Disclaimer- None of these guys belong to me.

Chapter 35- Silence speaks louder…

"You don't know how much I'm trying to, Shadow."

That one sentence drained all of anger and animosity within Shadow, leaving nothing behind but a reluctant feeling of – dare he say it – worry. Yes, the Ultimate Lifeform wasn't the most caring person in the world. Yes, he never held back in saying what needed to be said, with no regard to how another person might feel about it. And yes, he believed that the mission came first and any personal problems were supposed to be placed on the backburner.

But he couldn't just ignore how Sonic was falling to pieces in front of him, no matter how much of a pain in the ass his rival had been.

…For the sake of the mission.

They had to be completely focused, not…whatever Faker was right now.

Shadow's brow furrowed as his scowl reverted into the ghost of a frown. His gaze dropped down to his hand grabbing the Faker, not noticing until now how bad the hedgehog in front of him was trembling. Tremors were racking the azure colored body, getting worse by the second.

Shadow separated himself from the other, putting distance between them. He watched silently as his blue doppelganger collapsed against the wall, expression becoming vacant, broken smile fading away.

The striped hedgehog was suddenly tense, like he unconsciously knew that something was about to break, snap, or crumble in the very near future. The old Sonic never acted like this. And Shadow was sure that the other had seen his fair share of gore…death. Or maybe he had and Shadow never saw it, but the way this Sonic was acting was off. The traumatic scar the hero had couldn't be mere minutes old, but much…much older than that.

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes widened, the puzzle pieces coming together. This reaction to death, how he acted up on the Ark, how Shadow felt like he was looking in some kind of warped mirror when Sonic was yelling at him. And he recalled clearly how he used to seclude himself and just become a pile of blubbering mess whenever he thought of Maria. Sonic had been – was going – through the same thing he had.

"You've lost someone."

A garbled sound came out of the Faker's throat; Shadow couldn't tell if it was a laugh or sob, "What makes you think that?" Sonic slid down back into the position he was in when Shadow first got there. Misty emerald irises locked with questioning rubies. A nasty yet trembling sneer grew on the blue one's muzzle, "What gave it away? The shaking, the crying? Or is the fact that I f-fucking can't-" Sonic choked on a sob, Shadow was sure this time. The speedster gripped his face in his hands, shoulders trembling as he broke down. "-can't take it anymore!"

Sonic clenched his jaw as he felt tears stream down his arms. He was mad, furious, at himself for doing this, in front of Stripes no less. But he couldn't stop it, no matter how hard he tried. His brain had just decided to let it all out; it didn't matter where he was or who was around. He was a faucet, broken beyond repair.

"Four years! Four damned years…she's been haunting me and I can't…I can't…" Shadow could barely understand the other anymore, the crying and the muffled words being a bad combination. "I can't g-get over her…"

Her?! The Ultimate Lifeform thought, mouth agape.

Sonic grabbed his ears and pulled, disregarding the sharp pain. The only thing filling his mind was blood, pain, death, and misery. The unforgettable misery. He curled within himself, yelling, "I can't even look at a twice-damned r-river before I-"

Shadow took a half step back as his bluer double let loose. He was screaming, shouting, cursing, crying, whimpering, sobbing…

Shadow could deal with a multitude of situations, but this wasn't one of them. So he planned to do the next best thing. He needed to distract Sonic, and he hoped what he had learned was good enough to do so.

"Faker," when his call wasn't answered, he balled his fists and tried again, "Faker!" He had no more reaction than the first time, voice nearly drowned out. Shadow took a steadying breath, "Espio kidnapped Rogue," the hedgehog shouted just above the other noise.

It took a couple of moments, but Sonic eventually calmed down, head still in his hands. He was panting and struggling to rein himself back in from the mental hell he was thrown into. The hedgehog slowly looked up at him, eyes wet and completely bloodshot. He was a complete mess, "What in the h-hell did you just say Stripes? Espio t-took who?"

Shadow was immensely relieved that his plan seemed to be working, and Sonic was feeling the same way too, needing something else to focus on, "Rogue, the unconscious bat from earlier," Shadow added at the end when the Faker didn't recognize the name.

The speedster began to shake again, but this time in rage. The fire that had been put out in his eyes had been rekindled, "What?!" The hero didn't care about exactly who the reptile took, it was just the principle of the thing. He was already invading Sonic's city for Chaos' sake! The hero swore that he was going to throw Espio in the dirtiest, darkest, dankest hellhole he could find.

