitted, taking it into his hands. Putting it back in Amy’s cupboards shouldn’t be difficult.

“...Thank you,” Shadow forced out with a clear effort.

Sonic looked at him for a moment, then smiled.

“Wouldn’t want my werewolf mentor starving to death, right?” He teased. It didn’t really get any reaction out of the dark hedgehog, though, who was avoiding eye contact.

Sonic shifted awkwardly, shivering a little as a breeze passed by and nearly froze his fur.

“Well… see you soon, Shads,” He broke the silence, getting ready to run.

“I told you not to call me that.”

Sonic didn’t bother replying, as he was already on his way back. His head was full of thoughts, floating and bumping into one another, unable to form coherent feelings that they probably should cause. He knew one thing, though. He’d figure it out.

Yeah.

Chapter Text

It was still early by the time Sonic reached Amy’s house. He was hoping that his little brother hadn’t woken up yet, but the house was quiet when he carefully cracked the front door open, doing his best to make no sound. He instantly slid into the bathroom, making a mental note to return the wooden bowl back to its place after he’d gotten the mud out of his fur. He was so hungry.

He didn’t realize how much grime he’d managed to collect in his quills last night, though it only made sense. He couldn’t wait until he’d be back in his temporary bed, snoozing away in the warmth of the dry sheets. He couldn’t say he slept well after all, in that bed of mud and moisture in the middle of a pourdown in the woods. There were definitely pros to not being a beast all the time, and one of those pros was the access to normal beds.

Once he dried himself out with a towel and grabbed the clothes from his bed, he quietly headed to the kitchen to put the bowl back– and then he froze, realizing he was looking at Tails preparing something on the stove.

Tails?? He must’ve gotten up when Sonic was washing himself, he definitely wasn’t there when the hedgehog was entering the house. Still, panicked, he hid the bowl behind his back and he leaned against the wall, pretending that his leg was still injured, hoping that his little buddy didn’t notice him coming over before.

“Oh, good morning, Sonic!” the little fox called after glancing at him with a corner of his eye. “I was just finishing preparing breakfast!” He turned to properly look at him and his brows furrowed slightly as he looked him up and down. “How’s your leg?”

Sonic cursed in his mind. “Sup, Tails,” he greeted him with a forced smile. “I just didn’t feel like bothering with the crutch just to get to the kitchen,” he chuckled weakly. That only earned an even more worried look from the little fox.

“You know, you shouldn't be pushing yourself like that…” he turned to him, putting his hands on his sides.

“Relax, it's not like it was broken or something!” he waved his free hand dismissively. “It's been healing pretty well!”

Tails whined a little, unsure. “Considering it doesn't seem like it's been bleeding at all these past few days…” he hummed. Crap. Of course the little guy would've noticed something like that. Of course.

The blue hedgehog shrugged. “I patch it up pretty tightly, maybe that's why.” He hoped his little brother wasn't observant enough to notice the sweat drops forming on his temples, and how his hands seemed to tremble just a little bit.

Tails looked at him intensively with eyes filled with worry and seemingly something else that Sonic wasn't able to read very well. It kind of reminded him of the look the little golden fox had on his face when figuring out a solution to a problem or thinking about a new blueprint. His ‘lost in deep thought’ face.

“Maybe the medic should take a look at it,” he finally said, turning back to the sizzling eggs he was frying over a small stove, a small amount of smoke seeping through it from the fire burning in a furnace below it.

“Nah,” Sonic shook his head quickly. “I don't think there's a reason to bother the village folk any more than necessary. Let's focus on our job here first.”

Tails glanced at him from the side, expression unchanging from the clear concern, once again making an unsure whine sound.

“If you say so…”

“Whatcha making there?” the hedgehog decided to change the subject. The aroma of fried eggs quickly filled the kitchen, so the question was kind of redundant.

“I found some eggs in the pantry,” the fox replied, having turned back to the steaming pan. “They’ll be ready in just a few!”

“Great, because I’m starving, ” Sonic complained, not even exaggerating. The savory smell only made his stomach rumble and cramp with hunger.

He decided to limp back to the room, hiding the bowl under his bed for the time being and simply waiting until Tails was done.

It was strange, though. Was he that lost in thought that he didn’t hear or even smell Tails? For the past few days he was really sensitive to that kind of stimuli. Even now, in comparison to what he was slowly getting used to, the smell of the scrambled eggs seemed strangely weak… and he couldn’t even smell his little brother at all from here? What, were these abilities only temporary? Would he just stop transforming after a few days? That seemed too good to be true.

Maybe he was getting sick or something.

The golden fox soon brought the breakfast to the master bedroom and the two ate the eggs in a rather comfortable silence, although Sonic wasn’t sure if there wasn’t some tension there. Maybe it was just his anxieties getting the better of him. That’s what he assumed anyway.

“Hey, Sonic…” Tails suddenly began carefully, playing with a bit of egg that was left on his plate.

“‘Sup?” the hedgehog replied with a mouthful, not sparing even a second as he devoured all there was left on the plate greedily. It was nice to soothe the intense hunger.

“...You know that I’m here for you, right?”

Sonic almost spit out his food. Suddenly swallowing it got insanely difficult, although he still forced himself to do so.

“Where’d that come from?” he simply asked.

The fox looked down at his plate. “I just noticed you’ve been acting a bit… off lately,” he explained. “I noticed you left during yesterday’s dinner too…”

Crap. Ooooh, that wasn’t good.

“I said I would use the privy,” he pointed out, placing his plate on the bedside table as it was already empty.

“I know that’s not what you did,” Tails frowned, looking as if that explanation only offended him. His eyes were still filled with concern, though. “If there is anything you’re dealing with, you can talk to me,” he insisted. “I want to help!”

Sonic’s heart ached, he could feel the eggs he’d just eaten threaten to return out of sheer anxiety that decided to wreak havoc in his body. He hated lying to Tails, he hated seeing his little brother so worried and powerless and he hated how he had no idea how to reply to that. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to ease his worries–

“Rise and shine, team!” Knuckles’s voice broke the sudden tense silence alongside the crash of the aggressively opened door as the echidna barged into the house. “We’ve got work to do!”

“Morning, Knux!” Sonic called to the team leader with a wave, glad to change the subject, even if Tails’s sudden expression of hurt and annoyance over being pushed aside during such an important conversation pinched his chest even more. “Where’s the fire?” he decided to tease.

“Actually, we were just–” Tails attempted to speak up but Sonic swiftly interrupted him.

“--finishing breakfast! We’re ready to go, right?”

There were a lot of feelings in the glare that his little brother shot him. He could definitely pinpoint worry, anger, sadness, maybe some frustration and hurt. But if they were going to have that conversation, Sonic had to think. And make a decision.

“Great!” The echidna turned around, ready to lead the way. “Because I definitely heard two howls tonight!”

“Did something attack?” Tails perked up, putting away his plate as he seemingly accepted that he wouldn’t be continuing his talk with Sonic anytime soon.

“No, thankfully. But there definitely is more than one beast in those woods!”

“Could’ve been wolves,” Sonic shrugged, feeling some pretty big regrets regarding last night.

“Don’t you think that would be too big of a coincidence?” Knuckles glanced at him over his shoulder, raising a brow. “We don’t have time for that again, let’s just get to work! I know what I’ve heard!”

The three were on their way pretty quickly after that. Sonic noticed his little brother had been glancing at him whenever he wasn’t looking, clearly still thinking about what he told him just a few minutes ago. He himself couldn’t get rid of the black hole in his chest threatening to swallow him whole. Things were getting dicey and he didn’t like that one bit.

Once in the field, Knuckles showed off pre prepared hand crafted bear traps. They looked quite sturdy, and Sonic felt a shiver go down his spine. He knew pretty well how these things worked – they could snap a limb right off if someone walked into one.

“We can’t just sit here building the big trap and expecting the beasts to wait patiently,” Knuckles announced. “While we do that, the beasts could attack the village at any moment. We could spread some of these around the village just in case. Maybe it won’t stop them for good, but it’ll definitely give them a scare and make them rethink attacking the village again!”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Tails agreed. “We just have to make sure none of the villagers walk into them.”

“I already told Ms. Rose to notify those who have to visit the woods,” Knuckles countered. “The rest should stay clear of the woods until we’re done anyway.”

“Great! Let’s get to it then,” Sonic got up from his sitting rock. He decided not to take the crutch today, reasoning that he’d been feeling better and can walk without it now. He still forced a limp when he walked, but he was getting kind of sick of carrying that overgrown stick everywhere he went.

“I can manage by myself, actually,” the echidna pointed out.

“And set all the traps in one place? Or better yet, get attacked in the woods while you’re there all alone?” Sonic argued, crossing his arms and raising a brow. In reality, he didn’t want to be left alone with Tails. Not yet. 

The echidna grumbled in annoyance. He glanced at the fox.

“...can’t really argue with that logic,” the small hunter replied.

“Tails can stay behind and continue working on the construction, I’ll come with you as a lookout.”

The leader of the hunters rolled his eyes with annoyance. “As long as you’re not a thorn in my side the entire time. Let’s get this over with.” He threw a belt with traps attached over his shoulder and headed to the woods.

Sonic decided not to look at his little brother’s face as he followed suit.

The woods were wet and quiet that day. Sonic couldn’t recognize any other smells aside from the mud and moisture that covered the entire forest floor, but at least they weren’t as overwhelming as the day prior. In fact, everything seemed a bit… muted, so to say – the smells, the sounds, the taste of the wind even. But that wasn’t what he had to focus on.

The hedgehog watched as the echidna stopped, setting one of the traps down and using his clear, massive strength to open it. He then set it up and started gently covering it with the surrounding greenery to hide it from the view. Sonic looked around to try to memorize the area around, just in case he’d end up coming here at night. Or during the day. He really didn’t want to be caught by one of these things.

“Now, if anything steps onto that plate in the middle, it won’t be able to escape!” The red hunter grinned with satisfaction as he secured the chain attached to the trap. “Or at the very least will think twice before coming here!”

Sonic chuckled weakly. “If it actually catches our beasts, not some poor animal that walks this way…”

Knuckles looked at him over his shoulder and shrugged. “Gotta make a few sacrifices for the good of everyone. ‘Sides, this trap needs some serious weight to push it down before it locks. Smaller animals should be fine.”

Sonic hummed. He really wasn’t feeling like adding moral implications of using bear traps to the list of his worries, but here he was. But with Tails already suspicious, he didn’t want to put even more suspicions on himself in the eyes of Knuckles as well, so he kept shut as the other hunter carried on.

The echidna definitely had an air of intimidation to him. Did the knowledge he was the last of his kind added to it? Perhaps. Although there was definitely something about his confident posture and a serious expression on his face, the scar that ran across his left eye, the impressive, muscular build he acquired most likely through the years of training and working for the Hunter’s Alliance. After all, he was raised for the job.

It would be a feat to change his mind on their perspective of the beasts…

At least Sonic assumed so. He still didn’t know the echidna very well. They’ve worked on some false calls together before, like wild dogs or bears raiding pantries, but they never really had time to bond over any of those missions. Or to even talk much, really. Knuckles was goal oriented, meaning he wasn’t the kind to start idle chit-chat for no reason. He arrived, got the job done, and left. With Sonic and Tails’s help, of course.

“Watch out!” the echidna’s voice instantly snapped Sonic back to reality, as did the painful grip on Sonic’s wrist followed by a pull.

Sonic looked down in front of him, realizing he almost walked into a partially hidden burrow in the ground. It was small, probably a rabbit’s or a different creature of that size.

“You’ve barely started walking again, wouldn’t want you to twist your ankle on top of it,” Knuckles let go of Sonic’s wrist and carried on. Sonic rubbed the place where the echidna squeezed him, feeling some numb pain in the spot from the sheer strength he used on him.

“Oh. Thanks, got a bit lost in my thoughts there,” he replied after a moment, hopping over the burrow to follow the echidna, who only hummed in response.

Would he care as much if he knew?

Sonic shook his head a little. This wasn’t the time to question his teammate’s dedication.

“So,” he decided to break the silence, “how about telling me about some of those stories you promised to tell? Seems like a good time.”

“Hm?” Knuckles glanced at him with momentary confusion. “Oh, right. Sure! Let me think…”

Sonic was suddenly thankful that Knuckles liked to boast about his achievements. It would definitely save him from the awkward silence and the threat of his own thoughts.

“My team and I once faced off with a siren,” the echidna started with a smirk. “It was a close call. It hypnotised one of us with its song and was this close to eating them alive! It was no big deal, though, once my boys got onto the job.”

“Ain’t that a treat!” Sonic chuckled. “Don’t tell me that’s how you got that scar of yours.”

“Oh, no, no. That was the rock golem.”

“The one that got you demoted?” Sonic squinted. He vaguely recalled that from the rumors.

Knuckles’s sudden change in demeanor seemed to indicate that Sonic just poked a touchy subject.

“That’s a private matter,” he replied ominously, shooting the hedgehog a glare.

“Sheesh, I was just asking,” Sonic put his hands up defensively.

A sudden, tense silence befell the two. Sonic was so tired of the tension between him and pretty much everyone he’s spoken to in the past few days, but he had no idea how to lighten the mood at that point. He simply observed as Knuckles set up another trap hidden in a small ditch this time.

