Sonic's hands found their way to Shadow's forearms. His hands moved around for a while, unable to find the other's leather jacket. When had he taken it off? "What happened to your jacket?" The blue blur asked in suprise, looking the ebony hedgehog up and down, no sign of the jacket he had become accustomed to the smaller hedgehog wearing. Shadow shrugged. "Probably in here somewhere, why?" He asked. Sonic looked away, eye contact seemed far too awkward now. "Just wondering." He muttered. Shadow just hummed in response.
"How is everybody?" Sonic asked, it was probably annoying to the other. It seemed like Shadow had intentionally avoided speaking about them. He feared that perhaps Shadow was the sole survivor of his murder spree. His anxieties only heightened as Shadow hesitated for a moment. "They're all fine." He replied bluntly. "Knuckles was injured the last I saw him, but he's tough..." he muttered, probably justifying it in his head, meaning he felt responsible.
"It isn't your fault Shads." Sonic muttered awkwardly. He knew Shadow was going to blame himself anyway. Shadow had the tendency to avoid eye contact if he didnt believe somebody or he himself was lying. He had a lot of strange yet telling tendencies, such as moving an injured part of his body when asked if he's in pain. Shadow just nodded reluctantly.
The two remained silent for a while. Extremely silent. Sonic began to question if Shadow was even breathing. "Feel any pain?" The other hesitantly asked. The blue blur shook his head in response. "Just feel average." He shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Shadow nodded back. "You feeling okay?" Sonic asked, looking the other over once more. His bandages looked fresh, no trace of blood or aging. Any visible wounds he had looked old and clean, except his partly torn ear - it looked extremely inflamed and painful. "Same as you I suppose." Shadow responded quickly. He flicked his injured ear shortly after, probably now being more aware of the pain.
"You sure?" He asked. Shadow bit his lip, contemplating, before eventually nodding. Sonic hesitantly lifted his arm up to Shadow's ear slowly. The ebony hedgehog didn't flinch, instead stared at the others arm carefully. Sonic gently caressed Shadow's ear. It was extremely warm and swollen. "Doesn't feel okay." He commented. "It will be fine." Shadow reassured, far less sure of himself now. Sonic could just hear the hedgehog mutter 'hopefully' under his breath.
Sonic chose not to reply this time. His eyes trailing to Shadow's lips. They remained still and unmoving, yet Sonic felt as though the hedgehog was going to murmur something again. He gulped audibly to himself and bit his lip subconsciously. The tingling became far more apparent to him, as did his breathing. Was he always such a heavy breather?
His hand trailed down from Shadow's ear slowly to his cheek, his other arm remained interlocked with Shadow's, focing the two into an awkward almost hug. Was he leaning forwards? His subconscious and its wants made him fear himself.
This was definitley just apocalypse mania. His eyes widened further when he realised Shadow too was slowly leaning forwards. Two words echoed through his mind, 'oh fuck'. Maybe it wasn't apocalypse mania? Or maybe he was hallucinating? Was he still asleep? He was recieving more questions than answers, only further panicking him. Sickness rose from his stomach up to his throat.
He practically sighed in relief as be heard the handle of the door twist. He jolted back as quickly as he could, Shadow remaining where he was, seemingly lost in thought, his eyes glued to Sonic.
The door swung open slowly, revealing Silver. The youngest hedgehog greeted the two with a smile, however the smile soon faded. Sonic studied him wearily, he seemed confused. Before the blue blur could figure it out, Shadow dragged Sonic's hand away from his cheek. He instinctively turned to Shadow. The oldest hedgehog stared back, wide-eyed and red - albeit rather angry.
"I'll be back later." Silver squeaked. Before Sonic could even speak, the hedgehog had disappeared and the door was shut. The two remained silent, although Sonic ensured he avoided looking at Shadow.
He had no idea why he had leaned forwards. Maybe he had misjudged the situation and acted out of panic? Instinctively, the lapiz hedgehog dragged his arm across his face. Nothing was on his face. Maybe he had a weird scar? He thought for a moment. He had technically initiated some form of intimacy by putting his hand on Shadow's cheek. Gross.
"Apocolypse mania." Sonic spluttered through scattered thoughts. He blinked several times as he pieced together the context in his mind. "We need to fix things quickly then." Shadow responded after a while. The pace of his voice was quite slow and his tone was deep. Probably as scared as Sonic was.
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The echidna stumbled behind the group. He had just gained the ability to walk, but it was extremely exhausting for him. The bat winced at his every sigh and pant. She couldn't believe he was in such a state. The days of bantering over a, frankly useless, jem were over.
Rouge slowed her pace to walk beside the unstable echidna. His breath was shallow, strained and hoarse. "C'mon big guy..." Rouge mumbled delicatley. She gently guided his arm over her shoulder, encouraging him to lean his weight onto her. "I've never seen you in such bad shape." She sympathised with the red echidna greatly. He grunted weakly in response, hissing as he walked. "I wish we could do more..." She trailed off sadly.
"I'm fine..." The echidnas hoarse voice replied. Rouge shook her head. "No, you should be resting. Walking around isnt gonna do you any good!" She slowed down to allow the echidna to use less energy. It angered her to know even in such a state he was trying to lead the group. He was far too stubborn to care for himself.
"Woah wait!" Tails voice rang. Both the bat and echidna looked up. Rouge straightened her back and looked around. Palm trees and various bushes and rocks surrounded them. A forest was probably the worst place to be, anything could jump out from behind the trees at any time.
She looked infront of the group. A figure was approaching. They werent shambling around like the beasts, instead they had some kind of grace to their step.
Rouge gently moved herself infront of the group, ensuring Knuckles stayed behind her as she walked. She was the most capable in such a situation, Amy would have to get everybody out of there if things turned sour.
Her heart dropped and her breath was strained. Dizziness overtook her as the figure continued to approach. "Get ready to run if I say so." She commanded. "But what about you?" Amy asked. Rouge chose not to reply. Her eyed locked firmly on the figure as they approached.
Eventually, they came close to the light, revealing a coral echidna. She had multiple golden bands and bracelets around her arms, legs and even on her head. She wore an off white tube top and a long, green skirt adorned with diamond patterns.
The echidna gasped audibly. "Knuckles!" She exclaimed. Before the bat could protest, the echidna ran towards the injured red baffoon. "What happened?" She asked. Rouge balled her fists and gritted her teeth as she watched the mysterious woman fumble over the echidna. "What are you doing!" She demanded. She went ignored, merely staring in a mix of anxiousness and annoyance. Who even was the echidna and how did she know Knuckles?
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1272 words
Written/Published: October 4th, 2024
((Edited))
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Science FictionIt all started with a strange dream - one of which included an almost dark reflection of himself. A very clichè one often found in books and media. However it was some sort of warning. Sonic couldn't shake the dream, meaning recognising the strange...
