Part XI: Um…Friends?

"Can I get you boys anything?" A helpful waitress asked as Sonic and Shadow sat down.

"Yeah, I'll have five chilidogs and a coke, please." Sonic answered pleasantly.

"And for you?" The waitress turned to Shadow, jotting down Sonic's order.

"Just a glass of water, thanks." Shadow replied in his usual tone of voice.

"Okay! That should be about twenty minutes. I'll be back with your drinks." She scurried away.

Sonic stretched his arms out and settled into the comfortable booth. "So…why did you need to talk to me?"

"Question first." Shadow held up a finger from where his arms were tightly crossed and peeped his ruby red gaze at his blue rival to catch a reaction.

Sonic shrugged, folding his hands behind his head. " 'Kay. Shoot."

"Why did you get lost? You knew where you were going, didn't you?" Shadow was stunned to see Sonic's mood swiftly change from careless to worried. His ears drooped just enough to show the change in mood.

"Oh, that." He rubbed at his arm so unfailingly that Shadow wondered if he would make a bald spot. "I was hoping you'd forgot."

"Well, I did not! I do not forget!" Shadow snapped, and Sonic jumped at the chance to counter that.

"Ha! Lies!" He pointed excitedly at Shadow. "You forgot all about who you were and who I was and who Maria was and all that!" Sonic nodded with finality, a smug smile crossing his lips.

"Whatever. Look, blue." Shadow glared, impatient for a response. "The answer?"

"Erm, yes, well…" Sonic scratched behind his head. "See…I did know where I was going, but…you know how, when you're running at your top speed, there's a little internal compass guiding you?"

"Yes." Shadow was waiting for the rest.

Sonic was relieved. This would've been hard to explain to Amy or Tails. But Shadow? Shadow was…easy. When had Shadow ever been easy? He chuckled before returning to his answer after a questioning look from Shadow. "Simply put—I gain the speed and lose the compass. It's easy for me to get lost, even if I know where I'm going. The last time I felt like this--" -he shivered violently at the thought- "—I actually ended up in a desert, miles from where I wanted to go. Luckily, I got home and ate before I passed out, but…" He sighed, indulging in the coke as it was placed before him. "-Thank you- you get the idea."

Shadow nodded to the waitress and sipped at the icy cold water. "How torturous. I don't know how you starved as long as you did."

"I'll give you a clue. It has to do with nasty liquid that comes from your mouth and plastic bucket."

"How did you do it the first time?"

Sonic started. "Training? I don't remember." He admitted, scratching his head thoughtfully. "My memory of that event is kinda fuzzy, since I don't like to remember pain."

"As no one but a masochist does."

"What?"

"Nothing."

There was a renewed silence between the two, both hedgehogs watching each other warily. Even though they were here as friends, there was still tension between them. Finally, Sonic broke the silence.

"You had another question for me?"

"Yes, but I must confess I have no idea how to word it."

"Try me." Sonic leaned invitingly towards him, eyebrow raised. "After all, I'm friends with Tails. If I can make sense of his words, yours should be no problem!" He smiled, his eyes lighting aflame. Perhaps the sudden light in their centers was more about the smells of food that danced all around them, rather than some other feeling.

Shadow gave a short laugh and then touched his quills with embarrassment. "This is no normal question…"

"Again, try me." Sonic reclined, pushing his soda aside for now, saving the remainder for a drink after his meal. "Might as well put one of those stickers across my chest."

"That would invite other kinds of 'trying', I believe."

"You have a dirty mind, Shadow. I'm proud of you."

"It comes from hanging with sub-par intellectuals, like yourself."

"Ah, insult me with words I'll understand, Shads." Sonic dismissed his comment with a laugh, tossing his hand. "Ask your question, 'Ultimate Lightshow'."

"Very well." Shadow cleared his throat and leaned back into the booth seat before continuing. "Sonic, when you perform your heroics, what is it you feel?"

Sonic cocked his head slightly. "It might just be my condition, but I'm afraid I don't follow."

Shadow sighed, nerves crushing his usually confident personality. He actually felt himself sweating! "I—uh…when you save all those people…why do you do it? What do you feel for them? Why are you so tied to them? Why do you save them and walk away without need for recognition?" His speech was fast: Sonic had to concentrate to catch it all. "I've chewed it over many nights. A creature with such an ego…who just walks away without having it fed?! It makes no sense!" Shadow's fist collided with the table, making the liquids shiver in their glasses.

