Warning: Small Lemon

38 - Psychology

Ah, where was this?

There was nothing but white here. Was this a blank space? He could feel something though, it felt like chaos energy. Immensely powerful amounts of it, too. Was nothing else here?

Huh? No, he felt something soft beneath him. Shadow looked down, he saw white fabric this time. A mattress? There were thick sheets and blankets, but they were all messed up. As if someone was tossing and turning in it. Also, this thing was huge. Perhaps it was a king sized bed? No, it looked even bigger than that. He looked up and saw that above the bed were curtains. This was a canopy, a big one. A bed only fit for royalty, but why here? And where was here exactly?

Suddenly, he heard moaning.

Shadow turned to his left to see four silhouettes in front of him, laying in bed. Why was it suddenly so dark in here? They were all shaped like hedgehogs. Were they all, Sonic? No, they weren't Sonic, but they were his forms. Two of them he could make out but the other two, for some reason they were too blurred to see. Rather, too corrupted to see. He kept seeing strange symbols over the silhouettes, in a language Shadow couldn't understand. They were all moaning, their limbs moving and stretching.

He could see glowing red eyes from the first silhouette, which alarmed him, until he realized they weren't swirling. That wasn't the demon, that was something entirely different. As if light illuminated on the person, Shadow could clearly see who it was. It was the gold one, the Super form Sonic used. His cherry red irises, his blinding golden fur and aura. He was blushing, and he didn't have any of his clothes on. He looked embarrassed, but his legs spread for him regardless. Wait, he was submitting himself to Shadow. Why? "So you're...The Chaos *******..." What? He couldn't understand that word. "I understand now, why he chose you..." He was rubbing his ungloved hand down to his crotch, he was touching himself. "Ah," He made a small moan. "Mmn, do what you want with me..."

Something strongly compelled Shadow to yank him down and have his way with him, however, another side of him told him not to. In fact, he for some reason felt fear. Why fear? Shadow slowly looked at the second silhouette engulfed in navy aura, and he could now clearly see this one as well. This one he recognized very well. It was Dark Sonic, just as nude as Super but a lot less submissive. He was laying against a pillow, staring directly at Shadow with his soulless white eyes. He was touching himself too, sucking one of his fingers into his mouth as his tail wagged. That's exactly what Sonic did when they first did it. "I let you off easy, Project..." Sonic would never call him that. "I should have dominated you in that bed, you're lucky my host is so merciful. Mmm," He licked his lips. "Come here, I want to play with you again. We can be rough all you like."

No, this wasn't right.

None of this was right.

The two forms crawled over to him together, reaching for his legs and thighs. They both pushed him down on the bed, gazing at him from on top of his body. They kissed each other with heated gazes still directed at Shadow. Chaos, he was so hard right now. After they broke their kiss, they began to touch Shadow's figure. "Please," They said. "********** us. Give us," They both rubbed his member from below. "...A new heir."

Super made a hungry smile. "I'm so tight for you."

Dark tightened his hold on Shadow's shaft. "We're all ready for you, Project."

All of them at once? No.

"What's wrong?" They both asked. "Isn't this what you want? Isn't this your fantasy?"

No...

"Don't you want us?"

...No.

"Don't you want Sonic?"

Yes, but he didn't want them along with him.

There was something awfully wrong with them.

Shadow quickly opened his eyes while panting heavily.

A dream-No, a nightmare.

It felt like it should have been a good dream, but it was a crazy nightmare. But why was it a nightmare? Why did he feel like he shouldn't have saw any of that just now? And what were the other two silhouettes he saw in the...Huh. He blinked.

He couldn't remember any of it now.

What just happened? And why the hell was he hard in the middle of the night? He was too mature to be having wet dreams, he was almost in his sixties. Did this count as morning wood? At least, he assumed that's what he had.

He sighed as he shifted his position with his legs. He was going to turn over, until he felt something nuzzle against his chest. He looked down and saw Sonic peacefully asleep on his body. His face was deep within his chest fur. Shadow's lips curled up a little, all of his worries suddenly washing away. Didn't matter what the dream or nightmare was about, he had something to comfort him already. And it was right here, in his arms.

He laid his head on top of Sonic's and closed his eyes once more that night.

Next Day, Day Of Interrogation

The two hedgehogs woke up a few hours after dawn, about nine in the morning. They both realized when they woke up, that they felt something warm resonate inside of their bodies. It felt familiar, it felt like they were returned something that was lost. After looking into each other's eyes for a few minutes while reading their wavelengths, they realized that their super forms must have returned back to them. They sighed in relief as one of their trump cards were back on the table. Chaos forbid if Scourge wanted to pull something stupid again, Sonic and Shadow could really go all out. They felt safe, and heavily reassured. Shadow could feel Maria's presence, and Sonic could feel one of his many divine deities flow within his body with great energy. That made waking up this morning a lot better.

Sonic whipped up some pancakes and eggs in the small kitchen, while also serving Shadow some black coffee. After they shared breakfast together, they kissed profusely. Afterwards, they both showered together and freshened up before getting dressed in their shoes and gloves. They went on their way to No Zone HQ, but Sonic quickly swiped the tablet Zepsio gave them yesterday to check on their friends on the way there. Tails picked up, but said they couldn't continue the call for long because he had a plan on moving the group to Angel Island. They were on the move, Tails couldn't be distracted. Sonic commended the little fox for coming up with a plan, but warned him to be very careful and to once again keep his eyes peeled. Sonic hoped Tails knew what he meant by that, but he had faith in the kitsune. Both he and Shadow wished everyone good luck, and they sadly had to end their short transmission. Sonic chaos controlled the device away and told Shadow that they might as well just chaos control inside of the HQ instead of walking.

