Chapter Three – Explosions

Several days passed by and there was still no change. Sonic was still unconscious in hospital. Shadow had heard the story and just rolled his eyes. Stupid Hedgehog. He just couldn't believe how utterly idiotic Sonic had been, especially against Eggman. But the accusations of high treason against him, however, Shadow was finding hard to swallow. He frowned, now back on the Ark, desperately trying to research the truth behind the rumours. It didn't make any sense. Why not destroy Eggman when he had the chance? Was Sonic really that powerful? He gave no impression to anyone that he was. But the horrendous tension and shock in Tails' House was so bad, that Shadow just couldn't stand being in the place, anymore. He knew that no one had been to see the Blue Blur in hospital, but under the circumstances, not that surprising. Do something that unbelievably stupid to yourself, and yes, people will walk out on you. Even the Hero of Mobius.

But it was the following morning, that things really got interesting. He received an anonymous communication for a job, a professional hit. Alright, nothing usual there. All of his clients as a professional killer were unknown, that was how the job worked. Normally he didn't care, so long as the target was dead and he got his money. In advance, as always. A hit for a traitor. Shadow evilly smirked, his dark red eyes glowing. He leered. He favourite kind of kill. He despised betrayal. He looked at the amount of money being offered. A hundred thousand Mobian Dollars.

Shadow blinked. That was a lot of money, more then he normally took for a job. Not the most, but still a signifiant amount. Shadow smirk broadened. So who was the target? Someone important for that price. Shadow saw the name, and then gasped, blinking hard.

What?

Then he heaved. A traitor. Suddenly, it all made sense. There was a short, one sentence message, along with the money. It simply read.

'Put him out of his misery.'

Then Shadow knew who sent the money. Despite the shock of this incredibly complicated situation, the client was just doing what he believed was the right thing, desperately trying to let his best friend keep his dignity. To simply ask Shadow, was just be too much, hence the offer of the large quantity of money. A gesture of good will for the incredible difficult job ahead. Shadow heaved.

He agreed wholeheartedly. With everything. The target was indeed Sonic, and his client, Tails, desperate for the Blue Blur not to suffer anymore. He hadn't been to see Sonic in hospital because he hadn't had the nerve. He'd bottled out, frightened. Intense details of the Blue Blur's injuries had been made public and they were extremely bad. Tails just couldn't bare to see his best friend like that. It had been an absolute miracle that he'd even survived, this far. Shadow had shuddered, hearing the story and then, on top of that, the indignity of being branded a traitor, the Hero of Mobius literally had nothing left. Shadow sighed. But the Fox was indeed right. This was going to be a difficult job, one of which he accepted. If anyone was going to kill the Blue Blur, then he should be the one to do it. As a mark of respect, more then anything.

Even though Sonic's attitude had been appalling in recent months, even he didn't deserve this horrendous fall from grace. A fall to the gutter like no other. Shadow knew what to do. Head to his hospital room, silent and deadly, and end it, while he was still sleeping. Give him back his dignity.

That was how Shadow ended up staring at the Blue Blur, in his hospital room, deep in the shadows in the middle of the night, opposite his bed, that evening. He deeply gulped. Sonic was lying there in the hospital bed, still and calm, his breathing and heart rate monitored. His ears were back, and the beautiful blue quills on the back of his head, were now all battered and broken. Rolls of sterile white cloth had been placed in his empty eye sockets, and then his eyes and entire head, had been heavily wrapped in yards of white bandages, which had to be changed regularly, as they kept getting soaked in yellow gunk and blood. Beneath the bandage, his muzzle had nose were bare, but badly burned, this mouth slightly open.

His arms were down, covered in further bandages, hiding yet more burns, as well has down his chest. His hips, legs and feet with his cherry red shoes and their famous white stripes, were all still under the bed covers and were complete unscathed. His breathing was staggered and now he was desperately thin, having not eaten due to the shock. Shadow hadn't truly known what to expect when he arrived here, except from the rumours, but not injuries to this scale. Sonic literally had nothing left. He had been initially shocked that Tails had asked him to do this, but now having seen him for himself, he understood.

Then as he examined Sonic further from the other end of the room, where he was still stood, Shadow cursed and hard. He heaved. This, indeed, was going to be extremely hard. But as he was literally about to move, when all of sudden, the Blue Hedgehog stirs. Shadow stays put, watching intently.

