Chapter Text
“Who wants another s'more!”
From across the campfire, Tails let out a pained groan while Knuckles punched a fist in the air. With a devilish grin, Sonic tossed his friends the base supplies of the graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, Knuckles catching his with enthusiasm and Tails with a great deal of reluctance.
It was just the three of them on their camping trip that night, Tom and Maddie trusting them just barely enough to leave them unsupervised for the evening while they had their date night knitting, baking sourdough, crafting ventriloquist dummies, or doing whatever lame new hobby they had picked up in their spare time. The trust was a very fragile thing, though, if the sheer amount of threats and exclamations of I swear to all that is holy, if you guys cause any sort of trouble, you are all grounded! were any indication.
Sonic smiled at his two friends as they settled in to toast their marshmallows (or in Knuckles’ case, burn to a charred crisp), but the expression was strained. Because truth be told, despite the warm company he found himself surrounded by, the glow of the fire between them, and the sweet treats he held out in offering, Sonic was far from content.
Everything here… the camping, the s'mores, the friends... it was all a distraction from the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind the past few days. No, the past few weeks. Ever since he had saved the earth from Robotnik’s weapon of mass destruction, there had been one thing occupying his brain, one person who he couldn’t stop thinking about.
Shadow.
His doppelganger, his rival, his nemesis… but at the end, his ally. If only for a brief, fleeting moment in the span that they had known each other, but it had been a moment nonetheless. After he had lost control of the Chaos Emeralds, the power bleeding from him as his unconscious body had plummeted towards Earth and away from Robotnik’s ship, he hadn’t seen him. Tails had told him that the Chaos Energy within the weapon had exceeded capacity and blown up with both Eggman inside and Shadow pushing it away and out into the cosmos. According to Tails’ calculations and theorized simulation of the blast, both of them should have been deceased.
But Sonic didn’t believe it. If Eggman could come back from the dead twice, then Shadow, with the godlike power of his Super form, could survive an explosion in space. Right?
Sonic wasn’t entirely sure why, but he wanted to believe that to be the case.
He had spent far more time searching for Shadow than was justifiable. All of the debris from the blast had been examined excessively— multiple times over the past few weeks. Looking for something, anything to indicate that he was still alive. A shoe, a quill, a footprint… Sonic wasn’t picky. But despite his efforts, he didn’t find anything. No sign of life, though no corpses either, and it was this lack of evidence towards Shadow’s demise that had Sonic cling to some odd, unfathomable glimmer of hope.
He wasn’t sure why he cared so much. And because of this, he didn’t bother bringing up his internal storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions to his friends or parents, because he knew if they started to ask him questions, he wouldn’t have any answers.
What he did know, though, was that if Shadow was alive, he had no one. No friends, no family, no place to go. And it was this thought that constantly haunted him and made it impossible for Sonic to truly enjoy living life. Even now, with Tails and Knuckles by his side, happily chattering away as they ate their s'mores without a care in the world, Sonic couldn’t help but sit there and think about how all the treasures he possessed were the things that Shadow didn’t have.
“Sonic? Hey, Sonic? Are you listening?”
The hedgehog in question blinked as he realized he had zoned out again, tearing his eyes away from the dark forest behind them to turn towards Tails. This had been a recurring problem as of late, one that seemed to have no remedy. “Er, yes?”
“If you were listening,” Knuckles demanded from across the campfire, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees, “then what was I saying?”
Sonic licked his lips, offering his friends a weak, apologetic shrug for the absolute fictitious garbage he was about to utter. “Uh, that your, um, fists are really big… and that you’re one million percent? Muscle?” As he spoke, his voice steadily rose in pitch, delivering his entire answer as a question.
By some miracle, he managed to guess the correct response. “Actually, yes. That was exactly what I was talking about. Perhaps you were listening.”
Tails, unfortunately for Sonic, wasn’t buying it. “You were doing that thing again,” he said in a soft tone as Knuckles began to stuff his face with more s'mores, temporarily exiting the conversation due to his muscular physique being acknowledged and bringing him momentary satisfaction.
