Akshi held his sister as they landed back onto the city streets of Rouge's dream city. He looked around, carefully checking to see if the coast was clear of the threats he'd seen before moving away from her. "Are you alright?" he asked. He tried not to look into the spot of her face where the crystals were spreading, but he knew at some point he'd have to look anyway.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," Sonata said, standing up. "I never got much of a look at this place. Is this… the future?" she asked.

"Well, as much of the future as Rouge has memorized. It's a few miles long." Akshi looked about, trying to get his bearings. "I think we're near her apartment, actually. Maybe we could reconvene there."

Sonata nodded. "Rouge said she'd be back, so if that's her most familiar place, she will likely be there, yes."

Akshi sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to lose you. I wish there was a way to make you stay."

Sonata shook her head. "All good things end, Octave," she said. "You know how I feel about that."

Akshi sniffled. "I just don't understand why you're willing to let yourself disappear," he replied. "I couldn't even bear to think about a world without you."

"You've been in that kind of world for eight-thousand years," Sonata replied. "Besides, you aren't lonely anymore."

Akshi flushed up. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Of course it is," she said. "You always thought you were a lonely flower in a field. Despite how noble you were, you never had anybody you didn't hold at an arm's length. So when you suddenly change, it's as clear as the crystals you talk so much about."

Akshi shook his head. "I can't believe I'd fallen quite so hard," he said. "I mean… I can't leave this place. It's practically impossible to make this work."

"She's got a rose," Sonata said. "Through and through. A person with unclear emotions that plays off of those around her in her altruism. Different colors are given as gifts to different types of people," she said. "She can make it work, but can you?"

Akshi paused. "I don't know. I've lived my life seeing that people don't change all that much. In the grand scheme, you figure you know what they will do. I know what she will do, or at least, I thought I did, up until…" As he trailed off, he ran his fingers along his beak.

Sonata chuckled. "A rose bush is capable of taking over a garden. It takes time and effort to care for them, and if they get too out of hand, the bush will entangle you in its brambles. I will admit that under normal conditions I'd never recommend anybody to be with someone like that."

"But?" Akshi said. "I know that's what you're about to say."

"But I think that there's a certain person for everyone, every garden plant has someone who can handle them. And if there's anything I know about you, it's that you're stubborn." She gently punched his shoulder. "So I think that if you try, you stand a better chance at success than most, even if you can only ever see her when she's asleep."

As the two of them walked into a nearby building, Akshi wrung his hands. He wasn't sure how to bring it up. He opened the elevator and led her in before speaking again.

"I'm still gonna miss you," he said, pressing the elevator buttons.

"I know you are. But I knew I wasn't going to make it," Sonata said. "We aren't supposed to last forever. That's why I've always likened people to flowers and trees. Even you, for all you are, you can still be cut down."

"So now I'm a tree?" he said. "Last time I checked, I was a flower."

"People change, their trajectories change," she said. "Even so, you didn't change much. You're just more resilient than I thought. Redwood trees live a long time, after all." She smiled. "If you have to know what you can offer her, you can offer her safety."

"I'm stuck in here though," Akshi said.

Sonata put a hand on his shoulder. "You misunderstand. That isn't the safety she needs."

Akshi's eyes widened. "Perhaps I know what you mean, then."

Sonata smiled. "I know that you want to save me, but the truth is that there's no way to preserve my spirit here. I've ruminated over it for eons, and only one of two possibilities are here." She raised one of her fingers. "One; I continue like this, eventually succumbing to the Garnet's power and disappearing forever."

"That's exactly what I don't want," Akshi said.

"Well, unless something else takes my life first, that's where I'm headed," she said. "The only one who can die here is you, and I don't see you shirking your duties anytime soon."

Akshi went to speak, but stopped with his mouth slightly ajar. She was right- he was the Master Emerald, and despite how much he wanted to save her, he couldn't bear to burden her with the save pain he was feeling now. Saddling her with the burden of guilt if he traded places with her was hideously unfair. "There's gotta be some way."

"I'm surprised I'm still here," she said. "I'm content with my fate and I got the closure I needed. Why am I still here?"

Akshi paused as he remembered the giant Garnet that hung over the city. "Because you're not the host right now…"

"...what?" she asked. "But… but I have to be. Why else would I have this?" She pointed to her eye.

"I don't know," he said. "But I think I know where we need to head next." He smirked as the elevator opened.

"If I'm not the host, then who is?" she asked.

