Sorry that this took so long to update! Really busy with school, and stuff at home, and all that other stuff that you probably don't care about. XD So for it being late, I decided to write even more for ya'll! ^^ And I'm FINALLY getting to the good part! :D Hooray for fast plotting! X3 Hope you all enjoy this chapter and there will be more to come! :3

A Sonadow Story:

Hero's Heart Corrupted

Chapter 6: Trip to the Murder

Both super sonic hedgehog sped down the land of Mystic Ruins. Sonic felt anxious about this. Of course there were always crimes and Dr. Eggman to deal with, but the blue hedgehog had been to very little murder sites. He always thought the prospect of killing was never the right thing or answer. He wouldn't even kill Eggman if he could. They continued to run, until Sonic suddenly stopped, causing Shadow to collide into him from behind. Both hedgehogs fell over, a very frustrated black hedgehog on top of blue.

"What the hell did you do that for!?" Shadow snarled as he looked down at Sonic, who had a very sheepish expression on his face.

"Well, umm... Hehheh, funny thing is... Erm, I kinda don't know where the scene is..." the blue hero stuttered and The Ultimate Lifeform couldn't hold back a facepalm.

"Dammit, Faker!" he growled and removed his gloved hand off his face. The pissed off look on his face turned to slight confusion when he saw Sonic purposely avoiding all eye contact with the black hedgehog with a small hint of pink on his cheeks. After a moment of silence, The Blue Blur finally spoke in soft voice.

"Uhh, can you get off me, Shads..?" he said to Shadow and said hedgehog realized he was still on top of his rival. His face flushing as well, the antihero swiftly crawled off his blue counterpart and helped him back up. Thankfully, his dark fur hid the blush he had gotten. Another awkward silence later, Sonic broke it in order to get off the subject.

"Uhh, how about we run back to the house and see if Tails has anything?" he suggested to the bionic hedgehog, his blush gone. Shadow nodded at the idea with his blush gone as well, but gained a better idea a second after.

"Actually, how about you stay here while I run back?" the black hedgehog spoke.

"I don't think tha-" Shadow cut the blue hero off.

"Great, glad you agree. I'll be back soon," he interrupted and pulled out an earpiece communicator from his upturned quills, tossing it to Sonic (who expertly caught it). Before his blue counterpart could argue, Shadow quickly took off in the direction of the house, his thoughts multiplying like wildfire. He took this opportunity to be alone and at peace so he could think through his thoughts. ('Where did he get that communicator from?' you ask? Well, let's just say it is one of the perks of being a GUN agent.)

What had happened back there? Had he actually completely forgotten that he had fallen on his rival? Or was he too...comfortable to notice? Shadow shook his head at that thought. There was no way The Ultimate Lifeform could like, not even as a friend, that pesky blue pest. But he couldn't help thinking that he didn't mind it. The black hedgehog mentally slapped himself, mumbled softly that he was just being crazy, and continued to focus on running.

Little did he know that he was actually right at the house and collided with the front door with a loud bang. The black hedgehog fell to the ground dazed, but quickly lifted himself back up. His senses were now knocked out of balance from the sudden knock-down, his vision blurry and everything else fuzzy. Good thing he didn't bring Sonic along to see that. Locating the doorknob, Shadow stepped inside.

~With Sonic~

Sonic watched as the black hedgehog skated off without his response and disappeared behind a hill a second after. He grinned and shook his head at his rival's actions. Guess he just wants to be alone for a while, the blue hero thought and continued to stare at where Shadow had disappeared just moments ago, grinning still for some unknown reason. He then thought back to when Shadow had fallen on him. What was that all about?

Sure, it was accidental and it looked very weird from his position, but why didn't Shadow get off of him at first? And when he asked him to get off, why didn't Shadow pound his face into the earth? Sonic was certain that he would have at least got curses and threats thrown at him for asking his black counterpart to do something. Shadow liked to do what he wanted and not be ordered around by others. But oddly the black hedgehog had listened and got off him, even helping him up afterwards.