“Doing what thing again?”
Tails extended Sonic a flat look. “That thing where you stare pensively out into the forest and completely ignore us?”
“Oh,” Sonic awkwardly laughed, “yeah. That thing.”
“Is everything okay?”
Sonic grimaced, sucking in air through his teeth before averting his gaze from Tails. “I…” he began, before hesitating. Because what was he supposed to say? Yeah buddy, I’m totally fine, except for the fact that I can’t stop thinking about the darker, eviler version of me who tried to kill us multiple times and who I only worked together with for a brief moment because we had to in order to save the world. Yeah, remember that guy? I can’t get him off my mind, and I don’t know what to do about it.
He always told Tails everything. Well, almost everything. He still hadn’t told him that the reason his plane had inexplicably broken down a month ago and had been out of commission for a week was because Sonic had tried to use the engine to heat up a chili dog by dropping it inside, before realizing that he had no feasible way to get it out, nor did he think he would ever share that little secret. But anyways, glancing between his best friend and where Knuckles was busy applying a heavy dollop of whipped cream to his confectionery creation, he decided that this was neither the time nor place to talk about his strange obsession.
And quite frankly, he wasn’t sure if that time or place would ever come around.
Sonic sighed, running a hand through his quills. “Yeah Tails, I’m okay, thanks for asking.” He offered his friend a weak smile, because it technically was the truth. He was okay. It was Shadow that he was concerned about.
“The fox is asking if you’re okay because you clearly need another s'more.” Knuckles took a large bite of his own treat, the excessive whipped cream sagging off the edge and dribbling on to his gloves. He didn’t bother to swallow before he spoke. “As of right now, I have eaten three more than you. And this time, you need to add way more cheese whip. You didn’t add enough to your last one because you are weak and unworthy.”
“He didn’t add cheese because you’re the only one here who likes that topping, Knuckles.” Tails stuck out a tongue, making a face. It was important to note that between the three, Tails constructed the most normal s'mores, opting for the basics of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows toasted to scientific perfection. No extra stuff necessary. “That stuff is disgusting. Right, Sonic?”
As his friends spoke, Sonic had begun to tune them out once more, his gaze drifting back out to the forest. It was so dark out there, so cold, so lonely. Is that how Shadow was feeling right at that moment? Dark, cold, and lonely?
“Sonic?”
Sonic blinked, looking back towards Tails and Knuckles with a sheepish expression. He had been caught doing the thing… again. And only about a minute and thirty-six seconds had elapsed since the last time his attention drifted. Holy crap, he needed to get a grip.
His mind racing to come up with an excuse, he found himself confronted by Tails’ look of genuine concern, and Knuckles’ look of confusion. “I, uh…” he stammered, wracking his brain for an excuse, for something to explain his odd behavior that preferably didn’t involve bringing up Shadow. Because that would not only be weird, but also wildly random. Sonic could probably count on one hand the number of times they had brought him up since the conclusion of their latest adventure.
Eventually, he settled on saying, “I think I ate too many s'mores. I don’t feel very good.” Both were true. He had eaten too many s'mores, and he really didn’t feel all the good, but the important footnote here was that those two things were unrelated. Not that Tails and Knuckles needed to be privy to that small, tiny detail. “I might have to go on a run to clear my head.”
“Weak and unworthy,” Knuckles reiterated with a disappointed shake of his head, having the decency to at least swallow before he spoke this time. “There is a reason I am the champion of the s'mores and you are not!”
Sonic stood up to take his leave, patting Knuckles on the shoulder as he passed by. “You know what, man, you can have that title. It’s all yours.”
His voice and delivery had been completely sarcastic, however, since Knuckles didn’t understand the subtleties of tone and body language, he punched a massive fist into the air in triumph. “Aha!” he cried out with far more enthusiasm than the situation warranted, “I am victorious once again! All must bow to my might and power as the king of the s'mores!”
