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Today was a day like any other. Sonic was called on a mission. Today's mission was to investigate an anomaly on the outskirts of Möbius. He took his time getting there, thinking it'd just be a fluke. He stopped by a chilli dog stand and ordered two—one on the way there and one for when he arrived on the scene. As he ran, he ate the chilli dog. He liked the way the cool air hit his face whilst he ran. He made a stop to his favourite loop-de-loop and decided to drop by Tails' place. He knocked until Tails answered, already eating his second chilli dog, too hungry to wait until he got to what he was supposed to be doing that day. "Sonic? What are you doing here?" The yellow two-tailed fox asked as his face lit up realizing the person relentlessly knocking on his door was no other than his best buddy. "Just checkin' in on my favourite fox! How are you doing buddy?" He asked, finishing his chilli dog and walking into the house uninvited. "Oh, hey Ames." The blue hedgehog spoke as he realized the pink hedgehog was there as well. She quickly got up and tackled Sonic, hugging him tightly and lovingly. Amy always had a crush on Sonic for reasons he never came to understand. "Sonic! I'm so happy you dropped by to see me!" She exclaimed happily, not letting him go. "Amy! Get off of me, will ya?!" He whined as he tried to shake the pink hedgehog off of his body. Eventually, Amy let go and Tails sighed. "I'm glad you dropped by, Sonic. I wanted to show you an upgrade I gave the Tornado! She's looking better than ever!" Tails announced, starting to make his way to his garage where he made all sorts of gadgets.
Sonic followed Tails, looking around as the yellow fox turned on the lights. "See here, I gave her new turbo jets so now she can go twice as fast! She's powerful enough to handle the energy of two chaos emeralds!" Tails explained, his two tails moving in unison, showing his happiness as he shared this information with Sonic. Sonic gave him a thumbs up and a smile, "Wow, that's amazing buddy!" Sonic complimented as he checked the Tornado out. "Anyways, I gotta blast. See ya later, Tails!" He waved as he dashed out of the garage and back on track. He began to finally make his way to his mission.
Of course, his mind seemed to always be going a mile a minute. He inevitably got distracted again as he saw Knuckles and Rouge chatting. He quickly ran over to say hi. "Hey Knux, Rouge." He smiled as he greeted them both. "Hey, Sonic." Knuckles greeted with his hands balled into fists as usual. "Hi, Blue!" Rouge smiled as she also greeted Sonic. "What are you two up to?" The hedgehog questioned with curiosity. They both had the same answer. They went out for ice cream. "Where's the ice cream?" Sonic puzzled. "In our stomachs, dumbass." Knuckles answered Sonic's question. Yeah, that makes sense. "Wait, did you get ice cream at that one ice cream truck.. uh.. Mob-ice?" Sonic asked the two. It was kind of a spinoff of Möbius and ice cream... and he was never able to catch that damn truck. Not that he wasn't fast enough, he was the fastest thing alive! The truck... never seemed to be there when he was around. Oh well. "Yeah, it went by about 15 minutes ago," Rouge answered. "Ah."
Sonic face-palmed. "Ah! I'm supposed to be on a mission right now!" He complained. Rouge sighed at him. "Go, Blue! Shadow has a mission today too. At least he knows better than to get distracted." Rouge teased, making Sonic sigh. He thought for a moment. Shadow had a mission without Rouge? That didn't happen too often. "Well, I gotta run. I'll catch you guys later!" He waved to them and dashed out of there. The bat was right, he supposed. He gets distracted easily, but he can't help it.
He ran extra fast to get where he was supposed to be—the outskirts of Möbius. Once he arrived he started to look around. It was so... sullen. It kind of reminded him of the movie The Lorax in a way. It wasn't that bad, but still.
*Sonic's POV*
As I walked around the desolate area, I took note of all the dead plants and gloomy sky... Then I ran into no other than The Ultimate LAME form. Shadow had a serious expression, as usual. It's like his normal resting face at this point. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen him not angry, or some other negative emotion. "Faker..." Shadow spoke up. He was about to open his mouth but I decided to say something too. "Hey Shads. Fancy seeing you here! Funny how we have to do this mission together. Isn't it usually you and Rouge?" I questioned. His eyes narrowed at my interruption, crossing his arms. "Yes, but she wasn't trusted enough to not steal anything valuable we might come across." My ears twitched and my head cocked to the side slightly. "Valuable? In this dump?" Chuckling lightly, I looked around. Nothing here seemed valuable. Shadow nodded, beginning to walk around again. He wasn't much for conversation and he always avoided eye contact with people.
As I was looking around I spotted something shiny. "Oooh, maybe there is something valuable here..." I commented to myself as I ran to whatever was shining. As I crouched down to see what it was, Shadow spoke up from right behind me. "Don't touch it." I fell backwards into him as my quills raised slightly. "You scared me!!" I complained as I put a hand on my chest to check my heartbeat subconsciously. He quickly pushed me off of his body, brushing dirt off and pulling out a quill that came out to protect me. "That is in no way my fault, blue hedgehog."
