FORCES SPOILERS AHEAD. This is kinda a mixture of Pamitydesu01 and ReginaDC21's prompts, (I hope that was alright with you)
Warnings for light descriptions of blood, torture, and Stockholm Syndrome. (You guys really like torture for some reason?)
The cold seemed to seem into her bones. Metallic walls, metallic bed...cold. Dark. How could this have happened? The last time she had been captured longer than a day was nearly ten years ago. How could this have happened!? Her eyes shot open, breathing hard. The cold seemed to bite into Sonic harsher than it ever had been. Two Months. Two Months. Two- Two-Two. She shook her head, trying to snap out of the mantra. Her friends hadn't forgotten her? Had they? They couldn't...could they? No. No. They couldn't.
Her wrists ached from the restraints, only being let out of them to eat. She looked out the cell, glancing around. It seemed like she was safe, for now. She brought her right foot over her lap, gingerly taking off her shoe.
Her foot was blood-stained, the sock rotting. And for all Sonic knew, her foot was rotting as well. Then, wincing she began massaging it. It hurt like Dark Gaia had personally smited her, but at the same time gave her the only relief that she knew in this place. They couldn't have forgotten her, could they? What if her feet really were rotting...what if whenever she got out of here, they had to be amputated? She shuddered at the thought.
Sonic repeated the massaging process with her other foot. How...how had it all gone wrong? Oh...wait, I know.
6 months earlier.
Sonic stabbed her pancakes with her fork. "They smell wonderful!" She praised Shadow, who had made the breakfast before her. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some cheesecake he made the other day! She sure was blessed.
"Thank you, I was somewhat worried as I didn't have a set recipe and mostly improvised." She laughed lightly as she looked around the kitchen. Shadow's apartment was becoming quite a dear place to her, the teal and white color scheme and all. He brought over the last eggs from the stove, grabbing the maple syrup on the way.
"Butter? I've also got some strawberries." He said, taking out the two foods from the fridge.
"You're spoiling me!"
"Not really, I just enjoy food." He replied humorously, taking a seat across from her. Shadow paused, he too took in the smells. Sonic reached over and grabbed the butter, spooning a dollop on her pancakes. Shadow started his meal with a strawberry. The whole meal had a heavenly aroma, oddly sweet but not enough to be sickening.
"So," She said forking a piece of pancake, "You raiding some more of Eggman's bases, again?"
He paused for a moment, chewing, "Yes."
"You're welcome to invite me along." She said with what she hoped was a flirtatious tone. He smirked, almost willing to take her up on the offer.
"I wish," He replied, "But you know Commander Tower, he'd have a fit."
"True."
They ate the rest of their meal quietly, more focused on the food. By the time they were done, they were fully stuffed.
Sonic slipped her sneakers over her socks, "Alright, I'm going for my morning run. Have fun destroying things." She gave him a peck on the cheek, a light blush illuminating his face.
"Be safe...I love you."
"The same to you!" She replied heading out the door. Chaos how she loved him!
One week after Breakfast.
Sonic's hands trembled. What was Shadow doing here? With...Eggman, and Zavok...and Chaos? How? What was happening?! His pupils were slits, and he looked through her. It must've been some kind of mind-control, right? Her thoughts ran faster than she ever had.
Then, a new figure arrived. Floating in mid-air. She rushed over to him, only to find...he had dodged her!? "Woah, this guy is faster than Sonic!" Tails muttered from his cover. Shaking the surprise off, she quickly readied a homing attack and-
"Agh!" The concrete of the wall behind her cracked and fell with her. She got her hands under her, and pushed herself up, slowly. Sonic heard Tails say something, but her mind couldn't make sense of the words. Alright, gotta clear my head. Finally getting up, that mask-guy shot something at her, and Zavok charged. She blocked the punch, pushing him back with a punch of her own. Alright, this is easy, no big deal. Despite her thoughts, anxiety was creeping at the edges of her mind.
Sonic boosted towards the masked figure, yet he dodged her again. Without any time to think, the azure hedgehog dodged her metallic counterpart. Again she boosted towards the masked figure, hoping to get a homing attack on him. Only for another dodge. She resisted the urge to curse, only gritting her teeth to the point of pain.
