Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

       Sonic

It’s raining again, but it does nothing to tame The Flames surrounding the city. It seems like no matter how much it rains the city will always be burning. Sonic sits on the ledge of a building that managed to stay up. He sighs and adjusts the wrap around his shoulders, the lump inside protests slightly, making the hedgehog check on the little creature inside.

“Hey little one, did I wake you?” Sonic asks, the small silver quilled hedgehog yawns and coos up at Sonic.

His son reaches up to him with his tiny paws, Sonic responds in kind by offering his finger to his little boy. It’s been a few months since he gave birth to the little one, and in that time the world has dissolved into chaos. Silver is too young to understand anything yet, and Sonic is hopeful that despite the destruction around them, he will raise Silver to be a great hero. The hero he knows Silver will become. Silver takes hold of the finger and uses it to suckle on, Sonic should think it’s gross but he can’t move past how cute Silver is.

“You spoil him too much.” A voice comes from behind Sonic, the blue hedgehog smiles down at his son. 

He knows his mate’s scent and voice too well now. Shadow walks up to Sonic, sitting next to him and looking over Sonic’s shoulder to see Silver. He adjusts the hood of his cloak to shield the baby from the rain.

“I spoil him just the right amount.” Sonic lightly jabs, leaning into Shadow. 

The two admire their child, for a moment they can ignore the rain and the destruction all around them. Shadow gives a light peck to Sonic’s cheek, usually a rare moment but since the world fell apart around them Shadow has shown a gentler side. The two hedgehogs are all that remain from their group, Knuckles and Rouge went off together to find a solution for the destruction, Amy and Tails stayed nearby to keep some semblance of order but Sonic didn’t feel safe in one spot anymore, he’s not sure he ever will. Shadow followed Sonic on his journey, claiming it was to make sure the blue idiot doesn’t kill their baby, but Sonic knows the real reason. Mates can’t go too far from each other without going feral, plus Shadow will do anything to keep Sonic alive. He knows it’s too much pressure, but Sonic has to go where the wind takes him. 

They admire their child some before Shadow stiffens, hearing something in the distance. It takes Sonic longer to notice the disturbance.

“G.U.N. is coming, we need to leave.” Shadow quickly stands, Sonic covers Silver back up in the makeshift pouch and apologizes for the sudden movement. Sonic adjusts everything so he can run, feeling a dull pain in his side. He’s not as agile as he used to be, between the battles from Badniks, G.U.N. and The Flames of Disaster, he’s taken a good amount of damage. He won’t admit it aloud but he’s feeling a bit run down nowadays. Shadow offers a hand that Sonic ignores, and they quickly set off to their home base.

—-

“He’s hungry.” Sonic unwraps the pouch and takes Silver out. His baby coos again, giving a big toothless smile at him. Sonic returns the smile, hugging his son close. Shadow is messing with the controls of a teleporter they’ve been working on. “Little guy wants more and more each day. You’re going to get big and strong aren’t you?” Silver coos happily as Sonic offers him a bottle, he feeds easily without fuss.

“Big strong hero!” Sonic exclaims, rolling his eyes. He looks over to Shadow, who seems to be ignoring the two. “Hey, you hear me?”

“Yes.” Shadow plainly replies. Hissing when a wire shocks him, he gives a glare to the machine. Clearly wanting to hit it. “Tails said it was functional but this stupid thing isn’t working.”

“Probably because you’re messing with it so much.” Sonic states, which earns him a glare from his mate. “What? It worked before when big Silver came through to help.” 

“He also had a chaos emerald, emeralds we are missing.” Shadow huffs out, giving the machine a hard kick before giving up. “Big Silver.” He shakes his head in disapproval.

“Hm, hitting it usually works.” Sonic mocks, Shadow ignores him and sits down nearby to look over the map they have laid out. Silver finishes his breakfast and Sonic lays him in his bed for a nap. The baby settles quickly and sleeps gently, not a care in the world about what is going on around him. 

Sonic walks over to Shadow, who is peering over the map. The map is cluttered with “X”s, Flame drawings, pins and rocks. The X’s are for possible emerald locations, most turn up empty. The pins are for Badniks and the rocks are for G.U.N. It was Sonic’s idea to draw the little flames on the map, to show much of the city is being taken over. 

Most of the people have either gone into bunkers deep underground or dead, G.U.N. sends drones to find anyone remaining, but between the Badniks and the Flames it’s a constant struggle. The Flames of Disaster have mostly consumed the whole world at this point, Shadow saw no point to putting it on the map. Dr. Robotnik is still trying to find Sonic through all of the mess, Sonic is impressed by his tenacity. He wonders if the doctor has found any solution or is just chasing after Sonic out of habit. Sonic has wanted to turn himself over to the doctor, but when he thinks about leaving Shadow and Silver alone he quickly retreats. Sonic is lost in thought when he feels a hand on his face, moving him to kiss Shadow. The hedgehog looks surprised for a moment, then smirks at his mate.

“What was that for?” Sonic asks, Shadow just shrugs.

“You looked too distant, had to get you back here.” Shadow says plainly. Sonic’s smirk fades, he looks back at the map and hops onto the table. He moves several pins and rocks out of their spots, earning a growl from Shadow.

“What are you doing!?” Shadow pushes Sonic to move the pieces back, Sonic laughs and leaves a peck on Shadow’s cheek. His mate glares at him, but there’s no bite behind it. “You’re the worst, why do I stick with you?”

“Because you looooovee me.” Sonic elongates his words, sticking out his tongue and hoping off the map so Shadow now has an activity. Before Sonic can go far he is grabbed and pulled against Shadow’s chest. He feels the other hedgehog’s strong heartbeat, the breath just by his ear.

“I do…and I will do anything to keep you.” Shadow’s voice is hoarse, like it’s coming from deep within. Sonic can’t help the shiver he feels at the words, Shadow reaches across Sonic’s chest and stomach. Holding Sonic close to him, rubbing his hands through Sonic’s blue fur. Sonic can feel a heavy sigh come from Shadow as he lays his head against Sonic’s shoulder. Sonic wraps his arms around Shadow’s arms, feeling the soft fur and wanting nothing more than to pet it.

“I’m not going anywhere, Shads.” Sonic replies, he isn’t sure why the sudden cuddle session but he won’t be opposed to it. For a moment they are silent, all they can hear is the soft snores from their son. Eventually Shadow lets go of Sonic, turning him to face his mate. He gently caresses Sonic’s face in his hand, gives a small smirk and plucks at a stray quill.

“You’re a mess, go to bed love. I’ll clean up your quills in a moment.” Sonic can’t do more than nod at this gentle side of Shadow. Even though it’s more common now it still surprises Sonic every time. 

Sonic feels tipsy, he grabs Silver’s cradle and isn’t sure if he’s being careful enough to not disturb the baby. Thankfully Silver doesn’t give much fuss and Sonic lays on the bed staring up at the ceiling. The future is uncertain but he knows that they can make it through together.

Chapter Text

Shadow

As Sonic lays sleeping in their makeshift bed Shadow can’t shake the conversation he had with ‘big’ Silver.

“I never had parents, or any guardians. It was always just Blaze and I.”

Shadow had asked randomly on their adventure, before all of this happened. At the time it meant nothing, Shadow didn’t have ‘parents', and Sonic has never mentioned any either. However, when Sonic gave birth to a tiny silver quilled bundle, Shadow knew what the future held for them. Mephiles showed Shadow his future, and Sonic wasn’t in it. That terrified Shadow more than anything. 

Their son would be without his parents, he would become the hero of this age but Sonic would be missing or dead; and Shadow would be captured. If Silver doesn’t even remember having parents then this future is rapidly approaching. Shadow stares at Sonic, trying to catalog every detail. Shadow knows that everyone will pass, Sonic won’t be here forever, despite his best efforts. Silver will even fade from history, but Shadow will remain. He wills the dark thoughts away, wanting to just enjoy this moment of peace. 

He lets out a deep sigh, getting up from the bed and heading back into the lab. The teleporter sits in its broken state, and yet Shadow can still feel the thick air around it. It makes his quills stand on edge. He walks beyond it and tugs on a latch stuck to the ground, a status pod powers on, lifting from the floor as the light inside flickers on. At least this functions, a failsafe in case things go terribly wrong. He checks to make sure everything is in working order before sending it back into the ground. Shadow nods his approval before working on the teleporter again. He will make sure whatever comes, Sonic and Silver are safe.

____

It’s late morning by the time Sonic and Silver appear from the bedroom. He yawns loudly, mostly to announce his presence. 

“How long have you been up?” Sonic asks, holding their son close. Shadow ignores the question, giving another hard kick to the teleporter. “Come on man, that’s not going to-” The machine whirs to life, every light shining brightly. “Huh…I stand corrected.” 

“Tough love.” Shadow replies and Sonic raises a brow at him. 

“So now what?” Sonic states, walking over to Shadow. He examines the machine and steps back when he feels the heavy air.

“Right now it only teleports to the nearest machine, we can’t time travel without an emerald. I have no clue where the other machine may be, that was going to be today’s mission.” Shadow states, gently taking Silver from Sonic and giving his son a small peck. The baby stirs and smiles widely, grabbing Shadow’s face with his tiny paws. Shadow can see Sonic’s bright smile in the corner of his vision, Shadow leans in closer to Silver, whispering to him.

“Never forget that I love you.” The baby coos happily, Shadow takes that as affirmation. He offers Silver back to Sonic, but he shakes his head.

“That was way too cute, you should hold onto him today.” Sonic beams, clearly wanting to take a photo, however their communicator pads broke long ago. Shadow smirks at that small triumph and starts readying for their adventure. He isn’t sure how he can tell Sonic the truth about the future, he leans into Silver again, giving a nudge with his nose to the happy little creature. 

“Wish your dad luck, I’m going to need it.” Shadow whispers again, baby Silver coos again and grips onto his chest fur tightly. “Ow, very unhelpful.” 

Sonic looks over to them in confusion but Shadow shakes his head in reply. Soon the three are ready to set out for their trip.

_____

Sonic

The heat has been intense today, it seems like yesterday’s rain made Iblis angrier. It is trailing close to the pair of hedgehogs today. The indicator gives a warning that the teleporter is nearby, but so are the Flames. They run into the closest building to avoid Iblis. A tendril of fire slams hard into the entrance, Sonic can feel its growl as it tries to move further in but cannot detach from the main body. 

“Shadow, take Silver up to higher ground! I got this!” Shadow nods and departs quickly, Sonic does a quick stretch before going into his Spin Dash and causing a whirlwind to form around the Flames. The tendril swings at Sonic, only hitting his after image. Sonic moves the whirlwind higher up, the Flames hiss and go for another attack. It takes another swipe at Sonic, this time it grabs his ankle. He winces at the pain but he hits the sprinkler just in time. It sputters and then explodes in a spray of very questionable water. The Flames shriek before retreating back, Sonic smirks as he descends, catching a hanging light to watch the show. Iblis hisses and trashes, smacking into pillars as it retreats from the building.

“Hmph, still got it.” Sonic proudly states, looking around while still hanging. “Shadow!?” He shouts. He can’t see anything through the downpour, he will hate cleaning this later.

“Over here!” Shadow replies, Sonic looks over and smiles when he sees his mate on a nearby bridge between floors. Sonic tries to figure out a good landing place before jumping down when the building suddenly jolts. When Iblis hit the concrete it must have damaged the building’s integrity. Sonic clings tighter to the light, which is now starting to detach from the ceiling. 

“Oh come on!” Sonic shouts in frustration, he hears Shadow yell for him but he’s too busy trying to figure out how to land upright. Unfortunately he doesn’t have time to make a decision, the light rips from the ceiling as a few concrete pillars crumble down. Sonic tries to slide down the side of the entryway but a giant block flies towards him, hitting his side and causing Sonic to veer off course. He tries getting back on track but his ankle gives out. He tumbles down, only seeing a spinning world of gray before the world goes dark.

Chapter Text

Shadow

“Sonic!!” Shadow screams as the building shifts downward, he tries going towards Sonic but has to stop himself for Silver’s sake. Shadow moves upwards to avoid the collapsing pillars and he manages to get to a floor that is mostly stable. He sighs out and checks on Silver, the baby is crying loudly due to the commotion around him.

“Shh it’s okay, we’ll find him.” Shadow looks around desperately, the building settles into its new position fairly quickly and Shadow is heading back down. He finally reaches the bottom floor but there’s too much debris.

“Sonic! Answer me!” Shadow shouts, Silver seems to cry louder in response. Shadow tries tuning out the crying to hear for any signs of life. “If you’re dead I’m going to kill you! You hear me!?” There’s still no answer and Shadow can feel his chest tighten. He goes to the massive pile of broken concrete and starts pulling chunks up and away, there’s no sign of life still and Shadow’s faith is fading quickly. 

“Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me.” Shadow begs, he pulls a large chunk away and sees blue fur underneath, his pace quickens as he pushes away more debris. Finally he can see Sonic’s upper half, Shadow lays his hand on his mate’s chest to check for life. He can feel breaths and a heartbeat but it’s weak; the concrete still on him is too much pressure. 

Shadow tries to lift the block but it’s far too heavy, it looks like Sonic is pinned under the pillar. Shadow heaves as much as he can but can only move it a small amount. Silver continues crying, Shadow tries hushing Silver while struggling to move the pillar and ignore his own brewing panic. Shadow takes a couple of breaths before trying to lift the pillar up again, suddenly it becomes feather light. Shadow has to let go to watch it shift and lift on its own, he stands in shock as it stands upright. When he looks down Sonic is free, and there is a blue shine around Silver. The baby has gone quiet, his eyes closed as he seems to be focusing. Shadow doesn’t have much time and grabs Sonic out of the rubble and moves away from the pile. Soon after, the pillar falls again and everything collapses once more, the building starts shifting again, they need to get out. 

Shadow moves Silver to his back as he cradles Sonic, they manage to escape before the building finally tumbles down. Thankfully Iblis ignores the hedgehogs in favor of the destruction and they leave without notice. Shadow takes them to a nearby building, this one seems to be more stable and Shadow will take whatever he can get. Once inside he lays Sonic down gently, checking him over. He sees the burn around Sonic’s ankle, there are scratches and cuts everywhere but most seem superficial. He spots blood at Sonic’s side, when Shadow touches the area Sonic flinches but doesn’t wake. He undoes his pack and grabs the medical supplies he brought. He wraps up Sonic’s waist and ankle, the blood doesn’t seem to continue. Once done Shadow touches Sonic’s cheek, his mate groans in response. 

“Wake up, please wake up.” He pleads, Sonic doesn’t respond. Shadow then growls and pushes hard on Sonic’s chest, forcing the hedgehog awake from the pain. 

“Augh! Ow!” Sonic groans, blinking his eyes open and clutching his side. “Hey there.” Shadow glares down at him, ready to punch his stupid mate in the face.

“You nearly died! Do you understand that!? You always do these reckless things and expect everything to be okay and never think about the consequences! I thought this was going to be it! What if I didn’t find you?! What if Silver didn’t…” Shadow pauses, turning the pouch carrying his son around to his front. The baby coos up at him, the glow has faded and there’s no sign of any powers.

“I know, I know. “ Sonic coughs, still unable to stand from the pain. “Wait, what do you mean? What did Silver do?” He raises a brow, trying to sit up but the pain is too much. 

“He moved the pillar that was pinning you down, I couldn’t lift it on my own but suddenly it became light and Silver was…glowing.” Shadow admires his son, then looks to Sonic. He grabs Sonic by the chest fur, earning a pained hiss from Sonic before he locks lips with the blue hedgehog. Sonic doesn’t kiss back at first, obviously very confused by the whirlwind of emotions. Soon he catches on and kisses his mate back, an apology for the scare.

When they break the kiss Shadow is glaring again, Sonic gives a weak smile in return.

“Listen, you have to give me a second to recover here. I have a few follow up questions.” Sonic sighs, laying his head back down.

“We don’t have time.” Shadow growls, Sonic waves him off.

“You’re mad at me.”

“Incredibly.”

“You love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Silver has powers.”

“Yes, and we know that.”

“Yeah but he’s just a baby! How did he know what was going on?” Sonic says, Shadow doesn’t reply. “Don’t worry faker, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Sonic jokes as he looks to Shadow, who is repositioning Silver onto his back again. 

“We’re done with questions, let’s go. Can you walk?” Shadow stands, waiting for Sonic to respond in kind. Sonic sighs and starts to move, but he winces and falls back down. Shadow is quickly next to him, offering his hand to help. Sonic takes it and with help stands up.

“My legs feel like jelly, and my side is killing me.” He places a hand where it bothers him, Shadow moves to support Sonic. 

“Well I guess we’re not going home tonight, but we can at least find a safer area to camp.” Shadow says, Sonic nods his approval of the idea. Together they slowly make their way further into the building, trying to find a quieter place away from the chaos. 

Sonic

Sonic is thankful that they packed food just in case they got stuck out here. He has his bad leg elevated and is playing with Silver while he recovers. Shadow has been quiet, well more quiet than normal. Sonic holds Silver close, watching to see any more signs of telekinetic powers but the baby just smiles like nothing happened today. After a good while of uncomfortable silence Sonic speaks up.

“I’m sorry about earlier, I honestly didn’t think an entire building was going to fall on top of me.” Sonic apologies, Shadow takes a moment before replying.

“Hmph.” Shadow grunts; great, this is going to be like pulling quills.

“Are you going to talk to me?”

“Yes.” 

“Can it be now? You know I hate this game.” Sonic states, getting fed up quickly. That earns a hard glare from Shadow. Oh no.

“This isn’t a game, Sonic.” Shadow growls. “You were reckless again and it nearly cost your life, don’t you get it? Can’t you think about what that would mean? For Silver and for me? Your son, who can’t form words, knew that you were in danger and lifted a pillar completely off of you. What if he was with you when this happened? He would be dead and we would have no future! I listened to you because I had Silver and was stupidly confident that you wouldn’t die on me!” Shadow’s teeth are out now, ready to tear into Sonic. “When you die, Mephiles will be right and we’re all doomed!” Shadow freezes, taking a step back. 

“Wait…when I die?” Sonic asks again, “what do you mean ‘ when’ I die?”

“I…shit…forget it…I didn’t…” Shadow stumbles, panic starting to show in his expression.

