Chapter Text
Sonic fully intended to tell everyone the full story of what happened with the Paradox Prism. Or, well, almost everyone. He somehow doubted Shadow would be too interested in hearing what had happened from his perspective, even if he'd missed a lot of what had happened inside the shatterspaces. As for Eggman, it was probably for the best that he never find out about the Chaos Council.
The hard part was picking the right time. He wanted everyone together so he only had to tell it and answer questions once, and there should probably be something like food. Scheduling those kinds of get togethers was usually Amy's thing and he had no clue if it would be better to let her handle it or do it himself. Would it be better to potentially step on her party-planning toes, or hijack her hard work? Maybe it would have been better to say right away after the fight, but everyone was tired and ready to go then and truthfully after everything Sonic wasn't sure how coherent his storytelling would have been.
Finally he had to admit to himself he was just putting it off, making his way into Tails' workshop to ask his opinion on the whole thing, hopefully without letting on that there was a whole thing. He paused for a moment to take in the rightness of the whole scene. The workshop, the organized clutter out on tables, and his little buddy hard at work tinkering with something or other while taking notes on a tablet.
"What is it, Sonic?" Tails asked without every looking up. He didn't sound annoyed, but he also didn't sound eager to be interrupted.
"Just wanted your opinion on something, buddy. I can bother you later if you're busy." Sonic was sure it wouldn't matter that much if he waited a few more hours to make progress on the whole Explain Everything plan of his.
"I can take a break for a little bit," Tails said, setting a screwdriver down and stretching before repeating the earlier question. "What is it?"
"Well, it's about the Prism, I wanted to talk with everyone about it, and it's the sort of thing that's going to be easier to tell to the group rather than trying to say anything individually, but I also can't exactly say I have something to say about it because then everybody's going to ask right away instead of waiting for a get together! So how do I get everybody together to hear me out without saying I need them to hear me out and getting a ton of questions?" Sonic watched Tails' face and it looked like he was about to start to ask something before he caught himself.
"I'm guessing it's why you've been acting a little weird ever since the thing with the Prism? Probably the easiest way to get everybody together would just be to provide free food, then everybody's going to show up and plan to stay a little while. Though, wait, who do you mean by everyone?" Tails asked.
"You, Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, and Big," Sonic counted them out, then frowned, rubbing at his upper arm. "Do you have the temperature cranked down for your machinery or something?"
"So everyone who was there, minus Eggman and Shadow. That should be easy enough. And no, it feels fine in here," Tails said.
"Huh, that's weird, maybe I just didn't get enough sleep or something." Sonic shrugged. "I should start checking in with people, see when everybody's free for a picnic. You don't think anyone's going to think it's rude I'm the one suggesting it, right? That's usually Amy's thing."
"I don't think it's any weirder than anything else, I think you're overthinking it, we're your friends," Tails pointed out.
"See this is why you're the smart one." Sonic laughed. It was easier to worry about getting everyone all together than to figure out how to explain everything with the Prism and hope they believed him. "Besides, maybe a run will warm me up."
"Are you sure you're feeling ok? You don't look that great," Tails asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
Sonic glanced reflexively at his hands, but no transparency, no sign of any weird crackling energy.
"I'm fine, just a little tired, and... whoa." Sonic started to take a quick zip around the room to show off and stopped dead when everything tilted, his vision swimming a little.
"Sonic!" Tails was at his side only a moment later, trying to support him. "What's wrong?"
"I don't... maybe I just need to sit down a moment?" Sonic let himself be guided to the chair Tails had just vacated, sitting down heavily.
"You may need to lay down, I think you have a fever. Hold on." Tails left him at the table to go rummage for the first aid kit.
"I don't have time for a fever," Sonic grumbled, but then shivered again. Now that he was sitting down the idea of getting back up seemed a terrible one and he waited until Tails found the thermometer.
"You haven't eaten or drank anything recently have you?" Tails asked, and Sonic shook his head and then regretted it.
