I have no intention of stopping this FanFic. It's just with school and crap and Metal Gear and other FanFics and homework and family stuff and drama and random things ect., the updates might come slower than expected.

But I will get this done. And it will be a really long story. Also slow updates due to the fact his entire thing was written on an iPod because my computer broke and stuff.

So get ready. Whatever. Enough of my rambling.

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CHAPTER 3, REUNION

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It was three days before Maria was lead down the cold, white halls to Shadow's cell. Three days of endless worry about the two SCPs. Three days of loneliness. She found Shadow exactly as she had left him. Lying on his pitiful excuse of a mattress with a distant, pained expression on his face. She managed to shake him awake gently.

"M...Maria..." Shadow moaned. "Where...were you?"

"They restricted me access from you. Apparently I did something wrong. But I'm back." she said. "What happened to you? You don't look too well,"

"I'm fine." Shadow said. He made an effort to stand, but his injured leg buckled, sending him crashing down into Maria's arms. His leg was never this weak before...

"What did they do to you?" Maria demanded.

Shadow hesitated. "They...made me do something that landed me in Keter class." he pulled himself up and sat back heavily.

"Oh no..." Maria said softly. Shadow had joined them; the most poorly treated of the facility. Even before, he weren't in the best hands.

"They sent someone in a dark room with me." Shadow said. "He was armed with a type of device that created a shock when pressed to me. I fought him...I won. He was killed."

The exact thing Silver was going through.

"I further damaged my leg in the battle." Shadow continued. "I can't walk long distances on my own anymore for the time being."

"I'm sure you'll recover." Maria promised.

"I'm not worried about myself," Shadow hissed. "I'm worried about you. And..." he trailed off, but Maria knew who he meant.

"I only have a few more weeks before I'm out of S.C.P. for good. When the time comes, I'm alerting the authorities to this place. This cannot continue. What I can't understand is why no one's done it before." Maria said. "We'll get you out of here in no time."

Shadow cast his gaze to the floor and frowned. "Something doesn't seem right about this place at all. There are too many secrets. This entire facility was built on lies."

"Pretty much,"

"That man...Patrick...he is hiding something. He has a stern face...but beneath that is something else." Shadow continued. "Beneath his mask is fear. Total, complete fear. Of you, of me, of everything in this place. I think he envies you,"

"Why? He treats me like shit." Maria said.

"I think it's because you don't know what he knows."

Maria fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "You just decided something for me."

"What is it?"

"I won't tell you yet if I'm denied. But I have a way to hopefully start getting answers." Maria said. "I hope it works...and I hope he's still alive."

Shadow cast bloodred eyes at the door. "Our time was cut short again."

The doors opened and two armed men stepped in and motioned for the prisoner to exit. Shadow's ears flattened against his skull and he barred his teeth, fur bristling. Maria put a hand on his shoulder, calming him a bit before doing as the soldiers said. She was met by Patrick outside.

"So, what is it you have decided?" he asked.

"I need to speak with Dune."

Patrick chuckled. "That can be arranged."

"Oh," Maria said, a bit surprised. She figured she would have to argue a bit to get the agent to comply. "Good. When can I see him?"

"Whenever you want."

"Okay...but first I want to visit Silver."

"You are restricted access from SCP- 7039 for the time being," he said without missing a beat.

"What? Why?" Maria felt dread drop in her stomach.

"We are still running tests on him. He will be completed with them whenever he decides to cooperate." Patrick said, completely void of expression.

"You can't force him—"

"We can. He is our property. He will do as we command."

Maria decided to stop the stream of curses from exploding from her throat before Patrick thought twice about getting her to Dune. As much as she wanted to see Silver, just to make sure he was still alive, she had to hold her tongue.

"Wise decision," Patrick said with mock praise. "If you are done here, I will lead you to Number 1497, Dune,"

Maria followed him, the guards behind her. They walked past numerous testing chambers, labs, and cells, finally coming to one with a guard outside it.

"Is Dune really so dangerous he needs a guard outside his cell too?" Maria asked.

"He's not just dangerous. He's mentally unstable." Patrick said. "I doubt he'll tell you anything worth knowing."

He walked up to the guard and showed him an ID. The guard moved and unlocked the door, ushering them into a darkened room. The only light came from a flickering bulb in the corner.

"Hiding...hiding...hiding..." came a hoarse, whispered voice. "But there's no way out...! Hiding, hiding, hiding..."

Patrick flipped a switch and lights lit up the small cell. Maria blinked in the light before making out the form of the prisoner slouched in front of her. Dune was wearing a jumpsuit similar to hers, only with different numbers across the pocket. His brownish hair was unbrushed, and small clumps were missing altogether. He looked skinny and underfed. His wrists were strapped to the arms of a wheelchair, and other straps were wrapped around his middle and ankles.

