Chapter Text
Waking up wasn't one of Sonic's favorite things. Of course, he enjoyed running and being his carefree self and always walked with a brisk and sassy bounce in his step, a clear sign of his extra energy that he could never seem to burn. Thanks to his misfortune and some God who hated him, he had a very specific red and black punching bag who both ruined and spiced up his life.
But today? Waking up was different. There was no heaviness in his limbs, no sleepiness clinging to his eyes. And most of all, his mind was eerily quiet. Normally, his mind would be running constantly, always overloaded and consumed by so many thoughts that he often found it difficult to concentrate. He was a blabbermouth, okay? He couldn't help it if he had a constant desire to run his mouth. Welcome to another day in the life of Sonic. What will we yap about today?
Blinking his eyes open, he stretched his arms above his head with a groan. He felt...rested? Fully refreshed? He never felt fully recharged like this after sleep. There were times when he could sleep for ten straight hours and still wake up feeling like he'd gotten no sleep at all and would need to take frequent naps through the day to cope.
One time, Team Sonic had thought he'd died in his sleep and spent the whole day planning his funeral and digging his grave on the beach outside of Sonic's shack. When they'd finally figured out Sonic wasn't actually dead, Knuckles cried and got in the grave himself, with Sticks frantically dumping the sand back into the hole with Knuckles in it to bury him, and delivered a long and dedicated speech after. Just to finish it off, they all paid their respects to their friend.
Digging him out was horrible.
As he pressed his palm against his eye, his world stopped, the sight of the golden ring adorning his wrist making his heart screech in his chest. Shadow's inhibitor ring. Shadow's ring that stopped him from exploding and destroying their island.
Oh no. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening to him. This could not—
Sitting straight up in bed, his suspicions were confirmed when he was met with black fur and the red markings that gracefully travelled down the sides of his legs and arms, which extended to two of his middle fingers. Bringing the hand to his face, he flexed his fingers, the tendons in the back of Shadow's hands visible as he did so. He flipped the hand over multiple times as if it would magically return to his familiar cobalt blue.
Like an absolute idiot, he sat there and stared, eyeing every detail of Shadow's hand. Unlike his own, Shadow's claws were sharp and long. His claws were very well-kept too, so it seemed he was a clean person. Sonic couldn't see the point in keeping clean claws when they were covered by gloves most of the time anyway.
Wait, what was he doing. These were Shadow's hands; he shouldn't be looking at them. If Shadow knew, he'd probably string him up by his toes and beat him with a stick. He'd drag his lifeless carcass through the village and show it off like a trophy.
"What the—" he startled at the sound of Shadow's gravelly voice coming from his mouth. Chaos, it was so different hearing it like this. Slightly and silently panicking, he whipped his head around the room, looking for Shadow's gloves. Why would he sleep without them?
Well, after thinking about it, it wasn't that weird. Sonic knew many people who took their gloves off to sleep. He, however, never had the time nor did he care to remove them before bed, and he was mentally thanking himself for being such a slob.
He threw himself out of bed, falling before he took one step, barely catching himself as he landed on his hands and knees with a thud. Wow, Shadow had really good reflexes at his disposal. No wonder Sonic struggled to beat him when they fought. Shaking his head, Sonic continued looking for some blasted gloves, falling over multiple times due to how alien and unfamiliar Shadow's body felt. Curse Shadow's core balance, which was significantly different than his own and left him feeling heavier instead of quick and light on his feet.
Speaking of feet, his were out and visible, and he was absolutely going to tease Shadow for having such weird feet.
Snapping his thoughts back in order, he focused back on his task. "Okay, if I were Shadow— who I apparently am— where would I put my gloves?" he muttered to himself as he pushed himself to his feet, swaying as his arms flung around stupidly. The room he was in was bare enough as it was, only furnished with a double bed, a tiny closet that sat in the corner, and a single nightstand with a lamp. Gee, Shadow, get a personality, he thought to himself.
Sluggishly, he pivoted back towards the black and depressing nightstand, seeing it as the only place to store anything. Shadow was a frumpy spitball with no taste in fashion. "Bingo." He snapped his fingers and tugged the top drawer open, finding a perfectly clean pair of gloves there, white and pressed neatly.
