Chapter Text
Lightning lashed at the ground, thundering booms echoing just seconds afterward. It was as if the sky itself was upset at what happened, Sonic thought, arms propped up on the windowsill as he stared at the downpour of rain. And to think there hadn't been a single cloud in the sky earlier today.
His thoughts drifted back to Shadow, wondering whether the dark hedgehog could feel the raindrops hitting the ground with increasing intensity or see the whips of light in the darkness of the night. ‘He's dead, so probably not’, Sonic's mind supplied helpfully.
A careful hand on his shoulder took him out of his trance. “Sonic? You alright, buddy?” Tom asked, a raised eyebrow directed at him.
Sonic's lips pulled into a smile by reflex. “Yeah!” But when he took in Tom's unsure look, he let the smile drop a bit. “I'll be fine, Tom. Gimme a few days and I'll bounce back,” Sonic assured, though he himself didn't exactly believe in those words.
Tom moved to stand on his left, arm moving off Sonic's shoulder, looking out the window alongside him. “Pouring pretty good, huh?” He nudged his son's shoulder, drawing a small chuckle from him.
“I guess, yeah. I haven't seen this much rain in forever,” Sonic replied, dragging out the last word, a more genuine smile on his face now.
They stood in silence for a while, just watching the droplets hit the window and the grass outside before Tom spoke up again. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? To any of us.”
Sonic sighed, rolling his eyes in an exasperated manner, though the action held no true annoyance. “I know. And I do! Promise.”
Tom nodded, a soft smile making its way to his face. Sonic hadn't realized how much he had missed his family until he was back home with all of them, safe and sound. With a yawn, he allowed himself to lean against his dad, the late hour finally beginning to catch up to him.
“C'mon kid, let's get you to bed,” Tom muttered, his uninjured hand running along the top of Sonic's head in a comforting manner.
With a grumble, the teen pulled away, stretching his arms above his head with a sigh. “Do I have to?”
“Yes. You need all the rest you can get, buddy,” Tom replied, hand moving from the top of Sonic's head to his shoulder once more.
“As if you're one to talk..” Sonic mumbled defiantly.
At that, Tom held his hand up in a mock gesture of surrender. “You got me there. Say, I'll go to bed right after you do?” He offered.
Sonic pretended to give it thought. “You say that as if Maddie wouldn't force you to rest while you're healing anyway, but deal,” he held his hand out for Tom to shake, who did so without hesitation.
“Glad to do business with you, kid,” he joked lightheartedly.
____
Sonic did go to bed. He didn't get the luxury of sleep for a while, though. A whirlwind of thoughts dancing in his mind. Not such pleasant ones either, leaving him tossing and turning, trying to get them to leave so he could rest.
Eventually, Sonic gave up, sitting up and swinging his legs off the bed, making his way over to the skylight and carefully avoiding the creaky boards to not wake his siblings or parents.
Pushing it open and climbing onto the roof came like second nature to him.
He sat down and pulled his knees up, hugging them to his chest. Above him, the sky had cleared, revealing the beautiful sight with a morbid backstory - a supernova of reds, oranges and blues and a severed moon - a sight that would stick around for a while.
Sonic sighed, a shudder passing through him as the chilly breeze brushed through his fur, but it didn't deter him from staying up here with nothing but his thoughts and the silent glittery sky keeping him company.
And as he stared at the moon, his thought inevitably drifted back to the conversation he had with the dark hedgehog. Sonic remembered the pain and longing in his voice as he talked about Maria, the regret when he voiced his hurt.
‘The last time I sat beneath the stars like this… I was with her.’
It was almost too much for Sonic to remember, guilt clawing up his throat. He could've saved him, right? Could've done.. Could've done- something!
But he was too weak. He lost someone he had just begun to form a connection to. Lost someone he could have had a bond with.
As the tears formed, he wiped them with the back of his hand angrily, eyebrows pulling together as he rested his muzzle on his knees.
________
Shadow was greeted to the sight of dark clouds pooling above him. His body ached in a way it never had before, not even after the worst of the tests the scientists ran on him. Each breath he took sent stabbing pain to his chest and his body refused to move.
A pathetic pained noise escaped him when he sat up, every inch of him screaming in protest. Taking a moment to collect himself, Shadow got to his knees and stood up, legs threatening to crumble under him if he exerted a little too much energy.
A careful step forward proved that his balance held strong even while injured, much to his relief. He couldn't afford to be incapacitated. Not now, and especially not in this state.
The wind seemed harsh against his bruised and battered body, and when it hit his back, Shadow bit his lip to stay silent, the burned flesh on his back not appreciating the feeling in the least.
Shadow looked around, finding himself in the middle of a large, open area. Not ideal. With a slow, and not quite steady, pace he made his way towards the treeline he saw to the side.
When finally in the trees did he allow himself a moment of processing all that had happened.
Survival was unexpected. But against all odds, he made it and that left him with a few problems: the injuries which greatly limited his movement, and the bigger problem - his missing inhibitor rings. Now that he was alive, he'd need to locate them. The slowly leaking Chaos Energy would weaken him greatly.
He knew this was a game based on speed, and currently that was not an ace he could play.
The clouds covering the sky like a blanket finally brought the rain they had been threatening. Luckily, only small droplets made it past the ceiling of leaves above Shadow and he remained blissfully dry.
____
Shadow knew that this game he was losing. And quickly at that. Not counting the fact that he hasn't found either of his inhibitor rings yet, it had started thunderstorming, and much to his dismay, when lightning struck near, it sounded an awful lot like gunshots.