Suddenly, a thundering roar split the air, making Sonic’s quills stand up on their end. Knuckles scrambled up from placing the trap, and as the two looked around them in alarm for the source of the roar, they saw a huge, furry silhouette staring at them just a few feet away. 

A brown bear.

It stood on its hind legs and roared even louder, threateningly, its hackles up and the fur bristling.

A sudden jolt of panic flooded Sonic’s chest, and he could see Knuckles take a step back as well with sweat rolling down his temples. The echidna reached for his crossbow, already in a battle stance. The hedgehog looked over at the bear, at its enormous teeth and dark, beady eyes, trying to think of a plan – the best way to get out of the situation without harm coming to either side. He could easily outrun it, but Knuckles couldn’t. Not to mention busting his injured act.

Then, he suddenly thought of something. Bears didn’t attack just for no reason… only when they were threatened, as usually they avoided people for the most part. Maybe it had cubs nearby? Maybe they entered too far into its territory? Meaning, if the village was north of them…

He touched the ground, getting ready to run.

“Okay, Knux, when I say make a run for it! Three…”

“What?! What are you–”

“Two… One! Go!!”

He knew he couldn’t go at his normal speed not to bust himself, but that wasn’t the point anyway. He had to let the bear catch up to him, or at least think that it could, so it would follow. He took off to the south, figuring that that must be where whatever the bear didn’t want the two of them to find was, causing the enormous animal to run after him. Knuckles didn’t even have time to register what just happened, most likely. Sonic only saw him lowering his crossbow in disbelief for a split second before aiming at the bear just as the hedgehog took off with the corner of his eye.

The animal took the bait, thankfully. It roared as it charged after Sonic, surprisingly fast for its size. Sonic never raced a bear, so he had no clue how fast these beasts actually were. It wasn’t really a threat either way, though – nothing could match his speed, after all.

He turned around and ran backwards just to make sure the bear was still following him, seeing the animal roar aggressively as it charged as fast as it could. If it ran into Sonic now, it would probably maul him to death.

“This way, you ugly face!” he called to the animal. “What, can’t catch up to a little hedgehog?”

As he chuckled at the taunt that the bear definitely didn’t understand but was enraged by anyway, he suddenly felt an ache in his leg right before falling to the ground with a heavy thud. His leg got caught in a ditch and, as he was falling, it twisted unnaturally and screamed at him with waves of pain. He groaned, attempting to turn around to get his leg out of the small hole, but another strike of pain made him rethink it with a pained yelp. His heart dropped as he realized the bear was still onto him, getting closer and closer at a dangerous speed. He pulled at his leg again, hearing some sort of crack alongside his own scream as the roots of the ditch finally let go, making him tumble a bit forward. He attempted to get up and run– he only fell to the ground again with another cry. He wasn’t even able to move his ankle.

He watched in horror as the bear charged right onto him, bracing for impact– and then a swoosh pierced the air, followed by another mighty roar of pain – this time coming from the bear, who stood on its hind legs out of surprise and looked back. Sonic saw something swish right past him and pierce a nearby tree before hearing a very familiar voice.

“Pick on someone your own size!” Knuckles yelled, not lowering his eye from the crossbow as he shot another bolt. That one caused another cry of pain and stayed in the bear’s shoulder this time, causing it to raise its massive front paws and charge right at Knuckles. The hunter rolled away and ran to the side, reloading his weapon and shooting another bolt right on target, into the bear’s chest.

With yet another injury, the animal seemed to rethink its choices and roared at the hunter again, before turning around to run back into the woods. Knuckles aimed his crossbow at it as it ran.

“Wait!” Sonic cried right before the echidna pulled the trigger. It seemed to throw him off guard as he lowered his weapon with frustration.

“Oh, come on, I almost had it!” he complained about his lost concentration. The animal was much too far to waste bolts on it now, it seemed.

“It’s running away,” Sonic noticed, gritting his teeth and hissing as he leaned forward to check his leg. “We’re not bear hunters! You’ve popped enough needles into the poor thing as it is!”

“Poor thing? It almost mauled you!” Knuckles crossed his arms, the crossbow still in one of his hands as he walked over.

“To be fair that wasn’t part of the plan,” the hedgehog touched his ankle lightly and instantly let go with another hiss of pain, face scrunched. 

“It was a very stupid plan!” the hunter leader put his weapon away. “ Especially for someone who’s supposed to be injured!”

“I was going to distract it and then run off when it got far enough,” Sonic rolled his eyes. The echidna kneeled down and offered help, taking one of the hedgehog’s arms and putting it around his shoulders to pull him up.

“Worked out great for you,” he said with sarcasm once they were both up. “Can you walk?”

Sonic attempted to put his weight on his once again injured leg – what an unlucky leg it was – and regretted it instantly, letting out a handful of pained moans.

“No can do, it seems,” he replied, gritting his teeth.

“Alright, let’s get you back to Ms. Rose’s house then,” Knuckles sighed heavily, as if it was just another inconvenience in his way.

At least Knuckles was pretty strong. He had to pretty much drag Sonic all the way back to the village, but Sonic didn’t see even a hint of struggle in his expression as they made their way through the woods. Silence befell the two of them, so awkward that Sonic wanted to jump out of his skin. He wanted to escape the tension, not cause even more of it.

“Thanks, by the way,” he finally said to break the silence.

“Don’t mention it,” the echidna replied simply. “Thanks for your… attempt, I guess.”

Sonic chuckled dryly at that. “I got the bear off your tail, didn’t I?”

“Sonic, that was incredibly foolish!” Knuckles scolded him. “You just keep doing that!”

“Doing what?”

“Running off on your own, thinking you can defeat anything just by yourself, putting not only yourself but your whole team in danger!” the red hunter snapped. “All of this could’ve ended so much worse and it’s only by sheer luck that it didn’t!”

“Hey, give me some credit,” the hedgehog frowned. “So my plans have flaws in them sometimes. But I can still do a lot!”

“It doesn’t matter what you can or can’t do if you’re not going to work with us as a team!” Knuckles groaned with frustration. “You’re unbearable! Can you imagine what would happen if the creature that attacked you was instead that werewolf?!”

Sonic suddenly choked on air. Knuckles supported him to hold him up, but his grip on his arm may have been a little too tight.

“What– what do you mean by that?” the hedgehog asked, playing dumb.

“Three words: Ly-can-thro-phy! ” the echidna hissed. “You could be dealing with that if we ran into the werewolf that night instead of whatever that other creature is!

The hedgehog frowned, hoping Knuckles couldn’t feel how fast his heart was racing at the moment nor how his hands became incredibly sweaty all of the sudden.

“...That’s four syllables, not three words,” he replied instead, trying to play it off as a joke. Knuckles suddenly pulled him forward, causing him to stumble a little and groan in pain, as he was forced to stand on his injured ankle for a moment to catch his balance.

“Point is – we need to be a team, Sonic!” he said. “Believe me, if I could, I’d deal with those beasts myself, but I can’t! And neither can you!”

“Admitting you can’t do something? Who are you and what have you done with Knuckles?” Sonic smirked at him. Knuckles groaned with frustration. Sonic chuckled, but then frowned a little, trying to not let his very high anxiety show. “Okay, fine, I get it, Knux. I’ll do better! You’ll see.”

“You better,” he hissed at him. “Otherwise it won’t be the beasts that will kill you.”

“Yeah, right. As if you could hurt such a pretty face.”

Knuckles suddenly stopped and let go of the hedgehog.

“You know what? I’m leaving you here.”

Sonic chuckled. “Oh, come on! I’m trying to lighten the mood here!”

The village came into view shortly after. Sonic had to admit, there may have been some truth to what Knuckles was saying. Maybe if he didn’t charge into the night after Shadow, he wouldn’t be in this situation now. Not that the echidna knew what he was really going through.

Then again, if he wasn’t in this mess, he’d be cluelessly plotting a murder.

Even if he still is now, theoretically.

…

He suddenly had a lot to think about.

Chapter Text

“It’s just the wound that hurts, I'm telling you!”

Tails eyed Sonic with clear concern, while Knuckles gave him a frustrated look, crossing his arms as he shook his head. The hedgehog sat in the bed that was his for the time being, legs dangling off the edge in an attempt to not let them touch anything at all. The other two stood nearby.

Knuckles dragged Sonic straight to Amy’s house and now he and Tails were insisting on calling the medic to check his new injury. Sonic didn't like the idea, he’d rather not in case she would insist on checking out his old wounds as well. Not to mention how Shadow did say something about all wounds healing themselves during transformations, so he should be fine the next day. He didn't need to get yet another injury diagnosed and then pretend that he was hurt.

“It's clearly very swollen,” the golden fox noticed with a frown.

“I hit it when I tripped,” Sonic quickly explained. “It's just a little sore is all. I'll be fine.”

“I swear, hedgehog, if you twisted your ankle on top of everything–” Knuckles tightened his grip around his arms, glaring daggers into the blue hunter.

“It’s fine, ” Sonic insisted. His ankle was throbbing with pain and he couldn’t move it in the slightest, even the action of laying it down on the bed as he sat there was almost unbearable. Sweat formed on his temples as he did his best to mask how much pain he actually had been going through. “I’ll be back on my feet tomorrow or so, you’ll see.”

Tails sighed. “But if the swelling doesn’t go away by tomorrow, promise me you’ll agree to see the medic?”

“Yeah, I can agree to that,” the hedgehog shrugged. It should disappear by then… so there was no harm in making a harmless promise to ease his brother’s worries. “I'll just take it easy today! Wouldn't mind a nap,” he grinned.

He caught Tails’s even more concerned look.

Knuckles, in turn, groaned. “You're as useful as a ball and chain these days. Come on, Tails, no point in arguing with this stubborn porcupine.”

“A hedgehog, ” Sonic corrected him with a semi sarcastic tone as the echidna walked out the door, probably heading back to the woods. The hedgehog rolled his eyes with a small snicker and sat back before his sight landed on his little brother, still in the room.

Still looking at him.

The tension made it hard to breathe, even, as Sonic felt like his lungs were suddenly crushed. He didn't want to let his walls down and show discomfort, though, at least not fully. He'd feel bad if Tails knew what kind of hell he was going through now.

“Sonic…” the little fox finally spoke up, playing with his gloves as he struggled to keep eye contact. In fact, Sonic kind of preferred avoiding it himself. He couldn't take Tails’s big, sad eyes looking through him with such expectation, which he couldn't meet. “About what we spoke of this morning…”

“What about it?” The blue hedgehog leaned against the bed frame, crossing his arms behind his head to rest it. Despite his casual demeanor, sweat droplets ran down his temples, and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. Not to mention the quick grimace that flashed in his expression for just a moment as he moved around, causing him to pull his injured leg a little and making it explode with pain.

“I wanted to–”

“Tails, you coming?” Knuckles’s demanding voice interrupted the fox’s thought as the hunter opened the front door again.

“Oh– coming!” Tails replied, slightly startled by the sudden call. He still glanced back at Sonic, though, with enormous worry and hesitation.

“Go ahead, little buddy, don't want to keep the big guy waiting,” his older brother smirked as he gave him a wink. “I won't be going anywhere from here anyway. We'll talk in the evening.”

“...promise?” The golden fox looked at him again with his big, blue eyes, full of worry and innocence. Sonic hated this. He hated lying straight into these innocent eyes that never wanted anything but the best for him. He was so tired of lying to them.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” the hedgehog put a hand on his chest and raised the other one in a rather ironic gesture made to cheer the other one up. He cracked an eye open with a sly smirk as he heard the fox snicker a little bit at the act.

The worry didn't disappear from his eyes, but a hesitant smile appeared on the fox’s face. He looked much better with a smile, even if it wasn't a very confident one. His tails swished behind him before he turned to go.

“Okay, I'll see you tonight then!” He called. “I'll tell Amy to check up on you!”

“Thanks, little buddy!” Sonic replied, watching his little brother disappear behind the door frame, soon followed by the sound of the front door closing.

Now that he was left alone, he moaned in pain and grimaced, almost curling up due to his new injury. Great work, Sonic! Totally helpful and not suspicious!

He only hoped that the next transformation would fix this issue. It would be a living hell to be not only stuck as a werewolf every night, but to also be stuck as a werewolf that couldn't move.

…Although, some part of him wished it didn't work this time. That the injury would remain. He wouldn't have to fake it to the others, wouldn't have to lie about it, and he wouldn't be able to do anything stupid as a werewolf. It almost worked. Almost. If not for a fact he wouldn't be able to sneak out as easily every night.

Right.

Sonic sighed heavily, staring at the ceiling of the small room. The pain was keeping all his senses on edge, even despite how heavy his eyelids were. After all, he had a pretty active night, and the sleep deprivation was slowly catching up to his muscles.

Damn, he hoped to speak to Shadow about the issues with senses he'd had that morning. And maybe bring him food again, but wasn't sure he'd be able to do that now.

A distraction, he needed a distraction from the pain… he glanced at the pile of books that were still resting on the bedside table, the ones Amy brought him earlier. Well, no time like the present. Maybe it'd be something interesting, who knows.

He reached for the topmost book on the pile and opened it on the first page, inhaling the smell of parchment that slightly reminded him of Amy for some reason, and began reading.

