Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Shadow! You’re awake!”

Tom turned away from the bacon, the one task he could complete one-handed with minimal assistance. Maddie looked up at the same time, their eyes met, and understanding passed between them. 

“Could you-“ Tom started, but Maddie was already moving, abandoning the pancake mix she was preparing. 

“I got it, go play ref.” She said, taking the tongs out of his hand. He smiled at her, taking off the apron (it wasn’t tied for ease of use, he was already crippled enough he didn’t need Maddie tying and untying his apron) and setting it aside. 

One of them wanted to be there when Shadow woke up, not only to make sure the hedgehog knew he was safe but because they knew Sonic could be a bit overbearing and Shadow was not a bear they wanted him to poke, even if unintentionally. It wasn’t out of fear, it was concern. Mature space hedgehogs or not, they needed a mediator and that should be Tom’s responsibility as the adult, the parent, of the situation. Tom felt like he’d been letting Sonic and the others take on entirely too much responsibility with no supervision. Like saving the world. Again. 

Tom wasn’t fast, he wasn’t a genius, he wasn’t one million percent muscle, but he was a parent. He couldn’t stop Sonic and the others from being their awesome selves, it attracted trouble sure but they usually handled it. But they were still kids, kids who shouldn’t have to deal with all of this on their own. Tom was supposed to be their support at the very least, and he felt like he had done a very poor job as of late. Letting them go off with GUN without asking questions? Dumb. Deciding to fill his time with useless hobbies to keep his mind away from what his kids were doing? Dumb. The only good thing he’d done was be supportive enough to have Sonic come ask them for help infiltrating GUN. Sonic at least trusted them enough to come for help when they needed it. That did make him feel better, but still, they only asked for help after the crazy Eggmen (yes plural) showed up and Shadow had captured them all and attempted to kill his kids with a miniature black hole. 

If that had succeeded… who was going to tell Tom? Would GUN even say anything? Nobody would have known, or cared to share. His kids could have died and he might have never known when or how or why. That was unacceptable. 

No, never again would he leave his kids to face anything by themselves, not of his own volition. He wasn’t weak either, he punched Eggman -twice!- and even Randall. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his kids. 

Tom walked into the living room calmly, trying to be casual. He could see the problem already. Mobians, he could say with quite a bit of experience under his belt, expressed a lot with their eyes. To be fair it’s hard not to when eyes take up about 50% of their face. Shadow was no exception, and Tom’s honed skills served him well. 

Shadow was on the couch, eyes open, staring at Sonic who stood over him. 

Sonic was asking how he was feeling, but Tom could tell that was not what was on Shadow’s mind. Shadows wide eyes flicked from Sonic to Tails, the fox gave the hedgehog a knowing smile -if a bit sheepish. Tom made a mental note to ask about that later. 

Shadow was clearly overwhelmed already, his whole body was tense and focused on the hedgehog standing over him. Ozzie, who had somehow swapped from laying on Sonic to laying on Shadow at some point during the night, wuffed softly and nosed at Shadow’s clenched fist. Tom recognized this, Ozzie had done a similar thing to Sonic just last night, helping the hedgehog calm down and focus on other things. Sonic, however, saw Ozzie in Shadows lap and came to a different conclusion. 

Sonic leaned over, reaching for the dog. “Oh, sorry about Ozzie, I can get him off of you—“ 

Tom stepped in, putting a hand on Sonic’s shoulder to keep him from further encroaching on the darker hedgehog’s space. 

“Hey buddy,” Tom announced himself, internally wincing as Shadow’s overwhelmed look snapped to him and somehow got even more tense . Tom focused on Sonic. “Let’s give him some space, he did just wake up.”

He pulled Sonic a few steps back by his shoulder so he was no longer looming over Shadow. Shadow didn’t relax exactly, but he eased. His good hand let go of the blanket, slowly shifting towards Ozzie before settling on his neck. Ozzie settled his head back down on Shadows chest and the hand on his neck constricted, grabbing the fur firmly before slowly relaxing. It was almost rhythmic, and matched the hedgehog’s rising and falling chest. Which looked to be a little too fast to be comfortable. 

Ozzie was working his magic on Shadow then, good. He wondered when Ozzie learned to do this, specifically for hedgehogs, apparently. He supposed it didn’t matter, since Ozzie was helping and being very good at it too. It was also good for Shadow to be comfortable with the dog, and knew enough to be gentle with him. Tom was well aware of what those fists could do. 

Sonic looked up at Tom, a thin veil of joy overtop his worry and concern. “Hey dad! Shadow’s awake!”

Tom gave him a smile, crouching down and comfortingly rubbing his son’s back. “Yeah, bud, let’s not crowd him too much.”

Sonic’s face scrunched, eyes darting between Tom and Shadow. “I just wanted him to know where he was, that it’s safe. That was the point of the sleepover.”

Tom nodded, “Yes, but Maddie also said he might be groggy, let him wake up a bit more before you talk his ears off.”

Sonic huffed and folded his arms. There’s his impatient little bugger. Tom resisted a laugh, but he raised his good hand and gave the blue hedgehog a hearty ruffle to his top quills. Sonic broke into a smile and waved him away, giving a meaningless token of complaint. 

Tom was well aware of the red gaze locked on them, he hoped the casual interaction would put the other at ease. Or at the very least get the attention off of him so he could further calm down. It seems to be working, from what Tom could glean from the corner of his eye. Shadow was still at attention, ears perked and staring, but something in his face had softened. Then he caught a wince full of pain, the look was quickly smothered but Tom had caught the hints. Right, Shadow was still pretty banged up and in a lot of pain. 

“Hey boys,” Tom called, looking back at Knuckles and Tails, who had only half approached the bedridden hedgehog. “You want to help Maddie in the kitchen? I kinda left her high and dry, me and my one hand did so much heavy lifting.”

Sonic rolled his eyes and leaned into Tom’s space with a sigh, “dad you’re not allowed to lift things!”

Before Tom could defend himself, Tails piped in flatly, “That was sarcasm, Sonic.”

Sonic put his hands on his hips, muzzle going slightly pink. “I knew that.”

“Ha!” Knuckles barked, pointing, “Father was speaking the lies used for humor!” 

“Great job, Knuckles.” Tom praised, trying to rein in—

“His feeble human hand could never lift much, certainly nothing heavy as is required for most manual labor. He is also currently crippled.” The echidna continued bluntly, compounded by the satisfied grin he wore. 

Tom pursed his lips, wondering when this turned into a ‘roast dad’ session. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shadow move. The black hedgehog’s ears twisted backwards and his shoulders curled in. 

Tom didn’t want to read too far into it, regardless of his level of experience in reading Mobian body language, Shadow was still new to him and his kids all had their quirks. He could be feeling bad about what he did to Tom, guilt over Tom’s current condition that Knuckles so eloquently pointed out. Or he could just be in pain, with his ears down it might have been the volume that hurt his head.  

Tom wasn’t the only one who noticed the movement. 

Knuckles winced, putting his glove down. “I apologize,” he said to Shadow, nodding- wait no it was a bow, his fist came up to his chest as he dipped shallowly. “I shall ‘watch-my-volume’ as you recover, more impressive hedgehog.”

Tom blinked, and so did everyone else in the room. 

Sonic grinned, moving as if to nudge the bedridden hedgehog but stayed where he was. “Hey! You got Knuckles to use a metaphor!”

Knuckles scowled, one of concentration as he was thinking about his words carefully. “It is a figure of speech. I cannot really ‘watch my volume’, it is sound, there is no visual component to it. But I will ‘watch’ it, as in ‘pay close attention to’, as it may be invisible- it still affects the people around me. I do not wish to cause more distress.”

“That’s very considerate of you, Knuckles. I’m sure he appreciates it.” Tom said after a few seconds of Shadow saying nothing. 

The fact that Shadow has yet to say anything at all worried him; he’d have to tell Maddie. Though he wasn’t dismissing the idea that the kid was just… incredibly shy. From what little details Sonic had gathered and shared, Shadow wasn’t exactly sociable. Though his kids did say he had been pretty chatty about his pain that drove his thirst for revenge, Tom was taking it as a good sign that he wasn’t chatty right now. 

Tom shifted his gaze, letting it settle fully, carefully, on Shadow. Shadow tensed again, but this time Shadow was the one who looked away. Tom was undeterred. “Hey Shadow, you hungry buddy? Maddie’s working on a whole spread, pancakes, bacon, eggs, anything there that you’d like. If you don’t want any of that, we can still get you some toast so you have something in your stomach.”

Shadows' ears went flat again, his brow furrowing. Now the furrowing brow can mean loads of things, it’s a competitive cocky grin, a look of deep concentration, a stone wall of meditation. Tom was surprised to find this one was made for confusion, disbelief, and a particular brand of ‘this person must be insane’. That look he knew very well in human faces, usually when he tells them his kids are extra terrestrial woodland creatures with super powers. And Rachel. 

Shadow didn’t reply, but that was fine. Maddie should probably take a look at him first anyway. Sonic looked .2 milliseconds away from jumping in, distressed and disturbed by the other hedgehog’s continued silence. Tom took control again. 

“Let’s go help Maddie with the food now, okay?” Tom said, much less a suggestion than his words said. He patted Sonic’s shoulder as he stood up. 

“But—“ Sonic protested, looking between Tom and Shadow. 

“It’s okay,” Tom said, beckoning the blue hedgehog over, “Ozzie’s got him, let him work his magic.”

Sonic’s eyes widened, finally catching on. His face morphed to understanding, though he grumbled as he walked over, still reluctant to leave the darker hedgehog. Tom herded his kids back into the kitchen, giving Shadow a weak smile that hopefully said ‘we’ll just be in here if you need anything’ before ducking in himself. 

Maddie was working on the pancakes now, the plate of bacon all ready to be served up. She smiled at them as they approached, in secret parent communication, Tom assured her that nothing exploded, but Shadow was indeed awake. 

Cooking breakfast with three wiggly kids around was usually a hassle, luckily by now they were pros. Maddie had Tails hop up on the counter to help sprinkle in toppings for the pancakes. Blueberry for the fox himself, chocolate for Sonic, the rest would be plain as Knuckles didn’t actually like other things on his pancakes. Knuckles was in charge of making the plates, getting the specific pancakes from Maddie and adding the person's desired extras. Tom was put in charge of scrambling the eggs, having Sonic crack them for him even though he could do that one-handed it was something for the hedgehog to do. Maddie also apparently didn’t want shells in their food, rude. 

Sonic did his task with a frustrated scowl, standing at Tom’s elbow like a particularly grumpy limpet. He stared at the eggs Tom scrambled as if they personally offended him. 

It came to a head quickly, as most things do with Sonic. 

“Why won’t he say anything?” Sonic asked, aware enough not to ask too loudly for the hedgehog in the other room to hear. However, with most of them crowded around the stove, everyone else heard him perfectly. Tails paused for a second when Sonic spoke, his mouth turning into a thin line before he resumed his task. Knuckles only looked at the hedgehog and made no comment. Maddie glanced at Tom, and Tom took a breath. 

There was a lot of complicated emotions about Shadow -for everyone really- but for Tom, he was just a hurt kid right now. They would treat him like a hurt kid. 

Tom matched Sonic’s volume, though a bit more gentle than Sonic’s frustrated demand. “You get pretty quiet when you freak out.”

Sonic’s frown only deepened. “But he’s here, with us, what’s there to freak out about?”

Tom thought for a moment. 

“…I think he’s scared,” Tom said honestly. 

Sonic’s face dropped, “Scared?! Of us?!” He whisper-yelled. 

Tom shrugged, trying to keep casual. “Why not? Think about it from his perspective.”

Sonic’s ears pinned down suddenly, his face going ashen. “I… I did nearly kill him.” 

Oh. Well. That’s not something Tom meant to bring up at breakfast. 

“We just have to show him everything’s okay,” Tom said. “Hey, Knuckles, I got these eggs ready.” 

Knuckles lumbered over with Sonic’s plate, as Sonic ate more eggs than anyone else. Sonic needed a lot more protein and… well,, a lot more of everything, considering his metabolism. His plate was already pretty full, with at least five pancakes stacked and bacon on the side. Tom scooped the eggs and plopped them down where there was room. 

Tom glanced at Sonic when he didn’t see any movement from the hedgehog. Sonic was frozen, staring into nothing as his hands clenched on the edge of the counter. Oh. 

Tom put down the scooper, Knuckles moved away to put the finished plate on the table. Tom quickly turned off the stove, putting the hot pan on the only available burner that wasn’t active. He gently put his hand on Sonic’s head, stroking over the quills there and gently scratching at his ear. Sonic seemed to reboot, taking in a deep shuddering breath and his ear flicked. Sonic blinked back to reality, turning to look at Tom. 

Tom smiled, tugging Sonic closer for a hug. His son leaned in, hiding his face in Tom’s legs. Tom rubbed his head in smooth, even strokes. 

“I think that’s all the pancakes!” Tails announced, taking the attention away from all of them staring at Sonic. 

“Great job, baby,” Maddie said, flipping the last two pancakes for good measure and putting them on the extra’s plate. Tails hopped off the counter, already going to his seat and looking excited for his food. Tom stayed still, trying to be Sonic’s Ozzie while the real Ozzie was busy. Maddie glanced at him while she took care of her burners, another knowing look passed between them. 

“Knuckles, if you could help Tom get the last few things?” Maddie said, putting her dirty spatula in the sink as she moved through the kitchen. “I’m going to ask Shadow if he wants anything.” 

“Of course, Pretzel Woman,” Knuckles said, already heading for the fridge as the last few things they needed to gather were the drinks and a few other toppings, like whipped cream. 

Tails glanced through the kitchen door towards the living room, towards their current bedridden guest. “He might not talk…”

“That’s okay,” Maddie said as she walked past the fox. “I can still ask him yes-or-no questions.” 

Tom nudged Sonic, shuffling both of them closer to the kitchen table. Knuckles and Tails made light conversation while they tried to ignore the two tense hedgehogs on either side. Knuckles was still ferrying goods from the fridge to the table and Tails was in his seat, twin tails swishing happily. Tom settled in his seat and scooped up Sonic to sit in his lap. It wasn’t quite comfortable; the teenager wasn’t small anymore, but he made it work. Sonic kept his head against Tom’s chest. 

Despite the chatter between his other sons, Tom managed to catch what Maddie was saying in the living room. 

“Hi Shadow, I’m Maddie, Tom’s wife. We got breakfast all made, are you hungry?”

There was a pause, and coincidentally, Knuckles and Tails stopped talking then too. They heard nothing from the other hedgehog. 

“That’s okay, I’ll make you some toast and you can have as much or as little as you want.” 

Maddie returned a few seconds later and immediately locked eyes with Tom. He is terrified , the look said, and her gaze lowered to Sonic on Tom’s lap. They both are.  

Well, they can deal with this. Shadow has Ozzie, Tom has Sonic, just give them time to calm down and they can figure something out. Maddie didn’t immediately start making Shadow’s toast though, she stopped by Tom and Sonic. 

Maddie pet Sonic’s head, gaining the hedgehog's attention from the new touch. Maddie smiled at their son, “Hey, baby, you up for eating breakfast?”

Sonic let out a deep sigh, ducking into Tom one last time before he slid off his lap. Tom kept his arm loosely around him, just in case he fell again like last night. Despite his quietness, Sonic seemed better and stable on his feet. That’s good. 

“Sorry,” Sonic mumbled, marching slowly to his own seat. Maddie snagged him, crouching down and giving him a full hug. Sonic startled, but returned the hug once it registered. 

“No need for apologies, Sonic, you’re feeling a lot,” Maddie said, rubbing her son's back. “We’ll get through it together. It might feel like a lot, and it is a lot, but we can focus on taking one step at a time, and right now that step is breakfast.”

Sonic nodded and stepped back. Maddie scratched at his ear, and Sonic swatted her away after a moment. Maddie laughed and Sonic sped walked to his seat to avoid any more gushy parenting. Tom watched with a smile, already seeing Sonic slowly return to his normal self. A lot faster of a bounce back this time, but that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. He’d keep an eye out in case Sonic was pretending to be fine, but for now he let it go. Breakfast was the focus now. 

Knuckles ate heartily, as he did most things, Tails a close second, munching on his bacon with happy squeaky fox sounds. Sonic even teased him a little, giving the room much-needed lighter air. Sonic definitely wasn’t eating as fast as usual, but he was steady. Tom refused Maddie’s help with his pancakes, he could cut up his pancakes just fine on his own. Maddie helped Knuckles with the whipped cream, accidentally on purpose plopping a dollop on the echidna's nose. Tails laughed and Knuckles wiped it off, only to flick it at the fox, making Knuckles laugh and the fox yelp. Sonic laughed at them both. Knuckles demanded justice, and Maddie dolloped poor defenseless Tom as compensation, much to the delight of everyone else. 

All in all, breakfast went well. Maddie was the first to get up, not only putting her plate in the sink but getting the bread out next to the toaster. Sonic and the others all put their plates away, Knuckles even taking Tom’s even though he was perfectly capable of doing that himself. Once his plate was put in the sink, Sonic stood aimlessly, staring into nothing again. 

Tom walked over, crouching again. “Hey bud, you doing better?”

Sonic nodded, face twisted with hints of concern and fear that he smoothed into a smile. “Yeah, I’m doing okay, just… I don’t want him to be afraid of us.”

Tom put his hand on Sonic’s shoulder. “I know you’re scared, I know he’s scared too. He’s in a strange place with people he barely knows. But he does know you; if anyone or anything can convince him, it’s you.”

Sonic looked down at his shoes. “But… I hurt him too, I punched him to the moon. I’m probably the reason he’s so afraid and… I hate it. It’s… It’s somehow worse than the look on his face when he wanted me to kill him.”

Oh. That was new. 

“He… wanted you to kill him?” Tom tentatively asked, quickly wondering if that was a horrible mistake, considering Sonic’s whole demeanor fell to something more tense and distressed. 

“That's why I stopped, he wasn’t fighting me. He pointed to his chest… just- just like you did when you said I didn’t let my hurt change me-  to— to hit him there, to kill him.” His eyes started to glitter and Tom moved his hand around his son’s shoulders, tugging him closer into a half-hug. “He had nothing to live for, he wanted it all to burn, including himself, and I couldn’t… I couldn’t do that. Now he’s in our home, safe and sound, and he’s afraid of living. He’s lost everything, but being here is scarier than dying.”  

Well, that’s… profound, and incredibly sad. Tom is suddenly very glad Ozzie is with Shadow.  

“I’m glad you told me.” Tom said, “We’re gonna get through this together, okay? Just like Maddie said. You’re not on your own with this, you have the whole family to back you up- and? Guess what? Shadow has all of us too.”

Sonic smiled weakly, his ears still flat and brows drawn in worry. “I just want him to be okay.”

“We’ll help him, Sonic.” Tom said, “We’ll start with making sure he knows he’s safe here and go from there. Like Maddie said, little steps.”

Sonic nodded, a look of determination overtaking his devastation. “Right. And I do know him better than anyone else here.” He looked up at Tom, and there was his kid, confident and relentlessly compassionate. “I know what to do.” 

Tom couldn’t help but squeeze Sonic into another hug. His wonderful kid. Sonic didn’t complain about the hug, and Tom made it last until the hedgehog started squirming. Tom would never get tired of hugging his kids, he needed to do it more often. 

Once Sonic got free, Maddie walked over, plate and cup in hand. “Sonic, do you want to help me take this to Shadow?”

Sonic nodded, raising his arms to take the food. “Yeah, I know what I can do to help him know he’s safe here. We didn’t exactly have a lot of conversations, but I think I know what I can say to help.”

Maddie smiled, ruffling Sonic’s top quills. “My perfect baby boy.” 

Sonic’s face twisted in displeasure at the pet name but it was quickly wiped away, he looked to Tom. “You coming too?”

“Of course,” Tom said, rising from his crouch. “I told you we’d do it together.” 

With that, Sonic finally settled into himself. His shoulders dropped and his smile came easily, his ears swiveled happily and he shuffled in place because he was Sonic, never able to sit still. 

Tom spied Knuckles and Tails still putting away their dishes, he wasn’t sure if he should invite them as well or tell them to stay back. He didn’t want to crowd Shadow, but he didn’t want to leave them out. They were a family, and they would support each other and include each other. Knuckles met his gaze, and not unsimilar to him and Maddie, understanding passed between them. Tom felt that specific anxiety settle, because Knuckles understood. His look said, ‘worry not, father, I will keep the fox and myself out of the way, but not gone’. Knuckles, he had to remember, was a lot more observant and smarter than anyone gave him credit for. All his boys were so… good. Good kids. 

Tom turned away and followed Maddie and Sonic as they went into the living room. 

Shadow was exactly how Tom had seen him earlier, apprehensive, tense, and in pain. Ozzie was still on top of him, and the dog wagged his tail as the trio approached. But there was also something resigned about his posture, the way his eyes kept lowering even though he was staring intently. 

‘He wanted me to kill him.’ 

Maddie took the lead, crouching next to Shadow’s head. “Hey baby, we got you some toast, do you think you can sit up for me?”

Shadows crimson gaze slid to her, after a second or two, he nodded. Ozzie’s head lifted, not quite releasing the hedgehog but it made it easier as Shadow used his good arm to heave himself up. Maddie reached forward as well, hand hovering behind his back in case he needed the help. Sonic was nervously gripping the cup in his hand, looking two seconds away from helping himself. Shadow was soon upright, leaned back against the couch with Ozzie still settled on his lap. He looked even more tired like this, the arm in the sling resting over his stomach and eyes lowered. 

Maddie took a step back, giving Sonic a prompting look. 

Sonic stepped up, offering up the plate and cup. The blue hedgehog wore a smile, though his eyes spoke of worry they were also bleeding with hope and compassion. At his approach, Shadow went on alert. Ears swiveled back but not pinned, eyes wide and attentive on the hedgehog in front of him.

“Hey, there’s no winners in revenge, right?” Sonic started with an easy shrug, still offering out the food. “I can’t speak for everyone about who forgives you or not, but nobody’s looking for revenge here- I promise.”

Sonic was clearly quoting something they spoke about previously, and it worked like a charm. Shadow’s brow twitched in confusion, consideration, his frown more contemplative than emotional. His eyes flicked from Sonic to Maddie to Tom and then behind them to where Knuckles and Tails hung out close by. Sonic kept giving Shadow his earnest smile, and Shadow relaxed. 

His ears lifted, the tension slowly flowed out of his body, even his frown turned more flat. He took the plate from Sonic, setting it down on the couch next to him (opposite from Ozzie who was entirely too interested in the toast near him). He took the cup next, taking a sip. 

“Thanks.” He said in a broken, groggy whisper. Shadow grimaced, either in pain or just grossed out by the sound of his own voice. Sonic mimicked his expression with a tinge of worry, feeling bad for the other hedgehog. 

Maddie zeroed in, already going vet mode. “Is your throat hurting?”

Shadow’s frown deepened, and he shook his head. He used the cup to tap against his chest. He looked uncomfortable, eyes quickly looking away from the trio in front of him.

“Your chest hurts?” Maddie asked for clarification. Shadow nodded, hiding behind taking another small sip of water. “Okay, is it alright if I take a look at you? I’m a veterinarian, essentially these guys’ doctor. I took care of you last night, but now that you’re awake I’d like to check how you’re doing.”

Shadows' ears went back again, and he shrank into the couch. “I’m fine.” He whispered, lacking any of the heat or confidence the hedgehog was known for. It was downright pitiful. Tom frowned, Maddie frowned, Sonic frowned. 

Shadow was not fine. 

“Dude, we saw you go down when you got tased. Nobody bounces back from that that fast, not even me!” Sonic insisted. Tom fought off a wince at the brazen statement. He knew Sonic wasn’t trying to be antagonistic but the other hedgehog was… sensitive. 

Just as Tom feared, Shadow’s nose scrunched, lips curling into a soundless snarl. “I can.” He argued. 

“And we’ll believe you when we check,” Sonic said, strangely diplomatic. He must have gotten that from Maddie. Shadow remained resolute, and Sonic sighed, face wrinkling in worry. “Please, man? I- we were all really worried.”

Somehow, this works. Sort of. 

The snarl drops off of Shadows face, something a bit more bewildered took its place, and alarmingly, fear as well. Shadow looks down, shoulders tensed once again. “…Fine.” He ground out, clearly reluctant. “Do what you must.”

Ozzie gave a whine, head in Shadow's lap, but now nosing at his hand, his bad hand. Shadow’s face contorted in pain, but it was only a flash before he schooled it back to a disinterested frown. He quickly set the cup down, leaning it against the couch’s armrest so he could intervene, keeping the dog from nudging his bad arm. 

That told Tom a lot about how Shadows arm was feeling, Tom had been in a similar state for the first few weeks of healing. It also showed how much Shadow did need to be looked over, they couldn’t leave him in pain. 

Maddie was hesitating even though she had been given the go-ahead. Shadow’s permission was a lot less like consent and more like surrender. They weren’t going to torture him, yet that’s what he looked to be preparing for. He was all tense, prompting Ozzie to crawl further onto his lap. Shadow had his face ducked off to the side, but his eyes were on Sonic. Something like fear was in that gaze, and leveled on Sonic of all people, well… maybe Sonic had a point in who Shadow was afraid of. It made Tom’s gut sink in despair, his wonderful son could be scary, but he wasn’t scary. Sonic was going to hate having his fears confirmed. But first, damage control.

Tom gently nudged Sonic’s shoulder, “Hey bud, how about we-“

Sonic folded his arms, not looking up and returning Shadow’s unblinking stare. “No, I’m not leaving.”

Usually Tom would encourage Sonic putting in the work to try to fix things, however this was a lot different from fighting a lunatic in an egg-themed robot trying to take over the universe. Bull in a china shop is what this was going to be if Tom didn’t do something about this. Shadows ears were turning back, pinning as his breathing hitched. Yeah, time to go. 

“He just needs some privacy Sonic,” Tom tried, “you don’t like it very much when everyone watches you get patched up.”

Sonic’s stance and face didn’t change, actually they did; they became more determined. “I’m not leaving him again.”

Tom made quick eye contact with Maddie, because if she stepped in, the leading medical expert (and mother), Sonic might listen. 

Maddie did turn, “That’s really nice of you to be supportive Sonic, but—“

“He can stay,” Shadow said, despite the whisper it was like he spoke over Maddie. His eyes were lowered to his lap, Ozzie licking at his glove in a way Tom knew couldn’t be pleasant for the dog (it was weird leather-cloth after all) but it seemed to be keeping Shadow’s attention from whatever was scaring him. 

Sonic nodded, arms still folded like a particularly blue rendition of a stance Knuckles would take. It was… protective, and Shadow was responding to it. The darker hedgehog’s shoulders came down, and he finally seemed to take a calm, deep breath. 

Oh, Tom had misread him. Shadow hadn’t been afraid of Sonic, he’d been afraid of being without Sonic. That… made sense in a way, and was much better than the alternative, so Tom was happy about this. 

Maddie turned back to Shadow with an I'm-proud-of-my-son smile, “Okay, Sonic stays.”

“Come, fox,” Knuckles said behind them, briefly taking the attention of the room. The echidna picked up Tails who clearly wasn’t ready for it, the fox flailing for a moment before he relaxed into the hold.  Knuckles placed the fox on his shoulder and started to leave. “You must show me this new machine you’re working on.”

Tails looked like he was about to protest, eyes darting between the couch and the echidna. Tails was smart though, and his namesakes twitched in agitation as he responded to Knuckles. “I mean… It’s not done yet- I wanted to show it off when it’s done.”

“I assure you, I will be impressed the second time.” Knuckles said, voice growing fainter until the front door opened and closed. 

Well, that was one thing taken care of. Tom will have to talk to Tails later, he knew the fox hates being left out of things because of his age. But this… yeah, Shadow probably didn’t want an audience, especially an audience who might ask a ton of innocently curious questions later. Tails was mature for his age, they all were, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still protect him from some things, Knuckles at least understood that. It was also two fewer eyes on the dark hedgehog, but Tom couldn’t tell if that was better or not. 

Sonic was staying, Maddie was to do the medical exam itself. Like his other two kids that just left, Tom was the odd man out. Sonic noticed this too, and in a panic he clung to Tom’s pants, as if to physically keep Tom there. 

“Is it okay if Tom stays? He’s my Ozzie right now.” Sonic asked Shadow.

Tom blinked, then watched Shadow blink. The other hedgehog still had his head bowed but his brow furrowed in bewilderment again. He nodded slowly, not hesitant exactly but carefully. Tom used his good hand to pet Sonic’s quills, soothing as well as reassuring. If anything else, he was glad Sonic could acknowledge and then even ask for Tom’s presence when he needed help. Nobody was panicking (yet) and Tom was glad they all had ways to keep it that way.

“Alright,” Maddie said, bringing the attention back to herself. “I know it hurts to talk, so I’ll try not to ask questions that need words, but I do need you to answer a few important questions if you’re up for it.”

Shadow nodded tersely, looking down at Ozzie who had since stopped licking his glove. He pet the golden retriever, and Tom absently wondered if he could even feel the texture through the glove. Despite having seen all three of his kids pet Ozzie and notice certain textures even with gloves on he never got around to asking. It might even be magical, his kids were already all superpowered, it wouldn’t surprise him.

“Okay, do you remember what year it is?”

Shadows' face scrunched, mild confusion taking over his near-permanent scowl. “Yes… 2024, though it was 1974 when they put me in stasis.” 

Maddie and Tom winced, realizing that oh, right, Shadows' memories would be of 50 years ago. It wasn’t super reliable to use recent memories but they might not have a choice right now. 

In the silence following his answer, Shadow shifted in his seat. “Why is that question necessary?”

“That electrocution did quite a number on you. A potential problem is that it messed with your head. Memory issues. You might not realize it yourself, which is why I need to ask and make sure you’re remembering correctly.” Maddie explained. 

“Oh.” 

“Since we can’t ask the usual questions, we’ll have to think of something else,” Maddie said carefully with a thoughtful look. Tom could see the tension in her shoulders though, and understood exactly why. The memories they’d have to ask for would be… not pleasant ones to remember. And with Shadow wounded and tired as he is, they didn’t want to dive into the… minefield that Shadow was. This would have to be dealt with… delicately. 

Shadow frowned. “Usual questions? Why wouldn’t those work?”

“Dude, it’s like in the movies,” Sonic jumped in, gesticulating with one hand while the other stayed clung to Tom’s pants. “When a character gets hit in the head really hard and their friends have to ask them questions to make sure they’re okay, like, ‘what’s your name’ and ‘who’s the president of the United States’. But your answers might be different since you have 19-whatever brain instead of 2024 brain.”

Tom bit back a smile at the look of offense on the darker hedgehog's face, appalled by the insinuation he wouldn’t know his own name. 

“What? I know my name.” He said defensively, glaring at the blue hedgehog. 

Maddie took the chance. “Which is…?” 

Shadow leveled her with a flat, extremely unimpressed look. Tom had to turn and cough so he wouldn’t laugh. 

“Humor me,” Maddie said with a shrug, “Sonic is right, this is part of making sure someone is okay after head trauma.”

A few seconds of silence and Shadow sighed. “My name is Shadow.”

Maddie nodded. “Thank you, do you remember our names?”

Shadow still wasn’t impressed, but his eyes flicked around, jumping between the three in front of him. “Sonic,” he said easily, carefully blank in tone. “…Tom,” he said with slight hesitation. He glanced at Sonic with a complicated look on his face as he said Tom’s name. “Maddie,” He said with the hesitation of saying someone’s name for the first time, like he wanted to get it right despite it being a simple name. “Tails,” he said also fairly easily, but there was nobody to look to so he looked down at Ozzie, using his thumb to pet the silky ear of the golden retriever. “Knuckles.” 

“Great job.” Maddie praised, satisfied. 

Shadow seemed to sigh again. “You just want me to remember things?”

“Yeah,” Sonic said, nodding with the usual enthusiasm of a super speedy space hedgehog. “Like… do you remember our conversation on the moon?”

“Yes.” Shadow did not elaborate, his clipped word sharing all they needed to know about how willing he was to talk about recent events. Fair enough, Tom didn’t exactly hear everything that happened until after he could be conscience without being pumped full of pain meds.

“Alright,” Maddie said, giving Sonic a side eye that said ‘don’t push him’. “I’d also like to check your motor functions but can I see your wounds first?”

Shadow’s bewildered face returned, but something more cautious came along with it. He didn’t ask anything, but Maddie explained. 

“Your ankle, your shoulder- and if you can tell me anything that hurts, like you mentioned your chest.”

Shadow regarded her with thinly veiled wariness, then eyed Sonic… nervously. Shadow was nervous about Maddie looking at his wounds?

He still didn’t say anything, but resignation took over his face. He nodded. 

Maddie hesitated, like Tom she could tell something wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t permission exactly but he would allow it. 

“Let’s take a look at your ankle first,” Maddie said, which somehow made Shadow relax a little. 

Ozzie grumbled, being very stubborn about staying on Shadow’s lap, but with Maddie’s help they fished the limb out from under the blanket and the dog. Maddie held his leg carefully, the wrap she put on it the night before just as tight and secure. Shadow looked down at his bare bandaged foot in confusion and slight alarm. 

“My shoes?” He asked, not quite directed at anyone, but a concerned observation. 

“Don’t worry, they’re just by the front door with all the other shoes when we’re not wearing them,” Sonic said, pointing over his shoulder. 

Maddie started unwrapping the ankle, gently but methodically. “We didn’t know how to take the ring off, but I’m sure your ankle would heal better without it, we don’t need to have it knocking into your ankle while it’s still healing.”

“No,” Shadow said firmly, the strongest his voice has been since waking up. “They should never come off, I need them.”

Maddie paused, confused, Tom and Sonic both mirroring her expression. Weird, but okay. Maddie nodded agreeably, they won’t fight Shadow on this one, clearly it was more than just a fashion statement. 

“Okay, no worries, again we couldn’t figure out how to get them off anyway so we couldn’t even if we tried.” Maddie assuaged, and finally Shadow’s ankle was unwrapped. It didn’t look weird to Tom, but bruising on a Mobian was a bit different than on a human. It did look swollen though.

Maddie probed the area gently with her thumb. “Does it hurt?”

Shadow nodded, a grimace overtaking his face. Ozzie started licking his glove again and Shadow took a breath like he hadn’t been before. He swapped to petting Ozzie, the golden retriever wuffed unhappily as the hand moved.

“Do you remember how you got it?” Maddie asked the dark hedgehog. 

Shadow nodded, then pointed at his ankle, shoulder, and head. “Impact.” He said simply. 

Maddie nodded, as that was what they had assumed anyway. Tom was still reeling a little because it was one thing to speculate, but another to have it be confirmed. Shadow really did fall from the world-ending explosion back to earth and only had this to show for it. Any human would be dead, any mobian (well, maybe apart from Sonic) would have died too, probably before even hitting the stratosphere. 

“Did GUN hurt you anywhere?” Maddie asked next, starting on re-wrapping the ankle. 

Shadow lifted his one good shoulder in a small half-shrug. “Had to run.” 

Running on his broken ankle. 

Not even Sonic liked running when his legs were out of sorts. He pushed it sometimes, but he also knew his legs' limits and capabilities. Then again, Sonic wasn’t someone who gave up willingly. When backed against a wall, Sonic gave it all he had, and he usually won those outcomes. Still, trying to run on a broken ankle… he could see Sonic at least trying to run even if he knew he wouldn’t make it far. Shadow had made it as far as the town over. 

“Alright, well let’s try not to walk on it anymore until it’s healed up,” Maddie said to that horrifying explanation. GUN had really run down an injured super kid that just saved the world and didn’t even attempt to use diplomacy first. Tom’s disdain for GUN was only growing (not that his opinion of them was very high in the first place, their reward for kicking Robonik off-planet was an Olive Garden gift card ). “Let's keep it elevated and iced, we also have some hedgehog-friendly ibuprofen so you’re not in pain.”

Shadow blinked, watching her wrap his ankle distantly, eyes glazed in a way that said he wasn’t all present. His hand that was petting Ozzie had paused, limp on the dog’s back. Ozzie all but leaped up to lick at the hedgehog’s face, jolting Shadow back to the present, where Maddie finished with his ankle. 

“Sonic, could you snag me a small sandwich bag of crushed ice? And one of the clean kitchen towels please.” Maddie asked, leaning back slightly if only to give Shadow some semblance of privacy as he blinked back to reality. 

Sonic only hesitated for a moment, nodding with a “Right!” and disappearing in a blue blur. Shadow was busy getting Ozzie away from his face, but his eyes kept glancing up at Tom before darting away again. Tom frowned, then it hit him like a bag of bricks. Tom was an idiot. He was the only one standing, practically looming over the hurt hedgehog. Maddie was kneeling in front of the couch, Sonic was eye-level, but Tom was a pretty towering figure. He needed to sit down, relax, show Shadow he wasn't tense so there wasn’t anything to be tense about. This tactic worked mainly on Sonic and Tails, who were more likely to mimic body language like that when they were calming down. Knuckles had a hard time with that, usually needing the opposite, someone else going on alert let him know he himself could take a break. Tom just hoped Shadow took after Sonic more than Knuckles. 

Tom heard the ice from the fridge going as he shuffled to the side of Maddie and sat down. It was a little awkward with Sonic’s mattress, but it was nice at the same time, Tom wasn’t sitting completely on the floor. He sat criss-cross, making himself smaller but also it would be harder to get up this way, as opposed to Maddie who was kneeling in a more maneuverable way. Shadow was focused on Ozzie who was pressing into his chest. Maddie looked two seconds from hauling the dog away entirely, considering what Shadow had mentioned about his chest hurting, but Shadow didn’t make any faces, in fact he was breathing deeply in measures. 

They really needed to get Ozzie a million treats or something, a better dog bed? New chew toys? A really nice steak? Ozzie deserved something for the incredible work he was doing with not just Shadow but Sonic too. 

Speaking of, Sonic reappeared, handing the wrapped-up ice to Maddie before turning and plopping into Tom’s lap. Tom grunted with the sudden lapful of hedgehog, but he leaned forward, slightly curling around his son in a familiar movement. Hedgehogs like their caves, dens, the first den they ever know is their parents. Now that Tom was one of those and Sonic had started coming to him for things like this, Tom did it every chance Sonic gave him. There had been quite the increase since… well, Shadow.  

Maddie wrapped the ice around Shadow’s ankle with a kitchen towel, asking if the positioning was okay or if it hurt more than the coldness. Shadow merely nodded that it was fine; at least he seemed calmer than before. Maddie placed his foot back under the blanket, carefully adjusting his legs so they were flat on the couch, positioning Shadow at an angle. 

“Now, how’s your shoulder? I noticed you didn’t want to move it or nudge it earlier.” Maddie asked, “When I looked over it yesterday, it seemed like it had been dislocated but put back in.”

“It was shattered,” Shadow said bluntly, still smoothing down Ozzie’s fur from head to shoulder as the dog was still bodily on him. 

Maddie’s eyes went wide, mouth agape. 

“It healed,” Shadow said in response to her shock, eyeing her with confusion. 

That, at least, was very Knuckles. Familiar territory, which only made Maddie more adamant. 

“Clearly not all the way if you’re in that much pain.” Maddie commented as she put a hand to her forehead, “How long ago did you land?”

“Mm, a few days ago… three, maybe four,” Shadow muttered.

“Wait-” Sonic piped up, “but it’s been a month since the whole canon thing, were you still in space that whole time?!”

Shadow shrugged with his good shoulder. “Probably, I didn’t …anticipate waking up when the canon exploded.”

“Well, regardless, we’ll need some X-rays then,” Maddie said, sighing to herself. 

Tom didn’t find anything wrong with this, it was reasonable and made sense, but then he remembered this was Shadow. This wasn’t Sonic who would complain loudly the whole time but ultimately let them take care of him. Or Knuckles who would hide his wounds and insist he didn’t need help but could be bribed with grapes and eventually admit to needing help. Or Tails who would also hide his wounds but would at least be interested in the machines and would allow them to help with a startled but grateful look. 

This was Shadow, whose temperament could not be predicted, who already showed a disdain for medical help, and survived the world-ending explosion and the resulting crash to earth with his personality intact. There was no way they could force Shadow to do anything, even as wounded as he was Tom was fairly confident Shadow could just disappear if he wanted to. He didn’t need to fight them, he could just simply vanish.  

Tom watched with mounting apprehension as Shadow scowled at Maddie, nose scrunching. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Shadow, you said you shattered your shoulder. Even if you do have incredibly fast healing, it could have healed wrong, which is probably why it hurts so much right now.” Maddie said, using reason like she would for Knuckles, “We need the X-rays so we can see what the damage is, probably get you in a cast. I’ll find a brace of some sort for now, but the X-rays are happening, non-negotiable.”

Shadow's scowl deepened, and Tom suddenly wondered if Shadow could actually fight like this, and how much damage could he do before Sonic could fight him off. It would be devastating, horribly traumatizing for everyone and–

“Dude,” Sonic said, quietly but it gained the other hedgehog’s glare. “She's a vet, remember? She wouldn’t say you needed this unless absolutely necessary.”

Shadow was not assuaged. His ears pinned, and an actual growl came from the dark hedgehog with his fangs on display. “I’m well aware of what doctors deem ‘absolutely necessary’, they hardly ask for anything when they can just take it. They don’t care about anything other than the results. I’m not going into another lab.” He sneered, hissing with venom that couldn’t be born from anything other than painful experience. 

His sudden ferocity made everyone pause, especially Maddie. She stood up, taking a careful cautious step back from the hedgehog. She could feel it too then, how dangerous this suddenly became. Tom felt Sonic tense in his arms, breath catching. Tom was afraid, yes, the hedgehog who nearly took him out with one punch was angry, but he was also realizing what Sonic gasped about. 

From what little Commander Walters had told Sonic (and then Sonic to Tom) about Shadow's past, Tom suddenly remembered it was scientists who had him. Scientists usually have doctoral degrees. Scientists who took his power and experimented on it, on him. They might not have details, but this, this was plenty to understand the gravity of Shadow’s reaction here.

This was a completely different beast than any of what his kids had gone through. 

They had to help. 

Maddie took a calming breath before she spoke. “Shadow… am I right to assume the doctors you knew were… doing experiments on you?”

Sonic’s breathing hitched again, grabbing Tom’s arm. Tom hugged Sonic tighter. Shadow had gone through exactly what Sonic had always been afraid of since day one. Tom was very glad Knuckles had taken Tails out, Tom could explain to them in a less triggering way later.

“Yes.” Shadow ground out through clenched teeth, scowl hardening. 

Sonic ducked his head into Tom with a terrified squeak. Tom wrapped his good arm around his son, starting a gentle side-to-side rocking. Ozzie started whining. 

Maddie took another steadying deep breath, eyes locked on the dark hedgehog. “I’m not like those doctors. This isn’t an experiment, I’m not looking for anything other than how to help you.”

“You want to see how my healing works.” Shadow accused, a heartbreaking amount of surety in his voice. And terrible, horrifying implications.

The dangerous air about the hedgehog was undercut by how could only see how terrified Shadow was. His ears were still pinned, his pupils were frightened slits, and a slight tremble took over his body. His anger was not just for show; Tom was not naive enough to think Shadow was pretending here, but he used it as a shield to hide his hurts, ready to bash away anyone who came close.

Maddie shook her head and spoke carefully, slowly. “No, Shadow, I’m a healer. I want to help you, make you feel better. That's the only reason we need those X-rays. I chose to become a vet because I wanted to help animals who can’t really help themselves. You’re not an animal but I still have the ability and skills to help you, so I will. I have no secret motive, I’m not looking for specific results. I just want you to feel better.”

Shadow didn’t respond right away, his jaw clenched and Ozzie leaned in to poke at his face with his wet nose. The hedgehog turned his face away from the dog, looking off to the side. He exhaled shakily. “...Why? Why would you want to help me?” He asked, barely audible. “I hurt… all of you.”

Oh. Tom continued to gently rock Sonic in his lap, petting the quills he could reach. His son needed this, but he couldn’t help but feel the need to gather up Shadow in the same way. Damn his hurt arm, this kid needed a good quality hug. 

“It's…” Maddie started, sighing and glancing at Tom and Sonic. “It's complicated. You did do a lot of harm, but you did save the world too. Even if you hadn’t saved the world, if we came across you hurt this badly, I’d like to think I would still help, if you allowed me.” She said carefully, voice softening and genuine. “At the very least, I care because my son sees something in you. Despite what you did, he cares about you, and that's enough for me to want to help you too.”

Shadow’s voice grew wet, gaze still averted and ears still pinned. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“That's okay, we can figure it out later when you’re not so banged up.” Maddie said, waving it away because frankly it didn’t matter if Shadow understood, they were still going to help. “We took care of your ankle, we shouldn’t move your shoulder at all so I’ll leave that alone. You mentioned your chest hurting?”

Shadow answered easily, even if he was still a little choked up, possibly only because it was a question that wasn’t emotionally taxing. “Ribs, cracked, I think.” 

Maddie nodded and hummed, probably having anticipated that answer. “Well, the only thing we can do for that right now is plenty of rest. Drink your water, have the toast when you’re feeling up for it. I’ll get you that Ibuprofen and hopefully at least take the edge off the pain.”

Shadow opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He blinked rapidly, ducking his head into Ozzie who had gotten all up in his face again. 

All in all, Tom surmised, a success. Nothing blew up, nobody was hurt (further) and a plan was made. Tom would have to do some damage control for some hurt feelings (Tails), rewards (Knuckles and Ozzie), and some quality fun time to get his blue blur back to normal. Oh, and kiss his wife, who handled Shadow wonderfully. He knew she wasn’t the black hedgehog’s biggest fan, but frankly, it was easy to melt at the sight of the confused and hurt hedgehog. Terrifying villain turned hero, assumed dead, now back to life with barely a will to live. Confused by kindness, distrusting of doctors…

They sure had their work cut out for them.

But hey, they got this. Between the five of them, Tom had no doubt that Shadow would feel comfortable and heal in no time. With Sonic’s good-natured spirit, Tails’ helpful optimism, Knuckles’ watchful steadfastness, Maddie’s gentle kindness, and Tom’s… Tom will figure out what he can do, but for now, they totally have this. Shadow was going to be okay. 

Eventually.

Chapter Text

All things considered… things were going well. Maybe it was too early to say that, but Tom was deciding to look on the bright side. 

His boys had rescued Shadow and brought him home. It's been three days since Shadow first woke up and the house was still standing, nobody was hurt, and Tom could really only see it getting better from here. Shadow was still too hurt to really cause any trouble, but having been the bedridden one not too long ago, Tom knew there were plenty of ways to be a nuisance as a patient. Maddie could attest to that. 

Shadow was… for the lack of a better term, ‘chill’.

To be fair he was sleeping a lot, which Maddie assured was a good thing; it meant his body was using the energy to heal. But even when he was awake, he was similar to the first time he awoke. Lethargic and quiet, and usually in some amount of pain. He barely ate, but Maddie assured (Sonic) that was normal too, his body was focused on other things than true hunger. He barely spoke, generally only responding to questions that were relevant to his recovery. The only activities available to him were ones he could do sitting on the couch, so once Maddie cleared him, the TV was on almost constantly. 

Which was a little funny to see, Shadow was usually wildly confused by whatever cartoon Sonic threw on the screen. Tails then had to explain the concept of a cartoon to him, apparently Shadow had seen some movies but never anything animated. Sonic was quickly compiling a list of shows (both cartoon and live-action) for Shadow to watch to ‘catch up’ on. Shadow seemed resigned to whatever Sonic chose to show him, Tom had seen very little actual interest from the darker hedgehog. At least he paid a cursory attention, unlike Knuckles, who at first did not see any use in sitting around watching fake people do unimportant things and would up and leave if he deemed it too wasteful of his time. Knuckles understood ‘fun’ now, but yeesh Tom was glad they didn’t have to go through that again. 

Speaking of the boys, they were… cautious around Shadow. All three tempered their usual boisterous personalities around Shadow. Sonic, he could tell was because he was worried. He was walking on eggshells around the other hedgehog because of their complicated -if brief- history. But Tom could read his boy, Sonic was scared because if Shadow shattered, then Sonic would too. Tom tried to mitigate that as much as he could, but there was only so much he could do while Shadow refused to talk. Nobody except Sonic seemed brave enough to ask the tougher questions, trying to start a complicated conversation. Shadow wouldn’t even get mad at him, just remained silent until the other hedgehog’s impatience made him change the subject. It was almost fascinating to watch, a quiet clash of personalities. 

Knuckles was cautious in a different way, he showed his concern through staring. It was… unnerving, even to Tom who wasn’t the subject of his watchful gaze. The stare of an echidna warrior was no joke. To his word, he was quiet, but with the combination of staring, Knuckles turned into a bright red muscled ninja. Shockingly effective too, the echidna had spooked Maddie enough times when she went to check on the dark hedgehog she threatened to put a bell on him. Though perhaps Tom shouldn’t be surprised anymore since whenever Knuckles tapped into his warrior training he tended to go a little overboard. Or maybe a more accurate term would be ‘overkill’. Tom would be more concerned about the staring but Shadow didn’t seem bothered by it, or if he did he didn’t do anything about it. Tom was content to let Knuckles express his stress in his own way. He wasn’t hurting anyone, and neither was Shadow. 

Tails, strangely enough, engaged with Shadow the most after Sonic, but certainly not in the same way. He used a cat approach to Shadow, as in he would put himself in the room with Shadow but not acknowledge the other, just quietly existing together. It was… surprisingly effective. Tom hadn’t caught them talking to each other but Shadow and Tails seemed strangely at ease with each other.

Still, Shadow was rarely alone with anyone. Whether Sonic found something to bother him with (comics, his Nintendo, whatever cartoon they’re watching), someone else usually followed (like Knuckles, like some weird bodyguard, though Tom genuinely couldn’t tell if he was guarding Shadow from Sonic or Sonic from Shadow). Tom and Maddie made an effort to also be there if only to referee if Sonic got too adamant about talking and make sure Shadow was doing okay. 

They did actually get Shadow to the vet clinic and got his X-rays. Tom expected Shadow to fight again, but he strangely hadn’t. The more Shadow cooperated with Maddie about the X-rays, the lower Tom’s gut had sank. The hedgehog didn’t seem to care, but that’s what made it worse. After sharing his opinions about doctors, about the X-rays themselves, it was like he hadn’t said anything at all. Shadow was silent the whole time, obeying when directed, not looking anyone in the eye even when prompted…  It all gave Tom a sick feeling in his stomach. Maddie had looked equally sick, both of them coming to the conclusion that Shadow expected this, he was complying because he felt like he had no other options. He couldn’t actually fight back, conditioned to obey and ‘doctors take what they want’. It was as if he turned his opinions off, turned into a subject for them, just to make it easier for everyone. Once again, that had… horrible implications. It wasn’t like he was telling them much of anything either, this was just his behavior telling them things. 

It was a similar realization from when Tom and Maddie learned from Sonic’s behavior when he first came to live with them. The blue blur’s behavior had definitely shown how long he’d been alone, between talking to himself almost constantly, quoting movies as if that's how normal people spoke, doing things on his own, forgetting he could ask for help, and being so scared he was going to be kicked out… Just observing Sonic gave them insight, but they still had to ask questions and address it, fixing miscommunications and teaching how things actually worked (aka movies were fictional and not how real life functioned). 

Except this time they couldn’t just ask Shadow about his behavior. Not only did they not want to set the kid off, they weren't sure they’d get an answer at all. He was so quiet. 

Needless to say, Ozzie went nuts on the hedgehog when they brought him back home after the X-rays. They made sure the boys gave him some space because he was definitely checked out and Ozzie was doing his best to bring him back. Ozzie, of course, was a staple around Shadow. The dog rarely left the hedgehog, only leaving for food or going outside. Tom was getting worried the dog didn’t know how to turn off his service-dog mode, considering he’d never been trained for it. Tom was out of his depth on that one, but Ozzie didn’t seem exhausted or anything; then again, his job was typically lying on top of the hedgehog. Ozzie also had one of those personality quirks, he was a surprisingly stubborn golden retriever. He did not do things he didn’t want to do, so if he really didn’t want to help Shadow, he wouldn't. That was Tom’s solace, Ozzie was adamant that he stay by Shadow, which to be fair, was a lot of lying around. It was cute though, he had to admit. Shadow was nearly just as obsessive with the dog, clinging to the comfort Ozzie so freely gave. 

