It should've been another simple victory for Mobius' newfound hero, especially with his newly fire-forged friend at his side. Could he consider him that yet? If he didn't yet, he would definitely consider after this win. And yet, when his attention was turned away from the Ark currently returning to its normal orbit, he caught sight of a small ring floating idly past him. Confusion set in, wondering how it got there, before realizing the other hedgehog was nowhere in sight. Dread then overcame him, rushing to grab the ring and quickly turning tail to catch sight of the other descending rapidly toward Mobius.

He could barely utter his name under his breath as he pushed himself forward, trying to catch up with him but barely managing. It wouldn't stop him, he had to reach him. This wasn't the ending he deserved, not when he just reached his clarity.

It was like a nightmare, he hoped he was growing closer, but he was nearly unmoving. Perhaps it was the panic, the time racing, his heart beating fast, the fear of the impact Shadow would face if Sonic failed. He felt something snap, pushing himself forward and barely catching the other as they hit Mobius' atmosphere. Though the second phase set in: having to break enough ground in order to land safely. Sure, he was super, but Shadow also weighed him down a bit, and it threw him off to catch him with such impact. However there was no time to think, either he slowed his descent, or he was going to crash himself.

He tried what he could, moving against the force, though once he realized how much energy it took out of him, he soon stopped, knowing that he much rather preferred to crash in his super form. At this point, he braced it, still trying to slow himself and turning his back towards the ground, all the while holding Shadow close to him. Something did however, kick in last minute, avoiding direct impact from the ground and instead slamming them into a tree trunk.

Sonic then allowed his super form to fade, taking in what had conspired over the last five minutes. When he calmed his breathing, he then moved to make sure Shadow was okay, checking him over for any injuries or bruises. It turned out he'd most likely passed out from overpowering himself. Sonic himself was in no good shape, having hit the tree hard, but at least he was still intact.

"Looks like we should get you off to a hospital, maybe me too.." He spoke with a slight hint of fatigue in his voice, throwing off the usual carefree tone. He almost grunted as he picked up Shadow, sighing in astonishment at the event ridden week before kicking off in search.

—

One, two, three, four, turn. One, two, three, four, turn. Repetitive, over and over. Constant pacing, constant tapping. What was even going on in the ER? Were they prodding him with things? Why was it taking so long? The waiting was killing him.

"I take it they won't let you in yet?"

Sonic was stirred from his incessant fidgeting, looking up from the floor to meet the aqua blue gaze of the bat lady Knuckles constantly went on about. Something was off about her, but he couldn't quite place it. Maybe it was because for the first time, she was showing something other than confidence in her appearance. There was slight concern in her expression. Everyone had freaked out upon hearing about their crash to Mobius, and they were quick to locate them. Sonic had just gotten out of a bandaging when Tails and Amy rushed in to embrace him. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling physically, but knowing his friends cared so much about minor injuries comforted him. They were ride or die's for sure. They'd long since gone home, but he supposed Rouge decided to stick around longer. It did seem like she was the only one Shadow really talked to.

"Yeah. They're trying to figure out why he passed out all of a sudden, especially when he was exposed to all of that raw energy which..really shoulda protected him." Sonic explained, absentmindedly rubbing the ring he'd caught on his wrist. He looked to it, almost in thought for a moment before realizing Rouge was also eyeing it a bit too curiously.

"Oh, I'm sorry..you two knew each other better. If it comforts you, you can have it!" Sonic offered, snapping the inhibitor ring off and holding it out with his famously friendly smile.

Though the bat politely declined, holding a hand out to stop him.

"Don't worry about it. I have faith he'll come to soon. When he does, someone has to give it back, and unfortunately I have to go soon. My boss back at HQ is expecting a report for Project Shadow on his desk before tomorrow morning, meaning I better do it by midnight, or else I'm definitely in trouble."

"Ooh, deadlines..terrifying." Sonic tried to lighten the mood, though it made him sound more like an adult that definitely needed an adulter adult to help him in life. He could tell in the way that Rouge flashed him an almost motherly smile, something he hadn't seen before. He watched her turn then, her demeanor hesitant, knowing that she wouldn't leave if she had the choice. Her and Shadow must've been close for her to linger like this. He hesitantly snapped the ring back on, his legs giving out momentarily as he slumped back in the chair behind him.

When she was gone, the waiting game was back on, and at first he tried a new approach, but it turned into a big mistake. Trying to convince himself he could sit in a chair with no prompted activity for more than five minutes was a joke. He even tried to pick up a magazine, but nothing worked, his thoughts kept going back to why they were making him wait so long.

At this point, he was about to walk over to the door and protest, raising a fist and about to knock before the door opened. The sudden need to stop his knocking motion caused him to stumble, nearly bumping into the doctor's lower stomach. Though he quickly composed himself, flashing his friendly smile up to her.

"Sorry about that! Er- is..he allowed visitors? I'm the only one here so it won't be anything overwhelming. I'm..kinda all he has right now."

The doctor simply smiled down to him, looking to her clipboard before stepping aside for him. She almost jumped as she watched him quickly dart into the room.

It was like a heavy weight lifted from his chest seeing the other passed out on the hospital bed. At least he didn't look like he was in pain, and that comforted him the most. Though he didn't want to disturb him yet, if his guess was right, and he had an overexposure to power, he'd need all the sleep he could get. So he simply sat in the chair next to him, turning the tv on and quickly muting it with captions. He watched it for awhile, people recapping the events of earlier that day. Apparently they'd been spotted fighting the monster, it was good hearing people refer to Shadow as a hero. Despite what they'd been through in the last week, finding out Shadow's story made him realize that he just needed some guidance. Mobius was new for him, and maybe if he helped him, things would look up from there.