___

He was drifting in an ocean, calm and silent, without a single sign of life around him. There was only the hum of the waves, steady but so ominous, threatening to take him under any second now, even if it seemed safe for now. He’s always hated water. And being surrounded by it? No matter where he looked, where he turned, there was only the overwhelming unease and anxiety. There was no correct choice here. No right way to go. No way to fight it. And he could only drift for so long.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a shriek, a roar of a wave rising behind him, accompanied by cries of panic, and as he barely managed to turn towards it.It swallowed him whole, it took his ability to breathe, it made him sink, sink to the bottom, into the darkness–

Sonic shot up awake with a gasp, causing the book that laid on his chest to tumble down onto the floor with a loud slam. The ruckus from what must’ve been a nightmare remained, though, as the hedgehog looked around to ground himself and remember where he was and what he was doing. It was a loud bell that woke him up, coming from the outside – he must’ve dozed off while reading. A bell, though? That must’ve been–

He froze. The alarm! How long was he asleep? He looked down at his gloved hands – no, they looked normal, small, and his claws were just as short and dull as they should’ve been. He glanced at the window – it couldn’t have been long past noon, with the sun, albeit covered by a cloudy barrier, still illuminating the town. The town that was in panic, as he now noticed, probably from the alarm blaring in the middle of the day. Something was definitely wrong!

The hunter threw the sheets off of him and sat on the bed, not even bothering to put his shoes on. After all, he wouldn’t be able to put anything onto his possibly twisted ankle, so it would save not only time but also uncomfortable questions about his leg’s well being. He grabbed the crutch that leaned against the wall nearby as well as his crossbow, and limped out of the house, headed towards the alarm as quickly as he could in his current state. Which, to his dismay, was slow as two hells.

He saw several people rush past him with panic, shouting to hide and something about the beast returning. Did Shadow…? Wait, could they even transform during the day? What gives?? Until now, he was pretty sure that Shadow wouldn’t try to attack the village’s livestock again, at least as long as they had their little truce, and especially not during the day!

After being nearly toppled over by some mother and her child running for their lives and bumping into the injured hunter, he heard a howl. It was loud and Sonic didn’t need his currently missing, heightened senses to be able to tell it was very close. Edge-of-the-village close.

Yet he couldn’t recognize Shadow’s voice in it… ah, hell with it! He couldn’t trust his own senses that day anyway, he had to hurry and see what was going on on his own!

The second his teammates came into his sight, he noticed a blur of fur rushing between them, causing them both to jump back and unload their crossbows at the threat. The creature attacking them didn’t look like Shadow… he had no idea what it was and he couldn’t take a good look at it from how wildly and quickly it was moving around, snarling and charging anyone that was in sight. Its green fur and quills glistened in the sparse sunshine, fluttering in the wind anytime it made a sharp turn.

It headed straight for Tails this time.

“Tails–!! Watch out!” Sonic cried out, just as he rolled up into a ball and spindashed right into the creature’s face. It was about to snap at the startled fox, so Sonic's attack caused it to take a few steps backwards.

Sonic landed in the grass a few feet away from it now, nearly falling to his knees at the sudden jolt of piercing pain in his ankle. He stood his ground though, and looked at the beast before him with fire in his eyes.

“Sonic–!!” He heard his brother cry, but his focus was on the threat now.

The blue hunter took out his crossbow and quickly loaded it, as the creature charged right at him. It stared at him with those fuming, blue eyes, and he managed to fire a bolt right into it just before taking a leap to the side to get out of the creature’s way. A squeak of pain escaped its throat as it struggled to regain its balance, before getting littered by bolts from behind. It managed to dodge some of them, but Tails was now peppering it from the sky with Knuckles firing from a few feet away.

Just as it changed its target, Sonic managed to reload the crossbow and shoot at it just as it was about to pounce towards Tails again. His heart dropped to his stomach. Oh no it didn’t!

“Over here, you furry freak!” Sonic taunted, taking another bolt out.

It wasn’t just the matter of protecting their lives, Sonic had to do EVERYTHING in his power not to let either of his friends get as much as nipped . He didn’t want them to go through the same thing he was dealing with. Especially not Tails. Good Chaos, anyone but Tails, please.

Morality was thrown out of the window for this one. He HAD to protect the rest. He just had to.

Unfortunately, the beast was vicious and fast. The hedgehog barely managed to get the bolt in place when it lunged at him at full force, his back painfully coming in contact with the grass. It snarled at him, no sign of understanding nor intelligence in its glowing eyes, not the kind he was used to from Shadow. It wanted blood and it was going to get it by any means possible.

He barely had time to react as it snapped its teeth towards his face, managing to quickly push the crossbow against its maw to hold it back. It took all his strength to push, hearing the wood of the crossbow creak and slowly give away under the beast’s powerful teeth, as it was the only thing separating him from meeting his quick death. He was hyperventilating, eyes darting around, trying to find some way out from underneath its paws, cold sweat running down his temples, a strange feeling welling up deep in his stomach and lungs, putting all his might into pushing back, trying to find his footing to kick it off but it just wouldn’t work–

Another swish of something flying through the air caused the beast to whine and roar in anger and pain, snapping the crossbow in half as if it was just a toothpick. The splinters landed around Sonic, the hedgehog instantly taking the chance to spindash away to safety. Another whine, another roar, another snarl. The beast was distracted for now.

He fell to the ground, breathing quickly, feeling a sense of strangeness tingling in his fingertips. Panic, fear, anger, it all blurred his vision as he looked up, seeing the beast charge at his friends once again. How dare it threaten them, the people closest to him?

He didn’t even think. He didn’t even feel pain in his leg anymore. He just ran, body slamming into the creature, bristling his spines for some extra damage. Another bolt whistled through the air at the same time.

As the young hunter fell to the ground again and looked up, the creature was retreating. It must’ve had enough. Despite that, the burning feeling in his chest only increased, an uncomfortable stiffness filling every inch of his body. Then, pain. A familiar pain. One that only increased the longer it was there.

Sonic’s eyes widened. No, no, there was no way– he looked at the sky, and surely, the sun was shining in between the clouds, high up in the sky. Then why did he feel as if–...?!

He looked down at his hands. His dull claws that now seemed elongated, darker, trembling.

No, no, NO, NO!

He heard his name being called, his friends must’ve been regrouping. They were approaching. They were going to see. No, no, he couldn’t let them see, not now!! Not in broad daylight!!!

He stumbled to his feet and ran into the woods. He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t know where he needed to go, he just needed to get out of there, the panic in his chest only building up the feeling of the transformation.

He stumbled, his leg objecting to further strain, so he leaned against a tree, his quills scratching across the bark, as he slid down to a sitting position. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see, the pain was only getting worse, he hugged himself and shut his eyes tight, hoping to wake up, hoping it was just a nightmare, hoping he was just in his bed, that it wasn’t happening– His clothes felt tighter around him, his quills itched, he bit his tongue with unnaturally sharp teeth–

“Sonic!” His ears twitched as he heard his name being called. But it wasn’t the voice he was expecting. It wasn’t Tails, it wasn’t Knuckles, it wasn’t even Amy.

It was Shadow .

Before he managed to process it, he felt something squeezing his shoulders, a presence close to his face.

“Sonic, damn it, look at me!”

He forced his eyes open, meeting red, focused irises staring right at him.

“Breathe!” Shadow demanded, squeezing his shoulders tighter. No matter how hard he tried though, Sonic just couldn’t breathe, his heart threatening to jump out of his ribcage any second now.

Shadow stared at him for a second. “Follow my lead,” he said, a bit calmer, before he started taking deep inhales on his own. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

So, Sonic did his best to mimic him.

In through the nose, hold it, out through the mouth.

His heart objected. Even when it was forced to slow down, it still beat so strongly it hurt.

“Focus on your senses,” Shadow suddenly interrupted the breathing exercises, although he continued quickly after.

Senses, senses… He could feel the squeeze of Shadow’s paws on his shoulders. He could feel the moist leaves and needles his hands were squeezing. He could feel the bark, just behind him. He could hear the wind whistling through the trees. He could smell winter in the air. He could smell that sweet, delicate scent of lavender, just before him.

He kept his sight on Shadow. On those red, focused eyes, looking at him with purpose, yet there was some gentleness in them. He searched in them for any other hint of emotion, any hint of annoyment or anger he’d usually seen in them, but there was none. No spite, no snark, no anger. They only observed him vigilantly.

Returning to feeling things around him as well as inside him, he realized the feeling was nearly entirely gone. His claws didn’t feel as long, teeth didn’t feel as sharp, his clothes rested on him comfortably, his quills didn’t irritate his skin.

As if making a note of that, Shadow looked him up and down, before leaning back and standing up. The usual look in his eyes returned, as if that softness and tenderness was only Sonic’s imagination.

“That was incredibly stupid of you, hunter,” he spoke, although Sonic had a feeling there was less spite in the words like he’d come to expect from a statement like that.

“I don’t even know what happened!” Sonic got up, leaning on the tree for support. Now that he had calmed down, he could feel his ankle throbbing from all the strain he put it through. “You didn't tell me I could transform in broad daylight!”

“You can, if your instincts tell you to,” The hedgehog gave him a cold side-eye.

“Can you stop speaking in riddles and actually explain what you mean for once?” Sonic crossed his arms, no longer amused by the dark werehog’s ominous talk. Shadow sighed with annoyment, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“If you’re panicking, in danger, angry, or feeling any other powerful emotion,” he started explaining, not making any eye contact, “your body will make you transform, so you can defend yourself from danger.”

“Cool,” Sonic nodded, “very cool. Would’ve been nice to know before I put myself in danger like that!”

“I assumed you wouldn’t be in any danger like that,” Shadow scoffed. “I’m the most threatening thing in these woods. What could’ve possibly pushed you to the edge like that?”

“A werewolf attack on my friends will do the trick,” the hunter stared the other werehog down.

Shadow glanced back at him, eyebrows raising a bit, but then he lowered his sight in thought.

“So that’s what I’ve heard,” he summarized.

“I didn’t know there were other werewolves around here,” Sonic’s tone became a little bit more serious. “Again, would’ve been nice to know.”

“There aren’t,” Shadow replied flatly. The blue hedgehog took a second.

“So it must be one of the werewolves from Sunset City,” he figured. He gained a look of confusion from the other one. “We got a letter the other day from hunters there saying some werewolves escaped them.”

“Escaped the slaughter, you mean,” Shadow’s face darkened.

“They were killing innocents,” Sonic pointed out.

“Would you kill a murderer?” The dark hedgehog raised a question, his eyes piercing through Sonic. “Or would you simply give them a fair trial before doing so?”

“Look, I get it,” the hunter raised his hands. “It’s a morally ambiguous situation at best, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is that there is a murderer from the city with superpowers running around now!”

Shadow hummed with annoyment, but didn’t grace the statement with a comment of his own, clearly thinking.

“It would be best to capture them in their day form and then question them about their actions,” he finally decided.

“So now you’ll have me chasing after criminals?” Sonic raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t it your job to hunt folk like them?” The dark werehog asked sarcastically, words dripping with venom.

Before the hunter got a chance to reply, he noticed Shadow’s ears perked up, causing the hedgehog to get on full alert.

“Your pack is coming,” he flatly replied. “We’ll speak of this at a later time.”

“Suit yourself,” Sonic rolled his eyes as the other hedgehog ran off into the woods.

It didn’t tell him long to hear Tails’s voice calling him. Right… He had to explain himself now. He headed back towards the voice, replying to it as he went.

“Over here!”

He limped through the woods back towards the town, catching up to the others pretty quickly. The second he laid his eyes on Knuckles, though, he was sure he was going to be mauled by a furious echidna next.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” He pushed past Tails, heading straight for the hedgehog. Sonic honestly expected to get punched, so he braced for a dodge. “Is this your idea of doing better?! Running off after a werewolf on your own again?!”

Sonic raised his hands defensively. “I was only making sure it wasn’t going to turn around!” He quickly came up with an explanation.

“And what if it DID?!” Knuckles exploded. “It would’ve mauled you before we even managed to get a glimpse of it!”

“If it did I would’va just outrun–”

“Like you did with the bear earlier today?!” The echidna instantly cut the thought. “And to think I actually thought that might’ve TAUGHT you something!” He shook his head and looked away, crossing his arms.

The hedgehog’s ears pinched back slightly. No matter how one would look at it, what he did could only be seen as reckless without knowing what actually happened.

And yet, he couldn’t tell them. Not with another werewolf on the loose. Not with every possible perspective turned against him.

He caught a glance of Tails, just a few feet back, averting his gaze the second it met his. He looked upset as well,worried sick. It broke his older brother’s heart.

“...Look, Knux, I’m sorry,” he finally sighed.

“Sorry?” Knuckles scoffed. “You’re sorry? It means nothing if you’re going to keep doing the same thing over and OVER again!” He turned to the hedgehog again, ice cold stare piercing right through him. “You could’ve DIED! You could’ve provoked it to kill one of US! And all you have to say is that you’re SORRY?!”

“You’re blowing this a bit out of proportion,” Sonic argued. “Nothing bad happened this time!”

“This time!” The echidna rolled his eyes, exasperated, giving him a dry chuckle in response. “What about NEXT time? And the NEXT? And the NEXT?! You’re not only digging your own grave, hedgehog, you’re digging graves for ALL OF US!”

