HI !!!! no pressure on these but prompt numbers from the prompt post ouuuu ohhhhhh . 15, 45 and 49 for sonic with anybody inthink itd be fun so cool. no pressure at all my frand
15. "you're quite a troublemaker."
45. "you're soaking wet."
49. "i didn't expect you to be anything other than difficult."
idk if you meant all of them together of as separate little bit but im up for a writing Task rn so gonna try all of em and if it's not good enough I'll split it up ig lol
EDIT - put it on AO3 bc it's good enough actually and also easier reading if you'd like!
"Yes, well-" Shadow grunted as he punched a badnik so hard it went flying over a small building nearby before glancing back at Sonic as if they were having a conversation over coffee. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected you to be anything other than difficult about this."
Sonic gave a mock gasp, pausing to glance away from the lasers he was dodging. "What? Me being difficult? You're the one who asked for my help, if I remember right, which I do because it was maybe ten minutes ago!"
Ignoring the argument, Shadow abruptly teleported behind the bigger robot currently blasting lasers at the general vicinity, including the blue hedgehog darting around it, and jammed a chaos spear into where the jugular would be on a flesh and blood being.
He scowled at Sonic as the badnik crumpled to the ground to reveal his expression to his companion.
"Just pay attention. I don't want to have to deal with you longer because you got yourself injured while your friends aren't around to deal with it."
Sonic rolled his eyes, spindashing into a convenient eggpawn who tried to reach for the laser gun on the ground before continuing the same complaining tone. "Relax, dude, they'll be here soon. Plus we're doin' fine, and getting some bonding time!"
An annoying grin was flicked Shadow's way as Sonic whizzed past him to kick off another robot, landing on his feet with a flourish that Shadow did not react to. Sonic sighed in exaggeration and wandered over to the dark hedgehog who was instead staring down the road where something was approaching.
"Really? You can't even appreciate good form when it's me?" Sonic said in complaint, glancing without interest at the approaching machine. "Not even going to comment on that rhyme? Didn't even plan it, y'know!"
"You don't plan anything," Shadow answered almost automatically, not taking his eyes off the tank-like thing that slowly came to a stop a polite distance away from the hedgehogs.
Opening his mouth to retort that he did, in fact, occasionally use plans, Sonic was interrupted before he could start by the top of the robot-like tank thing opened and a head popped out.
Sonic squinted. He couldn't make out any features that identified the humanoid as someone they knew. But apparently uncaring of this fact, the person started talking, raising their voice to be heard across the empty stretch of road between the two parties.
"Hello! There! I see you're both quite the troublemakers. How did you like my--"
"Nah, that's just me. Shadow doesn't like fun," Sonic called back conversationally. Shadow shot him a incredulous glare that was likely for interrupting the person currently poised to attack them, though it was possible he was bothered by being named as not fun.
The person blinked and scowled. "Well, I was going to make a speech, but you obviously don't care," they declared, and dropped back down, their head disappearing as the top of the robot tank whatever it was closed with a dull thud of metal.
"Wow. Touchy," Sonic mumbled.
Almost in indignation, the robot thing seemed to stretch a little to resemble more of a bulldozer, and before anyone could ask who the person was or what was their issue with copying large vehicles, the thing shot straight for the hedgehogs at a surprisingly fast pace.
Shadow's shout wasn't entirely necessary, as Sonic could see the approaching issue just as well, but the shove to one side was helpful enough that the thing skidded to a turn where the hedgehogs had been standing and without further preamble, started to advance on them towards the side of the street lined with buildings.
Both tried to scramble up, but despite being the fastest things living, a thud on the ground that seem to come from the robot aswell caused it to crack slightly, forcing Sonic off balance and Shadow to activate his air shoes to stay upright.
The thing took this opportunity to ram into them and sent both animals tumbling into the building behind them, which promptly started collapsing as the bulldozer robot thing smacked into it trying to reach the prey.
Sonic quickly rolled over and started crawling further into the building to get away from the sharp-looking front of the metal, but yelped when a chunk of something hit his back, causing him to flatten against the ground instead.
