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Summary:

“You know he won’t talk to me, he won’t talk to anyone. Except you. I don’t know why he’s so adamant about only opening up to you out of all his friends, but it’s clearly something he needs. You promised Shadow, don’t get yourself killed trying to be a hero for the wrong person.”

In which Shadow has a saviour complex, and bites off more than he can chew. Many bad decisions follow, and he ends up growing a little too dependent on the jackal who tried to kill him not so long ago. Oh well, at least Sonic’s doing okay... right?

Chapter 1: Chapter 0: Follow You, Bring Me The Horizon

Chapter Text

Not to lead anyone on or disappoint you, but this isn’t a real chapter! However, it does contain some very important information and clarifications before you read, so it’s still worth skimming at the very least. I’m already anticipating a lot of questions so I’ll try to answer the ones I predict here! However, feel free to comment throughout the fic and I’ll address additional questions in the chapter notes. 

 

        1. Rarepairs

 

I know my ships are weird. Rare pairs and crack ships are my guilty pleasure, and I don’t plan on changing that. That being said, I’m also a multi shipper who will support any ship as long as it is legal and doesn’t romanticize abuse! If you want a separate fic with your OTP I will definitely write requests, but for obvious reasons I can’t give you every possible ship just in this fic. Also….

 

  1. NSFW (or a lack thereof)

 

I DON’T WRITE SMUT! I think the Sonic fandom is sexualized way too much, so you aren’t reading the right fic if you want that kind of stuff. Sorry. I may allude to sex at best, but it makes me feel uncomfortable because they’re animals and that’s gross. I also cannot take things seriously, especially smut... you wouldn't want to read my rendition of sonic lemons... sincerely, someone on the ace spectrum

 

  1. OCs

 

 I don’t like using OCs. I have some minor ones like motel owners and pedestrians, and I need to create some jackal personas for *spoiler* when Infinite returns back home for certain reasons, but I generally hate having to include my own characters in fics. This is nothing against people who have OCs, I don’t have the right to discredit someone else’s characters! However, besides Infinite's family and filler characters, don’t expect any OCs.

 

  1. OC Cameos

 

 On that note, if you want your OC(s) to be a background character, let me know! Keep in mind they won’t be written about for more than a few sentences, but it’s a small thank you and an acknowledgement to my readers that I would love to include in my fic! I have to write in background characters anyways, so a nod to a beloved reader is okay with me despite my distaste for plot-centric fan characters. 

 

  1. Upload Schedule

 

It might be good to know that I don’t write my chapters in order, so I can’t exactly give you an update schedule. I also have fic abandonment issues so you really have to comment and read to motivate me because I’m lazy and have zero confidence! It sounds needy (because it is) but it speaks volumes for the snail pace uploads you are about to encounter. I'm also in school all year round (speedrunning my BA atm) so it's hard to make time, but I will do my best!

 

  1. Song-fic(?) & Playlist

 

This is somewhat of a song fic! I probably won’t include lyrics unless I snatch one to use for dialogue, but each chapter will have at least one song that inspired it! I have a playlist on Spotify, but it is due to change so be sure to check in once in a while if you remake it yourself in another app!

 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7KabMGCzhe21A110mI0GNd?si=d8EJB5cVSbKXarMEeWUDRg

 

  1. Georgia, Baby!

 

The jackal culture is something I made up entirely, and since I’m Kartvelian I decided to make their official language Georgian, and draw on bits of Georgian culture to add some flavour. I think the country is very underrepresented so I’m using its alienated and interesting circumstances as a base for the jackals, but there’s a slight problem! I hardly speak Georgian. I’m doing my best with what I know but if by some miracle someone reading this speaks Georgian…. PLEASE LEND ME A HAND! MESSAGE ME ASAP! I could really use a Georgian ghostreader, but considering how rare that would be to find, can everyone at least not make fun of my awful Georgian? Most of it is just Georgian names and occasional untranslated words (which I will translate in the end notes for non-speakers) but my grammar probably sucks. Sorry in advance I guess? 

 

  1. Extended Universe

 

 I have many spin-off fics planned that focus on other characters, so if you like my take on the Sonic universe let me know who you want the next fic to be focused on! I can try and write multiple fics at once to give me options and make me feel less trapped into one set storyline, but I can’t promise fast results for any work considering I have two jobs and am taking summer school; I’m not busy, just emotionally drained if you know what I mean?

 

  1. LGBTQ+

 

I’m not here to debate the lgbtq+ representation in my fics. Not everyone has to be cishet! At the same time, there is a lot of fetishization of mlm and wlw relationships which I hate, and don’t even get me started on trans narratives because in my opinion, so many of them are written poorly. BEING A PART OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IS NOT A PERSONALITY REPLACEMENT FOR CHARACTERS! You can write about the hardships and low moments because they do exist, but don’t make an character based exclusively on their gender or sexuality. Write them three dimensionally just as you would with any cishet character!

 

  1. Characterization

 

My take on the characters isn’t fandom typical.  Shadow in particular is more talkative because I based his personality on the SA2-06 era which was basically just an introverted Sonic with PTSD. So as of Forces… just an introverted Sonic. F in the chat for our blue boy! He’s not your typical edgy hedgy, but I personally don’t consider Shadow OOC by any means. Still, if you want me to write like the new Sonic writers, you’re going to be disappointed because I refuse to stoop to that level! He’s allowed to smile and have friends, no matter what SEGA might be trying to say.

 

Also, things are going to be awkward and maybe even memey for 90% of the fic! This is partially because I don’t take myself seriously as a writer, and also because I think realistic slow-burn needs to be awkward, especially when it’s enemies to friends to lovers. 

 

ART

 

Okay, this has two parts. One, if you also like drawing and feel like making something based off this fic, please do it! If I have your permission I'll post it under this heading right here, and as long as you credit my fic as inspo you can post anywhere you want :) Second, I draw! Art might be in some chapters, but no promises since most of my drawings are unfinished wips because once again, abandonment issues ;)

Aight, I wish you all well and hope to see you in the near future with a new chapter!

 

-Izzie <3

Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Irvine, Kelly Clarkson

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

  1. Irvine, Kelly Clarkson

 

Infinite knew he was dying, and no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that this was what he wanted, the jackal knew he had fucked up big time by agreeing to become Robotnik’s lab rat. Every cell in his body was crying out for help as he burned at the mercy of the corrupted ruby. 

 

Searing pain filled his vision with radiant darkness, and he knew there was no way out of the corner he backed himself into. His veins were frozen, and the jackal could feel his blood simmer as it coursed through his body. Everything was cold, and all he could do was lay down on his side and heave out his organs, surrounded by his vomit and blood.

 

When a familiar figure approached, he choked on his own excrement and laughed weakly. “Come to kick my skull in and speed up the process?” Infinite asked, but couldn’t stop his body from flinching away when Shadow stopped in front of him.

 

He was submissive as he pleaded for death, how pathetic. 

 

The hedgehog didn’t say anything, but watched wordlessly as the jackal curled in on himself, his breathing jagged. Infinite scowled at the lack of response, and let a primitive growl escape his lips before spitting blood at his enemy.

 

Shadow seemed unphased, and sat in front of the jackal, legs crossed. “You seem to be accepting of your fate, so why is there fear in your eyes?” he asked, voice unnaturally loud and omniscient, as if it were coming from above and not from the figure who spoke. 

 

“I don’t fucking know, why are you suddenly so concerned with my wellbeing?” Infinite snapped back, before his body racked with coughs, shuddering from the unexpected question.

 

The hedgehog watched emotionlessly as the phantom ruby took back the power it lent its host, a hasty loan which could never truly be repaid, even in death. 

 

“I’m not.” 

 

Infinite flinched at the words, eyes watering with pent up rage. “You came all the way here to tell me this? How pathetic is your life that you need to seek comfort in my own demise to sleep at night?” he shot back, cursing at his wavering tone as his face grew hot with tears and embarrassment. 

 

Shadow shrugged, before turning away to leave. The jackal felt that wretched emotion again, fear , and clawed out after the mobian in vain. “Come back here, you never answered!” he called, but the ebony hedgehog had already faded away into the horizon. 

 

He was alone again. 

 

“You did this to me, you fucking ruined me, come back here and watch the light leave my eyes, mshishara ,” he cried, gasping when he slipped into his dead tongue. It reminded him of where he came from, and how far gone he was now. 

 

Infinite dug his nails into the ground as he let out a raspy sob, retching from the amount of pain he felt. You did this to yourself , he remembered, which only prompted him to cry harder. 

 

He looked back up where the hedgehog once stood, and the jackal could have sworn Shadow was still looming over him, watching him. Judging him.

 

“Don’t leave… you’re the only one who remembers my face for what it is. You killed the others, and now I’m about to join them. At least enjoy your victory,” Infinite pleaded, looking for any reason to justify not dying alone. 

 

“If you were so adamant about people watching you die, why did you teleport away from the battlefield?” The voice returned, which made the jackal jolt backwards, cursing when he tripped over his own limbs. He was panting from the movement only to find out that Shadow had reappeared behind him, facing away from Infinite to instead observe the overcast sky. 

 

The jackal eyed the figure, beginning to lose faith in his own reality. “I didn’t mean to, the phantom ruby did that,” he admitted, but didn’t believe his own lie. They both knew it was fear that drove him away.

 

Shadow just laughed in response, what once started as a deep chuckle now a booming, echoing laugh that made the jackal’s ears snap flat to his head, sending chills up his spine. He opened his mouth to interject, but the hedgehog stopped immediately, neck snapping around to stare him right in the eyes without a word, emerald eyes boring into mismatched ones.

 

The sudden silence and unnatural movement caused the jackal to panic, instinctively clawing at the figure. However, his horror increased substantially when his hand phased right through Shadow. 

 

He was the one fading away, and there was no way to hold him down in the real world. Not even Shadow would be able to save him this time. 

 

“What’s happening to me?” Infinite asked quietly, his breathing shallow. The hedgehog didn’t reply, but this time it was because he didn’t have an answer. 

 

Shadow walked over and tentatively placed a hand on the jackal’s shoulder. For a brief moment, it almost felt like real contact. “I’m sure he’ll figure something out. He always does,” the hedgehog reassured. 

 

Infinite scrunched his nose at the strange comment, and looked over to ask Shadow what he meant, but came to realize he was actually alone this time. 

 

“If you’re still here… please. Kaosi , anything, I promise I’ll be better this time. Imprison me, rip this thing from my chest, kill me later after you get your answers. Just please… not this. Don’t stoop to my level, don’t be as bad as I’d be. Make me pay for what I did but for fuck’s sake, keep me alive ,” he choked out, holding his breath in anticipation. 

 

But nobody came. And nobody would come, because that’s what happens when you don’t let anyone into your life. When you die, there’s no one around to mourn a person who hardly lived.

 

Infinite cried quietly in defeat, no longer resisting the ruby’s wishes. The icy sweat he was coated in stung his open wounds, and he prayed that at least the gem would hurry up and end this already.

 

And then he saw red.

Notes:

Georgian Words:

mshishara- Coward
Kaosi- chaos

I'm sorry this is such a short chapter! I promise the other ones I wrote are a couple thousands words and much better, I just struggle with writing beginnings and this is precisely why I don't write in chronological order. I might actually have a second chapter up soon because I'm drawing it from a dialogue exercise I did a while ago, but don't get too excited with these uploads because it's downhill from here babey!

If some things seem off here... good. Not telling you why for obvious reasons, but some die-hard fans might be able to guess my C-Plot because I'm bad at being subtle. It's get spicier as we move along, this is just a really sad chapter and I'm not good with emotions that don't revolve around being a chaotic bastard!

Wishing everyone well,

Izzie <3

Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Talk, Coldplay

Notes:

Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long to upload, I got very nitpicky when editing before giving up. It doesn't have to be perfect anyways, this is just for fun :)

Still, if anyone wants to be a ghostreader let me know! You can edit the hell out of stuff, this is especially recommended for picky readers (because I'm picky too!)

Without further ado... here is chapter 2!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

  1. Talk, Coldplay

 

It hadn’t even been a week and the resistance was already celebrating the defeat of Eggman and Infinite. Although everyone knew there was a lot of restoration work to do, Amy had suggested a small get-together, and nobody had the willpower to resist a potluck if the pink hedgehog was involved with the catering. 

 

They all agreed on a picnic-esque party outside of Central City, in order to avoid excess attention from the public. It was also nice to be in nature again, since many members had been stuck inside the stale headquarters for so long. 

 

Knuckles was currently being pestered by Rouge, who had missed the echidna a great deal when working as a double agent. Of course she wouldn’t admit this outright, but became much clingier than before when bothering the red mobian. 

 

“Come on Knuckie, you can’t leave before dessert ,” she whined teasingly, leaning onto his arm and batting her eyelashes, which made the echidna turn away, flustered. He had been trying to return to Angel Island for the past 3 days, but was stopped every time by the bat. 

 

Knuckles halfheartedly shrugged her off and muttered something about the master emerald, which only made Rouge laugh. “I’m not big on sweets anyways, but I might steal some of yours,” he admitted gruffly, the small smile on his face inevitable. 

 

“Can you two get a room? I miss the war just because it managed to keep your hands off each other! My poor baby eyes, thieved of their childhood innocence,” Charmy complained, wrinkling his nose at the unnecessary amount of PDA he was witnessing. 

 

Vector whacked the bee with his tail, motioning him to continue writing notes. The crocodile had been asking Vanilla for recipes, and entrusted Charmy with the task of transcribing: a horrible decision really, but it’s not like he had any other options. 

 

“You can’t just track off in the middle of a lemon meringue pie recipe, we can’t afford to waste citrus! That stuff is expensive,” he scolded, before turning back to Vanilla with a bashful apology. She found the whole ordeal amusing, and couldn’t resist giggling at their collective nonexistent attention span. 

 

The rabbit calmed down before smiling and looking away, “Would it be easier if we tried baking together first? I have a feeling you’re a hands on learner, and I certainly don’t mind the extra treats,” she offered, blushing lightly. Vector choked at the directness and scratched the back of his head, also looking away. “That would be really helpful, thank you Miss Vanilla,” he said, which prompted the rabbit to laugh again.  

 

“Why don’t you just google a recipe?” Cream asked skeptically, but she couldn’t resist smiling as well. The young rabbit had nothing against the detectives, and enjoyed spending time with them. Still, she was protective of her mother and couldn’t resist dragging such an easy victim like Vector. 

 

Vector laughed at the girl’s wit and glanced over at Espio, who was sitting under the picnic table on his phone, expression guarded. “This chump already used up all our data, and doesn’t plan on telling me why. Apparently he’s talking to a client, but I don’t believe it,” the crocodile explained. 

 

Espio was oblivious to the fact the group was staring at him, and continued to type furiously. He was often too busy in the resistance to enjoy his free time, and was overindulging to make up for the lack of freedom he had before. Even ninjas need their me time, and Espio was simply balancing his chakras by gluing himself to his phone screen. 

 

“I bet he’s writing fanfiction,” Charmy commented, before staring off into the distance and making a strange expression. 

 

Cream frowned, and tried to follow the bee’s gaze, “Where are you looking Charmy?”

 

He shrugged, before glancing back at the rabbit girl. “I was looking into the camera like on that one show, but I guess the joke is outdated and overused so it isn’t working,” Charmy admitted sheepishly, before flying back to Rouge and Knuckles, making dry commentary on their every action. 

 

“Watch it Charmy!” Amy yelped as the bee flew over her and Silver, distracting the both of them from setting up the dessert table and nearly resulting in a great loss of treats. 

 

The telekinetic rolled his eyes, and carefully set what he was carrying down on the table, only for Amy to move everything around herself. “Is there anything else I can do?” he offered in vain, knowing the pink hedgehog would probably try and do everything alone again. The two were good friends, but were starting to get cabin fever after being stuck at headquarters together for so long. 

 

Amy looked over, and sensed the tension from the “technically younger” hedgehog. “Do you want to help me frost the icebox cake?” She offered, which made Silver’s ears perk up, before flattening. 

 

“I wouldn’t want to mess it up, don’t worry about it!” he said quickly, but the girl was already pulling him over to the cake. She guided his hands carefully to the piping bag, which embarrassed Silver to no ends. 

 

Amy giggled and told him to calm down, before explaining how to create the effect she wanted. “This is a meringue frosting, so we want to ice the cake last minute because the heat will melt everything. For the icebox cake, you want it to look messy but keep it evenly spread, that way everyone gets the same amount of frosting! Does that make sense?” she explained while slabbing the fluffy substance on the cake. 

 

Silver was hesitant but slowly got comfortable with the spreading motion, which made Amy beam for being a good teacher. “This is actually kind of fun, and I didn’t mess up yet!” he exclaimed, which made the two laugh. Both hedgehogs were relieved to not be at each other’s throats for once, the absence of impending doom doing wonders for their friendship. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So you’re telling me all I had to do was resolder the connections?” Tails asked, judging the snarkiness of the robot in question. 

 

Omega stared at the fox for a moment before replying, almost as if he were amused by the situation. “AFFIRMATIVE. THEN TURN MY POWER OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN.” he explained, which made Shadow snicker from aside. 

 

“That’s it? But I worked on your repairs for months, I tried everything! There’s no way I overlooked such an easy fix,” Tails said defensively, but he was more embarrassed by how he overcomplicated the problem.

 

“IT WAS NOT AN EASY REPAIR, JUST A STRAIGHTFORWARD ONE.” Omega clarified, which didn’t comfort the fox by any means. Tails eyed the robot and cocked his head, now curious as to who would know how to fix a complex panel like Omega’s.

 

 “Who restored you? It wouldn’t have been Eggman, and it wasn’t me. You just showed up to the battle perfectly fine without any explanation…”

 

Omega noticeably tensed (despite already being rigid since he is made of metal) and turned away, heading destructively towards the dessert table, which was beginning to scare Amy. “THAT IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION WHICH IS PASSWORD ENCRYPTED. I CANNOT DISCLOSE MY SOURCES.”

 

Tails looked over at Shadow, eyes begging for some kind of clarity. The hedgehog however, had nothing prepared to say and shrugged in response. 

 

“Beats me, Omega doesn’t tell me anything anymore,” he admitted before eyeing the blue hedgehog, who was currently avoiding all forms of confrontation. Tails looked over as well and frowned at the unusual behaviour, “he’s been like this since he got back.”

 

Shadow sighed, watching silently as Sonic quietly slipped away from the party and took off towards the greenery. Rouge’s ears twitched at the subtle sound the hedgehog made when leaving, and stopped mid sentence to make eye contact with Shadow, who had already instinctively looked to the bat. 

 

“Follow him,” her expression read, in perfect unison with what the fox beside Shadow had said out loud. He nodded to Rouge before looking over to Tails, who appeared just as worried. However, neither said another word and instead watched the trail of blue light that was already fading. 

 

Sonic ran as soon as he figured he was out of everyone's sight, and didn’t bother looking back. He felt like he was suffocating with all the noises: music, chatter, forks scratching plates, everything down to the tiniest sound. He just needed to get away, letting out a sigh of relief when he stopped at his favourite spot outside Central City. 

 

The hedgehog watched the sun set atop a hill that overlooked the forest, the tips of skyscrapers peeking over the canopy from the distant city. He could still hear the chatter and celebration that he ran away from, but the gentle rustling of the tree above him muffled enough of the noise to ease his nerves. After being alone for so long, he found himself unable to tolerate being in groups, which made him feel guilty. These were his friends, not strangers or villains. Still… Sonic felt tense around them and needed his own space for a while.

 

Despite the boundaries he just established, Sonic was pleasantly surprised when Shadow decided to join him, neither of them breaking the silence. If it were anyone else, the blue hedgehog may have complained, but Shadow was quiet by default so it wasn’t too overwhelming. 

 

He contemplated not saying anything at all, but eventually decided to greet the ebony hedgehog, “Long time no see dude, what’s up?”

 

“I was just with you,” Shadow deadpanned, looking over at him unamused. Sonic grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his quills. “Fair point, but don’t be so harsh about it! After all, you were the one who followed me here,” he reminded.

 

The other hedgehog chewed on his lip before responding, “I honestly came to admire the view,” he said, looking out at the horizon. Sonic smirked, before stretching coyly, one eye open to glance over at Shadow.

 

“Well, how do I look?”

 

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes, “I meant the sky, dicknips. Your quills are atrocious for the record though.” Sonic huffed at the reply, crossing his arms. “I was in a jail cell for 6 months, cut me some slack! I think I look ruggedly handsome,” he defended, before sitting down and leaning against the tree trunk. 

 

Shadow chuckled softly at the younger hedgehog’s response, and found himself sitting down as well, which was a surprise for both of them. After a beat of silence, Sonic felt the other’s gaze on him, which made him uncomfortable. Since he had returned, all anyone did was stare at him, and it was getting annoying. However, Shadow looked like he was figuring out what he wanted to say, mouth pressed shut in a thin line but eyes clouded in thought. After enough internal debate, he looked back down, away from Sonic. 

 

“We’re friends, right?” He asked softly, and the blue hedgehog was taken aback by the weight of the words. Sonic knew that this would probably lead to a deep, emotional conversation that he was not too keen on having, and decided to divert from this path as much as possible. 

 

“Oh, now you’re admitting it! Are you actually saying we’re friends now, after all this time brooding and playing hard-to-get?” He teased, nudging Shadow’s foot with his own. The hedgehog smirked at the response, but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes. Shadow knew this was the other’s way of saying yes, but noted Sonic’s deflection, and anticipated what this would mean for his intended conversation. 

 

The blue hedgehog eyed Shadow and smiled guiltily, feeling like his teasing was perhaps too insensitive and that he jumped to conclusions. For all Sonic knew, this may not even be about him. 

 

“You’re thinking, aren’t you?” He tried again, this time with less attitude. Shadow rolled his eyes and looked over, “No shit. Maybe you could learn a thing or two and do the same.” 

 

Sonic wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, as it seemed like a well crafted statement the ebony hedgehog was trying to withhold. Once the tension settled, the blue hedgehog found himself prying again. “What are you thinking about?” He rephrased, digging the heel of his left shoe into the ground. 

 

Shadow was quiet for a moment before responding, “The ARK. Mostly Maria, but also everything that led up to what happened 50 years ago,” he replied, voice calm but melancholy. 

 

“Is that all you think about?” Sonic asked, looking over at the hedgehog quickly before choosing to stare at his own hands, fidgeting. He didn’t mean to sound judgmental, but he knew what he said came out entirely wrong, and that he probably sounded like a prick. Shadow didn’t seem to mind though, and shrugged.

 

“No, but those memories aren’t the type to just go away. That’s the thing with trauma, you can’t just brush everything off and make all your problems disappear,” he said, maybe being too direct with what was troubling him. 

 

Thankfully, Sonic didn’t catch on and attempted to respond optimistically. “I know, and I don’t want you to forget everything again. Still, you could focus on making good memories to outweigh the bad ones from before! Enjoy things in the moment, like how the Sun is setting and we get to watch it,” he offered with his signature smile. 

 

Despite the good intentions of the blue hedgehog, Shadow was unphased by the cookie-cutter response and scowled. “Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy things knowing so many innocent lives were slaughtered, just for me to be on this planet right now,” he shot back. 

 

Sonic’s smile faded as he took in every word Shadow said, before looking away and letting the tense atmosphere remain in uncomfortable silence. He rarely stayed quiet for very long, but the blue hedgehog didn’t have anything to say to that. 

 

Realizing he walked them into a dead end, Shadow sighed, before attempting to ease the awkwardness; “You’re right though, about moving on. I do need to start enjoying things in the present, instead of relying on nostalgia. If I’m being honest, I’ve been trying to develop a more positive outlook on life, and things are looking a bit better for me,” he recovered, which earned him a hesitant smile from Sonic who was now looking back over, captivated by Shadow’s confession. 

 

“I’m really glad to hear that Shads, I knew you had it in you,” Sonic said, and the two enjoyed the pleasant moment of genuine conversation. Shadow smiled at the acknowledgment and turned away to grab a stick that was on the ground beside him, tracing it through the grass to distract from the emotional honesty.

 

Sonic held back a laugh at the ebony hedgehog’s embarrassment, and decided to take advantage of the transparency. “If you don’t mind me asking, what led you to acceptance? You were fighting so hard to get your memories back and know the truth, and now you’ve decided to put it all behind you?” 

 

“I’ll never have all the answers, and I’ll never know the full truth. I have to accept that my amnesia can’t be cured in one shot, and nobody else who is living has the answers I’m looking for,” he admitted. 

 

Sonic watched as the other hedgehog twirled the stick through the grass, before running it along the roots of the tree that stuck out of the ground. “That could be just it,” he started, which made Shadow look up into Sonic’s eyes. “You might need to stop caring so much in order for everything to be restored,” he continued, which earned him a small smile in response. 

 

“Mmm… yeah. But I won’t get my hopes up.” Shadow said, before resuming his mindless tracing.

 

The blue hedgehog hesitated before asking his next question, hoping it wouldn’t be too heavy of an answer; “Would you forget all the bad stuff if you could?”

 

Shadow tensed, “No,” he responded too quickly, before sighing. “Never. Even if I were to lose all my memories, the emotions connected to my experience would stay. I just simply wouldn’t have an explanation for how I felt, and no way to rationalize why certain things trigger me,” he elaborated. Sonic noticed the hasty recovery, but figured it wasn’t something he should pry into. The hedgehog had only been conscious for about a year since his reawakening, and there was no rush to recover from his trauma. 

 

“So what you’re saying is… ignorance isn’t bliss?” Sonic asked jokingly, but the question was genuine. This conversation had gotten too personal for both of them, and he was trying to change the tone and conversation before the focus was on him. 

 

Shadow was not oblivious to this, and decided to do what he came here to do. “Not in the slightest. You can only run so far from yourself,” he admitted, but the generic use of “you” felt like a direct attack on the blue hedgehog. 

 

“Why are you telling me all of this? It’s out of character,” he asked, laughing nervously. 

 

“How do you know what’s ‘like me’ and what isn’t?” Shadow responded, maybe a bit too harshly. Sonic continued to dig his heels into the ground, the backs of his shoes now coated in dirt. “I dunno, we don’t really talk like this ever, so it’s new for me,” he said quietly, gazing down. 

 

Shadow faltered at that, and took a moment to recompose himself before continuing. “I figured at least one of us had to be honest about our feelings, and you don’t seem too adamant on being the first volunteer,” he said. 

 

“Are you calling me a chicken, Shads? I’m an open book, you can ask me anything!” Sonic exclaimed, forcing a smile. He tried not to sound offended, but there was a certain edge to his tone that gave it away. Shadow didn’t respond and started to get up. He had tried, and the blue hedgehog clearly wasn’t ready to open up yet. 

 

“Ask me, Shadow. I know that’s why you came here,” Sonic said darkly, and the hedgehog froze in place where he stood. “I just want to know if you’re okay,” Shadow admitted quietly, the wind almost drowning his words out completely. 

 

The silence that followed was deafening. Sonic was caught off guard and left speechless, and Shadow was in shock from how bluntly he had admitted his motive. This would be the moment of truth, determining if he blew it or not. 

 

Sonic finally opened his mouth to respond, and frowned at how his voice wavered against his will. “Yeah, I’m doing okay! I’m a bit tired from the battle, but so is everyone else. Amy was really pushing this picnic as a celebration, and I’m glad we’re having it. I just needed some quiet time, y’know?” he said with his usual pep, hoping the cheeriness would throw Shadow off. 

 

It did no such thing. 

 

“Don’t lie to me,” he said, tone bitter but sympathetic. Sonic didn’t want any pity, and promptly told Shadow that he was doing no such thing. 

 

Both hedgehogs were beginning to get frustrated with one another, but the darker one was not giving up so easily. “You think I don’t know better? That I’m naive? You say we aren’t close and you’re right, we aren’t. But even then I can tell you’re holding back,” he retorted. 

 

Sonic scowled, “You know me, I never hold back!” He joked humourlessly. “You also never stop to give yourself time to process your emotions,” Shadow responded quickly, cursing at how aggressive this conversation was getting. 

 

“I’m not doing much right now, am I?”

 

“Exactly, now tell me what’s wrong,” Shadow concluded, and the blue hedgehog’s jaw snapped shut. After enough silence and internal debate, he sighed, getting up and shaking his head. “You know, you can be a real pain in the ass, Shadow. I’m just tired, and now I’m annoyed, but otherwise okay.” 

 

The ebony hedgehog watched as Sonic began to walk away, flinching at the absence of his nickname; He was going to regret what he was about to confess. 

 

“I’ve seen the footage of your imprisonment… and what he did to you,” he blurted out, before cursing and quickly looking away. Shadow couldn’t look up to see how the hedgehog would react, he knew it would break both of them immediately if they were to make eye contact.

 

“...What?” Sonic asked weakly, the colour drained from his face. He refused to turn back around and face Shadow, there was no way in hell he could look him in the eyes now. 

 

Shadow faltered, pissed at himself for saying too much too soon. “I was the one assigned to keeping tabs on you, G.U.N. hacked into the security cameras thanks to Rouge’s inside access. Only we know… I didn’t tell the government anything. I’m sorry,” he said, ears lowered. 

 

Sonic was still silent, and had no intention to respond to what he was hearing. 

 

“You can’t just not acknowledge what happened, Sonic.”

 

That struck a chord. Shadow never said his name, unless it was serious. Just the way he said it, so gently , like he was made of glass or something. It frustrated the blue hedgehog but he felt no anger, just a tightness in his chest that made him feel like he was drowning. 

 

“Can we just watch the sunset?” he asked weakly, wincing when his voice cracked. No , he wouldn’t break. Not now, and certainly not here when all his friends were so close.

 

 “Yeah, we can. I’m glad we can enjoy this together,” Shadow answered hesitantly, before walking up to Sonic to stand beside him instead. 

 

Neither looked over at the other, both fixating on the small apricot of light that was almost entirely behind the skyscrapers downtown. 

 

“It wasn’t as bad as it looked, I swear,” Sonic finally said, now in control of the strength of his voice. It was perhaps too strong to be genuine, but it kept him off the verge of tears so he wasn’t going to test his luck and try to sound calm. 

 

Shadow hummed, before looking over. “I’ll be completely honest, I don’t believe you,” he started, which earned him a subtle glare from the blue hedgehog. “However,” he continued, making Sonic’s ear twitch, “I won’t continue to pry, okay? I’m always here to listen, if you ever need me. Call me, text me, we can even go out for chill dogs despite how disgusting I find them. If you need to talk to someone, I’m always available,” he offered gently, which only frustrated the hedgehog. 

 

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Sonic replied passive aggressively, which made the ebony hedgehog sigh. “It’s only because I know your pain firsthand, I doubt any of your other friends would know how it feels when—“ Shadow started, but was promptly cut off. 

 

“I’m not in pain , how many times do I have to repeat myself? I’m fine, Shadow.” Sonic snapped, and the hedgehog in question finally accepted defeat. He had extended an olive branch, and was getting zero cooperation. 

 

Shadow sat in the tension for a minute or so, debating what to say next. “I’m sorry for pushing you so much. If you say you’re fine, you are. If you aren’t but don’t want to talk about it, I respect your wishes. My offer still stands, but I won’t force you to do anything against your will,” he apologized, looking down at his shoes. The paint was beginning to chip off the front, he’d have to get them repainted. It should have been done ages ago, but he was hasty about letting people modify his shoes. 

 

“Thank you… I’m sorry for snapping. I’ll call you if I need anything,” Sonic admitted shyly, nudging Shadow so he’d meet his gaze. 

 

The ebony hedgehog smiled genuinely, before smirking. “Want to race back for dessert?” He offered, and soon Sonic was grinning from ear to ear. 

 

“Yeah I do buddy... yeah I do. Just try not to eat too much dirt on the way, Amy makes a kick-ass strawberry shortcake and I wouldn’t want you missing out on it!” the blue hedgehog taunted before speeding away. 

 

Shadow shook his head and laughed in relief, before following after Sonic. He had made some sort of progress today, and that’s all that mattered to him. 

 

Notes:

I hope this was more satisfying than the extremely short first chapter, I felt really guilty leaving you guys with hardly any content! I promise most chapters should be about this long, but to be fair a lot of this chapter was secondary character interactions. I felt bad when I cut some background interactions out because readers probably have faves that aren't the main focus of this fic, so I gave them a little feature :)

I have no idea when the next chapter will be up (I have it planned but not started) so I hope I can get that up for everyone ASAP!

Wishing you all well,

Izzie <3

Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Medicine, Daughter

Notes:

I want to start by saying am so sorry everyone, I've hardly posted anything and there's still so much left to write! I've been putting more time into my chapter outline which I have been working on for months admittedly, and forgot that I also had to write/edit/post chapters in the meantime.

I'm also still in school (I'm taking courses all year round so I can finish my undergrad a year early) and have been neglecting a lot of homework in order to get this fanfic sorted, and I'm nowhere close to doing that either! This chapter is very short and too messy for my taste, but I'm hoping it will help pass the time. Just the outline for the next two chapters is 4K words, nevermind when I actually write it!

TLDR; I'm sorry for being bad at updating, and this chapter also sucks but it's the best I can do right now. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

EDIT: future me finally fixed the formatting, sorry about that for anyone who might be looking back at this :")

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Medicine, Daughter:

 

Shadow had been wandering aimlessly around Eggman’s fortress for hours, hoping he’d conveniently run into the missing jackal. Infinite was still a potential threat, and nobody had bothered to locate him, so naturally Shadow was drawn to the task.

 

“Shadow, we don’t know if the phantom ruby prototype still functions, I don’t want you to get trapped like last time,” Rouge had warned him.

 

The hedgehog didn’t care much for precautions though, and had made it his personal mission to track Infinite down and decide his fate. 

 

“I’ll be fine Rouge, if the Rookie and their “power of friendship” can defeat him in his prime, I’ll have no problems kicking his ass again.” Still, he knew the bat was worried about him because she cared for his safety, and that he couldn’t run away without a regard for his own safety anymore, because there were now others who relied on him.

 

Sonic was now a part of this select group, and Shadow found himself faltering when the blue hedgehog crossed his mind, guilt overtaking him because here he was, running away again; Chaos forbid he settled down and took care of his friends. 

 

“And now you’re off to save the guy who tortured him, how considerate,” an ominous voice drawled sadistically. Shadow flinched at the narration, and decided it was getting too late for a recovery mission. He was practically shrouded in pitch black darkness, as most of Robotnik’s territory consisted of destroyed bases, which offered limited light.

 

Just as he was about to turn back, Shadow swore he heard screaming. So, as any sane mobian would do, he followed the yelling to its source.

 

“You did this to me, you fucking ruined me, come back here and watch the light leave my eyes, mshishara ,” the voice rasped out, and Shadow nearly celebrated at his discovery, for he had located Infinite on his first attempt, all because the jackal appeared to be talking to himself.

 

As he watched him writhe and curse at no one in particular, Shadow’s smirk slowly faded, realizing that Infinite was most likely hallucinating a conversation with a version of him. Who else would he be cursing at? It had to be Shadow he was seeing, the jackal probably hated no one more than him. 

 

He was dying, and his last words would be spoken in vain, because there was nobody there to hear them.

 

“Well,” Shadow thought to himself hesitantly, “There is me, I’m here. I’m just not doing anything to inform him that he’s talking to thin air.”

 

The hedgehog fidgeted with his inhibitor rings, a nervous tic he had developed since the Black Arms paradox. Still, he refused to reveal himself to the jackal since there was probably nothing Shadow could do to help him, nor would Infinite allow him to help.

 

That is at least, what Shadow thought, until he heard the jackal fully break. 

 

“If you’re still here… please. Kaosi , anything, I promise I’ll be better this time. Imprison me, rip this thing from my chest, kill me later after you get your answers. Just please… not this. Don’t stoop to my level, don’t be as bad as I’d be. Make me pay for what I did but for fuck’s sake, keep me alive ,” Infinite begged, pausing in anticipation.

 

He froze. Infinite was, quite literally, begging for his life. His pride was gone, and there was no arrogance to mask his fear, which was bone chilling for Shadow. He had his own egotistical tendencies and knew this was probably something that should be taken seriously, but he couldn’t force his legs to move. 

 

“I mean, yeah dude, he’s dying. This was your fault, remember? Go fix it ,” the voice reminded, and Shadow found himself listening.

 

He knelt over the jackal’s writhing body, careful to avoid the mess he had made, and held his face up to meet his gaze.

 

“Infinite… are you still with me? Don’t fade yet, I’m here.” Shadow said quietly, frowning at the quiver in his voice. Infinite stayed rigid, as if he was struggling to process what the hedgehog was saying.

 

The jackal didn’t respond, but began to realize he was being touched, and it was real this time.

 

He wasn’t fading, he was never fading. He was here, in reality. For now, at least. 

 

Shadow was beginning to worry at the lack of response, and sat Infinite up. When the jackal didn’t react to that either, the hedgehog pushed off his mask to make sure he hadn’t died. His vitals are weak, the voice reminded him.

 

Infinite stared blankly up at Shadow, but was still alive, breath shallow. 

 

“I just need to know, since we’ve reached this point... did you really kill them all?” he asked weakly, the subtle defeat in his tone of voice worrying Shadow. He frowned at the question, not quite following the ambiguous pronoun game.

 

“Kill who?”

 

The jackal snarled, and shifted to sit up more comfortably, crossing his legs to steady himself so he could look Shadow in the eyes. He took pride in knowing the hedgehog suddenly appeared to care about his well being, finally at peace with dying if it meant Shadow would remember him. 

 

“My squad, or did you forget them too? When you destroyed that base, did you really kill every single one of them?”

 

Shadow’s eyes widened, the realization dawning on him. “This couldn’t have been why he…” the hedgehog thought, shuddering at the mere idea that the most basic form of miscommunication led to an entire war. 

 

He swallowed, before looking down wordlessly. Infinite narrowed his eyes at the reaction, and pulled back from Shadow’s support, even though he slumped forward in pain because of it. 

 

“So he was telling the truth, Robotnik. You murdered them, and went about your business without a second thought,” Infinite spat, the growl in his voice an afterthought. 

 

Shadow looked back up, staring down the jackal defensively. “Did you really start a war and murder hundreds, if not thousands of mobians, just because of what a notoriously two-faced supervillain told you? I didn’t fucking kill them, Infinite. Why does everyone think I did? They scattered before I even managed to attack them all, they were absolutely useless.” 

 

The jackal froze, eyes wide, mouth gaping. There was no way Shadow was telling the truth, but the bluntness of his words implied otherwise. 

 

Shadow noticed this and his glare faltered, reaching out to steady the swaying jackal. 

 

But then he leaned over and threw up. 

 

The hedgehog grimaced at the messy response, wrinkling his nose before he realized Infinite was crying. Shadow brushed the jackal’s dreads away from his face, grateful that they had not been soiled. 

 

“I’m sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen. I understand that it’s my fault that you turned to the doctor. You probably don’t believe me, but I ought to apologize regardless of your response,” Shadow said softly, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. They were alone, but it felt intimate nonetheless. 

 

Infinite looked up, still shaking like a leaf. Was it weakness, or disbelief? Some would argue a bit of both.

 

“What?”

 

Shadow narrowed his eyes before exhaling, shaking off his vulnerability. “Look, I can try to make it up to you, but there aren’t many options here,” he admitted, which made the jackal snort. 

 

“You can’t offer me anything I’d want, but feel free to watch me die since this was all your doing,” he laughed humorlessly. That hit a nerve with Shadow, who felt his heart drop at Infinite’s words. He was right, technically speaking. 

 

“Don’t give up on him just yet, I don’t think he has given up either. You just need to remind him, okay?” the voice echoed, and Shadow grimaced at the realization. 

 

He sat Infinite up properly this time, so the two were facing one another, the close proximity unsettling but mandatory due to the jackal’s lack of independent stability. “You know, you could still be the ultimate mercenary, like before. If you wanted, of course, you could be who you were before we met. We could pretend the war never happened, and forget each other,” Shadow offered, and nearly smiled when the jackal’s ears twitched, interested in what he was offering. 

 

Despite his change in heart, Infinite didn’t respond, and continued to avoid Shadow’s gaze. 

 

“You have potential, Infinite.”

 

He looked up at that, his expression transparent. Shadow almost celebrated but resisted the urge, because he could see hope in the jackal’s eyes. 

 

When Infinite remained silent, Shadow held his face to ensure he wouldn’t look away after the hedgehog’s question, which would hopefully receive an answer this time. 

 

“Do you want to live? You need to answer honestly, and for yourself.” 

 

Infinite didn’t look away, and the spark in his eyes visibly reignited as a result of Shadow’s words.

 

“Yes.” 

 

The hedgehog nodded at the response, looking down at his wrists before sighing, and scrunching his eyes shut. Infinite opened his mouth to ask what he was doing, but was cut off by the bright green light that muffled whatever Shadow had shouted. 

 

Infinite couldn’t see anymore. 

 

“Shadow? What the hell just happened?” He asked shakily, feeling around for the hedgehog in a panic. Infinite knew he couldn’t have died since he still felt Shadow’s presence, but could no longer determine his bearings. 

 

“I’ll be back, I promise. I need to get something for you, okay? Stay here,” Shadow explained, shaking his head at the last comment because he knew there would be a snarky reply. 

 

Infinite grumbled, “And where exactly could I go? You really fucked up with that one,” he grumbled, but couldn’t resist letting out a tense, albeit weak laugh. 

 

Shadow cringed and shrugged, even though he had figured out the jackal couldn’t see him. “My bad, but I’ll be right back, okay?” 

 

There was no time to respond, because the hedgehog was already in front of Infinite, who felt something cold snap onto both of his wrists. 

 

“Are you handcuffing me?” He asked mockingly, raising an eyebrow despite not being able to see. Shadow grunted and mumbled a quiet ‘no’ in response, which made the jackal relax. 

 

Infinite felt his nausea fade, and the pain he had been experiencing was replaced with exhaustion. “What did you do then? I’m not complaining, it actually feels nice,” he said quietly, allowing himself to lose consciousness faster. 

 

Shadow began to move him, which the jackal was currently unable to object to; “I contained the spread of the ruby, I think. These will keep you from dying at the rate you were, but I need to figure out a long term solution. If this is anything like chaos energy, you should be okay for the time being, but dead within a couple days.” 

 

Infinite swallowed at that, but relaxed against the cool metal that Shadow had leaned him on, before presumably sitting beside him. “Does that mean I can sleep?” he asked hopefully, knowing that he’d be out in a few minutes regardless of what Shadow’s response would be. 

 

“No, you could die in your sleep and I’d have no way of knowing, I didn’t just give you her—” Shadow started, but cut himself off with a grunt when his voice began to raise in volume. Infinite was not conscious enough to pry or even notice, but did wait attentively for the rest of the explanation. 

 

“It’s not worth the risk,” Shadow continued, more guarded than before. The jackal groaned, throwing one of his hands in Shadow’s direction, satisfied when it successfully fell on the hedgehog’s legs. “Keep your hand on my pulse, zap me if it fades, or whatever,” he mumbled, before pulling his mask back down and closing his eyes. 

 

Shadow mumbled something incoherently before holding the jackal’s wrist, satisfied when he felt that Infinite’s pulse was stronger than before. “This is a bad idea,” he reminded, but looked over to realize Infinite had already fallen asleep. 

 

“What have I gotten myself into?” the hedgehog asked aloud, voice echoing through the abandoned observatory deck. He looked back down at the Earth and sighed, because at least the planet was safe from two weapons, who were now at the mercy of its orbit. 

 

Shadow had to spend the next few hours thinking of where to go from here, all because he accidentally promised to save a life he had no business saving. 

Notes:

Ah, so the boys have a proper encounter! I'll explain the Black Arms paradox in a future chapter, but I basically made every timeline in Shadow's game canon for angst purposes, and also because I'm too indecisive to pick a path lol.

I've also been working on an AU for after this fic, but it's very sloppy right now and I can hardly draw cover art for this fic, nevermind a webcomic! Oops... I've said too much. No more spoilers ;)

Take care,

Izzie <3

Chapter 5: Chapter 4. Avalanche, Bring Me the Horizon

Notes:

Surprise, I'm back! This chapter originally had a different name and was much longer, but I split it in two so I could get some content up... plus it's an extra song! I also didn't have any editors for this chapter, so my apologies if there are mistakes. Once I can get someone to review it, I'll edit anything they catch :)

I also noticed my formatting gets messed up when I copy and paste my chapters, so I'm uploading differently this time. I hope it transfers! I'm too lazy to fix the errors in the previous chapters, so I'll just be more careful from now on. Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Avalanche, Bring Me the Horizon

 

“Uh, Shadow, where the fuck are we?” Infinite asked cautiously, eyes not daring to move from the observatory windows. 

 

The hedgehog glanced over and noticed the jackal’s blatant discomfort, and did his best to calmly break the news. “You’re on the Space Colony ARK, but don’t worry, it’s abandoned.”

 

Infinite didn’t respond at first, and Shadow hoped that would be the end of the conversation. 

 

“So you’re telling me that you teleported me to space, to an isolated secondary location, when I was too weak to protest… and just figured I’d be okay with this? You kidnapped me , what the hell?”

 

Shadow held back a laugh and cleared his throat, failing to conceal the amusement in his tone.

 

“I mean, yeah. What about it?” 

 

The jackal looked over at him wordlessly, expression unreadable. After sitting for long enough in the tense silence, he shook his head and groaned at how numb his limbs felt, opting to close his eyes again. “Whatever, do you have a plan? Hopefully one that’s back on Earth.” 

 

Shadow glanced down at his wrist communicator, before huffing, shaking his head. “I’m working on something right now, yes.” 

 

Infinite waited patiently for the hedgehog to elaborate, but it became increasingly clear that he was not going to say anything else unless he was forced to. 

 

“Okay, what are you thinking? Please tell me it’s not that useless fox that Sonic keeps around, or any member of the resistance for that matter,” he complained, picking at the holes in his gloves. 

 

Shadow narrowed his eyes, and roughly grabbed the jackal’s face, snapping it to meet his gaze, which startled the currently (and uncharacteristically) passive mobian. 

 

“His name is Tails, and he isn’t useless, you just traumatized him. However, we can both agree on keeping the resistance out of this. They think too much with their hearts, and will either kill you or blindly trust you: I don’t want either of those to happen.”

 

Infinite nodded, shying away from Shadow’s grasp and continuing to fidget with his hands. “Okay, then where are we going? G.U.N. is useless… wait, we aren’t going to Eggman, are we?” he asked, a wave of dread washing over him. 

 

The hedgehog noticed how Infinite tensed up and sighed, shaking his head. “No, he’d kill you too. I know someone who can probably help you, but I need to warn you beforehand, since we’re walking a dangerous line. Infinite, have you ever heard of the Babylon Rogues?” 

 

Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting this to be a part of Shadow’s plan. 

 

“Yeah, I did some work for them when I was a mercenary, but I never dealt with them directly. Why, do they have connections in the medical field?”

 

Shadow didn’t respond immediately, and instead fiddled with his wristband, which made the jackal groan in anticipation.

 

He eventually sighed and looked back over at Infinite, who was tapping his foot impatiently. “No, but they have a genius of a mechanic. However I will warn you, I have never met anyone more arrogant and easily offended than these birds, so whatever you do, do not insult them .”

 

Infinite nodded obediently, and the hedgehog almost smiled at how easily he had gotten the jackal to cooperate. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as he anticipated, but he knew the villain was relatively unstable and could turn at any moment. 

 

Shadow continued his explanation with more ease, “They have a neutral alliance like me, but I know both Robotnik and the Resistance are planning to reach out to them for a post-war alliance, and I can’t screw this up for either side. What I’m doing with you is under the table business, because their true loyalty is with whoever has the highest bid. Do not, under any circumstances, piss them off, especially their leader, Jet.” 

 

The jackal was overwhelmed from what Shadow was telling him, and nodded less enthusiastically this time, still struggling to process whatever the hedgehog said. 

 

Shadow frowned at the sluggishness and began scanning the jackal suspiciously, trying to pinpoint the fatigue. “He literally just woke up,” a voice reminded him. 

 

His eye caught a flash of silver and snatched Infinite’s wrist, which startled him. “Right, I gave these to you. I’m sorry, I must have underestimated how strong they are…” Shadow mumbled, glancing down at his own inhibitor rings, loosening his grip on the jackal.

 

“What do they do exactly, are they killing me?” Infinite asked, following Shadow’s gaze down to the golden counterparts he wore. 

 

He shook his head, and pulled back to tamper with his communicator, “No, they just mute and contain your powers, which in this instance would be the Phantom Ruby prototype. However, you aren’t used to them yet so it’ll leave you feeling completely drained.” 

 

Infinite nodded and allowed the hedgehog’s words to sink in, annoyed that Shadow pulled away from him. You can’t just randomly touch me with no warning and then jump away like it’s my fault, he thought to himself bitterly. 

 

Shadow was on the verge of relaxing until his wrist buzzed again, prompting him to tense and jump back into mission mode. 

 

“Okay, we’re teleporting in now,” the hedgehog stated, and Infinite wasn’t sure if the message was meant for the communicator or himself. When he realized this would probably go as horribly as last time, the jackal opened his mouth to protest, but was met with a blinding green light instead. 

 

Shadow managed to land gracefully on his feet unphased, whereas Infinite found himself lying on a carpeted floor, letting out a string of obscenities when his mask crushed into his face. 

 

“Ah— shit! Jeez dude, I didn’t even have time to shoot a message back, don’t do that!” a shrill voice squawked, and the hedgehog almost looked embarrassed. 

 

He helped up the floored jackal, who had to hold back a laugh when he found himself staring at the infamous leader of the Babylon Rogues. 

 

This was definitely not who Infinite was expecting.

 

Jet warily edged his way around his desk to grab the Nintendo Switch he had chucked at the wall when the two mobians teleported into his office, scanning them both cautiously. 

 

“Is this a bad time? When you said we could head over whenever, I assumed now would be appropriate considering he’s dying,” Shadow admitted, gesturing to the war criminal who was gawking behind his mask. 

 

You’re telling me that this plucky twink of a bird is a Nintendo simping, head of organized crime? That this green miscreant is the legendary wind master? Infinite didn’t believe it for a goddamn second. 

 

Jet shrugged, and placed the broken gaming device back on his desk, making a mental note to ask Wave to repair it.

 

 “Nah, I meant what I said. What I forgot to consider was that your travel time is nonexistent, all because Sonic entrusts you with that funky green gem I can’t get my hands on,” the bird explained, before shuffling closer to Shadow. 

 

The hedgehog shrugged, fiddling with something in his quills. “I try not to pull it out too often, but it’s my responsibility regardless of what he tells me what to do. Don’t you have one though?” he asked, and Infinite couldn’t feel more lost or excluded from the conversation. 

 

Not that it mattered, since he wasn’t very good at small talk, noting how jittery the rogue seemed around him. Why did he almost feel bad? This kid probably doesn’t even have a driver’s license yet, and would rather stand closer to the notoriously violent hedgehog than him in his pathetic, demobilized state. 

 

Infinite hated being considered weak, but for once, he didn’t enjoy being feared. 

 

“Do you really think Wave would let me touch a damn chaos emerald? She’s working on harnessing the energy for our gear to completely replace air tanks, but I doubt she’ll get far considering it typically causes more harm than help if you don’t already have chaos powers,” Jet explained, keeping a wary eye on the door in case the swallow in question decided to show up while she was being underestimated. 

 

Shadow looked down at his shoes, and opened his mouth to respond, but decided against it. The hawk pretended not to notice and instead boldly turned to Infinite, who was intimidated by the sudden eye contact. 

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself! I’m uh, I’m Jet the Hawk: legendary wind master and leader of the Babylon Rogues… nice to meet you!” he announced, forcefully offering a hand to the jackal, who gently shook it in return. 

 

Jet laughed nervously when Infinite didn’t say anything, and it took a moment for the latter to remember that this was probably very rude, noting the disapproving look Shadow was giving him. 

 

“Oh, I’m Infinite I guess. It’s nice to meet you too, your office has a nice carpet,” he said, fumbling with his words. “ Nice going dipshit, have you never held a conversation before?” the ominous voice snapped. 

 

Shadow had to resist burying his face in his hands as Jet continued to laugh nervously while mentally reminding himself to be polite; Wave warned him to not be a dick in case it got them put on a future hit list. 

 

Just as the hedgehog was about to break the uncomfortable silence, the rogue’s second-in-command burst through the doors in a hurry, which made Infinite jump and proceed to trip over himself. 

 

Storm focused on catching his breath as Jet coughed in false surprise to hide his laughter at the jackal’s clumsiness, “What’s up buddy? You startled our client, so not a good first impression.” 

 

The albatross grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry Boss, I just wanted to check in on your turnip prices during the commercial break, you wouldn’t believe what’s happening during the Tell-All! I PVR’d it, and reruns are on at 11 so I won’t say much in case you want to catch up later, but the Pillowtalk episode is going to be catastrophic! Who’s the client? Shadow looks calm to me, but I guess he always looks like that, good to see ya by the way!” 

 

The hedgehog cleared his throat and failed to hide the smirk that was growing on his face, before nodding his head towards the floor. 

 

Storm looked down and immediately let out a noise of surprise before scooping up Infinite— who was not permitted to protest, but still frightened by the sudden contact. Why was this bird so goddamn big? Could he maybe put me back down?

 

“Oh, my bad there kiddo, I didn’t see you down there! Should I take him to Wave’s workshop? He might get lost if we give him directions, and crawling takes a lot longer, assuming he was on the ground because he can’t walk,” Storm offered, despite the distraught look on the green bird’s face.

