#CatieCatWorks

[catiecat1320]

I should be doing homework but noooo—

PAWS

Teddy the Bear belongs to @son1c— thank you so much for the brainrot, Lovelyn. Have the boyfrens ever

[catiecat1320]

Colored @fleetways’ little drawing for practice

I took some… creative liberties 😁💙🖤 Hope you like it

Coloring on a phone is harder than I thought lol

(I still have no idea where shadows go so it’s just a bad guesstimate. Don’t mind me.)

[catiecat1320]

New Random Oneshot! I only edited through this once, so the quality may be poorer than I usually do.

(At the time of writing, I haven’t watched S3 yet, but still: Sonic Prime Spoilers!!)

Synopsis: After saving Sonic from the throes of death, Shadow wakes up back home. Within the next few minutes, he finds that their victory together may have come with unintended consequences (aka feelings). Read Below ⬇️

As blinding white light dissipated, Shadow the Hedgehog promptly fell flat on his face. His mind raced too fast, contrasting his body which had come to a complete and painful halt.

The first thing he noticed was the taste of grass. 

Not rock or whatever the hell those shards in the void were— grass, green grass. The kind that belonged to home. He rolled over and barked out a laugh.

He’d never been more happy to eat dirt. 

Man, if Sonic had heard him say that…

Oh, shit, Sonic—

Popping to his feet so fast he nearly fell back on his face— which was most definitely counterproductive— Shadow staggered, shaking off the static black and nausea of vertigo before looking around frantically for the blue hedgehog. The events moments prior flashed back through his head like a sick movie.

No no no, that idiot couldn’t have died right? He’s too stubborn to just disappear like that, this wasn’t happening, where—

Up in the distance, he heard the faint sound of yelling, barely audible against his rapid heart beat. 

“Sonic, NO!”

Shadow immediately ran toward the sound, up the mountain. Instinctively, he reached into his quills, gloved fingers making purchase on a smooth gem— when had it come back?

No matter. It would get him where he needed to be, and that was all he cared about.

“Chaos control!”

………………………………

Shadow reappeared at the cavern entrance, immediately faced with the inexplicably idiocratic scene of Sonic hugging Eggman.

Of course, the villain didn’t take very kindly to Sonic’s sudden affection, promptly opening the cockpit of his mech and driving a fist into the hedgehog’s gut, eliciting an inappropriately surprised grunt. Shadow repressed the urge to facepalm. Really?

Sighing, he leapt Sonic’s rescue for the millionth time since that dumbass shattered reality. 

Within seconds, Eggman’s mech sat mangled, kicked to the side of the cave and far away from the prism. The doctor let out a strangled squeak in fear. 

Shadow didn’t pay him any more attention. The sound of metal crunching was one he had wished not to hear again for a long, long time. Stupid faker.

Speaking of his counterpart— “Hey Shadow! Nice timing!” Sonic grinned, peeling himself off the ground and, oblivious to his friends’ shocked looks behind him, hopped over to Shadow with an outstretched hand. “Up top!”

Shadow just huffed at the gesture, grabbing Sonic’s wrist and pulling the hand close to his face. 

No transparency. 

A sort of delayed relief flooded through him at that, and part of Shadow realized just how scared he’d been. That was a first for the ultimate lifeform. 

“You’re okay.” He stated.

“Um. Yeah?”

“Well, that’s great,” Rouge remarked, flying over to where they stood. Her smile widened dramatically and she stared at the Paradox Prism with a bit of crazed fervor in her eyes. “I’ll be taking this beauty—”

She might as well have said she was going to kill someone, because both hedgehogs reacted with a violent jerk, lunging for the rock in unison.

“Wait no!” 

“Chaos control!”

A flash of light left four friends wondering what in hell they just witnessed (and one evil genius quietly making a getaway).

………………………………

“Ugh.” Shadow spat, steadying the prism. “So what do we do with this thing?”

Sonic didn’t respond, which was surprising given that he never shut up (not even on the brink of death). The black hedgehog rolled his eyes and glared at him. “Well?”

Sonic stared at the ground, then up at Shadow, and cleared his throat quietly. “Uh. You can let go now?”

It was then that Shadow realized he still had a death grip on Sonic’s slender wrist. 

Oh, he wished he could’ve disappeared right then, and he meant it with every fiber of his being.

Shadow didn’t know what was worse, the fact that his face was most definitely burning a cherry red, unable to give a proper explanation for this act, or the fact that part of him didn’t want to let go. 

He settled on awkwardly retracting his hand and letting out a choked “Sorry.”

Sonic coughed and peeled his eyes away from Shadow’s face, for which he was grateful for. “I was thinking… maybe we could leave it in Tails’ Lab.”

“So you or your friends can break it again? Definitely not.” Shadow rebuked. “We should take it somewhere no one could chance upon by accident.”

“So why’d you even ask me?” Sonic pouted, tapping his foot impatiently. “If you got it figured out already then go ahead. I certainly don’t know any secretive places.”

Shadow paused at his statement. 

Why had he brought Sonic along? Since when did he get that instinct?

…to keep him close?

“Shadow? Hellooooo—” Sonic waved his hand in front of a dazed face, effectively breaking Shadow’s trance. Emerald eyes peered worriedly into his own crimson. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” He grumbled, turning away. But of course that didn’t work, because Mr. Annoying just stepped back into his line of view.

“Aw come on, don’t give me that,” Sonic said, circling him to keep eye contact. “You never act like this. Hmm…” Shadow could practically hear gears turning inside that peanut brain of his, and unfortunately, this time they worked. “...is it… wait. Don’t tell me you’re worried? About lil ol’ me?”

“Shut. Up.” 

“Okay. Sorry, sorry.” Sonic gestured defensively at Shadow’s death glare. “But I’m fine, you don’t gotta worry.”

“It’s not that.” He snarled in response. Sonic just gave him the most unamused look. 

“Well, what is it then? What’s the saying… penny for your thoughts?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“Shut up.”

“No.”

Shadow growled and imposed his fiercest glare on Sonic, hoping to scare him off, but his rival (Rival? Friend? Ally?) just stared back with equal intensity. “You don’t scare me, Shadow.”

“Well— you scared me!” Shadow admits, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could catch them. He dipped his head to focus on the ground instead, hoping futilely that it would swallow him whole. “I… I thought that… you… I thought that you were going to… that you would—”

“Die?” Sonic put a hand to Shadow’s chin, tilting his head up to meet his eyes. Shadow scowled but didn’t deny it.

There was silence for a few seconds, neither hedgehog knowing what to say. 

What kind of words could fix seeing someone nearly slip from reality? …in your very arms?

Maybe there was some magic phrase that would sooth that pain, but none of them knew it. They weren’t exactly the best at communication, after all, seeing as they fought things out most of the time. 

Sonic eventually pulled away and broke the stillness with a sigh. “Shadow. I… I don’t know what you want to hear. It’s probably not that I don’t regret my… decision. But that’s the truth— Gosh, this is awkward. Amy was always better at this… I’m getting side tracked, aren’t I?” He rambled, glancing up at Shadow to see if he was still listening. Shadow gestured for him to continue. There was no harm, right?

“Look. I… it was risky, but it was better than the alternative, right? And it worked! I lived, even! You guys saved me. It’s okay.”

“You expected to die?”

Sonic winced. “Uhh— I… yeah. That’s not the point, though—”

“What do you mean, that’s not the point?!” Shadow exploded, causing Sonic to back up. “That’s not okay, idiot! Do you think I could’ve lived knowing you sacrificed your life to save mine?!”

“And the others,” Sonic piped, then cringed at the face Shadow made. “Wrong answer, wrong answer. I—”

He was interrupted by Shadow pulling him into a tight hug. “You selfless moron. The answer is no.”

