Day Six, Prompt: Recording/Made to Watch/It Should've Been Me

Shadow's heart was in his throat, it left an awful pit in his stomach. Sonic suffered indescribable torture. If he could reverse time, Shadow would've taken his place in a heartbeat.


Day 103 - 14E - 12:38:10

He's running

Running like there's no tomorrow

Because there might not be a tomorrow.

A loud whack makes him cringe. The lasso hits his back tearing up his pelt almost nearly making him lose his balance but he somehow manages to stay on running. He's so tired.

How long he's been on this wheel who knows at this point. He's long lost track after the first hour. Strong blue legs are wobbly and unsure. Every step feels strategic to ensure he wouldn't trip over his own two feet. Sonic needs to maintain a stable pace or else he risks being whipped.

A hamster wheel-like contraption is what is keeping Sonic running. Eggman's trying to harvest his energy but he can only do so if Sonic keeps his speed at least above Mach 2.

It felt easy at first. He usually runs at a higher speed normally, however, running for a long period of time regardless of speed is bound to make you exhausted.

His legs feel like jelly. They could buckle at any second now but he doesn't stop. The second he does, only Chaos knows what Eggman might do to him. It'll be much worse than just being beaten with a whip, that's for damn sure.

He's waiting. For something, anything. For Eggman to tell him to stop, for him to trip and fall, or for his friends to come and save him. Anything…

He's so deep into his thoughts that he doesn't realize he's slowed down to the point where another hit on his back comes at him unexpectedly that he doesn't tense up. This one hurt more than the others. Eggman purposely kept hitting him on the same wound. He could feel his blood flowing down his back. Everything hurt.

He's yanked off the wheel and dropped to the floor. His back is on fire like his wounds had been doused in gasoline. His legs are shaking and they ache with the occasional cramp. Eyes face towards Eggman. The doctor is relentless and smiles without much reason to.

The doctor grabs a handful of quills, gripping them with such force that it gives Sonic a headache. Sonic's hands wrap around his wrists almost hoping he would ease his hold.

"I told you, if you slowed down, I would punish you. Did I or did I not, hedgehog?"

He can't move his head so he just stares. The doctor's eyes are not visable, but it's safe to assume they are filled with vexation.

The doctor's grip on his quills doesn't cease, "When I ask you a question, you answer, Understood?"

Sonic hisses, "Y-yes. Yes, I understand."

A sly grin forms over the doctor's mouth with amusement. "Since you didn't follow directions I guess it's time to fulfill that promise. Trust me, I always keep my promises."

Fear is rarely an emotion Sonic expresses, however, the unknown is what is keeping him on the edge lately.

Eggman walks his way to the other side of the room, Sonic still in hand. He's flipped around facing the wall and he feels his hands being tied with an uncomfortable and scratchy rope. His breathing quickens. He tries to look behind him and when he hears a series of clanks and metal hitting against metal, he strains his neck to attempt to get a look behind his shoulder. It's a whip but not the one the doctor had been using. This one was lined with barbed wire. Eyes widen and he feels like he's about to have a panic attack.

"E-Eggman, I-I'm sorry look, okay? I'm sorry." The doctor flings the modified whip behind him, " I'M SORRY! PLEASE. PLEASE NO-"

He doesn't finish. Eggman doesn't really care for anything he has to say. They're falling on deaf ears anyway.

He's screaming initially but eventually, he's lost his voice sometime along the way. He tries to loosen the restraints but they've been put on tight and it's only leaving him with red markings with how much he's pulling on them. His head hits against the wall and Sonic thinks he might've caused some bruising.

Sonic's back looks like a battlefield. His pelt is being ripped out by the wire and it's excruciating. His back is uneven, with parts where skin has been heaved off and others where it has left long deep lines of open wounds down his back. It's a waterfall of blood back there and he can feel such liquid dripping down his thighs and legs.

It's a gruesome scene. Chunks are flying off with every hit and creating a sprinkled mess across the floor. The whip is long and was silvery shiny in color but now dark and dripping with ichor. It seems like doing this gave the doctor some kind of sick joy out of this. His smile never faltered.

