Archive of Our Own

Blaze has not eaten once since she's been here.

Granted, they are in the middle of a bit of a crisis. Seaside city may be overrun with terrifying creatures of unknown origin, and evacuation has been a slight struggle, considering the way said unknown creatures are guarding the doors to every residential building with potential victims.

But still, the girl has been on the move constantly. Shadow can't remember the last time she sat down, or even allowed herself a moment to lean against a wall or table.
And, for as strong as the princess is, she is no super-being like Shadow. He can see her becoming worn down.

Unfortunately, fire seems to be one of the only effective defences against these creatures, and Blaze, being the only one of their group with built-in firepower, has been appointed their main fighter and distraction while the others focus on evacuation.

When the Chaotix sent out a distress call, this was the last thing Shadow expected. He thought they'd show up to robots, or Metal Sonic. Hell, maybe even some stray Black Doom aliens or something.
But this? They truly have no clue what these things are or where they came from.

No doubt Eggman's doing, of course. But how. What depths of hell did he pulls these beasts from and how do they send them back.
Thankfully, they have their own mini-genius to help answer those questions. Blaze managed to (carefully) bring back some samples for Tails to analyse, and the kit has been working away in his makeshift lab for hours now.

Shadow would be concerned about him overworking himself as well, had he not shambled out of the room an hour ago, searching their temporary base for any food he can consume in Sonic's appointed 30 minute break.

He'd eaten three sandwiches, downed a bottle of water, and taken another with him back to his lab, along with Espio in his grip, mumbling about needing someone with common sense to bounce his ideas off of (Knuckles has pointedly been kicked out of the 'lab' for not asking the right questions, he just huffed and rejoined the evac efforts).

Everyone else have been taking turns. From helping provide comfort to the rescued victims in the quarantined zone of Seaside city, helping reunite kids with their parents and venturing out the find more stuck Mobians with Blaze, they'd all been booked and busy. But they've all had moments in between the chaos to breathe.

Blaze has not.

Sure, Shadow's Chaos spears are pretty equivalent to fire, but he doesn't have the heat and compacted nature that her fire has. He's been helping where he can, scaring off the creatures and leading them right to Blaze's hands, but that's about all he can do, since Chaos doesn't really seem to be affecting them in a significant way.

He feels a bit useless; they all do, actually. Shadow sees the way Silver looks longingly over their quarantined walls at the frequent flashes of orange throughout the city, wishing he could do more to help. The most he can do with his telekinesis is herd the creatures up and toss them as far as possible. Though, that barely does damage to the damned things.

They seem to brush off almost every attack type. From fists to bombs to bee stings (thanks for trying, Charmy), nothing's working. Shadow distantly wonders if the Doctor had these creatures enhanced by his own means, of if they crawled out of hell this resilient.

Rouge and Charmy left a while ago, off to GUN's headquarters to raid their supply of fire-related weapons and pick up Omega. Tower already gave them the go-ahead, though it's not like they'd listen if he said no. Hopefully once the machinery arrives, they can relieve Blaze of her position and she can rest for a bit.

Sonic tears into their safe zone, kids on his shoulders and in his arms– practically on every part of the hedgehog they could grip on to. He crouches, letting them crawl down him and land safely on the floor. He starts pointing, instructing the children what to do, and he gestures to Amy, standing nearby with a group of parents missing their kids.

As the kids toddle off to Amy, Sonic wipes his brow, striding up to Shadow and leaning on the wall behind them.

"I think that clears off the coast completely," he informs, though he frowns, "I'll still do some final checks, incase anyone else is hiding out."
Shadow nods, but as Sonic pushes himself off the wall, Shadow rests a gentle palm on his chest, shaking his head.

"I'll do it. Take a rest. Go check on Tails," Shadow instructs, cracking his neck and stretching his arms. The main reason he'd lingered around the safe zone for this long is because Amy asked him to secure their perimeters. He'd much rather be out there, at Blaze's back incase anything happens.

Sonic blinks at him, thrown off, but then nods, a smile playing on his lips.
"I'll stay in the area," Sonic promises. Shadow nods, and with a blink of light, he's gone.

He appears on the outskirts of the city, his shoes whooshing and displacing the sand beneath his feet. The sand is stained by these creatures and their…deaths? Shadow isn't sure what exactly to call them. They're like…goop. Shambling, morphing creatures of darkness. Impervious to any damage, yet with fire they melt into nothing more than black stains on the floor. Shadow hates it. Only the Doctor would work with (or even worse, invent) something so vile.

He starts skating, calling out in a loud, booming voice for any lingering citizens hiding away in alleys or buildings.

He sees a spire of fire explode in the distance, and he winces just thinking of the amount of power Blaze has been using.
It's not that Shadow doesn't think she can handle it, quite the opposite, actually. He knows Blaze is a formidable fighter. She is strong, quick on her feet, strategic and tough. She may be tired, but that will not stop her from fighting. The problem is that she's alone. If anything sneaks up on her, no one else has the power to destroy it, only temporarily displace it and hope she can attack in time.

Shadow has never even been that close to the princess. They've been amicable. They fight well together, and she is good friends with Sonic and the rest of the gang, meaning she is his friend too. So why this sudden care for the girl?