For a few seconds, Sonic was too stunned to speak or reciprocate the gesture. Then he hugged Shadow back, squeezing him tighter than the other had gripped him moments away from entering the gateway. “I-It’s okay, Shads. I’m fine now.”

“Tell me you won’t try something like that again.”

“...no promises. But I hope it won’t come to that.”

“Sonic.” Shadow tangled himself and held the hero at arm's length. He just let out a laugh, and Shadow found that he couldn’t be angry at those sparkling emerald eyes. “Just… try. Please?” 

“Mhm. You should know by now, Shads,” Sonic grinned, “I kinda suck at dying.”

Shadow couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face, which he tried in vain to hide. 

“You smiled! I saw it!”

“Did not.”

“Did to!”

“Just admit it, Shadow, you’re not as grumpy as you seem.”

Shadow rolled his eyes but didn’t deny his statement. Sonic took his silence as agreement and cheered. “I knew you were soft on the inside! Just couldn’t resist my charm, could you?”

He looked so happy as he picked up the prism that Shadow swallowed the quip he was going to make. In the scattered rainbow light, Sonic was… was pretty.

Ugh, stupid skittles rock. Messing with his thoughts. 

He hoped Sonic couldn’t see the blush that tinted his cheeks as he hooked arms and teleported them away.

[catiecat1320]

I love my gay people 💙❤️🖤

[catiecat1320]

New Fic!!

This one’s a Secret Santa gift. Their one wish was for angst. A lot of angst.

⚠️Warning for character death!⚠️ It’s not graphic or anything but [redacted] still dies, soooo…

Read below the cut ⬇️

If Shadow had known what would happen, he would’ve never done such a thing. Wouldn’t have ever thought of it— he shouldn’t have thought of it at all, regardless of what happened after.

Perhaps he was a hypocrite.

It was all his fault.

……………………………………………………

……………………………………………………

It was an accident.

Shadow knew this, yet he couldn’t help the blazing fury that buried itself in his gut. Why did Sonic have to be such a moron?! That cocky, blue, son-of-a-bitch hedgehog just had to go around meddling in everyone’s business and ruining everything! 

He… he’d been so close. So close. Then— Chaos, he wished he could just throttle that—

“Shads?”

There was only one person bold enough to call him by a nickname that lame. Shadow growled, hoping that he would go away, but a second later he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. The black hedgehog whipped his head around, crimson eyes piercing emerald, and jerked away. 

“Woah! Geez, take a chill pill.” Sonic huffed, his breath visible in the chill air. “What’s wrong?”

“Gee, I wonder.” Shadow spat, baring his fangs at the hero. “Oh, maybe it’s what happened this morning!”

Sonic reacted with no more than a twitch of his face at the comment, as if it had been nothing important at all. “Dude,” he started, taking another step closer, only to be cut off by Shadow.

“Do NOT ‘dude’ me, faker. Do you even know what you did?”

The confusion that settled on Sonic’s face as he tried to recall told Shadow everything he needed to know. “You don’t. Of course you don’t. What did I expect?”

“Shads—”

“My name is Shadow.”

“Shadow. Look, I… I’m sorry I made you upset—”

“‘Upset’ is an understatement. I hate you with every fiber of my being.” 

Sonic frowned, his fingers doing a nervous tap dance on his elbow. “Okay, why— sorry, what random nerve did I touch this time? What happened?”

“If you don’t know, I can't help you.” Shadow snarled in response. Without another word, he sped off, rocket skates flaring as he slid down the icy hill. He hoped to lose the other hedgehog, but Sonic clearly had other ideas as he gave chase.

Sadly, the blue blur had always been just a little faster than Shadow, as much as he hated to admit it. Sonic eventually caught up in their impromptu race, trying and failing to talk with the sheer speed tearing apart any sound he made. Could he not see that Shadow wanted to be left alone? He was practically pleading to get decked.

A few moments more of this game of cat-and-mouse caused Shadow to snap. Scratch trying to clear his head. Sonic isn’t , nor will be, letting up— that much was clear. Well, fine. He’d share a few choice words with the idiot, since he wanted it sooo badly.

Shadow abruptly turned around, grabbing Sonic by the shoulders and slamming him into the ground. “This is all just a game to you, isn’t it? You think it’s just harmless fun.” He spat, the bitter malice in his voice surprising even himself. “You play the hero and inflate your ego, basking in the limelight and not caring about what you leave behind.”

“What do you mean?” Sonic grunted, flipping Shadow off him and getting up, dodging furious punches.

“You know exactly what I mean. You just don’t care.” Shadow sneered, letting his barriers break. Pent up frustration and disappointment morphed into anger, fueling the fire that now burned openly. His fist caught the hero’s jaw with a crack, causing him to stumble and giving Shadow the opening to kick him firmly in the gut. “People got hurt. Hospitalized. Things were burned, shattered, destroyed in that building, and you turn tail and run off without a second thought. The fastest thing alive can’t be bothered to clean up his own messes, apparently.”

“I… I didn’t know.” Sonic whispered, distraught. He dizzily sidestepped Shadow’s chaos spear. “I was focused on… the badniks—”

“Something you should’ve gotten rid of a long time ago.” Shadow retorted. “But you’re too busy going off on adventures.” Both hedgehogs were out of breath by now, clouds of mist puffing out with every breath. The reasons for both, however, were very different: Sonic had gotten it knocked out of him, figuratively and literally; Shadow had spent all his breath screaming. “I was in that building, Sonic. It nearly came down. But do you care?”

“I—”

“What would make you care? Does someone important to you have to die before you come down Earth? What if… what if it had been Tails, huh? Would you finally realize your stupidity then?” 

That was low. Shadow realized as soon as those words left his mouth— there was nothing that Sonic cared for more than his friends. Not even himself. But he faltered at that, and the black hedgehog took the chance to lunge, the thought disintegrating.

The both of them went tumbling, and Shadow ended up on top, pinning the other firmly to the ground. It was completely unnecessary, anyhow— the “hero” didn’t seem very keen on escaping.

“Next time,” Shadow continued after a moment, his voice low. He glared at Sonic with bloody ruby eyes, hoping that his message would finally get through that thick skull of his. “Remember what’s around you. And when someone gets hurt because of your idiotic actions, make sure it’s you.”

Then he warped away, unaware of the single tear that traced down Sonic’s face, that which was etched with a wounded expression of acknowledgement.

……

Miles away, in a luxurious apartment above the dazzling Club Rouge, Shadow reappeared in a flash of light. What would scare the wits out of most people had become customary in this unconventional household, and the bat barely glanced up from her spot on the couch. “Welcome back, hun. Are you feeling better?”

“No.” Shadow growled, the lingering anger from his fight beginning to wane, leaving just exhaustion. Rouge pursed her lips, looking the scruffed up ultimate lifeform over.

“You ran into Sonic.” She stated, not as a question but as a fact. It wasn’t too hard to guess— after all, there’s no one else that cracked the stoic Shadow— in more ways than one— as much as his archrival.

“He ran into me.” Shadow huffed in response. Rouge shook her head, chuckling to herself.

“I assume you two had another lover’s spat?”

Brilliant crimson glared daggers at Rouge, who was unfazed. “He is NOT my ‘lover!’ I can’t stand him.” 

“Sure thing, hun,” the bat laughed. “So explain why your muzzle suddenly matches your stripes.”

“I… Shut up!” Shadow yelled, his voice cracking. He was in no mood to deal with Rouge’s bullshittery. Storming up to his room and slamming the door, he collapsed beside the bed and buried his face into his arms, breathing heavily.

Why was everything going wrong today?

He didn’t know how long he stayed like that. He might have even fallen asleep at some point— he didn’t know. But he remembers when Rouge knocked on the door and came in (without permission), and sat down beside him.

“Hey. I’m sorry,” she started softly. “Are you feeling alright?”

