Knuckles was beginning to have a bad feeling settle in his chest. It was heavy, ominous and foreboding. He didn't know what was happening right now, but he didn't like it. The thunderstorm had been at it's highest peak in strength and power with wind whipping at his face and pushing him backwards, and the echidna had a hard time being able to see through the thick downpour of rain. Though he had to make sure that Amy hadn't done anything yet, her obsession with Sonic had been getting worse until he put a stop to it.
Knuckles remembered sitting her down and talking to her seriously, she apologized and said she would tone it down at least. Though Knuckles knew that wasn't good enough, and he forbid her from doing anything with Sonic if it was just her and him alone. He didn't trust her as much around his blue hedgehog friend, she was too much of a fangirl than a friend to him.
The red echidna cursed loudly, had he been gone far too long? Tails had grown up into some stupid all-knowing teenager who thinks he knows best, and he didn't know Amy or Sonic's situation other than Amy had been snooping through Sonic's things with her idiotically big hammer. Though he did wonder, what was he doing at Shadow's and Rouge's home? The echidna had never been that close to Shadow, but Rouge on the other hand...he did feel affectionate for her in a lack for words. Sonic was the one who had all the friends, so when Knuckles went back to his duties on Angel Island he didn't worry too much for Sonic being lonely without him there.
The house had finally came into view and he sprinted towards it, only to trip and fall on something that got caught up in his legs. With a yelp he crashed to the ground into a puddle. Another curse escaped his lips and he stood up and glanced down to see the object that tripped him. An open umbrella he recognized to be Tails' from their home.
"What the hell?" He walked around the umbrella and continued to run to the house belonging to the two G.U.N. agents. His heart dropped when he heard screams of anguish coming from the home. The closer he got, the louder the screams got. As he reached the door the screaming stopped and there was an eerie silence. With no hesitation he opened the door... He immediately gasped and tackled the looming figure standing with a sharp object in their hand ready to slash down.
. . .
"Shadow. Shadow! Listen to me!" Rouge demanded, she was on her knees holding Shadow's hand in her own and she kept trying to make him look at her and not at Sonic who he cradled in his arms. Shadow was trembling and his cool calm composure had disappeared, Shadow was panicking and distressed and he could only stare in pure shock at Sonic who stared away with half-lidded emerald eyes. And the sounds of Amy sobbing in the background didn't help the situation at all.
"Look at me Shadow!" Rouge attempted to snap him back but he was too lost. "We can help him! You can help him, remember the chaos emeralds? Shadow, you can heal him. Please listen and breathe!" Rouge turned and glared at Amy who wailed on the ground even louder and snarled at her. "Shut up! Look what your ignorance and stupidity has done!"
The storm outside had gotten worse and darker and the candle lights had been blown out which left them all shrouded in darkness except for the lightning flashing and illuminating them just for a moment.
"...ia-" Shadow uttered quietly. "Couldn't save..." His ruby red eyes stared down at Sonic who had blood dribbling down his lips and onto his chin. Sonic suddenly shifted into Maria as she slowly lost her life. Her ocean blue eyes looked up at him and she wore a sad smile.
"...S-Shadow..." Her delicate voice whispered, hearing and seeing her in her last painful moments shook Shadow to his core. He should've done something, he could've done something and she would still be here alive instead of a ghost of her image haunting him.
"Listen to me. Shadow." Rouge said softly, "There was nothing you could do to help Maria." Hearing Maria's name got his attention and he turned to look at Rouge, and then look back to Maria only to see Sonic in her place once again. "But you can help Sonic. Please calm down and listen, Sonic isn't going to make it to the hospital. You couldn't help her, but you can help him." Rouge let go of his hand and stepped back to give the two hedgehogs room.
"Damn..." Shadow muttered and exhaled sharply, "Damn it..." He felt angry at himself for losing it at the worse moment but pushed everything away for later. Sonic was his first and only priority. Finally snapping out of it Shadow pulled out the green chaos emerald he always had in his possession.
He shut his eyes in concentration and held Sonic and the emerald pulsed brightly in the palm of his right hand and the emerald lit up the room with bright green, while with his left hand he held down lightly onto Sonic's rib cage. Slowly the ebony hedgehog used the chaos emerald to heal Sonic's broken and fractured ribs. The energy from the emerald went into Sonic who became completely healed in mere minutes. Shadow dropped the emerald onto the ground when Sonic opened his eyes fully and focused on him.
"...Thank you Shads..." Sonic whispered and shut his eyes, "Chaos that hurt." Sonic hesitantly pushed himself up and glanced to Amy fearfully. She continued to sob loudly as if she was being tortured. Rouge glared harshly down at the crying pink once she managed to turn the lights on.
"Your injuries have been taken care of." Shadow spoke softly. "Does it still hurt?"
"No...no nothing hurts anymore." Sonic laughed shakily. His heart was racing, and he only felt fear because of Amy. Rouge quickly picked up on this. "Thank you Shadow, and thank you Rouge...for defending me from her...you're the first people to defend me from her...normally everyone thinks she's kidding so they let her get away with this..." Sonic was scooped up into a gentle hug from Rouge and she cradled him in her arms. The tense panic in the air dissolved now that Sonic was okay physically. Mentally and emotionally though, that was a different story. Then Shadow joined in the hug, normally Rouge would tease Shadow about his affectionate side, but this wasn't the right time for this. Sonic was squished between their hugs but his beating heart slowed down and he no longer felt afraid or panicked anymore. Though he did notice that Shadow looked exhausted and drained of energy...did he use his own energy just to heal Sonic? Before Sonic could ask Shadow, Rouge spoke up.