Shadow’s shoulder was still quite hurt, not shattered anymore but Maddie pointed out hairline fractures that spoke of past breaks. She did marvel at his healing, because those barely-seen lines were just the remains of a shattered arm from a few days ago. Maddie wanted to give him a cast, just to protect the limb and keep it from moving too much, but that would require Shadow taking off his glove and ring (which were not affected by the X-rays, fun fact) so Shadow with the endorsement of Sonic and the others, convinced her that whatever they do his glove and ring stay on. He still didn’t elaborate on what the rings do, but if they truly were that important, then Maddie was content to let it be. 

They did convince Shadow to let them get some X-rays of his skull too. Just in case. Well, ‘convince’ was more like ‘Hey, while we’re here let’s take a look at this too,’ and Shadow simply obeyed silently. When Maddie got the image, she gasped, making Tom lean in. Tom wasn't an expert on reading X-ray images, so he looked at Maddie. Then she explained that all those thin lines across his skull were evidence of breakage. Tom might not know much, but he did know skulls are terribly hard to break, and Shadow's skull was particularly... webby. It was nearly fully healed by now, but that extensive of a break definitely should have killed him. God mode or not, a collapsed skull was a collapsed skull. There wasn’t even a word for what the evidence suggested, Shadow would have had every single deadly head injury at once. The only thing that would be more effective would be straight decapitation. 

It was a miracle Shadow was alive, much more that he was functional at all. He was cognizant, he could talk, he didn’t have any apparent memory issues. He was alive. His body was just… reforming itself from being killed. That was insane. 

Unfortunately, the electrocution had actually hurt him. Weather it was how long he'd been electrocuted or if they had special anti-space hedgehog electricity, Shadow's healing had been slowed. However fast he’d been healing before, he was not as fast now. Which was still incredibly fast, by the way. Shadow mentioned his ankle would probably be safe to walk on by the end of the week, but his shoulder would take a bit longer, the prolonged electrocution had tore the muscles that were barely stitched back together. He’d be in the sling for as long as Maddie could convince him to be, and for now he didn’t question it. 

Even now, with all the heavy healing stuff out of the way, there was still an air to the house, a subdued feeling that Tom didn’t like. 

They just… they didn’t know what Shadow’s whole ‘deal’ is. Sure, they knew the bare bones of his backstory, he was in a meteorite that landed on earth, got found by the government and was experimented on, found a family in one of the scientist’s granddaughters, then she died in an accident and he was put on ice. It was a lot of broad strokes that didn’t actually tell them how he got this way, his personality, or what he would do next. He was resistant to their ‘get to know you’ questions, they didn’t even know his favorite food. 

It was like the opposite of Knuckles’ situation. When Tom and Maddie first met Knuckles, he was already on Sonic’s side. Then they came home to their destroyed house and Knuckles gave strangely formatted apologies like oaths. They learned his favorite food was grapes before they ever learned he was a galaxy-wide known warrior. They learned of his near-spiritual connection to the Master Emerald before they ever learned he was an unwilling participant in a terrifying gladiatorial arena (hence being a galaxy-wide known warrior). 

They learned the soft parts of Knuckles first before the scary parts, the parts that would have made them wary or scared to keep around Sonic and Tails if they knew first. Knuckles was scary, but he was their kid first. 

Shadow tried to destroy the world. He hurt Knuckles, the aforementioned gladiator . Kicked Tails, who was certainly not on the same level of durability as Knuckles or Sonic. He used a mini black hole on them, intending to atomize his kids- Tom wouldn’t even have bodies to bury. He goaded Sonic into breaking his vow with his brothers about using the Master Emerald just by punching Tom. Then came very close to accomplishing his goal of ending the world. There was a lot to fear, and Shadow wasn’t making any attempts to show his softer side. (Besides what was forced, considering he was stuck on the couch.)

So their caution, fear, and wariness, were reasonable to Tom. 

Yet Tom couldn’t find it within himself to hold a grudge against the poor kid. He was just… a hurt kid. Sonic made it through to him to get him to change his mind about the whole doomsday device. He can’t be all bad, and even if he was, he was trying not to be now. Though Tom would like an apology at the very least for trying to kill his kids and end the world. 

All the anticipation in the air, the tense wariness, waiting for the other shoe to drop… they needed Shadow to choose. Was he going to choose better? Was he going to fight them? Did he want the world to burn again? Was any of this worth anything to him? Frankly, Tom thinks the worst that could happen is Shadow leaving entirely, quietly, and without a trace. That, even more than fighting, would ruin Sonic. 

They would just have to be patient, wait until Shadow was ready to talk about it. 

Which led to now, where Tom found himself on the veranda, leaning against the railing, watching his sons galavant across the front lawn. It was a beautiful day, sunny but not unbearable, with a nice cool breeze. It was nice to be outside, enjoying the splendor Montana had to offer. 

His boys were training, but it was just a glorified game of tag. In fact, it was the most normal boring game of tag. The training aspect was that they couldn’t use their powers at all, no speed for Sonic, no gadgets or flying for Tails, no sparking fists for Knuckles. Knuckles was ‘it’ and Sonic and Tails had to keep away from him by dodging in close quarters. That was the other part of the training, they couldn’t go out of bounds from the front lawn, making Sonic and Tails really pay attention to their surroundings while relying on only their most basic skills to stay in the game. Tom was glad they were keeping it simple, no throwing boulders the size of the house or races to the tip of South America and back. 

It was good, Tom thought to himself as he watched. It kept his boys busy, let them work off all the tense energy, and was mentally stimulating because of all the rules. It lets them be kids. 

Sonic was goading Knuckles, using his ‘skill of wit’ since Knuckles hadn’t said he couldn’t. Knuckles was quickly beginning to regret not including Sonic’s tendency to banter as ‘off limits’. Tom also noted happily that Knuckles was giving Tails a bit more time between attacks, considering Tails was not as durable as his brothers. Tom was doubling as ref, in case anyone got hurt. Tails in particular, was always in a bit of danger when his brothers went all-out, so a little extra care wasn’t uncommon in training sessions. Tom was just glad they stayed close to home. 

Shadow was sitting on one of the deck chairs nearby, ankle propped up and Ozzie was settled in his lap. Maddie had set him up in the shade, quoting that the fresh air would be good for him. This was the closest Shadow has been to being ‘alone’ with anyone.  

The dark hedgehog was relaxed, incredibly relaxed actually, but not sleepy. He was attentive, actively petting Ozzie as he looked around. He stared with wide eyes, darting to look at anything and everything that moved or made sound. His ears twitched and flicked nearly constantly, something new catching his attention one after the other. He stared at ants crawling along the deck chair’s armrest, then the seasonal birds twittering and flitting around the birdfeeder, then the ground where a gust of wind stirred up some leaves and dirt. His crimson eyes were wide, taking in every detail fervently. He would have called all the movements panicked, but it was the softest look Tom had ever seen on the dark hedgehog. 

Tom, in an attempt to see what Shadow was seeing, studied the railing he was leaning on. It probably needed to be painted again soon, but the wood wasn’t decaying just yet. That was good, Tom paid a good amount of money for the wood to be cured to keep from rotting. Granted the veranda was exposed to the elements more than not, but still, what he had paid for he meant to not have to pay for again for a while and—

This is definitely not what Shadow was thinking about. Having three alien kids, Tom was used to things being ‘new’ to someone else, though he supposed that wasn’t too different from non-alien kids either. Regular kids were aliens to some things too. Tom just didn’t anticipate the concept of ‘outside’ to be new to a kid like Shadow. 

He… had been outside before… right? 

That thought made Tom uncomfortable. Then it occurred to him that Shadow had also gone to the moon. Had he been to the moon before realizing wind was a thing? No, that's stupid. There's no way Shadow’s life could be that tragic. 

Still, perhaps he should commandeer the TV from Sonic, throw on a few nature documentaries. Knuckles and Tails wouldn’t be opposed to that at least, they liked documentaries. Sonic less so, usually because they were boring to him, but also because he’s seen them all before. It was one of the first things Tom and Maddie did when they realized their little blue friend learned most of his earth stuff from TV, specifically what Tom and Maddie were watching. Sonic had started out knowing very little about the planet, how he survived all those years in the woods were a mystery. Either way, they’d done the documentaries run a few times now, one more wouldn’t hurt. 

Yells from his kids brought him out of his train of thought, not entirely alarmed just yet because of the boisterous laughter of Knuckles accompanying the yells. Tails was caught, complaining that Knuckles was bigger and still too fast, that if Sonic couldn’t speed then Knuckles shouldn’t be able to either. Knuckles proudly pounded his chest once, declaring his speed was no superpower, just raw trained skill. Sonic rolled his eyes and made a comment about still being slower than him, which made Knuckles drop Tails and tackle the hedgehog. Sonic yelped and didn’t actually dodge, both rolling off onto the grass in some light brotherly wrestling while Tails watched and egged them on. 

Tom laughed quietly to himself. His kids were a riot, that’s for sure. 

Shadow made a humming sound behind him, Tom turned to see the dark hedgehog also watching his kids tussle, a deep look of confusion on his face. 

“They’re training,” Tom said, to answer his unasked question. Shadow turned to him, and suddenly Tom was caught in a red oppressive gaze that made him feel like a fly pinned to the wall. Then Shadow looked back down. Tom breathed out carefully. 

“It does not look like training,” Shadow said slowly, voice still a little rough but better since the first time he woke up. 

Tom shrugged, also looking away from the kid, “They would never train if it wasn’t fun.”

Shadow made a soft dismissive sound. It took Tom a second to recognize it as a scoff. 

Tom got the feeling Shadow’s version of training was similar to his opinion on doctors. He didn’t know Shadow's backstory, just the bare bones Sonic repeated from Walter’s which wasn’t much in terms of details at all. Still, vague descriptions of scientists and explosions… none of it sounded pleasant. Tom had to remind himself that Shadows' only examples of humanity were the power-hungry military, mad scientists of the likes of a Robotnik , and the one kind girl that got killed. What Tom wouldn’t give to get the chance to punch GUN in the face. 

“Knuckles was trained by his tribe, I’m sure you’ve heard him boast about it.” Tom started, if only to make conversation. This was the first time Shadow had talked to him without Sonic or Maddie directing the conversation. Hopefully, he could put Shadow at ease, they could talk, it didn’t have to be awkward. “Tails is more of the gadget guy, and he’s a bit younger than the other two so he never had any training of any kind. Sonic… well I’m sure you could tell he never had much training.”

Ah, and there he goes, he brings up a sensitive subject and dashed his chances of a normal conversation. Damn it Wachowski. 

“Tch, I noticed,” Shadow said with clear disdain. 

Tom blinked in surprise, not expecting the response at all. He turned to look, only to see Shadow shriveled in place, ears flattening as he avoided Tom’s gaze. 

“…Sorry,” Shadow said quietly. 

Tom was actually shocked speechless. He wasn’t sure what Shadow was apologizing for, the conversation up to this point wasn’t really anything that needed apologizing, unless he meant in general? The one conversation that they really needed to have? Shadow was doing it now? Here? Just to Tom?

The silence yawned too long, Shadow offered quietly, “I can leave.” 

Tom stepped away from the railing, if only to jumpstart his brain to actually address what was happening. 

“Leave?” He meant to say more than that, but Shadow ducked his head again.

“You don’t have to… help,” Shadow said carefully, “all I’ve done is hur-“

The hedgehog cut himself off, or perhaps just choked. Ozzie whined, shifting up to nose at Shadow’s chin, prepared to attack with licks if he deemed it necessary. Shadow pet him, swallowing and staring distantly at the veranda floor. 

“Hey,” Tom said, voice soft and genuine, “you said sorry, that’s a great first step.”

Shadow frowned, or, well, frowned further considering his resting face was already a frown. “That wasn’t… I didn’t mean-“

Tom’s gut sank, he didn't mean his apology? He tentatively stepped closer, crouching next to the deck chair. “Alright, then what did you mean?”

Shadow didn’t answer immediately, avoiding his searching gaze. Tom held his breath, hoping the hedgehog would give him something, anything, to work with. Even if Shadow wasn’t sorry, that would be bad, but he could work with that. He just needed to know what was going on inside his head. 

“I’m sorry I fought Sonic.” Shadow admitted, barely above the gentle breeze and the continued squabble on the front lawn. “He didn’t deserve- I hurt him.”

Tom couldn’t help the joy swelling in his chest, he smiled unbidden even if Shadow refused to see it.

“I’m glad you can see that, he’s a great kid.” Tom said carefully, trying very hard to continue to foster the conversation without misstepping. 

“I hurt him by hurting you… I’m sorry I hit you.” Shadow ducked his head further, practically hiding behind Ozzie. 

With that single move combined with the apology, everything about Shadow’s behavior suddenly clicked into place. 

Shadow was quiet, withdrawn, and obedient because he was ashamed. He was feeling guilty. He was sorry! Sonic’s presence relaxed him because he’d already had a good conversation with him about his mistakes. It was everyone else he was afraid of, afraid he wouldn’t be forgiven. Afraid he’d gone too far, afraid his anger and rage had ruined something else good. 

But, it's also barely been a few days, how could Shadow have done such an intense 180 from literally trying to kill his kids and destroy the planet? No offense to Sonic, but one moon conversation can't do that, not without something else already being there nudging him in the right direction. Not without Shadow already being there. Perhaps, under all that gruff, sharp edges and scowls, there really was someone soft inside. 

Just a kid. Just a hurt kid. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, Shadow,” Tom said, knowing exactly how he wanted to say this. Shadow’s ears perked and he turned slightly towards him. It might as well be a direct stare for how much the hedgehog avoided meeting their eyes. “I forgave you the moment you saved the world.”

Shadow jolted in surprise, eyes flicking up and actually meeting him. Tom smiled and nodded, for once not feeling an ounce of dread for being in that stare. “You made some mistakes, but you thought you were doing the right thing. And when you realized you weren’t, you did everything you could to fix it, to change. That's not easy to do, and it looks to me like you’re still trying.”

It was Shadow’s turn to be shocked speechless, and Tom dove forward. 

“You’re just a kid,” Tom said with a half shrug, plain and simple, “a very powerful kid, but I have just a little experience with those.” He smiled and nodded towards the front lawn. “Kids don’t do that sort of stuff for no reason. Not without something or someone else pushing them- and I know for a fact there was at least one Eggman involved.”

“How can you… how…?” Shadow stared in disbelief, struggling for words and clearly overwhelmed. Ozzie laid his head on Shadow’s chest, an awkward angle for the dog considering Shadow was sitting up, but Ozzie pressed in anyway.

“Look at it this way,” Tom said, shifting in place. “If you knew it was me under Walter’s face, would you do it again?”

Shadow looked affronted at the very idea. Tom didn’t need his words, his face was proof enough, but it was nice to hear. “No, of course not. Walters- he- I was mad at him.” 

Tom smiled, that was all he needed to know. “Then there you go, it’s hard to take it personally when the punch was personally meant for someone else. You felt bad for what you did, you said sorry, and you said you wouldn’t do it again. Very successful apology in my book. I forgive you.” 

“What.” Shadow could not look more bewildered, more confused, perhaps a bit dismayed as well? “You can’t- why-?”

“Hey, it’s okay, take it slow.” Tom said, recognizing the spliced sentences, the beginning and ends of thoughts going too fast for him to keep up with. Sonic was certainly prone to that often enough even when he wasn’t panicking. “Walk me through it- the emphasis being ‘walk’.”

Shadow made a grumbly frustrated sound, not a growl exactly but mixed with a petulant whine. Tom bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. That was adorable. Hedgehogs of mass destruction should not be so adorable. 

“I don’t understand- why you are all so… kind to me.” Shadow said haltingly, like it physically pained him to put the words together. But once the dam burst he spoke quickly and sincerely, truly believing what he said next. “You’re afraid of me, and you should be. I’m a monster, I’ve hurt you and your family, I tried to destroy the world. Yet you would bring me into your home and help me? I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve any forgiveness.”

Tom pressed his mouth into a line. His heart broke a little with each self-deprecating word. He did not like any of what Shadow just said, not one bit. Out of everyone in the universe, life chose this poor kid to sink its fangs into. 

“First of all,” Tom said, gesturing to his arm in its sling. “We already established this was an accident.”

Shadow flinched hard, ears pinned and ducked away from Tom. 

That shut Tom up real quick. He wasn’t sure where he misstepped, but something he said clearly set the other off. Tom debated continuing, or addressing the flinch, but as the silence grew between them the worse Tom felt. 

Then Shadow spoke, and Tom felt infinitely worse. 

“They said it was an accident.” The hedgehog rasped distantly. “They meant to shoot me. Instead, they got her.” 

Tom’s gut rose in his chest, like he’d just tipped over the apex of a roller coaster. An awful, horrid feeling settled in his very bones. 

“I… I can never forgive them.” Shadow continued, sounding hollow of all things. “I can’t imagine you would either.”

Tom took a breath, letting himself fill his lungs and release it slowly. He leaned forward and laid a hand on Ozzie, the closest he could get to touching Shadow in any meaningful way when it was clear the hedgehog wasn’t one for physical contact.

“You are not GUN,” Tom said with as much conviction as he could pour into four simple words. “I don’t forgive GUN either- I don’t think I ever will. GUN hurt my kids too. They sent an insane man obsessed with egg-shaped robots after a kid who wasn’t hurting anyone. They set up a fake wedding for Maddie’s sister just so they could plant a GUN agent close to us, to Sonic. They decided to use my kids to go attack you when they damn well know Sonic likes helping. They aren’t sorry about any of it, they aren’t trying to be better, and they certainly aren’t a single hurt kid who was never given the chance to grieve.”

Shadow stuttered, petting Ozzie who settled against his chest more intently. Tom could barely see the hedgehog anymore, but he saw him curl into Ozzie, practically hugging the dog. Hiding. Shadow was shaking. 

“…How are you like him?” Shadow asked quietly, genuinely confused and voice muffled by the dog in the way. 

“Like who?” Tom asked gently. 

“Sonic.” Shadow said as if it was obvious, though his frustration clearly wasn’t with Tom, “I made him hurt just as much as I did, yet when he should have taken his revenge he decided to stop. He told me that there are no winners in revenge, that it wasn’t who he was. I thought maybe… that was just him, but all of you… why would any of you forgive me.”

Tom took a deep breath, letting the silence linger for a moment so he himself could collect his thoughts. “I think… well I think that’s a case-by-case basis. I told you I forgave you, I’m pretty sure Sonic already forgives you, but everyone’s going to be upset about different things. They might need more than an apology, like an act of service so they know you really are sorry. But Sonic is completely right, there are no winners in revenge, so you don’t have to worry about us hurting you.”

Well, actually he might as well say this now. 

“Hey, can you look at me for a second, please?” Tom asked, leaning in just a little more. 

It took a second, but around Ozzie, the black and red head of the hedgehog shifted, peaking out behind the golden retriever. Tom smiled when they locked eyes, trying to encourage the connection, but he also had something serious to say. 

“If any of the boys hurt you intentionally, you come straight to me, okay?” Tom said seriously, holding the other’s crimson gaze hostage. “In fact, if anyone hurts you intentionally, you could probably come to any of us and we’d take care of it.”

Shadow’s wide eyes were unbelieving, and Tom could admit to himself he was probably going overboard. Shadow clearly still wasn’t understanding, but… that was okay. This was still good, still progress, all the important things were said and now they just needed to be reinforced through actions. 

“I don’t… understand,” Shadow said, finally breaking eye contact and leaning into Ozzie. He wasn’t completely hiding again, so Tom saw his face twitch with frustration, “any of this.”

Tom gave Ozzie a few pats, wishing it was Shadow’s head because he wanted the other to know he would be just as affectionate with him as he was with his other kids. Shadow did deserve kindness. “That’s okay, it doesn't have to make sense right now, just… let us try.”

Shadow said nothing. Ozzie’s fluffy tail gently wacked against the wicker deck chair and Shadow gently scratched around the golden’s ears.

Tom felt very satisfied by this conversation, but there was one thing he was not going to let slip by him. “And hey, you’re not a monster. Monsters don’t feel sorry.”

Shadow jolted, a full-body reaction, staring at him with a mix of awe, fear, and hope. Tom smiled, and in an instinctual action, he brought his hand up towards Shadow’s head -poised to pet. 

All the soft awe and hope vanished. Shadow's eyes locked onto his hand before cinching shut and ducking. Bracing for impact. 

Tom’s hand froze in place. His gut flooded with a horrible roiling mess of awful feelings. Tom messed up. Tom messed up big time. 

The dark hedgehog blinked rapidly after nothing happened, chest stuttering with tiny gasps of breath. Ozzie nosed at Shadow’s face, the touch on his cheek taking his attention.

Tom hated this. He hated this more than GUN. Tom had just been trying to be affectionate, and Shadow expected violence. 

He kept his movements slow as he put his hand back down. “Sorry- I shouldn’t have done that- I just know Sonic feels better when I run my hand through his quills. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I promise.” 

Shadow's hand scrunched around Ozzie’s ear, obviously not enough to hurt, but the hedgehog was tense. Tom wondered if he should just leave, walk away and give Shadow some space. But that felt wrong too, he couldn’t just leave him here, even with Ozzie. The veranda was so quiet, none of it felt so welcoming anymore. 

Shadow then moved, he leaned towards Tom headfirst. It was slow, it was deliberate. Then Shadow’s ears lifted, relaxed. The rest of him sure wasn’t relaxed, but his ears were pointed forwards, inviting. 

Tom sucked in a breath. 

“You want-?”

Shadow nodded, a small thing, barely perceptible, but Tom was watching like a hawk. 

Tom moved, slow and careful, placing his hand on the hedgehog’s head. Shadow didn’t flinch, but he was frozen, barely even breathing. Tom rubbed his thumb across the quills under his hand, hoping to get the kid used to the feeling before he used his whole hand. He couldn’t wait too long though, he softly lifted his hand and pressed down again, carding his fingers through red and black quills. He did this three times before Shadow made a faintly choking sound. Tom worriedly looked down at his face. 

Oh, Shadow was crying. Silent tears slid from his glazed eyes, over his muzzle and dripping to his lap. Tom couldn’t take it anymore. 

Tom rose up slightly then used his hand that was on Shadow’s head to lean him over, pressing the hedgehog against his chest in an odd side hug. Their slung arms were on opposite sides, Tom’s left, and Shadow’s right. It made the hug awkward, but Tom couldn’t not try. This poor kid needed a hug. 

“You’ll be okay.” He told Shadow, rubbing soothingly across his quills, gentle and kind, “Everything’s going to be okay. Eventually.”

Chapter Text

The tension in the house got infinitely better the moment Tom told everyone Shadow apologized to him. Tom wouldn’t give them details, considering that was a private conversation just between him and his sling-buddy, but he did mention how Shadow was sorry and would probably be apologizing to them all individually. 

That’s when Tails piped up and mentioned Shadow apologized to him too, shocking everyone. Sonic demanded when, exactly, did that happen? Valid question, Shadow hasn’t had too many moments alone with anyone, much less Tails- not with Knuckles around being a silent watchful guardian. Tails then quietly admitted Shadow actually woke up once in the middle of the night that first night. He’d been pretty out of it according to Tails, and Tails insisted he intended on getting Maddie but Shadow had gone back to sleep pretty quickly so he didn’t bother. He’d been awake enough to hold a short conversation, long enough to apologize. 

This was certainly news to everyone, but Maddie was glad, she was glad it didn’t have to be complicated to help the poor hurt hedgehog. 

Maddie certainly hadn’t been a fan of Shadow, hearing all the things he did, and she was certainly upset he nearly killed her husband. She kept it to herself, but she felt a bit of satisfaction when she learned Sonic had taken the Master Emerald to go after Shadow. It certainly hadn’t been the right time or place (she could admit the world-ending canon should have been the priority) but it soothed something in her that Sonic would and did go to the lengths he had for Tom. Maddie wasn’t an anthropomorphic space hedgehog, she wasn’t powerful like her kids, but human grief was devastating enough without the added bonus of godlike powers. Still, she got her catharsis from Sonic handing out the justice she couldn’t, not that she wanted violence upon Shadow, at least not anymore. Those few hours after Tom got hurt… were the most volatile she’s had in a long while. It’s understandable she was a bit intense about her feelings, but that was a month ago now. 

Grief is a double-edged sword, as much catharsis she got from the whole ‘punching Shadow to the moon’ thing, she was well aware of the toll it took on her son. She hated that Sonic lost himself for a moment, a moment that scared him, that pushed him right to the edge to never come back. Her son was stronger than that, but it rattled him, he was such a sweet kid and she hated seeing him be afraid of himself . She hated Shadow for that too, for giving her son insecurities he never should have been worried about. 

Over time she mellowed out, it was easy to hold onto anger, but it was hard to keep it around when Sonic himself held Shadow in a much kinder light. 

From what little details they knew about Shadow’s life, Sonic assured them the other hedgehog had just been scared and angry, having been unable to grieve the loss of a family member because of GUN. It certainly did put the new hedgehog in a new light, but it didn’t quite do it for Maddie until Sonic shared some specifics about their conversation on the moon. Shadow hadn’t said ‘im sorry’ in those exact words, but he showed remorse, he showed effort to change, to fix what he had started. Most of all, Maddie remembered six words Sonic quoted word for word. 

‘I thought I had no choice.’

That gave Maddie pause, pause enough to look back on her own grief, her own anger and pain and wonder if it was the only choice. Its a reasonable reaction, to be angry and upset when your husband almost dies, when your kids are forced yet again to face insurmountable odds to save the world. Was it, however, the only choice, to put all that blame on a single hedgehog who yes did do all those things, but felt sorry for it afterward, seemingly giving his life to fix it. She still held some resentment inside, but there was nothing to do with it. She could choose to stay mad, stay angry and hurt, but there were better things she could choose. She had to look no further than Sonic himself, not even just for this exact scenario with Shadow, but with Knuckles. Despite them having started as enemies, Sonic chose to save, to forgive, to reach out and help. If Sonic could do it, the same one that went after Shadow and nearly lost himself in the process, then so could she. 

So she chose better. She focused on better things, recovery, healing, fixing what had been done to return to normal. That had been going well, right up until their kids ghosted off one evening and came back later that night with a stolen GUN helicopter and a battered hedgehog that was supposed to be dead. 

All ill will, resentment, or hurt feelings went right out the window. Shadow was alive. Shadow was hurt. Shadow needed help. There were no doubts for Maddie, she went into vet mode the moment Sonic said someone was hurt. Yes, Shadow was all rough edges, (no Sonic do not call him an ‘edgehog’ not to his face) but at the end of the day, Tom was right; he was just a hurt kid. Maddie was so very aware he was dangerous, but dangerous animals need help too. She couldn’t not help. 

It was with this in mind that she entered the living room that Shadow had taken over since his arrival a week ago. All of her kids were there, Sonic sitting next to the darker hedgehog with his Nintendo, keeping the screen tilted so Shadow could watch while Ozzie sat between them, head on Shadow’s lap. Despite this, Sonic was having a conversation with Tails who sat on one of the single chairs, Knuckles taking a break from watching Shadow to watch Tails’ screen instead. Between the exaggerated driving motions and trash talk, it was Mario Kart again. Maddie couldn’t help the smile rising to her face, she was always happy to see her kids happy. 

Her attention returned to Shadow, Ozzie being the first to acknowledge Maddie’s presence with his lifted head and goofy golden smile. Maddie strolled over, laying a hand on Sonic’s head. Sonic’s ears twitched, leaning into her hand without taking his attention away from the game. 

“Hey boys, having fun?” Maddie asked, taking a peek at the screen to see King Boo in a comically small kart doing tricks in the air. 

“Sonic thinks he will be doing the winning.” Knuckles said with an amused huff, “However, the fox is the only one in this race who has actually operated any vehicles.”

Sonic gasped in offense. “I’ve driven a car!”

Maddie laughed, stroking down Sonic’s spines. “Oh yes, very badly.”

“Moooom! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Sonic complained with a wry smile, then added, “Besides, if anyone knows how to drive any of these vehicles, it's Shadow. He actually rode a motorcycle- AND he did a vertical Akria slide off a building! It was so cool!”

“I still don’t know what that means,” Shadow commented dryly. He was still rather quiet, but he was more willing to speak with Sonic around.

Tails launched into an explanation while they raced, adorably leaning his head into the turns he made in the game. Maddie listened, enjoying the fun atmosphere her sons created for Shadow. Knuckles asked questions, logistics of how to accomplish this ‘slide of Akira’ while Sonic just focused on how cool it was. Shadow was simply listening, watching Sonic’s game lazily while he petted Ozzie. 

Maddie hated to break up the fun, but she had a goal in coming here. “I know you boys are having fun-” a dreaded sentence from any parent, all three of her kids either scowling (Knuckles), ‘aww’ing in disappointment (Tails), or dramatically crying out (Sonic). Maddie quickly continued, silencing their protests. “I’m not here to ruin it, I just came to ask Shadow a question.”

Shadow’s ears perked, crimson eyes lifting to her face for a moment before looking away. They were still working on that, Maddie wasn’t sure what the eye contact stuff was about, but slowly he was getting better at it. 

“Shadow, would you be up for a bath soon?”

Shadow, to her confusion, looked confused. His brows pinched in the same way Sonic does at a particularly confusing math problem. Math was like an entirely different language according to Sonic, and Shadow looked like Maddie just spouted the Pythagorean theorem. 

“...A bath?” Shadow questioned quietly, not a question directed at her, but at the words themselves. Like the concept confused him. 

Sonic picked up on this, his own brow rising but he didn’t look away from his game, “Yeah, a bath. You know, water and soap? Have you… never had a bath before?”

Shadow looked off to the side, “I never got… dirty really. Nothing that couldn’t be hosed off.”

Sonic snorted, probably thinking about the sprinkler hose and the various shenanigans he and the others got up to in the summertime. Maddie had a feeling that was not the same hose Shadow was talking about. A lab wouldn’t have made a hose a pleasant fun thing. 

Maddie mentally shook those thoughts away. “Well we can walk you through it, but you definitely need a bath, baby. I wiped you down with some rags when you first got here but you’ve still got a layer of dirt all over you.”

Shadow looked down at himself, most of him was covered by blankets or Ozzie, so the only thing he really had to look at to see if what she said was true was his glove and arm. He scrutinized his glove, an adorably serious face only to see that his previously white glove wasn’t all that white anymore. It was easy to conclude that if the white glove was that dirty then his dark fur would be hiding just as much if not more dirt and gunk. He really needed that bath. 

Still, he was frowning, displeased and hesitant. 

Not that Maddie could blame him, she’d be wary too in his position. All hurt, dependent on others, going through new scary situations he doesn't have a frame of reference for. Maddie did feel a flash of anger at GUN, but she made sure that stayed inside. 

“I like baths.” Sonic mentioned in the silence, “And I hate water.”

Shadow blinked and stared at Sonic, utter confusion washing away his frown. “You hate water?”

“Sonic can’t swim.” Tails said from across the room with a little shrug. 

Shadow couldn’t seem to figure out if he was more amused by this fact, or worried. His face settled on frustrated bafflement, “You can’t swim?!” He demanded of the blue hedgehog as if it were a personal slight.

Sonic sank in his seat, Nintendo on his chest and feet dangling to the floor as he explained. “I don't like it!” he defended with a whine, “My fur gets all heavy, and no matter how much I paddle I just sink!”

The other hedgehog had nothing to say to this, mouth open in shock but unable to say anything. Overwhelmed and utterly flabbergasted by the blue one’s inability to do a simple task. 

Tails snorted and pointed out, “I’m heavier than you when wet, Sonic, and I still float.”

Sonic threw his hands into the air, including his Nintendo, before quickly returning it to his chest to keep playing. “The universe is out to get me, okay?!”

There was a moment of quietness before Shadow huffed softly, “Perhaps it's the weight of your ego.”

“HA!” Knuckles barked, lighting up with a toothy grin, “the more impressive hedgehog even improves on your humor!” 

Sonic rolled his eyes. “Oh please, you think Wade is funnier than— TAILS ARE YOU LAUGHING?!”

Tails was indeed laughing, hiding his grin behind his nintendo but his cute little fox snickers foiled his plan. 

“I’m being betrayed,” Sonic announced dramatically, pouting despondently into his game as he continued to play. 

Maddie laughed a little too, ruffling Sonic’s spines in a show of good faith. Her gaze settled on Shadow again though, seeing the other a bit taken aback by his successful joke. He wasn’t in shock, but he was bewildered, like the laughter of the others confused him. She and Tom had quickly realized Shadow was quite emotive when he wasn’t scowling. Tiny bits of him shining through his pain.  

“So, how about it Shadow?” Maddie asked, “I’m sure it would feel nice to be clean, and we can wash your blankets too so that everything is nice and fresh when we’re done.”

Shadow looked wary again, staring down at his blankets but nodded slowly. “I guess it would be nice.”

“Oooh! Hey!” Sonic added, shifting back up in his seat, finally taking his eyes off the game for a second to glance at Shadow in excitement. “We can clean your gloves while you’re taking a bath too! Though I think we’ll have to use Knuckles’ leather cleaner.” Sonic released his game with one hand, absently but purposefully reaching over to Shadow. He was targeting Shadow’s available hand. “Yours are a lot more leathery–”

Shadow snatched his hand away from Sonic with a panicked glare and sharp intake of breath, making the blue hedgehog back off. 

“Ah- sorry, sorry.” Sonic returned to his game, huddling in place as his muzzle turned a rosy shade. Sonic was also quite expressive, and she could see his sudden self-loathing written all over his face. Sonic wasn’t always the best with boundaries, and with recent events, self control was high on his insecurities list. 

Welp, Maddie to the rescue. 

“You just let me know when Shadow and I'll get it all set up,” Maddie said, trying to get the attention off of Sonic’s slip-up. 

Shadow wasn’t tense for long, not after Sonic backed off and apologized, but he petted Ozzie nervously, rubbing some of the golden’s long fur between thumb and pointer finger. “Could we do it now?”

Maddie balked, surprised, but nodded. “Sure, yes, we can do it right now if you want.”

No sooner did she say that when Tails and Knuckles erupted into cheers while Sonic groaned and melted into a blue puddle of loser. Maddie grinned as Knuckles congratulated Tails on his victory, Sonic still groaning like was actively being wounded by his loss. 

He didn’t stay down for long though, popping up from the couch and zipping over to Tails to give the fox a playful nuggie. As much as Sonic hated losing, he loved his siblings more. This left Shadow alone (with Ozzie) on the couch, and Maddie leaned over. “We have a tub upstairs we can use, I’ll carry you up.”

The dark hedgehog nodded, pushing Ozzie away and untangling himself from the blankets for an easier pick-up. Shadow had been tense and reluctant about being carried everywhere, not that he went places much, but he had surrendered to his fate, something Maddie knew would change the moment Shadow felt like he could walk on his own again. But for now, he was still bedridden, even if he had more energy than when he first arrived. 

Once Maddie had Shadow in her arms Sonic perked up and declared he would help, Tails and Knuckles moving along with him with barely a thought. As Maddie headed upstairs she felt like a mother hen with her chicks crowding her feet, especially considering even at their tallest (Knuckles) her kids only came up to her elbows. Even Ozzie trailed behind her, following where his favorite hedgehog was going. Shadow at least didn’t seem too perturbed at the entourage they had. Sonic though, wouldn’t shut up about how he enjoyed baths. 

“I still do not understand why you prefer a pool of water to bathe in if your fear is of drowning.” Knuckles was saying as they made it to the top of the stairs. 

Sonic of course was already at the top, opening the master bedroom door with a roll of his eyes. “Because it's fun, Knux. Rain happens all the time but a bath has bubbles!”

Knuckles’ muzzle wrinkled with distaste. “You would rather not see the bottom of the water? How easy would it be then to imagine it bottomless?”

“It's not about that,” Sonic stressed, staying by the door as Maddie passed through. “If I have to be in water I have to have a really good reason and no reason is better than fun. Showers are definitely not as fun.”

Tails giggled lightly, “Rain is nature’s shower though, wouldn’t that be more natural?”

Maddie nudged open the bathroom door, walking into the dark room until Knuckles came in behind her and flipped on the light. Behind her the conversation continued.

“Tails. Buddy.” Sonic said, “Rain is just an ocean in the sky waiting to pounce and drown you with a million little drops.”

“Sonic nooooo!” Tails lamented, hands over his face as he entered the bathroom. He was smiling, but disappointed. “That's not how nature works at all!”

“Here, sit here for a moment,” Maddie said, setting Shadow down on one of the vanity counters. Ozzie sat dutifully under him, and Maddie couldn’t help but give him a pat on the head. She walked over to the tub as Sonic and Tails’ argument continued, Sonic insisting that rain was just an extension of any body of water that wanted to kill you, Tails insisting that the water cycle was purely functional and couldn’t hold grudges or purposefully choose when to rain on someone in particular. Knuckles only watched with his arms folded, staring as if they were both idiots. 

Maddie turned on the tub, snagging the readily available cup for pouring to rise out the rest of the area the spray didn’t get. Satisfied with that she tested the water, keeping her fingers in the spray until she was satisfied with the temperature. 

Sonic raced up next to her, hands on the lip as he looked down into the spray. “Are you gonna put the bubbles in?” He asked excitedly up at her. 

Maddie smiled, “That's for Shadow to decide Sonic, it's not your bath.” They both turned to Shadow who was simply watching everything play out. 

“Hey Shadow! Do you want bubbles?” Sonic asked with a happy wave, getting the other hedgehog’s attention. 

Shadow looked over with a contemplative frown. “...What do they do?”

“They’re fun!” Sonic said, zipping to snag the bottle of soap they used for him from under the other vanity, bringing it to the tub, and squirting some directly in the spray. 

Maddie frowned, “Sonic, he might not want that.” 

“I know, that's why I'm only making a little,” Sonic said, putting the soap bottle down and then reaching for the small pile of bubbles he created. He scooped it up with two hands, carefully walking over to Shadow to show it off. “See? Bubbles! They're super fun- you can have so many that you can’t see literally anything else, like a whole wall of bubbles! And you can shape them too, it sticks to itself so you can make literally anything!”

Shadow narrowed his eyes on the bubbles, and Maddie could see his distrust clear as day. “But they don’t actually help in the cleaning process?”

Sonic shrugged, “I mean, most soap makes bubbles, but these bubbles come from a special soap specifically made to make bubbles, so yeah it's not really for cleaning.”

Shadow hummed skeptically, but it wasn’t a no, so Sonic wasn’t backing down. 

Knuckles came over and clamped a hand on Sonic’s shoulder, jostling the blue hedgehog. “I do not think his goal is fun, as yours is. It is a new experience for him, he can explore if he likes baths with frothy accompaniment another time.”

“Aw man,” Sonic sounded genuinely sad, but came back to the tub and rinsed his hands in the spray. Luckily not too many bubbles remained. Maddie stopped up the drain and turned to grab the other supplies- only to stop short as Tails had collected the soaps, Knuckles with a towel and quill comb.

“Thank you, boys,” Maddie said. Tails smiled and his namesakes flicked with joy, stoic Knuckles giving her a simple grunt. She turned to set the soaps down where they would be reachable and directed Knuckles to put the towel and comb on the vanity counter that was at the other end of the tub. Maddie let the tub fill just a little bit longer, it shouldn’t be too deep of course but the first go was going to be messy and she didn’t want to have to drain and refill the tub too many times. She also snagged a hairband, quickly putting her long hair in a tight bun so it would stay out of the way.

Now that everything was ready… well, no, not quite ready.

“Alright boys, it’s a bit too crowded in here.” Maddie said, “And take Ozzie with you, unfortunately, I can’t give Shadow and Ozzie a bath at the same time.”

Tails snickered quietly, probably remembering when Tom gave Ozzie a bath outside and the trio had joined in only to make a very unclean soapy slip-n-slide down the hill. Knuckles was already moving to leave, but it was Sonic that looked the most reluctant, looking between Shadow and Maddie nervously. Shadow was looking very deliberately blank, a similar sight to how he acted at the clinic when they went to get X-rays. Maddie’s stomach twisted. 

“Oh,” it just occurred to Maddie, “Shadow did you want Sonic to stay?”

Shadow was entirely too still, and every second of the silence drove home the feelings of wrongness that accompanied that blank stare. Eventually he shook his head.

Oh, Maddie kinda hoped Shadow would want Sonic around. Sonic, like Ozzie, was excellent at keeping the darker hedgehog present. Sonic met her eyes and they both understood what this meant, both of them silently writhing with worry. 

Sonic opened his mouth, probably to argue, to insist he stay so Shadow had someone with him, but Knuckles settled his heavy mitt on the blue one’s shoulder again. 

“Come brother, let us lighten the load of your ego.” The echidna said with a grin, restarting that argument while nearly dragging the hedgehog out of the bathroom. Even out of the room Maddie could hear the complaining. Tails managed to get Ozzie to go with him, and suddenly the room was a lot quieter. 

Just Maddie and Shadow. 

Maddie made a silent promise to herself, even with Shadow slipping away and not speaking, possibly becoming unresponsive, this was not going to go like how the X-rays did. Maddie would find a way to make this pleasant for the hedgehog, if not make him very involved in the process. She was suddenly glad Knuckles had dragged Sonic away, Maddie had also been inclined to make Sonic stay but Knuckles prioritized Shadow’s preference. She needed to undo what she’d done with the X-rays, give him autonomy back, let him actually choose. He might not trust doctors, but hopefully she can prove herself worthy to be trusted, and that started with actually listening to him. 

So, first order of business? Give Shadow choices and then listen.  

Maddie took a deep breath, it felt entirely too loud in the quiet bathroom. She pointed to the door with her thumb, not yet approaching the hedgehog. “Door open or closed?”

Shadow stayed frozen and unresponsive for a few terrifying seconds before his dull red eyes flicked to the door as if it would give him the answer. “...It doesn't matter.” He said quietly. 

“Of course it does,” Maddie responded readily, Shadow speaking was already an improvement. “I want you to be comfortable, so would you like to keep the door open or closed?”

Shadow’s face slowly morphed into a scowl, a thinking scowl. Sonic had a similar face, though it was Knuckles who sported it the most. Maddie just hoped he was actually thinking about the question and not spiraling further. Maybe she should still go get Sonic, or Ozzie. 

“Closed …please.” Shadow said timidly. His ears were twitching now, which gave Maddie hope that he was more here than not. 

Maddie nodded and moved to the door, “Closed it is.” She absolutely noted how politely he asked even if his face was still screwed up in a scowl. 

Now it really begins.

She returned to standing in front of Shadow, not crowding but definitely in front of him. She wanted him back to normal, or normal as he could be, without Sonic or Ozzie. Specifically, she really didn’t want him blindly obedient, stuck in his head out of fear, around her specifically. She wasn’t a doctor, not the kind Shadow was conditioned to deal with, but she had botched that with the X-rays. That changed, now. 

“Hey,” she said gently, attempting to get the hedgehog's attention. Well, she was sure he had his attention, just not his eyes. “I want to be very clear here. Can you look at me so I know you’re listening?”

Shadow’s eyes flicked up slowly, his good hand held the counter’s ledge. His face was unreadable, a mask of neutrality deep enough that even the lights in his eyes looked dim. Oh no, he was definitely clamming up, hard. Well, nothing to do but try, and be honest. 

“This isn’t a lab.” She said, first and foremost, the most important thing to say right now. “This isn’t a test, or experiment, or anything like that. If you want I can bring back Ozzie or Sonic, or anyone if it would make you more comfortable.”

Shadow didn’t respond, he didn’t even blink, but his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, a twitch of consideration. 

“I’m saying this now because I want you to understand what’s going to happen,” Maddie said, not satisfied with silence but pushing on away. It needed to be said, even if Shadow didn’t say anything back, he was at least listening. “Nothing bad is going to happen, in fact, nothing is going to happen at all unless you say it’s okay. I’m going to explain what I’m going to do or how to do something and you’re going to say if it’s okay or not. There are no wrong answers or choices. If you don’t like it, we won’t do it. End of story.” 

The hedgehog’s eyes went wide, regarding her with a level of bafflement that made Maddie sad. He slowly hunched over himself, curling over his sling in a way that Maddie could tell was subconscious, Shadow wasn’t meaning to do that. Hedgehogs do like their dens, their small safe spaces. She wondered if he ever had a space like that before.

Finally he spoke, faint like a ghost. “…Why?” 

“Because I want you to be comfortable.” Maddie said simply, but at the same time it wasn’t as simple as that. “I don’t mean comfortable as in easy for me, but comfortable as in you feel safe. I understand you have medical trauma, locking yourself away in your head is how you kept yourself safe before and I didn’t help when I pushed you with the X-rays. I’m sorry about that and I won’t be doing it again unless its an actual life-threatening emergency.”

This seemed to wake him up a bit more. Invigorated, Maddie pressed on. 

“I really am sorry, I don’t want to make you feel like you have to hide to feel safe. I know I can’t force you to feel safe, but I can change myself. I’m going to do my best to help in a way that you can understand and feel safe.”

The air was thick, Maddie’s attempts laid out on the table as she waited for what Shadow would do with it. She wasn’t sure what he would do, she just hoped he would do something. 

“Don’t…” Shadow’s voice caught, he seemed unsure but at the same time determined. “Don’t apologize to me.” He said, an edge to his voice that almost sounded pleading. He looked down at his lap. “I don’t- I don’t deserve it.”

For a moment Maddie felt nothing, and then there was the surging anger. She wanted to snap at the hedgehog, but he wasn’t who she was angry with.

She was upset that she offered all she could and he didn’t think he was worthy. Others had done this, the scientists that had him before. Conditioned, trained, traumatized into a pattern of behavior that kept himself safe and it included truly believing he was unworthy of being apologized to. Has anyone apologized to him? Ever? Considering his experience with humans extended to GUN and GUN alone, Maddie highly doubted.

Maddie also couldn’t help but feel a little indignant with herself, she was a medical professional, she went to school and landed a job that was exactly helping animals who didn’t always understand they were being helped. She apologized to animals all the time even when they couldn’t understand her. Even when they bit and scratched and yowled, she helped them when they didn’t understand. She could have patience with animals forever, but there was a reason she didn’t go into the human medical field. Helping someone who didn’t understand, who could talk back, was an entirely different ball game. 

“Well, too late,” Maddie said, failing on all accounts, she huffed. “I already did. Unfortunately you don’t get to choose when someone says sorry.”

Shadow looked off to the side, head bowing further. His hand clenched against the countertop, she could hear his glove creak. “…You want me to apologize.” 

Maddie blinked, figuring where the hedgehog had jumped to get to that conclusion. He was also wrong. “I apologized because I wronged you, I should have done things differently and you suffered for it. I did not mean to add to your hurt, so I’m apologizing and working to fix it. You said sorry to Tom, and Tails. I know you feel bad about what you did and to me, you did make up for it. You …saved the world. You hurt Tom, yes, but if you hadn’t helped Sonic, he never would have recovered. It’s thanks to you that any of us are still even here.”

“...That’s why you’re being nice?” Shadow asked slowly, trying to understand. 

Maddie shrugged slightly, quickly doing the mental emotional math to figure out how much to downplay her previous anger with the hedgehog. “I certainly was very upset at the time, I didn’t know if my husband was going to make it or not. It was… scary, and I couldn’t do anything about it but wait.”

Shadow looked up at her, something about what she said caught his attention enough to actually make him make eye contact. 

“If you had shown up days after the whole canon thing, I probably wouldn’t be so nice,” Maddie admitted, but honest. “But it would have been wrong of me to be mean, or take any of my anger out on you. At the end of the day you still saved us, you sacrificed yourself for the problems you created. You’re also hurt right now, and unlike with Tom, I can do something about it. So I would like to help, if you would allow me.”

Shadow was frowning, looking at her more warily now- not like he was in danger but more like he was trying to understand the thing that scared him. It was a hard pill to swallow, to be helped. 

His mouth opened, he started slowly, like there was something in his throat. “I haven’t… apologized -to you- yet.”

“You don’t have to.” Maddie said, then gave a little shrug. “Well, I would appreciate it for sure, but you’ve apologized to Tom which definitely makes me feel better. More importantly, I would help you even if you didn’t apologize.”

That got Shadows face to twist, confusion overtaking him once again with the added bonus of his nose bridge wrinkling like he ate a particularly sour lemon. 

“I know its complicated, you don’t trust me and I don’t blame you, but I would still like to help. I can promise this won’t be like a lab, or the clinic.” Maddie tried, backtracking a little because yes perahps that was a little too complicated for now. “Do you think we can try?”

Shadow didn’t look ready, he looked uncomfortable, but he was present. He sighed and nodded. 

It wasn’t enthusiastic, but she hadn’t been expecting cheers and excitment. First things first though, “I do want to remind you, you can ask any questions you’d like, no matter what, at any time.”

Shadow nodded again, a bit more automatically than Maddie was comfortabel with, but she moved on.

“Alright, I’ll be asking questions to make sure you’re comfortable with whatever we’re doing,” Maddie explained, she had said it earlier, but it wouldn’t hurt to repeat it just in case he’d been more ‘away’ than ‘present’. “We’ll take it as slow as we need to.”

Shadow took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. Maddie hoped he could relax, eventually. 

“First question,” Maddie said, purposefully not talking with her hands because Tom did disclose to her behind closed doors about the flinch Shadow made when Tom went to pet him. No repeats here, no mistakes, they would learn and help. “Did you want your gloves cleaned while you’re in the bath? Sonic offered it earlier and I think it would be a good idea. But if you want to keep your gloves on that’s fine too, I know you guys like to keep your hands covered. Since all of you is going in the tub anyway it’ll probably get cleaned that way too. Whichever one would make you more comfortable.”

Shadow at least didn’t seem alarmed by this question, looking down at his gloved hand clenched on the counter’s edge. He lifted it, and similar to the stare he gave the door, seemed deep in thought. “Yes.”

“…Yes?”

Shadow nodded, more confident this time. “I want my gloves clean.” 

Then he was going for his bad arm, gently nudging the sling back so he could have access to his glove. He carefully pushed the golden ring further up his arm, it stayed loose as he tugged the glove off gently. She was a professional, yet she found it very difficult not to stare at his ungloved hand. 

Mobian hands fascinated her, her kids didn’t exactly wear clothes, but gloves and shoes were a must-have at nearly all times. All three of her kids were cagey about who got to see their hands. It wasn't personal, they had told her, it wasn’t that they didn’t trust her. But the only reason she was ever given was that their hands were ‘sensative’. She had tried asking more about that in a casual way, but they only repeated what they already told her. So sue her, she was wildly curious, but she was also trying very hard to respect that boundary her kids set (the only other purpose she could find for it besides ‘sensory’ was cultural, and she definitely didn’t want to step on any toes there. Her boys didn’t seem to have much culture left and she wouldn’t take that away from them.) and she was going to extend it to Shadow until she knew otherwise. 

Immediately Maddie ran into a problem with this. 

Shadow set the glove aside and then paused, just then realizing he wouldn’t be able to get his other glove off. He looked at Maddie. He didn’t speak, he didn’t ask, and Maddie instinctively stepped forward in response. 

She held her hands out, still far enough away that they weren’t touching, just offering herself to be useful. Shadow hesitated for a moment before lifting his arm out to her. 

Maddie carefully copied what he did, pushing the golden band back along his arm before gently tugging the fabric -which was indeed more leather than Maddie anticipated, wow Sonic was right- off the hedgehog’s hand. Now she had a good look at his bare hands.

Mobian hands were… big, or at least bigger than Maddie could say were comfortable. But she had years of experience to get comfortable, especially when one of them had even bigger fists than the typical Mobian. But without the gloves, it was a little different. 

Maddie tried not to stare. 

She knew Mobian feet a bit better, having treated Sonic for some foot injuries and not to mention Shadows current foot injury. Their feet were fairly humanoid, but only in shape, they were mostly fur but they did indeed have pads and claws like any dog or cat. Shadow’s feet were like Sonics, slim and thinly furred but with that red stripe from the top of his foot that curled around to under his knees. She wasn’t surprised to find a similar stripe of color here, except it was just his last two fingers that had the red stripe and it followed along the outside of his arm up to his elbow. 

Maddie almost felt disappointed, nothing was glaringly obvious as to why Mobians always wore gloves, but it was still fascinating.

Like their feet, they were rather humanoid in shape, but the shape was all they had in common. They had pads, like an actual animal. They were a bit larger for sure, the joints quite human-like, but where human hands were smooth and bendable, Shadow had dark pads and textured surfaces with fine fur peaking between them. The fur on his palms was white like his chest fur, like the bottoms of his feet too. However white Shadow’s feet pads were peachy like his muzzle, his palm pads were black, or a dark grey like the rest of his ebony fur. He had nails- no- claws, short but purposeful. She wondered if they trimmed them, how and when came to mind considering she’d had one hedgehog under her roof for how long and this was her first time truly seeing her sons species’ hands. Paws? Should she consider them paws? Being bipedal, she had always used hands/feet for them, but perhaps that was wrong?

