Beneath

Loyalty is something Shadow values greatly. He isn't fickle in his allegiances but he is not above pretending he is if it means protecting those he cares about.

TAGs: one-shot, not Sonic Forces compliant, Alternative Timeline, aka what if Shadow truly joined Dr. Eggman in Sonic Forces

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

AN: When I first saw the trailer for Sonic forces, I expected a much different story. The more information was coming in, the more excited I got because I believed we would be getting some double-agent/forced-to-work-with-the-enemy-against-his-will!Shadow goodness. Unsurprisingly, as with the other aspects of the game, SEGA didn't carry through this either. So I figured I'll have to write this myself! Hope you'll enjoy!

Convincing Dr. Eggman that he was back on the evil side was much harder than Shadow had anticipated.

However, it wasn't for the doctor himself, no—the man was arrogant and short-sighed enough to believe a promise of revenge was enough to bind him back to the doctor's side like it had the first time they met. The true obstacle was someone else—the doctor's new henchman, Infinite.

The jackal had been after him since the very first minute and convinced the human to not trust him, insisted that he first needed to prove his allegiance before they entrusted him with valuable information and important tasks.

Shadow understood the distrust and personally thought it was much more reasonable approach than the doctor's. It was also a warning that if he wanted to stay undiscovered, he ought to gain Infinite's trust as soon as possible.

Which was much easier said than done considering how the two of them had met and how much hatred Infinite clearly still held for him; if it weren't for Dr. Eggman holding a protective hand over him, Shadow was fairly sure Infinite would have long ago tried to kill him—the powers he now possessed thanks to the Phantom Ruby would allow him that very easily.

Shadow still wasn't sure how exactly said gem worked, except for the fact that it gave Infinite immense power and that somehow Dr. Eggman could control it remotely. He didn't even know if there were more that one or how the doctor had acquired it. Which was frustrating as figuring out the nature of this new weapon was the whole point of him infiltrating Eggman's forces in the first place.

But Shadow was patient and so he didn't rush anything. Infinite was always watching him as a hawk for any signs of suspicious behavior and Shadow took all precautions to not put his mission into jeopardy. He lied when necessary, turned blind eye to the horrible acts of Eggman's forces and did his best to look like the vengeful renegade he was posing as.

He had only one shot at this, he couldn't afford to waste it.

O-o-O-o-O

However, things took much more sinister and painful turn when Sonic got captured—because Infinite got the marvelous idea that Sonic could be another great test for him to prove he truly held no loyalty to the 'good side' anymore.

At first Shadow had believed Infinite planned for him to prove this by harming Sonic in some way but the reality proved even worse—Infinite did not want him to harming Sonic; Infinite would do that himself and Shadow would instead have to stand, watch and do nothing.

If it were him to deliver the blows, Shadow would at least be able to control they power, be able to do those that would leave only marks but no serious injury. Chaos, knew that Sonic could take a worse beating than many but he was still only a person; even he had his limits.

But Infinite wouldn't allow him this, forcing him to only watch as he mercilessly beat Sonic whose special power-restraining shackles (custom-made by the doctor himself) didn't even allow him to fight back. Shadow had to use all of his willpower to remain where he was, appearing nonchalant and uncaring even when Sonic looked at him in desperate plea to do something.

Even when those green eyes became shrouded with hurt and pain than he knew didn't stem from any of the physical injuries.

O-o-O-o-O

"So...a bad guy again, huh?" Sonic's voice was raw as he spoke, making Shadow wonder how the other could even talk at all after screaming for hours.

However, he didn't ask neither did he respond to the hero's remark, focusing on only fixing the other's broken shivering body. There were many broken bones, burns and cuts Shadow needed to tend to and he did his best to treat Sonic's injuries without the help of a Chaos Emerald—oh, if he just had one now—and without allowing his inner emotional turmoil to show.