Sonic had no idea how long he was out, but when he finally comes to, he realises, quite quickly, that he is in hospital. He was in complete darkness, but can tell by the smell. Feeling around, he is mortified when he noticesthat he is totally alone. His head is extremely sore, and as he placed his hands on his head, he can feel the bandages on his eyes. He cried, the tears forming just beneath the bandages. What had he done to himself and where was everyone? Suddenly, there was an explosion of sound bombarding his ears. He grabbed them, bolting upright. It was very painful. He screamed.

He could hear everything.

Every voice, machine and beep in the entire hospital, but it even extended outside to the cars, street lights and people walking. He began to outright panic, but it was far to much. Suddenly, his brain began to get used to the sudden influx of sound as it began to focus his ears on a single sound, constant, never changing. Cool, calm, and incredible soothing. It immediately calmed him. A heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump...

Sonic concentrated on it. He knew it, even though he'd never heard it before. He sniffed, and got an enormousarray of scents from all over the place which again overwhelmed him, but quickly narrowed it down to just one, and it matched the heartbeat. Sonic gasped.

"Shadow?" He gulped, but the Ultimate Lifeform just stared. What the hell? He'd stood absolutely silently the other end of the room to Sonic, there was no way he could have heard him. He frowned as he walked towards the Blue Blur just as Sonic grabbed his ears again. A high pitch squealing was immediately followed by a voice, seeming coming from nowhere. Sonic frowned in utter confusion.

"Eggman?" He whispered. Shadow stared. He, by chance, happened to know where Eggman was, and that was over fifty miles away. What was going on? He grabbed the Blue Blur arm and produced a Chaos Emerald which caused Sonic to panic. Again Shadow stared. Could he feel the Chaos Emerald? His head seemed to follow it, as he moved it around the room. Normally that isn't possible, certainly not to this degree. Shadow concentrated. He could use the Emerald's power to see and hear through another person's eyes and ears, and immediately got bombarded by sound from Sonic.

It was incredible. Shadow gritted his teeth and finally his brain singled out what he was looking for. It was indeed Eggman's voice, talking to Orbot and Cubot, in the distance. He stared at Sonic, who just sat there shaking, utterly terrified with fright. There was no mechanics or listening devices anywhere near the Blue Blur. How was he doing this? Shadow panted hard, and then settled as they both listened into the conversation. The Human growled.

"Orbot, Cubot, progress report?" He demanded. One of the robot's immediately replied. Orbot jumped.

[Everything is on schedule, Boss. The designs for your new batch of Badniks and new fleet of battleships and boss robots are about the finalised.] He explained. [There is a rumourgoing around that the Blue Blur is on the Ultimate Lifeform's hit list.] He added. Shadow smirked. He wasn't surprised they knew. They did watch each intensely. But Eggman smiled evilly.

"Well, good riddance." He smirked. "I gave him a chance, but if his friends don't want him, then he's of no use to me. He's as good as dead." He heaved. "Anyway, it's one less member of the Resistance to deal with." He added, but Shadow noticed a slight note of grief in Eggman's voice. An emotion he knew extremely well. He mourned his arch nemesis, a worthy adversary. But, unfortunately, that wasn't going to stop his plans from pressing forwards. He smirked. "Orbot. With the Blue Pin-cushion dead, I can now advance my plans." He paused, thinking. "I have changed my mind. Scrap those designs. You know I have been mothballing machines for years, in secret storage facilities all over the globe, time to break them out." He smiled. Orbot looked up at him. He frowned.

[Project Scorpion, Boss?] He asked. But Eggman just laughed with glee.

"Yes, Orbot. It's enough robots for a world domination bid, but some might need repair work. Resistance won't know what hit them. Then the planet will be mine for the taking, reducing it to flames and ashes. Badniks you thought were gone, will be back to bite you, hence the Scorpion, once the workshops are up and running." He growled, of which Orbot just gulped.

[Within a few days, Boss.] He reported. Eggman smiled satisfied.

"You know what, Orbot, I might actually enjoy this." He sniggered. As it turned out, Sonic hadn't quite destroyed everything Eggman owned, and he still had multiple resources still available to him, such as Project Scorpion. Most of the robots there, were old. But all were working and still mighty, more then enough to give the Resistance a run for their money. Suddenly, Eggman rounded on Orbot. "The Resistance must not know about Project Scorpion. If they find out, I'm done for. That Fox would just track down the secret storage facilities and destroy them before I have a chance to use them." He growled, and suddenly, footsteps could be heard, as clear as day, as the Human had obviously walked away, followed by his lackeys.

Shadow was stunned. Project Scorpion? He'd never heard of it, but it didn't sound good. If Eggman got the upper hand against the Resistance, especially with Sonic down, then he could potentially be unstoppable. At least the Human was correct there. But Shadow could still hear, with incredible detail, the entire world around him, though Sonic's ears, significantly more so then his own. Then as he looked back at Sonic, who was still shaking with fright, he finally realisedas to what he was listening to.

