Chapter Text
Sonic
As soon as they had left the room, Shadow broke off from the group. He was pushing forward on some unknown objective that he had set for himself, seemingly lost in his thoughts.
Sonic bid a farewell to the others with a promise to debrief on the situation once everyone had some time to process what had happened. It didn't take much to catch up to his counterpart, the dark agent turning towards the cobalt hero in anticipation.
“Well that didn't go exactly as planned huh?” Sonic chuckled.
Shadow remained silent, trying to decipher the other’s expression. Seeming to find something in it, the agent responded. “I didn't kill them, that I can promise.”
Sonic’s eyes widened a bit in surprise before softening, he wasn't expecting that to be the first thing brought up.
“And I don't think you did Shads, I'm guessing that Eggman manipulated the footage or used an android to get Infinite to do something for him. I know you wouldn't do something like that to a group likely made up of hired hands. I trust you, and I trust that you kept your promise to me.”
The smaller hero could see some of the tension ease from the other’s shoulders. This encounter between the two former villains seemed to be weighing heavier on Shadow than expected. There was probably more to it that Sonic was missing.
They walked in a companionable silence until they had left the Restoration, aimlessly trekking until they came to a shallow cliff in the forest that sat nearby. Sonic held his gaze up towards the sky with his arms tucked behind his head, the sun was blocked by the overcast clouds but he could guess it was around noon. He took the initiative to dangle his legs over the ledge of the overhang, patting the spot next to him. Shadow let out a sigh before accepting the invitation, gently maneuvering himself down to avoid getting too dirty.
They sat there, basking in the quiet noises of nature with the wind gently tussling their quills. Sonic subtly looked over to Shadow to find his eyes closed with a slightly pinched expression, but he let the stillness continue until Shadow felt ready to break it.
“I saw too much of my past self in him…” the ebony hedgehog started, opening his eyes again and peering out towards civilization. Sonic watched the other as he spoke, following his line of sight towards the city in the distance.
“I felt a similar rage when I lost Maria. When she was killed, I channeled all of my pain and hatred towards humanity as a whole, blaming them for everything that went wrong. Even when in reality it was one single G.U.N. soldier with a lack of trigger discipline." He sighed, grief momentarily eclipsing his face as he spoke before pushing it away in favor of conviction.
“Even if I wasn't the one to kill his team, I can understand the want for closure. I’m going to ask Rouge to try and get ahold of that footage, see if we can get to the bottom of what happened. Theres a good chance that the video is still somewhere in Eggman's network, even if its not in the base it was recorded from directly.”
Sonic nodded, taking in the unexpected perspective that the dark agent had brought out.
“So there's hope for us yet, hmmm?”
Shadow's ears tipped back in partial declination, “I still don't fully believe that he can change, Amy was only able to convince me to reconsider my path because of who Maria was as a person, with morals that contradicted my actions. I can’t say the same will be the case for Infinite, It is to my understanding that he and his squad were willingly working under Eggman and likely didn't have the best motives in doing so.” he countered.
“Pshhhhh it’ll all work out, even if he doesn't come around there's still our tried and true prison system that has an unusually high break out trend.” the cobalt hero joked, pulling a disgruntled sigh from the other.
Sonic chuckled before taking on a more earnest tone, “Seriously though, we’ll give him a chance to change for the better and if that doesn't work out then we have options. He was only that dangerous because of the Phantom Ruby’s power, now he's just a spiteful guy with a complex at best.”
The dark agent scrunched his brows together at the statement, doubtful.
“As much as I want to agree, his skill in combat carried more competency than most. While he would have no chance against me, he likely has more expertise than you would expect with his mercenary background. Even without the Ruby he could prove dangerous to those around him. It would be wise to exercise full caution regardless of his willingness to cooperate, you never know what he might be planning behind the scenes.”
Sonic leaned back in contemplation, "Yeah that's fair, I’ll make sure to keep that in mind when we start planning our next steps once he gives us his decision. For now he’ll stay under surveillance for the rest of his recovery while we gather more information about what we learned today.”
Shadow hums, gazing back out towards the city, losing himself in thought. Sonic allows him the space to breathe, watching the grass get pushed around in swirling patterns by the wind.
Eventually though his hyperactive mind wins out and pushes him to act accordingly.
He swings his legs down before swiftly bringing them back up and over his head, performing a backwards flip into a full stand. Emerald eyes peer down on ruby ones with a newfound mirth, Sonic’s signature smirk making its way to his face, “Now then, what do you say to a little race? Loser has to buy the winner lunch at the winner's chosen restaurant."
Shadow scoffs as he pulls his legs from the ledge, pulling himself into a proper stand as well, “I would hardly call that lousy chili dog cart a ‘Restaurant’, but fine. I’ve been meaning to try a new place that Vanilla recommended to me, even better that I don't have to sample it on my own coin.”
“Woahhhh big talk for someone who lost the last race, guess that’ll just make my victory all that much sweeter.” the cobalt hero jeers.
“Hmph, you’re on faker.”
And with that, the two hedgehogs stare each other down before blasting off the cliff with fire in their eyes, goading the other along throughout the race. To the blue hero’s dismay, Shadow did indeed take the win, leading to both parties lightheartedly bickering the entire way to lunch.