Frankly, the longer she looked the more they dipped into the uncanny valley. They were so human-shaped, creases in all the right places that would be on a human hand, but covered in pads and fur instead. Like someone had sewn together an abomination of an animal paw and human hands. 

Maddie gave herself just those few seconds to stare before tearing herself away. She snagged the other glove Shadow offered to her and stepped back. 

“You want me to give these to Sonic?” She asked, “or we can clean them later after your bath if you don’t want anyone touching your things.”

Shadow thought for a moment, mouth turning into a thin line. “Sonic can clean them, he seemed to have experience.” 

Maddie nodded good naturedly, slightly amused at his out-loud thinking process. He and Sonic really were cut from the same cloth. 

“Alright, I’ll be right back,” Maddie said, stepping away from the hedgehog on the counter and heading out of the bathroom entirely. She closed the door behind her, if only to show Shadow his preferences would be remembered, and called for Sonic. 

Her son came running in a burst of blue, hands on hips and ready to help with anything. She smiled at him and handed out the gloves. He looked surprised. 

“He actually took them off?” Sonic breathed, holding the dirty gloves as if they were Shadow's ungloved hands instead. That’s to say, gently. 

Maddie nodded, “he said you could clean them for him.”

Sonic’s face screwed up in determination. “I’ll leave him one of my extra pairs anyway, just so he has the option.”

“That’s very kind of you Sonic,” Maddie said. It was important to her kids, so it was important to her. “And a good idea.”

Sonic nodded to himself and zipped off again, returning just a second later with a different pair of gloves, a softer cotton and clean white. He handed them to her. “You’ll be careful, right?”

Maddie wasn’t sure what specifically he was talking about, either about Shadow himself considering he was still kinda dangerous, or the situation with the gloves. Maddie answered as if it was all of the questions at once. 

“Of course Sonic, I’m here to help.”

“I’ll keep an ear out if you need me.” Sonic said, a serious look on his face as he glanced at the bathroom door, but when he looked back at her he was smiling again. “Have fun!” And her son dashed away. 

Maddie huffed at the burst of wind his speed made. She would have to tell Tom to have another conversation about him using inside speed. At least there weren’t burn marks on the carpet this time. 

Maddie returned to the bathroom, closing the door behind her and walking over to Shadow. She lifted up the new set of gloves, handing them over. “Sonic said you could borrow these while yours are getting cleaned.”

Shadow hesitantly grabbed them, turning them over in his hand as if to inspect them. He was frowning, and not the upset type of frowning. Shadow held them, considering, then offered them back. 

Maddie blinked in surprise. “You don’t-?”

Shadow shook his head, not looking at her. “I… don’t like the texture.”

Maddie couldn’t tell if that was an excuse or legit, but it didn’t matter, Shadow said what he wanted. Maddie took the gloves, simply setting them aside. “Okay.”

With that taken care of, Maddie could finally get to actually putting Shadow in the water. 

“Alright, if you’re ready, I can start explaining how we can go about this.” Maddie started, gesturing to the tub. “This first time it's probably going to be just a rinse, I’ll pour the water all over you and probably rub a little to get clumps off, then I’ll drain and refill the tub and then I’ll use the soaps. Depending on how dirty the water gets, we might have to drain and refill the tub one or two more times, but I'm hoping the rise will get the worst of it off.”

Shadow was nodding along, but he looked down at himself. “What about my arm?” He asked, “And foot?”

“Both should be fine to not be held or bandaged, we do want your ankle to breathe sometimes and your arm should be fine to be free of the sling for a little while, just like when you’re sleeping,” Maddie explained. “But if it hurts too much, we can find a solution.”

Shadow was frowning, that near-permanent scowl of concentration. “Okay.”

Maddie’s lips turned into a firm line, skeptically looking over the hedgehog. He was agreeing too quickly, or well not quickly, but readily, without resistance. 

“You’re okay with the plan?” Maddie asked again just to be sure, “I'll explain intricacies as we come across them, but you’re sure everything about that sounds good?”

It was Shadow's turn to make his mouth into a line, even his ears went a tad flat to the sides. “I’ve never… experienced it, I don’t know what I don’t like.”

Ah, she supposed that was fair. “Alright, just remember you can ask me anything anytime.” She said, then turned and grabbed a few of the soap bottles. “Oh, and you should pick which soap you like first, before you get into the water and everything gets wet.”

Tails had brought out Sonic’s, but also Knuckles’, specific soaps, soaps specifically for quilled creatures. They had other soaps for fur, Maddie might need to get those out just so Shadow knew he had options, but for now she brought over the few bottles. She uncapped them, so the hedgehog could sniff and actually make a decision. 

Shadow didn’t seem to know what to do, staring at the bottles like Tails at a particularly challenging blueprint. 

“You smell them,” Maddie explained, wondering if she really had to explain the concept of soap to this kid. “You’re going to end up smelling like whichever one you pick, which is why it’s important to choose one you like.”

Shadow hummed, considering, and taking the bottle closest to him. Unfortunately all Maddie could do was wait. Luckily Shadow didn’t take too long, he held out a white and purple bottle, it was lavender scented. Maddie nodded with a smile, being sure to encourage his choice. She put the other bottles away and got the go-ahead from Shadow to unwrap his ankle and take the sling off. Maddie didn’t mess with the rings on his limbs, but they seemed loose without their respective gloves and shoes. It was strange, but Maddie remembered what he said about the rings and she would respect that. She would just have to make extra sure his wrists and ankles got dry before the metal started rubbing against wet fur and skin. That would be a disaster. 

Again, she asked if he was ready. He nodded and she carefully picked him up. She would go for the ‘under the armpit’ hold but she wasn’t about to let him dangle by his hurt shoulder even if he was healing at a frighteningly rapid pace. Instead, she scooped him off the counter so he was sitting on her arm, her other reaching around him like a seatbelt to stabilize him. She grunted with the effort, carrying around a teenage alien hedgehog was quite the workout, and luckily this trip was short. She lowered him to the lip of the tub, settling him on the edge while his feet dangled into the water. Shadow was staring at the water, gently holding his bad arm. 

“Is the temperature okay?” She asked, pausing before she went further. Shadow nodded slowly, like the question didn’t quite register. She studied him for a moment, but relented. “Okay,” She slid her hands around his torso and gently lowered him in.

However, when he was just about fully sat, the hedgehog hissed in pain, shoulders jerking. Maddie paused and quickly lifted the kid back up onto the lip of the tub. “What's wrong?” She asked quickly, keeping a hand on the hedgehog’s (good) shoulder as she leaned around him to scan for anything visibly wrong. 

His face was set in a scowl, not surprising, but he was looking down at his hands. She looked too, and as unfamiliar as she was with Mobian hands, she couldn’t see anything wrong. He used his good hand to rub the other, she didn’t know what that meant. He wasn’t answering her.

“Shadow, please talk to me,” She said outright, a little frustrated and a bit worried. “What's wrong? What can I do to help?”

He eventually shook his head, she nearly had to lean away as to not get a face full of quills. Her heart dropped with another non-verbal answer, a negative one no less, but to her surprise he spoke along with the motion. “There’s nothing you can do.”

Maddie held back another huff of frustration, she searched for eye contact, which you would think would be easy considering Mobians have some of the biggest eyes on the (this) planet, but he resolutely kept his gaze on his hands. “Well, maybe I can, we won’t know unless we try.”

He shrugged noncommittally, but lifted his good hand. “It’s just… sensitive.”

Maddie blinked, head cocking because… well it's not like she didn’t believe her kids when they said their hands are sensitive, but perhaps she didn’t realize the degree of severity that would require gloves 24/7. The only comparison she could make was cat whiskers, and not the kind that are on their muzzle, but carpal whiskers, the whiskers cats have along the back of their forelegs. Those whiskers help cats gauge distance and space, vibrations in the ground, particularly used for hunting and noticing small movements their eyes might miss. Now Maddie imagined if those were on the palms of her hands, and how much input she would be receiving just by simply grabbing a book. Gloves make sense now. 

“Do you want Sonic’s gloves?” She offered readily, but then again, he had said he didn’t like the texture of the gloves, so perhaps not. 

Shadow shook his head again, smaller. “That would be worse,” he said, he rubbed his fingers together slowly, “the cotton sticks to my fur.”

Maddie frowned, as that sounded less like a fur problem and more like a pad problem. Cracked and dry paw pads were something she was familiar with, and could be a problem. “May I check your hand?” She asked, not reaching yet but her eyes settled on his hands just as his had. “Do your hands feel dry? Are they cracked? Swollen?”

His ears tilted backwards, but he held out his hand for her. She hesitated, but carefully took his hand. He jolted at the touch, not a flinch, but a shiver traveled through him. Right, sensitive. She won’t touch more than necessary. 

“I won’t poke.” She promised, leaning in just a little more to take a look. Just as she had observed earlier, the pads were larger than the typical dog or cat she dealt with. His palm was less like keratin and more like leathery skin, but the edges where it met fur looked a lot more like the pads Maddie dealt with. She wanted to run her fingers over his palm, judge the texture and find any abnormalities her eyes might miss, but she resisted, knowing that was a boundary she really could not afford to cross. However the pads on his fingers, a pad for each segment of the finger, were cracked and flaking. 

Hmm. They weren’t swollen at least, so she could rule out any infection. Honestly… they might just try moisturizer, though some edges of his pads looked similar to hyperkeratosis which was mostly a benign condition. She would just have to keep an eye on it, she definitely didn’t want to try anything more if they really were so sensitive. 

She could treat dry pads easily enough though, an easy fix. She gave Shadow his hand back, giving the hedgehog a gentle smile. “Nothing seems to be wrong, just a little dry, we have some moisturizer you can use once we get you all cleaned up.”

Shadow nodded slowly, rubbing the pads of his bad hand in an almost self-soothing way. 

But… figuring out his paw pads were just dry didn’t help if his hands were so sensitive to the water. That might be an issue. 

“If you want I can grab a rag and just wipe you down with a damp towel.” She offered, though she grimaced as that would not be as thorough as soap and water. 

Shadow looked at her in confusion, “Wouldn’t the water help? If my hands are dry?”

Maddie frowned, “Well yes, but if your hands are sensitive to the water you don’t have to do the bath.” Sonic offering gloves made much more sense now, not that she really doubted him, it just… made sense. 

Shadow looked even more befuddled now, nearly offended she would offer. “I’ll get used to it.”

“If it's uncomfortable, you don’t have to force yourself.” Maddie stressed, she really wanted to make that clear. His comfort was top priority. 

Except Shadow’s head dipped and his ears flattened a little more, “Okay.”

Maddie took a breath to further argue, but the look on the hedgehog’s face took all the wind out of her sails. She sighed, letting out the breath slow and long. She was trying very hard to listen, to balance between making him comfortable, listening to his fears, but also guessing as to what he actually needed considering he didn’t self-advocate, and then she walked all over him when he did advocate. Great. 

Maddie shook her head to herself, leaning in to get the hedgehog’s attention. “Hey, whatever you want to do, we do it, remember? We have other options, but if you really want the bath, we’ll do it. No wrong choices here.”

Shadow eyed her skeptically, a silent judgment that spoke thousands of words. He didn’t believe her, and why should he? Maddie had been pretending not to be an authority this whole time when she definitely was the one in charge. 

“Look, my only goal here is to help,” Maddie said, more frustrated with herself than anything else, but what could she say that she hasn’t already said? Or had she already lost her chance? She didn’t like this feeling, like she was hitting a brick wall every time she attempted to move forward, but it was all she could do. Try. “I’m sorry I pushed, I just wanted you to feel safe and in control while trying this new thing. That's not an excuse for ignoring your input, but I want to be clear about my intentions. We’re doing this at your pace, however you want to do it. So what do you want to do?”

Shadow stayed still and quiet for a moment, eyes lowering to his hands once again. This time, the silence was charged, the hedgehog had something to say and Maddie would wait patiently for whatever it was he wanted to say. 

“I can do the bath.” He said with quiet conviction, “My hands will get used to it, it's not painful, just surprising.”

That did soothe something in Maddie, but it didn’t make her quite as comfortable with the idea yet. Not that it mattered if Maddie was comfortable, it was Shadow’s call to make and he made his choice. Being a vet for animals who could talk back was harder than she would like to admit. Even then her other kids she could reason with, they trusted her. Shadow did not, and it showed. 

“Okay, then we do it.” Maddie nodded, “Are you ready to go back in or do you need a minute?”

Shadow fidgeted slightly. “I’ll go in.” Without her help then, that was fine. 

“Okay, I’m here to help if you need it.” She said, watching carefully as Shadow shifted. 

He scooted forward, good hand on the edge of the tub as he easily slid down feet first, standing gingerly in the water. Maddie wasn’t too happy he was standing on that foot, but it should be fine, he healed fast and he was already moving to sit down. Shadow kept his bad arm close to his chest, slowly lowering himself into the water. His eyes were wide, but not panicked, as he settled to sit, hand still clenched on the edge of the tub. The water around him was already turning brown, loose flakes of dirt and soot spreading around him. 

“You okay?” She asked, noticing his bad hand was in the water but he hadn’t hissed like the first time. However he was frozen like a statue. 

“It's… slippery,” Shadow said, uncomfortable. 

Maddie tramped down a smile, he seemed so young all of a sudden. “Yeah, I probably should have warned you about that, I’m sorry.”

Shadow didn’t even glance at her, and she let him take his time getting used to the water and the overall sensation of the tub. Eventually he brought his good hand down into the water, he cringed for a moment, but a full body shiver seemed to get rid of the nerves, or he ‘got used to it’. It took a moment, but he started rubbing at his fur, remembering the goal of the whole ‘bath’. 

Maddie knelt at the edge of the tub, but snagged the large cup and put it within Shadow’s reach. “If you don’t want me to, I wont touch,” she started, “but you might find it a bit easier since you’re down an arm for me to help with some of the hard-to-reach areas.”

Shadow glanced at the cup, then up at her. “You’re going to-?”

“Just a rinse,” She assured, “I’ll scoop up some water and pour it over you, I’ll warn you so you can close your eyes.”

Shadow had his permanent frown on, his more neutral face that hid most of his other emotions. Maddie didn’t know whether that meant he was relaxed, or actually hiding something. He took a breath and nodded. 

“Alright,” she said and went to work.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time to get to the point where she felt he was rinsed enough, nothing was coming off that she wasn’t pouring back onto him. She guided him through closing his eyes and or holding his breath if she ever went over his face. Adorably his ears always flattened like Sonic or Tails would, and she made sure to not get any water in them. She also showed him how to tilt his head back if he didn’t want it going over his face, and leaning forward to get his back. He slowly relaxed through it all, not speaking, but not drifting either. 

Honestly, it was going well. 

Maddie, with permission, drained the dirty water and filled it anew. She explained how she was going to wash him with the soap and how she can do the hard parts like his head of quills and his back but he could get the rest of himself if he wanted to do it himself. He just nodded, giving her his head of quills with his back to the edge of the tub. Luckily, Maddie had experience in washing space hedgehog quills, so to her, this part was easy. It was a nice rhythm to fall into, threading her soapy fingers through the bunches of quills similar to how she would for her own hair, methodically moving from patch to patch. 

“I have a question,” Shadow said, pulling Maddie from the lull of the task. 

She didn’t pause, but she refocused, petting down the section of quills she was currently working on. “What's your question? Do you need me to stop?”

“No,” Shadow said, after realizing he couldn’t shake his head considering Maddie was elbow deep into his quills. “It's about Sonic.”

“Ah,” Maddie should have guessed, “I can certainly try, what's up?”

“While we were on the moon,” Shadow started, and Maddie nearly froze, but managed to continue scrubbing quills. She really hadn’t anticipated him bringing up the moon conversation, something he’d previously been very tight-lipped about. “Sonic mentioned he had lost someone important to him, someone named Longclaw?” Shadow’s voice lilted at the end, hesitant but searching. 

Maddie did pause this time, but quickly resumed. Now to go about this tactfully. She resisted the urge to sigh. Tom was so much better at these conversations, but she did know that this was a topic Sonic should take point on, considering it was his story. It was a sensitive topic for the blue blur, it took awhile for him to open up to even Tom about it. Frankly, she was surprised he mentioned Longclaw to Shadow at all, but that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. 

As for Maddie, she would answer best she could while respecting Sonic’s person. “Yes, Longclaw was his caretaker before he came to earth,” that was about as much she and Tom knew before he really settled in. “I think you would have to ask him specifically if you want to know more about her.”

Shadow hummed, though she couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or accepting. “Can I still ask my question?”

Maddie blinked, “You can always ask questions, that one is just a bit more personal than I’m willing to share. Longclaw isn’t my story to tell.”

“I’m just… confused.” Shadow admitted, and Maddie mentally scolded herself, she shouldn’t shut down Shadow's attempts to communicate. 

“Go ahead,” Maddie said, “I’ll still try to help the best I can.”

Shadow shifted in the water, it seemed to be a nervous action. “Sonic lost her,” he said cautiously. He leaned forward, curling defensively. “Yet he replaced her with you.”

Ah. Oh, this was… definitely a conversation Tom would be better equipped to handle. 

“I don’t think anyone can replace anyone,” Maddie said, going for the broad strokes before she narrowed in. “People come and go in life, but just because they’re gone doesn't mean you forget them. They’re not gone, not replaced, just not present. It’s up to us to keep their memory alive.”

“But you and Tom, you took her place,” Shadow said, still confused. In a way, he was right, Maddie could see where he was coming from.

“We… took her role, not her place.” Maddie said, “Sonic made space for us, he didn’t lose Longclaw. We may take care of him, he might call us his parents, but we aren't ‘Longclaw’ to him.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Shadow said, less to her and more to himself.

Maddie smiled, not wanting to laugh at his confusion, but she had to admit it was adorable. But how to explain? It wasn’t a difficult concept, just a complicated one. Grief was complicated enough on its own, explaining someone else’s grief and how they moved on was even more complicated. She needed a different angle here, something simple Shadow could understand. A little vulnerability goes a long way, something that works more with people than with animals, something Tom taught her. 

She hummed quietly, thinking as she continued going through Shadow’s quills. “It’s… like Ozzie,” she started, his ears flicking. “Ozzie wasn’t my first dog, I had another while I was growing up. Ginger was a Labrador, and I don’t have too many memories of her anymore but I had a lot of fun growing up with her. My mom would tell stories, how I curled up in Ginger’s bed when I was little. Ginger always got so upset when I did that, she’d bark and howl.” Maddie smiled at the memories, faint as they were. “She lived until she was 12, which is fairly old for a dog, but she got sick. An abscess grew between her eyes and it got bad very quickly, even the vet didn’t know what it was. My dad, despite never really liking Ginger, cried the hardest when she passed.”

Shadow’s ears flattened a little and Maddie moved on to another patch of quills. The shape wasn’t strange exactly, but they did naturally turn upwards at the ends. She absently wondered if it was Sonic’s speed that made his stay down, maybe all hedgehogs were a bit more spiky-looking than her blue blur.

“When Tom and I got married, we got Ozzie as a puppy. It was a little difficult for me, even as a puppy he brought up memories that hurt now that she was gone. Ginger had her quirks, and Ozzie does too, but having him around made me sad.” Maddie explained, “Ginger made me happy, she taught me responsibility and her death inspired me to want to become a veterinarian. She was trained to eat on command and a few other fun tricks, but she loved napping. She was quite lazy for a Labrador. Ozzie gives me the same joy but he prefers to go on walks, he likes being brushed, he has a habit of sneaking food from the fridge if you leave it open. He makes me laugh, and also loves napping. I loved them both, so when one reminded me of the other, I would be happy. And you know what?” Maddie leaned in like she was telling Shadow a secret. Shadow looked at her, expectant, invested in what she was saying. “Tom got Ozzie specifically because I was sad about Ginger. He didn’t like how sad I got remembering her, so he got me a new dog so I wasn’t so sad. Ozzie didn’t replace Ginger, they have very different personalities, but he filled in what she used to do.”

Shadow hummed quietly, staring thoughtfully into the water. “He replaced the… ‘role’, giving the same benefits the other dog had done for you.”

Maddie nodded, “Yup, Ozzie didn’t replace anyone, he was just a new family member to enjoy.” She winced a little, “Family relationships are a bit more complicated than pet relationships, but I wanted to explain with something a little less charged.”

“I’m still confused,” Shadow started hesitantly, “...If we were to say Ginger was… like a star in the night sky. Her star died, but because of time and space you still see her light. If you still had her light… why would you need another star?”

Maddie tilted her head, she quite liked that analogy. It was also the closest Shadow had gotten to sharing something personal, because with the way he said it, he was familiar with this analogy. He didn’t make this up on the spot, he was applying Ginger and Ozzie to one he already knew. She took a moment to think, how to address another star in Shadow’s analogy.

Sonic popped into her mind once again. She smiled fondly. If people were stars, Sonic had the brightest night sky. 

“The night sky is dark isn’t it?” She prompted, “It’s hard to see when it's dark, but when the stars are out it's easier to see. If everyone had their own night sky, each star representing someone they love, or loved them. You’d want as many stars as you could get, right? With each star it would become brighter and more beautiful. You don’t have to have just one star, you can have as many as you’d like.” 

“Wouldn’t… the first star be upset?” Shadow asked cautiously, as if wary to voice his concern. “That you found a new star?”

Maddie considered this, and hummed. “If stars are meant to help you see, I think they’d love to work together. They’re there to help you.”

Shadow spoke slowly, “So you’re saying… Ginger would be happy Ozzie is here now.” 

“Absolutely,” Maddie smiled, “I can’t speak for Longclaw, but I’m sure she would be glad someone is taking care of Sonic now that she’s unable to. Anyone who loves you would never be mad that someone else loves you too.”

Shadow didn’t respond, but that was okay. The silence, for once, felt comfortable. Despite there not being any evidence, Maddie felt like she had helped. It was good the conversation ended where it had, Maddie was just about done, and none too soon considering the dirty water. Shadow would definitely need another rinse. Luckily there weren't any mats in his fur, nor were there too many tangles in his quills. Still, she was gentle with the wide tooth comb just in case she missed a snag or two. Shadow had curled up a little, but when Maddie discreetly checked his face, she saw his eyes half-lidded, face nearly slack. He blinked lethargically, and Maddie couldn’t help a smile. A good bath held that effect for her other kids too. Shadow’s sleepy face was just… adorable. 

“I’m almost done, one more rinse and we can blow dry.” Maddie announced, picking up the cup to rinse the suds away. “Or towel dry, if you don’t like the dryer. Knuckles prefers a towel, Sonic generally runs himself dry, but Tails likes the dryer.”

Shadow blinked himself awake, not that he was truly sleeping or even drifting, but he shifted attentively. “I could run.”

Maddie nearly sighed, “I’m not sure that would be very nice for your ankle.” She pointed out, not wanting to outright tell him no, but perhaps he just needed a reminder. 

“Oh,” Shadow was indeed surprised, as if he forgot about his wounds.

“I’ll show you the blow dryer, then you can choose if you want to use it or not,” Maddie assured.

Shadow nodded and Maddie plucked the drain once more. The water wasn’t black, but it was a near thing. Yeesh, Shadow really did need that bath. She turned the faucet and used that to rinse Shadow, not bothering with plugging the tub again. Maddie hadn’t seen Shadow before her kids had brought him home, but she figured his ebony fur and bright red stripes were back to normal shades. Despite being wet, she could tell Shadow had some deep colors, like his peach muzzle seemed just a few shades darker than Sonic’s. Maddie had thought that had been dirt, and it mostly was, but it turns out space hedgehogs have quite the variety of pigments- if the bright cobalt blue wasn’t hint enough. 

Once he was all rinsed Maddie wrapped him in a towel and took him out of the tub, letting him stand on the more absorbent bath mat with his towel cape. Maddie grabbed her blow dryer from under her vanity and plugged it in, even showing it off to Shadow before she turned it on. She warned him it would be a bit loud so he wasn’t startled, but His ears tucked anyway, which was fair. Shadow agreed to try it, letting her pass over his leg with the hot air to check. The hedgehog nodded, moving to take his towel off. Maddie assured him he could keep it on while she tackled his head of quills first since it would take the longest to dry. Shadow’s ears stayed tucked and Maddie tried desperately not to laugh at his scrunched face and rapid blinking that looked an awful lot like Ozzie when he dealt with high winds. Eventually Maddie instructed him to close his eyes, she’d warn him if she moved anywhere else but for now she dealt with his quills. It took awhile, like Tails and his tails, but she knew  how to do this. She combed through his quills, neatly placing them back into their natural patches and guiding the upward tips. 

The rest of him didn’t take too long, his rings apparently weren’t affected by the hot air, somehow. Even x-rays weren’t affected by whatever metal Shadow was wearing, Maddie was afraid to ask so she didn’t. But soon she had an all clean hedgehog with soft fur and neat quills. His arm was put back into its sling and she set him on the counter to re-wrap his ankle. He seemed to be in a bit of discomfort, which made sense, but the whole bath and drying also seemed to lull him. All in all, he was adorable. 

“I’ll go see if Sonic finished washing your gloves,” Maddie said with a sigh, a little tired even though he’d been the most compliant bath-taker she’d ever dealt with. 

Shadow nodded, blinking slowly. Yeah he was tired, hopefully Sonic got Tom to put all of Shadow’s blankets into the wash and were hopefully dry by now. Kiddo needed a nap. 

Maddie stepped out of the bathroom again, making it to the top of the stairs before she called for Sonic. 

“Are you done?” Sonic asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs with a smile.

Maddie nodded, “Yup, did you manage to clean his gloves?”

Sonic grinned, “Yup!” He dashed off and returned in a flash, holding Shadow’s gloves which looked quite pristine now. He zipped up the stairs to hand them to her, she took them with a token of thanks. 

“What about the blankets? Did those get done?” She asked. 

“Yup! Those too!” He nodded excitedly, but a look of concern overtook his face. “Is he okay?”

Maddie gave him a reassuring smile, “Yes, we talked out a few things too. He’s gonna be okay.”

Tension Maddie didn’t even notice was there flowed out of Sonic, making her son deflate slightly. “Oh good, I’m glad.” He smiled.

“Hey,” a brilliant idea just occurred to Maddie, “Do you wanna make Shadow a den of sorts? Maybe a fort on the couch? He’s a bit tuckered out and could use a nap.”

Sonic lit up again, hands on his hips and cockily thumbed his nose. “Fort for one! Coming right up!”

He dashed down the stairs and Maddie laughed to herself. Sonic was such a good kid. 

Maddie went back to Shadow, who was nodding off while sitting on the counter. His ears flicked at her approach, she couldn’t quite call it ‘perking’, his eyes opened stickily. 

“Hey baby,” Maddie said, holding out his clean gloves. “Did you want some help putting these back on?”

Shadow nodded, shifting slightly to give his bad arm room enough to get the glove on. Maddie slid the glove on his bad hand, careful not to jostle too much but making sure it was fitting correctly. 

“Sonic calls you ‘mom’,” Shadow said quietly, not quite a question.

Maddie nodded, carefully adjusting the ring back over the glove to where it sat comfortably. “Sometimes.” 

Shadow made a humming sound, or maybe a sigh. “…I don’t think I’m looking for a parent.” He mumbled. 

Maddie held back a laugh but let her smile show, because whether Shadow was looking for parents or not… Well, Sonic had called them ‘friends’ for a while before he got comfortable enough to use ‘mom’ and ‘dad’. Maddie also didn’t think Shadow had many positive adult figures in his life, and if he never had one before it makes sense why he’d be wary of one now. Like the tub, he had no experience. Also like the tub, it didn’t really matter, she and Tom would treat him just as they treated their other kids whether they were ‘his parents’ or not. 

“That’s okay,” she told Shadow as she slid his other glove onto his good hand. “But I do know a hedgehog that would love to be your brother.”

Shadow’s eyes snapped to her as his spine straightened, ears turned forward and attentive. If Maddie didn’t know any better, she would have said the hedgehog was scared. 

“He can’t replace the person you lost, but…” Maddie trailed off, making a show of adjusting Shadow’s glove and ring to make sure it sat correctly. She could feel his curiosity as he stared, not asking verbally but with body language alone. Maddie leaned in with a smile. “I’ll tell you a little secret.”

Shadow leaned in too, eyes wide and searching. 

“You’re a star in Sonic’s sky.”

Shadow recoiled as if the sentiment itself had struck him. Maddie felt her own stab of guilt and sadness at his reaction. This poor kid. 

The dark hedgehog scowled and his ears swiveled back. “I can’t be a star,” he said with entirely too much conviction. “I’m…” uncertain, he trailed off and once again averted his gaze. His frown deepened as he quietly searched for a reason he couldn’t be a star. A reason he couldn’t be light to someone else. He seemed defeated, disappointed yet desperate as he simply said, “I’m Shadow.” 

This poor boy.

“Shadows still show light,” she reasoned, leaning down to scoop the hedgehog from the counter. Shadow settled into her hold instinctively but she still waited a moment for him to get comfortable before she moved off. “You can be a shadow that shines!”

Shadow's face twisted into something annoyed, but he was too tired to put any heat behind it, so it ended up being an adorable pout. “That’s physically impossible.” 

“I would have said having alien kids was impossible.” Maddie argued back with a pointed look and a smile, “and look at me now. You absolutely can be a shadow that shines.”

Shadow didn’t respond, either too tired or he couldn’t find anything to contend with what she said. It wasn’t agreement, but it wasn’t a ‘no’ either. Hm, maybe Maddie was getting the hang of reading Shadow’s silence! 

“You people make no sense.” Shadow eventually grumbled sleepily. His head dipped, and Maddie naturally hitched her grip so the hedgehog was more comfortable leaning against her. Shadow’s freshly washed lavender-scented quills brushed Madddie’s chin, his muzzle leaning heavily onto her neck. 

Having had a certain blue hedgehog curled up in her arms like this, she didn’t realize how momentous this was until she got to the top of the stairs. She paused. Shadow was asleep. In her arms. 

Maddie felt like she could explode with happiness. Her heart was full of warmth and joy and she had to hold her breath so she wouldn’t squeal and disturb her charge. 

Now this felt like victory. She could feel his heart, steady and rhythmic against her own torso. She could feel his breathing, sleepy puffs of air against her neck. 

Shadow had every reason to fear her, distrust her. He had no frame of reference for adults who actually cared about him or actually had his best interest in mind. Since arriving at the Wachowski’s he always seemed so lost, untethered, and scared. He was so quiet, not understanding the kindness they promised and delivered. 

Yet here he was, asleep in her arms. He might not understand it yet, but some part of him believed them.

Chapter Text

Sonic wakes to sharp whimpers and distressed, muffled words. 

He’s upright in milliseconds, but his speed didn’t extend to how fast he woke up. Everything felt foggy, blurry, he shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. Intrinsically he knew he was home, this was not a place for panicked shouting that actually sounded so scared. Who even—

Shadow! 

Sonic got to his feet, nearly tripping over his blanket. Shadow was curled up on the couch, whimpering and shaking in his sleep. He yelled again, “No!” And his head tossed to the side, his eyes shut tight. 

Sonic took in a sharp breath. Shadow was having a nightmare, a really intense one. 

The other hedgehog’s breathing was erratic, his chest rising and falling dramatically but inconsistently. His good hand was at his chest, clawing at the tuft of white fur. Shadow whimpered again, rolling his head back to the other side. 

Sonic felt his own heartbeat thump in his ears, but he knew he needed to do something. He didn’t know if touching him was okay, if that would calm him down or make it all worse, but it was better than watching him suffer. 

Sonic stepped closer, slowly reaching out to place his hand on the distressed hedgehog’s shoulder. Shadow didn’t react immediately; it wasn’t until his head was tossed again that he felt resistance, and then his eyes burst open with another frightened shout. 

Sparking orange lightning crackled from his glazed eyes, threading up to his mussed quills. Sonic took a step back as Shadow scrambled up, pushing himself away from Sonic with frantic kicking movements. Sonic lifted his hands to show he wasn’t touching, wasn’t holding anything, not a threat. Shadow was panting heavily, stiff as a board, frozen against the back cushion. 

“Hey, you’re okay,” Sonic started gently but firmly, “it’s just me, Sonic. You’re in my house, no safer place in the galaxy.” 

Shadow’s glowing orange gaze snapped to him, worryingly blank until finally the hedgehog blinked. Recognition passed through him, and like a puppet's strings had been cut, he slumped. No longer propping himself up, his good hand went to his chest, again grabbing the fur there in rhythmic squeezes. His breathing was still rapid and shallow, he was trembling in his own little earthquake. 

Chaos! Of all the days for Ozzie not to be around! It was just Sonic, that first day they all slept in the living room, but after they started taking turns just in case Shadow needed something. After the first week, though, Sonic volunteered to stay while everyone else went back to their normal sleeping arrangements. Knuckles, in particular, was glad to return to his ‘wake up before dawn’ to train regime. Sonic didn’t mind of course, that's the point of ‘volunteer’, but still, it was disquieting being the only one around when Shadow needed help. Not that that would deter Sonic though. 

“You remember the ‘dumb’ breathing exercises? In through the nose for four seconds, out through the mouth for four seconds.” Sonic said, using his ‘surrender’ to gesture to himself. He breathed in, raising his hands and counted down with his fingers, and breathed out, lowering his hands with another countdown. Sonic repeated this. 

Shadow didn’t acknowledge him, but slowly his breathing became steadier, less hiccupy and shallow. He wasn’t matching Sonic, probably because Shadow thought the breathing technique was dumb- but it worked didn’t it? He was back to normal, aaaaand ignoring him. Definitely back to normal. Shadow rubbed at his chest, no longer clawing, and sighed. 

“Water?” He rasped, and Sonic jumped at the opportunity. He smiled and dashed to the kitchen, using a fraction of his speed (which was still much faster than normal) to get a cup and fill it with a bit of water. Tails taught him the trick about not filling it too much, but Shadow was doing a bit better now so he filled it up half way. 

Sonic came back at a more normal pace and handed the cup over. Shadow took it, drinking carefully. Sonic watched, glad Shadow was feeling better, but the other hedgehog’s whimpers echoed in his ears. He probably knew what the nightmare was about, and it wasn’t the first time either. Shadow was still haunted by what happened to him, it was awful. He was here, safe and sound, yet still hurting. 

As if he could sense it, Shadow glared at him. Stop looking at me like that, he said without actually saying anything out loud. 

Sonic ducked his head, looking away. “Sorry.” 

“Tch-“ Shadow scoffed and also looked away, that didn’t stop Sonic from noticing his hand was shaking. 

They needed a distraction, something to calm Shadow down. Lately he’d been watching nature documentaries, and he liked being outside. Sonic remembered the soft look on Shadow’s face when they were on the moon, looking up at the stars. His averted gaze found the windows, it was still plenty dark right now. 

“Let’s go outside,” Sonic said with a smile as he turned back to Shadow, filling with excitement. 

Shadow rose a brow at him. “It’s night.”

Sonic nodded, “Yeah, and?”

Shadow’s look went flat. “We’re supposed to be asleep.”

Sonic nodded again. “Yeah, and?”

Shadow sighed. He took another sip, his hand was still shaking. 

“You haven’t seen the stars here yet, the mountains block most of the light pollution so it’s super clear and easy to see the stars.” Sonic said, gesturing above him. “I know a few really nice clearings that are great for stargazing.”

Shadow blinked slowly, like his eyelids were sticking together. “You mean… leave the house?”

Sonic shrugged, rocking back on his heels and scratching at the back of his neck. “Yeah, if you want to. We can stay on the porch if you’re not feeling up for it.”

Sonic winced the moment the words left his mouth. Whoops, that sounded like a challenge. Shadow’s eyes narrowed. Well well well, if it isn’t the immediate consequence of his actions. 

“Get my shoes.”

“Hey we really don’t have t-“

“Fine, I'll go barefoot.”

“Nooo, no no no- Maddie would kill us.” 

“Yeah, and?” Shadow snapped back at him, already throwing off his blankets.

Sonic quirked a smile, dang it. He zipped over to the coat rack, muttering “Using my own spells against me, Potter?” while he fished out Shadow’s air shoes. He returned just as fast as he had left, but Shadow was already on his feet, stabilizing himself by holding onto the couch. 

“You sure your ankle is gonna be okay?” Sonic asked as he put the shoes down. 

“I’ll be fine.” Shadow grumbled, “hardly the worst injury I’ve walked on.”

Sonic felt his face crease, his mouth going into a flat line while he inhaled and steepled his hands. 

That was not as reassuring as Shadow thought it was. Shadow rolled his eyes at his concerned look, focused more on getting his feet into his shoes. Sonic hummed anxiously, but went and got his own shoes too. If Shadow was this set on going, Sonic had to at least make sure he didn’t get hurt while doing it. Oh, Maddie was so going to kill them anyway, regardless of if Shadow wore his shoes. This was one of those bad ideas everyone was always warning him about. 

When has that ever stopped me?

Sonic winced at his own words spat back at him, he took the time shoving his feet into his shoes to get that out of his head. He needed to be focused on other things, like Shadow, not his own failures as a hero.

When Sonic reappeared wearing his shoes Shadow pushed off from the couch he’d been leaning on, taking heavy clunking steps to the hallway. “We can go slow,” Shadow said, then looked over his shoulder, “if you can handle that.”

Sonic scoffed and rolled his eyes in mock offense and (normal) speed walked to catch up. “Let's use the backdoor.” 

Sonic kept moving, Shadow falling in behind him. The house was nearly pitch black, save for the few lights from appliances and whatever moonlight that made it through the closed blinds. Luckily the back and front door were a straight shot from each other, and since the living room was right next to the front door it was an easy path. Sure the front door would be easier, but it had alarms on it, not the scary kind- but still. They were quiet as they crept through the house, and when they made it to the backdoor he took extra care in unlocking and opening the door slowly as to make the least amount of noise possible. Sneaking a glance at Shadow he saw the other hedgehog wearing his grumpy face, the more unreadable one. 

But they did it, Sonic opened the door wide, letting Shadow through and then closed it behind him just as quietly as he opened it.

Shadow was waiting for him, good hand at his side because he couldn’t quite fold his arms when one was in a sling. Sonic learned quick that Shadow liked to fold his arm to act disinterested or unbothered, which was funny to see considering how much he tried to do so.

Sonic gave the other hedgehog a grin and jumped down the stairs, much less worried about noise now that they were outside. Shadow just walked, but he used his air shoes to bypass the stairs entirely. Sonic could not fathom having little jets on the bottoms of his own feet, he was plenty fast without them, and found himself distrusting the idea of putting his feet in a metal contraption he couldn’t quite control. But still, Shadow made it look cool. 

“So?” Shadow prompted in annoyance, waving to the forest beyond them. 

Right! Sonic was leading Shadow, they had places to be and stars to see! 

Sonic grinned and waved him over, “Come on, this way.”

He walked, though probably a bit faster than what was comfortable for most, but Sonic rarely walked through his forest. Shadow seemed to be keeping up okay, he was focused on his feet though, navigating the unfamiliar terrain unlike Sonic who practically glided over it. He bounced between rocks and fallen trees, things he would usually be doing At Speed, but here he did it slowly enough for Shadow to follow. It was only maybe thirty seconds of this before Sonic heard Shadow’s air shoes kick on again. He looked over, seeing Shadow hovering just inches above the ground. He was taller than Sonic this way, and Sonic leaped up onto a fallen log. (No it was not so he could be taller- shut up.) He watched Shadow skate, because he was skating, slowly pushing from left to right to gently glide across the uneven ground. Shadow swayed with the movements, but it was minimal with his arm still in a sling and at the speed he was going he didn’t need much movement anyway.

Shadow caught him staring.

“...What?” Shadow asked, eyes glinting with confusion and his tone short. 

Sonic, still perched, pointed at his shoes and opened the flood gates. “How do those work anyway? Isn’t it fire at your feet? How are you not burning the floor? How do you control how much it lifts you? How far can you fly with them? How fast-”

“Is speed really everything to you?” Shadow asked over him, moving past where Sonic was standing. 

Sonic grinned, throwing his hands up in a shrug despite the other not being able to see. He sped forward ahead of Shadow, walking backwards to stay facing the other. “Hey, not everyone has fancy robot shoes, you can’t blame me for being curious. Were they in the asteroid with you?”

Sonic winced before Shadow even reacted, ah, bad question. Shadow’s movements stuttered, which was odd to see considering rocket shoes usually had a pretty consistent output. Unless it wasn’t a definitive output? How did Shadow adjust the output? That had to be a valid question, and a less traumatizing one than the one he just asked. 

After his freeze, Shadow kept moving forward. He didn’t look at Sonic as he passed. “No, they weren't.”

Sonic himself froze that time, blinking at the straight answer he got. Oh. “Sorry,” Sonic said, “you don’t have to-”

“The professor made them,” Shadow bulldozed over him, speaking factually. “Maria designed them after her own skates, the professor built them as a way to channel my chaos energy.”

“Wait, so it's your energy that's powering the shoes?” Sonic asked, jogging to catch up to Shadow. 

Shadow regarded him like he was a particularly dumb fish. “Yes, that's how I control it,” then he looked away, crimson eyes landing on the forest floor. He spoke softly. “That's how they harvested from me.”

Oh. Hm. Yikes. 

Sonic did not like that. Sonic did not like any of that. Maria was Shadow’s good person, that much Sonic knew for sure. She would have designed them for fun, but the scientists decided it was a tool instead. Maybe it didn’t hurt him (maybe), but it still took from him. Sonic couldn’t imagine having something attached to him that stole from him, especially something that was supposed to be good and fun. 

He disliked GUN for many reasons, but the more he learned about Shadow the more he just… hated. Sonic didn’t think he was capable of true hate until he met Shadow. First it was at Shadow, but now it was for Shadow. How could he have ever thought GUN was even remotely good?

“I thought we were going somewhere,” Shadow said ahead of him with annoyance, standing still and looking back at him. 

“Right,” Sonic said, not realizing he had stopped. He skipped forward, putting a bounce in his step to get away from the awful weight he’d brought. “We’re almost there!”

It took about .2 seconds for Sonic to speak again. 

“Okay so if you’re using your powers right now to use the skates, what about the other stuff you can do? Can you teleport?” Sonic looked at the other expectantly, Shadow looked uncomfortable. 

“…if I had to.” The dark hedgehog replied with some reluctance.  

Sonic couldn’t help but grin. He might be reading too far into it, but he liked to think there was a subtle implication that Shadow would only leave if forced. He might as well have said he wanted to stay! This made Sonic even giddier. 

“What about those arrow things you used when we were fighting the army of robots? Those were awesome!”

Shadow blinked at him, “You mean the chaos spears?”

“Is that what they’re called?” Sonic wondered aloud. Thinking back on it he supposed they were rather spear-like. He would have called them arrows. Like a bow and arrow, but there’s no bow, technically Shadow hadn’t even held any of them, how were they spears?!

“You can’t do that?” Shadow seemed genuinely surprised, though it came across more as offense, Sonic knew what he meant. 

“Dude,” Sonic said with his best smile, “My skills boil down to ‘curl up in a ball, spin really fast, and smash myself into the problem’.” 

Shadow seemed to short circuit. He froze, blinked rapidly while opening his mouth as if to speak, closed his mouth, then rubbed at his brow with a deep sigh like he was getting a headache. 

“No wonder you act like you’ve got brain damage.” He grumbled under his breath. Shadow almost sounded relieved, like things suddenly made sense to him. Sonic took offense to that. 

“Hey! It’s really effective!” Sonic defended, but he couldn't stop grinning. 

Shadow was bantering! He’d only seen the other hedgehog smile once or twice briefly, like when they teamed up and Shadow teased him about his catchphrase. Shadow was comfortable enough to banter now and Sonic couldn’t help the elation filling his soul. Shadow was feeling better! 

“The chaos spear is a higher form of chaos control,” Shadow started, “it’s essentially condensed chaos brought into a physical manifestation that can then be directed and aimed. Its useful for multiple targets.” Shadow explained.

“Could you make one right now?! I wanna see!” Sonic gasped loudly, hands on his cheeks like Kevin from Home Alone. He zipped to the other hedgehog, grabbing his shoulder (thankfully the good one) as he exclaimed, “COULD I LEARN?! TEACH ME!”

Shadow shoved him away almost instantly. 

Sonic fell onto his butt in the dirt with an ‘oof’ and surprised blinking. Shadow put some distance between them, regarding Sonic like he was a wild animal about to lunge. Sonic’s ears flattened and he folded his legs into criss-cross, showing he wasn’t about to move again. He held his ankles as he rocked back, giving the darker hedgehog a sheepish smile. “Sorry, got a little too excited.” He said with a nervous giggle. 

Way to go Sonic, Shadow was just bantering and he just had to go and get in his personal space. Shadow liked his personal space, Sonic knew this, he swore he did! It was just so easy to slip up, even Knuckles let him do his antics!

Shadow huffed and that was his ‘I want to fold my arms but can’t’ sigh, but took a step closer. “It’s not that easy, chaos spears take a lot of effort and raw power. I can only make them in very special conditions.” Shadow said slowly, deciding it was best to just move on from the whole shoving thing which was probably for the best. Then Shadow tilted his head. “Like those chaos crystals.”

Sonic raised a finger, “Emeralds.”

“Emeralds, whatever.” Shadow corrected with a dismissive wave of his hand. He looked around the forest, and to Sonic still sitting on the ground. “Do you even have a destination in mind?” He asked, the irritation in his voice a little too familiar. 

“Oh, yeah!” Sonic got to his feet, then pointed past Shadow, “the clearing is right over there, I told you we were close! Just don’t zoom over the edge, if you do I’m sure the ground will break your fall.” 

His joke landed flat on its face like the first time Sonic discovered the cliff and Shadow huffed again as he turned in the direction Sonic had pointed. They walked the last bit in silence, and with Shadow actually walking. Sonic smiled as they stepped out of the tree line, they finally made it! 

Sonic really did like this spot, but it wasn’t his favorite. His favorite was the one that overlooked the town, the one that made him feel not so alone. This spot, however, was the one he went to when he wanted to pretend he was back on Mobius. This cliff faced more mountains, more hills, more forests and unsettled land. No light pollution, no car noises, nothing that would clue in that he was on Earth. 

Right now, it was beautiful. 

Sonic kept his eyes on the landscape as he stepped up to settle down just a few paces away from the edge. Sonic sat with his legs flat, leaning back on both hands to look up. Shadow did the same next to him, but only one of his legs were out, the other curled to his chest while his good arm wrapped around it. Shadow was enamored by the scenery, just as Sonic intended. He even looked… almost happy, thoughtful for sure, but almost vulnerable.

The blue hedgehog hummed his contentment. 

The shadows were pitch black, but the soft light of the sky, of the split moon, shone down and bathed everything in a cool glow. The treetops looked like feathers, gently swaying in the evening wind. The rustling of billions and billions of pine needles sounded like home. The starry sky was open to them, hundreds of twinkling lights, most of which would be lost if not for the total darkness they had. Pure nature, it felt like freedom, and he didn’t have to enjoy it alone anymore. 

However… Sonic wasn’t built for sitting still, or thinking quietly.

Sitting here, beneath the stars… It reminded him of the last time he was like this, specifically with another hedgehog. Their conversation on the moon was… good. It was good. But it had been short, trapped in the time constraints of a doomsday device they had to shut down. Which they did, or well, Shadow did. 

They technically failed, the whispers of inadequacy reminded him. They didn’t stop the doomsday device from firing, they could only shield from it, redirect it. They accidentally split the moon! Then Shadow pushed it away so it didn’t affect Earth with the ramifications of its explosion so close. Tails had to explain that one to him, how if the cannon hadn’t been pushed away then the Earth still would have died, just a slower, more painful death. 

Sonic had been unconscious for it, falling to earth. He would have fallen to a dead Earth had Shadow not done what he did. Sonic would have had a front row seat to his planet dying if Shadow hand’t pushed the canon away. His friends and family consumed by acid rains and poisoned earth. Shadow had been at the epicenter of that explosion, knowing he would die, just so Sonic’s world could live. Sonic understood that Shadow didn’t save the world out of any sense of self preservation, it wasn’t even out of spite. Shadow saved the world for the people who loved it, who lived, and Shadow hadn’t been included. Shadow expected to die. Yet here he was, under the stars once more, basking in broken moonlight. 

Sonic… couldn’t help but feel guilty. 

“I’m sorry we didn't catch you.” He said softly, looking away from the blanket of twinkling lights.

Shadow didn’t respond right away, every second of silence felt like an eternity. Literal crickets between them. 

“You couldn’t have known,” Shadow said eventually, almost gentle. “I didn’t even know.”

“Still,” Sonic said, surprised by his own earnestness, “I’m sorry you had to experience it at all. I… can’t imagine- you saved the world, but it just keeps hurting you. I wish I could have done something.” It sounded dumb, but it felt true so he wasn’t sorry for saying it. 

Shadow let the silence linger again, both of them looking up at the sky. Sonic felt both disappointed and relieved no shooting star sparked across the sky. 

Shadow gripped his knee, curling just a little tighter into himself. “I didn’t catch you either.”

Sonic blinked, turning to look at the other hedgehog. “What?”

Shadow purposefully looked away, giving Sonic a head full of quills to look at. “When you fell from the beam. You plummeted to earth. I could have caught you. But I didn’t.”

“Well frankly, I’m glad you prioritized the world ending laser.” Sonic said with an amused huff, “Again, I had my friends. You did the right thing.”

“…‘The right thing’,” Shadow echoed softly. 

Silence enveloped them again, but this time it was softer, lighter, and Sonic was smiling gently. He looked back up at the sky, deep blues and darkness hues making a deep contrast with the streak of the Milky Way. It really was beautiful out here.

“Hey,” Sonic said, climbing to his feet. “I wanna show you something.”

“Out here?” Shadow asked, watching the other stand up. 

“Yeah, I want to show you my old cave, I think you would like it.” Sonic said, walking over and extending out a hand.

Shadow only scowled. “Why?”

Sonic paused and sighed, “I just… It's hard to explain, it would be easier to just show it to you.” He enticed his hand, lifting his brows in a pleading motion.

“Fine.” Shadow huffed and took Sonic’s hand, Sonic heaving the other up to his feet. “It better be close.” Shadow grumbled, letting him go and taking a step towards the forest. “For a hedgehog that claims to be the fastest thing alive, you took ages to get us here.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. WHAT?

“You think you’re faster than me?” Sonic asked incredulously, rushing forwards to be in front of the other hedgehog. He walked backwards to stay ahead and still face the other, gesticulating wildly at Shadow and then himself. “You used a motorcycle in that chase, I’m way faster than that.”

“Golden mode doesn't count.” Shadow pivoted, tromping after him.

“I agree! I’m still faster than that.” Sonic said, throwing his hands up. He was grinning again. “I could beat you in any race.” 

Shadow snapped a stare on him, a challenging look on his face. “How would you know? You haven’t seen me run.” 

Sonic almost stopped, there was something new about Shadow. His stare, his eyes were alight with… well, light! It wasn’t literal light, but it was such a contrast to the hedgehog’s usual demeanor he might as well be a blazing bonfire! His eyes danced with challenge, and something he could almost mistake as mischief. The blue blur felt his own excitement rise up to meet it. 

“Ooooh!” Sonic leaned in, placing fists on his hips and dialing up his cocky grin. “You’re asking for it, new hedgehog. There’s only one way to settle this! Race! You and me.”

Shadow’s stare narrowed while the corner of his mouth turned up. “Last I checked I won all the times we fought -except when you cheated with the chaos emeralds.”

Sonic’s heart squeezed uncomfortably, but he stayed grinning. “I was going easy on you,” he argued, “besides, those weren’t races.” 

Shadow raised a brow at him, still smiling, “think there’s a stretch of land long enough? Or am I going to have to leave you behind once we hit ocean?” 

“That’s cold, Shadow,” Sonic tisked, putting a hand to his chest as if he was deeply offended, “just cold.”

But he was actually getting genuinely excited about this. He loved racing with Knuckles and Tails, he loved including them in his favorite pastime, but to include them he did have to put a cap on himself. He was never truly going at speed with his friends. However, Shadow seemed to truly believe they would need whole continents, this was like… a proper challenge! 

“We’ll have to ask Tails to make us a map.” Sonic said, already brainstorming what such a race would look like. And Sonic could run on water thank you very much, he just needed to be going very fast. Which was the point of a race, at least, a race against someone else who could also go very fast. “He could make markers for us and measure how fast we’re going, and how long it takes between checkpoints- and running commentary!!” 

