Chapter 21: Don't Buy Without Warranty
"I would like to buy that slave!"
Shadow's voice sounded as harsh as possible as he barked at the surprised owner of the stall, trying to act before Sonic could do anything. Having survived years fighting for his life both aboard the ARK and on Mobius, Shadow, much like Sonic, had a heightened sense for danger. Right now the blue hedgehog standing next to him set off the ninth symphony of alarm bells in his head.
The vendor, a shrewd-looking elderly bonobo ape, turned around, glaring at both of them suspiciously. Shadow by now had his hand clenched onto Sonic's shoulder so tightly that it must have been painful for the younger hedgehog, but judging by the blazing fury in the blue one's eyes, it hardly mattered to him.
"Better make this quick, Shadow. I don't know how long before I snap," Sonic whispered to his supposed owner, his voice hoarse.
The ape, seemingly oblivious to all of this, bared an ugly smile with several teeth missing. "Would you?" he asked, as an introduction. "Well, dear...sir," he added after a quick glance at Shadow's immaculately groomed fur and Sonic's expensive items, "I would very much like to oblige, but...you see, this one isn't for sale. I make my living off him as an exhibit."
At this, the foxlet in the cage gave a soundless sob that nevertheless sent his upper body convulsing. Disgusted, the bonobo hit the steel contraption with his walking stick, sending it swaying. "Quiet, you! Attract customers!" The monkey shrieked at the now sobbing kitsune, offering a quick apologetic smile (that made about as much difference as a snowflake in hell) to the black hedgehog, then quickly grasped both of the boy's tails to distract from the abysmal display.
"For you see, mylord, this one is a very interesting magic creature. Would you like, for a copper or two, to hear the magical stories of the multi-tailed fox spirits of old?" he asked, apparently slipping into his usual spiel.
Shadow, who now was sure that Mt. Sonic next to him was close to eruption, quickly proffered his entire purse. "There's seven gold rings in there. I believe that would be apt payment even if this fox of yours had nine tails and could spew fire."
"I already told you, I won't sell him for all the rings in the world," the monkey now adopted an annoyed expression. "Now, if you're not interested, please-"
"Trade me."
"What?" Shadow shot Sonic a quick glance out of the corner of his eye.
"You heard me. Offer him me in exchange for Tails. We need to get him out of there and I think I can handle myself in his hands. And I want to make this guy pay," the blue hedgehog whispered, still unnoticed by the owner of the stall who was now busy again barking at his primary customer attraction that had curled up in despair.
Sonic's voice was ice-cold as he said this and Shadow's expression briefly hardened as he could recognize himself in there. This was the tone of someone so furious he was beyond simple anger. This was Big Brother Instinct in full swing, every fibre of the soul of the hero next to him burning for divine retribution, rage seething just beneath the surface. So far, Shadow had been pretty sure that he would have been able to convince Sonic to do any number of things, but this was very possibly one of the few instances where the blue hedgehog wouldn't budge an inch.
Though of course, if that was this dimension's version of Maria in that cage, I would do the exact same. In fact, I doubt that this ape would even still be alive right now. Shadow looked again at Sonic, emerald eyes locked on the cowering little fox.
Sometimes we are so much alike, Sonic.
Sonic, on the other hand, was as furious as he was afraid. If Shadow didn't do something soon, he'd kill the monkey. He could feel it. He could feel the rage boiling away, threatening to wash over his rational thought, all of his world suddenly filled with a red haze, Tails the only point that came clear into focus. He had stood on this threshold before. Had had people who had frightened or hurt his friends suddenly at his mercy, able to do with them as he pleased. Shadow was once again the only calm thing he could hold onto before turning into an animal and he prayed that this control wouldn't suddenly slip.
"Shadow…" he groaned almost soundlessly, trying to convey to Shadow that he couldn't stand this anymore. "Do something…"
Shadow, sensing this, tried to compose himself.
"How about a trade, then?"
"Look, I said-!"
"I offer you my personal slave. Sonic. You won't find anything as rare as him on this world, I promise." Shadow couldn't help but allow himself a wry smirk at this poorly-timed private joke.
The bonobo's expression changed from irritation to something resembling interest. "A...swap, you mean? Hmm..."
"Look at your other slaves. Nothing around as vibrant as this blue, am I right? And you have to admit he's much more imposing to look at than your little foxlet...ah. No touching before purchase, please."
The monkey, who had been about to finger Sonic, withdrew his hand with a scowl. "Why? Are you trying to sell me faulty ware?"