"You've been fighting them forever, and you can't take another bout!" he continued in a slightly singsongy voice. "Finding, finding, finding...they'll search you out...!"

"Dune, you have a visitor." Patrick said flatly.

The man didn't respond to him. He muttered something else before completing his little song. "And then they'll shoot you dead...!"

Silence for a few seconds. Maria cleared her throat. "Dune, I have to ask you something."

"Everyone has to ask...! Always ask! Never anything else!" Dune said, raising his head and voice slightly. His eyes were dull and his cheekbones were hollow. He overall looked like a live skeleton.

"Why did you do it? Why did you hurt Silver?"

"Ooh...the little one!" Dune grinned. Unbrushed, bloodstained teeth glared at Maria. "Yes...yes...very fun. Lots of screams! Lots of blood!"

"But...why did you do it?"

"Soft fur, too...didn't stop the knife..."

"Dune!" Maria shouted, taking everyone in the room by surprise. "Cut the shit and tell me why you did it!"

Dune fixed his eyes on her face. "Lots of reasons."

"So tell me them!"

"Lots of reasons." he stared back at the ground. "Lots of blood...! Couldn't tell me where the blue went..."

"Blue? What blue?"

"The blue one!" Dune screamed. "Killed everyone...! Needed to know!"

"What?"

"Trying to know...wouldn't tell me...blood and pain..."

"What blue one?"

Dune had fallen silent.

"Dune? What blue one? This is important," Maria said.

"I see something you don't see..." the man sang softly. "and it's looking straight at me. Hidden far, hidden there, you'd retrieve it, if you dare..."

"Let's go, Maria." Patrick said.

Maria followed him out of the room. Patrick turned again and said to Dune, "You need to work on your rhymes," before motioning to the guard to shut the door.

"He really is insane." Maria said. "But what did he mean by the blue one? Who was he talking about?"

"An SCP from a few years ago. A product of genetic mutation and engineering." Patrick said. "He escaped and killed at least five people. Three out of four of Dune's brothers were killed. He swore revenge. I guess he captured SCP-7039 because they looked similar. He thought he would know where the other was."

"Why are you telling me this?" Maria asked. "It seems pretty top secret."

"The file wasn't marked in any way. There's nothing I can't tell you about that part. It's names and specifically what type of genetic engineering conducted are classified."

"So...was this blue one an SCP like Shadow and Silver?"

"He was. We found him in the woods, starving and freezing to death in the late winter. We brought him back here and studied him. He made the perfect specimen. We began testing and experimentation. But he was too powerful and became the first SCP to escape."

"And then it all lead up to this." Maria said.

Patrick nodded.

"You're being unbelievably nice right now."

"Don't push your luck." Patrick hissed.

"You've just proved you're either a bit insane, or extremely bipolar."

Patrick ignored her. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm bringing you back to your cell."

Maria shrugged and followed. "If it makes any difference, I'm sorry for insulting you earlier. If you want, when you're married and have kids, I could babysit."

Patrick's lips twitched in a slight smile, but it quickly faded. "Maybe," he muttered.

"Patrick, I need to see Silver again." Maria started. "I need to make sure he's okay. Please tell me you're giving him enough to eat."

The agent remained silent.

"Please, Patrick."

"I'll take you to him in two days."

"Thank you."

Patrick locked eyes with her for a moment. Maria blinked. Was that...a hint of pity...? It was so different from the madness in his eyes a few days earlier.

XxXxXxXx

"Dune said there was a blue one." Maria said. "Sort of like you. Do you know of anyone like that?"

Shadow glanced at the ground, eyes narrowed. "Yes. I do. Or I did."

"Who? Who was it?"

"I only knew him for a brief time. He was ...different."

"How so?"

"He twitched and stuttered out random bits of code or numbers. Things that had no meaning to us. His fur was thin and a bright, vivid blue."

"Hence Dune called him 'blue'," Maria said. "Makes sense."

"But that wasn't why he was different." Shadow continued. "He was fast. Faster than you could believe. He was always on edge. He didn't hesitate to lash out. And he didn't have a name. He had a code,"

"What was it?"

"Project 178-907/168 SO.N 4288 IC. We called him Sonic. He called himself a mistake."

"Sonic..." Maria thought. "The same Sonic that stopped that mad doctor?"

"Yeah. S.C.P. must have caught wind of him after that and hauled both the Doctor and him in after that. I had enough sense to lie low and only go out at night."

"Do you know if they're still alive?"

"...No,"

The door opened and the two guards walked in. "Time's up." one said.

"It seems like an actual hour this time." Maria said. "I've been trusted more."

Shadow scoffed.

"Well, see you soon!" Maria left with the two security guards. She followed Patrick down the halls back to her cell. But they made a different turn and started walking down a different passage. "Where are we going?" Maria asked.