With that, the hunter leader turned on his heel and stormed off, back towards the village. A tense silence befell the woods, with only the two brothers remaining.

Tails kicked at the dirt, still not meeting Sonic’s eyes.

“...he has a point, Sonic,” he finally slowly said.

The hedgehog faltered a little.

“What, don’t you trust me, little buddy?” He tried to brush it off.

“You’ve been acting more recklessly than usual,” the fox noticed. “...and that says a lot,” he mumbled.

Sonic sometimes wished his little brother wasn’t as observant as he was. It was pretty much impossible to keep a secret from him for long, and the longer he took, the more apparent it was to the fox that something was wrong, obviously. He struggled to search for another excuse, another lie to buy himself just a little more time–

Tails inhaled before he managed to do so and approached him, finally looking straight at him. “Sonic, we need to talk about this,” he demanded, eyes determined, although it was hard not to notice the amount of worry hiding in them as well. “What is actually going on?”

Sonic sighed, the pit in his chest only growing bigger in size, to the point it was swallowing his lungs whole. He hoped Tails wouldn’t notice how quick his breaths got.

“Look, I told you we’re going to talk about this in the evening, and we will,” he stated, glancing past his brother. “I have to talk it out with the big guy first,” he declared, limping his way back to the town, hoping to catch up with Knuckles. He noticed Tails looking away in disappointment? Frustration? In the corner of his eye as he passed him.

A little more time. He needed a little more time.

___

Finding Knuckles turned out to be more difficult than he first assumed. He couldn’t keep up with the echidna’s pace with his injury, so he decided to check the build site. And then Amy’s house. Then the sites of the previous attacks. The hunter was nowhere to be seen.

After asking around, though, he found out people saw him go back into the woods, north of the village. If his senses were intact he probably would’ve figured it out on his own, but, alas, he had to depend on the old fashioned ways of tracking for the time being.

The terrain north of Windmill Village sloped up ever so slightly – the top of the slope being his and Amy’s old picnic spot after all – but Sonic was thankful he didn’t have to climb the entire way up without anything to support his leg, as he noticed the familiar red spot in the distance, sitting near a creek that flowed down the hill in a naturally shaped riverbed.

“There you are,” the hedgehog called to the echidna as he approached, getting a bored glance from Knuckles before he tossed a stone into the water. “Never took you for the brooding type,” he added sarcastically.

“Leave me be, hedgehog,” the older hunter replied with irritation, although now there was something else in his tone. Tiredness? …Sadness? He seemed to cool down from the initial outburst he had earlier, at least.

Sonic furrowed his brows, but then came even closer, sitting down near the creek instead.

“Look, I don’t want any unresolved tensions,” he admitted. “So I want to say I’m sorry again.”

Knuckles shot him a glare. “Your words have proven themselves to be empty,” he grumbled, looking away from the hedgehog.

“It’s hard to think clearly when you’re pumping adrenaline!” Sonic defended himself. “...I’m serious, Knux. I will do better, I promise.”

The echidna sighed.

“Wanna know how I got this scar?” He suddenly turned to the other hunter, his tone serious. 

Sonic blinked, but before he could reply, Knuckles continued, staring into the creek with furrowed brows.

“T’was supposed to be a simple mission. A rock golem. A slow, stupid creature, less dangerous than any of the things we’d dealt with before. Or so we thought. Truth is, arrogance got the better of me. I wanted to finally get a kill to my name. So I rushed in. They tried to warn me, get me to back off, but I got reckless. Distracted. Before I knew it, its enormous arm was coming right at me.”

He paused, inhaling slowly. Sonic frowned. It was clear he was struggling to recall these events, for whatever reason.

“Look, you don’t have to tell,” he tried to reassure him.

“I got her killed, ” Knuckles suddenly turned to the hedgehog. “Tikal. My supervisor. She took the blow that was meant for me. She was thrown back into a sharp rock, hitting the back of her head. I got hit next, but it wasn’t nearly as fatal.”

Sonic was silent.

“...I’m so sorry, Knuckles…” he said slowly, processing what was just said.

“How long will it be until your recklessness gets us the same fate?” The echidna stood up. “Do you really want us to suffer because of you? Do you want Tails to meet the same fate?”

The hedgehog froze. Then, his brows furrowed as he stood up as well.

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” he said with a dead serious tone.

Knuckles chuckled dryly. “I said the same thing. And look where that got me.”

Suddenly, it was as if even the wind stopped whistling. As if all the birds and flickeys took a pause. As if the entire world around them focused just on the two.

Sonic wanted to reply, but something made words unable to leave his throat.

The echidna then turned and began to walk away.

“I don’t think you’re fit for this job,” he said with a lower tone.

“...what?”

“If you’re gonna be constantly endangering your team, consider yourself terminated.”

Sonic couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He quickly caught up to the echidna and stood in his way.

“Who made you the boss of that??” He retorted with an accusatory voice.

“I was always supposed to monitor you two,” Knuckles growled. “It’s my job to decide if you’re good enough to stay in the Alliance. And I say, you’re not. ”

He pushed past the hedgehog, causing him to stumble a little with his injured leg.

“Go back to Amy’s and rest your injuries, Sonic. We’ll take it from here.”

Sonic was too stunned to argue. He just watched as the echidna slowly walked back towards the town. The reality of the situation slowly dawned on him.

Then, he chuckled.

If Knuckles thought he was so easy to get rid of, he was wrong.

Chapter Text

To say the rest of the day was awkward was an understatement.

Sonic returned to Amy’s place after the confrontation he had with Knuckles. He couldn’t exactly do much with his new injury, and, due to how much strain he put on his leg just a few minutes ago, he felt the consequences for hours on end. It felt like his ankle was gonna fall off any second now, and, honestly, Sonic would’ve almost preferred that over enduring the pain for any longer. He decided to rest it and try to read again, to get his mind off of things.

Amy came around after a while. She brought another dinner she herself cooked this time and called the rest of the team to eat. The table was once again brought into the master bedroom, however Sonic decided against sitting at it with everyone else, simply eating his portion in the bed in the corner of the room. There wasn’t much space between them either way, but, somehow, the hedgehog felt like the gap between him and his friends had never been bigger. He watched them engage in playful banter and tell stories, discuss plans, chat about their day, and even though he chimed in a few times, and he was invited into the conversation at other times, he really felt… shunned, for the lack of a better word.

He did feel his brother’s glances in his direction now and again, though.

The dinner concluded in high spirits. Knuckles dragged Tails to continue working on the trap, while Amy stuck around for a little while to clean up and keep Sonic company. The hedgehog appreciated the distraction, although nothing big really came out of it. He ended up continuing the book Amy picked out for him, and, he had to admit, it was quite enjoyable. Another nice distraction.

He knew he had to start thinking about what to tell Tails, though. Should he come clean? Should he dig deeper into the hole of lies he’d already made? It was a tricky situation. He knew his brother was smart, and if he kept this up the fox would eventually catch on, and figure it out on his own before he had a chance to explain anything. So, he brainstormed.

And eventually, he came up with a plan.

The sun had started heading towards the mountain peaks now, and Sonic knew that he couldn’t stick around for much longer. He’d hate to leave Tails without an explanation, though. So, for the first time in what felt like forever, he hoped the fox would come to talk as soon as possible.

And come he did.

Just as Sonic’s anxiety started to spike at the lowering sun, he heard the door open with footsteps following. Tails walked into the room, giving Sonic a genuine smile as he approached the bed.

“Hi, Sonic!” he called as he sat down on its edge.

“Sup, Tails?” Sonic leaned back, putting the book aside. “Wrapping up for today?”

“Yeah, we decided it was already getting dark…”

Tails looked at the ground, nervously playing with his gloves. Sonic knew the uncomfortable subject was about to come up. At least he was ready for it this time.

“About what we spoke about this morning…” he slowly began.

“Look, I know you have your suspicions,” the hedgehog spoke. “You’re a smart kid, I can never keep a secret from you for long.”

“So you are hiding something,” Tails said carefully, looking back at Sonic to study his face.

“You caught me,” he raised his hands. “I guess I haven’t been hiding it well, huh?”

“You’ve been sneaking out,” Tails noticed. “Not only did you sneak out during dinner yesterday, I… also heard you sneak out at night, too,” he pointed out.

Man, he really noticed all of this, huh?

“I thought you were asleep,” Sonic admitted.

“I felt something was off, so I pretended to. I tried waiting for you to come back, to confront you, but I fell asleep at some point… You were gone for hours!” his concerned tone only pierced Sonic’s heart more and more. “If you’re dealing with something, I want to help!”

Sonic sighed deeply. This was it.

“Tails, listen…” he began carefully, watching his wording as he spoke. “I’m onto something. Something big. I’ve been doing this investigation on the sidelines, I think it may change the way we see the Alliance as a whole.”

“The Alliance?” The fox raised his eyebrow, “What is it?”

“I don’t know enough to say it yet,” the hedgehog admitted. “If I’m gonna come out with this, I need more time.”

“Let me help then!” Tails perked up. “You don’t have to do it all alone!”

“I know you want to help, Tails, and I’d love to have you on the team,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “But this one’s too dangerous, kid. There are some real nasty things out there. I need you to sit this one out.”

“Well, if it’s so dangerous, you shouldn’t be doing it on your own!” his ears folded slightly, his voice raising with even more worry than before.

“Here’s the thing, I’m not doing it alone,” Sonic admitted. “There’s this guy I met recently, he knows a lot about it and he’s helping me figure it all out. I promise, I’ll tell you everything once I have some solid info, okay? You just have to trust me on this one.”

The room was silent. Tails was clearly debating on what to say, perhaps to convince Sonic to tell him more. Sonic could see it in his eyes. Then, the fox inhaled deeply.

“...I trust you,” he finally replied. “But if there is anything I can do to help you, I wanna do it!”

“All I need you to do for now is to cover for me, alright?” Sonic smirked. “Don’t want the big guy to know I’m doing some digging on the side. He’s pretty loyal to the Alliance.”

“Wait, you mean you want to expose the Hunters' Alliance? For what?”

“That’s the thing. I need to know more before I say anything,” the hedgehog said with a serious tone. “They’re up to something, I can feel it.”

“How are you going to do that?” Tails raised a question. “The Alliance’s headquarters aren’t anywhere near, what are you planning to do?”

“Told you, it’s confidential,” he smirked with a lighthearted tone. “I promise I’ll come clean when I have some solid proof.”

Tails sighed, clearly not happy with this decision.

“Alright, I trust you,” he repeated. “Just stay safe, okay?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Sonic joked, although upon seeing Tails’s concerned look, he added: “You’ve nothing to worry about, buddy. I promise.”

“Tails!” Knuckles’s voice reached them as the front door opened once again, catching both of their attentions. “Are you gonna stand watch or am I gonna have to miss out on two nights in a row?”

“Coming!” Tails called back, getting off the bed. He glanced back at Sonic before moving on, though.

The hedgehog offered him a confident smile. “Go on, bud.”

It seemed to be enough for Tails’s worries to be soothed for now, because he smiled back and moved on.

Sonic let out a sigh of relief, flopping back onto the pillow. At least that was taken care of, for the time being. He just needed to keep his word now.

He felt like he was close. Close to being fully in control, close to telling him everything. Once he did that, maybe he could sway even Knuckles into believing werewolves weren’t actually as big of a threat as everyone believed them to be. That maybe the Alliance was wrong about other beasts, too. He hoped so, at least.

He could use the nap… but he knew he had to stay awake right now. He had to listen closely to when Knuckles would go to sleep and sneak out as soon as possible. The sky was getting dimmer and dimmer by the second.

At least he didn’t need his heightened senses to hear Knuckles snore in the other room soon after. With that, he undressed, hiding the clothes under the sheets, grabbed the makeshift crutch and quietly sneaked out of the house.

With how little people were out and about at this time, getting into the woods wasn’t the difficult part. That, he now realized, would be finding Shadow, with how dull his senses were now. He couldn’t catch even a whiff of the dark hedgehog’s characteristic, lavender scent.

Maybe he could do that after transforming. For now, he just needed to get as far away from the village as possible. Wouldn’t want Tails to find him transforming just after the conversation they had.

“Hunter.” He suddenly jumped as he heard a voice behind him. With the condescending tone, he didn't even have to turn around to know it was Shadow.

“Missed me?” He smirked as he looked back at the other werehog.

He noticed Shadow was eyeing his leg. Was that a spark of concern in his eyes or was Sonic imagining things?

“What did you do this time?” The darker hedgehog sighed, staring at the hunter with a disappointed look.

“Ran into a bear, caught my leg in a ditch,” Sonic waved his hand dismissively. “It will heal during the transformation, right? No big deal.”

“It will, but it will be unpleasant,” Shadow began to walk, forcing Sonic to follow him with a slight haste that his leg disliked. “And it might raise suspicions. It's better for everyone if you don't hurt yourself left and right.”

“It's fine,” Sonic insisted. “I played it off as just a sore! Nobody suspects it's anything serious.”

“If you say so.”

The two continued walking, the last glimmers of sunlight barely reaching the woods. The evergreens offered a shadow that drowned all light out of the woods at this point. A cold blow of wind snuck between the two, causing Sonic to shiver slightly. He hoped they didn't have to wait any longer, or he'd have to add frostbite to the list of his injuries.

