You never told me who does your highlights.

[bluebolt]

Sonic 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?

Comments

[limiterrings]

[ there's a lifestyle to how shadow goes about his life, especially when he's left to the devices of sonic's clear stupidity. it's been some time now with him missing in action, and that starts to worry those involved — various individuals has brought up the same question: "where has sonic the hedgehog gone?" normally, his locations are an easy tell for someone like tails, even amy has said she has a "sonic tracker" that could find him anywhere, but even that hasn't worked.

when the hero disappears, shadow finds himself put in an unwanted position where those worried individuals turn to him. not that they had to come to him directly, but sometimes sonic has a knack for avoiding responsibility, but it's never this bad.

that's what irritates shadow the most.

what gives that hedgehog the right to shirk off on his duties to do what equals to nothing. things have been odd lately though, that's something shadow has noticed during his search. not only has things been quiet on sonic's end, things have also been quiet on dr. robotnik's end as well. wouldn't he normally take advantage of this time with sonic missing or is he so detached from them that sonic is the only trigger to make him act? most likely the latter, but it's still an odd situation anyway.

no matter where he searches, he comes up dry with no trace of that blue hedgehog, and even relying on team chaotix to fill in what he doesn't have is also useless. truth be told, shadow's feelings about sonic are on and off, he can accept that he's a worthy opponent when the time comes, but this is unlike him, so unlike him that all it does is worsen his temper. shadow has patience for very few things, but never for those who indulge in foolish actions.

the worst part about searching for sonic is that against shadow's better judgement, there are some chances he has to take. especially when unidentifiable black holes appear here and there from his journey, as though it calls to him. at the first location, he ignored it, at the second, it only seemed like an odd variable that shouldn't be explored, but coming up with nothing every time and that path becoming the only option.

why wouldn't he take it? whatever's calling for him, he might as well take it. besides, he has a chaos emerald with him, it'd be easy to blip in and out of wherever he finds himself in, so taking the jump does place him at an odd place. familiar white walls, something he had thought deconstructed on itself once they were offered their accomplishments, but maybe he should be fine with the fact it still stands because while someone is trying to gather their bearing with their new appearance... it's only for a short moment once a strong force targets onto him, knocking sonic directly into one of the pristine white walls nearby.

the impact probably won't feel good, but the pain is intended. ]