 

The hawk did his best to contain himself once the words registered, “Sure, I’ll work out semantics with Shadow, but tell Wave to fix my switch when she gets a chance! Oh, and remind her to order dinner as well, since you’re too busy catching up on TLC drama, okay?” 

 

Storm saluted with gratitude and turned around, him and his jackal-package waddling towards the workshop. Infinite’s horrified expression was priceless, but it was only visible to the hedgehog who had brought him here. 

 

He looked into Shadow’s eyes and telepathically begged him not to abandon him in the hands (or muscular arms) of a total stranger, but was ignored and eventually out of sight, and therefore out of Shadow’s quills. 

 

As soon as they were alone in the office, Jet and Shadow released a breath they had both been holding, and the former found himself chuckling. 

 

Nice carpets , who is this guy?”

 

“Not sure yet, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it eventually.” 

 

———

 

“—So even though I believe in vigilantism and taking justice into one’s own hands, I don’t think cancel-culture should be a part of today’s society, mainly because of how easy it is to falsely ruin a reputation with the widespread access of social media. Misinformation catches fire very quickly, and nobody truly recovers from the psychological damage it causes to all parties involved. People should be held accountable for their actions, but if they are mass-pressured into apologizing, it fails to be sincere and they never learn from their past mistakes. Give people the choice to own up to their actions, that way you know who to continue supporting and who to truly cancel if they refuse to apologize... do you know what I mean?” Storm concluded, looking down at the weak jackal who had opted out of his free ride to drag himself through the never-ending hallways.

 

They probably would have been at the workshop by now if Storm had carried him, but the jackal was stubborn and decided to walk. 

 

Infinite shrugged, finally deciding to look up and acknowledge the bird, whom he had been ignoring in order to focus on walking relatively straight. “I guess, however I’m not informed enough on internet culture to form my own opinion, so I’ll take your word for it,” he admitted honestly, comfortable in the unusual rogue’s presence.

 

The bird shrugged sheepishly and continued to explain his viewpoint, something Infinite presumed he wasn’t able to do very often. However, he found himself observing Storm’s feathers, none of which were pigmented. 

 

“Why are you grey?” 

 

Storm halted abruptly, and the jackal felt his heart drop through the floor, his pulse beating in his ears. “Nice going asshole, you just blew it, he’s going to chuck you out the nearest window, so much for listening to Shadow,” the voice spat, and Infinite flinched at the words. 

 

He tried to recompose himself or get a glimpse of the bird’s expression, but was unable to think of a recovery topic or see anything but the large mobian’s back. “Look— I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, I—”

 

“—Woah! Kiddo, I’m not mad,” Storm cut in, finally turning to face the jackal, reassuringly placing his hands on Infinite’s shoulders to ground him. “You know, that's a very good question! I guess I never really thought about it before, but come to think of it I don’t know any birds who are grey, which is certainly something. I don’t actually know the reason, but I bet Wave does! Even if she doesn’t, the question will probably bother her enough to find the answer so you’re bound to figure it out somehow, she’s good at that stuff,” he continued to explain, walking them to the end of the conversation-length hall before turning right. 

 

“Do you ever know the smallest part of a song and spend the longest time typing out the lyrics, and no matter what you search, nothing ever comes up? It’s real annoying, I’ll tell ya that kiddo.” 

 

Infinite slowly found himself relaxing as the albatross spoke, the strong Prison Island accent soothing his nerves. Still, the jackal found himself dreading whomever Wave was the more everyone spoke about her. 

 

She sounded like… no, he thought to himself, grimacing. If she’s anything like her, I’ll choose death over being around someone like that. Fuck Shadow, fuck Jet, fuck Storm. Absolutely not, he pouted. 

 

When they finally arrived at the workshop doors, Storm paused before entering, and kneeled down to look Infinite in the eyes.

 

The jackal warily watched the bird’s good-natured expression fade, unsure of where this conversation was heading. “Before we go in, I gotta tell you the big rules about being in Wave’s workshop, okay?”

 

“Yeah, I understand there are probably safety precautions and stuff,” Infinite responded, which earned him a weak smile in response. “Something like that, sure!” Storm said, which was not reassuring by any means.

 

The bird seemed to freeze for a moment, as if he were preparing his speech. This offered Infinite no comfort whatsoever, and was hoping that the list was short, since most of what Storm said didn’t register with him. 

 

Storm cleared his throat and began to recite rules, looking up at the ceiling as if they were listed beneath the word scatterbrained, “Don’t forget these, she gets petty with rule remembering. Anyways, rule number one, don’t touch anything. Rule number two, don’t ask what she’s doing or interrupt her if she’s doing something. Rule number three, don’t complain about the music. Well, actually, I don’t remember the real third rule or any of the others to be honest, but I know when Jet asked her to change her playlist, the wifi was mysteriously down for a week, I bet it has something to do with that. Anyways, you ready to go bud?” 

 

Infinite didn’t have time to answer before being thrust through the doors against his will, stumbling and immediately backing up to avoid crashing into a suspended mech. 

 

He looked around in amazement at the sheer size of the room, and couldn’t even begin to process all the various projects, both complete and incomplete, that were scattered throughout the workspace.

 

Sure, he had spent a lot of time around Dr. Robotnik’s bases, which were filled with robots of all shapes and sizes, but they were never in the process of being produced, and were strictly built to attack. Wave clearly specialized in extreme gear which took up most of the room, but other vehicles and mechs could be seen amongst other unnamable creations.

 

When the two had finally located the mechanic, she was hunched over her worktable, furiously scribbling out a rough blueprint for something. Infinite was too focused on the familiar melody blasting from her headphones, but immediately lost focus when Storm reached out to tap her shoulder. Didn’t he just say not to—

 

“Wave! Hey, c’mon, we have a client, you can’t be doodling when there’s a life to save! I brought Infinite like Jet told me, now it’s up to you to actually fix him,” Storm explained while shaking the swallow, who was both startled and irritated. 

 

The jackal found himself backing away slowly, not wanting to be in the danger zone if she exploded. However, he found himself backed into a corner, which was unfortunately enough to make Wave look up, her icy eyes locked onto the criminal.

 

“Oh, you’re screwed,” the voice commentated with a laugh, and Infinite gulped in response. He was confused though, when the bird raised her arm and pointed above his head before turning back to Storm, clearing her throat.

 

“Are you illiterate? Rule number 46a, if I’m in the middle of something, wait for me to look up or Google it yourself, I’m not your personal assistant. I don’t have that posted everywhere for fun, you should do yourself a favour and reread the full statement,” she scolded, which prompted the jackal to glimpse at where Wave was pointing.

 

It appeared to be Martin Luther’s 95 theses, but a closer look revealed it to be the workshop rules, which were printed so small that even Infinite who was directly beneath them could hardly read the words. I don’t blame the guy for not remembering them all , he thought to himself amusedly.

 

Storm merely laughed, and gestured to the jackal, “He’d be dead by then! I gotta go grab the switch, Boss threw it when Shadow teleported in; the screen shattered so you have to replace it before he watches Pillowtalk with me later.”

 

“Wait, again? Storm, I can’t fix that and run tests on Infinite, just buy him a new—no! Storm —” she started, but the albatross had already fled back to Jet’s office, not before saluting to the jackal on his way out. 

 

Infinite found himself smiling as the bird left, already missing his insightful rants. It was a little early to say for sure, but the jackal almost considered Storm a friend. Not quite, but it was possible that if he survived, he wouldn’t kill him. Speaking of birds…

 

Wave cleared her throat, which caught his attention immediately. “So as you may know, I’m Wave, and I’m a fucking genius. I already know enough about you to say you probably don’t care, but I figured I’d introduce myself even though I’m sure the others already told you I’m an uptight bitch, or whatever. Since I hate small-talk, I’m just going to start running tests on you, okay?” she exclaimed, but began pulling Infinite along without waiting for his response. 

 

“Uh, they didn’t say you’re an uptight bitch, but I do know that you’re very smart… your projects look neat,” he tried to recover with, but the swallow was on a mission and didn’t appear to be listening.

 

Wave stopped them in front of a transparent pod, which was wired to a long glass desk that bore a striking resemblance to the one he had fallen asleep against while aboard the ARK. She immediately began booting up the machine, and Infinite looked to her with an expression that begged for the answer as to why she had this . Thankfully, she stopped to notice.

 

The swallow sighed and pinched the bridge of her beak to prepare before justifying her sci-fi, ex machina pod, “I hate having to run diagnostics on the others when they don’t feel well or hurt themselves, so I engineered this to scan and identity any ailments or injuries, saving me the trouble.” 

 

Infinite raised an eyebrow, but couldn’t deny that he was impressed.

 

“So what you’re saying is, people bother you to the point you invent machines to deal with them instead?”

 

Wave didn’t respond right away, and was clearly thinking out her answer, “I mean, when you put it like that I do sound like a bitch, but if you had to live with absolute morons, you’d probably try to do the same,” she said, shrugging. “But yes, you’re absolutely correct.”

 

He smiled, and was content that she couldn’t see the smug look of glee on his face. That was, until she started to approach him with a suspiciously coy grin. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked defensively, using all of his will to resist the urge to back away again. 

 

“I can’t scan you with your mask on, meaning I get to be the first one to see you without it,” Wave explained, already reaching to pull it off. 

 

Now, Infinite knew he couldn’t struggle or resist, because that would be rude. At the same time, this was a severe invasion of privacy that he was not willing to tolerate, and did his best to politely shy away from her grabby-hands.

 

He turned away as much as he could, and resisted the urge to growl; “You wouldn’t be the first, Shadow knows what I look like so there’s no need to compete for a spot you can’t have! I’m sure your machine is advanced enough to scan me without taking my mask off.”

 

Wave snickered and began prying it off anyways, ignoring the jackal’s blatant discomfort. “I hate being second to anyone, but I’m not breaking my machine because of your pride, sorry. You’re a discount Solaris, not Iron Man,” she teased, finally wiggling the mask off before he could respond to her rude comparison.

 

She was not expecting the disgruntled face she was met with.

 

Infinite froze immediately, the cool air on his face unnatural. He felt naked and incomplete, and flinched when the swallow placed the mask down with a clink.

 

Just as he was about to make an NC-17 rated comment and turn away, Wave reached out and began gently smoothing down his muzzle, which had been compressed and ruffled from the mask’s pressure. 

 

“See, that’s not so bad, right? I still have no idea who you are, so your real identity isn’t an issue with me,” she reassured, but they both knew that wasn’t the reason he didn’t want his mask removed.

 

The nasty scar that ran over his right eye, his blue eye , was enough of an indicator that he didn’t take kindly to people staring at his face. Still, it was too late now to reverse the damage, and they’d have to mutually accept the awkwardness. 

 

When she finished fixing his facial fluff (which he refused to admit felt nice considering it was her fault he was upset in the first place) Wave brought Infinite over to the pod, hooking him up while continuing to avoid eye contact. Both were uncomfortably quiet, but knew that talking would only worsen the situation. 

 

“You will get pricked, and might feel a bit claustrophobic since you’ll be in here for about a minute, but it should be comfortable otherwise,” Wave explained, finally breaking the silence. 

 

That was probably the worst thing she could have said, but Infinite was in no position to complain. Hell, he didn’t even care anymore, he just hoped there was nothing she could do, and that he could just die at this point. 

 

Wave closed the pod before returning to the desk in order to start the scanning process, typing quickly and occasionally glancing up at the jackal. Infinite didn’t have any complaints at first, but grew increasingly numb and tingly as he was required to stand still, but found himself growing lightheaded. 

 

When the humming and buzzing stopped, he reopened his eyes, and was practically overjoyed to find Wave unhooking him from the dreaded machine. “See, that wasn’t so bad now, right?” she asked smugly, to which he merely groaned. 

 

“It was horrible, why would you make it do that to me?” Infinite whined, not even bothering to hold himself up when he was released, flopping forward onto Wave instead, who was not anticipating the additional weight but kept them steady nonetheless. 

 

The swallow grumbled something about ungratefulness while dragging him to one of her work benches, sitting him down and leaning him against a wall in case he slipped backwards, before returning to her computer. 

 

Wave made a noise of surprise which piqued the jackal’s interest, slyly opening an eye to look at her, curious about the reason for her shock. “When was the last time you ate or drank something? No wonder you’re so ragdoll-like…” 

 

“Uh, I don’t remember…?” he answered honestly, scrunching his face in an attempt to recall when he last did anything to maintain his health. 

 

Even before he had the Phantom Ruby prototype, consistent self care was never a priority. Still, had he really ignored basic necessities in the pursuit of world domination? How embarrassing…

 

She frowned at the jackal’s expression, and began to write down her theory on why he was so unkempt. 

 

“Subject did not require to upkeep necessities when under the control of the Phantom Ruby prototype while it functioned. Healthy status merely an illusion maintained and fulfilled during usage,” she mumbled as she typed, which only frustrated the jackal.

 

“It didn’t control me, it was just my weapon, nothing possessed me or anything,” he clarified, but Wave ignored him. 

 

He has no idea what he’s talking about, there’s no way that thing was under his control at any point in time, look at how quickly it turned on him the minute he let his guard down… it always had the power to overtake him, the ruby was probably just humoring him until it got bored of being misused, she thought, pitying the jackal. 

 

Infinite sighed loudly when the swallow didn’t respond, and began to complain again, “For a genius, you sure aren’t good at listening to people who clearly know more than you about something,” he barked out. 

 

Wave visibly twitched at that, and for a moment the jackal feared her reaction, remembering Shadow’s warning after it was much too late to take his statement back. Oops. 

 

However, he let out a sigh of relief when she continued to type, wisely deciding not to respond to Infinite’s comment. “What do you want on your pizza?” she eventually asked, which was certainly not what he was expecting.

 

He opened his mouth in an attempt to respond, but no noise came out. When she didn’t hear an answer, Wave looked up and deadpanned at the jackal, “You just gave up your rights to complain about toppings. I know you don’t have any allergies, so if something bothers you, just pick it off, too bad.” 

 

Infinite just nodded, as he simply didn’t have the energy nor the comfort level to verbally respond. When he didn’t acknowledge her attempt to save the conversation from failing, Wave walked over to the jackal and sat beside him, before letting out a deep sigh.

 

“I’m not gonna bite your head off or anything, you can relax a little… okay?” she said in a softer tone, which made Infinite’s ear twitch. Was he that painfully obvious?

 

He looked over and noticed the change in her expression, it was more transparent. Wave looked absolutely exhausted, which made him feel guilty for being so snippy before… she wasn’t uptight, she was overworked, and he knew a thing or two about how that felt. 

 

Infinite offered her a tentative smile, and tried not to wince when his lips cracked in the process, his fangs also not helping the bloodied response.

 

She snorted at his failed attempt to be apologetic, and grabbed a buffing cloth out of her back pocket to press onto his mouth, which only made him smile more. 

 

“Thanks,” he said offhandedly, but never specified what he was grateful for. Wave was smart, he didn’t have to spell it out for her. 

 

The swallow rested her forehead on the jackals shoulder, grimacing as if it gave her a concussion to do so, “Don’t thank me yet, I still have to figure out what the problem is, and try and think of a solution. Is Shadow busy with anything? I feel like he knows a thing or two about the Phantom Ruby. I mean, he knows a lot about chaos emeralds and they can’t be that different, right?” she asked warily, but Infinite knew she was probably just thinking out loud and didn’t bother answering her question. 

 

He tried not to flinch away from the unwarranted contact, and instead let the girl break down a little around (and on) him. After seeing how Storm acted before on their walk, he was beginning to get the feeling the Babylon Rogues had some unresolved tension amongst themselves, and as the only current outlier he was a sinkhole for their honesty, a void to scream into, perhaps.

 

“Well, he said something similar to me before, about how these contain energy for both gems,” Infinite offered, gesturing to the rings on his wrist. 

 

Wave sat up and curiously held the jackal’s wrists, observing the silver garments with newfound interest. “Did he say what they are, or who made them? I’ve never seen anything like these before…” she said quietly, fumbling with one of them to take it off and inspect its properties.

 

“I wouldn’t take that off if I were you.”

Notes:

Wow, I hope this was a good read! I base my characterization of Storm off of his Snapcube fandub personality because Chase Young is a perfect VA for him in my opinion... please watch all the Sonic fandubs if you haven't already! I've referenced them numerous times, and plan to continue doing so. Also, "Prison Island" is my take on New Jersey because of it's supposed geographic location, which is why I made that commend ;)

I adore the Babylon Rogues, so the next few chapters involve them a lot... I hope that's okay!

Take care everyone, I hope to post the next chapter very soon since it's just the second half of the chapter I initially wrote!

Izzie <3

Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Nobody, Mitski | Forever, Labrinth

Notes:

Woah! This time we have a long chapter followed by a semi-chapter (it didn't fit with the theme of Nobody by Mitski, but wasn't long enough for its own chapter) and surprise! I didn't edit a damn thing. If you spot a typo, I'll write you a oneshot of your request :)

I completely strayed from the chapter outline halfway though, but I think it was for the better. Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

  1. Nobody, Mitski

 

“I wouldn’t take that off if I were you.”

 

Wave recoiled from the jackal at the unexpected command, quickly turning around to see who had spoken. She opened her mouth to respond, but for once, found herself having nothing to say.

 

Infinite was just as startled as the swallow, but didn’t have the energy to react the way she did, still uneasy from the scanning; “I told you nobody appreciates your teleporting, cut that shit out and walk for once, jeez.”

 

Shadow rolled his eyes and approached the work bench, exaggerating his steps due to how awkward it was to walk in air skates. “They were designed and prototyped by Maria Robotnik, and further developed by Professor Gerald Robotnik, with the final design being these,” the hedgehog explained, before gesturing to his wrists. 

 

Something about the way he said their names gave Infinite the feeling there was more to the story, but the jackal didn’t feel comfortable asking questions around two people who clearly knew more on the topic than he did.

 

That, and he didn’t like the slight waver in Shadow’s voice as it glossed over the girl’s name.

 

“So you’re telling me these things contain your chaos energy, and that it does the same for the Phantom Ruby? And, inferring from this, if you were to take them off... your full power would be released?” Wave asked, standing up and walking over to admire the golden inhibitor rings, holding them the way she held Infinite’s. 

 

Shadow didn’t have time to protest or keep the swallow from grabbing his hands, and was only further discomforted when she sat on the ground to observe the rings on his ankles. “Er— yes, but I’ve never removed all four, only the ones on my wrists. I’ve never needed to, and I don’t think my air shoes would survive the blast.” 

 

“You’d probably fry them if you tried that, however they could use a paint job; you do realize the sealant is completely worn off too, right?” she judged, almost hurt and offended by the lack of maintenance. 

 

The hedgehog made a noise of acknowledgement, but refused to admit they needed fixing; he was against other people tampering with his gear.

 

Infinite leaned around Wave to get a better glimpse of the shoes, and noticed the worn-down paint she was referring to. “ Looks like you’re not the only one neglecting self care,” the voice pointed out.

 

Just as he was about to comment, Shadow let out a small laugh, which prompted the jackal to look up.

 

“What?”

 

The hedgehog looked away, but not before Infinite caught a glimpse of the smile on his face.

 

“Nothing, you should try to look like this more often though.”

 

Wave cleared her throat and went back to her computer, insisting that Shadow reviewed the results with her since he was qualified to do so. It wasn’t until he left that Infinite realized the hedgehog had commented on the absence of his mask, resulting in delayed embarrassment.

 

Would it be rude to put it back on?

 

“Just so you know, I’ll offer any compensation you request for this, I’m not going to be stingy,” Shadow mumbled to the bird, who was currently preoccupied with skimming through the data. 

 

She didn’t respond which confused the hedgehog, since the Babylon Rogues were always interested in conversations about money. It wasn’t until he read the screen himself that Shadow understood why Wave was suddenly so distraught.

 

“Where are his ribs?” he whispered, hoping it was a scanning error.

 

Wave gulped, before letting out a shaky breath, “That bastard of a man… I’m blasting the fool the next time I see him.”

 

In order to make room for the Phantom Ruby prototype, Eggman had removed the entire front half of Infinite’s rib cage, and fused the gem to what was left behind to ensure it wouldn’t be rejected. 

 

 “I assume that when his body accepted the implant, it began to fuse with his remaining bones and spread through the rest of his body… the pain must have been muted until the gem was rejected,” she theorized quietly, not wanting the jackal to hear their conversation.

 

Wave looked over at the hedgehog, who was unresponsive. Her theory made sense, but Shadow was still in awe that Infinite had managed to stay alive for as long as he did. The inhibitor rings may have dampened the power of the ruby, but that meant he was feeling the pain of the botched surgery as well. 

 

“Don’t pay me until I save him, I know machines, not mobians. I have no idea what I’m signing up for, I just hope there’s something we can do about it…” the swallow warned, before turning back to look at the patient in question. 

 

She knew Jet wouldn’t be happy with her decision, but the lost expression on Shadow’s face was enough to win her over on working pro bono. 

 

Infinite was too busy combing through his tail to notice the mobians staring at him, which was probably for the best.

 

Shadow’s nerves worsened as he remembered what the jackal had told him during their second encounter, “That day, I gave up my own unsightly face. And I let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, so that I could become stronger. And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all yield to my will. I... was... REBORN!”

 

This was his fault, he was what prompted Infinite to do this, to “reinvent himself”. And now, the jackal was dying because of it, leaving Shadow with no alternatives.

 

“What if he had a rib donor?”

 

Wave glared at the hedgehog as if he were dense, and failed to mask the twitch in her eye, “I’m sorry, are you an idiot or just incredibly stupid? Even if I were to laser out the ruby and secure a donor, there’s a high probability he’d die anyways if it were rejected, and that’s glossing over how you think rib donors are a thing. Nobody donates ribs, Shadow.”

 

Shadow just stared at her, moreso stunned from the sudden outburst than offended, but still resisted the urge to snap back. 

 

“Okay, but what if I gave you a few of mine? You can clone the rest, and there would be minimal decay because you’re getting them fresh. I’ll even throw in some bone marrow to make the cloning process quicker, not to mention PBSCs as well, which should take care of the remnants throughout his body,” the hedgehog explained slowly.

 

No response. Wave was a difficult person to leave speechless, but Shadow was very good at producing silence, which was enough to attract Infinite’s attention. 

 

“They’ll grow back overnight, I’m not particularly attached to them,” he continued, which was unfortunately not the most appropriate comment to follow with. 

 

Wave inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm down, “I’m going to pretend what you just said isn’t the most questionable thing I’ve ever heard, and just roll with it. Get in the pod, I need to make sure what you’re suggesting is even possible, and I need data on you to do that.”

 

 Shadow eyed her warily, but when she didn’t budge or elaborate, he grudgingly walked towards the testing pod and hooked himself in, blatantly uncomfortable but compliant nonetheless. 

 

Infinite was behind on the conversation, but watched curiously from the outside as the tube began its data retrieval process. 

 

“Hey Shadow, what the fuck? You never told me you’re an alien,” Wave announced from her computer, oblivious to how disturbed the hedgehog was from the scan. The second the machine shut off, he practically threw himself out, and stumbled to the workbench to sit down.

 

Infinite laughed without processing the swallow’s comment, and gestured to the nauseous mobian beside him, “I told you it wasn’t just me, there’s clearly something wrong with your machine.”

 

Shadow didn’t laugh, and the jackal began to regret the comment, glancing over only to notice how the other was shaking. When their eyes met, the hedgehog stiffened and looked back up at Wave.

 

“I was created from Black Doom’s DNA, yes. That’s why I’m a universal donor with moderate regenerative powers, and I’m immortal,” he explained, quickly repressing his discomfort to focus on the task at hand. 

 

Infinite’s eyes widened, but the swallow was relieved, “Oh, then I suppose your plan should work, it will take a few hours for the ribs to clone, and I have to look into peripheral blood stem cell donation before we start anything. Are you guys joining us for movie night?” she asked casually, glossing over the cryptic information. 

 

Shadow looked back over to Infinite, and shrugged, “Do we have anything better to do?”

 

The jackal couldn’t resist smiling, and shook his head, prompting the hedgehog to answer for the both of them. “We’ll stick around, it’s not like we can go very far anyways, especially if I’m now roped into the recovery project.”

 

Wave beamed at the cooperation from both males, and felt a newfound rush of confidence, “Perfect! Pizza is on the way, and Pillowtalk should be finishing soon so we can all meet up in the theatre room.” 

 

“I missed out on what most of those words were, but I do have to know… what’s my prognosis?” Infinite asked, not wanting to destroy the unusually positive environment, but still curious about his well being.

 

He felt Shadow tense at his question, but Wave was confident enough to respond, “This isn’t my area of expertise, so I can’t give you a statistic. I’ll do what I can, but I’m not promising anything good from this.”

 

The jackal wasn’t sure, but she sounded scared. In an attempt to reassure her, he opted to make light of the situation, “ I mean, if you don’t do anything I’ll die anyways, so you’re either saving me or putting me out of my misery... and I don’t mind either!”

 

Shadow coughed and looked away, but Wave couldn’t control herself and burst out laughing, before abruptly stopping to cover her mouth, realizing that Infinite probably didn’t mean it as a joke.

 

“I’m sorry, that’s not very funny…” she apologized, which sounded unnatural coming from her. The bird was doing her best to be sincere, but the ghost of a smile on her face dictated otherwise.

 

Infinite smirked, “Yeah it is, and it’s also the truth. Don’t treat me like I’m made of glass, even though it feels like I am.”

 

She giggled in response, and the two shared a genuine (albeit brief) connection before the sound of something large crashing ruined the moment. 

 

“Hey Wave, can you fix Jet’s switch now? I know I was supposed to bring it right back, but I missed the second half of the Tell-All and had to rewind it, and then I forgot about my responsibilities again so I’m late, sorry. How’s Infinite doing?” Storm asked, feathers suspiciously coated in motor oil.

 

Wave glared at the albatross, or more specifically, the mess he had inadvertently caused when running to greet her, “Do I even need to say it again? No running in my workshop, I hope that wasn’t my modded Jetta you just destroyed, or we’ll have two bodies to burn.”

 

He immediately panicked and began looking for the jackal, but calmed down significantly when he noticed that Infinite was still alive, completely ignoring the girl’s threat. 

 

“Don’t say that, he’s right there and perfectly fine!” Storm scolded, before addressing the mobian in question, “Boss wants to see you by the way, c’mon.”

 

Infinite looked over to the swallow, who shrugged indifferently, “I have no use for you here dude, you might as well see what Jet wants. Shadow, are you ready to Google PBSC donation and hope for the best?”

 

“I mean, can I get the wifi password first? G.U.N. doesn’t pay for my data,” the hedgehog responded coyly, before standing back up to join the bird.

 

The jackal snorted at Shadow’s witty response, which made the comedian in question turn back to see what the problem was.

 

“What? I’m only half joking, my finance manager will be pissed if I go over my plan again. Wave, do you have any filgrastim? I think that’s the best course of action unfortunately,” the hedgehog admitted, before joining the swallow at her computer, indulgently taking a glimpse at his test results.

 

“Narcissist stop reading that,” the voice snapped at Shadow, who jolted back from the screen, embarrassed. “Nothing to see there I guess, ” he thought quietly to himself, focusing on Wave’s chatter instead. 

 

The two began conversing in words that neither Infinite or Storm could process, who looked to one another with the consensus that they should leave while they still had the chance. Infinite pulled himself to his feet and quietly followed the albatross out of the workshop, grimacing at the mess of parts they passed that he assumed used to be a project of Wave’s.

 

Storm noticed the reaction and chuckled before placing a hand on the jackal’s shoulder, “She’ll fix it, she always does!”

 

Before he met Wave, Infinite may have laughed along carelessly with the bird. However, he was beginning to realize that she was one ruffled feather away from exploding or breaking down, and he did not want to be around, dead or alive for when that happened. 

 

“I’ll be honest with you kiddo, Jet didn’t have a word to say to ya, I just figured you’d be bored and left out of the conversation, plus I don’t think we should be around if Shadow’s gettin’ needles and stuff,” Storm whispered, which surprised the jackal significantly. 

 

He smiled at the kind gesture and shrugged, but nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it sucks being the dumbest person in the room… I was never one for STEM anyways, the arts are more my calling.”

 

Storm gasped at the response, and stopped the two of them so he could kneel down and give another pep talk. “Don’t say that bud, you’re never the dumbest person in a room, especially if I’m around! There’s nothing dumb about art either, you’re definitely more interesting and it shows, us artists just have better conversations… okay?” 

 

Infinite looked down at the compliment, and resisted the urge to say something embarrassing, mumbling a tiny thank you instead. 

 

The bird got back up and they continued their trip to the movie room in pleasant silence. He may have been dying, but Infinite felt rejuvenated by Storm’s company, this was probably the nicest conversation he’d had in years.

 

“So, did you ask about my feathers because of your eyes?”

 

Ah, there it was.The jackal almost started cussing Storm out then and there, but opted to just answer honestly instead; he meant no harm, Infinite knew what it was like to speak without thinking first.

 

“Yeah… maybe,” he mumbled, folding his hands behind his back.

 

Storm made a little victory noise from the successful guess, and continued with what he intended to follow with, “I haven’t met many jackals, but I don’t think mismatched eyes are a regular thing for anyone. Still, I think it looks pretty cool, like how people mismatch their socks on purpose for the aesthetic! Have you ever done that? To be honest I started doing it by accident, but it’s very in-fashion so I didn’t feel so bad about it. Symmetry is unachievable, like that camera flip challenge on TwinkTok or whatever Jet keeps telling me to download. Eh, nothing’ll beat Vine for me, plus I’m not good with learning how to use new apps. I like the look though, the scar looks pretty cool too, it adds to the effect! Definitely could play an anti-hero in a dystopian Netflix series, a lotta chicks and dudes go for that rugged look. But I guess that doesn’t matter in the end, what matters is that you like it, but if you wear a mask all the time that doesn’t give you much room to appreciate your face. Oh well, I’m not one to judge, you figure that out on your own time, kiddo.” 

 

Infinite struggled to pay attention to the whole rant, which managed to jump into so many new territories he hardly had time to mentally address everything, but figured he should be flattered since it was probably the most coherent thing Storm had ever pieced together. 

 

“Thank you, Storm.” he said endearingly, leaning sideways into the albatross as a low-contact form of acknowledgement. Infinite didn’t want to hug the bird even if it was tempting, and figured the dirty feathers would be a valid excuse if questioned.

 

“How are you simultaneously touch-starved and touch-repulsed at the same time?” the voice inquired, but Infinite pushed the comment aside. Even if he attempted to respond, his train of thought would be interrupted by the blur he walked straight into. 

 

After landing face first into carpeted floors twice in the same day, the jackal was beginning to think he was cursed.

 

Green feathers obscured his vision, and he embarrassingly peeled himself off the hawk he had collided with. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he apologized, blinking rapidly in the hopes of restoring his blurred vision.

 

“No, this was my fault for riding in the halls again,” Jet responded, pulling back to sit cross-legged on the floor. The young bird was very flustered, and his expression worsened when he noticed Infinite no longer wore his mask.

 

It took a moment for the jackal to figure it out, but Jet was either greatly disturbed or intrigued… either way he couldn’t look away from Infinite. “Like the trainwreck you are, ” the voice teased with a laugh, which only made Infinite groan.

 

Storm made a noise of discomfort and leaned down to mumble in his boss’ ear, “I’m gonna hit the showers, can ya stick around to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion? You can handle another one, but he’s already too far gone to survive brain damage.”

 

“Yeah, you can catch up with us later... Why did nobody warn me that he’s actually hot?” the hawk whispered back, both birds unaware that although he was disoriented, Infinite had very good hearing and was eavesdropping on their conversation. 

 

I mean, maybe Jet was the one with a concussion, there was no way he just complimented him! Either that, or this guy has low standards, he thought to himself as he began to level out.

 

Jet stood up and offered a sheepish hand to the jackal, who took it a little too quickly. “Is this the first thing you do when someone shows a slight interest in you? No wonder you don’t have friends, ” the voice teased.

 

“Can we ride my board back? Walking takes forever in these halls,” the bird asked, and Infinite eyed the gear in question. “I mean,” he started, remembering to be as polite as possible, “Didn’t you just admit that riding your board indoors is a bad idea?”

 

The hawk laughed and shook his head, pulling Infinite towards the gear and positioning him so they could both ride, “You’re right, but everyone else on the ship is busy doing something, we won’t have any more collisions, I promise.”

 

Infinite was uncomfortable with how close he was to the bird, whose back was pressed against his chest in an attempt to balance them both on his one-person compatible board. “ It’s a speed-type board, they’re thinner! ” the voice explained politely, which was so out of character that the jackal questioned if it was the same being that was consistently rude to him.

 

“Okay, just lean when I lean, and hold onto me as tight as you can because I have one speed, and it’s fast . Ready?” Jet enthused, and since Infinite didn’t have a choice he just nodded and obeyed the rogue’s orders.

 

Well, at least he got a warning before they took off! The jackal found himself clinging to Jet for dear life, racing to their destination in a matter of minutes, as opposed to the long-winded treading Storm always took him on. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the albatross and his quirky rants, but Infinite missed the feeling of wind in his fur, somehow terrified and overjoyed at the same time.

 

Jet stopped them smoothly and helped the jackal off, beaming at how well he braked with an additional rider on his board, “See, wasn’t that much easier? 

 

“You’ll have to teach me how to ride one of those someday, it’s such an efficient way to get around, and it’s fun.” Infinite enthused, before realizing he sounded like a total loser. 

 

The hawk didn’t seem to think so, and was practically gushing at how much Infinite was fueling his ego, “No problem, I’m the Legendary Wind Master… you’ll have the best teacher! Come on now, we can play Animal Crossing while we wait for the others. I mean, the screen is cracked, but Wave is a little preoccupied with a hedgehog that’s infamous for hating needles.” 

 

Infinite raised an eyebrow at the comment, unaware that Shadow had a weakness, “Oh? I didn’t think he was capable of fearing anything, I guess we all have our shortcomings.” 

 

“Well hold on, I wouldn’t consider it a fear, more like… a very strong preference. I’m personally not afraid of anything,” Jet boasted. Infinite found the bird’s ego to be nauseating, but charming. 

 

The jackal had a slight theory, and decided to test his poor luck, “What about me? You were adamant on avoiding me in your office, I’m the only person to defeat Sonic after all.” 

 

Jet snickered and shook his head, which confused Infinite immensely, “I’m not afraid of you, I mean, you were defeated by the power of friendship ... that’s lame as hell! Also, you’re wrong about being the first to win against Sonic. He told me about this time paradox incident where some demigod killed him, and after some human princess kissed him to bring him back to life: it took three super forms to defeat this timey, fire god thing too! I dunno if he was joking or trying to make me look stupid for believing him, but it sounded too intense to be fake.” 

 

“Wait, you’re friends with Sonic?” Infinite asked warily, not realizing the bird actually harboured a connection to the hedgehog. 

 

Jet turned red at the question, and began making unintelligible, motorcycle-esque noises of frustration as he attempted to answer, “No! Shut up right now, we’re playing Animal Crossing, let’s go. He’s my rival, just because we hang out on the weekends and sometimes save the world together, it doesn’t make us friends , Infinite.”

 

The jackal followed him into the television room, more amused than embarrassed from the scolding he received. 

 

“Wait, what’s an animal’s crossing?”

———

Forever, Labrinth

 

After an in-depth tutorial on how to use a Nintendo Switch, followed by pizza and Grownups 2 , Infinite was pretty sure that Storm and Jet had adopted him into the Babylon Rogues. 

 

He was flattered, yes, but the jackal couldn't enjoy himself when his mind constantly reminded him this could be his last day alive. “What’s taking Wave so long? I thought the cloning was supposed to be the easy part,” Infinite asked warily.

 

“Relax dude, just keep fishing for me while I grab us a bag of chips,” Jet whined, which was not comforting in the slightest. 

 

Storm noticed the tension and decided to pat Infinite on the back in a reassuring manner, failing to realize his brute strength was doing more harm than help to the jackal who was currently struggling to stay conscious. “You’re gonna be okay kiddo, Wave can fix anything! Well, almost anything, but I don’t want your spirits to be down in the dumps, so we’ll pretend she doesn’t make mistakes.”

 

Infinite did not like this, he did not like it one bit. Thankfully, he heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and turned around in anticipation of whoever was coming to save him from this hell, even if he was simultaneously having a fun time. 

 

“Which one of you said I was afraid of needles?” Shadow growled upon entry, slurring his words ever so slightly. Jet made extra noise in the snack pantry to ignore the question, and Storm had been reabsorbed into the plot of the movie, failing to notice the hedgehog, so his eyes fell on Infinite. 

 

The jackal silently nodded towards the hawk, and smirked when Shadow’s face darkened. 

 

“Don’t be sour with him, sit with us until Wave comes to get me... why did it take so long?” 

 

Shadow mumbled a loopy, incomprehensible response under his breath and hopped over the couch to sulk beside Infinite, who could not be more overjoyed. If he died tonight, at least he got to witness The Ultimate Lifeform pouting like a child.

 

“Wave’s probably just prepping for your part of the procedure, she’ll be here to grab you sometime I guess. I took my own ribs out by the way, for you , you’re welcome,” the hedgehog explained bitterly, resting his head on the arm of the couch.

 

Infinite glanced over, noticing how uncomfortable Shadow looked. Besides the dark bandaging that started mid chest and trailed down to his left thigh, he looked completely normal. Still, he radiated tension and lost his iconic cool exterior, sounding more like a kicked puppy than an infamous anti hero. 

 

The hedgehog felt eyes scanning him and shot a glare at Infinite, who snickered at the childish behaviour, “Look, you were the one who volunteered, Mister Doom. Don’t try to make me feel guilty, because you could have simply not offered your magic bones. Go to sleep, you’re cranky.”

 

Shadow looked down in defeat, before rolling himself up into a hedgehog-ball and closing his eyes. 

 

After listening to the hedgehog settle, Jet shyly walked back to the seating area with the promised chips and remaining slice of pizza. “Shadow… do you want some pizza?” he asked, hoping it would be a sufficient peace offering.

 

“Does it have cheese?” he inquired, opening one of his eyes. 

 

The hawk nodded cautiously, which was met with an abrupt ‘no’ from Shadow.

 

“Maybe he’s lactose intolerant?” the voice offered, but was not entirely convinced this was the answer. Infinite tried to think of how plausible the theory was, but began giggling to himself when imagining Shadow’s sole weakness being dairy.

 

His amusement caught Storm’s attention, who looked over to see what was so funny. Infinite’s eyes darted between the three mobians who were now staring at him expectantly for an explanation as to why he was laughing at himself. 

 

The jackal grew embarrassed and looked down at his shoes, clearing his throat before confessing, “Sorry, I just think it would be funny if G.U.N. interrogated Shadow by forcing him to like, eat a block of cheese or something… it’s not that funny when you say it out loud, my bad…” he admitted, coughing between words to avoid laughing. 

 

He expected some kind of physical retaliation from Shadow, but looked up to be met with a bewildered expression. 

 

“Are you okay, Infinite?” 

 

“No, I’m dying,” he responded defensively, which was the last straw for Jet, who was on the verge of combusting from repressed nervous laughter, too intimidated by the unstable mobians to express genuine amusement from their misery. 

 

“That’s enough you two, just watch the movie or I’ll ask Storm to discuss politics,” he threatened.

 

Thankfully, everyone was saved from a horrid reality where the albatross attempted to address a serious topic in a botched, cartoonish manner by Wave’s arrival, which was far from comforting.

 

“Did you all seriously have movie night without me? Not only that, but you trashed the room, destroyed my current project, made a mess of my workshop, and left a trail of dried blood in the hallway? Are you fucking kidding me ? Storm, I expect this from you, and Jet I instill false hope in only to be met with disappointment every other week, but et tu, Shadow ?” 

 

Perhaps “thankful” was not the correct word for how the other mobians felt, but the sharp yet broken tone of the swallow’s voice came as a relief to Infinite, who wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. 

 

Jet scoffed and shook his head, breaking the tense silence, “Jeez Wave, no need to kill the mood and be a total bitch in the process.”

 

Of the three perpetrators, Shadow was the only one who looked guilty, in fact, he harboured enough guilt to cover everyone in the room. Still, in her fit of disappointment, Wave ignored his moment of sincerity to collect the jackal and leave. 

 

Maybe it was salt to the wound, but Infinite couldn’t resist sticking his tongue out at the boys as Wave carried him out, happy to not be in trouble this time around. 

 

Once they made it down the hall, the jackal shifted his head to stare at Wave, whose pace was beginning to slow down as the adrenaline wore off.

 

“You can put me down now if you want, I promise I can keep up with you,” he offered gently, and was dropped almost immediately, giving him no time to prepare.

 

It would be the third time Infinite’s face smashed into the Babylon Rogues’ carpet within 24 hours, and the jackal decided if he survived this haphazard surgery, he would make it his personal mission to burn the wretched things. 

 

Wave giggled at the faceplant, before helping him back up, “Sorry Infinite, I just really needed that.”

 

He struggled to his feet and gave her a pained smile, before the two continued walking to her workshop. They didn’t speak, but neither minded the silence, especially since it was probably quite late at night. 

 

Infinite was surprised when they showed up at the workshop in under a minute, and looked to the bird, eyes pleading for an explanation.

 

“What, are you that surprised? Storm doesn’t know left from right and simply wanders the halls until he finds his destination, and Jet takes the long way on his board so he can ride for a few minutes. Our ship isn’t some never-ending labyrinth, they’re just idiots,” she deadpanned, and the jackal couldn’t resist laughing.

 

They reentered her workshop, and Infinite was pleasantly surprised to see an actual operating table with authentic medical equipment, visibly piquing his interest, “Did you build all of that just now?” 

 

Wave laughed at his dumbstruck expression and shook her head, grabbing a hair tie off her wrist to tie the jackal’s dreads back, “No, we keep it in storage in case I have to do an impromptu procedure on one of them... we get in a lot of trouble. It’s not that I’ve never performed a surgery before, I just don’t typically administer general anesthesia because of the high risk factor,” she explained.

 

He didn’t like how softly the swallow was speaking, it was out of character and unwarranted. Why was she being so reserved and patient, especially after such an outburst?

 

“Are you like, okay Wave? You just chewed out the others, and now you’re improvising a surgery alone, on what I presume is insufficient sleep.” Infinite questioned, treading lightly considering his life was now in her hands.

 

Contrary to what he expected, the bird didn’t snap at him, or make a jab at his intelligence. 

 

She stopped what she was doing to look over at the jackal, who was probably a few hours from death, “I’ve been worse, and I doubt you can say the same.”

 

Wave was right, but that didn’t really answer his question.

 

 “Are you scared?” she asked. 

 

He could lie, yeah, but that was never his strong suit.

 

“Yeah, you could say I’m a tad nervous. However, I think you’ll do fine, I just don’t like the idea of being unconscious,” Infinite explained, his ears twitching when the swallow let out a sigh of relief.

 

The jackal made note of her reaction, but decided to keep his snide comments to himself, complying with her orders as they prepared for the inevitable procedure.

 

Wave instructed him to lay down and close his eyes, which was an unusual request that he obeyed without question, wanting this to be done as fast as possible.

“I’m gonna be real with you Infinite, I don’t know much about Shadow. What I do know is that he keeps to himself and doesn’t put himself in compromising positions like this just for nothing. I don’t know what he’s going to get out of helping you, but I have a feeling you made a deal with the devil here. I certainly wouldn’t give a rib to an enemy, especially a war criminal.”

 

The comment was cold, and unwarranted, not to mention insensitive. Infinite opened his eyes to respond, only to find himself staring into eyes that were not Wave’s. 

 

Well…

 

It appeared that Wave was not performing this surgery alone. Before Infinite could protest or determine the identity of the mute aid, he found himself struggling to breathe, limbs thrashing in vain as his heart rate increased, and his spatial awareness decreased.

 

All he heard was frantic beeping and muffled shouting before he faded completely.

Notes:

Oops, decided to add another side plot last minute, haha ;)

We'll see if Infinite survives the next chapter, and also figure out if I can calm down with the pop culture references for once, but I doubt that will happen in response to the latter.

I hope you are all doing well, this chapter was super hard to finish! From here on out, I think the next couple chapters will be more managable, but no promises.

Take care,

Izzie <3

Chapter 7: Chapter 6: Necromancer, Joy Again

Notes:

Surprise! I'm back sooner than I bet you anticipated, which works out well for everyone! This is a shorter chapter, but it was super easy to write and post (and is also very essential to the fic) so I'm glad it's up :)

Also, if Infinite seems slightly out of character, please keep in mind he just suffered a very traumatic experience (homeboy needed the humbling imo) and is also high on painkillers. He's also not even that evil to begin with, just in need of some friends and maybe some therapy too, haha.

Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Necromancer, Joy Again:

 

“Ara, you know better than to pester them; just the sight of you is enough to make anyone’s blood boil,” she scolded, but the slightest hint of affection in her voice suggested that she wasn’t as disappointed as she let on.

 

He flinched as she placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, but knew that pulling away would evoke a much more unsettling series of events.

 

She noticed his tension, and repressed the urge to let her mask crack.

 

“Don’t let your emotions get the best of you, ‘peri. Weakness is unacceptable, even from people like you.”

---

 

The sound of birds chirping began to transform into the beeping of machines, and an abrupt rush of euphoria closely followed by immense pain made Infinite’s eyes snap open. He struggled to adjust to the dark environment, sitting up to get a better look at the suspicious being in his peripheral vision.

 

After enough squinting, the jackal was able to make out what appeared to be Wave, sleeping awkwardly in a plastic folding chair. Based on the way she was curled up, he assumed she had been watching his vitals before falling asleep, which made him smile.

 

Even after being a total pain in the ass, she’s doing her best to look after me, he realized, wincing as he stretched. 

 

He had no idea he wasn’t the only one awake until the faint sound of clicking buttons caught his attention, prompting him to turn around. Jet was barely conscious but present nonetheless, refusing to blink lest he passed out.

 

Whether it was the noise Infinite made when sitting up or sheer coincidence, the hawk glanced up haphazardly and back down at his game before freezing in realization, gaze snapping back up to stare at the jackal in awe.

 

“Holy shit, she did it… Wave did it! You’re alive!!!” he cheered quietly, getting up from his seat to sit on the edge of Infinite’s cot, still in shock that his mechanic managed to pull this off. 

 

Infinite laughed a little at the realization, which was only now beginning to register with him, “Yeah… I guess I am…” he mumbled, wincing at the pain he felt in his throat.

 

Jet started to celebrate, but the purple swallow on the other side of the room stirred in her sleep, so he opted to give Infinite an awkward hug instead, careful to avoid pressure on his chest. “I have so much to tell you, hold on!” he enthused, before rolling the nearby workbench alongside the stolen hospital bed. 

 

“Just try not to wake her, I feel bad… she looks uncomfortable,” he said quietly to the bird, who was vibrating with delirious, sleep deprived glee. 

 

The hawk shook his head and snickered, “You have no idea how stubborn she was post-surgery, we’re lucky I’m good at pickpocketing…” he explained, gesturing to his wrist.

 

It looked similar to his inhibitor rings (which he noted were the only things Wave had kept on him) but was much bulkier, the rose-tones glistening in the dim lighting. He looked over at Jet hoping he would elaborate, which the bird eventually queued into.

 

“Oh, it’s something she just threw together-- it shocks the person wearing it if your vitals are abnormal, just in case she fell asleep. I took it off her though, since it wasn’t working the way she intended it to… I was worried she’d get hurt if it kept zapping or something. I dunno, sorry you have to deal with me and not her though,” the hawk said sheepishly, before looking away.

 

Infinite hadn’t noticed how sensitive Jet was until now, at least when it came to Wave. “Are you two…?” he asked cautiously, which earned him a glare in response. “Don’t be fucking weird, she’s basically my big sister, y’know, an adult ? I wouldn’t even date her if it were legal, that’s incest for me,” the bird snapped, anger only fading when he heard Wave shift again in her sleep, worrying he woke her.

 

“Oh… I’m sorry, I was just curious. You do care about her though, and I’m grateful for your decision to watch me for her.” Infinite said encouragingly, hoping to deescalate the situation; “Wave needs the sleep anyways.”

 

Jet was humiliated from his outburst, and decided now would be the time to test his luck since the jackal was in a compromised state; “Can I call you Finn?”

 

Silence. When he was about the backtrack, the hawk looked up to reassure Infinite that it was just a suggestion, but was surprised to see he wasn’t mad, simply confused.

 

“Well, we can’t keep referring to you as Infinite, because that will blow your cover… you need a new identity, right?” he explained, but the jackal still wasn’t following. 

 

Sighing, he continued, “We’re the only ones who know your true identity, like, without the mask! We can’t deadname you, but I’m not sure what your name was before you became Infinite and I didn’t want to ask, so I figured Finn would be unassuming… but I get that it’s stupid, sorry.”

 

Infinite didn’t quite know how to respond, but took a moment to compose himself before answering, “You can call me Finn, if you want. I like the name, a lot actually” he croaked, wincing when his voice cracked.

 

“Are you about to cry over a goddamn name? ” the ominous voice asked, returning briefly only to tease the jackal.

 

Jet blushed from the positive affirmation, and decided now would be an appropriate time to boast, “I’m the best at giving people names, but I think ‘Jet’ takes the cake considering it’s the coolest name ever, right?”

 

What is that supposed to-- oh… OH. Infinite realized, but decided not to pry; “I mean, Infinite wasn’t too bad, was it? I didn’t have a name before, so it was my first attempt at choosing one.”

 

The hawk sighed in relief at the unspoken mutual understanding, “Yeah, you did alright. Too bad it’s tainted now, so you’ll have to go by Finn...” he noted.

 

Maybe it was the painkillers, but Finn thought this was an endearing moment, and offered Jet a haphazard first bump of solidarity for choosing their own names, only to notice the awful stitching that ran up his forearm.

 

He felt like he was going to pass out, or throw up, but most likely both. When his panic increased to an unstable condition, the blaring noises from the machines matched with the electric bracelet Jet wore were enough to wreak havoc, the jackal unable to control his downward spiral as dizziness plagued him.

 

“Hey, hey Finn, listen to me… hey it’s okay...shh. Wave had to graft some skin for your chest since the ruby damaged too much… She lasered out extra skin to lower the risk of remnants being left behind. It’ll look fine in the end, I had a graft done too, see?” Jet frantically reassured, concerned for the jackal’s wellbeing as well as the noise level which could potentially wake Wave. 

 

Finn focused on the bird's arm, hoping it would calm him down in the process. He almost didn’t notice it, but after enough staring he was able to see a faint scar beneath green flame tattoos, the line identical to the one on his arm. 

 

Thankfully, this was enough to settle the commotion, and both mobians were grateful for the relative silence. 

 

“Oh. Uh, okay. What did you need yours for?” he asked weakly, opting to lay back down.

 

Jet squeaked at the question, essentially saying he preferred not to answer, and Finn apologized for prying in the first place. 

 

After enjoying the silence for a moment or two, the jackal decided to test his luck with another question; “Are you guys keeping my true identity a secret?” 

 

“Yeah, Shadow too. None of us will benefit from snitching, since we’re also criminals! The only difference is that we’ve saved the world a couple times so it cancels out. Shadow is only a government agent because they’ll target him if he isn’t, trust me. If there’s one person who is more ACAB than us, it would be that guy.”

 

Finn raised an eyebrow at the hawk’s explanation of Shadow’s morality, but appreciated the anti-cop sentiment regardless of the hedgehog’s association with the movement, “Are you suggesting that I have to save the world? From what threat?”

 

Jet laughed and shrugged before replying, “Once you associate with Sonic or his friends, even just once, you get roped up into all of their schemes and shenanigans… which is why I’m glad we have a blimp! They can’t make us choose sides in a war we decided to fly over,” he boasted.

 

The jackal let out a rough cough before groaning, the stabbing sensation he felt in his sides was unpleasant to say the least. His pained expression was enough to remind the hawk of what had happened during his surgery, and did his best to remember the summary Wave told him.

 

“Oh, the ribs are going to feel wonky at first because they haven’t merged with your DNA yet, it should take a few days. Between the stem cells and the reshaping work Wave did, you should be functioning normally in about a week, but that’s a rough projection that will vary depending on how well Shadow’s regenerative powers transfer.” the bird explained, hoping he relayed the correct information. 

 

Finn did his best to comprehend the meaning those words entailed, but all he heard was ‘regenerative powers’ and assumed that if it worked in Doctor Who , it was plausible enough to work for himself.

 

Jet smiled and grabbed his switch from the floor to continue playing, muting the sound completely this time, “Go back to sleep for now, okay? I’m not sure how the recovery process works in terms of Black Arms DNA, but resting helps in most cases.”

 

Finn smiled through his yawn, which caught the bird off guard because of how blatantly adorable it was. He resisted the urge to coo or make a sappy comment, and only allowed himself to look back up when the jackal was surely asleep, as dictated by his heavy breathing. 

 

He took a quick selfie with the sleeping criminal before giggling, thinking that there was no way in hell Finn was a bad person at this point in time, just a damaged one. But Jet knew a thing or two about damaged people, and figured that they had done the right thing by helping him.

 

“You’re a good friend Finn, I hope you use this second chance to prove it to everyone else.”

