Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“ Incoming call from : Wade Whipple .”

Three hours. 

You had been on the road for three hours and while you appreciated the fact that your friend cared about your well-being, all you wanted to do was finally get home and curl up into your own bed with your cat by your side. Wade had called you right before you left on your return trip home and you had reiterated to the man that you probably wouldn’t be in town until early/late evening. 

Still, the man was your friend and he had gone out of his way to take care of your cat while you went MIA for roughly a week or two, so you’d accept this as his last call until you finally got home. He just didn’t need to know that.

Hitting the accept button on your phone in the cupholder, you turned down the volume in your car. “Hey, Whipple.”

“What is up, bud!”

You rolled your eyes and let out a quiet chuckle at your friend’s antics. “Not much, Mr. I-Promise-I-Won’t-Call-You-Until-You’re-Back. I’m still another three hours away and you’ve already called me once before I even started my drive back.”

Even from behind a screen, you could picture Wade’s pout as he said your name in an almost childlike tone. You bit your lower lip to keep from grinning at the silly image. “I just wanted to make sure you would be getting back to Sunny tonight. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a little angel but he’s—”

“An orange cat, yes, I’m well aware of the type of cat I adopted, Whipple.” 

Wade returned your sarcastic tone of voice, stating, “Well, considering you left me with your child for the week, I figured you’d want to haul Sunny off to someone else. Orange cats are wild as hell.” He changed the topic before you could come up with a better comeback. “Anyways, you missed out on Sonic’s bearthday. Maddie and Tom didn’t do anything too crazy for the kid but he expected a gift from me so here’s your warning: get him a bearthday present.”

You raised a brow in confusion. “Bearthday?”

“Yeah. Since Sonic doesn’t really remember when his birthday is, Tom and Maddie made it the day he came to earth. Maddie was so excited about it that she dubbed it The Bearthday . Like, B-earth-day?”

“Pretty clever,” you hummed. “But I won’t be saying that.”

“Oh, come on!” Your friend groaned. “Would it kill you to have a little fun? After all, the evil scientist came back and then Sonic had to save the world with Tails and Knuckles and I was stolen from and—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” you cut off Wade with a wave of your hand, gesturing wildly to yourself. “You’re tell me that on Sonic’s birthday—”

“His b earth day, yes.”

“His birthday …he and the other two kids had to go out and fight? What was it this time, a megalomaniac evil scientist who just so happened to want to destroy the entire world?”

Silence.

“You’re kidding me.”

“No, you were pretty much spot on,” the man on the phone agreed and you could already picture Wade shrugging his shoulders as he nodded his head in said agreement. “Tom wound up in the hospital, too. Apparently they went to Tokyo and then London, I think. Then Sonic mentioned something about fighting someone in outer space? Oh, oh, oh! Did you see the red streak passing through the sky last night?”

“Wade,” you deadpanned. “Of course I saw the red streak in the sky. What was it?”

“Apparently Eggman—”

You interjected, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “The evil scientist that had Sonic and Tom on the run because he was trying to kill them both?” 

“Yeah, him!”

“Dr. Robotnik?”

“Ah, tomato tomato. Eggman, Robotnik…Rob, apparently his dentist calls him Rob. You get the idea. Anyways, turns out he had a super evil grandpa who wanted to blow up the planet. Himself included! They’d also met an evil hedgehog and he and Sonic apparently had a huge fight that may or may not have caused some structural damage to the moon.”

A sigh escaped your lips and you propped an arm against the side of the car, leaning into your hand. “Of course they did. Because nothing normal ever happens to Sonic.” 

The poor kid , you mused to yourself. Can’t ever seem to catch a break . Underneath the call, you listened to the directions your phone offered and took a right off of the interstate. The highway grew smaller the further you drove until you were driving down a two lane road. You didn’t see anyone further ahead and a check in your rearview mirror showed that there wasn’t anyone behind either.

You thought of what Wade had mentioned earlier, sitting up a little straighter placing both hands back on the wheel. “How is Tom doing? Is everything alright?”

“Oh, he’s fine. He got top-service care and all of his expenses were covered by GUN since his kids technically did save the world.”

“Again,” you teased.

Wade huffed. “Again.”

“Does Maddie need help with the kids or anything?”

“No, you’re so fine! Tom only has to wear a sling for another week or two. If you wanted to take them for the day, though, I don’t think Maddie would mind. Tails especially, the kid looks like he could use some ice cream.”

You smiled softly, humming your agreement. “Tell her I’ll watch them sometime this week. Her and Tom can have a them day and I’ll make sure the three musketeers stay out of trouble.”

“I’m sure they’d appreciate that.” 

“Was there anything else that I missed?”

“God, you missed a lot! What, did you not have access to the news or something like that?” Wade joked. 

You bit your lip. “Something like that. Catch me up in ten minutes or less because then it will just be me and my tunes for the rest of the trip!”

Wade did just that. He told you more about the endeavours the Wachowski family went through: how Sonic had stolen the Master Emerald Knuckles had left in his hands, a part of Tokyo was in ruins, GUN’s headquarters in London was demolished, and even followed up by saying that Dr. Robotnik was dead. According to Sonic, he’d given his life to stop the weapon his grandfather had made. “But that coffee shop on Main Street that closed? The one that was apparently run by Egghead’s minion? Mean Bean Coffee Cafe, I think?”

While you were familiar with the place Wade mentioned, you’d never gone there yourself, simply preferring to make your own coffee in the comfort of your home. You nodded along with what the man was saying. “The one who made a majority of his coffees with steamed goat milk or something like that? Yeah, what about it?”

“It’ll be re-opening soon!”

This time, you couldn’t stop the short bark of laughter that left your lips. Wade’s own laughter echoed back through the phone and you heard the sound of a knife slicing through something in the background. “Isn’t that sweet?” he asked you.

You pondered for a moment: the owner of the cafe was Dr. Robotnik’s right hand man. Sure, he might’ve made good coffee that the town loved drinking during the slow mornings but wasn’t he guilty by association? Did the funds he made go towards the evil scientist? He might’ve just been sitting on the sidelines until his boss returned from the mushroom planet (and you had inquired as to how he had returned from said mushroom planet) but his moral alignment seemed kind of finicky. 

Giving Wade a moral crisis, however, was not on your to-do list so you gave him a more simple answer instead. “I guess so.”

Wade let out what you could only interpret as a small scream of frustration and you had to bite your lower lip again to keep from grinning at the image forming in your head. He took a minute, the sound of a knife scraping against a cutting board informing you that he was in charge of dinner, and then blew out a breath. “You’re absolutely positive you’ll be able to get home tonight?”

You huffed, fingers thumping against the steering wheel as your eyes stared at the road before you. “For the last time, yes , Wade, I will be able to make it home tonight. I’m three hours into the drive and I still have a good hour left with my tank. I’ll just have to stop at a gas station before finishing my journey home.” Risking a glance down at your phone, you stated, “Maps still say I have another two and a half hours to go. I’ll be home before midnight. No big deal, Wade.”

“Right,” he drawled out your name. “I’m just saying this: if you need an escort from the stateline back to Green Hills, you know who to call.” 

