Bound by Chains

Chapter 3

"Fine, we'll do it your way Shadow." He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I could feel the relief flood through me and quickly went to help him pack his things, we had to leave before he had the chance to change his mind.

I watched as he pulled a suitcase out from under his bed, I hadn't seen it when I was cleaning but I could care less. I continued to shovel through the little clothes he had in his closet trying to find clothing for every possible occasion.

"Shadow,"

I turned around and looked inside the now open suitcase, I walked over and peeked inside. Black hoodies, leather jackets, and a pair of sturdy black boots. None of it suited him. It almost looked like it belonged to someone else. I sat down next to him, 'what else is in there?' There's an indent the size and shape of an emerald along with a portable charger, bottles of water, and snacks.

"Could you pass me the emerald?"

I nodded and quickly snapped out of my thoughts and walked over to where he'd left the emerald.

He smiled as I handed it to him and quickly zipped up the suit case. He quickly walked past me and toward the door,

I couldn't help but think back to the letter that creep dropped when he'd disappeared. Sonic was the only one who could understand it and it's been bugging me ever since.

"Hey, Sonic?" When I turned around to face him again he was standing with the suit case in one hand and the other on the door nob ready to leave.

"Shadow?-" he called out to me,

"What was in that letter?"

It was silent, it would so quiet I could practically hear my own heartbeat. His eyes quickly darted away, avoiding mine as if he were searching for an escape-

"Nothing-" He quickly turned around and began to pull at the Nob again,

"Sonic."

"Shadow believe me, they were nothing but the ramblings of a madman." he spoke, his voice strained but remained firm.

I narrowed my eyes, I wasn't convinced. Not even a few hours ago he was completely shaken up by his appearance and even more at the sight of the letter,

"It didn't seem like nothing." I countered as I walked toward him,

He visibly hesitated, "Shadow can we just.. Talk about this later..?" he spoke, his gaze flickering with uncertainty.

As much as I wanted to press further i relented, nothing good would come out of this situation if I forced him to speak.

"Alright.."

I quickly approached him, watching as he opened the door with a smile on his face. The house was dimly lit, a lamp from the living room was turned on and I could easily spot everyone sitting down where we'd been previously planning for Sonic's birthday party and looking over the remnants of the letter.

Almost on cue they all looked up from the paper and stared at the two of us,

Tails seemed to be distraught, Amy enraged, Knuckles confused while Rouge just looked baffled.

Did they figure out was in that letter?

"Sonic-" I turned to look at him as everyone stared at us from below the balcony,

"I know." Sonic murmured, his voice barely audible.

"Sonic what the hell is this!" Amy quickly snatched the letter from Tails' grasp and held it up for him to see.

"I think you know exactly what it is." Sonic responded, "Shadow can we-"

// 3rd person POV //

"Since when have you two become buddy-buddy?" Knuckles stood up from the sofa with his arms crossed,

"I don't need to answer any of your questions, because as it seems your snooping told you all you need to know." Sonic replied, handing Shadow his suit case while instructing him to follow him downstairs.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs they were face to face with Sonic's group of friends, though they all seemed to be more focused on Sonic rather than Shadow, for obvious reasons.

"Tails.." Sonic knelt down to his eye level waiting for the Fox to run up to him wich he did with no hesitation. "I'm sorry you had to figure it out this way lil buddy.." he whispered in his the foxes ear, hugging him tightly in an attempt to soothe the young fox.

"Sonic-" Tails spoke while trying to stifle his cry's but to no avail.

"Shh.." Sonic shushed his younger 'brother' whist continuing to hug him tightly.

Tails couldn't find the words to speak, he understood his brothers situation, or at least had a vague idea of it. The letter gave them idea of what the situation was about but there were so many key details missing from the story. Tails reciprocated his brothers gesture and hugged him back tightly not wanting to let go.

Sonic and Tails have known each other all their lives, A week after escaping the facilities prison and only a few days into his new crime fighting position he found the young Fox, the poor child didn't look any older than 5.

He couldn't help but see himself in him,

Abandoned and alone in a cruel world.

At the time, though a child himself, Sonic took him in, he had no regrets. Never did he once think of what life could have been without Tails, Tails was the best thing to ever happen to him. He gave him hope and something to live for. And for that he was eternally grateful.

Tails has no recollection of his life before Sonic, he knew they weren't blood related and that he had a family before their meeting but he didn't care. he knew Sonic would always be there for him and that was all he ever needed.

"Pack your bags," Sonic finally pulled away from the hug with a small smile on his face, "we're leaving."

Tails nodded his head frantically and ran into his bedroom.

"Leaving?!" Amy yelled,

Knuckles held Amy back knowing full well that she'd destroy Sonic and his entire house with him if he were to let go. "Sonic, where will you go?" Knuckles asked, he had no intention in stopping him, he just needed to know if his two best friends would be alright.

"You know I can't tell you that.." Sonic frowned as he walked up to the echidna who handed the still infuriated pink hedgehog off to Rouge .

"I know.." he replied,

"I'll miss you tons.." Sonic said, pulling his friend into a long hug.

They eventually let go of each other and took a few steps back, "Take care of Egghead for me." Sonic smiled, flashing that same cocky grin he always had. His eyes glistened but he wouldn't dare cry.

-

Eventually Tails returned with the same style suitcase Sonic had,

Tails had always been weary of the ebony hedgehog, but Sonic knew best and he trusted he knew what he was doing. Not even a few days ago Shadow and Sonic were sparing in the forest, both beaten and insulting each other for the thousandth time and yet here they are the closest they've ever been.

-

Hello! I'm aware this chapter is a little shorter than usual but I've been having suffering with writers block for quite a while wich is making this extremely hard to write. I'm going to be focusing on my other works in the meantime, so publishing may take a little while longer than usual!
- Zee