“No, who said I was going to die? How do you know that?” Sonic presses, his mate is trying to look anywhere but at him. Sonic pushes himself to stand and slowly limps towards Shadow. “Who said that?”

“Silver…Mephiles…” Shadow replies. Sonic can see Shadow’s pained expression. “Please…forget what I said.” 

“Tell me Shadow, I won’t be mad but I want the truth.” Sonic states firmly, he hobbles up to Shadow and gently places a hand on his mate’s cheek. Shadow stiffens for just a moment before settling and taking a deep breath. He takes Sonic’s hand in his rubbing at his fur and uses his other arm to support Sonic’s weight.

“When Silver and Mephiles came to our time, their past, Mephiles said that the world would blame me for the The Flames of Disaster and Omega will capture and imprison me.” Shadow explains, Sonic hadn’t known about this; his expression fell. 

“Why? Why would they do that?” Sonic asks.

“Because…because their hero will die and they will assume it was me.” Shadow gives a shaky sigh. “When Silver and I traveled to learn about Solaris, I asked him about his upbringing. He said he had no parents or guardians, just him and Blaze. At the time I thought nothing of it; but now…now it means everything Mephiles said will come true. I just don’t know when.” 

Sonic is too stunned to reply, he just stands there with his mouth hanging open. From the moment Silver was born Shadow knew what was going to happen. He remembers Shadow’s face when Silver was born, the sad look behind that smile. Sonic didn’t know what it meant, why he looked that way. He had assumed it was something to do with Maria; he would never assume it meant…this! Soon his ankle gives out and he sinks down. Shadow catches him from falling and they end up on the floor. 

“So you knew…all this time?” Sonic asks after a long pause.

“Y-yes. I didn’t know how to tell you, and I was…I suppose hoping that it wouldn’t come true. Now that Silver can use his powers and The Flames are getting worse it can only be a matter of time.” Shadow’s voice comes out weakly, Sonic can feel him shaking. He wants to be mad, but he can’t, there’s a high chance Sonic would do something reckless and get himself killed, today was a great example. Shadow clings tightly to Sonic, like he’s expecting Sonic to move away from him.

“But I didn’t die, that’s good right? I’ll just make sure I stay alive!” Sonic states, trying to lighten the mood. Shadow scuffs, shaking his head. Sonic notices tears at the corner of his eyes. Crap.

Sonic frowns and reaches for Shadow’s face again. The other hedgehog avoids the gesture, looking down at the ground. Sonic knows that look, when he goes far away and can’t hear anyone. It’s been awhile since he’s had an episode like this. Sonic sighs out, letting the discussion drop for now. He gently places a hand on Shadow’s cheek. 

“Hey, I’m right here. I haven’t gone anywhere. I won’t go anywhere.” Sonic reassures Shadow, he can feel the short breaths starting. He moves his hand to have Shadow look down at Silver. “Look, that’s your son. He’s alive and he’s right here. I’m here too, okay?” Sonic takes Shadow’s hand and lays it atop the now sleeping baby, then to Sonic’s chest. Shadow exhales a weak breath, leaning into Sonic’s shoulder. 

They sit like that for a while, the crackling fire being the only sound. Sonic winces when he tries to adjust his leg, Shadow quickly scoops Sonic up and takes them closer to the campfire. Once settled Sonic leans his head on top of Shadow while his mate leans into his chest. Silver is sleeping soundly between them. Sonic won’t let this future come true, he won’t let anyone take this from him. He just needs to figure out how to stop it.

Chapter Text

Sonic

Eventually Shadow calmed down enough to lay down on top of Sonic’s chest. Silver is sleeping in a small bundle of blankets to Sonic’s side, right now the chaos seems so far away. Sonic thinks about the news that was just dropped on him. If he dies, then Shadow is captured and what happens to Silver? Is he just a baby when this happens? If that’s the case then it will be soon, but how soon? There’s too many possibilities it makes Sonic’s head spin. He tries to stand up to walk off the thoughts but Shadow has a death grip on his fur, even when asleep he impresses Sonic. 

The hedgehog sighs, not able to move or sleep he just stares at the ceiling. The building they’re in seems like it was for offices, people were here working their normal jobs and not knowing about The Flames of Disaster or what evil plan Eggman had next. Eggman! Maybe Eggman has an idea! No, that’s a bad idea, for one Shadow would never allow a team up. Plus the mad scientist is still looking for them, but they don’t know the reason. What if he’s trying to stop The Flames too? Usually he’s trying to take over the world and Sonic tends to foil any plans, but there isn’t a world to rule anymore so why is he looking for them? 

The badniks haven’t been in play for a while now, they must have lost track of the pair. The Flames probably force Eggman to stay in one place as well, that’ll help Sonic look for him. He feels pride swell inside and smiles to himself. He has a plan now, find Eggman, stop the future Shadow saw and maybe save the world in the process.

Sonic yawns, sleep finally catching up to him. He buries his face into Shadow’s quills and takes a moment to enjoy this feeling. 

“I’ll protect us.” Sonic whispers before falling asleep. His proclamation wakes up Shadow, the hedgehog lets out a sigh.

That’s what I’m afraid of. Shadow briefly thinks before he’s overtaken by sleep again.

Shadow

“That’s a terrible idea.” Shadow states, feeding Silver a milk bottle. Sonic gives an exasperated huff at him.

“No, it's a great idea.” Sonic defends. “We don’t know why Eggman is even after us! What if he’s trying to find a solution to Iblis? Maybe he needs us to help and that’s why he’s looking. It isn’t the first time we’ve had to team up.”

“He has also created several beings specifically to kill you, so no.” Shadow rebuttals.

“Ugh! Why aren’t you giving this any thought!?” Sonic groans, sitting on a nearby desk and pouting. Silver whines when he finishes his bottle, clearly wanting more than what they brought with. Shadow shushes him and lifts him to be burped. It’s odd to think that he will be the hero of this world when he’s so fussy.

Shadow watches his mate continue to pout like a child. Sonic absentmindedly kicks his feet out of habit and winces at the pain, which causes his side to throb in response. Shadow walks over to Sonic quickly, which causes little Silver to complain more. Shadow goes over to Sonic while calming down Silver. Sonic groans and looks up at Shadow, giving a big smile to hide the pain. Shadow holds Silver with one hand while taking Sonic’s chin in the other, making Sonic look into his eyes. He can see some tiny gray hairs forming around Sonic’s muzzle, time is catching up.

“Tell me honestly, do you really believe Eggman is looking for you because he has some grand world saving idea?” Shadow asks, he leans down to offer Silver to Sonic. He obliges and takes their son. Shadow checks the bandage on Sonic’s side, he can see dried blood and a dark bruise underneath his fur. Shadow pushes slightly and causes Sonic to flinch.

“Ow!” Sonic tightens his hold on Silver to expel the pain. “I don’t know, but Eggman isn’t the kind to sit still while things spin out of his control. He has to be planning something, and if he’s looking for me then maybe it’s something he needs me for.” Sonic lets out a breath and loosens his grip when the pain recedes. Shadow then moves to the ankle and removes the bandage, the fur is damaged from the fire and his ankle is swollen, Shadow presses on that as well, earning another yelp from Sonic. “Stop! It hurts!” He inhales through his nose and exhales out his mouth. “Anyways, it’s better than doing nothing and letting the ‘bad’ future happen.” Sonic looks down at Shadow. “Right?”

Shadow looks up at him and doesn’t reply, he applies a new bandage helping to stabilize the ankle. He debates the idea in his mind, what will most likely go wrong, and what could go right. He grinds his teeth before sighing out.

“When you are healed and back in fighting form we can search for him. Only then.” Shadow raises a brow at Sonic, who looks at him like an expectant puppy. “Understand?”

Sonic nods at him happily, Shadow rolls his eyes at the blue hedgehog. He starts packing up their supplies to head back to their home base. Sonic slides off the desk, testing the new brace and nods his approval. Once Shadow has everything packed, he turns and is met with Sonic in his face.

“What?” Shadow groans.

“I love you.” Sonic smirks. Shadow wants to smack Sonic, but the idiot is using Silver as a shield.

“Yeah, sure.” Shadow huffs before starting to walk away. Sonic grabs his hand and forces him to stop. 

“Really…I can’t do this without you. Any of this.” Sonic says, his expression suddenly very serious. Shadow is a little shocked by the display, he takes a deep breath.

“I love you too, idiot.” Shadow replies, taking Sonic’s hand. Sonic smiles proudly at him and goes for a quick kiss. Shadow lets the kiss happen, annoyed by how easily he was swayed. “Come on, we have to leave before The Flames pick up again.” 

With that they leave, the journey is much easier back. Even if their original mission has failed, they found a new one and it shows more promise. Shadow won’t let Eggman hurt Sonic or Silver anyways, which means he has to be at his best as well. Whatever it takes, they will stop the future Mephiles foretold. It won’t end tragically, it can’t.

Chapter Text

Sonic  

Sonic hates being benched, he needs to stop this now. He could never sit still, and since the Day of Disaster he feels on edge every day. Sonic has tried sneaking out a few times, just to make sure he still has his speed. Shadow always manages to catch him, but it’s a part of how he fell in love so he’s never too upset.

“I’m going crazy! Please coach, put me back in!” Sonic pouts, racing around Shadow. “I still got it, look!” Sonic continues running circles around his mate, he sees Shadow roll his eyes.

“Stop it.” Shadow groans, leaning out his leg to trip Sonic. The blue hedgehog sees the trick and avoids it, slowing down.

“Wow, you were really going to hurt me? The love of your life, your whole world, the one that gave you a son!? That’s so cruel, how could this be!?” Sonic plays, he holds his hand over his heart. “Oh the betrayal!” Sonic gives a dramatic wail, putting his hand over his face like he’s about to faint.

“I can’t believe you’re my mate.” Shadow huffs as he walks to the map and places a pin where the last known Badnik was. Silver babbles happily at the show, reaching out for them. Sonic stops and picks Silver up, playing with him and teasing Shadow. His mate ignores the two and Sonic goes back to playing with his son. 

“You’d never try to trip me, right? You’d never hurt me.” Sonic asks Silver, the hoglet giggles in response. 

“He tried to kill you.” Shadow says from the table, placing another pin.

“Yeah well, so did you. Everyone does before they get to know me! It’s like a handshake at this point.” Sonic replies, he hears Shadow scuff at that. Sonic tickles little Silver and earns some very cheerful giggles. He plays with Silver a little longer before placing him back in the cradle. Silver continues on babbling at his parents as they look over the map.

Sonic leans over Shadow’s shoulder, feeling him shift for Sonic to be more comfortable. The pins are far from their base, they’re a safe distance from the Flames, almost outside the city.

“Hey, Amy and Tails are near the Badniks, maybe we can make a stop with them before going there. We need communicators and we just lost our GPS. What do you think, coach?” Sonic asks.

“I think you should stop calling me ‘coach’.” Shadow sighs. “I agree though, we should visit. Maybe they can help with Silver’s powers as well.” Sonic jumps back with excitement.

“Then it’s settled! We’re going on another mission!” Sonic runs in a small circle and jumps up. He lands wrong and it sends a jolt of pain up his leg. “Ah!” Sonic falls down to the ground, Shadow is quickly next to him. Shadow examines the damaged ankle, the burn is mostly healed now, with some fur missing around it; but the brace he made has been helping Sonic run. Shadow checks the brace, making sure it’s still stable. He makes a small readjustment and Sonic smiles at him.

“How is that?” Shadow asks. Sonic tests his ankle, he feels light again and stands up. Silver giggles when Sonic reappears, and he smiles back. He makes a fast lap around the base and beams as Shadow stands.

“Works like a charm!” Sonic states proudly, Shadow takes Silver from the cradle and holds him close. 

“Good, now go rest.” Shadow says. Sonic can’t help the look of disgust on his face, Shadow chuckles lightly in response. Sonic can feel his stomach flutter, he shakes his head lightly while smiling. “We’ll go to Tails and Amy’s place tomorrow, the Flames aren’t focused in that area so there isn’t much trouble. For now, I want you to make sure those injuries heal.” Shadow looks up at Sonic for a reply. 

“Aye aye Captain.” Sonic salutes, Shadow raises a brow at him. Silver is starting to fuss for dinner, and the two adults could eat as well. Sonic takes Silver for feeding while Shadow prepares dinner. Soon they’re in their normal rhythm again, eating dinner while chatting and going to bed with their son between them.

They leave early the next morning, hoping to make it to the city limits before dusk. Usually they could go full speed, but Shadow insists they go slower due to Sonic’s injury. Sonic is certain Shadow is just doing this to torture him.

Eventually they make it to the edge of the city, Shadow was right, the Flames don’t seem to care about this area. They can see their surroundings clearly now, the destruction is severe and there are no signs of any people. However, Sonic can hear birds chirping and can feel the cool wind again. He hasn’t felt this way in so long, he almost forgot. He takes Silver out of his pouch, still holding him close but letting him take in the refreshing air.

“Look kid! This is what the world is meant to look like!” Sonic exclaims, little Silver starts fussing over the sudden movement and loud noise. Shadow jabs Sonic lightly for disturbing their son. “Sorry, it’s just…I miss this.” He smiles towards Shadow, the other hedgehog takes a moment before smiling in return. 

“Me too.” 

As they continue onward away from the city, they make it to the bunker in record time.The entrance slopes down from a large hill, leading their eyes towards a metal door, it was a G.U.N. base at some point but they abandoned it when Iblis first made its mark. There is grass growing all around it, with several animals noticing the hedgehogs before dispersing. Silver coos happily at a squirrel running by, Sonic smiles down at him.

They walk up to a lone post, it has a screen that lights up when the two approach. It shoots out a wave of light to scan them, once it finishes the scan the screen lights up with their faces.

“Welcome, Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog.” The robotic voice acknowledges them and starts to open the door. The dust that had settled shifts and pushes towards the pair, causing them to cough. Sonic puts Silver back into his pouch to protect him from the sudden dust storm.

“How long has it been since they left?” Sonic asks, he can see Shadow on alert. The same thought must have gone through his mind. Sonic puts a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, but Sonic is just as anxious. 

They cautiously walk through the door, the sunlight barely reaching inside. The doors close behind them with a loud thud, he feels truly trapped now. Dim lights flicker on as they continue, everything seems untouched here. Did they leave? Sonic chews on his lip in fear of his friends ditching the city. Not that he could blame them for how things have been going lately. He doesn’t want to think about Tails leaving him for good, it’s too much to bear. He can’t see much with this light but there’s dust and cobwebs everywhere he looks. Crap, he should have tried to fix the communicator pad, should have run over to Tails as soon as he could. His thoughts start spiraling until he feels a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. He looks over to Shadow, his mate nods his head further down the hallway. There’s a flicker of bright light with distant voices, and Sonic can feel hope swell in him again.

“Tails? Amy?” Sonic asks, without thinking he runs down the hallway. He hears Shadow say something but he can’t focus on anything more than finding his friends right now. He makes it to where the noises and lights are and sees Rouge tending to a row of flowers. She looks up at Sonic’s sudden arrival and she smiles brightly.

“Heya sugar! Been awhile.” She winks at Sonic, removing her gardening gloves and flies over to him. Shadow appears next to him shortly after and Rouge gives him a welcoming nod. “Been awhile for you too, handsome. Have you been keeping this one out of trouble?” She teases, but Sonic doesn’t acknowledge her. 

“Sorry, he’s looking for Tails.” Shadow apologizes, Rouge shakes her head to wave off the apology. She taps Sonic’s shoulder, making him look at her. 

“Hey, relax. He’s with Knuckles in the main room.” Her words give comfort, Sonic’s expression brightens. He quickly hands Shadow the hoglet before speeding down the hall. “Easy! Careful with the flowers!” Rouge yells, but Sonic is long gone.

He speeds towards the main room, it’s been a long time since he’s been here but he figures it out. He quickly spots red and yellow and veers towards it. Tails is talking to Knuckles before he’s suddenly tackled by Sonic.

“Whoa! Sonic?” He asks in surprise. Sonic hugs him close, and Tails giggles in response. “I missed ya! You never answer my calls!” 

“I’m so sorry, the communicator broke a while ago. Can you forgive me?” Sonic pleads, “please forgive me I promise I’ll treat your gadgets better.” Sonic is suddenly lifted up and away from Tails, Knuckles looks at him with annoyance. 

“No hello for me? Interesting.” Knuckles inquires. Sonic gives a dorky smile before slipping from Knuckle's hold and hugging him too. The echidna rolls his eyes and pats Sonic on the back. 

“Sonic!” He hears Amy shout, he turns and sees a massive hammer fly towards him, but it stops right before making contact. Amy pulls it back and smirks, then she winks at the blue hedgehog. He quickly leaves Knuckles to hug her just as tightly. “Okay okay, you’re crushing me!”

After a moment Sonic finally feels ready to let the touchy feelings go and runs circles around his friends. 

“Slow down Sonic, they’re not going anywhere.” Shadow states as he enters the room with Rouge.

“Oh! Hello Shadow!” Tails lights up when he notices the silver hoglet in his arms. “Is that Silver?” His three friends quickly betray Sonic by going over to his baby. He supposes it’s fair, Silver is incredibly cute. 

“How is my warrior fairing? Can he spare yet?” Knuckles asks, Silver looks up at him in confusion before giggling and reaching for him. Knuckles doesn’t trust himself to hold Silver but Amy gladly offers and takes Silver. The baby giggles again and Amy smiles wide.

“He’s getting big now, can he speak yet?” Tails asks, Sonic shakes his head.

“Not yet, but he did do something else.” Sonic rubs his nose. The group looks at him expectantly, he nods to Shadow. The hedgehog sighs before explaining what happened.

“Sonic was trapped under a concrete pillar and his son used his psychokinetic powers to lift the pillar completely off of him. He hasn’t done it since but I’ve also been keeping a closer eye on Sonic.” The group looks at Shadow in shock, but Shadow shrugs like that was a normal thing to say. They look at Silver and then back towards Sonic. He gives a shrug as well. 

“Questions?”

“Lots.” Everyone says in unison.

Shadow

After what seems like an eternity they finally bring everyone up to speed and satisfy all burning inquiries. Silver quickly fell asleep for his nap after all the attention and excitement, he softly snores against Shadow’s chest. Tails is trying to examine him while he has the chance, but Silver is unwilling to move away from Shadow.

