Somewhere, in the main forest that separated the small town, Sloboda, from the ocean shore and the bottom of Angel Island were two arguing and rather heated hedgehogs. The ebony happened to be clinging onto the azure by his waist as he prevented any further movement. Sonic was only going to pay Eggman a little visit to enlighten him on what happens when he messes with the great Sonic the Hedgehog. But Shadow completely freaked out as soon as he even brought up the idea. And the cobalt knew... With complete displeasure, that the charcoal hedgehog was hiding something. Something VERY important. And at this point, Sonic was starting to lose his patience. If the ebony was going to do this crap then he was going to have to teach him a thing or two about respect.
"Why won't you just tell me what's going on Shadow?! Why are you so keen on keeping me from what needs to be done. Let go of me already!" The azure spat as he banged his fist against one of the many trees in complete frustration.
Shadow reacted by clinging to him tighter. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt so terrified. He never thought Sonic would hurt anyone before. But now he knew, he knew what he could do and that was enough to spin his mind and desires out of control. He felt like he might burst into tears at any moment and decided if he acted a little more passive, maybe the cobalt speedster would listen to his pleas.
"Please. Listen to me! Violence is never the answer. You know that! And I know the moment you step inside that laboratory you're going to not only destroy the place but attempt to kill everyone in the building. You need to calm down. I have told you this many times. Just please, I don't want to make you upset."
"I'M ONLY UPSET BECAUSE YOUR HIDING SHIT FROM ME SHADZ! You know I would never hurt him while you're around. I'm not an idiot you know. Don't you remember that I love you? Or do I have to spell it out to you over and over again until you just accept it!" The azure exploded as a few birds in the surrounding trees flew off in complete panic.
Shadows face flushed red as he felt a strange combination of love and fear. He wanted nothing more than to stay completely silent, as words seemed to completely escape him anyway. How could he say this without sounding like he was encouraging the death of his petite toddler friend? He got more attached to the little guy every day. Almost like it was his own child, in a way, it kind of was. Dr. Eggman had used his general outline combined with Sonics DNA. He couldn't let this unbelievable creation of life be destroyed.
"Sonic..." He responded weakly as a few tears filled is eyes.
He feebly let go as he buried his head into his hands before turning the other way. Sonic immediately reached out his hand in apology but the ebony quickly rejected it.
"I'm sorry... I raised my voice. Those were not appropriate things to say." The cobalt expressed sweetly before gently placing his hand on the ebony's back before starting the repetitive petting motion that always seemed to calm him.
"You have every right to. That's not why I'm upset." Shadow whimpered softly as he once again pushed the cobalt's hand off his back in rebellion.
He really wasn't in the mood to be messed with even if Sonic was just trying to comfort him. In the end, all the attention just made him feel weaker and feebler.
"Then? Is it really that bad? I promise I won't do anything extreme. I've kept myself controlled for almost twenty years, I think I will be okay." The sapphire hedgehog reassured as he gave the ebony a confident pat on the shoulder.
"Like hell you will..." Shadow replied irritably as he crossed his arms before leaning against a tree.
"According to what I know... Two Voziti's cannot live on this planet for very long. It messes with the balance of Chaos energy. Apparently, I and the guardians, have a limited amount of time we can keep things suitable for life. But, I really believe that there might be a way to keep both you and Čelik alive. There must be a way! I just need to find what it is." He explained before glaring down at the ground in complete frustration.
The azure stood in silence as he released a solid and groan like sigh. He knew the ebony wasn't going to like his response but maybe if he kept it short, it wouldn't be as hurtful.
"He needs to go Shadow." The cobalt responded in a nurturing tone before walking over to the ebony and wrapping his arms around his hips in an attempt to keep him relaxed.
"No. Absolutely not! I don't want him to die. Sonic... I can't handle it. It's too much." The charcoal hedgehog murmured as his voice was drowned in soft sobs.
"He has to Shadow." The cobalt replied as he gently stroked Shadow's soft quills.
