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Chapter Text

Sonic tapped his foot as he waited for the rest of the team to arrive. He stood on a hill overlooking a mob of badniks at one of Eggman’s hideouts. They were attempting to track down that dratted shrink gun that Sonic had an unfortunate run in with not along ago. He shivered at the reminder, then frowned a little.

This base was a good lead. Now if only the others would arrive, then they could attack.

Sonic sighed in impatience, watching the badniks scurry around in some sort of bustle. What was going on down there? The noise of a motor made him spin around with a smile.

Finally, the Tornado landed covertly behind him, in the valley behind the hill he stood on. Tails was piloting it, of course, but Knuckles and Amy rode with him. Rouge had flown on her own, and she landed beside Knuckles when the echidna hopped out of the plane.

Tails turned and said something to Amy, who laughed in a musical tone.

There was a flash, and Shadow appeared. Sonic was surprised to see not only Shadow, but also Silver and Blaze. Based on the way Shadow held Silver’s shoulder, and Silver held Blaze’s hand, the dark hedgehog had willingly teleported them here too.

Sonic couldn’t help his smile. Shadow had come so far from the angry, closed-off hedgehog he’d once been. He met Shadow’s gaze, and the hybrid gave him a nod.

Sonic darted down the hill to meet them, grinning as he spoke to each one of them. Last time they had all been together was Amy’s party two months ago. Sure, he had seen all of them at some point since then, but there was nothing like having the whole group together.

His smile turned sharp as he regarded Eggman’s base. The mad genius wasn’t ready to face his team. The group planned their attack, sketching in the dirt when they needed a visualization. Over the hill, out of their eyesight, Sonic could still hear badniks skittering around the base. He smirked. Soon, they would all be scrap parts in the dirt. 

Sonic flung himself at the next badnik, smashing the robot to pieces. He paused for a moment to wipe oil off his face, disgusted.

An orange tinted blur shot past him, running straight through three more robots.

“Show off!” Sonic called.

The blur stopped moving, and a black and red hedgehog stood there, frowning.

“Skill is not showing off. Your jealousy is not my problem.” Shadow told him.

“Jealousy?” Sonic sputtered. “You wish, hot topic.”

Shadow rolled his eyes before taking off again in an orange streak of chaos energy. Sonic laughed before following. Together, the two of them took out a good chunk of the attacking force.

Knuckles and Rouge fought together on the other side of the battlefield. The red echidna went directly through his targets, whereas Rouge wove in and out around them, often getting them to destroy each other. The two worked together well.

Sonic smirked over at them. They should work together well, as they’d been dating for a month or so now.

Tails and Amy fought near each other, with Amy keeping the robots from getting too close to the fox as he shot at them with some sort of gun he had built.

More robots flooded the field from the base, pouring out in another wave.

Eggman was getting increasingly desperate since his last plan, to shrink Sonic and subdue him, had failed. Thanks to Shadow, Tails, and the rest of his team, Sonic had regained his original size over two months ago. Now the group was focused on stopping Eggman, and tracking down that dratted shrink ray.

Eggman had tried to divide them, but instead he brought them together. Aside from an incident with Amy, the whole situation had been pretty smooth, mostly thanks to Shadow. Sonic and Shadow were… close, but in an odd way. They bickered and fought at every turn, but the moment someone else tried to mess with one of them, they were backing each other up instantly.

“Faker.” Shadow pulverized a robot gunning for Sonic’s back. “Get your head out of the clouds!”

“My bad, thanks Shads.” Sonic shook his head, refocusing on the fight.

It seemed as though Eggman wanted to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Sonic cracked his knuckles. He could try.

Sonic and the others easily tore through the robots, smashing them to pieces. Sonic and Shadow ducked and weaved around each other, guarding each other’s backs. Rouge darted off on her own, but Knuckles was always a couple steps behind her, keeping an eye on her. Not far away, Amy Rose destroyed a badnik with her hammer. Tails shot a few with an energy gun, staying up and clear of the fight.

Clear on the other side of the fields, Silver and Blaze stood back-to-back against another wave. If they had been anyone else, aside from Shadow, Sonic would have run over to help. But as they were some of the most powerful mobians he knew, he didn’t worry about it.

As he watched, Blaze downed a row of badniks with a blast of fire. Silver tore a group apart with his cyan-tinted telekinesis, sending scrap metal raining down. The two were soon surrounded by melted scrap and shards of machines.

