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Chapter Text

Sonic slammed into the last of Eggman’s robots and watched as it careened off the side of a cliff. It clattered into the ground like so many spare parts and he smiled as he turned back to face the doctor.

“Some fleet,” he said, brushing his nose. “You feeling okay? Seems like you lost your touch.”

At his side, Tails snickered and Sonic perked up. It felt like so long since he’d last heard his buddy laugh – it was a good sound to hear. One made even better by how red Eggman’s face got as a result.

“You imbecilic rodent,”Eggman snarled. “What would you know of machinery!?” He took a threatening step forward but Amy and Knuckles cut him off, brandishing their hammer and fists respectively. 

“That’s far enough,” Amy said, twirling the handle before her grip tightened. She was frightening when she had something to protect and Eggman hesitated. He looked to his left and right, noting the rubbish piles of his destroyed fleet, and finally seemed to take the hint.

“This is only a tactical retreat,” he said as he backed up slowly, the robot he was piloting beginning to hover as its jets kicked in. “I’ll be back.”

Then he took off. For a moment, Sonic debated whether he should give chase. Sometimes the breaks in between fighting hoards of Eggman’s robots lasted a little longer when Sonic gave the man a final kick in the pants before letting him run back to his hideaway, tail between his legs. But as he looked around, taking in the lush grass and palm trees of Green Hill, and the victorious smiles on his friends’ faces, he decided against it. It had hardly been any time at all since his last blunder sent him careening through shatterspaces with nothing but Shadow to keep him centered in a dizzying spiral of new worlds. He’d had enough of adventure for a while – he just wanted to hang out with his buds for once.

He whooped and slung an arm around Tails and Knuckles, ruffling the fox’s head when he laughed. “Way to go team! I think this calls for a round of victory chili dogs!”

Amy shook her head at him. “Sonic, we literally just had that,” she said, rolling her eyes, but she turned to make her way back to the beach where their picnic blanket still lay dusted with sand, the whole team following behind her.

Sonic shot a mournful look at the sand-covered chili dogs just beside the blanket. “Our time was brief but beautiful,” he sighed and Amy cracked under the weight of his theatrics.

“Fine, fine,” she said, smiling. “I guess we never actually got to eat them, so another time wouldn’t hurt.”

“Just make sure not to take forever this time,” Knuckles grumbled as he once again found his spot on the sun-warmed rock. “I’m starving.” 

Instead of resuming his impromptu chest presses, he lay his back against the boulder and closed his eyes. Meaning he was totally unprepared for the coconut Rouge tossed his way. He spluttered as it smacked against his nose to land gently in his lap and Rouge smirked.

“Cheer up. Have a drink,” she smirked, flitting away when Knuckles took a play swipe at her. 

Sonic watched it all with soft eyes. They still didn’t know about what had happened on his adventure – with everything going on and Eggman immediately attacking them, the details had been lost in the scramble. He knew he had to tell them at one point, but for now it was just nice to see them so carefree and at home. Tails and Amy readjusting the picnic blanket to knock off the sand. Rouge taunting Knuckles with a straw just out of his reach. Big and Froggy as chill as ever, fishing with Big’s big paws dipping in and out of the ocean waves. At this point, the only person missing was Shadow … but Sonic shook his head before the thought had even fully formed. Much as he’d love to bother Shadow with the invite, he had no idea where the other hedgehog had gone after he Chaos controlled out of the mountain with the Paradox Prism. So he just mentally shrugged – if there was anyone he could trust to protect the prism, it was Shadow. He’d see the other hedgehog eventually.

“Alright then,” he said – catching everyone’s attention –”another round of chili dogs, coming right up!”

Then he sped back to Tails’ workshop and the attached ensuite and it’s mini kitchen to get to work. Making chili dogs was an art – despite what Knuckle’s might think, it couldn’t be rushed.

He took his time preparing, mouth watering as the warm, spicy scent of chili simmering filled the room. He really outdid himself on this batch – he could tell already – and it was sweet torture to not scarf some down right then but he still had a ways to go before it was ready.

It was while he was carefully dicing up more jalapenos that he felt it. He stopped, staring down at the cutting board as he tried to put words to the sensation. It was almost like a vibration but, as he reached out to touch the counter top, it didn’t feel like an earthquake. If anything the rumbling was coming from him. He put a hand to his chest and felt the quiet but steady thrum against his palm. 

“Am I purring?” he asked to no one in particular but, happy as he was for everything to be back to normal, even that didn’t feel quite right. 

The closest thing he could equate it to was…

He gasped and zipped outside, glancing around wildly for the Paradox Prism but nothing seemed amiss. The closest he had felt to this sensation was when he was in the chamber Nine had made to remove the last of his prism energy. Of course it was ten times as bad, but just before the machine had begun leaching his energy, it had resonated with him just like this.

He glanced back to the beach where he knew his friends were waiting then closed his eyes. If the disaster with the shatterspaces had taught him anything, he and his friends were a team. So he was just going to scout around. Whatever he found, he’d run right back to them and they’d tackle it like a team. That was a promise.

Decided, he sped off, chasing the feeling in his chest. The resonance there increased and decreased with his direction and he played it like a game of hot and cold, doubling back when he’d go too far and the feeling began to fade. For anyone else it would have taken forever, but with Sonic’s speed, he honed in on it long before his friends would begin to wonder where he was, and eventually he found himself at a cave entrance. The feeling in his chest here was stronger than ever – like standing in a ringing bell – and he knew he had the right place. 

He peered inside, but the cavern was huge and the bright sunshine outside made it hard to see anything. He hummed, glanced back in the direction of the beach, then, eventually, stepped inside.

Scouting. He was still just scouting. 

The inside was even larger than he had thought and he whistled as he walked further in, listening to the echo rebounding back at him off the walls. As much as he had explored Green Hill,  he didn’t think he’d ever been here before. Sure, he knew there were cave systems, had even run through a few of them, but he had never seen one with this much space. Even from where he was standing he could tell there were tunnels branching off this main room to who knew where. Probably other tunnels, or dead ends, or winding round-abouts or – he shuddered – dark pools. 

A confusing maze to be sure but – as he walked closer and felt the thrum in his chest grow stronger – not for him. He apparently had just the compass he needed.

He walked further in, following the pull in his chest, and after a dizzying number of twists and turns, he found it. 

The Paradox Prism.

“So this is where he hid you,” Sonic mumbled, watching the way the prism’s rainbow of light played on the cave walls as he walked closer. It was almost like being underwater but in the best way and Sonic sighed. Putting the prism here was both undeniably pragmatic and starkly beautiful. Somehow he wasn’t surprised that Shadow had chosen this place – as grumpy as he acted, the hedgehog had hidden depths.

His eyes lingered on the walls for a moment longer then he turned back to the prism. 

“Sorry for breaking you,” he said, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “That was my bad.” The prism hummed in the silence and Sonic shuffled his feet, thinking about all of his friends he had met in Nowhere, Boss Cage, New Yoke. Tails disappearing in missile fire, Shadow falling into black nothingness. “Really, really my bad,” he whispered. Then he straightened up and looked the glowing crystal head on, feet planted and voice clear. “I promise, it won’t happen again.”

The prism continued to hum and after a moment, Sonic began to feel sheepish. What exactly was he doing talking to a rock – expecting it to answer?

Then a voice rang out.

“What are you doing here?” it said and Sonic damn near jumped out of his skin.

“Shadow!” he yelped, swivelling around just in time to see Shadow jump off an outcropping he hadn’t noticed before to alight on the cave floor. “How long have you been there?”

“Answer my question,” Shadow growled as he came closer and Sonic shook his head. Of course, this was Shadow he was talking to. No time for pleasantries.

“Chill,” he sighed, “I wasn’t doing anything. I just felt something and it led me here.”

That seemed to get Shadow’s attention – the angry slant of his brows turning serious. “What do you mean, something?” he asked, but when Sonic just shrugged, his irritation began to return. “If it’s something that could lead someone else then–”

“No,” Sonic said, shaking his head. “At least, I don’t think so.” Shadow subsided but crossed his arms expectantly and Sonic continued. “It was just a feeling,” he murmured as he put his hand on his chest. “A sort-of thrumming? Here?” He shrugged and looked back up to watch the rainbow light play along the walls. “It reminded me of how I felt before. When Nine drained my prism energy to connect the shards.” He glanced at Shadow then back to the prism. “I just had to make sure everything was alright.”

Shadow inhaled and when Sonic turned to face him fully, he looked more relaxed. Well, as relaxed as he ever got.