Getting out of his thoughts, Sonic realized he was alone on a barren moor that had nothing but a few trees with nothing to do. He quickly brainstormed some ideas and his eyes lit up when he found something to do. Taking off down the moor, the blue hedgehog put his plan into action.

~With Shadow~

His metal shoes sounded loud as he stepped into the quiet house, everyone still asleep. Shadow blinked his eyes to try and fix some of his blurry vision, but it only made it worse. Running at Mach 3 and colliding into a door that seemed to have the most powerful hinges and wood wasn't the best idea, even if it wasn't intentional. Carefully moving through the house, the black hedgehog found his way into the kitchen. The most likely place Tails would keep his contraptions and gadgets would be his workshop, which was the basement. He could also try and find out why Sonic was so scared and abnormal before when he helped him escape the basement.

After moving the fridge and going down the horrifically long set of stairs, the antihero arrived at the bottom of the steps, the basement the same as it was before. The broken computer still was in parts on the floor and glass from the screen still was spread across the floor. His vision was cleared up by now, and Shadow slightly cringed when he saw the awfully dark look in the room.

Focus Shadow, just focus on trying to find something that can track down the broadcast's signal, the bionic hedgehog thought and began to search the room for anything that looked like it would help, He searched for what felt like hours, but it only took ten minutes until he found a signal tracker. Sonic and Tails usually used this when tracking down Eggman's transmissions he usually sends which gives out his plans. Not even giving a damn anymore and more than excited to get out of the house, Shadow quickly dashed out of the basement and out of the house, heading back to Sonic with the signal tracker.

What The Ultimate Lifeform failed to notice was the burning smell of overcooked pancakes when he had entered the kitchen before. He was long gone now, unaware of it.

~Normal Point of View~

Shadow was back on the moorland with tracker in hand, scowling. Sonic probably ran off to go look for the site alone or just get into something stupid, the black hedgehog thought and his scowl grew deeper. He soon stopped when he arrived at the place where he had last seen the blue hedgehog. Unfortunately, his blue rival wasn't there. "I knew he-"

"Yo Shads!"

The antihero stopped and turned to the direction of the call. He saw Sonic up in a tree, laying down on a branch and looking down at him while eating an apple.

"There you are! I was beginning to think you lost your way back here, hehheh." The hedgehog grinned and leaped down from the tree next to Shadow. The latter hedgehog scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, giving his rival a glare.

"So what have you gotten into while I was gone?" Shadow questioned with a hint of a growl in his tone.

"Really, Shads? You think I have gotten into mischief already?" Sonic mocked an offended expression and put his hands on his waist. His black counterpart narrowed his crimson eyes at the latter hedgehog, clearly not amused. Taking this as a cue to stop joking around, the blue hedgehog's expression changed to a grin.

"I'm glad you asked!" He raised his head high proudly with his hands still on his waist. Shadow sighed and rolled his eyes at his blue rival's actions. Taking a bite of his half-eaten apple, Sonic tossed another apple to Shadow and said, "Follow me," before sprinting a few yards away. The black hedgehog caught up to him at his side and looked further down the hill.

Yup, Shadow was right; Sonic did get into something stupid in his mind. At around a hundred apples or even more, the words "Sonic the Hedgehog" were written on the hill's ground below made out of apples. It was kind of impressive for such an impatient person to take some time and make this.

Yet Shadow frowned.

"What a waste of apples," he grumbled and took a bite of his apple, Sonic's grin nonexistent.

"Oh, it's not like I tried to do something cool with them or anything!" the blue hedgehog shouted at his black counterpart with a glare. The bionic hedgehog scoffed again and avoided his glare.

"Don't ignore me! This is cool and you know it! Just admit it and-" Sonic instantly stopped his complaining. Shadow noticed the sudden silence and turned to his blue rival.

"Sonic?" he called to him and said hedgehog didn't answer. The blue hedgehog soon started to breathe heavily and fell to his knees, having a hand covering his stomach.