Sonic grinned with a fierce delight, leaping back into the fight.

The doors of the base ahead of them opened, releasing more badniks to attack them. Unnoticed by the fighting mobians, a large ray gun was wheeled out as well.

This ray gun was the same one that had downsized Sonic. Eggman stood and watched as Orbot and Cubot pushed the machine into place before he stepped forward and aimed the machine into the battle.

It now was pointed at the blue hedgehog where he was fighting off several badniks, his attention focused completely on his adversaries.

It powered up, a whirring sound coming from it as it prepared to fire on the unsuspecting hero. Eggman cackled in glee, rubbing his hands together as the gun warmed up. 

But unfortunately for the nefarious Dr. Robotnik, someone else had noticed his sneaky plan.

Shadow saw the doctor aim the shrinking weapon at Sonic’s unaware form. He called out a warning to the blue hedgehog, but Sonic didn’t hear him. Shadow chaos-speared a few robots, yelling at Sonic again.

“A little busy, Shads!” The blue blur called back.

Frustration swelled in Shadow. Why when he actually needed to get Sonic’s attention, was the blue hedgehog distracted?

“SONIC!” Shadow lunged toward him as the ray fired. He called on his abilities, teleporting a little closer, cursing his limited abilities. He didn’t have time to get his chaos emerald out, but couldn’t teleport far enough without it.

His heart beat frantically as he both ran and teleported towards Sonic.

Please let me get there in time. He thought. Don’t let this happen to him again.

Sonic punched a badnik, stopping it in its tracks, then kicked another away. The badniks surrounded him again, taking his full attention.

“Sonic!”

Someone was calling to him, but he was swarmed with robots.

“Faker!”

It was Shadow, what a shocker.

“A little busy, Shads!” Sonic yelled back. He threw one robot away, taking out a couple with it.

“SONIC!”

Sonic heard a strange buzzing noise as he turned around.

His eyes widened when he saw the ray gun pointed at him, and the green light shooting out of it. His heart beat with fear, hands shaking as he tried to back away.

Well this was familiar.

Not again.

Eggman was trying to shrink him again.

The badniks edged him in to the point he couldn’t dodge the ray. Hopefully Shadow would get to him after he shrunk. He didn’t particularly want to be stuck on the ground surrounded by badniks at a few inches tall.

But the ray never hit him. A orange flash, and Shadow was between him and the ray.

The light hit Shadow, and Sonic could only watch, wide eyed.

A second later, and Shadow was gone.

Shrunk?

Sonic was frozen in shock. He tried to process what had just happened. Had Shadow really taken the hit for him? Was he hallucinating? He blinked, trying to clear the fear and adrenaline from his brain. Where was Shadow?

Sonic saw a badnik reaching for something on the ground. That something was an unconscious Shadow, now only four or so inches tall. The black and red hedgehog was completely exposed, tiny and vulnerable.

Sonic shouted, rage engulfing him. In less then a blink, he destroyed the badniks surrounding him. He shot toward the robot reaching for his friend.

“Knuckles! Rouge! Take out the ray gun!” He hollered to them.

Rouge saluted, soaring up and towards the gun. Knuckles followed, smashing his way through the enemies in his path.

Sonic hit the robot, sending it flying away, and knelt next to Shadow’s prone form.

“Shadow? Shads?” His hands hovered around his rival, shaking slightly. This was so wrong, Shadow couldn’t be this small. Smaller than Sonic’s tallest finger. Sonic’s eyes were wide, breathing stuttery. What was he supposed to do? Shadow hated being touched, even at his normal size. He couldn’t just grab him.

More badniks swarmed the area. Sonic had to get the tiny hedgehog out of here, before he got hurt. Or worse.

Holding his breath, he gingerly slid his hands under Shadow, lifting him up in cupped hands. He tried to be a gentle as possible, not knowing if Shadow’s usually impervious ability was still working.

He hated this so much, hated doing this to Shadow. Shadow would likely hate this much contact, hate the vulnerability. But what could he do at the moment?

Sonic darted away, kicking at a few robots that tried to follow. He kept a carefully gentle hold on Shadow as he ran over a hill, away from the main battle.

