Chapter 28 Trial and Error
*I forgot to mention that the inspiration for the last chapter's title and the nature of Sonic and Shadow drugged interaction was inspired by a story I had read on Wattpad. I DO NOT recommend it at all, not that I can recall the name of the story anyway. It was so sad and filled with whump 😭 so I'm warning you now if you decide to look for and read it that the ending is not happy.
This story will have a happy ending! I will accept nothing less!
I know nothing about the court system or how fostering, guardianship, custody cases work. Everything is strictly fiction.*

Sonic loved listening to the story of young Shadow and Maria's misadventure in baking; he sleepily giggled and slurred, "Silly Shadow." thinking of spending a day baking all sorts of sweets and goodies with the black hog while covered in sugar and flour before falling sound asleep on Shadow's shoulder by the time the story was over.
Shadow watches the blue blur's chest go up and down with a tender smile holding him close, forgetting entirely about the other occupants in the room during his storytelling until Rouge coughs.
Startled, the Ultimate Lifeform blinks back to reality, quickly wiping the smile off his face, replacing it with a frown, praying that the brief show of affection had not been noticed before he returned to his usual scowl. Gently he lays the blue devil flat on the table and silently slips down as the scanner lowers over his head.
Once Sonic was no longer in his hold, Shadow darted to Rouge and crossed his arms, acting like the sweet moment had not just happened.
While the scanner did its job over the peacefully sleeping hedgehog, Shadow did his own scanning over the occupants of the workshop, searching for any sign that they had noticed the fleeting moment his mask had come down.
Tails was busy flicking switches and monitoring the scanning machine's progress. Amy stood and looked at the loading results over the fox's shoulder while Knuckles seemed indifferent, watching the whole process.
If anyone had noticed his slip, they didn't dare mention anything or indicate that they had seen a fraction of the Ultimate Lifeform's soft side.
"You did good sugar." a sultry voice whispered in his ear; Shadow shrugged away the praise. His primary life purpose was to serve as Maria's caregiver, friend, and cure; besides being a weapon, he was doing his job as far as he was concerned. Falling back into his old caregiver roll after not being able to do so for decades had been a pleasure he hadn't felt for a long time; it was good to use his skills again. Being useful in a way that didn't involve violence gave him a more satisfying feeling than shooting down a hoard of killer egg-bots ever did.
I wonder if Eggman would be open to having a babysitter?
Shadow gloomily huffed at himself for such a thought; it was too soon to think of such things that probably wouldn't come to be if his prediction on Eggman's future incarceration was correct.
The depressing thought made him lower his ears slightly; he hoped to be proven wrong. After watching his rival and estrangled family relation become almost as close as Maria, and he had been, during the last few months, just imagining the two being forcefully separated and heartbroken gave the dark hedgehog phantom pains in his chest.
The soft red light flickered several minutes later, then turned off completely, indicating the scan had finished. "Done." Tails sighs, bending forward then back to stretch his aching back muscles from stooping over a computer screen. "Ok, that's all we can do for now until the program finishes going over the data." a yawn broke out of the young fox, "I'm going to bed. You guys know where the guest bedrooms are; we'll put Sonic in his room. Shadow, since you don't need to sleep as much, do you mind watching him? I don't want him to freak out too badly when he wakes up. The laughing gas will leave him a bit disoriented and confused at first but should wear off quickly."
The dark hog grunts acknowledging what he already knew and to keep up his grim facade, then goes to pick up the blue blur, "Thanks." Tails mumbles gratefully, walking to the door that connects to the house.
Everyone sluggishly followed, the events of the night coming down on them as they pass through the kitchen, go up the staircase, and separate to their rooms, muttering quite good nights to each other.
Shadow picking up the rear, pushes the door to Sonic's room; a hand stops him before entering. "That was really sweet of you," Rouge says just within his hearing range, "and I'm sure Sonic will appreciate how well you kept his secret." Shadow glances over to see no one else but the three of them in the dark hallway; then, his gaze falls to the sleeping hedgehog in his arms; Sonic gently sucks his thumb with the other hand nestled in Shadow's white chest fur.
