Chapter Text
When the world reappeared, the underworld did too. Despite the loser box being turned off, he was incredibly weak and almost broken. He was lying on the floor, indoors, after the storm had calmed down a bit. The wind still buzzed like ever, it roared outside until Sonic closed the window. The windowsill was decorated in many, many raindrops.
His body was spread out on the floor like a starfish but at least he wasn't in the middle of the ocean. A shark could've eaten him alive, though Sonic chose otherwise. Praises go to the shark for trying.
One thing was that he was completely naked on the floor and his genitals were exposed to the air. He slowly closed his legs from whatever energy he could recover. Moving them had some sort of resistance.
After bringing his hands together, he came to realise that he was sticky. His whole body was sticky. Shadow patted himself down with his ungloved hands.
Not only was it sticky, it smelt horrible. No, it was urine. Some very concentrated urine. His quills were full of it too, rubbed on every inch. His face was covered and mushed in it and stuck to his fingers.
“Hello.”
Sonic came from the side and sat down on his crotch, facing him.
“I'm sorry I put you in the water, now I know what that felt like. I'm so sorry, I tried to warm you up. I hope you feel better…”
He cooed while stroking his chest fur with fake guilt on his expression. It was dampened with piss and had a hue of orange to the white canvas.
It was as if the sky had burnt his body and sent him to the bottom of the treacherous ocean to surrender and melt. The reason he was still breathing was because of that one water-fearing hedgehog. If he never woke up, he would've never had time to judge or care. Reviving was neither part of the plan, or a heroic gesture in any universe.
Shadow felt him savouring the miasmic aroma where he couldn't choose to breathe at that point without literally throwing up. The wet tongue glided across his lips and cheek. It went higher and higher, but it didn't stop when it reached his eyeball.
He rose and gasped, trying to rub his eye out of that peculiar sensation followed by a few coughs that got his blood up and running. The raw blood that escaped his lips again.
“Shadow.”
Sonic's face was sparkling in his disgusting blood, giving him an extra 3 hours in the shower. He quickly rubbed it off with his glove that he could easily throw away, but his skin was already slightly purple.
“Listen to everything I say. And you will get a prize, hedgie.”
He traced the lining of his muzzle with his tongue, careful of the eyes this time round. There was no hint of whose piss he was smacking his lips against.
“Get this shit off of me first.”
Shadow still had little strength to speak but in a low almost mumbly voice. He twitched at Sonic's motions, visibly uncomfortable and weakened.
“You can't talk back. You just can't. You know you can't.”
He removed his tongue to capture the taste, then slightly shuffled forwards with hands on his shoulders. His head slid underneath Shadow's chin as the words got to him. Of course Sonic didn't care about him, he hated questioning himself.
“I want you to pick a number from one to five.”
This was another annoying part of him. He wanted to refuse, to fight back, to run away, but neither of those would have a happy ending whilst Sonic's in possession.
“One.”
The most dangerous option. One was definitely the first, most gruesome yet creative idea that he thought of. The last numbers would've been random to reach a regular number. But at the moment, there was no point of a hack at such a low.
“God, I love you.”
Sonic planted a kiss on his lips that he didn't reciprocate for obvious reasons, then stood up to gain a higher ground. With hands on hips, he lowered his gaze to what he shouldn't.
“You're very pretty.”
Humiliation didn't get to him anymore. There were no moral standards blocking his way from peace. Survival wasn't ever the right word for it.
Carefully, he placed his foot on top of the sacred area, ready to stomp with full force so Shadow was on the edge of the cliff. If he moved, he would fall. If he fell, he would land on a branch. If he landed on a branch, he would cut every inch of his skin and be sent to the hospital to make it out alive, but after his ridiculously early discharge he'll be sent on the cliff again for the cycle to commence.
So the correct answer was to give in and obtain the next level strawberry pancake cock. It wouldn't be enough without strawberry syrup. He wasn't too far from seeing his liquids cover the room, floor to ceiling.
“Look up, you'll be less scared.”
It sent a shiver inside of him to acknowledge fear, and that it was growing the longer he felt Sonic's foot tickling his shaft. He obediently looked up at Sonic.
But this way, it was worse.
Eye contact. An affectionate action between the two, now made his blood boil before a brutal procedure. Fear? It was petrifying. Not only Sonic, it was the fact that he was underneath him, and that he knew exactly what would happen and how it would feel. The way Sonic grinned back at him, his green eyes also, grinning back at him, which was redder than his own eyes could ever turn. Red, to foreshadow the mess. Those pupils were magnificently daunting, but he was forced to look at it. To know that Sonic wasn't anymore being careful. Anymore, paying attention. Only pulling strings inside out without a hypothesis. Who needed a hypothesis when results showed the bigger picture?
“By the way, if you want to speak, scream, moan, or whine, you'll need to ask for permission. Otherwise I'll do what I did before.”
It was getting a bit tiring for Sonic to hover his leg for so long.
“Also, no stuttering.”
Finally, he could read Shadow's expression clearly. That he could see an honest reaction to his mischief.
It was fairly dehumanising to ask for permission, let alone not stutter at all. His eyes flared in every single negative and intense thought.
Sonic pressed his heel on the shaft. Pressing for all that he cared wasn't the only element to it. Body weight was. Without any warning, half of his body weight was inflicted on his most sensitive part. But Shadow regretted thinking that was painful. He deeply regretted that.
Soon it was the whole body weight, then extra force from Sonic's mastery of legwork.
Shadow's eyes were already widened from the impact, but he flushed when he spotted Sonic pull something out of his inventory.
…
In unison to the click of the wire, it was blood, blood, and blood that pooled onto the floor. He wheezed for air so vigorously, also keeping in mind that he would get the throat treatment if he got vocal. In his view Sonic's eyes turned into a red jittering void of indescribable indescribabilities. His quills at the back glitched to his surroundings, piercing so ruthlessly it was biting itself to hold its mere colour. Holding back the screams were one thing, but Sonic, now lifting his other leg, had just the thought beat him up to give the full image to Iblis's course of being burnt alive for eternity all in one piece.
Jumping.
He jumped.
He jumped on his dick. Hopped, to be exact.
After that,
he jumped for real. Both foot, double the trouble. The floorboards croaked and winced on behalf of Shadow.
If Sonic were to have done this 2 weeks ago, he would've made through it all. It was devastating to believe that his decades of prime were torn in a week.
“You're doing a good job.”
Enough was done, and any more would take furious scrubbing to hide evidence. If Shadow's blood didn't stain so easily, he would've done more. The floor would've been his vampire and Sonic would've been its attendant. Despite so, Sonic was being too lenient having so much on the floor already. His sock was smeared with it, but Shadow's cock was mad red. There was blood trickling out of his cunt as well from the time he set the walls ablaze. It was only the beginning, which was one hell of a mess.