He stops when he deems the punishment enough. Through all this Sonic doesn't pass out. His Chaos energy won't let him as it attempts to clot the red substance creating river streams out of him, attempting to prevent any further bleeding.

He feels his restraints being untied. Good, he thinks. He was starting to lose feeling in his hands..

Through half-lidded eyes, he's able to face Eggman when his chin is being held.

"I hope you;ve learned your lesson, hedgehog. Next time, it'll be much worse."

He didn't respond but the doctor wasn't expecting him to. He blinks for a little too long maybe because the next thing he knows when he opens his eyes, a fist is coming at his face and his world grows dark.

—-

Watching this was a mistake. What was he thinking?

Shadow is currently seated at a desk at the Resistance's HQ. He's alone and everyone has long gone home to rest after a very long and exhausting week. He was the only one who remained.

It's very late now, the sun is bound to rise in a few short hours. He doesn't think he can sleep now after what he'd just seen.

Shadow rubs his eyes. Over his exhaustion or simply because he doesn't want any tears to overflow he's not sure. A pit in his stomach makes him want to lose it as he sits right there amid the darkness.

This was only one video and it completely rocked his world in a way he wasn't expecting it to.

Shadow clicks off. The video is numbered by the day and what clip of footage from that day it was taken from. He's sick to his stomach. The file contains hundreds of hours of footage. How Rouge was able to get her hands on this was beyond him.

He's tempted to watch another video but what if it was worse than what he just saw? The way that literal pieces of Sonic were flying off of him onto the floor beneath. That very floor with puddles of his blood flooded throughout, it looked like a crime scene for Chaos sake. He felt like throwing up seeing that.

The video ends after the doctor punches his rival. What he does after is unknown. The video after it is not from the same day. He can only wonder what happened after. Eggman is the only one who knows.

Speaking of such, the thought of the doctor makes his blood boil. His rage heightens like a thermometer reaching its max temperature. He's beyond angry, livid in fact. Shadow's so upset he feels a certain wet substance drip down to his muzzle.

This was all his fault. If he had been there when Eggman ambushed. If he hadn't taken out Infinite's ancestry. If he had simply owned up to his mistakes, none of this would've happened. Sonic wouldn't be suffering the fallout of his mistakes. His guilt would forever remain and he's not sure if he could ever find it in his heart to forgive himself.

Sonic, returned in a way no one expected him to. Withdrawn, traumatized, and scared beyond doubt. Afraid of every noise, every move, every little thing he thinks could hurt him. It shouldn't have been him. He shouldn't be carrying this burden that weighs down his mental and emotional state. It makes Shadow sick to his stomach about what he's done and what he's allowed to happen.

He slams the computer shut. He might've slammed it a bit too hard because he thinks he heard the screen crack. He doesn't care though. His mind is only filled with the everlasting images of Sonic and what Eggman did to him. The video, playing over and over again in his head.

Sonic. Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic…

All Shadow wants to do is break something. Hit something. Anything. Maybe he wants to get revenge on the doctor. On Infinite. Maybe he would like to tie Eggman to a post and see how he feels about his punishment being used against him. Maybe he would whip him into oblivion. Maybe till he dies from blood loss nearly what he allowed to happen to Sonic. Just maybe.

It was wishful thinking. None of this would help anyone. His thoughts are only keeping what he physically wants to do at bay.

Chaos, he shouldn't have watched that. He really shouldn't have. Sonic doesn't know there's actual footage from his time at the Death Egg. He won't be too happy either when he learns he watched one of them.

But he needed to know.

He needed to know what he would've gone through if he had taken Sonic's place.

He would if he could. No hesitation.

All he can do now is help his rival get back on his feet. That's what Sonic would've done if it were him.

That's all that mattered right now.


Thank you all for your lovely reviews! You all are so sweet and thank you to anyone who has complimented my writing style. I can't tell you how much it means to me. I've always had a vivid imagination and I want to be able to get that across to others who may need some extra help to create scenes in their head. Anyway, I will eventually go back through all the chapters sometime after I finish these prompts with a fine tooth comb to edit and correct mistakes I didn't catch. Thank you for reading!