Shadows face screwed up in another scowl, one Sonic recognized as his confused scowl. 

“Don’t worry, this is a great idea,” Sonic said to the other hedgehog, then bounced to a stop in a familiar clearing. Honestly he hadn’t been thought about where he was going, his feet took him home. “And hey! We’re here!”

Shadow looked around the clearing, unimpressed. He gave Sonic a flat look. “Wow, a forest.”

Sonic snorted, then in a dash of blue he ran and jumped, slipping out of speed for a moment to flick his nose at Shadow before gravity took him down through the skylight hole. Sonic landed perfectly, throwing his arms up for a ten out of ten like he just finished a gymnastics routine at the Olympics. He looked up to see Shadow peering down, haloed by the glowing sky. “C’mon!” Sonic waved him in, “don’t make me use kindergarten insults. Slowpoke.”

Shadow rolled his eyes, “you would.” And jumped down, except he didn’t let gravity take him. His air shoes flared to life and Shadow gently floated down into the cave. 

Sonic folded his arms impatiently, if only to tick off Shadow even more. 

When Shadow landed he was right next to Sonic, closer than Shadow usually allowed. Then Sonic was being cuffed playfully over the head and Shadow was smiling as he stalked away. “Idiot.”

Sonic erupted into laughter, only mildly stifling it because he should not be laughing at Shadow, but wow it was nice to feel… good. Sonic was happy because Shadow was happy. 

Shadow was taking a good look around the cave, most of the stuff Sonic used to live got moved out, but there was quite a few things that were left behind. The dryer he used as a ‘treadmill’ was still there, though it certainly wasn’t white anymore. Yikes, he should actually move that out, rust was probably deadly in large quantities right? Tails would know, if not Tom and Maddie would. A few of the road signs he’d found broken after big storms and squirreled away still lined the walls. The ping pong table was still here, maybe the paddles and balls were around here somewhere. Racing with Shadow was already an exciting idea, imagine ping pong at speed with an actual other player! Not just himself! There were a few more open tubs of stuff, clothes Sonic had pilfered for warmth in the winter and such, and other container-like items were filled with mostly junk. All the fairy lights were gone, taken by Tom and Maddie to put in the attic in Sonic’s new ‘cave’, so it was hard to identify most stuff, but the glow of the moon above shined through the skylight and gave them just enough light to see. 

Shadow was walking around, staring at all the junk, but he also seemed intrigued by the entire concept of a cave. He kept looking at the walls and ceiling, seemingly puzzled by the gravity defying dirt. 

“You lived here?” Shadow asked, staring at yet another road sign leaning against the wall. 

“Yep!” Sonic said, putting his hands behind his head in a nonchalant way, walking along a different wall as he reminisced. “I stayed here for quite a few years, before I ran into Tom and Maddie.”

The beginning had been so hard, without Longclaw. It was really a miracle he found this cave when he did, of course it was not quite as big and a lot less cluttered when he found it, but it had quickly become his sanctuary while he struggled to understand this new world, his new life without her. 

That… didn’t matter anymore though, not since he found Tom and Maddie. Well, technically… 

“Well, more like I ran from a crazy egg guy and Tom shot me with a tranquilizer gun but then he punched Eggman in the face and I lost my rings and I had to beg Tom to drive me to San Francisco because that’s where the rings were and lemme tell ya, Tom was not pleased at having a space hedgehog run into his life but I wore him down, and now we’re best friends and—“

Sonic stopped, realizing he was going too fast, and none of it made sense, and Shadow was looking at him with the most confused look on the entire planet. His face was all scrunched up, like squinting would help him understand better, but he also had a distinct curl to his lip that said he was at least mildly disturbed and his eyes conveyed pure bafflement. 

“Sorry.” Sonic said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, “a lot happened, you don’t really need the details I guess.” Quick Sonic, change the subject! “Anyway, what I wanted to show you was this!”

He dashed over to the mural, the one he drew of Longclaw and himself on their island. It’s been… too long now, he doesn't actually remember the name of the island, he was sure it had one. But he remembered the palm trees, the soft grass, bright flowers, and loop-dy-loops. All depicted in his mural. 

Shadow walked over, giving the mural his critical eye. He seemed confused by most of it, but when his eyes landed on the crudely drawn owl, his face softened.

“This is Longclaw,” Sonic said, unable to keep the pained love from his tone. “I miss her a lot. I wouldn’t be who I am today without her.”

“Can I ask…?” Shadow started hesitantly, his gaze still soft as it flicked between Sonic and the mural. 

Sonic shrugged, he did being Shadow here with the intent to share after all, “Sure, I’m an open book.” 

“Why are there so many squares.”

Sonic choked on a laugh, turning to look at the other hedgehog. Shadow scowled. 

“You said I could ask questions.” The darker hedgehog argued. He tried to fold his arms again, and when he failed he awkwardly put his hand on his hip. 

Sonic lifted a hand while he cleared his throat, trying and failing to bite back a grin. “No, no, not laughing at you, just… wasn’t expecting that.” He huffed a few more little laughs. He pointed to the squares, “that’s just how the ground was, it made it easy to track distance. Even as young as I was, I could travel the entire island in three seconds.” He smiled at the memory, though it had faded with time. 

Shadow gestured to the loop-dy-loop. “That’s real too?”

Sonic gave Shadow an incredulous look. “Of course it’s real. Did your island not have any?”

Shadow frowned, then scowled at the ground. Sonic felt the air shift, somehow he had stumbled upon dangerous territory for Shadow and he wasn’t sure what it could possibly be. Was his island not nice? Like Tails’? But no the question was about the loop-dy-loops, maybe he had something against gravity defying dirt?

“…I don’t remember anything before landing here in that meteor.” 

Oh. Oh that was so much worse. Oh noooo that was so much worse! 

Okay, quick, think of something nice to say! 

“Well… I’m glad you didn’t have memory issues when you landed again, I hear once you get memory loss once it’s easier to get it again.” What the frick Sonic? What was that?! “Or maybe that’s just something they say in TV dramas, for the drama.” Shut up Sonic, shut up! “Oh, hey! Maybe we’re related!” WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT?! “You got here fifty years ago, maybe I’m a descendent of yours!”

“No.” Shadow said, finally cutting him off. “Just… no.”

“Oh thank god.” Sonic said as he sighed and put his head in his hands. “I am so sorry that was awful of me. Please punch me next time so I don’t run my mouth like an idiot.”

Shadow scoffed lightly, “Tch- I don’t think your family would like it if I punched you every five seconds.”

“No, I’m giving permission, please shut me up.” Sonic said miserably. 

“Well if you’re asking-“ 

Sonic snapped open his eyes just in time for Shadow to smack him upside the head again. Sonic laughed and barely caught himself from face planting. “Yeah I deserved that.” 

They quieted, a natural silence falling between them as they both looked back at the mural. 

“Still, that… sucks.” Sonic said gently into the silence, ears dipping backwards. His memories of Mobius might be fading, but he still had something to go off of, like this mural. He can’t imagine being that untethered, to just have… nothing. 

No wonder Maria was so important to him. She really was his only good thing. 

“I’m… sorry you lost her.” Shadow said slowly but genuinely. 

“Thanks.” Sonic said, “I’m sorry you lost Maria.”

Shadow didn’t do anything for a moment, then he breathed in deep and turned to him. “Who told you about Maria?”

“Oh,” Sonic didn’t laugh, but it was a little amusing that to Shadow Sonic sorta just knew stuff. Shadow himself hadn’t mentioned Maria to him specifically until the moon. “Commander Walter’s did.”

Shadow’s expression darkened, and Sonic suddenly remembered thats who Shadow was originally intending to punch when he got Tom instead. Whoops, well, it was the truth, and no backing down now. 

“It was after our first fight, you handed our butts to us and we needed answers. ‘Cause lemme tell ya, we were not expecting an angry black hedgehog when they asked us for help.” Sonic explained, shaking his head with a scoff. 

“Why did you even help them?” Shadow asked. 

Sonic shrugged, “Well, we left off on good enough terms last time Robonik tried to destroy the world, and they said there was an ‘extraterrestrial threat’ in Tokyo. They… really didn’t tell us anything more than that.” Sonic frowned as he remembered, they had gone in so blind. ‘Start with the giant explosion’, ‘we don’t know weather its Godzilla or Hello Kitty down there’. GUN most defninitly knew it was Shadow, he had escaped their prison, Shadow had awesome chaos powers like him and Knuckles, and GUN couldn’t have warned them about any of that? Probably because Sonic wouldn’t have tried fighting him if he knew it was another hedgehog, in fact he did try talking the second he knew it was another hedgehog. 

Shadow scoffed, muzzle wrinkling with a sneer as he looked away. “Tch- of course they said what they needed to get you to cooperate. I’m not surprised.”

Sonic took a breath, rolling his shoulders to shove away the feeling of strings. “But uh, yeah Walters kinda gave us the sparknotes version of your backstory.”

Shadow looked back at him, eyes narrowed, but he spoke softly. “...Spark notes?”

Sonic smiled and waved the words away, “Don’t worry about it, it's just a way of saying ‘long story short’. He essentially gave us all the important bits of what happened.”

Shadow scoffed again, even growling a little this time. “I doubt his version of the event truly told you anything at all.” His fist was at his side and he stared daggers into the ground.

“Well,” Sonic started hesitantly, he didn’t want to make Shadow more mad, but this was good wasnt it? He didn’t really want to know what Walters lied about, he always seemed so earnest when he spoke with them, but Shadow was living proof Walters wasn’t that good of a man. Or maybe Walters just didn’t like Shadow specifically… which still proved him to not be that good of a guy. Sonic took a breath to remember what Walters had told him. “He told us about the meteor you were found in, how you had Chaos energy, and the scientists experimented with it. Then he said there was an accident–”

“Accident my ass.” Shadow snarled, tunring on his heel just to angrily pace a short distance before turning to face Sonic again. His eyes were glowing bright orange, but Sonic could see the pain in them, he wondered how he ever missed it. “They wanted to take me away from Maria and the Professor, the only thing we could do was run. They shot at us.”

Sonic’s heart squeezed, because he knew that feeling. Running. Running for freedom. Always afraid your next step would be your last. That no matter how far you go something bad would still be just behind you. ‘Never stop running’, Longclaw had said. 

“The only ‘accident’ that happened was that they missed.” Shadow spat, “they hit a containment unit of chaos energy, my energy, making the entire compound explode. And now she's DEAD!”  

The silence seemed to ring after he said that, like the whole world was waiting for him to fall apart. Shadow was breathing heavily after the outburst, but instead of calming down he seemed to get worse. Heavy breathing turned to harsh panting, to rapid gasping. His eyes just moments ago had blazed with fury were now dull and dark, staring blankly into the distance. Sonic took a concerned step forward, reaching, but Sonic didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t use his normal tactics, like hugs or playful banter, this wasn’t something he could… distract Shadow from. He watched, but he couldn’t take this away from Shadow. It was grief. 

Shadow’s face crumpled, tears gathering as he choked back a rising sob. He hunched, as if in an attempt to curl away from the pain. He grabbed at his chest again, and Sonic finally understood the movement. It was like a painful bug bite, it hurts to scratch directly so you kinda squeeze around it to alleviate the itch without adding more pain. Shadow just wanted to stop hurting.

A whine split the air, something Sonic expected from someone like Ozzy, not the ‘more impressive’ hedgehog in front of him. He sounded in pain. 

“It hurts.” Shadow choked out, still rhythmically pulling at his chest fur, as if he could claw away the grief ripping at him. 

Shadow held an incredible amount of sorrow, and Sonic had experience with weight like that. The weight dosen’t go away, but if you share it, it gets easier to hold. 

“Then let it out.” Sonic said earnestly, taking another step towards the darker hedgehog. “You’re right, Walters gave us his version of your story, I want to know the truth.” Was it a good idea to have Shadow recount his traumatic backstory while he was already distressed? Probably not, but Shadow was too pent up anyway. He’d been so quiet since he got here, not that Sonic really knew what he was like before, but Sonic wasn’t naive enough to think all this silence was because he was comfortable. Keeping it all bottled up was probably why it hurt so much too, it compounds, and somehow sneaks up on you, and suddenly you’re shooting lightning out of your body in an empty baseball field. Sonic definitely wanted to help before that happened to Shadow.

Shadow gave him a considering look, even if it was pained and he was breathing through gritted teeth. 

Sonic tried smiling, “Walk me through it, emphasis being ‘walk’-- which I am capable of, thank you very much!”

Shadow’s stare shifted for a second, brows lifting similar to his ‘ah this makes sense’ face. It didn’t last long, his pain was ever present, but he considered it for a moment. “It-it’ll help?”

As much bravado and stoicism Shadow paraded with, he spoke almost desperately. 

Sonic nodded and explained, “Think about it this way, you’re holding a really big boulder right now, so big and heavy it feels like it's going to crush you. But if you let me hold some of it, its not that it becomes lighter, it's still a giant heavy boulder, but it's not all on you. It just becomes… easier. There's nothing wrong with asking for help, especially not from people who want to help.”

Shadow looked away, breath stuttering. Sonic let him mull it over, as Shadow did with most things, dragging his feet before finally accepting something nice. At leat he was taking it better than Knuckles did, Knuckles who argued no boulder would feel heavy to him and that he would not dare share such weight with weaklings like the rest of the ‘tribe’. Which, in its own way, did make sense for the echidna, but that's besides the point. Finally, Shadow nodded. It was a hesitant move, shallow, but he had finally convinced himself that he was allowed this helpful thing. 

“Let's sit down first,” Sonic said, he’d gotten worried the longer Shadow stayed upright with his terrible breathing, he wouldn’t want Shadow to fall and hurt himself. 

Shadow nodded again, but when he went to take a step he seemed to trip, like his leg just stopped working. Sonic was there in an instant, primed exactly for this reason, and helped Shadow approach the ground more slowly. With Sonic’s help Shadow sat, still hunched over his bad arm and his good one trembled slightly as he stabilized himself with the ground. Sonic backed off as soon as he could, knowing Shadow really didn’t like anyone in his space even on a good day. But! Mission accomplished, Shadow was sitting. Sonic sat next to him. 

“You can take your time,” Sonic said to the other hedgehog, shrugging lightly. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Shadow breathed shakily, he curled further, dragging his knees up. For a few minutes, all Shadow did was breathe. Sonic waited, mind a bit numb from… well everything, but needing to be ready when Shadow would talk. 

He had finally relaxed, or well, calmed down. Shadow sighed. “The Professor, he wasn’t… crazy like the other Robonik.” Sonic’s ears perked, a little surprised thats where Shadow was starting, but he settled in to listen. “He wanted to help people, use my power for good. There were sicknesses, not just technological advancements, that I could help with. My healing isn’t just chaos energy, its something in me, made that way.”

“Thats pretty cool.” Sonic said, watered down if only to not interrupt and show he was listening. Besides, it was pretty cool. He buried the thoughts of Eggman saying how much he wanted Sonic on a dissection table. 

“He… protected me, in a way.” Shadow continued, hesitantly, if only because he just didn’t know how to say it. “Because he was there as the head scientist, he got the final say on what happened to me. Any time I wasn’t doing tests I could hang out with Maria, free in the facility.”

Sonic could imagine it, but at the same time he also couldn’t imagine it without it feeling like a cage. Then he remembered what Shadow said about his memories. Shadow didn’t know anything except for that facility, and somehow that hurt Sonic more. He didn’t even know it was a cage. 

“When…” Shadow’s voice caught and Sonic glanced at him. Tears brimmed his eyes, his good arm wrapped around his knees. “When they came for me, we tried to run.”

Sonic felt his own heart sink, gripping his own knee anxiously. He looked down, if only to give Shadow something like privacy as he recounted the harsher details.

“Maria and I were in the fort. She was playing her guitar again, showing me another song she had learned.” Shadow continued, “Everything had been fine, normal, and then the Professor came in, saying we had to go. He said they were going to take me away from them. So we ran.”

Shadow’s voice grew wet, sounding even more broken. “They were behind us, I remember turning around to see. Walters was there, trying to get them to stop, but they had orders, and one of them fired.”

Sonic felt his heart clench again, a familiar feeling from his own grief. 

“Because of Walters interfearence, the shot went wide, just past me. It hit a conainter of chaos energy, cracking the glass. We barely had time to realize what happened.” Shadow voice went small, a quiet climax to a terrible event. “Then it exploded.

When I came to, everything was on fire, I don’t remember much else, because Maria was on the ground, a-and she wasn’t moving.” Shadow swallowed heavily, Sonic knew that feeling as well. His next words spilled out like he himself could barely believe it. “Sh-she wouldn’t wake up. I couldn’t leave her.

They… they took me from her, I couldn’t- couldn’t do anything.” Shadow exhaled harshly, voice shaking. “I remember a cage… and I didn’t see the Professor again, or Maria. I don’t know how long it was until they decided what to do with me… until they decided I was too dangerous to be walking free, but too valuable to destroy.”

Sonic perked, throat tight and eyes wide, because that was a line Walters had told them. The fact Shadow knew it word for word… he was told this? To his face?! Sonic hadn’t thought much of it back then, Sonic was butthurt about being beat and didn’t feel much sympathy for the dangerous hedgehog, but he didn’t know… He didn’t know. Shadow’s life… it was a tragedy, and he’d been blamed for it. 

Sonic quickly thought of a question, unsure if Shadow was done, but he needed to get his mind off of the anger that was quickly boiling up. “...What was suspended animation like?”

Shadow hunched further, “like I was asleep, but I was reliving it, what they did to Maria. Over and over again.”

Oh. No wonder Shadow had a hard time sleeping. And Sonic dragged him all the way out here just to relive it again. They lapsed into another silence, Sonic having nothing to fix this with because he somehow made things worse every time he spoke. 

“And then I wake up.” Shadow said, voice empty. “It’s been fifty years, but it just happened.”

Oh. Oh Sonic hadn’t thought of that. 

“All of that…” Sonic realized breathlessly, all the pain and betrayal… the grief… “feels like yesterday to you?”

Shadow nodded, numb. 

No wonder Shadow had been so angry, so ready to kill everything. His grief was just as fresh; fifty years had passed for everyone else, except him. Time in stasis hadn’t moved him, hadn’t aged him, hadn’t let him process his grief and pain, only compounded it. Of course Shadow was having trouble moving on; he hadn’t had the chance to grieve, to feel anything other than anger. GUN had lit a fuse then put it on ice, and were somehow surprised when it exploded after thawing out. GUN ruined his life, then immediately placed it on hold, throwing him into another era where everyone he knew was gone and they still wanted to hurt him.

He allowed his anger to a low simmer, but man did this make it flare up. How dare they—

“I miss her.” Shadow said, slightly muffled. Sonic glanced over, worry overtaking his anger. Shadow was curled tight, arm warped around his knees and face tucked. His crimson eyes were teary, ears pinned.

Sonic hated this, what GUN had done. His swelling anger threatened to take over, to consume him like it had with Tom. At least now… he recognized it and knew its danger. 

Sonic closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. There's no winners in revenge. Sonic wouldn’t win if he went after GUN, and neither would Shadow. Winning would be being happy anyway, or at least learning to. Letting GUN know they didn’t win, Shadow wasn’t broken. Sonic took great satisfaction in beating odds, and letting his enemies fume as they realized they didn’t win. It wasn’t revenge, but it was fun and satisfying in a very… pointed way. 

He wasn’t sure he could convince Shadow to ‘be happy anyway’- which was a gross understatement of what moving on from grief was, considering ‘being happy anyway’ wasn’t about replacing the love that was lost, but finding new love and holding onto it. There was no way to love that way again, nobody could replace Longclaw, just as nobody could replace Maria, but… Sonic really hoped Shadow could find love, to be happy despite what had been done to him. He deserves to feel happy. Sonic had to do something about this.

‘I'm sorry’ was wholly inadequate. Sonic had already told some of his own story… but… Shadow had shared so much and hurt so much. Sonic had told him he wasn’t alone, now it was time to show it.

“It was echidnas who attacked us,” Sonic said into the silence. He felt more than heard Shadow turn to look at him. 

“...Echidas?” Shadow prompted with mild bewilderment, “Like Knuckles?”

Sonic nodded, pulling his other knee closer and folding his arms over it. He rested his chin on his arms. “It was his tribe. Longclaw sacrificed herself so I could get away… and it was my fault.” He choked a little, one of his arms coming loose and falling to the dirt. He clenched his fist, remembering the terrifying drop in his gut as Echdinas, all dressed in terrible masks made of bones and feathers, surrounded his childhood home. “My speed, I led them right to us. She protected me, we tried to fly away, but she was shot.”

Falling had never been more terrifying. He’d been scared for a moment that she was already gone, that she’d been killed in one hit and he would be on his own with the sea of red rushing after him. Relief had been fleeting when she got up, and dread had taken over when she gave him her ring pouch. She told him to run, to hide, that someone would always want his powers. 

“She sent me here,” Sonic continued. He could feel Shadow’s piercing stare. It didn’t feel like pity, like how Tom and Maddie sometimes looked at him. “She stayed behind to fight them off. I didn’t even know what happened to her until Knuckles came around, wanting to end me because I was her apprentice and she had taken out his entire tribe.”

Sonic let out a humorless laugh, “Part of me was proud, she was just one owl, but had taken out an entire tribe of Echidnas.” Guilt for admitting that rose to the pitch. It swung. “But Knuckles had lost his everything too, his entire tribe, and sometimes I… I think that's my fault too.”

Shadow shifted, “You couldn’t have known–”

“Yeah, I know.” Sonic said, tilting his head back and forth, “We were both just kids, neither of us really had any control over the situation. I don’t blame him, and he doesn't blame me, at least not anymore.”

Sonic shook his head, getting rid of the whole debacle because it really didn’t matter anymore. Water under the bridge and all of that, even if it still hurts sometimes. “The point is, you don’t have to carry your grief alone. I held onto mine for a long time, Knuckles too, but now we share it. Not because we were both involved, but because we wanted to. We didn’t want to keep fighting, fighting just... hurts, it doesn't fix anything. But now we fight together, we protect the master emerald together.”

And look how well that turned out? 

Sonic winced, like guilt had taken another swing at him and hit a home run. “Well, before I broke that promise when I took it to attack you …Sorry.”

Shadow was quiet for a moment, then scoffed. “There's nothing to forgive.” He went quiet again, then spoke with a whisper, “You at least stopped.”

Sonic turned to him, “So did you.” He argued. He wasn't about to let Shadow put himself down like that.

Shadow rolled his eyes. He wore a faint smile, “After you punched me to the moon.”

Sonic smiled hesitantly. “You taunted me! What else was I supposed to do?”

Should they be joking about this? Probably not.

Shadow’s smile vanished as if it had never been there, he looked away. “...I did not think you would stop.”

Sonic sucked in a frozen breath. Ah, this is why they shouldn’t be joking about this. Sonic didn’t really know how to address this… the fact that Shadow had been… looking for death. If not by Sonic’s hand, then by the explosion of the eclipse cannon- twice over. 

“I did,” Sonic said at last. It was the truth. That's what mattered. “And so did you.”

Shadow sighed loudly. He leaned back, stretching out of his defensive curl. “Repeating what you said doesn’t make you more right.”

Sonic smiled indignantly, “But it's the truth!”

“I did one right thing.” Shadow snapped, making Sonic flinch. The dark hedgehog snarled while he raised a fist, pointer finger raised. “One. But I’m still here.”

Sonic got the feeling… Shadow held a lot of anger, and Sonic was finally seeing where it all went. Shadow had started out avoiding GUN, wanting to just get away. Then Gerald had directed him, stoked his anger, and pointed it at not just GUN but the entire world. All that anger, the thing that drove him to nearly destroy the planet, was now aimed at Shadow himself.

Something bad curled in Sonic’s gut. “You think… You think surviving was a bad thing?”

“I thought I had finally done something right.” Shadow said, not answering him directly, “That I could be at peace, if I just ended there.”

Sonic knew guilt, understood it. Guilt was a familiar beast, something Sonic grappled with on occasion, but he’d had his family to lean on. It was achievable, it could be conquered every time it reared its ugly head. But… guilt wasn’t exactly what Shadow was facing here. This level of self-loathing was… Sonic couldn’t comprehend it. Yet Sonic couldn’t do nothing. 

He can’t do nothing.

“You still did it, Shadow,” Sonic pointed out, “You did it. You saved the world. If it had just been me…”

“But I’m still here.” Shadow repeated, and Sonic really didn’t understand what he was getting at with that one. 

Sonic opened his mouth to repeat himself, to assure the other that regardless of whether he lived or died, he still did something good, he still saved the world, and that was something to be proud of. ‘But I’m still here,’ ‘but you still did it’. They’d continue to talk in circles, this wasn’t getting anywhere, and Sonic didn’t know what to do.

Shadow hunched over himself again, all his anger stuffed back inside. They sat in silence, tense once again. Sonic racked his brain for what to do, he really didn’t know how to fix this. 

This wasn’t like their conversation on the moon. He knew he couldn’t change Shadow’s mind, not in one conversation. Tom and Maddie’s voices echoed in his mind, reminding him how they had to go slow with Shadow, encourage him day by day, step by step. Remind him that… that life is worth living, he didn’t need to die to give himself meaning. 

“Do you think…” Shadow spoke suddenly, pulling Sonic from his thoughts. “That the Professor is at peace?”

Sonic blinked, the second older evil egghead? “What do you mean?”

“The canon was set to fire when he died,” Shadow said, “we barely had time to make a plan at all. Do you think he died …thinking he had accomplished his goal?”

“I mean… I guess,” Sonic said, a little confused. “It wasn’t a very happy goal.”

“No,” Shadow agreed, “but it gave him peace.”

Sonic glanced at him again. He really didn’t like this. “Where are you going with this?”

“I think I’m jealous,” Shadow admitted quietly, fist clenching. “I tasted it, yet I’m still here… still… alive.”

Sonic had been jealous of the dead before too, but he’d never felt the need to join them. Sonic’s heart squeezed even more, almost a feeling of danger, but there wasn’t anything to fight here. 

“What did peace feel like?” Sonic asked genuinely. It sounded interesting, and maybe… maybe something they could recreate. Give Shadow something to cling to until he could find his footing. Sonic couldn’t just leave him.

“It felt like…” Shadow trailed off, Sonic waited with bated breath. “It felt like dancing with Maria.”

Sonic smiled; it wasn’t relief that filled him, but hope. This he could work with. “Sounds like something you’d have to be alive to enjoy.”

Shadow ducked his head, “At this point,” he said slowly, carefully, “I’m not sure I can die. At the clinic, when your mom took some X-rays, I heard what she said. There was evidence my skull had collapsed, completely broken. I should be dead, I was dead.”

Sonic’s smile slowly died as that sank in. Oh. Immortality always sounded so cool in stories, but here, in real life, Sonic could only feel horror. He imagined himself in a state of forever, and the last time he did that, he exploded in a baseball field. Alone forever. He can't… immortal or not, he can’t let Shadow feel alone, he just can’t. 

Sonic rolled his shoulders back, trying for confidence. “Well, we’ll just have to schedule in a lot more dance parties then.”

Shadow looked at him, “What?”

Sonic nodded with a smile, “Yeah, if that gave you peace, we can just… do it. I love dance parties! And there are so many new songs for you to listen to! We can find so many songs that can be your favorite!”

Shadow stared at him as if he had grown a second head. “...Why?”

That was… complicated, and Sonic didn’t know how to put it into words; this need to help. So he just kinda shrugged, “Because you should feel happy?”

“Why?” He asked again, though it was more like a demand this time. It was a different question, despite the same word. 

Sonic tilted his head at the other and racked his brain for another answer. What was Shadow actually asking? What was he looking for? A reason to be happy? Or a reason Sonic wanted him to be happy? Sonic was tired, and it all just seemed so obvious ‘why’ he would help.  “Well, I can’t just stand by and do nothing. That's who I am.”

Shadow stared at him for a moment, taking in the words with a considering expression. As much as Sonic was a Shadow expert, he couldn’t read his next few complicated expressions. He squinted, as if to argue, but it quickly shifted to rolling his eyes, to scowling at the floor, to his brows lifting in a rather soft look. His head dipped as he sighed, then he looked over to Sonic with a rather ‘done’ expression, barring the small smile. “So that’s why you’re so nosy.”

“NOSY?!” Sonic couldn’t help the shout, genuinely surprised and a little offended. Sonic clutched his pearls like an affronted woman from the 1800s- or whatever time, Sonic wasn’t very good with history numbers. “I’m not nosy! I’m… concerned!”

“If your nose was any longer I would have thought you to be a shrew.”

Sonic lit up with a grin, “I’ll have you know my nose is an excellent shape and length for a hedgehog!” He argued with fake heat, except Shadow wasn’t reacting, his smile was gone and his eyes had drifted. Sonic’s smile faltered. He forced his smile back on, resisting the urge to nudge the other. “So what if I’m nosy! We’re gonna help you, Shadow.”

That was the important part. 

“I’m not sure you can,” Shadow muttered absently, ears flattening. Sonic frowned. 

Well, that won’t do.

“That sounds like a challenge,” Sonic grinned. Shadow gave him a confused but wary eye. Sonic shifted to his knees so he could properly place his fists on his hips. “We’re going to help you.” He declared, no room for argument, no ‘if’ or ‘why’ or ‘but’, this was a sentencing. “I don’t know how right now, but we aren’t going to leave you to deal with this alone. You might as well surrender now, because you’re stuck with us, buddy!” 

Shadow watched him with wide eyes, confused at his display, but his ears were up, forward and attentive. He huffed softly, disbelief maybe, but there was a softer look to him now as he glanced away. “You can try.”

Classic, what an edgy reply to hope, but Sonic couldn’t help but feel success. ‘You can try’ was a foot in the door, and by golly, Sonic’s feet were great at moving forward. He hadn’t even said it in the right tone; he borderline sounded encouraging! 

“You haven’t begun to see me try.” Sonic snarked back, but his energy fell away as he saw Shadow yawn. 

And because Shadow yawned, Sonic yawned. 

Sonic sat back onto his butt, stretching his legs out and wiggling his feet back and forth. Shadow was fighting to keep his eyes open, face once again resting on his knees and curled arm. 

At least the conversation died of natural causes. 

“Hey,” Sonic said, “let’s head back home, before Knuckles catches us out here.”

It was early morning, hopefully too early for Knuckles but you never know with him, and he always seemed the last one to go to bed too. When did Knuckles sleep?! Sonic yawned again. Ugh, Sonic needed sleep. 

Shadow nodded slowly, not questioning the part about Knuckles. He grunted as he slowly stretched out of his curled form, grunting even more as he leveraged himself to his feet with his one hand. Sonic had an easier time getting up, but he felt those groans, sleepy time for hedgehogs for sure. 

Shadow stood, droopy and blinking lethargically. Shadow yawned again. Shadow started to tip over. 

Sonic couldn’t help his smile as he rushed over to make sure the other didn’t actually fall. He put a hand on Shadow’s good shoulder, trying not to be too close since he knew Shadow liked his personal space- but he was also sure Shadow disliked faceplanting. Shadow didn’t even perk at the touch, and in fact, leaned in. Sonic’s eyes went wide. Shadow sighed and thunked his forehead on Sonic’s shoulder. 

“Next time, let’s not have these types of conversations in the middle of the night.” Shadow grumbled. 

Sonic laughed, patting Shadow’s back. “That’s fair. Alright old man, let’s get you back to bed.”

“-‘m not old.” Shadow groaned.  

“You’re at least fifty,” Sonic argued, finally starting to move. Shadow grumbled something else unintelligible as he followed closely at Sonic’s side. Unfortunately the cave didn’t have a gentle incline to get in, so Sonic grabbed Shadow’s hand and hauled him up and out of the cave. Shadow stumbled a little, and it took Shadow a bit to let go of Sonic’s hand afterward. 

The walk back home was quiet and slow, Sonic just hoped dawn was not as close as he feared. He imagined Shadow wasn’t a morning person, probably needed coffee. Note, watch Shadow try coffee. Tomorrow, or maybe after tomorrow, whichever one where he wasn’t dead tired. It was a nice walk at least, though Sonic kept yawning and Shadow smacked his arm after the third one in a row, when Sonic looked over, Shadow was yawning too. The other settled a weak glare on him, Sonic smiled. 

Finally, they made it back. Even when all was dark, Sonic felt welcomed by the familiar structure. As Sonic opened the door, barely attempting the sneaky quiet door opening technique, a thought occurred to him. 

“Oh,” Sonic said, turning to smile at Shadow, “and thanks.”

Shadow’s face squinted again, staring at Sonic as if Sonic had said something incredibly stupid. “What could you possibly thank me for?” 

He sounded so genuinely confused, almost offended at the idea Sonic was thanking him. 

Sonic only shrugged, smile turning soft, “For saving the world, for being here, being alive. Maybe it's selfish... but I'm glad you're here." 

Shadow’s face went slack, crimson eyes that looked more amber in the dark were wide in shock. 

“C’mon slowpoke,” Sonic said with a nudge of his head into the house.

Shadow walked in, tired for sure, but something new in his eyes, in his countenance. Something new and soft, yet stronger than his mask, his anger, and grief. Maybe it was pride, or maybe it was because someone started treating him like a hero instead of a weapon. Maybe it was hope, a quiet belief in something Sonic had said. It was a glimpse of the hedgehog beneath, the one Sonic was still getting to know.

'Eventually', Tom had said, a nebulous future always so far out of reach. 'Eventually' had never felt so achievable. Shadow was going to beat this. Shadow was going to beat GUN- despite everything they did to tear him down, they picked a fight with the wrong hedgehog. Sonic can't wait to see Shadow free.

Chapter Text

Knuckles breathed in deep and slow, letting his lungs fill gradually before he released it back out just as slowly. Breathing was second nature, or first technically, but to be a warrior is to be disciplined in both mind and body. He enjoyed Pretzel Woman’s ‘Yoga’ techniques, even joining her on occasion, but this he did on his own. He mediated, quieting both mind and body to address the spiritual. 

Or in this case, the Chaos. 

He sat in lotus pose -which yes, he could actually achieve Sonic- eyes gently closed and mitts on his knees. It was a beautiful day, the sun was midway through its trek across the sky but it was not punishing in its glare. A gentle, cool breeze brushed at his fur, ruffling it slightly and making his skin buzz like the physical manifestation of when the television caught static. The sky was filled with puffy white clouds, reminiscent of the wallpaper in that one movie about the toys that talked and protected their owner 'Andy’. 

The roof was an excellent place to meditate on days like this, the sun warmed his fur but the gentle breeze kept him cool. Clouds drifted across from time to time, sending him into shade that became cold but the sun had warmed the shingles he was sitting upon, so he was never truly cold. It was neither too sunny nor too warm, nor was it shivering cold or blustery. The perfect time to sit, meditate, and send his senses out to find that which has been lost. 

He searched, feeling the push and pull of energy around him, how it flowed in every living thing. It was in the breeze, shifting the flow of the clouds, changing their shape slowly but surely. He felt it in the warm rays of the sun, hitting the sparkling surface of the lake nearby, spreading its life-giving light to the surrounding flora. The leaves shivered, branches swaying gently, content and satisfied by the nutrients it consumed from both the sun and the earth. 

It coursed through his own veins, powerful and strong, but dormant and waiting for its use. He felt Sonic, he tasted of electricity, sharp and fast. He felt the other’s energy like a vast and deep reservoir, toted around on two legs. Sonic was in town with their patriarch, a grocery run the hedgehog had tagged along for. His energy felt more than alive, just under the surface as if desperate to be useful. Like Sonic himself, though Knuckles did wonder which came first, was Sonic energetic because of the pure amount of chaos energy running through him? Or was the chaos attracted to him, like a magnet, like how anything dark in the sun heated quickly? Knuckles struggled to truly comprehend Sonic’s connection to Chaos, but whatever it may be, it allowed him access to much more than just ‘speed’. 

Knuckles had to ignore the familiar energy, skipping over the bright shining beacon that was Sonic against his senses to expand even farther. Knuckles was looking for other intense concentrations of chaos energy.

He and the fox have been looking for the chaos emeralds ever since they returned home. Tails made it his mission to find the missing emeralds through his intellect, building devices to scan and search for the specific output the chaos emeralds emitted. Knuckles did something similar, just with his own skills as an echidna. He had honed the skill over time, though it had never been more useful than now. Having actually had the Master Emerald, Knuckles knew exactly what to look for and how it would feel once he found it. Unfortunately, nothing has come from their search yet. Tails was almost constantly tinkering, and Knuckles took every opportunity to meditate. Even a hint, just a flicker of something elsewhere, would send them in the right direction. 

As much as Sonic believes he could run around the world in ten seconds and find all the emeralds, it simply wouldn’t work. Not only is that amount of power channeling into one hedgehog much too great, but this world is primarily made out of water, of which the hedgehog had a high possibility of drowning in no matter how careful he was. Not to mention, Sonic himself was still a bit wounded from the whole event, perhaps not physically, but mentally. Knuckles was not surprised he started getting better with Shadow around, but still, his sense of integrity was shot. Sonic apologized, and Tails and Knuckles had forgiven him, but Sonic had a hard time forgiving himself. That was something he had to overcome on his own, nothing Knuckles or Tom or Maddie or Tails could do anything about. They just had to be there to support him.

Now Shadow himself… well, he was wounded inside and out. Knuckles had many thoughts on the more impressive hedgehog. As he had first announced, Shadow was indeed more impressive than Sonic. Not in power, but in control. Shadow had a rigid awareness to him that contradicted Sonic’s carefree attitude, it was one of their most defining differences. Shadow was tactical, he assessed, he was efficient, the most straightforward solutions were the ones he chose. 

To Knuckles, it was obvious Shadow’s goals changed dramatically after meeting up with the Robotniks. At first the more impressive hedgehog simply wanted to be left alone, then after meeting the elder Robotnik, he suddenly wanted to destroy the world. No, Shadow did not want to destroy the world, he did not want to cause harm, he didn't want to hurt anymore- those were the whisperings of a madman taking advantage of one too close to see his trickery. Knuckles could see it now, but even then, the elder Robotnik was not quite as sly with his deception as the younger one who tricked him. Though if he was being fair, Knuckles and his brothers had the advantage of already knowing Robotniks were manipulators- not to mention they only ever had goals of pure evil. 

Shadow was like Knuckles in this regard, tricked, and willing to fix his mistake. He recognized the type of fear Shadow held while in the Wachowski’s care. He felt he owed them even though hurting their patriarch had been an accident. Nobody held any ill will towards him for it as far as Knuckles knew, and he liked to think he knew his tribe well enough to know, yet Shadow held guilt. In a way, Knuckles understood this guilt, just as much as Knuckles had broken into the Wachowski home and had not realized it would soon become his own home- Shadow had not realized it was Tom who was simply wearing the face of Shadow’s abuser. If anything, Shadow had even more reason not to feel guilty. Knuckles, as Sonic would say, tried to ‘keep it casual’ to put the new hedgehog at ease. It didn’t seem to be working, but it also didn’t seem to be hurting either. 

Shadow was quiet, shy even, unsure of his place despite the welcome. He hesitated to exist, something that pulled at Knuckles to pay attention, to be concerned. There was something else, something deeper, he could see it in the ones who knew. Maddie, a look in her eye when she thought no one was watching, holding deep worry for the darker hedgehog. Sonic as well, especially recently, looked weighted around Shadow, yet Shadow seemed lighter for it. A weight, he could tell, the others were trying to keep from spreading, which was foolish as they were constantly taught to share heavy loads so no singular member faltered. That’s what tribes were for, to face things together. Knuckles didn’t need to be told what this weight was, he suspected he knew considering the nature of Shadow’s sacrifice. Shadow was an enigma, yet Knuckles felt he understood him like a calm pond reflecting his own image back at him. It wasn’t perfect, the water was murky, yet the image was distinct. 

The greatest mystery Knuckles couldn’t figure out was Shadow’s relation to chaos energy. 

Knuckles could sense it just like any other creature, but he knew for a fact that Shadow had more than what Knuckles could sense. Shadow felt… muted, muffled even, and it made no sense. Shadow was like a dark mirror of Sonic, and this extended to their powers. There was no doubt Shadow was powerful, he was capable of teleportation- which is no easy feat, especially without any chaos emeralds. Speaking of the emeralds, the darker hedgehog had been able to go ‘Golden God Mode’. Not anyone can tap into the Master Emerald’s power like that, they had to have a firm connection to Chaos in the first place. Yet Knuckles could only sense fleeting glimpses of the other hedgehog’s energy. If Knuckles hadn’t witnessed the hedgehog’s power firsthand, he would have thought the other to be on the same level of chaos energy as the fox, which is to say barely any at all. 

Then again, Knuckles hadn’t been looking. They were busy looking for the Eclipse Cannon's keys, trying to save the world and fighting GUN and the Robotniks, Knuckles had not been meditating about chaos energies. Now he could, and though Shadow was wounded and not using his chaos energy much, Knuckles should be sensing something from the hedgehog. Instead-

Knuckles twitched, pulled from his thoughts as chaos energy suddenly flared to life below him in the house. It was Shadow, he recognized the electrical taste so similar to Sonic’s, just more concentrated. If Sonic was lightning, wild and free, Shadow was lightning in a bottle, just as volatile but condensed and controlled. 

Deep as he was into meditation, he felt the entire sensation of Shadow teleporting.

First the area where Shadow was hummed with power, concentrating on his entire body. There were sparks for a moment, red-orange chaos threading across his physical form before it pulled, yanking him out of existence. The air didn’t crackle where he would reappear, but Knuckles felt it, the way the chaos in the air prepared for his arrival, quieting before being split open and Shadow snapped into existence in the empty space. The hedgehog’s metal shoes tapped against the shingles, landing carefully but not silently. His energy crackled along his body for a second more, and then it was quiet.

Knuckles opened his eyes, shifting slightly towards the dark hedgehog that took a tentative step closer on the roof. 

“You are quite good at that.” Knuckles remarked in lieu of a greeting. 

Shadow walked over more confidently, “It's a simple form of chaos control.” He was walking normally, steadily. Knuckles could not find a hint of pain in his countenance, though his arm still laid in its sling. It has barely been two weeks, and with the injuries Pretzel Woman suggested, Shadow really was healing much much faster than normal. 

Knuckles dipped his head, “You have honed your control, yes, but instantaneous travel is not something one can just ‘do’.”

Shadow paused a few steps away, he looked out from the roof to the rolling treetops and dappled sky. He seemed hesitant. “I have been told I hold a lot of chaos energy …too much sometimes.”

Knuckles hummed, considering. He witnessed this power, yet it was hidden from him otherwise. “Chaos energy presents itself in many ways, for some it is speed, others strength. You, however, have more in common with a Warp Ring.”

Shadow frowned, eyes narrowing. “A what?”

Knuckles frowned at that, not expecting such a question. 

“Sit,” Knuckles invited, pulling his legs out of lotus and resting them flat on the roof to seem more inviting. Shadow lowered himself to sit carefully, with one leg curled up under him while the other stretched out. Knuckles nodded, glad he made himself comfortable. “Warp Rings are both currency and transportation. I do not know how they are forged, but I know they are created to pierce through Chaos itself, allowing things and people to pass instantaneously across the universe. That is much different than simply ‘being fast’.”

Shadow was quiet for a moment, digesting what he had said. “...’Chaos itself’?” He asked, seeking further explanation. 

Knuckles hummed, further concerned by his lack of knowledge entirely. Even Sonic knew the basics of Chaos Theory. 

“Chaos is power,” Knuckles started, deciding on giving a brief overview if only to help Shadow’s understanding. “It is the lifeblood of the universe. In all things there is chaos energy. If it does not, it once did, or will after it completes its life cycle. If trained hard enough, you can sense it, as I can.”

“You can?” Shadow asked, eyeing the echidna. 

Knuckles huffed, he felt like he was with Tails, or any other sort of toddler always asking questions. Knuckles was not upset, more rather surprised at the hedgehog’s lack of knowledge. “I can, I sensed when you teleported up here.” He gave the dark hedgehog a critical eye, “But this is not why you have visited me.”

Shadow nodded slowly, “I have a question.”

Knuckles suspected he did, however… “Any of our tribe would be happy to answer, hedgehog.” 

He wasn’t sure why Shadow was coming to Knuckles of all people when Shadow had others he was more comfortable with, such as Sonic. 

Not that Knuckles wouldn’t help or answer, but it still confused the echidna why the hedgehog would seek him out specifically. 

Shadows' ears flattened, and Knuckles realized he might have misspoke. Or perhaps not spoke enough. He thought his meaning had been clear but Pretzel Woman reminded him often that the others were not ‘mind-readers’. Knuckles had a habit of speaking plainly, but others did not always have the same train of thought. What seemed perfectly logical to Knuckles often ‘came out of left field’ to others. (Aha! Earth metaphors.)

“That is to say,” Knuckles spoke quickly to correct his mistake. “We have not gotten to know each other, despite our proximity. I understand how difficult it can be to seek help from those you do not trust entirely. That being said, I do not wish to stop you from asking, I apologize if my words sounded dismissive of you, that was not my intention. You came to me specifically, so what is your question for me? I will do my best to answer.”

It was quiet for a moment, and Knuckles let the silence stretch. He wanted those words to sink in, and give the hedgehog any time he needed to gather the courage to speak. Asking for help truly was one of the most courageous things anyone could do. 

“It’s… about Sonic,” Shadow said, hesitant.

Knuckles dipped his head, “Something you cannot ask him yourself.”

It wasn’t much of a question but an observation, as if it were a question he could ask Sonic, he would ask Sonic. That, he was sure of. 

Shadow nodded, “But it was also something he mentioned about you. I figured I should ask the source instead of let Sonic tell it his own way.”

A brief chuckle was pulled out of Knuckles, he nodded to the hedgehog with a smile. “You are wise, the blue one is not a liar, but he…” Knuckles hummed as he thought of the correct word, “Embellishes.” He settled on after some deliberation. 

Shadow huffed in agreement. Knuckles wouldn’t call it a laugh, but his face was lit with faint amusement. 

More concerning were the times Sonic downplayed important things, but as much as Shadow was here to talk about Sonic, this still wasn’t what Shadow meant to ask about. 

So Knuckles waited for Shadow to speak, but the longer the silence lasted the more concern grew within the echidna. He turned subtly to look, and found Shadow was in the throes of conflict. His eyes were lowered, staring into nothing while a silent war waged behind glassy amber eyes. This was not a foreign look on the dark hedgehog. Lost in his thoughts, but too deep to be of any substance. 

“Shadow?” Knuckles called, letting open concern taint his tone. 

The dark hedgehog shifted, curling forward slightly while his good hand clenched over his bent knee. “I am… nervous.” 

Ah, understandable- asking for help was not just courageous, but brave as well- and yes there was a difference. 

“May I attempt to assuage any fears?” Knuckles spoke, ‘taking a shot in the dark,’ as they say. (Between base of ball and GUN, Knuckles found ‘projectiles’ to be an important thing for human culture.) “I may not know what you wish to ask, but I assure you I will not be angry with any question you may have.” 

Shadow's mouth creased into a deeper frown and he turned his head to look away. Turning away like that, as far as Knuckles understood, communicated distrust and disbelief. Knuckles considered this and wondered—

Oh, of course, there was one critical piece missing. Every one-on-one conversation that progressed Shadow’s trust typically included an apology from the hedgehog. Shadow had not led with that this time, and he found himself stuck. Trapped by his own conscience, unwilling to accept help from those he hurt without facing his guilt first.

Knuckles had been like that once, the echidna was glad of the opportunity to help in the way he had been helped before. 

“I am not upset with you,” Knuckles said slowly, measuring his words. “If that is your worry. I need no apology for inflicting wounds on a battlefield, that is where I prefer to get them.” He lifted his fist, twisting his wrist to show its full mobility. 

That had certainly hurt, his arm had been stiff and covered in chaos energy. The snap to a different position had sharply cut off his power, rendering him vulnerable to further attack. Knuckles had been impressed, Shadow had soundly defeated him with barely any experience with how Knuckles fought. Truly an impressive hedgehog. 

But Shadow had not only physically hurt Knuckles, the chaos Shadow had thrown his tribe into was what really garnered his anger. Not that he was angry about it anymore though, not while Shadow was already beaten down by the world he sacrificed himself to save. Shadow already had a harsh life, it was not difficult to be kind, as Knuckles was also someone who did not believe such niceties before the Wachowskis. 

Knuckles straightened, taking an audible breath. “I did not like what you did. I understand it was a mistake to attack the Lord of Donuts, but you also purposefully brought out the worst in Sonic.”

“I’m so—“

Knuckles raised a mitt, silencing the hedgehog. “I wasn’t finished.”

Shadow slouched further, ears properly pinned. Knuckles silently berated himself again for causing the hedgehog more strife. A good natured motion he used to interrupt a blue furball who couldn’t shut up did not translate the same to the darker hedgehog who spoke sparsely.

“I do not mean to imply you did more damage,” Knuckles said sincerely, “I simply did not want to hear an apology when you still do not know my full judgment. Because you also brought out the best in Sonic, and yourself.”

Shadow looked up at him sharply. 

Knuckles gave him a firm nod. “Indeed, Sonic can also take responsibility for his own decisions, and he is not infallible. He is just a person like anyone else, but I trust him. Furthermore, I trust his judgment about you.”

The echidna looked back out to the landscape. He pulled one of his legs up, propping his wrist on his knee in a slight imitation of Shadow’s own pose. The breeze really was nice through his dreads. 

“You would…” Shadow started hesitantly, Knuckles tilted his head towards the other, not blatantly staring but showing he was listening. “You would blindly follow him?”

Knuckles tilted his head back and laughed. That is an astute observation. It didn’t seem critical, a genuine curiosity, but there was a slight hint of disbelief he found amusing. 

“Is that not what you are doing?” Knuckles challenged lightly with a smile, “You trust him enough to stay here, vulnerable and surrounded by people who would have every right to hurt you back. But you trust him, so you trust his people.”

Shadow seemed taken back by his response, but not disheartened. His face shifted to a scowl. Knuckles had been watching the more impressive hedgehog since he was rescued, he would not call himself fluent in his facial expressions, but he knew this one was not true anger or negativity. 

“Everything seems to revolve around him,” Shadow complained, an odd mix of contempt but also something like awe. Knuckles did, however, note that the hedgehog did not deny his statement.

Knuckles yielded to the other’s change in topic, it was his inquiry after all. But he also understood what the hedgehog was describing, a feeling of ‘playing second fiddle’. “Perhaps, but I hardly think that’s his fault. I think it’s more in his nature and drive to do good that makes injustice stand out to him. He sees the world as is, he enjoys what is good and fights back against that which is not good. I have met many people throughout my travels, good people and bad. Even among mobians I would count him strange. 

“People are often selfish, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being selfish. You should , in fact, be concerned with your own needs. But to be selfless is a choice, a responsibility he takes upon himself. Yet chained as he is to his morals, I have never met another being so free. He is… confusing at times, but he is reliable and worthy. He makes mistakes too, but I trust his nature, that he will not rest until it is fixed. Even if he waits until the last possible second, he will, eventually, make the right choice.” 

Shadow hummed softly, digesting his words. Knuckles was also not a mind-reader, but he had confidence in his words- or else he wouldn’t have said them. He hopes his words can be of some use to Shadow, but it is not up to Knuckles how he applies the knowledge he gains with this conversation. 

“...Sonic said I made the right choice,” Shadow said quietly, “saving the earth, pushing that cannon away.”

Knuckles eyed the hedgehog carefully, something uneased him about the tone the other used. “What are you seeking with that statement?”

Shadow sighed, using it to also take a deep breath. He leaned back slightly, “I made the right choice once. I don’t think that means I deserve… all of this.” He gestured to the air around him, probably referring to the Wachowski’s house, to the shelter they offered him, the bandages they used on him, the food they had given him. Their kindness, he couldn’t understand their kindness. 

Knuckles hummed. He could ask a million questions here, but he found the one he found most curious.

“Why not?” He asked, lightly, but seriously. “Why do you think you’re unworthy?”

“I’m a monster.” Shadow snapped quickly. The words came out familiar, practiced, and full of self loathing. This was a title Shadow had grown used to, taken and accepted.

Knuckles closed his eyes, quietly digesting the verdict, and found a familiar ache in his heart. 

In the brief silence, Shadow continued… vehemently. 

