![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blueboltSonic was an absurdly easy person to read, or so his fmaily insisted despite the Hedgehog's attempts to sound cool and myserious in some cases, but there were thins he managed to keep hidden inside. One of them? He was sad that Shadow was gone.
As much as he acted casual around the others whenever the topic came up, he did wish he had more time to... know better that guy. It wasn't every day that he met another Hedgehog- back in his days with Longclaw? It was just the two of them, he didn't even get to interact with anyone beside her. Not that the young man resented her for their isolation, he knew she sacrificed everything for his sake. Still, isolation was his norm back home.
After he arrived on his new 'home'? The first years were complete solitude, even if he had to admit his old cave was comfy and nice for something that was pretty much dug in the dirt. He had Longclaw's drawing to keep him company, comics, all he needed to have fun on his own but the lingering loneliness was there. Then his family happened. Unplanned, messy, but something he treasured greatly. Tom had been a good friend at first, then a good dad. Maddie? Sonic couldn't hope for a better 'mother'.They didn't replace Longclaw, but they still allowed him to feel like he belonged.
Tails and Knuckles? Their presence made him so incredibly happy, even if he often complained about the echidna's peculiar ways and even if he often couldn't follow the fox's fancy talks. It took him months to fully realize how much he loved them, how much he considered them his brothers- even if he couldn't bring himself to admit that out loud. It felt so incredibly... sappy. When he stopped to look at how far he went, how loved he felt, Sonic had to be honest: he was happy with them.
Still. They weren't completely like him. Fifteen years and he had only met a fellow Hedgehog once. And they barely had time to talk to each other, finally dropping their hostilities, when 'Saving the world' got in the way. And while the last moments he spent in space felt like a blur,..? He couldn't shake how a certain conversation he had with Shadow on the moon made him feel. They were... so similar, in some ways? Sonic didn't have big answers, but in his mind the Hedgehog convinced himself the real issue was how much pain the other felt. And how he couldn't (wouldn't?) face it. A bit of guilt was there, it took far too long to realize that, and now he coudn't even apologize. Nor he could tell him they could build plenty of good new memories to be made, even if so many important things had been lost.
'Look at Knuckles', he wanted to tell him 'He also lost his people, but now he's here with us!'.
'Well, you have Maria and I have Longclaw, we can both remember their light and honor their life' he wanted to say.
But Shadow was gone.
And Sonic had never been the best at big, emotional speeches so part of him wondered if he would have been able to reach the other even after everything calmed down. Maybe Shadow would have enjoyed moving in with the family as well, maybe he could have become one of the new siblings not that he ever wanted to say that out loud but that feeling of 'there is someone else just like me' was supposed to be lost forever. Who even knew if there were other Hedgehogs back on their planet, if they could even reach Earth...
Sonic stretched, standing on the top of the house's roof. It was a beautiful night, absolutely perfect for a run and to clear his own mind. Lingering on 'what ifs' and 'maybes' wasn't going to fix anything. He had an 'almost friend' there and he was lost....
"No point in getting all serious, man. What will your fans think?" He asked himself, slapping both cheeks and shaking his head, quilla dancing wildly left and right. With everyone asleep and only the occasional lights in the distance, hidden between trees, that let him know G.U.N. was still spying on them, Sonic knew no one who mattered was actually looking but that didn't matter. Even without witnesses, he had a reputation to protect. "We'll make more friends, I'm sure of that!"
No one of them was going to be 'different' like Shadow was, but, hey. There were miles to run and selfies to take, right? He slipped a few rings inside his glove for safekeeping, not even realizing one of them was just slightly cracked, and before anyone could notice? He was already on his way. down the road. Fast enough to feel the usual adrenaline and joy, not fast enough to trigger any big sensor or create any energy shift that could be perceived.
He didn't usually care about the 'where' when he started moving, just about the wind between his quills and the joy the simple act of following what was almost a primordial urge gave him. He passed cliffs in silence, rushed all around a lake, jumped from tree to tree and let his nature push to the side any negative feeling... at least until he put his foot on a wrong rock. The surface he was moving on fell apart under his feet, making him plummet down, his attempt to hold back on the ground without giving away his position by using any special power had him almost lose a glove and, before he could even properly figure out what was happening? The damaged ring he was carrying was already opening a portal and he was falling through it.