Akshi stepped out of the elevator and frowned. "I think I know. But right now… I think we're on the wrong floor."

Sylphic adjusted the framed certificate in his office. He'd climbed his way back into a proper practice after a battle with a lot of higher authorities thanks to the help of G.U.N., and while he was still wary of their reputation, he was grateful that they were giving him the time he needed to appropriately get his practice in order. He picked up the last book on the nearby table and placed it on the bookshelf near his desk. "Finally, spring cleaning- well, autumn cleaning, anyway- is finally done," he said to himself.

The sound of the door of the apartment opening clunked and he grinned. That was his cue. He opened the door of the examination area and peered into the living room, where he spied a few more guests than normal. "Oh, I'm surprised to see you all here. Is something wrong?" he asked.

Bastette pursed her lips. "Nothing major, just here because I have to take these three to Kingdom Valley."

"Three?" Syll asked. He saw Sonic and Shadow, but he wasn't sure who the third person was until he tilted his head downward. The black-grey and crimson spoke volumes as his eyes locked on the little alien clinging to Bastette's side. "Oh my…" he breathed.

The Black Arms member hugged Bastette's leg a little tighter. Sylphic paused as he realized that the poor thing was frightened, perhaps because he was a stranger. He nodded in self assurance and went over to a nearby cabinet, from which he pulled a basket of suckers and picked out a few before walking back over. "Don't worry, little one, I'm not here to give you a checkup."

The little alien grabbed the suckers and began gnawing on one of them, wrapper and all.

Bastette frowned. "You shouldn't be feeding her sugar," she said. "She's an absolute fiend for it."

"An insectoid species like the Black Arms would obviously be tempted by sugar, just like ants would be," he said. "It's called hospitality."

"Well, you have no idea how much she can handle," the blue hedgehog said. "She could get sick."

"Well, you're awfully grouchy today. Are you…?" Sylphic stopped as he eyed the other visitors.

Shadow frowned. "He already told us, and no, he's just cranky because he slept on his arm wrong. You know how it is."

"Told us what?" Bastette asked.

"Nothing," Shadow said. "I'm sure he'll tell you later."

Sylphic awkwardly pursed his lips. "Right... Tails called ahead of time about getting you in, Sonic," he said. "I hope you've been keeping ice on your arm."

Sonic's eyes widened. "Well you see…"

Sylphic sighed. "Well, hopefully the damage isn't too bad." He patted Shadow on the back. "Right, it's your turn first," he said. "I have some tests I need to run and I'd appreciate your cooperation."

Shadow frowned. "Just get it done quick so I don't have to think too hard about it," he said.

Sonic grinned a little bit and gave him a thumbs up. "Good luck, buddy," he said.

As Syll closed the door, he began to speak about what was going on. "I don't know if you heard about it, but Briar was sick last night."

"I heard," Shadow replied. "I had spent the night over at Sonic's place."

"Oh? That's odd for you, Shadow. Normally you're more reclusive," he said. "Change of heart?"

"Tails had a party, I figured that it would be polite to visit and some… interesting circumstances arose," Shadow said.

Syll pulled the equipment from the cabinet along with the machine he used to assist in the blood donations from the corner. "Huh, I can't imagine it's good if you're cooperating with Sonic. Don't tell me it's another big threat."

"I don't think so," Shadow replied, sitting up in the patient's seat. "It should be manageable, no need to involve yourself."

"See, that's the sort of talk I would expect from someone who was hiding something," Syll said. He held the edges of a sealed disinfectant pad and pulled slightly.

"No, I'm not hiding anything, Syll, you know that it's not necessary to call in the big guns."

"Oh, so I'm a "big gun" now? That's flattering," Syll said, turning around. "Alright, I need your arm."

Shadow looked down and sighed before holding out his right arm.

"Right?" Syll asked. "Normally you start with the left, in case I miss," Syll said.

The black hedgehog paused. "I just… trust that you can get it right," he said. "You don't exactly have the shaky hands of an old man now, do you?"

Syll laughed. "I suppose not," he said. "Shadow, why are you staring at your arm?"

"Well, you're going to put it in, right?" he asked.

Syll frowned. "Y-Yes, right," he said. He heard the familiar sharp inhale as Shadow felt the cold metal pierce his vein. "Okay, you know what to do."

Shadow raised his other arm. "You said you had to give me a test for my panic attacks?" he said.

"Well, it's a lot simpler than I thought it would be, I can do it with a bit of the blood from the donation. Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I'm going to be taking six weeks worth instead of four," he added.

