Chapter Text
One of the first few changes was Tails leaving the workshop. The kid was 13 and bound to start soul searching at some point. It’s just Sonic didn’t expect for it to happen so soon. It felt like it was only yesterday he tripped over the young fox. And yet, looking at Tails’ face as he set off on his journey, it sunk in that the day they first met was practically an eternity away.
Another change Sonic had to adjust to was watching his posture. It never was terrible, and to the average person, he seemed to stand perfectly fine. The problem wasn’t appearance but rather the tension he always seemed to carry in his muscles.
Weirdly enough, he found himself visiting the temples scattered around the city, but particularly the temples of Sage and Astergaard. For Sage, it was simple. He wanted to thank the guy for not killing him and letting him live the course of his life out naturally.
As for Astergaard, it was out of sheer curiosity. He’d stare for a while at the statues of the god. His tricky, sly smile and charming personality really did embody the wind he ruled over. The same wind Sonic would say is his only master.
Sonic would still continue his daily runs. Although he found himself slowing down a little more. Whether it was due to his rediscovery of appreciating life or just due to him getting older, he doesn’t know. Or maybe it was due to him spraining his knee when he fell into a collapsing burrow that he wasn’t running as fast.
Still, no matter the cause, he paid more attention to the world he was always running through. The little things became more pronounced. The sounds of children laughing as they played. The sugary scent of a pastry from one of the bakeries. The way everything around him seemed to be covered in a golden sheen at that time of day where the sun hit everything at the perfect angle. The air that would run over his scarred hands as he ran. Even the taste of a chili dog seemed to be heightened.
For a while, Sonic was content to simply run and observe. To just be in the moment and exist. He enjoyed soaking up the sun, basking in the sounds of people, living out his new found appreciation for life.
His runs were slower now, but never did they lose their purpose or sense of joy. Every now and then, he felt the urge to just let the wind carry him, but every time he slowed down, he found himself coming to a stop and simply standing there. Waiting.
Whenever G.U.N didn’t need him for a mission, Shadow would race alongside Sonic, just like they used to, but even those races were more relaxed. They wouldn’t really fight about who won and who’s faster. That’s not to say competitiveness wasn’t there. Competition never failed to arise during these races. It’s only that now, maybe Sonic would let Shadow run ahead, and maybe Shadow slows down in order to stay by Sonic’s side.
After yet another race, the two flopped onto the grass in a quiet meadow. Sonic looked over at Shadow and chuckled weakly. “Well, I guess I’m even more out of shape than I thought,” he said between breaths.
Shadow huffed in response. “You’re not as fast as you used to be,” he agreed, before giving a light smirk. “But I am.”
Sonic rolled his eyes. “Only because you work for G.U.N. Of course you’re going to be in better shape than me. That and the whole ‘immortal ultimate lifeform’ thing.”
“Oh, don’t be so sour,” Shadow said, smirking teasingly as he rolled onto his side to face Sonic more directly. “You’re still plenty fast for an old guy.”
“Okay I’m not that old.”
“Oh?”
“Shads, 21 is not that old. If I’m old, then Rouge is a grandma.” Shadow rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Rouge is a special case.” He paused for a moment. "Also, don't call me Shads."
Sonic chuckled softly. "Why not? It's easier than saying your full name all the time."
Shadow’s ear only flicked in response. “But back to the subject, Shads .” Sonic draws out the vowel on the nickname before continuing. “I’m not that old. You make it sound like I'm pushing 50.”
"Might as well be," Shadow said with a shrug. "You've got gray hairs coming in and everything."
Sonic let out a dramatic gasp and put his hands to his quills. "Excuse you, these… these are speed streaks, thank you very much." He turned his nose up at Shadow and crossed his arms.
“Oh yeah? Well-“
Both hedgehog’s ears captured a sound that no one ever wants to hear in the middle of the woods.
A child screaming for help.
Immediately, any trace of playfulness drained from Sonic and Shadow's faces. They both sat up and exchanged a sober look. The scream had come from further into the meadow. Without needing to say anything, they both got up and started sprinting off in the direction of the scream. The woods were thick with vegetation. It was difficult for either hedgehog to traverse without tripping.
“Damn… Could use Rouge and Randie’s help with this…” Shadow cursed under his breath. Sonic narrowly missed tripping over a rotting log. “Don’t have time to call for them,” Sonic stated before turning and cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice further. “Hello? Who’s there?”
“Help! Someone please help!” A child’s voice could be heard from further in. It was still too far to see anything, though.
Sonic and Shadow exchanged a worried look before continuing to run. Sonic tried to use his speed to navigate the dense foliage, but even he was having difficulty finding solid footing.
"Stupid... damn...-" Shadow paused in his grumbling to duck under a tree branch, narrowly missing getting smacked in the face. "Overgrown... forest,-" he continued, panting heavily. “Keep shouting! We’re coming to you!” Sonic’s voice rang through the trees. He could see the foliage start to thin as less and less trees were around.