One, two, three tumbles and he found himself face down against a hard surface, either stone or something manmade- holy moley, why did he feel like he just went through something that scrambled his whole being? Green eyes opened to an unfamiliar area and- wait. Why were his arms tan instead of the usual blue? The teen gasped, trying to stumble back on his feet- what did he even do?
As much as he acted casual around the others whenever the topic came up, he did wish he had more time to... know better that guy. It wasn't every day that he met another Hedgehog- back in his days with Longclaw? It was just the two of them, he didn't even get to interact with anyone beside her. Not that the young man resented her for their isolation, he knew she sacrificed everything for his sake. Still, isolation was his norm back home.
After he arrived on his new 'home'? The first years were complete solitude, even if he had to admit his old cave was comfy and nice for something that was pretty much dug in the dirt. He had Longclaw's drawing to keep him company, comics, all he needed to have fun on his own but the lingering loneliness was there. Then his family happened. Unplanned, messy, but something he treasured greatly. Tom had been a good friend at first, then a good dad. Maddie? Sonic couldn't hope for a better 'mother'.They didn't replace Longclaw, but they still allowed him to feel like he belonged.
Tails and Knuckles? Their presence made him so incredibly happy, even if he often complained about the echidna's peculiar ways and even if he often couldn't follow the fox's fancy talks. It took him months to fully realize how much he loved them, how much he considered them his brothers- even if he couldn't bring himself to admit that out loud. It felt so incredibly... sappy. When he stopped to look at how far he went, how loved he felt, Sonic had to be honest: he was happy with them.
Still. They weren't completely like him. Fifteen years and he had only met a fellow Hedgehog once. And they barely had time to talk to each other, finally dropping their hostilities, when 'Saving the world' got in the way. And while the last moments he spent in space felt like a blur,..? He couldn't shake how a certain conversation he had with Shadow on the moon made him feel. They were... so similar, in some ways? Sonic didn't have big answers, but in his mind the Hedgehog convinced himself the real issue was how much pain the other felt. And how he couldn't (wouldn't?) face it. A bit of guilt was there, it took far too long to realize that, and now he coudn't even apologize. Nor he could tell him they could build plenty of good new memories to be made, even if so many important things had been lost.
'Look at Knuckles', he wanted to tell him 'He also lost his people, but now he's here with us!'.
'Well, you have Maria and I have Longclaw, we can both remember their light and honor their life' he wanted to say.
But Shadow was gone.
And Sonic had never been the best at big, emotional speeches so part of him wondered if he would have been able to reach the other even after everything calmed down. Maybe Shadow would have enjoyed moving in with the family as well, maybe he could have become one of the new siblings not that he ever wanted to say that out loud but that feeling of 'there is someone else just like me' was supposed to be lost forever. Who even knew if there were other Hedgehogs back on their planet, if they could even reach Earth...
Sonic stretched, standing on the top of the house's roof. It was a beautiful night, absolutely perfect for a run and to clear his own mind. Lingering on 'what ifs' and 'maybes' wasn't going to fix anything. He had an 'almost friend' there and he was lost....
"No point in getting all serious, man. What will your fans think?" He asked himself, slapping both cheeks and shaking his head, quilla dancing wildly left and right. With everyone asleep and only the occasional lights in the distance, hidden between trees, that let him know G.U.N. was still spying on them, Sonic knew no one who mattered was actually looking but that didn't matter. Even without witnesses, he had a reputation to protect. "We'll make more friends, I'm sure of that!"
No one of them was going to be 'different' like Shadow was, but, hey. There were miles to run and selfies to take, right? He slipped a few rings inside his glove for safekeeping, not even realizing one of them was just slightly cracked, and before anyone could notice? He was already on his way. down the road. Fast enough to feel the usual adrenaline and joy, not fast enough to trigger any big sensor or create any energy shift that could be perceived.
He didn't usually care about the 'where' when he started moving, just about the wind between his quills and the joy the simple act of following what was almost a primordial urge gave him. He passed cliffs in silence, rushed all around a lake, jumped from tree to tree and let his nature push to the side any negative feeling... at least until he put his foot on a wrong rock. The surface he was moving on fell apart under his feet, making him plummet down, his attempt to hold back on the ground without giving away his position by using any special power had him almost lose a glove and, before he could even properly figure out what was happening? The damaged ring he was carrying was already opening a portal and he was falling through it.
