Work Text:
Sonic slammed his fists down with a grunt, the Dark Gaian Guardian to the Shamar temple easily dodging out of the way. You and Chip watched from the sidelines of the arena, close enough to jump in if need be— though, against Sonic's wishes. Your face contorted with worry as you watched Sonic try again and again to defeat the guardian only for it to spring back up after mere moments of it being down.
You watched as Sonic threw one of the summoned Dark Gaia monsters into the guardian, only for the guardian to get back up with not a scratch on him— bar the monster it heaved off of itself. With renewed vigor, and a tired Sonic, the guardian mimicked our hero, throwing one of the monsters at Sonic.
“Sonic!!” Both you and Chip yelled as Sonic was slammed across the arena. The guardian slowly stalked towards one of the many boxes littered across the arena before starting to push it. That's when it clicked in your head: The way to defeat the Dark Gaian Guardian is to play its game. You jump from your seat without a word, hopping down into the arena.
“Aaah?! What are you doing?!” asked chip as he fluttered behind you.
”That guardian guy is pushing the blocks to that side of the arena,” you said, pointing towards the guardian. “If he's going that way with these boxes, then we have to go this way. Help me push!” With a nervous nod from Chip the two of you start pushing the box. You wouldn't think it would be that heavy, going by its looks, but you guess it's made of stone for a reason. Even with Chip's help, which isn't much if you're being honest, you're barely moving the box inch by inch. Sweat starts dripping down your face as you work your muscles as hard as you can to move the blasted thing, only to get interrupted by a screech above you, halting your progress. You and Chip look upwards to see one of the Dark Gaian monsters mere inches from you face.
Chip screams, catching Sonic's attention. His eyes widen in both surprise and fear. The two of you were supposed to stay in the audience! What are you doing?! With a stretch of his arm, Sonic punches the monster off of the box before racing over to the two of you.
“I thought I told you to stay in the stands!” Sonic barked, grabbing onto your waist and hoisting you up onto his shoulder.
“Sonic!” You exclaimed. “This guy wont go down just like any other enemy,” you try to explain, but he's not having it.
“Yeah, I can tell,” Sonic huffed, dashing back towards the auditorium. “I need you to stay here while I wear him down.”
“But he's just going to keep coming back—”
“You promised you'd stay out of the way!” Sonic spat, shutting you up.
You stared at Sonic in surprise. You knew that his emotions were more wild when he's in this state, but when he lashes out towards you, you can't help but feel hurt. Sonic breathed deep before letting it out in a huff.
“Stay here,” he said before dashing back off, punching the guardian off of the box he was pushing.
You huffed, eyebrows furrowing. Chip looked at you in concern, knowing what you were about to pull.
“Hey, maybe we should—”
“I'm going back down there,” you said, cutting Chip off. You jumped back down into the arena, gunning towards the nearest box and pushing it with all of your might. Chip anxiously looked around. Sonic was in the throws of his battle with the Dark Gaian Guardian, leaving it up to him to make sure you were okay. Thus, he followed you.
You and Chip navigated the traps with little trouble. Most of the monsters activated them, making it easy to see where they were. Once you reached the end and slotted the box into the glowing area, you heard an inhuman scream. Turning around, you saw what made the scream: the Dark Gaian Guardian. Sonic stood there, confused, before he looked over and saw you and Chip back on the arena floor. His face immediately scrunched up angrily. You cringed, a little guilty. You'll have to explain this later. For now, considering you're an entire arena apart, you motion to the box behind you. Sonic seemed to understand, nodding, before turning his attention to the corrupted temple guardian in front of him, which seemed to be struggling to get up. With a swipe of his claws, Sonic resumed his fight with the guardian, and you—with Chip— bolted for the next box.
Instead of berating you or stopping mid-fight to put you back on the bleachers, Sonic stayed near to keep any Dark Gaian monsters away from both you and Chip, as well as keeping the guardian from reaching his goalpost as well. With the three of you working together it was a breeze to slot in the last two remaining boxes.
A final scream from the guardian sounded out, ending when Sonic landed one last blow to the creature. Sonic heaved, his breaths labored with effort. This was the hardest battle against the corrupted temple guardians yet, and he doesn't look forward to the next one.
“We did it!” You exclaimed, excitedly, jumping up and down in celebration with Chip. Sonic looked over at the two of you at the top of platform, the last box slotted behind the two of you. He huffed, flopping down onto the ground. His ears flicked as he heard your delighted footsteps approach. “Sonic!” You huffed, tired from pushing the heavy, stone boxes. “We won!”
“Yeah,” Sonic replied, equally tired. He avoided eye contact with you, staring at the ground instead. Your happy expression fell.
“What's wrong?” You asked. Sonic huffed, almost insulted at the question.
“What's wrong?” He echoed, standing up. “You completely ignored what I told you to do!” Sonic's roar made you step back, slightly afraid. It wasn't like Sonic to get this angry. But, that made you angry yourself.
“Because you were getting beaten out there! I couldn't stand by and just watch you get hurt!”
“I would have handled it.”
“You were fighting for 30 minutes before I stepped in, Sonic. You needed help!”
Sonic grabbed onto your shoulders, his giant hands engulfing your smaller frame. His grip was tight, almost as if he's scared to loose you. “I didn't want you to get hurt!”
You breath hitched at his words. It left you speechless. You watched as Sonic dropped to his knees, his head resting against your abdomen and his grip loosening, sliding down your arms before falling to the ground. “I didn't want to lose… my friend.”
“Sonic,” You said, softly, lifting your hands up to cup his face, forcing him to look up at you. “I know, this journey is dangerous. You didn't even want me to come with you at all. But I came along because I wanted to help. I knew the dangers going in. You gotta respect my decision, Sonic.” You rubbed your thumbs across his face in a soothing motion.
Sonic looked away, a bit embarrassed. He felt guilty for his actions. He knew that this was your decision. You're a grown person, he should let you make your own choices. Heck, it was his own choice to agree to your request to tag along with him. He nods to your words before getting up and turning away, rubbing the back of his head.
“C'mon. Let's get inside and restore the Chaos Emerald.”
“Right!” You said, smiling.