He… he's not sure. He calls out again, his ears swivelling as he hears a faint, faint sound, and he follows it.
Maybe it's because Blaze has been fighting for hours, all on her own. Back-up only means so much when they can barely harm the danger.

Or, maybe it's because he's gotten closer to Sonic's friends in general, and he's now realising just how young they all are. Sure, Shadow is young too, but he has enough life experience to be considered an old soul (NEVER tell Sonic that, the old man jokes will never end). It's hypocritical, to call the others 'kids' when he himself is a kid, but it's true. They're all so young.

Hell, Vector, their resident adult, is in his 20s. That's still a baby when you look at the bigger picture.
The heroes of their worlds are too young, and Shadow's just realising how much pressure they've all been under. How much they're forced to keep it together and fight because if they don't, who will?

So, maybe when he looks at Blaze, instead of seeing the Princess of the Sol Empire, stoic and regal, he sees a young girl who's scared of heights and blushes at Silver's compliments. And maybe he remembers Maria, and that same protective urge he got around his sister flares up for his new friends.

Following the voice leads him to an apartment building. A group of those creatures are blocking the entrance, but he knows he heard someone in there. He growls, and with a flick of his hand, he summons Chaos spears, impaling the creatures with it. They shriek, surging forward with these gross, stuttery movements that makes Shadow's quills stand on end. One lands a hit on his arm, and he flinches at the cold, sticky feeling of their body on his. He picks it up, despite it staining his glove, and throws it as far as possible.

This doesn't damage the creature, of course, and it's slinking back to Shadow within seconds. He lets out a burst of Chaos energy, causing them to shrink back as the energy burns them. It's still not as effective as fire, but it distracts them long enough for Shadow to get around them, diving in through the window of the building.

As he expected, the door is barricaded, a smart move from the person inside.

"Hello?" Shadow calls, and a small face peers out from a hidden room under the steps– likely a maintenance hatch. Shadow kneels, softening his features and reaching a patient hand out to the child.
"I heard you," Shadow murmurs, tilting his head, "You did very well, hiding and calling for help."
The child sniffles, shifting around slightly, and Shadow's eyes widen as they reveal an even younger child cradled in their arms. It's a baby, couldn't be more than a couple months. It's so tiny.

"M–my mama got 'urt, n she said t-take baba and run," The child whispers, voice wavering. Gaia, this child is like.. five years old. Holding an infant. Hiding for their lives. Shadow truly hopes their mum has been helped already. Shadow reaches into the compartment slightly, but the child flinches, eyes widening. Despite the time crunch, Shadow can't be mad or frustrated at the child. He understands, on an intimate level, this kind of fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Shadow promises, then smiles as an idea comes to him, "Do you know Sonic?" The child's eyes light up with recognition at the name, and they hesitantly nod. Shadow's eyes soften,
"Well, he's my friend. He's waiting for you, somewhere safe. I'll take you there, hm?" Shadow coaxes. The child still looks terrified, but nods again. With shaking hands, the child offers their sibling to Shadow.

Shadow's eyebrows crease in focus and awe as he gently takes the infant. The baby practically disappears into Shadow's arms, so small and delicate. He takes just a moment to sit in this moment. This may be the first time Shadow has held something this precious. Something tightens in his chest.

Sonic was once this small. Silver, Tails, Amy. Were all once this small. Blaze must have been this small. That doesn't help with those previous protective feelings, and a sudden need to sit the fire princess down and care for her overwhelms him.

The child crawls out, bringing Shadow back to the moment, and Shadow adjusts to hold the baby steady with one hand, opening the other and inviting the kid in.

"I can hold you both, it's okay," He smiles. A smile feels more natural on his face these days. It's nice. His cheeks don't hurt as much anymore. He used to get exhausted smiling for more than five minutes.
The child tucks into Shadow, and though bigger than their sibling, to Shadow, they both feel so utterly tiny. He pulls the child close and stands, feeling the child grab onto his chest fur, trembling.

"Tuck your head in– don't look around, okay? I'm going to teleport, and it'll be scary, but I won't drop you. I promise. All you have to do is hold on tight," Shadow instructs kindly, and he sees a bit of fear flare in the child's eyes, "I'll tell you when to open your eyes."

Obediently, the child tucks their head into Shadow's neck. The creatures bang against the barricaded door, making the kid flinch harshly and burrow deeper into the dark fur. Shadow looks around, eyes and ears searching for any other indicators of life in the building before he leaves, but nothing jumps out to him, so he sighs, holding the children tightly. The infant cradled in his arm fusses, and he automatically shushes it, rocking both the children gently.

"Chaos control," he whispers, and a bright light surrounds them as the Chaos emerald carries them across space, dropping them in the middle of the safe zone. There's a lot of people around, and a lot of noise. The child tenses, and the baby begins fussing again, their face screwing up unpleasantly at the assault on their senses.

Quickly, Shadow searches the crowed until a pop of blue in the corner stands out to him. He makes his way there quickly, holding the children flush to him and nudging people out of his way.
Sonic's ears twitch as Shadow approaches, and he turns, his eyes widening at the sight.