Shadow lifted his head and shook his hand at her. So-so.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

He didn’t answer, instead turning away. Rouge sighed. She was hoping he would open up; not that she expected much. She tried a different tactic. “Well, I heard the paper files from the ARK were destroyed today, but they probably had digital or backup ones. That’s what you were looking for, right?”

That caught Shadow’s attention. The hedgehog perked up immediately— because it was. Not that he’d tell anyone (but Rouge was smart enough to know), but he’d been digging through just about everything to find the records from the ARK, a piece of his past, and it just so happened that the building that held them got torn apart. He thought they were gone, but Rouge’s words sparked hope— and regret.

Shadow slumped once more, the harsh words he’d shouted with such misplaced fury earlier grating on his ears. “Rouge, I… I yelled at Sonic. For destroying those. It was an accident— not even his fault! He was trying to help. And I lashed out at him for it… I-I think… I went too far.”

Rouge patted his arm gently. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for Shadow to act without thinking. “It’s alright. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Really?” 

“Of course. You know him. Now come on, let’s get started on those files. You can apologize the next time he comes around.”

Shadow nodded. “Okay…Thanks, Rouge.”

“No problem.”

……………………………………………………

“What happened?”

Shadow looked up from the computer quizzically, deep in everything they’d dug out of government files. Rouge stood in the doorway, phone in hand, barely concealed worry written on her face. “Two weeks ago. You… Tails, I’ll call you back.” The bat said, promptly hanging up. She took a breath before continuing. “You came home after fighting with Sonic. Shadow, what happened exactly? What did you say?” 

“Is that really important?” Shadow winced, mentally shoving the resurfacing memory down. “What’s going on?”

“He’s gone off the radar. It’s Christmas Eve, and no one has seen nor heard from him since you—”

Shadow didn’t hear the rest of her sentence. He’d already dashed out, heart pounding, rocket skates leaving a trail of slush in the freshly fallen snow.

……

Rouge frantically pinged Shadow’s communicator, but he didn’t bother to answer— instead turning the thing off— too wrapped up in his thoughts as he sped through crisp, pale scenery. It can’t be that hard to spot a speck of blue against it all, right?

Sonic was known to disappear for days at a time, doing who-knows-what. But two weeks was a record without any word, for as much as Shadow knew, plus the blue hedgehog always returned for special occasions. And what more occasional than a white Christmas? 

There was definitely something going on. Something bad.

Shadow had a sinking feeling that it was caused by himself.

Harsh words reverberated in his skull, his mind having handily retrieved them from the back of his Things To Forget pile. 

Where was that idiot?

……

He must’ve searched through half the country before catching a glimpse of the blue blur trudging through some inconspicuous woods, heading somewhere in deep. Shadow grumbled in annoyance as he changed direction and chased after Sonic. So he was okay, just ignoring all of his friends.

A closer look, however, told a slightly different story. The hero’s lithe frame was marred by neglected scrapes and bruises of unknown origin, and Shadow could see, both from the rise and fall of his chest and the puffs that left his lips, that his breathing was labored. Shadow’s brow furrowed with concern. What happened?

Before the black hedgehog had a chance to call out to him, Sonic slowed, his ears flicking, likely picking up on the sound of snow crunching under metal shoes. Then he turned around.

“Shadow.” 

Shadow decided that he’d prefer one of his nicknames right then. It was unnerving to hear his name, partnered with an uncharacteristically serious expression, come out of Sonic’s mouth. But of course he didn’t say that. “Where have you been?” He asked instead.

“Places. Does it concern you?”

Yeah, this— this whole thing— was unnerving. Shadow couldn’t put his finger on why.  “I… It’s Christmas Eve. You’ve been gone for two weeks. Your friends are looking for you.”

“Oh.” Sonic responded, much less of a reaction than Shadow had been expecting “Tell them I won’t be there. I’ve got things to do.” 

And he ran. The little bitch ran off before Shadow could get another word in, causing him to stiffen in frustration. What—

That’s when it struck him. Sonic was acting just like him. It seemed as if the events from two weeks prior were playing out with them on opposite sides.

In an ironic twist of fate, that left Shadow to play the role of annoying, stubborn pain-in-the-butt.

He groaned and chased after Sonic, hoping to catch up before he lost him.

……

Unfortunately, Sonic quickly outpaced Shadow, who did terribly in this kind of terrain. He ended up stumbling blindly through the woods trying to find his blue rival again. Luckily, the “things'' Sonic had to do weren’t exactly quiet. Horrendous screeching of metal and machinery, punctuated by the sound of an explosion, led Shadow to his destination: an abandoned Eggman base. Sonic had clearly wasted no time tearing through the thing, and Shadow followed the trail of destruction out the other side.

Well, maybe abandoned wasn’t the right word. A hoard of beeping badniks surrounded Sonic, their glowing eyes failing to elicit any fear as the hero stared them down with half-lidded eyes. In the absence of shadow-casting trees, the winter sun highlighted the dark bags upon Sonic’s pale muzzle, along with a fresh scratch that he took no notice of. He readied himself into a fighting stance, waiting. Then the first bot attacked— but not at him.

Shadow jumped, the bolt missing his face by only a millimeter— much too close for comfort. Oh, right. He was in enemy territory. He snapped out of his thoughts and shifted gears, spin-dashing the badnik and landing beside Sonic.

But as they fought, Shadow noticed two things: one, Sonic was slower, his attacks not as effective as they usually were. Although, that wasn’t unexpected— Sonic was observably injured, after all. What both worried and frustrated Shadow was number two: most of the time, the two hedgehogs fought side by side in perfect sync. It was like magic, the way they clicked. But this time…

“Stop trying to protect me,” Shadow growls, ducking as Sonic flipped over his head and stomped on a badnik beside him. “I can handle myself.”

“Sure. Like that bot didn’t almost blow your head off earlier.”

Well, at least he got his sass back, Shadow thought, rolling his eyes. “That was one time. Focus on yourself. You’re hurt.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?!” Sonic snapped, his voice breaking. “Gods, do you hear yourself?”

Shadow stopped dead, the weight of the remark hitting him like a train. Oh. Oh, Chaos. That’s… He didn’t mean… Had Sonic…? 

Any words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. Amidst the flurry of frantic thoughts came one which was clear as crystal: You caused this. Whatever Sonic’s been doing to himself is because of you.

“Oh Sonic, you’re a terrible hero.” Sonic drawled in a horrible imitation of Shadow’s voice. “Go fuck yourself over more than you already are.” He delivered a swift kick to a motobug and sent it crashing through the last of the badniks. Emerald eyes brimmed with tears, and one escaped, tracing a path down his cheek.

He’s crying. Chaos, he’s crying. Shadow had never seen Sonic cry before. He wanted it to stop.

But Sonic didn’t stop. “Oh, w-wait, you did what I said. Actually, do this instead,” he shakily continued.

“What do you want from me?! What… What more? I… everyone else is clear. I’ve got to be a hero. The hero. The supposed better person. The light in the dark. The beacon of hope. I… I’ve got to be everything. I can’t— I can’t cry. I want to cry. I shouldn’t be crying. Why am I crying?” He rubbed at his eyes furiously, but the tears just came faster, along with his breaths. Eventually he gave up and looked up at Shadow numbly, face flushed and damp. “What… What am I doing wrong?”

Shadow, who had been standing there like an idiot, speechless, finally found his voice. “Sonic…” he whispered, taking a step forward.

That’s as far as he got.

Because then everything collapsed, all too fast; but at the same time, all too slow.

…A badnik. They’d missed one. Or maybe just didn’t smash it hard enough.

With the last of its artificial life, it fired at Shadow, who, mind reeling from Sonic’s mental breakdown, froze on the spot. His mind screamed at his body to move, but he simply could not react fast enough.

The shot didn’t make it to its target, though.

Because Sonic was there instead.