No, I am trying to save your hand from being ripped off, Shadow thought. Aloud, he said: "No. I can assure you his pelt is exactly as silky as it looks." And by Chaos I hope Sonic doesn't work out that I know that from experience. "But since he is my personal slave, I won't allow anyone else to enjoy him...unless, of course, he shouldn't be my personal slave any longer. As Crown Prince, that is only to be expected."
"Oh. Er. Of course, your Majesty." The bonobo suddenly bowed deeply. "Forgive me for not recognizing you before, you, er, of course rarely feel the need to mingle with us lowly commoners, you-"
"Yes. Enough of that. Do we have a deal? Sonic is 17 years old, prime of his youth, fully broken and obedient. A marvelous creature, if I may say so myself. I must be mad to trade him...but for some reason I have always had a penchant for foxes. Then again..." Shadow inclined his head as if in calm contemplation. "Hmm. Well, I think I still want this urchin of yours for the moment. You should agree now before I change my mind."
It was a strange conversation. It was the first time Sonic had volunteered to be treated as a slave and Shadow thought that it had to be because he cared for the little fox so much. Then again, the blue hedgehog technically had also submitted to collar and leash for him. Out of logic, too, perhaps, but also because Shadow had asked him to.
Hmm…should I take that as a sign that he cares for me, too? The thought flashed through Shadow's head before he could stop it. It was a childish, girlish thought one might have in their teenage years and the Ultimate Lifeform immediately tried to quench it, but to no avail. He had read about this. When you were in love, you analyzed every single little action of the one you loved towards whether they might love you in return. So the article had said, And Shadow, who had never loved romantically before, found out that yes, this indeed was true and it was maddening.
"Hmm...well, if you put it like that, my liege..." The ape was currently drooling at the sight of a Sonic who could barely contain his rage, the ape obviously already calculating the ticket prizes he could charge for people to see the once personal slave of the Crown Prince. "It is a deal. Here, I will get the fox out for you."
The merchant moved to open the cage and leash a flinching Tails, who seemed to be half-strangled by his collar. He handed the leash to Shadow quickly, apparently unable to wait to get his hands on Sonic. The black hedgehog nodded. "I'll have his ownership papers sent to you as soon as possible. It was a pleasure doing business with you."
"Yes, yes, my liege, of course, my liege." The bonobo babbled, all of his attention focused on the blue hedgehog he was now holding. Shadow himself had to admit it was a ridiculous picture. When he had held Sonic in front of the mirror, that brief instant before the blue hedgehog had turned away, he had suddenly felt as if this was right. Sonic, his slave, pet and beloved, he as master, protector and lover. The pair that now stood before him - the stooping, dirty monkey dressed in rags, and the Hero of Mobius straight backed and stiff with fury next to him, eyes smoldering with anger focused on his 'master', did not look very convincing. If it hadn't been for the leash, you wouldn't even have been able to tell who was supposed to be owning whom.
"Well. I'll take my leave, I'm sure you have other business to take care of," Shadow said, giving Tails' leash a light tug to see how the cub would react. He felt a rare stab of pity as the little fox scrambled to his feet, glancing at his new perceived Master with a mixture of terror and faint hope.
"Yes, indeed I do. I hope to see you again, your Highness. Now, I think I'll give your old property a little bit of a trial..." the monkey leered at Sonic during his last comment. "You! Get into that tent there, lie down on the bed!" he barked, the indignancy radiating off the hedgehog seemingly going unnoticed by him. Sonic turned without hesitance to do as he was told, trembling as he was lead inside.
But Shadow had spent enough time at the side of the blue hedgehog to know that this was no charade for the sake of appearance. Sonic wasn't trembling to pretend to be frightened. Sonic was trembling in wrath.
The tent flaps fluttered shut behind the pair, the bonobo rubbing his dirty paws as he entered after his new acquisition. Shadow heaved a sigh and made to walk away from the stall, knowing that Sonic didn't really need his help here...in fact, the only one who would need his help was the merchant, but Shadow was very much disinclined to lift a finger for him. Casting a casual look at the fox cub who was staring at his feet, he gave the leash another light tug.
"Come on, you. We're going to the palace."
The kitsune gave a quick frightened glance, first at the tent entrance, then at his new Master. With a horror in his voice that almost sent a shiver down the world-weary Ultimate Lifeform's spine, he whispered:
"F-forgive me for speaking, but...the...the Master...he is going to do bad things to your hedgehog, my lord."
xxx
"Right..." the monkey was almost salivating as he strode inside his tent. Then his anticipating expression suddenly changed to one of a surprised frown. "Hey! Why aren't you lying down like I told you to?"
"I am not going to lie down."