“Hmm, I can’t get a good read from him. I guess we can wait a while, I’m just so surprised that he could manage to use his powers to such an extent.” Tails says, rubbing his chin as he often does when thinking. Shadow nods in agreement, adjusting to a more comfortable position while his son sleeps.

“It was a shock for me as well, though he was crying a lot, he must have known something was wrong.” Shadow states, looking down at Silver. “He is on his way to be a great hero.”

Tails smiles at the two, he puts away the machine he was going to use on Silver and walks back to the group. Shadow watches them chat and reminisce, he likes just watching them converse while he stays back. Rouge soon notices that he isn’t included and walks over to him.

“So, how have you been, handsome?” Rouge asks, Shadow shakes his head. Rouge is the only other person he can confide in.

“Awful.” Shadow states with complete honesty, he doesn’t let his expression slip but the stress of the situation is catching up. Rouge nods lightly, leaning back.

“Want to talk about it?” 

“Not really.” Shadow says, looking down again at Silver. Rouge looks up, she starts talking to keep his thoughts steady.

“Yeah, Knuckles and I were looking for the Emeralds but kept coming up empty handed. They never used to be this hard to find. I wonder if they’re just gone for good this time…Red got pretty down about it. We decided to come back here to give ourselves a break.” She continues, “I guess we stayed longer than planned.” Rouge looks over to Shadow as he listens.

“You two caught me while gardening, I’m trying to raise a few species of flowers before they go outside. A pet project of Amy’s, I’m sure you noticed all the greenery outside the bunker.” 

“Yes, and a bunch of animals. You two are doing great work.” Shadow says, Rouge perks up from the compliment. “But why was the entryway so abandoned?” 

“Did you miss the part about us being here longer than expected?” Rouge raises a brow at Shadow. “There’s a hatch further down that gives us access to the top of the bunker, that’s where Ames’ project is. We don’t really use the entrance anymore, there isn’t a need to.” Rouge continues, “Besides, it’s hard looking at the city anymore.” There’s a pregnant pause before she rambles again about the work they’ve been doing. Shadow thinks about how this is a better place for Sonic and Silver. It’s secure enough that Shadow won’t have to worry about Sonic possibly dying and Silver could actually grow up here, he can have an education and see the better side of this world. Something beyond the terror and destruction. Shadow sighs out, closing his eyes and leaning back with Rouge. He can feel her stare at his side and opens an eye to her.

“You know he won’t stay.” Rouge says, clearly reading Shadow’s mind. He gives another exasperated sigh.

“I know.” Shadow shakes his head in defeat.

“You’ll follow him, right?” Rouge sighs. Shadow closes both eyes now, he doesn’t want to imagine a life without Sonic. The world can do whatever it wants to Shadow, he will always fight for it. He will always fight for his friends, his son and especially Sonic.

“Just as I always have.” Shadow says as he stands up, Silver fusses a bit from the sudden movement. Rouge follows after him, nodding her approval.

“I’ll be here if you need it.” She smiles, giving a soft peck to Shadow’s cheek. She winks at him before returning to the group. 

Shadow

Later that day they are all gathered to eat the food Amy prepared. She shows off an impressively large array of fruits and vegetables for the group. Shadow doesn’t remember the last time he ate normal food, it’s been rations or whatever he can gather for them. Sonic seems just as thrilled by the assortment, Shadow hopes this can convince him to stay.

Once they eat and Silver is settled in to sleep, Tails takes the opportunity to examine the little hedgehog, hoping to get some answers. Sonic watches over Tails and Silver while he does his work, asking questions along the way. Shadow walks over to Sonic, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, let’s go rest for a little while. Tails will be a minute and Silver is in good hands here. Right?” Shadow asks, Tails smiles and nods in agreement. 

“I promise none of my scans will bother him, and I’ll get the communicator pad working for you again by tomorrow!” Tails states proudly. Sonic looks to Silver and back to Tails, nodding his head.

“Okay, but if you two need anything you’ll let me know right?” Sonic asks, the concerned parent that he is.

“Yeah of course, go get some sleep!” Tails continues his work while Shadow convinces Sonic to leave the room.

They end up in a spare room that Amy made up for them, with an actual bed instead of the old mattress they’re used to having. Looking around the room he realizes the base is overdue for an upgrade. Shadow removes his gloves and shoes, keeping the rings on his wrists and ankles. It’s too dangerous without them on. Sonic follows suit, but winces when he moves his ankle wrong. Shadow goes over to him, checking the brace. 

“Still painful?” Shadow asks, Sonic just chuckles lightly.

“Only a bit now, nothing I can’t handle.” Sonic replies while Shadow continues his examination. He unwraps the brace and looks over everything. 

He gently moves his hand across Sonic’s fur. Shadow can feel a shiver in response, he looks up to Sonic. His mate has a bright blush on his face, he chuckles down at Shadow. The hedgehog continues his health check, moving his hand to Sonic’s side. He moves the fur around more, checking the bruised skin underneath. He feels Sonic tense when he lightly pushes against the bruise, at least the bone is mending. The bruise is also starting to fade, which is a good sign. Shadow smoothes down the fur, sliding his hand back down Sonic’s side. He thinks about how long it’s been since they’ve done anything, with a baby constantly near them it’s been hard to have time for themselves. He slides his hand across Sonic’s body, holding his waist.

“Doctor, I don’t think this is appropriate.” Sonic teases. Shadow looks up at him and shakes his head, then he stands to kiss Sonic. Shadow feels the electricity racing between their bodies, it causes a shiver to run down his back. Sonic moans in response, and Shadow lays him down on the bed to deepen the kiss. Sonic grips onto his back quills, his claws digging into them. 

“Fuck, Sonic.” Shadow growls, he lifts his head up to see Sonic beneath him, his mate panting and blushing from the kiss. Sonic teases Shadow more by playing with his chest fur, tugging Shadow back down for more. The two are lost in each other, Shadow has one hand on Sonic’s waist, feeling every motion from his mate while his other hand lays on Sonic’s chest. Feeling the shaky breath and steady heartbeat. Sonic is alive and real; what they have is real and Shadow wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

Shadow moves to Sonic’s neck, He nuzzles into Sonic’s neck, taking a deep inhale to mark what is his. He scrapes his teeth across the sensitive fur before biting down. Sonic yelps as his grip tightens on Shadow, moving his neck to give his mate easier access. 

“Shadow…” Sonic whimpers out, Shadow is almost undone just by the sound. He moves back to admire his work, his lover a panting mess beneath him. He has never believed in higher beings or powers, but Sonic is divine.

“You’re beautiful.” Shadow whispers, shivering in anticipation. Sonic chuckles lightly in response, moving his hand to caress Shadow’s cheek.

“So are you.” Sonic replies, a smile forming with the words. Shadow goes for another deep kiss, and the world stops moving. Time itself stops and it’s just them, their bodies and their love. 

Shadow stops thinking about the outside world, the impending future and the risks they all take to be here. He instead focuses on the sensations, the gentle caresses and the pressure of their bodies together. The moans that escape Sonic as he hits all the right spots; the feeling of Sonic moving beneath him. Shadow sees stars as he takes another bite at Sonic’s neck, growling at the shout Sonic lets out. 

Once they’re both too exhausted to continue they cuddle close on the bed. Sonic quickly falls asleep, Shadow listens to his heartbeat and steady breathing. He falls asleep to the sound, enjoying this moment. When he wakes up again he decides it’s probably best to get Silver. 

He cautiously moves away from Sonic and tucks him into bed, sneaking away back to retrieve their son. When he enters the lab he sees Tails sleeping against his arm while Silver sleeps in his cradle. Shadow goes to take Silver out but Tails stirs at the movement.

“Hey.” He says, rubbing his eyes. 

“Thank you for babysitting, how was he?” Shadow asks. Tails shrugs, looking towards the large screen.

“He didn’t fuss much, plus he did very well for my scans. It’s still going through the data I collected.” He hops off the couch and heads towards the computer.

“Anything interesting?” Shadow can’t help his curiosity, Silver grumbling as Shadow picks him up. Tails stares at the screen, reviewing things he missed while he was asleep.

“It shows that he has a constant charge of chaos energy in him, the energy levels match Sonic’s, which is a lot for a baby.” Tails states, Shadow grunts from that.

“Will the levels get higher as he ages?” 

“Probably, he will eventually need inhibitor rings like you.” Tails types away at the computer.

“Is it…hurting him?” Shadow asks, afraid of the answer. The typing pauses and Tails turns to Shadow.

“He’s perfectly happy and healthy. He isn’t experiencing any discomfort from the chaos energy, he’s just more powerful than we expected.” Tails reassures Shadow, he moves from the computer and walks back to Shadow. He puts his hand in the air for a moment before quickly putting it back down. 

“Oh! Look at this.” Tails perks up and runs back to the computer, he grabs a scanner and runs it over Silver’s paws, a light blue circle starts to glow on the top of his hand along with a line going up. Shadow stares in disbelief, those weren’t there when Silver was born.

“It’s the marks.”

“Yes, they will probably become more visible as he grows. The gloves ‘big’ Silver has are like your rings, they help him control his powers and accuracy. I can start making them if you’d like, I have a pretty good idea on how they are designed.” Shadow smiles at hearing the term ‘big Silver’ again. The marks on his son’s arms fade again, likely hidden under the fur. 

“Thank you, for all you have done.” Shadow remarks, Tails’ eyes widen at the honesty.

“Oh, uh…no problem.” Tails looks away, embarrassed. “Anything for a friend?” He sneaks a look back at Shadow, the hedgehog nods to him.

“We’re going to bed now, you get some rest as well.” Shadow smirks as he takes Silver back to their room. Tails smiles and nods, clearly happy by the exchange. Shadow feels a little better knowing that Silver is going down the right path, now they just need to fix Sonic’s role in this world.

Chapter Text

Sonic

Sonic gets ready for the day with his morning stretches, ignoring the dull soreness from his late night activities. Silver is attached to his front, a modded pouch to let his hands and feet hang out. 

“Ready, kid?” Sonic asks, Silver giggles in response. Sonic takes that as a yes and speeds off for a morning run. Silver kicks his feet and woos loudly while Sonic runs, at least the kid is having fun.

He makes a few circles before stopping on top of the bunker, Amy and Rouge are up early tending to the garden. He waves at them as he slows down, going to admire their work. Silver chirps and giggles as they approach, Amy stops her work to go to Silver. 

“Hey, little one! Are you having fun running around?” Amy asks, Silver claps his hands cheerfully, ready for another round. He looks at Amy, giving a toothless smile and raising his paws up high. Suddenly Amy is lifted off the ground, she yelps in surprise. 

“Oh whoa! Hey!” Sonic scrambles to grab Amy’s arm but misses. 

“Um, I would love to be down now!” Amy shouts, she fumbles to fix her dress. 

“Oh, oh dear!” Rouge flies over and grabs Amy to make sure she doesn’t have a rough landing. Silver notices the sudden change of mood and starts to cry, removing Amy from his hold. Thankfully with Rouge holding her she doesn’t fall down, instead they gently land and Amy looks a little pale. “Oh good, the ground. I like the ground!” She huffs while smoothing out her dress. 

“You okay?” Sonic asks, he takes Silver out of the carrier to try and calm him down. He also tries to comfort Amy but she lifts up an arm to wave off his help.

“Yep, totally fine. Just felt like a rollercoaster for a second.” Amy takes a moment to breathe before going back to her usual cheerful self, despite her pale expression. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know he would do that.” Sonic finally calms Silver down, he fusses but he at least isn’t crying anymore. 

“I’m not sure he did either.” Rouge giggles lightly, she pats Amy’s back before heading back to the top of the bunker. “Let’s get some grub before y’all head out. Make sure to tell Mr. Brooding about Silver’s new trick.” 

They all head back inside, Sonic is concerned about Shadow’s reaction to this news.

“Hmph.” Shadow grunts out, Sonic stares at him in shock.

“That’s it?” Sonic asks, appalled by the lack of surprise.

“Tails told me last night that he has a large amount of chaos energy, it’s unsurprising that he used it.” Sonic looks at Tails, he gives a weak smile and shrugs back. 

“It’s true, he’s at your level of power, Sonic. You said he was happy when he lifted Amy? Then that shows that his emotions are determining how he uses his power.” Tails explains. “He was extremely upset when you got hurt, and was also feeding off Shadow’s panic, therefore he used his powers to help you. He was excited when you ran with him and then happy to see Amy. Now that we know the triggers we can better help him control them!” Tails states happily, grabbing a large fruit and digging in. 

“Yeah, but he’s just a baby.” Sonic states again.

“He’s growing up, Sonic.” Knuckles states as he eats a massive chunk of grapes.

“Hoglets grow quickly as well.” Amy notes, giving Sonic more vegetables to eat.

Sonic looks back to Shadow, the hedgehog just shrugs back. Sonic sighs and looks down at Silver, who is happily enjoying his breakfast milk. He guesses it’s true, and they know the triggers at least. Then he thinks about the ‘bad’ future they’re trying to avoid, Silver growing up alone. He quickly shakes the thoughts away and smiles as the gang finishes their meal. Afterwards the pair head to their room to pack up.

“Honestly, I’d thought you would ask us to stay here.” Sonic remarks to Shadow while they pack, the hedgehog pauses for a moment before resuming. 

“We have a plan.” Shadow states.  Ah, Sonic knows that tone. He turns back to Shadow, opening and closing his mouth to find the words but nothing comes out.

“Yeah.” Sonic settles on that and chews on his lower lip. He puffs and huffs several times before Shadow stops what he’s doing and turns. 

“Go on then.” Shadow sighs out, looking at Sonic. The blue hedgehog taps his feet impatiently. 

“It’s just, I expected a fight. You kinda took the wind out of me.” Sonic weakly laughs. Shadow puts his work down and walks over to Sonic.

“Alright then, this would be perfect for us. Silver can grow up safely and you,” he pokes Sonic’s chest; “you would be protected. Plus, we have several potential babysitters begging for the chance to watch our son while we,” he pushes his finger further into Sonic’s chest and elongates his words; “have some alone time. Maybe even give Silver a sibling.” As Shadow speaks his finger slides up Sonic’s chest and neck, stopping just under his chin. Sonic swallows hard, his throat suddenly feeling very dry. Shadow stares at him, glaring into him. Oh, Shadow is pissed.

“Ah, well those are great points.” Sonic starts, Shadow raises a brow at him. “But we still have a mission-” before Sonic finishes his sentence Shadow quickly walks away to continue packing. “Well, wait!” Sonic stammers, he grabs Shadow’s arm. The hedgehog looks back and waits for a response. “You’re not giving me much of a chance here.” 

“No, I’m not. I know the answer.” Shadow clears his throat, then raises the pitch of his own voice to mimic Sonic’s. “Shadow, as much as I love you and Silver, I have no regard for my own wellbeing. So it doesn’t matter what you say, because I will happily step into danger and inevitably perish. Causing undue hardship unto you and our young son because ‘I’m just a guy that loves adventure’!” Shadow puts his hands up to signal air quotes. When he’s done he crosses his arms and waits for Sonic’s reply. Bastard. 

“I don’t sound like that.” 

“You sound exactly like that.”

“You’re pissing me off.” Sonic growls. Shadow raises a brow again, smirking.

“Good.”

Sonic lunges at Shadow, but the hedgehog easily catches him, they spin with the momentum and land on the bed. Shadow sits on top of Sonic, pinning his arms to the mattress so he can’t squirm out. That doesn’t stop him from trying anyways, Shadow gives a deep growl and Sonic stops, his body tenses at the sound. Shadow bends down and nips at Sonic’s chin.

“I go where you go, that was the deal we made.” He nuzzles against Sonic’s cheek, going lower to his neck. “You’re mine, and I will always protect you.” Shadow’s dark voice sends shivers down Sonic’s quills. He shifts up to offer his throat to Shadow, his mate hums in response. 

“It’s a good thing we left Silver with the babysitters.” Sonic huffs, his breath and thoughts quickly leaving him. Shadow gives another dark growl and the rest of Sonic’s thoughts float away, his eyes roll back and he bites his lip to stifle a moan. Shadow licks at Sonic’s bared neck, nipping gently at the skin. He takes a deep inhale of Sonic’s scent, shivering on top of him. 

“S-Shadow…” Sonic whines, but Shadow moves to glare at Sonic. He gives small pecks up Sonic’s neck to his cheek. He hovers over his mate’s lips, Sonic licks his own in anticipation. Shadow offers a soft kiss at first, but Sonic bucks into him to deepen it. Shadow chuckles in response. 

“Easy, my love.” Shadow releases one of Sonic’s arms, only to scoop up his head for a kiss. Sonic is pretty sure he’s melting. This was a bad idea, but a great argument. He whines into Shadow’s mouth again. When they break they’re both breathless, Shadow licking his lips in victory. “We’ll go, because you have an incredibly stupid hero complex.” He sits further back, crossing his arms. “Afterwards, we come back here.” He shifts off of Sonic, who isn’t sure he knows how to move anymore. He stares at the ceiling for a while, trying to compose himself.

“Did I win?” Sonic breathes out.

“For now.”

After he feels calm again, he checks over the new equipment. He turns on the new communicator pad. It whirs to life and shows a map of the area, it even has pins and ‘X’s! He smiles when he finds the camera option and snaps a quick picture of Shadow from behind. 

“Nice.” Sonic states before turning it off. Shadow turns and rolls his eyes at him, adjusting the pack onto his back. 

“Come on, let’s go.” Shadow grunts, Sonic follows after him. Everyone meets back up in the main room and ignores how long the pair took. Rouge nudges Shadow while the rest hug Sonic tightly. Silver coos at all of them as Sonic makes him wave goodbye. They head out with new provisions and gadgets to make this next adventure much easier. Please let it be easy. 

Shadow

Going back into the city feels like walking back into a nightmare, he can feel the shift in the air. The calm feeling around the bunker is quickly replaced with the oppressive feeling of death. Everything in Shadow’s body is telling him to run back, he swallows the feeling down as they continue. Soon they come across a pile of badniks that make a tall hill, it seems almost a mile high. Shadow isn’t sure if he should be impressed or worried by the display. They continue on with caution, being careful not to step on any badniks that may reactivate. 

Eventually they approach a large dome, a former spaceship that crash landed between two skyscrapers and became stuck in the street. The debris around it makes it seem like it is emerging from beneath. Eggman’s infamous logo is front and center. The man was never known for his subtlety. 

