This is my first Sonadow ficcy, and I just recently rewrote it.
I didn't realize how angry I was in the other story until I reread it and all the reviews…if there were that many.
I've been wondering for a while now if I should have rewritten it a while ago or not, but here I am. I'm doing it over!
Please enjoy what I have; it's only slightly different, I promise. :)
Sonic the hedgehog.
He was the blue blur. The hero. The carefree, laid-back, Eggman crushing hedgehog that everyone loved and respected. He was the one girls wanted to own. He was the one boys wanted to be.
He was an idol.
Nowadays, everything about this hero has changed. His days of running through the fields in the ruins have completely stopped. Sure, at first his runs were coming in moderation. But then he had decided against the lush green fields and resorted to lying around in random areas.
Tails had found him one time on top of the old, obscured, temple deep in the woods of the ruins. The blue of his fur stood out against the gray sky as he watched the clouds move in harmony. The rain was only slight; but it was definitely going to rain much harder, Tails had predicted that day.
One day, Amy found the blue wonder sitting on the steps of Shadow the hedgehog's apartment building. "Sonic?" she had asked, green eyes alight in confusion. "Are you alright? Why are you outside Shadow's apartment? Did something happen?"
He had only answered her with a blank stare. The door to the building, though, came to life not long after, startling both Sonic and Amy. Red and silver shoes hit the cement steps with a soft thud as the black hedgehog left his home. He had walked down the stairs and right past the two of them; not a word or a glance at all.
Emerald eyes moved and scanned the backside of his reflection as Sonic stood and watched Shadow leave. He was in love with his counterpart, Amy could tell for she looked at Sonic the same way he looked at Shadow, and there was nothing he could do about it.
No matter how hard he tried, the black hedgehog was on his mind. Always. Constantly.
He had gotten a thought in his mind, once, that made him waste hours on end just thinking about it. He had cared for Shadow much more than he had realized; if the black hedgehog were ever in trouble, Sonic would run to him as fast as his feet would move.
The thought that followed had asked if Shadow would do the same for him…he couldn't answer that. Shadow had told him, once, that he cared about him; cared about his safety. But if he really cared then…
Tails had come to Sonic's house with a frown plastered onto his face one day in late January. "Sonic," he had said, trying to avoid his friend's gaze. "Shadow…Shadow is missing."
The blue hedgehog had grown frantic in his search for his counterpart. "Anything," he whispered, running and searching through Station Square. "Anything will help me find you. Send me a sign…please, Shadow!"
It wasn't until almost a month later when Sonic's phone rang. He hesitated picking it up; what if they had found Shadow's dead body in the ocean? He couldn't bear to hear anything like that. He answered the phone in a strange muffle that was supposed to be "hello."
There was also a hesitation on the other end of the line. Sonic was scared by this. What if his thought had come true and it was Tails trying to find the right way to tell him that—
"Sonic…?"
His eyes widened in surprise as he tangled the cord of the phone around his hand. He wasn't dead. He was alive. Shadow was alive. He couldn't think of anything to say; he simply answered with, "Yeah…it's me."
Shadow hadn't replied after that, he just waited in silence for Sonic's voice to reach him again. Sonic, taking note of the silence, decided to find out where his adversary was. He tried to make it seem like he wasn't too worried when he spoke. "Where are you hiding, Shadow? You know I hate playing little kid games with you."
Shadow failed to respond again.
"Just…just tell me where you are and I'll come and save your ass like the good ol' days." Sonic let out a nervous, and yet unsure, chuckle. Shadow had yet to answer again. The blue hedgehog had been awaiting the sound of the dial tone all the while.
He was, however, amazed when Shadow had whispered, "I'm still here…don't worry."
Sonic let out another uneasy chuckle and untangled the wire from his hand. "I don't see how you can really expect me to stop worrying about you."
"Tch," Shadow scoffed. "I figured you would keep worrying."
"Hey," Sonic glared at the walls in response to the others words. "It's not my fault you're a total prick, you know. You really need to stop and think before you run off."
Another silence filled the opposite line of the phone as Shadow pondered what to say. His mind was racing and pulsing, the beginning of a headache he guessed, as he thought about what Sonic could be thinking. He was probably hassled by distraught; although his pride would never let him admit that.