He'd barely managed to get them on, even scratching himself with Shadow's claws, before a loud knock was sounding through the door. "Shadow?" Rouge's voice came through, slightly muffled. "You okay, babe? Having another tantrum again?"
Sonic panicked. Quick, say something like Shadow! "Who is Shadow?"
...shit.
Clearing his throat and trying to match Shadow's usual bored and inexpressive tone, he corrected himself. "I mean, all is well. Uh, just dropped my...thing!" Chaos, he was butchering this.
But Shadow must be in the same situation, right? Especially since he was probably going to wake up with Tails screaming at him to wake up. He chuckled at the thought of his team trying to deal with Shadow, who had, to put it lightly, handed their asses to them on multiple occasions. Shadow had an undeniable and obvious vendetta against the fox, and it was clear he had a mission to actually try to kill him.
"Did you just giggle?" Rouge gasped. Wow, did Shadow never laugh while he was alone with her? Get a life, Shadow. "Okay, I'm coming in. If you're naked, tell me now."
He didn't have time to protest before she was barging in, pinning him with her piercing glare. Sonic stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with his hands, before he hurried to fold them over his chest in a very Shadow-like manner and coerced his face into a pissed-off look.
"What do you want, Rouge? I'm busy." Okay, that was a lot better. He was totally crushing this. She'd never know. He was way too smart for her.
Her gaze was skeptical as she continued eyeing him up and down, pursing her lips tightly as if she could stare right through his soul. Yep, she definitely knew something was up. She knew and she was going to smack him for it. She was going to kill him for unwillingly inhabiting his rival's body.
"You dropped your thing? I'd ask if you were sick, but then I'd be getting your whole 'Shut up. I'm the Ultimate Lifeform' pep talk." She lifted her hands to mime the quote marks lazily, her hands moving to her hips afterward.
Sonic licked his lips, finding it weird when they weren't his own lips. Chaos, this was horrible. Where the hell was Shadow. Part of him wanted Shadow to be here, but the other part wanted to run screaming for the hills and not look back. Shadow was going to skin him alive and use his fur as a body warmer in the winter—
Before he could reply, a door burst open somewhere down the hallway, a loud crack coming a second later and scaring them both. Oh no. That was how Shadow opened a door.
"Where are you?! I'm going to grind your bones, hedgehog," a voice boomed from down the hallway, echoing through the apartment. Sonic tensed because..that was his voice. His voice was angrier than he'd ever heard it before, and he was now willing the ground to open up and swallow him whole.
Oh he was so dead. This was the day. Maybe he would be needing that grave after all.
"Blue?" Rouge said, seemingly taken aback by the uncharacteristic behavior she'd never seen from the blue hedgehog. She glanced between them both rapidly as she stood between them, very clearly lost. "Okay, what is happening? Am I having an actual stroke?"
Shadow's shoulders heaved, and in Sonic's body he certainly wasn't giving off the impression he wanted. Even so, Sonic took a few steps back. For, you know, safety and that. "What did you do?" He glared at Sonic, who raised his hands defensively, not having a chance to explain anything before Shadow lunged at him, wrapping his arms around his middle.
It sent them flying backward onto Shadow's bed with a resounding crash, something under the bed breaking upon impact. They bounced and rolled messily, growling and snarling at each other before rolling off the other side of the bed and landing with a thump.
"Chaos, help me," Rouge begged, pinching her brow. From where she was standing, she couldn't see them properly as they continued throwing punches and snarling nastily at each other.
"Your body is vile," Shadow, who was currently in Sonic's body, snarled. From Rouge's perspective, it was a very angry Sonic pinning her roommate to the bedroom floor and delivering unwarranted punches. Well. Maybe he deserved it? She knew how the two could get, never knowing when to stop with their fighting.
Sonic yelped, scrambling to get out of Shadow's hold and throwing himself across the bed, attempting to do a sick slide across the bed like someone would do in an action movie where they slid across the hood of a car and actually succeeded. Instead, he slid gracelessly and landed heavily on the other side on his face. Only managing to hear a quiet snort, he pushed himself up and hurried over to Rouge, taking hold of her shoulders and hiding behind her, peeking over her shoulder meekly. "Save me, Rouge. He's gone feral!"
She shook her head with a disapproving sigh.