"Nope, not since breakfast which was, uh, what time is it? Not in the last hour or so."
"Then open up. And no talking until it beeps," Tails reminded him, sliding the thermometer under his tongue.
With as much high tech gadgetry Tails had it was almost weird that he had such an ordinary thermometer and Sonic started to say something about that before a look stopped him. Finally though the device beeped and Tails took it back to peer at the readout.
"Thought so. You should probably go back to bed," Tails said.
"Why do you have such a boring thermometer anyway? I would have thought you'd have something more like a cool medical scanner." Sonic mimed waving a handheld scanner in the air and very much did not add like how Nine could use his mechanical tails for scanning, because that wouldn't make any sense yet.
"I never really had any reason to come up with something different, it works, doesn't it? Going to argue that you can't trust a regular thermometer?" Tails asked, going to his side again.
"No, just thinking how you like to improve things was all. Bed's probably not a bad idea," Sonic admitted, trying not to lean too much on Tails.
"Now I'm definitely worried." Tails stuck close, walking with him.
"I feel fine! Just cold. And tired. Like I want to nap for the next week or so. But no runny nose, no cough, no headache or sore throat, nothing that feels like I've gotten sick. Maybe all I need is some sleep?" Sonic wanted to reassure him, but it was hard when he didn't really know what was wrong in the first place.
"Then get some sleep," Tails said, like he was the one trying to be reassuring.
Sonic flopped down on his bed, barely able to muster the effort to tug off his shoes and gloves before he was out like a light.
Things got a little hazy after that. Strange dreams, memories of what had happened with the Prism mixed with other adventures. He was pretty sure Tails waking him up to get him to eat and drink something was real, mostly because his limbs had ached and felt like lead and he was in too much discomfort for it to be a proper dream. But beyond that time got a little funny.
Finally thought Sonic woke up feeling... well, not normal. But a lot closer to normal. Good enough to sit up and make a face and how damp and sweaty he was. He could really use a shower, and he'd want to stuff his sheets in the washer before he got back into bed.
"You're awake? Then it looks like my theory was right!" Tails peered into the room, holding some sort of device and looking relieved.
"I feel pretty awake. What theory?" Sonic swung his legs over the side of the bed, but didn't try standing just yet.
"I thought it was weird how fast you got sick like that and I worried it might be some new attack of Eggman's, so I thought about what you said with the thermometer and built a scanner," Tails started explaining.
"Really? I knew you could make something cool. Wait, how long was I out?" Sonic asked.
"You got sick in the afternoon day before yesterday and then slept all yesterday. But that's not the weird part, when I scanned you I picked up a weird energy signature," Tails continued.
"Weird like something Eggman did or weird like the Prism?" Sonic asked, not sure which would be worse.
"Like the Prism. As best I can tell you absorbed the energy and then to get rid of it your body decided to convert it to heat, hence the fever. The levels have been dropping pretty steadily and your fever finally broke." Tails held up the device to show off the readings, even if Sonic was clueless as to what they might mean. "I mean, it could have been something else, but that's the only weird energy thing we've encountered in the last week that I know of."
"Well, that's good. If it was just the Prism then it should be over as long as we don't encounter it again, and it's not some new attack I have to worry about. Wait, did anyone else get sick like I did?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know, I've been kind of focused on you," Tails said.
"Could you make a scanner for that energy that's longer ranged? It hit me pretty hard and fast, if one of the others got sick too they might not have had someone else to take care of them." Sonic couldn't remember if the others had gotten closer to it than Tails had, if that was even the source of the weird energy, but he knew at least one hedgehog that had not only been close to the Prism, he'd stood on it and teleported with it.
"I can whip one up really quick, do you think it's likely?" Tails asked.
"Better safe than sorry," Sonic said, glancing outside at the threatening weather. It was likely he was worrying for nothing, just because it had flattened him didn't mean Shadow would be affected by it even if he had gotten exposed to it. "Of course that doesn't mean I'm not going to be annoyed if I go running around in the rain for nothing."
