~Măśķěđ~

~11~

Sonic hissed in pain as Shadow quickly carried him back to the infirmary. His leg had been wounded, severely.

Both Sonic and Shadow had been called to a nearby tavern. People had supposedly overheard a plot to assassinate the king and his daughters to secure someone else of the throne. Needless to say, storming into the tavern without a plan was a bad idea; Sonic was immediatley attacked by a purple chameleon. By the time Shadow had come in to help, a large green crocodile held him down. Knuckles had luckily discovered the scene and helped the two, but Sonic was severely wounded by the end.

Shadow gently placed Sonic down on the bench, taking off a lot of his armor to examine him for any sever wounds. Sonic wasn't looking at his body, he was more focused on Shadow's face. Whatever state he was in must have been disturbing as Shadow grimaced and shuddered before collecting a rag and a bucket.

Sonic tried to jump up and run, his leg collapsing under him and painfully stopping his escape. He fell with a groan, the impact worsening his pain severely. Shadow just sighed and watched as Sonic stretched out a golden arm and hoisted himself back up onto the bench, hissing as he did so.

"That was stupid, wasn't it?" Shadow simply asked, twisting the now soaked rag to berid of the extra water. Sonic slid to the right, shaking slightly. "I..." He was tounge tied. One wipe from the towel and the gold paste Mephiles had made would be gone. Shadow would realise who he was and could maybe even hand him in to the king. Shadow might even kill him on the spot for lying!

"I can do it myself!" Sonic spluttered, his fake feminine voice almost breaking as the sheer panic settled in. Shadow shook his head "Just because I'm male and you're female doesn't mean I'll try anything weird, Sonia." Shadow reassured. Sonic desperatley shook his head, moving his legs as far away as he could from Shadow.

The ebony hedgehog merely grabbed Sonic's thigh to stop one of his legs from moving. "I'd prefer to do it so I know you won't get an infection." He said plainly, eyes fixated on the wound and be began to dab a towel on the wound. Sonic yelped in both panic and pain as Shadow began to wipe at the wound.

Sonic could just helplessly watch as Shadow continued. The ebony hedgehog's eyes widened seconds later, eyes glued to Sonic's leg. The panic welled up thurther in Sonic's stomach, churning and flipping. He felt as though he was about to throw up due to the pure panic. He really couldn't take it.

After what felt like hours, Shadow's eyes slowly met Sonic's, the shock and confusion very evident on his face. Sonic just stared back in pure terror, not daring to look at the presumably blue fur Shadow had uncovered. The two stayed in silence for quite some time before Shadow spoke up once again.

"I must say, you're an amazing actor." He remarked, sounding hurt in his tone. Sonic's stomach sank, the panic now mizing with both dread and sadness. "What was your plan? Get close to me so you could take out the king?" His tone darkened, now masking the hurt in his tone. Sonic shook his head swiftly, the desperation in his eyes.

Sonic didn't know what to say - or even if he should talk in his normal voice or still pretend he was female. He hadn't expected to be injured - he had always perceived himself as an untouchable hero, the idea of an injury was just a foreign concept to Sonic until that moment in the tavern.

"Then speak!" The ebony hedgehog demanded, his breathing quickening as he clearly became enraged. Sonic opened his mouth to speak, closing it quickly and taking a breath before beginning to finally talk.

"The truth is, I am a male." Sonic let out a shaky sigh, now speaking in his normal voice once again. Tears welled up in his eyes and a lump formed in his throat and he pressed on, looking down at the wound on his leg. "My pelt- people want me dead for it." He chocked on his own sentence as tears threatened to fall. "I'm sorry- I really am!" He began to sob quietly, refusing to look at Shadow. "I had no intention of harming anyone! I just want to live without constantly having to look behind my back!"

Shadow sighed, Sonic feeling his hand on his shoulder. "What's your real name?" Shadow asked. Sonic refused to look up, the bottom of Shadow's muzzle just visible now as he had raised himself slightly. "Sonic." He simply replied, his breaths strained as the panic continued to rip through him. "My sister's name is Sonia." Sonic saw Shadow nodded somewhat. "You could have just seaked asylum here." Shadow whispered, looking around to ensure no one was around. "If news gets out about this, you're in serious trouble." Shadow warned.

Sonic nodded in understanding. He was in serious trouble. He was in serious trouble because of his own actions. He had caused all of this; he had decided to pretend to be someone else, he had decided to cause Silver, Mephiles and now Shadow trouble. He had decided to stay.

"I'll finish with this and help you back to my brother's home, okay?" Shadow asked. Sonic nodded "they both know... about this... by the way." Sonic mentioned, using his hands to indicate to himself and the blue patch on his leg.

________________________________

Shadow had helped Sonic home from the castle soon after. He ensures Sinic had showered the rest of the golden power off however, also making Sonic take out the contacts upon realising they were there too. He had then made Sonic throw on his armor to ensure he wasn't seen. Sonic hobbled back to the farm with difficulty, using Shadow's shoulder as some form of support.

Shadow knocked on the door, Silver opening it almost immediatly. He looked at Sonic and gasped. "What happened?!" He asked Shadow as he let the two in. Shadow sat Sonic on the sofa and allowed him to take off the uncomfortable armour. Silver watched in terror, realising Sonic wasn't in his 'disguise'. Shadow didn't pay it much attention, instead sitting by Sonic once he had finished removing the armour.

"He was attacked while we handled a few traitors." Shadow explained. Silver nodded, still shocked that Shadow had found out. "I take it that's how you-" Silver paused, indicating with his finger to Sonic. Sonic nodded, too tired to speak. "Get Mephiles." Shadow simply stated, standing up and helping Sonic up. "I'll get him to bed and we can all talk about this."

Shadow's voice was stern. It almost sent shivers down Sonic's spine just looking at him. He looked determined, glaring eyes with a stern frown on his muzzle. This entire situation had clearly struck something within Shadow; something Sonic would rather forget - or atleast wish never happened.

Shadow aided Sonic to his room, helping him onto his bed. That's when Sonic finally broke. He knew something about the whole situation was atleast agitating Shadow in some way. It failed to answer Sonic's one question however. "Why are you helping me?" Sonic asked, voice barely louder than a whisper.

Shadow didn't reply, looking over Sonic with his ruby eyes. He then turned toward stye door, walking to it and opening it. "Get some rest, Sonic." He merely stated, walking out and closing the door behind him before Sonic could ask another question - or even wish him a goodnight or a goodbye.