They teleported right in, startling some folks, but they greeted them nicely once they realized who it was. Sonic and Shadow greeted back, and traveled to Zonic's office. They noticed on their way there that the soldiers definitely looked saddened because of the great lost they've suffered, but they could tell something else was there. Dare they say it, they sensed, happiness and relief. No Zone HQ was in a very poor state as of now, with a high shortage of soldiers and several damages wrecking their building and their city. There were cops coming in and out of the building to go into town to make some repairs on the city buildings. Citizens wouldn't be returning back to their homes in a very long time, and that wasn't good. This put a poor name on their military and their honor, losing family members and great men and women of their world. Finances were being drained constantly thanks to the repairs as well, making it harder for them to secure a decent budget for equipment or weaponry. They were in a very bad place right now, and yet...

Some people were still smiling.

The two hedgehogs felt a notable sense of euphoria spreading from person to person, and the couple couldn't figure out why for the life of them. Granted, ninety percent of the soldiers in the building looked absolutely fine, as if they never fought in the war. They could only assume it was only thanks to Zonic's efforts with his new abilities and his leadership of the medical ward. Maybe that was a reason? Things felt very bittersweet, but they didn't understand the sweet part of it. What was anyone smiling for at all?

By the time Sonic and Shadow arrived on the floor and walked to his office, they were puzzled. Sonic was going to knock, until his ear twitched at the sound loud thumping. Shadow heard this as well, his eyes narrowing as he came closer to press his ear against the door. Yes, there was a lot of thumping and knocking. Almost as if someone was throwing things onto the floor. He turned to Sonic with concern and suspicion, giving him the indication that something might be wrong. Perhaps it'd be better to get the element of surprise. Sonic nodded once and placed his hand on the doorknob. Steadily, he turned and cracked it open, his fists clenching in preparation for an attack-

"Mmmfgh...Mmffh...Mmmn!" Muffled mewls of pleasure met their sensitive ears as they peaked through. A black furred hand was firmly placed over a peach muzzle, as the commander of the No Zone military was thrusted into on top of his own desk. His uniform pants were around one of his ankles, his top fully opened with his peach chest revealed. He was on his back, with a black and red striped hedgehog underneath him. He was holding one of Zonic's arms back, while covering his mouth from behind to stop him from making loud noises. Zonic's back was arching, his blue legs spread out completely with his free hand gripping the surface of the desk. The Shadow look-alike behind him was grunting with each thrust, his teeth grazing against his blue ear as he gave off a hungry glare. The dopple ganger's No Zone uniform was just as shrugged off as Zonic's.

Zonic's face was beet red, his eyes rolled back as every noise he made was of nothing but unadulterated ecstasy. The binders and files that were on top of Zonic's desk were toppled over onto the floor. Pens and pencils scattered, papers and documents carelessly tossed here and there. The commander's chair was flipped over in the corner of the room. Two pairs of military boots were laying around, forgotten. With every thrust, the desk shook and made a large thud. After a few minutes of this, the black hedgehog took himself out of the commander and pulled his hand from his mouth. He then pushed Zonic forward onto his hands and knees on the surface. He got on his knees as well right behind him, just to penetrate himself right back inside. Zonic gasped sharply, until that hand once again shot to his lips and covered his mouth.

The commander gripped his wrist as it covered his face, muffling more moans and groans. His blue tail wagged furiously in response to the waves of sexual high, his bare peach fingers stabbing into the hard wood. He soon laid his face against the desk, his hand still holding the black hedgehog's hand to his mouth. From behind him, the Shadow look-alike reached to the back of Zonic's head and pulled at one of his more dull quills. His pace became a lot faster, the moans coming from Zonic's mouth were turning into loud cries. He was panting quickly, his body sweating as he could feel his climax rising to dangerous levels.

...Sonic shut the door back softly.

Oh.

Oh...

...Oohh...

Okay...

The two hedgehogs slowly turned to each other with mortified expressions, before looking back straight at a nearby wall. Though Shadow looked more confused, while Sonic looked more disgusted. They both literally just witnessed both of their dopple gangers have public sex, right in front of them. Their mouths were agape, the hero's face twisted and wrinkled into revulsion. Shadow had his eyes squinted with his brows furrowed. Sonic took his hand off of the doorknob, feeling a strong sudden urge to wash and disinfect his hands. With a low and rather disturbed tone, Sonic asked an honest question. "...What the fuck did we just witness?"

Shadow blinked at his use of language. "Well," He said slowly. "Apparently my counterpart to this world is no longer in a coma, and the commander is happily taking advantage of that."

Oh wait, holy shit. Shadow was right, that had to have been the Zhadow guy Zonic was dating. Sonic blinked several times, he was alive! "Holy crap," He quickly turned back to Shadow and grasped his shoulders. "He's alive. That Zhadow guy is alive, Shadow!"