“So… that other werewolf, huh,” he decided to bring it up to fill the eerie silence that was usually filled with the sounds of the forest.

“An inconvenience, at best,” Shadow didn't even glance at the hunter. “A big problem, at worst.”

“Who attacks a village in broad daylight?” Sonic scrunched up his face at the memory of the attack.

“Even if it has its reasons, I do believe that was a rather stupid idea,” Shadow admitted. “I failed to track them down after the attack, though. I would like to have a word with them.”

Strange, Sonic thought. Shadow was usually pretty good at hunting, from what he observed. How come he couldn't find an enormous werewolf in the woods that he knew so well? Was he also having trouble with his senses…?

“Speaking of tracking,” he decided to bring it up, “noticed anything strange about your senses lately? Mine seem to have run dry.”

Shadow glanced at him with a side eye. Then, he looked at the sky.

“A new moon is approaching,” he stated.

“...so?”

“The gift is dependent on the moon,” Shadow explained. “The more of it is in the sky, the stronger a werewolf gets. Take it away, you take away anything that makes a werewolf a werewolf.”

“...so what, you just don't transform on the new moon?” Sonic joked.

“Precisely,” the werehog stated, to the hunter’s surprise. “It is the one day when your senses and instincts disappear entirely.”

“Wait, for real?” Sonic perked up. “That's great! I could throw the team off my tail a little if they saw me at night!”

“Bad idea,” Shadow noted. “The lack of your power on a new moon will leave you exhausted, unable to perform the most basic of tasks. I advise you to stay close to me tomorrow. Otherwise you won't know how to battle it.”

“Yeah, I have been a werewolf or whatever for less than a week,” Sonic pointed out. “I can handle not transforming for one night. In fact, I'd appreciate a break.”

“You will regret this,” the dark werehog noted with an ominous tone.

The blue hedgehog only huffed, letting a cold silence creep between them.

With another blow of the wind, a small snowflake danced through the air, slowly swirling as it fell right in front of Sonic’s face. He reached out and gently caught it in his bare hand, letting it melt on his palm. He stopped for a moment, looking at the drop of water that was left behind.

Shadow glanced back, realizing Sonic had stopped. He looked at the hunter questionably, maybe a little annoyed.

“...me and Tails always watched the first snow together,” the blue hedgehog said quietly, still looking at his hand, ears pinched back a little.

“A rather useless habit,” the dark hedgehog replied matter-of-factly.

Sonic tsk’d. “Like you'd get it,” he glanced at Shadow with irritation as he continued walking. “Have you never had a tradition with someone you cared about?”

“I don't do pointless things,” he replied, following, though he quickly regained the lead. “Everything I do is for a reason.”

The hedgehog huffed with annoyance, deciding to let the silence fill the woods once again. He suddenly didn’t feel like talking.

A few more snowflakes twirled gracefully through the crisp, evening air, though none of them overstayed their welcome. Patches of grass and the leaves the two werehogs passed were coated in glittering rime, crunching under their feet. The frigid wind passed through Sonic’s quills, causing him to shudder momentarily. It was getting colder by night and it was clear winter was approaching rather quickly. The hunter preferred not to think how he was going to keep up his act as the days grew shorter.

That train of thought was interrupted by a now familiar feeling in his chest, a growing, warm sensation that spread through his body into the tips of his ears, fingers, and toes. As much as he wanted to think he was ready for it this time, he never really was. Especially after what happened just earlier that day.

“Watch out,” Shadow suddenly announced with a bit of sarcasm as he glanced back at the hunter over his shoulder, “it may hurt.”

“You don’t say,” Sonic glowered at the werehog as he watched him transform, as if it took no effort for him. It couldn’t be more than a few seconds before he felt a sudden jolt of pain in his injured leg.

He fell to the ground, as did his crutch, as the aching burn in his leg took him by surprise. It only grew worse and worse, until it earned a scream of pain out of the hedgehog’s mouth. He could only focus on the agony his leg was in, he didn’t know how much time had passed, he didn’t know when his screams became roars and whines.

Soon enough, though, it let go. The pain disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, as if it was never there to begin with. Sonic was still curled up on the ground though, as if bracing for it to come back.

‘It’s over. Get up,’ he suddenly heard a familiar voice echo in his head. He opened his eyes, before sitting up, his attention quickly turning to his injury.

Aside from the fact his legs looked completely different now, the swelling was gone and the injury looked fine. So fine, in fact, it was as if there was no injury.

Not fully trusting that thought yet, though, Sonic got up to his feet, stood straight up, and tested his foot. He never paid much attention to how he stood as a werehog – it kind of felt like being stuck on his tiptoes – but he was quickly able to realize that yes, it was completely gone. The blue werehog let out a sigh of relief.

‘Are you done?’ the familiar voice rang out in his head once more, turning his attention to Shadow, standing a few feet away from him on all fours – with his additional arms curled up near his sides. ‘I’ve got another lesson to teach you.’

That immediately shifted his focus to be entirely on the black werehog, who was now slowly walking away. Sonic dropped to all fours to follow, taking an inhale of the forest around him.

Not minding the strong scent of lavender that was coming off of his companion, Sonic was finally able to smell the forest again. The crisp air, the tree bark, the frozen mud, all the different critters going about their evening all around them. He kind of missed that, even if it’s been only a day since he lost the ability to notice it all. It felt like his senses were back. Without them, he kind of felt… impaired? Now, at least, he was able to be on full alert, he was able to tell who or what exactly was around him, he was able to find his way to different locations in the forest just by taking an inhale. It did feel like a sixth sense, even if, technically, it was still one of his five original senses. Just bumped up to the max.

Shadow seemed to have a very specific idea in mind as to where they were going. It wasn’t anywhere near the places Sonic knew of in the woods, nor did the dark werehog try to run off and make Sonic chase him around, like before. No, there had to be something new he was planning.

And, soon enough, an unfamiliar smell reached the young hunter. He wasn’t able to place what it was, even as it grew stronger, but, somehow, Sonic was able to tell that it was… alive. It was a creature.

Not long after, Shadow started walking slower. And then sneaking. He shot glances back at Sonic, probably to make sure he did the same, before stopping entirely.

‘A creature of the woods must know how to hunt,’ the voice in his head proclaimed. It wasn’t hushed, like Sonic expected it to be, but it did hit him a second after that it didn’t have to be. He heard it in his head, after all.

It didn’t stop his confusion, though. He turned his head slightly, waiting for an explanation.

‘You won’t survive a day in the wild if you can’t catch prey,’ Shadow explained. That turned Sonic’s attention to the source of now pretty strong scent, several feet away – a deer, preening about. Probably looking for a space to sleep.

Sonic’s ears lowered slightly. He really didn’t feel like harming such a harmless creature that simply lived its life. He took a step back, and when Shadow looked back at him, he shook his head. He wasn’t going to do it.

‘Tch. Coward,’ he heard as Shadow’s expression changed to a grimace. ‘Looks like I’ll have to show you how it’s done.’

Before Sonic could raise any sign of protest, Shadow already sneaked away to position himself behind the deer. The blue hunter shuddered as a particularly strong gust of wind rubbed against his quills. He then realized the wind was blowing exactly the opposite direction. It wasn’t carrying their scent towards the deer. Smart.

Still, Sonic sneaked by a little closer, watching in horror. He knew that werewolves like Shadow needed to do that to survive, but he did not want to bear witness to it. It felt… wrong. Cruel. He was torn apart, not knowing if he should interrupt. He didn’t bring any food to Shadow that day, though, so he was probably hungry… still!

He simply turned his sight away.

Then he heard Shadow pounce, followed by the deer’s cries of surprise and pain.

And then, the scent reached him. Blood.

His ears perked up, he looked back at the scene unfolding before him. Shadow trying to hang onto the creature’s throat, his tentacles whipping aggressively around, the prey struggling to get away. It started to run, dragging Shadow behind it.

Was the scent of blood always so… sweet…?

…How long has he been so hungry?

He saw Shadow’s grip weakening. He saw the deer kick him in the side with its hoof. He saw it slowly slip away, slowly getting away from the grasp.

He charged.

His teeth sank in the creature’s throat.

He felt the sweet, sweet taste of blood seeping between his teeth. He squeezed harder. He saw in the corner of his vision that Shadow let go, letting him struggle on his own. The creature tried to kick him, succeeding a few times, but he wouldn’t budge. Then, he saw Shadow attack from the other direction.

It wasn’t long before the trembling creature slowed down to a halt, before its legs gave out. Sonic let go and tightened his grip. The flesh underneath his teeth slowly stopped convulsing.The creature stopped moving.

He held on for a while longer, just to make sure.

‘Not bad,’ Shadow commented. He let go and approached Sonic from the side, looking down at the carcass the two managed to take down.

Then Sonic snapped his teeth at him, growling threateningly. He wasn’t going to give up the carcass until he had his fill.

For a moment, Shadow simply watched Sonic rip the carcass apart, gorging himself with the still warm flesh. He didn’t have anything to say.

After a moment of that, though, Sonic snapped back to reality. He glanced at Shadow, before giving him an apologetic whine and wagging his lowered tail slowly. He must’ve been really hungry without realizing it.

Shadow didn’t say anything still. He just joined in eating.

Chapter Text

“He’s just fatigued, I think.”

The rabbit lady took a step back from the bed, putting away her thermometer. She sighed, clearly perplexed, looking over at the blue hedgehog who was huddled in the sheets. She watched him breathe weakly. Tails, who sat on the edge of the bed, eyed his brother with worry.

“What about his other wounds??” He raised the rather obvious question. “Maybe it got inflammated?”

“If that were the case, he'd have a fever. Instead, he's on the verge of hypothermia…” the rabbit replied, brow furrowed, although she tried to offer the little fox a reassuring smile. “I'm sure he's just been working too hard. It should pass once he gets some rest.”

“See? There's nothing to worry about!” The blue hedgehog waved his hand dismissively, albeit weakly.

Sonic, frankly, felt like crap.

He did so ever since waking up that morning in the woods. The memories of last night were fuzzy, at best, just as all his thoughts. Once he got up, he found Shadow curled up in sleep nearby. He tried waking him up, but the other hedgehog just wouldn't budge. The most he got out of him was an annoyed grumble to leave him alone.

And, with the wind still pinching his ears painfully, he decided to gather all the strength he had to pick up the dark hedgehog and carry him to Rouge’s cave.

“That time of the month?” The bat asked sarcastically, although there was a touch of concern in her tone.

“Guess so,” Sonic sighed as he put Shadow down in a sheltered part of the cave. Shadow in turn tried to swat him away as if he was an annoying fly. “Never thought I'd have to go through those again,” he joked. He only earned a confused look from the enormous bat creature.

“Are you planning on staying here for the day?” She asked instead.

As much as Sonic wanted to just lay down and sleep right there and then, he knew he couldn't. It would be far too suspicious if he went missing for an entire day.

“No can do, I'm afraid,” he replied. “Gotta use it to my advantage, somewhat.”

“Looking for a bright side, I see,” Rouge chuckled. “That's a nice change, blue.”

He got back to the village soon after. He didn't even bother to wash himself much after returning – he was glad he washed the blood off of him the previous night in a stream – he simply flopped right into bed to hopefully regain his energy.

Unfortunately, it only got worse.

Soon, even talking became an enormous task with how little energy he had. If he had woken up even a few minutes later, he feared he wouldn't have been able to get back at all. Good thing he’d woken up when he did.

Unfortunately, his lack of energy quickly caught Tails’s attention once the fox was back from his night shift.

He wasn't able to convince Tails not to call the medic. He didn't have the brain power to come up with an excuse, and even if he did, he slurred his words so bad that whatever he was saying wasn't getting through to his little brother. The fox was already incredibly concerned, and every word Sonic said only added to his worry. Eventually, Ms. Vanilla was called over, and she took a good while to check the hedgehog all over.

Obviously, she noticed all his previous wounds were gone. Sonic managed to say something about a fast metabolism making him a fast healer, and it seemed to work for now, especially with Tails backing up the claim. The fox made sure she checked his ankle too, but she didn't find anything wrong with it either. It was just a matter of fatigue. At least, that’s what she assumed.

And boy, was that fatigue bad . Sonic caught himself drifting off mid answering Vanilla’s questions. His vitals must've really worried her, but no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find a source of his condition. Sonic knew exactly why, of course, and he could only hope she'd drop it.

Thankfully, it seemed to be the case.

“Make sure he gets lots of rest,” she concluded as she began packing her instruments. “I'll drop by in the evening and the next morning to check if everything's okay.”

“Thank you, Ms. Vanilla,” Tails gave her a weak smile. “We appreciate your help.”

“Oh, it's nothing!” Vanilla smiled. “I'm happy to help our village’s protectors in any way I can.”

As the rabbit picked up her stuff and got ready to leave, she paused for a second.

“Tails, may I ask for your help?” she turned her head to smile at the little fox.

“Uh, yeah, sure! What’s the issue?” Tails hopped off of the edge of Sonic’s bed and walked up to her, following her out of the room.

“The wind seems to have broken my umbrella… you know how to fix things like these, right?”

As they left the room, Vanilla gently closed the door behind them. Sonic raised a brow. Something seemed a little off about that request… he just couldn’t place what. He could hear a faint conversation behind the closed door, but he couldn’t make anything out… If he only had his heightened senses.

