18 - Faults

Well...

The prison riot incident was dissolved, but...

There were now twenty seven prisoners now stuck in the ER. They uh, have varying injuries. Five prisoners had broken ribs and some broken limbs. Seven prisoners had serious migraines or concussions, accompanied with internal bleeding. Four prisoners had either a broken jaw or severely swollen black eyes. So severe, that they could no longer see. Six prisoners had more minor injuries, such as broken wrists or fractured fingers. Five prisoners had broken teeth, or fractured ankles. There were maybe, a little more than thirty prisoners involved in the riot. And every single one, including unfortunate bystanders, were now in the medical ward. Any prisoner who even dared to throw up their fists for a fight, were heavily bruised. At least fifteen officers rushed down to the prison to detain someone.

Not a prisoner, but their commander.

Zonic, had committed extreme police brutality. He nearly killed several people, good or not. Killing any prisoner was forbidden until the day of their execution, should they be on death row. He broke the rules, and he broke a law that he forced the warden to create. Once Zonic rose up to the appropriate rank, he had the authority to demand for the warden to get rid of 'prisoner hazing'. Prisoner hazing, was a law in No Zone that allowed police brutality to criminals. This was a rule that applied outside of the prison as well, so no one was safe. Even criminals who only committed petty crime, or simply just littered, were allowed to be battered. This law made Zonic sick to his stomach, so he did everything he could to get rid of such a horrible rule.

And yet, he ironically broke it.

The fifteen officers, including Shadow and Sonic, were forced to ultimately resolve the issue. Prisoners were still out and about, despite the terrifying display of violence given by their lieutenant general. Some officers had to abscond and rush to arrest and detain them. The rest desperately tried restraining Zonic from striking anyone else. Though, they were having difficulty. This was their leader, the top dog. No Zone HQ itself was petrifying enough, and you had a lot of people to be scared of considering how well the military did their jobs. However, at the end of the day, there were only two main people you needed to fear. Zonic, and officer Zhadow. Zonic operated the HQ, and Zhadow operated the prison. Of course because of his absence and now unfortunate chronic state, Zonic was now in charge of both buildings. Everyone feared their main lieutenant general.

He was strong, he was frightening. He was the person you feared the moment you were arrested in No Zone. Not a judge, not a detective or investigator, not other notorious prisoners, him.

You fear Zonic.

After yelling some words for the commander to calm down, Sonic managed to verbally knock some sense into him. As he was getting pulled down by both Shadow and his handful of officers, Sonic mentioned that Zhadow would hate to see the sight of his partner acting like this. Once he said that, he stopped. "I know you two were close. Dontcha think he'd be pretty pissed that you're acting like this?! He'd be ashamed of you! I'm sure he'd never want to see you like this, ever!" He hollered. Something snapped in the commander's head, telling him to listen to his twin. Soon, he realized his blood pressure was really high, and he felt so heated. He had blacked out. He didn't understand why, and he almost forgot what transpired before he went crazy. He almost didn't realize why he was so angered, until he saw the blood on his hands, and on his clothes.

All he could do was whisper, "Oh Chaos.." He did something horrible just now.

This was all hours ago. Ten hours, to be exact. Sonic and Shadow left to go see Zonic in the morning. Around ten, if they weren't mistaken. After two hours, including the soldier line up and discussing their plans, they went to go see Zhadow. That's when he lost it. Calming him down took approximately ten minutes, and that's when he bolted to the riot. The riot incident lasted only less than half an hour. By the time everything was over and done with, Sonic and Shadow left the building at one in the afternoon. It was almost midnight, now.

They were now at their new temporary residence, worried about their friend. Shadow tried asking Sonic if he ever witnessed his twin act like that before. Sonic was just as baffled as he was and shook his head 'no'. Even though it was a running gag he liked to joke about, Zonic seriously wasn't someone to express many emotions. He can count on one hand how many times he's laughed out loud, or been overjoyed about anything. He's seen him irritated and annoyed plenty of times, but, never enraged. Zonic wasn't the kind of guy to be that angry. Maybe Shadow or Knuckles sure, but not him. Zespio even mentioned that he wasn't that angry when he saw the HQ in ruins. He was too calm and collected to do anything reckless or crazy.

But not according to what they just witnessed.

When Zector came to after being knocked out by his boss, he also mentioned that ever since Zhadow came back in that dreadful condition, he's been a different person. Shadow didn't really understand, but Sonic did.

Zonic was in love with that Zhadow guy. He had to have been.