Shadow couldn't have passed out. It wasn't going to happen so early. The loser box was then turned off.
“Wake up.”
He spent every single moment he could trying to regain his breath while choking on his tears. He realised that he fell on the floor with a bump on his head since the pain was far too intense.
Not even Gerald Robotnik could fix him.
It was relieving yet horrifyingly painful to change state. After pushing through, he could get himself to sit up, but that would just be a waste of energy.
“Ouch.”
Sonic bent down and ran his fingertip along his length for the blood. It would've been a better challenge if Shadow was hard, but, oh well. He had a longer bucket list than so.
Sonic was so lucky. So lucky to be able to walk, to speak, to move all his muscles with ease. Shadow could only get envious at everything he couldn't do anymore. He faintly watched him travel towards the kitchen and come back with two small bottles.
One of them, he shook all over his lower body. The other one, he squirted on most places. The liquid one hurt. It stung all the way through to his anal hole without any contact.
“P… ermission… to speak…”
Sonic's ears perked up as he didn't expect him to actually ask for permission.
“Give me a minute.”
He ducked down and fed himself the limped member that he seasoned with salt and lemon juice to remove the metallic taste. With one gentle suck, the torment resumed.
At this point, he was cleaning the stream and remains with his mouth. Once he cleaned the tip he took it in deeper, slithering his tongue around the skin. Shadow couldn't even think properly to feel any pleasure at all. His dick was dead.
Sonic looked back at him with eyes open, hoping for some response other than the tears falling from the sides. He was breathing with his mouth, close to failing his held back sobs.
The blood also had an odour, being so concentrated to give Shadow the energy that the ultimate lifeform would receive. He may have been the ultimate lifeform, but he wasn't the perfect lifeform. Sonic was feasting on his cock like a dog, but was careful to not go beyond imaginary limits and treated it like a baby.
His pace of licking, sucking, and sometimes swallowing heightened, but once he stopped he sprinkled more salt and lemon juice then continued his turn. The sourness gave it the real thrill, making the blood almost taste sweet. On Shadow's end, acid increased the burn. It was just like when he went into the water, except that before he had been fully squashed on. First, it was his cunt, now it's his member. Torn, broken, and unusable.
Hopefully Sonic would stop playing with his broken toys, it was expiring. Almost expiring. So close, that he had to hurry up. Right after he fell asleep with the delicacy in his mouth. He put it deep enough to let his chin rest on his thigh, closed his eyes, then smudged the blood below his own face. It was his own pacifier to relieve himself from any stress, while his watered mouth diluted with the blood and escaped the edges. It reminded him of the time when he shared sugared tamarind in a kiss with Shadow. In the end, their lips were so dry, sticky and messy, but the actual kiss was so fiery and passionate it melted them over and over.
How he wished he could do such a thing again, but Shadow would never comply. Perhaps what he was doing right now was next level.
Shadow was still awaiting his approval.
Sonic took the blood on his finger and painted it back on his pussy so the whole thing had to be beaming red. He used his sense of touch to fiddle with his soft parts, the edges, the clit, then rubbed it gently with his knuckles. His pinkie pierced through his opening to swiggle around and check his blood again to find that the consistency was warm and wet.
To end his relaxation, he aimed to try something new, something out of the ordinary. It sounded disgusting and uncomfortable but there was only one way he could truly find out. He let go of his dick then gave it one last stroke with his red tongue.
Wait… but if it was so disgusting and uncomfortable, why would he do it? Why not get Shadow to do it to himself?
Sonic quickly slurped the seasoned blood on the floor to savour its full flavour again, then leveraged himself back on his knees. With a quick lick on his lips, he spoke again.
“Oh yeah, now you can speak.”
His hands raised to his chest to gently lift him up from the ground, using his fingers to rub under his spines in circles. Adding onto the drink, Shadow accidentally spat blood back onto the floor, though gratefully not on Sonic's body as he was at the side.
“Whoops, take care.”
He felt him pat his back with one hand, he was crying in fear, not pain. Shadow could just about handle the way he was, but the fear of what's next was too shocking to picture.
Seeing Shadow's full body, he could've tied him up and blindfolded him like he used to do. Probably put a bar under his legs or gave chastity devices to be a pleasure machine.
But those were all old talk. Even knives were old talk at this point. His list of kinks never ended, though tying him up to the ceiling with his wrists would've been something he would consider trying again.
One day he dreamt of shoving a pistol up his cunt with the ceiling treatment and the bar to prevent him from moving. Only for the fear, as firing would…
Not.
Of course he would lose a couple rings… if he even had any.
It was that so up close, the fear would be contagious.
“All I wanted that day was a warm tea and a hug…”
Shadow spoke in an airy whisper, making sure that he wouldn't stutter at any costs. The attempt of controlling his breath gradually succeeded though the price below wasn't accounted for.
“What do you mean?”
Someone else could've done a significantly better job at it, and Shadow would've slept in bliss. Sonic no longer mimicked her or went beyond as he did before.
“C-can you give me MST and sing me to sleep…”
He tried his best to hide the stutter and continue with the flow of his breath.
Sonic held his middle quill in place, smearing more blood on the already piss stenching skin. The only solution to the intense colour would be to first dry it up, and then paint over it. Discreet and time saving.
“After I try some stuff.”
Using his quill he could manoeuvre his light head like a joystick. He turned it towards him to give a deep kiss to share his sour red surprise. Nonetheless, he had to take precautions.
“Close your eyes and kiss me back.”
His lips went to brush against Shadow's, then gradually sucked his bottom lip to come into contact with his teeth. Tongues touched, and so on. Shadow was barely trying to play part, he only let Sonic twist his tongue to form something describable as a snake's scales.
The care he took showed he meant no harm anymore although tongue movement couldn't show the proper potential of his actions. Shadow should've been grateful to still have his tongue as getting it ripped off wouldn't be something he'd want to experience conscious.
Sonic gulped and flirted with his mouth to spread the sour mayhem and share his achievement. Shadow's old tears mixed with the dried piss brought it back to life and disrupted their moment with the rotten smell, still not enough for Sonic to back down. He felt his arousal grow with each second of it and could drown forever in the little efforts Shadow was making. Subtly, he switched the position of his hips.
Adorable hedgehogs came with adorable speed, slower than a sloth. Sonic peeked to see if Shadow's eyes were really closed peacefully, which for the most of it was except for the twitching and change of movement. Sometimes they used to kiss with their eyes open to test how comfortable they were with it. It was loving but rarely intimate.
They used to seek comfort within each other, though now it was one sided.
For Shadow, it was best to clear his mind of everything. In the past, some disturbances may have made him a little aggravated. The best feeling was to refresh himself by seeking proper comfort from Sonic. The way he pet his quills, rubbed his ears, lightened the mood along with jokes and stories. Eventually, it was something that Shadow picked up on too, with his own twists and actual wordly advice from experience.