"..." The fact that Sonic didn't notice that first amongst anything, was slowly killing off one of Shadow's many advanced brain cells. "...Yes, that's exactly what I just said, Sonic."

Sonic could easily sense his sarcasm and pursed his lips. "I know you did, but it's still crazy." He started to smile. "I mean, this whole time my buddy's been going out of his mind because of this guy. Now he's back, and," They both winced at the sound of a long, drawn out moan coming from the other side of the door.

"Yeees...Aaahh~!"

They assumed that Zhadow guy didn't have the chance of covering Zonic's mouth that time. "And," Sonic tried to continue. "He's obviously really relieved."

"I can't blame him," The ultimate life form admitted. "If you were trapped within a coma for approximately a month, I'd probably lose my patience with abstinence as well." The very thought of all that pent up sexual aggression made the biohog smirk. "I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to pin you against the hospital bed and-"

"Shads."

"Yes?"

"Your sex drive is showing."

"Whatever."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Anyway," They both flinched several times at a series of louder thumps.

A loud moan that sounded more like a scream accompanied every single thud. "Aahh...Haa..Aah...! Ah! Ahh! Oh Chaos-!"

They were surprised the soldiers downstairs didn't hear this. "Uhh," Damn this is awkward. "I'm confused though, why is that guy even awake? The doctors said he'd probably never wake up."

"True-" This time, an animalistic growl cut them off with yet another loud thump.

"Stay still, rookie."

Of course, also accompanied with a scream. "AH! Ahh...!"

Sweet Chaos, what was he doing to him in there? "True, but traumatic comas can be extremely unpredictable." Shadow responded. "The commander's lover suffered severe damage to his cranium that should have killed him instantly. One would say he got out lucky from surviving said blow, but it put him in a state of limbo."

The two hedgehogs paused for a second to await any more noises that may interrupt them. After about a minute of silence, Sonic moved on to reply. "Yeah, and shouldn't he have brain damage? Be in a wheelchair, or something? No one comes out of any kind of coma right as rain, they're still screwed up afterwards."

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, his expression now deep with thought. "Indeed, but perhaps the commander used his abilities again?"

Sonic's eyes dilated a bit at this. "You think he healed him out of that coma? Seriously?" He asked breathlessly. "I mean, chaos power can do some crazy stuff, but we can't even do that. Not without being in a super form, at least. No offense to Z and he is crazy strong, but no amateur can just bring people back from the brink of death like that."

Shadow disagreed with a confident smile. "I don't know, Sonic. Perhaps you and the commander aren't blood brothers, but I do believe you both are related someway, somehow."

The hero frowned. "What do you mean...?"

"I'm saying that like you, he should be able to do the impossible. Which includes awakening people from out of their comas."

Something still didn't feel right about that, though. Sonic took this into account and made a small sigh while leaning his back against the door. Zonic claimed he never had knowledge that any Overseer could even use chaotic abilities and yet, he's able to do so. Knuckles was the guardian of the chaos emeralds, and he couldn't even use chaos as well as they could despite being around it's energy all the time. Maybe Zonic was always able to use it, he just never could until now. But something just didn't click, it didn't make sense. Sonic had a bad feeling, his gut telling him that Zonic may have been hiding something from him. Or maybe a few things.

...Actually, Zonic was hiding some things.

"Capital punishment's one of the reasons why I became a monster in the first place, you son of a bitch! Don't you idiots ever learn?!"

"Motherfucker, you were my Overseer too! You did this to me! You failed me!"

Back out in the war when Scourge glitched that blimp, he showed live executions of past prisoners, including himself. Zonic even once said that Scourge had previous failed executions, and what the hell did that mean? On live footage, Zonic was there along with that Zhadow guy to witness every single death.

"He should have been locked in solitary confinement, because he used his 'weakness' to his advantage. In all that time that he was mocked, or bullied, beaten or allegedly sexually harassed-"

"Wait what?" Shadow and Sonic scrunched up their faces in unison with utter disgust. Zonic only rolled his eyes and groaned, that itself was a long story.

"D..Don't focus on that. It was just an unproven claim he made before the start of his first failed execution-"

"First failed execution?"

Whenever Scourge's claims of being abused in prison came up, Zonic would change the topic or avoid the conversation. Distracting them. While he was beating Scourge to a pulp, Scourge even said that Zonic was the one at fault and that he was the one who failed him as an Overseer. And just what was that supposed to mean? Hell, was that why Scourge wanted to kill him so bad? Besides the executions, what did they do to him in here?

Sonic scowled. He might be sounding like a hypocrite right now, but he despised whenever his friends kept big secrets from him like this. However, he hated a liar even more, and he hoped that's not what Zonic's been doing this whole time. Lying straight to his face about Scourge and who knows what else. But that was okay, because Sonic would be sure to ask very specific questions to the one person who he knew for sure wouldn't lie to him: Scourge. He'd spill all the beans without hesitation if it meant putting someone in a bad light and causing trouble. And something told Sonic that Scourge had a lot to say to Zonic that he wasn't able to express on that battle field yesterday.

Time was running out, the interrogation would commence very soon. All they had to do was wait for Zonic to clean up and get out of that damn office-

"Sonic?" He heard Shadow say, snapping him out of his day dreaming.

"Huh?" He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that, heh."

