Chapter Summary: Sonic and Shadow go on a food run.

Simple, right?

They ran. Slightly blurred forms Zig-zagging across the sidewalk as they bobbed and weaved in between other civilians. Though it wasn't as fast as normal Sonic still felt the excitement of wind rushing through his quills. But what made it more exhilarating was the striped hedgehog keeping pace. Even without using chaos energy Shadow could match him step for step something even Scourge had trouble doing at times. It was a rush he hadn't experienced in a while and Sonic was a bit worried he would get addicted to it if he hadn't already. The smell of the air, the whooshing of wind, and the pounding of his heart, Sonic loved it all. And it would never get old. Now if only-

"-There weren't all these traffic lights in the way!" Sonic grumbles as he taps his foot impatiently with a frown.

Shadow eyes him with a slight look of concern. "You're going to put an indent in the concrete if you keep doing that."

"I wouldn't have to if this red hand would just turn into a walking sign already." His scowl could match that of Knuckles on a bad day. But holding it was starting to feel painful, so he relaxed his facial muscles with a sigh. "No, your right I should-"

As if on autopilot, as soon as the light changed the blue hedgehog broke into a sprint as Shadow quickly caught up. "Haha! Hurry up slow poke!"

All the striped hedgehog could do was shake his head at the other's impatience as they dashed through the sidewalk once more before abruptly stopping at a red hand. And so the tapping foot resumed. "I swear, we've hit every green traffic light there is." The younger hedgehog pouts. It wasn't just about the race. Sonic wanted to head to the restaurant, pick up dinner, and then walk back to give Shadow a chance to tell the important thing he alluded to this morning. It didn't bother him at first, but with the entire day to mull over it, his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. Worry crept up in his mind and the conversation this morning seemed to allude to something involving his roommate's health or perhaps something worse than that. Sonic hoped it was a harmless secret, but he would help in any way he could if it was what he was thinking about.

'Now if only these traffic lights would disappear.' He thought as he gazed at the row of red hands down the block with slight annoyance. That is until he saw a sign about a block or two down that read 'Knothole Central Park'. 'It would be a bit of a detour to get to the restaurant…but it would be worth it to get away from these traffic lights.' He nods to himself at the new route. "Hey, Shadow?"

"Hm?" The other hummed in response, eyes not leaving the crosswalk. His arms were crossed, a gloved finger tapping his arm.

'Guess he's impatient too.' "Let's take a detour."

The other hedgehog looks at him in slight surprise. "Uh?"

But unfortunately for Shadow, that's when the red hand was replaced with the walking white figure. Sonic dashed off as soon as the hand disappeared. "Keep up!"

"Hey!" Shadow soon followed. Sonic grinned a bit mischievously as he made a sudden sharp turn through the gate. Not expecting this, the striped hedgehog nearly tripped while making a harsh pivot into the park. "A little warning would've been nice!"

Sonic feeling childish, spins around and runs backward. He sticks his tongue out with a hearty grin. "I said follow me, not my fault you're slow." He states before spinning and forward once more, picking up the pace as a now ticked-off Shadow bolt for him.

"Why you." He growls, not realizing his lips formed a smirk.

To the few leisurely strolling through the park, these two were nearly visible blurs of motion even without the use of chaos energy. A gust of that harshly blew against them as streaks of color passed by. Though if one looked closely they could make out their forms. Sonic was happy to move his legs again, but there were more people in the park than he thought there would be at this time. When he wanted a change of scenery the blue hedgehog would 'stroll' in this park so he knew a few trails by heart. That included this dirt road coming up to his left. He takes it without a second thought. Thoughts so engrossed in his excitement he momentarily forgot to let Shadow in on the decision again.

This time the other was quicker in making the unexpected turn, ready in case the blue speedster decided to take another abrupt turn, which he did. Still, it didn't quell Shadow's annoyance at another lack of warning. "Sonic!"

"Hehe, oops!" Was all Sonic could say as he followed the winding trail. Though when he looked back he took pleasure in seeing the annoyed expression of the other. 'Next time I'll make him laugh.' Sonic thought. He had made it a mission to make Shadow express emotions more when he saw that genuine smile on the striped hedgehog's face after his race. Though it wasn't purposeful and Shadow didn't seem fully annoyed Sonic gave himself a mental pat on the back either way. It was a start. Sonic refocused his attention on the trail-

"Woh!"

-Only to abruptly stop with Shadow following suit. He planted his feet on the ground and skidded to a halt so he wouldn't run over the figure on the floor in the middle of the small dirt trail. "Few, that was close." He exhaled a breath of relief before his ears picked up the sound of sobbing below him.

On the ground was a female mouse in a red tracksuit. She was a dark gray all over with redhead fur and was holding her knee as she tried to stop whimpering.

Excitement was instantly put on hold as concern for the stranger grasped his thoughts. "Miss, are you okay?"

She shook her head vigorously, her tiny body trembled as her ears flattened. "N-no. I think something broke when I fell." Her voice was soft but choked up.

He knelt, his gaze on her injured leg. "Where does it hurt the most?"

"Here." She gestures to the knee and the area below it. The area was scraped, specs of dirt lingered in the fur, and there was redness around the knee area but no swelling yet.

"Can you move it?"

She shakes her head.

"How long ago did you fall? Did you call a friend or an ambulance?"

"N-no more than five minutes ago, and ah…I left my phone at home." She said the last part with a bit of embarrassment.

Sonic nods "Can I take a look at it?"

She nods. "Sure."