…
Shadow hugged Sonic while he cooked, tipping him onto the floor.
‘Woah!’
‘I had such a bad nightmare…’
…
That day, Sonic did nothing. He underestimated how much of a problem would be caused by him over any others. In fact, any piece of harm from him wasn't enough to be classified as a problem, only a mere ‘test’. Test wasn't very justifiable so he'd call it his TV programme. As he should, he prepared for the next best scene.
Sonic broke off and reapplied his losing grip on his quill. Slowly, he moved it down so he would curl forwards. Spindashing would be too much of a traumatising experience for Shadow even after a miracle of getting fully healed.
“Cutie.”
Shadow opened his eyes for his dick to be on his face. The smell finally came to him, it was very lemony. The result was shocking but expected. Surely it was still bleeding through cuts and the tip, and the change of shape was reasonable. Rather than round, the girth was slightly flatter. No wonder it hurt like crazy, especially after losing his interdependent life source through the midst of it. Sonic, who weighed about 7 or 8 kilograms, turned into ten or twenty tons. Even though Shadow could lift a car with ease, twenty of them on one of his most sensitive body parts was a new height.
As soon as he was in position, Sonic cupped his cock and paved the path for Shadow's nose. Inside his essence spilling urethra.
“Wait…”
He pushed his long nose inside the opening, harshly making through the tightness and expanding it around. Shadow's eyes widened as he switched back to breathing with his mouth after the kiss. It stung in a weird sense, and he really needed to go to the bathroom.
Sonic had put stuff in there before, like needles which were much thinner, and tried to put his own piss directly inside of it. The needle was probably forgotten and still stuck in there for a few weeks now. Maybe Sonic had taken it out, maybe not, but he wanted Shadow to be responsible.
The cock was in quite an ugly texture when Sonic could squeeze it so easily. It was almost gooey and less responsive. The good part was that it would heal in a matter of time.
Sonic controlled his head to bop up and down inside the forbidden hole, which not only felt so mushy and watery but made his whole body shiver. Meanwhile, Shadow mindlessly spread his legs to get any more comfortable in the detestable position.
The exposure was dry on the inside, slurpy on the outside. If Shadow was like that any longer, he would pee in his nose.
Sonic let go of his member and took the loser box to play around with. He used the box itself inside of his pouch to rub around his sticky own and guided the wire outside. This way, the loser box was hidden but fully accessible. Again, he pulled the wire to increase crimson activity.
Shadow made a vocal gasp, but it only took a couple seconds for Sonic to turn it off. After turning it off, he turned it back on repeatedly.
His breathing got heavier and heavier, the duration of all the events were not anything less breathtaking. In half a second, it was okay. The other half, he was the subject of the unseen's circle time. The sacred torch flashed faster than the race of the raindrops because Sonic was such a fast hedgehog.
The widening of his urethra affected him too much as not only was it severely damaged, the loser box was in it too. Fuck him and his life. He let the box shape who he was, the blue's cunning husband.
“I'm invited to a prize giving ceremony.”
This time, he turned it off and yanked the nose out. He caught him by the back of his neck to prevent him from falling over completely. It wasn't so easy to contain his horniness though he had to face the hurdle at some point. Sonic put his back upright with a hand under his chin.
“I don't want you to sit out of it, I want you to come with me.”
With gentle movement, he pulled Shadow head sideways onto his chest for some sort of embrace then spoke into his ear.
“There was a fighting tournament about four months ago, outer space! All our friends were there, but you were busy at work. I would've told you to come along.”
Shadow reluctantly leaned in and felt the loser box inside of him, bringing him humiliation that no longer affected him.
Sonic saw some of his scars that were opened by urine and rubbed his fingertips on them. He softly kissed his forehead, making a slight noise.
“Hm?”
He made sure that he could speak about now. Out of all the uncleaned fingers, he used the unclean one to rub his lips.
“You never told me about it…”
He whispered, grabbing the ground below him.
“Sorry, I thought it wouldn't be something you'd like anymore.”
Four months ago. A day went as such.
…
Sonic dug the electrocutor inside Shadow's throat.
‘Don't tell me you can't handle this.’
He chuckled and set the shock off at low voltage.
…
“B-but I would've liked it…”
The continuation of his stream of tears changed the tone of his voice in the direction of sorrow.
“Oh… but, you never told me.”
“H-how was I supposed to know there was a tournament without you telling m-me…?”
It was so easy to tear up thinking of those things directly next to Sonic. Even if he wanted to maintain his tough act, there was nothing beyond being completely destroyed. What was there to lose when he had lost everything.
“Maybe you weren't in correct shape? It's not my fault that you were uh… not invited… Everybody was asking where you were and uh I said…”
He sighed.
“I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you.”
Sonic kissed him again while Shadow's nose was dripping and burning. He then got up.
“We'll play a game. Together.”
His two cute little feet walked across the floor in slight discomfort because of the loser box, but leaving Shadow to flop to the ground.
Bringing back a board and other items he sat down again in front of Shadow with crossed legs. He lay the board between them which had an imprint of horrifyingly presented snakes and ladders with numbers 0 to 100.
The board was sideways since they were facing each other, and Sonic dropped a pen knife to the side with 2 dice and counters.
“Whoever wins slits the other and licks their cut. The cut will be on the wrist.”
Shadow sat up again and faced his direction, ears dropping at the sight of the knife. At least it wasn't in Sonic's hand for the time being.
“You go first.”
He said with a blank face, handing the double dice to enhance the speed of the round. Shadow's shaking hand took the two dice followed by a roll on the board.
3 and 2 was 5. Shadow was in the lead.
Sonic rolled a 7 in total.
Then Shadow a 10, moving to 15.
He had no interest or competition, his rolls were slow and drained of energy. It was wild for Sonic to allow him such a prize if he won, and if he did win he would be giving him something that he deserves.
Sonic's next roll was also a 10, totalling to 17.
Gradually, he was only dropping the dice with no will to roll. It dropped on 1 and 5, 21.
Next, was Sonic's landing of 25.
Shadow's slow landing of 28.
Sonic's 37.
Shadow's 33. Eaten by the snake, start back at 13. Sonic was moving his counters at this point.
Sonic's 39.
Shadow's 22.
Sonic's 48.
Shadow's 24, taken up by the ladder to 46.
Sonic's 51.
The ladder at 49 led all the way to 87. Shadow dropped the two dice, so he was sure to get the 1 and 2 from Sonic’s last go.
So he was taken to 87.
Sonic's 56, up a ladder to 74.
Shadow's 90, one ahead a snake.
Sonic's 81, one before a snake.
Shadow's…
7.
Which meant 97. A snake down to 23. He heard a small laugh from Sonic's side. A mistake repeated wasn't one to carry on. Shadow had to actually roll the dice to get ahead.
Sonic's 89, swallowed down to 55.
Shadow's 24, a ladder up to 46 again. Phew.