There were some more sounds of debris and the like toppling as the robot crashed into the structure again. Sonic tried to roll himself into a ball but the pain in his back stopped it being comfortable enough. Instead, he tried to roll under a nearby pillar that might be ideal for stopping himself being completely squished by something big falling.
"Stay still!" Was barked at him at the same time someone grabbed his wrist and dragged him across the rough floor into some sort of alcove. Shadow hissed as something fell on one shoulder, but focused on getting him and Sonic nestled enough that little else could target them.
The building continued raining parts of floor and wall equally as there was another thud of assumingly the person hitting it for a third time, then a somewhat surprising silence.
Unfortunately, shoving themselves into a small area had caused it to be sealed by falling chunks, leaving both hedgehogs panting in almost pitch darkness as the silence rang out seemingly louder than the attack had been.
Shadow waited for the sound of someone coming to find them and perhaps try to finish the job, but nothing happened for minutes. Absently, he put a hand out towards where Sonic's slowing breathing was coming from now the immediate danger was gone, trying to gain some sort of direction in the dark.
He made a slight face when the contact just made his glove damp, pulling back in disgruntlement. "How did you manage to get soaking wet in here." he grumbled as he instead reached forward to see if anything could be shifted for some light at least.
Sonic made a confused noise. "I didn't-- wait, are you saying there's water in here? What if we're stuck!"
His voice rose an octave, making Shadow wince and throw a glare back despite it not being able to be seen.
"Not that I can feel, but you've managed to find some, apparently, somehow," he replied, unwilling to banter with his current companion given their situation. He turned back to what felt like the front of them with a threat. "Just don't get my fur wet too."
There was a pause where Shadow tried to find something light enough to grip, letting Sonic's confused silence give him the ability to focus. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as Sonic began to talk again.
"I don't... remember any water," he spoke slowly, as if he couldn't recall what had literally just happened. Shadow ignored it and shoved at something that didn't budge.
The Ultimate Lifeform let out a huff that was not quite becoming of his status, trying to shove another part of whatever was in front of them and at least feeling it give slightly.
"Shadow..." The annoying voice continued from behind him, though it was even more unsure and oddly quiet. "Are we... stuck?"
"No," Shadow grunted, pushing at the point that felt weakest. "Not if you stop talking and let me get us out," he added pointedly.
It took a few more tries, but eventually some of the structure blocking them in tumbled just enough to let in a bit of light, though it was distant. Shadow sighed in begrudging acceptance that they were going to have to work with it, and glanced back at his unusually silent companion. He could just about make out the blue hedgehog's silhouette as if it was a black and white painting where Sonic was sitting on the floor.
Shadow extended a hand towards approximately Sonic's side to grab an arm and haul him up so they could get out of here, impatient. He'd forgotten the reason he'd not help the hedgehog in the first place as he quickly drew his paw back when it encountered wet fur again and huffed.
"Get yourself up. We need to get out of here and I don't want soaked gloves while we do it," Shadow declared, already turning to regard how big the space he'd made was.
Sonic made another confused sound, this one lower. "I'm... I haven't been in any water," he insisted weakly, drawing in a breath that ended in a cough.
"I don't care. Let's get going." And without looking around again, Shadow started to make his way through the small gap, satisfied enough to hear the sounds of minor struggle following.
After a short tunnel, it came out into a larger part of the building that had collapsed less. A half-blocked window offered a little more light at least, which made it easier to look around for an exit. However, Shadow quickly realised that if they wanted to get out without taking down more of the structure, it was likely they'd have to wait for more people to carefully get through.
He exhaled sharply and glanced to where Sonic slowly pulled himself out the passage they'd come from. He was angled away from Shadow's gaze, shuffling into a leaning sort of curled up pose against a pillar of some kind that had remained stationary. Shadow raised an eyebrow briefly at the lack of complaint, but decided not to question the helpful silence.
Instead, he paced the area and checked his communicator, waiting for Rouge to reply to his usual back-up request. He looked around as time ticked by, frowning when he realised that there really wasn't any liquid anywhere. Granted, this was not the whole place, but based on the surroundings, it seemed to be the area they'd first been bowled into, or nearby it. They hadn't been shoved that far into the building, after all.