One, two, three tumbles and he found himself face down against a hard surface, either stone or something manmade- holy moley, why did he feel like he just went through something that scrambled his whole being? Green eyes opened to an unfamiliar area and- wait. Why were his arms tan instead of the usual blue? The teen gasped, trying to stumble back on his feet- what did he even do?
tw: gore, horror
Date: 2025-03-22 05:04 pm (UTC)[ as quickly as it happened, it all comes to a stop like time is no longer moving and it eats away at what's before them. if shadow had to explain what he thinks he saw, that was probably this statue's final moments. a cry for help, a need to be saved, the fear and pain and quick blame on something other than itself. because this place, this void, was nothing more than a hellscape for shadow, it could be the same for the blue hedgehog.
the issue here is different, the beings seem to have something against this one — they accuse him, they blame him, maybe it's his fault as to why they're like this. shadow doesn't care, he quickly rushes over, one fist balled together, and he beats it against the chest of the statue that sonic had previously woke up. they're hard just like a statue, but means they're able to crack just as easily which this body does.
it proceeds to split in places, a crack coming towards the neck as though decapitating, the thin splits spreading out through the chest to their arm, and the vague small of blood hits the air until the statue breaks on top of one another. somehow, the pieces seem to be pulsing... then the mass crumbles into ash, as if burnt away. sonic should remember the smell once everything exploded, it's the exact same one with this after shadow made sure it was no longer a threat. ]
You're nothing like me, Hedgehog.
[ them both aliens? that isn't right, but what is happens to be what shadow follows up with next. ]
Don't touch anything. They're connected to you.
[ whether they come to life because he's nearby or because he touches it is a problem within itself. whatever shadow touches, they remain still as though they were never alive at all. if anything, he thinks he should break each and every one here. even if they're technically dead, shadow doesn't care killing them off completely. whether they're stuck in time and wanting to get out, lost souls to the void unable to be free; that doesn't matter to shadow, they're not his concern. ]
tw: gore and blood
Date: 2025-03-22 05:34 pm (UTC)If he wanted to leave any comment, he felt unable to as the statue turned into fragments, small ones, and was destroyed. When he tried to open his mouth, then, Sonic felt something shift and splat down in front of his feet. One glance down had been enough to regret his choice to check- the hand fell down, splattering blood all over his shoes, and kept moving... twitching like a lizard's tail still spasming to attract a credature's attention.
He... needed to trust Shadow in this. This entire thing had to be some kind of lure or trap, maybe a place to turn people insane, and if the other ha spent so longin there.]
I'm so glad my stomach was empty..
[Lips turn into a thin line then. nothing like him, huh. It hurts as if the other just slapped him- no matter why he couldn't tell why those feelings were so strong to begin with or associated with both nstalgia and loneliness.]
But I am, Shadow. We truly are. After all... it's just you and me out there.
[No other Hedgehogs. No other walking banks of Chaos energy. Possibly comrades... possibly more (the adoption papers were still on the table as much as he was concerned).
Maybe this entire place was out there to annoy him? The hedgehog swallowed, tacking both gloved hands under his armpits before nodding. Wait... what if even this shadow wasn't acually real?]
So if I touch things they start... moving?
tw: gore and blood
Date: 2025-03-22 05:43 pm (UTC)[ because when shadow touches anything, it doesn't come alive, it doesn't move or attack. they remain the same because shadow isn't part of the world that sonic speaks about, that earth where him and shadow should have shared their concerns, their loss, and learn that they have one another.
...that isn't anything this shadow knows about. from how he carries himself, he's confident in his actions, he's fine going it alone, and any concern that shadow would have when it comes to sonic isn't there.
besides, he trusts sonic to handle himself. ]
We are not. Speak to me about it again, I'll rip your tongue out.
[ that's enough, he thinks. he doesn't want to hear how the other believes them to be the same. they'll never be the same, this alien dna that runs though his veins is a testament to that.
he rolls his eyes at the statue that he's gotten rid of, stepping over any debris on the floor that could trip him. he doesn't know where they are, but he understood most of what they were saying if it didn't make sense.
this place is tied to sonic even though they've never been at a place like this, and it's sonic, he always speaks up about where he's been. this would have been a topic, one he probably wouldn't shut up about, and then amy would have complained about how she wanted to go with him too. ]
I should have left you for dead.