Notes:

Awe, there you have it folks! I can finally start referring to Infinite as Finn, something I've been struggling to hide up until now! I'm not sure if anyone else uses "Finn" instead of Infinite, but it's something I started doing when I played the game and it really grew on me. It's a name I love a lot because I grew up watching Glee, but I also think it suits our edgelord for some reason. I know his concept name was Zero but I think it's kinda stupid to refer to him as his concept name.

To clarify though, in my little "cinematic universe" Finn didn't have a name, and when he "recreated himself" he came up with Infinite as a result of his power, but was simply referred to as "Boss" or other nicknames which I can't give away yet. The reason behind this is something explored in the future of the fic, so I hope Finn is a good enough name for everyone :)

I might have the next chapter up soon as well because it's also super short, but who knows!

Take care everyone,

Izzie <3

Chapter 8: Chapter 7: Putting a Spin on Never Ever Getting Rid of Me, Egg

Notes:

Hello again! This is the second short chapter I was referring to, I think it adds nice filler to flesh out the narrative, but it does include important details and interactions! The following chapter is quite long in comparison (maybe not as bad as Avalanche and Nobody which were once the same chapter but still long!) so it will take a bit longer, but I'm sure it will also be up soon :)

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Putting a Spin on Never Ever Getting Rid of Me, Egg:

 

“Mara—“

 

“Don’t call me that, you know better than to change my name to fit your needs, especially in such a condescending way.”

 

He looked down guiltily, realizing what he had done. “I’m sorry,” he sniffed, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand, yelping when the scab on his lid broke. 

 

She sighed, pressing her hand to the wound, hoping Eteri would be back home soon with gauze. 

 

“Will there ever be a day where you don’t get yourself in trouble?” Tamar asked in vain. 

 

His nose wrinkled at the comment, “This wasn’t my fault though, so why am I to blame?”

 

“I’ll take that as a no then,” she replied dismissively, which only made the young jackal pout more. 

 

“I won’t always be around to clean up your messes, Ara. You need to learn how to stay out of trouble on your own, or pray there’s someone else willing to put up with you.” 

——

Finn woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air like someone had choked him. He has been in quite a deep sleep, but something jolted him awake, the jittery feeling in his bones lingering as he calmed himself down. 

 

When he scanned the room, the jackal noted that both Jet and Wave were asleep, and smirked when his eyes fell on the hawk. Jet was miraculously still holding his Switch despite being asleep, laying down on the workbench beside Finn’s cot. 

 

The jackal was surprised to see the screen had been repaired, which meant that Wave had woken up sometime when he was asleep to repair it, before going back to her chair. 

 

Damn, she doesn’t stop for anything, he thought to himself in amazement. The swallow was certainly absorbed in her work, which was both admirable and concerning. 

 

Just as he was relaxed enough to fall back asleep, Finn noticed a familiar silhouette from afar, and felt his nerves take control of him again. 

 

“Good, you’re awake. I won’t be here during the daytime, so we need to have this conversation now,” Shadow said, voice low and monotonous as he approached the jackal. 

 

Finn didn’t like the cold tone, and was embarrassed when his heart monitor began beeping at a much faster rate, something the hedgehog noticed immediately. 

 

Shadow eyed him skeptically, glancing back and forth between the screen and Finn, “Really? You’d think the valium would calm you down, not cause paranoia.”

 

“Well, there are better ways to start a conversation with someone who just woke up abruptly after a DIY chest surgery,” he snapped, trying to justify his anxiety.  

 

The hedgehog sighed and noted the empty folding chair, pulling it towards Finn’s unoccupied bedside (since the workbench took up the entire length of the other side) only to sit down grudgingly, preferring to stand but figuring the jackal was uncomfortable with his standoffishness. 

 

“Better now?” Shadow huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back into the chair. Finn snickered at how uncomfortable the hedgehog looked and nodded, curious about what he had come to say. 

 

Shadow wouldn’t admit it, but he was pleased with how easy it was to calm the jackal down, even if it was doing something he wasn’t particularly fond of. “I’m going to start by saying I have to inform Rouge of what we’re doing. I know you two got along in a respectable manner while she worked undercover with Robotnik, but that doesn’t mean she’ll approve of how I handled your situation.” 

 

Finn perked up when Shadow mentioned the bat, someone he had actually gotten along with considerably well during the war, but not enough to consider each other friends— especially since she was a spy. He was surprised though, to learn that the hedgehog was close with her. 

 

“You’re friends with Rouge?” he inquired, annoying the hedgehog with his inability to focus on the important parts of what he said. “Yes,” Shadow started, “her and I are very close acquaintances. She knows when I’m lying, so there’s no way I can avoid telling her everything.”

 

Finn smirked, and opened his mouth to pry more into Shadow’s personal life, but was unfortunately stopped before he had the chance to ask, “No, she’s not my girlfriend.” 

 

The jackal frowned at the abrupt answer, but took secret pride in knowing that the question was something he got asked a lot, and that it annoyed him, “Damn, you’re really missing out, must suck.” 

 

Shadow glared in response, “No, her and I aren’t each other’s type, for your information.” 

 

“So, what is your type then?”

 

“Enough. I don’t have time for small-talk, can we discuss this later, by which I mean never.”

 

Finn cackled at how frustrated the hedgehog was getting, covering his mouth so as to not wake the sleeping birds. “Go on, but I’m not letting you off that easy.” 

 

Shadow mumbled something incoherently before continuing, “Rouge isn’t going to let me off that easy, since she’s a more loyal agent to G.U.N. for legal reasons, and is perpetually annoyed everytime I breach my contract. However, I know that they’ll fail to contain you and then send me to find you again, so I’d rather just deal with you myself. I won’t give up on fighting this, I want to do this right.” 

 

The jackal’s breathing hitched at the comment, taken aback by Shadow’s determination. “Are you sure about that…?” He asked quietly, trying to hide the excitement in his voice. 

 

“Positive, you’re my responsibility now. I’m living proof that G.U.N. is full of shit when it comes to capturing Sonic’s antagonists, and now you have my DNA which is something I and only I know enough about to control you,” Shadow stated without hesitating. 

 

Finn perked up at the mention of the blue hedgehog, “How is Sonic anyways?” 

 

Shadow was at a loss for words, unable to think of an appropriate answer. “Don’t misinterpret what I said, Infinite. You’ll end up in G.U.N’s control eventually, but not until I figure out your weaknesses and report back to Rouge.” 

 

“I mean, I’m barely alive now, I think my limitations are pretty clear,” Finn deadpanned, but unfortunately the hedgehog didn’t find any humour in his comment. 

 

“You have my DNA, plus remnants of the phantom ruby prototype. If you were a threat before, you’re calamitous now,” he growled, starting to get frustrated with the jackal. 

 

Finn began to regret his snarkiness, noting how serious Shadow got all of a sudden. Mere days ago, he would rejoice if the hedgehog considered himself dangerously powerful, but it was beginning to feel like more of a burden. 

 

“I mean,” he began hesitantly, “If you kicked my ass that easily before, you can do it again no problem. I don’t plan on rebelling or causing any harm, unless you count destroying the carpets on this ship which I seem to have a horrible relationship with. You probably won’t believe me, but my ego is still a little bruised from losing to a kid with a wisp gun of all things, I don’t think I’ll be planning a counterattack anytime soon.” 

 

Finn was taken aback by his own transparency, as was Shadow. “Oh, I suppose that makes sense. Still, you’re probably more of a danger to yourself at the moment, and we can’t imprison you if you‘re dead,” the hedgehog said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to such a blatant admittal of defeat. 

 

The two stared at each other for a moment, mutually uncomfortable since the conversation had walked itself into a corner. 

 

“We’re keeping your inhibitor rings on until we can test your abilities in a safe, removed environment. I need to monitor you long term, but Wave has to run a few more tests first so I know what I’m working with. There will be training, and you’re not permitted out of my sight until you’re imprisoned,” Shadow continued hesitantly, breaking eye contact to check his communicator. 

 

Finn shrugged, “Deal. Not like I have the option to disagree, but I’ll be compliant.” His words were empty, and the cold, professional tone of the conversation was slowly destroying his spirits. 

 

The hedgehog took note of the subtle withdrawal, and softened a little. “ He isn’t listening to you because he agrees, but because he knows he doesn’t have a choice,” the voice returned to say, having this realization at the same time as Shadow. 

 

“Look, get that I’m not exactly the most pleasant person to be around, you knew that from the day you met me. But if you cooperate… maybe it won’t be so bad. I don’t want to use the word ‘fun’ but I’m sure we can come to some kind of compromise,” he offered, refusing to look up and acknowledge whatever Finn’s reaction was. 

 

The jackal opened his mouth to respond, but Shadow was already getting up to leave, turning and walking away quickly without a goodbye. Finn felt his stomach lurch when the hedgehog teleported away, but didn’t think much of it. 

 

He sighed, looking back over at Jet to cheer himself up with the amusing feat, only to discover that the bird had dropped his device— it shattered again. 

 

Finn closed his eyes and used all his strength to force himself to sleep as quickly as possible. Dread pooled in his stomach, the awful feeling making him desperate to lose consciousness so he could forget this whole conversation. 

 

The universe pitied his weakness, and decided to grant his wish just this once, choosing to be his enemy no longer. 

 

Notes:

Wow, I sure love seeing my faves interact! Considering the fic is about Shadow and Infinite, I'd assume you enjoyed it too :) Yeah it's a bit angsty, but that's a part of the redemption arc package, my bad, aha. I promise things will get funnier later on, I'm better with humour than I am with writing angst because I never take things seriously, so I hope everyone is prepared for more awful jokes later!

Also, I added a little doodle of Finn to the first chapter that I made when my wifi was down and I had to wait to post this chapter! I'm not very good at drawing Sonic characters because I prefer drawing people, but I think I did an okay job! It's a bit of a spoiler since it's his final design for the end of the fic, but he's so cute I can't resist drawing my redesign, take a look if ya want :")

Take care everyone,

Izzie <3

Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Lemons in Chamomile, The Accidentals

Notes:

Okay, I am SO sorry this chapter is late!!! I wish I could have been more active during my fall term, but COVID has been draining all my writing spirit. Still, I wanted a chapter up before the year ended, so I hope this will do!

In my rush to post this however, I got no one to proof read so it is probably filled with errors. Sorry about that! I’ll go back and fix things when I notice them a day from now or something, haha.

I might be able to get a few more chapters up before I go back to school, but I promise this fic is not abandoned! This chapter was just very draining to write, it has taken literal months to get it done and even now it’s a bit too shabby for my taste.

Anyways, enough rambling! We’re off to the next chapter:

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Lemons and Chamomile, The Accidentals:

 

“You’re alive! Holy shit!” 

 

If Finn was asleep, he sure as hell wasn’t anymore! The shrill excitement coming from the other mobian in the room was the worst type of alarm, and he was beginning to see how being awoken by birds in real life was nothing like how it’s portrayed in movies. 

 

Wave was ready to celebrate with the jackal until she noticed that Jet was still curled up uncomfortably, his Switch discarded on the ground. “He’s going to wake up in so much pain… give me a second.” 

 

She scooped the hawk up and tossed him over her shoulder like he weighed nothing, and placed him on the workshop bed over by her desk, which Finn only noticed now. 

 

Did neither of them think to sleep there instead of in chairs? Or were they too focused on your well-being? the voice asked Finn, who was just as flabbergasted. 

 

When she returned, Wave was already munching on a bagel, and had a cup with a straw prepared for Finn. “Gingerale has magic healing powers, so I want you to drink all of  it— the bagel is mine but I’m willing to give you half if you think you can stomach it.” 

 

The jackal narrowed his eyes at the straw, and began to mumble incoherently about how straws were for incompetent drinkers, but reluctantly took a sip only surprised at how good it tasted, cooling his sore throat. 

 

“You seem pretty stable, it’s almost worrying how well you’re doing. This shouldn’t happen, but I’m glad I pulled this off!” Wave explained while eating loudly, which made Finn’s ears flatten. It was probably his biggest pet peeve, but he tried to distract himself by blowing bubbles in his cup. 

 

The bird flicked his forehead in response, which made Finn snarl. 

 

“What the fuck was that for?”

 

“Mind your manners, blowing bubbles is inconsiderate.”

 

“So is chewing loudly.” 

 

“Fine, you try chewing so it masks the sound of mine.”

 

“It doesn’t work that way.” 

 

Try it , then tell me your invalid opinions.” 

 

Wave broke off a piece of her bagel, and held it in front of his mouth. Finn’s instinct was to bite her fingers, but remembered that this was an extremely childish debate and he should probably just listen to the girl. 

 

He struggled to chew since his jaw ached and his mouth was dry, but the jackal simply drank more gingerale to help wash it down. The sad part was that the bagel probably tasted really good, but everything Finn consumed tasted like liquid glue, coating his mouth with an ugly aftertaste.

 

Wave’s eyes glossed over her phone before panicking at the amount of notifications she had missed, snatching the device from the side table to begin frantically typing. As she wrote however, her anxieties ceased, and she seemed to return to normal-- all while Finn watched warily. 

 

“Who are you texting?” he asked, raising an eyebrow when she giggled. Wave looked up only to snap back to her more rigid demeanor. “It’s none of your business,” she huffed, which only made him choke on his drink in amusement.

 

“You definitely have a crush on whoever that is, just saying,” he rasped out, before aggressively clearing his throat. It felt like the same piece of bagel was glued to the side of his esophagus, but the gingerale did nothing to help wash it down, only adding to the lump. Still, he was determined to make Wave more uncomfortable than himself, and it appeared to be working.

 

She looked slightly concerned at the state of the jackal, but as per usual, masked it with annoyance; “You deserve that, you little shit… I kept you in this world, but I can take you out just as quickly.”

 

Finn didn’t believe it for a second. Still, he kept quiet and watched the bird smugly, satisfied with having gotten under her skin. After enough silence though, he began to worry that this was overstepping, and that he had actually gone and pissed her off.

 

“I’m just teasing ya… but I won’t say anything to Jet or Storm— your internet joyfriend can be our little secret!” he told her with a wink, which made the girl look up again.

 

Wave eyed him defensively, “What makes you think that this is personal? I’m messaging someone who owes me a favour…”

 

‘Oh, a booty call! Sure, whatever you do in your free time is your choice.”

 

“For work, Finn.”

 

“Whatever you say, you fuckin’ simp.”

 

Wave balled up the bagel bag and whipped it at him in playful anger, but the jackal’s body did not take too kindly to the surprise attack, and was winded by the impact. Finn may have felt like shit, but the look of horror on Wave’s face was enough to make him laugh, which was unfortunately not good or helpful in any way for his recovery process. 

 

“I warned you, I can kill you anytime,” she teased, only relaxing when Finn’s coughing ceased into small laughs. “Then do it already,” he countered quietly, only half kidding.

 

She looked at him curiously, “It would be a waste of all our effort… and Shadow would kill me.” 

 

Finn visibly perked up at the mention of the hedgehog before deflating, remembering the events of last night. “ He’s not possessive because he cares, it’s because you’re a war criminal that he’s responsible for” the voice reminded, or was it him saying it?

 

“So, who’s the guy? Or gal? Or other, I guess?” Finn tried to ask casually, but his convoluted pronoun spiral lost its intended effect. 

 

“What?”

 

“Look, heteronormativity is stupid and gender is an illusion, I just want to know the details. I’ve been villaining for so long I forget what normal people get up to, indulge me ,” he practically begged. 

 

Wave raised an eyebrow at the comment, but was smiling regardless. “I’m talking to a guy, yeah. Not my initial preference but he’s the same way, so it cancels out.” 

 

Finn beamed at the soft outing, and shifted to his side to face the girl better, “But you met through business? Is he shady? Do I know him?” 

 

“What is this, 21 questions?” the swallow snapped, before noting how possessive the jackal was. He actually cares?

 

He began to realize how annoying the questioning could be, and opened his mouth to apologize, but Wave cut him off before he could say anything. 

 

“I’m the shady one here, he’s actually far from it in terms of his job. I did an emergency repair upon request during the war, and we have a similar family situation, so I guess we bonded over that?” the swallow elaborated, albeit nervously. 

 

Finn was actively listening, and Wave could not have felt more uncomfortable. It wasn’t his fault, she was grateful for his attentiveness— it was just… unfamiliar territory on an unfamiliar subject. 

 

The jackal was hesitant, but figured his intended question was harmless; “What do you mean by family situation?”

 

Wave nodded, aware of how vague that generalization was; “I'm protective over my boys, even though I tease them a lot. I guess I use my intellectual advantage over them to make shitty comments as a way of getting back at them… I think I grew up too fast. Storm was always getting into fights at clubs, and Jet’s transition was—” she spiralled before stopping abruptly to pinch her beak. 

 

Finn didn’t flinch at the sudden vent, opting to wait patiently as she regained her composure. He did however, continue to nibble on his portion of the bagel, pulling his legs in so he could rest his chin on his knees. 

 

“Sorry, I talk too fast sometimes and have to catch myself, moreso for your sake. Anyways, they both take up most of my time, so I guess it’s nice talking to someone who is also absorbed in helping their family 24/7. I wouldn’t have it any other way though, is that weird?”

 

He pondered the question for a moment before responding; “I mean yeah, a little. You should probably take more time for yourself, but I guess you’re so conditioned to not having freedom that you rely on micromanaging to keep busy all the time. Take baby steps towards balance, there’s no rush. Maybe just try doing something for yourself everyday, even if it’s small.”

 

When Wave didn’t respond, the jackal started to regret saying anything, which was becoming a frequent occurrence. He was about to elaborate more and correct himself, but as per usual, she began speaking again after an uncomfortable pause. 

 

“You’re right, I don’t like it when I have undesignated time. I guess that’s something I have to work on,” she admitted, softly— almost defeatedly. 

 

Accepting criticism didn’t appear to be her strong suit, but she seemed to like what Finn had said, or at least agreed with it. “Thank you, I needed this,” Wave added, offering him a small smile. 

 

Finn laughed nervously and looked away, embarrassed; “It's nothing, but take it with a grain of salt: I’m not exactly the poster boy for good decision making,” he added, before gesturing to his chest. 

 

“That’s why I like it though, you’re not acting like you’re superior to me, and you aren’t forcing your opinion on me. It’s… nice. Us Rogues are too arrogant to accept advice from one another, I guess I needed someone new to tell me that, so thanks, really.”

 

He only got more flustered at the comment and looked away again, clearing his throat to hide the smile on his face and move on from this sappy conversation.

 

“So uh, any updates post surgery I should know about?”

 

Wave followed suit and snapped back into her arrogant demeanour, before answering Finn’s question; “Well, I had to redo the DNA test in case the donor ribs modified the results, so it should be finished by tomorrow. However, your chaos energy levels have risen substantially, so I’m sure a lot of things are different now.” she explained, which was unfortunately not enough of an answer. 

 

“Sorry for asking, but what the hell is chaos energy?” 

 

“How slow are you? Even Storm knows about chaos energy… to a certain extent.” Wave scolded, mumbling the last bit. 

 

Finn got defensive at the comment for multiple reasons, but opted to defend himself over Storm; “Excuse me? Some of us lived outside of society for most of our lives, I only started to learn about the real world when I was 15! It’s not my fault for being out of touch,” he spluttered. 

 

Wave instinctively rolled her eyes, but elaborated, “All mobians have chaos energy, it's just this stuff that connects you to Chaos… you know, the god? Anyways, it’s usually low levels that have little to no effect, but some people have a lot more than others. Hedgehogs are the most prone to high levels, but since Shadow was created to host the maximum capacity for chaos energy, the surplus probably made its way into you with the transplant.” 

 

Finn took a moment to process what Wave was saying, but remembered the conversation he had with Shadow that night, who mentioned something about his modified DNA. 

 

“Is that… dangerous?” He asked quietly. 

 

Wave thought for a moment about how to answer that, but cautiously proceeded;

 

“Well yes, but actually no. You are a hazard, but those rings are keeping almost everything contained right now. You’ll probably have to learn how to deal with the excess energy like Shadow does, since only he’d know what to do. Hell, he’s already an intergalactic threat without using most of his energy, I wouldn’t want to be around if he took those rings off!” she joked casually, but Finn only felt worse. 

 

“He’s already that dangerous without using his full power? And to think I thought he was easy,” he sulked, recalling his first encounter with Shadow. 

 

Wave was oblivious to the jackal’s inner turmoil and continued to talk about the hedgehog, “Oh! He had to go sort some work stuff out, sorry I was supposed to let you know. He’ll be back sometime tomorrow, since you’ll probably be good to go by then.”

 

“He doesn’t want to stick around you any longer than he has to, think about that. Shadow has to babysit you from now on, and before he’s even started he already needs a break,” the voice teased, leaving Finn nauseated with guilt. 

 

Still, he knew that talking about the mysterious voice in his head with Wave would get him thrown back in the scanning pod, so the jackal tried to brush it off. “Ah… right. I think he came to see me last night, but it could have been a dream. I guess that’s fair, can’t keep him around all the time, that’s overkill.”

 

Wave noticed the slight change in tone, and couldn’t help but tease the jackal; “Awe, that’s adorable! You miss him, don’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t say anything, nobody has to know you have a crush on the Ultimate Lifeform.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, I do not like him. I just want to make sure I don’t cough and blow up your ship with my unstable chaos level vibe things… or whatever.”

 

“Mhm, sure. Everyone’s had a crush on him, don’t lie about it.”

 

Finn pretended not to tense when the swallow made that comment, what the hell was that for? He wasn’t jealous or anything, but it’s not like she was right either— he did not have a crush on Shadow: he hardly knew the guy! 

 

He decided to change the subject to something that was still bothering him from before, since this conversation was going nowhere; “Jet mentioned something about choosing his own name, and claimed to be good at naming other people, which is why I’m Finn now. Jackals choose their own name for the most part, or change them later on in life— is it the same for Babylonians? Or…” 

 

“We take a lot of pride in our birth names, so it’s rare for us to change them. Tradition is important, but his happiness is above all else, and I’m glad he knows that. Finn has a nice ring to it though, I like it! Not super creative, but it’s the thought that counts. If you want to keep it, then keep it.”

 

Wave’s expression was unreadable, but both her and the jackal understood the subtext of the conversation. 

 

“Would you be opposed to telling me more about Babylonian tradition or mythology? If it’s too personal I understand, I just figured that—“ Finn started, but had unknowingly walked into dangerous territory. 

 

The swallow was already standing in presentation mode and fiddling with her necklace, and was already pulling up files upon files of data. Finn was floored at how Wave managed to implement technology everywhere, and was beginning to believe there wasn’t a device the Rogues don’t have. 

 

“You see, the Babylonians are from another world, some place I haven’t located yet. Our culture always considered us divine beings, but recent archaeological discoveries hint at us being extraterrestrial lifeforms. Anyways, whether it be a “fall from grace” or a crash-landing on Earth… we ended up here. Our ancestors were unable to reassemble their ship, but not too long ago we managed to find the Ark of the Cosmos and repair Babylon Garden!”

 

Wave paused, her enthusiasm halting once she reached this point. The jackal was fascinated by the lore even if it was overwhelming and very expositional, but he began to worry that he overstepped by asking— she did not seem ready for this conversation. 

 

Even so, the swallow was stubborn, and pushed her way through the reluctant pause; “It created a black hole. There’s no way we can destroy the planet and fly away just to return to wherever we came from, that’s selfish even for our standards.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

She shrugged sheepishly at the question, “I won’t deny that we’re arrogant pricks who take what we want when we want no matter the repercussions, generosity is not in our nature. The Babylon Rogues have only survived this long because we don’t do nice things for others, only each other. We’re absolute doormats to other Babylonians, but the rest of the world is merely a stepping stone.”

 

Finn wasn’t surprised based on his knowledge of the group, but had no ill feelings towards this mentality. 

 

“I’m the same way, don’t worry about it: I was a mercenary after all. I suppose your type of crime is different from mine, but it’s always about money and going with what brings in the most cash regardless of morals. It’s about surviving, and protecting only those closest to you,” he reminisced, the bittersweet recollection of his old life creeping up on the jackal. 

 

Wave smiled at the nostalgia, before the connection clicked in her mind; “Wait a damn minute, you did work for us before! Squad Jackal, right?”

 

He smirked at the bird’s connection, and beamed a little from the acknowledgement; “I see you remember my glory days, when I still had my squad… I wonder where they are now.”

 

The mood shifted once more, and Finn found himself feeling defeated by yet another wrong decision he had made in his life. 

 

“What happened to them?” Wave asked quietly, while avoiding eye contact. She knew it had to do with Eggman, but a small part of her felt responsible.

 

“Well, you abandoned them for starters. If they’re still alive, they probably hate you ,” the voice commentated, which was not appreciated by any means. 

 

Finn did his best to ignore the fact that the voice was making valid points, and opted to answer Wave to the best of his ability; “I thought they were dead up until a few days ago, apparently Shadow didn’t kill them. They probably split our earnings and went off to do their own things individually, but I’m just thinking out loud— I honestly don’t have the slightest clue. The only place I know they’d avoid is our home…” he trailed off. 

 

Wave reached out to comfort the jackal, but was startled by the beeping her necklace was making before she got the chance. She immediately panicked at the caller ID, and motioned for Finn to stay quiet. He was too lost in thought to object anyways, but the newfound tension still made him uneasy. 

 

“Are you able to unlock the main door by any chance? My apologies; I know I'm early but the resistance meeting ended sooner than expected, so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem if I stopped by sooner— I tried to call Jet, but he appears to be offline. You’ve been parked here since Tuesday, but I understand if you’re leaving soon, or if you’re busy with incoming events, or if you forgot, which is completely understandable, we’re in the aftermath of a war after all, but… I’m… rambling again, aren’t I?” 

 

The caller’s voice was oddly familiar to Finn, perhaps too familiar. However, he was more distracted by Wave’s frantic movements as she attempted to shift all her medical equipment back into the storage room, which was not a good sign by any means.

 

Her voice was raised in pitch and quite airy, but the nervous laughter was a clear indicator that this was the same person she had been texting.

 

“It’s totally fine, don’t worry about it-- rambling is my speciality! I’m so sorry Esp, I got super into modding my board and lost track of time. I’ll be over in like, five minutes?”

 

Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good,” the voice mumbled to Finn, which was out of character and particularly offsetting. The jackal didn’t like the creature that was pestering him by any means, but their distress was not beneficial.

 

“There’s no rush Wave, I should have confirmed with you first. Take your time, okay?”

 

Wave continued to scurry around, now focused on unhooking Finn from his cot; “Don’t worry about it! I just need to turn my welder off, and then I’ll be over. Maybe send Storm a message, he should be done his workout by now and can let you in. Jet is passed out after playing Smash Ultimate all night, that’s why he never answered.”

 

The lack of medical support was beginning to creep up on the jackal, but he closed his eyes to minimize dizziness as Wave sat him on the floor, shoving the entire cot set-up into storage with the rest of the equipment.

 

“Roger that, I’ll see you in a bit then,” the voice confirmed, before hanging up. 

 

After letting out a sigh of relief, the bird immediately started panicking again; “Fuck! I have to hide you somewhere, this ship might be pretty big but it’s still hard to hide people; we could hardly handle Metal during the war. Text Shadow for me, okay?” she commanded, chucking her phone at Finn.

 

He wasn’t sure what to say to the hedgehog, but ended up typing a hefty paragraph that he ultimately deleted, opting for a simple ‘SOS: Finn problem’.

 

“What was that about Metal?!” the voice snapped, but Finn was too fixated on himself to ask questions for the being that tortured his psyche. 

 

“I thought you said nobody would recognize me without my mask… why do I have to hide all of a sudden?” Finn asked, inhaling sharply as Wave pulled him up and began dragging him out of the workshop. 

 

She rolled her eyes and gave him a onceover before sighing aggressively, “Have you seen yourself recently? Severe chest wound, and the only known jackal in the area? Espio isn’t stupid, and he’ll also vibe check the hell out of you and make the connection regardless of cosmetics. He has this weird sixth sense, I don’t have time to explain it, you just need to get lost or we’re all dead.” 

 

Oh, so that’s who this was about. 

 

“This is... resistance member Espio? The lawful good ninja? The one who has killer aim, a shit ton of weapons, and zero mercy?”

 

“Yes, that’s the one.”

 

“And you didn’t think to disclose that earlier, when you were being all sappy?”

 

“Look Finn, it didn’t cross my mind that you’d be encountering him post-op , or that you’d even be here in the first place. Just stay quiet and try not to cause problems.”

 

“You’re sacrificing me for a date !?”

 

“It’s not a date, it’s about things that don’t concern you.”

 

“So, it’s a date.”

 

“I will kick your knees in right now, kay?”

 

“Bold of you to assume I can feel any of my limbs right now…”

 

Their hushed bickering echoed through the corridors, which were growing darker and less maintained as they walked deeper into the heart of the Babylonian ship. Finn was in so much pain that his senses were numb, but he would rather rationalize this moment later than get decapitated by a shuriken star immediately after surviving an extensive, improvised surgery.  

 

Wave stopped abruptly and began tugging at one of the wall panels, and the jackal was sure that he had lost his mind completely. However, after an uncomfortable minute of strained pulling, the panel slid aside to reveal a door. 

 

“What the fuck is going on Wave, why is there a secret tunnel in your flying house?”

 

“Not the time Finn, we’ll address this later,” she scolded while casually doing a retina scan to unlock the door. Under normal circumstances, this passage would not be revealed to an outsider like Finn, but desperate times called for ex-machina levels of compromise. 

 

As the jackal was dragged into the forbidden storage room, he took note of what was being kept here, and slowly felt more at home. “So the Babylon Rogues are also a drug cartel, who would have guessed?”

 

Wave rolled her eyes, but settled Finn in the corner with a rather flat pillow and a blanket; “We prefer the term commodity traders, since we do more than just this. But yeah, Storm and I handle this side hustle ourselves, since we’re not entitled to any of the Rogue’s fortune.” she explained quietly. 

 

“Who would trust that idiot with a secret this big?” the voice asked skeptically. 

 

Finn settled into his new resting place, which was cold and uncomfortable. Sitting in a dusty storage room was probably a horrible idea for someone who was still in recovery, but it was the best place to be right now so he wasn’t picky. 

 

“Help yourself to whatever you want if you’re into that, just don’t OD or anything. This room is completely inaccessible and all signals are blocked, so you’ll be safe from Espio, but also unable to reach us,” the girl explained slowly, before holding Finn’s face in her hands. 

 

He almost shied away from the contact, but the swallow’s warm fingers were the only comforting thing in the room at the moment. 

 

Wave smiled sadly at the reaction, and continued to rub beneath the jackal’s eyes with her thumbs; “Just take a nap, I promise it’ll all be okay. Shadow’s going to make his way over, but for now just keep busy and don’t make any noise or try to leave. The door will be unlocked so Shadow can get to you when he arrives, but that means Espio and Jet can also find you— neither of them can know about this place. I’ll check in after okay?”

 

She gave Finn a very gentle hug, and the jackal felt his soul die a little from the affection.

 

However, before he could even utter a thank you, Wave was already out the door and on her way to distract the chameleon.

 

The painkillers were tempting, but he was too afraid of overdosing and opted to close his eyes instead.

 

Sleeping on the floor of a storage room on a blimp that belonged to alien birds after a chest operation sponsored by an immortal government weapon was not how he envisioned his future, but one ought not bite the hand that feeds them, so Finn settled for what he was given.

Notes:

Well, that ending sure as hell wasn’t rushed! The whole drug thing seems poorly written right now, I know, but it’s relevant later on I promise!

Yes it’s a cheesy chapter, but I feel like the song fits! I’ve decided to post the Spotify link for the series since I think it’s set in stone, you can access it here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7KabMGCzhe21A110mI0GNd?si=eFoy_2W9QxWNRu-rxOetJg

Note: don’t judge my Spotify! I’m just trying to have a good time :”)

Anyways, Happy New Year to everyone reading this at an applicable time; 2020 has been horrible, but we mustn’t forget the good things that have happened too, whether they be big or small.

I am very grateful for all the readers here who have kept me motivated to continue this fic, and for the fandom as a whole. You’re all the best!

Take care everyone, and Happy New Year!

-Izzie <3

Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Stay, Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko

Notes:

Hello everyone! Sorry again for the delayed posting, we're almost at the one year anniversary of this fic and it's not even a quarter done yet! Hell, the main plot hasn't even started! Still, I technically promised slow burn so this isn't inherently false advertising... anyways. I have a bonus chapter planned as an apology after this one, so that should be up relatively soon (in comparison to prior hiatuses) but I also don't want to rush it!

There is some morse code in this chapter and some of it is translated, but there is one chunk that I left ambiguous. It's an Easter Egg I guess, so feel free to look up what it says in a translator online. Also, I've been uploading these without proofreading or asking my ghostreaders so if you see any typos let me know and I'll update :")

Happy Reading!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Stay, Rihanna ft Mikky Ekko 



After waking up at the beginning of each chapter for almost every installment so far, Finn was beginning to get tired of this trope, pun intended. 

 

However, the jackal was more surprised to hear shuffling from within the storage room, which was supposedly isolated from everywhere else on the Babylonian ship. His ears twitched and recognized the footsteps, but couldn’t determine who they belonged to. 

 

It can’t be the ninja, that’s for certain— he wouldn’t be detectable, ” the voice assured, which was uncharacteristically helpful. 

 

“Thank you, that’s always good to know,” he said, acknowledging the voice out loud for the first time. He replied at barely above a whisper, as someone else was clearly in the room, but this was the closest Finn could get to being alone, and he was starting to believe that the ominous guide was not just a product of his imagination. 

 

The footsteps paused momentarily, and the jackal noted that they were now approaching him. He was tense, but it’s not like he could do much to prepare or defend himself regardless. 

 

He was not expecting to be greeted by Metal Sonic. 

 

“Metal?! You… you Robotnik has been looking for you for over a year now, and you’ve been with the Babylon Rogues?!” Finn narrowed his eyes in disbelief, scolding the replica hedgehog. 

 

The robot froze, almost sheepishly, and stared at the jackal in awe. It looked like he wanted to respond, but he had nothing to counter with. 

 

Finn began to realize that the conversation wasn’t going to progress unless he pressed further, but he was still flabbergasted by the turn of events. “We could have used you on our side is all I’m saying, I thought you wanted to destroy Sonic?”

 

.. / --- -. .-.. -.-- / -.-. .- .-. . / .- -... --- ..- - / -.. . ..-. . .- - .. -. --. / ... --- -. .. -.-. --..-- / -... ..- - / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-.. .-. . .- -.. -.-- / -.. .. -.. / - .... .- - .-.-.- / .-- .... .- - / . .-.. ... . / .-- .- ... / .. / ... ..- .--. .--. --- ... . -.. / - --- / -.. --- ..--..

 

“I uh, I don’t know morse code... sorry.” 

 

Metal Sonic narrowed his eyes, and began fidgeting with something on his neck. Finn watched silently as the bot struggled, with no clue how this would play out. 

 

“I only care about defeating Sonic, but you already did that. What else was I supposed to do?”

 

The jackal was slightly taken aback by the robot’s voice, but tried to focus on what was being asked of him. “We didn’t succeed at that for very long, you could have come back.” 

 

“Negative.”

 

This wasn’t going very far, was it? 

 

“I was the one who assisted in the Phantom Ruby’s removal. You should be grateful I was present and not with the Doctor, or you would be dead.” the robot explained in a hostile tone. 

 

Finn’s face scrunched up as he tried to recall any memories that could confirm this, but was distracted by a violent shudder that rendered him nauseous. “What the fuck what that just now? Did you cause that? ” he asked, snapping at the robot. 

 

Metal Sonic shook his head, but eyed the jackal curiously. 

 

“I swear, it felt like my bones were vibrating... you’re sure it wasn’t you?”

 

Before the robot could suggest what the cause might be, the door to the storage room flew open, which made Finn jump out of his own skin, now on his feet. 

 

Shadow stood in the doorway awkwardly, eyes shifting from Metal, to Finn, and back to Metal again. 

 

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked cautiously, cutting the tension in the air. Finn was relieved to see a less intimidating familiar face, and calmed down a bit. 

 

Metal Sonic stared blankly at Finn, who shifted moods too many times in one encounter for his taste, and fiddled with his neck again. Shadow narrowed his eyes at the tic, and approached the robot with vigor before tilting his head up. 

 

“What’s this on your neck? Are you wearing a tracker?” Shadow asked, the protectiveness in his voice notable to even Finn, who had no clue what was going on at this point. He regretted standing up, but it would be too awkward to sit back down again, so he focused on a spot on the floor to keep himself from swaying too much. 

 

- .... . / -- . -.-. .... .- -. .. -.-. / -.-. .-. . .- - . -.. / - .... .. ... / -.. . ...- .. -.-. . / ..-. --- .-. / -- . / ... --- / .. / -.-. .- -. / ... - .- -.-- / ..- -. -.. . - . -.-. - . -.. / -.. ..- .-. .. -. --. / - .... . / .-- .- .-. .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- / .. - / -.. --- ..- -... .-.. . ... / .- ... / .- / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. / ... --- / .. / -.-. .- -. / ... .--. . .- -.- / .. -. / - .... .. ... / ..-. --- .-. -- / .-- .. - .... --- ..- - / -.. .-. .- .. -. .. -. --. / -- -.-- / -... .- - - . .-. -.-- .-.-.-

 

“Ah, so it’s an anti-tracker then? I suppose it makes sense that Wave would give you that, blowing their cover wouldn’t be very considerate. Still, dispose of it before you go back— If you need an alibi, the story is that you were captured by G.U.N. as ransom for Omega, okay? ” 

 

Finn was surprised that Shadow could understand the beeping that the robot was making, but found their dynamic endearing nonetheless. 

 

When Metal didn’t respond to Shadow, his eyes widened slightly; “You are going back to the Doctor, right?”

 

No response. 

 

Shadow sighed and pulled back from the robot before turning to Finn, who was startled by the sour gaze; “Good to see you’re still alive, are you ready to return to the workshop?” 

 

“I mean, sure? As long as Espio is gone I don’t see a problem,” he responded while doing his best to make eye contact with the hedgehog.

 

Metal Sonic glanced at the jackal one more time, before turning around and continuing to stock shelves— apparently what he came into the room to do. 

 

Finn smiled sadly at the robot before making his way to the door, with Shadow following closely behind. The hedgehog seemed exhausted, especially after that encounter with Metal, but he pressed forward nonetheless. 

 

“I know you aren’t exactly a fan of the Doctor, but he gets lonely too. He created Metal, and they’re good to one another, so I really do hope he goes back.” Shadow explained quietly, refusing to look at the jackal when he spoke.

 

Finn nodded, “I hope so too, someone has to keep Eggman busy now that I’m gone.” He was still uneasy with how they left things on the battlefield, and ensuring that the villain moved on was his top priority.

 

Shadow noticed how forced Finn’s words were, but decided not to press on. “It’s probably uncomfortable to know that the person responsible for your well-being is an ally with all your enemies, but if I’m being honest, the only person I fully align my morals with is dead....”

 

“Oh, don’t worry about that, it’s fine. I’m more of a neutral person myself, or at least I was. Definitely peaked at indifference,” the jackal responded quickly, choosing to not comment on the latter portion of Shadow’s confession. 

 

The two continued to walk in silence, which was starting to eat away at Finn’s sanity. The hedgehog didn’t seem to be much of a talker, but filling all the silence seemed like the wrong move. Still, he did have something on his mind…

 

“Are we not going to address the fact Espio and Wave are totally a thing? How the hell did that happen?!”

 

Shadow coughed to hide his laugh, and cleared his throat before looking over at the jackal;

 

“That was entirely your fault, believe it or not.”

 

“Oh, you’re gonna have to elaborate on that one, indulge me .”

 

The hedgehog sighed exasperatedly, but couldn’t resist chuckling; “You decommissioned Omega, and Espio was given the task of finding someone to repair him. Tails was unable to do it, and regardless of the war Espio would do it himself to avoid asking Eggman for help… stubborn bastard. Anyways, he remembered the Rogues from when Vector raced them, asked me for their contact information, got Omega fixed, and turns out they have a lot in common! You’re a matchmaker and you didn’t even know it.”

 

The jackal stopped walking, and stared at the floor in disbelief. Shadow looked over to see what was wrong, and had to resist laughing at Finn’s dramatic moment of realization.

 

“I’ve doomed them both to heartbreak, and somehow my afterthought of destroying a robot is more successful at causing despair than starting a war…” he mumbled, which was hilarious yet pathetic. 

 

Shadow raised his brow at the mention of despair; “What do you mean, heartbreak? They’re literally the same person: the smartest members of their respective teams who give great advice but get neglected by cocky extroverted bosses, who are green… and they’re both purple! They should be fine?”

 

Finn looked up at the hedgehog who didn’t seem to catch on; “They’re on opposite sides of the moral spectrum, you dense motherfucker. One of them fought in a war while the other one used it to sell drugs. They’ll bond over experience but not lifestyle, and this is somehow more impactful than me starting a war.

 

Instead of getting offended by Finn’s outburst, the hedgehog laughed it off and shook his head, motioning for them to continue down the hall. “You’re such a theatre kid it hurts, come on. Morals don’t matchmake; you and I lean the same way on the moral chart but we’re also technically enemies, so it doesn’t always add up.” 

 

The jackal mumbled something under his breath, flustered from the comparison, but followed Shadow obediently and kept his thoughts to himself for once. 

 

When they arrived at the reassembled medical wing in Wave’s workshop, Finn noticed that the swallow was not present; “I thought you said Espio was gone?” he asked, trying to not sound jealous. 

 

Shadow snorted and shook his head, amused by the jackal’s possessiveness over the Rogues; “Yeah, and? Wave went with him. I’ll never understand how you bonded so quickly with her or any of the others for that matter, is that a jackal thing? Inserting yourself into other people’s families?” 

 

“That has nothing to do with it, how am I supposed to hook myself back up to these wire thingies? You’re overestimating my ability to give a shit about myself,” Finn snapped back, sitting on the edge of the cot and crossing his arms and legs with a pout. 

 

The hedgehog’s smile faltered, and soon enough he was scowling again. Why did Finn have to ruin everything? He sighed before walking up to the jackal, grabbing a stool with his foot and sitting down to face Finn; “I’ll do it, obviously.”

 

Finn tensed when Shadow grabbed his arm and tried to pull away, but the hedgehog’s firm grasp kept him still. 

 

“Are you a doctor or something?”

 

“No, but I’ve been in enough hospital rooms.”

 

The jackal laughed at that, too distracted to notice when Shadow inserted the IV needle; “You’re telling me someone is actually able to land damage on you? So much for being the Ultimate Lifeform.” 

 

Shadow tensed at the misunderstanding, but in all honesty he preferred it that way. “You’re almost done healing so we’ll leave tomorrow at around noon once Wave can read us the DNA results. Does that sound okay to you?” he asked while getting up to leave, deciding that hooking the jackal up to the other equipment would be redundant at this point.

 

“Where are you going?” Finn blurted out, not addressing the question he was asked. “I have things to do,” the hedgehog mumbled, pausing to observe the change in tone. 

 

“Well that’s new… Curious, isn’t it?” the voice prompted, and both mobians twitched in response, unaware that they were hearing the same thing. 

 

Finn didn’t have time to process the subtle curiosity in the hedgehog’s expression and instead focused on justifying his outburst; “I uh, well, don’t leave yet. I’ll get bored, stay for a bit!” 

 

“Why…?” 

 

Shadow wasn’t cold per say, he wasn’t even frustrated with the jackal’s jumbled speech: he just couldn’t understand why he was wanted for once. He hesitantly sat back down, but still needed more of an explanation. 

 

The jackal sighed and continued, trying to brush off the uncomfortable atmosphere as a product of their collective exhaustion.

 

 “Please? Just until Jet or Storm comes back to stay with me, I don’t want to be alone right now.” 

 

The hedgehog didn’t move to stand up again, but instead shifted his gaze down to stare at his shoes, unaware of what to say. When it was clear Shadow wasn’t going anywhere, Finn quietly thanked him, prompting Shadow to look up. 

 

“For what?”

 

“You could have just let me die or handed me off, but you didn’t. I don’t know why you bothered, but I’m grateful. It’s kinda awkward with our past, but it was still nice of you,” Finn said softly. 

 

He was unsettled by the absence of his mask, as it felt like everyone who looked at him was staring (and from experience they probably were) but this tension felt different. It was vulnerable, but not because of his face this time. 

 

Shadow sat with the silence for a while, trying to read the jackal’s shifting expressions as he reacted to his own internal dialogue. It’s almost cute, I wonder if he knows he’s doing it? he thought to himself fondly, offering a weak smile before realizing he was supposed to respond. 

 

“Oh, it wasn’t much really, but you’re welcome. I guess I feel responsible based on our first encounter… sorry about that.” he finally said, ignoring the quiver in his voice as he spoke. 

 

Finn smiled and closed his eyes, content with the hedgehog’s response, before melting back into his pillow and wiggling into the sheets with a yawn. 

 

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes in disbelief, “You just woke up from sleeping all day, how are you tired? Stop yawning, it’s not even funny. You’re sick.” 

 

“Yeah I’m sick and tired... of your attitude .” Finn snapped back, opening one eye just to glare at the hedgehog.

 

Shadow looked away to hide his growing smile, and cleared his throat to mask the laughter that attempted to bubble over his stoic facade. When he didn’t say anything else, Finn took it a step further; “I’m recovering from a hasty chest surgery, let me regain my energy using your stupid alien blood so we can get the hell out of here.” 

 

Once again, Finn had failed to think before speaking, and found himself stunned by his own harshness. “This is why you don’t have friends, remember?” the voice teased, audible to both mobians, unaware that this statement was directed at both of them. 

 

Shadow was stunned—  We? There’s a We?! he thought, resisting the urge to shake his head. “Fine, then stop mouthing off and get some rest. If you’re sleeping, I’m leaving” he said, quickly getting back up. 

 

The jackal shot up at the L word in a panic, wincing at the harsh movement but persisting in his urgency nonetheless, “No! You said you’d wait, what if I die in my sleep or something? All that work, just to waste it? Wave would kill you- no , all three of them would.” 

 

Finn stared at the hedgehog in silence, firm in his statement but twitchy— regardless of how steady he tried to make his voice sound. This behaviour was far too familiar to Shadow, who had finally identified the paranoia beneath the brattiness. 

 

Sighing, he pushed Finn back down into the cot before sitting on the workstool again, halfheartedly tossing one of his hands beside the jackal’s face. 

 

“You were a merc, right?”

 

Finn nodded, watching the hedgehog curiously as Shadow avoided his gaze. 

 

“So you’re a light sleeper?”

 

“Yeah, I guess. Sensitive hearing and all that too.” 

 

“Okay, if my hand moves you’ll wake up, so it’s proof I won’t leave when you fall asleep.” 

 

Finn resisted the urge to smile at the gesture, and instead nodded quietly to prove that he was listening despite his heavy eyelids. 

 

The hedgehog looked down in acknowledgement before looking away again, secretly hoping that one of the Rogues would burst in to take on this responsibility; “So that’s that then. I’ll keep my hand here so you know I’m not leaving.”

 

“Don’t you need to sleep too?” the jackal asked, but was met with no response. Apparently, Shadow had run out of dialogue options and this was all Finn would get for the night. 

 

“Fine, we’ll talk about communication later… well that’s ironic. G’night.” Finn mumbled before drifting off, once again finishing a chapter by falling asleep. 

 

Shadow glanced at the sleeping jackal, and after ensuring Finn was fully unconscious, allowed himself to rest his head on his arm, carefully positioning his quills so they wouldn’t touch the sleeping jackal and wake him.

 

“Goodnight Finn,” he said quietly, before closing his eyes with a smile.

 

Rouge may have warned him about getting too attached, but the hedgehog knew it was far too late for that. It couldn’t get worse, could it?

Notes:

Well, I changed it up, now Finn AND Shadow are ending a chapter by falling asleep! I realized I have this trope since all my chapters do this basically, so I need to work on that. Upcoming chapter is entirely about Shadow and what he has been up to during Finn's adventures, so stay tuned for that!

Take care everyone,

Izzie

Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Watch You Sleep, Girl in Red

Notes:

Hello readers! I have taken a shorter hiatus as a means to post this bonus chapter since you've all been so kind and supportive of this fanfic! We're nearing the one year anniversary of when I first started writing it, and although we've hardly made progress with the storyline I'm so happy to have found such supportive readers :") Your comments are unlike anything I have ever witnessed on ao3 before and it's honestly one of the only things keeping me going on some days! No pressure, we're all good, but I love hearing how much people are invested in this fanfic.

So without anymore delay, enjoy a Shadow pov chapter!!!

A/N: italics are flashback, normal text is present. Sometimes they blend together and that fogginess was intentional, but I'm sorry if it confuses anyone!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Watch You Sleep, Girl in Red (BONUS)

 

“I warned you Shadow.”

 

“Rouge, it’s not—“

 

“No, it’s exactly what I said would happen. I told you not to go looking for him, but you still went and got attached,” the bat said, pinching between her eyes in frustration. 

 

Shadow looked away before sighing in defeat, “Whatever, you don’t get it.”

 

“Don’t get what?”

 

Finn shifted in his sleep, prompting the hedgehog to jolt back from the cot, snapping out of his memories. He looked down at the jackal and watched quietly as his eyes twitched in his sleep. 

 

“It’s my fault.”

 

He couldn’t deny it, Finn was pretty under that mask, even if he was annoying most of the time. When he was awake, he was a brat. Asleep however… Shadow found him adorable. 

 

“Shadow… no, we’ve been over this many times with Amy: you don’t control the actions of other people, that’s on them.

 

Did Finn always have freckles? They were hardly noticeable, but his fur refused to grow over the scar that ran across his eye, revealing the pretty little dots scattered across his skin. If Shadow looked closer, he could see them on the jackal’s nose, too. 

 

They reminded him of stars, of space, of...

 

“No, this isn’t like the ARK incident, it’s my fault that this happened to Finn, to everyone. Hell, the whole war was my fault! Omega being out of commission, not getting to Sonic in time, ‘laying low’ for 6 months instead of helping the resistance or breaking Sonic out? Watching him suffer when I could have—“

 

“Could have what? Infinite voluntarily became Eggman’s lab rat, they planned the attack, they captured and tortured Sonic, and you had responsibilities as an agent to study Infinite’s power from a distance so we’d know what we were up against. None of the war was your fault,” Rouge stated firmly, but the uncertainty was evident in her pained expression. Not because she didn’t believe what she said, no, the bat knew better. 

 

But Shadow? Shadow didn’t.

 

He winced at the recollection, and decided to count Finn’s freckles until he calmed down. Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, had he seen that one before? 

 

How do people even get freckles anyways, and how did Finn get that scar? Isn’t it a shame that he could only admire the jackal’s beauty because of pain? Because of harm? Because someone didn’t care, and split his skin so it couldn’t heal?

 

If things were different, would they be sitting here together? Would they have met that day at Eggman’s base, the day Shadow prompted a series of unfortunate events, where one small reckless decision took the lives of thousands? 

 

Are the lives of the many worth sacrificing so he could sit here and count Finn’s freckles? Shadow’s eyes fell to the jackal’s chest. He winced at the bandages. 

 

“... I could have prevented it all,” he mumbled, only half hoping that the bat heard him. Did it matter in the end?

 

Rouge did hear, and as predicted, she wasn’t going to let Shadow off easy with beating himself up over this, “How do you know that? Did you check?”

 

The hedgehog was beginning to get frustrated, but managed to look up into her eyes to emphasize that he had made up his mind, and that he was at fault for everything; “No, but my decisions led to it all happening, so if I did things differently it wouldn’t have happened and everything would be fine.”

 

“You don’t know that! Even if you could have prevented the war, you didn’t. That doesn’t mean you compensate for it now by befriending the guy and hiding him from the authorities—“

 

“Like what you did for me? Are you saying you regret helping me?” he interjected. She paused and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. 

 

Shadow chuckled sadly in defeat, but shrugged off the pounding in his ears as a result of not sleeping for weeks. 

 

“Ah, I see. If that’s what it is, then. You’re not wrong, just a hypocrite.” 

 

“Shadow… that was different.”

 

“How?”

 

Finn suddenly grabbed onto the hedgehog’s arm, causing him to shout. Shadow immediately froze, hoping that if he stayed still, the jackal wouldn’t stir anymore. His theory was proven right; but not before Finn snuggled into his forearm, both hands sandwiched around Shadow’s. 

 

If he woke up, they wouldn’t be able to overcome the embarrassment, and even without the jackal being conscious it still felt humiliating. Hopefully the Rogues would ignore Shadow’s yelling— the last thing he wanted was a witness to whatever this was. 

 

Looking back at Finn, the hedgehog noticed small bumps on his ears. Being extremely careful, Shadow placed his free hand behind one of them and examined closer. 

 

He had his ears pierced? That wasn’t unusual for mobians, he just found it odd that Finn had the holes but didn’t use them. Shadow tried to not let it bother him, but he couldn’t help but feel jealous. 

 

Maria tried piercing his ears back on the ARK, but his healing powers kept closing the holes over the earrings— the Professor was not pleased, and when it came time to extracting them, Shadow wasn’t too pleased either. 

 

The hedgehog was almost disappointed now: what other things did they have in common? Did Finn have any siblings? What was his trauma— surely it wasn’t just their encounter, what made him choose to be a mercenary?

 

Shadow realized that he was now responsible for another version of himself, and it felt like the universe was punishing him for his identity crisis. Was there anything they didn’t have in common?

 

“You were misguided and had just regained consciousness after a traumatic incident, not to mention your memories were warped. It’s not fair to compare you to each other,” Rouge said defensively, regaining her momentum. 