Though Sonic wasn't a medic by any means, he was at least able to assess injuries and apply first aid thanks to those training videos the college had their student-athletes watch. At most, he could get a vague idea of whether it was broken and tell the medics when they arrived. He looked back at Shadow, who seemed to be displeased by the situation with that frown on his face. "Hey Shadow, can you call an ambulance for her? I'm going to let Uncle Chuck know about the situation and that we may be late. As well as see how bad it is."

He was surprised to see Shadow hesitate before taking out his phone. Sonic chalked it to the other not being used to a situation like this, though he wasn't sure of it. He heard the operator's voice just as he sent the text to his uncle, putting his phone away to lightly examine the leg. Lightly brushing his gloved fingers against the fragile injury.

"Thank you." She placed a hand on his shoulder, her voice becoming strong instead of hesitant.

"No, problem miss." He said with a smile. His eyes were still trained on the leg. From the feel of it, there didn't seem to be any swelling and the knee seemed to be in place. 'Could it be something else, or maybe a fracture? Maybe Shadow or I could get an ice pack until the paramedics arrive. She must be strong though. Not even flinching as I examine her leg.'

"So easy." Before he could process her whispered words a sharp pain pierced his shoulder. At first, he thought she was crushing his shoulder, but it felt more like a prick instead of pressure. Either way alarm bells rang in his quilled head. Sonic abruptly stood up and stumbled back, rubbing his shoulder as he looked down at the mouse. Quills slightly flaring at the receiver threat.

"Sonic?" Shadow paused his conversation with the operator as he noticed how alert the blue hedgehog was. Sonic could faintly hear the operator ask if Shadow was still on the phone.

"Is something wrong, k-kid?" She still had a pained look on her face and seemed to recoil at his sudden movement.

'Was I just hearing things?' He was about to shake himself from his stupor when something on the female's face caught his eye. Her smile. It wasn't normal as it slithered across her muzzle. Her grey eyes, now that he saw them, seemed to be devoid of light. Her pupils seemed to swirl with a murky purple that made his fur fluff up with goosebumps—overall adding to her growing sinister expression. His gut sunk to his feet, and he felt the urge to run. Only that urge sizzled out of his feet as he felt nothing. His eyelids felt heavy like he was tired as the world spun.

He saw the darkening sky.

"Huh?" He was collapsing to the ground before he could even blink. His legs buckled, numbness coating his limbs, and his body quaked under the strain of his weight as his muscles stopped working.

"Damn!" Before his head could hit the floor a pair of gloved hands caught him. His neck went limp and Shadow had to quickly adjust his hold so Sonic wouldn't hurt his head. He felt the tingles of his mark at the touch. "Are you okay?" Shadow looks up and down his body seemingly for injury or an explanation as to what was happening.

"I-nh…" His throat was forcibly shut by whatever was affecting the rest of his body. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, what's next? He wouldn't be able to breathe? 'What's going on? I was fine until…' The sinister smile he had witnessed a few seconds prior came to mind.

As if on cue, she spoke. "Is he alright?"

Shadow's attention stood on Sonic as his ears faced the mouse. "Don't know." He answered in a voice that was akin to his neutral tone, but there was a cold edge to it.

Sonic looked at the mouse, relieved that he was able to move his eyes. Her expression was one of concern as she inched closer to them little by little. But those eyes didn't fool him anymore.

'Shadow! Dammit, what did she do to me?!'

He willed himself to do something, anything to warn the striped hedgehog of the upcoming threat. Tripling his efforts once he saw her reach out to his roommate.

'No don't let her touch you!'

It was like the world had gone into slow motion. Those maliciously small hands moved ever so slowly to the striped hedgehog's body. Inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter. His heart would've raced in his ears if it weren't forced to a steady pace. Breathing refusing to break its steady rhythm despite the icy chunks of fear crashing into Sonic's being. He was a prisoner trapped in his own body, helpless to watch someone he cares about unknowingly get hurt.

'No…No! I won't let that happen, I have to think of something…'

He tried moving his eyes from Shadow to the mouse, frantically back and forth, but it seemed in vain as Shadow wasn't getting the hint, and her fingers were just inches away from his shoulder. It didn't help that he couldn't even express his fear in his face as that too was paralyzed.

'Dammit get away from him! Shadow!'

As she was about to touch him, a hand shot out and quickly snatched her wrist. She was stunned by the sudden action. "I knew something wasn't right," he mumbles before slowly looking a the mouse with narrowed eyes. "I assume his condition is your doing?"

"Tsk." She clicked her teeth. But her frown returned to that sinister smile as tried to rip her wrist from his grasp. Only it didn't budge.

She winced as Shadow tightened his grip and pulled her a bit closer. With his thumb, he peeled back her sleeve to reveal some sort of wrist guard attached to the glove. But what shocked Sonic was the row of needles strapped to the guard, one of which had a slight shine of red on it. "So this is how you did it."

The mouse clenches her jaw as she quickly gets on her feet and swiftly tries to kick Shadow in the head. The hedgehog lets go of her arm as he holds Sonic close and ducks. Using his legs, Shadow jumps back, putting some distance between their attacker and them.

There was a small moment of pause as the two stared at each other in a stalemate. Sonic felt relief wash over him as he was cradled in the darker hedgehog's arms. But that relief vanishes as Shadow moves again, dashing out of the way of another attack by the mouse. As her punch misses she twists her body, lunging at the two with another kick. The hedgehog jumps and flips over her, the second he lands behind her he spins. Swinging his leg out in a swift and powerful kick to her head, one which at the last second she blocks with her arm.

"Shit!" However, her body couldn't handle the power as Shadow followed through with his kick, pushing her back considerably.

