<<Hųśh>>

-'18'-

She couldn't keep her eyes open. Her shins burned and stiffened, making every step harder and harder. She hunched as she walked. Exhaustion was getting to her. Her eyes were half lidded, limiting her already poor vision to a concerning degree. She could only cuss silently to herself as she walked, though her voice was too tired to even muster a whisper.

Her mind whirred continuously. She was in her own world and practically ignored the group infront of her. She couldn't look at Knuckles. Seeing him in the state he was threatened an emotional break. She couldn't afford such a thing at such a time.

Unfortunatley for her, her mind refused to leave the subject of Shadow. She had left him alone to face a phsycotic hedgehog arguably more powerful than him, again. Normally, doubts wouldn't plague the bat's mind in concerns to Shadow. She knew his limits and she knew he would be fine in most cases, yet seeing what Sonic had done to him before, she could only fear what the navy hedgehog could do to an even more beaten down Shadow.

She clawed at her ears the more she thought about the subject at hand. There was probably a high likelihood Shadow was dead or dying. It made her shudder at the thought. She whispered prayers under her breath, something she would never normally do, hoping someone truely was up there and hopefully had mercy on the few that were surviving.

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Sonic looked down in fear. His mind was almost completely blank. Doubt plagued his mind. Surely, there was no way he had done so much damage. He was a hero who saved lives. He couldn't even harm a fly if he wanted to.

His breath quickened, tears brimming in his eyes as faint images flashed within his mind. He clenched his jaw and began to claw at his forearms, rocking back and forth in a rapid manner. He feared he sheer thought of what he may have done. He had seen the beasts first hand commit awful atrocities - like at the park. He had powers unlike your regular möbian however. In such a state he was capable of world destruction.

"Oh fuck." He muttered shakily with tears in his eyes. The lapiz hedgehog refused to look up at everybody else. Seeing what he had done to Shadow was awful enough. Knowing he had done it to so many more people made him feel worse.

"It wasn't your fault, Sonic." Blaze reassured. She was sitting on the opposite side of the room beside Silver. Shadow had opted to sit next to him, probably knowing Sonic wouldn't take it well. He reluctantly looked up, meeting sharp, golden eyes. Blaze didn't seem emotionally aware, much like Shadow. She always seemed to maintain an emotionless, professional front in the short time he had been in her pressence.

"Anybody with your capabilities would have done the same in such a circumstance." She added, her tone dry and seemingly disinterested. "People have done far worse than you have, I can assure you?" Shadow's smoother voice echoed from Sonic's left. It was welcomed in comparison to Blaze's own voice.

He looked up to the ebony hedgehog beside him, trying his hardest to not cry. Knowing he had hurt Shadow so badly crushed him. Each time they fought, Sonic ensured Shadow wasn't hurt - not too badly at least. To make it worse, Shadow held back. It was all his fault, his own selfishness in wanting to live put Shadow in such an awful situation; the ebony hedgehog had bandages on almost every part of his body and limped around.

"How could anybody be worse than me?" Sonic muttered solemnly. "I murdered an entire species directly related to me by blood while being perfectly sane." Shadow dryly replied in disinterest. Sonic bit his lip, the smaller of the two had a point, however the aliens didn't trust him at all, and he hadn't begged them to hold back to ensure he had the possibility of surviving. The aliens stood a chance on their own accord.

"Things will work out, Sonic." The ivory hedgehog, who Sonic had learned was named Silver, spoke up. "It may seem like the end of the world now, but we have hundreds of years to go!" He smiled. Emerald eyes stared at the ivory hedgehog. He had no idea what the future would entail. He didn't even know the full story behind the infection. His positivity was just as disposable as the thought of society returning to how it was originally.

Is that how Shadow viewed him? Perhaps he was as annoying as the ruby-streaked hedgehog often implied. Maybe even a little more.

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The blue blur had opted to sit alone upstairs. He sat stoically on a bed he assumed was unused, his eyes fixed to the floor. He would have assumed such awful acts would stick with him in every waking moment, yet he could remember nothing. He couldn't acknowledge all of the pain and suffering he had caused on a level he should have. It tore him up inside knowing people's final moments were just disposable memories in his mind.

Something began to stirr within him, unsettling him and making his whole body tingle. He shuddered in attempts to lessen the incessant tingling, however it seemingly did nothing to stop it.

The tingling became faint as somebody sat on the bed beside Sonic. He refused to look up, he had a feeling it was Shadow. He couldn't explain why, it was almost as though he could sense an aura about him - kind of like an electric surge.

The two stayed in a deathly silence for what seemed like hours. Sonic stayed still and didn't sense any movement from the ebony hedgehog, he could sense his frigid gaze resting upon him though.

"You know it's not your fault." Shadow's voice rang through Sonic's ears in a familiar smooth yet harsh tone. "You were not yourself, and almost everybody was saved. Many other people cannot say the same." Sonic couldn't help but sigh. He had tried to think in that light, but he had still destroyed a camp where survivors were hiding, killed many and probably sealed the fate of the now homeless survivors.

"I fucked up a sanctuary." Sonic whispered back. Shadow sighed. "Sonic, I inadvertently got somebody I cared about killed." A hand gently placed itself on the blue blur's shoulder. "You helped me through it." His voice trailed off, getting slightly more emotional. It took Sonic off guard to hear Shadow's emotionless facade break. "You didn't kill them. I didn't see anybody die and I certainly didn't see any corpses." He spoke far more firmly. "You are telling yourself that."

Sonic gulped. He could feel a lump forming in the back of his throat and his jaw quivered uncontrollably. "Shadow..." he trailed off weakly and looked up, his eyes locking with ruby ones. He was at a loss for words, his jaw seemingly unable to open once more. He could only stare at the smaller hedgehog in near tears.

Reluctantly, the ruby-streaked hedgehog offered the other a hug. He was reluctant at first, extremely reluctant. Shadow was never one for any type of contact, yet here he was offering the lapiz hedgehog a hug.

Sonic practically threw himself into Shadow's arms. Shadow just managed to pull himself upwards to avoid sending the two tumbling off of the bed. "Why did this have to happen?" Sonic blubbed. Shadow sighed, he must have been at a loss for words.

"Things will get better. Now that you're back, things will be different. There's hope." Shadow muttered back softly. Sonic felt the embrace get tighter. "Trust me, I know how you feel." He added. Sonic looked up, his face just inches away from Shadow's. "Are you sure?" He asked. Uncertainty laced his mind like a parasite. He couldn't shake the guilt. "I'm sure." Shadow affirmed.

Sonic stared at Shadow silently in search of any sort of hesitation. He seemed extremely certain, his stern expression didn't falter in the slightest. Shadow stared back in confidence. As the moments went on, his skin began to tingle immensely, specifically in the places Shadow's hands were. He continued to stare, still no sign of doubt. Perhaps Shadow was right.

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1390 Words

Written/Published: 29th August, 2024

((Edited))