“Shadow?” Sonic whispered once he could pause for a moment. He saw the tiny chest rising and falling with breath, so he didn’t have to worry about that. “Shadow, please wake up.”

Sonic felt terrible. Shadow had taken the hit meant for him, simply because Sonic wasn’t paying attention, and had ignored the warnings the dark hedgehog had tried to give him. This was his fault.

Sonic nudged Shadow carefully with a finger longer then the shrunken antihero was.

Shadow stirred at that. His eyes scrunched, and Sonic pulled his finger away.

He held his breath as Shadow woke. His rival blinked, shaking his head as he sat up. Shadow immediately jumped to his feet in a defensive position, stumbling slightly on the uneven surface. He glanced around before freezing completely. Shadow blinked hard, then glanced up.

Sonic stared at Shadow, both of them still as stone as they watched the other. Shadow was silent, his eyes wide and glassy.

“Shads?” Sonic whispered. “Are you okay?”

Shadow blinked rapidly. “I-I think so.” His voice trembled for a moment before he steadied it. “He shot me with the shrink gun, didn’t he.” His voice was flat and emotionless.

Sonic flattened his hand as much as he could, keeping the other slightly curled behind Shadow’s back, shielding him. Shadow flinched at the movement, but didn’t protest.

“He did.” Sonic confirmed in a low voice. He tried to remain calm for Shadow’s sake, though internally, he was panicking. “We’ll fix it though. You guys managed to fix me, now I can return the favor.” He shot Shadow a smile. “You’re not alone in this.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Shadow shifted his weight slightly. “The others. Rouge can be… overwhelming at times, even on good days. At this size?” He shook his head, stumbling a little.

“Then you can stay with me.” Sonic said. “I’m not going to abandon you; I’m here for you the same way you were there for me.”

Shadow nodded, his chest rising and falling too quickly. “Thank you.”

Sonic looked up, intending to check on the others, but was hit from the side so hard he went flying head-over-heels.

Shadow let out an out-of-character gasp, and Sonic closed his hands around him, encasing him completely. He curled his body protectively around Shadow as he hit the ground, though he knew Shadow had to have felt the impact.

He popped back to his feet and immediatly checked on Shadow. The hybrid glared, shaking a little. He seemed more angry at his situation than anything else, which was something at least. He seemed uninjured, so Sonic turned his attention to whatever had hit them.

Metal Sonic faced him silently, preparing to attack again.

Chapter Text

Sonic groaned in irritation, flashing his teeth in a small snarl. “Metal! Screw off!”

His mind raced frantically as he tried to figure out what to do. He was fairly certain Shadow was still pretty disoriented, based on his non-reactions and unsteadiness. Which made sense, Sonic had been when it had happened to him. But it made the situation a little more difficult, as it meant Shadow was too out of it to help. Even if that help would just be staying out of the way. But Sonic couldn’t risk setting him down when the hybrid wasn’t thinking clearly.

Sonic looked around desperately, but his friends were out of eye shot, ad likely earshot as well. They must not have noticed when Sonic ran over the hill, and now they were separated. This meant he was on his own against Metal, and he had to protect Shadow.

He faced Metal, determined to keep Shadow safe. He tried to back away, keeping his eyes on the robot. maybe he could get back to the others, or t least close enough to call for help? But Metal moved quickly, blocking Sonic from retreating.

Sonic could have sworn in his frustration.

Orbot and Cubot crested the hill as the two circled around each other warily, each waiting for the other to make a move.

“Ah Metal, you found him!” Cubot exclaimed as the two moved in closer.

Sonic let out a defensive hiss, baring his teeth. Shadow let out a soft groan, stumbling a little. Sonic’s worried gaze darted down to the shrunken hedgehog, and at that moment, Metal attacked.

Sonic didn’t try to defend himself, he just focused on protecting Shadow. It would be nice if he had chaos spears like the hybrid did, but he wouldn’t want the baggage of the Black Arms’ DNA. Although it would be really handy for distance fights, and then he wouldn’t need to worry about precious cargo.

Metal hit him, and Sonic stumbled backwards, right into a group of badniks that appeared behind him. They latched on to his arms, holding him in place as Metal turned his attention to Sonic’s hands.

Sonic let out a wild snarl, thrashing frantically. “Don’t you dare, Metal!” His hands closed, encasing Shadow inside. Shadow was shivering, but Sonic didn’t think he was really aware of what was going on at the moment.

