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This wasn’t the first time Eggman had thrown Sonic into a cold, stone cell below one of his many fortresses. He’d been particularly violent about it this time though, having bound his arms and legs and spent a considerable amount of time pummelling him once he was incapacitated. Sonic snorted at the cheapness of it. He could feel his face swelling up already, and there was a dull ringing in his head. His petty insults had done very little when pitted against the fists of Eggman’s minions.
Explosions echoed above his head distantly, reminding him that his friends were in a much more dire situation than he was at this moment. Stupid! How could he let himself get captured just to be used as a pawn against them? It was pathetic. Not something a hero would be known for at all. He wouldn’t be winning any awards curled up in the corner of his cell either, doing his best not to move for fear of reawakening the sharp pain that jolted through his chest every time he did so. Again, pathetic. In fairness, he had attempted to break through the cold steel bars, but they were reinforced with something that seemed to zap painfully through his meridians like poison each time he touched them. His quills were still crackling with the distorted energy of his last attempt.
There was a click, and a thrumming sound he hadn’t noticed before faded off into silence. His hunched lower, warily glancing at the door to his cell. There was something, someone there. A shadow, just barely distinguishable from the dull gray darkness surrounding it. And then - footsteps.
Sonic’s heart pummeled against his chest and an emerald gleam lit his eyes. If this was another surprise visit from one of Eggman’s minions, he was ready for it. Without their master to back them up, they wouldn’t stand a chance, and Sonic could make his escape. Perhaps this was a little too optimistic, considering the state he was in, but surely he was a match for any robot, even bound and broken as he was? Still, he could make out no telltale whirring of mechanics that normally accompanied Eggman’s creations and hybrids.
There was a single, uncovered bulb dangling above the cell door, and to say he was surprised when the figure stepped out into the dim light beneath it would be an understatement. His heart leaped a little at the sight of someone normal, even a hedgehog like him, albeit one he had never met before. For one heartstopping second he thought he was saved. And then he took it all in: the impassive scowl, the golden chains dangling from his wrists, the crimson meridians lit like fire and sleek like blood dripping down his quills and licking up his arms.
This was not a friend.
Sonic sat there, frozen, gazing up into his eyes for a long, spinetingling moment.
And then he opened the door.
It all happened so fast Sonic could scarcely process when his visitor went from standing in the doorway to towering above him, and he flinched back despite himself, cowering in a decidedly unheroic way as he braced himself for the next round of abuse.
Something tightened in the visitor’s scowl, and he knelt down swiftly, reaching out one gloved and bangled hand for the cuffs at Sonic’s wrists. A shock rippled through him, dark and painful, and he yelped, scuffling back. But his hands were unbound. In a moment of blind panic, he lunged himself at his perceived attacker, taking them both to the ground. But the other hedgehog quickly overcame him in his current state, excruciating pain from his injuries jolting through his chest and behind his eyes.
“Stop struggling,” the visitor commanded, grasping him by the arms and giving him a perhaps unintentionally painful shake. Sonic did, gazing back into his crimson eyes in shock. A sigh escaped the other, and he let go of his arms gingerly, reaching for the cuffs at his ankles. The jolt was expected this time, and Sonic endured it in silence before crumpling to his knees.
The visitor gazed down at him sternly. “You’re the one they call Sonic, are you not?” he demanded. “If you are their hero, no wonder the battle is going against them.”
Sonic flushed with rage and shame, crossing his arms and glowering up at him. “Look, buddy,” he snapped, speaking for the first time and surprising himself with the rasp in his voice. “You couldn’t have introduced yourself before coming at me like that, could you? What was I supposed to think?”
The other gazed down in silence for another moment, then spoke again. “I am called Shadow. And I have no love for Eggman.”
“That makes two of us,” Sonic retorted, and grimaced at another jolt of pain from his chest.
“Can you stand?”
