In the infirmary bathroom, Shadow laid Sonic on the tiled shower floor, where he then cut the tightly bound ropes from his arms and tossed them aside repulsively. The blue hedgehog remained limp, like a marionette without strings as his black counterpart positioned him under the showerhead.
Once he removed his own gloves and shoes, he turned on the water and began the arduous task of thoroughly washing the semen and blood off of the hedgehog's frail body. The more he cleaned, the more damage he found hidden under his fur and quills. Scars, half-healed wounds, and fresh injuries all mixed together in a soup of misery. It was heartwrenching to see, much less feel, thus Shadow took extra care in caressing each part as to not cause any further discomfort.
He worked his way from the head down, washing and rinsing steadily, but when he softly passed his hand around the overused anus, the blue blur let out a whimpering moan that led to him slowly regaining consciousness, much to Shadow's surprise. 

"Sonic?...Sonic...Can you hear me?" Shadow questioned repeatedly as he hovered over him, attempting to get a read on his state, "Can you speak?" 

Gradually, with short gasps, Sonic's swollen, black eyelids cracked open, his pupils quivering as he struggled to focus. He was disoriented, caught in a web of confusion coupled with pain that had become the norm for the last half of the year. He couldn't move. His body was too weak and hurt for him to even try, and at this point, he had given that up as well, and when he saw Shadow's face, he whispered softly, "P-please...do what you want....just don't use his face...please...."

Shadow attempted to lift his head as he hovered over him, "It's me, Sonic. I brought you back to Earth. You're safe now."

Sonic clenched as he immediately remembered each and every time Infinite had deceived him by taking on the appearance of the black hedgehog. 
In the beginning, he made him hallucinate Shadow being his savior, the answer to his prayers, the gateway to freedom. 
He would break him out of his cell and the two would race side-by-side, shattering robots and manuevering around each other in a glorious dance of their own. He would run, fight, and laugh in playful harmony with his gloomy counterpart until they made their escape and found themselves miraculously on the grassy plains of Green Hill. How he cherished breathing in that fresh air, his whole existence being enraptured in the serenity of nature, as if what had happened to him never did. 
He would turn to Shadow with overwhelming joy, only to be unexpectedly attacked. 
The greenery would fade back into the grayness of his dark cell that would inevitably be splattered with his blood while he was ruthlessly beaten into a broken heap for indulging in the notion of escaping, regardless of how he cried for mercy. After breaking his legs, Infinite would then turn his attention to more exotic forms of torture, the likes of which made the blue hedgehog scream for a rescue that would never come. Only after having his fun would he shed his guise as the Ultimate Life Form, pleased that he once again drove an extra nail into his captive's psyche.

The roller coaster of giving him false hope only for it to be taken away with excruciating pain to follow was one of his warden's favorite games, and though he used different faces from time to time, Shadow was the favored and it was all the same. He looked real. He sounded real. And needless to say, the pain was beyond real! 
Infinite then began exploring just how far he could take things than just playing dress-up as he began manipulating Sonic's memories, toying with bits and pieces of his past and tainting them with touches of horror. His grip on reality became so warped from the illusions induced by the Phantom Ruby that the scars it left ran deeper than any physical wound, and these scars made the broken hero inexplicably cry out in terror as Shadow's visage was no longer that of a friend, but of something who haunted him before and stood as a prelude of something worse to come. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed with unhindered fear for no reason whatsoever, his pupils shrinking as his heart began racing faster than his legs could possibly carry him in that state. 
The rush of adrenaline gave him the strength to pull away in a tumble. Desperately, he clawed at the shower floor to flee, slipping and stumbling until he was cowering in the corner.

"N-NO!!!---NO MORE----PL-PLEASE!!!!" he begged in a trembling voice.

Shadow was stunned by Sonic's reaction and attempted to reach out to him, "SONIC! IT'S ME!!!"

"N-NO!!!" he cried with his hands over his face as he crouched over, trying to block out everything. 

Knuckles heard the distress and burst through the door, "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Then once more, he was taken by surprise at the sight of his best friend at his worst. 

The water from the shower trickled down the hedgehog's face, mixing with his tears as he sobbed and pleaded.

"BEAT ME--BITE ME--FUCK ME---I DON'T CARE!!! JUST PLEASE, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!! DON'T MAKE ME SEE HIM AGAIN...PLEASE!!!! N-NOT AGAIN!!!...no more...no more..." his voice choked up as he submitted to his inner demons. He had no grasp on reality any longer. What he saw. What he felt. He believed it all to be another trick. Nothing made sense anymore as pain, confinement, and subjugation had become his new home. 

Shadow slowly inched his way over to him, each movement seemingly sparking a shudder from the broken hero. When he finally got within arm's length, he reached out and touched his shoulder, hoping that a gentle gesture would provide some sort of assurance; however, Sonic pulled away, shaking uncontrollably. Knuckles took a few steps closer, wondering what he could do to help, but the black hedgehoge waved his hand to halt his advances, believing crowding him would only escalate his panic. 
Hyperventilating, Sonic began muttering to himself, "It's not real...n-not real...nothing is real....I'm...not r-real..."

It was then that the Ultimate Life Form realized what was happening and had to reevaluate the situation. He knew of the Phantom Ruby's powers, but was not aware of what kind of damage prolonged exposure could inflict on an individual. What Sonic was going through, what he went through, was beyond imagination and had no quick remedy. It would take much longer than expected for him to recover, and right now, he needed something more tangible than words to break through the fog of lies the ruby created.