If that was Shadow in that hospital bed with little to no chance of ever waking up, he'd lose his mind too. Every time he mentioned this Zhadow guy, he always had some kind of passion in his tone. Be it fondness or nostalgia, he always seemed like he enjoyed talking about him to some extent. With someone like Zonic, it was hard to tell whether he really took a liking to someone or not. Hell, Sonic didn't even know if Zonic enjoyed his company or not the second time he visited No Zone. He just learned how to smile, in his opinion. His progression in emotions was worse than Shadow's.

Or, he knows very well how to positively express himself, and he's just really good at hiding it from others. That could definitely be the case, considering he always seems as if he's making himself not smile or laugh during joyful or humorous times. Sonic saw Zonic try and force a frown back on his face before. Sonic could almost never read his twin. However, he knew for sure that Zonic was in love with him. It was a gut feeling, and he knew it was right.

As the moon's illumination shined through their window, Sonic blew out some air of stress. Too many things happened this month. He was now laying in bed, waiting for the ultimate life form's return. He had went to the bathroom not too long ago. Sonic had taken off his gloves and shoes, so he was basically naked in bed. Shadow did the same before heading in the bathroom. After leaving the HQ, they did anything to get their minds off of the incident. They just walked around in town, talked, said sweet nothings to each other. They stopped in a couple of places to see the scenery of their futuristic themed city. At one point, they just went to a park and made out like a couple of teenagers behind a tree. It made them happy, for a time.

They still had a lot of responsibilities weighing on their minds, and they were still worried about their friends.

They returned to Zonic's apartment and just lounged around together up until now. They were planning to go to bed, and return to HQ to check up on Zonic. Though, Sonic mentioned that he had an idea. He didn't elaborate what it was to Shadow, but they were both a little mentally exhausted, so he just brushed it off. Sonic plopped his head on his pillow, laying against the bed completely and blunting his quills. His ear flicked at the sound of a sink. Shadow must have freshened up a little. The said ebony hedgehog walked over to the bed and lifted himself on top of it. He climbed his legs in, while Sonic pulled the sheets over them. They cuddled together and pressed their bodies closer.

Sonic couldn't help but smile. He couldn't remember how long it's been since he laid with someone in bed. After his last bad break up, he didn't date for a very long time. He missed having the feeling of someone with him at night. But, he was never the one who wanted to be spooned, he was usually the spoon-er. Well, that's because he was used to dating girls. He used to be heterosexual, after all. He only just realized he was bisexual a couple years ago. He never dated a guy before. He didn't mind this though, he enjoyed it. Being vulnerable, yet protected by someone else. There was a good feeling to that. Shadow, with low eyes caught the grin on his face and questioned why. "What's so amusing?" He said with a husky voice. He sounded tired. Sonic just nuzzled his head into his chest, pressing his cheek against his chest fur.

"Nothing, I just like you."

"'Like' me, huh?"

"Well, I dunno if you mind me sayin' the L word or not."

"..." Shadow didn't have a reply for that. He just glanced at the sheets below them. Sonic didn't mind his silence, though. He probably still wasn't ready, and he could understand that. It was hard for Sonic at first, too. Even when he was little, when he found and took care of Tails, it was hard to say it to the little vulpine in the first few years. So he didn't mind his reluctance in saying the word at all.

"Hey."

"...?"

"You think Zonic and that Zhadow guy were a thing?"

"In a relationship?" Shadow took that into deep thought. That was a great question. "Now that you mention it, that would explain his irrational outburst. He was out of control."

"Yeah, seriously."

"They may have had something going on, I don't doubt that at all." He looked down at the younger hedgehog, who was face planting himself into his chest. He was adorable sometimes. His lips curled up a little. "After all, you and I are together."

"Ymmgh." He was trying to say 'yeah', but his voice was muffled by his white fur. He then peaked his head from his chest and asked a curious question. "Crazy question but, do you think Scourge met the anti-Shadow?"

Shadow just shook his head. "No. I don't know what the anti version of me is like, but I doubt he'd allow a fool like that to fornicate with him."

Sonic scrunched up his face. "Eww, you gotta use that word though?"

"What, 'fornicate'?" Shadow blinked.

"Yes! Who the hell talks like that? That's like, a word old people use or something."

The elder hedgehog took his arms from Sonic's form while raising a brow. "Something you're trying to imply, hedgehog?"

"Yeah, gramps! I know you're like fifty years old, but don't go all middle ages on me." Shadow just rolled his red eyes and turned over with his back facing Sonic.

"You're a child." He carelessly insulted.

"And you're-" Sonic huffed and pounced on top of his partner. The sheets soon cascaded over them, and Sonic was now on top of Shadow's back. "An asshole." He started to snicker as the dark one fumed underneath him.

"Get off of me, faker." He growled.

"Nnnooooope. I'm gonna stay here. Pretty comfortable."

