With Shadow's help, Star untied the gag from her mouth and took a deep breath, looking between her brother and her boyfriend. "Sonic! Shadow! That was amazing! You… you saved my life! Both of you!"
"I wasn't about to let any harm come to my girlfriend now." Shadow chuckled. "I told you I had nothing to do with his plans."
"I didn't doubt it for a second." Star smiled, suddenly wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a deep kiss on his lips. Shadow hummed happily and kissed back, holding her close to him.
"You lied to me."
Star pulled away from the kiss and looked over to Sonic, her ears lowering as he glared at them. "Sonic-"
"I asked you if you and Shadow were back together again, and you stood there and lied to me."
"Because I knew that if I told you the truth you would be extremely angry."
"And you don't think I'm angry by finding out this way?!"
"I know. I didn't want you to find out this way. We were going to tell you… eventually."
"Eventually? Eventually?!" Sonic growled. "Bullshit. You weren't going to tell me anything! You were going to leave me in the dark and continue to lie straight to my face!"
"Faker, that is not what we-"
"I don't want to hear anything from you, Faker!" Sonic hissed at his rival. "You clearly have brainwashed my sister into believing that you actually care about her!"
"For your information, hedgehog, I have done no such thing." Shadow growled at him. "I do care about her. I would've figured that coming to save her would prove that to you."
"Yeah, or maybe it's just another part of your brainwashing! Why should I believe that you care about her now when you were just stringing her along last time?! Why should I believe that any part of your feelings have changed?!"
"Sonic, please-" Star started, but he cut her off.
"No! I wanna know now! Why should I believe you?!"
"Because I-!" Shadow started, freezing for a moment, his eyes widening a bit at his own realization. "Because I… I…" He turned to look at Star, wanting to say this directly to her face. "I love her."
Star's eyes widened at those three beautiful little words. They started to tear up in joy as she smiled and hugged him, nuzzling into his fur. "Oh Shadow… I love you too."
Shadow purred and nuzzled into her quills, the two of them standing in each other's embrace peacefully. They were certain that nothing would tear them apart. That nothing could destroy this moment. But, they had to remember, there was still a very reluctant hedgehog standing right in front of them.
Said hedgehog scoffed and shook his head, gaining their attention again. "Alright… prove it then. Fight me."
"What?" Star's eyes widened, looking between the two males.
"What are you talking about, Faker?" Shadow frowned at him.
"If you really love her, then fight me for her. If you win, I'll let you two date in peace. But if you don't. If you fail. Then you clearly don't love her enough, and you will turn back and never bother her again."
"Sonic, Shadow, no." Star gasped, standing between them. "Please don't do this. Please don't fight."
"He either does this or you never see each other again." Sonic frowned at her. "I'm not letting your heart get broken again by this asshole."
"Sonic, please-"
"I'll do it."
Star turned to Shadow. "Shadow, no. You don't have to prove anything to him."
"Clearly, I do." Shadow frowned, taking a fighting stance. "If this will show him how much I truly do love you, then so be it. I'll fight him. I'll beat him down just like he did me."
"I'd like to see you try." Sonic also took a fighting stance, sending a glare at Star. "Move out of the way, sis."
"No! I won't let you two do this!"
"You're going to. I won't believe that he truly loves you unless he defeats me. Now move!"
"No!"
"Star."
Star turned to Shadow's voice, gasping a bit as she looked into his eyes. His red eyes were so soft, filled with love and compassion, but also a hint of fear. He was afraid that if he really didn't do this, then he would lose Star for good. And it would just be another person that he loved for him to add to the people he had lost in the past. He couldn't bear to lose her like how he had lost Maria. He wasn't going to. "Please… move."
Star sniffed, a few tears running down her face. It hurt her that the two most important people in her life were about to fight over her. She didn't want this to happen, but it was clear that there was nothing she could do about it. She sighed and nodded, finally stepping out of the way. "Please… don't hurt each other too badly."
"Can't make any promises." Sonic said as he suddenly rocketed himself at Shadow once she was out of the way, hitting dead center into his chest.
Shadow grunted at the force of the hit. He was flown back from the attack, skidding across the ground. He dug his hands into the dirt, creating claw marks in the Earth as he skidded to a halt. He looked up at his rival and sneered before jumping back onto his feet and rushing at the blue hedgehog, fire coming from his hover shoes as they boosted him. Sonic quickly dodged the attack, sticking his foot out in the process to trip the other hedgie. Shadow went tumbling, but he wasn't down for long as he quickly got his bearings and stood up, summoning a Chaos Spear and shooting it at his rival, but to his surprise, Sonic had dodged that too! It was clear that he was not going to make this easy for him.
