Chapter Text
At daybreak, Maria awoke to alarm bells.
She arose with a start. Muffled clamoring resounded from the door to her bed chamber. Panicked, she rolled out of bed, grabbed her cane, and threw open the door.
“The prince is missing!”
“The prince is missing!”
“The prince is missing!”
Ah. So Shadow hadn’t been exaggerating about the search parties.
She pounded her cane against the marble floor with a loud crack. Palace staff stopped in their tracks and stared.
“What is all this?” Maria asked. “Gone for a day and he’s ‘missing’? Did you all expect him to travel through last night’s storm? To send a messenger through it? Or perhaps to arrive at our doorstep at first dawn? He’s just a village away! Have some faith in him.”
She turned and made eye contact with her grandfather. He was one foot out of the door to Shadow’s chambers.
Her pout deepened. “He is the Ultimate Lifeform, is he not?”
And with that, she turned on her heels and plopped back in bed.
Near noon, Shadow awoke to a poke on the cheek. Blearily, he blinked his eyes open to Sonic’s blurry smile.
“Heyyyy, Shad.”
Shadow cleared his throat and made a half-hearted attempt to sit up. “What time is it?” he croaked. His vision sharpened, and only then could he see the tense creases in Sonic’s smile.
“Uh,” Sonic started, delicately. “Still technically morning?”
Shadow sprang to his feet. “YOU LET ME SLEEP IN?”
He stumbled his way across the cottage, searching for his clothes, but only found empty beds and chairs.
Sonic started talking fast as he followed an aimless Shadow. “I-I mean, your clothes needed to be washed anyway so it’s not like you could leave any earlier and I didn’t know if you were usually an early riser, like I usually wake up at sunrise and it didn’t seem cool to wake you up then especially because I know that you’ve been stressing lately so I thought it’d be a good idea to let you rest while we got a head start on cleanup-”
Cleanup. Shadow’s head snapped in Sonic’s direction. “How bad is it?”
Sonic’s smile fell. “Uh.”
“The damage. How bad is it?”
Sonic scratched the back of his head. “We’re, uh. Kinda mostly gonna have to start over.”
Shadow blinked. He could have screamed. Cursed. But it wouldn’t change anything, would it? And it wasn’t as if Sonic had brought on the storm. Shadow would be expending energy he was rapidly losing as it was.
Energy much better spent making himself useful. He breezed past Sonic and made for the wash basin by the stove. While he was still there, he may as well have been earning his keep. He picked up the dish he’d eaten from the night before. “What is the day’s work?”
Sonic began to count on his fingers as he thought. “Taking inventory on the surviving flowers, clearing out the ones that got killed, recovering lost seeds… uh,” he snorted, “What’re you doing?”
“Helping,” said Shadow as he repeatedly dipped the dish into the water.
Sonic snickered. “Alright, Your Highness, but don’cha think you could use some soap?” He tossed the prince a bar, plus a rag.
Shadow caught them both, then held up the rag by his pointed nails. “This part isn’t soap.”
“It’s for scrubbing,” Sonic laughed harder. “Here,” he said, then began tugging off his gloves.
Shadow prayed that Sonic missed the way his fur stood on end as he turned back towards the basin. His gaze fell on his own hands, and he realized that he hadn’t been wearing gloves that night, and still wasn’t at that moment.
He didn’t dare turn his head as Sonic’s footsteps came closer, until fuzzy peach hands reached out from behind Shadow and carefully set themselves on silver-clad wrists. Shadow’s heart lurched at the sensation of warm breath on his cheek.
“You take the soap,” Sonic explained, voice lower now that he was so close. With a shocking gentleness, he guided Shadow’s hands along as he spoke. “Get it wet so you can work up a lather… yeah, like that!”
For a moment, Shadow’s only concern was whether he’d be able to speak when Sonic finally pulled away. Shadow’s hands stilled, clutching onto the dish and rag, the fur on the backs of his hands still sparking from where Sonic had laid his paw pads.
He stared at his reflection in the water, woefully unable to tell whether the flush in his muzzle showed through tan fur.
And Sonic had the gall to dry his hands and tug on his gloves, as if they’d simply been starting a household chore. He cleared his throat. “Great job for a first-timer, princey. Not too scared of the dirty water to finish on your own, are ya?”
Witty responses died on Shadow’s tongue. He blinked. Realized he should resume. And so he did.