The bolt punched through the hedgehog, somewhere among his ribcage, then out the other side, bringing a burst of bright red, stark against royal blue.

Sonic collapsed to his hands and knees, taking in a single, sharp breath.

Shadow doesn’t remember screaming. 

But he knows he heard it— shocked, terrified, piercing— as he dropped to the ground beside his counterpart. 

No, no, no.

Warm blood ate at crystal white snow, melting it into a sickening slush.

Sonic toppled into Shadow, coughing, droplets of red dripping down his chin.

He weakly grabbed at his chest as Shadow frantically turned him over, exposing the worst of it.

It was a gruesome sight, one indescribable, one his memory blurred out.

…Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew then that Sonic wouldn’t make it.

In a twisted way, it both calmed him and panicked him.

He peeled off now blood-soaked gloves, fumbling with his communicator before pressing SOS. 

Then he applied pressure to the wound, wincing at Sonic’s pained whimpers.

“Shad… Shadow. Shads.”

Shadow hesitantly looked over. 

Sonic’s usually lively emerald eyes were devoid of the spark that Shadow so liked to see. They’d taken on a dull, glassy look, struggling to focus on Shadow’s face.

“Y-you’re… you’re crying,” he mumbled.

Shadow blinked, processing the remark. “That’s… that’s not important!”

Sonic didn’t seem to hear him. “Hmm… you m’kay?”

The sudden question so clearly contrasted the situation at hand that Shadow could help but choke out a bitter laugh. “What? Y-yes. No. I don’t know any more. Why…That sounds like a question I should be asking you?”

“Mmm… ‘m fine. Always fine.” Sonic replied absently, his head lulling to the side. “Sleepy…”

“No!” Shadow yipped, eliciting a disappointed whine from the injured hero. “No. No, no. Stay awake, Sonic. Th-they’ll be here soon. You’ll… you’ll be okay. Okay.  Please.”

Sonic shook his head lethargically. “Shadow. I… Don’t cry… hate crying.”

“Sonic. T-that’s not important,” Shadow chokes. He opted to let up on the pressure, which was not doing anything to reduce the bloody puddle that formed beneath the two. Instead, he gently gathered the other in his arms, cradling him against his chest like it would fix everything. “I… earlier you asked what I wanted from you. I need you to stay alive. Please, Sonic, please.”

Sonic blinked, slow, deathly. “Sorry. Can’t… can’t do that,” he whispers, pressing against the patch of fluff, and Shadow sobs in protest.

“No no n-no, Sonic, please. Sonic!” 

“Shhh…” Bare paw pads pick up on the sensation of touch, and Shadow realizes that Sonic was grasping his hand. “Shhh… ‘s gonna be okay, Shads. Mhm? ‘Innit funny… this is how— I die… after everything…”

“Y-you’re not going to die, Sonic. You’re not! Sonic, Sonic, Sonic…” Shadow shook him in a desperate attempt to keep him awake. He absently wondered if Sonic could hear his erratic heartbeat as he rambled, straining to pick up on sounds of rescue. 

“Sonic, Sonic, please. They’re coming. Just… just hold on. They’ll help you and you’ll be okay and everything’ll be fine. Sonic. Sonic, I-I’ll take you on a vacation, okay? Anywhere you’d like. As a Christmas present! You deserve it. Okay? Don’t die. Don’t die. Don’t die… Sonic?”

No response.

Shadow looked down in panic to find that Sonic’s eyes had drifted closed, a single teardrop belonging to himself trailing down a blue eyelid. “Sonic! Wake up wake up wake up—”

“Mmph… squishing me…” he weakly mumbled. Shadow had never felt more relief in his life as when Sonic shifted in his arms. 

But that relief was short-lived.

“Shads… don’t blame yourself, m’kay? ‘S not… ‘s not your fault… not— your fault…” Sonic whispers, his words slurring together. He gave Shadow’s hand a light squeeze. Then his head drooped and he exhaled, shallow, content. 

He did not take another breath.

Shadow let out an unholy screech. “S-Sonic! Nononononono Sonic, Sonic y-you’re supposed to be home for Christmas, Sonic, what about your friends?! I… don’t do this to me— please! I’m sorry! Wake up. Please. I need you! I can’t do this again, Sonic. Sonic! I… I love you, Sonic. I love you.” And he did. Shadow confessed, to himself as much as to his lover, something he’d always denied, something which was always true, in a frenzied attempt at the impossible.

It was too late.

Much too late.

On a day that was meant to be joyful, filled with holiday cheer,

A life was lost, and another, shattered beyond repair.

[catiecat1320]

New Random Oneshot that I forgot to post here!

It’s Shadow Angst inspired by the song “You Are My Sunshine” that I put together on a whim and edited at 6 in the morning while riding my bus :)

Read Below ⬇️

Shadow tiptoed through the halls of the Space Colony: ARK, padded paws ensuring that his steps stayed silent. Despite making this trip many times now, the sterile metal halls still managed to daunt him, making him feel out of place.

But Maria had said that it was okay. And the promise of seeing her again made him feel better, so silently, as not to wake her, he advanced.

The door creaked as it swung open, causing Shadow to wince. Maria, sat up on the bed, turned her head immediately, breaking out into a smile at the little hybrid in the doorway. “Hey, Shadow! I was waiting for you!”

He frowned at that as he hopped on her bed. “But Professor says you should be sleeping.”

“And you should too, silly. I’m fine, Grandfather worries too much.” Maria pouted, pulling him closer. Shadow couldn’t help but curl up at her side, relishing her warmth, sensitive ears picking up on her heartbeat.

“Hey,” Maria chirped, causing him to look up. “Are you sleepy?” 

“Mmhmm.”

“Do you want a lullaby?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Anything for my Shadow. I’ll sing you the song I learned today,” she happily replied, gently combing her fingers through Shadow’s quills in a way that made him melt. The night tugged at the edges of his mind as Maria’s soothing voice rang out.

“You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.

You make me happy,

When skies are gray.

You’ll never know, dear,

How much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maria had relapsed.

She lay on her bed, sound asleep, a machine pulling breaths into her.

It hurt to see her like this.

Why couldn’t he help?

He was supposed to help.

Silent, unconscious tears slid down Shadow’s face as he did the only thing he could think to do: he hopped on her bed— carefully, gently— and curled up at her side, positioned in such a way that he could hear her heartbeat. 

(She didn’t used to be so cold.)

Rhythmic and alive, it helped calm him down considerably, reminding him of a time years prior.

A quiet, sad voice drifted through the ARK, echoing off once daunting walls. 

“You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine…”

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

Gunshots.

He should have seen it coming.

He did see it coming.

But he couldn’t stop it.

Stuck in place.

Frozen as red bloomed on blue, as brilliant eyes dimmed, as everything crumbled around him.

Blood, too much blood.

It was wrong, so wrong.

So wrong.

He screamed.

“Maria!”

“Sonic!”

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

Shadow walked numbly through the halls of the hospital, its sterile white walls taunting his every step.

This wasn’t happening.

It wasn’t.

But as much as he tried to deny it, the past events refused to change. His memories refused to go.

As much as he tried to walk away, he found himself back here. Unable— Unwilling— to face reality, yet one step away from it.

He took a shallow breath, resting his hand on the handle. Better now than never.

The door creaked as it opened, revealing a somber sight. 

Sonic the Hedgehog, the world’s greatest hero, lay in the bed, deathly pale and more still than he’s ever been. A ventilator was strapped to his muzzle, breathing for him when he could not.

Just like Maria.

Just like her, Sonic had been shot for one reason only: to save Shadow. 

A sacrifice. One that should have never happened.

The hybrid found himself crying again, the situation all too traumatically familiar. 

So he did the one thing he could think to do: he curled up beside the bed and— careful to avoid the wound— put his head on Sonic’s chest, listening for the soft pulse of Sonic’s heart.

