Blinding hues of purple, fushia, and black blasted in all directions as energy spikes radiated from Infinite's chest while Sonic pulled with all his might. The loving position rapidly escalated into a violent wrestling match as the broken hero kept his legs firmly wrapped around his master, whom was brutally shoving and punching all parts of his body, ""GET OFF ME, YOU RAT!!!!""

"SONIC!!! STOP!!! HE'LL KILL YOU!!!" Shadow screamed as he struggled in his binds, frantically trying to break free. 

But his words fell on deaf ears as the broken hero refused to yield. Infinite's mask flew off in the frenzy as he then began sinking his teeth into Sonic's left shoulder, whipping his head violently from side-to-side while his jagged fangs ripped the muscle tissue apart. 

"YAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Sonic cried out in a blood-curdling scream, his left hand slipping off of the gem as the pain demanded the nerves to comply; however, his right held strong against the claws tearing away at his flesh, the limb's numbness that developed from months of torture had now become an asset! 

The jackal released his clamped jaw on the hedgehog for an attempt at a second target, but despite the new injuries, Sonic was able to parry him. Infinite's face was bathed in the beaming energy, the radiating glow of his eyes paired with the  blood oozing from his exposed fangs made him appear like a ravenous devil trying to devoir his prey. Unable to sink his teeth in, he continued to claw into Sonic's torso, his arm, and just about anything else he could. 

"DIE, RODENT!!!" he yelled with demonic resonance before unleashing an explosion out of sheer desperation that shook the entire island, blowing back the tide and bending the trees in a horizontal shockwave. 

The moment the explosion sparked, the bonds holding Shadow vanished, allowing him to duck and narrowly avoid the wave as it passed over him. On half-a-breath, he sprinted into the smoke, eager to find the two who were caught in the fallout. The dust stung his eyes, but he forced them to stay open as he scanned the area.

"SONIC?!?! SONIC, WHERE ARE YOU?!?!" he shouted as he searched through the thick cloud anxiously. 

During his search, he stumbled upon the Phantom Ruby floating in the air, shattering into diamond dust before being carried off by the wind. 
Though he was relieved the powerful relic was no longer in play, it was an afterthought, as his priority was and always will be his partner. 

Instead, he came across Infinite, laying on the ground with a hole in his chest, clinging to life. 

Coughing, the jackal slowly traced his hand up his torso to feel the now hollowed spot where his precious jewel once resided. Aside from the pain, he felt empty, emotionally crippled by being robbed of what had become the most important part of him. His body felt heavy, drained of the power that had enriched him for so long and damaged from it being so violently ripped out. Still, he tried to move, to lift his head and defy the state the situation had left him in. However, a cold chill surged through him as deja vu crept up and a haunting scene from his past repeated itself. 

The Ultimate Life Form stood over him. 
His piercing crimson gaze akin to two glowing orbs of fire radiated through the dense smoke and boared into him like they did on their very first encounter, when he was too weak to hold his own against such an opponent. As much as he hated to acknowledge it, fear found its way into his heart. 

"--YOU--" Shadow growled, bearing his teeth like an rabid animal. 

Within the blink of an eye, the black hedgehog was on top of him, wrapping his fingers around the jackal's neck as he strangled the life out of him. 
The rage that had been building was finally being appeased. 
For everything he did to Sonic! For what he did to him! For all the crimes he had committed, he was paying for it by his hand! 
The futile attempts of his foe to throw him off were intoxicating, as in his mind, this was the perfect revenge. The mercenary was in a helpless position, powerless to fight back. He was experiencing the fear and hopelessnes he instilled in his victims, and as foam leaked from the side of his white muzzle and his heterochromic eyes began turning upwards, Shadow found himself almost smiling.

"D-DON'T HURT HIM!" Sonic called out, breaking Shadow from his obsessed train of thought as his partner's voice echoed from within the slowly discipating cloud. 
"P-please Sh-Shadow....don't hurt him."

"THE BASTARD DESERVES TO DIE!" Shadow argued, refusing to release his grip on their mutual enemy, whom was gasping for breath, his kicking legs beginning to fall limp.

"B-but...it's n-not who we are. J-just l-let him be....P-please--d-don't let him br-break you, too."

Shadow wanted to ignore his partner's pleas, to finish what he started and what he had vowed to do, but clarity cast its light over the wicked sensations he was relishing, and they started to frighten him. He recalled the jackal's gip on his own throat during his capture and the thought of being comparable to the bastard turned his stomach. The realization forced his hand to relax, while the sight from the corner of his eye made him automatically release his grip entirely. The jackal gasped for the air he was denied as he traced his oppressor's view inland. 
The smoke lifted and a few feet away was Sonic laying on the sand, gripping the stub of his severed right arm while clearly fighting off the shock his body was experiencing and struggling to remain consciousness because of it. 