What's wrong with me? Sonic thought, anxiety masking his whole face. His stomach tossed, turned, and flipped and he began to feel sick. Quickly knowing what was happening, he ran behind the tree he was just resting on before and began to retch, dropping his half-eaten apple in the process. Eyes widening, Shadow dropped his apple also and ran to the blue hero's side after he had finished throwing up.

Sonic panted heavily with his head hanging and eyes closed, once again on his knees. His stomach was normal again, but it had driven out all of his energy at the moment. Shadow began to examine what he had exactly thrown up to see why he had gotten sick all of a sudden.

The black hedgehog had expected to see little apple bits, but what he didn't expect was a mass amount of a scarlet red liquid. Recognizing it quickly, he turned his head to his blue counterpart next to him with wide eyes.

Blood... The Ultimate Lifeform was about to gasp, but kept it to himself. Sonic had now recovered from his sudden retching and turned to Shadow with his ears folded back.

"Is it bad..?" the exhausted blue hedgehog asked, not even glancing at what he had brought up. The latter hedgehog did not know how to respond.

If he told the blue hero that it was severe, it could lead him back to the frightened little hedgehog he was before after rescuing him from the basement. Yet it was still a bad idea to tell him that it was minor. Sonic could be internally bleeding for Chaos sake! Who would he race and Chaos Blast into the ground then if Sonic dies from internal bleeding? Then again, it would be better to not deal with a panic-stricken hedgehog that knew his life was in danger other than a unaware and calm one. The bionic hedgehog took a deep breath and closed his eyes so he didn't have to watch his blue rival's reaction.

"It's fine, just be more careful on what you eat for now, Faker."

Sonic tilted his head a bit to the side like a confused puppy, although the latter hedgehog couldn't see that with his closed eyes.

"Like what?"

"...Meat." Shadow opened his eyes again and Sonic couldn't help but grin as he stood up.

"You're worried about me, aren't ya?" he joked, Shadow completely unprepared for that sort of question and flinched.

"And why would you think that?" the black hedgehog countered with another question and Sonic snickered.

"Ehh, no reason." He shrugged his shoulders and his rival narrowed his eyes at him threateningly. The blue hero chuckled at that.

"So, did you find anything that can help us track down the site?" Sonic got back on track (lol pun intended), relieving Shadow from that awkward subject before. Without a word, the black hedgehog tossed his blue counterpart the tracking device (who expertly caught it like a boss again) and crossed his arms over his chest like usual. He watched as the blue hedgehog began to push random buttons, hoping that the latter hedgehog knew what he was doing. After a few clicking and a few beeping sounds later, Sonic looked back up at the bionic hedgehog with a triumphant smile.

"Found it! I tracked the signal of the latest broadcast. It's that way," he announced and pointed a gloved finger in the direction behind Shadow and in front of him (let's just say it's North lol...). Shadow couldn't help but give off a small smirk, glad to finally get this over with.

The black hedgehog whipped around to face the desired direction and sped off without responding to his blue rival. After a while, he looked to his side and was surprised to see that Sonic wasn't there. He looked to his other side and saw that The Blue Blur wasn't there either. The black hedgehog finally looked back, positive that his rival hadn't had passed him without him noticing. And there he was. Sonic was actually following behind him. Pretty shocking for the bionic hedgehog. They were usually side-by-side when they were not actually racing each other. Shadow was going the speed they usually run, but Sonic seemed to be going slower than usual. Slowing his pace, the antihero was next to his blue counterpart.

Shadow never said anything; he only gave the blue hedgehog a questioning look. Sonic noticed this and sighed.

"I'm only admiring the scenery, I'm fine," he tries to reassure the latter hedgehog with a lie. Shadow lets out a scoff and says what The Blue Blur feared he would say.

"Then speed up, hedgehog. We don't have all day. You can admire the scenery when we're running back," the black hedgehog said sternly and sprinted ahead, looking back to make sure his rival listens.

