*Flashback*
"Hey watch out!"
Shadow quickly intercepted in between Sonic and the needle sharp stinger of the Egg-Scorpion. He pushed hedgehog out of harm's way, then dodged backwards. It just barely missed them; a moment sooner and it would have made contact.
"Hey, I could have saved myself!" Sonic grunted as he picked himself up. "I saw that thing coming."
Shadow formed a Chaos Spear, and launched it one of the 7 tails that the machine had. It exploded on impact, detaching itself from the scorpion and falling to the ground with a loud THUD.
"Well, you were cutting it pretty close, faker," Shadow growled.
"That's just my style," Sonic smiled.
2 razor sharp tails were incoming. Sonic waited, then at the last second, he launched himself into the air to dodge the attack. Instead of piercing Sonic, the hooked stingers accidentally buried themself into the dry earth and became immobile. Sonic smirked from the sky as he watched Eggman's machine attempted to pull its tails out of the ground.
From the air, Sonic could see that Eggman was distracted by the trapped tails and Shadow. He took it as his opportunity. Sonic fell back down to the earth, and landed with incredible balance on one of the Scorpion's strained tails. He dashed up it, ready to attack the covering that protected Eggman.
However, before he could reach the dome, another scorpion tail appeared. It was fast. It slashed at him with admiral strength, and sent the hedgehog sprawling astern.
"Sonic!" Shadow called.
Sonic floated in midair for a second before tumbling backwards, leaving a light dusty smoke trail in his wake. He eventually came to a stop, but he was left gasping for breath and dazed.
He winced for a second at the pain in his side; fortunately, no major damage had been caused.
He took a moment to recover, and quickly made his way back to where Shadow and Eggman continued to battle.
Upon arrival, Shadow look at him and snarled.
"You amateur," Shadow huffed. "Only an idiot would have made such a worthless attack. Your pitiful performances never cease to disappoint me."
"Who are you calling an amateur?" Sonic argued. "So he got a little hit on me? Big deal. He's just playing along with the game, and that's more fun."
"You think toying with your life is fun? You must be joking," Shadow snapped. "That naive thinking will only result in you getting hurt. This isn't a video game where you'll respawn after you get taken down. If you die then you're dead. So put your cockiness aside, and keep your guard up."
Sonic rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say, Shadow." He shrugged
*
Sonic's vision blurred as he slowly opened up his eyes. He was met with blinding lights; he winced, so that he could adjust to the intensity of the radiance. He slowly opened his eyes again, and soon the world came into play. The stretched, unclear environment soon molded into one still setting.
He was laying a bed with a single, thin white blanket covering the lower half of his body and a fluffy pillow supporting his head. He wore an ivory, paper wristband, and was dressed in a cyan hospital gown. IV fluids were being injected into his left arm, and a nearby heart monitor beeped rhythmically.
Confusion surfed his mind as he looked around. He was in a hospital? How had he gotten here?
He attempted to sit up, but was stopped as immense, terrorizing pain overwhelmed him. His entire body ached, and the smallest movements amplified it further. He felt like he had been stabbed numerous of times in his chest. His head was pounding. It was as if needles were being piercing through his body and lungs, and were being dragged slowly, inwards and out. Tears formed in his eyes as he laid back. Now that he had acknowledged his pain, it was like it had worsened.
But for some reason, he couldn't quite remember how this came to be.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, in hopes of remembering what could have possibly happened. However, he was startled by slight movement off to the side. He jumped, but he knew his body could not allow him to turn over to see what it was. So instead, he darted his eyes over to see someone resting to the side of him.
"Shadow…" He breathed.
Yes, it was him.
Shadow was sitting in a small chair, with his head resting on the edge of the hospital bed. He peacefully slept, with his arms making a makeshift pillow.
Through all of the unbearable pain, Sonic was able to crack a small smile. He moved back into his former position, and gave a sigh of relief. He was grateful to not be alone.