Super Hearing.

On a sensitivity that was off the charts. Equivalent to super high-end listen devices. Suddenly the sense, exploded again, causing Sonic to scream and Shadow to grit his teeth, and screw up his eyes. It was excruciating painful and completely overwhelming. But as Shadow saw through the darkness of his own closed eyes, he noticed Sonic's hearing was producing pale blue images, lighting up the darkness, including his own heartbeat, which was very surreal.

Thumb, thumb, thumb...

Each of his own heart movements, as clear as a bell, producing explosions of pale blue colourwith each sound.

Sonar.

The newly developed radar sense was allowing Sonic to 'see' via sonic vibrations. His other four remaining senses were also enhancing themselves beyond their normal abilities. Shadow was now utterly fascinated by the whole process but he was unable to take anymore bombardment, and was about to let go, when he was again overwhelmed, this time by something completely different. A total and utter desperation like nothing he'd felt before.

Anxiety.

He knew the emotion. Had felt it himself, back on the Ark, when he was first created, out of fear of the Human scientists there. He stared again at the shaking Blue Hedgehog, who was desperate for him not to leave, clinging into whatever he could. He knew who it was, and yet Sonic didn't want pity, as he then proceeded to submit to Shadow, out of pure fright. He sat completely silent and still as Shadow let go of him and examined him all over. The Ultimate Lifeform frowned.

What was going on? He was witnessing on Sonic, all the classic signs of a completely mentally broken Hedgehog, and as Shadow thought back, he suspected Sonic was like this before the incident happened. That would explain his lack of care during the fight, that got him injured in the first place. He wasn't mentally fit. Tails's jib at Sonic being ill was absolutely correct. Shadow placed his hands either side of Sonic's head, as he sat on the bed next to him. You don't get this sick, by chance. Someone or something had done this to him. But the intense fear was back, and Shadow saw, it wasn't just at him. He frowned.

"What are you so afraid of?" He hissed, barely more then a whisper. Silence replied. Shadow could feel this went far beyond his incident and the blindness. But seeing the tears again beneath Sonic's bandaged eyes, told Shadow, he didn't really understand what was going on but it did prove one thing. He may have been blind but he definitely wasn't down, and Shadow decided he wasn't doing to die today. The Ultimate Lifeform was just too fascinated by the Sonar. He let go of Sonic. Suddenly, the Blue Blur squealed again, grabbing his ears. The noise of the hospital was getting to much. He was struggling again. Beneath the bandages, Sonic's eyes had been completely burned out and needed surgery. Shadow grabbed him. Yeah, he could do that, somewhere much quieter then the hospital.

The Ark.

Suddenly, he grabbed tufts of fur and quills on the back of his head, and yanked, causing Sonic to squeal in both pain and confusion. But Shadow just smirked, as he left blood spots on the bed. As he picked up Sonic's surprisingly lightweight frame, leaving the fur and quills behind. He didn't want to be followed. He realisedSonic may have been alive and conscious, but unless he stabilisedhis eyes, the Blue Blur wouldn't survive for much longer. He had the facilities on the space colony, now to take him there, picking up Sonic, as he grabbed the Chaos Emerald and said those fateful words.

Chaos Control.

They vanished.

A blinding flash of light later, and Shadow landed on his beloved home, and the instant silence of the Ark, immediately calmed Sonic, as he silently rested his heavily bandaged head on his chest. He was still desperately shaking with fright, having no idea what Shadow would do next, but the Ultimate Lifeform could feel a huge element of trust there. Even through his horrendous ordeal, Sonic had realisedthat if Shadow wanted him dead, he would have killed him by now. He just patiently waited, to be told what to do next. It was not what Shadow was expecting at all. He just stared, heaving hard. He had not been expecting such a broken Hedgehog on his hands, and knew that was going to take months to heal. But he had to get to the bottom of it. But first, his eyes, as he carried Sonic to the Ark's sick bay.

He laid him down the medical table, on which Sonic just obediently stayed. Shadow sighed. Enough. He couldn't take Sonic's crippling fear any longer, and decided to heavily sedate him before unwrapping the bandages, on his eyes, arms and chest. This was the part he was absolutely dreading. Once Sonic was sound asleep, fully monitored and safe, he painstakingly unwrapped the bandages. Slow and gently, it took hours, but Shadow was a Hedgehog of infinite patients, until finally, all of the bandages were gone.