“You’re so right! If I need assistance or anything like that as soon as I cross the stateline, I’ll call Tom or Maddie. Thanks for the advice, Wade!” Your index finger hovered over the red x as your friend tripped over his words. You interrupted before he could say anything else. “Don’t forget to feed Sunny, please and thank you!”

Two beeps signalled the end of the call and as a song came and went over your radio without interruption, you let out a sigh of relief. You didn’t want to be caught up with Wade on the phone for the rest of the drive home. Yes, you loved Wade Whipple like you would a sibling but there was always a time for siblings. A nearly three hour drive back to your place in the small town of Green Hills, Montana was not that time. Instead it was a time for your music to be louder as you drove through the backroads with no one in front and no one behind. 

Music blared through your speakers. Your headlights turned on underneath the fading sunlight and at the speed you were driving, you figured you might be able to get home a little earlier than what your map told you. A glance at your dashboard told you that it was nearing 6pm.

You hummed to yourself; a 9pm arrival time wouldn’t be too bad. Hopefully Sunny had worn himself out over the day but you severely doubted it. 

Headlights appeared in the distance. You turned down your music by the tiniest margin, wincing when the headlights coming towards you flashed once. Confusion etched itself onto your face and you flashed your own in turn. The car drew closer and this time, the driver flashed their lights twice. 

“A cop, maybe?” you mused to yourself under your music as the car passed by. Flashing headlights at someone typically meant something and you’d double checked your own headlights were on while driving down the darkening road. You kept your eyes peeled on the road, easing up on the gas. 

Nothing caught your eye for the next few minutes. You turned down your music to concentrate on the road before you and jumped slightly when your phone made an announcement: “ You will arrive at your destination in: two hours. Drive safely .” A chuckle escaped your lips and you leaned back into your seat. 

The cautiousness was getting to you, it seemed. The littlest thing made you jump and all it was was a quick announcement from your phone. But hey, two hours left. You only needed to stop at a gas station and then you’d be heading home scott free. Just two hours until you could curl up underneath your own covers with Sunny tucking himself behind your knees, drifting into what would probably be your best sleep throughout the past week.

After all, a week away from Sunny felt like a week of hell.

You were enamored by the compelling thoughts of your cat and sleep that it took you a minute to notice the lump in the middle of the road–the middle of your side of the road. Once you did, though, your heart dropped to your stomach. 

“Oh my god!”

Something unmoving laid in the middle of the pavement and with the speed you were currently driving, it was approaching. Fast . A scream escaped your throat as you slammed on the brakes, grip around the steering wheel tightening as the muscles in your arms grew taut. 

You waited for the sound of impact. Your body shifted forward and your eyes squeezed shut as your car came to a halt. Heavy breathing filled your ears—your own breathing. There was no scream, no cry of pain or a sound that signified you making contact with whatever was on the road. You took the chance to open one eye, then both. 

You managed to stop your car a few feet away from the lump in the road. They were a few meager feet, yes, but it was a few feet more than you were expecting and a quiet sob of relief escaped your lips as you leaned your forehead against the steering wheel. You inhaled slowly and tapped your fingers along the top of the wheel when you exhaled. 

Adrenaline, you decided while your heart took a few minutes to settle down, was not your friend. 

Hesitation filled your veins as your heart raced at a manageable pace. You peered through the windshield of your car but you couldn’t make out the animal on the pavement in the dying light. Your eyes flickered to your phone. You could call Wade and tell him that you were currently stopped alongside the road and just have him on the phone with you in case something happened but you had also told him that his last phone call would be just that: his last phone call with you until you returned to town. 

You heaved a sigh as you came to a conclusion: you shifted gears until you were in park, turned the keys in the ignition and when the car turned off, grabbed your phone and opened the car door. 

You started inching your way around the front of your vehicle the moment your feet made contact with the ground. They rooted you in your spot, however, when realization set in as you stared at the unmoving mass two or three feet away from you. 

“This cannot be happening.”

The lump was obviously not what you thought it was: you’d have thought maybe it was an unfortunate deer that slammed into the side of a truck, maybe a coyote caught in the crossfire of engines. But no. Lady Luck was not on your side.

Laying in the middle of the lane was a hedgehog.

He (they?) laid flat on the road, stomach pressed against the concrete with his legs and arms splayed outwards. Red bled from the crest of his quills and in separate groupings. In his hand closer to his face sat a gold bracelet gripped loosely between his fingers. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was in the middle of the backroads on your trip home, you would’ve thought he was merely sleeping. 

His leg twitched and you clasped your hands over your mouth, holding back your squeak of terror as you unconsciously took a step backwards. 

You tried to recall your conversation with Wade from earlier: another hedgehog had fought Sonic and after the two of them had nearly obliterated the moon, they had found common ground and worked together to save the world instead of fighting, and Sonic had assumed the other hedgehog— what did Wade say his name was? —had sacrificed himself along with Robotnik to save Earth. 

Sure, the alien hedgehogs coming together to fight against a common enemy to save the world was a good thing but your mind was still focused on the damaging part of said-saving of the world. 

Sonic and this hedgehog had gone toe-to-toe. Three times, not just a simple one and done fight people would probably expect from anthromorphic hedgehogs. An area of Tokyo had been decimated under the strength of them. Was this hedgehog just as dangerous as Sonic could’ve been? Worse? What would happen if he woke up disoriented? Would he recognize friend from foe or would you be dancing with death from a brutal injury like Tom had been? 

You didn’t have the funding or the backing of a military organization to keep you safe.

But there was also a small part of you that felt the tiniest bit bad for the unconscious hedgehog that laid before you. You walked around so you could see his face, wincing at the damage shown under the rising moonlight.

His tan cheeks–or was it a muzzle? Hedgehog anatomy was not your focus in college–and the white tuft of fur on his chest were covered in what seemed to be soot or some kind of dirt. A few quills looked out of place across his body and with the way he was laying, you couldn’t tell if his shoulder was dislocated or if it was just at an awkward angle. His shoes had similar golden rings around the collars and the white portion was marred with black streaks as if they were burned. Gloves similar to the type Sonic wore were in a similar state of disarray as his shoes, but with a few more noticeable tears in them. 

All in all, the hedgehog looked terrible. Probably not as terrible as Sonic had looked after his first fight with Robotnik but still in pretty rough shape. Knuckles had told Wade that the hedgehog before you was deceased, having sacrificed himself alongside Robotnik. And yet there this supposedly dead hedgehog laid. On the ground.

Only a few feet ahead of you. 

“Wasn’t Robotnik supposed to be dead before he sacrificed himself to save the world?” you asked aloud as you worked on gathering your thoughts. You shook off the questions you now had in regards to the evil scientist and shifted your attention back to the problem at hand: the (not dead) hedgehog.

From the distance you had, you could make out his chest falling and rising every so often. It wasn’t too noticeable but with the help of your phone flashlight, you could determine that he was taking deep breaths as he slept. A moral dilemma quarreled within you as you tried to come up with the pros and cons of the current situation. 

While he had done some messed up things like helping Dr. Robotnik’s evil grandfather attempt to destroy Earth (and wasn’t that a doozy?), you couldn’t just leave him there in the middle of the road for someone else to accidentally run over. You also weren’t prepared to haul an anthropomorphic alien hedgehog back to Green Hills. Said hedgehog just also happened to be the one who put Tom in the hospital and nearly leveled Tokyo. Granted, that fight also occurred with three other aliens who could also level a city if they really put their back into it. The knocked-out alien was a hedgehog and Sonic was also a hedgehog: maybe they had some kind of weird connection that you knew Sonic would love to figure out.