They carefully walk through the scattered remains of Robotnik’s legacy until suddenly alarms blare all around them, they brace for what’s to come. Silver starts to cry from the loud noise and Sonic has to keep the hoglet close. A few robots come out from hiding and surround them, guns aimed and ready. Shadow snarls at them, moving to block Sonic and Silver from the threats. They hear a booming voice behind them and turn towards it, seeing Eggman on a large projected screen.

“Oh good, looks like you rodents finally decided to come.” Eggman groans, he doesn’t seem to be in his usual outfit, Shadow isn’t sure but that looks like a robe. 

“We just want to talk, Eggman.” Sonic states, waving cheerfully at the projected screen. The doctor raises a brow high, getting closer to the screen.

“Talk then, I’m very busy.” Robotnik waves them off, lifting up a cup to drink from.

“Oh I can see that, did we disturb your breakfast? Egghead eating eggs; is that considered cannibalism?” Sonic remarks.

“Sonic…” Shadow glares at his mate, the blue hedgehog giggles.

“Okay okay, Shadow doesn’t like me…Egging you on! Ha!” Sonic laughs at his own joke, Shadow nearly passes out from the embarrassment. Robotnik sits back in annoyance, the robots ready their guns and aim for Sonic’s head. Shadow growls and prepares for a fight, the badnik powers its weapon but Shadow is faster, he kicks it hard and sends the machine flying. The robot explodes once it hits the ground and he can hear Robotnik groan. 

“Those are hard to reassemble!” Robotnik shouts, Shadow just glares at the screen. 

“Okay fine, we wanted to know why you are trying to capture me.” Sonic sighs. Robotnik gives a riotous laugh in response, not exactly what they were expecting.

“Capture you? No no, I wanted your little brat!” Robotnik points down the screen towards the direction of Sonic’s chest, where Silver cries. Shadow and Sonic both start to growl, keeping Silver close.

“Why?” Shadow demands, ready to attack again. Robotnik ignores the threat, he rubs his mustache before slamming his hand on the table. 

“Just come in, I’ll explain everything” The door to the facility opens, the robots don’t deactivate but they lower their guns. Moving to escort the hedgehogs inside, Shadow refuses to lower his guard, he keeps close to the two in case anything happens. He looks to Sonic for approval, Sonic debates the possibilities in his mind before nodding to Shadow. 

“If anything happens, I won’t hesitate to kill him. He will not touch Silver.” Shadow glares at the robots, knowing Eggman can still hear them.

Sonic nods; as much as the hedgehog hates unnecessary fights, they will protect their son fiercely. They cautiously walk into the domed facility, the hallway lights up brightly as they enter. A much cleaner entryway than the bunker, though Shadow assumes Eggman has bots to do all the chores. Soon they walk through the hallway and enter the main lab, Robotnik sits in his chair as usual and fidgets with some gadget before addressing the hedgehogs.

“Ah, finally!” He states, quickly standing from the chair, he still isn’t dressed. A dirty robe hangs open while he sports a pair of bright red pajamas. Shadow gives Sonic a questioning look, Sonic returns the look; shrugging back. Shadow can’t understand how Sonic put his faith into this moron. 

“It’s been like two minutes.” Sonic retorts, Eggman waves off the conversation and goes back to his gadget. A spark flies and the doctor mumbles some swears before proudly presenting a remote control to the two. Sonic bounces Silver to calm his fussing while the two look at each other again in confusion. “Wow, I love it.” Sonic nods slowly, “maybe we should just go-” 

“No! It’s not just this!” Robotnik groans, he moves into the center of the room and presses the control. A machine rises from the ground, revealing a teleporter. The familiar thick air makes Shadow’s quills stand on edge, this one seems much more powerful.

“So you have a teleporter, we can’t do anything with that.” Shadow huffs at Robotnik, this was a waste of time. The doctor gives another groan and throws his head back in annoyance.

“This one has the power of an emerald!” He presses another button on the remote and the teleporter whirs to life, the room seems to shake as it opens a portal. 

The image on the other side is blurry but it looks like the city. There’s more color and it seems like the sun is shining. Shadow still isn’t convinced, but Sonic seems to be. He walks closer to the machine, reaching out for it. Shadow quickly grabs his arm and gives a low growl, Silver stares at the machine as well but fusses to move away from it. Sonic puts his hand back down and nods to Shadow.

“How?” Shadow asks with suspicion.

“Does it matter? It works, and several of my eggbots have gone through. Only with minor issues.” 

“Minor issues like what?” Sonic questions. 

“Oh nothing important, just missing parts or spontaneously combusting.” Robotnik states before addressing the hedgehogs again. “Nothing that I can’t easily repair of course!” He waves his hands at the two like they should forget what he just said. 

Shadow shakes his head before turning back to Sonic. “This is a waste of time, I’m sorry but he’s completely lost it.” Sonic looks inclined to agree but before he can say anything Eggman appears between them. The two jump at his sudden appearance.

“Wait! Listen!” Robotnik pleads before going back to his usual demeanor. “The reason Silver is needed is because his energy matches the emerald, it’s like a conduit. The emerald is raw power, uncontrolled and wild. The energy inside the little brat takes that raw power and directs it where to go!” He points to Silver, too close for Shadow’s liking and the hedgehog gives a warning snarl to Robotnik. The doctor slinks back and gives a weary smile; Shadow stands in front of Sonic and Silver, making sure Ivo can’t get in between them again. Sonic keeps Silver close, sighing out as he looks down. Then Sonic puts a hand on Shadow’s shoulder, causing Shadow to tense.

“We’re okay.” Sonic rubs at Shadow’s fur, the hedgehog only relaxes a bit. He glares up at Eggman.

“How do you know any of this?” Shadow demands, Eggman scratches at his bald head for a moment.

“Oh!” Eggman starts to laugh. “Oh you thought I gave up on following you two!?” He bursts into laughter, slapping a knee. The eggbots join in on the joke, their robotic form of laughter filling the room. Shadow wants to destroy this whole place. Ivo waves another hand to silence the robots before addressing them again. “Oh dear, that was a good one. No no, I just got better at hiding. My drones scanned your energy signals, and that one matches the emerald.” He points again at Silver, Shadow debates ripping the arm off. 

“And how did you even find an emerald? There hasn’t been any sign of them for a while.” Sonic adds.

“Ah well…it’s not a real emerald.” Robotnik states, pushing up his glasses. “I uh…I made one.” The pair stares at the doctor in disbelief. 

“What do you mean made one?” Sonic raises a brow.

“It isn’t unheard of! Your little fox friend made one before, almost fooled me too! This one has some kinks to work through, that’s why I haven’t been able to travel by myself. I would love to leave this forsaken world. The emerald I made is more chaotic than the actual emeralds, but with Silver's power I can control it.” 

“No.” Shadow growls, he takes Sonic’s arm and heads back towards the entrance.

“Whoa, wait, what?” Sonic asks in confusion, moving out of Shadow’s grip. 

“We’re going, Silver is not an experiment for you to toy with.” Shadow glares back at Eggman, the doctor gives a disappointed grunt. 

“You two can travel if you want, you’re just as powerful. I’m just a human, I can’t do it without…repercussions. But you;” he points to Sonic, “you can reset the timeline, change the outcome. Change this world for the better.” Robotnik gives a smirk, knowing the best words to use for Sonic. Shadow can see through it all.

“He’s lying.” Shadow turns to Sonic, the blue hedgehog is debating the options in his mind. Shadow groans at him. “No, you can’t seriously be considering this.” 

“Shadow…” Sonic starts but Shadow shakes his head.

“No!” Shadow shouts, causing Sonic to flinch. He sighs to let go of the anger building in him. “We can’t change the past. Plus Silver is just a child; he can’t handle a real emerald at this point, let alone a fake one.”

Sonic hums to think, looking between Shadow and their son. Shadow can’t believe this. 

“No.” Shadow warns, but Sonic isn’t deterred. They make eye contact and stare each other down. 

“While you two lovebirds fight, Iblis continues its destruction.” Robotnik projects the cityscape, a drone flying over the ruined buildings. 

Suddenly Flames fly upward and swat at the drone, it crashes down but the camera continues filming. Iblis moves throughout the streets, wreaking havoc however it can. Buildings topple, and they can even hear distant screams. Sonic flinches and holds Silver closer. Shadow looks closer at the video; there is no proof this is a live feed. 

“He’s trying to trick you.” Shadow tries to gain his mate’s attention again, but it’s failing. Sonic turns to him with the most devastating look. 

“We have to help them.” Sonic pleads, Shadow looks back at the video, trying to pinpoint the location of Iblis.

“It’s too far, we won’t make it in time.” Shadow shakes his head.

“No I mean, with this.” He points to the teleporter. Shadow stares at the machine, then back at Sonic. He’s losing this battle, he has to get through to Sonic. Robotnik gives a chuckle in response, it takes all Shadow has to not rip the man apart.

He growls before he quickly grabs Sonic’s waist, lifting him up and traveling down the hallway with him. Silver cries from the sudden movement and Shadow has to remember to apologize later. He sets Sonic back down, the blue hedgehog is lost in thought and mumbling about different strategies and if they can all be solved by this possible miracle. Shadow growls and kisses Sonic hard, the hedgehog gasps from the surprise. Shadow keeps his focus on Sonic, trying to get his mate back to the present. Once Sonic’s body relaxes he pulls away.

“Are you back?” Shadow asks, Sonic stares for a moment before nodding. He bounces Silver a bit to calm him down as well. Shadow sighs, giving another quick kiss to Sonic’s cheek. 

“We don’t know if he’s telling the truth.” Shadow says, looking down at Silver. “Plus we aren’t sure if this is even safe.” He rubs Silver’s cheek, the baby coos at him. Shadow gives a gentle smile to his son then looks up at Sonic. 

“What-what do we do?” Sonic whimpers, it sounds so broken. Shadow exhales, he makes sure they’re alone before leaning in close. 

“Calm down, okay? Let’s start there.” Shadow says; he isn’t sure how to prove Eggman is lying but he wants Sonic to at least think about it. Sonic takes a breath in and out, Shadow nods when the light comes back to his eyes. “There you are.” 

“Shadow.” Sonic leans on Shadow’s shoulder. “What if he’s telling the truth, we can stop Iblis before it starts.” Sonic whispers, Shadow rubs Sonic’s back to soothe him. Silver fusses over being squished between them. They break apart a bit to give their son some room, but Shadow keeps his hand on Sonic’s back as an anchor. 

“Sonic, we came here thinking he had a way to stop Iblis in the present. What he’s suggesting is the same thing Silver came to us for, it could damage the timeline.” Shadow can hear distant footsteps but chooses to ignore them. “Silver is too young to handle this type of energy, the fake emerald is too unstable. It could kill him.” He feels Sonic tense from that comment. Sonic stays quiet for a while, Shadow can almost hear his thoughts. The footsteps get close now and Shadow turns to Eggman, glaring daggers at the doctor. 

“This is all very nice, but we either do this together or I do it myself.” Robotnik crosses his arms, waiting for a response. Shadow snarls at Eggman, but the man doesn’t flinch. “If you even think of touching my son, I will rip you to shreds!” Shadow threatens, he feels electricity building up in him. Robotnik stands his ground but Shadow can see the sweat starting to drip down his forehead.

“We’ll do it.” Sonic proclaims, all the fight Shadow had in him fades in an instant. He turns to Sonic in shock, looking for the punchline. Sonic’s expression is fierce, he lightly pushes Shadow aside. The hedgehog can’t believe what he’s hearing, Sonic is known for snap decisions but this is too much.

“Sonic…” Shadow pleads, but Sonic ignores him. 

“You have to promise Silver will be unharmed, and we need every detail of this plan.” Sonic continues, Shadow stares at the back of Sonic. Waiting for a wink, or crossed fingers. Something to say this is a joke. “Do we have a deal?” Sonic offers his hand to Eggman, the doctor hums in thought.

“Deal.” He shakes Sonic’s hand and Shadow feels his heart shatter.

Chapter Text

Shadow

Shadow couldn’t handle the fact that Robotnik would be alone with Silver, thankfully Tails and Amy answered the call to make sure the doctor wouldn’t go back on his word. The team and Eggman all worked together to make sure everything was working well and safely for Silver. Shadow stayed back with his son, Sonic was the only one that could convince him to let go whenever Silver was needed. The two would usually end up fighting and Shadow would go off on his own to cool down. 

Today Shadow sat atop the dome, staring out at the ruined landscape. He took Silver this time, letting Silver enjoy the air while he cleared his mind. The baby giggles and pulls at Shadow’s fur, causing him to look down at his son.

“You like the view?” Shadow asks, his son smiling wide. Shadow looks back out, the sun is starting to shine but the dust clouds hide it. Iblis can be heard miles away causing more destruction. “The view would be better if Iblis wasn’t here.” He says mostly to convince himself, he doesn’t see how they can really repair what was done.

“Shadow?” He hears Sonic call for him, but he groans and ignores it. Sonic speeds up to the top quickly, frowning at the sight of the two. “Hey.” 

“Hmph.” Shadow replies, he hears Sonic sigh out in return.

“I’m sorry about earli-” Shadow doesn’t stay to listen, he quickly stands and races off with Silver. “Okay, I was apologizing!” Sonic shouts at them. 

Shadow speeds off down the road, Silver clapping his hands and giggling as they go. They don’t get very far before he hears his mate’s voice next to him.

“Dude, I was trying to apologize.” Sonic runs next to them, Silver smiles and reaches for Sonic. Sonic tries to take Silver but Shadow turns quickly to move away from his mate. “You can’t keep this up!”

“You know that I can.” Shadow growls, the two speed down the highway as Sonic follows. They continue this dance for a while, neither are willing to give up their pride. 

They pause when they hear a shout, someone is in danger. They nod to each other before speeding towards the sound, they can fight later. When they arrive at the source of the screaming they see Iblis, it’s in a smaller form but smashing every building it can. There’s a person cowering nearby, a young woman is curled up around something. Screaming out whenever Iblis’ flames get too close. The pair don’t wait, they run towards the woman.

“Hey, you okay?” Sonic asks, the woman peeks up. Shadow spots the child she was protecting, he places a protective hand over Silver. The hoglet grips Shadow’s hand in return, babbling at him. Shadow can’t fight Iblis, not with Silver attached to him. He looks around for a safe place but Sonic runs back to him. “Hand him to me.” Sonic states, Shadow nods and unhooks the pouch. Sonic quickly takes Silver, running back to the people and ushering them away from the fight.

“Thank you, thank you Sonic!” The woman cries out, her child clinging tightly to her mother. Shadow turns his attention to Iblis, the creature ignores the commotion on the ground and continues its rampage. Shadow speeds up a building to face the demon head on. 

“Hey Ugly!” He shouts, ignoring how much Sonic’s phrases have influenced him. Iblis sizzles as it turns towards Shadow. The oppressive heat is almost unbearable, but he ignores it. Soon Sonic is by his side again, without Silver.

“Where-” Shadow starts but Sonic shrugs.

“He’s safe with that lady. Let’s do this.” Sonic moves into a fighting stance, Shadow groans but quickly follows suit. Shadow will excuse the dismissal of Silver for the moment. Instead focusing on the fight. It almost feels like old times, the two are synchronized when they fight; whether against an enemy or each other, it feels easy, Shadow would almost say it’s fun. 

Sonic slams into the igneous rocks of Iblis, causing it to tremble. Shadow adds to the assault with his powerful punches and kicks. When the two hedgehogs meet back up they power themselves up, blue and red electricity shooting out from their quills. 

“Move 145?” Shadow asks, and Sonic nods.

“Ding Dong Ditch.” 

“Stop naming them.” Shadow groans, he flies at the beast punching it hard in the face. The monster groans and hisses at Shadow. He continues his assault by blipping between different places, leaving Iblis confused and angry. It raises a fireball it formed into a fist and brings it down on Shadow. The black hedgehog watches it and disappears before it can make contact. The fist slams through the street, creating a massive hole in the ground. Before Iblis can move again Sonic appears before its eye and spin dashes into the monster, causing the beast to roar in pain. It falls backwards and crashes down on the asphalt. Flames disperse as Iblis loses its form. Sonic takes a deep breath in and puffs out his chest. 

“Yeah that’s what I thought!” Sonic taunts, Shadow suddenly appears next to Sonic. His mate reaches high, expecting a high five. Shadow almost answers it before remembering how angry he is at Sonic.

“We’re not done fighting.” Shadow states before turning away. Sonic groans and Shadow can hear a weak slap behind him. They walk back to the family they saved, the child plays with Silver while her mother watches. Shadow speeds and grabs Silver before anyone blinks and cuddles him close. The hoglet seems confused at first, then he looks up at Shadow and gives a large smile.

Sonic goes to the family and makes sure they’re alright, telling them to find shelter and offering safe havens he knows of. The two thank him again and head off, Shadow ignores them and nudges against Silver. The hoglet giggles and puts his hands out, suddenly Shadow is floating. He struggles for a moment before his shoes help him readjust. The youngster has his eyes tightly closed to focus, lifting Shadow further into the air. 

“Whoa! Shadow!” Sonic yells, running over to the pair. Shadow ignores him to look down at his son.

Shadow gently squeezes Silver’s cheek, causing the baby to fuss and open his eyes. They drop from the sudden gravity, but the rocket shoes help them land gently. “You’re getting very good at that.” He smirks; Silver gives a toothless grin in response. Sonic walks to them and admires the two, but Shadow is quick to glare back at Sonic.

“Hey, I gave birth to him.” Sonic raises his hands up to show he means no harm.

“And yet, you are so quick to discard him.” Shadow attacks, Sonic gasps.

“What? You did not just say that. I want this world to be better for them, for you, for him ! You’re the one that said I would die, you’d get captured and then Silver has no one. Eggman is offering the opportunity we’ve been looking for, the one you are looking for.” Sonic points accusingly at Shadow, he wants to bite that finger off.

“I didn’t say to reset everything!” Shadow growls and turns away. 

“We can make this place better.”

“It’s fine the way it is now!” Shadow yells in frustration, Silver starts to cry and Shadow comforts him. Sonic doesn’t reply for a moment, Shadow huffs in anger.