With this distance Shadow turns the way they came, only to freeze. Sonic's fur bristles at the exhaustion that suddenly takes hold. It was abnormal as if someone had forcibly drained him of energy. And with how his protector staggered around the same time, Sonic could only assume they were feeling the same exhaustion. He looks around with his limited view to see what could cause it. 'An inhibitor? No, this is different.'

For a second Sonic thought the attack may have successfully given the other that weird drug, but that would mean Shadow would also collapse. Despite staggering, the other hedgehog stood firm on his feet as he shook his head. Once again the paralyzed young adult feels relief after the momentary panic only to feel confused. Despite the sky being dark during their run, the sky was now yellow. 'How?'

His thoughts diminish as a shadow above them, past the yellow veil, becomes known and gets bigger with the seconds that tick by. Like it was falling.

'Another attack!'

Shadow doesn't know. There's no way he knows there's someone else, presumably another attacker coming from the sky.

'Come on move! Do something!'

In his desperation, Sonic grabs at the chaos energy trapped in his body, or what little remains due to this weird veil in the sky. He doesn't think of the repercussions when forcing the energy to spread wildly through his body. The veins that currently couldn't handle chaos energy at the moment were burning. Scorching as they were forced open, he didn't pay any mind to it as he frantically tried to do something to help. 'Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit! Shadow!'

"Above you!" He shouts shocking everyone.

The words sink in as Shadow launches to the side just in time to avoid the figure's punch. A punch that indented the ground, creating a crater in the dirt. Before Shadow could do anything else, he felt a kick to the back of his head, putting him off balance.

"Ow!" But not before he raises his quills cutting the mouse's leg, or at least that's what Sonic deducts from the slight tinge of copper in the air and the high-pitched squeak. "Slippery bugger!" She screeches as she goes for another kick. Shadow leans forward as her foot swings above him.

"Oi! Vivi, you're getting rusty? Can't even catch a kid?" A yellow-gloved fist nicks him in the cheek and the hedgehog has to bob and weave to avoid the barrage of punches that come his way. This new attacker was a spider mobian, as Shadow dodges an extra set of punches from the 2 additional arms protruding from their back. The spider was mint green with bright yellow markings. His muzzle was covered by a black mask and he wore a black hoodie and pants.

"Shut up Ron! He's just quick that's all!" Shadow sidesteps the spider's assault to avoid another touch attempt by the mouse.

"Excuses!" A backkick comes straight for Sonic, it goes out of view as he blinks, Shadow twisting his body at the last second to shield the helpless hedgehog from the blow. Sonic hates it. He's a liability right now who can't help Shadow fight back or run away. A burden that's dragging him down until he collapses with him. An image of an older male hedgehog with pale blue fur and an older female hedgehog with blue-violet fur and even darker violet head quills pops into his mind. Their expressions and faces are blacked out as behind them ocean tides whirl in a chaotic storm.

'No! Not again!'

As Shadow continues to dodge and on occasion block, Sonic racks his brain to figure out what he could do to move again, or at the very least talk. He tries to remember the desperate steps he took to yell that warning earlier. How exactly did he do it? He remembers grabbing onto the chaos energy inside him. The lingering heat in his veins helps him remember letting that energy go wild. Forcibly opening pathways that closed. It was a wild guess, but it seemed like his chaos energy pushed back the effects of the drug that the mouse, Vivi, gave him.

'What if I do it again?' He wasn't going to let it go wild again, that would be too reckless. No, he needed to control it, but how? Using Chaos energy to enhance his speed was natural, just like it was for Knuckles's strength or Blaze's fire. Actively directing it to other parts of his body was extremely difficult to do. At least for him since he has no 'talent for energy manipulation' as Knuckles would put it. It was even more difficult with the inhibitors lingering effects and this veil that appeared to drain the energy out of them. Still, he would have to try. He closed his eyes-

'I can move them?' Sonic was momentarily distracted by the revelation. Blinking a few times for good measure. 'It moved!'

Before he could revel the phenomenon, a yellow-gloved hand appeared in his vision heading straight for him. It was swiftly caught by a white-gloved hand, however, this allowed the spider to get a good punch to Shadow's muzzle and shoulder with his extra arms.

"Nh…!"

"Ha! Gotcha that time twinkle toes-!" Shadow pulls at the arm in his grasp and with a feat of strength, throws Ron at Vivi before either one could attack again. In the blink of an eye, Shadow ran with Sonic in his arms. Unfortunately, the attackers were swiftly pursuing them as they raced down the path.

'It's not the time to be distracted. I need to focus so we can get out of here!' The blue hedgehog resumed his earlier work by closing his eyes. He looked within himself to find his unusually docile energy. He felt like he was on a beach with a metal detector searching through the sand. Hovered the device along the ground until he heard a beep indicating treasure below. He dug and dug into the sand until he felt it, grabbing hold of his energy. It was in his grasp, but moving it was the challenge. As much as he hated it, he would have to take his time to not make any more mistakes in this dire situation. He would start small, starting from the head, and trickle down to the rest of his body.

The sudden stop almost made him lose his concentration, he kept focus as he opened his eyes to see what was going on. In front of them was a transparent yellow wall similar to what he saw in the sky. As he looked up Sonic could see that this wall connected to the one in the sky. That's when it clicked. 'It's a dome- no a barrier to keep us in.'

'Crack!' Both hedgehogs' ears twitch at the crackle of a stick. Shadow jumped back as a grey squirrel shot out of the tree line.

"Hmf…!" However, the striped hedgehog failed to avoid the sizeable fluffy tail that hit them like a battering ram. They skid to a stop just before crashing into a tree. He huffs a bit while rolling the shoulder that took the hit.

"You're right he is a slippery one." The squirrel comments as Vivi and Ron catch up, stopping at the new arrival's side.