"Your wish was granted. You get to see Silver." Patrick said.

"But it's only been a day."

Patrick pointed to the room and Maria entered. She climbed the stairs into the observation room and sat nearby the monitor and studied it, a worried look on her face.

Silver was curled in the far corner, drawn into himself like a small ball of white fur and quills. He looked skinnier and he wasn't moving. The monitor on screen indicated he was sleeping.

"It's the first time in days he's slept." Patrick said.

"Wh...what are those splotches on the ground?" Maria dreaded the answer as she pointed to several dark stains lining the walls and floor.

"Blood," Patrick said. "He didn't lose a lot. Most of it belongs to others."

"Who?"

"The prisoners they sent in with him."

"Is he assigned to Keter class too?" Maria asked.

"Not yet. He only harmed them if they hurt him. Self defense."

"Like I told you," Maria hissed darkly.

"I wanted you here to see this." Patrick said.

"What?"

Patrick motioned for her to watch the screen. She did. Someone had walked into the room, judging by the soft footsteps. Silver uncurled from his sleeping position and pressed himself to the wall as though trying to melt through it. "D...don't want to h-hurt you..." he whispered.

"Patrick, if you're going to hurt him, I don't want to see it..." Maria said.

"He won't be harmed." Patrick assured her.

The newcomer drew close enough to be picked up on the nightvision camera. "Silver?"

Maria felt tears well up in her eyes. Shadow was feeling blindly along the wall, following Silver's warnings. He nearly tripped over the lighter SCP.

"S-Shadow...?" Silver whispered. He began glowing a light teal to shed some light in the dark prison. Neither moved for a few seconds. Silver blinked and then threw himself at the other, wrapping his arms around his sides. He was crying and laughing and stammering things out all at once.

Maria wiped a tear from her own eye. "Thank you for doing this, Patrick."

The agent nodded. "It is another experiment to see if they will cooperate better if they know the other is nearby."

"You know, you might have a soul after all. Keyword being 'might',"

XxXxXxXx

Silver was bloodstained and had not eaten anything half-decent in at least five days. He and Shadow were both brought to a slightly bigger cell, with two mattresses stacked side-by-side in a corner. Maria was permitted to get them both situated in their new home.

"I'm glad you're still all right, Silver." Maria said, offering him a piece of bread. She had to rip the food given to him by the guards from his hands and then give bits and pieces to him every minute or so. Silver nearly choked to death trying to jam everything in his mouth at once.

Silver scarfed it down instantly, barely caring to chew. "I was scared. I...I didn't want to hurt anyone,"

"A lot has happened since you were forced to defend yourself." Shadow sighed. "I was moved to Keter class. Maria learned a thing or two about this whole mess." he deliberately didn't mention Dune's name.

"Like what?" Silver asked.

"Things about Sonic."

Silver's eyes grew wide and he backed up a bit, glancing from Maria to Shadow. "S...Sonic?! He was...the bad man said...needed to know...!" he stuttered.

"It's okay..." Maria said gently. "He's gone now. We won't let him near you."

"I didn't want to tell him..." Silver continued. "I didn't. I didn't at all!"

"You're fine. I promise." Maria said, shuffling over to him. She drew him into her arms in a protective hug. She could feel his heart pounding.

Silver sat down on her leg and leaned against her chest, shuddering slightly. "I feel safe now, though. With you and Shadow."

"Well, that's good." Maria said. "And we'll keep you safe if you can't protect yourself. Okay?"

No response.

"...Silver?" Maria asked.

A soft snore was her reply.

Shadow chuckled. "Poor kid's exhausted. He went through a lot, by the looks of it. If his fur was darker, he'd be going grey,"

Maria scoffed. "Is that how you got that white patch on your chest? Trying to stay alive in this place?"

"Very funny."

Maria grinned. "Maybe he'll start losing his fur."

Shadow chuckled. "He sheds a lot, though."

"Oh, brilliant," Maria muttered, patting the sleeping SCP's head. "Uh...there was something I meant to tell you, about Dune. But it slipped my mind earlier."

"What is it?"

"He's gone insane. Or more insane than he was. He was speaking in riddles and broken sentences."

"Like what?"

" 'Hidden there, hidden far away,'...things like that. But he made it rhyme."

"Prisoners have more access to the facility than the specimens, right?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah. I get ushered around this entire place and everything. I've seen some pretty odd things...odd people..."

"Maybe he saw something he thought was important,"

"I don't know," Maria sighed. "And frankly, I don't care. He is insane. He deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life."

"I would not wish that punishment on anyone in this facility."

Maria didn't say anything. She instead stroked Silver's head quills back, earning a tiny, deep sound from the sleeping SCP. "Hey, he purrs." she laughed.

Shadow gave her a small smile. "Only if he likes someone."