"Maybe try and relax and get some breakfast, it should take me about half an hour, hour tops to make you a scanner that will detect that energy signature from a lot father out. And I'll make it waterproof too!" Tails already looked distracted, no doubt turning over schematics in his head.
"You're the best, little buddy." Even if he wanted to check right away Sonic had to admit food sounded like a great idea. If he was worrying over nothing then rushing out on an empty stomach seemed like an even worse idea.
The first few places Sonic scanned turned up nothing, which made sense. Anyone who got a lower dose than him likely would have gotten over their fever even faster, assuming there wasn't something weird involved where everyone converted it at different rates. Still, it was reassuring that nothing seemed to be wrong and he let himself hope he'd worried for no reason. When he was just about to turn around and get out of the rain, a light suddenly blipped on the edge of the screen.
It was entirely possible it was a false alarm and he was halfway hoping for that as following the device towards the glowing dot was taking him back to the cave. Maybe the energy had seeped into the rocks in the cave, like how rocks got hot in the sun? Still, he ran up the side of the mountain, trying not to slip on the wet rock.
With the overcast day it was darker inside the cave than he expected, his eyes taking a few moments to adjust.
"Hello? Anyone here?" For half a second he worried it was a trap, but then he scoffed. What, expose him to an energy source and hope days later he'd want to track it down and come alone to the cave? That was way too convoluted, even for Eggman. Still, he proceeded cautiously when no one answered him. Looking from the screen to the cave around him showed him getting closer and closer to the dot on the screen, but he didn't see anything. Maybe it was just the rocks? But he wasn't close to the pillar where the Prism had been, and wouldn't that be the most likely place to cause a false reading?
And then he saw it, a lump on the ground in the dim light that was a darker color than the rocks making up the cave. Sonic hurried over to it, crouching down.
"Shadow?" Sonic reached out to lightly shake the prone figure, getting a soft groan at the contact. Even though his glove he could feel the heat radiating off the other figure. "Come on, wake up for me? I'll get you out of here."
That just got a soft growl in response, and Sonic turned off the detector and tucked it away. It wasn't like he should be needing it anymore and he crouched down to lift Shadow up into his arms.
"You know, I was going to consider us even after the whole racing against time trip through the void thing, but now you're going to owe me again," Sonic informed him, trying not to find it weird that he didn't get any sort of response. Not that Shadow usually had a comeback, but he'd at least give him an exasperated look or maybe try and punch him. Well, Ultimate Lifeform or not laying on the ground in a cave didn't seem like the best place for a sick person and Sonic would feel a lot happier when he was in a proper bed. Making sure he had him securely held against his chest, Sonic started back out into the rain.
"You're back!" Tails was waiting for him and Sonic felt a little pang of guilt, he had to be worried at him running off when he'd been bedridden only a few hours before. And to be fair on the list of things he'd wanted to do, running out into the rain while he still felt exhausted ranked somewhere around listening to Eggman gloat. Still, it had been worth it.
"I sure am, and I got a guest," Sonic said, trying to sound like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"So someone else was also sickened by the strange energy? Wait, is that Shadow?" Tailed sounded shocked.
"He lit up on that scanner thingy, but you could probably scan him again to make sure," Sonic said.
"I can do that, but why did you bring him here?" Tails asked.
"Lots of reasons. One, you have the scanner here so you can confirm the energy thingy. Two he was just laying on the ground in the cave where the Prism was and I couldn't exactly leave him there. And three, I don't really have any idea where he lives, do you?" Sonic adjusted him in his arms a little, Shadow still just laying limp other than the shivering. He'd growled a couple of times before when Sonic had jostled him too much though, so he didn't seem to be getting any worse for being dragged out in the rain. He'd still probably want to get him dried off and into bed as soon as he could.