Tails had a slightly different reaction to Sonic’s departure. “Are you sure you’ll be all right, Sonic?”
Sonic gave him a tired, indulgent smile as he ruffled the unruly tuft of fur on his head. “I’ll be fine, buddy, thanks for asking. I’ll be back soon. I probably just need to go run off some of this excess sugar or puke in a bush or something.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. He really had eaten a few too many s'mores in a desperate attempt to keep up with Knuckles and prevent him from gloating about his superiority. It had been futile, of course, but that didn’t mean that Sonic was going to let it happen without trying.
And with that, Sonic turned his back on the fire and his friends, venturing out into the dark, chilly forest that surrounded them. Behind him, he could hear Knuckles offer Tails the can of cheese whip to top off his s'more, thus sparking a debate about whether such a thing even belonged on s'mores in the first place.
To be honest, it was a conversation Sonic didn’t really mind missing out on.
For what was perhaps the first time in his life, he didn’t feel like running. Sure, it may have helped cool his head, but it was dark out and he wasn’t really in the mood to trip on an errant tree root and faceplant. That, and there was far too much on his mind, too many things weighing him down to feel like he wouldn't even get a good run if he tried.
Soon, the dim light of the fire faded behind him, and Sonic was completely alone in the forest. It was not unlike his early days on earth, back when he had lived in his cave and had no one. He remembered how lonely he had felt, how desperate he had been for someone to talk to, much less a friend. Those had been some of the worst days of his life, especially in the winter when the Montana snow had been thick and cold.
He wondered if perhaps his own experiences were why he couldn’t stop thinking about Shadow. Because he knew what it felt like to be alone, how soul-crushing and depressing it had been.
Sonic sighed as he walked. Perhaps he would go out and look for him again the next day, if only to ease his consciousness. To ease the guilt he felt about having unintentionally abandoning Shadow in that crucial moment, leaving him alone to push the massive weapon away from earth’s orbit to save the planet. To ease the guilt that he knew exactly how Shadow had felt, and hadn’t been able to do more to help him.
Maybe he would try Siberia. There was always a chance that he had missed some of the debris in the snowy, mountainous landscape, and perhaps he could pay his old friends at the bar a visit and—
Snap.
His ears perking up, Sonic froze. In all of his rumination, he had completely neglected to see the figure standing in front of him, only the outline of their form visible in the gloom of the forest.
Okay, so that definitely wasn’t creepy at all.
“Um, hello?” Sonic called out warily, his fingers flexing by his side as he prepared to either fight or run. His recent track record of running into mysterious creatures seemed to always result in his butt being handed to him, so he didn’t want to be too cocky just yet. “Super creepy person standing in the middle of a dark forest? Can I help you?”
In front of him, the figure didn’t move or say anything, which was somehow creepier than if they had.
“Excuse me, I don’t know if you know this, but just standing there and not saying anything when I ask you a question isn’t really helping you seem any less like a weirdo.” Sonic hated the way his voice wavered and betrayed some of the nerve he felt. He was supposed to be a super awesome, super cool hero, and super awesome-super cool heroes didn’t get scared by random people who hung out in the forest in the middle of the night, and yet, here he was. Just a little scared.
(For the record, Knuckles would have lost his mind by now, but that wasn’t really important at the moment.)
With a gulp, Sonic prepared to walk forward and approach the strange person standing in front of him… however, after a moment, they lifted their head ever-so-slightly, revealing two crimson eyes that gleamed ominously in the dark.
Sonic’s jaw dropped. There was no mistaking who this was.
“Shadow?” he asked incredulously, not trusting his eyesight in the inky forest. It didn’t really help that the hedgehog’s fur was, well, black, making him blend in nearly perfectly with their surroundings. It made sense that Sonic hadn’t known who he was or that he was there in the first place.
The figure in front of him grunted in response, stepping forward into the small clearing and revealing that it was, in fact, Shadow. “Of course it is. Who else would I be?”