"I swear to Chaos-"

"And now I'm gonna do this," Sonic reached his hand from behind himself, and traveled his hand lower until he reached Shadow's tail. Then, he went even further down, making Shadow wince and fidget in their position.

"..!? What the fuck are you doing!?"

"Laaanguaaaage~"

"Sonic, I will kill you!" He threatened loudly, trying to pushing himself up, until Sonic brushed his finger tips against a certain place. A place no one's ever touched before. Not even the doctors back in the ARK. The color of his face flushed into red on his tan muzzle, and he couldn't even move anymore. If he did, Sonic's finger would be inserted inside of him.

"Now see," Why did the hero's voice sound so low all of a sudden? "I could be a real dick and shove this right in, no pun intended. But I'm not gonna do that. I'll just," He dragged his fingers lower, touching the dark one's crotch instead. "Touch you here." He touched his hand all over his backside, while his other hand trailed itself down his spine. He took his hand away from Shadow's nether regions, and laid himself fully on top of his body. He was now the one spooning the other. He placed kisses on him, making Shadow flinch and stiffen up. He wasn't used to getting this kind of treatment, after all. "What's the matter? Can't handle it? You touch me like this all the time..." Sonic moaned every single word in his ear.

As Sonic moved his hips against Shadow's bottom, the ultimate lie form felt himself losing his mind. He hated being so easily dominated but, he liked this at the same time. Should he make him get off?

...Maybe he should just see how this plays out. Just this once.

The green hedgehog with the black baseball detective hat, slipped it from his cranium. He placed it somewhere in his quills as he looked around. His ears twitched as he heard the cries and screams for help. The city was now dark with a familiar red air flowing through the streets. It was both Fleetway, and fresh blood lust arising. He had an additional plan, but he didn't want to put it in effect just yet. He wanted to have a little fun before he left the scene. He whistled a few times, gaining the attention of his 'bride'. Fiona soullessly stepped in front of her 'groom', and awaited his orders.

"Hey babe?" He asked while watching people fall and die in the streets of Twinkle Park. After driving away from Station Square, he had a feeling Sonic's friends would show up sooner or later. He didn't feel like dealing with them right now, so he just hopped to another part of town before they arrived to attempt at stopping him. He and Fiona were now on the edge of a roof on a building, that was quickly deserted after Scourge's global announcement. "I wanna drive a Revology."

She didn't respond back, of course.

"I see one down there, still in good use." His eyes glinted red, mentally commanding for her to have some of her personality back, just more obedient. Now looking more lively, Fiona blinked her eyes twice before smiling lovingly at the green hedgehog. She made small noises of passion, and wrapped her arms around his torso. She nuzzled her face into his neck and used one of her white gloved hands to caress the side of his face. He didn't turn her way, though. He was still eyeing that car. "Let's hijack it and take it for a spin, like old times."

She pressed her painted lips on his cheek, leaving a pink lip print on his muzzle. "That sounds fun," She replied in a dream-like voice. She sounded so delighted. Fiona only acted clingy when they were alone, or showing off their love. Though she was only controlled to act like this now, it almost felt natural. Nostalgic in the days where she actually loved him, and didn't see Sonic every single time they made love.

Hearing her scream his name instead of his, over and over...and over again...

Ah, those days were beneath him now. He hoped.

Shame he could only feel happiness in a mind-controlled girlfriend. That said something about him, and he knew that.

"Alright then," He smirked. He grabbed her wrist and prepared himself to jump from the ledge, all the way to the hood of that white Revology. "Let's go!" He cried before hopping off with Fiona in hand. She yelped, but yelled with excitement as they fell down. They soon landed as soft as they could on the roof of their new ride, so they wouldn't damage it. They jumped off and ran to the sides to open the doors. Locked, of course. Scourge stuck out his tongue and massaged his fingers on his head to concentrate, his blue eyes returning to crimson once more. Hacking vehicles with this new ability was a little hard.

Soon, they heard some beeps from the car, and the headlights flickered on. Ah, the vehicle was now lit up and activated. They opened the doors and slipped in to sit down. Scourge got behind the wheel, the grin on his face widening. Fiona looked over the dashboard and saw the meter of their gas. She giggled at what she saw. "Babe, the car's full! We can floor it!" She exclaimed.

"Oh hell yeah!" The hedgehog leered as he initiated the engine, his eyes turning back to blue. He looked over some buttons and found what he was looking for. He pressed something, and soon, the roof of the car folded down. "That's what the fuck I'm talkin' about!" He yelled. "Pedal to the metal baby!" He rammed the heel of his foot onto the gas, and the car tore out into the streets. There were still some people trying to escape the city with their cars, so Scourge brutally destroyed traffic. He skidded along the pavements, rubbing tire marks into the concrete. He slipped against other vehicles, side swiping their doors and making dents. He caused others to crash into each other, and some exploded as they rammed into objects such as poles or fire hydrants.