"I'm not sure three reasons counts as a lot, but they're all pretty good reasons," Tails admitted. "Where are you going to put him?"
"Well, your bed is obviously out, and I don't feel like the couch is the best place for someone sick, so I figured he could stay in my bed. Besides, that way if I'm keeping an eye on him I have all my stuff so I don't get as bored. I'm going to towel him off and then put him there, if you want to get the scanner." Sonic started towards the bathroom to find a clean towel.
"I still have it where I was scanning you before. But are you sure you're not still feverish? It's one thing to help him out but... it's Shadow. Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Positive! Besides, I can handle him even when he's not sick. Like this? Piece of cake." Sonic was also pretty sure after everything that he could trust Shadow, especially when he was trying to help him. But he couldn't exactly say that without getting into everything and that was a conversation for when he didn't have a heavy armful of feverish black and red hedgehog.
Sonic was glad he'd swapped out the sheets so he wasn't putting Shadow down on fever sweat damp blankets. Of course Shadow was probably going to get them filthy again with his own fever sweat, but at least they were starting out decent. It didn't take too long to dry him off from the rain and get his shoes off so he'd been more comfortable in the bed. As soon as he was laying down and Sonic wasn't in the way of the scans Tails stepped in to run the scanner over him. The numbers may have not made much sense to Sonic but the horrified look on Tails' face spoke for them.
"What is it?" Sonic broke the silence after a long awkward moment.
"He's got the same energy contamination you did, but... worse. The levels are a lot higher. Assuming you two got exposed at the same time and have been dropping at the same rate he's still around three times higher than when you first collapsed," Tails explained.
"So what does that mean?" Sonic asked.
"It means more than likely it's going to be three days before he's at the same levels you woke up with. I can calculate it more accurately once I can chart the rate it's dropping."
"Three days? That's rough. Maybe it'll drop faster because of the whole Ultimate Lifeform thing?" Sonic said hopefully.
"Or slower, we don't really know yet. I don't exactly have a big sample size here, and this isn't my usual area of expertise," Tails warned.
"Still, I'd trust you more than anyone. Besides, you got me through it, right?" Sonic pointed out.
"True. But I mostly just treated you like you had the flu," Tails said.
"And it worked out fine. So we just do the same for Shadow and he'll be fine too." Sonic looked down at shadow. The other hedgehog had turned to his side, half curling up as shivers occasionally rippled along his frame. Sonic tugged the blanket up a little more, even if he wasn't sure how much it would do up against fever-chills.
"It's about the best guess we've got right now," Tails said.
"Right. So think Shadow's more of a chicken soup or tomato soup when you're sick kind of guy?" Sonic asked lightly.
"No clue, but unless you want to go out to the store he's going to be a whatever we have in the kitchen guy." Tails kept an eye on the scanner and then scanned Shadow again. Sonic started to ask, and then realized he was probably seeing how much the energy had dropped.
"Good point little buddy, I'll go see what we've got." Sonic figured it didn't seem like Shadow was waking up or moving much anytime soon, at least not without a lot of encouragement, so it was safe to leave them alone.
Unfortunately his search of the kitchen didn't yield much in the way of food that seemed appropriate for a sick person. Or really any person. He'd have to go out for stuff later after all, but for the moment he could get a clean cup and fill it with water. He vaguely remembered being thirsty when he was feverish and out of it, and Tails waking him up enough to eat and drink, so water was better than nothing.
"I vote we order pizza for dinner, how's that sound?" Sonic asked, sitting down on the side of the bed and setting the cup beside it.
"Works for me, couldn't find any soup?" Tails didn't look up from fidgeting with his scanner.
"Couldn't find any soup. What are you doing now?" Sonic asked.
"I was thinking I could probably make a smaller device, to take continuous readings. That way I don't have to keep coming in here to scan him at set times to track the energy. It does look like it's going down, but..."
"Good idea," Sonic said without hesitation.