Sonic's 64.
Shadow's 55.
Sonic's 68, ladder to 73.
Shadow's 63, snaked to 3.
Etcetera. The winner was Sonic, way ahead of Shadow as he got eaten by the 97 snake again.
“Looks like I won.”
Mind driven by the game, he picked up the knife and took Shadow's wrist. A simple cut would only hurt a little bit, it was just that if the loser box was turned on the game would be mental.
He slid the inhibitor ring slightly upwards and quickly swiped the sharp edge on his skin so it bled, then hid it with the ring after sucking his dark blood that actually tasted warm and metallic.
Shadow's only response was to roll the dice again, and Sonic followed too. Round 2 commenced and Shadow had the head start.
The midst of dice rolls and counter movements had silence from their tongues. Shadow's goal was…
He didn't really have a goal. Sonic's goal was to enjoy himself.
The game was slightly longer than the last one because Shadow had to wait at 98 for a while, but he won in the end.
“You know the drill.”
Sonic lifted the cuff of his wrist and gave it away for Shadow to harm. His shaking hand took the knife and hovered it above the targeted area, aiming the crimson edge so close Sonic could feel the warmth of it.
It was supposed to be a quick cut and lick. Nothing extra or special. Neither too simple to just be a tickle.
…
‘What was her name? Mickey? Get over her.’
…
But this was the same person who crushed his genitals. The same person who drowned him in ice cold water, the person who caused him to vomit for the first time in his life.
…
‘This is what you get for having such a big mouth.’
Sonic ignited the gas lighter inside his throat.
…
Hatred was his motivator to take the chance he was given. Was he getting ideas?
…
Shadow pointed the knife downwards rather than to the side.
“Wrong w- a-”
The edge dug straight inside his blood with a hard push, slicing directly through his vein and below.
“H-hold your horses!”
Shadow didn't stop there, he dug down. Down until he found muscle, but it wasn't like he wasn't strong enough to stab through that as well.
“SHADOW, STOP THAT!”
Sonic's face went completely blue but Shadow just kept going.
…
‘Shadow, stop that! You'll hurt yourself, you can't take him down empty handed!’
‘Leave me alone.’
He turned away, approaching the plasmatic villain.
‘Listen to me, you're gonna need the chaos emeralds!’
…
Finding the bone, there was no way of going further other than to turn to the side. Sonic was gritting onto his teeth to hold back his tears.
“T-that's enough…”
He had to stick true to the rules of the game. The knife was pulled out and his tongue went directly to the rescue. He weakly picked up the insane amount of spilling blood from the hand, dropping onto the board. It tasted much less metallic and concentrated than his own.
“Shadow…”
The blood started to flow freely once he left it and Sonic desperately held onto his arm, shaking in pain.
It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense at all.
After everything that they'd been through, he was the one to stab through his wrist.
And Sonic let him.
Sonic tightened his cuff around the stab area to stop the rush the most he could, then placed it between his legs to add more pressure.
While Shadow dropped the knife on the board, watching the larger pool of blood drench it.
His jaw was slightly adjacent to the terror he had caused. From the corner he could see Sonic with one eye squeezed shut fighting against shock.
He vowed to never hurt him. To never see the day he would suffer because of him. Vengeance had taken him over for the worse.
The last time he tried to take vengeance was bound to remain the last time. Years ago, including the ARK's destruction.
A normal slice would've done it, but now they couldn't play snakes and ladders anymore. Like a vampire, the unswallowed ruby shower emitted from his mouth to boil the snakes.
Sonic was playing fair, and all he gave in return was a harsh stab.
Sonic was actually playing fair.
He could revisit the moment so easily, moving the knife through his muscle and the soft pierce of his vein inside his noodle arm.
…
‘Sonic, is there anything wrong?’
Sonic and Shadow were cuddling inside an igloo.
‘No…mmm… I'm fine…”
Shadow stroked his quills.
‘What makes you so fine? Tell me about it.’
‘It's okay, I'll just go to sleep.’
Shadow double checked.
‘You cut yourself and are now getting frostbites, damnit. Did you not know?’
‘I'm sleepy, I can't help it.’
‘Alright, go to sleep. I'll take care of you.’
Sonic nuzzled his chin.
…
“Ow…fu-uck…”
He hissed again, white glove filled with red enough to weigh it down.
Sonic bit his other glove off to add more pressure with.
Shadow in one hand couldn't find the nerve to apologise, but the guilt in him topped his emotions to make him tear up again.
“That was uncalled for…”
The actual reason for it was because Sonic left him out of the space tournament. What hurt the most is that he still had heart to heart conversation with him back then sometimes.
…
‘I'm sorry if that hurt you, if you want to do something else, just say so.’
‘No? That was nothing for someone like me.’
Shadow turned around.
‘Thank you, though…’
He mumbled.
‘What's your limit? It's worth knowing.’
‘I have n-’
…
The sound of dice rolling interrupted, Sonic using his other hand to splash the unreadable board. Then moved his counter to what would've been 8.
“Your t-turn.”
…
“N-no…”
He was crazy, that was not fair play anymore.
“What?”
“C-come on, you can roll it.”
Sonic took the dice in his hand to give. It made Shadow look up, and the image before him cracked his insides.
He too, was crying. The sparkly in his eye was glistening more than usual, and it was all because of him. He broke the rules of the game to make Sonic cry.
It pained him emotionally, a pain that would truly be unforgettable. He always had some sort of hidden soft spot for him that he despised, he wished he could go up to him and take care of his wrist, bandage it properly, maybe take it to the doctors. In reality, he wished to stumble unconsciously and forget about the many mixed feelings in his brain. His thoughts towered over the discomfort down below, a fight of guilt and victory.
Morally, what he had done was criminal.
“Don't worry about m-me, I'll take care of this later-”
A toothy grin formed on his face contrasting his struggle. That way he knew Sonic was in real pain, unlike the fake deal from last time.
“Roll this, please…”
He accepted the dice.
But dropped it on the board. It was his que to leave. He couldn't take it anymore, the sights, the smell, the muck, was too much. Shadow weakly stood up and tried to gain a balance.
“W-where are you going?”
Laughing awkwardly, Sonic looked up at him.
He limped away.
“W-wait- but-”
It came to the time where Sonic also had to pull his sock off to add onto the pile while slightly sobbing through little laughs. When that was done, Shadow was near the door already.
“I p-promised to s-sing you g-g-goodnight-”
He stalled his steps.
“I-I won't pull the box…”
Until he collapsed to the ground. He heard Sonic gasp a little but quickly picked himself back up using the bed.
“Shad…”
He collapsed again. The effect of the loser box still lingered somehow, and emotion wise…
Even though he destroyed his life,
Maria would say everybody has a heart and deserves a chance.
No. More. Stabbing.
Don't. Hurt. Allies.
Don't. Kill. Loved ones.
