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It was dark. The little warmth of this place: gone; taken through a portal by the one person he’d thought would stick by him. The only friend who’d been by him where everyone else left.
“I AM REAL!”
He shakes his head at the seething image: a young fox looking outraged and betrayed.
He’d only just noted the raspy echoes of his breathing, shaking and uneven in such a sad display of weakness. Another headshake, but harder; hands squeeze his head and swipe down. He has to stay focused so he- can…
“Learn to focus.”
He squeezes his eyes shut; a stuttered breath turning into a heave. He can’t seem to stick to the now. His own mind, jumping backwards before he can fully process anything. A harsh clap of metal on stone jolts him to the present, however.
Ears, alert; eyes turning over his shoulder to a Shadow standing below the ledge of the opening. Stark, red eyes glare at him for a moment, before jumping away; aimed past him. The hedgehog continues forward, slowly and silently walking closer.
Sonic shrinks, already stepping back for more distance. He tries to follow the other hedgehog’s line of sight, see where or what he’s looking at, but there’s nothing. Just the distant dark walls of the consuming cave they stand in. That’s when it clicks: that’s the whole point.
As Shadow marches by at a steady pace; he stops only a few paces ahead and just- stares. He’s looking where the prism used to be.
“There is still a chance.”
The promise: the reassurance still echoes loud and clear in his head now. Something that feels so far away now.
“..Shadow…?” He croaks out and immediately flinches at the small, wobbly sound of his own voice. It’s fitting though; he feels small right now, shaking like a leaf caught in harsh winds.
Upon closer inspection, Shadow looks to be too: fists tensely shaking at his sides. His head bows forward a little with a slow exhale through gritted teeth; the sound shakes and Sonic wilts.
He didn’t listen to Shadow’s warnings, over and over. He broke things again, and now they both have to pay for it.
Shadow didn’t deserve any of this: he was forced to rely on Sonic; to put his trust in someone who’d messed things up from the beginning, and what did Sonic do? He repaid his trust with this.
They both just wanted to go home.
“‘Home?’”
A scuff on stone; he takes a half step forward.
“ Home doesn’t exist anymore–”
He blinks hard and reaches a hand forward. “Shadow–?”
“BECAUSE OF YOU!”
His fingers brush the fur of the other’s shoulder.
A gasp–
Suddenly there’s movement and his hand’s hit away. The moment was too quick; too sudden.
“I told you!”
“You literally broke our world!”
He jerks back, stumbling and toppling onto stone.
“And look what happened!”
“Why would I trust you to do anything?”
Panic seizes him and he’s scrambling backwards across the cold, rough surface.
“ Everything is gone! ”
A hard swing out; the darker hedgehog gestures around them. “Every– …” His words falter and his hand balls up at his side again.
Shadow stands towering; the faint light glowing off his scrunched expression; anger radiating from him. Shoulders hunched; fists trembling; stiff gestures. Yet, behind all that anger is this sense of grief between the sinking dullness to his eyes and slight pull in his expression.
The painted image here is almost too reminiscent of how Shadow looked in the Void when they’d first reunited during this whole mess. The difference being: there was more frustration then, irritated that there was a problem to begin with, but there was still hope. Shadow believed there was still a chance then.
As the light reflects a little more from the beating reds of Shadow’s eyes, Sonic realizes briefly that this is Shadow without that hope. Sonic took away their only chance; handing it off to someone who’d never wanted to revive Green Hill to begin with.
His ears flatten as every breath becomes deep, shivered heaves. His chest left feeling tight and lungs starving.
Shadow suddenly turns away; eyes squeezing shut with a new desperation before shaking his head and leaving with a quicker, sloppier pace. He starts to disappear further in the shadows.
“..n-I-” A burning pressure in his eyes becomes a fuzzy heat when his view is no longer blocked. Getting the full image of the reality-fracturing emptiness of the place.
No Paradox Prism. No Eggman; no friends. No Shadow; no light: no chance.
“It’s a trap, Sonic!”
“Transform your disgustingly green world into something more..”
“Sonic, wait! ”
“We’re not rebuilding your old world…”
“What did you do?”
“I broke… Everything….”
He tightly breathes a shuddered sound. Fingers curling around the fur of his chest; trembling immensely with the increasing tension. He shuts his eyes quickly when he feels the tears that threaten to spill.
“Nothing flustering me, Sonic. Except when you’re late..”
“I’m sorry…” He whispers, wheezes.
“SONIC, NO!”
“I’m sorry..” and he repeats, shaking his head.
“I should’ve known when everything went bad that you’d show up.”
“I’m sorry…” He grips at the quills of his head.
“Hey, I’m here to help!”
“Except you always seem to make things worse.”
“I’m sorry–I’m sorry-” A wheeze.
“This is bigger than you Sonic!”
“I-I’m sorry.. ” A sharp gasp.
“And to think we believed in you.”
“ I’m sorry - I’m sorry… ” Then a sob..
“Trust me!”
“I-I…” And another…
“Trust you? ”
His legs pull close enough so he can place his forehead to his knees. Fingers digging past the fur and quills to borrow into his scalp. The sharpness of the action, being the only thing that keeps him from jumping back again.
Stuck in the hollow silence of reality.