*A few hours later*
Shadow woke up after yet another, uneasy sleep. He rubbed his eyelids, and gently lifted his head so that he may look at Sonic.
He was still asleep…It had been almost a week now. The beeping heart monitor was the only reassurance that he had that Sonic was still here with him. He softly reached out and placed one hand on his. His ears flattened and his shoulders slumped. There wasn't nothing he wouldn't give to see him wake.
He remembered the night that he failed to get him to this point. He passed out due to exhaustion right in front of the hospital. Fortunately, a passing couple had noticed them, and checked them into the hospital with their own separate rooms. Shadow recovered quickly, waking up by the next morning. After he was cleared to be discharged, he waited outside Sonic's room. Doctors had to perform an emergency surgery on his chest and forehead, as to get the bleeding under control. They often mentioned how it was a miracle he was still alive. They questioned Shadow too, asking if he had known what had happened, since they were found together. Shadow only told them what he knew, along with informing them of a possible forest fire. He didn't exactly put it out.
Once Sonic had finished his surgeries, doctors allowed Shadow to come in. He remained in Sonic's room, all day and night. The furthest he would go was to the bathroom, but he always kept his time in there limited. He was plagued with the anxiety that if he left Sonic…then he would never wake up.
It had been like this for 6 days.
Shadow closed his eyes. His mind went blank and the world around him stilled. There was no sound, except for the blowing air conditioner and the beeping heart monitor. It remained like this for a while, until Shadow suddenly felt something grab his hand.
He opened his eyes, and quickly turned to the side. Immediately, he felt his heart swell and relief overcome him.
Sonic was weakly holding his hand, but more importantly, he was awake. His long forgotten green orbs now were acutely staring at Shadow.
Shadow jumped up from his seat, keeping a light hold on Sonic's hand as to not hurt him. They locked eyes, and it was as though they had been suspended in place. Neither one of them moved and neither one of them spoke.
The silence was at last broken by Shadow. There was so much he wanted to say. But the only words that could come out his mouth were "You're awake…"
Sonic gave one simple nod.
Shadow stood, trembling. He clasped Sonic's hand dearly in his, not being able to take his eyes off him. Sonic squeezed his hand, though his grip was weak.
"Shadow..I-"
He was quickly cut off by the sound of a door opening. A single female doctor stepped into the room with a smile. Shadow sheepishly released Sonic's hand and took a step back as the doctor came forward.
"Sonic," She said sweetly. "I'm very happy to see you awake. We were all so very worried about you."
She gently came over and checked his pulse and his vitals. She wrote something down on the clipboard she carried, and began to read over some additional papers.
"How are you feeling?" She asked after a moment.
Sonic looked at Shadow first, who gave a knowing nod, then turned his attention back towards the doctor.
"Not too great," he admitted. "Everything hurts."
The doctor nodded.
"We have prescribed you with a variety of painkillers, as well as cream for your burn wounds. I ask that you try not to move around too much, as to not cause more pain or discomfort."
Sonic nodded.
The doctor smiled, then flipped through another page on her clipboard. She then looked at Sonic with a serious gaze; the atmosphere of the room changed with her tone.
"I don't mean to press for an answer," She began. "But your injuries. They are unlike anything I've ever seen before. They didn't appear to be natural either, like from an accident. If you remember, do you know what could have happened prior to this?"
Sonic stared blankly for a moment as he registered her words. He thought hard. What he was he doing? What events could he remember before now?
He got chilli dogs with Tails one day. He was chased by Amy with her Piko Hammer for an entire afternoon (this was a memory he wish he could have forgotten). He went to Angel Island to talk to Knuckles.
None of these memories were fatal though, minus the Piko Hammer of course. They were just ordinary everyday activities.
Think…think…
Wait..he was in the forest. He had been sent there on a mission.
A mission?
"Eggman!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed, louder than he intended.