Shadow appeared from behind the bed, striding over and intending to deliver a well-placed punch, but was stopped when Rouge raised her hand, holding him in place. He swatted the hand away with a snarl, curling his lip up at her and flashing Sonic's blunt fangs. In his own body, this would have worked to waver her, but in Sonic's body? It looked a little foolish. She'd never seen Sonic pull a face like that.
"I need a minute," she hissed, lowering her hand before pointing to the now messy bed. "Both of you. Sit down." When neither of them moved, just standing there and sharing a look with each other, she lowered her voice and placed her hands on her hips. "Now."
They both scrambled to comply, sitting neatly next to each other as if they hadn't been at each other's throats just seconds before. Sonic pulled his legs up onto the bed and crossed them, smiling sheepishly like a scolded child, and Shadow rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest tightly, looking more than a little furious.
Exhaling deeply, Rouge pressed her fingertips together, pacing the room back and forth, the two on the bed following her movements closely. When she regained her composure, she finally faced them. "Okay, start at the beginning. Blue, hon, what did he do this time?"
Sonic shoved a finger in Shadow's (his own) face. "He stole my body! Against my will!"
Rouge's arms fell to her sides limply, a confused look on her face. "Are you...are you telling me you two," she paused, gesturing between them as her wings perked up behind her, "switched bodies?" A look of excitement flashed across her face, and Sonic knew she would enjoy this. Being the menace she was, she'd likely make this hell for both of them. As if he wasn't living his worst nightmare right now.
Next to him, Shadow stood, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. And Sonic, who was currently sporting the most shit-eating grin on his face, just stared up at him.
"Stop doing that with my face," he snarled. It didn't come off as threatening as he wanted it to while he was in Sonic's body. "If you do anything to ruin my body, I will pull out one of your ribs and then stab you with it. Do you hear me."
Sonic nodded, still wearing that smirk. Shadow was intense, but Sonic had been a victim of his threats before and was still alive, so who was the real winner here.
"I've seen Shadow smile more in the past two minutes than in the entire time I've known him. Can you keep doing that, Blue?" Rouge purred as she fluttered her eyelashes, clearly enjoying their situation all too much.
Shadow swung around, shoving his finger in her face so fast she had to take a step back to avoid being slapped. "You will tell no one of this, is that clear? And stop enjoying this so much. And you." He turned back to Sonic. "You will keep my mouth shut. If you so much as breathe wrong, I'll rip your spine out with my teeth and tie it in a knot."
Sonic wasn't all too threatened, just crossing his legs once more with a smug look on his face. He placed his hands on the bed behind him and leaned back slightly, craning his head back so he could look up at the fool threatening him.
"I think I'll be doing whatever I want with this mouth. I'm in control of it; I'll do what I want with it. And stop frowning so much; I don't want frown lines, dude. Show off that smile!"
Shadow stepped back, frown only deepening. At his sides, his fists balled tightly, and Sonic was thinking that he was actually going to punch him. Instead, Shadow stood there, shoulders heaving and breaths heavy.
He wasn't all too surprised. Shadow's body held so much rage and anger, and his muscles were tense all the time. Sonic had to actively remind himself to relax his muscles. Muscle memory was not nice.
And Shadow's Chaos Energy? Well, it was thrumming under his skin consistently. He could feel it, a dull ache across his whole body. And his senses were all over the place, especially his hearing. Sonic had never been this sensitive to sounds before.
He had to repeatedly brush his hands over his ears, pushing them down to escape loud noises, and tried to cover his nose at the same time. It was infuriating. Of course Shadow would have ameliorated senses, as if being the loud, dramatic person he was wasn't enough.
He wondered how Shadow was faring. And from the looks of things, he was not. Like, at all.
"How do we fix this mess?" Shadow snarled, spinning to face Rouge, whose mouth dropped open.
She placed a hand over her chest, looking a little indicted. "How am I supposed to know? What were you two up to last night?" she asked, gesturing a finger between them both. "Maybe you did something stupid as usual?"
Rouge, along with all of their friends, was well aware of how chaotic the duo could be when it came to their fighting. Sonic knew that even miles away, their fighting could be felt, and the people in the village could feel the aftershocks when they were beating each other senseless.
