I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! ^^ I really enjoy writing, and I hope you enjoy reading! XD Now, on with the story!

A Sonadow Story:

Hero's Heart Corrupted

Chapter 4: Everlasting Anxieties

The sounds of crashing and banging sounded from underneath the house. Black eyelids opened as the unknown sounds continued, keeping the hedgehog from going back to sleep. Shadow sat up on the cobalt blue couch and took a quick glance around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. His ears were fully alert, pricked up as high as they could to pinpoint the source of the noises. Hearing that it was at a different ground level than where he was, he figured that Faker's house had a basement. The dark hedgehog stood up from the couch and looked around the house for some kind of staircase or a way down to the basement. After enough searching, he looked behind the fridge to discover a long set of stairs heading downward.

Shadow smirked in satisfaction and pushed the fridge out of its place. The sounds continued, becoming more louder as the ebony hedgehog made his way down the stairs. Many thoughts ran through Shadow's head that made the hedgehog's head hurt, yet he could not stop thinking.

What exactly was going on to make such a racket? Why hadn't anyone else waken up yet from it? It was obvious that The Ultimate Lifeform had increased senses, so the noises probably sound louder than they would to a regular Mobian. After several minutes of descending, Shadow made it to the bottom of the stairs.

The dark hedgehog could not help but narrow his eyes at the sight. Although his eyes stung from the smoke coming from the broken computer, he could make out a struggling figure against the wall, twisting and writhing in pain. Sparks lit the air as the only source of light, which was good enough for Shadow. He was used to the darkness. Without wasting another moment, the antihero skated to the figure and picked it up bridal style. The figure was struggling to get out of his arms, but he did not dare let go. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that nobody else but the figure in his arms was in the smoke-filled room. Resting it on the nearby stairs, Shadow quickly located a fire extinguisher on the wall next to a filing cabinet and grabbed it from its hook.

Taking care of the small and minor fire from the computer, the black hedgehog carried the figure back upstairs to the living room after getting it and rested it on the couch. It had stopped struggling by then and didn't look like it was in that much pain anymore. The hedgehog next to him could almost pull off Shadow's appearance due to the smoke clinging on its pelt and spines. He could already tell that this hedgehog was his rival, Sonic. The smoke-covered hedgehog was still coughing harshly from inhaling the smoke, but soon recovered after a few moments. Sonic stared up at the ceiling, a mix of fear, pain, and shock in his emerald green eyes. What the blue hedgehog saw was completely different…

~Sonic's Point of View~

I was pushed against the wall, my vision dazed from the smoke. I couldn't make out any surroundings, but I knew what was keeping me from moving. The figure in front of me spoke in a raspy and unpleasant voice that made me want to rather listen to someone scratch on a chalkboard.

"Get ready for the next level." The figure let out an evil chuckle and forced me against the wall more, making me grunt in discomfort. I couldn't respond because I had a cough fit from the smoke. The creature took this as an advantage and before I knew it, it turned into some kind of black substance and entered my mouth.

The taste was horrid and painful. I felt as though a million swords and needles were piercing into my insides. I coughed up some blood and twisted as the pain went through my whole body. That's when I saw another figure approach me, but I couldn't tell who it was due to the agonizing pain blurring my vision and the stinging smoke in my eyes. The figure picked me up bridal style and carried me toward the staircase. Afraid that it was the demon creature again, I tried to struggle out of its grip, but it held on too tight for me. I didn't have my original strength since the pain inside of me was beyond unbearable. It set me down on the stairs and walked back into the workshop. I was thinking about running away as far as possible, but with every motion I did, a stabbing pain was felt in my insides. I decided to stay put.

The figure that took me out of the workshop came back and picked me up bridal style again, which I didn't like in all honesty. It made me feel like a girl, and it was a very uncomfortable feeling. Since the struggling wasn't helping at all and looked like it had no hope at all anyway, I stopped and focused on staying still so I didn't have to go through any more pain. We finally exited the staircase and entered into the living room again. The fridge was put back in place by the figure before entering the room.

I was placed on my couch and decided to cough out the rest of the smoke that was caught in my lungs at that time. I then just lied there staring at the ceiling, trying to process all that was happening. The pain had died down and I could move freely again, not having to avoid hurting myself from the motion. I turned my head to face the figure that "rescued" me (and using that term made Sonic feel awfully sick inside, since it was supposed to be the other way around to him). I blinked in surprise when it was actually Shadow that had saved me from either getting killed by that demon or breathing in too much smoke. Shadow seemed to notice my gaze and looked back at me. An awkward silence filled the room as we stared at each other.

~Normal Point of View~

When Shadow turned to face Sonic, he began to observe his rival to find out any clues about what happened without having to ask. His smoke-covered body didn't seem to have any bumps, bruises, or cuts at all, yet he still seemed to be in some sort of pain. His gloves were now a dark gray color and far beyond repair. The blue hedgehog's spines were awfully matted and his usually shining emerald eyes were now red from the stinging smoke. What concerned Shadow the most was actually Sonic's expression.