Sonic crossed one leg over the other and closed his eyes briefly, his form melding with the booth. Shadow was afraid he might've gone to sleep (Sonic's state did not allow him to see much day, as he tired easily without the strength of food fueling him), but his eyes snapped open almost instantly. "Give me a minute while I eat, and then we'll talk. I'm passing out, here!" He nodded to a place behind Shadow, and before the black hedgehog could turn around, a plate of chilidogs was placed before his rival. Five were stacked neatly like a pyramid of people. Three on the bottom supporting it, two were on top. Sonic licked his lips and set to it.

Shadow felt rather awkward watching Sonic eat, so he went outside for a while. He had a few minutes to ponder what Sonic might say, before a hand surprised him. Reflexes caused him to latch his hand around the wrist of the other hand, preparing to throw the intruder onto his back, when cold fingers gently pried at his fingers.

"Need the blood." Sonic teased with an upward-facing face that looked…actually rather cute. There was no other way to describe such a face. Shadow laughed and released him.

"Done already?"

"Food goes fast when it's set before me."

"I'll say. You barely gave me five minutes!" Shadow observed Sonic's figure out of the corner of his eye. He didn't expect to see much improvement, but he shivered when he saw none. In fact…Sonic almost looked thinner.

Sonic placed his hands on his hips and let out a huge sigh, face to the wind as he walked rather calmly beside Shadow. Then, he looked brightly at his counterpart. "Want the answer?"

"Very much." Shadow answered in a pleading tone, more than he expected to hear from his lips. In surprise, he covered his mouth, embarassed.

Sonic laughed, always a hearty, unforgettable sound, no matter how much he suffered, and flopped down at the base of a tree, instantly flowing against the trunk and relaxing against it with ease. Shadow wondered, as he sat with unease beside him, if such ease was a learned trait, or if Sonic was just naturally so easy-going. "You make me tired, Shads, to think of such things." Sonic yawned, rubbing his eyes childishly.

"If you won't answer me, I'll--" Shadow was about to stand, but Sonic's words had him glued.

"I'm kidding, Shadow. The warmth is makin me sleepy." He peered at Shadow and laughed at the baffled expression worn by the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow's face instantly morphed back into his classic frown at his laughter, if it was not a shade pinker. "Anyways, you got me thinkin. And I guess the answer is…that I really don't know."

"What?!" Shadow quizzed furiously. "That's it?!" This is what I lost sleep over?!

"I dunno why I don't need reconition," Sonic continued, leaving Shadow with hope yet. "I just…don't. I feel like it's part of my duty to bring Eggman down and walk away. I don't need a statue in the city in my name. In fact, I think I'd probably tear it down."

"Why?"

Sonic shrugged. "I guess…because…" He frowned thoughtfully, sitting up and crossing his legs Indian style for a moment, before reclining fully again with a huge yawn. "…because I don't defeat Eggman for the greater good. I mean, I do, but that's not the real reason." He smiled. "It's just because…well…Eggman took away my freedom once. Chained me up to a cell wall in a cold, dark, spaceship when I was really little. I escaped, naturally, but…" The smile was gone now. Sonic was one-hundred percent serious. "The grudge, me fighting Eggman, has nothing to do—okay, a little--" he amended at Shadow's doubting glare, "—with them! It has to do with my friends, too, because I want to keep them safe. Amy's parents died by Eggman's hand, so of course I'm mad at him for that…but really the grudge, why I fight him, it's…personal. I mean, you're right. My ego is well-fed, better than me, sometimes!" He laughed, but Shadow did not. "And it'll stuff itself when it can—gods I wanna stuff myself—but I don't need it. The TV coverage, the fans, the…everything. When I'm fighting Eggman, most of the time all I can think about is me, as a small child, chained up to that wall. Cold, wet, starving, alone. And I'll never forgive him for that." Sonic closed his eyes, seemingly at peace. His breathing slowed down to a crawl.

He was fast asleep.

Shadow sat in the grass, feeling the wind stir his fur and watching Sonic's sleeping form. Then, he laid down in the grass, half curled into himself, and gradually drifted into slumber.

T.T I'M NOT DEAD!!!! After working on Smoldering Embers (COMPLETE, btw, for any fans reading this!) and (finally) finishing it (was it long overdue?), I decided to return to this story and update, for chrissake. Lol Sooooo…here it is! Let me know what you think!