Fiona squealed in anticipation. They were going so fast! Sure he had super speed, but nothing beat the rush of speeding in a new sexy car! Her hair was violently blowing in the wind. Her veil even flew off of her face. They were going at least over a hundred miles per hour. Scourge's quills nearly flew off his head, but he wouldn't even care if they did. He was too busy hollering and screaming in joy. They both were far too hype to stop now. They zoomed past three blocks already, and it's only been less than a minute. They made swift turns, driving over civilians. They ran people over who weren't quick enough to get out of the way. To dodge trucks, they swerved to the side. Sometimes they just drove head on and dared for a car to either make a move, or crash right into them.

Traffic lights fell over, traffic signs were torn off their metal stands, and people died all along the way. To take a small break, Scourge stopped the car at an upcoming gas station. A large sign with neo lights shined above them. It was still functional. Both he and Fiona glanced each other with grins. He took his hat from his quills and placed it back on his head. He then held up his index finger, and watched as a black chaotic power surged from within. It circled around his hand, forming with a red energy. Both his own and Fleetway's powers were colliding perfectly. He then pushed a button to slide the window on his side down, and pointed his hand out. He aimed, and Fiona even held his arm with both hands to help him steady his shot.

They both saw some people desperately try and pump gas into their cars, while some were fighting over it. It didn't matter, though. They'd all be blown up in a second. While closing one eye, Scourge shot a beam of chaos power right at one of the gas tanks. After he nailed the shot, he sped away while laughing. With a disgruntled gasp, a Mobian looked down at the gas tank that now had a hole in it. It was smoking, and then he saw a small flame develop. His eyes shrunk in fear. He scrambled and cried for others to get away before it was too late.

But it was too late.

A red, black and orange mushroom cloud boomed over the area. Their car almost lifted from the ground from the explosion. They were still close to the area, so they felt the vibrations and rumbles. And suddenly, they saw spatters of blood all over their car, and on Fiona's lap. They looked down curiously, and saw a disfigured limb in between her legs. It stained her white dress dreadfully. She slowly held it up between her fingers, and they both realized it was a severed arm. They saw flamed and burnt debris on the flesh. Fur was receding off of it as smoke filled the air. Then, Scourge slowed the car down to look behind them. There was more flaming debris and limbs not too far away. Blood was obscured by black marks of char.

Both Fiona and Scourge turned their heads to each other, and locked their eyes in shock.

...They started to laugh.

Yes, they were laughing.

They were causing chaos, like a couple of drunk teenagers.

Fiona threw the arm away carelessly, before looking at the dashboard and finding the audio player. As she flipped through some tracks and Scourge picked up speed, she found a song that made her eyes twinkle. She started snickering louder. "Hey babe," She turned to him. "They got our song!"

"Oh yeah?" He said while looking down at the name of the track. He started giggling himself. He turned the audio up loud, and prepared to blast the music down the road. She pressed play, and they both sung the song in unison while trying not to laugh over the lyrics.

"Whoo!" They cried with fists pumped up into the air. "Aw yeah!" They moved their bodies to the beat in their seats. "Rollin' around at the speed of sound! Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow~!" As they loudly, and terribly sung the lyrics, they continued their reign of mindless havoc. Their body count only doubled with every mile they drove.

Fiona may not have realized it since she was under his spell, but Scourge knew for sure, that they were both absolutely insane.

The hero of Mobius spit out a mixture of water, saliva and toothpaste excess. He wiped his mouth, and reached his hand over to the towel rack. He seized one and held it up to his muzzle to wipe his mouth and dry his face. He then made a long exhale, feeling his now clean and cool breath flowing into the air. He placed the towel back where he found it and walked out of the room to look for his shoes. Ah, there they were, by the foot of the bed. Stark naked, he bent down and reached for his sneakers, holding them up and checking them. He needed to give them a good shining later.

He looked over at the bed, and saw his partner who was also naked, sprawled on the mattress. He laughed to himself while putting his sneakers back down on the floor. He found his socks and gloves nearby, and proceeded to put them on. Shadow, was now currently panting as if he ran around the world a hundred times in one second. That was impossible even for them, unless they had a power up. He was sweating a little, and his body seemed restless. His legs were open, with white leading from his pelvis, to the sheets. One might ask, 'what happened'? Well, Shadow woke up with ol' morning wood, and started groping Sonic in his sleep. The hero didn't take too kindly to this, and woke up with a rude start. So, he gave Shadow what he wanted.

Violently.

