A/N: My apologies to anyone who may have been a bit freaked out by the previous chapter. This one should be a little softer, for the most part.


Omega hurried back and forth between Shadow and Rouge, both of whom were still unconscious. They'd been out cold for almost two hours after their brutal fight, yet Omega attempted to nurse them back to health with whatever he could use. He bandaged their cuts, did quick x-ray scans to check for any broken bones(Rouge had a slight fracture on her wrist, but it was nothing major), and cleansed the wounds. The robot kept going over in his memory how much he'd warned the two to stop their arguing; and the amount of times he'd gotten between them seemed countless. And not only did he understand how much damage both teammates could cause to each other, he also recalled that it was his duty to protect them both, even if it was from each other.

Omega was concerned for his teammates. He didn't know how they were going to act once they woke up, and he could only hope that they wouldn't attempt to beat each other up again. Or worse, in Shadow's case. The robot scurried over to Rouge as he heard her moans of pain and her head began to move. Gently, he lifted her head and held a water bottle at the ready for her to drink from.

"My God . . ." she groaned, "The nightmares I've had lately . . ." The bat looked at her hands, which were still shaking. She then gazed into Omega's somehow sympathetic red eyes and realized that he was holding her head. The bat frowned. "Omega, what are you doing?"

"Drink this," he said, showing her the water bottle, "I've come to the conclusion that you are dehydrated."

Rouge, though she was numb from the pain, slowly took the water and drank it greedily without hesitation. The drink eased her dry throat as it traveled through her mouth. She cleared her throat a few times and then sat herself up.

"Oh, God, my back . . ."

Omega took the bottled water back and capped it. He watched as his companion stretched her back, arms, and wings out. For once, she was uncharacteristically quiet. After yawning and stretching, Rouge's eyes wandered around the cavern's small chamber. It was then when she remembered what had happened before she'd passed out. Small bloodstains spotted the walls and floor, and in the other corner of the room was Shadow, still knocked out. Omega glanced over at him as well, hoping he wouldn't wake up yet.

Rouge's eyes became watery again. The blue-green eyes swam in small pools of tears.

"I . . . I said some pretty awful things, didn't I?" she whispered faintly. Omega lowered his head sullenly.

"I imagine that, in the midst of the chaos, you and the Shadow creature encountered some form of mental instability," he said in reply. "Some things that were said were not sincere."

"What if they were, though?" Rouge pondered aloud, her voice still at a whisper, "Why can't I go through one of these missions without being a snob about them? It . . . it's my own fault."

The bat buried her face in her hands, ashamed that tears were falling from her eyes. Her face became red with embarrassment. Omega, for one, didn't know how to respond. He patted her shoulder and watched as Rouge—for the first time in a long while—showed such emotion. She sniffled, her breath was erratic, and she tried to keep the tears from flowing, though unsuccessfully.

"Damn it," she sobbed quietly, "Just damn it all."

The robot sat next to her and stared, unblinking, at the rocky ground. It was never a good thing when Rouge cried, especially since it was an extremely rare occurrence.

The robot stood up suddenly as he saw Shadow starting to stir. Defensively, he got in front of Rouge and kept a watchful eye on the hedgehog.

Shadow rubbed his face, and became mildly startled when his hands brushed over the bandaged spots on his forehead and chin.

"What the-" the hedgehog laid there, dazed and confused for a moment. He suddenly felt dizzy; his head started to spin. The ceiling of the chamber became blurry, and then everything became clear again. After blinking a few times, Shadow rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up. The figure of Omega came into focus as the robot walked towards him. "Sweet Mobius . . ." the hedgehog moaned.

Omega did another quick scan of Shadow. The sensors picked up a sort of mental stimulation going on in the hedgehog's mind.

"It appears your mental health is being treated on its own, much like your physical wounds," Omega remarked, "Your mind is healing itself. You may be feeling slight dizziness or blurry vision."

Shadow blinked again, and shook his head.