The hedgehog laying in front of you had put Sonic’s father into the hospital.

If you were truly thinking about it, brains and all, you’d leave the unconscious black-quilled creature where he was. He’d hurt people you cared for and almost massacred the entire planet. The emotional part of you, though…

The hedgehog was injured, maybe even grievously but you couldn’t tell from your current position. If he were anything like Sonic, it was most likely for a cause he thought was just. Maybe Earth deserved to die in his eyes. Maybe it took something from him like others had taken Longclaw from Sonic. It didn’t feel right to play the judge in someone else’s life and yet you stood at a crossroads. 

You could help the wounded creature that laid on the pavement in front of you or leave him to fend for himself.

You chewed your lower lip in between your teeth as you conjured up more pros and cons for this situation and when you came to a decision, a bone weary sigh escaped you. Turning off your flashlight and settling your phone in your pocket, you headed back towards your car. You pulled open the door to the backseat and rummaged through your items: a blanket, suitcases, your stuffed animal that you took with you everywhere, plus a motley of other things. You shifted whatever was on the actual seat to the floor and pushed a suitcase against the other door as a makeshift pillow. Grabbing the blanket you saw, you bundled it up into your arms and headed back in the direction of the unconscious alien.

He seemed to have the same body type as Sonic, the only actual difference being that of color and the small tuft of fur against his chest. You had watched Sonic plenty of times and had to carry him to bed on more than a few occasions so you figured this extraction plan would be simple. Your biggest factor would be whether or not the hedgehog woke up.

Slowing your breathing, you took a step closer towards the unconscious alien and when he made no move to jolt awake, you laid the blanket on the ground behind him. You were gentle–and cautious–as you placed a hand on the hedgehog’s shoulder. You waited a minute to see if there was a reaction and when there was none, you pulled gently on his shoulder and rolled him onto the blanket. 

There was a hitch in his breathing and you paused. His fingers tightened against the golden ring (bracelet?) in his hold and you let out a breath as his brows unfurrowed the tiniest bit. You continued your endeavor and once the hedgehog was on the blanket, you pulled a little bit of it over his shoulders. 

“All right, little guy,” you murmured as you leaned down to pick up the hedgehog. “Up you get.”

It was similar to that of carrying a small child, you thought to yourself as you shifted your weight, pulling the black-quilled creature off of the ground and moving your head to the side when his own head fell over your shoulder. A sleeping child, of course, but a child nonetheless. He weighed probably the same amount of Sonic, maybe even less, but it didn’t make a difference as you fluttered a hand behind his neck to keep his head from lolling in the wrong direction. A deep exhale escaped from his nose and the breath tickled the back of your neck. 

You shivered but carried on. With the hedgehog propped up against your side, you walked back to your car. You were careful when you went to place him in the backseat, hand this time pressed a little firmer against his neck as you shifted him around. His head laid against the suitcase and you could see a few holes forming from the quills but you didn’t mind.

You hated that suitcase anyway. This was just the universe telling you it was time for an upgrade.

When you placed his body against the seat, you tugged the blanket out from under him and placed it over top. You didn’t cover him entirely, though, bringing it only up to his chest and moving his hands so that they were on top of the blanket. A small part of you thanked whoever was out there that the hedgehog fit in your backseat as you pulled away. You were gentle to close the door while making sure it was still shut before heading back to the driver’s seat.

The true test of whether the alien in your backseat would wake up or not was the engine. You closed the driver’s door and buckled up, pulling your phone out of your pocket and redirecting your route to show you to the nearest gas station. Your map said it would still take about thirty minutes to arrive and you wanted to cry: thirty minutes of trying to make sure that he wouldn’t wake up while you were driving, just so he didn’t accidentally cause you to crash your car— or cause you to purposefully crash it , something in you contemplated—and get into a wreck with both you and him inside. 

You placed your phone in your cup holder and held your breath when you hand found the key in the ignition. You eased your car to start and as the engine purred to life, you found yourself closing your eyes. 

There was no noise from the backseat. 

Cracking open an eye, you adjusted your rearview mirror to see the hedgehog still sleeping in the backseat. You exhaled softly. “Thank god.” You double-checked that no one was coming your way before orienting your car on the right path, shifting your gear to drive and pressing on the gas. This would be a lot to explain to everyone, but hopefully the Wachowski’s wouldn’t mind.

Your eyes widened and you snuck a glance at your passenger in the backseat. “Oh, fuck.” You returned your eyes to the road and tightened your grip on the steering wheel. “Maddie’s going to be so mad at me.”

Chapter Text

When you had started your drive back to Green Hills a few hours ago, you’d thought your only company on the road would be your music and your mind. Maybe a drink from the gas station and a snack to munch on the further you got in on said trip when a refill on fuel became inevitable. 

What you had not expected was your new companion who was asleep in your backseat. One who also happened to be another anthropomorphic alien hedgehog who could most definitely raze towns to the ground. 

The story of Tokyo was proof of that. 

Was it smart to move a hedgehog into a new location while they were unconscious? Probably not. There might be a few adjustment issues plus a possibility of getting severely injured on your end due to miscommunication, sure. But leaving his limp body in the middle of a road was just begging for an accident to occur and the mere thought of it made you want to hurl. You’d rather he lash out in fear than lash out due to something like excruciating pain. 

The alien hedgehog was not becoming roadkill today. 

Your fingers minutely tightened around the steering wheel before you let out a breath, glancing at your new travel companion from your rear view mirror. You could’ve sworn you saw an ear twitch but your attention returned to the road. “What the hell am I doing?” you grumbled softly. 

What were you doing? You had no experience taking care of alien hedgehogs—babysitting Sonic (and his brothers by extension) did not count. It was different to actually house one compared to just having one stay in the guest room for a single night. You also had to worry about your cat and how he’d react to another hedgehog entering the house. Sunny didn’t necessarily get along with Sonic and the blue menace had said it was alright because he wasn’t a cat person. Tails and Knuckles, on the other hand, adored Sunny and your (cat) son preened under their attention. So you had come to the conclusion that it was just hedgehogs Sunny didn’t like. You tapped the tip of your fingers against the steering wheel to the soft melody pouring through your speakers, a huff escaping your body. 

Sunny hated hedgehogs apparently and here you were with one in your backseat. Wade would get a kick out of the current situation, you just knew he would.

Wade. Oh my god, Wade .

You were so stupid! Wade would be able to help in this situation. Probably not as much as Tom or Maddie could, but he was friends with the Wachowski boys. And sure, he mainly hung out with Knuckles but that was more than nothing. 

Just before you could do something dangerous and definitely illegal— something you would never confess to Tom and Wade due to their occupation —the light of the gas station reached your eyes. You let out a small thanks to whoever was looking after you for your stroke of luck and flicked on your blinker, turning your vehicle into the lot of the station. There was only one other car at one of the pumps and another car parked in front of the actual station. So you had at minimum two other people on the property with you. 