"I'll get started on that right away then," Tails hurried away, leaving Sonic alone with Shadow.
Sonic would be the first to admit that this wasn't his area of expertise. Sure he'd helped Tails through his share of childhood colds and even flu, but the young fox was stubbornly independent so usually the most he had to do was keep up a steady supply of food and juice, entertainment, and company, and Tails didn't need or want to be overly fussed over. This, though, was different. He remembered how difficult it was to stay awake and how hard it was to rouse Shadow at all before. He doubted he'd be able to wake him up enough to leave him alone with the water. He'd have to settle for awake enough he wasn't going to drown him.
"Come on Shadow buddy, wake up a little for me?" Sonic hoisted him up mostly upright, shoving the pillow behind him so between it and his own arm around him and supporting him he was sitting up, more or less. Shadow grumbled a little at the moving, but showed no signs of actually waking up.
"Look, I know you want to sleep, but you'll feel better drinking something." Sonic patted firmly at Shadow's cheek, which finally got some response, a little more tensing and him actually half opening his eyes.
"Go 'way," Shadow grumbled, and Sonic nearly cheered.
"Alright, good, progress. Here, I'll go away after you drink this." Sonic snagged the cup with a free hand, holding it up to Shadow's muzzle. Shadow resisted a little at first, trying to turn his head away and splashing a little of the water out onto his face. That finally seemed to penetrate the fever haze and he jerked towards the cup, drinking greedily.
"Knew you'd be thirsty," Sonic said smugly, even if he did feel a small pang. What if he hadn't known to look for him? He'd probably still be in that cave with no one to look out for him and bring him water. "You know you should probably check in with people more often, for situations like this."
He wasn't really expecting a response and wasn't sure if Shadow was really hearing him like this. At least Shadow drained the cup quickly enough and without spilling it all over Sonic's bed.
"More." Shadow panted softly when the cup was drained and he could take a breath again. Sonic set the cup back down, helping him back.
"In a little bit. I don't want you chugging it and getting a stomach cramp, or it all coming back up because you drank too much too fast. Not that I would have any experience with that." Sonic tugged the blanket back up over his trembling form. Absently he found himself stroking Shadow's quills back and smoothing them down, and then pulled his hand back. Probably best not to get too used to the kind of friendly bonding that would get him punched if Shadow was awake.
"Alright, we've tested this on both you and me, time to see if it works." Tails held up the flexible band with the sensor attached on the inside. Sonic helped hold Shadow's arm out to make it easier to wrap around and fasten as Tails checked that it wasn't too tight. It had worked to give a variety of readings from both of them, like temperature and heart rate and all of that, but Sonic's energy contamination was too low to pick up anymore. There was also the uncertain element of Shadow's chaos energy and how it might affect a delicate sensor, but the best they could do was make sure if it did fail it would just ruin the sensor. There shouldn't be any chance of it doing anything like overheating or hurting him.
"How is it looking?" Sonic asked, letting go of Shadow's arm so he could immediately yank it back close again. The dark band blended in with his dark fur to the point it might be difficult to spot if it didn't cut across his red marking.
"Looks good, it seems to match everything my other scanner was telling me. Right now I want it to alert me if something changes unexpectedly, like if the rate the energy is dropping fluctuates, or his fever gets worse. The biggest thing is I don't want it going off every time he rolls over," Tails said, fiddling with the screen.
"Pizza should be here soon, I'll see if I can wake him up and get him to eat it. That should give you a better idea of what readings you get when he's as close to awake as we're going to get right now." Sonic was hopeful on getting him to eat. The second cup full of water had gone better than the first. Shadow had been a little less frantic to drink and Sonic was better prepared to hold him and the cup without dropping or spilling.
"Good idea, and good luck with that," Tails said.
"You don't want to help out?" Sonic teased lightly, he was grateful Tails was doing as much as he was, it was a bit much to ask him to do the more troublesome parts.
