"I... what? Are you trying to save me yourself? Are you mad!?" Finn yelped, not needing to look around to know how much danger they were in. Everything of every caliber was quickly closing in, the only ones not doing so were too big for the hallway anyway but blocking every available exit they could. The blue hedgehog merely shrugged off a laser beam grazing his quills and held up his hand, pinching two of his fingers close together.

"Just a teeny bit!" Sonic laughed, and there was a whistle, an angry, harsh one, like the sound of a kettle going off on the stovetop. It surrounded them, having no decernable pinpoint but definatly coming closer. Sonic stood up straight again and gestured vaguely, but it was clear that the sound had something to do with it."But Shadow's more mad."

It was then that Finn understood what Sonic meant by "cool lightshow."

Shadow was running, entirely ablaze in a briliant blue glow. He let out an animalistic roar as his quills sailed through one of the largest badniks with ease, cutting through it as if it was never there to begin with. Metal burned red and white with each step and turn he took, leaving everything in his wake a simple, scorching pile of liquid metal. Within seconds, the hall was nearly empty. It seemed as if the air around the agent himself boiled from contact alone.

Shadow. Shadow was here. Shadow was here to save him.

And Finn couldnt help but grin. He opened his mouth to call his name in pure glee, gaining Shadow's attention just as Finn managed to get to his feet. His balance was awful, but he was up, and he was standing. That was all that mattered.

Shadow turned mid attack, ending up getting struck and landing in a heap near the wall. Sonic yelped and went to rush forward, but Shadow was back on his feet in seconds and charging the two with no sign of slowing down. It really would have looked friendlier had he not been sprinting top speed with the same blue aura as before, where he was able to slice down robots clean in half with barely any effort.

"Shad?" Sonic took a step back, worry lacing his voice. He could feel the air start to heat up around him. "Shad, I swear, he couldn't stand when I got here and-"

The sentence was cut short with Shadow stopping a mere foot away, body twitching with the intense energy. Finn watched carefully as Shadow simply looked at them, mouth attempting to form a smile as he spoke. He spotted his bare wrists and was tempted to ask about it.

"I'm tired of losing my friends." he barely managed to rasp. The blue glow was warm and buzzed happily around them all, the crackling chaotic energy making bits of their fur stand on end.

Shadow yanked himself away, grin plastered on his face dispite the many scars and wounds littering his body. He was shaking in place, and didn't seem very stable, but it also seemed like he didn't care at all. Blood slid down his forehead to drip off his nose, but he never did break the smile as he held and examined each of their faces one after the other.

"You look worse for wear." he laughed, deep and hollow, as if he wasn't all the way there, and Sonic grinned too.

"Right back at cha."

"THERE!"

The reunion ended within seconds, and Shadow turned around, body language switching back over to anger in a heartbeat. He glanced back to Sonic and Finn and chuckled. "I'll see you in a week."

Then, everything turned into a blur.

All Finn knew now was the cold seat of the chair he sat in, leaned back to stare out the window at the stars passing. He was barely holding on, but he was stronger than Shadow was for the first time in his life.

As soon as the hedgehog set foot on the 'train', that was honestly too large and traveled through space to be called a train, he passed out and was sent face first onto the floor. Sonic picked him up at first to lay on the seats and rest, but when he simply fell back onto the ground, decided to leave him.

Sonic himself wasn't void of his share of scars. Finn wasn't sure where they came from, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. He was barely awake, from a mix of... everything he had gone through aboard that ship. Exhausted, mainly. He even considered laying on the floor too.

"Hey," Sonic spoke, voice breaking through his thoughts.

Finn blinked tiredly and looked up, vaguely aware that his eyes stung. "Yes?"

"Why are you crying?"

Perhaps he was. The jackal rubbed his muzzle and eyes harshly, scrubbing away tears that had no right being there. "I don't know," he whined, voice sharpening at the end as the flood began. "I shouldn't be."

Sonic offered a small smile, standing up from his seat. He stepped over Shadow's body to sit down heavily next to the jackal, leaned forward just so his sore back wouldn't touch the cold metal. "It's alright." he shrugged, hand resting on his friend's shoulder. "It's alright to cry."