But everything was bone dry. Which was a little strange, given he'd definitely felt Sonic's fur was soaking wet shortly after they'd managed to get into the other space, so he must have gone through some sort of puddle... Even though it hadn't rained recently - in fact, it had been almost unbearably hot, which was most of the reason Shadow had begrudgingly accepted the offer of help when Sonic had called from atop a house or something as Shadow began kicking gathering robots on the deserted street.
They were lucky there was no one about in the area. It had already been bordered off by GUN due to a previous attack, which was why Shadow was there, and assumingly why Sonic had delightedly ran over. But none of that explained the strange ability to be damp when shoved into a sun-bleached dry building.
Shadow stopped pacing suddenly. He'd been focused on visible surroundings so much that scent hadn't registered. But now he acknowledged it, under the smell of debris and dust was something more iron, or metallic. But it wasn't the bent metal supports.
"Sonic. Where are you injured?" Doing almost a complete 180, Shadow was crouched in front of his rival instantly, who squinted up at him from the protective position.
"Huh? Y'u said it was jus' water tho..." Suddenly the slowness and now noticeable slurring made sense. Shadow cursed, ignoring Sonic's surprised blink, and reached out when a visual once-over didn't show anything in the scrunched position.
Ignoring the sounds of pain, Shadow forced Sonic's legs away from his body, and stopped short at, sure enough, the amount of wetness that soaked his fur - and was stained red in the dim light.
Shadow resisted cursing again, since it wouldn't get them anyway. He snapped his fingers in front of Sonic's hazy eyes with one hand, and pressed the other against where most of the blood was, pushing harder against the automatic cringe in response.
"Did you call your friends when I told you to?" Shadow asked sharply, trying to catch his companion's eye. "Sonic. Is help still on the way?"
It was what he had said cheerfully when Shadow had stated in a dry tone that he should have come with others, assuring the dark hedgehog with a tap of his communicator that his brother and the others that hung around him would be on their way soon enough.
Whether that was still true, and how to express that it was now imperative they arrive promptly, was up in the air.
Shadow growled and snapped his fingers in front of Sonic's face again. "Can you call your brother or anyone?" He demanded, gaze flicking down only briefly. He had to focus too, here.
Slowly, Sonic raised his arm with the communicator under his glove, squinting at it in a dazed way. "Umm... Ta'ls us'ally calls me..." he mumbled in some confusion. "I dunno, where 'ven are we?"
Trying not to focus on that apparent fact that Sonic no longer knew where they were, Shadow was about to ask how to make a call on Sonic's communicator, or simply call someone else on his own GUN-related one, when the former went off right in front of them.
Sonic only looked at it with wide eyes as if he hadn't been expecting it to make any sound, so Shadow tapped at its flashing screen impatiently.
Surprisingly, the fox's voice came through as Sonic had previously stated. "Hello? Sonic, we're at the street you said but there's nothing here... and your vitals alarm is on amber, are you okay? Where are you?"
The worried voice filtered through more or less clearly, and Shadow leaned in slightly to talk at the device, wanting to reply just as clearly so there was no confusion.
"Miles, it's Shadow. Sonic's with me, but he's injured. A building collapsed on us. Do you see it?" Before there could be a reply, Shadow added, more urgently, "How many people did you bring?"
"There's... Oh! It's down the street!" There was the sound of Tails clearly relaying the direction to others, then he returned to the call, sounding like he was moving fast now. "We're on the way. I'm with Amy and a couple of the restoration's people. Oh- Rouge is here too."
Shadow resisted rolling his eyes. Of course Rouge would arrive at the same time as other back-up. But he supposed he hadn't specified it was an emergency, because it hadn't been at the time.
"Tell her it's urgent now," he said into Sonic's communicator, keeping pressure on the side without looking at it too much. "Medical assistance might be required."
A repeat of the message was relayed in the background, and Shadow could make out Rouge's slightly exasperated voice, though he couldn't tell exactly what she was saying. Sonic made a noise of protest as Shadow made sure he was leaning against the pillar well enough that pressure on his side was actually pressing against something to help.