Sonic let out a sigh of relief. Which was kind of an odd reaction, given that Shadow was hands-down the toughest foe he had fought yet, and he had no idea if he was hostile or not at the current moment. “That’s fair, though you would be surprised at the number of zany, colorful characters that just seem to show up around here. It’s honestly a little weird.”
Shadow sniffed derisively. “Don’t associate me with your idiotic friends,” he scoffed. “I look nothing like them.”
An awkward laugh escaped Sonic’s lips. “You know what, you’re completely correct. You’re a little too goth and edgy… you’re going to need more than the red in your highlights to fit in with us.”
For some reason, Sonic’s quip caused Shadow to react rather strongly, his scowl deepening into a sneer as he crossed his arms sharply across his chest. “It’s bold of you to assume that I want to do something as stupid as sit around a fire and eat gross, sugary food and sleep in a forest for no reason,” he groused, pointedly turning away and sticking his nose into the air in a picture of disgust.
Sonic was about to respond by saying that listen, I know the way that Knuckles makes his s'mores is pretty nasty, but don’t lump the rest of us in with him! when he had a realization. How had he known what they were doing… unless…? “Wait, hold on, were you… spying? On us?”
And then, once Shadow did nothing other than glare at him with vitriolic scarlet eyes, Sonic had a second realization. Something that was far more important than any of the meaningless banter they had engaged in thus far, the very thing that had been occupying his mind for the past few weeks.
“And wait another second, what? You survived?”
Shadow’s face scrunched up, displaying yet another expression of displeasure. In the back of his mind, Sonic wondered if he always looked so grumpy and sour. “Of course I survived,” he practically spat, as though he were offended by the insinuation that there was even a chance that he hadn’t. “I don’t know why you would expect anything else.”
“I— you know what, that’s completely understandable, that’s on me,” Sonic said, lifting his hands up in mock surrender. “But, at the same, can you blame me? We all thought you, well, died.”
Shadow let out a derisive hmph! “It’ll take more than a giant explosion of Chaos Energy in space to kill me, you obnoxiously blue hedgehog.”
Sonic wisely chose to ignore the insult as he pressed forward. “Yeah, but if that’s the case, where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Shadow’s demeanor shifted as he tilted his head towards Sonic, a strange glint in his eye that very well could have been a trick of the dim moonlight they found themselves standing under. “You… were looking for me?”
Throwing his hands up in the air, Sonic let out a groan of exasperation, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Well duh, of course I have been! What, did you think I would just, I don’t know, forget about the guy who I turned all super and crazy and golden with and saved the world?!”
Shadow didn’t say anything, simply looking at Sonic with an unreadable expression on his face. Almost as if he were studying him, and Sonic shifted uncomfortably under the sudden scrutiny he faced. “Yes,” he answered truthfully after a long, drawn-out moment, and in that moment, where they were, who he was talking to, came crashing down on Sonic all at once.
“Shadow…” he asked slowly, as though he were talking to a skittish animal (which was technically not an incorrect way to describe the situation), “why… why are you here?”
There was another pause, this one longer than the last. Shadow merely stared at Sonic, harsh and unblinking, before seeming to come to a decision as he straightened his posture and puffed his chest out. “Coming here was a mistake.”
He turned to walk away, but before he had the chance to skate, or teleport, or exit in whatever dramatic fashion he chose to, Sonic leapt forwards and shot a hand out, clamping it around Shadow’s wrist. The reaction was instant, the contact causing Shadow to whip his head back towards Sonic and pin him with a glare so venomous, so scathing that Sonic nearly released his grip on instinct. The silent promise in Shadow’s eyes that if he didn’t let go, he was probably going to punch him in the face did not go unnoticed by Sonic, however, instead of shying away, he narrowed his eyes and tightened his hold, consequences be damned.
“Let go of me.” Shadow’s voice was low and menacing— more so than usual, which was honestly quite impressive.