“No, it’s not. You’d rather be on the run the rest of our lives, constantly fighting against that monster?” Sonic points towards their recent battle.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I have you! You’re here, along with our son!” He holds out Silver for Sonic, the baby reaches again and this time Sonic is allowed to hold him. “This is all I want, this is all I need. Why can’t that be enough?” Shadow cups Sonic’s arm, they both cradle their son for a while. Sonic looks down at Silver before looking back up towards Shadow. He gives pause, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“It’s selfish.” Sonic states, looking down to Silver. “Doesn’t everyone else deserve a chance?” 

Shadow doesn’t know how to respond, he lets his arm fall down and steps back. Sonic doesn’t leave, he looks back at Shadow before focusing on calming Silver down.

Shadow looks around, really looks. When the Day of Disaster happened, all of the citizens were running and screaming. The whole team did their best to protect everyone, Shadow even took a few hits from Iblis that day. They just saved a mother and child from Iblis but what about the ones they couldn’t protect, and Iblis will just reform again. It always does. He takes in the sight of the fallen cityscape, places that used to thrive are now just debris and faded memories. When Shadow closes his eyes he can hear Maria’s voice on the wind, asking him to protect the world she loved. He turns back to his mate, Sonic is trying to teach Silver how to make a few pebbles float. Silver coos but doesn’t do as he’s asked, he just claps along as Sonic drops the rocks and picks them back up. Shadow smirks at the two before walking back to them. Sonic smiles at Shadow.

“You’re right.” Shadow says, placing his forehead against Sonic’s. “I’m sorry.” He can feel Sonic hum, nuzzling into his mate.

“I’m sorry too, I know that this isn’t easy. I wish we weren’t relying on Egghead at all, but I trust Tails and Amy to keep him in check.” Sonic says; Shadow is slightly reassured, but it doesn’t remove all of the anxiety. He supposes it will have to do for now, at least it’s something. Shadow nuzzles further against Sonic, taking in his scent. Sonic giggles from the feeling and Shadow kisses his forehead.

“Don’t leave me.” Shadow whispers against his mate, Sonic pauses his laughter and moves to look Shadow in the eye.

“Never.” Sonic says confidently, Shadow almost believes him. “We’re in this together tough guy, forever.” 

Shadow smirks at Sonic, accepting his words and leaning in again. They stay that way for a little while before their communicator pads start ringing. Shadow takes out his pad since Sonic’s hands are full, Tails appears on the screen.

“Everything is ready when you are!” He exclaims with excitement. Shadow nods to Tails before quickly hanging up the call and turning back to Sonic. Sonic looks at him expectantly, Shadow takes a deep inhale before nodding to his mate.

“Okay, let’s go.” 

Sonic

When they make it back to the dome the air feels heavy, it could be from the machine but Sonic knows better. Silver clings close to Sonic and he pats him gently for comfort as they enter. As the hedgehogs enter the lab, Eggman and Tails are discussing plans while Amy packs their bags. Tails and Robotnik have both explained before that Silver can’t go with, he is needed to help power the machine. Sonic and Shadow hate that idea, but Sonic understands the necessity. He walks up to Amy quickly, leaning in close to whisper.

“If anything happens; you’ll take care of him, right?” Sonic asks, not sure who he’s even talking about at this point. Amy looks to Shadow, Tails and Silver before nodding.

“Of course. All of them.” She winks and Sonic can breathe a little easier. 

He walks up to the capsule that will hold Silver, somehow it’s supposed to transfer his energy to both teleporter and computer, giving a more accurate destination. Both parents held firm that Eggman was not going to touch Silver, so he created this device; with Tails’ approval of course. Shadow walks up to Sonic, placing a hand on his back. He doesn’t say anything but the mood is heavy, neither wants to leave their son behind. Shadow has made his opinion very clear to the group, but Sonic is feeling anxious as well. He looks down at Silver, his bundle of joy is growing quickly, to leave him feels like ripping a limb off. He lifts Silver to face him, the baby seems just as nervous and grips Sonic’s muzzle. 

“You’re my brave little hero, right kid?” Sonic asks, his son blinks at him. “Yeah, you’re going to be with Tails and Amy. You’ll be safe.” Silver coos and smiles. Shadow leans in close, Silver looks over and reaches for Shadow as well. 

“Remember our talk, never forget it okay?” Silver whines when he can’t touch Shadow. Sonic moves him over so the little hedgehog can grip Shadow’s cheek. Silver makes incoherent noises at the two and gives a large toothless smile. They stay that way for a moment, ignoring the obnoxiously loud sigh from Robotnik. 

They lay Silver down in the capsule, the hoglet giggling at them. Once he’s buckled in the machine whirs to life, and a light blue glow forms around the youngster. The marks on his paws light up brightly while the portal opens to show a much clearer picture than before. A bright cityscape with buildings standing tall and proud. Amy gasps at the sight, and Tails takes quick notes. 

“Alright, it should go back to a couple days before the Day of Disaster. Sorry, it’s the best we could do.” Tails explains. “To get back, I made these watches for you two. It will narrow in on your location and we can open a portal on our end. Less stress on Silver and the machine that way.” Tails continues as he hands out the watches. Sonic puts it on and a small screen lights up with two tails as a logo. “We can’t communicate through it, but we can see your location on it.” Tails states, then he looks to Eggman to continue. 

The doctor nods and types a few things on the computer, the screen shows the longitude and latitude of their drop location but Sonic doesn’t really know what any of that means. 

“This is where you’ll be landing, it’s the closest to where we believe Iblis first appeared. The Solaris project was top secret but I managed to obtain some of their data.” Robotnik continues, showing the pair pictures that have ‘TOP SECRET’ and ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ stamped all over them. It shows the royal family from Soleanna shaking hands with representatives from G.U.N. Another has scientists looking at computer screens while a bright flame shines in a cylindrical pod. Shadow scuffs at the photos, Sonic shakes his head. So G.U.N. caused this whole mess. Sonic understands their mission, stop the Solaris project and save the world. He knows it most likely won’t be that simple but a guy can dream.

They grab their gear and head to the portal opening, Shadow looks at Silver and walks through first; nodding to Sonic to show that it’s safe. Sonic takes one last look at Silver, not knowing what awaits when he gets back. Silver babbles at him and waves, Sonic gives a sad smile and waves back. 

“I’ll see you soon buddy. I love you.” He says, then he takes a step through the portal.

Shadow

The sun is much brighter than he remembers, it starts to cause a headache before a cloud graciously shields them. He looks around to gain his bearings, they seem to be in an alley; away from the public. He looks back to the portal but it closes shortly after they walk through, only a small scar remains before that too disappears completely. Shadow looks to Sonic, his partner is staring at where the portal was. Shadow understands the pain, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sonic jolts from the touch and looks back to Shadow, he gives his usual smile and puffs out his chest.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Sonic states proudly, back to his usual demeanor. Shadow doesn’t comment on it, he knows how Sonic is really feeling. He nods and they head off to their first destination.

Shadow groans as Sonic stops at the nearest food truck, it’s decorated like a circus and has people in clown makeup leaning at the window.

“The biggest chili dog you have please!” The person nods and goes to prepare it. Sonic gives the dorkiest smile to Shadow and he rolls his eyes. “Come on dude, I haven’t had one since everything went down and I miss it!” The young clown girl smiles as she hands Sonic the horrendous concoction. This version seems to have sprinkles on it, to match the theme. Shadow wants to vomit. Sonic doesn’t even take a breath before eating the thing, his eyes roll back like he’s in ecstasy.

“Divine.” Sonic purrs, Shadow grumbles at him. He yanks Sonic away before he can order more. They continue to a tall skyscraper with ‘Guardian Units of Nations’ on the entryway, they stay across the street to examine the perimeter. It looks unprotected but they know better.

“How do we get in?” Sonic asks, his eyes scanning the building’s length. He taps his foot impatiently, Shadow knows he’s thinking of trouble. He puts a hand up in front of Sonic to stop him before he moves.

“I’m pretty sure if you run up the building every alarm will sound. We can try my way but I can’t promise no one will notice.” Shadow states, looking at the people walking to and from the entrance. He looks higher and spots a seemingly unoccupied room, Sonic follows him.

“Oh no, not that way, it makes my stomach turn every-” Shadow grabs onto him and they disappear from the street. They suddenly reappear in what seems to be a meeting room, thankfully no one is there and the blinds are closed. Sonic groans as Shadow lets go, he holds his hands over his stomach.

“I hate you.” Sonic coughs out, acting like he’s about to vomit. Shadow ignores him and peeks out the blinds. He sees cubicles and a small number of people working, the two can easily make it past them. He peers around and spots a small door with ‘Server Room’ labelled next to it. Perfect. He goes back to Sonic, the blue hedgehog continues to act as if he’s sick. 

“You’re fine, let’s go.” Sonic glares up at Shadow before sighing out. He follows where Shadow points and nods at the plan. They speed past the workers and make it to the room with ease. 

Shadow pulls out his pad and plugs it into the computers, after a lot of computer binary he sees the word ‘Solaris’. He focuses on the word but access is blocked at every turn, eventually the pad hacks the servers to show that G.U.N. and a group of scientists from Soleanna are working on the Solaris project, but it isn’t here. He groans and tries to find the location. 

“This is boooring.” Sonic whines, Shadow glares at him before going back to the pad. He isn’t much of a computer guy but Tails thankfully made it easy for them to use. He presses a few more keys and the GPS indicates the location where Solaris is. Ironically, it’s the bunker Tails and Amy took over. 

“Found it, it’s the bunker where the team is- was at.” Shadow states, quickly unplugging everything.

“Convenient.” Sonic states, shrugging. “So G.U.N. caused all this and then acted like the good guys? How very…them.” 

Shadow scuffs in agreement, he packs everything back up and grabs Sonic’s arm. 

“Oh no, please-” and they vanish again.

Chapter Text

Sonic

When this is done he’s going to get Shadow back somehow, his stomach is doing cartwheels as they appear back on the street. Shadow releases him again and walks forward, clearly determined to finish this quickly. Sonic rolls his eyes and follows closely behind, he looks around and admires the landscape, no ruins or debris. No sudden sandstorms or horrifying demons made of flame, just a peaceful city. He wonders if Green Hills is back as well, he takes a breath in and out, enjoying the less toxic air. He misses the home they once had, when Sonic had learned he was expecting the two decided they had to find a good place to raise their child. After what seemed like forever they finally settled on a cozy little hut. It was simple enough, wood siding with a thatch roof to keep the weather out. Sonic never thought about how fast that would burn. He closes his eyes, willing the thought away.

“Silver was just born.” He sighs, placing his hands over his belly. Shadow tenses but continues walking. “It’s too bad he didn’t get to experience the world like this. Maybe when we-” 

“Stop.” Shadow demands, causing Sonic to flinch.

“What?”

“Just-just focus on the mission, I don’t want to think about anything else right now.” Shadow glances back and Sonic frowns at him. Shadow just shakes his head and turns back around to ignore him.

“O-okay.” He lets out a sigh in defeat. Sonic places his hands awkwardly at his side, but soon that feels uncomfortable and he crosses his arms. He nervously rubs at his fur and fidgets with his hands for a while as they walk in silence. It feels like torture being so quiet and walking so slow. Sonic wishes he could hold Silver right now, he chooses to distract himself with that thought.

Sonic lets out a shaky breath after his ordeal, his insides were torn apart by the tiny creature now curled up next to him. When he goes to touch the newborn it huffs and curls further into itself. Sonic continues to gently hold the hoglet, letting him know that he’s protected.

‘It’s okay little one, I’ve got you.’ Sonic mumbles, soon the hoglet unfurls to relax. He has only a few silver quills and his eyes are tightly closed, unable to open just yet. If Sonic was being honest, his son is a bit ugly; but Sonic finds it adorable. When Sonic holds out a finger for the baby his son purrs softly, his tiny paw gripping onto the finger. Sonic wishes he could have stayed in that moment forever. 

His ear flicks back when he hears a whisper, peeking out of his own quills to see Shadow. He slowly unfurls to show their son to his mate. Shadow’s eyes widen, he leans down and cradles the side of the hoglet with his hand. The youngling huffs and jerks a little at the sudden touch, but soon settles. He softly purrs at his parents as they hold him.

‘Silver.’ Shadow whispers, and Sonic smiles. Shadow returns the smile but it seems dejected, Sonic doesn’t understand why this would be a sad occasion. 

‘Are you alright?’ Sonic asks and Shadow blinks, he shakes his head to will away whatever thought was bringing him down.

‘It’s nothing, my love.’ Shadow lays a sweet kiss on Sonic’s cheek to reassure him, tucking Silver in close with Sonic. ‘You did amazing, now get some sleep. Both of you.’ Sonic blushes at the affection and gives a slow nod, he’s not sure if the intoxicated feeling is from exhaustion or Shadow’s soft demeanor. He yawns and watches his son nap next to him, smiling at his precious boy.

Sonic snaps back to reality when Shadow suddenly stops, making him nearly slam into the other. He wipes at his eyes to make sure they’re dry, he doesn’t want to distract from the mission.

“What’s going on?” Sonic asks as he peers around Shadow. He sees G.U.N. soldiers assembling near the bunker, lots of them. The bunker of the past is well hidden, grass covers the top with concrete surrounding a small doorway, the soldiers are blocking the main entrance as they group. They arrange themselves in massive lines while someone barks orders at them. The pair stay far back to watch.

“Looks like they’re increasing their security, probably because of the Solaris Project.” Shadow huffs in annoyance.

“How do we get in?” Sonic asks, concerned. 

“There’s a hatch on the top, remember? As long as they don’t have too many guards there, we should be able to get in with ease.” Shadow states confidently, Sonic can feel his cheeks flush at the attractive sight. They go back to watching G.U.N. continue their routes, Sonic can hear his stomach start to growl. 

“I’m super hungry, do you think that food truck is still open?” Sonic turns around to try and track it down. Frowning when he realizes how far they are from the city limits now.

“Sonic, please focus.” Shadow groans out, Sonic sticks his tongue out at Shadow.

The two watch for a little longer before they feel confident enough to sneak by with little fuss. They both speed down towards the hatch, the soldiers jump in surprise at the sudden sight of Sonic. 

“Hey fellas!” Sonic exclaims, they ready their weapons towards him but Shadow quickly blips between them and knocks both out cold. “Not bad.” Sonic rubs his nose with a smirk, Shadow drops down and checks the soldiers for any keys that they may need and pulls out a keycard. It looks important enough, and when they swipe it at the entrance the hatch pops open. No more guards are spotted.

They head inside and do their best to avoid any soldiers along the way. They go to the main lab, finding out what G.U.N. has been hiding. The lab has several beeping machines as well as scientists who are typing away. In the middle is a massive cylinder with a flame glowing brightly inside. It pulsates like a heartbeat, and Sonic can swear it’s watching everyone. 

“How do we do this?” Sonic whispers, he counts how many people they need to knock out. Suddenly the bright flame smacks against the sturdy glass of its container, causing the hedgehogs to jump. The scientists all stand and chatter amongst themselves, examining Solaris. A dark shadow seeps out of the container in the commotion, it quietly snakes its way towards the hedgehogs. Sonic feels something grip onto his ankle, causing him to jump.

“What the hell!?” He shouts, and the entire lab turns towards him. Ah, crap.

The scientists don’t attack, instead they look at the pair like hungry predators; ready to pounce. Sonic gulps at their intense stares, he feels like a trapped lab rat. Shadow growls and vanishes in a stream of red lightning. Sonic stands there in confusion, he gives an awkward wave to the group of people. “Hi?” He states, but before they can react Shadow quickly appears and vanishes to attack each of the scientists; quickly knocking any out before an alarm can be sounded. 

Sonic would be impressed if he didn’t feel so embarrassed, he feels the tug again and jumps forward. The dark shadow seeps back into the ground and starts to pulsate, gangly arms emerge from the ground, gripping tightly onto the concrete, soon a head appears as well, its quills drip and form more of the creature, it starts to take the shape of Sonic, though its interpretation is a bit off. What should be cobalt fur is midnight and scaly, its eyes are viridescent with a snake-like pupil. It has stripes of lazuline throughout its scales, mimicking Sonic’s loose quills. The creature tilts its head and Sonic notices there isn’t a mouth, he backs away from the monster, ending up in the middle of the lab. The Flames slam against the glass again and Sonic feels every quill stand on edge. The newly formed being stares at the two for a while, not moving or saying anything. It looks behind them to the Flames and back at the two hedgehogs.

“Interesting.” It speaks in a dark voice, sending chills into Sonic’s very bones. It saunters towards the pair, its arms swinging carelessly as it walks. Shadow snarls and moves in front of Sonic, the creature pauses and looks up. 

“What is that thing?” Sonic asks while gripping tightly to Shadow’s arm.

“Mephiles the Dark.” Shadow growls, the creature looks back down to the pair. Sonic feels his fur stand up as it stares at him. 

“Hmm.” It looks at Shadow. “This is different, I was drawn to this one instead.” It points to Sonic, glaring at him. “No matter, I should thank you just the same.” It does an approximation of a bow, bending slightly down but keeping its piercing eyes focused on Sonic. 

“How are you here?” Shadow stays in his position to protect Sonic, the blue hedgehog peeks behind himself to the Flames. That thing seems to be staring at him as well, okay he is officially freaked out. Mephiles tilts its head again, as if pondering the question.

“The better question is how are you here?” Mephiles responds, the creature continues walking towards the two, causing Shadow to push Sonic further against the containment pod. 

“Shadow…” Sonic nearly whimpers from the fear, but Shadow doesn’t listen. “I don’t like this.” Sonic takes another look behind him, he can feel Iblis’ heat lick at his quills. 

He’s had enough, he runs away from them all and goes towards the computer screen on the other side of the room. He frantically types at the computer, he isn’t sure what to look for but wants this to stop. However he keeps hitting roadblocks in the system, ACCESS DENIED flashing brightly on the screen. Shadow and Mephiles track Sonic’s movement as the Flames slam into the container towards his direction. Mephiles laughs darkly and Sonic tries to ignore the rising fear. 

“Try all you might, you cannot contain me again!” Mephiles shouts and they feel the bunker shake, Iblis slams against the tube again and this time it causes a crack to form. 

Now the alarms set off, the overhead speaker shouts about a lockdown. Causing the heavy doors of the laboratory to creak and shift down. Sonic looks between the two for a solution. Mephiles glares at the Flames and narrows its eyes before turning to Shadow. It holds its hand out and aims at the hedgehog, but as Shadow readies himself for an attack Mephiles swiftly shifts its aim to Sonic. 