Metal pried Sonic’s hands open, none too gently, and Sonic had to let go. He couldn’t risk crushing Shadow, and that was a possibility if he tried to tighten his grip.

Sonic flailed, but the robots held him firm. Metal reached out, snatching Shadow up in metal claws.

“No!” Sonic screamed, snarling ferociously. Emotion overwhelmed him, driving away any logical thoughts.

Metal regarded the limp hedgehog in his grasp, before turning and running towards the base.

“Shadow!” Sonic managed to get an arm free, and he downed a badnik with one hit. Tearing away, he tried to run after Metal. A group of badniks directed by Orbot and Cubot attacked him, preventing him from chasing Metal. “I’m going to kill you all.” Sonic snarled as he fought. “If anyone hurts him, I swear I’ll tear you to pieces.” But behind his fury was fear. He couldn’t let Shadow be experimented on, not ever again. G.U.N. had done enough to him, he couldn’t let Eggman do more!

He couldn’t help the continual snarl as he smashed robots, his throat aching from the sound.

A cyan color surrounded a group of the robots, ripping them to pieces. Flames licked around others, and Silver and Blaze burst onto the scene. Silver pulled the robots off Sonic with a growl of anger. Blaze hissed as she burned them.

Orbot and Cubot were nowhere to be found when the robots were all destroyed. Sonic looked around desperately, making as if to run. Silver caught his arm, stopping him.

“Sonic, are you okay?” Silver looked worried.

“I’m fine, I need to get Shadow!” Sonic said, gaze darting around for Metal.

“Shadow?” Blaze asked, confusion wrinkling her brow.

“Eggman hit him with the ray.” Sonic’s shoulders slumped as he realized it was already too late. Metal was fast, and it had been more then long enough for him to reach the base. “Eggman was targeting me, but Shadow threw himself in front of me, and he got shrunk instead. I tried to get him out of there, but Metal came after us.” His voice broke. “Eggman has him. Shadow’s four inches tall and Eggman has him.”

Silver snarled in anger. “We’re going to get him back.” His eyes glittered with the promise, and Blaze nodded in agreement.

The cat rested a hand on Sonic’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Silver is correct, we will save him. Shadow is strong. He’ll be okay.”

Sonic hung his head, guilt flooding him. “I hope so.”

Shadow’s head hurt. It felt like someone had shot him point-blank in the skull again. Unfortunately he did know what that felt like… there were some downsides to being impervious to bullets. Just because it wouldn’t kill him didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt like all chaos. He tried to peel his eyes open, but bright lights made him wince and keep them closed. The light felt like it stabbed straight into his brain, causing his headache to get worse almost instantly.

Where am I? What is going on? He thought, trying to figure out what the last thing he remembered was. The disorientation he tried to fight through made him feel a little sick.

Shadow flinched as the memories assaulted him.

Eggman pointing the shrink gun at Sonic.

Jumping in front of it, pain, and then blackness.

Next thing he had known was Sonic’s voice, his words shaking as he tried to get Shadow to wake up.

When he had woken up though, he was dazed and fuzzy, not comprehending what was going on.

He had the clarity to hold a short conversation with Sonic before everything had overwhelmed him, and he’d gone quiet. The role reversal was truly shocking. Not all that long ago, Sonic had been shrunk and Shadow was holding him, protecting him.

But now? Shadow was four inches tall at the most. This might be the most vulnerable he’d ever been. Sonic had tried to remain calm while holding him, but Shadow could tell he was freaking out internally. Not that Shadow could blame him, of course.

He had felt Sonic’s hands trembling under him, despite his own noticeable shaking. He hated that he couldn’t control his reactions. He was the ultimate lifeform, he should be able to control his own trembling.

But the new perspective had been completely overwhelming. Normal things towered over him in a way that made him feel exposed and vulnerable. Even Sonic, someone he trusted with his life, had terrified him in a way he never could have prepared himself for. How had the blue hedgehog done it? Remained so calm and in control, when everyone around him was a giant? Shadow respected Sonic all the more, now standing in Sonic’s shoes.