In front of Sonic stood Chaos. No, no this isn't right, Chaos is at peace with Tikal! This can't actually be-? Can it? "What are you? How are you- ?" She questioned, struggling against Chaos' fist. The masked figure rushed behind her, a swift roundhouse kick sent her flying. She skidded onto the ground, a rug burn forming on her knees.
"Tails!" She called out, "I need to know what's going on with this guy!" The whole getting up from the ground was getting kinda tiring.
"I'm trying Sonic, but these readings are all messed up! They don't make any sense!" Tails' voice was stressed, and really, Sonic couldn't blame him. Especially when she was so close to cracking, herself. She found herself fighting on autopilot, and once more slammed into a wall. A sickening crack came from...either the wall or her back, Sonic wasn't sure which. Before the hedgehog couldn't even fall to the ground, the masked-guy kicked her straight up into the air. Suddenly a barrage of attacks happened so fast, Sonic wasn't sure who was doing it. And yet she caught glimpses of Shadow.
"Running out of time here, Tails!" She grunted out in mid-air, pain consumed her. Each attack sent her flying like it was a game of keep the balloon off the floor. And she was the balloon. Then she flew again towards the masked figure, and without time to react she met face-first with the pavement.
Sonic struggled to sit up, do anything, but her head was buzzing, and her limbs weak. Her eyes flickered as she saw the Masked-Figure's boots. And behind him...Shadow…
"Be safe...I love you."
Present
Waterboarding. She hated it. The feeling of drowning consumed her. And every time she was brought up to breathe, Chaos' eyes stared into her soul. Zavok's finger dug into the back of her head, and she had tried to stab him with her quills a few times but it didn't work well.
They pushed her head back into the water, dumping more onto her head. She tried not to do it. But of course, like every other time. She did. She gasped for air, the sensation of drowning overcoming her. Her lungs burned.
Zavok brought her up. "That's enough for today." He rumbled. She gasped, sputtering water. Chaos stared. The two went out of the cell, taking the tub of water. Sonic the Hedgehog was left breathing hard, and alone.
There was no reason for the torture, none at all. They didn't want information, they certainly weren't using her for bait, and they weren't seriously damaging her. At least, besides her torn up feet. But, even then, Sonic wouldn't count that as major.
"Well, that's a sight to see." The deep voice startled her, her head hitting the wall. She let out a hiss, looking to the source of the voice. A fellow mobian, that was odd. He was some sort of canine, white hair in a bun at the base of his neck. He wore a jacket, which underneath had a small white box with the Eggman Empire's logo on it. What struck Sonic most though, was his eyes. His left, a piercing blue with a scar running over it, and the other was a golden color.
"And who are you!?" She would've folded her arms over her chest if she could.
"My name is...Jacob." He opened the cell, sauntering in, "And you're Sonic the Hedgehog." She rolled her eyes.
"What does Eggman want now?" Jacob smirked, holding up a case she hadn't seen when first examining him. It had a red cross on it. "Medical supplies?"
He came over to her sad excuse for a bed, sitting next to her. She didn't inch away, instead just watching him with curiosity.
"May I?" He asked referring to her feet. Not seeing any reason to object, (and knowing if she did, he would probably force her to anyway,) She lifted up her foot. He gently handled it, placing it on his lap. She adjusted herself accordingly. Sonic looked away when he took off her shoe and socks.
"So, if you don't mind, may I ask who did this job?" His voice was awfully calming.
"Zavok and Metal Sonic. The deeper cuts are because of Metal. They started doing it about the third month, Metal joined maybe the end of the fourth. That's when they got really bad." Sonic talked without really caring what she divulged.
"Well, it's a good thing I came...this might be uncomfortable, but I've got to cut off the dead skin."
"Whatever." She shrugged. He was right about it being uncomfortable. The metal scissors just moved the skin ever so slightly to cause just a little bit of pain. He got a bottle out of the first-aid kit.
"What is that?!" She asked, panic rushing through her.
"Medical stuff. It'll help, both with healing and pain." His eyes were earnest, but she was still tense, "Don't worry, I have advanced First-Aid training. So much so, I have a certificate. Do I need to bring it."
