So I am super hyped to see that more and more people are enjoying this little treasure I've cooked up. I am honestly surprised that so many people like it. Big thanks to ToxicSpeka, Mitha Sentro and King Needlemouse for their reviews as well. And yes Needlemouse, I will be writing about the other characters alongside Shadow and Sonic. It's actually really fun to write each of them with their own little quirks. Anyways, I think I've rambled long enough. ON WITH THE SHOW!

Group therapy. God how Shadow hated it. He'd managed nearly a whole month without having the need to be placed in the special sessions but of course, he'd blown his chance at what little normality he had. Shadow wasn't even really sure what had happened. One moment he'd been sitting in history listening to Sonia talk about the Inca Empire and then suddenly he was being held down by Manic and Knuckles. Apparently when Sonia had changed the slide on the power point to an image of an ancient Inca carving that depicted a human bleeding out Shadow had lost it, throwing his desk across the room and attacking anyone he could get his hands on. He'd Punched Vector in the jaw and tried to strangle Rosey when the pink hedgehog had started yelling about how he was a secret government spy sent to kill them all.

Shadow had been excluded from classes for three days which had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He enjoyed the classes because they helped keep him grounded in the knowledge that this wasn't a prison but a place of learning and healing. With classes taken away the placed quickly began to feel like an oppressive constraint once more. The staff had decided to make a bargain with the sulking teen then. He'd be allowed back into his classes if he attended the group therapy sessions once a week. Shadow glared at the door of the Therapy room. The teen didn't want to go but he also wanted to attend classes again especially when tomorrow was English with Hope and they were going to be looking over how Shakespeare was the innovator of slang.

"This is stupid," Ebony growled before pushing the door open.

The room wasn't like what Shadow had been expecting. There weren't hard-back chairs set up in a circle or the stereotypical soothing and self-esteem picture hanging on the walls. Instead, there were bean bags and plush couches scattered around the room while a large bookcase sat off to the side. The room also had a bay-window with a very comfortable looking cushioned seat running along it. Sprawled along the couch were Knuckles and Rouge while Tails sat happily on a bean bag beside them. Blaze and Silver had claimed the bay-window and were quietly whispering back and forth while Sonic sat by the bookcase with a very large heavy tome sitting on his lap. Sitting on one of the arm chairs was Sally Acorn who was watching all the kids with an almost fond look to her face.

"Glad you decided to join us Shadow, please take a seat and we'll get started." Sally smiled warmly at him which just made the grumpy hedgehog roll his eyes. With the options narrowed down, Shadow ended up sitting on a bean bag that was near Knuckles and Rouge but also a few feet away from where Sonic sat. the blue hedgehog hadn't even look up at his appearance while the others had at least stopped what they were doing and were now looking at Sally expectantly.

"So, does anyone have anything they'd like to share? Perhaps something that has happened this week that they are proud of or maybe something they want to improve?" Sally asked. It was silent for a moment before Rouge sat up straighter.

"Well I haven't stolen anything in two days and I did give Amy back her Diamon earrings." The white bat shrugged, looking down at the ground while clenching her fists.

"That good to hear Rouge. If you keep this up we may even stop the weekly searches of your room." Sally praised the teen who looked slightly hopeful at this bit of news. "Who's next then?"

"I got an A in my physics exam." Silver spoke up before jumping and sending a glare to his right. "No one asked you."

Shadow wasn't even surprised anymore by the other hedgehog's random outbursts of seemingly talking to thin air. After almost a month of living at the Institute, he was used to all the oddities that the other students had. It went on like that, each students saying something they were happy about besides Blaze who complained about the kitchen staff putting out the fire she'd started on the stove. When it came down to Just Shadow and Sonic both were refusing to look at anyone in the room.

"What about you Shadow, got anything to share?" Sally prompted.

"No. I'm only here so I can start attending classes again," Shadow muttered.

"But you do understand why we pulled you from them don't you?" The chipmunk pressed and Shadow could feel his frustration starting to build.

"Because I attacked people." He spat back at her.

Sally didn't even blink at his aggressive response, simply nodded in agreement. "It's standard safety procedures. We have to make sure you won't pose a danger to the staff, students or yourself before we can let you back into the classroom."

"Whatever." Shadow huffed while turning away hoping she was done with him. Sadly though it wasn't his lucky day.

"Would you like to talk about what set you off Shadow? Talking about these kinds of things can help sometimes."