"We're going to get him from Espio's lab, and no, you are not going by yourself." Sonic looked away scowling, still ticked off that he had just completely unhinged like that. He slowly got back up on his two feet, but before he could say anything, there was a low groan coming from the knocked out third party.

Shadow cursed under his breath, "We have to move before he causes anymore damage."

Sonic's quills bristled as he wiped away any moistness on his face, glaring death at the nearly conscious murderer. "What's that little shit's problem anyway?"

"He doesn't like humans," Shadow answered with a sidelong glare as he swiftly gathered the red Extreme Gear and tossed it to Sonic, "Hold onto that as you ride. Rogue may need it." The striped hedgehog then proceeded to toss Penumbra over his shoulder before stepping onto the Blue Star and activating it.

Sonic growled at him for ordering him around, but didn't vocally oppose as he hopped on the yellow piece of garbage he detested. He supposed that he didn't say anything because his mind was still overworked and foggy. Stripes better not mention this to anyone or else I'm gonna rip him a new one.

It wasn't long until the two set off into the night.

The group of Mobians was quiet as they rode into Central City. Knuckles had woken up from his nap as soon as they passed the city limits, and now he was lazily staring at the darkened skyscrapers as they went past. Amy and Charmy were doing the same; Cream, because of Cheese's constant insisting, had stopped flying and was sitting on the very back of the jeep with her Chao in her arms. Silver was still unconscious and bleeding, but not as much. Tails had fallen asleep right when Amy had said before. Vector was frowning as he searched for the hospital.

The croc grumbled to himself as he turned another corner that gave no hint to where the building was. He sighed as he attempted to remain positive, thinking that at least there was hardly any traffic – on the roads and sidewalks – so he could drive wherever without any problems. But…the large reptile was getting a bit agitated. That on top of the rage he already had inside of him wasn't putting him in the best of moods.

When five minutes ticked by, Charmy was the one to break the heavy silence, petting Blaze who was snoozing on top of his head, "Are we almost there?"

"I don't know," Vector snapped and instantly regretted it when he saw the bee recoil in the rear-view mirror. He sighed as he felt Knuckles' gaze on him, "Sorry lil guy. Just a little wound up right now."

"S'ok!" Charmy responded with a smile, instantly bouncing back, "But um, are we almost there?"

The croc scoffed as he turned down a lesser street, "Askin' again doesn't change somebody's answer, ya know."

"But we gotta hurryyy!" the bee quietly whined.

"I know!" Vector exasperatedly replied, "It's not MY fault that there are no signs anywhere! Or PEOPLE! All I need is one person to ask but nooo-"

"Wait! Hush!" Cream's voice called from the back. Tired of sitting, she flapped her ears and flew up to the driver's door right beside the croc. Said Mobian glanced at her, waiting for an explanation why she told him to practically shut up, "I hear voices." She continued lowly.

The other Mobians who were awake in the vehicle blinked before focusing in on their surroundings as they rode along.

Knuckles found that Cream was right. There were voices but he couldn't make out what they were saying; they sounded male as well. "I think they are farther up the street," he said, "We can ask them where the hospital is," as much as the echidna loved sitting around doing nothing while enjoying the wind in his face, they had to get Tails, Silver, and even Amy checked out.

About ten seconds passed before the group began to make out certain phrases.

"…him! Get him!"

"Too scared…fight back? …a wimp!"

"…black eye!"

The voices were getting clearer.

"Haha! Look at him!"

"Curling up won't protect you, ya piece of trash!"

"You make a great punching bag, you know that?"

Then came the sound of laughter. The Mobians shared wary looks with one another. Amy's whole body was tense, knowing that the people coming up weren't the kind of ones they would want to talk to. "We should turn around and find some other people…" she whispered to Vector.

"The street's too narrow," the green reptile said, anticipation growing, "We're gonna pass 'em eventually."

"Are we going to help whoever's in trouble?"

"No," Knuckles grunted in response to Charmy, "We need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. We don't need to cause any extra drama," the echidna scratched his cheek, letting out a puff of air, "There's already too much as is," he muttered to himself.

"But-But what if he's hurt too?"