I stood up and looked at the shiny object that was lodged into the ground. Shadow was looking too. "Do you know what it is?" I asked, crouching down in front of it now. It looked like a gem of some kind. "Maybe it's a chaos emerald." I joked, noting the lack of response from Shadow. As we continued to look at the buried object, both trying to figure out exactly what it was without touching it—we got ambushed! I flew forward into a cliffside, pain immediately flaring up as my body met the wall of dirt and rock. "Agh..!" I groaned in pain. It was a terrible throbbing pain but nothing I couldn't handle. I saw Shadow running in tight circles to cause a speed tornado around the thing that attacked us. It didn't look like a person nor did it look like one of Egghead's bots. What was that thing? I had no time to think about it though, I had to help Shadow. I quickly dashed off toward the thing and spin-dashed into it.
This kept going on for a while. No matter what we did it just didn't seem to call it quits. I was growing tired and I could see that Shadow was too based on his movements. We were at this for so long that the sun was beginning to set. Both of us were battered and bruised but we couldn't give up. I groaned as I tried to attack even faster, growing more impatient. Why wouldn't it just give up already?! As the sun got lower I began to get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I grew dizzier and eventually tripped up and lost my vision. Everything was blurry. I looked around and noticed Shadow was on the ground too. There's no way we lost... right?
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*No One's POV*
Sonic woke up in a cold sweat, uncomfortable. "What the-" He looked around. He was in his room. How did he get back here? He looked at the phone. He didn't normally use it, Amy forced him to have one so she could talk to him all the time though. He always ignored her messages for the most part, claiming that he was too occupied to check the phone despite never really doing much. There was an important notification at the top alerting him of his mission. Didn't he do that mission yesterday? Maybe they're just sending him back because they failed to subdue the threat or something. He lazily got back up and stretched his legs. As soon as he was done stretching his legs, he sprinted out of his home. He decided to make similar stops as the other day, running to go get chilli dogs.
As he got to the stall, he ordered two chilli dogs. He ate them both quickly and decided to stop by Tails' house again. Maybe he's the one who brought Sonic home yesterday after he and Shadow blacked out. He ran up to Tails' house and knocked until he answered. "Sonic? What are you doing here?" The yellow two-tailed fox asked as his face lit up realizing the person relentlessly knocking on his door was no other than his best buddy. Sonic got an odd feeling. It kind of felt like déjà vu. "Hey buddy, I had something to ask you." He spoke, walking inside of Tails' house. As he walked in he noticed Amy in the same spot she was the other day. What a weird coincidence.
She quickly got up and tackled Sonic, hugging him tightly and lovingly. "Sonic! I'm so happy you dropped by to see me!" She exclaimed happily, not letting him go. ...What? He felt a little confused. Isn't that what she said yesterday? He ignored the odd feeling in his mind and responded to Amy's borderline assault. "Ames, get off of me!" Eventually, Amy let go and Tails sighed. "I'm glad you dropped by, Sonic. I wanted to show you an upgrade I gave the Tornado! She's looking better than ever!" Tails announced, starting to make his way to his garage. Sonic stood there for a moment, increasingly getting more uneasy. He started to follow Tails.
The yellow fox turned on the lights. "See here, I gave her new turbo jets so now she can go twice as fast! She's powerful enough to handle the energy of two chaos emeralds!" Tails explained, his two tails moving in unison, showing his happiness as he shared this information with Sonic. Sonic's ears twitched, feeling uncomfortable. He gave a half-hearted smile and a thumbs up. "That's great, Tails. I should get going though, See ya!" Sonic spoke, wanting to get out of there.
Why were they acting the same way they did yesterday? Was this a prank? It wasn't very funny.
As he was running, he saw Knuckles and Rouge again. He ran up to them, hoping they would know what was going on. "Knuckles! Rouge!" Sonic shouted as he approached. "Hey, Sonic." Knuckles greeted with his hands balled into fists as usual. "Hi, Blue!" Rouge smiled as she also greeted Sonic. "Hey guys, I went to Tails' house earlier and he and Amy were acting kind of... strange..." Neither of them answered Sonic. They started blabbing about ice cream. Sonic's ears twitched again. "Guys, seriously. This isn't funny." He still didn't get a response as he heard Knuckles say "In our stomachs, dumbass." What the hell was he talking about?! It's like he was repeating dialogue in a game, saying the same things he did the last time Sonic saw him. Sonic sighed loudly and dashed off, not wanting to listen to them. This joke wasn't funny, but if they came out and said it was a joke he'd—of course, play it off like he knew the whole time.
Sonic ran quickly to get to the outskirts of Möbius. Once he arrived he began to look around. Everything looked the same way it did yesterday as if yesterday didn't happen. Sonic felt uneasy until he heard Shadow with the same serious expression he had the other day. "Faker..." Shadow spoke up. Sonic sighed loudly. "Ugh... not you too. Why does it feel like yesterday is repeating!?" He whined. Shadow didn't speak for a while. He never continued talking, which made Sonic feel a little better since he wasn't repeating dialogue.
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*Sonic's POV*
Days passed, or more like... the same day passed multiple times. Over and over again. The same things would happen. The only thing that wasn't the same was... Shadow. We both finally realized that we were reliving the same day over and over again, seeing as each time we woke up everything seemed the same as the day previous. We both kept trying to defeat the thing that we'd been fighting for... the same day on end with no luck. Every time the sun set, I got sick and dizzy, then blacked out. It was tiring. No matter how fast I am or how strong Shadow gets, no matter how differently we fight, we always fail. Shadow seemed to be losing hope of breaking the cycle. He didn't say anything about it, but I could tell by how he's been acting recently. It was all on me to get everything back to normal... no biggie.