“Sorry to worry you,” Sonic said, quietly snickering when Shadow immediately shot him a deadpan look.

He was expecting the other hedgehog to immediately deny but all Shadow said was a soft: “That’s over now.”

Then he turned back towards the entrance. Sonic fully expected him to blink out of existence, so he perked up when Shadow seemed to hesitate and finally turned back to raise a brow.

“I get that you were following your senses in,” he said. “But what exactly was your plan to get out of here? Run in circles?”

Sonic sucked his lips in between his teeth. “No?” he tried.

Shadow rolled his eyes and strode back to grab Sonic’s hand like he wanted to wring his neck.

“Let’s go,” he grumbled then teleported them out of the cave maze.

“Woah!” Sonic yelped as Shadow tossed him forward the second they winked back into existence. The sunlight was jarringly bright after the dim light of the prism and he immediately shielded his eyes. “Thanks for the lift, buddy.”

“I’m not your buddy,” Shadow said almost before he’d even finished talking and his tone was so put-upon that Sonic couldn’t help but snicker. “And don’t come back here. The last thing we need is to draw attention to this place.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sonic said, waving him off, “it’s not like I meant to, I was in the middle of making–”

Suddenly he cut off, eyes widening, and Shadow cocked his head.

“Soni–?” he started, but Sonic immediately cut him off.

“My chili dogs!” he yelled and sped off in the direction of Tails’ workshop. He couldn’t have been gone too long, right? Maybe if he really put in an extra burst of speed, he could get there in time to save the chili.

He stepped on the gas, going so fast the wind pulled the palm trees behind him, and just as he spotted the workshop in the distance, something truly unexpected happened.

Prism energy started warping around him.

“Wha–!” he yelped. But before he could hit the brakes suddenly he was careening 

through space and time. “Not again!” he yelled as he sailed through the void. Quickly he looked around to see if there were any shards he could land against to propel himself back home, but there were none. In fact, everything looked slightly different. Maybe it was because he hadn’t broken the Paradox Prism this time, but the void looked more like – well – a void . There were no shards, no black nothingness, just a purple-tinged vacuum. And just as Sonic’s heart dropped and he began to think he might float through this endless space forever, he spotted a gateway.

This one was different than the others he’d seen. It was a new color, a shockingly bright white. 

And Sonic was flying right towards it.

Chapter Text

“Oh, my head,” Sonic groaned as he sat up. “I really need to work on my landings.” Shadow never seemed to have these problems no matter what height he was falling from.

He stood up slowly, shaking himself off.

He hadn’t really gotten the chance to look at his surroundings while he was hurtling through the sky, but now that his head wasn’t spinning so much, he took the time to look around. He had landed on the roof of a tall building with nothing but steel and the glittering windows of skyscrapers surrounding him. He peered over the edge of the safety railing and saw streets crowded with people and cars, railway overpasses with trains, and not a square block of open space. 

If he hadn’t just hurtled through the shatterspace, he would say he was in Westopolis.

“Just great,” he muttered as he backed away from the edge. “I want to get home but it’s going to be hard to hit top speed in this.” There were so many people and obstacles, even at this time of night. A far cry from Hedgehog’s pass in Green Hill.

“At least there’s no sign of Eggman,” he murmured. This city might be busy, but it was nothing like New Yoke had been. A small relief but he’d take anything he could get at this point.

He scratched his temple as he scanned the horizon, trying to figure out which direction he should head in. It all looked the same, or – well – chaotically not the same. Then his eyes alighted on something in the distant sky: a dark spec with flashing lights barely distinguishable from the city’s night lights.

He squinted at it, watching as it slowly got bigger. Heading right for him. A helicopter?

“What now?” He sighed and began to stretch his legs out. He didn’t have the best track record for friendly receptions in these new worlds. Time to pick a direction at random.

He sprinted down the side of the building and sure enough the helicopter changed course, it’s searchlight flashing on and swinging wildly to follow him.

“Halt!” the pilot boomed over the speaker, but Sonic could barely hear it over the din of the street. This close to the traffic and congestion it was nothing but colors, lights and sounds, and he wove through it all, taking it in with wide eyes. 

“Sorry! Coming through!” he called as he passed through a street market, the wind in his wake causing the people nearby to gasp and clutch their plates. Then he paused and doubled back as his nose caught a delicious smell. “Hello, what do we have here?” he asked, peering into the food stall to the incredulous face of the chef. “Corndogs? Can I have one?”

He put on his best puppy dog eyes, gaze flashing from the corndog to the chef, and, cautiously, the chef handed over the corndog still in his hand.

Sonic flashed him a huge smile, took the dog and, as the bewildered chef and customers watched, took a big bite. And immediately gasped. There was a layer of perfectly melted cheese under the crispy, sweet and salty batter, and the dog itself had a spiciness to it that had Sonic wolfing it down in a few bites.

“Oh my god,” he gushed around a mouthful, “this is insanely good! What’s your secret?”

But then around him the crowd screamed and began to scramble to safety as the helicopter chasing him neared.

“Oh yeah,” Sonic groaned, shielding his face against the buffeting wind from the helicopter’s blades. “Almost forgot about you. Can’t you just leave me alone?” This close, he could make out more details on the craft and he was both unsurprised and deeply disappointed to see the G.U.N. logo decorating the helicopter’s tail. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do? I was enjoying a culinary masterpiece.”

In answer, the helicopter’s door slid open and Sonic’s jaw dropped to see who dropped out.

“Shadow!?” he gasped. 

In every shatterspace he had been in previously, he had never seen another version of Shadow and seeing him now was throwing Sonic for a loop. He didn’t look much different – he still had his trademark cuffed gloves and air shoes. But instead of the seamless gold rings Sonic remembered, Shadow’s inhibitors were a gunmetal grey band streaked with rings of light that highlighted the G.U.N. logo that emblazoned them.

Sonic’s brows furrowed. They looked almost like handcuffs.

The helicopter pulled away, falling back to a safe distance, and Shadow straightened up out of the crouch he had landed in, surreptitiously looking Sonic up and down.

His gaze narrowed. 

“How do you know my name?” he asked as he drew closer. “And why do you look like me?”

And despite the situation, Sonic snorted.

“This conversation again?” he asked, unable to keep the humor out of his voice, but Shadow’s confusion only seemed to increase. “We’ve gone over this before. Or I guess, me and another you. It’s a long story,” he finished weakly as the blank look on Shadow’s face got deeper and deeper. 

A brief moment passed as Shadow seemed to absorb this information. Then he shook his head and stepped forward. 

“You can explain it at G.U.N. headquarters,” he stated. “I have orders to bring you in for questioning.”

Sonic glanced up at the helicopter and raised a brow. “Yeaaah,” he drawled, “G.U.N. doesn’t exactly have a great track record on the best of days. I don’t know if I want to see what they’re like in this world.” He shot Shadow his trademark puppy dog eyes – clasping his hands together for good measure. “Any chance we could just talk it out here over some corndogs? You gotta try these, man, they’re amazing . Second only to my chili dogs for sure.”

Shadow’s brow furrowed. He glanced from Sonic to the food stand he was in front of, caught between multiple expressions. This was probably the most flustered Sonic had ever seen him and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying it immensely.

“Come on,” he wheedled and Shadow’s eyes slid to him as Sonic cocked a thumb at the helicopter. “Let’s ditch the chaperones. What do you say?”

“I…,” Shadow started, his gaze torn in multiple directions. Sonic could practically hear the gears in his head turning, but when they settled, Shadow’s look was firm. “No. I have to turn you in.”

Sonic groaned. “Boo,” he drawled, long and annoying until Shadow’s muzzle scrunched up. “Tell you what. I’ll come,” he said, then got into his runners stance. Shadow tensed. “But only if you can catch me,” Sonic finished.

Then he sped off through the city streets. 

A woosh of noise followed him and Sonic looked back to see Shadow hot on his tail, skating from side to side. He whooped. It had been too long since they raced.

This was going to be fun.

“Hope you’re ready to eat my dust!” he called as he wove through traffic – passing cars, motorcyclists and buses alike. He might not be able to hit to top speeds but he couldn’t deny he loved the added challenge, especially with one of his oldest rivals chasing him. It made him want to be even more daring to see if Shadow could keep up.

He skirted around a corner to dodge a schoolbus passing through the intersection and flashed a peace sign at the kids inside. Behind him Shadow drifted hard to follow him, leaning so far to the side that he was nearly horizontal for a moment, before speeding off after him. He hadn’t slowed down a bit – if anything he seemed to be getting faster.