Perhaps, he could survive all of this to prove that he was pure of heart. However, who would it be worth proving to when he was all alone?
Nobody was there for him. He understood at the wedding, the few of those who spoke to him got distracted by something more important. The cake was more important than him.
“I wanna play games w-with you! N-normal games! I swear on it!”
Absurdity glowed like the edge of that knife.
Shadow turned back.
No.
Change of mind, he walked out the door, deserting Sonic.
…
Sonic grunted, taking his other sock off and applying more pressure with his thighs. The loser box itself made a disturbance, but now if he wanted to pull it out, he would need to pull it by the wire.
Damn.
So he had to give the bleeding some time. The cut shouldn't have been so large, so the doctor wasn't going to be his ideal person to visit. It was more painful than he realised. It only brought memories of him replacing a portion of Shadow's vein.
Though that was just a small injection that coated the outside with metal. He didn't directly cut through it. Even so, it must've hurt. Hurt quite a lot to move around with some metal coated on your insides.
He did have some other games in mind that he could carry on with, he just needed a bit of rest. Share some of the morphine, but it was inside the cupboard behind.
Or it was that he didn't tell Shadow about the space tournament. He should've, Shadow was made for space and would've loved to spar. How was he so oblivious? But of course, Sonic had no idea what it was like to be alone with no friends or anyone that loved him.
Shadow would've been unbelievably hot pulling his moves, he just completely lost the opportunity to invite him. When he was invited it was so sudden, taken by Tails on his spaceship. He slept to rid the discomfort of the lack of running space, forgetting about Shadow. He didn't forget forget him, he just had no Internet to text. The time he came back home, Shadow was asleep in a long grassed field looking not so peaceful.
It was relatively more peaceful than current Shadow. If he ever saw Shadow laying there again, his horny ass would make sure he was asleep, then fuck him inside out. Like that time Shadow used the bathroom in the middle of the night and Sonic secretly heard it all which got him turned on. He tried to fully sedate him when he fell back asleep and did all kinds of things with his ragdoll body.
He was strong, he could make it through. Sonic just had to cut off with making him feel mentally shit, it was going too far. If he did that anyway.
Physical was his go to. Very much to his luck, the bleeding slowed and Shadow was back out of the blue.
He brought refreshments - some fabric to wrap the wound. The slow slither of steps reached him eventually and he threw it on the floor to his reach. This was the best Shadow could do, it was from an extra pillowcase in the bathroom cupboard.
“You're back…”
Sonic started waiting to get ready to swap around with much continued pain in hand.
“Can you help me get the tablets…?”
His whole body was almost paralysed though, and any movements were stiff and draining. He wouldn't be very able to do anything without help.
It was unexpected to see Shadow come to fulfil his needs, nevertheless, he collapsed for the third or so time. He was out of his mind for helping him and he would beat himself up later for that when Sonic invites him to a 1v1 game of paintball, except his gun is filled with magic acid.
“It's alright…”
This time, he made no sign of movement like before and stayed slave to the ground. That took something off Sonic's to-do list.
“I'll do it myself, then. Stay strong, Sonic…”
He mumbled to himself and let go of his stained gloves and socks, blowing on the hot spot.
Sonic had to deal with himself first, then he could worry about Shadow.
…
After around an hour he took a rest, hand covered in a real cast he quickly bought from the store. He gave Shadow a little kiss on the forehead and put him to bed with some medicine, not bothering to clean him, rather start working on the floor. The snakes and ladders board was thrown away as well as the dice and counters, though the knife was stored elsewhere. Back at the store, he did hesitate a little.
A little about what money he was using.
Before, he could get all he wanted for free. The whole town, no - the whole world knew who he was. As a form of gratitude, any service would be free of charge, hence his lack of job. Unlike so, Shadow was less recognised and therefore he had to work for his expenses. Nowadays both of them have to earn one way or the other since his last act of heroism was quite the while ago. Sonic only liked relying on Shadow because,
why not?
He never liked going through the trouble of having some sort of boss to be ordered around with, his virtue was to be free and boss his own vessel. Through the many times he spied on GUN HQ, choosing a career alike, or even a career at all, wasn't ideal. Shadow once told him to become a farmer or a training coach, but he never really considered it.
The idea of being a coach caught him the most nevertheless, having the legal ability to tell weaklings what to do. At this point, he already had somebody under his command. He was so close with him too, he would be comfortable doing anything with him, or to him. Shadow was his survival, his everything. If he was left with him deprived of food and water for a week, he would drink his fluids and eat his skin and never get sick of it. Even if he didn't shower for that whole week, Sonic would be there to shower him with his tongue like a cat's mother.
He remembered those times he used to use Shadow's come and piss for seasoning, though the hottest times when it was completely direct. Refreshing memories were when he cummed right into Sonic's egg fried rice on the hob for the salt to taste. Not to forget when he squirted on his vegetable soup to give it that iconic cheesy note, and when he used piss as a substitute for water while making pasta. Smelt disgusting, but the strawberry flavour was worth it. It tasted different from different areas, his male part gave the strawberry and the female was slightly closer to a mango or a fig.
On the other hand, Shadow was never as interested as Sonic, given the reason that he didn't have so much of a variety, to top it over sanitation.
Speaking of giving fluids to food.
Fries with ketchup weren't half bad. The other half which was bad, was the awkward texture. As long as the fries are restaurant crispy, everything's going to be alright.
Something so intriguing was making candy floss with sugar and urine to replicate water. Seeing Shadow's forbidden liquid on a children's drooling dream just seemed so arousing.
Speaking of which, the chef's personal manufacturer began to stir next to him. It was the right time to be awake, after Sonic had finished his chores and all. Hoping the both felt energised for upcoming activities, he gently rubbed the back of his ear to comfort.
Shadow twitched to the touch, feeling disgusted by those specific fingers that he never needed. Taking a look at his surroundings, it was night already and only the bedside lamp was gleaming. His body drenched in sweat and it smelt horrible. It was so disgusting compared to painful as he could handle a lot without the loser box being pulled. However, the soreness of his body wasn't unnoticeable. Especially down below.
“Welcome back.”
Sonic sighed, caressing his cheek with his fresh hands.
“How ‘you feeling?”
His mouth had a sour, metallic taste and it stung a little to swallow. One thing he needed was a shower for sure. Or just go back to sleep and never wake up. There was no point in processing thoughts or feelings when he'd be downed in the end.
But he was sure that his despise of Sonic's behaviour was no secret. He nudged his eyelids, which were pretty warm and uncomfortable, then his hand trailed to his forehead and found it quite warm as well.
“Wh-what do you want?”
He couldn't forget his submission to him, he couldn't forget the damn consequences. Whatever Sonic was going to put for him, he had to endure it, even if it had no end. It was a mistake of him to ever interact with such a hedgehog. If he could travel back in time again, he would go about 7 or 8 months back when he used the bathroom in the middle of the night. They only slept indoors because they were in a hotel for Silver's long birthday party. What was supposed to be a peaceful night turned into a disgusting, embarrassing feast of Sonic.
