Scream For Me

-3-

"This is the team," Sonic said, leading (Y/n) and Whisper out into another room. "Amy Rose, you know Tails and Tangle, that's Espio, Charmy, and Vector, Silver, Rouge, and that shady guy over there is Shadow the Hedgehog." He pointed them out as he said their names, squinting at the last one. (Y/n) followed his gaze to a black and red hedgehog, arms crossed and staring piercingly at her. She averted her eyes quickly, ears twitching. 

"Make yourself at home," Sonic said, turning to face her and opening his arms. "Everyone is super welcoming, I promise!" He leaned over to her ear. "Just try and steer clear of Shadow over there. He's a little picky on who he trusts." (Y/n) nodded and Sonic darted off. 

"Here," Whisper murmured, leading the (a/t) over to Tangle and the Chaotix. "Friends." They sat down and the wisps spread out, two settling with Whisper while the other three moved to Tangle, Charmy, and (Y/n). Tangle and the Chaotix engaged in a hearted conversation while (Y/n) tried her hardest to keep Starline out of her thoughts. 

She sucked in a sharp breath as she felt a now familiar sensation in her chest. She bolted upright and ran as fast as she could out of the warehouse, looking for anything to put her head into. 

"(Y/n)?" Tails called, however the ones that came out to meet her were Whisper and Shadow.  The (a/t) had the bad feeling that after the dark hedgehog wouldn't like her after what he saw. 

She opened her mouth and clamped her hands over it, though that did little to stifle the deafening screech that followed. Both animals yelled in pain and clamped their hands over their ears, dropping to the ground and rolling around as if that would help. 

(Y/n) saw, out of the corner of her eye, Shadow push himself up and stagger towards her, pulling a fist back. She made no move to stop him as he punched her square in the jaw and knocked her out. 

~

"Will she be okay?" 

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Whisper. She just got knocked out, and I think she could have stopped him if she wanted to." (Y/n) blinked open her eyes and saw Sonic's green eyes staring anxiously down at her. He pulled up with a grin and she turned her head to look at him. Next to him was Whisper, who offered a small smile when the (a/t) looked at her. 

"That was a doozy!" Sonic said. "You sure seem to be full of surprises!" 

(Y/n) looked down and shrugged, then looked up at him with pleading eyes, mouthing the word 'sorry'. 

"Don't be!" the blue blur exclaimed. "Nothing we can't handle! Clearly, Eggface and his sidekick traumatized you. Nothing you could do about it! Don't blame yourself! Whisper here made a full recovery and she doesn't hate you!" Whisper nodded in agreement. 

(Y/n) glanced behind them, not noticing anyone else. "And Shadow," Sonic added quickly. "Heavy sleeper, you know?" She looked down, hugging herself. "So he got a little close to you. What does it matter? He's the Ultimate Lifeform. Nothing could keep him down for long." 

She shrugged again, not meeting his eyes. 

"Just relax, okay?" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Maybe talk to him when he wakes up. He won't hate you, either." After a moment of silence, Sonic jerked his head at the exit and he and Whisper retreated. 

~

(Y/n) lifted herself off the bed and rubbed her head, wincing as her fingers brushed the spot Shadow had hit her. She then crept out into the now dark room, hearing soft snores from those who hadn't gone home. 

She tip toed down the hall to the room where she assumed Shadow was, opening it to find her assumption was correct. He was sitting up, staring at his hands with dimly glowing red eyes. She knocked on the door and he looked up at her with scrutinizing eyes. She shrunk under his gaze. 

"Who are you?" he asked quietly after a moment. She looked up, then inched into the room to where a clipboard and pencil were left. She scribbled down her name and showed it to him. His eyes flicked momentarily down to it, then back up to hers. She turned the clipboard back to her and wrote a simple phrase: 

"Do you hate me?" 

"No," Shadow said firmly, looking away. "You were a tortured experiment of Dr. Eggman and this is the result. My hatred will always be directed at the doctor, not you." She hugged the clipboard to her, filling her thoughts with (F/n). She dropped the clipboard suddenly and backed up, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of Shadow.  In front of anyone. She never cried, and she was determined to keep it that way. 

"Are you alright?" Shadow asked, looking back at her as she blinked the tears away. She twisted her muzzle into a grimace and nodded, heading for the door. "Where are you going?" 

She shrugged and slipped out, closing the door and rushing back to her quarters. She held back the tears, refusing to cry. She wouldn't! She had had enough weakness in the last few days to last her a lifetime and she was done. Crying would make her scream. 

She wanted to be silent.