He had Shadow's DNA in his mouth, so he had to clean it out before they left. He also took a shower and washed his face, now dried off. He then put on his shoes, and kicked his feet a few times to make sure they were on securely. He looked over Shadow again, and stepped over to his form. He leaned down and kissed his lips on his tan cheek. The ultimate life form groaned, reaching a hand up to his temple and slowly opening his previously closed eyes. He must have been dizzy from that blow job earlier.

"S...Shit.." He grumbled. He dragged his eyes at Sonic and growled. "You little.." He couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Heheh." Sonic chuckled. "You shouldn't have woke me up like that for ass. I mean I'm an early bird, and I don't mind foolin' around, but you kept me up all night, so I ain't get any sleep." He sat down beside him on the edge of the bed and smiled at him. "We've been messin' around ever since we first started doing stuff like this. It couldn't hurt to take a break, right?"

"...Fine.." He panted.

"Heheh. Let me know when you catch your breath, then we can head out. We'll clean up later." After he said that, he knew he'd have to take these sheets to the wash later. Thanks goodness there was a washing machine here.

After about fifteen minutes, Shadow managed to calm down from his sexual high for the time being, and cleaned himself up. He grunted and pushed himself off of the bed. Sonic, with a smug look, handed him his shoes and leaned against the bed post. He crossed his arms and waited for him to get ready. Soon, the ultimate life form secured his shoes and stood up on his feet along with his partner. He growled at him with a blush once he saw the huge smirk on his face. They both walked out of the apartment and made their way in the direction of the HQ with silence. Well, it was more of Shadow's obvious embarrassment and Sonic's snickering.

It didn't take them long to speed walk to the facility, only taking them less than a few seconds considering how close they were. They entered in with no problem from security, stating who they were and why they were here. They were more than welcomed without a good reason considering Sonic was a known hero in this world as well. They told them where Zonic was and what floor he was currently on. Usually people who requested an audience with the commander had to wait weeks before even being considered to be seen. Being a hero sure had it's perks.

They were on the elevator, standing side by side as they watched the numbers of the floors increase every few minutes. Zonic's office was on one of the upper levels. Shadow could tell Sonic was a little worried, but it wasn't evident on his face. He wasn't speculating on how it may have been his fault, or why he freaked out yesterday. He was keeping his insecurities to himself. That was both a good thing and a bad thing. He shouldn't conceal his feelings so tightly, but he couldn't lose himself either. No, perhaps he just figured out a way to balance it. Be concerned, but not too concerned.

They stepped off of the elevator and proceeded to make their way to their friend's office. Zone cops who walked by smiled and waved hello, but they still seemed a little bit sad. They could understand why. Not only was their first lieutenant general in a coma, but their secondary commander was depressed and had an emotional outburst. They both loved and honored Zonic and Zhadow to an extremely high extent, that much was obvious. They also noticed that the warden must not have been in his office right now, because they saw most of them without their main uniforms.

Sonic picked up the pace a little, and stepped in front of Z's office. He placed his hand on the knob, and held up his other gloved hand to knock on the door twice. There was a pause of silence. Sonic frowned and turned to look back at his partner. Shadow just nodded once, signaling that he was probably okay. The hero looked back at the closed door, and turned his wrist to twist the knob. He pressed forward, pushing the door open slowly. He peeked his face in first, before he fully walked in. He heard a faint, "Come in," and proceeded to walk in while motioning for Shadow to follow.

Behind his grand desk sitting in his chair, was the commander. His hands were on the desk, preoccupied doing two things. He was writing some things down in a binder, while looking over some files next to it. He sighed heavily, placed his pen down while leaning back in the chair, and dragging his ungloved hands over his face. He heard some footsteps come near his work area, making him peek his eyes through his fingers. He closed his eyes while muttering, "Hello Sonic prime, Shadow prime..." He sounded as if he just woke up from a nap. He placed his hands back down on the desk and scratched behind his quills. His eyes were red and dark, like he didn't get any hours of sleep.

"Um, hey." Sonic greeted awkwardly. Shadow stood by the desk and folded his arms over his chest. The blue Mobian twin pulled a nearby chair over to the desk and sat down closely. Enough to where his elbows could rest against the desk. "You alright?" He tilted his head, his tone lightly worrisome.

Zonic looked down at the work in front of him and nodded a couple times. "I uh..." He groaned. "Yes, I am fine. Do not concern yourself with my well being-"

"Don't even go there."

Zonic made a stifled chuckle and crossed his legs under the desk. "You're right, you're right. My apologies." He looked up from his paperwork and faced his twin. "Was there something you needed? I'm sure I can get it, whatever it is."

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "Z, we just wanted to see you. We don't want anything. You know better."