“None of you are scientists, the closest thing you have only heals— but even without tests and records and evidence; You know I’m a monster. What I’m capable of. What I did. How I wouldn’t have stopped.” Shadows' eyes flashed with remorse though he scowled something fierce. “Monsters are the bad guys, they have to be fought and beaten. The hero has to defeat them to save the day. I’ve always known I’m a monster, and I don’t understand why your family is not treating me like one.”

Hm, there was many things Knuckles could say here, and in a way, he related to such self deprecation. The fox had always given him better light than most would have who knew him from his gladiator days. Knuckles knew feeling of a monster, feeling unworthy of softness and affection others so freely gave, but where to start?

Perhaps, at the beginning. 

“Has anyone told you of mine and Sonic’s history?” Knuckles asked, arching a brow at the other. 

Shadow regarded him carefully, “Sonic mentioned your people fought. That Sonic’s mentor died fighting your tribe, and that your tribe was also wiped out in that same fight.” 

Knuckles nodded, humming. “It is a simple history, yet the most important parts are shrouded in legend and lost truths. I was too young to join my tribe in their final battle, too young to know anything more than bedtime stories. Just as Sonic was too young to even know there was a war at all. He was not even an owl, he did not pick this war, such as I felt I could not pick my destiny.”

Hm, Knuckles was speaking too broadly, he could feel Shadow’s stare. He was following, but he was not understanding. 

“When I arrived on Earth, I wanted to kill Sonic.” Knuckles said plainly. He felt more than saw Shadow’s gaze intensify. “I was consumed by rage, by vengeance, and was determined to carry out the wish of a fallen empire. The others will say I was tricked by Robotnik, the younger one. He led me to believe we were allies, when he was only using me to gain higher power, to steal the Master Emerald for himself. The Master Emerald was my mission, the treasure our war was fought for, but Sonic’s life was mine to take.”

“…What changed?” Shadow asked, much more attentive than before. 

“He saved my life.” Knuckles said, tapping a fist to his chest, then he gave the other hedgehog a pointed look, “and he expected to die to do it.”

Shadow blinked in surprise and leaned towards him. “He wanted to die to save you?”

“Not exactly,” Knuckles said with a negative wave of his mitt, “while sacrifice is within his nature, I highly doubt he ever wishes for his own demise. What he did do was save me and then place his own life in my hands. The hands of his enemy he could not have known would return the favor.” 

Shadow tilted his head, eyes narrowed, intrigued— just as Knuckles was at the time when it happened. Knuckles continued, staring over the rustling treetops and remembering sitting on a sandy beach with a different hedgehog. 

“I had done nothing but try to kill him since I arrived here, yet he tried to warn me about Robotnik. In fact, I’m sure we would have fought against him together right then and there had the temple not started collapsing. It was my folly to have let the Master Emerald fall into the hands of a madman. I had failed, yet he stayed. I had become stuck under part of the collapsing temple, and water was quickly rushing in from the ocean around us.” 

Shadow’s ears pinned. “But he can’t swim.”

Knuckles nodded grimly. “I did not know that at the time, but I quickly learned. I could not smash my way out and the surface was quickly becoming too far away. He arrived anyway, helping me push the pillar off so I could swim to safety. I expected him to break the surface with me, but when I looked, he was still down there. I saved his life, but only because I could not fathom someone so foolish as to save mine.” 

Shadow shifted in place, discomfort maybe, or perhaps just a realization. “He makes the weirdest decisions.”

Knuckles nodded, appreciating the agreement. Sonic was foolish, as after being saved by the echidna he had immediately started throwing sand at him. Knuckles could laugh about it now, but he did wonder where Sonic got all his audacity. “We spoke after. You and I know him as a hedgehog that places his trust in hope, but it had not been trust or hope that drove him to save me. It was even simpler than that. After all I had done, proven to be his enemy, he refused to stand by and let me die. Not when he could do something about it.” It had been honorable, if foolish, but it was enough to garner Knuckle’s begrudging respect.

The silence felt heavy, a weight of knowledge, or perhaps the weight of curiosity. Knuckles turned to look at the other hedgehog. Shadow was looking down, contemplative and confused. 

“…Why?” Shadow asked quietly, probably not even meaning to speak aloud, but his inquiry was genuine. 

Knuckles dipped his head, “Indeed, I asked him that as well. He shared a Wachowski proverb about responsibility. That’s when I realized our war had ended. With no one left to fight, we could finally focus on our one true goal: protection. We fight together now, we swore an oath and formed a new tribe, a new coalition to protect the Master Emerald together as our ancestors should have.”

Shadow hummed thoughtfully, but Knuckles wasn’t finished quite yet.

The echidna took a breath and spoke slowly. “What came after the fall of my tribe was not a path of purpose, but of survival. Years passed—difficult, formative years spent mostly in arenas of sand surrounded by a cheering crowd. Left alone, I was vulnerable to those who were not kind, who saw me as a prize, the last vestiges of my warrior race.” He remembers, most hadn’t recognized his species, his blazing red fur and accentuated spurs. Introducing himself as an echidna was natural- but it only ever put a gleam in others’ eyes, either one of greed, or fear. However, it was all he had, so he was proud of it. He was still proud of it. “I was placed in fighting rings and gladiator pits. Many times I was treated as more of a beast than a person, and I had been too young to see a problem with that. On Mobius, I was titled the greatest warrior in the galaxy, but colloquially, I was a monster. I was the beast parents used to scare their children into behaving. The whole reason the fox is here at all is because he came to warn Sonic that I, the greatest warrior in the galaxy, was coming for him.”

It had not hurt to learn this, in fact it leant more to the fox’s bravery than anything else. Knuckles was intimidating, he was a fearsome warrior, he was a monster. Knuckles very well knew of his title, of his reputation and stature. He lived most of his life with people afraid of his approach, of whispered warnings and scuttling retreats. It had been normal, until it wasn’t. Until he met Sonic, and the humans that didn’t know of his reputation, who treated him like a person. He hadn’t known he didn’t like being called a monster until he met people who didn’t. 

Shadow openly stared, and for once, it did not feel like pity. 

“It was… difficult for me,” Knuckles continued, shrugging lightly, “to adjust to life here where there are no wars fought, no invaders to contend with, or battle arenas. The way of life here is gentle, and I did not quite fit in. The things I had learned while being a warrior slave did not apply here, but I did not have to rewrite myself to gain a space here. As you know, the Wachowski’s are kind, they accepted me as I was, but they also did not tolerate the more barbaric customs I had accepted as normal. Instead of shunning me and my warrior ways, they taught me their own and we adjusted. We made compromises, to take a piece of them within myself, and gave a piece of myself to them. They became home, something I had not had in a long time. Though I wish there were more things to smash, I find I enjoy peace and the kindness they offer so freely. I do not have to watch my back constantly, afraid of betrayal or an attack.”

Knuckles had faint memories of the forest where his tribe had lived, the dense foliage had made for good cover when he had been a much smaller echidna. He just wished he remembered more than the tactical advantages… but knowing where you are safe is what made home, home. The Wachowski’s had ‘safe’ in spades, not just physical but emotional as well, something Knuckles had never encountered until he arrived here. 

Yes he met good trustworthy people on Mobius. It wasn’t all bad being a gladiator, but there had always been a rift between others and himself. He was the last of the Echidna, an intimidating warrior, and had his mission to find the Master Emerald. He was also blunt and never quite understood when or why others would hide their emotions or intentions. He accepted people at face value, which included their actions, together he judges their character. He had never encountered a liar as good as Robotnik- a manipulator, the others called him- nor anyone quite so honest in both word and deed as Sonic.

“I will admit I had not felt remorse for my actions, they were made in the mindset of battle, of war and retribution. They were understandable, but that did not make them right. I sought to apologize, despite the length of time it took me to realize I should. I learned one fundamental thing about the Wachowski’s, they do not hold grudges. They did not care I had once wanted to destroy Sonic. I did not want to do so now, and that made all the difference for them.” Knuckles turned to lock eyes with Shadow, just to make sure he understood this part, it was the important part. “I assure you, hedgehog, what matters to them is what you do now. You have shown your guilt, you strive for better choices, why wouldn’t they forgive you? It is an easy choice for them. Whatever you have done is in the past; what matters is how you move forward.”

Shadow’s mouth hung open for a second, frustration crossing his features as he struggled for the right words. “But I’m not… worth… all of this.” Shadow said haltingly, scowling at the shingles and avoiding Knuckles’ gaze once again.

“‘Worth’, in my experience,” Knuckles started, also looking away as to not pressure the hedgehog, “is something more akin to ‘opinion’. It’s something others give freely according to their truths, their morals. They judge the world around them to understand it, and deem whether you are complying within the rules they have created from their experiences. This is not inherently bad, other opinions are good to hear, to collaborate is to foster the expansion of knowledge. The problem arises when one surrenders their sense of self to someone else’s opinion, throwing away their own truth and morals to follow another. There is also something to be said about the opinions of close ones, friends and family. They hold more weight, usually because they are within your world and rules already, you account for them for future dealings. ‘Worth’ is something you give, something we decide. It is not truth, but it is not fake, and ultimately it is up to you whether you believe or not.” Knuckles shrugged, “I can tell you what I think you’re worth, but I am one person with one view, so is Sonic, the fox, the Lord of Donuts, and Pretzel Woman.”

“What is your judgment?” Shadow asked. Not curious, but searching. 

“I find you guilty,” Came the easy answer, and then Knuckles actually registered how that sounded. Shadow did flinch this time, ducking his head down. “Ah, that is to say, I have seen that you feel guilty.” There that was better, sort of. “I find kinship with your situation, and I would be honored to have you as an ally.”

“…So you are satisfied?” Shadow searched further, but the way he spoke set off Knuckles’ senses. “You need nothing more from me for… forgiveness?”

“Yes,” Knuckles said, but something nagged at him. Knuckles was ‘satisfied’ with guilt, “but I see you are not.”

Shadow turned his face away. “I am not.”

The echidna hummed, contemplative. He is not satisfied with the forgiveness that came from the others, because he could not forgive himself first. He needed something ‘more’.

“You seek redemption then?” Knuckles asked. A restoration of sorts, to put the pieces back together that had broken, along with apologies and such. That seemed to be what he had been doing, apologizing individually to the tribe. 

However, Shadow surprised him. 

“No, I am not…” Shadow hunched over, ashamed, “I am not good.” 

A lie, in multiple ways, but Knuckles will not call him out just yet. A so proclaimed ‘monster’ does not feel guilt, does not apologize. A ‘monster’ would not bother with the nature of good and evil. However denying him that identity would only alienate him. Saying ‘you’re not a monster’ had never quite helped Knuckles, as there was a reason that title was gained in the first place, even if he did not reflect it now. Instead, he must find evidence for the opposite, but…no Shadow was still resistant to all the good he had done. He still needed ‘more’. 

Knuckles tilted his head, thinking aloud. “You need something more than forgiveness,” he said slowly. “More than redemption… Ah, perhaps it is retribution you seek.” Knuckles offered.

“What’s the difference?” Shadow asked with a scowl, lifting slightly so he could properly stare at the echidna. Despite his scowl, Knuckles only saw how utterly lost the hedgehog felt. 

“It is punishment, usually to ‘fit the crime’- I believe the saying goes.” Knuckles explained, “It is to bring justice, balance, a type of earning forgiveness instead of simply having it.”

Shadow stared at him for a long moment, calculating. Knuckles kept himself open and calm. 

“But…” Shadow started and looked away nervously, “The things I did…”

Knuckles raised a mitt slightly, as if to calm the other down. “Nobody is going to hurt you hedgehog, that I can assure you. Retribution does not have to be painful.”

Shadow ducked his head, looking away once more. “What if…” he spoke quietly, carefully. “What if I need pain. To forgive myself?”

“That is not forgiveness.” Knuckles said firmly, plainly, though perhaps a little growl escaped him. “Pain has never been forgiveness- it is important to me that you know this.” Shadow stayed facing away from him, but that was fine if it made the other more comfortable. Knuckles would say this a thousand times if necessary. His heart hurt for the other, the other who could not contemplate goodness without pain. 

“I also think you have been in enough pain to last a lifetime.” Knuckles admitted gently.

That got Shadow’s attention. He perked, eyes sharp and ears forward, he seemed dubious about such a statement, so Knuckles expanded. 

Knuckles avoided looking at him, encouraging Shadow to listen without distraction. “Pretzel Woman often tells us there is no reason to hide injuries when there is treatment and medicine readily available, when she is more than willing to help, no payment, no repercussions, nothing in return. Simply because no natural state should create pain. You do not have to suffer.”

Shadow looked down, slowly rubbing his leg in a self-soothing motion. “What if… that’s all I know how to feel? I don’t know… how to not be in pain.”

“That is… troubling to hear.” Knuckles said honestly, his heart ached with a sympathetic pain for the hedgehog. “I cannot change you, nor can anyone else. It is your decision to accept help and heal. I believe the Earth saying is ‘you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink’, but I think I will at least try to persuade you to try.”

“What do you mean?” Shadow asked, brows furrowed. 

“We will help you, hedgehog,” Knuckles said, “we can show you how to relax, how to find positives, to find purpose and meaning beyond pain. Ultimately, it is up to you, just know that our tribe is behind you, you may lean on us.”

Shadow hunched further, curling into himself in yet another self-soothing movement. Shadow’s behavior indicated defense; he felt attacked, yet the echidna could see in his eyes, the consideration. Defensive? Yes. Closed off? No. So Knuckles continued, he might as well rip off the band-aid, this was perhaps something to hear while defenses were up anyway, instead of vulnerability. 

“I understand that it can be difficult to be kind to yourself, that the world might be a better place without you in it. It is easy to find fault within ourselves, especially when we have caused deliberate harm, to decide we too deserve harm.” Knuckles paused slightly here, taking a breath and softening his voice, he gently yet fervently continued. “When those thoughts come, I invite you to find someone, anyone of the Wachowski household, and let them be kind for you. Let them be kind. Do not punish yourself for other’s decision to be kind. Let yourself feel it, even if only for a moment. You may not understand why, you may not believe you deserve it, but do not take their choice to be kind as a reason you are unworthy.”

Shadow stayed hunched. His hand was clenched around his leg, squeezing in that soothing rhythmic way he often did to his chest fur. Knuckles suddenly wished he had brought Ozzie up here, though their patriarch barred him from bringing the golden wolf such dangerous places where he could get stuck, Knuckles was well aware Ozzie had an affinity for calming the darker hedgehog, just as he did the blue one. Or perhaps Knuckles dug too deep, perhaps Shadow wasn’t ready for this level of care, though Knuckles could not find it within himself to be sorry he said it. He would rather Shadow know, even if it freaked him out a little. 

The darker hedgehog breathed audibly, not panting, but taking large deliberate breaths with his mouth open, seemingly about to speak. His face was twisted with confusion, honest bewilderment tinged with disbelief with the smallest spark of hope. Shadow swallowed, he turned towards Knuckles but didn’t look up. “H-how can I–? I don’t- I can’t trust…” 

The hedgehog quieted, and Knuckles thought for a moment. 

“I have a simple formula for trust.” Knuckles admitted, “It might not be… typical, but it has served me thus far. ‘An enemy does not wish you well, an enemy does not seek your survival. An ally does not wish your doom, an ally does not seek your downfall.’ As an example, GUN does not wish for us to be well; they do not care for our survival. For that, and many other reasons, they are an enemy. And someone like Wade Whipple, a friend of the Wachowski’s, does not wish our doom; he seeks no downfall. He is a trusted ally. Granted, liars can be hard to catch in this formula, but it ultimately looks at their actions and intentions."

Knuckles shifted, stretching back. “As for you, you did seek our downfall, you wished our doom. However you changed, you do not seek those things now, so an ally you shall be unless that changes again.”

Shadow shook his head. Knuckles didn’t know which part he disagreed with, or what he was denying, and he wouldn’t know until the hedgehog spoke. It took a moment, but finally the other breathed, “I can’t trust myself.”

A quiet admission, frightened and angry, yet desperate for relief. 

Knuckles almost laughed, luckily he kept that inside, as he knew the hedgehog would definitely misconstrue that. To be fair, Knuckles would too. But it felt humorous to the echidna, such a statement of distrust, when Shadow was the most honest feeling being Knuckles has ever met.

“I would like to return to our topic on the nature of Sonic.” Knuckles said, “I promise it is relevant, but there is another part of his nature I want to make clear to you.”

Shadow shifted in place, tucking his legs in closer, and nodded. 

“I have mentioned the Master Emerald. We swore an oath to protect it, to never use it in anger. When you hurt Tom,” Knuckles spoke carefully, knowing it might be sensitive, but it was the exact thing he needed the other hedgehog to understand. “Sonic was angry, blinded by grief so potent he broke our oath.”

Shadow did wince this time, ears flattening and tucking his muzzle into his knees. Guilt, or perhaps simple shame, but either way, Knuckles continued. 

“I was the only one who held the location of the Master Emerald, he demanded that I give it to him. I was soon an obstacle for him, instead of a brother. He chose to break his oath, but part of our oath was to trust each other, and I abide by it. I trust him, even when he chose to abandon us for revenge.” 

Watching Sonic turn away, to leave them behind and go off on his own, it had hurt, but Knuckles knew this hedgehog. It's not that he didn’t think Sonic had the capacity for evil, it was technically a noble cause to protect his family, his priorities had simply not aligned with the rest of them, or the world. But Knuckles knew, when the chips were down, Sonic would return to his nature. Sonic would not, could not, ignore the pain he saw around him, and Sonic had bulldozed into the black hedgehog who hurt the most. 

Not that Knuckles knew that would happen, or that Shadow would turn on the elder Robotnik and help Sonic save the world. Knuckles and Tails had to swiftly figure out what to do in case Sonic didn’t help, but it did not surprise Knuckles when he saw Sonic and Shadow working together to block the death ray from hitting the Earth. He was not surprised when after, Sonic spoke well of the darker hedgehog he had previously wanted to destroy.

“Do not repeat this to the hedgehog,” Knuckles warned Shadow. The darker hedgehog’s head tilted in confused interest, “But there are times… I think him to be closer to a god than a hedgehog.”

Shadow’s eyes widened, staring openly at the echidna. “A …god?”

“The power he contains,” Knuckles struggled for a moment to put it into words. He waved his mitt in a tight circle, something he’d seen Maddie do when trying to generate the right words. “…It feels unlimited. He probably could do anything, going fast enough to access all of Chaos itself. Beyond that however, he seems to have the temperament of a force of nature.” He lifted his hand to the sky, gesturing to the clouds and true nature that surrounded them. “You can always feel it, when something isn’t right, when an outside force changes things, yet nature will remain. A daisy will grow between the cracks of the sidewalk. Even if a forest is cut down, the land will retake itself and exist long after we have ceased. Sonic has his moments, consumed by emotions bigger than himself, which is no fault of his own mind you, but he returns to his nature eventually.”

“Hm,” Shadow hummed, either in agreement or consideration. Or both.

“You may feel changed by him,” Knuckles said, shifting to prop himself by one mitt. “I would consider myself changed by him, but did you actually change? Or did you return to your nature? He reminded you of who you are, in here.” He pressed his free hand to his chest, looking sincerely to the hedgehog beside him. “Let that guide you, not the monster up here.” He gestured to his head. 

To Knuckles’ dismay, he watched as silent tears brimmed Shadow’s wide, glassy eyes. Slowly, Shadow unwraveled before him.

Shadow was curled tight, but Knuckles could see his good hand coming up to clutch at his chest as he typically did when overwhelmed. A shiver started over him, and then came the jerking as he tried to hold back his sobs.

“Oh- my apologies,” Knuckles said, suddenly feeling entirely out of his depths. Sonic’s breakdowns he knew how to help, but Shadow was a different person. He also didn’t know what caused this, if it had been something he said or something else entirely. “I did not intend–”

Shadow hiccuped, he sucked in a wet breath and closed his eyes. His arm came up, wiping at his eyes while he tried to control his breathing with gritted teeth. “It’s fine.” He rasped, barely able to speak above a whisper.

“It is fine,” Knuckles agreed. He wanted to make it clear that there was nothing wrong with crying, no matter the cause. “Don’t hold back, you will find no judgment from me.” 

Shadow pitched forward, eyes welling up once more as a sob escaped him. His shoulders shook and he cried quietly into his pulled up knees. 

Knuckles could not guess if this was a release or if it was simply just too much to contain, but either way, he was glad, even if it was slightly uncomfortable to have caused it. The echidna really wished Ozzie was here. 

Knuckles waited, then realized he didn’t want to wait. 

“May I come closer?” Knuckles asked, placing both hands onto the roof in preparation. 

Shadow continued to sob. He kept his head in his arm but looked up just enough to give the echidna a noncommittal shrug. 

“You may say no,” Knuckles said, realizing the other might need elaboration. “I simply wish to comfort you, if not a hug, then perhaps we can just sit together.”

The darker hedgehog shivered, and eventually he nodded. 

Knuckles gently scooted closer, settling himself right next to the balled-up hedgehog. He seemed smaller like this, younger, a bit like Sonic. Shadow held the maturity of his trauma, he grew up too fast in an environment not friendly to childishness, much like Knuckles himself. Knuckles hoped Shadow could find childishness again, but for now he cried, which should not be tied to any one sect of life. 

Shadow leaned into him, tilting so his ducked head tucked against Knuckles’ chest. Knuckles carefully wrapped his arm around the hedgehog, simply holding. Knuckles had held a curled up hedgehog before, but this? This was a level of vulnerability and trust that surprised him. Knuckles would honor this trust, to make good on not only his own promises of kindness, but from the Wachowski’s as a whole. 

“If I may ask,” Knuckles spoke gently, trying to give the dark hedgehog time to pay attention and weigh his options. “Is this a good cry or a sad cry?” There was no such thing as a ‘bad’ cry.

Shadow hiccuped and shifted slightly to wipe at his eyes again. “...good, I think.”

Knuckles hummed, briefly looking up at the sky as a cloud drifted across them. “That is good.”

“You-” Shadow’s voice broke, but he seemed to be calming down, just sniffling now. “I just… remembered something Maria said.”

Ah, Maria. Shadow’s one shining light in his abysmally dark life.

“Was it kind?” He asked, knowing it should be, considering Shadow labeled it a ‘good cry’ and that Shadow’s good memories seemed to be centered around Maria.

“Yes,” Shadow responded, ducking again into his arm as his body jerked with one last hiccuping sob. 

Knuckles gently squeezed the hedgehog closer, leaning down to place his chin on top of Shadow’s head. “I’m glad. Keep those memories.”

“She never thought I was a monster.” Shadow admitted weakly. 

“Then that makes two of us.” Knuckles said resolutely, “Six, if we include the rest of my tribe.”

Knuckles, curled around him as he was, could feel how he still trembled. Knuckles stayed firm, ready to hold the position for however long the hedgehog needed. Shadow stayed as well, soaking in the sunlight and the care Knuckles had to offer. Even as the hedgehog calmed, his breathing evened out and his shivering stopped. He stayed curled into Knuckles’ side as they watched the dappled sky and swaying treetops.

A courageous warrior indeed.

Chapter Text

If Shadow had to label his time with the Wachowskis since waking up on their couch, he would label it as… confusing. It was all so weird. 

They were kind to him. They actively helped him, something he never thought to anticipate. Maria was one thing: she was his sister, his friend, and she had always been kind to him. But she had also just been a kid. She had leeway because she was the Professor's granddaughter, but there were rules she had to follow, and there were times they couldn’t be together. There was a constant level of anticipation throughout his life; there was always something next that was going to happen. If he were with the scientists, he anticipated the next thing would be hanging out with Maria. If he were with Maria, he anticipated being called away to testing with the scientists. 

There was a time, only once, when Shadow got hurt, really badly, and all events stopped. It was an accident really, a malfunction in one of the scientist's tools. It got out of hand, and Shadow had been secured for the experiment so he couldn’t dodge. Luckily he’d already been in a sterile environment with the right tools to do an emergency surgery. At least that's what the Professor said happened. Shadow had been unconscious for most of it and didn’t remember the event entirely. He remembered waking up in the suspension pod, the Professor and Maria watching him with worried faces. He never did see that one scientist again… But while he healed he was left alone by all parties. Of course he was monitored, his healing process was well documented, but he wasn’t taken for any tests or any free time with Maria. It had been strange, a limbo of nothingness, waiting to get better so he could resume the normal routine. 

Except the Wachowskis didn’t have a suspension pod, and they didn’t leave him alone. He was monitored of course, but it wasn’t for tracking his healing, it was to make sure he was ‘okay’ or if he ‘needed any medication’ or even ‘wanted another pillow’. He’d hardly been left alone; when he wasn’t sleeping he was given a companion to keep him company. Specifically just for the company, not for monitoring. That became abundantly clear when Sonic wouldn’t stop interacting with him, creating his own routine of sharing movies and video games when Shadow wasn’t too tired. It was… weird, to be occupied while healing, to be occupied at all by something that wasn’t a test or Maria. He soon grew used to anticipating whatever activity Sonic wanted to introduce to him next. 

But it was still… strange to him, because it wasn’t just Sonic. 

Knuckles often stayed close by, even if silent or just to rib off of Sonic or Tails. Tails was always fiddling with something, usually it was his little gizmo called ‘Miles Electric’. If there wasnt anything playing on the screen, Tails would talk. Tails knew a lot of things. Shadow didn’t always respond, it wasn’t always a conversation, but the intellectual droning was… strangely comforting. Then Tom and Maddie, always checking on him, asking if something was ‘okay’ before doing it, making sure he was fed even though he really didn’t need as much as Sonic did, despite their similar powers and physique. It was hard to drift when everyone kept engaging with him, yet they always respected when he needed rest. 

Then Shadow got better. He could move and walk around, and… nothing changed. They still kept accommodating him, still checked in with him and were mindful of his still healing shoulder. He was fed plenty just like everyone else and he was still given constant company, their activities just expanded to being more mobile. Sonic gave him a tour of the house, the backyard, even a bit of the forest, and his old cave (not that anyone needed to know that that specific one happened in the middle of the night). It was weird. 

He wasn’t all the way healed so they couldn’t have him do any two-handed activities. To Sonic’s dismay this included all video games. Shadow wasn’t as distraught as the blue one, but he found himself looking forward to some of them. Correction, he was looking forward to learning some of the games and beating Sonic at them. 

Things got… oddly competitive at times, but the pressure always seemed fabricated, a celebration of victory for something trivial and unremarkable. The only thing that impressed the scientists was when he did stuff with his powers. Maria celebrated small things though, like learning a new song or when Shadow figured out how to skate without falling flat on his face. Like puzzles, with Shadow one-handed, they played board games instead of video ones, and puzzles somehow became a competitive sport. Knuckles had to sit out because his mitts couldn’t manipulate the little pieces, and Tom sat with him, being absolutely terrible at puzzles. Maddie was good, for a human, but Tails was the real underdog. Sonic had speed, but he brute-forced the process, creating more mistakes, costing him time he made up for with his speed. Tails was fast because he was smart, but Shadow smoked all of them because he had Sonic’s speed and Tails’ smarts.  

It was… fine. The celebration everyone had when Shadow ended up winning surprised him. It was just… so strange to be surrounded by people who were all like Maria. It wasn’t a GUN base, no experiment rooms, no suspension pod, just… a house. A house full of Maria’s. 

They hugged him. They gave him a bath. They answered his questions. They listened to him and helped take his mind off his nightmares. They gave him advice. They were gentle. They didn’t think he was a monster. 

It was… annoying. 

Maria would have loved the Wachowskis.

But now he was completely healed, 100% recovered and ready to… to do what exactly? 

What happens next? There were no tests… no Maria… 

Just… the Wachowskis. 

Should he… leave? Go somewhere? He kind of wanted to; there was a whole planet he saved but barely explored. There would be things to see, Maria talked about these… ‘seven wonders of the world’, maybe he could visit them in person. He’d- he’d have to see them without her… he wouldn’t be able to talk to her about them, visiting them, or any gift shops. She had liked gift shops, somehow more invested in getting tacky treasures that held some meaningless significance to her. 

He would go alone.

Except… he wasn’t alone? Sonic would chase him down, at the very least. That would be annoying. 

Tails probably knew more about the seven wonders than even the humans, he was smart like that. Knuckles seemed to like assigning himself ‘quests’, a trek to visit far-off lands would certainly appeal to the echidna. Tom and Maddie would… probably go with them, supervise, like responsible parents. 

‘Parents’, a strange concept Shadow didn’t quite have the experience to know too much about. Movies were helpful, but it was by observing the Wachowskis that he really learned anything at all. As kind and gentle as they were to him, they were the same to everyone else, the weird part was how the other mobians responded. They expected it. Near bedtime Sonic would start this weird game of ‘keep away’ except he was the one keeping away from Maddie who wanted a goodnight kiss on his forehead. It was playful, everyone was smiling, and when Sonic was finally caught he’d complain but he wouldn’t stop smiling. Knuckles gave them reports of his patrols and they asked about his interests. Tails constantly interrupted them with things he was doing, showing off something or just curious about something random. They never got upset, they always made time for the mobians, and if they didn’t have time the mobians knew there would be time later. 

So strange, these people. 

Maybe he should just leave, leave them to their weirdness and kindness. He’s taken enough from them already. They gave him more than he ever could have hoped to imagine, and now that he was healed, he can stop burdening them. 

Yes, he was doing them a favor by leaving. Which was what he was doing. He was leaving. 

Shadow couldn’t move. 

He stood on the wrap-around porch, just shy of the stairs. He was looking out, but he wasn’t seeing. The grass was obnoxiously green, well-maintained, and healthy. There was a breeze, as there always seemed to be in the mountains, but it was rather light today, barely pushing any leaves around. It was sunny, the sky a brilliant, dazzling shade of blue. 

And Shadow didn’t move. 

He didn’t feel heavy, but his feet felt rooted to the deck. He couldn’t even get himself to fold his arms, they just hung at his sides. Why couldn’t he move? Why couldn’t he leave?

“Hey Shadow!”

The hedgehog’s attention snapped towards the voice. 

Tails the fox was waving at him from the yard, coming from the direction of the separate car garage. He had stopped along a little dirt path, the one he took from the garage to his shed. Part of Sonic’s tour was Tails’ shed, which was in the backyard. Except Shadow had only gotten a peek before Sonic was dragging him elsewhere for more tour stuff. He really didn’t do anything unless it was at speed, the idiot. 

Shadow didn’t wave back. 

Tails waddled over anyway, his fluffy namesakes bobbing behind him. Tails paused at the bottom of the stairs, he was still smiling at Shadow. 

“Whatcha doin?” Tails asked, ears forward and attentive. 

“…Waiting.” Shadow admitted, confused at himself. 

The fox’s head tilted, his ears following the motion. “What for?” He always sounded so genuine with his questions. 

Shadow looked down, frowning. “I don’t… I don’t know.” 

Tails shifted his feet, his twin appendages swishing to the side and jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. “Well, while you’re waiting, wanna come see what I’ve been working on?”

Shadow blinks. An event, something to ‘do’. That was what he was waiting for, wasn’t it? Something ‘next’? 

Still, it was… weird. As much as Shadow was included in activities it was because he was just there. He didn’t have to be here now and… Tails still invited him to do something? He’d seen the fox invite others to check out his inventions, or simply brought the inventions to the others to show it off. But he was asking Shadow.

Why did he even care?

“Monsters don’t feel sorry.”

“You’re a star in Sonic’s sky.”

“Maybe it’s selfish… but I’m glad you’re here.”

“Did you actually change? Or did you return to your nature?”

“Fine,” Shadow said, stepping forward. 

Tails’ ears tilted backwards ever so slightly, “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Shadow walked down the porch stairs. He stopped next to Tails and folded his arms. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to.”

Tails gave him a weird look, but also shrugged, “Alright then.” 

Tails led the way back to his shed, humming happily as Shadow trailed behind him.

‘Shed’ was really an inadequate term for the building; it was more like a warehouse. It started as a shed, a little blue wooden structure with a giant attachment including rolling hanger doors and a roof just as high as the Wachowski home. It was obnoxious, the little fox couldn’t possibly need so much space.

“Yeah, it's a little weird,” Tails said, also looking up at the massive building that had such a dingy entryway. “We had to rebuild it since I broke the first one.”

Shadow glanced down at the fox, he didn’t seem the destructive type.

Tails glanced at his disbelieving face and grinned, “Okay, Knuckles technically broke the shed, but only because I hit him with a car.” He said with a shrug, entirely too nonchalant. 

Shadow stared at the fox with wide eyes. “How did you…?”

“Well, this was before Knuckles teamed up with us,” Tails admitted, which Shadow had gathered, considering he didn’t think the Wachowskis would let the fox drive, much less endorse vehicular manslaughter and property destruction. “I was a little late in my warning to Sonic, so I had to save him, so I kinda hit Knuckles with a car and he went flying and broke the shed.” 

“But how did you drive it?” Shadow asked, still confused beyond belief. Tails was tiny, barely up to Shadow’s chest, which means he was still knee-hight to humans. How did he reach the pedals? How did he get a car? 

Tails perked at this question, “Oh, that part was easy! See, I invented these magnets–”

Tails launched into an explanation as he opened the shed door, leading Shadow inside. Shadow quickly lost interest in the conversation as he realized there was a reason the ‘shed’ was so huge. Machinery was strewn about, parts of cars lay in disassembled pieces, and what looked to be the wings of a biplane hung from the rafters. Most of all, a military grade helicopter, complete with GUN insignia, sat in the middle. 

Shadow halted next to the vehicle, Tails still going on about his invention while he rooted through the workstations along the wall. The far wall held tools, storage for smaller bits and bobs, and Shadow couldn’t help but be reminded of the Professor. The Professor, above all, was a creator, with Shadow he created tools, cures, and other helpful things. But when he wasn’t focused on Shadow, he would create other things, streamline power converters, or enhance the lighting in the facility. He created Shadow’s air shoes, originally created simply for fun, then he realized it was the one way Shadow’s powers could be charged and spent elsewhere without Shadow sitting and being zapped to extract his powers. (It hadn’t hurt, but it was… uncomfortable.)

He… missed those moments with the Professor, where he worked on the shoes and invited Shadow’s interest in how they worked. They were specially linked to Shadow, designed for him, to work with his chaos energy and his will. The Professor had always been intrigued with the line between programming and sheer force of will, and Shadow’s shoes were a miracle of both. Nobody else could have done it, created these shoes that were a feat of engineering and borderline magic. The Professor always scolded Maria for calling Shadow’s power magic, chaos is power, and chaos, like any power, can be measured and controlled. Shadow didn’t fear control, in fact he needed it. Just like the inhibitor rings on his hands and feet, control had always been a gift. 

Which is why Sonic confused him so much. He lived wildly, freely, without restraint. Sonic would not have gotten along with the Professor, even before things went bad. 

“Shadow?”

The dark hedgehog jolted, taken from his thoughts and turned to the fox who called his name. Shadow then realized he’d been touching the GUN helicopter and took a step back, confused and slightly flustered that he hadn’t realized he’d done so. 

Tails was looking at him expectantly, though his tails dipped. “Oh, sorry, I should probably explain the GUN helicopter.”

Shadow eyed the vehicle, he wasn’t actually surprised they had one. “It's the one you came in, right?”

Tails huffed a breath of laughter, shaking his head and abandoning his workstation to scuttle closer. “Nah, this one is from when we rescued you.”

Shadow tilted his head, grunting. How did that happen anyway?

“I…” Tails scuffed the floor with his shoe, his hands coming together nervously, “I kinda stole it, you had gone down and GUN was closing in, Sonic and Knuckles were on the ground with you but there was no way we were getting out of there just by running. So I kinda commandeered the helicopter and we flew away.”

Tails ended his explanation with a grin, tails perked once more. 

Shadow eyed the fox, confused. Was he… looking for praise?

Uh, “Good job.” Shadow said.

Tails smile grew even brighter, somehow, and he shifted his weight between his feet rapidly. An action Sonic dubbed as his ‘happy dance’.

…Shadow did that?

“Thanks!” Tails said, “But here, lemme show you what I’ve been working on.” Tails moved off, returning to one of the workstations. Shadow walked behind him, standing while Tails hopped up onto a blue stool that spun him around until he grabbed the table to stop himself. 

“These are for you!” Tails said, grabbing two square-ish metal things and presenting them to Shadow.

Shadow leaned back, surprised, but reached to take them. They were primarily made of metal, silver with decals of red, but they had a large, slightly curved surface of black glass, like a screen. He flipped them over just to see neat paneling on the back, though there was a hexagon of uniform red dots near the bottom. 

For him?

“What do they do?” Shadow asked, still turning over the little gadgets, trying to discern what they did and why he would need two of them.

Tails’ tails swished, “They’re for your shoes!”

Shadow glanced up without moving his head, brows furrowing. For his shoes?

“Can I show you?” Tails asked, holding his hand out. 

Shadow gave him back the little devices, confused about what these things would do for his shoes.

Except Tails didn’t start explaining. He held his hand out again. “Can I see your shoes? Even just one would be fine.”

Shadow frowned. Tails tinkers, obviously, but Shadow was just a bit wary of… others, tampering with his shoes. They were special, the Professor made them, and now that he was gone, if they got messed up they might never work again. Not to say he didn’t trust Tails… but he didn’t trust Tails. Not with these.

“You’re going to have to explain first,” Shadow said, unmoving. 

“Oh, right!” Tails smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, it's just an attachment. Your shoes are really cool and I’d love to figure them out, but Sonic mentioned they run off of your own chaos energy. So I figured something like a battery might be nice if you’re feeling low on energy and still need to move.”

Shadow blinked. A battery? For his shoes? Was that even necessary? The Professor said the shoes are like if they were an extension of Shadow’s body, if chaos ran through his veins, it would also run through his shoes. A battery seems… crude? Perhaps childish in comparison?

“I won’t run out,” Shadow said, as that was a fact. 

“Maybe,” Tails said, nearly rolling his eyes, “but these aren't like normal batteries. If I programmed them right, it should take from your ambient chaos energy, charging itself up just from being connected to you. It has a cut off, so it's not constantly taking from you, and the storage lasts pretty much indefinitely since chaos energy doesn’t decay, so it's more like backup energy, like an emergency parachute for a plane.”

Hm. If he's understanding this correctly, then it's more of an auxiliary power. It doesn’t take or give to the amount of power he actually has. He can see how that would be useful. 

“And how would it attach to the shoes?” Shadow asked.

“See this?” Tails extended his hand holding one of the devices, he pressed on its side and little hooks popped out from the top. “Non-invasive, and the bottom here is a magnet that shouldn’t mess with any of the internal wiring of both the shoe and the battery. It's a completely separate circuit, so no messing with the shoes themselves. And it should be lightweight enough that it won’t hamper your movement.”

Shadow hummed in consideration. That certainly did help his fears. 

Shadow leaned down, taking one of his shoes off. He lifted it to Tails. “Show me.”

Tails grinned and took his shoe, settling it onto the worktable and sliding it around so its back faced them. Tails hooked the gadget onto the back, the magnet snapping it into place. The screen didn’t do anything, but Tails tapped it. “This should show yellow, when it's full it'll be all yellow and it’ll lower when you use the stored up energy so you always know how much is left.”

“And that's it?” Shadow asked, a little surprised. “No other attachments, it'll communicate with the shoes?”

“Absolutely!” Tails nodded. He grabbed the other battery and showed off the hexagon of red dots from the inside. “These will transfer the chaos energy, your shoes are already attuned to you, so it’ll talk tech to tech. You talk to the shoes and the shoes will talk to the batteries only when necessary so it shouldn’t feel any different from using the shoes normally.”

Shadow hummed again, giving the fox a critical eye. “And it's not permanent?”

Tails shook his head with a too-delighted smile. “Nope! It's just as easy to take off as it is to put on, but of course the magnet will help during fights so it doesn't get knocked off, it will also be holding your specific chaos energy so it should want to stay with you unless you tell it otherwise.”

Shadow cocked his head at that, Tails made his power sound… alive? He didn’t think his power had ‘wants’. The chaos power harvested from him certainly never acted 'loyal' in any case. 

“It’ll ‘stay with me’?” He asked, confused. 

Tails nodded, turning in his seat to properly face him. “Your chaos energy is unique to you, like how yours energy is orange, Sonic’s is blue, Knuckles’ is red. You could say they’re different… consistencies, so they don’t often mix very well. Natural chaos energy is very intentional, it moves through you in a way it doesn't move through anyone else, so when you direct it, it will naturally follow that path.”

Shadow frowned. That made sense… to a degree. But he found that didn’t actually explain himself at all. 

“My power…” Shadow started uncertainly, “It's not stable like that, ever since I woke up in that meteor, my power has always been too much. It took the Professor a while to figure out how to suppress it enough that I didn’t hurt myself or others. It was his top priority above all else.”

Of course it had been. Shadow might not have known where he was or who these tall bipedal beings were, but they stuck around after every time he overloaded, trying to help. This was before he met Maria, and the explosions, while disruptive, had consistent patterns and signs, so they could take cover. Shadow was never seriously hurt by his own blasts, but they saw his pain as a problem and wanted to fix it. Maybe that's why he can never quite feel mad at the Professor. Before the loss of Maria, he had always just wanted to help.

It was Tails’ turn to cock his head, face twisting into a confused but intrigued frown. “How did he suppress it?”

Shadow lifted his wrist, showing off the golden band around it. “These, the inhibitor rings. I must wear them constantly, if not, I run the risk of overloading.”

Tails gave him a look. “And overloading is bad?”

Shadow nodded, “Yes, the chaos energy comes out in a burst, of which I am the epicenter. Things around me get destroyed, and it wears on my body as well.”

Tails jerked sharply, eyes widening. “Wait, your own chaos energy hurts you?”

Shadow nodded, concerned why this would be startling to the fox. 

“That shouldn’t be possible.” Tails said, “Your chaos energy is unique to you, your body is its conduit, it shouldn’t hurt you at all.”

Well, that just seemed like a lie to Shadow. Not that he thought the fox was intentionally lying to him, just that this was another one of those rules he was exempt from because he was different. He wondered what made him different, but that didn’t matter right now. 

“Well, when I overload, it does,” Shadow said, folding his arms. 

“But these inhibitor rings stop that?” Tails asked next.

“Yes,” he said curtly.

“If they’re able to stop chaos energy like that… what are they made of?” Tails asked.

Shadow glanced away. “I don’t know exactly how it works, but they were made from the meteorite, along with some earth metals.”

That set Tails off. 

Tails' eyes went wide again. “The meteorite?! That actually would explain it, if you were encased in something that could hold you through space, it would contain your energy. Or if you were in that meteorite for so long, it became part of you. Your energy recognized it as compatible– because wait, yeah, you still have access to your powers with the inhibitors, it just stops the overflow. This is fascinating! Chaos energy is notoriously hard to control without intention, but this meteorite, these inhibitor rings, not only communicate but control your chaos without any input from you!”

Shadow nodded along warily, even though he didn’t actually understand much of what he was saying. He was used to hearing mumbo jumbo rambling, but it was different, coming from another creature like himself rather than a human scientist.

“If you had more chaos energy than you could safely control, and need what is essentially a second will to conform it…” Tails was thinking aloud, it seemed more like a brainstorm. “No, that wouldn’t work, it's meteorite and metal, it wouldn’t have a will to impose on your chaos energy, so what gives? It almost sounds like the chaos energy isn’t even yours, but that doesn't make sense either because that would mean something else entirely… Or… you’re too connected to chaos energy, you’re like a leak, and it wants to all come out at once, and the inhibitor rings act like a faucet, controlling the amount and how long you use it. But that requires will too– UNLESS! It's acting as a hydronic system, balancing your energy inside you, but it would still have to take the excess elsewhere; chaos energy doesn't just evaporate. And– Oh, sorry.”

Tails sheepishly stopped himself, ears flattening and rubbing the back of his neck- something he’d seen Sonic do.

Shadow wasn’t new to someone trying to understand his power; the Professor had even tried asking once they knew he could talk, but considering his lack of memory, he never had anything to give. He felt that way now, even though he’d been on the end of enough of the Professor’s theories to recite some of them. However he kept making new ones, new evidence suggesting and debunking and it was always rewriting itself. The only thing that made sense was when his power was put through machines. Shadow wasn’t a machine, so he was an enigma, but his power directed by something else always came predictably. Shadow could correctly identify the common denominator. He was the battery. 

“It’s fine,” Shadow said dismissively. 

“Still,” Tails said, tails curling against his seat in a particularly shy way. “You were with scientists for a while, it probably doesn't feel good to be the test subject.”

Shadow sighed quietly. “It’s fine.” He repeated, because it was. “They helped, it was always meant to help.”

Silence stretched between them and Shadow didn’t quite understand why. He could tell he made the fox uncomfortable, the other had his ears down. He just didn’t know why, he said it was fine. 

“Are they ready to be tested?” Shadow asked, deciding just to abandon the whole ‘power’ conversation altogether. 

Tails shifted, “If you want to, it shouldn’t mess with how your shoes normally work, so nothing should happen.”

Shadow had heard that one before. The Professor had to shave his head after that particular experiment went awry, not that there was much left to take off in the first place. Still, it had been funny at least, they had turned to each other, both singed by the mini explosion they hadn’t anticipated. Maria of course laughed the hardest. 

“You can stand clear, just in case,” Shadow said. A singed lab coat and eyebrows were one thing, but Tails was all fur. He would never forgive himself if he accidentally set Tails on fire. He's not sure Sonic would. 

Tails nodded, shifting happily in his seat. His one shoe was already attached, so Shadow took off his other one, handing it to the fox. Tails attached the second one and gave them back to Shadow. Shadow took them and walked to a more open part of the garage. 

He was next to the helicopter, but in front of Tails. He put the shoes down but didn’t put them on yet. 

“So what are we expecting to happen?” He asked.

“Ideally, nothing, the lights on the back should light up, saying it’s charged, and then it should stay that way even if you take them off.” Tails said with a proud little flick of his tails. 

Shadow nodded, alright, so anything other than that happening means something went wrong. Fantastic. 

Shadow put his feet into his shoes.

To Tails’ credit, it didn’t feel any different. He looked over his shoulder, leaning to get a look at the screen on his feet. He saw a yellow bar. So far so good.

Hm… however, would it remain normal if he actually used his shoes? 

“Did the light turn on?” Tails asked, staying in his seat though Shadow could notice how much he wanted to leave and come inspect the gadget himself. 

Shadow nodded. “Yes.”

Tails perked. “That’s great!”

“How long should the charging take?” Shadow asked, still keeping an eye on his shoes. 

“It depends on your energy levels, but it shouldn’t take too long.” The fox said. 

“I’m going to use my shoes,” Shadow warned. He didn’t wait for an answer or permission. 

His shoes ignited, deciding to use just enough chaos energy to get him an inch or two off the ground. It felt normal, nothing—

Shadow’s heart leapt as his shoes suddenly went full blast, folding him in half as he rocketed upwards. 

He heard Tails yell, but it was lost as he crashed into the ceiling of the warehouse. Oh, not into, through the ceiling. He was looking down on the garage now from the sky, eyes wide and slightly panicked. His limbs flailed as he tried to regain control, and when that failed he cut off power to his shoes entirely. His shoes sputtered, sending him sideways, before finally turning off. He turned in the air, trying to control his descent, but the ground was coming up fast and the trees even faster. Shadow braced for impact, curling and covering his face. 

He hit the trees first, smashing through branches that barely dented his speed. He hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from him and jolting him out of his curled position. He tumbled across the forest ground, throwing up dirt and leaves until he finally stopped.

Shadow groaned as he flipped onto his back, slightly dizzy and looking up at the bright blue sky through the treetops. 

He laid there for a moment, breathing and replaying in his mind what just happened. 

A laugh bubbled up unbidden. 

“Shadow!!” Tails came flying in, helicopter tails slowing to a stop as he jumped to the ground next to him, face stretched in worry. “Are you okay?! I’m so sorry!”

The dark hedgehog sat up, hunched over, laughing.

Tails’ face grew even more concerned. “You’re… laughing?”

It was a small wheezy thing, eyes squinting and grin wide. His lungs jumped with each laugh, and Shadow sat back with a smile he couldn’t wipe away.

“I just smashed through the roof,” Shadow said. He was not giggling; he did not giggle.  

Tails blinked at him, clearly trying to figure out if he’d hit his head.

“Once,” trying to speak through a half-laugh, “Maria convinced me to pull her around on skates using a rope.”

Tails blinked. “…What?”

Fondness crept into his voice, “She tied herself to me. Said it would be faster. The Professor pretended he knew nothing about it. It worked fine enough, until we crashed into a pastry cart.”

He looked up through the trees, the corners of his mouth twitching. “We were covered. We made frosting angels.”

He huffed another quiet laugh. They’d smelled like frosting for days, even after being wiped down.

Suddenly, a zip of blue and Sonic was standing close by, pointing at the sky over his shoulder with his thumb. “Was that Shadow I saw— Whoa, you okay?!”

Shadow waved him off, unable to wipe the smile off his face. He got up, forcing down a wince since oh, okay that was a few sharp pains. 

He shook himself off, pine needles flying, then brushed dirt from his legs. “I’m not hurt.”

Then, crouching, he unclipped the two batteries and handed them back to Tails.

“Sorry,” Tails mumbled, ears low as he took them. “I didn’t think that would happen, I guess I didn’t get them to connect properly to your intentions.”

Shadow waved him off again, “It’s fine, that’s what testing is for.”

Tails shuffled nervously in place, “You ripped through the garage roof and then crashed through the trees! Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?” 

Sonic’s brows shot up, attention sharpened onto Shadow. “Dude, are you okay?!”

Shadow rolled his eyes instead of answering, already tired of the question he’d been asked a million times while he was recovering. He folded his arms and gave Sonic a flat, unimpressed look.

Sonic, predictably, didn’t take the hint.

In a blink, the blue hedgehog zipped closer. Shadow tensed. A white gloved hand settled on Shadow’s shoulder. Objectively, Shadow knew this was a friendly gesture, but his reaction was instant and irrational. 

Shadow grabbed the hand and bent over, throwing Sonic over his shoulder and laid him in the dirt. 

Sonic hit the ground with a thump and an “oof!”

Shadow stood over him, arms back to being folded. “I’m. Fine.”

Sonic smiled wryly– because of course he did. “Jeez, can’t blame a hedgehog for checking.” 

More rustling sounded through the treeline. Figures pushed through— of course the rest of them followed Sonic. Shadow couldn’t breathe without an audience, much less crash through the woods.

Knuckles surveyed the broken branches and cratered underbrush, nodding like it was a work of art. But Maddie reached them first, already frowning.

Her eyes went to Sonic, who was still flat on the ground. Then to Shadow. Her mouth pinched.

“Sonic,” she said, tone sharp. “Did you touch Shadow again?” 

Shadow squinted. That was not what he anticipated her saying. 

Sonic sighed dramatically and made himself comfortable on the forest floor as if that made it better. “Mayyyybe.”

Maddie sighed, putting a hand on her forehead. “Sonic, we’ve talked about this. Respect Shadow’s personal space unless he invites you in.”

Shadow blinked. They… talked about this? 

Sonic sat up, waving to Shadow. “I was just checking if he got hurt! Tails said he broke through the shed roof!”

“And made this line of destruction?” Knuckles asked, finally arriving with Tom in tow. The echidna grinned at Shadow, approving. “Most impressive.”

“No, Knuckles,” Maddie sighed again, “not impressive.” 

She finally settled on Shadow, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Shadow nodded, though now that the adrenaline had worn off, his back did sting a little. It didn’t matter. 

“What were you even doing?” Asked Tom, gaze bouncing between the mobians. 

Tails physically wilted, tails going limp onto the forest floor and ears properly pinned. What was Tails anticipating here? Was he about to get in trouble because of Shadow?

Tails lifted up the two batteries, “We were testing these, I thought I had figured out how to make them a separate system from his shoes, but I guess not… They weren’t supposed to launch him.”

Everyone looked at Shadow. Shadow tensed. He could see it in their faces, Tom especially was about to ask if he was okay again. 

“I am completely functional,” Shadow growled, annoyed. “Sonic hits harder than a shed roof and some trees.”

Sonic was the only one who lit up, twisting to sit up and face Shadow while gasping and shaking his fists up and down like an excited toddler. Everyone else adopted a more constipated look, except for Knuckles who nodded knowingly. 

“Calm down,” Shadow rolled his eyes at the other hedgehog, “That wasn’t a compliment.”

“Well,” Tom said with a huff, a ‘dad sigh’ Sonic had called this particular huff, “I’m glad nobody got hurt.”