Oh well. Trying to focus on making the conversation out was exhausting him even more anyway. He hated feeling so tired. He hated that laying in bed seemed not to work at all . Usually, if he ever got tired, all he’d need would be a quick nap or a good night’s sleep and he’d be back on his feet before anyone had even blinked. Man, and he stayed in the village today just so Tails wouldn’t be as worried about him. That wasn’t going so well, was it?

There wasn’t much else to do but sleep. He was fighting drowsiness the entire visit, so he might’ve as well just slept the day off. Hopefully, if it really was because of the moon, he’d be back on his feet the next day.

So, pretty much as soon as his eyes closed, he fell asleep.

—

…

A soft hum of raindrops reached his ears. If it wasn’t cut off so suddenly, maybe he wouldn’t have even noticed it. He cracked his eye open, letting his vision adjust to the dim room. The rain must’ve been really rough, with how dark it was. He doubted it was night already.

The door to the room was left ajar, and Tails was nowhere to be seen. There was movement in the hall, though. It was only a moment before hushed voices reached him.

“Thanks, Tails.” A sweet, high pitched voice. Amy, that was definitely Amy. “How is he?”

“He’s sleeping,” Sonic’s brother replied. Amy sighed.

“He must’ve been really pushing himself, huh?” she said with clear concern in her voice.

“I think it could be related to Knuckles letting him go,” Tails concluded.

“What do you mean?”

“They had an argument yesterday… Knuckles decided Sonic wasn’t fit for the team.” He hesitated, and then slowly continued: “...Vanilla mentioned that this fatigue could have a psychological origin. That, maybe, he experienced something stressful, but didn’t feel anything in the moment. And then everything hit him all at once…” 

“Oh, poor Sonic… was it really necessary to let him go?”

“I don’t know… He’s been really reckless lately. More than usual.”

“Maybe the pressure got to him? You guys have a lot on your plate…”

“This really isn’t like him. I didn’t think it’d affect him so much. Or that he'd give up so fast.”

“The place in the Hunters' Alliance meant a lot to him after all…”

There was a pause.

“...Knuckles said he’d call for backup,” Tails added after a moment. He didn’t seem too happy about it.

Sonic could feel his fur stand on end.

“That’s good, right? There’s too many of these creatures for you to deal with… Especially with Sonic in bed rest.”

“Yeah… yeah! It is a good thing! I’m just…”

“What is it, Tails?”

“...I’m just worried for Sonic. I mean, if he’s taking being let go so hard, imagine what these news may do to him. He might think someone else was called to clean after him, and that he failed…”

Another pause.

“I’m sure it will be alright, Tails,” Amy comforted him. “I doubt this thing is related to his condition. He doesn’t give in so easily. Maybe he just caught some bug,” she assumed.

Footsteps followed, approaching the room. Sonic struggled to sit up, rubbed his eyes, and stretched with a yawn as the two entered the room.

“Oh, Sonic!” Amy smiled, giving the hedgehog a small wave with her free hand. Sonic noticed she was carrying a dish in the other. “How’d you sleep?”

“Hi, Ames,” he said, hating how weak his voice sounded. “Your bed sure’s comf’table.”

“I’m glad you think so!” she smiled. She came up to the bed and placed the dish on the bedside table. “I brought you something. Figured you could use some energy.”

The hedgehog glanced at the bowl. It was chicken soup with noodles. Sonic could feel his stomach rumble as soon as the savory smell reached him. Man, right, he hadn’t had anything since–

Oh. Right.

He suddenly felt sick. How hadn’t he thought about it until now? What in the world took over him last night? To slaughter an innocent creature and then rip it apart, just like that? With no remorse? 

Instincts shminstincts. He would never want to do something like that to another living being. And, once again, he didn’t even question it in the moment! It felt so… natural, so right.  

That was it, he couldn’t even trust his own judgement at night. What else would he be driven to do? What if he had that feeling towards people?? Would he want to hurt someone, just because it would feel right in the moment??

His head was spinning. It felt like he was back at square one. Back to no control.

All because of a deer.

All because Shadow told him to do that.

“...Sonic?” Tails’s voice snapped him back to reality. “Are you okay? You look pale…”

“Yeah, ’m fine!” he quickly blurted out. “I just, uh… feel li'l dizzy all of a sudden.”

Tails’s ears pinched back. That didn’t seem to calm him down.

“Should I call Ms. Vanilla back?” he asked.

“I think I just saw her in the market,” Amy added. “I could fetch her!”

“No! No, ‘ts okay,” Sonic perked up, but then leaned back against the bed’s headboard. “I think I jus’… got up too fast. You know me, sitting still isn’t… really my thing.”

“If you’re sure…” Tails looked at him with those big, concerned eyes that broke Sonic’s heart. He so wished he could just spill everything right here and then, but it would make things even worse. His little brother would be even more worried. Especially with what he just realized he did last night.

“Thanks for th’ soup, Amy,” he decided to change the subject, reaching out to pick the bowl up. It almost slipped out of his hands, but Amy was quick to support him.

“Oh– here, let me help,” she directed the bowl to rest on Sonic’s lap. A little drop of it spilled onto the sheets.

“Ah. Sorry f’that,” Sonic apologized, feeling his cheeks flush slightly with embarrassment. He couldn’t even pick a bowl up… and he only felt worse and worse. How bad could it get? When would it end??

“Oh, it’s nothing. These sheets are old anyway,” Amy chuckled, although it was clear how concerned she was. She exchanged a look with Tails. It seemed she didn’t expect him to be that weak.

Sonic attempted to force the soup down his throat as quickly as possible, even if it was a fight by itself. Every spoonful he swallowed threatened to return as he still had the images of that poor animal from last night flash before his eyes. If it were up to him, he’d pass on the soup, but he really didn’t want to worry the other two more than he already was.

It felt like it took forever, but he finally managed to eat the majority of the meal. Amy stuck around for a while longer, but Sonic really wasn’t sure when she left. He must’ve dozed off again somewhere along the way.

The darker it got, the worse he felt. To the point he could barely keep his eyes open. He felt like he was in and out of consciousness and that everything around him was happening in flashes. One minute Tails was by his side, Knuckles the next, then he was alone, then his brother would return. Despite how quick everything seemed to be happening around him, every second felt like years. He somehow felt as if even breathing was really difficult to do.

He opened his eyes at some point again. The room was dark, but he could see a light source flickering in the corner of his eye. He turned his head on the pillow to look over, and he saw Tails, sitting on his knees on a chair by candlelight, looking out of the window. He was sketching something on the windowsill, now and again looking up into the sky.

“...Tails?” he asked, which instantly made the fox’s ears perk up. He looked over at his older brother. “What… r’you up ta?”

“Oh, I’m calculating when the next full moon will be,” Tails replied. “I figured that, since we’re dealing with werewolves, it would be beneficial to track the moon phases.”

“Moon… phases…?”

“Some sources say that werewolves’ powers are dependent on the moon,” he explained. “We can’t easily track the moon phases this time of the year, though, given the clouds, so I went around the town and asked if anyone remembers when the last full moon was. One of the farmers seemed to be very… peculiar about never planting anything on a full moon, so he was able to give me the exact date of the last one. A moon cycle lasts 28 days, so I'm just counting what phase we're in right now to get a better understanding of when to expect the attacks.”

“Huh,” Sonic blinked. Really, only half of those words got through to him. He could feel the fatigue take over his brain as he listened.

Seemingly satisfied with his reply, Tails returned to counting. Sonic barely kept his eyes open but, somehow, simply watching his brother at work was filling him with some sort of tranquility. Maybe he was just tired, but he missed those quiet moments with his brother.

Tails paused sketching for a moment.

“...it’s snowing,” he said gently.

Sonic moved his head up to be able to catch a glimpse of the outside. With the candlelight bouncing off of the window and the perspective he was looking from, he could barely see the sky. But, as he watched, he saw slight movement of some small particles in the dark.

“...so it is.”

Chapter Text

Waking up that day felt like a rebirth.

Sonic stretched out, feeling the stiffness in his bones and the urge to just run. He was busting with energy, compared to last night. Now that's what he's talking about! That's how he's supposed to feel!

Not wanting to waste any time, the hedgehog immediately jumped out of bed, putting his shoes and Amy’s borrowed clothes on, though he hesitated once he got to the jacket.

Right. Should he be wearing this? Not even because of what Knuckles told him, he was really unsure about the Alliance’s intentions at this point. Their opinions and methods seemed… questionable, at best.

Then, there was a thought of annoying Knuckles by having it on despite everything. And so, he was sold on the idea.

He wouldn't put the entire jacket on – it felt like a strangely heavy burden to bear. He simply took the encircled, golden arrow pin and put it on his chest. The Alliance’s insignia. That would work for now.

Leaving the room, thankful he didn't have to use his crutch anymore, Sonic heard some movement in the kitchen. He peeked into the room, seeing Tails preparing some sandwiches.

“Good morning, little buddy!” He waved at him. It would be good to show him he's doing better today, just so his little brother doesn't see him gone with no explanation.

“Oh, Sonic! Good morning!” Tails perked up, seemingly a little surprised as well as relieved. “You look better! How are you feeling?”

“Like a new hedgehog!” Sonic stretched out with a grin. “Vanilla was right, all I needed was just some shut eye. Been skipping on it a bit too much recently, I guess.”

“I'm glad to hear that then!” the young fox smiled, swishing his tails with content. “Be careful from now on, though, okay?”

“Where's the fun in that?” The hedgehog smirked. It earned him a glare. “Okay, okay, I'll try to be more careful about that.”

“Thank you,” Tails smiled. “I'm making some breakfast, wanna join me?”

“Sure thing, I'm feeling a little peckish!” Sonic walked into the kitchen confidently, using a bar stool as a stepping stone to sit on the counter.

Tails appeared to be making a little too much food to eat by himself anyway and was about done by the time Sonic got there, so they dug in soon after that. The sandwiches included some butter and fresh ham, to Sonic's delight. Maybe it wasn't his favourite, but he noticed a peculiar change in taste of meat as of late. Maybe it was related to his change, now that he thought about it. Either way, all it did was make certain foods more tasty, so he didn't mind it all that much.

“So?” He asked before taking another bite of the sandwich, legs crossed as he leaned back on the counter, “What's the plan for today for the two of you?”

“Well… we're nearly done with the trap,” Tails replied, giving his brother a hesitant smile. “Just have to make a few tests and… adjustments. Then it'll be good to go!”

“That's great, bud! Way to go!” Sonic cheered, pulling his little brother into a side hug. He got pretty good at masking his anxiety related to these things. He made a mental note to warn Shadow the next time he saw him.

“Hah, thanks, but it's not the time to celebrate just yet,” Tails pointed out, despite accepting the hug. “We still don't know if it'll work. And with three of these creatures… who knows how many of them are hiding in the woods? Even if we trap the original two, we still have to figure out a way to deal with the third one…”

“I'm sure you'll think of something, you've got brains for days!” Sonic pulled his brother close again and gave him a quick noogie. The fox giggled, trying to push him away.

“Hah, I'm sure it'll be okay!” He said once he got out of Sonic’s grasp, but then his expression dimmed a little. “...actually, Knuckles sent a letter out into the city yesterday.”

Sonic raised a brow. “Oh yeah?” He asked, however he knew exactly where this was going. He barely remembered yesterday, but the conversation he overheard between Tails and Amy dug its way into his brain. He suddenly felt really cold, as if the breeze from the outside somehow made its way through the crack in the window.

“He asked for backup,” Tails said slowly. Sonic could feel he was being studied. That Tails would be aware of the tiniest change in his demeanor, the tiniest sweat droplet on his temples.

Good thing he accustomed himself to this information beforehand.

“Man, he actually admitted he can't do something?” He snickered instead. He could see how taken aback Tails was by that, and so he smirked to add to his seeming relaxation.

“I guess so,” Tails finally replied with a small smile of his own. “...I thought you'd be more upset about that,” he admitted after a moment.

“Who? Me?” The hedgehog made an exaggerated gesture to point at himself. “Please. It's just more of the hunter nerds that think they know it all.”

Tails didn't seem convinced.

“Well… the news of being kicked out of the group had put you in bed rest for an entire day,” he pointed out.

“What? Psht,” he waved his hand dismissively as he looked to the side with an amused smirk. “I was just tired! It had nothing to do with Knuckles. If he wants to go solo so bad, I won't stop him. I have my own things to take care of!”

Tails frowned. “Your investigation?”

“For one,” Sonic nodded. “Now I have more time to take care of it.”

“You're not thinking of going back into the woods, are you?” The fox lowered his ears.

“That's where I get my intel,” Sonic shrugged. “Besides, I'm all good now! If I see anything sketchy, I'll just run!”

As if to prove his point, he jumped off of the counter and did some stretches. It felt good to no longer have to pretend his leg was busted. Tails just sighed.

“Okay, I trust you,” he said slowly. “Just… stay safe.”

___

Running through the town and then the woods at full speed was freeing, he had to admit. Especially after last night. He made sure to get all his joints moving, to even push himself a little as he ran laps around the woods. His senses still weren't as sharp as he'd gotten used to, but that didn't stop him from smelling the damp forest floor as he ran, the winter in the air, or even some of the evergreens as he passed by.