He had tried to appear calm despite the chaos and terror his state of mind had been at the time. He couldn’t freak out, he had to deal with the situation, had to remain calm in order to help Sonic remain calm. Guilt had been so heavy in the blue hedgehog’s expression. Shadow hoped that Sonic wouldn’t blame himself for any of this. It had been Shadow’s choice to put himself between Sonic and that ray, Shadow’s choice to take the hit. And even though it was terrifying in a way he hadn’t experienced before, he didn’t regret that choice.

Before he could address that guilt, however, Metal was there, and Sonic was yelling, and everything was spinning and chaotic…

Had Metal taken him? Was that what had happened? Shadow didn’t really know. At that point he had been overwhelmed to the point of shutting down, and he hadn’t really noticed what was happening around him. He needed to figure out where he was, what was happening. Was he with Sonic? Unlikely, because he didn’t hear the blue blur chattering at all.

More likely he was the captive of Eggman, which was a very bad outcome.

He tried to open his eyes again, blinking in the bright light to try to adjust. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he stiffened at the sight that greeted him.

Metal bars stretched high above his head and behind them, while white lights shone down on him. He looked around and hissed. He was in a cage. Like a pet. Or a toy.

The cage sat on a polished metal counter that rested against the wall on one side of the room, secured to the wall with a chain, likely so Shadow couldn’t try to scoot the cage across the counter a little at a time.

As he looked around the room, he tried not to hyperventilate.

Machines beeped with electrodes hanging on hooks. Tools for poking and prodding sat on another metal counter nearby. Jars, beakers, and test tubes lined another counter. A voltmeter sat nearby, and Shadow couldn’t help but wonder if it was similar to Tails’ voltmeter. Tails had tweaked his so that it measure chaos energy instead of electricity. Knowing Eggman, it was more than likely that he had done the same thing. He had most likely tried it on Sonic, before realizing the blue hedgehog didn’t have chaos energy in the same way that Shadow or possibly Silver did.

The more he looked, the more he found. Somehow, even with all his experience with labs and experimentation, there were countless tools and machines he didn’t recognize, and knew nothing about. Granted, that had been over fifty years ago, and technology had changed immensely. But it was also likely that Eggman’s own creations were mixed with the more well-known lab necessitates.

A horrible feeling of dread started to form in the pit of his stomach as he realized what this place was.

This was a room dedicated solely to experimentation.

Eggman was going to experiment on him, that fact was certain.

Shadow stood and stumbled to the back of the cage, clenching his fists as he tried to control his breathing, which sped up every time he looked around the cursed room.

Not again. Chaos, not again. He thought, his mind frazzled and overwhelmed with old memories. Memories of times long passed, of tests and training in a place long abandoned.

Shadow was shaking, his fear overwhelming his self-control. He couldn’t show Eggman how afraid he was. Couldn’t give the man that advantage over him. He had to get himself under control before Eggman came in to gloat. He tried to take deep breaths, desperately reaching for every grounding method Rouge had ever taught him. He counted his breaths, counted out his senses. He drew a blank when he reached for more ideas, but that was okay. He wasn’t hyperventilating anymore. He could do this. He just needed to stay grounded in the present, push the past trauma and memories away.

If the doctor saw his fear, he would exploit it to every possible extent, and Shadow didn’t know how he would handle that.

He could only hope that Sonic and the others would find him before Eggman carried out his sadistic ideas. But if they didn’t? Shadow would never give in to the doctor’s whims.

He’d rather die than bow to a man like Ivo Robotnik.

Chapter Text

Sonic paced back and forth anxiously while his friends argued with each other. His mind raced with plans, thoughts, ideas.

He needed to get Shadow back, as soon as possible. Who knew what Eggman would do to him?

Or was doing to him.

Sonic pushed that thought away, speeding up his pacing. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he panicked, and he picked up the pace again.

“Sonic.” Someone called his name, but it sounded like they were underwater. “Sonic.”

The world blurred, but whether it was from the speed of his pacing, or his panic, he didn’t know.

Suddenly he was frozen, completely unable to move. He tried to squirm, but couldn’t move a muscle. Panic overwhelmed him for a moment before he realized a layer of cyan had settled over him.

“Sonic?” Silver asked, concerned. He dropped his hand, releasing Sonic to move again.

Sonic took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly to calm himself.

“Sorry.” Silver told him. “I tried to get your attention, but-”

“It’s fine.” Sonic told him with a forced smile. “I just…”

“I know you’re worried.” Silver’s voice was strained. “And so am I. But we will get him back.” Determination filled his expression.