*No One's POV*
Sonic, the optimist he was, refused to give in to the idea that the cycle couldn't be broken. He had tried everything possible—running faster, attempting to destroy the thing, trying to manipulate time.. which obviously, he couldn't... but nothing worked. He always kept up the no problem facade, but it was clear that this whole repeating cycle situation was wearing on him. Sonic never stopped trying to defeat the thing. Shadow observed from afar today, knowing that nothing could be done. Shadow was used to facing what seemed to be impossible odds, but this time loop was different. "Come on!" he heard the blue hedgehog shout. Usually, Shadow would be helping but as the repetition of fighting this thing dragged on, the more impatient he felt. He isn't the kind of person to sit there idly, and the cycle of the same day was slowly chipping away at his resolve. The more he tried to analyze the situation, the more he felt like he was failing. The isolation he felt intensified as the days dragged on.
He decided to finally join Sonic in fighting the thing. "Hey Shads! Took you long enough to join me!" Sonic laughed. How could he laugh in this situation? It was overwhelming. "Shut it, Faker," Shadow replied, running around the thing to cause a speed tornado while Sonic spin-dashed it repeatedly. He was feeling annoyed. Who wouldn't be, being stuck in a time loop with their rival? He didn't particularly hate Sonic, he was just annoyed with his presence. He always got distracted so easily and talked too much. He was always hyperactive and way too happy. They both kept fighting until the sun went down, where they inevitably blacked out.
As they woke up, they went straight to the outskirts of Möbius again, as they had been doing. They always got there around the same time. The thing appeared again and Sonic, of course—went at it at top speed.
*Sonic's POV*
Was any of this worth it? I mean, we just keep fighting this thing and it never seems to tire out, almost as if it had an infinite energy supply. I kept mindlessly spin dashing the thing, not truly paying attention anymore. I shouldn't think this way, I mean, Shadow is still fighting even though he seems worn out. I shouldn't be giving up. Through every reset, nothing changes. Sometimes it felt like the day went on longer than usual but that's probably just my imagination. No matter what though, I shouldn't give up. If not for myself, then for my friends.
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I don't know how long it's been since we've been stuck in this loop. I stopped counting a while ago. I got up from bed and sighed deeply, wondering if I should even show up. Ultimately I decided to since I wouldn't want Shadow thinking he's better than me because he's most definitely not. Besides, I'm the hero of Möbius. What kind of hero would I be if I showed weakness? I started to walk out of my house, begrudgingly breaking out into a run to get there. Despite my desperation to break out of this time loop, I knew the outcome was going to be the same either way. I just didn't want to face the music.
I stretched my arms as I ran. I closed my eyes to focus on the air hitting my face, but then I tripped on a rock and fell, hurting my ankle. I winced as I felt the pain shoot up from my ankle throughout my whole body as I tried to stand. Sprained. I sucked it up and stood anyway, limping as I tried to run. This would mess up my ankle even more but what choice did I have? I got to the outskirts late as I saw Shadow fighting the thing. His head jerked toward my direction and he rolled his eyes. I fell for a moment then pushed myself back up. It wasn't often that I hurt my legs. "Focus, Faker!" I heard the ebony hedgehog shout at me. I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and ignored the pain, spin-dashing toward the thing as I would normally do. Not that it ever did anything.
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*Shadow's POV*
I have arrived at the scene. Usually, that damned blue hedgehog would be here at the same time as me but he was nowhere to be seen. I stopped and looked around for him for a moment. Did I get here early or something? No, that wouldn't make any sense.
I was snapped out of my thoughts as I got attacked by that thing. The thing that I thought was keeping us trapped in this stupid ass loop. I attacked back as I was thinking. Why did it seem like it never lost any energy? It has to have a limit, but it always seemed to be recharging. Constant recharge meant no opening. I got a little too lost in thought, snapping out of it as I felt the contact of the thing, tossing me to the side and knocking the wind out of me. I coughed and wiped my mouth. Why in the name of Gaia was this thing so damned strong!? I got back up and began attacking again. My chaos emerald seemed to do nothing here, for whatever reason. I heard a wince coming from close by and jerked my head to look at what the source was. I saw Sonic standing there. His weight was shifting on one leg, making him look stupid. I rolled my eyes. I kept attacking the thing and quickly realized that the blue hedgehog wasn't doing anything. "Focus, Faker!" I shouted to him. If I knew anything about Sonic, it's that he loved fighting and loved adventure, so why is he so out of it? This is like a dream come true for him. Constantly fighting. Then again, it's so repetitive that maybe he had grown sick of it. Either way, there's no use to this. There's no use to him. He's being useless, not very surprising to me. I looked at him again and noticed his movements were slower. Guess I'm not the only one growing tired of this mess.
There's no point in doing this anymore. Winning is just not possible here.
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*No One's POV*
Shadow and Sonic woke up as usual. Neither of them wanted to get up and fight anymore, but it was the only thing they could do. Shadow was growing impatient as the day passed. His stress was at an all-time high whilst Sonic was trying to keep positive, even if he knew that this was impossible. Shadow got up and walked to the outskirts, fighting was useless.