Memories came flooding back, along with tears, and a song from long ago.

A choked voice, shaking with jumbled emotions, could be heard throughout the hospital, singing.

“You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.

You make me happy,

When skies are gray.

You’ll never know, dear,

How much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away…

Please don’t take

My sunshine away…”

[catiecat1320]

New fic! For @eggseabutter (sorry for tagging you again)

Eggdad propaganda! It’s a 5+1 fic

Sometimes you find family in the most unexpected of places. You know what they say— keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Read Below ⬇️

Dr. Ivo Robotnik was bored. Very bored.

But esteemed doctor, you ask, how does one such as you get bored? There’s still a world to conquer!

Well, conquest is only so entertaining. It’s no fun if there isn’t someone trying to stop you, is it? The terror of villagers tends to get tiring after a while, especially when they simply ran and hid at his approach.

He needed an enemy. An archenemy! Someone who was heroic and kind and brave and whatever they say heroes are like. Someone who’d be fun to mess with, someone who’d pose a challenge. Yes, yes. He just had to find someone. 

Where was the only question…

A sharp scream, abruptly cut short, startled Robotnik out of his musing, causing him to pout. He looked around to find an unusual sight— a gaggle of kids, not older than twelve, had… what’s the word… ganged up on a little blue hedgehog and were carrying him, each one gripping a squirming limb, to somewhere undetermined.

The doctor watched the strange procession, because why not. The kids hadn’t noticed him at all— at least, that’s what he thought… until the victim of this happening suddenly stared up at him with wide emerald eyes; terrified, pleading. 

Robotnik was taken back by the direct eye contact, but he didn’t have the time to think about it. Right then, the older children stopped at their destination. Before he realized what was happening, the band tossed the hedgehog over the side of the cliff, leaving him only enough time to cry out before a loud splash announced his plunge into water, probably a lake, eliciting a cheer from the bullies above.

Something surged within the doctor right then— anger, mayhaps. Heart over mind, he fired a few shots from his aircraft, scattering the mean bunch, before diving downward to check on the hedgehog.

He was not faring well. It was clear at once that little blue couldn’t swim, yet was making a pathetic attempt at it. That angry feeling grew stronger.

What kind of children would do something like this? Condemn another to what could very well be death?

A metal claw extended and caught the boy by the scruff, quelling his struggle, and pulled him back up to where the bullies stood just moments prior. As soon as he was let go, the hedgehog squirmed and coughed up water violently, gasping. 

Robotnik hopped to the ground and knelt beside him, awkwardly patting between his back quills as the events that had transpired sank in (pun not intended). Oh Chaos, this is weird, he thought. What am I doing?

To make himself feel less uncomfortable, the doctor began to talk. He’d always been good at that. “You know, kid, you need to stand up for yourself. Get a weapon or something. Fight back.” He rambled, and an image of the little hedgehog carting around a blaster made itself known in his mind’s eye, causing him to snort. “Okay, maybe a blaster’s a little extra. That’d definitely scare them off, though. It’d be funny to watch. Or— Ooo, maybe you could set up a trap. That’d be fun. Pit traps, net traps, cage traps, bear traps… the possibilities are endless! They step in the wrong place and BAM! Problem solved..”

The hedgehog peered at him curiously, emerald eyes tinged with what was probably horror, and Robotnik realized that he’d gone off on a tangent again. Oops. “Ahem. Uh, just something to think about.” He hoisted himself back up into his aircraft, settling comfortably. 

Meeting the gaze of the wide-eyed boy as he lifted off the ground, Robotnik spoke in a hushed tone. “If anyone asks you, this whole saving-your-butt thing”— he waves his hand for extra effect— “never happened. Got it?”

The hedgehog blinked, then offered him a small grin in response, giving a playful salute as the doctor flew off, engine sputtering faintly.

And if anyone saw him smile at that gesture— no, you didn’t.

[catiecat1320]

Gone

Inspired by this post and a hypothetical question I asked @son1c <- This is for them!

……………………………………

A bright blue blue streaked through Green Hill. Or, at least, what used to be Green Hill. The grayed landscape seemed to taunt Sonic as he ran past; a reminder of what he had destroyed. His mind wasn’t on that, however. Only one thought reigned.

“Shadow?!”

He had to be here, right? If he wasn’t in the void, and he couldn’t enter any shatterspaces, Shadow had to be here. Sonic didn’t want to think of an alternative.

“An eternity of darkness, that decays all life…”

No. Shadow wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall down there, right? Not after the last time…

‘Focus, Sonic!’ A voice in his head scolds. It sounded suspiciously like Shadow. Geez, these past few weeks are really getting to him.

Snapping back to awareness, he realized where his subconsciousness had taken him. 

The beach. Where all his friends’… ghosts were. The one place he didn’t want to be. The one place he hadn’t searched yet.

“Shadow?” Sonic calls out, hoping to hear the familiar deep voice of his rival turned ally answer him. Nothing.

“The forest is the most beautiful place on Earth!” Amy repeated beside him. Sonic’s heart clenches at the sound. Oh, what he would give to turn back the clock. He wished he could take everything back. Listen to his friends for once. It was too late for that now. All he could do was try to fix everything. With help, of course.

“Shaaadow!” Where was he? 

Emerald eyes sweep the area. No Shadow, no Shadow, no Shadow… 

There! 

Black and red quills peek out from behind a tree. Relief filled Sonic in an instant. “Shadow! There you are! Didn’t you hear me?” He said as he hopped over, giddy once more. “You’ll never believe what happened! I saw you, but not you— a different version of you! And he had this really cool glowing arm!”

Shadow, in response, just stared past Sonic as if he didn’t exist. 

Something was wrong, horribly wrong… Did Shadow seem a little… transparent? Ignoring the pit slowly forming in his gut, Sonic reached over and waved his hand in front of Shadow’s face. “Shad—”

Suddenly, the ebony hedgehog shifted, and the words that came out of his mouth were unexpected. “I’ll do what it takes, no matter the cost.” Then he returned to the position Sonic found him in.

Sonic stared at him. One second… two… 

And realization hit him like a bullet train.

“No. No, no, no, no, NO! Y-you can’t… you can’t be…”

Sonic’s gloved fingers found themselves on Shadow’s face.

No reaction.

Sonic’s heart twists and his hand goes limp.

A forbidden tear traced down his cheek.

His breaths come in fast.

He stares into lifeless ruby eyes.

And whispers.

“You’re gone…”

[catiecat1320]

Home

AO3 Link

Part 1: Gone | Part 2: Alone | Part 3: Sorry | Epilogue: (You Are Here)

…………………………

Nothing.

There was nothing. He was nothing but a tiny consciousness, surrounded by an endless sea of darkness.

Well, conscious may not be the right word. He was barely aware.

How long has it been? Seconds? Minutes? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? 

He didn’t know. Didn’t know how or why he was here, just that he was here.

And there was nothing here.

…………………………

But then… then…

A light.

It was small, but against the eternal void, it may as well have been everything.

More came after.

Light wove through the darkness like ribbons, drifting past him, each one bringing something; a feeling, a memory, a whisper, a question.

There were many ribbons now. He reached for them.

But the void seemed reluctant to let him go, pressing on him, pulling him back. 

He reached anyway. There was something there, and he wanted— needed— to know what. 

There was someone there, he realized. Who?

Who? Who? Who? The ribbons whistled as they passed, faster now. The glow was growing steadily… but the void was stronger. Light couldn’t fill the endless void. Not without help.

He drifted over and reached for them— it— the point where everything started, a swirling pit of light. You. You. You. It murmured.

But who was that, exactly?

There was noise coming from it, from the other side, indiscernible, but growing louder, clearer, flooding his senses.

He touched the light.

Warmth. Blurry memories, at the same time, crystal clear. Happiness, sadness; worry, and relief. Everything washed over him at once.