 

Shadow may be difficult, but Rouge wasn’t his closest companion for nothing— the bat had a way with words that oftentimes got through to him. Not always, but there was a chance he’d listen. A small one. Maybe bordering nonexistent, but it’s better than nothing. 

 

“I tried to murder the planet on multiple occasions, and created a time paradox because of a stupid identity crisis. Rouge, cut the crap. You’re a hypocrite and you know it.”

 

The Black Arms Paradox… Shadow sighed, brushing some stray hairs from the jackal’s face, smiling when his nose twitched. 

 

Finn created Null Space, but would he have gone as far as Shadow? Would he have written over his own timeline just to see what would happen? To see if it would fix him? Fill the void?

 

Would he have asked Shadow to save him if he knew the truth of who he was? 

 

“I am not a hypocrite! I had seen enough of that guy to know he isn’t trustworthy, and definitely not redeemable,” she responded exasperatedly.  

 

Shadow chuckled, and let it slowly bleed into laughter— not the kind you’d want to hear from the hedgehog, and Rouge’s wavering expression was proof that this was headed in a bad direction.  

 

“You don’t know him. None of us do, and it’s my job to do that now. Do you really think G.U.N. knows the first thing about getting answers out of people? He’s weak, and now he’s under my control. You don’t need to worry about my safety, but you might need to worry about his. If he tries anything, he’s dead,” the hedgehog explained through detached giggles and watery eyes. 

 

“And you’re sure you can kill him if he’s your friend?”

 

Could he kill Finn? Maybe, he almost did before. Shadow never had a problem with overpowering the jackal, especially in his current state. 

 

He took note of the blankets on the cot, and began thinking of how useful they could be; they could mop up blood, carry the body without a mess, smother him, strangle him… endless possibilities. The hedgehog could end it all right now, but what purpose would that hold? 

 

It wasn’t a matter of if he could, Rouge was questioning if he would : If he would be able to look at the mobian he saved and take it all back. 

 

Flinching and repressing the thoughts, he continued to play with the jackal’s hair as a means to distract himself, twirling the loose strands that separated from his locs between his fingers. When Shadow eventually stopped, Finn seemed to notice the absence of affection and pressed into the hedgehog’s hand. 

 

What was he supposed to do, hold his face? Praying that this wouldn’t backfire, the hedgehog let Finn melt into his hand and began lightly scratching his jaw.  

 

Was… was he purring? And why was Shadow enjoying this just as much? 

 

“I’m his second and last chance, if he blows it with me he isn’t going into custody. He’s going straight to hell,” Shadow stated triumphantly. 

 

Rouge didn’t believe him, but didn’t feel like discussing the matter further; “Mhm, right. What do I tell everyone?”

 

“I’m on a G.U.N. mission, don’t elaborate.”

 

“Okay, what do I tell G.U.N?”

 

“Mental health break or some crap, vacation? I don’t know, whatever you usually tell them when I go M.I.A.”

Shadow rested his chin on the edge of the bed, eyes fixated on Finn and his shifting facial expressions. He was charismatic even in his sleep, theatrical without even trying. The hedgehog watched in amazement, trying to decipher what Finn was dreaming about based on the faces he was making. 

 

He could watch the jackal for hours, and he would. 

 

Shadow was starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation, but he refused to let his eyes close. No, this was a rare chance to be around Finn without the tension; it was safe. He needed this. Them being here together reminded him of Maria oddly enough, when the Professor let them have sleepovers in her room on the days she wasn’t able to get out of bed. 

 

Her favourite colour was blue, and it quickly became his favourite as well due to how much of it he saw around her. By association, the colour made him happy. Then it made him sad, sometimes angry. Most times, it just made him aware of his loneliness. 

 

Shadow recalled the unusual sensation he felt when meeting Sonic for the first time, of seeing someone who looked like him, acted like how he used to, and had all the hope and motivation that Shadow had lost… but in blue. Her colour. Reminding him of who he used to be before he fucked it all up. Speaking of the blue hedgehog though...

 

“What about Sonic? He deserves the truth,” Rouge asked, softer in tone this time.

 

“No, I’ll tell him myself when I’m able to. For now, tell him the same as everyone else.”

 

“But—“

 

“No Rouge, absolutely not. I can’t be there for them at the same time, but I’ll figure something out. I promise.”

 

The sun was starting to rise, and Shadow noticed the jackal stir in his sleep, as if the hardly noticeable change in light was enough to wake him. This probably meant he was an early riser, which the hedgehog found ironic considering how much Finn slept.

 

That being said, neither of them had slept for months, but not because they didn’t need to: Finn forgot, and Shadow couldn’t forget. What would it be, sleep paralysis or the fear of amnesia? Trick question, the answer was both.

 

Still, it wasn’t like he would socialize much if he slept, considering the two closest people in his life (that were alive) were Omega and Rouge, and neither were the pinnacle of resting. 

 

A part of Shadow hoped that the jackal would be the same way, but he knew better than to incorporate Finn into his friend group. He hurt Omega and Rouge was fed up with the jackal when working undercover alongside him, so it was pointless to imagine them in the same room if it wasn’t also on fire. Omega… 

 

“This is a bad idea, and you know it. Omega is going to kill you when he finds out.” Rouge had warned him the other day, but of course the hedgehog didn’t keep his stupid mouth shut.

 

“Who said he’s finding anything out?” he had told her.

 

The bat narrowed her eyes, and began backing Shadow into a corner, which he was not taking kindly to; “H e’s family, he has just as much of a right to know where you are and what you’re doing. Think about how hurt he’d be from you lying to him, especially about the person who decommissioned him under the command of Robotnik, his sworn enemy!”

 

“He’s a robot, Rouge. He doesn’t have feelings, we can just erase it from his memory and leave him out of it. Wave is going to kill me if I send Omega and Finn back to her in shambles and expect her to fix them again, but I’ll just forward her wrath to you as well as the expense list— I’m sure the Rogues will adore your gem collection,” Shadow teased, the smirk on his face unwavering.

 

Rouge snarled at the comment but fixated on the first half, much to the hedgehog’s surprise; “We do NOT joke about memory loss in this group, that’s a sensitive topic for all of us and I don’t appreciate the attitude, Shadow.”

He snickered, “Sorry, I forgot.”

“Shadow—“

 

“How are you going to justify blacklisting Finn but not Omega? He’s a robot who is incapable of compassion, whereas Finn is a mystery! We have no clue who he is, he could be harmless,” Shadow retorted, ears flat to his head. The claustrophobia was getting to him, but thankfully Rouge noticed and began to back off. 

 

Even during arguments, the bat was always cautious of Shadow’s triggers, which was something he should have reciprocated. But of course he didn’t, because he was insensitive by nature and felt the need to decimate every disagreement to prove himself right, even at the cost of friendship. 

 

You know, purposely pushing people away to avoid the ordeal of being known. 

 

“Stop it Shadow, I know you don’t mean any of this, so stop before you say something you can’t take back,” Rouge reasoned, but it was too late for that.

 

The hedgehog took that as a personal challenge, “Oh really? What could I possibly say about you that could hurt you, I don’t know, maybe the fact the three closest people in your life are emotionally detached men? You’re just jealous that I’m replacing you, get your daddy issues out of my business—“ he began to tease before being slapped into silence by the equally stunned bat.

 

The two stared at each other intensely, Shadow immediately regretting the whole ordeal and Rouge panicking and recoiling in horror.

 

“Oh my god… Shadow. I am, I didn’t mean to say that… I-I’m so sorry hon I didntmeanto—” she started before cutting herself off, voice cracking. 

 

Shadow shrugged and turned away, crossing his arms and pressing his elbows into his ribcage, which still ached from the removal process. They had grown back, just barely. 

 

Finn sensed the distress and made an uncomfortable noise, holding Shadow’s arm closer and tighter than before.This snapped the hedgehog out of his flashback, causing him to cringe at the taste of metal in his mouth. He had unknowingly been chewing the inside of his mouth the whole time, and forced his jaw to unclench before resting back down to look at Finn. 

 

The jackal’s tail flopped over their bodies like a blanket, the slightly tangled white strands long enough to reach over Shadow’s back. He was twisted and uncomfortable since he wasn’t properly laying down beside Finn, but their close proximity was out of his control at this point. 

 

If he pulled away, Finn would wake up, and that would ruin this out of character hurt/comfort moment. 

 

“S’fine Rouge, I died once. That was a little worse than being slapped by you,” he eventually said, trying to reassure the bat who was on the verge of tears. If she cried, Shadow would cry, because that was a clear sign something was wrong. Rouge never cried. Ever.

 

She shook her head, and all potential vulnerability was shed with the motion; “Hitting someone is never okay, that was uncalled for. Come here, I’m sorry Shadow. I am. Can I touch you?”

 

He nodded cautiously after thinking about it for a moment. Even though she always asked, Shadow had to remind himself not to respond on autopilot and say yes out of habit. One of the gifts of being Rouge’s friend, no, family, was that she knew what boundaries were. And she respected them.

 

Maybe that was enough to break him.

 

Rouge opened her arms and began to carefully approach the hedgehog before he launched into her arms, immediately melting into the gesture. Shadow began mumble ranting, and she instinctively began petting his quills, shifting them to sit down on her couch with the hedgehog still broken in her arms. 

“I didn’t mean he’s just a robot, I’m sorry and I didn’t mean that about you— that was uncalled for I just, I need him to have another chance before we say he’s bad because that’s what everyone did to me except you so I just thought that you would be okay with it but I understand that’s a lot to ask so you can tell whoever you want or stop me from going I’m sorry I—” he had started, but was quickly shushed, giving him time to catch his breath and let out all the pent up feelings about the war that he had been holding in for months now.

 

Rouge began quietly humming a tune he recognized, which made Shadow both nostalgic and satisfied. He wanted to sing along, but couldn’t without ruining the melody with choked sobs, so he just closed his eyes and held onto his friend for dear life.

 

“I know honey, it’s okay. I won’t tell Omega, or Sonic, or Knuckles. I understand your frustrations, and I shouldn’t take this information for granted because I know how hard it is for you to open up like this, so I’m sorry for not acknowledging what this means to you and why it means as much as it does. I’m also sorry for being so hard on… Finn. This will stay between us until you’re ready.”

 

Shadow pulled back from the hug to look at the bat curiously, blinking the last tear out of his eye before resetting to his more neutral state; “Not even Knuckles…?”

 

Rouge laughed at the hedgehog’s moment of genuine shock, cupping his face and using her thumbs to wipe his eyes, ignoring the runny eyeliner that stained her white gloves.

 

“Not even Knuckles, I promise. He’d lose his shit and tell everyone, so if you’re not gonna be here to back me up I better not. That, and I respect your wishes to keep Finn a secret.”

 

Shadow smiled sadly at the jackal. If only he knew what the hedgehog went through on an emotional level just to keep his identity safe. It’s better that he never finds out. 

 

Finn must have sensed the focus on him and began giggling quietly in his sleep; for a brief moment Shadow panicked thinking that this intimacy was a set up, and that the jackal had been playing him a fool this whole time. When he settled and curled in on himself more though, the hedgehog relaxed again: who knew jackals were so expressive and empathic in their sleep?

 

“You shouldn’t keep secrets in a relationship just because of me though, I understand that much. Still, if you want me to be there when all hell breaks loose, I’ll be there. I’m responsible for this whole Finn problem on all sides of the war, so you have nothing to worry about there,” he said, which made Rouge smile.

 

“I’m so proud of you and how far you’ve come, Shadow. You’re doing the right thing, I think. Maybe not for the right reasons, but I guess it’s not up to us to be perfect. You do whatever you think is right, and I’ll do my best to support you,” she encouraged, which made the hedgehog look away in embarrassment. 

 

Shadow was never good at compliments, so he simply buried his face back in Rouge’s neck, “You’d be a hypocrite if you didn’t,” he teased.

 

She laughed at the remark and wrapped her arms around Shadow, snuggling into the embrace. They rarely had touchy moments like this since it tended to overload both of them with sensory issues, but in the rare instances they needed the physical affection they exploited it until the sappiness wore off and it was back to business.

 

“I don’t care about being a hypocrite Shadow, I care about you.”

 

The hedgehog wondered if Finn had the same touch problem he did, or if he was worse or better at it. Was the reason he hid his face a result of… no, hopefully not. Shadow found himself wondering why this even mattered in the first place, since it wasn’t like a conscious Finn would be eager to hug him: the hedgehog wasn’t exactly a warm or inviting person, especially to him.

 

Shadow sighed and pushed the thoughts away before trying to untangle himself from Finn’s grasp. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, he looks pretty comfortable,” a voice whisper-shouted from across the workshop with a giggle, and it took all of Shadow’s efforts not to jump into defense mode and confront the person. 

 

After enough wiggling and risky tugging, the hedgehog managed to properly sit back again, glancing over at Jet who was approaching Shadow with a smirk. 

 

“D’awe, you’ve gone soft on him.”

 

“He had a rough day and was already being clingy as hell, it’s the least I could do to assure he stays asleep.”

 

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, I know you wanted that just as bad or you’d ignore him, Shadow,” the hawk teased, sitting down on the nearby folding chair to watch Finn with utter admiration in his eyes. Why did it make Shadow so unnerved?

 

“I’m not going soft on him, and even if I was it wouldn’t matter. If you try to tell anyone, they’d never believe you,” the hedgehog huffed, crossing his arms smugly. Jet snickered at the response, but was clearly more focused on Finn than Shadow’s threat. 

 

Shadow usually didn’t find the bird this annoying, but maybe it was the lack of sleep that made everything he did so irritating.

 

Jet never knew how to take a social cue, and decided to continue the conversation in spite of the sleeping jackal who could wake at any minute from the squawk-whispering; “To be fair, most people don’t know how cute he is because he was too busy being a war criminal. Seeing him relaxed and without his mask is probably the best reward right now, he has no business being that attractive.”

 

“Simp,” Shadow mumbled, but couldn’t resist looking at Finn again, just to acknowledge what Jet was admiring. 

 

The hawk snickered, “Jealous much? You’re one to talk, Mister let-me-lay-beside-him-and-stare-at-his-face-for-hours.”

 

Shadow paled, “ Was it that long…? Wait, how do you even know that?” he snapped back defensively, brow furrowed. 

 

“Cameras bud, the only thing keeping me from zoning out when flying this ship,” Jet explained with a wink, baffled when the hedgehog didn’t laugh at his spunky response.

 

“What?”

“If you’re here, who the hell is flying us right now?” Shadow asked, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. The bird laughed nervously and began scratching the back of his neck, “Oops, we do have autopilot though so it can’t be too bad! Normally Storm does all the flying and Wave programmed the thing, so I doubt me being there is that important.”

 

After a prolonged staredown and silent treatment from the hedgehog, Jet got back up and sighed, shaking his head, “Fine, I’ll go back if it calms you down: I know you just want to get all cuddly with Finn again. Suit yourself! Just don’t like, fall in love with him or something.”

 

Shadow glared, “Leave. This has nothing to do with me and Finn, I just think someone should be flying the ship at all times in case something goes wrong, it’s not my fault Storm isn’t doing his job.”

 

“He’s been worried about Finn and hasn’t been sleeping, cut the guy some slack okay? I can handle his work for now, it’s about time I stopped ordering everyone around and did some stuff myself anyways,” Jet exclaimed, headed towards the door. 

 

Oh, well that was oddly sweet and out of character for the bird… Shadow almost felt bad for being so dismissive.

 

“That’s… nice of you. Storm doesn’t need to worry anymore though, none of us do. He’s gonna be okay,” he reassured, which made Jet smile as he started to leave.

 

“I’ll be sure to send the message along, but for now I’ll just leave you two lovebirds alone!” he called back on his way out. 

 

Once again, Shadow almost felt bad. 

 

“I’m not a bird, he’s not a bird. You’re a bird, and you’re about to be a dead bird if you keep that up!” he threatened, but Jet was already gone.

 

Finn grabbed back onto the hedgehog’s arm and he immediately relaxed again, chuckling as he did so.

 

“Ah shit. I’m definitely too attached to you, Jet was right… just don’t let him know I said that. I hope you don’t hear this, but I don’t think I can be mad at you anymore, Finn. I just hope you don’t use that against me.”

Notes:

Well, there we have it folks! Shadow is in love, but give him a few chapters to realize it, because he isn't exactly the most self aware person. I promise we are getting off the Rogue's ship next chapter and as much as I'm sad to see them go (for now) I think we really need a change in scenery!

Wishing you all the best,

Izzie <3

Chapter 12: Chapter 11. Winter in My Heart, the Avett Brothers

Notes:

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well; school has been busy on my part, but I slowly worked my way through this chapter so you guys have more content to work through while I finish this semester.

It's a little long and probably messy, but I hope you enjoy it anyways!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Winter in my Heart, The Avett Brothers:

 

“Wait, so this is your first time out of the village?” the girl asked, trying to hide the judgemental pity on her face. 

 

The young jackal looked down sheepishly, “Something like that, yeah.”

 

She couldn't help but laugh at the awkward mannerisms; “Well that explains a lot! Come on, we’ll skip biology and head over to the auditorium so I can introduce you to everyone. Oh, and call me Ruby, I prefer my english name.”

 

He nodded eagerly, perking up at the possibility of a theater club-- maybe this place did musicals! “Can we go now?” 

 

The other jackal giggled, shaking her head; “You really are something… what was your name again?”

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Finn opened his eyes groggily, rubbing his face with the back of his hand. He wasn't used to not wearing gloves as most mobians considered it ill-fitting to go without them, but they couldn't be salvaged and he was left bare-handed. 

 

He turned his head to the side and almost jumped at the sight of Shadow, who was awkwardly leaning onto the edge of his cot, hand right where he placed it earlier. 

 

“He kept his word,” the voice said softly, impressed by the dedication. 

 

Finn shifted on his side so he could stare at the hedgehog who was uncharacteristically calm, face smushed into his arm which lay flush with the jackal’s pillow. Seeing Shadow like this was refreshing, as he lacked the intimidating aura that radiated from him when conscious.

 

Did the hedgehog’s quills always look this soft? He scrunched his nose at his own curiosity; this is weird Finn, stop staring at the guy… it’s not like Shadow would watch you sleep or anything

 

He wanted to keep admiring the hedgehog’s peacefulness, but realized that if Shadow caught him he’d have a lot of explaining to do. Thus, Finn closed his eyes and pretended to wake up again, making sure to move and vocalize a lot more. Shadow's eyes snapped open instantly, startling back and glancing around to ensure he knew where he was. 

 

The jackal acted aloof, but secretly found the hedgehog's reaction adorable. “Morning, do you seriously never sleep?” he asked. 

 

“I technically don’t need to, and oftentimes I can’t. However, it does pass the time, and it's a good mental break,” Shadow explained, moving back from the cot in embarrassment. He didn't realize how close they were when sleeping, and immediately reestablished the comfortable distance. 

 

Finn laughed defeatedly, “I’d know a thing or two about sleeping out of boredom, it’s all I do these days. You can’t pass time when you are no longer aware of it, so everything blends into one prolonged frozen moment.” 

 

Maybe the past few days had gotten to him, and considering how much his physical, mental, and emotional state had changed in such a short span of time, it was no shock that this inactivity was infuriating. 

 

The hedgehog noticed this passive-aggressive restlessness, as it reminded him of… her. The bedridden cabin fever, the yearning for a change of scenery: this was all too familiar. 

 

“Well,” Shadow started cautiously, “Should we leave now? You seem stable enough; we just need to grab your report on the way out.” 

 

Finn immediately perked up at the offer, swinging his legs over the edge of the cot and standing up; “Yeah I do! Come on, let’s go find Wave,” he said eagerly.

 

Shadow smirked at the reaction and stood up, wincing at the pain in his legs from sitting for so long. He tried stretching them out, but it was an attempt made in vain: he’d just have to walk it off. 

 

The jackal was definitely in a much more mobile state now; he could walk and stand without much trouble, but it hurt when he turned and couldn't stand for long periods of time. Still, he was on the right track for recovery and could definitely survive a car ride or brisk walk. 

 

“We’ll just grab your lab results and head out, sound good?” the hedgehog reiterated, already heading towards the halls. 

 

Finn jogged lightly to catch up before walking beside Shadow, “Yeah yeah, got it. I’m gonna miss it here, but I definitely need a change in scenery.”

 

He couldn't deny it, Finn had definitely grown attached to the Babylon Rogues. Jet was hardly a threat like Shadow insinuated when they first arrived, and was more like a younger cousin who makes you play video games with them. Wave may be a genius, but she was more down to earth than people gave her credit for: she's the passive aggressive therapist friend everyone needs but no one deserves. And Storm? His first real friend since the mercenary squad incident? Storm was…

 

Well, Storm was now looking over him and curiously scratching his head, as the jackal had walked right into him when lost in thought. Oops. 

 

“You okay kiddo? You just kinda zoned out and wiped out from our collision,” the albatross explained, helping Finn to his feet. 

 

Finn glared at Shadow, who was just as confused; “You didn't think to tell me I was about to knock myself out?”

 

The hedgehog looked away, mumbling an incoherent apology; “I wasn't looking either.”

 

“Well anyways, I’m glad to see you’re walking again, or I guess walking at all considering how bad you were at it when you first got here,” Storm exclaimed, slapping the jackal on the back and laughing. 

 

Finn smiled at the bird’s greeting and chuckled sheepishly, “Yeah, I was in rough shape then, but I’m feeling a lot better now that I’m not dying. Why are you up so early?” he asked. 

 

Storm grinned, “Workout session of course! If I get enough reps done in time I can watch Wendy Williams with Jet, and then make Wave her brunch bagel and fruit bowl.” 

 

The jackal had to resist laughing at how casual Storm was about his unorthodox schedule, but was proud of the albatross anyways; “Ah, good luck with that! We’re actually headed over to see Wave now, any idea where she is? Once I get my results I’m probably gonna leave.”

 

“Awe, leaving so soon? I’m gonna miss having you around kiddo, oh well. I’ll take ya to her, she’s probably in the kitchen inhaling green tea like it’s air or something, I blame Espio…” the bird said, grumbling that last part. Despite his change in tone, there was no real animosity in Storm’s voice, so it turned out sounding rather adorable. 

 

Finn laughed at the reaction, choosing to ignore the first part lest he got emotional, “What, is the chameleon some kind of tree hugger?” 

 

Storm laughed, and began leading the two mobians to the kitchen; “Nah, he might be a ninja but the guy is pretty edgy for someone who's supposed to be zen. He was just concerned at how many energy drinks she consumes in a day, they say you should only have one! None of us could get her to drink water so flavoured stuff will have to do for now… it’s the canned Arizona shit so it still isn't very good, but I can’t be picky if there was only room for improvement!” 

 

The jackal was surprised to hear Storm swear since he couldn't remember the bird doing it before, but was amused regardless-- though Wave’s caffeine addiction was definitely concerning.

 

As the two mobians continued their conversation, Shadow followed behind them quietly in defeat; he knew both mobians longer than they knew each other but was still hardly on talking terms with either of them. He found Finn’s demeanor around the rogue fascinating, and hearing Storm not make a fool of himself was a nice change. 

 

Shadow was an introvert: he knew he didn’t have the social energy or emotional investment for dynamics like this, but that didn't mean he was okay with watching them be happy together. Finn was never this casual during their conversations, and Shadow was only just realizing how uncomfortable he made the jackal. 

 

If we didn’t have the past we have, we’d probably get along perfectly, he thought to himself regretfully. 

 

“Oh hey Shads, are you guys headed to the kitchen too?” a voice suddenly asked beside him, prompting Shadow to snap back to the present and address the green hawk. 

 

Shadow cringed at the familiar nickname but responded anyways, “Yeah, apparently Wave is there and… what are you wearing?”

 

Jet stopped walking to look down at himself, confused, “What? What’s wrong with my outfit?”

 

The hawk was wearing an oversized black fluffy housecoat, some plaid flannel sweats, and mint green peep slippers. “These are just my talk-show binging clothes,” the bird defended, which made Shadow smirk. 

 

“Whatever you say, you’re the boss after all,” the hedgehog said dismissively, turning his head away so the bird couldn't see the look of amusement on his face. At least that exchange made Shadow feel better, but he still felt isolated. 

 

They soon arrived in the Babylon Rogues’ kitchen, which was admittedly quite gorgeous. The sleek black marble countertops and geometric light fixtures were classy, albeit intimidating. Wave was at the island, hardly visible over the large stack of papers sitting in front of her; it seemed that everywhere she went, clutter followed.

 

Storm sighed at the mess, mumbling something about how he couldn’t leave for two seconds without someone messing up the kitchen, which seemed very out of character for the albatross. Wasn’t he a total slob before?

“I didn’t think you’d care that much about order, you haven’t been the best at tidying in my opinion,” Finn mumbled to the bird, sensing the tension in his stance.

 

The albatross gasped at the assumption, which prompted a regretful “oh no” from Jet; “The kitchen is my sacred place, and anyone who messes with its cleanliness by bringing work to a place of rehabilitation and wellness is possessed by capitalism and not welcome,” Storm lectured sternly. 

 

“It appears even he has his Wave-like moments, just in the wrong direction. They’re more similar than they think though,” the voice chimed in, entertained by the character study.

 

“Good morning to you too Storm,” Wave drawled from behind her work, scribbling something out on one of her blueprints. The swallow had already finished a jug of iced tea which was acting as a paperweight to her reports, but seemed exhausted in spite of all the caffeine.

 

Jet snickered at the exchange, and quickly ran over to the island and slid across it, sitting comfortably on the edge; “We’re here for Finn’s test results I think! Or brunch, I’m honestly not sure, I just followed everyone else here,” he said with a shrug of indifference. 

 

Wave finally looked up and scanned the room curiously, “And… you’re all here for it? Finn, is that okay with you?” 

 

The jackal hadn’t really given it a thought, as he assumed being a villain meant he lost all rights to confidentiality. “Uh, I think? I’m sure it will get around anyways, you all live with one another and secrets are bad. Everyone can stay, I just want to know if anything cool happened.”

 

“Hah, you WISH you were given that much respect when you were a lab rat,”  the voice teased Shadow, which made the hedgehog tense up. 

 

Wave nodded to Finn with a smile before proceeding with the update; “Well the good news is that the ruby prototype’s remnants are no longer a threat to you, and have actually fused with your body. The inhibitor rings forced your systems to accept the prototype so it would no longer destroy you, but this was encouraged by the heightened Chaos energy from the donor ribs. You now have limited, albeit above average Chaos abilities that I’m sure Shadow can educate you on, right?”

 

The jackal looked over at Shadow curiously, since this was the first he was hearing about this. He tried to hide his excitement but it was all too clear how thrilled he was, heels bouncing and eyes glimmering. 

 

The swallow sighed at the reaction, since Finn was clearly focusing on the least exciting part of her announcement since it didn’t concern her, but the other Rogues had that covered: Storm and Jet cheering obnoxiously and “hyping” Wave up on the success. She wasn’t appreciative of the painful back slaps from the albatross or the hawk’s squawking, but the sentiment did make her giggle. 

 

“This was always a possibility, but the prototypes won’t sufficiently mask the energy, so you’ll have to learn to channel it. That’s what I have to teach you now,” Shadow said aside to Finn over the noise, offering a more intimate moment.

 

The hedgehog was looking at Finn very fondly, which was making him both uncomfortable and flattered at the same time. Shyly easing into the moment, the jackal found himself smiling back, albeit briefly. 

 

Once the birds calmed down, Wave attempted to make sense of her now disrupted papers, picking up what she could in order to continue the report; “Want to hear about genealogy? I promise it’s interesting,” she offered.

 

Finn shrugged and nodded, tearing his gaze away from crimson eyes; “Sure, why not? I’m still the same though, right?”

 

“Oh course! Shadow has donor genes that are basically stem cells which morphed to you specifically, I didn’t accidentally make you related or anything! That would be awkward,” she explained, trying to hide the smirk on her face. Jet snickered at the joke too, but Storm and Shadow didn’t seem to catch on. 

 

The jackal mumbled something under his breath and looked down, face red, prompting the swallow to continue explaining her findings. “Fine I’ll move on, did you know you’re of Babylonian descent?”

 

Well, that was a stark change in subject. The room got tense, and Shadow began to feel like he was imposing by being a part of this conversation. The other rogues had a right to know and so did Finn, so why was he here?

 

Finn felt sick, and he wished he was sitting down for this conversation because the room felt like it was spinning. Blood purity was never something he cared about despite some of the more traditional beliefs from his hometown, but it still made him uneasy.

 

After a lack of a response, Wave’s face fell, realizing that this was the worst possible way to break the news to the jackal, not to mention her teammates. 

 

“Not until now I didn’t,” Finn finally answered, softly chuckling from discomfort.

 

“That’s pogs as hell! How did you figure it out, Wave?” Jet said loudly, almost expositionally, which prompted the swallow to bury her head in her papers. He was trying to save the conversation, but was far too enthusiastic and robotic to pass as genuine.

 

Wave cautiously decided to elaborate; “I can roughly determine someone’s genetic history with the database I stole from G.U.N. since they’re more accurate than 23&Me, in addition to the data I collect as we travel.”

 

The jackal raised an eyebrow at the mention of G.U.N. and gestured to Shadow, “Should he know about that?”

 

“ACAB.” the hedgehog mumbled, looking away and crossing his arms. Finn shrugged and motioned for Wave to continue, “How much of me is Babylonian?” 

 

The swallow inhaled sharply, “Roughly 28% which is extremely high considering you had no idea, you’re sure you don’t have any known Babylonian relatives?” she questioned. He shook his head in response, “I’m positive, my family is strictly jackals that all look, talk, and act the same: it’s like they’re clones or some shit. Is that why I…?”

 

Finn wanted to go on, but his voice trailed off mid thought, eventually clearing his throat to look back up sharply, “My eyes. Is that why they’re… well,” he started.

 

“Jackals don’t actually carry the blue eye phenotype, so your heterochromia is most likely a result of the foregin mutation. It might also explain your agility, apparently you were pretty fast before the ruby?” Wave elaborated, which piqued Jet’s interest. 

 

“Wait, you were fast before? How fast?” the hawk asked, vibrating in anticipation. Finn laughed nervously and averted his gaze, but did his best to answer: “I mean, pretty fast? I never broke the sound barrier like hedgehogs seem to do around here but I was quick on my feet, I guess that’s why you and I have speed in common?” 

 

Jet grinned devilishly, “Well then hurry up and heal so we can race! I need a new competitor now that Sonic has given up on trying to beat me.”

 

The swallow cleared her throat before continuing; “ Anyways , the blue eye phenotype most likely came from Babylonians since a lot of native mobian species don’t have blue eyes, but now I’m wondering if the ones that do are also Babylonian… I’ll have to look into that! I also wonder if it goes both ways, which would explain Storm’s pigmentation and increased muscle mass when compared to the other birds, or non-reptilian mobians with gold eyes, or—“ Wave began rambling, and unlike everyone else in the room, Finn was actively trying to listen even if it was the hardest to follow for him.

 

“Wave, you’re going to kill him again, just leave him be for two seconds!” Storm complained, smothering the jackal in a hug much like he did when they first met. “Not if you suffocate him first,” the green hawk piped in, sitting back on the edge of the kitchen island in spite of the many chairs beside him.

 

She backtracked from her speech to pause and look at how stunned Finn was, and her face softened; “I’m sorry, I guess that was a lot all at once. This research thing doesn’t even concern you but here I am ranting— don’t worry about it! You just really helped me out with some personal genealogy stuff, and I figured you ought to know… so thank you,” Wave said slowly and calmly, which was extremely out of character. 

 

Jet decided to kill the mood again, “Where are my apologies and thank you’s? I’ve had to put up with this shit my whole life but you couldn’t afford to spare me a sorry once in a while?” 

 

“You’re supposed to earn apologies Jet, you haven’t done anything to deserve one,” the swallow said coldly, but the small smile on her face was priceless. Still, her eyes never left Finn’s,which made him feel a lot safer than eye contact usually made him feel. 

 

Storm pulled back from the jackal after finally catching up on what Wave was saying earlier, “Wait, does this mean I have to get in the tube now? I want Finn as a cousin just as much as you guys do, but I get claustrophobic,” he admitted sheepishly. 

 

Finn got a bit flustered from the comment and didn’t say anything as the birds bickered amongst themselves, still trying to process what this all meant. This whole time… he wasn’t a curse or a burden? He just had different DNA…?

 

The hedgehog had remained silent for the entire conversation, but recognized the expressions Finn was making all too much. He could read right through the identity crisis, and the meaningless banter that was occurring was not helpful for the jackal right now. 

 

Doing his best to de-escalate the Rogues, Shadow cleared his throat to quietly interrupt Wave in the middle of one of her rants. She noticed immediately, and he offered an awkward smile as a thank you before continuing; “Is there anything else we need to be here for?” Shadow asked. 

 

Wave shook her head, “No you’re fine! I’ll send the full report to you just to have on file, but let me know if you need anything else.” The hedgehog nodded, and gestured to the swallow to follow him aside for a more private conversation. 

 

“Dude, I’m gonna miss having you around— especially now that you can actually do stuff! Talk about bad timing,” Jet exclaimed. 

 

The jackal blushed at the comment and tried to shrug it off, but was immediately tackled by Storm again; “Come on kiddo, don’t be all embarrassed, Boss is the one who is all ruffled from how pretty you are. Since we’re probably related now that gets a little weird, but it’s the thought that counts!”

 

Finn raised an eyebrow at the comment but decided to only address the least controversial thing the albatross said, “Kiddo? Storm, I probably should have told you this a while ago, but I’m pretty sure I’m older than you. Like, I’m almost certain.”

 

Storm gasped and pulled back from the hug to stare at the jackal with wonder, “You mean… I’m not the oldest anymore…?” 

 

“Yeah, I don’t remember my birthday but I’m probably like, 20ish? No older than 25 but that’s still older than you, right?” 

 

Jet snickered at the teary-eyed albatross, “Oh yeah, this is gonna open a whole new can of worms. Now Wave can’t bully him for being the irresponsible eldest if he’s actually one of the middle kids like her.”

 

The jackal froze, the gears turning in his head visible to both birds; “Huh? Did you… did you guys just adopt me?”

 

“Dude, we adopted you like, 4 chapters ago. You’re a Babylon Rogue now! At first it was honorary because we liked you, but the blood-relation kinda tied it together. Group hug!” Jet cheered, and Storm happily pulled both mobians in for a squished embrace. 

 

Instead of fighting it this time, Finn just let it happen and melted into the affection. He might have lost his squad a year ago, his family…. but maybe, just maybe, he found a new place to belong. 

 

“Not gonna lie Finn, you scared me when you first got here… I didn’t think you were gonna make it in the state I met ya in. But you, you pulled through and proved me wrong, which probably doesn’t say a lot about me— but it says so much about you. You’re many things Finn, but weak isn’t one of them. There will always be a place for you here, okay? We’ve gotcha big bro,” Storm said quietly to the jackal, who was struggling to stay composed. 

 

This well articulated pep talk from the albatross reminded him of their first conversation, and Finn couldn’t hide the fact he was tearing up. 

 

“If you ever get tired of Ow the Edge, feel free to come back! Just send me a letter or visit my island with a nice gift and we’ll be on our way to pick you up,” Jet added, trying to lighten the mood. 

 

 Finn turned his head to look at the Hawk puzzledly; “Huh? Do you really have a… oh, do you mean in Animal Crossing? But I don’t have a Switch!” He explained, laughing a little at the bird’s addiction to the game. 

 

Jet began cackling, wiggling out from Storm’s grasp to run to the counter to bring the jackal a poorly wrapped mound of… something. 

 

The albatross let go of Finn so he could unwrap the gift, only for him to immediately gasp, “Jet you did NOT customize a Switch for me. No way.” he said sternly, looking back and forth between the device in his hands and the smug bird in front of him. 

 

“Well, you don’t have a phone… so you have a Switch now! It’s a Lite so you can take it with you everywhere, and I got Wave to rig it with cellular so you can always stay connected!” the hawk explained, but Finn was still too in shock to register what he was saying. 

 

The device was strikingly similar to the jackal’s mask, sporting a silver chrome and matte black shell, spiral designs on the back, and ruby buttons: it was perfectly his. “Won’t this give me away as Infinite…?” He asked quietly, admiring how the gems sparkled as he tilted the Switch. 

 

Jet shrugged, “You could just be a fan of his since he reps your species! It might make you look insensitive, but if anyone assumes you’re Infinite just call them racist.” 

 

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t get hatecrimed… if you need anything, we’ve got your back!” Storm reassured, resting a hand on Finn’s shoulder. 

 

The jackal glanced back at the swallow who was still talking to Shadow, and his joyful expression faltered briefly. “Can you guys do me a favour actually?” he asked hesitantly. 

 

The hawk pretended not to notice Finn’s change in tone and carried on with the same charisma he normally would, “Of course! What’s up man?”

 

“Please… this might be overstepping, but keep an eye on Wave? Maybe like, help her out some more? I know you all have your own problems, but she’s not doing okay and will ignore her issues to take care of yours. I know she has Espio or whatever, but family means a lot too y’know? You’ve known her longer than me, but I think she’s so used to helping you that she won’t accept your help…. from my past experience in a group on the move, that’s not a good thing.” 

 

Both Jet and Storm’s expressions changed to a more serious one, and the two exchanged a look. Just as he was about to question bringing it up, Jet laughed quietly. 

 

“You really are something, Finn… we’ll look after her. It’s about time we started.”

 

While this touching moment was happening, Shadow and Wave were on the brink of a fistfight, which may be the first one the hedgehog could lose. 

 

“Shadow, you are not paying me for helping Finn, I’m sorry… but I’m actually not. Too bad, he’s family, and Babylonians don’t charge family.”

 

The hedgehog felt restless, and tried to calm the crackling in his fingertips, “I’m not Babylonian though, and I was the one who brought him here for you to fix: you helped me. I owe you, so give me a price and I’ll match it.”

 

Wave’s stern gaze didn't falter; she wasn't just defending her honour, but Finn’s dignity. What the Babylon Rogues did for the jackal wasn't just a cash grab , they actually cared for him. 

 

Even if the silence was deafening, and although the electricity radiating from Shadow made her feathers stand on end, the swallow stood her ground. 

 

Shadow had gone up against demigods and fleets of robots… but for some reason the swallow’s glare was slightly more intimidating… just by a bit.

 

“Keep the phantom ruby prototype, then. I think it might be useless, but then again I’m not familiar enough with it. Use it for one of your projects or something,” he finally offered, ears lowered in defeat. 

 

The swallow’s interest was piqued, and clearly this was something that could be considered a loophole to the payment rule, “Won't you get in trouble for not giving it to G.U.N.?” 

“They’ll never find out,” he explained with a smirk. Wave nodded in coy understanding as the tension died, “I’ll take it under one condition: you let me fix the paint on your shoes.”

 

Shadow’s excitement quickly faded and was replaced with an unreadable expression, “Sorry… that’s one thing I can’t do yet. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just… the person who painted them meant a lot to me, and…” he trailed off, gaze dropped to the floor. 

 

Wave softened at the vulnerability, and nodded in understanding; “That’s okay then, I’m sure I can repurpose the ruby for something,” she assured, gently touching the hedgehog’s arm. The two shared a look of understanding before Shadow broke it, turning back to look at Finn. 

 

“Hey Frankenstein, you ready to go?”

 

The jackal snapped out of his happy conversation to glare at Shadow, but not for the anticipated reason, “You mean the Creature, right? Often dubbed Adam because of his obsession with Paradise Lost? Frankenstein was the dropout scientist, ” he snarled. 

 

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the response, but couldn't hide his amusement: “You’re telling me you finished highschool then?”

 

“... Shut up. I know you meant the Creature when you made the joke.”

 

“Prove it then,” Shadow replied, and smiled when Finn grumbled in defeat, unable to damn the hedgehog.

 

Wave sighed loudly while looking at the jackal, only to look away dramatically and cross her arms. She was the only one who hadn't been acknowledged by Finn, and considering she did the most out of the three Rogues, she was feeling a bit cheated. Still, this offended facade was just a means to get his attention, and it worked. 

 

Finn ran over to the swallow and immediately pulled her into a hug, which she gave into, laughing. “Thank you for giving me my body baaaack,” he drawled goofily, which made Wave giggle. 

 

“You’re lucky I’m a genius and that I was in a good mood that day,” she teased, but let the jackal melt in her arms for the time being. Even though he was still pretty unkempt, the health restored to his body made Finn very fluffy and comfortable to hold, and the swallow was loving the attention. 

 

The jackal sighed happily before pulling back to hold the girl’s face, “D’awe, save some of this love for Espio, hm? Don’t want him getting jealous,” he cooed with a snicker, before promptly being shoved away. 

 

Wave sighed irritably at the comment, “Why does everyone think we’re a thing?”

 

“Because the only time you’re ever happy is when you’re with him,” Jet deadpanned, trying to hide the growing smile on his face in vain. “That’s more of a comment on how much she hates us though,” Storm stated, which made Finn laugh. 

 

Shadow was beginning to get restless with the prolonged goodbye, and maybe he didn't like how much Finn got along with the Babylon Rogues. He wasn't too surprised since they were travelling thieves and he was an ex-mercenary, but that didn't make it any less infuriating. 

 

“Since you hate long distance teleportation, we're just going to teleport to the ground and drive the rest of the way,” the hedgehog explained to Finn.

 

Jet raised an eyebrow, “Oh, if you needed us to land you could have just said so! I can go do that now no problem,” he offered. 

 

The hedgehog shook his head, “No no, don’t bother. Thank you, but you’ve already done enough for us-- not to mention he’s going to have to get used to it eventually. I’m hoping his increased Chaos energy will make it less jarring, but I’m sure he’s going to milk the nausea for attention, right Finn?”

 

Finn glowered at the comment, but defeatedly sludged his way over to Shadow’s side. 

 

“Whatever, I guess this is goodbye then?” he said quietly, trying to ignore the anxiety bubbling inside of him. The jackal was finally comfortable somewhere, but was now being ripped away from safety by his ex-rival who was as predictable as a loose cannon. 

 

The Rogues shared a glance, communicating something to one another that the other two mobians in the room couldn't read. Jet turned back to Finn with a soft smile before answering, “It’s more of a see ya later… we’re not quite done with you yet.” 

 

Before Finn could respond or even react, he shuddered violently like he had before back in the storage room, and soon found himself hurdled to the ground, which was now a dirt road. 

 

“So that’s what that was!” he exclaimed, stumbling back up to his feet. The jackal wanted to scold Shadow for cutting him off without warning, but a part of him was glad the goodbye wasn't dragged out any longer: if he stayed another second he probably wouldn't have left. 

 

Shadow frowned at the comment, turning to examine the jackal, “That's what what was? We teleported to the ARK, is that what you mean…?”

 

Finn shook his head, “No no, I remember that unfortunately: thankfully I still have my vision this time! I still never figured out why that happened, but that’s a whole other can of worms. I got this weird jittery sensation right before we teleported, which I experienced right before I ran into you with Metal Sonic. I guess I can feel fluxes in Chaos energy?”

 

The hedgehog froze in shock, blinking a couple times in bewilderment. “That’s… not possible. Or at least, it shouldn't be unless you have extremely high Chaos energy levels. Wave said yours were low, not to mention you’re wearing relatively strong inhibitors… I have to read your full report when we get back to my apartment.” 

 

“Cool cool, whatever that means. Where’s your car?” Finn asked, looking around at the deserted area. 

 

Shadow snorted at the question and motioned for the jackal to follow him, “Close, I got someone to drive it here. What happened to Infinite, the eloquently articulated demigod who spoke like someone who reads the dictionary every day?”

 

Finn grumbled and turned red, looking down at his shoes before quickening his walking pace to match Shadow’s, “That was just me in theatre kid mode... I rehearsed those lines by guessing what people would say to me. It was just glorified improv, I don’t usually sound that cool,” he admitted defeatedly. 

 

“To be honest, I think it’s an improvement: you didn't sound cool before, you sounded like a pretentious bastard.” Shadow replied, before humming in thought. “Now that I think of it,” he continued, “the first time we met you were quite informal, right? Your voice was just as raspy as it is now as well...” 

 

The jackal so focused on keeping up with Shadow’s quick walking that he was only half paying attention to what the hedgehog said, and only realized he was supposed to respond when it was already silent for too long. 

 

Finn decided to not say anything, while the hedgehog mentally kicked himself for mentioning their first encounter: now it was awkward for both of them. 

 

Thankfully they were at Shadow’s car now, and--

 

“Holy shit, is this where taxpayer money goes? Isn't this like the James Bond car but black?” Finn asked, eyeing the shiny vehicle. 

 

Shadow raised an eyebrow, “Bond? Who the hell is that? I bought it off of someone because it looked cool, I didn't think it carried any meaning, but I suppose that explains a lot of the weird looks I get when driving it.”

 

Finn rolled his eyes, “Or they’re just surprised to see a hedgehog that’s infamous for teleportation and super speed driving a car .” 

 

The hedgehog stood quietly for a moment, glancing back and forth between the vehicle and Finn. 

 

“What?” the jackal asked, narrowing his eyes. 

 

“Nothing,” Shadow said dismissively, fumbling in his quills for his keys. He’s right, you're just burning the ozone layer for shits and giggles,” the voice finally piped in after being quiet for so long. 

 

Frowning, the hedgehog looked over at Finn, motioning for him to come closer. The jackal obeyed hesitantly, “Is everything okay…? You’re kinda messing up your quills.”

 

Shadow sighed, grabbing Finn’s hands and flattening them out in front of him; “I can’t find my keys, hold stuff for me while I look for them.”

 

The jackal didn't even have time to process the request or the fact Shadow had grabbed his hands before a bunch of clutter was dumped onto him, some of it spilling on the ground. The hedgehog was pulling out so much stuff he could hardly keep track, but some of the things were:

 

  • a book
  • some coloured pencils
  • a pack of gum
  • an eraser
  • a chaos emerald (?)
  • another pack of gum
  • a handgun
  • a small sketchbook
  • his phone
  • a taser that looked like a phone
  • a fidget cube

 

and finally, the keychain he was looking for. Finn looked at Shadow with a dumbfounded expression, jaw hanging open in shock. 

 

“Shadow, what the fuck.

 

“What? Hedgehogs do this all the time, I swear.”

 

“Hm, see that’s really funny because I have met quite a few, I would even say a lot of hedgehogs, and none of them used their quills as null space. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Ara .”

 

Shadow frowned at the unfamiliar language at the end, but was equally confused by the jackal’s unfamiliarity with how quill storage worked. “What do you mean? Sonic does it all the time, you captured him so you must have checked his quills, right?”

 

Finn rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I did actually. He didn't have anything in them, because he isn't a fucking sociopath, Shadow. What the hell is wrong with you? That’s like storing stuff in your hair!”

 

The hedgehog sighed, slowly putting the stuff back into his quills, “No it isn’t, and I’m not a sociopath: don’t throw those words around carelessly, it’s ableist. Sonic was the one who told me to do this so I don’t lose my stuff when I run: for some reason everything stays put. Just get in the car, Finn.” 

 

The jackal continued mumbling under his breath but went around the car and got in on the passengers side. 

 

“We can go out later if you want, but I think daytime is a bad idea considering there’s a nationwide manhunt for you,” Shadow explained while starting the engine and backing them onto the road. 

 

If it wasn't the middle of nowhere, Finn would question why the hedgehog wasn't concerned about someone stealing his car, but eventually realized if he could afford to casually buy it off someone because it “looked cool” then it wouldn't be an unbearable loss for him. 

 

Shadow eventually looked over at the quiet mobian whose head was leaning on the window, and tried to make conversation: “Did you really think I’d buy a luxury car with taxpayer money?” 

 

The jackal resisted the urge to laugh at the genuine question even if it amused him to think he hurt Shadow’s feelings with the comment, “Nah, I was just curious about the origin story: I wouldn’t mind either way since I don’t pay taxes,” he confessed. 

 

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” Shadow replied, turning up the music to fill the uncomfortable silence. Finn immediately perked up, ears flicking towards the sound, “Is that The Killers…?”

 

Shadow pretended he wasn't smiling, “Yeah, Human. Somewhat ironic because we aren’t… well, human.  But it’s catchy. I like it.” 

 

Finn giggled at the horrible forced conversation and turned the volume up more before closing his eyes and relaxing back into the headrest. 

 

The hedgehog easee into the music, and after checking to make sure Finn was relaxed, pressed the gas pedal down completely, shooting them towards Station Square at a violent speed. 

 

Although he initially yelped from jolting forward suddenly, the jackal couldn't resist laughing maniacally at how fast they were going, cheering loudly over the wind. Finn usually wasn't a fan of convertibles because they gave him earaches, but he was so desperate to move that today would be his exception.

 

Even though he could hardly hear from the wind and his own yelling, the jackal’s ears flicked towards Shadow, only to realize that he was singing along under his breath. 

 

Finn didn't take Shadow to be a singer, but was entranced regardless. He couldn't determine if the hedgehog was any good due to the wind, but he felt his face flush at the thought of Shadow singing to himself frequently before quickly realizing that was a weird thing to fantasize about. 

 

“You’ll find he actually does it a lot, he hums too, ” the voice chimed in, almost devilishly. The jackal turned his face to the side so he could watch the muted colours blur into green ones, before then slowly becoming more and more industrialized as they neared the city. 

 

He hardly possessed spatio-temporal awareness because of his time as Infinite, so Finn had to use music as a means to track how long the drive to the city was. It was… twelve songs? No more than fifteen, but it felt quite long considering how fast they were going, especially once they hit the harborfront where all Finn could see was water on his side of the vehicle. Still, he resisted asking if they were close because Shadow was suddenly in a good mood, and he didn't want to curse it. 

 

Once they reached Station Square, the hedgehog’s speed slowed immensely, though it was still far above the speed limit. “We’re almost at my apartment I think, I don’t stay here very often so hopefully we don’t pass it,” Shadow explained, turning the music down so they could talk.

 

Finn stirred and turned back over, facing forward again; “I thought you were taking me to a G.U.N. facility?”

 

“G.U.N. wouldn’t know what to do with you, we already talked about this. I’m handling you on my own for now, and once your abilities are observed in full scope I can hand you off to them with a proper report,” the hedgehog explained, perhaps a bit too harshly. In Finn’s defence he was hardly conscious when they had this conversation, and Shadow hadn’t been very clear on the plan either.

 

The jackal was still confused, “So we’re like, just gonna hang out for a few weeks, test some chaos abilities, and then I get taken into custody?” This sounded like a very awkward and mismanaged plan, but he wasn’t going to complain considering the fact he should be dead right now. 

 

Shadow sighed, “If you want to make it sound less serious than it is, sure.”

 

“Wait, I’m supposed to take this seriously?” Finn asked, genuinely taken aback.

 

The hedgehog’s good mood had faded, and he was now irritated by Finn’s questioning; “You’re a war criminal, Finn. There is a manhunt to find Infinite, and until your chest heals your identity isn’t protected. If we’re caught, I’m going back into stasis and you’ll probably be killed.”

 

Finn didn’t respond, and quietly looked down for the rest of the car ride. Shadow felt bad for snapping, but knew he had to stop being so soft on the jackal: he was being too forgiving too quickly. 

 

“We’re here,” the hedgehog eventually said, nodding to the building. Finn had to squint to see the top, and even then it was difficult. “I assume you don’t want to teleport up, so we’ll take the elevator once we park.”

 

The jackal nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. Part of him was curious about Shadow’s place, even if he hardly lived there. Even so, he felt bad about annoying the hedgehog and decided to stay quiet for the time being unless he was prompted to talk. He was used to this.

 

Shadow drove past the valet and headed straight for the underground parking, cursing inwardly for leaving the top down. Hopefully no one spotted them, and hoped that those who did thought Finn was Rouge thanks to the white hair. 

 

“That’s a weird thought, it makes it sound like you have a type ,” the voice teased, but was also wary of the hedgehog’s moodiness. 

 

When it came time to park in his spot, Shadow began backing the car in as he normally would, turning his head to check his blind spot, and placing his hand behind the passenger seat headrest. Unfortunately for Finn, this invaded his personal space immensely, and the jackal found himself flustered from the encounter, trying to ignore the way Shadow’s inhibitor rings pressed into his dreadlocks, shifting them slightly. 

 

Well, this is awkward , he thought to himself, wondering if this was a normal thing people did when they reverse parked. He wouldn’t know since he didn’t even have a learner’s permit, but Finn prayed his reaction went unnoticed. 

 

“Come on, let’s go. Don’t worry about putting the top up, no one here would bother stealing this car: it would be too noticeable of a crime,” Shadow said, completely oblivious to the jackal’s changed demeanor. 

 

Finn made a small noise of acknowledgment and got out, following Shadow to the elevator from within the parking garage. He assumed they avoided the lobby because of his appearance, and that heading straight to Shadow’s floor would be ideal. 

 

The hedgehog led them to the elevator and pressed the button, rocking on his heels as they waited. “You’re a little restless,” Finn finally commented, albeit quietly. 

 

Shadow frowned, “And? I’d teleport us up but I’m not in the mood for your complaining.” 

 

Fair enough. Finn shrugged sheepishly and laughed, crossing his arms. Normally he’d be offended, but decided that picking a fight with the hedgehog wasn't worth it. 

 

“Come on,” Shadow called when the doors opened, as the jackal had zoned out looking at the floor, lost in thought. He still had the Switch Lite tucked under his arm, and was very tempted to pull it out now. Still, he’d wait until he got up to the apartment.