He would tell his past self to sleep pretend and call him out for doing the nastiest things to him. Sonic put his adjacent underneath his body to carry him.
“We didn't finish playing the game…”
He lifted him up like a baby, and laid his head on his lap.
“But can we cuddle first?”
Shadow's middle quill fit perfectly between his legs and the rest went to the sides. Looking up, was Sonic's face with a tiny, soft grin and his eyes almost looked genuine. Cuddling was going to turn into sex and they both knew it. The other option was being a hedgehog football with a turned on loser box.
Shadow's answer was yes not from will but from moral fear. He felt Sonic's fingers twisting his chest fur and his elbow giving an awkward head massage. Their noses brushed against each other.
“Fine.”
As speaking, maybe he had one more try. Another try to talk him our of it without getting harmed, to find the heart inside that was buried by sadism. They haven't had meaningful conversations in months, it was unacceptable and disrespectful. Shadow was barely the one to start them, so he thought he gave Sonic the responsibility. Sonic softly lowered his head for a tender kiss, but kept his face close after.
“Can we talk…?”
He nibbled onto his lip.
“Why?”
In a tone of sounding like he was fed up or genuinely asking, he whispered back.
“C-can we just talk…?”
Shadow's tongue shivered in mixed feelings, asking the question again.
“Why do you want to talk?”
His nose suddenly came with a low stinging pain hearing him say such. His memory wasn't that bad, he knew Sonic would've loved talking to him.
“Use your words, tell me why you wanna talk. It's not normal for you to do that.”
It brought a pang of relief and aided him to discreetly swallow the lump in his throat.
“I need to t-talk to you.”
“About what?”
He felt like tears could be released anytime in his eyes. It wasn't easy to ignore.
To be truthful with himself, he was lost for words. What did he want to talk about? What was the most pressing issue?
‘Why did you destroy my life?’
Too vague.
‘Can you go a day without being so horny?’
Arguable.
“Honest talk…?”
He requested.
…
“Sure…”
“What's your life goal?”
He tried his absolute best to not sound like he was tearing up. He knew his own life goal, it was to protect the Earth, and he had a glimpse of Sonic's, though he was pretty sure it had changed overtime.
“Huh?”
“W-what's y-your life goal…?”
He shouldn't have repeated the question, grave mistake.
“Uh… to do whatever I want… And you?”
Shadow's real goal was to end his life.
“No, w-what do you want to achieve…?”
“I'll have to think about that…”
Sonic buried his face into his neck, or so the joint of his head and torso. It had been a while since Sonic took care of touching him. Sometimes his words were supposed to be his warm blanket, but never his body. Warm now though was the opposite of what he needed.
“My goal is to see you smile.”
…
“Don't lie…”
“I'm not lying, I want to see you smile…”
“W-what good are you doing that's g-gonna make me smile?”
At that point, his eyes were swelling in tears and words were breaking even easier than before. Sonic's touch was poisonous whether it was calming or not, and with whatever he would do next he would always tear up being near him. He didn't want it to be this way. He never wanted it to be anything like this…
“I don't know, I tried playing games with you.”
“W-why are you the one to make it so hard…?”
Don't cry.
Don't cry, he told himself. He couldn't lose so early, it didn't make sense. How was Sonic so chill about this? Despite not seeing his clear expression, his voice only held seriousness, fake or real, and little emotion.
“I don't think it's hard, it's just what you perceive it as.”
“What…?”
Sonic's touch burnt his heart in horror and fear. It used to be such a nice treat back in the day. Sometimes all he needed was a hug from Sonic and he'd be the happiest hedgehog in the world.
“You stabbed my wrist…”
He didn't need to be reminded of it again.
“Was that by accident…?”
He began to picture himself stabbing his wrist.
“I-I'm s-sorry…”
He desperately tried to control his breathing, almost sobbing those words. He didn't know what was wrong or what was right, or if he even needed to do the right thing.
“Don't be.”
Delivered in an expressionless voice, Sonic gently opened his eyes. A smelly body wasn't the best.
He swiftly turned around and took off Shadow's glove, then sliced his pinkie finger off by force with a paper knife, snapping the bone with his bare hands. Blood shot out like cum and landed on his lap.
?
Ouch.
“I have a simple task for you though, Shadow.”
It was nerve wracking and frightening, growing every single second. Task or not, mixed feelings got the worst of him. He wanted Sonic, but he didn't want him. He felt sorry, but he meant it as well. ‘Stay back, or I'll do this again.’
Doing this again would have double the effect on his body instead. His brain, mostly. He wanted to kill himself but something was stopping him.
“Can you go out to buy some groceries?”
Shadow gulped again, accepting his emotions and letting his tears run free.
“I'll give you perfume. You can wear my shoes, by the way.”
After one last kiss, he was set on his task. Sonic gifted him his phone and a couple sprays with perfume to cancel the atrocious smell. Moving his bones almost felt numbed but he wanted to go outside and freshen himself up.
Although he was wearing no clothes, he couldn't care less. Shadow flopped out the door and out the hut with Sonic's shoes, which wasn't really a new thing. Occasionally, they swapped shoes for fun.
…
Sonic turned around before going down the waterslide.
‘If I die, you can keep my shoes. And my gloves, my phone, my Chao, my extreme gear, my- my uh-’
He zoomed down the slide.
‘My name tattooed on your quills, in white!’
…
No, no. Sonic was only overreacting because he had a fear of water. He'll deal with thoughts of Sonic's death later.
Finally coming outdoors gave the nicest atmosphere and temperature that he would never get used to. The rain had stopped a while ago but still left the ground dry, and it wasn't so late that all the lights were off. His surroundings were good enough to navigate, the water below him glistened in the distance from nearby clubs and restaurants. He checked his phone to get civilised with the time and saw the shopping list sent to him on the screen. The precious wind was incredible to savour, taking his mind out of most troubles and drying his teats.
- : pocky, push pop, cucumber, shrimp, lemongrass, cheese sticks, sugar, eggs, chilli oil, milk, rice flour, and a fruit of your choice
Gladly it wasn't anything so weird.
- : Nearest supermarket is 5 or 10 mints away, just follow signs to town
How long had it been since he could walk normally outside? Yesterday was an exception, including all the times he had to pin his tail down. It was so free, amazing, empowerful and joyous. There was no way he would take anything less than 2 hours shopping, so he took the long way. First, take a long walk by the beach, not once, but twice. Secondly, read every single ingredient on every type of item to stall and spend forever deciding.
There he went, almost skipping on the floor devoid of most pain, sliding on the wet pier. The moon shone as brightly as he did, half torn and half intact. Shimmering in the sky were the stars, a tapestry of brilliance that were so close to touch but blocked by the purified wind where any shivers were a form of expressing content. Contrasting to the beauty of the thrill, nobody else was there to endure it. The waves washing up beside him apologised and rid his trail of crimson ages ago.