Sonic's mind raced as he panicked. They were cornered, in a barrier, half their chaos energy was shut down, he was paralyzed, Shadow was taking hits, and now there were three threats after them. A swirl of rage bubbled in his gut at his helplessness. Shadow was getting hurt because of him. He had to think of something, even if it was to just buy time for anything. "W-why…?" He croaks surprising everyone. "Why are you doing this? What the heck did you do to me?"

"Awe, darling, isn't it obvious? We're trying to kidnap you.~" The mouse cued as her tail slightly wagged. "Seeing how you're not unconscious and how stripes here fought us off so far, you two must have a lot of chaos energy flowing threw you."

"As for the 'why', we can't say, that would just spoil the surprise. But maybe you would like to accompany us to find out?" The spider snapped his fingers and three new mobians appeared from the bushes behind the trio. A red gator, a green bird, and a light pink fox all held guns pointed at them. A finger on the trigger ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Sonic grins nervously as his mind recalls a similar situation with menacing yellow eyes, he shook himself out of those thoughts. 'Now is not the time to take a trip down memory lane, focus!' He commands himself, glaring at the squirrel and her minions. "Man talk about wimpy, this many people to take down two guys, I guess I should feel honored. But what's stopping us from yelling for help? We also called an ambulance earlier so they should be on their way." He could feel his right arm again.

The spider scoffs. "Considering you were taken out first I'd say not. Though Mister Scowl holding you has great reflexes. Have you done martial arts kid?"

"You could say that." Shadow grunts.

"Promising, we may not need to teach you like the others."

"Enough ogling the newbies Ron." Vivi clicks her tongue as she moves to the barrier to knock on it. A distorted sound came from her action, similar to knocking on a wood plank in the water. "This here is soundproof, unbreakable from the inside, and it also has the neat ability to depower the target by half. So there's no use in screaming."

"We'll be gone by the time the ambulance does get here the question is how." The squirrel took a few confident steps forward and raised a finger. "One you could fight back and we bring your corpses with us or…" She raised a second finger. "…you put him down, get on the ground allow us to drug you, and come with us quietly. Seeing your situation as it is I would suggest the latter though the hard way can be entertaining." She said the last few words with a crazed gleam in her eyes. "Since you did so well I'll reward you by giving you fifteen seconds to decide." The squirrel said with a wave of her hand. "10."

Sonic grits his teeth in frustration. They were normal mice caught in a trap. There seemed no way out of this situation, but it didn't mean Sonic would give up, at the very least he wouldn't drag Shadow down with him. "Shadow you should leave me and run. Run and get help." Sonic whispers to the other.

"9."

Shadow looked taken aback by the other's words. But his face quickly grew stern as he took a few steps to a nearby tree and placed the blue hedgehog against it. For a second, Sonic thought he would listen. "Don't worry I won't leave you."

"7."

"But Shadow-"

"6."

"I said no Sonic." He growls low with authority.

"5."

Shadow swiftly takes something out of the cuff of his glove presses it until it glows green and places it in Sonic's glove cuff without the attackers noticing. Sonic looks at Shadow with confusion.

"3."

"Shadow?" The striped hedgehog simply gives him a reassuring smirk before turning to face their 6 attackers with a scowl.

"2."

Shadow raises his hands in the air. "Alright, alright. We've decided."

The squirrel smirks. "Good, glad you see it my way kid." She motions for one of her members, Vivi, to approach them. When the mouse was a certain distance away the hedgehog smirked. The squirrel grew uneasy at the sight. "Wait!"

The sun finally sets.

"Chaos control." In a flash of green light, the hedgehog vanished, leaving only foot indents in the grass. Sonic's eyes were as wide as his attackers at the sight but they couldn't stay shocked for long.

"Aaah!" Ron screamed as he crashed into a tree near Sonic. It was hard enough to leave an indent in the trunk as the spider slumped to the floor, out cold. The attackers turned around surprised to see Shadow where Ron once stood.

"Shoot him!" Vivi cried as she and two others went in to attack. They opened fire and sparks erupt from the soles of Shadow's shoes allowing him to dodge the fire in quick bursts of movement. 'He has rocket shoes!?' Sonic observes how with ease Shadow dodges out of the way of bullets by running in zig zags. He wasn't going any faster than Sonic had seen of him before. If his chaos energy wasn't halved Sonic could see Shadow reaching speeds he never thought of before. "Bastard, you've been holding out on me," Sonic mumbles with a determined grin reusming his focus on spreading his energy throughout his body.

The alligator reaches him first as the others reload. He goes for a right hook but Shadow hops over it and kicks up, hitting the gator square in the chin. To Sonic's surprise, the gator didn't go down but went for a tail whip as Vivi, a knife now in hand, attacked Shadow from above. Sonic could feel his left leg.

In a flash of light, Shadow was gone again appearing behind the fox. But the other was ready for it as he blocked Shadow's kick with his gun. "Tch!"

"Kai!" The bird fires at Shadow as the hedgehog launches himself off the gun with a backflip. However, he couldn't avoid the bullets entirely as Shadow got nicked in a few places. "Gah!" The striped hedgehog ignores the sting of pain as he uses his shoes to boost him forward fast enough to launch a successful attack on the bird, punching her into a nearby rock unconscious.

The red gator released a war cry. "Ahh!" Shadow moved his arms up to block a punch from behind. The weight of the gator's attack barely made the other budge and as the fox aimed. Shadow took hold of the gator's wrist and flipped her over his shoulder, putting her between him and the gunfire. It's here, Sonic saw that the bullets weren't bullets, they were tranquilizer darts. Some bounced off the gator's scales but a few successfully sank into the skin. She struggled but eventually, her body went limp on top of Shadow. The smaller mobian held strong against the weight of the unconscious red gator.