"No." She rolled her eyes.
"Now this will sting at first."
"Throw it on me. What can a little more pain do?" He didn't comment on her question but started applying the liquid. He then repeated the whole process with her other foot. Then he bandaged it. Jacob stood up, cleaning up his supplies.
"That's it?"
"That's it. I'll come check on you tomorrow."
"Yeah right." Sonic muttered in return.
Sonic stared at the ceiling, frowning. How long had she been awake? Surely long enough that someone should've come to torture her. As always, her thoughts turned to her friends. And of course...Shadow. This time however her thoughts were slightly less somber, instead turning to why or how. There were several options of course. Shadow was not actually Shadow, he was under mind control, and then the most unfavorable option. Amnesia. She really hoped it wasn't. Not again, at least.
Then again, his eyes were so weird. His pupils were slits. She shuddered slightly, remembering. Whatever the case, she'd save him.
"Hello again." Jacob. He had come back, which was oddly unexpected. "I've come to check on you."
"Right…" He entered her cell just like yesterday and began to check over her feet. "So where's the torture?" That wasn't exactly how she wanted to phrase that. Jacob however, only chuckled.
"You want the torture now?"
"No!" She said it quickly, jumping slightly. "Of course not. Why would I…? Just. Answer my question, please." He smiled, his unusually stunning eyes taking hold of her very being.
"They're busy. World domination and such. I'm not even supposed to be here, so, be thankful." She felt herself looking into his gaze perhaps a moment too long. This wasn't right. Not one bit.
"Well, uh, thanks," Sonic muttered in return, as he started to replace her shoes. "I mean you don't look like much, but you gotta be resourceful to get in here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He said taken aback at her first statement.
"Well, you don't look like much-" He bared his teeth in anger.
"Are you saying I'm weak!?" His eyes flashed, and his shoulders got straighter. He looked oddly different. Sighing, Jacob went back to his more relaxed posture. Sonic couldn't help but notice if he held himself differently, he would almost be an entirely different person. "Apologies." He muttered after he had calmed down.
"It was my fault." Though, she had no idea how it was even her fault. Was it her fault at all? She had no way of knowing. Changing the subject, she said softly, "What's this?" Her fingers gently touched the box in his chest. Eggman's logo taunted her.
"It's…" He was obviously taken aback by her question. "A monitor." He said it in her same quietness.
"For what?"
"It measure's my...internal happenings, as they are slowly robotized from the inside out." There was an odd look in his eyes that she couldn't quite place.
"That's depressing." She said.
"It is."
Jacob kept coming day after day. And Sonic was slowly becoming infatuated with him. His eyes, his hair, his touches. The way his voice was velvet. And she knew, of course, that this was wrong. Every time she thought about him, she had to rub her promise ring under her glove. She had promised to love Shadow. And yet...she was finding she had feelings for Jacob. But, they only shared a few sentences whenever he came. There was no reason for love here. No, that was wrong, she was falling in love with someone who treated her nice, and wasn't torturing her. She was socially-starved. It made sense.
Today, he announced that her feet had made a remarkable recovery. "Well yeah, I absorb chaos energy like a sponge, no wonder they healed so quickly." She said jokingly in response. He didn't seem to be quite listening, however. Jacob was staring at her quite intently.
"Uhh…" He was rather close to her face. Speaking of her face, it was red hot. So hot. He cupped her chin in his fingers, not taking a moment to look away from her gaze. And then...he did it. He kissed her. And she kissed back. But why was she?! She shouldn't have done it! The kiss turned from simple to passionate quickly.
She pulled away, breathless. Jacob didn't seem quite all there, his expression distant. "Gadget." He muttered, pulling her in for another kiss. So it was like this then. Jacob wasn't kissing her as Sonic, he was kissing her as someone else…
Her promise ring seemed to burn under her glove, and finally, relishing in the last kiss, she pushed him away. The push dislodged the box on his chest, sending it clattering to the floor. It was obvious there was nothing in it.
"Jacob…?" Her hands were still bound, and suddenly this situation looked a whole lot worse. The box, laying on the ground had no wire, no computer bits, nothing. It wasn't actually a monitor. Jacob was nothing more than a liar. His back was turned from her when he left the cell, and she didn't hear him go. He left silently.