“No,” Sonic responded, and he was thankful that none of the terror that gripped his heart as he stared into the face of the creature that could give him a black eye (if he was feeling nice) bled into his voice. Sonic had a pretty big ego, which meant that something such as a voice crack would be the most embarrassing thing, like, ever.
Shadow’s frown deepened, attempting to pull his arm away. Sonic’s grip only tightened. “Release me. Now.”
“Not until you tell me why you’re here.”
The frown on Shadow’s face shifted into a scowl, revealing a pair of fangs that glinted dangerously in the moonlight. “That’s none of your business, hedgehog.”
“Um, well, yeah, it kind of is my business, dude. If you’re skulking and lurking around the forest in the place that I live in, with my friends nearby, I kind of want to know why!”
For some reason, there was something in Sonic’s statement that pushed Shadow over the edge, for with a crinkling of his nose, he lifted up one of his massive shoes and planted a kick solidly in Sonic’s abdomen before he had the chance to react. Instantly losing his grip, he was knocked backwards, sliding across the forest floor until his momentum was stopped as he collided with the base of a tree not too far away. Even though Sonic could tell that he was going to have a pretty sizable lump on his back the next day, he knew that the kick had been a very minimal display of violence on Shadow’s part. He knew what he was truly capable of. He had held back.
That didn’t stop him from complaining about it, though. “Ugh, dude, that was so not cool,” he moaned as he sat up, rubbing his back. The spot was tender to the touch, but miraculously, no ribs had been broken.
From across the streak in the dirt that stretched between them, Shadow looked down at Sonic with an expression of displeasure. “I told you to let go,” he growled, his fists clenching at his side. “It’s your fault for not listening to me.”
To be fair, Shadow did kind of-sort of have a point. Still, that didn’t stop the throbbing sensation in Sonic’s body that made him release an unbecoming groan. “And I just wanted to know why you were here,” he retorted, trying and failing to keep the pain from seeping into his tone. Shadow had already called him a weakling once; he didn’t want to provide any additional evidence to support that claim. “That’s not even that crazy of a question.” With a grunt, he picked out some of the sticks that had gotten caught in his quills, tossing them to the side as he grimaced. The dirt from his unceremonious slide was embedded into his fur… it was going to be real pain in the butt to clean later.
Shadow watched Sonic’s pitiful attempt at grooming himself with disdain, but didn't say anything. Which honestly wasn't all that surprising given that he didn't speak all that much to begin with, but still. Sonic needed an answer.
"I'm going to ask you one more time," he said with more firmness, more force than he had used before. "Why are you here, Shadow?"
There was a beat, and then Shadow finally spoke. “I think you already know the answer to that,” he muttered, turning away from Sonic.
He paused, and Sonic’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. Pushing himself to his feet and swallowing the scream of protest his aching muscles threatened to release, he reached a desperate hand out towards his rival. “Shadow, wait!”
It was too late. Without another word, Shadow teleported away, leaving Sonic alone in the forest with his hand still stretched out towards nothing. The only evidence that Shadow had ever been there, other than the bruises on Sonic’s body, was the disturbance of the low mist that clung to the mossy ground.
Biting his lip, Sonic lowered his hand to his side in contemplation. Okay. What the heck had that been all about?
He felt incredibly conflicted and confused about the whole interaction. On one hand, he finally had his answer to Shadow’s fate. He was, for better or worse, very alive. This in itself opened up so many questions, though, such as how did he survive? What had he been up to? Where had he been for the past few weeks?
And most importantly, the question that Sonic had wanted answered the most—why was he in Green Hills, of all places?
In the silence of the forest, Shadow’s last words echoed in Sonic’s mind. I think you already know the answer to that.
Sonic's fingers curled by his side, the ghost of Shadow's wrist still echoing in his hand. He wasn’t entirely sure that he did know the answer.