Without answering, Sonic staggered to his feet before him. They were of a height, he and Shadow, and he found him a whole lot less intimidating from this angle. “Do you know a way out of this place?” he asked, wincing, and Shadow turned away, headed for the doorway.
Beneath Eggman’s fortress was a maze of tunnels meant to deter any rescuers or escapees before they got too far. Unfortunately for Sonic, that meant there was a rather long walk in his future, and right now he could scarcely breathe around the stabbing pain that resurfaced every time he did. He could stand, but he doubted he could run.
After a couple minutes of Sonic’s painful limping, Shadow stopped abruptly and turned. Sonic stopped too, nonplussed, before Shadow unceremoniously scooped him up in his arms.
“Wha - ? Hold on a second - ” But Sonic’s words were snatched away on the wind of their progress, dingy walls skating by in a rush of inertia. Sonic found himself pressed against Shadow’s chest as the air rushed by them, and he marveled at the sudden burst of speed. It took his breath away, to experience this kind of progress through no effort of his own, and a grudging respect blossomed in his chest. He glanced down for a view of Shadow’s feet, catching only the blur of his shoes as the two of them swung first to the right and then to the left on the fire emitted from his soles. Sonic realized he was clinging to his neck and loosened his hold in embarrassment, but Shadow didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were fixed and almost wild with determination, and Sonic found himself gazing at his face in as much wonder as he had at his shoes a moment ago. This Shadow did notice, and glanced down at him briefly. At the gaping look on his face, Shadow’s mouth twisted in what was almost a smile.
And then they were out. They lurched to a stop in the sudden light of day and Sonic turned his face against Shadow’s shoulder, instinctively shielding his eyes. He expected Shadow would put him down now, but he didn’t seem inclined to do so. Sonic didn’t have a particularly good case for why he should, so he didn’t object as Shadow continued to carry him as they started for the cover of the trees, away from the battle.
“You’ll be little use to them now,” Shadow told him unprompted, and Sonic found himself angry again.
“I think you’d be surprised,” he snapped, and Shadow glanced down at him again.
“Maybe I would,” he conceded unexpectedly, “But I will return you to your base and let them decide what to do with you from there. You clearly need medical attention. And strategic guidance,” he added unnecessarily, and Sonic bristled even more, but managed to hold his tongue. It wasn’t easy to have a conversation at this velocity.
Shadow was surprisingly careful when he eventually let him down. It still hurt to change positions, and as Sonic staggered, Shadow grasped his elbows to steady him.
Amy was sent for quickly, as she had only just recently returned to the camp to get treatment for her own injuries. Sonic was gathered up onto a (wholly unnecessary) stretcher as Amy called out after his retreating rescuer.
“Wait!” she cried. “Who are you? Maybe you could help us!”
Shadow stopped and turned, but he had eyes only for Sonic. “I already have,” he said.
And then he disappeared in a flash of green light.
-
“That was so melodramatic,” Sonic giggled, curled up against Shadow’s side beneath the blankets. Tears of mirth pricked the corners of his eyes. “I already have,” he intoned in a not-half-bad imitation.
“Shut up,” Shadow grumbled, pressing Sonic more tightly to his side with one arm, but Sonic only barely managed to smother his laughter against his chest.
“You were smitten from the very beginning,” he snickered. “Only pretending to be all high and mighty.”
“Or maybe I couldn’t stand to leave someone so weak and pathetic in his clutches,” Shadow retorted, which sent Sonic into another round of hysterics.
“So you just had to carry me, of course. Not to mention showing off your fancy shoes.”
Shadow didn’t argue with him further, only reached up one hand to absently comb through Sonic’s quills while he exhausted himself laughing.
When at last he fell silent, Shadow turned his head to look at him, eyes half lidded and gentle. Sonic gazed back, chest still stuttering a little with leftover giggles. “You… you really swept me off my feet,” he sighed, and didn’t laugh anymore.
Shadow rolled over and kissed him after that. “You know it’s the other way around,” he said softly, and Sonic curled up against him.
“Maybe.”