He hated seeing him upset. As a matter of fact, he always had. Seeing Shadow frown or worse cry was almost pure torture from the very beginning. All those odd feelings made complete sense now and he was not going to let them go to waste. He had the opportunity to express love for the first time in almost a decade and it made him almost forgive himself for all the horrible things he felt.
"No! I will find a way!" Shadow exclaimed confidently as the tears in his eyes became more apparent and large.
"It isn't your fault." Sonic comforted as he gave the ebony a slight kiss on the forehead.
"YA! WELL IT ISN'T HIS EITHER?! HE'S A TODDLER, SONIC! WE ARE KILLING A SWEET INNOCENT LITTLE BABY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT MAKES ME FEEL?!" Shadow shrieked with as much force as his lungs could handle.
He quickly shoved Sonic away from him as he immediately dashed to the other side of the tree so he could hide his teary face and shame.
Sonic released a gentle sigh as he knew he was not going to be able to convince him. And as he dived deep into thought, realized he had to give in. Normally, he was very persistent but knew this was a fight he couldn't win.
"Alright. I see there's no way around this. So, I will see what I can do. How about we go talk to Eggie and see if we can get any information out of him. Obviously, there are things he's not telling us." Sonic replied calmly as he walked back to the tree only to see Shadow passively try to hide his entire body behind it.
"You mean it? You'll really try?" He whispered weakly before wiping the tears away with his glove.
"I'll give it my best and honest shot. But only because I love you too much to see you like this. Now who's your favorite hedgehog?" He admitted before opening his arms out, inviting Shadow to give him a hug.
Instead, he was hastily pounced on, causing him to go hurtling towards the ground. Shadow lied on top of him nuzzling his face gently against the cobalt's peach belly. He returned by giving the ebony a soft kiss on the head.
"You..." Could be faintly heard through the muffle of fur as the azure raised his eyebrows as if he didn't hear.
"Sorry. Didn't catch that? Whatcha say, baby?" The sapphire hedgehog asked slyly as he sent a confident wink to the ebony's now self-conscious face.
"Just go talk to Eggman you dimwit." Shadow countered embarrassedly as he immediately got up and stood with his arms crossed as if nothing happened.
"Fine... But I'll be expecting a more confident response when we get back tonight." He replied seductively before blowing the ebony a sultry kiss.
"You won't be getting shit out of me at this rate." The ebony exclaimed as he leaned against the tree trying to look like he was unaffected by the situation.
"Well... I hope not... I'm not into that kind of gross stuff." Sonic replied sarcastically before releasing a rambunctious chuckle.
"You disgust me."
After a relatively peaceful walk through the forest, the signs of stress seemed to dissipate with the passing wind. It was still present of course, but with the help a few uplifting jokes and some of Shadow's traditional shyness, they seemed to cope better with the inevitable outcome of this visit to Eggman's laboratory. After a half an hour of non-stop chattering and sometimes even laughing, the ebony stopped in his tracks to take a look around the area. They didn't seem to be any closer than they were before and he gave Sonic a look of slight frustration. He just now figured out that the azure probably had no idea what he was going.
"If you were lost, you could have just told me, idiot." Shadow pestered with an obnoxious sigh as he annoyingly poked Sonic's cheek.
"What are you talking about?! I'm not lost... Just taking the scenic route. I mean look at all the beautiful shrubbery and trees! It's about time you went on an adventure after all." He countered charismatically as he forcefully grabbed the ebony's hand before kissing it softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry that I value my life. How about you cut the shit and go the right way." The charcoal hedgehog replied embarrassedly as the obvious blush on his face amused the other.
Sonic smiled slightly before grabbing the ebony's little head. Shadow immediately reacted by freezing in his position, not moving an inch.
"Um, I don't like being put in a headlock position like this... Please, let go." The ebony begged weakly as he had a look of slight terror in his eyes.
Sonic carefully turned his head to the right as the charcoal hedgehog chuckled awkwardly. Right in front of him was a huge factory-like laboratory that was so obvious that Shadow was amazed he didn't spot it.
"Right there dumby. Guess you were distracted by my good looks, huh?" The cobalt teased playfully as he gently grabbed one of the ebony's quills before twirling it seductively.