But that brought him to why he was conflicted. While he felt a very odd, strange sense of relief at Shadow’s survival (and this unsettling feeling was something he would have to examine and unpack later), it was only one side of the coin. Shadow was dangerous. He had proven that countless times again; just because he had a change of heart when the fate of the world was at stake, didn’t necessarily say much about his morals. For the majority of the time that Sonic had known him, he had been hellbent on revenge. Sure, their little chat on the moon had shown a shift in perspective, but the truth of the matter was, Sonic didn’t know Shadow. And because of this, he couldn’t be trusted.
But even with that lack of trust, he hadn’t come here to harm him. Well, Sonic had been harmed, technically, but that was self-inflicted and ultimately beside the point. If Shadow had wanted to cause conflict, he would have attacked Sonic and his friends while they were distracted with their s'mores. He had already demonstrated quite clearly that he could easily take the three of them on in a fight, no distractions or tricks necessary. Not choose to reveal himself when Sonic was on his own, away from the campsite.
Sonic sighed as he turned away from where Shadow had disappeared. Enough time had elapsed that the mist had settled in to fill the space left in his absence, and now the only proof that Shadow had ever been there at all were his memories and the aches on his body.
Lingering here was pointless. He needed to return to his friends before they got worried, or even worse, decided to come out and look for him. Sonic needed some time to reflect on his walk back before deciding what to tell them. Oddly enough, there was a sliver of hesitation within him, one that made him uncertain if he wanted to tell Tails and Knuckles what had happened and who he had just encountered in the forest.
And by the time he returned to the campsite, that sliver in his chest had blossomed into a full-blown flower of doubt.
“Sonic! There you are!” Tails exclaimed, leaping to his feet upon seeing him. “Where have you been? We were just about to come looking for you!”
“Yes, and point at you and laugh at you if we found you doing something embarrassing!”
Tails gave Knuckles a tired side-eye before turning back to Sonic, who had returned to his seat by the fire without saying anything. “Sonic, you look troubled. What happened? Is everything okay?”
Knuckles merely laughed, a stark contrast to Tails’ panicky concern. “Ha! He looks sweaty and pale and sickly because he probably threw up all of his s'mores! Ha ha!”
Under most circumstances, Sonic would deny such an insulting claim. Him, not capable of keeping a few measly s'mores down? Please. He was built of tougher stuff, he didn’t have the stomach of a wimp. He couldn’t afford to, since running as fast as he did had the propensity to be a nauseating experience at times.
However, the alternative of denying Knuckles’ accusation would be to tell them truth. To tell his two best friends that while in the forest, he had come across Shadow, who was very much alive and not dead, and that after a few cryptic words that literally made no sense, had disappeared off into the night.
The indecision in his chest took root, sending up leafy tendrils that got lodged in his throat and rendered him unable to talk. He should tell them the truth. They were a team, friends, a family, and family told each other everything. They didn’t keep secrets.
And yet, as he opened his mouth to speak, to tell Tails and Knuckles that Shadow was out there and they had to go find him, he hesitated. Because even though Shadow was dangerous and unpredictable, it didn’t seem like his intent had been to hurt Sonic. He had just seemed, well, lost. Confused. Purposeless.
And how would he manage to convince Tails and Knuckles that he wasn’t a threat? That they didn't need to go out and find him and stop him before he could cause irreparable harm to the Earth?
The answer was that he didn’t think that he could. So with that in his mind, closing his mouth, Sonic swallowed thickly.
“Well?” Tails prompted him, and it occurred to Sonic that he had just been sitting there, staring at them in silence.
Blinded by the spotlight he suddenly found himself under, Sonic panicked and latched on to what Knuckles had said, that being the first thing to spring into his mind. “I, uh, yeah! Whew! That was honestly pretty crazy, but I feel much better now! Stomach, empty! So, um, guys? Maybe try staying away from the cheese whip, I think it might have gone bad.”
Knuckles laughed at him again in a voice thick with mirth, while Tails arched an eyebrow. “Sonic, you’re covered in dirt and you have twigs stuck in your fur.”