Shadow narrowed his eyes, and he did not smile back. "I feel it. Your suspicion for the commander, it's very toxic." He frowned. "Did he do something in particular?"

Shit, Sonic forgot their wavelengths were absolutely connected at this point. Shadow could feel everything he felt, Sonic couldn't lie to him. He sighed and grimaced while looking away. "I think Zonic's lyin' to me and hiding a bunch of important stuff. After hearing Scourge yell at him yesterday while he was kicking his ass, he was saying a lot of emotional and personal stuff." He made a disappointed expression, his green eyes growing a little cold. "When we question Scourge, I think we're gonna find out a lot of stuff that we don't wanna hear."

"Ignorance may be bliss but it can also be someone's downfall." Shadow reached out and grasped Sonic's hand gently. "I respect Zonic and I can confidently say that he is a very valued ally and a worthy friend. However," He trailed off with a grounded tone. "If he somehow had a hand in any of the events transpiring up until now, then you and you alone as his Champion, need to have a very serious talk with him so you can find out the truth." The grip on his hand tightened lightly for comfort. "I know he cares for you a great deal, but that doesn't give him the right to continuously keep you in the dark like this. At first, I understood why he didn't want you to help out with HQ when you had the chance, but now I'm starting to wonder if your safety isn't the only thing Zonic was concerned about."

Sonic shook his head with a saddened expression. "I really hope that isn't it, Shadow. I really do."

Shadow pulled him in an embrace, to which the hero gladly returned. "I do as well." He kissed the side of Sonic's muzzle. "Intentions usually don't mean a thing, actions do. But in the end, let's hope he at least had your best interest at heart."

"Yeah." He nodded quietly. He let go of Shadow's hand and faced the door to knock on the surface once more. "Yo, Z." He called. "Can we come in?"

They both heard some shuffling coming from the other side. They both gave each other an all knowing look as to what they were trying to do. They were probably trying to clean up their mess before they got in. After about a minute of hasty movements coming from inside of the office, they heard Zonic reply. "You may come in." His voice sounded a little winded. The two hedgehogs took note of this as they carefully walked in and shut the door behind them. Immediately, their eyes scanned the room.

Woah. If their careers as soldiers ever failed, they could always become professional maids because the room was spotless. No spilled over pens and pencils, no toppled folders and files, no scattered papers, no thrown away chair or boots. And surprisingly, no white stains either. Hmm. All of Zonic's office stuff was back on his desk, perfectly organized just like they were before. He as sitting behind the desk comfortably, his head laying against the surface while the other hedgehog sat on the desk next to his head. Their uniforms were fixed up, and they looked normal for the most part. However, their faces were faintly blushing red and their eyes were cloudy with lust. They were slightly panting, too.

As for the Zhadow guy, he truly did look exactly like Shadow. Ruby eyes, white chest fur that was mostly hidden, some of it sticking out of his collar. Red stripes aligned on his pitch black furred limbs, with a tan muzzle and a fit stature. He looked just as stoic and cold as Shadow usually does. Looks like he had a resting bitch face, too. To be honest, he actually looked more agitated when he saw them walk in. Sonic noticed this, and he didn't like that but he kept it to himself. His legs were crossed with his hands folded in his lap, giving them empty glares. Zonic had his head down, his eyes closed as if he was asleep. Must have been exhausted from their 'work out' earlier.

Sonic gave Zhadow a careful smile. "Uhh, hi there!" He greeted as nicely as possible before looking over at Zonic. "Z, you wanna introduce us or...?"

"..." Zonic lifted his head and opened his eyes. Once his eyes settled on Sonic, a smile was drawn across his face. A very pure and happy smile, a smile that almost made Sonic flinch with shivers. Wow, he looked like a different person when he smiled like that. He looked so, so alive. "I almost fell asleep there, sorry." He rubbed the back of his hand against one of his eyes before resting it back on the desk. "So good to see you Sonic prime, Shadow prime. This," He looked over at Zhadow, that beautiful smile brightening ten fold as his eyes made little twinkles of passion. "Is First Lieutenant General Zhadow, prime operator of the prison side of the HQ." His cheeks grew even rosier as Zhadow glanced down at his partner with a blank expression. "And absolutely the strongest zone cop in No Zone history." They could hear a hint of Zonic's flirtatious nature crawling through his lips.

Wait, flirtatious? Zonic?

Maybe their ears were going bad. The commander of the zone cops slipped from out of his chair and stood up to walk around his desk. He stood by his partner and rested his now gloved hand onto his thigh-woah there, that was a little too close to you-know-where. He went on introducing the two hedgehogs before them.

"This, is Sonic and Shadow prime. Sonic prime is my Champion, the one who you never got to meet. He is the most important Chaos Born alive." He tilted his head. "Remember when I told you that?"

Zhadow narrowed his eyes at Sonic, before turning back to Zonic. "Sort of..." His tone was unsure.

Zonic smiled anyway. "That is fine, you've never got to see him face to face before. You were off in another reality when he came to help us." He glanced over at Sonic. "The first lieutenant was light years away from No Zone, fighting against an evil organization along with some of our troops. At the time, he couldn't have met you if he wanted to."

"Oh," Sonic slowly said. "I see."

Zhadow's eyes swiftly darted to Shadow. "Is that my own prime counterpart?" His voice lowered, growing suspicious.