Knuckles, apparently, didn’t get the memo. “You should have aimed for a boulder. I’d like to see what you could do to solid rock.” He clenched his mitt in demonstration, wearing too wide of a grin.

“Ooookay,” Maddie cut in before Shadow could grace that with a response. “Let's try an activity with less smashing involved.” 

Sonic lit up even more– somehow that was possible without him powering up. “Ooh! Hey! Let's play Baseball! Shadow, you’ve heard of baseball right?”

Shadow regarded the blue hedgehog curiously. “Baseball? I would’ve pegged you more of a track and field guy.”

Sonic huffed, switching from happy to utterly grumpy. “Well yeah, but I can do that by myself, but I don’t wanna be alone.”

It was played off as dramatics, but the blatant admission took Shadow for a loop. Huh, he just… said it out loud. 

“Fine.” Shadow agreed. 

Tom perked up, “Great! We can get our gear and head to the park then.” The human was wearing an all too innocent smile. 

Maddie gave him a sharp look. “Thomas Michael Wachowski, you are not playing.”

Tom deflated, “But the sling comes off tomorrow! What difference does it make if I play a little baseball today?”

“Because if you mess it up today, you’ll be wearing that sling the rest of your life,” Maddie countered. “You’ve waited this long. You’ll survive a few more hours.”

“But the teams will be uneven!” 

“We’ve played with five before,” Maddie shrugged. “I’ll just swap teams every inning.”

“Yes!” Knuckles thundered, already amped. “We shall initiate the new hedgehog into ‘the fun’!”

“Shadow and I can be on the same team!” Sonic declared, getting infected with Knuckles’ excitement, or his own, it didn’t matter. 

Maddie quickly shook her head, “Oh no, nuh-uh, no two speedsters on the same team.”

Sonic groaned and collapsed back into the dirt like the world had ended. He didn’t even sit up, just looked up at Tails — upside down. “You’ll be on my team, won’t you pal?” 

Tails smiled, tails lifting from the ground. “Sure!”

Knuckles marched over to Shadow. “Then we shall be the opposing team!” He grinned and raised a fist.

Shadow stared at it for a beat. He’d seen that gesture enough — Maria taught him what it meant. The Wachowskis did it all the time too.

He unfolded his arms and bumped Knuckles’ fist with his own.

------------------

(yeah its a trace bc Im not actually That Good but im also petty let this man play baseball gosh dang it)

Baseball was both just as simple and more complicated than Shadow anticipated. Yes, throw the ball, hit it with a stick, run around the bases while the other team tries to get the ball back and tag you. There was a quick coaching session to show Shadow not to hit too hard and to actually use the stick (Knuckles apparently forgone the bat the first time and just punched the ball, which ended the game since it obliterated the ball– after nearly taking off Tails’ head) Helpful, but ultimately unnecessary— if there was one thing Shadow knew, it was control. He didn’t say it aloud, but he was sure that within a few swings, he could perfectly replicate a ‘home run’ hit every time. Alas, the baseballs actually needed to stay within the field. Green Hills loved their mobians but apparently did not like rogue superpowered baseballs flying every which way. 

They should have made the field bigger then, Shadow thought bitterly, resigning himself to playing much weaker than he would have liked. Then again, actually playing the game and not getting home runs constantly was pretty fun. No powers were allowed, so no super strength, speed, teleportation, or flying. Though for some reason Tails pitched better with his tails, so that was allowed. Helmets were a requirement for everyone, though Knuckles forgone the mitt since he kinda already had mitts. Shadow found he didn’t like the heaviness on his head, but it was fine enough. 

Knuckles treated the game as seriously as he treated much else, just with a big goofy smile on his face as he faced down the pitcher's mound. He ran efficiently and announced himself at the bases he got to, and eagerly awaited Shadow’s hit so he could move on, encouraging the darker hedgehog with fists in the air. All in all, a good teammate. Knuckles would often give him a firm pat on the back after a particularly successful run. Shadow tried not to act too startled about it, but it was… fine. It was easier to expect it next time. 

Shadow was a good pitcher, well, he was good at everything naturally, but he could admit that throwing stuff at Sonic was a little fun. Tails was a chaotic batter, he wasn’t quite as consistent as Sonic was, so catching his hits was always a toss-up. 

There was a slight debacle when Sonic hit the ball and it arched a little too fast, neither Knuckles nor Shadow would reach it in time, so Knuckles scooped up Shadow like a javelin and launched him. Sonic called them cheaters, Shadow pointed out the ball was a foul anyway and would have left the park ground if not intervened. Maddie came in as a meteator and set the scores back to zero. Nobody noticed Sonic had added a bit of a blue blur to that particular hit, and Shadow noticed a particular quirk in his smile and mischief in his eyes. 

So when Sonic ran home, Knuckles with the ball in his path, and Sonic used a diving maneuver around him, Shadow saw the blur of blue and growled. Sonic was definitely cheating. Sonic was busy celebrating, doing a little dance for himself since he made it home past Knuckles. Knuckles even complimented him, the naive fool. 

Shadow stalked up to the hedgehog, abandoning his post at the pitcher's mound. Everyone watched in confusion because the game wasn’t over; Tails still had his turn. Instead, Shadow marched right up to Sonic and pointed at his chest. 

“You cheated.” Shadow declared. 

Sonic had that smile, which looked particularly guilty to Shadow. “I didn’t cheat!” came the obvious rebuttal. He gestured to himself, “All this is natural!”

Sonic didn’t even wait for an answer, turning to get out of the way for the rest of the game. Shadow growled. 

“You know what else is natural?” Shadow asked, following the blue hedgehog. 

Sonic eyed him cautiously but kept walking, probably hoping he could just flee this confrontation. 

Shadow hooked his shoe around Sonic’s ankle, since the fool was watching him and not where he was going, he landed face first on the ground. 

“Dirt.” Shadow finished, folding his arms over the fallen hedgehog. 

Sonic spat out dirt and twisted around, grinning. Shadow didn’t know what he was smiling for– Sonic launched from the ground and tackled Shadow, sending them both into the dirt. 

An undignified squeak escaped him, but now Sonic was laughing, trying to pin him to the ground. Oh, this would NOT stand. Shadow pushed back, growling lightly as he tried to pin the blue hedgehog instead. Game forgotten, they dissolved easily into a dusty squabble of teasing jabs and growls and demands of justice. 

Knuckles, Tails, and Maddie gathered around them, watching and doing nothing to help. 

Knuckles leaned over to the fox, “Which one do you think will win?”

“Sonic,” Tails said easily.

The echidna hummed and nodded. “Understandable. My vote lies with Shadow.”

The fox quirked his head, “Really?”

“He is fighting for honor.” Knuckles explained, and both Tails and Maddie gave him a look, so Knuckles shrugged. “Sonic cheated.”

Maddie sighed, rubbing her temple. “Really?”

At the same time, Tails jolted in disbelief, "Really?!"

Knuckles huffed, "You think I cannot tell when Sonic uses his speed?" It was a rhetorical question. Knuckles folded his arms. 

“Worry not, he will return to his nature.” Knuckles said, still watching the wrestling on the ground. A yelp erupted from one of them in the fray, but they could not figure out who. Knuckles winced. “Eventually.”

Maddie sighed again, stepping forward. “Okay, okay, break it up boys.”

Instead, Sonic yelped again, “Ow! Did you just bite me?! Fine! I’ll bite you back!”

Maddie took a panicked step forward, “No-! No spit that out! You don’t know where he’s been!”

Tails giggled quietly to himself, Knuckles wearing a matching grin. Who was Maddie talking to? Well, it didn’t particularly matter. The game started with a blue hedgehog and a black and red hedgehog, and ended with two completely brown hedgehogs. 

The baseball game was officially abandoned, but Tom had texted that dinner was ready anyway. However the competitiveness of the kids wouldn’t let the game not have a winner. With no clear victor and tensions ramping up again, the adults made the final call: dirt had won, and everyone needed a bath.

------------------

Tails snuck away after dinner. The hot dogs were delicious, and even though he hadn’t been a part of the dirt wrestling match, he was glad to have his fur cleaned up. The rest of the family was still discussing the game, and Knuckles was not-so-subtly egging on the fresh rivalry between Sonic and Shadow, so the only one to notice Tails was Ozzie. Tails tapped his finger to his mouth to signal to the dog to keep quiet, not that it really mattered since Ozzie couldn’t talk, but it was the principle of the matter. 

Tails quickly made his way to his shed. His mind had been racing about the batteries and how they really shouldn’t have messed with the shoes the way they had. He needed to fix it. He was sure it was something about the connection since it did its job storing the chaos energy just fine. Perhaps he made it too similar to the shoes themselves, Shadow talking to the shoes, and the shoes talked to the battery as if it were an extension of itself. Which it technically is, Tails just needed to make a few more doorways and locks. Conditions and such, so there was a clear distinction between using the shoes and using the batteries. It should be simple enough coding.

It feels like Tails had just sat down when a knock on the shed’s wooden wall made him jump.

Tails blinked and looked up. 

Sonic stood in the doorway, framed in golden lamplight. “Hey,” he said with a smile. “Mom says it’s time to wrap it up. Everyone’s heading to bed.”

Tails blinked at him, startled. “It’s that late?”

He glanced at the windows, realizing the sun had vanished long ago. The shed was warm with his buzzing lights and quiet work, but the world outside was black. Whoops. 

“Alright,” Tails mumbled, turning back to the screen. He didn’t like stopping cold. Better to find a good line of code and leave himself a note. “Thanks.”

Sonic stepped inside, close enough to glance at the battery layout on Tails’ desk. He didn’t touch anything —he knew better— but he looked interested.

“You think he had fun today?” Sonic asked suddenly.

Tails paused. “You mean Shadow?”

Sonic nodded.

“I’d like to think he did.” Tails said, considering. “He laughed, actually.”

Sonic’s brows shot up, “Laughed? Like… out loud?”

Tails nodded, “When he crashed, apparently it reminded him of something he did with Maria.”

Sonic’s face did a few things: surprised and glad, hopeful and concerned. He settled on eager, leaning into the fox’s space as he asked, “Aaaand?” 

Oh boy, Tails rolled his eyes, knowing he would have to fuel this fire since it was technically true. “It kinda sounded like Keanu Reeves.”

Sonic threw his hands into the air, “VINDICATION!” 

Tails laughed. Sonic’s joy was infectious. He’d been trying to convince Shadow he sounded like Keanu Reeves for at least a week now. Shadow was stubborn, but so was Sonic. impenetrable force, meet immovable object. 

“You think we could be brothers?” Sonic asked next.

“Well, I think Keanu is a little too human to be your broth–” 

“You know what I meant!” Sonic complained with a grin. 

Tails giggled some more, but frankly, he found the question a bit redundant. “Sure, he's a little awkward and more broody than even Knuckles.”

“And dramatic,” Sonic added, folding his arms. 

Tails gestured to him, confused how the hedgehog could say such a thing. “Like you aren't?!”

Sonic pointed to himself, “Hey, I’ve never bitten anybody!”

“So that time with Tom didn’t count?”

“Hey—he tried to make me wear pants . That was self-defense!”

Tails shook his head in mock disappointment. “Exactly, I think you guys are a lot alike and not just because of your chaos energy. You both care a whole lot, which makes you dramatic… and bitey.”

Sonic huffed and folded his arms tighter in retaliation, but his face fell somberly. “I just… want him to have fun, find a home here, ya know?”

Tails nodded, realizing that Sonic really did care about this a lot. Tails understood, not having a home for a while, it just being… gone. Shadow had literally atomized his, but it had stopped being home for him when his sister died. Finding a new one was hard enough already, but Shadow had GUN after him and a 50 year time displacement. And Sonic… Sonic cared enough to add two homeless mobians to his family, what's one more? 

Tails didn’t know how to help the… emotions part, he could tell the others were carrying that weight, but he knew it would be fine. Tails was certainly not opposed to the new hedgehog being part of the family, he was cool and his powers were so interesting! But all in all, Tails can only do so much, but what he could do was these batteries. He needed to get it right.

“If anyone could make him feel at home, it would be Sonic the Hedgehog!”

Sonic snorted at that, “You’re a little flatterer, you know that?”

Tails grinned, tails flicking happily. “Just doing my duty as little brother!”

“Thanks, pal,” Sonic said warmly, ruffling the fur on top of Tails’ head.

He yawned. Tails yawned right after.

“I’m off. G’night,” Sonic said, stretching as he headed for the door. “See you in the morning!”

“G’night!” Tails called, already squinting back at the screen, his ears flicking at the sound of the door clicking shut.

He worked for only a few more minutes. The code was simple, but his eyes were getting heavy. The battery blinked softly, the screen glowed, and everything buzzed with quiet productivity.

Until it didn’t.

Tails jolted awake — not sure when he’d nodded off. He groaned, scribbled a quick sticky note about where he left off, and shut everything down. He hopped down from his chair and started locking up. It wasn’t super necessary, out in the mountains of Montana, but it was a good habit to have and it had saved him before back in Mobius. The lights were last, the burning bulbs going out with a fizzle. Nothing left to do but head to bed.

He stepped out into the chill of the night air, locking the shed behind him. It was quiet, with barely any crickets and the normally bright starry sky covered in clouds. Tails yawned again, his nice comfy bed was calling for him. 

Tails took three steps down his dirt path when a sound made him twitch. 

His ears flicked towards the trees, his waning attention watching absently. Nothing seemed–

Tails’s eyes widened, mouth opening to shout as his whole body flooded with adrenaline. The net hit him mid-step, wires tightening around his limbs. He barely had time to suck in a breath before the net crackled with electricity.

Tails went limp, eyes rolling into the back of his head. 

He thumped to the ground, and then there was the soft drag of fur against earth.

And the path was empty again.

Chapter Text

“Have you seen the fox?”

Sonic perked up from his cereal, spoon paused mid-air. Across the table, Knuckles sat with his own barely touched breakfast, his eyes scanning the empty space behind Sonic. 

It was just the two of them. Sonic had come down first for food, but he hadn’t checked the other beds. He knew Knuckles had been out though, he was always out before dawn. So it was more like routine when Knuckles came in through the back door while Sonic was fishing out the cereal he wanted for the morning. Knuckles had joined him, and now it was just the two of them in the dining room. 

Sonic looked around too, checking just in case Tails snuck in behind him or something. Tails wasn’t always an early riser, sometimes he was even up before Sonic, but usually he was down when everyone else was. As he looked through the quiet and still house, he realized Shadow wasn’t up yet either. Then again, Shadow just recently moved up into the attic with the rest of them. He got a motorcycle bed, which clearly isn’t as cool as a race car, but it was still cool enough. 

It stayed with Sonic, the face Shadow made when he realized he had a bed to himself. He acted like he’d never had one before, and the pit in Sonic’s stomach and the memory of glass tubes confirmed he hadn’t. 

Anyway, Tails. 

“I haven’t seen him,” Sonic said with another shrug, not too worried since it wasn’t like he saw Tails this early every morning. Not that it was early, it was only eightish. Not to mention, Tom and Maddie hadn’t gotten up yet either, it was fine to sleep in sometimes. 

Knuckles hummed, a concerned sound as his brow lowered. “He was not in his bed when I left this morning.” 

“You mean before dawn?” Sonic said pointedly as he scooped up another spoonful of Fruit Loops. Then he actually registered what the echidna said. “Wait, he wasn’t in bed?”

Butt-crack of dawn is not a normal time for Tails to be awake, and for his bed to be empty he would have had to have left before Knuckles. Or he had never gone to bed at all. 

“When was the last time you saw him?” The echidna continued to ask.

If Tails hadn’t gone to bed, where would he be?

“Ohhhhh,” Sonic said with a sigh, recalling the night’s events. “I know what’s going on- he fell asleep at his work desk again.” Sonic shook his head with a ‘tsk tsk’. 

“Were you not in charge of getting him back home?” Knuckles asked, and Sonic scowled at the amount of judgment in his tone. 

“Hey, I told him to find a stopping point!” He defended, hands raised before he returned to his cereal. “He’s gonna get so grounded when Tom and Maddie find out.” 

Knuckles gave him the stink eye, “You should have made sure he returned with you.”

Sonic shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth so he didn’t have to answer that. Nosy older brothers.

Footsteps were coming down the stairs, and it was Shadow turning the corner into the dining room. Sonic waved, mouth still full, while Knuckles nodded to the other hedgehog. Shadow grunted, a common morning greeting, and went to the counter to start up the coffee machine. 

“You gonna have anything with that?” Sonic called, smiling because he knew Shadow would get in trouble if the answer was ‘no’. 

“No.”

Sonic snickered to himself. “Man, everyone’s gonna get in trouble this morning. Knuckles, you didn’t do anything, didja?”

Knuckles wrinkled his nose as Sonic, having somehow already finished his cereal. “I would think you should also be responsible for the fox’s folly.”

Shadow’s ear twitched, and he turned to them. “What did Sonic do?”

Sonic sighed and turned in his chair, waving off the other hedgehog. “It’s fine, Tails just accidentally slept in his shed last night.”

Shadow raised a brow. 

“The hedgehog had the responsibility for bringing him to his proper resting place.” Knuckles grunted in displeasure. 

Shadow looked between the two of them. “Does that happen often?”

“It used to,” Sonic shrugged, “he’s not always in his shed near bedtime, Maddie and Tom really cracked down on him after a few days of sleep deprived fox in a row.” Sonic quietly laughed again, remembering all the times Tom or Maddie had to carry Tails to bed. Sleepy Tails was funny, he was always so floppy. 

“I think you should go get him.” Knuckles said gruffly, folding his arms and looking down on Sonic in his usual older brother way. 

“We could just let him sleep,” Sonic said with a shrug. What’s the rush anyway? He still had his bowl of cereal!

Knuckles ‘Hmph’ed in frustration, it was also a silent threat to go get one of the adults.  

Sonic sighed dramatically, “Alright! Alright, I’ll go get him.” Sonic shoved his chair back and plopped down. This should be quick anyway, his cereal wouldn’t even get soggy! 

Before Knuckles or Shadow could further berate him, Sonic disappeared in a quiet flash. The house smeared around him and within milliseconds he was out the door and across the lawn, only stopping to unlatch the shed door— which, that was weird. Tails only latches this when he leaves, not if he was still inside. Eh, whatever, maybe in his sleep deprived state he wandered back in through the hangar doors or something. 

“Tails, buddy!” Sonic called out as he marched in. It wasn’t cluttered exactly, but the organized chaos didn’t seem to be moved or otherwise ‘worked on’ since he saw it last night. 

The most obvious desks not obscured by the giant GUN helicopter or other projects were fox-less. Sonic sighed and walked around, except the other desks were empty too. 

Sonic frowned. He checked around, looking in smaller spaces because maybe Tails had the sense to find a better place to curl up for the night than on his desk. Ugh, this wasn’t fast enough for him. He checked at speed, a blue blur lighting up the shed as he searched. To his confusion, he found nothing. No fox, no fox at all. 

“Tails?!” Sonic called sharply, standing in the middle of the shed, ears perked and hoping to catch any sleepy fox sounds. 

A chill crawled up Sonic’s spine.

“Tails! Wake up! You can come out now! Hide and Seek is only fun if we all know we’re playing!” 

He waited, listening. 

Nothing. 

Something uncomfortable settled in Sonic’s chest. 

He zipped back to the house. Shadow was at the table now, scowling down at a bowl of cereal while Tom leaned smugly against the counter with a fresh cup of coffee. Hah, thwarted. Tom looked especially happy because he was finally out of his sling, holding his cup with both hands.

Knuckles eyed him first, noticing his lack of little brother, “Where is the fox?” 

“Well,” Sonic took a breath, “he wasn’t there.”

“What?” Knuckle's eyes widened, and Shadow looked up sharply.  

“What’s going on?” Tom asked with a frown, lowering his cup.

“Okay, so you know how Maddie told me to get Tails out of the shed?” Sonic started explaining, smiling sheepishly while the pit in his stomach got lower. “I did! I told him to find a stopping point and come to bed, except Knuckles here says he wasn’t in bed when he woke up this morning.”

“And you just checked the shed?” Tom asked, eyes narrowing. 

Sonic nodded, “Yeah, no Tails. It was even locked up from the outside.” 

“The fox is missing, then.” Knuckles concluded firmly. 

“Is there anywhere else he might be?” Shadow asked, wearing a black and red version of Knuckles’ scowl. 

Tom scratched at his jaw, considering. “I can check with Maddie, but he didn’t crawl into bed with us last night.” 

Sonic frowned further. That wasn’t good. Tails was missing, like, properly missing. 

He wouldn’t have ran away would he? Why would he? They had fun yesterday! 

“His backpack is still here, right?” Sonic asked desperately, “all his gadgets?”

Shadow hopped off his chair. “I can check upstairs.”

“I can search the woods.” Knuckles added, already marching towards the back door. 

“Hold on, Knux,” Tom said, halting the echidna. “Don’t go off on your own, we don’t want to be searching for two missing kids.” 

“I would not be lost.” Knuckles looked Tom up and down with the most offense, fists clenched at his sides.  

“Maybe, but you were doing your morning training, right? In the woods?” Tom prompted, “If he’d been out there, you would have seen him already.” 

Knuckles’ head ducked, though he quietly pointed out, “…not the entire woods.” 

Tom shook his head, “If we’re doing a search party, we stick together. Let’s see if he’s closer than we think first, then we can spread out.”

There’s no way Tails was nowhere, he had to be close by. They didn’t have any more rings, so he couldn’t have left the planet. 

“Maybe he’s at the library?” Sonic offered, Tails did go there often enough, just not usually by himself, or in the middle of the night, or morning. 

“We can check there too,” Tom said, already slipping out his phone to start texting people. 

Shadow warped into existence next to the dining table, startling Tom, but Sonic and Knuckles just looked over to him. Damningly, Shadow was holding Tails’ backpack. 

Shadow shook his head. “If he left, he didn’t take anything with him.” 

Sonic swallowed. Tails would never go without his bag, if he planned to leave.  

Maybe he didn’t. 

“Maybe he took something from the shed, brought it to the lake?” Sonic offered again, mind stretching for more ideas. C’mon Tails, don’t do this man. Please, be literally anywhere except the worst case scenario. 

Maybe Sonic should check if he’s dreaming, because this felt like the beginning of a nightmare. 

“Tom?” Maddie called, walking into the kitchen. She saw Knuckles all tense, Shadow with Tails’ backpack in hand, and Sonic totally not being nervous at all. She frowned, “What’s going on here?” Tom didn’t greet her as he usually did. 

“Tails is missing. He didn’t make it to bed last night and Sonic checked the shed already.” Tom reported, voice grim. 

Maddie’s face fell, eyes wide. “Have we che—“

She was cut off by the TV in the living room suddenly turning on, all of them jumping at the sound. Sonic moved first, zipping into the room and staring at the TV. 

It was static, nothing but grey fuzz and white noise— until suddenly it cut to an image. 

Despite himself, Sonic jolted. 

It was a wall. Concrete, cold, and grey.

“Guys,” Sonic called, his voice tight. “Guys!”

A woman stepped into frame. She wore a military grade outfit, black hair pulled into a perfectly neat bun, not a strand out of place. A familiar unfriendly insignia on her uniform. GUN. 

Director Rockwell. 

His family rushed into the room, crowding behind Sonic as they stared at the TV. 

“Good morning, Wachowskis.” Director Rockwell said, as pleasant as an iceberg. Then with a slight sneer, she added, “Aliens.”

Knuckles’ growl rumbled into the room, deep and low. Sonic’s fists clenched on instinct. He heard a sharp intake from Shadow, ears flattened as well. 

“I trust you’ve noticed something… missing.”

Behind her, a new figure entered the frame; a soldier, leading… 

No. 

No! 

Tails was in handcuffs, tethered to the soldier like a dog on a leash. 

Sonic felt the air leave his lungs. 

His little brother looked rattled- fur disheveled, tails limp, and bright blue eyes darting with panicked calculation. He didn’t look injured, not yet, but he was scared. 

GUN had him. GUN took his little brother. GUN had been here. They kidnapped his little brother. 

“I’ll make this simple,” Rockwell said, clinical. “GUN is offering a peaceful solution to your unsanctioned presence here on Earth. Come to the coordinates we’ll be sending you shortly. We can discuss arrangements to resolve this matter —permanently.”

Tails looked up at her sharply, ears flinching back. He quickly looked back to the camera– Sonic could see the gears turning in his head. His heart lurched, knowing he wasn’t there to help, and Tails had that glint in his eye. 

The fox stepped forward, eyes on the camera like he could actually see him. “Sonic, don’t come! It’s a tra-!” 

The soldier moved fast. 

Tails was yanked back harshly with a yelp. He was still fumbling to his feet when the soldier whiped out one of those familiar batons. The end crackled with electricity, and he struck.

Tails screamed. 

Sonic flinched, stomach dropping as he jerked forward— but he could only watch in wide-eyed horror. 

The hit was brief, but it still left Tails gasping, head bowed. Rockwell flicked a hand in the soldier's direction, causing him to drag Tails out of frame.  

“Or,” Rockwell said, unbothered. “We can keep your friend. It’s your choice.”

The screen went black. 

The echo of his scream still ringing in Sonic’s ears. 

Sonic’s breath caught in his throat. The video was gone, Tails was gone. 

“No!” Sonic shouted, lunging at the screen as if he could tear through it. “TAILS!”

Instead of hitting the TV, Sonic’s legs gave out. He collapsed to his knees. Weak. His breathing was too fast. All he could hear was Tails’ screaming. Things were happening behind him- an argument, movement- but Sonic was numb to it all. He stared sightlessly, limbs too heavy to move, panting shallowly. 

This was a nightmare.

He didn’t know how long he was like that until suddenly golden fur was in front of him and dog breath in his face. Ozzie licked his face, bringing Sonic back into the real world. He gasped for breath, lifting a heavy hand to hold onto the dog. He leaned into the bright fur. Ozzie leaned in too, supporting his heavy body. Sonic breathed, and his ears twitched as he finally heard what was happening around him. 

Tom was next to him, mumbling reassurances while rubbing his shoulder. Maddie was saying something about GUN, Rachel and Randal, they could- could… 

Sonic looked up, meeting eyes with Shadow. Shadow was staring, visibly spooked. Shadow had black fur, he didn’t get ‘pale’, but he looked hollow, like all life had drained out of him.

As much as this hurt Sonic, Shadow… Shadow was reliving a whole different level of hell. After everything they did to Shadow, now they took Tails? How dare they. 

Sonic snarled soundlessly, clenching his fingers in Ozzie’s fur. He heaved himself upright, startling Tom. Ozzie backed off as Sonic wobbled on his feet, he grabbed still-kneeling Tom’s shoulder to keep himself upright. 

“Sonic?” Tom asked with worry, reaching up to further stabilize him. 

Sonic didn’t care about his worry right now. 

Tails was taken by GUN. Tails was hurt. Sonic was going to get him back. He didn’t care what it took.

His fur ignited in blue, chaos crackling over his frame. Tom jerked back, literally shocked by his power. Everyone’s attention snapped to the glowing hedgehog. 

“They’re dead.” Sonic growled lowly, “We’re getting him back.” 

Knuckles stepped forward, eyeing him critically. “Calm yourself, hedgehog-“

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Sonic snapped, stepping forward threateningly. Somehow he was out of breath again. “They have Tails and they’re hurting him!”

Knuckles took another step, but his mitt was open, still trying to calm him down. “He is bait.” The echidna reasoned, “They would not harm him more than necessary. He is better use to them alive.” 

“He’s right,” Tom said, reaching up to touch Sonic’s shoulder. He winced at the initial zap of chaos, but he fully settled his hand anyway. Sonic instinctively pushed his power away so he wouldn’t hurt Tom. “I don’t want to know how Knuckles knows this, but he’s right. Tails might get hurt, but they won’t kill him.”

Sonic heaved a breath, everything felt heavy again. He remained standing out of sheer force of will. 

“We will get him back,” Tom promised. “GUN crossed a line. I don’t care if it’s a trap- we’re not letting them get away with this.” 

Sonic took comfort in how quietly angry Tom sounded, but his own rage was louder. He could do this, he could do it right now. He was fast, they wouldn’t be able to stop him, he was Sonic. It didn’t matter GUN had caught him once before, he hadn’t been trying back then. They made a mistake taking Tails, and Sonic was going to teach them why. They messed with the wrong hedgehog. 

He could go Super, as far as Sonic knew GUN didn’t know about the Master Emerald, or at least didn’t know what it did. It would be so easy, fly in, smash everything, get Tails, and fly out. The Master Emerald turns thoughts into reality. And right now, the only thing he could think of was how much he wanted GUN gone.   

Then he remembered that option was well and truly lost.

“We- we don’t have the Master Emerald,” Sonic said, defeated. It would be so easy if they had that kind of power. 

“Unnecessary.” Knuckles said, “We have more than enough power to teach GUN a lesson they will never forget.” He punched his spurs together, red chaos lighting up for a second before dissipating. 

Everyone flinched as the TV turned on again, this time all black, displaying red text. It was numbers, latitude, and longitude. 

Maddie brought out her phone quickly, copying the numbers down. “I’ll look this up-“

“Prison Island.”

Everyone stared at Shadow, spooked as if they forgot he was there.

Shadow was frozen, standing eerily still while his whole body was tense as a bowstring. Ozzie sat at his feet, nosing at his hands until he was being pet. He was rigid, haunted. It wasn’t fear that gripped him, but memory. Raw and violent. 

“That’s Prison Island.” He said hollowly.

“Prison Island?” Tom asked aloud, unsure of its significance, but knew by name alone it didn’t sound good. Sonic had a feeling he knew what it was. 

“It was where they kept you… Isn’t it?” Sonic asked with the sudden realization, “Just outside of Tokyo.”

Shadow nodded stiffly. Ozzie whined. 

“Okay,” Maddie said, taking a deep breath. “They have Tails at Prison Island, just outside of Tokyo. We’re in Montana. We need to get there.” 

“We are out of warp rings.” Knuckles said with a frustrated growl. 

“With commercial flights,” Tom thought aloud, “it might take days to get there.”

Another lump settled in Sonic’s throat. He can’t imagine Tails being gone for days. Knowing he’s trapped with GUN. 

“Tails doesn't have days.” Sonic stressed, “Maybe they won’t kill him, but they won’t care about him. We need to get there now.” 

“The fox stole one of their aerial vehicles. Perhaps we can use that?” Knuckles offered with an arched brow.

Tom shook his head. “We would need to refuel multiple times, helicopters are also certainly not as fast as commercial airplanes.” 

“I could do it,” Shadow says, taking the attention of the room once more. He seemed to be petting Ozzie mindlessly, like he wasn’t actually all there. “Instantly.”

It took Sonic a second to realize what Shadow was saying. He could teleport… but that far?

“We are not letting you go there alone.” Knuckles growled, finding the other glaring problem with Shadow’s offer. “I don’t care how fast the trip is, you will not face them alone.”

It took a second, but Shadow's eyes narrowed, settling into a familiar scowl more reminiscent of how he looked before the eclipse cannon. A constant rage bubbling just under the surface. 

“They kept me there,” Shadow argued firmly, pausing his hand on Ozzie’s head, “I’d know where to find him.”

Tom shook his head. “No, Tails has all of us, and so do you.”

“It would be efficient.”

“It would be dangerous.” 

“ I am dangerous.” Shadow snarled, golden orange sparks rushing over his frame. Ozzie ducked away from the hedgehog, padding over to sit behind Maddie. He whined.

Knuckles looked between the two arguing. He stepped in again, just trying to help. “No one is saying you aren’t formidable, hostage situations are delicate.” 

Shadow rounded on the echidna with a slight spray of his energy, “You’re doubting me?!”

“Shadow, listen,” Tom spoke firmly, trying to regain the high-strung hedgehog. “You can’t storm into GUN by yourself for the same reason Knuckles couldn’t search the woods on his own. If you got into trouble, we couldn’t help you. We’re doing this as a family. Nobody is going off on their own.”

Tom gave Sonic a pointed look as well, but anything Sonic had to say was cut off by Shadow. 

“Fine. Then I’ll bring you all with me.” He announced, his chaos calmed. 

Everyone blinked. 

Sonic gasped, “Wait yeah! You teleported me once! With the motorcycle!”

Maddie looked between them, worry etched into her face. “You can do that?” Maddie asked, cautious. She approached Shadow, lightly placing a hand on his head. Ozzie followed her, though the golden split off, heading for Sonic.

“Yes,” his reply was instant. Shadow didn’t shy away from her touch, but he did look up at her. “If we use the helicopter, I could teleport the whole thing with everyone inside.”

Maddie didn’t seem convinced, “If you’re sure…” she petted the hedgehog in short strokes, a soothing motion meant for Shadow, or herself, probably both.

Shadow simply nodded, face grim. 

“Alright.” Tom said, “But before we dive headlong into GUN, we’re going to need a plan.” 

“What are you talking about?! We have a plan!” Sonic stressed, gesticulating wildly, upset because the plan was entirely too obvious, how could they not know? “Go in, get Tails, and get out! Between my speed, Knuckles’ fists, and Shadow’s teleport—”

“No,” Shadow cut in, ears flattened to his head. “If we rush in, they’ll hurt Tails before we can stop them.”

“That’s why we rush!” Sonic shot back, frustration sparking through him. “They wouldn’t have time—”

“They would be expecting such a play,” Knuckles said, frowning deeply. “It was a tactical decision to take the fox, to cripple us both emotionally and in capability. They are using our bonds against us, they are expecting that we will rush in blindly.”

Miraculously, that did not help Sonic at all. He heard growling and didn’t realize it was coming from himself until Ozzie started nosing at his arm. Sonic glared at the dog, then sighed and gave the dog an apologetic pat.

Maddie raised her hands to form a T shape. “Hold on, guys, time out.” The three mobians regarded her with varying degrees of anger. “We might not need to go in guns blazing, Director Rockwell mentioned a negotiation, right? A peaceful solution?”

“We can’t trust that.” Shadow spat, quills bristling but for now devoid of any chaos energy. 

“I agree,” Maddie said diplomatically, “but if that’s what they’re expecting, we can work with that.”

“But what would they want?” Knuckles asked with a huff. 

Tom frowned. “She mentioned your ‘unsanctioned stay on Earth.’ Sounds like GUN wants you gone. Maybe they want to get you guys back to your planet.”

Sonic tried not to take it as a physical blow, but he couldn’t help but shrink at the idea. Leaving Earth, leaving Green Hills? 

This was his home. This was his home. 

Ozzie whined at him, and Sonic took a breath that felt entirely too hard to take. Ozzie’s head pressed into his side and Sonic grabbed at the golden’s fur. He forced himself to take another breath.

He can’t… abandon Tom and Maddie, Wade, Crazy Carl, the whole town! He grew up on earth, he lived here! And as much as he reminisced about Longclaw and that island, he… he didn’t want to go back. Earth was safe, sure it had Eggman and GUN but those were known evils. There was nothing on Mobius for him except higher chances that some new wackjob walks by and decides he’d be a good battery or whatever. Besides, all the people he cared about were here. 

“If their goal is removal, it would be in line with their promise to return the fox to us if we comply.” Knuckles said with consideration. 

“Leaving isn’t an option.” Sonic forced out. He knew it didn’t look good, being reduced to clinging to a dog for support after the mere implication he’d have to leave his home. But some part of him reveled in it, to have Tom and Maddie witness how much he didn't want to go. It wasn’t a matter of preference, just like that first time he’d asked the donut lord for help. This was life or death, and he couldn’t… he couldn’t explain it properly!

He grimaced, letting out a frustrated grunt, fingers digging into Ozzie’s fur. “I can’t- we can’t just let GUN win!”

“We’re not saying we let GUN win,” Tom spoke softly, but his gaze was tense. He was seeing . “I’m saying we let them think they’re winning–” 

“There’s no way it’s that simple,” Shadow cut in, red eyes darkening. “GUN won’t just let us walk away. We have no guarantee they’ll even send us to Mobius.” Shadow pointed out, “Rockwell also mentioned her ‘solution’ would be permanent. I don’t think they’re kicking us off planet.”

A hole dug itself into Sonic's chest, an empty cavity exposing nerves that should never feel a breeze. 

“...Are you saying they’re going to kill us?” Sonic asked faintly, mind already collapsing with the idea that Tails was already dead. If their goal was permanent, they just had to keep up the rouse Tails was alive, to bait them into the right place and time and— and—

Ozzie was in his face again, nosing at his cheek until Sonic pet the dog and took a breath. His core felt shattered, and every breath felt like a million shards digging in deeper.

“They might have figured at this point that we are too dangerous to be walking free, and if we aren't under their thumb, we aren’t valuable enough to keep alive,” Shadow said, glaring at the ground, anger and grief warring on his face. 

“ Hey! GUN won’t be killing anybody,” Tom said firmly, giving both Shadow and Sonic a stare full of confidence that felt so far away. “Rockwell wants a negotiation. We can’t not go because Tails is on the line. We know it's a trap, but we don’t know what the trap is. We can’t plan for a trap we don’t know about, but our top priority should be getting Tails back. Anything after that, whether we have to fight or not, we do it together. We play along until we know their angle.”

“That sounds like no plan at all.” Shadow sneered, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. “Just walk in and hope for the best?!”

Knuckles grunted. “It is a hostage situation, I see what our parents are intending. If we wish to rescue the fox, we must indulge the negotiations.”

“And what about the trap?!” Shadow stressed. 

“That's why we play by ear,” Maddie said, “We don’t know what they want, we don’t know what the trap is, but our first priority will be to get Tails back with the least amount of harm possible.”

“And we’re not without our own leverage,” Tom said, to the great confusion of the mobians. Shadow even leaned back, face slacking with surprise and something like wonder. Tom nodded, trying to get them to see what he meant. “GUN produced two of the most dangerous minds on the earth and let them run amok, let them nearly kill the entire planet. They let alien children deal with the rogue agents they created. The eclipse canon incident was very public, and if GUN wants to do this dance, then the world deserves to know it was their fault.”

Sonic’s ears perked, exposing GUN? That actually did sound like a good plan. There’s no way anyone on the entire planet would be on GUN’s side! 

Tom’s face grew pensive. “Though, that would mean telling the whole world about you guys.”

…oh. 

Exposing GUN would expose themselves too. 

Well, it's not like Sonic was exactly subtle, but he kept to Green Hills- mostly. But… he had spent his whole life hiding, following the last instruction Longclaw had ever given him- sorta. Eggman kinda threw a big wrench into the whole hiding stuff, but Green Hills was nice, they accepted him almost immediately (with Tom’s endorsement, of course). 

Green Hills was one thing. Trying to play hero was another. But the whole world? 

Knuckles looked particularly bothered as well, though he hid it behind a scowl. Shadow was looking at the floor, fists clenched but eyes wide. 

Sonic swallowed, rhythmically curling his fingers into Ozzie’s fur. “So… we go public?” He asked. His voice was small, the idea both terrifying and oddly freeing. “Tell everyone what GUN really did?”

Tom nodded once. “If they push us into a corner, yes. They thrive on secrecy. If we rip that away, they lose power.”

Knuckles shifted his weight, but it might as well have been a neon sign from the echidna. “It would bring shame to them,” he rumbled, though his eyes betrayed uncertainty. “But it would also bring every eye of the whole planet upon us.”

Shadow’s muzzle wrinkled. “Other governments would take interest.” He said quietly. His gaze stayed locked on the carpet, glossy and distant. “Other scientists.”

Sonic’s heart squeezed in fear. That was the whole reason for hiding, for running. Not just here but on Mobius too. He- they held power, and someone was always going to want it. Just like Longclaw said. They’d have to run, never stop running. 

For once, he found he didn’t want to run. The idea of losing this, his home, his family, because of course they wouldn’t be able to keep up. He’d have to leave them behind for their safety, he would be the one all the scientists would be after. Him and Shadow. Too dangerous to be walking free, too valuable to destroy. He’d have the whole planet chasing after him. He’d have to leave, run to yet another planet, just like Longclaw said he should if he was found. 

“We can’t,” Sonic said brokenly, a physical pain in his chest felt too much like his heart ripping apart. Ozzie whined, twisting to lean on Sonic until the hedgehog plopped to the ground. Ozzie was all up in his face, and Sonic didn’t have the strength to push him away. Instead he leaned into the dog, hiding himself in long golden fur. “This is my home. ” He said, voice trembling. “I’d have to run again- I’d have to leave- I’m too- too—“

A warm and steady hand settled on his shoulder. Sonic didn’t look, but he knew his dad’s hands. Tom spoke gently, but firmly. “Nobody is saying you have to leave. If we go public… well, I can’t guarantee what will happen, but nobody is going to mess with you guys. We’d make sure of it.”

“As many nut jobs are out there, I know there are a lot more people who would be very upset with GUN, and be very grateful you guys are here protecting them,” Maddie added with a proud smile.

That’s… maybe true. The Eggmen were verifiably insane, there’s no way anyone could ignore how that was GUN’s fault. That won’t stop the crazies from being crazies. Like Crazy Carl. 

“Wouldn’t…” Sonic started, his brain felt like molasses, churning through fear to make a single coherent thought. Crazy people like Carl were already crazy, before he existed as the Blue Devil. He peeked out from behind Ozzie. “Wouldn’t aliens suddenly existing like… mess with a lot of people?”

Tom huffed a laugh, shifting his hand to rub his back. “Probably, but that's not your fault. Anyone who decides to hurt kids, alien or not, are bad people. And you saved the world, like a handful of times, GUN won't stand a chance.”

“And it's… It's the only way to get Tails back?” Sonic asked, suddenly realizing that if this was a choice between Tails’ freedom and going public, Sonic knew which one he’d choose in less than a heartbeat. Tails was so much more important- than anything really. That’s his little brother. 

“Only if GUN leaves us no choice.” Tom said, then he grimaced slightly, “But it might be our only option to get them to back off without a literal fight.”

“If it comes to a fight, we would win,” Shadow said, eyes sparking. 

“Only if they don’t have Tails first,” Tom reminded the hedgehog. “Again, I’m not against fighting them, in fact I very much would like to throw some punches myself, but we can’t do that while they still have Tails. This is our plan if they pull some tricks on us in the negotiations, anything after that, I feel is fair game. As long as everyone gets home safe.”

Knuckles nodded more confidently. “We swore an oath to protect each other, none shall withstand our combined might. Including those who would seek to take advantage of us if we become known to the world.”

Sonic exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders a bit. He leaned into Ozzie, less out of desperation and more to just give the dog a hug. “Yeah, yeah okay,” he murmured to himself. Talking things out aloud had always helped before. “First priority: get Tails. Second, if GUN tries to double-cross us, we hit them with public shaming. Third: if that still isn’t enough, we fight.”

Shadow looked up, finally meeting Tom’s eyes as he folded his arms. It looked more like a self-hug. 

“And what if it doesn't work?” His voice was hoarse, the scared kind. Sonic looked up at his tone, eyes wide. “What if we fail, that whatever trap they have works?”

Tom sighed, not a frustrated sigh or a sad sigh, but a sigh of consideration. He held Shadow’s gaze, Sonic watching intently.

“Do you know why cops are usually in pairs?” Tom asked out of the blue. 

Shadow’s brow twitched and Sonic turned to look at the Donut Lord strangely. 

“They come in pairs because the job can be pretty dangerous, they protect each other by watching each other’s backs. In a dangerous situation, there's usually one cop in the front, and one cop in the back, so that if the front cop gets taken down the other is still there to either take care of the problem, or get more help.” Tom said, “What I’m saying is that if there's a trap, we shouldn’t all be walking into it, some should stay outside, watching for the trap while the others do the negotiations.”

Shadow blinked slowly, but didn’t argue. Knuckles was nodding slowly, a fist raised to his chin. “A sort of ‘bait’ of our own.”

“Someone to act as backup.” Maddie corrected gently, “and I think it should be Shadow.”

Shadow startled. “Me?” Pointing a thumb at himself in bafflement. 

Maddie nodded, “GUN knows you were hurt, they don’t know how fast you heal. We might be able to get away with saying you’re not fit to come.”

“I…” Shadow struggled for a moment before shaking his head, his frown deepening as his fists fell to his sides. “I can’t stay behind, Rockwell said ‘all’ of us. If I don’t show up, they could hurt Tails anyway.”

“That's going to be a risk we’ll have to take.” Tom said, “GUN’s put us in a rough spot, but they asked for the negotiations, so we negotiate.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Maddie said, crouching down next to Shadow. “We’ll be the backup. They can go in and deal with GUN, and we’ll stay in the helicopter. If things go south, we jump in.”

Shadow stared at her, eyes big and worried, a startling look on the hedgehog that seemed to have a permanent scowl. “If worst comes to worst…”

“Then,” Knuckles spoke softly, but firm and steady. “We do what we always do. We protect each other. And we will return home victorious, as a whole tribe.” His voice grew boastful, spearing the air with a triumphant fist. “We should anticipate a glorious feast to celebrate our victory!”

Snoic managed to snort softly, Tom and Maddie both grinning at the echidna. “All the chilidogs in the world,” Tom added, nudging Sonic. 

“And grapes!” Knuckles added, wearing a truly feral grin. “I can taste victory already.”

Shadow was not infected by the overzealousness. “How will we know if something goes wrong?” He asked. 

“We have comms,” Sonic said, lifting his hand from Ozzie to show off his wrist. He found words more easily, whether it was Knuckles or the fact they had a plan now, or whatever- he felt like he could breathe again, a weight off his heart, though the weight in his lap certainly helped. “Tails made them, they fit in the gloves. It’s actually magic I swear- but I’m sure he has a spare somewhere and you can listen in. We’ll keep comms open the whole time. Oh! We can make a codeword!!”

Shadow's face pinched, “A code word?” 

“Yeah!” Sonic said, feeling just a hint of energy return. “Something we could say to not tip off GUN that you’re coming in case we need a surprise attack!”

“Wouldn’t the point of backup be in case something already goes wrong?” Shadow asked. 

Sonic’s ears drooped. 

“Well, what if we make one anyway, just in case?” Maddie said, absently carding her fingers through Shadow’s quills. Shadow looked at her strangely, but didn’t stop her. 

“Like ‘break glass in case of emergency?’” Knuckles asked, fists raised with entirely too much excitement. 

“Okay, not that.” Sonic said, “That’s way too long, and too obvious.” 

Knuckles scowled. “I liked breaking glass in case of emergency.”

“It should be subtle,” Tom pointed out, “if the point is stealth, it’s gotta be innocuous.” 

Sonic nodded, humming in consideration as Knuckles silently mouthed the word ‘innocuous’ to himself in confusion. 

“Couldn’t you just say ‘help’ or ‘now’?” Shadow asked, looking between them all. He also seemed to be subtly leaning into Maddie’s pets, Sonic wasn’t even sure he knew he was doing it. 

“I mean, sure, but then they’d know something’s up. Innocuous, remember?” Sonic said. 

Shadow sighed audibly, sounding tired. “Just pick something.”

Sonic grinned. “'Dance Party' it is then!”

“That is not innocuous,” Shadow argued dryly. “Do you even know what that word means?” He seemed to be asking himself rather than the room at large. 

Sonic scoffed, “oh ye of little faith, you underestimate my power of quips and nicknames, Hot Topic.”

“You do know I have no idea what ‘Hot Topic’ is, right?”

————————

Maddie, Sonic, and Shadow watched as Tom pulled open the hangar doors and Knuckles started pulling the helicopter out of the garage. Its landing gear had wheels, which made it easier, and Knuckles had a rope tied to its front, hauling it over his shoulder. The heavy machinery and rope pulley were juxtaposed by Knuckles who actually had to be quite gentle if he didn’t want to fling the copter. Though Sonic wasn’t really paying attention to that part, he was more focused on the fact Ozzie wasn’t around. It was concluded during the planning they couldn’t leave Ozzie at the house alone since they didn’t know how long they’d be, teleportation withstanding, so Wade came by to pick up the golden and Sonic was left feeling particularly untethered. Tom walked over to them, eyeing the helicopter before turning to Maddie and the kids. 

“Do we know anyone who can fly a helicopter?” Tom asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. Oh, Sonic hadn’t thought of that as a problem. He couldn’t help another jolt of fear. They hadn’t even gotten to GUN and things were already starting to fall apart.

Shadow looked up at the man, confused, “Aren't you a cop? Shouldn’t you know how to fly a helicopter?”

“Not that kind of cop,” Tom shrugged. He turned to Maddie, “Maybe Crazy Carl knows how to fly a helicopter?”

“Tom, we are not putting our kids in a vehicle manned by Crazy Carl.” Maddie deadpanned. 

Sonic was nodding along however, “He would though. Crazy Carl knows lots of things, he had a chainsaw that one time.”

Maddie gave the blue hedgehog a look. “And that means he knows how to fly a helicopter?”

Sonic’s ears flattened and he looked down, she was right. He missed her frown turn concerned. 

Shadow sighed, folding his arms. “I could do it.”

The three of them stared at the dark hedgehog. 

“You know how to fly a helicopter?” Sonic wondered aloud, a little more surprised than anything.

Shadow nodded, “It was a military base, I can also drive a tank.” He gave Sonic a look, “How did you think I knew how to drive a motorcycle?”

Sonic threw his hands in the air, “I dunno! That just seems like the kind of thing everyone knows how to do.”

“You know how to drive a motorcycle?” Shadow challenged, raising an expecting brow.

Sonic folded his arms pointedly, trying to look down at Shadow despite them being the same height. “...Yes!”

Tom scrubbed his face tiredly, “Okay, so you’re going to fly the helicopter and teleport us there? Is that too much?”

Shadow shifted his attention to the human and scowled, “Of course not.”

Maddie held up a hand, “Wait, wait, wait, Shadow, these helicopters you know how to fly would be from fifty years ago, wouldn't they?”

Shadow shrugged, “I don’t see why that would make a difference.”

Tom sighed again, “No, that would definitely make a difference. I can call Carl.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “I would still have a better chance at flying it, I can just read the manual.”

“Oh, the manual!” Tom perked, “That's a good idea!” He ran to the helicopter, Knuckles having finally pulled it all the way out of the garage and in the open space in the back yard. Faintly, they could hear Knuckles inquiring as to what Tom was doing, and it took a few moments before Tom appeared with a heavy book in hand with a triumphant ‘A-ha!’

Knuckles followed Tom as he returned to the waiting trio. Tom was already opening to the first page, eyes scanning. “If I just read through this then I could do it.”

Knuckles looked up at Tom, a skeptical look on his face that Sonic and Maddie mirrored. 

Shadow sighed again. He put his hand out. “Give me that.”

Tom did so reluctantly, and everyone startled as Shadow started sparking with Chaos energy. He didn’t move, and the orange electricity sparked over his fur and eyes, but all he did was go through the book at speed. He closed the book with a snap, orange lightning fading away, and gave the book back to Tom.

“There, now I know how to fly it.”

Everyone stared and then turned to stare at Sonic. 

Sonic put his hands on his hips. “Hey, just because I can read at that speed doesn't mean I can read at that speed.”

Shadow scoffed with a hint of a smile. “What? Not a fan of sitting still for more than two seconds? I’m shocked.”

Sonic would’ve fired back, normally. But his mind kept darting back to Tails, their plan, how it all felt so fragile. He was glad Shadow could joke though, even if it was at his own expense. He managed a weak grin, but quickly glanced back at the helicopter.

Maddie must’ve noticed, because she brushed a hand over his quills.

“Hey,” Maddie said. Sonic leaned in, hugging her leg. “It's gonna be okay, we have a plan, it's going to work, and everyone is going to come home safe and sound.”

“Mother is correct.” Knuckles added, puffing out his chest and tapping it with his fist. “We might not be many, but we are mighty.”

“They’ve done enough,” Shadow added with a hiss, fists clenched at his sides. 

“We’re all ready to go then?” Tom asked. 

Maddie nodded, still petting Sonic’s head, her other hand tightly holding the strap of Tails’ backpack that was thrown over her shoulder. 

Sonic stepped back from Maddie, taking a deep breath and tilting his head to stretch his neck. He shifted from foot to foot, trying to get his body to stop locking up. “Yeah, yeah, we got this,” He said. It didn’t matter if he believed it, whatever happens, it's happening now. “Let's do this.” 

“Alright,” Tom said, then parroted with a smile, “Let's do this.”

Everyone filed into the helicopter, Shadow heading for the front seat along with Tom, Knuckles, Maddie and Sonic pulled down the folding chairs (the seats were put-away-able because military, they needed space for guns and stuff). Knuckles took one behind the cockpit while Sonic and Maddie took the opposite. Sonic found himself with a straight view through to the front, watching Shadow slap Tom’s hands away from any of the controls. Tom made an offended noise and Sonic managed to smile. It felt weak. 