"Open your eyes, now, little one," Shadow instructs gently, walking closer to Sonic. The child trembles, but hesitantly peers out from Shadow's shoulder, looking around. As soon as their eyes land on the blue hero, they light up.

"Sonic–!" They breathe, awed. Sonic, to his credit, gathers the situation quickly, and reaches out to take the kid from Shadow, tossing him up in the air and catching him, an easy grin on his face.

"Hey, sport! Good to have ya'!" Sonic's grin widens at the child's shriek of joy. The child turns back to Shadow, eyeing his hands, and Sonic looks curiously, following the younger's eye line. Shadow unfurls his protective hold, revealing the infant in his arms. Sonic can't contain his little gasp, and he drifts even closer, looking down at the sweet thing cradled against Shadow. The infant nuzzles into his fluffy white fur, as if listening to Shadow's heartbeat, and they coo softly, the noise a string of soft, incoherent babbles.

He swears, hearts appear in Sonic's eyes as he looks at the image in front of him with thinly concealed awe.

"Oh, Shadow–" Sonic whispers, breathless, before seemingly realising he has a persona to keep up. He blinks, and smiles again, though this time it's noticeably wonkier and softer.

"I bet your parent is somewhere around here. Amy can help you look!" Sonic waves over the pink hedgehog, and she strides up, smiling at the child bouncing excitedly in Sonic's grip.

"Well, hello there!" Her voice drips with that soft kindness and joy that kids love, and as Sonic sets the child down, they happily bound up to Amy.
"Hey, Ames. Mind helping these two find their..?" Sonic drifts off, not sure what parent or guardian the kids have, but the child helps him,
"Our mama!" They finish, looking up at Amy with big, round eyes. Amy rests a hand on their head, tousling their hair fondly.

"That's what I'm here for!" She exclaims. Shadow shuffles over to her, and when she eyes him, he pointedly looks down at his arms.

He can see the moment Amy realises the infant is there. She pauses, eyes widening, then she coos.
"Oh, my. May I–?" She asks, holding out her hands for the tiny creature. Gently, maybe too gently, Shadow hands the baby over. They fuss at the change, and as soon as Shadow's grip leaves them, they let out a sharp wail, making all three hedgehogs freeze.

As if moving on instinct, Shadow smooths down the fur on the child's forehead and nose, shushing it.
"Quiet, it's okay," He whispers, relief flooding him as the baby seems to settle into Amy. He takes his had away slowly, and they all breathe out as no fussing is heard. Amy adjusts the baby into her hand, and then reaches down to take the other sibling's hand, whispering about finding their Mama.

When Shadow turns around, he finds Sonic watching him, eyes practically leaking fondness. Shadow rolls his eyes, but it doesn't stop the heat from crawling up his neck. He nudges past Sonic,

"I'm going back out to help Blaze. Go do some more evac," Shadow demands, ignoring the chuckle Sonic gives him as he teleports away.

The streets of Seaside city are a scorched mess. Black burn marks cover every surface, alongside the stains of the many creatures taken down by the princess. Shadow follows the sounds of flames to find her. She's blowtorching an entire wave of them, sweat pouring down her forehead.

Shadow sees a couple creatures slinking up behind her, and sets into action. He teleports, easily kicking the creature away before Chaos spearing it, hopefully keeping it down for a bit. Blaze startles at his appearance, but her fire doesn't waver.

"I've got your back, Princess" Shadow simply says. If he can provide as a simple lookout for her, at least he's doing something. She nods gratefully. Shadow can see her body shaking. Her mass attack finishes, leaving gooey puddles all over the floors where the creatures once stood. She turns, glaring at the one Shadow had chaos speared, and she sends a quick flame it's way, effectively melting it in seconds.

Then, she sighs. Her chest heaves with the effort, and Shadow swears that she sways for a second before steadying herself again.
"Update?" She asks, and Shadow starts a brief status report on the situation.

"The entire coast is evacuated, as well as most residential neighbourhoods. They're trying to get into the bigger, more compact areas next to find people who were working when it happened. Rouge and Charmy are nearly back with firepower and Omega, estimated ten more minutes. You've made a substantial dent in the creatures population– though more keep emerging from a currently unknown location– Vector and Knuckles are attempting to locate the source and shut it down. Tails has Espio and they're working on figuring out exactly what these things are," Shadow states the facts blandly, trying to keep the worry out of his gaze as Blaze runs a hand over her hair.

She has cuts and bruises all over her body, none major but it's enough to hurt. Shadow can tell by the way she winces as she puts pressure on her left foot that these injuries will haunt her later.

"Ten minutes. I can do ten minutes," She reassures, though the words sound more for her than Shadow. Shadow nods, and, hesitantly, he reaches a hand out, resting it lightly on Blaze's shoulder. They don't usually do touch, they aren't that close, and Blaze isn't a very touchy person anyway, but it feels like the only way to steady her. She blinks, looking at Shadow's hand, and then, ever so slightly, she leans into the touch. That simple movement hurts Shadow's heart.

When Rouge gets here, Shadow's personally dragging Blaze off this battleground. She hasn't eaten in Gaia knows how long. She needs rest.

