This chapter has some darker tones, readers be prepared.

...

Irises behind small, circular glasses glared at the screen in front of him. A mischievous smile spread across his lips as the screen captured surveillance from the eyes of a tiny bug in the home of Sonic the hedgehog.

"So.. they finally discovered my grandfather's project! I knew keeping tabs on GUN's database would come in handy, but I didn't think it would come out this magnificent!"

He chuckled to himself then turned to the shiny cobalt robot next to him. The glowing red eyes of the machine showing no mercy and only loyalty to his creator.

"Soon, we'll be able to enter phase 2 of my plan."

Sonic scanned over the documents in his hands, the clock had past midnight a few minutes ago, but he couldn't push himself to put the files away.

What Shadow's true DNA was, he still hadn't found anything, but the horrendous amount of training and vigorous yet painful tests were.. shocking. His ears flattened against his head, a headache spreading as his thoughts ran wild.

"Find anything interesting?"

The sudden voice made the blue hedgehogs fur stand on end, his emerald eyes immediately darted to the ebony male standing in the hallway. The nightstand lamp next to the couch illuminating the features of the dark male, yet his ruby eyes still glowed brightly in the dim light.

Once realizing who it was, Sonic noticeably relaxed, but became slightly tense when Shadow's question resonated finally.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I wasn't gonna read them until you looked over it first, but it just.. caught my eye and I couldn't put it down."

With a wave of his hand, Shadow dismissed any thought of invaded privacy in Sonic's mind,"I trust you."

Sonic nodded, motioning for the black hedgehog to sit next to him on the couch, his temporary bed while Shadow stayed with them.

Taking the hint, the black furred male sat down, noticing the blanket and pillow draped over the couch for the blue hedgehog,"were you going to sleep?"

"Nah, I'm wide awake," the cerulean hedgehog shrugged, leaning back on the worn fabric of the back rear to the couch. "Why are you up so late?"

"My body doesn't need as much sleep as Mobians typically do," Shadow looked from his sock covered feet to the blue hedgehog, their eyes meeting briefly before Sonic broke it.

Ruby irises easily caught the slight tint of pink upon the tips of blue ears and the avoidance of prolonged eye contact.

"Do you not like my company?"

Sonic raised one eye brow in confusion," what? No, I like having you around."

"Then why don't you look at me." It was a question said with such factuality, it was almost a statement.

Taking initiative, Sonic turned to look at Shadow,"see? I'm looking at you right now. I don't not like having you around."

"Then I make you nervous."

"Okay, where is this coming from?"

Shadow took a small breath,"you don't look at me for long periods of time, even when talking directly to me in mutual conversation. When you face away, your face ends up blushing in one way or another. You might not think so, but you're very expressive facially."

Clenching his jaw in embarrassment and slight exasperation in how Shadow caught the minute ways he expressed himself, he spoke," well, I mean.. I dunno. I don't do it intentionally."

Shadow noted the answer but decided not to press onto the subject further, only relying on what he saw instead of what Sonic was saying instead.

"I was thinking..." Sonic leaned back against the cushion, staring off ahead of him.

"That doesn't seem like a good idea," The dark male joked, immediately noting the chuckle and slight shove Sonic gave to his shoulder.

"No, shut up," green eyes rolled, the smile on his muzzle never leaving," I was thinking about going to the mall tomorrow. Maybe get you some shoes and gloves of your own. I don't mind you using my stuff, but I figured you'd want to have something of your own."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Cool, then it's a date," Sonic winked, hoping Shadow would take that statement as a joke rather than him hinting at his own bubbling feelings for the dark hedgehog.

"I look forward to it," Shadow nodded, not taking any notice to the intent of the sentence. His heart started to pound in his chest as he looked back at the files sprawled out on the coffee table that held all the secrets and humiliating torture he had to endure while he was maturing.

"Sonic.."

The blue hedgehog turned to the other, taking notice of the hedgehogs nervous appearance,"what's up?"

"You're going to read something in my files that I guarantee will make you look at myself differently. I don't mind that you read it, but I need your word that when you do, you won't treat me differently."

Sonic furrowed his brows,"Shad's I don't need to read anything you don't want me to."

"I trust you."

Sonic sighed softly as he gazed into Shadow's ruby colored eyes," okay. I trust you too. And I promise I won't change the way I look or treat you no matter what happens."

"Thank you." With that said, Shadow stood up, bid the other goodnight and promptly left to his room.

It took a few moments for Sonic to get the courage to pick up the files, his breath slightly hitched as he nervously read through the report from a scientist aboard the Ark.

It read:

"Day 1,524May 1956

Professor Gerald hasn't caught on to our side experiments on the Project. Producing an offspring through his DNA alone was a fail from the beginning. Dr. Hammond was an idiot for trying, there's no recreating the Professor's one true and perfect being.