"S-SONIC!!!" 

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Shadow leapt off of Infinite and skidded to the blue hedgehog's side. The sand beneath him was stained red, the tissue of his left shoulder was visibly mangled while what remained of the other limb rested in even worse shape. Assessing his injuries while frantically trying to find a means to stop the bleeding, Shadow continuously made eye contact with his partner, "Try to stay still," he ordered as he examined the extent of the damage. 

"N-no problem th-there. I'm beat." he said with a raspy chuckle. 

"THAT WAS A STUPID PLAN!!!" the black hedgehog scowled, while gently feeling the muscle tissue surrounding the bone.

"Heh, b-but it worked, r-righ...." The seriousness of the wound was getting to him as he began to fade, his body having been pushed beyond its limits and more. 

"HEY, STAY WITH ME!!!" Shadow urged as a hot idea came to mind. Without hesitation, he began generating chaos energy in his palm, "I don't know how much this will hurt, but we don't have a choice." 

Sonic looked to him with half-closed eyes and a gentle smile, curving his left hand upward to welcome Shadow's. 

"Ready?" he asked as he clasped his free hand into his partner's.
With a small nod accompanied by a short breath, the broken hero closed his eyes in preparation for the agony he knew he was going to feel. 
The Ultimate Life Form poured the intense heat of chaos energy onto the amputated limb, burning the flesh and effectively cauterizing it. 
The spark of the energy sent a surge of pain past the numbness and throughout Sonic's body, making him wince and thrall and and clench his partner's hand tightly as hoarse screams flew from his gaped mouth. 

"HANG ON, SONIC!" he shouted as he squeezed back. 
Within the blue hedgehog's damaged frame, Shadow directed the energy from the severed arm around to his mangled left shoulder, where he concentrated on the output to cauterize it as well. Although the chaos energy wouldn't replace the blood he lost, the black hedgehog knew it would help stabilize him. He channeled a less-intense amount of energy into him, supplementing some of what his body needed and kickstarting the healing process to some degree without overexcerting either of them. Within a few seconds, the deed was done. Sonic immediately fell limp, heaving, barely conscious, but grinning nonetheless that they made it. 

While catching his breath, he looked over at the defeated mercenary. Even though his eyesight was blurred, he could make out the details of the one whom victimized him. Seeing his face for the first time as it genuinely was, viewing the sadness behind his golden and sapphire eyes as he lay in such a broken state, all the misery he inflicted suddenly felt so far away and Sonic couldn't help but feel sorry for him. 

"...F-Finny...", he stated calmly as Shadow continued to work on his wounds, listening to the conversation but not making himself be a part of it. He knew Sonic needed to speak with him, to confront his captor in order to find closure. Whatever he said, even if he didn't agree with it, he would respect him.

Although Sonic could barely speak above a hoarse whisper, the strength his sincere words carried defied the laws of nature as they broke through the boundaries of advertisty, strife, and pain until they reached the attentive ears of their recepient with complete clarity.
"I'm...I'm sorry. I had t-to...I can't s-say I'll ever u-underst-stand why you did all th-that you did....but...wh-what I said earlier...I m-meant it. De-despite everyth-thing...I'm th-thankful you were there, F-Finny...and...I ho-hope you'll be okay." 

A look of surprise etched over the jackal's face as his victim's words were definitely not expected much less deserved. He couldn't figure out how to respond. He thought he had broken the little blue savior, that not only had he shattered the world's greatest hero to a point beyond repair, but he truly believed he owned his mind, body, and soul. 
He controlled him, controlled reality, controlled everything and everyone with the snap of his fingers. He was superior in every way possible! 

Now, there he was, laying on the beach, even more weak than he was before, and beatened by kindness of all things. 

With his injuries sufficiently closed to an extent to withstand the journey, it was time for them to depart. 
"I'm going to get you to a hospital," Shadow stated as he proceeded to lift Sonic in his arms, whom made a confirming noise before instinctively resting his head on his dear one's shoulder. Knowing he was going to be well-taken care of, he closed his bruised, swollen eyes with a gentle smile and began to allow himself to rest once more.

As for the jackal, whom still lay in a state of shock while watching the hedgehogs through unblinking eyes, Shadow extended one last threatening glare. 
"You're alive because of him--but he's not yours anymore." 

On the cusp of the wind, he then sped off down the coast with his partner sleeping soundly in his arms, abandoning the loathesome creature that tried to destroy them to fate's design. He intended to return here one day soon and reduce the place that held them captive to ash, but for now, this was enough. 

The sun peeped from the horizon and welcomed a brand new day.