"Ugh . . ." he groaned, "I . . . thanks." The hedgehog felt dizzy again, and zoned out for a moment. Then, he brought his gaze to Rouge, whose eyes widened when they met the groggy hedgehog's. Upon closer inspection, Shadow realized that her eyes were reddened, as was her face. Rouge had been crying. He gulped, suddenly feeling a wave of memories flooding his mind.

You're dead to me, his memories played back. I hope your body burns in hell with your damned soul!

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with one hand. Another dizzy spell hit him as his sanity returned to him slowly. As he recalled his actions, Shadow's stomach ached with guilt. He'd killed before, but he'd never lost it so much as to attempt such a thing on his closest friend. His whole body trembled as he realized what could have happened.

"I . . ." he uttered. He couldn't manage to find any other words. The hedgehog looked back at Rouge, who tensed up upon locking eyes. She kept looking into them, searching, until Shadow tore his gaze from her. The hedgehog bit his bottom lip. "Omega, how is she?"

"Rouge has a few minor injuries, but nothing serious."

Shadow toyed with a bandage on his wrist.

"H-how about her mind? Did I . . . did I traumatize her?"

The robot analyzed Rouge's mental state of being. "She's suffering a traumatic aftermath and shock," he rattled off, "I'm afraid her mental state won't heal as easily as yours. It may not at all."

Shadow gritted his teeth in his mouth and shut his eyes again. What had he done?

"Is she willing to speak to me?" he asked hopelessly.

"I will check. Do not try anything with my back turned," Omega warned, "I will take unfortunate but necessary procedures again."

Nodding sincerely, Shadow watched as Omega went to Rouge.

"He is requesting that you speak to him," the robot said to his teammate.

Rouge pursed her lips and chewed the inside of her cheek nervously.

"H-how is he doing-"-she made a motion indicating her head- "-up here?"

"His mental health is being restored as we speak," Omega said, "it is as his physical wounds; somehow there is activity within his mind causing her sanity to return."

Rouge frowned and reluctantly considered talking to her teammate. When she said nothing for another minute, Omega went back to Shadow.

"She is thinking about it," he said solemnly, "If I'm correct, her trust in you may be dwindling."

"Oh, that's helpful," Shadow snapped. The tiny and insignificant outburst alarmed Omega, so as a reaction, he menacingly brought his large metal body closer to the hedgehog's. Unfazed, Shadow struggled to figure out what to say. "T-tell her . . ." Something told Shadow that a single apology wouldn't be nearly enough to make up for his actions. At this point, nothing seemed to. Rouge's trust, when broken once, would take far too long to restore. Omega stood still, waiting for a message to give to the bat. Shadow just stared at the ground with an overwhelming amount of shame clouding his mind. "I never meant what I said," he mumbled, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Shall I tell her this?" Omega replied. Shadow shook his head.

"There's no way she'll accept any apology," he whispered, "No freaking way. I can't imagine what else I could do to . . . to . . ."

Shadow looked into Omega's eyes. He didn't care what he said anymore. He clenched a fist, angry with himself.

"I'll leave," he decided suddenly, "I'll live in this cave by myself. You two ought to find your way out. I don't deserve to show my face anywhere else."

Omega shook his head with a strange grinding sound coming from his neck joints.

"Do not make such rash decisions," the robot said, "We are a team."

"A team that's now broken because of me," Shadow grumbled.

"But a team nevertheless," Omega insisted, becoming—oddly enough for him—worried. "We must stay together."

"I almost killed her, Omega," Shadow blurted, "She could've died at my hands!"

"Do not raise your voice," the robot replied instantly, "I understand your remorse at present, but I forbid you from leaving. No matter how bitter you two meat-bags are, I will forbid you both from fleeing from one another. You will resolve this, and we will escape this cave in one piece. Am I clear?"

Shadow smiled slightly and stared at his metal colleague, who stared right back at him. The hedgehog chuckled.

"Do I sense a hint of worry?" he inquired, teasing the robot. Omega lowered his head threateningly.

"Am I clear?" he repeated, this time more slowly. Shadow's face returned to a neutral expression, and he pursed his lips.

"Yes, sir."