With a little bit of finagling, you managed to pull your car up to one of the pumps with no problems. You grabbed your phone and turned off the car engine. You’d call or message Wade while you were grabbing drinks for yourself and your travel buddy but you needed gas. You glanced at the rearview mirror, double checking on the hedgehog in your backseat. A small light emanated from the red portions of his quills and yep, definitely asking Wade what it means when a hedgehog starts glowing , you thought a tad bit hysterical.

“I’m not going to survive the week.”

Shifting your focus back to the task at hand, you popped open your middle console and grabbed your wallet. With your free hand, you closed the console and grabbed your phone. You placed the phone in the pocket of your pants and exited the car with your keys and wallet in hand.

Gas was a menial task when you really thought about your current situation. Out of everything to do with an alien in the backseat, gas wasn’t something you’d thought you would have to worry about. Maybe what the movies show and possible world domination, perhaps even alien abduction. And yet you were on a trip back home and the numbers on the pump went up as you filled your tank with a highly dangerous one unconscious in your backseat. 

Well sometimes the movies get it all wrong , you mused to yourself while removing the nozzle from your fuel lid. 

After replacing the nozzle from the pump back into its original position, you snuck a peek through your car window. The little guy in your backseat continued to glow lightly but he showed no sign of waking up anytime soon. His brows furrowed in his sleep and you bit your lip in concern when a finger twitched. It was probably a nightmare given the deeper grimace on the hedgehog’s face. 

You placed your hand against the car window and frowned. “Don’t worry, little guy. You’ll be safe soon.” 

Satisfied that your car was ready to complete the rest of the trip, you headed towards the main building of the gas station and whipped out your phone. Your message to Wade was halfway typed when you stepped inside and you let out a small noise of surprise at the cold air that rushed over you.

Your eyes raised from the screen and as soon as you saw the coolers in the back of the store, you began your trek in that direction. A bell rang out from behind you and your head turned in that direction. Someone had exited the door and from the windows lining the walls of the station, it seemed to be the only other customer. You stopped in front of the soda cooler and waited, watching as they ducked into their car. Their lights turned on and you let out a sigh you didn’t realize you were holding. 

Nobody else needed to know about the alien in your backseat quite yet.

Returning to the task at hand, you found your preferred soda and grabbed it. You finished up your message to Wade but before you hit send, you paused. Your eyes roamed the cooler for a drink an anthropomorphic hedgehog might like. Sonic was a big soda guy but you couldn’t say the same about the guest in your car. Your eyes latched onto the bottles of water at the bottom of the cooler.

You shrugged to yourself and grabbed one. With both drinks tucked in the crook of your elbow, you eyed your message to Wade once more to make sure you were capturing the situation right.

So, you know how you mentioned the other hedgehog that Sonic fought against in Tokyo? The one who was bad then turned good towards the end? The one that died in the explosion? 

Hoping your stress was enunciated enough in the questions, you hit send.

“Anything else for you today?” asked the attendant as you brought the two drinks up to the front to purchase. 

You shook your head and dug through your wallet for some cash. “Nope, that’ll be all.” 

They announced your total and you handed them a ten, smiling politely when they gave you back your change. You grabbed your drinks and offered them a small ‘thank you’ as you headed out the door. Walking towards your car, you stretched your arms above your head briefly. No way were you getting back into a seat to drive without stretching a little.

“Alright,” you mumbled to yourself with soda and a bottle of water in hand. “No more pit stops. Straight back to Montana. Just me and the little…guy?” 

The blanket you had tossed over the alien had moved, now draped over your bags you had stuffed hastily into the floorboard of your backseat to fit a makeshift bed. Your windows were still closed and the car doors remained shut and locked when you tested the driver’s side door. You unlocked your car and yanked open your door, half-heartedly placing your soda and the water in the cupholders as you leaned over the middle console to peer into the back. 

Feeling a bit silly, you called out, “Little guy?” You were met with no response and you grabbed at the soft blanket over your bags, moving it just to double check the hedgehog hadn’t cocooned itself into that mess. You didn’t spot them. “Little guy?” You leaned over the middle console and stared at the floorboard, trying to spot the faintest bit of red amongst the dark, stuffy interior. “No, no no no, no. Little guy? Are you here?”

Frantically, you shifted so that you were sitting back in the driver’s seat.

Whipping your phone out of your pocket, you shot off another frantic text to Wade who (surprisingly) had yet to respond: Update on why I asked you those questions: I lost the hedgehog, what do I doooooooo? Is it safe for them to be alone out there?

You pulled yourself out of the car and slammed the door shut, staring through the windows. Distraught, you placed an empty hand on your forehead, your other clenched tightly around your car keys. What the hell were you supposed to tell Tom and Maddie? They were the experts in all things weird and alien with Sonic and Tails and Knuckles. If you couldn’t bring this other hedgehog creature to them, would he die? Did he eat the same food as humans? You knew Sonic and Knuckles had their preferences for human food but was it technically even safe for them to consume or were Tom and Maddie worried every single time the echidna had a grape? 

“Okay, calm down,” you ordered yourself while patting your cheeks. “Maddie and Tom don’t know, the kids don’t know, Wade doesn’t know–well, he knows now but that is besides the point. No one needs to know I lost the alien hedgehog…Oh my god, I lost the alien.” 

You buried your face in your hands.

“Oh my fucking god, I lost the fucking alien! ”

A soft, crazed laugh trickled from your throat and you moved to cover your mouth. You couldn’t believe just how bad your luck was going tonight: you’d almost run over the supposedly-dead hedgehog Wade had told you about and now you had lost him. Did the universe hate you that much that it wanted to drive you crazy?

Your laughter died down and faintly from behind you, you could hear footsteps. 

Something overwhelming flooded your senses. You couldn’t necessarily put a name to the sense of unease that crept its way into your body, limbs locking up in the face of foreboding danger but it was a handful. The footsteps you heard walking towards you stopped and a shiver went down your spine. 

Wonderful , your brain supplied. I lost the hedgehog and now I’m quite possibly about to be murdered in the middle of nowhere .

“Turn around.” 

The voice that ordered you to face your (potential) doom was soft, tempered in quality but deep. Not deep enough to fully startle you but deep enough that if they spoke like they were angry, you’d feel the damage of their tone. You could hear the authenticity of a threat lurking behind those two words, too, and you shivered once again at the veiled promise of hurt should you not comply.

“I said: Turn. Around.” 

This time, you were quick to do as you were told. Maybe if you’d listen, you’d get off scot-free or find an advantage to use against the—the hedgehog that was in front of you…not a serial killer, but the same hedgehog you had buried underneath a blanket in the backseat of your car. You thought you’d be able to make it back to Green Hills before he woke up but he had proved your theory wrong.

The hedgehog stood a few feet in front of you. A feeling reminiscent of chaos and destruction emanated from him as sparking red eyes pierced through you like it was nothing—like you were nothing. 

You stayed quiet in fear of angering the superpowered creature. 

“Is this your vehicle?” 

A squeak of surprise left your lips and you brought a closed fist up to cover them. The hedgehog’s eyes widened minutely before returning back to their original position. He pointed at your car and repeated the question with more ferocity. “Is this your vehicle?”

“Yes,” you managed to whisper. 