Truthfully, Sonic couldn't run as fast as he could at the moment. Whatever he had thrown up had drained all his energy and left his bones and muscles aching. Yet he still pushed himself to run faster. Excruciating pain traveled through his legs, feet, and lungs as he forced himself to run to Shadow's side, wincing with his eyes tightly shut and jaw clenched. Shadow noticed this and knew that something was wrong. What he did next was something he would regret later.

Sonic soon felt something other than pain and tiredness. He felt a sense of warmth wrap around his left gloved hand, and he felt a bit of his pain ebb away. He slowly opened his eyes a little bit and noticed that Shadow was gently holding his hand, keeping him in pace with the black hedgehog. The blue hero blushed lightly at the gesture, but made it disappear as quick as it came.

"I can take care of myself, you know!" Sonic shouted over the rushing wind, which would sound like a whisper to any other Mobian, but Shadow could hear it clearly with his sensitive ears.

"Then let go," The black doppelganger only replied, not even turning to face the latter hedgehog. Sonic felt the other's grip loosen even more than it was before.

Sonic really wanted to let go to save some of the little dignity he had left, but he could really injure himself in the process. With the speeds they're going, Sonic couldn't nearly match. He could either be sent tripping and possibly break some bones from the fall at these high speeds or start stumbling until he hits a tree or some other structure. Not the best idea, especially with all the pain he's already in.

Knowing he had only one good-resulting option, he actually formed a tighter hold on Shadow's hand. The antihero smirked in triumph and continued to lead Sonic toward the murder scene. Sonic kept his head bowed so his dark rival couldn't see his flushed cheeks and gaze that focused on the ground more than anything.

~Back at the house with Tails, Rouge, and Knuckles~

Stinging pain and dryness was in his lungs. Waking up from the sound of distant coughing, Tails sat up in his bed. He tried to open his eyes, but he felt them sting every time. He took a deep breath and instantly regretted it with a fit of coughing. Yet he could smell a familiar smell. If his eyes were open, you would see them widen in unbelievable fear.

The twin-tailed fox jumped out of his bed like lightning and took flight in the air with his two tails. He swung open his bedroom door and soared out, coughing continuously. Everywhere he went burned his fur with unbearable heat. His ears could pick up the sound of wood cracking and crumbling. The sounds of others coughing could also be heard, and Tails flew towards the distant coughing. Cracking his eyes open a little even though they stung, bright reds and oranges the lined the walls could be seen. Reaching the guest room, the kitsune barged in, Rouge and Knuckles whipping their heads around to face him.

"Fire!" Tails gasped, panic in his light blue eyes.

"We've gotta get out of here!" He flew over to land beside his two friends.

"I think we know that!" Knuckles yelled over the roaring flames. Tails ignored the comment and instead grabbed both of their hands with his own, rushing them out of the room. Even with the house now looking abnormal due to the fallen boards from the walls and ceiling, the twin-tailed fox still knew the house by heart. He had to dodge several flaming structures and make sure that his friends following behind him were safe as well. They were approaching the front door.

To Tails' horror, the sound of huge splintering was loudest at the front door and a huge blazing wood board fell from the roof, landing in front of the front door and blocking their exit. The kitsune soon remembered the back door and lead everyone to it, but to his disappointment, it was blocked as well with other boards.

"I'm not going to stand here and die like this!" Knuckles roared and pulled himself out of Tail's grasp. He ran to the front door, bracing himself for his next actions. Balling up his fists, he began to punch the burning wood out of the way of their exit. The fire on the wood burned through his gloves and burned his hands underneath, but the red echidna forced through the pain. Tails and Rouge watched their friend in awe. Once all the wood was moved, Knuckles was left with horribly scarred fists. Rouge picked him up and flew out of the flaming house with Tails following. All three of them collapsed on the ground once they were a safe distance away from the house, coughing out the smoke and breathing in fresh air.