The black hedgehog let a sigh flow through the phone, reaching the ears of his blue rival like a gun met the flesh; in a painful way. Shadow had reacted to the silence in a negative way. His hand moved to hang the phone up, but Sonic's words stopped him from finishing what he'd started.
"You're still there, Shadow, aren't you?" His words floated through the phone and straight into Shadow's mind as he looked at the phone in his hand. "Don't hang up."
Don't hang up…
Can't we talk?
I'm so confused.
It's like I'm lost.
Shadow hesitated, at first, but put the phone to his ear after a minute or so. "Why not?" he asked, clenching his teeth to try and prevent the headache forming in his mind. "Tell me why you think I should sit here and listen to you talk about things that just don't matter to me anymore."
Sonic remained quiet for a while. How was he supposed to answer a question like that? He had no good reason. He just wanted to know that that was Shadow he was speaking with. He wanted to hear Shadow talking with him again. He wanted so many things…telling Shadow everything was among that list, too.
What went wrong?
What made you go?
Don't pretend you don't know.
"Exactly," Shadow had said. He kept the phone to his ear, its cord lining his shoulder and chest, to see if Sonic would reply to his remark.
"Why have you changed so much…," Sonic whispered. His voice was quiet and shaky, though he was nowhere near shedding tears of any sort. "What changed you?"
This is me.
Shadow was filling with rage at the other's words. His voice, laced with that rage, floated angrily to the ears of the other hedgehog. "Nothing has changed me. I don't change."
I'm unchangeable.
Neither hedgehog wanted to speak to the other. A silence, thick and heavy, had fallen between the two of them and rested there. After a while, Sonic found his voice and asked, "What happened to us, Shadow?"
The black hedgehog didn't want to respond. He didn't know there was a "them," although he didn't deny the words he'd heard. There was always something between them, something they couldn't see or hear. It was definitely something they could feel, though. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes tightly closed as he said, "We fell apart."
When did we
Fall apart?
Or did you lie
From the start…
Sonic was silent as he let his eyes move to the ceiling of his apartment. The droplets that formed at the corners of his eyes had begun to spill over in tears, transparent rivulets of salt and sadness. He had only cried once before in his life; the day Shadow had beaten him and said that he wasn't a fan of fruitcake.
He had gone home and cried more than anyone had ever cried before, he was sure, and didn't want to face Shadow again for the rest of his life. He never did keep that promise, though. He was always right there with the other hedgehog. "How close were we…before we fell apart?"
…when you said
It's only you?
I was blind.
Such a fool.
There was silence on the other line again as Sonic wiped the tears from his face and sat down on his blue floor. The tile was cold against his legs but he didn't care at all. He wanted to hear Shadow's answer. So he knew.
Thinking we
Were unbreakable.
His charade ended and he leaned his head back against the wall. "What happened to us?"
Shadow never answered, or even made an attempt at it, he just sat in wait. Sonic hadn't said anything else either; a few sniffles just came through the line. He could only guess that the blue blur had a cold, or he was crying.
He had never heard his counterpart cry before. Frankly, he didn't think it would ever be possible for a conceited show off to cry. But it seemed he was crying, and that's all that really mattered. His lips fell open and he whispered, "Sonic…I may not come home for a while."
It was you and me against the world
And you promised me forever more
Was it something that I said?
Was it something that I did?
Cuz I gotta know…
Sonic had remained silent as he absorbed Shadow's words. He had had his mind set on bringing Shadow home when he had first found out he was missing. But, now, he felt like Shadow was telling him to leave him alone…and he almost wanted to listen to him and hang up the phone.
He wasn't going to take that sitting down, rest assured. He let a nervous chuckle pass his lips before saying, "whatever gets you through the day, Shadow." He felt good on the inside while saying this, he really didn't know why. "I will find you, and I will bring you home with me."
"Hn," Shadow scoffed. "I highly doubt that."
What made me unbeautiful?
Sonic smiled to himself. "I promise I will."
Shadow sighed a bit and looked to the ceiling of his small hiding place. "You're very stubborn."
