Chapter Text
Sonic had a feeling his week was going to end poorly, he just did not expect for everything to go this much South.
Actually, it had been pretty good until Thursday, when he got fired from his job at that stupid pizza place just out of town. Not that he cared, it was a stupid job. Still, it paid the bills, and now he had to break the news to Tails.
He knew his brother wouldn't mind, and he was studying hard to get a good paying job at a tech company, and his grades were so good he had a full scholarship and everything, but still… Tails was his little brother! The last thing Sonic wanted was to burden him with the full payment of their bills, just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut about the pizza place owner's son being a weirdo and a freak.
“We should kill him”, declared Knuckles. It was Friday morning, and he and Sonic had met up with Amy at their usual coffee shop after hearing the news.
Amy lightly pushed the Echidna as she drank her second strawberry flavoured latte, which was way too pink to be made with real strawberries. “Stop saying that every time you disagree with someone” — she sipped her drink — “if he's as weird as Sonic says, though…”
“No one's killing anyone”, sighed Sonic. He circled the rim of his cup with his finger, “I don't want Tails to have to bail me out of jail, too”.
Amy smiled apologetically, “You still haven't told him, right?” She asked; Sonic shook his head.
After he got fired, he ran around Green Hill for hours to both clear his head and think of a script to follow to break the news to his brother. He couldn't stop asking himself why this whole deal worried him so much. He knew Tails trusted him and Sonic knew he could find a new job in the blink of an eye, if he put his mind to it. It's not like he was planning to work at that pizza place forever either.
He fantasized about running away, as he always did; the scene played over and over in his head, of him making a big scene, as dramatic as if in a movie, before running off, never to be seen or heard of again. Every time, it made him feel like the worst person on Earth.
Realistically, he knew he would never do such a thing. Running away like that would mean abandoning his brother, his best friends, his hometown. On top of that, he also knew Amy and Tails would find him in a matter of hours, no matter where he’d run off.
When he got home that evening, he noticed Tails had left him a bunch of texts telling him he would be at a friend's house for the night. If the circumstances were different, Sonic would have been upset by this. Ever since Tails had started college, the two would see each other only every weekend: his brother's college was not that far away, but it was far enough that they both thought it more convenient for Tails to reside on campus, and only come back to Green Hill every Thursday evening, since he also had no classes on Fridays. This Thursday, however, seemed to be different, and for once Sonic was glad.
“Alright,” Amy sighed, “you're bumming me out now!” She took her phone out, mumbling about how she ‘just knew what he needed’ and ‘this was a question of life and death’. Sonic started to question if his old job really was worth all of this preoccupation — both from him and his friends.
She finally set her phone down: “You're going out with me and Blaze tomorrow night!”
Sonic rolled his eyes so far back his head started hurting, “No way–”
“I don't wanna hear it!”
“But I–”
“Nuh-huh!”
He turned to Knuckles, “Help me out here, man…”, but the red Echidna just shrugged.
“No can do. I got a match tomorrow night,” he punched his left palm with his right fist as he said so, “and dancing is good to alleviate one's sorrows.”
Amy beamed at that, and called the waiter to order yet another concerningly pink latte, “It's settled then! We're going out and you have no say in the matter!” Then Sonic must’ve looked awfully pitiful, because her gaze softened as she rested her hand on his shoulder, “it'll make you stop thinking about all this for a bit, at least."
So, the next day Sonic found himself bored to death as he waited for his only plan for the day to come. He made breakfast for him and Tails out of habit, but he ate alone. And when Tails texted him saying he would be home by noon, Sonic’s breath stuck in his throat and he replied with some half-hearted excuse, that he wasn't going to be there, he had work. With his outfit for the night in his work bag, he left the apartment before lunch time.
He wandered the streets for a bit, passing through the park, the youth centre, the police station. Green Hill was a quiet town, where the woods met the sea and the wind was never still. They had the best chilidogs in the area, in Sonic's humble opinion, and back in the 70’s it was an incredibly important city for technological advancements, or so Tails told him once.