For some reason, when Sonic got up he immediately fell back down. "What the... hell?" He winced as he felt pain from his ankle shoot through his entire being. "Why does it still hurt..." He whined as he got up, limping. He couldn't go to Tails for a fix-up or anything either considering that the loop was still evident. Shadow definitely wouldn't help either. Sonic sighed and walked to the outskirts. Every step he took felt like hell. The pain felt like needles jabbing repeatedly into his leg, making his vision go in and out as he walked. He didn't understand why the pain was so bad but it was coursing through his body for every step he took. He moaned in pain, stopping momentarily to breathe. "Ah... damn." He complained. "The one thing I wanted to reset ended up staying." He scoffed as he continued dragging himself to the outskirts of Möbius.
*Shadow's POV*
I got to the outskirts with no sign of the faker again. Weird. By the time I arrived, the thing was already there waiting for us. I scoffed and started to endlessly attack. The usual. As I attacked, I slipped up and it grabbed me, throwing me harshly into the ground. I lost consciousness for a moment. When I woke up, I was in Faker's arms. He was sloppily running away from the thing. He didn't seem to be doing too well. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I looked at Sonic's face. He looked so serious and pained. I wasn't used to the sight and looked away. I felt myself slipping away again. Everything was fading. My vision went blurry then blacked out. I couldn't feel Sonic's arms holding me anymore. The smell of semi-fresh air was gone. Finally, I couldn't hear the sound of the blue hedgehog's panting anymore. The sound of his fast-paced steps, the way he sounded like he was in overwhelming pain. It was gone. Everything was gone.
*No One's POV*
Sonic was holding Shadow as he ran away from the enemy. He felt the ebony hedgehog's body go limp, which only made him try running faster. He looked down at Shadow with a frown His ears lowered, worried for the unconscious hedgehog. How did they even get in this situation together?
Eventually, Sonic evaded the thing and was sitting against a cliffside under an overhang. He gently laid Shadow down on the grass and put his head against his chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. He heard the softest beating and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He sat up next to Shadow's body and looked around. He had to figure out how to defeat that thing, no matter what it took.
Eventually, Shadow woke up. He felt a throbbing pain in his head as he wearily sat up. Sonic immediately turned to face Shadow and smiled, his ears perking up and his tail moving at a fast pace. "You're okay! Thank Gaia!!" He exclaimed and hugged Shadow. The ebony hedgehog's response to this was to push the blue one away. "Don't touch me, you fool." Shadow spat. Sonic just kept smiling and chuckled a little. "I'm just happy you didn't die." He commented. Shadow rolled his eyes and looked Sonic up and down, clearly judging him. "What's wrong with your leg?" Shadow asked, his ears twitching. "Oh, it's nothing. Just slipped the other day. Dunno why it wasn't reversed though.." Sonic winced as he answered. Shadow tilted his head in curiosity. Everything was reset by the time the sun went down, so why didn't the injury go away?
"By the way, I can't die. Not as easily as you, anyway." Shadow spoke up. Sonic looked at him and tilted his head. "What do you mean you can't die?" The azure hedgehog questioned. "I am the ultimate life form. I was created to be durable and stronger." Shadow claimed. Sonic just listened and nodded in acknowledgement. "Your worrying is useless." He added. Sonic huffed and rolled his eyes. "I was not worried! I didn't want your death on my head." Sonic informed. Shadow didn't respond.
"Anyways, we need to find a way to defeat this thing! I think if we push hard enough, we can finally be done with this and-" Shadow interrupted Sonic's rambling. "It's hopeless. There's no point in continuing to fight." Sonic's ears twitched and he frowned at Shadow's pessimism. "What?" The azure hedgehog whispered. "We've tried everything, Sonic! There's nothing we can do without understanding the core of the problem, and every damned time I try analyzing what could be wrong, I just feel increasingly more frustrated! There's nothing that can be done!" Shadow shouted. Sonic's ears flattened against his head. "Shadow, you're giving up! We can't just throw in the towel. If we do, there's no chance of us ever getting out of here!" Sonic retaliated. "And if we keep pushing against something that won't change, we'll only be destroying ourselves in the process. I'm not going to waste my time, fighting in an endless loop." Shadow countered.
Their argument grew more and more heated as the minutes passed. "You're way too naive, Sonic!" Shadow accused. "Oh yeah? At least I don't push everyone who cares about me away when they need you the most!" Sonic complained. Shadow's frustration boiled over as he yelled back at Sonic. "You would never understand! When I got close to her, she died! She was my everything! My entire world... why would I get close to anyone when I know they're going to die someday!?" Sonic paused and didn't say anything in return. His ears went up and his eyes widened slightly. He felt a pang of concern, but deep down he understood.
Shadow got up and quickly ran off. Sonic was left there with his injured leg and his thoughts. No wonder why Shadow was always so closed off. He lost someone so near and dear to his heart. Sonic looked toward the sky and noticed the sun going down. There were likely just three hours left until everything would reset. Sonic scooted himself backwards to lean his back against the dirt and rock wall.
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*Sonic's POV*
I sat there in pain and silence. There was nothing to say. Shadow wasn't even there anymore but I felt myself yearning to talk to him. Was it a mistake to always bother Shadow? Being his friend always sounded like it was so far away but right now, I felt like it was closer than ever, weirdly enough. Did Shadow lose all hope in trying to break the loop? Have I been pushing him to do this? I looked down at my hands and sighed, placing my head into them. "I'm sorry, Shadow. I just want to get home. To our real home. Not some... stupid loop." I spoke aloud.