"Oh..Oh, oh yes of course. I don't know why I'd think that, I...Ugh.." He gripped the top of his temple. He still didn't sound like himself. That's when Shadow cleared his throat and glanced at Sonic.

"I think this is why he was previously forced to go on a vacation."

"Tell me about it. Z, I think you need a lunch break."

"Lunch break?" Zonic's eyes slighty widened, as if he really wanted to leave the office and take a nap. "But it's not even noon."

"Who cares? You're like, the boss of everyone here." He cocked a smile. "And the warden's not in, right? Do what you want, take a break! No one's gonna be mad if the lieutenant general takes a breather. You're about to pass out." He put his hand on his shoulder, with a gentle expression that assured him everything would be fine. Zonic then looked over to his left, who saw Shadow looking down on him. He wasn't smiling but, he was giving the look of encouragement as well.

"...I-"

"Oh! Damn, I forgot something..!" Sonic jumped out of his chair and made his way to the entrance. He looked back behind him at the two confused hedgehogs and winked. "I'll be back real quick, okay?" He opened the door, and left in a blue streak. Zonic looked up at Shadow for an answer, while he just looked back just as confused. He just shook his head and shrugged. Sonic was always up to something, it was best to just let him do what he wanted to do for now.

"What do you do to relax?"

"To relax?" Zonic blinked, repeating that word like a foreign language. "Well," He began as he watched Shadow step in front of the desk, and push his paperwork off the surface. He caught everything in his hands and moved away to place them some where else. "I like listening to music and eating sweets. Don't tell anyone, though." The high ranking officer confessed.

"I see." Shadow moved back and sat in the seat Sonic previously sat in. He leaned back in the chair and watched the zone cop close his eyes as he put his head down. "Do you...Smoke?" He asked notably. He didn't know why, but something told him he did. Zonic lifted his head up a bit so his voice wouldn't be muffled when he replied back.

"Rarely, but yes. Do not tell Sonic prime."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if that's what you do for a quick fix. Especially if it's once in a while. Now if you were addicted, he'd be nagging you everyday." The black and red hedgehog looked to the side. "I do it myself from time to time, when I'm really stressed." He glanced at the other. "Would you like me to go get you some?"

"No, that's fine." Zonic shook his head. "Zhadow and I often smoked together whenever we had lunch. He's the one who got me into it. But, right now, it's not the same..." Shadow noticed the fond look on his face as he mentioned the comatose officer. Even though his sentence ended up sounding sad, he looked satisfied talking about him.

"You two were more than just friends, weren't you?" He suddenly asked, making the commander's eyes dilate. He then scoffed and darted his green eyes at the wall.

"It's that obvious, hm?"

"Very. After that outburst, Sonic figured that you two were a thing. No one acts like that for a simple friend. Maybe a childhood friend, close relative, or a lover." The ebony hedgehog pointed out. He wasn't trying to tease him or make fun of him. He was serious, because he wanted to understand. He didn't know why, but something was compelling him to try and understand why Zonic was feeling like this.

"Well, you're right." Zonic exhaled. "We are in a relationship. We've been dating for three years, actually." Parts of his normal frown began to curve just a tiny bit. "Right after Scourge faked his way out of the No Zone Psychiatric Ward, we ended up together. As I said before, he never noticed me until I showed more potential as an officer. But even then, he treated me like some nuisance. Like a child who was way in over his head." He admitted tenderly. That sounded a lot like yours truly. "I was the rookie, a private who always got things wrong. I screwed up during line ups, messed up in reports, stumbled over my words...I was terrible at detaining criminals, and always ended up needing help. Or beat up." He chuckled. Holy crap, a guy like him was that bad at his job? Then again, every great star starts out some where, and they always start at the bottom. He must have been a novice just like everyone else. "I was physically weak, procrastinated in training, and I was terrible in target practice. Prisoners picked on me, and I was a laughing stock in patrol. But," He said with a faint sense of triumph. "Zhadow was amazing. He was the best of the best. At the time, he was only an elite, but he was still the best. He arrested more criminals than anyone else in his rank, and shot bullseyes in target practice every single time. He was experienced, he was strong and confident. He was just, so cool." His voice was airy, breathless with admiration. His eyes even glossed over with twinkling inspiration. He really loved and respected this guy.

He never thought he would hear the commander speak so, dreamily about someone. He just didn't seem like that kind of person. Sonic once told Shadow that everyone had a soft side of something. That despite how they may portray themselves, they always show mercy to something they like. In this case, this cold, hard boiled officer had a soft spot for Zhadow. A very, tender soft spot.