[ because where they are now isn't anything he feels like dealing with, especially with the statues spread all over the place. even some that lay on the floor that were reaching out for help. to ensure that if sonic does accidentally touch them that they're not a problem, shadow stomps his foot down on one outstretched arm, crushing it underfoot as blood pools underneath his shoe. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-23 12:10 pm (UTC)[The Hedgehog glanced to the side to the spot where a certain white haired man passed him a certain Key. Nothing. No statues nor nothing. This all had to be some kind of twisted joke or... no, he can't keep repeating to himself something he knows isn't true by now.
And, despite the threat of having his tongue removed...]
We are hedgehogs.
[From his tone? It carries all the weight Sonic feels about it. The isolation even before leaving to Earth, the fact he knew he was... hunted for some reason he still couldn't comprehend (and he didn't dare ask Knuckles), the fact Longclaw never mentioned anyone else 'like him'. It carried the ten or so years of solitude living inside a burrow and pretending he had friends and family in the animals around him. It carried how 'alien' he felt even knowing he wasn't from that planet- hedgehogs were weird creatures on Earth. They purred and chirped when happy, something he never did, they had all dances around each other to express things, they are insects between the many things (Sonic tried one very rough winter. Never again.)
They were Hedgehogs. Possibly the only two. From his pint of view Shadow was just like him. Ths not even going to talk about how their bodies seemed to be perfect recipients for Chaos Energy (or even generate it?) nor how similar their stories were- the only difference that Sonic found Tom, Shadow found pain.
The next sentence seems to snap him out of his thoughts if anything.]
Shesh. Listen, Hot Topic, can you chill down a bit? It seems we're both trapped here, or at least that's what I'm seeing... we could at least try to...
[It's as he steps toward the other that he finally sees his own reflection- it's pale since the mirror behind the counter is still frozen in time, yet at the same time it's visible enough to give him pause. Everything is 'him', yet everything feels completely... off, not just the blue arms. It's a small distraction from what the other is doing with the statues, at least.]
This place is oddly familiar, yet something seems... different.
[Just the place.It's just a place he's talking about. That's why his green eyes are locked to his reflection, an unfamiliar face staring back in his direction. It's with a bit of hesitation that he reaches down to other things he can study beside the long, long legs, the tan colored arms or the way his shoes aren't the ones his dad keeps getting him every other week. The glove comes off.
Even his paws are different.
They're very similar to how they usually are, humanoid enough not to be a problem inside the gloves, but there's something... exotic mixed in? Claws are definitely longer than they should be, and he knows that because he always makes sure to file them properly, and thicker. The individual fingers beside the thumb? They're also a bit larger than what he considers normal, reminding him of a weird hedgehog-dog mix in the end. Even the fur is more... dense?
There's a moment of wonder, is his struggle at moving properly maybe tied to his feet not being completely 'normal' either? Sonic doesn't dare take his shoes off, not when he knows Shadow may just take off taking advantage of that. For now? A new feeling and awarenes are starting to sink in- 'This is not my body' is loud in his mind, yet it doesn't get out of his mouth. All he does is lifting his hand up and showing the palm to the other- ]
I don't know how to explain it. It's like looking at something incredibly familiar, something I've always seen, like my own hand right here? And knowing something changed without being quite sure what it is. But... like. When I actually look at it, it's not like my hand actually changed. Right?
[The way this dude talks and acts is starting to make him wonder a few things.]
I'm still talking about the Chao Garden, of course.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-23 05:50 pm (UTC)the hedgehog looks to the side making sure not to make eye contact, but outside his peripheral he can see the hedgehog who looks like sonic, but doesn't act like him properly. he had thought the individual was odd before, but the way he carries himself, what he does and even now the hedgehog showing shadow his paws before talking about how confusing and familiar their surroundings is elicits an annoyed grown from him.
it all goes through one ear and out the other, shadow now looking at sonic properly, and then at his hand indicating the small differences. it feels almost wrong considering it's not something shows so freely, circumstances usually, but was now really one of those times? ]
Sonic. [ shadow calls to the other, capturing his attention to speak in a controlled and obvious tone. ] I don't care.