Thanks to quick reflexes, he was able to skid to a stop before he would go pummeling into the giant sinkhole. The blue hedgehog regained his footing and could see a flicker of bright orange quills at the bottom in some large body of water. Shadow skidded to a stop behind him, panting heavily.
"Is that... is that a sinkhole?" he asked between breaths.
Sonic squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at the quills. "Yeah... and there's someone down there..."
The two stood silently for a moment, taking in the situation. The only sound was their heavy breathing.
"You think you can make the jump?" Shadow asked, glancing sidelong at Sonic. The blue hedgehog gave him an exasperated look. “Are you crazy? There’s water that only the gods would know how deep it is. I’d just sink to the bottom!”
“I thought Amy gave you those therapy sessions to make you less afraid of water!”
“I’m afraid of drowning , Shadow. Not water as a whole.”
“She gave you swimming lessons, Sonic. And besides, if neither of us gets down there, that kid isn’t getting out!”
Sonic huffed out a long sigh, knowing that Shadow had a point. "Fine, but if I drown, you're writing my eulogy."
Shadow rolled his eyes. "Fine."
Sonic took a few steps back, eyeing the distance between him and the edge of the sinkhole. He was still reluctant to make the jump. "You sure you don't just want to call for Randie or Rouge?"
“Oh my- just jump in!” Shadow growled. He didn’t waste time and pushed Sonic over the edge, sending him falling down into the hole and splashing into the body of water. Sonic miraculously resurfaced and spluttered, coughing up water.
"I am going to kill you, Shadow!" he sputtered, glaring up at the black hedgehog silhouetted by the bright sunlight. Before he could make yet another quip at Shadow, Sonic’s attention was grabbed by the mobian child thrashing in the water. Something seemed to be keeping them from swimming forward as if something was grabbing their leg and holding them in place.
Sonic paddled towards the child, trying to see what had a hold on their leg. As he drew closer, he could see from the surface that there was something wrapped around their ankle - a vine of some sort. It was thick and coiled around the leg snugly, not giving them any room to move. Sonic sighed and gently pulled the kid to him.
“Hey, I’m gonna help you, but I need you to stay still.” The child nodded, tears streaming down their face as they let out a few shaky sobs.
Sonic gently took hold of the vine that was coiled around the kid's ankle. It was difficult to get a good grip on it, as it was slick from water and kept trying to twist away from his grasp. But after a few moments, Sonic managed to get a firm hold on the vine and began trying to loosen the plant.
Just as Sonic thought that he was getting somewhere, he felt something pull on the vine, pulling Sonic and the kid under. Sonic frantically fumbled with the vine, trying to get it unwrapped from the kid’s leg. For a brief moment, he saw a flash of golden eyes and light gray hands pull on the vine before the muffled, telltale sound of a chaos spear, which made whatever or whoever was dragging them down let go of the vine. Sonic felt Shadow’s arms wrap around his body as he and the child are both pulled above the surface.
Gasping for breath, Sonic clung to Shadow as they broke the surface. He looked over at Shadow, his eyes wide with adrenaline and disbelief. "What the hell was that...?" he managed to choke out, his throat still feeling the effects of just having been underwater.
Shadow managed to haul both mobians over onto the shore before lifting himself out of the water. Sonic crawled over to the kid, only to be met with silence, the kid’s chest not moving at all. Shadow clearly noticed this too as Sonic is pushed aside and the dark hedgehog starts performing CPR on the tiny, soaked body.
Sonic watched in a mixture of shock and horror as Shadow pumped the child's chest, his focus and intensity showing how much this situation was weighing on him.
"C'mon... c'mon, breathe damnit..." Shadow muttered, the words barely a whisper, as he continued to administer CPR.
A few tense moments passed, and for a while it seemed like nothing was happening. But then, suddenly, the child's chest shuddered and they coughed, sputtering water as they drew in shaky, ragged breaths. Shadow pulled away and let the kid turn onto their side to cough up the water. As Sonic let out a sigh of relief, he finally got a good look at the kid.
She had bright orange quills, and she wore a tattered green dress. It looked pretty formal, almost like something a kid would wear to a church or private school.
As the kid's coughing subsided, she rolled over onto her back, still panting heavily.
"Hey... are you okay?" Shadow gently asked, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. The kid's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around, clearly confused and scared. When her eyes landed on Shadow, she scooted away from him, pressing her back against the edge of the sinkhole. Shadow pulled his hand away, and Sonic scooted toward the girl.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re here to get you out of here.” The girl looked away, not looking them in the eye. “I shouldn’t talk to strangers...” she spoke in a small, quiet voice.
Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances, unsure of how to proceed. The girl seemed frightened and wary of them.