“You’re going to want to buckle in.” Shadow called back, “This might get rough.”

The three of them swiftly found the buckles. Sonic grabbed the straps nervously, the leather creaked. This felt bad, all the other times they were up against impossible odds there always felt like there was hope. There technically was hope, just this time the stakes felt so much more real. The world wasn’t even ending, but it certainly felt like it was. It was so quiet, no backtrack of music to get hyped to, and Sonic’s mind was numb to too many possibilities. Paralyzed again. This was bad. 

The helicopter started up and it felt entirely too long before they lifted off. Sonic could both feel and hear his own heartbeat even above the all-encompassing sound of the helicopter blades. 

“Here we go,” Shadow said, though it was lost to the sound. He turned back, briefly making eye contact with Sonic. His signature scowl was dropped, a wide-eyed look of fear, a vulnerable shift just for a moment before it was gone again.

Sonic braced himself as Shadow started sparking, the chaos energy quickly spreading across the whole machine. Sonic didn’t blink, but in a flash of too-bright orange, they were suddenly above the ocean. 

Sonic let out a shaky breath, feeling nauseous again, forgetting how much the teleportation messed with his stomach. It felt like he'd been tossed into a washing machine, and as a person whose main weapon is spinning, this was a different beast. 

More alarmingly, the vehicle shuddered under him, his stomach flipping even more. The entire machine rattled, groaning like the teleportation itself did a number on it. Tom’s shout of alarm made Sonic look up front, where Shadow was slumped at the controls. Tom took the yoke, but his eyes were on Shadow.

Sonic’s eyes bugged, and he was halfway through getting out of his seatbelt while the helicopter listed when Shadow started moving. He moved sluggishly, shoving himself upright and then he snapped awake and took the control back from Tom. The vehicle groaned again but straightened, settling as Shadow regained control. Tom held the mobian’s shoulder, making sure he stayed upright before Shadow brushed him off. 

Sonic’s heartbeat didn’t fade from his ears, and his eyes found Knuckles. The echidna nodded with a grim smile, again tapping his fist against his chest as a reminder.

A hand settled on his lap, and Sonic turned to find Maddie smiling at him too. Sonic let go of the buckle, lacing his fingers with Maddie as he swallowed and forced himself to breathe. 

He can’t do this, he was freezing up, he was going to fail, he couldn’t—

The helicopter turned, heading for the small island with a building that looked to be too big for the island. Its walls were huge even from far away, but its ramparts were bigger, and inside was his little brother with who knows what done to him. They flew silently, Sonic internally writhing with fear and anger. Flying over, they found a landing pad, a few GUN agents already at the ready, but one waving them in to land. 

Sonic’s heart just got louder the closer they got, lowering into the GUN base felt like a noose around his neck. He wasn’t sure he was breathing. 

“Sonic?” 

Oh, that was his name. The drone of the helicopter was gone. They had landed in GUN. It was go time. It was go time and Sonic couldn’t move. 

“Sonic, breathe with me.” The buckle was gone, and Maddie was kneeling in front of him, her eyes searching his as she held his hands. She breathed exaggeratedly, Sonic tried to copy her. 

He didn’t have time to freak out, they were already here . It was go time. He was failing. He was supposed to save Tails, keep him safe, and he was ruining it. 

“Sonic.” Knuckles rumbled, stepping closer, “we have time, let yourself calm.”

Sonic was shaking his head, no, they didn’t have time. The longer Sonic freaks out the more Tails is getting hurt and it’s his fault. If he could just get through this faster maybe then he could finally do something. 

He didn’t call on his powers, but his fur started sparking anyway, as suddenly he was breathing too much . Tom and Shadow were watching him now too, Tom with something too close to pity and Shadow… 

“Sonic.” 

Shadow was suddenly in front of him, their eyes locked. Maddie still held his hand but had made room for the darker hedgehog. Sonic’s breathing was ragged, eyes wild and ears pinned. 

Shadow’s voice was low and firm. “You’re not freezing because you’re scared of GUN. You’re freezing because you’re scared of you.”

Sonic flinched, chest tightening. 

“Grief makes love unbearable,” Shadow went on, clenching a fist while memory flickered behind his eyes. “That pain would drive anyone to do anything.” His gaze sharpened. “You were pushed to the edge. You could’ve taken revenge. But you didn’t- because of who you are in here.”

He pointed at Sonic’s chest, still rising and falling with rapid, uneven breaths. Sonic’s brow furrowed; he looked down, then back up at Shadow.

“You’re powerful,” Shadow said, letting his hand drop. “Almost too powerful. And right now you’re terrified you’ll go too far —that GUN will push you back to that edge. You’re scared of the love that drives you. I say let it drive you.”

Sonic’s heart leapt painfully. He shook his head rapidly, “No- no I’ll go too far I’ll—“

“You didn’t with me.” Shadow cut in, voice steady but fierce. “You stopped, because that wasn’t who you are. The same hedgehog that tore mountains apart to get revenge for his family is the same hedgehog that stopped before it went too far. You didn’t then, you won’t now.” 

“I’ll- I’ll freeze—“

“You won’t.” 

“I am!” Sonic insisted, his frantic gaze finding his free hand that was trembling. Useless. 

Shadow stepped closer, putting his full hand on Sonic’s chest, right over his rapidly beating heart. His crimson eyes were soft. “The hedgehog in here,” he said, voice low but steady, “is merciful and kind. Compassionate to a near-detrimental degree, and ruthlessly loyal.” Shadow’s mouth twitched, almost a smile, “And with a nose as long as yours… you’re incapable of standing by and doing nothing.”

A sad, hiccuped laugh broke out of Sonic, blinking away unbidden tears.

His hand stayed on Sonic’s chest, grounding. “That is the hedgehog GUN decided to pick a fight with.”

Then he leaned back, dropping his hand, a familiar dangerous grin curling at his mouth — the same grin they’d shared on the moon.  “It’s about time they learned who they’re messing with.”

The helicopter was silent for a moment, everyone collectively shocked by the pep talk from Shadow of all people. 

Knuckles was also grinning, purple eyes full of pride. He placed a heavy mitt on Shadow’s shoulder, giving the hedgehog an approving pat. “Well said.” 

Sonic wiped at his nose, “Can I give you a hug?” 

Shadow stared at him for a moment. 

“No.”

Sonic pouted, and Maddie slid in, pulling on the hand she already had to capture Sonic in a tight hug. He still trembled, he was still fighting to get his breathing back, but he felt better, he felt okay. 

Sonic peered out from the hug, suspiciously eyeing the rest of his family. “Did you guys put him up to this?”

Tom raised his hands in surrender, though he was smiling too. Knuckles shook his head. Maddie pet down his quills, squeezing him ever closer. 

Shadow looked offended, folding his arms. “If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t waste my breath.”

Something warm squeezed Sonic’s heart, and he tucked back into Maddie’s hug to literally squeeze her back. The hug was… really nice, perfectly tight and warm- not just physically but emotionally too. Maddie placed a kiss on his head, holding him just a bit closer. 

Sonic could sit here forever, but Tails needed him, needed them. It was go time and Sonic wasn’t going to freeze, but he did need to get up. 

He slowly extracted himself from Maddie’s hug, sighing at the loss already but he managed to stand on his own perfectly fine.

“You okay, Sonic?" Maddie asked, still kneeling beside him. "Ready?"

Sonic nodded, throat tight. 

“Your hands are shaking.” Shadow pointed out. 

Sonic looked down to see, yes, his hands were shaking. 

“I’m fine. It’s fine. It’s go time,” Sonic blurted, voice a little too wet, a little too quick. He shook out his hands, trying to chase the trembling away. “See? I’m shaking it off.”

He kept shaking, loosening his shoulders, and before he could stop himself, he was twisting and tapping his feet, doing a small dance. A grin rose unbidden, and he threw his hands out at the end of his performance. 

Tom huffed out a short, reluctant laugh, the tension around his eyes easing for just a second. Maddie was smiling too, but she turned to give Shadow a concerned look. 

“How about you, Shadow?” She asked, and that’s when Sonic noticed how stiff the other was too. His quills seemed extra… spikey. “Was the teleport too much?”

“I’m fine.” He said tersely, jaw flexing. “It was just… unexpected.”

Tom leaned closer, like he wanted to put a comforting hand on the other’s shoulder. He didn’t, probably for the best, but let his concern show in his tone. “Well, get some rest, then. We’ll deal with GUN.”

Shadow’s expression flattened, scarlet eyes narrowing. “Nothing about this is restful.”

Tom opened his mouth, hesitated, then sighed. “Just… sit tight, then.”

Shadow’s scowl deepened.

“I still don’t like this,” Shadow muttered, arms crossing. “We should stay together.”

Knuckles stepped forward. “They’re expecting us,” he reminded, “They do not know you are recovered.”

“Doesn’t mean I like it,” Shadow said, sharper now, but the edge was dulled by something closer to worry.

Sonic’s ears flicked, trying to give the other a comforting smile. “Hey, it’ll be fine. You’ll hear everything on comms. Worst comes to worst, you swoop in and save our butts. You love dramatic entrances!”

Shadow gave him a flat, unamused look— but he didn’t deny it! Sonic grinned wider. 

“We ready to go then?” Tom asked, shifting to the door handle of the helicopter. 

Sonic turned, puffing out his chest and putting his fists on his hips. “Yeah, let’s do this!”  As shaken as he felt on the inside, he did actually feel better, more centered, more ready to do something .  They’re gonna get Tails back! 

Knuckles stepped forward too, face set with determination, “I am ready, Lord of Donuts.” 

Maddie stayed crouched next to Shadow, “We’ll be ready.” 

Tom exhaled, gripping the side handle of the door. “Alright. Let’s move, Wachowskis.”

Chapter Text

Sonic hopped out of the helicopter, following Tom closely as Knuckles slid the helicopter door shut behind them. No point in leaving it open and letting them see Shadow and Maddie still inside. Sonic had never been that intimidated by humans before, despite how much bigger they were than him, but GUN soldiers were really starting to get under his skin. 

He was already tense, walking into a GUN base now that he knew they were solidly his enemies. It was also a prison. Sonic didn’t like prisons, cages, or traps of any kind. Then the trio were approached by two armed GUN agents. Sonic felt his quills start to rise, like hackles, or evil goosebumps. He managed to stop himself from going full puffball mode; still, he glared at the two soldiers. 

“We’ll escort you to Director Rockwell.” The left one said, cold and dispassionate. Wow, GUN really knows how to pick 'em. 

Tom stepped forward with all the authority he had as Green Hill’s sheriff. “Tell your Director we’re not talking to anyone until we see Tails.”

The soldiers exchanged a glance, the silence stretching much longer than Sonic thought it should. For a moment, he thought they had reached a stalemate already, that GUN would really be so… rude as to not even grant them this. They are the bad guys, Sonic reminded himself, they don’t have to play nice -or by any rules. 

But finally, with some relief to Sonic, the soldier who had spoken before addressed them again. “Follow us.”

Sonic took a step forward, skin itching to see his brother, to know if he was okay.

“Wait.” Knuckles barked, shoving himself up front to face the half turned soldiers. He stared them down, pointing as he glared. “We must have your word that you are taking us to the fox.”

The soldiers exchanged glances. Again, the silence felt too long, but they nodded. “We will take you to the alien.”

Knuckles grunted, not pleased, but satisfied. Tom put a hand to the echidna’s shoulder in quiet appreciation. Sonic flashed him a grin, though it quickly dropped as he skipped forward to stay behind the soldiers that moved off. 

It took about two seconds of silence for Sonic to break it. 

“He’s okay though, right?” Sonic asked, quickening his pace to walk alongside the guards.

No response.

Sonic’s muzzle wrinkled as he slowed to meet back in pace with Tom. He put a hand up to cover his mouth, stage whispering to his dad, “Can I say a cuss word?” 

Tom snorted, barely glancing his way. “Not yet.”

Sonic looked back at the guards, gaze narrowed.

Jackass, he thought, not saying it out loud—but definitely saying it.

The walk was tense and silent, and Sonic noted it was just the two soldiers leading them. He would have figured there’d be more of them, this was their prison facility after all. But, he admitted, GUN kinda got their butts handed to them between Shadow and Sonic and all the crazy eclipse cannon stuff. He also doubted a job like GUN had that fast of a turnover rate. So maybe Sonic was just paranoid, it wasn’t telling that only two soldiers escorted them. They weren’t hiding, waiting for the right moment to ambush them. That was dumb. He was just overthinking. It was fine. 

The facility itself seemed larger than he thought from the outside, and a surprising amount of stairs. He couldn’t find anything noteworthy about the hallways they walked, only that it was eerie and almost clinical. He hated it, all the metal reminded him too much of Eggman and that was not a person he wanted to be thinking about right now. 

They were led through a set of double blast doors into a long corridor that dipped downward. It was both entirely too long and too short, like some kind of death row walk. At the end was a final door, steel gray and sealed with a retinal scanner. One agent stepped forward and the door hissed open.

The room beyond was huge—cold, square, and echoing. The lights were angular and hidden, giving the whole room a futuristic feeling, though it really only just made the room dim. It felt like they were underground, or worse, underwater. 

They went down the metal staircase, passing the elevated observation deck with its massive glass wall. He noted with some confusion the agents didn’t follow them in. They were alone. He was about to tell Tom when the far wall caught his attention. A dormant stasis pod sat there, long empty, its cables still snaking into the ceiling. There were more empty stasis pods, one on each wall that he could see, but the far one seemed… older. 

Sonic swallowed, though his throat was dry. He had a feeling he knew where Shadow was kept now. ‘Prison Island’ really lived up to the name… 

Pulling his eyes away, there was something else glowing. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sonic turned, and every nerve on his body lit up. 

There under the observation deck was another stasis pod, this one was occupied. The whole thing glowed a soft yellow, but it did nothing to hide the fox kit floating inside. 

He was asleep, limp and still, eyes closed gently. The opposite of every feeling Sonic felt now.

“Tails!” Sonic rushed forward, desperate to get to his little brother. Why did they put him in stasis?! Was he hurt?! Did they hurt his little br—

“Sonic- look out!” 

Red flashed in the corner of his eye and then Sonic was suddenly shoved aside. He tumbled across the floor, landing in a sprawl. 

He popped up quickly, confused, only to see Knuckles falling. A trap door had opened on the ground where he had been running and Knuckles had shoved him out of the way. The echidna yelled as he fell, and as Sonic scrambled forward to the hole. 

It snapped shut just before he reached it.

“No!” Sonic banged his fist against the trap door, trying to pry his fingers into the seams.

Tom scooped him up, backing away from the trap. “Sonic, careful!” 

“What was that?” Maddie asked through the comms, voice tight.  

“They-“

Both froze as they heard Knuckles yelling again, this time accompanied by various banging. It sounded like he was getting thrown around, every thud accompanied by a pained grunt. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, yet nowhere at all. They looked around, trying to pinpoint where he was, when finally the sounds zeroed in on the other wall. A hatch opened in the empty stasis tube, and out plopped Knuckles, who landed awkwardly on his back, feet in the air. 

“Knuckles!” Sonic shouted in both relief and alarm, but Tom kept him in his arms. 

“Sonic, careful- we don’t know if there’s more trapdoors.”

Knuckles groaned, flopping over to get to his feet. He shook his head, leaning on the glass to get himself up. “That was quite effective.” He noted, blinking away dizziness. 

“Knuckles! Don’t- don’t compliment the enemy!” Sonic shouted, slightly outraged both at the echidna and on his behalf. 

The echidna’s attention snapped to him, eyes sharpening as he surveyed where he landed. He smirked, shaking his fists out. “Ah, but they are foolish to think mere glass could contain me!”

Knuckles sparked red, slamming his fist spurs first into the glass. 

And then yelped as he bounced back, glass not even scratched. 

“Huh?” Sonic frowned, eyes wide. How could—

Knuckles got up, grunting in similar confusion. He readied his fist again, though he attempted to spark up first. Red danced along his fist before sputtering out, not even shifting his eye color. He frowned at his fist, then his attention turned to his feet, a liquid started bubbling up.

“Something is… wrong.” Knuckles muttered, staring at his fists and shuffling back, though that did nothing for the water rising over his shoes. He was blinking slowly now, too slow for someone usually so keyed up. 

“What's happening in there?!” Shadow demanded through the comms. Sonic wasn’t really hearing him though. 

“Knuckles!” Sonic shouted, panic creeping into his voice, “C’mon, break outa there!”

The echidna growled, attempting to shake off whatever was pulling at him literally. He readied himself, using the back of the tube to push off and slam into the glass again. 

This time he slumped down, nearly limp. 

“Knuckles?!” Sonic’s voice cracked, his stomach lurching. He couldn’t stand still—he twisted against Tom’s arms, jerking as though he could fling himself through the glass by sheer willpower. Do something, do something— 

The echidna panted as if exhausted, though Sonic knew even his daily training regime barely worked up a sweat. The water up to his waist now, and his eyes kept slipping closed. He looked— was he dying?! What was happening?! Knuckles struggled to lift his fist, teeth clenching as he tried to summon his power. It didn’t work. “…very effective… trap.”

Sonic’s throat burned. “Tom- Tom let me go! If he can’t smash out of it from the inside, I can smash it from the outside!”

“If you don’t say ‘dance party’ in the next ten seconds, I’m-“ Shadow started in his ear again, but quickly faded out.

“Sonic, hold on-“ Tom argued, only tightening his grip, even backing away from the pod. “Just hold on a second— it could be another trap, and then where would you be? You can’t help them if you’re trapped too.”

“Tom!” Sonic couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Worse was Knuckles fully slumped, water quickly rising over his head. “Tom! We have to break them out-! We have to break them out now!”

Tom held firm, but lowered to the ground. He set Sonic on his feet, but didn’t let him go anywhere, hands set on his shoulders like metal clasps. 

“Sonic, Sonic listen to me.” Tom bowed his head, searching for eye contact. Once he had it, he didn’t let go. “I know you’re upset, I am too, but we can’t go guns blazing yet. Look, the trap only got Knuckles, but they were expecting all of us; this isn’t the whole trap. Right now we need to treat this like there’s an actual gun to Knuckles and Tails’ heads. We can’t do anything until we see Rockwell.”

“Does this look like negotiations to you?!” Sonic asked, jabbing a hand to the room full of stasis pods. To Knuckles, floating limp just like Tails in a red glowing tank. Whatever Rockwell said was a lie, it was all a trap. They never intended to negotiate.

“My, you are predictable.” 

Tom rushed to stand, whirling towards the voice. 

Director Rockwell walked down the metal stairs, rather pretentiously if Sonic had anything to say about it. She looked down on them, literally, but that didn’t stop when she made it to the ground. 

“Director Rockwell, perfect,” Tom said, using one hand to push Sonic back but at the same time make sure he didn’t run off. 

“Mr. Wachowski,” she said, more like a threat than a greeting, leveling a similar “Alien” towards Sonic. 

“Hey,” Tom said, stepping up and making sure her attention was on him. “You asked for negotiations, you talk to me. You don’t talk to my kid. He can ask questions, but you don’t talk to him, got it? He’s just a kid, not in charge of anything, so you talk to me, human to human.”

“Fortunately, aliens don’t have rights,” Rockwell said simply, and way too pleased with herself. “It’s not a child, and you have no authority here.”

“Damn right I do,” Tom snapped back. “I get it, you want them gone, but if they’re not allowed to be an entity you can negotiate with, then you’re still stuck with me.” 

“Gone?” Rockwell repeated, a smile carved into her face. Her eyes were as black as coals. “A child genius. The most dangerous warrior in the galaxy. The Ultimate Lifeform. And the fastest creature in the universe. GUN doesn’t want them gone.” 

Tom’s mouth clicked shut, Sonic’s eyes widening. 

“They’re too powerful, too dangerous to be walking free on this planet. They need to be contained, controlled, and then used.”

Her eyes narrowed onto Sonic, like a pin sticking him to the floor. Sonic didn’t feel like he was breathing. Used. 

“Yes.” Her grin sharpened. “Did you know the ‘Ultimate Life Form’—as pretentious as that title is— is immune to every disease, every sickness, everything? We’ve been working on a cure for cancer with his blood. Wouldn’t you want that?”

Sonic’s fists clenched, a lump in his throat that felt like a burning fire. 

“Hey, I told you not to talk to him,” Tom said, keeping his hand out in front of Sonic, both a shield and a ward. “Sure, they’re aliens, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat them like they’re less than animals! Even animals have rights!”

“You do confuse me, Mr. Wackowski,” Rockwell tilted her head, eyes glinting. “After all, they aren’t animals. They aren’t people. They’re aliens. How did they convince you that they’re nothing more than a parasite infesting your life? A hedgehog who mistakes recklessness for courage. An accident of biology, running circles on a planet that was never meant for him.”

“He belongs here.” Tom’s voice was steady, not loud, but firm. “This alien kid has more humanity in him than I’ve seen out of any of you government bozos. Which I guess isn’t a high bar, but I’d sooner trust him than any of you with the planet’s safety.”

“Oh yes. Playing hero.” Rockwell’s gaze slid to Sonic. “You think it’s fun don’t you? Running around with your friends in reckless abandon. I think it’s about time for the fate of humanity to rest within human hands. Even reckless abandon can be tamed. You will be put away, like tools kept in a box.” 

Sonic scowled, stepping forward protectively. “You think you can just do that without us fighting back? You’re crazy— and I know crazy. If Eggman wasn’t dead, I’d hand him an award—because you’re worse. Congrats, government nut job: you out-crazied a Robotnik!”

Rockwell let the smile linger, then lowered her voice almost playfully. “Funny. I already have two out of four. That’s more than any Robotnik can claim. And we would achieve so much more than either Robotnik, with so many of you I wouldn’t be surprised if one of you ended up on a dissection table. Maybe the expendable one, that silly little fox.”

“Don’t you dare-“ Sonic barked, rage flooding blue fire through his veins, bursting from his quills. Tom clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder, keeping him back.  

“That’s enough out of you,” Tom snapped at Rockwell. To Sonic, he spoke quieter, “Careful, bud. She’s baiting you.”

“It’s working,” Sonic growled, quills bristling like a live wire. 

He wanted to launch. He wanted to wipe that smug smile off her face. He wanted Knuckles free, he wanted Tails back, he wanted—

Rockwell leaned closer, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret. “And don’t worry, Mr. Wachowski. We’ll make sure you get the maximum sentence for your crimes against humanity.”

Crimes against humanity?!

A growl built up in his throat, eyes flashing blue. She sounded so self-satisfied, finding actual joy in ruining Tom’s good name. How dare she say that about Tom, he is the best human on the entire planet! 

“Oh, please,” Rockwell murmured at the sound of his growl, lips curling. “We know what your kind is like. Go on, little alien. Throw a tantrum. Get another family member killed.” Her smile widened. “I’m sure Maria would love the company.”

Sonic saw blue. 

How dare she. How dare she even mention Maria! How did she even know her name?! 

He didn’t even know what he was going to do, he just ran, electrified and enraged. Sonic yelled, fist pulled back, throwing everything he had into—

The floor.

He hit hard, a sudden and inexplicable exhaustion ripping the strength from his body. The world tilted, dizzy even with his eyes shut. He panted, tried to push himself up—only to find his arm trembling, his hand sparking blue with energy that wasn’t staying in him.

It was being pulled away.

The sensation was wrong, invasive, like his very essence was draining out through his skin. Sonic forced his head up and saw Rockwell above him, calm as anything, a device in her hand pointed right at him. It was collecting his chaos energy, pulling it off of him like a vacuum. 

It… it hurt. 

He cried out, curling against the floor as the pain dug deeper. His whole body convulsed.

“Sonic!” Tom was at his side instantly, dragging him up into his arms. But the contact only made the jolts more obvious—Sonic’s muscles spasming like he was being electrocuted. “What is that?! What are you doing to him?!” Tom roared, glaring daggers into Rockwell.

Through the comms, Maddie’s voice cracked in. “Tom—what’s happening?! What are they doing to Sonic?!”

Rockwell only tilted her chin down at him. “Call it a parting gift from Gerald Robotnik. He actually did a few useful things before diving off the deep end. It’s a shame we only recently found this device, a Chaos drainer.”

“Chaos drainer…” Shadow’s voice bled through the comms, low and deadly. “Shit. We’re coming in.”

His heart lurched. “…no…” It barely made it out, but it was all he had. Don’t. He couldn’t let Shadow get caught too.

“You-!” Tom started shifting to his knees, looking to put Sonic down, eyes burning into Rockwell. 

Sonic, tucked against his chest, saw behind him. A flash of chaos energy, bright and familiar. Shadow and Maddie snapped into existence, the human stumbling slightly. 

Rockwell smiled wide like a shark. She pulled out a new device, a little box with a red button. Her eyes on Shadow as she pressed it. 

Shadow then crumpled. 

Sonic groaned as a worse feeling filled his bones, like gravity had tripled—no, worse than the stupid gravity hexagon thing. This was drowning, suffocating without water. Blue light crackled and bled from his fur, rippling into the air toward the ceiling. Above them, innocuous panels slid open, revealing round devices like speakers— leeching his chaos energy. 

Sonic gasped, struggling to breathe as it clicked. The trap, this was the trap. The entire room was designed to drain them, contain them. Shadow was right, this was worse than being kicked off planet. This was worse than trying to kill them. The blue rising in the air was soon followed by orange, dread compounding on the pain already wracking Sonic’s body. 

Dark orange chaos energy was pulled from Shadow’s fur, driving him to the ground just as it had Sonic. 

Maddie knelt by Shadow, alarmed and confused.

“Both targets are neutralized. Fall in,” Rockwell said to the radio on her shoulder. She stood primly, both devices tucked away now, staring down at them in satisfaction.

And then the soldiers poured in. 

Armored GUN agents marched down the stairs, rushing Tom who scrambled to pick Sonic up and run. 

“Don’t worry, I got you Sonic,” Tom said, but there was nowhere to go. 

“Tom-” Sonic rasped, grabbing weakly at his shirt. 

Tom ducked to avoid the first agent who swiped for Sonic, kicking them when their back was turned. The soldier fell to the ground, but they easily got back up, and three more agents appeared. 

One came up behind Tom, grappling with his shoulder to wrench him down, but Tom refused to let Sonic go. 

“Get away- from my- kid!” Tom grunted as he grappled one-armed, the other holding Sonic. That was until Tom’s legs were kicked out, falling to his knees for an agent to perfectly punch him across the face. Disoriented, Tom’s grip weakened, and Sonic was ripped from his arm. 

Sonic cried out, feet hitting the ground and jarring his aching body. The soldier had his arm looped across his chest like an evil seatbelt, his body trembling too hard to fight the agent dragging him away.

“No—don’t—let him go!” Sonic yelled, but his voice cracked, hand weakly reaching for Tom. 

Tom lunged from the ground, tackling an agent, but he still had one on him and they went down in a pile of limbs and grunts. 

“No!” Sonic didn’t register his tears, too focused watching Tom be forced to the ground. The agents stayed on him, keeping him down on his stomach as they wrenched his arms behind his back. 

“Sonic!” Tom yelled, anguished and enraged. 

No! He wiggled helplessly in the unforgiving hold of a GUN agent. This can’t be it! This can’t be the end! They had backup, they had a plan! Where-!

His eyes found Shadow, widening when he saw the soldiers hadn’t reached him and Maddie yet, but they were closing in. 

Maddie was holding Shadow upright from his armpits, keeping him from flattening to the floor like Sonic had. But he was scrambling at his wrist for some reason. 

He grimaced as he got his fingers around the ring, twisting. With a click a seam appeared, popping open the band with a sound similar to the warp rings. It hit the ground.

Sonic’s eyes went wide, realizing at the same time as Maddie what Shadow was trying to do. The rings, he had said he should never take them off. 

He was taking them off. 

And it was working. 

Shadow seemed lighter for it. Sluggishly, but more easily now, he went for the other ring. 

“Shadow- Shadow what are you doing?!” Maddie asked, alarmed, but not interfering since her arms were full of hedgehog. She kept glancing at the approaching soldiers, shuffling sideways in an attempt to put some distance between them. 

“What I have to,” Shadow growled, working the rings off of his ankles. 

Sonic’s breath caught, remembering the last time the hedgehog had said that. 

He gathered the rings, offering them up to Maddie. 

“Keep these-“ Shadow started, but they were out of time. Maddie shifted her grip, grabbing them right as she was grabbed. She managed to loop the rings in her arm as she was wrenched back, crying out in surprise. Shadow dropped to the floor.

She tugged against the agents, but they hauled her away from Shadow. They kept her on her feet, unlike Tom, but then again she wasn’t fighting back as hard. “I got them, Shadow!” She called out, even if all she could do was tug, she didn’t make it easy for the agents to control her. “Whatever you’re going to do, do it now!”

Two agents converged on Shadow.

Shadow grunted as he was manhandled, the agents keeping him from getting a solid footing, dodging his weak kicks. The fact that he was kicking though. Sonic couldn’t do that, all he could manage was a pitiful wiggle!

Shadow growled, his fur sparking, some of it was siphoned off, but some of it stayed. With a shout and a flash, he punched one agent back, dropping to the ground and kicking the other. 

He stood up unburdened, fur dancing with chaos energy with only a fraction being pulled away by the chaos drainers. The remaining agents circled the hedgehog, guns trained but frozen, waiting for orders. 

Rockwell didn’t look pleased, “How is this possible?! Gerald-“

“You’re an idiot.” Shadow spat, stepping forward with chaos energy snapping across his frame. “Did you really think the professor would have thrown away a containment device that worked?” 

“All units,” Rockwell ordered. “Contain the entity!”

Shadow growled, lowering his stance, eyes narrowed onto Rockwell.

In a flash, he was gone.

The room was silent for a tense moment until he appeared in front of Rockwell. She didn’t even get a chance to shout. Shadow grabbed her by the vest and tossed her. She rolled across the floor, scrambling to get up. Shadow was too fast, he caught her, glowing fist pulled back. “You leave my family ALONE!”

“Not so fast-“ Rockwell said quickly, raising her hands in surrender. Her fingers flicked a sign. 

Sonic flinched as cold metal pushed against his head. He saw Tom and Maddie get the same treatment. Guns, literally pointed at their heads. Sonic was still twitching, twisting in pain, but he managed a weak pleading, “Shadow…?” 

Shadow’s head snapped to him. For a split second, his anger cracked into shock, the sight of the guns locking him in place. His glowing fist faltered, Rockwell still beneath him, but his eyes blazed at the threat now aimed at his family.

He returned his attention to Rockwell, keeping her on the ground. He raised his fist again slowly, but he wasn’t aiming to punch.  

Chaos rippled in the air, sparking before growing like a tear. They grew long, splitting and snapping into a point like an arrowhead. Chaos spears. At least a dozen of them, each leveled at the throat, heart, or head of a GUN soldier. Even as the chaos drainers picked at the spears, each one dripped, coiled chaos energy ready to burst. 

The entire room stilled. Gun muzzles pressed into heads, spears targeted at every soldier. An impasse, Sonic registered after a moment, and Shadow was the only one between them and GUN. 

Sonic gritted his teeth, trying once again to get his feet under himself. He refused to let Shadow face this alone, they said they’d face this together! GUN isn’t allowed to hurt Shadow, or any of his family, ever again!

But Sonic’s feet slid uselessly on the ground, the soldier didn’t even need to move him, it didn’t even look like anything more than more painful twitching from the chaos drainers. His eyes narrowed. It didn’t matter. Shadow wasn’t alone. 

“Alright. Let’s negotiate.” Shadow growled, eyes burning into Rockwell.

“Go ahead, kill them,” Rockwell said, cocky. “None of you are leaving.” 

Sonic’s stomach twisted, and for a scary moment, Sonic thought Shadow would. Which he immediately felt bad for, since ‘kill everyone’ had never been the darker hedgehog’s first plan. But family had always been his weak spot. 

Shadow didn’t flinch, but his face spasmed. He looked behind him, all the soldiers he was poised to kill. His scowl looked faintly confused, which Rockwell probably wouldn’t catch, but Sonic did. 

He gestured to the agents with his free hand, the spears in the air remaining still. “You’re telling me you’re okay with me killing all these men. That none of them have families to go back to, friends, or loved ones?”

“I can always get more,” Rockwell said, unbothered. Like she was talking about grocery shopping.

Sonic’s eyes bugged. Wow, she really wasn’t joking. Shadow looked equally disgusted.

“How about I just kill you instead,” Shadow growled, tightening his grip on her vest. 

“Do that, and your friends die.”

“They would be fine,” Shadow said dismissively. He shook the director, eyes narrowed. “You got the chaos drainer from Gerald, you must have access to his notes then. You should know Sonic isn’t the only fastest creature in the universe. You really want to play that game with me?” 

Though Sonic was confident in Shadow, he really didn’t want to test that particular idea actually…

“It doesn’t matter,” Rockwell spat, “whoever you fight, whoever you kill, you’ll still be a monster. A monster that needs to be caught and contained.” 

Sonic flinched, eyes darting to Shadow, worry worming through his pain and fear. 

Shadow didn’t flinch, his eyes didn’t even flicker. He just looked down at her, silent for a moment. A hollow feeling settled in Sonic’s gut, realizing that Shadow was too used to being called a monster to truly react to it. Nor was he fighting the accusation.

“For someone so concerned about humanity, you sure are quick to throw human lives away. And for what?” He asked, snarling the last bit. “A narrative?!”

Rockwell scoffed lightly. “It’s not a narrative if that’s what happened.” 

Shadow growled, the two locked in some sort of staring contest. 

“If I kill you now…” Shadow said slowly, voice dropping to an almost contemplative tone. “You’ll die thinking you’ve won.” 

Sonic’s stomach dropped. 

That was a messy feeling Shadow had, and it should not be used on Rockwell right now. Sonic didn’t know what Shadow was going to do, but he knew he needed to do something.

“Shads-!” Sonic forced out, voice cracking. The soldier holding him tensed but didn’t move, highly aware of the spear aimed at his head.

Shadow turned, just for a second. Their eyes locked.

He looked calm, but Sonic knew better. Between the chaos drainers, the lack of inhibitors, and Rockwell digging her claws into every old wound— Shadow was hurting. Beneath that pain flickered fear. The same fear he saw in the hedgehog when he talked about Maria that night in the cave. How GUN broke his family. He was afraid that it was happening again. But with that fear was hope, a longing that Sonic was going to grab and run. 

Sonic held his gaze and gave the smallest shake of his head. No. Not this time. You’re stronger than them. Stronger than me. And you’re not alone.

For a heartbeat, Shadow’s eyes softened, message received. He just needed to trust.

Then Shadow drew a long breath, and when he turned back to Rockwell, his stare was sharp as a blade.

Rockwell’s smirk faltered. She’d been waiting for him to tip.

Instead, Shadow announced, “No, I won’t kill you.”

Rockwell had the audacity to look disappointed. “Then we’re back where we started.” She sneered, more obviously trying again to bait Shadow into action. “Are you sure you can keep this up? How long do you think you’ll last? The chaos drainers don’t affect humans. How long until the blue one is just a husk?”

Sonic didn’t even get the chance to contemplate ‘husk’, Shadow snarled at Rockwell, shouting at her face. 

“No! You listen. The only reason you’re not a stain on the wall right now is because of that blue hedgehog.” He pointed to Sonic. Sonic froze, eyes going wide. “You don’t like aliens? That’s fine. But what devil convinced you Sonic was someone you needed to make enemies with?!”

Was Shadow… defending him? Complimenting him? 

…Huh?! 

The feeling of confusion didn’t get any more clear as Shadow continued. 

“That idiot loves humans, loves this planet. He fought for you.” He pointed at Rockwell, rage and disdain clear in his voice and on his face. “This planet would be dead twice over without him and you want to be his enemy?! When he has a 100% success rate of getting rid of his enemies?!” 

Sonic opened his mouth, but fumbled with actually saying anything as both ‘aww!’ and ‘what?!’ got stuck in his throat.  

Rockwell scoffed, loud and disbelieving. “You can’t get rid of GUN. It doesn't matter if you escape today, we’ll be there tomorrow. Even if you run, we’ll just follow. The only way this ends is with you in a cage.”

“You really think you can win this fight?” Shadow challenged, “You’ve only seen humans wield our power. You’ve only seen him on your side. Do you really think you could take him on if he actually wanted you dead? I couldn’t even beat him.”

“Oh, Shadow.”

The hedgehog startled, dropping Rockwell to face the new person whose entry even Sonic missed. 

Commander Walters stood at the bottom of the stairs, leaning on a cane. He was dressed in military colors, but he certainly looked worse for wear. Gerald’s attack in Tokyo really did do a number on the old man— honestly he’s surprised he’s still alive! And then Sonic remembered that this guy was the one who put Shadow in stasis, and all of Sonic’s sympathy vanished. 

“You never were one for violence.” Commander Walters said softly. 

New fear coiled inside of Sonic. If Shadow had been on the edge before, Walters was going to set him off. The last time Shadow saw Walters' face, he didn’t hesitate. And now…

“Captain Walters,” Shadow said tersely with a snarl. 

“That’s Commander Walters to you, alien—” Rockwell spat as she struggled up. Shadow slammed her back down without looking away from Walters.

“No, no. It’s alright, Director.” Walters raised a hand, almost paternal. “That’s how he remembers me. It’s good to see you, Shadow.”

“I should kill you where you stand,” Shadow growled. 

“I heard you tried,” Walters said, sending a glance towards Tom. 

“You don’t get to talk about him.” Shadow snarled, waving a hand sharply in defense of Tom.

“You want to protect him,” Walters said, nodding knowingly. “Maria was a good influence on you. She would be proud of you, Shadow.“

Shadow shifted back, literally taken aback in shock, not expecting praise. His mouth opened, but nothing came out, a complicated look of confusion flicking across his face. 

“I know you want to protect them, the people you care about,” Walters continued gently. 

Sonic had a bad feeling, but he couldn’t predict what Walters was going to say, just that it was going to hurt Shadow. A wrecking ball to his fragile house Sonic had just gotten Shadow to start building.

“Shadow,” Walters looked entirely too earnest. “You understand what you need to do to do that, right? We’ve been down this road before. I don’t want you to have to go through that again.”

Oh. Sonic understands now. A new anger boiled up inside of him, leading him to helplessly yank on the soldier holding him back. Tom wasn’t the only one using cop tactics! It was good cop/bad cop! Rockwell riled him up, and now Walters was here to tear him down!

Shadow didn’t respond. His eyes had shrunken in fear, glazed, and his hands visibly shook. 

“The safest way this ends, to keep your family safe, is with control,” Walters said, gesturing to the hedgehog. “Look at yourself, Shadow. Even with those inhibitors, you are dangerous, without them… You’re not saving anyone this way, Shadow. Let us help you.” 

Sonic was angry. None of that was true, but it was exactly what Shadow believed about himself. He scowled at Walters, a soft growl in the back of his throat. 

Shadow stepped back like it was a physical blow, chest heaving. His gaze dropped to his hands. Chaos energy bled off him in sizzling sparks, dripping and popping like molten lava. If this kept going, he wasn’t going to hold it in. He was going to blow… and take the entire room with him.

Shadow looked up, worried eyes latching onto Tom, Maddie, and finally on Sonic. He was scared, wide eyes pleading once again, looking for hope.

Sonic was too busy being angry to properly respond, face twisted in rage. Sonic needed to do something. Walters was hurting his friend, and he needed to do something about it right now!

Screw the chaos drainers, if Shadow could walk around and do stuff by having too much energy, then Sonic could do it too. Sure, Sonic didn’t have so much raw power at his fingertips like Shadow, but if he went fast enough, maybe he could bypass the drainers entirely. 

Sonic’s eyes went wide at the realization. He wasn’t sure what he conveyed to Shadow, who was still looking at him desperately, but he knew what to do now. 

First, he needed to get Shadow his inhibitors, and those were with Maddie. Perfect, because for this to work, he needed them out of GUN’s hands. 

It was going to be tricky, but Shadow was right. Sonic was one of the fastest creatures in the universe, he had all the time in the world. 

“Gotta go fast.” He hissed, fingers clenching over the arm holding him back.

He wasn’t running yet, but he never needed to for this. 

Instead of trying to keep his Chaos energy, he let it loose. Like a dam bursting, or breaking a sound barrier, Sonic’s body fizzed, speeding up and fighting through the drainers until he didn’t feel any painful soul-tugging at all. 

The room went silent, everyone seemingly freezing in place, kinda like the vacuum of space. The humans became stuck, locked in a syrup of time Sonic was firmly outside of. Time in a bottle.

Sonic grinned, sagging as his body adjusted to no longer being eaten at like a battery. It worked.

He gave himself a moment to catch his breath, since he did, in fact, have time now. He pushed himself away from the soldier holding him, the frozen man unable to stop him. Now free, he jumped on his toes, testing his movement before falling into a stretch. He felt GREAT! His ear twitched mid-stretch, and he looked up to see the chaos spear trained on the soldier. Sonic stared up at it, mildly confused as it hummed and crackled at the same speed he was, like it was in its own category outside of time. 

“Cool!” Sonic gasped, and it was cool. It was like a lightsaber! Except a bit more crackly. 

Sonic shook his head, no more time for that, though. He might have all the time in the world but he still needed to do things. 

He leaped, kicking the soldier in the gut, intentionally sending a jolt of power through his feet that would send the guy sprawling once Sonic returned to normal speeds. He was essentially loading inertia into the people he didn’t like, and once he pressed play, it would be like he’d done it all at once. Sonic grinned as he landed in a crouch, eyes heading for his next target.

“...Sonic?”

The blue hedgehog yelped, literally jumping, whirling around to see Shadow staring at him. 

Sonic gave him a big smile, “Hey! Cool! You never told me you could go this fast!”

“What’s- what’s happening?” Shadow asked, glancing around, staring at the soldier Sonic had previously been held captive by, who was only nanoseconds into falling in slow motion.

“I’m leveling the playing field,” Sonic said with a grin, flicking his nose. Then he cocked his head, “Wait, have you never done this before?”

Shadow grimaced, looking in pain, his chaos energy flaring. He fell to his knees, and around them, a pool of liquid chaos energy started to form, as if he was bleeding the stuff. 

“Whoa,” Sonic said, rushing forward, “Dude, are you melting?!”

“It’s too much,” Shadow managed, curling forward and catching himself with one hand. The floor immediately started sizzling around his palm. 

Yikes. Okay, go time for sure.

“Hold on, I’ll get your inhibitor rings!” Sonic raced over to Maddie. 

His brow was pinched in worry as he approached, first pushing the gun away from his mom’s head and then gently pulling her away from the soldiers. Friction is weird at this speed, and Maddie glided as she was pushed. It would be jarring, but she shouldn’t feel any of his inertia once he hit play. He snapped the handcuffs they had her in, gently bent her arms free and slid the rings she had onto his own. He knew he was on a timer, but he couldn’t help himself, quickly dashing back to the soldiers who had threatened his mom. He jumped on them, sending another shot of inertia to each of them. They would have a trajectory with the ground once he returned to normal time. 

He returned to Shadow, though he eyed Tom as he passed, but relented that Shadow has the more immediate need right now. Shadow must really have a lot of juice in him if he was going this fast, holding up all those chaos spears, bypassing the chaos drainers and still was burning up.

To his alarm, Shadow was starting to glow a bit, not the awesome cool glow of going Super, but a red glow. His chaos energy was arcing off of him, but it was… thick, like a solar flare, flicking off of Shadow’s body and searing the ground like molten lava. Yeesh. 

Sonic came in close anyway, feeling his own energy spark up in response, like a shield for himself from the wayward sparks. Even though he’d seen Shadow take them off earlier, he didn’t actually know how to open them. “Shads, how do I-“

Shadow grabbed one, grimacing, he laid his hand carefully around the ring and twisted, something shifting in the ring that allowed it to open. He quickly clamped it over his wrist, breathing hard. Sonic quickly copied him, slipping the next ring open and fixing it onto his other wrist. Shadow shifted, pulling his legs around to get to his ankles, Sonic quickly snapped the rings over them. 

“Alright, mission accomplished,” Sonic said, though Shadow wasn’t immediately looking better. “So are the rings going to help… all that? Or are you going to need to cool off?”

“Give it a second,” Shadow grunted, lying down on his back, eyes shut tight as he breathed. The lava-like arcs at least, simmered to more regular chaos lighting. That was good. He didn’t seem to be melting anymore, also good.

Except ‘one second’ in slow-mo time was… not fast. 

“Alright, you rest, I’ll get Tom.” 

Sonic dashed away, confident at least, that Shadow was okay. Sonic didn’t give the soldiers any mercy, dragging them off of Tom and tossing them into the air. He took the time to grab their guns, disassembling them into all the tiny pieces in a blur of blue. He broke Tom’s handcuffs and… ugh humans just had to be so tall! Sonic couldn’t get his dad up without putting some inertia into him, and he wasn’t about to do that, so he would stay on the floor. He was not going to stay near the soldiers though. He pushed Tom across the room, kinda like a sled, stopping him next to Maddie far away from the soldiers. 

With that done, Sonic nodded to himself and rushed back to Shadow. 

He was up thankfully, still glowing faintly, but not nearly as bad as before. There was definitely a hedgehog-shaped dent in the floor where he’d been melting through, which Sonic almost laughed at. But Shadow was faced away from him, standing in front of Walters.

“Shadow?” Sonic felt guilt pull at him again. This was exactly why they had tried to keep Shadow from going off to GUN alone. They knew how to push his buttons, and Walters had essentially keyboard smashed. 

“...Why do you have any faith in me?” Shadow asked, head bowed.

Sonic’s muzzle wrinkled, almost snorting at such a dumb question. “Because you’re a person.” He looked up at Walters too, trying to see what Shadow was seeing. All he saw was a bully. Sonic scowled at the human. “You’re not dangerous, Shadow.”

Shadow turned to give him a sharp look. 

Sonic rolled his eyes. “Okay, so what? You can be dangerous, but so can I! So could a dedicated duck! That just makes you a person even more.”

“But he’s right,” Shadow said, turning back to Walters' frozen body. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a person, I still… hurt people. How am I… how am I supposed to have what you have?”

“What?” Sonic stared at the hedgehog. 

“I’m not a star in your sky, Sonic.” Shadow insisted, turning to face him with a snarl. He looked and sounded angry, except that anger had always been lilted with sorrow. “I don’t save people. I don’t get a family. I can’t exist the way you do, free and unrestrained. I need these.” He said in disdain, throwing his hands up to show off his inhibitor rings. He sighed, letting his hands fall. “I’m just… darkness. I ruin everything I touch.”

Sonic blinked. 

“Bullshit.” He couldn’t help himself, he narrowed his eyes on the other hedgehog and said it again. “Bullshit.” 

And then he did something stupid. 

He rushed Shadow and pulled him into a hug. Shadow flinched, but Sonic just held him tighter. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry all this happened to you. Maria, Walters, Gerald, even Rockwell. You never deserved any of it. You’re a star in my sky because even though you had every reason not to, you chose to save the world. You inspire me.” 

Sonic didn’t want to let go, but he did, leaning back and holding Shadow’s shoulders. The other hedgehog was stunned, his eyes watery. 

“Everything you said about me, about how I won’t go too far, how I can use my love to protect the ones I love. How I’m such a ‘good person’ who saved the world so many times, all that applies to you too.” 

Shadow’s brow creased, an argument building up. 

Sonic shook his head. “No, listen to me. You said all that stuff because you believed it, you believe in me. Well I believe in you, the exact same way.”

He moved his hand, pressing it over Shadow’s chest, his heart. “The hedgehog in here,” he started, copying what Shadow had done for him in the helicopter. He needed Shadow to believe him, to believe in himself. “Is kind, and careful. You care so much that you were willing to destroy a whole planet for Maria, and then you cared so much that you saved it instead. That’s the hedgehog GUN is trying to convince you you’re not. But that’s who you are.”

Shadow frowned, brows furrowed. “How can you be so sure that’s my nature?” He asked quietly, sighing in frustration. “You don’t know me, Sonic. I barely know myself.” 

“What the heck man?! I just spent the last month getting to know you!” Sonic said, confused mostly. “You like music and dancing. You like being outside and stargazing! You don’t talk a whole lot but when you do you mean it. You’re also pretty good at making jokes at my expense, and I usually deserve it. You’re a person, Shadow. GUN doesn’t want you to figure that out, because if you do you won’t be under their control anymore.” 

Shadow growled, flashing a snarl as he smacked Sonic’s hands away. He pointed angrily at Sonic. “You think it’s so easy? Just save the world once and suddenly I’m not a monster?! You never once had to learn control, to worry about hurting the people you love! You don’t poison everything you touch until it dies!” 

“I almost killed you!” Sonic shouted back, and then his voice broke. “And you- you wanted to die.” 

His throat closed. Tears blurred his vision, and he dragged the back of his hand over his face in vain. Shadow stepped back, eyes wide. Sonic’s chest heaved, sobbing quietly into his hand, overcome with just… sadness. 

Sonic shut his eyes, taking a shaky breath. He let out a shuddering sigh, turning to the side, slightly embarrassed. 

“I almost got Tails killed when we met,” he admitted, eyes low and voice still hitching. “Knuckles would have drowned if I hadn’t done something. Longclaw— a-and Tom… of course I think I’m dangerous.”

He swiped at his nose, but the more he breathed through it the more the knot in his chest began to loosen. 

“I’m not… I’m not better than you, Shadow.” Sonic said, softer. “You’re not below me on some scoreboard of ‘good’ness. I’m not someone to put on a pedestal, I’m just… some random hedgehog kid that happens to be really cool and fast… like you.” Sonic wiped at his eyes one last time, staring at Shadow, willing him to understand. “You think we would have helped you if we actually thought you were dangerous?”

Shadow looked away, a nervous fist clenching and unclenching at his side. “You would help any sad sap-“

Sonic couldn’t help it, he laughed. It was a small thing, a wet and broken giggle. He just… really wasn’t expecting Shadow to use the term ‘sad sap’. 

“Well congratulations sad sap, I chose you.” Sonic said with a faint grin. “I told you, there’s no getting rid of me, there’s no outcome of this where I’m not on your side. You could do anything, be anyone, but I’m still going to be your friend.”

“You-“ Shadow broke off, ears flicking back. He took a deep breath before starting again. “You really believe that.” 

“Of course I do.” Sonic said, shooting him a renewed grin as he quoted the hedgehog back at him. “I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t have wasted my breath. So would you please believe me? I know you care at least a little about what I have to say, or else you would have left that first day you woke up. What I don’t get is why you’re listening to assholes that don’t care about you.” 

Shadow had the audacity to look confused. “What?”

Sonic pointed to Walters, frustration welling. “That guy is an asshole! GUN are assholes! You don’t have to listen to assholes.”

Shadow blinked, then murmured quietly, “…I was an asshole.” 

Sonic snorted, taking it for what it was, a token of resistance. 

He rolled his eyes briefly. “You were an asshole because you cared. You were grieving, you were abused, borderline tortured -I dunno I don’t actually want to label that— the point is! GUN doesn't care!” Sonic stepped forward, pressing. “You’re a person who wants what any normal person would want, you just want to be okay. You even told me you’re looking for peace- monsters don’t do that!”

Shadow's face crumpled, a familiar doubt in his eyes. “I can’t-“

“Yes you can!” Sonic stressed, throwing his hands up in frustration. He would shake the hedgehog if it would have helped! “If I’m not allowed to blame myself for what happened to Longclaw and Knuckles’ tribe, then you’re not allowed to blame yourself for what GUN did to you and Maria.”

Shadow said nothing, eyes on the floor. 

Desperation crept in. He couldn’t lose him, Sonic can’t lose Shadow. Not to this, not to GUN. 

“GUN wins if they turn you on yourself —that’s what they’ve been trying to do the moment we got here! They know they can’t defeat us, so they have to get us to defeat ourselves. They’re trying to convince us that safety comes at the cost of freedom, that ‘control’ is the only way to love.” Sonic said, offended. He pointed at Shadow, almost like an accusation. “But that’s not how it works and you know it!”

Shadow still said nothing, but he shifted on his feet warily. Lowered eyes darting to the side. 

“That’s why you’re angry! So stop being angry at yourself and be angry at the assholes who actually deserve it!” Sonic gestured again to Walters, lost to a hedgehog that wasn’t looking. 

He dropped his hands and started softer, ears drooping. “You’re a person and my friend. Maria knew that and she loved you, like actually loved you. You know what that’s like, you know that GUN is wrong. GUN is trying to tell you that there is no light, that it’s all just darkness, just suffering. But you’re Shadow, the presence of a shadow means that there is light. Her light. Maria is the one worth listening to, not GUN.”