The hedgehog’s hand dropped and you felt your heart drop as the red in his eyes grew brighter. “Why was I in the back of your vehicle?”

You opened your mouth before shutting it, trying to think of a good answer. You didn’t know this hedgehog: you didn’t know his thought process or how he saw everyone that wasn’t him. Would he believe you if you told the truth? Would he think you were trying to manipulate him and then turn your bones into soup with a single punch? You didn’t know what the right call here was but when the black-quilled creature inched forward with clenched fists, you blurted out, “I was trying to keep you from becoming roadkill!”

He paused. “You were trying to what?”

Confusion. You could work with confusion because all you had to do was offer an answer that he would understand. “Keep you from becoming roadkill. You were laying in the middle of the road when I found you and I didn’t want you to get killed by some reckless driver.”

“Killed,” the hedgehog scoffed. “I am the Ultimate Lifeform. A simple car would be unable to kill me.”

“That’s…cool,” you unsurely replied, erring on the side of caution. “However, even if you are the Ultimate Lifeform, it would probably take you a while to heal back to your pristine condition.” Red eyes narrowed at you and you held out placating hands. “Not to say you aren’t currently pristine but I noticed a few of your quills out of place and I happen to know another hedgehog, a blue hedgehog, that might be willing to—”

“Sonic.” The name coming from the black-quilled hedgehog was the definition of neutral. You couldn’t tell whether he despised the blue blur or was friendly with him. That was bad because you didn’t know if you were barking up the wrong tree or not.

“Yeah,” you agreed. “Sonic. I’m friends with his family”—the hedgehog glared at you and you backtracked immediately— “but we don’t have to get them involved if you don’t want to. I just wanted to help you and make sure you were alright.”

“Are you a GUN agent?”

Your brain buffered at the question and you stammered out, “A what?”

“A GUN agent. Do you know what GUN is?”

“Yes,” you said. “It’s uh, Guardian Unit of Nations or something like that, right?”

“So why would you help me if you know what GUN is?”

“I’m confused, what’s the question?”

Red eyes narrowed once more and you let out a soft ‘eep’ at the color that signified danger. “You know what GUN is. Do you know of Project Shadow?”

You shook your head. “I’ve never heard of that in my life. Listen, I was just going to bring you to Green Hills and get you looked at by our resident alien vet-tech and if she gave you the clean bill of health, you’d be free to go.”

The red in the hedgehog’s eyes died down as he stared at you. You kept your hands up in their placating gesture and offered a small crooked smile. 

“Maybe we should take the rest of this conversation to the car?” You gestured towards said vehicle, glancing at the deserted station from the corner of your eyes. “No prying eyes and all that jazz.”

The hedgehog scoffed. “You expect me to just follow you back into your vehicle with no complaints? How foolish do you think I am?”

You waved your hands in front of you, trying not to dig yourself a deeper hole. “It’s not that you’re foolish, it’s just that I’m pretty sure you don’t want any more attention than you might grab from a place that’s never seen something like you before,” you explained. “I don’t know if you want to end up in the news or not but me personally? I’d rather keep them off my back. But that’s entirely up to you.”

Quiet enveloped the two of you as the black-quilled hedgehog narrowed his eyes. He stared at you like you were an enigma. You couldn’t quite pinpoint the current emotion lingering in his eyes but when your own eyes flickered back to the gas station, he turned his head in the same direction. 

“There’s just one person,” you told him softly. “But we’re at a gas station. There’s a possibility someone else might pull in with their car and you’ll be spotted. I’m not forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you want me to just leave you here, you tell me to leave and I’ll leave. I’m just trying to help.”

His fists clenched tighter for a brief moment and when he took a threatening step forward in your direction, this time you stood your ground, maintaining eye contact and holding your breath. Yes, you were dealing with an alien hedgehog who could easily kill you or anyone around you in a ten-mile radius but you figured that the best way to not somehow accidentally die was to show no fear to a being that radiated it. And if you happened to be screaming inside your head? 

Well, no one had to know but you. 

When you didn’t (obviously) flinch from the hedgehog’s threatening gesture, he remained where he was standing. The same red sparks flared dangerously in his irises before it died down into something calmer. He took a step back and squared his shoulders. The quills that were poofing—you didn’t know the anatomically correct term for a hedgehog trying to be a threat but you would be doing some serious research later—retracted so that they were back in their original positions and he huffed. 

Then, a subtle nod of his head.

You relaxed your posture. Exhaling shakily, you found yourself crouching down and placing your head on top of your knees. You’d just survived what could have potentially been your undoing and doing that was a lot more scary than you thought it would be. After all, you had figured your first real fright would’ve been something more human, like accidentally getting caught up in a robbery or something of the likes; nothing like a superpowered alien to kick your gears into motion.

Granted, you also could consider almost running over said-superpowered alien your first real fright. Or the time the evil scientist came into town…not once, but twice . 

“Are you…what are you doing?” the hedgehog questioned. 

Glancing up, you mustered the strength to say, “Praying to whatever deity just saved me.” 

He scoffed, crossing his arms as he caught on to what you were saying. “I could’ve obliterated you easily. You’re just a human.”

“And that is why I’m so thankful that you’re willing to work with me in whatever situation this is,” you shot back easily. “Because if you didn’t, I’d probably be dead and you’d probably be on the run.”

“I don’t run.” 

“And that’s why we’re hopping in the car right now. So we can drive .” 

Pushing yourself back to your feet, you gestured for the hedgehog to follow you. Figuring that he would rather sit close to you than in the backseat, giving him some sort of semblance of control, you opened the passenger’s door. The powerful being raised a brow in your direction and you offered a small smile as you tried to control your racing heart. Similar to earlier, the hedgehog stood still for a moment before his fists clenched up tighter again. This time you were happy to note that it didn’t take long for him to unclench his fists before he hopped inside the car. 

Softly so as not to startle the hedgehog, you asked, “Do you know about the seat belt?”

He stared at you from under a hooded gaze filled with annoyance. “Yes, I know how to work a seatbelt.” Seemingly hellbent on proving to you that he knows a lot about humans and their inventions, he reached for the seatbelt on his right and dragged it over his body. You hummed as he clicked it into place, tapping the side of the car door twice to signal that you were closing it and then shutting the door when the hedgehog only nodded. 

“Oh my god,” you mumbled under your breath as you crossed the front of your car. “What the absolute fuck am I doing?” 

You barely got into the car when the hedgehog asked you a question. 

“What were you talking about?” he asked when you pulled open the door to the driver’s seat, slipping into the car. You shut the door behind you and slipped your own seatbelt over your chest with a raised brow.

“What do you mean?”

“You were talking to yourself as you passed the front of your vehicle.” His statement came out strong and you turned to face your new road trip companion. His grip on his knees tightened, red eyes (albeit a softer red than before) meeting yours. “What were you talking about? I thought humans only conversed with others, not to themselves.”

You bit your lower lip before fiddling with your phone in the cupholder, pulling up the map to Green Hills. “Oh, I was just talking to myself. It’s typical for most humans. When we need to talk to someone about something or ask someone a question but no one is actually there to answer said question, we just find ourselves talking out loud. Helps us with our thoughts,” you answered. 

The hedgehog looked confused under the angry face he permanently donned. “But I am right here.”