"My fingers are valuable, it would slow me down if he decides to bite me," Tails pointed out.
"And my fingers aren't valuable?" Sonic mock-pouted. "But seriously, thank you for the tech, I feel better knowing that we'll know right away if anything changes."
"You got it, Sonic," Tails said, then perked up at the doorbell.
"And I've got this too," Sonic laughed, vanishing to go pay for the pizzas and bring them in. Meat lovers and chili with jalapenos special for him, and cheese for Tails and hopefully Shadow. He had no idea what Shadow normally ate, he did have to eat right? But cheese seemed the safest if he was picky about it.
Full and armed with both a plate of pizza cut into bite sized pieces and an apron he had gotten during some sort of silly gift exchange a while back Sonic was ready. Tails had asked if he was sure he wanted to leave Shadow in bed and risk dropping pizza in bed, and Sonic had pointed out that even if he moved him somewhere the blankets were going with him, so it didn't matter much. Remembering the apron had been a stroke of luck, it seemed like it would work to protect the blankets with the least amount of hassle.
"Alright, here we go," Sonic announced, sitting back down beside Shadow. The apron was easy enough to tie around his neck and spread out to cover as much of him and the blankets as possible before he hauled him into a sitting position against Shadow's grumbled protests.
"Yeah yeah, I know 'thank you Sonic for taking such dedicated care of me even though after everything we should have been even,' why you're welcome. Now wake up enough to eat some pizza." Holding the cup to his muzzle had worked before, and Sonic picked up the first bite in his fingertips, holding it the same way. For too long a pause Shadow didn't react and Sonic wondered he he should try and get him a little more alert first, and then Shadow's head jerked forward as he snapped at the pizza.
Sonic stifled a startled yelp, letting go of the pizza and checking his fingers. Still unbitten, but Shadow was chewing the bite like he was either starving or the food had personally wronged him. Sonic thought the first was more likely.
"Guess you really do eat food like a normal person. Well, ok, the normal part is debatable, but close enough." Sonic grabbed the second bite, ready this time for the way Shadow snapped at it.
After that it was a little more fun, even if sometimes he misjudged letting go a little too soon and dropped it, the apron worked to catch the bite and he could just pick it up and try again. He alternated a few bites with more water until finally both were gone.
"There we go, I'd call that a success, we'll have you all better in no time." Sonic eased him back down, collecting the apron and dishes to take back to the kitchen.
Sonic had flippantly volunteered his bed without fully thinking through his plans. As it got later he sprawled on the couch, half-paying attention to a movie as he tried to make up his mind. Sleeping on the couch was an option, but not a very good one. Shadow had all his blankets and he wasn't going to take one away from him. Maybe a towel? That didn't really seem big enough. Not to mention the couch wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep. It was fine, but if he rolled to either side he either ended up mashed against the back or nearly falling off and having to wake up enough to scoot back into the middle as much as possible.
The other option was just sleep on the other side of his bed. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough he should still be able to sprawl out and get comfortable without being too close to Shadow. He'd have his blankets, his own mattress, and he'd be close by if something changed and Shadow needed something. The two biggest drawbacks were if Shadow knew he'd probably be furious, and if anyone else saw him he'd never live it down. He wasn't even sure Tails would be able to resist the siren's call of potential blackmail material to tease him with for years, no, decades.
Still, what were the odds? Tails preferred to work long into the night and then sleep until early afternoon when he could, long after Sonic was already awake. And while he wouldn't put it past someone like Knuckles to just barge into his bedroom if he wanted something, it hadn't happened before. Besides, was he really the type to let the fear of looking kinda ridiculous stop him?
Mind made up, Sonic turned off the TV as the credits started to roll. Standing, stretching, brushing his teeth, doing his usual routine to get ready for bed, it all seemed strangely mundane at this point.