Sonic rolled into a ball and spindashed at him, the other retaliating with the same attack. They crashed into each other, spinning against the other before rocketing away from each other. Star watched from the sidelines in anticipation, holding her hands tightly as the two males went at it with each other.
'Sonic's not going to make this easy for me.' Shadow thought with a sneer as he and his rival were suddenly racing each other. 'He clearly loves his sister very much, and he wants to be sure that she doesn't get hurt. If I'm gonna beat him and prove that I love her just as much, then I need to go back to some old tactics.' "CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow suddenly disappeared, appearing again in front of Sonic and throwing some punches at his stomach before quickly uppercutting him, sending the blue hedgehog flying away from him.
Sonic grunted as he landed back on the ground on his stomach. He pushed himself up and looked back at the black and red hedgehog, smirking at him. "Oh, I see what you're doing. You're going back to your old fighting strategy when we first met."
"Yes," Shadow admitted, walking up from behind him. "Because they were able to defeat you last time, I'm certain they'll be able to defeat you this time."
"You forget, you didn't really defeat me. You had to run away before the cops showed up, so you didn't really get a chance to claim a victory over me." Sonic reminded him as he stood back up. "And now that I know what your strategy is, I'll have to keep my guard up. Stupid thing for you to admit that to me."
"Crap." Shadow lowered his ears as he realized that it really was a stupid thing to tell him what he was doing. He growled and disappeared again.
Sonic whipped his head around, keeping his guard up as he waited for his rival to appear again. He heard a whoosh coming from behind him and he smirked, sending a roundhouse kick and connecting with Shadow's chin. The black hedgehog went flying up, distracted enough for Sonic to curl up and spindash into him again, sending him flying even further, only being stopped when he crashed into a tree and fell back to the ground.
Shadow grunted and tried to stand back up on his shaking legs, but the moment he did so, Sonic crashed into him again, pinning him against the trunk as he repeatedly spindashed into his opponent.
After the fifteenth hit, Sonic finally stepped back to allow Shadow to breathe. He grinned in satisfaction when the other struggled to stand back up, only to ultimately collapse back down to the ground, laying there in defeat. Sonic approached to give him the finishing blow, but as Shadow looked up at him, he stopped.
Shadow's eyes… had tears in them.
Why would… Why would he be crying?
Was it because he was humiliated to be defeated by his rival?
Was it because Sonic had actually really hurt him?
Or.. was it because… he knew he was about to lose Star?
He… He didn't really love her… did he?
"That's enough!" Star cried, getting in between Sonic and Shadow and wrapping her arms around the more hurt one still laying on the ground. "You've proven your point, Sonic. You don't have to keep fighting."
"... You're right… I don't have to keep fighting." Sonic frowned as he stood up straight. "Because Shadow has lost."
"I-I-I can still fight." Shadow tried to deny, struggling to stand again before falling back down.
"No, you can't. Give it up, Shadow. You have been defeated."
"No… No I… I can't give up." Shadow forced himself to stand again, but he was leaning against Star a bit as he did so. "I can't… lose… I love her… And I'm gonna prove it to you… One way… or another."
"Shadow… you can't." Star shook her head. "You can't keep fighting. You're too hurt."
"But… But… I don't want to lose you." Shadow stared at her with wide eyes.
"You won't lose me. I still love you, and you love me." Star turned to her brother and glared at him. "And there's nothing that you can do to change that."
"He obviously doesn't love you enough if he can't defeat me." Sonic glared back.
"Because you didn't give him a fair fight. You barely gave him a chance to hit you."
"I shouldn't need to play fair with the hedgehog who calls himself the Ultimate Lifeform if he truly wants to fight for your hand."
"This is only because you're afraid I'm going to get my heart broken again."
"Of course I am. Based on your music, you've had many broken hearts. I'm not gonna let you go through that again. One person can only handle so much."
"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for four years. I don't need your protection anymore."
Sonic growled, taking a fighting stance again. "Then prove it to me. Fight me. Prove to me that you are capable of mending your own heart alone."
Star growled back, helping Shadow sit back against the tree before taking her own fighting stance. "Alright. I will then. And then when I beat you, maybe then you'll get it through that thick headed stubborn skull of yours!"
"Wait, no-" Shadow started, not wanting to watch brother and sister battle it out with each other, especially since Star had no fighting experience, but he went unheard as the twins started to fight.
Sonic made the first move and spindashed at his sister, knocking her up against another tree. Star grunted from the force but it didn't hurt her that badly. She quickly moved away from the tree when Sonic tried to strike her again, his quills hitting the bark only and tearing it apart. She dashed behind him and delivered a quick roundhouse kick to the back of his knees, then another to the middle of his shoulder blades once he fell, knocking him face forward into the ground. Sonic growled and rolled onto his back, flipping back up onto his feet, standing face to face with Star again, a few feet apart.