"What! You piece of filth, just who do you think you-?" The bonobo spat, raising his club and approaching Sonic with fury in his voice. Then something in Sonic's expression made him stop. Now the hedgehog advanced.
"My name is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. I move at speeds faster than you can imagine," he started, and suddenly he was right in the face of the ape, and the club had disappeared from his suddenly limb grasp, tossed to the floor by white-gloved hands, "I am the protector of Mobius, a dimension you have never even heard of. I am capable of channeling the power and even the fury of Chaos when I chose to," he said, his voice now as silky as a dagger sliding through skin as he moved so close to the monkey that their faces were nearly touching and the merchant could see every tiny number on the nametag of the hedgehog's suddenly so useless collar, "I have saved moons tied to planets. I have watched the world burn. I have defeated Chaos, the God of Destruction with my own bare hands," he spoke, his voice rising to a crescendo, a sudden violent push sending the petrified merchant onto his behind, the blue hedgehog now towering over him like an avenging angel.
"And you," he said, the anger finally burning through his words into his voice, flames erupting behind his emerald eyes like a vision of a portal to a hell made of jade,
"And you just hurt my little brother!"
xxx
"No. No, I don't think your former Master will do anything bad to Sonic," Shadow worded his reply carefully as he was leading Tails out of the city and towards the Palace. The fox blinked, not understanding and the Ultimate Lifeform privately thought it would be best not to say anything, even when the obvious surprise was visible on the cub's face as they soon saw Sonic calmly leaning against a rock not much further up the road. He had gotten rid of the vest, but all of his other items were still around his ankles, arms and wrists, not even a scratch.
"Well," Shadow said, glancing back towards the city. "It's still standing, I see. What about the merchant?"
"He isn't going to deal in the slave trade again." Sonic shrugged, his tone oddly calm and detached in comparison to his usual demeanour, but then his gaze settled on Tails and a smile immediately lit up his features.
"Hey there, little buddy! We got you outta there!"
"Yes, and I had also enough presence of mind to buy a second leash on my way out of the city before you overtook us. Your neck, please," Shadow stated flatly, already knowing how Lazar was likely to react when he returned from the city dragging two slaves instead of one when Sonic obviously still wasn't anywhere near broken. 'But Lazar, my slave forced me to buy him' sure wasn't going to work.
"Urgh. In front of him?" Sonic shot an uneasy glance at Tails and at the leash that Shadow was holding out in anticipation. He seemed just a tidbit embarrassed.
"Sonic. This isn't the Tails you know and you know it. He won't be very surprised to see his new owner has another slave and the less he knows about our...special situation, the better. Now come over here."
Sonic sighed and let Shadow attach the leash to his collar with reluctance. Afterwards he straightened up quickly and twisted his neck as if he had to get comfortable again. Shooting a quick glance at Tails, he added:
"Hey, you can talk, you know. Shads and me aren't gonna bite your head off and I'll persuade anybody trying to harm you personally that it would be a very, very bad idea."
The little fox, as if dazed, only nodded, after another fearful glance at the black hedgehog. Shadow, shaking his head, set off again, the two sapients in tow. Sonic, walking next to an also leashed Tails felt rather odd, but nevertheless tried to make some conversation, even though the little fox mainly stared at the floor. In the end, Sonic settled for talking about the food and comforts that would await them in the Palace, a defeated Shadow mentally already making a list of what they would have to steal from the kitchen in order to fulfill all of Sonic's promises. Despite the happiness of the blue hedgehog, Shadow knew that the arrival of another charge complicated things immensely. Well. At least Tails didn't seem to be as much of a troublemaker as his supposed original slave.
Or so I hope. I'm seriously wondering what the fox kid from our world would do in this situation.
xxx
"They have been what?" Tails, already a nervous wreck from the events of the previous days, stared at Knuckles, disbelievingly.
"Abducted. Um." The echidna looked rather sheepish, but wasn't lacking in offended dignity. "Look, I know looking after Sonic and Shadow is important, but I also have the Master Emerald to check up on, remember? Rouge is off searching for any traces of the missing Emerald 24/7, and Amy, as we both know, wouldn't be any help in this situation at all. It's not my fault that we still haven't found a psychiatrist and we both know that if we got any of GUN involved there would be a bloodbath with Shadow. What was I supposed to do?"
"Yeah. Okay. Whatever." Tails had a hand draped across his eyes, trying to keep calm. "Now, next phase: Do we know who abducted them?"
At this question, the echidna visibly balked.
"...Robotnik. Boy, is he gonna get a surprise, huh? Tails?"
To be continued...