"Blaze, come back to me… I don't know what to do without you," Silver moaned in his sleep as he flipped back and forth. He was restless, trying to find a way out of his endless dream. The last thing he remembered before his unconscious state was a flash and then he woke up on the ground. He had a pounding headache and he was exhausted.

His gloves and boots were basically worn out and he was very dirty. He shakily stood up and confirmed he was in a forest. He was breathing uneasily, his body weak. He felt like passing out any minute. He had a deep gash on his side, cuts all over, and a stab wound on his hip. He felt so confused. Fighting the urge to go back to sleep, he walked forward, looking for a nearby town.

His feet were blistering after a mile and Silver had to stop from the pain. He slid down and leaned back against a tree. He was panting when he took off his shoes, relieving the displeasure and letting the cold air sooth his wounds. He stretched his toes and closed his eyes. He felt so loss. He couldn't remember anything. Only that his name was Silver and a close friend of his died. He didn't know how. Just that she did.

"Why can't I remember anything…? Maybe I hit my head on a rock…" He sat there for a while until he heard a familiar splashing sound in the distance. His ear twitched as he located the direction. Getting up, he stepped on a rock and winced.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…!" He pulled up that foot, holding it as he hopped in the direction he desired. Then he gasped in relief.

"Water!" It was a waterfall. He limped over and peeled off his peculiar gloves. Sliding his bottom half into the water, he flinched as he felt a sting and a cloud of red surround him and then dissolve. He ducked under and came back up. He moved his drenched quills out of his face. He stared at his reflection. He was a filthy, snow white hedgehog with amber colored eyes. He had black outlining the sides of his eyes. His skin was a soft peach color, though layered in soil, leaves, dried blood, and burn marks.

"What am I?" He whispered before grabbing his gloves. As much as he didn't want to, he used them as wash clothes. He scrubbed down his unclean body, scraping off unidentifiable muck and gunk. He sighed, cleaning his sores until the pain felt numb. He felt drowsy and tired. He started to clean his face.

Meanwhile, Shadow the hedgehog was waking up. He lifted his head and started to wipe the drool from his mouth when he noticed his saliva was mixed with red fluids. He recoiled at the pain of touching the spot on his face and sat up. He immediately regretted it, his head feeling like a ton of bricks fell on it. In response, he lost balanced and dropped out of the tree he was in. After about 20 feet, he landed on his back. Holding in a scream, he rolled over and began to violently cough up blood. He heaved and threw up for a minute, began catching his breath. He wiped off his mouth and sighed, his body shaking as he felt his eyes water from the foul taste in his mouth.

He made a face. Feeling sick, Shadow looked around.

"Where am I?" He began to stand up when a pain shot through his leg.

"Damn it!" He fell onto his backside again. He rubbed his swollen leg. He couldn't move it. His other leg wasn't as bad, it just hurt a bit and had a few cuts and burns here and there. He stood up again, not using his right leg. He used the trees nearby to guide him down the path ahead, trying to find shelter or a useful person nearby. He continued until the air had a familiar, captivating smell. He followed it to an opening in a bush. A rabbit hopped away as he looked up. He couldn't believe his luck.

"A body of water in the middle of nowhere," Shadow murmured as he hobbled over to the lake (the opposite side from Silver). He sat near the end of the water and stretched out his legs. He glanced around before sighing. His heart was still beating fast. He took off his rocket shoes and gloves, putting them somewhere safe.

"Unlike some careless idiot, I don't like for my stuff to get wet," he muttered to himself. He scooted closer and scooped up a handful of water and dumped it on his fur. He continued to rinse his lower half until he was sure the dirt, blood, and leaves were gone. He picked the spiky, brown spurs neatly out of his fur that had somehow latched onto him. He tucked his legs under him, on the soft, green grass as he leaned forward and dipped his head in the water. He cleared his quills of goop and cleaned out his ears and eyes of anything that got in. Pushing himself farther in, he held his breath as he cleansed and scratched substances off of his torso. After deciding he did his best, he pushed out before he drowned. He panted and observed his shiny, clean fur.

He smirked.

"A good hedgehog always keeps his body sanitary and hygienic." Someone had always told him that, but he couldn't remember who. He chuckled to himself and shook the water out. He accepted the feeling of the wind blowing against his fur. It actually calmed him and felt pretty nice.

"Okay… What can I remember?" He went over in his mind, trying to retrieve vague facts and memories.

"I'm Shadow the hedgehog… My age is unknown. I had a friend named... Maria. She was my favorite person in the world… Something happened to her…" He frowned. That was all he knew.

"Okay, talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed! Nope, the wrong side of the Earth!" Sonic nearly shouted as he skipped through the forest. He looked around. It seemed he had taken the least damage. Well… Physically. He was almost perfectly fine. He had a bump on his head and was a bit sore on his hands and limbs, but he didn't mind. He was confused and didn't remember anything about anything. That was it. Otherwise, he was good.

"Hmph." He stopped running, crossing his arms. He was concentrating really hard, but nothing came to his mind. He didn't even know his own name.

"Eh. It's not like I need a name." He twirled in a circle. He stopped in a completely random direction and ran that way. Shadow stood up and slid his shoes back on. He was almost completely dry. He was bending over with some trouble to pick up his gloves when someone ran into him. He yelped, wavering as he tried not to fall into the water. Succeeding, he fell backwards. After clenching his crimson eyes in pain, he opened them. Sonic was hovering over him.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a smile. He got a groan as he backed up and held out a hand. Shadow grabbed it and got up. He sighed in exhaustion, trying not to put pressure on his broken leg.

"Who are you?" Sonic shrugged.

"I don't know. Who are you?"

"Shadow."

"Are you sure?" Sonic asked in confusion. Now that Shadow thought about it…

"No…"

"Well, maybe Shadow is my name."

"Hell no, you're not stealing my name."

"But you don't even know if that's your name. Your name could be… Eduardo." Shadow looked at Sonic blankly.

"Are you serious?" Sonic shrugged innocently. Shadow shook his head, labeling him as a harmless boy.

"How about I call you Blue? Is that okay?" Sonic cocked his head.

"Why?"

"Because you're blue." Sonic went over to the water and looked down. His eyes widened as he pointed at his reflection.

"You're right!" Shadow folded his arms.

"Of course I am." Sonic smiled at him.

"Are you lost, too?" Shadow widened his eyes.

"Actually, I am."

"Cool, maybe we can find someone else together." Shadow thought about it and nodded. Silver stepped out of the water and shook off the water. Sliding into his boots, he walked through some trees and began his journey again. Shadow and Sonic went the opposite direction.

"I guess we're friends now," Sonic said warmly.

"I guess…" Shadow mumbled.