*Shadow's POV*
I ran away from Sonic. I didn't know where I was going, I just couldn't be near him. Not now. He could never understand how I feel. I wanted to leave this place, but without more information, there was nothing that could be done. I found myself back at my home. I sighed and sat down on the porch. "Maria... what should I do?" I spoke to myself, closing my eyes.
Suddenly, my eyes shot open. I was in a black abyss. In front of me, I saw the familiar blonde hair of my best friend. The girl I always thought to be a sister. My eyes widened and my ears flattened as I approached her figure. "Maria..?" I spoke quietly.
*No One's POV*
The figure turned around and it was her! "Shadow..." She spoke gently. "Are you okay?" She asked, checking in on her furry friend. Shadow had tears in his eyes but he didn't dare let them fall. "Maria I... no. I can't do this anymore. This loop is driving me insane... I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" He whined. Maria just smiled at him. It looked all too familiar, but he couldn't place why. He figured it was probably just because he remembered how dearly she would smile at him back on the ARK. "You have to keep trying." She answered. "But I keep failing! No matter what I do, everything just keeps repeating over and over again." He cried out, the tears finally escaping. Once it started he couldn't stop. He keeled over and cried into Maria's lap. She stroked his quills and fur gently. "I know it's stressful, but you will understand eventually. For now, you have to go. You have to go see him." Shadow lifted his head, looking at her through tears. He didn't understand who she was talking about at first. He sniffled and nodded. "I love you, Shadow. Never forget that." As soon as those words left her mouth, Shadow's eyes shot open. He was in his bed.
Sonic woke up. His mind immediately went back to the argument they had earlier on. He sat up and frowned, thinking deeply. He reflected on Shadow's words to him and realised he didn't know Shadow as well as he thought he did. Who did he lose that meant so much to him that he needed to push everyone away? Despite them being rivals, Sonic always thought of Shadow as his opposite. He operated differently than Sonic, which was fine but he never knew why. Not that it was his business but he felt the urge to figure it out. Maybe he could help Shadow if he just opened up to him. The sapphire hedgehog got up, his leg still hurting. He made his way to the same spot they always met up. He saw Shadow sitting at a distance from the thing, holding something. Sonic ran up to Shadow and tapped him. "Hey Shads! Is that- a chaos emerald?" Sonic looked with curiosity. Shadow pushed him away and put the chaos emerald away. "None of your damn business. I just dug up that stupid jewel from the ground."
They were silent for a few moments. Sonic finally felt like he understood. Shadow didn't keep up this stoic demeanour because it was who he was. His emotional walls were built for a reason. "Who is she?" Sonic asked quietly. Shadow visibly hesitates and stares at the ground. He sighed before speaking up. "She... she was my best friend. My everything." Sonic listened intently as Shadow began to open up. The azure hedgehog hasn't heard Shadow so... sad. Such vulnerability that the ebony hedgehog wouldn't dare let anyone else hear, except possibly Rouge. Then again, Rouge is a gossip girl by heart. Sonic was too, but he wasn't as bad and wouldn't spill everyone's secrets as soon as they reached his ears.
Shadow poured his heart out about the professor, the ARK.. and Maria. Shadow tried to hold back his anger and tears as he spoke about Maria. "All she ever wanted was for people to be happy, to come down and see Earth. Those monsters... G.U.N... they killed her. She was like a sister to me. I was made to help her... and I couldn't. I'm a weapon! I can't help but wonder... If I wasn't created.. would she..." Shadow mumbled the last bit but Sonic picked up on what Shadow was trying to say. "Don't say that, Shadow. It isn't your fault. Also, for the record, you aren't a weapon. You were made to heal, to help Maria... it isn't your fault they use you as a weapon. Not at all."
Shadow broke down. He fell to his knees and began to cry, his hands gripping the grass on the ground and ripping it out. He stared at the ground with wide eyes, silently sobbing. Sonic kneeled next to him and just put a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him. The ebony hedgehog didn't attempt to push Sonic away this time. He couldn't muster to even get up and try. He just cried.
An hour passed and Shadow was calmer. They sat together near a cliffside wall, away from the thing that was likely the source of the time-loop. Shadow began to talk again. "I feel so isolated... ever since she died. I don't know what to do... I feel like it's all my fault. I feel responsible for her death. I feel so much pain and I don't know how to deal with it... I isolate myself from others because I don't..." He paused. "Ever since... I have been trying to find a purpose in life. Is this all I'll ever be? What is my purpose?" Sonic listened to every word. He felt a fair share of struggles too. "Isolation... yeah I know something about that. I surround myself with friends but I still feel kind of lonely sometimes. Being a hero... everyone expects the best of you. You can't show weakness... and you always have to come out on top. It's hard sometimes. I know I have friends to help me but sometimes it feels like everything just falls onto me." Sonic explained. They both started talking about their feelings, which is something they both sort of struggled with. Shadow, is expected to be rude and have no other emotion except for rage, and then Sonic.. being expected to be fun and cocky at a constant. Neither of them seemed to have room to talk about how they felt. Truly felt. So they just spilt everything to each other as they talked.
As they conversed with each other, they both felt as if their dynamic changed a little. Their connection was growing to something deeper than a simple rivalry. It felt odd to them both. Neither of them felt this way before, but they didn't mind.
From that moment on, their strategy for getting out of this time loop changed. They began to work together in a more coordinated and deliberate manner instead of mindlessly attacking and hoping it'd get them somewhere. They combined their strengths in ways they've never done before. Sonic leaned on Shadow's tactical expertise while Shadow began to see the value in Sonic's optimism and impulsive behaviour.