Shadow threw another glance at Rouge, who was trembling slightly, as though she were crying again. No doubt the images from the fight had overwhelmed her mind again and continued to haunt her. Shadow turned away. What could he do? What would he say?

"I would suggest for you to make her feel better somehow," Omega said, "I am afraid I cannot console her as well as you may be able to."

Shadow nodded.

"Guess I have no other choice," he sighed.

The hedgehog watched as Omega went back to Rouge to tell her what was going to happen. Shadow felt his legs become heavy as he tried to stand up. Suddenly a lump formed in his throat. He attempted to push it back by swallowing, but it refused to return. Any type of consolation he came up with was nothing but a pathetic apology; all of them became scrapped ideas. After another moment, he decided to just wing it. And if he did happen to snap again, he had Omega right there to knock him out.

Once he finally gained the courage to face his teammate, Shadow approached the sorrowful bat and sat down next to her. Understandably, the bat scooted a few feet away, just to be cautious. Shadow pursed his lips and said nothing for a moment. Both of them stared intently at the cold stone floor.

"Rouge . . ." Shadow started, playing nervously with his fingers, "I . . . there's something I need to tell you."

Rouge's ear twitched, showing a tiny spark of interest. Shadow cleared his throat and felt his face getting hot as he prepared himself to speak.

Before Shadow had the chance to open his mouth, a low tremor slightly shook the cave, rapidly turning into a booming rumble. Shadow stood up and nearly lost his footing. The stalactites on the ceiling shook dangerously, threatening to fall. Small pieces of rocks began to rain from the chamber's ceiling.

Rouge was frozen like a deer in headlights. She stared at the formations above her that were shaking faster. A tornado of emotions swirled around her head, and she didn't know how to react to them. In her daze, she could just barely make out Shadow's voice.

"Rouge!" he called, "Rouge, come on! Are you crazy?!" The hedgehog looked at Rouge, who still stood motionless, gazing at the rocks that came raining down. Shadow felt that, if he tried to move her, she'd resist. Frantically, he yelled at Omega to leave the chamber so he could stay and bring Rouge out as well. The robot hesitated, but scurried outside of the chamber once a small cascade of rocks poured over his head.

A large stalactite cracked near the top and plummeted down—right above the stunned bat's head. Before he knew what he was doing, Shadow threw his full body weight at Rouge, sending her reeling the other way. Rouge snapped out of her daze as she landed on the ground and whirled around.

"Shadow!" she called, her voice hoarse. The hedgehog lay sprawled out, struggling under the weight of the rock formation. Upon hearing no answer, the bat rushed to his side and began attempting to move the stubborn rock. Her fractured wrist burned, the pain intensifying with every muscle she exhausted in order to save her friend. More rocks rained down over her head and littered the ground.

Omega, after waiting at the entrance of the chamber and nearly being crushed himself, peered inside to see what was going on. Rouge was attempting to move a rather thick icicle-like rock. The robot immediately understood why when he couldn't locate Shadow in the cavern, so he went to Rouge and, with ease, lifted the stalactite up. Shadow, eternally grateful though not showing it, stood up and walked a step or two before slowly tipping over.

More deafening cracks rang through the air, signaling the imminent collapse of the rest of the stalactites. Omega slung Shadow over his shoulder and led Rouge out of the cavern, holding her arm. They jumped clear just as the little chamber was reduced to a pile of dust and rocks with a crash. All at once, the rumbling stopped and, save for a layer of newly-fallen rocks, the cave remained somewhat intact.

"We gotta get out of here," came a low voice from a weakened yet still strong hedgehog, "Whether you trust me or not, Rouge, we'll make it outta here."

Shadow limply fell against Omega's back, his muscles aching. Rouge bit the inside of her cheek and sat down on a nearby rock.

"We'll wait for him to wake up," she mumbled to Omega, who gently placed the hedgehog down, "He's right—there's no sense arguing when we should be finding our way out."

Omega nodded in agreement.

"Once the Shadow creature awakens, we shall continue our search for an exit from this place."

The bat suddenly became dizzy and rubbed the dust from her eyes. Now that Shadow had both attempted to kill her and saved her life in the same day, it was hard to express how she was feeling.