West of the city was a large forest, with trees so tall they gave Amy vertigo at times, when they used to explore it when they were younger. Further into the forest, high up on a hill, sat the old Robotnik mansion, owned by the CEO of Eggman Inc., Ivo Robotnik. Sadly, that Eggman guy seemingly did not care enough for the mansion to live there, let alone renovate it, so it was practically abandoned and empty. Still, no one dared get too close to it, too scared of all the traps the Robotniks must've set, for ‘security reasons.
Further East was the coast, that did not concern Sonic in the slightest, and the hedgehog truly could not describe the beach even if he tried. He knew it was large, the sand almost pearly white, the water… blue? Salty? And that was that. Tails and Amy had tried taking him there once, and they managed to get as close as the parking lot before Sonic changed his mind and dipped.
The apartment complex where Amy lived was just a few blocks away from their usual coffee shop. When she opened the door after Sonic knocked, she had mascara and eyeliner only on one eye, her dress was on but not her shoes, and the music was so loud Sonic could not understand what she was saying: he got there just in time.
They started getting ready together, and Sonic had to admit he was already feeling a bit better. He gave the final touch-up to his quills about forty minutes before Amy finished, and when they were both ready to go, they met with Blaze in front of the club.
Blaze went first, completely skipping the line, and mumbled something to the bouncer, who took a quick look at Sonic and Amy before letting the trio in without a word. In their years of friendship, Sonic had never found out how Blaze knew every single bouncer in town, let alone how they always agreed to let her and her friends through with no complaint or setback, but he wasn't concerned with that enough to start investigating now. Besides, he liked this kind of treatment sometimes, it made him feel like a celebrity.
It was exactly ten o'clock as they got in: the buzz of the music made Sonic both dizzy and excited, his limbs immediately on fire, eager to jump and dance and move. That job really did drain him; he hadn't felt this energetic for the longest time, and it just clicked to him that his friends had probably noticed it way before he did.
As he bopped his head to the music and moved towards the dancefloor almost on auto-pilot, Amy nudged Blaze with her elbow, and the two giggled at the sight before quickly following suit.
Sonic loved the club, the loudness, the chatter, the nightlife. Where some of his friends – mainly Knuckles – felt sweaty, gross and light-headed, he instead felt as if his brain was shutting down and recharging; the feeling of the ache in his limbs from moving too much, his heart beating so loud in his ears, was exactly the same as the one he felt when he was running, except now he could feel it with his friends by his side, without having to wait for them to catch up.
And he could also have a drink!
While still dancing, he pushed around to make his way to the counter. With a quick look back at the dancefloor, he saw Amy and Blaze jumping and laughing, and no weird guys near them, so he relaxed and turned his attention to the bartender: a gruff man with a bottle of what Sonic guessed to be vodka in his hand awaited him, and the hedgehog suddenly did not know what to order.
As the big guy was growing impatient with Sonic's uhm's and erm's, a voice spoke louder than the music and the laughter around them: “The usual,” a green hedgehog to his right said – and then, smirking “for both of us”.
Sonic scanned the new guy thoroughly: green, spiky fur, leather jacket and sunglasses on his head, even though it was almost midnight, and probably a smoker, if Sonic had to guess based on his voice alone. His interest was definitely piqued, and as they were both served a purple-ish drink with ice and fancy leaves on top, Leather Jacket Guy moved quickly to pay for them.
“The name's Scourge,” he introduced himself, still smirking, as he slid back to his seat; when he paid, he had moved unnecessarily closer to Sonic, almost bumping his shoulder on the other hedgehog's head, and Sonic found himself smirking as well: this guy was definitely a smoker.
“Sonic,” he nodded his head toward the drink, “and uh, thanks for this, they changed the menu since the last time I was here, so…” the more he talked, the more he could feel his ears and face heat up. He was definitely blushing, and the fact that Scourge just let him keep talking did not help. It also did not help that Sonic could tell from a mile away that this guy was flirting with him – with just his eyes! What the hell!