"Knuckles is still right Charmy," Amy's voice was dreary as she peered over at Tails who had a permanent grimace on his face, "We can't get distracted. We need to help Tails and Silver as soon as possible."

The bee slumped down in his seat, feeling bad that they were going to leave someone behind. But he guessed that the others were right. If anything, Silver's blood alone was enough incentive to keep moving. "Alright…" he pouted.

"Shhh!" Cream quieted them for a second time, a worried frown appearing on her face, mirroring Cheese's expression in her arms, "I think they're in the alleyway up ahead…"

No one responded as they all turned their heads to the left when they could see inside the alley. Well, barely see. Artificial light barely reached inside. All of the Mobians felt a chill go down their backs when they found that the occupants of the darkness were staring eerily back at them. Because of the lack of light, all the Mobians could tell was that there were boys of different heights and builds standing in a loose circle. The shadowed group's eyes were all locked onto the large animals riding by, narrowed into glares. Some of them were sneering, teeth reflecting light, the others' expressions were unknown, too dark to decipher.

Vector gulped before flooring the gas, anxious to get away from that situation as fast as possible.

The piercing green eyes peering out of the darkness of a neighboring alleyway went unnoticed.

"What do you guys think that was about?" Cream questioned once the jeep turned off that street.

"They were beating somebody up I know," Knuckles drawled out before furrowing his brow marginally, "But the thing is that I didn't see anyone on the ground."

"Me neither…" Vector mumbled, "Maybe it was just too dark to see though."

"Come to think of it," the flying rabbit tapped her chin, "I didn't even hear like, sounds of someone getting hurt. But there had to be someone there; why in the heck would anyone punch air?"

"Why would they want to do any of that though?!" Charmy's distressed voiced filled the air, "What's the point of hurting someone like that? That's mean!"

Nearly everybody's mind went to a certain blue-furred hedgehog. Amy squeezed one of Tails' hands, "Horrible people don't have to have a reason apparently…"

After that point, the topic was dropped and the conversation lulled as they returned to searching for any signs or for any people that didn't give off an incredibly hostile aura. There was absolutely no luck with the latter and they didn't find the former until five minutes later when Knuckles pointed it out.

"Take a left at the light Vector and the hospital should be three-quarters of a mile down the road."

"Gotcha."

The jeep pulled into the closest parking space to the entrance of the hospital, joining the few cars already there, most likely belonging to the night crew of the place. Vector shut off the vehicle before hopping out of it, going over to Tails once Amy moved out of the way. He gingerly picked the vulpine up and held him close to his chest, hoping that it was a comfortable position for the fox.

Vector went over to where Knuckles was cradling a limp Silver before they nodded to each other. The pair turned and began to jog over to the front doors of the building, Charmy (with Blaze holding onto his head), Amy, and the Cream Cheese duo following close behind.

Knuckles yawned as he laid his cheek upon his palm, purple irises focused on nothing but the blank wall he was facing. However, no matter what he did, he could not get his mind to slow down so he could doze for a while. Maybe it was the fact that Silver and Tails were still getting worked on in the separate rooms they were in. It's been nearly three hours and no doctor had come out to even update the group on their friends' conditions.

Or maybe it was the fact that Amy had been silent ever since she had rejoined them in the waiting room after getting her arm stitched and wrapped up. She was most likely upset about Tails and how injured he was and how she wasn't allowed in the same room he was in, for obvious reasons. The pinkette was sitting to the left of Knuckles, staring blankly at the floor, sniffing once in a while. Lost in her little world.

Or maybe it was the fact that they hadn't heard anything from Shadow yet. It's been a long while since the hedgehog and his tagalongs went up into space. Knuckles figured that the other would have found something by now, but what did he know. The space station could be impossibly large and just as impossible to search around in.

The echidna sighed and slid down further into his lightly padded chair. He missed his strength. Sure, he didn't use it very much, but he'd always had it, thinking that nothing would ever change that. Showed how much he was taking it for granted.

Knuckles' gaze flickered to his right when Vector let out a laugh at whatever he, Charmy, and Cream were talking about. The kids had joined along with the croc, each sitting in different positions in their respective chairs. Vector was taking up two of them with the way he was laying, Charmy was upside down in his, and the food pair had made themselves comfortable on the arms of the furniture.