The dark hog's heart melts, and he lets his mask fall again, giving Rouge a fleeting smile, whispering, "Thank you, good night, Rouge." the white bat gives him a chaste kiss on the cheek and leaves the two be.
Shadow enters Sonic's room and quietly closes the door, the light of the full moon coming from the window highlighting the neatly made 6-month long-unused bed waiting for its owner to return. The teenage-themed room is a blaring stark contrast from Sonic's well-used nursery, both serving as true-to-life representations of the two different sides of the blue blur.
Slowly Shadow uncurls Sonic's hand from his fur and places him in his bed; pulling out a tiny remote hidden in his stripped quills; he presses one of the buttons. Sonic's collar blinks blue, then softly clicks unlocking from his neck; Shadow removes the metal device tucking it and the remote into his quills.
With the last piece of evidence recovered, Shadow finishes tucking the hedgie in, then grabbing the desk chair and a well-worn book from the shelf to keep him occupied; Shadow sits by the blue blur's bedside, turning open the first page of "King Arthur." and readies himself for the classic tale while he waits for morning to come.

Wakefulness was a long sluggish process, each minute felt like days, and each second could have been hours in Sonic's mind as it floated between states of consciousness and dreams. The process it took for his brain to register that it was time to wake up rolled about for eons before it sunk in, and he noticed light coming from beyond his closed eyes.
He tentatively opened them, only to close them again due to still being weighted under the effects of a drugged sleep; Sonic moaned softly, willing his stiff arms to his head and rubbed clumsy fists against his eyes.
Opening his eyes again felt more manageable this time, and he breathes in the refreshing damp morning air coming from the cracked open window. Rolling to his side, the blue blur squints at a fuzzy black and red body sitting in the chair next to his bed, "Mmph, Shadow?"
The dark hog looked up from his book seeing his charge had awoken, at last, closed the book and set it on the nightstand, "How are you feeling?" he asks with a soft tone.
"Ohhhh," Sonic groans, letting a hand rest under his head, replying slowly with a horse, voice "Like I could hibernate for another six months...what happened?"
"What do you remember?"
"Uh...you and Rouge-" he absently smacked his dry lips and pulled back suddenly when a hand with a glass of water appeared before his face; after blinking stupidly at the glass for a few moments, Sonic's mind connected the offered water before him and took it.
He gulps down the liquid once it touches his tongue, not realizing how thirsty he was before giving the glass back. The cold drink refreshes and wakes him up further as he swipes his mouth with the back of his hand, "Thanks. You and Rouge drugged me, then it gets all...fuzzy, but I think? We chaos controlled to Tails' workshop so he could do a bunch of tests on me..."
Sonic's face, initially irritated at being drugged, went white as the sheets on his bed as he said next hauntingly, "and I fell into Littlespace." Shadow nodded to confirm, "Yes, but everyone thinks you were acting under the influence of the laughing gas which you were. Only Rouge and I know better."
"Oh, Chaos!" Sonic gasps, mind, and body coming back to normal processing speeds thanks to his fast metabolism, and runs a hand through his quills, "That is waaaaaay too close for comfort. That can not happen again!" he emphasizes.
"We should be good now. As I said, no one suspected anything unusual." Shadow says, crossing his arms, then pauses thoughtfully, asking, "You do regress intentionally, right? I don't have to watch out for anything that could trigger you? Or make up excuses for any sudden childish behavior?"
Sonic's cheeks turned red as he pouted and looked away, embarrassed by being considered childish when he is very much "Big" thank you! And the reminder that Shadow and Rouge knew well about his age regression therapy. The inquiry left Sonic unsure of how to answer the question.
He couldn't just regress on command, but Eggman could spot when he was slipping way better than he could tell himself. More often than not, he didn't notice he had dropped until long after the fact; his slip at the mall a few months ago could attest to that despite his resistance.
"I uh...I can control it mostly." Shadow raises a skeptical brow, pushing the blue blur to say with more certainty, "I can so long as I'm not around...babyish stuff."