The twin blue hedgehogs didn't really like the sudden tension drifting into the air. Zonic cleared his throat and continued smiling. "Err, yes-"

The first lieutenant pushed himself off of the desk to plant his feet firmly onto the floor. He then quickly bent forward and crouched down to his knees, slamming his forehead against the ground with his hands beside his head. "Please accept my upmost gratitude." He suddenly exclaimed with a strong voice, shocking the two hedgehogs in front of them. "I was unconscious throughout this entire endeavor, and there aren't enough apologies in the world to fix my extreme negligence. Our home is destroyed as is our HQ, many of our men are gone or in the same boat as I was, but above all else," He briefly lifted his head to stare them dead in the eyes with integrity. "You two saved us all from complete annihilation."

Sonic quickly looked at Shadow for a little help on this one. "U-Uhh, thanks but," He glanced back at Zhadow on the floor. "If it wasn't for Z helping us during the whole thing-"

"Ah, that's right." Zhadow suddenly stood up and grasped Shadow's hand. He shook it rapidly, startling the ultimate life form greatly. "You saved my partner from death. I am forever in your debt, Shadow prime." He cleared his throat and let go before then bowing again to Sonic, but a lot less extreme this time. "And to finally see the Champion of All Realities, the very person who saved my world twice in a row, I give you my most humble respect."

The hero stared with both puzzlement and shock as Shadow wrung out his wrist from being shaken so violently. "Huh. You're a lot more social than I expected."

Zhadow blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Sonic made a smirk at Shadow. "Let's just say your counterpart isn't really the best at that." Once he said that, the hedgehog in question gave the hero a very piercing glare.

The first lieutenant placed his hands behind his back with a more relaxed posture. "I can't say I'm much for conversation either, it wastes time. However, I was supposed to give you my respect as the Champion. This introduction was imperative." He looked over at Zonic and made a gesture to finally exit the office. "Speaking of which, we must commence the interrogation in approximately fifteen minutes. Shall we go?"

Oh good, the interrogation. Sonic tightened his fists with a stiffened body. He was growing more impatient with every second, Zhadow was right. They were wasting time. He grasped Shadow's arm. "Yeah, we should-"

"No." Zonic suddenly said. His expression was no longer pure with happiness, but more shrouded with concern for something. He was scowling, giving off one of his normal glowers at Shadow. "Please excuse us for the delay Sonic prime, but I need to speak with Shadow prime. Alone." He looked at Sonic, and saw that he didn't really like the sudden request. The hero slowly let go of Shadow anyway, before giving a fake smile and a thumbs up. Without a word, his smile instantly flattened and he turned to leave the room by himself. But as he did, he gave Zonic a nasty glare, extremely unlike him. This was unsettling for Sonic, he would have at least said something like 'No prob!' or something among those lines. But this time, he just said nothing and even gave him a very callous look. He couldn't even keep up the charade of faking his smile anymore, it faded before he even left the room. Shadow watched this with caution, before seeing Zonic whisper something to Zhadow's ear. The first lieutenant nodded and patted his shoulder, before joining Sonic on the other side of the office.

Well now they were alone, which is perhaps one reason why Sonic didn't like his sudden decision. After all, he did kiss Shadow not too long ago. Though he released his emotions last night, he might still be a bit untrusting of Zonic because of that, even if it was just a hallucination that caused him to do it. On top of that, it seemed that he didn't really trust Zonic at all at this point. But the commander wasn't a fool, he could probably sense it just as Shadow could. He may not have been his lover, but he was still Sonic's Overseer. As a practical big brother, he supposed he just had that intuition. The ultimate life form readied himself for a particular conversation. "You wanted to speak with only me? Why?" He asked in a quiet tone. Their shadows were right outside the office, he assumed Zonic wanted this conversation private.

Zonic sighed heavily. "My Champion is highly displeased for a number of reasons, but apparently one of those reasons happens to be because of me." He shook his head and closed his eyes. "This entire time he's been good at keeping his emotions at bay, but now he's not even trying to hide it anymore. Constantly, I've been irritating him for minimal things, but I feel as if that exasperation is beginning to peak at it's boiling point." He opened his eyes again with a deeper grimace. "I mean, did you see that?" He asked with a more harsher whisper. "He's never looked at me like that before. I've made so many mistakes in my short life, but what did I do wrong this time?" He exhaled through his nose while dragging a hand through his quills. "This day was almost entirely perfect. I got to spend the majority of it with my love who miraculously wakes up from his coma in great health, a blessing. We made love all day, in any place we could find." He turned his back towards Shadow as he walked toward his desk. "My sanity, though clearly broken, is starting to slowly mend all on it's own. I finally have Scourge in my custody, my remaining men aren't losing their morale despite the great misfortune we've suffered, and I've silenced the warden off my back. And yet," He pulled over some files and folders into his arms. "I'm still failing at my main job, keeping my Champion safe and satisfied."

Shadow watched him check over the files and folders in hand, and he realized some of them had Scourge's real name printed on them. He assumed that was for both the upcoming trial and the interrogation. "I believe that's my responsibility as his lover, not yours."

"Your job is to make him feel happy and loved, yes, but my duty is to keep both his mental and physical state in check." He flipped through some documents before slipping them back in their designated binders. "To protect his world, watch over his progression in power, keeping his sense of justice balanced so that he doesn't stray too far off from his path...Things of that nature."