"I'm staying with you until Rouge gets back," Shadow promises. Blaze blinks wearily at him, but they don't have a chance to speak more before their earpieces buzz and Silver's voice echoes through, sounding frustrated.

"Guys, there's a big horde of them on the eastern side of the safe zone. I've been tossing them in all different directions, trying to split them up, but they keep gathering back together like magnets–" Blaze and Shadow don't even communicate, they both just take off before Silver finishes his sentence.

And…Chaos, Silver was right. They're sticking together, hobbling over each other as they try to get close to the safe zone. Shadow can see Silver's teal energy picking them up and tossing them back, but frustratingly, they do not separate. Blaze glances at Shadow, giving him a nod, and then she's a pillar of fire, brilliant and strong.

Shadow gets to work as well, blasting Chaos energy as much as he possibly can. The creatures hiss and scream, the noises disgusting, but the heat of Shadow's attacks get to them, and that's enough for Shadow to keep going. He feels so helpless. He grabs at his earpiece, turning on his mic.

"How far out are those weapon," He hisses, kicking a creature with a burst of chaos energy, watching as part of it dissolves from the heat.
"Give us FIVE minutes, Shads," Sonic's voice calls back, strained but still sounding positive. Shadow looks around the horde, eyes scanning for Blaze.
"If I don't have a weapon in my hand in five minutes, it's your head, Hedgehog," Shadow growls. Sure, Sonic is his lover, but he is annoyed, and he will take it out on the nearest person possible. That person often happens to be Sonic.

A cry of pain has his head snapping around the city, frantic. Blaze is standing on a car, and she's losing steam. A bunch of creatures limbs are grabbing onto her leg, pulling at her skin even as she tries to burn them off. It's like a scene straight from a horror movie, the way their inky bodies encase her. It reminds Shadow of the Metal Virus, or even his own doom morphs. He teleports to her, grabbing her tightly and wrenching her from their disgusting grips. She scrambles, holding onto him as he shuffles them higher atop the cars hood.

She's panting, shaking as she stares down at the dark, wriggling mass of beings below them. Gaia, Shadow hadn't even been thinking of the mental strain this was putting on the poor princess. These creatures have been freaking out everyone, even Shadow's getting icked by their movements. But Blaze has been in the centre of it all. Shadow cringes at that thought, and subconsciously pulls her closer.

She takes a deep, deep breath and forces herself to settle, eyes hardening over with determination. She flicks a hand out, and a sea of fire spreads out from her, fending back the creatures.
"Thank you, Shadow," She breathes, looking down at her leg. They got her left leg, the same one she'd been wincing at earlier. Her pant leg is gone, torn off somewhere in the scuffle, and there's gashes all up and down her skin. Shadow knows it must hurt like hell.

She tries to stand on her own, and Shadow lets her, because as much as he's worried, he will not take away her pride and autonomy. She is a strong fighter, if she wishes to stand on her own, then Shadow will stand with her.

"They're getting too close to the base," She murmurs, voice soft and sophisticated even now. She looks around, then seems to make a decision.
"Stand back, Shadow. I don't want to burn you," She requests, and then she's off, lifting herself up with her fire, moving to the middle of the mob. Then, in an intense burst, she becomes…well, a fire tornado of sorts.

Shadow teleports away before any of her flames can lick at him, but he watches from a rooftop, awe in his eyes as she literally burns up like a star to stave off the hoard. When the fire disperses, Blaze is left in the middle. She lowers herself to the ground, heaving breaths like she's being starved of oxygen. Shadow doesn't hesitate to teleport to her side, supporting her.

Even with that brilliant display, the darkness of the creatures starts to crawl up on them again. Blaze hisses, straightening her posture and leaning away from Shadow again, despite her body protesting.
"It's not enough," She trembles, standing her ground but looking so small among the charred buildings and approaching creatures.

Shadow growls, but before he can get on the comm again and yell at Sonic, or Rouge, or someone, he hears a familiar whistle from above. He glances up to see Rouge already tossing him some kinda weapon.
"Catch!" She calls as an afterthought, and then she's off, distributing the rest to the other heroes, finally allowing them to jump in and fight. Shadow feels satisfied as the weapon settles in his hands.

He recognises this. It converts chaos energy into fire. A handy little invention Tails' helped GUN develop in exchange for immunity if he happens to accidently commit a war crime with his experiments. Just the tool for this job.
He settles a hand on Blaze's shoulder, and she startles, looking to him with tired eyes. When she sees the weapon in his hand, relief floods her eyes like a tidal wave, crashing over her tired body, and she slumps again. Shadow's grip moves to her waist, securely holding her up.

"You did enough," he reassures, voice gentle despite the situation. Blaze shudders at that, she tries to suppress it but Shadow, literally holding up her body weight now, feels it all the same.

He turns on his weapon, and feels a rush of power as it takes his energy and shoots out a straight beam of fire. He grins something wicked, torching the creatures crawling out of the alleys trying to sneak up on the duo. It feels good, but it doesn't feel right.

He thought he'd want to fight more. That when he got the weapon in his hands, he'd finally feel useful and hop into the fray like the others. He can see everyone starting to jump in, weapons in hand, fire all around them. But.. he looks down at Blaze, watching her take in her peers.