“This is a waste of time,” Shadow growled as he drew nearer, raising his voice to be heard over the traffic. He Chaos controlled to avoid an 18-wheeler merging into his lane and Sonic threw him a grin, speed dashing underneath the cab to do the same.

“Come on, Shads,” he called as he unfolded and sped ahead. “I know you’re allergic to fun but you can’t tell me you’re not enjoying yourself at least a little bit.”

Shadow growled at him – neither a yes or a no – and Sonic looked around for something to raise the stakes.

“Alright, then,” he said as he spotted it, “why don’t you try this on for size.” 

Then he took a hard right, sending them careening towards the coast line and a bridge with a road that wound around itself in a vortex that reminded him of the loops back home. Multi-colored lights lined its edges and Sonic flew straight for them, not even slowing down when Shadow, alarm bleeding into his voice, yelled “What are you doing?”

Sonic laughed, jumping into a spin dash at the last second and landing on the rail at top speed.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never hit a grind before?” he called as he sped around the loop, the metal sliding along his soles and wind singing through his quills. He leaned into it, a grin permanently on his face as the wind in his wake rocked the cars along the bridge. Shadow followed along behind him, the constant turn meaning he had to drift hard to keep his speed in check. He was keeping pace but just barely and Sonic threw him a jaunty wave.

Shadow scowled.

He looked to Sonic, the rail, then back to Sonic, then made his decision and with a leap he landed on the rail too. 

Sonic looked up at the sound of metal on metal, saw Shadow grinding right along behind him, and flashed him a grin. “Not bad!” he called, smiling hard when he heard Shadow huff behind him. They were riding the outer curve of the bridge hard but it didn’t surprise him that Shadow was a natural, crouched low on the rail like he’d been doing it all his life. In fact, he was gaining, and just as his hand reached out to try to grab Sonic, Sonic lept, flipping through the air to land on the opposite rail at a speed that propelled him down the rest of the way.

“Let’s see you do that!” he taunted from across the lane and Shadow didn’t hesitate, immediately following his lead to land barely a few feet behind him. 

“Easy,” he grunted – and Sonic mock gasped.

“Is that some trash talking I hear?” he asked, letting his enthusiasm color his voice. “Is somebody, perhaps, having fun?”

Shadow stubbornly shook his head.

“This is just a means to an end!” he yelled back at him and Sonic rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right,” he said as the turn evened out and he launched off the rail to continue running. “Admit it – I know you love spending time with me.” He flashed heart hands back at Shadow, laughing when Shadow’s brows jumped up. It wasn’t the reaction Sonic was expecting – his own Shadow never missed an opportunity to make a dig at him – but this stubborn confusion had its own hilarious perks. Keeping Shadow so unbalanced for so long was rare – he couldn’t help but feel a bit smug about it. And much as Shadow didn’t want to admit it, Sonic could see he was rubbing off on him. Even the way Shadow launched himself off the rail to spin dash after him had a little touch of extra flair that he knew was reflected in his own moves. 

“Anyways,” he said, easily dodging as Shadow made another frustrated swipe at him,” as much as I love to catch up with you, this place is feeling a little cramped.” They’d accidentally swerved into the path of an oncoming double-decker bus and Sonic leapt over it, throwing a lazy wave at the tourists gaping at him from the roofless top level. “Know anywhere we can get some real speed?”

He hit the ground running and glanced back to see Shadow swerving hard around the bus, eyes trained on him with an intensity that sent a thrill running up Sonic’s spine.

“Even at top speed, you won’t outrun me,” Shadow warned, his voice a bit husky.

Sonic shrugged, buffing his nails against an imaginary shirt. “Hey, if you’re scared you’ll lose, you don’t have to tell me.”

It had the intended effect and Shadow briefly looked away before he caught Sonic’s gaze again. Then he nodded. 

“Follow me,” he said, taking a hairpin turn onto the freeway. Sonic cheered and followed after him. 

Kick his rival’s butt and pick up enough speed to portal back home. It was a win-win.

Chapter Text

Shadow led them downtown. He wasn’t much for talking while they ran but he would occasionally check back to make sure Sonic was still following. Every time Sonic would throw him grins, peace signs, or on one memorable occasion, a wacky face that made Shadow stutter on his next glide. Sonic snickered at that one – it was clear that this Shadow had no idea how to handle him. 

But he clearly knew exactly where he was going, eventually pulling off the highway with Sonic hot on his heels. This area of pseudo-Westopolis was vastly different than the area Sonic had first portaled into. Here, the piles of rubbish and desecrated buildings reached all the way to the horizon, and besides the light from the highway and moon it was dark. Sonic looked around as they journeyed deeper in, noting how the rubble only seemed to increase the further in they went. If there had been clean up efforts, they had yet to pierce this far into the destruction.

“So the Black Arms got here too, huh?” he muttered and Shadow whipped around to look at him.

“How do you know about that?” he asked, skidding to a stop, and Sonic slammed on the brakes as well. Shadow was tense, quills raised, and Sonic didn’t realize how unguarded he must have gotten until he could visibly see the metaphorical walls coming back up.

Sonic held his hands up. “We had an attack like that in my world too, is all,” he said hurriedly. Shadow’s glare lessened but didn’t disappear completely so Sonic decided to continue. “You – well, the you in my world – teamed up with me to take them down. You had pretty much lost all your memories back then but you remembered eventually – Gerald, Maria, the Ark and everything. It’s a long story. But between the two of us, they didn’t stand a chance.” He grinned at the memory.

Shadow’s brow furrowed. “Maria? Who is that?”

Sonic stared at him. 

“What?” he asked. Shadow crossed his arms and Sonic blinked. “You don’t remember her?” 

Maybe this world was actually in the past? He scratched his head and tried to recall when exactly Shadow had regained his memories.

“I remember the Ark,” Shadow said, cutting off Sonic’s train of thought. He was looking up into the sky like he could still see it. “I remember the doctor – he supervised the tests they ran on me. The other scientists though – they were nothing but faces to me before G.U.N. came and … terminated the operation. If Maria was one of them, then I don’t think we spoke.” He finally looked down, opting to look out over the wastes of downtown Westopolis instead. “None of them really spoke to me.”

Sonic’s eyes widened. Shadow said it so matter of factly but the implications of what he was saying were bleak to say the least. He didn’t know how to respond to it. 

“So … you’ve been with G.U.N. ever since?” he tried and Shadow nodded.

“They put me in stasis for a time but then reanimated me to fight the Black Arms off,” he murmured. “They secured the perimeter to keep the army from invading further while I was sent in to subdue the hoard. I proved useful to them so they kept me on as an agent.”

“Yeah,” Sonic said absently, “yeah, you do missions for them sometimes in my world too.” He was still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. It was crazy how one detail missing from Shadow’s life could have such a domino effect in turning a starkly independent hedgehog like Shadow into what was essentially a G.U.N. soldier.

They stood there for a moment in silence, Shadow watching Sonic and Sonic staring absently into the middle space before Sonic finally spoke up again.

“Huh,” he said, tapping his lip, “well, I guess that explains why you’re such a stickler for the rules now.”

Shadow glared, huffing at him, and it was so similar to Sonic’s Shadow that he snorted.

“You do that a lot,” Shadow said and Sonic looked at him.

“What? Laugh?” Shadow grunted and Sonic shrugged. “What can I say, you’re a funny guy.” This time Shadow looked at him like he was verifiably insane and Sonic laughed even harder. “Yeah, I bet you don’t hear that a lot do you? You should try it sometime though – laughing, I mean.” Sonic pushed the corners of his lips up with his fingers for emphasis. “Might do you some good.”

He reached out to poke at Shadow’s cheek too and the hedgehog growled and swatted at him.

“The more you talk, the harder I want to hit you,” he forced out through gritted teeth and Sonic bounced back, revving his legs.

“A whole lotta talk for someone who can’t even catch me,” he taunted, then immediately sprinted away as Shadow launched after him. Words weren’t really his thing for situations like this anyway – that was more Amy’s specialty. 

They hadn’t really agreed on a goal post, but then again when had they ever? So Sonic just ran aimlessly, no goal in mind other than to stay just one step ahead of Shadow. Partially because he didn’t want to go too fast and accidentally portal out of there before he was ready, but also partially because it had the added benefit of riling the other hedgehog up so much. 

“You’re too slow!” he called as he zipped under a bridge, zigzagging around the support structs and dodging behind rundown cars. He laughed when Shadow growled and swiped at him, the two of them going round and round the same pillar until they kicked up a mini dust devil. “You gotta be quicker than that!”