"Shit!" The fox cursed under his breath. There were only three enemies left.

"You bastard." The squirrel said with a crooked smile.

"'Bastard'? You attacked us fluffy! We should be calling-!" Sonic's angered shout was cut off by a cold feeling pressed against his neck as a gloved hand took a fist full of quills.

"Stop or else your friend gets it!" Vivi ordered as Sonic tried to control his breathing.

'Dammit! Common just…a little more.' He heard his blood rushing in his ears as his heart pumped faster than he ever thought possible.

"Damn!" Shadow growls and attempts to move but the mouse presses the knife into Sonic's throat more. A small red trail flowed from the cut.

"Vi!" The squirrel sneered as her tail bristled.

The mouse nearly rolled her eyes. "Relax Reva I got this. Now are you going to yield or not stripes!"

Shadow's eyes narrowed, and Vivi almost thought they were slits with how thin his eyes became. The two had a stare-down as the hedgehog seemed to contemplate his options. "Don't even think of teleporting-Ah!"

The scent of blood filled the air shocking everyone. Sonic flared his quills out, stabbing into Vivi's gloved hand. Using this to his advantage, Sonic pushes the knifed hand away and elbows the mouse in the guts hard, knocking the wind out of her. Using the energy he powered his legs to finally run. It was slow, not as fast as he would've wished but it was something as he went into the woods. "Shadow run!" He shouts while disappearing into the trees.

Vivi didn't know if she should clutch her hand or her stomach, all she knew now was that she was pissed. That hedgehog would wish she had killed him when she was done. "You fucker!" She chased after him.

"Wait!" The squirrel, Reva, shouts at the mouse as Vivi pursues the target.

As the fox was distracted by the situation Shadow threw the unconscious gator on him, pinning the vulpine under her. Reva only had enough time to lift her tail to block the hedgehog's punch. Surprisingly she stood her ground and flicked her tail back flinging the hedgehog off of her. Shadow landed a few yards away and the squirrel could only shudder at those chilling red eyes. Red eyes that promised her death of the worst kind. However, a familiar dark feeling enveloped her core, feeding off of her fear as she smirked. "Come on stripes let's see what you got!"

"With pleasure." Shadow sneers. The sweet alluring scent of red lingered in the air, he fought off the growing embers in his gut. His mind wandered elsewhere in worry. 'I need to hurry.'

Sonic ran with all his strength, forcing his slowed feet to move across visible roots, branches, and bushes. It was dark out but at the very least he had night vision. But so did other mobians. He didn't go straight, he wasn't stupid. Someone was likely to chase after him and if not, then from what he saw earlier Shadow could handle them even in his weakened state. He refused to be a useless hostage and bring the other down, at the very least he could get out of the way despite how against he was at abandoning Shadow.

"Damn." Sonic cursed as he felt the energy in his legs gradually dwindle. He was like one of those sparkling fireworks, only lighting up with color for a few seconds before going dead. Right now his legs were close to dead. Spreading his chaos energy only seemed to push back the drug's effects but not erase the drug from his system. The drug was pushing against his flow of chaos energy slowly. making his legs numb once more as he used the energy in his legs. After a few seconds, he was forced to slow down to a stop or else risk crashing into the ground at high speed. He put his hands on his knees trying to calm himself down and refocus his energy before the drug took over again.

'Crack!'

On instinct, the blue hedgehog ducked to the side before he could register the noise. "Gah!" A stinging pain pierced his shoulder as green eyes met malevolent grey and Sonic grabbed his shoulder as he stumbled back fear pooled in his gut like a miasma. It fought back but he swallowed his fear, his lips forming a wry smile as he retained his focus on rotating chaos energy throughout his body. "Couldn't wait for round two, squeaky?"

The mouse turned to him a mischievous smile on her face as she flicked the blood off her knife. "I'll carve that smile on your muzzle when I'm done with you, rodent!'

Sonic laughed his glove slowly turning red. "Pot calling the kettle black, squeaky."

She charged at him.

He ran.

But he didn't get far.

The mouse tackled him with a vengeance, pulling him down with her. She raised the knife but he quickly turned and smashed his foot in her face.

"AH! You bitch!" From the sound of her screams, it seemed he hit an eye. Sonic didn't pay attention to that as he got up and quickly hid behind a tree a few paces away. He knew couldn't he fight and maintain his energy in his legs, it was too mentally draining for him, and if he fought in that state his mental focus would snap. He would be helpless to the wrathful attacks from the mouse. All he could do was hide and hope she would go away or gather enough internal energy to make another dash for it. "Gah! You're dead when I find you hedgehog! You hear me! Finished!" The mouse rages a hand still covering her reddening eye as she swings her knife wildly.

Sonic calms his breathing, trying to make as little noise as possible to buy some time. His heart pounded in his ears as the anxiety of the situation nearly made him lose focus. He looked like a spikey mess with how his quills flared with adrenaline coursing through his being.

{"Breathe in through your nose."} He heard the gruff voice of a certain red echidna in his head. Images of two red and yellow mobians sitting criss-cross in front of him with their eyes close flashed by as Knuckles spoke again. {"Hold 1, 2, 3, 4, and out through your mouth. Feel the energy in your body."}

{"In through your nose."}

Sonic inhales shakily.

"Come out little hedgie!" Vivi trods along the grass.

{'Hold 1…2…3…4.'}

He held his breath.

"You can't hide forever!" Her footsteps were drawing closer to his tree.

{"Out through your mouth."}

He exhaled as quietly as his body would allow.