"Babyish stuff?"
"You know! Toys, cartoons, playgrounds, and stuff!"
Shadow looked at the hedgehog as if he didn't entirely believe him but shrugged anyway, "Alright."
"...right," Sonic confirms with a nod and sits back, thinking about what he needs to do now?
Looks like I'm stuck here for the time being. I wonder what Eggman is doing? Does he know I'm gone? Is he freaking out? I hope they let him know I'm ok so he won't worry about me too much. An awkward silence fills the room as the two hedgehogs stare at each other, the blue devil's ear twitched, and he scratches his nose thoughtfully.
Sonic crosses his legs, shaking his foot in the air, and turns his head to the window to try and dispel the feeling of Shadow's blood-red eyes on him. Ok, Shads, I know I'm cool and awesome, but I can't be that interesting for you to still be staring at me!
Though Sonic was a glutton for attention, the pressure of the other hedgehog's eyes on him like he was waiting for something to happen or for Sonic to break the silence made the blue blur's skin crawl and itch.
His foot shakes faster; he checks his wrist where his communicator used to be out of habit as the itch grew worse. The blue devil wished his rival would stop staring or that something would happen to draw all the attention away from him.
The distant sound of a ticking clock somewhere in the room grew louder and louder, echoing off the walls. Sonic wasn't sure if his imagination was exaggerating the noise or if there was genuinely lack of any other sound, but the ticking grew deafening in his ears until he exploded with a fast.
"I like you better when I'm little!"
Sonic mentally face palmed himself as soon as the words left his mouth. Why the hell did I say that?!
The sound of a snort pulls Sonic out of his panic, and he turns to see the ebony hog actually hiding a smile behind his hand. The tension and pressure from before melted away as a warm fuzzy feeling filled Sonic's belly at that smile, realizing he was the one who caused Shadow to laugh. Even if it was brief, the accomplishment has the blue blur smiling back with a bit of pride, and he bashfully rubs a hand on his neck.
Sonic's eyes widen in surprise as he slowly rubs his hand once more around his neck, discovering that his collar is gone!
Glancing in his peripheral view, he sees Shadow smirking and quirking a brow at him smartly.
"What happened to my collar? How'd you get it off?!" Sonic asks curiously, surprised. The dark hog smoothly pulls out the tiny remote, "Swiped one of the Doctor's remotes." Sonic's eyes light up in understanding, and he gently rubs his neck one more time. Huh! So that explains how I got out of there without turning into fried hedgehog. It feels so weird.
Making himself sit on his hands, keeping himself from continuously rubbing and irritating the skin on his neck further, he clears his throat, lightly kicks his feet, and drawls, "Soooo, what now?" Shadow's smile fades, making Sonic's belly fill with dread as his rival says with a voice filled with apathy,
"We go to court."

Two weeks
Two weeks ago, Sonic had been blissfully unaware of the chaos that had been brewing right under his nose.
Everything Sonic had been working for, all his plans, were frozen hanging in midair, waiting for gravity to use its force to determine whether his dreams would be dashed to pieces or land safely in the net of mercy and understanding. To the hedgehog, time seemed to linger, crawling at an agonizing pace.
He wished that everything would proceed faster, even if the end decision were terrible. In all his adventures that had involved a time crunch with millions of lives or the universe at stake, he had never felt as shaken and pressured as he does now, keeping up his 'everything is cool' big boy facade. He just wanted to rip off the band-aid and get it over with.
He would find out soon. Starting tomorrow, the court case set to decide who Sonic would be placed in custody with, and in extension, his future would start.
Sonic caresses his hand on the soft fabric of his plush Ivo, despondent and stomach cramping from his buzzing nerves that refuse to settle; he shakily breathes, lamely attempting to calm down and sleep.
He was so tired of the drama, and he hadn't even stepped into the courtroom yet. Thank goodness Rouge said he didn't have to testify or be involved in any part of the proceedings except attend. The blue blur wasn't sure what he would say anyway.
"Please let me stay with my Eggy!" Sonic quietly scoffs to himself, "As if begging like a pathetic baby would work."