“What. Are. You. Doing,” Shadow barked, one word for each lap, until he suddenly switched directions and Sonic had to swerve to avoid running right into him.

“Ooooh, almost had me there,” Sonic said as he sped up the side of the tunnel. Shadow skated after him, hot on Sonic’s heels as they spiraled through the tunnel and out the other side into what looked like an abandoned shopping complex. 

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a race?” Shadow yelled at him then.

Sonic shrugged. “Just trying to add a little spice, Shads. Ever heard of it?” He looked around then perked up when his eyes alighted on a row of awnings and umbrellas. Those looked bouncy – he made a hairline turn and beelined for them, leaping for the first one and striking a pose for each next one he landed on. “Or did you just want to be boring?” he finished.

He bounced again and mimed a yawn, stretching out with his hands behind his head for good measure.

Shadow frowned. “I’m not boring,” he said, but even though his delivery was perfectly normal there was something about it. Sonic wasn’t sure how but he could sense the petulance and he had to cover his mouth to hide a smile.

“Oh yeah?” he asked instead, as airily as he could muster. Like the answer didn’t mean anything at all to him. “Why don’t you prove it?”

Shadow frowned even harder and Sonic fought to keep the delight off his face. Shadow might have the home-field advantage of knowing the terrain but it was clear he saw everything for only what it was – debris, rubbish, obstacles essentially. Sonic was more creative. Everything within a mile radius was something he could potentially use to throw Shadow off his game and have some crazy fun in the process.

And he was going to take full advantage.

He spotted a crane just ahead and shot Shadow a wicked grin.

“Watch and learn, Mr. Boring,” he said then picked up speed. “And for my next stunt!” he yelled like he had an audience of adoring fans instead of one confused and irritated hedgehog. Then, without waiting for Shadow’s answer, he took a running leap off the last awning, sprung hard off the flag pole next to it, and launched himself in the air. He soared up, spin dashing to gain speed, then snagged the crane’s hook. The momentum carried him round and round until he sailed off the other side. “A flying hedgehog!” he yelled proudly as he struck a pose.

At this height, Shadow looked like an ant, but Sonic could still see him craning his neck after him and he snickered. At this rate he had to be blowing the dude’s mind.

“Please, please, hold your applause,” he called, throwing Shadow a mock salute.

Then gasped as not two seconds later, Shadow wall jumped up two nearby buildings then teleported right in his path.

They collided, Sonic’s fur standing on end as Shadow growled low in his ear, and then they crashed through a store window on another block, tumbling over and over until they hit a wall of shelving. 

Sonic groaned, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his head. Then he gasped as the shelving creaked and snapped and the entire wall of stock came down on them.

Or should have. 

When he opened his eyes, Shadow was on top of him, pinning his arms and legs and breathing hard. He’d caged him in and taken the full brunt of the fallout – effectively cocooning them in a mess of steel bars and dusty inventory – but he barely looked ruffled. Sonic stared up at him – his eyes, the flush to his cheeks, the little hint of fang he could see as Shadow panted – and a thrill shot down his spine to pool in his hips. He tried to move his arm but Shadow’s grip just tightened.

“Caught you,” Shadow said, low and breathless. 

Their mouths were so close that Sonic could feel Shadow’s breath brushing against his lips as he spoke. He swallowed hard and the sound seemed overly loud in the quiet.

“You know,” he rasped, quietly trying to clear his throat. “Chaos Control is cheating. You definitely cheated just now.” His gaze wandered down to Shadow’s mouth then he caught himself and snapped it back up. But not before he caught Shadow’s smirk.

“Cheating?” Shadow mocked. “Who’s a stickler for the rules now?”

His grip flexed on Sonic’s arms as he shifted and Sonic wondered if the other hedgehog was even aware of the position they were in. Because Sonic was. Oh was he ever . The longer they stayed like this the more aware of it he became – he damn near squeaked when he tried to shift his leg and felt the fur of Shadow’s own ruffle his inner thigh.

“Geeze, at least buy me dinner first!” he blurted. And immediately wanted to punch himself in the face. His tone had been just a little too high and a little too off to pass as his normal joking banter and it echoed mortifyingly in the sudden silence. And Shadow wasn’t making it any better, staring down at him with wide eyes. “Uh,” he tried, cringing as his voice cracked, “that was a jo–”

“Dinner?” Shadow interrupted. He hummed and cocked his head to the side. “You did mention that before.” Then his smile unfurled slow and warm – not a smirk or sneer but a smile . For a stoic hedgehog like him, it was practically a deadly weapon and Sonic gulped. “What would you like to eat?” he asked.

Chapter Text

They got chili dogs, because of course they did.

“Do you ever eat anything else?” Shadow asked, his expression going back and forth between disdain and a disbelief that almost verged on concern. He only got more bewildered when Sonic nearly dropped his dog laughing. Sonic had only been in this world for a little while at most and this Shadow couldn’t have sounded more like his Shadow just then if he’d tried.

“At least give it a try before you mock me,” he said, still laughing slightly as he wiped tears from his eyes.

He handed the dog to Shadow before turning back to the food cart for his own. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Shadow brought the chili dog to his face, nose moving ever so slightly as he gave it a quiet sniff.

Shadow’s brow raised. “What is it?”

“Only the most beautiful creation ever brought into existence by mankind,” Sonic practically sang as he brandished his own newly gotten chili dog. “A masterful blend of perfectly seasoned meat, melty cheese and crisp , spicy jalapenos.” He inhaled all along its length and sighed wistfully as he closed his eyes. If he was a cartoon, that smell would have him floating.

Shadow cleared his throat and Sonic opened his eyes just in time to see the hedgehog burying a non-smile underneath his fist. “High praise,” he said simply and Sonic shrugged.

“Trust me, it lives up to the hype,” he said as he lead them away from the crowds. “You gotta tell me what you think when you take the first bite.” It was late in the night now, but there were still plenty of people about and he didn’t want to risk some well meaning citizen filing a report that had G.U.N. on his tail again.

They sped up the side of a tower then perched at the top, Sonic’s legs swinging as he sat on the edge and leaned against the railing. He could see the entire city from up here, a sparkling sea of night lights and shining metal. It was the perfect backdrop for a perfect meal.

He expected Shadow to bracket the pole of the railing he was leaning on – close but not too close. It’s what the Shadow of his world would have done. But instead this Shadow sat next to him, air shoes dangling over the edge like they were only a foot from the ground instead of a few thousand. 

Sonic watched him surreptitiously – the lights reflecting off his eyes as he took in the sights. Neither of them said anything at first, Shadow quiet as always and Sonic waiting for his own heart to calm.

Then Sonic nudged Shadow with his shoulder, holding up his chili dog in a toast when Shadow glanced at him.

Shadow rolled his eyes but eventually did the same.

Eating with Shadow was surreal.

Sonic didn’t get to do it often in his world – in fact, he was pretty sure he could count on one glove how often it had happened – and when they did, it was never like this: close enough for their shoes to brush when Sonic kicked his feet with delight as he inhaled his dog. Or for Sonic to feel the heat radiating off Shadow’s body like a brand on his side. The few times he had ever been pressed against the Shadow from his world, they had been throwing kicks and punches at each other. Or saving each other’s lives. Moments where so much was at stake he didn’t have time to focus on anything else.

But here, in this rare moment of peace, it was like he couldn’t think of anything else.

He bounced his knee, trying to get his mind off of it, and nearly jumped out of his skin when Shadow laid a hand on his thigh.

“Wha–” he stuttered but Shadow cut him off.

“Patience,” he murmured, low and slow like Sonic’s heart wasn’t trying to beat it’s way right out of his ribcage, “I’ll tell you what I think in a moment.” 

Sonic blinked and refocused. “Right. The chilidog.”

Shadow turned back to his meal and Sonic took the chance to subtly put a hand to his cheek, feeling for a blush. Shadow’s hand was still resting on his thigh and the warmth of it was slowly driving him insane. Normal Shadow would’ve just yelled at him to stop fidgeting, wouldn’t he? Or was this Shadow just trying to make sure Sonic didn’t keep jostling him and Sonic was just overthinking it?

He wheezed quietly into his hand then pulled himself together and turned back to his companion.

“So what do you think?” he asked, feigning his normal bravado as Shadow took his first bite.

Shadow chewed slowly as he stared into the middlespace. Then he swallowed and shrugged. “It’s alright.”

That was enough to shock Sonic out of his own head. “Alright? Only alright!?” He looked from the hot dog to Shadow’s bland expression and back again, then narrowed his eyes. “Admit it. You’re just saying that to spite me right?”