Sonic gagged, sticking his tongue out for extra measure. Shadow swatted him round the head for making the face, a loud clapping noise filling the room as his palm met the back of Sonic's head sharply.
After flipping Shadow off, he moved his attention to Rouge. "We were together last night, just fighting. I don't recall us doing anything super sketchy!" He paused, a thought pinging in his mind like someone had just flicked on a light switch above his head. "Oh wait, I have to check something!" He shoved himself up off the bed and barged between them, almost knocking them right off their feet.
When he exited Shadow's room, he remembered where he was and that he'd never actually been in their apartment before. Using his brain, he scurried down the hallway, opening the first door he came to, relieved to find it was a bathroom, and poorly decorated at that. A large shower took up most of the space, covered by a dark grey shower curtain, with a sink and a toilet.
He slammed the door closed before rushing over to the sink, where a mirror sat on the wall, breath hitching at Shadow's face glaring back at him, a frown sitting on his face that he wasn't even aware of.
Wow, so this really was his resting face, huh? Poor Shadow.
He reached a finger up to his eyeridges, yelping when he actually poked himself in the eye before peeling back his eyelid, scrubbing at the markings that ran just above his eye and grinning when he found it wasn't actually makeup, as he'd suspected. It was part of Shadow's face! Shadow has guyliner!
"Oh my— I knew it. This is great! Knuckles owes me a chili dog," he squealed, voice breaking slightly due to Shadow's naturally deeper voice. The sound exploded in his ears, and he winced, remembering that his hearing was enhanced and he was hyperaware of everything, the smallest noises sounding louder than usual.
Barely even a second later, someone banged against the door, and he jumped as his own voice shouted through the door, "what are you doing with my body?"
"I'm...inspecting!" he yelled back, still looking at Shadow's face that was glaring right back at him.
When the door burst open, he jumped, knocking a potted plant off the sink as he did, and it smashed to pieces as it met the floor, soil flying everywhere at his feet.
The door creaked and squeaked as it slowly and painfully swung open on broken hinges, revealing Shadow, who stood there, foot still raised from kicking the door open.
Slowly, he lowered it as Rouge peeked round the doorframe, only her head visible. When she spotted the broken plant pot on the floor, she made a wounded noise, her face pinching in sadness.
"Aw, he broke Wilson!" she cried, pointing at the broken pot.
Trust Team Dark to not have any type of decoration, save for a plant in their bathroom, which they'd named Wilson. And Sonic had broken it.
Sonic grinned at them as he tugged his (Shadow's) eyelid back, presenting the markings to them. "I've been dying to know if this was makeup or not! And these," he tapped a finger against the long, dangerous fangs. "These are weapons; how do you not bite your own face all the time?"
Shadow crossed his arms. "I'm not a fool, obviously. My body is not an experiment. It's a weapon. Stop toying with it." He was still wearing Sonic's bandana, evidently not having taken notice of it yet. So who was the real fool.
Letting out a dramatic and long groan, Sonic threw his head back before pushing past them, heading for the kitchen. Luckily, he found it easily and was rustling through the cupboards before he knew it, finding them empty and void. Wow, was Team Dark really poor, or did they just never eat? Leaving the cupboards swinging open, he moved to the drawers, hoping to find at least something to eat.
"Tummy's a-rumbling," he mumbled to himself as he rifled through the drawers, throwing envelopes and papers over his shoulder. If he was looking for food, he wouldn't find it in Team Dark's junk mail drawer.
Someone cleared their voice behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder, seeing the pair standing there side by side.
"There's some leftover chili in the fridge," Rouge gestured with a wave of her hand. Sonic froze before nodding and pulled the fridge open, revealing the takeout box, which was the only thing in there save for a singular bottle of half-drunk water sitting right next to it.
It took him a second to locate the utensils, but once he did, he plonked himself at the kitchen table and began shoving forkfuls of the food into his mouth, barely even chewing it before swallowing it.
Shadow was not amused. He was shooting daggers at Sonic, who didn't pay him any mind. "My body doesn't need food. You don't have to nourish it."
Gulping down a mouthful of food, Sonic just shook his head as he pointed the fork in Shadow's direction. "I don't care. I'm used to eating in the morning, so I'll do whatever I want. You need to feed my body too; it's not like yours, and it'll shut down if you neglect it. Come. Sit." He didn't wait for a reply and just kicked the seat next to him, pushing it out from under the table.