Vector then opened his mouth again to add to the conversation the echidna had been blocking out when a shrill tone echoed within the spacious room. The croc jumped a bit before reaching into the large cuff of his right glove, pulling out his phone. He hummed when he saw the caller Id, "Hm…it's Rogue calling. But how…?" then it seemed to click, causing him to catapult out of his seat, "It's Shadow!"

Knuckles' eyes widened as Charmy followed the croc's lead, smiling brightly and clapping, "Answer it! Answer it!" The bunny, Chao, bee, and echidna were surrounding the reptile at this point. The former guardian glanced back at Amy, but she wasn't focused on them, but on the door leading out of the room with glazed eyes.

The echidna focused back on Vector when he lifted the phone up to his head, "Hello? Shadow, is that you?" After a second, relief flooded the croc's features before it was replaced with slight irritation, "It's ABOUT TIME YOU CALLED!" Knuckles winced as the other's loud voice stabbed his eardrums, "DO YOU EVEN KNOW-" At that point, Vector paused and looked around at the group, "-oh wait a sec. Imma put you on speaker phone." He pressed the correct button and Charmy jumped right on it.

"Hi Shadow!"

"You didn't have to put him on speaker…" Knuckles muttered, thinking that they were going to cause more unnecessary noise.

Cream stuck her tongue out at him, "Yeah he did! I want to talk to him too!"

"Hello," Shadow's deep and recognizable voice rung out, "What were you saying before, Vector?"

The croc blinked, "Oh yeah. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?"

"Lower your voice!" Shadow hissed, "What happened?"

"ESPIO TOOK-"

Knuckles rubbed his temples, "Vector! He's right there."

Vector threw him a sheepish smile, "Oops. Hehe, sorry Knuckles."

The whole conversation was over in about five minutes, and the echidna's head was spinning more than before. Shadow was days away from Station Square, and was planning to ride Extreme Gear to get there. That meant he was barely going to make it in time if he really pushed it. Also, there was the fact that Shadow didn't have a plan for confronting Espio, which really wasn't that much of a problem. Shadow was smart. Lastly, the picture the hedgehog sent Vector. It was the antidote. They were a step closer. The only thing was they had to wait for Tails to be ready…

Ignoring Cream's excited squeals of racing Shadow later, Knuckles reached out his gloved hand, silently asking for the phone. Vector, seeing this, passed it to him after giving the pic one last glance. The echidna focused on the writing and let out an incredulous breath; Tails was definitely needed for this.

Knuckles, for a second, doubted that the fox himself would even know what any of it meant, but then he convinced himself to not be so pessimistic.

"Hello?" All six pairs of eyes zeroed in on the male doctor who just entered the waiting room.

Amy stood out of her chair immediately, "Tails! I-Is Tails okay? Please tell me he's alright!"

The man gave her a soothing smile, "You're friend is fine, and so his Mr. Silver," the tension in the room drained, "The hedgehog is good to go, but the vulpine is a bit groggy because he just woke up from the anesthesia not too long ago. Mr. Silver may have some pain in his leg while it's healing. Mr. Tails will be sore. Make sure he doesn't move around too much or partake in any strenuous activity for a month to two months." When the group of Mobians nodded, he made a 'follow me' motion.

A multitude of footsteps echoed throughout the occupied hallway, everyone, sans the doctor, ready to see their friends again. After a while, the man stopped in front of a closed door, "This one belongs to Mr. Tails," he gestured to another one farther down the hallway, "That one is where Mr. Silver resides. Take care."

They barely registered the doctor walking away.

"I'm going to get Silver!" Charmy said before running over to said hedgehog's door.

"Me too," Knuckles gave Vector his phone back, "Let him look at that, if he can right now anyway."

The croc saluted him, "Aye aye!"

The echidna followed the bee once Vector, Amy, Cream, and Cheese disappeared in the room. Once he was in Silver's, Knuckles was greeted with the sight of the insect rubbing the psychic's back as he cried. He was stuttering out that he was so sorry about what he did to Tails.

"It's not all your fault," the echidna reassured, stepping inside more. Silver looked at him in surprise, "Espio caused the initial damage, what you did…" Knuckles sighed, "You were just caught up in the moment, and no one expected your powers to work."

The psychic's breath hitched as he stared at his hands, "My powers…? My powers did work! But how…?"

"I think the stuff was washed out when you were bleeding!" Charmy informed while rocking back and forth on his heels, "Can you use them now?"