Shadow wordlessly handed him the chili dog but Sonic could see the corner of his lip pulling up slightly.

“Just take it,” he sighed when Sonic tried to protest. “You’ve been looking at me so much, you must want it badly.” Sonic choked on nothing – talk about poor choice in wording! – and Shadow cocked his head innocently. “Or was there another reason?”

For a moment, Sonic just sat there frozen. Then his face burst into flame and he laughed weakly. “Yeah… no yeah that was it,” he said, and staunchly ignored the part of his mind that screamed this counted as an indirect kiss. He wasn’t in a romance movie – if his life was going to be any genre, it’d be an action flick. But he still avoided Shadow’s eyes as he took a slow bite, trying his hardest to pretend he didn’t feel the gaze boring into the side of his face. “Mmm, scrumptious,” he said through his last mouthful of food – anything to fill the silence.

Shadow gave a derisive snort, but before Sonic could comment on finally making him laugh, he leaned in. Sonic watched it happen in slow motion: Shadow’s gaze flickering from his eyes to his lips, the grip on Sonic’s thigh changing as Shadow put more weight on it to get closer, his other hand raising to pull him in. 

Then he brushed crumbs off Sonic’s cheek.

“You eat like a child,” he said, harsh words but spoken so softly.

Sonic swallowed his mouthful. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it in his ears. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I get that a lot.”

Shadow hummed and distantly Sonic was aware that the time for either of them to pull back, to casually create space, had come and gone. He didn’t mind all that much though. Too busy looking at Shadow’s eyes. He unconsciously leaned in. Then caught himself. Then shuddered as Shadow’s hand flexed against his thigh, the fingers slowly spreading wide and pressing into the skin.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m going to try something,” he whispered. “Feel free to punch me if you don’t like it.”

Then he closed his eyes, leaned in the last little bit, and pressed his lips against Shadow’s. The kiss was chaste and sweet more than anything, and Sonic could barely feel it with all the adrenaline buzzing beneath his skin. But it was nice – and Shadow hadn’t immediately decked him – so he would take that as a win.

“How was that–” he asked as he pulled back, then muffled a gasp as Shadow followed after him, kissing him back hard. Their bodies pressed together and Sonic’s eyes fluttered. Now this was even better.

He moved his lips against Shadow’s, little sounds escaping as he mouthed at first the top, then the bottom, and Shadow groaned, pushing forward even harder. They were clumsy at first – getting used to each other – but it was like the longer they made out, the better Shadow got until it felt like he was devouring Sonic, pushing Sonic back with the force of his kisses until he pressed a hand behind Sonic’s neck to keep him right where he wanted him. 

Sonic moaned as those fingers curled around the back of his neck to brush the sides of his throat, eyes rolling up in his head a little as Shadow turned his head to lick deeper into his mouth. One of his hand came up to cling weakly to Shadow’s shoulder as Shadow ravaged his mouth. He barely knew which way was up but if Shadow kept licking the roof of his mouth like that then he didn’t really care.

When they pulled apart, a string of spit stretched and snapped between them.

“Wow,” Sonic panted. His hips felt like they were tingling and he shivered when Shadow squeezed the back of his neck.

Shadow looked like he agreed. “Come closer,” he said – as if they weren’t already as close as skin would allow – but he didn’t wait for Sonic to move, just pulled back and tugged Sonic forward into his lap.

“Woah,” Sonic sputtered as Shadow pulled him down. The way Shadow’s gloves brushed against Sonic’s tail as he manhandled him had pleasure zinging down his spine so fast he was afraid he might end the party too soon and he took deep breaths to back himself off the edge. “This is a bit..” 

He trailed off as he looked down at them. It was blatantly sexual the way Shadow had seated him - Sonic’s legs sliding open around Shadow’s waist. And Shadow was looking up at him, one hand on his thigh and the other on his lower back, like they had all night.

“Yes?” Shadow asked. His hand whispered up the back of Sonic’s leg to grab his tail and Sonic’s hips jolted.

“Ooooh,” he shuddered, grinding down a bit. “Hot. It’s very hot. But, uh…” he forced himself to stop. “Isn’t this kinda fast?”

Shadow stared at him with half-lidded eyes. His thumb pressed gently into the base of Sonic’s tail, urging him to grind down again and again. 

“You’ve made your interest clear,” he murmured. 

“Me!?” Sonic said, somehow still incredulous even as he followed Shadow’s lead. Shadow’s fur felt too good against the bulge forming between his legs for him to even think about stopping. “What about you?” If any body had been laying it on thick, it was him, with an intensity that made Sonic weak in the knees the longer he kept it up.

But Shadow just licked his lips and nodded. “I want you too,” he said – and that’s not really what Sonic had meant, but wow did it get his heart racing. And then Shadow grabbed his head and pulled him down into another kiss and Sonic lost all track of what they had even been talking about. 

He followed eagerly, groaning into Shadow’s mouth when Shadow gripped his ass and ground their hips together. Every thrust shot a bolt of pleasure to the base of his spine that made his balls clench and if they kept going like this he was going to make such a mess. He couldn’t think, could barely breathe, but when he tried to pull away for some air, Shadow grabbed him by the head quills and brought him back, licking into his mouth like a punishment until Sonic was dizzy and lightheaded.

“Holy shit, Shadow,” he breathed when Shadow finally let him up for air. Shadow didn’t stop, just mouthed messily down from Sonic’s lips to lick and bite at his neck, pulling at his quills to force his head back and give him more room. “You’re really intense, you know that –!?”

He tried to be normal about saying it but Shadow chose that moment to tug on his tail and he moaned it instead. And since he’d caught him off guard, it was loud and embarrassing. He slapped a hand over his face to hide the shame but Shadow only rutted against him harder.

“Don’t cover your mouth,” he growled, leaning forward until Sonic was pinned on his back beneath him. “I want you loud.”

He bore down, humping him, and Sonic could barely look at him, at the picture they must make: Shadow thrusting against him and Sonic’s legs trembling in the air. His dick had slid out of his sheath the instant Shadow had pinned him and he couldn’t keep his moans in if he tried.

“Feels too good,” he whined. Shadow’s fur felt amazing against him but then Shadow groaned and his dick slid out against Sonic’s in a rush of warmth and slick and it got ten times better. Shadow hiked his hips up, pressing his thighs against his chest, and Sonic’s eyes rolled up in his head. He couldn’t move like this, couldn’t do anything but scrabble at Shadow and take it and the more he listened to the slick noises between him, the higher the pleasure became until it brought tears to his eyes.

“Look at me, hedgehog,” Shadow growled and Sonic blinked blearily up at him. “Open your mouth.”

Sonic did as he was told and Shadow licked into his mouth until it felt like every part of him was invaded and owned. 

Some secret part of him had always wondered about this – what it would be like. If Shadow in bed would be cold and prudish or rough and violent. At no point, even his deepest, most embarrassing fantasies, did he imagine this: Shadow burning hot against him, controlling and dominating and blatantly desirous for Sonic of all people, the one person that clashed with him more often than not. 

And most surprisingly of all, that Sonic, untamed and snarky as he liked to be, would absolutely love it. 

When he came he was so overwhelmed that it took him by surprise, pleasure shooting down his spine so hard and fast his back nearly gave out. It was so intense he couldn’t scream and Shadow tongue fucked his open mouth like the secret to everything he’d ever wanted was hidden in Sonic’s tonsils, until rope after rope of his own cum was joining Sonic’s spend on his chest. 

He ground through the aftershocks until Sonic was shaking and whimpering, then pulled back to lick the spit from Sonic’s lips.

Sonic just let him do it. 

“I think I died for a second there,” he mumbled after a while, staring up at the night sky in a daze. 

Shadow huffed but didn’t otherwise say anything, content to groom Sonic’s face and then lower down to his neck and chest. It was soothing and Sonic closed his eyes. If he let himself, he would fall asleep right here to the feeling of Shadow’s tongue licking lower and lower and–- 

His eyes shot open as Shadow’s chin reached the top of his sheath with no sign of stopping.

“Hey, what are you–” he started, then swallowed his tongue as Shadow sucked his dick down his throat. “Oh god,” he groaned, long and drawn out as Shadow sucked any leftover cum out of his dick until his toes curled so hard they popped.

“Relax, I’m just cleaning you,” Shadow said, back to calm, but his lips dragged against his cock with every word and even that had Sonic squirming. Shadow was too thorough, pulling off of him to lap up and down the shaft, and even dipping his tongue inside Sonic’s sheath until Sonic was nearly cross-eyed from the pleasure and fighting a strangled scream. 