Fighting this thing just became so much easier for the both of them but they still hadn't figured out a solution. Neither of them lost hope though, as they realized they now had each other voluntarily instead of being forced to work together. It felt nice on both ends. Shadow felt himself tolerating Sonic's hyperactive behaviour more, and Sonic started to understand Shadow more. In a perfect world, they would be going day-to-day and talking to each other like normal Möbians, fighting evil together. The rivalry would always remain, however, as that was what brought them together in the first place. Despite this though, they weren't in a perfect world. The only thing that wouldn't change after this is the fact that they were rivals.
They both came to the realisation that their emotional growth was a part of the solution. They started to experiment with new ways to approach the enemy, using knowledge from past resets unlike before. They begin to observe small changes in the loop that give them new insights into how the rift is being affected by the Chaos Emerald energy. Instead of relying on brute force, they work smarter.
From here on, things began looking brighter for the two of them. Their hope was stronger than ever.
As Sonic and Shadow continued to work together, they discovered that the cause of the time loop wasn't random. It's being caused by an unstable Chaos Emerald, which is acting as a conduit for a dark, malevolent force—the same force that's been manipulating time itself. The only way to escape the loop is to destroy the corrupted emerald—but doing so could have dangerous consequences. If they destroy it, they might destabilize the timeline itself.
As more time passed, Shadow and Sonic continued working in unison to defeat this anomaly. They were sitting on the idea of destroying the emerald due to the catastrophic events it could cause. They discovered that since the Emerald is unstable, it emits a stronger energy force, explaining why their enemy seemed to have endless power. "Hey, Shadow..." Sonic spoke up in a whisper. Shadow looked toward the azure hedgehog with a stern expression. "No. We already agreed that we wouldn't go that far." He placed a finger on Sonic's chest aggressively. Sonic's ears twitched as he spoke up. "I know but... I think we could do it... we could combine our abilities to destroy the emerald and-" Shadow interrupted Sonic. "I said no!" They stopped speaking to each other. Even though Shadow said no, he was considering what Sonic said. Maybe he could develop a plan that could work... but it was risky.
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*Shadow's POV*
I was reluctant to give in to the plan I created in my head at first. If I got hurt because of it, I'd be fine because I'm The Ultimate Life Form. I don't know if Sonic could handle it, he could die. I snapped out of it and sighed. Sonic would be fine, he always was. Why would this be any different? "Sonic." He looked at me with an inquisitive expression. I couldn't help but notice his eyes were an identical colour to the green chaos emerald. I shook my head and spoke again. "Let's do it. I made up a plan in my head that might work, but it's dangerous. You up for it?" I asked. He just gave me a cocky grin. "You know it, Shads!"
I informed the hedgehog of my plans. Sonic has to channel his speed to create a vortex while I tap into my Chaos powers to stabilize the energies. By doing this we risk the chaos emerald exploding into a bunch of little shards and one of us could get injured. This better be worth it.
"We'll do it tomorrow. Meet here as soon as you wake up, got it, Faker?" I looked at the blue one. He nodded with an iconic thumbs-up. "Got it!" We continued to just fight this thing until the sun went down. If all goes well, tomorrow will be the last of today.
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*No One's POV*
Sonic woke up feeling hopeful and excited. Today, they were going to finally stop the loop. He couldn't wait to see his friends again. He missed Tails and Amy. Hell, he even missed Knuckles.
He quickly got up from his bed and ran to the area where he and Shadow agreed to meet up, ignoring the small pain in his leg he still had. He was feeling more energized than he had for this entire loop. He got there earlier than expected, so when he saw Shadow wasn't there, he just ran around for a bit, tapping his foot, checking his non-existent watch, and stretching. He honestly felt bored while he waited. Eventually, Shadow showed up and nodded a greeting at Sonic. "Yo!" Sonic greeted and ran up to the ebony hedgehog. "Something weird happened." Shadow spoke. Sonic tilted his head, his ears twitching slightly. "What?" Shadow crossed his arms and answered Sonic. "Well, this morning when I woke up, the emerald wasn't there anymore. I'm unsure where it could've gone and why, but it's nowhere to be seen." Sonic's mouth fell open. "Are you kidding me?! That was our only hope at getting this ridiculous time loop process thing over with!" He cried out.
They both looked toward the thing and saw it shining in the ground again. The emerald was buried again, but how? Sonic quickly rushed over and attempted to dig it out of the ground, but it was stuck. The enemy grabbed Sonic and squeezed tightly. Sonic let out a guttural groan. It felt like his bones were going to snap like small twigs. He was thrown to the ground. While Sonic was being attacked, Shadow successfully got the emerald out of the ground. He used his air shoes to skate over to Sonic and picked him up, causing Sonic to wince from the pain. Sonic didn't care about just his leg anymore; it was his whole body that was hurting now.
"Sonic, are you good?" Shadow asked while quickly skating... er, running away. "I'm fine. We have to go through with the plan." Sonic stated. Shadow looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you crazy?! You might die!" He shouted. Sonic shook his head. "We have to! If we don't do it, things might never get back to normal." Shadow sighed. He knew the blue hedgehog was right. "Fine, let's do it." Shadow set Sonic abnormally gently onto the ground, then placed the emerald down. Sonic got up shakily and gave the ebony hedgehog a confident thumbs-up. The sapphire hedgehog began running around the unstable emerald at an incredible pace, channelling his speed to create a vortex as they had planned.