Once he was satisfied with his jog, he found a nice pile of damp leaves and flopped onto it, sighing with delight as the clouds above him lazily rolled by, covering the sun completely. There was little snow left from last night. He figured it was probably going to be the next week or so before a proper snowfall.

Not that he minded. He was freezing his quills off as it was. Especially with the dew and remains of the rain and snow from yesterday coating the leaves he was laying on. So he decided not to stay still too long.

It was only when he got up and shook the remaining greenery out of his quills when he noticed something zooming in the distance. Not even a second later the figure took a sharp stop right before him, sliding slightly on the forest floor.

“There you are,” the black hedgehog before him spoke, standing straight, his expression as serious as his tone.

“Sup, Shads,” Sonic welcomed him. “Enjoying a morning jog after last night? Boy, that was rough. Worse than I thought it would be.”

“Hardly,” Shadow shook his head. “There has been a predicament. ”

“A predicament, huh?” the blue ex-hunter put a hand on his hip. “And what does that mean?”

“You'll see,” he answered ominously, turning around. “Follow me.”

As Sonic bolted after Shadow – still not used to how the other hedgehog practically matched his speed – he didn't have to wonder what he was talking about for long. Soon, he heard shouts, angry, pained screams echoing through the woods. Something told him that this was something serious they were getting into. So, he stuck closer to Shadow.

“There's our culprit,” the dark hedgehog said as he stopped, the screams sounding pretty loud here. Sonic hardly had to step forward to notice them.

It was a green mobian, similar in build to a hedgehog but not quite – she had messy quills, that was for sure. As well as ragged clothes and a…metal collar? And, as Sonic took a closer look, he realized she was struggling.

There was blood on her leg, and she couldn't get it free from something.

…Oh.

Oh no.

Sonic took a step forward, but Shadow promptly reached out an arm to stop him.

“Wait.”

“We have to help her!” Sonic raised his voice as much as he could while whispering.

“Did you forget how she attacked your settlement in broad daylight?” Shadow glared at him.

“And wasn't you the one who said she deserves a fair trial?” Sonic countered. He pushed Shadow’s arm away. “She's in pain. Free her first, ask questions later.”

“You can't be so naïve to believe she will answer your questions once she's freed,” the dark hedgehog said with a low tone.

Sonic rolled his eyes. “Wouldn't anyone be willing to talk to their saviors?”

“ You put these traps here, didn't you.”

It wasn't as much of a question as it was an accusation.

“Look, we don't usually hang around so close to the village anyway,” Sonic defended himself. “I tried to convince Knux it was a bad idea, but he wouldn't budge. Besides, she doesn't know who put these traps here. Let's keep it this way.

Shadow groaned quietly as Sonic continued approaching the strange woman. The dark hedgehog decided to lean back on a tree and simply watch.

It didn't take long for the mobian to notice someone approaching. She looked straight at him, then lowered her sight slightly. Sonic could see her eyes widen a bit before she lunged into his direction, as if ready to rip him apart, only to be stopped by the chain the beartrap was attached to. Despite there still being some considerable distance between them, Sonic still flinched. There was fire in her eyes. In fact, for just a second, he thought he saw them give out a cyan glow.

“Whoa! Hold up!” Sonic raised his hands defensively, trying to calm her down. “I'm not–”

“Here to finish the job, hunter?” She asked, every word dripping with venom. Especially that last one. “Let me out and let's have a proper fight, asshole!”

“No, wait– you got it wrong! I'm not a hunter!” Sonic attempted to take a step forward. “Well… not anymore. You're a werewolf, right? We're like you!”

“Tsk. I'll always know that badge when I see one,” she hissed. “You're a terrible liar.”

“Oh, this?” Sonic looked down at his chest. Riight. Maybe that wasn't the brightest idea after all. “It's just a little something to piss a certain, red echidna off. I want to help you!”

“ Prove it,” she hissed again. “You're a werewolf? Show me proof.”

Sonic blinked. “ How would I show you that? It's an early morning.”

“I don't know. You figure it out,” she snapped. “I'm not letting you anywhere close to me otherwise. I know your type.”

Sonic glanced back at Shadow, who still was leaning against a tree in the distance, giving him judgemental looks.

And then, it was just a second. Suddenly, Sonic heard movement behind him, turning around just in time to see the green mobian lunging at him, just barely managing to get her claws on him. Sonic cried out in surprise, falling back onto the dewy grass with a grunt. His heart was racing.

The woman looked at him, then tilted her head in some sort of fascination and satisfaction, smirking.

“Huh. Glowing eyes, ay? So you're not lying,” she concluded, as if slightly amused.

Sonic didn't like the implication of that. He decided to ignore it, getting up from the ground and dusting himself. He touched the new scratch he received on his forearm. It was nothing in comparison to what he’d experienced this week, at least.

“So, happy?” He asked instead. “Will you let me free you now?”

The amusement disappeared from her expression. She huffed, crossing her arms as she looked away.

“If you try anything funny, I'll rip your throat out. ” The threat sounded very serious.

But now that Sonic came to expect it, he wasn't too worried. He could easily get out of the way this time.

He approached the woman, going down on one knee to look closer at the trap clenched around the other mobian’s ankle. It sure did a number on her leg, alright. Blood was everywhere and the wound was deep and big, probably worsening and spreading every time she pulled on it.

“The alliance’s traps have a safety mechanism,” Sonic explained as he reached for a small, thin stick that lay in the grass nearby. “To pull it apart it must be unlocked first. Usually we have a special key for that, but…” he jammed the stick into a small hole that was in one of the trap’s sides, which caused a click. Then, using his strength, he ripped the two jaws apart, with the mobian woman quickly removing her leg from it.

“There you go,” Sonic smiled as he let the trap clasp onto air again with a loud clunk. “So, how about we talk now? My name is Sonic the Hedgehog," he got up and stepped back to give her her space.

The woman touched her wound gently, immediately removing her hand right after and wincing. It looked really bad. Then, sliding back a little to use a nearby tree for support, she got up to her feet. She tried her weight on the injured leg, sweat forming on her temples.

Then, she smirked at Sonic.

“Surge the Tenrec,” she replied, before doing a casual mock salute towards him. “Thanks, loser,” she said before she took off in a blink of an eye.

“Hey, wait!!” Sonic called after her, but she was already gone. “You should get that looked at at least!”

“Wow,” Shadow slowly clapped as he approached the hedgehog from the woods. “Incredible display of diplomatic skills.”

“Oh, shut up,” Sonic rolled his eyes as he turned to face him with a frown. “I don't regret anything. She was in pain. Besides, she should be fine by tomorrow, right?”

Shadow grimaced. “With a wound as severe, it may take her a day or two longer to fully regenerate.”

“Youch,” Sonic crossed his arms. “Sucks to be her.”

“You don't seem very worried about her still being a threat to the commonfolk of the village,” the darker hedgehog pointed out.

“You know, I'm not sure why, but… I don't think she knew what she was doing,” Sonic’s expression darkened as he looked back in the direction Surge went.

“Well, an unstable werewolf is even more of a reason for worry,” Shadow stated, straightening. “It'd be best to chase her off of this territory as soon as possible. She doesn't belong here.”

“Aren't you territorial,” the ex-hunter said, his words dripping with sarcasm.

“That is the only way I've survived so long,” he pointed out, turning around on his heel and walking away from the crime scene.

“Suuure,” Sonic once again rolled his eyes as he followed. “So? Any plans for today?”

“Don't you have a team of hunters to be a bother to?” Shadow sighed.

“Not really. I got fired for the whole almost-transforming thing cus the others assumed I was trying to chase Surge down. Couldn't exactly defend myself against that.”

“For the better. It would be only a matter of time before you'd get burnt for playing two fronts like that.”

“Aww, you care about me?” Sonic asked smugly with a sickly sweet tone.

“No,” Shadow said insistently. “You being found out would cause me problems, too.”

“Whatever you say, Shadow.”

They walked through the woods a little more, taking in the fresh air and the serene silence, before Sonic stretched out and looked at his companion.

“So, any training you'd like to pull me through today?” He asked, with a snark to it.

Shadow hummed, stopping for a second. Then, he turned to the ex-hunter.

“Survival skills,” he simply said. 

And, in just a moment, he took off at top speed, making Sonic jump before he smirked and decided to follow. Whatever it meant, he wasn't gonna pass on a race!

He quickly caught up to Shadow, hanging back just the tiniest bit to let the darker hedgehog pick the direction. He figured he had some kind of plan.

It was enjoyable to simply run like that, though. Full of energy, with cool wind nipping at the tips of his ears and fingers. He really hoped he would never have to live through what happened yesterday again.

But, if that were to happen, he'd need to start working on finding a solution to his issue at hand as soon as possible.

He definitely needed to talk to Shadow about two nights prior.

He looked up at the dark hedgehog, seeing his focused expression, his graceful movements as he ran and dodged obstacles with cold precision. Sonic had to admit, he kind of… enjoyed simply looking at him. The werehog had intrigued him since day one. He's seen cracks in his cold persona on a few occasions, so he knew there had to be more to him than he let on. And Sonic was determined to see just who Shadow actually was underneath all this cold, hard crust.

Suddenly, he watched Shadow jump up, holding himself up on some branches. Surprised by the sudden change of direction, he didn't have enough time to even see what he just did, as the ground underneath his feet seemed to completely disappear and he started to fall. As he looked down, panic flooded his senses. He was falling straight into a lake.

One painful splash later, Sonic struggled. He managed to gasp and get some air in his lungs before cannonballing into the water, but the lake was deep. He flailed his hands around, but he wouldn't move. His feet touched the ground, but he shuffled them too fast to get any solid foundation to propel himself up or even to head towards the coast.

As he felt panic take over every inch of his body, his lungs suddenly gave out, and he gasped by second nature. He didn't get relief from it, as water raced into his lungs. His blurred vision began to dim, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, HE COULDN'T BREATHE–

And then he felt a pull on his arm.

He didn't see much of what was going on, but soon, he could inhale air. As he did, he started coughing hard, painfully, until he vomited the water from his system. He continued coughing, barely holding his head up above the ground in case another portion of the water threatened to exit his throat. He dug his claws into the dirt below him.

Then, he inhaled and exhaled, fast, swallowing the air as if it was the last time he'd ever get to feel it in his lungs. The cool air that hurt to breathe just by the sheer frigidness. Despite that, it was the best air he had inhaled in his life.

He felt a few, powerful pats on his back that caused him to cough once again, droplets of water from the lake mixing with his spit and dripping onto the ground below him. He inhaled again, finally taking a moment to process what just happened.

Shadow was standing beside him, still holding a hand on his back. He was also dripping wet. When Sonic looked up to face the dark hedgehog, he saw his normally stoic expression twist into that of… worry? Guilt?

“Could’va appreciated… a little warning,” he stammered out. His head was spinning.

Shadow's expression changed back to his usual one with these words. He stood up.

“I was testing your survival skills,” he simply replied, facing away. “Can't swim, huh? That won't get you far in the wild.”

“You could've j-just asked!” Sonic argued, taking a moment to kneel and then stand up. He hugged himself, shivering. The water wasn't the warmest, and now being out in the open with wet clothes on his back wasn't helping. He felt like he was going to turn into an ice cube any second now.

“And you could've lied,” Shadow retorted.

“W- why w-would I lie about that?!”

Shadow huffed. He was silent for a moment, and then turned to walk.

“Follow me,” he simply said. 

Sonic didn't feel like he really had a choice. He could go back to the village, yes, but if Tails saw him soaking wet he was convinced his little brother wouldn't let go until he learned what happened. Maybe would refuse to let Sonic go into the woods alone again. So, he followed.

They jogged to their destination. Sonic was partially thankful – the wind resistance would only make it worse in this weather – and partially hated how long it took them to get wherever Shadow was leading him to.

Finally, though, after a few very long minutes, the ex-hunter saw a cabin in the distance. Normally he'd raise a brow at a structure so far away from any sort of civilization, but now he was just happy to get out of the freezing air.

Shadow confidently pushed the door to the building open and glanced back at Sonic to urge him in with a nod. Sonic, still shivering, happily accepted, feeling a sense of relief once the wind stopped rustling his wet fur and quills.

The inside looked… kind of cozy, actually. A few sheets were huddled into a corner on an old bed, a small table sat in another corner, near a window looking out into the woods. A few self care products lay on top of it, including a comb, a hairbrush, a bar of soap, right next to an empty cup and a few dried out herbs. More of these herbs hung on the wall above. All other walls were filled with dry flowers neatly weaved into wreaths. An old, moldy cupboard rested near the bed, its content out of sight. On the far left wall stood a big, old, stone fireplace, with charred pieces of wood still inside. A small cauldron rested near it, possibly for cooking intentions whenever a need arose.

As Sonic was looking around the one-room shack, Shadow closed the door behind them and draped his wet coat over a clothesline that spread across the room, walking towards the fireplace afterwards. He picked up some wood from the side and set up a bonfire inside of it, using the smallest branches first.

The blue hedgehog looked over and saw Shadow walk across the room to pick up his hairbrush. Sonic followed him as he returned to the fireplace, kneeling in front of the makeshift, unlit bonfire.

“Oh, thank C-Chaos, some warmth,” Sonic sighed with relief. The shack was a nice cover from the wind, but the inside wasn't exactly very warm either. Still, beat standing in the freezing, winter air outside.

