I immediately picked Sonic up and rushed him to my bed, where I gently set him down and covered him up. "Just rest for a bit, okay?"

He groaned and turned away, burying his face in the pillow. "Noo..."

I nodded and stood up straight, grabbing my flashlight. "Yes, Sonic. Wait here and I'll go find Shadow."

"No way!" Sonic sat up. "You're not going out there alone!"

I stared at him for a second. "...Yes I am. Now you wait here."

He tried to sit up. "No way! I'm coming with!"

I pushed him back down, gently as I could anyways. "You're staying here!"

He then shoved my arms out of the way and leapt out of the bed, but had to cling to my legs to keep himself from falling over. "No. I'll help you."

"Soni-"

"Addison! It goes against everything I stand for to just 'sit here and rest' or 'wait'. I'm coming with!"

"Sonic, if you go unconscious on me, I may not be able to carry you without hurting you."

"Good thing I never go unconscious." he retorted, running for the window. I quickly grabbed his arms though, and pushed him back.

"Nope. You need to stay here. It's for your own good - in every way."

"Addison - I'm - going!" He reared an arm back and hit my arm away, bone against bone. I stepped back and clutched my arm in pain, staring at him. He slowly stepped closer, and I allowed my gaze to harden into a glare. He reached one hand out. "Addison, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"No, Sonic!" I snapped. I ignored the sudden look of shock and slight fear in his eyes. "Go out! Go get yourself hurt. Go get lost, injured, and taken away, either by Sega or some deranged fan that wants only to do cruel and unthinkable things to you, Sonic, and I hope it goes just swell for you!" I pointed out the window. "There are sick people out there, Sonic, and I swear if they ever saw that you were real and here, they would do stuff you'd never imagine. I'm only one of the few that want to protect you and help you, but if you don't wanna listen to me, that's fine. So come on." I then grabbed him and began my descent out the window, furious.

Sonic struggled in my arm. "Wait! Addison, I'm sorry! I'll stay in there! Whaddya mean by bad stuff? Hey! Addison? Addison..."

I only continued to climb down, ignoring him all the way. It was partially because I was angry at him currently, but also because I needed to focus all of my attention on getting down safely. Angry or not, I didn't want him hurt anymore than he was. When we finally reached the ground, though... That's when I went off on him. I held him up and put him on the ground, glaring at him. "Great. Let's go!" I spat, starting to walk.

Sonic quickly dashed forward. "Uhh, wait. Please. Whaddya mean by 'bad stuff'?"

I turned to face him, eyes narrowLed. "They'll take your freedom away."

"...How?" he pressed.

I tried to think of the right words for his innocent mind. "..." Then I had it.

"Someone will try to touch you in a way, and a place, that makes you feel uncomfortable." I explained to him.

"I... Oh." He looked down. "Well, I appreciate your concern, Addison." He looked up at me then, and I stared back at him. "I'm really sorry I hurt you... Just please don't be mad at me. I only wanna help Shadow."

"He is in no condition himself to be going anywhere." I told him. "Looking after the both of you is gonna be hard."

"You won't need to soon, I promise. I think I may know where he is."

I sighed and nodded. "Okay. Point the way." I replied, picking him up and carrying him on my back.

Not too long into our walk, we spotted some familiar shoe prints in the mud. Wait, mud? Confused, I looked up. It was starting to rain. I let out a sigh. "You don't mind getting wet, do you, Sonic?"

The hedgehog shook his head. "As long as I don't have to swim."

"This looks like a storm. Let's hurry to find him. I don't want any trouble tonight."

Sonic nodded, and we continued on through the rain, which gradually became a heavy downpour.

About half an hour later, we found ourselves by a food court. It was closed, but there were some accessible places. I found a hot dog cart and made some chilidogs for Sonic, as well as for myself. As we ate under the safety of table umbrellas, we discussed our plan to find Shadow.

"My parents are sort of free-going, but not as much as we may need. They do still check every now and then, and all the noise earlier is sure to make them curious. If we hurry, we can be back in time with the two of you hidden, and have enough time to get you guys cleaned up and dry. Eggman is gonna be coming as soon as we're ready, but he too is waiting on us. So let's hurry."

Sonic nodded as he gulped down his fourth chilidog. "Gotcha." He coughed a little, but quickly got over it and stood up straight. "Okay. Let's go!"

I nodded and picked him up, letting him climb onto my back, then hurried out.

Sonic then pointed out, towards the trail we were at before. "There! If he's anywhere, he'll be there."

I paused for only a moment, then nodded and walked over.

"Shadow?" Sonic called.

"Shadow!" I chimed in.

After a while of calling his name, we both heard gunshots. We fell silent, and I ducked behind a thick oak tree. "Who could that be? Shadow?" I asked quietly.

"I have no idea." Sonic muttered. He then gasped quietly. "Shh! Footsteps! Coming this way!"

I froze, feeling a gun touch my head from the other side of the tree. I was terrified when I couldn't see the owner.

"Who are you and why are you here?!" demanded a familiar voice.

I gasped and grabbed the gun, yanking it toward me and past my side. I then reached my arms out and tackled the one who was threatening me just seconds ago. "Shadow!"

He struggled to get me off. "Uhh! ... Huh?! Addison?"