Sonic watched this for a moment. “Your clothes should be done drying by now. I’ll go get them."
Shadow scrubbed harder.
“And Shad?”
Shadow looked up.
“We’ve got work to do. And we’re gonna do great. ‘Kay?” And with a wink, Sonic slipped outside.
Shadow watched him leave, then looked down to find he had snapped the dish in half.
Whatever Shadow had imagined, the damage was worse. The salvaged flowers so far only filled a single cart, and his subjects had been working since dawn. The rest had been rendered an unrecognizable mess of mud to sort through.
He should have been there sooner. He should have risen with the sun like a beacon of hope was meant to.
His midday was spent rooting through soggy, kicked up sod to retrieve as many seeds as he could and sort them by type. But despite his keen eye, beside the handfuls of identified seeds sat an ever-growing pile labeled “to be determined.”
All the worse, expectant eyes lingered on him as if he had answers to any of this.
Hours in, Sonic lifted his gaze towards the afternoon sky. “How’s lunch sound?”
“Tch,” Shadow scoffed. “We don’t have time for-”
His stomach growled.
Sonic smirked. “Last night’s bread and jam, I’d hardly call a meal.”
"Perhaps..."
"Or the jam and bread we had this morning."
"Enough."
Knothole’s budding marketplace was far from bustling, for the time of day. But those among them still turned their heads as the two hedgehogs made their way down the freshly repaired cobblestone streets.
“Care for seafood?” Sonic asked, rounding a corner.
Shadow followed close behind. “I’m not picky at the moment,” he huffed.
“Good, ‘cause here’s the place!” Sonic brought his hands up and out, gesturing towards a small wooden stand.
Salt and smoked fish flooded Shadow’s nostrils as his eyes set upon a large purple cat calmly at work behind the stand. His curing was slow, methodical, as if he hadn’t an urgent thought in years.
“How’s it going, Big?” Sonic greeted. “Long time, no see!”
Big, apparently, smiled warmly at the blue hedgehog. “Hello, Sonic,” he said in a slow, pleasant voice. “I just got back from my last fishing trip. Froggy was a big help.”
Shadow’s heart leapt at the sight of a frog sitting just behind the man. He certainly hoped it hadn’t touched the food.
Big’s eyes lazily fell upon Shadow. “You must be Sonic’s friend. Shadow, right? He was telling me all about you last time he visited me.”
Something loosened in Shadow’s chest, at being spoken to with such nonchalance. “Was he, now?”
Sonic scratched the back of his head. “You, ah, might’ve come up in conversation.”
Big returned to his work of turning fish over a low flame. “Sonic says you were a big help to me. I’d been wondering where so much fish had come from. Usually, I only catch about one or two. But Sonic says that the sea is much happier now, because Eggman isn’t in charge anymore. It even has lots of treasure now.”
“Treasure?” Shadow asked.
“Oh yeah,” Sonic said. “What’d ya reel in this time around, Big?”
Big’s eyes lit up at the question. He ducked behind the counter and came up with a soggy cloth. He dropped it onto the counter with a loud clang, then unfolded it to reveal a pile of unidentifiably rusted items.
“Ah,” Shadow said blankly. “Treasure.”
“Yup,” Big said. “So many shiny things have been lost at sea. You can have a look while I finish up your fish.”
Sonic licked his lips at the prospect. He turned to Shadow and said, “We don’t get a lotta meat around these parts. Animal population’s slow to come back, y’know? Can’t be overhunting. But now I’m ready to get my protein on!”
Shadow picked up half of a broken something and tried to inspect it. “Hmm… but the sea has returned more quickly?”
“It has,” Big said. “Thanks to the help of you, Sonic, and Amy.”
Shadow’s eyes fell on Big for but a moment, then darted back to the mystery object he held by the fingertips. It seemed to have been some sort of wind instrument. “Don’t mention it,” he said.
“Oh, I won’t much longer,” Big said. “But I wanted to be fair, since Sonic and Amy already got their presents. Now you get to pick one out, too.”
Shadow set the thing back down and looked up at Big in earnest. “Present?”
Sonic gestured towards the pile expectantly. “Pick one out, big guy!”
The prince had half a mind to turn down the offer. He could handle receiving thanks from his subjects, but a gift was too much, given the state of the kingdom. It felt unfair. Not to mention he hadn’t much use for anything there.
However… Big seemed rather content with his humble life. His line of work seemed to be one of the more stable ones, as well. And Shadow didn’t want to offend him.