“Well, yeah. But sometimes it’s also kind of embarrassing to ask people a question or they don’t want others to feel like a burden for asking a deep question. I just basically had an existential crisis question. I’d rather you didn’t have an existential crisis because I’m not qualified enough for dealing with a superpowered hedgehog leveling cities. That is a Tom and Maddie situation.”

A raised brow was your only answer that the little guy didn’t understand.

“It’s a human thing.”

Your new dry answer only seemed to confuse your passenger even more. You let out a sigh and decided to approach a different topic: names.

You held out a hand and introduced yourself. The hedgehog stared at your proffered hand with furrowed brows, a look of contemplation on his face. 

When he didn’t respond, you let your hand fall. “Do you have a name I can call you by? Obviously, I’ve just been calling you little guy or hedgehog or alien in my head but that doesn’t seem respectful now that you’re awake.” 

“Shadow,” he replied in a quiet voice. 

“Shadow,” you echoed. He didn’t say anything else. 

Knowing you would get nowhere else with the hedgehog you now knew the name of, you shifted your body so that you were facing the steering wheel once again. You turned the key into the ignition and hummed in thought as your car roared to life. 

“Nice to meet you, Shadow.”

Chapter Text

The remainder of the drive back to Green Hills, Montana was awkward, to say the least.

You’d try getting to know your travel companion more and yet the hedgehog’s answers were bland or he offered no other explanations to them. Some of the answers themselves were a little bit concerning and you couldn’t help but mull the previous attempts at conversation through your head as you crossed the state line.

“Where’d you come from?”

“Mobius.”

“How’d you get to Earth? A ring, a portal…a rocket ship?”

“I fell onto this planet trapped in a meteorite.”

“Did anyone help you?”

“Scientists. But they didn’t necessarily help me and then put me on ice.”

“On ice?”

“Cryostasis.”

“For how long?”

“Fifty years.”

“Oh…Shadow’s a pretty badass name.”

“I was named after a scientist’s attempt at creating an ultimate lifeform. He somewhat succeeded in his endeavors and now I am here.”

“...I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“Shadow, you were experimented on. That’s not cool.”

“It was to save her. I understand why they did it.”

“Who?”

The conversation had ended there when Shadow remained quiet and all you could think about was this mysterious ‘her’ that he had mentioned. However, it seemed like a tough topic to breach. Nothing really changed about Shadow when he spoke about this ‘her’ person but from the small peeks you took while driving, his gaze was casted towards the outside and you could see what you could only describe as red lightning dancing in his eyes in the reflection of the window. 

Your phone buzzed a couple of times during the rest of the drive and you were one-hundred percent positive it was Wade. Thankfully, your phone didn’t read the texts aloud like it did the directions, and you were spared from having to explain to Shadow that you had told (albeit indirectly) someone else about his survival. 

What you were not saved from, however, was phone calls.

“ Incoming call from: Wade Whipple .”

Whereas you were used to the phone announcing whoever was calling over the speakers of your vehicle, you could instantly tell Shadow was not. You practically jumped in your seat as the eerie glow you saw emanating from Shadow when he was unconscious shone just a bit brighter, a red hue coating the interior of the passenger’s side. You declined the call immediately and with a glance to your right, a cry of surprise fell from your lips.

“Shadow, no !” Maintaining your eyes on the road was a difficult task with the hedgehog next to you, still tucked under the seat belt but with a fist hiked back and prepared to attack the dashboard. You tossed an arm out in front of him. “No, no, no! You are not breaking my car!”

“But the voice,” he countered, and you saw him stare at you from the corner of your eyes. “It could be a GUN agent.”

Shaking your head, you kept your focus on the road as you explained. “It’s not a GUN agent. It’s just technology. Geez, you’ve been on ice for half a century. That’s like, what? The 70s? Cars have been upgraded a lot since then. This one just happens to have Bluetooth and is connected to my phone.” You picked up your phone from where it was sitting by your drinks and held it out for Shadow to look at. “I messaged a friend earlier in the gas station and now he’s calling me back. My phone is announcing who’s calling: my friend, Wade Whipple. Not a GUN agent. You understand?”

“ Incoming call from: Wade Whipple .” This time, you declined the call faster than before since you were expecting it and peeked over at Shadow once again. His eyes held a look of curiosity but you knew these types of people–or, well, a hedgehog , in this case. They wouldn’t ask you a question if they were confused about something or wanted to know more. 

You tossed your phone in Shadow’s direction and his furrowed brows shot upward in surprise, gloved hands catching it with ease. The red coloring in the car slowly began to dim and a sigh of relief escaped your lips. 

“Why did you do that?” he asked you.

You decided to be a bit of a smart ass and smiled softly. “Why did I do what?”

“Hand me your phone. Why? What was the purpose?”

“Well first of all, I tossed it at you. I didn’t hand it to you,” you teased. The hedgehog radiated unamusement and you chuckled. “Sorry, sorry. Bad joke, I know. I gave it to you because I trust that you won’t break it.”

Shadow raised a brow before his face returned to its neutral position, eyes drawn to your cell phone. “I know I won’t,” he said matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t do it without a purpose. But you trust me? We’ve only recently been acquainted. Wouldn’t that be…” a gloved hand circled in the air as the hedgehog tried to find the right word to use. You waited patiently, drumming your fingers on the steering wheel. “ Gullible , of you? To trust me so easily?”

“Yeah,” you shrugged. “Just don’t break it. Then I won’t be gullible.”

“Humans typically are gullible,” Shadow muttered. You didn’t reply in fear of him not wanting you to have heard him. Instead, you tried a different approach.

“Listen,” you began. “I know you just met me like an hour ago but I promise you, I’ll do my best to educate you on the current world and keep you safe. My car? It’s safe. There are no GUN agents here and no GUN agents will track us down. They’re too busy rebuilding their headquarters anyways.”

Shadow hummed. “It was quite a disaster when I was there.”

“Exactly! But listen, trust is a two way street. You don’t have to immediately put me on a pedestal of trustworthiness or whatever but a little reciprocation would be nice.” You blew out a breath and turned down the music so it was just ambiance. “I’m trusting you not to hurt me right now. I obviously couldn’t hurt you if I tried–” Shadow cracked a small smile at this. “–but you obviously have a little trust in me if you’re here in the front seat of my car. Does that make sense?”

“I suppose it does.” Shadow’s answer was soft, a complete turnover from how he sounded when he had ordered you to turn around at the gas station earlier. “It is just…different from what I am used to.” Red eyes flicked over to you and the hedgehog echoed your question. “Does that make sense?”

Attempting to find a more lighthearted approach (or a whole different topic if Wade would just stop calling! ), you smiled. “Absolutely not.” Shadow’s gaze shifted to one of confusion and you brought up a fist, giving him a soft punch against his shoulder. “I’m kidding. It does make sense.” 

“ Incoming call from: Wade Whipple .”

Instead of immediately hanging up like you thought he would, Shadow held your phone out in your direction. “Would you like me to accept your call?” 

You gave a soft grin. “That’s up to you, bud.”

Red eyes filled once again with confusion and you peeked over at the hedgehog beside you. “But it is your friend. This is your phone. Why would it be my decision?”