Sonic, in particular, is going crazy with his Chaos-powered flamethrower. His grin is more blinding than the fire. Silver seems to having fun to, probably taking revenge for not being able to help Blaze sooner. Charmy is claiming his role as a Seaside city protector since his teammates are busy, and he's taken to the skies with Rouge, dropping…fire bombs? Huh, didn't know GUN had those.

Shadow isn't necessarily needed here. His presence would probably make the fight easier, but Blaze's body is trembling against his, and he finds that… he doesn't particularly care about the fight.

"Silv!" Shadow calls. Silver practically appears in front of him, eyes excited until he catches sight of Blaze. Worry coats his joy.
"Shadow?" He questions. Shadow holds out his weapon for the younger hedgehog.
"I trust that you can handle wielding two guns?" Silver's eyes widen, but he accepts the gun. Blaze looks at Shadow, confusion in her eyes.

"Hold the fort out here. You have a good team, you guys will be fine." Silver nods, determined.
"Gotcha," Silver smiles. His gaze softens as he looks at Blaze, "You did really well, Blaze."
"Be careful, Silver," She responds. She turns to Shadow as Silver makes his exit, now with both weapons in hand.

"Why–?" She questions, frowning. Shadow shakes his head,
"I'm going to teleport. Brace yourself," He warns, though he knows Blaze is no Sonic, and she is perfectly fine after teleportation. He chaos-controls out of the hectic city, straight into their temporary bunker in the safe zone. It's a little house, near the Chaotix office, that used to be abandoned. The Chaotix commandeered it and make it into a little base for moments just like this. There's enough food stocked, a couch, bunk beds and extra mattresses for sleeping, and a mini office turned lab. It's enough for them to be comfortable while staking out.

Shadow practically carries Blaze to the couch, setting her down gently. She's looking at him as if he's grown another head, foreign and confused. He doesn't speak. He moves around the house with ease, first stopping at the bathroom the grab the overly stocked med-kit. With a group of heroes, a normal med-kit makes no sense. They put together their own 'bare bones necessities' kit, and they all try their best to restock it as often as possible. It's a team effort, a big team effort, but Gaia is it worth it.

He then stops by the kitchen, grabbing a cold bottled water from the fridge. He shoves it into Blaze's restless hands, setting the kit down on the table.
"Drink. I'll get something for you to eat," Shadow demands, though his voice is soft. She blinks at him, speechless.

"Shadow–? You don't have to– I have to get back out–" She attempts to protest, but Shadow glares at her, no real heat in his eyes. He sits down next to her, leaving enough space for her to feel comfortable. But he pins her with a sincere gaze, sighing.

"You haven't eaten since we got here. You haven't rested since we got here. And I understand why," Shadow doesn't blame the girl for neglecting herself. She was the only one able to fight. Shadow would've done the same.
"But reinforcements are here. You did well, you fought relentlessly and bravely. Now rest and let your allies take over," Shadow soothes. Instinctively, he finds himself speaking as if he were talking to Tails. He hopes it doesn't sound condescending.

Blaze looks at him, an unreadable expression on her face. She's never experienced this side of Shadow. Hell, she's never even seen Shadow act this way. The only version she knows is the merciless fighter; the one who shows up in a flash of light and jumps into action, bickering with Sonic and focusing only on the mission ahead. Her face twists slightly, and she looks away, nodding.

"Okay," she breathes, her voice choked, "okay.."
Shadow makes no comment about it. He lets her be, allowing her to regulate her emotions without his presence. He instead wanders over to the 'lab', knocking on the door and peeking into the small room.

Tails is sat hunched over his laptop, furiously typing, while Espio rambles about something Shadow couldn't begin to understand right now. They both look over at the sound of Shadow, and Tails smiles.

"Shadow! How are things outside? I've been hearing the comms, it sounded pretty rough for a sec," Tails questions. Shadow leans against the doorframe, shaking his head.
"Reinforcements have arrived. Everyone's currently outside with fire bombs and flamethrowers," Shadow informs, laughing as jealousy blooms in Tails' eyes.

"Aw maaan– I wanna play with fire," He pouts, and Espio gives him a sympathetic pat on his head. Gaia, Tails really does act like Sonic. It's uncanny sometimes.

"I brought Blaze back here. She held out spectacularly, but it's time for her to rest and get some food in her," Tails' smile fades a bit at that, and his big blue eyes look up at Shadow, curious.
"Is she okay?" Espio asks, a bit of worry in his usually stoic voice. Shadow smiles, and nods.
"Couple injuries– nothing serious. Maybe a sprained ankle, I have to check it out still. Thought I'd check on our super genius and his assistant before I get her some sandwiches," Espio rolls his eyes at that, a smile playing on his lips.

"Reduced to assistant, how woeful," he sighs. Tails giggles, a high-pitched, sweet noise, and the chameleon's smile widens a bit.

"Actually, I think we're close to a breakthrough," Tails says excitedly, his tails swishing on the floor behind him. Shadow nods,
"Then I'll leave you be. Blaze and I will be on the couch, unless I get her to move to the beds," Shadow starts to close the door, but Espio stands.