Shadow glared, fingers tightening around his biceps, clearly angry with being asked to do the simple task of eating.
With a cough, Rouge nudged him in the side, and he sighed in defeat, rigid shoulders slumping. "Fine," he gritted through his teeth and joined Sonic at the table, slapping the hand away when Sonic tried to feed him a forkful of food. Instead, he took the takeout box and snatched the fork right out of Sonic's hand, eating as if it was the worst thing that could be asked of him.
Rouge cooed at the sight, smiling fondly. She clasped her hands together and pressed them against her cheek, batting her eyelashes as she did. "Don't you two just look adorable!"
"Rouge," Shadow warned, shooting her a glare. "Don't even start. Go fix your hair or something."
Slumping, she feigned a look of heartbreak, placing her hands over her chest with a wounded noise. "You hurt me. I thought we were best friends." She spun on her heel but paused, glancing over her shoulder and throwing them a look. "Also, you two should get the hang of each other's bodies. Go and fight it out if you need to. By the way, I'm going to use your good shampoo!" And then she was gone, leaving the two perplexed.
Sonic snapped his head to the side to look at Shadow, his brow raised. "She actually has a point, dude. We need to be able to work these bodies. Ugh. Where are your rollerskates, man?" He yelped and jumped back when Shadow attempted to slug him on the arm, just missing by a hair.
"They are air shoes. You know that," Shadow hissed, pausing to take another mouthful of food. "They should be in my room by the door." He gestured down the hallway that led to his bedroom with a quick flick of his hand.
Sonic nodded, pushing himself out of his seat and purposefully skipping down the hallway like a lovestruck princess with a grin, knowing it would piss Shadow off. He could practically feel Shadow's eyes boring into the back of his skull.
True to his word, Shadow's air shoes (rollerskates) were sitting neatly by the side of his door, and he wasted no time pulling the things on before staggering back to the kitchen, the heavy thunk of the shoes filling the apartment. Chaos, Sonic might as well have been walking around with heavy weights attached to his feet. How in the world Shadow walked around and ran with the shoes, Sonic would never know.
Once Shadow had his fill and threw the takeout box away, they headed outside, which was mostly Sonic gripping onto Shadow's arms as he guided them into the clearing in front of the apartment.
"Uh, how do these dumb things work?" Sonic mumbled as he stared down at the shoes, his hands locked with Shadow's to hold him steady. "Why aren't they, like, turning on?"
Shadow clicked his tongue, fingers curling tighter around Sonic's fingers. "Because you're stupid," he spat with a roll of his eyes before they fixated on the shoes. "They are powered by my Chaos Energy. Just direct the energy there, and they'll start up. It's difficult to explain when it's second nature to me and you're too dim-witted to understand the basic terminology of Chaos Energy."
Ignoring the last statement and nodding, Sonic gripped him a little harder and tried to do as Shadow asked. It really was difficult; he had no idea how to direct energy. What does that even mean. Chaos Energy was never his thing. He was already missing his legs. His long, fast legs.
Sonic licked his lips as he tried to 'direct energy,' resulting in his legs just going floppy underneath him and almost forming into a full split before Shadow snaked his arms under his armpits to haul him back up to his feet, making Sonic's face press into his chest. Spitting the fawn-colored hairs out of his mouth, Sonic sputtered, sticking his tongue out.
"Get my chest out of my face."
"Get my body under control then. We don't have time for this."
Under his breath, he repeated the words in a mocking tone before pulling back so he could instead clutch onto blue wrists to keep himself steady. Crimson eyes slowly trailed to considerable biceps, and his eyes widened slowly. "Your body.."
Shadow's hands squeezed around his wrists tightly, cutting him off, quite rudely, he might add. "My body is better than yours? I know," Shadow said matter-of-factly, the smallest of smirks visible on his face.
"Who would've guessed you were holding on to so much strength? You're so kind and caring; I never would have guessed you have such muscles!" To prove a point, he flexed his arms and squeezed Shadow's wrists, the muscles in his biceps contracting as he did.
"Stop it at once."
Sonic giggled, loving the way Shadow was so easy to rile up, no matter whose body he was in. "Try and make me."