“Because we’re on this road trip together,” you answered. “If you’d rather I didn’t talk to Wade, that’s fine. We can decline as many calls as we need to until he gets the hint and the phone stops ringing. What matters most is whether or not you’re comfortable.”

Before Shadow had the option to choose whether or not to accept or decline the call, the ringing ended. You clicked your tongue and, with a teasing tone, said, “Darn.” You snapped your fingers and leaned your head to the side. “You missed your chance. Maybe if he calls back you can press the giant red x on the screen and he’ll finally get the hint.” 

“How do I accept the call?” 

Your eyes widened and your focus was stolen from the road, your passenger accruing your attention. The quilled creature’s own focus was on your phone. You personally hadn’t thought he would be okay with you accepting a phone call from Wade during the remainder of the trip; you thought he’d be off put by your explanation of Bluetooth that Shadow would want to break your phone entirely in fear of being tracked. 

Shadow either didn’t realize your attention was focused on him or was unbothered. A part of you wished that you could be as unbothered as the superpowered alien but as you returned to the road, you watched from the corner of your eyes as his shoulders slumped. 

Now that , you wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole tonight. Maybe later when Shadow got acclimated to Green Hills but with roughly an hour and a half left on the road…no dice. 

Ringing from your phone pulled you from your thoughts and you knew instantly it was Wade once more. 

“Hit the green button at the bottom of the screen.”

Shadow did as he was told and you both winced at the noise that escaped Wade’s mouth as the hedgehog accepted the call. It sounded somewhere between a scream and a cry, and you could already picture the grown man pacing his bedroom. Predictable as always but that was one of the things you loved about your friend in dire times—aka when superpowered cute alien animals started showing up out of the blue. 

You greeted your friend with a simple, “Hey, Wade. So about that last call earlier being our last call of the night…think you can make an exception for one more?”

Wade’s voice was frantic as it entered the speakers, pausing your music. “What are you thinking?! Trying to find a massively dangerous alien hedgehog is not your duty! Leave that to Tom or Maddie, just leave it to the Wachowskis, period ! Have you lost your mind? I know I’m not always the sharpest tool in the shed but this is one of the stupider things you’ve done!” The more he spoke, the more worried filled his voice and when he said your name, you felt yourself wilt. “Listen, as long as you are safe and are able to get back to Sunny, that’s all that matters. It’s probably a good thing you lost the hedgehog. You’re alright though, right? Everything okay?”

You cleared your throat uncomfortably, Shadow’s gaze a heavy weight against your form. 

“Everything’s fine now,” you assured your friend. “I’m okay and everything else is okay, Wade. The hedgehog also might not be…lost? Anymore? He’s in the passenger seat. No superpowered hedgehog is running loose.”

Silence from the other end of the phone.

Then, “Huh?”

You grinned. “Shadow, meet Wade. Wade, Shadow is currently my passenger on our trip home. Say hello!”

“Hi, Shadow.”

“Hello…Wade.”

“Alright, you two are both so awkward,” you cut between their terse greetings. “Shadow, Wade is my best friend and he’s going to help get you situated in Green Hills with me. Wade, Shadow’s my guest until further notice. He’s pretty injured and—”

“I do not sustain injuries.”

You blinked twice. “Shadow, you were unconscious in the middle of the road looking like a dead deer. You were sprawled awkwardly and even if you don’t have any breaks or fractures, you are definitely bruised. You’re injured. End of conversation.”

Wade let out a fake chuckle over his end of the phone. “That’s so nice of you to take care of the deadly hedgehog but do you mind if I ask you something? What will the others think? Sonic, Knuckles, Tails? Sunny? Maddie? Tom ? I’m a little scared you might’ve picked up more than you can chew.” 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But from what you told me, Shadow here came around in the end. I think they’ll be okay with him. What we will be doing, however,” you said firmly, addressing both of the boys. “Is making sure Shadow is acclimated to Green Hills before we bring over the Wachowskis or we even mention Shadow to them. I might ask Maddie to come take a look at him before that, she’s good with secrets, but we’re not putting Shadow at the center of attention for a while. Am I understood, Wade?” 

You looked over at Shadow with a raised brow and the hedgehog nodded his own agreement as Wade cried out your name. “But what if something horrible happens? Like the power goes out in town again or an alien invasion happens or an evil scientist makes his return ? Wouldn’t Shadow be our best line of defense—”

“Shadow is not a weapon,” you cut off your friend sharply. “If that’s how you’re going to view him, I’m going to hang up.”

“No, wait! Ah, geez.” With Wade’s new tone of voice you could imagine Wade running a hand through his hair, clicking his tongue against his teeth while pacing. Shadow went to hand you back your phone but you shook your head in the silence that encompassed the car. You raised a finger to signify giving Wade a minute and the hedgehog gave you a sharp nod in return, replacing your phone back in his lap.

A sigh was heard through your speakers and you let a small smile grace your face. “Sorry, you two. It wasn’t right of me to assume that Shadow would be immediately all in on saving the town from future threats…or for still thinking that he’s a threat. I mean, hell, he’s your passenger.” You and Wade chuckled simultaneously. “Knuckles told me about second chances and I guess this is the moment where his lesson finally kicks it.”

“I appreciate the apology,” you told the man with sincerity. Confident in your ability to keep the car straight for a few seconds, you looked over to Shadow.

The hedgehog was staring at you with an intense fervor but you couldn’t decipher why. Red eyes locked onto yours and you nodded your head in the direction of the car speakers. Shadow, the smart hedgehog he is, understood what you were gesturing to and faced the road again. 

“Your apology is adequate,” his voice rumbled. 

“Ah, hell! Adequate isn’t good enough!”

You blew out your lips and tapped your fingers on the steering wheel. “Hoo, boy. Here we go.”

Shadow glanced at you. “Did I say the wrong thing?”

Before you could answer your passenger, Wade interrupted. “Shadow, when you get to Green Hills and see what an amazing small town this is, I’ll help you appreciate it even more! The trees, the lake, the food, the people, you name it. Anything you want to learn about, I’ll help you understand! That work for you, bud?”

“Okay, Wade. Let’s not overstimulate the little guy,” you snickered, bringing a hand up to cover your laughing lips. 

“I’m not a little guy.”

Your snickers grew louder and you could hear Wade echo your sentiments. “If you’re anything like Sonic, bud, you’re definitely a little guy.”

Brows furrowed and Shadow leaned a bit forward in his seat, insistent. “I’m not. I am the Ultimate Lifeform, capable of Chaos Control and mass destruction should I so wish it.”

You grew a little tense at the last bit of Shadow’s statement and from the way the air in the car grew somber, you figured Wade did as well. It was quiet between the three of you for a minute as you nibbled on your lower lip. Finally, you spoke up.

“Do you?”

Your attention remained on the road but you could feel eyes staring at you from the side. You did your best not to let your nervousness show as the black-quilled hedgehog asked, “Do I what?”

You couldn’t stop your fingers from fully tightening around the steering wheel. Your back went rigid against your seat and you inhaled slowly. “Do you wish it? Do you wish to cause mass destruction to Green Hills? To anywhere else on Earth?”

The next couple of seconds were tense, only semi-broken by Wade. 

“I’ll let you deal with the new hedgehog,” he said in a mellow tone. “Call me if you need anything tonight, but I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” you said. “Thanks.”