 

Finn followed the hedgehog into the elevator, but raised his eyebrows when he stuck a key into the slot beneath the buttons, “Do apartments usually do that?”

 

Shadow sighed, “No.” 

 

“Oh, okay then.” 

 

Way to kill the vibe , the jackal thought to himself. He had to learn how to not annoy Shadow, since he was a chatterbox by nature and the hedgehog didn't seem to talk very much if at all. Learning to accept silence as a friend and not a sign of failed conversation was going to be a challenge, but it would be better than whatever this attitude was. 

 

When the doors opened, Finn was not expecting to be in a penthouse, but here he was! He scanned the common area in awe, making note of the minimalistic and monochromatic kitchen, the glass dining table, and the all too comfortable-looking couches in the sitting area. The living space clearly extended beyond his line of vision, branching off to a wing on either side, but the view from the window-wall opposite to the elevator was breathtaking, overlooking the entire city and out to sea, the water blending into the horizon. 

 

“This is beautiful… How do you not live here all the time?” Finn asked, frozen in place at the entrance. 

 

Shadow pushed him aside as he entered and threw his keys on the nearby accent table, immediately headed for his bedroom. When he realized Finn hadn't stepped further than the coat hooks, he paused to turn around and stare at the jackal quizzically. 

 

“Why are you just standing there?” he deadpanned.

 

The jackal looked down, avoiding the critical gaze, “Do you want me to take my shoes off? They aren't dirty or anything and I know you’re wearing yours, but you have special shoes whereas mine are like, normal. But if you also don't want my feet on your floor I get that too, so I didn't enter any further just in case.” 

 

Shadow has no clue how to respond to that, and the exasperated noise he made was proof. “I don’t care, you decide.”

 

“Jeez, I’m just trying to be considerate… I’ll just keep them on.” 

 

The hedgehog ignored the comment and continued explaining the new surroundings, “The guest wing is everything on the west side of the main area, the east is my side. I have some work to do before I log off indefinitely, feel free to do whatever you want-- within reason of course-- for the time being. Use the intercom if you need anything.” 

 

Finn nodded obediently, but his eyes were fixated on the wall of windows at the back of the penthouse, overlooking the city. “Thank you, that's fine. I’ll probably just sit over there for a while if that’s okay,” he admitted, before doing precisely that. 

 

Once he was settled down on the floor, the jackal began tracing the skyline in the carpet near his feet, running over the lines repeatedly so they’d sink in. His gaze occasionally dropped to the tiny specks below, people, who were bustling around the busy streets. 

 

It was still daytime so the lights weren't as noticeable, but he found himself counting cars at stopped intersections until his vision blurred or he lost track. Finn could admittedly do this for hours or even days before getting bored, and he was already so lost in thought that he didn't realize Shadow was watching him endearingly. 

 

The hedgehog knew his inbox was probably overflowing by this point, but he couldn't bring himself to do any work at the moment. He wanted to watch Finn. 

 

The watching from above, the yearning… it reminded him of Maria. 

 

His breathing hitched at the thought of the girl, and reluctantly found himself walking towards the jackal and sitting down beside him. Finn didn't seem to notice that he wasn't alone, too distracted by the life below him. 

 

Against his better judgement, Shadow decided to observe the view as well, ignoring the guilt that swelled in the back of his mind: she never got to do this.

 

“I liked being on lookout when I was with my squad, hell, even before them. There's just something special about watching a broad active landscape from above, it’s almost god-like,” Finn said quietly, shifting his gaze to the hedgehog beside him.

 

Shadow grimaced, but quickly shuddered the negativity away to encourage the jackal’s vulnerability; “The story of a lonely god… spending so much time looking at the earth and wondering what it’s like to be there, longing for that integrated freedom. Sometimes the price of living down there isn’t worth it though, because being removed for so long means you’ll never fit in… it’s better to watch from afar.” 

 

Finn opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't think of anything that could follow the hedgehog’s statement in a coherent manner. It appeared that Shadow was lost in his own thoughts, and that he shouldn't pry… but it was tempting. He shut his mouth and turned to look back at the city. 

 

It took him a while to realize the silence had returned, but eventually Shadow realized he wasn't getting a response. 

 

“Tell me about them, then.”

 

“Who? My squad?”

 

“Yes,” Shadow prompted, “What were they like?”

 

Finn tensed against his will, and tried to calm the fluttering in his chest. Normally he would jump at the chance to talk about his found family, but he couldn't consider the butterflies a blessing. No, he felt sick. 

 

Turning to look at the hedgehog in desperation, he attempted to say something, anything , because the lack of eagerness was concerning. 

 

“I… well, we were a mercenary squad. Not all of us were jackals from the same town, but we were all weird. None of us had names, so it was just a bunch of nomads trying to find ourselves. And… could we do this later?” he rasped out, voice raised in uncertain pitch. Why was this so hard to talk about? Why was he getting emotional?

 

Shadow looked over after hearing the uneasiness in the jackal’s voice, and his hopeful expression fell immediately. Oh. It’s because I… well, he thought I did, for the longest time.

 

The realization hit hard, and it didn't take long for Finn to catch on as to why Shadow suddenly looked so grim and guilty. 

 

“I uh, I think I’m gonna go to my room, er, wing now.”

 

“Okay, sounds good, the bedroom is at the very end.” Shadow wanted to tell the jackal to come get him if he needed anything, but he didn't feel like talking. 

 

Finn got up to leave, but couldn't resist looking back at the ebony hedgehog as he stared down through the windows, lost in thought once more. Shadow looked too conditioned to the environment… sitting like that and yearning suited him too well. 

 

He only understood why Shadow kept glancing at his wrists once he had gotten to his bedroom, inhaling sharply at the colours. 

 

Everything was blue. 

 

He looked down at the silver inhibitor rings and realized they fit in perfectly with the colour scheme. Finn couldn't place exactly what that meant, but he knew there was a lot to unpack later. For now, he sat on the edge of the cream-coloured bed and stared at the ceiling.

 

Finn reached one hand out, watching the light catch his inhibitor, luster contrasting matte walls. 

 

Silver and blue… the earth and the ARK. 

 

The jackal scrunched his face in an attempt to remember what was said back in Wave’s workshop. Praying the swallow knew him well enough in the short period of time they were together, he turned on his Switch only to discover Wave had rigged the thing beyond comprehension. 

 

Nintendo Switch Lite? More like a cellphone, gaming console hybrid. The Rogues probably knew Shadow would disapprove of Finn having his own phone, and gave him a seemingly innocent gaming device as a cover. Nice. 

 

He wanted to spend the next few hours exploring all the features Wave had installed, but the jackal was on a mission to see if the bird did what he hoped. 

 

After locating the bootleg Notes app, he smirked at the message Wave left:

 

Hey Finn, 

 

If you’re reading this, you probably know by now that this isn’t the device it appears to be-- I want to take credit for the idea, but it was actually Storm’s! I know, who would have thought, right?

 

I’ve uploaded a thorough manual in Settings, but I know exactly what you’re here for. No sane person would run away with a stranger, especially a former rival… without some background information on them at least. For you (and only you) I uploaded Shadow’s scanned results and some database files I snagged from G.U.N. when looking for information on Babylon Garden. Read with care, there's a lot to unpack about that guy, and even the files know next to nothing. 

 

That being said, Shadow won’t take too kindly to you reading those, and he’ll be suspicious of the device’s capabilities. If you triple click the b button and type in phantomruby, you’ll enter normal Switch Lite mode: the only hacked thing will be the free wifi. 

 

Changing back requires the same process, so your cover is secured! Storm was worried about your lack of experience with Shadow, and I agree: please be careful! Don’t let him know what you learn about him. 

 

If you need anything, please reach out. We’re one call away, and could always use you on our team. 

 

-Wave

 

Finn tried not to tear up and instead went straight to Shadow’s files, smiling bittersweetly at the Rogues’ kindness towards him. 

 

Most of what he skimmed was too technical for him to process right now, but he froze at the first mention of the ARK… the tragedy?

 

There was no information or context to what had occured, but the jackal felt dizzy when he read further. 

 

It was a casualty list. 

 

He scrolled frantically through the names, horrified at how many pages this went on for. Just as he was about to turn the device off and close his eyes in frustration, he faltered at an all too familiar surname. 

 

After reading the first name, his arms felt like lead from the weight of the rings around his wrists. They carried the weight of something incomprehensible to him, and Finn knew why Shadow stared at them so often. They carried the weight, the name of a child, a dead child. 

 

Robotnik, Maria: 15 yrs. 

Notes:

Well, it's a semi-farewell to the Babylon Rogues, and I have never felt so relieved yet heartbroken. Now it's time for Finn and Shadow's relationship to take the spotlight, and as you can tell by the ending... things will get messy.

The next chapter will be much shorter and might be up soon, but it isn't long before our plot begins! I know this has been a snail-like speed for story progression, but I certainly wasn't kidding when I tagged this as slow burn... in due time it will be worth the wait!

Take care everyone,

izzie <3

Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Losing Fight, Movements

Notes:

Hehehehehehe... prepare for angst! I know I'm supposed to be doing my finals right now and not writing sonic fanfiction, but I binge-wrote this chapter while completely breaching my outline and improvising! Take this as an April Fool's gift, the prank is that you're going to cry hopefully. I promise there are funny bits, but this is supposed to be a hard read! Regardless, I hope you enjoy.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Losing Fight, Movements



Robotnik, Maria: 15 yrs. 

 

Finn felt sick and immediately shut the device down, opting to stare at the ceiling. He recognized the name, Shadow had mentioned her back on the Babylon Rogues’ ship. 

 

Did Shadow kill all those people? Is this why he said he relates to Finn, and understands his situation? No, it wasn't possible. The ARK tragedy happened over 50 years ago, there was no way Shadow could have...

 

Shadow was immortal. Fuck. 

 

“Why don’t you ask him instead of stressing yourself out?”   the voice prompted, but to no avail. 

 

Finn laughed, “Yeah, right. He doesn't like me, why would I ask about his past, unprompted? Better yet,” he added, “why don’t you tell me what happened?”

 

After waiting for a few minutes, the jackal concluded that he wasn't getting a response; “So, are you even real if you only tell me stuff I know?”

 

“Ask Shadow.”

 

“Have you considered the fact he’s scary?”

 

“Okay, and? Ask him, Finn.”

 

Grumbling something about being set up for failure, Finn made his way back to the common area while secretly hoping that Shadow was still working. He wouldn't go looking for the hedgehog, and would only talk to him if they ran into one another. While in the kitchen he took note of the fridge, which had mysterious buttons on it. Quietly, he walked over to the appliance and after scanning to ensure he was alone, pressed one of the buttons.

 

Ice shot out all over the floor. Finn screamed, jumped back, and hissed when his back rammed against the island behind him. He probably should have seen this coming since it was a fridge, but how was he supposed to know, there were no labels!

 

Carefully avoiding the ice on the ground, he approached the fridge again, warily this time. Should he clean the ice up? Finn tried grabbing at some of the cubes, but they repeatedly slipped out of his grasp. Finally, he got hold of one of them, but whimpered at how cold it felt on his bare hands.The jackal scrambled over to the sink to dispose of the ice, but his success was short lived. He tried counting all the remaining cubes, but numbers weren’t his thing and he kept messing up. There were far too many to carry...

 

Should he wait for them to melt and use his tail to wipe it all up? No, his tail was gross and he’d shed all over the light tiles. Tiptoeing over to the ice once more, he began quietly kicking the remaining mess under the fridge, grumbling about how fancy appliances were for stupid people who can’t fill ice trays properly. 

 

Finn went to leave, but couldn’t help but feel defeated. It was just a fridge, he could definitely learn how to use it. The jackal grabbed a glass from the nearby cabinet and began pressing all the buttons, learning which ones did what through trial and error. Once he had the hang of it, he proudly poured himself a victory glass of water, cheering quietly to himself as he drank. 

 

“Can I have some ice please?” Shadow asked from the other side of the kitchen, making Finn jump and nearly drop his glass. The hedgehog had been watching for quite some time, but Finn was oblivious to his arrival due to how focused he was. 

 

The jackal cleared his throat and sipped his water more, averting eye contact; “Uh, how long were you um…”



“A while.”

 

“So you saw me uh…”

“I saw the whole thing, don’t worry about it. Ice?” the hedgehog requested hopefully. Finn smirked, putting his water down to grab Shadow’s cup; “Do you want cubed or crushed? I can actually ask that now,” he boasted. 

 

The hedgehog couldn’t hide his amusement, “Can you do half and half, mixed? Add a bit of water too, if you don’t mind the challenge.”

 

Finn nodded with a grin, carefully working through the request without making a mess this time; “You have a pretty cool fridge, the water is on the outside!”

“Actually, it’s on the floor,” Shadow replied with a smirk, taking his ice with a small thank you before heading to the windows again. Finn followed him, and sat down on the carpet again to watch the city with him in silence. 

 

Well, almost silence. It wasn’t long before the hedgehog was crunching happily on his ice, rocking on his heels as he fixated on the bustling crosswalk below them. Wet food sounds make Finn cringe, but this was satisfying and rather adorable, so he didn’t mind it all that much. 

 

As the hedgehog settled into the moment, Finn looked over nervously, and figured that this was the ideal moment to ask Shadow some questions. He seemed calm, right? At least he had ice?

“Hey so uh,” Finn started, “About what you said before… are you an alien?”

 

Shadow shrugged, “Something like that, yeah.”

 

The jackal waited in anticipation for Shadow to elaborate, but his face slowly fell when nothing else was said. Frowning, he prompted again, “Well… care to elaborate? Normally I wouldn’t pry but you saved my life with your regenerative bone marrow or whatever, so it’s kinda important for me to know what’s going on with your body.”

 

It was a lame excuse because Finn really didn't care about the transfusion (or maybe he was just still in shock) but it somehow worked, and the hedgehog continued. 

 

“I was created from Black Arms DNA on the Space Colony ARK, and I’m actually a project that was created to protect the planet and cure terminal illnesses… the alien part is just what made me more successful,” he explained. At this point Shadow was on autopilot, as he was forced to explain this rather frequently to people. 

 

Finn had many thoughts on this, because this information was certainly not what he anticipated. Created? He came from the colony? Product? Wait, who were the Black Arms?!

 

Of course, being a sensible jackal, his follow-up question was:

 

“How come you’re a hedgehog then?”

 

He mentally slapped himself for the horrible response, but Shadow almost seemed pleased. Maybe he found it funny? The truth was, Shadow was sick of going through the motions: it did nothing for him. At least Finn was being original, it gave him something to think about. 

 

After a hefty pause, the hedgehog answered, “Chaos energy. Hedgehogs, male ones in particular, have a higher probability of harnessing chaos energy and are naturally born with a higher base level. I was created to access the full power of the emeralds since that was the government's top priority when creating a defence weapon, but it would have been easier to cure illnesses if I was a human. Humans can be donors to mobians without a problem, but the reverse is much trickier.”

 

Finn raised an eyebrow, “So this chaos energy thing is like wifi?” he asked. The hedgehog didn't know how to respond, and used this as an excuse to bring his now empty cup back to the kitchen.

 

When Shadow ignored him, the jackal continued; “Well, you’re designed to be perfectly synchronized with the emeralds, which are the wifi. You have the best router so you get the most power! Other people can join the network at varying degrees, but you're the primary connection. I’m like your iphone hotspot which is connected to the wifi through you, but it's not very effective and it’s draining, with minimal results.” 

 

“I wasn't sure at first, but you're definitely smart. Unconventional, but that’s arguably the most intelligent explanation of chaos energy I’ve ever heard from an outsider’s perspective,” Shadow responded while making his way back from the kitchen, smiling every so slightly. 

 

Finn didn't know how to respond to that so he just shrugged shyly. The hedgehog was constantly messing with his ego, making him feel like a mistake one moment and a god the next. He had no clue which one was genuine at this point, but hoped that it was a bit of both. 

 

“So uh, about the ARK. That’s where you took me before, right? The window place?” he asked, recalling the view of the planet and shuddering. 

 

Shadow rolled his eyes and returned to observe the streets below them, “Well it’s bigger than that observatory room considering it’s a whole colony… but yes, same place.” 

 

Finn giggled, “Why would you take me there then? Wouldn't someone find us?”

 

“No, they wouldn't.” Shadow responded curtly, purposely ignoring the first question because he didn't want to think about the answer. 

 

“Why not?” 

 

“Because It's abandoned Finn, I also technically own it so it's vacant per my request. That's why I don't stay in this condo, I live on the ARK,” Shadow explained through his teeth, rigid. 

 

Finn felt guilty and began combing through his tail to distract himself; “Oh… sorry for prying. I can stop asking questions.”

 

The hedgehog winced at the response and sighed, shaking his head in defeat. “No, it’s okay,” he backtracked, “Everyone else already knows this, you deserve to be caught up since you're going to be stuck with me for a while.”

 

When Finn didn't respond, the tension in the air increased, Shadow only making things worse with his bitterness; “Just get it over with now while I’m still patient, talking about myself makes me feel sick.”

 

“I don’t want to overstep, especially if it makes you uncomfortable…” the jackal tried to explain, looking up in an attempt to be reassuring. Shadow avoided his gaze and turned away, quite literally giving Finn the cold shoulder. 

 

When the silence that followed wasn't broken by Finn, the hedgehog couldn’t take it anymore; “You already started, spit it out. Ask me about the fucking ARK incident, I saw you tense when I mentioned it a couple seconds ago.”

 

Finn let out a tiny gasp, “How did you… huh?”

 

“I’m used to it,” Shadow replied coldly. 

 

The jackal saw the hedgehog’s rigid demeanor falter briefly, and an additional wave of guilt washed over him. “You shouldn't be used to it,” he reminded Shadow.

 

After contemplating the words and regulating his rigid breathing, the hedgehog regained his composure and looked over to return Finn’s gaze, only to find the jackal staring down again in defeat. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “What do you want to know?”

 

Finn shifted to recross his legs, but refused to look up or respond. Now that he had made the hedgehog uncomfortable, he didn't want to say anything. Hell, he was fine with not knowing if it made Shadow so... edgy

 

“How come this happens whenever I ask you a question?” the hedgehog asked passive aggressively, cursing under his breath when Finn didn't answer that either. 

 

The jackal flinched, “I don’t want to upset you,” he said quietly, trying to mask the growl in his voice. Finn was just as annoyed as Shadow, but at least he did his best to regulate it. 

 

Shadow laughed humorlessly, “It’s too late for that. Ask your damn question, I don’t care anymore.”

 

“Who was Maria? You mentioned her back in Wave’s workshop.”

 

Well, the hedgehog knew this would come up eventually, it was just a matter of when. It wasn't like Shadow tried to conceal her existence from people, or that he was triggered by the thought of her… but that didn't make it pleasant. He couldn't stop himself from flinching when Finn used past tense to ask about her, and although both of them noticed the reaction, neither addressed it. 

 

After enough contemplation, Shadow went about introducing Maria, “She is the granddaughter of Professor Gerald Robotnik, the cousin of Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and the last person who knew me before I turned into…” he trailed off. 

 

“Turned into what?” Finn asked warily. 

 

Shadow sighed and looked down longingly towards the bustling intersection, “The Shadow  you know today. I wasn't always like this,” he said quietly. 

 

“What were you like?”

 

“I was… happy at a time.”

 

Finn looked up at the hedgehog whose mind was so far gone that it was visible in his expression, disassociated to a point of no return. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he finally replied in vain, knowing that Shadow probably wouldn't acknowledge what he said.To his surprise however, the hedgehog did respond, “Sorry for what?”

 

“For everything. Bringing her up, prying into your past, assuming the worst…” Finn started, before realizing this explanation would probably do more harm than help. 

 

Shadow snapped out of his demeanor to look over at the guilty jackal, “Assuming the worst…?”

 

Finn winced, meeting the hedgehog’s eyes, “I thought you killed everyone on the ARK, or that it was somehow your doing.”

 

“You were right.” 

 

“What?!”

 

Shadow sighed, and shook his head; “Well, I blame myself but apparently it wasn't my fault. I still think it is.” He elaborated, “G.U.N. stormed the ARK and killed nearly everyone on board but spared the Professor and I momentarily. The Professor was executed and I was put in stasis... “

 

“So it was G.U.N. then, not you?” Finn clarified, hoping to alleviate the tension even if it was in vain. 

 

The hedgehog sighed, exhausted with Finn’s inability to make inferences, “They didn't approve of me existing anymore. It was supposed to terminate the project, but I’m the only survivor.”

 

It wasn't that the jackal couldn't see the connections, but he knew Shadow was blinded by guilt even if he seemed to be self aware of it. He wasn't expecting to pity the hedgehog, but here he was, attempting to comfort the broken creation who was now a mere husk of who he used to be. 

 

“That wasn't your fault, you never asked to be created. Shooting up a colony isn't even a good plan, so I find it hard to believe you’re at fault when this was clearly a result of government corruption,” Finn explained. 

 

Shadow shook his head, “But that doesn't matter. They only shot her and the others because they sacrificed themselves to save me, so I did cause their deaths. I’ve claimed to put the past behind me and I have, I know I can't change Maria’s fate. But I refuse to forget her, despite my amnesia she’s the only thing I remember every time. Some argue that's a good thing, others claim it’s just deeply rooted trauma…”

 

The sudden vulnerability was deafening to both mobians. Shadow seldom spoke about himself, to a stranger no less, but here he was doing precisely that. Finn on the other hand was aware of the hedgehog's reputation of being private to the point of anonymity, and was surprised to hear him talk so much about something so personal. 

 

It was moments like these that made Shadow feel like he wasn't connected to his body anymore. 

 

“Well, regardless of the reason, remembering her is good. She makes you happy, so I think it's useful trauma,” Finn eventually replied, meaning every word. 

 

Shadow looked over at the jackal curiously, “Happy? Where are you getting that from at any point in this conversation?”

 

“This is the longest most comfortable conversation we’ve ever had, and your quills are relaxing. you’re calmer.”

 

Wait, really…? Shadow thought to himself, trying to subtly check his reflection in the window. Finn pretended not to notice him doing this and looked away, hiding the small smile on his face from the hedgehog. The curiosity and naivety was endearing, reminding Finn that even if he was ageless, Shadow was still young. He might have been created 50 years ago, but those years were spent in stasis. Despite his hardships Shadow was still relatively innocent, which made the jackal’s heart ache... he felt old now. Being a mercenary aged him way faster than it should have, but at least he could relax knowing the mobian responsible for him still had a youthful spark. 

 

The jackal had been right about Shadow’s quills, which were still upturned but to a less angular degree. Most people assumed it was an intentional stylistic choice, but the constant tension combined with the hedgehog's ever present chaos energy was the reason behind his gravity-defying quills. However, now that he was self aware the tension returned, and Shadow felt them slowly curl up again. 

 

“Oh… well, Maria does make me happy. Sad too, but hopeful is a better way of describing it,” the hedgehog finally responded, looking at his shoes shyly. 

 

Finn smiled at the vulnerability, “What about her makes you hopeful?”

 

Shadow winced, internally debating if he was ready to go this route. Weren't they supposed to be talking about Finn? Why was he suddenly an open book to the jackal? 

 

Even if it felt uncomfortable, he decided that getting these thoughts out now was better than letting them play in his head on loop for the rest of his life; “Maria cared so much, maybe too much… about life. The lab animals, the deadly experiments who shouldn't be removed from their containment, the scientists and researchers on board, the planet that she never got to experience… and just being alive. If I could swap places with her I would, even without the guilt factor. She truly deserved a chance, even if it was a mere five minutes having a picnic in a field of flowers, or people-watching on a train during rush hour. She’d appreciate all of it so much but for so many reasons she was denied this basic right.” 

 

Shadow exhaled heavily from his monologue, cringing at how long he had been talking. He was too self aware right now, overanalyzing everything to an uncomfortable degree. Watching the street made him dizzy but acknowledging Finn or himself would be detrimental to the conversation, which was unfortunately far from finished. 

 

“Does she not remember those things from before being on the ARK?” Finn asked, oblivious to Shadow’s internalized panic attack. 

 

He shook his head, “She was only about a week old at the time, so no.” 

 

Oh… Finn realized, the weight of the conversation finally hitting him. Shadow wasn't exaggerating when he said Maria never got to experience the planet, she literally only spent a handful of days on Earth. 

 

“Maria had NIDS, Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. She was on the ARK because the sterile environment and ongoing research project could keep her alive longer than if she remained in a hospital… her parents also didn't want to deal with the illness,” Shadow explained quietly, just above a whisper. 

 

The intimacy was rather uncalled for considering they were alone, but it was as loud as Shadow could speak at the moment. The jackal didn't mind though, as his ears were sensitive and preferred this volume.

 

The connection finally clicked for Finn; “You were created to save her, weren’t you…?” he mumbled in realization. 

 

Shadow didn't respond. 

 

“The regenerative cells, discovering the cure for immortality… that was all for her.” the jackal concluded when his question wasn't answered. 

 

The hedgehog sighed before sitting down beside Finn in defeat; “Yeah… but I unfortunately had the opposite effect on her lifespan. I not only failed to save her and others with the illness, but my existence resulted in a massacre that hurt everyone involved and even those that weren’t.”

 

Finn felt his heart drop into his stomach, regretting this entire conversation.

 

“Shadow…” he started, shifting closer to the hedgehog. 

 

“It’s fine.” he replied, avoiding Finn’s eyes to pull his knees to his chest, chin resting as he watched the quivering horizon. 

 

The jackal observed the emotional distance wordlessly, with no guidance from the voice on how to respond. Should he leave? Try to comfort him? Do nothing?

 

He eventually decided to say something even if it wasn't the best advice, “I don't think Maria would want you to blame yourself like that.”

 

Shadow huffed in amusement at the line, but his smile didn't reach his eyes, “Unfortunately that phrase doesn't work on me, many have tried that method and failed. But your intentions were good, so don't worry about it too much.”

 

The jackal didn't have a response, and figured it was better if he left Shadow alone. Despite the current transparency, they weren't close enough for Finn to say anything helpful, so it was better to give the hedgehog some space.

 

He started to get up, but Shadow interrupted his movement with words he would eventually regret saying. 

 

“She would have liked you.”

 

Finn froze in shock from the weight of the words. That was a sentiment not taken lightly, even he knew that. 

 

“Why…?” 

 

He opened his mouth to respond, but only then did Shadow realize what he said and what it meant. Backtracking, he brushed it off and pretended like he didn't mean it, “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

 

Finn nodded in understanding, settling back down beside the hedgehog; “Do you have any other family?”

 

Shadow tried not to dwell on the fact Maria was acknowledged as being his family without having to say anything, but the warmth in his chest didn't go unappreciated. 

 

“I do have an older brother technically, but I killed it.”

 

“Uh, it?”

 

The hedgehog snorted, “The Biolizard was the Project Shadow prototype. Sonic and I had to destroy it when it latched onto the ARK and tried to crash it into the planet as a part of the Professor’s revenge on humanity for killing Maria. That’s actually when I died for the first time since I couldn't hold my super form.”

 

Finn guffawed at the casual way Shadow explained this information, unable to ask follow-up questions because vagueness was beginning to seem better than knowing the full truth. 

 

“Is that everyone?”

 

“No,” Shadow replied, “Black Doom is my biological father, and by extension the Black Arms are my siblings. However I had to kill them all, and considering they were already near-extinct I’m almost positive I’m the only remaining one, albeit a hybrid.” 

 

Well, that was a morbid image. 

 

“Family dinners must be awkward,” Finn impulsively blurted out before immediately regretting it. 

 

Shadow looked over in disbelief, “What?”

 

The jackal cleared his throat nervously before looking back at Shadow, unable to meet his eyes for a sustained period of time; “Sorry. Instinctual trauma jokes, it won’t happen again.”

 

After a thoughtful pause, Shadow snorted, “To be fair I’m not making it easy for you to respond; this isn't a conventional conversation after all. Do you have any siblings? They can’t possibly be as weird as mine.”

 

“Unfortunately I have four sisters, but I haven't seen them in almost a decade,” Finn responded grudgingly. His attitude was clearly not aimed at Shadow, but it still irritated the hedgehog. He just talked about his traumatic past, but Finn couldn't answer a single question without a fuss?

 

He sighed, brushing the hostility away; “Why haven't you seen them?”

 

Finn shrugged, looking down. “They hate me,” he said quietly after a while. 

 

“I wonder why,” Shadow drawled, but the smirk on his face communicated good intentions. 

 

Hey , they don't hate me for Infinite... that was later,” the jackal defended. 

 

Shadow looked away smugly, “You know that wasn't what I was referring to.” 

 

“They hated me because I…” Finn trailed off, pouting. 

 

“Go on,” the hedgehog teased. 

 

Finally, he responded; “They hated me because I was weak… Well, apparently I still am. Are you happy now?” 

 

Shadow wasn't sure if he should laugh or apologize, but the guilt was present regardless of his choice; “If it’s any consolation, you’re not weak compared to most people. You just have bad luck with superpowered hedgehogs who have dealt with worse! So you're not weak, I’m just objectively better than you because I was generally engineered that way. I’m literally just built different.” 

 

Finn laughed at the hedgehog's wit as it honestly made him feel a bit better, “Thanks I guess?”

 

Shadow glanced up at the jackal briefly, but quickly looked back down before they made eye contact. 

 

Looking away shyly, he decided to continue; You know… I regret our first encounter for a multitude of reasons, but one of them is the fact that we have a lot in common. If it weren't for my big mouth we probably could have worked together, but we all know what happened.”

 

“Yeah,” Finn said with a snort, “I threw a tantrum and started a war, apparently over a misunderstanding, too: that’s on me, not you. My bad.”

 

Shadow laughed, “My bad? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

 

The jackal shrugged, “What could I possibly say to make things better? There's nothing, so we’ll just have to make do with changing the present and hopefully the future.” 

 

Finn glanced at the hedgehog only to be taken aback by his fond expression which was otherwise unreadable. 

 

The unusual sense of longing was powerful enough to render them both silent, leaving the jackal exposed as Shadow tried to rationalize what he was feeling right now in words. 

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

 

“That, right there. That’s something Maria would say.”

 

Finn softened at the confession, which made the hedgehog look away. Understanding what this meant to Shadow made everything make sense, and both of them knew to navigate the conversation wisely from here on out. 

 

The jackal proceeded cautiously, “Look, I know you said you don’t want to talk about it, but for the record… I'd like her too by the sounds of it. I do like her, actually. How could I not? Based on how you talk about her and how you feel when talking about her, I know she's special.”

 

Shadow smiled sadly, “I can never find the words to describe her… that’s the hard part. You and everyone else won't ever know just how wonderful she is.” 

 

“Well,” Finn started, “my ears are always yours if you want to give it a shot.”

 

The fondness returned to Shadow’s face, and he looked back over at the jackal who was doing all he could to maintain eye contact. While the hedgehog was at ease, Finn was bubbling with an indescribable emotion that he’d have to unpack later. 

 

Eventually the jackal looked away, opting to stare at the distant waves that challenged the horizon. Shadow continued to look at Finn, scanning for any signs of regret or hostility.

 

He found no such thing.

 

Finn genuinely wanted to hear about whatever the hedgehog needed to say, and wouldn’t hold anything against him. He meant what he said, but wasn’t going to pressure Shadow into sharing if he felt uncomfortable, or if he wasn’t ready. It was understanding on a level that even Rouge couldn’t offer, as the bat’s curiosity often forced the hedgehog to say more than he wanted, but it was always never enough for her. He had been rather transparent with Sonic earlier, but that was to get the blue hedgehog to talk about his imprisonment: Shadow wasn’t venting for his own sake. This right now felt… natural. 

 

Maybe it scared him, but Shadow decided to continue.

 

“Well, Maria and I connected because we were both lonely. There were hardly any children there, and she could rarely spend time with the ones that were there because of how risky it was. She was the only person her age with NIDS as the other two patients were adults, whereas the other kids were from the families who lived on the ARK.

 

Finn raised a brow, “Families lived there? I thought it was a research facility,” he elaborated.

 

Shadow sighed, but he wasn’t exactly annoyed; “The ARK was a colony, thousands of people lived there. The illnesses that plagued the planet at the time put those in high risk groups in danger, so anyone who was compromised was sent up along with their immediate family. The ARK was sterile and isolated from the rest of the population who could survive exposures and get vaccines without harm, it was a safe place…”

 

The jackal nodded in understanding, “So it was a quarantine bubble designed to keep the immunocompromised protected?”

 

“Precisely. G.U.N. not only shot and killed anyone involved with Project Shadow, but exposed viruses to everyone else on board which proved fatal for most. There are so few survivors from the incident that it was considered a total genocide…” Shadow explained, wincing at the imagery. He had read the files, studied the cases. The names of the dead were etched into his mind forever. 

 

Finn noticed the hedgehog’s deflation and tried to recover the conversation, “I’m sorry to hear that. You must have been close with others too then.”

 

Shadow chuckled at the response; it was with good intentions, but the jackal overestimated how social he had been on the ARK; “No, I was only permitted to speak with Maria and the Professor. I actually wasn’t supposed to speak at all, or leave my pod aside for tests and training.”

 

“I assume it was Maria’s idea to break you out then?”

 

The hedgehog smiled at the inference, which was correct for the first time; “Yeah, that sums it up. Maria was a kind girl but still a Robotnik after all: stubborn as hell. She refused to cooperate with anyone, even the Professor, until they let me stay with her. This all happened after the researchers found out that she was sneaking me out of my containment for sleepovers.” 

 

Finn laughed at the imagery, shaking his head; “So that's where you got your love for watching people sleep from!” 

 

Shadow froze at the comment, face hot from the connection back to that morning; “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The jackal laughed it off, backtracking once he realized he was overstepping, “It was a joke… Anyways, I’m glad she broke you out and all, gave you rights and shit. I think the whole ordeal gave you too much of an ego, but I can’t say more without being called a hypocrite.”

 

After the recovery, Shadow relaxed again, hoping that Finn didn’t pick up on the initial tension. He laughed it off, but moved on to avoid overthinking the incident; “Technically I have the right to consider myself better than everyone because biologically speaking I am designed to be, but i’ve been told my arrogance is a defence mechanism.” 

 

Finn laughed at the confession; “Oh! well I have an inferiority complex as my defining personality trait so I’m just as bad. Actually I’m probably worse because unlike you I don’t have the genes to back it up,” he continued in realization. 

 

“We both tried to destroy the planet because someone hurt us, it’s fine. Well, it really isn't but to be fair I did it more than once whereas you only did it because of me. Sorry about that again,” Shadow apologized quietly. 

 

The jackal laughed softly at the comment, unsure of how to respond in a way that wasn’t another apology; “It’s okay, I'm sorry for starting a war and wrecking the world for a year-ish. I was just bored to be honest, but this is exciting!”

 

Shadow looked over at the jackal curiously, “Boredom?” he asked, “Was that your only reason?”

 

Finn shook his head, but refused to elaborate; This wasn’t supposed to be about him, at least from his perspective; “There were other factors, but I don’t want to defer away from Maria… she’s more important.”

 

“I can’t argue with that reasoning, she was the first person to understand me after all…” Shadow reminisced bittersweetly.

 

“Okay, we get it. You’re not like other hedgehogs, you’re worse.You’re quirky and special and magical, yeah yeah. The poor girl had to put up with this arrogance, can you at least spare me?”

Shadow rolled his eyes at the jackal’s complaining, but continued on; “She understood what it was like to be reduced to a specimen, and fought against the lack of privacy we were given. I never owned my body, I wasn’t even considered my own person by the research team, and even the Professor initially. Having someone around to help me through that was definitely something I needed, but I think she needed it as well.”

 

Finn let the hedgehog sit in the moment for a while before responding, hoping this would be reassuring; “If it’s any consolation, I lost my bodily autonomy the minute that ruby was put in me. From then on I was another weapon for the Doctor to use, and I’m only regaining that freedom now thanks to you.” 

 

Unfortunately the gesture was not received well, and Shadow froze over with hostility. The jackal had visibly hit a nerve, so he prepared himself for backlash.

 

Shadow narrowed his eyes, the energy in the room forcing Finn to return his stern gaze; “That was a choice you made willingly. I was born without rights that I had to fight for; we are not the same.”

 

Normally Finn would back off in these circumstances, but he decided to put his foot down. Yeah, Shadow was telling the truth to a degree, but his reasoning was impaired by pain; “You can’t diminish someone else’s suffering because yours was worse, it’s not a competition. Also, don’t go making claims about my birthright when you know nothing about me, I’m just trying to empathize with you…” he trailed off, refusing to break eye contact despite the warning signs.

 

“How can I relate to you when you never talk about yourself? Oh, and don’t bother trying to fix me or whatever the hell you claim to be doing, it’s a war with no victors. Maria was the closest thing I had to mutual understanding, shit, she had it worse than me. I could fight back and I did once I figured out what they were doing to me, but I wasn’t supposed to have rights so it’s not like they breached any morals. Maria was human, not an experiment you can fuck around with, but of course she was never respected. A young girl with an IQ that doubled that of the research team combined would never be given credit because of her age and disability… I was fine with being a goddamn tool at the end of the day, but she deserved better.”

 

Finn faltered at the confession, this wasn’t what he expected. “Were the tests that bad…?” he asked quietly, knowing the response wouldn’t be good.

 

The hedgehog caught himself from spiralling further and inhaled sharply, “No, the tests were fine since the Professor ran them, and the training was fun because I could shoot stuff.”

 

“Then what was so invasive?” Finn asked, genuinely confused.

 

Shadow’s glare faltered, and the jackal watched the undefinable spark in his eyes flicker and die, numbness washing over him. The hedgehog relaxed again, but this time it wasn’t from catharsis. No… this felt wrong. It looked like defeat.

 

“Nights in the hospital ward,” the hedgehog eventually said, looking away. “It’s nothing, forget I said anything. They got away with it, but I guess it doesn’t matter in the end since everyone on board was killed… can’t say I didn’t deserve it in retrospect.”

 

Finn’s ears lowered in realization; if he was understanding the hedgehog correctly, the worrying pit in his stomach was justified. “Shadow… what did they do to you?”

 

The jackal’s eyes bore into the side of Shadow’s face, and he couldn’t avoid contact any longer. When crimson met amber and sky, the hedgehog felt transparent in all the worst ways. This is what being vulnerable is, it seems. No wonder he avoided it for so long. 

 

Finn realized he had definitely gone too far and pushed them into a minefield because he could see fear in Shadow’s eyes , something he didn’t think was possible.

 

Infinite might have wanted this, but Finn didn’t. 

 

After enough silence passed, Shadow growled and broke eye contact, turning to leave. Finn pretended not to notice when the hedgehog rubbed his face in his hand, noting the smudged red and black from his eyes. Fuck, he had made Shadow cry.

 

“That’s enough, you’re fucking lucky I said this much so don’t expect anything else on my end. You haven’t bothered to tell me anything of merit, so I’m going to order some food and ensure you never bring this up again. What do you want?”

 

Finn turned away to look down regretfully, unable to think of anything or quickly change topics to avoid the elephant in the room.

 

“You pick,” he offered quietly, “I’m sorry… really.”

 

Shadow snarled and shook his head while walking away, “Shut up. Order it yourself, I have work to do.”

 

The jackal made a noise of concern, “But I don’t have a phone? Where are you going…?”

 

“Figure it out.”

 

Shadow had been heading for his office, but teleported away to ensure he couldn’t be followed. This was as honest as he’d ever gotten with anyone, and decided to blame it on the odd circumstances and lack of sleep. This would never happen again, he’d ensure that.

 

Finn pressed his forehead on the window, closing his eyes. Their conversation generated more questions than before, but the jackal knew they would never be answered.

 

This was it, apparently. No more personal conversations or intimate moments, it was back to business from here on out. Shadow clearly believed he was too broken to be fixed, and Finn was tired of losing to him all the time. 

 

It’s over, isn’t it?

Notes:

Ah, the pain in this ending should hurt... but being an evil writer makes me feel so good! This was a bit tricky to write since it's almost exclusively dialogue and a bit expositional, but I have never written and edited so fast before! Maybe this is the academic procrastination in me talking, but hopefully more of my chapters can be written this quickly.

On a more serious note, now I ACTUALLY have to take my schoolwork seriously and get it all off my plate so I can write more for you all later! I'm doing summer-school again but this time I get July off, so prepare for a summer that is filled with Infinadow!

Stay Safe,

Izzie <3

Chapter 14: Chapter 13: I Heard An Angel, Zabawa

Notes:

Hey everyone! Remember how I said I had to stop writing for a little bit to focus on my schoolwork? Well, I wrote this instead, because it's a short chapter and the one after this is my second favourite in the whole fic (including unposted chapters) so I figured it would be the best place to come back to. I am also a mega procrastinator and got a rare burst of energy to improvise another chapter and replace the intended one, so I hope you like it!

Quick thing though, just a general content warning for an implied suicide attempt. If you need to skip this chapter for whatever reason, you can: it is non-essential to the plot. It's literally just filler to resolve the tension, but you can bridge that gap yourself and continue on without losing any Infinadow!

For those willing to endure this condensed torture... enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I Heard An Angel, Zabawa



“Shadow, please…”

 

The hedgehog’s eyes snapped open from the familiar voice. Where was he?

 

He looked around frantically to try and figure out if he had teleported to the ARK, but it was too dark for him to determine his whereabouts. Scrambling to his feet, he hissed once he was standing, the cold metal stinging his bare feet. Wait, where were his air shoes?

 

Shadow looked down, but he couldn't seem to make out his limbs. He felt them, yes, but the harder he focused on trying to see them, the less visible they were. Checking his wrists, he noted the lack of inhibitor rings as well. 

 

Warily, he began walking in the direction he heard the voice from, every step shooting pain up his legs. In spite of the agony, the hedgehog’s speed increased as he chased the distant humming. 

 

“You shouldn't be here, Shadow.” the voice echoed, much closer this time. 

 

Hesitantly, he outstretched a hand, trying to feel around in the dark environment. The voice laughed softly, and pulled the hedgehog into a hug. 

 

“Maria…?”   he asked softly, hesitant to ease into the contact. When the figure merely laughed and pressed their hand into his quills, Shadow knew the answer. 

 

“Did I make it this time…? Is this what it’s supposed to be like?”  

 

Maria sighed, “You’re not ready yet… there’s still so much for you to do.

 

He grimaced at the statement, opting to sink deeper into the embrace. This wasn't what he wanted to hear, especially since his last conversation was with Finn, and returning to the aftermath of that wasn't something Shadow was looking forward to.

 

“Do I have to?”

 

The girl laughed, scooping the hedgehog up to hold him closer, resting her chin on top of his head. “This isn't the first time I’ve heard that excuse from you, lazybones. He needs you, what happened to protecting the planet?”

 

He sighed, reaching up to try and run his fingers through Maria’s hair, but it didn't feel right. His hand didn't phase through, but the contact felt veiled and unnatural. 

 

“I only do it for you, Maria.”

 

“Well, I want you to do something for yourself now, okay?”

 

Shadow sniffed, “This. I did this for myself, but it's a cruel fucking joke. I can’t die, but that's all I want…”

 

Maria inhaled sharply; her only response was to hug the hedgehog tighter, pressing a quick kiss on his forehead. “One day… but for now you need to choose something else. Remember my test days?”

 

The hedgehog giggled, looking up at the blurry face– a result of both tears and limbo; “Yeah, you were the worst.”

 

“Wow, thanks…” she teased, wiping her thumbs beneath Shadow’s wet eyes. He pressed into the affection, scrunching his eyes and hoping the touch would feel more genuine if he focused. 

 

Maria continued, smiling sadly at the hedgehog’s attempt to close the distance, “Remember how I wanted to be anywhere but be there? I’d ramble on about giving up and running away to Earth with you, even if we only made it for a few days… what did you always respond with?”

 

“It’ll be so much better when we can stay there for real… we’re gonna be alright, I promise...” Shadow recalled, the static feeling in his limbs a sign he didn't have much longer. 

 

She nodded, “And we will be, okay? Just not today, or at least not together.”

 

Shadow shook his head, burying himself in the girl’s arms, trying to hold on even if the prickling made him nauseous. 

 

“I see strength in you, Shadow. Please don't use it against yourself like this,” she pleaded quietly, smiling through the tears that formed in her eyes.

 

The hedgehog ignored her request, continuing to fight the tension; “I won’t go back this time… don’t make me leave.”

 

Maria sighed, “I know you’re scared, it's okay to say that… you’re a terrible liar Shadow.

 

“Please… I’m tired. Let me stay? I just want to stay here, wherever this is...

 

She laughed, but it was strained; “There are much better places, I’m waiting for you so we can go together actually,” the girl admitted. 

 

Shadow pulled back to look at her, “ You’re… waiting for me…?”

 

“That’s what I just said, slowpoke! Hurry up and live your life so we can go bother Grandfather,” she quipped, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. 

 

The hedgehog looked down guiltily, unsure of what to do. On one hand, staying here meant safety for him, but on the other… he was causing more harm than help for Maria. 

 

“The weight of the world gets hard to hold sometimes, and that's alright, I understand. You don't have to save everyone, but abandoning the friends you promised to be there for isn't in good taste either. Sonic, Finn… they need you right now, and I need you to be friends with living beings for a change,”   Maria explained, opting to tease the hedgehog in an attempt to make this goodbye less somber. 

 

She knew he’d try to come back soon anyways.

 

Shadow laughed and nodded shyly, “I know… but you’ll always be my favourite, okay?”

 

Maria giggled, grabbing both of the hedgehog’s hands; “I’m not the jealous type, don't bother trying to reassure me.” 

 

“Hold me again before I go…?” Shadow requested quietly, smiling despite his tear-stained face. The girl shifted to sit cross-legged, and pulled the hedgehog into her lap, letting him break down in her arms. 

 

“I like him, by the way… a lot. You were right, so please be kind to him for me? He doesn't have anyone else, so I need you to be that person for him.”

 

Shadow didn’t have to ask who Maria was talking about. 

 

“Even if it’s hard?” he choked out. 

 

“Yes, especially because it’s hard. You’ve never been one to back down from a challenge, so why start now?”

 

Shadow felt the girl cup his face and tilt it upwards to look at her. For just a moment, there was light, and he could see again. He could see her again. 

 

“I love you,” he choked out, dreading the emptiness that he knew would follow. 

 

“I love you too, Shadow.”

 

“Will you stay with me?”

 

“Yes, I always do. I’ll hold you until the end of time.”

 

–––

 

Shadow gasped for air, scrambling around for his inhibitors. Shakily, he snapped them back onto his wrists and ankles and rolled over, hissing in pain. He was back in his body, but had left it in a horrible state. 

 

Touching the side of his head, he felt the ghost of the initial wound, which left behind a mere indent. Scanning his bedroom, the hedgehog groaned at the mess: blood, scratched wallpaper, pill bottles, and bullet casings. 

 

“Well, that serves me right for choosing to go out with a bang,” he mumbled while walking out of the room, deciding that this was a problem for when he felt less like shit. 

 

“That was an awful pun, and that’s coming from me,” Finn responded from down the hall, which made the hedgehog trip in surprise, landing face first on the ground. 

 

Shadow hissed, pulling himself back up to his knees only to find the jackal standing in front of him; “What the fuck was that for? Better yet, why the hell are you here?”

 

Finn rolled his eyes, offering a hand grudgingly to the downed mobian; “I heard gunshots, decided to check things out,” he explained, looking away. 

 

The hedgehog accepted the hand and pulled himself up, wincing from the soreness in his legs. 

 

“And? Find anything of interest?” Shadow asked nonchalantly, continuing to walk back to the main area. 

 

Finn glanced briefly at the door to the hedgehog's room as it was slightly ajar, before following him. “Yeah, you. Which is good, because I actually have another question, if I can be granted another chance.”

 

Shadow tensed slightly, but forced his shoulders back down. He couldn't remember much from his conversation with the jackal or even the brief one with Maria, but knew he had to be more patient with Finn. 

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Can I borrow some soap? I want to take a shower, as long as you think my arm and chest will be okay with it.” Finn asked casually, which was confusing to say the least. 

 

The hedgehog turned around to stare at the jackal, a peculiar look on his face; “So you’re not going to ask about…?”

 

Finn shook his head, “Ask about what?” It was evident from his expression that he knew what the hedgehog was referring to, but there was no incentive for Shadow to explain himself. 

 

“You don’t want to know about what just happened?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion. 

 

The jackal snorted, “It’s none of my business what you get up to on your own time. Do what you want, just don’t let any stains sit for too long, it would be a waste of nice decor.”

 

Oh, Shadow thought. So he knew already. 

 

“Come on,” Finn sighed, grabbing Shadow’s hand and pulling him towards the sitting area; “I want a shower, dammit– can we dissociate after I feel clean?”

 

The hedgehog gasped quietly in surprise from the sudden contact, but let Finn drag him along, easing into the motions and relaxing into the couch once they arrived in the sitting area. 

 

Groaning, he turned over in his seat to undo the bandaging on the jackal’s chest, surprised at how well it had healed. He slipped off his glove to gently feel the new skin, ensuring that it wouldn't break if pressed. 

 

 “It’s a bit raw, but otherwise okay… just don’t scrub at it, and no hot water.” 

 

Finn stared in awe at the wound, tracing it softly with his knuckles. Just a few days ago there was a ruby implanted there, but now his chest belonged to him again. “What about the arm?”

 

Shadow laughed weakly, propping himself back up while putting his glove back on, “Take a look for yourself– if your chest is healed, the arm won’t be a problem at all.”

 

The jackal undid the bandaging on his arm and gasped in amazement, “Holy shit. It’s… gone? I can see scarring if I squint and it still feels tight, but otherwise it’s fine.”

 

“Good, now take your shower because you smell.”

 

“Then tell me where the soap is, idiot.”

 

Shadow smiled, closing his eyes; “Under the sink in the bathroom to the right of your room when looking out. Don’t be loud, I want to take a nap.”

 

Finn shook his head and got up; “Fine, no howling then I guess. You’re missing out though.”

 

“Sure sure, whatever you say.”

 

The jackal started to leave, but paused before he made it to his side of the condo. Sighing after a moment of contemplation, he quietly walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and placing it on the accent table beside Shadow. 

 

He looked at the sleeping hedgehog and decided a blanket wouldn't hurt, snatching the decorational one from the automin and draping it over the sleeping mobian. 

 

He watched as Shadow curled in on himself, intensely eyeing the rise and fall of his breathing. After he was sure the hedgehog was still alive, he made his way back to Shadow’s room to assess the damage and fix what he could. 

 

Unbeknownst to the jackal, Shadow was still awake. He would never tell Finn for both of their egos’ sake’s, but unlike most things in the hedgehog's life, this gesture wouldn't be forgotten.

Notes:

Awe, poor Shadow! At least the end was relatively sweet, as it gave Finn a chance to show a softer and more considerate side of himself. I think people sometimes forget just how much his squad meant to him, meaning he is capable of empathy!

Shadow's trauma definitely isn't addressed enough, and even if he seems fine or better than he was before, he isn't okay. No one (besides maybe Rouge) taught him healthy coping mechanisms or wellness strategies, so of course he has bouts of impulsive and self destructive behaviour! I think this is something Finn would understand though, hence why he doesn't pry or make a big deal out of it. Despite their initial differences, the two have a lot in common, so bonding and working together through their respective issues with someone who can actually relate to them would definitely be beneficial.

That being said, do take care of yourselves: I know the world can suck! If you ever feel lonely, just remember that if you're reading this, you aren't alone. We both experienced the words you're reading right now, and out of the billions of people on this planet and the infinite (hehe) scenarios that could happen, the universe aligned so that we were both on ao3 reading gay sonic fanfiction. It might be silly, but at least we can share this, right?

Take care and see you soon,

Izzie <3

Chapter 15: Chapter 14. Love At First Sight, The Brobecks

Notes:

Hi everyone! My spring term of uni ended so I have approximately *checks metaphorical watch* two weeks before summerschool starts! Even then I'm way less busy so prepare for more writing

This is a shorter chapter (sorry) but I really wanted to work this song into the fanfic somewhere, and since this chapter initially came from a super long one, I better divide the content up like this. It's lighter than the last couple installments so hopefully the mood is back up!

I also posted this soon and out of spite because of *ehem* SOMEONE who @ed me on tumblr (where you can follow me if you want, bitter-sweet-coffee ofc!) I guess THAT ONE PERSON *cough* was looking out for all of you though, since now I'm on a writing spree!

Happy reading :")

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Love at First Sight, The Brobecks

 

Finn rolled over in his bed, wincing at the piercing alarm that was coming from his switch. Wave had really pimped the thing out to be a full-fledged superphone in disguise, but her choice in alarm tones was not as successful. He grumbled and turned the wretched thing off, but stayed curled up under the sheets.

 

If he wasn't so worried about Shadow, he’d probably go back to sleep. However, the hedgehog was in worse shape than him right now, and Finn felt responsible. He needed to go back and check on the hedgehog, but he had no clue how to go about doing that without it being awkward. 

 

“Why don't you go for a walk outside?” the voice suggested, which made Finn jolt from the unexpectedness. 

 

The jackal snarled; “Really? Warn me before you speak next time dammit… where were you the past couple chapters anyways?!” he complained. 

 

The voice ignored the question and continued on, “You clearly have cabin fever. Go touch some grass or something.”

 

Finn wanted to object, but the voice was technically correct. He hadn't been outside since the war, and hadn't enjoyed it from even before then since most of his time with Eggman consisted of work. Leisure time was something he wasn't permitted to have, so indulging in some freedom might be good for his state of mind. However, this meant asking Shadow to come with him since the jackal couldn't go alone, and he wasn't sure if the hedgehog would be interested. 