But he prevailed, pushing his weakening body to keep moving despite the agony in which his muscles were. When lightning struck, he flinched weakly, ears pinning back against his head, though he didn't stop moving, he couldn't afford to stop moving.
By the time he found one of his rings, the sky had cleared and it was just a bit past being stationed in the middle of the sky.
The ring lay in a crater similar to one Shadow woke up in, a gleam of gold half buried in the dirt. Shadow could've collapsed in relief, body already on the brink of doing so itself, but he picked it up, snapping it closed around his left wrist. Now to find the second.
And yet no matter how long he wandered, he could not locate it. Instead, he ended up facing a two-story house, a familiar figure on the roof of it, just above the attic.
Shadow froze, still hidden by the darkness between the trees as his eyes fixed on the blue hedgehog sitting up there, curled up into a ball, only his eyes visible from where he tucked his muzzle in his knees.
A firm relief gripped his heart, only to be replaced with an overwhelming guilt. He had let the other hedgehog fall to Earth, he had almost killed him and his brothers, and their father.
Willing himself to leave, Shadow turned, and yet, as if the universe had been conspiring against him, his legs gave in, leaving him kneeling, crunching a stick beneath his knee, immediately catching the other hedgehog's attention.
________
An unexpected crunch came from somewhere in the forest and Sonic's head snapped up, eyes immediately scanning the surroundings, on guard. Soon, he relaxed. Probably just raccoons.
And yet, as his eyes ran over the tree line once more, he ate his words, gaze locking on two large brown eyes, staring right back at him.
Sonic gasped aloud, looking to the skylight, then to the hedgehog in the forest a few times, considering how to get down.
He took notice of how ready Shadow looked to bolt and panicked a bit, unsure of what to do, so he quickly held up his hands, wordlessly asking, maybe pleading, him to stay there as he made his way down carefully, so as to not wake anyone else in the house up.
Surprisingly, Shadow had listened, and Sonic made his way down with quick efficiency, approaching a little and taking in Shadow's appearance, practically buzzing with concern and excitement.
________
Shadow pushed himself up with the aid of a tree with great difficulty as the blue hedgehog approached.
He saw him stop a couple of feet away staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers. Next thing Shadow knew, he was enveloped in an almost crushing hug. In a moment of panic he considered teleporting away, but that would definitely cause him to collapse, plus where would he even go?
As his mind raced a thousand miles an hour, Sonic stood there with his arms wrapped around Shadow, only pulling away when he heard him wince.
“Oh shit- sorry! Sorry-” he quickly pulled away, looking Shadow over and taking note of the injuries covering his body. “Wow you look bad,” Sonic muttered, before suddenly suggesting something that Shadow couldn’t call anything short of utterly outrageous: “Come in! Uh- I'm not the best with first aid, but Maddie's a vet, she'll definitely help you!”
Shadow took a step back, still somewhat shocked. His brows furrowed as he directed a confused glare to Sonic. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you should come inside so that someone with medical knowledge can treat you? Duh,” Sonic rolled his eyes, impatiently grabbing Shadow's wrist and turning towards his house.
But Shadow stubbornly dug his heels in, refusing to move. “No.”
Sonic turned back, now his turn to be confused. “What do you mean no?”
“I mean I'm not coming.” Shadow responded firmly.
“What? That's ridiculous, dude! You're really banged up, you need help!” The blue hedgehog insisted.
“..I can't.”
Sonic tilted his head, taking half a step towards Shadow. “What can't you?”
“I can't come inside,” he looked away, guilt and shame slowly coiling in his gut.
“Again, ridiculous assumption,” Sonic grinned, seeming sure of his words.
“No- No, I hurt you. I hurt your family, I can't just-”
“Uh-uh, I'm stopping you there! Nobody's angry at you. You were hurting. I explained it to them and all and we're all okay. The world still exists because of you, Shads,” Sonic explained with such enthusiasm that it caught Shadow off guard.
Explained it all to them? There is no way that they actually forgive him, right? After all he's done?
“Don't- don't call me that. And I-” but Shadow couldn't deny the fact that if he didn't get care for his wounds, they would get infected and would make his job harder.
He paused, looking at Sonic, then away again. “Fine. Only to get care for my wounds,” he agreed hesitantly, seeing how Sonic's eyes lit up from his peripheral.
“Great! Come on, then!” Sonic gently pulled him towards the house, only to realize that since he left from the roof, the front door was still locked. “Uhh.. Give me a second- be back in a flash!” He promised as he zoomed up to the attic again.
And indeed, less than a minute later the front door was clicking open and Sonic was standing there, grinning as he held his hand out for Shadow to take.
Shadow stepped inside, looking around. This place seemed.. Nice. Sonic led him over to the couch and sat him down. “Okay, wait here- I'll be right back,” he made finger guns as he spoke, then made his way up to the second floor.
On the couch, he took note of his surroundings: there was some sort of thin black box in front of the couch. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what it could be. Taking note of the remote he saw on the corner of the couch, Shadow entertained the idea that this was a TV. Much different from the clunky boxes he used to watch movies on with Maria.
Soon, he took note of two pairs of footsteps descending down the stairs.
Sonic got to the living room first, sitting down by Shadow and smiling. A dark skinned woman followed behind Sonic, her eyes widening as she saw Shadow. The dark hedgehog recognized her as Tom's wife - Maddie.
“Oh my..” She muttered.
Well, that's not great.