This world's fabric is frayed and torn

Drifter knew a new kind of relief when the hedgehog finally began to slow down, and a whole other kind again when they stopped. His chest was on fire and he felt at risk of tripping over his own feet, even as he simply stood there and gathered himself. Black eyes, heavily lidded, glanced around the area as he barely listened to what the stranger was saying. This time not for lack of trying; his mind was fuzzy from the mounting overexertion…

Reaching up, the Drifter intended to pull his mask free to help his breathing, but instead a bout of coughing hit in that moment. Shoulders bucking forward he clapped his hand over the mask, the attack blurring his consciousness more for just a second. Why. 

Thankfully the fit was over as quickly as it had come - bloodless and likely only a warning from his lungs to slow it down a notch. Finally getting to pull his mask free he gulped in the stale city air, eyes closing before he shook his head briskly, answering the question the hedgehog had asked a minute before. 

After a short moment of stabilization the blue-skin cast a glance over his shoulder, hearing the familiar low whirring of his HUD as the blue bot finally caught up to the duo. The poor thing definitely got left behind in all of that… Though his pity quickly diminished as the AI whipped around to beep frustratedly at its master. A scowl tugged at his lips, showing a hint of sharp, distinctly non-human teeth as he waved his companion’s complaints off. No, he wasn’t running from it specifically. Yes, his heart rate was totally fine.

Taking in another deep breath of air, the Drifter began to walk in the direction they had been heading, his arms only tightening around his makeshift bag. Whether he had simply not heard the hedgehog or really had no intention of giving it up was anyone’s guess.

The moment their coughing met his ears, Shadow frowned. A prickle of worry flooding his chest the longer it went on. What felt like an eternity however, turned out to be less than a minute and soon they were coming down. Breathing ragged and mask yanked free from their face. Presumably to better aid in their quest for oxygen. Watching the whole ordeal, he had to wonder if they were simply physically unfit or unwell. The spark of fear in their eyes when the coughing started hinted at a deeper meaning to the sudden fit. It was familiar.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Shadow tried to focus on something more pleasant. Not everyone was in need of help.

Find out that they were homeless wasn’t the most shocking thing. A lot of mobians were without more than just their homes these days, but he’d been hoping for a more positive response. Whatever this person was, the hedgehog felt far too inclined to aid them with finding a safe place to do whatever it is they were working on. Maybe it was that they looked like a child or his own urge to fix all the issues he’d caused, but before he could stop himself a clawed hand reached out to grab the other’s arm. Effectively stopping them in their tracks.

“Listen, if you...” pausing, ruby eyes glanced away. A beat of hesitation sewing a thin line of tension in his body language. “If you need a place to stay, I can help you. It’s not safe to be outside all the time and I wouldn’t want you bringing Robotnik tech to any of the shelters open to those affected by the hostile take over. They’d throw you out or worse so...”

Shaking his head, he pulled his hand away and began to walk himself. Ears pressed back he glanced up at the blue skinned being. They were a vagrant by look. Wandering around from place to place. Clearly a scrapper who acquired anything they could get their hands on to help them survive. If Shadow found himself identifying with their lack of a home and purpose, he couldn’t be blamed.

Shadow wasn’t oblivious, he knew they were down there. Staring at him as he held the answers to the universe. It had almost become a contest of who would approach the other first. A silent battle of will. Who would break the silence? Snap the tension in the air like a fine thread? What manner of movement or communication would wipe away the feeling of discomfort bubbling in his gut? Well, seeing as the hedgehog actually wanted to enjoy his cup of coffee, he would most definitely be the first to break. 

As expected after only another minute or two of watching the girl in return, he finally strode up to her. Albeit looking a bit annoyed by the whole situation.

Impatient was a word for it, he thought to himself. He would use something more along the line of ‘excited to work’. There was a lot of potential in all this tech - he couldn’t even begin to imagine the limits of what he could make and there he goes.

Well, it’s not as if the Drifter was vocalizing any of that - but as he ran after him it became apparent that he was going to have a hard time keeping up with this small mammal. Somehow he was leaving him in the dust… even if he wasn’t carrying all of this tech, he wasn’t sure if his best sprint could keep up the pace. Arms tightening around the bundle of machinery, the green device beating against his chest lit up, and, gathering a forward spring, the Drifter dashed forwards, the blue and pink energy carrying him far ahead of the hedgehog. 

That should give him a headstart!

Glancing back at the quickly approaching stranger, Drifter kept his running pace, though surprisingly he barely had to wait for them to catch up and pass him again. That… was fine, he supposed. He needed this fast rodent to lead, after all, lest he unwittingly wander into a guarded facility to steal tech again. So he decided to only dash when he lagged behind too far, and continue running a fair pace in between. That was a good plan, and it should keep this trip nice and short, right?