Star didn't know how to spindash, but from watching the other two hedgehogs, she decided to try it. She curled up into a ball and tried to spin in place, but nothing was happening. Sonic smirked with a light scoff before copying the move and hitting her successfully.
Star yelped from the sudden hit, but she stayed in ball form, allowing herself to hit against every tree and rock before she was suddenly directed back at Sonic, the speed and momentum of Sonic's hit retaliating back onto him and hitting him directly in his chest, sending him crashing against another tree. Star uncurled from her ball and stared at Sonic in shock.
"Heh, not bad." Sonic chuckled a little as he stood back up. "Using my own spindash against me, but that tactic isn't gonna work for you for long, sis." He rolled into another ball and dashed at her.
"Dammit." Star hissed when she was sent into another tree, right next to Shadow. "How does he do it?"
"Star…" Shadow started, gaining her attention. "Don't think about it. Just curl and roll."
"What?" But she was interrupted by suddenly being pulled away and thrown across the field.
"Focus on the fight!" Sonic hissed angrily. "You see?! He's even distracting you from your priorities!"
"Fighting you is not my priority!" Star hissed back at him. "I don't want to be fighting you!"
"Then stop and admit defeat!"
"Only if you'll stop trying to separate Shadow and I!"
"Then I guess the battle continues." Sonic curled once more, spinning in place.
"Yeah, I guess it does." Star scoffed and copied him. 'Don't think, just roll.' She willed herself to roll in place like her brother was doing. She pictured herself doing so, then all of a sudden, she was! She was spinning in place, gathering up speed!
Suddenly, the two hedgehogs rocketed at each other, crashing against the other but neither one pushing each other back. They stayed in one place, spinning against each other, their quills picking up heat from the friction. Star screamed and willed herself to push against her brother more, trying to push him back. Her determination willed her to do so and she managed to push Sonic away from her.
Surprised by the force, Sonic was unable to stop himself quick enough and he hit against a boulder, the back of his head smacking up against the rock. "Ow!" He groaned, sitting back up away from the rock and rubbing the back of his head. "How did she do that?"
Star stopped spinning and uncurled herself, hearing his question. She stood up straight and glared at him. "Because unlike you, I believe I actually am capable of what is possible in order to care for myself. If I'm willing to fight you, and perform a fighting technique that I've never done before, then shouldn't that prove it enough? Knowing how you've been acting lately, you're about to say no, but I'm not going to listen to it anymore. It's time for you to grow up and realize that I don't need you to hold my hand, and you don't need me to hold yours. It's time for you to accept that Shadow and I are in love, and you can't do anything to change that. Even if you win this fight, it's not going to change the fact that we are meant to be together. Shadow is the most kind and caring person I have ever met. He has treated me better than any guy I've ever had before. He sings with me. He takes care of me. He respects my religion and my wishes. He is unlike anybody I've ever known, and I'm not going to let your overprotectiveness get in the way of our relationship."
"No matter what you say," Sonic growled back, standing back up from the ground, using the boulder behind him as leverage. "No matter how much you love him or how much he 'loves' you. No matter if you beat me now. I'm not going to stop being an overprotective brother to you. That is my job. I don't care if I'm younger than you by a few minutes, we are still the same age, and therefore I can be your big brother whenever you need it."
"And I appreciate that, but I don't need you to be the big brother that protects me right now. I need you to be the little brother that I know and love that supports me, just like how he supported my dreams when we were kids."
"I want to, Star. I want to trust that you know what you're doing… but I can't trust Shadow. I'm not going to believe that he truly loves you. After what he's done to you. After I know how he feels about me, I can't. I just can't imagine it. You can try, but no matter what you do or say I'm not gonna believe, and I'm not gonna stop protecting you. I love you too much to lose you again."
"Then you leave me with no choice." Star frowned, but her eyes held a sadness to them. "I'm sorry." She looked behind her to make sure that Shadow was out of the way. She didn't want to do this to her brother, but it was the only way she knew that she could win this fight. She looked back at Sonic, took a deep breath… and released it in one high pitch note at full power.
Both Sonic and Shadow screamed in agony, pressing their hands against their ears as they both fell to the ground. Though Shadow was not getting hit with the blast, the frequency of Star's Song Blast was still very painful. Sonic however, was blasted against the rock again, tears streaming down his face from the pain in his ears. The earth around him cracked and shattered. The landscape started to pull away from each other, the Song Blast creating a literal earthquake.
Shadow forced himself to stand back up and approach his girlfriend. He strained to release his hands from his ears and put them on Star's shoulders before using one hand to cover her mouth. "Star! Star!" He shouted, getting her attention. "That's enough, dear… You've won."
