Worlds Apart - a Shadow the Hedgehog x Reader story

Together

Y/N's POV

Y/N wandered the forest, keeping an eye open for anything threatening. Too many clones had tried to kill her in the first few minutes. But here she was, alive and still fighting. Not letting anything get the better of her. She glanced around like a wild animal, ears pricked for any noise at all. A muffled explosion from a clearing not far off made her turn. Time to investigate. She very carefully made her way to the bushes around its edges, squinting at the figure in its centre. Was that... Shadow? Had he managed to escape Mephiles' cell or was it just another clone? But wait a second, this Shadow was damaged and bleeding, not sparking like the others had. Wary of the broken robots that were scattered like bones beneath a graveyard all over the place, she slid down and crept to his side. She shook him gently.

"Shadow. Wake up. Come back to me."

Rain had begun falling heavily, soaking her quills. She pulled Shadow underneath the roots of a nearby tree. It was quite spacious beneath them, giving her plenty of space to store what she needed. Surviving had always been one of her specialties; she had been on loads of camps, during which she had had to fend for herself a lot and had to find her own food for nearly a week. She shook several water droplets out of her quills. They splashed on Shadow's face, who was slowly waking up.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alive."
"It was you I was looking for."
"I know. What did Mephiles do to you?"
"His clones did this. I don't know if I'm dying or if I'm going to survive."
"I know. You will survive this. I promise."
"Don't promise anything yet. We don't know what Mephiles still has up his sleeve."

"At least we still have a few of our own. First off, I'll get that wound cleaned up."
Using some of the remains of the water in the bottle she had made early on, Y/N washed out the slash in Shadow's chest, having carefully taken his breastplate off. She tore the red bandage off her broken arm and used it to cover the wound. For some reason she didn't feel any pain at all. He kept groaning as the water triggered fresh waves of pain. She handed the bottle to him, letting him drink the rest of it. There was a lake outside where she could get a refill, after all.

"Ow."

"I know. I know. Here, squeeze my hand if it gets any worse."
Her palm slotted into his like they were made for each other. He was shaking; from what cause she didn't know. As she finished tying the red strip of fabric across his chest, she stood.

"I'm gonna go out and collect some plants and water. You never know what might come in handy these days."
"Take these first," Shadow passed her his gauntlets and breastplate, "You'll probably need them before I will."
"Thanks. I promise I'll come back safe."