The Ultimate Lifeform almost threw up, as his stomach severely lurched. Sonic's injuries were incredibly extensive, with severe third degree burns almost everywhere, going down to the bone in places. But his eyes. Shadow looked in utter disgust. Both of the eyeballs of his eyes were completely gone, and left behind was the bony eye sockets, with the optical nerve still present, but badly damaged beyond repair. The highly toxic acid had come within millimetresof burning through his skull to his brain. Thankfully, it missed, otherwise Sonic would have died instantly. Shadow felt a tear fall down his face. He'd completely wronged the Blue Blur. He'd believed him to be an idiot but in reality, he was a Hero in desperate need of help. But he had said nothing to no one.

But, Shadow could fix this, however, as he picked the Blue Blur again, and took him to an extremely special part of the Ark. The room had a sophisticated device in it, that took genetic engineering to the next level. Immediately, Shadow dumped him into the Ark's high-tech Healing Tank. An large upright, narrow, cylindrical tank, with a breathing apparatus at the top, suspended in the purple liquid. Fine delicate robotic arms moved within the tank, around the body and used special lasers to repair damaged tissue. It would almost heal anything. But suddenly, too late, Sonic flatlines, just as Shadow is lowering him in and he is left desperately trying to bring him back, franticly programming the tank. But it was only when the Ultimate Lifeform physically gets into the tank itself and punched the Blue Blur in the chest, did Shadow get his heart beating again. Finally, Sonic was stabilised in the tank, and the healing process can begin.

The Healing Tank could repair Sonic's eyes, reduce any scaring, but he'd never see again. The incredible machine began growing the Blue Blur new eyeballs, functional, but with pale grey discs where his iris' and pupils were supposed to be. Shadow swore, he didn't have the genetic knowledge to restore Sonic's sight, but at least he looked normal again. The burns on his arms and chest were also healed, and the scaring was reduced to almost nothing. Shadow was determined to get Sonic back on his feet, but it was taking forever. But he was struggling to get Sonic enough food while in the Healing Tank, so illegal hacked the Mobian Authority Mainframe, from the Ark, to get at Sonic's medical record.

But by doing so, he found one very unexpected piece of information. Sonic The Hedgehog was not the Blue Blur's real name. It was a pseudonym, used as the Hero of Mobius. Sonic wasn't exactly fake, but it was obviously created as a means of stepping back when times got tough. Shadow heaved. He understood that, but then he noticed that not only did he not know Sonic's real name, but no one did. Which immediately gave Shadow an idea, as he immediately registered Sonic, under his real name, on the Vulnerability Register.

The register gave extra benefits and protection to those in society who needed it. In other words, the vulnerable. Blind, Sonic now had the entitlement for being in the register, and he was accepted, once Shadow had sent the evidence. Thankfully, no one questioned it, as Shadow suspected they wouldn't make the connection be the Blue Blur and his registration application. He did it to protect Sonic. He now could no longer marry, without a special application to the Vulnerability Register, and a representative from the register verifying that his spouse and any accommodation was suitable for his needs. He would have to send yearly updates to them to avoid an inspection on the care and welfare of the Blue Blur. He was looking after him.

Shadow also found his specialist diet, and with a few alterations, he finally got the Blue Blur slowly gaining weight. But as he looked further, he found the real truth behind all the fear and anxiety. Sonic was sterile. Shadow heaved stunned, and then growled, as his anger suddenly exploded.

Amy.

That dam girl had done this to him. That was who he was really afraid of. Her insistence on marriage and a family, had driven the Blue Blur into the ground, because he simply couldn't give her one. Shadow had heard of her threats to Sonic with her hammer. He'd obviously hadn't believed her, but Sonic did, and it had mentally destroyed him. Now Shadow felt very protective of the Blue Hedgehog as day by day, he slowly but surely began to heal. Shadow was determined to turn him around. To teach him the way of the killer.

Shadow smirked, liking the idea. He knew Sonic would obediently follow him. He literally had nowhere else to go. Then he heaved. Ok, maybe not kill. That wasn't Sonic's way, Shadow deeply respected that, but everything else, he could learn. Now he was deeply fascinated, very intrigued as to where this was all heading. He got word on the Ark, that Sonic, back on the planet, had been declared dead, and a funeral had been held. He smirked. His little trick had worked, as he looked back at the Healing Tank, knowing that now, short of his sight, Sonic would make a full recovery.

As for the Resistance, they were on their own. Shadow knew Eggman would attack them, but the fact that they treated Sonic so badly, when he was so desperately in need of help, Shadow just walked out on them. He couldn't have cared less about them. Project Scorpion was now their problem.

As for Sonic, all Shadow had to do now was wait.