No. What we need is for it to happen naturally. A few have called me 'crazy' for even suggesting it but more have applauded and even graciously volunteeredto help!

What I figured out was a way to successfully transplant a fully functional and working uterus, and it was a success! The project is healing nicely, and today is the first day of trial 1.

The project will fight it but there's not much it can do when placed in the inhibiting chamber. It can barely move in there which makes it the perfect place for insemination."

Sonic stared blankly at the paper, his blood boiling as he finished the personal entry of the deceased scientist. His green eyes caught another entry from the same scientist dated a few months after the one in his hands. Picking it up, his hands shook with anger at what he read.

"Day 1,597

August 1956

Trial 6 was another failure, the Project tried to fight us off again and Dr. Simoné was injured. It took four of us to hold it down as the intern James inseminated the Project. He obviously was enjoying it too much, he didn't ejaculate fast enough and that's when Dr. Simoné was injured.

The only reason we haven't been caught yet is because Professor Gerald's granddaughter has gotten sicker and he hasn't been around the laboratory as much as he normally is.

Day 1,610

September 1956

The test subject caught an infection and the uterus had to be removed. The trial was a failure and months of studying has gone down the drain. We can't continue experimenting as G.U.N. will be joining the Ark for a week in a few days."

Somehow knowing that the scientists that forced themselves onto Shadow in the hopes of making him have an offspring got what they deserved in the end didn't help the rage that boiled over in his chest.

Putting the papers down, Sonic grabbed his shoes and put them on before exiting his house. Needing an outlet for all the negative emotions he had, the blue male took off. A sonic boom loudly erupted in his wake, the cold, frigid air whipping against his face making his eyes water.

The hot air leaving his nose trailed in condensation as his shoes collided with the dirt covered ground. Pushing himself further, he reached unimaginable speeds, pushing through the pain his legs were in.

His chest burned as the cold air entered and exited his lungs, a peach chest heaving with every breath he took. After taking a sharp u-turn, the blue hedgehog ran home, careful not to create another sonic boom as he came closer to the city limits.

Once he reached his house, mind cleared of boiling rage, he opened the front door, removed his shoes, and begrudgingly went to sleep before his mind could fill with anger again.

Sonic woke with a groan, his neck aching from sleeping propped up on the couch's arm rest. The quills and fur atop his head disheveled from the uncomfortable nights sleep. Taking a deep breath, he stretched his arms over his head, back arching slightly to achieve a perfect stretch.

After a quick shower and fresh gloves and socks, the hero seemed to be his perky usual self. It took great effort not to let Shadow see his mood continue from the previous night, but the black hedgehog barely left the confinement of his room all morning.

Taking initiative, he knocked on the door, waiting for Shadow to answer before entering.

The door was opened by the black hedgehog, his face expressionless,"good morning, Sonic."

"Heya, I was wonderin' if you still wanted to go out to the mall."

This question took Shadow aback, seeing as how he didn't think Sonic found the files he was afraid of, or he did and was keeping his promise not to change the way he treated him.

"Of course. But I have no footwear."

Snapping his fingers, Sonic jogged toward the garage of his house, saying hello to Tails who was in the kitchen making a sandwich. After ruffling through a few boxes, he found an old pair of black and white high top sneakers. Jogging back to Shadow, who ultimately looked more than confused, he held out the old pair of shoes.

"Sorry, forgot you needed shoes to comfortably leave the house."

Giving a subtle nod, he placed the slightly smaller shoes on his sock covered feet.

...

It didn't take long for the two males to make it to the mall, Sonic had suggested they walked since he didn't believe Shadow could keep up with his fast feet.

As they strolled around, numerous Mobians stared at the dark hedgehog, his ears lay flat against his head at the unwanted attention but said nothing on the matter.

"Oh look!"

The dark male was brought back to reality when Sonic grabbed his forearm and pulled him toward a shoe store. Inside were numerous shoes of various shapes and sizes, but what caught the ruby eyes of the dark hedgehog were midnight black combat boots.

Sonic took notice of where ruby irises gazed and proceeded to force Shadow to try on various sizes to find the correct one. By the third shoe, Shadow seemed more than satisfied with his find.

As they walked up to the counter, Sonic placed the shoe box on the checkout stand and was immediately in a conversation with the cashier.

Shadow couldn't help but notice the cashiers blush and flirtatious behavior towards the blue hedgehog, his ears lay flat against his head once more as a sinking feeling sat on his chest, watching the two converse.

"-wow, you're so brave! I could never run towards danger!" Her flirting was more than apparent.

Sonic waved his hand, oblivious to all things romance,"nah, in the heat of the moment, I'm sure you'd be surprised at what type of heroic acts you can do."

They continued to talk as Shadow bore holes in the woman's head with his eyes, his body hot with jealousy.

"67.54 is your total," she giggled.

Sonic smiled and pulled out the rings he needed to pay for the shoes.

As he was grabbing the bag, the young woman grabbed a pen and scribbled something on his receipt,"here my number if you need anything."