“Uncle, uncle!” he squeaked past a rapidly closing throat. There was a pressure building up between his legs that he’d never felt before that had him urgently trying to tap out but Shadow just held his hips down and kept going, deep throating Sonic and humming against him as he gently fingered at his sheath until suddenly Sonic squirted.

He gasped and bucked hard but Shadow just moved with him, swallowing what he could and letting what he couldn’t drip back into Sonic’s lap until he was soaked. 

Finally Shadow pulled off with a satisfied pop and Sonic wheezed, blinking the stars out of his eyes.

“What,” Sonic breathed in between gasps, “was that !?” Everything from his hips down was shaking and he’d be embarrassed at how Shadow was watching the tremors if his spine didn’t feel like it had just melted.

Shadow wiped his face and licked the mess off his fingers.

“You liked it,” he said and it wasn’t really a question but Sonic still nodded his head aggressively.

“Yeah, yeah, very much so,” he said so fast his words slurred together. His tongue felt uncoordinated in his mouth and he had to keep blinking hard to clear the dizziness from his head but he still caught the satisfaction on Shadow’s face as he looked down at him. He closed his eyes. “Uggh,” he groaned, “you’re never going to let me live this down are you.”

Shadow hummed. “Hardly.”

Sonic sighed. He figured as much.

Chapter Text

It took a mortifyingly long time for Sonic to get feeling back in his legs. Shadow didn’t say anything next to him, content to wait it out, but Sonic could feel the smugness practically radiating off of him with Sonic’s every failed attempt at standing up. He was like the cat that ate the proverbial cream, his eyes lingering on Sonic just a little too long to be anything other than heated, and Sonic blushed. At this rate, they were heading for a – what round would this be? Two? Three? – and though Sonic wasn’t really opposed, he also did need to be getting back. It was that hour of the night where even a big city like Westopolis seemed to quiet down, and his friends had to be looking for him back on his world. 

“Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that,” he groused when he caught Shadow staring again. “This is your fault, you know.”

Shadow just hummed and Sonic broke eye contact before he could get sucked in too deep. This Shadow was dangerous in more ways than one.

He made another attempt to stand up and sighed in relief as his knees finally held up. It was about time.

“Well,” he said and Shadow perked up, “it’s been fun. Really fun,” he murmured as a dopey smile stretched across his face. Shadow cocked his head to the side, eyes smoldering as he reached for the other hedgehog. But then Sonic shook himself to snap out of it and stepped back. “But I have to go,” he finished resolutely.

Immediately Shadow’s eyes sharpened.

“Go?” He stood up, crossing the distance between them until he was standing just inside Sonic’s personal bubble. “Go where?”

His gaze raked over Sonic, a different type of intense now, and Sonic mentally cursed his knees for going a little weak again anyway. He resisted the urge to slap them into submission and gave Shadow a nervous chuckle.

“Back home,” he said. And when Shadow’s brows drew together, he hurried to explain himself. “Back to my world, I mean. I’ve been gone too long as it is, my friends will be worried about me. They know I’m a free spirit and all but I’ve never been gone this long without at least a heads up first. The last time I came anywhere close was because Eggman caught me be surprise and I don’t want them thinking anything like that happened to me again. It was embarrassing enough the first time.”

He was rambling – he knew he was – but he stuttered to a halt when Shadow grabbed his wrist. It wasn’t hard, or even really all that forceful. But the way his fingertips brushed against his fur before closing against the sensitive skin under his wrist made Sonic’s mouth run dry. 

Shadow glanced down at where they touched then back up to meet Sonic’s gaze.

“Don’t leave,” he said simply. 

It wasn’t quite an ask but wasn’t quite an order and it made something warm curl in Sonic’s stomach. 

He swallowed quietly, trying not to focus on how Shadow watched his throat bob. “You really know how to push all my buttons, huh,” he mumbled, subtly trying to clear his throat when his voice came out husky. He closed his eyes when Shadow leaned in but spoke up before the hedgehog could kiss him and distract him again. “I do have to leave though,” he said, and felt Shadow pause against him. He opened his eyes. Shadow was normally too composed to show alarm but looking at him now Sonic could see something like it bleeding across his face. His brows were furrowed again, quills rising, and Sonic put on his best soothing smile.

“But hey” he said and Shadow’s eyes flashed to him, “my buddy Tails – he’s a genius. I’ve never seen a machine he can’t fix or an idea he can’t invent. He can probably even figure out why I portaled here in the first place. If I know him, he’ll make a way for me to control which worlds I go to before I’ve even finished asking, so this doesn’t have to be goodbye. That is, uh … “ he scratched his cheek, suddenly shy, “ if you want me to come back.”

He closed his eyes, fighting through a swarm of nerves as Shadow let the silence stretch a little long.

Then Shadow sighed.

“How long?” he grumbled, then clarified when Sonic gave him a blank stare. “How long will you be gone?”

His hand was still holding Sonic’s wrist and, after a moment, Sonic gave him a warm smile.

“I’ll be back in a flash,” he chirped, then, when Shadow still looked reluctant, he gave in to the urge he’d been fighting half the time he’d been here and pulled the hedgehog into a hug. Shadow froze for a second, surprised, then softened into it and Sonic purred. “Just give me a day – two days tops,” he murmured, turning his head to nuzzle into the side of Shadow’s neck. This close he was pretty sure Shadow was purring too and it only made him want to squeeze harder. 

Shadow grunted, but his arms slowly came up to hug the other hedgehog back – like he wasn’t used to it but wanted to be.

“Two days,” he agreed eventually.

He slid his hands down from Sonic’s shoulders to his lower back and pressed until Sonic was moulded to his front, solid and warm. It was comforting and Sonic wasn’t sure how long they stood like that soaking it in.

But eventually he did pull away, suppressing the urge to coo at Shadow’s scowl. They’d just gotten a good vibe going, he didn’t want to ruin it by pushing his luck.

“See you soon,” he said instead, pushing every ounce of reassurance he could into those three words. Then, when Shadow nodded at him, he took off. The sooner he left and got his friends up to speed, the sooner he could come back.

When he’d gotten up enough speed to portal back to Green Hill, he was surprised by how bright it was still. He immediately squinted, shading his eyes against the sun and blinking until he could see again, and when his vision had adjusted he looked around to find himself hurtling through the sky towards Hedgehog’s Pass. He yelped and scrambled in the air, pinwheeling his arms until he was falling somewhat upright, and managed to skid along the ground to a relatively smooth stop.

“Phew,” he sighed, “I think that was my best landing yet.” Then he froze when he heard Shadow, his Shadow, call his name.

He turned and spotted the other hedgehog in the distance, far away now but rapidly closing the distance, and three things happened in very quick succession. First, the memory of the other Shadow crouched between his legs slammed to the forefront of his mind. Second, he caught a whiff of himself on the breeze and realized he still very much smelled like sex. And third, he turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

“Sonic!” Shadow yelled, exasperated, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t help it – the absolute last thing he wanted to do was try and have any type of conversation with the body double of his last fuck, at least not while the memory was still so fresh. His face was already burning but that would turn it into an inferno .

“SorryShadscan’ttalknowbye!” he squeaked behind him, cringing when Shadow just growled in response and sped up. He looked frantically around him for any way out of this mess, then perked up when he spotted the beach. Of course! He took a hairpin turn and made for the ocean. He hated water but he’d much rather smell like salt and seaweed than cum right now.

“What. Are. You. Doing!?” Shadow barked and it was such deja-vu to the other Shadow that Sonic almost stumbled. He looked back and gulped when he saw the other hedgehog was gaining on him but he couldn’t go any faster without kicking up Prism energy – he could already feel it starting to mess with his stride. 

But luck was on his side for once and before Shadow could get too close Sonic spin-dashed the last little stretch and plunged into the ocean, sinking to the bottom almost instantly. He shivered as the icy water rushed over him, muffling Shadow’s angry exclamation, then immediately got to work scrubbing his hands through his fur and quills. From this angle he couldn’t get a good look at Shadow –  and hoped that the other hedgehog couldn’t get a good look at what he was doing either – but he did see when his red and black air shoes splashed into the surf. Sonic bubbled a gasp, frantically scrubbing at himself faster as the shoes stomped over to him and more and more of Shadow’s body dipped under the water. And then the other hedgehog was dragging him back to the shallows and pulling him up by his shoulders.

“Sonic!” Shadow yelled and Sonic looked up at him wide-eyed. 

“Hey, Shadow,” he chuckled nervously, then winced when his grip tightened and Shadow shook him roughly.

