Hey guys! i just want to say thank you for reading. I know a lot of you are a bit confused with what's going on with this story, but i ask you to please bear with me if you would. There were places i wanted to go with this story that i couldn't figure out how to do with the older version. My focus has kind of shifted with what i want to concentrate on when it comes to the characters, too. i hope you can grow to like this one as much as the other. I'm a very busy bee and it's the highlight of my day when i get to sit down and write this for you guys, but I am also trying to prevent this from feeling like a chore. I read each and every one of your comments and soak in the criticism like a sponge, so i thank you for your feedback. it's what keeps me going and improving. Thanks so much!
Sonic relaxed in his bed, having beat the sun that morning. The air in his room was cool and fresh tasting due to the window he had accidentally left open the night before, but he was not looking forward to feeling it on his skin. The thought made him burrow deeper into his blankets. He could just make out the very slight pink of the sky in the distance.
His head wandered aimlessly. He thought about Tails and Cream and hoped they would enjoy living together. Certain memories popped into his head here and there and he laughed at them. He thought about Shadow. The very image of him in his mind's eye made Sonic's skin tingle. He wondered if Shadow still lived alone or if he had a girlfriend. He supposed he would find out soon. His mind hung on his dark physique. Broad shoulders. Developed arms, chest and legs. His cute tail. Sonic laughed at that one. Even though his body was incredible, his piercing, fiery eyes were what made Sonic squirm.
Sonic's wandering thoughts eventually led him to a bit of a situation. He huffed and pulled himself out of bed, the warm blanket falling from his heated body and exposing him to the cool morning air of his bedroom. He swore there could have been steam floating off his fur.
Dust particles and moisture danced together in the light from his window. As a kid, he loved to chase them, but as an adult, he was content with still being able to notice them. They only distracted him for a moment as he continued to buckle his shoes. He briefly looked around his room for the slip of paper Shadow had given him and narrowly spotted it in his bathroom on the counter. He snagged it and threw it into his backpack that he had prepared with a few aids for their mission. He wrapped his scarf around his muzzle before walking out into the chilly fall morning. He stepped a little ways away to do his stretches and prayed that no other unexpected motorcyclists would decide to make him a target that day. Again, he worked his knee, kneading out the morning stiffness. He felt like such an old man.
He stopped at a coffee shop for some hot cocoa before heading in the direction of Shadow's apartment. Sonic held the cup close to his nose and warmed himself up. It was days like this that he wished he had a car.
Sonic found Shadow's apartment building fairly quickly. He kept glancing between the piece of paper where the address was scrawled and the enormous building in front of him. It was extravagant. He stepped inside and was awed by how immaculate everything looked. He walked up to the desk and was greeted by a very enthusiastic worker who showed him where to go.
Sonic entered the elevator and punched in his destination. The elevator music was very soothing and instrumental. He found Shadow's door not too far down the hall and rang the little doorbell. He heard some quiet shuffling inside before the chain was undone and the door opened.
"Hey, Sonic, you're early," Shadow said a tad nervously.
Sonic rose a brow and glanced at a clock that hung in the wall a little bit down the hall. "Only by... fifteen minutes."
Shadow shuffled his feet. "Okay, hold on."
He retreated back into the apartment with the door left open and peeked around the corner to see if Rouge was dressed appropriately. She had gotten too drunk for Shadow to feel safe letting her go home on her own and he couldn't stay at her place that night because Sonic would be at his place in the morning. So, he opted to let her sleep on his couch. Rouge had some pajamas stored in his dresser for nights like that, so Shadow gave a breath of relief to see that she was wearing them. To his annoyance, a lot of times she would crash in her underwear.
"Come in," Shadow said.
Sonic, who had waited politely by the door, stepped inside and looked around curiously with his hands tightened around the straps of his backpack. It was a studio apartment with an amazing view of the city from the giant window directly across the entrance. Soft yellows and whites decorated Shadow's home. The kitchen was small and practical. The living room had a loveseat and a sofa situated around a flat screen that hung on the wall. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted into his nose along with a faint masculine smell that he assumed was Shadow. Sonic noticed shuffling on the couch and was surprised to see someone sit up.
"Oh! Uh... I hope I wasn't... interrupting anything," Sonic said.
Shadow rolled his eyes. "No, nothing at all. Rouge was just leaving." He suggestively nodded his head towards the door when she looked up at him.
"Jeez, Shadow, don't get your stripes in a twist. I'm going."
She gathered up her purse and slipped into her heels from the night before. She hobbled a little, her hangover destroying her brain. She wasn't in too much pain to mess with Shadow, though, and clumsily sauntered behind him on her way to the door to give his bottom a rough tap.
