Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog.

This story was originally published on my tumblr blog (son1c). I'm compiling it all here so it's easier to read. :)

ZONE 0: THE CRATER

ACT 0: THE HEDGEHOG'S DILEMMA

The smell of smoke hung in the air like a haze. Shadow scrunched up his nose because of it. His entire body burned like it was on fire, so maybe the smell was actually his quills, and he had just been barbecued. The strange thing was, he couldn't remember standing over a spit roaster recently. In fact, he couldn't remember anything at all. And when he opened his eyes to look for clues as to where he was, he was met with an unfamiliar scene.

He was laying in the center of a fresh crater. He knew it was fresh, because the treeline that led up to it was the source of the smoke–the oaks bent in half and smoldering in what appeared to be a straight line until suddenly stopping where he and the blue hedgehog beside him were laying.

That was another thing, the blue hedgehog. Shadow frowned at him. The hedgehog's breathing was labored, and his expression was pained. It was clear why–his left leg was twisted unnaturally, almost certainly broken.

Shadow's gaze snapped away from the stranger's leg when he began to stir. "Don't move," Shadow said automatically. If he bent that mangled leg of his further, Shadow was sure the pool of blood beneath them would grow even deeper.

Sonic shifted slightly, and was rewarded by a wave of pure agony wracking his entire body. With a hiss, he followed Shadow's instructions immediately afterwards, and kept himself perfectly still. If something as simple as wiggling his toes caused that much pain, then he'd rather be a statue.

How had he ended up here? Like Shadow, Sonic couldn't recall. Where his memories should've been was a vast expanse of nothingness. The only thing that stood out among the darkness was the image of something–or someone–swathed in gold, shimmering like a star, and smiling. But their face was obscured, and no matter how hard Sonic tried to bring it into focus, their visage remained blurry.

Sonic pinched his eyebrows in frustration. His head was killing him, almost as much as the rest of him, and he was so, so tired. Whatever power nap he'd just woken up from clearly wasn't enough, and his exhaustion was making everything that much more difficult.

Maybe he should go back to sleep for now, and figure out what had happened to him later…

But Shadow was watching when Sonic's eyes started to drift closed, and he decided to speak up.

"What's your name?" Shadow asked.

Sonic blinked. He focused on Shadow, who he was just seeing for the first time. The intensity of Shadow's stare compelled Sonic to stay awake, and, when he looked closer, Sonic was struck by the strangeness of Shadow's appearance. The hedgehog's pitch black quills and ruby red streaks were like nothing Sonic had ever seen before. Although, that wasn't saying much, since he couldn't remember seeing anything at all. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was a bit alien about him.

Oh, right. Shadow had asked him a question.

"I can't remember," Sonic finally replied. He offered Shadow a small, strained smile as compensation for his less-than-stellar answer. "You?"

But Shadow couldn't remember either.

So, Sonic laughed. It was a soft sound, one that was nearly drowned out by cracking wood and popping flames as they licked at the sky. He could barely hear it over the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

"Cool."

Sonic was quiet for a moment. Then, he asked, "Do you mind if I call you Stripes?"

Shadow stared at him like he'd grown a second head. A nickname? That's what he was worried about? "You're injured," Shadow said seriously, stating the obvious.

But Sonic just laughed again. "Yeah, I know," he replied. "But I don't really wanna think about that right now." His mouth quirked up in a half-grin, half-grimace. "If Stripes ain't your style, maybe Red? I don't think that one sounds as good, though."

Shadow sighed. "Stripes is fine."

All of the pain left Sonic's expression when he heard that. He grinned big and wide, and Shadow almost had to look away, the brightness threatening to overwhelm him.

"Awesome," Sonic said. "So, what's the plan, Stripes? I'm open to ideas."

Shadow's eyes drifted down to Sonic's leg again. "The plan…" he began, "won't be pleasant. But I don't see another option."

"So long as it involves getting us out of here, I'm all for it."

Shadow suddenly became aware of the situation he was in. Waking up, having no memory of his past, with a strange blue hedgehog who couldn't remember anything either. What if he was an enemy? Shadow shouldn't entertain him. If he wanted to play games, then he would have to do so on his own time, and leave Shadow out of it.

But…

Shadow's gaze turned back toward the treeline. A straight line. Leading here. And Shadow had woken up in the blue hedgehog's arms. The blue hedgehog who was much more hurt than he was. Almost like he had hit the ground first.

Almost like he had caught Shadow.

In one swift motion, Shadow sat up. His head pounded in protest, but he ignored it. "This will hurt," Shadow warned, looking down at Sonic.

Sonic's eyes hardened, the seriousness of their predicament finally reflecting on his face. "I can take it," he said. After taking a deep breath, he added, "Just don't drop me. Okay?"

Shadow nodded. Then, as carefully and quickly as he could, he brought Sonic into his arms and stood up. Sonic gritted his teeth against the fresh waves of pain that washed over him, but kept his cool. He wrapped his shaky arms around Shadow's shoulders and focused all of his attention on breathing.

Shadow, meanwhile, pursed his lips as blood began to soak through his gloves.

"Hospital," Shadow said. "That's the plan."

Sonic tried to chuckle, but it came out sounding more like a wheeze. "Sounds good to me," he replied.

Shadow started up the crater. Thankfully, it wasn't too steep, and he reached the top with little trouble. Once his feet were set firmly on the flat grass, he glanced down at Sonic. "Keep your eyes open," he told him. Then, after a short pause, he added, "…Blue."

Sonic's ear twitched. Shadow could feel him relax ever so slightly in his arms. "Eyes open," Sonic repeated. "You got it!"