I stood up and picked him up, hugging him tightly. "You're okay!"

He nodded and tried to push away gently. Getting the idea, I let him go.

"No time to explain. You have to go, now." Shadow ordered, picking up his dropped gun.

"Huh? Come with us, Shadow!" Sonic said.

"No...I can't. There's someone out here. I don't have the strength to protect you both. Go back home for now. I'll catch up." Shadow told us.

"No way! We'll help!" I insisted, stepping forward.

"Addison's right. Come on." Sonic chimed in.

"Sonic, Addis-"

"There's no time to argue! There he is!" I gasped, pointing behind Shadow. He whipped around and fired a shot, just grazing the figure.

"I swear, if either one of you gets hurt...!" Shadow skated out toward the figure and engaged in combat. I watched for a bit. This didn't look like a Segaworker, but it wasn't any average citizen, either. This was a burly man in torn clothes.

But why is he fighting Shadow? I wondered. But there was no time for that; only time to help. I set Sonic down behind the tree, then ran out. "Hey, you! What do you want with him?!" I demanded, throwing myself onto him.

Shadow gasped. "Get off of him! He has weapons!"

"I want to be famous! This is the most realistic Shadow imitation I've ever seen! So he's mine!" the man barked.

"Too bad that'll never happen, sicko!" I yelled, an idea forming in my head.

Lightning flashed, giving me a glimpse of Shadow's worried face, as well as Sonic's, before attacking the man.

"Addison! Get down! He's gonna hurt you!" Sonic cried.

I ignored the hedgehog as I proceeded to wrap my arms around the man's neck. "Sure glad I took karate!" I grunted as I performed a blood choke on him; I cut off the blood circulation to his brain. He was down in a matter of six seconds, and I quickly leapt off of him. "Let's hurry outta here!" I grabbed Shadow's arm, ran to Sonic and grabbed his, then ran back home as quickly as we all could.

In 45 minutes, we were home, and Sonic and Shadow had collapsed on my bed. The storm was mostly over for now, and as far as I knew, they were out cold. I chose now to clean them up, though, and gently shook them both awake.

"Ngh...Let me sleep..." Sonic murmured, but finally got up after realizing I wasn't going to stop shaking him.

Shadow got up almost immediately, but was rather grumpy.

"Come on." I led them both to my bathroom, where I closed and locked the door before starting the water. I used the plug to make sure no water was wasted, then waved them over. "I need your shoes, socks, and gloves."

"If you take off my gloves, it'll be the last action you perform with fully functioning hands." Shadow threatened with a glare.

I chuckled. "Okay, okay. Shoes, at least."

They both took off their shoes, and Sonic gave up his socks and gloves. Once the tub was full, Shadow climbed in.

"Is the water okay?" I asked him. He only nodded and sank down so that only his eyes and up were above the water. He looked rather annoyed...and tired.

I figured I should help this along, so that they'd both be clean, dry, and asleep within fifteen minutes.

I eased Sonic into the tub, though it was no easy task. He clung to the edge of the tub once he was in, and stared down at the plug constantly. I sighed and grabbed two sponges, lathering them up with soap. "Okay, you guys wanna do it, or me?" I offered.

Shadow snatched a sponge and began cleaning himself, though rather roughly. I sighed and didn't say anything, as he probably knew what was best for his body better than I could guess.

Sonic looked up at me. "C-can you do it? If I let go of this, I'll drown...!" he muttered. I chuckled and saw Shadow roll his eyes.

"Sure, Sonic. Hang on. Don't splash around, okay?" He nodded shakily as I began cleaning him off, starting off with his head and quills. I made sure to be gentle with them, as I know they were probably sensitive. Working my way down, I went to his arms, torso, and his legs. Then his feet, and eventually his hands. He had insisted on just scrubbing them in the water, so I held him up so he didn't fall. They both rinsed then, and even got a little time to just relax. Shadow was practically laying in the tub, while Sonic hung over the edge, but still seemed to be okay...mostly.

Finally the two were both clean, so after easing Sonic out and helping Shadow out, I grabbed a towel and let them both dry themselves. While they did that, I cleaned off their gloves, socks, and shoes.

"Great. Can you wait for these to dry?" I asked them. "Putting them through the washer and dryer is risky."

Reluctantly, they agreed to wait, so in that time, I showed them some of my favorite fan arts on the web that I had printed out. They were actually pretty interested in seeing it, and each had a favorite or two. Shadow seemed especially fond of the ones of him with a gun, and/or Maria. Sonic liked anything that showed off his speed or some cool breakdancing.

After a long time of napping and coping with boredom, I went to go get their stuff. Just as I had thought, they were all dry. I brought them into my room, where they both gladly put it all on.

"Great. Now, I'll go tell Silver that you guys are ready." I announced.

Sonic shook his head. "No...Please. I'm exhausted. Can we just sleep a bit more?"

I looked at him, and smiled. "Sure. Get all the sleep you need." I replied.

Shadow made a point of laying down beneath the covers, his small body curled up as he quickly fell asleep. Sonic took over a pillow, burying his face in it.

I watched over them for a while, until I had to do something to keep myself awake. I went and grabbed my 3DS, playing some games, but silently. "Sleep well, you two."