aWhen Sonic fell through space, he dreamed. He dreamed of Tom and the life they could've had together, with Ozzy and Maddie and Tails and Knuckles. He dreamed of endless camping trips with at least double that amount of smores. He'd laugh when Knuckles burned them.
When Sonic fell through space, he was burning.
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Author drabble translation: Sonic escaped that fucking cannon way too easily. I'm here to change that.
C7: Atrocious accidents.
Amid his panic, Sonic didn't stop to take stock. He fell headfirst into fight-or-flight mode, and in the presence of a dangerous shadow, Tom began to track him down.
TW: panic attack. Look for ~~~ to skip.
Sonic didn't pay attention to where he was running. He just wanted to get away and get safe. He thought about running to his old cave. It was safe, secure and dry - but Tom and Maddie knew how to get there. At that current moment, Sonic wanted to be completely on his own. He ran to the edge of the forest, barely bordering Wyoming. His head thudded viciously in his skull, and his chest had torn open in the run. His burns oozed blood slowly, staining his fur. Sonic fell to his knees, panting heavily. His eyes threatened to slip shut, but he refused to give in to the gentle blanket of sleep.
The wind chilled his aching and broken body. He shivered violently, bringing his arms around his body, then wincing when his action pulled his open wounds. God, why had he ran!?
His heart thudded in his chest.
Oh yeah. Because he only hurts people.
Like he hurt Longclaw.
Sonic glanced back to Green Hills with a shaky sigh. He wished he'd opened up when Tails asked about his wounds. Apparently, he wasn't as good at hiding injuries as he thought. Tails had only been worried, but Sonic had snapped at him nastily and spat at him to leave it alone. While Maddie was a great help in their injuries, she didn't know much about the Mobian body and could only help as far as she would treat an Earthling being. Tails was the one to go to when you had an issue beyond Maddie's skills.
Yet, Sonic had brushed him aside.
As another chill wracked his body, Sonic realised he'd never asked about Tails and his injuries, which he undoubtedly had. What a shitty brother he was. Sonic stood there for a while, letting the cold wind abuse his body. It felt nice on his wounds that burned in tandem with his heart, which thudded aggressively against his chest cavity. He wasn't sure if it was just the comedown from his panic attack earlier in the week (day?) or if he was gearing up for another one, but either way, the feeling was unpleasant.
Though not as unpleasant as his night was about to become.
.~.~.
The next coherent thought Sonic had was several hours later, being dragged across the forest floor by his leg. He groaned, holding his head. "Ohhh… my head." He moaned. Whatever was dragging his leg huffed exasperatedly. "Do youevershut up?" Sonic's awareness flooded back into him. "Even unconscious, you'restilltalking." Sonic yanked his leg out with a gasp. "Shadow?!" He sat on the ground, limbs askew, as the ebony hedgehog turned around with an irritated sigh. "Well done, you can remember my name." He deadpanned. Sonic sputtered. "But- but- but you DIED, dude! How are you here?!" Shadow crossed his arms and cocked his hip with a raised eyebrow. "Obviously I didn't die." Usually Sonic would be up for the bait, but on that particular day, all he wanted to do was sleep in his bed. "No! Really!?" He deadpanned back. Shadow's eyes narrowed a fraction. The two stared each other down for a few moments, the creaking of the settling trees filling the silence.
Shadow sighed. "I don't know. I woke up in a crater somewhere in the Cotswolds. I heard about what happened on TV and Radio - and where to find you." Sonic stood up. "Why did you wanna find me?" He asked, readying himself to fight. In his current condition, Shadow would wipe the floor with his ass. "Relax, I'm not gonna fight you." Shadow waved his hand. Sonic didn't relax. Shadow huffed. "People said about a blue hedgehog who looked like me was helping. I asked who it was and tracked you down."
Sonic narrowed his eyes. "To do what?" He quizzed. Shadow rolled his eyes. "I haven't decided yet, though I'm leaning towards grizzly murder in the woods." Sonic swallowed thickly. Shadow shook his head. "I was hoping you could fill in the blanks, given that you were the one who assisted me in the destruction of the ARK." Sonic gasped theatrically. "Assisted!? It wasmyidea!" Shadow nodded once. "Look at you. Already helping."
Sonic harumphed.
Shadow glanced around the woods. "Where is a safe place to take shelter for the night? I heard rumours of a storm rolling in, and we're in no state to last it out." Shadow gave him a brief once-over. "Well… I saywe."Sonic glared. "I'm in this statebecauseI helped you, dude. You could be nicer." Shadow folded his arms once more. Sonic rolled his eyes. "I'm too tired to fight with you, man. I know a place, but we might get visitors." Shadow stepped aside with a dramatic flourish. "Lead the way. I can stop us getting visitors with a bit of chaos control."
The first thing Sonic noticed about being with Shadow was the distinct discomfort. It wasn't atalllike chilling out with Knuckles or Tails. Sonic is a people person - he gets along with everyone! Shadow, on the other hand, hugs the line of nasty and can't be bothered unsettlingly close. It's like they were constantly balancing on some sort of knife's edge.
God.
If only he hadn't runa-fucking-way!
Sonic still didn't want to test Shadow's patience right now. But Jesus, could he maybe be less impatient?
Could he just…
Sonic cleared his throat and placed his hand over his chest.
Seemingly for no reason, his heart fluttered. Butterflies — yet it was an uncomfortable rhythm that Sonic was fairly certain had nothing to do with his current ailment. It was almost constricting. There was also this awful twinge of nausea that started to surface every few seconds. He fidgeted, rapidly shifting from foot to foot, left and right.
Left and right.
Left and right.
Left and right.