Zonic's mouth curled up more. "I was so jealous of him, I even hated him at one point. I always thought he was so smug, so cocky and conceited. Even though I respected him, I wanted to surpass him. And that's when I became a workaholic, and strengthened my work ethic at the cost of...Well, basically my life. I overworked myself to extremes, and soon it became a habit. Honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as it is now." He glanced at Shadow, who looked shocked. It was worse when he was only a private? How was that even possible? "I passed out during patrols, I starved myself and I had constant migraines. I was forcibly sent home numerous times, and was even threatened to be fired if I didn't stop exhausting myself." He shrugged at Shadow's expression, which was very laughable. "One day, I nearly passed out while trying to give him a report. He escorted me home, to which I angrily refused, spouting out nonsense that I didn't need help from the likes of him."

"Let go of me..!" The teenager yelled, pushing himself away from the elder officer. His dark green eyes glared dangerously, even as he almost tripped over his own feet to get away. "I don't need your help! Not from someone like you! I'll be stronger than you one day, and I'll never be looked down upon ever again!" Right after he hollered the last word in his sentence, he fell forward face first. Startling the elite above him, he knelt down to Zonic and tried shaking him to wake him up. It was no use though, he passed out again. This was the third time this week. Zhadow had no choice but to carry him home.

The next morning, Zonic came back into work. As he tried organizing some files, there was a knock on his door. Normally, someone of a low rank wouldn't have an office. Because of his bloodline as an overseer, he was automatically given one when he was of age to work. People didn't normally knock on his office door, as no one associated themselves with him. He was a loser compared to everyone else, and even the rookies avoided him since he was such a screw up. Only the warden ever personally requested his time. He only got a knock whenever he was assigned a low level mission, so who could this be?

He said loudly, "Come in," and continued what he was doing. Without looking up from his work, he began politely asking if there was something he needed to do. "May I help you? If there's something you need to-" He paused when he looked up from his documents. It was him, that bastard.

Elite officer Zhadow had his arms crossed over his chest, looking down on Zonic with judging eyes. Zonic was ready to demand for him to get out, but this was a higher ranked officer. He couldn't yell curses at him like a sailor. Maybe if they were outside HQ, but he was at work right now. He couldn't be disrespectful. He bit his tongue and moved on to speak, slowly and grudgingly.

"Hello officer Zhadow, is there something I can help you with?" His tone was smothered in sarcasm.

"No." Zhadow leaned down and placed both of his hands on top of his desk. His red eyes peered through him, with an emotion that Zonic couldn't read. "But I can help you."

"..I-"

"Do not speak." He commanded harshly. "Look me in the eyes when I'm talking to you."

While continuing to bite his tongue, Zonic glared directly into his face as instructed.

"You are an overseer. An overseer can't do his job if he's a weakling like you, but I'm willing to change that."

Zonic didn't say anything as his eyes narrowed.

"I will take you under my wing, and train you properly. You want to be strong, to surpass me, right?" His voice became less strict, and more genuine. "Give up your arrogance, and open your mind a little."

Zonic didn't understand, why was he willing to do this? He was willing to help him get stronger, to be better than him? Is this true, or was this just a joke? Then again, Zhadow didn't seem like one to make jokes or participate in pranks.

To actually come here and say something like this to him of all people, he couldn't have been lying, right?

"He showed me how to shoot more efficiently, and soon I was able to get bullseyes. He helped me mature mentally and physically, acting as my personal mentor. He helped me speak more confidently, with more orderly reports. Before I knew it, I was respected and I grew in ranks. Soon, I measured up to him, and we had the same status." Right before Shadow's eyes, Zonic smiled. Not a small smile, not half of a grin, not a little chuckle, but a smile. A pure, honest and warm smile. He looked so happy. "I finally got what I always wanted, to be respected and honored. To be the best, and he helped me get there." He covered half of his face with his hand, probably trying to hide the blush on his face, but he failed. "As I let go of the jealousy and anger, I finally grew up. And, he softened up to me. I saw a side of him that no one else had seen before. I don't even think he realized he was capable of being soft. I easily fell in love with him, and he did the same for me. As he began to develop feelings for me, he constantly denied it, but his actions wouldn't match his denial."

The way their relationship progressed, was exactly like his own and Sonic's. They hated each other, but they began to care for each other. Then, it became love. But, just like Zhadow, Shadow denied the word 'love'. Was he just as confused as the ultimate life form was about the emotion?

Zonic continued to tell his love tale. "We both were shy, and were confused about certain things. We didn't, really understand emotions like others. Eventually however, we became a couple." He put his hand down from his face and looked Shadow in the eyes. "I'll be honest with you, if you don't mind me giving personal information."

Shadow shook his head. "No, go ahead.