Shadow’s ears pinned, eyes going wide though they stayed stuck to the floor. He looked nearly spooked, and for good reason, Maria had to be spoken of carefully. Sonic shuffled his feet, knowing exactly what he wanted to say next, but knew there was a very real possibility Shadow might punch him for it. Sonic said it anyway.

“I know I’m not Maria, but… I want to be your brother. I want you to know I have your back, anytime, anywhere.”

The two hedgehogs stood still for a moment. Sonic quietly sweated, waiting for a reaction.

Shadow moved, launching himself at Sonic. 

Sonic braced for impact. 

They collided, except Sonic wasn’t receiving a fist to the face. Shadows' arms were wrapped around him, his head resting on his shoulder.

Shadow was hugging him. Sonic froze, eyes wide. 

“Idiot,” Shadow said affectionately, voice wet and muffled by Sonic’s shoulder. “Sometimes I think you are Maria.”

Sonic’s chest burned with joy, so happy it actually hurt. He hugged Shadow back, trying his best to osmosis his joy to Shadow by sheer power of hugging. 

To his surprise, Shadow tightened his grip in a desperate squeeze. “I can’t lose this again.” His voice broke off into wet sniffles. 

Sonic’s eyes went even wider. Shadow was talking about more than Maria, more than just Sonic himself. This, the care they’ve been trying to convince him they had for him, he wanted it enough to fear its absence. 

‘You won’t’ was on the tip of his tongue, but he could see the fallacy in that statement. It wasn’t going to help Shadow, it was more like sweet nothings. Shadow didn’t need a reminder of the march of time, he needed something now. 

Sonic pulled back, and Shadow let him, arms hanging at his sides. The darker hedgehog ducked his head, hiding his eyes as he blinked away silent tears, it did nothing to hide his damp muzzle. Sonic held him there, then dipped his head, looking for eye contact. Shadow reluctantly met his gaze, though his typically red eyes seemed more auburn. 

“So,” Sonic started, a challenge in his eyes, “what are you going to do about it?” 

Shadow’s brow lifted. For a moment, he just stood there, mind churning. 

Then something shifted. 

His eyes hardened, but it wasn’t walls shutting down and locking out hope, it was resolve. 

Sonic let him go, watching as the other hedgehog pulled himself together.

His ears perked forward where they had been drooping, even his quills started to bristle. He pulled his shoulders back, chest puffing out. Orange chaos energy sparked over his fur, eyes blazing red not fueled by revenge or fear, but righteous indignation. 

There he is.

“I will fight,” Shadow announced, a firm scowl in place. “They don’t get to choose what I am, they never did.”

“That’s the spirit!” Sonic grinned, putting his hands on his hips. “Alright Shads, what’s the plan?”

“We need to free Tails and Knuckles,” Shadow said, turning around to the room. His fists clenched at his sides, a burning gaze burrowing into Walters. “And leave GUN a message they won’t forget.” 

Sonic nodded, stepping up next to him. “Should be easy enough, we can bash those pods open, right?”

Shadow glanced at him with an arched brow. “That really is your answer to everything, isn't it?” He said dryly.

Sonic shrugged, unable to feel hurt when Shadow was bantering. “It’s worked so far.”

“Well, it won't work here,” Shadow said. “Those pods are built with ultimate control over the occupant. The suspension liquid controls chemical balance. If they’re taken out without the wake-up sequence, they could get stuck sleeping, and who knows how long it would take to wear off, if at all.”  

Sonic nodded, resolutely ignoring how and why Shadow knows the process so intimately. “Got it, no smashing then.” 

Shadow pointed up, to the enclosed deck they had passed coming in. “We can start the wake-up sequence from the control room. It should only take a few minutes once started, but we can handle any soldiers GUN throws at us.”

“We do have Tom and Maddie,” Sonic said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder towards the humans. “They can get that going while we deal with all the fun stuff.” Sonic frowned, “But those chaos drainers, now that you have your inhibitor rings on, once we hit normal speed, we’re going to get got again.”

Shadow smiled slowly, “That won’t be a problem.” 

Shadow lifted his hand, keeping his palm open but fingers curled. The chaos spears that had been hanging in the air all turned, bending in place to aim upwards. 

Then all hell broke loose. 

The chaos spears shot upwards, destroying the drainers overhead in blinding orange light. Metal screamed as debris rained down. 

Then, with an audible whip crack, the world lurched back into motion. 

Agents were sent flying or collapsing from Sonic’s hits, the rest of the soldiers startling but moving to converge on Walters and Rockwell (who scrambled upright now that Shadow wasn’t holding her hostage) in a defensive position. Maddie stumbled in surprise, whipping around to find herself no longer restrained. Tom jerked on the ground, quickly getting to his feet when he realized the soldiers had disappeared. 

“Boys!” Maddie called, finding her sons in the middle of all the chaos, “Are you alright?”

“Oh, we are definitely better than ‘alright’,” Sonic said with a grin, settling into a runner's start with a feral grin. 

Shadow mirrored him, but his hands were poised to skate. “We’ll take care of the soldiers, you two head up to the control room and free Tails and Knuckles.” 

Maddie nodded, “We’re on it! But… we’re going to need a path.” She was right, the other half of the room was still full of GUN agents, the stairway up was completely blocked. If they were anyone else, they might have seemed trapped. 

“That can be arranged.” Shadow said, a smirk spreading across his face.

“You boys sure you won’t need help down here?” Tom asked, fists clenched and staring at the regrouping GUN soldiers. Rockwell barked orders, an oppressive line of heavily armed soldiers forming in front of her and Walters. Tails still floating helplessly asleep in the pod behind them. Sonic’s chest tightened at the sight, but it also made him even more determined.

“Psh,” Sonic scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. “We’re the Ultimate Lifeform and the Blue Blur, and they hurt our family. They’re the ones who are going to need help.” 

“Well, if you need anything, coms are still on.” Tom reminded them, which, actually, was a good point. Sonic absently wondered what his and Shadow’s talk sounded like at light speed through the coms. 

“What is that thing you always say?” Shadow asked, glancing at Sonic. Sonic grinned, full of teeth, excitement lighting up his veins. 

“Oh right,” Shadow continued, body igniting in sparking orange chaos energy. He looked forward, eyes narrowed. “Gotta go fast.”

Sonic went off like a shot, Shadow right behind him in a blur of blue and orange. They angled left, Sonic tucking into a rolling ball of lightning. Shadow skated up next to him, scooping him off the ground and launching him like a football. Sonic cackled as he flew, crashing into the line of soldiers like a bowling ball, then zipping between them like a blue pinball. Shadow leapt in beside him, launching soldiers with heavy strikes.

Soon enough, the stairs were clear to get to, and Sonic paused for a moment to wave over Tom and Maddie. The humans ran, though the rest of the soldiers rounded, trying to cut them off with gunfire. 

Shadow teleported in front of the fire, floating with his air shoes. He stuck his hand out and bright orange chaos energy settled in his hand. It grew into a spear, he flourished it then sent it into a spin, not holding it but keeping his hand, palm open but fingers clenched in its center. The bullets hit the chaos energy, sizzling into harmless ash by the burning, humming power. 

“Go!” Shadow shouted to Tom and Maddie, who paused at the display. They both nodded, fumbling to get back to the stairs. 

Sonic grinned. The spears really were like lightsabers! Oh, he has got to get Shadow to teach him how to do that. For right now though, he needed to get rid of the guns. 

Sonic sped forward, rolling into each soldier who were oh so perfectly lined up for him. He pushed off of chests, punching when he could, yanking away guns to throw them on the ground, kicking the legs out from under them. 

Now that the threat of gunfire was gone, Shadow released his spear in a dangerous arch. As fast as a bullet itself, it buried itself in the ground at the feet of the stairs where soldiers (gunless) tried to follow Tom and Maddie. The dark hedgehog growled darkly, air shoes bursting with power as he shot into the fray. He fought quick and ruthless, grabbing soldiers and bodily tossing them at each other like they were nothing more than sacks of potatoes. 

Sonic swerved, rounding the room to head back towards Shadow. Tom and Maddie had made it up the stairs, and the soldiers were barely a threat at all. Shadow kicked the last one standing, the man folding limp into a pile of his coworkers. 

Sonic came to a stop beside Shadow, grinning like an idiot. He held his hand up. 

Shadow regarded him, lowering himself to the ground before cutting his air shoes off. Sonic wiggled his fingers, trying to entice the other. After a moment, the darker hedgehog snorted, relenting with a small smile as he lifted a hand to complete the high-five.

“Now that was fun,” Sonic said, blue sparks dancing across his arms. He grinned at the two remaining humans, Rockwell and Walters. “Is this really all you had for us? I’m a little disappointed, I gotta say.” 

“You should be,” Shadow commented, wearing a smaller but no less Cheshire grin. “All those tricks didn’t work, did it?”

Rockwell looked about ready to blow a gasket, Sonic quite liked the look. Her face was red with rage, offense written on her entire body. Her mask of calm confidence was held together by string cheese. She tilted her head, as if that would increase her intimidation factor at all. “Oh? You think that’s all? You want a real fight? Alright.” 

Rockwell went for her radio again, shouting codes and numbers into it.

Sonic and Shadow waited, looking around expectantly. Shadow folded his arms, Sonic started tapping his foot. 

Across the room, the wall with Shadow’s old stasis pod, hidden doors revealed themselves. The openings were dark, a single red glowing eye glared out menacingly. Out marched a robot, tall and blocky, its long arms were the muzzle of an intimidating gun. More robots were behind it, filing into the room in a stream of grey, the GUN insignia a stark white on their chests. 

Sonic blinked, tilting his head. He turned to the darker hedgehog. “Shadow… do these look familiar to you?” He asked, a teasing lilt to his tone. 

“Sonic,” Shadow responded in mock reprimand, “don’t tell me you forgot.” 

Sonic sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes towards Rockwell. “I mean, I didn’t want to say it, buuut I’m fairly certain we destroyed an army of these guys before.”

“Robotnik design has never been much of a challenge for me.” Shadow said with a light shrug, he looked up at Rockwell, almost bored. “Did you have anything else? Or is this it?”

The look on Rockwell's face was incredible. If looks could kill, they’d be six feet under, but since she was completely incapable of that it just ended up being funny. Even funnier, her nostrils were doing this thing, flaring like an overworked horse. 

He snorted, a hand coming up to cover his mouth in a last ditch attempt not to— the dam burst and he doubled over in laughter. Shadow smiled slowly to one side, not laughing but Sonic could tell he was laughing on the inside. 

Sonic fought to stifle his laughter, certainly not for Rockwell's sake, but he couldn’t help himself. “You know,” he started between snickers, “for someone who claims to be so much better than Eggman, you sure do rely on a lot of his stuff.” 

Rockwell bristled, but Sonic turned, ignoring the woman. He elbowed Shadow, pointing towards the growing number of robots. “Hey Shads, I bet I can defeat more badniks than you can.”

Shadow leveled him with a glare. 

“What?” Sonic asked, brow arching. “No nicknames in front of the enemies? Nah, that’s fair.”

“A contest would be trivial,” Shadow said with a shake of his head, then he smiled, arms unfolding. “I would beat you easily.”

Sonic grinned, crouching with fists balled in excitement. “Oh, you’re so on.” 

The two dashed forward, abandoning Rockwell and Walters without a second glance. 

At their approach, the badniks started firing. Some flew into the air, not that there was much air to rise up into, while others marched on the ground, but all of them raised their blasters, aimed at the two blurs. 

And when the rain of red lasers came, Sonic and Shadow dodged with ease, slipping between shots, jumping and ducking over them all. Sonic balled up, smashing himself into the first one, Shadow leading with his fists. The machine crunched satisfyingly under his chaos energy, the bot becoming nothing more than a bucket of bolts as he pushed off of it. 

It was certainly a different fight from the one in space, namely, gravity being a thing, but still they were robots they certainly didn’t have to hold back now! 

Sonic slid to dodge more shots, tucking into a roll again this time up the wall, arching over the hoard before smashing into the other end of the line. He bounced between a few there, ricocheting in a blaze of blue so fast the robots couldn’t even react until he jumped up, then they all fell into pieces. 

Sonic laughed, “That’s five!” He called out, waving to Shadow. 

“Pathetic,” Shadow grunted, slamming a badnik into another in the air, his shoes keeping him mobile. “I have seven.”

Sonic grinned, “It’s still early.” He dashed off, tucking into another roll to destroy more badniks. 

“Alright boys,” Maddie said through the comms, “pods are shutting down. When you’ve cleared the robots, you can grab your brothers and we can get out of here.”

“No,” Shadow said, as he bashed the head in of another badnik. He blasted off the robot, searing it as he launched himself at another. “If we break them out too soon, they’ll still be in stasis. We need to wait for them to wake up.” 

“You boys sure you can hold them off that long?” Tom asked, worry in his tone. 

“You really underestimate how fun smashing robots is,” Sonic said, twisting around a robot that tried stomping on him, bouncing between its legs and up to its arms, grinning as the robot shuddered and fell back onto its butt like a giant metallic toddler. Now at a more approachable height, Sonic hopped to stand in front of it, waving at its glass eye before punching through the lens. “This is great for all my pent-up aggression!”

Shadow laughed, a small huffing sound but Sonic definitely heard it. 

Sonic sped off, crashing into another badnik, creating a spin-dash-shaped hole in its chest. He kept rolling straight into the legs of three more, twisting himself on top of the last one, pulling on its perpetually shooting arm, aiming for the three he crippled. 

Sonic whooped, jumping up to dodge more shots meant for him, but hit the sitting duck robot instead, blasting the thing into pieces. Sonic cackled, laughing at the destruction in his wake. 

Still in the air, Sonic cupped his hands around his mouth, finding Shadow across the room. “I got ele—“

A red laser hit him right in the chest, sending him to the ground with a pained grunt. 

“Sonic!” 

Sonic groaned, lightly stunned. He blinked, finding himself sprawled at the base of Knuckle’s pod. Though dazed, he noted the harsh red glow was gone, somewhere in his mind he registered that was a good thing. 

Sonic pushed himself upright, but then his chest seized with a sharp sting. He coughed, wincing as he rubbed at the scorch on his chest. “Uh, ow,” he muttered to nobody in particular. “That actually hurt.”

With a zap, Shadow blipped into existence next to him. He put his hand out. “It’s chaos energy, moron, of course it hurts.”

Sonic smiled, taking his hand. Shadow hauled him up, but something… something felt odd. He looked down at their combined hands. Patches of Shadow’s fur, it was shifting from black to an almost pearly white. It lasted for barely a moment, but his own fur on his arm flashed gold, sparkling and wispy. Like…

“Focus, Sonic!” Shadow barked, yanking Sonic out of the way as more red lasers peppered the ground where he’d been standing. 

Sonic stumbled, but Shadow let him go so he could run at his own pace. They twisted around another volley of red lasers, Shadow shot off to the right, so Sonic went left. 

He swerved, jumping up to bounce off the wall and into the back of a badnik. It crumpled easily, but Sonic went down with it, legs buckling when he should have leaped. It wasn’t a hard fall, but he landed squarely on his butt with an ‘oof’ and a wince. 

Yeesh, guess he was more winded by the hit from earlier than he thought. Sonic got to his feet, letting himself breathe for a moment and test his legs. 

Shadow flew by, dragging half a robot as a shield from the wave of lasers chasing him. Sonic yelped and hopped over the badnik he’d taken down, using it as his own shield. 

Shadow slid to a stop, looking back at Sonic in question, unbothered by the barrage of shots hitting his improvised shield.

Sonic gave him a weak smile. “Sorry,” he said, leaning against the badnik, “these guys were easier to handle in golden god mode.”

Shadow’s muzzle wrinkled.

“You, tired?” He asked dryly, “We just got- started!” He punctuated his retort by hauling the badnik 'shield’ over his shoulder, tossing it into the badniks firing at them like the world's largest bowling lane. 

“Hey!” Sonic defended, lightly offended, but also rubbing at the pain in his chest. “Time in a bottle isn’t exactly a cake walk you know— I was also under those chaos drainers for like a whole ten minutes!” 

“Excuses,” Shadow quipped, just standing there as the robots flailed to reorient themselves. More serious was his expression, his narrowed gaze lingered on Sonic, measuring him.

Sonic answered with a shaky grin, lowering into a runner's stance again. He dashed through the toppled badniks, only one or two had been taken by the actual ‘bowling ball,’ but the others were still functional. He tucked into a ball and spin-dashed between two of them, launching himself upwards. 

Shadow caught his arms in the air, spinning him before launching him again. Boosted, Sonic pin-balled between a few more, shattering everything he hit in a spark of blue. 

“That was awesome!” Sonic couldn’t help but shout, stumbling out of his roll. Looking around, there were only a few badniks left! Perfect! 

There was a group of three on Knuckles’ side of the room, and two on the other side, Shadow was basically in the middle, trashing two more. The darker hedgehog tore off the robot's gun arm, blasting it with his shoes at the same time. He reared and tossed the gun at the trio near Knuckles’ pod. 

Except instead of bowling over the trio like Sonic imagined Shadow intended, it hit the farthest robot in the face, making it stagger back. Every inch of glory and success Sonic felt vanished in seconds as he watched the badnik start to fire its gun right as it was pushed back, the muzzle now aimed right at Knuckles’s floating body.

The glass cracked, sounding more like a glacial fissure in Sonic’s mind. The hedgehog froze to the spot in horror, Shadow’s warning echoing in his mind.

Another shot hit Knuckles’ tank, and the glass promptly exploded.

“KNUCKLES!” Sonic yelled.

Glass and liquid burst from the pod, and the echidna spat out alongside it, tumbling motionless onto the floor. 

Sonic was on the clear other side of the room, it felt so far and his ability to move had drained with the pod. Sonic couldn't move and Knuckles was limp and surrounded by badniks and Sonic couldn’t move. 

Shadow was faster, plowing through the trio of robots in a concussive blast of chaos energy. It was almost like he himself had been a chaos spear for a moment. 

Shadow was over the echidna in an instant, pulling him onto his back. The hedgehog leaned over his chest, aiming to check his vitals when the echidna surged up. Relief was fleeting, as it was clear Knuckles was choking, coughing up the liquid from the pod. Shadow helped him sit up, leaning him to the side so he could better hack up the stuff. 

Knuckles was visibly shaking, barely keeping himself upright. His face twisted into a grimace, blinking rapidly. “This liquid is… vile!” He rasped, spitting the word with full offense. 

Shadow patted his back. “You’re telling me.” He muttered mildly, though his eyes were wide with worry. 

Knuckles groaned, eyes slowly falling shut before he slumped. Shadow lurched to catch him, keeping him from faceplanting in his own sick. 

A mechanical whine caught Sonic’s attention, reminding him of the last two badniks who now had their guns aimed at the duo who were sitting ducks. Sonic growled, launching himself at them. 

A different whine made his head whip around, a new fury boiling his blood as he saw Rockwell standing over his brothers. In her hand was her stupid hand-held chaos drainer, and she was aiming it right at them. Shadow had joined Knuckles on the ground, hissing in pain as he struggled to do anything. Rockwell had that self-satisfied superiority look on her face. He wanted that look gone. She was hurting his brothers!

Sonic blazed blue, chaos lightning sparking off of him in much larger sparks. His sheer presence on the nearest badnik fried it, the robot spazzing and smoking before slumping down. Sonic pushed off of it, fist pulled back and aiming for the last badnik. 

It tore like paper under his fist, unsatisfying. Sonic turned, feet already taking him to his next target. Except when he turned, it was to see Tom tackling Rockwell from behind. 

“I told you you’re not allowed to talk to my kids!” Tom shouted as he pulled the director to the ground. He wrestled the chaos drainer away from her, letting up only to launch it across the room …towards Sonic. The hedgehog sped up, eyes on his target. He leaped, tucking into a roll to smash into the airborne device, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. 

Sonic kept rolling, only coming to a stop next to Shadow and Knuckles. The darker hedgehog got to his feet, shaking off the pain of the drainer with a literal shake of his head. 

In front of them, Rockwell and Tom duked it out. Tom was bigger, but Rockwell had military combat training as well as armor. 

Tom engaged first, throwing a few swinging punches that had Rockwell backing away from his kids. She lashed out with a kick he sidestepped, Tom threw a punch into the opening. Rockwell rushed under the punch, nailing her shoulder into his gut, performing a takedown that landed Tom awkwardly on his neck. He grunted in pain, but managed to kick Rockwell off before she could hold him. 

The agent quickly got back to her feet, face red with anger. “Why would you throw your life away for some aliens?!” 

Tom scrambled to his feet as well, fists ready at his core. “You know, the last heartless bastard who asked me that also came from GUN. Good to know you have a monopoly on bad eggs. And don’t feel bad- I punched him too.”

Rockwell rushed him this time, blocking and dodging his punches as she threw out her own jabs. It was pretty fast, but Tom had experience in fast. Tom grabbed her arms, yanking her around to throw her off her feet. Rockwell swung with the momentum, wrapping her legs around his torso and neck, Tom grunting as he toppled with the sudden weight change. Except he knew he was going down, shifting his own weight and body to have Rockwell hit the ground first. The woman shouted, her grip slipping. Tom ducked away from the agent, Rockwell doing the same, though she was slower, clutching her head. 

“And another thing that you’ll never understand.” Tom said, rushing the dazed director. “Those are my kids.” Rockwell received a Wachowski haymaker to the face, the woman sprawling to the floor unconscious. Tom snarled at her anyway. “That’s for kidnapping my son!” 

The room went eerily quiet, with every badnik broken, the chaos drainers destroyed, and Rockwell silenced, the fighting was done. Maybe. 

Tom panted, the sound reminding Sonic of his own body. He unfroze, exhaustion pulling on his limbs and his chest was tight, but he couldn’t rest yet. He went to Knuckles’ side, kneeling next to his brother, whom Shadow had rolled onto his back. Sonic really didn’t like how still he was, even though he had seen him move earlier. 

The blue hedgehog leaned over his brother, his stomach in knots. “Knux? You with us, buddy?” He called, putting a hand on his shoulder if only to remind himself he could move. 

The echidna’s eyes were closed, but there was movement behind them, then he let out a wordless groan. Well, if he was asleep, it wasn’t deep. 

Sonic let out a relieved sigh at the sign of life, though he felt more numb than anything. Knuckles was always helping him, especially when he was stuck like this, and now the echidna was unconscious and Sonic felt lacking. There had to be something he could do- or a way to comfort him as he always did for Sonic.

Then it occurred to him. The emeralds.

He snorted, unable to stop himself. He looked up to Shadow, who was giving him a weird look for laughing. Sonic explained, “He’s gonna be mad when he finds out where the chaos emeralds have been hiding.” 

“...Is that what that was?” Shadow asked, lightly bewildered, even checking the fur on his arm. “I thought that was me still having too much chaos energy.” 

“Nah,” Sonic said with a shake of his head, “it makes sense in a way, though it’s kinda freaky knowing they’ve just been sitting inside of us this whole time.”

“I’m not sure I know how to release them,” Shadow added, still staring at his arm and hand. 

“We can worry about that later,” Sonic said with a wave of his hand, “the good news is we know where they are.” Shadow nodded distractedly, but his head snapped up at the jarring sound of metallic doors. 

The stairwell doors slammed open, it might as well have been a bomb for how loud it was in the quiet aftermath of battle. Sonic and Shadow had bristled, prepared to fight off whatever GUN had sent next, but it was just Maddie hurrying down the stairs. She made a b-line for Knuckles, that worried crease on her brow. Tom walked with her as she passed, coming to the trio on the ground. 

“I saw his pod explode,” Maddie said once she was close enough, kneeling easily despite the gross floor. “Is he okay?”

She started with checking vital signs, briefly probing around for hurt spots, but Knuckles kept still and silent. She gently lifted one of his eyelids; his violet eye rolled but focused on nothing. He let out another little groan, and Maddie let his eye close, murmuring, “Okay, baby. Okay.” 

“He was taken out of the pod too soon.” Shadow said, watching her tend to the echidna with a frown, “he might be stuck like this for a while.”

“He did talk earlier,” Sonic added, though he wasn’t sure if that helped at all. 

“It does seem coma-like,” Maddie admitted, but her shoulders relaxed and she sighed in that ‘thank god nobody is dead’ kind of way. “He seems okay. Worst comes to worst, we can try some smelling salts.” Then she looked up, “How about you two? Are you alright?”

Sonic shrugged. He was tired, really tired actually, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. Not only was there one more brother to rescue, but one last GUN agent to confront.

“I’ll be fine once we get Tails and go home,” Shadow said, rising to his feet with fists clenched. He stomped forward, leaving Knuckles in Maddie’s care, scowl aimed at their last obstacle.

The rest blinked after him, stunned by how naturally he’d claimed them as home. Sonic smiled, pushing himself up to join the other. Tom bracketed his other side. Shadow glanced at them both in mild confusion. 

“We’re here for you, buddy.” Tom said easily, “You’re not facing this alone.”

Sonic elbowed the hedgehog, grinning as it caught his attention. “You’re not the only angry one.” 

Shadow let himself smile, grunting softly in appreciation. Flanked by family, Shadow approached Commander Walters, the human still standing in front of the pod Tails was trapped in.

The old man was leaning heavily on his cane, but he still stood much taller than the hedgehogs, not nearly as concerned as he should be about being approached by the trio. 

“‘Too dangerous to be walking free, too valuable to destroy. ’” Shadow started, throwing the man’s words back at him. “Tell me, do you feel like you’re saving the world right now, Captain?”

“GUN was created to protect humanity,” Walters said, almost soft. “We follow our directives; you’ve certainly given us enough reason to be concerned.”

“Concerned?” Sonic couldn’t help but parrot, arms folding. “Yeah, I bet you’d be concerned too if your little brother got kidnapped.” 

“Try to see from my perspective,” Walters tried, tilting his head towards Sonic. “If this is what you do when your friend is taken, I’m not sure the world would survive if something worse were to happen. Would you not want to protect everyone? To keep humanity safe, to keep your family safe, it would be better to keep anything from happening at all.”

“Bullshit.” Shadow spat, sparks dancing around his fists. “You just want control. That’s all you’ve ever cared about.”

Walters sighed, brows pinching, then gestured to the room. “And what would you call this?”

“A valid crash out,” Sonic said, clipped and unamused. 

Shadow let out a growl, laying into the old man. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe that everything you and GUN have done is out of ‘care’.  Was Gerald following your ‘directive’ when you commissioned him for the eclipse canon? Was his grandson when you sent him after a child just for the crime of existing?”

“Of course I care, Shadow. I-“

“You LET HER DIE.” He shouted, eyes blazing red. 

“…I didn’t shoot the gun, Shadow.” Walters said carefully, still soft. It sounded a lot more like mockery to Sonic though. “I did actually try to stop them.”

“Yet here you are, on top.” Shadow snarled, “how did a lowly captain who ‘tried to stop them’ rise their ranks fast enough to decide to put me on ice the very same day?! And I’m supposed to think you care?!” Shadow shouted, pausing just enough to huff, though it sounded more like he was catching his breath. When he spoke again, there was a slight tremor to his voice. “If Gerald hadn’t freed me, I would still be in there. How long… how long would you have kept me in there?”

Walters sighed, shoulders slumping as if this was a great burden. “Your power—“

Aaaaaand wrong answer. 

Shadow snapped, stepping forward, body ablaze in chaos energy. “I DIDN'T ASK TO BE HARVESTED! I DIDN'T ask to land here on this mudball with you lot. I didn’t even know where I came from. My powers were never yours to take. If you cared at all you would leave me alone and she would still be alive!”

Shadow panted at the end of his rant, quills lit with stray sparks. Tom settled a hand on his shoulder, the hedgehog stepped back, leaning into it. 

“…You’re right,” Walters admitted, maybe the smartest thing he’s ever said. “And I’m sorry about that, about her. When we discovered another being like you on earth, I thought we’d be dealing with something more like retaliation from the planet you’re from. I sent Robotnik after Sonic, thinking we were heading off an invasion. When it became clear we were dealing with just one, and that he had found a home here like you did with Maria, we did. We left him alone. We didn’t want what happened to you to happen again.”

Sonic took a step back, “…What?” 

It felt like his head was spinning, “you– you only left me alone because of– of…”

Wait, wait wait wait— they thought Sonic was an invasion?! They thought they’d receive retaliation for what they were doing to Shadow. They… They knew it was wrong! And they did it anyway. They thought starting a war with another planet was worth keeping Shadow as their test subject?! 

“And Rachel’s wedding?” Tom spoke up, taking Sonic from his thoughts, but he also knew exactly where Tom was going. Yet another problem with everything Walters just said. “You’re just going to ignore the fact you planted an agent in my family to get close to Sonic? So you could trap him like you did in Hawaii?”

“A precaution,” Walters said, calm but voice just a little tighter. “We just wanted to keep tabs on Sonic, when he crashed the wedding with his friend, it was clear we needed to intervene.” 

“And who exactly were you protecting with that?”  Tom asked, fury rising. “You didn’t stop to ask what happened, why that happened. We had to tell you Eggman was back and you didn’t even believe us at first!” 

“Mistakes were made,” Walters said, lifting a hand placatingly. His tone was clipped however. “Frankly I think we’re behind all of that.”

Shadow scoffed. “Behind us? Right. Because it’s so easy to forget when your target is asleep in stasis. No guilt if the bodies are swept away.”

“We’re just doing our job, Shadow.” Walters said, “it’s for the good of the planet.”

Shadow laughed. It was a broken sound, slightly strangled and wet. “The good of the planet?” He echoed, huffing one last time. “You created casualties. The only people in this room who have even a slight claim to ‘saving the world’ belong to aliens. But you were the ones to put the world in danger in the first place. We didn’t make the Robotniks insane. We didn’t use our powers to destroy. That. Was all. You.”

“Shadow, you must understand-“ Walters went off, trying to reason GUN’s plans, but none of them were listening, attention taken by the fox behind him.

Tails was waking up. 

His tails moved first, swaying slowly but intentionally. Sonic’s eyes went wide, holding his breath in anticipation.

The fox’s fingers twitched as his brow pinched. Then his eyes opened. He blinked a few times, sleepy and unfocused, then his eyes shot open. He jerked in what was probably panic, waking up in liquid suspension couldn’t be pleasant. He calmed marginally, placing a hand on the glass to steady himself. His eyes darted between the people in front of him in a confused panic, but then he found Sonic. 

The blue hedgehog couldn’t help his smile, a breath of relief rushing through his whole body. As he relaxed, Tails relaxed too, smiling faintly though his eyes stayed wide and fearful. Sonic gave him a reassuring nod and a more confident smile. Tails was going to be okay, they just had to get him out of that tube now.

“Frankly, commander,” Shadow said, seeing what Sonic had seen. “We don’t care what you have to say anymore, now step aside.” He stepped forward threateningly, with a tone that promised pain. “You have someone that doesn’t belong to you.”

“Now Shadow,” Walters started, as if the hedgehog was a toddler he was reasoning with. 

“Fine.” Shadow spoke over him, “We’ll say this in a language you can understand.”

He turned to face Sonic, lifting his hand up, a flash of gold sparkling off his fur at the flourish. “Sonic?” He prompted. 

Sonic grinned, brief sparks skittering across his quills. “You might want to take a step back, Tom.”

Tom did just that, the rapid realization of what was going to happen rising like the air tightening with electrical charge. He stepped back towards Maddie and Knuckles, chest heaving with a sigh of both relief and disbelief. Maddie was wide-eyed where she had the echidna propped in her lap. Though Knuckles was still asleep, he looked marginally less grumpy.

Satisfied with the distance, Sonic stepped forward, clasping his hand with Shadow’s. 

With a crackle of thunder a beam of bright golden power engulfed them, though it really came from them. Energy like fire raced through Sonic’s veins, alive and hot and powerful. His blue fur vanished to gold, sparkling and wafting off of him in waves, and his green eyes turned red. Shadow shifted from black to a pearl-like white, his red stripes a stark bloody difference. His eyes, red like fire before, sharpened into a red like a vibrant rose. 

The pillar faded away, and there stood two glowing hedgehogs, rejuvenated, powerful, and impatient. 

There wasn’t anything here worthy to fight the might of the two super hedgehogs, but that was the point. GUN would know how lucky they are that they chose to hold back. 

Knuckles might be a little miffed they were using the great power of the emeralds as a power play, but he’s sure he wouldn’t complain. GUN needed to leave them alone, and if that took glowing up in their face then so be it.

Shadow drifted forward, not touching the floor, a sound like a low rumbling engine accompanying him. He flew steadily, golden-white chaos sparking off of him in an almost ethereal swaying motion. Like a force of nature. 

Walters had cowered at the transformation, but even as he shifted upright, he trembled, eyes wide and mouth gaping. He stumbled back on unsteady feet as Shadow approached, fumbling with his cane. He backed off to one side, and Shadow paid him no mind. 

The glowing hedgehog stopped in front of Tails, separated only by glass and suspension liquid. The fox blinked at him, then smiled, tails swishing sluggishly in the liquid. 

Without preamble, Shadow punched his fist through the glass. 

He grabbed Tails before he could get spat out like Knuckles had, easily pulling the kid into his arms as glass shattered and the liquid poured out onto the ground. The fox coughed weakly, but stayed comfortably in the hedgehog’s arms. 

Shadow turned, hovering back towards Sonic and Tom. The golden hedgehog flew up to meet him, and at the sight, Tails reached weakly for him. Sonic scooped his little brother, Shadow easing the transition, and now Sonic had his brother back in his arms. He was wet, slightly heavy (not that that affected him in golden god mode) but grounding. He squeezed his little brother close, the fox squeaking but hugging him back all the same. 

“It’s okay Tails, we got you, I got you,” Sonic murmured, trying desperately not to hug too hard, but needing as much contact with his little brother as possible. 

“Sonic!” Tails said happily, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Then came the tears with wet, high-pitched whining as the fox broke down. “I’m- I’m so sorry— I got- I got caught- and- and they wanted to t-trap you-“

“Hey, no,” Sonic said quickly, petting the back of the kid’s head. “GUN literally kidnapped you, don’t apologize. You warned us of the trap, we won, you’re safe. You did good, Tails, you did good.” He repeated himself, tucking the fox further under his chin regardless of his wet fur. “We’re going home, we’re going home now.”

Tails sniffled, and Sonic glanced up as he felt a presence next to him. Tom was there, wearing a smile full of equal parts relief and concern. He put a hand on Tails’ back, whichever part Sonic wasn’t already hugging. “I’m so proud of you kiddo, I’m sorry you had to deal with this at all, but Sonic’s right, it’s over now, and it’ll never happen again.” 

“Never again,” Sonic promised, holding his brother tight. He was safe. Tails was safe. 

“We are done here.” Shadow said, the vitriol in his tone letting him know Shadow was talking to the commander. 

Sonic peaked up, finding Shadow to be in some sort of staring contest with Walters, who seemed to have collected himself a little bit. 

“Director Rockwell is right, you know.” Walters said, deciding to either be brave or completely stupid. “GUN will keep coming for you, all of you.”

“And we’ll keep fighting,” Shadow growled, his shimmering golden glow sharpening like a warning. “I’m done with you, GUN. I’m done pretending that it was okay what you did to me, to any living creature. We will fight, every time, and you will lose.”

Shadow hovered closer, his hand shot out to his side as white-hot golden energy condensed in his hand. A chaos spear formed, he leveled its crackling point at Walters. 

“I will give you one, single, warning.” He said dangerously, “We are too valuable, we are too dangerous. You’ve given us every reason to burn this place and your people to the ground.”

If Sonic wasn’t actively holding Tails, he would admit that did sound pretty good right now. GUN won’t have a prison for them if they destroy Prison Island. 

Shadow looked down on Walters. “I won’t. Not because I forgive you, I’ll never do that. But because I am a person, not a weapon, and I choose when I get to be a monster. You live because of me, because of him.” He pointed with his other hand to Sonic, making him blink. He hadn’t realized he was so… important to the other hedgehog. Shadow curled his hand into a fist. “I never wanted to end the world, that was Gerald’s idea. I wanted to be left alone.”

Shadow’s voice lowered to something almost sinister, “I can’t say the same about Sonic.”

Sonic… didn’t quite know how to feel about that, but— his thoughts were cut off by what Shadow said next. 

“Send him over the edge and there won’t even be ashes to mourn over, just the end of your fragile meaningless existence as a single consciousness in the vastness of the universe,” Shadow said, glowering at the commander. “He is like a force of nature, and you aren’t.” 

Sonic’s brow shot up, this was… new. 

And, well… Sonic couldn’t find it within him to argue. That is what it felt like, when Tom was hurt, when Tails was taken. A destructive force of nature, that felt… right. It was like some base instinct took over, but it was still him. It was something he could be. 

And oddly enough, Sonic wasn’t scared of that anymore. 

He could almost laugh, everything he’d been trying to tell Shadow about being dangerous, Shadow was applying it. He hadn’t realized that while Sonic had been getting to know Shadow and helping him, Shadow had been doing the same thing. 

“No one will remember you, your legacy of ‘humans above all’ will be nothing to anyone.” Shadow continued, laying it all out for the human. “You can’t tame what he is, your only hope is to bow to his nature.” 

Okay, that’s a little intense. He does know ‘golden god mode’ is just a nickname, right? He’s not actually a god …but hey, GUN didn’t need to know that.

Then again, Shadow wouldn’t be saying it unless he believed it. 

“You’re done,” Shadow said, “You touch any of this family, my family, you’ll learn I would be the least of your problems. You think we’re monsters? You haven’t met monsters yet. Try us, and you will.” 

Walters winced, stuttering slightly as he spoke, yet still, he spoke. “I-I don’t think you’re quite helping yourself here, Shadow. This isn’t going to convince anyone that it’s safe to keep you free.”

“You already decided what we are to you.” Shadow said, low and lethal. “Go ahead, piss us off. See what happens. I don’t care what you think, asshole.”

Shadow turned away from the commander, a clear dismissal, but he paused. The air hummed with power, but Sonic saw his face flicker with confliction. There was one last thing he needed to say.

His hand clenched at his side, then spoke over his shoulder. “I’ll be looking forward to dealing with your replacement,” he added with disdain. “At least she doesn’t pretend to care.” 

It was goodbye, Sonic realized, the only goodbye worthy of the man that spent his life ruining Shadow’s. He was putting his past behind him, ready to embrace something new. 

Walters frowned, mouth open and ready to argue. “Shadow-“

The hedgehog rounded, ears pinned. 

“Fuck you.” He spat, sharp and visceral. His fist clenched on the chaos spear, shifting it in his grip. 

Walters stumbled backwards, gasping in fright at the hedgehog he believed was about to skewer him. But Shadow wasn’t going to do that. He turned away from the man, then launched the chaos spear clear across the room. It pierced the dark unused pod that had once housed Shadow himself, wrecking it instantly in a shower of sparks and shattered glass.

That shut up Walters real quick. 

Maddie gasped, “Shadow!” She said in shocked reprimand. Not for the spear, but for his profanity. The hedgehog in question actually ducked his head, wincing in apology. 

Tom huffed a short bark of laughter, lifting his hand, “Sustained.” 

Her shocked glare shifted to Tom, mouth open but nothing coming out. Tom just shrugged, “he absolutely has the right to say that at least once.”

“Tom!” Maddie reprimanded again, even more outraged. Sonic snickered, feeling light— and it wasn’t because he was in golden-god-mode. He felt free, but not just him, but Shadow too. 

Shadow approached, abandoning Walters. “Let’s go home.” He said, soft but final. 

Sonic smiled at him, though he was holding Tails (and he would not be letting go) he leaned into Shadow’s space. “That was seriously awesome, dude.”

“I’ll say,” Tom added dryly. “So, back to the helicopter?”

Tails stirred, prompted by the mention of an areal vehicle. Sonic pat his back, “Don’t worry Tails, Shadow knows how to fly your copter.”

“I’m going to need help carrying sir Knux-a-lot.” Maddie said, trying to heft the sleeping echidna from her lap. 

Tom stepped forward first, but Shadow moved past him. 

“I can carry him,” Shadow said, standing next to Maddie. 

She nodded, “if you’re sure.”

“I moved the entire eclipse canon like this,” Shadow said, gesturing to his glow, almost teasing. “I’m sure Knuckles isn’t that much heavier.”

Sonic chuckled, watching as Maddie helped get Knuckles into Shadow’s arms. Tails shifted in his arms, taking his attention. The fox turned to face Sonic, fur still damp and stuck up in a few places that would have been cute in any other situation. His eyes were wide, but filled with curiosity rather than fear. “Sonic, where do you find the chaos emeralds?”

“Oh, heh,” Sonic started, snorting to himself, “You’re gonna get a kick out of this. So you know how I got knocked unconscious and Shadow later in the explosion? Yeah, so, we never actually released them.” 

The fox blinked, mouth gaping slightly. His face pinched. “You mean you had them THIS WHOLE TIME?!” 

Sonic ducked his head, which did not help. “Yeah, sorry buddy.”

Tails let go of him with one arm, rubbing his forehead before throwing his hand upwards. “That’s why the chaos reader kept pinging you and Shadow! I thought the calibration kept breaking!”

“Well, we have 'em now.” Sonic said, “and we have you.” 

Tails smiled, ducking to hug Sonic again. But clearly he was looking around, a wary question rising from the fox. “Is Knuckles okay? Why is he asleep?”

“He’ll be fine,” Maddie said, easily. “He’s still affected by the stasis pod, but he’ll wake up, don't worry.”

“Knuckles got kidnapped too?” Tails tensed, fingers clenching in Sonic’s fur. 

“He made sure this idiot didn’t get himself caught.” Shadow said, pointing his head at Sonic since he couldn’t with his hands full of echidna. “It was tactical, if rushed. He’s stubborn, he wouldn’t let this keep him down for long.”

Sonic snorted, “Yeah, that sounds like him.” He could hear it now, the echidna boasting of his superior strength and hardiness, something like ‘mere chemicals wouldn’t take down an echidna warrior!’ 

Tails hummed nervously, still eyeing their sleeping brother. Sonic understood the feeling, though perhaps with a bit more guilt. He’ll make sure he thanks the echidna when he’s awake, the Knucklehead will say dumb something about honor and that would be that. Sonic was lucky he had such a code, more… multiple reasons. 

“So,” Tom said, looking between his kids. “Are we missing anyone? One, two, three, four, and wife.” 

Maddie lightly smacked him upside the head. “Thomas, you are such a bad influence right now.”

Tom only protested with a smiling, “Hey!” 

“We could just teleport home like this.” Shadow offered, looking between them all. “Sonic, did you want to give it a try?”

“Oh no,” Sonic shook his head quickly, “no way, I’ll leave the teleporting to you, teach me later not when we’re blipping across the planet.”

Shadow shrugged, “fair enough.”

“Aw… but my helicopter?” Tails whined softly.

Sonic laughed again, hugging his brother tight. “We can get you another one.” He promised. 

“How do we do this then, bud?” Tom asked, not doubting, but letting the glowing hedgehog lead. 

“Hold onto me,” Shadow said with too much ease for someone who usually shied away from touch. “Or each other, as long as everyone is connected to me it’ll work.”

“Ah, the power of friendship.” Sonic said with a grin, stepping forward first.

Shadow gave him a flat look. "I could just leave without you. Make you fly back home."

Sonic shifted Tails in his arms, letting go with just one so he could put it on the other hedgehog’s shoulder. "I bet I could beat you home."

"Sonic," Tails lightly protested, "Shadow can literally teleport."

Shadow threw Sonic a smirk, the golden hedgehog gasped in mock offense. 

"You wound me, little buddy." Sonic held the fox a little tighter, so glad he had him back. "I guess we'll have to test it another time."

Tom put his hand on Shadow's other shoulder, and Maddie leaned on her husband's arm. She whispered quite loudly, “This is so cute.”

Sonic saw Shadow’s face wrinkle with distaste, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead he straightened his stance, “Ready?”

“Beam us up, Scotty!” Sonic quipped.

“Hm, I don’t know that one,” Shadow said with consideration. 

“Oh, we’re going to have to binge.” Sonic said, “I’m definitely going to need to know if you’re a Treky or a Star Wars kinda guy.” 

Shadow rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 

His chaos energy flared, Sonic felt his own welling in response, and in a flash of golden light, they went home.

—————————

Tom was no stranger to Mobians in his lap, but tonight it felt… earned. Not just because of the truly harrowing day- or because it was a good day. (It wasn’t. Every time he closed his eyes he could see his children trapped and in pain, an image burned to the back of his eyelids.)

They had their victory feast, which consisted of a few fast food stops and some cooking. Tails wanted McDonald’s, and frankly Tom really couldn’t deny him. They went to that Chinese place Maddie liked, then hit Walmart for some grapes. At home Tom made chilidogs, then a giant bowl of beans for himself. 

Knuckles was up by the time he came home, he seemed a little woozy still, but the smelling salts worked like a charm. It also helped that Sonic and Shadow had sheepishly presented him with the chaos emeralds. Knuckles kept the giant gem in his arm the same way Sonic kept Tails, saying the concentrated source of chaos energy would help him replenish his own after being drained, he hovered near Sonic and Tails too, to help them as well. And Shadow was happy as a clam just watching everyone else. Tom had tried to get the hedgehog’s favored dinner, but he said he’d eat anything so long as there was popcorn for the movie. Tom relented, if only because he could see Shadow truly was okay. 

Which fast forwarded to now, where Shadow was on his chest, silent and still, curled but lax, completely at ease and vulnerable on top of Tom. 

The TV was on, playing a Star Trek movie to the quiet room. It might as well have been static for how much Tom was paying attention, mindlessly watching the moving screen. 

Sonic and Tails were sharing the armchair. Sonic really was treating his little brother like a stuffed animal, pulling the kit close and never letting go. He curled around his little brother, taking the role of a living breathing den. Despite being only a few inches taller, Sonic had managed to cover Tails entirely. Only the fox’s halflidded glassy blue eyes peaked out and the tuft of his tails. 

Tom was very proud of Tails, his poor kid had been kidnapped by the government, trapped and put into stasis. More alarmingly, his youngest child had tried to warn them not to rescue him, thinking his own life was a fair trade to keep his family safe. No nine year old should ever have to make that decision. That kind of decision had far more weight than any boulder, an invisible effect only seen through windows to such a harrowed soul. Tom saw it in the eyes of other cops, in the mirror, and now on his son. 

He had it on good authority that the poor kit was going to avoid sleeping (this time on purpose), not that he needed another disrupter to his sleep cycle. But Sonic was there, always, attached by the hip, doing his best to keep his little brother safe.

And Sonic.

Poor Sonic had to fight so much for not only his freedom, but for everyone else too. Taking responsibility that never should have come to him, but it never had had it? Sonic had always taken it himself, deciding it was his own to take care of everyone else. His heart of gold, though he liked how Shadow said it best; like a force of nature. But in the way kids are forces of nature, filled with too much hope and energy, never giving up. Even after traps and tricks, the chaos drainers and the energy shot to the chest, his kid was unstoppable. As much as the self-imposed responsibility took its toll on the blue blur, if Tom were to guess, Sonic would do it all over again in a heart beat. His son was certainly a hero.

Tom couldn’t be happier, seeing him finally calm, quiet, and sleeping. He deserved it, resting safely with his family.

Tom was stretched out on the couch, sitting sideways, legs crossed with Maddie’s. Their overlapping limbs created a sort of natural nest where Knuckles and Shadow had first settled. Now Shadow was on Tom’s chest, and Knuckles had tucked himself into Maddie’s side with the Master Emerald like a wooby. Though he remained upright and facing the TV, the echidna had a faraway look in his eye. 

While not uncommon on his oldest who was plagued by ‘visions’ (they were nightmares) of his past, this troubled look held a different guilt. His ‘one million percent muscle’ son had been trapped— enslaved before, his history was one of fighting for freedom. Except this time he had been unable to fight, unable to help, sacrificing himself in a split-second decision for his brother. His faith in Sonic and Shadow, in their family as a whole, had paid off. Their tribe was mighty, in his own words, and Knuckles was no exception. 

His boys were heroes, all of them, but still, like Tails, that choice held weight only eyes could convey. 

But if there was one thing they all silently agreed on, it was that these burdens were beatable. They would carry them together until they no longer felt heavy at all. They would fly high, free and untethered. 

Like Shadow. 

As much as Tom could see the effects of the day's events in his first three sons, Shadow had never looked more at ease. He seemed lighter, happier, free. 

Shadow had leaned into Tom, before anyone had shifted to laying down, content with his popcorn. Tom hadn’t made a big deal of it, happy with even just that. But as the movie wore on and everyone started shifting to more comfortable positions, Shadow ended up on Tom’s chest. He rose and fell with Tom’s breathing, and in turn Tom felt the smaller chest shift in the same calm pace. 

Tom was beyond pleased because for once, Shadow was being kind to himself. It spoke volumes that he was sleeping on top of the man he had once nearly killed in a blind rage, thinking he was another in a long list of abusers. Shadow was letting himself rest, letting himself love, and feel loved. He was so proud of him. 

Tom didn’t know when Shadow properly fell asleep, but for now, to keep himself awake, Tom started carding his fingers through quills and fur. He avoided the hedgehog's ears, knowing from Sonic that those were sensitive and touching them could end up spooking the sleepy hedgehog. He had lots of practice petting hedgehog quills, so he pet mindlessly. 

As bad as it was that GUN kidnapped one of his kids and tried to trap them all, they made it out. They all came home, they were all safe. 

Tom’s hand froze mid-stroke over red quills, eyes darting down to the still sleeping hedgehog. A soft vibration came from the hedgehog, and a rumbling that pitched up and down along with Shadow’s breathing. 

Shadow was purring. 

Tom looked up to lock eyes with Maddie, who smiled in joyous awe. 

Knuckles looked over, eyes finally sharpening at the new sound disrupting the TV’s droning. He stared at the purring hedgehog on Tom’s chest, face unreadable. Unprompted, the echidna climbed out of their nest trap of legs, leaving the Master Emerald behind. Maddie shifted out of his way, if only so Tom didn’t move or disrupt Shadow, and Knuckles slid off the couch with a gentle grunt. He tromped over to Sonic and Tails, easily gathering the two in his arms before lumbering back over. 

Tom’s eyebrows shot up as Knuckles placed the duo down in his vacant spot, only to climb in after them. The couch was entirely too small to fit six people, even if four were child-sized. 

Bodies shifted, and Tom was effectively buried in his children. 

Shadow was shoved upwards (somehow sleeping through the rearranging), so his head was now tucked under Tom’s chin and the rest of his body was wedged between the couch and ontop of Tom. Knuckles placed Sonic next to him on Tom’s other side, somehow getting him to let go of Tails only to latch onto Shadow. The darker hedgehog grunted, as if sensing the unsanctioned cuddle buddy, but now Tom had two hedgehogs on his chest. Tails was put in the space between them, melting in between the two like a puzzle piece slotting into place. Knuckles then climbed in himself, first tucking the Master Emerald next to Tails, then laying himself across Tom’s legs, extending his arms around his brothers. The echidna grunted, though it was a more animalistic sound than an actual grunt, looking back towards Maddie. 

Maddie smiled, slotting herself behind Knuckles and the back of the couch, completing the human-mobian cuddle sandwich. Knuckles hummed in appreciation, settling his head on top of Tails, the fox’s twin limbs like the world's fluffiest pillow. Violet eyes blinked slowly before finally falling closed. 

There were entirely too many people on this couch. Tom made to protest, already feeling his everything going numb with his four kids (one of which was one million recent muscle) and his wife on top of him.

All thoughts of stopping this vanished when all four kids started purring. 

Shadow’s was most like a cat, constant and deep. Sonic’s was more breathy, as he usually slept with his mouth open, and his purrs were interrupted by occasional unintelligible mumbling. Tails’s purr was high pitched, almost sounding like a bird twittering in response to Sonic’s mumbling. Knuckles sounded only when he exhaled, a deep baritone like a rumbling engine. 

“We need a bigger couch.” Tom whispered, quiet as possible while still speaking, meeting eyes with Maddie who lovingly pet through Knuckle’s dreads. 

Maybe it wasn’t so bad, though he would probably end up as a big bruise tomorrow with how heavy his space kids were when piled on top of him, but it was a small price to pay for peace. A pile of purring kids like a weighted blanket of warm, fluffy bodies, all content and restful. Yeah, Tom could get behind this—until a sharp whine split the air. 

Ozzie stood at face level with the couch, eyes shining with intent and tail wagging.

Oh no.