Without a word, he rooted through the pile, silently wishing he’d brought a change of gloves. His current pair would smell of brine the rest of the day...
A sharp sensation pricked at his fingertip. He drew his hand back, but realized he hadn’t felt it on his paw pad.
He’d felt it in his blood.
He reached back in and closed his hand around a handle of something, and allowed the pins to prickle up through his palm. He pulled.
It was a rusted hand mirror. He could hardly make out his reflection in the thing. It was heavier than it looked, certainly solid metal of some sort. Details hid beneath the grime, swirling up the handle and around the foggy glass in the shape of a heart.
What was it with hearts, lately…
“I’ll take this,” Shadow said.
Royalty was raised to eat politely. Shadow had long ago mastered the art of subtle nibbles that betrayed as little teeth as possible.
But it was a dreadfully slow process, when his people needed him to return soon. They couldn’t stay at the edge of the Great Forest for long.
“Woa-hohhh, slow down there, Princey!”
The accursed nickname was enough to finally get Shadow to slow his chewing.
“Y’know these sometimes still have bones in ‘em, right?” Sonic asked, picking at his own teeth without regard for royal protocol. “Here.” Sonic yanked a handkerchief from his pocket with a hard flap of his wrist.
Shadow leaned away slightly, then realized Sonic had only been handing it to him. Whatever part of him thought Sonic would be doing all the work there needed to be quashed instantaneously.
He snatched the handkerchief and dabbed at his mouth. “Since when do you carry these on you?”
“Since I started hanging out with a guy who likes to clean up after he gets his hands dirty.”
Shadow stared at the soiled cloth in his hands for a moment. “I see.”
Silence.
“So,” Sonic started up, “Care to show me what you chose from Big’s treasures?”
Shadow held up the hand mirror for Sonic to see.
“Ahhh, that’s a good one! He had a bunch of broken porcelain last time he was here, heh. Amy picked a bowl and I picked a matching teacup.” He held up his pinky with a cheeky grin. “I bet you could get some use outta that, once it’s spruced up.”
“Yes…” Shadow said, kneading the cloth with his free hand. He held it up to the glass. “Do you mind if I…”
“Go right ahead, I don’t use it.”
Shadow wiped at the grime with the handkerchief. It seemed to not be as baked in as he’d first feared, falling away rather easily. With each swipe, Shadow discovered gleaming gold and shining glass.
Sonic whistled. “Sweet! Amy would wanna trade ya.”
Shadow blinked at his reflection instead of responding.
“Find something in there?” Sonic teased.
Silence again.
Sonic sighed. He stood up, only to squat down in front of Shadow. His fingers creeped over the edge of the mirror. He pulled it down and met Shadow’s eyes.
“Care for a song?”
Shadow lowered his lids. “Without your guitar?”
“Well, y’know,” Sonic sprang up. “Sometimes we don’t have all the pieces, but we can still make something great.”
Shadow stared at him.
Without anymore warning, Sonic sang, “I’m blindfolded on this carriage ride that they call life.” He looked to Shadow expectantly.
“Keep trying to make it through that next turn, knuckles white, and holding tight,” Shadow sang back.
“So here I go!” Sonic helped Shadow to his feet. “Taking the curve… and I know that I’m never alone!”
Their fingers lingered longer than they had to as Shadow sang, “I think of you… and how you never let me go.”
“I feel connected!”
“Connected.”
“Protected!”
“Protected…”
The way a simple song could reignite Shadow’s motivation was something worthy of study. It was practically a magic all its own, way harmonizing with the blue hedgehog.
“And everything else is gonna be alright,” they sang, “’Cause nothing can break this, nothing can break this, nothing can break this tie…”
“Connected!”
Their smiles fell. That last voice hadn’t belong to either of them.
Shadow turned around sharply, hoping the burn of his cheeks would be mistaken for rage.
No one was there.
Sonic came up beside him and sang again, “’Cause nothing can break this, nothing can break this…”
“Nothing can break this tiiiiie!” The voice was feminine, too high for either of them. It was also muffled. But near. From… down below.
The hedgehogs exchanged a look. Sonic smiled reassuringly, then silently counted down from three.
Together they sang the final lyric, “Connected.”
“CONNECTEEEED. CONNECTED INSIIIIIDE.”
Shadow stooped down and snatched up the mirror. His own reflection didn’t meet him, but that of a white-furred bat woman.