“…Sonic!”

The void shattered.

…………………………

It had been Tails’ idea: Use a chaos emerald to funnel the prism’s energy into Sonic’s ghost, hopefully reviving him. And of course, of course he had to drag Shadow along.

It was fair, he supposed. He knew the most about the chaos emeralds out of everyone. But he didn’t mean he wanted to be here.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help bring Sonic back. For as annoying Sonic was, he was fun to fight. And he had fixed his mistakes, hadn’t he?

And maybe Shadow cared about the blue hedgehog more than he’d like to admit. Maybe he wasn’t willing to accept another permanent loss.

Shadow just didn’t want to be here, standing in this cavern, two weeks after Sonic’s… sacrifice, listening to his ghost emptily apologize over and over and over. It was torturous.

Especially as Sonic’s group of friends stood by silently and watched him try and fail to do anything, clearly feeling the same.

The chaos emerald in his grasp glowed hot, pulsing in time with the Paradox Prism. Shadow took in a deep breath and gritted his teeth before holding the emerald out and trying again. Arcs of energy came off the Prism in waves, funneling into the emerald and concentrating into a bright beam that zapped Sonic’s ghost. 

Once again, pressure built up and Shadow involuntarily tensed, a numbing feeling quickly spreading across his arm as he fought to remain in control. Several seconds later, a new record, he gasped, “It’s not enough.”

“No. It has to be. It has to work!” Tails cried. “Please. Come on, Sonic!”

As soon as those words left his lips, a deafening crack sounded as an explosion of light blasted everyone back. Shadow slammed into the stone base on which the Paradox Prism sat, a groan escaping before he flipped to his feet, the experience bringing back all too familiar memories, right down to the shattering sound that rang in his ears.

Thankfully, nothing was wrong. Quite the opposite, really. The Prism was still intact and beside it, Sonic, now on his hands and knees, chest heaving as he gasped for air.

It worked. It actually worked.

Shadow walked over and offered him a hand. “Welcome back, idiot.”

Sonic didn’t respond, peering at Shadow with a blank, unreadable expression resting on his face. It unsettled Shadow, who would’ve thought that he was still a ghost if it hadn’t been for his eyes, once again holding the spark of life. 

Breaking his gaze off the other’s, Sonic tentatively took Shadow’s hand, and the latter yanked him to his feet. Standing on shaky legs, emerald eyes met ruby again and Sonic opened his mouth…

Only to be tackled immediately by a flying blur of a fox. Shadow smirked as the two went down from the sheer force of the impact. He stood back and gave them space. “Sonic!” Tails cried joyously, wrapping his arms around the blue hedgehog and nuzzling him. “You’re back!”

Sonic just peeled Tails off him, much to the latter’s confusion and dismay. However, the hedgehog didn’t let go, instead gently running his fingers along the kit’s face, staring at him with something akin to wonder. “Tails.” He murmured, his voice cracking. “You’re real.”

“Of course I’m re—” his words cut off by Sonic pulling him in for a tight hug. He looks as if he’s afraid Tails would disappear should he let go. Which, given everything that happened, wasn’t too far fetched. The fox, unsure of how to respond to this unexpected reaction, hesitantly rubs his back. “…Sonic?”

Sonic just squeezed tighter. “I… I’m so sorry,” he whispered, missing the way everyone flinched at those words.

“Please never say that again.” Shadow said bluntly, earning him a confused look from the blue hedgehog. He didn’t bother explaining. If he heard that damned phrase one more time, he’d snap.

Amy, who’d walked over from where she’d been flung to, shot Shadow a pointed look before kneeling down beside the two brothers. “Sonic, there’s no need to be sorry,” she said, patting his shoulder gently. Sonic didn’t seem to agree, something coming over him as guilt flooded his features and he pulled away from both her and Tails.

“I… I…” he stuttered as he scooched back, quickly bumping into Knuckles.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The echidna grunted, reaching for Sonic’s arm only for him to grasp empty air as the hedgehog dodged his attempt. “Hmph. Don’t be stubborn now.”

“Yeah, hun. You’re not worming your way out of this one.” Rouge added as she fluttered over. “No one’s gonna hurt you, Blue, calm down.” 

There was panic in Sonic’s eyes now, his pained expression greatly contrasting the blank one he’d worn moments earlier. All of his friends were now surrounding him in a tight circle. Amy scooted closer to him. “It’s alright, Sonic. I know you’re not one for touchy-feely talk, so I’m going to say this: Whatever you’re sorry for, we forgive you, okay?” 

A chorus of agreement followed those words. Sonic could only stare at his friends in disbelief. “Just like that?” 

“Of course. Everyone makes mistakes, after all,” Amy replied. She reached for Sonic’s hand, only for him to jerk away. 

“No. I-It wasn’t just a mistake , Amy.” Sonic choked out, his voice shaking just as much as his body was. Tears leaked out of his eyes, prompting him to bury his face in his hands. “I-I broke the world. I broke you. And everyone and everything else. Reality was in pieces, Amy. You can’t… you can’t just forgive that. You can’t!” 

“Sonic—”

“Why not?” Shadow said, interrupting Amy. He couldn’t stand anymore of this… this… nonsense.  

Sonic looked on the verge of a panic attack, but he still peeked at Shadow through his fingers, indicating awareness. So Shadow continued. “Why is it so unforgivable? You forgave me, didn’t you? You gave me another chance after everything I’ve done, and what did I do? I threw it back in your face and beat you up after giving you the most life-shattering news you’ve ever heard. And yet you still risked your life to save me, were still so eager to work with me, not ten minutes after.” Shadow stopped right in front of Sonic and crouched down to face him. “I should be asking you for forgiveness, not the other way around. So stop with the depressing attitude. I didn’t go through all the effort to bring you back  only for you to act like I wasted my time.”

The room was silent for a few moments more. Sonic’s emerald eyes glistened, glued to Shadow’s serious expression. Then, suddenly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Shadow, pulling the ebony hedgehog off balance into a tight hug. “ Mmph. Okay, I-I’m…”

“Don’t say it.” Shadow huffed, awkwardly patting the hedgehog’s head, pretending not to notice the tears that seeped into his fur. He’d never been one for hugs; it was a bit too intimate to him, but he made an exception this time.

Then Tails came over and looped his arms around Sonic’s torso, deciding that actions would speak louder than words. The rest of his friends followed suit, forming what was essentially a cuddle pile with Sonic, still clinging to Shadow, in the center.

Shadow had never been in such a situation before. He felt himself feeling awkward surrounded by such a tight-knit bunch of friends he was not a part of. However, while part of him screeched to pull away, he found that he didn’t really mind. Subconsciously, he put his arms around Sonic, right on top of Tails’ hands. The blue hedgehog proceeded to sob, making everyone squeeze tighter in a silent urge for him to let it out.

Eventually, sobs turned to sniffles before dying down completely. Not once during that time did anyone back out of the group hug, the promise that they’ll be here unspoken, but not unheard. Only when Sonic’s breathing shifted into the tell-tale steady pattern that came with sleep did Shadow let go, prompting everyone else to do the same. 

Shadow carefully picked Sonic up in a similar fashion to how the latter had carried him out in the void. As everyone headed out, the setting sun bleeding orange through the mouth of the cave, Shadow looked back at the Paradox Prism one last time, remembering how everything started.

A lot had changed since then, most of all Sonic, who seemed to have gone through hell and back to fix things. He would have to tell his tale when he woke up.

Shadow shifted the sleeping hedgehog in his arms and pulled out the chaos emerald, uttering a quiet “chaos control” and probably startling Tails, who had come back into the cave for him and Sonic.

He took off the instant he reappeared at the foot of Temple Mountain, heading for Tails’ Lab. Careful not to jostle Sonic, he zoomed past the vibrant landscape of Green Hill, appreciating it for the first time since it all came back.