“I am free!” He shouts as a blinding white tendril of power shoots towards Sonic.

Chapter Text

Shadow

“Sonic!” Shadow shouts as he runs towards his mate, the tendril slams straight into Sonic’s chest and he falls to his knees. He grabs his chest as he wheezes in pain, no please don’t die. Shadow is quickly by his side, Sonic heaving as he tries to breathe. He hears Mephiles laugh and Shadow turns back to it. The creature slinks back into the shadows and disappears under the doors before it slams closed. Iblis continues to attack the pod, causing the bunker to shake violently. If the place collapses, Shadow won’t be able to save everyone.

“Sonic, are you hurt?” Shadow checks for any obvious injuries, he doesn’t see any but they may be internal.

“J-just my pride.” Sonic jokes but Shadow ignores it. “We-we need to get them out.” Sonic coughs out. Shadow looks around at all of the unconscious scientists, they won’t survive if Iblis gets out. He looks at the container holding Iblis, the Flames inside are starting to rage, no this shouldn’t be happening. They need to flee, but the world will be destroyed again. Shadow’s mind races with what to do. Sonic pushes on Shadow’s arm for support as he stands, his legs shaking.

“Iblis!” He shouts, the Flames wrap around towards the pair. “Please listen to me, we can get Mephiles back!” Sonic shouts, the Flames sizzle, as if to hiss at them. “Just give us some time, and you can be whole again, okay?” Sonic pleads, holding his chest tight as he speaks. 

“Sonic, what are you doing?” Shadow asks, trying to keep his mate upright. Sonic winks at Shadow but it doesn’t mean much when he’s in obvious pain.

“Give us one day, alright? We’ll bring Mephiles back to you. Don’t wreck the world just yet, we can fix this.” The Flames settle for a moment, the intensity dimming. Shadow can’t believe this may actually work. Iblis twists and spins around frantically, as if in debate with itself. It pauses for a moment, pulsating brightly as if speaking. Then a small tendril leaks from the container, moving towards the pair. Shadow moves in front of Sonic, protecting his mate from whatever attack may come their way. The tendril pauses, pulsating again. Shadow does not understand what this thing could want, but the flame does not retreat. He feels Sonic move behind him, when he turns his mate winks to him, sweat dripping down his brow. 

“It’s okay.” Sonic smiles at Shadow. “I think it wants something.” He moves away from Shadow, but the dark hedgehog is unwilling to leave his side. Sonic reaches out his hand towards the flame, the tendril shoots forward and wraps around Sonic’s arm. Shadow takes Sonic’s arm in his hand, he winces at the intense heat from the flames. It sizzles into Sonic’s skin, burning away the azure fur. Sonic falls to his knees again, Shadow catching him. The flames wrap around his forearm tight, Shadow growls at Iblis as it sinks into Sonic’s skin. Soon the fire dissipates, leaving a long burn around Sonic’s arm. The fur has been scorched away, and Sonic groans in pain. 

“Sonic…” Shadow practically whimpers, seeing his mate in so much pain. Sonic leans against Shadow’s chest, trying to acclimate to the sensations. Shadow holds his mate close, trying to calm his mate and himself down. He glares at Iblis but the monster of flame does not seem affected. He feels Sonic take a deep breath inward, he holds his breath for a few seconds before releasing it out. When he moves and looks to Shadow he gives his usual confident smile, despite the obvious agony he is feeling.

“You need to stop getting hurt.” Shadow pets Sonic’s quills down, an action to calm himself more than Sonic. The hedgehog just gives a weak chuckle back, he moves to stand but his legs are weak. Shadow is there to help him stand, and looks from Iblis to Sonic. “What happened just now?”

“Ah well, I’m not sure but I think Iblis can track us now?” Sonic huffs, clinging to Shadow for support as he gains his balance. The skin on his arm is red and raw, the burn marks travel throughout his arm in a twisting pattern. Shadow wants to destroy the ball of flame that caused this damage. However, the need to get away from here is overpowering any fight Shadow has in him. 

“I’m okay, really. Come on, we don’t have a lot of time.” Sonic looks around at the now enclosed bunker. He starts to limp towards the door but needs Shadow to support him. Shadow wraps Sonic’s arm around his shoulder and holds his waist tightly. Sonic looks back at Iblis, he can feel the raw skin tingle along his arm. He shivers the feeling away, nodding to Iblis as they set to depart.

“We have to do things my way.” Shadow states, Sonic rolls his eyes and agrees. When Shadow has his consent they teleport away. Leaving the bunker a good distance behind before Sonic needs to rest again. Shadow lays his mate down on a rock, sighing out all of his excess energy.

“What the hell was that?” Shadow demands.

“Heh, I didn’t really think it would listen. Guess it really wants to be whole again.” Sonic shrugs. He takes a deep breath in and out to make sure he can breathe again. “Okay, everything seems to be alright. I just need a minute.” He grimaces as he breathes out, lifting his arm up.

“Fine.” Shadow exhales, relaxing enough to focus on Sonic. “Here, let me check you over.” Shadow kneels and looks over Sonic’s chest, there’s no blood or any sign of injury. Shadow nods and goes to Sonic’s arm, other than the fresh burns it seems to be alright. The burned fur leaves the skin bare, but it looks more like a sunburn than anything truly damaging. He huffs as he agrees with Sonic's diagnosis. He plops on the ground and lays his head in Sonic’s lap. He doesn’t know how much more his heart can take.

“Now what?” Shadow mumbles into Sonic, he feels Sonic place a hand on his head. 

“Well, now we have to find Mephiles and force him back to Iblis, then stop the project.” 

“Easy enough.” Shadow scuffs, Sonic gives a weak laugh. 

“Yeah, what’s the worst that could happen?” Sonic sighs out, they both stay there for the time being, together in contemplative silence. Shadow tries to figure out a game plan but can only think of punching Mephiles. Shadow soon stands and suggests they leave, Sonic doesn’t put up a fuss and they speed off. As they go Shadow notices Sonic isn’t going at his usual pace.

“You alright?” Shadow asks, Sonic seems lost in thought before acknowledging Shadow.

“Oh, yeah! I’m good!” Sonic smirks, Shadow doesn’t believe him but they don’t have time for a debate. This went poorly but at least they were given a chance to fix it. That’s the best Shadow can hope for.

Sonic

His body feels heavy,  and he’s struggling to keep up with Shadow. Whenever Shadow looks back at him however he pretends to act bored; he doesn’t want Shadow to worry over him when they have such little time. This pain comes with something else, it feels like he’s being pulled towards something. Something hateful and angry. These aren’t his usual emotions. Sonic doesn’t want to dwell on it, but it seems to be leading him in the right direction. 

“Turn left!” Sonic shouts, and Shadow complies. He soon slows down to match Sonic’s speed, wanting him to lead.

“Where are we going?” Shadow asks.

“I don’t know, to Mephiles, I think.” Sonic shrugs, Shadow groans but doesn’t argue. They race off between the city streets, following this awful feeling.

“He looked like me before.” Shadow breaks the silence, looking at Sonic for a moment. “When he told me what would happen, he looked like me.” 

Sonic nods, looking forward. They must already be changing the future, Sonic wonders how the crew is doing…how Silver is doing. 

“It’s a good sign right? Since he took on my handsome image, he clearly has style this time around.” Sonic smirks, Shadow rolls his eyes but doesn’t continue the discussion. Sonic takes another sharp turn as the two continue speeding throughout the city. 

Eventually they reach the city limits, making it to a forested area, the place is dense with plants and it’s becoming hard to find flat ground. The two are forced to slow down, keeping an eye out for anything that may attack. The wrathful feeling is growing stronger, they must be close now. Sonic shakes to remove the emotion, but it seems deep rooted into him. There’s a sudden pain in his chest, he winces and bends over. He groans out as an old memory resurfaces, filling him with dread.

The Day of Disaster has decimated Green Hills, the once lush landscape was burned to nothing within a day. Sonic watches his home burn while a tiny hoglet clings to him, he can’t stop gawking at the small hut crumble as it burns. He jolts when he feels a hand on his back, he turns to see Shadow with a grim expression. He sees the pain in his partner’s eyes, it matches his own. 

“S-Shad-” Sonic’s voice cracks while his mind tries to think of what to say. What could he even say? Their home is gone. “I-I…” He stutters out the words, tightening his hold on Silver and starting to curl into himself. He shouldn’t act like this, he needs to be strong. He needs to think of a plan, but all he can focus on is the Flames taking away their home.

“Hey, hey.” Shadow moves to hug Sonic. “I’ve got you.” Sonic’s shoulders shake as Shadow holds him, he lets out shaky breaths as he forces the tears back. He can feel a hatred swell deep inside him, he growls to let it out. He will end Iblis, he will kill anyone-

No, that’s not right. Those aren’t his thoughts.

“Shadow?” Sonic whimpers, clutching his chest. Shadow looks back, his eyes widen at Sonic’s sudden expression and runs back to him.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, trying to spot any injuries. 

“Nothing, I just feel….” Dread? Loathing? Sonic doesn’t really handle these feelings, they come and go just as quick as he runs. These particular emotions are ones he always avoids, they’re so dark. He isn’t willing to admit how long it took him to discard that memory, but he definitely doesn’t want it brought back up. He takes a few quick breaths and rubs at his fur to swallow it back down. Shadow reaches to hold his hand but Sonic quickly moves it away, puffing out his chest.

“I’m okay, really.” He gives a proud smile, at least that’s the look he’s trying to achieve. Shadow stares at him with a brow raised, he takes another look at Sonic’s chest before moving away.

“Just for the record, I don’t believe you.” Shadow states.

I don’t either. Sonic frowns and shakes his head before they continue again.

Chapter Text

Shadow

Shadow doesn’t know who he’s more upset at, Sonic or Mephiles. He chooses Mephiles as they go through the forest, he starts to believe Sonic is leading them on a wild goose chase when he spots stones buried beneath heavy vines. 

“Here.” Sonic says as sweat beads down his brow. Shadow follows the stones up, the stones are piled on top of one another, but Shadow does not see the top. It seems to form inward like a pyramid. It is not anything he’s seen before, was this always here?

“Hmph, stay here.” He instructs Sonic as he speeds around to find a way in. He finds an overgrown entryway with symbols arching over it. He cannot read the symbols that cover the entry but it looks far older than any society he knows of.  He pulls the vines away to see better and notices that the doorway was already forced open. Mephiles is here then, Sonic is right. As he speeds back to Sonic he suddenly freezes at the sight before him, Sonic is curled into himself and groaning in pain.

“Sonic?” He questions, Sonic gives a low growl in response. Shadow moves to lift his mate’s head but Sonic shrinks away. Shadow frowns and tries again, this time he’s successful but Sonic’s eyes have lost their gleam, he snarls at Shadow and shakes his head repeatedly. He has never seen Sonic like this before, primitive, feral. Sonic is looking through him, like he can’t recognize the sable hedgehog before him. “Tell me what’s wrong.” Shadow demands, Sonic closes his eyes, sweat dripping down his brow.

“N-no, no stay away.” Sonic whimpers, tears starting to form in his eyes. He pushes against Shadow but he keeps his hold. “Don’t hurt him, please!” Sonic shouts, he scrambles and falls to the ground as he cries out. “No, no no no no!!” Sonic whines between short breaths, when Shadow bends down to meet him the hedgehog grips onto Shadow’s wrist, his hold tightening as claws start digging into Shadow’s skin. “Shadow-” Sonic groans. Shadow ignores the sharp pain and pets Sonic’s forehead with his free hand. 

“I’m here, just breathe okay?” Shadow pulls Sonic’s claws from his wrist, the movement is strained as his mate struggles. Shadow places the hand on his own chest, taking a deep breath in before slowly exhaling it out. “Follow me.” Sonic just groans in response, his ears flat and his teeth bared. Shadow pauses a moment, waiting for Sonic to listen. He isn’t reaching his mate, he decides to go for the old fashioned way. He growls, dark and angry, commanding his mate. Sonic jolts and tenses, his ears flick forward to attention.  He shivers as his eyes look up to Shadow. “Follow my breathing.” Shadow barks, and Sonic obeys. 

He lays his hand flat on Shadow’s chest and takes a breath in and back out. He slowly starts to calm down, the fear and pain fading from his expression. Shadow continues the exercise, just as Sonic did for him. Shadow watches the light shine in Sonic’s eyes again. The azure hedgehog whines when he comes back to himself, his entire being trembles when his eyes focus on Shadow once more.

“There you are.” Shadow gives a gentle smile to his mate, Sonic weakly chuckles in response. Shadow moves to embrace Sonic’s head, petting down some misplaced quills. He’ll have to apologize for the misuse of power later. He continues to smooth over the raised fur and calms his mate. “What happened?” He asks as he feels a heavy sigh escape the hedgehog. Sonic shakes his head.

“I don’t really know.” He lets out another shaky breath. “It felt like…memories, but they aren’t real. It…it was hurt-hurting Silver.” Sonic pauses and nuzzles into Shadow, unwilling to continue. “Mephiles, it was trying to trick me. That thing…is really irritating.” Sonic grounds out; Shadow can feel the real emotion hiding below the surface. The true anger he won’t show.

“I’m sorry. We will stop him.” Shadow frowns, trying to remain calm. His head spins as he tries to process all the new information, suddenly he feels Sonic rub at his wrist. He looks down and sees Sonic frown at the fresh wound.

“I did that?” Sonic asks, Shadow nods at his mate. He holds up Sonic’s head with his other hand, leaning in to nudge against Sonic’s cheek. 

“You didn’t hurt me.” Shadow can feel Sonic purr at the affection, he wants to go home now. Take Sonic away from this, he doesn’t care if the world burns in the process; as long as Sonic is safe. He moves back and continues petting Sonic’s cheek fur to keep him calm. “We have to go, Mephiles is already inside.” Shadow doesn’t want to continue this, but they have to finish what they started.

Sonic swallows hard and nods, Shadow stands and helps hoist the hedgehog up. Sonic gives his cheeks a quick slap to prepare. He shakes his hands and bounces to stretch before he smiles at Shadow.

“I’m ready, let’s kick this thing’s butt!” 

Sonic

All the confidence he felt before they entered immediately drains out of him the second they step foot in the pyramid. The rage and pain he felt before is doubled when so close to Mephiles, he shakes again to dispel the emotions with little success. 

“You’ve come too late, leave now and I will consider sparing you.” A dark voice vibrates through the walls, causing both hedgehogs to stand at the ready.

“We don’t want to hurt you, only capture you and bring you back to Iblis so the world won’t explode.” Sonic rambles, Shadow glares back at him. A sudden intense pain slams into his skull, like a knife stabbing straight through. Sonic groans in response and Shadow quickly turns to him. He waves his mate off, giving a thumbs up. “Ow! Dude! Stop that.” Sonic groans and wills the pain to subside. They have to continue.

They enter a large chamber, Mephiles stands alone in the middle. It is staring at something up high, when they follow him they see a mural with several holes throughout. A chaos emerald would fit perfectly in them, but there are no chaos emeralds anymore. When they look back down Mephiles is facing them, holding a dark blue emerald in its hand. 

“Wait…how did-” Sonic starts but Mephiles cuts him off with a laugh, Sonic can feel his skull shake. “ Fucking stop it!” Sonic yells, Shadow turns to him, growling back to Mephiles. Sonic is surprised by his own outburst, but he doesn’t want these emotions anymore. Mephiles tilts its head at the pair, Sonic hears Shadow growl at the fiend. 

“Whatever you did, stop it now.” Shadow demands, Mephiles doesn’t answer. Its evil stare makes Sonic’s head feel like fire.

“First I take your image, now you have Iblis’ wrath. Very interesting.” Mephiles hums, holding the emerald out. “I got what I came for, now it’s only a matter of-” Sonic doesn’t let him finish speaking, he uses his spin dash and slams into Mephiles. The creature groans at the attack, but still holds onto the emerald as Sonic goes again. This time Mephiles dodges the move, using his powers to produce a shield around himself. Sonic bounces back and slides towards Shadow. 

“We’re here to take you back, and we’re not asking.” Sonic states, Shadow catches up to him and stands at the ready. Mephiles gives another dark laugh as a challenge. Sonic looks at Shadow.

“Dine and dash?” Sonic asks his mate. Shadow scuffs in response.

“Dine and dash.” He states and speeds towards Mephiles, the creature moves to evade Shadow but gets kicked from behind by Sonic. Mephiles doesn’t have time to recover before Shadow slams his rocket shoes in Mephiles’ chest, he uses their power to kick the demon hard. They continue kicking and punching Mephiles until they’re high in the air, the emerald is knocked out of Mephiles’ reach and Sonic grabs it with his teeth. He dashes back down and bounces off the ground to safety. He takes the emerald out and looks it over for any damage. Shadow sends Mephiles flying with another kick to the chest, slamming into a wall. 

“Looks pretty good.” Sonic states, turning the emerald this way and that. Shadow lands nearby, staring at the dust cloud caused by Mephiles. The demon flies out from the dust cloud, Shadow goes to attack it again when another Mephiles shoots out as well. This one aims for Sonic and hits true. The hedgehog does not have a moment to breathe before the creature is on top of him, gripping his throat tightly.

“That was a mistake.” It snarls, Sonic feels like his insides are burning, he tries to get away but Mephiles just tightens his grip. “You’re fools, thinking you can change what is done.” It lifts Sonic from the ground as he struggles to gain control.

Shadow is soon there, he uses all his power to smash his foot against Mephiles’ head. The creature flies off again, losing its hold on Sonic. The hedgehog gasps for air as Shadow leans down to check on him. The Mephiles clone melts into the ground only forming again when the real demon starts walking back towards the pair. Soon another clone forms on its other side, awesome. The real Mephiles continues its approach with its head twisted backwards, Sonic hears a cracking as its head turns back to its original position. Glaring at the pair, it shifts into a new form, bright green snake eyes shine bright against its blood red sclera. Its scaly skin shines like crystals and the ends of its quills protrude outwards in different directions. It no longer has feet, just pointed legs that levitate over the ground. Sonic can feel its rage, like a bomb begging to explode.

“No more games.” It hisses, its voice is hateful. It speeds towards Sonic again, Shadow barely manages to block its attack. It turns its attention to Shadow only to force him further away from Sonic. The two clones jump onto Shadow, keeping him occupied. 