The biohog frowned with straitening eyes. He mentally repeated what Zonic just said. Don't stray too far off from his path? "What do you mean 'his path'?"

Zonic paused while clutching the documents, and he did not turn around. He swallowed before regaining his posture and tightening his grip on the files. "You know, so he doesn't turn into what the anti-Sonic is."

"Again, I can handle that. I guarantee you that I'll die a painful death one thousand times before I ever let Sonic become what that bastard is, and he never will. Not in a million years. Why would you ever have to worry about that anyway?" Shadow questioned with a hard stare. "He may be your Champion, but he doesn't believe in destiny nor fate. What happens, happens. Whatever came to be, is what it is now. Right now, he's a hero, and he doesn't plan on changing that. It's not a path, it's who he is."

Silence.

Zonic pursed his lips, before biting his tongue and swiftly turning around to head for the door. "But of course, I'm just rambling." He replied passively. That wasn't like him, either. He's doing to him exactly what he would do to Sonic, gloss over the conversation and end it quickly before it got too deep. Well not this time, Shadow wasn't as compassionate as Sonic. "Let us go, Shadow prime-"

"He does indeed have some resentment for you right now," He said with some passive-aggressiveness. "You were right, he's not satisfied. And if someone pisses him off, I don't tend to have as much pacifism as he does." He walked behind the commander, his tone becoming lower and a lot more intimidating.

The commander pushed his gloved fingers more into the folders. "...Are you implying something, Shadow prime?" He still refused to face him. "Is this perhaps, a threat?"

"Normally, it would be. But you're not a stranger to me, and Sonic still values you greatly despite the headaches you've been giving him as of late." He leaned closer, his lips near his ear as his voice's volume nearly vanished entirely. "I will say this. You're good at hiding the truth commander, but you are a horrible liar." Zonic never flinched at his words. As always, he was too hard boiled to break. "Little by little, one by one, Sonic's been catching you in your discrepancies. Like you said, he's kept quiet for a very long time, but now he's losing his patience with you. At this point, he's convinced you're hiding a lot of secrets from him. A lot of crucial information, actually. You're not being very honest with him, and he obviously doesn't appreciate it. Neither do I, since you were supposed to be someone he could trust." He said. "But if either he or I find out that you had anything to do with any of the tragedies that led up to this point, I can assure you, I will not be holding him back. You will deal with his wrath, and I won't be there to pacify him this time."

A minute passed.

Two minutes, maybe three.

...

Zonic finally began to speak.

"...I understand." He finally uttered. "I must be responsible, accept whatever consequences." He admitted. "But know this," He turned to Shadow, his eyes sharp with ambition. "No matter what happens between the anti-Sonic or Sonic prime and I, it will never change the way I feel about him. He's my Champion, and I will do everything in my power to do what's best for him, and I will gladly sacrifice my very life for him." His eyes, they looked moist almost. "He's...He's all I had at one time. So, I don't ever want to lose him. I'll still support him no matter what without question." His eyes lowered, his frown tightening. "Even if he hates me in the end. Even if he kills me." Tearfully, he turned away from Shadow and moved from him.

His heart ached with concern for his words.

'Even if he hates me in the end'? Shadow sighed sadly.

Things were just going from bad to worse.

Sonic didn't feel like putting on a mask anymore, he was impatient and he was annoyed. Ever since he accepted Dark, he couldn't help but feel a little more touchy than usual. His brows were furrowed, his eyelids lowered with vexation. He tapped his fingers against his arm irritably, his scowl becoming toothy with clenched teeth as his anger continued to boil. He sucked his teeth and growled. "God damn it, Zonic..." He grumbled as he slouched against the office door behind him. What was he talking with Shadow about? Was he telling him to make Sonic back off? He could never read that guy, what was he thinking?!

Zhadow stood beside the door, his body remaining in an appropriate stature for a soldier. His eyes were closed, his body relaxed with even breaths. Upon hearing the blue blur's annoyance, he opened an eye briefly at him, before closing it back. "You should learn meditation," He said out of no where, making Sonic look up from his grouching. "The more you are at peace with yourself in mind, you will in body as well." Shadow told him something similar along those lines a couple years ago.

He appreciated the advice, as he did need to relax, but he just couldn't. "I've tried that plenty of times, never works for me. Shadow said I wasn't doing it right."

"You probably weren't, because it didn't work. Once you do it correctly, emptying your brain of all the fuss and stress," The first lieutenant spoke with ease. "Living through the day gets just a little bit easier."

Sonic scoffed at his zen ways. "That's not how life works."

Zhadow agreed easily. "Of course it doesn't." He said with a small laugh. "Life is excruciating and painful, and it always will be. It sucks, and most of it will never get better." He hesitantly opened his red eyes, some of them hiding sorrow. "Never, ever."

Yeah, that's what it seemed like. That nothing, ever gets better. That no matter what, everyone just fails and fails and fails and fails...That nothing ever lightens up, not even a little bit. It's always just gloomy, dark and cold. People are dying, people are depressed, people are hopeless. Some people are just waiting for death to come, as they feel as if everything else is meaningless. That way of thinking was a hole, a hole Dark kept trying to pull Sonic in. It was his retaliation for not accepting him. But now that he accepted his abilities as a whole, he realized that this way of thinking wasn't just negative. It was, in some ways, realistic. Damn, was this pessimism? It felt horrible. Shadow once felt like this all the time, and this was how he lived? Feeling empty and disappointed at just everything that came his way?