 

Sighing, Finn wiggled out of bed and onto his feet, halfheartedly fixing the sheets before giving up and making his way down the hall. It was worth a shot, right?

 

“I hope Shadow is okay,” the jackal thought to himself, fiddling with his hair. He had definitely taken advantage of the guest bathroom and spent a good hour playing with all the products the hedgehog kept, stuff even Finn hadn't heard of before. Shadow was many things, and apparently a good host was one of those things. After being on the run for essentially his whole life, indulging in warm water and fancy conditioners was a real treat. Taking a shower shouldn't be a reward, but the jackal wasn't going to complain. 

 

Lost in thought about the fancy nail clipper he had found, Finn failed to notice an equally oblivious Shadow walking towards him and the two collided.  

 

“Shit, I have to stop doing that. Are you good?” Finn asked, stumbling back and rubbing his head sheepishly. His hair flopped over his face, prompting him to flip it back again. 

 

Shadow stared at the jackal in a daze, taking note of his change in appearance. His dreads were much softer and groomed, and Finn was… fluffier. His tail, his hair, his muzzle, everything about him was much softer and cleaner. Even thinking back to when they first met in Mystic Jungle the jackal had an edge to him; probably because he had already been working as a mercenary. But now…

 

The hedgehog realized he hadn’t replied to Finn and snapped out of his trance, looking away embarrassedly; “Oh, yeah.”

 

Finn eyed him with concern, evaluating the state of the spacey mobian. “Um, are you sure…?” He asked cautiously, trying to look the awry hedgehog in the eye. 

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I assume you’re not used to walking?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You only hovered when you were Infinite,” Shadow explained, finally meeting the jackal’s gaze with a smug look. 

 

Finn’s face scrunched up in recollection, before nodding in realization; “Right! You’re probably right, yeah…” he trailed off, admiring Shadow’s lighter mood– he seemed to be in a better state of mind after a good nap and some alone time to relax. The hedgehog was practically glowing from the sunset lights that shone into the room, giving him a golden aura. 

 

The two stared at each other in silence, just taking the moment in. Everything felt warm from the light and their newfound positivity. This felt… right. 

 

Shadow eventually cleared his throat and looked away, “Want to go for a walk?” he asked casually. “It's getting dark, so I doubt anyone will notice you if we’re careful.” 

 

The jackal nodded almost too quickly, as this was what he wanted to ask Shadow, “Sure! We can go wherever, I’m not picky. I just want to get out,” he confessed. 

 

“Okay, I was thinking we could head down to the boardwalk, grab something to eat on the way back, and watch a movie or something? I don’t know, I don’t normally do this,” the hedgehog admitted flusteredly. 

 

Finn shrugged, “We’ll see what happens then. Can we go now?” he asked, bouncing on his heels in anticipation. 

 

The hedgehog eyed him skeptically, glancing at his chest and hands, “Yes, but you’re not leaving like that. One moment.”

 

“Huh? What’s wrong with…?” Finn trailed off, more confused than offended. Shadow teleported away before he could finish asking, but was quickly back with a jacket and gloves.

 

“Did you just teleport to the closet?”

 

“Yeah, is that a problem?”

 

“It’s like, 5 feet away…”

 

Shadow rolled his eyes before continuing, “You might look different now, but you can still be connected back to Infinite. That, and the boardwalk is windy. You uh, might want these is what I’m saying,” the hedgehog elaborated, holding the jacket and gloves out begrudgingly. 

 

Finn smiled a little at the gesture and grabbed the garments, quickly putting them on. The jacket was just a black bomber jacket, but it was oversized and cropped which made it extremely comfortable. The gloves were white much to his dismay, but the jackal was grateful and therefore didn't complain, wriggling his fingers into the accessories and sliding his inhibitors overtop of them. 

 

Shadow watched fondly as the jackal got himself readjusted, notably jittering with excitement. He couldn't blame Finn for his restlessness after being trapped inside for so long, but the excitement and good attitude was incredibly refreshing. 

 

“Thank you, can we go now…?” Finn asked again, grinning and rocking on his heels, hands tucked behind his back. The jackal had no clue his tail was wagging and stirring up dust, which would have annoyed Shadow if it wasn't so damn adorable. 

 

The hedgehog rolled his eyes and started towards the door, “Yes, but you’re such a child. You’re literally getting excited about me walking you, what are you, a dog?”

 

Finn pouted, “I’m a jackal, that’s kinda racist.” 

 

“No it isn’t, plus I’m black, so…”

 

“That doesn't matter! You aren't even… nevermind, why don't you have a jacket?” Finn realized, questioning the hedgehog. 

 

Shadow smirked, “I don’t need one.”

 

“I thought you said it would be cold?”

 

“Okay, maybe for you. I died in space: a harborfront breeze has nothing on that,” the hedgehog boasted. 

 

Finn rolled his eyes, grumbling something about an immortality flex before freezing when they reached the door. Shadow noticed the lack of movement and change in attitude, pausing to look over at the jackal curiously. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“We left my mask in Wave’s workshop.”

 

Shadow frowned, “Okay, and? You can't wear it out, that literally identifies you as Infinite. It hasn't been a problem for you recently, what’s with the sudden need for it?”

 

“Can we go get it, please?” he pleaded quietly, suddenly more reserved and timid in his mannerisms. 

 

“I literally don’t know where the Babylon Rogues are, they already left for treasure hunting or whatever they do when the canon doesn't need them. We can go get it another time, let’s go now before it gets too cold, okay? I don't want to hear your complaining about the temperature at night when it gets colder,” the hedgehog stated.

 

Finn shook his head, “I can’t go out without it…” 

 

“Well, you’re going to have to.”

 

“Why can’t you teleport to their ship and grab it?” the jackal tried, his nerves making him snippy. Shadow tried to ignore the attitude, but it was beginning to piss him off. What was the big deal anyways?

 

“Oh, so now you like teleporting, because it's about you? We can get it another day, let’s go,” he ordered, but Finn didn't budge– if anything, he cowered into the apartment more. 

 

Finn looked down, already fidgeting with the sleeves on his jacket, “I’m not going out like this… Sorry. I can’t, and I won’t.” 

 

The hedgehog had nothing to respond with, and simply watched Finn skeptically; the jackal kept glancing around nervously, looking from the floor, to Shadow, to the door on loop. It was almost like he was contemplating giving in, but something was holding him back from letting this go. 

 

Shadow’s stern gaze slowly gave way as the guilt creeped up on him… he felt like he just kicked a puppy. Why did Finn have to ruin everything with his unpredictable mood swings? He began thinking about how stupid the jackal’s reasoning was until he remembered… oh. 

 

Finn wore the mask because of what Shadow said to him. Hell, he probably had trauma before their incident, but that first encounter was definitely the last straw. 

 

Sighing, Shadow teleported back to his room, cringing when he noticed the state of it. Everything was back to normal as if nothing had ever happened… Finn did it. He cleaned and put everything back when Shadow was sleeping, and didn't even mention it to him. The hedgehog cursed to himself for being so hard on the jackal before rummaging through his drawers and teleporting back. 

 

“Here, will this do?”

 

Finn snapped his head to look at Shadow, shaken up by the hedgehog’s teleportation; “Huh? What?”

 

The hedgehog held out a pair of sunglasses; “The frames are big, Rouge got them for me as a joke. It wasn’t a very funny joke considering they were a couple thousand rings, and she used my card to buy them, but it would be a shame to keep them in a drawer forever. You can have them if you want,” he offered quietly, mouth pressed into a thin line. 

 

“It’s night though, isn’t that weird…?” Finn asked hesitantly, taken aback by the directness. 

 

Had he just beat Shadow in a battle of willpower?

 

He took the sunglasses. 

 

Shadow didn't respond initially, letting the moment play out. Once the tension had settled, he continued, “I’m sure there are people who wear sunglasses at night… as if wearing a mask in public is normal…” he said, mumbling the last bit. 

 

Finn shrugged, putting on the glasses and adjusting them around his ears, “How do I look?” he asked jokingly. 

 

“Like a million rings,” Shadow drawled, but there was a smile on his face. 

 

The funny thing was, he wasn't really being sarcastic. The hedgehog hadn't expected the sunglasses to look good on anyone because of how big they were, but somehow Finn wore them perfectly. It was… 

 

“Okay, I know I sound like a broken record, but can we go now please ?” Finn begged, confidence restored with the makeshift identity concealer. 

 

Shadow continued to stare at the jackal with an oddly compassionate look on his face, “Yeah, we can. Come on,” he insisted, pressing the elevator button to open the door.

 

Why is he looking at me like that…?” Finn thought to himself, flustered. He ignored the nervous feeling in his chest and followed the hedgehog into the elevator, crossing his arms nervously. 

 

Things were different now, and neither mobian was sure if this was for better or for worse. They had way more to lose, but maybe that meant that somewhere along the way they had won. 

Notes:

Aweeee they're finally acting like normal mobians! I feel like I should mention the three sections of this fic are literally enemies, friends, lovers. We're nearing the end of the enemy arc, and the upcoming chapter essentially solidifies it! Stay tuned for that, it'll be up hopefully in the next week (it's honestly just super long but it's drafted)

Also, please feel free to engage with me on tumblr. I only have it on mobile so sorry about the lack of a desktop theme but I'm always happy to talk! If you want extra content the best way to get it is by PMing me and please exploit that as much as you want!

You can also just like, leave comments lol. I always reply, but I only do it from my desktop so sorry if the responses are slower, I'll respond eventually!

I guess I just want to say thank you again for all the love and support. My writing isn't always at its peak performance but you all appreciate what I can offer regardless and I'm delighted to share this world in my head with you :")

Take Care,

Izzie <3

Chapter 16: Chapter 15. I’m With You, Avril Lavigne

Notes:

Hello everyone! I am so sorry I took this long, especially when this isn’t the full chapter. However, I know that it has been a month so I quickly finished the first half so you had content while I worked on the second half! It isn’t my best work, but I hope this will do for now. Happy Pride!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I’m With You, Avril Lavigne 

 

“Do you want to go get coffee or something?” Finn asked amusedly, leaning forward and turning to look the hedgehog in his eyes. Shadow stopped in his tracks from the sudden obstruction and stumbled back, embarrassed. He thought he was being subtle, but the jackal had picked up on his caffeine-deprived restlessness.

 

Finn noticed the uneasiness and offered a reassuring smile, “My treat? It’s not a problem,” he offered.

 

Shadow frowned in confusion, “With what money? You don’t even have a wallet,” he pointed out. The jackal turned a bit red at the comment but reached into the side of his shoe, wincing as he yanked out a worn down and flimsy piece of burgundy leather. It was thick and had definitely been causing a lot of pain for Finn, but the familiar menacing logo on the outside made the hedgehog do a double take. 

 

“Wait… is this the Doctor’s wallet? When did you get this?” 

 

Finn shrugged sheepishly and shoved his hands in his pockets; “He’s pretty easy to steal from... He puts everything in his jacket pockets because his leggings don’t have any, and he’s usually so focused on Sonic that I can reach in and snag stuff whenever I want. Sorry, it was a last-ditch effort to cause problems before I left…”

 

The hedgehog's eyes kept shifting between the now-concealed wallet and Finn’s concerned expression before ultimately turning away, shaking his head. Finn was worried he had upset the hedgehog, but it wasn’t long before Shadow was laughing, trying to muffle the outburst with his hand and failing. 

 

“Shadow…?”

 

It didn’t take long for Finn to realize the hedgehog was actually amused, and vainly attempting to hide it. “It’s not that funny,” he tried to explain, but Shadow was too far gone at this point. 

 

Eventually the hedgehog’s snickers calmed down to the mere ghost of a smile. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “It’s not funny, but the realization that he wears leggings makes me remember what a weird baby he was,” Shadow confessed, the two continuing their walk. 

 

“Wait, you knew him as a baby!?”

 

“Uh, Project Shadow? Remember…?”

 

Finn laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head; “Riiight… how does your age work anyways?”

 

 Now it was the hedgehog's turn to be uncomfortable, as he didn't have a conventional response for this question either. “Well,” he started with a wince, “I was created about 50 years ago but I’m ageless. I was only released from stasis 2 years ago, so my mental age is undefined. I’m adultish, I guess?  Old enough to do taxes but young enough to be clueless about them still.” 

 

The jackal stared at Shadow with a dumbfounded expression, unable to process what any of those words meant. He nodded in vain to try and convince the hedgehog he was following, but Finn was clearly lost. 

 

“You just have to go and make everything awkward, don’t you?” the voice complained, and it was unclear who the comment was meant for. 

 

Shadow eventually cleared his throat and tried to move on. “What about you?” 

 

Finn snickered and shrugged, “Beats me, twenty? I lost track of the years when I ran away, but I was sixteen at the time.” 

 

“You both suck at this, ” the voice complained, but they were hardly one to talk considering they were just as much of an abomination. But I digress…

 

Shadow scanned the area briefly and scrunched his face, trying to recall where exactly their destination was. The jackal noticed this lapse in self-assurance but didn’t comment, opting to fidget with the wallet— He almost dropped it a few times but the hedgehog thankfully didn’t notice. “There’s a nice café up ahead, we’ll stop there,” Shadow finally said.

 

The jackal nodded in acknowledgement but didn’t say anything, now dreading the whole ordeal because… well, Finn hadn’t been in public for a while. Okay, at least not in conventional terms; yes, he had been around other people, but only as a masked villain while he ruined their lives. Cautiously, he looked over at the hedgehog; “Can you order for me?”

 

Shadow frowned, but nodded. “Sure… why?”

 

“You’ve been here before, so you know them… right? That means that um, you should do it,” Finn explained quickly, pulling his jacket sleeves over his hands. 

 

The hedgehog wasn't catching on— why was he so jittery all of a sudden? “I’ve only been here maybe twice, you’re overestimating my familiarity with the place,” Shadow explained, gritting his teeth. Trying to have this conversation and remembering how to get to the boardwalk was stressing him out, but the jackal was oblivious to this. 

 

Finn huffed; “That’s twice more than me! When we go in, you order for yourself while I scan the menu. If I don't tell you what I want in time just pick for me like you already knew my “usual” and pretend that was the plan all along, okay?” he asserted, trying to seem confident. He might have stood up straighter and spoken with more authority, but his flattened ears and anxious aura gave his true feelings away. 

 

Shadow didn't want to pry into the jackal’s demeanor too much since they were supposed to be having a casual evening out, but he couldn't ignore the blatant tension and figured it would be better off addressed; “That’s a rather elaborate plan, what’s the big deal anyways?” he asked reassuringly, breathing a sigh of relief once he spotted the coffee place up ahead. 

 

“It’s um…” Finn started before cutting himself off abruptly, eyes snapping to where Shadow was looking. He cleared his throat nervously at the sight of the building; “That looks busy. I don’t want to um, make anyone wait I guess…?” he offered. 

 

Oh, ” Shadow thought fondly to himself, looking at the jackal curiously. “ He’s anxious about the crowd… I suppose that makes sense— we’re undercover after all. ” He couldn't resist smiling, as the hedgehog experienced that fear himself quite frequently. 

 

Finn didn't know why Shadow was staring at him, but he averted his gaze down to his shoes, face red from the scruntity. “Um… are we….?” he started quietly but trailed off when he realized there was nothing to say. 

 

Shadow held out a hand which startled the jackal, who looked at the gesture cluelessly. “ What? What’s with the hand?! ” he thought, eyes widening. Did he miss something when zoning out?

 

“The wallet? You did offer to pay, and since it's technically not yours I don't feel bad asking for it,” the hedgehog prompted kindly, resisting the urge to snicker at Finn’s dumbfounded expression. 

 

Finn scrambled to grab the leather wad and awkwardly shoved it into Shadow’s outstretched hand, mumbling an apology before slipping his hands back into the jacket pockets, fiddling around with the internal lining. 

 

The two made their way into the shop with Finn practically attached to the hedgehog, heart pounding in his ears. He couldn't even hear what Shadow had ordered for himself because all his efforts were focused on breathing and appearing calm. 

 

“Do you want your cookie warmed up?” Shadow asked on deaf ears, as the jackal was oblivious to his question. “Hello…? Do you want it warm?” he asked again, waving his hand in front of Finn’s face. 

 

He frowned, shying away from Shadow’s hand, “Huh? What’s supposed to be warm?” 

 

The hedgehog smiled weakly and turned back to the barista, who looked like she was going to burst out laughing and/or kill them; “Yes, please warm it up.” 

 

“Oh, yeah! Thank you,” Finn blurted out, offering the girl a sheepish grin before stumbling after the hedgehog who had already left to pick up his order. 

 

Shadow thanked the employee who handed him his cup, and the two waited for Finn’s cookie; “What did you end up getting?” the jackal asked. 

 

The hedgehog glanced from side to side before answering quietly, “Coffee.” 

 

Finn rolled his eyes, “No shit, I meant what kind of coffee? Like, a doubleshot on ice, cold brew, caramel macchiato, a cappuccino…? normal black coffee…?”

 

“Medium roast beans,” Shadow eventually replied, mind clearly elsewhere. 

 

The jackal sighed loudly at the answer, as it failed to clarify anything. He opened his mouth to complain about how the type of bean was irrelevant and he just wanted to know the drink, but Shadow was suddenly pulling him closer by the waist and all thoughts promptly exited his brain. 

 

Oh, oh no…” the voice lamented in quiet realization; Finn’s brain had completely shut down from pure panic, and he experienced emotions that could only be expressed by the following: AJSKSJKDKFJK?!?!! 

 

Trying not to hyperventilate in the hedgehog’s embrace, Finn gulped and relaxed his limbs as much as he could. Just as he was about to ask Shadow why they were so close, the jackal found himself standing alone again. 

 

Oh, Shadow had left to go grab his cookie. Wait, then why did he…?

 

Hearing a commotion behind him, Finn turned around to see a group of teenagers walk by, inhabiting the place he was standing just a few moments ago. “So he was moving me to let them by…” the jackal realized. 

 

Maybe he was disappointed, and maybe he was already missing Shadow’s warm hand on his back… but Finn quickly pushed those disturbing thoughts out of his head to catch up to the hedgehog who was already on his way out. 

 

As they made their way to the waterfront, Finn couldn't shake the flustered nerves away; why didn't the hedgehog just ask him to move? Shadow was oblivious to the jackal’s internalized crisis as he was merely acting out of instinct, and was primarily focused on finding the least crowded walking route on the boardwalk. 

 

Finn trailed behind the hedgehog obediently, and thanked him when his cookie was handed to him; “What’s in your cup?” he asked. 

 

At first Shadow didn't respond, and the jackal opened his mouth to complain about how gatekeeping his coffee order would be pretty useless in the long run considering how much time they’d be spending together. However, the hedgehog’s internal debate ended, and he held the cup out for Finn to peer into. 

 

“Are you fucking kidding me…?”

 

“You said you wanted to know,” Shadow mumbled bitterly, resisting the urge to push Finn off the boardwalk.

 

The jackal narrowed his eyes, “You did not just ask them for a scoop of coffee beans,” he criticized, before taking a menacing bite out of his cookie. Shadow’s cool composure almost shattered as he watched Finn chew aggressively, but he stuck things out for the sake of his dignity; “I don’t understand why everyone always makes a big deal about this!”

 

Finn huffed, “This is social etiquette 101: you don't order off-menu items anywhere, especially when it’s just bulk product. When you go to a sandwich place, do you ask them to wrap up lettuce and parmesan  cheese? No, because that’s fucking weird, so of course I’m going to judge you for ordering coffee beans. No wonder the barista was giving us dirty looks…”

 

Shadow laughed, “Oh, because of me? I thought she was frustrated with your inability to stay attentive for more than 4 seconds,” he recalled cheekily, his smile growing when the jackal whined embarrassedly at the reminder. 

 

“Have you even tried coffee beans before?” the hedgehog asked after enough silence had passed. 

 

Finn scoffed, “Psh, never in my goddamn life, what kind of sick fuck do you think I am?”

 

The hedgehog smirked, raising an eyebrow; “Then try one, coward.”

 

“No.”

 

“Consume the bean, Finn.”

 

“NO.”

 

Shadow sighed dramatically before getting an idea; “What if I put chocolate sauce on them, would you try it?” The jackal gagged at the thought of such a monstrosity and shook his head violently, “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

 

The hedgehog shrugged, “Oh well, it was worth a shot. I was hoping I could poison you to be honest,” Shadow admitted. 

 

Finn frowned and stopped walking, thinking back to the test results in Wave’s workshop. Since when did he have food allergies? The hedgehog had read his report and helped with the removal of the ruby, so why would he think… oh. OH.

 

Shadow hadn't waited for the jackal when he paused in thought, but smiled when he heard Finn storm up to him; “That’s a fucking microaggression you racist piece of shit! I’m not a dog, take it back,” he demanded. 

 

The hedgehog gave Finn a skeptical look from the outburst and opted to hold the cup out again, “Take a bean.” 

 

Shadow wasn't going to give up, was he? The jackal kept looking down at the cup and back up at the hedgehog, who shimmied the beans every time Finn glanced back at them. “Take. the. beans.” he commanded.

 

“I fucking hate you,” Finn growled before reaching into the cup and crunching in defeat. The hedgehog beamed at the submission, and the proud look on his face almost made it worth it for the jackal. 

 

Shadow watched for a negative reaction, but was genuinely surprised when Finn didn't spit the coffee bean back in his face. “It honestly isn't that bad,” the jackal confessed when he noticed the hedgehog’s confusion, but nibbled on his cookie to replace the bitter taste. 

 

Instead of filling the silence with more banter, the mobians opted to walk in silence, each preoccupied with their snacks. 

 

As they continued further down the boardwalk, the amount of other people dwindled, leaving them in relative silence. The sun had already set but it wasn't too dark, just windier, and the whitecap waves brightened the otherwise dull water. 

 

Tossing his cup in a nearby garbage can, Shadow notioned for the jackal to throw out his cookie bag and join him on the other side. Finn did as instructed and stood beside the hedgehog, who pointed into the distance. 

 

“Are those whales?” Finn asked. 

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Oh… that’s cool.” 

 

“I suppose.”

 

Well, if the jackal was sure about one thing, it was that Shadow sucked at small talk. 

 

“So uh, when do we start training…?” Finn asked, looking down at his shoes. They were the only thing he still had from when he was a mercenary, and despite all they went through, they remained intact. 

 

Shadow smiled and shook his head; “Take it back a bit, we don’t need to make everything about business, okay? Start slow,” he encouraged. The jackal blushed at the command and shrugged it off, he was doing his best after all.

 

Finn continued; “Fair enough, I guess that was a misstep. I just um,” he started, looking back up at the hedgehog sheepishly, “Well…”

 

“You don’t want anything to happen like last time, right? That was my fault, it won’t happen again I promise,” Shadow assured with a soft smile. There was a bit of pain behind his expression, but the hedgehog hid it well.

 

Finn nodded and ignored the comforting gesture; “Oh,  but I still feel bad though…? I’ll try to talk about myself more if that takes the pressure off of you a little. I’m sorry for choking up so often, I just get nervous for some reason,” he tried.

 

Shadow huffed and shook his head, “Once again, that was my fault. I’m not the easiest person to talk to and we have a problematic past.”

 

“Enough about that, I know you didn't kill them now so it's no big deal, I definitely overreacted. It’s okay Shadow, I promise... we can start over now, right?” the jackal offered, hopeful but hesitant. He was trying to be firm with Shadow so he wouldn’t keep deflecting their growth, but he didn’t want to offend the hedgehog either. 

 

They were both fragile in terms of pride, but their combined self-assurance had so much potential. Both mobians may have been at the boardwalk in body, but they were trapped in no-man’s land; the trenches shooting at their backs from both sides. Would they meet before the bullets of their past overtake them? 

 

“Talk about whatever you want then,” Shadow offered after enough time had passed, “Squad Jackal perhaps?” he suggested before finishing off the last of the coffee beans that he had in his hand, crunching attentively. 

 

Finn nodded, and with a deep breath, he began to tell the hedgehog who he had encountered that day in Casino Forest; “Okay so for the record, most of us weren't from the same hometown. I ran away with a few friends from highschool and along the way we met other jackals who had done the same as us.”

 

It was a common misconception that they were related or came from the same village, as it would be unusual for that many jackals to leave the same place. Being a solitary species, they were often found alone or in pairs. Finn’s hometown consisting solely of jackals sounded like an anomaly, and Shadow found himself questioning if the war criminal was telling the truth about where he came from. 

 

The hedgehog watched Finn skeptically, scanning for anything that could go against the integrity of what he was hearing, but the jackal appeared to be telling the truth– albeit nervously. 

 

He continued on, oblivious to Shadow’s scrutiny; “We were all a little messed up and I was one of the only ones who had been officially trained in combat, but almost all of us ended up as mercenaries. Some came and went, but there were four others who lasted long enough to join Eggman’s army.”

 

Shadow nodded in affirmation, that seemed to coincide with what he remembered from the encounter; “Yes, that sounds vaguely familiar. I’m not surprised you were the one with the most formal training, you were the only one who put up a fight!” he explained with a chuckle. 

 

The former mercenary smiled, but it seemed forced and more like a wince. Shadow realized what he had insinuated and cleared his throat, face returning to a neutral expression; “Where’d you learn to fight?”

 

“My sister,” Finn started before rolling his eyes, “Well, one of them anyways. She’s the most skilled swordsman I’ve ever met.” 

 

The hedgehog nodded encouragingly at the progress, “That’s nice then!” he enthused.

 

 Finn snorted before continuing, “It’s a shame I fucking hate her.” 

 

Shadow’s face paled at the comment, and his gaze darted down in embarrassment. He definitely jumped the gun with his impatient response, and now he came off as one of those “blood is thicker than water” assholes. “Whoops, I’ll take my initial statement back then,” he apologized. 

 

Finn chuckled at the response and shook his head; “You’re good, I’m used to people liking my siblings more than me, and a part of me is proud to have cool and independent older sisters. But I still hate them at the end of the day,” he explained. 

 

“Do they know about…? Well,” Shadow started before shrugging, looking back out to the sea. He hoped Finn would pick up on the implication since they were in public, and the people around them were already watching the mobians vigorously; Station Square was primarily inhabited by humans, but it wasn't like Shadow had a good reputation anywhere to begin with. 

 

Thankfully, the jackal read between the lines; “I don’t know if news about the war got back to them. I could go back and explain what I’ve been up to, but then I’d have to explain what happened with Squad Jackal,” he realized, jaw clenching. 

 

Shadow felt his stomach drop, cringing. “This was all your fault, remember?” the voice echoed. 

 

The hedgehog regretted eating his coffee beans so quickly, blood pooling in his mouth while his teeth shred the skin of his inner cheek. 

 

“That was because of me, I’m sorry,” he finally said, already numb to the metallic taste. Finn’s nose twitched as he caught a whiff of the familiar scent, but he pretended not to notice. Shadow’s guilt made him feel just as horrible, perhaps even moreso, but the last thing the hedgehog needed was to know that Finn had caught on, especially after what happened earlier. 

 

The jackal sighed, “Stop blaming yourself, we were hired to kill you! Getting our asses kicked was an occupational hazard, I’m sorry I let my ego get the best of me,” he announced loudly to Shadow, hoping that the aggressiveness would get through to him. 

 

Shadow froze, and it took a moment for him to process what the jackal had just shouted… on the boardwalk... which was filled with people…

 

“Maybe we should continue this conversation later,” he offered warily as a mother scolded the two, covering her son’s ears as she tugged the dumbfounded child along. It felt like everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at the mobians, and the jackal’s face quickly heated up when he realized what just happened. 

 

The hedgehog glanced over and snickered at Finn’s horrified expression; “You okay, Deadpool?” he asked. 

 

Finn immediately reset back to normal at the nickname and snarled, “Hey. Not cool to make digs about my face, we’ve been over this.” This time it was Shadow’s turn to look uncomfortable when he realized the implication. 

 

“Look, I didn’t mean it like that, you’re just also a former merc and—” 

 

“—Shadow, I’m kidding.” 

 

“Well you looked pretty upset, I have to be careful. Last time I called you a name… ah, I don’t need to remind you…” the hedgehog trailed off, stifling a laugh when Finn slapped his arm. 

 

The jackal was pouting, and decided to headbutt Shadow in retaliation when his sulking went unacknowledged, only to yelp when his sunglasses pinched his muzzle upon impact. 

 

Shadow sighed lovingly at Finn’s pain, “Always one for theatrics, aren’t you?” 

 

“Awe, you know me so well!” Finn replied sarcastically, rubbing the bridge of his nose and wincing at the imprints that remained. He knew it wouldn't even bruise, but it wasn't pleasant for the time being. 

 

The hedgehog beamed, “What a theatre kid.” 

 

“Take it back, klistava,” Finn spat, only growing more embarrassed from the language slip. Shadow’s eyebrows raised at what he assumed was a curse word, but he didn't ask for a translation… he got the jist of it.

 

The hedgehog hummed in acknowledgment; “Did I say something false?”

 

“No…”

 

“Good, so keep quiet.”

 

Finn’s jaw clenched at the command— even if it was said humorously, he instinctively took orders without a second thought. The jackal didn't want to risk upsetting Shadow for real again, even if the hedgehog was constantly assuring him that a repeat of last time wouldn't happen. The smell of blood lingered in his nostrils, but he wasn't sure if it was from their prior conversation or the memory of Shadow’s room…

 

Speaking of the hedgehog, did he just shiver…? 

 

“I thought you said you didn't need a jacket,” he stated. Shadow immediately tensed and jolted from the sudden conversation, but shook his head in denial. “I don’t,” he lied. 

 

The jackal hummed in disbelief, and decided to grab Shadow’s hand and began tugging them back to the apartment; “Nice try, I know a chilihog when I see one. I get that you have an image to maintain, but I’m starting to get seasick and want to go back now. Can we get takeout on the way back?” he asked. 

 

Shadow grumbled at the suddenness of their movement, but let the jackal drag him off the boardwalk anyways. He wasn't particularly hungry, but remembered that mobians typically needed to eat more than he did; “Sure, there’s a nice sushi place if you’re okay with that.”

 

“Ooh, fancy! Can we watch a movie when we get back too?” Finn asked excitedly, his pace quickening at the thought of their evening plans. Shadow smirked at the jackal’s excitement and tried to act oblivious when he felt Finn’s tail thud repeatedly into his back.

 

“He’s squirming with excitement at the mention of treats, and you were worried he’d be hard to handle at first?” the voice teased Shadow, who hummed quietly to mask his amusement. 

 

“Yes Finn, we can watch a movie,” he finally responded, and the jackal howled joyously. 

Notes:

Awe, they’re getting along! Sorta. Well, hopefully the next bit will be up soon, but this time I know better than to promise something.

Take Care,

Izzie <3

Chapter 17: UPDATE

Chapter Text

Okay everyone, this is super out of character for me, but I have to post a little explanation for how the rest of the fic is going to go. I'm sorry for the long pauses and you are all so infinitely kind (haha) but I owe you a behind-the-scenes explanation!

 

In case you haven't noticed, we are 50K+ words into the first installment of the series, and the plot has not even started yet. Oops! I love making this a super long and complex storyline, but the amount of time I have to put into every chapter is exhausting with little pay-off (and I'm rushing too: half of these aren't even beta read and even if they are, my writing quality is very low for the sake of time). I am going to have to kill at least half of the filler I've planned, but I don't want the pace to suddenly change and throw you off. 

 

Moving forward, any excessive filler will be stored away safely for AFTER the fic is done! I will work on those chapters and post them eventually, and they're actually much more enjoyable to read once you've already seen what becomes of our dog and hog. You'll get more progression at a reasonable pace, but I will never erase content that means so much to me because you wonderful readers seem to love it too! I will mention when stuff is up in the notes, but readers from the future you can ignore this and just check my other works :")

 

Thank you all once again for being so patient with me. Every time I cut a chapter for length reasons it turns into a hydra, and what was once ONE chapter has recently split into SEVEN! THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH CONTENT FOR NOTHING TO HAPPEN! I'm also sick of writing dialogue even if everyone finds it hilarious, so this new structure might help me out.

Here is the list of stuff I have planned at the moment:

1. Follow You 

a) Part 1: Enemies (3ish more chapters left)

b) Part 2: Friends (19ish chapters, 2 are already written but not in the right order)

c) Part 3: Lovers (13ish chapters, 1 is already written)

 

2. Detective & Thief Spin-Off (title is a WIP)

 

This will have a lot of time gaps, but cover from before the war and carry through until the start of the official sequel. The main characters are Espio and Wave, and it'll explain how they met, how Omega was fixed, and tie up loose knots with the aftermath of the war

 

3. Short Collection of One-shots (in dire need of a title)

 

Remember all those characters back from Chapter 2, Talk? They have stories as well, and I might write something for each of them, once again offering a space for your other faves to go acknowledged

 

4. Forgotten Souls

 

For all the stuff I cut from Follow You, plus some extra filler as a treat :")

 

5. Rather Be, the Sequel

 

Self explanatory, but I'm not elaborating. Not in a million years

 

6. Another Spin-Off That I Can't Explain For SO Many Reasons So This Is All You Get

 

7. An Epilogue if enough people beg /hj

 

I might update this if stuff changes, but I figured this counts as content, right? Posting this in the middle of my fic is probably a bad idea, but I suppose it's a treat for people who have made it this far :")

 

Thank you for sticking with me this long, and do take care,

 

Izzie <3 

Chapter 18: Chapter 16. Freaks, Surf Curse

Notes:

Hey everyone! Sorry for the hiatus, I've completely redone the rest of the fic and am now ready to start posting again :")

Fun thing about this chapter is that most of it is coded! Binary, morse, jumbled words, cursed fonts, etc... and you are more than welcome to translate/decode as much or as little as you wish! Either accept the formatting as is and attribute it to the void, or get as much lore as you want out of it. I did this to conceal the darker themes for the more passive readers, so please be aware that the coded things are masked for a reason... dark stuff. Some of it is pulled from my favourite novel which will be relevant later on, but I hope this is a fun interactive activity for you all!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Freaks, Surf Curse

 

You see the shapes, and they taste familiar. Cherries, or rust, perhaps, begins pouring into your ears and out of the hairs on your spine, oozing inferiority and regret. 

 

Do you want to touch them?

 

You do not have a choice. They heard your heart skip seven beats as their quivering silhouette blurred the very cracks of reality that you are attempting to bury yourself in. They are closing in on you now, amalgamating to form her face, smothering you with the same nails that dug into your sides as the world wept itself to sleep.

 

Images of the treehouse flood your vision, the tiny shapes swirling around the ghastly memories like a dented picture frame. Have they forgotten your name? Do you even have one?

 

The shapes are hurting, and you fail to identify their names or purposes. Why are they scraping from behind your retinas? They want to be let out, you remember, breathing raggedly as they squirm beneath your lenses. 

 

Let them out. l̵̢̢̨̡̛̛̰̖̮̻͈̥̠͙͚̠͍̘̣͇̫̼̥̲̖̣̤̱̘̭͚̩̯͉̠̦̆͛͋͂̅̌̿͊̉̅̀̋͗̏͆̅͌͛̍̾̈͐̊̈́́͑͘͜͜͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅȅ̴̢͈̰͉̥͉̪̪͕̞̜̗̞̒̈́́̓͗̎̐́̊̊̒̈̽͛̏͂̌̊̎̈́̈̎̊̃͋͐̋̐̉̋͑͛̂̿̊͑̋̚̚͝ẗ̵̢̢̫̝͔̦̠̦͓̲͇̞̘̪͖̥͕̠̘͔͔͓̟̮̗̟̝̩̰̜͕̠̝̻̫̹͚́͛̾́̎̔̈̉̔̈́̆͂̍̈̍̿͘͜͜ͅͅ ̵̛̹̖̣͋̂̐̉͛́̆͗̉̔̄̈́̇̂̑̒̏͆̐͑̈́̒̑̃̍̕̕͜͠͝͠͝ṭ̸̢̡̜̹̠̳̈̿̀̄͊́̾̄̋̈̇͆̾͋̀͂̈́̂͒̉͌̾͘̚̕̕͝͝ḩ̶̢̧̡̢̛̬̼͇̻̣̰̘̹̠̬̫͉̲͙̮̺̱̺̝̘̗͖̙̲̙̰̹͓͇̳͖̃͛e̴̢̧̧̙͚͙̝̺̱̺͎̞͚̬̣͎̦̹̭̘̟̖̳͙̺͔̰͓̙̟̩̺̻̼̹͙̱̱͗̓̈́̂̄̕͜m̷̙͈̪̪̝̺͓̗̜̩̥͖̻̟̆̃͛̈̿ ̵̧̡̻̭̘̤͇̼̜̯̹͔͙͉͍̭̼͎̣͎͖̳̞͉̻̬̪̘̘͎̟͈̳̦̓̔͜͜ǫ̵͇̣̲͔̀̋́͑̄͋͐̂̀̒͐̓͋̋̀̚͘ų̶̡̢̹̤̟̱̰̩̙͖̫̬̰̙̗̳̘̝̹̱̖̱̬͙̫̱͉̼͂̓̓̎̍̏̂͑͛̈́̆̋̅̆̚͠͝t.  

 

you left them to die. you left them to die. y̸̨̡̡̢̡̨̧̹̜͓̤̰͉̞͉̻̜͈̹̖̺̙͔͉͈̘̻͔͓̻͎̲̭̙̣͈̠̩͔̭͕̞̤͚̬͙̽̄̈́̓͗̋̽̋̿̌̎̆̍̾̅͂̈́͒̈́̕̕͘͜͝ͅǫ̵̢̨̨̢̛̗̦̖̺̮͇̠͍̟̼̹͙̟̬̺̣̮̠̩̙͚̤̙̰̩̝̫̖̾̈̆͒̾̋̉̍̉̅̓̓̐̓̊͌͗̎͋́͊͗́͑͒̈́̔̆̀̅̿͛͂̐̓̈̋̋̑̆̇̈́́́̄̈̕͘̕̕͘̚̕̚̕͜͜͜͠͝͝͝ư̶̡̧̧̧̢̛̛͈͕͕̹̥͚̠̺͎͓̦̞̦̲̮̣̲͎̜̼̤̫̥̳̮͙̘̥̫̏̈̆̈́͛̃̂̂̎͒̀̾̍͒́͛̏̀̒̈͒͋͂̊͛̔̏̆̎̌̍͌̏̇̑̐̑͋͂̇̎͆̆̄͛̍̿̓̔͂̏͗̑́͛͘͠͝͝ ̷̨̧̢̡̡̱̜̜͎̫͎̳̬̤̜̳̩̲͖̱̰̣͔̺̙͖͈͓̟̠̩͉̰̩̫̲͎̯̬̠̖͙͕̭̠̭̖͉̭̤͚͉̗̣̩̯̭̱̻̹̼͉̬̦͍̻̭̙͙̞͕̝͍͖̜̯̝̩̳̜̜͓͓̪̯͍̩̙̘͓͔̻͍̔̍́̈́͂̏̈́́̈́͒͑̈́̎̇͌́̽͋̒̎̾̎͆̓̾̌́̈́͋͛̈͘̚͜ͅͅļ̵̧̧̨̨̨̛̗̼͇͚͔̥̣͓̦̹̰͉̫͖̳̞̜̺̪̰̠͍̬̩̘̙͚͓̟̗̲̮̤̤̠̝̫͈̹̻͙̰̺̹̳̘̜͍̯̞̣̩̭̖͖̼̯̞̝̯̹̪̑͂͂̏̂̒̽̓̎̒̅̔̈́̂̃̓̏̊̄͂́̍̎͑͌̊͒̀̈́͗̍̋͌̎͐͛̽̏̓̓͐̈́̋̓̈̈́̄͒̏͘͘̚̚͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͠͠͝͝͠͠͝ͅͅę̸̢̨̢̨̢̢̢̹͇̹͓͇̩͕̪̤̮̘̞̻̝͉͔͓̪̱̞̩͓͈̖̫̟͖̫͖̞̘̜̼̗̗̱̩̙̲̺̭̯͕͔̠͎͕̩̜̘͓̼̝̙̪̜̠̺͙̰̦͓̭̼̼͖͙͕̹̝̥̺̲͇̦̖̫̗̥̣͇̫͔͖̰̙̜̈̈̏̽̈̄̓͌̈́̉̎̽͗̈́͊̏̂̄͗̾̉̃̄̐͒̋̌̂̆͘̕͘͘͘͜͜͜͠͝͝͝͝͠͠ͅt̶̢̢̨̢̧̡̢̨̛̖̹̝̰͈̩̗̝̻̼̥̰̣̻̖͚̙̱̞͇͍͖̘̜͇͓͖͉͚̯̰͕̻̮̣̜̮͔̙̲̘̦̮̞̺͎̼͕̻̖̘͍̳̣̉̅͛̀̇͒̒͐̾̈́̑͆̾̐͛̊͗̓́̇͗̓̓̇̑̑͆̊̂͌̏͒͂̈͊̇̕͜͝ͅ ̶̢̧͖̩̺̣̞̘̥̠̥̩̣͇̻͍͙̗̮͔̠͕͚͔͍͚̣̼̤̱̦̦͉̬͔̦̉̉̑̀͜͠ͅḧ̶̢̢̡̧̢̢̧̢̭̲̹̦̖̰̼̯͕͖̙͕̜̘̖̺̘͈̠̬̙̬̺̘̪̱̙̖̜̜̞͉̟͚̞̣̼̳̻̩͙̠̳͕̳̖̝̰͔̭̗̘̗̙͍̥̗̯̫͊͐̋̃̈́͋̓̈́̐͜͜͜͝ͅì̶̢̡̨̨̛̛̛̩͉̣̯͕̝̟͈̮̩͚̻̳̜̯̹̪̲͚̞͚̝̜͚͈̖̮͇͖̖̟̭̮͇͔͕̞̙̺̉́͛̂̄͋̐̑̈́͛͊͑́̄̉̅̂͆̿͛͋̋̈͆̂̏̀͂̽͛̓̿̀̇̂̑̍̂͊̄̈́͆̔̒̈̒̋̉̂͐̎̋̎̑̂͋͊̾̈́͋̀̈́̒̈́̎̄̏̆̏̒̚̕̚͠͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅm̵̡̢̨̡̧̛̥̰̫̰̬̮̹̗̫̬̳̜͇̼̦͚͙̹̼̫̥̙̦̩̻̩͈͉͓͙̬̘͈̱̩̹͚͎̣͕̻̦̫̣̗͉͖͍̤͍̤͙̤̙͖͓̥͚͈̺͖̲̭̼̖̘͚͕̣̺̞̙̰̜͌̈̀͛͆͑̐̾̃̓̐̀̂̌̆́̽͗̇͜ͅͅͅ ̵̲̩͇̥̼̟̱̗͍͚͍͂͊c̸̢̡̧̧̨̛̛͎͚͉̫̯̪̝̜͖̭̫̟̜̯̦͔̖̲̞̗̜̤̰̗͔̤̬͚̪̥̼͉͈͖̝͕͓̯̬̩͎̭̜͍̯̣̱͇̲̳̔͊̊̊͂͊͗͛͋̒͊̋̒̔̒̂̈́́͐͐͆͌̃̑́̇͊̑̾͐̅̅͂̇͛̈́́̈́͊͌̄͑̊̈̈́̈́͒̊̎̑̍̅̐͗̋̃̒́͌̿̉̎͐͑̂̎̍̒͛̊̋̀̅̿̓̾̆̿̊̉̕̚͘̕͘̕͜͝͝͠͝͠͠͠ä̶̧̢̨̢̧̧̙͉̝̮̱͙͔͔̻͖̭̫͇̪̘̳͕͚̻͇̲͚͎͕͎̗̟͙͕̜͎̼̪͈̗͉̺̯͙̻̟̙̹̘̹̩̪͓͍̳͙̭͙̙͐̊͂͐̈̐̉͆̔̇̈́͊̓̆̆̑͛̓̈́̈̀̾͑̊̓́͐͑̍͗̊̾̑̔̓̽͐͐͌̚̚̕̕͘͜͜͜͜͝͠͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅv̷̡̨̧͕͕͓͈̭̻̺̟͇̙͍̙͚̰͖͔̫̤̰͖̜̩̙͉̖͚̼̠̳̗̱͇̦̼͔̫̫͎̪͍͔͚̗̻͕͎͍̞̱͙̺̲͎͖̪̟̫̺̰͖̤͔͙͇͚̖͖̳̿̆͊̏̆̋̿̏͛͐̂͛͘͜͜͝ͅͅͅe̸͙͍̲̻͖͎̝̙̞͓͕͙̹̖̍͒͆̇̅̆̒͒̌̈͂̊̄ ̴̨̧̨̨̥͙̼̗͔̞̤̙̻̬̥̰͚̹̼͇̪̭̫̩͈̪̻̼̹͍͈͍̪̣̻̤̘̯̹̟͍̝̙͕̟̮̰̤̣̝̥͙̲̝̯̻̪̱͖͉̬̘̲̲͚̙̗̝̩̖̮̤͕̻̯͙͔̰̖̘̻̜̜̾͒̏͋̒̅̒̈̀̂̾̽̎͒͊̈́̇͌̂͆͌͆̊̂̅́͛̿̐̓̈́̚̚͘̕͜͜͜͠͠͝t̶̢̨̧̨̢̧̧͙͎̤̺̻͇͔̩̠͉̦͇̫̺̣̻͉͖͖̬͎̟͎̝̖̝̯̫͇͍͖̮̥̭̻͖̝̫̼̳͔̩̮͎͕̤͓̮̼̏͆̇̍͒̋͗̃͗̈́̈̅͛͊͒̎̀̾̎̆̿̄̎̈̂̄͛̆͂̆͛̏͆̒͂̾̀̃͆̒͋͑̋̉̒̆̒̾̂͆̈̌̊̈́̈́͆̓̈̅̌̃͌̽̕͘͘̚̕̚͘͘͘͜͝͝͝ḩ̶̢̢̨̡͔̥͎̼̲͎̘̱͔̻̙̖̞͎̩̤̩̘̮̦̬̞̳͖͍̺̰̣̱̩͍͚̞͎͎͙̟̫̤̪̤̻̖͔̫̃̓̋̽̄̒͗̅͑̀̆̿̈́͆͘̚͘͝ͅͅͅȩ̵̧̧̨̛̛̛̛̖̣͎̞͚̠̠͙͕̤̭͈̦͎̳͙͕̜̥̲̤̘̅̾͗̏̇̒͛͛̈͛́̊̇̄͛̓̂̓̿̔̍̀͗͊̈̓̃̅̉̎͋̔̃̏̀̿̑̿̽̑̍̓̿̏̊͛͆̈̓̈́̕̕̕͘͜͝͝͝͝͝͠ͅͅi̴̢̢̢̡̛̛̛̟̬͙̣̮̰̤̗̱̘̬̙̗̥̹̗̪̖̫̔̀̓̿͗͑̅̾̿͌́͗̀̂̂̅̉̇̐̐͛̇̿̓̈́̈́͌́͌͆̓́̽̉̓͛̎̐̊͂̉͂̇̾̂̓̉̅̑̄̀̉̑̉̈́̈͘̚̕͘͘̕͜͠͝r̶̢̡̡̨̢̛̻̪̳͚̩͓͈̖̟̹̤͎͍̗͕̭͎͇͔̖͈͔͕̼̟̗͔̮̻̤̹̻͚̦͇̪͕̝̱̘͓̤͚͔̞̫̘͍͚̳͔͔̽̂͊̅̊͋̽͆͌͋́̋̑͆̌͋͑̅̈̓̊̎͆̾̾̈̃̐̔̑͂̔̅̍̽̒͑̏̂̍͐͗̍̉̽͌̈́̿̾̽̄̉̿̈̂̎͊̌̀̀͛̾̃̏͂̎͂͐͆̚͘̚͘͘͜͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͝͝ ̶̡̡̧̢̨̨̘͎̞͔̯̦̬͙̫̥̮̺̬̱͓̥͎̜͕͎̩̻̦͖͉̘͕̗̳̪̯̟͓͍͖͍̫̘͇̹̦̼̀̔͂̏͗̒̐͗͐̋̒̈̈́̓̆̽̽̉͋̒͒̉͌̾̾̎̿̋̄̈́͑̋̕͜͝͝͝ͅs̴̨̡̨̢̢̢̢̡͙͙̪̮̺̼͓̥̘̘̥͔͙̘͖̫͍̤̠̖̜̮̳͈̤̝͕͇̩͇̟̖̤̼̪̟̹͖̼̝͓͎̫̱͇̳̪̖̤̟̥̫̘̫͇͔̠͍̳̫͈͉̰͉̞͎̬̩̞͈̩͖̯̹͈͉̳̹͇̫̬͖̹̦̭̼͖̗̾̀͜͜͜͝ͅͅͅk̸̨̡̨̨̧̡̡̡̡̡̨̧̻̰̗̬͉̖̥̼̦̩̖̲͈̞̩̖͇̤̱͎̗̝̬̥͍̱͇̹̠̤̟̥̖̳̣̣̙̪̞̯̩͎̯͈̺̯̥͈̠̬͔͈̦͚̞͚͇̟̙̺̼̻̘̮̖͍̖̰͈͕͇͍̟͉̖̫̥̲̮͉̏͜ͅͅų̷̨̧̧̧̡̢̨̡̧̧̛̛̞̟̻̟̳͉͎̗̲͚̪͕̠̟̬͇̦̖̝̭̙̪̱̱̭̟̖͙̬̝͈̻̠̯͈͎͉͕̰͖̺̰̝̩̙̟͔̤͖͕̩̬̖̜̮̤͓̯͉͕̦͉̝̘͚̤̟̘̥͚̲̙͔̜̠̖͂̓͂̃̍͐̄̿͊́͗̈́͌̿͗̌̓̂͛̓̐̿̋̔̿̃̋̈̇͘͘̚̚͜͜ͅͅľ̸̢̧̧̢̨̧̢̛̛̛͖͎̺͖̲͔͍̱̥̫͉͎̹̱͖̣̗͎͍̗̟̣̖͓̳̘̤̱̻͉̻͎͔̜̙͔̎͒̓̅̒̒͆̃̄̿̎͐̐͒̅́̿̓̓̔̊̐͆̓̅̈́̇͐͒͐̍̋̊̀̓̄̓̽̂̓̅̍͗͂̌͐̉̉͂̔͗̍̾̒̅͋̏͋͊͊̕̚͘̕͘̚͘̕͠͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝ͅͅl̸̢̨̧̡̧̧̨̧̡̨̛̩̤͓͇̗̞̱̼̘͍̱̗̻̲̝̬̹̩̥͙͙͚̼͚̫̣̲̥͎̭̠̘̩̥̼̳̺͈̱̜̠͓̠̮͇͔̝̟̲͕̻͍̖͎͕͚̹̣̗̥̲̣͍͈̝̭̘̩̥̲̤̦̣̲̱̘̺͙̝͇̳̯͚̹̮̮͍̦̦̩̠̒̓́̉͗̈́̾̆̊̃̈́̏͗̑́͂̐͋̏͌̒̊̀͐̅͌̔̿́̂̓̑̂̇͑͑͑̋̎̏̿͌̊̏͒̐̈́̆̅̔̏̏̍͊͊͛̔̋̈͆̉̅̊̉͌̌̿̒̀̾̿̕̕͘͘͘͜͠͠͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅͅs̸̡̢̢̧̨̡͓̮͎̞͓̩͔̹̟͙̬̬̦̗͕͍̦̬̭͖̫̩̼̭̫̜̘͇̰͈͚̯̲̙̭̯̜̯̟͈͖̣̱͚̺̮̪̬̻̰̬̤͔̲͓͙̟̘̥͓̀̒̉̊͊̃̊͒̌̇͂͒͐̒̿̌̈́̄̎͒͌̽͊̾͑̓̂̎͆͛͑͆̄̈͊̔́̂͐̉̍̒̋̄̚̕͘̚̚̕͜͝͝͝ͅͅ ̸̧̢̢̡̧̨̨̨̡̧̡̢̛̛̦̪̥̲͈͇̞̻͓͉̠̳̦͔͎̞̠̟̫̬̬̬̟̼̘̰͖͈͉̩͙͚̞̻͙̭̺̖̻̳͙̠̠̼̥͈̜̭̹͖̖̫̯̯̩̜͈͕̥̯̤͚̗͕͙̙̮̳͖̖̲͈̦̗̗̳͔̪͚̲͖̟̒̓̈́̋̈̆͂̈́͆͑͌͑͂̆͌̓͒̍̈́̆̓̈́̽͑͌͛̓̓̃̏̍͌͌̓̅̓̋͛́́̊͒̉͌̓̾͑͛̉̊̓̌̈́̐͗̆̓̑͌̄͘̕͘̕͘̚͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅi̵̡̡̨̡̡̧̧̛̛̝̲̩̝͔̹̖͈̙̞̠̣̪̟͎̦̰̤̯͖̼̭̙̙̲̻̮̤̠͉͍̝̝͎̳͙͎̥̥̹̠͖̗̖͈͔̖̫̹̭̥̣̝̫̯̍̍͗̔̒̾͆̐̉̓̂̎͒̉̅̊͛͐͊͒͛̉̊͑̌̈̾̂̈́̈̐́̾͑̔̄͛͑̀͒͐͘̚͘͘̕͜͠͝͠͝ͅn̵̢̦̘͙͎͉̲̯̗͛̈̈̿̌͐͑͗̒̈̀̈́͆͒̓̐̈́̑͆̓͛͆̽͒͐̃̉̃̌̂͆͂̅́̔́̅̉͑̈́͆̈́͊̆̃͂̿̏̌̃̾̌̀̑̃̌̒͂̂̀̑̃̊̇̄̈̐́̈̔͂̎͂̂̔̊̍͋̐͆͆̀̌͗͆̀̚͘͘͝͠͠͝͠͠,̷̨̡̡̨̡̧̢̢̰̩̫̯̲̩̩̺̻̪̭̟͇̳̪̫̥̰̙̮̟̣͕͚̻̗͕̠̳̬͎̹͎̦̩̻̬̼̩̤̬̦̯̥͉̟͕͚̲̩̬̙͇̗̮͍̱̩͈̯͎̞̦̟̠͎͓͖͓͖̤̭̤̝̣̼͖̰̮̘͕̣͈͎̳̱̬̻͈̔͊͜͜͜͜ͅͅ thei r intestine s shoved down your throat. t̶͇̖̭̗̪͋̋͑̍͝ȟ̷͍̉̊͂̾͐͝͝ͅě̷͕̦̤͈̫̥̇̈́͌̂͂̋̇͗̊͌̿ ̴̛͜w̷̧̛͖͚̰̑͆͌͐͊͒̈́͑̃̕a̵̳̜̹̬͈̬̭̟̪̙͚̎͜ͅr̴̡̢̢̖͎͍͇͉̩̟̪̱͉͔̞͑͆͂̆͛̌̑̄̓̎̕m̴̡̢͚̹̙̟̻̱̦̱̗̙̓͋͆͝ț̸̨̧̣̟͖̎͋͆h̵̹̃̍̈́́͋͂̏̈́̍͜͝ ̴̱̟̱͒̅̓͗͊͠o̴̢̡̢̦̺̩͍̹̮̙͈̰͖̙͓̒͊͛͌͂͐͐̑̒̋̔̀͝f̷͔͙͈́̃̿̈́͝͠͠ ̷̡̘͈̭̼̯͖̊̆̿ͅt̶̥̄́̐̈̉͋̕͜͝h̷̡̢̧̖͉̝̪̥̲͎͍̗̺̏̇͗͗͌̓̈́̒͝e̴̡͉͔͔̺͙͙̥̖͈̗̓͊́̍̇̅̇̈́̉ͅĭ̵̛̛̞̱̝̖̒̅̕r̸͇̘͚̱̰̮̫̯̭͆̋̍̍̓͂̕͝ ̸͔̼͖͇̗͚͇̼̳̓̒̋̋̉͝ȩ̸̡̳̪͓͈̖̺̘̪͖̜̪̗̯͉͉̄̉̿̇̎̅̍͒̊̍͝ṅ̵͖̋̅̐̀͊̿̔̑̇͘͘͘t̵̪̹̹̻̪͇̲͇͓̫̻̟͒̅͆̃̈́̄̚͜r̶̡̞̪̭̾͐̋̐̇̇͆̆͐̕͘͠a̴̢̤̓̏̌͒̔͗̉̆̊̎͊̅̌̚i̵̡̡̧͉̼̤̲̬̘͍͘͜ļ̶̛̛͔͈͇̲̘͖̯͉̯̬̦̮̣͈̇͗̏̆̓̒̊͊̑͐̕͘ṡ̸͇̠͉͕͇̯͚̜͈̺̼͉͂̍̇̂͊̎͑̅̆͋̎͌͒̚ͅ ̸̛̙̄ͅͅk̶̗̺̗̳͙̞̫͙͕͇͇̟̪̦̦͋̑̿̓̈́͒̋̊̈́̈́̂̽̕͜͝ḛ̷͖͖̀̐̑̾̃̀̉͗̚ȇ̴̠̮̯̗͙̟̪͎̜͐̑͌͐̔̽͆͛̊̿̇̎̽͘͠p̷̡̛̛̻̺̳̠̯̪͖̝̫͛̉͋̐͂͌̊͑̕s̵̩̤̳̱̠̮͍̘̘͍̗̱̗͌͊̄̄̿͆̕̕͜͜ͅ ̸̨̧̛̗̬̘̼̯͉͑̇̄̂̈́̈́͑̎̔̌̿̅̈͝͝͝y̶̨̨̙͎͚͖͓͉̣̣̪̫̮̠̰͍͕͗̃̕͝͝ò̵̩͖̮̈̔̓̉̄̿̇̂̊͆̾ú̵̞̠̯̳͓̥̰̀̄͂̄̕͜͝͝ ̴̡͔̭̻̘̪̤̫̘̼̟̬̦̩̯̐͊͒̑͐͗̈̓̿͗̕̚̚͘s̸̛̥͍͕͙̖̀̉̽̏̒̍͒͐͘͝ǎ̵̡̢̙̝̝͓͇̪͍̤̭̱̳̰̲͊̈́͂̆̊͊̈́̒͗̅̈̈́́̐͊͘f̷͇̺̲̲̼̺͈̤̮̈́́͐̍̿̋͊͐̃͝ë̴̞͍̙̹́̆,̴̢͎̥̥̟͌̅̇̈́͛͒̊̒̄̈́̕͝ ̴̠̳̜̦̻̤͈̯̯̂̆͛̇̈́͠ͅi̵͙̩̼͎̜̍͛͆̄̕͝ţ̷͇̝̤̲̾̏̃̅̿̇̒̑͑̈͌̑̐̓͝’̶͍̤̗̩̱̼̙̟̬͚̣͚͈͈̆͆̓̎̈͐̽̌̉̕͠͝s̶̢̬̯̳̓̆̎̚̚ ̸̧̘̲̺͉̹̳̝̫̼̟̗̫̉̔̾̈́͌͊̓͑̐̾̂̋̒͛̆͘s̴̄͋̑̓̾͋̕̕͜͝t̸̨̟̹͎͎͔̱̖̲̜͖̙͈̯̘͊͂̆͊̊͗͑͂̊̉̃ǐ̶̢̛̺̟̺̭̱͆̅͊͊c̶͕̗͈̼͗̈̅͗̎̆̇͛̀̈́̄ķ̸͖̞̱̃̍̎͋̕̕y̸̬̬̘̤̲̓̽̊͒̈͐̊͋̑̕̕̚,̵̠̬̮̝̩͉͈̪̭͗̽̉͠ ̸͖̖̱͕͔̝̝̙̪̲͔͎̱̭̒̾̑̈́͋̊͆̊͆̿̈́̚̕͜w̸͈̘̫̗̖͕͙͔͖̄̋̍̃̀͊̂͑̉̈̿͘̚h̷̖̙͂̒̊̽̓̊̓̽͊̿̓̽̑͗̑ỳ̷͙̄̌̇̿̿̃͛͗͘͘͝͠͠͝ ̷̢̢̛͍̹̟̫̺͓͓̟̪͕̗̬̩̾̓̉̐̾͋͑̾͊̃͘͘͝͝a̶̢̛̛̯̮̜̼̞͈̳̰̺͖̠̳̗̲̱̐̓̌̄͒̓̽͋̎̽́̀̚͠͠ͅř̵͉̰̣̮͕̉̈́̊̌̒̿́͒͂̈́ͅȩ̸̞̭̫̪̣̮̬̰͆̂̀͆̏̃̐̆̚͝ ̷͎͇̗̌͌́͆͌̏̽̾̒̚͜ẙ̶̢͇̻̺̫͙͔͎͊͗̍͊͐̉̑͐͒̈̑͌͘̚͠ọ̸̥̫͙͚̹̼̱͙̣̫̙͈̳̝͈̀́̀̓̅̈̓͌̽͑̈̓͋̕͝u̴̡͚̗̮̲̫͎̜̹̣͛̎́̿̂̆̄̊̃͘͘͘͝ ̵̧͖̬̭͇͖͔̘̹̰̫̭̤̲͈̼̿̑̋̌̃̅̏̉̚͜͠s̶̞̼͉͈͇̑͘t̷̹̟̦̤͇̻̠̕i̸̧̢͎͇͎̲̝̽̃͐͋̂̍͛̿̍͊̕̕ͅc̴̨̨̛͉̜̝͓̫̱̝͖̣̥͉k̷͉̲̭̣̤̺̟̘̟͓͖̞͔̺̹̮͗͒́̍͗̈́̿́͋̄̈́̆̇͝͠y̶̡̨̲̳͎̙̳̠̯̝̙̭̋̒̍͋̍̄͒̀̐̏̆̌͘͝?̶̧̗̹̣̣̠̝̗̱̻͇̭̖̬̝͍̏͌̑͊̋͛̓͋͘ ̵̗͙͌͝w̵̧̹̙̹̞͙̖̥̭̪̍ḩ̴̨̝͕̜̬̬̹̲̣̝̈́̓̈́̓̍̽̈́̌̓͘͝͝o̸̰͇̳̼̲̱͛̍́͘ ̵͕̹̿͊͒̿̾̊ḭ̴̡̡̛̛͕̻̪͓͚̗̩͈̤̪͖̰͖̑̎̆̿̀͆̕ͅs̵̨͔͕̼̟̭̈́̀̊ ̷̨͎̖͕͙̖͓̰̣̉̆o̸̡̭̰̭̙̬͖̤̰̹͈̠͓̼̫͚͋͒̄̍̌̂̒͋͝n̵͎̎͐͆ ̴̛̖̦̲̻̽͑̐̈́̔̅͂̍̑́̋͘͝y̷̨̢͉̟̳̟̘̞̘̯̯̙͋̋̄̽ͅo̴͇̽̆͛̌̄̇͛̈́u̴̮̠̙̦̼͆͋̂̂͠ͅŗ̷̧̞̳̹͔̘̤͕̟̬̘̊ ̶̡̧̨̩̖̣͕̮̏̈́̓̒̒͗̍̈́̿̑͜h̵̨͚̖̤͍̣͓͙͎̳͗̒̋̿̐̅͐̉̄͆ā̸̘̞̻̪̺̪̟̟̊̔̋̒̀̿̓̇͑̌͊ͅn̷̻͙͍̭̉͛̒̊̒͑͝d̷̨̨̘̦͈̯͍̳̐̂̋͋̇̇̕͜š̵̨̪͓͕̹̰̤̻̭͋͋͗̽̏͠?̷̧͚̖̺̯̥͎̱̬̳̰̦̩̞͉̿͛̊̈́̓̿̍̅̕ ̸̲̏͗̈͝͝w̸̳̰̻̠̞̫͙͎͕͔̩̗͚̉̔͊̊̓̌̓̂͗̈́̀̈́͋̆͝ͅh̵̝̩̫͉͔̭̘̣̙̬͎̺͐ǭ̴̛̟̣̜̟̥͉͇̼͚͍͚͛͗̚͝ ̶̡͈͇͕̪̱̤̈̊̈́̐͛͂͌̎̆͌ͅḭ̶̛̣͖̰͓͓̹̬͚͉̜̯͕̤̒͌͌́̚͘̕š̸̡̢̤̖̲̭̥͕̟͈̗͉̪̦͎̩͉͛̔̏̿̑̀̈́̚͝ ̷̧̡̼͈̜̺̼͇̙̂̍͒̓͗̈̏͝t̶̪̠͎̼̙̪͊͒̃̽̈́͌̍͠ĥ̴̡̟̳̤̻̂̇̂̃̚͝e̶̡͔̝̺͎̩̮̠̥̳̱̝̰͐̔̐̅̈́͒͌̍̐̓̓̆̓́̈́͘͝r̸̢̡̮̱͍̱̥͎̩̙̯͚̥͔̉̄̊̃̊͌͌̂̓͑͆̕͝ě̷̮̳̯̙̬̱̥̳̳̖͂̈́͐̉̌̒̐̑̑͘̚̕̚͝͝?̶̡̧͈̣͉̤̦̪̤̖͎̩̳̟͑̄̊̌̎ ̸̟͈͈͔͔̘͍̹̞̰̈́̀͗͂̎̾̾̎̈͐̄̄̃ţ̶̨̧̛̛̛̤̪͖͙̱̫̪͕̻̬̅̂̽̏͆̿̎͒͠h̵̛̪̆̐͆̽̍̔̔̚͘̚͠ę̴̧̨̺͕͚̯͔̱͙̩̠̩̖͈̂͒̈̉̈́̒ÿ̴̢̡̬̯̼͍̰̘̲̲͖͕́͐͑̒̽͌̔̾̽̐͐̚̕̕͝’̵̥̣͇̪͇͓͔̖̳͕̙͒̐́͋̾͆̉̀̀͐͊͊̒̅̐͠͠r̸̢̞̣̺͈͚͎̩̩̽̓͗͂̍̄͛̄̽̋̂̈͋́͑̐e̴̡̧͕̱̣͙̻̩̫͇͙͕̣̍̓̃̏̿̋͊̈́͜ ̷̺̞͙͓͍͉̦̖̗̟̹̅w̷̧̖̙̤̞̮͈̰͛̈́̎̐̃̇̐̔͛̾̕ḁ̷̺̤̗̃͊̕͝͝t̴̡̡̖͍̞̼̘̝̜̫͚̯̪̹̦̒͛̔̓̓̏̕͠c̴̘̗͉̤̘̮̖̀̈́͋̿͜h̷̡̢̝͙̯̩̪̪͎̞͉̤̺͒̐̄̑͐̓̃͝i̵̠̗͚͖̯̋̒͒͑̈́n̴̢͎͎͓̣͕͍̻̑g̴͉̑͑̄́͂͒ͅ ̵̻͍̮̥̦͔̿͌̇͆̈́́͜͝ÿ̸̧̦̟̤͕̦́͊̒͘͜͝o̵͚̦̹̙̞̭̦̱͙̗̲̖̺̩̹̊̊̈́̈́̓͑̽ͅu̵̗͔̬̱͎͓̻̤̹͔̇͂.̵̩̜̹̲̜̫̬̭͚͕̣̌͋̐̾̑ͅ they’re looking at you on the screen right now and they’re horrified, how could you do this!? they trusted you. they cmae eerh ot cwtah you prorfme a ggyfa tlltei oshw nad oyu rdakn tehir iednsis. you left them to die. you left them to die. they taste horrible, is that the rust in your hair?