"Couldn't you have told me that before you poked me?" Shadow asked.

"You wouldn't have let me take the sample if I didn't," Syll said.

"Fair enough," he said. "Even so, perhaps honesty would be a better color on you."

"Better than violet?" Syll said. "Please, there aren't a lot of better colors. Then again, I'm sure you'd disagree."

Shadow stayed quiet. The hybrid paused as he watched the blood donation reach its limit. "Are… are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm… fine," Shadow said.

"I know you don't really talk about it, but I'm supposed to be your GP. If there's something you need then-"

"No, it isn't that. There's just… there is something going on but I don't think I can talk about it."

"Is it about the panic attacks?" the medic asked. "Don't worry, I've been tracking your levels, remember?"

"What?" Shadow asked. "Why?"

"Well, you are a vital part of Project Shadow, and because of that I keep my notes as detailed as possible," Syll said. "Your cortisol levels last draw were astronomically high."

"And?" Shadow asked. "I'm just as stressed as I was before. More so, even."

"Precisely. I need to make sure your levels are under a certain threshold," he said. He carefully removed the needle and sighed. "Okay, do you want a band aid?"

Shadow was about to open his mouth. "I don't need one though, do I?"

"Well, no, but I figured that you'd like one since I got a few packs that aren't the bland peach colored ones." He turned around and fished out the package from the cabinet before tossing it to his patient. He then took a sample of the blood he'd taken and ran it through the machine behind him. "Alright, give it a minute."

"Right," Shadow said. He looked down and smirked. "Space-themed bandages? Isn't that a little bit on the nose?"

"You were always at home in space, I just figured you'd want another taste of that." He offered his hand. "I can always take them ba-"

"No," Shadow replied, cutting the medic off. "You picked them out and I appreciate it. Thank you." He gingerly began jarring open the package.

Sylphic paused as he watched Shadow tear open the lid with very little concern for the clear means of opening it. "You're inordinately fond of those bandages, aren't you?" he asked.

Shadow frowned and locked eyes before an embarrassed flush fell over his face, but he said nothing as he fished out and peeled open one of the sticky band-aids. He stuck it over the bridge of his nose.

Syll stifled a laugh. "Why did you put it there?" he asked.

"Just feels right," Shadow replied. His deadpan expression was slowly fading in the presence of the hybrid laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, you must have had really had a good time at the party if you're in this good of a mood," he said. He calmed down. "I'm glad you have friends you can rely on."

"Me too," Shadow said, staring at the broken box of band-aids. "Me too."

Syll jumped as the machine behind him beeped. "Ope, looks like that's my cue," he said. He swiveled and tore the printed results from the machine. His eyes scanned down the page as he incomprehensibly muttered through the text scrawlings. "Alright, here it is, cortisol lev-"

Shadow frowned. "What's wrong?"

"They're… low," he said. "That doesn't add up."

"That's good though, right?" Shadow replied.

"Well, yes, but…" Syll paused. "The half-life of cortisol is quick, but it doesn't drop lower than your projected baseline. This is lower than your projected baseline."

Shadow frowned. "Well, maybe it's wrong."

"Shadow, I've been studying for months now. Especially your blood. Cortisol levels like yours are found in individuals who experience heavy amounts of trauma. You're showing levels similar to that of someone with minimal stress from life events."

Shadow went a bit more rigid. "Let me clarify- maybe your machine is wrong."

Syll nodded. "Maybe," he said. "I understand you don't want to talk about it, but is there anything that happened last night that might have affected your stress levels?"

Shadow seemed to be sitting up uncomfortably straight. "I… I don't think it would be good to get you involved. I'm sorry."

Syll nodded and breathed out. "Okay, I'm getting a bit too overwhelmed. These results aren't right." He frowned and crouched by a small mini-fridge in the room. He paused and turned around. "Are you sure you're alright?" the medic asked.

"Yeah, I'll be alright," Shadow said.

"Okay," Syll said, tossing a can from the fridge over his shoulder. "Happy Monthaversary, Shadow."

Shadow caught the can and smiled. "Heh, you too, Syll," he replied.

Syll watched as Shadow opened the tab on the can and nodded to himself. "Just as I thought," he said.

"What?"

"You didn't even notice that it wasn't lemonade," he said. He flicked his fingers up, causing the can to burst and Shadow's hands to be encased in diet soda like a pair of cuffs. "Now tell me- where is Shadow, and what have you done with him?"

Shadow frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about, Syll, I'm right here!" he shouted.