Shadow embraced the peace that solitude had to offer away from the one who caused him the most complications. He didn't need Sonic to feel at ease, he needed his alone time that he had been craving since he was in the bathroom at GUN HQ.
Still, he couldn't find a smile on his face. He couldn't tell if it was because he was trying to prove a point, or that he forgot the location of his smiling muscles. Besides, Sonic's chosen spot of emerald coast wasn't so bad. He could faintly see the little isles far from shore with loops, ramps and slides. Even though he wasn't there to see Sonic ride them, he was told stories of every single one of his adventures.
His most favourite story was when he turned into a werehog. The moon's phase this time round wasn't facing back to replicate a full moon to turn anyone into a wereanimal, though. During the times of the dark gaia invasion, he spent time with his team, Amy, and Knuckles underground.
Another one of his favourite stories was when he got sucked into the Authurian world and defeated a wizard who wasn't necessarily a villain. He met counterparts of his rivals dressed as knights to fight against, but in the end Sonic was the hero yielding the sacred sword.
Throughout his path, he spotted a familiar face to the side. It was Rouge, sitting alone on a bench in front of a half empty restaurant.
“Shadow! How're you doing?”
He stopped, secretly eager to respond to reasonable company. The last time he saw her was probably at the wedding.
“Fine.”
Being so pain free gave him a little confidence boost and let him sit opposite her.
“You okay?”
Rouge sipped on her drink, keeping an eye on him for an apparent reason.
“Yeah…”
She put her drink down.
“Can you move your left arm?”
Shadow looked at his left arm. There was nothing wrong or special about it, it was just like any other limb.
“What?”
He said, confused.
“Move your left arm, please.”
Rouge's eyes were locked onto his left arm over anything else.
“Why?”
Seeing Rouge acting so differently was new and not what he expected. Why was she alone, too?
“Just move your left arm.”
What was wrong with his left arm?
It didn't feel or look any different. It looked all normal and fine just like his other arm.
“Move it.”
Now he understood, his left arm was in the way. Shadow looked around to see what it could be possibly blocking.
“Can you move it already? Shadow?”
There was nothing anywhere. His arm was on his side so if he needed to move it, he'd need to move his whole self. So he got up from the seat.
“Just move your left arm, that's all.”
Was there some sort of trend going on?
“Tell me what's going on!”
He didn't want to raise his voice at her, especially in such a calm area.
“I'll tell you, just move your damn left arm!”
Not even eye contact sufficed for her demands. Shadow's left arm felt so exposed rather than anything else. Is it because he wasn't wearing any clothes?
“Why?!”
“MOVE IT!”
Then he felt a tap on his left shoulder.
“Sir, I don't mean to disturb you, I'm just wondering if you're alright.”
Shadow turned around to see a young man in uniform.
Then turned back to see Rouge. She wasn't there anymore. Cheeky bat.
It took him a while to process, but Rouge was definitely not where he found her. Not even her drink was there. He gazed back at the worker to see if he disappeared too, which he didn't.
“H-hello?”
The worker was a bit spooked out as well as Shadow.
If he saw what he saw, heard what he heard. Saw what disappeared too…
It was absurd.
Shadow grunted in response then power walked away. He did want to remain a bit cautious, so he checked his left arm. It was intact, completely fine. Even under a streetlight with a full view, there was nothing special about it. Moving it worked smoothly, as smooth as his other arm.
It was complet-
His eyes shot wide open, falling onto his knees. Rapidly, he began hyperventilating out of nowhere and the contents of his heart sank down into his other crucial organs, crushing them in the meantime. He couldn't even hold himself up with his knees anymore, he fell face forwards onto the wet asphalt. It was as if his left arm started to give birth to a million different creatures.
As for instinct, he reached for his phone with his other hand, and the pain stopped as soon as it turned on.
- : Ur going the wrong way
- : Are u ok?
He unsilenced his phone and looked around, suspecting to see Sonic lurking around the corner.
Oh, the tracker.
That wild rush was too far. What was the point of asking if he was okay if he just…
All he knew was that he did not smile.
- : all ok
For a matter of fact, he missed the road to town and purposefully continued strolling beside the coast. This time he had to go the normal way. No mistakes, or that will happen again.
…
With a while spent on regaining breath and composure, Shadow began walking back the same direction he came from to make the correct turn. One thing he was glad of is that his pain level was as low as before, though he was still shivering in worry. It wasn't something he could get used to either. He just wished Sonic even had the slightest idea of what pulling the box did and how much pain it caused.
- : Great, don't forget to come back
- : Tell me if ur not ok or feeling unwell
The loser box treatment made him feel super unwell, that's for sure.
Once he came into town, there were noticeably more people and cars, but not so much for the time of day. The sounds of nature faded into the darkness of the sky.
The search for the supermarket wasn't a big deal, he found a store that would do for the being and went inside. The problem was that if it was the wrong store, something bad would happen to him again, this time in front of more people. He stepped in through the automatic doors, ending the delicious rush of night area to enter the heated setting. Darting to the fridge area, he checked his list and figured he needed milk and put it in the shopping basket he picked up.
- : Wyd
Annoyed but in anxiety, he replied to his message.
- : taking milk
He continued to stroll among the aisle until Sonic decided to give him a call. This was not what he wanted. If he was going to get disturbed like this, he wouldn't be able to do much shopping. Nevertheless, he was obliged to answer, so he did.
“Shadow?”
The voice that used to be hot on phones morphed into a nightmare. It lured him into cuddling teddy bears to sleep.
“Y-yea?”
The volume on his phone was low to prevent others from hearing anything.
“What about now? What are you doing?”
Nosy, much.
“Finding shrimp…”
He mumbled.
“‘You doing okay?”
He just wouldn't stop asking for some reason.
“Yes… why?”
“Do you have anything… specific you want to eat?”
Shadow imitated footsteps to show that he was active.
“I-I don't know…”
“A small snack? What appeals to you most right now? Treat yourself.”
Quit the act!
“Nothing.”
Shadow sighed. The light inside the room exposed his previous injuries and to be sure, at least one other shopper would be a little concerned about his beaten body.
“Come onnnnn, get a shortbread cookie or gum.”
“I'm fine.”
Audibly visible, he put the shrimp in his basket.
“It's an order. Get something.”
Through the phone, he heard the low rattle of the loser box
What the fuck?
Not at the store, it couldn't happen. The threat was everywhere no matter where he was. In the bathroom, on the streets, anywhere.
This time the problem was solely bringing the dread of it. He didn't want to walk around when eternal pain was right around the corner. Every mistake he would make came with an excruciating punishment. Sonic was the full controller of his body.
“Go get something.”