"Chaos it's like everyone has lost their minds. Blue, I don't really know what you're going through but I swear you aren't going through it alone. Not anymore okay?" Sonic gave a smile that faded when he stared at Amy who stopped screaming and crying. She simply stopped and laid on the floor with the pieces of her broken hammer lying next to her like a child after having a temper tantrum. She changed...so had he...everybody did... "What do you want us to do with her."
"Thank you Rouge...with everyone changing like this I just grew used to it. For Amy... What will you do to her if I say I don't care?" Sonic asked quietly.
"G.U.N. will step in and deal with her. They'll see to it that she never ever comes around here or around you ever again. Though, this will be after I'm through with her." Rouge answered.
The blue hedgehog looked back at Amy and began comparing her now from her old self, she had once been an innocent girl he had saved from Metal Sonic's clutches. Yes she was infatuated with him from the beginning and chased after him hopelessly in 'love'. Though that was all she had done, she had grown bolder and changed. She became inconsiderate of Sonic and his feelings towards her and pushed herself onto him over and over and over. Now she had down it. Amy went too far and frankly, Sonic could care less as to what happens to her after this. She was one of the people who expected so much from him, manipulating and hurting him because she was his self-proclaimed girlfriend that everyone seemed to be okay with. It was a casual thing for Sonic to flee at top speeds because he didn't want her bothering him and people waving it off and laughing about it, often claiming it was just a normal thing to see.
"I don't care what happens to her. I want nothing to do with her anymore." Sonic ignored Amy's loud gasp as he replied to Rouge. He didn't want to know all the details, and Rouge and Shadow had nearly enough control of G.U.N. as their commander did. So he knew that he was finally free of Amy once she was taken in.
The door swung open and Sonic, Shadow, and Rouge instantly found his attention on the newcomer, it was Knuckles who came in drenched and looking frantic. The echidna took a quick look at them and his purple eyes widened and he let out a cry of "Look out!" and dove forwards above them. Time moved by too quickly and Sonic could only catch Knuckles tackling Amy... He pinned her arms down and something clattered from her hands. Sonic's emerald eyes could only stare at the broken handle from her hammer be held like a stake in horror. Amy struggled and squirmed to get out of Knuckles hold while hissing. Though due to receiving an ass-kicking from Rouge greatly weakened the crazy girl, she couldn't do much besides yell violently again.
"If he doesn't want me! I'll make him want me! Sonic is my boyfriend, he doesn't need any of you. He only needs me!" Amy yelled and kicked at Knuckles abdomen. He growled and winced but otherwise didn't ease up in keeping her down. Shadow appeared next to Knuckles holding a pair of handcuffs. Knuckles pushed Amy's arms together and held them up for the ebony hedgehog to cuff together. Amy screeched and kicked Knuckles backwards and scooted backwards, she attempted to stand up only to fall onto her knees and kept making piercing cries and words that made no sense. Sonic kept his distance and watched silently, wondering what the fuck had just happened.
. . .
Shadow had fallen asleep from exhaustion on the couch with Sonic sitting at the end of the couch by his legs, Sonic's suspicions of him draining a part of his own energy to heal Sonic had been correct. Rouge and Knuckles dragged Amy down to G.U.N. headquarters after fighting off a couple EMT's who came thinking there was still an emergency, it took surprisingly a lot of time persuading the EMT's that everything was okay and so they left as did Knuckles and Rouge.
Knuckles knew Rouge was fairly capable going alone, but he wanted to speak to her alone, though he and Sonic chatted and Sonic told him it was fine and that they wouldn't be gone too long. Sonic just wanted to think and not talk, just to process how quickly things changed in a day. It was incredible and Sonic knew, he wasn't alone and maybe. Just maybe he could escape from the masses and their forceful expectations of him. He could escape their harsh, cold, and unrealistic assumptions of who he is and who he isn't.
Now it was only Sonic in the house, and the blue blur observed the sleeping hedgehog with fascination, awe, and a fond tenderness. Shadow looked so peaceful sleeping, very relaxed and the scowl he normally had on his face was gone and he looked more softer. 'He's cute like this.' Sonic thought to himself, the thought disappeared and Sonic was a little confused. Why did he think like that? He was brought out of his thoughts after he was literally lifted up and pulled down by a sleeping Shadow who snuggled close to Sonic in his sleep while mumbling words Sonic didn't understand with his arms wrapped around the younger hedgehog thin waist.
"Eh? Shads? I can't move..." Sonic muttered quietly before finding himself brought closer into Shadow's chest. There was a light deep and vibrating rumble coming from Shadow and it took Sonic to realize that the ebony hedgehog was purring. He flushed red at the idea of sleeping with Shadow who purred at being close with him. They were just friends, besides...he's broken...the public would never accept Sonic for who he was...this is why he kept Amy around. As dangerous as she was she kept the public off his back about having a girlfriend. Mentally he shook his head of his darker thoughts. He knew that if he continued to let them roam they would turn around and consume and leave him falling again and maybe not even Shadow could hold him back up like he was.
'Shadow' Being so close to him like this, in his arms made Sonic feel warm, Shadow made him feel safe from everybody, including himself. Sonic felt himself drifting away to sleep contently while thinking to himself. 'I really cherish him, I think maybe I...' He dozed off to sleep.
I'm sorry I didn't update when I said I would. It's just everything went fucking wrong and I dont' know anymore.
Hope you liked it, leave your questions, comments, or concerns in the reviews and let's see if I actually update on time...lets say Saturday. Until then.