It felt good to be home.

[catiecat1320]

Beginnings

Gift for @son1c, one of my favorite Tumblr people! This story is set in their 10verse.

………………

Sails was having a terrible day.

He was crouched behind one of the many crates on deck, attempting to hide from the twin foxes that always seemed to get a kick out of bullying him. Today, Clash and Smash were particularly peeved and Sails just knew they would take it out on him. He had successfully avoided them all day, but now, things were going downhill.

Golden yellow ears pricked up at the sound of thumping footsteps. Sails curled up and held his breath, hugging his twin tails tightly. 

“Where be that freak?” One of the twins growled. “I know yer here!” 

A sudden woosh sounds out, followed by a crash as the crate is tossed aside, leaving Sails exposed. Oh, no, no, no. Clash yells in triumph and Smash runs over. “Found ye!”

Sails lets out a squeak as the twins yank on both his tails, hard. “S-stop… please, I’m sorry… What did I do bad?”

“Bad? Ye be born, that be what!” Clash said as he pushed the little fox to the ground. “Ya little freak.”

Smash goes to get something before coming back, a malicious gleam in his eye. “Say, why don’t we solve yer problem fer ya?” He reveals the length of rope in his hand, as well as an iron weight. Clash cackled as Sails stared in horror, realizing just what the two had planned.

“W-wait. Please! I’m sorry! W-we can talk about this!” But Sails’ cries went unheard as the twins restrained him and tied him firmly.

“Ye ain’t gettin’ out of this one. Freak.” Clash taunted as his twin scooped Sails up and carried him over to the stern. Despite his best efforts to wriggle out of Smash’s grasp, Sails was still very stuck. 

Dangling over the edge of the water, the ocean had never looked so daunting. Sails could already feel the cold, unforgiving water surrounding him. Drowning him. “No. No! Please! Have mercy! Ah!”

Clash and Smash wore identical smirks as they tossed him overboard. “Buh-bye!” They shout in unison.

In the split second Sails was airborne, he spotted a speck in the sky. It seemed to be getting closer; diving downward, fast.

Then the ocean swallowed him whole.

………………

Diving into the ocean was not on Gale’s to do list for today. Then again, life is unpredictable when you’re literally the stuff of legends.

He’d been exploring for a while now and just on his way home (a half submerged metal tube thing he discovered one day and claimed as his own) when he heard commotion from a ship down below. He descended to check it out… only to find two dickheads throwing a fox kit overboard. 

Fury surged within him, and the wind picked up in response to his emotions. He wanted to toss them into the ocean tied up to see how they liked it. But that would have to wait.

Without another thought, Gale tucked in his wings, propelling himself toward the ocean and inevitably giving the ship’s crew a shock. He made a mental note to come back and give them a piece of his mind. 

He hit the water with a fwoosh, the cold slapping him in the face. Ugh. Had he mentioned how much he hated the ocean? Now, where was that fox kit?…

There. Gale could make out a squirming yellow figure sinking into the depths. He awkwardly paddled toward them, hoping to catch up before they sank too far for him to reach.

(Yes, he lived in a world of water. Yes, he couldn’t swim. Shut up.)

………………

Sails tried to keep calm to conserve his air, but that was kind of hard to do when you’re about to die. He struggled uselessly against his bonds, hoping to free himself. His lungs burned with the effort. Was there any chance that he’d make it? 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sails spots something— someone— coming closer. The fox stills, his own sky blue eyes locking onto glowing emerald in a silent plea for help.

.

Gale gestures for the bound fox kit to hold still as he reaches into his quills for one of the treasures he’d found earlier: an ornate knife. He had been drawn to the intricate patterns carved into it, but now he thanked fate for giving him this tool. Unsheathing it, he worked at the rope, cursing the dullness of the blade. 

.

The second Sails was free, he twisted his twin tails like a propeller and shot to the surface, gasping for air. That was close. Too close.

He turns around to thank whoever it was for saving him… only to realize that they hadn’t resurfaced. Panic fills the fox once more, and he fills his lungs with air before diving back down to check on them.

.

The little fox was now okay; however, Gale was not. He had not accounted for his inability to swim when he impulsively took a plunge to save the kit. His now waterlogged wings didn’t do him any favors while he was trying to reach the surface. It seemed that the more he paddled, the more he sank. Shit.

Then, a stream of bubbles attracted his attention. The little fox was back, swimming down to Gale with outstretched hands. Heh, the tables have turned. 

Flashing a grateful smile he wasn’t sure could be seen, he took the kit’s hands and let himself be pulled to the surface.

………………

Gale took in a lungful of air, gasping. He flailed for a second before stretching his wings out to keep afloat. Once he was sure that he wasn’t in danger of sinking, he turned to the kit. “You alright?” He asked while fishing his hat out of the water.

The fox nodded. “Thanks for savin’ me,” he murmurs. He studied Gale closely. “I’m Sails. ‘n you are…?”

“Gale! You may have heard of me. It’s nice to meet you,”  Gale replied.

Sails’ blue eyes widened in shock. “Gale? The Gale? Yer a legend! Capt’n tells us ‘bout you. You help people ‘n sink ‘em too!”

“Hmph. I only sink ships when necessary. Some people require drastic measures.” Gale explains, secretly satisfied with being recognized. “C’mon now, let’s find somewhere dry. I can’t fly with wet wings like this.”

“I gotchu!” Sails happily announced. The fox shifts, exposing his tail— or tails, in this case— before twirling them really fast. Within seconds, Sails is airborne, to Gale’s pleasant surprise. He hangs on tightly to the kit as they lift up out of the water completely and head towards a nearby islet.

“Why, aren’t you full of surprises? You can fly with your tails?”

Sails winces at the word tails, clearly uncomfortable talking about it. Gale has a sneaking suspicion that his extra appendage had played a hand in him getting thrown overboard. Rage pools in his gut, but he quickly tamps it down, opting to give the fox his support instead.

“Hey. Whatever they said to you, ignore it, okay? They’re a bunch of morons for not appreciating you.” Gale says as they land on the sandy beach. Sails looks at him with uncertainty, and Gale once again feels anger towards whoever did this to the little fox. “Look, Sails. I think you’re awesome.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” Gale responds, scooting closer and ruffling yellow bangs affectionately. “You’re brave, you’re capable, you’re probably a smartie pants too, and as a bonus, you can fly! And I’ve only known you for, like, 10 minutes; you probably can do better stuff! If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what awesome is.”

At this, Sails cracks a smile. “No one’s ever told me I’m awesome before.”

“Well, I’ll be here to tell you all the time, little buddy.” Gale replies, throwing a wing around the fox. Sails looks up at him curiously before leaning closer and wrapping his arms around Gale.

“Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” Gale murmured, gently petting Sails as the day’s events caught up to the kit and lulled him to sleep. Looking down at the peaceful expression that graced his face, Gale vowed then and there that he wouldn’t ever let anyone harm Sails ever again.

As for the ones that have already hurt him… Gale would have to make them pay. 

The sun was rapidly setting, coloring the sky a fiery orange that matched the spark that had flared within him. Gale scoops the sleeping fox up, stretches his wings and takes off toward home, carrying what would turn out to be his greatest treasure in his arms.

[catiecat1320]

🌟Superstar🌟

[catiecat1320]

In honor of Sonadowtober, I have made a fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50977381/chapters/128789914

[catiecat1320]

Sorry

Just realized that I never posted this to Tumblr, oopsies! AO3 Link

Part 1: Gone | Part 2: Alone | Part 3: (You Are Here) | Epilogue: Home

…………………………

It was over. It was finally over.

The last shard of the Paradox Prism snapped in with a magnetic pull, joining back with the other four. A burst of light and energy washed over Green Hill, restoring it to its previous form, full of life and color.