—

Sonic woke up with a start, not realizing he'd passed out so quickly. He tried to remember where he'd ended up, wiping the drool from the side of his mouth before it registered that he'd fallen asleep watching tv. To be fair, he was exhausted after crashing to Mobius. His ears twitched tiredly as he leaned up against his arms, trying to gather himself before jumping back as he turned to see that Shadow was sitting up in his bed, a blank stare at the tv. Once he got over the initial shock of being in such a close vicinity to him, his gaze turned to observe him, noticing his arm slightly shaking as his finger tensely traced circles in the arm rests beside the bed. He didn't think it best to question him yet, but where to start..?

"Why are we here..?"

Sonic focused his stare on his eyes now, that were still avoiding his gaze. He almost seemed in a dazed trance, but he figured it was probably from the medication. Did that affect someone like Shadow?

"Well ah..after we saved the Ark and Mobius, I think you were overexposed to power, so you were falling. I went after you after realizing you weren't okay, and..we just barely missed a bad landing. I took you here because I was worried something was wrong that I couldn't help and..well I guess you're okay!"

Shadow simply nodded, finally turning his head as a small glint caught his eye. He noticed the ring on Sonic's wrist, not moving, but Sonic could sense he wanted him to do something.

"Oh right, here. Rouge said you'd need this."

He gently snapped it off, offering Shadow a small smile as he handed it over. His expression was still empty, simply placing his missing ring back on.

It was silent for a while after this, and Sonic had convinced himself that Shadow wanted him to leave at that point, though when he was about to get up, he spoke again.

"I hate these places.."

Sonic opened his mouth to ask why, but soon realized that was a mistake, only now knowing about his past. Instead he just looked in shock with an "O" shaped mouth, before closing it again and playing with his fingers. Another few moments passed, and Sonic finally mustered the courage to talk.

"Sorry, I'm not the best with feelings. Usually I just play it off with a joke but..I know that's not your thing, and your problems are a lot bigger than most people's."

Sonic watched as his eyes lowered, looking to his hands, before he gently placed one over his left ring. His thumb brushed over the cold metal, his mind racing before his sharp exhale brought him back. He could tell that Shadow didn't want to be here, especially with him. Yet..he didn't leave, didn't tell him to get out. It was almost as if he was trying to convince himself that he needed the company, perhaps something he wasn't used to from anyone else.

"..they had a room just like this one on the Ark. We'd be there every seventh day. Every seventh day was..scary. We never knew what they'd tell us, sometimes it was good news, and other times not. But I never liked being there. Not because of being in the unknown, but because her optimism always broke me. She knew what she was going through, and yet she always faced it with a smile."

Shadow paused, his fists clenching again, buried in the sheets this time. Sonic figured Shadow wasn't one to show his emotions around others, though he never expected to see him like this. It was like watching glass crack. Under his seemingly calm facade was someone that needed to talk to someone else.

"She once told me that..even though I may or may not be the answer to her cure, she was still glad I was created. She called me her hero..but I don't think I deserve that now.."

Sonic watched his posture change from stiff to loose, the nervous tracing of his thumb on his ring now growing slow and aimless.

"Well I think she's a good judge of character." Sonic spoke up finally, earning an almost surprised glance from the ultimate lifeform.

"Funny, I didn't expect to hear that from you. What makes you say that, especially after what we've been through?"

Sonic simply smiled proudly at his question, leaning forward in his chair and leaning his head against his hand.

"Well for one, you helped me save the planet despite wanting to destroy it in the first place. You then nearly sacrificed yourself for that cause. Also, even though you've done evil things, you're not evil. I mean maybe you're more cut off from other people, whether it's from being on Mobius for the first time, or it just being a personal preference. But I don't think you mean any real harm, especially now knowing that that's not you. I think you're capable of anything, and that's the best thing to be. Maria would be proud of you for how much you've learned since being here."

Sonic watched Shadow tense at the name, immediately regretting his assumption of what Maria would think. Though he noticed his grip on the sheets loosening, a long exhale as he nodded.

"You make a fair point, faker. Even if I thought I messed up, she would always tell me that I had good in my heart. I just hope that from now on I can prove her right."

"I know you can!" Sonic flashed his famous smile, earning an eye roll from Shadow.

"Okay okay, don't shine that optimism on me." He paused, his attention shifted to the television.

"..what's that..?"

"Oh! That's Mobius Music Network! They play music videos through the channel all day and people can tune in to listen to it!" Sonic happily explained, watching Shadow turn to him in confusion.

"..What's a music video..?" He asked, earning a small laugh from Sonic before watching as he took the remote.

"Looks like I've got a lot to teach you. Good thing I've got time! I've always wanted to have a friend that knew nothing about rock. I have so many good bands to show you." He continued excitedly, meeting Shadow's surprised gaze.

"..friend..?"

An awkward smile came across Sonic's face, retracting from his excited rambling.

"If that's okay..? Unless of course, you prefer to take things slowly~" he smiled, leaning closer to the other, who merely shook his head.

"I can't believe I'm actually saying this..but fine. I suppose Maria would want me to, and I owe you for saving me."

He held his hand out, confusing Sonic for a moment before it hit him, shaking his hand with a smile.

"I won't let you down!"

Shadow merely smiled, an almost genuine one, Were it not for his fatigue.

"Yeah..I figure you won't."