“How long ago was that?” Scourge asked. He sipped his drink and that made Sonic realize he still hadn't tasted it, so he did. “I would have noticed someone like you.”
Sonic took pride in the fact he managed not to choke on his drink, which, sadly, tasted awful. “What's that supposed to mean?”
Scourge's eyes were lidded, almost sleepy, and as he fluttered his eyelids Sonic could see the lightest shimmer of makeup. What the hell. Sonic's thoughts were racing, and they all came to the same conclusion of really wanting to kiss the smirk off this guy's face.
“You know damn well what I mean.”
His eyes scanned the dancefloor once again, quickly finding Amy and Blaze, now dancing with two other girls. As he texted Amy to be careful with her drinks, and that he was going to be right back – “if u know what i mean !!” – he also tried to act oblivious to Scourge.
“I really don't,” he tilted his head, sipping on his disgusting drink and trying not to show on his face how much he didn't like it, “You'll have to be more specific."
Scourge's smirk became a full-on devious smile at that. He moved closer to Sonic, sliding a hand around his waist before holding his wrist, and whispered “Follow me, then.”
Sonic hated the idea of making out with strangers in the club's restrooms as much as the next person, so he was glad when he saw Scourge was heading out through a disabled emergency door. As they got to an alley behind the building, Sonic finally noticed how hot it was inside. His mouth slightly watered, and he found himself uncharacteristically short of breath.
But the whiplash of the cold air on his sweat-soaked fur was nothing against the force of Scourge's mouth on his. Sonic quickly composed himself, reciprocating the kiss, not that he suspected Scourge would mind even if he didn't: the guy was basically eating at his face, eagerly biting and teasing his lips without leaving Sonic the chance to playfully overpower him, let alone breath.
So Sonic let him have his fun, and just focused on the other guy's body, his hands moving from his chest down to his waist, his back quills and then his chest again. Scourge was covered in scars, which Sonic would have found really hot, if it wasn't for the fact they were everywhere. He shook his head, feeling silly for almost worrying about a stranger he just met at a bar's wellbeing, and pushed the other slightly to catch his breath.
As he did so, Scourge instead focused on his neck. Sonic would have felt self-conscious then, when the other hedgehog basically started sniffing him like a confused dog, worrying he smelt really bad, if he just wasn't feeling so out of it.
His head spun like crazy, and his heart was beating way faster than usual. He rested his hands on Scourge's shoulders, panting and whispering “Wait…”, but his voice was so feeble the other surely didn't hear him, and his lips were on Sonic's again instead.
When Scourge finally let him breathe again, it was only for him to announce “I know a spot,” before starting to drag Sonic around from his wrist.
Sonic was confused, and his head kept spinning. Scourge’s hold on his wrist was starting to hurt, and he really didn't feel like doing this anymore. Through heaved breaths, he managed to say “No…”, but Scourge snapped at him immediately.
“Shut up!” As he turned around, Sonic noticed how uncanny Scourge's appearance was under natural lighting: his fur was extremely coarse, so much so you didn't even need to touch it to know; his grip was rough, strong, and as they were still walking – now through the woods right below the Robotnik's mansion – Sonic could see every muscle in his legs tending and relaxing with each step, but he could also swear Scourge was not this buff when they were inside the club, or even when they were making out a few minutes ago.
Sonic fought a wave of nausea as Scourge spoke again: “It'll be fun, trust me.” His voice was softer now, comforting, but his eyes were wide open, bouncing wildly from left to right, up and down. Nothing was comforting about this, and as his limbs grew wobbly and weak, a wave of terror hit Sonic right after a second wave of nausea.
“Did you spike me?”