Damn...

"..." Sonic said nothing in return at that.

Zhadow continued. "That's why when you get those small instances of happiness, such as your love for my counterpart," Sonic flinched. Shit, he figured it out that fast? Either that or Zonic told him. "You cherish them with all of the emotion you can muster, so they can push you to do what you need to do. It'll be hard to do things by yourself, as you don't feel motivated to do them. That's why you use a crutch," He said, turning to face Sonic. "That crutch has to be those small instances of happiness. You have to use that to keep going forward. Otherwise, you might as well stay handicapped with despair, and never make an attempt to try and move ahead." He leaned against the wall. "Zonic learned the hard way when I left him, and he had nothing else to keep him standing except for his dying pride, and his responsibility to keep you safe. Don't let the same happen to you. Or one day, it'll be too late and," Zhadow slowly lowered his head to the floor with a bitter smile. "You'll find yourself seeing things too."

Any ounce of the hero's anger instantly vanished with a gaping mouth. "...What?" He nearly whispered. "Zonic's seeing stuff?"

A few more bittersweet chuckles left the black hedgehog. "Isn't it sad? He's actually gone insane. I thought it was merely an exaggeration, until Zouge pulled him aside to break it all down to me. At first, we only saw her to make a mental check up for me. We left with results for him instead."

The ivory bat smiled as she clasped her hands together. "He's lost a few memories before the whole Moebius incident, but he remembers most of the important stuff." She gave a happy expression towards Zonic. "Of course he remembers you, his colleagues, and the Warden. He also remembers Scourge and The Tragedy, and he remember all of his training. He's only a little spaced out on the whole Sonic prime thing, but he still fully understands your duty as an Overseer." She placed a hand on her cheek while tilting her head to the side. "It's quite a miracle, actually. His health is impeccable and he's not showing any signs of a post-comatosed state. You're very lucky, first lieutenant."

Zhadow sighed while Zonic smiled joyously. "That's a relief, at least."

Zouge looked over at Zonic, asking him to please leave for just a moment. "Commander, do you mind fetching the first lieutenant some water from the break room? He needs to stay hydrated."

Zonic instantly nodded and moved his legs. "Of course, counselor. It'll only take a second." He zipped from out of the hospital room immediately, leaving a blue streak behind.

She watched him leave, and hurried behind him to shut the door firmly. She sighed sadly, now grimacing worriedly. She gradually looked back over at Zhadow and folded her hands in front of her. "I, have some bad news, first lieutenant." She began slowly while walking towards his bed. "We ran some mental evaluations on both you and the commander."

He blinked. "Why? I'm the patient, not him."

"Some other officers and I have been thinking about running some tests on him for a while now, after all he's been through." The woman gave him a sympathetic expression. "It's quick, all we had to do was scan his brain as we did you. Takes just a few seconds. He, asked me to tell you the results first. He had a feeling that he already knew what it was, but he said it wouldn't be right to hide it from you."

He felt his heart sink. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with my commander?"

Zouge licked her lips as they instantly became dry, she just had to rip it off like a bandaid. "...He has schizoaffective disorder. I'm afraid our commander," She hesitated. "He's, he's very out of his mind, sir."

Zhadow was almost speechless. "Tell me the symptoms, Zouge." He became furious. "Now!"

She winced at his tone, looking away. "It's a combination of symptoms of schizophrenia and mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder. Symptoms may occur at the same time or at different times. This may include delusions, hallucinations, depressed episodes, and manic periods of high energy. Zhadow," She used his name respectfully, now informal and entirely serious. "He's committed gruesome police brutality to several prisoners, has been talking to your unconscious body the entire time you've been out, has been violent with our Warden, has been chronically depressed with symptoms of severe heartbreak, and I've even caught him laughing to himself with no one else in the room." She slowly shook her head as the hedgehog's eyes widened. "He even told me during his scanning that, he kept seeing things that aren't there. He saw someone who he claimed looked like himself, but he said it wasn't Sonic prime. He also said he saw someone else who looked like the anti-Sonic when he was originally blue."

The first lieutenant stared down at the sheets. "But, Sonic prime is the only person in all the realities who looks exactly like him. No one else in the entire universe has his exact DNA match. The same goes for the anti-Sonic."

"That's the problem. He knows this, but for some reason he thinks they're real. He wouldn't tell anyone, because he was afraid of worrying the other officers even more. He was so confused," She covered her mouth. "So scared...He kept blaming himself for them being there, saying how everything was his fault." She placed a hand onto his shoulder solemnly. "The more he falls into his own madness, the more it kills him from the inside out. He's killing himself. I am so sorry, but losing you was too hard for him to handle. His mind, it's gone."

...

Zhadow never looked at her again.