Finally he turned out the light, sliding under the blankets on the far side of the bed and holding his breath and... nothing. If he strained he could make out Shadow's quiet breathing, but that was it. He stifled a laugh at how much of a non-event it was, closing his eyes.
"G'night Shadow."
The first thing that Sonic realized when he started to wake up was that his blanket was mostly off him. The second thing was it didn't matter because he was almost too warm, even without a blanket. The third was the reason for the warmth. Either he'd scooted more to the middle or Shadow had rolled closer because the other hedgehog was tucked up close against him, arms wrapped around him and holding tight. Sonic couldn't really see anything around the mass of black and red in his face and Shadow's body radiated heat like an engine.
"I guess you're a hugger like this," Sonic mumbled, slowly seeing if he could ease away. "Or you're just feeling cold from the fever, which would be why you stole the blankets." Shadow didn't seem to want to let go, but he also didn't seem like he was doing anything more than acting on instinct. Sonic managed to wiggle out of his grip, sitting up and after a moment's thought moving the pillow to where he'd been just a minute before. Shadow clumsily squeezed around it, seeming to confirm the theory he didn't really have any idea what he was doing in this state.
"Freedom!" Sonic grinned, then yawned. "Ok, leftover pizza breakfast for me, then I can see about a grocery run. Don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, alright?"
As often as Shadow pretended not to hear him, it didn't really feel that odd to keep talking at him. Hopefully soon he'd be ignoring him on purpose again.
"Oh hey, you're up early." Sonic let himself into the house to see Tails already up and making coffee.
"I thought up something that might help Shadow, and I wanted your help testing it out. Did you get me anything?" Tails eyed the bags he was carrying.
Sonic fished out a box of poptarts and tossed them his direction. "You think I'd forget about my best bud?"
"Forget? No, get distracted though...." Tails smiled though, catching the box and starting to open it.
"Ouch. You wound me. See? I'm wounded." Sonic set the bags down to start rummaging through them, unpacking them to put the fridge and freezer stuff away first.
"Mmhmm, but anyway, remember how I had the theory that his body was converting the energy to heat and giving him a fever?" Tails asked.
"Of course, I was paying attention," Sonic said.
"Which could be why medicine didn't work to bring your fever down, which is why I haven't even tried with Shadow. But if we cooled him down physically, it might allow him to purge the energy faster and recover more quickly. And even if it doesn't, bringing his fever down might help clear his head and help him wake up and talk with us. He might know more about why you both got sick," Tails explained.
"That makes a lot of sense," Sonic said slowly, tapping his fingers on the counter. "He's already acting like he feels cold though, do you really think it'll help?"
"I think the chance is worth trying, if it doesn't help with as high as his fever is he should warm right back up again so it shouldn't do any harm. It could even be why he went to that cave, so the rock could act as a heat sink," Tails said, making a very good point.
"Alright, but after you've had coffee and breakfast," Sonic said, grabbing the last slice of his own pizza out of the fridge and eyeing what was left of the other before he decided to be a good person and leave it for the others.
Sonic watched the filling bathtub, feeling a lot less confident about the idea now that they were actually going through with it. Tails kept checking the temp and he'd stuck a finger in himself. Just barely warm, Tails was afraid going colder might shock him, but even this should be enough to help cool him off with his fever.
"Alright, that should be enough water. Would you go get him?" Tails asked and Sonic bit back his misgivings.
"Sure thing, everything set up to see if it's working?" Sonic asked, and Tails showed him the screen.
"If there's any change I'll be able to see it," Tails said, and Sonic gave him a thumbs up as he went to the bedroom.
"Alright, I'm going to apologize in advance if this sucks, but I promise we're trying to help," Sonic said as he untangled Shadow from the blankets and pillows to get him up in his arms. After a moments thought he delayed long enough to tug off Shadow's gloves for him, soggy gloves would be unpleasant and he could swap them out with a lighter pair of his own for sleeping in later.