Relief flooded through Sonic and he let out an exhausted sigh. His limbs ached and his head pounded from everything he’d been through; he wanted to collapse, then and there, and take a nice, long nap. However, he still had other things to do; people— friends — to check on.

But when Sonic tried to move, tried to get out of that stupid cave, he found that he could barely take a step. Something was pulling at him, rooting him to the spot.

The Prism. 

Panic coursed through the hedgehog for the umpteenth time and he struggled to get away, much to the distress of his already overworked body. He could feel the Paradox Prism tugging at his mind, his consciousness, and he understood, somehow. It wanted its energy back. The energy that Sonic had absorbed so much of, he practically lived off it. It wanted him.

No, no, no. Not right now. He wanted to— needed to— make sure that everything had worked out. He needed to make sure that they were okay. 

But the prism only tightened its grip. Sonic pushed right back at it, unwilling to give up, even as numbness sank in and he saw his form flicker. Even as he felt the prism tearing at his mind, pulling his consciousness to shreds. He needed to know that they’d come back, even if it was the last thought to run through him. 

Relief came in the form of a black and red hedgehog, who had evidently ran up Temple Mountain in a hurry, a golden trail in his wake. Sonic felt the tension leave him as he stopped fighting the prism and it eagerly unraveled his threads. His form flickered again, horrifying Shadow, who yelled something. It came through to Sonic garbled and incoherent, not that he cared much.

Shadow was alright. His friends would be okay. He’d done it. 

Sonic couldn’t help the smile that graced his face as he flickered one last time, his body remaining translucent. Oblivious to Shadow’s approach, he shut his eyes as darkness took over his mind.

The last thought he had was that it was too bad that he never got to see his friends again.

Tell them I’m sorry, would you, Shadow? 

…………………………

When Shadow had come to, he’d been confused. The vivid colors of the landscape around him assaulted his senses. He’d grown too used to the desaturated ghostly version of home.

He hadn’t been the only one feeling lost, though. Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge were all collecting themselves, trying to figure out what had happened. The last thing that they remembered was Sonic launching himself at the Paradox Prism. But Shadow knew more than that.

The Prism. Shadow had realized with a start. If he and everything else was back to normal, then Sonic must have fixed it. 

But where was Sonic? He’d assumed that the blue hedgehog would’ve been here already, given his supernatural speed, and be yammering to his friends with that annoyingly chipper voice of his. Unless…

Unless something was wrong. Shadow couldn’t think of another reason Sonic wouldn’t have rushed right back to see his friends. He’d turned to look at the cloud ringed peak of Temple Mountain, worry building in his gut.

Rouge had approached him, saying something that Shadow tuned out. “I think something’s wrong with Sonic,” he’d muttered before firing up his air shoes and speeding towards the place where everything started.

.

At the top of the mountain, Shadow peered into the cavern. The first thing he laid his eyes on was the Paradox Prism, now complete once more. The next thing… Sonic, standing right next to the giant crystal. 

He looked terrible, nothing like the hyperactive hedgehog he’d come to know. There were bags under his eyes, his quills were unkempt, and his blue fur was no longer as vibrant as Shadow remembered. Pain was etched into his every feature, and he was breathing heavily, seemingly struggling against some invisible force.

But as soon as Sonic laid eyes on Shadow, he relaxed. Then, to Shadow’s horror, his form flickered to translucency, much like his own had before. Suppressed memories came flooding back: a numbing feeling, a splitting headache, panic as he realized what was happening, and acceptance when he found that he was no longer able to escape Ghost Hill. 

Shadow shook it off and called out Sonic’s name as he scrambled to get down to him.

This couldn’t be happening. Could it? 

Shadow stopped just a couple feet in front of Sonic as the latter shifted to ghost completely. A single tear slipped out from beneath blue eyelids and Shadow brushed it away. “Sonic?”

Sonic’s eyes opened, revealing dull emeralds that held no life. He stared at nothing as Shadow took a step back. Then another, and another, until he was pressed against the cave wall. Never did he take his gaze away from the ghost that now stood by the prism. 

No. The prism was fixed. Everything was supposed to be okay. 

Against the short breaths and rapid heartbeat that rang in his ears, Shadow heard the sound of a plane engine. Tails’ voice called, “Sonic?! Shadow?!” It was followed by a series of gasps as the friends were met with the same sight that had greeted Shadow earlier. 

All four of them rushed to Sonic’s side, with Tails being first. Shadow made no move to stop them. Before any of them could say a word, however, as if on cue, Sonic’s form shifted and he spoke the phrase that he would repeat for eternity.

Just two words, yet it hurt Shadow in a way he’d never felt.

“I’m sorry.” 

[catiecat1320]

Alone

This is a continuation of Gone. (It was supposed to be a one-shot, but my brain decided to make this up in the middle of the night. There’s one part left.)

…………………

Atop Temple Mountain, there is a hollow. A hollow created by Eggman in his mad grab for the Paradox Prism. It was in that hollow that everything had started; the prism had been broken and the Shatterverse had been created from its remains.

It was in that hollow that Sonic had destroyed everything, everyone he'd ever cared for.

Sonic was there now, perched near the entrance, staring at the only remaining shard of the prism and remembering the many things had happened in this cavern.

It seemed like only yesterday when Shadow had led him here and a fight had broken out between the two of them. It seemed like only yesterday that Shadow had been okay. 

Why did things keep getting worse?

It was now that Sonic finally understood what Shadow had meant that day. Because everything Sonic had ever known had been snatched away. Because Shadow was gone now, the only thing left of him a mirage. And, spread out through the shatterspaces, three alternate, distorted versions of him.

Those versions weren’t real. They weren’t real like Shadow was— had been. They didn’t act like Shadow, they didn’t fight like Shadow. They didn’t know Green Hill like Shadow did, and they didn’t want to bring it back. 

Sonic wants Shadow back. He wants all of his friends, his real friends, back. He wants his home back, his life back.

Tears rolled down his face, dripping onto his lap. When had he started crying again? As Sonic wiped at his eyes in a futile attempt to stem his tears, the voices in his head stirred. 

 Stop crying, idiot.

 You should be fixing this mess.

(They sounded sharp; accusing.)

You should have listened to them. Tails. Amy. Knuckles. Rouge. Shadow.

 Nothing would have happened if they’d been in charge.

 This is all your fault.

(They… they sounded like his friends.)

 You took them us all for granted.

 You destroyed everything.

 Yet you call yourself a hero?

 Disaster.

 Disgrace.

 Failure.

  You

 Deserve 

 To

 Be

 Alone

 Alone.

“N-no,” Sonic whispered, his voice trembling. He clamped his hands over his ears and curled up tight. “S-stop. Please. I… I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” 

Tears streamed down his cheeks. He made no attempt to stop them now. He felt like he was suffocating; unable to breathe, or think. The shadowy cave seemed to press in on him. Everything seemed to fall away.

The voices grew louder, more persistent, filled with animosity and blame.

I know, Sonic wanted to scream.

I know it’s my fault. 

And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did.

But sorry isn’t enough, is it?

I wish I could take it all back.

I wish I’d never known you.

Then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

Then maybe things would be okay.

Then maybe you’d still be here.

And I would be the one to suffer.

I’m sorry.

So sorry.

…………………

Sonic had no idea how long he sat there for, panic rendering him immobile. He’d eventually cried himself to sleep, his friends’ hate-filled voices still ringing in his head. 

When he came to, Sonic felt… better, for lack of another term. The voices had receded, reduced to whispers that tugged at the back of his mind, urging him to hurry up and go. 

He felt numb, both inside and out, as he stood up and stretched. 

Sonic took one more glance at ghost prism, along with the yellow shard, before jumping out the mouth of the cavern. As he zipped down the side of the cliff, straining to build up prism energy, he whispered a promise to nothing and everything.

“I’ll fix my mistakes. I’ll bring this reality back. No matter what it takes.”