Shadow grunted and turned a burning glare at her.
"Good luck," She whispered.
Sonic stood to the side as she walked past him with a knowing grin.
"Lookin' good there, Big Blue."
Sonic smirked. "Wish I could say the same to you, Rouge, but I think I've seen your better days."
The door clicked softly behind her, cutting off her sultry laugh.
Shadow sighed. "What a brat."
Sonic chuckled, giving Shadow a suggestive look. "So, uh, are you guys… you know—" He made a terribly inappropriate gesture with his hands.
"Oh, Chaos, no. No, no, we've never... just no." Shadow stumbled over his words, a bit thrown off by Sonic's vulgarity. "She got drunk last night and I let her sleep on my couch."
Sonic laughed. "Lost in the sauce, huh?"
Shadow sighed as he walked to his fridge. He pulled out a carton of eggs and set them on the counter.
"Hungry?"
They conversed at the kitchen island as they ate breakfast.
Sonic inhaled the food savagely, not believing how delicious it was. Eggs weren't something he ate often, but he would eat them every day if Shadow made them for him.
"Thanks for the food, Shads," Sonic said. He handed over his plate to be washed.
Shadow's stomach lurched annoyingly at the nickname. Only Sonic ever called him that. His position by the sink hid his goofy grin.
"No problem."
Sonic swung his feet back and forth as he watched Shadow clean their plates meticulously. "So how are we going to start our mission?"
"I think we should start our search in Spring Yard. Because it's an annoying place and I want to get it over with. What say you?"
"How can Spring Yard be annoying? It's just about the funnest place in the world," Sonic said. The scowl Shadow turned to give him made laughter bubble in his chest.
"Of course you'd think that."
"I'm okay with it going first! Should we head out soon?"
Shadow glanced at the clock on his microwave and hummed. "Yeah, we better. Who knows where the Emeralds are hiding. We'd better hurry before Dr. Robotnik gets to them first."
Shadow stuck all the dishes into the dishwasher and started it.
Sonic chuckled at him.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You're like a cute little housewife. Cooking and doing dishes..."
Shadow crossed his arms and seized his opportunity. "You think I'm cute?"
Sonic's face immediately dropped into an embarrassed grimace. He coughed into his fist. "I... uh... I didn't mean to—"
"Calm down, I'm just messing," Shadow said. "But for the record, you're not so bad yourself. Never mind how sexist that statement was."
Sonic froze in place as Shadow walked away. If his chest were a stove, it'd be on fire.
"Do you need a jacket? That scarf is nice and all, but we're going to be out for a while," Shadow said from his closet. He pulled out a dark leather jacket for himself.
"I-I don't even own a jacket," Sonic said and scratched behind his ear.
"You know winter is coming, right? Do you want to borrow one?"
"... Sure."
Shadow dug around in his closet for another jacket. Not too heavy if they were going to be running, but not too light or he would get cold. He pulled out an old purple and white letterman coat that Rouge had gotten him for his twentieth (or seventieth if he got technical) birthday. It was nice, but he didn't wear it too often. It was plain; no lettering.
"Here. This is a nice one."
Sonic pulled it on and buttoned a few notches. It fit well and smelt of Shadow. He smiled into the collar. "Thanks, Shads."
Shadow picked up a backpack that sat on the floor of his closet and threw it over his shoulder. "I've got the necessary gear, too."
He pulled a small squarish device from the side pocket and booted it up. It was attached to the backpack by a wire and beeped loudly as it powered on.
"What's that?"
"It's a Chaos sensor. It'll be able to pick up on concentrated areas of Chaos energy. Likely to be an Emerald. The only other things it would be able to pick up with an energy signature even close to that is the Master Emerald and myself," Shadow said. "We'll just chase its signals. It makes things much easier."
"Sweet! Let's get 'er done, buddy!"
Shadow huffed.
As soon as they stepped out of Shadow's apartment building, Sonic took in a deep breath of the cold air.
"Want to race?" Shadow asked. His grin was almost mocking.
Sonic tsk-ed. "You should at least know better than to challenge me, Shadow. It might put a dampen on our newfound friendship."
"You say that like you would win."
"Okay, simmer down there Mr. Cocky."
Shadow laughed. "Doesn't have to mean anything."
"You know full well that races mean everything to me."
"Uh huh. Then I'll be extra careful not to make you eat too much dust. Wouldn't want a stomach ache and a bruised ego."
"You're really digging a hole that deep? You sure?"
Shadow locked eyes with him. "Surer than I've ever been."
Sonic's heart fluttered. "Alright… you're on."
"First one to the edge of Spring Yard?"
"Sounds good."
"Go!"
They both shot off in a blur, leaving people to wonder what had caused such incredible wind.