Begging wouldn't do anyone any good. He knew that and didn't want to say something that would send Eggman to jail on accident, but the hedgehog didn't want to lie and further hurt his relationship with Tails either! Sonic understood why the fox had kidnapped him; he would have done the same if the sides were switched.
However, because of those strong feelings, Tails' lack of understanding, and his reckless actions, now they were all stuck in this legal mess. It didn't do any good.
The morning after the kidnapping Shadow and Rouge had taken Sonic away from Tails to be placed in the government's temporary custody until the matter of deciding whether Eggman could keep guardianship of the blue blur or not was decided.
Sonic casts his dreary eyes from the cherished plush to the rest of his temporary room. It was simply decorated with pictures of nature, doilies, small plants set on the window sill, and light peach-colored walls giving it a warm and cozy air. Yet Sonic didn't feel warm; he felt cold and alone in the little rabbit cottage.
Until a decision had been made on who would be granted custody of him, Sonic was required to stay with a foster family. Cream's mother, Miss Vanilla, notified of the situation, promptly offered to foster the hedgehog and warmly welcomed the blue blur into her home, saying that it was the least she could do and that it was a way for her to repay all the times he had saved her daughter.
Sonic was grateful for the chance to stay with someone he knew; having known the adult rabbit for many years; he felt comfortable staying with the family. Though he preferred to be back with his Eggy, he decided to make the best of the situation by playing with Cream and, by some miracle, stayed out of little space. He also thanked Vanilla for opening up her home doing any small chore to help around the house.
A soft knock at the door startled the hedgehog from his thoughts, "Sonic deary may I come in?" Vanilla's muffled voice calls through the door. The blue blur quickly tossed the plush in the diaper bag Rouge had given back to him, kicked it under the bed before calling back with a stutter, "Y-yes. Come in!" he sits back, attempting to look like he was just relaxing when the door opens.
The light from the hallway breaks through the darkroom, lighting up where Sonic sits on the bed. Opening the door, Vanilla's eyes land on the blue bunch of fur, and she feels a tug at her heart, seeing worry and stress lines on the hedgehog's face despite his attempt to act like he isn't a bundle of nerves over tomorrow. She smiles the same smile she gives Cream when the girl is anxious.
Her heart goes out to the blue hedgehog wishing she could do more to help, but until the orphaned hedgie's guardian situation is settled, she would do her best to support him.
"I just wanted to let you know I'm putting Cream to bed, dear. Is there anything you need from me?"
"Oh no, thanks, Miss Vanilla. I'm good. I should probably go to bed too gotta early start tomorrow." he politely refuses and yawns, holding a hand over his mouth, "Alright, I'll be awake just a little bit longer. Call me if you need anything, sweetheart. Even if I'm asleep, don't be afraid to wake me up. I don't mind."
Sonic's chest constructs as he swallows the lump in his throat, her endearments reminding him of the same pet names Eggman calls him hurts.
Though he was sure Vanilla was trying to come off as welcoming and helpful, her gentle demeanor came more as an unwanted affliction than comfort. It felt like someone took an arrow and shot it at Sonic's chest, tearing a piece of his heart out, and his stomach rolls at the thought that...he may never hear those endearments from the kind doctor again.
Sonic manages to chock out, "Thank you. Goodnight." then turns away so as not to see the kind smile on her face and so that she won't see the tears filling his eyes.
"Goodnight, Sonic." Vanilla whispers before softly closing the door with a click, encasing the room in darkness again. The blue hedgehog listens to her walk away; once he's sure she's far enough away, he shudders a breath and rubs his hands over his face.
Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Mantras in his head until the need fades away, and he slides down on the bed gazing at the ceiling with heavy eyes until he drifts off to an uneasy sleep.

*The following day*
Sonic tugs at the ends of his gloves, nervously standing by the courtroom door with Shadow. The blue blur shivers as a chill runs down his spine, "Why do humans always keep their buildings so cold?! They don't have any fur, and yet here I am, standing around in a monkey suit, freezing my tail off!" he complains at the only other person standing around in the hallway.