It was like there was a spring slowly coiling up tighter and tighter inside his chest. If Shadow really thought about it he might even say his anger and violent outbursts were the repressed feelings towards Maria's murder trying to break through. But he didn't think about it because he didn't want to think about it. "I have nothing to say."

"What happened is nothing to be ashamed of Shadow if that's what's worrying you. Everyone here has things that they can't control." He knew she was trying to be comforting but all she was achieving, in the end, was setting his teeth more on edge.

"I don't recall saying anything about being ashamed of my actions so if you would kindly stop making assumptions I don't wish to talk about this anymore." Shadow hissed while digging his fingers into the armrests of the chair. The pressure and force he was applying helped to relieve some of the tension inside his body but the ebony male wasn't sure how much more control he had left.

"If you're gonna throw the chair like you did the table may I suggest aiming at the ceiling fan. I never liked the colour of it." Knuckles mumbled from the couch which caused most of the other teens to snicker into their hands.

"What did the ceiling fan do to you?" Tails spoke up looking offended on the ceiling fan's account.

"It wasn't green." Rouge laughed knowingly while Knuckles flushed.

"You have a problem with my favorite colour?" The echidna snapped while the bat flipped over the back of the couch in case she needed to beat a hasty retreat.

"Not at all Knuckie, it just doesn't mean everything has to be green." Rouge winked.

"I resent that. I feel attacked!" Knuckles shouted while pointing a gloved hand at Rouge who just ducked away to another arm chair.

"Then fight back." Tails pointed out.

"Fighting isn't the answer to everything Miles and you know it." Sally scolded. The fox tensed up, twin tails fluffing up in agitation. Shadow watched as the other kids looked between the fox and chipmunk as if waiting for an explosion to go off. It never came because suddenly Chaos was there licking at the Fox kits face who gave a squeak of surprise that turned into soft giggles. Turning found Sonic suddenly at attention, book lying forgotten beside him while those bright green eyes glared daggers at Sally. It was an odd look on his face of that Shadow was certain. The older hedgehog had seen Blue smile, pout, scowl and even look guilty but he'd never seen him look properly angry before.

Sally for her part did look a little guilty but gave the blue hedgehog a meaningful glance at had the silent teen averting his gaze and shrugging one shoulder. It was always fascinating to Shadow to watch these silent forms of communication. Sign language was one thing but the way Sonic was able to convey what he wanted to say just through facial expressions and body language was amazing.

"Have you anything to share Sonic?" Sally asked once Chaos had stopped licking Tails and everyone had calmed down. Said hedgehog just looked at Sally, hands twitching as if he were going to sign before falling still by his side. Those green eyes moved from the pale blue ones to blood red and Shadow was reminded of their little meetings. Ever since he'd been gifted with the nightlight Shadow had found himself with a regular visitor to his room in the form of the blue one. Those visits could be considered a good thing to mention to Sally but the message was clear in those eyes. Sonic wouldn't mention anything unless Shadow wanted him too.

Being given a choice in a place where most decisions were made for you left the elder reeling for a moment. Shadow considered his options. If Sonic mentioned the meetings then the staff might become very nosy, wanting to know what the two of them talked about, how these little meet ups were good for the two of them and so on. The thought of having their privacy invaded like that sent a bolt of anger through Shadow and was what drove him to give a small shake of the head. Sonic blinked once before turning back to Sally. Blue lifted his right hand and with his thumb and first two fingers made a closing motion with them. The simple sign for no.

Sally eyed Sonic for a moment, weighing up her options before deciding to let sleeping bears lie. Turning back to the rest of the teens she sighed tiredly, hand rubbing at her closed eyes as she did so. "It's clear that none of you are gonna offer much more up today so I might bring this session to a close in a moment."

"There's a but in there somewhere," Blaze spoke up while Silver jittered beside her.

"There's a but in every sentence. Can't trust anyone." The white hedgehog muttered which sent Knuckles and Tails into a silent giggling fit. Sally sent them a warning look causing them to send her innocent looking smiles.

"Well, now that you bring it up, yes there is a but." The chipmunk glared around at them. "I'm giving you all a bit of homework."

"What? Sally, you're a tyrant!" Knuckles cried.

"We get enough homework from our normal classes." Rouge groaned into the couch.

"Then this shouldn't be too hard for you all." Sally smiled back at them. "I want you all to start keeping a diary or journal where you can write down any thoughts and feelings you have that you might not be comfortable sharing with me or everyone else. You'd be surprised how much this simple task can help you."