 

Where is he? He isn't back yet, but you can feel him. He's here with you, right now. He never left. 

 

This feeling of emptiness, of nothing, the bare bones of the universe… it suits you. You want more, pleading to be property of the void. Tracing the shapes with your goosebumps, you speak to the entities with your soul. 

 

Take me, please. Take me from him .

 

As if they had cared to listen, the buzzing quarks reformed to mold to your nonexistent silhouette, vibrating on the surface of your psyche. The valves of his h̵̨̨̤̻̼̳̝̜̬͉͈̯͈̪̼͓̠̟̠̬͈͔̠̹̞͔̏̎͊̓̀̇̈́̐̈́͛̓͛̒͐̃̏́̔͛̃͘͘͝͝͠ͅͅȅ̴̡̬̞͎̮͇̠̥̩͍̼̻̥̫̯̰͚̳̳̭̦̻̮̠̓a̸̢̡͕͔̜̗͇̱̻̼̯͕͚͖̙̹̻͉͋́̐̾̔͒͊̊̔̓̅͗͒̓͊͗̃̕͝͝r̶̢̧̢̛̼͈̰̻̘̺͆̈̏͒̇́͛̿̀̿̊͆̌̐͋͆ț̶̨̻̫̱̯̲̫̩͈̩̩̭̝͇̭̼̯͙̝̇͒̓͑̈̄̀͐͒̿̈́́̏̑̕͜͜͠ͅ ̴̺̞̮̜̮̘̹͔̟̥̭͓͇̥̤̀͋̍̀̂́͗̍̾͌͆̒̃̎̓̈́̍͊̓̄̅́͠͠͠are twisting around your throat, he’s in your throat, he's ni uyror tathoiiiiiiii1iin2fjf ̸̡̗̞̪̭̝̣͖̤̆̈́͋͌͐͝͠P̷̢͔̹̌̃̏͂̈́͘͝Å̷̯̭̪͎̘͔͈̍͑̊̑̍̚P̶̢̛̞͉͙͕̦͉̾̌̆͌̊̕A̵̟̜͉̾́̃͌̀̍͝ ̴̨̡̮̬̼͔̋ͅR̷̨̛̘͙̰̲̹͚͑̅̄̄̓̀̿͘Ỏ̵͈̈́͆̚͜M̵̡̨̡̜̬͓͔͊̾̀̓̊̕͝Ḙ̷̟̏O̷͙͖͕̣͕̲̯̻͛̉̃͑̿̀̅͘͜ ̵̢̲͉̬̜̥̦͍͔́̊̃͋Ơ̴̘̙̻͙̰͎͓̭̓̒̒͂̽̈͒͝S̷̬͈͖̆̌̄̍̋́̇̄C̷̛̘̱̼̻͒̄͒͆̄͘͘͝ͅA̶̧̹̰̥͚̳͔̅͂̇̓͝ͅR̵͙̒̃ ̸̫̫̪̅̍̄͑̃͐̕̕J̵͍̰̰̯͚̳͑̈͛͛̏̄͝ͅÜ̸̥͚̦̰̱͒̃̍̑̆̾͆L̷̮͔͎̝̂Ĭ̴̢̖̜̤̭͓̹̻̤E̴̩̻͍̾Ṫ̷̢̘͎̱͔̻͍͍̑ ̷̢̨̘̝̯̩̝͑͒̽̋̐̋͘E̶̢͈̹̬̖͇̫͙̭̊C̷̨̮͓̹̥̑͋̈̽͆̒̔͆͜Ç̷̠͙̜̩̦͚̿̌̅̈́̍O̷̢̰̞̮̠̟̠͍̪͌̈́̐̒͠ ̵̢̰͖̘̘̍C̷͍̘͆̚Ḩ̴̰̞̂̍͐̀Ȃ̴̝͚̬͌̈̽́̂̕R̷̠̙̠̰̜̳͂̒̽͐̊͒L̷͍͆Í̸̛̛̼̫͈͎͎͖̮̩̻̈́̌̔͐͝E̷̬̯͇̘͇̪̮͂̍̑͠ ̵̨̥͙̳͓͇̣̻͒͌̐̏͐͝T̵͈̉A̸̛̟̳͒͊͘͝N̸͕̓̓̐̓Ģ̶̘̪͖̍̂͆̕O̸̡̘̱̭̼̘͒̈̌̐̂̈́̈̚͜ ̸̙͊̑̃͠S̴͙͂͛̕I̷̡͌̅̒͠Ę̴̠̤̙͔̼̻̖̐̐̎͒̄̆͜͠Ŗ̸̩̗̪̺̋R̴̰͛͗͊͑͠Ǎ̸̱̪̤̤̤́͗͋̈͌̾͝ ̴̭̮̝̮̺̯̻̑͐̓̿͑ͅͅḤ̶͖͉͓̣̹͚͈̎͋̿͝O̴̱̓̀͆̈́̔͜T̴̡͔͓̱̭̯͚̬̂̈́̌͋̆̆̈̕͠Ẻ̶̬̩̠͑̏̌̚̕͜͝͝Ļ̵̗̝͚̔̃̐͋͛̕͠͝ ̵̜̳͗̅͛̈̋͝A̸̖̰̱̗̓̉͠L̵̦̜̓P̵͖̘̞̞͓̜̣̻͖͒̔̃͑̕H̷͓̪̪̗̬̼̻͖̆́̈́̓͜A̷̝̖̬͐̔̌̉͝ ̶̱̗͉̦̣̲͖͍̓̒D̸̬̲̥̗̞͂̔͗̈́̿͗̌̐̓É̸̪͌̀̈́̃͑̾͐L̴̘̆̓̀̈́͠T̷̖͚̻̈́A̵͔̤̹͍̟̩͗̐̔̕͝ ̴̭̙̰̥̳͙̃̆͛̇̔͘O̷̞̺͙͖̱̮͔̦͊́̄̂̋̿̊Ś̴̭̻͎̳̻̫͉̪̂͋͜C̸̫̼̦͉̖͎͈̪̃̂͑̓̋͂̿͊A̵͙̿̒̍͛͒͝R̶̨̤̯̰͕̭̹̝̄̂̉̀̽͠͝ͅ ̶̛̣̲̙̜̜̗͖̀̂̍̐W̶̥̒̂̈́͌̐͑̚͝H̷͎̹̰̾͑̔̐̕͝I̴̬̭̼̼̣͌͌͐͐̇͊̑̿S̸̨̠̹͇̮̦͕͉̦̿̋̾K̶̙̓̄̐̍̈́̔Ȅ̸̠̭̺͍̻̦̏̀̃͛̄͐͌͐Y̶̨͚̰̺͕̺̗͈̜͑͊́̂͊͒͘ .... . .-.. .--. / -- . / .... . .-.. .--. / -- . / .... . .-.. .--. / -- . / .... . .-.. .--. / -- . / .... . .-.. .--. / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- / ..-. ..- -.-. -.-

The host was not accepted, they forgot what they saw in you. You are empty now, merely the husk of what they once thrived on, null. Where are you? 

 

They chased this high into the void, your lack of substance is too much for the nothingness they crave, you taste disgusting, ̴͕̞͕͓͖̗͇͎̜̓͋̾̐̽̇͐̀̓͒̒̒̑́̈́͗͘͘͝͠͠ⱼ̵̧̡̬̦̰͎̬̮̻͉̰̪͈͓̫̺̲̃̌̎͌̍̈́̾̕̚͝ᵤ̶̡̰̫̻̦̘̱̖̹͉̣͙̭̝̼̟̋̎͗̒̒̈́̈́͒̈͌͗̈̑̂̕͠͝͠ͅₛ̸̢̧̬̜̞̤̱̫̦̤͉͙̻̞͓̜̟̃ͅₜ̷̧̹͙̙̘̰̝̫̟̿̆̌̑̓̓͑͌̄͗̆̑̽̍̈́̇̓͠ ̸̛̗̗̜̺͍̬̬̯̻̝̹̪̮̟̌̋̾̅͐̌͝ͅₗ̵̧̦̳̺̼̼͔̼͎̦͛̎̉̈́͛̂̈́̊̃̇̒̋̇̓̚͜͝͝͠͝ᵢ̴̢̢̻̭̭̘̼̱̫̱̥̯͔͔͎͑̽͆͒̃̎͛̂̆̕͜͜͠͠ₖ̵̲̗̜̠̈́͛͂̽͊̈́̏̈́̒̽̄͗̎͛̈́̕̕͠ₑ̵̨̡̘͔͔̖̩͈̪̘̋ͅ ̶̢̜̦̭̰̗͈̭͎͖̯̬̼͑͊͛̈́̂̐̕͠͝͝͝͝ͅᵧ̵̖̟̻͚̥͙̰̲͚̭̗͈̞̝̍̌̈́̀̈́̈́̅̐͜͝͝ₒ̷͚̼̥͍͈̯̭̜̲̲̯̙̹̠̪̺̆̓͆̓̊͘͜͜͝ᵤ̸̲̪̝̙̺̝͖͕̩̜̋̑̓̊̀̽̄̀̍͜ᵣ̸̢̰̬̪͕͇̱̜̗̱̣̳̳͙̤͎͎͓̒̉̈́̏͆̽̄̃̋̔̾̅̄͜ ̴̪͓̭̠͙̤͍͌͆͂͛͗̇̃̈́̀͐́𝒹̸̲̟̙̮̑̅̒̾ₐ̴̨̡̥̩͕̪̪͎̜̪͍̂͛́͌̋̏̓͋̌͆̄𝒹̶̧͓͚̪͕̯̔𝒹̴̼͇͈͍̩̘̯͉̄̊̒̄̏̈́̅̓̿̓̇̐͒̕͝ᵧ̵̢̢̢͚̯̣̰̞̻̯̱̥̰̎͑̈́͋̋̍̈́͒͌͛̈.̸̻̲̮͇͔͔̫̖̬̞̰͓̼̜̼̹̖̞̐̒͒͌́͂̕̕̕ You taste like energy, the kind that makes quarks and shapes sick, remember when you puked your guts out? Put them back in, you spineless whore, ̶̢̼͙̪̳͖̠͇̲͈̣̗̳͖̑̌̿̊̀̽̈͗̊̒̔͆̏̉̎̑͂͘̕͜͠ᴛ̵̛̛͍̪̱̝̖̦͓̗͇̝͕̖̯̣̟̜͎̹͇̾̏̎͐̇̆̕͝ʜ̶̱̙̞̯͈͈͚̥͚͓̺̮̙͓͎̈̓̈ᴇ̵̢̹͖̪̘̠̈́̆͆͂̋̾ ̶̢̢̢̟̬͇̩̩̬̮̬̜̫͕͂̒̽͊̈̏̈̐̌̈́̊̍͘͠͝ʜ̸͖̖̱͎̣̜̘͎̟̬͙̪͍͇̺̫̮̠̱͍́̎͊͋̿̽̐̎̃̎̃̑̍̄̇̊͊̚͠ᴇ̴̡̬͙̦̦͎̣͖̼̩̟̒͆̏̉̆̋̈̄̀͐̅̉̀̿͗͘̚͜ͅᴅ̶̖͐̋́̓̍͒̈́̈́̏ɢ̷̢̙̘͓̟͎̭̤͚̙͉̠̊̐͆̈̔͐͋̃̿̌͐͆̽͘͘ᴇ̴̧̧̙̹̟̺̻͚̞͕͚̗̱͇̼̹̫̻̯̑̆̑̏̿̐̎͗̈́̓͋̓̕͝͠ͅʜ̷̢̛̛̳̳͓̪͎̠̣̰̼̗̲͚̠̖̙͓͋͋͋̽̌̐͆̾̽̈́́͊ᴏ̸͎̘̺̳͇̘͕͛̅̍̃̾̃͆͊́̋͋̔͐̅͑̒͝ɢ̴͓̘̪̭͔̖͎̭̤̰͕̝͇̈́̔͜’̷̧̡̡̡͍̫̰̯͚͚̣̭̪͍̫̟͍͖̠̃ͅs̵̨̛̝͕̟̯̃̄̿͒͊̈̋̑̍̄̐͝ ̵̧̡̤̺̝̥̘̼̖̩̤̯̈́̃͆̈̉̍͗̒̅͒̆̄̓̀͝͠ͅʟ̶̤͚͍̠̭̙͚̙̲̥̺͔͚̖͎͈̈͊̋͝͠ͅͅɪ̶̥͖̠̪̥͖̽͆͊͒̒̀͐͛͆̉͑̿̂͊̂̚͝͝͠͝ᴛ̵̨̛͔̱̲͕͓̫̯͕͖̬̝̥̭͉̑́͛͜͝ᴛ̷̗̟̟͉͖̜̂̒͋̿̽͘ʟ̸̢̢̛̛̼̪̲͖̝̻͉͔̣̼̺̹̜̖̄̄̄̃͊́͛̽̅̅͊͐̈͗̐̌̚ͅᴇ̵̨͚̻͕̙̻̘̦̞͎͉̱̞̲̽́̾̆̈́̆̐̋̀̋͂͘̚͘͝͠ ̷̠̺͖͓͍͈̦̖̮̯̙̥̔͋̅͒̐̔͒̿͜s̴͈͙̦̰̰̞̣̪̠͚͎̉̏̈͊̋̒̐̇͋͗̊̂̓̋̅̐̏͜͜ʟ̷̜̪̤̦̪̳̯̹̝̝͕̂̍̀̌̔̽̌̆̍̅͋̒͘͜͠͝ᴜ̵̢̡̨̢͖͓͔̭̝̩̬̩͉̜̔̎̏̄̍͗̏̌̿́͑̕͝ᴛ̵̗̌͒̇͊̊̾̍͝.̵̙̜͍̀̓̊͊̈̍͋̈́̎̚͠͝ God, the quarks and shapes can’t stand you, and neither can the real world. But what is real? ავად გამიკეთე, she told you. 



This doesn’t feel good anymore. You wanted to be ready, you wanted to be strong again, but they’re tearing through you:  the tattered wings of moths getting caught in your lung tissues. You need to get out of here, fast, but you don’t want to. 

 

Every other second of your life that has built up to this moment is clawing into your eyes as they melt, grasping at liquidized vision with naked burning nail beds. The holes in your face, they’re sticky. Your fingers are stuck. ̶̨̛̱̻̺͍͓̒͗̔̚̕ɪ̴̢̘̙̈́̏͒̈̈̚ᴛ̷̹̜̽̀̄̾̽̌̈͘͝ͅͅ ̵̳̲̮̝͎̤̮̫̖̩̬̋̍̎̈́̃̇͝ʜ̶̩͇̽̌͒̍̇͛̃̃͋̚̚͝͝͝ᴜ̸̛̞̦̟̬͉̫͚͖̂͌͗̑̆͌̆̔͒̉̾̓̑̑ʀ̸̢̣̪̦͍̙̲̩̰̊̎̌̂͝͝͝ͅᴛ̴̬͈̘̞̬͍͂͜s̶̜͍̰̦͈̰̞̻̖̥̲̩̳͈̯̓͂̈́͜ ̴̢̤̹͕̩̜̬̬̺̲͔̥̊̒̍̆̉̒̄̐͘ᴘ̸̧̛̏̿̈́̊̌͌̿̂ʟ̴̰̗͙̑͊͋̈́ᴇ̵̬̩̪̫͈̘̲͛̏̉̾̓̈̑̊̐̈̐̐ᴀ̷̘̞̤̩̮̹͑͗͝š̸̡̖̼̙̥͖̯̰̬̠̣̮͙̺̳͕̙̥ᴇ̶̖̘̞͙̦̦̣̖̘̯͎͖̮͕̺̼̞̥̐̓͑̈́̅̽́̓͛̂ ̸̺̙͔͎͉̙̪͑ᴛ̶̧͈͈̺̝̠͈̪͇̝̗̫͕̲͖͕̼͓͌͑̓͠ᴀ̶̱̱̗͚̣̝͈͇̹̬͎̋͗̋͝͠ᴋ̸̫͓͔͇͈̙̠͕̩̱͕͉̎ᴇ̶̧̠̦̘̦͉͍̥͓̭͉̪̳̝͋̅͛̋̇̇͜͝ ̵̢̢̢̡̦̯̠̦͓̟̙̻̭̰̓ɪ̵̨̞̗̼̂̏̄͘ᴛ̴̛̛̣̥̘͗̔̉̅̈͊̌͋̔͛̉͊͘ ̸̛̙̠̯͈̹͙͇̰͍̹̟̬͍̥͚̋́̂̓̓̏͊͗̄̄̀̚͝ᴏ̴̧͍̰͕͍̰̹͔̞̭̬̙̯̖͚̜̋̆̈́̔̀̂̆̂̈͂̎͗͗͠͠ͅᴜ̴̛̛͎̝̦̘͔̻̪̩͂̄̒̊̅͌̅͑͊̑̂̀̃̇̉͝ᴛ̷̡̛̲͔̗̤̝̅̐͗̓̅̇̽̉͒̿̒̚͜͝ ̸͓̭̥̖͍̀̌̆̂̎́͛̏̔͝͝ᴛ̷̡̺̫̟͖̭̜̓̔͊̏̊̆̋͛̽̓̓͗̄̋̉̈́̚ᴀ̷̳̝͔͙̫̪̘͈͙̭̼̖̪̱̳̗̗͚̓̓̍̈̚͝͠ᴋ̴͔͕͚̫̖͚͛̌̀̋̆̌͊̓ᴇ̷̡̘͇̲͖̩̪͍̝̥̤̪͙͑̈́̿̃̃̓̑͗̾̌̕͝ ̴̡̧̢̘̦͍̙̖̥̫̫̙͙̙̥̹̥̰͗̿̀̆͒̕͠ɪ̷͉̺̬̤̝͚̓͛͘͝ᴛ̸̧̨̛͔̟̟̻͙̻̙̲̦̖̂̄̑̾̔͂̓̓̂̐̚͜ ̶̭͎̭̗̌̒̉͑͂ᴏ̶̢̛̞̘̺͈͖̬̜̖̣̪̗͗͊͐͂͆̈́̏̋̏͒ͅͅᴜ̸̭͈̻͑̎͊͆̒͂͂̑͛̓̀͝ᴛ̵̢̡̛̳̩̯̭́ ̴̡̨̢̡̩͓̹̖̤̲̭̞̘̅̒ʜ̵͈̹̬͕͈̗͈͚̊̽̎̍͘͘ᴏ̶̧̟̺̱̼̙̩̤͔͓̝̠̹͆̏̾̂̔́̔́̅̚͝ᴡ̶̨͔͕̐̓̈́͊̾̆̂̾̚ ̴̛̼̩̯̖͙̞̳̞̮͍̙̞͓͓̥̈́̓̆̆̊͗̑̏͜͜ᴍ̸̤̲͎̗͒̅̃̏̅̽͌̅̾͜ᴀ̶̢̩̩̖̬͙̻̹̤͔̮̭̐̈́̒͋̿̈́͒̔̍̎̾̄̀̍̆̕̚͠ɴ̷̧͓̹̬̙̤͙̹̙̱̹̱̞͖̝̹̿̀͆͂͆̍̆̅̚̚̚͝͝͠ͅʏ̸̢̨̹͈͇̫̖̯̘͕̪͖̫͕̩͕͉̯͋̏̾͌̐͆̃̉̚͠͝͠ ̵̢͚̙̯͉͉̾̐̐̕ʜ̷̨̛̱̼̯̻̺̤̗͑̉̃̋̆̓̀̄̒͊̊͘ᴀ̴̗̤̬͉͋̍̌͗̋̆̌͂̂̕̕͝ɴ̴̨̨̧͖͙͓̮̯͙͓̤̲̦̝̏́͌̄͐̃̎̀͌́̐̇̓̏͘͠͝ͅͅͅᴅ̷̯̮͓̝͌͐͗̃͒̈́̿͆͐̅̊͛͗̑̓̕s̶̛̙̝̯̳̫̫͛͆̏̉̔̅̽̐̅̅̐̐͘͠ ̶̧̧͇̳̬͇̮͂̃̆͌̐͛̀̚̕ᴀ̵̨̩͇̪͕̯͈̟͍͇͖̟̀̏͑̏̚͠ͅʀ̴̰͈͓̦̺̺̥̍̒͂͊̔̈͌̌͆̒̓͠͠͠ᴇ̵̢̛̥̬̮̟̻͎̲̙̼̙̌͊͛̓͋̇̓̇͊͊͘͘ͅ ̵̨̼͕͓̮̠̬̥̼͔̭͖̤͇̍̽̿̃̍̇̔̂͜ᴛ̶̢̨̡͇̩̻̰̳̽͊͜͜ʜ̴̢̡̖̝̼̣͚̫͉̪̺̯͖̙̔͆͂́͐́͜͝ᴇ̴͕̳̃̒̂̋̓̉́̚̚ʀ̶̪̙͔͓͈͓͓̩͍̳͉̭͓̖̔̆̔͊̊͜ᴇ̸̡̯͈͉̜̹̞̝̝͔͓̥̉̏͒̔̆̀̂͌̐̉͒̽̀͗͝͝?̶̨͈̙͍̥̗̞̘̭̹̜͕̠͒̌̉͐̈́͛͐̉̉̆̔͜͜͠ ̸̡̧̫̯̫̯̲̓̔͋̃͌̒̐̄̀̊͒̈́̕͝͠ʜ̶̧̮̥̖͉̙͚͚̠̬̰̪̇̾͋̏̈͜ᴏ̶̢̛̝̟̬̗͙͍͎̥̟̝̯͈͒̿̔̏̃̊̓̕͜͝ᴡ̸̧̢̡̘̥̳̭͇̲̤͉͈͚̤̩̩̆̇̂͛̓̂̓͋̂͒̆͛̃̊̃͝͠ ̴͔͓͓̮̬̩̂͛͂̋͊̆̍̔̇̽͌̇͛̓͝ᴍ̸͉̬̘̼̱̗̱͙̹̟͚̯̈́̐̈́̑̍͜ᴀ̸̢͍̽̔̌̒͝ɴ̴̢̨̪̖͙͔͈̯̬̟͔̦͗͑͊̓̊̋̽͝͝ʏ̵̮̤̫̣͕̋͊̑̒̏̀͌͐̔?̸̡̳̩͇̤̣͎̪̃̄̏͌̌̾̏̈́̽̌̅͊͗ ̵̛̩͖̠͖̳̱̤̥̎̋͆̈́͛̾͂̇͂̃͆̾̈́̚͘ʜ̷̛̛̜̭͙̯̠̜̬̺̻̬̥̓͑͋͒̇͐͌͐̽̚ͅᴏ̷̺͔͖̘̪͙̺͎̎͊͠ᴡ̵̡̗̩̞͍̹̞̠̱͎̟̌̄̅͠ͅ ̵̤̱̫͗͌̈́̈́̚͝ᴍ̵͍͊́̾̆ᴀ̴̡͓̼̹̭̣̪̆̍̕ɴ̷̢̢̛̘͙̥͓̫̙͚͉͉̙̓̃̄̓̌̉̄̏̎̕̕͝ʏ̸̛̱̳̘̥̞̟̦̰̪̃͊̌͌̑̎̉̒͐̇͑̽̄͑̊͝?̸̢̨̡̞̖̙͎̹̬͕̥̮̭͍̦̘̮̬̍͌̊ ̸̯̄̄̇ᴘ̶̧̛̼͔̭͔̜̣̞̝̆̔͗̑̒̆̑̌͜͠ʟ̸̨̪̥͙̫̣̺̼̱͒̏̉̒̍̓͗̍̓̎͛̈́͐̉̕ᴇ̷̧̬̱͈̔̋̒̈́͋̈́̎͐̚͠ᴀ̵̮̱̬̱̯̱͍̏̍̔͊̊̒̽̇̀̇̊͌̄͘̕͠͝ş̴̛͈̜̻̻̼̜͍̤̞̱͔͈̈́̈́͂͐͛̍̉͘͘͝ͅᴇ̵̜̙̩͖̞̗̼̐̌͗̆̿̒͜ ̸̡͙̦͙̲͓̲͍̻̆̈́̍͛͋͌̆̽̕͝͠ғ̵̨̠̖̤͔̻̥̖̲̬̣͉̿̒̈̎̑̍̊͜͝ᴜ̷͚̝̫̰̜̻̗̆̑̇͒͠ᴄ̴̢̟̏͋͌ͅᴋ̸̯̹̗͆ ̴̝̯͎̹͍̳̞̯̲͙̺͉̓̄͒̽͗͋̀̑̐͂̀̔̕ᴏ̷̧̨͔̩̠̰͎͈̠̬̠̾͌̅̈́̓̒̀̈́̍͋́̔̓̃͜͝͝ғ̵̨̼̪͒̆̃̐̿̓̋̕͝ғ̴͎̯͍̖̜͔̣̏̌̐̽̈́̒͗̈́̀͌̊̎̔́̔̕͜ͅ ̵̬̲̮̮̭̙͚̄̅̎̇̈́̂̾̉̎̀̌̈́̌̕͘ᴘ̵̫͙̬͙̃͐̈̀͐͗́̑̀̔̂͐̋̕͝ʟ̵͕̲̦̱̈́ᴇ̷̢̛̳̼̠̯̋̔͌̎̈̋̉͊̂ᴀ̵̭͚͙̜̮̲̂̈́̄͒̅̚͝ͅş̴̛̻̫͙̹̬̜̗̒͐̉͊̏̑̓̀͐͆̋̊̍̆̎ᴇ̵̡̙̤̟̜̘͕͗̓̑̆͊͛̍ ̸̨͍̞̰̫͍̯͇̤͔̦͖̠̰͖̭́̎͗̈̆̽͊̈̏͘͜͝͠ғ̶̳̣̤̯͇͖̖̩̺̓̓̓̆͆̈́̄͌̚ᴜ̶̢̧̝̖̦̝̳̜̱̜̬̫̮̥̐̒̎͋̈̚ᴄ̷̧̹̖̙̟̯̤͋̽͑̎̔̎̚͝ᴋ̴̛̱̲̱̹̣̳̟̲̐̀̈͌̒͂̿͊͜ ̵̨͖̠̪͚̞̟̪̬̪̳̽̈́̓̎͜ͅᴏ̴̛͍̪̲̾̈̂̏̉̐͗̀̇̒̕͝͠͝͝ғ̸̡̭̖̩̗͙̦̯̯͔̙̖̼͓͊͊̄̈́̉͛͆̈̊̋̐̈̏̿͘͠ғ̴̨̪͍̘͂͊͘͝ ̸̼̪͔̤̐̐͐̊͋͆̓͘͠ᴘ̴̧̫̣͚̪͚̪͇̥̯͚̪̄̾̎̐̈́͂̔̑̽͗͠ʟ̴̰͕͍͔̙̿̋̈́͋̓̐̎̍̇̄̏͆̇̚̕ᴇ̸͚͍̲̹̝̠̳̣̹̜͕̥̰̲̄̃́̎̎̃̐̀̈̔̊͘͜͜͝͠͝͠͝͠ͅᴀ̵̡̛̥̜̬̣͖͎̳͔̜̞̟͓̔͆́̓̿̄̓̅̔̇̊͛̎̍͆͜͜s̴̛̻̱̦͆̊͑̅̕͝ᴇ̵̧͇̖̮͚̖̩̖̳͈̜̞̣̱͙̈́̈̾̀͑͗͛̆̓̿͘͘ ̴̨̢̱͙̥̰̞͍͎̳̹̬̻̫͇̗̖̈́̔̐̊ͅғ̷̢̨̠̰̦̳̗̞̬͕̥̜̣̘̬̝͇̼̒̋͘̚͝ᴜ̸̨̘̮̳͔̜̙̣̳̭̝̗̭̭̬̹͇̮͑̒̈́͊̓̇̽̍͋͋͛̾̓ᴄ̸̨̜̟̟̘͕͎̻͚̮̠̏̓̾̈́̍̒̊̂͑͆̚̚͜͝͝ᴋ̵͓̻̳͚̬̥͇̮̰͐̔͊̓̕ ̷̱̰̋͊́̎ᴏ̴̨̪̮͙̞̩͙̼̒̎̆͑̔͑̋̏̿̀̔͊̓ғ̵̨̧̘̟͕̥͇̳̪̩̞̓̈́̿̈̾̋̿̿͐̚̚ғ̷̢̤͙̪̬̝̬͍̼̞̱̗͎̗̼̘͚̪͋̓̆͝ ̶͇͈̤̦̘͊̇͂͂̂͛̉͐̚͘͘͘͝͝M̴̧̤͓̙̲̎̿̀̒̓̾̑̎̕ʀ̸̡̮͙͕̥͕̙̖̮̪̺͈͎̝̍̂̐̄̿̋͂́͐͠.̴̢̨̡̹͙͚̟͚̀̏̏͋͘͜ ̵̢̧̧̛̪̜̟̮̼͎̯̤͉̼̝̻̰̓̏̽̆̀͛̾̾̄͂͋͑̽̊ͅW̶̩͖͓͓̪̯̬̬̝͙̼̝̯̜̎̑͑̌̓͗̅͋̄͘͘͘͠ᴀ̷̞̫̩̲̟͕͈̹̏͛̍̐̆͗̄͐̈́̒̈́̓͝ᴛ̸̧̨̨̧̩͎͉̮̭͇͊͂̿̈́͋̓̓͂̊̿̇̃̚͜͠s̶̢̢̞̲͇̻̬͔͔̪̟͍̲̜̎̏ᴏ̴̧̤̱͍͔͉͉̾̽̓͊͊ɴ̷̢̨̫͚̙̟͎̆̒̿͐̓̾͜ͅ-̶̻̫̗̞́̍ͅͅ-̸̧̮̰̼̲̩̳͍̆̑̕ᴄ̸̨̡͚̣͚͎̻͕̲̬̭͍͍̓ͅᴏ̷̡̭͇͖̺́͐̆̇͑̇̐̍̊̏̓̓͠ͅͅᴍ̵̲͎͈͚̒̄̂̒̆̓̎̇̈́͒̌̉̕̕͝ᴇ̴̧͙͔̺͔̞͚͆̔̾ ̶̨̛͚̻̫͇͔̫̫͚̹͇̇͆̆̐̀͌̍͘͜ʜ̸̨͉̱̫̺̫̳̪͓̹̮̫̠̤̠͍͖̋̀͌͆̋̔͑̑͛̈́̅͂̕͠ᴇ̵͉̤̫̮͇̰̥̣͖͕̥̪̩̭͓̆͌̏̂̄͂̐̌̓̓̔̊̕̕͘͜ʀ̷̛̺͕̭̥̐̆̏̎̒̀̉̐̚̚ᴇ̶̡̛̠͕̤̞͎͇̠̣̼̣͇͍̻̑́̏͋̍̉̌̍̐̕-̵̯͚̒-̶̡̗̝̹̊̅̄̀͌͑͗̑̑͗̿͊͝͝Ḯ̸̛̫̤̃̉̽̈́̉͑̋̾̆͋̿͜͠͝͝ ̷̭̠̜̖̖̘͕͂̿͌̋̏̒̿͑̚͝͠ᴡ̷̡̧͇͓̆́̈́͐̐̈́͒̕͝͝ᴀ̶̧̢̧͙̳̙̤̖͕͍̼̣̫̭̞̓̈́̂ɴ̸̛͖͋̒̈́̊̃̊͗͑͘̕͝͝ᴛ̸̧͍̪͎͔̙̤̦͈̬̥͍̻̎̾ ̸̢̗̭̜̻̞̜͓̮͊̾̍͒͋̆̅͋̕͘͜ͅͅᴛ̵̢̝̳̺̯̭͕̥́͌͂̽͐̚ᴏ̴̡̨̣̺̳͎̒̉̈̇̋̈́͗̈́͛̀̐͆ ̵̢̛͇͓̥̰͉͇̲̠̮̠͔̣͇͈͔̄́s̶̢̻̭̙̣͍̯̖̿̃́̂̒̂̂͛̂ᴇ̴̡̹̟̜̲̞̹͖͚̭̝̄̔͆͆͐̾̄̊̓̒͘ᴇ̷̢̢̠̘̒̍̏͂̀̓͊̈̀̒̈́͗̉̔̂͋̒͘ ̶̡̼͈̥̂͐̓ʏ̵̧̞͔̜̩̬̟̻̼̦̪̖̝͈̈́̎̅͊̈́̊̽̾͒̂͠͝ᴏ̵̧̨̡͓͇̤̰͖͉͍̗̹̻̠̞̳͑̎̒̈́͆̄͌̆͌̈́̆͒̅͘ᴜ̷̝͔̟̺͙͙̱͇̣̿̈̿̊.̵̡̠͖̠̝̪̗̻̣̼̯͎̣͛͐̇̒̄͆̏͒̑̎͂̐̈̏̌͠ ̸̡̧̛̙̜͎̥̳̬̠͉͖͔͙̬̣̅̊̔̓̋̚ͅ 

 

These words, they are not yours. It’s him, you can see his home. The metal moon. Where he took you, ᴡ̵̝̫͎̤̪̆̋̉̈́̽͆̏͊͝ʜ̶̼̣͚̙͚͇̜̅͑̄ᴀ̴̤̬̆̋͂̒͝ᴛ̵̢̝̼͙̉̎̕͠ ̸̧̼̆̈́̌̏́̍̊̾̕͘ᴅ̷͍̦̗̻̿͂̏̋̄ɪ̴̨̜̈́̓ᴅ̷̣̹̪́ ̵̜̲̩͙͛̓̇̕ͅᴛ̸̛̳̲̿͂̐͌͘͝ʜ̸̛̦̦̠̤͓͍̅͐̋̎̅͂̊ᴇ̵̯͌̃̇̓͛͛̂̓̅͑ʏ̸͔̝̠̳͛̄̾̆͝ ̸̡͖͒͊̿̆̚͝ᴅ̷̢̓͒̉̃̒̃͘͝ᴏ̸͖̣͙̼͇͍͙̇̈́̏̄̏͜͠ ̶͚̩̮̹͈͒̾̈́̕ᴛ̸̧͙̬͕̥̲̘̪̭͕̓̌̑̏́͂ᴏ̸̪̰̮͉̻̩̪̺́̌̍̀́́̉̚ ̷͙͖̪͍̗͙̲̈́ʜ̴̞̼͍̟͙̦̜̎͋͛̈̚ͅɪ̶̢̧̛̣̻͈̠̜͙̽̈̄͘ᴍ̴͎̖͗͂̊̽̆̈́̈̃͑?̸͈̘͍̌̆̀̄̄͝ ̵̨̼͚͍͕̙̪̹̇̎̓̇̌͝ wʜ̶̤̜̞̟̺̈̈́͊̒̔̎̄̎ᴀ̵̝̻̋͆̊̈́̉͌̇ᴛ̵͎̙͈̖͔͓̗̗̋̅͋̈́̉̈́̔͝ ̵̣̙͈̱̝̥̰̩̟͌̃͑̈́ᴅ̵̭̻̦̗̲̰̜̰̽̋̀̄͋̌̄̓̕͜͠ɪ̸̛͉̮̗͕̯̖̦̎̂̆̃͋̋̐͘ᴅ̶̛͔̺̟̱͊̉͐́̏̇́͗̈́ ̶̡̢̨̛̙̳̫͍̹̟̰̆̂ʜ̶͎̘̻͕̓̌͗͑͑ᴇ̸̢̠͍̲̽̉̍̐͐̉̃͑͑͝ ̶̯̦̻̒ᴅ̵̯͓͓͈̩̰̲͈͂͂̓̀̕ᴏ̶̠͒̅̔̈̀̓̀͠ ̶̨͇̖̹͍͛̇̓͌ᴛ̵̨̧̛̛̼͎̫̬͋̉̆͝ᴏ̴͇̊͌̾̿̽̉͊̄ ̴̟̯̣͇̟̰̚ʏ̴̙͜͝ᴏ̷̞̪̌̇ᴜ̸̢̡̛̘̺̺̬̣̲̟̽͌̌̅͂̎͗̉͝?̷̤̦͖͌͐̽͑̐͝ ̵̺̫̟͎͊

 

Ẅ̷̨̝͓͍̙͚̜̤͉͓͙͓̙͍̙͙̯̯͝Ḣ̸̡͕̦̬̣̤͉̪̺̥̭͕̙̙͐͗̓͊̑͑̐͊̑͜͜͠ͅͅƠ̵̡̠̞̣̖̤̩͕̾̈́͗̂́͛̏͋͂̆̎̄̑̍̈́̔͜͜͠͝ ̶̨̺̱̺̬̣̫̻̬̯̻͓̞̮͋̏͋́̆̀̾̌̑̈́͆̒̒̋̎̚͘͘͠͝͠I̷̯̓̽̏͠S̶̢̢͔̘͔͚͕̙͉̫̣͊̔̔̾͂͗͌͒̂͋̃̂̿̔͘̚͜͝͠ ̶̖̺̻͙̠̜̺̑̎̈́ͅB̴̧̧̛̛̜͈̪̫͖̜̫̺̣͇̳̩̋͌̌̔͛͋̈́̃͛͆̈́͛͐̾͝E̸̢̛̘̹͇̮̫͙͈̲͆̒͛̾̅̀͂̌̊̃̅͌͂̚͝H̶̟̫̤̥̣̩̣͎̞̳̽̈͑I̷̢̢̧̞̬̺̹̩̞̖͎͔͌͛̃̋̒͛̕͜͝͠ͅI̸̧̢̛̩̰̙̪̬͙̦̞̻̠̰̳̞͉̱͌͐́͐̉͗͐̿̐̾̓͌̄̐̌͘͝ͅN̴̨̧̙̪͙̬̺̟̣̤̬͔͑͐̍̏̍̏͆̏͊̌̓̔͆̄͘̕͘͝͝ͅD̸̨̧̨̮̼̝̼͖̬̩̭̞͍̙̙̯̺̪̥̞̭̄̉̉̂͆́͆̏̅̉̀͘ ̸̧̰̣͔͚̖͎͔̫̠̫͕͇̮̬̦̇̈̏͊̾̈́̽̿͐̇͌̾̊̍͛͛̍͝͠ͅY̸̢̟͍̲͍͚̙͙̬̐̅͊̊ͅƠ̶̢͚͚̳̼͉͈̦͓̤̟͈̮̰̟̟̼̱̽͆̑̐̎̀̊̇̀͘̕͘͠ͅU̷̢̡̖̼͙̫̪̯̯͇̭̠͐̍͆̎͛̔̒̀ͅͅ?̶̡̨̧̡̻̥͇͈̗̱̪̟͎̠͇̰̤̖̺̹̂̅͂́̈͛͗̉͛͑̃̈́̓̽̌͒͛͛͘͜͝ͅ



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“Wake up,” the voice called. Yes, that voice, the one from before. Where have you heard her before? You find yourself listening, and shudder as the neon onyx fades away, shedding the armour that had built up. You feel cold.

 

I love you, she had said, right? She had to have said it once...

 

Your body is not yours either.

 

---

 

Finn gasped and shot up, the ringing in his ears muffling the sound of his own screaming, choking on the rawness of his throat. Had he really been screaming? Looking around frantically, the jackal began adjusting to his surroundings; his vision was restoring itself, and after brushing his knuckles over his eyelids, he could confirm he still had eyes, even if they were irritated. 

 

“Put them back on, ” the voice commanded, and the jackal yelped from the sudden urgency, unsure of what the words even meant. Finn couldn’t even feel his body at the moment, so he scrunched his face in confusion, “What? I… I don’t even know what’s happening right now,” he confessed hoarsely. 