"We became intimate not long after we declared we were a thing. Even though we were a couple," His smile fell quickly. "I..." He hesitated, and started his sentence over. "Like I said, we didn't understand emotions as well as others. Rather, as well as normal people."

Normal people? What was he implying? Were Zonic and Zhadow more than just No Zone inhabitants? The way he worded that didn't seem right.

Waking him up out of his inner thoughts, Zonic continued. "We didn't know how to say 'I love you'. We didn't realize how important it was to say it. Like I said, we didn't understand. S..So.." The commander closed his eyes tightly, clenching his teeth and looking away. He started trembling against his chair. He rose his hands to his face and gripped the sides of his head. "A few months ago, when I assigned him on a search party, to travel to anti-Mobius," His voice became unstable with emotions. "It was my fault, that he got hurt like that. And now he might not ever wake up." Zonic put his face down on the desk and gripped his fingers in his fur. "It was my fault, all my fault." It sounded like he was forcing himself not to cry. He was just like Sonic, bottling up his feelings even when he was breaking.

Then, Shadow started to realize the depth of this phrase 'I love you'. Was it really that important to say? To do this much emotional trauma to someone who lost the chance to say it to someone, was it really that significant? Why? Shadow knew he was supposed to say it, as he said to Maria before. But to Sonic, why did he feel obligated to say it even more? It's been so long, too long. He couldn't bring himself to say it so easily, but if he didn't and something happened to one of them, would they end up like Zonic?

Slowly, Zonic rose his head and exhaled heavily. He tried to smile again, as his eyes were slightly watering. "You never realize what you have until it's gone." He put his hands on his arms, and held his forearms. "I still have our memories, so, I'll...live somehow." He took his thumb and wiped under his eyelids. He cleared his throat, and his mundane voice returned. "So, how long have you and Sonic prime been dating?"

Shadow's pupils shrunk.

"..Err, what?"

"Hey babe?" Scourge called without looking behind him.

"Yeah baby?" Fiona replied while looking over the city with him.

"Could you turn up the volume on the car? Like, all the way?"

"Sure." She kissed his cheek and booped his nose with her finger, before turning around and walking over to their stolen car. God she was out of character. Currently, the car was parked on the roof of a now abandoned school. It was still running, of course. Scourge was standing on the edge, just like before, watching over the citizens of Mobius kill each other. He tipped his hat, and pointed his finger behind himself. It was pointed directly at the car. Fiona leaned her body inside, and moved her hand to the dashboard. She turned the volume up on the audio player to one hundred percent. "It's ready baby!" She said.

"Sweet." Scourge's eyes became red as mist danced in the skies above. His finger tips glowed a cherry color, and brightened as he closed his eyes to focus. Tracks switched at rapid speed in the car, until Fiona saw it glitch and form the words 'CLAIRE DE LUNE, VIOLIN & PIANO'. Her mouth formed into an 'o', and peeked her head out of the car to look at her king curiously. "This is my favorite song in the whole wide world," He whispered to himself as he rose his hands up and kept his eyes closed.

The audio player played, and the classical music flowed. But it didn't just boom from the car, it came from the radios all over town. Scourge moved his arms and hands as if he was a composer, a wand in his hand as he commanded the notes of beautiful music flowing into his ears.

As screams scorched the streets of Station Square, and blood splattered on windows and concrete, he smiled. This song was the epitome of nostalgia. He couldn't help humming. A soft breeze gently kissed his quills as they flowed in the wind.

Not once did he pay the sounds of murder and genocide any mind.

END - 18

Yay! I got something out on time! Welp, we're finally getting to the point in the story where things start to really heat up. I'm super excited to get to the climax, so I'm already proof reading the next chapter, and planning how to write later chapters. Of course, I already know how this is all gonna end, but the story's nearly half-way over. Gaaah! I'm so excited...!

Ah...Anyway, have a nice day. And also, hold your loved ones close. There's a lot of crazy shit going on in the world lately, and too many people are acting careless. Stay safe.

(Bonus time.)

1. Scourge loves classical and orchestral music. Sonic, cares very little for the genre, and has a taste for more upbeat genres.

2. Sonic never had a problem with a girl screaming someone else's name during intimacy. (Of course, it was just foreplay, but it still counts.) Scourge had to hear Fiona scream Sonic's name every single time they had sex. (Just a little FYI, yes Sonic is technically Scourge's REAL name, but that's not what he goes by obviously. She would know better than that. They argued about it so many times, with her denying this and using his real name as an excuse.) This is another reason why Scourge has a resentment towards him.

3. Sonic had not long ago discovered that he was bisexual. Scourge started fooling around with guys when he was at a younger age. He doesn't care where his penis ends up.

Also, something to think about before you go:

There's a liar in this story, who told a huge lie.