The doors were opened and the two guards walked in. Maria sighed heavily and stood, Silver in her arms, and deposited him on one of the mattress pads. He turned onto his side and curled up, muttering in his sleep.

"See ya soon, Shadow. And make sure Silver doesn't kill himself over the food." she pointed to a small tray of food still left over.

Shadow nodded, casting the two guards a wary glare.

XxXxXxXx

"Your month here is almost up," Patrick said.

"Yeah. Only a few more weeks."

"Make the most of them."

"What? Why?"

Maria didn't hear his answer as she was ushered into Shadow and Silver's cell. Shadow stood from where he was sitting on one of the mattresses. "He hasn't woken up completely. Only for short periods of time. Enough to eat a few bites and then drift off again,"

"Aw, poor guy," Maria cooed, sitting next to Silver's curled, sleeping form. "He really deserves the rest, though." she stroked his head quills. The blood had been cleaned from his fur.

Shadow nodded.

"So he's been sleeping for two and a half days?" Maria asked.

"Yes."

Silver's ear twitched slightly and he coughed before forcing one of his eyes open. "M...Maria...?"

"Yeah?" Maria asked. "What's up?"

"Heard you talking..." Silver yawned. "I don't want to wake up..."

"You don't have to. Rest as long as you want," Shadow said.

"Okay. Shadow?"

The darker's ear flicked. "Yes?"

"You're not gonna go away again, right?"

"No. Of course not."

"Good," Silver yawned again. "Because I don't want you to. Fight the guards if they try to take you again."

"I promise,"

Silver smiled as he fell back asleep. Maria continued gently caressing his quills. "Are you his father?"

"Not biologically." Shadow said.

"So you're kind of a step-dad?"

"I suppose he considers me to be one. I consider myself his mentor, but I haven't done a very good job about it. If I had taught him more, he wouldn't have gotten captured by...him,"

"How did you meet? If you don't mind me asking,"

Shadow hesitated and finally sat back down on the mattress. "It wasn't on the best circumstances."

"What happened?" Maria persisted.

"I was not...born...like other living things." Shadow started. "I was created in a lab. ARK Laboratory, I believe. I never knew what the outside world was like. I didn't know kindness, happiness or love. All I knew was pain from my mutated body and confusion provided by the scientists."

"ARK Laboratory...?" Maria asked in barely a whisper.

"Yes. Why?"

"My grandfather works there. You were the one he talked about when I was twelve years old. You were the one he said escaped...!" Maria gasped.

"You are the professor's granddaughter?" Shadow said with equal surprise. "He was always talking about you. How he wanted you to work in his field,"

"Yeah," Maria nodded. "But I didn't want any of that after I saw what he was doing." she shuddered. "I'm sorry for what he did to you,"

"It's not your fault," Shadow sighed.

"Anyway, please continue,"

"They spent years trying to balance out my chemical makeup, but it would always be too much of one thing, too little of another. I felt like I was burning from the inside out. I had migraines so intense I would hallucinate and black out. I sometimes would lose control of a limb. I was so sick I couldn't eat on a regular basis. It was a living hell. I wanted to die. And then they finally perfected it. For the first time in my life, I wasn't in pain. I could think clearly. I could spend weeks without a serious complication.

"It was about then I began planning my escape. I didn't know the world outside the lab, but I knew it existed. I could smell it on the scientists. It was the scent of trees. Not the harsh chemicals used in the lab. I planned my escape carefully and made it out in the dead of night. It was dark, but I made it to the woods and into a hollow log. Unfortunately, it was already occupied by a white furred hedgehog like me, only this one hadn't spent his life in a hell like I had. He had a different story.

"We fought for a few minutes. Silver was inexperienced with hand-to-hand combat and I bested him easily. He thought I was there to kill him. I just wanted a place to rest without being recaptured. He somehow...duplicated my memories...and accepted that I was telling the truth. He trusted me without a doubt and followed me like a lost puppy since that night."

"And then everything went to hell after a few years and you ended up here with me," Maria clarified.

Shadow nodded.

"I'm sorry. For everything that happened to you,"

He didn't reply.

"What's Silver's side of the story?"

"I..." Shadow sighed. "I suppose he should tell you that himself."

"All right," Maria said, rubbing Silver's forehead. "Why is he so soft...? You're pretty pointy...but he's like a cat with quills on his head."

"You've seen his kinetic power, right? He uses that instead of brute force." Shadow said.

"Ah. Well, he's easier to hug," Maria smiled.

Shadow scoffed.

"When he wakes, get a guard to retrieve me, if you can." Maria said. "Don't force him awake. Let him escape into dreams for a little longer."

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Long chapter! Whoot!

More on the way in 2 weeks or so! Remember to review!

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Hasta la Vista, Reader!

Lordoftheghostking28