Sonic didn’t miss a beat. “Oh yeah, do I now? Well if you think I look bad, you should see that bush, if you know what I’m saying.” He chuckled awkwardly, placing his hands on his hips in a false display of confident bravado. “Sonic one, random bush in the forest that is totally empty and has no alien hedgehogs that look suspiciously like me in it, zero!”
“Yeah…” Tails said uncertainly, “…um… sure.”
“Now, where were we?” Sonic asked, not dropping the act for one second. Not with the way Tails was staring at him in suspicion, far too smart for his own good. “Oh yeah, that’s right! We were going to scare Knuckles by telling him spooky ghost stories! Isn’t that right, guys?”
At Sonic’s suggestion, Tails slightly relaxed, whereas Knuckles had the complete opposite reaction. “Yeah, I suppose it is that time!” Tails said at the exact moment Knuckles exclaimed, “Oh no, we are not doing that!”
Struggling to conceal his sigh of relief, Sonic practically lunged for the flashlight, and casting it across his face at an eerie angle, launched into a story that probably would need a few passes through an editor before it could ever be considered for publication.
(Not that the quality really mattered, because Knuckles was really just that easy to scare.)
Later in the evening, after many stories had been exchanged and the fire had dwindled to a few smoldering embers that cast a dim glow around the circle, Sonic laid in his sleeping bag, staring thoughtfully at the sky. It was quiet, save for the humming and buzz of the forest around them and the sound of Knuckles’ snoring as he slept beside Sonic.
Tails, on the other hand, was still wide awake, as he cut through the silence with his soft, whispering voice, one laced with uncertainty. “Sonic, we’re your friends, correct?”
“Of course, Tails,” Sonic responded without hesitation. “You guys aren’t just my friends, you’re my best friends. My family.”
“So then, you would tell us if there was something on your mind, right?”
It was a clear night; there were no clouds to obstruct his view of the stars that twinkled down upon them. Sonic found himself distantly wondering if Shadow was staring at the same sky he was.
“I tell you guys everything,” Sonic said after a moment. He hated the fact that it was a blatant lie, and yet, he still couldn’t bring himself to tell them about Shadow. He tried to justify it to himself by thinking that he was doing it for their own good, that he didn’t want to make them worry.
However, he knew it was deeper than that. And that thought made him deeply uncomfortable.
“Okay, Sonic, I believe you,” Tails murmured, and Sonic could hear the poorly-concealed sleepiness in his voice. “Best friends forever, right?”
Sonic smiled softly, the gesture directed towards the sky but meant for Tails. “Best friends forever,” he agreed in a whisper. “Good night, buddy.”
As Tails drifted off to sleep beside him, Sonic continued to stare towards the stars. He would tell them in the morning… maybe. Or maybe if he saw Shadow again, he would bring it up. But not now. Not when he didn’t know why Shadow was lurking so close to them, likely observing them from the edge of their campsite at that very moment.
The thought leaping unbidden to the forefront of his mind, Sonic suddenly became aware to the high likelihood that he was being watched, being examined. Lifting his head up, he looked across the clearing of their campsite to see what he swore were two glowing red eyes staring at him, unblinking in the dark night.
Freezing in his sleeping bag, he could do little else than stare back with wide eyes as he sat there paralyzed.
And after what felt like an eternity, even though it was probably no longer than ten seconds, Sonic finally willed himself to blink, and when his eyes opened, he found himself staring at nothing. The shadowy figure that had been watching him was gone.
Letting out the breath he had been holding, Sonic laid his head back down onto his pillow, his heart racing. Shadow’s presence, while somewhat relieving, brought up so many questions.
Primarily, of all the places in the world, why are you here, Shadow?
As he stared wistfully up at the starry sky stretched above him, Sonic heard Shadow’s voice respond in his head, deep and raspy and carrying a lifetime of hurt and burden in his tone.
You already know the answer to that.
And as he drifted off to a restless sleep, Sonic had a sneaking suspicion that he did.