"I'll get us some water," he says, pointedly looking at Shadow. He steps out as well, closing the door and letting the kit get back to work.
"How is she actually?" Espio asks, then. His voice is quiet, conscious as they make the short trek to the kitchen. Shadow sighs, remembering the limits the princess pushed herself too.

"Exhausted," Shadow replies, honestly, "–and scared, I think. Those creatures are freaky, even to me. I can't imagine it's easy to be surrounded by their wriggling, screeching forms without getting a little freaked out."
Espio hums, grabbing two water bottles from the fridge as Shadow grabs a couple wrapped sandwiches, made and gifted to the team by some grateful neighbours after being rescued.

"She…" Shadow speaks up again, voice quiet, "She pushed herself a lot. When I brought her back, she kept protesting. She wants to keep helping," Shadow sighs. Espio nods, considering the words.

"We are a very stubborn bunch," Espio comments fondly, "None of us know when to quit. We always want to help– to be useful. I guess that's why people call us when there's trouble– we're the ones who care."
Espio drifts over to the living room, deliberately making his feather-light steps louder so Blaze hears him. She looks over, regarding him with a wobbly smile.

"Blaze. Good work. Your determination is very admirable," he compliments, briefly resting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing before venturing back to the lab. Shadow plops down next to the cat, holding out a sandwich.

"Eat. It's been a long day," He coaxes her to hold the sandwich, and then he gestures to her injured leg.
"Here, lay it on my lap," He instructs, but he doesn't touch her until she responds. He knows he's probably not the person she wants helping her; she'd much rather Sonic or Silver, but Shadow's here, and the best he can do is respect her and keep her comfortable.

She hesitates, but eventually lifts her damaged foot, resting it gingerly on Shadow's knees with a wince. Shadow hisses, seeing the cuts in all their glory. It looks like her foot's began to swell slightly as well. He.. he doesn't want to ask this, but–

"Princess," he calls softly, gaining her attention once more, "I may have to remove your shoes to assess the injury. If you don't want to, that's fine, I can just treat the cuts for now."
Blaze looks out of her depth, more frazzled than Shadow has ever seen her. She sits in silence for a moment, contemplating, but it's obvious that the pain throbbing through her ankle outweighs any embarrassment. She nods, eyes focused solely on her sandwich.

"Do what you must, Shadow," She sighs. Shadow's honestly quite shocked that the cat would put this trust into him, but he doesn't take it for granted. Gently, as gentle as his gloved hands can allow, he eases the shoe off her foot. She winces again, and then gasps as it's support is fully removed from her ankle. Shadow rolls down her socks a bit, but doesn't bother removing it. That is a boundary he would never dare cross.

He prods at her ankle and foot, eyes creased in focus. His hand deftly manoeuvres her joint, pressing his thumb into different areas and massaging, trying to feel the damage beneath the fabric and skin.

Eventually, he touches a spot, just at the top of her ankle, and she damn near screams, not expecting the sudden jolt of pain the action produces. Her body instinctively tries to pull away from Shadow, so he lays his hands gently on her calf instead, avoiding the cuts as he massages into the muscle, trying to soothe the girl. He hears light footsteps rush from the lab, and he knows Espio must've heard the cat's muffled shriek.

"Shh, I'm sorry, Princess– Hey, breathe," he shushes, awkwardly shuffling a bit closer as she begins to calm down. She practically crushed the remainder of her sandwich, and she's breathing heavily as she seems to return to Shadow. Shadow doesn't touch the ankle again until he's sure she's back.

"S–sorry," she pants, coughing into a fist and fixing herself, "That— my vision went white for a moment," she admits. Shadow winces, continuing his little motions on her calf.

"It's alright. I guess we found the issue," he sighs, studying the rest of the injuries, "It's a bad sprain, but it'll heal. It hurts this much because you were running and fighting on it. It's aggravated right now. Some ice will help." His eyes drift behind the couch, where Espio's standing with a conflicted, worried expression. It's the most emotion Shadow has seen on the chameleon's face since this whole debacle began.

Espio's sharp as a tack, though, and gets the hint, off to the kitchen to get an ice pack before Shadow even says a word. Shadow reaches for the med-kit instead, gathering up the disinfectants and bandages.

"This will sting," he warns, and the girl nods, already all too familiar with the sting of alcohol on wounds. This part is familiar; he's definitely helped Blaze bandage a wound or two in the past. She barely flinches as Shadow cleans her cuts, shoving the rest of her squished sandwich into her mouth and reaching for another from the small pile on the table. He lifts her foot as he bandages, the motion soothing to him. It's easy, bandaging wounds.

What's not easy is navigating friendships and emotions. He still can't understand why he's being so…soft with Blaze. Blaze isn't in need of softness (though, who is Shadow to declare that?), and Shadow's not normally one to push himself into these situations, much preferring to leave it to someone more…emotionally intelligent. So what shifted?
Well, he's been softer in general these days, yes. He's got himself a little family. A partner and a child who occasionally calls him 'Dad'. He has Rouge and Omega, a secondary part to his family. He has…Silver..?

He wasn't quite sure where Silver fit into the life he's building for himself. The kid, not much younger than Shadow himself, should probably fit into a younger friend role. Maybe even a 'brother's in arms' type of situation. Instead, Shadow gets the same urges to protect and love the silver hedgehog that he does with Tails.