The black hedgehog let his eyes drift through the wooden surface that sheltered him and to the sky. The light pinks and oranges that had grown around the sun, the light purples and blues that had decorated the bottom sides of the clouds, filled his mind the same way Sonic's voice did when he spoke not thirty seconds later: "I get my being stubborn from you, you know."
I've been told, "What's done is done."
To let it go and carry on.
And deep inside, I know that's true.
I'm stuck in time.
I'm stuck on you.
They stayed on the phone for much longer after that; though no words were actually spoken. Just knowing that there was someone on the other end of the phone was enough, Sonic thought.
The blue blur let his eyes slip closed as he listened to Shadow's rhythmatic breathing fill his ears. What was running through Shadow's mind right now?
He would give anything, anything, just to know if Shadow was even thinking of coming home at all. Even if he didn't plan on leaving wherever he was, Sonic just wanted to know what was going through his mind.
If only he knew why he'd left…if only he knew why he was so desperate to know where he was hiding.
Maybe he knew the answers all along. Maybe the answer is also the start of the problem.
We were still untouchable.
Shadow leaned uncomfortably against the walls of his hidden, wooden, shack and held the phone close to his ear. Twice, now, he wanted to tell Sonic everything. Where he was. How to find him. Everything.
But twice, now, he regretted ever letting the thought slip into his mind.
He had never actually left the Mystic Ruins; he was, literally, not even ten miles from Sonic right now. He just needed to get away from everything. From everyone.
The blue blur had filled his mind constantly, whether in good ways or bad, and there was nothing he could do to shake the thoughts of his counterpart. They were together much more often than either of them ever realized…
And that's why he had to leave.
It was you and me against the world
And you promised me forever more
Was it something that I said?
Was it something that I did?
Cuz I gotta know…
What made me unbeautiful?
A long time ago, he had looked after a young girl by the name of Maria. He felt he needed to protect her with his life; granted he was only taking care of her while her grandfather was away.
The night he lost her…the night those filthy humans invaded the ark and destroyed her and everyone in it…it was the most painful night of his life.
He had tried to tell himself it was nothing but a bad dream; a nightmare.
Wake up, Wake up, Wake up, Wake up,
Cuz I'm only dreaming.
But there was no way she was going to leave his mind; just like Sonic can't leave his mind now, in the present.
Get out, Get out, Get out, Get out,
Get out of my head now.
They had to learn to give each other up. They couldn't chase down such a silly dream of being together. Something would happen and destroy them. The same way he and Maria were destroyed over fifteen years ago.
But wouldn't it still be destroyed if they never tried? Trying…it had to be better for them than just hiding out in wait.
Because we're much better,
All together,
Can't let go.
It was you and me against the world
And you promised me forever more
Was it something that I said?
Was it something that I did?
Cuz I gotta know…
What made me unbeautiful?
Shadow drew in a deep breath and lifted the phone to his mouth a little so Sonic could better hear what he was going to say. They weren't going to see each other for a long time, so it might as well be said now.
He felt it was needed to be said in person, but it was just too hard when you knew you were just going to leave them right after you said it.
It was you and me against the world
And you promised me forever more
Was it something that I said?
Was it something that I did?
Cuz I gotta know…
What made me unbeautiful?
Sonic had almost wanted to start sobbing into the phone. Never before had he felt the need for the other hedgehog so drastically. He wanted to be with him again. Now and forever.
He also wanted to slap himself in the face.
The indestructible, grand, super awesome, role model, hero was sobbing. Sobbing terribly over someone who has done him barely any good in the past. Someone who said he didn't have time for fakers and fruitcakes. Someone who would rather be far, far, away than right here by his side to try and get him through this nightmare.
He decided he didn't care, and that he should just spit out everything. Tell Shadow how he felt. Tell him to come home. It's okay to let the person you love hear you cry, isn't it?
It must be…why else would Amy cry in front of him and no one else?
He opened his mouth and filled his lungs with air. He heard Shadow do the same thing, but he never stopped to see why.
At the same time, in perfect unison, both hedgehog's whispered, "I love you" through their phones, and then hung them up.
Make me unbeautiful.
Sorry about the crappy ending; I was in a rush. I'm in a lot of those lately, actually. :)
Please review, whether good or bad, I'll take them like cookies. xD
-Kisan Lee