As they fight, Sonic scrambles for the emerald, once he finds it another wave of pain strikes. He grips the emerald tightly in his hand, he weakly stands with the emerald while holding onto his head. The arm Iblis attacked earlier starts to burn, causing him to drop the emerald. Dazed as he blinks his vision clear, when he looks up there is another white flash of power shooting towards him. It hits Sonic and he falls to the ground, this time the pain is far worse. He feels like a tank slammed into him, he wheezes and struggles for air. Mephiles appears on top of him again, gripping his throat tightly and lifting him high in the air. 

Sonic struggles and can only focus on those piercing snake-like eyes. He tries kicking himself free but the demon doesn’t budge. He hears Shadow shout and sees him come towards the two. The clones are quick to stop his approach, forcing him back. Sonic chokes and gasps, but there’s no air going in. Mephiles takes his free hand and pushes it into Sonic’s chest. He tries screaming at the pain, but a weak gulp is all he can manage. The flames burning his insides are stoked by Mephiles’ touch, the agonizing pain as Mephiles’ awful claws dig deep into his chest. Sonic soon tastes blood on his lips as his vision darkens at the edges.

“Ah, a little trapped rat.” Mephiles’ voice slicks into his ears, a viper going for the kill. He’s going to die.

He doesn’t want to go like this, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Shadow, Shadow help! Sonic tries to say, but he just makes a pained wheeze. His body twitches on its own, trying to fight for survival. He loses all of the strength he has left as the demon’s hand grips tight around Sonic’s heart and neck. Sonic tries to push away but isn’t sure he even moved. It’s over, isn’t it? He tries kicking and fighting but his body refuses to listen. He can feel Mephiles’ claws, he can feel the raging fire burning the Metropolis down. He sees Silver, all grown up and smiling to his friends. Sonic regrets not being by his side. He tries to look at Shadow, catching a blurred image of his mate. He smiles to his mate just as everything goes dark.

Chapter Text

Shadow

“NO! SONIC!” He screams as he continues his attacks on the multiple creatures. Shadow tries getting over to Sonic but more clones keep appearing and making sure he keeps his distance. “Stop it!!” He snarls but Mephiles ignores him. Shadow locks eyes with Sonic, his mate gives him a weak smile, but the smile fades when Mephiles crushes his heart. All the fight leaves Shadow’s body and he crashes to his knees. No! No no no no! His mind shouts as Mephiles drops Sonic with a loud thud, Shadow can feel his world crashing around him.

“Get up, Sonic get up!” He shouts, but Sonic doesn’t move. The clones soon disappear, returning to Mephiles’ side once more. Shadow doesn’t care about them right now, he speeds over to his mate. He looks the hedgehog over, trying to keep the rising panic at bay. Sonic’s eyes are open but there’s no light, the corners are bloodshot from the lack of air and his chest is bleeding out. 

“Very interesting.” Mephiles states as it shakes the blood off its hand. Shadow puts his hands over Sonic’s wound to stop the bleeding. Sonic is still warm but he isn’t moving, why isn’t he moving? He adds pressure to stop the bleeding but it doesn’t seem to end. 

“Sonic?” He whimpers, he can’t remove his hand. “Talk to me, please talk to me.” When there is no reply he whines again, removing his hands and gasping at the damage. He looks back at Sonic's face but there’s nothing, he isn’t responding. He whimpers at the sight, he takes a shaky breath in as he holds his world together. “Please answer me. Please don’t leave me.”

They say that mates have a connection, and if they are too far or if one passes they can’t feel that connection anymore, causing them to go feral. Sonic described it as a thread, a tiny thread that connects their hearts. Shadow could see it, he even once tied thread to their fingers. Showing his mate that the connection was real. Sonic’s smile shined like the sun as he hugged Shadow close. 

Now there’s nothing. He can’t feel that connection anymore, it’s just…gone. Shadow lets out another whimper, stopping his attempts to save Sonic. He buries his face into his lover’s neck, tears pooling on the azure fur. Sonic would giggle and complain about how it tickles, but he isn’t saying anything. Shadow can’t feel him anymore.

Shadow lifts Sonic up in his arms, embracing him tightly. He takes an inhale of Sonic’s scent, anything to prove he is still here. All Shadow can smell is blood, it overpowers his senses. Shadow cries, burying his face in his mate’s neck.

“He had a portion of our power within him from my strike.” He hears Mephiles speak from behind. He peeks an eye out to glare into the demon. A small fire wraps around its arm before melding into it. Mephiles shakes the arm and laughs at the added power.

Shadow can feel a darkness start to consume him, this time, he does not fight against it. He gently lays Sonic down, shifting to remove his inhibitor rings. Mephiles picks up the emerald, curious at the sound and looks back. As the rings drop his power explodes, Shadow snarls as he feels everything inside him turn black. Mephiles’ eyes widen at the sight. Shadow shouts as the darkness explodes outward from his back, black tendrils forming into makeshift wings. His teeth puncture his bottom lip and his claws extend out to attack. Mephiles tilts its head again but Shadow is soon on top of the monster, slamming it hard into the ground. 

“What have you done!?” Shadow roars, he doesn’t even recognize his voice. 

“I saved you!” Mephiles laughs, spreading out its arms. “I took away your weakness, look at you! Join me Shadow, together we can rule this world!” Mephiles shouts but Shadow slams it harder into the ground, causing it to yelp. 

Shadow picks Mephiles up and throws the demon across the room, before the creature can recover Shadow is on top of it again. Smashing its head against the wall; while Shadow attacks, Mephiles continues laughing. Shadow tries to erase the sound but Mephiles finally decides to fight back, shooting Shadow back with a tendril of power. He slides backwards, digging his claws into the stone. 

“You destroyed my world.” Shadow snarls, glaring at Mephiles. “I’m going to kill you!”

Shadow

He isn’t sure how long he has been fighting, Mephiles has stopped laughing at least. A final hit and it is down on the floor, but it won’t be long before it recovers again. Shadow looks back to his mate, still lifeless on the floor. Another hit to Mephiles will keep the demon down for a time, he flies over to Sonic. His knees slam on the floor as he crash lands. The hedgehog’s eyes are still partially open, but the light has long faded from them. The blood has stopped, but that’s only because there’s nothing left. Shadow caresses Sonic’s face in his hands; he shakily closes Sonic’s eyes and smooths out his cobalt fur. 

Now Sonic looks to be sleeping, and something in Shadow wants to believe that. He holds onto that thought, taking his mate’s hand to comfort him while he sleeps.

“You’re freezing, my love.” Shadow whimpers, he moves to warm Sonic’s hands with his own heat. “It’s okay, I’m here. I’ll keep you warm.” Shadow leans his head against Sonic's. If he listens close enough he can hear Sonic breathing, his mate is just recovering, he’ll be okay. He has to be alright. Shadow closes his eyes tight and grips Sonic’s hand in his own. “Please wake up.” He begs, but there’s only silence. Soon Mephiles will reform again, and Shadow will continue to fight him. He doesn’t have anything to imprison Mephiles, but Shadow has chosen to keep him here. Fighting for however long he needs to, it is his only choice. 

Shadow takes in a shaky breath, trying to ignore the emptiness he feels. Then he hears a new sound, assuming Mephiles has reformed he growls and sits up. When he turns he doesn’t see Mephiles, but…a portal? It shines so bright Shadow can’t see the other side, he shifts to protect Sonic from whatever may come out. A silver furred hedgehog floats gently from the portal, a bright blue light shines around him. Shadow’s eyes widen when he sees his grown son, smiling down at him.

“Silver?” Shadow’s voice cracks, his throat dry. The hedgehog nods and lands in front of Shadow. 

“Hey dad.” He says, which surprises Shadow more. 

“You-you know who I am?” Shadow isn’t sure what to think, when Silver steps closer to him he lays a protective hand over Sonic’s body. Growling on instinct, keeping the hedgehog at a distance from Sonic. Silver stops his approach, nodding to Shadow.

“It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt him. I’ve come to help.” Silver puts up his hands to show no threat, Shadow doesn’t move but he stops growling. Silver turns to Mephiles, its body is slowly regenerating but it’s not ready for a fight yet. Silver walks over and puts out his hand, trapping the mass with his powers. It angrily writhes inside the new prison but does not break through. Silver goes to the emerald nearby and scoops it up. He turns and heads back to Shadow, offering the emerald to him. Shadow stares at the emerald and looks back up to Silver. 

“I don’t understand.” 

“Take it, save him with it.” Shadow reaches for the emerald, taking it from Silver and staring at his own reflection. He looks monstrous, he feels a tinge of embarrassment at the sight. 

“One isn’t enough, and…” Shadow looks to Mephiles, he feels his anger rise again. “What about that?” Shadow growls and Silver turns to the creature he is holding.

“Oh! I almost forgot, sorry!” He jolts and fumbles at the rings around his wrists. Shadow is taken aback by the sudden change, it’s so like Sonic he can’t help but chuckle. Silver smiles back at him, and steps aside to let someone else through the portal. “I didn’t come alone.” Silver says. As he speaks Blaze and Omega jump through the portal. Omega opens its compartment and reveals the chaos emeralds it had stored. Blaze holds a few of her own, offering them to Shadow.

“ Greetings. Shadow. The. Hedgehog. ” Omega states, Shadow hasn’t seen Omega in so long. He nods to the pair. Blaze gives a somber smile to Shadow, then turns to Silver.

“We’ll keep it occupied.” She states, Silver nods and the emeralds float away from the pair; they quickly turn and run towards Mephiles. Shadow can’t believe what he’s seeing, he reaches for Sonic to have him confirm but stops when he remembers.

“I don’t…” he pauses, sighing. “Even if he’s healed, we have no way to stop Mephiles.” He shakes his head. “I failed.” 

“You didn’t fail, you will save the world. Both of you.” Silver bends down, placing a gentle hand on Shadow’s shoulder. He flinches at the touch. “Dad, look at me.”

Shadow does as his son asks, taking in all of the features he can. He goes to touch his son’s face but stops when he sees his bloody claws. Silver takes his hand, smiling at him. Shadow looks at the marks, glowing brightly and leading to the rings around his wrist. He has the inhibitor rings like Tails said, and the marks are glowing brightly through his gloves. Shadow looks back up to his eyes, a beautiful golden color. Shadow remembers when Silver first opened his eyes, he was so relieved that they didn’t match his. His eyes are a perfect blend of both parents, and nothing of Black Doom.

“It’s a little weird, right?” Silver chuckles lightly at Shadow, rubbing at the quills behind his head. Shadow doesn’t know how to feel, he opens and closes his mouth a few times before words manage to form.

“You’re really here.” Shadow says, trying to understand the situation. His ears perk when he hears a commotion from behind, Mephiles breaks through Silver’s hold, and new clones start to form. Blaze attacks the main body with her fire as Omega fires several shots at the clones, and the creature hisses from the new onslaught. 

“Here, I have another gift for you. We’ll use it to seal Mephiles away.” Silver takes out an odd looking scepter, it feels just as dark as Mephiles. He remembers this, the Scepter of Darkness. Silver lays his hand on top of Shadow’s, giving his father’s smile. “We’re here to help, I’m going to keep Mephiles busy for a while, you need to save Papa okay?” Silver stands up and heads to help his friends. Shadow turns back to Sonic, quickly placing the chaos emeralds around his mate.

Shadow exhales, looking at the display. He closes his eyes, taking another deep breath in and out. Whatever you wish will become reality, Shadow wants to go home, he wants to hold his young son again, he wants his mate back. He focuses on the last one, begging the emeralds to grant him this wish. 

“Please, bring him back to me.” Shadow pleads, the emeralds start to shine brightly. Shadow concentrates on Sonic. Thinking about holding him again, kissing and loving him. Being annoyed at all of his bad jokes but wanting to spend eternity with him anyways. He thinks about Sonic’s dorky smile, and how he sometimes snorts when he laughs. Shadow teases him about it but he secretly finds it so adorable. The emeralds gleam brightly and start to spin rapidly around Sonic. Suddenly there’s an explosion of light, Shadow has to block his face when it happens. 

When he looks again Sonic is glowing bright gold, Shadow’s eyes widen as he watches Sonic heal in front of him. The hole closes and the bloodstains disappear, when Sonic opens his eyes they glow bright red. He slowly descends and gently touches down, Shadow slowly walks up to him. Hoping this is real, that Sonic is alive. Sonic gives a smirk to his mate, holding out his hand. Shadow slowly takes it, watching his own fur change to a bright white and red. He feels the power of the emeralds surge through him. The darkness gives way to the power of the emeralds, his claws and fangs go to their normal state and his black wings melt away. Shadow looks at his mate again, the hedgehog still smirking. Shadow doesn’t care about anyone else at the moment. He tightens his grip on Sonic’s hand and pulls him into a kiss, clinging tightly to his mate. Sonic is warm again, and Shadow can feel his strong heartbeat. Shadow nestles into Sonic’s neck, causing his mate to giggle. He takes a deep inhale to reestablish their bond, he can feel the connection between them, like being whole again. 

“Don’t ever do that again.” Shadow whines, he feels Sonic cling to him.

“I’m sorry.” Sonic whispers, his voice hoarse. “I won’t.”

They break the embrace to admire each other before they are brought back to reality. They hear a shout and look over to Silver, Blaze and Omega. The three narrowly avoid an attack from Mephiles, they retaliate by sending a blazing rock towards the creature. 

“Is that-?” Sonic starts and Shadow nods.

“Our son, he saved you.” Shadow states proudly, the admiration is short lived when Mephiles grabs at Silver’s leg, slamming him into the wall. “We have to help.” Shadow looks at Sonic, who nods in agreement. Time to save the world.

Chapter Text

Shadow

The two fly over to the battle, Mephiles takes aim at Silver but Shadow decks him hard in the face. Sonic quickly attacks Mephiles’ chest to force the creature away. It is flung back and hits the ground hard. It has changed its look now, it barely resembles Sonic anymore. Its crystalline skin has obvious cracks throughout as it breaks apart, its body wobbles and shakes each time it recovers.

“No…no, you’re supposed to be dead.” It hisses, trying to stand. Shadow snarls at the beast, flying over and slamming into the creature and sending it into the far wall, when Mephiles smacks against the rocks Shadow is on top of it again.

“Never! Touch! My! Family!” Shadow emphasises each word with a hard punch to Mephiles’ face. The creature groans as it deforms, its body weakly tries to move away but Shadow forces it back with another assault. 

“Dad! Use this!” Silver chucks the scepter in the air, Sonic grabs it and flies over to Shadow, holding it to Mephiles. The creature screams and hisses, trying to get away. The darkness around Mephiles is being pulled into the scepter, forcing him to be sealed.

“No! No, I want to exist!” Mephiles cries but is ignored, it screeches as it is sucked into the scepter. “NOO!!” It hisses and tries to flee, but it cannot win against the seal. Soon the scepter consumes Mephiles, the purple aura around the scepter glowing bright. It clanks as it falls to the ground. For a moment they stare at the seal, still ready to fight if Mephiles somehow escapes. 

They need to bring it back to Iblis, Solaris needs to be whole. Sonic takes the seal, looking at Shadow with a confident smile. It takes all of Shadow’s self control not to ravish Sonic right here and now.

“Well, now you just have to bring it back to the bunker.” Silver breaks the silence first, giving an awkward laugh. Shadow feels the emerald’s power fading, he looks to Sonic, the blue hedgehog nods back in confirmation. The emeralds are leaving soon, they don’t have much time. Shadow turns and walks to Silver, placing a hand on his shoulder. The kid blinks at him in confusion.

“You’re an amazing hero. I’m so proud of you.” Shadow says, Silver blushes and looks towards the ground at the compliment. Shadow must not say it enough, he will remember to say it more often. 

“Wait, you said ‘dad’ earlier!” Sonic yells, making Silver jump. “Why did you say that?” He presses, Silver rubs at his back quills again. 

“Oh, I know who you are, Dad.” He nods to Shadow. “And papa.” He nods to Sonic, whose expression turns to disgust.

“Papa? That’s terrible! Why is he ‘dad'? That’s way better!” Sonic starts rambling, Shadow shakes his head. 

“That’s enough, we still need to finish this mission.” Shadow gently states, he looks at Sonic and rolls his eyes. His mate pouts and crosses his arms. 

“Fine, we’ll work on that later.” Sonic grumbles out.

“We have to go now, we can’t be here long.” Silver shrugs, moving away from Shadow. Blaze nods to him, she taps on her wrist and another portal appears. She looks back and gives a soft smile to the team. Omega looks at the team, raising an arm up.

“Goodbye. Shadow. Sonic. The. Hedgehog.” It jumps through the portal quickly, never one to waste time.

“We must be going, but it was lovely to meet you.” She bows to them, Shadow doesn’t know how to respond but Sonic does a fancy bow in return. Blaze giggles as she waits for Silver. He turns back to his parents, Silver there is a pregnant pause before the argent hedgehog embraces Shadow tight. The dark hedgehog is surprised by the affection, but soon returns the hug.

“I will always love you.” Silver whispers, clinging to Shadow. Shadow gently pats Silver’s back in reply. When Silver releases him, there are tears in his eyes. “I never forgot.” Shadow’s eyes widened at the confession. Silver doesn’t give him much time to react before going to Sonic. He hugs Sonic just as tightly, causing the hedgehog to grunt.

“Oof!” Sonic huffs, but soon hugs his son back with the same love. 

“I love you, kiddo.” He rubs Silver’s back. “I’m proud of you, too. Even though Shadow said it first, making me look bad.” Silver laughs at that, giving another squeeze before pulling away. He walks towards Blaze before turning back. 

“Goodbye for now!” Silver beams, Blaze hops through the portal. Silver starts to go but floats in the air for a moment. He looks back at the two. “Next time, leave time travel to the professionals.” He winks and floats through the portal, vanishing before them. 

Shadow watches as their son leaves and smirks at his last words to them. They take a moment to just breathe before Sonic shouts. Shadow can feel the emeralds’ power fading, he keeps his stare at the portal, his son is a hero.

“Crap! We have to go!” Sonic shouts as he suddenly speeds off, leaving Shadow in the dust. Shadow turns to where Sonic has left him before grabbing the seal and turning back towards the now closed portal. 

“I will see you soon.” Shadow says, nodding before flying after Sonic.