And then, how did Blaze worm into his heart within a matter of hours? Before today, he'd never worried much for the girl; not in the same way he worries for Amy or Rouge. She's strong, capable. A leader, in the way that none of the others are.
But seeing her fighting alone through the city, determined and steadfast? Seeing her fall only to get back up bolder and brighter? Well, it makes Shadow's chest glow with pride, but it also makes him want to have her back. Make sure she's okay. Treat her wounds just like this, so she doesn't go back limping and hurting to her dimension.

Surely she has her own medical team, she's a princess. But Shadow doesn't know them. No– Shadow doesn't trust them. How odd. Those are the people who have probably taken care of Blaze for her entire life, and Shadow can't bare the thought of sending her back to them with her injuries.

A pink hand in his peripheral vision pulls him from his thoughts. He finished wrapping her bandages, and now Espio stands next to him, leaning on the armrest of the sofa, waiting with patient eyes as he holds out the ice pack. He's probably been standing there for longer than Shadow realised, and a hint of embarrassment crosses him at his lack of awareness.
Shadow sighs, rubbing his face, and he accepts it, easing it on to the princess' injured ankle. She hisses a bit at the temperature, but relaxes after a moment, sighing with relief.

Shadow gently moves her leg from his lap, pivoting it and resting it on the coffee table. Then, he takes the pillow from behind his back, and works on elevating her foot. He's careful, trying not to hurt her in the process, but he still sees her wince from the corner of his vision.

He pulls back, and hums, satisfied.
"Get comfortable, this is where you live now," Shadow quips, and he smirks as Blaze groans, throwing her head back.

"Great," She sighs. At some point, Espio slips off again, the ninja wholly too quiet for Shadow to pick up on right now. Blaze looks up at Shadow, gratefulness shining in her eyes.

"Thank you, Shadow," She can't move much, but she still bows her head in respect, "You didn't have to do all this."
Shadow didn't. He truly, truly didn't have to do this. But…

"You worked hard, it's only right someone look after you, after everything you've done today," Shadow gives her the briefest of smiles, and it grows into a fond smirk as her face lights up red at the words. Gaia, this girl cannot take a compliment.

Shadow stands, intending to finally give her some peace away from his presence, but as he's walking to the door, a soft voice stops him.

"Can you..stay?" Her voice is hesitant, as if she doesn't understand why she's speaking. Shadow freezes in his tracks, and mechanically, he turns to look at the purple cat sitting alone on the sofa.

She.. she doesn't look like the ruler of an Empire here. She just looks like a girl. Fear dancing in her eyes, dust coating her fur and exhaustion weighing her down. Shadow aches.

He backtracks immediately, sitting back down on the couch, nodding.
"If you'll have my company, Princess," he replies softly. She visibly relaxes, and then looks at him curiously.

"Why do you call me that?" She asks, the question sudden. Shadow blinks, shrugging.

"Well, you are a princess, are you not?" He asks. She's shuffling a bit in her seat, and with a jolt, Shadow realises that she's shifting closer to him. At least, he thinks she is? He doesn't move, not wanting to push into her space if he's wrong.

"I am…" She trails off, brows furrowed. Shadow hums,

"Would you like me to stop calling you that?" He asks, voice open. Blaze seems speechless at the question. She regards it, mulling it over in her head for a bit, still attempting to get closer to Shadow without him noticing. Shadow rolls his eyes, and scoots around, meeting her in the middle. He doesn't touch; he just lets his arm linger next to hers. Her eyes widen at the movement, but, ever so slowly, she drops her tired head onto his shoulder.

He's.. He's never done this with Blaze before. The cat has always had an aversion to touch, one that all her friends respected (besides Silver, but as things tend to be, he is her exception). Never once did he imagine that Blaze would reach out like this, much less to Shadow.

But her head fits into the crook of his neck, and the lingering tension drains out of her as she goes limp against his side.

"No," she finally answers, and it takes Shadow a moment to remember what she's even answering.
"No?" He repeats, curious. She nods, the movement moving Shadow's quills along with it.

"No. When the others call me Princess, it's usually either teasingly, or because they feel they have to address me by my title. When you do it.." She trails off, furrowing her brows again, as if she's thinking hard about her words.

"When you do it, it just sounds like my name," She concludes, as if that sentence makes any sense, "It's soft."

Ah, there's that word again. Soft. Shadow and soft aren't words that belong together, but here they are. He can't argue, either, because he knows it's true. Shadow, on a lot of levels, has gone soft.
And he doesn't mind. If being soft allows moments like these to happen? Where his friends come to him and lean on him for support? It's worth it to lose a bit of his edge, if this is what he gains.

Not all his edge. Gaia, no. He'd shrivel up and die if he got rid of his angst. He has a reputation; Shadow the Hedgehog: The Ultimate Lifeform. He's terrifying, strong, intimidating, angry.

But he can use that edge to protect the people around him instead of hurting them. He can channel it into being fiercely protective of his family. He can channel that edge into attacks on Eggman instead of his peers.