"I know you're still here, blue, I can smell your blood in the air!" The sound of cracking branches and twigs moved away from his tree.

'Breathe in.'

He breathed in, his body slightly relaxing at the fading footsteps.

"Just wait 'till I find ya!" Her voice sounded farther away.

'Hold.'

He held his breath.

'Breathe out.'

He breathed out steadier this time.

'Breathe in.'

He breathed in-

He saw silver. Sucking in a breath as he looked up.

"Found ya.~" She sang, relishing in those fearful green eyes below her. "Time for your punishment…you 6-tier prick!" She brought her knife up before swiftly swinging it down.

Sonic couldn't move.

He just stared at the silver blade coming at him, like time was coming to a stop with how slow the blade was approaching.

His mind went blank.

'Everyone, I'm sorry. I won't pick up dinner in time.' His eyes swelled as the blade was just inches away from him.

A thunderous snarl startled both of them.

In a flash, the mouse is pulled back by two black arms and thrown to the ground. Felt a familiar flare in his lower back as he saw Shadow standing protectively in front of him. Vivi turned to look up at her, glare fading instantly as she saw the dark hedgehog towering over her. Grey eyes quivering at murderous red.

"H-how?" She squeaks and at first Sonic thinks she is talking about how Shadow got here. "The barrier…" It's here Sonic realized she wasn't looking at Shadow but at what was above him or wasn't above him. Sonic looked up to see a dark blue night sky, no tint of yellow to be found. "No, you couldn't have defeated Reva!"

Sonic looked inside his core to make sure, and there it was. The chaos energy was cut off before he could sense now. He could use it. He focused his mind again and went through the steps this time the chaos energy spread faster throughout his body than before. It hurt as more chaos energy was flowing threw his veins than earlier and the drug in his system seemed to be pushing against him harder. But it was worth it to move. He couldn't full-on fight as that would take too much concentration but he could at least help if Shadow needed it. Though from the frightened look on the mouse's face, Sonic wagered Shadow would be fine on his own.

Shadow scoffs. "Your squirrel friend was tough but nothing I couldn't handle. It's just you now, with nothing holding me back." He growls. "I'll give you two choices, fight and die or run away and live to see another day. Which will you go for?"

She gets back up, and a low rumbling vibrates in her chest as she glares at Sonic then looks back at Shadow. "This isn't over." She regrettably conceded, taking a few steps back before she turned tail and ran.

When her form disappeared into the trees and the crunching under her shoes faded into silence, Sonic exhaled. His fur and quills lowered, not fully, but just enough so anyone who touched him wouldn't get cut. "Chaos." He chuckles, closing his eyes as the tension leaves him. "You need to teach me some of those moves you did, that was amazing Sha-"

"Ugh!" Sonic whipped his head to see his striped companion kneeling. His form was quivering, breathing ragged as his hands were clawing at the ground. A pained look etched itself on the dark hedgehog's face.

"Shadow!" Sonic scrambled to get up and tried to hurry to the other's side, believing the striped hedgehog was badly injured during his fight with the squirrel.

"NO!" Shadow's shout halts Sonic's movements. The shaking didn't stop.

"Why?! You're hurt! We need to get you to a hospital fast!" The blue hedgehog took another few steps before the other put a hand out to stop him.

"No I-i'm fine. Just give me a minute." His voice was shaky and strained with what Sonic assumed was pain. The black hedgehog reached into his pocket before taking out a familiar pill bottle. He quickly opens it, popping a few pills in his mouth, and swallows. A couple of moments passed and Shadow's form was still as his breathing became steady.

Sonic concluded that Shadow had pushed himself too much, resulting in his anemia kicking in. 'If only I was able to help sooner…' He shook himself. He could play the 'what if' game later, right now his roommate's health took priority. "Shadow…you okay?" Sonic hesitantly asks while taking a bold step forward.

"Yeah, I'm good." The other grunts as he stood on his feet. A tired grin laced his face as he began to walk toward the younger hedgehog. "Alright, let's- your bleeding…"

Sonic followed those shock red eyes to the gash on his shoulder, blood still steadily flowing from it. "Yeah, she got me good while I was trying to catch my breath." He chuckles as he looks at the scrapes on Shadow. "You terrible too. Now come on we need to-."

"It's your blood- Cough cough!" Shadow coughs loudly but it soon grew into a nasty fit that had the striped hedgehog tumbling to the floor. Sonic knelt with him not knowing what else to do but rub the other's back careful not to cut himself on the other's quills poking through the shirt. He bit his lip, wishing he had water or something to ease the other's fit. Especially if this was one of those anemia attacks he researched about. 'Shadow took his iron pills so they at least should be kicking in soon-'

Green eyes widened as three half-melted white pills came out of the other's mouth. The ebony body began shaking again as a dark feeling seemed to emerge from Shadow. "Sonic…you need to g-go."

Green eyes, shocked at the situation, narrowed in anger. "No, I may not be able to do much but I can still run us to the nearest hospital." He stated resolutely as he grabbed Shadow's arm to pull him up and do just that. "Come on."

Shadow tried to resist the other's pull as he shut his eyes in what appeared to be pain. "Damn…y-you need to get away, it's d-dangerous."

"Yeah, those bastards could change their minds and come back any second now. And for the second time I'm not leaving you again, so come on!" Growling the last part Sonic tugged hard on the other and in his weakened state Shadow couldn't resist completely.

Seeing this Shadow tried to push the other back. "No I'm dangerous you n-need to…" He sniffed. "Need to…to…" A satisfied exhale left his mouth as red eyes focused on the crimson liquid trickling from Sonic's shoulder. "…tan bueno."

