Sonic Oneshots (Mephilver mostly)

All of me is broken

Shadow froze immediately.

He stared at his partner across the room and met timid green eyes, his heart burned in agonizing guilt as he realized what he did. Sonic was tense, his quills on end and his posture rigid from the tremors in his body caused by the nervousness and fear the cobalt hedgehog felt.

Shadow's blood ran cold, his ruby eyes darting over to the hole in the wall caused by his chaos spear. The paling of his face evident and bile bubbling up his throat, he shot that and... it nearly hit Sonic

Ever since the two hedgehogs established a relationship Shadow has never hurt Sonic, has never intended to hurt him or even kill him as Shadow would have in the past when they first met.

But the cut on the hero's arm bled out, a small injury compared to what would've happened if Sonic hadn't dodged. The sight of crimson liquid trailing down peach skin made Shadow's quills flare, his hand covering his mouth.

What's wrong with me?

Earlier, Shadow had woken from his sleep in a cold sweat, the nightmare fresh within his mind of Maria being shot, the fact that even in his sleep he is forced to revisit that painful memory.

Where he couldn't save the one person he cared about the most.

The agent left the shared bed he had with Sonic to go to the kitchen, perhaps a glass of cold water would clear his senses. However, it didn't work as he struggled to get down the stairs without stumbling from the numbness in his knees. Even when he got to water, the glass cup cracked slightly as he strained his fist to not break it.

Around him he heard the blaring sirens of the Ark, the panting coming from both him and Maria as they ran through the labs, trying to escape.

In his mind's eye, he could see the single moment he took to pause, to give Maria a quick break and figure out what to do only for the heavy footsteps to burst into the room they were in.

The G.U.N soldiers were at the door as they shouted at the pair, though Shadow couldn't even focus on what they were saying. He could only see as Maria spun around to look at him, her eyes wide with dread as she looked at Shadow for an escape.

Shadow reached for her hand, preparing to run, but instead, he caught her in his arms as she fell forward. Shadow turned her over, glove stained with blood and the blue of Maria's dress contrasted with red around her chest area.

He panicked, his breathing erratic as he picked her up and ran as far as he could, the thought of saving Maria the only thing on his mind, but even then there was only so much he could do.

Blood kept pouring from the wound, the stains of red growing larger with each passing second. Maria's shaking hand gently grabbed his face and then pointed to a door, one Shadow hadn't been to before.

He knew what was inside immediately as he saw escape tubes that were only used in emergency cases and this situation is an emergency.

He laid her down next to the control panel as he opened a tube, preparing it for Maria. But it seems life had other plans as the glass closed around him and he was trapped inside, without Maria, who was the one that trapped him within the only escape from the Ark.

He turned to her, banging against the glass as Maria weakly stood up and grasped the lever to release the tube.

Her last smile to him, a caring and gentle one, even as she pulled the lever and fell to the floor, eyes dulling, she still smiled at him.

Shadow found himself on the floor of the kitchen, his eyes filled with tears and sobs escaping his throat. His hands desperately clinging to the counter, his legs giving out on him as the pain of the past overwhelmed him.