early chapter!

"Sonic, you haven't gone out for a few days, what's up?" Tails squeaked, placing a steaming plate of food next to his blue brother. Sonic took the chili dog on it and slowly sunk his teeth into it, letting the taste crawl over his tongue with a sigh.

"Just haven't felt like it." He mumbled through crumbs. "It's been a bit rainy y'know."

"Rain hasn't stopped you before, so why now?" Tails pressed, sitting on the couch next to the young hedgehog. "Is it what happened on the ARK?"

"...Yeah…" Sonic admitted under his breath. He took another small bite of his food. It had been a rough week for him.

"Why don't you go on an adventure." Tails suggested. "We both know it makes you feel better."

"But what if-"

"Shhhhh." Tails hushed, placing his small finger over Sonic's lips and taking away his plate. "It will help."

Sonic gave a dejected sigh. Tails was right. Going outside would help him feel a lot better. But where should he go? Soleanna? Holoska? Perhaps a run through Mazuri would do?

"Go to Mystic Jungle, or somewhere." Tails sighed, noticing Sonic's confused look. "Just get outside."

Sonic did go to Mystic Jungle. He didn't have any better ideas, so why not? It was best observed at nighttime, but daytime would do just fine. Sonic hopped into the Tornado and took off. Flying there would be nice.

The landing was a bit rough, so Sonic decided he would walk. Enjoying the scenery slowly would allow him to see the small details after all. The little plants and animals that darted around brought joy to Sonic's heart. It was wonderful seeing the wildlife once again. Quite a lovely change from cityscapes and blurry landscapes. The rivers and waterfalls splashed in the distance, creating a lovely roar as they cascaded through the fallen trees and over countless cliff faces. The sun was blocked by a lovely shade through the countless leaves that grew overhead. Vines and bushes dangled from the canopy, giving the whole place a wonderful - beautiful scenery.

As Sonic walked along, he felt so much better. The singing birds and dense foliage reminded him of his home on Christmas Island. Sonic grew up in this sort of environment. He was in his element.

Growing denser, the jungle stretched on, leaving the blue hedgehog with miles and miles to explore. Although the terrain grew harder to traverse, Sonic still pressed on - searching for a nice place to just… sit.

With a rough movement, the young mobian pushed aside a low hanging branch, letting it fall back into place with a pleasant swish. Sonic sighed. It was nice being outside. Tails was right. He did feel better. By a lot.

A cool, shallow stream crossed his path, allowing Sonic to bask in its mists. Gloved paws splashed into the water, scooping it up to his lips and sipping the refreshing coolness. Ahhh. fresh water.

There were a lot of wildlife nearby. Well, the number increased the longer Sonic pressed on. At first, it was a few songbirds, happily singing away in the branches high above. Then, the mice and squirrels, scurrying in the thick foliage growing on the forest floor. Monkeys and crows swung in the carpets of vines hanging off the trees. The sun stopped shining its rays through the leaves, bringing a darkness to the area.

It wasn't too dark. Sonic could still see what wasn't obscured by the vines and bushes. But as the Blue Blur progressed, the animals became more and more prominent. Rats and other scavengers skittered away whenever Sonic took a step too close to a hiding spot. A hawk floated into the branches up above. And an ocelot yowled in the distance. Why were there so many animals?

A small clearing for a pooling spring opened before the young hero, letting the refreshing breeze carry a lovely mist to the mobian's fur. With a heavy, yet pleased sigh, Sonic approached the water.

The jungle was hot. Not the dry, arid hotness of the desert, but a humid, boiling air type of hot. Any water was welcome, for the forest environment seemed to suck the moisture right out of Sonic like an angry sponge. Any source of water was welcome to cool the drenching heat. Any water at all.

Kneeling down, Sonic dipped his hands into the pool, letting the temperature ease his heated limb. Closing his eyes, he felt the rippling current of the water, tingling against his gloves and lapping at his arms. Another sigh of content and relief crossed the hedgehog's lips. He should head back now, it was getting late.

Upon opening his emerald eyes, Sonic noticed something strange. There was something … green in the water. It flowed around, swirling this way and that, and rested against the shore wherever it touched. Red shoes crunched through the pebbles to get to some of the beached color, what was it? Sonic knelt down, taking the stained rocks in his paws and turning it over. It didn't smell like anything he'd smelt before. He could only compare it to something … bitter? Tails' nickel compounds?

Whatever it was, Sonic hoped it wasn't radioactive. If it was, he would have to check it out and get some help as soon as possible. Standing up, the Blue Blur looked around for the thing's source. It flowed from upstream. Sonic gulped. He hoped it wasn't Eggman's doing.

Following the stream led to a denser patch of jungle than encountered before. Sonic inhaled. It would be a bit of work checking it out. With a bit of a struggle, the young hero pushed through the thick plant life, earning himself a few scratches as a result. Sonic didn't care. After the fight with the Biolizard, those little lines felt like nothing.