The Ultimate Lifeform rolls his eyes and adjusts his dark navy tie making sure it's perfectly straight, "I'm not sure, but if you don't quit your whining, I'll chaos spear your mouth shut."
" ... Will I be warm?"
Shadow isn't sure how sincere the question is but groans and thanks Chaos when the doors open at last, with Rouge stepping out wearing a form-fitting red dress—looking more like she is getting ready to go clubbing than to court. "You can all come in now. They're getting ready to start."
"I was beginning to wonder." a soft voice says behind Sonic; the hedgehogs and bat turn to see Vanilla and Cream walking from the restrooms toward the trio, "Come along, dearies we musn't keep the judge waiting." she gently urges them. She places a supportive hand on Sonic's shoulder.
The group of five walk into the filled large courtroom and take their seats in the last row in the back—Sonic looks around, surprised to see so many people here.
In the front are his friends and their appointed lawyer; in the pews behind them are various news station reporters and their camera crews watching and listening for any exciting or juicy detail that could be said in what surely would be the court case; of the decade!
On the other side at the front is Eggman sitting alone; Sonic gazes at the older man's bald head, longing to run into his arms for a hug or at least for the man to turn around so he could see his baby was here. Behind the doctor are a few more news reporters and some G.U.N. agents acting as security to keep out anybody who hasn't been approved to attend.
Rouge startles the blue devil from his longing gaze, whispering in his ear, "Shadow and I will be helping represent The Doctor sweety. We've already made arrangements so that no one will call you to the stand."
That came as a relief for the blue blur; it had worried him not to see a lawyer of some kind sitting with the doctor. He was surprised that Rouge and Shadow would act in his defense, "Wait! You won't be staying?" as he says this, Sonic feels ashamed for asking her as a scared small child would for their parents to stay with them. Though he didn't want to admit that's exactly how he was feeling right now, he wanted them to help Eggman as the human needs them more than he did.
"Sorry, Sugar, someone's got to help the doctor, and we have the evidence we need to do that. Also..." she sadly smiles at the hedgehog, "No one else wanted to represent him, so..." the white bat shrugs, silently implying the rest.
Sonic nods once, crossing his arms, not liking the situation but understanding, "Ok. Take care of him for me, will ya?" he nods to the human. Rouge looks back at the doctor, then to Sonic, "Of course, Sugar." she assures him before leaving.
His ears lower as the two spies walk away and take their seats next to the doctor; they say something to the human, and he turns back, looking right at the hedgehog. Sonic gives a tiny smile and waves; the doctor does the same before a loud voice suddenly announces that it's time to begin. "All rise for the honorable judge Danvers!"
Everyone in the room stands; cameras flash as the judge appears in his black robes floating through the space and takes his seat. Everyone does the same as he looks over the crowd, not batting an eye at the high-profile people or cameras recording the event.
Sonic concentrates on his breathing and tries not to shake or fidget too much as the judge booms out in a low, dull voice, "Court Case number 1991 The Sonic Team vs. Doctor Eggman. Mr. Sega represents the accusers, and Miss Rouge represents the defendant. This court is now in session. You may both start your opening statements."
As the human lawyer begins, the blue blur feels a soft hand rub his arm, "It's alright, deary try not to stress yourself out too much." Vanilla whispers; Sonic takes her hand and squeezes it, "Thank you for coming."
"You're welcome; it's the least I can do for you. I hate that you have to go through this. Seeing your friends fighting with someone you obviously care about. Just thinking of you having to come here alone, I couldn't bear the thought."
Sonic blinks away a tear and nods, feeling his head fill with emotions that made him want to cry, but he makes himself breathe through his stomach and discreetly wipes the tears away.
He needed to hope for the best; thinking about possibly being taken away from his M-Eggy would not help him get through this ordeal.
After a few minutes, the worst of the hedgehog's nerves settle enough for him to concentrate. Quietly he lets his leg shake and listens to the lawyer's polite arguing, observing the judge's face for anything that could give Sonic a clue which side he was leaning more toward.