 

Gasping at the sudden iciness in his thigh, the jackal looked down and gawked at the sight of his raw wrists, void of their inhibitors which were instead on his lap. When did he even take them off? What happened? Where was Shadow?

 

Deciding that he should probably listen to the instructions he was given, Finn snapped the silver garments back onto his arms, wincing when the metal made contact with the sensitive skin they had destroyed prior. “Never take them off again, ” the voice commanded somberly. 

 

Before he could even respond, Finn felt a tremor run through his veins and he growled in response; the sensation was becoming more of a nuisance than panic-inducing, or perhaps it merely paled in comparison to what he just experienced. 

 

Maybe he was just numb to everything now, but that was probably the shock speaking on his behalf.

 

“Finn? What happened!?” Shadow called out, making a beeline for the couch where the jackal was still sitting, stunned. When he got no response, the hedgehog sat on the ground in front of the other mobian and contemplated touching him to make sure he was still present, but opted to clench and unclench his fists at his side instead. 

 

He felt it, something was off. Did he make it back in time? This was all his fault, he was supposed to read the report, not run off and—

 

“Shadow…?” Finn asked quietly and hesitantly, pushing his dreads back away from his face. The hedgehog tensed, and tried desperately to read the other’s expression, but he was still in panic mode. Fuck, this was all his fault for leaving. Things were going well, against all odds, and he left him alone.

 

The jackal whacked Shadow with his tail, startling him; “Dude, can you say something back? Don’t just leave me hanging…” 

 

Shadow’s anxieties melted almost instantly, the petty humour getting to him. Not even cryptic dissociative night terrors could keep Finn from being chattier than the hedgehog, and their collective uneasiness was fading away as a result. 

 

Finn managed to force a smile before jerkily pulling the lifeform up onto the couch, collapsing into him, and being pleasantly surprised by how warm Shadow felt. “Jesus fuck Finn, you feel like a goddamn icecube,” the hedgehog complained, only pulling him closer in response. 

 

If anyone was colder than Shadow, especially at temperatures approaching absolute zero, it was a serious commentary on their health. Yet, all he could think about right now was how convenient of an excuse this was to hug Finn.

 

The jackal hummed in response, but was too busy wiggling his way between Shadow and the couch, burrowing his way into the corner so he was enclosed in comfort. “Too cool for school my friend,” he mumbled loopily, before closing his eyes again. 

 

Shadow snickered at the detached humour and moved his arm to grab the nearest book he could reach from the coffee table in this position, settling into this new normal. He had news for the jackal, but it could wait for now.

Notes:

Oooooh spooky stuff! Sorry if this seems short, the initial version of this chapter was definitely more explicit, but I've decided to add a veil to this plot as to make it slightly less bland.

Next chapter might be up soon, it might not be up for the rest of the month! I'm currently posting this post covid vaccine (second dose) so if there are errors, just blame it on the void <3

Take care,

Izzie

Chapter 19: Chapter 17. Run Away With Me, Michael Arden

Notes:

Hey everyone! Sorry for the pause, I had to take some time with beta reading and editing. This is the last chapter of the first arc and most of the second is written, and it's my favourite! I hope you enjoy it, but for now I hope this chapter will suffice :")

Chapter Text

Run Away With Me, Michael Arden:

 

“You’ve got one hell of a voice,” the other jackal mumbled with a laugh, shrugging and turning away bashfully. 

 

He wasn’t sure how to respond, but he hoped the redness of his face and his scar wasn’t noticeable in the dark auditorium. Flustered, he brushed off the compliment and tried to slow his rapidly beating heart. “Thank you… I’m not as good at performing as you though, I can’t even read,” he admitted.

 

“Well,” the jackal started slowly, “We could always teach each other or something. Run off to broadway this weekend and sneak into shows, learn from the best?”

 

They never ended up going to broadway, bu t  t h e  y    r a   n      t       o        .          .           . 

 

--- 

 

Finn immediately cursed at the memory as he was pulled from his dreams and shoved back into the narrative, shifting from his spot on the couch. He didn’t feel Shadow with him anymore and pretended not to be disappointed, but was surprised at how warm the blanket that replaced the hedgehog was.

 

“It’s a heated blanket, weighted too. I’m not sure what happened to your body temperature but it was dangerously low, and the last thing you need right now is to enter hypothermic shock,” Shadow explained, causing the jackal’s head to shoot up in the direction of the voice. 

 

The hedgehog was over on the nearby armchair, sitting as incorrectly as he could. His legs were slung over one armrest, and his back was arched over the other, head hanging upside down as he read. Finn couldn’t see the title very well as his eyes were blurry, but the novel looked tattered and well-annotated. 

 

Shadow sensed the jackal staring at him and sat up to return the gaze, unamused; “What? The words make more sense upside-down,” he explained bitterly. Finn’s eyes widened and he inhaled sharply, blinking rapidly to make sure he was seeing correctly. 

 

“You uh, wear reading glasses…?” he asked quietly.

 

“No, dipshit, that’s why they’re on my face right now. Got a problem?”

Finn stifled a laugh, “No, I just didn’t think the Ultimate Lifeform would need glasses, calm down.”

The hedgehog, now flustered, took the aids off and placed them on the accent table along with his book, crossing his arms as he was now sitting properly; “I’m not immune to myopia, at least my eyes match. Might want to humble yourself, Casanova.”

 

“Hey, don’t go there… yet,” Finn stated warily, pouting with a watery glare. The comment did sting a little since it was a bit too soon to be joking about his appearance, but he brushed it off since it was made in retaliation. Still, he wasn’t really making fun of Shadow, he actually looked good in glasses… maybe too good. 

 

The pair remained silent for a while, Finn groggily sitting up and shifting around under the blanket, and Shadow staring at his shoes while his eyes readjusted. Neither mobian was aware of the time, but the ebony sky and twinkling lights of the city implied it was still quite late.

 

Shadow let out a shaky breath that startled the jackal, “Look, I’m not good with words, so I’m just going to say it: we’re leaving on a road trip, as soon as possible… probably tomorrow, which is technically today,” he rambled. The hedgehog tried to ignore the fact his voice was wavering and stared harder at his shoes, cursing when his eyes refused to focus.

 

“Oh, okay… how come?” Finn asked, stunned but still functioning. The news caught him off guard, and he wasn’t given much room to respond. Shadow looked uncomfortable, so he didn’t want to push the hedgehog too much, but he wanted at least a little context. He still hadn’t recovered from his, erm, episode , and was wondering if this is why he was being taken elsewhere.

 

Sighing, the hedgehog continued, albeit nervously; “Being trapped here isn’t good for you, and you need a place to practice your powers. I went on this one route a while back that takes about a month or so, and it was very therapeutic. That, and a resistance member is bound to show up here eventually when I’m unresponsive for long enough, and I don’t have an explanation for you being here, or even an alibi for who you are.”

 

Finn didn’t respond. Once again, the hedgehog had managed to render him silent, something that he didn’t initially think was possible. He wanted to say something, anything , but all he could do was stare longingly at Shadow, expression blank. 

 

Trying to recover, the hedgehog continued anxiously;  “I get it. We literally just started getting along, we only spent one good day together, and then I left. I was cold to you on the Rogue’s ship and our history beyond that has been god-awful. Shit, I guess I’m just trying to help you the only way I know how, which is how I helped myself. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable though, so just tell me what you’re thinking dammit ,” he cursed, wincing as he stumbled through the words he was forcing out. 

 

“I… we should...” the jackal started, but instantly gave up when he saw Shadow’s reaction to his hesitant tone. Fuck, he wished he could speak right now, but instead he stared wordlessly at the frustrated hedgehog who was looking at him with desperation in his eyes.

 

Shadow grunted and shook his head; “I’m sorry, for snapping… I know you can’t help it. I’m not good at this and that isn’t a good excuse, I just don’t want to fix you physically and drop you without any sort of guidance or support, because when I was on my own I ended up creating a branched timeline with a bunch of alternate paths and endings that was psychologically destructive for me and everyone else involved because I kept rewriting my own history and... I’m pretty sure you’re enough like me to pull some dumb crap like that. Not to say I’m doubting your reformation capabilities, but nobody is immune to identity crises, and considering your last one evoked a war, you’re also prone to impulsive life changing decisions that lead to worldwide endangerment, and—“

 

“—Shadow, it’s okay. I… I just wasn’t expecting to wake up and hear all this so soon,” Finn reassured, cutting the hedgehog off before he spiraled into another mess like last time. He had never seen the hedgehog like this, it was so… vulnerable, and genuine. 

 

Curling into himself, Shadow went quiet, resting his face between his knees and ignoring the jackal. Sighing and getting up, Finn rolled himself off the couch and crawled to sit on the floor in front of him, “Shadow…?”

 

Not getting a response, he got on his knees and bonked his snout into Shadow’s ankles, resting his arms on the edge of the seat. The hedgehog didn’t respond, but uncurled slightly to look down at Finn, resisting the urge to smile at the puppy eyes he was staring into. 

 

“We’re good, okay? We’ll go on that road trip, I actually really miss jumping from town to town aimlessly. I’m also just in a bit of shock, because you’re being really nice to me even though I’m a professional shit disturber, and I recently dipped into the void so my responses aren’t timed well, sorry,” the jackal explained slowly, placing his hands on Shadow’s shoes before nestling his chin there.

 

The hedgehog calmed down a bit before realizing how stupid he had sounded, ears flattening to his head as his walls went back up; “Oh, okay. Well, that’s good to know then, we’ll leave once the sun rises.”

 

Finn smiled sadly at the response, noting the change in attitude. He didn’t mean to make Shadow feel guilty for the outburst, but that was just a part of navigating newfound friendships and learning how to be comfortable around someone.

 

“Hey, can I give you a hug?” the jackal asked politely, pulling back so he could look at Shadow properly. Confused by the request, the hedgehog nodded wordlessly, taken aback by the unanticipated gesture. Placing his feet back on the ground, the hedgehog sat quietly as Finn got back on his knees and pulled him into a gentle embrace. He wasn’t forceful or clingy like some huggers were; Finn managed to be warm and inviting without being too overwhelming.

 

Hugging back hesitantly, Shadow smiled in Finn’s arms, melting into the hug in a way he seldom felt before. This felt… safe, and friendly. Ironic how the monster he had once created was now the one comforting him—  no, he corrected, this isn’t Infinite, this is Finn

 

“You’re a good hugger,” the hedgehog finally admitted, albeit quietly. Finn giggled from the compliment and pulled back, shrugging; “You’re easy to hug, what can I say?”

 

Shadow ignored the swelling feeling he got when the jackal laughed and patted the seat beside him, shifting back to his initial sitting position so there was room for both of them. “Thank you, for putting up with all of that. Sometimes I think I either say nothing or way too much, nothing inbetween,” he confessed.

 

Finn made a small noise of amusement as he hopped up on the chair, choosing to lean back where Shadow was instead of alternating to give them optimal space. He secretly loved the way the hedgehog’s quills smelled, and wanted to avoid his cold metal shoes at all costs.

 

“Say, do you have an M license?”

 

“No, I don’t have any licenses actually, never needed one since I ran everywhere,” the jackal responded, only now processing how close he was to Shadow. In hindsight this was probably much too intimate for them right now, but he wasn’t going to move unless he was told to.

 

The hedgehog groaned and stretched, shifting an arm behind Finn’s head lazily. The chair was comfortable, but it was only meant for one person, albeit a human. Shadow was curious as to why the jackal chose to sit so close, but he didn’t mind for once. If anything, he was enjoying this; “ He trusts you enough to sit here with you ,” the voice noted.

 

“Did I say something wrong?” Finn asked, trying not to panic when the hedgehog pulled him closer onto the chair. The sky was beginning to lighten, and the jackal was unsure of how much time had passed since he had woken up. 

 

Shadow snorted; “No, it just means I’ll have to take us everywhere— on my bike anyways, since the weather is nice. Your jacket should be warm enough so I don’t think I need to give you a riding jacket, plus it keeps what we take with us to a minimum,” he explained. 

 

The jackal nodded warily, letting the news sink in. They were actually doing this, it wasn’t just a suggestion or an eventual thing, they’d be gone before noon. Finn had no clue where they were going, but he was already prepared to leave behind the condo that he was just beginning to settle into. 

 

Being on the run was comfortable for him, it was all he knew. Doing it alone was freeing and lonely, but going with someone who is essentially a stranger, nevermind a former foe—  it left a bitter taste in his mouth. It wasn’t quite resentment, nerves, perhaps? 

 

Deciding to break the stillness between them, Finn glanced over at the hedgehog only to find him staring back, eyes already fixated on him. Shadow turned and grabbed his book once the jackal was looking back, leaving the mobian confused as to what just happened. 

 

Shrugging and rubbing his eyes, the jackal tensed as he touched his face, only now remembering it was exposed. Oh, he realized nauseously, he was staring at me…

 

“What’s that book about?” Finn asked loudly, shoving his face deeper into his hand after hearing how obnoxious his voice was. The hedgehog didn’t seem to mind though, and passed the book over. 

 

He was oblivious to Finn’s discomfort, now too entranced in what he had been reading; “It’s about a boy who joins the army during the First World War, because his parents hated him and blamed him for the death of his sister who had a medical condition, and when he left her unattended she died, so he tries to find himself later through a complicated relationship with the military but gets tied up in homosexual activity and an affair, and has a deep connection with animals since he is estranged from most people,” he explained with a smile.

 

The jackal stifled a laugh and beamed at Shadow’s enamourment with the novel; “I asked what it's about, not for a synopsis that spoils everything. Still, I’d be down to read it if you let me borrow it, can we bring it with us?” he requested, confidence wearing thin as his speech became more genuine. 

 

Shadow smiled a little, pretending not to feel bad for the spoilers; “Yeah, I was going to take it anyway. It’s one of my favourite novels,” he admitted.

 

“Oh, I’m far from surprised…”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Nothing, just sounds like something you’d vibe with, I have a feeling you relate to the protagonist,” Finn confessed earnestly, shrugging. 

 

The hedgehog froze and contemplated the words, face growing pale as he began making connections between Robert and himself, defeatedly wiggling deeper into the chair cushions. 

 

Realizing that was probably uncalled for, the jackal nudged Shadow’s arm with his forehead; “Hey hey, I’m sorry… I was just teasing you,” he tried. The hedgehog hummed in response, lightly elbowing Finn back to assure he wasn’t all that upset, just reflecting.

 

“It’s fine, I just never thought of it like that… but you might be onto something.”

 

Carefully, Finn picked up the book and flipped over to the first page, eyes already hyperfocused on the words. The hedgehog’s ears twitched from the movement, and it took all the effort he could muster in order for him to speak; “Could you um, read out loud? Only if you want to,” he followed up quickly, eyes darting down to his lap.

 

The jackal laughed nervously; “Are you sure? I’m not very good, but I don’t mind,” he warned, but was met with silence. In all honesty, he wouldn’t be surprised if Shadow had memorized the novel considering how worn and annotated it was, the pages yellowish-brown and barely bound together. 

 

Continuing onward, he read;

 

She was standing in the middle of the railroad tracks. Her head was bowed and her right front hoof was raised as if she rested. Her reins hung down to the ground and her saddle had slipped to one side. Behind her, a warehouse filled with medical supplies had just caught fire. Lying beside her there was a dog with its head between its paws and its ears erect and listening.

 

Finn stumbled through the words and paused in the middle of sentences, but the hedgehog still found his voice soothing. Closing his eyes and stretching back, he waited for more.

 

The jackal took this as a cue to keep reading, trying to ignore the warmth in his chest from the encouragement;

 

Twenty feet away, Robert sat on his haunches watching them. His pistol hung down from his fingers between his knees. He still wore his uniform with its torn lapels and burned sleeves. In the firelight, his eyes were very bright. His lips were slightly parted. He could not breathe through his nose. It was broken. His face and the backs of his hands were streaked with clay and sweat. His hair hung down across his forehead. He was absolutely still, He had wandered now for over a week.

 

Behind him, the railroad track stretched back towards the town. In front of him, it reached out through the fire towards the open countryside and the roads to Magdalene Wood. On one of the sidings was a train. Its engineer and crew had either abandoned it, or else they had been killed. It could not be told. Robert appeared to be the sole survivor.

 

Stirring at the sound of noise, Finn turned over to look at Shadow only to discover that the hedgehog was sleeping, vibrating quietly as he breathed. He smiled at the mobian, who had curled up so perfectly between him and the back of the chair, nestled into the corner. Shadow had fallen asleep to his reading, by some miracle or means. 

 

Finn stretched and readjusted on the chair to sit flush with the hedgehog and decided to continue reading in his head, occasionally pausing to watch Shadow as his chest slowly rose and fell, content with the space they had created for themselves. 

 

The packing could wait. 

Chapter 20: Chapter 18: Drive Slow, Chastity Brown

Notes:

Okay, I am VERY SORRY for the hiatus everyone! I promise this fic is still in the works, even though I haven't posted a new chapter in ages. While I can't promise a lot of updates, there are only 3ish chapters before the ones I wrote years ago, so once I push through the next couple moments there will be lots more to read!

This has not been beta read yet so if you read parts with worse grammar or typos, they'll hopefully be taken care of soon :") Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Drive Slow, Chastity Brown:



As the past moves under your fingertips, part of it crumbles. Other parts, you know you’ll never find. 

 

This is what you have.

 

Shadow opened his eyes a crack before scrunching them shut again, groaning at the cacophonous cracks his joints made when he tried to sit up. After rubbing his face and mumbling to himself for a few minutes, the hedgehog forced his eyes open only to startle backwards into the corner of the chair.

 

“Oh good, you’re awake!” Finn exclaimed, still sitting cross-legged in front of his disoriented friend. He had been watching the sleeping mobian for what felt like 176 days: a very specific amount of time. Thank god they were finally starting the real plot of this story– the next chapter… of his life, that is.

 

He pulled the scowling Shadow back up, confused as to why he looked so irritated; “You mean to tell me you’ve just been sitting here the whole time, waiting for me?” Shadow asked flatly.

 

Finn shrugged, nodding towards the coffee table beside them; “Well, I almost finished the first part of The Wars , but it feels like I’ve read super far and all the protagonist has done is blame himself for his sister’s death and get snatched by the government… how much more filler is there?”

 

“That’s not filler, do you have any idea how much has been cut and underwritten so far? If you think the story is already really long, then you have no clue how much more there is. 60 pages, 62K words, whatever it may be– that’s just to establish the setting and conflict, what’s yet to come is the real deal.”

 

“Shadow, are we talking about the same thing right now? I feel like you’re talking to someone else, but it’s just us here.”

 

The hedgehog didn’t respond, sighing as he pinched his brow; “What time is it? We were supposed to leave at quarter to 5.” Finn growled and crossed his arms, pushing Shadow’s chest back in the process, “I don’t know what that means, I hate people who say shit like that, quarter who? Don’t even get me started on 24 hour clock fuckwads.”

 

Ignoring the complaints, Shadow slipped his hand behind the chair’s cushion and fished out his phone, refusing to acknowledge his notifications as he checked the time: 

 

15:43

 

“Why did you not think to wake me up?” the hedgehog snapped, jabbing a finger between Finn’s eyes and bashing his snout with an unenthusiastic fist. The mercenary didn’t react, but after enough blows to his irritated muzzle, he couldn’t avoid sneezing on Shadow’s hand.

 

Pulling back in disgust, the lifeform shook his head in defeat, “We’re probably going to miss our first checkpoint now, so I’ll have to skip some of our rest stops to make any progress– that means no complaining or being a little bitch today, this was your fault.”

 

Finn hummed with a smirk, “Yeah, sure, I’ll definitely cooperate. Why don’t you get off my lap and pack instead of complaining?” he inquired, tilting his head mischievously. He still wasn’t sure what the limits were with challenging Shadow, but glowering expressions never ceased to amuse him.

 

Sliding off their chair with a painful thud, the hedgehog began teleporting around and reconstructing his apartment with flustered recklessness, refusing to acknowledge the nauseous howling from the lazy bastard who was still sitting and complaining. He hadn’t even noticed he had been on top of Finn the whole time, but it was his fault for having someone read to him in a warm and comfortable shared space.

 

“Do you have to teleport for packing? It makes me feel sick.”

 

“Your indecisiveness makes me feel sick, so suck it up sunshine,” Shadow yelled across the room between snaps before quickly realising the fatal flaw of his sarcasm.

 

The jackal snickered, “Awe, pet names already? This bonding trip is already lovely babe, am I really the light of your life?” he teased, the banter exciting him enough to stand.

 

“Nope,” Shadow retorted flatly, “That was sarcasm, but you were never that bright, were you?”

 

He refused to acknowledge the witty comeback; “Maybe I like my adventures darker, why have a bonding trip when it could be a bondage trip? It’s not like you’re letting me go elsewhere, why not make it a fun type of hostage situation?” Finn suggested coyly, looking down at the lifeform who had stopped teleporting to stare back up at him.

 

A few moments passed, neither moved. Finn didn’t drop the flirtatious pursuit, Shadow didn’t have a response.

 

“I’m fucking with you, calm down.”

 

The hedgehog snorted and stepped away from Finn before grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the elevator; “I can never tell with you bratty freeloaders, you clearly have some carnal desire for praise.”

 

Sputtering out incohesive nonsense, the jackal pulled away to run back to his room. Shadow stood there dumbfounded for a minute, contemplating if he had actually said something offensive, but was relieved when Finn returned to his line of sight, struggling to pick up his sunglasses and the novel with his Switch tucked under his arm. 

 

“I bet you wished you had quill storage now, right?” the hedgehog drawled, chuckling when his persistent mockery made the mercenary grow less competent and more embarrassed by the second.

 

Finn eventually rejoined him at the doors before glancing at him emotionlessly; “How do you know it’s a praise kink and not a degradation kink?”

 

The deadpan made the hedgehog rethink his bullying, mouth going dry as he watched Finn’s expression for any changes.

 

“Oh my god, you’re so bad at this– you think I’m going to just take it every time? I don’t care if you kill me or something, don’t enable back-and-forth if you can only give and not receive,” the jackal scolded, the wicked grin on his face growing as he shoved more innuendos into his lecture.

 

Sighing and turning away to hide his laughter, Shadow finally responded; “I fucking hate you, let’s go.” 

 

Following him, the jackal proudly trotted into the elevator and pressed every button, crossing his arms with satisfaction: he had finally won. Shadow didn’t stop looking at the mobian with utter disgust as the elevator opened and closed on all 86 floors of the building. When they finally reached the parking garage, he dragged Finn towards his bike in spite of the jackal’s protest.

 

”We can’t take my G.U.N motorcycle without attracting attention or identifying ourselves to everyone we encounter, so we’re using my Harley. Do not scratch it, or I will cut all your dreads off,” the hedgehog threatened, knowing that this would be a threat taken seriously.

 

Finn nodded inattentively, as he was too fixated on the motorcycle, its glistening pipes tuning everything out without even making a sound. “What kind of bike?” the jackal asked, even though he knew nothing about Harley Davidson motorcycles or vehicles in general.

 

Scoffing at the mutual unspoken understanding (or lack thereof on Finn’s part), Shadow grabbed The Wars and console to stuff into the overpacked saddlebags; “It’s a custom 08 Road King, but I have a few more at other condos. How obnoxious are your ears going to be?”

 

“Huh?”

“You need a helmet, Finn, Ultimate Mercenary or not. The last thing I need are insurance claims or increased rates,” he explained before a complaint could be formed. Praying quietly to himself, Shadow grabbed his full face helmet and turned to face the jackal once more.

 

Finn looked at the protective gear and back up at the lifeform, quietly putting his sunglasses on; “Is that mine? Or…”

 

“It’s mine, don’t drop it.” Shadow prefaced before abruptly jamming the helmet down and over the jackal’s face, cheering when it slipped over his ears and snout without a struggle. He briefly pressed on the chin piece to be sure it wasn’t too small, but thankfully there was comfortable room between the visor and Finn’s nose.

 

Grumbling about how he could put on a helmet by himself, the jackal fiddled with his jacket pockets before opting to clasp his hands behind his back, not sure what to do next. 

 

“Am I uh, where do I… How… Should I just… uh… sitting?” he tried awkwardly, grimacing at the oxymoronic behaviour. So much for being independent, but in the jackal’s defence he had never been on a motorcycle before.

 

Shadow smiled earnestly and buckled his own helmet before pointing to the pipes Finn had been ogling earlier; “See those? Don’t fucking touch them. Not because I want them clean or that you’ll damage them, but they get really hot really fast: you’d lose your leg for sure. Don’t let go of me at any point, when I lean on turns don’t pull back– I’d appreciate it if you move with me but sitting still is fine– oh, and try not to bang your helmet on mine, okay? It gives me migraines,” he admitted.

 

The jackal tried to commit the rules to memory, but the likelihood of him forgetting everything Shadow just said skyrocketed when the hedgehog pulled out his riding jacket and slipped it on– Finn couldn’t deny it looked good, and was grateful the visor hid his enamourment.

 

Jumping when the bike revved a few times, he snapped back to the present; “Are you getting on or not?” Shadow asked over the noise. While it might have been overcautious to do so, the jackal used the other mobian as a ramp and climbed up onto Shadow before lowering onto the seat, making sure his tail was tucked safely between them.

 

“You’ve got to hold on tighter than that, you aren’t going to pop a rib out of me,” the hedgehog instructed with a laugh, trying not to be too fond of Finn’s tentativeness. Shadow waited for the mercenary to shift closer to his back before kicking off properly and navigating out onto the street.

 

As they made their way out of the city, Finn was grateful for the full helmet as it kept the wind from overstimulating his ears– this was relaxing.

 

“Let go,”  the voice instructed. The jackal tensed at the command, breath hitching. “You’d look pretty with glass shards in your face,” they continued, but he shoved the thoughts aside.

 

However it was already too late, and Finn couldn’t stop himself from imagining more scenarios. What if he pressed his leg into the pipes? The smell of sizzling flesh, his nails tearing into leather, past Shadow’s skin and in between his ribs as his calf melted to the bone.

 

What if he decided to randomly jolt them sideways, veering the bike off course? Finn held his breath as they crossed the bridges, knowing that if he didn’t close his eyes and cling to the hedgehog, he’d launch them into the water, and take every obstacle with them on the way down.

 

Shadow sensed the rigidness from his passenger but didn’t comment, he already knew the cause. Making another route change, the hedgehog got off the freeway at the first exit and headed east towards Central City, but with the intent to avoid urban areas. 

 

Confused by the change in scenery, the jackal leaned in; “Where are we going?” he asked over the noise, but was met with no response. Shrugging it off, Finn decided to admire the foliage as they entered the forest, entertained by the twinkling sunlight that peeked through whatever small gaps in the canopy there were.

 

“It’s getting dark and I don’t like riding at night with other people, we also need gas. Any requests before I ignore them?”

 

“Can we get coffee?”

 

“No.”

 

Continuing for another half hour or so, they eventually entered a small town just outside of the forest, the motorcycle echoing in its emptiness. The hedgehog pulled up to the gas pump and notioned for Finn to get off, the latter once again using the former to over-avoid the crackling and popping pipes.

 

Shadow began filling up the bike and tossed his wallet to the jackal; “Go get me a chocolate bar and some instant coffee powder, also whatever the hell you want so I don’t have to deal with you at the motel.”

 

Without another word, the jackal made his way into the station’s convenience building and carefully collected his items; a bag of jalapeno kettle chips, some chocolate covered pretzels, and a bottle of Jack Daniels. He couldn’t find instant coffee powder and didn’t know what kind of chocolate bar Shadow wanted so he grabbed a Coffee Crisp and figured it was close enough.

 

“I’m going to need I.D. and for you to raise your visor,” the cashier explained, but didn’t seem to give a shit to be honest. Finn snorted at the lack of enthusiasm and shook his head; “Look kid, I’m not a registered member of society, I don’t even have a name, plus this isn’t my helmet so I have no clue how to take it off. Just give me the damn bottle and I’ll tip, I swear.”

 

The jackal slapped a couple 100 dollar bills on the counter and left without a bag, opting to carry everything stubbornly to prove a point from earlier to Shadow, who was watching him walk back with a glimmer of endearment in his eyes.

 

He raised a brow at the whiskey, which earned him a tail-whack; “Look, I know I can’t really get drunk anymore and you never could, but there’s just something so aesthetic about alcohol and old annotated books,” Finn explained bitterly.

 

Shadow’s smile grew at the way the jackal was already depicting their evening and leaned in to pull his helmet off for him; “Fine, did you get my stuff though?”

 

“Well, they didn’t have the coffee so I got a Coffee Crisp, is that fine?”

 

“Sure, I appreciate your logic,” the hedgehog coughed to avoid laughing, pushing Finn’s sunglasses onto his forehead to give the bridge of his muzzle a break as well. Smoothing down the surrounding fluff, he quickly pulled back after realising how much he was touching Finn and opened a hand between them instead.

 

The jackal looked down at the outstretched limb and back up at Shadow, brows furrowed. What? Any bashfulness from the overbearing affection he just received was instantly replaced with the inability to decipher what was being asked of him.

 

Giggling and immediately stopping himself, Shadow looked down at his shoes in defeat; “Can I uh, have my chocolate now? 

 

“Sure, sorry,” the jackal rushed out, shoving the bar in Shadow’s hands. The hedgehog paid no more attention to his embarrassment and was instead contently munching on his Coffee Crisp, which only made Finn more desperate for chocolate.

 

Shadow watched as the mercenary stiffly made his way to the saddlebags to slip everything else into for the time being; “Aren’t you going to have something now?” 

 

“No,” Finn snapped quickly, “You never eat snacks right after buying them, what about when you’re finally settled and need something to eat, hm? Can’t have a bedtime treat if you ate everything at the gas station,” he scolded, wagging a finger in Shadow’s face.

 

The hedgehog wasn’t convinced; “If you want a bite of my chocolate bar I don’t mind,” he offered. Finn scoffed at the suggestion and rolled his eyes; “If I wanted a chocolate bar, I would have bought one when I was there. Did I get one? NO, because I don’t want an old man snack.”

 

Shadow opted to not comment on the ageism and smiled wider, pointing his snack directly at the jackal’s mouth like a microphone; “You can have a bite, it’s fine.”

 

“NO, I don’t like Coffee Crisps.”

 

“Oh really, why’s your tail wagging then?” 

 

Finn whirred his head to look behind him and snarled when he realised the hedgehog had just messed with him; “That’s not fucking funny, you’re playing off stereotypes and quite frankly, I find that offensive.”

 

Snickering at his successful bluff, Shadow didn’t pull the bar away– he was determined. “The fact you had to check proves my point, c’mon. If you don’t have any I’ll toss it.”

 

“That makes no sense! Why would you waste the rest of your snack because I didn’t steal some?”

 

“I want to share it, but it won’t taste good if someone else doesn’t have it with me.”

 

The jackal growled, and internally debated whether or not he should give into the persuasion. For slave labour chocolate, it smelled pretty good…

 

“Fine,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes before snapping his jaw down over the remaining third of the chocolate, as well as Shadow’s fingertips. He smiled over his clenched grasp of the hedgehog’s digits while his victim tried to pull away; “Wow, you greedy prick, biting the hand that feeds you? Let go, I gotta take us to where we’re staying and I won't be able to with chewed fingers.”

 

Finn didn’t release his hold of the hedgehog’s hand, smirking in place; “Come on Finn, I’ll read to you at the motel if we leave in the next 10 seconds.” The jackal still didn’t budge, quite content with the chocolate-espresso-cotton flavour combination. 

 

Shadow was irritated, yet he still felt like he was having a good time… there was probably a way to get his hand free. Opting for the offensive option, he reversed directions and began shoving his fingers deeper into Finn’s mouth, which startled the jackal into releasing his jaw. To be spiteful, the hedgehog took the bar with him on his way out.

 

Shrieking at the lifeform’s audacity, Finn’s bewildered expression alternated between looking at the stringing mess of salivated chocolate and the hedgehog’s victorious glow; “Your snack sharing rights have been revoked.” Shadow stated simply. 

 

Disgusted, the jackal wrinkled his nose and shut his mouth before wiping it with the back of his hand; “I can’t believe you wasted a perfectly good chocolate bar just to torment me,” he whined. 

 

When he didn’t receive a response, Finn’s face slowly configured in horror, then appallment; “Shadow… if you even fucking suggest, no–” he started to bark in horror, but the shit-eating grin the hedgehog wore was quickly replaced with his resumed enjoyment of the Finn-annointned Coffee Crisp.

 

“You are fucking disgusting, you know that?”

 

“Pre-chewed chocolate bars just hit different,” Shadow explained as he tried not to choke from laughter.

 

Finn buried his face in his hands, refusing to watch the hedgehog for another second. Not too long ago he was worried about the kinds of torture or potential dangers he’d face when being isolated with Shadow the Hedgehog, but he never considered something like this. 

 

When the deed was done, the infamous lifeform pushed Finn’s hands away from his eyes and grabbed his jaw; “Look, I’ll be honest…” Shadow started, leaning in closer so he could lower his voice.

 

The jackal felt his entire body seize up, all his strength put into not backing away from the contact; “You were quite enthusiastic about swapping spit earlier, what’s with the change of heart?” 

 

Finn gulped at the negative amount of proximity between them, and the smell of espresso-chocolate was stronger than ever. Before he could choke out a response without getting absorbed by Shadow’s glowing rusty eyes, the hedgehog was already back on the motorcycle like nothing happened. 

 

“I’m fucking with you again, that’s payback for not getting my damn instant coffee powder. Let’s go, our motel is only 10 minutes away so I’ll live even though you broke the skin on my fingers.” Shadow called out, smugly looking over his shoulder.

 

Finn struggled to snap out of his bewilderment and let his sunglasses fall back over his eyes before begrudgingly shoving his helmet back on, not bothering to scale Shadow when seating himself– if he burned his leg off, so be it. Any extra contact with the hedgehog might break him at the moment: he could barely keep his arms around the lifeform for the short duration of the ride without feeling dizzy.

 

When they got to their room, it took all but 7 seconds for Finn to hop on his bed with the book, chips, and whiskey– already snacking and guzzling before Shadow had even put their bag down.

 

“What did you bring in that thing anyways?” the jackal asked between chews; “A blacklight, a uv wand, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, soap, spare gloves, a couple bags of wipes, a first aid kit, my laptop, a chaos emerald, room spray, hydrogen peroxide, and a couple guns. Oh, and whatever you brought,” the hedgehog added.

 

Finn eyed the amount of cleaning products but ultimately decided not to give a shit, Shadow was busying himself with disinfecting his bed and that was much more ideal than receiving attention until he was at least a little intoxicated so he could blame the redness on booze. 

 

When the hedgehog finally deemed his sleeping area sanitary, he sat across from Finn and held out both hands this time; “The book and bottle please?’

 

Groaning, the jackal scooped up The Wars with his tail and tossed it onto Shadow’s lap, but opted to pass the whiskey by hand; “I don’t want to get chip dust on it.” His consideration of print-preservation was appreciated, but the hedgehog was more concerned with the averted eye contact.

 

“Look, I’m sorry if I played with your trust too much at the gas station–” he started, but Finn quickly locked eye contact as soon as he started to speak: “–Can you read to me?”

 

Shadow froze puzzledly, tilting his head; “What? I thought… well,” he began to reason aloud, but was cut off again; “I know you said you’d only read if I let go of your fingers– sorry about that again, I forgot about my fangs–, but I technically did let go, so I mean… Can you read some more please? Even if it’s just a couple pages,” the jackal requested sheepishly, looking down at his lap.

 

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot actually, where did you leave off?”

 

He is wearing his uniform. Nothing is yet broken down. Every stitch is stiff as starch. The boots are new– the latest gift from his father. He carries a riding crop made of Algerian leather. The grip is finely braided and Robert holds it lightly in his right hand– pointing it towards the ground. He is posed in mind and body. Only his left hand disobeys his will. Its fingers curl to make a fist.

 

Dead men are serious– that’s what this photograph is striving to say. Survival is precluded. Death is romantic– got from silent images. I lived—I was young—and died. But not with real death, of course, because I’m standing here alive with all these lights that shine so brightly in my eyes. Oh– I can tell you, sort of, what it might be like to die. The Death of General Wolfe . Someone will hold my hand and I won’t suffer pain because I’ve suffered that already and survived. In paintings– and in photographs– there’s never any blood. At most, the hero sighs his way to death while linen handkerchiefs are held against his wounds. His wounds are poems. I’ll faint away in glory hearing music and my name. Someone will close my eyes and I’ll be wrapped around in flags while drums and trumpet-bagpipes march me home through the snow…

 

Afterwards, my mother will escort her friends across the rugs and parquet floors to see this photograph of me and everyone will weep and walk on tip-toe. Medals–(there are none just yet, as you can see)– will sit beside this frame in little boxes made of leather and lined with satin. I will have the Military Cross. He died for King and Country– fighting the war to end all wars.

5x9 and framed in silver. 

 

“I uh, don’t think I can do much more, I’m not very good at talking for long durations, sorry. You can keep reading yourself though, I don’t mind,” Shadow offered, looking up from the current page drearily only to find the jackal out cold, lightly snoring, chip bag empty but still in hand.

 

Puting the book down on the nightstand between them, the hedgehog carefully removed and disposed of the bag, and wiped Finn’s fingers clean too. Once he was sure it wouldn’t wake him, Shadow pulled out the bedsheets from underneath the mercenary and tucked him in, even moving his head more comfortably onto his pillow. He tried not to let his hand linger after brushing a stray piece of hair behind Finn’s ear, even though it felt so natural to be physically affectionate with him. 

 

Why was he suddenly so touch-oriented? Shadow hated physical contact, especially with people who annoy him. Yet, here he was, camping out in an off-the-map motel with a war criminal, one whom he was drawn to like a porcelain doll.

 

He had to spend the rest of the night facing the other way, lest he wanted to watch the jackal until the sun rose. 

 

This would be their new normal, even if it was anything but.

Notes:

Wow, I'll be honest... only about 10% of this chapter was in the outline, it relied on my 4AM improv to get fleshed out. It felt pretty natural getting back into writing dog & hog stuff, even though all I've done with them as of late is rant about them on tumblr hehehe

That reminds me: my tumblr is bitter-sweet-coffee so if you want to chat about the fruity sonic lads or anything really, especially bonus content, send me a message!

Take care for now,

Izzie <3

Chapter 21: Chapter 19. Pretty Girl From Locust, The Avett Brothers

Notes:

HI EVERYONE! You might be disappointed since this isn’t truly an update to Follow You… but let me be real with everyone for a second. I have been trying to write this chapter for around 3 years and I simply cannot bring myself to do it. This doesn’t mean I’ll NEVER do it, but y’know, sorta leading people on with this hiatus!!!

Therefore, I have chosen to use technology to my advantage: I will merely tell you what’s in the chapter, and then update it with written chunks later. In the meantime I can continue to update the fic (need I remind you I have about 7 chapters written which have been sitting on my drive for years, waiting to be posted) and we can all move on and have fun! Normally I would just cut the chapter (I’ve cut around 42 from Follow You already) but this one is too important :”)

TLDR: Pretend you are about to read the most thrilling epic fight scene in the history of fiction and that I did a really really good job ;) Regular posting should commence soon

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Pretty Girl From Locust, The Avett Brothers

A rough guide to what happens:

  • Shadow and Infinite (after a timeskip) have been travelling for a while and stop at a family run diner
  • It’s run by an elderly human couple and they remember Shadow from his last visit
  • The woman tells Finn he can take off his glasses inside and she’ll close the blinds if that’s why he has them on
  • He says it’s an eye problem (prone to migraines) and she frets and closes the blinds and struggles to adjust the lights for about 10 minutes as Finn grows increasingly guilty for lying
  • When it’s nice and cosy he is basically forced to take his glasses off and wow! 
  • Pretty boy, Shadow almost forgot that’s what he looked like
  • Now that he was healthy and was actually taking care of himself again, he looks way more put together (even from when he was a mercenary and Shadow met him)
  • Shadow ignores it as best he can and the woman coos about how pretty Finn is which is just plain embarrassing
  • A little fox girl (Cream the Rabbit’s concept art character) ends up running out to see them and talk to them
  • She just pesters them and asks them questions (now Finn gets how annoying he sounds, but he finds her absolutely adorable)
  • The woman tells her granddaughter to go back to her room, but they say she can stay if she wants
  • They’re all eating together and things are great until an unexpected duo enter
  • It’s this large scary looking bear and… a jackal 
  • Finn and the jackal make eye contact and it’s Quatre (unofficial name, the bandana jackal! You’ll learn his real name later dw about it)
  • Turns out the diner hasn’t been doing well and they owe money to these two, but Shadow and his hero complex butt into the conversation with the male owner and tells them to back off
  • While everyone else is distracted, Finn starts speaking in his mother tongue to Quatre, who understands and says something back despite both of them being very out of practice 
  • They remain offensive though and do not engage in a friendly way 
  • Finn is SHOCKED that he conveniently found a member from his squad
  • Fight breaks out, Shadow kicks the bear’s ass who ends up shooting him, and then takes off
  • Quatre goes to leave but Shadow snags him and says that he isn’t going anywhere
  • Finn tells Shadow that he probably doesn’t speak English enough to respond to questioning, which is a hint to Quatre to fake being bad at English
  • Shadow does not trust this whatsoever
  • “Finn is like I got this, let me out back with him” and takes the abandoned gun
  • Shadow is like, bleeding and now has to deal with his jackal being out back all sketchy but the woman gets her first aid kit and starts patching him up

(Okay I actually wrote some of this next bit lol)

 

“You didn’t need to do any of that, I’m sorry,” the woman said softly. Shadow wanted to shrug, but the pain in his ribs prevented him from feigning nonchalance. “The wound will be gone tomorrow morning at the latest,” he tried to assure, but she was not convinced.

Walking back over to the bar and returning with a medical kit, She began to treat the bullet wound as if it were second nature, which Shadow opted not to question. “It’s dangerous to ride a motorcycle like this, you’ll stay in our spare bedroom so you can get a good meal before you leave too.”

 

Inhaling sharply, the hedgehog felt he had no choice but to tell this woman who he was, and why a bullet couldn’t kill him if he tried. Before he could make a sound though, she had already changed topics;

 

“Will your friend be alright with staying?”

 

He took his aim. His arm wavered. His eyes burned with sweat. Why didn't someone come and jump on his back and make him stop?

 

He fired.

 

A chair fell over in his mind.

 

The echoing gunshot dried up Shadow’s tongue. Eventually, he spoke quietly to the woman; “I don’t know if I trust him enough to be my friend right now.”

 

To his surprise, she burst out in hearty laughter, shaking her head dismissively. Under normal circumstances he’d be upset or hurt, but the hedgehog merely watched in anticipation of some further advice. 

 

“Oh dear, stop being so dramatic; if he was so untrustworthy, why would he protect you like that? Let jackals be responsible for other jackals, they’re far and few to find so just worry about yours for now.”

 

Shadow felt his chest contort at the woman’s words, yet he had no clue if it was a positive or negative reaction. He wanted to thank her for everything before Finn came back, but the jackal had already made a loud and messy return to the diner.

 

Sopping wet from head to toe, he stood unsteadily in the doorway with a distant yet sheepish demeanour; “Sorry I took so long, don’t ask. He’s gone though, and the gun’s by the back door.”

 

The hedgehog rolled his eyes and gruffly mumbled that they’d be staying overnight, but the woman was oblivious to (or perhaps dismissive of) his coldness towards Finn, instead grabbing some towels from the storage cupboards and walking over to dry him off. 

 

“You have quite the head of hair, don’t you?” she cooed, rubbing inside his ears with her knuckles once he was wrapped excessively. Finn was being polite and reluctantly accepted his fate, but his pleading looks to the hedgehog were promptly ignored. 

 

  • All four walk to the actual house and they get settled in their room
  • It’s a bunk bed that looks very unstable but they don’t say anything until the woman leaves them for the night
  • “I’m not sleeping on the bottom, your lip is why I got shot and you’re not about to crush me if that thing breaks”
  • “You’re the ultimate lifeform: you’ll live, I won’t. Dibs on top.”
  • They bicker until Shadow is like “fine, we’ll both sleep on the bottom. It’s meant for humans so we have a bit of wiggle room, just keep your dreads off of me”
  • Finn is like “fine, don’t poke my eyes out with your quills… unless it’s the right eye, knock yourself out”
    • First time Finn jokes about his insecurities around Shadow, isn’t that cute foreshadowing!
  • “Read to me, I earned it”
  • When they get settled Finn starts reading (still very bad at it) but ends up reading in his head
  • Shadow starts to feel bad; he turns over and wiggles closer so he can grab the book with one hand
  • “I read fast, but if you flip the page too soon for my liking I’ll stop you, okay?”
  • They both read quietly together until Shadow drifts off 
  • Finn takes the book and puts it on the top bunk before closing his eyes and letting Shadow sleep close to him: look he’s hurt, don’t be rude
  • Gay idiot #2 also goes to sleep

Notes:

There you have it! If you're reading this in the future, it was just a normal chapter. Anyone who was around for when it was just lazy bullet points though... thank you for your patience and support. I might have the next chapter up soon but I can at least promise the hiatus won't be as long this time around!

Take care,

Izzie <3

Chapter 22: 20. Intertwined, Dodie

Notes:

Hello everyone! I accidentally made an entire mason jar full of espressos instead of normal coffee so we are WIRED and ready to write some more fanfic haha

Still sorry about the last chapter being mainly notes; if I don't get another chapter out within the next few days, I'll definitely aim to go back and patch her up again.

This is on the shorter end, but it's also a friendly reminder to read The Wars by Timothy Findley ;)

See ya on the other side!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Intertwined, Dodie



He fell. He turned. He saw the German reaching over the lip of the crater. Something exploded. The German gave a startled and was suddenly dead, with his arms dangling down. 

 

The shot that had killed him rang around and around the crater like a marble in a bowl. Robert thought it would never stop. He scrambled for the brink only in order to escape it and Bates had to pull him over the edge, falling back with Robert on top of him. The warmth of Bates' body was a shock and the two men lay in one another’s arms for almost a minute before Robert moved.

 

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t speak. He could barely see. He sat with his head between his knees. He didn’t even know the gun was still in his hand until he reached with it to wipe the mud from his face. It smelt of heat and oil. He turned around and crawled to the edge of the fold where, hours ago, he and Bates had first looked out and seen the crater. He could barely see. He sat with his head between his knees. He wanted to know what had happened and why the German had so suddenly moved against him after letting all the others escape.

 

He raised his field glasses and the first thing he saw was their counterpart lying in the mud about a foot from the young man’s hand. Binoculars. He had only been reaching for his binoculars. 

 

Robert sagged against the ground. It was even worse than that. Lying beside the German was a modified Mauser riddle of the kind used by snipers. He could have killed them all. Surely this had been his intention. But he’d relented. Why? 

 

The bird sang. 

 

One long note descending: three that wavered on the brink of sadness.

 

That was why. 

 

It sang and sang and sang, till Robert rose and walked away. The sound of it would haunt him to the day he died.



Finn stirred, sensing that something was wrong— a nasty habit he picked up from being a mercenary. Thankfully though, the supposed danger that the light-sleeper of a jackal sensed was just his bunk buddy who was rigid and clammy.

 

Pulling away, he rubbed his eyes and looked down at the hedgehog, frowning at the realization that Shadow was awake, just unmoving. 

 

Glassy eyes staring at the top bunk, he hardly noticed Finn’s concern. 

 

“Shadow..?” he called with a nudge, before waving his hands in front of the hedgehog’s face. 

 

Nothing. Not even a glare in his direction for being his usual obnoxious self. 

 

Feeling a sense of remorse, the jackal tried to recall what to do when someone is unresponsive. Was this normal for Shadow? 

 

“Maybe he sleeps with his eyes open…” Finn groggily mumbled, but unless his ears deceived him, a sharp exhale of protest escaped the hedgehog’s lips. 

 

Squinting in darkness, the war criminal tried to assess if he imagined it or not; “Are you trying to communicate with me…?”

 

Another shuddery exhale. Okay, so this was happening. 

 

“Can you… well, I suppose if you could talk you’d say something. Sorry, I’m rambling again— can you move? No, I guess not. Fuck… do you need me to like, back away?” Finn rambled, admittedly still half-asleep and not very confident in his problem solving skills. 

 

Unamused, the hedgehog narrowed his eyes and exhaled deeply, almost as if he was trying to force whatever was ailing him out through his lungs. 

 

Getting an idea, Finn crawled out of bed and made his way towards the window. With a grunt and a crack, he managed to slide it all the way open, smiling at the cool breeze. 

 

“This should maybe help, hold on though!” He quietly cheered before hopping out to go… somewhere

 

Shadow, baffled, decided to silently question his decision to make this trip with the former mercenary, although he couldn’t deny that the fresh air was soothing. 

 

He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but Finn was now back at his bedside, holding an ice cold metal flask in his face. 

 

“Do you uh… well, I guess you can’t move to grab it, so you can just…” the jackal mumbled awkwardly, moving the spout towards Shadow’s mouth. 

 

One more irritated exhale later, he complied. The refreshing taste of chilled water definitely sparked something in him, and Shadow found himself tilting the flask further with his own hand, mindlessly guzzling the whole thing. 

 

“Shit… thanks…” he gasped out, still shaken up. 

 

Finn smiled and put the flask aside before sitting cross legged on the edge of the bunk, ducking so his ears wouldn’t brush the top. 

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, when did you last drink water?”

 

Shadow hummed in thought, allowing for the silence to fester before shrugging. 

 

The war criminal scoffed, “Okay, well that’s definitely a part of whatever just happened. I’m not exactly a guru of self care, but you downed that way too fast to be healthy…”

 

Noticing the returning silence, Finn glanced back at the hedgehog with concern, only to see he was spaced out again. 

 

“Shadow?” 

 

He turned to look at the jackal, who realized Shadow was crying. “Hey… I was just riffing,” Finn reassured, reaching to wipe the tears off the hedgehog’s face. 

 

“Huh?” 

 

Confused, Shadow flinched and pulled away, rubbing his eyes in confusion, and frowning when he felt the wetness. “I’m not… this isn’t, well… I didn’t… am I…?” he stuttered out, clearly taken aback.

 

“Hey, it’s okay. We can go back to sleep if you’re ready, this is probably just—

 

“I’m sorry,” the hedgehog exhaled breathlessly, grinding his teeth in frustration. 

 

Pausing to see if Shadow would elaborate, the jackal opted to dig further into his reasoning; “Why? You got shot, it’s okay to be off for a little while,” he justified.

 

The hedgehog shook his head: “What did you say to that jackal in the diner, and before you…” he started, wincing and huffing as if every word that escaped from his lips was a venomous shard of glass. 

 

Oh. He’s still thinking about that. 

 

“I didn’t kill him, I let him go. I figured out where we were in location to home, sent him in the right direction, fired the gun to fool everyone, and waded through a river to make it look like I threw his body in the lake or something,” Finn explained slowly, placing a hand to his chest as if he was swearing an oath. 

 

No response.

 

Shit. 

 

He opened his mouth to continue, but no words came out, so the two sat in silence while Shadow quietly processed the information. Of course there was no proof, he’d have to decide if the war criminal was being honest with him. 

 

“Was I supposed to kill him?”

 

“I don’t know, just had to be sure you weren’t conspiring,” the hedgehog muttered, grinding his teeth. 

 

But I believe you.

 

Finn sighed, playing with his hands in his lap, avoiding eye contact; “I didn’t want him in any more trouble, it's my fault he left and also got abandoned by me and… well, I owe him something. I sent him back where he belongs, where he came from. Jackals shouldn’t leave home and I get that now.”

 

The hedgehog didn’t want to pry, but he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant— where they came from? Home? He was no expert, but jackals were just like any other mobian species— if anything, they’d be solitary. He’d have to inquire more when he was functional again. 

 

Opting to push forward, Shadow began with a charitable gesture; “If you want the top bunk you can have it, I’m sure it’s stable enough.” He wanted to reward Finn for sharing something personal, they were making some progress— albeit not very much. 

 

“No, you go if you want;” he protested, “I get you probably need space right now.”

 

They were at a stalemate, which neither mobian sought to break free from. Neither moved a muscle. 

 

“If it’s not too much trouble, can we both just stay here?” Shadow eventually asked, forcing each word out from behind his tongue, barely managing to not choke on the sentiment. 

 

The jackal looked back up, curiously, but said nothing.

 

“I’m fine now, or at least better than before, you don’t have to sleep on the edge, unless you’re uncomfortable,” he elaborated, hoping that Finn would finish the decision for him. 

 

Hesitantly (but perhaps there was some excitement in his tone) the former mercenary made the decision to go for it; “I just don’t want to make you feel claustrophobic is all… we good?”

 

Shadow grunted in response, rolling over to face the wall— his word count for their conversation was long expired. With less cautiousness, the jackal wiggled up to the resting mobian and buried his face in the other’s quills, gently but enthusiastically wrapping his arms around his waist.

 

“You look like you need a hug,” he mumbled to the stiff mobian, who grumbled something in response. The hedgehog couldn’t have been protesting since he relaxed somewhat comfortably into the embrace, but Finn was sure it was something snarky and condescending. 

 

He didn’t mind.

Notes:

These bitches gay fr LOL

So... yeah! This chapter doesn't feel as cathartic as intended due to the (at the time of publishing) incomplete prior chapter. Oh well, we'll take what we can get for some snuggles!

Once again, take care and happy pride

Izzie <3