"…I don't know…" Silver raised his hand and aimed it at the curtains in the room. Nothing happened. "So much for that…" he whined.

So the serum has a regenerative effect… Knuckles thought, "It's alright if they don't, because we've found the antidote."

"What?" Silver was beaming now, "Really?!"

"Well, almost. We have the ingredients for it."

"Close enough!" the hedgehog chuckled, "Let's get outta here!" Silver got out of bed and almost collapsed, but Charmy and Knuckles were quick to catch him. He snickered, "Heh, guess I forgot that my leg hurts…" Once the psychic found his balance again, the other two let him go, figuring that Silver could walk if he didn't put all of his weight on the healing leg.

The trio moved out into the hallway, meeting back up with the others. Vector was carrying the half-awake wrapped fox cub and Amy was by his side, playing with his golden fringe. Cream and Cheese were standing there, smiling at the trio as they walked – limped in Silver's case – over.

"Good news!" the bunny chirped, "Tails recognizes all of the stuff on the paper! And that we can get them here in the hospital!" her mood sobered up some, "But the bad news is that we doubt that the people here are just going to hand them to us…and they are kind of hard-to-get chemicals too…" she perked back up, "So that's why we gotta think of a plan to rob-"

Knuckles hastily put a hand over her mouth, "Are you crazy? There are cameras! There's no way we can just…you know!" Why did he feel like his opinion wouldn't matter anyway?

Cream removed his glove, "Your opinion doesn't matter!" she said cheekily, "We've already decided to think of a plan outside!" The rabbit lowered her voice, "So that we can talk freely, yeah?"

"Smart!" Charmy agreed.

"C'mon Knuckles," Vector started, noticing the echidna's reluctant expression, "This is the only way to return back to normal the fastest way possible!" the croc grinned, showing off his sharp teeth, "Stealing for a good cause isn't bad, ya know. And when everything's settled, we can come back here and donate somethin'."

The former guardian ran both hands down his face, feeling like a ten ton weight just settled on his shoulders. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. "Fine," he breathily forced out.

Silver was extremely enjoying every second of this, "It feels like we're in one of those criminal shows I sometimes watch. All of them get caught in the end though…"

Knuckles groaned.

"So okay, someone really stealthy will have to do this," Vector began as the group made their way to the car, deciding to lay Tails there and to let Silver rest his leg. Those two were definitely not candidates for this little robbery.

"Someone who can handle stress," the croc unlocked the jeep's doors and carefully laid the fox in the back seat. Silver struggled to get in the front, "And someone who can read really well," Vector put his hands on his hips with a smile, "So that leaves just me and Knuckles." He didn't include Amy, knowing that she was going to want to be by Tails' side from now on.

"Hey!" Cream and Charmy yelled at the same time, "I can do it!"

"Chao!"

Vector rose a brow, "Annnd someone who knows how to be quiet."

"I can be quiet!" The two kids then covered their mouths, eyes wide.

"I thought so!" The croc boasted, "Now, time for a vote! Who's gonna be the criminal? Me or – Knuckles? What are you looking at?"

The echidna blinked before tearing his gaze from the open fuel cap on the vehicle to Vector. He crossed his arms and yawned, "Well, I was wondering why that was open," he pointed over to the ajar flap.

"WHAT?!" The green reptile scampered over to the side of his car, jaw dropping. He then hurried to the front of the jeep and started it up. Or, at least tried to. Vector hit his steering wheel in anger, "Ugh! Someone syphoned gas from my jeep!"

"Syphoned?" Silver tilted his head to the side, "You mean, like someone stole your gas?"

"YES! COMPLETELY GONE!"

"But who would do that?!" Cream asked, Cheese repeating the question angrily in his language.

"A horrible person!" Charmy stomped, "That's who!"

Amy gasped at that wording before frantically eyeing their surroundings, "A horrible person…? Do you think that it was one of those boys in that group we saw earlier?"

"They were kinda sketchy…" Cream trailed off.

"What guys are you talking about?" Silver asked.