Fear stood out from the rest, for it showed greatly in the blue supersonic hedgehog's eyes. He looked as though he had seen his biggest nightmare become a reality. But in Sonic's mind, it actually did. The blue hedgehog was now curled in a fetal position and was shivering madly. Shadow was surprised to see his rival like this. The usually cocky, annoying, yet fearless blue hero of Mobius and his number one enemy before when he worked for Dr. Eggman was now curled in a ball like a little child who thinks they have monsters under their bed. The dark hedgehog knew he would have to ask the latter hedgehog about what happened sooner or later, but most definitely not now. He would just have to wait for Sonic to recover, both physically and mentally.

Standing up from his seat on the couch next to the shivering, balled-up hedgehog, Shadow walked down the hallway to wake up the others. He knew he couldn't do this alone. He didn't know how to comfort people in these kinds of situations, since he hasn't been in one of these situations at all. It makes it particularly harder for him because the victim in this situation is The Fastest Thing Alive himself. What a night.

After everyone was woken up from their slumber by Shadow, they all met up at the kitchen table. They all lazily and sleepily got some hot coffee to wake themselves up. Everyone circled around the kitchen table in their seats, Sonic not being with them. This raised everyone's curiosity as their gazes were locked on Shadow, who decided to speak at that moment. The first sentence seemed to get caught in his throat, but he still managed to continue.

"I-I need everyone's help. Something came up a little earlier tonight, I don't know what, but it has badly shaken up Sonic. I need-" The black hedgehog was cut off when an albino bat interrupted.

"Hold on a second. You're telling me that Sonic is actually shaken up over something?" Rouge spoke up, giving her GUN partner a look of disbelief.

Shadow boldly nodded, but nobody seemed to be convinced.

"Blue has gone through water monsters, giant metal robots, and dark demons and came out just as courageous as before. What could possibly shake him up this bad?" Rouge pointed out bluntly.

"Like I said before, I don't know what happened. I'm afraid that asking him now will get him in a worse state than the one that he's in now," Shadow responded, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Speaking of The Blue Blur himself, where is he?" Knuckles questioned and all turned to Shadow again. A look of uncertainty crossed said hedgehog's face, but quickly masked it with his usual look. Luckily for him, no one noticed.

The black hedgehog knew that he would ruin his rival's pride, but since when did he ever care about Sonic? The stupid hedgehog would be dead now for his annoying antics he does to Shadow to annoy him. The only reason why he stops himself from killing the latter hedgehog is because he doesn't want to start a murder case for the blue hero. Hell, why was he even helping him now? Getting out of his thoughts and dismissing that last question, he realized he hadn't answered.

Without a word, The Ultimate Lifeform stood up abruptly from his seat around the kitchen table and motioned for everyone to follow him. Receiving a little hesitation, the group followed the black hedgehog out of the kitchen and into the living room, approaching the cobalt blue couch where Shadow had seen Sonic last. He raised his hand for them to halt, and they obeyed by stopping. So many people around the unstable hedgehog may frighten him. Shadow looked over the back of the couch and felt himself tense when he saw that the blue hedgehog wasn't there.

Surprisingly, Sonic was still there. Shadow realized he was actually looking right at him when he spotted a little bit of peach and dark gray coloring from the smoke on the couch. He mentally slapped himself at that. Sonic's cobalt blue fur and spines blended in so well with the couch that someone could mistakenly sit on him. At least The Blue Blur had stopped shivering now.

Moving around the couch, Shadow took the open spot next to the frightened hedgehog, noticing Sonic's muscles tense and his ball get tighter. Shadow placed a gloved hand on his rival's peach shoulder, hoping it would relax him. Unfortunately, it only made Sonic flinch, curl up even tighter, and start shivering again. Restating, Shadow wasn't good at this kind of stuff. The black hedgehog quickly looked up at the group, having a look on his face showing that he needed assistance. Tails stepped forward and walked to Shadow's side, his eyes widening and face changing to shock and concern once the twin-tailed fox caught sight of his big brother.

"Sonic!" The yellow kitsune shouted as he flew to said hedgehog's side. Sonic instantly stopped his shivering when Tails called his name. The remaining two of the group, Knuckles and Rouge, got curious at Tails' actions and Shadow noticed. Motioning them over, they also saw the blue hero's curled-up form. Their wide eyes, gaped mouths, and other hints showed that they were just as surprised as Tails is.

"Tails..?" A muffled voice sounded from Sonic, causing everyone including Shadow to become more surprised.

"Yea Sonic, it's me, Tails," The twin-tailed fox responded and was immediately caught in a tight bear hug by the blue hedgehog.

"Sonic, what are you-?" Tails was interrupted by said hedgehog.

"Tails, buddy! You're okay!" Sonic hugged even tighter and Shadow thought Tails looked like he was about to pass out from loss of air. Sonic noticed this and loosened his grip. After some heavy breathing, Tails got some air to utter more words out.

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" Tails chuckled and gave the hedgehog an amused glance. The glance disappeared when Sonic froze, stopped hugging the twin-tailed fox, and crawled back on the couch in his fetal position.

Shadow sat in silence to process everything that just happened. Sonic has just completely... changed. Was it the smoke getting into his head? Shadow had to find out what happened, and now.

"Can you guys excuse us for a moment? I need to talk to Sonic. Alone." The black hedgehog whispered, not wanting the unstable blue hedgehog to overhear.

Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge nodded before disappearing down the hallway into their rooms. Sighing, Shadow turned back to the shivering, balled-up hedgehog next to him. Shit was about to get serious.

Or was it..?

~End of Chapter 4~