Shadow and the doctor jumped, as it had been silent for so long. They were taken aback, sharing a glance before turning their attention back to Sonic.
"Eggman?" The doctor asked. Shadow was equally as shocked.
Sonic nodded, then went into a much detail as he could remember about the EggSpider 2.0, and how Eggman deceived him into believing that he had won only as a last minute effort to catch him off guard. The doctor nodded, writing down some notes.
"Those missiles might have been what caused the forest fire," She said. "And if what you are saying is true, it turns out Dr. Eggman's plan backfired."
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.
"The silk that he encased you in might be what saved your life," She explained. "Silk itself is soft and sticky, but hardens once stationary. There is a good chance that the doctor reinforced the silk, to make it stronger when hardened. When you were sealed into it, the silk became like a rock barrier. That's why the missiles didn't kill you on impact. The silk absorbed most of the damage, and blunted the blow. However, this just my guess. I am a doctor not a scientist."
Sonic nodded, as it made perfect sense. No mortal creature could have survived an attack like that. Even still, he felt ashamed for letting something like this occur. He would have to suffer for months because of it now.
The doctor checked Sonic's vitals one more time, before leaving. On her way out, she noted that he would he able to be discharged from the hospital within a few days. She promised to be back to check on him later, and wished him well.
Once she left, the room fell silent again. Sonic noticed that Shadow had looked angered, and refused to even look at him. He flattened his ears down, before softly calling out to him.
"Shadow…?"
"How did you let that Egghead do something like this?!" He growled. He voice was low and menacing. "After all the times I've warned you. You let it go in one ear and straight out the other, didn't you?"
Sonic opened his mouth to speak, but Shadow continued.
"Do you even value your life?" Shadow shouted. "You still think this just one big game? No, go on. Tell me! Tell me what you were thinking? To let yourself fall to someone as disgraceful as that wretched Egg? Why didn't you finish him off when you got the chance?! Do you think, even for a second, that he would show you a hint of remorse if you begged and pleaded for your life? Even if you had done so, it would have been pointless. Just as worthless as Robotnik himself! If mercy was even a little bit effective to people like him, then you wouldn't have almost succumbed to his weaponry. Clearly, this is a lesson that you never learned."
Sonic was silent now; he didn't know what to say. Yes, it was true he had often ignored Shadow, but that's because he thought he was just being his pessimistic self. He's always had the jump on Eggman. He didn't believe that this time would be any different. He felt ashamed.
"I'm sorry, Shadow." He managed to whisper.
Shadow turned around, and walked back towards his chair and sat down. The two didn't speak. It just another awkward silence filled the air. Time passed, and it felt like hours before Shadow finally spoke up.
"Sonic?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," He said.
"For what?"
"For yelling at you, and for not being there to protect you." Shadow said. "I know, you're not like me. You could never take a life of a human... I'm sorry, for even suggesting it. Not everyone has a cocky, pure heart like you; some with relentlessly kill without a second thought. l guess, what I'm trying to say is, I'm just terrified to lose you. When I found you, I thought I had been too late. I thought-."
His drifted off and his mouth went dry. He could only hope that Sonic knew what he meant.
"It's okay," Sonic said. "It's not your fault, Shadow. I understand where you're coming from. But I'm here; we're here together now. That's all that matters."
Shadow rested his head up against the side of Sonic's pillow. Sonic gently slumped his head on top of his, and closed his eyes. The two forgot about the argument, and focused on each other's company. For now, Sonic felt as though he could ignore his pain.
The feeling of having Shadow with him, and knowing how much he cares, was the best medicine.
Author's Note: I apologize for taking so long to update. I am graduating this month, and I had been busy with finals and graduation prep. I promise I will try to release chapters more frequently. I thank you all for your support, and I hope you have a great day/night.
Side Note: This marks the beginning of Shadow and Sonic's love journey, so there will be more romantic content in the future along with some other things. *Wink* So stay tuned for that.