"Thanks!" Sonic smiled then turned to Shadow who looked like he was going to have an aneurism if he furrowed his eyebrows any further. "Uh, you okay?"

Turning his heated gaze towards Sonic, he almost immediately relaxed,"...fine."

Squinting his eyes, Sonic shrugged,"mkay, weirdo. Ready to head home?"

Shadow only curtly nodded, trying to further his relaxation now that the bad woman was away.

As the two males exited the mall, an abrupt yet loud boom could be heard vibrating nearby buildings. Sonic's quilts stood on end as the ground shook as of a giant was walking through the city, terrified Mobians screaming and running past him.

Shadow's ears swiveled back and forth, trying to figure out what exactly was causing the issue. His body and reflexes on high alert, his mind and body screaming in warning as his turned to figure out what was happening.

Before Sonic could get a word in, a large metallic robot shaped like Dr.Eggman breached over some of the smaller buildings. Birds and flickies could be seen flying overhead away from the monstrosity.

"Crap, Shadow go home. I'll be there as soon as I can," before the darker male could reply that he wasn't going to leave Sonic's side, the blue hedgehog had already taken off, nothing but a dust cloud and the bag that held Shadow's new shoes was left in his wake. Ruby eyes watched in horror as he watched Sonic's blue streak zoom towards the robot, the fast hedgehog using a nearby building to run up the side and launching himself towards the robot.

The blue hedgehog curled into a ball of spikes, his razor sharp quills leaving gashes along the robots torso. Over a loud speaker inside the machine, a voice spoke out.

"Now now, Sonic. Is that anyway to treat someone's new toy?"

The voice was raspy, but Shadow knew he had come in contact with Sonic before since he had known his name already.

Although the dark hedgehog had gone through years of training and torture, he couldn't bring his legs to move. He felt like he was stuck back in the cryogenic chamber, stuck and only able to gaze out helplessly.

His comatose state prevented his sensitive ears from hearing the boost of rocket blaster coming from behind him. Before he knew it, he was flying ten feet in the air, his back aching where he had be crashed into.

His body crash landed onto the floor, although he had gotten his physical state back to healthy from the chaos emerald, his mangled body was still healing and provided no support in combat.

Crimson irises weakly looked up at what caused him pain only to be met with a blue robot who looked uncanny to the blue hedgehog he had gone shopping with.

"Wha-?" He was cut off as the robot launched toward him again, only narrowly missing his head as Shadow dodged the robots foot before it collided with his head.

The cobalt robot u-turned in the air with the help of its rocket boosters and flew at unimaginable speeds towards Shadow who was too slow to dodge it fast enough.

The black hedgehog was once again flying through the air before his body crashed into a building. As he laid there, in and out of consciousness, he could feel his chaos energy trying to heal his fractured ribs.

As the robot stood over his prey, Shadow's ear twitched as the male over the loudspeaker spoke out again,"Aw you're missing all the fun, Sonic. Your friend is being torn apart by Metal!"

The robot known as "Metal" grabbed the black hedgehog by his ankle, promptly dragging his limp body out of the rubble and towards the much larger robot.

Sonic's face paled at the sight as he clutched onto the torn metal, holding his body up from falling 50 feet to the ground below. His grass green eyes stared in horror as Metal Sonic could be seen dragging Shadow from below.

Knowing Shadow wouldn't try to get up or be able to fight, Metal Sonic dropped his hostage's ankle and shot up towards Sonic who was too shocked to properly jump out of the way. The two blue hedgehogs clashed together, Metal holding Sonic by the throat in mid air as his other hand with razor sharp claws spread out, ready to launch them into Sonic's abdomen.

Shadow's eyes widened in horror as he watched Sonic's fate unfold. The world seemed yo be moving in slow motion as he removed his inhibitor rings, the golden bracelets dropping to the floor with a soft 'clank'.

He had never used this specific power, the professor always warned him against it unless he was in dire need.

With the soft mutter of words, the dark hedgehogs fur tips glowed with bright red Chaos Energy. Shadow could feel the life draining from his body and towards his hands, trying to save Sonic, even if it meant killing himself.

"Chaos... CONTROL!"

Chaos energy shot out of his body in the shape of a dome, decimating everything in its wake. The explosion threw Metal and Sonic aside while it knocked back the Eggman robot. Sonic was able to land on his feet while Metal crashed into the edge of a building, smashing his core processor abruptly shutting the robot down.

Eggman yelled as his giant robot toppled over, getting stuck like a turtle on its backside. With many curses, he used his egg carrier to lift himself into the air outside of the robot and left hurriedly. Two smaller robots, one yellow and one red, picked up the remnants of Metal Sonic and scurried away after their master.

The last thing Shadow saw before he lost all consciousness was Sonic running to his side. Knowing the blue blur was safe, Shadow drifted off into unconsciousness.