"I know his habits well enough to know you aren't him. That Black Arms girl out there is a spy as well, isn't she? Probably here to reactivate the cannon," he said. He unhooked the canteen from his hip and let the water spill out as he grabbed Shadow's wrists. "You have five seconds to tell me before I have to get a cleanup crew involved."

Shadow looked around for a second. "S-Sonic!" he yelled, his voice cracking a bit in panic. He was cut short as Sylphic covered his lips in water and froze his mouth shut.

The blue hedgehog kicked open the door and stared at the two of them. "Syll, put him down!" He paused as he noticed the bandage on the other hedgehog's nose.

Syll paused and looked Sonic up and down before carefully retracting his liquid weapons. The soda spilled against the floor and began to fizz again as Syll moved a bit closer.

Sonic squirmed as the medic examined him for a moment. "Could you please be a little less invasive?" he asked.

"This is… fascinating," Syll said. He looked at the black hedgehog. "I am profusely sorry, I had no idea that this was possible. I mean, some crazy things have been happening lately but…" he paused. "This wasn't… another Eye, was it?"

Bastette looked in from her seat in the other room. Blue had the entire stock of suckers in her lap along with a textbook. "Um…" she said, not sure of how to continue.

Syll nodded, trying to maintain a straight face. "So you…" he said, pointing to Sonic, "and you…" He pointed his second index before reversing them. "Am I understanding this right?"

The black hedgehog nodded for a second. "Yeah, he's Shadow, and I'm Sonic."

Syll clutched his head. "Is that what you meant when you said something was going on? And if that's the case, who is the Black Arms little one in the other room?" He pursed his lips. "I need to write this down."

Shadow grabbed his arm. "No, don't," he said. "Syll, I really don't like being like this."

"You aren't in any pain, are you, Shadow?" he asked the blue hedgehog.

Shadow shook his head. "This entire situation is embarrassing." He walked into the room and shut the door, hissing at his arm. "I'd rather you avoid writing it down."

"No wonder you didn't know to ice that arm- you've never had one broken for that long," Syll said. "And you…" he looked to Sonic. "You're probably feeling a lot of the effects of Gerald's old project as well, I take it?"

"Well," Sonic replied, gingerly touching the rings on his wrists. "I was surprised by how much of a buzz this is. I don't think you're supposed to feel like a firework."

"How did this even happen?"

"You were on the money about the Eye," Shadow said. He opened the refrigerator door with his good arm and pulled out a can of lemonade. "I'd say it but I think the moment passed already," he said, holding the can up. "Cheers."

Syll opened his can and pulled up a few chairs. "You had me fooled up until the blood test, I'll say that."

"Yeah, good luck trying to fool Bertha," Shadow said, sitting down. "As far as I am aware, I should have remembered that you wouldn't fool a machine."

Syll sighed. "I still don't know what that child is doing in my office, though. I thought you destroyed the Black Comet."

"I did," Shadow said, taking a long sip. "We just managed to accidentally avoid killing everything aboard. Blue was being chased by the Doctor and I managed to get some information out of her, but she's currently under our watch."

"Hm…" Syll stood up and opened the door before waving the other two inside.

Bastette sighed as she hauled Blue in, who had five sticks in her mouth as she continued looking through the textbook. Syll frowned and reached for the book, but as his hand grazed the edge of it, Blue let out a shrill scream and he immediately retracted.

"Do you want me to take it from her?" Bastette asked. "I'm not sure how many fingers I'll lose."

Sylphic sighed. "It's just… there are scribblings in that book from fifty years ago that are a bit of a happy memory and I don't know how well they'll be preserved if she drools all over it."

Bastette sighed. "Blue," she said, slightly shaking the little alien. "You can either have the book or the sugar, but that's a nice textbook that he doesn't want ruined."

"Hmmmm…" Blue thought pensively for a moment before carefully pulling the suckers from her mouth. "I wanna read this. Or at least look at the pictures."

Bastette tilted her head, as did Shadow. "That's the first time she's foregone sugar," the cat said. "And to read, no less."

"Well, they do have a lot quicker learn time than other creatures," Sylphic said. "Although I'm not exactly sure how their learning works. Perhaps if she decides to stay with us I could look into it further."

Blue narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to let you poke me with anything, terrestrial," she said.

"Relax," Syll said, unfazed as he patted her head. "It'll be more of an interview."

Shadow piped up. "Actually, there's something else I need to talk to you about, Syll."