It apparently was picked up by the communicator, because Tails' voice was instantly back and sounding worried for his brother. "Sonic? Is that you? Just hang on, we'll get to you in a minute, okay. I'm coming."
There were few words traded as the sounds of people talking came muffled from the outside of the building, both hedgehogs reacting with flicked ears as they heard the sounds of shifting debris. It took a few minutes, Shadow snapping at his companion every time Sonic looked drowsy, but there was some movement at one side of the area they were in, and a walkable passage revealed itself along with a yellow fox.
"Sonic!" Tails immediately rushed to kneel by his brother, frowning in concern at where Shadow was covering red-stained fur before looking at Sonic's face, which lit up slightly with a smile despite the clear tired look.
"Hi Ta'ils...!" Sonic squinted as if to keep the fox in view as Tails gripped his chin gently and tilted his head with a frown.
"Did you hit your head? You're slurring your words," Tails said tightly, angling his brother's face carefully to check for damage. Sonic made a noncommittal noise and waved a hand sloppily, almost hitting Shadow still in front of him.
"Shadow's not worried 'bout it," he said confidently, which had the dark hedgehog frowning too.
"Perhaps because I was focused on the huge amount of blood on your side," Shadow scowled, tampering down his concern to keep it from his usual voice.
"Huh?" Sonic managed to move his head out of his brother's grip to squint down at himself, apparently only just realising that's where the aching pressure was coming from. "Oh, 'hat's jus' a scratch," he waved again nonchalantly.
Pursing his lips, Shadow hesitated as he looked down. Truthfully, he had gone into autopilot at the sight of so blood, but though Sonic could be speaking from shock due to the injury being severe, Shadow carefully removed his hand and parted the stiff fur to try and find the actual wound.
Tails watched anxiously as Sonic flinched and muttered when a somewhat sizeable gash was revealed against his side. It was rather large, but crucially not very deep in fact, and had likely bled so much from the movement and initial rough laceration.
Allowing himself a slow exhale, Shadow backed up a bit to give the dazed hedgehog a proper once-over. The bleeding did seemed to have stopped anyway, the shallow wound surrounded by stiff fur that had been clamped down onto it by Shadow's heavy paw. Which would sting to clean out properly, but was much better than what he had been trying not to think about.
In the meantime, Tails ignored further protest as he managed to find a bump behind one blue ear and a nasty bruise on Sonic's back. He searched the red side aswell, and couldn't find another injury there or anywhere else other than scratches.
Relieved, he sat back slightly and tapped his brother's cheek to keep him aware and make it easier to get out of there before he likely passed out from the head injury. As Shadow moved to stand up and the chatter of other people entered through the makeshift passage to the outside, Tails gave the dark hedgehog a quick if slight strained smile as thanks.
"I think Rouge stayed outside, if you want to talk to her," Tails added before turning back to his brother and starting what sounded like both a scolding and advice to get up carefully with help so they could limp their way out and find some medical attention as a threat if Sonic kept complaining about his brother insisting to patch him up.
Shadow ducked past the pink hedgehog as she entered and gasped at the situation before both the fox and hedgehog hastily started talking to reassure her rather too high worried tone. Nodding briefly at the two resistance members that Shadow didn't recognise, he emerged with some scowling into the meagre daylight, which still felt like a lot after being in a half-collapsed building.
Before Rouge could speak from her smug look, he interrupted, "No, I don't know who it was, and the blood isn't mine." Her gaze instantly flicked down to his hands and then gave him a visible once-over, narrowing her eyes slightly. Shadow stood still in a rarely seen patience until she seemed satisfied and stepped towards him with a usual smile.
"Well, tell me about this fun little thing, then," she said, and gleam of something in one eye that suggested she would be interested in meeting the one that had attacked the hedgehogs. Shadow resisted rolling his eyes, but complied, relaying a brief report of what had happened as out of the corner of his eye Tails helped the other hedgehog out of the miserable building and Sonic's whining about the insistence of rest was a surprisingly reassuring background noise. For now, anyway. Fortunately, Shadow was above hitting rivals when injured even to shut them up. Mostly.