"Then I'll keep calling you Princess," Shadow decides. He knows Blaze is basically melting into his side, but he's still hesitant as he winds an arm around her, looking out for any signs of discomfort. None appear, so he lets his hand settle lightly on her head, stroking through her hair. A good chunk of debris falls out, but Shadow just flings it behind the sofa for someone else to deal with. He's needed right here, and here he will stay.

A door slamming open makes both of them startle, and they don't have time to react before an excited Tails runs past them, bursting through the front door and leaving it swinging on it's hinges. Espio follows behind at a much calmer, but still brisk pace, taking a moment to stop and regard the duo. He turns, mouth open, ready to speak, but as he sees their position, he pauses, a brief look of awe on his face at the sight of Blaze willingly cuddled next to someone. He shakes himself out of his stupor, faster than most others would have.

"Tails figured out what the creatures are. Short answer is they're something to do with Dark Gaia and Robotnik's experiments. Long answer will have to wait," he summarizes, then he's through the door, closing it gently before Shadow can get a question in.

The cat and hedgehog sit in silence, before Shadow huffs a laugh, rolling his eyes.
"That child is Sonic imprint," he comments. Blaze doesn't respond, and he leaves it there. The house is quieter now, the distant chattering of Espio and Tails now absent. It's peaceful, if a tad bit eerie.

"I could've kept fighting," Blaze eventually speaks again, though the words aren't quite a complaint. Outside, if Shadow strains his ears, he can hear the faint sounds of fighting.

"I know," he replies, honest, "You're a very strong fighter. I have no doubt you could've kept going for– well, for days, if needed." Shadow doesn't even mean the words as compliments, he's just stating facts. He knows Blaze is resilient and strong, if it were necessary, she'd jump back into the fray right now and help.

"But it wasn't needed. Because you've got a team behind you. You held your ground for longer than you should've had to, and we are grateful and proud of you, but now that the others can fight against these enemies, all we need you to do is rest," Shadow finishes his kind lecture with another stroke through her hair.

"You're relieved of your duties right now, Princess. Allow your body to feel and react to all the things you couldn't address on the battlefield," He urges. He knows how the mind works when in crisis. All the emotions, the pain, the terror and exhaustion gets thrown to the far corners of your mind as you focus on trying to survive and win.

Blaze inhales at that, sharp and hitched. If Shadow felt the tears soaking into his shoulder, he didn't react, because Blaze was finally letting her guard down, and the darker hedgehog is not about to ruin this precious moment.

Distantly, he thinks about the infant from earlier. Holding that small child in his arms, his gloves enveloping the baby and it's tiny, tiny frame, was something that both scared and fascinated Shadow. Something so small, relied only on others to survive, and yet it would grow up strong.

He, in a weird, roundabout way, feels those same feelings right now, sitting here with Blaze. Somehow, holding her trust in his hands feels just as precious and fragile, if not more. This was something foreign, yet…

From the moment Blaze tucked herself into his shoulder, he felt right at home.

It's the same feeling he got with Silver, when the poor boy was on his couch, drugged and frustrated with himself, wrapped in Shadow's blankets. The need to soothe those worries away, to protect them even though he knows they are very capable of protecting themselves. Not because they are weak, but because they deserve to know that if they lean back, someone's there to hold them. To make sure they don't fall.

Maybe… maybe this is what he was made for. To comfort.
He was initially a cure, after all. Before his purpose was disfigured and maimed to hell. Before he was turned into a weapon. A monster. Before all the heartache and experiments. His first ever purpose in live was to be a companion to a bright-eyed little girl.

Maybe that's why this feels so right. He'd been so… consumed in anger and grief for so many years, that he never allowed himself to love. He only protected his allies out of necessity instead of care. But he was made by the hands of a man who cared more than anyone else on planet Earth.

Gerald Robotnik cared so much, he loved so much, that Earth's limitations could not hold him back. Gerald Robotnik cared for Maria Robotnik. Maria was loved to the point of invention, and Shadow the Hedgehog had been invented from that care.
Carved from stardust and a deal with the Devil, he was born to be a symbol of hope. Of hope for Maria.

Shadow was a being of pure care, and it seemed to leak out of him in these quiet moments, in-between fighting and laughter. Between races and robots. The moments that linger for a second longer than they probably should.

Thinking of himself this way.. it's a new perspective for Shadow. He used to think of himself as this violent beast. A dog who bites.
But—

Holding that infant in his hands.
Smoothing down Silver's quills on his couch.
Kissing Sonic for the first time.
Dusting flour off Amy's dress.
Cradling Tails as he cried.
Standing back to back with Knuckles on a battlefield.
Doing Rouge's makeup for her night out

And stroking Blaze's hair as her tears soak into his fur and evaporate away— He realises just how wrong he was.
He had not been a violent beast when he did those things. No– he had been a friend, a caretaker, a protector. And maybe he longs to be a protector because when he had been just a child, watching the only family he'd ever known be ripped from him, he had begged for someone to hold him close. To cradle him and bandage his wounds. To protect him from the hell he'd been subject to.

Subconsciously, though his mind may not remember it, his heart must have vowed to never let anyone he loves stand alone. He would never let them brave any storm without holding them through the worst of it.