Slowly, Shadow reached out his hand in front of him, calmly speaking in a comforting voice, "Listen to me, Sonic. I know it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't, but you have to try." 

While still breathing rapidly, he peeked between his fingers and stared blankly at the extended hand, uncertain as to what he should do next. His mind was running a million miles per second, unable to process the concept that he was finally free of captivity. 

On his first day in the Death Egg, he had faith that his friends would find and rescue him at any moment. Even as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, he never doubted they would eventually find him, and that thought alone sustained him. Being imprisoned carried with it far more burdens than just a lack of freedom. The constant torture on his mind and body forced him to become more cooperative in order to lessen his punishments, but deep down, he was still determined to escape. He held onto the belief with all his heart that he was going to be free someday soon.

However, as time passed, the brutality took precedence. The feelings of running as fast as the wind, the comforts of friendship, and the joyful fulfillment of life had all become a fleeting dream the likes of which he was beginning to forget. His multiple 'lessons' every day with Infinite broke him more and more each time, with the emotional turmoil eventually developing into an attachment where desperation willed him to tentatively find some kindness and love from his captor. While the jackal fueled his own stamina with the Phantom Ruby, the hedgehog seldomly had any time to recover. When he was awake, he was subjugated to anguish of his master's choosing; when he was asleep, he was constantly invaded by nightmares. He was trapped in that cell. Trapped in his body. Trapped in his mind. 
He began to close himself off, becoming apathetic to his captor and simply went with whatever he wanted to do to him so long as he didn't have to think about it.
It grew to the point that not only had he lost all hope, he was afraid it.

Now in this moment, he had to confront those fears. 
"Another trick?" he thought to himself, "I've been good, why would he?--Why WOULDN'T he? ....Is this real?---It can't be real---I've lost it all...everyone...no one coming...nothing left....nothing...left to lose." 
As he looked into Shadow's crimson eyes, with his heart pounding heavily in his chest, he gave in and placed his trembling hand on that which was offered.
 
Shadow gently helped him to sit up and pulled him in close, holding him in his arms with reassurance. "Here," he whispered, as he guided his head to rest on his chest while the water from the shower continued to drip upon them like a soothing rain. 
Sonic was exhausted, detached and yet, scared. He couldn't process his emotions anymore, but when his face touched the soft white fur, he detected the scent of lavender. Shadow's scent. Something unique that Infinite never replicated in all the times his senses were distorted.  

"Is this just another dream...." he wondered as he breathed in the aroma, the relaxing fragrance slowly tearing down the walls of deception six months had built.
His memories became a jumbled mess as the tainted ones mixed with those that actually happened until he couldn't decipher which one to trust. Still, there was one truth that had become indisputably evident, and that sudden realization made his muscles stiffen with both excitement and elation. 
This was the Shadow he knew, and somehow, he was finally, truly home.

"...Sh-Shadow?" he whimpered as he pressed his face into the black hedgehog's chest. 

"It's okay, Sonic....I'm here." he replied while resting his chin on his head as he rocked him gently. His tender yet firm embrace gave unparalleled security, the warmth resonating from his wet body paired with the rhythm of his heartbreat and calmness of his breath were indescribeably soothing. For the first time in what felt like eternity, Sonic felt happy. He was safe. He was home. He closed his eyes, shedding tears of relief that were long overdo while whimpering in a whisper over and over, "....Shadow...you're Shadow...".


Shadow's mind trailed back to that day as he lay in bed with Sonic resting comfortably in his arms. As relieved as he was to have him back, seeing him in such a state back then broke his heart. Time passed, the recovery took quite some time, but Sonic pulled through like he always does and the war was won in the end. Afterwards, they seemingly went their separate ways with seldom communication. Not to say Shadow didn't think of his blue counterpart, but as one whom is protective of his own privacy, he was never one to pry into the business of others and never bothered to reach out. In news reports and in the chatter among the masses, he often heard how the famous Blue Blur bested Eggman yet again or saved the day from another disaster or attended some type of exciting event, so in all perspectives, he seemed fine. Back to his normal self. 

The black hedgehog began mentally kicking himself for not seeing the hidden signs sooner: how in all those images in news and magazines, he refrained from physical contact with anyone, even his friends; how he never looked someone in the eye during interviews; how much more extensive the damage to Eggman's robots were after his battles. Those subtle out-of-character acts were evidence that he was still struggling, but because of his stubborness, he'd never admit to any of it. It was only by chance that Shadow encountered him in that field he; himself, personally frequented. Had they not ran into each other--or if he had just dismissed even seeing him.....Shadow's thoughts began to spiral until he ultimately blamed himself for Sonic's suffering. 

"I can't let him face this alone. Not anymore." He thought to himself while gently brushing his fingers over the peach cheek, surprised at feeling a slight dampness. It had been hours, and yet, his fur was still wet from earlier? No. These weren't old tears. As the black hedgehog studied the sleeping face, he saw new tears quietly creep from the crease of those tired, closed eyes and just as silently stream down his face. "What was he dreaming?" Shadow wondered, "Or rather, what nightmare was he reliving?" 

Whatever was causing his emotions to leak out wasn't affecting the rest of his body, which laid perfectly still, if not a bit rigid. Rather than trying to wake him, Shadow leaned in closer and began to massage his back softly while humming a melody he often heard Maria hum. Although he never knew the title of the song or even if it had any words, he could never forget the tune and how comforting it sounded to him. He hoped, that where Sonic was in his mind right now, that song would reach him and bring him some peace. 

"I'm here, Sonic," he whispered in-between bars, "I won't let you lose yourself again."