"Here we go, hope this works," Sonic said once he'd arrived back at the bathroom, not entirely sure if he was talking to himself, to Tails, or to Shadow at this point. He carefully leaned over to lower Shadow into the tub.
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't for Shadow to immediately start thrashing, struggling and arching his body to get away from the water and kicking hard enough that Sonic spared a thought for the durability of the tub.
"Sonic!" Tails stood frozen with the screen, wide-eyed at the reaction.
"Yeah, I know!" Sonic tried to hold him down to stop him from struggling, even weak and uncoordinated he was a lot stronger than most would be and the water made his fur slippery. He was also afraid of grabbing the sensor band and yanking it off, rendering this whole thing useless.
After long moments of not really achieving anything in restraining him, Sonic did the only thing he could think of. He leaned over, swinging a leg so he could get in the tub too. Facing Shadow, both hands on his shoulders, and straddling his upper thighs finally did the trick. Shadow was too pinned down to get any leverage to kick or grab at the sides of the tub. He twisted in his grip, while Sonic tried not to think about if he was going to leave bruises or not.
"Sonic? Are you...?" Tails trailed off.
"Just tell me how the readings are looking, little buddy." Sonic concentrated on what he was doing. At least to him the water was warm, Shadow obviously felt differently.
"C-cold..." Shadow's eyes were partially open, unfocused, and he was shivering almost harder than his struggles.
"Tails?" Sonic asked, voice tight.
"Just a little longer, I need a few more data points to compare to the previous ones before I know if this is helping," Tails sounded a lot less sure of himself.
Shadow stopped struggling almost as abruptly as he's started, staying still except for the violent tremors wracking his body and letting his head fall forward against Sonic's shoulder. Sonic tensed, suddenly realizing that if Shadow chose to bite down he'd be in for a world of hurt.
Instead Shadow breathed out a whimper between chattering teeth that felt like someone had reached into Sonic's chest and squeezed. A bite might have been easier to deal with.
"I... it does look like the energy purge rate has increased, but..."
"But?" Sonic asked.
"Barely. At the current increased rate it would decrease the projected recovery time... by about thirty minutes." Tails sounded upset and Sonic could empathize.
"I am not sitting on him in the tub for the next two days for half an hour," Sonic said flatly, releasing his grip to haul himself out of the tub and pull Shadow back out with him.
"It's possible that lowering the temperature might be more effective?" Tails didn't sound very enthusiastic about the idea.
"It's not worth it." Sonic grabbed one of the towels, rubbing through Shadow's soaked fur and after a moment a second pair of hands joined him, working the fabric through the quills on his back to get as much water out as possible.
"I agree. I... It was worth trying out though?" Tails asked.
"Of course it was! I was just as hopeful as you were," Sonic tried to reassure him. Shadow was still shaking so hard it made his muscles ache to watch and as soon as they were both mostly dry he got him back up in his arms to carry to the bedroom. Shadow immediately wrapped his arms around him, holding on tight.
"Alright, back to bed." Sonic tried to sound cheerful as he carried him back, trying to ease him down onto the bed. Shadow stubbornly refused to let go with a little tugging and after a few attempts Sonic gave up. He ended up sprawled next to him, reaching to get the blankets to bundle him back up as much as he could.
"Do you want, uh, help getting free?" Tails asked.
"Nah, he'll probably let go on his own when he stops feeling so cold. Who knew he'd be a hugger, eh?" Sonic forced a little laugh, even if he did feel guilty. Shadow had to be in bad shape if he was willing to hold onto him like this. This was far more deliberate than just waking up with him cuddled close, he'd probably just moved towards Sonic's warmth like a reptile.
"I could heat up some of the soup you got? That might help?" Tails asked.
"That's a great idea, Tails." Sonic said brightly, watching as the fox made his way towards the kitchen. Then he sighed and wrapped his arms around Shadow, squeezing him a little as though that would stop the shaking.
"I hope you don't remember any of this or you really will try to kill me."