Mirror Image

XIII - Into the Wilderness

He felt the biting daggers of wind cutting through his skin, his fur soft and damp against the cold hard ground. In his mouth bitter crystals melted into cool water, and he recognised the taste. The taste of snow; clean pure snow, not the pollution-stained slush from the city in winter.

Where was he?

Lifting his head he saw nothing but a whirlwind of white. Trembling from the freezing temperature he staggered to his feet. All around him dark shadows rose into the sky, fading in the swirling fog.

Taking a few steps forward, one of the shadows came into sharp relief. He could see it now, they were pine trees, all cracked bark and falling needles. He gently ran his hand along the rough surface, his thoughts lost in the howling wind.

Faintly, through the cry of the blizzard, he thought he heard someone moaning, or crying. Looking past the tree he saw another shadow, a hunched thing lying in the snow. That's when he remembered.

~o~

"I sentence you to death!"

"Whoa, what?" shouted Sonic, "you can't do that! We just saved the world, again. Where's our respect?"

The GUN leader atop the armoured truck took no notice of him, which annoyed Sonic more than the death threat. Nobody ignored him and got away with it.

"Agent Rouge," he barked through his megaphone, "Get out of the line of fire."

"Wait!" cried Rouge, waving her arms, her voice heavy with regret, "at least let me say goodbye first." The GUN leader briefly conferred with his colleagues, their mumbling captured by the megaphone.

"Fine," he grumbled, "but make it quick."

Rouge turned to Shadow and threw her arms around him. The black hedgehog tensed up, cautiously placing his arms on her, clearly confused. When she released her grip his expression became solemn, and he was lost in thought. Rouge turned to Sonic and swept him into a similar hug.

"Don't worry, Blue," she whispered into his ear, "I'll make sure Tails is looked after. I'll even kiss him goodnight for you." Sonic smiled, even though duplicity was Rouge's forte, when she gave her word in earnest, she would die before she went back on it. As she walked away he saw her turn back to look at them, her eyes barely holding back the tears.

"Ready, men," said the GUN leader. The sound of guns rattling set Sonic's teeth on edge.

"Sonic," said Shadow, eerily calm in the face of death, "take my hand."

Sonic obliged, slipping his hand inside of Shadow's firm grip. A slight tingle shot through his hand, and he felt Shadow's calm demeanour taking over him.

"Aim..."

"Never thought I'd die holding hands with you, Shads," said Sonic, smirking. Shadow smirked back, but said nothing. He closed his eyes, standing perfectly still, and Sonic closed his as well, serenely awaiting the end.

"Fire!"

A deafening roar howled through his ears, but it wasn't the sound of gunfire. Sonic opened his eyes to see red energy swirling around him, and panic began to set in. The sensation of being dragged through a straw overtook him, becoming more intense and nauseating with every second. This didn't feel like normal Chaos Control, it felt violent, tormented, like the Chaos energy itself was in agony. As the sensation of being stretched tore at him, he began to scream.

And so did Shadow.

~o~

"Shadow? Shadow, are you alright? What happened back there?"