When it was Shadow's cue to use his chaos powers, he hesitated. He found himself worrying about the blue hedgehog. He thought about Maria and how he wasn't able to save her. What if this goes wrong and he isn't able to save Sonic? The other hedgehog noticed Shadow's hesitation and reassured him. "You're not alone this time. We've got this." He smiled at Shadow.
*Shadow's POV*
As I was beginning to doubt this plan, Sonic looked at me while still running. "You're not alone this time. We've got this." That smile. Now I know why it was so familiar to me. Maria's smile... they both smiled similarly. I would do anything to protect that smile.
*No One's POV*
Shadow snapped out of it and used his chaos powers to stabilize the energies of the unstable emerald. They put all of their speed and power into this plan.
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In a burst of combined energy, they manage to neutralize the chaos energy, breaking the cycle for good. The world stabilizes, and the rift collapses. The enemy was done for as it fell to the ground, breaking.
It was back to normal at last.
In the days following the mission, both Sonic and Shadow try to act like things are normal. But the truth is, they both feel different. Sonic finds himself thinking about Shadow more often than he should. Not just in the usual "rival" sense, but something else. He catches himself looking for Shadow's reactions during their interactions, studying how Shadow's gaze softens when he's not guarding his emotions so carefully.
Meanwhile, Shadow's thoughts are equally troubled. He's spent so long hiding behind his anger, keeping everyone at arm's length. But after the time loop and their growing trust, he starts to wonder if there could be more than just this rivalry. There's something about Sonic's spirit, his unrelenting optimism, that pulls at something deep within him. Sonic's not like anyone else he's ever met—he challenges him in ways he can't ignore, and yet, when Sonic smiles at him, even in battle, Shadow finds it harder to resist the pull toward him. If the ebony hedgehog was being honest, it angered him in a way that he's never felt before. He didn't exactly feel hatred or anger. It was a mix of annoyance and... maybe even care.
One day, Shadow woke up to rapid knocking on his front door. He got up begrudgingly, rubbing the tired out of his eyes. He was hoping to get a little more sleep today, as exhaustion followed immediately after they broke the time loop. He opened the door and was bewildered. Sonic quickly hid something behind his back as he was panting softly, as if he were pacing for a while. Unusual for him to be out of breath.
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*Sonic's POV*
I was pacing around a lot today with my heart in my throat. I didn't know what it was I should be doing. A couple of days ago, I finally opened up to Amy of all people about how I've been feeling because, well... who else would know more about feelings than Ames?
As soon as I told her, she had a somber look on her face. I knew it pained her to say the next words. "Sounds like someone has a crush..!" I tilted my head slightly. "A... crush?" I asked. She nodded. She swayed ever so slightly back and forth on her feet as she thought about her next words. "Yeah. It sounds like you really care deeply for him and... from the looks of it, it's definitely romantic." The looks of it? What is that supposed to mean? "Don't worry, Sonic, I can help you out!" She smiled, even though it seemed a bit forced. I felt a little bad, to be honest. I know Amy has had a thing for me since... well, forever.
That brings us to now. I was pacing around, wondering what I should say. Every time I think about Shadow, I get all flushed and feel kind of negative. I know he probably doesn't reciprocate my feelings, but keeping it inside honestly feels worse than if I were to be rejected. My mind was going extremely fast. The worst that could be said was no right? But this is Shadow I'm talking about, he's broody, closed off, mean to people when they pry into his personal life and feelings, violent... handsome... I shook my head. My mind was going way too fast. I started pacing more, trying to get these thoughts out of my head. A civilian walked past me, and I got a small whiff of lavender. That's right... Shadow's scent. I whipped my head, and it was just a regular Möbian. I sighed slightly aloud. Get yourself together, Sonic.
I spotted a floral shop nearby. Maybe I could pick up some lavender and give it to Shadow. That's when I found myself in the shop purchasing a full bouquet of lavender with a card attached that read To, Shadow. Love, Sonic.
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*Shadow's POV*
A dream. I was aware I was dreaming. I was running around Station Square with someone. Who was it? They're a blur. Nobody can run as fast as I can... except... him? I whipped my head around and halted. Nobody. I sighed and brushed my hands against my quills, fixing them. "Hey, Shads." My eyes widened, and I turned. It was him. The annoying, energetic hedgehog himself. Why was I dreaming of such a thing? This had to have been a nightmare.
He approached me with that smile of his, those eyes as pristine as the green Chaos Emerald staring at me. I felt my face heat up. I assume a cloud stopped covering the sun, and it was probably beating down more heavily onto me. "How's your day been?" He asked, throwing an arm around my shoulders. I brushed him off of me and scowled. "Fine. What do you want?" My indifference seemed to make him smile wider. It was such a warm feeling.
Later on in the dream, we were sitting together atop the loop-de-loop. It was a comfortable silence. I couldn't help but think... what if there was more to this? I quickly shook the thought out of my head. I turned to look at Sonic. He was staring at me with a gentle smile. "What the hell are you staring at, Faker?" I accused. As the words left my mouth, I felt slightly worse. My immediate response to people being nice to me is violence. I'm not used to it anymore. He just chuckled. "You seem calmer than usual. You're usually more tense than this." He looked up to the sky as he spoke. He was right. I'm usually much more reserved. There's just... something about him. Ever since that stupid time loop. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I feel so weak, but... maybe he felt the same? I don't even recognise these feelings. I've never felt anything like it.