Sonic

They race back to the bunker, the soldiers they knocked out before are back to their positions, this time there are more. Sonic doesn’t have time to deal with them again, he flies right past them, leaving them all confused and shouting. He hears Shadow say something but he ignores it for the time being. Once in the lab all of the scientists start scrambling and yelling at Sonic, but his focus is on the fireball in the middle. The crack from before has been repaired, but he knows it won’t hold for long. Iblis’ fire expands when it sees Sonic, stretching against the containment pod. Sonic can’t feel its rage anymore, but he understands it just the same. Shadow soon joins him, holding the seal. Iblis hisses at the sight, the flames spinning furiously. Alarms blare everywhere and Iblis slams into the pod. 

“Stop it.” Sonic says, glaring at Iblis. The Flames hiss at him in reply, contesting his power.

“You can’t take Solaris! We’ve spent our whole lives on this research, we won’t let you take it!” One scientist shouts, Shadow blips away from Sonic’s side and appears behind the man.

“You do not control this power, and you never will.” Shadow quickly taps the scientist in the back and knocks him out. The other scientists raise their arms in defeat, remembering what Shadow did before. Shadow throws the seal to Sonic, who catches it with ease. 

“Alright, this will only sting a little.” Sonic states as he floats towards the pod, the Flames spin and expand. He thinks it’s growling at him, but he isn’t going to play anymore. He nods to Shadow, his mate blips to another scientist.

“Open the pod.” He snarls, the scientist quivers but does not listen. Shadow slams his fist on the computer next to the scientist. “Now!” He roars, the person quickly taps at the keyboard and sets off more alarms as the pod lowers. 

Everyone starts running down the hallway, shouting for any soldiers to aid them. The brave scientist from before groans awake at the new alarm, rubbing his neck. He sits frozen on the ground, watching the Flames leave the containment pod. As the pod shifts down Iblis fires a shot at Sonic, but he easily avoids it. Fire starts in the laboratory, this whole place should burn anyways. Iblis grows as it realizes it is free, it fires another shot at Sonic but he easily dodges the assault and holds out the seal to the beast. The Flames seem to laugh at him, Sonic doesn’t understand, the seal should work. 

“Why isn’t this working?” He taps the scepter on his knee. 

“It needs a symbiotic relationship to survive!” The scientist coughs out, sweating from the heat and the smoke filling his lungs. Sonic looks down at him then back up to Iblis. It hisses as it starts to form limbs, oh no. 

“Wait, what does that mean?” Sonic demands, the scientist coughs more from the smoke. Shadow quickly appears by the scientist, he leads the scientist away from the danger and ushers him down the hall. 

“It needs a host.” Shadow says as he appears next to Sonic, giving a chaste kiss to his cheek. Shadow smiles as the power bestowed by the emeralds fades from his body. Sonic feels the same thing starting to happen to him, he drops to the ground when the energy starts to wither. Sonic reaches for Shadow but his mate is already walking away. He turns to Iblis and puts his arms out wide. The emeralds follow Shadow, floating above him.

“No–” Sonic quietly pleads. What is Shadow doing? “No–wait…”

“Eternal Sun, Soleanna has betrayed you!” He shouts to the Flames. “I understand your rage, join me, use me as your host. I will protect your light.”  Shadow recites, Iblis burns brightly, the fire expanding. It flies into the chaos emeralds, turning into a single ray of light. Sonic tries running over to Shadow but stops at the sudden explosion of light. The beam shoots down into Shadow causing him to scream in pain. No, no no no! This cannot be happening, please not Shadow. 

“NO!” Sonic shouts again, running over to his partner. By the time he makes it to his mate Iblis is gone, even the fire in the room has stopped. There's cool air around the lab again as Shadow drops to the floor. Sonic is quickly at his side, he cradles Shadow close. His mate lays unconscious in his arms, his eyes are closed and he holds a pained expression. Sonic tries to shake him awake, but it’s of no use.  “Shadow no! No! You can’t do this! Shadow!” He cries, burying his head in Shadow’s neck. Sonic can only hear his own racing heartbeat when next to Shadow. “Please, please, please.”

“So loud.” He hears a hoarse voice reply, Sonic jolts up. Shadow gives a weak smirk. Sonic’s vision blurs, but not from the smoke in the room. Instead tears fall from his eyes. Crap, he’s crying!

“Shadow! What-why-how-?” Sonic’s questions all come up at once, sobbing while holding his mate. Shadow shifts to sit up, he winces but moves to wipe Sonic’s tears away. “I-I thought you were going to die!” Sonic wails, Shadow chuckles from the display and holds Sonic close. “I hate crying, why are you making me cry? This isn’t funny!” Sonic continues, feeling Shadow rub at his back quills.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Shadow says calmly, trying to comfort his mate. There’s a pause as Sonic sobs into his mate’s chest. “You’re getting me all wet.”

“Shut up, I hate you!” Sonic cries, earning another laugh. Eventually Sonic manages to break away from their embrace, wiping at his eyes. When he’s done he glares at Shadow, who just shrugs at him. 

“Only one of us gets to die today; and you can’t always be the reckless one.” Shadow says, gently rubbing at Sonic’s cheeks to dispel any remaining tears. The cobalt hedgehog sniffles and punches Shadow lightly in the arm. “Ow.” Shadow smirks and kisses Sonic on the temple, he continues grooming Sonic’s quills, the action helps calm both of them down.

When Shadow is satisfied he looks back to Sonic, smiling like an asshole. Sonic grabs onto Shadow’s chest fur and surges forward to kiss Shadow hard. Shadow mumbles something but it’s drowned out by the kiss. Sonic pushes further into him, making sure no one questions their bond. He feels Shadow chuckle into his mouth, Sonic shivers in response. Shadow grips onto Sonic's hips, yanking his mate onto his lap. Crap, he wants to do it right now. 

“The ‘never leaving each other’ thing goes both ways, you know.” Sonic whispers between kisses. Shadow purrs. 

“I go where you go, my love.” Shadow slides his hand up Sonic’s back, he really wants to do it. He suddenly jolts back, making Shadow whine at the sudden separation. Sonic looks around the room and back at Shadow. 

“What about Iblis?” Sonic asks, Shadow has an annoyed expression on his face. He clears his throat before speaking.

“It has a host now, one that will never die.” Shadow says, closing his eyes. “Iblis is…asleep; for now.”

“And what happens when it wakes up?” Sonic asks, but Shadow just shrugs at him.

“Let’s go home first, we’ll figure out the logistics after. I want to hold our son again.” Shadow taps on their watches and the tails logo appears brightly. “Hopefully this worked.” He presses a button and the watch lights up with the longitude and latitude of their location. A spark ignites behind them before a distorted rift appears in the air, soon a portal opens to them. Sonic helps Shadow stand and they walk towards the portal.

“Well, I think that’s a good sign.” Sonic says, he looks to Shadow. His mate nods towards the portal, wanting Sonic to go first. “No, we go together.” Sonic grabs Shadow’s hand and grips it tightly. Shadow smiles and tightens his own grip.

“Let’s go.” They walk side by side in the portal, their hands clasped together. 

Chapter Text

Sonic

As they step out of the portal Sonic first notices the bright white room, the second thing he notices is how much higher they are in the air. He does not have time to catch himself and falls onto his face.

“Oww.” Sonic groans, rubbing at his nose. He hears Shadow land on both feet next to him, show off. 

When he looks up he sees an Eggbot floating by a control switch, it turns to the pair and waves a long robotic hand at them. Sonic sits up and cautiously waves back to it. He takes a look at their surroundings, it’s much brighter than before, the room’s layout is different. The teleporter they left in was showing obvious signs of neglect, wires hung all around it in colorful tangled webs. This one seems to take up the entire room, the floor around them is grated and the computers are on a different wall. Things have certainly changed. Shadow offers his hand to help Sonic stand, he accepts it and goes towards the Eggbot.

“Hello?” Sonic asks the machine. It gives a series of beeps and points towards a door, Sonic gives a weary nod and walks through the door. They enter a more expansive white room, the light is so bright they nearly blind him. When his vision adjusts he can see massive windows showing clouds and a bright blue sky. Did they really do it? Sonic suddenly feels cold without Silver next to him, he crosses his arms over his stomach and sighs. 

“Robotnik!” Shadow shouts, they hear a crash and then some yelling. A far door opens and the doctor slides into the room, looking disheveled. At least he is dressed this time.

“You made it!” Eggman shouts, his arms out wide. He goes to hug the pair but Shadow immediately moves to block him from Sonic. Growling at the man to keep his distance.

“Where is Silver?” Shadow demands, but Robotnik doesn’t seem swayed by the threat. He clears his throat and straightens. 

“This way.” He extends his arm out to escort them to yet another room. They follow him, Sonic frowns, something must be wrong, why isn’t Silver right by the machine. 

Sonic head pounds as it spirals with thousands of possibilities. He flinches when he feels someone take his hand, he looks up and sees Shadow giving a reassuring smile. Sonic tries to give one back but he’s too anxious. Sonic nods, keeping one hand on his stomach while letting Shadow lead him. They go into what seems to be a bedroom, there are toys scattered all over the ground and the room is brightly painted like a nursery. Shadow looks around the room but Sonic doesn’t bother, he sees a precious child playing with his best friend in the middle of the room. He’s making little toys float around and clapping his hands in excitement. 

“Silver!” Sonic shouts as he speeds towards his son. Silver looks over but is soon spinning in the air before he can recognize who called for him. Sonic spins around with his son high in the air, he smiles brightly and giggles. 

“Papa! Papa!” Silver babbles, and Sonic feels another wave of tears coming. He slows down and cuddles Silver close to him. He’s older than when they left, he recognizes his name now and can speak! Though Sonic feels guilty that they missed Silver’s first words; he shoves the feeling away and replaces it with the joy he feels holding his son. Shadow walks up behind them, sliding his arms around Sonic’s middle to view their son. Silver blinks at Shadow and giggles. When Silver reaches for Shadow, Sonic turns so that his mate can hold Silver as well. They end up settling with Silver nestled between them. He babbles and coos at his parents, smiling up at them. Sonic notices a few teeth have started to grow in as well.

“How long were we gone?” Sonic asks, Tails stands up and pats at his legs. 

“A couple of months, though because of the time distortion our memories are a bit fuzzy.” 

“It was only a couple of days!” Sonic shouts, what does he mean time distortion? He’s very confused. “You’re gonna have to explain what happened.” He looks to Tails, then gives a hard look at Shadow. “Don’t think you’re off the hook either.” 

Shadow nods in acknowledgement but keeps his focus on the toddler. The toddler? Sonic feels weird thinking that. Tails goes over to the pair and gives a proud smile.

“I can show you, but I’ll let you all catch up first. Meet us in the computer room when you can.” Tails walks over to the entrance with Eggman, leaving the family alone. 

Sonic looks down at his son, Silver beams up at him causing Sonic to let go of the weight on his shoulders. He leans into Shadow, squishing Silver in the process. Their son giggles and squeezes Sonic’s fur in his paws. He feels Shadow move in closer as well, taking an inhale of their scents. This moment, this makes everything they suffered worth it. Sonic feels a pang of guilt for almost failing, with a shaky breath he releases the overbearing weight he was feeling. His body feels lighter now, and he feels like he can finally relax. He feels Shadow nudge his forehead, Sonic peeks up at his mate. Shadow’s soft smile almost makes him melt to the floor, Shadow nods down towards Silver. The hoglet is starting to fuss about being squished so much.

“Oh, sorry bud.” Sonic shifts away from Shadow, he keeps his hold on Silver and finally notices how heavy he’s become. He gently places Silver on the floor and soon joins him. Silver claps and smiles bright, offering a toy to his parents. Shadow gingerly sits down as well, admiring their son.

“Still a no for ‘papa’?” Shadow inquires, Sonic rolls his eyes. 

“We’ll work on it, it’s really cute right now.” He says, hearing a light chuckle from Shadow. They spend a while in the room, getting to know each other again. 

_______

Shadow

The hedgehogs leave the nursery with Silver, the hoglet clings to Sonic as he naps. Shadow tries to ignore the lingering image of Sonic’s bleeding chest and gently pats his son’s head. When they enter the large room the whole team is there, Eggman stands by his computer while Amy, Knuckles, Rouge and Tails all go towards the hedgehogs.

“Come look!” Amy takes Sonic’s arm and drags him towards the windows. Shadow stays behind for a moment until he hears a gasp from Sonic.

“Shads, you have to see this.” Sonic says, Shadow raises a brow at Rouge who giggles and nods towards his mate. He walks over to Sonic and peers down; what he sees almost takes his own breath away. 

The ship they’re on floats above the city calmly, the buildings stand tall again. The streets are busy with life, cars and people travel throughout as if nothing had happened. Shadow looks further out and can even see a distant hill covered with greenery. Their home. Silver can actually go back home, Shadow takes a shaky breath in. He feels Sonic take his hand, and Shadow squeezes it back. 

“So, it’s done?” Shadow asks, turning to the group. They all smile wide, nodding. 

All except for Eggman and Tails. The doctor groans while Tails shows him something on a pad, looking to Shadow and back to the device. He raises a brow and clears his throat.

“It seems Iblis has a new host. Mind explaining that?” He asks Shadow, causing everyone to look at the hedgehog. He can feel Sonic’s grip tighten, but Shadow isn’t threatened. He closes his eyes and nods to the group.

“Iblis is dormant, but yes, it is inside of me.” Shadow places a hand on his chest, everyone except Rouge takes a step back. She just looks at him with a dejected expression, but he isn’t sure if it’s for him or everyone else. “It was the only way.” Shadow sighs out, he looks back at Sonic for support. The hedgehog is clearly anxious but when he looks to Shadow he nods. 

“I trust you.” Sonic states, Shadow knows he means it. The team looks at each other in obvious debate, Rouge is the first to speak.

“I’m always by your side.” She nods, the others take a moment before turning back to the hedgehogs.

“Same here, whatever happens.” Amy stands tall, Knuckles makes a ‘hmph’ sound while nodding. 

“Shadow?” Tails ask, anxiousness heavy in his voice. Shadow turns to him. “We’re friends, right?” He fidgets with the corner of his tablet, the two tails flick nervously as well. Sonic goes to speak before Shadow cuts him off.

“Of course.” He says, the fox’s eyes widen in surprise and he smiles wide at Shadow. “Great, would you be willing to let me scan your body signature, it’s fascinating.” He starts, Shadow gives a smirk in response. 

“Okay, enough about him. What about the world? Did we do it!?” Sonic shouts, excited by everyone’s enthusiasm. Shadow notes the loud groan from Eggman but ignores it.

“Yes, yes. The Flames of Disaster never came to be, the world is saved. Blah, blah congrats heroes, here's a cookie.” Eggman flails his hands around in annoyance. “Now get out. It’s far too crowded.” He huffs. The team laughs at the doctor and pokes fun at him. 

“Aww, now is that any way to treat your friends?” Amy gives her signature puppy eyes to Robotnik. Shadow is fairly certain the doctor is about to explode. Tails giggles but starts explaining the situation.

“Due to the distortion our memories from before are hazy, but here is what we know. The Day of Disaster never happened. G.U.N. made a deal with the country Soleanna to make an ‘Eternal Sun’. They said it was to create a constant source of energy to power major cities and even the whole world, but they really wanted to use it for time travel. The Solaris Project was far too ambitious and unstable. Thankfully their plans were thwarted by the great hero Sonic the Hedgehog!” Tails continues, cheering when saying Sonic’s name. Knuckles punches the air around them to reenact the scene. 

“Since then G.U.N. has been pretty quiet, losing the public’s faith hit them pretty hard.” Amy states, turning to Rouge. She nods and continues the conversation.

“As an agent I’ve been keeping an eye on them, for now they’ve been behaving. I’ll let you know if anything changes of course.” She winks to Shadow, who smirks back at her. 

“Robotnik?” Shadow asks, the doctor gives an exasperated sigh.

“What?” 

“Thank you, without your help. We couldn’t have done this.” Shadow says, the man peeks over his glasses at the hedgehog. 

“Yes, of course. If anything I saved the world, but the world only sees one hero.” The team collectively rolls their eyes at him. Shadow understands him though, that’s the closest to a ‘you’re welcome’ they will get. There’s a pregnant pause before Robotnik starts up again. “Okay leave! I’m tired of this!” They all laugh as they head out of the lair, Eggbots ushering them to pods to go home. Once in the pods Sonic sits close to Shadow. 

“Home.” Shadow mumbles, Sonic leans his head against Shadow. Sonic hums and nuzzles into the crook of Shadow’s neck. 

“Home.” Sonic echoes. 

________

Sonic

As they land at the meadow just outside Green Hills, Sonic almost starts to weep. The lush green fields expand over the horizon, and large mountains tower over them, great places for running. He doesn’t wait for the pod to land before he leaps out, earning a shout from Shadow. Sonic ignores it and speeds towards the one place he hopes still exists. Silver giggles and babbles as they fly towards the cave entrance. He quickly stops when they arrive, he slowly walks towards the entryway and peers in. It isn’t lived in, but it’s not destroyed. His eyes light up and he runs around the cave.

”It’s here, it’s really here! Silver, we're home!” Sonic shouts, Silver clapping and babbling along excitedly. Soon Shadow is at the entrance as well, admiring the two. As he looks around he gives a disappointed ‘hmph’. 

“What?”

”Nothing, it’s just missing the dusty mattress and the broken windows.” Shadow smirks to Sonic. Sonic rolls his eyes in response.

”Screw that, that dump has nothing on this!” He extends his arms, Silver follows suit. Causing Shadow to chuckle at the display. He saunters up to Sonic, leaning in to rub at his mate’s cheek. Sonic leans into the touch, nuzzling close. 

“It doesn’t have our things.” Shadow states.

”Everything I want is right here.” Sonic purrs, Shadow lightly chuckles and kisses Sonic’s forehead.

”I agree.” Shadow sighs out, he keeps his mouth on Sonic’s forehead for a moment then moves to look at Sonic again. “We’re home.” He speaks softly, his low voice makes Sonic’s knees weak. 

He leans in to kiss Shadow, his mate happily returning the kiss. They are lost in each other until they hear a grumble from below. When they lean back Silver has an annoyed expression, babbling and demanding Shadow hold him. Shadow obliges him as well, taking him out of the pouch and holding his son on his hip. Sonic takes a deep breath in and out, smelling the air and admiring his surroundings.

”We’re home.”