"What?" Sonic's mind didn't know what to process first, the odd language Shadow was speaking or those slit-like predatory eyes that made him freeze in shock. In the blink of an eye, his blue quilled back was on the ground again as Shadow towered over him. Red eyes gleamed against the darkness of night. In a trance, Shadow sniffed the air again as if smelling something delicious, he followed the scent and lowered his striped head. Black nose hovering over the stinging peach-furred shoulder injury.

The burning on his lower back woke Sonic up from his shock as he tried to struggle back. However, it was a losing battle as his roommate was surprisingly strong, strong enough that it could probably rival Knuckles's might. This didn't bode well for Sonic especially while his body was focused on fighting the drug. His back burned as if his mark was gleefully waiting for whatever Shadow was about to do in his near-feral state, making it even harder for Sonic to focus on fighting back. As if it wanted Sonic to relax and give in to the other's actions, but Sonic couldn't do that, he couldn't allow himself to say yes to his mark because he didn't know what would happen if he did and it scared him. His arms were quickly pinned to the ground by the other's hand. "Shadow get off! What's wrong!"

But that wasn't the only thing that dumbfounded Sonic as glints of white slowly began to poke out of Shadow's mouth. It quickly became apparent that those white glints were a pair of insanely long canines. No…fangs. Shadow always had sharp canines for a hedgehog though not as prominent as Scourge's pointed teeth but this…this was impossible as they elongated before Sonic's green eyes. Like something out of Blaze's horror movies.

A memory that took place earlier today flashes through the blue hedgehog's mind.

{"My prescription seems to be losing its effect and other…more annoying symptoms seem to have popped up."}

'Is this what he meant?' Sonic's heart quickened in momentarily fear. This was dangerous. "Shadow snap out of it!"

A growl was his only response as Shadow lowered himself, his body weight leaving little room for Sonic to move. The feel of the other's hot breath dancing against his fur made him involuntarily shudder. Then he felt something make contact with his fur causing his mind to freeze.

"Nh…!" It was damp and slightly rough as it ran up his fur and stung his wound before the pink muscle returned to those tan lips. 'He licked me…' Green eyes remained wide as Shadow lapped his shoulder again as if he was savoring a meal, causing a weird tingling sensation in Sonic's gut. His face took on a slight blush at the oddly pleasant feeling. "Tsk…!" He didn't know if he hissed in pain or that weird sensation from Shadow's tongue gliding tongue. As the situation continued the stinging in his arm gradually subsided which confused the younger hedgehog.

'Maybe this is some weird ability Shadow has? Shadow has a teleportation ability so maybe…he has a healing ability too? The fangs and aggression could just be the side effect of his anemia right?' It was bullshit and Sonic knew it. No living being could have two abilities by Chaos, only make their abilities stronger through rings and training. If anything the teleportation Shadow displayed could be an insane momentary boost of speed that made it look like Shadow teleported from one place to another. He was just desperate to make sense of the current scenario.

"Ah!" A yelp left his mouth as the oddly pleasant wet sensation intensified. Tan lips engulfed the gash, the tingling ignited embers in his core as electricity from the sudden suction caught him off guard. His mind nearly went blank at the gulping sounds coming from Shadow's throat and pleased rumblings that erupted from the other's chest soon after. Sonic swore those wild eyes gleamed savagely as he continued sucking on the wound. 'He's drinking….he's drinking my blood?' Whiplash hit the younger hedgehog as dots in his head began to connect with a swiftness. Glowing eyes, growing fangs, and a fixation on blood like it was the best thing Chaos had to offer. As if on cue the other opens his mouth wide enough to allow the two prongs of death to rest on his skin ready to sink in.

'Shadow's a FUCKING VAMPIRE!'

That's the only 'logical' explanation his adventure novel mind could think of otherwise his (maybe) soulmate was just plain crazy.

'Ba-dump ba-dump badumpbadumpbadump!'

Green eyes latched on to the incisors pressed against his skin. He waited. Anticipated the pain. The blood that would gush out. The cold enveloped his body as his life drained from him. He waited. He waited…but all stood still. There was no sting of punctured flesh and no blood aside from the gash. Heavy pants fill the air as the form on top of him begins to shiver and shake. Green eyes travel from the fangs to the other's eyes. It was like someone was constantly flicking the light switch. The glow dimmed, irises growing wider before they shrank up with a menacing gleam. Trembling eyes flickered in a hypnotic dance.

'He's not…biting me…?'

The heavy pants gradually descend into low growls and as the seconds went by Sonic could the gleaming slits lingering longer. Shadow's resistance to whatever took hold of him was slowly becoming a losing battle. There was a hint of a whine and Sonic couldn't help but want to reach up and pat the ebony hedgehog's head until the other was calm. His roommate was in there, within whatever feral vampiric state clouding his mind. Sonic exhaled a shudder as a warm breath bounced against his fur, drowning out his burning soul mark, before he resolved himself to the words that came out of his mouth.

"You can fight it Shadow, I believe it." He firmly stated as flickering red eyes looked in his direction. He wore a confident grin as a hint of mischief entered his emerald eye. "And in the tiny chance you don't, don't take too much, I still need to beat you in our race for takeout."

There it was. The shaking nearly ceased, the painful grip on the younger's wrist loosened, irises became round, the glow lessened, and finally, Shadow's eyes looked clear as he pulled away from the younger's tan shoulder. "S-sonic." Shadow choked out between growls, struggling to regain his composure. "I…" Shadow narrows his eyes, chaos energy flaring up to a shocking degree. Sonic's heart thumbs as he sees the striped hedgehog breathe heavily, his shoulders shaking with each breath. Sonic suddenly wonders if he inadvertently egged on the other's vampiric urges and prepares himself for the worst.