Three beeps signified the end of the phone call. It didn’t necessarily go how you wanted it to go but your car wasn’t damaged, so you figured that was a plus. The music started up again, soft and airy compared to the sharp atmosphere it surrounded. You loosened your fingers on the wheel so they weren’t strained and did your best to remain calm.

Unlike earlier where red eyes lingered on you for only brief periods of time, Shadow’s current gaze laid on you. You could feel the tension between you and you didn’t know if you’d be able to get out of it. You had no silly remarks, no witty comebacks to alleviate this overwhelming pressure of you practically harboring an alien hedgehog who brought harm to so many—Shadow had nearly killed Tom and suddenly the stiffness in your body returned. 

Your passenger wasn’t just an anthropomorphic hedgehog: he was a superpowered alien hedgehog. He’d threatened you before you even finished at the gas station and the way he spoke about being the Ultimate Lifeform…did he really believe that about himself? He’d mentioned the project he was named after: Project Shadow. Was it just some sort of convoluted way to say that he was born and raised a soldier? 

Gods, I was right , you berated yourself. This hedgehog will be—

“No.” 

You jumped in your seat, fixing the slight swerve of your car and lining yourself back up into the center of your lane. Shadow’s voice had scared you out of your stupor and the first thing you had noticed was that the weight of his gaze was gone. You glimpsed over at the hedgehog, mildly surprised to find him staring out the window with your phone still cradled in one of his hands. The other pressed up against his knee and you winced when you saw how tight he was clenching it into a fist. 

Hesitant to tread murky depths (you were way out of your league right now), you asked, “What?”

“No,” Shadow repeated himself. “I do not wish to cause mass destruction. It’s not my intent. The first time I did it, the city where I met Sonic and his colorful bunch—”

“Tokyo?” You offered.

He nodded. “Tokyo, that wasn’t meant to happen. They were caught in the crossfire between myself and GUN. And then GUN twisted the point of view so that they were perceived as the…the good guys when all we wanted to do was survive. They gave Project Shadow the go-ahead and yet they massacred everyone who had a hand in the project. I couldn’t save her—I couldn’t save them and then I’m put on ice while he was taken away.” Shadow’s fist unclenched itself and he placed it on his chest. “Now I believe it was for the best. Gerald betrayed me. He made me believe I was doing it for her, that Earth’s decimation was what she desired.” A soft huff. “I was supposed to be her cure. It was working, in the beginning. GUN, however, turned out to be a bunch of cowards who couldn’t handle the idea of a weapon with a mind surpassing any of their own. I want to let go of that destructive anger but I do not want it to come again at the cost of leveling cities. Sonic and I did enough damage as is.”

You let the hedgehog’s words soak into your brain, humming at the appropriate moments while thinking. GUN was starting to sound like a major problem. You’d have to warn Tom and Maddie about them and suggest for them to try and cut off all contacts if this was how GUN treated their own hedgehog. You figured Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles would be safe from their clutches, sure, but better safe than sorry. 

Drawn back to the topic at hand, you let a small smile don your features. “That’s good to hear, Shadow. Not the parts about GUN being what seems to be an evil agency and everything but the mass destruction part. I’m glad you don’t want to destroy Earth. I’d hate to see the world end.”

You brought over a hand and set it on the hedgehog’s leg, giving it a gentle squeeze before bringing it back in front of you. You couldn’t tell what was going on inside of the hedgehog’s head but a more selfish-part of you was glad that you couldn’t; Shadow had been on ice for fifty years and while you didn’t know the process of cryostasis, you could only imagine it was like reliving your memories constantly while waiting for release. That had to have been pure agony.

A groan escaped your lips as you realized the repercussions of what your companion had told you. “You’re going to need a whole lot of therapy, Shadow.”

Shadow simply hummed. “What is therapy?”

“Basically, it’s like…you talk to someone about how you're feeling and if your past has something to do with that you tell them about that. It’s almost like…” you waved a hand in between the two of you and sighed, letting it fall back to the steering wheel. 

“It’s a human thing.”

Chapter Text

Heyyyyy, pookies!

so if you didn’t notice, I didn’t update this fic last week because I’m trying to get yall used to a two-week update schedule. However, this plan may or may not have backfired. 

1.) Classes started back up for me again. Writing will take time but I’ll do my best to keep to a consistent 2-week update.

2.) I do not have chapter 4 completely written as I have had some recent health complications that I’m being referred to a health specialist for. In less than a week I’ve lost 20+ pounds from lack of hunger/nauseating bouts and can barely get out of bed most days. I’m hoping it’s not something super serious but it’s starting to look a little bad. 

sorry for lack of updates but thank you to everyone who has read what I have written so far, and here’s to doing our best to remain healthy!!!

love all of you readers!!! <3

anxietea out ✌🏻

Chapter Text

hello my readers ! tea here to give you all an update on how I am doing :3

good news: I’m alive lol. jk jk, I’ve managed to get back to a healthy weight and while I’m still dealing with nausea it’s not as bad as it typically was when this whole medical situation first started. 

bad news: we still don’t know the cause and I still have a bunch of doctor’s appointments coming up :( sobs

some more bad (technically sad) news: this fic is going on a semi-hiatus/hold until the end of April, beginning/middle of May. college is hitting me hard rn with assignments and grrrr. so unless I have the bestest boost of inspiration, don’t expect a chapter from me until around the aforementioned time (Chapter 4 might be out in a week, I just cracked open my document :3) 

to anyone who is still here and waiting for more, thank you. i promise to provide cute shit (plus angst) as soon as possible!

lots of love, 

anxietea <3

(psst…I have a Discord. It’s one I set up ages ago but feel free to join to get updates!!! https://discord.gg/SEj4eAddwY )

Chapter Text

hey hey hey ! it’s ur favorite author ! 

guess who’s balancing life in the middle rn 😭 update for those of u who follow me, I have a cyst on my kidney and I’m working through extreme agoraphobia to the point where I literally have to force myself to leave my apartment, but hey! I’m alive and kicking!!!

this work has kind of been put on the back burner bc I lack the inspiration and enthusiasm I really need to write this (it’s actually just chapter 4 that’s kicking my ass and I’m tempted to skip over writing it altogether) BUT this is good news for you guys!!! 

In order to properly motivate myself into writing once more, I’m asking YOU, my dear readers, to submit some one-shot ideas of any of the Sonic characters and I will write it! Whether it’s a character x character interaction, some brotherly love (ie like Tails and Sonic) or even a reader insert (let’s be honest…reader taking care of a sick Tails would be so cute ;-;), I want you to submit a request for a one-shot! I need all the inspiration I can get for this fic and writing Oneshots might inspire some scenes that play out in this book! 

an example of a one-shot request might look like this: “Hey, could I request Tails (Movie!verse) falling sick and reader takes care of him” or “Would you be able to write something where Shadow realizes he’s in love with Sonic?” 

Just something like that! Help me get my inspiration back and I promise this fic will be finished !!!

to all my loyal readers out there, I love you lots! I also do read the comments and I’m sorry if I don’t respond, I get frightened real easily 😭 thanks for sticking with me, yall. I really appreciate it!

- lots of love, 

anxietea !