"We won't hurt you," Sonic reassured her, putting on his warmest smile. "We're the good guys, don't worry."
The girl looked down at herself, taking in her soaking wet dress and messy quills. She started crying softly. “Ms. Bernadette is gonna be so mad at me…” Her soft cries melt into gaspy sobs. Sonic and Shadow exchanged a look before they both decided to get a little closer..
"Hey, don't worry about that," Sonic said gently. "Just focus on stopping those tears for now. We'll figure everything else out later."
Shadow knelt down beside her, keeping a little bit of a distance to not scare her further. "What's your name, kiddo?" The girl desperately tried to wipe her tears away with the heel of her palms.
“M… my name is… is Sabrina…” She barely gets the simple sentence out, practically hiccupping between sobs.
"Sabrina..." Sonic repeated, in a gentle, comforting tone. "That's a pretty name."
Shadow nodded. "Well, Sabrina, my name is Shadow, and this is Sonic." He pointed to the blue hedgehog, who gave the girl a warm smile.
"Can you tell us what happened, Sabrina?" Shadow continued, keeping his voice soft and patient. Sabrina sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She calmed down a little when Sonic softly rubbed her back with one hand.
“I.. I heard a boy in the woods. I know Ms. Bernadette told us not to go into the woods, but I thought maybe the boy was lost… so I tried following his voice, but… I could never really find any sign of him. I didn’t look where my feet were going. I hurt my ankle and fell in here…”
Sonic and Shadow listened intently as she recounted what happened. Sonic's expression grew more concerned as the girl mentioned hearing a boy's voice.
"Do you know who the boy was?" Sonic asked. "Did you recognize his voice?" Sabrina shook her head. “No… I thought maybe it was a new kid… He might still be out there…” Shadow and Sonic exchanged another look. It seemed suspicious that a voice would lure her into the woods.
"You said a ‘Ms. Bernadette’ told you not to go into the woods?" Shadow asked. "Who is she?" The girl wrung her hands. It’s clear her anxiety is eating away at her.
“Sh… she’s the grownup responsible for taking care of us… of me and the other kids. She’s like a mother, but she’s not…” Sonic and Shadow are confused by the child's explanation.
"There are other kids?" Sonic asked, a mixture of concern and curiosity in his voice.
Shadow, on the other hand, had a suspicious expression on his face. "And this Ms. Bernadette...she's not like a mother, but she takes care of all of you? What do you mean?"
“We live in this giant building. I think it’s called an orphanage..?” She spoke softly still. Sonic and Shadow exchanged another glance, now even more confused.
Sonic looked back at the girl. "Wait... are you saying you live in an orphanage? And this Ms. Bernadette takes care of you and all the other kids there?"
Sabrina nodded, still wringing her hands. The sight of her distress was starting to be too much. “Yes.. she takes care of us. She makes sure we eat and don’t wander off…”
Sonic’s ear twitches as he hears police sirens in the distance. The blue hedgehog stands up, and Shadow holds out a hand. “Come on. I’m sure Ms. Bernadette will be relieved that you’re okay.” Sabrina hesitantly takes Shadow's hand. The sirens are getting louder, likely approaching the area.
As they follow Shadow, Sonic can't help but glance down at the soaked dress the girl is wearing. "Aren't you cold?" he asked, noticing the way she was shivering. Sabrina shakily nodded, wrapping her free arm around her frame. Sonic reached down and lifted the girl into his arms. Shadow let go of her hand so that the blue hedgehog could carry her as they walked through the tunnel. Given how he carried Tails when he was around the girl’s age, he knew exactly where to hold her in order to fully support her weight.
Out of sheer luck, the tunnel led right outside, the remnant rays of the setting sun beaming through the trees onto the trio.
Sonic held the shivering girl close to him, her soaked dress dampening his arm.
Shadow turned to look around, his gaze flickering from the surrounding woods to the sinking sun. "Just a little longer," he said to Sabrina, "and we'll get you back. Ms. Bernadette will surely be worried sick about you." The red and blue lights flash in the hedgehogs’ eyes as a police officer skidded to a stop. Sonic squinted against the lights, still holding the girl in his arms. Shadow stepped forward, raising his hands to show that they posed no threat.
The cop lowered his gun, looking relieved. He pressed a button on his hat to dim the lights on top. “Glad you two found her. Probably saved me hours of driving through here to find her.” Shadow gave a slight nod, while Sonic stepped up with the girl still in his arms.
"Found her in the sinkhole just a few minutes ago," he said. "She almost drowned."
The man wiped his forehead. “My god… Then it’s really good you found her then. I’ll make sure she’s returned safely to Ms. Bernadette’s care.” The cop reached for the girl, but she clung tight to Sonic, not wanting to let go. Sonic instinctively held the girl a little tighter, noticing her reluctance to let go.