After regaining some air, Tails sat up in his spot. His tails were drooping with exhaustion and his eyes were now red from the stinging smoke. They soon widened when he remember two certain supersonic hedgehogs.

"Sonic and Shadow! Where are they!?" the kitsune asked the exhausted echidna and bat while whipping his head around, hoping to spot a mound of cobalt blue and black and red fur in the intense sunlight. Both of his friends shook their heads, meaning they have no clue. Tails looked back at the collapsing house with a sad, but hopeful look.

Sonic, Shadow, please be alright wherever you both are now...

~Back with Sonic and Shadow~

There it was, finally. Both supersonic hedgehogs stood on a hill, overlooking the region of the small neighborhood. In the distance was the flashing of police sirens and the bright yellow color of caution tape.

Sonic was back to grinning with a confident emerald green gaze and not-blushed face while Shadow had his normal stoic expression. Both hedgehogs walked down the hill and headed towards the house of the murder. Residents of the small neighborhood exited their houses to see the two heroes, since Shadow has changed sides. Most gave them odd, confused expressions, but otherwise gave them welcoming smiles and joyful cheers. Although both were confused by this, they never said anything to each other nor the residents. Soon enough, they approached the house.

The house had a beautiful light violet painting on the walls with a baby blue front door. In the front lawn was a small garden with flowers and hedges lining the walls. A line of white picket fences lined the entire front lawn with a gate in the middle to let them in.

The news crew was still at the house, the van just parked outside. The News Reporter from before, Roxanne, stood at the front door fixing her mic, not even noticing the two heroes were there until they approached her. Startled by their sudden appearance, she still politely greeted them with a sweet smile.

"What a pleasant surprise! It's an honor to meet you both! Hiya, my name is Roxanne the Fox, News Reporter." The pure snow white fox held out her gloved paw, which both Sonic and Shadow shook.

"We're all so glad you're here now! I'm sure you- oh, umm..." she stopped, glancing downward with her ice blue eyes. The two hedgehogs looked at her with baffled expressions, which made the whole situation even more awkward for the poor fox.

"Erm, are you two...?" Roxanne paused with her gaze still on the ground.

"Are we what?" Shadow began to grow impatient, practically glaring at the fox.

"You know..." she looked up shyly at them and pointed a gloved finger at their general direction. Sonic and Shadow looked and finally realized why everything was so awkward.

They were still holding hands.

At that, both supersonic hedgehogs disconnected their hands and jumped away from each other, Sonic hacking in disgust and Shadow just spitting out curses. Roxanne just watched the scene play in front of her, honestly not knowing what to think anymore yet amused at their childish actions. It humored her even more when they started to yell at each other.

"What the heck, Shads!? Why didn't you let go?!"

"Why didn't I let go? More like why didn't you let go!? You were the one holding on my hand, you stupid hedgehog!"

"Was not!"

"Was so."

"Totally wasn't!"

"Was too."

"Nuh uh!"

"Mhmm."

"You're such an ignorant, know-it-all hedgehog!"

"I think you're describing yourself, Faker."

"Stop calling me that!"

"I can call you whatever I want, hedgehog."

"Then I shall call you Fluffy!"

"If you even dare, I will Chaos Blast you straight back to Hell."

"Aww, does Fluffy not like his new nickname?"

"Fluffy" was intimidatingly approaching his blue rival with his crimson eyes blazing with cold fury. With clenched fists, the furious black hedgehog was about to beat the shit out of Sonic, who was now nervously grinning and bracing himself, but stopped when they both heard the sound of giggling. Both realizing that they were bickering in public, they whipped their heads around to face Roxanne. She had her gloved paw covering her mouth to stop her from bursting out laughing and they could see the edges of her mouth lined into a smile. After relieving the giggling out of her system, she regained her senses.

"So, are you two, ya know, together, or...?" Roxanne hesitantly asked, pretty sure that she already knew the answer after that. Shadow was about to open his mouth and answer with a straight-forward 'no', but the blue hero beside him answered for him.