“Answer me!” he growled. “Where did you just come from? And how did you get there?” Sonic blinked at him owlishly and Shadow huffed out a harsh breath. “I saw you portal in from the sky. If you somehow managed to shatter the Paradox Prism again –”

He cut off abruptly, his nose twitching as he sniffed, and Sonic’s heart leapt into his throat when his brows furrowed.

“I didn’t, I swear!” he yelped, wildly swinging his arms in an effort to distract Shadow from whatever he was smelling. Then he froze as Tails cleared his throat. 

Both of them craned their necks to the side at once to see the fox watching them from the shore, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge sitting a short distance away and staring bewildered at them from the picnic blanket. Sonic had a brief moment of confusion as to why they were all here almost exactly as he’d left them. Then an even briefer moment contemplating the picture he and Shadow must make with Shadow looming over him and practically holding him up by his shoulders while they yelled at each other knee-deep in seawater like maniacs.

Then Tails spoke up. “You broke the prism?” he asked, looking to Sonic.

“Heh … well,” Sonic said, completely overwhelmed. Then sputtered as Shadow dropped him and he fell back into the sea. 

“Yes,” Shadow answered for him, crossing his arms and glaring down at where Sonic was trying to wipe water off his face. “He did. Along with a host of other things.”

Sonic shot him a deadpan look. “Thank you, Shadow,” he snarked and rolled his eyes when the other hedgehog only huffed at him. Then he shot Tails an apologetic look. “I was going to tell you earlier but we came back mid-fight and then I had to check on the prism really quick and then I was somewhere else entirely and–” he realized he was rambling and cut himself off. “It’s a long story,” he finished weakly. “Sorry for disappearing on you like that.”

Tails scratched his head. “Uh,” he tried, his face morphing back and forth between confusion and concern as he tried to parse through everything. Then Knuckles piped up.

“You better be,” he called, “I’m still waiting on those chili dogs – I’m starving over here.” Rouge elbowed him and Sonic’s brows shot up.

“Okay, now I’m confused,” he said, finally getting to his feet.

Tails hummed. “Why don’t you start from the beginning.” 

The sun was nearing the horizon by the time Sonic finished recounting the events that had let up to them fixing the shatterspace. He didn’t love recounting the tension and conflict with Nine, opting to gloss over the whole war with the Alphas almost entirely but, although Shadow’s brow furrowed, he didn’t say anything and neither did Tails. They got the gist without him having to reopen old wounds, and at the end of the day Nine had been just as heroic as Sonic had believed he was and that’s what mattered.

He did love talking about the rest of the gang though and seeing how Amy’s face lit up at Rusty, Thorn and Captain Rose’s friendship. Or how Rouge and Knuckles preened at learning of Rebel and Renegade’s leadership of the resistance against the Chaos Council. He could see a little bit of each of his alternate universe friends in these ones back home and it made him smile to know that they wouldn’t be forgotten. 

Even Shadow seemed different than usual, less standoffish and more reflective. Sonic was honestly surprised he’d stuck around as long as he had, but it made more sense when he finally spoke up.

“The prism is safe and whole now,” he said when Sonic had petered out and all eyes shifted to him. “It’s hidden so it will remain that way. But somehow, even though Nine used the last of his energy to make the prism whole and fix our universe, Sonic is still traveling to other spaces. Aren’t you?” he asked, rounding on Sonic, who just chuckled self-consciously.

“How do you know?” Tails asked.

“I saw it,” Shadow answered simply. “I was at the mountain where the shard originally was, blocking off the entrance to the cave just in case there was anything else with universe-shattering potential in there, when I saw him portal in from the sky. So stop playing dumb and explain yourself,” he hissed at Sonic.

“I don’t know!” Sonic said, throwing up his hands. “I don’t know what you want me to say! It’s not like I tried to do it – my shoes just suddenly started acting up again and then I was flying to another gateway.” Shadow shot him a flat look, brow raised, and Sonic sighed in frustration. “Believe me or not, that’s what happened.”

“And you’re certain Nine removed all of the prism energy?” Tails chimed in.

Sonic thought back to how he had felt, the hollowness that had only spread as time went on. “Pretty certain,” he said quietly. Beside him, Shadow shifted then nodded in agreement.

Tails hummed then stood up to pace. “I don’t doubt it,” he said as they watched him, “but if you were able to portal to another world then the fact is there’s still some prism energy remaining. You said earlier that you went to check on the prism right?” Sonic nodded. “Why?”

He scratched his head. “I don’t know, I just kind of had this feeling?”

Shadow spoke up then. “That feeling he ‘just kind of had’ lead him through the largest cave tunnel system in Green Hill. In pitch black darkness.”

Everyone turned as one to stare at Sonic and Sonic shrugged, sheepish. “A strong feeling?”

Shadow rolled his eyes but Tails just kept pacing, a hand over his mouth while he thought.

“It’s just a theory,” he mumbled after a moment, “and a really shaky one at best, but with you being a conduit for prismatic energy for so long, it’s possible that it’s changed your electromagnetic field and made you more susceptible to–”

“In English, please,” Sonic begged and Tails finally came to a stop.

“I think being near it charges you like a battery,” he said simply.

Shadow blinked. “That would make sense,” he said slowly but Tails shook his head.

“I need to do some readings before we jump to any conclusions,” he said resolutely. “Can you take me to the crystal? I have some tests to run.”

Chapter Text

Shadow agreed to take them but only Tails and, more reluctantly, Sonic because Tails claimed to need him for his tests. Taking any additional people just meant more opportunities for the prism’s location to be revealed. He stood by with his arms crossed after he had warped them to the cave, watching intently as Tails walked around both Sonic and the prism crystal to scan them for what felt like an interminable amount of time, Sonic fidgeting all the while.

Then both hedgehogs perked up when Tails finally came to a stop with a thoughtful hum, staring at the readouts on his screen.

“So?” Sonic prompted after a moment and Tails glanced at him. 

“Well,” he murmured, “based off the previous baseline I have of you, it does seem like your readings have changed.” He tapped his mouth then turned the machine on himself and did a quick cursory scan. “Whereas mine haven’t,” he muttered as his eyes flew over the output on the screen. “If I could just get a third data point…” He glanced at Shadow, hesitated, then bit the bullet anyway. “May I?”

He held the machine aloft and Shadow glanced at it. “You have prior readings from me as well?” he asked, tone suspiciously blank, and the fox gave a nervous chuckle. But he nodded anyways, stepping forward so that Tails could do a full body scan.

When he was done, he straightened up, tails flicking in a way Sonic knew meant he was happy.

“Seems like my theory was correct,” he nodded, tapping his machine. “Based off your story, I’d expect Shadow’s signatures to be largely unchanged and they were, which leaves Sonic with the only irregularities. Ones that match the frequency emanating from the prism.” He peered at Sonic’s face. “You’ve been next to it for a while – how do you feel?”

 “Good?” Sonic hazarded after a moment then shrugged. “I still have that vibrating feeling but other than that it’s business as usual.”

“I suspect it’s resonance,” Tails mumbled to himself then perked up with an idea. “That’s it! While you have this energy, you’re still susceptible to randomized jumps through the shatterspace, right? But I think I know how to keep that from happening.” He started muttering to himself excitedly, no doubt already coming up with a plan and drafting schematics in his mind, and didn’t catch Sonic’s weak smile.

“Oh … yay,” Sonic tried. Even to himself it sounded like a poor mimicry of his normal enthusiasm but he had to say something to fill the silence, at least until he could get his friend alone. He caught Tails’ shoulder before the fox could get too deep in his musings.  “Hey, do you think maybe we could go back to your workshop?” he asked, trying for nonchalance and missing it by a mile if Tails’ bemused look was anything to go by.

But Tails didn’t ask any questions, just nodded. Which just left Shadow.  

Sonic chanced a glance at him and jolted to find the other hedgehog staring back. Shadow didn’t say anything though, just quirked an eyebrow, and Sonic laughed self-consciously. 

“Think we could get a ride back out?” he asked and Shadow rolled his eyes but warped them out without comment. 

“Tell no one of this place,” he instructed, and despite his nerves it took a surprising amount of willpower for Sonic not to mimic him. Shadow was always so serious, it went against everything in him not to poke fun even a little bit.

Shadow shot him a deadpan look like he knew what Sonic was thinking.

“I mean it,” he growled.