There was so much emotions coursing through his body, wrath making his hands itch with the want to strangle both Infinite and Dr. Eggman, disgust that he allowed to let this happen—regardless of the fact this was the only option—frustration that he had nothing to show for Sonic's pain and even a hint of hopelessness that he did his best to squash because that one would be most devastating if let loose.

Because nothing was still lost, Sonic was still alive and would remain for as long as the world was being conquered; Dr. Eggman wouldn't allow Sonic die, not until the day of his absolute triumph—until the doctor forced Sonic to watch as the world for whose freedom he had fought for so long laid chained by Dr. Eggman's feet.

But that was definitely still months away; Shadow still had the time to prevent the day from arriving.

"Not in mood to...talk? Well, you...never are," Sonic continued even though it clearly caused him pain, laughing weakly, glazed green eyes focusing on him. "Just tell me...why? Rouge said...something about...GUN."

Tan lips pressed into a thin line. Yes, GUN. His cover story that only he and the Commander knew was total sham; how GUN 'tried to' perform some nasty experiments on him without his consent, how this instance was why he had 'deserted' and 'decided' he wanted to get the organization destroyed because it proved they hadn't changed...

Shadow was not gonna lie—GUN was still far from saints but under Commander Towers command things were slowly getting better. Plus destroying the eternity of GUN would do more harm than good in the long run as on the whole world there wasn't a more powerful military force that could oppose Dr. Eggman and his totalitarian regime.

Which now the world needed more than before.

"What else is there to say, then?" Shadow questioned, wrapping up the other's leg tightly and trying to quell the emotions it brought forward. For Chaos' sake, there wasn't a place on the other's body that was left unharmed. Once he figured how to counter the Phantom Ruby...

Shadow grit his teeth, forcing the emotions back down as he took long deep breaths. No, he couldn't let himself get angry now. He had to be indifferent—who knew if Infinite wasn't watching from somewhere. "You clearly know the whole story."

"No. That can't be...all." Sonic lightly shook his head, hissing when it irritated his neck injury. "There has...to be more. You changed. You wanted...to protect the world."

"Maybe I just figured it isn't worth protecting," Shadow shot back, letting his expression turn hard. He needed Sonic to drop this conversation. "It's filled with morally-corrupt people that all murder, steal and lie."

"You know that's...not the...truth."

Tan lips press into a thin line. Of course, he did.

Sonic was one of those exceptions.

"...How can you know?" Shadow asked, red eyes watching the other intently. Green eyes met his, Sonic watching him with searching eyes as they stared at each other. "It's always been easy for me to pretend. That I like people that I don't. That I enjoy what I don't—like racing with you in Apatos all these weeks ago."

Sonic's brows furrow in confusion over his words—which is understandable. They hadn't had the chance to race in months and in Apatos they had only seen one another for a few moments as he and the rest of the team Dark were there on a mission while Sonic was accompanying Tails to some event.

They just greeted one another. They hadn't raced in Apatos.

"It didn't even cross your mind that I might have been putting up a face all this time, did it? That I might have been lying all this time." Shadow's hand squeezed where it was holding onto Sonic's bicep at the moment, a silent message to the other. "That I just wanted to earn your trust for my own gain."

Green eyes widened ever so slightly, Sonic able to find the message hidden between the lines.

However, Sonic didn't say anything, the hero clever enough to realized they ought not to speak freely of this surrounded by enemies, the two of them only sharing a meaningful look.

"Well, if the villainy doesn't...work out, then...I guess acting...will be...another good...career for you." There was bitterness in those words but Shadow recognized it for Sonic just putting his own acting skills to work, the green eyes sparkling with certain lightness and jest that weren't there before.

Shadow's hand squeezed Sonic's bicep again and Sonic glanced at him again, a smile in those eyes before he let them slip shut, the blue hero allowing his exhausted body to finally succumb to sleep now when he was assured the one beside him was still his ally.

Shadow let out a long exhale as he set back to work once more, taking a fresh roll of bandage.

He had an unpleasant gut feeling this wasn't the last time he'd have to do this.