[ he should when sonic acts so different, nothing he's done so far reminds him of that annoying hero who would take all this in stride. instead, he questions, he points out the differences that he knows but nothing shadow is capable of seeing.
it makes him think what if this sonic... ]
Let's go. The longer we stay, the worse things must get.
[ he's already looking around the "chao garden" as sonic calls it, the humans in suits look identical to a few that he's seen in races here and there, but this to sonic is the real deal. treating them like fantasy and hedgehogs as a sort of special race, this is also very strange to shadow.
with a sigh, shadow runs over to a broken window, jumping through to be outside of establishment. the writing on the billboards are in japanese, but some words are blacked out, spelling out different phrases... some deadlier than others. he doesn't comment on them, but he turns around to see if sonic is coming along. ]
Come on.
[ maybe sonic will realize that even staring at his own body will make him question shadow's, was he aware that shadow at home had three quills in the back and not two? that there was a softness to his features where as the one before him is more hardened and sharp, prepared for anything that happens next? ]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-24 05:08 pm (UTC)Oh...
[It finally clicks. Green eyes dart in Shadow's direction for a moment, then they go back to his own reflection. It's still him, but he's... older? An adult? Both hands are raised up and passed on his quills, flattening them down just slightly- they're smoother than his usual ones (or even the ones that he saw on the original Shadow), a bit longer too. He's older. Why? Sonic has no idea but it explains why he's 'longer' at least. There's just a short moment where he wonders when hedgehogs reach adulthood, how old he's supposed to be in that body and what puberty even if when a Hoglet turns into a proper Hedgehog but...
But there are other priorities.
Shadow doesn't care and he has to pretend that doesn't hurt.]
Fine. We'll figure out WHY you don't care once we're out.
[He does put up his attitude, but the ears still flatten quickly as soon as the other warns him things will get worse. What. Why? Despite his bravado and the way he attempts to act unbothered, the way his quills stand on his back and that he moves do tell a different story before he hops on the window and hops at Shadow's side... keeping a generous arm's lenght worth of distance.
Oh? Wait.. Let's go. Come on... ACCEPTANCE, AT LAST. Or, well, a sliver of it. Sonic brought both hands to his hips and glanced down to the city-]
You know. I was supposed to visit many things with my siblings when I came here. My younger one wanted to see The big Crossing thing? All the talks about this place being so important in many videogames and a very romantic spot. HEH. Personally, I can't see the charm of a place where all you do is cross a street. My older one just wanted to find a good place where to fight local warriors so there's that...
[Chatting, chatting, not really sure on what to do or say. This was his world, covered in what felt like a coat of porcelain and stuck in time. Part of him wondered why he even bothered to leave his owwn place hours earlier, but what could he do now?]
Not really easy to be turists but if there's one place where I can be taken for a guy in a costume... it's probably Japan. Anyway, what is the goal? We just... go around? Run? See what we can find?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-24 08:17 pm (UTC)shadow tunes him out, his patience wearing thin, but given the situation they're in he chooses to do nothing more but move forward. he tilts his head up at the sky wondering if that is also covered in the substance that the world seems to be, but it seems there's no clouds, and only a bright sun that hangs overhead illuminating the world.
the place is familiar enough as he's aware of it, and has passed through before. however, the timeframe is unfamiliar to him. the year 2025 that appears over and over again compared to how he knows things is jarring, but shadow doesn't make any comment about it. in the end, he's the type who won't be made a fool of due to what knowledge that he lacks. ]
You think I know what the goal pertains to when this is your world?
[ that's the issue, he doesn't know what sonic finds so familiar here. it's outside of what shadow himself knows, it's new, not something he could easily reference like the back of his hand.
it's an entirely new world.
he clicks at his teeth, rolling his eyes as he looks to the hedgehog behind him. ]
Do you live in Japan? If not, then there's no way to get into contact with your "family".
[ it's weird to say knowing that sonic doesn't have that, but he swears that there's someone named tom, and someone else whose name he's forgotten already. these discrepancies in what makes sonic stand out so well that they pale in comparison to the original, and when has shadow started thinking like that? either he needs sonic to remember who he is, or this faker to remove himself immediately, but his chance to ditch him is gone.
clearing his throat, he's about to speak up again until a strong gust of wind blows from one direction. warm, wet and the smell of blood wafts along. ]