"Shut up and get inside..." Shadow replied intensely as he shoved the cobalt through the metal doors.
Inside was a long corridor that led to many specialty rooms. They all seemed to be robot/badnik related. But right in front of them was an obvious camera hanging from the ceiling. Sonic scratched his head softly before taking another step. As soon as he did so, Shadow pulled him back to where he was before frowning skeptically.
"There might be lasers in here, Sonic. Must you always run blindly into any dangerous situation?" He growled aggressively before yanking his arm forcefully.
"I can handle anything, Shadz! C'mon you know me." He replied confidently before laughing in his typical egotistical manner.
All the sudden, a bright green light flashed them as a little laser ran down both of them.
"See, I told you this was a bad idea!" The ebony whined angrily before obnoxiously rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"State your name!" Interrupted a cold robot voice as both the hedgehogs scrambled to try and locate whatever was speaking.
"Um... Sonic?" The azure asked mockingly as he was incredibly shocked that the robot didn't know who the great Sonic the Hedgehog was.
"I ain't telling you shit!" Shadow shouted powerfully.
"Voices detected. Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog. Dr. Robotnik would like to have a conversation with you. Please enter room three on your left. There should be a television where you may come in contact with him. Have a wonderful day."
"What egghead?! Too much a pussy to talk to me in person now that you know that I'm just as powerful as I said I was?!" The cobalt exclaimed forcefully before releasing an egotistical laugh of triumph.
"Sonic. Please... Your ego is big enough as it is." The ebony responded sarcastically before gently pinching the azures cheek.
"Baby my ego is as big as I want it to be, thank you very much." Sonic countered slyly before blowing the ebony a narcissistic kiss.
"Well aren't you charming." Shadow replied mockingly.
Sonic started walking towards the room as he dragged the ebony along him. Shadow seemed quite skeptical about the situation. Why the doctor wanted to talk to them in a separate area seemed quite strange. And as they were walking, his mind trailed back to a thought that had been brought up so many times prior.
(Even Ivo is scared of him now... So should I be?)
It had been bothering him for a while now. He knew he loved Sonic but something was always off about him. If he was pretending to love him however, the ebony knew he would show his true colors eventually... However, that thought almost paralyzed him. Sonic could really hurt him emotionally. He was taking a huge risk... But after a general thought of the outcome, if he was somehow telling the truth, it made him almost feel like the risk was worth taking. Finally, after what seemed like forever, since Shadow was desperately trying to pull in the opposite direction, they entered the small room. It almost seemed like it was created for this exact purpose. It barely had any furniture but a couch, television, a few plants and a coffee table. Sonic quickly plopped onto the sofa as he felt rather exhausted and Shadow politely sat next to him, almost as if he was afraid to disturb him. The cobalt opened his eyes as he stared sweetly at Shadow's proper poster. He sneakily slid his hand around the ebony's waist while the ebony sighed in slight embarrassment.
"Really? This isn't the time to be flirting with me." The ebony groaned as he released a half serious growl.
"Oh trust me. You'll know when I'm flirting with you. I'm merely doing what I'm supposed to be doing here, as your prince and as your lover." The azure replied sweetly and protectively before pulling the somewhat annoyed charcoal hedgehog closer to him.
"And that is...?" Shadow replied skeptically.
"Making you feel safe. That is what I am supposed to do and that is what I want to do. You deserve it after all you have been through." The sapphire hedgehog replied lovingly before sneaking a gentle kiss onto the ebony's lips.
Even though Shadow's expression remained the same, his face seemed to light up the moment Sonic said those words. The azure knew what he was doing, of course. If there was anything he was good at, it was reading between the lines. He knew exactly what Shadow needed to be happy. Being emotionless most of the time makes it difficult enough to read a person's expressions, so he had trained himself quite well to look closely at every movement and expression. They sat in silence for a few seconds before the ebony moved just so his head was resting on the cobalt's shoulder.
"Thank you... Honestly."Sloboda (Slo-bo-dah): Means freedom in Croatian and is the official name of the little town Sonic and the rest of the crew live in. The entire country is named Jednak which means equal in Croatian.