Rather than answering, Scourge's grip tightened painfully around his wrist, before he pushed Sonic against a tree. In the blink of an eye, he was on him again, this time tearing at his clothes and fur, completely feral. Panicking, Sonic tried time and time again to push him off and make a run for it, but his limbs were too weak. His vision was starting to blur as well, and he was unsure if it was because of the drugs or because he was crying, both from the fear and just how awful his entire body felt.
His legs gave out at last, which was probably just what Scourge was waiting for, because right after that Sonic found himself laying on the damp grass, with the green hedgehog on top of him.
Scourge straddled him, and now Sonic could see – though with some difficulty – he had completely… transformed? There wasn't really any other way to explain it: the green hedgehog just wasn't a hedgehog anymore. He was now probably double his original size, his fur much coarser and darker, his pupils completely dilated, a crazy and wicked look in his eyes; his teeth were so sharp now that Scourge had difficulty completely closing his mouth, and his entire face was twisted in rage, and hatred, and hunger.
Scourge snarled like a rabid dog, almost foaming at the mouth, but still subtly smirking underneath it all. He lunged at Sonic, aiming for the space between his neck and shoulder, where pain, sharp and hot, shot out directly to Sonic's brain. Every tooth was a needle, but much larger, much sharper, and oh, the stars were so nice this evening, and Sonic was screaming in pain and in fear, but actually, he wasn't so sure anymore…
He really wasn't sure of anything anymore. Wasn't sure if his shoulder was even still attached, wasn't sure how long he just laid there, under Scourge, before his green fur flashed rapidly to his right, hitting a tree; though he also wasn't sure if it was Scourge who whimpered in pain, Sonic preferred to think it was.
A deep voice came from his left, and although Sonic could not make out the stranger's words, they sounded incredibly angry and venomous. Scourge growled, but that was the farthest his arrogance let him go, before he cowered and hid in the woods, somewhere. If the two had actually exchanged a few words, Sonic did not hear them.
The stranger was by his side in an instant. Sonic could faintly make out his silhouette as the moon created a halo around it, but in the darkness of the woods only the other's eyes were clearly visible: two pools of deep, blood-like red were focused on him, on his body, on getting him to safety. His nostrils filled with the calming scent of coffee and lavender. The stranger's hands slithered under his back and legs to pick him up, but a crushing jolt of pain through his shoulder made Sonic squirm and whine.
The stranger went still immediately. Sonic's head was spinning, his ears wouldn't stop ringing and his vision was getting blurrier by the second; still, he clearly heard the other say, “I'm probably going to regret this.”
Despite his mumbled protests the stranger still had to pick him up to help him, and so they did. They started running fast through the woods, which the stranger seemed to be familiar with. The smell of lavender on the other's fur, along with the drugs Scourge gave him, and the blood he had lost lulled Sonic to sleep. Or rather, they would have, if his saviour would please stop shaking him!
“...-ay awake,” the urgency in the stranger's tone resonated with him, and Sonic gave himself a new goal to accomplish: stay awake until you reach the nearest hospital. And since he was out of it, but not so much as to forget who he was, he did what he knew how to do best: he talked.
He talked about his stupid job and how it was all his boss's fault if this even happened, which then had him talking about Amy and Blaze, and then the rest of his friends, the coffee shops, that one churro he had last week that was the best ever… he talked about anything that came to mind in order to stay awake, and he could tell the stranger wasn't interested in the slightest, but also relieved he wasn't falling asleep.
They were almost at the hospital (Sonic recognised the place), when the stranger slowed down, his breath now slightly heavy. Sonic couldn't help but tease him, “What?... tired?”, but the stranger didn't laugh. He looked back at him. He seemed horrified.
“Shit,” he cursed, “you reek already.”
He didn't utter another word after that, opting to start running again, and they reached the hospital in a matter of minutes. Sonic was exhausted, the white lights of the entrance blinded him, but he was being rushed inside before he could protest. Nausea filled his stomach as he attempted to turn around to thank the stranger, but he had left just as quickly as he had come.