Sonic nodded. "I'm going out into the other room, my job here is done."

"I know I just came in here, but… should I stay put, or?" Bastette said, awkwardly shuffling aside as Blue followed Sonic.

"No, it's fine, go keep an eye on those two," Shadow said.

As the door closed, Syll began setting something up. Shadow's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?" he asked

"Getting your fix ready," he said. "I need you to bite the bullet, this is still a little experimental."

Shadow watched as Sylphic pulled a needle and his mind went into overdrive. He recoiled a bit as the medic took his broken arm. "S-Syll, don't just-"

"Look at me, don't look down," the medic said.

Shadow hissed as he felt the pinch of the needle before it settled into a dull but constant heat. The feeling of a stream of warmth flowing through him was strange, especially since he didn't really have anything to compare it to, but the best he could come up with was a warm shower on a cold day, but straight through his veins. "Syll, what is this?" he asked.

"I'm healing the injury with your blood," Sylphic replied. "It's one of the discoveries I made. When Briar went for soccer practice, she ended up in an injury that fractured her ankle. I thought that your blood was only good for staving off NIDS, but it's so much more- the blood can act quickly to heal things over, just like your healing factor. You know, except it's not built in."

"I think it's been doing more than that," Shadow replied.

"Oh?" Syll said, shutting off the machine and moving to remove the needle. "I'm not sure how you would know something like that."

"Syll, Maria is alive."

Shadow groaned loud as the medic harshly pulled out the needle. For a moment, the medic's eyes were mystified, but then he realized that Shadow was bleeding and quickly covered the poke-mark with a cotton ball. "I…"

Shadow looked him dead in the eyes. The medic searched for some sort of sick humor in the hedgehog's face but found none at all. "You're serious…"

Shadow nodded. "She's trapped somewhere. We don't know where, but she's been having the same dream more than eighteen-thousand times." He paused. "And the Eye seems to be involved."

Syll quickly cleaned off his tools and offered a space-themed bandage. "I know it isn't your style, but I got them for you." He clutched his head. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked.

"I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't serious," Shadow said. "But that's why I didn't want you to worry about us- you shouldn't be stressing over it if your grandd-"

"Gerald's granddaughter, Shadow," Sylphic said. The medic had a mixture of pain and curiosity on his face. "Where would we even find her?" he asked.

"She posited that Gerald's formula could have worked, and that she's… buried."

Syll sniffled. "Please don't ever say that again."

"Oh believe me, I was just as upset hearing it straight from her," the hedgehog replied. "Syll, I personally think she's on the ARK, just… somewhere. I don't know where…" He sighed. "That's the other reason I didn't want to tell you. I don't want you going on a wild goose chase."

"Oh, and you weren't planning to?" Sylphic asked, shooting him a pained grin. "Please."

"Sylphic, I don't want you to get your hopes up and then not find her. I know she's alive, but I don't know her location. She could be anywhere." He pursed his lips. "Right now, we have a bigger problem on our plate."

"Bigger than finding Maria?" Syll asked. "You can't be serious."

"Doom is back, Syll, and he's going to use the laser," Shadow said flatly.

"Shhhoot…" Syll said. His eyes became worried. "That is the opposite of good."

"Why?"

"I might have disabled the protocol, but that doesn't prevent them from using the Cannon," he said.

"Well, obviously. They're taking as many Emeralds as they can get their hands on up there," Shadow said.

"Guys!" Bastette shouted from the other room, but the two of them weren't completely aware as they continued to get frantic. The door muffled the sound from outside.

"That's even worse," Sylphic said. "It's disabled, not removed. If they get all seven, they could find a way to reactivate the collision program."

Shadow bit his lip. "Why couldn't you remove it?"

"Imagine trying to remove a tumor from the center of someone's brain. Now do it. That's how difficult it is," the hybrid replied.

"Guys!" the cat called again, this time a little louder.

"Well, the good news is that they only have three," Shadow said, standing up to get the door. He heard Bastette the second time and her tone wasn't very optimistic.

"That's still enough for a precision strike of everything within a five-mile radius," Syll said. He stood up and began gathering his gear. "I'm going with you, we need to get up there before things get any worse."

Bastette tore open the door. Blue was still quietly reading, and Sonic was missing. "Yeah, about that," she said. "A Black Arms soldier managed to take the rest of the Emeralds. Things just got worse."

Syll nodded and downed the rest of his lemonade before gathering his kit. "Shadow, let's go," he said. "We have a world to save."