Spring Yard wasn't too far from the city, but not too many people liked to visit besides unsupervised teenagers and adrenaline junkies. Throughout the years, most of the springs and cords had receded into the ground and were covered by vegetation and growth. One wrong step could shoot someone to the other side of the zone. Typically the trees would provide a decent landing, but sometimes they didn't— which was why the area was deemed dangerous years ago. That didn't stop Sonic from showing up every once in a while though. He and Tails alway had incredible fun bouncing around.
Tails had developed weighted shoes that kept them from bouncing too high. Good thing Sonic thought to bring them in his backpack. He couldn't contain his excitement to see Shadow try to maneuver the zone.
Shadow zipped across the city alongside Sonic. They weaved in and out of traffic and people. The buildings started to become less and less until both hedgehogs were running through a green field of grass. Spring Yard could be seen in the distance, so Sonic picked up his speed. And, to his annoyance, so did Shadow. They continued to run at each other's pace until the trees of their destination zone came into view. They both spotted the small, metal sign that read 'Spring Yard Zone: Enter At Your Own Risk'.
Sonic began to slowdown so as to not start running into the trees, branches and various vines of the zone, but as he let up on speed, his foot hit the ground at a bad angle, causing his knee to give out and send him stumbling. He recovered quickly, but not enough to catch up with the Shadow.
Shadow smirked in victory when he reached the sign, Sonic trudging just behind him.
"What happened to you? Getting old?" Shadow teased.
Sonic gave him a sour look. "Shut up." He plopped down onto the ground to rub at his aching knee. "Hell." He whined. He felt angry. He was so sick and tired of having to deal with this handicap. What good was Sonic the Hedgehog when he couldn't run?
Shadow rose a brow and placed his hands on his hips. "What's wrong?"
Sonic huffed, stretching his leg out as far as it could go. "I have a bad knee..." he said. "Sorry about your jacket." He swiped dirt and grass from the sleeves.
"Forget about the jacket. Are you going to be okay?"
The cool winter wind brushed past them harshly and sent a shiver down their spines. Sonic pulled his legs close to his chest and burrowed into his jacket. "Yeah, but I'd be even better if I was warm." Not only because the cold made his knee ache more, but because he hated the dreary, sad feeling of winter.
Shadow smiled. "Alright. Well, we better get a move on. If you don't mind?" He asked. "I can take you back home if you want to sit this out—"
"No, no, I'm fine. Honest," Sonic said, standing with a grunt. "Now that we're here, I have some helpful tools for us to use."
"You have my attention."
Sonic pulled two pairs of boots from his backpack. "These are weighted boots so you aren't sprung into next week. I set yours to the highest available weight."
Shadow accepted his pair appreciatively.
Sonic looked away awkwardly as Shadow changed shoes. He started to slip his own off, but paused when Shadow looked at him. He had finished fastening his own boots already and held his jet shoes in his hand.
Sonic fidgeted. "Um... Do you mind...?"
"No...?"
Sonic huffed. "Turn around you big dope."
Shadow rose a brow, but turned around.
Sonic switched his shoes in a hurry and shoved his every day pair into his backpack. He walked around to where Shadow was facing and held his bag out for his shoes.
"Okay. So, the sensor says that the Emerald is to the Southwest. Let's head that way," Shadow said.
They maneuvered the forest floor carefully, both keeping their eyes peeled for unwanted surprises. The Chaos sensor beeped at a slow, quiet pace. The fall air was a bit dulled in the forest due to the trees blocking the wind and the surrounding brush was eerily quiet. There were randomly placed and crumbly walls covered in vegetation.
Sonic stepped over a log slowly, but a spring shot out from a forest wall and shoved him face down into the dirt. Shadow, with no help given whatsoever, stood and cackled at him. He held his breath when Sonic gave him a death glare.
Sonic picked himself up and did his best to brush off the dirt and grass clumped all around him.
"Still love this Zone?"
"Yes I do, thank you very much."
As Sonic and Shadow walked deeper into the forest, they started heard metal clanging not too far ahead. Birds flew from the trees in alarm. Shadow paused and his ears swiveled, trying to pick up any other peculiar sounds. He noticed that they were coming from the same direction the Chaos sensor suspected the Emerald to be. Wasting no time, he shoved the tracker into the pocket on the side of his backpack and took off in the direction as fast as he could.
"Hey! What the—" He followed.
Shadow weaved through the trees, praying to Chaos he wouldn't step on any springs. His prayers went unanswered as right foot pounded on a spring. It sent him up, not even high enough to break the leaf ceiling, and the shoes allowed him to land softly back on the ground. He smiled to himself a moment. He saw another spring in the distance, zipped to it and jumped on it. This time, he broke through and could see out over the treetops. He spotted a group of people huddled around a giant, glowing portal in the middle of a clearing. When he landed, Sonic stopped next to him.