But after a few minutes of this, he was starting to huff and puff against his mask. He usually did just stick to his dash tech exclusively to get around - this was the most he’d physically run in a while, and his chest was starting to tighten from the sudden exercise. At some point he slowed his roll significantly, barely jogging in between dashing to keep up as he attempted to catch his breath. How big was this city, anyway…?

As the duo came close to the safer fringes of the city, Shadow could tell that his travelling partner was struggling. Slowing to a stop, red eyes glanced back where they had come. They were far enough away to take a short stop, but he’d prefer to keep going. At this pace it would only take a few more minutes to reach central park... Ear flicking as this wannabe engineer came to a halt at his side, Shadow held a hand out to them.

“Give me your pack. We can walk until you’re recovered enough to run... It would be safer if you went home with all of this. Do you live around here?”

Most of the inner rings of the city were conquered and unsafe. Much of it was either Robotnik owned or so heavily patrolled by his robots that the housing wasn’t worth the trouble of living in. Most of the residents left resided near central park and tried their best not to earn the ire of the dog as he came and went. Even the safest places had eyes watching them at all times. Shadow could barely believe he had managed to avoid being hunted down and finished off.

If his helmet were off, the Drifter would have offered the hedgehog a dismissive flick of the ear and nothing more. Really, who did they think they were? His boss? He’d tinker in an alleyway all he wanted. Besides, like they said; any closer and he’d get attacked, but by that logic if he stayed put he’d probably be just fine. Jeez…

Wait - The beeps of his HUD alerted him to the hedgehog’s thievery. Ready to pounce for his belongings his attention snapped to the stranger, gloved claws rushing to cover the pile of ransacked tech like a protective lion. But quickly his eyes narrowed, finally starting to fully listen to what the other was saying. Reinforcements…? Okay, that would make him not fine. More bots storming through here would definitely end up stepping all over this ancient tech, and that would be a massive loss. Nevermind whoever this Doctor or his “lapdog” was…

Slipping off the top layer of his cape, he began to pull the bits and bobs of tech into it. There was a lot of pieces, and he’d have to use the fabric like a bag, but it would keep them in his possession if he needed his dash tech. Once all of the tech was in the center he paused, staring at the circuit boards in the hedgehog’s hands in silent deliberation. Should he…? No, if this person was offering to lead him somewhere, he would give them back, right? 

Deciding to give him his full trust the Drifter stood and rushed over to the mouth of the alleyway, makeshift bag in arms, before looking back at the hedgehog expectantly. Well, were they going or what?

Relieved that he’d finally gotten them to move on their own, Shadow stood from his position on the dirty concrete. Not at all missing the way those dark eyes zeroed in on the circuit boards currently within the hedgehog’s possession. It felt like he was dealing with a rabid raccoon trying to protect it’s garbage. It took at least fifty percent of his self control not to roll his eyes at their ridiculous behavior. At least now that they were up they looked just as ready to leave as the hedgehog felt. Good, he could work with that.

“Now you’re the impatient one, hm?” the hedgehog hummed, dashing passed the other before shooting him the same look he’d just been served. Not that it lasted long.

Any more standing around and they’d be running the serious risk of getting caught. Shoving the boards into his quills in only the mythical way a hedgehog can, Shadow took off at what he would call a light run. Although he did keep a close eye on his blue companion; planning to match their max speed so they weren’t left behind. While also ensuring that they were moving as quickly as they could back into the safest parts of the city.

Being that it was now the evening of what had been a wholly uneventful day, Shadow was taken aback when he’d rounded the corner to such a peculiar sight. In fact, while nonthreatening, it more than made up for that in oddity and confusion. The bright red bot looked just as lost as one could expect considering they were without the Doctor. In fact, they were perched quite squarely in the middle of the street like an unawares wild animal. If the roads weren’t torn to bits and civilians far too afraid to leave, they might have actually been in danger. Seeing no immediately obvious reason not to, the hedgehog approached the lost orb, the dusky green pad of his thumb rubbing a comforting circle against the coffee cup in his hands.

“Did the Doctor finally get tired of your sparkling personality?”

Taking a sip from the styrofoam cup currently keeping his hands warm, he decided to take a more objective look at this situation. Orbot and Cubot never went anywhere without Robotnik and the only reason he’d be out and about is if he was abandoned or - more likely - the Doctor was very close. Given this, his best course of action would likely be to just destroy the little nuisance and move on. Although, a part of him was reluctant to smash anything that seemed to have such advanced AI, it felt far too much like taking a life. Something he’d sworn off doing years ago.