Shadow acknowledged his words with a quick glance in his direction, before he started ripping leftover fur from the hairbrush, managing to form a little furball from it. He set it underneath the small branches, put the hairbrush away, and picked up something that looked like two stones, hitting them together in front of the fireplace. Sparks flew out of the stones on contact, and after a few of these hits, one of these fiery balls dropped onto the furball, setting it ablaze. With that, the small sticks started to catch fire, carrying it towards the bigger branches. Soon, amber tongues danced around the entire fireplace, giving off comfortable warmth.

“Ahh, that's nice,” Sonic sighed with content as he put his hands towards the fire, drying and warming them.

Shadow was eerily quiet. Sonic was used to getting at least some kind of reaction out of him. Now, though, the other hedgehog looked… faltered. He avoided eye contact, more than usual. He was picking at the hairbrush, tossing more and more clumps of fur into the fire.

“Something on your mind?” Sonic urged him to speak.

Shadow paused, his eyes locked on the hairbrush, before gently closing with an inhale. Then, he looked up at Sonic.

“I let my impulsive thoughts win me over earlier. I thought that, as a hunter, you knew how to at least keep your head above the water. Skipping over how pathetic it was for you to go down to the bottom like a rock…” he mumbled that last part, “I… I apologize.”

Sonic looked at him for a moment. Then, he snickered. Shadow didn't seem to take that well.

“Wow,” he replied. “Didn't expect you to be the kind to own up to your mistakes, not gonna lie. Thought you'd be the kind of guy whose pride stopped you from apologizing,” he smirked.

Shadow looked like he regretted saying anything.

“Still, it's no big deal,” Sonic continued, waving his hand dismissively. “You fished me out, so we're even. You could'va left me to drown.”

“That would be inefficient,” Shadow replied flatly.

“Suure,” Sonic squinted at him with a smile. “So, this is where you live?”

“I don't spend much time here,” Shadow admitted. “However, whenever I have a need for a shelter, this is where I come.”

“Did you build this place?” Sonic asked, semi sarcastically.

“As if I'd put my energy into something like that,” Shadow scoffed. “It is an abandoned hunter lodge, I believe.”

“The normal kind of hunter, right? Sure would suck if that's the kind of lodging the Alliance offers,” Sonic grinned.

“I thought you're no longer working for the hunters.”

“Yeah, that- that was a joke. Ever heard of that?” The blue hedgehog smirked.

He only received an annoyed groan in response.

“What's with the flower wreaths anyway?” Sonic continued. “Been here when you took over?”

“No,” Shadow's expression changed as he looked at one of the wreaths. He suddenly looked… melancholic. “They're a memento.”

“A memento? Of what?”

“A time long gone,” the dark hedgehog replied, not making eye contact.

Silence befell them, interrupted only by the crackling of the fire and the wind howling outside. The room seemed to get colder than it already was, even with the warmth escaping the fireplace.

Suddenly, Shadow got up, hairbrush in hand. Before Sonic could question him, the dark hedgehog kneeled behind him, and he felt the hairbrush pulling at his quills.

“Hey–! What are you– ack–!” Sonic perked up. Out of all things he expected, this was definitely towards the bottom of the list.

“Your quills are a mess,” Shadow simply replied. “You nearly transformed after we got out of the water, causing your fur to get ruffled all over.”

“You don't have to fix that, you know! I-I enjoy a bit of messiness in my quills!” Sonic stammered out. He didn't pull away, though.

“Hmph. You would. It shows.”

Surprisingly, when Sonic stopped fighting back, Shadow's movements were precise and delicate. He didn't feel a single pull afterwards, even if he heard that the brush got stuck in a few spots. Shadow would simply grab the quills responsible above the tangle, working on it without disturbing the blue hedgehog.

He had to admit, it was kind of… relaxing. Normally he wouldn't let a stranger approach him from the back like that, but…

Shadow wasn't a stranger.

Which felt weird to think. Was he a friend? Sonic struggled to really call him that, for some reason.

“Why do you work for the Hunters' Alliance?” The question brought him back to reality. Shadow's voice sounded careful, but not as accusatory as Sonic would expect. The dark hedgehog almost sounded… confused? Conflicted?

“Where'd that come from?” Sonic asked instead.

“Your heart is pure, stupidly so. You seemed to care for the wellbeing of somebody that attacked your pack. Yet you chose to work for the alliance. I struggle to understand why.”

“Well, isn't it obvious?” The ex-hunter asked. “I wanted to help people. The Alliance seemed to protect folk from dangerous beasts. I was already protecting my island from beast attacks, so I didn't think that…” he paused, his face dimming. “...that some beasts were people, too. I thought that we'd at least be told about it.”

“So, they didn't tell you what you were signing up for,” Shadow's voice sounded venomous. “Typical.”

“What's your history with them anyway?”

Sonic could feel that Shadow paused brushing. He was silent for a moment.

“They wronged me,” he simply replied.

“How?”

“You're pushing it, hunter.”

“Look, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine,” Sonic held his hands up, turning to look back at the darker hedgehog. “But there's clearly some bad blood between you and the Alliance, and it seems to affect you a lot. I just want to know what it was. I want to know you . The real you.”

There was a pause. Shadow looked at Sonic's face with an expression that was hard to crack.

“Besides, talking about stuff like that always makes me feel better,” Sonic continued. “So, maybe it's worth a try?”

The fire crackled loudly, filling the otherwise silent room. Water was dripping from the coat that hung on the clothesline. The wind outside seemed to come to a halt.

Then, a deep inhale. Shadow closed his eyes. But he didn't reply.

Sonic noticed his hands were trembling slightly. So, he took the hairbrush out of one of them, causing the dark hedgehog to perk up.

“What do you think you're–” Shadow started, but Sonic promptly interrupted him, sitting behind him this time.

“Your turn,” Sonic simply grinned as he began running the hairbrush through the dark quills of the other hedgehog. He figured that, maybe if he didn't have to see anyone watching him, maybe it'd be easier to speak.

Soon, he'd be proven right.

“They've created me,” the dark hedgehog finally said, his voice low.

“Created?” Sonic raised an eyebrow, but focused on continuing brushing Shadow's quills. “What, your parents were part of the Alliance?”

“I have no parents,” Shadow replied. “They have picked the most desirable genes of a werebeast, putting them together with the genes of another beast that hasn't been seen alive in eons. They wanted an Ultimate Life Form.”

“An Ultimate Life Form, huh,” Sonic sounded doubtful. “Why would the alliance want to create the perfect beast?”

“Simple. Eradication methods,” Shadow said matter-of-factly, as if it was common knowledge. “They wanted a beast that could be fully conscious, even during the worst transformations. This way, they could steer it towards getting rid of beasts they couldn't deal with on their own. Locate. Infiltrate. Extarminate.”

Sonic’s brushing efforts paused.

“They wanted a weapon,” he replied quietly, realization dawning upon him. Shadow nodded.

“And I was the perfect weapon.”

The room was still. Even the fire seemed to stop dancing at these words.

“Shadow, I'm…” Sonic attempted to speak. “... I'm sorry you had to go through that.”

Shadow scoffed. “Nothing to feel sorry for. I was shown their lies soon enough, and managed to get out of their clutches.” He seemed sad when he said it.

“How did you find out?”

Another pause. Shadow seemed hesitant to speak. So, Sonic continued brushing his quills.

“Someone had shown me the truth,” he finally said. Somehow, Sonic felt where this was going.

“...what happened to them?”

“She paid the ultimate price for doing so,” Shadow's tone was quiet, barely audible. As if saying it out loud hurt his throat.

Sonic wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully, Shadow continued.

“I don’t regret anything I’ve done, but one thing,” he decided, straightening up. “That I wasn't able to protect her.”

Sonic put the hairbrush on the floor. He hesitated for a moment.

Then, he pulled Shadow in for a hug.

“What in the–?!” The dark hedgehog seemed as surprised as he was annoyed.

“Sorry, I just… felt like you needed a hug,” Sonic replied, although he didn't let go. Instead, he held the embrace carefully. If he felt Shadow pull away, he'd let go.

But Shadow didn't pull away.

He didn't return the hug either, yes, but, for a second there, it seemed as if his walls had melted. When Sonic glanced up to look at his face, he could see him looking at the ground. His eyes were glassy.

“Thank you for sharing this with me, Shadow,” Sonic then said, before letting go. “I appreciate it.”

The dark hedgehog turned his face away with a grunt, but didn't seem as hostile as usual. Sonic noted that he wiped his eyes.

“...so, these wreaths are from her?” The blue hedgehog asked gently, looking around the room. “Did she make them?”

“We both did,” Shadow replied, looking up at the wreaths.

Sonic noted the lack of cynicism in Shadow's eyes. The lack of annoyment, of seriousness that usually filled them. They were just filled with sadness, nostalgia. And, maybe, just maybe, a tad of happiness…?

He did notice Shadow's gentle smile as he looked over each of the wreaths.

“That's pretty cool,” the blue hedgehog replied. “You should teach me how to make ‘em someday.”

Shadow turned to the hedgehog, surprised. But, his face quickly softened.

“Perhaps I'll add it to our training regimen,” he replied, although Sonic wasn't sure if it was sarcasm. He chuckled anyway.

These piercing, red eyes. The ones that usually greeted him with hostility at every step, now looking at him with gentleness and gratitude. A soft look, without the stone cold wall that usually covered it. Somehow, it made Sonic’s insides feel weird. He wanted to see that side of Shadow more often. He wanted to see him genuinely smile. He wanted to rid those eyes of all the pain he must've endured.

As if unknowingly, he pulled closer. Just a bit. And so did Shadow. They were now exchanging breaths, their faces inches apart, as they simply stared into each others’ eyes. Suddenly, Sonic knew what he wanted at that moment.

But, before he could act on it, Shadow pulled away. He turned his face to the side, a clear blush flushing his cheeks. He looked conflicted.

Sonic was taken aback, and he could feel a similar blush heating up his face. Of course. Of course this was a bad moment for that! What was he thinking? He didn't even know if Shadow even liked him, not to mention–

“Won't your pack be looking for you by now?” Shadow interrupted his spiraling thoughts. He was clearly changing the subject, even if nothing was yet said about what just happened.

“Nah, I'm not part of the alliance anymore, remember?” Sonic brushed it off, trying to chuckle through it, but it only came out as awkward. “...look. That was weird, I admit. I guess I just like seeing the real you. But I won't make you do anything you don't want to do.”

Shadow was quiet. He turned away even more.

“I think it's about time you go,” he replied quietly after a moment.

Sonic faltered, his ears lowering.

“Well, it's your house, after all,” he said, getting up from the floor. “I'll… see you around?”

The dark hedgehog didn't reply. He sat still, staring at the floor. Sonic’s chest filled with disappointment and that tugging feeling that wouldn't let go for the past week.

“...yeah,” he replied to himself. “...see you around, Shadow.”

The void in his chest only grew as he ran back to the village. Why did he have to ruin everything like that? Shadow just started to open up to him, he shouldn't have pushed him like that. He should've given him more space.

Well, too late for that now. He'd just have to live and learn.

His fur had dried out thanks to the fire for the most part, but his clothes were still uncomfortably damp. It only urged him to get back as quickly as possible.

And hopefully forget any of that happened.

___

Snowflakes danced delicately in the sparse wind, turning and swirling like a graceful ballerina, ultimately setting on the yellow blades of nearly dead grass. The second they touched it, though, the plant’s warmth had reached them, spreading across them, causing them to deform and change, shortly becoming nothing more than a drop of ice cold water that slid down into the earth. The dawn beads of sunshine were overshadowed by fat clouds, yet their warmth was enough to end the snow’s short life. At least, for now. Soon, the sun would be shielded from the earth enough to not be able to penetrate the clouds enough to kill the cold, little ballerinas.

A figure dressed in a dark coat and a mask on their face walked over the blade of grass that told this tragic story, on the top of a lonely hill, only a few feet away from reaching the top of the mountain. The figure looked down the valley, seeing something small and distant on its bottom, probably still a day trek away from the spot. They pointed towards it, turning back to look at their companions that were catching up.

“You think it'll be in these woods?” One of the figures asked. A young mobian, who usually had a wide smile and a cheery demeanor, looked down the valley with a serious expression now.

“That looks like the village,” the other companion pointed out – another mobian with a long tail that was lashing behind them nervously now – looking at the small settlement. “It doesn't look like it could defend itself very well in case of an emergency…”

“There was an Alliance team that settled there last we checked, right?” The young mobian asked, looking at the other two for the answer.

“They're newbies,” the masked individual said quietly and shortly. Their tone of voice was always gentle, like a light breeze that tip-toed its way through the three, and just as silent. That made its tone hard to decipher most of the time, especially with their face obstructed.

“That only means we should hurry to help them!” The long tailed mobian rushed their teammates, seemingly ready to get into action. “Who knows how long they had to fight the beast off already on their own??”

“If we move now, we might be able to get there before tomorrow,” the young mobian noted, looking out at the road they've yet to scale. “It will also be safer to walk in daylight, but by twilight we'll be deep in the woods, so we'll have to be on high alert.”

“Let's move,” the masked person decided with a nod, heading towards a way that would lead them down to the valley.

The other two only nodded at each other before following them.