... A week had passed, as Shadow said before. He wasn't sure why it was exactly a week. All he knew was that Sonic ran Shadow away and he had to stay home alone for a bit, until word got around that he was back and was invited to the Bunker for a little TLC.

Much had changed in the few days short of two months Finn had been gone.

It was explained that 'Infinite' had been living with Shadow the entire time. Explained that the jackal was Finn the entire time, how much he changed, tried to change, and improved his life. Not everyone accepted that right away, but overall, plenty people did.

The guild of those working for Eggman, and who had captured and tortured Gadget, had been found and procequted. They were also the ones to rat out where Finn was being held, so it was a win win situation.

Also, few people did leave the Resistance, unable to cope with what Finn had done in the past and his change of heart. It was expected. While they did leave, they didn't actually go against Sonic and his beliefs. They all took a page out of his book, as Sonic did not forgive Infinite, but he did accept Finn. There were high hopes many would return one day.

He was given new ribbons, which Tails finally agreed that the really did look like ribbons, a proper bath and a razor to cut off his scruffy fur, and a long, long nap to heal simply everything.

Now, Finn sat in the nursery where a rabbit called Cream, along with Vanilla, constantly looked over Shadow and tended to his every need. His wrists and ankles were bruised and damaged, most of his quills had been yanked out in patches, his fur was almost singed clean off, molten metal now cooled into sooty chunks clung to him in every place imaginable, and his back was litered with blisters. To put it short, he looked awful.

"Anything yet?" He asked Cream gently, and the young rabbit yawned as she nodded. He felt a bit bad, having her care for Shadow so heavily. He'd gladly do so himself, but his blood sugar dropped so quickly just from him standing too fast that he was rather useless in caring for his friend.

That, and the fact that Cream almost violently refused to let him help, announcing that she could do it all herself. He didn't question her further.

"Yes, Mr. Finn..." She drawled, grabbing the jackal's wrist so he could stand carefully. He balanced onto his temperary cane and followed her in, seeing Shadow laid on his side in the small matress. He was awake, but his eyes remained closed. "Mr Shadow, Mr. Finn is here to see you...!"

Her voice was strained to be happy, and Shadow opened his eyes, clearly exhausted himself dispite his heavy sleep. "Thank you, Cream. How about you turn in for the night? I'll be fine in the morning, okay?"

The rabbit paused, eyes widening for a fraction as she opened her mouth to protest, but it was all cut short when Shadow laid his hand atop her head, and she suddenly disappeared. Finn was about to ask but figured he shouldn't, Shadow was just like that.

"So..." he started, approaching the bed with caution. His cane clacked the floor a bit too loudly in the quiet room. "A lot has happened."

"It has." Shadow breathed heavily a few times, attempting to quell his pounding headache with varying sucess. "How do you feel?"

"Are you honestly asking me that question?" He grinned, sitting on the bed next to the hedgehog "Based on how you look, I'm surprised you're even alive."

"I heard you cried," Shadow suddenly cut in, dismissing Finn completely. "I heard that you cried when I passed out."

"Did not!" He screeched. Fur stood on end, this time not from the cold. "Why would I cry over you!?"

Shadow chuckled slyly, then swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. "I dunno, maybe because I saved you?" he stretched as if he was a fragile old man, body creaking with each movement before he sharply winced and rubbed his side. "I can't keep going on rampages like that..."

Finn stood and threw a punch, hitting Shadow's upper arm and making the hedgehog recoil, hissing a pained and annoyed "ow!" towards him.

"That's all I ever wanted." The jackal grinned stupidly, way too proud of himself as Shadow slowly realized that Finn had finally proven that he was stronger. He was stronger entil he fully healed, at least.

"Shut up," it wasn't spoken with malice, quite the opposite as the two made their way home. The halls weren't as cold as they felt before. "Just you wait."

Finn didn't say anything at first, simply limping behind the equally injured alien he called his friend. The night was warm and welcoming, or maybe he just felt that way generally.

"...What happened to Eggman?" he finally spoke, head turned to the sky as if he could see the base from the ground.

"Was that your first time calling him that?" Shadow shook his head playfully, but did not follow his gaze. "Not sure. Everything was pretty much a blur up there. I'm sure that isn't the last time we see him."

"I hope it is."

"Welcome to the Resistance."

xox

hey

i have no words for myself