Shadow rolled his eyes feeling like this task was going to be pointless and time wasting for him. He just wanted to get out of this room and go back to his classes. This pointlessness was why he'd tried so hard to avoid the group therapy sessions and now here he was stuck attending them once a week. These sessions were surely going to be the longest part of his weeks.

A tug on his arm caused those blood red eyes to glance down into sparkling emerald green ones. Sonic smiled gently before jerking his head to the door. When Shadow snuck a glance at the group he could see them arguing with Sally effectively keeping her busy. With a small smirk, Shadow followed the younger hedgehog and dog out of the room, the three of them making a mad dash back to Ebony's room where they could enjoy the peace and quiet for a while.

"I take it you're a bit of a master of slipping unnoticed from rooms," Shadow commented to which Sonic gave a wink. Shadow shook his head before taking note of the book Sonic held, the one he'd been reading in the therapy room. Looking closer found it was a book filled with every Brother's Grimm story. The fairy tales had been one of Shadow's favorites growing up with their dark nature and exciting story lines. It had been years since he'd read one or even seen one in a hard copy. "At least you have good taste in literature."

Sonic look confused for a moment before he smiled, holding the book out to the elder male which once again left Shadow speechless. This kid was unbelievably kind to others yet could cause unparallel amounts of trouble when he wanted to. Taking the book slowly Shadow watched as Sonic gave Chaos a small pet on the head before leaving the room. As the younger was leaving Shadow suddenly wondered if he had made his first real friend in this hell hole of a place.

So maybe he wasn't completely ready to return to his classes but Shadow still refused to see where he was in the wrong. So what if he'd smashed his chair over Amy's head in a fit of unexplainable rage, she had it coming. Or at least, that's what Shadow liked to tell himself. The stupid girl had been bothering everyone, her mood swings causing her to be extremely happy one moment and constantly cuddling up into people's personal space only to burst into hysterical tears the next minute. It was enough to drive anyone insane but the breaking point had been when she'd taken the book Sonic had given him and thrown it to the floor in a fit of anger, screaming at him about how it was his own fault he was here and in turn unintentionally blaming him for Maria's death. The chair had been in his hand quicker than one could blink which meant no one could stop him from smashing it over the girls head.

Ebony sighed long and hard, knees drawn to his chest while his hands ran over the smooth glass cut emerald he held, the motions soothing away any negative thoughts and emotions. Glancing up found Hope sitting at her desk doing paper work. It had been Shadow's wish to sit in the staff room with Hope for the rest of the day instead of spending it alone in his room. Perhaps it was the childish thought that the girl would bring some comfort with her appearance that drove the teen to her side. Either way, Shadow knew it was unhealthy to compare her to his dead friend.

"What did you do this time?" The voice was familiar but one Shadow hadn't heard for at least a week. Turning found Mighty sitting underneath Manic's desk while his hands fiddled with a piece of string.

"Cause physical harm to another student," Shadow muttered. "What about you? Haven't seen you in class for the last week."

"I may or may not have barricaded myself in my room because I thought the government was spying on me and am now under observation till my paranoia dies down." The Armadillo shrugged with a small smile.

"Does that mean you'll be attending the weekly torture?" Shadow asked while ignoring the look Hope sent him.

"If you mean group Therapy then yes. Haven't been to a session for months but Sonia and Sally think it will be good for me to start again." Mighty sounded bitter as he spoke which made Shadow feel a little better in the knowledge that he wasn't the only one who resented attending the sessions.

"You guys make it sound like we actually do torture you in those sessions." Manic snorted from his desk where he was turning one of his documents into a paper airplane.

"Putting a group of highly unstable teens into one room and forcing them to talk about their feelings? Sounds like torture to me." Mighty snapped back while kicking at the hedgehog's legs. The green male didn't mad at the teen's actions, he simply smiled while gently nudging him back.

Yeah, Shadow will admit, he's not entirely sane but looking at the students and some of the staff at the institute he could safely say no of them were sane either.

So as we can see Shadow is still struggling in fitting and settling in with the others. His disorder also isn't making things easier. I knew right from the start he'd have PTSD because I strongly believe that the real conon Shadow would have it from seeing Maria's death. The Intermittent Explosive Disorder was something I added at the very last second but I felt it would fit his character really well. Tell me what you think and I shall see you all next time.