Recovery missions of this caliber weren’t usually so taxing, but this time the Ultimate Lifeform could feel weakness settling into his limbs. Flexing his fingers made the muscles in his arms burn akin to the way his lungs already did. There was so little work left to be done and he could already feel that it was going to be pushing his newfound limits. Just a minute. That’s all he’d needed to recover, but he’d not find it until the job was done. No rest for the wicked. Mustering as much energy as he could, Shadow pushed himself to keep fighting alongside the twin tailed fox. As quickly and easily as it looked for the duo to deal with the robots crowding the corridor, he could feel each and every attack send a wave of pain down his spine.

Finally as the last of their foes fell, hole shot through it’s metallic body, he was allowed to breathe. Ears pivoting on his head for the sound of any further movement, bright red eyes landed on the preteen nearby.

“We should head into the control room before reinforcements arrive.” as he spoke, his left hand came up to rest over the scar decorating his opposite shoulder. “The alarm being tripped no doubt has already alerted the Doctor and his lap dog,”

Despite saying this, the elder didn’t move from his spot. His best effort to hide his condition from showing only marginally succeeding. While his breathing wasn’t very audible, the rapid rise and fall of his chest was hard to miss. Atop this he shifted his weight from one leg to the other twice in just the short break they had. Something that seemed more at home with Sonic’s behavior than his darker counterpart.

Nervous was never a word Shadow would have ascribed to himself before his injury. When his confidence ran just as high as his temper. Yet the thought of standing between Knuckles and the jackal now? That made his quills bristle, even if only for the briefest of moments. Yet, despite his own anxiety at the idea, the hedgehog crossed his arms and fixed them with what he hoped was a cool and collected expression.

Drifter could not recall how he had reached this place. All he knew is that it was a proverbial goldmine.

The large factory-like plant was comprised entirely of unfamiliar tech, even down to the walls holding it together. Inside, ancient robots were keeping it running, and seemingly keeping other things out. His HUD had been restless the whole time he was inside, beeping and chirping at every little thing they passed and fought. He would have stayed longer were it not for the overwhelming amount of robotic workers. He had snatched up a few loose things on his way around, at least. 

When he finished his short tour, he went to a nearby alley on the side of the plant, dropping a robotic arm and some other pieces of ancient tech that he had scavenged. Sitting with his back to a wall, he opened up the control panel on his bracer and punched in a couple commands for his HUD. The small boxy robot floated down, scanning each piece of tech with a blue laser before displaying a holographic screen to its owner. The Drifter skimmed through the information. Simple operations boards, pulley and hydraulic mechanisms, memory cards, insulated wiring, the works. It wasn’t advanced tech, no - but he could work with it to make it so.

Punching in another command, he picked up the robotic arm. His companion bot floated down and started to drill away the screws that held its casing together, making quick work of it. Within a couple minutes he was tossing the metal pieces aside. They weren’t of much use. Carefully, he began to inspect the wiring laced through the machine, before even more careful claws began to detach them.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been engrossed in his work before he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced up, catching sight of a hedgehog-esque person standing nearby. He watched them plainly as they talked. Were they telling him to leave? To some sort of city, no less? Offering them only a blink, he returned to his work of disconnecting a hydraulic chamber. He’d leave once he was finished, as he always did.

Shadow let out an exasperated sigh as he was so easily ignored. They couldn’t stay here, especially holding on to what was clearly stolen tech when they were barely a block away from the origin of the robotic guard’s appendage. Moron.

“Get up. Take your project back into the city.”

It felt more like an order than a suggestion now, the hedgehog already growing tired of them. What could possibly be so important that it was worth sitting around in the open like this? At any moment that damn jackal would be coming by to sweep up anyone idiotic enough to still be near the chemical plant. However, as a minute dragged on without so much as a verbal response from the blue creature, he decided that speaking to a brick wall would be more productive.

Time for a new tactic. “Listen. The alarms in the plant you likely got all of that from have been triggered for at least five minutes now. Reinforcements are on their way to flush out whoever smashed up the place. So you’ll have to move several if you want to avoid being found by the Doctor’s lapdog. Get up and I’ll help you carry all this to a safer location than this dirty alleyway.”

“I only use muzzles for extra fun, and I like a bit of biting. But if things get out of hand I can put him on ice until he chills out.”

// buddy we’re all kinda gay its okay, and if you’re ace thats okay too uwu

“First; stop speaking about me as if I can’t hear you. I’m right here.”