Pushing further, Sonic noticed a strange oddity in the forest. The trees above were splintered and broken. Like someone had shot a missile through the woods at a downwards trajectory. Frowning, Sonic followed the broken path, finding that it indeed got closer to the ground the further it went. The branches were broken and laying on the forest floor, the leaves were torn, and some of them dead - someone had done damage to the jungle. Eventually, the broken flora gave way to the ground, a deep trench, marked by dirt and stones thrown all over the place, carved its way through the jungle. Now that was odd.

The green trail continued, carried by the flowing stream beyond the beginning of the trench. Sonic pressed on, morbid curiosity carrying him step by step through the area. The smell of burning wood faintly carried in the dirt, marking the point that there had been a fire at one time. One recent time: the trees were still slightly charred. The frequent rains must have put it out. Animals fled when Sonic pushed through one final piece of dense foliage, revealing a sight that not only dropped the hedgehog's jaw, but his heart as well.

There, near one of the pools of tainted water, was Shadow.

With a cry, Sonic raced over to the adult's side, checking him over and looking for any signs of life. To say Shadow was broken was an understatement. Green liquids slowly drained out of him as he laid, partially buried and cast on his side, in the messy dirt. His quills and fur were in complete disarray, with chunks of his once fine, shiny, healthy coat burnt off and dulled with stains of green and brown. The scarlet-striped head was partially covered by the sediment, leaving rivers of green liquid - clearly some sort of blood - pouring down his still face.

"Shadow!" Sonic sobbed, digging him out of the trench with as much force as he could muster. Bit by bit, the young hedgehog unearthed the elder, clawing away the bloodied dirt and rocks to reveal great gashes on Shadow's head and side. The quills, once proud and full, now laid flat against the rubble, lacking any sign of life or vitality. Tears began to pour down the Blue Blur's face once again.

"Come on Shadow…" Sonic hiccuped, wiping his eyes with the clean part of his now very dirty arm. "Wake up!"

Grasping the limp arm, Sonic shook the adult, trying to wake him up from this nightmare. Not even a breath passed the lips of the injured hedgehog. Sonic shook again.

"Shadow please!" He cried, falling on his knees and weeping as he shook again and again and again. "Wake up!"

There was nothing. Not a twitch, not a breath, not even a heartbeat. Sonic grasped the dull, damaged fur in handfuls, pulling and shaking in an attempt to get some sort of reaction.

"SHADOW WAKE UP!" Sonic screamed, frightening birds from their perches. The blue hedgehog fell onto the adult, screeching and crying as he pulled and shook, using all of his heart to wake him. There was nothing. No movement, no breath, nothing.

"Please…" Sonic begged, pressing his forehead against the cold arm of the adult with big, globbing tears rolling down his cheeks. "Please wake up…"

Sonic curled against Shadow's chest like a baby bird seeking shelter. He pressed himself into the adult, not caring that his own fur was being dirtied with mud and blood. He desperately wanted to hear the deep, rolling breaths and the powerful, soothing heartbeat against his back and head. He wanted to feel the sturdy arms wrap around him like they did so many times. He wanted to bury his face into the warmth of Shadow's embrace, only truly felt once in his life…

But there was nothing. Not a breath passed the cold lips. Not a beat escaped the broken heart. And not a twitch came from the still body.

The weight of the limp figure did nothing to sooth Sonic as he cried and wept; tears and sobs leaving him with no words to say. It seemed like hours he was there, huddled against the adult's cold, broken body. He cried and cried, until he had no more tears to fall. Then he rocked back and forth, begging and pleading for Shadow to at least give some sign of life. But there was never anything, leaving Sonic with more tears to cry.

"Shadow…" He sniffed, moving away from the lifeless hedgehog. "Please…"

"Please…" He sobbed, collapsing to the ground. "I'm begging you…"

"I…"

"I miss you…"

There was nothing. Sonic didn't even know what he expected. Shadow had been laying there for months. With the amount of blood flowing down the stream, it was very likely that he had suffered immensely upon impact. Dirt, rocks, even bark was embedded into the adult's flesh, telling a story of crashing and partial burial. Sonic's tears mixed with the blood on the ground, showing the young hedgehog how much he was hurting inside. Shadow didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to die like this - burning in the fire of an angry planet only to be tortured by nature upon entry. He must have laid here for hours, awaiting death to come while searing pain and draining blood slowly stole his mind from him. How long had he suffered? How long had he actually survived it?

"I'm…" Sonic stammered, lower lip trembling as he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. "I'm so sorry Shadow."

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"I'm so...so sorry."

"You deserved more than this…"

Sonic curled against himself, weeping one final time before he would return home. Tails would understand how much agony he was in. Perhaps they could return sometime and give him a proper burial. Sonic wiped his cheeks. Something - anything to give Shadow a better fate than this.

Sonic stood up, turning away to head back to the Tornado for the night. With a heavy heart, he took his first step, feeling worse and worse as he carried on. But then he heard it.

The soft crunching of pebbles against flesh and stone, grinding together in the dirt.