"She's, uh... a little startled," he explained, looking down at the girl who refused to part with him. The cop, to Sonic’s surprise, stepped away, letting Sabrina stay near Sonic. “It’s okay. If you want, maybe we can all walk back to my car, and I could drive you three to the orphanage? I’m sure you’re all exhausted.”
Sonic looked over at Shadow, who shrugged.
"You do look pretty tired, buddy," Shadow said.
Sonic sighed, his muscles weary from the day’s events. “Yeah... that’d be nice. We’d appreciate a ride."
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If Sonic had it his way, he’d just run to the orphanage. It’d be faster for sure, but he was exhausted from nearly drowning, and he really didn’t know where it was. Expecting a foreboding, looming building, Sonic was surprised by a welcoming, open picket fence. The front “yard” was pretty large. It was essentially a giant garden that doubled as a children’s playground. A middle aged woman approached the car. Sonic stepped out, Sabrina in his arms.
“Hey, Bernadette is it?” The moment the car door opened, Bernadette was there, her expression a mix of relief and worry.
"Sabrina!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to Sonic. She looked at the girl in Sonic's arms, the torn, sodden dress she was wearing. She reached forward, gently taking Sabrina from Sonic's arms.
"Are you alright? You had us all worried sick-"
“I’m sorry, Miss Bernadette… I know you said not to go into the woods, but I-I heard a boy and I thought maybe he was lost. But… but then I fell and… and.. and I fell into a sinkhole..” Sabrina shook slightly, but Bernadette gently brushed the girl’s stray quills from her face.
“Shh. It’s okay. I’m just glad you're safe. Go clean up, okay? Mrs. Mary will help you if you have any injuries.” The girl nodded and ran inside.
Bernadette watched as the girl darted inside, then turned her attention to Sonic and Shadow. Her eyes lingered on them, taking in their disheveled appearance.
"I presume you two are the ones who found her?" she asked, her voice calm despite the chaotic situation. Sonic nodded. Shadow crossed his arms. “She was pretty shaken up.”
Bernadette sighed. “I believe it. The poor girl is so driven to be a hero of sorts, but she’s basically scared of her own shadow…”
"We figured as much," Sonic chimed in, a slight tone of worry in his voice. "She mentioned hearing a boy's voice in the woods and going in search of it." Bernadette’s expression darkened at that.
“And of course, she went ahead and followed the sound without even telling me about it. How reckless can that girl get…?” The woman shook her head. “I apologize. Would you like to step inside and rest for a minute? You two look just as soaked and chilled as she is.”
Shadow nodded. "That's a good idea."
Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, a few minutes to dry off would be nice."
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Sonic and Shadow were quickly huddled by a crackling wood fire. Hand-knit quilts covered the two hedgehogs as Bernadette sat down. Shadow decided to get some information. “What exactly goes on around here…?”
Bernadette crossed one leg over the other, her gaze flickering to the crackling flames.
"This is an orphanage," she said, her voice as serious as before. "A home where kids who don't have any parents to call their own can learn and grow in a sheltered environment."
Shadow crossed his own leg over the other. “What was the deal with the dress? Why was it such a huge deal that she didn’t ‘ruin’ it?” Sonic elbowed the dark hedgehog in his ribs. “Dude, you’re acting like this is an interrogation.”
Bernadette held up a hand. “No need. I do try to encourage the kids not to dirty any nice clothes they have. She was in that dress because there was a potential family considering adopting her. The kids are told to dress nice in order to make a good impression. It also teaches the older children how to present themselves. Helps them out in the future, you know?”
Sonic nodded, understanding the importance of proper attire for first impressions.
"I see... so, they were looking to adopt Sabrina, huh?" he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. She nodded. “Yes, but… the poor girl just gets so unlucky… during those first meetings…” She shook her head. “Anyway, rest assured that Sabrina and the other children are well taken care of here.” Sonic leaned back, relaxing a bit more despite the wet clothes he was wearing. “That’s good to hear.”
Shadow, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought.
After drying off and warming up, Sonic got up and stretched, saying his goodbyes. It was pretty normal for him to head home earlier than he normally would in the past, especially since Tails had returned from his soul-search. The door shut, but Shadow was still seated right where he was.
Bernadette raised an eyebrow at Shadow, noticing that he made no move to leave.
"You're not leaving with him?" she questioned, her gaze fixed on the dark hedgehog who was clearly lost in thought. Shadow shook his head. “You mentioned Sabrina was… ‘unlucky’ when it came to meeting potential guardians looking to adopt her, right?”
Bernadette nodded, a hint of sadness crossing her face. "Yes... Unfortunately, it's been the case on quite a few occasions. Potential families come in, eager to adopt. They meet Sabrina, and almost immediately, they decide to back out."
Shadow finally looked up at the woman.
“Until now.”