With a sheer force of will, Shadow took a shaky hand to his nose and pinched it closed. Sonic watched as the other shut his eyes in concentration as the energy began to reign back into Shadow. Dark quills were forced to relax as he took a shaky exhale and slowly leaned back, no longer hunched over the younger mobian. Still, Sonic did not move, worried any sudden movement would reset the striped hedgehog's struggle.

When he opened his eyes again they were still glowing, though it was very faint. "Pi-pills..." He growls out through gritted teeth. He reaches for the bottle in his pocket once again only to struggle to open it with a single hand. Hesitantly, Sonic wills himself to sit up, stopping when the red intensifies at his movements.

Hesitantly, Sonic propped himself on his elbows stopping short when the glow of those red eyes intensified. Shadow stilled as his eyes seemed to lock on to the shoulder wound again before forcing them shut. His ears pulled back with a grunt as he grabbed at his head, dropping the bottle as a result. Sonic swiftly sat up and caught the bottle before it hit the ground, ripping it open and spilling a few pills onto his hand.

Now he just needed to give them to Shadow.

Easy.

Sonic treads lightly as he leans forward trying to think of a way to get the other's attention and not rile him up more. "Breathe in and breath out Shads…In and out…" He starts as low as he can. "…I have the pills. Can you take them yourself or do I need to pop them in for you?" The blue hedgehog felt that giving the other a choice in the matter would roll better than just shoving the pills down his throat. Even if a small part of him felt justified to do so because of the scare the other has put him through. But it worked on his panicked younger self so hopefully, it would work on Shadow too. Shadow let out a groan as he took the hand off his head and out toward Sonic. His head quills disheveled and bent. Sonic wasted no time in putting four pills in the other's gloved hand, four may have been overkill but Sonic didn't want a repeat of the last few minutes. Shadow quickly popped the pills in his mouth and swallowed without hesitation. His quills flared up, the striped body jolting every few seconds as Shadow kept a hand over his mouth. The other hand still covered his nose as he dry heaved, it looked like his body was rejecting the pills despite Shadow's wishes. Green eyes softened as he looked at the convulsing form of his friend. He wanted to comfort the other until the shaking stopped but he didn't know if doing so would make it worse. It was his blood that caused this after all.

But as the growls and snarls turned into choked whines Sonic couldn't hold himself back. He embraced Shadow, ignoring the harsh pricks of those raised dark quills as he wrapped his arms around his roommate. The other halted in his writhing instincts body still quivering, still fighting back against the pills that could stall his inner turmoil. Sonic hated feeling helpless but this was the only thing he could think of. If he couldn't help him get rid of the pain he would soothe Shadow through the pain until everything went back to normal.

'Please…' Sonic silently prayed to Chaos that the pills would work, that the other would be okay, that they could work through this. He absent-mindedly rubbed the other's back in hopes of quelling the whines coming out of the dark hedgehog. Heck after everything cooled Sonic wouldn't mind being Shadow's blood donor if it meant he'd never see the other in this state again. Just for something to go right…

'Click.'

There was an audible tingle in the back of his mind as his hand rubbed the lower part of Shadow's back. A tingle that soon overwhelmed him as his mark burned more than before. A damm he didn't realize was there broke. A heat scorches him from the inside and cycles throughout his body in the path of his flowing chaos energy. Sonic attempted to control his breathing as his heart pounds hard in his chest from all the extra energy. He had to hold back a gasp as it was quickly becoming too much only for the feeling to die down. At the same time, Shadow's quills began to lower as his body slowly ceased its quaking. The energy finally evened out as Shadow's whimpering stopped. The heat lingered making the blue hedgehog feel like had a fever, but he ignored that in favor of checking on his friend's condition. He pulled back just enough to see the other's face, one hand still rubbing the other's back in case it wasn't over. "Are you feeling better?" He said in a near whisper.

Shadow took a few shaky breaths as he uncovered his nose and mouth. The fangs were gone, or at least retracted enough to where they were poking out from under his lips. Hope flared in the blue speedster's heart as this had to be a good sign. A few moments went by making him worry as the silence continued. Soon enough Shadow opened his eyes. Sonic was startled to see that his eyes still had the faintest glow to them as the irises were stuck between round and pinpricks. The glow didn't flicker as wildly as before, it was more steady and calm, pulsing in a soothing rhythm. A pulse intuned with his heartbeat. Sonic couldn't look away from those mesmerizing hypnotic eyes.

"Ngh…" The dark hedgehog let out a shuddering breath as Sonic's hand made contact with his lower back again. The glow in those eyes seemed to intensify as red irises rounded out before widening in an expression akin to shock. One word left the other's lips, one that would make Sonic's eyes widen as well.

The word spilled from his lips in a disbelieving gruff tone. "…Mate…"

Sonic felt his lower back swell in a pleasant heat, it surprised him as his mark had just scorched him moments prior. But now it settled into a comfortable warm that nearly made him purr. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!'

The blue hedgehog came out of his stupor when Shadow tapped him on the shoulder. Those red eyes, even with the glow, somehow appeared dull. His shoulders sagged like he was carrying a heavyweight Sonic could not yet perceive. Shadow spoke in a defeated but firm tone. "We need to talk."

At the moment, Sonic couldn't agree more with that statement.

"Well look what we got here."

Author's Note: Sorry for the reeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy late post. I've been sitting on this chapter for a while and went through a few rewrites before I felt confident enough to post it.

School and life are still battling for my attention so the next chapter may take a while.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and I really want to know what you guys think about it. Criticism helps me grow as a writer and a storyteller.

Have a Happy Halloween!