Oh god, he was having another panic attack. His second in forty-eight hours. Everything was so crisp that it almost hurt. He couldn't seem to get his eyes off that damn Hedgehog. He was so close and—Just—just a second to breathe, to relax. Maybe a minute. It would only take a minute. This wasn't serious. It was a moment. He only needed two minutes.…maybe three. Sonic shook his head, desperate to clear his mind. He couldn't look at him anymore. It was as mental as it was physical. While he did what he could to cope, from closing his eyes and tilting his head back to gripping his arms, nothing stopped bile from incessantly bubbling up from his stomach. If he wasn't so nauseous, he thought he might be on the verge of passing out.
Shadow walked on ahead, either unaware or uncaring. Probably the latter, if Sonic remembered much about him. Soon enough, simply taking a single shaky breath without vomiting was an effort of immense willpower.
And he was drenched in sweat! What was happening to him? And why?! He was just walking through a fucking forest! He didn't understand. He didn't have a fucking clue what he was even fighting, but he was fighting. That much was clear. Oh God. He wasn't fighting. He was losing. The final straw happened as they began to see the edges of the forest that littered the highway near his old cave. Yeah, he was going to throw up.
"... Shadow." Sonic gathered the last of his strength to produce a whisper. His voice was exceptionally hoarse.
"What?" The ebony Hedgehog hissed, freezing in place. Sonic dropped to his knees and vomited. "What?— Shit, okay. You're okay. I'm…here. You're… good." Shadow's bitter and clipped voice echoed from somewhere off to the left. "You're safe. Lean into it and let it pass. I promised it will pass."
But it didn't feel like it would pass. And it didn't feel okay.
No, it felt like everything awful that could have happened and everything that ever would happen, was occurring right then — and to Sonic. Even worse, he was frozen in it. Wasn't he supposed to feel better after letting it out? Wasn't that how throwing up worked? As if on cue, another intense wave of nausea left Sonic doubled over yet again. This time there was nothing left to come up, which meant Sonic was stuck in a terrible cycle of dry-heaving. He couldn't breathe. "Don't try to fight it," Shadow advised. Sonic's fingers trembled in the grass.
"You're going to be fine. You need to stop being so dramatic and it'll pass quicker." He retched until he thought it was done...thoughtbeing the keyword. Sonic tried to steady himself the second it appeared over, but he was still shaking. He raised one of his hands in front of his face. It took an exorbitant amount of effort to form a basic fist. If he wanted to pick something up right then, he wasn't so sure he could. It was as if he was falling apart, piece by piece.
It was utterly petrifying. What... the fuck... was happening? This hadn't been like his last panic attack.
"Is something wrong with me?" He whispered, unable to disguise his fear. "On this occasion, nothing is wrong with you," Shadow hissed at him. Through blurry eyes, Sonic could see his face soften. "But Sonic, don't look at your hand, look at me. Focus on me." Sonic did. He stared. He realized that he had gotten some puke on Shadow's shoe. Shit. It was only a little, but that's embarrassing. Shadow didn't seemed concerned about it in the least. "Listen, I'm not going to touch you, but I think we should get moving. Those clouds are getting blacker and blacker."
"I… I know. I didn't..."
"You said it's only a few feet that way." Shadow pointed. "We don't have to move quickly, but we can't stay here." He paused. "It's gross." The cave wasindeedjust a few feet away. It's only a short distance. Sonic had swallowed hard, then nodded before slowly shuffling himself on. Shadow moved to follow, almost parallel. True to his word, he hadn't touched him. That was good because Sonic didn't think he could handle that right then. They hit the cave entrance, so Sonic took a breather for a moment.
He gritted his teeth and held his head. He had hated thissomuch. He had yet to speak well, so he hadn't even tried. Instead, he had focused on the simple act ofbeing. Sonic prayed that Shadow had been correct in his statement that it would pass. Nothing had lasted forever, right? Which had meant it would pass. It had had to pass.
Ithadto.
Second by second, minute by minute, and then breath by breath, he thought the worst of it was beginning to ebb away.
Slowly.
Achingly so.
The light at the end of the tunnel remained distant.
Then… less so.
After a moment, Sonic's grip strength started to return. His nausea lessened and his heart rate lowered. When he raised his head, the world's unpleasant vividness had dropped.
He's… he's pretty sure it was ending.
Please be done.
Please.
Sonic cautiously looked around and found Shadow intently observing him. "I'm okay. I… I think it's getting better now." he said, then sucked in a few more shaky breaths. "…thanks for helping."
"Whatever. It's cool." Shadow replies. "I've had panic attacks before, though I've dealt with them on my own for a long time now, even if-" Shadow cuts himself off. Sonic looks up to him. "If?" He asks quietly. Shadow stews quietly for a moment. "Maria. She used to help me. Sonic noted the clipped tone - one he had often used in recent days. He left the conversation alone from there, focussing on getting his pain down to a slightly more manageable level. When he swallows and tastes that distinct bitterness still in his throat, he tries to spit the rest out on the ground. It doesn't work as well as Sonic thinks it should.
Meanwhile, back in the Wachowski household, Tom was turning grey with worry. He paced relentlessly, constantly looking over Tails' shoulder and the device he held within his grasp. Tails sighed lightly. "Dad, I can't concentrate if you keep leaving over my shoulder." He whined. Tom flushed. "Sorry buddy… I'm just worried. Have you picked anything up yet?" Tails twisted a few dials on the device. "Yes and no. I still have his fifty-mile radius, and he's still in Green Hills. I'm trying to triangulate more accurately, but if he's in the forest, then the fifty-mile is as close as we'll get for now." Tails' namesake drooped. "I can break the device apart to enhance its capabilities, but then we'd lose Sonic's signature permanently." Tom shook his head. "No, keep it as is. We'll just have to sort out a search party."
Tails nodded and turned back to his device.
Tom resumed pacing.