The repeat made his chest squeeze and feet feel the need to hurry. Although he wore Sonic's shoes now and then, he wasn't extremely comfortable with it.
“M-mh-”
He blindly shoved raw duck inside then carried on with his shopping shopping, twelve tons on his back.
“Good boy.”
The supermarket was one of those large ones with many items, but more space came with more people. Near the cold meat/fish area were the cooled vegetables, what he needed next.
Mindlessly, he plopped everything in his basket with barely any second thought, but he was sure he got the right ingredients by colour. He took a watermelon for fruit since it casually caught his attention over the others. Similar to Sonic, he was a master at speeding up.
“Can I see your face? Just for a second.”
With no other choice, Shadow turned the camera on to his face where you could decipher the fear in his eyes. Showing Sonic his state wasn't what he would prefer, but it was a life or near death situation.
“Thanks.”
Shakingly, he turned off his camera and put it back below his ear. He carefully placed a pack of 6 eggs.
“You're cute.”
Half a giggle emitted through the speaker too, low and in awe.
“I'm not kidding.”
Why did Sonic need pockies or push pops? Sonic sucking on a push pop before taking his super peaceful nap that Shadow could never have? He was the type of person to make his own instead of eating processed foods. If he could recall correctly, Sonic would tell him to buy plain flour, oil and cooking chocolate for a pocky. Then he would make a push pop out of strawberry syrup and sugar, maybe other stuff too.
“But you know what's the cutest?”
His heart beated at Sonic's words, apprehending his next order.
“Your tip.”
After not finding the nerve to roll his eyes, he scanned for push pops in the candy area.
“Hahaha, don't feel bad about it. You can speak to me.”
There was strawberry and blackcurrant, packed individually.
“I mean it, Shadow. Talk to me about something. Anything.”
He took the blackcurrant in his hand. The texture was cold and slippery on the film covering.
“Good or bad, just let me hear you say something.”
The harder one of the tasks were ignored, but not in pleasure. The top has a twist off lid, and inside he predicted there to be a luxurious translucent lollipop with a dark purple hue. The film protected it and maintained its hygiene.
“I don't really want to force you, I know it doesn't make sense.”
Down it went into the basket.
“Shadow? If it makes you feel better, I'm not going to pull the box.”
He was getting a bit too comfortable not being able to talk face to face. The pocky in the cereal/biscuit area was hiding at the end, which also had a protective plastic film to preserve the cardboard packaging hygiene. The image on the front had thin, fragile breadsticks coated in chocolate.
“I'm going to kill myself instead.”
Sonic wasn't actually at home, he was in the next aisle with no shoes and the pen knife held between his head and torso. Shadow almost dropped everything since it was so up close and was a terrifying sight. His wrist bled, but not only that, his bloodshot eyes complimented it too. His skin was as pale as his own and he was worthy of calling the police on.
“I'm not gonna actually do it.”
Using his thumb at the back, he pushed the knife into his skin, smooth and firmly.
“Unless you showed me what you bought.”
“I don't know about you, but this night is a little exhausting.”
Shadow whimpered and desperately dug his hands through the basket, shaking vigorously like he was getting possessed. What did he buy?
“If you feel weird too, just know I'm here for you. I didn't exactly want you to shop, I would've done it myself. I'm sorry.”
“I need to refresh myself with a bit of cucumber.”
He took the long stick from the bottom but dropped it on the floor in pure fear.
“Can you cut it up for me?”
“I'll help you if it gets troublesome. Was that you?”
After aggressive nodding he looked up for a sign that would say kitchen utensils for a knife. It was quite far, so he ran all the way there, feeling a sense of odd wind behind his back.
“Are you running?”
Almost there, almost there, he could almost touch the knife packaged over cardboard, large and thin with a small handle.
“I use cucumber as a substitute for water.”
He left the cucumber behind, so he ran back to get it. Sonic followed his ear, about to jump him down onto the floor.
“Wh- huh?!”
Using the back of his hand to snap the vegetable in half, the juice trailed over the floor. His phone dropped in the process and fearfully whined every time he snapped the cucumber in half.
“What is going on?!”
“WHAT IS THIS?!”
Sonic took the knife out of the shelf and ripped it from its packaging.
No, no, no!
The cake was fully cut into perfect squares, each one of them had a glazed cherry in the corner. Behind him, the knife was the guillotine to his tail, ready to chop it like a butcher.
It sliced right through and revealed the most blood in forever.
But it didn't hurt. It was ok.
“Shadow? Answer me!”
He covered his mouth with his hand, heavily panting and almost in tears again. In front of him was only his phone face down, and he was sitting alone in the kitchen utensils aisle.
“Are you there?”
Buzzed on his phone. He crawled up almost into a ball, trying to forget everything completely. Forget the reason why he was all the way over there.
“Hello?!”
“Shadow?”
“Do you want me to come over here?”
“Did I do something?”
“Hello?”
“Are you hurt?”
“I can hear you breathing, if that's even you.”
“Can anyone hear me?”
…
He picked up the phone at last.
“Hello?”
“I'm okay…”
He whispered, picking himself up from the ground.
“What was going on? Why did it take you so long to answer?”
Everything was going to be okay. The world around him smoothed back to normal and the atmosphere became whole again. Somebody was going to walk past, but decided to avoid Shadow for her better.
“Nothing.”
“Shadow…”
Gently, he took slow steps back to his basket to continue his task, and gradually walked at a normal pace when he could. Before long, he was back at the biscuits aisle which had his cucumber on the floor.
Nothing had been stolen, which was a time saver as he carried on his shopping journey, phone in hand.
“Please tell me you're really alright…”
“I am…”
He was too cold to use his voice again, turning into an icicle from fright.
Shadow was not okay. Whatever was chasing him wouldn't stop outside, and whatever inside, Sonic's activities, wouldn't stop either. There was nothing good on this planet.
…
The next few moments were collecting everything until he had to pay. Wild enough, his card was approved so he packed everything in a bag.
“Don't cut the call until you come back…”
He shivered outside in the killing breeze. Nothing changed from before but his perception, hence the sudden allergy to the cold. Sonic yawned to his ear.
“Don't be late either.”
It made his body slightly restless and unable to have the energy to move properly. Steps were slow and reluctant, and the townspeople had all gone home for shelter and warmth, leaving only him.
“O-okay.”
He tried his best to push through and make it back. There were no encounters. The path was similar to how he came and the sky was too. The sky, even though it was so dark, blinded his sight so he continued walking forwards. Occasionally, Sonic would comment, though it wasn't anything too important to take into consideration.
“Take care… I'm gonna…”
Then getting back indoors was a relief. A rough relief. Outside sedated him enough, and just like Sonic, he crumbled in bed next to him in search of a comfy surface. The call was forever on as they both couldn't keep their eyes open to hang up.
It wasn't Sonic who sung him to sleep, it was the light rainfall outside and the distress in his mind.