I noticed he went quiet. Usually, he'd keep yapping his head off, but today, he seemed... quieter. I looked toward him again. He was staring below us, dangling his feet and kicking slightly. His overactive mind never let him sit still. "Hey, Shads, can I be serious for a second?" He asked with a sheepish smile, still looking below. "If you must," I answered. It'd be nice for him to be serious for a change. "Ever since the time loop thingy... I haven't been able to stop thinking about you." Really? I feel the same... "I don't know... every time I think of you, I get all flustered and shy. I can't help but think... what if we were more?" More? "What I'm trying to say here is uh... I'm... in love with you, Shadow." He finished. My eyes widened slightly. I felt my face heating up again. He was looking at me now with a gentle smile, his eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, and his ears twitched slightly. Is this the moment I've been waiting for? "I... feel similar," I spoke quietly. "What?" He responded with a slight chuckle. "Shut up, hedgehog. I know you heard what I said." I started fixing up my quills and brushing through them to soothe my thoughts. He nodded. "You're right.. I did." His smile got wider as he leaned closer. "Do you... want to be..."
Knocking. I woke up from my dream. I growled at the god-awful timing and got up, rubbing my eyes groggily. Where exactly was that dream going...? It's odd. Of course, this is happening after that stupid time loop. Everything's been jumbled up and disorganised, and only that stupid faker and I remember it. He reached for the doorknob and turned it, surprised to see who was standing at his doorstep. It was Sonic. He seemed a bit breathless, his hands behind his back—quills in more disarray than usual.
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*No One's POV*
They both stared at each other for a few moments. As soon as one decided to speak up, the other did too. "No, no, you go ahead," the blue one spoke. "My mistake, you may speak first," the ebony one responded. They both felt their faces get redder. "Well... Shadow... I came here to tell you something important." Shadow tilted his head slightly, his hands going toward his own quills to brush at them. A motion that brought him comfort. It was a subconscious movement that Sonic was all too familiar with. "Okay."
Sonic sighed deeply, clearly full of anxiousness. He tapped his foot for a few moments and shifted his body weight, then revealed what he had behind his back. A bouquet of lavender. Shadow's mind immediately went back to the dream. He got a bit nervous. "What is this?" He asked, unintentionally sounding cold. His arms crossed. "Well... Just... I have something on my chest that I really needed to get out in the open. Even if you... uh.. like.. I dunno! Well, erm..." The blue one rambled. Shadow sighed softly and spoke up. "Calm down. It's annoying how you're just... stalling. Get to the point." Maybe he was a bit too blunt because Sonic's body language became less... open. "I... like.. hm. Listen, Shads, you're... a really sweet guy... under that uh, broody... emo exterior." Wow, how sweet. Shadow thought sarcastically. "And you're honestly really cool too... those stupid air shoes, the way you run makes it look easy to use, and it always looks like you're skating around..." Shadow tilted his head as he listened to Sonic ramble on. "You're really... cute too. I love the way you're always crossing your arms like you're trying to comfort yourself, and I love the way you adjust and brush your quills without your knowledge when you're anxious or trying to soothe yourself, whatever... I really, really like you, Shadow."
Shadow crossed his arms tighter together and shifted his weight. "That much is clear, you're always so annoying about how much you want to be friends or whatever. Despite my always telling you to go away." Sonic sighed as he heard the words leave Shadow's mouth. "Well.. I guess I'll just leave these to you then. Uh... yeah. I knew you wouldn't like me back or anything... I don't think you have romantic feelings at all, so... well, I just wanted to get it out there... see ya, Shads!" He smiled sheepishly despite being upset. He shoved the bouquet of lavender into Shadow's arms and ran off. "Romantic?" Shadow questioned himself, looking down at the lavender bouquet. He read the card. Love, Sonic. Sonic loved him, and he practically flat-out said no. Yikes.
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*Shadow's POV*
I couldn't just leave things like that. I had to tell him. Sonic and I could... be something. At the very least, friends. I needed to get over myself and stop pushing him away. I grew annoyingly fond of Sonic after that stupid time loop. Part of me was glad the time loop happened. It was the push I needed.
I swiftly skated around to find Sonic after laying the bouquet of lavender into a nice vase. I needed to talk to him. I found myself at the loop-de-loop. My mind was brought back to that dream I had again, but was quickly interrupted. "Yo." The blue blur waved half-heartedly from atop the loop-de-loop. I quickly ran and jumped up there to join him. "Greetings." It was barely a suitable hello for the things I wanted to say. Sonic stared at me, those beautiful, emerald green eyes on me. We didn't speak; we didn't have to. I was already aware of his feelings and... I'm sure he was aware of mine now. Why else would I chase him down like a madman?
Sonic leaned over slightly, resting his head against my shoulder. I tensed a bit, but ultimately allowed the physical affection coming from the sapphire hedgehog. "I suppose... I reciprocate your romantic feelings." I spoke, bringing my free arm up to brush at my quills nervously. Sonic just had a soft smile on his face. "I'm surprised. I was sure you hated me for the longest time. Then the time-loop happened. Ever since then... things have changed for the better, don't you think?" I smiled too for once. "We'll see." I leaned my head against his own.
We both now had something to look forward to. A new bond after all that timeloop trouble.