Sonic shook his head. “I know we will. But when?” Anguish filled his tone, although he tried to hide it. “After he’s been tortured, experimented on? Again?” He clenched his shaking hands. “He can’t go thought that again, Silv.”

Silver’s expression broke. “I know. Chaos, I know!” He ran a hand through his quills anxiously. “But if we go in on the offensive, he could just kill Shadow outright. Who knows if Shadow’s normal abilities are working? We can’t risk him on that chance.” Silver took a deep breath, panicked as well, but more controlled.

They stared at each other hopelessly.

What are we supposed to do? Sonic thought. Silver was right. What if the shrink gun had done something to Shadow’s abilities? How would they rescue him with the threat of death hanging over them all?

Silver hugged him, his whole body trembling. Sonic embraced him back, burying his face in Silver’s shoulder. The two sat like that for several minutes, until Silver’s shaking stopped and Sonic’s heartbeat returned to a normal pace. With a deep breath, Sonic finally pulled away, giving Silver an encouraging smile.

“It’s going to be okay. We are going to rescue him, and we’re going to do it fast.” Determination and steel filled his voice as he strengthened his resolve. Sitting around panicking didn’t do Shadow any favors. The only thing that they could do right now was take action. Trial and error, if they had to.

He turned to the rest of the group, tilting his chin up. “Knuckles, did you and Rouge managed to destroy the machine?”

Knuckles frowned and crossed his arms. “No. They had wheeled it back inside by the time we got through the badniks blocking our path.”

Rouge’s expression was sharp, but stress was clear in her eyes. She was just as worried for Shadow as Sonic was. She also knew his background and history, and understood just how serious the situation was.

“Robotnik seemed desperate to protect it.” The bat said. “He threw a good chunk of the robots at us to delay us.”

“Makes sense.” Sonic said, tapping his foot as he thought. “It’s one of his more effective weapons so far, he’ll likely be pretty invested in keeping it in one piece.”

Flames flickered around Blaze’s hands as she clenched her fists. “I’ll keep it in one piece… but I’ll burn his base to the ground once we get Shadow out.”

“That’s going to be the tricky part.” Silver said, approaching Blaze. “Getting Shadow out.”

“What do you mean?” Amy asked, resting her hammer on her shoulder. “We just need to smash our way in the front doors.”

Sonic shook his head. “It’s not that simple. We don’t know what effect the shrinking has had on Shadow’s abilities. It’s possible his resistance to injury ability and the like might not be working.”

Silver nodded. “And if that’s the case, Eggman might just outright kill him if we come smashing through the doors. He’d likely consider it better to kill Shadow rather then let us return him to his normal size.”

Rouge nodded in agreement. “We can’t risk a full-frontal assault in that case. Even if it’s just a chance, we can’t put his life at risk.”

Blaze’s ear flicked as she thought. “I understand now. That will make things much more complicated. We can’t attack outright, but we also can’t use the same strategy we did last time, with Sonic.”

Sonic cocked his head, confused.

Tails noticed the look and answered his unspoken question. “We attacked the front while Shadow snuck in, using our diversion.”

“Ahh, smart.” Sonic nodded. Blaze was right though, they couldn’t use that strategy. For one, Eggman would be aware of it, and possibly expecting it after it successfully worked last time. For another, they no longer had a teleporter. In fact, they were trying to rescue said teleporter.

“Not to mention that Metal is now in play.” Silver said with annoyance. “That could also throw a loop in our plans.”

“True. It seems Robotnik has finished repairing him after Blue smashed him to bits last time they fought.” Rouge rubbed her chin. “What horrid timing.”

“You know it, batster.” Knuckles said with a growl. “He was probably just biding his time to strike, and sent Metal out as soon as he knew he had hit someone.”

Sonic’s ears drooped a little. That someone had meant to be him, but Shadow had saved him. Horrible memories of the week he spent as Eggman’s shrunken captive flickered through his mind, and he shivered. Would Eggman do those kind of things to Shadow? Or would the fact that they had worked together in the past hold him back a little? Sonic was a little cheered by that thought, until he remembered what Shadow had done to Eggman not long ago.

When Sonic had been shrunk, the doctor had mocked Maria to Shadow’s face. Driven by rage, Shadow had terrified the man, knocked him out, and taken him captive.