"Jacob!?" She yelled, getting close to the cell door. She couldn't see him, and the holographic door didn't allow her leeway to try and see into the hallways. Sonic was crying, silently.
Time passed. And without the torture, and the visits from Jacob, it was hard to tell whether it was day or night. Not that it mattered much. One day, however, in the span of a few hours, she found herself sitting in the Resistance's base. No longer in a cell, but surrounded by friends. That and they had real beds, maybe not the best beds, but they had mattresses. She didn't think she'd ever miss a mattress, but having something soft to sit on felt great.
She had been rescued by 'The Rookie'. She wasn't even sure what the red wolf's real name was, as he was pretty quiet. The Rookie had a lot of spunk in him, however for being quiet, and Sonic was reminded of herself when she was younger. Speaking of her younger self. Another younger Sonic was, here again, this one though was from an alternate dimension or something. The hedgehog was a little tired to even follow it all.
Then there was Infinite. The masked figure himself. She knew who he was. She knew. Or she knew a version of him...perhaps only a facade...but it was him.
"Shadow." It was late now. The Entire Resistance itself only seemed to work on a few hours of sleep. And Shadow…
Sonic could feel his hand tightly gripping the fabric on the back of her vest. They were interlocked in a deep hug, almost frightened to let go of each other.
"I missed you." He breathed, gently rocking them back and forth. She felt cold drops land on her face. Was she crying, or was he? Nevermind, they were both crying, albeit silently.
"I'm never going to let you go." She murmured into his shoulder. His scent was the same, a sort of ashy smell, with hints of cinnamon and dark chocolate. Shadow pressed chaste kisses to her forehead. They were brief, but every single one seemed to alight her soul with fire.
"I tried to find you." He said, "I tried to find you. I'm sorry, I couldn't."
"It's okay." Sonic broke away from his shoulder, to look Shadow in the eyes. "It's okay." He closed his eyes, perhaps in frustration.
"I love you."
"I lo-"
"Do you have a special someone in your life, Sonic?" She looked up at Jacob.
Tilting her head in curiosity, she replied, "Yea, why?" He seemed to look at her almost hungrily, and he gripped her foot slightly tighter than usual.
"A pity to find someone has already claimed the flower."
"I'm not a flower," She snapped, "I'm the hero of Mobius, do I look like a delicate flower?!"
"Not all flowers are delicate." Jacob smirked, "You're like a rose, full of thorns, but full of beauty. Especially if you know how to clip it."
"I betrayed you." Sonic gasped, stepping away from Shadow. Her hands clutched at her stomach as if she were about to throw up. Then, looking Shadow in the eye, "I betrayed you."
"What?" He asked, confusion plain across his face.
"I kissed him. I-I kissed, kissed- Jacob! I kissed him." Shadow quirked an eyebrow.
"Slow down… Who's Jacob?"
"Jacob-" Infinite was Jacob, Infinite was Jacob, Infinite was- "Infinite!" She gasped out. "Infinite was Jacob...it was just another kind of torture," Breathing was hard for some reason. "It was just another type of torture. He didn't have feelings for me. He didn't- Why didn't- I fell in love with someone else- I betrayed you? Why?! To torture me?" She started cursing. "I hate him! I hate him! Chaos, I hate him."
Sonic shook with...fear? love? hate? Shadow panicked grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Hey...Hey...it's okay. We've all made mistakes in this past month." He held a finger under her chin, urging her to look him in the eyes. "I should've saved you. I should've tried harder."
Tears dripped down the blue hedgehogs face, leaving a trail through the dirt and grime of her face. Trembling, she lifted her hand up to his face touching his cheek. "I'm-" He shushed her quietly.
"Let's sleep the brief few hours we can spare to waste." Sonic bit her lip, then slowly relented.
"Okay. Okay, ...you're right."
Shadow was angry. No, scratch that, he was more than angry. He was enraged, with a bonfire alight in his soul. Once Sonic was peacefully asleep, he carefully got out of bed as to not to disturb her. She looked so tired, and he hated that new tired look in her eyes. A look that reeked of the color gray, and death.