"Your mouth is talking," Shadow said, fixing him with hard and glaring emeralds. "You might want to get that fixed. As soon as possible, preferably." He gestured back down to the skates on Sonic's feet, motioning for him to keep trying.
With a bored and annoyed sigh, he did as he was told, mumbling a quick 'party pooper' and sticking his tongue out.
It took a few tries, and he did lose his temper a few times, taking his anger out on a few poor trees that were scattered around them to calm himself down before trying again. Shadow stared at him the whole time, an amused look on his face that Sonic wanted to slap.
One of these days, he'd smack the 'Ultimate' right out of his rival and just leave him as a 'Lifeform.' And a dumb one at that.
"Ya know, Shads," Sonic said casually as the heavy shoes thunked and clunked against the ground, occasionally catching on a rock sitting just under the dirt, "it's not bad if you have questions. You don't have to be ashamed or anythi—"
"Enough with your mouth-breathing and senseless babbling," he bit out, jaw clenching tightly as he narrowed his eyes, brow furrowing in annoyance. "Just shut your trap and focus."
Shadow did not know how to have fun. Sonic would need to fix that. He knew they would not be able to leave each other to their own devices, neither of them trusting each other while they were in each other's bodies, giving Sonic the perfect opportunity to finally teach Shadow how to actually live. He was going to teach him the true meaning of fun.
With Shadow coaching him, he tried again and again to get the technique right to get the shoes started up. When he tried, the shoes came to life for a split second, sputtering like the engine of a car that had blown a fuse before they went silent again. Whatever this Chaos Energy was, he now hated it and made a mental note to beat Shadow into the ground when they got their bodies back.
Eventually, the shoes powered up, loud and noisy under his feet. Too noisy. He had to pin his ears against the noise as it bullied his hearing.
He fell on his ass almost immediately, with Shadow staring down at him blankly. Since it was Shadow's tail he'd fallen on, he didn't care, hoping it hurt when Shadow got his body back.
Wearing the shoes felt like walking on ice with no shoes on, and he was hovering just slightly above the ground. He tried to recall the way Shadow moved during their fights and attempted to replicate it. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing everything he had into one spot and shoving the energy south, feeling it pool in his gut before bleeding into his legs and to his feet, willing with all his might for the shoes to just start up. When he heard the sound of them firing up, the noise akin to a blowtorch, he grinned proudly, giving Shadow a look where he was still holding onto him.
And, naturally, Sonic began mocking the way Shadow used his hands to skate, swinging them from side to side with a knowing smirk.
"Carry on doing that and I'll decorate the pavement with your face," Shadow snapped at him before looking away, staring into the distance. Without warning, he pulled his hands free, resulting in Sonic falling over with a strangled scream, landing on his ass once more. Shadow took no notice of it, keeping his attention fixed on something in the distance. "We should go and see the fox."
That made Sonic pause. Was Shadow serious? Go and speak to Tails, who would be able to spot their issue immediately. Tails was all too aware of Sonic's tells; he'd be able to sniff Sonic out in a room full of people while blindfolded. And Sticks would go mad; she'd probably have an aneurysm if she found out about their little predicament.
Shooting Shadow a look, he hurried to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, cocking a hip and narrowing his crimson eyes. "You think you can walk around and actually act like me?" he challenged, pulling his face into a smug smile.
Shadow shoved past him roughly, pointing a deliberate finger in the direction of Sonic's shack.
"We're going to see Miles," he demanded once more, a growl evident in his tone.
Sonic narrowed his eyes, all too similar to the way Shadow himself would. "Do you even know how to run in my body? Prove to me that you can." Ha, he totally had him pinned this time.
Shadow stood there for a few seconds, silently glaring at him before he whipped around and disappeared in a blur of blue, breaking the sound barrier as he did. Sonic raised his arms against the force and tensed, standing there awkwardly before letting his hands fall to his sides limply.
His rival just ran away with his body and he didn't know how to feel about it.
It took a total of seven seconds for Shadow to reappear, a tiny speck in the distance. He kicked up dirt as he came to a stop, blinding Sonic with the dust cloud. "The fox is at home," he said smugly, undeniably proud of himself. "Let's go." Sonic followed along dumbly, jaw hanging open.
This was not going to go well, was it?