Sonic's face was empty with emotion at this point. "You," He whispered. "You can't be real." He mumbled in disbelief. He turned to Zhadow, his eyes clear with denial. "He's, he's not that far gone. He can't be, he looks fine." He tried to smile. "Ha, I mean, this is the guy who commanded a whole brigade, you know? He's the one who beat up Scourge and dragged him in the prison, he's a badass." That smile became more fragile the more it curled. "Sure, he's been through hell, but he's the toughest guy in this whole building. Nothing keeps him down for long." Why did it suddenly feel like something didn't feel right within this place? Why did Sonic's body feel so cold? "S-So, you're lying." For some reason, Sonic mentally felt only fear. His voice was shaking now. "Right?"

Even still, Zhadow's bittersweet smile stayed. "Sorry, Sonic prime. I'm a better liar than Zonic, but right now," His expression didn't match it. "I don't have the heart to tell one."

No. No...Sonic felt the energy in his body dissipate, his face now lifeless. "Zonic, Zonic is..." That conversation from before was really starting to ring true, it was starting to feel as if nothing truly mattered anymore.

"Grip your senses while you still have it Sonic prime, never let them go." The first lieutenant advised. "I may not know you, but I know well enough that it would destroy him permanently if your mind became shattered as well."

Sonic's eyes shifted. Why was he hearing about this now? Sure Zhadow just found out in actual detail, but Zonic already knew he had a severe problem. A problem that was killing him the crazier he got. This was just yet another thing Zonic hid from him. What was he suppose to do now? He felt justified in feeling contempt for his secrecy, but now he just felt like shit. Why wasn't he allowed to feel angry? Why did he have to feel so, guilty now?

He stared at the wall in front of them. "Hey," He said softly. "Has Zonic ever, hid anything else from you before?"

"Besides his purging habits and the negligence to his physical health? No."

Oh great. So that's why Zonic never gained any weight, he always forced himself to puke everything out. No wonder that moron always looked so drained and tired. It wasn't just because of his heartbreak, it was because he was starving himself period. It was funny, his body looked like it was in perfect shape. Not malnourished, not boney, healthy. Perhaps Zonic knew just how much to throw up, and just enough to consume. He's been doing this for so long, he's probably got the process down packed. Just like one of those self-conscious super models.

As for Zhadow's answer, either he was just as ignorant as they were, or he knew all of the secrets Zonic and was just lying for him. Chaos, Zonic was just making everything ten times harder for him. What the hell was he supposed to do? Sonic felt the door knob turn from behind him.

Zonic and Shadow were coming out, and soon it would be time for the interrogation.

END - 38

(LONG Author's note, sorry!)

Ooohh, so much foreshadowing.

I'd like to thank an Anon for the review for the last chapter, I really enjoyed reading it. ^_^

Anaallen44, yes it is indeed true that plenty of authors and creators have been crucified for pairing certain couples a certain way. We already PM'd about it, but I wanted to shed some light on it to everyone else so they can understand the situation a little bit better. This beautiful reviewer asked why I didn't make Dark Sonic dominate Shadow in chapter 37 (It's technically chapter 42). It was an emotional moment for both of them, but it also showed how emotional the ultimate life form could get for Sonic's happiness. For his vulnerability, it would have been even more dramatic to make him the bottom in the sex scene. And while I would have LOVED to write that, I'm too intimidated by the fandom to do so.

I know, I know. Sounds a little silly to be scared of other people's opinions. However, just recently, a fellow author was flamed and threatened for writing a certain story with this idea. They were given several nasty and just God awful messages about how making Shadow a more submissive partner was just, wrong. Isn't that fucking stupid? Well it happened, and it nearly made the author delete the story. People are touchy and sensitive in this new society, so you can never do what you like without consequences. Not even if it's safe, legal and harmless. And thus, this is why I didn't write the last chapter this way.

Anyways, there was some Zonadowness, so that's nice. And for anyone who thinks Zonic may be a little too OOC for acting head-over-heels whenever he's around Zhadow, you'd be right. He is a bit out of character to be smiling like a school girl, I suppose. However, keep these things in mind.

One: Zonic is out of his mind, and his insanity is killing him. Zhadow is the only person in existence who can pacify him. Zonic clings to his very being for comfort, and he doesn't plan on letting go anytime soon.

Two: Besides Zector, Zespio and Sonic, Zhadow is all Zonic has in terms of a close relationship. In fact, Zonic physically met Zhadow first before Zespio, Zector or Sonic. (In my head cannon of course) He doesn't have any parents, and was lonely for a majority of his life working in a harsh workplace with a huge ass responsibility. He dealt with it all on his own until he got into his teens. (Think about how stressful this is for a small child. Zonic's mental problems have been developing for a very long time.) Zhadow is Zonic's first and only love, and one of his very first friends. He was the first person to show that he actually gave a shit about him, and one of the only people who made him feel like he mattered. He is extremely dear to him.

Three: Put yourself in Zonic's situation. What if your husband/wife was in a coma for a month (or more) after being shot in the head, with the doctors telling you there was no chance of him/her ever waking up? If you had a heart and if you acted like a normal human being, you'd be pretty depressed without them too. (If you truly loved them, anyway. Some spouses don't love each other at all.) And if they miraculously woke up without any issues, you'd be pretty damn happy, wouldn't you? You'd probably treat them as if they're untouchable, as if they're solid gold. You'd be extra loving, never wanting to leave their side after everything you both have been through.

That being said, these are the reasons why I'm writing Zonic this way now. He finally got Zhadow back, he's finally happy. Even as his fragile mind breaks, perhaps it can be mended with love.

For now.