Sonic’s expression twisted, ears pinning back instinctively. Eggman would most certainly want revenge. The man had been completely humiliated, and his pride wouldn’t allow that to stand. Especially when Shadow was shrunk and defenseless, completely at the human’s mercy.

The blood drained from his face. Eggman would torture Shadow, just to prove his point and superiority. He would torment the hedgehog until his pride was satisfied. But Shadow wouldn’t break. Sonic knew him well enough to say that Shadow was one of the strongest people he knew. He would never give in to Eggman, no matter the price. His stubborn pride would make the situation worse.

Rouge met his gaze, arching an eyebrow at him. “Blue? Are you alright?”

Sonic just looked at her, horrified by his realization. “He’s going to torture Shadow.” His voice came out in a whisper, but the words silenced all the mobians in the room.

A collective gasp of horror echoed through the room, all attention turning to Sonic.

Rouge looked taken aback. “Torture? Not just experiment on him? Although experimentation is bad enough, we both know Shadow has faced worse.” She shook her head. “But outright torture? What makes you think that?”

Sonic’s hands shook. “Remember what he did to Eggman, the day I was shrunk?”

Confusion still showed clearly on her face, before an appalled-filled understanding erased it. She covered her mouth with a hand. “You’re right.” Rouge said, voice breaking.

Knuckles frowned. “Would someone explain what you two are talking about? What torture and why?”

Sonic and Rouge were silent, staring at each other in horror as they thought about what their friend would suffer.

Silver spoke, his voice choked. “Shadow terrified Eggman, to the point that he could manipulate the doctor into giving Tails the reversal to the shrinking. He dragged the man in unconscious, so who knows what exactly Shadow did to him?”

“He humiliated him.” Amy said, eyes wide. “He damaged Eggman’s pride.”

“He’s going to try to make Shadow feel the same fear that Eggman did.” Silver said, bowing his head. “But Shadow’s too strong. He won’t give in easily.”

“What extent will Eggman be driven to in order to break Shadow?” Blaze asked, the same horror they all felt reflected in her voice.

“Exactly.” Sonic said in a dead tone. “And there’s nothing we can do, until we find the way in. But if we move too fast, we risk his life completely.” He looked around the group. “Eggman’s got us neatly pinned, and he likely knows it. We can’t attack outright without risking Shadow. But if we wait for too long…”

The unspoken ending to that sentence weighed heavy in the air. They all knew what Shadow would face on the daily if they waited for too long to launch a rescue attempt.

Sonic’s emotions were all over the place. Frustration, fear, panic, anger, guilt, and so many other things he couldn’t put a name to. He was tired already, emotions spent just on worry. But rest was not an option right now. Not with Shadow trapped in Eggman’s lair, tiny and helplessly waiting to be tortured and experimented on. Sonic knew all too well what that feeling was like. He couldn’t let that happen to Shadow too.

He just felt so helpless. His foot tapped so quickly it blurred, but he couldn’t stop it. The restless energy inside him needed an out. Sonic was a hedgehog of action, an impulsive hero at times. He was used to rushing in, smashing robots, and throwing snarky quips at his enemy.

But now things were more serious than they had been in a long time. The stakes were high, tensions were high, and there were no easy, quick solutions. Sonic wasn’t used to taking things slowly and delicately, but this time they had to.

Which meant Sonic was not the right leader for this rescue mission. Not only was he at risk to plan something impulsive, his emotions were all over the place, which would definitive impact his critical thinking.

“Silver.” Sonic spoke, his voice determined. “You should be in charge of this mission.”

Silver looked surprised. “Me?”

Sonic nodded, explaining his thought process to the group a little. When everyone agreed at the idea of Silver taking the lead in this mission, Sonic felt relieved.

He didn’t think he could handle planning and tactical maneuvers in his state of mind. His attention was split and that wasn’t fair to his team, especially on a dangerous mission like this one.

As the group huddled together, Sonic slipped outside, unnoticed by the planners. With a choked noise, he shot off, his emotions manifesting into speed. He couldn’t be there anymore. Couldn’t think about the fact for one more minute that this was his fault. His fault for not paying attention, not listening. And now Shadow would pay the price.

A tear slipped from his control, but the wind of his speed yanked it away before it could fall down his cheek. A ghostly smiled flickered across his face before he let himself truly cry, releasing the dam of emotions inside.