"THE GUYS WHO ARE GONNA PAY FOR THIS! I OUGHTA-"

And that's when Knuckles stopped listening to Vector's ranting about revenge. He was so deep in his own thoughts about the situation as a whole, the upcoming theft as well, that he nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a tap on his shoulder. The echidna whirled around and said the first thing that came to mind:

"Shadow?" No wait, this wasn't Shadow. Sure the hedgehog in front of him looked exactly like Shadow, but last time Knuckles checked, the quilled rodent he knew didn't have bright green eyes, faded blue stripes, and didn't faze with the shadows on the ground.

Knuckles took half a step back, guard raised.

The echidna's voice had caught the attentions of everyone else. They were elated for a millisecond until they got a good look at the stranger as he slid fully out of the darkness and stepped onto the solid ground. The Mobians were frozen, except Vector, who was enraged.

Throwing caution to the wind, the crocodile stomped over to the unknown hedgehog and jabbed a finger into the other's chest, "Are YOU the one who stole my gas? Because if you are, you're in for a WORLD of pai-" All words then died in Vector's throat when the hedgehog held up a red gas container (which he had been holding the entire time. They just were too shocked to notice). He took hold of the filled canister and looked at it, brow furrowing, "Thank you…?"

The green-eyed rodent gave him a seemingly shy smile before shrugging and glancing away.

Knuckles was the second to regain his wit. He stepped forward cautiously, "Who are you?" Those viridescent irises did nothing but stare, swirling with uncertainty. Knuckles squinted and gave the other another once over, given that his mind wasn't shock filled. It was only then that he found the wounds. The hedgehog was so dark they were hard to find, but the echidna could count numerous bruises, cuts, and scrapes on the other's body. This guy had to be in pain.

Also, he noticed how ragged and dirty the hedgehog's gloves were, and how his shoes were nothing but rundown sneakers that were falling apart.

Knuckles rephrased his question, "What happened to you?"

The hedgehog winced, as if the memory caused him pain, before warily taking a step toward Knuckles. When the echidna didn't react, he got closer. Now within arm's reach, the quilled rodent pointed to the red Mobian's hand before holding out his own. When Knuckles didn't react to that either, the hedgehog bit his lip and took a risk. He gently grabbed the other's hand and stood side-by-side.

The hedgehog began to write on Knuckles' palm, "B-e-a-t-e-n."

"You were beaten?" the echidna inquired. And mute? The stranger nodded.

Amy put covered her mouth in surprise, incredibly upset, "You…You were the one we passed by in the alleyway…with those boys…" the hedgehog nodded again.

"Oh man…" Cream breathed out, seeing how battered the stranger was, "We're sorry…" she then frowned, "But wait, if you can…do whatever you can do with shadows, why did you let them?"

He just looked down to the ground, shrugging one shoulder.

"Hey mister shadow guy?" Charmy bounced over to the hedgehog, deciding that he was a good guy, "What's your name?"

The rodent hesitated for a moment before gesturing to the bee's hand, silently asking for permission. Charmy smiled as he held out his limb for the hedgehog to write, "M-e-p-h-i-l-e-s."

"Mephiles?" The insect chuckled, "That's a weird name, but it's cool!" The newly named Mephiles gave him a little smile, the bruises on his face stretching causing him to cringe.

"Um…" Vector had gotten over his little spell, "I'm glad you brought us gas and all, but, why? Especially after we ignored you?"

"D-i-s-t-r-a-c-t-i-o-n." Charmy spelled out, "Distraction? What do you mean?"

"I think he means that you guys did something to distract the other guys from wailing of him," Silver bluntly provided. Mephiles lowered his ears some in discomfort, but nodded anyway.

"So that's why you did that for us," Knuckles concluded, but now since that mystery was solved, he wanted to know more about Mephiles. Specifically the history of the beatings. Not all of his wounds were new. "How long have they been doing that?"

The striped hedgehog knew exactly what he meant, and he didn't want to answer. But, this group had spared him from getting seriously hurt tonight. Those boys were especially harsh… He was indebted, and a single gas canister wasn't enough.

"Four…" Charmy began as Mephiles wrote, "…years? Four years?! That's crazy!"

"Why?" Amy asked, wanting answers, "You seem nice enough! Why do they attack you, and why do you let them?"

"Better…me…than…anyone…else…" Before anyone could react to that information, Mephiles continued to write on the bee's hand, "I…want…to…help..."

"You want to help?" Vector was now pouring the gas into his tank, "You already have though!"

"What do you want to help with?" Cream crossed her arms, waiting on an answer.