Star stopped singing and felt immediate regret. She couldn't believe she just used her Song Blast on her little brother. She looked over to him, her ears pinning to her head when she saw him writhing on the ground, his hands pressed against his ears, crying and screaming in pain.
"Oh my gosh, what have I done?" She gasped, releasing herself from Shadow's grip and rushing to Sonic's side. "Sonic! Sonic, I am so sorry! I… I… I didn't know what else to do. I…"
Sonic ignored his sister, unable to hear her due to the high pitched ringing in his ears. Tears continued to roll down his face, feeling betrayed that Star would hurt him like this. Tears started to come to Star's own eyes as she watched him in agony. She couldn't just sit there and watch him suffer like this.
Taking a chance, Star grabbed onto the wiggling hedgehog and pulled him close to her, holding him tightly to her chest and she started petting his quills. Sonic continued to cry, but recognizing the soft and loving touch of his sister, he nuzzled into her chest. Even though she was the cause of his pain, he was hoping she would be able to take it away.
Star sniffed, her heart aching. She had no way of healing her brother right now. His ears would only have to heal over time. But the least she could do right now was comfort him. And even though he couldn't hear it, she took a shaky breath and started singing his lullaby.
"I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save the day. Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away."
Shadow quickly recognized the lyrics as one of the songs she sang at her concert. He finally understood that this was her brother's song. Her brother's lullaby. He could tell it was supposed to be a lullaby, because as she sang the song, even though he couldn't hear it, Sonic could still feel the vibrations of his sister's chest and immediately knew what she was singing. The comforting vibrations caused him to stop crying and nuzzle closer, his eyes blinking softly as he was obviously trying to stay awake.
Shadow watched the twins, suddenly compelled to join in the comfort. Even if he didn't really like Sonic, he quickly realized that he didn't really like seeing him in agony like this either. He wanted to help Star comfort him and make him feel better, like a big brother wanting to protect his younger sibling. Was it because he was dating her and that sort of made Sonic his little brother as well? He couldn't be sure. But he didn't pay much mind to it as he suddenly sat down beside Star, placing a hand on her shoulder, and started singing the next verse.
"Call me, baby, if you need a friend. I just wanna give you love. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Reaching out to you, so take a chance. No matter where you go, know you're not alone."
Star's eyes widened, surprised to hear Shadow singing Sonic's lullaby with her. Sonic, feeling the vibrations coming from Shadow, was also shocked. He watched them both as they suddenly were singing together, both looking at him with eyes full of comfort, every once in a while looking away from him to look at each other.
"I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save the day. Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away."
Sonic was looking mostly at Shadow now as he stopped singing, letting Star take the lead in the lullaby again. What was that look in his eyes? There was comfort when he looked at Sonic, which the blue hedgehog never would've thought that his rival was capable of, but whenever he looked at Star, there was something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. It… it kinda looked like the way Amy would look at him sometimes.
No… it… it couldn't possibly be love in those eyes… right?
"Come along with me and don't be scared. I just wanna set you free. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. You and me can make it anywhere. For now, we can stay here for a while. Cause you know, I just wanna see you smile. No matter where you go, you know you're not alone."
"I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save the day. Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away."
Shadow then gently grabbed Star's hand, holding it and prompting her to look at him as he sang the next verse. "And when you're weak I'll be strong."
Star smiled and gently squeezed his hand back. "I'm gonna keep holding on."
"Now don't you worry, it won't be long."
"Darling, when you feel like hope is gone. Just run into my arms."
"I'm only one call away."
"I'll be there to save the day. Superman got nothing on me."
"I'm only one, I'm only ooooone call away."
"I'll be there to save the day."
"Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away."
"I'm only one call away."
As Star and Shadow finished singing the lullaby, Sonic's eyes started to droop from the vibrations of the vocalizing. But before he could actually close his eyes, he saw them kiss again. He paid attention this time, watching their facial expressions and their body language. They were relaxed, their eyes closed. They both looked at peace. When they pulled away, they continued to stare into each other's eyes, and finally, Sonic could see it.
There was love in their eyes. Love for each other.
Unsure thoughts were going through Sonic's head at the sight of this, but he couldn't grasp any of them as he yawned, his eyes drooping more. Damn that lullaby.
As the male blue hedgehog finally closed his eyes, he came to a decision.
When he woke up, instead of fighting, he was gonna have a civilized talk with Shadow about his relationship with Star and whether or not he truly had feelings for her. Because even if it said so in his eyes, he still wanted to be 100% sure.
He just couldn't bear the thought of seeing his sister hurt anymore. And he wasn't going to lose her again after just getting her back.