"Yes, of course we are!"

At least an answer he wasn't going to say before or was expecting.

Shadow's crimson pupils were now pea-sized after hearing Sonic's reply. In too much shock, he had seemed to lose his voice and didn't say anything.

"Oh, you are? I didn't think you two were after all that before..." the now confused fox stated.

"Oh, that little scene before? Pfft, that was all an act. We were actually hoping to keep this a secret, but you seemed to find out, dang..." Sonic looked bummed and kicked a leg in an act of defeat. The snow white fox gave the blue hedgehog a genuine smile.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me! I may be a reporter, but I can still keep a few secrets." Roxanne winked at him and he was back to grinning.

"That would be great! I'm pretty sure Fluffy over here wouldn't like the secret being passed on, hehheh." Sonic made sure to use his black doppelganger's 'new nickname', making the fox giggle.

A horrible pain filled Sonic from his ear as the latter hedgehog next to him grabbed his right ear and pulled on it, pulling harder every time he tried to get out of it.

"Excuse us for a moment, I need to talk to my partner real quick," Shadow said through gritted teeth and before the snow white fox could answer, he dragged the struggling blue hedgehog by his ear away from her to the far end of the lawn. Sonic started to burst out laughing after being released from his dark rival's grip and being out of Roxanne's earshot.

"What in the actual fuck are you thinking?" Shadow snarled at the laughing blue hedgehog next to him. It took several moments before Sonic stopped laughing and could respond.

"Heh, this is payback for carrying me to my room before," he replied, placing his gloved hands on his waist. The black hedgehog clenched his fists again while the blue hero stuck his tongue out at him.

"Hmph, what if I just told her that you were just lying?" Shadow smirked and narrowed his eyes at his rival, Sonic copying those actions a second after.

"I was prepared for that question. You won't be getting this back if you do."

The Blue Blur reached into his cobalt blue head spines and carefully pulls out his hand again. What he holds is a neon green Chaos Emerald in his hand, Shadow losing his triumphant look.

"How the hell did you get that!?" The Ultimate Lifeform yells in a hush voice so nobody else around hears.

"While you were getting the signal tracker, I simply ran to your house and snatched it. Oh, and nice hiding spot for it. Right in the open on top of your dresser is the perfect spot to have a Chaos Emerald, Fluffy," Sonic explains, tossing the shining emerald in the air repeatedly and catching it again each time. Shadow mentally slapped himself for forgetting to lock the door to his house.

"And stop calling me Fluffy, stupid hedgehog."

Sonic suddenly swiftly grabs Shadow's hand, both of them holding hands again. The black doppelganger's cheeks flush madly, not even the dark fur can hide his blush that was the color of his stripes.

"Nope, now play along or your precious Chaos Emerald is mine." The blue hedgehog smirked, but changed it to a bright smile as they walked back over to Roxanne, who had her back towards them. Thankfully she didn't just not hear their conversation, but see anything as well. Tapping her shoulder, the pure snow white fox turned to face Sonic and Shadow again. Before she could see, Sonic had quickly hid the Chaos Emerald back into his head spines.

"Great, you're back!" Roxanne smiles at them both. Sonic returns the smile, while Shadow keeps his gaze fixed on the ground, deep in thought and blush gone. The blue hedgehog tightens his hold a little on the antihero's gloved hand in an act of reassurance. It didn't help at all, although the black hedgehog did look up at Roxanne with his usual stoic face. He couldn't help but think on how he didn't sense the Chaos energy from the emerald. Well, maybe the energy was being instantly transferred to Sonic, so he couldn't sense it fast enough. (*gasp* You're too slow! XDDD)

"Are you two ready to go inside and see?" Roxanne says hesitantly, not wanting to go inside herself. They both nod, quite unsure on why she sounded so nervous. Soon enough, all three Mobians walked inside the pretty house, the two supersonic hedgehogs unaware of what they're about to see next.

~End of Chapter 6~