Mephiles bobbed his head toward the hospital. Suddenly, the hedgehog melted away into the shadow at his feet. The others whipped their heads back and forth until they saw Mephiles reforming in the shadow of the jeep. He sent them a timid grin.

Vector stared in shock before opening his mouth, "Y-You a-are…" he gave the hedgehog the widest smile he could achieve, "PERFECT for the job!"

"What!?"

The croc turned to the others with a grin, "Can't don't you see? This guy's stealthy, he can obviously handle stressful situations, being quiet is like a walk in the park for him, and…" he focused back on Mephiles with a cocked brow, "…you can read, right?"

The hedgehog let out a silent chuckle before nodding.

Vector laughed, clapping twice, "Yep! He's the perfect candidate!"

"Calm down, Vector," Knuckles sighed, "We've just met him. We don't know if he's trustworthy or not."

"Don't be a buzzkill!" Charmy buzzed, waving over in Mephiles' direction, "Just look at him! He looks like Shadow and Penumbra, and you trust them right?"

One definitely more than the other, but that's not relevant right now, "That's not how it works, Charmy. We can't trust him simply because he's similar to Shadow."

"That's true, but there's other redeeming qualities, right?" Silver grinned at Mephiles, "I mean, he's been to heck and back over the past four years. I think he'd know the difference between right and wrong."

"Plus, he has powers and we don't!" Cream added, wiggling a finger, "He would get it done faster than we could!"

Ugh, why did he have to be grouped with people who were so good at persuasion? But anyway, the more he thought about it, he could see the light of the situation. If Mephiles didn't do it, there was a chance that Knuckles would have to. And he really didn't want to. Lazy and all that. So, finally crumbling, the echidna waved the others off, "Whatever. Just remember that you have to give him your phone, Vector."

"Ohhh…" That brought him back to earth real quick. Vector narrowed his eyes at a suddenly nervous Mephiles, "You're not a thief, are you?"

The hedgehog seemed torn before he lifted a slightly shaking finger and pointed to the empty gas container.

Vector exempted that, "Besides getting the gas?"

Mephiles calmed down somewhat and shook his head. He hadn't stolen anything besides food out of trash cans. By that point, he would hardly call it stealing. Surviving was a better word. He knew with his power that it would be ridiculously easy, but…his conscience would tear him apart from the inside.

This would be different, because he was helping someone.

Silver stretched his back, making it pop, "Are you done interrogating him? Kinda missing my powers here."

Vector shot him a glare, "I can't just give my phone to ANYONE!" Back to Mephiles, "Okay…have you done anything remotely bad recently?"

The hedgehog began to shake his head, but then a memory from his past made him pause. He had done something that would be in the same category as 'bad'. Mephiles had assisted in a robbery, but he didn't take anything. It was many years ago (about ten, if he was correct), but he still remembered, because he had berated himself so harshly afterwards and had reshaped his life because of it. And well…because he had a higher level of memory.

A former…acquaintance (and that was even pushing it) of his had somehow found and convinced him – those pleading emerald eyes were not something you could just argue against – to pour ketchup on himself and lay on the side of the road while the other hid and waited to pounce. A lady had checked on him, and well…she had lost her purse.

Mephiles didn't use any of the money they had obtained.

Mephiles didn't want anything to do with that hedgehog anymore.

Not even when he hid in the shadows watching as the other was targeted by those who didn't like their kind very much…

Mephiles had been a cowardly little thing back then.

…Back to the present, the hedgehog resumed in shaking his head. That little escapade didn't happen recently, now did it?

Vector narrowed his eyes even farther before shrugging, "You check out," he pulled up the picture on his phone before tossing it to a shocked Mephiles who almost dropped the device, "But if anything happens to it…" he let the threat linger.

The hedgehog gave him a nervous smile, showing that the threat didn't go over his head.

"Get the stuff listed on the paper and any measuring tools we'll need…" Knuckles told him, "And get back here as soon as possible, alright? I don't think the room will be too hard to find." Hopefully they weren't wrong in putting their trust into this guy.

The smile became more genuine before Mephiles disappeared into the shadows.

Yep, I kinda reversed Mephiles in this fic. In the game, he doesn't have a mouth, but still can talk. Here, he has a mouth, but is mute! I can't be the only person who wondered how he would look with a mouth, right? Right?!

Be prepared for some action next chapter!