He practically stormed out of the base. His skates clicked on the pavement of the street, as fire blazed around the city.
"Infinite!" He yelled. Shadow was going to give him a piece of his mind. "You may think you've won, but you lost the moment you hurt my beau!" His lips struggled at the old-fashioned word made their way out. The word, meaning boyfriend seemed the only thing right to say anyway.
"Infinite!" His voice resounded around the empty streets. Shadow tensed, as his sight seemed to dim, slowly faded to black.
"I do not like being disturbed...you're very lucky I even was here." It was him. It was him, and he had taken away Shadow's sight in mere seconds.
"I'll kill you. Chaos Spear!" He threw it in the general area of Infinite's voice. Shadow was knocked down, sliding unto the street.
Infinite laughed, "Uh, No. I'm not even going to allow you to even try. Besides, if it pains you to not kill me... well…" He started laughing again. Shortly, his laughing and Shadow's sightlessness faded.
"Shadow! Report to Base! Shadow!" That was Amy. He pressed a finger to his earpiece.
"I'm coming, Amy." He growled. She said nothing to his response. He turned quickly towards the base, taking back streets to throw off anyone that could possibly follow him.
"Rookie...Gadget!" Sonic's head jerked up at that word. Another one of the Resistance members had called the Rookie over to them. Sonic stared, mouth slightly ajar. Once the Rookie and the other member had finished talking, she jogged over to him.
"Hey!" She called out, waving. He nodded. The wolf rarely talked, and when he did, it was short sentences and quiet. It actually reminded the hedgehog of when she was younger, very quiet and stoic.
"I uh," She struggled for a real topic, "Have you got orders from base, yet?"
"No, they're still discussing strategy, they should come in quickly." He pushing his glasses up, and adjusted his mic. Then, he slightly furrowed his brow, "Why?" Sonic usually did wait patiently as Knuckles was good at coming up with strategies quickly, only taking a few minutes. After All, this was war.
"Uh, no reason particularly. Is...Gadget your real name?" He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Gadget." She repeated.
Then, taking a deep breath she asked, "Gadget...did you know Infinite…? Before you know...he was Infinite." The wolf sucked in a deep breathe through his teeth.
"Finn…" He muttered under his breath. Gadget then cursed, frowning.
"I knew him as Jacob." She said quietly. The rookie's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"When?"
"During the six months...you were in love with him, weren't you?" His eye twitched in response.
"H-How do you know that?" Sonic stiffened, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It's unimportant. You want to save him, don't you?" He was interrupted by the sound of Knuckles' voice through their earpieces. When the orders were through she patted his shoulder. "We'll try to save 'im, buddy."
Sonic stuck her fist out offering fistbump. They both smiled when Gadget responded.
Shadow panted, looking around. It was finally over. All the mimic enemies had finally disappeared, and the Empire was presumably defeated. "Shadow!" Through the empty landscape, Sonic came running. Practically tripping over himself, he began running as well.
The two meet each other in a heated embrace, hugging each other as if the goal was to deflate their lungs. "We did it." She murmured huskily.
"It's over." He said in confirmation. Sonic pulled away, tears of joy spilling down her face. A smile spread across Shadow's face. Then a sudden thought hit him so hard, that he almost physically recoiled.
"Marry me." He said, blinking in shock.
"Shadow?" Sonic's hands grasped his forearms.
"Sonic." He said, smiling once more, "Marry me? I know, it's sudden, but...I don't think I could go on, especially if anything like this happened again. And, maybe you don't want to...I'll-I'll understand."
"You idiot." She said softly.
"Sonic?" He murmured, blinking in confusion.
"Of course I'll marry you."
A.N.
Oooh...things that mess with character's pyche are very interesting.
Pamitydesu01: I think it bothered a lot of people, to be honest. Hopefully, this rectified some of the problems.
MadameMirage77: Uh...start writing. If you find yourself in a mood where you're like really really creative or something, start writing. Just write. (I'm sorry I'm not good with advice.)
ReginaDC21: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this.
BulletWitch1985: That's an interesting headcanon. I'm not sure, if it would work for me, but to each his own! ;) I think your request is intresting...*chuckles eviliy*
Next chapter is probably the second part to No Words Left.