Sonic raised his hands. “We get it, we get it, no blabbing to anyone.” Then he shifted from foot to foot, eager to get going. “Well anyways see ya gotta go fast and all that bye!” he said, rapid fire, before taking off in the direction of Tails’ workshop and leaving the fox to follow behind. He could distantly hear Tails thanking Shadow and promising to keep him in the loop before the fox took off as well and he sighed in relief. It would be easier to address the Shadow sized elephant in the room without – well – Shadow.

“So actually I have a favor to ask,” he began as soon as Tails had touched down beside him at the workshop.

Tails shot him a questioning glance as he opened the door and lead Sonic inside. “Is that why you were being so weird earlier?”

Sonic winced. “Was it that obvious?” he asked. 

“Well,” Tails started, obviously searching for words, and Sonic groaned.

“Don’t answer that,” he muttered. Tails gave him a sympathetic look as he sat at his work bench, clearing space on the desk for a fresh roll of drafting paper. “Anyways, about that favor…”

“Shoot,” Tails said as he brought out a pencil to focus on his sketches and Sonic mulled over how best to go about this without revealing anything about the other Shadow. Going into the details of that encounter with his young friend was last on his list of things to do in his life ever.

“So,” he tried, “what if you didn’t make something to keep me from teleporting? Hypothetically,” he added as Tails turned around to stare at him incredulously. 

“Why?” the fox said after a moment, face scrunched up in confusion, and at least that wasn’t an outright denial. He could work with confusion. 

“Don’t get me wrong,” Sonic said quickly, eager to explain himself, “it’s not like I want to go jumping through shatterspaces all willy-nilly or anything. And I don’t love how this extra energy messes with my speed either. But wouldn’t it be cool if I could control it? Like go to whichever shatterspace I want, only when I want?” He tried to put on his best persuasive tone but when Tails only frowned, he decided to change tracks. “And I … kind of have some unresolved business in the one I just left,” he said, more earnest this time. 

Tails perked at that, ears flicking in interest. 

“Something serious?” he asked and Sonic mulled over how to answer that one. Was it life or death? No. But was it important to him?

“I think so,” he said simply.

Tails hummed and then nodded, turning back to his desk. “Okay, so like a tuner then? Something that can adapt your prism energy and prime it to transport you to the shatterspace of your choosing?”

Sonic nodded vigorously. “Yeah exactly like that!”

“And it’ll have to include a dampener, as well.” Tails continued as he crumpled the sketch he had been working on to start a new one. “Something to dissonate your frequency on demand when you want to go fast so the constructive interference with the prism energy doesn’t send you outside of our universe sporadically. It’ll have to be easily accessible when running though and we’ll need tests to find the phase and amplitude needed to nullify the prism’s frequency.” He trailed off as he wrote his notes in detailed chicken scratch all along his sketches and Sonic tuned the rest out. He didn’t need a running commentary on the scientific stuff, content to leave that to his friend. 

Instead he checked on the chili dogs he had absolutely forgotten about, fighting tears as he scraped the grisled remains into the trash, then hopped into the hammock Tails had set up in the workshop just for him, lazily swinging as he looked out the window and wondered what the other Shadow was doing in his world. If he was waiting for him still. Something like anticipation fluttered in his gut and he settled deeper into the swing.

He already couldn’t wait to get back.

Tails worked through the night and Sonic would feel bad about that if that wasn’t already a completely normal state of affairs whenever he was intrigued with a project. As it was, he snorted awake three different times to the sound of sawing, drilling and maybe even a blow torch starting up at one point, and then a caffeine-jittery Tails was shaking him awake at last with a prototype still warm from his lab.

“Woah, nice,” he said, instantly alert. He sat up to peer at the watch in Tails’ hand then picked it up to examine the new tech, turning it over and over in his hand. “How does it work?”

“You slip it onto your wrist and then you just have to turn the dial to pick which frequency you want,” Tails said as he twirled his finger on the watch screen, manipulating a digital dial. “It has the option for presets so you don’t have to remember the exact frequency, you can just set it when you arrive in a shatterspace you want to return to later. Like this,” he said as he clicked on a button on the side. The digital dial disappeared, eclipsed by a picture of Green Hill. “I’ve already taken the liberty of setting our world, but you can cycle through other options with one click, or set a new option by holding it. Once you set where you wanna go just run fast – and if you don’t want to teleport you can turn the dampener on with this button on the bottom.”

He gave Sonic a brief demonstration and when he was done Sonic whistled.

“You really thought of everything, buddy,” he praised as he strapped the watch on, admiring the design as he twisted his wrist under the light. “This is just what I needed.”

Tails preened and Sonic ruffled his fur until the fox broke and giggled.

“It’s what I do,” he said, feigning Sonic’s own bravado, then yawned so wide his jaw cracked. 

“Alright, bedtime, Mr. Genius,” Sonic said, jumping down from the hammock and ushering Tails to take his place instead. He protested the entire way but Sonic wouldn’t take no for an answer, and eventually Tails climbed up and settled in, eyes already fighting to stay open.

“I didn’t have the frequency for the world you came from,” he mumbled through another large yawn, “so you’ll have to get there yourself first, then every time after should be easier.” He trailed off towards the end and Sonic hushed him, patting his head until Tails rolled onto his side and fell asleep. 

“No problem, just glad to have anything at all,” he murmured. Then he left the workshop as quietly as he could to make sure he didn’t disrupt Tails’ rest again. The fox had definitely earned it. 

As soon as he stepped outside, that fluttery feeling in his gut came back with a vengeance. Now that he had Tails’ prototype, it was time to make a much-anticipated visit.

It was easier said than done though. As it turned out, there were a lot more gateways than he initially thought, and every single one of them was new. In one world, he landed on a castle parapet and got chased out of the city walls by a horde of literal knights in shining armor. In another, he landed close enough to some train tracks to stumble over them and nearly got run over by a bullet train that looked straight out of the future for his trouble.

By the time he found himself in pseudo-Westopolis again, he was more than ready for a break from the action. He portaled in from the sky then immediately smacked into the side of a skyscraper and had to stop himself from kissing the window he was slowly sliding down. He had a feeling the shocked people he could see pointing at him through the glass wouldn’t appreciate that.

“Finally,” he groaned as he scrambled to his feet, revved his legs, and zipped up the side of the building so he could stand on the roof. He whipped out his watch and followed Tails’ instructions to save a preset then turned on the dampener. Now that he was here, there was no way he was risking accidentally portaling out of here then going through all that chaos just to find this place another time. 

That done, he brought his attention to the issue at hand.

“Now if I were a red and black edgelord, where would I be?” he murmured as he scanned the horizon. The roof he was on was actually a good vantage point and now that it was daylight outside he could see much further than when he first found this world. It didn’t take him any time at all to spot the tower he and Shadow had sat together on – that was as good a place to start as any. And if Shadow wasn’t there, a blue blur racing through the streets would surely attract some attention – he knew Shadow would connect the dots and find him.

So he sped back down the building and into the streets, weaving through bumper to bumper traffic, until he arrived at the tower. Then, when he didn’t see Shadow around there, he checked the food market they had visited and the looping bridge as well with similar luck. 

It wasn’t until Sonic was on the high way and headed for the ruins that he found Shadow. Or rather Shadow found him.

“There you are!” he called, slowing down and throwing a friendly wave as Shadow skated towards him. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” He laughed and smiled, then his smile faltered as the other hedgehog didn’t slow down, just barreled right for him. “Uh, going kind fast aren’t y–” he started, then Shadow slammed into him.

They tumbled, head over heels, and Sonic would have gone flying if not for the arms wrapped around him like steel bands, keeping them together as they bounced half haphazardly down the exit ramp and landed in a heap of scrub brush. 

“Ow,” Sonic wheezed, fighting a sneeze as little pieces of grass puffed up in a plume around them. Between the landing and the grass, he could barely breathe and the way Shadow was settled on top of him wasn’t helping. “What the hell, Shads,” he complained, squirming to get more comfortable but the other hedgehog’s arms only tightened. “Warn a guy–”

Suddenly, Shadow sat up, holding Sonic at arm’s length. 

“Where were you,” he spat.

It wasn’t even a question really, just a harsh accusation, and Sonic blinked at him. It was rare to see Shadow so agitated.

“I told you,” he tried, brows furrowing. “I had to–”

“You said two days,” Shadow hissed, fingers tightening on Sonic’s shoulders, and Sonic bristled.

“So sue me for being early?” he snapped. “Jeez, you rush back to see a guy and–”

“It’s been two weeks!” Shadow yelled.

The silence after was loud, only broken by Shadow’s heavy breathing while Sonic tried to make sense of what he was hearing.

“What?” he asked.