"Come on, Shads, we're supposed to work together. What's going on?" Sonic whined. He didn't want to miss out on anything spectacular.
"There's a Special Zone up ahead," Shadow said. "Follow me."
They came to the edge of the clearing and hid in a bush. The area was covered in beautiful yellow daisies and patches of clover. A giant ring-shaped portal floated in the middle with what looked like four robots standing around and looking inside. They were clearly unnerved by the swimming colors and hovering platforms inside. It was a clip to a different dimension.
"You sure it's in there?" A robotic monkey asked the others.
"It's gotta be. This is where Boss said it would be," another answered.
"It doesn't look too safe."
"Doesn't matter. We gotta get the Emerald and the Emerald is in there."
Sonic sat and waited for direction from Shadow while studying the androids closely. They looked way more advanced than what Eggman usually cranked out.
Shadow scooted closer to Sonic and whispered into his ear. "We can probably run right past them without a problem. Don't you think?"
"Definitely."
"Okay. I'm going to search for an opening. When I say go, we go. Got it?"
"Roger that."
Shadow kept an eye on the robots.
"One."
They were still deciding whether to go in or not and seemed to be on the verge of going for it.
"Two."
One of them turned to talk and left the edge of the ring wide open.
"Three."
Both Sonic and Shadow noticed it at the same time and nodded to each other.
"Go!"
The robots all spun around, looking all over for the sound, but oblivious to the flash of blue and yellow that snuck past them.
Sonic and Shadow stopped once they thought they were deep enough in the Zone to not be seen. They wobbled as the platform beneath them floated back and forth and the flashing lights were enough to cause an instant head ache.
"I think I see the Emerald!" Sonic said over the loud white noise.
"Okay. Let's grab it together so it can transport us out of this hell hole!"
They could see the Emerald in the distance, but there were many loops and jumps and swings they had to go through to get there. One wrong step and they would plunge to their certain death in the vast nothingness. They ran along different platforms.
Shadow lost his footing on an oily platform and landed hard on his bottom, sliding towards the edge at an alarming speed. He couldn't catch a grip with his glove, so he pulled it off with his teeth and pressed his claws into the platform before he slid off the edge. He was able to slow down, but not before he started to fall off the ledge. He gripped the side tightly, his fingers and nails giving off great protest to the exertion.
Sonic skidded to a halt when he saw Shadow struggling. "Shadow! Hold on, I'm coming!"
"I wasn't really planning on letting go!" Shadow growled around the glove between his teeth.
Sonic landed on the slick platform unsteadily and tried his best to keep his composure as he slid towards Shadow. When he reached the edge next to where he was hanging, he stuck his leg out as far as he could to reach the next platform. Sonic winced at the pain in his knee, but held the split the best he could. He stuck an arm out for Shadow to grab onto.
Shadow turned and reached for Sonic's hand, just short of grabbing it. Their finger's brushed.
"Shadow, you'll have to let go of the ledge," Sonic said.
Red-hot pain bloomed under his kneecap and spread up his leg like wildfire. Fear of his leg snapping like a twig surfaced in his head. A low whine shook his chest.
"Are you kidding?"
"Shadow, just trust me!"
Shadow grunted. "Shit."
He pulled himself up, pushed off the platform and latched onto Sonic's arm with both hands. Sonic howled, but held strong as he swung Shadow to the next platform. Shadow crawled up and reached out to grab Sonic by his backpack and pull him over like a rag doll. Sonic wobbled, but found his footing quickly.
Shadow inhaled deeply. "Thanks, Sonic."
"D-Don't... mention it."
The rest of the way to the Emerald was easier together. Sonic put up a seven foot thick mental wall to keep himself from buckling under the throbbing pain in his leg. The yellow Emerald glimmered as they ran up to it at last, and as soon as Shadow touched it, the world around them warped.
A spark appeared slightly above the trees on the edge of Spring Yard. It started small, but grew until it spat out the two hedgehogs. One landed on his feet and one on his face.
Shadow laughed. "You must really like to eat dirt, huh?"
"Ha. Ha. You're so funny, Shadow," Sonic said, picking himself up and wiping dirt off his face for the second time that day.
"You don't have to tell me."
Sonic huffed and limped over to him.
Shadow locked eyes on Sonic's knee and opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm fine." Sonic cut him off.
"If you say so." He reluctantly let it go. "I suppose we should make a stop at Angel Island."
Sonic smiled ear to ear. "Sweet! Can we stop at a candy store?"